Oscar Rankings and Predictions

Sunday is the most wonderful day of the year - Oscar night! I have ranked everything I've seen (admittedly, not much this year). Also, here are my predictions on what will win, what should win and what was snubbed.

Best Film
01. Call Me By Your Name
02. Lady Bird
03. The Shape of Water
04. Dunkirk
05. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
06. Get Out
N/A The Darkest Hour
N/A Phantom Thread
N/A The Post
What WILL win - This year seems wide open and it looks like it could go any number of ways. While part of me thinks (and hopes!) Dunkirk is going to come in and surprise everyone with a last minute come from behind win, the momentum is squarely behind The Shape of Water and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, which I think will come out victorious.
What SHOULD win - Call Me By Your Name was a sexy, romantic epic that was lush and beautiful and heartbreaking and should win everything.
What was SNUBBED - A Ghost Story, which is still on my mind months after watching it.

Best Director
01. Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk
02. Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water
03. Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird
04. Jordan Peele for Get Out
N/A Paul Thomas Anderson for Phantom Thread
What WILL Win - Again, I'm hoping for an out of nowhere win for Christopher Nolan, but I think this year is all about GUILLERMO DEL TORO.
Who SHOULD win - Nolan.
Who was SNUBBED - Luca Guadagnino, who is the master of sensuality, and proved it with Call Me By Your Name.

Best Actor
01. Timothee Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name
02. Denzel Washington in Roman J. Israel, Esq.
03. Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out
N/A Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread
N/A Gary Oldman in The Darkest Hour
Who WILL Win - GARY OLDMAN has had this wrapped up for months.
Who SHOULD Win - Oldman is my very favorite actor and I think he should have 5 Oscars by now. He more than deserves this. But, Chalamet is mesmerizing in Call Me By Your Name. He should win every award in the world.
Who was SNUBBED - Just like almost every other year, Jake Gyllenhaal for Stronger.

Best Actress
01. Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
02. Saiorse Ronan in Lady Bird
03. Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water
N/A Margot Robbie in I, Tonya
N/A Meryl Streep in The Post
Who WILL win - Just like her male counterpart, FRANCES MCDORMAND has had this wrapped up for months.
Who SHOULD win - I didn't care for Three Billboards, but there is no denying McDormand is a live wire in it. Although I loved Ronan equally, so I wouldn't complain if she won.
Who was SNUBBED - I guess not enough people saw Lady MacBeth because Florence Pugh was better than every single actor nominated.

Best Supporting Actor
01. Richard Jenkins in The Shape of Water
02. Woody Harrelson in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
03. Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
N/A Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project
N/A Christopher Plummer in All the Money in the World
Who WILL Win - This has got SAM ROCKWELL's name all over it.
Who SHOULD Win - I love Rockwell and think he deserves to win an Oscar for a number of different performances... but not this one. I can't remember the last time I was so delighted by a performance as I was with Richard Jenkins.
Who was SNUBBED - Michael Stuhlbarg, who gave such a powerful closing speech in Call Me By Your Name, I can't believe he hasn't been recognized at all this year.

Best Supporting Actress
01. Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird
02. Octavia Spencer in The Shape of Water
N/A Mary J. Blige in Mudbound
N/A Alison Janney in I, Tonya
N/A Lesley Manville in Phantom Thread
Who WILL win - There was a time some months ago, I thought the females of Lady Bird would be sweeping the Oscars, but that seems like such a distant thought now. Looks like this is all ALISON JANNEY.
Who SHOULD win - Laurie Metcalf forever.
Who was SNUBBED - Since they are giving out nominations to tons of put upon moms this year, where is Holly Hunter for The Big Sick??

Oscars - Ranking and Predictions

My favorite day of the year is this weekend - Oscar Sunday! Here is a ranking of the nominees as well as predictions for who will win the major categories.

Best Picture
01. Brooklyn
02. Room
03. The Big Short
04. The Revenant
05. Spotlight
06. Mad Max: Fury Road
07. The Martian
08. Bridge of Spies
Will Win - I honestly have no idea. This might be the hardest category to predict. My gut tells me THE REVENANT is going to take it (it's got the most nominations + it's definitely going to win Actor + it's probably going to win director), but I also think The Big Short, Spotlight and Mad Max all have a shot.
Should Win - Brooklyn was an epic and beautiful love story that was my favorite of the year.

Best Director
01. Alejandro Innaritu - The Revenant
02. George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road
03. Adam McKay - The Big Short
04. Lenny Abrahamson - Room
05. Tom McCarthy - Spotlight
Will Win - This is a two man race between Miller and last year's winner. I think it's got to be INNARITU, and if you saw The Revenant, you know why.
Should Win - Innaritu.

Best Actor
01. Leonardo Dicaprio - The Revenant
02. Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
03. Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl
04. Matt Damon - The Martian
N/A Bryan Cranston - Trumbo
Will and Should Win - This is LEO's year, you guys. Finally!!

Best Actress
01. Brie Larsen - Room
02. Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn
03. Cate Blanchett - Carol
04. Jennifer Lawrence - Joy
N/A Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years
Will and Should Win - Other than Leo, BRIE is the biggest lock of the night, and deservingly so.

Best Supporting Actor
01. Tom Hardy - The Revenant
02. Christian Bale - The Big Short
03. Sylvester Stallone - Creed
04. Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies
05. Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight
Will Win - I feel like it's STALLONE for sure. He is the sentimental favorite, but in all the precursor awards, this was the most unstable category, so who knows?
Should Win - Hardy very nearly steals The Revenant from Dicaprio at times.

Best Supporting Actress
01. Rooney Mara - Carol
02. Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl
03. Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
04. Kate Winslet -Steve Jobs
05. Rachel McAdams - Spotlight
Will Win - This has got to come down to Winslet and Vikander.  I haven't even decided who I'm going with on my ballot yet. Since VIKANDER's performance is technically a lead role, I think she probably has the edge.
Should Win - Rooney Mara is so subtle and understated in Carol (and also technically a lead role).

And some other categories to help you at your Oscar party  (sorry, you are on your own for the shorts!)
Original Screenplay - Spotlight
Adapted Screenplay - The Big Short
Animated Feature - Inside Out
Foreign Language - Son of Saul
Documentary - Amy
Original Score - The Hateful Eight
Original Song - Til It Happens To You
Sound Editing - Mad Max
Sound Mixing - Mad Max
Poduction Design - Mad Max
Cinematography - The Revenant
Make Up - The Revenant
Costumes - Carol
Editing - Mad Max
Visual Effects - Mad Max

Oscar Predictions and Rankings

I'm going to admit it just this once - I'm not really feeling the Oscars this year. And that's saying a lot, because it's typically my favorite day of the year. I LOVE the Oscars. But I am feeling a bit underwhelmed this year. I saw a lot of really great performances this year... and very few of them were actually nominated. And when the front runner is what I consider a boring too-long gimmick, and many others are claiming is the greatest piece of art ever made, well, I'm just not that excited this year. Regardless, every year I rank the nominees and then discuss who I think will win and should win (this year I'm including who was snubbed). Last year, I kicked ass at my predictions, getting only 3 wrong. I doubt I will do that well again this year, but here's hoping.

Best Picture
01. Whiplash
02. Birdman
03. Selma
04. The Grand Budapest Hotel
05. The Imitation Game
06. Boyhood
07. The Theory of Everything
08. American Sniper
Who WILL Win - Who the hell knows? It looks like it is a two way race between Birdman and Boyhood. It seems Boyhood might be the sentimental favorite, although Birdman is like nothing you've ever seen before. If you want to talk rebellious and pushing the boundaries, then Birdman is easily that choice. I guess I am going with BOYHOOD, even though I want to say Birdman.
Who SHOULD Win - Whiplash was my favorite movie of the year, but BIRDMAN was a close second.
Who Was SNUBBED - Sure, I loved Gone Girl and Nightcrawler, but both of them were way too dark for the Oscars. But A Most Violent Year seemed to have every thing the Academy could possibly want. Why no love??

Best Director
01. Alejandro Inarittu for Birdman
02. Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher
03. Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel
04. Richard Linklater for Boyhood
05. Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game
Who WILL Win - Again, this seems like it could go either Birdman or Boyhood. (And, honestly, I love that the Academy has finally gotten on board with the whole Wes Anderson thing, but this really is one of my least favorite of his films). I am hoping this is all INARITTU.
Who SHOULD Win - What do you think is more impressive? One long continuous brilliant take? Or filming for a few days over the series of twelve years? I mean, TV shows do that... INARITTU.
Who Was SNUBBED - David Fincher, obviously.

Best Actor
01. Michael Keaton for Birdman
02. Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything
03. Bradley Cooper for American Sniper
04. Steve Carell for Foxcatcher
05. Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game
Who WILL Win - Another major category where anything could happen. KEATON should have this sewn up, but Redmayne may just beat him. And don't count out Cooper as the spoiler.
Who SHOULD Win - KEATON, out of these nominees anyway...
Who Was SNUBBED - Imagine how awesome the Best Actor line up could have been if Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler, Oscar Isaac for A Most Violent Year and David Oyelewo for Selma were nominated along with Keaton and Redmayne.

Best Actress
01. Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl
02. Reese Witherspoon for Wild
03. Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything
N/A Julianne Moore for Still Alice
N/A Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night
Who WILL Win - MOORE is the biggest lock of the night.
Who SHOULD Win - Granted, I haven't seen Still Alice, but PIKE killed it in Gone Girl.

Best Supporting Actor
01. Edward Norton in Birdman
02. J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
03. Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher
04. Ethan Hawke in Boyhood
N/A Robert Duvall in The Judge
Who WILL Win - SIMMONS can't lose.
Who SHOULD Win - Even if I slightly preferred NORTON in Birdman, I have no problems with Simmons winning. He was equally phenomenal.

Best Supporting Actress
01. Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
02. Emma Stone in Birdman
03. Laura Dern in Wild
04. Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game
N/A Meryl Streep in Into the Woods
Who WILL and SHOULD Win - I did love Stone, but ARQUETTE is going to win, with no problem.

Who will win the rest of the categories...
Best Original Screenplay - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Imitation Game
Best Cinematography - Birdman
Best Costume Design - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Film Editing - Boyhood
Best Makeup and Hairstyling - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Production Design - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Score - The Theory of Everything
Best Song - Glory (Selma)
Best Sound Editing - American Sniper
Best Sound Mixing - Whiplash
Best Visual Effects - Interstellar
Best Animated Feature - How to Train Your Dragon 2
Best Documentary Feature - CitizenFour
Best Foreign Film - Ida
Best Animated Short - Feast
Best Documentary Short - Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Best Live Action Short - The Phone Call

Happy Oscars!

Oscar Rankings and Predictions

The Oscars are this Sunday... finally! While I'm happy this year is a bit unpredictable, it's also not fun because I KNOW I'm going to lose on my Oscar ballot at my party this weekend. Anyway, this is the first year that I've seen almost everything nominated in the main 6 six categories (I'm only missing 4 out of 34). So, here are my rankings in each of those categories (from best to worst, obviously) as well as my (probably) terrible predictions.

Best Picture
01. Zero Dark Thirty
02. Argo
03. Beasts of the Southern Wild
04. Django Unchained
05. Silver Linings Playbook
06. Life of Pi
07. Lincoln
08. Les Miserables
09. Amour (N/A)
Who Will Win: It seems momentum has shifted away from Lincoln (the borefest) and towards Argo. The only problem with this is that I actually would like it if Argo won so it probably won't. None of the films I have wanted to win has done so in the past few years. So I'm going with Lincoln because that (besides Les Mis pulling off some super upset) is the option that would piss me off the most.
Dark Horse: I think Argo, Silver Linings Playbook and Life of Pi could all conceivably win in this category. (And I would prefer any of those to Lincoln).

Best Director
01. Ang Lee - Life of Pi
02. Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild
03. David O'Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
04. Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
05. Michael Haneke - Amour (N/A)
Who Will Win: Since Ben Affleck has won every other award and he's not even nominated here, again, it's hard to say. I'm thinking it's down to Spielberg and Lee at this point.
Dark Horse: Michael Haneke is a bad ass and so revered that he could probably pull off the upset.

Best Actor
01. Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
02. Denzel Washington - Flight
03. Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
04. Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
05. Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Who WilL Win: Day-Lewis has got his third Oscar all locked up.
Dark Horse: I guess if there's an upset, it will be Phoenix. But besides Adele winning Best Song for Skyfall, this is the nights biggest lock.

Best Actress
01. Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
02. Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
03. Q. Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
04. Naomi Watts - The Impossible
05. Emanuelle Riva - Amour (N/A)
Who Will Win: Again, who even knows. This category seems pretty wide open between Lawrence vs. Chastain vs. Riva.
Dark Horse: I'm still leaning towards Watts pulling off the big upset. Anyone with kids will likely vote for her.

Best Supporting Actor
01. Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
02. Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
03. Robert DeNiro - Silver Linings Playbook
04. Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
05. Alan Arkin - Argo
Who Will Win: I have no freaking idea... Jones??
Dark Horse: Again, I can see any one of these guys winning. This has to be the most wide open, unpredictable category of the night.

Best Supporting Actress
01. Amy Adams - The Master
02. Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
03. Sally Field - Lincoln
04. Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook
05. Helen Hunt - The Sessions (N/A)
Who Will Win: Hathaway, who will give another terribly earnest speech which will remind me again why I just can't give in to liking her.
Dark Horse: Field could certainly win this thing. But this seems like a two person race more than anything.

Oscar Nominations and Thoughts

Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
THOUGHTS - Once you see the director category, it's pretty plain that Lincoln already has Best Picture wrapped up. Call it a day. There are at least five movies on this list better than Lincoln, but whatever.

Best Director
Michael Haneke - Amour
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
Behn Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild
THOUGHTS - No Katherine Bigelow, no Ben Affleck?!?! WHAT?!?! Glad to see Zeitlin in there though.

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Denzel Washington - Flight
THOUGHTS - Now I don't feel so bad about missing out on the Sessions since John Hawkes was replaced with Phoenix. But I've seen all these movies and this seems about right.

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
Q. Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild (Sorry, too lazy to check spelling!)
Naomi Watts - The Impossible
THOUGHTS - This sounds about right. Happy to see Wallis in there. I'm calling it now - Watts is going to win this thing.

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin - Argo
Robert DeNiro - Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
THOUGHTS - I was hoping this category would have a few surprises - LEO! JASON CLARKE! EWAN! But, whatever. It's fine. Go DeNiro!

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - The Master
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook
THOUGHTS - They must have loved Silver Linings, huh? I love anyone from Animal Kingdom, and Weaver in particular so I'm glad she bumped out Kidman for the final spot.

Other random thoughts - No Perks of Being a Wallflower in Adapted Screenplay and no Looper in Original and that bums me out. But I am ready to hear the phrase, "Academy Award Winner Adele" re: Original Song.

Oscar Predictions

Oscar nominations are announced on Thursday so here is my yearly attempt at trying to guess what they will nominate in the main six categories.

Best Picture
-Best Picture can range anywhere between 5 and 10 nominees, so it's kind of difficult to guess the exact number. I'm going with 9.
THE SHOO INS
Argo
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
THE PROBABLES
Amour
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Moonrise Kingdom
Skyfall
FYC - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, maybe the best coming of age story ever filmed.

Best Director
Ben Affleck - Argo
Katherine Bigelow - Zero Dark Thirty
Michael Haneke - Amour
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
FYC - Behn Zeitlin, who brought to life one of the most vivid, beautiful stories of the year.

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
John Hawkes - The Sessions
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Denzel Washington - Flight
FYC - Richard Gere, who charms and schemes his way through Arbitrage.

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
Naomi Watts - The Impossible
FYC - Brit Marling, who is devilish and entrancing in Sound of My Voice.

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin - Argo
Robert DeNiro - Silver Linings Playbook
Leonardo DiCaprio - Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
FYC - Nate Parker, who KILLS it in Arbitrage.
NOTE - I know the DiCaprio thing is far fetched at this point, but I have to hold out hope.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - The Master
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Nicole Kidman - The Paperboy
FYC - Samantha Barks, who gives the superior performance in Les Mis, and is arguably the only good thing about the whole mess.

Tomorrow - Top Ten Directors and Ensembles and coming soon reviews of The Impossible and Zero Dark Thirty!

Academy Awards 2012 Winners

Well, for being such a film buff, I am notoriously bad at picking the winners at the Oscars. Once again, Dane kicked my ass on our yearly ballots. However, I think I should get some kind of bonus because I did predict the top 6 awards perfectly! I even predicted the Meryl Streep surprise!! Yay. Here is the full list of winners from last night:

Best Picture - The Artist
Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Actor - Jean DuJardin, The Artist
Best Actress - Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Best Supporting Actor - Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Cinematography - Hugo
Best Art Direction - Hugo
Best Costume Design - The Artist
Best Make Up - The Iron Lady
Best Foreign Film - A Separation
Best Film Editing - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Sound Editing - Hugo
Best Sound Mixing - Hugo
Best Documentary Feature - Undefeated
Best Animated Feature - Rango
Best Visual Effects - Hugo
Best Original Score - The Artist
Best Original Song - Man or Muppet, The Muppets
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay - Midnight in Paris
Best Live Action Short - The Shore
Best Documentary Short - Saving Face
Best Animated Short - The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore


Now, of course, what REALLY matters. BEST DRESSED!! Click on the name to follow the link...

3. Jessica Chastain

2. Emma Stone

1. Michelle Williams

Oscar Predictions

So, the Oscars are on Sunday. I am notoriously bad at picking the winners (I am always hoping for upsets and making my picks that way instead of just realizing that there is no originality left in Hollywood at all, even when it comes to voting for the Oscars). Anyway, here are my sure to be wrong predictions...

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
What WILL Win? - This category, unfortunately, is all about THE ARTIST. I found it trite and disappointing, but I've been disappointed with the Best Picture winner more often than not in the past few years.
What MIGHT Win? - I don't even really think any of these other films have much of a chance.
What SHOULD Win? - Hugo! The movie The Artist wishes it could be.

Best Actor
Demian Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean DuJardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Who WILL Win? - Call my crazy (and this is why I lose to Dane every year) but I'm going JEAN DUJARDIN. While I wasn't crazy about The Artist, I did absolutely love his performance.
Who MIGHT Win? - Clooney definitely might take this and actually probably will. He's deserving as well.
Who SHOULD Win? - I loved all three of the performances I saw in this category but DuJardin was my favorite of the nominated performances. (Michael Shannon should win for Take Shelter, but that's a conversation for another day).

Best Actress
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
Who WILL Win? - Again, this is why I don't win but I'm going against the grain and saying MERYL STREEP is going to upset favorite Viola Davis.
Who MIGHT Win? - This is a neck and neck race between Streep and Davis, so Davis could take it.
Who SHOULD Win? - Michelle Williams who was too amazing for words as iconic Marilyn Monroe.

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max Von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Who WILL, MIGHT and SHOULD Win? - This category is as locked as they should. CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER has finally won an Oscar!

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Who WILL and MIGHT Win? - Like Best Supporting Actor, this category is locked up. OCTAVIA SPENCER has got this one.
Who SHOULD Win? - I preferred Jessica Chastain who should win for her body of work in 2011 alone!

Best Director
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Who WILL and MIGHT Win? - I can't foresee anyone but MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS winning.
Who SHOULD Win? - Malick!!! I mean, COME ON, say what you will about The Tree of Life but Malick directed the hell out of that movie.

Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees

The Academy Awards are just days away so it's time to take a second look at the Best Picture nominees. I've seen eight out of nine (sorry, War Horse but I just couldn't make myself sit through some sappy sentimentalist crap AGAIN this year (I feel as though War Horse would make me feel like I felt after watching The King's Speech... and that wasn't a good feeling)). Anyway, here is a quick recap of the eight nominees I've seen, in order from best to worst...

Hugo - A fantastic film from the brilliant director Martin Scorsese. It might technically be a kid movie but it's so much more than that. It's a celebration of film, it's an adventure tale and it's a beautiful and artistic masterpiece, easily the best film of the year. Also, I've never been a fan of 3D but leave it to Scorsese to make it feel fresh and new and exciting. Grade: A

Moneyball - It's not just a baseball movie, thanks to a brilliant script from Aaron Sorkin, exciting direction from Bennett Miller and an Oscar worthy performance from Brad Pitt. Moneyball is a think piece, a wonderful celebration of the under dog. And, of course, I love baseball so there's that too. Grade: A

The Tree of Life - I didn't know quite how to grade the flawed epic. Was The Tree of Life the best movie I saw last year? No, it wasn't. Did I enjoy other movies more? Absolutely. But, was there a finer, more exquisite piece of art disguised as a movie? Absolutely not. The Tree of Life is BEAUTIFUL. And it is so much more than a movie. It's a celebration of life, a contemplation of death, and the damn prettiest movie I've ever seen. I'm prepared for The Artist to win everything on Sunday night... but I'm hoping director Terrence Malick can upset for Best Director. Grade: A

Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen's finest movie since... well, I don't know if he's had something this good since his heyday. Now that it's out on DVD and the commercials are kind of ruining the surprise, people aren't really as surprised by the plot twist as I was. But I went to see this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it and was extremely surprised and pleased and entertained. Woody's script is perfection (and should most certainly win the uber competitive Best Original Screenplay category) and, also, Corey Stoll = <3. It's a shame he was overlooked this year. Grade: B+

The Help - I feel as though I liked The Help a lot more directly after seeing it than I do now. However, I don't like changing grades so I'm sticking with my original grade. The Help is a good movie, with great performances, but I'm actually kind of shocked that critics and the Academy like it quite THIS MUCH. It is, however, a good movie so I guess it deserves its place here. Grade: B+

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - I know I'm in the minority here but I enjoyed Extremely Loud more than I thought I would. I thought it was going to be a cheesy, overly sentimental film - and it is those things - but for some reason it worked for me. Thomas Horn didn't annoy me nearly as much as I thought he would and Max Von Sydow made the whole thing somehow worth it. Grade: B

The Descendants - Not my favorite of the year, that's for sure. I've never been as big of a fan of Alexander Payne as everybody else. The Descendants is GOOD, but I wasn't that impressed, really. I could have done without the narration, but the performances from George Clooney and Shailene Woodley definitely make up for any problems. Grade: B

The Artist - Another in the long list of future Best Picture winners that I find disappointing. Following Slumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech. I liked it better when it was called A Star is Born. Grade: B

[I apologize if his is sloppy and not well written but I can't even get any peace and quiet on my breaks at work anymore..]

Oscar Nominations

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
THOUGHTS - I predicted seven nominees and the seven I predicted are part of this group of nine.

Best Actor
Demian Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
THOUGHTS - I sort of for saw Oldman taking out Fassbender and Leo but I never even heard of this Bichir guy. WTH!?

Best Actress
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
THOUGHTS - I'm pleasantly surprised to see Mara, although it means no Charlize. I predicted last year that she would be nominated for playing Lisbeth but her lack of precursor support really surprised me.

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max Von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
THOUGHTS - No Brooks surprises me although there doesn't seem to be much love for Drive in the nominations. I haven't seen Extremely Loud but I do have an older man crush on Von Sydow so yay!

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help
THOUGHTS - No Shailene makes me upset. I think that's the biggest snub of the day for me, even more so than Fassbender or DiCaprio. I'm shocked to see McCarthy even though I loved her in that role. It doesn't scream Oscar.

Best Director
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazawhatever - The Artist
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
THOUGHTS - I think this is exactly what I predicted so yay. But boo for no Fincher!

Oscar Predictions

Tomorrow is my favorite movie related day of the year - Oscar Nomination Day! Yes, I love it even more than the actual Oscars. By then, you pretty much know who is going to win (barring any upsets - I LOVE upsets), but nominations are usually at least a little surprising. So, I'm going to try my hand at predicting the nominees. I am notoriously VERY bad at this but I'll give it a try anyway. Keep in mind, this year they changed the Best Picture rules. I don't completely understand them but there could be anywhere between five and ten nominees. I'm going to go with seven...

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: The riveting, thrilling roller coaster that was Drive.

Best Actor
George Clooney - The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Michael Fassbender - Shame
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
SURPRISE SNUB? - I really have a feeling Fassbender is going to get snubbed. Don't know why but he could be replaced by Ryan Gosling for Ides of March or Drive.
FYC - Michael Shannon, who gives the years absolute best performance in Take Shelter.

Best Actress
Viola Davis - The Help
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin
Charlize Theron - Young Adult
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
POSSIBILITY - I was tempted to go with the majority and predict Glenn Close over Charlize but I'm going with my gut.
FYC - Rooney Mara's performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was nominee-worthy.

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks - Drive
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - The Ides of March
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
POSSIBILITY - It's very possible Hoffman won't get in but I have a feeling about him and the Oscars have nominated him for lesser work.

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Shailene Woodley - The Descendants
FYC - Wishful thinking but I'd love to see some Judy Greer love up in here!

Best Director
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist (I hope he loses just because I hate spelling his damn name)
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
SPOILER ALERT - The Oscars LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Spielberg...
FYC - If this category could somehow edge the French guy out for David Fincher and Payne for Bennett Miller of Moneyball, this would be filled with some of my favorite directors of all time.

Oscar Wrap-Up!

First of all, so glad last night wasn't a sweep by The King's Speech, which ultimately only took home four awards (although they were four big ones) which was the same number taken home by the clearly superior Inception. Second of all, I did fairly badly with my predicting since I went gutsy in the big six and had absolutely NO idea about the categories I usually have NO idea about (documentary short, live action short, animated short, etc.). I tried to Live Tweet the Oscars but halfway through realized by tweets via text were being uncooperative and gave up the ship.

The Red Carpet Arrivals - As the director loving geek that I am, I was hoping to have E! talk to such handsome, brilliant men as David Fincher and Darren Aronofsky. Instead, they chose to speak to the dude from Chuck (he's fine but it's the OSCARS) and Florence Welch for 25 minutes each (I love her too but, again, NOT an Oscar nominee). Maybe Ryan Seacrest doesn't know who David Fincher / Darren Aronofsky are? Wouldn't surpise me. There were a lot of great dresses (and I will name my best dressed at the bottom of the page) including: Scarlett Johansson, Hailee Steinfeld (whose been killing it all award season), and the top half of Halle Berry's dress. Everyone talked about how great Natalie Portman looked but it was sort of EH for me. I mean, she's arguably the most beautiful woman in the entire world and she wears such ugly clothes. It's a waste and a shame. Also worst dressed? E! thought she looked amazing but Gwenyth Paltrow = yuck!

The Winners -
-Best Picture: The King's Speech (I picked this correctly, although up until Best Director was announced, I thought The Social Network was going to take it. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Borefest 2010 won out in the end!)
-Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan (I picked this also and YAY! She totally deserved it!)
-Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech (Also picked correctly. His speech was about as boring as his movie!)
-Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King's Speech (I picked Fincher and I thought it could happen too. Whatev. Fincher will win next year for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Hooper will never direct a movie that any of us will talk about ever again.)
-Best Adapated Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, THe Social Network (Another one right! Sorkin is crazy smart. It's hard to believe that a movie involving two of the most brilliant people in Hollywood managed to lose Best Picture.)
-Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King's Speech (Another one right / another win for the borefest!)
-Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3 (Another one right and actually this is the first one I got correct while watching the show live.)
-Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter (I picked Steinfeld over Leo. I find it hard to believe that anyone actually likes Melissa Leo. Like, you could be a fan of hers until you hear one of her acceptance speeches and then you want to punch her in the face, I think, right?)
-Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter (Another one right and yay!)
-Best Editing: Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter, The Social Network (Another correct prediction. Editing, to me, is what keeps a movie going and entertaining and alive. That said, there's no way borefest 2010 could have possibly won this category.)
-Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, Inception (I picked Roger Deakins for True Grit but I'm not mad that Inception took the prize. That was an excellent movie also. It's just sad that Deakins, an amazing cinematographer currently has 9 nominations and 0 wins! He's like the Annette Bening of cinematographers.)
-Best Original Score: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Social Network (Another one right! And, also, yay!)
-Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland (This was the first award of the evening and I thought for sure The King's Speech would take it on its road to Sweeps-ville. Eventhough I thought this movie was terrible, I was so happy it won over borefest!)
-Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland (I predicted this one since it was the only nominee with pretty dresses!)
-Best Visual Effects: Inception (No brainer!)
-Best Make-Up: The Wolfman (I was going to pick this and then I picked Barney's Version instead because I thought the Academy was classy enough to not give awards to shitty movies. I was wrong.)
-Best Sound Mixing: Inception (No brainer!)
-Best Sound Editing: Inception (No brainer!)
-Best Song: We Belong Together, Toy Story 3, Randy Newman (Honestly, all of these nominees sucked. I chose the song from 127 Hours instead but Newman gave a funny speech so I guess it's okay that he won!)
-Best Documentary Short: Strangers No More (These are the categories with which I have NO knowledge so I typically just pick the one with the coolest sounding title. I forget what I picked but it certainly wasn't this!)
-Best Live Action Short: God of Love (Again, didn't pick this one! I think this is the guy with the crazy, curly hair who gave the super funny, super cute acceptance speech? If so, yay him! Best acceptance speech of the night!)
-Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing (Again, didn't pick this!)
-Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World (I picked Dogtooth here. Cooler title!)
-Best Documentary: Inside Job (I forgot that the Academy is old and un-fun and not young and hip because I picked Exit Through the Giftshop.)
Ultimately, I was 13/24 which was super pathetic, not nearly as good as my ass kicking predictions last year but whatever. At least it was better than 50%, yeah? And for the first time ever, Dane and I TIED in our predictions, so that was fun!

Best Dressed - It's a tie...
Jennifer Lawrence
and
Mila Kunis

That's a wrap on the movies of 2010. Now onward to 2011!

Oscar Predictions

The Oscars are Sunday so here are my predictions in the major categories...

BEST PICTURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Who WILL Win - Unforunately it looks like Sunday night is going to be all about THE KING'S SPEECH, a movie I dislike even more than Slumdog Millionaire when it won everything two years ago. How such a colassal bore of a movie is going to beat some of the better movies of the year is beyond me. I guess at the end of the day, the Academy really is a group of old fogies who are out of touch with society.
Who MIGHT Win - The Social Network is obviously a close second. In fact, it might even upset and if so the sounds you hear will be me shrieking with joy!
Who SHOULD Win - The Social Network. It was the best movie of the year, hands down. But also, I'd prefer just about anything winning over The King's Speech, including Inception, Black Swan, The Fighter and even 127 Hours.
Who was SNUBBED - Since animation has its own category, I'm not a big proponent of having animated films in Best Picture. Instead, how about including The Town? It was awesome. We could even kick The Major Bore / King's Speech out and include Blue Valentine instead. Now, that's a Best Picture group I could get behind.

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Joel and Ethan Coen - True Grit
David Fincher - The Social Network
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
David O. Russell - The Fighter
Who WILL Win - I'm going with DAVID FINCHER. He's been making amazing movies for decades and I'm glad people are finally noticing. I have already accepted the fact that the film probably won't win Best Picture but I'm telling you right now, if Fincher loses I am going to flip my sh*t!!!
Who MIGHT Win - Honestly, if its the King's Speech sweep everyone is predicting than Hooper might just steal it from a much more deserving director.
Who SHOULD Win - Fincher, hands down. He can turn a movie about Facebook into a bad ass film and that's saying a lot!
Who was SNUBBED - Christopher Nolan!!!! This is two Oscars in a row for him being snubbed. First with The Dark Knight and now with Inception. I don't understand the hate for him, frankly. He rocks!

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem - Biutiful
Jeff Bridges - True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours
Who WILL Win - This is probably the only category that is one hundred percent in the bag. It's COLIN FIRTH all the way.
Who MIGHT Win - I honestly don't think any of these other guys have a chance.
Who SHOULD Win - My vote would go to either Eisenberg, who was truly impressive in a star making turn, or Franco, who completely carried a film the way only Tom Hanks could previously pull off.
Who was SNUBBED - I personally think the Academy tends to snub Leonardo DiCaprio quite a bit. He was snubbed for Titanic, Revolutionary Road, The Departed, and now Shutter Island AND Inception. He deserves an Oscar, so give one to him already!

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
Who WILL Win - I think this might be a close race also, but I think it's going to be NATALIE PORTMAN. She's won everything else and deserved to. Her performance is amazing and I don't feel like there has been a shift in her momentum.
Who MIGHT Win - There's a very good chance that Bening could upset. And the sad fact of the matter is that she doesn't deserve to win. People always talk about how she's been snubbed so many times, never winning. But every time she lost it was to someone who was better than her. If she wins this year it's just because people feel bad for her.
Who SHOULD Win - Portman, definately. Her performance was terrifyingly personal and dark and emotional and just perfect.
Who was SNUBBED - Julianne Moore, who I thought was the better half of the acting team in The Kids are All Right.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale - The Fighter
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech
Who WILL Win - This is another close race. There's a chance for a lot of upsets on Sunday. However, I'm going with CHRISTIAN BALE. I honestly don't know how anyone could watch his performance (the best or second best performance of the entire year) and not vote for him!
Who MIGHT Win - I feel like Geoffrey Rush is gaining traction. I do believe his performance in The King's Speech was the best thing about the boring ass movie, I don't think he was as good as Bale. In fact, I would prefer to see the categories switched a bit because I feel like Firth was often supporting Rush, not the other way around. Either way, Rush could be the huge upset of the night!
Who SHOULD Win - Hands down, Bale. All of these men gave fantastic performances this year and I can't really complain too much about this stellar category. It's just, Bale was better.
Who was SNUBBED - I personally would have switched out Mark Ruffalo in favor of Andrew Garfield's soulful performance in The Social Network, but that's just me.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
Who WILL Win - I would like to say that I predicted this category way before Roger Ebert and all those other critics jumped on my band wagon! I've been saying for months that the tables have turned, Melissa Leo is out and HAILEE STEINFELD is in!
Who MIGHT Win - This is really a category where anything could happen. Weaver gave the best (or second best) performance of the entire year - but did enough people see it? Carter could win on the tailcoats of the most beloved movie of the year - but she didn't have a whole lot to do! The Fithter ladies were both stellar - but could they split votes? Any of these women could win, realistically.
Who SHOULD Win - Weaver. Like I said, she and Christian Bale are duking it out in my head over who gave the better performance of the year. Weaver is quietly menacing, a sweet ole' grandmother who will unhinge her jaw and swallow you whole.
Who was SNUBBED - Since I was entirely unimpressed with Helena Bonham Carter, who I typically love, but who had very, very little to do in the King's Speech, I would probably switch her out in favor of any of the ladies from Black Swan - Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, even Winona Ryder.

Oscar Nominations

Oscar nominations were released yesterday. Here is a run down of the most important categories, as well as my thoughts...

Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Thoughts - This is pretty much what everyone thought, I think. Except for the fact that Winter's Bone does NOT deserve to be there. I could argue the same about The Kids Are All Right, two movies that are good but not best piture worthy and seem like one step above something that should be on Lifetime (not that there is anything wrong with lifetime!!). Kind of suprised The Town didn't sneak in there.

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David O. Russell - The Fighter
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
David Fincher - The Social Network
Joel and Ethan Coen - True Grit
Thoughts - Who the hell does Christopher Nolan have to sleep with to get an Oscar nomination for Best Director already??? Maybe the voters are intimidated by his brilliance??? I don't know!

Best Actor
Javier Bardem - Biutiful
Jeff Bridges - True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours
Thoughts - Bardem really came out of nowhere to score that nomination, yeah? Still, I'm all about Eisenberg although I really don't think he has a chance.

Best Actress
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
Thoughts - This is pretty much the way I thought it would go. Go Natalie!

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale - The Fighter
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech
Thoughts - WTF Ruffalo!! I liked him in that movie a whole lot, but where did that come from? Also, John Hawkes totally came out of nowhere but I'm okay with that. He's awesome and totally deserving and unappreciated. Psyched he's in there. Not so psyched about the shunning of Andrew Garfield who was AMAZING in The Social Network and should defintely have taken Ruffalo's spot! None of this matters, of course, since it's Bale's Oscar to lose.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
Thoughts - Steinfeld instead of Mila Kunis isn't very surprising. I sort of saw that one coming. I just watched Animal Kingdom last night and Jacki Weaver was INCREDIBLE!! So, so, so good. I will no longer cheer for either of the ladies from The Fighter. I am soooooo all about Weaver!

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

March movie preview + more Oscars

March Movie Preview


March 7
10,000 BC - Is this the movie that makes Camilla Belle the star she's meant to be? I mean, she's hotter and more talented than, let's say, Lindsay Lohan. Somehow I doubt this movie is going to be anything spectacular, however.
The Bank Job - Stars Jason Statham and more. About a 1971 robbery that took place at Lloyd's Bank in London. Although it claims to be based on a true story, it seems a big far fetched to me.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - And THIS is what I'll be checking out! Amy Adams and her infinite cuteness (I've already forgiven you for the Oscars, Amy) + Frances McDormand and her infinite comic timing = I Can't Wait!
Paranoid Park - Gus Van Sant's movie about a bunch of skateboarders... hey, remember when Larry Clark made a movie about a bunch of skateboarders. It was called 'Wassup Rockers' and I'm sure it was better than this is going to be.
Snow Angels - The cast is pretty impressive: Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Angarano, Olivia Thirbly. I do love Sam and Michael and it's directed by David Gordon Green who did All the Real Girls. Probably worth checking out.


March 14
Horton Hears a Who - Oh animated films, our love affair has never begun, hence, this is a skipper for me.
Funny Games - It opens in limited release but I can't wait for this movie. Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet as clean cut, polite, crazy mad men? Talk about perfect casting. They are all blonde haired, blue eyed and they'll cut you! I want this movie NOW!
Never Back Down - Proof that I will be able to get my movie made when I move to Los Angeles. Apparently they just make anything these days.


March 21
Drillbit Taylor - Owen Wilson looks hilarious in this movie! I just hope it's not one of those movies that shows all the funny parts in the trailer.
Shutter - Another PG-13 horror movie about ghostly images in photographs... wasn't that called The Ring? Well, I guess that was video tapes, whatever. Stars Pacey, I mean, Joshua Jackson.


March 28
21 - The best thing about Across the Universe, Jim Sturgess teams up with Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey for a movie about MIT geniuses who count cards and win millions in Vegas. Actually looks pretty good.
Stop-Loss - Yes! The world's prettiest cast (Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Abbie Cornish, Victor Rasuk, etc.) stars in Kimberley Pierce's follow up to Boys Don't Cry. It's about Iraq and all that. It doesn't matter what it's about, honestly, because with a cast like that, I'll see it if it's about printing telephone books.




Oscars
This is the last you will hear about the Oscars in this blog for a long time... promise! But, at least it's not about THIS years Oscars. It's about NEXT years Oscars. A friend of mine has a web site where he always predicts who will be nominated in the major categories a year in advance. He challenged me to do my picks as well. When Oscar nominations are actually announced, we shall see how terribly badly I did with my predictions! So, here goes nothing...


Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost / Nixon
Milk
Revolutionary Road


Best Director
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost / Nixon
Sam Mendes - Revolutionary Road
Gus Van Sant - Milk
Joe Wright - The Soloist


Best Actor
Benicio Del Toro - The Argentine
Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
Jamie Foxx - The Soloist
Frank Langella - Frost / Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk


Best Actress
Nicole Kidman - Austrailia
Keira Knightley - The Duchess
Julianne Moore - Blindness
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road


Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - The Soloist
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Sheen - Frost / Nixon


Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Doubt
Kathy Bates - Revolutionary Road
Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Catherine Keener - The Soloist
Dianne Wiest - Synecdoche, N ew York



Yeah, I'm confident about none of this!

Oscar Wrap Up

Full List of Winners...
Best Picture - No Country For Old Men
Lead Actress - Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Lead Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Director - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Foriegn Langauge Film - The Counterfeiters
Adapted Screenplay - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Original Screenplay - Diablo Cody, Juno
Animated Feature - Ratatouille
Art Direction - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Cinematography - There Will Be Blood
Sound Mixing - The Bourne Ultimatum
Sound Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum
Original Score - Atonement
Original Song - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, "Falling Slowly" from Once!!!!!!!!!!!!
Costume - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Documentary Feature - Taxi to the Dark Side
Documentary Short Subject - Freeheld
Makeup - La Vie En Rose
Animated Short Film - Peter and the Wolf
Live Action Short Film - Le Mozart des Pickpockets
Visual Effects - The Golden Compass

I went 4/6 in the major categories for the second year in a row, totally screwing up the actress categories. I should have known better in the Best Actress category. The Oscars love their hot young things no matter how awful they were in the movie they are nominated for (see also: Halle Berry - Monster's Ball). I wouldn't have gone Tilda though. Overall, I was a very, very disappointing 8/24. Ha. I vow to do better next year!

Here are my personal best and worst moments from the Oscars:

Best Red Carpet Moment - Gary Busey goes all crazy and scares poor Jennifer Garner! I feel bad for Jennifer Garner but, hey, at least it was unpredictable, right!?

Worst Red Carpet Moment - Rumored couple Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz did NOT walk the red carpet together. You know... maybe it's a good thing since if they did, the world might explode from two much hotness.

Best Jon Stewart Joke - In reference to Norbit's Best Makeup nomination - "Too often the Academy ignores movies that aren't good."

Best Jon Stewart Joke #2 - In reference to Cate Blanchett's virsitility, Stewart mentioned her roles as Queen Elizabeth and Bob Dylan and then pointed out a role we may not know about. In No Country For Old Men, when Josh Brolin is being chased by the bull dog, Blanchett played the bull dog!

Best Presenters - James McAvoy and Josh Brolin who are both unbelievably hot, charming and downright funny.

Best Presenters #2 - Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen who came out to "fill in" for Dame Judi Dench and Halle Berry and then proceeded to fight over who got to be Halle Berry. I don't really think the joke went anywhere but it was still funny.

Worst Presenter - Jerry Sienfeld as the bee from Bee Movie. No one liked your movie, Jerry. Get over it.

Best Musical Moment - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova bring down the house with their soulful beautiful rendition of "Falling Slowly."

Worst Musical Moment - Three numbers from Enchanted? Each worse than the last? Actually, no, Amy Adams up there by her lonesome overenuciating and her trying her best to be cutesy was sort of painful.

Best Acceptance Speech - Javier Bardem who managed to be humble, charming, funny and sexy all at the same time. He even said half of his speech in Spanish. I have no idea what he said (something about Spain, ha) but he sounded sexy while doing it and it made his mama cry!

Worst Acceptance Speech - Diablo Cody who fancies herself a hipster chick but managed to say nothing more exciting than, "This is for the writers." Honest to blog, Diablo! Homeskillet, that was one doodle that can't be undid. (You know, I guess I'm glad she won because I don't know who else I would have voted for if I could vote but I will always hate her for those two lines alone).

Now it's time for the really important stuff...

Worse Dressed Male - Colin Farrell
Oh, Colin. You know it's bad when I (the person who loves long messy hair, beards, stubble etc.) think it's time to clean it up a little bit. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to iron your suit. I still love you though... even if you haven't made a good movie since Phone Booth.

Worst Dressed Female - Diablo Cody
I was fine with the leopard print dress, really. I get it, you're different. You have a tattoo of a naked lady on your arm and I'm fine with that. Even the skull and cross bone earrings I can handle. I'm a modern woman, I get it. Then you got on stage to accept your award and I saw that the slit of your dress went up all the way to your ******. Seriously, this is a classy event not a strip club. Tacky.

Best Dressed Male - Viggo Mortensen
This man is unbelievably sexy and he makes the beard work for him. I love the striped tie. And I love the long jacket. I love when men don't just wear normal tuxes for these shows and do something a little different.

Best Dressed Female - Keri Russell
In a sea of red and black, Keri wore a pretty pale pink / gray dress (I have no idea what color it actually is) but I loved it anyway. THIS picture doesn't do it justice though.

Oscar Predictions!!

So, Sunday is my favorite night of the year - Oscar night! I always try my best to predict who is going to win in the big six categories and I usually do fairly well. Last year, I was 4 for 6 (I predicted Eddie Murphy eventhough I wanted Alan Arkin and I was stupid enough to not pick The Departed for Best Picture eventhough it was the best and my favorite movie of the year). Anyway, I hope to go 6 for 6 this year. Here are my predictions...


Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Who WILL win - No Country For Old Men has won all the major awards so far this year and is heavily favored. Plus, surprisingly, it actually deserves all the praise and awards!
Who MIGHT win - There Will Be Blood topped pretty much every critical top ten list of the year. Then there is Juno which is beloved, the biggest nominated money maker and the only nominee NOT super depressing!
Who SHOULD win - Honestly, I'd be satisfied with No Country, There Will Be Blood or Juno walking away with it. Or Atonement for that matter. They are all great films (I still don't love Michael Clayton the way everyone else apparently does). But I'm slightly more enamored with There Will Be Blood than the others.
Who got SCREWED - Into the Wild. I mean, did people watch that movie? They couldn't have because from a purely impartial stand point, it was better than at least two of the nominated films. Of course, I think it was the best movie of 2007 but whatever.


Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman - Juno
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Who WILL win - I think this is the Coen Bros. award to lose.
Who MIGHT win - I could see a PTA or Schnabel upset happening.
Who SHOULD win - Again, I love There Will Be Blood slightly more than No Country so I'm pulling for Paul Thomas Anderson and his oil epic.
Who got SCREWED - Sean Penn. And I'm not just saying that because I love him. Into the Wild was his labor of love and it was epic and beautiful. To nominate Reitman over Sean Penn is just a joke to 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
Who WILL win - Daniel Day-Lewis will drink your milkshake and take your Oscar too!
Who MIGHT win - Umm... these guys just don't have a chance. Start practicing your gracious loser face and your "It's an honor just to be nominated..." speech.
Who SHOULD win - Day-Lewis. No doubt!
Who got SCREWED - My boyfriend Emile Hirsch. But then, I'm not sure who I would change him out for. It's a strong category. Who am I kidding? I'd get rid of Clooney in a heartbeat.

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
Who WILL win - I think this is essentially a two horse race - Christie and Cotillard. I'm not sure who is more favored or whatever. It's essentially Cotillard's mimicry and great physical transformation vs. Christie's legendary status paired with the clearly superior performance (ha!). I'm going Christie.
Who MIGHT win - Cotillard, obviously. Then there's the Ellen Page factor. The Academy loves young actresses so she's got a chance.
Who SHOULD win - Christie. But I'd be happy with Page as well.
Who got SCREWED - In my interesting / crazy little world, Cotillard and Blanchett would be bumped for Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan and Ashley Judd in Bug.

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
Who WILL win - Bardem. It'll be his 3 millionth totally deserved award this year.
Who MIGHT win - They love to honor veterans in this category (see also: Alan Arkin last year) so watch out for Hal Holbrook who is holding it down for Into the Wild all by his lonesome.
Who SHOULD win - Bardem, friendo.
Who got SCREWED - Paul Dano. He totally held his own against the master actor Daniel Day-Lewis. He was pure gold in that movie and Hoffman just outright stole his spot here!

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
Who WILL win - You know what? This is the only category where I can really see any one of them taking it home. But after the SAG upset, I think I'm going to have to go with Ruby Dee.
Who MIGHT win - Again, any one of them. However, I think Blanchett and Ryan have been the frontrunners all season.
Who SHOULD win - Blanchett. All of these ladies give fine performances but none of them play Bob Dylan.
Who got SCREWED - It would be nice to see Jennifer Garner for Juno or Catherine Keener for Into the Wild... but it's a pretty solid category.

In summary.... Who I think WILL win
Best Picture - No Country For Old Men
Best Director - Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country For Old Men
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood
Best Actress - Julie Christie for Away From Her
Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem for No Country For Old Men
Best Supporting Actress - Ruby Dee for American Gangster

Oscar Nominations, Cloverfield, 27 Dresses

Oscar Nominations were announced today -

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Thoughts - While I am glad that Atonement did not get snubbed, I am fuming mad about all the Into the Wild snubs!

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman - Juno
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Thoughts - People actually saw Into the Wild and it's brilliance, yes? Because these people obviously didn't actually watch Juno. I mean, the direction is nothing to write home about. Sean Penn's direction on the other hand...

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
Thoughts - No Emile! Big surprise. However, I can't be that upset because Tommy Lee Jones was nominated instead and I loved his performance in that film!

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
Thoughts - Finally! A category I am happy about. No Angelina Jolie! Hooray!

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
Thoughts - I can't complain too much here.

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
Thoughts - Can't really complain much here either. Although I am a little upset that Kelly MacDonald didn't get any love but whatever. That pales in comparison to how pissed I am about the whole Into the Wild snubbing!


Cloverfield - For the most part, Cloverfield is a surprinsgly good little movie. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I know a lot of people hated it, but I absolutely loved how it was filmed. The shaky camera lends to the realism. I didn't find it annoying in the least. It actually really feels like you are watching someone's home movie that was found after the fact. If it was all steady camera shots, then it just wouldn't be as effective. I thought the basic premise was pretty solid, although I have a few problems with the way things panned out ultimately. 1) While you did develop feelings for most of the characters, I didn't really care at all about the girl these people risked their lives for. There needed to be a little more development there. I needed to somehow see that this Rob fellow actually cared about her. I really don't think the movie delivered that. 2) It was your typical 'Stupid or Seemingly Smart People Doing Things that Are Ultimately Stupid.' I can let that slide, however, because, really, movies like this aren't really made about smart people. There would be no movie then. Smart people would get the hell out of dodge. They wouldn't risk their lives for some slutty girl (that's how I viewed her because, like I said, the movie gave me no reason to care about her at all). 3) The monster. My main problem with monster movies is always, always, always the monster. When we exited the theater, the people I went with said, and I quote, "Gee whiz! I'm so glad they actually showed the monster." I disagree. Actually, I couldn't disagree more. Bits and pieces of the monster would have been find but as soon as I see a monster, it completely takes me out of the moment. The film did a really great job of making everything feel as real as possible. But the whole monster thing just does nothing for me. As soon as I see a great, big, ole monster, anything immediately goes from being intense and realistic to just plain silly. (I had the same problem with The Mist a few months ago). No matter how well the CGI is done, monsters will always seem silly to me. There's something to be said for letting things to the imagination. If we didn't see the monster, we could have all created something in our minds that would have been more terrifying than anything J.J. Abrams and his pals could cook up. However, I don't want anyone to think I didn't like the movie because I mostly did. In fact, I recommend it. You should definitely check it out. And keep your eyes peeled for that last scene and look to the right of the screen (see if you can see something falling into the ocean). It is J.J. Abrams after all. Conspiracy theories must spread like wild fire!
Grade: B-

27 Dresses - And then there's this. First, let's talk about the good points. No movie ever suffered from having Judy Greer involved. In fact, it's really time for her to move on from the 'best friend / bitchy rival' thing she's been doing for, well, ever. Honestly, she should be getting every role that goes to Leslie Mann. If I ever write a script, I will make sure that it has roles for Judy Greer and Allison Janney! Also, James Marsden is really just crazy attractive. He's charming and, well, really sexy. What with those blue eyes, gorgeous smile and chiseled cheek bones. Well, I'll see anything that involves James Marsden. Another good point was that the usually annoying beyond all belief Katherine Heigl actually wasn't as bad as I imagined. I didn't completely hate her in this movie (although I still pretty much did). And that's where all the goodness stops. The movie is paint by numbers romantic comedy. You can see where it's going based soley on the previews. It's marginally funny and marginally interesting. Even the big 'Let's dance on a bar and sing Bennie and the Jets' scene (which is cute and funny, thanks to Marsden mostly) can't save this stinker. Every tired romantic comedy cliche is there and in full force. Also, there is a major lack of chemistry between Marsden and Heigl. Just because they are both pretty doesn't mean they are going to have chemistry (see also: The Nanny Diaries starring Scarlett Jo and Chris Evans). There are many scenes that should be edited down to be tighter and funnier. Instead they just drag on and on and become way too talky. Maybe I'm just a little too much of a modern woman or maybe I just completely missed the point but what I took away from the movie was this message - No matter how beautiful, intelligent or interesting you are, you are only really complete as a woman when you find a man who can take care of you and that makes you happy. As a feminist woman, I frankly find that offensive. (Believe me, I know this isn't the first romantic comedy to spout that message but it's the first in a long time where it comes across so heavy-handedly).
Grade: D+

Short reviews of other movies I saw recently...

The Bucket List - Basically, it's cliched and predictable. However, whatever part of this movie that works only does so because of the likeability and charm of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It can be argued that Jack is becoming like Diane Keaton and only playing versions of himself at this point. However, when anyone talks shit about Jack, I like to evoke the 'Chinatown Clause' which pretty much states he was so magnificent in that movie (along with tons of others) that we are never allowed to say a bad word about him ever. I love you Jack!
Grade: C+

Death Sentence - Ah, Kevin Bacon. I love you, I really do, but homeboy needs to start picking some better films that really showcase his talent and not just his ability to kick major ass. The director behind Saw directs this near-disaster. I don't know why he thought shooting in stairwells and parking garages was a good idea. It makes everything feel a little claustrophobic to be honest. Bonus points for giving the great and underrated Matt O'Leary something to do!
Grade: D+