The Imitation Game (2014)

The Imitation Game
Directed by Morten Tyldum

The momentum that this film is getting baffles me.  Don't get me wrong.  I thought that it was well made, charming and entertaining enough.  The ensemble was great.  Benedict Cumberbatch was good.  Matthew Goode was good, though I feel that he was sorely underused.  Keira Knightley was the only one whom I think was worth the buzz.  Her work is not groundbreaking or anything like that, but she was really memorable and great in it.  After finishing the film, it was her that I remember the most.  It must be my Knightley-addiction phase.  Anyway.  C+

Citizenfour (2014)

Citizenfour
Directed by Laura Poitras

Hands down, the scariest film of the year!  And it is not even categorically a horror film!  Heck it is even scarier and creepier than "Babadook!

The documentary presented its story quite clearly and very direct to the point.  It did not swerve.  That is the only way they can get their message across.  Not to scare.  Not to make people paranoid or anything.  But it presented its story with a sense of urgency.  You need not be familiar with the industry or the field that the documentary was tackling because it is a message for all. And all those made the film more effective.  After watching the film I feared for my privacy.  I felt like I was being watched.  A-

Kreuzweg (2014)

Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross)
Directed by Dietrich Bruggemann

"Stations of the Cross" is a story about a girl whose life followed what happened to Jesus Christ in the Stations of the Cross, in a modernized sans crucifixion kinda way.  It was composed of 14 cut-less, predominantly static shots to represent each station.

The film was intriguing at first and left me guessing at first, but as the story unfolded it became chilling in a good (heck great) way, scary weird and was just awesome.  I did not know that it was going to be like that and I loved the movie for that.  It was a different and original take on sacrifice, religion, family and faith.  I just could not get those last stations out of my head!  It was really that good.  Not to mention the haunting performance of the Lea van Acken as Maria.  But it was Francziska Weisz who gave the best in cast performance as Maria's mother.

The structure and film reminded me of Michael Haneke, only with more sympathy for the characters, much like, say, Amour, only with Catholic fanatics as cast.  It was deceptively simple in form but it is that, that is missing in most films nowadays.  I was just blown away.  Truly it was one of the year's bests.  A+

2015 Film Log #2: Unbroken (2014)

UnbrokenDirected by Angelina Jolie

For what it was, Angelina Jolie seems to be on the right track to becoming a great filmmaker one day.  The film had its heart in the right place and the message of inspiration and unbroken spirit ring loud and clear.  However it was Jolie's voice that got lost somewhere.  When I was watching, it was undeniably a work of Roger Deakins but had I not known that Jolie directed the film before seeing it, I would have said a different director made it.  Probably the storytelling was far too common for the somewhat eccentric actress, or maybe that it lacked the sense of being risky.  In Project Runway's terminologies, the film was too safe.

The end result was a tinge satisfying, uplifting war film that could have been more.  There were some great moments but all in all it was gorgeously lensed, aptly acted, technically beautiful dud.  C-

SAG 2015: Very Late Reaction

Awards Daily SAG Prediction Contest

I don't mean to brag, but for this case allow me to, just a bit.  Okay?

Yearly, AwardsDaily do this sort of prediction contest and I join everytime.  This year I joined again and I got 5/5 of the film categories correctly.  Let me rundown the categories one by one.

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Arquette is Oscar bound and she is the clear frontrunner.  I do not see anyone beating her anymore.  The closest to an upset for this category is Emma Stone (Birdman) or probably uhmm... Meryl Streep (Into the Woods) because she is after all Meryl Streep.  But really, this is Arquette's to lose and maybe come Oscar time she will have her speech memorized.
If I were a SAG voter: I'd probably pick Arquette as well.

Best Supporting Actor: JK Simmons (Whiplash)
Great speech giving kudos to every actor in the film.  That's a classy act.  Also, like Arquette, Simmons is bound to win that Oscar though there is still a chance that Norton (Birdman) can pull off an upset, which is not that farfetch, methinks.  I do sometimes think that Simmons is a co-lead in the film, so sometimes I like Hawke's performance more.
If I were a SAG voter: Edward Norton (Birdman) since I really think that Simmons is Lead.  But if I get convinced that he is supporting, then Simmons gets my vote.

Best Actress: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Another great speech.  And Juli looks really happy and radiant.  Now with Aniston out of the picture, I see Moore finally, and let me stress that out, FINALLY, Moore is going home the winner.
If I were a SAG voter:  Given the list of nominees, my vote goes to Rosamund Pike.  However if Moore is nominated for Maps to the Stars, then she gets my vote.

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Hollywood really is gaga over actors in biopics much so if the character is an alcoholic or has a disease or something.  So him winning here did not surprise me at all (and I predicted it *bragging*) That said, Redmayne was great in the film and a part of me says that he deserves it.  Is it the best performance of the bunch?  Maybe not, but the performance is Oscar worthy.
If I were a SAG voter:  Keaton fans are gonna hate me but I do think Redmayne is better.

Best Ensemble: Birdman
No real surprise here since the film, after all, is an ensemble work.  But it got me worried for Boyhood's BP chances in the Oscars.  Birdman now is gunning for the top prize as well. There may be a split coming, Birdman takes BP, Linklater takes best director.  That could happen.  But I do hope Boyhood takes it.
If I were a SAG voter: Birdman gets my vote as well, since it is really an ensemble piece after all.

Like a Fool

I am still on a Keira Knightley high having recently seen "Laggies".  It got me to think how great she really was in "Begin Again".   I listened to the soundtrack of that film again and I just realized that the song "Like a Fool" was the best song in the film.  Best in terms of the song working all the right emotional pulls in that scene.  Now you get to reminisce that moment with me and fall in love with it.

2015 Film Log #1: Laggies (2014)

Keira Knightley in "Laggies"

Laggies
Directed by Lynn Shelton

I know I promised that I will make the blog more personal and not restrict to posting about movies that I see, but I'd also like the blog to monitor the hours I spend watching.  So every now and then I will be posting REACTIONS not REVIEWS to films/shows that I see and albums/songs that I listen to.  That entails me ranking them probably by the year end, as tradition.  Also me giving letter grades to them.  Anyway.  Enough with the explaining.

"Laggies" is quite a charming film.  It is not groundbreaking or anything. but what it lacks in innovation, it makes up with charm and not to mention that Keira Knightley gave a wonderful performance.  It was nice seeing her, in her prime, acting as douche-y, bum-y woman.  2014 was a great year for her and this is one of her bests, to date.  Sam Rockwell was good as well.  It was nice to see him quite loose than usual.  But really it was a showcase of Knightley's comic timing, and indeed it was.  It's a shame that her comic works last year did not get the attention it deserved, not even in the Golden Globes ( I would have her nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical in "Begin Again".  After all that film was a comedy and a musical and she was great in it).

The story was banal yet at times quirky, which made it palatable.  There were also moments of wit that I quite liked.  The mixbag of quirky and cliche characters were okay at best.  It was funny and witty enough for me to take in the sap and the sometimes cliche moments.  But all in all, it was a solid entertaining film.  B-

New Blog... Again

So...  Then again I decided to go back to using Blogger.  I do not know why, really.  My first blog was hosted here.   RacsO Ledger, back then when I was still not used to using my actual name, at least online that is.  Short sidestory.  I looked through my posts there and saw how I evolved in a way.   Evolved in terms of how and what I write about.  My preference in films somewhat changed as well.  Still populist, yes, but I guess I explored more.  More than the usual Hollywood fare offerings.  I have also grown to LOVE films coming from the Philippines, where I am from.  Anyway.

I decided to transfer blog host because I wanted my blog to be more personal than it was before.  I tried making my blog personal, but I always end up just writing about movies or about Oscars.  A lot has changed already and I think I have a lot more to write about.  Still predominantly about movies, but just more.

As a start of my new(ish, this is my fourth if I remember it right) blog, I'd like to introduce myself.  I am Carl Joseph Papa.  Yes that really is my name.  Some would know be by my online alter ego, Douglas Racso.  As of this writing I am twenty eight years old and I will be a year older in couple of months.  I'd like to think of myself as a filmmaker, since that was my dream for the longest time.  What's different now than before is that I actually made films.   I made  a handful of animated and live action short films, some of them available someplace online.  Some of  my shorts were shown in some local and international film festivals, in competition and in exhibition.  I made my first feature film last year "Ang 'Di Paglimot ng mga Alaala", a personal project of mine.

But enough about my films.  For now.

I love films and making them.  I also dreamt of becoming a musician when I was in my late teen years.  I think I can sing.  I hope so.  I play the guitar.  Very basic though.  I never got the chance to improve on playing the guitar.  But my mediocre to poor guitar playing skills works for me, so I am happy with that.

What's going to be different?  I promise nothing, but I plan to make it more than just about the movies I see.   I would also like to blog more.  Not just when I feel like blogging.

Anyway.  That's all for now.  More to come then...