The Tree of Life, Hugo, and The Descendants

By Jess Witkins on February 21, 2012

The Oscars are just one week away and I’m trying to catch all the films available before the event to up my chances of picking the winners. I’m also busy planning the decor and menu for the party. I’ve got the schwag bags started for prizes, and they are gooood!

So here’s the final review on some of the hottest nominees for Best Picture. Stay tuned at the end to enter Jess’ Ultimate Oscar Win Contest!

The Tree of Life

This film is not for everyone. If you hate really artsy, existential movies where the cinematography is really the height of the story, then you probably won’t make it all the way through this movie. I did like the film. It’s artsy, thought-provoking, and the cinematography was like watching Planet Earth all over again! The main story tells that of a family in the 50’s parented by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain (nominated for Moneyball and The Help). Their three boys are growing up in a household where life isn’t perfect. There are good times and bad, and interspersed with that theme of a father and son’s relationship is some of the most breathtaking natural images of science and space.

Does this film stand a chance for Best Picture? I doubt it. But I think it’s an incredibly well made and poignant film written and directed by Terrence Malick. The footage is breathtaking and there are some scenes where the essence of life is so beautifully blended between the family and the natural element that you can’t help but look at it with awe.

Hugo

Nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Costumes, Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, Hugo appears to be the race winner. The titled lead, Hugo, is a boy who lives in the train station, desperately trying to piece together an automaton, a magician’s machine he and his father were working on before his father’s death.

The film creates a wonderful and imaginative world inside the clocks at the train station as well as the city of Paris. The costumes and music are well coordinated to the setting, but what I loved the most is the colorful array of characters and their body language. The picture seems as though minute detail was taken with every extra and every corner of the set. I loved Sacha Baron Cohen as the Station Inspector!

Hugo could very well be the film to beat at the Oscars. Scorsese certainly earned the Best Directing nomination! And with so many other categories functioning together all in the same film, why wouldn’t the Academy select this one? Don’t quote me yet, but I think the film picked will be Hugo, though I’m secretly rooting for The Help.

The Descendants

Will this be the year for George Clooney? I’m going to say no. But I could be incredibly surprised with the Best Actor category. The Descendants is an incredibly well made film with honest characters and true to life acting of them. Clooney is great as Matt King, a father who struggles to keep his family sane after his wife ends up in a coma from a boating accident. The chemistry between Clooney and the two young actresses (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) playing his daughters is really quite charming, and I don’t know why unexpected, but it was.

I definitely recommend this movie for any audience. Note* There is a lot of swearing. The message of family is strong and presented in an equal balance of big and small picture, tough times and funny ones. I like how they picked a paradise of a setting like Hawaii and blended it with the real issues we all face. Definitely a film I’d watch again.

Jess’ Ultimate Oscar Challenge!

I’m going to list the nominees for 4 big categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. Vote for your picks below. All entries must be submitted before Sunday at 6pm. The commenter with the most correct answers wins AN AMAZON GIFT CARD!!! And an array of Oscar themed fun like recipes and movies! Don’t you want in? Here are the categories; I’ll see ya’ll below!