Showing posts with label The hurt locker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The hurt locker. Show all posts

Monday, March 8, 2010

82nd Academy Awards- Finally!!!!!

Well, this wasn’t my best showing at picking the winners but I didn’t do too badly either- 16 out of 24! I have to say, I think this was one of the best years show wise we’ve seen in a while. So many highlights! So much genuine laughter! Great speeches! I took note of it all and texted back and forth with several friend’s the whole time. I’m including the best messages I received where applicable below. Enjoy!

The whole thing starts on the red carpet and wardrobe watching. This year’s carpet was a cluster fuck (pardon the language) with people coming and going in all directions. No one seemed to know where they were going or who they were supposed to talk to. I will say Ryan Seacrest did a good job on E! but what the heck was happening on ABC? Why were Sherri Shepherd and Kathy Ireland there? {text: “Listening to her is painful. She needs to go work on her Kmart designs”} Why was Ireland standing like a cracked out Barbie doll? Shepherd did have the best line from the red carpet. While interviewing George Clooney she said, “Get the ones that don’t understand English!” in response to his girlfriend not understanding a question. Burn! It was so awkward! Now for what’s really important- Fashion!
[side note: Ladies, please stand up straight. I’m looking at you Miley Cyrus and Zoe Saldana! Come on, if Maggie Gyllenhall can learn to do you so can you.]

Best Dressed (Wow! Kristen Stewart actually bathed!) {text: “SJP looks like she has a hot cross bun on her head”}

Worst Dressed {text: “It’s canoe with his face mold!” That’s Keanu for the uninitiated}

On the Fence {text: “That dress bored me to tears” on Kate Winslet}

• What an opening! Neil Patrick Harris. Dancers. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin descending from Glenda the Good Witch’s bubble. Jokes that were actually funny. Thank god! Can we hire Adam Shankman for next year’s show now? Best line: Martin: “Oh look! Damn Helen Mirren” Baldwin: “That’s DAME Helen Mirren”. Runner up: “…plays a Nazi obsessed with finding Jews. Well Christophe!”

• When the nominations for supporting actor began I loved how this year they showed a montage of clips from the film and not just one small bit. I thought it really helped showcase the nominee’s talent and give more depth to why they were nominated.

• John Hughe’s special memoriam. I’d heard about this a few days ago and thought it was lovely, especially the shots of all the actor’s who had been in his films. Very classy and sweet.

• On a negative note, I’m tired of the way the “In Memoriam” segment is directed. I don’t give a frak about James Taylor. All I want to see is who died. Instead, we miss a few names staring at Taylor’s bald head and in wide shot of the stage. Every year! This is the one area I don’t want you to be artistic. Just show up the pictures. And, where was Farrah Fawcett? Was she one of the ones we missed while in close up of Taylor or was she simply forgotten? {text: “He is so cheesy. Wait, that’s insulting to cheese”- in reference to James Taylor}

• Maybe not a negative but certainly a “what the hell” moment: Acceptance speech for Documentary Short. Who was that wack-a-doo and why did she feel the need to shove her co-producer? {text: “She will never work in this town again! What is that guy wearing?”}

• I loved the banter between Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. while introducing the screenwriting award. I think that got a laugh from everyone in the audience (mostly for his real truth than it simply being funny).

• Another good quote, this one from Robin Williams: “The Governor’s Ball. Just one of the many balls being held all over Hollywood tonight”.

• I loved Sandy Powell’s dress! It’s so refreshing to see a Best Costume winner who looks like she has an idea what fashion is. They are usually such a disaster!

• TRIBUTE TO HORROR!!! I am officially submitting my petition for a Best Horror Movie category. They never get any love (not since “The Exorcist”!) However, couldn’t they have included a clip from one of Eli Roth’s movies? I mean, he was in the audience for pete’s sake and had a lot to do with revitalizing the genre.

• Another great speech: Michael Giacchino for Best Score. You are “not a waste of time”! Here here! PS- what am amazing dance performance! I heart you League of Extraordinary Dancers!

• I also loved that the Best Actor categories where presented like last year with past co-stars sharing thoughts and anecdotes about the nominees. Michele Pfeiffer’s was one of the highlights as was Peter Sarsgaard.

• Can anyone explain to me what Sean Penn was talking about? Politics in nominees? Or politics in how to introduce nominees? Huh? Please, if you know please comment below. Now I didn’t pick Sandra Bullock, mostly because I haven’t seen that movie and it looked like one step from the Lifetime Movie Network. I guess now I’ll have to see it. However, she gave a great speech. Could this be the first time someone has made so many homosexual references in their speech for a movie not about homosexuality? “My lover Meryl Streep”- Loved it! I also loved her message about and to her mother. Schön!

• Finally, it’s happened. The barrier has been broken. A woman won best director. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. I always hoped this would happen in my lifetime and am so pleased it happened to Kathryn Bigelow, a director I’ve admired for years. If I’m being nitpicky, her speech could have been better. It was just so generic. You would never know how revolutionary her win was. Take a note from Halle Berry (hell, even Mo’nique) and make a statement, give a couple shout outs! Oh well, I really don’t care. Her startled expression when she also won Best Picture was priceless!

• I win the side pool on end time of the show with an 11:05 guess. Everyone owes me a dollar!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Two Movie Reviews and the Bizaar World of Text Messaging

Being sick should have given me plenty of time to think of new topics of discussion for this blog. It didn't. All it did was feed my hypochondria (seriously thought I'd coughed up brain matter at one point) and give me an appreciation for "healthy living"- whatever that is.


I did see two amazing movies this week- "The Young Victoria" starring Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend (I'd like to "friend" him, if you know what I'm saying), and Paul Bettany. It was wonderful. I didn't know anything about Queen Victoria except that she reigned England for a super long time (turns out she was the longest reigning soverign- 63 years!), was the namesake for the Victorian era (awesome for art, architechture, and industry), and the urban legend about Prince Alberts piercing (probably not true). Turns out she lived a fascinating life, and as portrayed by Blunt, seems to come alive. She is definitely my 2nd runner up for the Golden Globes.


I also saw "The Hurt Locker" last night. Wow. What a picture. Did you see "Generation Kill"? You like war movies that aren't "political"? Rent this immediately. You certainly need to check this movie out. Kathryn Bigelow, director, is nominated for a Golden Globe (only the 4th time in history) and stands a chance to win. Why? She made a "male" movie in a sea of "chick flicks". Bigelow has made a career out of this type of "against cast" movie making- "Near Dark", "Point Break", "K-19: The Widdowmaker". In a recent interview (I believe with Entertainment Weekly) she expressed a desire for the time when her work will be recognized for it's weight and talent, and not on the novelty of her being a woman. Here here! I too am not a big fan of "chick" movies. I hope Bigelow wins if for no other reason that it would be awesome (2nd time- go ladies!), but because it would help open doors for other female filmmakers who want to avoid cliche boy-meets-girl movies in favor of "boy-meets-war"/horror/sci-fi/awesome movies. She's certainly carving the way in stone for those who will come after her and I would love to see her get a little help in that arena.

"The Hurt Locker" isn't so much a "war movie" or even a movie about war. It's about soldiers, about fear and sweat and machismo. It's a slice of life- the last 38 days in the rotation for Bravo company's bomb squad. Jeremy Renner is excellent- the right mix of dangerous and mortal. The cinematography is another character in itself, putting you right in the action. I bet this movie was something to see on the big screen.

That being said, I would still like to see Quentin Tarantino win.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I could say one thing about my friends, it's that they're hilarious. If I could say two things, it's that they're hilariously weird; especially when it comes to text messages. In (odd) honor of my new favorite blog (see here), I've decided to reprint some of my favorites for your pleasure.

August 1, 2009 (in response to what I'm doing that night if I'm at home and not out as usual)

K- lemme guess lone star in hand with a napkin over the label half pack of luckys at some resident bar?

Me- nope. at home

K- What you have a guy over? Entertaining the masses? Getting all sophisticated on me? or just poor?

Me- poor. drinking martini and watching movies

K- Just checkin Figured it wasn't boons farm for you. If it was I was going to have to make a d [Dallas] flight to remind you that you are better than that.

Me- You are a good friend.

Okay, that may not be funny, but it is weird that he knew what I would be drinking, how I would drink it, etc. I guess I'm predictable.

August 19, 2009
(random response to a question i don't remember posing)

S- Is the answer Jesus?

The best come from my friend J. The man has the brilliant mind of an autistic 13 year old (please don't send letters- I mean that as a compliment. Plus, it's kinda funny so lighten up!). A sampling:

August 27, 2009
J- I used semen to defend a baby eagle from a snake. So does that make me eco friendly?

Notice how craziness seems to culminate in August?

October 21, 2009
J- I need to hide some semen somewhere on you. It's for a trick im learning.

Me- maybe you should just pull a rabbit out of a hat, but you must have a cape for it to work

J- A cape. Of course. Do you think I don't know the basics of [auxillary] magic and its teachings. Jeez.

In response to my recent illness:
J- Try cutting off the edges of your sandwiches. That should start the healing probes.

Me- Here i thought my cat had put a fatwah on me

J- Is that greek for shoelace?


It's now occuring to me that I should have focused on the "probes" protion of that text.
20sb