Pet Peeve 1

I am jumping in to the middle of this blog. Please excuse the first of many rants. Hollywood rant number one: I hate when a historical biopic is made and important people are left out simply because they get in the way. If your script is so narrow that you must change history in order to tell "your story" then perhaps you should pay more attention to the historical facts. I have learned that "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" omits any and all of the Younger brothers. The book that the movie script is based on has the Youngers as major characters. History has the Youngers as major members of the James-Younger gang (hence the name). I know what we will do because that pesky brother keeps getting in the way, so we won't even mention Jesse. The complaint is that the general audience knows so little of history that they take "movie history" as fact. Don't believe me? Ask how many people whether JFK the movie is factual correct then look for yourself. Film maker have the ethical responsibility to hold historical fact together. I know... I know... Since when is Hollywood the keeper of ethics? Never, but I propose that every action is in and of itself a ethical action. Film makers know that people are getting history from them so the should try to be correct. Ugh... like this is going to make a difference in the scheme of things.
W

Oh, If I Had the Time...for what's at the nearest theatres this weekend

The New stuff at the theatre this week and the old stuff I still haven't found the time to see.

New - The Heartbreak Kid

- I don't think so. I only find the Farrelly Brothers only mildly amusing, and I only like Ben Still when he is playing a wild character, like Derek Zoolander or White Goodman.

New - Feast of Love

- again I don't think so, this just seems too 'Lifetime Movieish,' not that there is anything wrong with that. Wait a minute, yes there is.

New - In the Valley of Elah

- for as much as I like Tommy Lee Jones, this story just seems too depressing.

New - The Jane Austen Book Club

- O.K. this will meet my 1 chick flick quota for the year.

The Brave One

-Still not seen and my next pick should I ever get to the theatre again.

The Kingdom

-if I don't get a say in what we see or for some reason can't make it for the Brave One

Trailer Woes

Hopefully there should be a trailer for "Sweeny Todd" this week, but it may first appear before "The Heartbreak Kid" before in goes online. Frankly I have no intrest in seeing that movie. But, I just found out that the trailer for "Love in the Time of Cholera" should premier online at msn on October 9th. But the trailer for "Charlie Wilson's War?" I have no clue when this will appear, maybe before showings of "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," which dispite the bad reviews I still want to see.

Trailer Trippin'

After veiwing a couple of trailers this morning for "Reservation Road," and "The Kite Runner." I ask myself, am I having flashbacks to last year or what? I feel like I just saw two sister films for "Little Children" and "Babel."

Am I wrong? Or does anyone else out there feel the same?

Check out the trailer for "Reservation Road"


I don't think that this will get much Oscar buzz other than acting, maybe for Ruffalo. I think that too much is given away in this, and right away it reminded me of 'Little Children,' which was a much better tailer by the way, and just like little children this will also not be seen by enough people, the story is a turn off, and I think that's why they leave the gun shot in the trailer at the end, to give us that,'something's-gonna-happen-thing, but-to-who?


and the for the "Kite Runner" at Yahoo movies

This is the much better story but again its about a world that is not viewed as desireable. This is because we live in the Bush era of everything that is middle eastern is vile and we must beware the evil-doers who wear turbins. It will need the critics push and those who have read and love the book to go see the film and say that Marc Foster did a good job. This is going on my reading list, though.

Trailer Talk

Well I just caught the trailers for "Things We Lost in the Fire" and "Beowulf." I have to say that "Things" does look like huge Oscar bait, it looks like a three hankie film, which sometimes does not go over well with critics, i.e. "Regin Over Me." I know I will be looking forward to it, and I will have to remember to bring tissue. I do like when Del Toro plays the strong silent type. Now "Beowulf," looks like "300," (which I loved) but the question is it animated or real or what, something more like "A Scanner Darkly" I think. The thing I hate about this is that it's directed by Robert Zemeckis, whom I'm not too fond of. He is really is a hit and miss director. But the look of the film is very promising.

What to Think

While I am anxiously awaiting for my Harry Potter book to arrive, I've been checking out what I will be missing at the theatre this weekend. I can't believe the numbers for "Hairspray," Rotten Tomatoes has it a 94% tonight. I don't know when or if, I will get the chance to see it though. For the second time this summer a group of films that were only limited releases have made it to the Valley. I am so looking forward to catching a couple of them once I've finished reading my book. Hopefully later this week I can catch "Sicko," and "The Lives of Others." I would now also like to add "Hairspray." I think we will all have to consider what Oscar bait to cast for "Hairspray," although I will wait to make up my mind after I've seen the film.

It's been a long time since we've done three movies in a week, I remember those fond days when we would do three films in a day. (sigh)
And don't forget next week, "The Simpsons," "Sunshine," and "Rescue Dawn." I think its time to take a second vacation.

Movie Notes " Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"

I am so disappointed with the latest Harry Potter film, I feel so sorry for those of you who have not read the book, because you will be truly lost. This was the worst directed, the worst adaptation and the worst acted to date. How could they make the longest book in the series the shortest movie? That should have been my first clue. I was worried that a man who had never directed a big theatrical film before was a mistake and my worries were realized. Where was the direction? Where was the plot? The look of the film was not any different from what we know of the world of Harry Potter from the past four films. What truly worries me is that the fine plot points that were left out, are intricate to the plot in the next book/film, I don't how Steve Koves is going to fix that. I am puzzled as to why the screenwriter would leave certain things out and then put in scenes that were not in the book. I am both glad and sad that the screenwriter is not coming back for the sixth book, but I am deeply worried that this means the death of a movie franchise that should have been getting better not worse. What this film series needs is a director who can handle the mature change that the story has gone through. I did not like the first couple of books and I actually knotted off during the first film, which I was reluctant to go to. But, I have become a big fan, as the films got better my appreciation of the books grew and grew. I do prefer the books to the films, they can't compare.

Lust Caution Trailer

There is not much to get excited about lately except new movie trailers, and here is a brilliant one, that comes out in September. If it doesn't open wide and if the much delayed construction of the Alamo Drafthouse ever opens, I have no idea of when or if I will get to see this, so I will eat up this trailer and savior.

The Trailer for "No Country for Old Men"

AWESOME! This is one of my most anticipated films this year. And it looks so promising.

Trailer News

I've watched the trailers for "I Am Legend," "30 Days of Night," and "Invasion." I know that we are not going to see Will Smith in another scifi flick again, ever! And I'm not a big fan of Nicole Kidmans either, so that is a maybe. 30 Days sounded interesting before I saw the trailer, then I freaked, what the hell is Josh Hartnet doing in this, I had no idea he was in it, well that just put the kabosh on that film, it had better get good reviews before I fork over seven bucks. The horror mag Rue Morgue said it was their most anticipated film this year, but we will have to wait and see.

BAD/SAD movie news

It is reported that Steve Martin is to reprise his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in, now get this ... "Pink Panther 2." Isn't that just the most creative title you've ever heard? I had been a fan of his since seeing him on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" and listening to his "Wild and Crazy Guy" album, which I still have by the way. But for about the last ten years the funny has left Mr. Martin and so has this fan. The last film we paid to go and see was 1999's "Bowfinger." Which by the way was, I thought a nice turn for Eddie Murphy as well. I love his work in the 70's and 80's and one or two films from the 90's but come on does anyone still think that this guy is funny? It just makes me sad.

American Gangster Trailer

These two performances don't strike me as impressive, I mean I don't see anything that I havn't seen from these guys before

The 'Michael Clayton" trailer

This looks a little like, and reminds me of "The Insider," directed by Michael Mann, the role Russell Crowe should have won for. Now, that was based on a true story, while this is not. I don't even know who directed this. I will guess that if the best actor field is weak this year, Geogre Clooney may have a chance at a nomination, but only if he get raves, I don't think thats likely at all, not the raves, but a nomination. Although, it looks like Tom Wilkinson may end up in my top ten supporting actors for the year.

Damn!

That John Rambo footage is bloody as hell. I don't know if I want to see this, not because of the bloody carnage, but it looks pretty stupid. Stallone is way too old for this shit.

I need a movie BAD, this is a tuff week...

and month, and the next dosen't too easy either. Any suggestions?

And now for something different?

My visits to the local cinemas has been scarce these last few months. But I have very good reasons, 1)I'm training three days a week for a CTF National Tae Kwon Do Championship tournament in June, 2)My favorite theatre the old Cine El Rey in downtown McAllen has been hosting live stage shows and not films. And now I've learned that a new potential owner is leasing the historic theatre, he has already begun renovations and there has not been any films shown for over a month now. He says that he intends to continue to show movies, but I know how hard it was to get the films that we have become accustomed to seeing there. So, I doubt he will stay true to his word. Oh, I don't doubt that the Cine del Sol film festival will still show films there this fall, but the local community college film club, that I doubt. And the 3rd reason that I haven't gone to the movies since the weekend that "Hot Fuzz" came out is because of what was offered here. There really is not a film that we are willing to spend more than twenty dollars on, I mean come on a teenage/thriller/remake, Tony Hopkins in the trailer for "Fracture" looks a little too much like Hannibal the Cannibal, so the ending is a dead give away, even if he didn't kill his wife. Another comedy from Will Farrell? Well, yeah, I would still like to see that. On another note, the now infamous 'Spider-Man' weekend went by, and so did my chances to see it. We stayed home and watched "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny" on DVD. The amount of money that 'Spider-Man' made just discuss me no end and I'm glad I was not apart of that, but don't get me wrong they are going to get my money, I do want to see it despite the reviews.

So, look for the summer movies that I plan to see and the ones I wish I could see. And I've got more updates on my Oscar predictions for the 80th Academy Awards comming soon.

Movie Notes "Hott Fuzz"

"Well, I wouldn't argue that is was a no holes, barred, adrenalin fuelled thrill ride. But, there is no way you can perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork."

This was one of my most antisipated films of the year, and it was worth the wait. This is the way movie spoofs should be made. And what a great spoof, cop films, action films and oh, the gore! I espicaly liked the way it is sort of a reworking of "The Wicker Man." I didn't get that at first until the credits were rolling and I caught the name, Edward Woodward. My husband pointed out how this was "The Wickerman," where the cop wins in the end. This was so much fun. These are funny guys. I hope they make more films together, I will be there.

Cannes!

I was checking out the films that will be shown in Cannes this year, and I was quite surprised that I have already seen two of these films, "Zodiac" and "Death Proof," I'm shocked, that has never happend before. Normally I don't get to see any of these films usless they become huge successes. I am looking forward to someday seeing the following films:

"My Blueberry Nights," Hong Kong-France-China, Wong Kar Wai (the opener)
"The Age of Darkness," Canada, Denys Arcand (the closing film)
"Breath," South Korea, Kim Ki-duk
"No Country For Old Men," U.S., The Coen Brothers
"Paranoid Park," France-U.S., Gus Van Sant
"We Own the Night," U.S., James Gray
"Persepolis," France-U.S., Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

and the rest of the competition:

"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," Romania, Cristian Mungiu
"Alexandra," Russia, Alexander Sokurov
"Auf der anderen Seite des Lebens," Germany-Turkey, Fatih Akin
"The Banishment," Russia-Belgium, Andrey Zvyagintsev
"Les Chansons d'amour," France, Christophe Honore
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France, Julian Schnabel
"Import/Export," Austria, Ulrich Seidl
"The Man From London," Germany-France-U.K.-Hungary, Bela Tarr
"Mogari No Mor," Japan, Naomi Kawase
"Promise Me This," France-Serbia, Emir Kusturica
"Secret Sunshine," South Korea, Lee Chang-dong
"Silent Light," Mexico-France-Netherlands, Carlos Reygadas
"Tehilim," France, Raphael Nadjari
"Une Vieille Maitresse," France, Catherine Breillat

Movie Notes "GRINDHOUSE!"

what can I say?
It was silly, stupid, bad, funny, sometimes really bad (QT's cameos), and yet I had a good time. It was like going back in time. Not that I actually got see those kinds of movies, but I grew up in a small town with four theatres, two showed the latest "Hollywood" films, one was a Spanish theatre, where I saw Mexican wrestler films and Cantinflas' films and the other was what we call today the second run/dollar theater where there was a double feature every week. What I remember about grindhouse type films from the late seventies were the previews, though not as wild as those featured with Planet Terror and Death Proof, I do have a clear memory for the double feature of Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. I also remember being terrified of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre trailer and wishing I could actually watch the karate films that were previewed. Alas I was sheltered as a child, had it not been for the invention of VHS tape, I would have remained a cinematic innocent. Oh the depravity of living in a small town with nothing to do but go to the local video store every weekend where I could rent all the films that I never got to see as a kid.

Of the two films I did like Death Proof more, the car chase scenes did it for me, Zoe Bell was amazing, but during the first half of the film I was so begging for the inane dialogue to end it was boring as hell. Oh, and thank God Quentin was only really in this film for a brief cameo. He pretty much ruined Planet Terror for me, I wish he would stay the hell away from the front of the camera. This film was nothing special, other than to see Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn again that was cool. But even the soundtrack was lame, just the same old shit. The fake trailers were fantastic. I loved that they were actually directed by Rob Zombie and Eli Roth, though I liked "Werewolf Women of the SS" the most.

I was checking out lists of "grindhouse' films on line the other day and I was surprised that I actually have some of these titles at home like: Ilsa - She Wolf of the SS, Sex and Fury, Vampyros Lesbos, Dawn of the Dead, The Streetfighter and nine other Sonny Chiba films, and films that I actually got to see in a theatre like Zombie by Lucio Fulci.

Everyone has been adding their two cents about why this failed at the box office, and frankly I wasn't that suprised because of the weekend they chose to release it puzzled me no end, what the hell were they thinking? A three hour film during easter weekend, yeah the weather was bad here, but it was wet-cold-stay-at-home weather. So we saw it later during the week, and I watched as a group of people down from us got up to leave after the first film was over, like they had no idea that they paid for more. They are going to be released again sepratley? Yeah, like I'm really going to pay to see them agian. No way I got screwed when I bought Sin City right away and then felt ripped off when another dvd was released later. I'm not giving those two more money than I have too.

50 Films to Look For

Here is a list of 50 films that I think have a good shot at a nomination for best picture, of course I could also be wrong and none of these will make it. But I will bet that out of these there will be four of them that get a nomination.

Charlie Wilson’s War
The Kite Runner
American Gangster
Youth Without Youth
Lions for Lambs
Eastern Promises
Sweeny Todd
There Will Be Blood
Lust, Caution
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Brave One
In the Valley of Elah
Reservation Road
No Country for Old Men
My Blueberry Nights
Rescue Dawn
The Darjeeling Limited
Goya’s Ghost
Before the Devil Knows Your Dead
I’m Not There
Across the Universe
Into the Wild
Rendition
Margot at the Wedding
The Assassination of Jesse James
Love in the Time of Cholera
Closing the Ring
The Feast of Love
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
Things We Lost in the Fire
Atonement
In Bloom
Margaret
The Golden Age
Beowulf
A Mighty Heart
Nothing is Private
His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass
An American Crime
The Savages
King of California
Away From Her
Evening
Gone, Baby, Gone
Leatherheads
Silk
The Children of Huang Shi
Stardust
Michael Clayton
The Hoax

My first film of 2007

Zodiac was the worth the wait. Ah, finnally Fincher gave us a thrid act, well done! If you don't know that the Zodiac killer was never caught, then you will walk away unsatisfied and you are a moron.
Most defiantly the best true crime drama that I can remember. I don't know maybe since In Cold Blood. I know usually when i see a film about unsolved true crime stories I am left wanting a better conclusion, yes, yes I know they never caught the guy, but... I want closer, and when we are given a possible conclusion to what probably happened I am left unsatisfied and full of more questions as to why the writer and director went with that conclusion. When ficional elements are introduced to move the plot or give us character development it subtracts substance from the story and it ultimately fails the true crime and the victums. David Fincher stayed well away from adding fictional elements to the story or go the other route and shorten the telling in a nice, neat and tidy little way, you know and turn it into the TV thriller of the week. He stuck to the story and it draws you in and won't let go.
I was particuarlly impressed the attention to detail, the period setting in a time that I grew up in was a very uniqe experience to watch on screen (all except Gyllenhaal's Levis shirt with the little red tag - wrong era.) I have no complaints with this film, just when I felt that the story had run out of gas we were taken in a different direction and it was worth the ride and the almost two and a half hours. I was so happy to see Anthony Edwards again and in fine form also Charles Fleishcer, I've always liked that guy, and he creeped me out!

My Oscar Night post - how I did

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
The Winner: Pan's Labyrinth
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
Who else?

MAKEUP
The Winner: Pan's Labyrinth
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
Yeah! Pan’s is on its way.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Winner: The Danish Poet
My Predicted Winner: The Little Matchgirl
My Alternate: The Danish Poet
Well this is my first miss.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
The Winner: West Bank Story
My Predicted Winner: West Bank Story

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
The Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima
My Predicted Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
The Winner: Dreamgirls
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The Winner: Alan Arkin
My Predicted Winner: Murphy
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
The first and biggest surprise of the evening.

ANIMATED FEATURE
The Winner: Happy Feet
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
This was a very, very happy surprise.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Winner: The Departed
My Predicted Winner: The Departed

COSTUME DESIGN
The Winner: Marie Antoinette
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: The Curse of the Golden Flower
The Dark Horse: Marie Antoinette
Again, I missed another one here; I should have stuck with Marie Antoinette, which was my favorite choice.
Yeah, Dreamgirls didn’t get it!

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Winner: Pan's Labyrinth
My Predicted Winner: Children of Men
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The third big surprise of the night, only a disappointment because I missed it. I started figuring out here that Pan’s could walk away tonight with the most awards.

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
My Predicted Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Winner: The Lives of Others
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
I feel so bad now; did I jinx it and spoke too soon? Now I really have to see The Lives of Others.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Winner: Jennifer Hudson
My Predicted Winner: Hudson

SHORT SUBJECT
The Winner: The Blood of Yingzhou District
My Predicted Winner: The Blood of Yingzhou District

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Winner: Babel
My Predicted Winner: The Queen
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: Babel
Again, only my second big miss of the night. And I’m not happy about it. Sadly I think this will be the only win for Babel.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine

ORIGINAL SONG
The Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Predicted Winner: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
My Alternate: An Inconvenient Truth
I can't tell you how happy I was that Dreamgirls lost. I was screaming.

FILM EDITING
The Winner: The Departed
My Predicted Winner: Babel
My Alternate: The Departed
Again, I should stick to my origianl picks sometimes.

BEST ACTRESS
The Winner: Helen Mirren
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
But of course.

BEST ACTOR
The Winner: Forest Whitaker
My Predicted Winner: Whitaker
The only performance of the five I've seen. He was scary.

BEST DIRECTOR
The Winner: Martin Scorsese
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
I don’t remember a more nerve racking moment in all my years of watching this show. I was so afraid he wouldn’t win.

BEST PICTURE
The Winner: The Departed
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Departed
I took a chance this year and went with a hunch. I underestimated the Hollywood affection for Marty.
What I learned? Forget hunches, go with the consensus and your gut, and remember the curse of the Spirit Awards and THE FORMULA.

I didn’t do so great this year with my predictions only 14/24 (56%), but counting my alternates I got 22/24 (if only).

Maybe next year will remember this year’s lessons …. NOT!

Join in the competition

Hey wanna see if you can beat me? Check out these contests.

Offical Oscar.com Contest
PredictTheOscars.com
Oscar Pick 'Em, efilmcritic
The Road to Gold, The Envelope
Daily Press
FilmGuru.net
Oscarwatch's 8th Annual Predict the Oscar Contest
Box Office Mojo
Beat the Crowd
Film Fluff
movies.com
Oscar World Open - this is my favorite, I finished among the top ten last year, and I finished third the year before that.

My Final Predictions

BEST PICTURE
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Departed
The Dark Horse: Babel

BEST DIRECTOR
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
My Alternate: Eastwood
The Dark Horse: Frears

BEST ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Whitaker
The Dark Horse: O’Toole

BEST ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
My Alternate: Streep
The Dark Horse: Dench

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Murphy
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
The Dark Horse: Walhberg

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Hudson
My Alternate: Breslin
The Dark Horse:Kikuchi

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Notes on a Scandal
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Queen
The Dark Horse: Babel

ANIMATED FEATURE
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
The Dark Horse: Monster House

BEST FOREIGN FILM
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
The Dark Horse: Days of Glory

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Alternate: Deliver Us from Evili
The Dark Horse: Jesus Camp

CINEMATOGRAPHY
My Predicted Winner: Children of Men
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: The Illusionist

FILM EDITING
My Predicted Winner: Babel
My Alternate: The Departed
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: Dreamgirls
The Dark Horse: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

COSTUME DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: The Curse of the Golden Flower
The Dark Horse: Marie Antoinette

MAKEUP
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: Apocalypto

VISUAL EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
My Alternate:

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

ORIGINAL SONG
My Predicted Winner: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
My Alternate: An Inconvenient Truth

ORIGINAL SCORE
My Predicted Winner: The Queen
My Alternate: Babel
The Dark Horse: Pan’s Labyrinth

SHORT SUBJECT
My Predicted Winner: “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
My Alternate: “Recycled Life”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: The Little Matchgirl
My Alternate: The Danish Poet

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: West Bank Story
My Alternate: Binta and the Great Idea
The Dark Horse: The Savior

Great new site, click here

Check out this great new site. I love watching movies, but at this site I can now listen to them at work on my computer. There are some great films here. I love it!

listentoamovie.com

I can't help it

As much as I hate Oprah, I will watch her Oscar Special tonight, because she is not in it. I gave up Barbara Walters Oscar Speicals a long time ago.

"Get used to disapointment"

Could we be in for some suprises on Sunday night? What about upsets? Or, will we once again be scratching our heads and vowing never to watch this show again or care. Come on I know there were those of you out there who were heartbroken (escuse the pun) about the best picture result last year. What if Scorsese looses this year?

I kind of like that the best picture race is so open this year. I do hate being wrong about what I think will win, but trying to guess what will win is fun! Especially when your good at it.

Well, we could be quite disappointed come sunday night, or at least mildly surprised.
Here are some nice suprises I would gladly welcome

Alan Arkin beating Eddie Murphy for Best Supporting Actor
Curse of the Golden Flower winning for Best Costume
"I need to Wake Up" winning for Best Song
Notes on a Scandal winning for Best Original Score
Children of Men beating the Departed for Adapted Screenplay
Happy Feet beating Cars for Animation

Film Independent’s 2007 Spirit Awards (My Picks)

This is simply for fun. I have only seen maybe five of the films that are nominated, but I love to watch the show.

BEST PICTURE
Half Nelson

BEST DIRECTOR
Johnathan Dayton & Valerie Faris “Little Miss Sunshine”

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Man Push Cart

BEST ACTOR
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson”

BEST ACTRESS
Catherin O’Hara in “For Your Consideration”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin “Little Miss Sunshine”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mary Beth Hurt in “The Dead Girl”

BEST SCREENPLAY
Thank You for Smoking

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Little Miss Sunshine

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Pan’s Labyrinth

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Lives of Others

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Road to Guantanamo

The Good and the Bad

I do love to make lists, and I was board so here are my personal favorites for the best and worst Oscar winners.

Oscar’s Worst ‘Best Pictures’ Ever!
Broadway Melody (1928/29)
Cimarron (1931)
Cavalcade (1933)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
You Can’t Take It With You (1938)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Going My Way (1944)
Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947)
All the King’s Men (1949)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Gigi (1958)
Tom Jones (1963)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Oliver! (1968)
Patton (1970)
The Sting (1973)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Ordinary People (1980)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Out of Africa (1985)
Rain Man (1988)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Forrest Gump (1994)
The English Patient (1996)
Titanic (1997)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Crash (2005)


The Very Best ‘Best Pictures’ Ever!
Casablanca (1942)
The Godfather (1972)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
On the Waterfront (1954)
All About Eve (1950)
Schindler’s List (1993)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Annie Hall (1977)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
An American in Paris (1951)
Wings (1927)
Amadeus (1983)
The French Connection (1971)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Unforgiven (1992)
LORT: Return of the King (2003)
Rebecca (1940)
It Happened One Night 91934)
The Bridge On the River Kwai (1957)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1929/30)
Sound of Music (1965)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Apartment (1960)
West Side Story (1961)

"The Suspence is terrible... I hope it lasts"

I'm bored out of my mind. Winter sucks. Being sick sucks! I couldn't get to the cinema this weekend to see "Letters from Iwo Jima," so I stayed home and watched all six Star Wars films in order. And still I'm bored, bored, bored.

Two weeks til' the big show and all I can do is keep changing my mind on who will win best pictrue. Is this as boring as I think or is it just me? Here's what I've got now.

BEST PICTURE
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Departed
The Dark Horse: Babel

BEST DIRECTOR
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
My Alternate: Eastwood
The Dark Horse: Frears

BEST ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Whitaker
My Alternate: O’Toole
Who Will Win: Whitaker
Who Should Win: O’Toole
The Dark Horse: O’Toole

BEST ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
My Alternate: Streep
Who Will Win: Mirren
The Dark Horse: Dench

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Murphy
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
Who Should Win: Jackie Earle Haley
The Dark Horse: Walhberg

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Hudson
My Alternate: Kikuchi
Who Should Win: Kikuchi
The Dark Horse: Breslin

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Notes on a Scandal
Who Should Win: Children of Men
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Queen
Who Should Win: Babel
The Dark Horse: Babel

ANIMATED FEATURE
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
Who Should Win: Happy Feet
The Dark Horse: Happy Feet

BEST FOREIGN FILM
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
The Dark Horse: Days of Glory

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Alternate: Deliver Us from Evili
The Dark Horse: Jesus Camp

CINEMATOGRAPHY
My Predicted Winner: Children of Men
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: The Illusionist

FILM EDITING
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Babel
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

COSTUME DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Marie Antoinette
My Alternate: Dreamgirls
The Dark Horse: The Devil Wears Prada

MAKEUP
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: Apocalypto

VISUAL EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
My Alternate:

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

ORIGINAL SONG
My Predicted Winner: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
My Alternate: An Inconvenient Truth

ORIGINAL SCORE
My Predicted Winner: Notes on a Scandal
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: Babel

SHORT SUBJECT
My Predicted Winner: “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
My Alternate: “Recycled Life”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: The Little Matchgirl
My Alternate: The Danish Poet

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: West Bank Story
My Alternate: Binta and the Great Idea
The Dark Horse: The Savior

Documentary Shorts

This is basically all I could find for these films. I have read a few great reviews for "The Blood of Yinghou District," and "Recycled Life." I think it will be hard to choose between two wonderfull socially conscious films, the same old story of young and talented disadvantaged youth and a personal triumph story. I'll go with the this first one for now.

The Blood of Yingzhou District a film by Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon



Young Gao Jun, a Chinese AIDS orphan, faces possible rejection by his surviving relatives, who are torn between family tradition and their fear of the disease.

Recycled Life a film by Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad

At the vast, toxic Guatemala City Garbage Dump, generations of families eke out a living picking through the trash in search of items they can recycle.

http://www.leslieiwerks.com/

Rehearsing A Dream a film by Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon

Filmmakers Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon's 34-minute documentary Rehearsing a Dream chronicles the experiences of a number of 17-year-old performers, as they apprentice under such luminaries as vocalist, actress and former Miss America Vanessa Williams; ballet god Mikhail Baryshnikov; and the conductor, composer and pianist Michael Tilson Thomas. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Two Hands a film by Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr - My Architect (2003)

When pianist Leon Fleisher lost the use of his right hand in 1965, he began a decades-long struggle to find a cure for his mysterious ailment while reshaping his career to accommodate his loss.

Also Found ...

I also found yesterday a few of live action shorts on line, "Binta y la Gran Idea," "Eramos Pocos," and "The Saviour." The first two are without English subtitles, and my spanish is elementary at best, but I enjoyed them both. The first was a bit hard to follow and the it was long, I lost the much in my very limited translations, but this was the most complete film of three. My favorite was "The Saviour" I found quite funny and well acted. I found "Eramos Pocos" to be not much better, I don't think it will win at all. The film I wanted to see the most was "West Bank Story," but I was only able to find a trailer for it, although there is a wonderful little website for it here http://www.westbankstory.com/



A seven-year-old African girl tells the stories of her cousin, who longs to go to school, and her father, who has an idea that he hopes will change the world.



Malcolm, a door-to-door Mormon evangelist, is in love with a married woman.



When his wife leaves him, Joaquín and his son turn to her mother for help with the cooking and cleaning

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A musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands on the West Bank.

http://www.westbankstory.com/

Searching for Shorts

I spent yesterday afternoon looking online for all the nominated shorts. I found four animated shorts, "The Danisht Poet," "The Little Match Girl," "Matstro," and "Not Time for Nuts." All I was able to find of Pixar's "Lifted" was a very short clip, which intriged me more than the short films I actually saw. For now my favorite is "The Little Match Girl." Here is what I found....








Ice Age - No Time For Nuts - video powered by Metacafe

My Oscar Predictions for this week

BEST PICTURE
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Little Miss Sunshine
My Favorite: The Departed

Who should win, but won’t : Letters
The Upset: Babel
The Dark Horse: Little Miss Sunshine
Who Should NOT be here: The Queen
Who SHOULD be here: Children of Men and Pan’s Labyrinth

BEST DIRECTOR
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
My Alternate: Eastwood
My Favorite: Scorsese

Who should win, but won’t: Greengrass
The Upset: Eastwood
The Dark Horse: Greengrass
Who Should NOT be here: Frears
Who SHOULD be here: Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Caron

BEST ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Forest
My Alternate: O’Toole
My Favorite: O’Toole

Who should win, but won’t: O’Toole
The Upset: OToole
The Dark Horse: O’Toole
Who Should NOT be here: Smith and DeCrapio
Who SHOULD be here: Matt Damon “The Good Shepherd” and Ken Watanabe “Letters from Iwo Jima”

BEST ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
My Alternate: Streep
My Favorite: Mirren

The Upset: Streep
The Dark Horse: Dench
Who Should NOT be here: all worthy
Who SHOULD be here: Maggie Gyllenhaal

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Eddie
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
My Favorite: Jackie Earle Haley

Who should win, but won’t: Jackie Earle Haley
The Upset: Alan Arkin
The Dark Horse: Walhberg
Who Should NOT be here: Dijomon
Who SHOULD be here: Brad Pitt, Sergi Lopez, Ben Afleck

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Jennifer Hudson
My Alternate: Abigail Breslin
My Favorite: Rinko Kikuchi

Who should win, but won’t: Rinko Kikuchi
The Upset: Abigail Breslin
The Dark Horse: Rinko Kikuchi
Who Should NOT be here:
Who SHOULD be here: Emily Blunt, Emma Thompson, Catherine O’Hara

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Borat
My Favorite: Children of Men

Who should win, but won’t: Children of Men
The Upset: Anything else would be an upset
The Dark Horse: Borat
Who Should NOT be here: Borat
Who SHOULD be here: Thank You for Smoking

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Queen
My Favorite: Pan’s Labyrinth

Who should win but won’t: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Upset: The Queen
The Dark Horse: Babel
Who Should NOT be here: All worthy
Who SHOULD be here:

ANIMATED FEATURE
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
My Favorite: A Scanner Darkly

Who should win, but can't: A Scanner Darkly
The Upset: Happy Feet
The Dark Horse: Monster House
Who Should NOT be here: Monster House
Who SHOULD be here: A Scanner Darkly

BEST FOREIGN FILM
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
My Favorite: Pan’s Labyrinth

The Upset: The Lives of Others
The Dark Horse: Days of Glory
Who Should NOT be here: After the Wedding
Who SHOULD be here: Volver

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Alternate: Deliver Us from Evil
My Favorite: An Inconvenient Truth

The Upset: Deliver Us from Evil
The Dark Horse: Jesus Camp
Who Should NOT be here: My Country, My Country

The Results

I did poorly in my picks this year compared to the last couple of years, I only got 31 correct out of 40, and only 36/40 with my alternates.

BEST PICTURE
Yeah! No "Dreamgirls!" I never had faith in this nomination, I was going along with everyone else. But I had reservasions from the beginning. I thought "Letters" was such a dark horse, I did not even list it as such. I never should have doubted how much the Academy loves Clint. Having recently seen "The Queen," I think this is the weakest pick and should not be here. It's a glorified TV movie, more on that later. Look for split between "The Departed," the heavy favoirte, I think and a possible upset win for "Little Miss Sunshine," but the shocker could be "Letters," or "Babel." Right now its a toss up.

BEST DIRECTOR
Yeah! No "Dreamgirls!" Both my alternate and my dark horse made the list. Again here I would love to take "The Queen" off and replace it with Guillermo del Toro for "Pan's Labyrinth"

BEST ACTOR
Come on gimme a break Leo DeCrapio for "Blood Diamond?" I haven't wanted to see this movie BECAUSE of him! Frankly I think Matt Damon got robbed, his role in "The Good Shepherd was and will be the performance that was over looked years from now as the best performance of the year and his career.

BEST ACTRESS
This is a no brainer. Helen Mirren will win and she deserves to win. This was another film that everyone (I mean the critics) got on the SAME bandwagon about how great it was. I am dying to watch HBO's "Elizabeth I" to compare the two. What if this film was theatrically released? What if Stephen Frears didn't direct "The Queen" would it have shown on TV or theatrically? I think there really is not difference between the two and both should be on television where they belong.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/ACTRESS
I am so happy for Jackie Earle Haley, I was a child fan of the child actor. Although it imagine it will be some time before I actually get to see his performance.

ADAPTED/ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYS
"Borat" replaces "Thank You for Smoking?" How is that possible? I guess they had to give it something. This time I was glad I was wrong about "Dreamgirls," I'm still dying to see "Notes on a Scandal" maybe with four nominations it might show up in the next couple of weeks. I am shocked about the omission of "Stranger than Fiction" and "Volver."

My Predictions for tomorrow

My final Oscar nomination guesses.

BEST PICTURE
The Departed
Babel
Dreamgirls
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine
Alternate: United 93

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)
Stephen Frears (The Queen)
Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
Little Miss Sunshine
Alternate: Paul Greengrass (United 93)
Dark Horse: Clint Eastwood (Letters from Iwo Jima)

BEST ACTOR
Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)
Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
Peter O’Toole (Venus)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed)
Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)
Alternate: Sasha Baron Cohen (Borat)

BEST ACTRESS
Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)
Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)
Kate Winslet (Little Children)
Penelope Cruz (Volver)
Alternate: Annette Bening

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
Jack Nicholson (The Departed)
Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Brad Pitt (Babel)
Mark Walhberg (The Departed)
Alternate: Dijomon Hounsou
Dark Horse: Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Houston (Dreamgirls)
Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sundhine)
Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal/Babel)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
Adriana Barraza (Babel)
Alternate: Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Stranger than Fiction
Alternate: Volver
Dark Horse : Pan’s Labyrinth

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Departed
Thank You for Smoking
Dreamgirls
Little Children
Children of Men
Alternate: The Devil Wears Prada

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Children of Men
Pan’s Labyrinth
Apocalypto
The Departed
Babel
Alternate: Letters from Iwo Jima

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Pan’s Labyrinth
Children of Men
Apocalypto
Alternate: Curse of the Golden Flower

FILM EDITING
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
United 93
Letters from Iwo Jima
Alternate: The Queen

COSTUME DESIGN
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
The Devil Wears Prada
The Queen
Alternate: The Illusionist

MAKEUP
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pan’s Labyrinth
Apocalypto
Alternate: X-Men: The Last Stand

ORIGINAL SCORE
Notes on a Scandal
The Queen
Babel
The Painted Veil
The Da Vinci Code
Alternate: Apocalypo

ORIGINAL SONG
Dreamgirls
Happy Feet
An Inconvenient Truth
The Pursuit of Happyness
Bobby
Alternate: Cars

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
Dreamgirls
Apocalypto
The Departed
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Children of Men
Alternate: Casino Royale

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
Cars
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Superman Returns
Alternate: The Departed

VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates 2
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand
Alternate: Poseidon

ANIMATED FEATURE
Happy Feet
Cars
Monster House

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Pan’s Labyrinth
Volver
The Lives of Others
The Black Book
Days of Glory
Alternate: Water

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
An Inconvenient Truth
Deliver Us from Evil
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes
Jesus Camp
Alternate: Iraq in Fragments

SHORT SUBJECT
Recycled Life
The Diary of Immaculee
The Blood of Yingzhou District
Rehearsing a Dream
Dear Talula
Phoenix Dance
Two Hands

Globe Reactions

I liked the show in general, although it was quite boring and long. I liked Meryl Streep's acceptance speech, and I loved Sacha Baron Cohen's, it was the best of the night. The Warren Beatty presentation of the Cecil B. de Mille award was boring, major bathroom break there.

I was surpised by the Best Screenplay and Score winners they were out of the blue so to speak. As for the television stuff, well I don't watch 'Grey's Anatomy' frankly I hate that show. I was very glad to see wins for House, The Closer and Ugly Betty, shows that I love and watch.

Overall I got only 13 out of 25 right last night, which was about my average for this show.

What the show did for me was to solifiy some of my choices for Oscar nominations. I've posted an updated list for this week, I might make some changes next Monday before the announcements on Tuesday. I'll work on the rest of the nominations this week and post them before next Tuesday as well.

Film Notes "Pan's Labyrinth"

This is my new number one movie! It was all I expected it to be and more. I just saw the 7:30 show with a nearly sold out crowd. It was beautiful, it was fantastic, it magical, I fell in love with this film. Clearly and without a doubt the best from the "three amigos." Yes, senior del Toro I do believe in fairy tales, again. Thank you.

Gloden Globe Predictions

Best Picture, Drama
Babel, Winner
The Departed, alternate

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
Dreamgirls, Winner
Little Miss Sunshine, alternate

Actor, Drama
Forest Whitaker,Winner
Leonardo DiCaprio, alternate

Actress, Drama
Helen Mirren, Winner
Kate Winslet, alternate

Actor, Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen, Winner
Johnny Depp, alternate

Actress, Musical or Comedy
Beyonce Knowles, Winner
Meryl Streep, alternate

Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, Winner
Jack Nicholson, alternate

Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson, Winner
Rinko Kikuchi, alternate

Director
Martin Scorsese, Winner
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, alternate

Screenplay
Guillermo Arriaga, Winner
William Monahan, alternate

Foreign Language
"Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico; Winner
"Volver" Spain;alternate

Animated Film
Happy Feet, Winner
Cars, alternate

Original Score
Gustavo Santaolalla, "Babel"; Winner
Alexandre Desplat, "The Painted Veil"; alternate

Original Song
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls"; Winner
"A Father's Way" from "The Pursuit of Happyness";alternate

Things are looking up.

According to Box Office Mojo, Pan's Labyrinth expands to 150 theatres. Well I am jumping for joy because it will open at two theatres here on Friday! How did that happen? Guess what my next movie is? Oh yeah, Dreamgirls, The Curse of the Golden Flower and Stranger Than Fiction (at the second run theatre) also open on friday, and I've got about a hundred dollars left on my gift cards, and a three day weekend this week. Yeah!

Interesting, very interesting...

The DGA nominations were just announced. They are exactly the same as the PGA nominations.

Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Babel
The Departed

What does this mean? Is there hope for Little Miss Sunshine? The Babel train is now full steam ahead?

Film Notes "Children of Men"

“I can't really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can't remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what's left to hope for?”

That quote from the lead character in the trailer of Children of Men explains the essence of what the film is about the loss of hope for the future of life on earth, and the ultimate price one pays to preserve that hope. Theo Faron is that man, a man who is living with the pain of that loss in the horror of a world without (though some would argue that it would be a horror) children, it is this collimation of the loss of life renewed that leads to a world filled with destruction, terror and death. I found myself emotionally and visually evolved in each scene and continuously shocked as the world gets more and more violent and scared at how it so closely resembles a world not that far from our own today. Yet I was taken on an incredible journey with Theo for the chance that hope in the form of Kee, the fist pregnant woman in 19 years, could once again exist for mankind. Theo realizes that Kee and her baby are the promise of hope for the future; he carries on with stalwart determination that Kee’s baby will be the chance that was lost to him and the world. The result is a cinematic wonder with artistry that has not yet been seen in any film. A wonderfully acted film that will break your heart and yet give you hope.

2006 Top Ten Update

I have a new film to add to the top of my list now, Children of Men!

I just saw Children of Men and I'm still digesting it, I woke up this morning thinking about it and now I'm reading everything I can about it. I can't stop thinking about this film.

Oops. I forgot, what would it replace, well that's easy, I would take Inside Man off my top ten list. And Children of Men would move to the top of the list. There are quite a few films coming my way in the three weeks, that I am so looking forward to.

Oscar Diary

I have posted some changes to the top eight categories for my nominations predictions on the left. I doubt that there will be any major changes before the nominations are announced in three weeks. I'm hoping to keep my streak going, I have gotten 35 right out of 40 the last two years.

and the rest of the categories are....

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Children of Men
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Departed
Babel

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Pan’s Labyrinth
Children of Men
Letters from Iwo Jima

FILM EDITING
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
United 93
Letters from Iwo Jima

COSTUME DESIGN
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower

MAKEUP
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Queen
Pan’s Labyrinth

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Queen
Apocalypto
Notes on a Scandal
Babel
Good German

ORIGINAL SONG
Dreamgirls
Cars
Happy Feet
Dreamgirls
Bobby

BEST SOUND DESIGN
SOUND MIXING (5, music, action)
Dreamgirls
Flags of Our Fathers
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Pirates of the Caribbean 2

BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING SOUND EDITING
(3, animation, action)
Flags of Our Fathers
Cars
Pirates of the Caribbean 2

VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates 2
Superman Returns
The Fountain

ANIMATED FEATURE
Happy Feet
Cars
Flushed Away
Over the Hedge
Monster House

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Volver
The Lives of Others
Pan’s Labyrinth
Letters From Iwo Jima
Days of Glory

BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Deliver Us from Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes
Storm of Emotions

BEST SHORT SUBJECT
Recycled Life
The Diary of Immaculee
The Blood of Yingzhou District
Rehearsing a Dream
Dear Talula
Phoenix Dance
Two Hands
A Revolving Door

Oscar Diary

I have posted some changes to the top eight categories for my nominations predictions on the right. I doubt that there will be any major changes before the nominations are announced in three weeks. I'm hoping to keep my streak going, I have gotten 35 right out of 40 the last two years.

and the rest of the categories are....

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Children of Men
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Departed
Babel

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Pan’s Labyrinth
Children of Men
Letters from Iwo Jima

FILM EDITING
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
United 93
Letters from Iwo Jima

COSTUME DESIGN
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower

MAKEUP
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Queen
Pan’s Labyrinth

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Queen
Apocalypto
Notes on a Scandal
Babel
Good German

ORIGINAL SONG
Dreamgirls
Cars
Happy Feet
Dreamgirls
Bobby

BEST SOUND DESIGN
SOUND MIXING (5, music, action)
Dreamgirls
Flags of Our Fathers
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Pirates of the Caribbean 2

BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING SOUND EDITING
(3, animation, action)
Flags of Our Fathers
Cars
Pirates of the Caribbean 2

VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates 2
Superman Returns
The Fountain

ANIMATED FEATURE
Happy Feet
Cars
Flushed Away
Over the Hedge
Monster House

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Volver
The Lives of Others
Pan’s Labyrinth
Letters From Iwo Jima
Days of Glory

BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Deliver Us from Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes
Storm of Emotions

BEST SHORT SUBJECT
Recycled Life
The Diary of Immaculee
The Blood of Yingzhou District
Rehearsing a Dream
Dear Talula
Phoenix Dance
Two Hands
A Revolving Door

My Top Ten of 2006

APOCALYPTO
THE DEPARTED
CASINO ROYALE
THE PROPOSITION
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
OMKARA
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
INSIDE MAN
THE ILLUSIONIST
BABEL

There are quite a few films I missed this year, and still others that I have yet gotten a chance to see. This list will change sometime in late Feburary. Crappy movies may be released in January and February, but so do all the other films that everyone is talking about now, really I love it, I will finally get to see all the stuff that only screen on the coasts. So I look forward to catching DREAMGIRLS, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, THE PAINTED VEIL, CHILDREN OF MEN, NOTES ON A SCANDAL and of course my most anticipated film of 2006, PAN'S LABYRINTH.

I wonder what my list would look like had I seen everything....

Pan's Labyrinth
Apocalypto
Children of Men
United 93
The Departed
The Queen
Volver
Half Nelson
The Good Shepherd/Little Children
Letters from Iwo Jima

Movie Notes for "Apocalypto"

This is the longest I've gone without going to the movies in a very long time (more than two weeks!) My stress level was at a breaking point and I was so depresed, I never needed a movie more. But I finally caught Mel Gibson's Apocalypto on Sunday. I don't care what Mel has done, I believe he is a crazy bastard anyway, but he is also one hell of a filmmaker. Apocalypto offers what I like best about movies, it takes you places unimagineable. This ancient world was mesmerizing and wonderful. The cinematography was wonderful. This is a man who makes movies as if he would never get the chance to make them again. He puts everything into it, and the result is fantastic.

Oscar site update

Check out Rotten Tomatoes new 'Awards Tour' page. They have out done themselves this time. Way to go guys, I like it.

I know what I want for Chistmas

My Golden Globe Predictions

I have never choosen Golden Globe picks before the nominations come out. In fact I only try and guess the winner just before their name is called during the show. But I was bored today, I didn't put much thought to this, it took more time to type them out than to come up with the list, so here they are:

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Babel
The Queen
The Departed
Children of Men
Flags of Our Fathers

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Little Miss Sunshine
Dreamgirls
The Devil Wears Prada
Thank You for Smoking
Stranger than Fiction

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Forest Whitaker
Peter O’Toole
Will Smith
Ryan Gosling
Leonardo DiCaprio

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Helen Mirren
Judi Dench
Kate Winslet
Cate Blanchett
Penelope Cruz

Best Actor – Musical or Comedy
Jamie Foxx
Eddie Murphy
Steve Carell
Sacha Baron Cohen
Will Ferrell

Best Actress – Musical or Comedy
Beyonce Knowles
Jennifer Hudson
Meryl Streep
Annette Bening
Abigail Breslin

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Jack Nicholson
Brad Pitt
Allen Arkin
Ben Affleck
Michael Sheen

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett
Rinko Kikuchi
Carmen Maura
Adriana Barraza
Shareeka Epps

Best Director
Martin Scorsese
Stephen Frears
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Bill Condon
Clint Eastwood

Best Screenplay
Babel
Thank You for Smoking
The Queen
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine

Best Original Song
“Listen” –Dreamgirls
An Inconvenient Truth
Shut Up & Sing
Bobby
Charlotte’s Web

Best Original Score
Babel
The Good German
Notes on a Scandal
Little Children
The Queen

Best Foreign Language Film
Volver
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Lives of Others
Days of Glory
Water
Curse of the Golden Flower

Movie Notes

A couple of disapointments, good films but not great.

Flags of Our Fathers
was such a disappointment, it had a complete lack of focus, there was no clear direction for the purpose or meaning of the film, it tried to be and do too much. It was not clear which story Eastwood was trying to tell; what happened on Iwo Jima (that was done loudly, dramatically, and graphically), or what happened to three survivors from that famous picture(only briefly heart renching at the end, and only well acted by Adam Beach), a son’s search for his fathers unknown war experience(which should have been edited out of the picture, or it should have been the core plot of the film.), the propaganda of selling heroism for profit (the hardest part to watch a bit of history that, I'm sure is little known to viewers).
There are moments in the film that rang true which were quite moving, which is usually the same in every war film made, about actual events. But still something was lacking, and one is confused after viewing the film about what heroism actually is and what we thought it was and what we want it to be. I was just more confused than when I went in there and disappointed. B+

Babel
As soon as Babel was over I felt a sense of satisfaction that comes from seeing a good film, I liked it very much. But someone brought up some things about the film that I felt were valid criticisms that had me rethinking my opinion. There was no meaning to the story, he said, it meant nothing, it was about nothing, it does not resolve anything, and he said that he didn’t care about anyone, there was not enough character development to make him want to care. I totally have to disagree with him on this, I thought there was enough, at least for one story, I was able to get enough for only one character, and that was enough for me. I felt moved by the story in Japan and the two young brothers in Morocco. Both outstanding performance by But it makes the rest of the characters almost insignificant. I did not like the story line in Mexico, that hit too close to home for me and I found it to be almost unbearable. I could have done without the whole sequence. I also do not appreciate the anti-American slant of the film. Sadly I am afraid that is how the world views us already and I feel ashamed, because I tend to believe that the American press and American foreign agents helping people like the Joneses in Morocco and the boarder patrol could all be a form of reality that is or could be horribly true. Technically there was nothing wrong with the film other than Brad Pitts’ makeup, which was sometimes just horrible. Other than that it was a very well made film, it just didn’t have enough significance to be a great film. A-

Put "Letters From Iwo Jima" back on the short list

As Reported by Tom O'Neil at the Gold Derby, it is official Clint Eastwood's film "Letters From Iwo Jima" will be eligible for the Golden Globes and the Oscars this year. So it's back to the drawing board everybody. This could affect my short lists for Best Picture, Best Froeign Language Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound , Best Editing, Cinematography,

Oscar Central is Back

Hey, one of my favoite sites Mark Bakalor's Oscar Central has finally updated the site for this year's race. And as he says, Oscar Central correctly picked 19 out of all 24 categories last year, taking third place among 85 of the Best Oscar pundits. Nice try, but I got 20 out of 24 last year.

A Movie for distraction

To avoid what was to become a Repulican onslaught here in my state, we went to a movie last night. "Borat" was just the thing, laughter drowned out the death toll for change on the political specturm and the continued downward spiral of out way of life here in the Valley and the great state of Texas. Do I sound bitter? You bet!

Oscar Diary update

In the Best Picture category I am undecided about how long I can keep "Flags" in the top five, "Little Miss Sunshine," and "The Good German" could easily replace it, but I'm not ready to take it out just yet. I don't have much confidence in "Bobby" or "The Pursuit of Happyness," the former smells like "Crash," and I hated that film. I love the "Love Boat '68" tag, it seems fitting. I've never taken Will Smith seriously, so he will have to impress me.

In the Best Director race my other favorites are Stephen Soderbergh, Pedro Almodovar and Paul Greengrass, with the later having the less of a chance than the others.

I have a feeling that Leonardo DiCaprio in the "Blood Diamond" will not stand up to his performance in "The Departed," and yet he may still get nominated for it anyway. I really want to put Ryan Gosling in his place.

I don't anticipate much change in the Best Actress category. I think we will have to wait and see who the Academy favors Kate Winslet, Annette Bening or Penelope Cruz.

The supporting categories are always the toughtest for me, either there are too many to choose from (the men, usually) or not enough (the women, usually) and once I make my picks one or two performaces come up totally out of the blue. And don't forget this category frequently has suprises.

All the rest of my picks speak for themselves at this point we'll see how things look at the end of the month.

You can't always get what you want

Yeah! I got to see a movie saturday night. We wanted to see "Borat," but it was sold out so we had to drive across town to catch "Marie Antoinette," and what can I say ... ... ... ...? IT SUCKED! I so wanted to like this movie, but it stunk. It lacked any purpose or meaning, all it really said to me over and over again was these people got exactlly what they deserved! Boo! Boo!

Updates comming next week

Sadly I will not get to the cinema until Sunday night (maybe). I've got other stuff to do this weekend. Here are my choices for this week, I hope to catch at least two of them before next friday:

"Flags of Our Fathers"
"Marie Antoinette"
"Catch a Fire"
"Borat"
"The Science of Sleep"
"Jesus Camp"
"The Day the Earth Stood Still"

It's Sci-fi month at Cine El Rey, the old down town renivated theatre where my mother used to work as a teenager. Check out their web site at http://www.cineelrey.com/ it's because of this theater that we have not had to travel north to see films we couldn't see down here. The last three films are showing at the El Rey this weekend. I love this theatre!

I'm currently working on Oscar updates, which will include all the tech categories as well. I hope to post at the beginning of next week sometime.

Spreading the Rumors "Notes on a Scandal" trailer

Ooooooh! This is delicious!

Movie Notes "Man of the Year"

Good comedy, but no political satire:

Yes, this is the Robin Williams we all love, and with probably his best director, and the supporting cast? Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Jeff Goldblum and add the other great comedic political satirist, Lewis Black; just wonderful. I went to see Lewis Black and Robin Williams together on screen. Although, this film has writing credits going to Barry Levinson, but all I heard were old jokes from Robin and Lewis Black, they were just rehashing the same jokes from the last five years. Don't get me wrong it was funny, and the concept of Robin's character Tom Dobbs, a successful comedian running for president of the United States was funny, but I was expecting more from Barry Levinson, Robin Williams and Luis Black. More along the lines of 'Wag the Dog.' This was funny but it had no bite. I think that is where this fails as a movie for me, I enjoyed it but I wanted more, more meaning about how this reflects our own real political climate from five years ago and how we can laugh at it now.

"Goya's Ghosts" trailer on You Tube (click for trailer)

Thanks to Brinton over at the Oscar Breach for the heads up on this trailer. I saw the Spanish version last month, but this is much better. There is still no hint of a release date. IMDB has Warner Bros. Pictures with the limited theatrical release, but still no date. I can't wait to see this, three great actors, Milos Forman, a period film, one of the greatest artists and the spanish inquisition. Sadly it looks like I will have to wait and wait and wait....

My 50 Scariest Horror Films of all time

1. The Exorcist (1973)
Why? I had only recently gotten enough courage to watch this a few years ago when it was re-released. The stories people told of how scary this film was when it first came out are what made this the ultimate scariest film I thought that I would never see.
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Why? I’ve never seen it. I used to run to the lobby at the theatre when the trailer was showing. This is the last of my childhood fears I have yet to conquer.
3. Psycho (1960)
Why? The first time I saw this, it was on cable, I was alone, by the time the film ended the house had gotten dark, and I turned on all the lights in the house and though I needed to take a shower before going to bed, it was the fastest shower I had ever taken.
4. Jaws (1975)
Why? I got to see this a the theatre the summer it was released with a bunch of my cousins, we sat up front but quickly moved back to sit with our parents, I sat next to my mother with my hands over my eyes most of the time asking “is it over?”
5. Halloween (1978)
Why? By the time this made it to the cable channel I was a teenager and to not have watched this film was so un-cool. I watched it late one night on cable, alone. I slept on the couch that night with the lights on.
6. Alien (1979)
Why? I had a chance to go see this film at the theatre when it was playing, it would have been my first rated ‘R’ film. I convinced everyone to see something else. I the trailer was terrifying.
7. The Shinning (1980)
Why? I did not watch this at the theatre and I only watch parts of it when it came to cable, it was some time before I got to watch this from beginning to end.
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Why? I was the given to the book to read and told not to read it before I went to sleep. They were right and the film was even better. My appreciation of horror films began in after seeing this film.
9. Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens (1922) Why? My ultimate horror image of vampires is Max Schreck as Count Orlok, he still lives in my nightmares.
10. Saw (2004)
Why? I got sucker punched when I watch this at the theatre. I was in a susceptible mood at the time. I actually screamed and jumped and squirmed in my seat.

and the rest

11. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
12. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)
13. Freaks (1932)
14. Night of the living Dead (1968)
15. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
16. Poltergeist (1982)
17. The Haunting (1963)
18. Evil Dead II (1987)
19. Dracula (1931)/Dracula (1979)
20. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
21. The Birds (1963)
22. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
23. Horror of Dracula (1958)
24. The Evil Dead (1983)
25. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
26. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
27. Dawn of the Dead (1979)
28. Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde (1931)
29. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)
30. The Omen (1976)
31. Salem’s Lot (1979)
32. The Mummy (1932)
33. The Fly (1986)
34. It (1990)
35. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
36. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
37. Hellraiser (1987)
38. Carrie (1976)
39. Carnival of Souls (1962)
40. 28 Days Later (2002)
41. The Legend of Hell House (1973)
42. The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
43. Three Extremes (2005)
44. The Ring (2002)
45. Misery (1990)
46. Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
47. The Wolf Man (1941)
48. Scream (1996)
49. Suspiria (1977)
50. House on Haunted Hill (1958)


This is not a list of the best horror films, but of films that have scared the !*@#$ out me. I was not a fan of horror films as a kid or in my teens. My appreciation of horror films is something that I have cultivated over the last fifteen years or so.

Poor Audrey... that's just wrong.

Is it just me or is there anyone else out there who is as appalled as I am about the new GAP commercial featuring Audrey Hepburn in a old clip from "Funny Face," dancing to AC/DC's 'Back in Black?"

Who thought this was a good idea? I guess the beer commercials with John Wayne and James Cagney didn't enough of an out cry of "this is wrong!" Someone decided to do it again. Now I have never had a problem with GAP commercials before now and I don't even shop at the GAP anymore. So all I can do is bitch and moan and change the channel.

Film Diary Update

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE A
- This was the funniest and smartest movie I’ve seen this year. I do love dark comedies. They make me glad that my problems are not as bad as I thought, and they sure aren’t this funny. Wonderful performances and I have to admit I had yet to be won over by Steve Carell, but I guess I could be persuaded now. I don’t like “The Office”, it reminds me to much of my own work, and I have yet to see “The 40 year old Virgin.” What can I say it was just one of those things that we missed. Sometimes we avoid seeing the ‘popular’ movie, just because it’s ‘popular. Yes, we can be the biggest film snobs. This was a film that I will gladly see again.

OMKARA A-
- Yet again here is another excellent example of how wonderfully adaptable Shakespeare can be. I understand that this director also did Macbeth a few years ago, I would like to see that. Omkara is set among those involved in political warfare in the interior of Uttar Pradesh, Omkara “Omi” is a general or ‘strong arm’ for the local political faction taking control of the province. I like the violent and rural setting, too often I have seen Othello set at court. I like this better. I get the feeling that this is very similar to what life in India is really like, that it is this corrupt and dangerous. This is one of the best films I have seen this year. I have only one complaint with this film and that is the use of an everyday devise in this case modern technology, a cell phone is used to expose Dolly’s supposed infelditiy. Oh, all of a sudden this guy convientally looses his cell phone? I don’t think so. For me, in Othello the most anticipated part is when Iago reveals to Othello Desdemona’s supposed betrayal. I felt that the use of a cell phone was contrived and the writer found he was without a plausible way to move this along, it would have worked had he set it up before hand that Kesu was known to loose his phone often, then I would have believed that Langda took advantage of the of this flaw and some dumb luck opportunity.

THE ILLUSIONIST A-
- I liked this film for the performances and the mystery and the romance, but mostly for the magic. Ed Norton was excellent and Paul Giamatti was also, of course he almost stole the film from Ed Norton but then so did Rufus Sewell, I loved it when he was enraged, his accent would get thicker. This was a film that looked intriguing, I felt that we had stepped into an old photograph from the late 19th century. I loved the feel of being in an old world setting, that era seemed so simple and refined, yet full of wonderment. I like the illusionist says “…nothing is what is seems.” I will like to see how this film compares to “The Prestige.” I can’t wait.

THE PROTECTOR C
- I was very disappointed with this film, I had heard good things about, but I have since learned that about eight minutes was cut from the original and reedited. Believe me it shows. I loved Tony Ja’s first film, his martial arts ability blew me away, he did stuff I’ve never seen before, it was just amazing. This film lacked that quality and uniqueness. This was a bad martial arts action film all the way around. I could on and on but I really don’t want to relive it.

HOLLYWOODLAND B-
- I found this not to be much of a film mainly because of the script. The film itself is fine, I found the acting to be sincere and eye opening, everyone did very well, and I love the costumes, they were more than vintage, I can’t remember when period hair was done better for this era. The actors and costume and makeup people are to be commended, but, as for the meat of the film, the story, that left something to be desired, but this was a difficult story to tell and I think that it could have been done better. I found to the flaws to be in the Adrian Brody character, I did not believe that this bum of a detective and father could or would find the answers or the notoriety he was looking for. And that is the problem, how to present an unsolved mystery? You either solve it or supply more mystery. This still leaves the feeling of un-satisfaction and sadness. Although maybe that is what the director wants us to feel, I felt almost as bad as the kids did when Superman died, oops, I mean George Reeves.

Oscar Update

The Toronto Film Festival raps up tomorrow and more reviews and news will be coming that will influence my Oscar charts. I've already made some changes because of what has come out of Toronto so far. I can't wait for something else to open, it's silm pickens out there or rather down here.

I do have good news to share. I will have a new movie theatre to go to that will be even closer to my house than any of the others. The Alamo Drafthouse should open around Christmas time. Yes, that' s right the first Drafthouse outside of the central Texas. Although I would hope that they would show more of the type of films that show up in the Austin Drafthouses, but the reality is that we will be lucky if they have the lastest art house fair available. Hope the food is better than the last time we went to the Alamo Lake Creek in Austin back in March.

Film Diary Update

Here are the next two films after "Snakes." I still have five more reviews to get to in the next couple of days.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - B-
- I am so glad that I got over my girlhood obsession with fashion. I would not want to be apart of that world at all. I think this was a great opportunity for Anne Hathaway to work with Meryl Streep, but I’m not sure she walks way better for it. Meryl wipes her off the screen in almost every scene. I sometimes wonder if they were even in the same movie. Meryl plays it so cold and cruel yet without being bitchy, she is truly the boss form hell. This is something that we have no seen on the screen for some time and never from Ms. Streep, this was a wonderful performance. Emily Blunt is the other standout here, we actually feel bad for her and yet we somehow sympathize as well, I think we have all been placed in that position at work at least once. She was bright and funny and she had a presence on screen that shined. I love Stanley Tucci, but I believe that anyone could have played this part as well. I don’t that the film was a funny as I had believed to be before I saw it and so I was disappointed, but I loved watching Ms. Streep and I do like Anne Hathaway, she is very appealing and I could identify with her completely. Overall the film was a minor disappointment on the humor side, yet I was satisfied. The test was for my husband who did not want to see this film, so he walked in expecting to hate it; he was surprised at how much he enjoyed it.

A SCANNER DARKLY - B+
- I would love to see this again, and I think had I not been so tired the night I saw this, I would probably still want to see this again, because a second and maybe third viewing is necessary. From what I understand Philip K. Dick is an acquired taste, and the only time a film adaptation has worked was with “Blade Runner,” I have to admit that I have never read his books, but I have heard that with this book Philip K. Dick goes deeper in conspiracy theory with this than with anything else before it. He weaves a tight loop in his plot that seems to go back on itself that it was easy to get lost. I think that is what happened to most people who saw this film and didn’t like it, because they didn’t get it. At first because I was so tired and I just wanted to get out of the house, I didn’t want to see this film, yet I was dazzled by the animation, the movement of shadow and light and the complexity of composition I kept wondering, ‘how did they do that?’ After I got over my distraction with the visual, I found myself asking questions about what was going on and I found I was intrigued and confused. By the time the film ended I was sadden that I had missed so much before I caught on and I wish to see this again someday.

Movie Notes: "Snakes on a Plane"

"I hate snakes, Jock. I hate 'em."
But I loved this movie. It made me feel like a kid again. Yet, I was the kid who hated horror films and ran to the lobby when the trailer for the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was playing. A film I still have not seen to this day, in fact the only childhood horror film that I have not yet conquered. My appreacaiton of horror films has grown and I am now a fan. But I truely hate snakes, they creep me out just watching them on 'Animal Planet' or the 'National Geographic' channel. I actually screamed during this film, and I have never done that before. I think that is what made me love seeing this film it creeped me out, and I liked it. I sat there with my feet on on the rail during the the whole film. I have no complaints of the film whatosever. It was great fun. I even loved the sound track and the music video during the end credits. That song is my pick for Best Song this year. I can't remember a desaster film that was this good or this much fun, this was worth the wait. This was nothing but fun. It was the best summer event movie this year.

August Oscar Predictions

BEST DIRECTOR
1 Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
2 Clint Eastwood (Flags of Our Fathers)
3 Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)
4 Steven Soderbergh (The Good German) or,
Robert DeNiro (The Good Shepherd)
5 Todd Field (Little Children)

Paul Greengrass (United 93)
Milos Forman (Goya’s Ghosts)
Pedro Almodovar (Volver)
Oliver Stone (World Trade Center)

Film Diary update - "Miami Vice" review

Let’s look at Michael Mann
The Jericho Mile (1979) (TV movie) B
I can still remember seeing this on TV, it was far better than your average TV movies are or were.
Thief (1981) B
A good crime drama, with bad guys you can root for.
The Keep (1983) ?
I know nothing about this, and apparently neither does anyone else.
Manhunter(1986) B+
Where he showed us his “Miami Vice” look before it hit the tube. I find it hard to watch today, but I own it on DVD.
The Last of the Mohicans (1992) B+
Oh, yeah! Daniel Day-Lewis, running and running and running … “No, you submit, do you hear? You be strong, you survive... You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you.” I’m still waiting for him to find me. I own this one too.
Heat (1995) A
It brought Pacino and DeNiro together finally, yet somewhat of a disappointment, but it was the only disappointment. A thrilling shoot out that can’t be compared.
The Insider (1999) A
Russell Crowe’s best acting performance, and the film that put him where he is today.
Ali (2001) C
It made Will Smith and Oscar nominee, yet it failed to live up to the expectations. I have not seen this, and I really have not desire to. Instead watch “When We Were Kings.”
Collateral (2004) B+
The best Tom Cruise film (yeah, he dies!) and it showed that Jamie Foxx’s Oscar was not a fluke.
Miami Vice (2006) D
TV rerun, rehash, remake; it would have been better had they made this a spoof or made Heat 2. This was so awful and such a disappointment. First off, the look of the film, thank god Mann did not throw us back twenty years, yet the crisp colors, bright sunshine and hip musical video type scenes are what made the television series popular. Here we get dark fuzzy shots with a handheld video camera that looks like it was shot by an amateur cameraman. This may have worked for Collateral, but this is not the same kind of film, and it definitely does not work here. Here we have two beautiful people cast as lovers and yet they created more heat on the dance floor than they did in the bedroom scenes, and that wasn’t much. Crocket and Tubbs were supposed to be partners and yet they didn’t even look at each other during the whole film. What was up with Colin Farrell’s accent, it was all over the place, and his look was more undercover/biker than undercover/drug dealer. Who’s idea was it to put him in another bad dye job again, one more and it will become a Colin Farrell cliché meaning expect a bad film. I could go on and on about what I didn’t like about this and how bad this was, so just take it from me not to see this film, unless you have never seen any of Michael Mann’s before, then you just might like it, but then I won’t hold out any hope for you if you do.

"Oscar Sights" says Good-bye

Shawn Elmore says he will no longer be updating his web site Oscar Sights: (http://members.cox.net/oscarsights/)
Check out his latest blog posting at: http://oscarsights101.blogspot.com/
I'm sure I speak for everyone who loves this stuff, that we are going to miss you. And I personally wish you good luck, with school and finding that teaching job next year.

Best Picture Predictions for August

Best Picture
1 Dreamgirls (Dreamworks)
2 Babel (Paramount)
3 United 93 (Universal) or,
Flags of Our Fathers(Dreamworks) or,
World Trade Center Paramount/Universal)
4 The Good German (Steven Soderbergh)or,
The Good Shepherd (Universal Pictures)
5 Little Children (New Line)

Goya's Ghosts (no distributor)
Catch a Fire

I think that “World Trade Center” will be coming off this list soon. I feel that with what is happening in the news today; Mr. Stone’s reputation, and the now unfortunate release date, things are not looking good despite what some critics say about the performances, I think this film has an uphill battle. That is why I have “United 93” at number three and “WTC” as my second alternative for that spot.

As for the number four spot, I can’t decide. I have put “Good Shepherd” first because of Soderberg and Clooney.