Memento

Tali: Memento follows the story of Leonard Shelby as he tries to piece together the events surrounding his wife's mysterious rape and death. Trouble is Leonard suffers from a form of amnesia - he is unable to make new memories. As a result, he has set up a system for himself on how to "remember" his clues to solve the murder. The film is set-up in reverse chronological order. This creates the world's biggest mind fuck, leaving you more and more confused with less and less understanding as to what in gods name is happening. Brilliantly written and executed, you find yourself wanting to watch this film for hours, because you never know when it will end (err.. begin?). Don't expect to have a full understanding of the story when you are finished; only expect to be entertained and intrigued.

Leo: When I first saw the movie I was just completely baffled by, well, how baffled I was from simply trying to piece the movie together. You make a judgment about one of the characters but then realize you had it backwards....or did you? The characters in the movie fuck with you and the protagonist in the same sort of way. Who is who? Who's intentions are what? Who's on the phone? You never fully understand any of it and it's almost better to accept that. It's one of the smartest and most entertaining movies I've ever seen. If Christopher Nolan wasn't Christopher Nolan, I'd say this was hands down his best movie, but it was only the beginning of his streak of amazing movies.

Children of Men

Tali: Children of Men is the kind of movie that makes you hold your breath in anticipation and it isn't until the end of the film that you realize you've bitten all of your fingernails in excitement. Set in the not-so-distant future where everything that could go wrong has, Theo (Clive Owen, yum) is thrusted onto mission to escort Kee (the only pregnant woman on earth in almost 20 years) to a safe haven that may not even exist. This is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. The stakes are constantly raised and the futuristic world is set up in such a way that you truly believe this can happen in our world too. The dystopic take on the new world is so depressing and miserable that all you want out of life for those two hours is for that baby to be okay. OH! and it has Michael Caine as a long haired, pot-smoking hippie (FTW).

Leo: When I was originally recommended to watch this movie by a few friends, some of them mentioned "like V for Vendetta". I love V for Vendetta, but I'm very pleased that this was nothing like it. The war scenes in this movie were incredibly well done and it was at the same time on the line of unrealistic and too realistic / close to home - but it did not cross either line. SPOILERS AHEAD It's hard to think what could have been better in the movie, when Julianne Moore died I was surprised more than anything and I'm generally not easy to surprise. She was listed as one of the main actors and everything. She probably didn't even have to die plot-wise, but when she did it set the mood for the entire movie. Everyone I was watching it with looked around wide-eyed and went "holy........shit......". Great movie, everyone should see it.

Hugo

Tali: Hugo tells the tale of a young orphan who lives (and secretly works) inside a train station in 1920's Paris, France. Obsessed with the clockwork machinary his father championed, this little boy goes on a quest of sorts to uncover the mysteries of his father, as well as the local toy shop owner. I resisted seeing this movie for quite some time because I honestly thought it was for children. But after careful consideration I FINALLY saw it (it's 11 Oscar nominations helped considerablly). Hugo embraces its mystical and fantastical elements quite well and balances them with adult messages and storylines. There are certainly thematic elements of The Artist and Extremely Loud/Incredibly Close in this film, but what seperate's it from the rest is the ability to capture a varied audience and to inspire hope and magic (which I thought EL/IC did not). I was disapointed by Scorcese's upset over Directing. Sasha Baron Cohen's attempt at smiling is priceless.

Leo: Hugo was in my opinion the most worthy of an Oscar out of the nominated movies that I actually had an opportunity to see, though I did not actually see The Artist. It was filled with the wonder that comes with being a child on an adventure, making discoveries that amazes even adults. The movie was very entertaining between the plot and the actual scene-by-scene action, including lots of genuine comedy. The characters were interesting and you had to care about them, even the grumpy old man, and appreciate the art that was being shown off. All in all, great movie.

Midnight in Paris

Tali: Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen's latest film. And in true Allen style, the film opens and looks and sounds and feels like all of his films, and if you are an Allen fan (like I am) than you know you're in for something great. The film follows Gil (Owen Wilson) as he mysteriously travels back in time each night to Paris in the 1920's and meets all of his idols. The film tackles the grand theme of nostalgia and idealizing the idea of going back to a "Golden Age." I honestly have to say that this film perhaps showcases Wilson's best work - he is a believeable, romantic and naive. I even found myself - not knowing much about the 1920's - wanting to become more and more involved in the lives of Hemmingway and Stein (although isn't odd, that Gertrude Stein, the most famous American lesbian of the 20th century, is portrayed as almost completely asexual?). Definitely a must-see and I would say a delight for seasoned and new Allen fans alike.

The Descendants

Tali: The Descendants is a dark comedy staring George Clooney and centers on his character Matt's struggle to parent to (slightly out of control) daughters (Alex and Scottie) while dealing with a cheating wife who is in a coma. I do not know why I didn't see this film sooner - I felt very captivated by the story, the character's pain and development and oddly felt a part of the story and wanted to keep watching and discovering (which is probably the mark of a good film). I would have to disagree with Leo (see below) and argue that the revenge/closure plot Matt and Alex go on was very moving, troubling, sad and exciting all at the same time. Very touching film, but definitely not Best Picture worthy.

Leo: The Descendents was a very....interesting film. It was set up like a comedy, but it was more like a, well, comedy with one “holy balls” moment when it’s revealed that the wife was cheating.  Both the acting and dialogue were excellent, especially the older daughter and George Clooney. The plot was very plain since the cheating was revealed, and it felt like that could have even been the climax of the movie, but it was in the first chunk. Still, it’s definitely up there with other top dark comedies.

The Artist

Tali: The Artist is a French romantic film set in 1920's/30's Hollywood and follows the rise and fall of a silent film star. Of course, the buzz around this film is that it is (almost completely) silent. As a fan of the studio era of Hollywood, I found this homage to classic cinema completely refreshing and very entertaining. Everything from facial expressions to the score were perfectly orchastrated and executed exquisitely. Everything about this movie was solid gold right down the amazing performance of Uggie the dog (people are actually mad that he did not get nominated for anything)! Unfortunately I watched this film with a group of people who were not as enthusiastic about the film as I was and this definitely had an impact on my viewing pleasure. After the Oscar's I will be watching this film again to catch anything I may have missed. (and probably many more times after that... just cause).