10:00AM - Amour
12:20PM - Lincoln
3:20 PM - Argo
5:35 PM - Django Unchained
9:30 PM - Les Miserables
12:30 AM - Zero Dark Thirty
3:20 AM - Life of Pi
5:40 AM - Silver Linings Playbook
7:55 AM - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Amour - Smart of the organizers to put this movie early because otherwise people would probably just sleep through it. Beautifully acted and actually tightly edited so that the story moves along, considering it takes place entirely in one apartment and about 85% of screen time is taken by the two lead characters, a husband and wife dealing with old age and declining health. As many people around me commented, it was kind of brutal way to start things off at 10 in the morning. Nobody likes to think about getting old and dependent on others for daily care. But the movie reminds us that love is not just for the young. Everything we do that's important in life, we do for love.
Lincoln - I'd seen most of Lincoln when it first came out but missed the end because I wanted to see Perks of Being a Wallflower. I think this movie was the marathon's most inspiring tales, even with the liberties the screenplay took with history. Daniel Day-Lewis is a deserving three-time Oscar-winning actor and gives the performance of a lifetime - hard to know what he can do for an encore. Spielberg redeems himself somewhat from the meandering Oscar-nominated War Horse last year, which I felt lacked his special touch.
Django Unchained - I skipped Argo (since I saw it with Morgan) to pick up some things for my Oscar party and came back in time to see this one, which was pure Tarantino, a revenge tale about a slave turned bounty hunter in the Civil War era. I describe this movie as a buddy-bounty hunter movie, with Christoph Waltz turning in an Oscar-winning performance opposite Jamie Foxx. Waltz builds and condenses his previously-honored performance in Inglorious Basterds, and Tarantino's winning script keeps the story on track through all the Pulp Fiction-style shootouts. I kind of wish Kill Bill had been this tightly scripted, but I'm still hoping he will remix it someday.
Les Miserables - Anne Hathaway. That's all that needs to be said about this adaptation of the Broadway musical. What she did in 15 minutes singing "I Dreamed a Dream" was shattering. I have never seen an actor appear so convincingly naked on screen, conveying emotions with such intensity and authenticity. Like Daniel Day-Lewis, it will be a hard act to follow, for her and everyone else. In fact, I felt the whole rest of the movie, as good as it was, just couldn't compete with her towering performance at the beginning. I'm tearing up even now just thinking about it.
Zero Dark Thirty - I enjoyed this movie, but this was where I started fading a bit. I shouldn't have stayed so long at Liz's Mardi Gras party Friday night. I found this movie hard to follow, and during a slow section right before the raid commenced, I nodded for a bit before the helicopter crash woke me up. I actually felt that SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden on the National Geographic channel was a better-paced film about the same subject. And it's hard for me to watch Jessica Chastain and not see her in her nominated role in last year's The Help.
Life of Pi (in 3D) - Cast Away with a tiger instead of a volleyball. Did anyone else have that reaction to this movie? While reserving full judgment because I dozed off about 30 minutes until the end, I didn't enjoy this movie as much as I though I would. I found the 3D distracting and fatiguing and the sound overly amped up. But from what I understand, the finale is what ties it all together to make a spiritual revelation so I will have to try it again on my 2D screen at home someday.
Silver Linings Playbook - I drifted off during the exposition part of this movie between when the main character comes home from the mental hospital and making his deal with J-Law's character, but I got enough from context to understand what was going on. I feel badly for Bradley Cooper, who in any other year would have been a serious Best Actor contender but got steamrolled by Daniel Day-Lewis' singular performance. All of the acting performances were really good (it was the only film to have nominees in all four acting categories) and director David O. Russell is becoming an Oscar favorite.
Beasts of the Southern Wild - Starting a movie at 7:55 am after being up all night is not an ideal situation. So with this movie, I drifted off during the fantasy elements (which someone compared to Where the Wild Things Are) and came back during the scenes between the father and daughter. Certainly Quvenzhane Wallis' performance was astounding and deserved her nomination. This is a small budget movie so it's hard to compare to movies like Lincoln and Les Miz. In a way, it tackles the same themes of love and death as Amour, but from the viewpoint of a child instead of an elderly person.
I got home about 10 am on Sunday and Puck was in the shower just waking up. They snuggled with me as I crawled into bed until 4 pm, when I woke to prep for the Oscar party. Piper came over at 6:30 with her portion of the menu, which was:
- ARGO Tea
- ZERO DARK dIRTY martinis
- LINCOLN logs - Chinese sausages with scallions, dipped in hoisin sauce
- LES Mushrooms (arugula and goat cheese stuffed mushrooms)
- LIFE OF PIneapple and mANGO UNCHAINED fish tacos
- SILVER LININGS cupcakes - mini cupcakes in foil wrappers
- S'AMOURs - chocolate fondue with marshmallows and graham crackers
Here's the recipe for my fish tacos (I doubled amounts to make two pounds of fish), which I served with flour tortillas, Newman's Own pineapple and mango salsas, fresh chopped cilantro, onions, and avocado, sliced jalapenos, sour cream, and the ground habanero chile powder Meador gave me from Houston.
1 lime, juiced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP honey
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt.
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 lb. fresh tilapia
Combine the first nine ingredients in a large zip-top bag. Add the fish, seal, and marinate in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours.
Heat a grill, or large non-stick skillet, over medium-high. Brush pan or grill with oil. Remove the fish from its marinade and place directly on the hot grill or pan. Sear 1-3 minutes, or until lightly charred on one side. Gently flip each fillet, and cook for another minute, or until flaky and opaque all the way through.
Beth tied me for most correct picks with 13 apiece, so she won my grand prize of a $50 AMC Theaters gift card. K-Rand won the first prize of the night, a leather bound journal, for picking Best Film Editing. Piper and Liz won prizes for picking the surprize winner of Best Supporting Actor. Josh took home my extra AMC marathon poster as a consolation prize.
It was a super-fun TSMC event, and I loved the energy of people in the room - so much laughter and good humor. It was the first time visiting for Liz and Josh, so now they know the lay of the land. Next up for TSMC is the finale of our Firefly marathon on Wednesday, when I expect I'll see Chelsea, Natalie and one or both of the Katies.
