The Oscars! They Came! They Saw! They Did Exactly What We Thought They Would!

So this award season got it's grande finale last night with the Oscars. Which means another 9-10 months of none of this award stuff and more just talk about the movies themselves. Since I had to work today, I actually missed watching the award show itself and just checked the results this morning when I woke up.

I think this Oscar season was one of the strongest ones in a while, with great movies like The Social Network, True Grit, Black Swan and Winter's Bone in there. That's not to say The King's Speech didn't deserve it's awards as it's a great movie as well, just not up to the other movies I listed there. But here we go: A list of the wins that I liked and didn't like:

LIKED:

Actor in a Leading Role
Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in "The Fighter"

Actress in a Leading Role
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"

Achievement in Cinematography
"Inception," Wally Pfister

Film Editing
"The Social Network"

Makeup
"The Wolfman," Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)
"The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Sound Editing
"Inception," Richard King

Sound Mixing
"Inception," Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick

Visual Effects
"Inception," Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Social Network," Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin


Like I thought they would, the Academy treated Inception just to the technical awards. Film Editing going to The Social Network is nice too, but it's an award that should've gone to Inception (or in a just world, to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but that's another story). Aaron Sorkin's script for The Social Network is one of the best scripts I've seen in years in Hollywood and definitely deserving of this win. Can't wait what he's writing next.

The Social Network's score is brilliant and slightly unusual, still would've preferred to see some How To Train Your Dragon love here as John Powell's score is pure brilliance and will undoubtedly be heard in numerous trailers and TV spots to come.

The reason I'm adding Wally Pfister's win here is because he deserved a win. Above Roger Deakins? No, but Wally's work on Inception is well worth an Academy Award. Poor Roger Deakins though. He's one of the very best in the business and now his total is 10 nominations without any wins. Where's the love, Academy? Must be some kind of a conspiracy, I'm telling you.

No surprises on the acting side of things, all the awards went to those people said they'd go to. Melissa Leo's win for Best Supporting Actress isn't here because I think it should've gone to Hailee Steinfeld. And Rick Baker won his 7th Oscar, this man is a god of makeup, couldn't have gone to a better man.

Wins I didn't like:

Best Picture
"The King's Speech," Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers

Achievement in directing
"The King's Speech," Tom Hooper

Actress in a Supporting Role
Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"

Animated Feature Film
"Toy Story 3" Lee Unkrich

Achievement in Art Direction
"Alice in Wonderland"

Costume Design
"Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The King's Speech," Screenplay by David Seidler

Like I said before, I don't mind The King's Speech winning all these awards, but there were better movies this year. I would've liked to see Academy awarding something more original, like Inception for the Best Original Screenplay. I didn't think Tom Hooper's direction was near the level of all the other nominees this year, maybe for the expection of David O. Russell. And Best Picture of the year for me from these nominees was The Social Network, plain and simple. But I guess Harvey Weinstein still knows how to campaign his movies for Oscars. Still, nowhere near the disaster win of "Crash" or "Shakespeare in Love" proportions.

Alice in Wonderland doesn't deserve anything except to be forgotten. A useless movie if there ever was one. I mentioned the Melissa Leo win earlier. I don't think she was bad in the role, it's just wasn't anything new and Hailee was just magnificent in True Grit. Hopefully she'll be able to find roles that'll work for her as well in the future.

And I think Toy Story 3 won just for being Toy Story 3. It's a fun movie, but it feels like a lesser movie that the previous ones. How To Train Your Dragon, while not being the freshest story in the world, is able to create it's own world, making every child (and most of the parents) want their own dragon. And it really does have a kick-ass score.

The rest of the awards I'm not well enough aware to say anything about. It's nice to see Denmark winning Best Foreign Language movie over Biutiful, which I hear is breath-taking. Will catch both when I get the chance.

So like I said before, the award season is over. But as the cliche goes, it's not the amount of awards your movie gets that makes it worthwhile. It's all about the money, anyway. Or art. Yes, that sounds better. It's all about the art.

IMDb Top 250: 127 Hours

Danny Boyle hasn't been tied down to a specific genre with his movies. Starting with Shallow Grave, there's been comedy, horror, sci-fi and kids movie, leading up to the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. And now he comes out with his best since Trainspotting and maybe even topping it with 127 Hours.

Aron Ralston (James Franco) goes climbing around the canyons in Utah, when an accident gets his arm stuck between a boulder and the canyon wall. The movie shows the time he spent stuck in here, no prizes for guessing how long it was.

Considering everyone talks about this movie as "The One Where He Cuts His Arm Off", it's quite surprising that the movie spends about two minutes of running time on that. So if you were expecting to see Saw 127: Boulder Bash, this isn't for you.

James Franco is brilliant in the movie as Aron. He's an actor made the excellent Pineapple Express the classic it is and here's he's finally getting to shine as the leading man. The movie spends about 10-15 minutes of running time to get to know Aron before he's stuck, so the audience has an idea who this guy is and is willing to go through this ordeal with him.

What's brilliant about the movie is that it's so life-affirming. Once Aron manages to cut his arm off and he's free, the viewer shares his feeling. There's a rush that one gets from this movie that I can't really describe in a better way than saying it feels like life. I know that's incredibly corny way of putting it, but it definitely gave a boost for me. Kudos to Franco and Boyle and above all to the real Aron Ralston who survived the 127 hours, wrote a book about it and went back to where it all happened to help these guys make the movie. Incredible man. My rating: 9/10

IMDB Top 250: Black Swan

Like many people, I became aware of Darren Aronofsky with Requiem For A Dream, which is still one of the hardest movies to watch that I've ever seen. I've been a fan ever since and after seeing The Fountain, I pretty much worship on the altar of Aronofsky. And while I appreciated The Wrestler for what it is, it didn't get to me the same way his earlier work did, so I was more than a little apprehensive about Black Swan, which was sold to me as "the ballet version of The Wrestler."

There are some definite similarities, most obvious with the camera behind the main character, which started in The Wrestler. Also both movies involve worlds that are not that familiar to the average viewer, the worlds of wrestling and ballet. But whatever the similarities are, Black Swan is definitely better than it's predecessor in every way.

Black Swan is the story of Nina, a ballerina who gets the lead role in Swan Lake" as she's perfect for the role of the White Swan. But when the role requires her to become the Black Swan, Nina's mind starts to play tricks on her.

Make no mistake about it, this is definitely a horror movie. Aronofsky has studied his Polanski, Cronenberg and Argento very well. Building Nina's paranoia and her delusions are brilliantly done and feature some of the more disgusting effects this year (This year already has the eww-factor very high with this and 127 Hours). The way the movie plays with shadows and the constant feel of "there's something not quite right going on" makes the experience much more rewarding as we watch Nina's journey.

Speaking of Nina, Natalie Portman is a definite lock for the Best Actress Oscar. She plays every part of her role perfectly and as she's in every scene of the movie playing one of the more challenging roles I've seen in a while, it's no miracle this has been hailed the performance of the year. Though I have to admit, I'm a bit saddened that all the hype and glory goes to Portman, as I feel Vincent Cassel deserves recognition for his role as well. As the director of the ballet, you're never really quite sure what his aim is and he plays right on the edge of being a sleaze or a brilliant director.

It's great to see a horror movie nominated for Best Picture, which hasn't happened since Silence of the Lambs. While I don't think Black Swan will win that category, at least Natalie Portman will be recognized as Best Actress. Definitely one of the best movies of the year so far. My Rating: 9/10

Top 5 Friday #4: Romantic Movies

It's that time of the year again when we're supposed to buy our significant others roses and cards, because Hallmark doesn't make enough money as it is and the single people will complain how shallow it all is. But a gift that keeps on giving is a movie. At least if it's a good one. And following here are five movies that are perfect for Valentine's Day. I know you all have your favourites, but there's only so many times you can watch Sleepless in Seattle or When Harry Met Sally. So maybe this year, try one of the following:


5. Brief Encounter

A classic love story from the 40's. David Lean adapts Noel Coward's story perfectly and there's no dry seat in the house at the end of it.

4. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

A modern classic. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet have never been better and Charlie Kaufman won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar deservedly. It's a love movie that can mess your mind up a bit. I don't think there's a word for a romantic mindfuck movie. Lovefuck just sounds like something completely different.

3. Once

An Irish love story, with brilliant music. Another deserved Oscar win, for Best Song this time. Also, probably the only movie ever during which I'll be able to say "Oh, I've been there!".

2. The Fountain

Darren Aronofsky's story of love and death which spans over a thousand years. Utterly spellbinding and extremely powerful. Clint Mansell's score fits the movie like a glove and still gives me goosebumps even after having listened to it dozens of times.



1. The Apartment

For a lesser director, this would be their masterpiece. But for Billy Wilder, it's one among his many masterpieces. Even though it's made in the 60's, it has a timeless feel to it and Jack Lemmon is just brilliant in it.


Sure, all these might not be the lovey-doviest (not a real word, I know) romance movies, but they're all brilliant and well worth your time.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day. Well, early Valentine's Day. Can you wish people Happy Valentine's Day early? I know it's bad luck for birthdays. Just to be safe, don't read this last part until Monday. Cheers.

Kiss Kiss Stark Stark?

So this is exciting. According to Hollywood Reporter, Shane Black is in talks to direct Iron Man 3. Jon Favreau said goodbye to the franchise after almost everyone was dissappointed in Iron Man 2(I really like it, though I haven't watched it since the theater).

But Shane Black is very interesting news. His Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was the best movie of 2005 and he's written some classic Hollywood action movies such as Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. Plus he's got some acting experience from a little movie called Predator.

This is brilliant news, if Black actually gets the job. Having worked with Robert Downey Jr. before, I'm sure he's able to write Tony Stark to suit Downey perfectly and the action beats should be good as well, definitely better than in the original Iron Man. And as Robert Downey Jr has approval over the new director, I think this has a chance to actually coming to fruition. I, for one, can't wait.

Musical Moment #2: The New Pornographers - Moves

I'm a big fan of The New Pornographers, have been for a few years now, and I wanted to share this with you guys.

There's a new video for The New Pornographers' song Moves that came out recently. See if you can spot all the cameos from comedians in the video. 

Paul Rudd and Bill Hader don't count. Sorry guys. Don't know if I'm happy or sad that that's a fake trailer.

IMDb Top 250: Crash

And here we are again with another movie I've seen from the IMDb Top 250, this time it's Paul Haggis's Crash, the Best Picture Academy Award winner from 2004. It's the second time Paul's work is on this list, as we wrote Million Dollar Baby, for which he was nominated for an Oscar as well. As you might recall, I wasn't the biggest fan of Million Dollar Baby, so let's see if Crash fares any better.

Crash has about everyone from Hollywood acting in it and it has multiple storylines that weave into each other during the movie, all about racism.

But it's just not any good. I know the movie thinks it's good. There's good acting in it. There's a hint of something better in there as well, but it all dies in the script again. None of the characters seem real or relatable and they're all there to serve the story, which is some movies works, but not here where these people are supposed to represent the viewer. Every character is a stereotype and because the movie is spread between 21000 different characters, we don't really care about any of the characters.

Also the movie doesn't have anything else to say than "Racism is bad and we're all a little racist sometimes." Every character in the movie does something bad or says something bad about another race. Oh, except for Michael Pena, who is downright angelic compared to everyone else in the movie. Of course people change in the movie, it wouldn't be a Hollywood movie otherwise, but again, like I said before, none of changes come from the characters themselves, it's just that they're at that point of the script.

So, good acting, mostly anyway, but a bad bad movie. The worst Best Picture winner I have seen. I don't think this movie will be in the IMDb Top 250 for very much longer, and that's a good thing. My Rating for Crash: 4/10

And with that, we've purged the list of Mr. Haggis. Things are looking up already.

Top 5 Friday #3: Reasons to Love Thomas Jane

Have had a bit of a busier week this week, so haven't updated as much as I would've wanted to. But here we are again with this Friday's Top 5. Going to leave the romantic stuff for next Friday. This week we look quickly into the life of Thomas Jane, or more accurately, his career and why he's awesome.


5. Jonah Hex


He wanted to play Jonah Hex in the Justin Hayward movie, but the role went eventually to Josh Brolin. Movie turned out to be total crap, so bullet dodged there (That's not to say Jane hasn't done his share of crappy movies). Thomas Jane got a consolation price when he was cast to do the voice for Jonah Hex in a DC animated short, which is actually quite brilliant. Definitely worth checking out.



4. Scott Pilgrim's Vegan Police


I know, the movie's very recent, but I have to mention it here and spoil the cameo. Jane does a brilliant cameo in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World with Clifton Collins Jr.

3. "I Just Want My Kids Back!"

Well, this one just speaks for itself. Arrested Development should be on your to-watch list.

2. The Mist

Brilliant horror movie from Frank Darabont, based on Stephen King's novella. Definitely in the Top 5 Stephen King adaptations(that gives me an idea...)

1. The Punisher.

A review of this is coming up. My favourite Punisher movie by far, mostly because of Thomas Jane's perfect portayal of the comic book "hero".

Obviously there's tons of other reasons to love him, but these are the first that came to mind. You should also check out Stander, Hung and Deep Blue Sea and you can see him also in Boogie Nights and Face/Off. But please, stay away from Mutant Chronicles and Dreamcatcher(though I kinda have a sweet spot for this one, even though it's very bad).

That's it for this list. I know it's kind of short and there's only three videos, but I'll make it up to you guys next week with a better list and more stuff on the blog, so keep your eyes on this page! It's gonna be brilliant.

February Check-Up on IMDb Top 250

And it's not looking good. We're down to only 81, which means I only watched one of the Top 250 movies I hadn't seen yet! This is bad, need to increase the tempo a little bit. Here's what the list looks like now.

1. City of God (2002)
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
3. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
4. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
5. Black Swan (2010)
6. The Pianist (2002)
7. City Lights (1931)
8. The Lives of Others (2006)
9. Modern Times (1936)
10. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
11. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
12. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
13. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
14. All About Eve (1950)
15. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
16. The Great Dictator (1940)
17. Downfall (2004)
18. The Elephant Man (1980)
19. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
20. On the Waterfront (1954)
21. Rebecca (1940)
22. The Seventh Seal (1957)
23. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
24. Touch of Evil (1958)
25. Yojimbo (1961)
26. Ran (1985)
27. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
28. Wild Strawberries (1957)
29. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
30. It Happened One Night (1934)
31. Notorious (1946)
32. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
33. Gone with the Wind (1939)
34. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
35. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
36. Ben-Hur (1959)
37. The King's Speech (2010)
38. The Big Sleep (1946)
39. The Graduate (1967)
40. Amores Perros (2000)
41. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
42. The Kid (1921)
43. Ikiru (1952)
44. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
45. Gandhi (1982)
46. 8½ (1963)
47. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
48. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
49. True Grit (2010)
50. The Killing (1956)
51. La Strada (1954)
52. The 400 Blows (1959)
53. Network (1976)
54. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
55. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
56. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
57. Persona (1966)
58. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
59. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
60. 127 Hours (2010)
61. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
62. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
63. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
64. Mary and Max (2009)
65. Manhattan (1979)
66. Barry Lyndon (1975)
67. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
68. The Celebration (1998)
69. Patton (1970)
70. The Fighter (2010)
71. Roman Holiday (1953)
72. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
73. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
74. In the Mood for Love (2000)
75. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
76. Harvey (1950)
77. Crash (2004)
78. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
79. A Christmas Story (1983)
80. Three Colors: Red (1994)
81. Rope (1948)
82. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)

81 movies, 332 days. That's 4 days per movie, so I need to see at least two per week. That can be done. 

Slappin' Da Bass with Rush!

I Love You, Man is one of my feel-good movies, I've seen it more times than I care to admit. So waking up this morning to this was a real treat to me and I couldn't help but share it! You can go to Funny or Die to view to see the clip in question.

Meanwhile, here's some Rush for you guys: