Biutiful

CHICAGO – Damn, last year’s Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film were a dark, dark bunch. I thought “Biutiful,” “Dogtooth” and “In a Better World” had their brutal edges but I hadn’t yet seen the incredibly intense “Incendies,” a historical drama wrapped in a very personal story. The film is a bit more flawed than some of the critical praise had led me to believe but it’s definitely worth a look, especially for renters looking for international drama.

CHICAGO – The feel bad movie of 2010 has finally arrived in stores. Pardon me for withholding my enthusiasm. Although Alejandro González Iñárritu’s fourth feature has its share of indelible images, its familiar themes and unrelenting solemnity causes the senses to become numbed rather than engaged. The film offers 147 minutes of pure bleakness with a couple booger jokes thrown in for last-minute levity.

CHICAGO – In the midst of life’s journey, what may seem like a long time suddenly can become short, what seems like the routine suddenly becomes desperate. The theme of these changes and the effect on a dying soul is explored in “Biutiful.”

CHICAGO – Tuesday morning brought a great sigh of relief to movie lovers jaded by last year’s problematic Oscar nominees, which unforgivably included two major nods for the dreadful “The Blind Side.”

CHICAGO – Wondering what the 2011 Oscar nominees thought yesterday when they got the big news? Wonder no more with this compilation of official responses to the one of the biggest days of their lives. Respondees include James Franco, Annette Bening, Javier Bardem, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter.