So the Oscar nominations came out today. I'm not going to waste my time and yours analyzing the picks. You already know what I think about "Fruitvale Station" being left out, and I'm sorry "The Butler" didn't get some recognition. I think Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey might have gotten a nod for best actor and supporting actress. It's ridiculous Tom Hanks wasn't nominated. But it's all water under the bridge. I haven't talked about "Dallas Buyer's Club", and I really enjoyed the film. Matthew McConnehay was terrific, and Jared Leto quite striking as well. The story was riveting, and the pace kept me wide awake and amazed at how truth is stranger than fiction. It's not in the league as "Gravity", "12Years a Slave", "Captain Phillips" and others. But neither is "Philomena", which I found overly melodramatic and awful in the case of Judy Dench. Steve Coogan saved the film. He should have been up instead.
There was a film this year that I can't forget: "Elysium". This movie was riveting from the first moment to the last. There was action, mother love, life lessons, and then there is the message: universal health care is a human right and moral imperative, and we can't keep trashing our planet and moving on if we're lucky enough and rich enough. I cry every time I see the end of this film. Because it's subject is so important, and it pays attention to class and race and the growing inequities in our culture and others around the world. This film is a wake up call. The heart and soul of it is Matt Damon's performance, and he is his usual unshowy amazing self. Because he cares, we care. The overriding imagery is the locket the nun gave him as a child, a picture of earth from space, so he can remember how beautiful our planet is. This film expands the heart and mind. And in it's love of life and earth, it got there before "Gravity" came out. If you haven't already, please see this film. It is not just another sci-fi extravaganza. It means something. Actually, quite a lot.
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