Aloha, movie fans!
This week’s film is among nine others nominated this year for the Oscar for best picture. There were 10 last year, which makes me curious. Couldn’t the Academy choose one more worthy picture? I guess not.
At any rate, the contenders are “Midnight in Paris,” “The Artist,” “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” “The Help,” “War Horse,” “Hugo,” “Moneyball,” “The Tree of Life” and “The Descendants.”
“Moneyball” and “The Tree of Life” star Brad Pitt, but today we’ll examine his good friend George Clooney’s work in “The Descendants.”
Clooney stars as Matthew King. His ultra-adventurous wife is in a coma, leaving him to re-examine his relationships with his two daughters. As they face the fact that she won’t be waking up, father and eldest daughter mull over the wife’s infidelity and whether or not her lover should get a chance to say good-bye before the end comes.
King also is executor over a beautiful stretch of land his family has inherited because they are descendants of Hawaiian royalty. His choice of selling the land or keeping it will affect generations.
Clooney is nominated for best actor and director Alexander Payne is nominated for best director. This drama is unexpectedly funny, and seeing life in Hawaii was an added bonus.
I’m a fan!
The 84th Academy Awards will air Feb. 26 on ABC. Billy Crystal will host. I think that’s marvelous.