Oscar Nominated Short Films 2013: Live Action

1.5 Paws

Seen recently at Film Streams

Wouldn't it be great if local theatres incorporated short films into their lineups on a regular basis? At least I get to see them on the big screen once a year. 2013's quintet of Oscar-nominated shorts in the live action category is a mixed bag - one is stellar, one is good, one is odd and two deserve a great big eye roll for their heavy handedness.

Curfew

This one is a mini-masterpiece about brother-sister relationships, timing and the power of hope.

Asad

This one is a well-told version of the "life is what you make of it" tale filled with humor, hope and a great ending.

Death of a Shadow
This one - a Jules Verne/Grim Reaper/photography mashup - I didn't get.

Buzkashi Boys
This "it's tough if you're a poor kid in Kabul" one doesn't show us or tell us anything new.

Henry
This one, about the dark side of aging, reeks of after-school special - I'd rather watch a hopped up Helen Hunt jump out a window.

Bonus Bones: 0

No dogs, but there's a cat in costume in one of the shorts that's pretty darn spectacular.

A Royal Affair

3 Paws
Seen recently at the Dundee Theatre (still musty, still awaiting its promised renovation)

This one's got everything you could ever want in a period drama - killer costumes, compelling characters and smoldering passions, plus a little insanity thrown in for good measure.

I never paid a whole lot of attention to the Age of Enlightenment when I was in school, but it must have been one wacky time, particularly if you were on the throne. Mads Mikkelsen, the physician hired to "manage" the mad king, pulls you in with his other-worldly appearance and then smacks you upside the head with his acting chops. He alone is worth the ticket price. But it's Mikkel Boe Folsgaard's performance as the mentally unbalanced Christian VII that gives the film its depth - I went from despising him to understanding him in 137 minutes.

It's nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, and it's worth the subtitles.

Bonus Bones: 5
This one has a royal dog, the much-beloved pet of the troubled king (it's easier for some of us to relate to animals as opposed to humans), as well as a few others that appear in crowd shots.

Zero Dark Thirty

2 Paws
Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

I intended to stay away because of the torture scenes. Then I was seduced by the real-world headlines surrounding the film's opening as well as the Oscar buzz. The final analysis? I could have lived without seeing this one on the big screen.

The bright spots - if there is any light in such a dark undertaking - are the performance of Jason Clarke as Dan, the magnetic administrator of torture in the film's opening sequences, and the seemingly real camaraderie of the Navy S.E.A.L. team that carries out the raid on (and eventual capture of) Osama bin Laden. 

It would be nice if this were all make believe.

Bonus Bones: 2
It was pretty dark, but I think I saw one street dog and one four-legged member of the Navy S.E.A.L. team.