Double Feature

March 2010 - What with the Oscars now allowing ten films to be nominated for Best Picture, you'd think I would have managed to see more than one of the nominated films. But, no. Inglourious Basterds is the only one I saw. I loved it, by the way.

Many of this year's nominees are no stranger to the Academy Awards. Meryl Streep, for example, earned another nod for Best Actress for her role in Julie & Julia. Since I didn’t see it, I'll talk about another film that earned Streep an Academy Award nomination, Doubt, rated PG-13.

The acting is great in this 2008 adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's stage play of the same name. Streep plays Sister Aloysius, the no-nonsense principal of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964. Philip Seymour Hoffman is Father Flynn, a younger man with progressive ideas. One Sunday, he uses his sermon to speak about doubt. The topic sets Sister Aloysius to wondering. She soon comes to the conclusion that Father Flynn has acted inappropriately with the only black boy in the school. But did he?

Overall review: Liked it. Hoffman goes toe-to-toe with Streep and holds his own as their characters face off in a tense battle. Whether or not Father Flynn is a child molester is really beside the point. The bigger picture is the battle between man vs. woman, progressive vs. traditional, set within the confines of a church that gives men all the power but which is also very slow to change. It's riveting.

The Coen brothers scored a Best Picture nomination for their latest film A Serious Man. They did not get any Oscar consideration for 2008's Burn After Reading, which is a shame.

Frances McDormand's desire to "have some work done" sets off a bizarre chain of events in this R-rated black comedy. George Clooney, John Malkovich and Brad Pitt also star, along with some other recognizable faces.

The central story belongs to Linda (McDormand). She works at a gym, wants a nip here and a tuck there, and is looking for some way to pay for it. When a computer disc with some seemingly sensitive information on it turns up at the gym, Linda and her co-worker, Chad (Pitt) think it might be their ticket to some fast cash.

Linda is also looking for love online. That's how she hooks up with a married but horny federal marshal named Harry (Clooney). Harry is being followed for reasons that are not revealed until the end of the film. Harry is also sleeping with the wife of a recently-fired CIA analyst named Osborne Cox (Malkovich). The disc that turns up at the gym contains the beginnings of his memoirs. When he refuses to play the blackmail game, the Russians get involved.

Overall review: Loved it! For a movie that has multiple plot lines going, it still makes sense and is easy to follow. The actors all play their roles with a straight face. Everyone is in on the joke except them. And, that's what makes it so funny.