Blog neglect!

I never did get around to my Oscar wrap-up! Here's my rambling take on the Best Picture nominees:

Part One:


The first part of the Oscar marathon was fun but exhausting! I enjoyed all five films- well, it was hard to enjoy Precious, but it was so heartbreaking and well-acted. Not one I'll see again anytime soon, but I thought it was a great movie. Mo'Nique scared the crap out of me (WORST MOVIE MOM EVER!!!), Mariah Carey was surprisingly good (and unrecognizable), and Precious herself was perfect.

I'd already seen Up, but it was nice to see it on the big screen again.

A Serious Man was my favorite of the day, I think. Like I said earlier, the Coen brothers haven't let me down yet. Problem is, a lot of people probably didn't get it. It helps if you have Jewish friends who grew up in the Midwest! The movie is somewhat based on the Coen's lives growing up in Minnesota. The story is about all kinds of crap happening to a college professor- but it's funny. The ending is very typical Coen brothers. And how could I not love a movie that has a kid doing his bar mitzvah utterly shit-faced on pot...and doing it perfectly. Hee!

I thought Avatar was a lot of fun and pretty to look at for sure- not really the best movie ever, but I enjoyed it. The plot was fairly simple, the acting was so-so for the most part, but it was a good time! And I saw it in 3-D. District 9 was the one that surprised me- sure, it was violent and gory, but it was excellent storytelling. The Prawns were a bit scary, but at the same time, sympathetic. And both Avatar and District 9 had a similar theme- understanding aliens by actually becoming one of them (one willingly, one accidentally). Very similar stories with different results.

Part Two:

I loved everything except Inglorious Basterds. I hated that one at first because it was so relentlessly violent, though it certainly had good things about it.

I think An Education was my favorite from day 2. Simple story- girl in early 60's England gets "an education" when she is seduced by an older man. She has to grow up very quickly at the end. Carey Mulligan is so perfect in this movie! Lots of great supporting players, too. Alfred Molina plays Jenny's dad, Emma Thompson is the Headmistress of her school, and Peter Sarsgaard is the man who sweeps her off her feet.

Hurt Locker was a pretty amazing look at the Iraq war and the soldiers who disarm bombs and IEDs. Heart stopping doesn't even begin to describe it. Good cast, too-including Best Actor nominee Jeremy Renner, Ralph Fiennes in a cameo, and Anthony Mackie from We Are Marshall (he was good in that, too!). It was pretty hard to watch at times.

Up in the Air probably was the best timed movie of the bunch (because of all the layoffs happening), and George Clooney probaby gave his best performance yet.

The Blind Side- I love true stories that have happy endings, and I loved watching Sandra Bullock in this one.

Inglorious Basterds- I wanted to love this movie. It had a great cast, clever story...but it was just too violent to enjoy. A little less violence and maybe half hour off the running time, and it would have been one of the greats. It was so brutal! I wonder what it was like in the original Klingon. :p


My thoughts on the awards- Hurt Locker deserved Best Picture and Director (first woman to win! WOOT!), no doubt in my mind. I didn't see many of the acting nominees, but I'm glad Jeff Bridges finally won the big one. The Dude abides! Sandra Bullock, Mo'Nique, and Christoph Waltz all deserved their wins. Waltz was the best thing about Inglorious Basterds!

The Star Trek francise won its first ever Oscar! It won for make-up.

Other than the Oscar marathon, I haven't been to the movies much in 2010. I did see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which was truly magical. It was entertaining and just plain gorgeous with eye-popping effects. I liked it more than Avatar! Seeing it in 3-D and IMAX made it even better. And Johnny Depp was awesome as The Mad Hatter.

I also saw Date Night- a slightly above-average comedy made terrific because of Steve Carrell and Tina Fey- and the most hilarious car chase I've seen on film in years (even better than the one in Pineapple Express!).

Nothing else really interests me right now. I'm looking forward to Robin Hood with Russell Crowe. I'm not sure what else is coming.

Well, crap.

Corey Haim has died from an apparent drug overdose.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/10/breaking-actor-corey-haim-dead/?hpt=T2

It's sad, but I can't say I'm surprised. :( He never could conquer his drug problems.

He was in two of my favorite movies of the 80's- Lucas and The Lost Boys. And of course, he was the other half of The Two Coreys (the other being Corey Feldman).

What is with actors my age suddenly dying? It sucks. Haim was 38, same as me. Andrew Koenig (of TV's Growing Pains) was 41 (suicide). Who's next? :(

In other news- I did see all ten Best Picture nominees over the last two weekends- I'll do a wrap-up and my take on the Oscar winners later.

Good God, no!!!

A movie version of Gilligan's Island is in the works. Do they really have to do it?

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a206346/warner-bros-backs-gilligans-island-film.html

I knew Hollywood was losing originality, but this is ridiculous!

It's bad enough that T.V. is remaking Hawaii 5-O and (rumored) The Rockford Files. Do we really need Gilligan and company on the big screen?

Other T.V. shows turned into movies have bombed in the past (Land of the Lost, anyone?). The only reason The Brady Bunch was successful was because it was a spoof, and the Addams Family was more like Charles Addams' original drawings than the show.

The Oscar nominations are out!

www.imdb.com/features/rto/2010/oscars

I've only seen one- Up, also nominated for Animated Film. I sure hope AMC Theaters is going to do the Best Picture marathon again this year- though it will have to be split into two weekends.

I'm going to pick up Inglorious Basterds, A Serious Man, and The Hurt Locker on DVD this week, so I'll get to see them at least. Mom and Dad loved The Blind Side, and they're sure Sandra Bullock will win Best Actress. But Best Picture, really? My aunt thought Precious was overwhelming but still one of the best movies she's ever seen.

Of the other nominees, I'm most looking forward to seeing Up in the Air, A Serious Man (the Cohen brothers haven't let me down yet!), and An Education. I love that Carey Mulligan got a Best Actress nomination for that one- she won't win, but she'll get other chances.

I wish A Single Man and Crazy Heart would play somewhere near me. I'd love to see the movies that got Colin Firth his first ever Oscar nomination and the one Jeff Bridges will likely finally win an Oscar for.

I think Stanley Tucci should have been nominated for Julie and Julia instead of The Lovely Bones. Would have been nice to see Matt Damon get a Best Actor nomination for The Informant! but a Supporting nod for Invictus isn't a bad deal, either.

Nice that Star Trek scooped up 4 nominations!

But the awards are probably all going to be about Avatar...

I think the acting awards will be: Either Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side or Meryl Streep for Julie and Julia; Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (though I'd love to see Colin Firth win); Christoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds; and Mo'Nique for Precious. I doubt there will be any surprises.

I really want Kathryn Bigelow to win Best Director for Hurt Locker...aside from the fact that she'd be the first woman to do so, she'd also be beating her ex James Cameron for Avatar.

Happy 100th birthday, Luise Rainer!

One of the few early Hollywood greats still living. She won back to back Oscars, for The Great Zeigfield and The Good Earth...way back in 1936 and 1937.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707023/

She pretty much retired before the 50's, but occasionally did television appearances well into the 90's.

The top ten lists for the decade...

They're all coming out now, and I agree with some, not so much with others. I haven't even given a thought yet to my own list. And I have yet to see many of the best 2009 films.

"Best" and "Favorite" are not always the same thing, I've learned over the years. Some of the best films I've ever seen I never want to see again (1993's Schindler's List, for example), while favorite movies I want to watch over and over, even if they aren't the best (Spaceballs is still one of my all time favorites!). And I almost never agree with the Best Picture Oscar (the last couple of years were exceptions).

I know I won't be able to narrow it down to just ten for the best of the decade. And my top ten 2009 won't be complete until the Oscar marathon in February (which will be exhausting, now that there will be ten Best Picture nominations!).

So far my favorites for 2009 were Julie and Julia, Star Trek, Up, and Where the Wild Things Are. Next there's The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Informant!, both very strange but wonderful. Of course, there was also Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which was mostly excellent, though I was disappointed in some changes from the book. Taking Woodstock is one more film I enjoyed that unfortunately didn't get a lot of attention.

What I hope to see soon (and fortunately, several are likely Best Picture contenders): An Education, Up in the Air, Precious, Nine, The Hurt Locker, A Single Man. I'm going to see It's Complicated tommorow night- my last film for 2009!

RIP, Patrick Swayze. :(

He lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at age 57. Dirty Dancing was one of my favorite movies as a teenager. Later, I enjoyed his performance in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar as the drag queen "Vida Boheme".

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0990014/

Crap. Another icon from my youth is gone. 2009 has been a bad year for celebrities.

Harry and the Half Blood Prince and Julie and Julia...

Yeah, I did get to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I enjoyed it for the most part, despite some questionable changes from the book- the attack on the Weasely home had me thinking, WTF was that? And what the writers did to Neville Longbottom was lame- Order of the Phoenix, he's one of the heroes, now he's reduced to being background. Poor Matthew Lewis. :( I worry about how Neville's big moment in Deathly Hallows will be treated now! On the other hand, the main trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint continue to grow as actors, and Grint especially got to shine. I liked having Quidditch back, and the romantic triangle of Hermione/Ron/Lavender (hilarious girl!) was a wonderful break from the more serious themes. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a lot about Voldemort's background, and the Snape/Prince reveal was too low-key. And Dumbledore's funeral isn't shown. But altogether, the movie was fun and visually exciting (if a bit slower than the others).

I was really looking forward to Julie and Julia- the always great Meryl Streep playing Julia Child? I am so there. And I was very happy with the movie. It's based on two books- the blog adventure of Julie Powell (played by the always adorable Amy Adams), who challenged herself to cook every single recipe in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year; and Child's autobiography. The movie goes back and forth between Child's life in France and her start in cooking, and Powell's often funny attempts to cook every recipe. "Lobster killer! Lobster killer!" One warning: Dan Ackroyd's Saturday Night Live skit about Child (which she supposedly loved) is even more disgusting on the big screen. "I've cut the Dickens out of my finger! Save the liver!" Ewwwwww (but LOL!).

I've only seen six movies this summer. Wow.

This teen of the 80s is very sad right now.

Writer/director John Hughes, who gave my generation movies like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Pretty in Pink, died suddenly yesterday at age 59. Though he had mostly retired from the Hollywood scene, his influence can still be seen in younger filmakers today. I don't think we would have had Juno or Rushmore without the smart humor of Hughes' films. He got teenagers in a way most writers couldn't grasp.

Ferris Bueller is still one of my all time favorite movies. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." RIP, Mr. Hughes, and thank you.

Two more summer movies down...

Up and Land of the Lost. Up is definitely one of Disney/Pixar's best. It's a fun fantasy about an old man who uses balloons to fly his house to South America. Great story, and terrific animation. Land of the Lost is both spoof of and homage to the Sid and Marty Croft televison show. It's not one of Will Ferrell's best, but there's a lot of laughs in it. Danny McBride steals the film just as he did Pineapple Express last year. And Matt Lauer of the Today Show has a hilarious cameo.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens next week, finally! I can't wait. The previews look so good.

And another great is gone...

Karl Malden has passed away at 97. Wow. He lived a long time and made some great movies! The Oscar winner (Supporting Actor for Streetcar Named Desire) had retired years ago, but at any given time one of his movies will show up on television.

Of course, he's also known as the long time spokesman for American Express..."Don't leave home without it!"

Ten nominees? TEN???

The Academy Awards next year will have TEN nominees for Best Picture. I think that's a little much! They should at least split it into Drama/Comedy like they do for the Golden Globes.

On the plus side, there's less chance of one obvious winner...


http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0849330/

Go, Nia!

Nia Vardalos (of My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is blasting critics who make fun of her for getting the hunk in her latest movie, My Life in Ruins. Apparently, women who are somewhat chunky aren't allowed to get with hot guys. She points out the hypocrisy here: in other movies, chunky slobs like Seth Rogen (in his past films, not currently!) get the gorgeous women and that's somehow okay. Lame! It's nice that someone is sticking up for us "Plus Size" gals.

Link to story:

http://us.imdb.com/news/ni0833084/

Summer movies so far...

Spoilers for some things...

Star Trek was awesome. I can't say enough about how much I loved it. The new cast is terrific, and I don't even mind the new alternate timeline JJ Abrahms has created. There's a whole new universe for this cast to play with (no Vulcan? Waaah!). I can't wait for the next one!

Night at the Museum: The Battle of the Smithsonian was entertaining, but not as good as the first one. Amy Adams is so charming- she's become one of my favorite actresses.

Tomorrow, I'm going to see Up. After that, maybe Land of the Lost, because Will Ferrell hasn't let me down yet. Then nothing until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The trailer for that was exciting!

Yay!

Star Trek opens tomorrow. I've heard nothing but good things about it...so I can't wait! I admit I was skeptical about a prequel, but I think it will be fine. I'm going to see it on Saturday. I'd love to see it in IMAX.

So this will be the first 2009 movie I'll see. Wow. I haven't been to the theater since the Oscar marathon. :( Too busy, and the movies I wanted to see most didn't play in my area.

Another sad goodbye...

Dom DeLuise has died at the age of 75. The comedian was well known for small parts in movies such as Blazing Saddles, Cannonball Run, and Spaceballs. (PIZZA THE HUT!) He will be missed. :(

http://us.imdb.com/news/ni0772220/

Another movie great gone...

Composer Maurice Jarre, who did the scores for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zvihago, Fatal Attraction, and a Passage to India, died last week. He wrote some of the most memorable music for some of the greatest films!

He frequently did music for one of my favorite directors, Peter Weir: Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Dead Poets Society, and Fearless...and probably would have done Master and Commander had he not been retired by then. His last score was for the miniseries Uprising in 2001.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003574/

I can't wait!

Doubt is out on DVD next Tuesday! I think it was one of the best movies of 2008, and should have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar over The Reader.



This one is a must have for my DVD collection. Slumdog Millionaire will be out soon, too!

I hope to go see Monsters v. Aliens in the theater soon. I may have to wait until after Easter, because my weekends are pretty much booked until then.

Two weeks, two sad losses for the film world.

Last week, actor Ron Silver died of cancer at 62. I had no idea he had been sick, so that was a surprise. He gave some really good performances throughout his career, in films such as Reversal of Fortune, and on television on The West Wing.

On Wednesday, Natasha Richardson died of head injuries from a skiing accident. She was the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, niece of Lynn Redgrave, the wife of Liam Neeson, and a damned fine actress in her own right. I remember her especially from The Handmaid's Tale and Patty Hearst. She was more of a stage actress, so her film appearances were a bit few and far between. She was just 45. A damned shame that she's gone.

Other movie notes- I picked up the DVDs for Milk, Rachel Getting Married, and Happy-Go-Lucky. I watched Milk the day I bought it, and it was just as fantastic as when I saw it in the theater. I'll watch the other two this weekend. I can't wait for Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, and Frost/Nixon to be released on DVD!

I did see Revolutionary Road in the theater, but for some reason, I never got around to reviewing it. I'll do it next week, as well as my final 2008 wrap-up.

I haven't been to the movies since the Oscar marathon. The only one I'm interested at the moment is Sunshine Cleaning, which stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Unfortunately, it's not playing anywhere near me. :(

2008 Oscars!

YES!! Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Picture and Director (Danny Boyle), Kate Winslet wins Best Actress for The Reader, and Sean Penn wins Best Actor for Milk.

What a great year for movies!