Monday, March 8, 2010

Independent Spirit Awards

I made some changes on here because of some opinion changes due to my seeing more of the nominees & winners. I didn't get to see the Indie Awards because I don't have the IFC channel, and for some reason they didn't play them on Bravo this year. However, I love the Indie Awards and always make sure to add all the noms and winners to my blockbuster queue to see all of them. In pink are my picks for winners.


Best Feature

Best First Feature

Best Foreign Film


Best Documentary

No opinion.

John Cassavetes Award

No opinion.

Humpday (2009)

Truer Than Fiction Award

No opinion.

Someone to Watch Award


Robert Altman Award

A Serious Man (2009)


Grand Total:

Precious-5

Crazy Heart-2

A Serious Man-2

Messenger-1

(500) Days of Summer-1

Humpday-1

An Education-1

Easier With Practice-1

Exploding Girl-1

Santa Mesa-1


Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Hurt Locker

Plot: This film follows an EOD team in Iraq during a year tour. EOD stands for Explosive Ordinance Disposal. These are the guys that handle bomb threats and IEDs (improvised explosive device).

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Guy Pearce, and Ralph Feinnes

Review: Harrowing and at times hard to watch, this film very accurately portrays a tour in Iraq; however the lead character, who seemed to follow the same rule book as Dr.House, recklessly puts himself in immediate danger through out the entire film as if he's indestructible. His character seemed larger then life, and therefore, inaccurate. A pet peeve of my husband (an Iraq vet) is when films portray soldiers as superheroes. That is the only flaw in this movie. Everything else about this movie, if you can stomach the carnage, is brilliant. The director did things with a camera I've never seen before in a war film, choosing to follow bullet shells falling to the ground rather than going the simple direct route of whatever target they are after, is just one example. These choices are never pretentious. They are never different for different sake, and they all serve the film and it's message. This film starts seemingly straight forward but then gradually reveals itself to actually be a character study of one man with an extraordinary job. Brilliant, dark, and directed by a woman.

Awards: Nominated for nine Oscars this year: Picture, Cinematography, Editing, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound, Director, and Actor:Jeremy Renner

Nominated last year for 2 Independent Spirit Awards: Lead Actor: Jeremy Renner & Supporting Actor: Anthony Mackie


Rating: Acting-A
Writing-A
Directing-A
Music-A
Cinematography-B
Editing-A
Costumes-A
Art Direction-A
Makeup-A
Visual Effects-A

***1/2 Stars


Friday, March 5, 2010

2009 Oscar Winners

I decided it was very important for me to include a post about the Oscars. Here are all the nominees & winners with my pick of the winners in BOLD. These are my opinions of who I think deserved each award the most. Put your reactions in the comments section.

Best Picture
'Avatar'
'The Blind Side'
'District 9'
'An Education'
'The Hurt Locker'-winner
'Inglourious Basterds'
'Precious'
'A Serious Man'
'Up'
'Up in the Air'

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock 'The Blind Side'-winner
Helen Mirren 'The Last Station'
Carey Mulligan 'An Education'
Gabourey Sidibe 'Precious'
Meryl Streep 'Julie & Julia'

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges 'Crazy Heart'-winner
George Clooney 'Up in the Air'
Colin Firth 'A Single Man'
Morgan Freeman 'Invictus'
Jeremy Renner 'The Hurt Locker'

Best Supporting Actress
Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)-winner
Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009/I) good in
it but not even deserving of a nomination
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (2009)
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009/I) good role
for her but there were moments of way over the top acting.


Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz 'Inglourious Basterds'-winner
Matt Damon 'Invictus'
Woody Harrelson 'The Messenger'
Christopher Plummer 'The Last Station'
Stanley Tucci 'The Lovely Bones'

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008) totally deserved & the first female to ever win a best director Oscar-winner
James Cameron for Avatar (2009)
Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal-winner
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger (2009/I): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

Best Adapted Screenplay
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher-winner
District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education (2009): Nick Hornby
In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Cinematography
Avatar (2009): winner
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009):
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009):
The Hurt Locker (2008):
Inglourious Basterds (2009):

Best Editing
The Hurt Locker (2008): winner
Avatar (2009): James Cameron
District 9 (2009):
Inglourious Basterds (2009):
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009):

Best Art Direction
Avatar (2009): winner
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009):
Nine (2009):
Sherlock Holmes (2009):
The Young Victoria (2009):

Best Costume Design
The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell-winner
Bright Star (2009): Janet Patterson
Coco avant Chanel (2009): Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Monique Prudhomme
Nine (2009): Colleen Atwood


Best Makeup
Star Trek (2009): Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow-winner
Il divo (2008): Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano
The Young Victoria (2009): John Henry Gordon, Jenny Shircore

Best Original Score
Up (2009): Michael Giacchino-winner
Avatar (2009): James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer


Best Original Song
Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")-winner
Faubourg 36 (2008): Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas ("Loin de Paname")
Nine (2009): Maury Yeston("Take It All")
The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Almost There")
The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Down in New Orleans")

Best Sound Mixing
The Hurt Locker (2008): winner
Avatar (2009):
Inglourious Basterds (2009):
Star Trek (2009):
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009):

Best Sound Editing
The Hurt Locker (2008): winner
Avatar (2009):
Inglourious Basterds (2009):
Star Trek (2009):
Up (2009):

Best Visual Effects
Avatar (2009): winner duh
District 9 (2009):
Star Trek (2009):

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Up (2009): Pete Docter-winner
Coraline (2009): Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog (2009): John Musker, Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells (2009): Tomm Moore


Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
El secreto de sus ojos (2009)(Argentina)-winner
Ajami (2009)(Israel)
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)(Germany)
Un prophète (2009)(France)
La teta asustada (2009)(Peru)

Best Feature Documentary
Again no opinion
The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens-winner
Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land (2008): Anders Østergaard, Lise Lense-Møller
Food, Inc. (2008): Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009): Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home (2009): Rebecca Cammisa

Best Short Subject Documentary
No opinion.
Music by Prudence (2010): Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett-winner
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) (TV): Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009): Daniel Junge, Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) (TV): Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Królik po berlinsku (2009): Bartosz Konopka, Anna Wydra


Best Animated Short Film
Logorama (2009): Nicolas Schmerkin- winner- hell yeah. This short is awesome.
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (2008): Nicky Phelan, Darragh O'Connell
La dama y la muerte (2009): Javier Recio Gracia
Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV): Nick Park
French Roast (2008): Fabrice Joubert

Best Live Action Short Film
No opinion
The New Tenants (2009): Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson-winner
The Door (2008): Juanita Wilson, James Flynn
Istället för abrakadabra (2008): Patrik Eklund, Mathias Fjällström
Kavi (2009): Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish (2009): Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey


Grand Totals:
The Hurt Locker-6
Avatar-3
Precious-2
Crazy Heart-2
Up-2
The Blind Side-1
Inglorious Basterds-1
Young Victoria-1
Star Trek-1

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Valentine's Day

Plot: A group of intertwining stories about love set to the backdrop of the Valentine's Day holiday. Whatever feelings, pressures, and expectations these characters have about this holiday are played out on screen. Everything from first love, to new love, to old love is represented.

Review: This film was a very straight-forward, likable ensemble comedy along the lines of He's Just Not That Into You and Love Actually. It was sweet. It was funny. I love the fact that it takes place on Valentine's Day because I am a sucker for a theme. Although not very original, isn't going to catapult anyone's career, and shouldn't win any awards, it was still enjoyable. The acting was good. Anne Hathaway was hilarious, and Taylor Swift was actually quite funny (though hearing her song play at the end made me want to run out of the theater). Ashton Kutcher, however, needs to change up his roles with another "Butterfly Effect" role because he's starting to bore me again. I liked the different stories, but there was unequal focus amongst them with too much focus on Ashton Kutcher's story and not enough on the married couple. Favorite vignette? I really liked the soldier story with Julia Roberts, but I'm biased in that regard. Best chemistry? Well that would be a spoiler so I'll just put that opinion at the bottom after the star rating with a spoiler alert. At the end of the movie, I was happy to have watched it. It made me laugh. It's a definite keeper because it literally is a Valentine's Day movie. The only thing I'm left wondering is what happens to Patrick Dempsey's character at the end? They weren't really clear. Be sure to stick around for the bloopers during the credits. Funny!!! Beware men: This is a total chick flick.

Rating: Acting-B

Writing-C

Directing-B

Music-C- That's because of you Taylor Swift

Cinematography-B

Editing-B

Costumes-B

Art Direction-B

Makeup-C I thought Jessica Biel had way too much makeup on.

Hair-C I hate Jessica Alba as a blonde.

Visual Effects-B

**1/2 Stars


!!!!!Spoiler Alert!!!!!!

Favorite couple?

Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Garner surprisingly.