That's Entertainment?

I know that I said the last post was my final Academy Award post. And I had every intention of sticking to that. However today I was with my mom and we were getting our hair done at a friend's salon and naturally we started talking about the show last night. I was telling my mom about it, specifically about some of the more boring aspects. Doing a few impressions of a couple of the most boring speeches. My mom made the point that not all of them, them being the winners, would have good public speaking abilities. I know that not all actors will be naturally good public speakers and many of the winners were of course people behind the scenes. But I made the point that if you know you aren't a good public speaker, make the speech short and sweet. My mom then jokingly said that I should be the director of the Academy Awards. Realizing that this may be a tad silly she then made a more reasonable suggestion of writing a blog about my impressions of the entertainment of the night. And so here we are.

When they first annouced that Anne Hathaway and James Franco were going to be hosting I was equal parts annoyed and confused. A weird pairing to be sure, I found it strange that a nominee for best actor was going to be hosting and I really don't like Anne Hathaway, equal parts confused and annoyed. I figured sitting through three hours of Anne Hathaway's annoying fake perkiness would make the night a tough one for me. But I figured that as strange as it was that James Franco was a host he would make the night full of fun and be nice eye candy. Wow I don't know if I could have been more wrong. Anne Hathaway made the evening fun and interesting. It turns out that her fake perkiness and annoying simpering self make the perfect combination for hosting the Academy Awards. And whether it was due to nerves or just that he isn't very exciting live James Franco bored me almost to tears. The one highlight of his night was when he came out wearing the Marilyn Monroe get-up from her "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" number from the movie "Gentlemen Perfer Blondes." It was amusing. However other then that he was droll, stiff, and didn't seem to be paying attention to what was going on around him. It made Anne Hathaway work twice as hard to keep the energy up.

If that was the only boring part of the evening it might have been excusable. This was unfortuantely not the case. The show itself was almost a dud. Sure it was full of glamour and glitz. And the stage they had for the night was pretty spectacular. It was like one big screen, with layers. Other then that the whole night was missing something. I don't know if the Academy had to put a cap on how much humor they were allowed to use or what but the funny was definetely not present. The funniest speech was from Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, who presented the award for best supporting actress, and you could only understand every third word or so. Even Randy Newman brought the funny. Excepting a few other moments of humor, including a moment between Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. that made fun of Downey Jr.'s sordid past and a great Bob Hope story by Billy Crystal, that was about it. 

Acceptance speeches should be something that you want to listen to. Or at the very least things that you don't mind listening to. Most of them turn into this "I want to thank my manager of 5 years and my cast and crew, my mom and of course my beautiful wife/husband. Also this person, and this person and this person and this person..." until the music starts playing and they are escorted off. It's like a bedtime story. Only not interesting in the least. There have been a handful of truly amazing acceptance speeches in the history of the Academy Awards. Including Sally Field's exremely long speech which actually was the speech that made the Academy put the cap on speech length. Nice work Sally.

Since then winners have been trying to cram quite a lot into a small amount of time. However even with the cap there have been some great speeches. Halle Berry when she won best actress, Tom Hanks when he won for "Philadelphia," and Forrest Whitaker's speech when he won for "The Last King of Scotland." This year there was really nothing noteworthy. Except of course for being noteworthy in boringville. Colleen Atwood, won best costume design for "Alice In Wonderland," gave a speech that was something that would have been edited out if the show had been something other than live. Yes I know that she is not a performer or a public speaker but her speech was awful even for someone who was nervous. She took a long list out of her bra or wherever she stored it and read the whole thing. Without glancing up even once. Not only did she read from a list but she went over the time limit. It was disaster city!

There were a few funny moments. A few times that made me remember what it used to be like to watch the show. Especially the moment that made the night full of drama, when the camera went to Annette Benning's face when Natalie Portman won. That is one pissed off actress. Again I want to say that I understand that not every good actor can speak publicly and of course those that are behind the scenes, costume desginers, writers, directors, that aren't used to performing at all. I accept that there is that nervousness to deal with, the animosity of those around that didn't win. But those who do win can do a couple of things to make the night a little more with the pep and less with the tired. A: if you know you are too nervous to stand up there for any length of time make the speech short and sweet. B: if you are an actor and aren't good with the public speaking AND haven't been practicing your acceptance speech since day one of your first day of work on your first movie, or even before, use a little of your craft. Act your way through it. Find a way to act yourself. Or at least a way to act the part of a person who can be interesting for at least a minute. C: if none of the above works fake crying, say a quick thank you to the Academy and your family and book it off the stage.

Whether it's nerves or pure boringness baked in the entertainment event of the year needs to find a way to keep people entertained. People tune in to watch the Academy Awards in the millions,this year I believe they said that a billion people were watching. However that number is going to dwindle if the show starts becoming less of a show and more of a "here's an award for you...next." I love the Academy Awards. I always have and I always will. I may not get a 100% of winner perdictions right but I seem to navigate it alright and it will always, always be my favorite time of year. But they need to go back to when it was a night full of amazing things and a true joy to watch.

I mean it is the entertainment industry right? And the event is an entertainment event. So why not bring the entertainment? After all, no matter what, the show must go on.

And the Winners Are...

The Awards finished around 8:30pm. And it was an interesting night. Hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco the night was full of fun and glamour. Most of the winners were what I expected and hoped for. I wanted to take a moment to list the winners for the top 6 categories. Best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best actor and actress, best director and best picture.

Best supporting actress went to Melissa Leo for her wonderful performance in "The Fighter," a well deserved win but with a four letter slip up and one too many "whoo-hoos" a poor thank you speech. Best supporting actor went to Christian Bale, which means that I missed one, for his truly incredible performance in "The Fighter." I believe that Christian Bale was amazing. Truly so. And I am glad that he won because he really did soar in that role. His speech and his look left a lot to be desired about him in person but he did seem truly grateful for the win. I still think that Geoffrey Rush should have won. It is hard to describe how fantastic he was if you have not seen the movie but it was more of a subtle performance then Christian Bale's. However congratulations to Christian Bale!

Best actress went to the pregnant, beautiful and much deserving Natalie Portman for her unbelieveable performance in "Black Swan." A teary and grateful acceptance speech, with an incredible memory for many names, made the win sweet and really well deserved. Best actor was taken by Colin Firth. As it should have been. His speech was simple and heartfelt and beautiful. He seemed to be really and truly grateful which made it a wonderful win. Best director went to Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech." A well deserved win, the movie was beautifully and richly directed. Tom Hooper had wit and humor in his speech and was grateful to his mother. For a very special reason. His mother is Australian and was invited by some Australian friends of hers to a table read of an unproduced script a few years ago. She almost declined the offer but went despite her reluctance. It turned out to be a fateful trip because the script was "The King's Speech." After she went to the read she went home and called her son and said "I think I have found your next film." It was a match made in film heaven.

Best picture went to "The King's Speech." I truly believe that this was the right move on the Academy's part. The movie is incredible. And I am so happy that it got the recognition that it deserves. I hope that this will inspire people to go see the movie and see what all the fuss is about. I know that it has been wildly popular with audiences already and I hope that this gives it yet another push towards becoming a classic great.

Congratulations to all the winners in all the categories! Tonight was a beautiful night with many moments of fun, beauty, wit, and some wonderful nods to past winners and award shows. It was a truly glamourous night.  

Today's the Day and I Did It!

And so the day of the Academy Awards has arrived. In about four hours they are going to start showing before the show specials, including the very famous red carpet coverage. It's a very nice day! I am looking forward to it! And at 5pm the show starts. It will be a glorious evening that I am really looking forward to celebrating.

The big thing is that I actually watched all ten best picture nominees! I did it. I saw "True Grit" on Friday. After watching it I felt such a sense of accomplishment. It was a cool feeling! I have completed one of my projects and boy do I feel happy about it!

Now to the review. "True Grit" was good. It was adapted and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and (I don't care if they call her 'supporting' she's a star) Hailee Steinfeld. It is a remake of the old John Wayne classic. Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross a 14-year-old girl who's father was shot by a man named Tom Chaney, played by Josh Brolin. She decides that she is going to do whatever it takes to avenge her father's death and bring his killer to justice. This leads her to Rooster Cogburn, played by the nominated Jeff Bridges, a one eyed, tough talking, quick to shoot U.S. Marshall. She hires him to find Chaney who has crossed the river into Indian territory. Reluctantly he agrees. Part of their agreement is that she will get to go with him to get Chaney. But thinking she is a tad too young to go hunting fugitives he ditches her, for lack of a better word, and teams up with a Texas ranger named LaBoeuf, played by Matt Damon. Not to be thwarted Mattie runs after them.

What then occurs is really just an old fashioned western. There are shoot outs, threats, snakes, horses. There wasn't a whole lot to it. Other then the acting. Hailee Steinfeld was a real splash! She blew me away. I truly believe that she stole the show. Even from Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, both very good vetren actors. And this is her first movie! I was shocked. Honestly and pleasantly surprised. That doesn't happen that often when it comes to new actors. I am glad that she got the oscar nod. I think she deserves the nod. I think that she should have been considered as a lead actress seeing as it is her story and her purpose that makes the movie. 

I thought that Jeff Bridges did a good job, Matt Damon was good as well. Neither of them blew me away, neither of them did anything that was spectacular. And there were times when I couldn't even understand what Jeff Bridges was saying. His accent was so thick and then he was also a drunk so he had the slurry thing going on as well. Now I will admit that I haven't sat down to watch the original "True Grit" so I can't compare it. But when I heard about this film and heard that the Coen brothers were taking it under their wing I was excited. I figured that it was going to be as good as other Coen brother movies, not that I have seen all that many of them, but they do have a reputation. One that I have heard about over and over again, one that I have come to trust. I also heard how good this movie was going to be. I just didn't find it all that impressive. I don't really know why. Maybe I missed something but it wasn't best picture material. I seem to be the only one saying that though. I've heard people say that they think if it wasn't for "The King's Speech" "True Grit" would win. It was a good western. But nothing that I could see made it any different from any other western. 

Well there it is. My final review for the best picture nominee list. I am very excited that I did this project and am looking forward to seeing the awards tonight. I hope that my ballot makes me the $50 I get if I get all five catagories right. But even if I only get some of them right I know that I made informed decisions and the ones that I think really should win. Happy Academy Awards day everyone! Have a great one!  

Finding A Voice

Ok I have to preface this by saying that I am now only one movie away from seeing all ten best picture nominee movies and thus completing my Best Picture nominee list project. =D I don't even know how excited I am. I am actually going to finish something that I start. Yay me!!

I had made tentative plans to go and see "King's Speech" with a couple of different friends. None of them were able to do it and so I decided to go alone. Not a big deal because I have done this before but it would be at night so I was a little nervous. But I went. And not only was I there by myself but I was there alone. The theatre was empty. It was an interesting experience. I think that being in a big movie theatre all alone for a movie buff is like being in a big church all alone for a devout person. It was intense.

On to the movie. Directed by Tom Hooper, written by David Seidler and starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter this movie was a surprise. I knew from previews what it was about and I had heard that it was really very good. A fact that I also ascertained from reading that it won tons and tons of awards. But it was still a surprise to see it in it's entirety. It was almost like a two hour long conversation that I was privy to. Colin Firth plays the Duke of York, a public figure that unfortunately has to give quite a few speeches and has a stammer. He sees doctor after doctor, the best speech therapists around but nothing works. And finally he tells his wife, played by Helena Bonham Carter, that he doesn't want anymore doctors. But being a good wife she seeks out one more man, a man who comes highly recommended, played by Geoffrey Rush. The Duchess goes to Lionel Logue hoping for help and what she gets is a miracle.

Between the Duke and Lionel there is at first tension, mistrust, anger on the side of the Duke. But slowly a friendship forms and by the time the Duke's brother abjures the throne and King George the VI is crowned king theirs is a bond that refuses to be broken. Unfortunately King George the VI takes the throne on the eve of World War II but by overcoming his pain and fear he shows a nation the courage to stand against Hitler. He finds his own voice which helps his country find theirs.

What happens between the two men is something that is rare and beautiful. It is the forming of a friendship that is fun to watch. As mentioned before it is like one long conversation. Not a lot happens. But so much is SAID and that is what is important. I loved watching the movie. The cinematography was so well done, some of the shots bordered on art. And the acting was out of this world. Colin Firth was amazing and deserves his oscar nod, if not the oscar itself. Geoffrey Rush was in a whole different plane. I hope that he does win! His character was so simple but it was the simplicity that made this man great! And Helena Bonham Carter was surperb. She didn't have that big of a roll. She was a supporting role for sure but what a job she did! I was blown away by her. All the little things that she did from the way that she moved her hands to the way she would tilt her head spoke royalty. It was brilliant.

This movie was fantastic. I loved it. I reccommend it to everyone! It's a true experience.

Spending Time In the Ring

Well I think that I lied a little bit. I said that I might be doing a book post and I had every intention of doing so until my Best Picture list project got back on track. See I went to go see "The Fighter" today with a friend. And so I believe that I need to talk about that and then tomorrow I am going to see the last two on the list and so the next one will probably be a movie post as well. But the one after that will have something to do with books. I am almost positive.

Moving on. "The Fighter" which is written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson and directed by David O. Russell was an interesting film. Starring Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Amy Adams it is a movie about a fighter trying to figure out how to balance what he wants with what his family wants. Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, a boxer who's crack addicted brother, Dicky Eklund (played by Christian Bale), is his trainer and his mother, Alice (played by Melissa Leo), is his manager. Dicky used to be somewhat of a name in the boxing world due to his knockout of Sugar Ray Leonard. 

The whole movie begins with HBO making a documentary about crack addiction and using Dicky as their main subject. While this is happening Dicky is training Micky for a sort of come back fight for Micky. This is supposed to be the big change for Micky. He is going to win the fight, get some good money, some recognition, and be able to buy a bigger apartment so that his daughter can stay with him. It was his big chance. However when he gets to the fight he finds that his perfect opponent has the flu and despite his wishes has to fight an opponent above his weight class and with at least 20 pounds on Micky. Needless to say Micky gets beat pretty badly. 

Things begin to change. He starts looking at his life differently, he starts dating Charlene, played by Amy Adams, who truly beileves that he can be a great fighter but that his family is holding him back. Dicky can't get his act together long enough to actually show up anywhere on time and Alice, Micky and Dicky's mom, doesn't care about anything but what Dicky says. Finally things come to a head and Dicky goes to jail. Micky then gets an opportunity to be managed and trained and really given a chance at greatness. As long as he gives up working with his brother and mother. But his brother, who gets clean in jail, knows fighting and knows Micky better then anyone so Dicky finds a way to help during a difficult fight and this reminds Micky just how important his family is. 

The movie was good. It was tough to watch at times and amusing at others. It was filled with a dark humor and a touching sadness that was rooted in reality. I thought that Christian Bale was fantastic as Dicky. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo absolutely deserve their nominations and I found the cinematography made the whole thing more gritty and real where it had to be. I see why the three above mentioned names are up for best supporting roles. I'm not sure yet if Christian Bale will be able to take it away from Geoffrey Rush but he deserves the nod. I found Mark Wahlberg to be mediocre compared to everyone else. He had no real depth to him as an actor. The character was rich with struggle and pain and pride and Wahlberg just wasn't able to grasp the levels of the guy. 

I give the movie a 7 out of 10 whatevers. Despite Mark Wahlberg's mediocre performance the rest of the cast was worth watching, the story itself was a nice one to bring to light, and the direction and the cinematography made the movie worth sitting through as well. It was a tad long, it had a few too many badly scored montages that could have been taken out or cut. Other than that the movie was good. I would reccommend it. 

"Don't Bogart That Joint Man"

I have been sick lately and so this is a bit late in coming. However at the moment I have a smallish amount of energy and I figured I should do this before I collapse. Which really could be at any moment so this might be short and to the point.

Anyway seeing as I've been sick and I have been working non-stop my little Best Picture project has been put on hold. I only have three left to see and so it is a cruel, cruel thing but I guess that is what happens. I will have to drive about forty-five minutes to an hour to go see "The Fighter" so that might be a bit of a stretch. I almost went to see "King's Speech" on Sunday but both my dad and I turned out to be too sick to sit through a movie (side note: we were going to go see it and have dinner in celebration of his birthday because it was on Firday and I was at work). And then there is just "True Grit" after those. So still a few that I have to cram in but I will make, hopefully, before the Academy Awards on Sunday the 27th.

Moving on, since that is in a holding pattern I was thinking that I would go into one of my other projects. I know that I haven't done a book post in awhile and I will soon. Possibly next. But for now I am going to talk about the most recent film I watched from the AFIs 100 Greatest Movies list. I watched "Easy Rider" and it was an unique experience. Written by both Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper and directed by the latter, this movie is the very emobdiment of the late '60's. It is more then just a movie. I went into it thinking that it was going to be this big motorcycle, tough guy movie but from the beginning I realized how very wrong I was. It was more of a meditation. An ode to the essence of the 60's. It follows friends Wyatt and Billy from the back roads of Mexico to a hippie commune, to the streets of New Orleans. Along the way they meet some of the most interesting, real characters.

One of the most interesting is George Hanson played by Jack Nicholson a lawyer they meet while in a jail cell. A drunk and someone looking for something new he teams up with Wyatt and Billy and the three of them set off for New Orleans and Mardi Gras. Along the way they find in each other friendship, an unquenancable thirst for finding truth in all things and a true desire to find freedom. They also encounter prejudice which ultimately leads to a death.

The movie is filled with music that brings forth images of what the 60's were hoping to bring to the world. Peace, love, sex, fun and even some drugs. There were long periods of nothing but music and landscapes, scenes of Wyatt and Billy riding their motorcylces. It's a beautiful albeit, ultimately, sad film.I found myself truly enjoying the movie, much to my surprise. I give it an 8 out of 10 on the rating things out of ten scale. I reccommend it for anyone who enjoys movies for their beauty as a film and not just because they have nudity and things exploding.

To explain the title there is a song in the middle of the movie that is called something like that and has a line in it like that. I thought that it was hilarious and it's rather a catchy title. 

Note: I also just watched "Waiting for 'Superman'" a documentary about the situation in public schools. It is really very good, informative, and rather enraging. I will go into more detail about it soon but I wanted to mention because it is available to rent starting tomorrow and EVERYONE should see it!

Putting Myself Between a Rock & a Hard Place

The other night I had the unique pleasure of going to see "127 Hours." Starring James Franco, written by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy and directed by Danny Boyle it is an unusual film experience. I wasn't sure about it at first but since it is part of the nominee list I knew that I would have to see it. On Thursday night I went to dinner with a friend and then we decided that we wanted to go see a movie. I voted for "King's Speech" but my friend wasn't feeling it.

And so we went to go see the story of Aron Rolston. I don't know what to say about the film. It was strange and beautiful and intense in many ways. James Franco did an incredible job. He really embodied the spirit of being trapped and alone and with only his memories and, eventually, his delusions. There is one point, toward the beginning where he finds himself starting to give up, already and very quietly he says "don't lose it. Aron don't you lose it." And just that gives him a chance to make it. 

Every day some new challenge presents itself, the most pressing of course is the loss of water. But even under the worst of circumstances Aron kept choosing to survive. Day after day with no one to talk to except for himself and his video camera, he finds different ways to do just that. That is the most beautiful part of the movie in my opinion. His will to do what he has to, to survive. Yes it's a tough movie to watch and watching him struggle is very hard but for me it wasn't a movie about a guy stuck in a canyon. It was a movie about surviving under the most brutal conditions and in the worst situation. 

I liked the movie. It was good and as stated above James Franco was magic in the role. I can see why it is up for best picture, it's based on a true story and no matter what people think doing a one man show, just about, on film can be as intricate and difficult as putting together a film like "Inception" or "Black Swan." I wasn't blown away by it. I knew what was coming. I knew that in the end he found help and yes this included finding the courage to cut his arm off, which is not something that is for the faint of heart. Nothing was a big surprise or made me think it wasn't going to work out. I knew that he was going to make it no matter what was thrown at him. So I wasn't thrown by it. But it was beautiful in a disturbing way. Maybe beautiful is the wrong word because it was raw and harsh and all angles. 

The point is that it was a good movie. I didn't love it nor was I as moved by it as my friend was but it was a good movie. I now only have three movies on the best picture list to see. I think that I will get to see "The Fighter" this Sunday and then I think I will have to see "True Grit" and "King's Speech" alone. But that is ok. At least I will get to see them. I will keep you all updated!

Winter's Bone...and Other Things

This is going to be kind of a mish-mosh of an entry. I watched "Winter's Bone" and I do want to talk about that but it's not going to be a long entry if that is it and there are other things that I would like to talk about. So mish-mosh it is.

I watched "Winter's Bone" today, and the only reason I watched it was because it was on the Best Picture Nominee list. When we first got it at the store I wasn't that interested in it. And even though I heard it was good and it has been super popular I just never had the urge to watch it. But I do have a mission to watch all the nominees. And so I watched it. And I was bored. The very beginning looked like it could be good. It started off a little quiet and strange. And then it stayed quiet and strange. It didn't really make much sense and it wasn't all that suspenseful.

The story is this. Jennifer Lawrence plays Ree, a teenage girl stuck at home taking care of her two younger siblings and her sick mom. Her dad, I believe, is into the drug scene that is there. And then one day the 'law' comes looking for her dad saying that he posted bond by putting up the house and acerage and that his court date was coming up but that he couldn't be found. Ree, determined not to lose her family's home begins to search for him. And then things happen. I don't really know what happens but for some reason people try to hinder her search and I think that she gets threatened. I don't know. It's all not very good. It drags on and is slow. That is really it. I don't know why it is up for best picture but again I'm not on the committee. 

On to those other things. As it is the award sesaon I think that for the next few entries I will be focusing on movies as opposed to books. But fear not I will move back to books shortly. On that note however I want to state a mission of mine. Beyond that of wanting to see all ten best picture nominees I want to watch as many movies off the AFI's 100 Greatest Movies of all time list as I can. So far I've seen 46. The most recent being "Chinatown."

Directed by Roman Polanski and starring a very young Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston this is film noir at it's greatest. A true masterpiece of film the story follows J.J. Gittes, a private eye. He is hired to prove adultery and instead stumbles upon a water conspiracy that finds him trying to solve a murder instead. As the layers of mystery begin to pile on and J.J. finds himself helplessly drawn to the mysterious Evelyn Mulwray, Faye Dunaway, tensions begin to fray. J.J. finds that the more he figures out about this case, and consequently the more he is warned against it, the more he hopes to find the truth. Fighting evil henchmen, spying on the woman he loves, and finding himself with only one and a half nostrils doesn't seem to push J.J. into safer waters. All this instead just urges hime on. And what he finds makes the heart stop and the jaw drop. This is a brilliant movie that I truly believe deserves it's spot on the 100 Greatest Movies list. 

I don't know where I will start next. I'm thinking "Easy Rider." Not sure why but it's been calling to me lately. Or maybe "Jazz Singer" because I just found that on VHS. Who knows what I will decide on? Well I guess I know or rather I guess I will know as soon as I decide.

Alright enough crazy for one night. I will keep you all updated on my 100 Greatest movies list mission! As well as the originally talked about mission of the best picture nominees. Only four left!