Word: jacksonism
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...Roger Ebert has led the same “Best...acting...ever” critical charge that helped propel Halle Berry to her Monster’s Ball Oscar two years ago. And if Return of the King doesn’t win Best Picture (and director Peter Jackson doesn’t win Best Director), it’ll be the biggest upset since Miramax bought the 1999 Best Picture Oscar for Shakespeare in Love...
This year is no different, and I can’t accept your contention that the big awards are predictable, because I disagree with two of your choices and foresee possible upsets in two others. Peter Jackson and his trilogy have pulled so far ahead in the Director and Picture races that their competitors can barely see them, even if they happen to be blind...
Complexity and intimacy were misplaced on the road to Mount Doom, but Jackson has enough cavalier filmmaking tricks and jaw-dropping special effects to compensate. The Return of the King was the most bloated and overwrought of the series; where the first two films maintained a carefully measured momentum that culminated in bravura war sequences, the final chapter is plagued with poor editing between its parallel story lines and a seemingly undying denouement. But for all the harsh words (no doubt prompted by unrealistically high expectations for the film), I loved the movie, and it fits beautifully in the context...
...mystery begins when homicide inspector Jessica Shepard (Ashley Judd) finds herself deeply intertwined in the new series of murders she is investigating. It turns out the victims are all past lovers, and soon Jessica is the primary suspect in the case. The police commissioner (Samuel Jackson) and Jessica’s partner (Andy Garcia) work hard to keep her on the case, but it becomes increasingly difficult with each new murder. Soon, Jessica’s own life becomes endangered...
...must prove herself in a thick milieu of masculinity. While she delivers a capable performance, Judd fails to fully portray her character’s deeper psychiatric struggles, and the audience is left perplexed as to some of the character’s decisions and motives. Co-stars Jackson and Garcia play their parts well, but are crippled by the poor dialogue of screenwriter Sarah Thorp, whose script traps the characters in awkward, clichéd language. Even the redemptive Kaufman (The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Right Stuff) can’t allow the film to recover from...