Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Recently divorced Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) learns how to care for his young son until having to fight his ex-wife (Meryl Streep) in court to keep him.  

This was an interesting movie.  The topic of child custody was/is a very relevant issue with the increase in divorced spouses.  Seeing the effects that it has on a young child is pretty hard to watch.  Especially one as cute as Justin Henry who you can see later as the funny/douchy brother in Sixteen Candles with one of the best lines: "What the hell are you bitchin' about? I gotta sleep under some Chinaman named after a duck's dork."  Just a little fun fact for you!  Anyway, Kramer Vs. Kramer was a really great, real interpretation of repairing a broken family.  There are moments when you can understand and relate to both Hoffman and Streep.  Of course, you are meant to sympathize more with Hoffman.  The best scene in the whole movie is Ted, his first day without his wife, trying to make French Toast for his son while frazzled, late, and stressed. Great scene.  Overall, I was pretty surprised.  The ending was uplifting and hopeful to the future of the Kramer family without being, as Tim says later, schmaltzy.  

I had never seen this film prior to this blog as a form of (completely useless) silent protest as this was the film that famously beat Apocalypse Now, one of my top five favorite films for Best Picture. It actually turned out to be pretty good and manages to avoid much of the schmaltz and predictability of similar films. Hoffman and Streep both won Oscars for this film, surprising no one. I mean really, Streep has been nominated for Oscars like thirty times (and usually deserves to) and everything Hoffman is in from the late sixties to the eighties is gold and it’s a treat to see them in a movie together. Streep’s character is incredibly frustrating, albeit intentionally- she oscillates from “I don’t want this child” to “he’s my son, I love him and you can’t have him” about half a dozen times in this film but things turn out the way they probably should. The American Film Institute names this at the #3 courtroom drama of all time, after only To Kill a Mockingbird and 12 Angry Men, although it is much less a courtroom film than a domestic drama about compromise, assuming new parenting roles under pressure and what the options are after the traditional family structure falls apart. It is very interesting to see the cultural differences as Hoffman’s character receives condescension from his boss for “lowering” himself by taking care of his child and allowing family obligations to get in the way of professional ambition. I feel (and I hope) that employers in the 21^st century would be more understanding and less constrained by gender stereotypes. While Kramer Vs. Kramer still does not hold a candle to Apocalypse Now, I have an appreciation for it and can recommend it to most. Plus, my silent protest is now over so you are now free to go about your normal life- pardon the inconvenience.

Dustin Hoffman planned the moment when he throws his wine glass against the wall during the restaurant scene with Meryl Streep. The only person he warned in advance was the cameraman, to make sure that it got in the shot. Streep's shocked reaction is real, but she stayed in character long enough for the director to yell cut. In the documentary on the DVD, she recalls yelling at Hoffman as soon as the shot was over for scaring her so badly.

Margaret Phelps: Joanna is a very unhappy woman and it took a lot of courage to walk out this door.

Ted Kramer: How much courage does it take to walk out on your kid?

The Deer Hunter (1978)

The Deer Hunter follows the story of Michael, Steven and Nick, three young blue-collar workers and average Joes from Pennsylvania whose lives are forever changed by the Vietnam War.

I’m not going to lie, folks; it took us a long time to finally watch this one for the blog because I kind of scared Katie away from it by telling her it was fantastic but incredibly depressing. I’m glad we finally got to it however as it is easily one of the most intense, powerful and effective anti-war films ever made. This film has three distinct parts: the wedding/hunt, the war and the aftermath. The first time I saw this film I thought the first part with the wedding was incredibly long and drawn out but on repeat viewings it doesn’t seem so; it’s truly necessary to have the glimpse of the normalcy of their simple lives and to have that kind of relief before those lives are thrown into upheaval forever. Nothing is ever the same for the characters, even after they return home. The internment camp and the Russian roulette scenes are truly some of the most harrowing and suspenseful you will ever see in film- I know what’s going to happen, but those scenes remain as impactful and shocking for me as the first time. This film is significant for a myriad of reasons. Not only is it notable for Christopher Walken’s brilliant Oscar-winning performance, featuring a very authentic-looking thousand-yard stare, but it is also the equally fabulous John Cazale’s final performance. Cazale was only in five films before he died far too soon of cancer, and each one was a classic that either won or was nominated for Best Picture. This was also the film that catapulted director Michael Cimino into the spotlight, whose follow-up film to this entitled Heaven’s Gate was such an unmitigated financial disaster that it essentially ended the Western film genre and was responsible for the shift of creative control from directors to producers. Oddly enough, I hear that now that the dust has settled that it’s actually a pretty decent film but I’ve never seen it so it’s on my to-do list. Nevertheless, none of that diminishes the quality and reputation of The Deer Hunter, a true classic that everyone should see at least once.


So… this is probably the most stressful movie of all the movies.  If they had an AFI top ten list for most stressful scenes, the Russian roulette scene(s) would be at the very top.  And after watching this, Russian roulette was in like every single movie and/or television show.  It was everywhere…even in Disney movies (just kidding… it wasn't but it felt like that).  As Tim mentions, the movie really is set up into three parts.  And after enduring the first two parts, it's really hard to watch the one of the final scenes.  The final scene shows how the war has changed all of these hopeful young kids into weary young adults.  This movie also shows a glimpse of how PTSD was not treated as a life-threatening mental illness.  After some of the main characters are captured with guns held to their head, they are expected to go home and resume their forever changed lives.  It's amazing how misunderstood and alone they seem.  I can't say I loved this movie but it's an important film and it's a great one.  I probably won't watch this too many more times and definitely not on a weeknight (because it's long and keeps me up worrying).  I think I'll watch Tangled now.  

John Cazale was very weak when filming began, and for this reason, his scenes were filmed first. Michael Cimino knew from the start that Cazale was dying from cancer, but the studio did not. When they found out, they wanted to replace Cazale. When Meryl Streep learned of their intentions, she threatened to quit if they did. Cazale died shortly after filming was completed.

Nick: I don't think about that much with one shot anymore, Mike.

Michael: You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about. A deer's gotta be taken with one shot.

Oscar Winners and Our Thoughts

This year's Oscars were pretty predictable. Ellen's hosting was pretty awesome.  She cracks me up!  It was interesting to see how poorly Kim Novak and Goldie Hawn have aged (with plenty of help from their surgeons) but Sidney Poitier, who I'm sure had no surgeons, was such a handsome older man.  I'm a little bummed that there was no love for my favorite movie, Nebraska.  I was surprised (pleasantly) that The Great Gatsby won two awards!  But none for Leo.  Poor Leo.  He's going to be the next Peter O'Toole.  Nominated for a million, winner of none.  An unexpected win for Lupita Nyong'o, I thought Jennifer Lawrence had it in the bag but it was nice to see Lupita win.  Both her, Jared Leto, and Cate Blanchett had great acceptance speeches.  There were a few odd ones, the shining moment was the acceptance for documentary where the "lead" sang a cappella gospel music… granted I wasn't totally paying attention immediately before this, so maybe someone asked her to or there was a better reason than that… but it seemed pretty weird.  All in all we had a blast predicting it.  I mean the Oscars are basically our Super Bowl.  We even went in on some local ballots with our guesses.  We haven't heard anything yet but we are still hopeful we'll win tons of free movie tickets!!  



Best Picture
Who we want to win:  Nebraska/ The Wolf of Wall Street
Who we think will win: 12 Years A Slave / 12 Years a Slave
Winner: 12 Years a Slave 

Best Actor
Who we want to win: Bruce Dern / Any of them except Bale
Who we think will win: Matthew McConaughey/ Matthew McConaughey 
Winner: Matthew McConaughey

Best Actress

Who we want to win: Meryl Streep / Cate Blanchett
Who we think will win:  Cate Blanchett/ Cate Blanchett
Winner: Cate Blanchett

Best Supporting Actor
Who we want to win:  Jonah Hill/ Michael Fassbender
Who we think will win: Jared Leto/ Jared Leto
Winner: Jared Leto

Best Supporting Actress
Who we want to win: June Squibb / June Squibb
Who we think will win: Jennifer Lawrence / Jennifer Lawrence/Lupita Nyong'o
Winner: Lupita Nyong'o


Animated Feature
Who we want to win:  Frozen / Frozen
Who we think will win: Frozen /  Frozen
Winner: Frozen

Cinematography
Who we want to win: Gravity / Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity
Winner: Gravity

Costume Design
Who we want to win: The Great Gatsby / 12 Years a Slave
Who we think will win: American Hustle / American Hustle
Winner: The Great Gatsby

Directing
Who we want to win: Gravity/ Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity
Winner: Gravity

Film Editing
Who we want to win: Gravity / Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity
Winner: Gravity

Makeup and Hairstyling 
Who we want to win: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Just so there can be an "Oscar Winning" Jackass movie / Dallas Buyers Club
Who we think will win: Dallas Buyers Club / Dallas Buyers Club
Winner: Dallas Buyers Club

Music: Original Score
Who we want to win: Her / Her
Who we think will win: Her / Gravity
Winner: Gravity

Music: Original Song
Who we want to win:  Let It Go/ Let it Go
Who we think will win: Let It Go / Let it Go
Winner: Let It Go

Production Design
Who we want to win: Her / Her
Who we think will win: Her / American Hustle
Winner: The Great Gatsby

Sound Editing
Who we want to win: Gravity /Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity
Winner: Gravity 

Sound Mixing 
Who we want to win: Gravity / Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity
Winner: Gravity

Visual Effects 
Who we want to win: Gravity/ Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity
Winner: Gravity

Best Adapted Screenplay
Who we want to win: Before Midnight / The Wolf of Wall Street
Who we think will win:  Before Midnight/ 12 Years a Slave
Winner: 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay
Who we want to win: Nebraska/ Her
Who we think will win: Her/ American Hustle
Winner: Her

The Working Title honorable mentions.

Worst Pronunciation of a Name: John Travolta for Adelle Dazeeb (Idina Menzel….obviously)

Most Awkward Phone Sex with Dead Cat: Kristin Wiig in Her

Grossest, Dirtiest Rodeo Sex:  Matthew McConaughey and anonymous dirty ho-bags in Dallas Buyers Club 

Best Impromptu Song in a Film: Matthew McConaughey's free-styling in The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Prosthetics: Jonah Hill…. for teeth and penis… in The Wolf of Wall Street

Oscar 2013 Predictions!

This year was a GREAT year for movies!  Here are our predictions! 

Best Picture
Who we want to win:  Nebraska/ The Wolf of Wall Street
Who we think will win: 12 Years A Slave / 12 Years a Slave

Best Actor

Who we want to win: Bruce Dern / Any of them except Bale
Who we think will win: Matthew McConaughey/ Matthew McConaughey 

Best Actress

Who we want to win: Meryl Streep / Cate Blanchett
Who we think will win:  Cate Blanchett/ Cate Blanchett

Best Supporting Actor

Who we want to win:  Jonah Hill/ Michael Fassbender
Who we think will win: Jared Leto/ Jared Leto

Best Supporting Actress

Who we want to win: June Squibb / June Squibb
Who we think will win: Jennifer Lawrence / Jennifer Lawrence/Lupita Nyong'o



Animated Feature
Who we want to win:  Frozen / Frozen
Who we think will win: Frozen /  Frozen

Cinematography

Who we want to win: Gravity / Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity

Costume Design

Who we want to win: The Great Gatsby / 12 Years a Slave
Who we think will win: American Hustle / American Hustle

Directing
Who we want to win: Gravity/ Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity

Film Editing

Who we want to win: Gravity / Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity

Makeup and Hairstyling 

Who we want to win: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Just so there can be an "Oscar Winning" Jackass movie / Dallas Buyers Club
Who we think will win: Dallas Buyer's Club / Dallas Buyers Club

Music: Original Score

Who we want to win: Her / Her
Who we think will win: Her / Gravity

Music: Original Song: 

Who we want to win:  Let It Go/ Let it Go
Who we think will win: Let It Go / Let it Go

Production Design
Who we want to win: Her / Her
Who we think will win: Her / American Hustle

Sound Editing

Who we want to win: Gravity /Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity

Sound Mixing 

Who we want to win: Gravity / Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity

Visual Effects 

Who we want to win: Gravity/ Gravity
Who we think will win: Gravity / Gravity

Best Adapted Screenplay

Who we want to win: Before Midnight / The Wolf of Wall Street
Who we think will win:  Before Midnight/ 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay

Who we want to win: Nebraska/ Her
Who we think will win: Her/ American Hustle

Wolf of Wall Street (2013 Nominee)

The Wolf of Wall Street is the true-life story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), a talented and ambitious but small-time stock broker that partners with Donny Azoff (Jonah Hill) to start the very successful Stratford-Oakmont, a brokerage firm that gained notoriety by gaining profits with penny stocks.

This movie was like Flight where you are watching it and you can't even believe that people can actually function with that amount of drugs in their system.  The only thing different was, it was an [bleeping] blast!  I mean it was funny but intense.  Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio were awesome.  Leo carried the movie but Jonah had all the best lines and his weirdo teeth are mesmerizing...you seriously can't look away.  To add to the awesomeness, this was Rob Reiner's first film in almost ten years! My favorite line uttered by this brilliant man was: "Who the f**k has the god d*mn gall to call this house on a Tuesday night?"  Classic.  OH and by the way, this movie used the "F" word 506 times making it the film with the most "F" bombs ever.  So if that word makes you sensitive…. you should just skip this one.  Just in case you need proof: http://variety.com/2014/film/news/wolf-of-wall-street-breaks-f-word-record-1201022655/ttp://variety.com/2014/film/news/wolf-of-wall-street-breaks-f-word-record-1201022655/.  Because the "F" word is the least of your problems.  What you should be worried about is the prosthetic penis, near death by a piece of ham, candles in unusual place and all the blow and prostitutes that money can buy.  That being said, it's a great movie about the rise and inevitable fall of Jordan Belfort.  The amazing thing about the editing is this crazy, fast-paced film will make you think the editors were encouraged to snort some cocaine before they got to work.  Seriously. 

In the last few blogs, I’ve already claimed that Gravity is the most significant technical achievement and 12 Years a Slave is likely the most accomplished film of this year. But despite all of that, The Wolf of Wall Street is my favorite film of the year that I will certainly revisit the most often. I will admit right away that I am likely biased since I am a Scorsese disciple that would basically award all of his films with Best Picture, but it’s hard to argue when he proves himself time and time again as the greatest American film director alive at the very least. It seems that the controversy over this film was in high gear before it even came out, with many claiming that it glorified Jordan Belfort and his criminal activities and lifestyle instead of condemning it. Apparently these people do not fully grasp the concept of satire and did not see the same film I did; Scorsese is a master filmmaker that is capable of much more than just a this-or-that approach. Not one to settle into any one style or become stale with age, Scorsese still has many surprises even for his hardcore fans. Just when you think this is going to be another in the Goodfellas or Casino mold in which the protagonist breaks the fourth wall to explain how everything works, Belfort will interrupt himself to say something like, “you know it doesn’t really matter, the point is we made a ton of f$#!%@# money.” The Wolf of Wall Street will have you laughing uncontrollably before the guilt sets in that you are laughing at gullible but innocent lower-middle class people getting screwed, and that essentially you are cheering for the wrong team… unless you belong to that upper echelon of society, in which case you may not feel the guilt and are likely a part of the problem anyway. In the film’s first thirty minutes or so, you may find yourself shrugging off the controversy like it’s not that excessive, but by film’s end, you will have seen more drug use, nudity and profanity than in any R-rated film you can remember. DiCaprio’s fabulous performance, brimming with twitchy, drug-addled energy matches the material and easily earns another nomination and likely another disappointing loss for him. There are too many spectacular supporting performances to name them all, but one that truly deserves mention is Jonah Hill, up for his second Oscar this year. His shared scene with DiCaprio in which they are so high on Quaaludes that they are only capable of groaning and drooling at each other is the pinnacle of how pathetic their characters really are and is one of the riskiest and best scenes in any film this year. It’s fantastic to see Hill really bloom as an actor; the guy who professed himself the “Iron Chef of pounding vag” in 2007’s Superbad is now nominated for Oscars and appearing in Scorsese and Tarantino films, so miracles can happen. Some will find the ending to this film aggravating since Belfort’s consequences don’t seem to be proportional to the suffering he’s caused nor does he seem to truly change for the better, and they would be right. And therein lies the satire- that people that live in Belfort’s economic bracket can screw over their friends to get out of trouble, buy their way out of the same rules that everyone else has to play by and may even be elevated as heroes thanks to a society with dangerously misguided priorities. Who’s laughing now? Despite the fact that it will likely lose most if not all of its Oscar nominations due to the controversy, I predict that time will look very kindly upon this film. The fact that Scorsese could pull this off without mocking the audience and still make for an incredibly entertaining and fast-paced film makes it my favorite of the year.

Real-life Jordan Belfort appears in a brief role in the film's final scene, introducing his cinema stand-in Leonardo DiCaprio. As accurately portrayed, Belfort is now a motivational speaker who previously served 22 months in federal prison for stock fraud.

Jordan Belfort: Let me tell you something. There's no nobility in poverty. I've been a poor man, and I've been a rich man. And I choose rich every fucking time.  

(I swear mom, it was impossible to find a quote without the "F" word…)