Last Picks of the Year

BEST MOTION PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight)
Milk (Focus Features)
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.)
The Curious Case of … (Paramount Pics)
Frost/Nixon (Universal Pictures)
Doubt (Miramax Films)
Gran Torino (Warner Bros.)
The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)
Rachel Getting Married

BEST DIRECTING
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher – The Curious Case of …
Gus Van Sant – Milk
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight
Jonathan Demme – Rachel Getting Married
John Patrick Shanley – Doubt

BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
Sean Penn – Milk
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
Clint Eastwood – Gran Torino
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Richard Jenkins – The Visitor
Josh Brolin – W.
Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Kristen Scott Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Melissa Leo – Frozen River
Michelle Williams – Wendy and Lucy

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Josh Brolin – Milk
Michael Sheen – Frost/Nixon
Robert Downey, Jr – Tropic Thunder
Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionarie
Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky
James Franco – Milk
Bill Irwin – Rachel Getting Married
Ralph Fiennes – The Reader

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis – Doubt
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Kate Winslet – The Reader
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Rosemary DeWitt – Rachel Getting Married
Vera Farmiga – Nothing But the Truth
Cate Blanchett – The Curious Case of …
Debra Winger – Rachel Getting Married
Elsa Zylberstein – I’ve Loved You So Long

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of … - Eric Roth
Doubt – John Patrick Stanley
Frost/Nixon – Peter Morgan
Revolutionary Road – Justin Haythe
The Reader – David Hare
The Dark Knight

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Milk
The Wrestler
Wall*E
Rachel Getting Married
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Visitor
Changeling
Happy-Go-Lucky
Frozen River
Nothing But the Truth
Che
I’ve Loved You So Long
Synecdoche, New York
Burn After Reading
Waltz with Bashir

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Wall*E
Waltz with Bashir
Kung Fu Panda

Bolt
Horton Hears a Who
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Revolutionary Road
Defiance
Australia
Changeling
The Happening
Blindness
The Fall

ART DIRECTION
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hellboy II
Revolutionary Road
The Dark Knight
Australia
The Reader
Changeling
Indiana Jones 4
The Fall
Synecdoche, New York
Milk

FILM EDITING
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Quantum of Solace
Milk
Indiana Jones 4
The Fall

COSTUME
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Revolutionary Road
The Duchess
Australia
The Reader
Changeling
Milk
The Fall

MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hellboy II
The Chronicles of Narnia
Synecdoche, New York
Frost/Nixon
The Dark Knight
Milk

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Wall*E
Slumdog Millionaire
Revolutionary Road
The Happening
The Reader
Changeling
Blindness
Milk

ORIGINAL SONG
The Wrestler - The Wrestler
Wall*E – Down to Earth
Bolt - I Thought I Lost You
Cadillac Records - Once in a Lifetime
Slumdog Millionaire - Jai Ho
High School Musical 3: Senior Year - A Night to Remember
Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Dracula’s Lament
Gran Torino - Gran Torino
Hamlet 2 - Rock Me Sexy Jesus
Madagascar 2 - The Traveling Song
Quantum of Solace - Another Way to Die
Rachel Getting Married - Up to Our Nex
High School Musical 3: Senior Year - Can I Have This Dance
High School Musical 3: Senior Year - High School Musical

SOUND MIXING
Wall*E
Iron Man
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II
Indiana Jones 4
Defiance
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cloverfield

SOUND EDITING
Wall*E
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Hancock
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Indiana Jones 4
Quantum of Solace
Defiance
The Fall

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Chronicles of Narnia
Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II
Indiana Jones 4
Iron Man
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Spiderwick Chronicles

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
Encounters at the End of the World
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
I.O.U.S.A
At the Death House Door
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
Fuel
The Garden
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
In a Dream
Made in America
Standard Operating Procedure
They Killed Sister Dorothy

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE
The Class
Gomorrah
Waltz with Bashir
Everlasting Moments
Captain Abu Raed
Mermaid
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Tony Manero
Last Stop 174
Three Monkeys
O’Horten
The Blind Sunflowers
Jerusalema
Revanche
Lion’s Den

The Oscar short list for Doc Feature

“At the Death House Door”
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“Fuel”
“The Garden”
“Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts”
“I.O.U.S.A.”
“In a Dream”
“Made in America”
“Man on Wire”
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell”
“Standard Operating Procedure”
“They Killed Sister Dorothy”
“Trouble the Water”

I do like the list even though there are a few here that I didn't know anything about. I thought it was a weak year, but there are still a few of my favorites that are not here, like:
"Surfwise"
"Youny@Heart"
"Bigger, Stronger, Faster"
"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired"
"Chicago 10"

I do think that nothing can touch "Man on Wire" that's a lock.

Updates

1. Still no Alamo Draft House in Edinburg but the land did go up for auction the other day. The ADH still plans to open there but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting.

2. I hate this time of year. No great movies open as everyone is waiting for next month. I can't seem to get all excited for anything playing. Glad I am not a critic. I was surprised by the lack of decent horror movies for Halloween. Are the studios just stupid. Luckily you can always catch up on your horror movie fill with AMC and TCM going all out for Halloween.

3. I reserve the right to punch you in the face if you answer you stupid cell phone during the movie. SHUT UP. Don't care about your life or troubles I am here to see the movie. Ditto for texting. I hate people that can not and will not shut up during a movie. Don't have a conversation during a movie with the guy next to you. Don't text. Don't answer your cell phone during a movie. Don't even check your cell phone during the movie. The light bothers everyone. Learn to shut the FRAK UP. Quiet. Did all you morons fail the silent game in gradeschool? Or all of you just emotionally and intellectually stunted? If this is the case then please wear your protective headgear so you will be protected when I punch you in the face. SHUT UP.

4. I am clearly beginning to think that the new Che bio pic is going to suck.

Movie Marque Mashups

Here's a Flash of Genius for How to Loose Friends and Alienate People, it's Blindness, which is needed to for Beverly Hills Chihuahua. What's on Nick & Nors's Infinite Playlist, An American Carol; but Appaloosa is Forever Stong.

I can't remember the last time, if ever that eight movies opened around here on the same day. Mind bottling.

It's about Oscar Time

This site is called Oscar in the Valley, and you know it should probably be called something else now but, I can't think of what right now.
Anyway, I have been keeping track of what films are in play or could be in contention for Oscar this year, in fact I actually have quite a list going back to late June. But now that fall has begun it's the season for award watching to offically begin, for those of us who may not have anything better to do.
So, here are my predictions for October where the best picture is concerned.
BEST MOTION PICTURE
Most Likely
The Curious Case of … (Paramount Pictures) - my personal fav
Frost/Nixon (Universal Pictures) - looks good, but I don't like R.Howard
Milk (Focus Features) - looks very good, looking forward to it.
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) - very, very interested
Revolutionary Road (Paramount Pictures) - I've come around a little, still sounds boring
Runners Up
Changeling (Universal Pictures) - looking forward to seeing this
Australia (20th Century Fox) - I don't know, I love Baz, but hate Kidman
Doubt (Miramax Films) - Anyone need acting lessons, watch this! Fantastic Streep!
The Soloist (Dreamworks) - looks interesting, I don't like Foxx
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.)- yeah, like this has chance, I don't think so.
Dark Horses
The Road (MGM) - I love Viggo!
The Reader (The Weinstein Co)- I like WWII pics, and I love Kate.
Che (Focus Features) - I don't know ...
Happy-Go-Lucky (Miramax)- I love the trailer, and Mike Leigh
The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)- Yeah! A comeback.
Longshots
Wall*E (Disney)- I really loved this.
Body of Lies (Warner Bros.)- I don't know, looks more like a Tony Scott film.
Defiance (Paramount Vantage)- I like WWII films, but Zwick messes up the ending of his films
Gran Torino (Warner Bros.)- don't much about this, other than its Clint and that's good
Valkyrie (MGM)- I like WWII films, but I hate Tom!

Vicki Christina Barcelona

My advice...my most humble advice. You should wait for the DVD release and then only watch the scenes with Penelope Cruz. Woody writing about love is similar to me writing about ballet, we each have a passing interest but completely without any understanding. Love to him is beautiful to look at but he understands it as well as he understands .... . Cruz steals the movie and her scenes show just how pedestrian the rest of the movie is. Love is both the punch in the nose and the kiss on the cheek.

Stupid.....stupid...stupid...

Hollywood is stupid. No good films come from the inbred plagaristic parasites without imagination. Do we need a 20 years in the making sequel to Lost Boys? Do we need a remake of Sisters? Do we need them to mess up the lovely reading experience of Watchmen? I say NO! What we need is some art in Hollywood or at least some passion. What about integrity? I ask for too much. Frak. Does anyone remember when Hollywood was where art and commerce met? Me neither. I am not sure that art is ever let out of the closet. Art is locked away like the secret inbred child that can never show it's face. LONG LIVE ART... may we see it one day.

Act III of Dr. Horrible - Tomorrow

Have you checked out Joss Wheldon's new thing? "Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog" at www.drhorrible.com
It is harlious and the songs are quite catchy.
I can't wait to see if he makes it into the Evil League of Evil.
If you haven't seen it, you've got to check it out.

Protect your material or abandon it

Alan Moore is correct. Hollywood destroys all source material that it touches. We love your book. We would like to make a movie of it. Can we have the rights? Great. Now we are going to change the plot, the names, and the ending but keep the title. Hope you don't mind although we do own the rights. How often have you read a book and fell in love with it. The kind of book you return to every couple of years. The kind of book that you give to friends (or loan to friends...knowing full well that they won't return it). You hear that it is going to be a movie directed by X (any big name director of famous director) . You sigh with relief as there is no way that you beloved book will be frakked up for the big screen. You buy tickets opening day. You get there early and actually buy the over priced crud because your favorite book is going to become your favorite movie. The movie opens and immediately you sense something is wrong. Wait. No. No. All wrong. How can they change the sex of a character. Wait...... No...Stop it. The central theme is not about X but rather about Y. There are no guns in the book. Why is Sean Connery killing a vampire? Oh. You can hear all the love for your book is slowly leaking out your ears... No one will ever believe you that it was truly a great book... I mean what a frakking bad movie. How could that ever have been a great book? You leave the movie with hatred in your heart. How could the author allow this to happen? Okay he had no control over the movie...but he has a producer credit. He has been out there promoting the movie.....STUPID WHORE. What is next? "Catcher in the Rye" as a musical scored by Britney Spears? I can count on one hand the good adaptations and I refuse to count the bad ones... as I long gave up trying to count to infinity.

Authors! Once you sell you soul to the big screen then you should take your name off. The title should stand on it's own. This way if it sucks then you aren't to blame. Don't get caught in the greedy little Hollywood game. Better yet....don't sell your soul to the devil. Protect your work. Make them come up with their own stories..

...no offense offered to Sean Connery. WE LOVE CONNERY.

Sad news today - RIP Geogre Carlin

The first thing to pop up on my screen this morning was the news that George Carlin had passed away last night. My first reaction was disbelief and great sadness. I was furthered saddened that I could only relay this news to my husband, who also holds George Carlin is high esteem, everyone else only remembers him for the last few film appearances he made and that Bill & Ted movie. Now that is truly sad. Lucky for us Will and I got a chance to see him in concert about five or six years ago, and we actually didn't have to far. I have great pictures from about the sixth row center. I will miss him dearly. And I will look forward to hearing him honored with the Mark Twain award and the Kennedy Center honors later this year. Cheers!

New Movie/DVD Warning

I recently bought the dvd of Toyoda Shiro's Portrait of Hell. I have read about this film for years and came across a copy at Half Price Books. I was fairly excited to find it and quickly read the back of the box. The film was written by Akutagawa Ryunoskuke. Please excuse my ignorance but I am not quite sure the correct way to present Japanese names in English. There is the warning at the bottom of the box.

"Warning: Contains Violence, Philosophy"

I am unsure of how to continue after this warning. Skip the violence part but, Warning:Philosophy!

Okay I recognize that philosophy may not be for everyone and many people try to ignore the subject/genre/art completely but a warning about philosophy on a dvd box. This leaves me dumbfounded. Since I do not have anything to say....then perhaps it is time for me to say no more.

MIIKE

Long Live MIIKE. Hollywood stay away!
Miike

For Will - Sukiyaki Western Django

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

This is soooooo coool!

Oscars '08 Summary Song

From Crackle: Oscars '08 Summary Song

Oscar Nominated films that I have not seen are:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – this film never opened around here
Enchanted
American Gangster
Away from Her – this film never opened around here
Gone Baby Gone
Into the Wild – this film never opened around here
Lars and the Real Girl – this film never opened around here
The Savages – this film never opened around here
The Kite Runner
Persepolis – this film never opened around here
Surf's Up
Norbit
August Rush
Beaufort – this film never opened around here
The Counterfeiters – this film never opened around here
Katyn – this film never opened around here
Mongol – this film never opened around here
12 – this film never opened around here
Operation Homecoming – this film never opened around here
Taxi to the Dark Side – this film never opened around here
War/Dance – this film never opened around here
Freeheld – this film never opened around here
La Corona – this film never opened around here
Salim Baba – this film never opened around here
Sari's Mother – this film never opened around here
At Night – this film never opened around here
Il Supplente – this film never opened around here
Le Mozart des Pickpockets – this film never opened around here
Tanghi Argentini – this film never opened around here
The Tonto Woman – this film never opened around here
I Met the Walrus – this film never opened around here
My Love – this film never opened around here

My Final Predictions

Best Picture
My Predicted Winner: No Country for Old Men
My Alternate: Juno

Director
My Predicted Winner: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
My Alternate: Julian Schnabel

Best Actor
My Predicted Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis
My Alternate: George Clooney

Actress
My Predicted Winner: Julie Christie
My Alternate: Marion Cotillard

Supporting Actor
My Predicted Winner: Javier Bardem
My Alternate: Hal Holbrook

Supporting Actress
My Predicted Winner: Ruby Dee
My Alternate: Cate Blanchett

Adapted Screenplay
My Predicted Winner: No Country for Old Men
My Alternate: Atonement

Original Screenplay
My Predicted Winner: Juno
My Alternate: Michael Clayton

Animated Feature Film
My Predicted Winner: Ratatouille
My Alternate: Persepolis

Cinematography
My Predicted Winner: There Will Be Blood
My Alternate: The Assassination of Jesse …

Art Direction
My Predicted Winner: Sweeney Todd the Demon …
My Alternate: There Will Be Blood

Film Editing
My Predicted Winner: No Country for Old Men
My Alternate: The Bourne Ultimatum

Costume
My Predicted Winner: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber …
My Alternate: Atonement

Makeup
My Predicted Winner: La Vie en Rose
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Original Score
My Predicted Winner: Atonement
My Alternate: Ratatouille

Original Song
My Predicted Winner: "Falling Slowly," Once
My Alternate: “Raise it Up,” August Rush

Sound Mixing
My Predicted Winner: Transformers
My Alternate: No Country for Old Men

Sound Editing
My Predicted Winner: Transformers
My Alternate: Ratatouille

Visual Effects
My Predicted Winner: Transformers
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Foreign Film
My Predicted Winner: The Counterfeiters, Austria
My Alternate: 12, Russia

Documentary Feature
My Predicted Winner: No End in Sight
My Alternate: Sicko

Documentary (short subject)
My Predicted Winner: Freeheld
My Alternate: Sari's Mother

Live Action Short Film
My Predicted Winner:
Le Mozart des Pickpockets
My Alternate: The Tonto Woman

Animated Short Film
My Predicted Winner: Peter & the Wolf
My Alternate: My Love (Moya Lyubov)

Oscar Widget Trivia

Michael Clayton- Good Movie but NOT Great

The lovely wife and I finally saw Michael Clayton at the second run dollar theatre. We had missed the first run and boycotted the re-release to first run because it played at the local Carmike. We try to skip anything at Carmike because of it's ever increasing prices and ever decreasing service. I refuse to pay their ticket prices to sit in an underlit screen where the noise feedback from the next screen is seeping in. Their sound is the worse. Do yourself a favor and skip anything musical from a Carmike. Michael Clayton is dark but in a provincial sort of way. One will not be having any existential angst because of the film. It is a turn on good lawyer doing the questionable but somehow getting to the right conclusion. It is nothing that you have not seen before although the acting is fantastic. Everyone is going on and on about George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson so I won't. I will say that Tilda Swinton is perhaps the greatest actress working today (...and I will stand on Dame Judi Dench's table in cowboy boots and spurs and say so). The dialog is rich and full and completely believable so I will give it best screen play but best picture and best director? I think not. The film ultimately is nothing more than a good thriller, which I am not knocking, but it has very little mental impact after it's over. The direction was good but best direction should be great. Go see the film (come on you cheapskate as it's only a buck). I liked it very much but perhaps not enough to see again (this is where Jesse James is such a better film). Sorry. Thumbs up as to whether one should see it. No thumbs at all as to whether it is best film of the year.

Juno Jargon Jenerator Widget

Oscar Pretiction Update

Here are my latest updates. There may not be any changes before the big night, except for maybe Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Documentary Short and Live Action Short Film. I might change my mind on those before the 24th.
so here they are:
Best Picture
My Predicted Winner: No Country for Old Men
My Alternate: Juno
Dark Horse: There Will Be Blood

Director
My Predicted Winner: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
My Alternate: Julian Schnabel
The Dark Horse: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Actor
My Predicted Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis
My Alternate: George Clooney

Actress
My Predicted Winner: Julie Christie
My Alternate: Ellen Page
The Dark Horse: Marion Cotillard

Supporting Actor
My Predicted Winner: Javier Bardem
My Alternate: Hal Holbrook
The Dark Horse: Casey Affleck

Supporting Actress
My Predicted Winner: Cate Blanchett
My Alternate: Ruby Dee
The Dark Horse: Tilda Swinton

Adapted Screenplay
My Predicted Winner: No Country for Old Men
My Alternate: There Will Be Blood
The Dark Horse: Away from Her

Original Screenplay
My Predicted Winner: Juno
My Alternate: Ratatouille
The Dark Horse: Michael Clayton

Animated Feature Film
My Predicted Winner: Ratatouille
My Alternate: Persepolis
The Dark Horse: Surf's Up

Cinematography
My Predicted Winner: The Assassination of Jesse …
My Alternate: There Will Be Blood
The Dark Horse: No Country for Old Men

Art Direction
My Predicted Winner: Sweeney Todd the Demon …
My Alternate: There Will Be Blood
The Dark Horse: The Golden Compass

Film Editing
My Predicted Winner: No Country for Old Men
My Alternate: There Will Be Blood
The Dark Horse: The Bourne Ultimatum

Costume
My Predicted Winner: Atonement
My Alternate: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber …
The Dark Horse: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Makeup
My Predicted Winner: La Vie en Rose
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The Dark Horse: Norbit

Original Score
My Predicted Winner: Atonement
My Alternate: Ratatouille
The Dark Horse: The Kite Runner

Original Song
My Predicted Winner: "Falling Slowly," Once
My Alternate: “Raise it Up,” August Rush
The Dark Horse: "That's How You Know," Enchanted

Sound Mixing
My Predicted Winner: Transformers
My Alternate: No Country for Old Men
The Dark Horse: The Bourne Ultimatum

Sound Editing
My Predicted Winner: Transformers
My Alternate: Ratatouille
The Dark Horse: The Bourne Ultimatum

Visual Effects
My Predicted Winner: Transformers
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The Dark Horse: The Golden Compass

Foreign Film
My Predicted Winner: The Counterfeiters, Austria
My Alternate: 12, Russia
The Dark Horse: Beaufort, Israel

Documentary Feature
My Predicted Winner: No End in Sight
My Alternate: Sicko
The Dark Horse: Taxi to the Dark Side

Documentary (short subject)
My Predicted Winner: Freeheld
My Alternate: Sari's Mother
The Dark Horse: Salim Baba

Live Action Short Film
My Predicted Winner: Le Mozart des Pickpockets
My Alternate: The Tonto Woman
The Dark Horse:Tanghi Argentini

Animated Short Film
My Predicted Winner: Peter & the Wolf
My Alternate: My Love (Moya Lyubov)
The Dark Horse: Madame Tutli-Putli