Monster

What I know going in:
Charlize Theron plays Aileen Wuornos (yes, I actually know the character's name), a prostitute turned serial killer. Christina Ricci plays her friend/accomplice, maybe convinces Theron to start the killings. Eventually Theron is arrested and sent to prison (I've seen pictures of Charlize Theron in prison orange). Charlize Theron gained weight and wore prosthetics for her performance.

Why I'm watching:
1) Most recent Best Actress (or other acting award) I haven't seen. After this I jump back to 1995 with Dead Man Walking!

Monster (2003)

Nom: Actress (Charlize Theron)

Win: Actress

Transformation. Charlize Theron in this movie is such a huge shift from anything I've ever seen her do before. Wow! Not just the physical transformation, as pictured above, but her whole persona and mannerisms and voice. She is totally lost in the character, and it's amazing to watch. The character herself, though pitiable and understandable, is a pretty horrible person. Quick to anger, self-destructive, little respect for anyone but herself. The exception being Selby (Christina Ricci) of course. Going in, I thought there might be some latent homosensuality between the two lead actresses - boy was I wrong. The beginning of their relationship was so touching as two outcasts are brought together and seem like they can help each other deal with the circumstances of their lives. Which makes the trajectory of their relationship so much more tragic as they get to know each other more, and Wuornos' violent tendencies take over. 

As terrible a human being I find Wuornos, I feel I must say that I don't judge her too harshly for all her choices. She started off in a bad way, and when she tried to change her ways, she received no help. She honestly wasn't helping herself by telling everyone to fuck off constantly, but the degree of condescension was disgusting. And the cop who picks her up on the street after the big interview is disgusting. Her first kill is completely justified, but after that her justifications for killing and robbing "johns" become more and more forced.

She is clearly intelligent though, which makes it all sadder to me. Exemplified by when she figures out that Selby's phone call is being monitored and proceeds to exonerate Selby by confessing. Heartbreaking. 

Surprise appearance: Bruce Dern (of recent Nebraska fame). I definitely would have had no idea who he was before this past year. Most understanding and sweet man in the movie. If only he had been able to influence her more, maybe the killings may not have happened.

'da fuh'?: The massive shift that overtakes the 'john' she kills first when she hesitates to blow him for an extra $10. He knocks her unconscious and bloody, ties her up, and (here's the craziest part) covers his car seat in plastic. Why did he even have that in the car? Was that his plan all along?

"Please put out her grace's hair"

What I know going in:

I've actually seen most of this movie before, but I don't remember much. I remember that it takes place in the late 1700s and that Keira Knightley's character has an affair that causes a bunch of problems.

Why I'm watching:

Most recent film to win an award (Costume Design) that I haven't seen.

The Duchess (2008)

Noms: Art Direction and Costume Design

Win: Costume Design

It's a good damn thing that the costumes were fantastic - it's a huge aspect of the main character (Georgiana/Keira Knightley)  that she has amazing clothes and sense of style. She's a designer herself. Some of the outfits when she appropriates aspects of men's clothing are especially awesome. The clothes show her strength of character and that she challenges the traditional gender roles of Georgian England. The conversation where she explains why women's clothes are more complicated that men's is one of the best parts of the entire movie. On a different note, it's too bad for this film that hair-styling wasn't added to the make-up category until a few years ago. With the over the top wigs, they might have scored a third nomination.

Completely forgot that this has the American Revolution as a historical backdrop. It's not a huge deal, but it's interesting to see what was happening on the other side of the pond during the Revolution. I wish the political climate were more present throughout, unsurprisingly for me, but I concede that is not the point of the piece. 

Instead, her absolutely awful marriage is. UGH! Ralph Fiennes is so despicable in this. He plays the least sympathetic or likable character that I've ever seen him play. And this is the man who plays Voldemort in Harry Potter and the villain in Schindler's List. To me, this is still worse. He has no redeeming qualities or even scenes that make me understand where he's coming from. He marries a woman and immediately treats her like shit and has multiple affairs. Then she has the chutzpah to challenge him, and he makes her life even worse. "I don't make deals. Why would I? I'm in charge of it all." Oh yeah, he also forces her to raise on of his bastard children as her own. What a complete asshole. There are plenty of terrible people peppered throughout Georgiana's life. Her best friend fucks her husband. Her mom is a monster. Etc.

My roommate joined me for the last 20 minutes, and made the rest even more entertaining. He was a little over-tired and started commenting on the situations of the film as if he were on Jerry Springer. Needless to say: hysterical. Also oddly apt. 

In a lot of ways, I was reminded of another Keira Knightley movie while watching this: Anna Karenina. Costume drama about a society woman in a loveless marriage who has a dalliance with a young, exciting man of lower birth. Bad shit happens. I found Georgiana to be much more relatable, though whether that's the character or the circumstance, I don't know. Anna Karenina was more interesting in it's presentation though.

Surprise appearance: Georgiana's lover is played by the young romantic lead in Mamma Mia! (among other things). Even more surprising was the actress who plays Georgiana's twisted mother was on the last season of "Dexter" as a completely different, if equally demented, mother (Dr. Vogel).

Julia

What I know going in:
Julia, played by Vanessa Redgrave, is not the main character (Jane Fonda), but a friend to the main character that she visits in Europe.
Not contemporary to the 70s, maybe turn of the century (?).
Meryl Streep's first film role!
Jason Robards won for Supporting Actor. He plays a famous author, thought I can't remember who.

Why I'm watching:
1) 11 nominations!

2) Instant Watch on Netflix!

Julia (1977)

Noms: Picture, Director (Fred Zinneman), Actress (Jane Fonda), Supporting Actor (Jason Robards), Supporting Actor (Maxmillian Schell), Supporting Actress (Vanessa Redgrave), Editing, Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, Costume, Score

Wins: Supporting Actor (Robards), Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay

Once you get used to the Inception-style flashback structure (flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks), this movie is really enjoyable. It's almost like they smashed two completely genres into one film, and it works! There's the classic Oscar-baity drama about a woman reflecting on her life, then there's also the spy movie aspect. But the spy movie is focused not on a bad-ass kicking butt and taking names, but instead on a semi-bumbling intellectual who has stumbled into being in a super dangerous position. I found that aspect of the movie fascinating. It made me think about what I might do in a similar situation; whereas typical spy movies are so heightened, there is no way for me to see myself being in that story.

Jane Fonda was beautiful here, not only physically, in her ability to capture a character, who often does things that are very unlikable, yet Fonda is able to make her relatable and watchable. Watching someone having writer's block could have been super frustrating, but the flashbacks made it much more interesting. There were quite a few moments where I was like "what the fuck is wrong with you?" like when she almost left her hat on the train. It had been well established at that point that she just needed to do as she was told and she would be fine. She was told two things and she almost fucked up both! GAH! Yet I still liked her, as frustrating as she was. Also, the entire conversation about her sable coat is so annoying because it just screams of privilege, which is in stark contrast to the way that Julia is seen to live.

The supporting cast was wonderful too. I love Vanessa Redgrave in general, so I was super excited to see her here. She lit up the screen whenever she was there, and when she left I found myself waiting until her next seen with great anticipation. Beautiful. Jason Robards is not a face I am too familiar with, but I figured out pretty soon that he must be playing Dashiell Hammett. Beautifully understated, yet acerbic and funny. I also really enjoyed seeing Maximillian Schell since I've heard so much about him, but hadn't yet seen one of his performances. Meryl Streep. The foundation for a storied career starts with a minor role playing a society snob.

Costuming stood out a lot to me. Jane Fonda's wardrobe is fucking gorgeous, especially in the numerous red ensembles she wears - specifically the red dress seen a couple times, including a dream sequence, and the grey suit with the red blouse underneath. The costumer really did a great job of mixing strength with softness, a great mirror for the complexities of her character. Also, that hat: practical and fabulous.

"da fuh?": Other than the occasional, "the fuck is wrong with you"s directed at Lily, there weren't any moments that caught me totally off guard or struck me as wholly bizarre. But when I read about the film after watching, I was reminded of the controversy that Vanessa Redgrave's acceptance speech sparked. In her acceptance, she made reference to the conflict between Palestinians and Zionists in the Holy Land. Considering what's going on in that part of the world as we speak, I found the timing of my watching to be a little bit serendipitous.

Surprise appearance: Hal Holbrook (he's one of those actors that you've probably seen, but don't know his name). Is it me, or is his character wicked untrustworthy?