Oscars Recap

Congratulations to all the winners at the 85th Academy Awards- especially Argo for taking home Best Picture. I did not watch much of the Oscars this year. Because we have not been to the movies since our son was born, I have not seen any of the movies nominated for Best Picture; but I did keep up with the winners. It was a big night for Life of Pi, leading the way with 4 Academy Awards, including Best Director. I was excited to see Django Unchained take home a couple of little men as well- Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz). Again, I haven't seen it, but I've read reviews from multiple people saying it is better than Inglorious Basterds. If that is the case, it has to be an awesome film.

As far as my Oscar predictions, I didn't do too bad. I correctly guessed 13 of the 24 categories; I was 6 for 7 in what I consider the 'big' categories (Picture, Direct, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Foreign), missing only Best Director. Not bad for not having seen any of them. Now I just need to start watching all these movies. Hopefully by the time the 86th Academy Awards rolls around I will have done so.

Weekly Recap: Feb 17- Feb 23, 2012

A recap of the movies I watched for this first time this past week.

Featured:

 Men in Black III (2012)- 5/10

In the third installment of Men in Black, Agent J (Will Smith) travels back to 1969 to stop Boris the Animal from killing a younger Agent K (Josh Brolin). Agent K originally took Boris' arm and arrested him in 1969. I wasn't a big fan of MIB II, and this one wasn't much better. I just didn't like the villain- Boris the Animal. But I did like the concept of going back in time. It was impressive how Josh Brolin pulled off a younger Tommy Lee Jones so well.





The Rest: 

The Birds (1963)- 7/10- I would have liked to known the reason 'the birds' went so crazy, but it was still a solid Hitchcock thriller. I won't look at birds the same again. 

Chariots of the Gods (1970)- 7/10- It is pretty dated being over 40 years old, but an interesting documentary about the possibility of alien visitations to Earth in the past.



Movies watched this week: 3
Movies watched in 2013: 30


Source: FilmAffinity 

Oscar Predictions 2013

Every year my wife and I sit down with a blank ballot and see who can predict the most Oscar winners. Most years we have seen at least a majority of the movies nominated, but this year we have seen exactly zero of the movies nominated for Best Picture. In fact, I have only seen 7 full length features and one short nominated in any category (Ted, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, Brave, Paranorman, The Avengers, Prometheus and the short film Paperman). So this year could be kind of tough. Regardless, I am still going to make my predictions for this year; we will see how it turns out.

Best Picture: Argo- it looks like a lot of fun.

Best Director: Stephen Spielberg (Lincoln)- his name alone wins it.

Best Leading Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)- same as above.

Best Leading Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)- She wins this time.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)- Loved him in Basterds.

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)- I hear she is great.

Best Foreign Language Film: Amour- It is nominated for Best Picture...easy call.

Best Original Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty- The other movie that could win Best Picture.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo- To go with the Best Picture win.

Best Film Editing: Zero Dark Thirty- A lot goes into a good combat movie.

Best Cinematography: Life of Pi- I don't have a good reason for choosing this one.

Best Music (Score): Argo- If the music is like it is in the trailer.

Best Song: Skyfall- It is just a good sound.

Best Art Direction: Les Miserables- A bunch of big sets.

Best Costume Design: Les Miserables- A lot of old costumes required.

Best Makeup: The Hobbit- Just a hunch.

Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables- It is all songs, so why not?


Best Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty- I'm sure with all the guns fire it wins.

Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi- I hope The Avengers wins, but not likely.

Best Animated Feature: Paranorman- Finally one I have actually seen.

Best Short Film- Animated: Paperman- Wasn't in love with it, but folks seem to be.

Best Documentary Feature: The Invisible War- Who knows?

Best Documentary, Short Subjects: Kings Point- Again, who knows?

Best Short Film: Asad- No logic behind this one either.



Source: FilmAffinity

Weekly Recap: Feb 10- Feb 16, 2013

A recap of the movies I watched for this first time this past week.

Featured:

The Living Daylights (1987)- 7/10

In Timothy Dalton's first appearance as James Bond, he has to stop a Russian officer and an American arms dealer from starting a World War. I quite liked Dalton as Bond. He only made one more 007 movie, so I will wait to see how that one is before I decide where he ranks among the 5 Bonds. As for the movie itself, it had an action packed plot and the villain/s were solid Bond villains. I wasn't too impressed with Maryam d'Abo as the Bond girl- she was kind of bland to me. But overall it was another solid Bond flick.





Movies watched this week: 1
Movies watched in 2013: 27



Source: IMDB

The Terminator!

The other night I caught T3: Rise of the Machines on TV.  I must say I was not a big fan of the third installment at first, but after watching it again, it is actually a pretty good movie. It works as a nice little bridge between Terminator 2: Judgement Day and the newest to the franchise, Terminator Salvation. I think now that I have seen Salvation, and we get a glimpse of the world after Judgement Day, I can fully appreciate what T3 offered.

I am a fan of the whole Terminator franchise, but I would not consider myself to be a huge fan. The Terminator was a solid flick, and I loved T2, but there was always something lacking with Rise of the Machines to me. After watching it again, I'm not real sure what my problem was with it. Nick Stahl is actually pretty solid as John Connor (now 10 years older than in T2). Claire Danes isn't great as the future Mrs. Connor, but she isn't bad; and Kristina Loken looked pretty good as the T-X- although really just a female version of Robert Patrick's liquid metal Terminator in T2. Like the first two films, it is the machines sending one of their own back in time to knock off key members of the resistance, including Mr. and Mrs. Connor, before they are actually even a part of it.

The movie has its flaws, but all of them do really. Heck, the entire plot of the first movie still baffles me. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) is sent back in time by John Connor to protect his mother, Sarah (Linda Hamilton), from being killed by a Terminator that was send back in time to kill her and prevent John from being born. Kyle sleeps with Sarah and then John is created. It's kind of like the chicken or the egg scenario- which came first? To quote Craig Robinson in Hot Tub Time Machine- "Like The Terminator; its cyclical. Right? The machines send Schwarzenegger back to kill Sarah Connor so that John Connor can never be born. But if John Connor don't send Michael Biehn back to protect her, and they never f***, then John Connor ain't born in the first place." I love that movie.

I guess my point is that I'm glad I gave T3 another shot. It is a nice lead in to Terminator Salvation, which I think I enjoyed more than most. It was nice to see the battle between the resistance and the machines finally play out. Arnold does make a cameo, but we need more of him in the next one- which is already confirmed. So he officially will be back! 

Top 10 'Romantic' Movies

Most men don't want to admit they enjoy 'romantic' movies, but there are some out there that are really good. With Valentine's Day coming up tomorrow, I give you my Top 10 'Romantic' movies.

10. Along Came Polly (2004)- 8/10

After being dumped on his honeymoon, Reuben (Ben Stiller) reunites with an old classmate, Polly (Jennifer Aniston), who takes Reuben far outside of his play-it-safe lifestyle. This was nominated for a Razzie is 2004, but I really enjoyed it. It's one of those I will watch anytime it comes on TV. Phillip Seymour Hoffman steals the show as a former childhood actor and Reuben's best friends.

9. Fever Pitch (2005)- 8/10

Ben (Jimmy Fallon) has two loves in his life- his girlfriend (Drew Berrymore) and his baseball team. Now that I can relate to. But who will he choose in the end? Fever Pitch brings the romance, but disguises it with a lot of baseball and a good comedic performance from Fallon- something he fails to do with his late night TV show.

8. Three to Tango (1999)- 8/10

Oscar (Matthew Perry) and is business partner (Oliver Platt) are hired for a $90 million dollar restoration project by a wealthy business man. Believing Oscar is gay, the business man asks Oscar to keep an eye on his mistress, Amy (Neve Campbell). Oscar, however, is not gay and ends up falling for  Amy. Things unwind in a hilarious way as Oscar tries to play along. This role was made for Matthew Perry.

7. Just Friends (2005)- 8/10

After Chris (Ryan Reynolds) professes his love to his best friend Jaime (Amy Smart), she responds that she too loves him...as a friend. He then runs off to LA, loses weight and becomes a womanizing music manager. He returns home one Christmas, runs into Jaime, and begins on the path to being more than just friends. Ryan Reynolds is hilarious, Anna Faris brilliantly plays a pop singing sensation, and Chris Klein shows his comedic side as 'Simply Dusty'- another high school classmate going after Jaime.

6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)- 8/10

After being dumped by his movie star girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), Peter (Jason Segel) decides to take a trip to Hawaii...where he runs into Sarah and her new boyfriend, pop star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). This one just has a great cast of funny people- including Mila Kunis and Jonah Hill. Plus, Jason Segel is one of my favorite comedic actors working right now.

5. Romeo + Juliet (1996)- 8/10

Romeo and Juliet is one of the greatest love stories of all time. This version, staring Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, puts the story in modern times, without losing any of the great story. Mainly because most of the original dialogue was used throughout. We just get gun fights rather than sword fights.

4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)- 9/10

A chronicle of the 500 days of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his love for a girl named Summer (Zooey Deschanel). I don't' have much more to say other than this is just a great movie. It is a smart, unique comedy, and the cast is superb. The 'dance' scene is one of my favorite scenes of 2009.

3. Can't Hardly Wait (1998)- 9/10

This movie follows a few high school seniors on graduation night, including Preston (Ethan Embry), who sets out to tell Amanda (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who was recently dumped by her boyfriend, how he feels about her before he leaves for school the next day. This is a classic from my childhood- I was in love with Jennifer Love Hewitt. I couldn't wait to get to high school after watching this one; and I still smile every time I hear Paradise City.

2. For Love of the Game (1999)- 9/10

An aging pitcher (Kevin Costner) goes for a perfect game at Yankee Stadium. Doesn't sound 'romantic' but while on the mound he flashes back to the woman he loved and lost (Kelly Preston). Plus the word love is in the title. With this one, Kevin Costner added yet another great sports movie to his filmography.

 1. When Harry Met Sally (1989)- 9/10

Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) don't like each other at first, but years later become very close friends. Then sex screws it all up. This is simply a superb movie- a classic. The chemistry between Crystal and Ryan is unmatched in this one. And we all remember the scene in the diner.







Source: IMDB

Weekly Recap: Feb 3- Feb 9, 2013

A recap of the movies I watched for this first time this week.

Featured: 

The Watch (2012)- 6/10

I was very intrigued by this one when the teaser trailer was released. I figured a movie with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill had to include a few laughs. Then I found out it was about aliens invading their town- not at all what I was expecting from the first trailer. I went in expecting to be underwhelmed, but it really is a decent comedy. Not great by any means, and a bit over-the-top at times (to be expected in a comedy about alien invaders), but in the end, pretty fun.

The Rest:

Magic Mike (2012)- 7/10- Actually a pretty good movie. For those who are worried, there is only one 'money' shot, and it is easily avoidable.

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music (1970)- 5/10- It definitely paints a good picture of Woodstock, but I would have preferred just a little commentary in a 4 hour documentary. 

Tornado! (1996)- 4/10- Bruce Campbell and Ernie Hudson chasing tornadoes sounds fun, but it really isn't.

Arthur (1981)- 3/10- I actually found the remake with Russell Brand to be better; neither are very good though.



Movies watched this week: 5
Movies watched in 2013: 26



Source: FilmAffinity