On the Waterfront

Add another Best Picture winner to my "viewed" list! I'm so glad I decided to start keeping track of this incredibly important stuff :)

I wasn't sure whether I would like this or not, but I LOVED it. Old movies don't always hold my interest and sometimes they come off to me as being almost slapsticky because of the intensely dramatic music. In this case, it worked.

I don't know if I've ever seen Marlon Brando in anything else, but I loved his character in this movie and thought he did a fantastic job. This movie pulled off what I thought The Town did not. And I have no idea why that movie popped into my head more than once while watching On the Waterfront because the storyline wasn't even similar. But for some reason, that's what I was reminded of.

For whatever reason, I have a soft spot for boxers as movie characters. Maybe it's because Rocky was so popular when I was growing up. But I'm a big fan of boxing movies (and, strangely, not a huge fan of the sport in real life.) I've heard the "I coulda been a contenda" speech before, but never in the context of the movie itself. Awesome.

Karl Malden was awesome as Father Barry and I fell completely head-over-heels in love with Eva Marie Saint. I've seen her in more recent stuff, but this role was incredible. Her bio on IMDb says that she "brought 'real acting' in a time when melodrama still ran rampant in the industry" and I completely understand what is meant by that. Phenomenal job. Looks like I need to rent North by Northwest sometime soon!

I haven't seen any of the other 1954 movies nominated for Best Picture, but I can absolutely see why this won the awards it did. Almost 60 years later, it's still relevant and still packs a huge emotional punch.

Can't wait to watch this again!

Casablanca

Can you believe I've never seen this until tonight?!

I recorded it from TCM's 31 Days of Oscar... and I almost turned if off. This was a very weird movie for me, because I really didn't like it. Until the end. Now I'm obsessed with it and want to watch it again!!!

(I'm trying to label my tags, but some of the categories have changed since 1943. I'm matching them up as closely as I can with the modern categories to make it easier to search.)

The King's Speech

I saw my last Best Picture nominee today! This was an excellent movie. It was just slightly dry in some spots, but wickedly funny in others. (Overall, it was excellent.) I can't say enough about Colin Firth's performance. It was stellar. The only other time I've felt so strongly about a nomination was in 2001 when Sean Penn was nominated for his role in I Am Sam. (He lost to Denzel Washington in Training Day, which I still think is a travesty.)

Anyway, between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, if a movie was just based on the acting alone I think this would be my choice. And I have nothing bad to say about it... I just think Inception was better. And I loved 127 Hours and The Social Network.

Helena Bohham Carter was so quietly good in this movie. I adore her. She is quirky and a fabulous actress. Very deserving of her nomination.

Well, I'm ready now! Bring on the Oscars!!!