Oscar time!

Oscar weekend is finally upon us!   I can't believe a year has passed - it seems like yesterday I was gushing about SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and bitching about THE READER.  There always seems to be a special energy in the air during Oscar time in Los Angeles - maybe because so many stars are in town.

On a less positive note, I had to go to drinks in Hollywood yesterday and it took me over 30 minutes to drive there from West Hollywood.  It's because that damn Hollywood Blvd is closed because of the Oscars.  Such a pain!  Does it make me a bad person if I hope it rains tomorrow during the red carpet arrivals?

I will be Oscar party hopping tomorrow and am part of a couple pools (one of which is with my arch-nemesis Cinescapist).  I'm hopping on the AVATAR bandwagon - I won a big industry-wide pool when I first started in Hollywood by jumping on the RETURN OF THE KING bandwagon and I think I'll do the same this year.  Here are my predictions for the winners:

Best Picture:
AVATAR

Best Actor:
Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART

Best Actress:
Sandra Bullock, THE BLIND SIDE

Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

Best Supporting Actress:
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS

Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER

Best Original Screenplay:
THE HURT LOCKER

Best Adapted Screenplay:
UP IN THE AIR

Best Cinematography:
AVATAR

Best Art Direction:
AVATAR

Best Costume Design:
NINE

Best Sound:
AVATAR

Best Editing:
AVATAR

Best Sound Editing:
AVATAR

Best Visual Effects:
AVATAR

Best Makeup:
STAR TREK

Best Song:
CRAZY HEART

Best Score:
AVATAR

Best Animated Short Film:
A MATTER OF LOAF OR DEATH

Best Live Action Short Film:
THE DOOR

Best Documentary Short:
CHINA'S UNNATURAL DISASTER

Best Documentary Feature:
THE COVE

Best Foreign Language:
THE WHITE RIBBON

Best Animated:
UP

MPL Awards 2006

There are also no big surprises here.  I love DREAMGIRLS (I do enjoy my musicals), and debated for a long time whether or not to include it in my Best Picture picks - but I do have some issues with the movie.  I also think LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA is excellent, so it was a really tough call.  After much debate, I went with Clint - it's such a powerful story and he did an amazing job interpreting it.

I was confused with what acting nominations to give THE DEPARTED.  I guess SAG gave Leo lead for BLOOD DIAMOND and supporting for THE DEPARTED?  If we had to deliberate I would agree with the Golden Globes and give him lead for both.  I also think he's good in both, so it's hard to choose between the two.  But if I have to make a Sophie's Choice, I'm leaning toward the performance directed by Scorsese.  And I think Djimon Hounsou, not Leo, is the standout in BLOOD DIAMOND.

And then only Mark Wahlberg ended up getting the Oscar nom for supporting?  I just don't think he had a substantial enough role - the interrogation scene with Leo and Alec Baldwin is awesome, but I feel he kinda disappears after that until the end.  Maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I think Jack Nicholson's role is much meatier, and like always he is amazing in it.  So in the end I went with Leo for Best Actor and Jack for Best Supporting Actor, and I'm standing by it.

I think Ryan Gosling is great in HALF NELSON, but the movie as a whole didn't impress me as much and I am reluctant to give him a nod.  I debated about Sasha Baron Cohen in BORAT for a bit, because I do think his comedic acting is just as hard as dramatic acting (if not harder) - but then I came to my senses.  THANK YOU FOR SMOKING is smart, funny and thought provoking - and I eventually chose Aaron Eckhart for the last slot, mainly because I liked his performance and the movie more than the others in contention.

I also had a long debate about Jackie Earl Haley.  Like with Wahlberg, I just don't think his role is substantial enough to get a nom.  Yes, he has the powerful scene in the end with that annoying retired cop Larry involving scissors.  But is that enough?  I personally don't think so.  I decided to go with Michael Sheen, who I thought was totally shafted for his role in THE QUEEN.  He held his own against Helen Mirren's amazing performance, which in my opinion was definitely not that easy to pull off.


Best Picture
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, THE DEPARTED
Aaron Eckhart, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
Peter O'Toole, VENUS
Will Smith, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz, VOLVER
Judi Dench, NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren, THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet, LITTLE CHILDREN

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Djimon Hounsou, BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy, DREAMGIRLS
Jack Nicholson, THE DEPARTED
Michael Sheen, THE QUEEN

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza, BABEL
Cate Blanchett, NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson, DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi, BABEL

Best Director
Clint Eastwood, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Stephen Frears, THE QUEEN
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, BABEL
Paul Greengrass, UNITED 93
Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED

Best Original Screenplay
BABEL
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN

Best Adapted Screenplay
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
DREAMGIRLS
LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL

The Cheapening of the Oscars

Am I the only one who thinks that expanding the Best Picture nominees to 10 has cheapened the Oscars a little?  I think it used to be, back in the day, pretty difficult and prestigious to get an oscar nod.  Not to say it still isn't, but it seems to me that it's lost some of its "specialness".

I thought there were 5 noteworthy movies this year that should be recognized:

AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

But the rest?  Not to say they weren't good movies, but Best Picture nominee worthy?  THE BLIND SIDE?  Really?  I love inspirational stories, but come on.  And I thought AN EDUCATION was lovely, but is it really in the same league as the five movies I just mentioned?  The one exception, in my opinion, is DISTRICT 9 - I really do think it deserves the recognition it is getting.  It will change the way movies are made.  And the fact that Neill Blomkamp made a movie for only $30 million that looks like it was made for over $100 million, and the fact that the movie actually made over $100 million in the box office.

If the Academy had just kept it at five, I think everything would have been ok.  AVATAR broke every box office record and deserved the Best Picture nomination it got.  And even INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS made a penny or two.  I know they shafted THE DARK KNIGHT last year and want to make the Oscars accessible to a more broader audience, but I don't think this was necessarily the best year to have expanded to 10.  I'm shocked THE HANGOVER didn't get a nod (which I'm not dissing, I absolutely love this movie).

MPL Awards 2007

There are no real surprises here, with the exception of Best Actor.  I don't get SWEENEY TODD - it's a pretty dark story to begin with but somehow Tim Burton managed to make even darker.  Maybe I just don't get the genius of Tim Burton?  Although I did love EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.  And has anyone seen IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH?  It's a good enough movie but I don't think Tommy Lee Jones deserves a nomination for it.  Maybe because they feel they shafted him for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN?  Who knows.

I love ATONEMENT, so I'm going with James McAvoy for Best Actor, along with Saoirse Ronan for Best Supporting Actress.  I know some people may disagree about McAvoy but I really do love that movie and think he is beyond sexy in it.  That library scene?!?  Talk about steamy.  For the final slot I thought long and hard about it, and finally decided to go along with SAG and give it to Ryan Gosling for LARS AND THE REAL GIRL.  I thought he gave a pretty gutsy performance, and found the movie quite charming!

Best Picture
ATONEMENT
JUNO
MICHAEL CLAYTON
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Best Actor
George Clooney, MICHAEL CLAYTON
Daniel Day-Lewis, THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Ryan Gosling, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
James McAvoy, ATONEMENT
Viggo Mortensen, EASTERN PROMISES

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Julie Christie, AWAY FROM HER
Marion Cotillard, LA VIE EN ROSE
Laura Linney, THE SAVAGES
Ellen Page, JUNO

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES
Javier Bardem, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Philip Seymour Hoffman, CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR
Hal Holbrook, INTO THE WILD
Tom Wilkinson, MICHAEL CLAYTON

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, I'M NOT THERE
Ruby Dee, AMERICAN GANGSTER
Saoirse Ronan, ATONEMENT
Amy Ryan, GONE BABY GONE
Tilda Swinton, MICHAEL CLAYTON

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Joel & Ethan Coen, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Tony Gilroy, MICHAEL CLAYTON
Jason Reitman, JUNO
Julian Schnabel, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

Best Original Screenplay
JUNO
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
MICHAEL CLAYTON
RATATOUILLE
THE SAVAGES

Best Adapted Screenplay
ATONEMENT
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
INTO THE WILD
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Speaking of Julie Powell.....

My friend just told me that she has a friend who worked with Julie Powell and she would bring her Julia Child leftovers to work.  She said it was disgusting and that Julie is a terrible cook!  Go figure

My Julie Powell-esque quest

I've finally decided what it's going to be.  Because I'll probably never have the time ever again to do this, I'm going to try and go back and come up with my own Oscar lists for every year, including nominations.  Which means I'm going to have to watch every movie that was in contention that year...I've already seen a bunch of them, so armed with my trusty blockbuster.com account, I think I can do it.  I've decided stop at 1939, which many critics have said was Hollywood's golden year for movies.  It will get harder the farther back I go - but I think that is what's going to make it fun.  Maybe I'll be able to watch as many movies as Marty Scorsese has!

I, of course, have my list from last year readily handy.  I have my issues with THE READER, but as I said to my archrival Cinescapist, I just couldn't bring myself to put a Batman movie in my Best Picture list.  So like the Academy, I will succumb to the Weinstein's bully campaigning and choose THE READER as my final choice for Best Picture.

I really like GRAN TORINO and love Clint's modern-day Dirty Harry character, so I'm giving him the final slot for Best Actor.  I think THE VISITOR is a charming movie, but there isn't really anything about Richard Jenkins' performance that really impressed me enough to think he deserves a nomination.  And although I think Meryl is absolutely amazing in DOUBT, I do think it's about time to give Kate the Oscar.  How risky was it for her to show her breasts nowadays?  They are definitely not as firm as they were in Titanic.

I love, love, love SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, so I'm going to agree with SAG and give Dev Patel the nod for Best Supporting Actor.  I know Kate was shafted for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, but does that mean we have to give Michael Shannon a nomination to make up for that?  I don't think so.

Best Picture
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Actor
Clint Eastwood, GRAN TORINO
Frank Langella, FROST/NIXON
Sean Penn, MILK
Brad Pitt, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Mickey Rourke, THE WRESTLER

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Angelina Jolie, CHANGELING
Melissa Leo, FROZEN RIVER
Meryl Streep, DOUBT
Kate Winslet, THE READER

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, MILK
Robert Downey Jr., TROPIC THUNDER
Philip Seymour Hoffman, DOUBT
Heath Ledger, THE DARK KNIGHT
Dev Patel, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, DOUBT
Penelope Cruz, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Viola Davis, DOUBT
Taraji P. Henson, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Marisa Tomei, THE WRESTLER

Best Director
Danny Boyle, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
David Fincher, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Ron Howard, FROST/NIXON
Chris Nolan, THE DARK KNIGHT
Gus Van Sant, MILK

Best Original Screenplay
FROZEN RIVER
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
MILK
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
WALL-E

Best Adapted Screenplay
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
FROST/NIXON
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best of 2009

I know everyone is debating over AVATAR or THE HURT LOCKER for Best Picture, and if either wins it will be deserved.  But since these are my own personal picks, I'm going with UP IN THE AIR as my favorite of the year.  I just love this movie - I thought it was excellent in every aspect - writing, directing and acting.  I do think that Jason Reitman may be talented.

Jeff Bridges is amazing in CRAZY HEART but since these are my personal preferences I'm going with Colin Firth.  Mostly because I think Tom Ford is so beyond hot, and I don't care if I lose credibility because of that.  And as I said in my brief review of JULIE & JULIA, Meryl Streep is a revelation.  She continues to blow me away with her amazing acting abilities.  The fact that she can go from a role like Sister Aloysius in DOUBT to Julia Child, just shows how incredibly talented she really is.

I decided to go with Kathryn Bigelow for Best Director.  Not only does she deserve to win it, I think it's about damn time a woman wins this award.  Jane Campion came the closest but I do think Spielberg rightfully won that year.  And I know everyone is saying INGLOURIOUS will win for Best Original Screenplay, but I'm rooting for THE HURT LOCKER.  Quentin may be a genius filmmaker, but I just think he knows this a little TOO much and may be full of himself.  I'm pulling for the underdog.

Best Picture:
UP IN THE AIR

Best Actor:
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN

Best Actress:
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA

Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Best Supporting Actress:
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS

Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER

Best Screenplay:
Mark Boal, THE HURT LOCKER (original)
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, UP IN THE AIR (adapted)

Best Animated:
UP

Best Foreign Language:
THE WHITE RIBBON

Thank you, Julie Powell

I finally got around to watching JULIE & JULIA, because I didn't feel like paying $14 to see it at the Arclight when it was in theaters and it was the next movie on my blockbuster.com cue. I was mixed about the movie overall. I thought it was pumped with a little too much estrogen - and I'm very estrogen-friendly. In fact, I probably have more estrogen than some of my female friends. Not to be crude, but I felt like Nora Ephron was rubbing her vagina in my face in some parts. I thought Julie was a little too whiny and both male romantic leads were a little too "sensitive". But on the bright side, Meryl Streep is an absolute revelation. President Obama should name her a national treasure and we should have annual Meryl Streep appreciation days. It sometimes shocks me how well she can act - her intonation, her reflection - it's all perfection.

Also on the bright side, I walked away from this movie with something very important. Inspiration. Julie Powell has inspired me to also write a blog, because I've also been bored and stagnant lately. But my passion is not food - it's movies. I've loved movies ever since I was very young. My father is a conservative, Republican, stoic Asian man - so you can guess that we pretty much have nothing in common. But I remember one day, I think I was about 10 years old, we sat down one weekend afternoon and watched HIGH NOON together. My father loves old westerns, especially ones with John Wayne in them. I remember watching the scene where the clock strikes noon, and Gary Cooper is all alone. After everything he had done for that town to keep it safe, how could none of them come to his aid? My father and I bonded for the first time over that powerful moment and I've loved movies ever since. Not to sound cheesy, but I think film has the power to get people together who think very differently.

I have to think of something clever like Julie to blog about in relation to film, but in the meantime I can blog about Hollywood's biggest event - the Oscars. Here are my predictions for tomorrow's announcement of this year's nominations. I'm in a bitter competition with my archenemy Cinescapist, who is also a cinephile. We've been betting on the predictions with a small tracking board we're both on for the last 3 years, and although it's been very close I've lost to him all 3 years. This will be my year of redemption!

Best Picture

AVATAR

CRAZY HEART

THE HURT LOCKER

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

INVICTUS

NINE

PRECIOUS

A SERIOUS MAN

UP

UP IN THE AIR

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART

George Clooney, UP IN THE AIR

Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN

Morgan Freeman, INVICTUS

Viggo Mortensen, THE ROAD

Best Actress

Emily Blunt, THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Sandra Bullock, THE BLIND SIDE

Helen Mirren, THE LAST STATION

Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION

Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA

Best Supporting Actor:

Woody Harrelson, THE MESSENGER

Anthony Mackie, THE HURT LOCKER

Christopher Plummer, THE LAST STATION

Stanley Tucci, THE LOVELY BONES

Christoph Waltz, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Best Supporting Actress

Penelope Cruz, NINE

Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR

Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR

Diane Kruger, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER

James Cameron, AVATAR

Clint Eastwood, INVICTUS

Jason Reitman, UP IN THE AIR

Quentin Tarantino, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Best Original Screenplay

THE HANGOVER

THE HURT LOCKER

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

A SERIOUS MAN

UP

Best Adapted Screenplay

CRAZY HEART

DISTRICT 9

AN EDUCATION

INVICTUS

UP IN THE AIR