My Oscar Choices

Best Motion Picture
of the Year:
The Hurt Locker
or
Inglourious Basterds

Best Performance by an
Actor in a Leading Role:
Jeff Bridges for 'Crazy Heart'
or
Jeremy Renner for 'The Hurt Locker'

Best Performance by an
Actress in a Leading Role:
Gabourey Sidibe for 'Precious...'
or
Carey Mulligan for 'An Education'

Best Performance by an
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Christoph Waltz for 'Inglourious Basterds'

Best Performance by an
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Mo'Nique for 'Precious...'

Best Achievement in Directing:
Kathryn Bigelow for 'The Hurt Locker'
or
Quentin Tarantino for 'Inglourious Basterds'

Best Writing, Screenplay
Written Directly for the Screen:
'The Hurt Locker' by Mark Boal
or
'Inglourious Basterds' by Quentin Tarantino

Best Writing, Screenplay
Based on Material Previously
Produced or Published:
'In the Loop' by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell,
Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche

Skip It 2/20/2010

The Box (2009)
Directed by: Richard Kelly
Written by: Richard Matheson; Richard Kelly
Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn, Holmes Osborne, Gillian Jacobs, Celia Weston, Deborah Rush
A creepy old man offers a suburban couple one million dollars if they simply push a button in a box. The catch is that somewhere in the world, someone they don't know, will die. After a bit of contemplation the button is pushed, and soon after things get complicated. What could have been a really creepy thriller is bogged down by tons of needless exposition and some really bad acting. 'The Box' is a film that tries to be thought provoking but just ends up being stupid. D-



Where The Wild Things Are (2009)
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Written by: Maurice Sendak; Spike Jones + Dave Eggars
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper, Lauren Ambrose
An obnoxious little boy runs away from home because he doesn't get enough attention from his single mom, and finds himself on an island inhabited by giant unpleasant mascots. They declare him their king and then they run around breaking things and arguing for the rest of the movie. A kids book is stretched out into a long, unpleasant, boring movie that only masochists would enjoy. F



Nine (2009)
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Written by: Mario Fratti, Maury Yeston, Arthur Kopit; Anthony Minghella + Michael Tolkin
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren, Stacy Ferguson
An acclaimed director is trying to come up with a script for his new film, which has already begun production in Rome. While following this man as he goes through a private development hell, we meet a group of women that have either inspired him in the past or complicate his life in the present. All these women have a big song, but the only memorable one belongs to Marion Cotillard, who plays the wife. Other characters are jammed in haphazardly, particularly Nicole Kidman as the directors muse and Kate Hudson as a reporter, and all the big production numbers fall completely flat. The whole movie is disjointed, way too long, and ultimately a big mess. C-



The Wolfman (2010)
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Written by: Curt Siodmak; Andrew David Walker + David Self
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Art Malik, Geraldine Chaplin
In this remake of the 1941 cult classic, a man named Lawrence Talbot returns to his ancestral home on the English moors after his brother goes missing. When he arrives he discovers that his brother's body has already been found, and it looks as if he was torn apart by a wild animal. Soon, Talbot is bitten by a giant wolf and before we know it, he himself transforms into a hulking beast when the moon is full and goes on a rampage. Also along for the ride are his creepy father, his dead brother's former fiance, a Scotland Yard detective and some gypsies. The only things that make this absolute mess watchable are the cinematography and production design, which create a wonderfully foreboding atmosphere. We have fog shrouded forests, vine encrusted edifices, long dark hallways, cob-web covered walls, and tons of gore. What's missing here is a good script, decent pacing and some actual suspense. There's absolutely no reason to care about Lawrence Talbot, and the only scares in this are the cheap jump scares. Avoid. D-


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Listening to: Icehouse - Crazy
via FoxyTunes

See It 2/13/10

The Loveless (1982)
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow + Monty Montgomery
Written by: Kathryn Bigelow + Monty Montgomery
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Robert Gordon, Marin Kanter, J. Don Ferguson, Tina L'Hotsky, Lawrence Matarese
A young biker (Dafoe) on his way to a rally in Florida is held over in a small sleepy roadside town when his motorcycle needs repairs. While waiting in a diner he meets some other bikers and some locals looking for a thrill. 'The Loveless' focuses on atmosphere over plot and hhile the movie is incredibly slow moving, I guess it really captures what it was like to be in a biker gang in the 50's. You didn't know where you would end up, time passed by unnoticed and you never knew who you were going to cross paths with. B



La Femme Nikita (1990)
Directed by: Luc Besson
Written by: Luc Besson
Starring: Anne Parillaud, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana, Tcheky Karyo, Jeanne Moreau
In France, a violent gang member is arrested after a botched robbery, declared dead by the government and enlisted into a top secret organization of assassins. After being held underground and trained for a few years, she is released and sent on various missions. When she falls in love with an unsuspecting civilian she has a hard time keeping her double life as an assassin separate from her married life. This film has a wonderful look to it, as well as a great soundtrack. But the best thing about it are it's action set-pieces, which keep you on the edge of your seat. B+




Gojira (1954)
Directed by: Ishiro Honda
Written by: Ishiro Honda, Shigeru Kayama, Takeo Murata
Starring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami
After a Japanese fishing village is ravaged by what everyone thinks is a hurricane, a team of scientists discover that a radioactive monster has been awakened by atomic bomb testing in the pacific. The monster, nicknamed Gojira by the Japanese after a mythical sea god, ravages Japan, while the scientists race to find a way to destroy it. There were two versions of this film released, the original Japanese version, and a version released in America with scenes of Raymond Burr as a visiting American shoehorned in while other scenes with the Japanese cast were omitted. This is the original version, and while the effects seem dated and clunky, and the acting stiff, the images of civilians being burned alive, children dying and cities being toppled and burned to the ground are an all too painful reminder of how Japan was eviscerated at the dawn of the atomic age. B



Running On Empty (1988)
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Written by: Naomi Foner
Starring: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney
During the Vietnam War, a pair of liberal activists blew up a napalm factory, paralyzing an innocent bystander in the process. Ever since they have been fugitives of the law, going from town to town under assumed identities. Now they have two children, Stephen, a young boy and Michael, a teenage piano prodigy (a wonderful River Phoenix.) After they arrive in a small town in New Jersey, the teenager falls in love with his music teacher's daughter and applies to Julliard in NYC. But when the family needs to skip town and go on the run again, he is torn between his aspirations and his family. Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch are both great as the streetwise, idealistic parents, but the real star here is the late River Phoenix, who gives a wonderful, angst filled performance. A-