I usually make it a goal to see as many movies that have an Academy Award nomination. It's not some kind of O.C.D thing, I mostly just see a few of the movies. I always do make it a point however, to see all of the movies up for Best Picture. Being a big movie fan, I equate it to a football fan watching all of the playoff games before watching the Super Bowl. It makes sense in my own little world. ;-)

I woke up this morning early and watched "Seabiscuit" on dvd. Overall it was a pretty decent movie, but I don't think it was anything special. It was very "capable" but there was absolutely nothing original in the movie. It was a very by the books underdog movie.

Jeff Bridges and Tobey Maguire pretty much did what they did in every movie, played themselves. Chris Cooper was outstanding like always. When it's all said and done, he's going to be regarded as one of the best character actors of the movies.

Probably the greatest aspect of the movie was the cinematography and editing. The movie was beautifully shot. Every frame of every shot was gorgeous. What is it with underdog movies that they always take place during the fall months, and always have shots of rolling hills and trees changing colors.

That may be part of the problem I had with the movie though. It seems that the movie was a bit too clinical. There never was an instance where I thought that everything wasn't going to turn out the way it turned out.

-Read Below for Underdog Movie Formula-

*take notes*

Set Up
Introduce characters
Have them prosper
Have them hit rock bottom
Have them REALLY hit rock bottom
Have them meet each other
Have them see the good in each of them
Have them start their journey
Have them start to succeed
Have them gain the attention of the other underdogs of society
Have them almost make it
Have the main character have a MAJOR set back
Have them succeed anyway in a big music swelling moment
Have them all ride off into the sunset together

for further proof see: Karate Kid, Karate Kid 2, Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V, Rudy, Bad News Bears, Cool Runnings, Miracle, The Cutting Edge, Dirty Dancing etc etc

*takes a bow and heads back to review*

The editing was seamless and worked well overall. The music was nice, but also by the numbers.

The movie might have succeeded more if the movie creators didn't keep trying to beat the theme into our heads. I wanted to just shout out and say, "Okay, I get it. I know that the horse Seabiscuit was symbolic not only for the main characters picking themselves up, but for the country coming back together...Okay okay, I get it."

Overall it was a good movie, but I don't think it desserves an Oscar nomination. What should take it's place? I'm not sure, but...

"Monster" was an outstanding movie. It was very hard hitting and not an easy movie to watch. It had great acting, great editing, great music, great direction, and a great script. It wasn't your typical Hollywood movie.

Everyone is talking about Charlize Theron's acting, and for good reason. She really gave an outstanding performance. Anyone who writes off her acting job in this movie as the byproduct of prosthetics and weight gain should have their head examined. I thought that she was SOOO good in the movie that she could have came as she is, and still sold the deal. She didn't need to put on the prosthetics and no make-up to give an outstanding performance. But because she did, she took her already great acting job to a whole other level.

Her character shifts from bravura and toughness, to fragile and complete and utter devastation, all within one scene. And them sometimes back and forth within a scene. It was pretty magnificent.

Cristina Ricci also did a really terrific job. I'm a bit surprised that she didn't receive some kind of Oscar nomination.

I really thought that it was an excellent movie and wished that the Academy voters had given it a few more Oscar nominations. I think that because the movie "Seabiscuit" honors the underdog, that the Academy should have celebrated the spirit of the underdog and nominated "Monster" for a Best Picture Award.

just my two cents

matt out