Category Archives: movies

Oscar picks

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Inspired by Eden, I joined her group at Oscar.com and made my own predictions. Rand helped. Here they are:

Best Picture     THE DEPARTED
Actor in a Leading Role     Forest Whitaker|THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Actor in a Supporting Role     Eddie Murphy|DREAMGIRLS
Actress in a Leading Role     Helen Mirren|THE QUEEN
Actress in a Supporting Role     Jennifer Hudson|DREAMGIRLS
Animated Feature Film     HAPPY FEET
Art Direction     PAN´S LABYRINTH
Cinematography     CHILDREN OF MEN
Costume Design     DREAMGIRLS
Directing     THE DEPARTED
Documentary Feature     AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Documentary Short Subject     THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT
Film Editing     THE DEPARTED
Foreign Language Film     PAN´S LABYRINTH
Makeup     PAN´S LABYRINTH
Music (Original Score)     BABEL
Music (Original Song)     “Love You I Do” – DREAMGIRLS
Short Film (Animated)     MAESTRO
Short Film (Live Action)     THE SAVIOUR
Sound Editing     APOCALYPTO
Sound Mixing     APOCALYPTO
Visual Effects     PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN´S CHEST
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)     CHILDREN OF MEN
Writing (Original Screenplay)     LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Of the nominated films, I’ve seen The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, Children of Men, An Inconvenient Truth, Cars, and Borat. I think I’d still like to see Babel, Pan’s Labyrinth, Jesus Camp, and maybe a couple of others.

I really, really think Scorsese’s due. Of course, I thought that last time…but I think The Departed is a better film than The Aviator was. I wanted to vote for Mark Wahlberg for supporting actor, but I just don’t think he’ll actually win. His performance was great. I did my best to make real predictions, but I guessed on all the short films and the music/sound categories.

My biggest WTF? of this Oscar season has got to be Notes on a Scandal. I don’t get it. I saw the trailer and thought it looked absolutely dreadful. I asked what Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett were doing in this movie. Here’s a bit of a chat I had w/Eden on the subject:

Eden: well it’s probably in watching the interaction
Eden: a pedophile teacher versus a psychotic lesbian?
LOL
me: bwah
well, that screams “Oscar” to me!

Wanna join in the fun? Here’s the info on Eden’s group:

Stephanie (that’s me) has invited you to play the Predict the Oscar Winners Sweepstakes at OSCAR.com.You and a guest could be headed to Hollywood for an all-expensepaid weekend and watch as your favorite stars arrive at next year’sAcademy Awards! Seated in the bleacher seats in the Red Carpet arrival
area, you will be able to watch as the stars strut for the cameras and
the fans!

Log on to OSCAR.com, make your predictions, then join your group
using the information below:

URL: http://predict.oscar.go.com/predict/frontpage
Group Name: Piggyhawk
Group Password: joaquin

Then tune in Sunday February 25, 2007 at 5PM PT/8PM ET to see if your predictions come true!

Freedom Writers

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I read lots-n-lots of blogs in Bloglines. I save stuff that I want to link to/talk about. Sometimes I never get around to it. And every once in a while, I do this.

Over at PopWatch a few weeks ago, they “reviewed the reviews” of Freedom Writers. I want to see this movie, despite my lukewarm feelings about Hilary Swank (Oscar voters, is she really our greatest living actress? Really?).

Some backstory. A few years ago, I took a job in public relations at a nonprofit agency in WNY. For the most part, I hated this job. I won’t get into why. But while I worked there, I got to do a few really, really cool things. One of those things was meeting Erin Gruwell, the teacher behind the Freedom Writers Diary.

0202071011a.jpg

Ms. Gruwell, and several of her students, signed my copy of the book. And even though I could never accomplish the things she accomplished, meeting her and reading this book was a large part of what inspired me to become a teacher. So I found snippets of reviews like this completely annoying:

“And not that she needed a crack habit, but Erin herself is so unbelievably saintly — and her fellow teachers so snivelingly evil — that she’s impossible to believe as anything more than an inspiration-bot. Every student is fundamentally good and easily taught and reformed, and the eventual triumph of the human spirit is so predetermined that it’s not particularly satisfying. The music swells, the tears well up, Swank smiles lovingly, and the crack pipe starts to look rather appealing.”

Hm. Mr. Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly seems to completely ignore the fact that Erin Gruwell is an actual person. I don’t know how true-to-life (or to the book) Freedom Writers is, but, well, this just seems like an utterly ridiculous thing to say. Erin Gruwell’s story is one that seems made-for-Hollywood, too good to be true. But the thing is, it IS true.

I’ll post my own review after I see it. 😉

Reading, watching, listening

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Reading: Just finished The Fourth Bear…brief comments over at the places i go

Watching: Went to see Little Miss Sunshine last night. Despite what Entertainment Weekly had to say (they didn’t like it much), I thought it was great. Steve Carell was fantastic in an understated (but still very funny) role. The scenes at the end, at the pageant, were horrifying, as I suspect they were meant to be. My two favorite moments involved Olive and her brother Dwayne: “Go hug mom” and “Okay. Let’s go.”

Watched the first episode of Deadwood, from Netflix. Not sure I’m completely sold yet…anyone want to talk me into it?

Working through season five of The West Wing. I finally got to see The Supremes in its entirety, which was a fantastic episode. It was definitely rocky without Sorkin, but there are a few moments of greatness in this season.

Also watched the pilot for Kidnapped. Great cast, interesting premise, but I’m not sure I want to invest the time.

Listening: Hmm…what am I listening to these days? I’ve gotten a taste of The Raconteurs (read jennimi’s post about them) and I’ve been enjoying that, despite never having been a fan of the White Stripes.

Hope everyone’s having a good weekend!

Happy spring?

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Well, at least the sun is shining. 😉

I’m aware that it is only March, and it IS Buffalo and all…but I want to wear cute spring things. My toes are itching to be painted pretty colors and freed from their coverings.

Otherwise new in the world of me…I saw V for Vendetta over the weekend, and I enjoyed it. I don’t have any attachment to the source material, but I saw it with two bona-fide comic book nerds who also liked it.

I love Natalie Portman.

Also, I recently saw Elizabethtown, which was a lot like Garden State, except that it starred Kirsten Dunst (who I also love) as the plucky, slightly crazy but still adorable young woman playing opposite the emotionally vacant young man who’s just lost a parent. I liked it. I also liked Garden State. *shrug*

Hmmm…Natalie Portman and her sassy short hair (result of the head shaving for V) are making me want to take a trip to the salon…

I was going to post a photo, but the site I found is unbearably slow.

Click over here if you want to know what I thought of Stargirl.

Crash wins

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It was the only movie (nominated for any major awards) that I saw this year. So, yay. It was a very good movie. Shocking that something that came out so early in the year was the big winner.

Reese looked beautiful, and was graceful and charming. Good thing she remembered to thank Ryan, because that would not have been a good sign. 😉

Jennifer Garner…um, perhaps more support would have been in order? Yeesh.

Songs. Wow. Those were it? The best original songs in film in all of 2005?? And why, oh why, do you make us sit through them?

I might have more thoughts, but those are the main ones.

Oh, and look for a full report (with photos) on the Boston trip later!

Entertaining

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Well, considering the weather this weekend, I am very glad that Jen
and I went to see Hamlet on Thursday night! Great show. Paul Todaro
did a fantastic job as the prince of Denmark, as I would have
expected. Ophelia, played by Kate LoConti, was outstanding. In fact, I
thought everyone did a magnificent job. I can’t think of a single
thing to dislike.

(Aside…does anyone know why all the Norway/Fortinbras stuff is in
the play? I haven’t found a completely satisfactory explanation. It
really doesn’t do anything for the story.)

We’re so lucky here in Buffalo, to have such a wonderful free
Shakespeare festival. As I’m sure everyone knows by now, they lost a
pretty good chunk of funding because of Erie County’s budget woes. I
would encourage anyone who values Shakespeare in Delaware Park to send
them a donation…

Friday night, I went to see The Aristocrats. I hadn’t heard much about
it beforehand…I even had to have Rand tell me what the joke
was…but it was great. Really, really funny. I noticed that
Shakespeare got rained out, because the actors who played Laertes,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were at the movie. Kind of funny…I saw
these three guys walk in and thought, “Hmm…they look familiar. How
do I–OH!” Heehee.

I also got to see Kung Fu Hustle over the weekend, which was also very
entertaining.

Anyone have any good movie recommendations for me? 🙂

Holy train of thought, Batman

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I was just sitting with Jen in the living room while she was channel-surfing, and she happened upon this movie…I saw Robert Downey Jr, and knew I recognized it.

“Isn’t this the one where the ghosts are following him around?”

I saw Charles Grodin, and knew it was indeed the movie I was thinking of. (Incidentally, I did not know that Charles Grodin was born in Pittsburgh…the things you learn on IMdB…)

Anyway, seeing Charles Grodin always reminds me of that movie with Jim Belushi, where Jim Belushi plays a convict who has to sneak out of prison to see the Cubs play in the World Series. He finds Charles Grodin’s appointment book and pretends to be him. I’m telling this to Jen, and she’s just looking at me blankly.

“No really,” I say. “It’s actually pretty funny.”

I’ve actually seen it more than once. It was one of those constantly on cable movies.

The movie, whose name I could not remember until I looked it up was Taking Care of Business. It came out in 1990. The same year as Mr. Destiny. It was a big year for Belushi.

Anyway, the most interesting thing I learned on my trip to the IMdB, was that JJ Abrams has a screenwriting credit on Taking Care of Business. Yep, that would be the same JJ who’s brought you Felicity, Alias, and Lost.

Who knew? 🙂

Oscars, part II

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Well, overall I didn’t fare that well…I got 11 picks right. But the only two *big* ones I missed were Martin Scorsese and Annette Bening. Honestly, I really thought this was going to be the year Oscar said “Okay, Marty…here’s your Oscar.” I was wrong. And Annette Bening was wishful thinking. I hold no hatred in my heart for Hilary Swank, but I really *wanted* the older, graceful, absolutely radiant Bening to win. I haven’t seen either movie, so I can’t grumble too much about that.

And someone tell me…what’s with the whole “to win a best actress Oscar, you must play homely/a man or man-like/disabled/hooker” deal?

The ones I missed were ones I honest-to-goodness guessed on. Animated short? Documentary? Score? Eh…no clue. How does one go about seeing the live-action shorts, anyway? Hmmm…

Mostly, I didn’t think the show was all that exciting. I didn’t even cry during the tribute montage. I did tear up during Jamie Foxx’s acceptance speech, though. Sniff.

Obligatory Oscar Post

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I’ve been formulating a post about the Oscars for several weeks now, but am just now getting around to writing it. I’m having a good Oscar year…I’ve seen three of the best picture nominees…The Aviator, Finding Neverland and Sideways.

I enjoyed all of them. I know that the only one that has any chance of taking away the top award is The Aviator. And that’s only if it beats Million Dollar Baby, which I have not seen. In fact, I didn’t have any particular desire to see it until I kept hearing how *amazing* it is. I can’t say I really understand the voting whims of the Academy, so I tend to make my predictions based on instinct rather than claiming any sort of insight.

I’ve joined in Eden’s Oscar group for picking the winner. I’ll let you know how I did. 😉 Here are my picks for the major awards:

Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby
Director: Martin Scorsese for The Aviator
Actor: Jamie Foxx
Actress: Annette Bening
Supporting Actor: Morgan Freeman
Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchette
Animated Feature: The Incredibles
Writing (Adapted): Sideways
Writing (Original): Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I guess on most of the other categories, even documentary, because I know so little about them.

Somewhere around here, I had made a list of the Oscar-nominated movies from the past five years that I still haven’t seen. I don’t know where it is at the moment. For this year, I still want to see Million Dollar Baby, The Incredibles (ahem), Hotel Rwanda, Closer, Being Julia, Maria Full of Grace, Kinsey, Shrek 2, and possibly Ray.

Let’s roll out the red carpet, shall we? 🙂