The Day Has Come

Happy Oscars Day!

I'm happy to say I very nearly closed the gap on seeing all of the films I wanted to. Over this weekend I watched The Reader, The Wrestler, and Milk in theaters, and Changling and Man on Wire. I'm watching Frozen River as I type, and have In Bruges to watch afterward. That leaves me short on Rachel Getting Married, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Visitor. Not too shabby. Wished I could have seen Benjamin Button based on the nominations, but yikes, the 3 hour runtime kept me away.

So here's how I'd like to see the major awards go, based on what I saw (list of nominations here: http://www.oscars.com/nominees/?pn=nominees):

-Actor in a Leading Role: (I didn't see Button or the Visitor) Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler. What a great role for him, with a lot for him to do--physical and emotional pain, triumph, humor, etc. He inhabited the role completely.

-Actor in a Supporting Role: How could it not go to Heath Ledger--even without his death maybe stacking the deck in his favor. Great, creepy, magnetic performance. Christian Bale who?

-Actress in a Leading Role: (didn't see Rachel Getting Married)--Kate Winslet, hands-down. A thrilling performance, and better than her performance in Revolutionary Road, so I was glad to see this role nominated.

-Actress in a Supporting Role: (didn't see Button)--I think I'm maybe not impartial here--I thought Vicky Christina Barcelona was just really really boring. Please Woody, get over your infatuation with Scarlett Johansson--she is no doubt very attractive, but she couldn't act her way out of a paper bag, and she brought the whole movie down for me. So while I think Penelope Cruz might be the front runner here, I thought the very brief performance of Viola Davis in Doubt was riveting. And I wouldn't bee sad to see it go to Marisa Tomei either. Because she's unbelievably hot at 44.

Best Picture/Director-- (didn't see Button)--Slumdog Millionare/Danny Boyle. What a thoroughly enjoyable film this was. I love Boyle's visual style, ever since first seeing Trainspotting, and it's well used here--very kinetic and exciting, taking in the 5 mile out view of Mumbai as well as the in the gutters angle as well. Fun, funny, scary, hopeful, and romantic there's a lot to like about it. My favorite of the season for sure.

So I'll be excited to tune in tonight at 8 on ABC--I don't know that I've done as well as this in the past with seeing so many of the films so it should be fun to watch it all unfold. For now, though, time for some household chores...penance for the movie marathon. ;)

Movie Malaise

I am not a comic book geek anymore (unlike many of the contributors on this blog) and that is okay – both that they are and that I am not. In fact, I have been out of the loop for quite some time and have not seen many of the comic book movies that have come out in the last 5 years. I have not seen Iron Man, Fantastic 4, Spiderman 2, or even the newest Batman (though it is high on my list). Really, they don’t seem to be all that enthralling to me and typically the acting turns out to be a real let down. So, to say I am less than delighted to hear that there are 75 comics being made into films as we speak is an understatement. As I look down the list, I recognize very few of the comics (again going back to me being “out of the game”). No doubt few will actually make it on the big screen, but I am sure that even fewer of those will be worth watching.

The fact is, in my opinion, movies in general just suck these days. Nothing comes out that makes me turn to Carrie and say, “Let’s go through the hassle setting aside a night and getting a babysitter so we can go to the theatre and pay $7/person to see that movie.” It never happens. I saw the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy in the theatre, and Carrie likes to see the “Harry Potter” movies in the theatre. That’s it. Even after these movies come out on video, we don’t rent them. I am too busy and tired to sit through the drivel that passes for movies these days. I know there are exceptions, but by and large the plots show a lack of ingenuity, so producers try to make up for this deficiency with special effects or star power. Neither do it for me.

So I ask, “Can anyone give me a good reason why I should go to the theatre? Can anyone tell me why I should give my time and money to Hollywood anymore?” Because as it currently stands, I am pretty much done.