Oscar Nomination Reactions

Some interesting surprises here. Here were my predictions that I made on January 18th.

Additionally, I will comment on how the categories compare with my personal ballot.

My overall prediction score was 35 out of 40, which is better than my score of 30 out of 40 two years ago but not quite as good as 38 out of 40 from last year.

Anywhere, here they are:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

Prediction Score: 4/5. The first time since 2002 that I missed anything in this category. The fifth spot was a toughie. It could've been Munich, Walk the Line, or less likely, The Constant Gardener. I did not get the toss-up correctly.

Matches with my personal ballot: 1/5. This is misleading though. I am actually shocked at how good this list of nominees is. There is usually at least one, many times more, nominees in this category that I think are bad movies. That is not the case this year.

I'm rooting for: Brokeback Mountain

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Paul Haggis - Crash
George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg - Munich

Prediction Score: 5/5. Got them all! I am shocked that the director category actually matched the picture category exactly, it has not happened since 1982.

Matches with my personal ballot: 1/5. Again, I'm not complaining too much here. Nothing absolutely terrible was nominated and that is a good thing.

I'm rooting for: Ang Lee

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle and Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck

Prediction Score: 4/5. Terrence Howard! I had a feeling he'd get in somewhere, but I didn't think it would be here, so I put him in supporting instead.

Matches with my personal ballot: 3/5. This is a very good slate of candidates. Joaquim Phoenix and Terrence Howard might have not been on my list but this was a very strong category this year. I really would have liked to have seen Ralph Fiennes get in but I am really happy that Russell Crowe did not.

I'm rooting for: Phillip Seymour Hoffman

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

Prediction Score: 4/5. They actually nominated Keira Knightley! I had her predicted earlier and changed my mind because she did not receive a BAFTA nomination (if the BAFTAs do not nominate a British person it is a bad sign). I'll kick myself for that one.

Matches with my personal ballot: 2/5. This category is horrible, horrible, horrible. Judi Dench played herself, Felicity Huffman wasn't very good and her movie was horrible, the same with Charlize Theron.

I'm rooting for: Keira Knightley

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

George Clooney - Syriana
Matt Dillon - Crash
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence

Prediction Score: 4/5. William Hurt! Shocker. There was absolutely no prior indication of this one happening. And he is in the movie for about 5 minutes!

Matches with my personal ballot: 1/5. Jake Gyllenhall was the only match here, but none of these performances were bad, I just thought there were better ones. The only reason why I didn't personally nominate anyone from Crash was because everyone's part was too small. Even though I didn't have him on my list, glad to see Paul Giamatti in (and likely for the win) after getting snubbed horribly the last two years (2003, American Splendor, and 2004, Sideways).

I'm rooting for: Paul Giamatti

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

Prediction Score: 5/5. Got them all!

Matches with my personal ballot: 2/5. Michelle Williams was good, but this is a strong category and I thought there were better choices. Catherine Keener in my opinion didn't have that great of a performance in an otherwise good movie, there was just not much there. Frances McDormand is a terrible, terrible choice. The real awful thing here is that Maria Bello did not get in for A History of Violence, because if anything should have gotten in for that movie, she was it.

I'm rooting for: Amy Adams or Rachel Weisz

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Munich

Prediction Score: 5/5. Got them all!

Matches with my personal ballot: 4/5.

I didn't actually think the Oscars would do something like nominate Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, so this is actually a pretty good slate.

I'm rooting for: The Constant Gardener or Brokeback Mountain

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Match Point
The Squid at the Whale
Syriana

Prediction Score: 4/5. I did not think Syriana would get in because of what I wrote about here. And I'm glad they snubbed Cinderella Man to put it in there.

Matches with my personal ballot: 3/5.

This is a pretty good slate of nominees. I didn't think they would ever nominate Junebug here, and I don't have a match with Good Night, and Good Luck because not putting biopic screenplays into my personal ballot for original screenplay is just a personal thing of mine.

I'm rooting for: The Squid and the Whale or Crash

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What a good year for smaller, "independent" movies.

4/5 Best Picture nominations!
4/5 Best Director Nominations!
4/5 Best Actor Nominations!
3/5 Best Actress Nominations (although I still hate this category)!
3/5 Supporting Actor Nominations!
4/5 Supporting Actress Nominations!
4/5 Adapted Screenplay Nominations!
3/5 Original Screenplay Nominations!

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Films with more than one nomination:

Brokeback Mountain - 8
Crash - 6
Good Night and Good Luck - 6
Memoirs of a Geisha - 6
Capote - 5
Munich - 5
Walk the Line - 5
King Kong - 4
Pride and Prejudice - 4
Constant Gardener - 4
The Chronicles of Narnia - 3
Cinderella Man - 3
War of the Worlds - 3
A History of Violence - 2
Hustle and Flow - 2
Mrs. Henderson Presents - 2
North Country - 2
Syriana - 2
Transamerica - 2

Memoirs of a Geisha has more nominations than two of the best picture nominees? Hmm.

------------------------------

Other categories of interest:

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

Howl's Moving Castle
Corpse Bride
Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Gasp! They actually nominated the three best animated movies of the year, and none of the retread CGI garbage that the industry has been putting out. I'm really surprised at this. I'm *really* surprised that they nominated Howl's Moving Castle (my personal choice for best animated movie). It won't win, and Hayao Miyazaki has already won in this category for Spirited Away a couple of years ago, but it's nice to see it mentioned.

I'm rooting for: Howl's Moving Castle

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Streetfight

Not a bad slate. Although Grizzly Man should have been in here. It may not have been eligible, the documentary category has the second weirdest eligibility rules of any Oscar category.

I'm rooting for: Murderball

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Don't Tell
Joyeux Noèl
Paradise Now
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days
Tsotsi

I haven't seen any of these movies so I have no idea. This is the category with the *weirdest* eligibility rules. For one, each country is only allowed to select one movie which is eligible for nomination. Number two, there are some pretty weird release date requirements for the movies that I don't completely understand. For all I know, some of my own foreign movie choices could have been eligible in previous years. I'm not going to do a comparison against my own choices here.

I'm rooting for: Nothing! Haven't seen them.

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World

This is an important category for me (although I don't try to predict it, because the choices can be somewhat random) since it showcases the *beauty* of a film, how well it was shot. Very nice to see The New World in here, very disappointing to see The Constant Gardener out. I like the choices here pretty much. Memoirs of a Geisha was an awful movie but it *did* have good cinematography. If I had to knock out something, I guess I would knock out Good Night, and Good Luck. Or if you go by the "don't nominate things done for bad movies" rule, then knock out Memoirs after all.

I'm rooting for: The New World

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Pride and Prejudice

Glad to see The Constant Gardener in, but I am annoyed that they left out King Kong.

I'm rooting for: Brokeback Mountain or The Constant Gardener. One thing I do not like about this category is that I feel this should be split into separate categories. One for big, bombastic, orchestral scores and another for minimal scores. Can you really easily compare a minimal score like Brokeback Mountain to a large-scale one like Memoirs of a Geisha?

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What makes me happy and what disappointes me:

The Good That Got In:

Amy Adams for Junebug. Thought she might not make it.
The Squid and the Whale for Original Screenplay. It was a very, very small movie and it is nice to see it in.
Terrence Howard for Hustle and Flow. The academy is getting less stuffy! They nominated a guy who sings a song called "It's hard out here for a pimp" in the movie!
Keira Knightley for Pride and Prejudice. I really thought she wouldn't get in after the BAFTA nominations. It's good to see that they at least have some taste in this otherwise (aside from Reese Witherspoon) absolutely horrible category.
Howl's Moving Castle in Best Animated Film.
The New World in Best Cinematography. I thought this movie would get completely ignored.
The Constant Gardener in for Best Original Score.

The Disappointments That Did Not:

The Constant Gardener for Best Picture.
Fernando Meirelles for The Constant Gardener in Best Director.
Ralph Fiennes for The Constant Gardener in Best Actor.
Naomi Watts for King Kong in Best Actress.
Maria Bello for A History of Violence in Best Supporting Actress.
The Constant Gardener in Best Cinematography.
King Kong left out for Best Original Score.

Anything else that's on my personal ballot that I didn't list as a disappointment I didn't think had any slightest chance of being nominated which is why I don't list it above.

Winner predictions up on the sidebar. I will be adjusting them after the WGA are announced.

Razzie Nominations! The Worst of the Year

Source: http://www.razzies.com/default.asp

I have not seen the vast majority of these so I will only comment on those that I have.

Worst Actor:
----------------
Tom Cruise certainly wasn't good in War of the Worlds, but I doubt it was actually one of the five worst performances of the year. Am I defending Tom Cruise, who I do not like in the slightest?

Most Tiresome Tabloid Targets
-----------------------------
I hope Tom Cruise wins this for his anti-psychology rant (see, now I am *not* defending him). However I am wondering why Angelina and Brad were not nominated here. *I*, for one, certainly find all the stories about them tiresome.

Worst Supporting Actor
-----------------------------
If they are going to pick someone from Star Wars for this, couldn't they have given a special voice-acting nomination to James Earl Jones for his awful "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" at the end of the movie?

Worst Supporitng Actress
-----------------------------
While Katie Holmes was easily the weakest link in Batman Begins, I'd hardly say she is worst of the year material. Besides, that was a great movie.

Other Commentary
-----------------------------
Wouldn't it be nice if the Razzies included a most overrated movies category?

Hint (Note that I am predicting all of these movies get Oscar Nominations):

Cinderella Man
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
North Country
Transamerica

My vote goes to Cinderella Man.


The Nominations
============================

Worst Picture

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Dirty Love
Dukes of Hazzard
House of Wax
Son of the Mask

Worst Actor

Tom Cruise - War of the Worlds
Will Ferrell - Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming
Jamie Kennedy - Son of the Mask
The Rock - Doom
Rob Schneider - Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo

Worst Actress

Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four and Into the Blue
Hilary Duff - Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and The Perfect Man
Jennifer Lopez - Monster in Law
Jenny McCarthy - Dirty Love
Tara Reid - Alone in the Dark

Most Tiresome Tabloid Targets New Category, Saluting the Celebs We’re ALL Sick & Tired Of!

Tom Cruise & His Anti-Psychiatry Rant
Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Oprah Winfrey’s Couch, The Eiffel Tower & “Tom’s Baby”
Paris Hilton and…Who-EVER!
Mr. & Mrs. Britney, Their Baby & Their Camcorder
The Simpsons: Ashlee, Jessica & Nick

Worst Supporting Actor

Hayden Christensen - Star Wars III: No Sith, He's Supposed to Be Darth Vader?!?!
Alan Cumming - Son of the Mask
Bob Hoskins - Son of the Mask
Eugene Levy - Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and The Man
Burt Reynolds - The Dukes of Hazzard and The Longest Yard

Worst Supporting Actress

Carmen Electra - Dirty Love
Paris Hilton - House of Wax
Katie Holmes - Batman Begins
Ashlee Simpson - Undiscovered
Jessica Simpson - The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Screen Couple

Will Ferrell & Nicole Kidman - Bewitched
Jamie Kennedy & ANYBODY Stuck Sharing the Screen with Him - Son of the Mask
Jenny McCarthy & ANYONE Dumb Enough to Befriend or Date Her - Dirty Love
Rob Schneider & His Diapers - Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Jessica Simpson & Her “Daisy Dukes” - The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Remake Or Sequel

Bewitched
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Dukes of Hazzard
House of Wax
Son of the Mask

Worst Director

John Asher - Dirty Love
Ewe Boll - Alone in the Dark
Jay Chandrasekhar - The Dukes of Hazzard
Nora Ephron - Bewitched
Lawrence Gutterman - Son of the Mask

Worst Screenplay

Bewitched - Written by Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron & Adam McKay
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo - Written by Rob Schneider, David Garrett & Jason Ward
Dirty Love - Written by Jenny McCarthy
The Dukes of Hazzard - Written by John O'Brien
Son of the Mask - Written by Lance Khazei

I Don't Know How To Quit Making This Joke

Who was the first person to make an "I don't know how to quit you!" joke?

Was it me, who made a joke about it the very first time I saw the preview for Brokeback Mountain, well before it was actually released?

Was it someone else, who saw the preview before I did?

Was it someone who had read the short story upon which the movie is based, although it might not have seemed as funny in that context?

I have no idea. But the fact is, if you haven't heard it enough already, you will be hearing a lot more very, very soon. If I were the sort to invent drinking games, which I am not, I would put this one in as a category in my Oscar Ceremony drinking game. Or perhaps you could actually bet on how many times someone mentions it during the telecast in Vegas, where you can probably bet on practically anything.

Guild Award Reactions

Directors Guild of America - Ang Lee -- Brokeback Mountain

Screen Actors Guild

Best Supporting Actress - Rachel Weisz -- The Constant Gardener
Best Supporting Actor - Paul Giamatti -- Cinderella Man
Best Lead Actress - Reese Witherspoon -- Walk the Line
Best Lead Actor - Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- Capote
Ensemble - Crash

The Writer Guild of America is still yet to give out their awards on Feb. 4th.

What do these all mean?

Well first of all, with the win at the PGA and the DGA Brokeback Mountain is about the surest thing for a Best Picture and Best Director win as is possible. If it loses in either category I will probably projectile vomit in pure unadulterated shock.

For this, congratulations to:

1) Focus Features. They in my opinion, unlike Miramax before them, rely on making quality film and the acclaim follows, rather than aggressive behind the scenes Oscar campaigning. Does anyone really think that Shakespeare in Love deserved best picture? Their films are consistently of high quality and in my opinion should've taken best picture the last two years already (2003, Lost in Translation, and 2004, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

2) Ang Lee. Even though I like Steven Soderbergh, Ang Lee was robbed in 2000 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He'll get what he deserved to get earlier.

Secondly, the acting categories:

Best Supporting Actress: It looks like Rachel Weisz is pretty much a lock for this.

Best Supporting Actor: Even though Giamatti won SAG, I still think it is a toss-up between him and George Clooney. As I've mentioned previously, I think there is a good chance that Clooney will get a "consolation prize" Oscar in either the Supporting Actor or Original Screenplay category. Everyone in Hollywood likes this guy, and if Brokeback Mountain weren't around, he'd probably take best director.

Best Actress: Reese won SAG, Felicity won the Globe. I think the SAG is more reliable, but either one could take it. Edge to Reese for now though.

Best Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman just locked himself up a Best Actor Oscar, barring a pretty huge surprise.

Ensemble: Crash won it, which isn't a surprise at all. This doesn't have any relevance to it winning best picture, I think, but certainly guarantees that we'll be seeing it get a nomination come Tuesday.

I am interested to see what the WGA will do on the 4th. If they end up giving Original Screenplay to Good Night and Good Luck, it's a good indication that Giamatti will win Supporing Actor. If it goes to Crash, there's a good chance Clooney will get it instead. Or I might be wrong about this whole consolation prize thing. But I doubt it.

A Nice Surprise From The Past

Dead Man 1995 (5/5 stars)

I got this movie on a total whim from Netflix.... and it was fantastic. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers), this is a black and white western which tells the story of William Blake (like the poet, played by Johnny Depp). Blake is a mild mannered accountant who travels to a remote town to see the owner of a factory, and when refused, ends up in a hotel room with a woman whose jealous former lover walks in and kills her after which Blake kills the man in self defense, rather haphazardly. The dead man turns out to be the son of the factory owner, and Blake must go on the run. On the way he acquires a Native American travelling companion named Nobody (for the remainer of the movie he refers to him as "stupid white man"), who helps him along on the run. He is forced to fast by Nobody, and in combination with other events, he eventually turns into this bizarre bad-ass, eventually killing several marshalls sent after him.

The plot isn't really the great thing about this movie, what is so brilliant is the style and the completely new and bizarre, quirky take on the western genre quite unlike anything I've seen before. I highly recommend it for anyone, it is maybe the best western movie I've ever seen.

Fiction Department Awards Ballot 2005

Here it is, in my opinion, the best of the year.

Best Picture

• Brokeback Mountain
• The Constant Gardener
• Junebug
• The New World
• The Squid and the Whale

Best Director

• Noah Baumbach -- The Squid and the Whale
• Ang Lee -- Brokeback Mountain
• Terrence Malick -- The New World
• Fernando Meirelles -- The Constant Gardener
• Wong Kar Wai -- 2046

Best Actor

• Robert Downey Jr. -- Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
• Ralph Fiennes -- The Constant Gardener
• Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- Capote
• Heath Ledger -- Brokeback Mountain
• David Strathairn -- Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Actress

• Emmanuelle Devos -- Kings and Queen
• Q'Orianka Kilcher -- The New World
• Keira Knightley -- Pride and Prejudice
• Naomi Watts -- King Kong
• Reese Witherspoon -- Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor

• Mathieu Amalric -- Kings and Queen
• Clifton Collins Jr. -- Capote
• Jeff Daniels -- The Squid and the Whale
• Jake Gyllenhaal -- Brokeback Mountain
• Val Kilmer -- Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams -- Junebug
• Maria Bello -- A History of Violence
• Laura Linney -- The Squid and the Whale
• Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
• Ziyi Zhang -- 2046

Best Original Screenplay

• Noah Baumbach -- The Squid and the Whale
• Roger Bohbot, Arnaud Desplechin -- Kings and Queen
• Stephen Gaghan -- Syriana
• Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco -- Crash
• Angus MacLachlan -- Junebug

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Shane Black -- Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
• Jeffrey Caine -- The Constant Gardener
• Dan Futterman -- Capote
• Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana -- Brokeback Mountain
• Josh Olson -- A History of Violence

Best Ensemble Cast

• Brokeback Mountain
• Crash
• Junebug
• Syriana
• The Squid and the Whale

Best Foreign Language Film

• 2046
• Caché
• Downfall
• Kings and Queen
• Nobody Knows


Note that I do not have some things in the same categories as the Golden Globes, etc. This is because I do not agree with the category they were placed in. Can you guess my winners?

The Last Scenes

Well, I saw Caché so now I am done with last year's movies at last.

The desription is deceptively simple: a couple are sent a videotape of somebody taping their house and they do not realize why. The culprit continues to send them videotapes, and by noticing a detail in one of the tapes the man recognizes someone from his past who may be responsible. Havoc ensues. There is much exploration of guilt, lying, revenge, and resentment between the players.

I'm not going to do a full review, but I will say that I liked it, it is a gripping thriller with very unnerving direction and style. The actual shots of the film are so close in style to the presentation of the videotapes that at times you aren't even sure if what you are watching is a recording until later in the movie. The reason why I don't comment more is that I am so perplexed and baffled by the ending that I'm not really sure exactly what I saw. This is something that I'm going to have to watch again later and contemplate more. Something definitely worthing seeing, but be sure to pay very close attention to the last two scenes (the first a shot of the house where one of the main characters grew up, the last the shot of the steps of a school). Pay attention especially to the last scene, if you notice something very key, will make you wonder if everything you thought about what happened in the movie was completely wrong.

Family Values (A Parody)

INT. OFFICE OF CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER -- DAY
-----------------------------------------
A man is sitting at a chair behind a large mahogany desk. He is reading a copy of The Wall Street Journal. We see pictures of him on the wall with the President of the United States and various corporate dignitaries. We see his name written in reverse on the back of the open door to his office. The phone rings.

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Yes?

VOICE ON PHONE:
Your publicist is here to see you, Sir.

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Send him in, and have him shut the door.

A man walks through the door and shuts it behind him.

PUBLICIST:
You asked for me?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Yes. I would like to issue a press release. We need to do something before these godforsaken hippie communist film studios take over the country.

PUBLICIST:
What exactly do you mean?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Look at all of the movies that are up for awards this year. I don't need to remind you that awards mean publicity, publicity means attention, and attention means the public being exposed to issues that don't help our cause. Fear of the unknown and ignorance of government action is something we need to preserve.

PUBLICIST:
What movies are you concerned with?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Almost all of them! Brokeback Mountain portrays homosexuals in a relationship that might remind people of one of their own. If we don't attack this movie and it becomes less of a values issue than we might lose some of our morals constituency. We pratically rode the San Francisco marriage debacle into a re-election for the president in 2004.

PUBLICIST:
I see your point, sir.

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
And along the same lines, Transamerica. We can't let the public see a transexual portrayed in a positive light. Also Capote, which...

PUBLICIST:
Isn't the portrayal of the character in that movie actually rather negative?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Yes, but not negative enough, there is too much complexity there. We need to preserve a cartoon-like negative connotation in people's minds.

The publicist jots down notes.

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
We also need to attack the political movies. Syriana suggests that the government and Corporate America are corrupt, and that our presence in the Middle East might be directly leading to terrorism. People must believe in their government and corporations, or at least be ambivalent, otherwise people might switch sides and new voters could defeat us in the next election. Good Night, and Good Luck might make people think twice about why they aren't getting both sides to every story on the news these days. We've made great progress in this area recently, especially with Fox, and we can't lose that.

PUBLICIST:
What do you suggest we do?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
We'll create our own awards, I've already come up with a name: "American Values Awards for Movies and Television". We will nominate films less distasteful to us, and call for a change to award movies with patriotism and respect for family values.

PUBLICIST:
Which movies did you have in mind?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars Eppisode III, and Cinderella Man.

PUBLICIST:
Why those in particular?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Well Narnia is obvious. Everybody thinks it is about Jesus. In this country Jesus equals morals. Jesus equals conservatism.

PUBLICIST:
But isn't that movie rather violent for young children? And how does exactly does it portray family values or..

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
It doesn't matter. Churches organized groups to see this movie in droves. We have to pick it or else we won't appeal to our constituency.

PUBLICIST:
What about Harry Potter? Didn't we just publicly criticize the author of the books for writing anti-christian stories about witchcraft just a couple of years ago?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
People have forgotten about that already. We can say it is a story about good versus evil. The same goes for Star Wars.

PUBLICIST:
Well, forgive me for asking here, but isn't that movie about genocide? Doesn't the protagonist turn evil and murder children? And in the end the bad guys win? Is that really the message we want to be sending? Not to mention that it isn't a big leap for someone to make a connection between the Emperor's quest for more power and military might to the neoconservative agenda of the current administration...

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Please, do you actually think that anyone is going to catch that? It's good versus evil. And the Jedi from the movies remind people of monks.

PUBLICIST:
May I suggest something?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Go Ahead.

PUBLICIST:
Why don't we promote more appropriate movies? More family oriented movies, or ones that actually promote family values and patriotism?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Such as?

PUBLICIST:
Well, there's Duma, or...

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
You don't get the point. None of the movies you are about to name actually made any money. And we can't include animated movies because people will not take it seriously. Remember, we want to promote these awards as an alternative to the trash the liberal establishment is giving out. If we get really lucky here, we could even compete with the Oscars. Then with less prestigious awards to be won, maybe less of these objectionable movies will be made.

PUBLICIST:
What about Cinderella Man?

CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER:
Well, none of our other choices received much critical praise. We've got to include something regarded as a quality film to be considered legitimate.

PUBLICIST:
Okay. I'll work up a press release.

The publicist leaves the office. CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER continues to read the paper for a few seconds, when the phone rings again.

VOICE ON PHONE:
Sir, your broker left a message for you. He says you are way up on defense and oil stocks today, sir. Also I have a delivery for you.

The assistant whose voice we heard enters the room and hands over a package to CONSERVATIVE MOVIE PRODUCER. He opens it up, and we see a DVD entitled Policemen with Muscles 17.

Mother, Have You Sent This Ship For Me?

The New World (5/5 stars)

It is interesting that The New World has been advertised and portrayed as a both a historical epic romance or war picture, when this is really the farthest thing from the truth. The title of the movie really says it on multiple levels; we see the English land in Virginia, which is a given, but that's only the most obvious interpretation. Imagine two groups of people meeting for the first time, learning about completely new people and foreign cultures without even having the ability to speak to one another. Eventually, some of these people are changed by their new experiences, and discover much about these foreign creatures. Even more important, however, through close relationships, they realize much about humankind as a whole, and carve out new pieces to themselves that never existed before.

This is also, of course, a story about the birth of America. How interesting it is to see the people reacting to the situation at hand without knowing what will be coming in the next few hundred years. At one point there is even an argument among people about the intentions of the English; while the end result we now know may be the product of ambitious foreigners who came later, one's argument is hopelessly naive while the other's is hauntingly accurate.

However the movie is really about Pocahontas; the effects of all the events on her after the initial arrival of the English, the two men she becomes involved with, and her eventual journey to England. It is there that we see the same culture shock we saw in the beginning, she is as different to the people of England as the colonists in Virginia were to her.

Although they are about different subjects and are of different genres, I couldn't help but be reminded of 2001: A Space Odyssey multiple times during the movie. Maybe it is the use of classical music, the similar imagery (in particular there are a few shots of trees, especially one towards the end, that along with what is going on at the time remind me of the monolith), or just the general journey theme. However it is also the style. This, like 2001, is more for the patient viewer, willing to just sit back and take in a beautiful film, rather than expect to be excited or surprised throughout.

To say that this movie does not have a lot of action, dialogue, or even plot, is an understatement. Anyone who has seen Terrence Malick's (The Thin Red Line) previous movies should not be surprised. As is his style, we're instead treated to a sequence of visual poetry, vivid imagery accompanied by lyrical narration by the more major characters. Sometimes this is used to enhance the scene we are seeing, sometimes to directly contrast it, but always to great effect either way. Some shots are so breathtakingly beautiful I don't even know how they were planned or even caught on film. We're extremely lucky to see them either way.

I Can't Take My Ears Off Of You

Does anyone remember the song from the beginning and end of Closer last year? It's very irritating in that it has this tendency to pop into my head at very random times and I can't get rid of it for hours.

And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes...

-- "The Blowers Daughter" by Damien Rice

I only bring it up because sometimes the use of certain songs is as critical to a movie's quality as an original score is, yet no credit is ever given to it. Should there be? The right song can imprint part of a movie in your mind forever; I'm probably not going to forget the opening and closing scenes of that movie anytime soon. Some other examples of movies that do this very well, even better, that immediately spring to mind are almost any of Quentin Tarantino's films, Lost in Translation, and Garden State. Who knows, I'm guessing this would never happen as people view it as just picking up existing work and throwing it in your movie, but I think it takes a real talent to pick the perfect song for the perfect place.

Important Dates in Awards On the Horizon

DGA Awards (Directors Guild of America) -- Saturday, January 28th.
SAG Awards (Screen Actors Guild) -- Sunday, January 29th (televised on TNT)
WGA Awards (Writers Guild of America) -- Saturday, February 4th.

These three, along with the PGA (Producers Guild of America), as mentioned in a previous post, are pretty good indicators of what's going to win the big ones.

Also we have:

BAFTAs (Essentially, the British Oscars) -- Sunday, February 19th (televised on BBC)

This one is not as accurate of an indicator. But they're fun! They usually go against the grain in a lot of the stuff they give out. For example two years ago Scarlett Johannson and Bill Murray won Best Actress and Best Actor at BAFTA while SJ was not even nominated for an Oscar and BM got snubbed for the win. Also this is probably the best recognition The Constant Gardener is going to get, as it has more nominations than anything else, and will likely win a few.

Oscars:
1/31 -- Nominations
3/5 -- Ceremony (ABC)

Another Nail in the Coffin

Brokeback Mountain won the Producer's Guild of America (PGA) award today, little known to the average movie goer but along with the Directors, Writers, and Screen Actors Guild (winners all still to be announced), the most accurate predictors of what's going to happen come the Oscars. Way more so than things like the Golden Globes.

Anticipation

Only five, painfully long more days.....

Anticipation....

Distraction, constant reminders...

Anticipation....

Anxiety, will it be everything I expect it to be....

Anticipation....

Waking up, cold sweats, uncontrollable obsession....

Anticipation....


Big Momma's House 2, in theatres on January 27th.

2005: Random Praise and Insult

In preparation for the actual Fiction Department ballot, which I will post next week, I have gathered together some thoughts in a little MTV Awards style post.

Best Documentary
================================
Murderball

alt: Grizzly Man

Best Animated Movie
================================
Howl's Moving Castle

alt: Corpse Bride

Most Overrated Movie
================================
Cinderella Man

Best Comedy Movie
================================
The 40 Year Old Virgin

Best Superhero Movie in Years
================================
Batman Begins

Most Socio-Politically Relevant Movie
================================
Syriana

Best Parody Movie
================================
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Most Disappointing Movie
================================
Elizabethtown

Most Pleasant Surprise
================================
Pride and Prejudice

Best Cinematography
================================
The Constant Gardener

Best Original Score (Orchestra)
================================
King Kong

Best Original Score (Minimal)
================================
Brokeback Mountain

Best Original Score (Electronic)
================================
Syriana

Most Excessive Overacting
================================
Memoirs of a Geisha

Most Completely Unnecessary Rehashed War Epic
================================
Kingdom of Heaven

Best Movie You Wouldn't See Based On Description
================================
Hustle and Flow

Best Kids/Family Movie
=================================
Millions

Most Poorly Mashed Drama/Comedy
=================================
Transamerica

Best Quirky Comedy You've Probably Never Seen
=================================
Saving Face

Best Movie to See With Family at Christmas
=================================
The Family Stone

Most Egregious Example of Trying to Be Too Cool and Failing
================================
Sin City

Self Fulfilling Prophecy Award
(People wanted to be good so badly, they
actually believed that it was)
=================================
Star Wars Episode III

Best New Actress
=================================
Amy Adams (Junebug)

Best New Actor
=================================
Terrence Howard (Crash, Hustle and Flow)

Wow, They Actually Have Talent (Actor)
=================================
Heath Ledger

Wow, They Actually Have Talent (Actress)
=================================
Keira Knightley

Best Comedic Performance
=================================
Robert Downey Jr. -- Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Most Phoned in Performance (The Playing Yourself Award)
=================================
Judi Dench -- Mrs. Henderson Presents

Movie Studio of the Year
=================================
Focus Features (Brokeback Mountain, Broken Flowers, The Constant Gardener, Pride and Prejudice)

Love At Any Cost

The Constant Gardener (5/5 stars)

On the surface, The Constant Gardener is a thriller about pharmaceutical companies, conspiracies, governments, corruption, Africa, AIDS, exploitation of the poor, investigations into all of the above, and murder. However these themes are only scenery for the subplot between the two main characters, which is the real heart and soul of the story.

The movie opens with Justin Quayle, a British diplomat, seeing his wife Tessa off on a plane trip. This is the last time he will ever see her, because she dies in the next scene. Next we see how they meet: she is a student at a guest lecture he is giving at a university, where she essentially accuses him of being a lapdog for the British government. He exists to explain his country's misdeeds in the world. They inexplicably fall into an affair, and while there is definitely a certain chemistry between them, we are not sure why. He initially seems like a stuffy bore, she a paranoid brat. After this Justin sees his wife's dead body and barely reacts, as if he is an emotional cripple of some kind. Finally, seeing a key event that transpired before they were in Africa in the first place, we are led to how these people actually end up there; he is being sent there by his government and she asks him to bring her with him. "In what capacity?" he inquires. Her reply seems to indicate that she does not care how she goes, just that she does.

After all this the movie begins in earnest, with the first third of the movie showing in flashback from Justin's perspective the events they, now married, went through up until her murder. Tessa, while pregnant, is investigating a company testing drugs on AIDS patients in Africa. It becomes clear in this portion of the film that he loves her, but she casts many suspicions upon herself. Is she using him to help her own agenda? Is she faithful? We aren't really sure.

Eventually we are led back to the present where the plane scene, repeated, preceeds Justin's own investigation. Not only does he continue what Tessa started, he attempts to discover her true identity. In the end we see the truth, and perhaps understand better how they ended up together in the first place.

Ralph Fiennes, as Justin, and Rachel Weisz, as Tessa, both deliver award-deserving performances. The visual achivement of this movie is amazing, between the disheartening scenes of the impoverished people and the vivid, beautiful landscapes of Kenya. It is simply shot brilliantly, every scene a lush representation of the characters and their environment. The real achievement is, however, the ability of director Fernando Meirelles (City of God) to simultaneously weave a gripping political thriller while maintaining a balancing emotional resonance through flashback sequences between Justin and Tessa during the last two-thirds of the movie.

On top of all of this, what really makes the movie work are a few flashes of brilliance that deserve to be pointed out. First, two scenes (shown as digitally recorded video) with Justin filming Tessa in a bathtub and another with Tessa filming Justin sleeping that could have easily been regular shots but instead we get a chance to view these people how they saw each other. Next, a scene where Justin visits the house where Tessa lived, alternating with flashbacks of them together there while she was still alive, while we hear her reading a revealing letter that Justin obtains after her death that simultaneously shows us their happiness while together and his devastation after her death. Finally, the last scene of the movie, which I will not describe (as it is too revealing), is perhaps one of the most profoundly moving endings to a movie I have ever seen. These extra touches make you really care about these characters, changing the movie from a simple thriller into something far more.

"Love At Any Cost", a description touted by the movie poster, becomes more and more clear to us as we learn about the characters' relationships with each other, and the motivations behind their actions. The movie is a moving tale of sacrifice as Tessa dies trying to save African drug testing subjects, while other people sacrifice lives and their own morality for money and convenience, and Justin sacrifices his present just so that he can comprehend his own past. It is also a story of discovery. Tessa's investigation into the drug companies, and Justin's investigation into the companies and Tessa. We are given a hint at this from a scene in the very beginning of the movie. Before they leave for Africa and Tessa asks to go with Justin, he states "We hardly know each other." She replies, "You can learn me." Eventually, after her death, he does. So do we.

A Discussion on Snubs

Every year things get snubbed at the Oscars. Here is what I expect to get snubbed that actually had a chance (I am not counting my personal preferences that didn't have any chance at all, but I'm also not counting my personal preferences that *did* have a chance that I thought did not deserve it). And by having a chance I mean that they're in a movie that got enough exposure, etc., not that they were ever actually in the running. Obviously there's only five nominees per category so it might not be a snub, you might unfortunately be 6th place, but here we go:

Best Picture
--------------
The Constant Gardener
King Kong
Syriana

Best Director
---------------
Fernando Meirelles -- The Constant Gardener
Peter Jackson -- King Kong
Stephen Gaghan -- Syriana

Best Actor
---------------
Ralph Fiennes -- The Constant Gardener
Terrence Howard -- Hustle and Flow
Jeff Daniels -- The Squid and the Whale (Note: I still think this is supporting!)

Best Actress (A weak category, and the Academy will pick even weaker nominees)
---------------
Naomi Watts -- King Kong
Keira Knightley -- Pride and Prejudice
Joan Allen -- The Upside of Anger
Gwyneth Paltrow -- Proof

Best Supporting Actor
---------------
I'm not predicting any. This (as well as best actress) is a ridiculously weak category this year. Maybe several people who end up not getting nominated for Crash, depending on if their part in the movie is actually long enough.

Best Supporting Actress
---------------
Maria Bello -- A History of Violence
Laura Linney -- The Squid and the Whale
Thandie Newton -- Crash

Best Original Screenplay
---------------
Junebug (some may argue it is too small, but Amy Adams is getting enough attention now, so I don't think so).
Syriana
The 40 Year Old Virgin

Best Adapted Screenplay
---------------
Where I disagree here is mostly in the areas of movies that never had a shot so I'm not listing any.

Note:
------
Not all of these snubs are going to make it on my personal ballot. They all *are* however, better than at least one thing that is going to get nominated in their category.

The Main Reason Why Things Get Snubbed, Besides Not Being Liked
----------------------------------------------------------------
Category confusion. Is it Lead or Supporting? Is it Original or Adapted? As I discussed a few posts ago, Syriana is out due to a confusion of this sort by the Academy decreeing that it was original when it was being pushed as Adapted. However, a much bigger issue is the Lead/Supporting thing. Here is a list of people who may have gotten in, but probably won't, due to people not being sure what category they're in (The Academy does not make decrees in this regard like they do in the writing categories):

Jeff Daniels -- The Squid and the Whale
Maria Bello -- A History of Violence
Laura Linney -- The Squid and the Whale

What is in common with these people? All of them will be on my list, coming soon.

Oscar Nomination Predictions

I was forced to update predictions because of what I heard in the post below. Since I was doing it anyway, I also updated a couple of other things (also on sidebar).

BEST PICTURE
• Brokeback Mountain
• Capote
• Crash
• Good Night, and Good Luck.
• Walk the Line

BEST DIRECTOR
• Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
• Bennett Miller - Capote
• Paul Haggis - Crash
• George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck.
• Steven Spielberg - Munich

BEST ACTOR
• Russell Crowe - Cinderella Man
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
• Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
• Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
• David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck.

BEST ACTRESS
• Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
• Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
• Charlize Theron - North Country
• Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
• Ziyi Zhang - Memoirs of a Geisha

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
• George Clooney - Syriana
• Matt Dillon - Crash
• Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
• Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
• Terrence Howard - Crash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
• Amy Adams - Junebug
• Catherine Keener - Capote
• Frances McDormand - North Country
• Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
• Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
• Brokeback Mountain
• Capote
• The Constant Gardener
• A History of Violence
• Munich

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
• Cinderella Man
• Crash
• Good Night, and Good Luck.
• Match Point
• The Squid and the Whale

The "Syriana" Debacle

The Academy, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to officially declare that Syriana, despite the fact that it is *based on a book*, an *original screenplay*, only two days before Oscar Nomination ballots are due. What does this mean? Every single person (the vast majority) who have already sent in their ballots, putting in Syriana for Adapted Screenplay, will not have their vote counted in that category. Since this decision comes so close to when the ballots are due, the movie will most likely miss Original Screenplay as well, because people were voting for it in the wrong category.

How completely ridiculous. If you're going to pull a stunt like that, at least due it *before* people vote, idiots. I'm keeping it in my adapted category (to be announced soon), but I'm forced to update my Oscar predictions because of this.

An Evil Plot (A Parody of Straight Talk Radio)

INT. MOVIE STUDIO OFFICE -- NIGHT
-----------------------------------------
Deep rafts of smoke fill the air. "I Will Survive" is barely audible through the walls, coming from another room in the building. We see a room filled with a faint light. Two men are sitting at a conference table speaking, and the sparkling skyline of Los Angeles is visible through the windows behind them.

MAN (despondent)
You know, I can't find enough dates in this town. I don't know what to do.

OTHER MAN
Well, don't worry about that now. We've got to decide which of these scripts are a go.

MAN
I'm just so depressed, I can't think about this now.

OTHER MAN
Well, maybe you're not trying hard enough. There's gotta be a way to find more eligible guys out there.

MAN (surprised, shocked look on his face)
I've got it!

OTHER MAN
Got what?

MAN
The answer to my problem!

OTHER MAN (confused)
Huh?

MAN
Let's back a gay cowboy movie!

OTHER MAN
What on earth are you talking about?

MAN
Well I need more dates, right?

OTHER MAN
Right.

MAN
Well, we can make this gay cowboy movie. And we'll give it a sad ending. And it will win Oscars. And then do you know what will happen?

OTHER MAN
Uh, no, what?

MAN
Millions of straight men across the country will see this movie, and instantly become gay. We can homosexualize America! It's brilliant!

OTHER MAN
You really need to lay off the crack, man.

The Policital Backlash Has Begun

You know, I thought the lack of rabid, irrational ranting from the right-wingers this year considering the amount of supposedly liberal slanted movies was pretty strange. I thought perhaps they had learned their lesson from Farenheit 9/11 and decided to be quiet and not give the films they loathe any more press than they're already getting. But now that the Globes are over, and I think after the Oscars it will get even worse, the freaks are coming out (at night? sorry. couldn't resist).

Here is an article

So we get some bashing on Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Transamerica, and Syriana. Now all we need is some bashing on The Constant Gardener and Good Night, and Good Luck and they'll have covered everything. I even wonder if they'll be daring enough to find a reason to go after Crash. You never know.

Edited to Add:

One particular quote, from the article:

“Once again, the media elites are proving that their pet projects are more important than profit,” Janice Crouse, of Concerned Women for America, said. “None of the three movies — Capote, Transamerica or Brokeback Mountain — is a box office hit. Brokeback Mountain has barely topped $25 million (£14.2 million) in ticket sales. If America isn’t watching these films, why are they winning the awards?”

Does this woman understand the concept of small-release films? All these movies are released on 600 screens or much less, while her (I'm guessing) beloved Chronicles of Narnia is released on over 3,500. I'm not even going to mention how hypocritical (based on a 'values' judgement) it is to push that movie considering how violent it is. But it has Christian overtones, so it's still okay to bring a six year old to see it!

The Truth About Netflix

First, before I began bashing, let me say this about Netflix: it's great, it's wonderful, I couldn't possibly survive without it. I don't have to worry about going somewhere to return anything, the selection is positively amazing (I wouldn't be able to get almost any of the obscure movies I see without it), and I can keep easily dump things in my queue at will and use that to keep track of what I want to watch (I put practically everything I find remotely interesting in my queue, and then remove it right before it is released if I decide not to see it).

However, it has some serious problems.

1) The New Release Issue

If I do not time mailing in movies exactly right, and for me this means putting in in the mailbox on Sunday, so it gets mailed on Monday, and arrives to Netflix Tuesday, I have no chance of getting a new release for probably 5 to 6 weeks after it comes out. Additionally, many times I don't get a new release anyway. This is the second week in a row where I didn't get The Constant Gardener, which I wanted to see again (and do a review!), but alas, if I am going to see it any time soon I'm going to have to go to the local video store down the street (I do not live near an easily accessible Blockbuster, and I don't want to support Blockbuster anyway).

2) The Older Movies Issue

Any movie that's between, and I'm guessing vaguely here, 2 and 15 years old, is most likely going to be damaged and skip a lot on your DVD player. Or at least my DVD player. If I get pretty old movies its usually okay, and new releases are always okay. They apparently aren't in the habit of ordering new copies of slightly older movies so that they don't end up sending people garbage that doesn't play.

3) The Recommendations Are Awful

The recommendations for me aren't the least bit accurate. First of all, Netflix considers anything that you give 3 out of 5 stars a "good" rating, which I consider an "average" rating. I certainly don't want to get recommendations based on things that I rate three stars. I at one point even went as far as scaling my rating system lower in order to see if Netflix got more accurate. But it didn't, it still is awful. So they could definitely use some improvement in this system.

4) Netflix Doesn't Know that Movies Exist Soon Enough

As I already mentioned above, I put things in my queue literally as soon as I hear about them. However it takes movies a lot longer to show up on Netflix than it does for say, IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes. This just annoys me because as I go through the movies coming out in 2006, for example, I add them to my queue, to be judged later, but 75% of the movies don't show up yet so I consistently need to go back and check if they are in their registry.

Anyway, that's all. I am just annoyed because I just looked at my queue and saw about The Constant Gardener thing and felt like going off on a rant.

Golden Globe Reactions

Well, if you read my predictions, you've probably guessed that I'm not too surprised since I got nine out of ten categories correct. Brokeback Mountain over Crash for screenplay certainly was not one I was expecting to miss, though.

My thoughts on each category:

Best Picture - Drama
---------------------
Brokeback Mountain is a good choice. But I also like The Constant Gardener, I will give out my real opinion on this one when I do my personal ballot.

Best Picture - Comedy
----------------------
I would have rather seen The Squid and the Whale win than Walk the Line, but I never thought it would happen. I think Junebug should have been nominated here, but it is just too small.

Best Actor - Drama
-----------------------
I would've been happy with either Phillip Seymour Hoffman or Heath Ledger. I like PSH for his past work so I'm glad he's finally getting some recognition for something. However, I'm not too happy that they snubbed Ralph Fiennes for a nomination.

Best Actress - Drama
-----------------------
To be honest, *none* of the nominees here will make my personal ballot in this category, so I didn't really care. But if I had to pick, I would've gone with Gwynneth Paltrow I suppose. Maria Bello on the other hand, will be making my supporting ballot. If i were forced to put her in lead, then yes, she should've won this.

Best Actor - Comedy
-----------------------
Joaquim Phoenix is a fine choice, although I would've picked Jeff Daniels. Although I think Jeff Daniels actually belongs in the supporting category.

Best Actress - Comedy
-----------------------
Reese Witherspoon isn't a bad choice either. I would've gone with Keira Knightley given the nominees. Again I think Laura Linney should be in supporting so I'm not considering that one.

Best Director
-----------------------
Ang Lee is going to end up on my ballot and he's a good, albeit anticlimatic choice. It might've been nice to get a surprise win from Fernando Meirelles, but I never thought that would happen.

Best Supporting Actor
-----------------------
I don't think George Clooney deserved to win this, and as I said in my prediction post, I think it is a consolation prize. Given the nominees, I would've gone with Matt Dillon.

Best Supporting Actress
-----------------------
I agree with Rachel Weisz 100% here. Although I think they people who did the nominations must have had some severe childhood head traumas considering that they did not nominate Amy Adams.

Best Screenplay
---------------------------
I would've gone with Crash, given the nominees.

============================

So in total (I am only basing this on who was nominated):

Agree: 1 (Best Supporting Actress)
Toss-Up: 3 (Best Picture - Drama, Best Director, Best Actor - Drama)
Disagree: 6 (Best Picture Comedy, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress - Drama, Best Actor - Comedy, Best Actress - Comedy, Best Screenplay)

=============================

Other thoughts:

The absolute best thing of the night? Mary-Louise Parker, from Weeds, beating *all four other nominees from Desperate Housewives*. That was fantastic.

Good Speeches (Movies):
------------------------
George Clooney
Rachel Weisz
Ang Lee

Good Speeches (Television):
----------------------------
Sandra Oh
Hugh Laurie
Steve Carrell
Mary Louise-Parker

The Stumping Hard for Your Oscar Speech
----------------------------------------
"I know as actors our job is usually to shed our skins, but I think as people our job is to become who we really are. And so I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are."

Felicity Huffman -- tributing her award to transexuals, the ostracism they go through, etc. While I think this is admirable, it still is a little contrived. It's people who make speeches like this that end up going on to win the Oscar later. Remember when Jamie Foxx went on every award show, every talk show, talking about his grandma last year? That certainly didn't hurt his chances.

What Did We Learn?
------------------
I don't think anything has the slightest chance in touching Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture or Best Director anymore. Locked, done. Best Actress is a toss-up between Reese Witherspoon and Felicity Huffman. Best Actor is a toss-up between Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger still. Supporting Actress is looking more like Rachel Weisz after all. But I think Michelle Williams could still get it, and maybe even Amy Adams in a shocker. Supporting Actor I still think Paul Giamatti is going to win (with Clooney as a potential consolation prize), even though he lost today. Adapted Screenplay is probably going to be Brokeback Mountain. Original Screenplay could be either Crash or Good Night, and Good Luck with another consolation prize for Clooney.

I think, when the Screen Actors Guild awards come out, the BAFTAs are over and done with, as well as some other awards, the Best Actor and Best Actress category will be a little bit easier to call. The hardest thing is going to be, are they going to give George Clooney a consolation prize, and are they going to give it to him in Screenplay or in Supporting Actor?

My Life Doesn't Need Any Extra Drama...

So please stop showing the Kate Winslet American Express commercial, or I'm going to go nuts.

At 17 I was sent to prison for murder...
At 19 I was penniless and heartbroken...
I almost drowned at 20...
At 28 my memory was erased...
And at 29, I was in Neverland.

My life doesn't need any extra drama, that's why I use American Express.

Enough with it already. It's even worse that this irritating commercial exists when she's a two time Fiction Department award winner (Supporting Actress, 2001, Iris, and Actress, 2004, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

Please... please... never do a commercial again.

Pre-Oscar Release Preview

The time period between the end of the previous year and the Oscars (March 5th, 2006) is usually a pretty dead time period for movies. It seems to be the place where movie studios dump all their junk that they couldn't find a place for anywhere else, and then finally, in March, the new year will actually begin for real. This is of course, outside of late arriving foreign releases from the previous year.

Anyway, I looked it up, and here is what looks mildly interesting. But I am still wary of any movie released during this time period.

February 3rd:
---------------
A Good Woman

It has Scarlett Johannson, which is normally a good thing, but the reviews don't look so good, and the fact that it was delayed since 2004 doesn't look so good either.

Manderlay

Mixed reviews. And I really didn't like Dogville as much as I liked Dancer in the Dark or Breaking the Waves, so considering this is a sequel in a way to Dogville, I'll probably wait for DVD and see it out of curiousity.

February 17th:
----------------
Freedomland

It has Julianne Moore, which is usually a good thing too. But I haven't been too impressed with her last few movies that I've seen, and the trailer I saw for this didn't make it look like anything particularly special. Again, I have my bias here, but if there was more to it I'm guessing it would be coming out at a different time.

Winter Passing

I've been hearing about this one for a long time now. But I haven't heard whether it is good or bad. Again, delayed release isn't exactly a great sign. I'll wait until I hear more.

February 24th:
---------------

Tsotsi

This is kind of cheating. This is really a film from last year, and from what I hear it is probably going to get nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The preview looks interesting, but as far as 2006 goes, it doesn't really count.

Final Commentary
----------------
If I'm blatantly missing anything please feel free to leave a comment. Although from what I see here, I'm probably not going to be seeing a 2006 movie until March 17th, when V for Vendetta comes out, along with a couple others (I plan on doing a spring preview later). This might be a good thing, as I have a little superstition about the first movie of the year that I see. If I like it, the year ends up good (2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). If I do not, the year ends up not so good (2005: Sin City). We'll see.

Thoughts on GG Television, Tape Delayed Airing, and a note to Fox

I normally don't care as much about the television portion of the Golden Globes, but I noticed that they did not even nominate 24, one of my favorite shows, in the best drama category.

Although last night's episode was not eligible (it was, by the way, quite possibly the best season premiere in television history, the only thing that could possibly compare is the premiere of the *first* season), the fourth season which would qualify was still good and I don't agree with their choices.

So, here's my personal TV ballot (Best Television Aired in 2005, which is about what the Globes do, I think, unlike the Emmys, where the cutoff period is sometime in summer):

Best Television Show -- Drama
-----------------------------
24
Deadwood
Grey's Anatomy
Lost
Six Feet Under (Winner...R.I.P)

The series finale was just too good to not give it the win. 24 is the runner-up.

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
------------------------------------------
Arrested Development (Winner)
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Extras
Weeds

Normally I would say CYE gets this but this past season fell a bit in quality. I'm not going to try to predict what's actually going to win, I don't do that for television.

You know though, on a side note, I find it interesting that they are perfectly willing to put a television show which happens to be a drama/comedy mix like Grey's Anatomy in the drama category, when a movie which is even the slightest bit funny but is, in reality, a drama, will end up in the comedy category for sure? Do the producers of the movies and shows decide their own categories?

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Why do they have to tape delay the Globes and show them later on the West Coast? Anyone who wants to be surprised has to avoid the internet, and it's just irritating. Oh yeah, and put them on a *Sunday* (not that this affects their poor decision making in the tape delay department, it has always been taped delayed in the past when on Sunday.) Why is it on a Monday anyway, was it because of football?

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Fox Network: Do not have the two day, four-hour season premiere of your best show coincide with an awards show many people like to watch. It is a good thing I have DVR, because I can watch the third and fourth hours of 24 on Tuesday, but many people don't, and for a show where missing an episode is an absolute disaster this is just not a good idea.

The Ten Best Movies Of 2005 You May Not Know About

In No Particular Order [This time with little fanfare, call it polite suggestion (:]
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Millions
Nine Lives
Mysterious Skin
Saving Face
Kings and Queen
Howl's Flying Castle
Junebug
The Squid and the Whale
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Nobody Knows

Golden Globe Predictions

The Golden Globes are a lot harder to predict than the Oscars because they are a lot more esoteric and more prone to surprise winners. In this way they are sometimes a lot more enjoyable to watch than the actual Oscars are, plus the Globes will sometimes go more in my direction critically than the Oscars do. Not to mention that they have a separate category for "comedy", which usually results in movies I like (Adaptation, Lost In Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) getting recognized in some manner than they wouldn't normally at the Oscars with either a Picture win or nomination.

However I'd like to go off on one slight rant before I predict: any group which does not even nominate Amy Adams for Best Supporting Actress needs to be tied up and have their bad taste beat out of them with a stick. That being said, here we go:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
----------------------------
Brokeback Mountain

At this point in the game, nothing's taking this one down quite yet. Might lose momentum in time for the Oscars.

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
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Walk the Line

Take a movie that really should be in the Drama category and it is probably going to win. See Ray from last year.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
---------------------------------------------------------
Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- Capote

The Globes aren't as prone to automatically throwing the acting winners to the picture winners the way the Oscars are.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Joaquin Phoenix -- Walk the Line

Really the only person in the running for an actual Oscar nomination in the race, he probably wins by default.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
-----------------------------------------------------------
Felicity Huffman -- Transamerica

Ride your Desperate Housewives popularity to undeserved acclaim!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reese Witherspoon -- Walk the Line

The other contender for Best Actress Oscar takes the other category.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
George Clooney -- Syriana

Consolation Prize for not getting anything for Good Night, and Good Luck.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rachel Weisz -- The Constant Gardener

I don't see them going for Michelle Williams, but I could be wrong.

Best Director - Motion Picture
-------------------------------
Ang Lee -- Brokeback Mountain

Frontrunners don't usually have a problem in the picture/director categories here.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
---------------------------------
Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco -- Crash

Did you know that there is a new phrase going around, called having a "crash moment", thanks to Oprah Winfrey? This movie is going to get *something*.

Anatomy of an Oscar Winner

Last year I was writing a screenplay (yes I realize that I have no hope in ever getting a movie made, but it is a creative impulse, sue me) that I had to abandon because another movie that came out was uncomfortably similar. So I thought to myself, why don't I write a sure-fire Oscar winner? It really isn't that hard to think of what kind of things you need to do if you look at previous winners.

1. Set your movie in the past. Since 1990, 12 of 15 Oscar Winners (everything but Silence of the Lambs, American Beauty, and Million Dollar Baby) have been set in the past or in the case of Return of the King, a fantasy world which emulates the past.

2. The movie should be about war and fighting, or have them as part of the story. Since 1990, 8 Best Picture Winners have been about or have the setting of a war, fighting, or fictional battles. For best director, 9 winners.

3. The protagonist or protaginists of the story must face some struggle in order to improve their lives, preferably if they have a mental or physical handicap, are members of a group of persecuted people, be doing something that someone of their stature is not normally allowed to do, or if nothing is "wrong" with the actual person, they should at least be helping one of these people.

Since 1990, we have:

10 Best Actor Winners
10 Best Actress Winners
10 Best Supporting Actor Winners
7 Best Supporting Actress Winners

4. In the case of Best Actress, de-glam is the key. Wear makeup to make yourself less good looking than you really are. Play a boy! Play a girl pretending to be a boy! Play a transexual! Doesn't matter, as long as you're willing to look worse on camera.

Since 1998, 6/7 winners!

5. In the case of Best Actor, you better be facing some mental problems. Drug abuse, anger, suffering, vengeance, being evil, being crazy, mental or physical handicap, disease, you name it. Just definitely do not be normal. Since 1990, 15/15 Winners! It doesn't hurt here if you have a good body of work and people may feel that you "should have won by now."

6. Love stories of some kind never hurt. In 7 of the last 15 best picture winners, a love story was fairly prominent.

So, let's see what my story should be about:

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THE HIDDEN SOLDIER

The story of a Jewish girl who escapes capture from the Gestapo and hides her identity as a woman to join the French Resistance fighting Nazi Germany during World War II. During the war, she meets and falls in love with an American Soldier who is later injured during the Battle of the Bulge. This poignant and heartbreaking story is about her fight against the Nazis in France, and their struggle against the injury he suffers and the morphine addiction he develops following his injury. A triumphant tale about the power of human spirit against the most overwhelming odds. Starring Natalie Portman and Leonardo DiCaprio, directed by Steven Spielberg.

------------------------------------

The only problem with this is that, historically, the Best Original Screenplay Oscar goes to slightly off the normal Oscar pulse, yet critically acclaimed movies that don't quite fit the standard mold but need some kind of consolation prize. In the last 15 years, not a single movie that has won this award fit both criteria 1) and 2). A few "The Piano", "Good Will Hunting", fit criteria 3), but it's more along the lines of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Lost In Translation", "Talk to Her", "Almost Famous", things that don't generally fit your typical Oscar movie. So what would I win? Nothing!

Should the People Be Allowed To Vote?

Ah, the people's choice awards. The time of year when you wonder what kind of brain damage the average person who votes for this kind of things has. Anyway, here is the results with commentary:

The 2006 People's Choice Awards
--------------------------------------

Favorite Female Movie Star

Sandra Bullock ******
Angelina Jolie
Nicole Kidman

-- Considering that I doubt, given the rest of the results, that this voting is based on her cameo performance in Crash, I can only assume this voting comes from her performance in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. Do I really even need to comment on this one?

You know, I have a suggestion... why not Rachel McAdams? She's in popular movies that people see.. and she's not completely irritating.

Favorite Male Movie Star

Nicolas Cage
Johnny Depp ******
Samuel L. Jackson

-- Not going to argue too much here, although I didn't like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Favorite Leading Lady

Cameron Diaz
Reese Witherspoon ******
Renée Zellweger

-- Again, not going to argue much. But what is the difference between this and favorite movie star?

Favorite Leading Man

Jamie Foxx
Brad Pitt ******
Adam Sandler

-- Teenage girls unite with your voting power!

Favorite Female Action Star

Jennifer Garner ******
Angelina Jolie
Catherine Zeta-Jones

-- Elektra is maybe one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life.

Favorite Male Action Star

Matthew McConaughey ******
Brad Pitt
The Rock

-- Why do people like this guy? And what action movie was he in, exactly?

Favorite On-Screen Match-Up

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Chris Rock & Adam Sandler in The Longest Yard
Vince Vaughn & Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers ******

-- Like, OMG! They didn't vote for Angelina and Brad!

Favorite Movie Comedy

Hitch
The Longest Yard
Wedding Crashers ******

-- Of the choices, sure. But no The 40 Year Old Virgin or Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang? Does any movie Will Smith makes automatically show up here?

Favorite Movie Drama

Batman Begins
Coach Carter
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ******

-- You've got to be kidding me. I don't even know anybody who actually liked this movie. Not one single person. Where do these people come from?

Favorite Family Movie

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ******
Chicken Little
Madagascar

-- You know, I didn't like this movie, but other people did, so ok, fine. I'm a little surprised it didn't end up being an animated comedy of some kind though.

Favorite Movie

Batman Begins
Hitch
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ******

-- Again, what is with the Star Wars? This movie was *awful*. Years and years of anticipation for nothing.

Favorite Funny Female Star

Drew Barrymore
Ellen DeGeneres ******
Queen Latifah

-- What movie was she in?

Favorite Funny Male Star

Chris Rock
Adam Sandler ******
Will Smith

-- I haven't seen The Longest Yard, but if I had, I am sure I wouldn't like this one bit. And again, Will Smith! The people really really like Will Smith don't they? What has he ever done that has been the slightest bit good?

Stop the Presses!

News today confirmed rumors that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are having a baby, sending millions of US Weekly and People Magazine readers into a simulteanous, country-wide fit of seizures and long distance phone calls to their former sorority sisters. When asked about the situation, a spokesman from Sprint PCS said "This is very exciting and important news. The phone lines have been jammed all day. We're all just wondering, is the baby's middle name going to be Garcia?"

----

Even though I simply do not care, at all, it is pretty hard to avoid this type of news. In case you didn't know, the Garcia thing above is in reference to one of Angelina's adopted kids' middle names being Marley (Bob Marley). This is not something I wish I knew. I wonder what actually relevant and important news story was replaced by Angelina and Brad on CNN?

The Lowest Common Demoninator?

Why do certain movies which are complete pieces of garbage make a lot of money?

As of this weekend, Cheaper By The Dozen 2 has made 66.6 million dollars. That means that approximately 9.5 million people have thought that it was a pretty good idea to go see this movie, instead of doing, well *anything else*.

Contrast this with one of the best movies of the year, Junebug, which only made 2.7 million dollars total. What possesses people to watch such garbage? I'm not even trying to be snotty here. I'm talking about *Cheaper by the Dozen 2*.

Please, the people, go see *good* movies, so that they make more of them, and not more of this sequel. recycled. and vapid garbage that constitutes 90% of all movies these days.

The Ten Best Films of the Decade

I was thinking about the best films of the decade recently and came up with a list. Notice there isn't anything from 2005 on there: that is on purpose. I could probably list at least ten more movies before anything from 2005 would show up as well, so even if you don't agree with everything that's on my list it still just hasn't been a very good year.

Anyway, here:
----------------

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
2. Adaptation (2002)
3. Lost in Translation (2003)
4. Amelie (2001)
5. The Royal Tennenbaums (2001)
6. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
7. Garden State (2004)
8. 21 Grams (2003)
9. City of God (2003)
10. Sideways (2004)

There just aren't really any movies that I feel passionate about this year. It is pretty much a huge bummer. Not that there aren't good movies this year, there are plenty, just not really any great ones.

DVD Review of the Week (1/8/2006)

Broken Flowers (4.5/5 stars)

This movie stars Bill Murray as a droll womanizer named Don Johnston (you can imagine the name mistakes) who, at the beginning of the movie, is left by his girlfriend (Julie Delphy) and soon afterwards receives a letter which at least temporarily changes his life. The letter, written anonymously, informs him that he has a nineteen year old son who may be out on a road trip trying to discover who his father is. Initially, he simply dismisses it.
At the urging of his neighbor (a hilarious Jeffrey Wright), who imagines himself either a detective or a fiction writer, we're not exactly sure, he embarks upon a quest to visit the women he was with around the time period to discover who the potential mother of his son is.

He brings them all pink flowers, because that is the color of the letter he was sent. He discreetly looks for evidence that one of them is the mother, without exactly giving away his intentions.

One woman is a professional closet organizer played by Sharon Stone, with a daughter named Lolita who has eyes for Don. Another is a prefabricated home seller played by Francis Conroy (Six Feet Under) who has a painting of an exact replica of her house inside her living room. Next is an "animal communicator" played by Jessica Lange. At one point her cat (who, by the way, looks just like my cat did, but without the white feet) stares Don down. The cat accuses Don of having a hidden agenda, interpreted through his ex, the animal communicator. Finally there is a biker girl played by Tilda Swinton, whose friends Don gets into a little trouble with.

Who is the mother of his son? That I won't say. What's more important is the interesting people we get to see along the way.

Would You Rather Be Lucky Than Good?

Match Point -- (4/5 stars)

This was a good movie. It is, as most reviewers are saying, not typical of a Woody Allen movie. The movie is primarily a psychological drama/thriller, especially towards the end of the movie, but there are still plenty of comedic moments throughout, especially by focusing a laser on social climbers and the traits that they possess: immorality, the willingness to sacrifice what is good to achieve their goals, and lack of regard for others on their road to success. The primary plot device in the movie is the main character's social and financial success through marriage to the daughter of a wealthy businessman, and the affair he ends up starting with the girlfriend of his brother in law. Eventually, through this love triangle, chaos ensues, and we find out what this man will sacrifice for money, attraction, and other selfish desires.

It is a plot driven movie, the characters are for the most part caricatures of real people. But that is okay, the inner workings of these people are not what is interesting, but rather what might happen when certain stereotypes of people are put into the situation that the plot provides. It only gets better as it goes along, especially picking up about halfway into the movie, all the way to a spectacular finale. The audience clapped, it is definitely worth seeing.

However, there is one major problem I have with the movie, and the reason why I don't rate it higher. This is also something I've never said about a movie before. Scarlett Johannson, who has the affair with the main character, is the worst thing about this movie. Her acting is simply off. The character she portrays requires an element of arrogance, and an element of melodrama, which simply does not suit her. I do not know if this is because she cannot play this type of part, or because she was not directed correctly (we all know that the wrong director can make the right actress look bad; take Natalie Portman in the new Star Wars movies for example), but in her you see the one thing I don't like seeing in performances: you can obviously tell she is acting. In past roles, she has been in movies that are primarily character-driven instead of plot-driven, and she has succeeded well. Her performance in Lost in Translation was spectacular, her others are good as well. So while I still like the movie, being a fan of hers, on some level I'm disappointed to see how she turned out in this. Hopefully it is just an isolated case.

Movie Trailer Roundup

I'd like to just mention some movie trailers I've seen recently.

The first is potentially the weirdest, most creepy trailer I've ever seen for a movie. It is for a movie called Bubble, and the preview is literally over a minute of footage which consists entirely of different views of doll faces and heads. That's it. Doll heads. I can't think of a better way to get people to see your movie than creeping them out in a bad way and giving absolutely no clue what the movie is going to be about. You can see the trailer on the Apple Trailer Page.

The second was for the upccoming movie adaptation of The Da Vinci Code. I already knew this was coming, but I'd like to just make a comment: why, oh why, did you have to put Tom Hanks of all people in this movie? Couldn't you have gotten Liam Neeson or someone who vaguely fits the character in the book? My one little quandry here is that they've put Audrey Tautou in it, so I'll probably end up seeing it anyway just because she's in it. But I'm not going to like it, not only because of Tom Hanks, but because I've heard that they've specifically hired consultants to make the investigation plot more "accessible" (read: less complex for idiots) to the American movie-going public.

The third was for this coming year's underwhelming, over-budgeted Failed Epic Movie Of The Summer (remember Troy? Kingdom of Heaven?), Apocalypto. Pretty creepy trailer, but I can just tell that it's going to be bad. Also this is directed by Mel Gibson, who does not have a very good track record with me as of late.

Finally, maybe I should have put this in my previous post, (Please stop making hyper-glammed cheesy musicals. One won an Oscar a couple years ago, isn't that enough?), I saw perhaps for the first time a preview for a movie in winter that isn't coming out until NEXT winter, Dreamgirls. I'm guessing that this is your Best Picture frontrunner for 2006, given the unusual preview release and the fact that any musical, no matter horrifyingly bad it looks, or actually is (again, remember the Oscars a couple years ago?), will still be in high consideration during awards season.