Liveblogging the Oscars

Well, here we go. I'm very curious about what James Franco and Anne Hathaway have in store for us. I love James Franco, but I'm not a huge Anne Hathaway fan--we'll see what happens.

Opening skit: This Inception thing is pretty funny. Alec Baldwin is always great, and he added a nice touch here.

"I loved you in Tron."

"Microphones get smaller."

"Please, call me Mr. Baldwin."

OK, thje opening skit was good, but the opening monologue was a little stiff. The grandma was funny, but overall it was pretty empty.

But here we go with the first awards!

Art Direction:

I picked Inception.

And the winner is . . . Alice in Wonderland.

Hmm... Not off to a good start. 0/1

This guy is painful to watch.

Cinematography:

Prediction: Roger Deakins

Winner: Wally Pfister for Inception.

I love the work of Roger Deakins, but I'm not too sad I lost this category. Inception really does deserve to be recognized here, and I'm happy this guy won.

0/2

Best Supporting Actress:

This is a tricky category. As I mentioned yesterday, I think that Amy Adams and Melissa Leo might split the vote.

My prediction: Hailee Steinfeld

Winner: Melissa Leo

Well, I was dead wrong on that one. And Kirk Douglas sure made the wait uncomfortable. Melissa Leo did a good job, but mostly I was entranced by her hair in The Fighter. And now she is making things awkward too. She just said "golly sakes" and then dropped the f-bomb. Get off the stage.

0/3

Justin Timberlake just said he was Banksy--brilliant. Also, Justin and Mila should have babies.

Best Animated Short:

Prediction: The Lost Thing

Winner: The Lost Thing.

I won on a complete guess. And did Justin Timberlake just make fun of Kirk Douglas? Fantastic.

1/4

Best Animated Feature:

Toy Story 3 -- obviously.

And the winner is: Toy Story 3

What a wonderful film.

2/5

So far the show is pretty slow. People's speeches are long and boring. Nothing really is happening.

OK, another pair of big awards: screenplay.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Prediction: Aaron Sorkin

And the winner is: Aaron Sorkin

The writing in this film was genius. Aaron Sorkin writes the best dialogue, and he really brought the story to life. I wonder if he's going to thank Mark Zuckerberg . . .

Nope.

3/6

Best Original Screenplay:

Prediction: The King's Speech

Winner: David Seidler, The King's Speech.

I was actually hoping Inception would win because of the creativity in the story. But I also know that David Seidler made a life's work out of The King's Speech, and his speech was one of the best of the night so far.

4/7

Ok, now for a musical number. A Les Mis parody . . .

Well, Anne is a good singer anyway.

And now James in in drag. Good lord.

Russell Brand and Helen Mirren make a great pair.

Best Foreign Language Film:

Prediction: In a Better World (random guess based on the title)

Winner: In a Better World

Woohoo!

5/8 -- After a slow start, I'm back.

Best Supporting Actor:

Prediction: Christian Bale

Winner: Christian Bale

Excellent. As I've mentioned, I had some problems with The Fighter, but Christian Bale was phenomenal. And his speech is very heartfelt--he really loves what he does. I wonder if this beard is for The Dark Knight Rises . . .

6/9

And now a tribute to soundtracks . . .

Best Original Score:

I really want Trent Reznor to win an Oscar--but the music from Inception was also so powerful.

Prediction: The Social Network

Winner: The Social Network

Yes! Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross really created a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and it's nice to see a more modern-sounding score get recognized.

7/10

Best Sound Mixing:

Prediction: Inception

Winner: Inception

Sound was such an integral part of this movie that I felt pretty confident in this prediction.

8/11

Best Sound Editing:

Prediction: Inception

Winner: Inception

Ditto what I just said.

9/12

Achievement in Makeup

Prediction: Barney's Version

Winner: The Wolfman

I have not seen either of these, but I should have known that Rick Baker would win.

9/13

Best Costume Design:

Prediction: The King's Speech

Winner: Alice in Wonderland

I almost changed my vote after Alice in Wonderland won best art direction, but I stuck with my original choice. And lost.

9/14

Even though I predict that Randy Newman will win, he's such a cornball. And a crappy singer.

Jake Gyllenhaal speaks the truth about shorts. They really can mess up the ballot.

Best Documentary Short Subject:

Prediction: Killing in the Name

Winner: Strangers No More

Whatever. 9/15

Best Live Action Short:

Prediction: God of Love

Winner: God of Love

Clearly I know what I'm talking about when it comes to live action short films. And this guy looks crazy. And he thanked Delaware.

10/16

This musicalized thing is pretty funny, especially "He Doesn't Own a Shirt." Very entertaining.

And now an Oprah moment . . . Hi Oprah.

Best Documentary:

Prediction: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Winner: Inside Job

I really need to see Exit Through the Gift Shop and Inside Job. I saw Restrepo and thought it was good. I was hoping Exit Through the Gift Shop would win so we could see if Bansky would show up.

And in our first political moment, the winner here notes that no one has gone to jail for the financial fraud perpetrated on our country. Well said.

10/17

Billy Crystal's presence just make me miss the days when the Oscar show was funny.

I will just admit this right here and now: I have never thought Bob Hope was even remotely funny. That's all.

Best Visual Effects:

Prediction: Inception

Winner: Inception

Obviously. This film's visual effects are simply mind-boggling. Having watched the making-of on the Blu-Ray, I'm even more blown away.

11/18

Best Editing:

Prediction: The Social Network

Winner: The Social Network

The second time I watched The Social Network, I really noticed how seamlessly the stories were blended, so I knew it would win. Inception should have won, but it was inexplicably not nominated.

12/19

Florence! I love her voice so much, and this song from 127 Hours is so beautiful. It should win the Oscar, but I still think Randy Newman might win. But maybe with Trent Reznor already snagging an Oscar, maybe something fresh will be recognized here too.

And I prefer Gwyneth Paltrow when she's rolling on Cee-Lo's piano while he's dressed like a bird and surrounded by Muppets.

Best Original Song:

Prediction: "We Belong Together"

Winner: "We Belong Together"

Well there we go. Thus ends that speculation.

13/20

And now for the Dead People Tribute. And with Celine Dion--gross. We did lose a lot of talented people this year.

Holy diamonds, Halle. But a nice tribute to Lena Horne.

Why is Anne Hathaway wearing a rubber suit?

And now for the big four . . .

Best Director:

Prediction: David Fincher

Winner: Tom Hooper

Well, I have to say that I'm a little surprised. I am pretty sure that The King's Speech is going to win Best Picture, and usually the directing winner is the same, but I really thought that David Fincher would pull this one out.

13/21

Best Actress:

Prediction: Natalie Portman

Winner: Natalie Portman

First of all, what an amazing collection of talent. The clips of each of these performances were stunning. But I'm very happy that Natalie Portman won. I've loved her since I first saw her in The Professional when she was a kid, and she has done great work, but Black Swan just topped them all. And she gave a good speech.

14/22

Best Actor:

Prediction: Colin Firth

Winner: Colin Firth

This one was a sure thing. Again, all of these actors are fantastic, but I knew when watching The King's Speech that Colin would win. The anguish he showed in the close-ups was nothing short of amazing.

15/23

All right--so is The King's Speech going to win the big one? I think so. But as I mentioned yesterday, this is a great collection of Best Picture nominees.

Steven Spielberg--what an amazing guy. That's all.

Best Picture:

Prediction: The King's Speech

Winner: The King's Speech

Well, no surprise. I was at the last minute thinking that The Social Network might pull off an upset, but no problem--The King's Speech is a wonderful film, and it deserves the accolades.

Final score: 16/24. 67%. Not bad--better than the last few years, anyway.

Well, the Oscar show overall was pretty dull. Great movies, dull show. But I still love the Oscars.

Dreams feel real while we're in them

Inception

Inception blew me away. For most of the movie, I was literally gaping in awe at the filmmaking. No joke--mouth open, gaping. In fact, in several places I started laughing, not because something funny was happening onscreen, but because I was overjoyed by the sheer magnitude of the filmmaking. Of course seeing Inception on the IMAX helped me appreciate this magnitude, but the combination of the cinematography, the story, the special effects, the music, and everything else really make up a modern-day masterpiece.

I think the acting in Inception was excellent, but I was especially impressed with Tom Hardy, who played Eames (the forger). From his very first scene, he brought such a personality to his character. Leonardo DiCaprio continues to impress me, and I loved seeing Ellen Page playing someone so different from her famous Juno character. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also shows a lot of skill, as he has in several of his previous movies, and Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, and Marion Cotillard are always good.

In terms of the plot, though I'm not usually one for dream movies, I do love complex, multi-layered narratives. And this is definitely multi-layered. (PS. I know the comparisons to The Matrix make sense, but that piece of crap pales in every conceivable way in comparison to Inception.) And though the levels and layers are complex, I never felt lost in the film, and that can be attributed to excellent editing. As I watched the film, I knew that without a doubt that Inception would win the Oscar for Best Editing. Christopher Nolan and his editors know exactly how to pace the multiple stories to bring us back to each layer. For example, and this is not a spoiler (and if you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about), every time the film cut back to the slow-motion falling van, I felt a rush of joy and understanding.

In several key scenes, the characters are placed in impossible physical situations. Knowing ahead of time that some of these scenes were done without the use of CGI simply increased the awe factor. For example, when the van is tumbling down the embankment and Arthur, played by Gordon-Levitt, is caught in the spinning room fighting off the security, this scene was created using a rotating set, with no CGI special effects. Holy crap.

Scenes like this, along with many others, just show what a genius Nolan is. He has taken a complex story and recreated the inner workings of the subconscious. The ideas here are challenging, intriguing, and hard to grasp. And the sheer immensity of the filmmaking here makes Inception the best film of the year so far, and it will be hard to beat.

Oscar Predictions

My Oscar Predictions

So here's how it will go down in the major categories. (Not the films I necessarily think should win--but who will win.)

Adapted Screenplay

Nominees:

127 Hours (Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle)

The Social Network (Aaron Sorkin)

Toy Story 3 (Michael Arndt, story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich)

True Grit (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen)

Winter's Bone (Debra Granik and Anne Rossellini)

These are all great stories, but the winner is a sure thing. Aaron Sorkin's dialogue was so intelligent that no one can touch him in this category.

Prediction: The Social Network

Original Screenplay

Another Year (Mike Leigh)

The Fighter (Paul Attanasio, Lewis Colich, Eric Johnson, Scott Silverand Paul Tamasy)

Inception (Christopher Nolan)

The Kids are All Right (Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko)

The King's Speech (David Seidler)

I have not seen Another Year, but the rest of these are all excellent screenplays.

Prediction: The King's Speech

Achievement in Cinematography

Black Swan (Matthew Libatique)

Inception (Wally Pfister)

The King's Speech (Danny Cohen)

The Social Network (Jeff Cronenweth)

True Grit (Roger Deakins)

These films represent a great deal of on-screen gorgeousness, but I am hoping (and thinking) that after years of nominations, it is Roger Deakins's year.

Prediction: Roger Deakins (True Grit)

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams (The Fighter)

Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)

Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

This category is always full of surprises, but I think the women from The Fighter may cancel each other out.

Prediction: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale (The Fighter)

John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)

Jeremy Renner (The Town)

Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right)

Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Five excellent performances, and until I saw The Fighter, I would have thought Geoffrey Rush was a lock.

Prediction: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening (The Kids are All Right)

Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)

Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)

Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

Why wasn't Julianne Moore nominated?

Prediction: Natalie Portman

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem (Biutiful)

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)

Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

James Franco (127 Hours)

Jeff Bridges (True Grit)

No doubt here. None.

Prediction: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Achievement in Directing

Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)

David O. Russell (The Fighter)

Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)

David Fincher (The Social Network)

Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)

I really think that Christopher Nolan and Danny Boyle deserve to be nominated this year. But the award will go to a director who crafted a taut, thrilling, fascinating picture out of something that seemed like unlikely source material.

Prediction: David Fincher (The Social Network)

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids are All Right

The King's Speech

The Social Network

127 Hours

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

What a great list of films this year. And while I think that Inception was the best film, I know it does not stand a chance. Everyone is talking about the two-way race between old school Hollywood traditional storytelling (The King's Speech) and fresh, modern, now (The Social Network). Momentum seems to be pointing one way . . .

Prediction: The King's Speech

I'll be live-blogging tomorrow!

We'll be young men together again

The Best Films of 2010

I know this list is a bit later than usual, but as with everything on my blog these days, I cannot seem to post in a timely fashion. But since the Oscars are this weekend, I knew I had to get my list out. One thing I think is interesting is that except for one substitution (I think The Town was better than The Fighter), my top 10 is the same as the Best Picture nominees. The Oscars got it right this year.

First, three honorable mentions. I really like all of these movies, but they just are not in my top 10: Shutter Island, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, The Fighter, Rabbit Hole.

So on with the list (links are to my own reviews):

10. The Kids Are All Right

9. The Town

8. Winter's Bone

7. 127 Hours

6. Black Swan

5. Toy Story 3

4. True Grit

3. The King's Speech

2. The Social Network

1. Inception

(Note: I know that a few of my friends think that Inception is not worthy of such praise, but I have now seen it four times, and its impressiveness just continues to grow.)

I'll post my Oscar predictions before Sunday, and then I'll be live-blogging the Oscars!

Live-Blogging the President's Farewell Address

Though I do not want to watch George W. Bush speak ever again, I feel like I should watch his farewell address tonight.  And since he has been an important part of my blog since its inception, so I thought I'd live-blog my reactions.

Even most Republicans I know are done with Bush.  Even most Republicans I know recognize some of the profound failures of this administration.  Just about everyone is ready for this to be over.  I predict that Bush will disappear for a while and spend his time clearing brush or some other hobby.

I am eager to see what his mood will be tonight: Sad? Resigned? Reflective (yeah, right)?Celebratory/Deluded? Whatever his mood, we can expect the signature sneer, which seems to show up no matter what he is feeling.

All I know is that the term "President Bush's Farewell Address" has such a glorious ring to it. Back in a minute . . . 

7:01 -- I did not know it would be in front of an audience, but I guess that is not a surprise now that I think about it.  "The Presidency will pass to a successor."  Indeed.

7:03 -- Oh, Dick Cheney.  I will miss you so.  I only wish you could be water-boarded at Guantanamo before it gets shut down.

7:04 -- I will say that I was impressed with George Bush in the days following September 11.  He showed grace and strength.  Too bad he fucked that all up with years of nonsense and lies.

7:05 -- Poor George looks pretty haggard.  I think he wants it to be over too.  He's done.

7:06 -- Son of a bitch.  "Freedom is the gift of the Almighty God."  In case you thought there was no Crusade-esque aspect to our missions abroad.

7:08 -- Oh, yes, No Child Left Behind has indeed been a rousing success.  Good work on that one.  We're number one.

7:09 -- OK, I do actually believe that he has always acted with the best interests of the country in his mind and that he acted according to his conscience.  I do genuinely think that it is true.  But, however true and righteous the intentions might have been, the actions are not necessarily right.

7:11 -- "I have confidence in the progress of America because I have confidence in the American people."  That's a strong line.  (Seriously.)

7:15 -- He was tearing up a little at the end there, and I guess that should be expected.  His speech was pretty good.  He was right to focus on the American character rather than on his record, so that was a positive.  So he goes out on a gracious, humble note, which is nice to see.

However, 15 minutes cannot erase . . .