Review City

We Have Arts Degrees

We have a confession.

Well, not so much a confession as a… concession.

Despite the intentions of this blog, and indeed, our very title, the word “arsty” is probably not the most accurate way to describe us.

ThereIsaidit!

Whew. I feel better now.

I’m sure you’ve figured this out about us already…seeing as we tend to post raging gush sessions about fairly commercialized topics in the entertainment industry, rather than, you know, hyper-cool-because-they-not-commercial, fringe topics and other…artsy things?

Our twitter handle, as you know, is @WeArtsy, but really it should be more like “@WeExcitedAboutStuff” or “@WeTooObsessed” or “@LifeisCoolerForTheCrazy”… but let’s be real. None of those are quite as catchy.

This brings me to the actual point of this post. Throughout the next four weeks we will be reviewing all of the Oscar nominated films for Best Picture – ya know, to appear smarter and more cultured…

View original post 273 more words

Oscar Nominees 2014 Best Picture

The time for all movies made during the last year to fight it out for the top prize at the Oscars is less than a month away and everyone is rooting for Captain Phillips, American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave to take away most accolades. But there are other movies which have also been nominated for Oscars 2014 foreign films and I am going to look at 3 of them here:

1. Gravity- It is quite rare that George Clooney is not nominated as one of the favorites as far as the Oscars are concerned. Then again, he hasn’t won any apart from best direction for Argo so who can you blame? In Gravity, Clooney stars alongside Sandra Bullock who gives one of the best performances of her career. The only reason why I don’t think this movie will do too well is because of the amount of criticism it received for twisting the truth. Could the story actually play out the way it did in real life? There are a lot of doubts but in my opinion, if Oscars were handed out on the basis of whether things could really happen or not, Avatar shouldn’t have been part of the nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

2. Her- When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was someone’s idea of a practical joke. The actor who portrayed Johnny Cash on the big screen, Joaquin Phoenix, is now going to portray a character who falls in love with his cell phone? Unbelievable. But when you watch the movie, you will realize that it is about much more than just developing a relationship with your operating system. I was watching this movie and halfway through I suddenly remembered that this is the same person who played Freddie Quell in the Master. Theodore in Her is nothing like Freddie. Joaquin truly is one of the most gifted actors alive today and I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie picked up a few more Oscars apart from best picture as well.

3. Nebraska- This movie is full of intelligent wit and has a forbearing tone with clever dialogue & a novel approach to the dynamics of a small town. The movie is basically about a father and his son who go out on a roadtrip to collect a fake million dollar prize. The entire movie is shot in black & white and is a great depiction of how life used to be back then. If you are looking for a calm movie to watch on a Sunday afternoon, Nebraska is the perfect choice for you.

2014 Oscars nominations

And the Nominees Are: Captain Phillips…

We Have Arts Degrees

“There’s gotta be something other than being a fisherman or kidnapping people.”
“Maybe in America, Irish. Maybe in America.”

With the eerie resignation that has coloured his expression since his opening scene, Muse calmly utters these words to the frantic Phillips, and slowly lowers his weapon, marking what is easily the most poignant moment of the Oscar-nominated Captain Phillips.

Based on the incredible real-life story, Captain Phillips follows the hijacking of an American cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, by Somali pirates on its journey around the horn of Africa. Tom Hanks leads the cast as the stoic Phillips who, with stilted calmness, attempts to peacefully negotiate the raid of Muse (Barkhad Abdi) and his small band of pirates. As things slowly spiral out of Muse’s control, the pirates drop off the ship into one of its lifeboats with Phillips as their hostage. Bound for Somalia, and desperate for a…

View original post 743 more words