Oscar best picture nominees in quick review:
Juno (d. Jason Reitman)
I found this charming, if rather obviously aiming to be lovably quirky and indie. I really like Ellen Page as Juno - I think, in portraying a prickly kind of character, her best work is in the glimpses of the softer girl inside. Michael Cera is adorable, even if he is playing the same character as always; the rest of the supporting cast are great (particularly J.K. Simmons as Juno's dad, and Jennifer Garner as the uptight but desperately maternal Vanessa) and do their best even with broadly characterised parts. I like where the story went though, ethically tricky as it could've been, not judging Juno for becoming pregnant, not judging her nor explaining in depth the choices she makes, just allowing her to be a confused but smart sixteen year old with some big decisions to navigate.
No Country for Old Men (d. Joel and Ethan Coen)
Bleak but beautiful in its cruel way. Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) takes $2million out of a drug deal gone wrong, and a scarily focussed killer (Javier Bardem) tracks him down for a form of justice. There are some immensely suspenseful moments in this, the pacing just-so for them maximum heart-in-mouth moments, and the killings, even as they decrease in violence, increase in meaning and heartache. Excellent supporting cast - Tommy Lee Jones plays his straightforward sheriff with just the right amount of bewilderment and wisdom as he contemplates a world more violent than he can patrol, and Kelly Macdonald really surprises as Moss' southern wife.
There Will Be Blood (d. Paul Thomas Anderson)
This has a fantastically tight and interesting first half, but then it meanders and comes apart under the weight of its own ambitions. Daniel Day-Lewis is good as Daniel Plainview, but in that epic histrionic way; Paul Dano has his moments as brothers Eli and Paul Sunday, but in that finale just loses against the insanity of Day-Lewis' Plainview (in so many ways). I felt the movie's 2hr 40min running time greatly by the end. It does do some wonderful things in conveying concepts of family and greed in the struggle of the man within the monster. Loved the use of sound and score, particularly in that sparse beginning, with the shrill alien noises against the empty landscape, the rhythm of the mines as Plainview works his way to a fortune.
