TEN movies in one post

2012 Oscar-nominated shorts; Amour; Barbara; From Nothing, Something; Identity Thief; Magic Mike; Movie 43; Price Check; Side Effects; Starlet.

Amour (2012). Well done and difficult to watch, this French language Best Picture nominee stars Emmanuelle Riva in an Oscar-nominated performance of an elderly woman before and after suffering a stroke. Her co-star, Jean-Louis Trintignant, is every bit as good and was, in my opinion, robbed when he didn't get nominated as well.

Side Effects (2013). Jack and I were captivated by this thriller about a woman on a roller coaster from her anxiety meds, said to be director Steven Soderbergh's final picture. Rooney Mara is outstanding as mood-swinging Emily; Jude Law terrific as her cutting-edge new psychiatrist Dr. Banks, Catherine Zeta-Jones scary as her tightly-wound old shrink Dr. Siebert, and Channing Tatum doesn't have many scenes as Emily's loving husband Martin.

Identity Thief (2013). Slapstick hilarity (CPA (Jason Bateman) goes after white trash woman (Melissa McCarthy) who stole his identity for serial shopping sprees) that would have benefited from removing all traces of sentiment. We went opening day and enjoyed it immensely nonetheless.

Movie 43 (2013). Tasteless, offensive, puerile, and occasionally funny, this collection of silly shorts, loaded with penis and poop jokes, will be better seen on DVD and/or when you can skip parts. That being said, I laughed like a loon at Kate Winslet's comic-horror at a single sight gag in The Catch. Try not to learn the gag before you see it. Chock-full of stars, behind and in front of cameras.

2012 Oscar-nominated live action and animated shorts. Our favorite live action one is Curfew, a very dark comedy about a man on the edge brought back by a child-care request from his sister. Here's the trailer. I hope it wins. The others are Death of a Shadow, Henry, Buzkashi Boys, and Asad. When the Disney logo began the fifth animated one, Paperman, I said to Jack, "I hope it loses." But it is my favorite--a love story with flying papers. Close second is Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare. The other nominees are Adam and Dog, Fresh Guacamole, and Head Over Heels. Added to the program are three honorable mentions: Abiogenesis, Dripped, and The Gruffalo's Child, a sequel to the 2010 nominee. Noteworthy that the only animated short with dialog is the last one.

From Nothing, Something (2012). Filmmaker Tim Cawley, in a pre-recorded introduction, cited It Might Get Loud as inspiration for this documentary about the creative process. Far reaching. But accurate. We loved it as well.

Magic Mike (2012). An older Soderbergh picture we watched on demand, this was nominated for (but lost) a People's Choice Award, and has earned Matthew McConaughey a bunch of awards and nominations as the owner/head stripper of a Florida night spot. Apparently based on star Channing Tatum's pre-Hollywood life as a male stripper. Alex Pettyfer stars as the novice Tatum trains.

Starlet (2012). The best of the three I saw at an independent film festival in January. Dree Hemingway (Mariel's daughter) stars as flakey 21-year-old Jane, who befriends an elderly lady after an encounter at a yard sale. Jane's chihuahua is named Starlet. Lest you think this is a sweet movie about a girl, a granny, and a puppy, be forewarned there is a graphic sex scene with full nudity about 2/3 of the way through. Won one Independent Spirit Award and nominated for another. Will induce MPMS.

Price Check (2012). Parker Posey is, in Jack's words, never afraid to commit, and here she is stark raving mad as a driven grocery executive. Unfortunately her co-star, Eric Mabius, is bland and ruins the movie.

Barbara (2012). Judy and I didn't love this 1980s period piece about the titular doctor who has been banished from the city to a rural hospital in East Germany. But the Eastern European acquaintances we talked to after the screening loved it and said it was spot on.

Sorry, readers. I promised myself I wouldn't complain anymore about how far behind I was in writing. But here I am with too many, it seems, to catch up. If and when I write more about each title, I'll link the postings to this page. Be sure to watch not only the Oscars on Sunday night February 24 (and/or go to your neighborhood Oscar party), but also the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday the 23rd on IFC at 10pm Pacific and rerun at 10pm Eastern.