Stuff

Ok, it has been a while since I have posted. Here are some of the things I have done or have been doing with my mundane life:

• Went east for vacation to see my best friend and her family. Was a great trip... easily the best vacation I've had in- well, forever!
• Was very ill in the late winter/early spring. I was down for the count for nearly three weeks...lost a lot of weight and have subsequently gained it all back...just sucks...sigh.
• Joined Netflix. Missed the boat for a long time, but I have been averaging about ten movies a month since I joined. Not sure why I did not do this before.

Hmmm, what else can I say? My life is truly mundane, lonely and full of...well, emptiness. I hope to make up for it soon... I hope.

Maybe this post will satisfy all of my legion(s) of followers...wait, I don't have any...but please keep the pap's away from me. I could not stomach yet another photograph.

Watchmen = Big Yawn

One of the most over hyped movies in recent memory is coming out tomorrow. The build up over the past week in all forms of media is overwhelming. Badly drawn and poorly written, The Watchmen captures zero interest from me.

How the idiot critics at Time Magazine rated The Watchmen as one of the 100 best English language novels to be issued since 1923 is just beyond me when you consider the novels that were omitted (no Ayn Rand?! MORONS!).

I am not a huge graphic novel/comic book fan to begin with, but there are some that I like and have read and the rest I just ignore because they cannot capture my attention like a good novel can.

Now don't get me wrong, The Watchmen will make a ton of money this year for the movie industry (a shoe in for the top 5 grossing movies of the year), but the critics are panning it already and the fanboys are crying that you (Zack Snyder) cut too much or did not add their favorite part into the film. Maybe he should have paid some attention to what Peter Jackson did for the Lord of the Rings trilogy when the fans cried foul... it might have helped- but I doubt it.

I am a big movie fan. I have not gone as much during the last few years due to self-imposed financial constraints, but I do still see some flicks during the year.

I will not be seeing this one.

Post Oscar Thoughts

I did not change enough of my picks is the obvious thing to start with.

I did not believe the Slumdog hype at first- then I saw the movie earlier today...yet, I still did not ride the wave that was the Millionaire. As someone who has been to Bombay (still Bombay to me and not Mumbai) and traveled through part of that wonderfully complex country I am very happy that the world gets to see first hand- even if only on screen what it is like there.

Best line of the night: Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto
by Kunio Kato for his winning Animated Short Film: Le Maison en Petits Cubes.

Finally, we got to see Kate Winslet win an award. It's about time!

I liked the show tonight. Hugh Jackman was good though they should have used him a bit more.

The "In Memoriam" section was nice, but the camera was either too far away or it moved too much. Simplicity is always best.

Please bring back a mini screening/snippet of each picture nominated for Best Film. Its always nice to see more screen time for the big award.

That's it!

Oscar Picks (a revision)

I was able to see Slumdog Millionaire this morning.

STUNNING!

Seeing the movie only changes two picks- but they are important ones. I am throwing the praise for Slumdog to win Best Picture and for Danny Boyle to get the Directing nod. I am even tempted to change all The Dark Knight picks (sans the one that Heath Ledger will get) over as well, but I think The Dark Knight was excellent in those categories so I will leave well enough alone.

Should be an interesting night.

Oscar Picks 2009

I have not seen all the Oscar nominated (and/or worthy) films as of yet. So far, I've seen four of the five nominees for best picture- which is pretty good considering how few movies I've seen over the course of the last twelve months. I was going to see Slumdog Millionaire today, but my damn schedule got changed... so it was like this for me today: Me= screwed.

Best Picture

Slumdog Millionaire has ridden such a wave of notoriety in the last few months that it would be hard to say it won't win. I don't think it will, but again I have not seen it so it is extremely difficult to judge. Milk, while a very good film is all about Sean Penn playing the legendary Harvey Milk. The Reader is Kate Winslet being as good as she's ever been (and she's been great many times) instead of a worthy best picture. Frost/Nixon is also about performances more than the picture. So, that leaves Benjamin Button and Slumdog. I give it to the Button.

Should Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Might Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Best Director

In the race for best director, it kind of comes down to which bad ass, do it your own way director could win. I am going to eliminate Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) & Stephen Daldry (The Reader) right away. Both put out good films, but in different ways they have been out classed this year. Danny Boyle, David Fincher & Gus Van Sant are all visionaries who play by their own rules outside of the Hollywood/Big Studio mentality. The question is: do you follow the sort of unwritten rule that the Best Director also directs the Best Picture? If you follow recent history that means yes. In the last 20 years, only 5 times have the nominees for director failed to share in the best picture win (Producers usually are called on the stage for that one unless the director also produces the picture or at least share a credit). So, the odds look great for David Fincher and I am going to stick with him. Who cares if I think he ripped off Robert Zemeckis and Forrest Gump a bit/a lot. It was still a damn good film.

Should Win: David Fincher
Might Win: Gus Van Sant or Danny Boyle
Will Win: David Fincher


Best Actress

Please Please PLEASE let it be Kate Winslet. Her body of work is extraordinary! 33 years old. Has made just under 30 movies. Six nominations for Academy Awards. She just gets better and better.

Should win: Kate Winslet
Might Win: Meryl Streep (you can never count her out...EVER.)
Will Win: Kate Winslet


Best Actor

So, is it really Mickey Rourke vs. Sean Penn this year? That seems to be the scuttlebutt that I read out there. Poor Brad Pitt seems to have fallen by the wayside- even past a career spanning performance by Frank Langella and an out of nowhere yet impressive performance from Richard Jenkins (best known as the dead dad in Six Feet Under). I've seen both The Wrestler and Milk. I liked them both but it is hard to get these facts out of my head: Micky Rourke is really playing the car wreck that has been his life last these past twenty years which perfectly mirrors what the main theme of The Wrestler is about: Redemption and Glory of what was & could have been... or Sean Penn giving one more great performance that seemed so genuine and atypical of a Sean Penn role. The Wrestler is a career achievement for Rourke and I hope to see him get more roles that harken back to the promise he practically had dripping off him in the 80's. Sean Penn will probably win this award and it will be well deserved, but Richard Jenkins scares me because the Academy likes to sneak up on you with Adrian Brody or Roberto Benigni. Of course, they could give Langella a career achievement sympathy award, but that would really piss me off since Peter O'Toole has never won the Best Actor trophy and Frank Langella is nowhere near the caliber of actor.

Should Win: Sean Penn
Might Win: Richard Jenkins or Mickey Rourke
Will Win: Sean Penn


Best Supporting Actress

It seems that the world is salivating for Penelope Cruz to win this award...or, they are just salivating for her in general and I understand that too. Amy Adams is going to win an award one of these days. She's smart, understated and kicks you in the gut when you see her on screen. But, her curse this year is that she is up against a fellow actress from the same movie in the same category (Viola Davis...certainly no slouch given her volume of work in television and film over the last ten years). That leaves Marisa Tomei who gets better and better (check out her performance in 2007's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) & Taraji P. Nelson as the adoptive mother of Benjamin Button. Most of the time, these are always toss ups- even when a nominee is supposed to be a sure thing. So of course I am going with Taraji P. Nelson.

Should Win: Taraji P. Nelson
Might Win: Penelpe Cruz or Marisa Tomei
Will Win: Taraji P. Nelson


Best Supporting Actor

Is there really any doubt?

Should Win: Heath Ledger
Might Win: The Academy should consider closing up shop if they screw this one up.
Will Win: Heath Ledger


The rest of my picks:

Animate Feature: WALL-E
Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cinematography: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Costume Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Documentary Feature: Man on Wire
Documentary Short: Smile Pinki
Film Editing: The Dark Knight
Foreign Language Film: Waltz with Bashir
Makeup: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire
Original Song: O Saya (Slumdog Millionaire)
Short Film, Animated: Oktapodi
Short Film, Live Action: New Boy
Sound Editing: The Dark Knight
Sound Mixing: The Dark Knight
Visual Effects: Iron Man
Screenplay, Adapted: Doubt
Screenplay, Original: Happy-Go-Lucky

Overheard

Today, at a nationally known coffee place I heard the following snippet of conversation as a trendy, wannabe guy walked in:

..."I am so irritated, that I cannot even have caffeine right now".

He proceeds to hang up his cell phone and exclaim loudly at the woman behind the counter:

"Do you have any milkshakes?"

"We have frappuccino's"

"Is there any caffeine in it?"

"Yes, plus..." (and she lists what is in one)

"Well, can I just get a chocolate milkshake?"

At that point, I looked at my friend as we were both smirking and said to him that I had to get out of there before I laughed so hard and loud that it would be quite embarrassing. He agreed with me and as I turned to leave, I caught one of the other employees eyes as they just rolled back as if to say: Can you believe this idiot?

Laughing quietly, we left.

4 Days in January

So, the last few weeks have not been the most pleasant picnic that you could imagine. Stresses of work & the holidays in general have taken a heavy toll on me as one would expect, but it has been another reality that has hit me in the face harder than I wanted...but this was all under my control.

I had to make some decisions that I had never made before and while they hurt me terribly, they were the correct ones. Standing on solid ground feels good- especially when it is a foundation that you created. The pain is still there though and it will linger on for the foreseeable future.

I had a friend come to visit me this weekend. It has been the nicest number of days off that I can remember in a long time. It could not have been better. Getting me out of my house was easier than I thought. I experienced things and feelings that have been dormant and I wonder why I have sequestered myself for so long. I have also been able to talk about events of the past months or so with positive feedback for my actions given to me. Reinforcement of difficulties that I had a hand in creating, but ended on my own terms has been gratifying.

I am taking my friend to the airport later today. I am saddened that the trip was so short and our distance apart is so great, but I find my heart less heavy with new strength to continue on.