Oscarworthy

I've already posted my list for the Best Movies of 2009 so you can pretty much figure my guesses for my Oscar picks, but here's my picks and predictions.

Since this year the voters rank all 10 Best Picture nominees in order, here's what I would have put down. (The short of it is, the most popular movie in general may win over a movie that gets more #1 picks but I guess we will see how it turns out.)

Best Motion Picture of the Year
1. Up
2. District 9
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. The Hurt Locker - WILL WIN
5. A Serious Man
6. Up in the Air
7. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
8. Avatar
9. The Blind Side
10. An Education

Since it's really down between the big movie Avatar and the little movie The Hurt Locker, I'm hoping The Hurt Locker prevails.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart - WILL WIN
George Clooney for Up in the Air
Colin Firth for A Single Man - SHOULD WIN
Morgan Freeman for Invictus
Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side - WILL WIN
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Carey Mulligan for An Education
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire- SHOULD WIN
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon for Invictus
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds - WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz for Nine
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN

Best Achievement in Directing
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker - WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN
James Cameron for Avatar
Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
The Hurt Locker: Mark Boal - WILL WIN
Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger: Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
A Serious Man: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up: Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy - SHOULD WIN

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
District 9: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education: Nick Hornby
In the Loop: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche - SHOULD WIN
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire: Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - WILL WIN

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Avatar: Mauro Fiore - WILL WIN
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte: Christian Berger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker: Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds: Robert Richardson - SHOULD WIN

Best Achievement in Editing
Avatar: Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
District 9: Julian Clarke
The Hurt Locker: Bob Murawski, Chris Innis - WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN
Inglourious Basterds: Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire: Joe Klotz

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Avatar: Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair - WILL WIN
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith - SHOULD WIN
Nine: John Myhre, Gordon Sim
Sherlock Holmes: Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
The Young Victoria: Patrice Vermette, Maggie Gray

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Bright Star: Janet Patterson
Coco avant Chanel: Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: Monique Prudhomme - SHOULD WIN
Nine: Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria: Sandy Powell - WILL WIN

Best Achievement in Makeup
Il divo: Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano
Star Trek: Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow - WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN
The Young Victoria: John Henry Gordon, Jenny Shircore

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Avatar: James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox: Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker: Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes: Hans Zimmer
Up: Michael Giacchino - WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Crazy Heart: T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham ("The Weary Kind") - WILL WIN
Faubourg 36: Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas ("Loin de Paname")
Nine: Maury Yeston ("Take It All")
The Princess and the Frog: Randy Newman ("Almost There") - SHOULD WIN
The Princess and the Frog: Randy Newman ("Down in New Orleans")

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Avatar: Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson - WILL WIN
The Hurt Locker: Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett - SHOULD WIN
Inglourious Basterds: Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Mark Ulano
Star Trek: Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson, Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Avatar: Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle - WILL WIN
The Hurt Locker: Paul N.J. Ottosson - SHOULD WIN
Inglourious Basterds: Wylie Stateman
Star Trek: Mark P. Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin
Up: Michael Silvers, Tom Myers

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Avatar: Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones - WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN
District 9: Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken
Star Trek: Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

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

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

Best Documentary, Features
Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land: Anders Østergaard, Lise Lense-Møller
The Cove: Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens - WILL WIN
Food, Inc.: Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers: Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home: Rebecca Cammisa

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province: Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner: Daniel Junge, Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Królik po berlinsku: Bartosz Konopka, Anna Wydra
Music by Prudence: Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett

Best Short Film, Animated
French Roast: Fabrice Joubert
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty: Nicky Phelan, Darragh O'Connell
La dama y la muerte: Javier Recio Gracia
Logorama: Nicolas Schmerkin
Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death': Nick Park - WILL WIN

Best Short Film, Live Action
The Door: Juanita Wilson, James Flynn
Istället för abrakadabra: Patrik Eklund, Mathias Fjällström
Kavi: Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish: Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey
The New Tenants: Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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Christmas Memories - A Whole New World

Remember when the Oscars were epic?

Man, I just found my favorite clip from the Oscars back in 1993, when Lea Salonga and Brad Kane sang "A Whole New World from Aladdin. Our family drove down to Disney World that Christmas and my sister and I re-played "A Whole New World" non-stop for the ENTIRE TWO DAY DRIVE. I'm surprised my parents didn't murder us on the way in Tennessee. This song just makes me think happy Christmas thoughts. It doesn't have anything do with Christmas but it reminds me of the Disney World trips we used to make. Plus, I rewatched this Oscar clip over and over again back then. So glad someone has posted it digitally! (Tho I swear I probably still have it on VHS somewhere):





What happened to Brad Kane anyways? He was so great in the Broadway revival of She Loves Me, had a great voice and was quite handsome. (Apparently he's a producer on Fringe?! And apparently had a second career as Caleb Kane? Wow... so much I'm learning. I'm gonna have to investigate!

I've also been having nostalgic memories of Miss Saigon. The first stage musical I saw live. I saw it again years later and realized it's not the best musical, but I still really want to see it again now. "I Still Believe" with Lea Salonga and Claire Moore (from the Original London cast):



Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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Live From The Red Carpet - Random Thoughts From The Peanut Gallery

I'm recovering from a busy weekend and eschewed any Oscar parties this year so that I could be bitchy on my couch tonight, so here's some random incoherent thoughts (though I'm taking a break for The Amazing Race which thankfully, CTV is showing at 7pm tonight before their telecast of the Oscars) on the red carpet that I'll continuously update:
UPDATE: Okay, I'm live blogging the whole Oscars it seems. See below:

Red carpet microphone holders Ben Lyons (for E! and son of critic Jeffrey Lyons) and Ben Mulroney (for CTV's eTalk and son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney) are kind of twats aren't they? Though Ben Mulroney is slightly less heinous than Lyons. Though I will admit Lyons is way cuter. On the other hand, that's all he's really got. The beauty, but not the brains.

Those kids from Slumdog Millionaire are adorably hilarious. Love that the kid didn't actually love the flight over from India. Angelina is probably readying her adoption lawyers already!

I can't tell if I hate Dustin Lance Black for being only 29 and being nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Milk or if I hate him because he's so cute and gay and cute (did I say that already?)?

Can Ryan Seacrest be more self-serving and plugging that little show that he's on called American Idol in what seems like every interview?

Okay, Ryan Seacrest is now forgiven for asking Ron Howard about Arrested Development movie news. (And the news sounded good!)

Oh god, LOVE Taraji P. Henson! She won't win for this year (and shouldn't) but eventually she will! (She SHOULD have been nominated for Hustle and Flow and Talk To Me.

8:11: I'm surprised they haven't shoved Entertainment Weekly's Jess Cagle onto TV more often. Dude's kinda hot. And WAY better than the Bens and Ryan.

8:12: Shouldn't Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens be getting ready for the musical number? Or is this tape delayed? Not loving Zach's hair though but I'm guessing he just ran out after showering from rehearsals so I'll forgive him.

8:13: As much as I love Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I would be elated if Viola Davis won instead. Though Marissa gave a tremendous performance and deserves it too.

8:14: Oh Miley, I highly doubt you'll be there next year getting an award for her next movie role. Ah the young and naive.

8:20: Oh that's sweet. Tim Gunn is trying to sound serious as he riffs off what the accountants are wearing (which just looks like every other penguin suit).

8:23: Jack Black + Jess Cagle. Hilarious in the faux-pas!

8:25: Michael Giacchino is musical director for tonight's Oscar? Awesome! Now when are they finally going to give one of those guys to him? Seriously. All his Pixar scores are incredible (like The Incredibles which he should have won for) and his TV stuff (Alias, Lost) are such part of the shows.

8:28: Oh, that's it! Time for the show! Time for Hugh!

8:39: Hugh Jackman is THE BEST! That "Reader" bit was hysterical. Finally someone worthy of taking over Billy Crystal's mantel.

8:42: There's going to be a lot of Standing O's tonight isn't there?

8:46: Whoopi is so underrated. So funny with just that one nun line and look.

8:47: I'm not sure how they're going to keep things at 3 hours with this overlong intros but I do like having the 5 previous winners there. Classy. Just could be quicker. Yay Penelope!

8:50: Okay, first commercial break. Nomination readings could be quicker but so far loving the glittery set (shiiiinnnny!) and LOVE LOVE LOVE Hugh Jackman as host. He deserves an Oscar nomination for Wolverine already just so we guarantee his return next year! Did I not tell you Hugh was going to be great? Even his post-musical number jokes were funny. Funnier than a few recent "comedian" hosts.

8:53: Steve Matin, Tina Fey and Steve Martin. LOL!

8:56: I officially hate Dustin Lance Black and need to marry him.
Yay for DLB though I would have preferred Wall*E. When are the Pixar folks going to get some love (outside the Best Animated Category)
Damn, even his speech is moving. Damn you DLB for looking so hot in that tux and that swoop hair.
UPDATE: And yes Esther, I'm jealous crazy in love.

9:01: Was that Brad Rowe in the background bringing the Oscar to the podium? Isn't that weird, since he's kind of a ringer for Brad Pitt? Or does that partially count into the contractual obligations of showing Brad and Angelina all through the night? And so the Slumdog sweep begins (with Simon Beaufoy winning!)

9:05: How is that Space Monkeys movie actually getting airtime at the Oscars? That's just wrong. Fair, but wrong.

9:07: Woo! Wall*E! That circle in the round railing that guards the stars from the "other folks" seems a little hierarchical though. Poor Stanton who is out of the circle.

9:10: Pretty good night so far. Even the unknown Japanese guy winning for Best Animated Short was funny!

9:18: They didn't spare anything with the look of the show this year! Love the "set" for the Sets Oscar. Though I'm a sucker for words in lights.

9:22: Whoa, Daniel Craig made a funny!

9:32: Mocking Joaquin Pheonix? Really? Not that it doesn't deserve it but on the Oscars? Will the rest of the world even get it? (Can you tell I'm not a Ben Stiller fan?)

9:42: What a brilliant way to mock The Love Guru!
And to give props to Milk! Oh James Franco! Love!

9:47: You know it's a good night when even the DP (Janusz Kaminski) is funny! Take that former comedian hosts who weren't that funny!

9:52: OOH. The Musical segment!???

OH it IS Spencer Liff! (next to Hugh) (Broadway's Equus, Cry Baby)

God, they do love Beyonce at the Oscars don't they?

I don't think I ever pictured Beyonce and Hugh together but it's kinda giving me chills.

Oh yay finally High School Musical! Zac! Vanessa! They aren't even that bad live. Though Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper sort of get lost in the whole number don't they? Still, I would have thought they would have used the youngun's more, but kudos for attempting a huge musical number! Still, it mostly worked cause of Hugh and Beyonce. And really Hugh!

10:03: Oh Cuba, What have you done lately? A reminder to all Oscar winners. It's still no guarantee...

10:07: Oh right, here comes the Standing O for Heath Ledger. May he RIP.
And as expected, he wins.
Standing O.
Bravo
My eyes are actually slightly watery.

10:11: Nothing profound but I kind of like the intro interviews with the Documentary directors. Very docu-like. I really need to see Man on Wire and Trouble The Water.

10:17: Circus tricks with Oscar! From the Man on Wire!

10:19: Re: Angels and Demons commercial on CTV: The first movie sucked but EWAN MCGREGOR? I HAVE to see THIS.

10:26: I guess Will Smith was one of those celebrities they were "hiding" from the red carpet. Though doesn't he show up every year?

10:27: I don't know why I'm surprised they gave Visual Effects to Benjamin Buttons and not TDK but I am.

10:35: Dev Patel and Freida Pinto pumping their fists at Slumdog's editing win! So cute!

10:37: Commercial break. The show is really moving along swiftly. Other than the first multiple actress intro during Best Supporting Actress, it hasn't seemed that slow this year. Even the technical awards and shorts weren't boring. So far so good! (Granted we still have the memorials, governor's award and accountants to come).

10:48: Now that the tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis is over (sorry, I never got him), the movie trailer for The Proposal actually looks cute. I mean, Sandra Bullock and a naked Ryan Reynolds. How can you go wrong?

10:50: Oh, the scores! Score! (Did anyone else watch Revolutionary Road and notice the score? I mean, it was SOOOO NOTICEABLE. Kind of intrusive actually. It definitely helped take points off the movie for me.). Wish Wall*E could win but I actually loved Slumdog Millionaire's score here and it's a definite lock.

10:54: Yup. I was right. Still don't love Zac Efron's slicked back hair. I want to mess it up a bit. Man, Alicia Keys is so beautiful. I wish I loved her music more than I do.

10:56: It's too bad M.I.A. couldn't be here to co-perform her best Best Song nominee for Slumdog. John Legend sounds great. Love the literal drop of the red material backdrop that was brought down at the start. Nice simple theatrical move. I'm kinda digging the live mix of the two movie songs.

11:00: Wow. "Jai Ho" won. I'm actually surprised. I don't know why, since it was pretty much written.
Also, I LOVED LOVED LOVED the movie The Wrestler. But The Boss' song was not THAT good.

11:07: Whoa, in the first truly shocking win, Departures from Japan won Best Foreign Language film. Beating Waltz with Bashir (which I thought was overrated though the animation was spectac) and The Class (the other major competition that people thought might have a chance of beating Waltz). I guess people just did NOT like Waltz

11:15: I know I should be respecting the tribute but I think I was just mesmerized by all the gigantic screens floating on stage. I'm all about the asymmetrical images on a canvas.

11:18: No speech from the pres! Woohoo! More smiles from Hugh! Woohoo!

11:25: Danny Boyle! And I guess Best Actress is next, considering all the previous winner clips. Whoa, what a group of actresses! Sophia Lauren! Shirley MacLaine, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry. Sumptuous!

11:32: Oh finally, Kate has an Oscar! Hoorah! Anne looked positively excited for Kate! Love Anne. Any other year and Anne would have won. Damn Kate and Meryl! She will! But FINALLY Kate won. I know it was pretty much predicted since her nom. but now it's done!

11:37: Boys turn! nice Lineup! Anthony Hopkins, Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley and Adrian Brody! Another Standing O!
Though where's last years winner? Or does Daniel Day do these things? (Hmm... we've seen a LOT of his Nine costars present. Weren't like 3 in the Best Actress presentation?)

11:40: Why is Richard Jenkins sitting in the 3rd row behind people I don't even know (seat fillers?). Even when he's nominated, he gets no respect. Too bad he won't win. So is it Rourke or Penn? My money went from Penn to Rourke over the last 2 days. My personal pick did the same.

11:42: Ghandi is presenting the "Wrestler"? Rourke is shaking.

11:43: Sean Penn wins! Oh, I was wrong. Still happy though! And Sean Penn is funny! Seriously, I know the producing team didn't produce that but compared to some previous years, this has been a generally entertaining Oscars. Even with a very predictable list of winners.

11:49: It's a very strange Best Picture intro with old movies mixed in with the current noms.

11:52: ... and the Oscar goes to... Slumdog Millionaire! Okay, not really a surprise now but again, considering 6 months ago it wasn't even on the radar, it's pretty huge!

11:55: And at 3 hours and 25 min. This might be one of the shorter awards and only clocked in 25 min. late (on an already shorter 3 hour planned time. Usually it's 3.5 hours anyways isn't it?) Nice way to shill the future movies! Might as well while you have the audience!

Can't wait for Julie & Julia, 500 Days of Summer, Fame and Up! I think The Soloist may actually hurt Robert Downey Jr.'s credibility with me. Oooh, a clip of Amelia! See you all next year!

Okay, so that was probably one of the breeziest Oscars in a LONG time. And that's considering almost every winner was predictable. I'm totally pronouncing Hugh Jackman as the new Billy Crystal and the show was generally well produced and a classy but amusing affair! WHEW!

Here's the full list of winners.

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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And The Hugh Goes To...

You know everyone's going to be complaining about the Oscars again on Monday but I'm just going to say this now. I'm gonna LOVE IT. Ya ya, it's possibly one of the most predictable Oscars since Titanic now with Slumdog leading the way (although if you think about it, it's still pretty amazing since it wasn't even on the radar just 6 months ago until it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival).

But with Hugh Jackman hosting! How can he go wrong? All he has to do is stand there and smile and I'll be happy (and I imagine that goes for all women, gays and straight male comic book fans too, which pretty much covers almost everybody (who counts)).

Though if Hugh could just go shirtless for part of the show, it would be spectacular!

And I know I'm gonna hear people say... what was with the musical numbers? but you KNOW I'm gonna LOVE IT. I think I almost fell off the treadmill when I heard Hugh talk about it on Oprah yesterday.

Hugh Jackman! Anne Hathaway! Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens from High School Musical 3 (hey, where's Ashley Tisdale's nomination?) and Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia! It's going to be a musical extravaganza and I can't wait! (Also, apparently if you want to start dating someone, just co-star in a movie musical) Or as Dame James likes to put it, a "batshit crazy musical sequence". Seriously! Can't wait! And produced by Baz Luhrman. It might be a complete mess but it's going to be a visually stunning star studded mess!



As Esther pointed out. Look at those biceps on Hugh. Holy moly. At least if he can't go FULLY shirtless at the Oscars (what, is that crass?), then he can at least wear cutoff's and show those puppies at some point.


Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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More Awards Towards Oscar Night

I didn't realize I get the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Canada, so I missed a chunk of it when I flipped by it. No huge surprises...

But I just love that Meryl Streep still gets excited when she wins the award. It's like, don't you know you're the best actress in Hollywood? Don't you?

Also, after seeing The Reader last night, Kate Winslet is officially the Meryl Streep of the younger generation. I mean, I've said that before. But now I'm REALLY saying it. Again.

And whoa, Slumdog Millionaire won Best Cast Performance in a Motion Picture! Not Milk, Benjamin Buttons or Doubt which had starrier casts in solid performances. There really is nothing that can stop this underdog train towards Oscar night, is there? Even though I know this award is SAG's version of Best Picture, there was still doubt they would vote for a movie with no big names and a mostly new cast, which just shows how strong Slumdog Millionaire's support has grown. (And it won the Producers Guild Award this weekend too).

Of course, let the backlash being, though really, I haven't heard much except for Dame James Henry who ranted against it like the Diva he is. Not as much as usual Oscar year buzzworthy movies and not as much as The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons and The Dark Knight (usually two camps that are against one another).

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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Best Picture Nominations List. Done!

I have now seen all 5 Best Picture nominations! More on my thoughts coming soon. As well as my Best of Movies 2008, eventually (probably by the time we're halfway through 2009 at this rate).

Only 10 more movies and I'll have seen all the films with nominations (not counting the shorts, docus, and foreigns).

So next up on my list, The Wrestler, Doubt, Revolutionary Road, Frozen River, Changeling, Bolt, Happy-Go-Lucky, Defiance, Australia, Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Somehow I have a feeling I'll never get to Hellboy II.

But yes, now that I've seen all 5 nominees for Best Picture (The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, my pick is still Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture.

And while The Dark Knight is NOT PERFECT (you hear that fanboys? Yah, wanna step outside?), and I'm actually going to readjust some of the grades on my sidebar for the final tally (which I'll probably post now right before the Oscars), I do now wish that it WAS nominated. But not over The Reader. No, keep that in for SURE.

No, Benjamin Buttons should NOT be on the list. It's good. It's not great.

(The Dark Knight is really an A-, not an A, Benjamin Buttons is a B or B-, not a B+, Frost/Nixon is a B+, not an A-. Waltz With Bashir is a B, not a B+)

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

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Whoa, Did Oscar Actually Get Some Things Right?

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com:

Wow. I was not that excited about the Oscar nominations (full list with my predictions and picks below) this year for some reason, hence why I didn't bother doing predictions since I thought it was going to be very obvious choices popping up this morning, but it wasn't really! (I wasn't even going to do a post, and it's early morning and I only have a few seconds but I'll update this again later with more thoughts after I have time to digest the noms. I'll also eventually get my Best of Movies 2008 list out, obviously already very late, but I'm still catching up)

Seems like a lot of the critics picks actually made it through.

Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road in Best Supporting Actor.

Richard Jenkins for The Visitor in Best Actor.

Melissa Leo for Frozen River in Best Actress.

The Reader for Best Picture.

NICE! I'm actually impressed.

I mean I can get nitpicky and wished that Wall*E replaced The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons or that Sally Hawkins (for Happy-Go-Lucky) got the spot Angelina Jolie took (though really it's because Leo go the slot. Only one no-name per list I guess). I would have loved to see more people from The Visitor get nominations but I knew that was never going to happen so just having Jenkins make it through is pretty cool already.

No The Dark Knight. Wow. Only one popular movie into the Best Picture category this year and I think it's heading towards a Slumdog Millionaire win. If we weren't in a recession, TDK might have had better chances.

Gus Van Sant (for Milk) and Stephen Daldry (for The Reader)!

Interesting to see Kate Winslet get the Best Actress nom for The Reader and not Revolutionary Road (with no nom for Leo) since she won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for The Reader. UPDATE: Low Resolution makes a great hypothesis that Kate could have gotten nominated THREE times but because you're not allowed to be nominated twice in one category, and in two categories for one role, she may have cancelled herself out.

Original Screenplay noms for Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges and Frozen River!

Here is the full list of nominations. Bold is my prediction. *** is my vote. * is my second choice (Though I haven't seen The Reader yet)

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk *
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire ***

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

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
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

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 DIRECTING
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk *
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire ***

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E ***

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frozen River , Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh
In Bruges, Martin McDonagh *
Milk, Dustin Lance Black
WALL-E, Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter ***

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth
Doubt, John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon, Peter Morgan
The Reader, David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight *
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road ***

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight *
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire ***

COSTUME DESIGN
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *
The Duchess
Milk ***
Revolutionary Road

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters At The End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From The Balcony Of Room 306

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

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz With Bashir

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

MUSIC (SCORE)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
Defiance, James Newton Howard
Milk, Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman ***
Wall-E, Thomas Newman *

MUSIC (SONG)
"Down to Earth" - WALL-E *
"Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire ***
"O Sava" - Slumdog Millionaire

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
La Maison En Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Okatapodi
Presto
This Way Up

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Auf Der Strecke (On The Line)
Manon On The Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E ***
Wanted *

SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight ***
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted *

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight ***
Iron Man

More After the Jump...

The Underdogs Finally Prevail!

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com:

The Golden Globes Awards were on. Yay. (Finger in the air in circles)

Okay. I actually do love them but considering everyone else is live blogging the damn thing, I can't be bothered.

But considering the awards show got a LOT right (or at least acceptable), AND there were a lot of funny speeches and intro (The best: Ricky Gervais, runners up: Anybody from 30 Rock including Tracy Jordan, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin), it was a good year.

Yays on Kate Winslet winning everything! To make up for losing at the Oscars every damn time. Meryl eat your heart out. Also, yay for looking so smokin' hot! Eat your heart out James Cameron.

Yay for Colin Farrell. He may be a bad boy but he sounds SOOO good in his native Irish accent. (I just thought of something very dirty with the words lick and Irish Cream but I won't say it. I think I'll go have some Bailey's now...)

Yay for the Slumdog Millionaire sweep! Dev Patel and Freida Pinto looked SOOOO cute on the red carpet! Yay to Danny Boyle! The composer! Simon Beaufoy! And for now being the official front runner to the Oscars! I feel like doing a Bollywood dance now!

Yay for newcomer Sally Hawkins and for showing that not everybody has a stylist still.

Yay for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I liked In Bruges more but I'm happy with this choice.

Yay for Jenna Fischer who looked positively HOT!

No huge surprises but Yay for Mad Men, Wall*E and Heath Ledger.

As for the boos:

Boos to Renee Zellweger for her dress and her hair. WTF was that? Sally Hawkins is an unknown actress from England and has an excuse. You can afford it ReyRey, and you have no excuse. (And what's with that new Alaskan movie you're doing with Harry Connick Jr. anyways? Lame).

Boos to The Wrestler for Bruce Springsteen's song (not Mickey Rourke's Best Actor award. Everyone loves a comeback!). Another Springsteen song? Really? Because it sounds so different than the last bunch of songs he did for movies? I once loved Brucie but now it all sounds the same.

Boos to Laura Dern in her cartoonish performance in Recount. The rest of the cast was awesome but really? For Laura?

Boo to Will Arnet who looked positively bored when Heath Ledger won and they started slowly giving him the obligatory standing ovation. Love you Arnet but at least fake some sympathy.

Boo to Jeremy Piven for showing up. I thought you were sick?

Really? to Anna Paquin? Was she that good in True Blood?

Really to Waltz With Bashr? The concept was neat and the animation was incredible but it was SOOO self-involved and contrived and the movie would have been so much more powerful if the narrator didn't drone on and on about himself and his dreams all in an effort to "remember".

Gabriel Byrne huh? really?

And so much for John Adams? I mean, I love Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson but another one for someone in a Mini-series over Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother? I'm sick of this sh#t.

But okay okay... generally it was a pretty good night.

I think I'll go do that basketball dance now.

More After the Jump...

Latest Couple - Hugh and Oscar

Apparently Hugh Jackman is the non-comedian surprise who is going to host the Oscars this year.

All he has to do is take off his shirt and do a few cartwheels. This is going to be the best Oscars EVER!

Well straight guys may not love it but did they ever love the Oscars anyways?

That being said, Hugh Jackman, hosting a celebration of great achievements in film, doesn't exactly have the best resume. I mean, I LUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRVE him. I'll have his babies, wipe his car, clean his windows, whatever for him. And the dude is talented. But he is pretty terrible at picking good films to star in.

Not counting the X-Men franchise that made him famous, is the next best thing to ogle him in Kate and Leopold or Someone Like You (which does have the advantage of having Greg Kinnear along for the ride, but might have been a better movie simply by calling it its original name Animal Husbandry or Animal Attraction)? I mean, he was HOT in Swordfish but that movie was the BOMB (not da bomb. THE Bomb). I still have yet to see Australia but I've heard very mixed reviews.

Anyways, you KNOW he's going to show off his dancing and singing Broadway skills. Rumour is he's going back to Broadway in Houdini. Or something. He just wants to go back to Broadway. The Oscars could be a warmup. Just don't forget to take that shirt off Hugh.

More After the Jump...

And The Golden Globes Go To ... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The Hollywood Foreign Press announced their Golden Globe nominations and they must be getting as old as the Emmy and Oscar nominators. Usually the Globes can be counted on for some fresh picks but this year the choices are pretty straight-laced and staid. Especially since all the critics awards are pouring out and the love seems to be spreading all over for outside-the-box fare (listed all at the bottom).

Here's the main Golden Globe nominations:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Milk missed the cut. Then again, so did Doubt. I've only seen the under-Slumdog Millionaire and glad the little indie movie made the cut. Oh wait, The Dark Knight didn't make the cut either. Ouch.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Mickey Rourke? Sean Penn? Frank Langella? What is this? The 80's? Okay, but this was the predicted list so no huge surprises. Though no Richard Jenkins? I was hoping for that breakthrough. Or even Dev Patel. That would have been awesome.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kristin Scott-Thomas, I've Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Yay for Hathaway and Kristin! Meanwhile Streep competes with new-Streep Winslet. Oh wait, what happened to Cate Blanchett? for Jolie too?

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

What, no High School Musical 3? I really hoped WALL*E would make the grown up tables category, especially when the it's-not-actually-made-well-but-fun-cause-it's-Abba Mamma Mia got in.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
James Franco, Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey

Yay Bardem!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey

Yay Rebecca Hall!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes, The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Okay, Tom Cruise was very funny in Tropic Thunder. I guess he's the gay to replace all the Milk guys?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Solid group with another one for Winslet! And yay for Viola Davis! Too bad she bumps out Taraji P. Henson for the Black Actress spot. Heavens forbid there be two.

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road

Guess they are doing a complete shut-out for The Dark Knight (except for Heath) and Milk (except for Penn)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E

I didn't love Waltz with Bashir but it seems to be this years "smart" animated movie pick but I guess people know Kung Fu Panda more. (Granted, I actually liked it)

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Dexter, Showtime
House, Fox
In Treatment, HBO
Mad Men, AMC
True Blood, HBO

Should I be surprised that The Wire and Friday Night Lights get shut out again? But for House? Yah, it had a great resurgence this year but then fell back to its old (boring) ways. And how is Lost which had the best year ever be completely shut out? I'm all for supporting the cable networks but just because it's on cable, doesn't mean it's automatically the best thing on TV.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY
30 Rock, NBC
Californication, Showtime
Entourage, HBO
The Office, NBC
Weeds, Showtime

Should I be surprised that Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, The New Adventures of Old Christine or The Big Bang Theory were shut out for cable fare? Am I the only one not that impressed with Californication? And while I love Entourage, it did not have a great year.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors

If Kyle Chandler could be squeezed in, I would be okay with this. Well, Laurie is getting old news but on the other hand, he's the main reason FOR the show at this point.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
January Jones, Mad Men
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

If Connie Britton could replace Sedgwick, I would be okay with this. Well, maybe Hargitay needs a break here. But yay January Jones!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Kevin Connolly, Entourage
David Duchovny, Californication
Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Yay Connolly! He's totally the heart of Entourage and never given the credit. Boo Shalhoub. Monk is still ON? Where's Jim Parsons? Jeffrey Donovan? Lee Pace?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Mary Louise-Parker, Weeds

Applegate yes. Ferrera yes. Fey yes. Louise-Parke yes. Messing maybe. I actually like her in The Starter Wife but the role is a bit self indulgent from producer... Debra Messing...

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins, Cranford
Laura Dern, Recount
Melissa George, In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment

I always hate these categories that combine the Mini-Series and Made-for-TV-Movies with regular series and even then, Laura Dern? Her performance in Recount was comically cartoonish and over the top. Where's Becky Newton? Vanessa Williams? Sandra Oh? Adrianne Padelecki? Wanda Sykes? Yunjin Kim? Elisabeth Moss? Kristin Chenowith?

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary, Recount
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Blair Underwood, In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

Where's Mark Urie? Clark Gregg? Hamish Linklater? Gaius Charles? Zach Gilford? Terry O'Quinn? John Slattery? Chi McBride?


L.A. Critics Award
Best Picture: Wall-E
Runner-up: The Dark Knight

Best director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Best actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, Frozen River

Best actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best screenplay: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York

Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Elegy
Runner-up: Viola Davis, Doubt

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky

Best foreign-language film: Still Life
Runner-up: The Class

Best documentary: Man on Wire
Runner-up: Waltz With Bashir

Best animation: Waltz With Bashir


N.Y. Critics Award
Best picture: Milk
Best director: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Best actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best supporting actor: Josh Brolin, Milk
Best supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best screenplay: Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married
Best cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best animated film: WALL-E
Best foreign film: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
Best documentary: Man on Wire
Best first film: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River


D.C. Critics Award:
Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke The Wrestler
Best Actress: Meryl Streep Doubt
Best Ensemble: Doubt
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Rosemarie DeWitt Rachel Getting Married
Best Breakthrough Performance: Dev Patel Slumdog Millionaire
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Screenplay: Jenny Lumet Rachel Getting Married
Best Animated Feature: Wall•E


The National Board of Review:
Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire 
Best Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino 
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married 
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, Milk 
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona 
Best Foreign Language Film: Mongol 
Best Documentary: Man on Wire 
Best Animated Feature: Wall-E 
Best Ensemble Cast: Doubt 
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire 
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Viola Davis, Doubt 
Best Directorial Debut: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River 
Best Original Screenplay: Nick Schenk, Gran Torino 
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire and Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 
Spotlight Award: Melissa Leo, Frozen River and Richard Jenkins, The Visitor 
The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: Trumbo

Top Ten Films:
Burn After Reading
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Milk
Wall-E
The Wrestler

Top Five Foreign Language Films:
Edge of Heaven
Let the Right One In
Roman de Gare
A Secret
Waltz with Bashir

Top Five Documentary Films:
American Teen
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Dear Zachary
Encounters at the End of the World
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired


Critics Choice Award:
BEST PICTURE
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Beckinsale, Nothing But the Truth
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt

More After the Jump...

The 2008 Oscars - Yay! Norbit didn't win!

Did anybody tell the stylists, PR agents and fashion experts that the writers strike was over and the Oscars were back on? Because apparently no one was doing their job.

Or they couldn't find a nice dress in 3 weeks? Because was it me or was there more hideous outfits than recent years, great for us armchair critics and Joan Rivers, bad for glamour and the designers.

Not one outfit wowed me, at best, they didn't make the actress look totally horrible or anything.

As for the winners, no huge surprises in the male categories or the main ones. Thank god Norbit did not win (for Makeup, La Vie En Rose took the honours).

I yelped a big yay when Tilda Swinton won (for best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton), then yelped again with fright when I saw her dress (if that's what you can call it).

Even though I thought both Julie Christie (for Away From Her and Ellen Page (for Juno) both deserved to win, it was nice to see Marion Cotillard win in her star-in-the-making moment (and also rounds out all the acting categories to foreign winners. Did anybody notice that? The Americans were shut out in the acting awards). Still, it was a strong year for women in the acting categories because almost anyone could have won in the Best Supporting Actress or Best Actress category and I really wouldn't be able to object. (Considering my usual favorite Laura Linney (for The Savages seemed sidelined in the race shows what a great race this year was, and that's not even including everyone that had been shut out of the race, including Keri Russell for Waitress, Amy Adams for Enchanted, Jennifer Garner for Juno and I'm sure a few others that I just can't think of right now).

What did people think of Jon Stewart? I mean, I love the man and I love The Daily Show and he did a decent funny job but it wasn't grand or memorable (topical and self effacingly funny yes and some great deadpans but I long for those big sweeping comedic jokes of Billy Crystal years that no one of recent times have seemed to hit.

As for the predictable No Country For Old Men wins for many of the major categories, it made for an unexciting evening especially since it was more of a movie that I respected and thought was technically well made than a movie that I LOVED and I find myself moving away from my old arty ways and back into the populist sentiment so I had secretly hoped Juno or even Atonement would win. Thought No Country For Old Men was great but it wasn't my favourite movie of 2007 (that would have been Ratatouille actually. Which should have been nominated for Best Picture but was relegated to winning Best Animated Feature instead.

I finally saw 2 of the documentary features that were nominated and of course neither wins even though I felt both deserved to. (Taxi to the Dark Side won)

Neither Canadian Short Animated Movie won, even though I thought I Met The Walrus would probably win, and Madame Tutli-Putli should have won, but instead, Peter and the Wold won.

Except for the song from August Rush, I loved all the songs (all from movie musicals, 3 from Enchanted, 1 from Once) but it was still nice to see the Once people (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova) win (for "Falling Slowly") and it was even better when Marketa Irglova got to finish her acceptance speech after being initially cut off. It was a good year for musicals and I hope they bring more out.

Anyways, another year, another Oscar telecast and while there were no tragedies like Crash winning, I think that year still left enough of a bitter taste that the subsequent years have been a lot less fun to watch, even though there have been less egregious picks (and in fact, are pretty damn good picks that seem to favour smaller quality films rather than the old big bloated Hollywood styled "Oscar" type films). It also didn't help that it was one of my worst years for catching up on as many Oscar nominated movies so I still haven't seen a lot of the picks so thus, can't actually judge for myself and get excited about any one in a category.

Oh well, I'll get excited again when I'm up for a nomination. Give me 10 years.

For my Best of Movies 2007 List which is always being updated as I see more films, check here.

Photo of No Country For Old Me win from Monica Almeida/New York Times

Photo of 4 Actor winners from Associated Press

More After the Jump...

The Jetlag Gayed Me Do It - YouTube and Other Classy Atrocities

So I couldn't sleep last night because of the jetlag coming back overseas and what started off as an attempt to check out the lastest Broadway Backward clips online (including a duet between HIMYM's Neil Patrick Harris and boyfriend David Burtka, as well as a duet with Xanadu hunk Cheyenne Jackson with Rent's Anthony Rapp) and catching up with Andrew's Vlog (Andrew Keenan-Bolger (who has GOT to be a theatre queen? no?), who adorably plays Leaf Coneybear in the touring version of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee The Musical), ended up turning into an all-night marathon around youtube including finding classic old gay clips from the genius soft core porn for teens that was MTV's Undressed (seriously, what happened to that? talk about trashy addictive TV heroin). I've posted "Athletes in Love" and "Gay College Student" after the jump!

I did watch some classy stuff via ModFab where he's posted all the Academy Award nominated Animated Shorts.

Then I found Josh Groban's performances in the benefit concert of the musical Chess from LA in 2003 (which he is repeating in London this year in May with Idina "Wicked/Rent/Taye Diggs wife" Menzel that I SOOOOO want to go to) that also co-starred Sutton Foster (who will now play Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical on Broadway), Raul Esparza (who was simply amazing in Company that will be on most PBS stations next Wed. Feb. 20th), and Adam Pascal (Rent). But I'll post that in a separate post cause that's classy sh!t and this is about the crappy stuff I watched Tuesday.

Then, when I finally woke up midday, I was so dizzy and deluded that I ended up watching the premiere of the latest season/desperate-CBS-filler Big Brother 'Til Death Do You Part (above, classy no?), even after I ranted and raved about boycotting the show for the writer's strike sake (and our own humanity for that matter, but oh well, I'm in Canada so my number's don't REALLY count in the end so I'm off the hook)). Wow, so trashy, this time with people paired up with their "soulmates" meaning everyone in the house is supposedly single (well, there was one couple but they were split up with their own separate soulmates, doh). Plus, everyone was attractive, and by attractive I mean they were young, mostly white, not fat with decent haircuts so by cultural terms, yes, "attractive".

Anyways, I admit, I WAS curious and since there was two gay guys coupled up, they suckered me in (they really CAN get us to watch by throwing the token gays in can't they? I'm such a whore (uh, for the gays on TV excuse me very much)) since Joshuah (above) was kinda hot and I'll watch anything with attractive people (see Gossip Girl). I think it's the hair. I know. I'm so cliched.

Anyways, I'm not going to recap it and the Big Brother Trifecta is just a trifecta that is ignoring the show since Dick unfairly won, and if Sheila and Adam win, well, I'll continue ignoring it (because already they've been SOOOO classy in the opening episode being totally disgusted with each other as each other's soulmates picks (um, isn't this a game? Use it to your advantage to win the game and ignore the love thing, you losers, it's not like CBS is forcing you to marry them after (or are they?)).

I also checked out some of the American Idol auditions and there's a lot of super young cute and gayish jailbait's in the running this year, with what seems like a very young crop that seems to be doing well and getting attention. There are still too many to figure out so I'll let it whittle down to the Top 24 next week before I decide if I'm going to stick around this season.

As for the classy gay stuff on youtube, you can't beat MTV's Undressed so here is "Athlete's in Love", man I love this stuff:



And here's "Gay College Student":



and okay, I must try to find more of this crap. I used to love watching Undressed marathons, usually when I was stuck in an American hotel for work (we never got that show in Canada until after it was already cancelled). I was never sure if I was supposed to actually be turned on or laugh.

Meanwhile, um, here's some more pics of Joshuah;

More After the Jump...

Oscar Documentary Watch - Boy Is America F#$ked Isn't It?

I've been sick for a few days now and ended up watching two of the Oscar nominated documentaries in my Oscar catch up as I lay here groggily sipping on chicken soup.

So what do I watch? The Michael Moore documentary Sicko. How relevant (especially when I finished the DVD only to find John Edwards stepping out of the presidential race to lead a fight for universal health care!). And if I wasn't sick already, watching No End In Sight will make you sick. Especially after a video clip they showed that was made by a US contractor in Iraq, because if Sicko doesn't worry you, No End In Sight should. (Also, the big Air Force One behind the Republican debates should be a big worry too. Why is there a huge plane that looks like it crash landed in the auditorium doing in the political debates? Is it a promo for the return of Lost tomorrow? Or are they just "lost"?).

I know. I'm sick and I choose NOW to be political?

Sicko and No End In Sight are probably two documentaries that sit on opposing ends in style. While Michael Moore is generally in-your-face with media-friendly tactics, you have to hand it to him for creating personal yet easily digestable documentaries that really pull at our emotions and heartstrings, and Sicko benefits from dialing his usual tricks down and laying out the disturbing information about the American health care system in a less tabloid manner. Meanwhile, No End In Sight (by Charles Ferguson) lays down the step by step mistakes made by the Bush administration that has gotten the US involvement in Iraq into the huge debacle it has become.

So if you haven't seen them, DO, then let's discuss.

So I won't claim to know anything about American politics other than the rhetoric news on the news channels and the press, and I won't bash America per se, because I actually do love America and Americans. I just hate what some of you do, what some of your politicians do, and how the country has become a "me" society instead of a "we" society as a result of self preservation.

(Um, are those fighting words? From a Canadian with socialist tendencies enjoying my universal health care?)

Michael Moore might have given the rosiest pictures possible when he showed the health care systems of Canada, Britain and France (and Norway in a DVD extra which blows them all away) and as a Canadian, I will admit there are a lot of problems still, but on the other hand, personally, I haven't really experienced the bad things myself yet and I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Meanwhile, the rich people running the pharmaceuticals, the insurance companies and the government have been brilliant at controlling America through scare tactics and the media, and misinformation or giving little to no information at all, so I feel bad for the typical American that assumes their government is doing the best for them as the rich line their pockets with new policies that get them richer.

And, when did the Republicans become associated with fiscal conservatism (or at least, protecting the rich) while also becoming the party of choice for the religious? If one were religious, shouldn't we be sharing with the poor and making things better? I don't get it.

Anyways, both movies, Sicko and No End In Sight were fascinating and captivating and while the subjects are obviously relevant and important to hear, the movies themselves are made well in a logical and easy-to-understand manner. 

Sicko and No End In Sight = A

More After the Jump...