Love The Running:

And the Oscar goes to...Transformers 2!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:54:52 GMT

AMPAS has announced a major change for next year's Oscars: a ten-film Best Picture race:

"After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year," said academy President Sid Ganis. "The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.

"Having 10 best picture nominees is going [to] allow academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize, Ganis added. "I can't wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February."

Translation: A Best Picture nomination is about to mean even less than it ever has! Even more shitty films will make the cut than already do! We have to do this because the ratings continue to suck and so we've got to find a way to work in more crappy-but-populist movies so people who turn up their noses at arty films can feel included!

Granted, this might mean one or two truly deserving films that normally would fall just outside the top five favorites sneaks in, but is such a diluted field really worth it just for that? Also, the percentage of dull and/or dumb junk I'm going to have to watch if I want keep up my streak of seeing all the Best Picture nominees in time for the telecast just went up. Damn.

Thoughts?

A trip to the trailer park.

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:54:46 GMT

I've been a bad fangirl: as of last night, three Half-Blood Prince trailers have gone by without me posting them. Let's catch up, shall we?

First, the brand new full-length trailer. I'm embedding for ease, but as always I highly recommend a direct download for quality's sake. You can find it in every format imaginable here.

And then we have the IMAX trailer:

And the international trailer:

I have to say, between the story having been over for going on two years now and the way the release date change has dragged out the promotional period, I had really lost interest and was mostly just eager to see the ending on screen already. But this newest one is a pretty great trailer, and I'll be damned if it didn't work on me.

Katie Bell? Genuinely terrifying.

Inferi? Not really what I imagined, but that's going to look nice and creepy on a big screen.

Burrow on fire, everyone sad? Guh.

Tom Felton? Actually making me feel sorry for Draco Malfoy.

This shot? Utter gorgeousness.

See you on July 15th then, movie!

I &hearts my DirecTV.

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:27:30 GMT

I am pleased as punch to read that Friday Night Lights has been renewed. 26 episodes! Two more years of Coach and Mrs. Coach (and hopefully Landry)!

Is anyone else still watching? I know a lot of people were put off by a lot of season two, but season three was pretty damn great. In fact, I think I'll go set my TiVo to record the rest of the NBC re-airings right now.

The frakking end.

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:45:30 GMT

I figured I'd be disappointed (had they pulled off an ending that fully did justice to years of juicy set-up, it would have been a television miracle for the ages) but I'm even more disappointed than I imagined I could be. A handful of excellent episodes these last couple of seasons aside, my feeling that the show had been on a downward, haphazard spiral for quite a while was just clearly confirmed by that cheesy, heavy-handed, unsatisfying clunker of an ending. Sigh.

Rather than bitterly dissecting it with the bile I could probably work up if I wanted to, I'll just say thanks for the memories, show. And for characters I loved even when the ways in which they were written ultimately didn't make much damn sense. We'll always have Kobol.

PricewaterhouseCoopers have validated it and everything.

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:18:48 GMT

Congratulations to sarmoti, the winner of the Oscar pool with a very impressive final score of 20 out of 24! You've got 45 seconds to make your speech before you're played off the stage.

Being ever so sportswomanlike and counting myself out of the contest (coughpulleda19cough), runners up were kaytethinks with 17 correct guesses and easterkat with 16. Should sarmoti not be able to fulfill her very important duties as winner, y'all are next in line.

Interestingly, everyone got it right in two categories: Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger) and Animated Feature (WALL-E). Everyone was wrong in one, which makes sense as it was the biggest upset of the night: Foreign Language Film (Departures). ragdoll was the only one to correctly choose the winner in Documentary Short (Smile Pinki).

That was fun. Think I'll make this an annual tradition. So, until next year, then!

Hours three and fourish.

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:28:02 GMT

Oh joy, Eddie Murphy is here to present a special award to Jerry Lewis the "humanitarian." It's great that he's raised the money he has, but it's particularly frustrating that a guy who has used the word faggot DURING A TELETHON is being recognized on a night celebrating Harvey Milk. Ass. Luckily, he doesn't drone on for too long. Still doesn't make him any less of an ass, though.

Back to giving out awards at a breakwrists pace. Score appropriately goes to Slumdog (15 for 18). Seriously, this is going so fast.

Lord, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens are back. It's a school night -- shouldn't they have moved their category to earlier in the broadcast, before their target audience was in bed? There is the briefest performance of a bit of each song, unremarkable except for the ending, in which John Legend sings the song from WALL-E over part of "Jai Ho" to somewhat weird effect. "Jai Ho" wins, and I'm 16 for 19.

In the only true upset so far tonight, Foreign Language Film goes to Japan's Departures. Ack! Should have listened to that last-minute insidery gossip that made the rounds yesterday indicating this just could happen, I guess. 16 for 20.

Queen Latifah sings "I'll Be Seeing You" over the death reel. There were rumors that the applause was going to be muted for the broadcast to avoid the unseemly suggestion of a popularity contest, but I'm not sure how that was supposed to happen with someone holding a live mic up on stage in front of the audience.

Awww, Academy president Sid Ganis is stepping down and not making a speech. Also not appearing: the accountants. Now those dudes are going to have to carry their briefcases to the afterparty if they want to get any tail!

Reese Witherspoon is here to present Director. Directors are shown doing directly things. Gus Van Sant squints through a portable lens! Bald Opie gesticulates approvingly in the direction of lighting equipment! Etc., etc., etc. Upon winning -- hooray -- Danny Boyle "proceeds in the spirit of Tigger" by jumping up and down. He praises the ceremony, which he says is playing really well in the room. He rectifies the leaving out of the choreographer of the final scene from the film's credits by mentioning his name in front of a million billion viewers. He is generally very nice. Somewhere, Ewan McGregor is thinking it might be time for him to reconsider that feud. 17 for 21.

It's time to play guess who's behind the panels again! But first, the actressy clip package, which reminds me of how much I hate Julia "it's all about me" Roberts. It's Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman (ah, so she's the usual red carpet stunner they held back for drama's sake, then. Which is probably good for her, as this will have given photographers less of a chance to capture the weird dress she's wearing, in which turkey butts appear to be attempting to escape from her bodice) and Marion Cotillard. As MacLaine praises her (she agrees with me about her voice!), Anne Hathaway clutches her heart and wibbles. But Kate Winslet wins and the crowd's on its feet (and I'm 18 for 22). Among other nice things that happen during her speech, she makes her dad whistle so she can figure out where he is in the crowd and acknowledges Peter Jackson and Emma Thompson, who got her particularly excellent parts. Somewhere, Ricky Gervais is smugly amused by himself. Moreso than usual, I mean.

On to Actor. Panel dudes are Robert DeNiro, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, Adrien Brody, and Michael Douglas. Sean Penn gets lightly roasted for his history of "gently reason[ing] with the paparazzi." Absurdly and distractingly, dead Hufflepuff/vampire boy is featured prominently in the shot as Rourke is being feted. To add insult to that injury, Penn's the winner! He affectionately calls the voters "commie, homo-loving sons of guns" and generally pokes unprecedented fun at himself. He ends on a more serious note, referencing anti-gay protesters outside and echoing Black's earlier calls for marriage equality. I was rooting hard for Rourke, but have more trouble begrudging Penn the win than I thought I might. (18 for 23)

Spielberg's here to put an end to the evening. Clips of the nominated films are pretty cleverly interspersed with bits of thematically-related previous Best Pictures. As predicted, it is written -- it's Slumdog! They cram as much of the ensemble on the stage as possible, including the kids, who are so ridiculously adorable they may just inspire those who are still awake at this point to get to working on some of their own.

Over closing credits, I enjoy the sneak peak at some of the films coming out in 2009, feel fairly proud of my 19 for 24 accuracy rate, and find myself thinking they did a pretty good job this year. I'll be really interested to read the critical reaction. If you watched, what did you think?

Pool winner to come after I've slept and tabulated. Good night!

Hour two.

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:58:54 GMT

Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller (lamely dressed as Joaquin Phoenix in a bit that might have been amusing for about five seconds five weeks ago; hope they're totally sure the guy's pulling a publicity stunt and isn't having a very public nervous breakdown!) are here to present Cinematography. They give to Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog and fuck yes I don't have to throw things! 8 for 9.

In a brief break from the commercial break, Jessica Biel talks veeery sloooowly about how she presented the sci-tech awards at a separate ceremony. I really hope she worked harder at pretending to be interested then.

And hey, it's a "deleted scene" from Pineapple Express, in which Seth Rogen and James Franco attempt to watch all of the year's movies that weren't nominated, because nominated films suck! Franco mistakes The Love Guru for Slumdog Millionaire. He watches himself make out with Sean Penn and then tries to put the moves on Rogen. They also try to replicate the staple gun scene from The Wrestler. The Freaks and Geeks fan in me squees as they watch Jason Segel shake his wang at Sarah Marshall. Franco notices that there is a film crew in his apartment, and invites cinematographer Janusz Kaminski to join them on the couch. This utterly random threesome then emerges to to present Live Action Short to Spielzeugland (Toyland) and I'm 9 for 10. Funny presentation moment: Kaminski being told he's the first DP to be a presenter, resulting in Kaminski telling new winner Anthony Dod Mantle he can suck it. Less funny and more inappropriate: Rogen cracking up at Franco's earnest pronunciation of the name of the winning short. Which is about the Holocaust.

Hugh is back and attempting to sell us on the idea that the success of Mamma Mia! suggests that the musical is back. This leads into a big production number in which he is joined by Beyonce, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, and some of those High School Musical kids. It's dull and lip-syched and very, very unfortunately includes Beyonce's absolutely heinous version of "At Last." When Hugh outs him as the perpetrator of this crap, Baz Luhrmann looks apologetic. It's proof he's still pissed Moulin Rouge! lost out to that awful Russell Crowe is creatively crazy movie.

Christopher Walken, Kevin Kline, Cuba Gooding, Jr. (!), Alan Arkin, and Joel Grey are our five supporting guys behind panels. Arkin gets the order of P.S. Hoffman's names wrong. The reason Gooding is there becomes clear when he's given the task of ribbing Downey for the whole blackface thing. (It's not like they were going to get Denzel to do that.) Anyway, Heath Ledger wins, of course. His parents and sister accept for him, and thankfully, it's less maudlin than I'd feared. 10 for 11.

Documentary yearbook, directed by one of the Maysles brothers. The directors of the nominated features do talking heads. Trouble the Water lady has to be bleeped. Presenter Bill Maher laments that his documentary wasn't nominated, but even worse, now he's got to go on while everyone's weeping over Heath Ledger. Feature goes to Man on Wire (11 for 12). Philippe Petit "thank(s) the Academy for believing in magic" and proceeds to make a coin disappear and balances Oscar on his chin. I like the guy, but hai there Roberto Benigni moment. Short goes to Smile Pinki, which would be a shocker if there really could be anything like a shocker in the unpredictable shorts categories. 11 for 13.

Audience pandering, people who have attention spans too short to actually have made it this far into the Oscars so why did they bother edition: Action yearbook. Will Smith comes out to claim that he requested to be a part of this section of the show, because he wanted to talk about the movies that have actual fans. You know, I generally like the idea of celebrating the year in movies, but this is moving into Academy self-hate, elitists LOL territory now. Anyway, Visual Effects goes to Benjamin Button (12 for 14), Sound Editing goes to The Dark Knight (13 for 15), Sound Mixing to Slumdog Millionaire (13 for 16). Danny Boyle is incredibly excited. Over sound mixing. It's a testament to how closely knit this creative team is, and it's sweet. Slumdog's Chris Dickens wins for Editing, and this should make you happy even if you haven't seen the movie, because if you're a fan of pretty much anything Edgar Wright's ever done, you have him to partially thank. 14 for 17.

Hour one.

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:58:18 GMT

Lights up to reveal a beautiful stage with a chandelier theme and then a beautiful Hugh Jackman with a why yes I am awesome theme. There's some quick banter between him and Kate Winslet and Robert Downey, Jr. but they're quickly on to the first bit, a musical medley that Jackman explains was vetoed for being too expensive, a problem he resolved by building his own setpieces out of cardboard and hiring dancers off of Craigslist. He then serenades several of the year's films (including The Dark Knight; there's also a nod to Iron Man later -- helloooooo pandering to the wider audience), at one point bringing Anne Hathaway up to play Nixon to his Frost. Did we know she could sing? Anyway, it kills, and the audience gives him a standing ovation. Billy Crystal, eat your heart out.

A montage of actresses' winning moments begins on one screen and ends on five panels which ultimately rise to reveal the five actresses projected on them: Eva Marie Saint, Goldie Hawn, Angelica Huston, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tilda Swinton. Each personally gives a tribute to each of the actresses nominated in the supporting category (Whoopi to Amy Adams: "It's not easy being a nun", heh) and it's pretty great. Penélope Cruz ultimately joins them on stage. I love that she still thanks Pedro Almodóvar. Sure, they've got a movie coming out this year, but I choose to think it's because they have such a great partnership. I'm 1 for 1.

Tina Fey and Steve Martin are revealed to be the subject of a "screenplay" about presenting being "written." The crowd adores them, and not just because the screenplay is telling them to. In a personally beloved convention I believe has been missing these last few years, scenes from each nominated film play behind the presenters' narrated stage directions. Dustin Lance Black wins for Milk, and both Sean Penn and Gus Van Sant look like they might cry. Black gives a wonderful speech, in which he tells young gay people that Harvey Milk would want them to know that they "are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value" and reassures them that they will achieve full equality someday. 2 for 2.

And it's right back to Tina and Steve who give Adapted Screenplay to Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire. Hooray! 3 for 3.

Jennifer Aniston (bleh) and Jack Black are here to present Animated Feature. But first we see the first "page" in the night's 2008 movie yearbook, a look at the year's animated films. It's edited so that it looks like WALL-E is watching shit like that monkeys in space movie. WALL-E wins, and I'm 4 for 4. Pleasingly, they then go straight on to Animated Short. Jack Black's just-told jokes about the dominance of Pixar lose their punch as Presto loses to La Maison en Petits Cubes. Inexplicably, the Japanese winner actually ends his heretofore dull speech by saying "domo arigato, Mr. Roboto." Yes, I'm completely serious. 4 for 5.

The focus on economy is retained as a foofily-clad SJP and Daniel Craig give Art Direction to Benjamin Button (5 for 6), Costume Design to The Duchess (6 for 7), Makeup to Benjamin Button (7 for 8) in quick succession. I understand now what the producers were talking about when they said they evening would have a narrative theme: related categories are being presented together in groups, with patter relating to the progressing process of making a movie. This makes quite a lot of sense.

Audience pandering, teen edition: Robert Pattinson and Amanda Seyfried are here to present the romance in 2008 package, which happens to feature -- hey, the movies they were in! Pattinson looks like he's barely able to contain his giggles throughout, and I can understand it. Even he knows he has no business being there.

Oscar predictions!

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:25:43 GMT

First, if you're participating in the pool, make sure you've voted in all 24 categories. No, you can't try to increase your accuracy by pretending that the shorts categories don't exist. Also note that because LiveJournal polls top out at 15 questions each, there are actually two separate polls in the post, one right after each other. If you filled out multiple categories but only clicked one button, only some of your choices recorded. You can go back and edit your responses right up until I close the poll before the telecast starts tomorrow night.

So, these are my predictions. I've seen the underlined titles.

Best Picture:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Will win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should win: Slumdog Millionaire
Likeliest spoiler: Milk
Why: The Slumdog train's been rolling at full speed for months now, and nobody's going to catch it. And good, I say. Milk is a solid, admirable film whose subject I consider a personal hero. But artistically, Slumdog is far superior. In everything I've read, Benjamin Button has most often shown up as the second most likely winner, but I suspect that the combination of its mixed reviews and post-Proposition 8 anger have actually pushed Milk ahead of it. Or at least, I really hope so, because I pretty much loathed it. Like, it'll be a WTF Crash? kind of moment for me if it wins. But it won't.

Best Director:
David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
Gus Van Sant (Milk)
Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Will win: Danny Boyle
Should win: Danny Boyle
Likeliest spoiler: David Fincher
Why: Though I still think Benjamin Button is probably out of the running in Best Picture, the technical achievements of Fincher's film did impress people. There could also be an element that wants to reward him for last year's overlooked Zodiac. But I'm nearly certain that Picture and Director will match up this year. Boyle (and his unrecognized-by-the-Academy co-director Loveleen Tandan, dammit) successfully navigated the complexities of shooting in Mumbai, which would have been well beyond a lot of other filmmakers.

Best Actor:
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Will win: Mickey Rourke
Should win: Mickey Rourke
Likeliest spoiler: Sean Penn
Why: Quite simply, Rourke is phenomenal. His performance is easily one of the best of the decade, and I'm going to be really pissed if he doesn't take it. I thought Penn was marvelous as Milk, but he's won before (undeservedly, I thought) and probably will win again before his career is over.

Best Actress:
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Will win: Kate Winslet
Should win: Kate Winslet
Likeliest spoiler: Meryl Streep
Why: The Reader is utterly forgettable, but no matter. All people will remember once tomorrow is over is that she finally stopped losing ~~and thus finally stopped whining about it~~. (I love her, but whoever advised her to start banging the "hell yes I want statuettes" drum so early in the season is a jerk.) Still, she doesn't have this entirely sewn up. I've got Meryl as my also-ran, but I've seen some speculation over the last couple of days that Melissa Leo has an actual chance. That would really tickle me. You go, Kay Howard!

Best Supporting Actor:
Josh Brolin (Milk)
Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Will win: Heath Ledger
Should win: Heath Ledger
Likeliest spoiler: The Oscars being permanently cancelled before this category is announced
Why: I remember hearing that Ledger had been cast as the Joker and just not being able to imagine it. Then I saw that first trailer. He was utterly, delightfully terrifying, and I was suddenly very excited about seeing the movie. It turned out I was right to be. His inevitable win will be deserved, and I hope it brings his loved ones some joy.

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Viola Davis (Doubt)
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Will win: Penélope Cruz
Should win: Marisa Tomei
Likeliest spoiler: Amy Adams
Why: This is probably the least predictable of the major races; I honestly think any of them could win it. Cruz acts both Vicky and Cristina right off the screen, Davis makes a deep impression in just a few minutes, and Henson provides warmth in an otherwise cold film. But Adams's and Tomei's films simply wouldn't work without them. I'm rooting for Tomei both because The Wrestler is a better film than Doubt and because hers is in many ways the tougher role.

Adapted Screenplay:
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
David Hare (The Reader)
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

Will win: Simon Beaufoy
Should win: Simon Beaufoy
Likeliest spoiler: Peter Morgan
Why: Doubt and Frost/Nixon are apparently barely changed from their original theatrical formats. The Reader has offended some people. And it really wouldn't be fair for Roth to win for Forrest Gump a second time, hardy har. Slumdog it is!

Original Screenplay:
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Jim Reardon (WALL-E)

Will win: Dustin Lance Black
Should win: Martin McDonagh
Likeliest spoiler: Stanton, Docter, and Reardon
Why: I think this'll be where Milk will get its recognition. But though people have counted WALL-E out because it is frequently silent, I still think there's an outside chance it could upset. Note that though I'm pulling for In Bruges because its actual dialogue is so sharp, Happy-Go-Lucky was my favorite movie of 2008. One day, Mike Leigh. One day.

Foreign Language Film:
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Departures (Japan)
Revanche (Austria)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

Will win: The Class
Likeliest spoiler: Waltz with Bashir
Why: I think these two are about neck and neck, but I'm giving the edge to the class because it's more traditional than the Israeli film, which is animated. Remember the lack of a Best Picture nomination for WALL-E (which was better than most of the films in that category) and no win for last year's excellent Persepolis? Of course, I just read that an inside source claims that the special committee that helps pick these this category's nominees went crazy for Departures, so who knows?

Documentary Feature:
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

Will win: Man on Wire
Likeliest spoiler: Trouble the Water
Why: Apparently Trouble the Water is unforgettable, but Man on Wire was one of the best-reviewed films in any genre last year, and deservedly so.

Animated Feature:
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E

Will win: WALL-E
Likeliest spoiler: Um, no.
Why: Seriously, this is a done deal.

Live Action Short:
Auf Der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Will win: Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Likeliest spoiler: New Boy
Why: My choices in all of the shorts categories are a result of the usual guessing game, here assisted by the fact that Toyland is Holocaust-related.

Documentary Short:
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306

Will win: Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
Likeliest spoiler: The Conscience of Nhem En
Why: It's about Martin Luther King, Jr., and issues around race have been very much in the spotlight over the last year.

Animated Short:
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

Will win: Presto
Likeliest spoiler: Oktapodi
Why: It was made by Pixar.

Cinematography:
Tom Stern (Changeling)
Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight)
Roger Deakins and Chris Menges (The Reader)
Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Will win: Anthony Dod Mantle
Should win: Anthony Dod Mantle
Likeliest spoiler: Claudio Miranda
Why: Slumdog looks so, so beautiful that even for the sake of my own accuracy rate, I don't have the heart to predict that Benjamin Button could really very well beat it. Ooh, shooting a scene in mist. Revolutionary, that. Yawn.

Editing:
Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Lee Smith (The Dark Knight)
Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill (Frost/Nixon)
Elliot Graham (Milk)
Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire)

Will win: Chris Dickens
Should win: Chris Dickens
Likeliest spoiler: Lee Smith
Why: If the Dark Knight takes this one as some are predicting, I will scratch my head even harder than I do when trying to follow the action sequences in the Batman movies. Editing fail. I thought Slumdog flowed very well.

Visual Effects:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Likeliest spoiler: The Dark Knight
Why: Okay, this is where Benjamin Button actually deserves to win one and almost certainly will.

Art Direction:
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should win: Revolutionary Road
Likeliest spoiler: The Duchess
Why: The art direction of Revolutionary Road is central to the story in a way it isn't in the other films. Sadly, no one will care.

Costume Design:
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road

Will win: The Duchess
Should win: The Duchess
Likeliest spoiler: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Why: The award usually goes to the film with the most elaborate costumes, so The Duchess is a safe bet.

Makeup:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should win: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Likeliest spoiler: The Dark Knight
Why: I haven't seen either one of the Hellboy movies, but in the images I've seen, Ron Perlman's horns just look cool. The first movie wasn't even nominated here, though, so I'm guessing they aren't going to go all the way this time. The Dark Knight could take it because the Joker's look is so iconic, but since they didn't create it, that probably won't be enough either. That leaves Benjamin Button, which does feature some nice aging makeup.

Sound Editing:
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Will win: The Dark Knight
Likeliest spoiler: Slumdog Millionaire
Why: I always read that the loudest films tend to win in the sound categories, and despite the fact that using that as my criteria hasn't worked so well in the past, I'm going with it again. This is the year! I can feel it!

Sound Mixing:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Will win: The Dark Knight
Likeliest spoiler: Slumdog Millionaire

Score:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E

Will win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should win: Slumdog Millionaire
Likeliest spoiler: Milk
Why: Slumdog's score contributes significantly to the movie's unflagging energy, and it should be recognized.

Original Song:
"Down to Earth" (WALL-E)
"Jai Ho" (Slumdog Millionaire)
"O Saya" (Slumdog Millionaire)

Will win: "Jai Ho"
Should win: "O Saya"
Likeliest spoiler: "Down to Earth"
Why: If you've seen the movie, you know exactly why people are going to vote for "Jai Ho." I'm partial to "O Saya" because the sequence it's in is magnificent, and every time I hear the song I can see it in my mind. But "Down to Earth" could win if the two end up canceling each other out.

See you back here tomorrow for the liveblog!

The Curious Case of Radio Buttons.

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:46:50 GMT

My Oscar picks are forthcoming, but first I wanted to give anyone interested in playing along with me a chance to jump in my little pool. I'll post the winner's username on Monday. Given how few people seem to be excited about the awards this year, your chances of earning bragging rights are really good. So get to clicking!

(Note that there are two separate polls. Please vote in all 24 categories.)

View Poll: Jump in!

View Poll: Continued...

A programming note.

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 03:30:42 GMT

It's that time of year again: Turner Classic Movies' annual 31 Days of Oscar begins in a few hours. Check out this pretty promo:

This year's theme is TCM University, with movies cleverly grouped together based on "department" and further categorized into "classes." For instance, March 1st is brought to you by the psychology department, which is showing Gaslight, Rear Window, Vertigo, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind in its Obsessive Behavior class. See, clever!

Looking over the lineup, have a feeling I might find myself rewatching a few well-loved favorites (Moonstruck, The Apartment, Imitation of Life, The Birds, Fiddler on the Roof, Annie Hall, Goodbye Mr. Chips, the aforementioned Rear Window and Vertigo, The Philadelphia Story). But more importantly, this could be the month I actually catch a bunch of movies I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't seen (Network, Lawrence of Arabia, Roman Holiday, Mildred Pierce, Rebecca, Sophie's Choice, The Children's Hour, Adam's Rib, The 400 Blows). Seriously, some of those have been sitting in my Netflix queue since I signed up seven years ago, so if I don't take advantage of this opportunity, I probably never will get around to them.

And now I'm off to clear some space on my TiVo.

In which Dumbledore is actually Dumbledore-like.

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:00:03 GMT

Here's all of that international HBP trailer that played on Japanese TV last week. You can hear quite a bit of new dialogue beneath the (quite enthusiastic) voiceover.

Also, there have been a bunch of new stills released over the last couple of months that I haven't posted. I have been putting them in this gallery, though, so you can check them out there if you're interested.

And the nominees are...

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:35:51 GMT

A full list of Oscar nominees is here. They're broken down by movie here. I've seen the underlined movies.

Best Picture:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

I pretty much knew The Dark Knight was out as soon as Kate Winslet's nomination for The Reader was announced in the lead category instead of the supporting (where she'd been running for a better chance at an award, despite the fact that it is a lead performance). But I was sure The Reader had the fifth slot when Ron Howard's name followed David Fincher's instead of Christopher Nolan's. There were two factors I should have remembered: never bet against a Holocaust movie, and never bet on a genre film.

Best Director:
David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
Gus Van Sant (Milk)
Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

A direct match-up with Best Picture. Boring.

Best Actor:
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

The Richard Jenkins nomination makes me very happy. He'd been counted out by the last quarter of the year, but I'm so glad he wasn't forgotten. The Brad Pitt nomination irks me despite not having seen the film, but I've thought he was lousy in every other drama he's been in, so I can't imagine this one will be any different. Brendan Gleeson deserves to be in here for In Bruges, damn it.

Best Actress:
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

This is what I loathe about Oscar: Angelina Jolie shrieking in a Clint Eastwood film gets in ahead of Sally Hawkins, who is so, so amazing in Happy-Go-Lucky. Guess I'll have to just replay her Golden Globes win over in my head. Sigh. I feel the same about Melissa Leo's nomination as I did about Jenkins', with the only difference being that I missed Frozen River, which was my biggest moviegoing regret of last year. Luckily, it's coming out on DVD a couple of weeks before the ceremony.

Best Supporting Actor:
Josh Brolin (Milk)
Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Another Oscar rule: never count out someone playing a mentally ill character, particularly when that character is a truth-teller, hence the Shannon nod. (I'm assuming it's that way in the movie; it is in the book.) Brolin was fine in Milk, but I was particularly fond of Emile Hirsch in that film, and wish it would have been him instead. (Never count against a second generation actor? That would apply to Jolie as well...) I'm quite pleased to see Downey recognized here, as it's a damn entertaining performance. But it may be even more entertaining to see him try to do a better job of hiding his aggravation when Ledger inevitably wins than he managed at the Globes.

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Viola Davis (Doubt)
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Hooray for Tomei, who's been doing some interesting stuff in indies these last few years. And though it wasn't exactly a surprise, I'm glad to see that Viola Davis will be getting at least one more month's worth of attention. She's terrific and needs to be cast in more films.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)
David Hare (The Reader)
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

Given how the rest of it shook out, no surprises here.

Best Original Screenplay:
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Andrew Stanton (Wall-E)

The most pleasing category for me, and not just because it's the one in which I've seen the most nominees. Leigh and McDonagh wrote what will likely remain my two favorite films of the year even after I see everything else. Frozen River is a teeny tiny film written and directed by a woman. Black began his passion project of a script without any backing, just because he wanted to honor Milk. And Wall-E was beautifully done; the relative lack of dialogue doesn't make it any less a great story.

Other things of note: Though it was expected, I'm happy to see the wonderful Man on Wire in the documentary feature category. The Dark Knight is rightfully recognized in several technical categories, including cinematography, but I'm just not sure it deserves one for editing. Interesting that there are only three nominees in the song category, and none of them is by Bruce Springsteen. That shaves off a few minutes of show right there!

So, there's exactly one month until the awards are handed out. Hopefully, it'll be a month chock full of moviegoing for me.

How is it the 21st already?

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:38:37 GMT

With the nominations only twelve hours away now, I'm forced to accept that I'm not going to have the time to do my usual predictions post this year. I will still be getting up to watch the announcement live, however, and I'll definitely be squeeing and WTF-ing here a short while after that.

Quickly, though, here's how I think the Best Picture race is going to shake out:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Though some prognosticators have been pulling back from The Dark Knight in this category over the last few days, I still do think Batman's going to swoop in there and take his place next to the four sure things. There's been so much bitching these past few years about how Academy voters are out of touch with the general public's taste (can you sense my eyerolling from where you are?) that I figured early on that 2009 was going to be the year a big populist movie made the cut, but I wasn't sure which one it would be until the ticket buyers, critics, and then finally the guilds anointed it. Hollywood wants to be seen as being down with the people perhaps now more than ever given that it's recently annoyed audiences with one strike and may be about to do it again, and the folks behind the telecast would also very much like to see their ratings improve. (Case in point: hiring the Sexiest Man Alive to host.) Add in the continuing fascination with the Heath Ledger story, and the momentum seems to be there.

Of course, minus Ledger and about a half a billion dollars, you could make the same argument for Wall-E's inclusion up there. I suppose that could still happen, but the knowledge that it'll all but certainly win in the Animated Feature category is probably comfort enough to all but its most rabid champions, so it probably doesn't have the votes in Picture. I think the more likely potential spoilers are The Reader (classic Oscarbait material + woman of the hour Kate Winslet ~~baring Oprah's favorite breasts~~) and Gran Torino (insiders say it started surging just in time for balloting + Clint is beloved).

Okay, so that wasn't so quick, but hey, I don't follow this stuff for months to not ramble on about it at some point. So, see you in the morning!

Smell the glove, indeed.

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:45:01 GMT

Battlestar Galactica 4.11: Sometimes a Great Notion
To quote a great and talented musician, how much more black could it be? The answer is none. None more black. And I frakkin' loved it. I haven't been surprised by an episode of television like that in quite a while.

My tired brain cannot manage much more beyond "whoa," other than it's clear that Thompson and/or Weddle must have lived in New York at some point, because watching over here in our shoebox in sight of the Brooklyn Bridge apparently meant to be evoked in that ruined skyline, we had already made the well-that's-one-way-to-lower-our-rent joke like fifteen minutes before Lee did. Clearly, they know our pain. Our deeply embittering pain.

And in the icon, one of my own favorite shots of 2006.

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:14:26 GMT

In 2007, Kris Tapley's posts outlining his choices for the top ten shots of the year was one of my favorite things encountered on the Internet. And now the 2008 installment is here! (These links are spoilery for a bunch of still-new movies -- one still hasn't even been released in the U.S. yet -- so click carefully.) Once again, it's good reading.

All golden and globey.

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:00:14 GMT

As fun as the Drunk Oscars (TM cleolinda, I think) can be, I'm saving my liveblogging energies for the Actual Oscars. Plus, paying very close attention to them is only going to remind me of how depressingly little success I've had at actually getting out to the theater. Grrrrr. Stupid healthy adult priorities.

Anyway, there'll likely be some stuff going up over on Twitter as the evening progresses. Now, I'm gonna go get me a big bowl of grapes and hope much drunken celebrity hilarity ensues.

New year, new Doctor.

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:43:07 GMT

Eeep! Tomorrow, we'll know who Eleven is:

[David Tennant's] replacement - the eleventh Doctor of the TV series - will be revealed in a Doctor Who Confidential programme on BBC One at 1735 on 3 January.

...

The casting decision has been a priority for the show's new creative team, led by executive producers Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger.

The BBC said that in Saturday's Doctor Who special "the actor playing the new Doctor will be giving his or her initial reaction" to becoming TV's most famous time traveller.

Wenger, head of drama at BBC Wales, said: "We believe the actor is going to bring something very special to the role and will make it absolutely their own.

Ooh, they threw the "or her" in there just to toy with us some more. Unless... Naah. They wouldn't, would they? Oh, what the hell am I saying? Moffat wouldn't.

Anyway, the countdown to wank begins...now! Brace yourselves.

Book report!

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:19:18 GMT

As we near the finish line, here are the books I read for pleasure in 2008:

This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor, Susan Wicklund
Good, but better aimed at inducing outrage in those less familiar with the hell U.S. providers endure to provide medical services to women.

Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
I prefer her novel over her short story collections (I always want more!), so I was particularly pleased that those in the front half of this one were quite lengthy and the ones in the back half essentially constituted a novella. She's fantastic.

Certain Girls, Jennifer Weiner
I'm not otherwise a pink bookcover kind of woman, but Weiner is a smart cookie and I'd read Good In Bed years back, so I gave the sequel a try. I was put off by the ending being more an obvious setup for a third Cannie Shapiro book than something that sensically served what had come before it, but it was otherwise a decent fluffy read.

Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God, and Diversity on Steroids, Julie Salamon
Heavier in its focus on high level administrative workings than I was expecting, but fascinating nonetheless (and all the moreso with the backdrop of my own Brooklyn neighborhood hospital beginning to fail).

When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris
After eliminating the pieces I'd already read in The New Yorker, little remained. What was left wasn't particularly memorable.

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip -- Confessions of a Cynical Waiter, The Waiter (aka Steve Dublanica)
I like the blog, I liked the book. Hey, look at me being pithy!

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
The lulz, they were epic.

Third Base Ain't What It Used to Be: What Your Kids Are Learning About Sex Today and How to Teach Them to Become Sexually Healthy Adults, Logan Levkoff
I needed a corrective to absti-teen vampires. But seriously, I read it for a Planned Parenthood event at which Levkoff spoke, and definitely recommend it to anyone who has kids in their life. A solid resource.

Downtown Owl, Chuck Klosterman
His first novel, which reads pretty much like his non-fiction. It's slightly weird, and I kind of loved it.

The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell
Slower going than Vowell usually is for me, but her stuff is always worth spending time with.

Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, Xiaolu Guo
A tiny, ephemeral little novel. Moody, which I liked.

Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates
Perceptive, often gorgeously observed, and really quite dark. Can't wait to see what they do with it in the movie, with particular hopes for more insight into Winslet's character than the book offers.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling
Amusing stuff, but I'd really like that encyclopedia now, please.

Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon, Melissa Anelli
The logical next read. It was fun to relive the fannish excitement around book 7's release.

The Timewaster Letters, Robin Cooper (aka Robert Popper)
If it's written by someone who made Look Around You, it has to be good for a post-Christmas giggle. And it was.

Further, I'm finishing out the last afternoon of the year with Watchmen in my hand, and it's threatening to be easily better than anything else I just mentioned up there. Wow, it's good.

I don't even have time to write this post!

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:34:28 GMT

Utter hilarity: Which of This Fall’s Oscar-Baiting Holocaust Movies Is Right for You? NILF, heh.

Relatedly, if you're one of my Twitter peeps, you may have seen me stressing out over the fact that as the movies I need to see OMG now have mounted up, so has my workload. As this is my favorite time of the year less because of the holidays themselves and more because I am such an arty/prestige picture kind of girl, it's killing me a little that "see movies" is literally at the bottom of an overwhelming to do list. You guys know the Oscars are sort of My Thing, so that right now the most I can manage is skimming the awards-related blogs I read is really saying something. I mean, I didn't even realize the Golden Globe nominations were being announced today! Because there's still so much I haven't seen, sadly, my reactions are mostly limited to a hearty hooray for the inclusion of Happy-Go-Lucky and In Bruges and the singling out of Sally Hawkins and Brendan Gleeson in particular, as those are my two favorite movies and my two favorite performances of the year so far.

Okay, back to work. The sooner I get through those to do list items, the sooner my butt's in a movie theater seat.

The TwiMoms, however, are another story.

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:04:20 GMT

So I was on my way home after running approximately four million errands this afternoon when I passed a cluster of pre-teen girls walking with one boy. One of the girls referred to the boy as "Em," prompting another girl, apparently just realizing that she didn't know his full name, to ask him what it was short for. He replied that it was Emilio or somesuch. This prompted yet another of the girls to say "Too bad it's not Emmett," and I swear, the resulting chorus of squee could have carried for miles.

I reflexively rolled my eyes until I remembered that at their age, I was totally one of those girls. I might have been the one swooning internally rather than screeching (I had my dignity!), but really, close enough. I loved all kinds of awful, sexist, stupid stuff as a kid, and I turned out to be pretty well-adjusted, feminist, and smart anyway. So really, when people fret about the futures of young Twilight-obsessed girls, I understand where they're coming from, but I can't get too up in arms about it. They're probably going to be just fine. They might end up having some weird thing for dudes who are into bear hunting, but hey, there are worse fates.

If I could breathe, I would vomit.

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:10:47 GMT

A sigh of the heavy variety:

ABC has canceled Pushing Daisies, executive producer Bryan Fuller confirms to me exclusively.

...

Bryan Fuller tells me, "[ABC president] Steve McPherson called me, and said 'We gave it the best shot we could.' "

According to Fuller, the facts are these: "It's very likely that Pushing Daisies will end after episode 13, which as you know, is a cliffhanger. But we are talking to DC Comics about doing comic books that will wrap up our storylines, and I already have a pitch for a movie ready to go.

"To be honest, I'm really not feeling very boo hoo about it. I am so proud of the show. We put together 22 really good episodes, and there is a lot to be proud of. I'm sure I'll be working with a lot of these people again, and I would love to do so."

As reported by the Hollywood Reporter and E! News earlier today, the ratings for last night's "Oh, Oh, Oh, It's Magic" episode were the series' worst ever numbers in the key 18-49 demographic.

There's a part of me in denial -- the part that clings to the fact that Fuller only said the show is "very likely" at an end -- that would like to point out that not getting a full season pickup this year doesn't necessarily mean it couldn't return next fall, but it's being shouted down by the weathered-by-many-a-cancellation part that sees those ratings and knows that this show was doomed by its originality from the start anyway. ABC will inevitably blame the interruption caused by the writers' strike for killing three of their sophomore dramas (Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money are also getting the boot, apparently), and doubtlessly, it did provide them with a unique challenge. But I can't help but think that their promotions department easily could have done better by them than they did.

Anyway, I'm glad that we might get some closure plot-wise, but right now I'm having trouble getting past the suckage of the situation. I miss all of those wonderful characters already. Damn.

Alas, July.

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:10:57 GMT

Just saw that another Half-Blood Prince trailer has been released. Leaky's got all kinds of linkage.

Um, yeah, so that's pretty terrific. Highlights: the look on Dumbledore's face as they face the cave, like he knows it's nearly his end. The dark mark atop Hogwarts. That it looks like they're going to play Ron collapsing like it's funny, which will only make the realization that he's been poisoned all the scarier. "It is also a lie." Hermione crying. Dan's acting in general. Snape the non-coward. And, okay, fine, Draco in the bathroom.

Falling in love with Tim Curry in 3 easy steps? Step 1: this. Step 2: Clue. Step 3: Rocky Horror.

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:04:25 GMT

I'll admit it: I'm one of those killjoys who thinks Halloween is for children. I may have to try really hard not to roll my eyes when I see someone who could just as well be standing next to me at the polls on Tuesday dressed up like a slutty nurse, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a nostalgic look back at what I enjoyed when I was younger and more fully in the spooky spirit.

And so I present to you the cheesiest, campiest, most technically creaky bit of 80's TV special I ever loved.

Le sigh.

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:55:04 GMT

WTF, BBC? Losing me David Tennant* and Russell Brand** in the same day? Jeez. Way to bum me the fuck out there, guys.

* I'm not at all surprised he's ready to move on, and I'm glad we got to keep him as long as we did. But wow, is that regeneration going to be a weepfest for me. Oh, Ten.

** Were the calls inappropriate, particularly outside of the context of the radio show? Sure. Did they make me laugh? Um, yes. I get why people are pissed, but the intensity of the reaction is a little ridiculous. Matt Morgan, I'll miss you most of all.