So. The Oscar nominations have been announced. The wait is over.
weee…
Ok – my apathy may be exaggerated, but not by much. When I was younger, I got excited. Not giddy excited, exactly – it was more like… vaguely excited. That sounds about right. Vaguely it is.
As I stated in an earlier post, I lost interest in the Oscars as a measuring stick of quality many years ago. Good films and good performances certainly have been nominated (and have won) in the past, but all too often a series of forgettable films and performances (ranging in quality from the bad to the shamelessly grandstanding) will creep into the categories. Not to beat a dead horse, but money often plays a rather big role in which films get a nod.
Nevertheless, the season does provide an opportunity to consider the subject of film as a whole – and so I suppose it could be said that I still get a bit of enjoyment out of the old ceremony, if only indirectly.
In earlier blogs, I discussed the Coens and Cate Blanchett, and enumerated a number of their films that I found to be worthwhile. Today, I cover Clooney. Having won an Oscar for his supporting role in Syriana, he's been nominated again, this time for the lead role in Michael Clayton.
Below, you’ll find a list of a few of George Clooney’s better films. Just a few.
Out of Sight (1998)
Otherwise known as Jennifer Lopez’s last good film, Out of Sight (based on the Elmore Leonard novel) was also one of George Clooney’s first good films. He delivers a confidently smooth performance in this frequently funny crime caper as an escaped con who, with a buddy named Buddy (the dependably good Vingh Rhames), attempts to pull off one last score. Problems ensue. Sound cliché? It does, at least on paper. But the film is written (by Scott Frank) and directed (by frequent Clooney collaborator Steven Soderbergh) so well that many of those clichés are ignored. The film wasn’t a huge hit upon its release, but it deserved to be.
It also featured fun performances by Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Luis Guzman, Albert Brooks, Dennis Farina, and Michael Keaton (reprising a role that he had previously played in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown).
Solaris (2002)
Trailer "Solaris"
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Another one directed by Soderbergh, this film is based on Stanislov Lem’s 1961 novel and is not, as some would have it, a direct remake of the 1972 Russian adaptation of the same novel.
And, as with Out of Sight, the film was not a huge commercial success. Again unfortunate, as Solaris is one of an increasingly rare breed – the (successfully) philosophical sci-fi film. Set largely on a nearly abandoned space station, Clooney and the remaining staff encounter a series of strange phenomena – the sudden physical manifestations of people who couldn’t possibly be onboard. There is a bit of mystery here, but it doesn’t unfold in the traditional ways. Deliberately paced, for sure, but worth the investment of time.
Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
Clooney directed this time and took a supporting role as the very real television news producer Fred Friendly – but the real star is the very good David Strathairn, playing CBS News anchorman Edward R. Murrow. Modestly – but handsomely – shot in black and white, and taking place almost entirely within the confines of the CBS studios, the film charts Murrow’s assault on Senator Joseph McCarthy. Though the film lends a bit too much weight to Murrow’s role in McCarthy’s decline, the film remains a well acted indictment of mindless saber rattling. A solid cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Jeff Daniels, Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella, and a particularly effective Ray Wise as a deeply distraught newsman.
Worth a look.
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