Best Picture Winners: Million Dollar Baby

"If there's magic in boxing, it's the magic of fighting battles beyond endurance, beyond cracked ribs, ruptured kidneys and detached retinas. It's the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you."

I went into this movie thinking it was going to be a typical film about boxing, the underdog goes the distance and faces adversity to achieve the title, and this was sort of like that, but a little different. When I think of movies like this I think of the Rocky movies, since there are so many of them and they have the typical plot that I am familiar with. Well, when it came to Million Dollar Baby, I was surprised. It was about boxing, but it was a different story than the Rocky films. As it should be. They both have raw, emontional, relatable stories, just told and portrayed differently. For one thing, Million Dollar Baby is about a girl boxer and a hardended trainer who doesn't want to help her. 

So, why would a boxing movie win Best Picture? Well, this isn't your typical boxing movie...or maybe it is and Rocky did win Best Picture in 1976. So, what makes movies like this so good and relatable for people? Well, it's about going after a dream. Even if it's a dream you have all by yourself and no one else believes in you and you want that dream more than anything. It's about proving yourself. Showing how through determination and adversity we can succeed and yeah, we will almost always have obstacles that get in our way, but we get there one way or another. 

In Maggie Fitzgerald's (Hilary Swank) case, she got there, but then almost lost it all when she did. And Frankie (Clint Eastwood) learned how to be the father he never could be to his own daughter. 

The acting in this movie was phenomenal and I personally loved how Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman) narrated the film and how it was all basically told through his perspective. Then in the end we find out he is writing to Frankie's daughter and showing her how great of a man he truly was. That was some cool symbolism right there and I wonder if he knew where she was and whether he would also get the same "Return to Sender" notice on the letter. 

What was so emotional about this movie was not only the fact that Frankie warmed up to Maggie and grew to care about her as his own, but that Maggie ended up the way she did. At least she got a shot. Not the title, but a shot and that is what she wanted. That's why she was so persistent and determined to have Frankie train her because she believed that he could get her there. She didn't want to continue living the way she was, just existing. Not being able to move. Then Frankie having to do it. I also love that he loved what "mo cuishle" meant right before he gave her the shot to make her go to sleep. It was a heartbreakingly beautiful moment. 

This film was exceptional well acted by everyone involved and it deserved to win Best Picture of the year for 2004. It touches us, makes us cry, makes us think and relate. That's what a good movie does and this one hit all of those things. 

I wonder if Frankie ever reconnected with his daughter Katy again...I guess we'll never know. 

Best Picture Winners: The Deer Hunter

A movie that starts out with a wedding and then goes into the intensity and tragedy of war. 

The next film in my Best Picture Winner series is, The Deer Hunter directed by Michael Cimino is a story about humanity in a sense. It's basically about the lives of these men and their familes in a small town. We see them working in a refinery in the beginning and it's all leading up to a wedding of Steve and Angela and all of his buddies are in the wedding. At the wedding, which takes up the first 45 minutes of the film, it is annouced that they are going to war. 

Michael (Robert DeNiro) who is the strong one of the guys, he hunts deer, he doesn't like how fast things are changing, he is there for Steve and Nick when they are on the front lines, he shows incredible courage and tries to help his fellow comrads through the horror and violence going on around them. 

When he comes home, he has to deal with the aftermath of what we went through and he holds a lot of in and when he does go hunting again, he can't bring himself to shoot a deer. I love the symbolism in that and it shows that what he endured during the war means that he can't bring himself to take anymore life, or that is watch it die. Earlier in the film, we saw Nick shoot a deer and when the deer was falling down and dying, they focused on its eyes, which even though it was hard for me to watch, showed that he was essentially taking a life, even if it was for hunting puproses and an animal. It's still life and I think we see that throughout the whole film. 

At the end of the day, the movie is about humans and existence and survival and the realism that goes with that. This was the 1970s, these men lived this way then, they talked like that, they did those things, movies during that time were about the gritty, realism of life. That's why they tended to be filmed in more muted colors and the streets were more run down looking and things like that. It's about the trials that they faced, going to war, dealing with that experience and coming home and never completely feeling like who they once were. 

Maybe this movie didn't have a blantant message to it and maybe it was just supposed to be about existence and humanity, I don't know, but we all take something different away from films that we watch and for me, this is what I got out of it. 

While, the film was very slow paced, overall I think it was as good film. For being the type of film that it was, it deserved to win Best Picture. 

Best Picture Winners: Terms of Endearment

I'm sure that a lot of women have a tumultuous relationship with their mothers, and this movie is no different. In fact, it is the epitome of that, in the case of Aurora and Emma, the mother and daughter of the movie in question.

That movie is Terms of Endearment, Best Picture of 1983, starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, and Jeff Daniels. It spans 30 years of their relationship as Emma gets married and has her own life, she always talks to her mother and Aurora can be very difficult, but she just cares so passionately that it can be overwhelming. 

We see Emma (played by Debra Winger) go through marital problems with her husband Flap (Jeff Daniels) and thinking that he is cheating, so she becomes close with Sam Burns (played by John Lithgow) only to find out that her husband is actually not doing anything. 

So as the movie goes on, we just see Aurora and Garrett (who is the next door neighbor played by Nicholson) start a relationship and while he is someone who isn't really the commitment type, he commits to Aurora and is there for her when Emma is in the hopsital with cancer. Who ends up dying and Flap says that Aurora can take care of the kids. 

In the end, while it is sad because she dies, we see the joy and the love for Emma and for the family shown in different ways. That is what makes the movie so special I think. 

Best Picture Winners: Driving Miss Daisy

When we think of an unlikely pairing, what comes to mind? I don't think a 72 year old Jewish woman and a 60 year old colored man, would be our first thought. Well, that is the pairing in this movie, which won Best Picture of 1989. 

The name is Driving Miss Daisy and it stars Jessica Tandy as Daisy, Morgan Freeman as her kind chauffeur Hoke and Dan Aykroyd as her son Boolie. 

Daisy is very stubborn and when she isn't able to drive anymore, her son hires a driver, Hoke and during this time, the 1950s, blacks did this kind of work. So Hoke tries to help out around the house, but Daisy won't have it, but eventually she lets him drive her to where she needs to go. The film spans about a 20 year period from 1948 to about 1967 or 68, so we see how their friendship grows and changes through the years. 

What I like most about the movie was the fact that this woman didn't really treat Hoke the best at first, but he was always gracious and kind and he never gave up and I think if more people were like that, this world would be a better place. In a time, when race relations were a big issue and blacks weren't that excepted, this shows that you can find friendship and kindness in just about anyone. I think this was deserving of the Best Picture award and I would give the movie a 4 out of 5. :)

Time After Time

When I think of the title "Time After Time" I'm reminded of the 80's song sung by the eccentric Cyndi Lauper. However, the movie of the same name is about H.G. Wells and his time machine that uses to go after Jack the Ripper. 

The year is 1893 and H.G. Wells is talking with his buddies, one of whom is Stevenson (played by the amazing David Warner) about his predictions for the future and then finding out that Stevenson was Jack the Ripper and took the time machine, using it to go to 1979. So Wells gets in the time machine and follows him to the future. When he gets there he discovers that it is not the Utopia he predicted. However, he meets a woman named Amy (played by Mary Steenburgen) and they both try to search for Jack the Ripper. While Wells is after Jack, Jack is after Wells to obtain a master key to the machine. He continues his murderous ways and will stop at nothing to achieve his desires which puts Amy in danger. 

What I liked about the movie is that it deals with time travel and that is always interesting and fun for me. Also, how it was Jack the Ripper that was the villain of the story and he went by Stevenson, I liked that 'Jack the Ripper' aspect because I think it mirrored a lot of what is going on in the present just like what was going on in 1979. Overall, I would give this movie a 4 out of 5.

The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary

So in keeping with my Best Picture movie reviews, I thought that I would write about my favorite movie of all time, that won Best Picture for 1965, The Sound of Music. It isn't really so much a review, as it is a post about how great of a movie it is and why it is my favorite.

For those that don't know, The Sound of Music is about a real family called the Von Trapps who escaped their home to find freedom during the war. This movie is based off the book that the real Maria von Trapp wrote in 1949 titled, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. First there was a stage musical, then came the movie, which is considered by many to the greatest musical ever made. It helped save 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy and it was the most successful Rodgers and Hammerstein musical as well.

The reason that I think it has lasted as long as it has is because of the message that it sends. Perseverance in times of turmoil and hope for freedom and survival. That if you just face your problems and live the life you were born to live, you will find your dream.

The reason it is my favorite movie is for a lot of those same reasons, but also because no matter how bad of a day i've had, it always makes me feel better. Also just the message that it sends, you have to live your life, face your problems and find your destiny. Plus, the music, scenery, adventure and romance make it amazing too. So many things were done right with this movie, Robert Wise definitely knew what he was doing. Mistakes that he left in that ended up making it more realistic and how Christopher Plummer played Captain von Trapp. Everything just worked out perfectly. It really has everything you would want in a film. I've seen a lot of musicals, but to me, none will compare with this one.

Best Picture Winners: Schindler's List

Next on my list of Best Picture Winners is Schindler's List, the Spielberg directed drama about the horrors of the holocaust. 

While it was a very sad movie, it is also very important and powerful. It is probably the most realistic depiction of the Holocaust over any other film. 

Oskar Schindler was a German who came from nothing and ended up a very wealthy businessman. He didn't have to do what he did and at first, he was doing it because of the money, but he ended up turning his factory into a safe place for the Jews. 

The scene where Liam Neeson breaks down saying that he could have saved more if he had just saved more money and then Stern saying "1100 people are alive because of you, look at them." It is definitely one of the highlights of the film for me and i'm sure for others as well. 

Ralph Fiennes played Amon Goeth to perfection, so much so that Mila Pfefferberg (who was a survivor) started shaking uncontrollably when she met him because he looked so much like the real Amon Goeth. 

Spielberg made a wise decision filming this movie in black and white because I feel like it brought out the realism and made it seem more grim, which was true for the situation. The only part of it that was in color was the beginning with the Jewish family lighting the candles before the Holocaust and the little girl in the red coat. Both are very symbolic of what is going on. 

I feel like whatever I say about this will not do it justice, so I will just leave with, it is an amazing movie and it's one of Spielberg's finest films. It truly deserved the Oscar.