Oscar Round-up and looking to next year

This year's Oscars are over. I beat Dane this year in our contest and that's all that really matters. I was 19/24 which I was very proud of... even if I did doubt Sean Penn's win. Slumdog winning everything under the sun didn't bother me as much as I thought (because it helped me WIN!). In spite of all the Slumdog crap, I was happiest to see Heath, Sean Penn and Dustin Lance Black (who gave the best, most moving speech of the night). The ceremony was really great, I thought. Sarah Jessica Parker was best dressed hands down. Jessica Biel was a hot mess. Judd Apatow's short film starring James Franco and Seth Rogen stole the show. Overall, it was a good ceremony.

Now... on to next year! Here is my year in advance predictions. I looked back at last year's and I was about half right which was really good, I thought. Anyway, we'll see how I do this time. Here are my early predictions for Oscars 2010.

Best Picture
Nine
Public Enemies
Shutter Island
Taking Woodstock
Untitled Nelson Mandela Project

Best Director
Clint Eastwood - Untitled Nelson Mandela Project
Ang Lee - Taking Woodstock
Michael Mann - Public Enemies
Rob Marshall - Nine
Martin Scorsese - Shutter Island

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine
Johnny Depp - Public Enemies
Leonardo DiCaprio - Shutter Island
Morgan Freeman - Untitled Nelson Mandela Project
Viggo Mortensen - The Road

Best Actress
Amy Adams - Julia and Julia
Nicole Kidman - Nine
Michelle Pfieffer - Cheri
Meryl Streep - Julia and Julia
Hilary Swank - Amelia

Best Supporting Actor
Billy Crudup - Public Enemies
Matt Damon - Untitled Nelson Mandela Project
Ben Kingsley - Shutter Island
Ewan McGregor - Amelia
Mark Ruffalo - Shutter Island

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz - Nine
Patricia Clarkson - Shutter Island
Mo Nique - Push
Emily Mortimer - Shutter Island
Michelle Williams - Shutter Island

Quick Movie Reviews...
Friday the 13th - There was definitely room to improve upon the original here (unlike Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween where the originals are perfect and shouldn't have been touched). Overall, it was decent. They didn't ruin it, but they didn't really improve anything either. Grade - C

He's Just Not That Into You - Thank goodness for Ginnifer Goodwin who is adorable in this movie. The movie was kinda funny and kinda sweet but in the end became exactly what I thought it was trying not to be. But bonus points for a mostly engaging cast. Grade - C+

Back to regular reviews soooooooooon!

Oscar Predictions!!

My favorite day of the year is just over a week away - Oscar night!!! I've been battling between playing it safe and being risky. But, I want to beat Dane this year :) so I guess I'll play it safe. What follows is my final decisions on who will win (and who should win) the Oscar come next Sunday... [Winners in Bold]

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost / Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Who WILL win: Slumdog Millionaire. Let's face it, if there was an Oscar for best craft services, Slumdog would probably win it. (Can you tell I'm a little sick of Slumdog fever?).
Who SHOULD win: Milk. There was no movie more moving or politically timely this year. Featuring amazing performances, direction and writing, Milk is the best of this nominated bunch (and of the year, I think).
Who MIGHT win: The Academy loves Holocaust films so I wouldn't count out The Reader.
Who was SCREWED: I think everyone thought The Dark Knight would sneak in here.

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost / Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk
Who WILL win: I really want to be risky here and pick someone else (*cough* Daldry *cough*) but I guess I'll play it safe and go with... Gus Van Sant! No, I'm kidding. It looks like Danny Boyle has this one in the bag eventhough he's directed at least two films that are better than Slumdog Millionaire.
Who SHOULD win: My deep and unending love for Gus Van Sant aside, I think Daldry directed the hell out of The Reader. I had my problems with the film... but his direction was not one of them.
Who MIGHT win: Daldry could possibly sneak in there again. The Academy seems to love him (he's directed three movies and he's been nominated for Best Director three times) and maybe they are as sick of Slumdog as I am? Maybe...
Who was SCREWED: Christopher Nolan. Hands down. Even if the stuffy Academy members didn't want to nominated a "comic book movie" for Best Picture, Nolan most definitely should have gotten Howard's spot on this list for Best Director.

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost / Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Who WILL win: This is the one I'm having the most difficulty with. It's clearly down to Sean and Mickey. This will probably be the closest vote in recent history. I might really kick myself come Oscar night for going against my movie star boyfriend, but I'm going to go with Mickey Rourke for the win.
Who SHOULD win: Sean Penn. His performance as Harvey Milk is so unlike anything he's ever done. He just disappears within this man and gives an incredible, incredible performance.
Who MIGHT win: Sean Penn. Like I said, I think it's going to be insanely close.
Who got SCREWED: You can't really argue with this line up although I would switch out Brad Pitt for Leonardo DiCaprio who was amazing in Revolutionary Road.

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader
Who WILL win: I think everyone agrees that it's Winslet's year.
Who SHOULD win: Honestly, Anne Hathaway. She had the most to work with (taking a very hateable character and walking a fine line between being a complete narcisist and charmer) and she did the best job with it.
Who MIGHT win: Meryl Streep.
Who got SCREWED: I would have liked to have seen Kate nominated for Revolutionary Road instead. Something about that performance just stuck with me.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
Who WILL win: If it was any other year, at least half of these guys would actually have a shot in hell. But it's not. So Heath. Hands down.
Who SHOULD win: Heath. He's probably the only true lock of the night.
Who MIGHT win: Umm... Heath.
Who got SCREWED: I actually adore this category... especially since the Academy included Michael Shannon!!!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Who WILL win: This one is tough... and maybe completely wide open. I think it's probably the only category where any one of the nominees has an equal chance at winning. I'm going to go with Penelope Cruz on this one, though.
Who SHOULD win: Again, you can make a case for any of these women. Cruz gave one of my favorite performances of the year though so I think it should go to her.
Who MIGHT win: Again, wide open. Anyone could walk away with it. I think the closest competition is probably Viola Davis and she could very well win on Oscar night.
Who got SCREWED: No one really. This is a great category. At least the Academy got the supporting acting categories right this year! That's one thing they have going for them at least.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost / Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk- Dustin Lance Black
Wall-E

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

BEST ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

BEST FILM EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost / Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir

BEST MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST MUSIC (SCORE)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

BEST MUSIC (SONG)
"Down to Earth" - Wall E
"Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire
"O Saya" - Slumdog Millionaire
NOTE: The person who SHOULD win here is not even nominated... how the Academy could outright snub Bruce Springsteen's The Wrestler is such a tragedy. That was the best song from a movie this year. /End rant.
Also: Looks like Slumdog will lose at least one award... it's nominated against itself so it can't win EVERYTHING... unless they just create a tie so they can literally give Slumdog every award on the planet. /End second rant.

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
La Masion En Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Auf Der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Wanted

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Wanted

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Mini Reviews

Bride Wars - Cutesy and completely cliched in every single way, the only thing that maybe makes Bride Wars a tiny bit watchable is that Kate Hudson is charming. That's not to say I've forgiven her for throwing away her entire career (after all, she hasn't made a good movie since Almost Famous, really). Still, she is a charming actress and I guess if she's going to do romantic comedies, then that's something I have to accept. Still, at least she could pick GOOD romantic comedies. They are rare but they do exist. For someone who loves Anne Hathaway so very much in Rachel Getting Married, this movie just proves why I dislike her in everything else. I will admit, however, that I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that these two ladies settled a despute by having a dance off. In my world, we would settle everything with a dance off.
Grade: D

My Bloody Valentine - First of all, I live in Pennsylvania (where this movie takes place). It is currently February and nearly 60 degrees. But guess what!?! Even if there is a mini heat wave in Pennsylvania in February - there would still be traces of snow SOMEWHERE! Enough about that. This movie is pretty terrible. There were times when I thought to myself, "This movie is sort of a throwback to 80s horror movies - it could quite possibly be fun and bad in a really fun way." But no. It's just bad in a bad way. It seems the only person who was in on the joke (that this was a terrible movie) was Kerr Smith who I thought did a fine job (for what it's worth). Except, maybe he's just a terrible actor in a terrible movie. I don't know. Anyway, this movie is terrible. It's a good thing Jensen Ackles is cute because he's a terrible actor.
Grade: D-

Taken - Another cliched film - this time a story of revenge. Liam Neeson is amazing in every way... it's a shame this movie is so silly. The dialogue is just laughable. The action sequences are a bit overdone. It's just all around cheesy although I guess it has it's moments of decency. And it's scary to say, but it's the best movie I've seen so far in 2009.
Grade: D+

The Reader - Yes, Kate Winslet is incredible. Yes, Stephen Daldry's directing is incredible. But as far as Best Picture goes? I'm not so sure. It's one of the better films among the nominees but it still wouldn't make my top ten list. It's an interesting and fascinating film. It tells a great story and it has amazing acting and directing and writing. Still, it just doesn't all work for me. I still prefer Winslet in Revolutionary Road. The Reader is a good movie, for sure. I would recommend it, of course, but there are parts that drag out. And for as much as I love Ralph Fiennes, his parts of the movie were borderline boring.
Grade: B


Coming soon... a review of the Friday the 13th remake (I shudder to think) and final Oscar predictions!

Top Ten List - Most Anticipated Films of 2009

Since I've been putting off writing reviews for the 2009 movies I've seen so far (because, well, they suck really bad), I decided I was going to do a list instead. I will write reviews very soon, promise. But, for now, here is my list of the top ten most antcipated movies of 2009...

10. Lymelife (April 8)
Directed by Derick Martini
Starring Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon, Jill Hennessy, Emma Roberts
The darling of the Toronto Film Festival, Lymelife is about a life in the late 70s seen through the eyes of an innocent fifteen year old boy. It follows two families who crumble while dealing with family dynamics, divorce, etc. The plot may not sound all that great but look at that cast! I'm up for anything with one Culkin let alone two!

09. Drag Me To Hell (May 29)
Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long
Sam Raimi's return to the horror genre!! It follows a young loan officer (Lohman) who is ordered to evict an old woman from her home and finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse which turns her life into a living hell. She tries to save her soul while evil forces try to push her to her breaking point. Sounds like fun for the whole family! Bonus points for the great title.

08. Public Enemies (July 1)
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Channing Tatum, Emile de Ravin, Leelee Sobieski, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Graham, Marion Cotillard, Rory Cochrane (!!), Shawn Hatosy
A movie where the cast is SO EFFING GREAT that it doesn't even matter what the movie is about. Honestly, it could be about printing phone books or quantum physics or flying kites and I would still see it. However, it is actually about the Feds trying to take down notorious gangsters John Dillinger (Depp), Baby Face Nelson (Graham) and Pretty Boy Floyd (Tatum!!) during the 1930s.

07. Taking Woodstock (August 14)
Directed by Ang Lee
Starring Demetri Martin, Liev Schreiber, Emile Hirsch, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Paul Dano, Kelli Garner, Eugene Levy, Imelda Staunton, Mamie Gummer
Ang Lee is back with another movie about the counterculture of the 60s with a gay protagnoist and no real big name stars. But it's hard to beat a supporting cast with Hirsch, Dano, Schreiber, Garner and Gummer. It apparently follows a man who inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in 1969. I'll be there for the cast. And Ang Lee, of course.

06. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (August 7)
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Starring Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (!!), Christopher Eccleston
We all know what this is about. I'm mostly excited for two reasons and only two reasons: 1) Channing Tatum who I love more than I probably should. 2) Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing Cobra Commander a.k.a one of the main villains. There's got to be a reason he did a movie like this and I imagine his character is so effing cool since he's the only one we haven't even seen a glimpse of yet (in leaked photos or character posters or in the teaser trailer). I just can't wait!

05. Nine (November 25)
Directed by Rob Marshall
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Stacy Ferguson, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren
2009 may well go down as the year of the great ensemble pieces. Nine follows a famous film director (Day-Lewis) as he struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent and his mother. Plus, I'm hoping this is the movie that will win me back to Hudson. I've been rooting for her. Really, I have. She's disappointed me for nearly a decade. Will this be the big role that bounces her back?

04. 500 Days of Summer (July 24)
Directed by Marc Webb
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel
First of all, greatest casting ever. Anyone who has ever seen Manic knows Joey and Zooey (as I like to call them because I wish they were really a couple) have amazing chemistry. So, to have them back together again is nothing short of fantastic. An early review out of Sundance that I read promises it's not a love story, but rather, a story about love. The trailer promises it will be an offbeat kinda film. The cast promises it will be something other than a cliched romantic comedy.

03. Whatever Works (TBA)
Directed by Woody Allen
Starring Evan Rachel Wood, Henry Cavill (!!!!!!), Patricia Clarkson, Kristen Johnston, Ed Begley Jr., Larry David
We all know how much I love Woody Allen. Then he goes and casts Henry Cavill in a lead role? Forget about it. My love for Woody knows no boundaries. I have no idea what this movie is about. I could care less. Woody is the master. Whether it's a comedy or a drama - doesn't matter. Everyone keeps saying, "Woody is back." Guess what? He never went anywhere.

02. The Road (TBA)
Directed by John Hillcoat
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall
Usually when a movie gets pushed back a year, it means trouble. I choose not to think that way about The Road. Based on the Cormac McCarthy book of the same name, The Road is a bleak, uber-depressing tale about survival in a post-apocalyptic world. I choose to believe what ever re-shoots or re-tooling they are doing is only going to make this movie even better. My anticipation hasn't wavered in the least.

01. Shutter Island (October 2)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow, Jackie Earle Haley, Elias Koteas, Patricia Clarkson, Ted Levine
Again with the amazing cast. Again with the movie taken from a brilliant novel (Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane). The story is set in 1954 and follows a U.S. Marshall (DiCaprio) who is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.


Some plot descriptions taken from IMDB.
Reviews of Bride Wars, My Bloody Valentine and more coming SOON!!!!