So I watched "Shadows and Beards" yesterday (aka Lincoln). Sacrilege alert! I wasn't amazed. Credit to Spielberg for the realism of candlelight in the pre-electricity era, but damn, even the day scenes were dark. Fine group of actors, some great individual scenes. Sally Field doing her always-solid "Southern crazy" and taciturn Tommy Lee with the SURPRISE ladyfriend reveal. Great costumes, gr eat sets, but LONG and SLOW... Daniel Day Lewis gets credit for what? Looking thin and tall and dealing with appliances and make-up? He was fine as Lincoln, but it's not like we have recordings to compare him to the real deal. This is inarguably the best produced movie about a sliver of Lincoln's life, but that doesn't make it the best film of the year... by a long shot. Side note: I have to say, the VERY FIRST scene kinda threw me out of it. To have those two soldiers mosey up to Lincoln's wagon and recite the speech like that? And one admitted that he coul...

I'mma say it... Les Miz is WAY over-rated. Sorry, Ms. Hathaway, I guess they're handing out nominations for dirty make-up and hair cuts, because your talk/singing was NOT the business. And what a whirlwind trip to degradation! You lose your job and five minutes later, it's down to the docks to sell your hair, teeth, dignity and health. Hugh Jackman, you're too skinny to play Valjean. He was s upposed to be this unbelievable strongman. Maybe I could have bought it if your singing voice was amazing... but it's not. All that hoarse emoting... did you graduate from the Christian Bale Academy of Growling? And Russell Crowe? REALLY? He's physically closer to a Valjean type, but with a voice like that, he may as well have been in the Liam Neeson version... OF THE BOOK. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter bring the (much-needed) comic relief, but this adaptation is fractured, messy and sleep-inducing. SORRY. P.S. Bonus points for set design, costumes, yadda, yadd...

I have finally seen Django Unchained and am open for discussion. First impressions: Looking at it through the lens of the Tarantino "Revenge" triptych (Kill Bills, Inglorious and Django) it does not feel as technically crafted as its predecessors. Yes, it's a "Spaghetti Western" and Tarantino has a fanatic devotion to his genre tropes. Yet... "Inglorious" feels like a full-bore WWII film (albe it one with darkly comical flourishes). "Kill Bill 1/2" is a pastiche of Kurasowa/Wuxia flicks with Blaxploitation and even Old West undertones... Stylized, but QT's craftsmanship is evident. "Django" suffers from QT's choice to frame it in the kitschy "Spaghetti" universe. To be certain, there were awesome performances. However, they are unbalanced by the more broad antics of the many supporting players. DiCaprio was amazing as the despicable Candie. Foxx had some really strong sequences too, though Django's meandering a...

Remember the Rankin Bass animated version of the Hobbit? Unexpected Journey is about the same... with slightly fewer songs. Ya know, I don't remember the story being so "Gandalf Ex Machina" but he LITERALLY leaves the group only to return exactly when they need him the most. Trolls (he brings the sunlight); Goblin King (he busts up their captors); Orc King (here come the eagles...) I could und erstand if he was tricking off with Galadriel, but there doesn't seem to be any rationale (other than to create false dramatic tension) for him to keep dipping out. Stay with the dwarves, Gandy! It's clear they don't have a chance without you. Also, H:UJ feels a LOT more CGI than the LOTR flicks. Most of the close-up goblins and orcs were practical effects in LOTR. Here, you have a LOT more talking characters as CGI creations... the aforementioned trolls are CGI, King Orc (and sub orcs), CGI; all the goblins, including the over-blubbery king (similar to the fat Gungan in...