INCEPTION

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Run time: 148 min

What if you can enter someone's dream and steal something out of it? Well, there wasn't much to steal from my mind, but if you are some corporate hot shot, there are plenty of things to steal.

Think of this, before painting Nightwatch, Rembrandt must have imagined it in his mind right? What if you can steal that idea from people's mind, especially important people. Wouldn't that be a breakthrough?

Billing as the first existential heist movie, Christopher Nolan just saves Hollywood from remake and sequel summer redundancy. With layers of stories comparable to any layer cake, true movie fans will be satisfied with what Nolan has offered so far.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a man expertize in stealing secrets from people's dream, now he has to raise the bar by implanting an idea in someone's mind. Burdened by his own dark past, Dom Cobb assemble a team that will penetrate subconscious and finish his mission, while his past still haunt him.

It is not just a mere intellectual thrill ride, but it also involves some epic action scenes like snow chasing (I hope he will helm any James Bond movies in the future) and mind bending fighting in a rotating hotel corridor.

Unlike most movies, all the action and special effect helps the structure of the story. Most people will liken this to the Matrix given its similarities in combining science fiction with philosophical problems. But this one manage one step ahead by not overusing special effect and make Dom Cobb's future world seem close with our very own world. The acting is satisfying, Leonardo DiCaprio gives his best and Marion Cotillard steals some scenes.

If there’s one flaw some people might consider, it’s that Inception is more satisfying on an intellectual level than on an emotional one. But I don't mind that, since I am sick with movies which tries to provoke our emotion by cheap stuff like mellow songs and slow-motion scenes with mediocre story telling. Besides, this film doesn't need to strike people's emotion, it is all about the brain.

Under these layers of dreams Nolan put more subplot and detail that makes their character richer and has more depth. Inception is one of the best film in 2010 and will be talked about in years to come. It would be a crime if Inception didn't make it to be nominated at Academy Awards.

For those who dislike or having troubles following the complex structure of this film, there is one useful trick; concentrate.

The sweet irony is, without any technology that allows people to share their dreams, Nolan has managed to share his dream with us; with this film.

NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS

Directed by: Bahman Ghobadi
Running time: 106 min

Welcome in Iran where secular music is slightly forbidden, especially if you want to make a concert. To the outer world Iran is the one we know from news, but do we know what is really going on in Iran? Through the lens of Bahman Ghobadi, we can have a peek on Iran (or Tehran's) daily life of struggle and hope.

My conclusion after watching this film is that the Iranian people is just like us; they have to struggle to make ends meet but with a slight twist; the youngsters need to do extra effort to get government permission for their creative work. In this case; music.

To people outside Iran, what the youngster do; establishing a music band with many genres like indie rock to jazz, is harmless. But the reality is, it is difficult for them to have government permission to held a concert.

Half documentary half fiction, the film follows two young aspiring musician (Ashkan and Negar) who tries to form a band. The pair befriends a big mouth man named Nader (Hamed Behdad) a music and American movie enthusiast. Nader helps them travel in clandestine around Tehran to meet other underground musicians possibly interested in forming a band and later (perhaps) try to leave the country to some other country (possibly England and they even hinted Iceland so they can meet Sigur Ros) where thay can free expressing their musical taste.

They also meet some guys who can falsify their passport and visa. You might wonder, they are not even political or planning to make any revolution. But it seems that it is very difficult for them to live in their own country and expressing their own hobby.

The film also highlights many of the legal and cultural challenges independent musicians and generally the Iranian youth have to face in Iran. You can't help to chuckle and being sad at the same time as you see Nader try to plea for his case in front of the police. His crime; having American movies in DVD and a bottle of alcoholic beverage.

In visiting those musicians viewers can get a taste on Iranian secular music, which is nice to hear. Who knows, it turns out to be indie rock music, jazz, death metal and rap can be so amazing in Farsi and so much different than all the trash we all hear in the radio.

Not only that, through the lyrics of the songs featured in this film, we can at least, know what these people are thinking or worrying of. In the end this film makes you wonder whether Coldplay will ever held their concert in Iran anytime soon.

KICK-ASS

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Run time: 117 min

I rarely read comics so whenever I try to review a comic based movie, I just review the movie itself. By that it means that I will not settle with anyone saying "Well that's what the comic is all about" since if the story suck, there could be a possibility that the comic is also suck. I don't care whether the movie is loyal to the book/comic or whatever it's original material is, I will just pay attention to the movie since I am not interested in comic books at all.

Watching Kick-Ass without reading the comic is something really fun if not borderline silly. The first half is a bit boring but the second part is exciting. Will Kick-Ass will be spoken in the same breath with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight? No it wont since although it is fun to watch this one is slightly better than Spider-man 3 because no matter how fun this movie is, it has no depth whatsoever, it is just some stylish movie accompanied with perfectly placed soundtrack from several movies that you already know.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a generic version of Peter Parker, it is just no spider ever bite him and he is not alien thus he has no superpowers at all. He thinks that being a superhero doesn't need a bombshell catalyst.

Then he don a super-suit that he buy from the internet and roam the street as Kick-Ass, the only superhero without super powers or fancy gadget. Kick-Ass gain notoriety through You Tube as some bystander record his action in helping a guy from being beaten up.

It doesn't end there, Kick-Ass involved in a crime lord devious plans, where his path crossed with Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her doting father (Nicolas Cage).

I think every decade, there always be a breakthrough in movie industry, like when Jodie Foster play a prostitute in Taxi Driver and this one, a 12 year old girl saying the 'c' word then slaughter grown up as easy as dicing onion.

Hit Girl, that potty mouth little girl, is the most annoying character I ever encounter in any movies. If the merit of good acting is being valued by how many shocking things you say on the screen I think Eric Cartman deserves an Oscar. Make no mistake Chloe Moretz acted just okay but to call Hit Girl as the most spectacular superhero(ine) is an insult to Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. No superhero on the screen could deliver punch (pun intended) like Christian Bale or Toby Maguire in Spider-man 2, and they did it without saying the 'c' word.

I have no problem seeing Ewan McGregor diving the toilet in Trainspotting, or that kid in This is England spitting 'f' word but seeing a 12 year old girl have more strength than a dozen grown ups, is borderline silly.

There are more things that is just illogical like how come a tiny rocket pack could fly as high as 30 something story building? Would FBI at least investigate who Kick-Ass is? How come Kick Ass can learn how to use Gatling gun in just minutes and how come Kick Ass, after being severely beaten with batons that can make ordinary guy hospitalized, could regain consciousness and strength in just one night. Wasn't he just an ordinary guy just like us?

Don't mention the villain, they are nothing more than just cardboard characters and comical (once again, all pun are intended) I know, by this point you will say "Hey that's the way it is in the comic book" .But everybody knows I will not settle by that. Perhaps the comic try to emphasize on the over-the-top action and jokes, or try to invent something new and racy or a satire. But a satire of what? Of nothingness?

Those illogical stuff is the one that draws the line between this film and reality. It feels that this sort of story cannot exist in reality, which means Kick-Ass is an irony since it's theme is about superhero in real world without real powers. That is not the only irony since here, it is not Kick-Ass that become the superhero, but Hit Girl.

However by attempting to gloss this film with profanity and violence, the film has lose its depth and it feels like any generic superhero movie where the good and the bad is clearly divided and no moral ambiguities at all. It is a G Rated movie with R Rated delivery. Is it cool? Well I do not equate cool with style, I equate it with substance.

If you are looking for a good laugh, this one is for you but if you are looking for depth, realism and ambiguities, The Dark Knight and Watchmen is still available on DVD and Blu-Rays.

ALANGKAH LUCUNYA (NEGERI INI)

Directed by: Deddy Mizwar
Run time: 90 min

What is so typical about movies from Deddy Mizwar? Apart that he starred in it too, it has a down to earth stories, regular cast and funny dialogue with sharp jabs at Indonesia's current social political and economic condition. No CGI, foul language or cheap thrills from him, just a nice family drama with realistic visualization.

Check Nagabonar Jadi 2 (2007) for instance. The sequel of the successful Nagabonar (1987) managed to attracts millions of movie goers because it can mix good acting, drama, story and a moral message everyone here can understand.

Movie goers are very familiar with Dedy Mizwar's work, from his movies such as Nagabonar, Kiamat Sudah Dekat (which is made as a successful TV series aired during the fasting month of Ramadan) and Ketika to Para Pencari Tuhan, another hit TV series also aired during Ramadan too.

His recent outing with Alangkah Lucunya (negeri ini) which roughly translated in English as 'This country is so funny' has proven that Dedy Mizwar hasn't lose his edge. He still manage to deliver a story that can be preachy and boring by some mediocre director, to be something fresh and original in his hand.

As for me, I have no idea what this movie is all about and have slight suspicion that it will be filled with preachy dialogue that can make people yawn. But I was wrong since even though some of the dialogue are a bit preachy but it is necessary for the story itself. So what is it all about?

Muluk (Reza Rahadian), is a university graduate majoring in management. Since two years after he graduated, he still cannot find a job. Until one time he catches a kid pickpocketing at the market. Muluk follows the pickpocket and scowl him, telling that it is not good to steal money from hard working people.

This event led Muluk to encounter the community of pickpockets (also street kids with no parents or go to school at all) led by Jarot (Tio Pakusadewo). Muluk offers his service to 'manage' the money resulted from pickpocketing. At first the pickpockets hated the idea of some strangers tell them what to do. But as Muluk, with his 10% commision, promise that he can manage the money better and can convince Jarot, the kids agreed to Muluk's plot.

Meanwhile Muluk's father is a small scale tailor, Makbul (Dedy Mizwar) who is very supportive of his son, argue with a wealthy father, Haji Sarbini (Jaja Miharja) whose daughter Muluk is dating, that Muluk is not an unemployed person but 'still trying to find a job'.

Muluk's project work so well, he even lied to his father that he worked at some company in Human Resource Department. Actually Muluk has a grand idea, he would like to train those kids to have an education, and hopes that they will leave their illegal affairs once his project is done.

But as Makbul, Haji Sarbini and Haji Rahmat (Slamet Rahardjo), the father of Pipit (Tika Bravani), who helps Muluk run the unofficial school with Muluk's best friend, Syamsul (Asrul Dahlan) found out about the project, how would they react? Things turned unexpectedly from here.

Until this point I thought that the film will ended in an utopia which all the kids realize that pickpocketing is a wrong way of earning a living and they will all be successful.

But I was wrong again, with an open ending which is unusual for many Indonesian film, this film manages to jab so many things, from the corruption that is very rampant in Indonesia, to poverty issues and education in general without being overly preachy plus giving some hope that there is something good in this life worth fighting for. One thing is cliche here, like quoting the constitution in the ending credits. I know this film aims big, but it is not necessary to quote one verse of the constitution in the ending credits.

So in the end some of the kids chose to be a street seller (asongan) and some still wanted to pick pockets. So is life where most of the times education can change people and it also doesn't change some. I like the ending, it is realistic and believable.

Seeing that most of the cast are kids (and most of them are regulars in Dedy Mizwar's movies and TV series universe), one can compare this to Laskar Pelangi or Sang Pemimpi. But the difference is that this film wasn't based on any best selling book so it has an edge on originality thus if it become a hit (I just watched it on the first week so I have no idea whether this one is selling fast or not, it is just the cinema I am in is packed with people, I hope that it is a good sign that people will chose good films over bad ones) then it will be like Avatar, (not in a sense that it is a CGI hyped movie) a hit movie without relying their success on a pre-sold ideas.

In general, this is a good film worth every rupiah and time you spent. A breath of fresh air for those who wanted quality and entertainment in one package.

The cinematography itself is also rewarding, with gritty and 'as it is' look, manage to keep this film as down to earth as possible, therefore could relate to many people who seek for good entertainment and realism.

DAS WEISSE BAND - EINE DEUTSCHE KINDERGESCHICHTE

Directed by: Michael Haneke
Run time: 144 min

In a feudal northern German village set before World War I, tragedy is happening. This looks like an ideal village with the Baron (Ulrich Tukur), the town’s principal employer and landowner; the doctor, a widower with two children and an interesting relationship with the midwife (Susanne Lothar); the steward (Josef Bierbichler); a tenant farmer (Branko Samarovski); and, perhaps most important, the pastor (Burghart Klaussner).

It all begins when the village doctor (Rainer Bock) is thrown after his horse runs into a trip wire set on the road to his home, then the farmer's wife is killed in a saw mill, the Baron's son is beaten, an infant catches a fever after the window in the house is being opened and one children with down syndrome got beaten harshly, and on it goes.

There are no suspects (or even evidence) but there are few clues, like some children who suspiciously groups together and visit people who were injured and saying that they are just visiting or the farmer's son who secretly blame Baron for the death of her mother in the sawmill or the repressed doctor's lover (a.k.a the midwife) who has to endure the verbal abuse the doctor gave her.

But it is not who did it that matters (is it no one? or everyone?), but why they did it. Michael Haneke shows that cruel and cold upbringing could plant seed for aggression in their kids. What is being shown is the doors to the houses of the village inhabitants; the denial in one house, female and child abuse and indifference.

One thing is sure, the village parents are harsh to their kids, from just a cold look with grammatically correct sentences they deliver in the dinner table to the cruel beating they had. It seems that corporal punishment and humiliation is a part of parenting there. Why were they being punished? Not because they are terrorist or something, but because they are late for dinner and other minor mistakes which doesn't deserve to be humiliated or punished at all.

Could it be that the repressed children stage some tragedy in the village? Or is there anyone else who did it? Will these so called 'repressed' children will pass this behavior to the next generation? Is that the social order that is present in this film has vanished from the earth?

The viewers will be left with no answer for this (and they have to seek it for them self, a good thing to do), and that what makes this film is good since it explore the psychological, educational and religious roots in the small village as a sample for a whole nation at that time.

Not only the stunning black and white cinematography reminding you of Ingmar Bergman's movies or some good old photos, but the acting is superb. The absence of marquee name makes the character looks natural. The story itself was narrated from the teacher's point of view (Ernst Jacobi). In the film we see his young version (Christian Friedel) as a mild and soft teacher, perhaps one character that looks normal than the whole village.

What is The White Ribbon? The priest makes his oldest son (Leonard Proxauf) and daughter (Maria-Victoria Dragus) wear white ribbons as symbol of innocence and shame at the same time.

However if you are looking for a silver lining, there is this one scene where the priest's son is giving his father a new bird so his father will not be sad. Trying to compose himself so he doesn't cry, the priest felt touched by that simple act of kindness posed by his own son whom he rarely hug or kissed.

PS: This film won Golden Palm, FIPRESCI Prize and Cinema Prize of the French National Education System at 2009 Cannes Film Festival, beating Un prophète. It also won 2010 ASC Award for Christian Berger in Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Directed by: Louis Leterrier

Run time: 106 min

Is it redundant to start this review by stating that I am not a big fan of Greek mythology? I think it is but heck, I still write it down anyway.

Some of my friends who are big fans of Greek mythology felt disappointed with this film. As for me, this is just a movie, they can make Perseus the son of Kraken and Hades if they wanted to (and I think it is cool to have a pregnant Hades bitching around about daily minutiae in Olympus).

So after listening to some bad reviews from my friend about this particular movie, I embrace myself to watch it, not in 3 D since everybody call the convert is suck, but in glourious 2 D.

Since I have low expectation (I kinda hope that this is the expensive version of Hercules the Legendary Journeys TV Series with Kevin Sorbo), I actually enjoy Clash and I can say that it is not as bad as most people told me and certainly not as bad as New Moon and 2012. It is entertaining although the plot is wafer thin and Sam Worthington is the only Greek with no beard or long hair, which makes things a bit strange.

No need to tell the plot since it is easy to guess from the poster that Perseus is on a mission to kill Kraken or the city of Argos destroyed to dust by the anger of Zeus. Oh and Hades is in it too, trying to milk the situation in order for greater power. To think that this whole shebang started because humans are fed up with Gods is also nice, it seems that Zeus need people to worship him. What lack is the love story. Louis Letterier seems to discard any sort of romance from this film.

The effects and cinematography is beyond average and you will enjoy the sight of Perseus flying with pegasus to save Argos from destruction while trying to kill Kraken.

As for the acting, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes is giving their best while Sam Worthington is the weakest of all, acted flat and have near zero emotion which makes you wonder that this guy is very lucky to have landed roles in expensive movies.

There is also a problem with the script, it seems there is lack of causality or motives for Perseus to pursue a journey to kill Kraken and some of the dialogs are corny.

Contrary to most remakes I have reviewed or seen, I have seen the 1981 version and I think in terms of visual enjoyment (not in terms of story and acting), this one is a huge improvement.

So for those who are not a big fan of Greek mythology, this one is a sweet candy that will make you happy. And for those who is a big fan of Greek mythology, this film is an atrocity at it's best.

Hey at least the phrase 'Release the Kraken' has now replaced 'This is Sparta' as one of the corniest phrase being duplicated in popular culture.

HACHIKO: A DOG'S STORY

Directed by: Lasse Hallström
Run time: 104 min.

I'm not a dog or cat person, I don't even have pets at all but from my non-pet-owner perspective, this film is touching. It teaches us that dog can be more loyal than human.

Based on the 1987 Japanese film Hachikō Monogatari which is based on a real story in Japan, at first I thought this movie will be just one of generic Hallmark matinee movies. But it wasn't since there is Richard Gere in it, hey at least anything with an A-list movie star cannot be a standard Hallmark matinee movies right?

As a remake, I expect the film to be fully 'Americanized', but this film has the sensibility to ensure that Hachiko remains Japanese, only for it to be accidentally transported from a Japanese monastery, and thanks to a botch up in cargo handling, Hachiko ended up in Bedridge train station, USA.

Fate brings the cute and small Hachiko with Professor Parker Wilson (Richard Gere). At first his wife doesn't like a dog in their house. But as time goes by, there's a bond built slowly between Hachiko and Wilson, a bond that transcend worldly affairs and teaches us the meaning of dedication and loyalty.

This is the type of movie that, even if you already know the whole plot, you can still enjoy it. One cannot deny that Akita dogs are extremely cute and cuddly and one should pay attention to the credit title that to own Akita dogs, you need to be a professional dog owner, not just having it because you just simply want it.

I haven't seen the Japanese original movie, but I will see it and I think it is better than the American version (which is also good too) since it can maintain the original 'feeling'.

The real Hachiko was born in Japan in 1923. When his master, Dr Eisaburo Ueno, a professor at the Tokyo University, died in May, 1925, Hachi returned to the Shibuya train station the next day, and for the next nine years, to wait. Hachiko died in March, 1935. Today, a bronze statue of Hachiko sits in his waiting spot outside the Shibuya railroad station.

It is indeed an amazing story that inspires us all that despite all the indecencies we saw on night news, there is still something good in this life worth fighting for.

UN PROPHÈTE

Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Run time: 149 min

This movie is the reason why I like films; the story is solid and unforgiving. This is not your usual Hollywood mayhem movie glorifying mafia and crime, and although the story itself centered in a prison, it is not about surviving or escaping, it is about 'An education' in the truest sense of the word.

A Prophet (the English title) serves up crime as a metaphor for life and power. Just like last year's Gomorrah, this is surely 2010 best film not to be missed. The (anti)hero Malik (Tahar Rahim), is a rootless man. From his Mediterranian look people can mistake him for an Arab, French, even Corsican. Malik has no family or friends, he doesn't feel to belong to any social group. Why he is in prison is not clear and like any inmates he say that he is innocent.

As Malik enter the prison to serve his six years sentence, he is an loner newbie, being beaten by other inmates. But opportunities arose as the Corsican mobsters that rule the prison led by Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), orders him to kill another inmates named Teyeb (Hichem Yacoubi) or he will be killed.

Malik kill Reyeb clumsy, messy and brutal, by hiding a razor in his mouth and use it to slit Reyeb's throat. The murder itself is gore at its best, it will make you squirm. As time goes by, Malik is trusted by Cesar to do his errand, in other words, prison opened opportunities to Malik he would never had in real life. As Malik learns a lot of things (learn to read, speak Corsican, managing to be a small drug dealer), he rose from a newbie to a self-made, self-taught mafia boss and it is too late for Cesar to learn, that his pupil already outsmart him. Malik has undergone a twisted transformation from a nobody to become a somebody.

There is one scene that is very strong and subtle. As Malik is ordered by Cesar to go to Marseille on his leave day (it is really weird that in French prison, prisoner with good behaviour can leave prison for 12 hours and then return to the prison. This chance is used by Cesar to order Malik to do things outside the prison), he passes the metal detector gate at the airport and as the security man check him, Malik all the sudden open is mouth and show his tongue to be checked although he was not asked to.

In prison Malik used to be searched by opening his mouth, so that certain mentality has been imprinted in him no matter where he is. It means that you can take the man out of prison, but not the prison mentality. That one scene itself explain everything about Malik's nature.

Director Jacques Audiard is a talented director. I have seen The Beat that My heart skipped (2005) and I can say that Jacques could be the equivalent of Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Copolla in Europe.

This film is different than Goodfellas or The Godfather since it use neo-realistic approach by never try to make any scene look beautiful, but real and gritty. It is epic without having need to use wide lenses and good without any marquee name.

If you wonder why you like movies, this one will surely brings you the reason why. A Prophet swept all major categories this year's Cesar Awards, the French Oscars. It won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival and I can say that all the awards is well deserved.

SHUTTER ISLAND

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Run time: 138 min

In the 50s, a woman is missing from Shutter Island, a remote island off Boston, where a Civil War-era fort has been changed into an institution for the criminally insane. The noir Arkham Asylum based on the novel fof the same title from Dennis Lehane, brought to the screen by the one and only, Martin Scorsese.

To this island travel U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo). They are assigned to investigate the missing woman. How come she is gone from her locked cell and why do the institution looks spooky with people who seem to withheld secret information? What is actually going on in Shutter Island? Is there a secret experiment going on? Or is there something more?

Teddy is a clueless character, coming to the island with heavy baggage, the death if his wife in the fire and his memory of liberating Dachau concentration camp in the World War II where he see inhumane things happened.

Soon, like peeling onion layers, mysteries resolved and everyone is treated to a twist that will makes them scratch their head because this film will not just give you the easy answer because they have to fit the unfit puzzle.

Uncertainty is the key to understand this film. Martin Scorsese has successfully tease viewer's sense and take it to the endless maze. Bits by bits the viewers know more about the mysteries surrounding Shutter Island, the lines between sanity and insanity, reality and delusion began to merge.

It doesn't mean bad, since by leaving things uncertain, the director best known for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, has proven he still has an edge in making good movies. The lensing is powerful and the editing is tight, leave no wasted time and space at all, thus make the story not draggy.

As for those who doesn't like to think, this film is confusing and not interesting at all but for those who wanted to see top notch directing and acting with twisted plots in the spirit of The Machinist, Mulholland Drive and Memento, this one is a must see this year.

If you think this film is mind boggling, wait until you see Triangle, an underrated film from 2009 which will left you dumbfounded for days and has more twist than this one.

PRECIOUS

Directed by: Lee Daniels
Run time: 109 min

Overweight, child out of wedlock, incest. Whoa, that is more than enough to make you depressed. However Precious is not an outstanding movie at all but not bad at all, in fact I think it stands in between, it is actually interesting and not boring. It feels as depressing as Revolutionary Road but also entertaining. What is the word for that anyway? It is the feeling of sympathy mixed with entertainment.

Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) has inferiority complex, she is overweight, illiterate, her father raped her twice and she has been pregnant (again) by his father. To makes things worse, her mother is very abusive, hurling not only verbal assault to her, but physical as well. In this cruel world, Precious must fight so she can be precious again.

In the hand of a generic director this film will be the generic kitchen sink drama where viewers will cry at given cues. But this film stand beyond that, it will not make you cry wildly nor sobbing, but it will make you sympathize with the plight of the poor and abused person.

If there are things that redeem the landscape of despair this film offers, is the two women who want life to be better for Precious. They are Mrs. Weiss (Mariah Carey) the social worker and Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), her teacher who consistently wanted to make the life of their students better.

Gabourey is shining in this film and Mariah Carey is just stunning, you hardly recognize her here. Mo'Nique is also shining, playing the abusive chain smoker mother, she deserved the Oscar.