Let the gloating commence...

In the most wide open race in years, guess who gets the last laugh?

MEEEE!! hahahahahaha! Woo hoo! yesyesyes! And how perfect is it that I changed my mind a few hours before the show? very very perfect. Yes, I missed, um, ten, but I'm still celebrating. I also want to point out I picked "I Need To Wake Up" over a Dreamgirls song. That's two years in a row I picked the "upset" best original song.

The categories I'm sad I missed are Supporting Actor (although I said there could be an upset), Animated Feature, and Foreign Film. Oh well.

Why didn't I read more buzz?!

The Oscars are tonight, it's time to bite the bullet and make my official-all-category-predictions. *Gulp*

Picture: Umm, uh, I'm really regretting my LMS pick. I might hate myself later, but I think I'm changing my mind to The Departed.
DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese
ACTOR: Forest Whitaker
ACTRESS: Helen Mirren. Yay! A lock!
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Eddie Murphy, but I wouldn't be surprised if Alan Arkin won.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Hudson
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Little Miss Sunshine
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Departed
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Cars
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Pan's Labyrinth
ART DIRECTION: Pan's Labyrinth
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Pan's Labyrinth
COSTUME DESIGN: Dreamgirls
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: An Inconvenient Truth
DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Two Hands
FILM EDITING: The Departed
MAKEUP: Pan's Labyrinth
VISUAL EFFECTS: POTC Dead Man's Chest
ORIGINAL SCORE: The Queen
ORIGINAL SONG: I Need To Wake Up
ANIMATED SHORT: The Little Match Girl
LIVE-ACTION SHORT: Eramos Pocas
SOUND EDITING: POTC Dead Man's Chest
SOUND MIXING: POTC Dead Man's Chest

Even more words of wisdom

This is a little something I wrote for a newsletter. I'm beggining to regret my LMS choice, but hey, it could happen.

It is time once again to ponder the question that plagues mankind every
February. Who will the win Best Picture at the Academy Awards? Usually
everyone has a pretty good idea, whether they're right or not. (See last
year's "Crash" and "Brokeback Mountain," or 1998's "Shakespeare in Love" and
"Saving Private Ryan"). This year that's not the case; it's one of the most
wide-open races since "Gladiator" won. The nominees are "Babel," "The
Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," and "The Queen."

I think it's safe to rule out "Letters" because it isn't American enough,
and no one's seen it. Although "The Queen" won the BAFTA I don't think it
will find much love outside the UK. I was going to rule out "Babel" because
it hasn't won any awards since the Golden Globe in January, and voters might
feel it's too much like "Crash." What worries me is Ebert predicts it will
win, and he's not to be taken lightly. I, however, think it's between "The
Departed," a violent good cop/bad cop Scorsese film, and "Sunshine," a
comedy about a dysfunctional family and a beauty pageant. A lot of bloggers
are predicting "The Departed" to win, but I think it's really a toss up and
they're just uncomfortable with picking a comedy--which is perfectly valid
as the last comedy to win was "Annie Hall." But in the interest of being
bold, I formally predict "Little Miss Sunshine" to be the winner.

The other races are a little easier, though. Helen Mirren and Forest
Whitaker should win in the lead acting categories, and Jennifer Hudson and
Eddie Murphy in the supporting. Martin Scorsese will win Best Director, and
"Sunshine" and "Departed" for the screenplays. It's interesting that this
summer all the Oscar buzz was around "Dreamgirls," which did get the most
nominations, but none for Best Picture. I personally think it was robbed,
but it will win some awards with Hudson and Murphy. That's my Oscar
cheatsheet, so pop some popcorn, sharpen the pencils, print the ballots
(imdb.com), and enjoy the show.

Pondering the great mysteries of life

Ah! I don't like it! Usually everyone has a pretty good guess at who's going to win the OSCAR, but this year all I can say is, uh, not Letters from Iwo Jima? Here's how the awards tally up:

Babel: GG
The Departed: DGA, WGA
Letters From Iwo Jima:
Little Miss Sunshine: SAG, WGA, PGA,
The Queen: BAFTA

The best picture winner usually wins most of these awards, which would put Little Miss Sunshine up front with The Departed. A month ago I would have sworn that Babel would win, but it was nominated in most of those categories and only won the GG in January. Letters can pretty well be ruled out, and I still doubt The Queen will have any luck outside the UK. I have a hard time believing the Academy would pick a comedy, since the last one was Annie Hall in 78. But who knows, maybe they think they're due. Or they could be tired from last year's heavy duty dramas.

Crash II: Racism is Still Bad

Think about it: What was the last Best Picture winner to spawn a sequel? Hmm, no Casablanca 2, no Schindler's List 2, you could call The Return of the King a sequel, but I wouldn't because it runs more like one big nine hour movie. The point is, I have very little respect for sequels. They belittle movies, making them more like TV shows because the plot is reopened and characters stay forever. Anyway, there's going to be a Departed 2. And 3.
Noooooo! Whywhywhy?!? And in any case, how can you have a sequel if all the main characters die? I wouldn't pay to watch Dignam and Colin Jr. duke it out. (Hope I didn't reveal too much there.) Alright, alright, The Godfather IS a crime movie and it IS the first in a *cringe* trilogy, and Godfather II DID win, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

My favorite is Chocolate Cherry Garcia... except technically I think it's a frozen yogurt.

I just saw Babel. Fun stuff, people. What was it about? A bunch of bad things happen to a bunch of people in different countries in the space of a few days. I'm trying to think. Did ANYTHING good happen? Not that there has to be good things, but it makes the 2 1/2 hours more bearable. I still liked it though, it was kind of like Crash, only with less profanity and more subtitles.

Having seen four of the five films nominated for best picture, I decided I'm not too crazy about any of them. Which sad, because last year I was insanely oscar-slap-happy. I'm still having a party though, and I have a food list made up.
Sprite, KFC, and ice cream for Little Miss Sunshine
Chips and guacamole, for Babel
Tea and scones for The Queen
Rice for Letters From Iwo Jima
Cranberry juice for The Departed.

Koo.

Hmm... Maybe there really is something to this nine step program...

Congratulations to Marty and The Departed for winning at the directors guild, jolly good for Little Miss Sunshine at the SAG and producers awards, and kudos for Babel and Dreamgirls at the golden globes, but there's one thing that bothers me. Who is going to win the OSCAR?! I guess you could say Sunshine because they have two major awards, but it still seems wide open to me.

I'm going to rule out Letters from Iwo Jima because it's too Japanese, and The Queen because it just isn't sexy enough. But Babel, Departed, and Sunshine stand a fair chance. If pressed to choose between the three, I would rule out Departed because it's too violent. Babel seems pretty classic, but why didn't it win more awards? I never thought I would say this, but Little Miss Funny-Dance-Comedy could be our winner. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I think it's good the academy isn't picking another twisted little Paul Haggis concoction.

On the subject of twisted, I saw The Departed yesterday. Wow. It made Pulp Fiction look like child's play. It took a few minutes to get used to all the language, (which usually doesn't bother me at all) before I was faced with disembodied hands and teeth being knocked out. Yup, good times. I have only one complaint: Why is Mark Wahlberg nominated for Supporting Actor?!? I hated his character! If that SOB was on my police force I would fire him so fast he wouldn't have time to comment on pubescent male genitalia. It wasn't believable at all. On the other hand, now I know all I have to do to get nominated is talk trash in a Scorsese movie. Brilliant!
Ugg. Anyway, he won't be getting my vote. (If I had one.)


Now I only have to see Babel and Letters From Iwo Jima, and I'll be set!

Can I marry Bill Condon please?

I saw Dreamgirls yesterday! It was EXCELLENT. Exciting! Shiny! Loud! Epic!
When I walked in I was thinking grumblestupidChicagostupidmusicalsIhateamericanidolgrumble. But, I saw the error of my ways in the first 10 minutes. I loved all the characters, all the acting, and all the sets and costumes. Good stuff, folks. It's enough even to celebrate Kinsey and Gods and Monsters without the garish stigma that is Chicago. Yay.

Just had to spread the word.

T-minus ten weeks...

Yay! Golden Globe nominations are out! AND it's the last week of first semester! My plans over break are to watch all the Lord of the Rings movies, because I haven't seen them all for two years. (Gasp! Say it isn't so!)
Since the Globe nominations are out I feel more confident in predicting Oscar nominations. Here goes:

Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Queen

I also think Little Children has a shot. Don't know why, it's just a vibe.
Little Miss Sunshine, Thank You for Smoking, and History Boys might make it if the academy is in the mood for something lighter.

I can't believe Devil Wears Prada was nominated! Yes, it had Meryl Streep who was kick-ass as usual. So what? That definitely doesn't make it a good movie. Also, even though I haven't seen it, I have a feeling Bobby isn't good either. But I'll have to watch it first. (For the record, I did see DWP this summer)

Here are the movies I really want to see:
Little Children
The Departed
Babel
Notes on a Scandal
Running With Scissors
Hollywoodland
The Last King of Scotland

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I know how much everyone loves math, so here's a little equation for you to gander.
Love of life is to bane of existence, as _______ is to homework
Fill in blank
a. socks
b. pickles
c. Oscar season

If you said c, you're right!

Right now entertainment weekly says Babel, Dreamgirls, and The Departed have high hopes. They say The Good German is a "long shot", but I don't think so.
(More math: Casablanca+Clooney+Blanchett=Oscar) I also think The Queen could have a shot.
I have a good feeling about Half Nelson for screenplay.

Critics? who needs 'em!?

Good news for Sony, The Da Vinci Code opened with a healthy 77 million this weekend, despite the bad reviews.


Bad news for Sopia Coppola, her latest movie was met with jeering from the Cannes Film Festival audience.

James Schamus announced Ang Lee's next project, Lust, Caution. Production set tentatively for the fall.

And, finally we have some Oscar Predictions!!!

So much for originality....

I haven't updated for a long time! One would think that would mean I have a lot more to say, but that's not the case. I have some serious movie blurb writers block.
I'm still trying to shift my brain over to this year's Oscar race instead of last year's. But it's hard to do during the summer blockbuster months. I have assembled my 2005 Top Ten list in hopes of some closure.
My list is NOT in order of importance. It's actually in reverse alphabetical order (I'm such a crazy fool), because I'm stumped on what my favorite movie was.

Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit
Walk the Line
Pride and Prejudice
Junebug
Hustle and Flow
Howl's Moving Castle
Crash
The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Capote
Brokeback Mountain


Oh no. I just realized all these movies were nominated for Oscars. I can think for myself you know! I swear! At least my list only slightly resembles Ebert's. In my defense, I have seen very few lists that include Hustle and Flow, or Howl's Moving Castle.

Superman Oscar bait?

Summer blockbuster season, the dry patch for Oscar nominees. (Maybe I should switch to predicting the box office. Will Mission Impossible 3 make more than War of the Worlds?) But none the less, I do have some Oscar predictions.
The Da Vinci Code could get nominations for Cinematography, Art Direction, or maybe Best Original Song.
John Williams is always a safe bet, but he was nominated twice last year, and the Academy might not look too kindly on Superman Returns.
Prairie Home Companion could draw attention, but the early release might still hurt it (maybe it should take a page out of Crash's book), not to mention people saying it's not Altman's "greatest" work.
Thank You For Smoking (Wow! Something that's OUT!) could get nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, so long as Oscar voters don't forget about it. It might do well at the Independent Spirit Awards.
And hey, how about Wylie Stateman getting a Best Sound Editing nomination for Poseidon? He's been nominated three times before.
Ah, technical categories. You gotta love 'em.

Virgins get last laugh

Completely shut out from the Oscars, The 40-year-old Virgin and Wedding Crashers lead the MTV movie awards with 5 nominations each. I haven't seen either of them, so I'm forced to have no opinion. And even worse, I don't have a clue who's going to win! Here are the Best Picture nominees:

Batman Begins
The 40-year-old Virgin
Sin City
The Wedding Crashers
King Kong

Since the general public gets to vote, I would assume the movie that did best at the box office would win. Star Wars Episode III made the most in 2005, and King Kong, followed by Wedding Crashers made the most of the nominees.

For the first time, the acting nominees aren't separated by gender.

Best Performance:

Steve Carrel The 40-year-old Virgin
Jake Gyllenhaal Brokeback Mountain
Terrance Howard Hustle and Flow
Rachel McAdams Red Eye
Joaquin Phoenix Walk The Line
Reese Witherspoon Walk The Line

Best Comic Performance

Steve Carrel The 40-year-old-Virgin
Adam Sandler The Longest Yard
Owen Wilson Wedding Crashers
Vince Vaughn Wedding Crashers
Tyler Perry Maudea's Family Reunion

Oh, that REALLY breaks the gender barrier. Why, a whooping 20% of the nominees were women! (And Steve Carrel got in twice!)

*Perks head, sniffs wind* What's that? Do I smell Oscar nominees!?! Four! Count 'em, FOUR! Yes! Something I have SEEN!
*Clears throat* Well, in my opinion, I think...I think.......
I already went through this before! Alright, Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix already have Golden Globes (and one Oscar).....sooooo.....
I guess the question is, out of Jake Gyllenhaal and Terrance Howard, who would be less humiliated to get the MTV Movie Award?

As you might guess I don't put much stock in this. Which is silly really, because actual people get to vote, instead of snooty Academy members. Still I can't appreciate an audience that opens The Benchwarmers at no. 2 at the box office.

Alright, enough incoherent blabbering and bad sentences, on with the nominees!
The Best thing about the MTV awards is the creative categories.

Best Villain

Cillian Murphy Batman Begins
Tilda Swinton Chronicles of Narnia
Tobin Bell Saw II
Ralph Fiennes Harry Potter
Hayden Christensen Star Wars III

Best Kiss

Taraji P. Henson and Terrance Howard Hustle and Flow
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger Brokeback Mountain
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Rosario Dawson and Clive Owen Sin City
Anna Faris and Chris Marquette Just Friends

Yay! I have seen all the villains except Tobin Bell!
And, *fond sigh* more Oscar nominees! Don't worry guys, being nominated for a Best Kiss MTV award is just as prestigious as winning an Academy Award.
Alright, alright, enough making fun of something I don't understand. I suppose somebody has to recognize Dukes Of Hazzard other then the Razzies.

Get the rest of the nominations here

First 2006 movie I've seen......and it's only April!!

Last night I saw a sneak peek of Akeelah and the Bee. It was really, really, good. *Flexes critical muscles*
I highly recommend it when it comes out next week.
Here's something interesting, Starbucks and Lionsgate teamed up to distribute it. Since when does Starbucks have anything to do with movies? And for that matter, why the little spelling bee indie? Now, I don't go to Starbucks (support your local Mom and Pop coffee shops!), but I heard they are really pushing the film, and are on the whole We-Like-Mom-And-Pop-Family-Movies kick.
For all the Starbucks Gossip click here

As for awards buzz, Ebert and Roeper think that Keke Palmer (Akeelah) should get some nominations. (Deserves to, not necessarily will.)
Their review

And we only have to wait till the end of December!

Hmmmm...... It seems my old friend Renee Zellweger is getting some oscar buzz for her upcoming role Beatrix Potter. At least that's what Tom O'Neil from his awards blog Gold Derby is saying.
I'll be honest, I don't really like Renee Zellweger that much. I don't know why, maybe I'm still mad that Chicago won over The Two Towers, or maybe it's simply because I don't like any of her movies. (With the possible exception of Bridget Jones Diary. Yeah, yeah, I liked it. Sue me.)

Tom O'Neil also points out Entertainment Weekly's article about Dreamgirls having high Oscar hopes.

Might as well get the ball rolling... 06 Oscar Predictions!!

T-minus 11 months till the Oscars.
This is the best part! Random bandying-of-names of movies you haven't even seen yet and won't be out for months! (Bad sentence, I know.)
Here are the movies that smell of Oscar:

Flags of Our Fathers. Produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Clint Eastwood, and written by Paul Haggis. There's a winning combo if I ever heard it!

The Departed. Directed by Martin Scorsese (maybe it's finally his year!) and staring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson. Hey, it could happen!

The Good German
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Cate Blanchett and George Clooney. Written by Paul Attanasio, who is also writting...

East Of Eden
Directed by Ron Howard. This is just wishful thinking. They haven't even announced casting yet, (which means I will get to dream up people for them!) and I don't know much about it. I just started reading East of Eden, that's why I'm interested.

There you have it, folks! I'm mostly going by names here, and we could have another year of newbies. (But I'm thinking they'll go with big-budget-big-star types, after all those feisty little indies last year.)
Any thoughts? Additions?

Sorry, Phil. One per costumer

When Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Oscar, I couldn't help being a little disappointed.
"Why is that?" You may ask, "He definitely deserved it!" You're right, he did. But I still think the other nominees were equally deserving. I guess the reason I was upset was, Philip Seymour Hoffman ALWAYS won. Every single award worth taking he walked away with. Let's share the wealth, people!
To remedy Hollywood's blunder, I randomly divvied up the other awards as following:

Terrence Howard- Golden Globe, David Strathairn- BAFTA, Joaquin Phoenix- SAG, and Heath Ledger- Independent Spirit Award

Everybody's happy! Why doesn't the Academy just call me and ask for my advice? It's a mystery.

Give us a kiss, love

It has become painfully clear to me that the Academy doesn't know squat about Best Pictures. (Gladiator?! Chicago!?!)
Here's who would win if I got to choose.

2000: WONDER BOYS
How could I pick anything else? It has my favorite quote, and it's about writers! Runners up would be Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Chocolat, Saving Grace, and Small Time Crooks. *sigh* It was a good year.

2001: AMELIE
I didn't see as many good movies this year, but that's not to say Amelie doesn't deserve it! I also liked Zoolander and Bridget Jones Diary. They might not be very serious, but they're damn funny! (Plus, I don't look so snobbish!)

2002: ADAPTATION
Voice over! Screenwriting twins! Orchid dealers! How could you not love this movie? Honorary mentions to The Two Towers, Spirited Away, and About a Boy.

2003: AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Why don't more movies have voice over? I can't get enough. I had a hard time choosing between this and The Station Agent, Bend it like Beckham, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

2004: SIDEWAYS
See a pattern emerging? Yes, I do like movies about writers. What's not to like about wine, golf, and horny friends? This is my current best-movie-in-the-history-of-the-universe. Of course, let's not forget Garden State, and Secret Window!

2005: HUSTLE AND FLOW
Notice complete absence of Crash or Brokeback Mountain. The votes in my brain split, and I've decided my loyalty lies with the pimps and hookers. (I think we all know what my second choices are.)

Looking at my list I establish the following: I watch too many indies. I watch too many R rated movies. I watch too many movies about writers.

I also ask the following questions: Where the hell is Paul Giamatti's Oscar? What exactly was so great about Million Dollar Baby? Has the Academy ever heard of this thing called a "comedy"?

Sheesh

Victory is mine!!!!

I saw EVERY preformance nominated for Best Actor!! WOO HOO! Last night, after a month of waiting, I finally saw Hustle and Flow. I really liked it. I thought it would be depressing, but it actually ended on a happy note. Who do I think is best? Um, er, well...... EVERYONE was really, really, good. And the funny thing was, there were a lot of other people who could have been nominated too. It was a mantastic year (Ouch. Sorry, couldn't resist.)
My favorite movie is always the last one I saw. That's probably why I'm leaning toward Terrance Howard. I saw the performances in this order: Joaquin Phoenix, David Strathairn, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heath Ledger, Terrance Howard.
It's too hard to choose!! Everybody, great job. You all deserve little gold stars.