Thursday, March 18, 2010

Corey Haim's Greatest Role - "Blown Away"


Poor Corey Haim, he probably earned more money during his teen years than most of us will earn in our lifetime and he still found a way to piss it all away on drugs. Still, he had one heck of a run in the 1980's Let's take a closer look:

1.) Silver Bullet: I never watched the entire movie all the way through but must have stumbled across the last 10 minutes hundreds of time on HBO. All I know is that Corey is being chased by a guy in a werewolf suit and Gary Busey is yelling. That final scare when the werewolf guy reaches out after being shot in the eye is pretty cool.

2.) Lucas: Never saw this movie. Even as a 7 or 8 year old, I could sniff out a chick flick. I remember thinking the girl in this movie was cute though.

3.) License To Drive: Classic movie from my youth. Stupid but fun story and it has a random cast that features Heather Graham in one of her first roles as Mercedes and the dad from Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire plays the driving test guy. Good times here.

4.) The Lost Boys: I was too young to have seen this movie when it came out but when I did, I thought it was great. Another cool 80's cast too like Corey Feldman, Jason Patric, Dianne West, and hottie Jamie Gertz. Keifer Sutherland was never better in my opinion.

5.) Dream A Little Dream: Never saw this movie...again my ten year old mind couldn't connect with what this movie was about. Again, the girl in this move was hot.

Now the above five movies are probably what 99% of the critics discussed when he died. If you ask most guys in his early 30's about what his favorite movie was...I guarantee you they will say 1992's cult classic "Blown Away".

"Isn't Blown Away that Jeff Bridges/Tommy Lee Jones movie?" some idiot will ask. Nope! Its the classic Corey Haim/Corey Feldman/Nicole Eggert soft core porn classic that appeared on HBO. I remember the first time watching this movie...it was part of some "Friday Night Action" series that HBO was putting together. Let's just say that this movie completely blew my then 14 year old mind. I mean Nicole Eggert (fresh off Charles In Charge) gets naked about 5 different times in this movie. If you could name one actress IN HER PRIME from an 80's TV show that would you want to sell their integrity for a movie like this, Nicole Eggert would have to be up there right? Runners up would probably be Stacy Keenan from My Two Dads and the red head from My Two Dads (who actually did get nude now that I think of it but not until years later).

Here's the trailer...



It also seemed to have a decent plot though I was certainly ignoring any plot discrepancies due to the excessive nudity and thrusting. I haven't seen this movie in at least 10-15 years but I love how the Dad in this movie gets pushed off a cliff on his motorcycle. There's also random dancing by Corey Feldman and some of most random plot twists ever found in a movie. The best is the final scene where its Corey vs. Corey and one gets shot (I won't say which one dies). Even 90210 alum Kathleen Robertson makes an appearance (though sadly does not get naked).

Anyway, Corey Haim will be missed...and I hope that if he is reading this blog from his computer in heaven, that he truly appreciates the number of prepubescent lives he touched with his timeless classic "Blown Away".

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Classic Commercials - Drinking And Driving Can Kill A Friendship


Watching a lot of syndicated TV shows in the 80's like Differ'ent Strokes and Facts Of Life, there would be an adult commercial that I would never understand (see the earlier post on Summer's Eve for one example). In any event, my favorite "adult" commercial was one where various glasses of alcoholic beverages would shatter against each other, simulating a car crash.



I love the foreboding voice ("when friends don't stop friends from drinking...friends DIE"). I also don't think ever heard a tire screech last that long. First up are the glasses of wine...then the beer. Each time the announcer voice pauses longer and enunciates the word DIE even more.

I was always fascinated by the glasses shattering in slow motion but even more amazed by that tiny little splash of liquid from the scotch that falls back into the glass.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Best Picture

Tom Hanks comes on and just named the winner...The Hurt Locker...no run through of the nominations?

Oh well, no big deal...

Nice win for the Hurt Locker! Love the cast so happy behind them. Since just about everybody saw Avatar, its time that the Hurt Locker gets seen by more people.

A lot of people will say "what?!?" tomorrow but trust me this movie will blow you away. The last 25 minutes are better than most movies will ever hope to make.

Alright, I'm off to bed...not sure if I'm going to do this again next year...I'm burned out....but I hope the few of you that humored me by checking this out got a little chuckle out of it.

Best Director

Barbara Streisand, fresh off butchering the We Are The World remake, is about to announce the Best Director award.

This is James Cameron versus his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow...screw everybody else here.

I'm pulling for Bigelow. I think The Hurt Locker was the grittier slightly better made movie. She'd be the first woman to win and Cameron has one for Titanic. Still, he created an entire world, characters, and language. Tough call here.

And the winner is Kathryn Bigelow...I love how James Cameron mouthed the words "OKAY....OKAY" when they announced her name.

Alright Barbara, get off the stage. Wow, KB looks great. I wonder in Cameron is looking at his current wife and then looking at her and wondering if he made a mistake.

No reference to her ex-husband but a great shout out to the troops in Iraq. Also like the quick shots of the other directors. Quentin looked unhappy again.

Best Actress

Here's a random mix of people to honor the

Forrest Whitaker gets Sandra Bullock - He's come a long way since "Fast Times At Ridgemont High". Hope Floats? I vaguely remember that movie. I wish Sly Stallone came out and talked about how much he enjoyed working with her in "Demolition Man"

Michael Sheen gets Helen Mirren- This guy looks pretty cool and he was in Frost/Nixon last year. Helen seems embarassed by his words or maybe just nerves. The Brits honoring the Brits.

Here's that Skarrsgard guy honoring Carey Mulligan. Skarrsgard will always be the the scumbag friend of Marky Mark in the movie "Fear" with Reese Witherspoon. He's all grown up now.

Oprah! Who else could honor the girl from Precious. Oprah jumped all over this movie but only AFTER it was made. Awww, Gaby is crying...nice tribute Oprah! Now back to the Oscars.

Stanley Tucci gets Meryl Streep. I forgot they were in "Devil Wears Prada" together. I like his sense of humor.

Here's recently divorced Sean Penn....one of my favorites. Not sure where he was going with that little Academy speech.

Its Meryl or Sandra...and the winner is...

Sandra Bullock...hmmm, not sure how I feel about that. Good for her I guess. Looked like she was going to hug Meryl but Meryl pushed her away in a loving way. She's doing the "thank the other nominee thing" that Michael Caine did a few years ago. She better hurry up though with all of these people to thank...its pushing midnight here.

Sandra Bullock is now the first actress to win a Razzie (worst performance in a film with All About Steve) and an Oscar in the same year too.

Hey its Jesse James!

Best Actor

They're bringing out former coworkers to pay tribute to the five nominees. Let's see who they are.


1.) Michelle Pfieffer - tells a story about Jeff Bridges in "The Faboulous Baker Boys". I never understood that movie. She's going on for awhile here...too many cliches.

2.) Vera wahtshername - Hmmmm...she's trying to crack a joke but getting little response. Ugh, these tributes are going on too long.

3.) Julianne Moore - she talks up Colin Firth in A Simple Man. I see what they're trying to do here....tell some nice stories about the nominee....but it sounds like a speech a co-worker would give when their boss is about to retire

4.) Tim Robbins - Nice! Some Shawshank Redemption stories. Good story....good joke there. Very nice tribute there! Good job Tim.

5.) Colin Ferral - Colin roasts his friend, at least I hope he's his friend...they seem like cool guys.

And here's Kate...all Britishy to name the winner. It should be Jeff Bridges.

And the winner is Jeff Bridges...niiiice! He's been acting for almost 40 years but he looks great. Nice shout out to Mom and Dad....uh-oh, don't break down here...he's got the choked up laughs going. Haha, I like his looseness here....he seems a bit stoned maybe? He is "the Dude" after all and I think tonight, "The Dude obliges".






I wish they'd bring out Kathy Ireland to do this.

Avatar

Kathy Bates pops up to talk up Avatar. I always liked Kathy Bates...she didnt' get famous until her 40's.

Avatar was a great movie too. Its weird seeing it in 2D with these clips.

Another commercial break???

Best Foriegn Film

Alec and Steve appear together for the first time in a bit (on stage at least) to present Tarentino and Pedro to present best foriegn film. What's up with all of the lamps around them?

I'll admit, I'm starting to slowly fade here...need some juice to spruce the awards up here. Let's get to the Actor/Actress/Director/Best Picture Awards already!

The winner is the Argentian film...At first it seems one guy is coming up but a whole swarm of people appear. Only one Oscar for all those people? Uh-oh, he's going to get played off...hurry!

James Cameron is not amused.

The Hurt Locker

Neo introduces The Hurt Locker. I saw this before Avatar so Avatar is a little more fresh but these clips remind me of how great this movie was. SEE THIS MOVIE.

Big awards coming up!

Best Editor

Tyler Perry makes a few jokes about editing. He's asking for a closeup but the camera seems to stay in one place. His jokes are dumb but it looks like he's having fun out there.

The editing award goes to Hurt Locker...hmmm momentum swings back to The Hurt Locker? Avatar seems to be winning the awards that it doesn't compete against The Hurt Locker with while the Hurt Locker are winning the head to head battles with Avatar.

Best Documentary

Its Alec (haven't seen the hosts in awhile) and here's Matt Damon to present the documentary feature.

A few of these I want to see. The Cove was about how dolphins are apparently killed for meat to sell to people. Food Inc. is about the food industry.

The Cove should win here...it looks gritty. Food Inc. has been done before (it stars the actor Two Face from The Dark Knight, Aaron Eckhart) but I can't remember the movie at the moment.

The Cove wins as it should, I had never heard of this topic before. Fisher Stevens? He used to be married to Kirstie Allen if that's the same guy who I'm thinking of...this was 15 years ago.

I wish they didn't play them off. Their movie raised a lot of awareness.

Up In The Air

Jason Batemen gets to talk about Up In The Air. Good to see Jason Batemen back in the limelight. Its been a long hard journey all the way back Teen Wolf 2.

Up In The Air was just an okay movie to me. A little overrated with a twist I caught near the beginning of the movie if you think about it.

Visual Effects

Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper, two of the newer leading men in Hollywood, get the honor of presenting the award for Special Effects. Last chance for District 9 to win something (they won't win best picture) but Avatar has to take this...right?

Yup, Avatar wins. These guys must feel relieved...they worked on this film for years to get it made. Good for them. All the guys who win for Avatar thanks Cameron as if he'll hurt them if they don't.

Hmmm...Avatar has the momentum again here.

Best Score

J-Lo and the guy from Avatar and Terminator Salvation present the best score

J-Lo looks pretty much the same she did 10 years ago...but she needs a hit (song or movie) to be relevent a few years from now.

Uh-oh...abstract dancing. Will Doogie Hauser make another appearance here? Borrrring. I like the guy doing the robot though...or is he miming? I forget the difference.

This has ground the show to a halt...I mean the dancing is great but it seems to have more purpose at the Grammys. They get a semi standing ovation at least.

And Up wins for the best score...good for them. The guy seems confused where to go up the stairs and he almost steps on J-Lo's dress. Oh boy, this guy has a speech all set...but I like it.

Please let's get the show going again.

People who have died

C'mon Demi get out there. Oooo!!! My favorite part. Seeing what actors you recognize that have passed away. Let's see who gets the biggest applause. Quick notes.

James Taylor sings a Beatles song?

Patrick Swayze...oooo...almost forgot about him. You're like the wind PS!

Jean Simmons...not the Kiss singer, it was a lady.

David Carradine...he wins the award for weirdest death this year. Strangling yourself while masturbating.

Dom Deluise!!! He was in a ton of game shows.

Ron Silver...lots of bad guy roles like Blue Steele

Brittany Murphy...way too young. Farewell Luanne from King Of The Hill.

Roy Disney - Walt Disney's son I think.

Michael Jackson - One real movie to his credit, "The Wiz", but enough to warrant a mention I guess...unless movies surface with him playing little boys...Boo-Yah!

Natasha Richardson - This was the saddest of them all...Liam Neeson's wife. She died after banging her head skiing. Always wear a helmet!

Cinematography

Hey, a "V" preview!

Anyway, back to show and here's Sandra "Sandy" Bullock to present best cinematographer. I like how she said that they're referenced as the "DP"...insert X-rated joke here.

Sandy does a good job of presenting these foreign sounding names. She blows through them really fast. Looks like she wants to sit back down quickly.

The winner is Avatar and the guy throws a shout to Italy. James Cameron's wife looks way to skinny. Its never good when you can see your chest bones.

Inglorious Basterds

John Travolta appears in public for the first time since his son died (at least I think so) to talk up Inglorious Basterds. This was a great movie...only movie of the other 8 that has a chance to beat Avatar or The Hurt Locker.

Science Awards

Elizabeth Banks? What good movie has she ever been in? Of course they give her bad material to work with but she's used to that...bah-Dum-Dum.

Are they playing her off? Oh, that's the just music to show who won for that goofy award show.

Nice job Elizabeth...see you in your next bad movie...or skin flick?

Sound Mixing

More Anna and Zach...its pretty much the same nominees except you swap Up for Transformers.

Hmmmm...The Hurt Locker wins again. I would have thought Avatar would have won awards like this but who knows. Maybe the Hurt Locker is starting a major run here.

Now why does the guy who just spoke steal air time from this other guy. Oh well...

Sound Mixing

Morgan Freeman's voice of God appears to show how sound mixing works...um, they do this EVERY FREAKING YEAR. It just takes up time. Not sure who walks out of a theater and goes..."DAMN, did you hear that sound editing?!?"

Crowd goes crazy for all the nominees...I like that.

The winner is The Hurt Locker which makes sense since its full of bullets and explosions.

Whoa! This guy looks like a vampire. Love how he's still trying to look young with the wispy long greying hair.

Horror Tribute 2

I bet most Twihards are creaming in there pants right now seeing these two together.

Yes, I love Kristen Stewart's throat clear. Let's check this horror tribute out.

Jaws, Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, Poltergeist, Psycho, The Shining, Scream, Hellraiser, Saw, Aliens, The Leapruchaun (with Jenifer Aniston!), Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, The Ring, Misery, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, Dracula, Frankenstein (both versions), Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hallow, Dracula (both versions), Little Shop Of Horrors, Twilight (c'mon...ugh), The Sixth Sense, Alien, Carrie, The Blob (1988 version!), The Omen, Silence Of The Lambs.

Cool stuff! BUT WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS OTHER THAN TO SEE THE TWILIGHT ACTORS?!?

Tribute to Horror Movies

Steve and Alec do a shout out to the band conductors and then a Paranormal Activity spoof. Not too bad...but was that it?

Precious

Where have you been Charlize? She still looks pretty tasty. She hasn't been in too much since she won the academy award but she did win so she gets to present something every now and then.

Where's the tribute to horror they talked about earlier...let's go.

Costume Design

Hopefully SJP will anot dominate the conversation. She sort of does by getting to read the award.

SJP is slowly falling apart. She needs to do something like Cameron Diaz did to look good again. I mentioned it before but SJP is starting to look like the wolf in the American Werewolf In London....yes or no?


Best Art Direction

Ellen Ripley comes on to talk about Aliens and goes right into Art Direction. I have no idea what this category is about but it seems about set design and things to make the movie look like a movie.

The winner is...Avatar. I guess that's not a surprise. Ellen Ripley almost breaks down there for a sec. Again, it takes forever for these guys to reach the stage. Strange...three guys get the Oscar but four guys come on stage. Not so fast there guy standing in the shadows next to Sigorney Weaver.

Nice speech here...well any speech will be nice when a guy talks about how he nearly died.

An Education

Hello Colin Firth. He seems to be a lot of good movies but most of them are British (like Bridget Jones Diary) so they're a little stuffy for me.

I heard An Education was good but it seems a bit too stodgy. We'll see...

Oh no...Sarah Jessica Parker...shoot me now!!!

Best Supporting Actress

Robin Williams is here only because Heath Ledger passed away (usually the prior year's winner presents the award). Nice low brow balls joke there Robin...c'mon man, you're more sophisticated than that.

Mo'Nique will probably win this hands down but maybe Anna can pull this out. She was very good in Up In The Air. I need to see Precious because I heard Mo'Nique's character was just pure evil and that's the sign of a great performance.

And the winner is...Maggie Gyllenhaal! Just kidding...its Mo'Nique. If anybody is going to cry and get all serious its her. The crowd seems to love her.

I like how she thanked her attorney. Mo'Nique supposedly has an open marriage with her husband. I think I just saw him wink at Cameron Diaz.

Queen Latifah

I can't put my finger on it but I can't figure out why Queen Latifah annoys me a little bit.

She's plugging another awards ceremony where everybody seems to laugh really hard at everything everybody says.

This awards show seems a lot more fun than the Oscars themselves.

Love Queen's fake laugh coming out of the clip.

C'mon...stand up for Lauren BaCall! She was married to Humphrey Bogart! Penelope Cruz looks begrudgingly annoyed that she has to get up.

Best Adapted Screenplay

I love Rachel McAdams. Here she's with Jake Gyllenhaal presenting best Adapted Screenplay.

Its Up In The Air to lose but I hope District 9 somehow pulls it off...c'mon!

And in a bit of an upset, Precious wins...at least I think its an upset. This guy looks like a young Sidney Poitier. Here comes the waterworks.

Pull yourself together man...this is your moment. I haven't heard anyone sigh this much since Tiger's speech a couple of weeks ago. He's speaking in abstract phrases.

Im glad they didn't have to play him off. That would have been awkward.

Nice cutaway to Morgan Freeman...hmmm, why did that do THAT?

I love Steve Martin.

A Serious Man

...or the the worst of the 10 movies being nominated. I wasted $5.95 on PPV to watch this dreck. No plot and just plain boring. There are some decent parts but it doesn't compare to the other 9 films.

Coming up next...Mo'Nique wins her award and the betting begins to see if she'll break down on stage.

Ben Stiller and Best Makeup

Ben Stiller comes out dressed as one of the characters in Avatar. I like the shot of Cameron laughing.

Good bit here. Stiller can be annoying sometimes but this is great. Love the eyes.

The category is makeup...Avatar can't be nominated since a lot of it was CGI so this is sort of the runner up category.

Star Trek gets a win..good for them. Probably the best overall summer popcorn flick of 2009.

They're taking too much time to get to the stage...probably have less than a minute to talk. No way all three get to talk here. The woman takes up all the time but love the "Happy Anniversary baby" shout out...how nice.

Live Action Short Film

Another category I don't follow..at least they're banging them out real quick. The guy who won is talking to slow...hurry up! The poor old guy next to you won't be able to say anything.

You idiot!!! You didn't let that old guy get the chance to talk!!! DAMN IT.

Best Documentary Short

Again, haven't seen these films but the titles seem intriguing. And the winner is Prudence. The director seems to be sitting in the back row! Another guy who won't have time to speak.

Whoa, who's the lady that just bullyed her way in there? Nice job, lady...you just screwed up your partner's and your own moment. What a bitch!

Short Film

If the new Uhura's dress on backwards? She's wearing it like a hospital gown on the wrong way.

Taylor Hackford did one of the most underrated movies of the 90's...The Devil's Advocate...and I curse at him for making Jamie Foxx a big enough actor star to think he could make decent songs.

Some random clips here and talks by big name directors. Not sure why they're mixing in feature length films with short films.

Ok then!

Haven't seen any of these movies...and the winner is Logorama. Neat concept there. This guy better hurry his speech since he's small potatoes compared to other people there. Asking for applause is a little desparate but hey, this his once in a lifetime moment.

Up

Sam Jackson comes out in his military beret to talk about Up.

Shortest update ever?

John Hughes tribute.

Its 1985 all over again! Either Molly is taller than I thought or Matthew is small than I thought.

Oops here's why they are together...John Hughes. I like the Ferris Bueller reference there by Broderick.

Lots of good movie references there...Mr. Mom, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Pretty In Pink, Home Alone, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Some Kind Of Wonderful, National Lampoon Vacation...no love for Uncle Buck?!?

Its the Brat Pack! Whoa, some of them aged a little more crazy than others (is that you Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall?) except for MacCauley Culkin who still looks young. Too bad he blew his fame on cocaine!

Pretty cool...I thought you'd see this on the MTV Movie Awards.

Iron Man and Sarah Palin - Best Screenplay

Alec is back to introduce another random pairing Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. Not sure if Robert needs to wears his sunglasses but oh well....I liked his over the topness here on writers versus actors but there seems to be a lot of inside Hollywood jokes here.

Best Original Screenplay award goes to the Hurt Locker. Interesting...poor Quinten, he spends 10 years to get Inglorious Basterds made and he looks PISSED.

Supposedly this guy Boal is going to be sued for stealing the story from somebody else....we'll see. Nice shout out to his recently deceased father.

District 9 Overview

Its the new James T. Kirk...and District 9! C'mon baby, win something. If you haven't seen this movie and you have a penis between your legs...then you must see this movie. IF that little tidbit doesn't get you excited then nothing will.

That was the perfect elixir to get over sad thoughts of Boner's demise.

COMMERCIAL!

Best Song

A bad Hangover joke and a good age joke by Steve and Alec lead to Amanda Seyfried and Miley Cyrus. Miley seems to be leaning a bit and can't keep their hands still. Miley throws Amanda under the bus by saying "we're both nervous" while Amanda seemed to be doing just fine thank you Miley.

What the heck happened to this category? I haven't heard of any of these songs. Bring back the days of "Footloose", "Against All Odds", and the Karate Kid Part 2 song! They also did away with the artists performing these songs...good call this year since nobody has really heard them.

And the award goes to the Crazy Heart song. I like that name...T.Bone. I'm getting choked up here because T. Bone makes me think of T. Boner which makes me think of Boner from Growing Pains who just died. Sad.

I need to compose myself here quickly...

Best Animated Feature

The great thing about the Oscars is random pairings of people. Here you get Cameron Diaz and Steve Carrell.

Cameron is trying to turn the clock back to 1994 circa The Mask.

C'mon Cameron....get it together.

Here's a run through of the animated features in character being interviewed by Barbara Walters. Eh, not the greatest thing.

Yes! An Ed Asner sighting!

No surprise...Up wins. I didn't see it but I'm afraid to after hearing how emotional the first 5-10 minutes are. The guy accepting the award seems like a cool geeky guy. I love the weepy wife (she's sporting some cleavage there).

Ryan Reynolds Talks about The Blind Side

Ryan Reynolds is a lucky man...he gets to sleep next to Scarlett Johanson's breasts every night...though she's not there tonight for some reason.

I love his set up the movie here...he's way too serious...he needs his wife's breasts to loosen him up.

I didn't see this movie...I thought it was more of a chick flick and I usually wait until chick flick's appear on DVD when my wife wants to watch those kinds of movie.

Penelope Cruz and Best Supporting Actor

Penelope Cruz speaks worse english than I remember.

They are showing more highlights of the nominees than normal here. I'd like to see Invictus and the The Messenger. Stanley Tucci has always been a great character actor...what's up with that goofy laugh?

Hmmm...they are showing a lot of scenes at the end of Inglorious Basterds...spoiler alert?

And the winner is...Christoph Waltz. I'm tuning out his speech though.

During his speech, there's a scroll that says that ABC is going back on Cablevision....welcome back to the rest of the world my fellow 516,631, and 718 brothers!

Oscars Main Broadcast - Opening

Here we go! They start the show introducing all of the actor and actress nominations. I think this is neat....though Jeremy Renner and that actress from the Messenger seems to look starstruck.

J-Lo and Robin Williams sitting next to each other?

Its Doogie Hauser! He's singing a song about people not wanting to do something alone. Not sure about dropping the soap reference is PC but hey who am I to judge and James Cameron being shown in complete darkness. Now its turning into a big dance production. Doogie's voice was ready to crack there but he pulls it off.

Here's Steve and Alec, I guess the song thing allows them to just go right into the monologue. Nice jab there by Steve to Alec about how he's accomplished little in his career.

Meryl Streep gets a most losses nod which is funny. Christopher Plummer stands up to acknowledge his own applause...hmmm.

The laughter and applause sounds weird....its like they're at a small club.

Lots of random but good jokes. Meryl Streep and Hitler memoriabilia....A Precious videogame joke...Steve Martin references "The Jerk"...Woody Harrelson gets a drug reference (!)...A nice riff on Cameron in 3D and and Avatar...an ex-wife joke about Cameron sending Katherine Bigelow a Toyota...another funny Jewish joke about Inglorious Basterds though some of the actors weren't laughing...a Sandra Bullock joke in that she might now win...Zach and Effron look like deer in headlights...and a running George Clooney joke.

Not too bad...

ABC Preshow - 8:20-end

Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are interviewed and they do this dumb bit about it not being the Emmys and get to plug a movie. I like them because they know they have act all silly.

Kathy Ireland talks up Miley like she's the second coming of Jesus Christ. Thank youuuuu.

Sherry gets Jeff Bridges. He just looks like a super cool guy. He's come a long way since the remake of King Kong.

The dude gets Kate Winslet. Sadly she's given up nude scenes but then again when most actresses hit their mid 30's, you don't care much about seeing them nude anymore.

Kathy gets the hefty girl from Precious. Wow, Kathy says the whole title of the movie Precious without stumbling. Gabourey is funny...I was in the kitchen during the preshow and thought it was Sarah Silverman being interviewed.

Sherry gets Taylor Lautner and he uses words like "amaaaazing, thrilled to be here, going to be a great night". Nice job kid, you've been hollywoodfied already at 17.

The dude gets Meryl Streep. She looks good at 60. She seems down to earth. I'd be like her in that I'd use these award shows to "catch up with friends".

Kathy takes us out and looks like she's wobbly...what a revelation. I need more of her. Off to the show...

Segment and more interviews

Weird segment here...though I like the movie title "The Song Of Bernadette". I guess they're comparing the last time there were 10 nominees. Nothing too exciting here.

More interviews: Sherry and J-Lo. Sherry is getting more comfortable with the celebs, I think she's getting better. J-Lo says she liked Precious which seems to surprise Sherry for some reason. I need more Kathy Ireland though.

Quick shot of Kathy Bates there but now over to the dude interviewing Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick...Talk about a token husband. Sarah's face is slowing turning in the mid-transformation scene face in "An American Werewolf in London".

Sherry and Cameron...the run Cameron is on (The Box), this could be her last Oscars appearance in awhile. Sherry is letting out weird noises.

No Kathy!!! Where is she???

More Interviews

Kathy thanks some dress wearers..."con-GRAT-ulations!!!".

The dude interviews Matt Damon and kisses his ass for a minute.

Sherry gets Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. Sherry gushes over Helen's movie but I bet you $1,000 she never saw it. Christopher Plummer will always be the bad guy in Star Trek VI..."Cry HAVOK...and let slip the dogs of war". Great bad guy.

Kathy gets Morgan Freeman...I love "Mor-GAN lovely to see yoooou".

I Love Kathy Ireland.

Kathy Ireland sounds like a robot but she looks great. Poor Jake, he has to be interviewed by Kathy...ugh she's full of cliches. Why did she mention Brothers there? That movie already came out last year. Kathy sounds like the Jim Lampley of interviews.

Over to Sherry with George Clooney and his girlfriend who never says anything. She actually mouths a word but that's it.

Now over to the dude interviewer who seems a lot more at ease and smooth. Sandra Bullock looks nice but why he just asked her what she plans on eating after the show is weird..."starving is worth it?"

Back to Kathy Ireland and her weird hand movements. She is pure comedy gold right now! I've never heard the word "carpet" pronounced "car-PET". I love the "Thank you Zach...thank you soooooooo much" to Zach Efron.

I've already found my highlight of the night and we're 7 minutes in!

ABC Pre-Show - 8pm

Its almost go time. This is usually one of the worst interviewed shows of the year. Lasy year, they threw Robin Roberts and Regis on the red carpet and it was a hilarious disaster. Can't wait to see who does it this year.

Ahhhh yes...glorious HD. Its great to see where the bad make up jobs occur.

Whoa! Sherry Shepard, Kathy Ireland, Jess Cagle! So much for Robin Roberts this year.

All five supporting actresses standing next to each other sizing each other up. Penelope Cruz suddenly forgets how to speak clean English. I love Anna Kendrick. The Vera woman looks like she aged 10 years since the Departed.

Ugh, Maggie Gyllenhaal...

I just remembered Mo'Nique was in the movie Beer Fest! She's come a long way. She already sounds she knows she won the award.

Oscar E! Show Wrapup

Ugh, the pretenciousness has begun.

Most Annoying Interview: Miley Cyrus being interviewed and she said she was nervous about not falling while presnting on stage.

Second Most Annoying Interview: Sarah Jessica Parker (my least favorite actress ever) blabbed on and on about what her husband Matthew Broderick is working on despite the fact he's standing right next to her and she didn't let him talk.

Worst/Best "look at me" poses the actresses are making: Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, Sarah Jessica Parker, Charlize Theron, and no surprise Cameron Diaz.

Best token husband just standing there while his wife gets all the attention: Marc Anthony

Worst tan lines: Amanda Seyfried, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Seacrest

Best MILF - Katheryn Bigelow (James Cameron's current wife looks like a grandma compared to her)

Best WTF? - The blond co-host of the show is married to Apprentice Season 1 winner Bill Rancic?

Time to change the channel to ABC for their 30 minute preshow...sorry my Cablevision brothers and sisters...I hope there's a last minute miracle!

2010 Oscars - Questions and Notes

Quick notes for the blog.

1.) I will be drinking throughout the show so expect my already lowbrow humor to get even more crude.

2.) Expect tons of spelling mistakes, I type as fast as I think and I want to cram as much as possible while not having you all to wait too often between updates.

3.) I'll update it just about every segment (which should be no more than 5-7 minutes)

4.) I will be drinking throughout the show.

5.) Music is shut off for tonight.

6.) I will be drinking throughout the show.

Oscar questions:
1.) Avatar vs. Hurt Locker, Cameron vs. Bigelow, Streep versus Bullock. Who wins? Those are the toughest races to call.
2.) Will me personal favorites District 9 and Quentin Tarantino win some kind of award?
3.) Will they do that goofy thing again when five old actors and actresses appear to each present one of the nominated actors. That was awesomely goofy last year.
4.) Who gets the largest applause in the "In Memorium" montage. Heath Ledger was not listed last year so he may get it. Would Michael Jackson be mentioned? He was in the Wiz so maybe they'll show him.
5.) How well will the two host gimmick work with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin?
6.) Will there be any Cablevision mentions since most of NY can't watch it?
7.) Will someone explain why Miley Cyrus and any cast members from the Twilight movies will be presenting?
8.) Any Haiti mentions?
9.) Who presents the Best Picture award? This is usually a surprise.
10.) What actor's speech will be the most pretentious ie. lead to tears? My pick is Mo'Nique (And her damn apostrophe)

Predictions are below!

2010 Oscar Nominations

As some of you who personally know me well, I am a big time movie fan. I'll pretty much watch any movie but also read a couple of great movie magazines made in the U.K. (Total Film and Empire...you can find them in any Borders or Barnes and Noble. Check them out). Anyway, this is one of my favorite nights of the year mainly because it celebrates the movies but you also have the complete stupidity of Hollywood actors and actresses and how way too seriously they take themselves. Sprinkle in some random appearances by old time actors and of course the montage of celebrities who have died this year and you have a great night of comedy gold.

I sadly didn't catch as many of the nominations as I did last year but I caught most of the major movies. Below are my thoughts and predictions on each of the categories. I italicized the movies I saw.


Best Motion Picture of the Year
* Avatar (2009): James Cameron, Jon Landau
* The Blind Side (2009): Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson
* District 9 (2009): Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham
* An Education (2009): Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
* The Hurt Locker (2008): Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro
* Inglourious Basterds (2009): Lawrence Bender
* Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
* A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
* Up (2009): Jonas Rivera
* Up in the Air (2009/I): Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman

Thoughts: This is tough. Avatar completely revolutionized movies forever with the 3D effects and the movie probably holds up well without the 3D. The Hurt Locker was more of a gritty realistic movie and pretty much puts you in downtown Baghdad in 2004. Inglorious Bastards was also very good and I'd say it could be a dark horse but it ran just a little too long. District 9 was probably the second most original movie (after Avatar) and was my favorite movie of the year but probably has little chance. Up In The Air and A Serious Man were two movies I thought were very overrated with A Serious Man being a plotless mess. I didn't see Precious but will when it comes out on DVD Tuesday. Up I heard was awesome but an animated movie hasn't been nominated for Best Picture since Beauty And The Beast so it probably won't win. The Blind Side sounded to me like it was a little too sugary and too Hollywood and I heard good things about An Education but didn't how to watch it.

Prediction: I'm pulling for the Hurt Locker but its going to be close. I think Avatar takes it.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
* Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)
* George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009/I)
* Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009)
* Morgan Freeman for Invictus (2009)
* Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008)

Everything points towards Jeff Bridges winning. He'll always be the Dude to me in the The Big Lebowski and the creepy villain in the late 90's thriller The Vanishing so I'm happy for him. George Clooney was good but he didn't stand out THAT much. Jeremy Renner should win based on the last 15 minutes of the Hurt Locker alone but I have to take the critics word for it that Jeff Bridges put on an amazing performance.

Prediction: Having not seen Crazy Heart, I'd go with Renner but this seems to be Bridges year.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
* Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)
* Helen Mirren for The Last Station (2009)
* Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009)
* Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
* Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009)

I only saw Julia and Julia and I was probably playing brickbreaker on my phone at the time so I wasn't completely paying attention. Still, I thought she did a good job at playing Julia Child. I hear a lot of talk about Sandra Bullock's performance and how it could come down to her and Meryl Streep. I don't know much about the other performances except the rather large Precious actor did a good job. Helen Mirren is an elder statesman and should be happy to be there. I heard lots of great things about Carey Mulligan but the movie seemed to never play anywhere for anybody. I'll have to check out An Education as some point.

Prediction: I'm pulling for Meryl Streep and think she'll win. If not, it belongs to Sandra Bullock. She's come a long way since Demolition Man and The Net!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
* Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)
* Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (2009/I)
* Christopher Plummer for The Last Station (2009)
* Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (2009)
* Christopher Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

I only saw Waltz's performance but it was an awesome. His way of slowly breaking the Nazi fighters down is incredible and his laughing fit of hearing how the actress breaks her leg (mountain climbing) shows how crazy but smart his character was. I love the other actors nominated (especially Woody Harrelson) but Waltz seems to be winning everything else.

Prediction: Waltz...mark it.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
* Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)
* Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009/I)
* Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (2009)
* Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009/I)
* Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Mo'Nique should win this since she's won every other award. I liked the younger girl, Anna Kendrick, in Up In The Air. Vera Farmiga was annoying in her role and I HATE Maggie Gyllenhaal (I was sort of happy her charactered died suddenly in The Dark Knight). Penelope Cruz won last year and Nine sucked a fatty anyway.

Prediction: Mo'Nique (I'm going to hate having to type her name out tonight...stupid apostrophe).

Best Achievement in Directing
* Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)
* James Cameron for Avatar (2009)

* Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
* Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)
* Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)


All good movies here. Again, its going to come down to Cameron and Bigelow, who used to bang each other...cool!, but I'm sort of pulling for Quentin here. Again, its two different type of movies (Cameron created an entire world....Bigelow puts you in a world of hell).

Prediction: Bigelow only because I think Avatar is going to win Best Picture and Oscar voters will want to recognize The Hurt Locker in some way.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
* The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal
* Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino
* The Messenger (2009/I): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
* A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
* Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

This is interesting. I would think Inglourious Basterds is more original than The Hurt Locker. If this category is about original stories, I'd say Tarantino's was a lot more interesting. Plus, I read a couple of days ago that the Hurt Locker writer Mark Boal is being sued by a guy who said he ripped the story idea off him.

Prediction: Taratino finally wins his long due Oscar.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
* District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
* An Education (2009): Nick Hornby
* In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
* Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher
* Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

I really really REALLY want District 9 to win here...what a really cool movie (I'm a sucker for aliens and big guns...but unlike Avatar, some of the aliens are nasty). Still, Up In The Air seems to hit closer to home in our wacky society and economy today. Plus Jason Reitman's Dad wrote Ghostbusters so he has friends in Hollywood. He also directed Juno last year so the Academy should like him.

Prediction: Come on District 9! But Reitman is my pick.


Best Achievement in Cinematography
* Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore
* Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Christian Berger
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Bruno Delbonnel
* The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd
* Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson


Now we get into categories that I'm just going to make complete guesses at. Cinematography is about the scenes and visions of what's going on the screen around the actors. If that's really true, you have to go with Avatar.

Prediction: Avatar...though I'm intrigued to see the short clip of Das weisse Band (goofy name).


Best Achievement in Editing
* Avatar (2009): Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
* District 9 (2009): Julian Clarke
* The Hurt Locker (2008): Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
* Inglourious Basterds (2009): Sally Menke

* Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Joe Klotz

Not sure how editing plays into a movie but I'd liked the way they cut the action scenes in the four movies I saw. The Hurt Locker might get this but I'll go with Avatar here.

Prediction: Avatar (they should win most of the technical awards tonight).

Best Achievement in Art Direction
* Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
* The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith
* Nine (2009): John Myhre, Gordon Sim
* Sherlock Holmes (2009): Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
* The Young Victoria (2009): Patrice Vermette, Maggie Gray

I'm going solely by names here. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was directed by Terry Gilliam who's made some very out there movies (Brazil, 12 Monkeys) and might steal this if Avatar doesn't win this as well.

Prediction: Imaginarium (going to mix it up here).


Best Achievement in Costume Design
* Bright Star (2009): Janet Patterson
* Coco avant Chanel (2009): Catherine Leterrier
* The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Monique Prudhomme
* Nine (2009): Colleen Atwood
* The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell

I didn't see any of these movies so I'm going with Monique Prudhomme only because she keeps the spelling of her first name without an apostrophes.

Prediction: Prudhomme.

Best Achievement in Makeup
* Il divo (2008): Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano
* Star Trek (2009): Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow
* The Young Victoria (2009): John Henry Gordon, Jenny Shircore

Not sure why Avatar isn't lisited here but then again CGI involves no makeup. Have to go with Star Trek here. Il Divo? Hmmm...

Prediction: Star Trek

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
* Avatar (2009): James Horner
* Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat
* The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
* Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer
* Up (2009): Michael Giacchino

No movie scores seemed to stand out and James Horner was win a few times in the past but then again so has Hans Zimmer. The song I actually remember the most is the song playing in the supermarket at the end of Hurt Locker.

Prediction: The Avatar train chugs along.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
* Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")
* Faubourg 36 (2008): Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas("Loin de Paname")
* Nine (2009): Maury Yeston("Take It All")
* The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Almost There")
* The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Down in New Orleans")

It seems that the Crazy Heart song will win but I have a soft spot for Randy Newman if only for the baseball game montage song he did for the Naked Gun AND the basketball game montage in Teen Wolf. Go Randy!

Prediction: Crazy Heart...can't see how it loses.


Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
* Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson
* The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett
* Inglourious Basterds (2009): Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Mark Ulano
* Star Trek (2009): Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson, Peter J. Devlin
* Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson

Strange in that I saw all five of these movies but the "sound mixing" wasn't something I was paying attention to. Transformers had some pretty cool mechanical sounds but the movie was pretty bad (though not as bad as a non-fan of the old 80's cartoon would say). Avatar's battle scenes was full of sounds going all over the theater. Hurt Locker and Basterds sounds involved guns so they may cancel each other out.

Prediction: Avatar.


Best Achievement in Sound Editing
* Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
* The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson
* Inglourious Basterds (2009): Wylie Stateman
* Star Trek (2009): Mark P. Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin

* Up (2009): Michael Silvers, Tom Myers

See above, not sure what the difference is but for some reason Transformers was taken out and Up put in.

Prediction: Hurt Locker only because of the cool name Paul N.J. Ottosson.


Best Achievement in Visual Effects
* Avatar (2009): Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones
* District 9 (2009): Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken
* Star Trek (2009): Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton


District 9's aliens seemed like they fit into the movie perfectly but Avatar again created an entire world.

Prediction: Avatar

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
* Coraline (2009): Henry Selick
* Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Wes Anderson
* The Princess and the Frog (2009): John Musker, Ron Clements
* The Secret of Kells (2009): Tomm Moore
* Up (2009): Pete Docter

Didn't see any of these but Up is the only one also nominated for Best Picture. I also heard from two strong willed friends of my mine who are in their 30's and they gently wept after watching the montage in the beginning of the movie. That alone gets my vote.

Prediction: Up!

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
* Ajami (2009)(Israel)
* Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)(Germany)
* El secreto de sus ojos (2009)(Argentina)
* Un prophète (2009)(France)
* La teta asustada (2009)(Peru)

Hmmm...I'm going by what country I'd like to visit. Israel seems a bit dangerous these days. Peru and Argentina are too jungly for me. That leaves France and Germany. Since I like beer, I'm going with Germany.

Prediction: Das weisse Band...Victaschnief!

Best Documentary, Features
* Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land (2008): Anders Østergaard, Lise Lense-Møller
* The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens
* Food, Inc. (2008): Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein
* The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009): Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
* Which Way Home (2009): Rebecca Cammisa

I need to see some of these. I heard great things about The Cove (about how dolphins are killed for their meat) and Food, Inc. (inside look at the food industry). I'm going with a movie that shows the shocking treatment of Flipper.

Prediction: The Cove

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
* China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) (TV): Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill
* The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009): Daniel Junge, Henry Ansbacher
* The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) (TV): Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
* Królik po berlinsku (2009): Bartosz Konopka, Anna Wydra
* Music by Prudence (2010): Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett

Hmmm...I'm just going by titles here. I'm going to go with the second one. I'm not sure who Booth Gardner was but I like that name...combine with the name of one of the guys who made it, Junge, and that's my pick.

Prediction: The Booth Garder flick that Junge made.

Best Short Film, Animated
* French Roast (2008): Fabrice Joubert
* Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (2008): Nicky Phelan, Darragh O'Connell
* La dama y la muerte (2009): Javier Recio Gracia
* Logorama (2009): Nicolas Schmerkin
* Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV): Nick Park

Going by names again. I've heard of the Wallace and Gromit people (they did that movie Chicken Run years ago). That's my pick though I like that Granny O'Grimm title.

Prediction: Wallace and Gromit.

Best Short Film, Live Action
* The Door (2008): Juanita Wilson, James Flynn
*Istället för abrakadabra (2008): Patrik Eklund, Mathias Fjällström
* Kavi (2009): Gregg Helvey
* Miracle Fish (2009): Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey
* The New Tenants (2009): Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson

I'm going for the second one only because I can't wait to see whoever presents this award try to pronounce it.

Prediction: Here's my stab at it..."is-tah-let for ah-bra-cah-dah-bra"

Friday, March 5, 2010

2010 Oscar Running Diary




Its coming near...8pm Sunday night...be there.