Random News: Oscars to nominate 10 for Best Picture

Official Press Release:

Beverly Hills, CA (June 24, 2009) — The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press conference in Beverly Hills.

Read the full story here.

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Okay, most of us know that Oscars don't really mean anything, but to those in the industry, it's still a pretty nice thing to be nominated. So on behalf of them, I offer this opinion:

First of all, I'm struggling to see how they'll even be able to find 10 films worthy of a "best picture" nomination. The five up for it last year weren't even all the best ones. But even so, 10 films up for best picture. It's ridiculous. It completely cheapens the whole honor. It will cease to be a big deal for people. The ones who say "It's an honor just to be nominated." Yeah well, you and everybody else in the room. I just think it loses something. Credibility, perhaps.

Rant: Awards Season

When Kate Winslet accepted her award for Best Actress on February 22, she didn't look thrilled or particularly surprised. (Her speech was still on the cringe-worthy side). When she won the Golden Globe for her role in The Reader, she DID seem taken aback and genuinely shocked. Before that time, she had a very long losing streak. So, she broke it, but at the Golden Globes. And, as everybody knows, no one ever mentions Golden Globe nominations not won when talking about an actor or actress. Kate Winslet won the SAG, The Golden Globe, The BAFTA, Several critics awards, and now an Oscar.

But by the time we get to the climax of Awards season, I'm pretty sure everyone is burned out on getting dressed up, going to sit in an uncomfortable theater for 3 hours and watch montages and listen to actors and actresses deliver painfully awkward speeches. And Kate Winslet didn't seem to revel in her glory of finally winning an oscar after going 0-5. In fact, she seemed to accept it pretty easily, and for someone who's wanted her to win for a long long time, it wasn't that exciting.

At the Golden Globes, nobody had an idea about who might walk away with the Best Drama award, as it was still pretty up in the air at that time. When Slumdog did, and then it won a slew of others, there was absolutely no surprise or excitement on Oscar Night. People only want oscars and stupid award season is ruining it.

So why the ceremonies? Why the Golden Globes? Let Television have the Emmys. Film can have the Oscars and the Spirit Awards, and the rest can go away and celebrities can get their awards mailed to them.

But, if they're going to keep doing all these award shows, I might as well watch them.

My present sadness...

I still have a few movies to see before the official movie year is over (this being, in little minneapolis, sometime in january), and I know I'm going to break 80 for the year, but won't reach 100. Maybe that's not something to get bent out of shape about, but next year might not be as plentiful. I haven't been employed at a movie theater since September, and in the dead months of February, March and April, the only reason I saw most of the movies I did is because they were free and convenient.

Well for the love of Christ.

Current Total: 77
Projected Total: 88-90

I can live with that. I GUESS.

Rant: Simon Pegg hates fast zombies

From The Guardian:

As an avid horror fan, I found the prospect of last week's five-night TV zombie spectacular rather exciting. Admittedly, the trailer for E4's Dead Set made me somewhat uneasy. The sight of newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy warning the populace of an impending zombie apocalypse induced a sickening sense of indignation. Only five years previously, Edgar Wright and I had hired Krishnan to do the very same thing in our own zombie opus, Shaun of the Dead. It was a bit like seeing an ex-lover walking down the street pushing a pram. Of course, this was a knee-jerk reaction. It's not as if Edgar and I hadn't already pushed someone else's baby up the cultural high street - but that, to some extent, was the point. In Shaun of the Dead, we lifted the mythology established by George A Romero in his 1968 film Night of the Living Dead and offset it against the conventions of a romantic comedy.

Read on...

Random Notes: Harry Potter pushed to 2009

From Aint It Cool News..

Wellity wellity wellity.

I read an article in Empire the other day where David Yates, the director, talks about what changes they've made in the script. Basically I was appalled. They talk about The Half Blood Prince as if it's a throwaway novel, and people just really want to get down and dirty to all the action of The Deathly Hallows.

First, I love HBP. It's my very favorite of the Harry Potter series. To butcher the entire focus of the story would be an abomination. To actually say that skipping over the boring backstory of Lord Voldemort is unacceptable.

I'm hoping that this change of date actually means that the test screenings went very very badly. And "suffering the repercussions" of the writers' strike actually means "we fucked up bad on this one."

I'm disappointed in the news, but all this means is that the movie *better* kick some serious ass next Summer. Am I right?

Rant: When Franchises won't die

I cannot say that I am the biggest Indiana Jones fan. I can't even really say I'm a fan. I'm much more a Star Wars person... But anyway, the point is, fan or not, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had me scratching my chin for a long while.

For me, saying goodbye is usually a long and messy ordeal. When I see the last of a movie franchise that I hold dear to my heart, I get goosebumps, maybe I cry. It's emotional. It's like breaking up with someone you really truly love. 

So we say goodbye to Indy. It's the "Last Crusade". It's an excellent way to ride into the sun and never look back. We can all get on with our lives and look back and think how awesome that was, and how it shaped pop culture, etc... Except, they decide to add more icing to the cake and make a FOURTH installment?

My sweet tooth can only take so much.

I can relate this even more to the new Star Wars trilogy. Was it necessary? Wasn't it just abusing loyal Star Wars fans? I find the original trilogy so much more impressive, innovative, entertaining, and, well, amazing.
The new one is just George Lucas confirming our theories that he actually IS a pretty shitty screenwriter and director. His ideas are all there, but everything else lacks... Everything else.

Although I did genuinely enjoy The Revenge of the Sith, the other two were complete garbage and to this day I feel that Attack of the Clones is one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

Thanks, Hayden Christensen.

Futhermore: I love Pirates of the Caribbean. But the first one mostly. I think it's perfection. It's the movie that rejuvenated my love of movies. I'm not even kidding. The movie singlehandedly shaped my entire life in ways I can't describe. But that's not the point. The point is that this movie was great, and it was great for what it was. It had a beginning and an end. But it made sooo much money and Johnny Depp finally became a widely recognized and acknowledged movie star like he always should have been. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley were hot up-and-comers and they could go on for ages. So they made a second one, basically taking what succeeded in #1 and stretching it thin and letting it sit out in the sun for too long. It sucked.

However, they (in my humble opinion) wholly redeemed themselves with At World's End. It was epic, the story was fresh, and it got me with the goosebumps. A fine finish.

But It's not finished. I hear murmurs of even more sequels. As in plural. Just put it to rest already! I've said goodbye, why do you need to stretch this out more so that nobody remembers it for what it originally was? Bloom and Knightley will not return. As they shouldn't. These characters' stories are finished. Why. Why do you torment me with more of this? It's just too much.

Lastly, I'm confronted with my favorite franchise (After Star Wars), Lord of the Rings. What a pitch-perfect trilogy. Excellently adapted, beautiful casted and shot. I can't say enough about it, and how much the movies themselves have shaped my life as a whole. The first viewing of Return of the King (the beginning of the end, as it were) left me in tears... An utter mess. Watching the extras on the Extended Edition DVD, I cried more. I like. How sad, this is all over. But it's done. And I can move on, but they will always live on in DVD format. And that's quite a comfort.

But now they are going to make The Hobbit. I can't help but think this is because of the overwhelming success of LOTR... For a long, long time, the question was, who would direct? Certainly, Peter Jackson MUST come back to direct. I, on the other hand, disagree. It's this whole goodbye thing again. I said goodbye, and so did they. How do you come back to something you already spent so long saying goodbye to? It's a waste of emotion, of energy...



So why won't they die? They all live good lives and then they are put to rest. Why does Film do this to me? Will I see the films? Of course I will. Will I like them? It's very possible, yes. But do I approve? No, I absolutely do not.

Just like saying goodbye to a great movie is like breaking up with an awesome boyfriend, having to witness a reincarnation of said great movie is like getting back together awkwardly with said awesome boyfriend, but it's just not the same relationship anymore.

Reviews: Recent Rundowns (3 films)

I absolutely fail at this blog! Lightning quick rundowns. 

Run, Fat Boy, Run (2008)

--Endearingly generic romantic comedy with my all-time favorite Simon Pegg, who probably boosts the likability of this movie about 80%. The other 20%? The soundtrack. It's surprisingly good. I almost forgot that David Schwimmer directed it until about 2 minutes before the movie ended. Still, I expected it to be bad and I was very pleasantly surprised. 

Grade: B-

The Bank Job (2008)

--A heist movie I honestly expected to be more "fun". Jason Statham has long been a favorite of mine, and we see him here in his natural element. The movie is certainly dramatic and more based on the before and after of the actual "job". Still, it was very smart, well crafted, and well acted by a cast of virtual unknowns (at least, to me, which in the world of british actors, is rare. I usually recognize most people).

Grade: B

The Grand (2008)

--On the surface this "mockumentary"-style film is an attempted remake of "Best in Show", but set in a casino. They even have the two outlandish commentators. However, later throughout the film it truly comes into its own. A dynamic cast led by the often underrated Woody Harrelson (becoming one of my favorite guys to watch), supported by such comic greats as David Cross, Chris Parnell, and Cheryl Hines, and even a fantastic cameo by famed director Werner Herzog as a sadistic german gambler out for blood.

Grade: B+

Reviews: Recent Rundowns (5 films)

Due to my recent hiatus, I can't remember all the movies I've seen. I'll try my best, though, to give a brief rundown of recent films I've seen:

The Band's Visit

A light and quaint comedy set in Israel about a Police band stranded for a day and the events that ensue in their desertion. I thought the movie was cute, quirky and sweet. Nothing epic or even spectacular, it's surprisingly heavy at time but strong with emotion. A fine achievement. 

Grade: B

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Amy Adams continues to amaze me with every performance. But I wonder, can she ever be anything besides bubbly and cute? Even so, her performance in this film about a governess (Frances McDormand) finding herself as Adams' "social secretary" and the wild shenanigans involved in one day is endearing and lovely. I'm just a little bit in love with this film.

Grade: B+

10,000 B.C.

I don't know where to begin with it. History can be interesting, and it is. And I think when dealing with something as epic and primitive as the world 12,000 years ago, you could be more creative with a film. This movie was dull and, at times, laughable. This movie was simply ridiculous. 

Grade: D

Shutter

This is probably the worst movie I've seen in a long long time. Bad story, terrible acting, the worst dialogue EVER. Wow, I was just so blown away at how bad this was. Please, enough of the J-Horror remakes. Let's take a break from this genre. It's very, very tired.

Grade: F

Drillbit Taylor

One thing I learned while watching this is that Owen Wilson is adorable. His boyish charm along with his mess of sandy blonde hair makes my insides all fangirly. This harmless movie is more broad than a movie like Superbad (which, like this film, was a Seth Rogan collaboration) and a little younger (it's PG-13 as opposed to Superbad's R rating), but I still think it works. If nothing, it's a fluff feature with some garaunteed laughs. At least you don't have to think about it.

Grade: B

That's all I got for now. Hopefully I'll get back into the habit soon with more fun stuff.

Rant: Juno

With the Oscars just days away (and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm SO excited that it's actually going to happen) I need to talk about a blight to the film industry that has somehow slipped its way into everybody's heart:

Juno.

I will admit. I ate up the craze just like everybody else did at first. I saw the trailer and thought it looked cute. I was way excited to see a movie about a regular, sassy girl with some salt in her veins, just like me. 

Then the hype got even worse, and I started to think "Well...Maybe this isn't going to be as good as everyone thinks" and I started to see it for what it was.

Juno is too sassy for her own good. She's sarcastic and she knows it. She's so, so, so, so, SO pretentious. A hamburger phone? Oh my god, how ingenious. Honest to blog!

Let me just put this out there: I hate Diablo Cody. With every ounce I hate her. I don't care if she's local. She used to strip. Whoopdedoo. She also used to be a columnist for a publication I hate. She wrote a movie that tries too hard to be what it is.

A quirky indie comedy with laughs and heart and sharp wit. 

Let me just say again. A hamburger phone.

That is so kooky!

The inexplicable cameo by Rainn Wilson saying things like "your ego is preggo" and "what's the prognosis fertile myrtle?" made me roll my eyes so big I got dizzy. 

"That aint no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet"

Honest to blog.

Then there's the soundtrack. If I ever hear Kimya Dawson's boyish and whimsical voice again I will cry. Her songs that hammer indie into your head is enough to make anyone gag. So why is this movie so popular?

I wish I could say that people like Juno exist but I don't think they do. Nobody talks like she does. Nobody has a quirky obsession like Michael Cera's Paulie Bleeker does (red tic tacs? who thinks of this crazy stuff!)

I didn't hate Juno. The movie itself was actually alright in my honest opinion. It's what the damn movie has become. It's a monster, eating up all the attention that should go to well-deserving and amazing films like No Country for Old Men or There Will be Blood. (Not to say those two films are widely recognized as great.) 

It's nominated for FOUR Oscars. I understand Ellen Page for best actress and Diablo Cody for screenwriting but director? picture? Ugh. I hate Juno.

If this film hadn't tried so damn hard, I might actually like it. But thanks to the many many fans and support from film critics and naïve film-goers, I'm forced to hear every day about the little engine that could--and did--and probably will do for a long, long time.

Thanks Juno, for destroying my soul.

Random Notes: The Nominations

The Academy Award nominations were announced today. They are as follows:

Best Picture

Atonement

Juno

Michael Clayton

No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

--I am very sad to see Juno up here. For some reason, people have eaten up this sassy and pretentious teen-pregnancy comedy. I do not think it was the best picture of the year, not by far. However, three of my favorite pictures of the year--Atonement, No Country and There Will be Blood--are nominated. I'm hoping it's at least between those three. Of the selection, Atonement has the best chance, because that's just the kind of movie it is, although I think it should be No Country for Old Men, but hey, that's just me.

Best Actor

George Clooney-Michael Clayton

Daniel Day-Lewis- There Will be Blood

Johnny Depp-Sweeney Todd

Tommy Lee Jones-In the Valley of Elah

Viggo Mortensen-Eastern Promises

--I think there's no question- Daniel Day-Lewis has been the favorite for months and months before TWBB even came out. I've always been a big Johnny Depp backer, but I honestly don't care at all that he's nominated. He won the golden globe, much to my surprise (and delight), but in this pool of actors, he's nearly last for me. I can't say a whole lot, though, because this competition is (hopefully) all wrapped up for Day-Lewis.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett-Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Julie Christie-Away from Her

Marion Cotillard- La Vie en Rose

Laura Linney-The Savages

Ellen Page-Juno

--Curse Ellen Page. Everyone knew she would get nominated, but if she wins I will burn buildings. Anyway, I have only seen two of the 5 movies on this list, so I can't provide speculation, but from what I hear, Marion Cotillard gives a spectacular performance, and she did win the Golden Globe and I also *hear* that she's a lock for the trophy, and has been for a long long time.

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Javier Bardem-No Country for Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman- Charlie Wilson's War

Hal Holbrook-Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson- Michael Clayton

--It's nice to see PSH get a nod, after all he did 3 movies this year, he was bound to get noticed for one of them. I can't say for definite who might win this one. Javier Bardem won a Golden Globe but Hal Holbrook has been a favorite for a long time and he was pretty spectacular in Into the Wild. If I was putting money on it, I'd say it was between those two.

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett-I'm Not There

Ruby Dee-American Gangster

Saoirse Ronan-Atonement

Amy Ryan-Gone baby Gone

Tilda Swinton-Michael Clayton

--Apparently Michael Clayton has great acting performances and I still haven't seen it. Damn. Anyway, I think Cate Blanchett is the favorite in this category (she's always mine), so she'll probably win, but I hear Amy Ryan is great in Gone Baby Gone...But I haven't seen it.. I actually thought that Ruby Dee's performance was amazing, but I believe in this race she's a true underdog. Like, seriously. I think it's unfortunate that Saoirse Ronan is nominated for Atonement but James McAvoy is not. Because he truly delivered.

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson-There Will Be Blood

Ethan and Joel Coen-No Country for Old Men

Tony Gilroy-Michael Clayton

Jason Reitman-Juno

Julian Schnabel-The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

--Juno again?? I understand that people like this film, but seriously, why?? Anyway, I don't know who to root for here. I think PT Anderson did a really fantastic job but I also loved No Country... I suppose we could just give it to Julian Schnabel. I loved TDBATBF (jeez...) a whole lot. Yes. A whole lot. 

Best Original Screenplay

Juno- Diablo Cody

Lars and the Real Girl-Nancy Oliver

Michael Clayton-Tony Gilroy

Rataouille- Brad Bird

The Savages-Tamara Jenkins

--Fuck it. Just give it to Diablo Cody.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Atonement-Chris Hampton

Away from Her- Sarah Polley

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly-Ronald Harwood

No Country for Old Men- Joel and Ethan Coen

There Will be Blood- Paul Thomas Anderson

--Hm... Well, I haven't read any of these books, and I haven't seen one of these movies, so I have nothing on this category. My mom is reading Atonement and says that it's exactly like the movie..So maybe that should win?

Best Cinematography

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Atonement

No Country for Old Men

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

There Will be Blood

--I would've said The Diving Bell but after I saw There Will be Blood that sold me for best cinematography. Really striking landscapes and colors. Superb frame work.

Editing

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Bourne Ultimatum

Into the Wild

No Country for Old Men

There Will be Blood

--No Country and TWBB are against each other in nearly everything, it seems. I love them both, which one do I want to win? Uh, Into the Wild, no. Because you had shitty, shitty graphics. I would have to say the Diving Bell for this one. Really interesting look. Good.. Arty.

Art Direction

American Gangster

Atonement

The Golden Compass

Sweeney Todd

There Will be Blood

--I didn't see The Golden Compass, but I heard cool things about the look of it. But I would say that this is between Sweeney Todd and TWBB.

Costume Design

Across the Universe

Atonement

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

La Vie En Rose

Sweeney Todd

--Across the Universe didn't have costumes. Atonement had very pretty ones, La Vie en Rose probably won't win, neither will Sweeney Todd. So, Elizabeth it is. I never saw this, but some of the only good things I heard were how amazing the costumes where, so why wouldn't it win? Oscar is predictable like that.

Makeup

Norbit

Pirates of the Caribbean 3

La Vie En Rose

--Oh my God. How amazing would it be if Norbit won an oscar? That's incredible. Anyway, I would say that Norbit doesn't have a shot against the other two, and I think that La Vie en Rose might actually win.

Original Score

Atonement

The Kite Runner

Michael Clayton

Ratatouille

3:10 to Yuma

--WHAT. No Original Score nomination for There Will Be Blood?? It was absolutely brilliant. I quit this blog.

Best Song

August Rush

Enchanted (3)

Once

--I'm not putting the song titles up because it's not important. Once must win. It simply must. It breaks the rules for musicals. It's incredible. If you haven't seen it, you must. Besides, the song that's up for the award is really beautiful.

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That's all I shall touch upon for this. I must say that I'm pretty disappointed by a lot of these. I don't think that the Oscars are for people who are true lovers of film. If I was running the show, Juno wouldn't even be allowed to compete. 

But, I'll still watch them anyway.