Anna Karenina (Jo**1/2)

Anna Karenina marks the third collaboration of director Joe Wright and Kiera Knightly, a pairing that made much more reserved and dare I say beautiful films (Pride & Prejudice & Atonement). A film made with bold images and ideas, this is not to say Karenina is not a joy to watch or experience. For once though, Wright has made a film where the border of substance and style has been reached, and perhaps we lost out on much of the humanism that Tolstoy's novel brings.

Set in a turbulent Russian setting, the stage is set for Anna, a lavish woman living with a husband she may not love and a child she cares the world for. Through truly melodramatic form, she meets and falls in love with a young Count, and the two strike up a tragic affair - the type of scenario that only ever ends in tragedy.

Unlike previous adaptations of the work, director Joe Wright attempts to reimagine the story, largely through his staging and set pieces. Nearly all of the film plays out inside a hollowed out theater, with sets and transitions changing within shots. We learn how formal each character's life is - how bound they are to traditions and rules - and the theater aspect truly becomes apparent. It is an interesting concept and creates an experience not unlike watching a great play. The film doesn't attempt to reveal us to the beauty of Russia, instead, it tries to make the screen as close as possible. It is a confusing concept and one that audiences will have to get accustomed to, no doubt.

The highlights of the film are the technical aspects. You can almost assure an Oscar win for the vivid costume design - with dresses billowing out and flowing like water. The progression from scene to scene is remarkable as each new wardrobe for the characters is all the more impressive. The same can be said for the art direction - so innovative in its ideas and execution that it seems so likely to receive awards' attention.

The film reminded me somewhat of another piece of eye candy: Marie Antoinette. A beauty to watch, even on mute - the only difference being that one film truly explores the meaning of being bound by society and wealth, the other chooses a far safer route. There was endless potential for this retelling of the Anna Karenina story, and in the end, I think the film turned out to be a simple misstep.

(Awards potential: Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score)

Lincoln (*****)

What Steven Speilberg creates with 'Lincoln' is nothing short of brilliant. His best work in years, coupled with a refined performance from the great Daniel Day-Lewis, crafts a history lesson as well as a captivating legal story. While the title suggests this is a story about the life of a man, it is moreso a story of the life of a nation, divided by war, struggling with immense issues that only such a war could bring out. Telling the story of a mere month or two during the height of the Civil War, 'Lincoln' aims high and beautifully reaches its target.

Set in January of 1865, the Civil War has already taken its toll on Lincoln. Gray-haired and sullen, Daniel Day-Lewis plays almost against type and captures a man who uses logic and loves telling stories to accent his ideas. The film opens with an intense battle scene, black soldiers fighting alongside whites, and bodies piling up in the rainy puddles of mud turning red from all the death. We then see two black soldiers, talking to an unknown man, discussing the position, pay, and rights they lack, even though they fight alongside white soldiers for the same cause. They speak bluntly with this unknown man, joke with him, stand close and understand his words. The camera pans to the great reveal of Lincoln's silhouette. It's a great scene, sharply written, ending with several of the soldiers proving their wisdom by quoting his recent Gettysburg address.

Abraham Lincoln believes that in order to end the Civil War once and for all, he must make permanent his actions of the Emancipation Proclamation and legally free slaves forever. His stance is met by harsh criticism from not only his colleagues, but his wife (played by Sally Field), who's tenacity both comforts Lincoln but reminds him of the losses he has already faced.

Needing a majority in the House of Representatives to pass the Amendment, we follow the Republican party as they try to win the handful of Democratic votes to win a majority. Many of those in Lincoln's cabinet advise him to drop the matter entirely and focus on ening the war. Lincoln believes this is the ONLY way he can end the war, once and for all.

I admire Speilberg's direction of this film. Lacking his usual cinematic flair we have come to recognize from him, 'Lincoln' instead focuses on the quieter moments. How any President can handle a civil war while coping with the loss of a child seems impossible, but we admire the man all the more for it. Historically the film seems to whitewash certain issues. Aside from a few servants of the Lincoln household, the cast is entriely white, with the only true Abolitionist being Thaddeus Stevens (played by a truly brilliant Tommy Lee Jones). Stevens believes in racial equality totally, but in order to help the Amendment pass, he curiously must remove emotion from it and reason that we are equal 'only under the law.'

'Lincoln' is a beautiful film, photographed in a shadowy darkness that seems foreshadowing of the dark future ahead. We feel the atmosphere of the sets, cold and gloomy - characters walk around the White House draped in blankets and hats to keep warm. The attention to detail is truly astounding, both in the reality of the film and the rich experience it creates for the audience. John Williams perfectly accompanies the film with a somber score - Speilberg and Williams truly have reached a perfect understanding of the sound of movies. The cast never falters, and altogether this is one of the most relevant films of the year.

The film seems to have something for all. It teaches us about a dark time in our country's history, but reminds us that there are heroes from all walks of life. It isn't often that a truly great man also sits in a position of immense power. In 'Lincoln,' we're glad he did.

(Awards potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Day Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Lee Jones), Best Supporting Actress (Field), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Editing, Best Original Score)

Silver Linings Playbook (Jo****1/2)

What a remarkable filmgoing experience this was. A film that has received generally positive buzz so far this awards season is undoubtedly one of the most poignant and effective films of the year, a feel-good movie with brains as well as heart. 'Silver Linings Playbook,' a warped romantic comedy of sorts, may not seem like much in summary, but here is a film that stands alongside the best of Billy Wilder or Woody Allen or Cameron Crowe.

The film follows a bipolar man named Pat (played by an effective Bradley Cooper), who is recently released from a rehabilitation clinic by his mother in hopes of aiding his recovery. Pat, who is on a restraining order from his wife, caught her cheating in their home, an action which revealed the darker side of his mental instabilities. Still tormented by the idea of winning her back, Pat works to settle back into his childhood home.

He meets a quirky heroine, as is the case for most romances, in this case an equally disfunctional character named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). Pat is helpless to the idea of meeting someone new, and in truly cinematic quality, they share perhaps the most uncomfortable introduction ever filmed. We see their friendship build, all while Pat's parents (Robert De Niro & Jacki Weaver) watch in concern, fearful of another relapse.

The film's success is entirely in the script, written by director David O. Russell, who you might remember hearing about for his Oscar-nominated work in 'The Fighter.' Here is a true triumph. The film contains dialogue so fresh and witty that each moment and new character interaction never feels written at all. Russell has a clear understanding of tone and how to maneuver his actors through the script, and his eye for a director is crystal clear.

And his actors, how they have delivered. Bradley Cooper is truly stepping into his own as a respected actor, and his work is occasionally brilliant. Robert De Niro, also, delivers some of his best work in years, and at least two of his scenes are truly eye-watering work.

Jennifer Lawrence, though, can absolutely take a bow for her truly immaculate performance. The balance between comedy and drama is a tricky maneuver, and Lawrence doesn't just balance on the edge, she dances across it. Already nominated for an Oscar for 'Winter's Bone' few years back, Jennifer Lawrence is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. I suspect a Best Actress nomination to come her way, and truly this could be a winning performance. She takes control of every scene with absolute fearlessness, even stepping up to the famous De Niro in one of the film's most hilarious scenes.

This is a truly visceral film, guided by a great director and an even stronger script. Any flaws to be found with this film can be brushed off, for truly this is one of the year's best films, and one audiences will absolutely fall in love with.

(Awards potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Cooper (long shot)), Best Actress (Lawrence), Best Supporting Actor (De Niro), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing)

Life of Pi (Jo*****)

Life of Pi is quite possibly the best achievement on film this year. The story, based on the allegedly 'unfilmable' book, takes risks throughout its 2 hour running time, but the level of sophistication in the filmmaking by Ang Lee and his remarkable cast it truly astounding. Entering the film with no back story other than what I saw in the trailer, I was taken on a cinematic journey that truly rivals some of the best movies I have ever seen.

Following the recollections of a man who claims to have a story proving God exists, we learn of Pi, a young boy raised on a zoo in India. Once grown, we learn his father has decided to sell the zoo and move his family to Canada via cargo ship. The ship enters a severe storm and sinks, leaving only Pi and a handful of animals drifting in a small life boat. While the other animals fail to make the journey, the one that does is Richard Parker, a fully grown bengal tiger. And the story is set.

I won't go into details on how such a plot is able to fill a full-length movie, or what possible beauty could be found watching a starved boy floating at sea, but this is truly a film filled with the most awe-inspiring cinematography and visual effects. There is beauty to be found in the most plain settings, and Ang Lee truly understands the visual aspects of filmmaking. As does his effective use of visual effects. Of course several shots (if not all, I couldn't tell) of the tiger were digitally created, but the seams were truly invisible by the end. I wasn't watching a large cat created in a computer, rather one with weight, desires, instincts, and a soul.

This is a film I cannot wait to see again, and again. 3D, which has failed in the past, is in top form here, rivaling the stunning depth created in 'Avatar.' There aren't so many things coming out of the frame towards the audience as they are going away. The depth of the ocean and the sight of fish swimming just below the surface is so effectively rendered, and it adds just another level of realism to which such an absurd story is being told.

I doubt I will see another film that will have such an impact on me, definitely not this year. Here is a film for the ages. Forger 'Brokeback Mountain,' this is a film that Ang Lee will be remembered for.

(Awards potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Irrfan Khan), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing)

Hitchcock (Jo**1/2)

Alfred Hitchcock is undoubtably one of cinema's most iconic characters. We knew so much about his films, his style, his creative processes, but the man himself was little more than a silhouette. What Hitchcock then sets out to do is admirable, but ultimately lost in its own sensationalism. Here is a film that had potential for greatness but failed to see where.

The film, of course, is a chronicle of the making of Hitchcock's most famous film, 'Psycho,' based on a Wisconsin serial killer named Ed Gein. Finding his next project after the enormous success of 'North By Northwest,' Hitchcock ultimately stumbles upon the novel, and without further debate, settles on the film as his next project. Much of the film's humor comes from the macabre topics the story is ultimately based on, as Hitchcock casually shows backers photographs of severed heads when trying to raise money for the project.

The film, which could have elaborated the struggles to make the film and the creative processes behind it, instead veers towards Hitchcock's marital problems. There is no doubt that Alma Hitchcock, his wife, was an integral part of his life, but when you are making a film about the behind the scenes aspect of a famous film, we as an audience do not necessarily want to spend an hour watching suspicions of an affair. In fact, little of the film even focuses on 'Psycho,' itself. And there's the problem. The film fails to recognize its target audience: film buffs. How much of Alma's story portrayed in the film is speculative? The same goes for Alfred. It is very easy to find a film about a troubled marriage, but how many films deal with the creative processes of Alfred Hitchcock, himself?

The acting, however, is exemplary. Anthony Hopkins all but disappears in the role (and makeup) to create a convincing Hitchcock, though at times it does feel a bit more caricature. Helen Mirren, likewise, is once again stunning in her co-leading role. Her character undoubtedly deals with much of the film's conflict, and in many ways she could be the film's actual protagonist.

Though there are a few nominations that could be had with Hitchcock, I would not be surprised to see it passed by entirely. The film had potential, but it truly failed to deliver what could have easily been one of the best films of the year.

(Awards potential: Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Mirren), Best Makeup)