Saturday, August 18, 2012

Film Music of the Week

There Once was a Hushupuppy - Benh Zeitlin





Its been over a week since I saw Beasts of the Southern Wild, and I still haven't made up my mind on the film as a whole. However, I can say with the utmost confidence that this is easily my favorite cue I've heard all year.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Hunger Games – Quick review (with baseball analogy)


Baseball version: The Hunger Games is a deep fly ball that goes off the wall for an RBI double as opposed to a two run home run.

Translation: The Hunger Games comes pretty darn close to being a really great, maybe even a truly special film, but ends settling in the good to very good range. It’s still a quality film, I just wish it was better.

Full review coming eventually

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Hunger Battle Games Royale of DOOOOM

   Yes. The Hunger Games and Battle Royale are both books-turned-to-films that feature a group of teenagers who are forced to kill each other. Yes, this means that Games and Royale have similar premises, and thus, share similar ideas and concepts.
    But, is it really too much to ask that nobody internet shouts, "LOL! BATTLE ROYALE RIPOFF!!!" anytime The Hunger Games is brought up.* I mean, asides from the fact that there are enough differences between the two stories (1. the Hunger Games are televised and controlled to maximize the entertainment factor, and thus, forces players to not just survive, but also to put on performances own to gain audience support, whereas in Battle Royale, the competition is held on an island where no outside media can watch, so unlike Games, there is no audience/performance factor for the kids. 2. Unlike in Battle Royale, the tributes in Games are given time to train. This makes the Hunger Games more fair, while part of what made Royale shocking to watch was how obviously unfair it was.) to keep one from being a rip off of the other (for more info, see <http://io9.com/5888124/did-the-hunger-games-really-rip-off-battle-royale>), but honestly?

It's just really annoying.




Quit thinking that a.) you're the first person to point out the similarities and b.) you're clever for doing so.


*I'm aware that I may just be looking at the wrong parts of the internet. But I can't help but wonder if one reason for people bringing up Battle Royale so often is that people feel threatened by the idea that a movie whose story is primary aimed at teenage girls/young women is not only extremely popular, but has the potential to both be really good (and based on the early review, the movie is really good) and muscle in on a medium that is supposed to be "guy territory." Not saying this is the reason, but it could be one.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Content coming soon...

...eventually.

For now, here's an awful joke to pass the time.

*Ahem*

An artist and an illusionist walk into a bar.
Bartender: "Well, what can I get you two?"
An artist: "..."
The illusionist: "..."


Get it?

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Oscar live blogging

I swear the only reason to pay attention to the Oscars anymore is for the live blogs. Anyways, I may as well try to be one of the cool people, so let's get this train wreck going!

5:17 pm: Red carpet recap: rich people wear nice clothes

5:26: pm: And here...we...go. Can this show be as boring as everyone expects? Oh the drama!

5:30 pm: Morgan Freeman? Good start Oscars.

5:31 pm: Didn't they them try this same concept last year?

5:35 pm: Justin Bieber? Blearg. And this has gone on way too long already.

5:40 pm: Hmm, so The Artist was the first in the opening video, and in Billy's song? Foreshadowing?

5:41 pm: This isn't offensively bad. But Hugh Jackman > Billy Crystal when it comes to singing.

5:43 pm: And cinematography goes to Hugo. Guess the academy really loved that opening tracking shot. Nice job keeping his speech short and sweet.

5:46 pm: Art direction goes to..Hugo. I'm bowled over by this shocking turn of events.

5:47 pm: Anyways, I've got no problem with those two results. Hugo was really beautiful to look at. Looking at my predictions, I'm 0-2 to start the night. Also, these speeches have all been really short. Is the orchestra that intimidating this year?

5:51 pm: Yes!! I knew they couldn't go more than ten minutes without a montage (boy that was a random set of clips)

5:54 pm: Best costume goes to... The Artist. Sure, that works. No don't thank Weinstein! Bad winner! And another really short speech.

5:58 pm: Best Makeup to The Iron Lady. Obvious winner is obvious.

6:00 pm: Okay, so the theme of this show is, "why movies are fucking awesome, how they have inspired young people, and that cinema is awesome." So basically, the Academy is outright admitting that the purpose of this show is for Hollywood to kiss its own ass and talk about how awesome it is. If this continues, this show is going to be insufferable.

6:07: A Separation wins best foreign film. Yay. Good speech as well. Should have given him more time. Can't wait for Santorum to accuse it for being evil anti-American propaganda.

6:09: Ahh, Bale isn't presenting in his Batman voice. Too bad

6:13: Octavia Spencer wins best supporting actress and is the first to cry before her speech.

6: 15: Okay, I know people complain that the show goes on too long, but can we please give these people just a little more time up their? It's not like this is a once in a lifetime event for any of the winners or anything.

6:19: WHY IS BILLY CRYSTAL TALKING ABOUT FOCUS GROUPS?

6:21: Holy balls this is bad. Really, really bad. 

6:24:  Oh snap Dragon Tattoo won won best film editing! Didn't see that one coming. That speech was adorkable

6:26: Hugo wins best sound editing, and were back to your regularly scheduled winners.

6:28: Ha! Shia Labeouf doing girly screams got on the broadcast. Oh, and Hugo sound mixing. Again, no surprises here.

6:30: Okay, maybe that focus group sketch wasn't that bad. But still, it wasn't good either.

6:39: That was kind of cool. Not sure what any of the movies other than North by Northwest were.

6:40: You know what would make this show better? If Stacy Keibler spin kicked Billy Crystal in the face.

6:42: Gwyneth Paltrow just corpsed: SEND FOR THE MAN!!!

6:44: Undefeated wins best documentary. This is a legitimately nice surprise. And for course, to ruin this fun moment, the orchestra cuts them off.

Had to step away from the computer, anyways RECAP TIME!!!

 - Chris Rock's spiel on voice acting was...interesting. On one hand, it was kind of funny. On the other hand, it seemed a bit disrespectful to full time voice actors. Hmm. But, Rango won best animated film, so yeah!

 - Rise of the Planets of the Apes lost visual effects? BOOOOOO!! BOOOO!! I say! BOOOO!!!!!

- Christopher Plummer winning best supporting actor may have been expected, but it was still really cool. Plummer's suit is pretty awesome, as is his speech.

- The Artist wins best original score. And somewhere, Kim Novak raging.

- Emma Stone is so friggin charming and charasmatic that she made her segment with Ben Stiller work.

- What's with all the shots of the 1960's flight attendants handing out gift bags? Is Pan-Am still on the air?

- Hooray, The Muppets won something

- Okay, Angelina Jolie's skinny arms are really freaky. Seriously, what the heck happened?

- The screenplay awards go to their expected recipients (The Descendants and Midnight in Paris), and I have to say, I really loved Woody Allen's speech

- Wait, why didn't Alexander Payne let the other screenwriters speak? Come on.

- Of course, Uggie has to be in Dujardin's Oscar clip

- Someone needs to make a GIF of excited Jonah Hill stat

- Ahh, so the only one who can defeat Harvey Weinstein is Harvey Weinstein

- Meryl Streep wins best actress. Kind of a surprise, I guess. Sort of. Not really. Hmm. This is a good speech.

- Seriously though, I still can't get how skinny Jolie's arms are

- Man, Extremely Loud got almost no applause when its name was announced

- And The Artist wins best picture, as expected.

- And that wraps things up. Was this year's "MOVIES ARE FUCKING AWESOME"ceremony as boring as advertised? Yes. Was Billy Crystal's "comedy"as bland and millk-toast as expected? Yes. Will I still spend an inexplicably long time paying attention to the Oscars next year? Yes.

Because I am a glutton for punishment.

Oh, and even though I just said that the ceremony was boring, it bears repeating. This year's Oscar's was completely snooze-worthy. Almost NOTHING INTERESTING HAPPENED! Were the people behind the broadcast that afraid to offend anyone? Yes Hollywood, I already like movies, you don't have to tell me how great movies are a million times. In short...



Oh, and I'm annoyed at having missed the new commercial for Brave.

Oscar Predictions: Part 3


Best Picture
            What will win: The Artist
            What I want to win: Moneyball
           
Best Director:
            Who will win: Michael Hazanavicius
            Who I want to win: No preference

Best Actor (Leading)
            Who will win: Jean Dujardin
            Who I want to win: Gary Oldman
                       
Best Actress (Leading)
            Who will win: Viola Davis
            Who I want to win: No preference

Best Actor (Supporting)
            Who will win: Christopher Plummer
            Who I want to win: Nick Nolte (just for the speech)

Best Original Screenplay
            What will win: Midnight in Paris
            What I want to win: A Separation
                         
Best Adapted Screenplay:
            What will win: The Descendants
            What I want to win: Moneyball

Best Foreign Film
            What will win: A Separation
            What I want to win: A Separation

Best Animated Film
            What will win: Rango
            What I want to win: Something not make by Dreamworks

Best Documentary (feature)
            What will win: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
            What should win: Pina

Best Film Editing
            What will win: The Artist
            What I want to win: Moneyball

Best Cinematography
            What will win: War Horse
            What I want to win: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Original Score
            What will win: The Artist
            What I want to win: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Original Song
            If the Academny isn’t going to care about this category, then I’m not going to bother with a prediction. (“Man or Muppet” should win though)

Best Visual Effects
            What will win:  Rise of the Planet of the Apes
            What I want to win: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Best Art Direction:
            What will win: Hugo
            What I want to win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Best Costume Design
            What will win: Hugo
            What I want to win: The Artist/Hugo

Best Makeup
            What will win: The Iron Lady
            What I want to win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Best Sound Mixing:
            What will win: Hugo
            What I want to win: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Sound Editing
            What will win: Hugo
            What I want to win: Drive
           
           

Monday, January 23, 2012

Oscar Predictions: Part 2

Best Adapted Screenplay
·         The Descendants
·         Moneyball
·         The Help
·         Hugo
·         The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
                Alternate: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Original Screenplay
·         The Artist
·         Midnight in Paris
·         A Separation
·         50/50
·         Bridesmaids
                Alternate: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Best Supporting Actress
·         Octavia Spencer – The Help
·         Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life
·         Benicio Berjo – The Artist
·         Carey Mulligan – Shame
·         Shailene Woodley – The Descendants
                Alternate –Vanessa Redgrave (Cornelius)

Best Supporting Actor
·         Christopher Plummer – Beginners
·         Albert Brooks – Drive
·         Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marylyn
·         ­­­Patton Oswalt – Young Adult
·         Ben Kingsley – Hugo
                Alternate: Brad Pitt (The Tree of Life)
 
Best Actress
·         Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
·         Viola Davis – The Help
·         Michelle Williams – My Week with Marylin
·         Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin
·         Rooney Mara – The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo
                Alternate: Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Malene)

Best Actor
·         Jean Dujardin – The Artist
·         George Clooney – The Descendants
·         Brad Pitt – Moneyball
·         Michael Fassbender – Shame
·         Michael Shannon – Take Shelter
                Alternate: Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar)

Best Director
·         Alexander Payne – The Descendants
·         Michael Hazanavicius – The Artist
·         Martin Scorsese – Hugo
·         Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
·         David Fincher – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
                Alternate – Steven Spielberg (War Horse)

Best Picture
·         The Artist
·         The Descendants
·         Hugo
·         The Help
·         Moneyball
·         Midnight in Paris
·         War Horse
·         The Tree of Life
   If ten nominees:
·         The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
·         Drive
                Alternate: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Oscar Predictions: Part 1

Not even going to try to predict the nominations for the short categories.

Best Makeup
·         The Iron Lady
·         The Artist
·         Hugo
                Alternate: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Best Costume Design
·         The Artist
·         Jane Eyre
·         Hugo
·         Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
·         The Help
                Alternate: Drive

Best Art Direction
·         The Artist
·         Hugo
·         War Horse
·         Jane Eyre
·         Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
                Alternate: Drive, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy


Best Cinematography
·         The Artist
·         War Horse
·         The Tree of Life
·         Moneyball
·         Hugo
                Alternate: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Visual Effects
·         Rise of the Planet of the Apes
·         Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
·         The Tree of Life
·         Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
·         Transformers: Dark of the Moon
                Alternate: Real Steel

Best Sound Editing
·         War Horse
·         Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
·         Transformers: Dark of the Moon
·         Super 8
·         Rise of the Planet of the Apes
                Alternate: Hanna

Best Sound Mixing
·         Super 8
·         Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
·         Hanna
·         Hugo
·         Moneyball
                Alternate: Transformers: Dark of the Moon


Best Original Song
·         “Life’s a Happy Song” - The Muppets
·         “Pictures in my Head” - The Muppets
·         “Star-Spangled Man” - Captain America: The First Avenger
·         “So Long” – Winnie the Pooh
·         “The Living Proof” – The Help
                Alternate: “Lay Your Head Down” – Alberet Nobbs

Best Original Score
·         The Artist – Ludovic Bource
·         War Horse – John Williams
·         Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Alexandre Desplat
·         Jane Eyre – Dario Marianelli
·         The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo – Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross
                Alternate: Hugo (Howard Shore)
Best Foreign Film
·         A Seperation – Iran
·         Pina – Germany
·         Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale – Taiwan
·         Bullhead – Belgium
·         Footnote – Israel
                Alternate: Omar Killed Me - Morocco
 
Best Feature Documentary
·         Project Nim
·         Pina
·         Buck
·         Bill Cunningham New York
·         Paradise Lost 3: Pugatory
                Alternate: Hell and Back Again 

Best Animated Film
·         Rango
·         The Adventures of Tintin
·         Puss in Boots
·         Arthur Christmas
·         Chico & Rita
                Alternate: Winnie the Pooh

Best Film Editing
·         The Artist
·         Hugo
·         Moneyball
·         The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
·         Drive
                Alternate: The Descendants