"Cold Mountain vs. LOTR:ROTK"
[Music || Jessica Simpson, "In This Skin"]
(1/29 Updated with "Mystic River" and "Freaky Friday")
Really? The front runners of Best Picture this year is boiled down to "Cold Mountain" and "Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King"? Granted, I have yet to see "Mystic River" (which I am not that excited about), but these two are very fine movies, but are far from my personal best.
Firstly, "Cold Mountain" is the better of the two. It's powerful. It strikes a chord with you. It has a message. It's beautiful to watch. It's well acted. Most of all, its greatness will divide audiences. Right off the bat, if the one does not connect with the brief encounter and flirtatious romance between Ada and Inman, they will not like the movie because the entire movie is based on that. "Cold Mountain" was a movie about hope, no matter how heartwrenching it may be as it showed the dark aspects of war. My favorite performance belonged to Natalie Portman in a short but lasting role as Sara, a widow fending for her child. It was absolutely heartbreaking. This movie resonated with me, but I am not rushing to watch it again because the war scenes are disturbing.
"Return Of The King" is a good movie; not a great one. It's better than "The Two Towers," but it is nowhere near the calibre of "The Fellowship of The Ring." "ROTK" tried very hard to compact many storylines within its 3.5 hours; the results is a mix bag of distraction and feeling of too much being squeezed in. I'm not saying that's an entirely bad thing; there was never a dull moment in this entertaining epic. "ROTK" is more popcorn and big battles than subtlety. The ensemble is amazing and deserves major props although none of them have enough individual screen time for me to see their characters develop. This is a great trilogy and snubbing "The Fellowship" was wrong. I don't think "ROTK" should be awarded Best Picture on its own merits; rather I think the Academy should award "ROTK" as an award to the wonderful trilogy, which put together is a modern day classic.
--
The Best of 2003 (Still to be updated)
1. (1) "Whale Rider"
2. (3) "Lost In Translation"
3. (5) "Pieces of April"
4. (NEW) "Cold Mountain"
5. (4) "thirteen"
6. (NEW) "Lord of The Rings: Return of The King"
7. (2) "L'auberge espagnole"
8. (6) "Lilya 4-ever"
9. (8) "X2: X-Men United"
10. (NEW) "Honey"
Honorable mention:
N/A (7) "Bend It Like Beckham"
N/A (10) "Spellbound"
N/A (Not eligible, US release date: April 2004) "Hero"
"Freaky Friday"
Guilty pleasures
1. "From Justin To Kelly"
2. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie"
3. "So Close"
4. "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" ("A la folie... pas du tout")
5. "The Eye"
6. "Honey"
7. "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life"
8. "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days"
Subpar
1. "Dirty Pretty Things"
2. "Identity"
3. "How To Deal"
4. "The Last Samurai"
5. "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde"
Borderline diss:
"The Matrix: Reloaded"
"Under The Tuscan Sun"
"A Mighty Wind"
"Mystic River"
[Music || Jessica Simpson, "In This Skin"]
(1/29 Updated with "Mystic River" and "Freaky Friday")
Really? The front runners of Best Picture this year is boiled down to "Cold Mountain" and "Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King"? Granted, I have yet to see "Mystic River" (which I am not that excited about), but these two are very fine movies, but are far from my personal best.
Firstly, "Cold Mountain" is the better of the two. It's powerful. It strikes a chord with you. It has a message. It's beautiful to watch. It's well acted. Most of all, its greatness will divide audiences. Right off the bat, if the one does not connect with the brief encounter and flirtatious romance between Ada and Inman, they will not like the movie because the entire movie is based on that. "Cold Mountain" was a movie about hope, no matter how heartwrenching it may be as it showed the dark aspects of war. My favorite performance belonged to Natalie Portman in a short but lasting role as Sara, a widow fending for her child. It was absolutely heartbreaking. This movie resonated with me, but I am not rushing to watch it again because the war scenes are disturbing.
"Return Of The King" is a good movie; not a great one. It's better than "The Two Towers," but it is nowhere near the calibre of "The Fellowship of The Ring." "ROTK" tried very hard to compact many storylines within its 3.5 hours; the results is a mix bag of distraction and feeling of too much being squeezed in. I'm not saying that's an entirely bad thing; there was never a dull moment in this entertaining epic. "ROTK" is more popcorn and big battles than subtlety. The ensemble is amazing and deserves major props although none of them have enough individual screen time for me to see their characters develop. This is a great trilogy and snubbing "The Fellowship" was wrong. I don't think "ROTK" should be awarded Best Picture on its own merits; rather I think the Academy should award "ROTK" as an award to the wonderful trilogy, which put together is a modern day classic.
--
The Best of 2003 (Still to be updated)
1. (1) "Whale Rider"
2. (3) "Lost In Translation"
3. (5) "Pieces of April"
4. (NEW) "Cold Mountain"
5. (4) "thirteen"
6. (NEW) "Lord of The Rings: Return of The King"
7. (2) "L'auberge espagnole"
8. (6) "Lilya 4-ever"
9. (8) "X2: X-Men United"
10. (NEW) "Honey"
Honorable mention:
N/A (7) "Bend It Like Beckham"
N/A (10) "Spellbound"
N/A (Not eligible, US release date: April 2004) "Hero"
"Freaky Friday"
Guilty pleasures
1. "From Justin To Kelly"
2. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie"
3. "So Close"
4. "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" ("A la folie... pas du tout")
5. "The Eye"
6. "Honey"
7. "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life"
8. "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days"
Subpar
1. "Dirty Pretty Things"
2. "Identity"
3. "How To Deal"
4. "The Last Samurai"
5. "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde"
Borderline diss:
"The Matrix: Reloaded"
"Under The Tuscan Sun"
"A Mighty Wind"
"Mystic River"
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