Virtuoso debut performances from Lady Gaga (in her first feature film role) and Bradley Cooper (writer-director as well as actor) lift this remake beyond the humdrum into, well, star-making territory. Cooper is a surprisingly competent singer, but it’s Gaga who powers the 3 showstoppers “Shallow”, “Always Remember Us This Way”, and “I’ll Never Love Again”. Expect multiple Oscar nominations.
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Tag Archives: Oscar
A Star Is Born (2018): bravura remake dives off the deep end
Flight (2012, dir. Robert Zemeckis): compelling character study of a compromised captain
Compelling drama that opens with the protagonist pilot (Denzel Washington) saving most of the passengers from a catastrophic plane crash, and then shows the audience the real plane wreck: a riveting study of the pilot’s compromised character. Denzel’s best role in a long while, he will surely be nominated for an Oscar. Plus, Lance Armstrong could have done with legal counsel like Don Cheadle’s 🙂
The King’s Speech (2010, dir. Tom Hooper): didn’t deserve the Oscar – then again, not all of them do – but it’s enjoyable enough
Light, fluffy feel-good confection that dramatizes the friendship (even ‘bromance?’) of a British king (Colin Firth) and his speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush). Well-scripted with spare comic touches, the movie shines when the two leads share the stage, and in examining the vestiges of still-class-conscious Britain – such as the prejudice of an overweening Archbishop of Canterbury against an un-Oxbridge educated commoner using new controversial techniques – from Australia no less!
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The Social Network (2010, dir. David Fincher, script Aaron Sorkin): entertaining, sometimes gripping, but not the great classic it could have been
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Posted by Jokersmiley on March 30, 2011 in Film Reviews, Social Commentary, Tech Disruptions
Tags: Aaron Sorkin, Academy Award, David Fincher, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, movie, Oscar, The Social Network