Ok, so the dust has settled and the Oscars are over. Wow, I was way off on my predictions. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't win anything either. I guess that's why I have a blog and not my own show on T.V. I'm just glad that "The Hurt Locker" won out over "Avatar" for best picture. It truly deserved it. "Avatar" took home a few technical awards which was fine. Although I was surprised that it took home the cinematography award? For a film that was mostly CGI, really?? It was also nice to see Kathryn Bigelow (the first woman) bring home the directing prize. Did you notice that they had Barbara Streisand give the award out? Do you think that the academy was projecting who might win? Outside of that though, I thought that this years Acadamy Award's program was one of the worst produced in a long time. Random shots of unknown people looking bored. Cameras swinging into position. Super close ups of award winners. It didn't feel like the Oscar's at all. I could go into more but I have to get back to work.

2010 Oscar Predictions

Ok, I haven't had much time to write much lately but I figured with the Oscars coming up on Sunday what better subject then my Oscar predictions. Listen, Everyone else is giving their opinion so why not me? Now, these are the predictions that I'm going with in local pools. These are my best guesses. Take them for what they are and good luck.

Best Documentary Features
-Burma VJ
-The Cove
-Food Inc.
-The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers
-Which Way Home

I believe that this is a race between two films. "The Cove" and "Food Inc." Both powerful in their own right. I'm going with "The Cove." At times, it moved me to tears.


Best Animated Feature Film
-Coraline
-Fantastic Mr. Fox
-The Princess And The Frog
-The Secret Of Kells
-Up

This has to be one of the strongest years in memory for animated feature films. That being said, the momentum is behind the people at Pixar and their film "Up." The opening scene 10 to 15 minutes alone is just amazing.


Best Documentary Short Subject
-China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears Of Sichuan Province
-The Last Campaign Of Governor Booth Gardinar
-The Last Truck: Closing Of A GM Plant
-Music By Prudence
-Rabbit A La Berlin

Tough one. I'm narrowing it down to two human interest stories. "China's Unnatural Disaster" and "The Last Truck." I'm leaning towards "China" but don't be surprised if voters go with a story closer to home about the American car industry.


Adapted Screenplay
-District 9
-An Education
-In The Loop
-Precious
-Up In the Air

I LOVED District 9. It was one of the most original movies of the year. But it just doesn't have the support from the Academy. "In the Loop" had some brilliantly funny moments but couldn't finish with the same spice it started with. I think that "Up In The Air" has this one in the bag. Smart from open to close. Plus, it's won most critic awards up until now.


Original Screenplay
-The Hurt Locker
-Inglourious Basterds
-The Messenger
-A Serious Man
-Up

Many believe that this is where Tarantino COULD sneak in and win an Oscar. Listen, I'm a big fan of his but I felt that "Basterds" was a decent film with brillint moments. As a whole, not Oscar winning worthy though. I'm going with "The Hurt Locker."


Achievement In Visual Effects
-Avatar
-District 9
-Star Trek

This is a lock for Avatar. No question.


Achievement In Film Editing
-Avatar
-District 9
-The Hurt Locker
-Inglourious Basterds
-Precious

It could be "Avatar" but I'm going with "The Hurt Locker."


Best Foreign Language Film
-Ajami
-El Secreto De Sus Ojos
-The Milk Of Sorrow
-Un Prophete
-The White Ribbon

This is another really tight race between two films. Between "Un Prophete" (France) and "The White Ribbon" (Germany). It could go either way. I'm going with "Un Prophete."


Best Live Action Short Film
-The Door
-Instead Of Abracadabra
-Kavi
-Miracle Fish
-The New Tenants

Some really moving films in this catagory but "Miracle Fish" stands out to me.


Best Animated Short Film
-Frech Roast
-Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
-The Lady And The Reaper
-Logorama
-A Matter Of Loaf And Death

I'm going with "A Matter Of Loaf And Death." How can I not go with another Wallace and Gromit short from Nick Park.


Achievement In Sound Mixing
-Avatar
-The Hurt Locker
-Inglourious Basterds
-Star Trek
-Up

This one is all "Avatar."


Achievement In Sound Editing
-Avatar
-The Hurt Locker
-Inglourious Basterds
-Star Trek
-Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

I'm going to split my vote on this one from sound mixing and move away from "Avatar" and go with "The Hurt Locker."


Achievement In Costume Design
-Bright Star
-Coco Before Chanel
-The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnasus
-Nine
-The Young Victoria

There are 3 period dramas which could split the vote. I'm going with "Coco Before Chanel." Showing the transition of woman's apparel during Victorian times should win.

Achievement In Art Direction
-Avatar
-The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus
-The Hurt Locker
-Sherlock Holmes
-The Young Victoria

The question is do I go with one of the period dramas or one of the fanatasy related films? I'm leaning towards one of the fantasy. Now, is it "Avatar" or "Dr. Parnassus?" The voters will probably go with "Avatar?" For me, I'm going with "Dr. Parnassus." It may be hard to believe but this films is unbelievable looking.


Achievement In Cinematography
-Avatar
-Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
-The Hurt Locker
-Inglourious Basterds
-The White Ribbon

Again, I'm putting this as a two film race. "The Hurt Locker" or "The White Ribbon?" I'm going with "The Hurt Locker." "The White Ribbon" was a beautifully shot film in black and white but "The Hurt Locker" put you in the driver's seat so you felt like you were the one disarming bombs in Iraq.


Achievement In Make Up
-Il Divo
-Star Trek
-The Young Victoria

Come on Star Trek!! They have to get something?!?!? Honestly, they should have been in the best picture catagory istead of some of the others that made it. This would give "Star Trek" something.


Achievement In Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
-Almost There from The Princess And The Frog
-Down In New Orleans from The Princess And The Frog
-Loin De Paname From Paris 36
-Take It All from Nine
-The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart

Again, the awards have been going to "Crazy Heart." It is the strongest of all the songs. "The Weary Kind" it is.


Achievement In Music For Motion Pictures (Original Score)
-Avatar
-Fantastic Mr. Fox
-The Hurt Locker
-Sherlock Holmes
-Up

With this one I'm going with "Up." From the comedic moments to the dramatic, Michael Giacchino's score keeps perfect pace with the film.


Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
-Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
-George Clooney In Up In The Air
-Colin Firth In A Simple Man
-Morgan Freeman In Invictus
-Jeremy Renner In The Hurt Locker

Jeff Bridges has the momentum here.


Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
-Matt Damon In Invictus
-Woody Harrelson In The Messenger
-Christopher Plummer In The Last Station
-Stanley Tucci In The Lovely Bones
-Christoph Waltz In Inglourious Basterds

Christoph Waltz is a lock. For anyone else to win would be the upset of the century. He has won every award since last spring's Cannes Film Festival.


Performance By An Actress In a Leading Role
-Sandra Bullock In The Blind Side
-Helen Mirren In The Last Station
-Carey Mulligan In An Education
-Gabourey Sidibe In Precious
-Meryl Streep In Julie & Julia

Ok, many feel that Sandra Bullock has the momentum here and that she is going to win. Others feel that Ms. Streep hasn't won an award since the "Sophie's Choice" in the early 80's so she's due. I'm going WAY out on a limb and saying that Ms. Mulligan will win the best actress Oscar. I think that so much is going back and for for Bullock and Streep that they could split the vote and a newcomer could sneak in and win it? Carey Mulligan will win for best actress.


Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role
-Penelope Cruz In Nine
-Vera Farmiga In Up In The Air
-Maggie Gyllenhaal In Crazy Heart
-Anna Kendrick In Up In The Air
-Mo'Nique In Precious

Like Mr. Waltz in his respective catagory Mo'Nique has this one in the bag. She has won just about every award since the film has been released.


Achievement In Directing
-James Cameron for Avatar
-Katheryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
-Quintin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
-Lee Daniels for Precious
-Jason Reitman for Up In The Air

All are deserving of their nominations but it's a race between the ex's. James Cameron and Katheryn Bigelow. I'm going with Ms. Bigelow. She deserves to win this award. (and it's not because Cameron already won for "Titanic.") "The Hurt Locker" is a much stronger film then "Avatar."


Best Motion Picture Of The Year
-Avatar
-The Blind Side
-District 9
-An Education
-The Hurt Locker
-Inglourious Basterds
-Precious
-A Serious Man
-Up
-Up In The Air

My favorite film was "District 9." Hands down. Smart, well told science fiction story which is a rarity. But the Academy voters liked the slick pretty pictures of "Avatar." My runner-up film of the year is the film I'm picking to win and that's "The Hurt Locker." It's biggest advatage is that its has an original story. "Avatar" is basically "Dances With Wolves" in space.

Why is Hollywood talking to me as if I'm stupid?

The other day I wrote about how there is a flood of low brow comedies coming out in theaters weekly. Today I want to expand on that and go into how film makers in Hollywood feel that they have to explain everything to us. Just because a particular item or theme in the film is important doesn't mean you have to beat us over the head with it. Give us some credit. We'll figure it out. There are so many examples but these are just a few.

Academy Award winning picture "Crash." A film about racism in our society. I loved the acting but thought that the message was forced. Every example painted each character strongly biased towards one ethnicity or another. I would have prefered and thought that the film would have succeeded more to show the shades of grey and different degrees of racism. It would have been more realistic to portray the elements from the subtle to the blatant.

"The Spanish Prisoner" by David Mamet. A few of my friends love this movie. Hey, I'm a fan of Mamet as well but I just thought it was ok. There is a scene when the main character, Joe, is standing on line and pondering the mystery that has unfolded over the past hour of my time. In the background a woman is scolding her child about a book. "Look what you did to your BOOK! You ripped your BOOK! Why did you do this to your BOOK?!?!!" All of a sudden Joe has an epiphany. It's the BOOK that's the key!! Why didn't I think of it before?! Is the woman referring to her child's book 5 or 6 times really necessary? Couldn't I have figured out that it was that important when you had multiple shots of THE BOOK earlier in the film?

"Invictus" is Clint Eastwood's most recent release about Nelson Mandela and his South African rugby team inspiring his nation to unify. Over all the story telling was decent but it was full of gimmiks to tug on our heartstrings meaning to inspire us. Jeez Clint, you are a great FILM director not a music video director. You don't need some country band singing over a particular moment of the film to inspire. Over use of slow motion as well. Is this the same person that made "Letters Of Iwo Jima" and "Unforgiven?" Both almost perfect films. Come on Clint! Let the story tell itself.

Hasn't the success of such films as "The Sixth Sense," "The Prestige," "The Usual Suspects" and more recently "No Country For Old Men" proven that subtly goes a long way? They may not be perfect but at least they make us, the audience, use our brains. Not everything has to be explained. Then if we haven't figured it out right away we'll come back for a second or third viewing to help process the storytelling. I love watching an intelligent movie over and over and seeing something new or different each time. That's what smart film-making is all about. Not talking down to us. Give us the benefit of the doubt. At least challenge us to figure it out.

Is the Hollywood Comedy Dead?

There was a time when a Farrelly Brother's-esque comedy would punctuate with low-brow fare once or twice a year. Now it seems to be the norm. Vince Vaughn and Judd Apatow are king. I love to laugh. But finding a truly funny comedy lately is becoming a rarity. I'm no elitist. I think that "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" is hysterical. "Blazing Saddles, never get tired of it. Ever since the success of "There's Something About Mary" Hollywood is grinding out potty humor like there's no tomorrow. With each film trying to best (or worse as the cast may be) the last big hit. How low can you go is the new motto. Is there something wrong with me? Why are my friends who see "Wedding Crashers" and "Knocked Up" touting them as the funniest films they've seen in years? I found "Wedding Crashers" forced and "Knocked Up" just drawn out and boring. My brother told me I should watch the movie "Old School." He couldn't believe that I hadn't watched it yet. After seeing it, I understood why I waited so long? He then told me that it gets funnier after the 6th or 7th viewing!! I didn't like it the first time, why the hell would I watch it again?!? I turned the big 4-0 in October, maybe that's it? Growing up on a diet of Abbott and Costello and the Marx Brothers may say something? Classic, fast talking, physical comedy. I understand that Hollywood is trying to get teenagers and twenty somethings in for repeat viewings. When I was a teenager we had such John Hughes staples as "The Breakfast Club" and "Sixteen Candles" to give us a taste of teenage life. Not "American Pie." How many kids do you know who want to experience sex for the first time turn to their mom's apple pie?

The funniest films I've seen in recent years were all barely a blip on anyone's radar. "Lars And The Real Girl," what's that? "Everything Is Illuminated," I've never heard of it? These were small independent films that had little or no money behind them for advertising. The only people that believed in them were the film crew and the actors working on them. The studios that distributed them released them but either in limited cities or direct to DVD. They put there money behind films like "40 Year Old Virgin" and "Meet The Parents" becoming the biggest hits the year the were released. There has to be a happy medium. But I guess while audiences continue to buy tickets for the potty humor train Hollywood will continue pushing them into our face. If I may, keep an eye out of those little films that you've never heard of. Look for small films that receive good reviews and add them to your Netlix list or write them down. You might be surprised how good they are? (and without the laxative humor)

2009 Performances by Actresses up for Oscar

I've been sitting here for about 10 minutes trying to figure out which subject to talk about? I have a couple of ideas. Then I realize, just start typing, you'll have the opportunity to write about each of them.

Today I'm going into judging an actresses performance. I have a couple of friends at work who are into film as well. We're always talking (sometimes heatedly) about what each of us has seen recently and what we thought about the acting, writing and/or directing. One of those friends in particular (I'll call him Joe) is a fanatic for Meryl Streep. She can do no wrong. He believes that she IS the greatest actress that has EVER graced the screen. Don't get me wrong. Meryl Streep is the greatest living screen actress we have still working today. But even she admits that her track record can be over-rated. ("She-Devil," "Music Of The Heart" (which she receive an Oscar nomination) and "River Wild?") Every time she comes out with a new film "Joe" starts raving, "This is it!! She's going to be nominated again this year!" Well, this year Ms. Streep did put out two fine performances. My favorite being from "Julie & Julia" giving her an unprecedented 16th nomination. She did do a great job portraying Julia Childs. So this year "Joe" I'll grant that Ms. Streep's nomination is warranted. But was it THE best?

Meryl's greatest threat for bringing home the Oscar for best actress though this year, Sandra Bullock from the film "The Blind Side." I enjoyed this film very much. A nice, inspiring film. Do I think that Sandra Bullock gave one of her better performances as an actress, yes. Do I think that she took a chance and pushed herself someplace completely out of character and deserves to win, no. I think what makes "The Blind Side" succeed is the whole package. The writing, directing and acting. The director, John Lee Hancock, did his job and reigned Ms. Bullock in from her usual mugging for the camera performances to fit the needs of the film. So my admiration doesn't go to Ms. Bullock as much as it goes to Mr. Hancock.

The same could be said for Lee Daniels, the director of the film "Precious" and his actresses. I finally had the opportunity to see the film recently and WOW, what a movie!! I realize that Mo'Nique is only up for a supporting award but she gave (what I thought) was the finest performance by ANY actress this year. But "Joe" thinks that it's a joke that she's even nominated. Have you seen this film?? I didn't even recognize her in the opening minutes of the movie. Here is an actress that has up until now played goofy, slapstick comedy. Now she finds a director that redirects her energy and pushes her to a place that I don't think that she even realized she could go as a performer. What a difference!

For me, it all comes down to expectations. If you're Meryl Streep, I expect you to bring your "A" game. You're Meryl Streep. Most likely the film is being made because you're Meryl Streep. Sandra Bullock, great job. Think about taking some cues from Mo'Nique. Find a part that pushes you outside the safety of your warm, fuzzy, comedic box. You're a big enough star that your career can handle the change. Mo'Nique, I'll be pulling for your on Oscar night. Your performance left me with my mouth wide open. Truly remarkable. "Joe," it's your kind of thinking that's been holding the Academy Awards back for a long time now. That's why they have the lifetime achievement award. No edge. (unless it's in the screenplay category.) But that's the subject for another time.