Weekend Movie Roundup

I'm trying to get rid of this dang cough, so this was a perfect weekend for me to stay house-bound and watch a whole slew of great movies. Here's just a sampling...

First up, Ira & Abby. This was one of those small, indie romantic films that Netflix recommended to me and I took a chance, mostly because I like the main star Jennifer Westfeldt. She also happened to be the writer of this film, and it was very charming all around. Ira is a typical tightly-wound, over-thinking kind of NY character who often shows up in Woody Allen films (and little did I know I'd see the same previously unknown-to-me actor again the next day in an actual Woody Allen film), unlucky in love and paying a lot of money in therapy bills to talk too much about it. Abby is a free spirit, sweet and friendly and caring towards everyone she meets - sometimes spreading herself too thin and neglecting those she's actually in a relationship with. They meet cute and fall in love, and get married way too quickly. That's the setup, and what follows is the story of their break-ups and make-ups in trying to make a modern marriage work.


Their parents feature prominently in the story as well, well-played by Judith Light and Robert Klein (his stuffy analyst parents) and Fred Willard and Frances Conroy (her hippy-dippy jingle-singing parents). Also featured: a super-hot and scruffy Jon Hamm, Jennifer Westfeldt's actual bf, as one of her many exes. This is an enjoyable weekend afternoon kind of a movie, and I give it a B+.

Next, I settled in for a loooong evening with Baz Luhrmann's Australia. I just can't do 3 hour movies in the theaters anymore, so DVDs really are a perfect format. I'd been really unsure of this movie back when it was in theaters, cuz from the trailers you could never really tell what it was trying to be -- epic romance? war movie? Western? Baz-style extravaganza? Well, it falls somewhere in between the first three. The good news is that I liked it a lot more than I expected. Nicole Kidman, who often plays very fragile, breakable characters, shines in this movie playing a much stronger, sassier, more resourceful character than we've seen from her in a while. I think Baz has found a good way to bring some of that spirit out of her, and I hope they keep working together. And I'm not always a Hugh Jackman fan, cuz sometimes he seems much more suited to being a Broadway baby than a really rough-and-tumble character, but he really sells it as The Drover. And their chemistry is great. So, though the movie is a bit too long and sometimes stretches with the CGI-plus-Aboriginal-magic hoo-ah, it's a good story and you end up rooting for them both, and their adopted son Nullah, in the end. I also give this a B+.

And, finally, I spent my Sunday night in a world that I found so appealing, I'd just love to live there forever. That's Woody Allen's vision of the world, this time in Spain, with Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I like Woody and have seen most of his movies over the years, and I always think one of his hallmarks is that he "elevates" people and the world we live in, as he always creates articulate, artistic characters who spend their times in cafes, art galleries, or gorgeous homes, talking about poetry and disaffection in meaningful ways. No one ever seems to work or worry about everyday problems like bills or being stuck in traffic. They're all content to live and play in these beautiful places and debate the meaning of life and love. Yes, I want that! Here, Woody does it again, with what feels like almost a perfect film... two American tourists (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johanssen as Vicky and Cristina) head to Barcelona and get romantically entangled with an artist (Javier Bardem) and his ex-wife (Oscar winner Penelope Cruz). That's the story in a nutshell, but it's so beautifully played out, with such captivating and sensual performances, that I just didn't want it to end. Penelope really comes alive with a ferocity and a humor that comes through the screen, both Hall and Johanssen do a fine job playing sort of 2 sides of the same coin, both yearning for what they don't have, and Javier? Oh, Javier. How do you sigh in Spanish? I loved this movie, and as soon as it ended I clicked on to Amazon and bought a copy to have myself. I give it an A. I mean, really, just look at him!

Hollywood Comes to DC

And, even the best of us sometimes go a little wacky around real live movie stars. :-)

I work very close to the Navy Memorial, so I was able to spend about 1/2 an hour today watching as Angelina Jolie and Liev Schreiber - who are both ridiculously attractive in person, and he's super-tall and she's super-tiny - film a scene where they were running onto the escalator at the Archives/Navy Memorial metro stop.

Sadly my camera phone can't zoom, so you can't make out much here -- but if you look just to the left of that umbrella, you can see Liev (in a greenish overcoat)sitting in a chair with his back to the camera. Angelina is sitting to his right, but she's leaning forward so you can't see much other than the black backpack she's wearing, with a tan coat and black knit cap.

This made for a nice little lunch break for all of us who are used to the concept of "DC famous" - as in, "hey, I was in line next to Justice X" or "I shared an elevator with the Secretary of Y" or "I was at a party with Senator So-and-So" etc. - to get a little thrill from a taste of Hollywood.

The Envelope, Please....

And the big winner of this year's annual Sterfanie Blog Oscar Pool? Drum roll.....

.... is.... THIS GUY!!! Yes, Greg was the big winner! Congratulations! He won hands down, with 19 out of 24 correct picks. Amazing stats! I didn't even have to use the tie-breaker questions, since he was at least 2 ahead of all the rest of the competition. (Though the Entertainment Weekly picks did edge him out with 20 out of 24, but they don't really count!)

It's easiest to report which categories Greg missed rather than all of those he got right: he only missed Best Actor (picking Mickey in the hotly-contested race), Documentary Short, Foreign Language Film, Animated Short, and Sound Mixing. Not too shabby, movie fan!

So what does he win? $25 in Fandango Bucks! To go see all those movies (or, 2 1/2 of them) that he didn't have the chance to see before the big night.

Other highlights?

• There were 2 people tied in 2nd place with 17 wins each - the champ from 2 years ago Brunette and our own Mr. Hollywood, Steve. Great job, you guys! If just a few things had gone differently you could've been contenders. :-)
• J-Lo - last year's champ - was the only one among us to successfully pick ALL 4 acting winners! Woohoo!
• Every single one of us made the right pick with Man on Wire, that feel-good documentary about a crazy Frenchman following his dream. What a feel-good category!
• Brunette was the only one to get the documentary short, Smile Pinki!, correct, and I happen to know she picked it cuz she liked the name. Good call!
• Foreign Language shocker! We were all so focused on the race between The Class and Waltz with Bashir that not a single one of us correctly picked the winner, Departures.
• RSM (my bro) and AJ resisted the nearly-irresistible pull of that adorable cartoon rabbit and were the only ones to correctly pick the Animated Short winner, Le Maison de Petits Cubes, over Pixar's Presto.
• The final count, with initials only, if you're curious: GR 19, MBW and SB 17, JL 15, RSM 14, SSE 13, SM and AJ 12, and EA and MHJ 9. So, gang, what works better for you? Seeing all the movies or just randomly guessing??? I think I need to go with the latter!
• And finally, though we voted 5-4 in favor of SUCK, I have to say that Hugh Jackman pretty much ROCKED. Good call on having a song-and-dance man as the MC.

So - that's it for this year's pool! As usual, I had a great time with it. I'm a big old CMU-grad dork who loves updating my Oscar spreadsheet every year. And between this and March Madness I have so much fun tracking stuff that I'm starting to wonder if I was a bookie in a past life!

Congrats again to all the winners!!!

The 2009 Oscars- LIVE!

The big night is finally here! The stars are walking down the red carpet, the accountants have the results locked up in those "Deal or No Deal" briefcases, and all of the Friends of the Blog have gotten their picks in for my annual Oscar pool. There's some good stuff in there - we're all unanimous on many of the categories, but pretty much *none* of the big ones! Other than the apparent lock for Heath Ledger, we're all over the place in the acting, screenplay, directing and best picture categories. So this pool could be surprising!

This year I'm going to try something new -- I'm going to attempt to live-blog this evening, so stay tuned! I'll try to publish at commercials or other big (or boring) moments, and I welcome comments at any time. Here's hoping for a great evening!

------------------
8:01 pm - I made it through the E pre-show wilderness, somehow I made it throu--ou--ough. Not bad - Ryan Seacrest is actually pretty good at being Mr. Entertainment, and I just ignored Giulana and Jay mostly.

Now it's time for the official ABC pre-show. Kate Winslet = gorgeous. Josh Brolin = orange. Amy Adams = also gorgeous, and give it up for wearing red! SJP = oh, look, another princess couture gown. Snooze. And Matthew is looking OLD! Taraji P. Henson = Beautiful and seems so happy. Frank Langella = I can't look at him without remembering seeing him run naked in Lolita. Eeek. Brangelina = Classy, thank goodness.

Ha! Love the Tim Gunn flashback to Bjork's Swan Nightmare and Cher's crazy Bob Mackie dress. But I'm a little sad that so far no one seems to be a fashion disaster. The entire Slumdog cast seems so happy, and I'm glad the little kids were able to come. They really made the movie, IMHO. Mickey Rourke = it is touching to have his beloved chihuahua who passed away on his necklace. It's sad to lose a pet, no matter who you are. High School Musical kids? I'm too old for this whole phenom. Robert Downey Jr. looks all cleaned-up and classy. Viola Davis = not only does her performance rock, I think she's got my favorite dress of the night. She looks gorgeous! Miley Cyrus? I'm too old for her whole shtick, too. Anne Hathaway = part of that off-white trend that I'm not loving so far.

Funny little accountant montage before introducing the Price WaterhouseCoopers guys. That must be the best gig in all of accounting land. :-) Meryl Streep = an idol, but why does she always wear gray? Her daughter was funny - "Oh, I've been here before..." Even the 2nd generation Streep is used to being on the red carpet! Penelope Cruz = gorgeous, and vintage, but still that off-white color. Does it play better in person than on tv? Richard Jenkins = aww, I just wanna be friends with him. And... Jack Black at the bar. Love that he points out how awkward this all is. Marisa Tomei = who will always be Maggie in A Different World to me. Another gown where I can't tell what the color is. And...back at the bar with Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, and Judd Apatow. One final montage and then it's on to the big show!

-------------------------------
8:30 pm - THE SHOW BEGINS!

Oooh, the new set kinda reminds of those toys you'd get at the Ice Capades in the 80's, with those filaments that would all light up different colors at the end. Know what I mean?

Hugh Jackman -- he was a good Tonys host, let's see how he does here. The self-deprecating Australia joke was pretty funny, with the recession-New Zealand chaser. Ok, I *LOVE* the school play-esque recession-proof opening number! I'm surprised he could get a little racy and snarky in those lyrics. And look, Anne Hathaway can sing! "I am a Slumdog, I am a Wrestler, I'll rent The Reader, I'm Wolverine!" And then a Meryl Streep - 15 noms - steroids joke?? Okay, in my bonus questions for the pool I had the last question of "Will Hugh Jackman rock or suck?" So far, I'm leaning towards the former.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Nice montage, and what a great group of presenters! Eva-Marie Saint, Whoopi Goldberg, Tilda Swinton, Goldie Hawn, and Anjelica Houston! Ok, if they do this for every single category the night is going to drag on until Tuesday. And the Oscar goes to... Penelope Cruz. She was the odds-on fave, but I was rooting for Viola!

8:52 pm - and we're back. And it feels like we're already behind. Let's start giving out some more awards!

Tina Fey & Steve Martin - great writers' setup, funnier than their episode of 30 Rock earlier this year. Snap! A Scientology smackdown! :-)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - This one's coming down to Milk or WALL-E I think, and I'd be happy with either. And the Oscar goes to....Dustin Lance Black for Milk!!! Woohoo! That's the one I voted for. I'm putting for it for Best Picture, too. DLB's speech about the inspiration of Harvey Milk was very touching, even though Harvey's work isn't done yet.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Steve Martin's "DON'T fall in love with me" is the line of the night, so far. I voted for Doubt here but think it could be the first major Slumdog win. And the Oscar goes to... Slumdog Millionaire. Is this the start of a trend for the night? Funny opening to the speech - "The Moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium, and...here."

Jennifer Aniston & Jack Black - bring out the comedians to give a snarky intro to the animation films, with a good Dreamworks vs. Pixar dig. So what is this 2008 "Movie Yearbook" - is this necessary? Don't we all know the nominated films by now? I mean, if someone's watching the Oscars aren't they probably already paying attention? Whatevs, time for a great WALL-E clip.

ANIMATED FEATURE - There's no question here, right? And the Oscar goes to...my new favorite movie of the year, WALL-E. Look at that - Andrew Stanton played Barnaby in Hello Dolly in high school. Further proof that we need to support the arts in schools!

ANIMATED SHORT - This has gotta be Pixar's Presto, right? Those poor other films don't seem to have a chance against the Pixar powerhouse. WHOA! Never mind, a shocker! The winner is Le Maison En Petits Cubes. Well, "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto" indeed!

9:15 pm And we're back from commercial and I have a big glass of chilled riesling. Yum.

ART DIRECTION - SJP and James Bond presenting? That's an odd pair. In our pool, this category is evenly split between The Dark Knight and Benjamin Button. And the Oscar goes to...The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Dang. I voted for Gotham City for this and several other techie awards. Does that spell doom for me in my own pool?

If I ever win an Oscar, I hope I do it solo so I get that whole time to make the speech myself. It would suck to be the second of a team and get played off.

COSTUME DESIGN - There's a big debate about how period movies have always had an advantage here cuz it's so visible, whereas costume design for contemporary films is harder to judge. And the Academy says.... The Duchess. Yep, fancy, frilly period piece wins again.

MAKEUP - They're putting SJP and Daniel Craig to work! Three awards so far? At least it keeps it moving. Here, almost our entire pool picked Benjamin Button. I had picked The Dark Knight but changed it today - I hope that was the right thing to do! And the Oscar goes to... yes, I was right! The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The kid from Twilight and the girl from Mamma Mia! (better known as the dead girl from Veronica Mars) present a "Movie Yearbook" on romance in 2008. Hmmm. Again, necessary? I guess so for a shot of Javier Bardem saying we should "make love." Muy caliente! And is that a new U2 song I hear? I have the album pre-ordered, I hope it comes soon! Oh look, there's that bird on Carrie Bradshaw's head again... soon to be seen in the Movie Yearbook for 2008's fashion mistakes. ;-)

9:31 pm - we're back, and Hugh continues us on the journey of making the film - now on to cinematography.

CINEMATOGRAPHY - Natalie Portman looks gorgeous, and apparently Ben Stiller is doing his best Joaquin Phoenix impersonation! That's all gotta be a hoax, right? A Hasidic meth lab, indeed. Our pool has a definite favorite... And the Oscar goes to...Slumdog Millionaire. Yay! That was our pick.

9:38 pm - We're back for Jessica Biel wearing a horribly unflattering bag-dress to talk about the Sci-Tech awards. Resume drinking riesling. And now another commercial, really? It was only 2 minutes!

A Note on the Commercials -- this year, due to the recession, the Academy/ABC actually reduced the price for ad time, and for the first time in years they have lifted the ban on having movie advertisements shown. We just saw an ad for the new Jamie Foxx/Robert Downey Jr. movie The Soloist, and I don't think that takes anything away from the telecast. The earlier ad about Nicolas Cage as a scientist figuring out the world's mysteries in Knowing? That took away from our souls.

9:42 pm - Back with a Judd Apatow Pineapple Express sketch. More Reader jokes! Seth Rogen and James Franco review the movies that *weren't* nominated. Love the ABBA tribute. :-) I really want to see their movie, but it's stuck on stupid very long wait on Netflix. Ah, I get it, that was the 2008 Comedy Yearbook. Much better when done as a sketch.

LIVE ACTION SHORT - Funny stuff with the DP. And the Oscar goes to...Toyland. Apparently Franco doesn't speak German, nor do I. :-)

9:52 pm - Hugh's back, and he's loving musicals. Showman time... And the always over-sequined Beyonce. Oh, and she's singing "At Last!" Somewhere Etta James is throwing something at the tv. And are those the HSM kids? And Amanda Seyfriend and the other Mamma Mia guy? The other 4 weren't really needed, in my opinion, but Hugh and Beyonce are a good pair for a big, old-fashioned musical number.

10:01 pm and we've only given out 10 awards. 14 left to go, plus the honorary stuff. Let's get a move on!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Here we go with another montage of winners and 5 presenters. This time, we've got Christopher Walken, Kevin Kline, Cuba Gooding Jr, Alan Arkin, and Joel Gray. Wait who won this last year? Wasn't it Javier Bardem? Where is his hotness??? And Alan Arkin just totally screwed up Philip Seymour Hoffman's name. Serves him right for wearing that stupid knit cap. Joel Grey's tribute to Josh Brolin was great, and Cuba was finally funny again talking to Robert Downey Jr. ("The brothers need to work!") but we all know who this award is going to. Kevin Kline's tribute was well-said. And the Oscar goes to... Heath Ledger, accepted by his family. Not a lot of dry eyes in the Kodak.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - I just watched 2 nominees in this category this weekend, and I agree Man on Wire is a great story with a crazy, eminently watchable subject. I also watched Herzog's Antarctica film, which was good but not great. Bill Maher - whose own doc Religulous is also on long wait in my queue - presents... the Oscar to...Man on Wire. Every single person in our pool picked it! And - there's crazy Phillipe! He wins the award for being the only crazy Frenchman to ever balance the Oscar on his chin on stage.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Sadly I missed all of these this year, so I just went with Entertainment Weekly's pick. And the Oscar goes to... Smile Pinki. Not EW's pick! Only one person in the pool got that right, and I happen to know she picked it just cuz she liked the title best. :-)

How'd Jimmy Kimmel get Tom Cruise to do his commercial?

10:22 pm - Hugh's back again, and now we're on to postproduction in our film-making journey, showcased in the 2008 Action Movie Yearbook. It's like summer all over again, car chases and gun fights and flying superheroes galore.

Will Smith makes quite an entrance, and even Mr. Billion-Dollar Box Office still has those goofy ears. :-)

VISUAL EFFECTS - I'm in the minority here, rooting for TDK over BB, but I'm afraid..... The Oscar goes to... crap. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button seems to be getting the technical love tonight, and that's my bad for picking The Dark Knight in those categories.

SOUND EDITING - I picked WALL-E for the sound categories, go, go, go adorable animated movie! And the Oscar goes to... The Dark Knight. Crapola. I had that as my pick until yesterday, when I finally watched WALL-E. I'm slowly sinking in my own pool...

SOUND MIXING - I'm still rooting for that little robot movie! And the Oscar goes to... Slumdog Millionaire. Yep, still sinking.

Will Smith jokes about how he's still giving away awards, but frankly I'm okay with this cuz it goes faster than bringing out new presenters each time. Makes up for the time suck of those acting presentations.

FILM EDITING - Here again I chose TDK, which I'm sure means Slumdog will win. And the Oscar goes to... Slumdog Millionaire. Okay, fine. I enjoyed the movie, too, I just didn't think it would win all of these tech categories.

7 more awards to go, I believe, plus the tribute to Jerry Lewis. HEY LADY!

Eddie Murphy! Wow, I kinda actually forgot about him. He's presenting the humanitarian award to Jerry Lewis. Eddie's a pretty good presenter. He should stop doing those crazy movies he's doing and try some more dramatic roles, I'd go watch him. With all these clips of telethons, it reminds me that growing up I just always thought of Jerry Lewis as the telethon guy. It probably wasn't until I was in my teens until I knew he'd been a major comedian himself. That was life before cable, I guess. And now Jerry finally gets his Oscar. Thank you, Jerry, for keeping your speech short!!!

10:50 pm - Okay, Hugh, time to roll out the big awards. But first, the musical interludes.

MUSIC - SCORE - Really, Zac Efron and Alicia Keys? Is she wondering who the heck this little guy is? But I love her purple dress! On to the cateogry...Another one where I'm pulling for WALL-E. And the Oscar goes to...A. R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire. This really should teach me to not pick with my heart. I'm now tied for 2nd-to-last in my own pool. :-(

And now the original song nominees in a medley... not featuring Peter Gabriel. I voted for "Jai Ho" here cuz I loved that big Bollywood dance number, but I'd be happy with either Slumdog song winning. But why are there only 3 nominees here? There can be 5, right, so why no Bruce? And good for John Legend for being a team player and singing, frankly better than old Pete has been sounding lately.

MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG - And the Oscar goes to..."Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire. Hooray! I finally picked one right!

11:05 pm - keep it moving, Hugh. We're getting tired.

Liam Neeson and Frida Pinto? Another interesting pair, but they both look great. God, she's gorgeous. Is she really dating her 18-year-old costar?

FOREIGN LANGUAGE - Our pool is split between The Class and Waltz with Bashir. I haven't seen any of these... yet. And the Oscar goes to... Departures (Japan). Wow, none of us got that.

11:10 pm - Queen Latifah is presenting the In Memoriam montage. I like it as a song - "I'll Be Seeing You" - instead of just the photo slideshow. Paul Newman definitely won the Kodak audience clap-o-meter, with Sydney Pollack just behind. So why didn't they include Heath Ledger? The new floating screens thing made it HARD to read on a tv at home, btw!

11:18 pm - Hugh's announcing Sid Ganis's retirement as President of the Academy. I've actually met him. He's about my height.

Reese Witherspoon - not so into that blue and black weird strapped dress she's wearing.

BEST DIRECTOR - Here I did pick Slumdog so Danny Boyle better better freakin' bring home the gold. He makes everything from heroin movies to zombie movies to inspirational triumph of the human heart movies, come on! And the Oscar goes to.... Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire. Whoohoo! Or is it Tigger bounding up to that podium?

Hmmm, just a few categories to go... there's a likely winner in our pool but the 3 remaining big categories could still shake things up! This year's pool is interesting - we have a much wider gap between the leader and the last this year, which might mean that there is a wider range of pics sharing all of the awards? Or that we made more blind guesses this year?

11:24 pm - Big Time!

BEST ACTRESS - And our 5 memory lane presenters are Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Halley Berry, Nicole Kidman, and Marion Coutillard. Don't really love any of their dresses. Okay, here's where this gimmick works, cuz the crowd is loving this lineup. Shirley's tribute to Anne Hathaway came off as pretty authentic, nice. These tributes do make it much more exciting to be nominated. Kate has my vote in this category, though I haven't seen her movie, but I also adore Meryl so I'd be happy with either of them winning. And the Oscar goes to...Kate Winslet. Woohoo! That's my girl! Now don't lose it up there... Gather...No, it's not a shampoo bottle now! I love her telling Meryl to suck it up. :-)

BEST ACTOR - Presented by Robert DeNiro, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, Adrien Brody, and Michael Douglas. Wow, that's a line-up! Now this may just be the most hotly-contested race of the night, and while I wish Mickey well I am rooting for Sean Penn all the way. He's arrogant and dour, sure (and sexy as hell), but his embodiment of Harvey Milk was transformational. DeNiro's tribute to Penn was hilarious, btw. And the Oscar goes to... woohoo!!!! Sean Penn!!! Now let's get ready for some politics in his speech. "I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often," now that's funny, "you commie, homo-loving, sons of guns." Down with Prop 8! But, did he thank his wife???

BEST PICTURE - Out trots Steven Spielberg in the obligatory "Hollywood Heavyweight" role of presenting this final category. This is a strange montage, linking all the current noms with the films that came before them. It's looking like Slumdog's night, but I am still rooting for Milk especially in light of Sean Penn's win. And the Oscar goes to... Slumdog Millionaire.

And there we have it. Slumdog takes home 8 Oscars, and that's gotta be more than any one film has one in a while. That without any acting nods, which is always a bit controversial when a film wins Best Picture without any performances singled out. What do folks think about that?

So Hugh is able to call it a night *before* midnight, which feels pretty good.

We have a definite winner in the pool, no tie-breakers even needed -- and I'll announce that and all our fun stats tomorrow! Good night!

'Twas the Week Before Oscar

The Big Night is near! I hope everyone's readying their entries in the annual Stef's Blog Oscar Pool. Remember, you have to play to win!

I'm still way behind in my Oscar to-do list, with many more movies to see that I probably won't be able to watch by Sunday. I have several occupying the "very long wait" top slots in my Netflix queue, and I hope to take in some screenings of the docs and shorts around town this week.

As a reminder, here are the nominees, in alpha order by category.

Now.... AAARGH!... I had a whole post worked out that I spent almost an hour on, writing out my "should win/will win" picks, but I hit a stupid stray key on the computer and deleted them all. DANGIT! That'll teach me to write in Blogger instead of cutting and pasting from a Word doc.

So -- to sum up what I *had* written, I think Slumdog Millionaire will probably pick up the most statuettes of the night, but I'm rooting for Milk in a surprise upset to win Best Picture. I'm guessing Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, and Viola Davis as the acting winners, and Danny Boyle as the director -- which would give us the unusual but not unheard of scenario of Best Director and Best Picture going to two different films. As for the rest of the categories, mostly I'll be guessing just like everyone else!!! And that's the fun of it, right? :-)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

You betcha, boys and girls, it's Oscar time!

That means it's time for the annual Stef's Blog Oscar Pool. Woohoo!

Here are all the nominees. Study up, and spend some time at the multiplex. I've still got several on the list to see and I have no idea what my picks are yet!

To play, pick the one winner for each category (I just need the name of the movie and/or person winning - don't need all the other info) and drop 'em in an email. Also be sure to answer the 3 tie-breaking questions:

1. Which movie will win the most awards total?

2. How many awards will that top movie win?

3. What time, without going over, will the telecast finally end? (Eastern time, por favor)

Bonus question: Will Hugh Jackman rock or suck?

Submit your entries to me at:

Stefsoscarpool AT yahoo DOT com

by 5 pm on Sunday, February 22 to play. Remember, you've got to play to win. And you will WIN something.

(Photo from the official Oscars site.)

Special Guest Movie Review

I hope he doesn't mind -- but I just got this email from my brother, which he sent to both my Mom and me, and I thought it was such a strong endorsement that it deserved to be shared:

-----------------

The Wrestler was really good. I know neither of you want to see it, but it truly was a good and suprisingly funny movie. Mom's take of Mickey Rourke being a "Greaseball" or "Scumbag" adds to the movie. At times you couldn't tell the where the character ends and where the actor begins and vice versa. I think that is the brillance of the casting making it all the more believable. Just like Robert Downey Jr. in Ironman as an alcoholic, egomaniacal, pill popper (all of which he is) no one is truly believable unless they believe that they have those things in themselves. At the very least it is worth the matinee price to see the previews that accompany the movie, all of which blew me away particularly "Waltz with Bashir" and Benicio del Toro as "Che". All in all, it is a movie worth renting, remembering that Rourke is greatly talented and strangely charming, and that even "Greaseball scumbags" can be good people too.

----------------

I do plan to see this movie, and had it in my Netflix queue even before my bro's two thumbs up. I'm so far behind on this crop of awards season movies, though, I have a lot of catching up to do!

Now That's Entertainment, 2008 Edition

It’s time for the blog’s annual roundup of my favorite entertainment offerings of the year, with a few regrettable experiences thrown in for fun. I always have a hard time narrowing such subjective lists down to just one, so I’m offering up a few of my most memorable and enjoyable items in each category. I’d love to hear your favorites – and least favorites – too!

***General Spoiler Alert***

Movies

…Sean Penn’s performance and the overall message of Milk

...The "where are they now" updates and continued romantic adventures of our 4 favorite ladies in Sex and the City. This could've been all wrong, an unnecessary coda to a series (see my worst below) but instead really stayed true to the characters and kept their stories alive in ways that felt very authentic. But let's not talk about that bird on Carrie's head.

…The sweet romance and raunchy hilarity – and musical puppets! – of Jason Segel’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall

...The heartwarming, rat-a-tat snarkfest of Juno, even though it has forever tainted my view of the adorable Jason Bateman

…In Bruges, the first movie that finally made me *get* the appeal of Colin Farrell, plus it was just a damn hilarious gangster flick that both kept me guessing and laughing

...Similarly, the shockingly funny latest installment from the Coen Brothers, Burn After Reading, has given me the deliriously enjoyable images of Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand as gym twits and... well, the less said about George Clooney's invention, the better.

Worst: The horrible, almost embarrassing (for all involved) experience that was The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The bigger the expectations, the worse the pain of disappointment.

TV

…LOST’s Season 4, which came roaring back to greatness with the amazing storylines of the Oceanic 6, the mysterious ways of Benjamin Linus, the 4 Island newbies, Penny and Desmond’s epic romance, and – woosh! – the disappearance of the Island!!!!

…Mad Men, the show that has brought back both the glamour and the outrage of the Camelot era, with its highballs, formal dress for dinner, and race and gender politics, plus it’s introduced us to the delectable (and talented) leading man for our generation, Jon Hamm as Don Draper (not to mention Jon Hamm as Dick Whitman).

…my Netflix discovery of the great guilty pleasure series Supernatural, with its monster-of-the-week fun combined with an overarching mythology and 2 hot leads (Dean's my fave), it’s nicely taken its place as the X-Files Light that I’ve needed.

…The pure escapist fun of Chuck, a comedy with more 80’s references than a Gilmore Girls episode and more wacky spy stuff than any hour of Alias

…The Office, still firing on all cylinders with the heartbreakingly sweet Michael and Holly story and the solid PB&J romance, not to mention the awesomeness of Oscar and Andy becoming friends

…HBO’s brilliantly acted, written, directed, and produced miniseries John Adams, which should be required viewing for all history classes and acting schools

Music

I don't buy many albums these days, since I'm now more of a sampler on iTunes. But I did just buy one album that is immediately at the top of my list of favorites -- She & Him's Volume One. Everyone must get it now.

Most of my new music comes in the form of one-off downloads, usually either music I’ve heard in a movie or tv show, or something new by an artist I’ve always liked. My favorite downloads of the year:

…Backseat Nothing by The Del Fuegos (it was in an ep of Rescue Me)

…Sexed Up by the always awesome Robbie Williams

…Skinny Love by Bon Iver (from an ep of Chuck)

…Keeps Gettin’ Better by my favorite bombastic pop tart, Christina Aguilera

Books

…The smart, sassy, guilty pleasure fun of spending 8 books following the adventures, loves and losses of telepath Sookie Stackhouse and all of the very real creatures of the night in Bon Temps, Louisiana in Charlaine Harris’s “Southern Vampire” series (the basis for HBO’s True Blood)

…Neil Gaiman’s American Gods made for not only a great read, but also a great book club discussion. I particularly loved all of the different religions’ gods and symbols that he worked into the book, and it had me consulting my shelf of religion major textbooks from my college years.

…Finally reading the entire C. S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia saga, and both reliving the adventures I’d loved as a child and seeing the symbolism and the sometimes inspiring and the sometimes questionable race and class references with the eyes of an adult.

Worst: Egad, the mess that was Breaking Dawn. If you ever want to learn how to ruin a series, follow Stephenie Meyer’s wholesome teen vampire romance story. The first three books were enjoyable marshmallow fun, but that final book was so awful it turned me into a Twilight-hater.

Theater

…the exuberant insanity on display in Studio Theatre’s Grey Gardens, which led me to both buy the Broadway cast recording and watch the original 1970’s era documentary upon which it was based. A full-scale cultural experience.

…the colorful, musical, whimsical, accessible, and just damn fun production of Mary Zimmerman’s Argonautika at The Shakespeare Theatre.

…the intense masculine energy of Studio Theatre’s The Brothers Size, practically a black box production with three actors sharing raw, emotional performances.

Museums and Tours and Stuff

…the guided tour of the Washington National Cathedral, which thankfully (for me) focused more on art, architecture, and both local and national history than on capital-R Religion. It’s a great pick for a family visit.

…DC’s many walking tours offer a great, low-cost evening out with friends, and the Embassy Row Walking Tour is another great combination of architecture, local history, diplomatic history, and lifestyles of the DC rich and famous.

Web

…Kudos to Joss Whedon, Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion and the incomparable Neil Patrick Harris for winning the “What I Did While The Writers Were On Strike” contest, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It’s a brand new day, indeed!

…This year, I gained a new addiction and reconnected with many old friends on the way. Oh, Facebook, what would I do without you? Read more????

Podcasts

…The smarty-snarky-pants trio of John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon, and David Plotz provided me with the enhanced ability both to analyze the week’s news and laugh at it on Slate’s Political Gabfest

…The NPR folks at Planet Money are achieving the nearly impossible task of making the incredible economic stories of our age make sense.

…And, the three nerdy-fun academics at BackStory with the American History Guys, including the Prez of my alma mater, help provide a historical backdrop for the issues of our day, making us all feel better knowing that previous generations of Americans have struggled with and triumphed over the same things we’re going through now, and that history really can be more entertaining than fiction.

Sports

Yes, I have a sports category!

…watching my Richmond Spiders win the FCS National Championship by defeating the Montana Grizzlies 24-7!

…enjoying the great new sight lines, concession stands, scoreboard bells and whistles, and – oh yeah – a winning team (that day) at the new Nationals Stadium.

***So there you have it, my complete (exhaustive?) list of faves of 2008. What are yours???

A Very Dark Knight

I finally had the chance, thanks to Netflix, to see the biggest movies of the year, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that this is the second installment in Nolan's "reimagined" telling of the Batman saga, starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Mr. Nolan has brought so much to this series. As somewhat of an auteur, and a director who seems to encourage everyone on his team in front of and behind the camera to bring their very best work to the fore, he's made something that barely even resembles the old 80's/90's series that had an ignoble end in Joel Schumacher's George Clooney-nipple suit extravaganza. (Everyone look away, there's nothing to see here.)

I agree with all the critics out there who've lavished praise on The Dark Knight - the script is smart and filled with not-so-subtle allegory about order vs. chaos, the production values are so strong that you seem to feel the darkness of Gotham, and the performances are of a universally high standard, including Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal (a nice change over Mrs. Cruise), and Aaron Eckhart.

But -- of course -- the biggest thing about this movie is that from start to finish, it is Heath Ledger's show. His final performance is so mesmerizing, so magnetically horrifying, that you can't look away... in fact, I often found myself rooting for his anarchist / nihilist Joker. Even after all the hype, and for just now seeing the movie it means I've had about a year's worth of hype built up, he truly amazed me in this role. Any posthumous nominations he received will be well-deserved, and the sad commemoration of a fantastic and interesting career that was just beginning.

Now, given all of these things, I give the movie a solid A.

But, the more I think about the movie, the more I keep coming back to a nagging question. By making The Joker, and to a lesser extent the very intriguing Harvey Dent, such a central character, does The Dark Knight leave any room for Batman himself? All of my favorite scenes featured either Ledger or Eckhart, and their characters seemed to get all the best lines. I didn't clock it, but it even seemed to me that Ledger and Eckhart combined had more screen time than Bale -- with the result that Batman came across as just a dark force in the background of these two colorful, very watchable villains. There didn't seem to be much character or story development for Bruce Wayne or his masked alter ego, and I *hated* Bale's low Batman growl. In the physics of this film, were the villains the "matter" and Batman - the "hero" - the "antimatter" ?

What did you all think? Was this a Batman movie that turned Batman into a supporting character? With the film's symbolism, does that say anything about villains being more complex and interesting? Or about the hero's struggle to find his own purpose? Interesting food for thought, Mr. Nolan!


Photo credit.

The Semi-Golden Globes

After last year's debacle of the Golden Globes "press conference" during the writers' strike, this year has to be better, right? We shall see.... here's my take on the nominations, for now.

HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION 2008 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS NOMINATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2008

Movies
1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
b. FROST/NIXON
c. THE READER
d. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
e. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Stefanie Says... I haven't seen ANY of these movies yet, but they must be pretty dang good to have all beaten out Milk, one of the best movies I've seen in years. These are all on my must-see list for the next few weeks, though, so hopefully soon I'll be able to judge. All of these do have fairly international casts, especally Slumdog Millionaire of course, so maybe that's part of the appeal to the Globes. Milk may have bee just too "American" a film for the HFPA. At this point, I have no idea which film will win best drama -- but it will be an interesting category to watch.

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a. ANNE HATHAWAY – RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
b. ANGELINA JOLIE – CHANGELING
c. MERYL STREEP – DOUBT
d. KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T’AIME)
e. KATE WINSLET – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Stefanie Says...Again, I haven't seen any of these yet. Changeling didn't look all that appealing, and my guess is that Angelina has the worst odds on winning this one. I'd love to see the always-nominated Kate Winslet finally bring home the gold this year all season long, but I hope the fact that she's in two prestige pics doesn't work against her.

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a. LEONARDO DICAPRIO – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
b. FRANK LANGELLA – FROST/NIXON
c. SEAN PENN – MILK
d. BRAD PITT – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
e. MICKEY ROURKE – THE WRESTLER
Stefanie Says...Sean Penn was he best she's ever seen him playing Harvey Milk, and that's saying a lot. There's a lot of buzz over Mickey Rourke in this "comeback" role, but I hope he'll just feel honored being nominated. As strong as all the other consistently good actors look in this category, this better be Penn's.

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. BURN AFTER READING
b. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
c. IN BRUGES
d. MAMMA MIA!
e. VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Stefanie Says...I have seen two of these, and really enjoyed both Burn After Reading and In Bruges. My guess is that Woody Allen might win this one, since Vicky Cristina Barcelona racked up so many nominations and it also has an international cast and setting. I have it in my queue and really, really want to see it -- Javier Bardem is a hottie -- and I also have Meryl's ABBA extravaganza coming soon.

5.BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. REBECCA HALL – VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
b. SALLY HAWKINS – HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
c. FRANCES MCDORMAND – BURN AFTER READING
d. MERYL STREEP – MAMMA MIA!
e. EMMA THOMPSON – LAST CHANCE HARVEY
Stefanie Says...Frances was pretty hilarious as the dim bulb gym rat, and she seemed to embrace a role that was just filled with the neuroses of a middle-aged woman, not something many actresses would do. She gets my vote -- but I haven't seen any of the other performances yet, and I haven't even *heard* of Emma's movie!

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. JAVIER BARDEM – VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
b. COLIN FARRELL – IN BRUGES
c. JAMES FRANCO – PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
d. BRENDAN GLEESON – IN BRUGES
e. DUSTIN HOFFMAN – LAST CHANCE HARVEY
Stefanie Says...Good for Colin Farrell! This was the first role I've seen him in that really, really made me like him. Stick to comedy, Irish bad boy, and you'll age better than through the brooding dramatic action route. I've heard good things abut James Franco in this role, but I haven't seen Pineapple Express yet. He was great in Milk, and I've been a fan since the F&G days, so I wouldn't mind seeing him winning. Acually, I'd be fine with any of these actors winning, even though I *still* haven't heard of Hoffman's movie....

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
a. BOLT
b. KUNG FU PANDA
c. WALL-E
Stefanie Says... The latter two are both on very long wait status on Netflix, harrumph. But based on all the buzz, this seems like Wall-E's year.

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
a. THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (GERMANY)(DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX)
b. EVERLASTING MOMENTS (SWEDEN/DENMARK)(MARIA LARSSONS EVIGA ÖGONBLICK)
c. GOMORRAH (ITALY)
d. I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (FRANCE)(IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T’AIME)
e. WALTZ WITH BASHIR (ISRAEL)
Stefanie Says...Since Kristin Scott Thomas is getting raves for the French movie, that will be my guess.

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
a. AMY ADAMS – DOUBT
b. PENELOPE CRUZ – VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
c. VIOLA DAVIS –DOUBT
d. MARISA TOMEI – THE WRESTLER
e. KATE WINSLET – THE READER
Stefanie Says...This seems like a tough category, with several familiar names from the last few years and Meryl Jr. (I love Kate!), but based on all the rave reviews I'll pick Viola Davis. The HFPA does like to award newer faces, so she may end up getting Doubt's gold for the night.

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
a. TOM CRUISE – TROPIC THUNDER
b. ROBERT DOWNEY JR. –TROPIC THUNDER
c. RALPH FIENNES – THE DUCHESS
d. PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – DOUBT
e. HEATH LEDGER – THE DARK KNIGHT
Stefanie Says...There's no question here, it will be a posthumous award for Heath Ledger. The Dark Knight is hopefully coming soon in the queue so I'll finally see this acclaimed performance. Hoffman and Fiennes are always reliably good, and Tropic Thunder has had such mixed reviews I'm surprised to even see it here. But sadly, this is the last chance to honor someone who had been an emerging star, so it will be Ledger's name called in January.

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
a. DANNY BOYLE – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
b. STEPHEN DALDRY – THE READER
c. DAVID FINCHER – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
d. RON HOWARD – FROST/NIXON
e. SAM MENDES – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Stefanie Says...I'm still bummed that Milk was ignored in all of these big categories, because both the direction and the screenplay wer fantastic. But, bygones... so again in considering the big prestige pics I haven't yet seen, I'm going to guess that the HFPA wil honor one of the foreign directors with a more international cast, so Danny Boyle is my pick.

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
a. SIMON BEAUFOY – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
b. DAVID HARE – THE READER
c. PETER MORGAN – FROST/NIXON
d. ERIC ROTH – THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
e. JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY – DOUBT
Stefanie Says...I haven't heard much about these screenplays yet -- but two are adaptatins from stage plays, at least one (Hare's) is an adaptation of a novel. So when Oscar time comes these likely will be split into different categories. I'm guessing it will fall either to Slumdog Millionaire or The Reader.

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
a. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT –THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
b. CLINT EASTWOOD – CHANGELING
c. JAMES NEWTON HOWARD – DEFIANCE
d. A. R. RAHMAN – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
e. HANS ZIMMER – FROST/NIXON
Stefanie Says...Oh, who knows? The trailers for Benjamin Button sound good, I'll pick that.

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
a. “DOWN TO EARTH” — WALL-E Music by: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman Lyrics by: Peter Gabriel
b. “GRAN TORINO” — GRAN TORINO Music by: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens Lyrics by: Jamie Cullum
c. “I THOUGHT I LOST YOU” — BOLT Music & Lyrics by: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
d. “ONCE IN A LIFETIME” — CADILLAC RECORDS Music & Lyrics by: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
e. “THE WRESTLER” — THE WRESTLER Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen
Stefanie Says...Please God, not Miley Cyrus. And did we really need a new, original Beyonce song in a film about Etta James and other legends? I'm going to vote for the Boss here, but wouldn't be surprised if Peter Gabriel gets the Globe.

Television
15. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
b. HOUSE (FOX)
c. IN TREATMENT (HBO)
d. MAD MEN (AMC)
e. TRUE BLOOD (HBO)
Stefanie Says...Due to the timing of the Globes, it often feels like a lesser rerun of the Emmys - whereas it's more of a preview of the Oscars. Their TV picks are usually a little more unpredictable though, as evidenced here with the freshman hit True Blood. Now, you all know I love vampires, but I don't have HBO so I can't judge the show or In Treatment yet. I'm a season behind on Dexter and growing bored. House is reliable but often just good enough to be background. And so, not just by process of elimination... I say any category that doesn't include LOST has to go to Mad Men. It's one of my favorite discoveries of the past year.

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. SALLY FIELD – BROTHERS AND SISTERS
b. MARISKA HARGITAY –LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
c. JANUARY JONES – MAD MEN
d. ANNA PAQUIN – TRUE BLOOD
e. KYRA SEDGWICK – THE CLOSER
Stefanie Says...I only watch one of these 5 shows with any regularity. While January Jones is not the best actress in the cast -- why is Elisabeth Moss missing here, when Peggy really came into her own as the next Don Draper this season?? And where's the luminous Christina Hendricks? -- but again, I'm happy for Mad Men to take home any and all awards.

17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. GABRIEL BYRNE – IN TREATMENT
b. MICHAEL C. HALL – DEXTER
c. JON HAMM – MAD MEN
d. HUGH LAURIE – HOUSE
e. JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS – THE TUDORS
Stefanie Says...Jon Hamm, over and done. He played both Don Draper AND Dick Whitman with a nuance, an intelligence, and a grace rarely seen on the small or large screen these days. He's like old Hollywood come back to life.

18. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. 30 ROCK (NBC)
b. CALIFORNICATION (SHOWTIME)
c. ENTOURAGE (HBO)
d. THE OFFICE (NBC)
e. WEEDS (SHOWTIME)
Stefanie Says...I do watch 4 of these shows, though I'm a season behind on each of the cable series. So in the neck-and-neck battle of the Thursday night NBC offerings, I am solidly in the "The Office is better" camp.

19.BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. CHRISTINA APPLEGATE – SAMANTHA WHO?
b. AMERICA FERRERA – UGLY BETTY
c. TINA FEY – 30 ROCK
d. DEBRA MESSING – THE STARTER WIFE
e. MARY-LOUISE PARKER – WEEDS
Stefanie Says...It's the Year of Fey.

20. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. ALEC BALDWIN – 30 ROCK
b. STEVE CARELL – THE OFFICE
c. KEVIN CONNOLLY – ENTOURAGE
d. DAVID DUCHOVNY – CALIFORNICATION
e. TONY SHALHOUB – MONK
Stefanie Says...This is a tough one, since Alec Baldwin and Steve Carell are both just brilliant comedic actors. I think Carell is able to work just a little bit more depth into Michael Scott, just a smidge, so he gets my vote.

21. BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. A RAISIN IN THE SUN (ABC)
b. BERNARD AND DORIS (HBO)
c. CRANFORD (PBS)
d. JOHN ADAMS (HBO)
e. RECOUNT (HBO)
Stefanie Says... Both Recount and John Adams were great, but they're like apples and oranges. Adams was by far the more intricate, layered accomplishment, and this trophy will be added to Tom Hanks's shelf.

22. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. JUDI DENCH – CRANFORD
b. CATHERINE KEENER – AN AMERICAN CRIME
c. LAURA LINNEY – JOHN ADAMS
d. SHIRLEY MACLAINE – COCO CHANEL
e. SUSAN SARANDON – BERNARD AND DORIS
Stefanie Says... I hope Laura Linney wears red. She looks good in red, especially when accepting awards.

23. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. RALPH FIENNES – BERNARD AND DORIS
b. PAUL GIAMATTI – JOHN ADAMS
c. KEVIN SPACEY – RECOUNT
d. KIEFER SUTHERLAND – 24: REDEMPTION
e. TOM WILKINSON – RECOUNT
Stefanie Says...Now that the election's over, I wonder what Paul Giamatti will say in his speech?

24. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. EILEEN ATKINS – CRANFORD
b. LAURA DERN – RECOUNT
c. MELISSA GEORGE – IN TREATMENT
d. RACHEL GRIFFITHS – BROTHERS AND SISTERS
e. DIANNE WIEST – IN TREATMENT
Stefanie Says...She's only seen one of these performances, and Laura Dern was uncannily good - and scary - as Katherine Harris. Give her the gold!

25. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. NEIL PATRICK HARRIS – HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
b. DENIS LEARY – RECOUNT
c. JEREMY PIVEN – ENTOURAGE
d. BLAIR UNDERWOOD – IN TREATMENT
e. TOM WILKINSON – JOHN ADAMS
Stefanie Says... This is a tough category, but NPH rules the world. If he doesn't win, he might just pull out his Freeze Ray on us.

-----------------
In other news --- I am NOT psyched about Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscars. Why not Jon Stewart? Did Jon turn it down? I'm refusing to call Jackman the sexiest man alive, too. Not as long as Jon Hamm is on the planet.

Milk

Seeing the movie Milk, one of this fall's most anticipated films for so many reasons, is a bittersweet experience.

The movie is fantastic, a biopic telling the inspiring but tragic life story of San Francisco activist and gay rights icon Harvey Milk, who became the nation's first openly gay elected official when he was elected to the city's Board of Supervisors in 1977. The film tracks his life from 1970 until he was killed by a fellow supervisor 8 years later, the script tells the story of one man's political awakening as it parallels the emergence of an activist movement. The acting is top-notch, as expected from the incredible Sean Penn as well as from strong supporting actors Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco. (Plus Victor Garber in a small but crucial role. Hello, Jack Bristow!) Gus Van Sant directed the film, and it's shot in such a way that they can incorporate real footage from the 1970's of the characters and events in San Francisco so that it feels like a natural way to tell the story. Let the Oscar race begin.... My grade for the movie: A.

I hope this movie does bring home a truckload of awards, and I hope it does really well at the box office in cities and towns across the nation. But more importantly, I hope it becomes a touchstone in the ongoing and necessary dialogue about gay rights -- and about all civil rights -- in this country.

I can't remember ever seeing a work of pop culture appear at a moment in time when it is so newly relevant. Watching the film, it seemed the entire audience - myself included - was crying at pivotal moments, shedding tears for the tragic life of Harvey Milk, yes, but I think even more so at the fact that so much of the story could be, IS, taking place right here, and right now. These emotions are still so raw. There are scenes from 1978 that could have been shot 3 weeks ago. Watching those scenes is surreal, and very sad. We are now at just over 30 years to the day that Harvey's journey ended, but it's really hard to judge if we've made it any further. I hope that we have, and that the film's message of hope and perseverance takes hold so that progress can continue to march on.

(Photo from the official movie site.)

Weekend Roundup

A 3-day weekend purposefully with no plans? Know what that means? That's right, lots of quality time with my Netflix and On Demand. Here's the scoop:

Romantic comedies have a formula, for sure, and "What Happens in Vegas" follows the familiar "meet cute - major obstacle - slowly falling in love - huge fight - it all works out in the end" path. But, Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz are both just so darn likable - and gorgeous - that this movie makes it all pretty fun. It reminded me a lot of that Michael Douglas / Kathleen Turner 80's movie "The War of the Roses," although that movie had the star-crossed lovers/haters attack each other a lot more physically while Ashton and Cameron go for more emotional manipulation. That makes the 2000's version of the story easier to watch without any bad aftertaste -- it's a light little trifle, and I give it a B+.

After spending about 1/3 of 2008 rewatching one of the all-time greatest shows, "The X-Files," I am still in the mood for some serialized spooky investigations. I've always been a big Buffy/Angel fan, so I thought it was time to try out one of those newer WB/CW offerings starring impossibly gorgeous people. "Supernatural" is actually pretty darn enjoyable, and I've made it through 8 episodes already. It's the story of 2 (impossibly hot) brothers played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Their dad (the also incredibly hot Jeffrey Dean Morgan, aka Denny Duquette) has been chasing down demons - literally - ever since their Mom was killed by one 20-some years before. The dad has been training older bro Dean (played by Ackles, slightly confusing for those of us used to thinking of Padalecki as Dean from "Gilmore Girls") in battling the dark arts his whole life, but younger bro Sam was the black sheep who craved a "normal" life of college and a career. Now Dad's disappeared, the mom-killing demon has returned to kill Sam's girlfriend, and the brothers reunite to try to find their father. It's very much a buddy/road show, as the brothers drive from town to town fighting off a new evil in every episode, but I've heard that future seasons will go more into a larger mythology and their role in it. I do love me some overarching mythology. For now, I'm hooked. I give it an A-.

I also took a bit of a risk by checking out the latest M. Night Shyamalan movie, "The Happening." Now, I loved "The Sixth Sense" and really enjoyed "Signs" and even "Unbreakable." But, since then, I've been increasingly disappointed to just plain angry over his more recent movies. I thought the twist in "The Village" was pretty annoying, and I HATED "The Lady in the Water." After the last, I vowed not to waste any more money on seeing M. Night movies in the theater, and that I'd wait 'til they came out on DVD. So, I already had lower expectations based both on M. Night's more recent movies and on my more casual, less expensive choice of venue for watching "The Happening." And, surprise, I didn't hate it! It wasn't the best movie ever, but I never rolled my eyes or got angry enough to yell at the screen. Mark Wahlberg does a good job playing the hero, a high school science teacher trying to use his faith in science to figure out what in the heck is - um - happening to cause people all over the Northeast zone out and start killing themselves. At several times, I may in fact have cheered at the screen "You go, Marky Mark!" Zooey Deschanel was kinda weird as his wife, and I didn't understand the emotion she was playing in several scenes. But, really this movie was about Wahlberg and M. Night's art direction. The overall premise - I won't ruin it - is interesting and has a bit of a message, and the look of the movie itself is gorgeous. It doesn't come anywhere close to being as the movies that made M. Night a star so early on, but it was way better than the last two. So, I give it a B.

Finally, and speaking of Marky Mark, I made my way through Season 4 of HBO's "male version of SATC" - "Entourage." I agree with many of the critics that the series is starting to run a little long. (And that's not a good sign, since season 5 is airing now and 6 is in the works.) The show used to have a good mix of stories that were about Vinnie Chase and the gang making their way in Hollywood with rising careers and unpredictable social lives, with a good shot in the arm of Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) in each episode.

Well, the Piv is such a superstar that he's become more and more central to the story - I'm not complaining about that - but along the way the plots have become a lot more formulaic and less interesting. Everything always works out for Vince, Ari somehow makes it work and reminds Eric that he still has a lot to learn about the business of making movies. Drama and Turtle have become one-note comic relief, and I wish we had more interesting stories about their own lives rather than just how they revolve around Vince. Eric and Ari are still my favorite characters, and the best stories are those when they're at odds with each other. But they still need to mix it up and have the gang fail every once in a while so we keep watching. Vince is a pretty but ambivalent "lead" for the show, and he's actually the least interesting guy of them all. Bring back Sloane, or give Eric or Vince a real relationship that makes them grow up and apart a bit. And please, get rid of the insufferable Billy Walsh! I'll keep watching the future seasons, but the show doesn't come close to the awesomeness of its first two years. I give it a B-.

Don't Look Behind You

As I think I've shared before, bad horror movies are one of my favorite guilty pleasures. And now that I've upgraded to Comcast Digital, my OnDemand bill shows just how much I'm enjoying spending boring Sunday mornings - or stormy Saturday afternoons - watching some of the latest spooky offerings. Since the trend these days seems to be American remakes of Asian horror films, featuring the occasional B-list movie actor or former tv star obviously working for a paycheck** to keep their other projects going, all 3 I've seen lately fall into that category:


First up, Shutter. I admit, this one grabbed me because I've always had a little soft spot for Pacey, aka Joshua Jackson. I never saw a single episode of The Creek, but I have liked him in other movies over the years and I'm intrigued by the new J.J. Abrams show coming up. Anyway, yes, this is the movie about haunted photographs. Pacey (whatever, he had some actual name in this movie) and his beautiful new wife move to Japan where he reconnects with old buddies to work as a fashion photographer. (Note: one of the buddies is played by David Denman, aka Roy from "The Office," and this is yet another appearance that makes me think that David Denman is secretly in about 1 of every 3 movies made. Look for him, he's everywhere!) The loving couple's new life - and his high-gloss job - starts out a little rocky, though, cuz a ghostly woman starts appearing to them first on a lonely road and then in all of their photographs. Who is she? Why is she haunting them? How can she affect both digital and film cameras - even Polaroids??? While the premise of spectral photos gets a little overdone, the acting is a little cheesy, and the film has that cold, blue Asian cinema look and feel to it that's not my favorite, I actually liked the way the story turned out. It had a logic and a good emotional arc, along with a couple of good spooky moments. I give it a B-.


I was *really* bored a few weekends ago, so I decided to order up One Missed Call. This one stars Shannyn Sossaman and Ed Burns (clearly phoning it in, yikes) in a movie about haunted cell phones and demented voice mail messages. Yes, seriously. It's like the opposite of watching thrillers from the '80's and thinking "wow, this whole movie wouldn't even exist if the characters just had cell phones and could call for help." No, instead, this whole movie wouldn't exist without cell phones. And the story, as you might expect, is pretty darn weak. Some young co-ed gets a weird voice mail message in which they hear their own death, that death comes true, and then the dead kid's phone calls the next kid and leaves another death message, and so on. There's a backstory to explain the haunting, but it sorta feels like an afterthought. This movie seems to want to be "Final Destination" with its scenes of attempting to cheat death, but it's just not that cool or fun. And the actors seem half-asleep - Burns even more than usual. Blech. My grade: D.


Last night, I spent 90 minutes with Jessica Alba and her new-found sense of sight in The Eye. I liked this one! Jessica Alba has been blind most of her life and decides to get a corneal implant, but once she opens her new eyes she starts seeing scary, scary stuff. Mostly images of ghosts and people dying in fires. Lots of good thrills, and I jumped from the couch more than once. Parker Posey earns a paycheck as her caring older sister, and Alessandro Nivolo (who was so hot in that indie flick "Laurel Canyon" a few years ago) plays the doctor/therapist who's supposed to help her adjust to seeing again. In the case of this movie, the character story - regaining her sight and how it affects her mentally and emotionally - is very closely tied to the spooky stuff, so the overall plot holds together a lot better than most of this genre. Alba's pretty good in this (better than she was in that horrible Hayden Christensen movie "Awake") and comes off very believably as a woman frightened, confused, angry, and determined to fix the situation. My grade: B.

So, readers, any recommendations on scary movies I should check out next? I avoid the "torture porn" genre - Saw and the like - completely, but I could go for a good/bad ghost movie any day.

**I have actually known an Academy Award-winning character actor in my life, and around the time I met him he appeared in a really schlocky horror movie just like this. And he was only in it for about 10 minutes! We asked him why someone with his resume - not only the Oscar but also a passion for theater - would do a movie like this, and he said it was simple. For those 10 minutes onscreen, he was paid SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS. That made it possible for him to keep working doing theater and indie stuff for another few years and not have to worry about the mortgage or kids' tuition, etc. It really is a business, after all.

I Wanted to Believe

Well, today was the day I'd been looking forward to all summer. After *almost* completing my major DVD assignment - still have about 30 episodes to go - I headed off to the multiplex to take in the latest installment in Chris Carter's vision, The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

And, I really did want to love this movie. Really, really, really. But, I'm afraid that I have to say it was a big disappointment.

Major Spoilers Ahead.

As you've probably heard by now, this movie is a stand-alone story - i.e. not relating to the series-long alien mythology/government conspiracy arc - that catches us up with our beloved Fox Mulder and Dana Scully some seven years after the series' end.

Mulder is still a fugitive from the FBI, seemingly living a life as a conspiracy-nut recluse and not doing much else. Scully is now Dr. Scully, a surgeon at Our Lady of Sorrows, a Catholic hospital. They live together in a little cabin off in a field behind a huge "keep all the bad guys out" gate. And, at least when we first see him, Mulder has grown a small rodent on his face. Beards suit so very few men, and Duchovny's not one of them.

Their quieter lives are disrupted when the FBI again comes calling, in the form of Amanda Peet and XZibit, with a mysterious case involving a pedophile priest who's having visions of female murder victims, which ties in to some nasty Russian scientists and stem cell research and a whole lot of dogs. They pursue the case, which isn't the most compelling X-File that Carter et all have ever written, and in the meantime get into some jaw-clenched arguments about whether this is who they still want to be, or if their lives have moved on. Hint: One of them is a lot more eager to "look into the dark places" than the other.

So.... my problems with the movie? Across the board, I think all of the problems fall under the "trying to do too much with too little" label. Such as:

- The case is boring. I didn't really find myself caring all that much about it, because it was neither scary enough nor enough of a provocative exploration of medical ethics. It could have gone in either direction, but didn't.

- The pacing is off. It moved reeeeeeaaaaalllllllly sloooooooooowwwwww -- like they were trying to stretch out the action of a 45-minute episode into a 2-hour-ish movie.

- The character development was really poorly done. Examples:

1. You've just shown us that Mulder and Scully have been living together for 7 years, and we have to assume that they've been happy, so why now suddenly throw tension into the relationship and have them talk about breaking up? No fair.

2. Amanda Peet acts like she has a little crush on Mulder. After like 3 meetings. huh? Undeveloped and unnecessary.

3. Speaking of Our Lady of Sorrows, I hate that they made Scully so serious, that she just really came off as an anxious nag, always a downer on everything but passionate about very little. They had the opportunity to really give her some meaty stuff, what with a pedophile priest seeking redemption and her own continual search for her faith, but the few times they did try it just didn't go far enough. They've done religion so much better so many times before.

4. Hooray for a cameo from a series favorite - I was not the only one clapping when he appeared on screen - but then they gave him absolutely nothing to do.

- And, worst of all, the thing that was missing most was that little spark... Mulder and Scully have great chemistry together, and that's what lit up the tv screen for all those years in all those homes in the 1990's. They can be serious, but they also crack jokes and flirt with each other. There was almost zero snarky sarcasm, no longing looks.... I think they each maybe only had one amusing line, though there is a very funny use of the X-Files theme early on in the hallway of the FBI building. But because that little anticipatory tension of their partners-who-flirt relationship was replaced by the draaaaaaaaaag of a couple that's fighting, it sucked the life out of so much of the rest of the film. Watching them argue here, it was hard to believe that these were 2 characters that would go to the ends of the earth and beyond for each other.

And for all of these problems, I have to say I'm kind of sorry that the movie came out like this. The Mulder and Scully story could have continued in so many different ways, but I don't think my overall enjoyment of the series was enhanced by seeing them with middle-aged relationship angst. If the mystery that they were pursuing here was stronger, maybe it would've helped balance out the relationship stuff, or at least made it feel like either one of them had more of a stake in the situation. But, sadly, I just didn't believe. (Though I must admit it was nice to see Vancouver again....!)

So, I give this movie overall a C, and that's earning a lot of points for just 15 years of sheer love for the characters. Now I will happily go back to watching the DVDs, where the characters remain true to who they are and the mystery, the fear, the conspiracies, the romance, and the truth are all out there.

Entertainment Roundup

A few tidbits from my recent pop culture consumerism...

I've been in a bit of a romcom mood lately, so I rented the Catherine Zeta-Jones / Aaron Eckhart flick No Reservations. She plays a fairly uptight executive chef at a fancy NY restaurant, whose beloved sister dies and entrusts her impressionable young daughter - played well by Abigail Breslin - in her aunt's anxious hands. As CZJ has to learn little things like kids don't like foie gras but they do like pillow fights, her professional life has also gone a little topsy-turvy cuz her boss (Patricia Clarkson, underused here) has brought in some new talent to the kitchen in the form of sexy, casual, authority-challenging sous chef Aaron Eckhart. Fighting, cooking, romance, misunderstandings, and eventual happy family of three ensues. Here's the problem with this movie.... CZJ just seems horribly miscast. She's not very warm at all, and while her character is supposed to be Type A she never really melts enough for you to feel anything for her at all. The kid is cute, natch, and Aaron is fun to watch... but there's just no chemistry. In the kitchen or in the romance. It doesn't even serve as gratuitous restaurant porn... there are no "wanna lick your screen" shots of delicious dishes. Sadly, this movie's a bit of a waste.

Speaking of Abigail Breslin, the adorable moppet du jour, I ended up with an Abigail romcom double feature as I rented Definitely, Maybe and watched it tonight. Guess what? I really liked it! It didn't seem to follow the usual saccharin formulas and was really believable. There weren't any "meet cute" moments, and in fact featured just about as much heartache as happiness. The story follows a newly-divorced dad, Ryan Reynolds, as he shares with his cute daughter the story of how he met her mother. (Alas, no Barney Stinson.) He shares the story of the 3 great loves of his life, taking all of us on a journey back through the highs and lows of the Clinton years. I give the film a lot of credit for making all three "girlfriend" characters very real and layered, and none of them are turned into the stereotypical b*tch or slut just to make the story easy. I laughed a few times and teared up once or twice, too. Good times.

Speaking of Ryan Reynolds, I recently picked up Alanis Morissette's new album, Flavors of Entanglement. Alanis is still angry, angsty, and a bit dramatic, but I really like about 90% of the album. Several of the songs are catchy, and I do like her lyrics even when she gets a little grandiose. This is definitely a break-up album... and so many of the emotions she reveals are very relatable... but it's a bit incongruous to listen to these heartfelt heartache songs and think that they're about.... Mr. Ryan Reynolds! I am sorry that they didn't work out, cuz even though they always seemed like a pretty mis-matched couple I liked the idea that they could get along. Alas, being 2 Canadian stars must not have been enough in common, and while Alanis seems to have had her heart broken, we get an album of mostly reall good songs out of it. (The first track, "Citizen of the Planet," is just weird-sounding. My least favorite on the album, but skip ahead. It gets really good.)

Side note.... is Robin Scherbatsky supposed to be based on Alanis? Canadian teen pop star anyone?

Calling All Vampire Fans

I'm way behind the curve here, I guess, cuz I didn't know that they're already making a movie of Stephenie Meyer's beloved teen-immortal romance, Twilight.

Here's the teaser trailer and the full cast list.

I gotta admit, I'm a little concerned. Bella is much more fragile and introverted in my mind than Kristen Stewart appears to be playing her, and that guy playing Edward??? With spiky gelled hair and that emo look? Unacceptable. Plus, I refuse to believe that Jacob (my favorite in the triangle) could be played by an actor who was born the day before my SEVENTEENTH birthday. Sheesh. I don't even like their picks for Carlisle and Esme - Jennie Garth's husband and Ava/Rebecca from Grey's Anatomy.

I think this movie's gonna have a hard time pleasing the fans. And yes, I admit, I am one of them!

This Summer's First Blockbuster

With a small degree of trepidation, I made my way to the movieplex last night to see yet another comic book superhero adaptation. I was willing to give it a shot, cuz both The New York Times and EW have put out pretty strong reviews. Well, I am very happy to report that Iron Man is not just another bloated CGI actioner, and Robert Downey Jr. is no Tobey Maguire. And I mean that in the best way possible.

Finally, finally!, we have a superhero movie that spends just as much time on plot, character development, and dialogue as it does on the big zap, boom, sparkle action sequences. I enjoyed this movie just as much as I did The Bourne Identity, and they both have the same genre-elevating kind of approach to the typical action thriller. Thank you, Jon Favreau!

This is an origin story, showing us how international playboy / weapons manufacturer / engineering genius Tony Stark transforms into an avenging super-weapon himself. Roughly the first half of the movie gets in surprisingly deep to very current events, showing Tony's epiphany in a terrorist camp in Afghanistan, as he realizes just what horror his life's work has wrought in the wrong hands.

Back in Malibu, the former "merchant of death" seeks his own redemption with the help of his Girl Friday Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and his best buddy, a top military brass played by Terrence Howard. Both of these luminaries bring a lot to their slightly-underwritten roles, but they help class up the joint along with a strikingly bald-and-bearded Jeff Bridges as Stark's shady business partner.

Mixed in with the "ooh! ah!" moments of robotics and CGI fight sequences, Favreau and his screenwriters offer up a surprisingly smart and funny script. Downey is PERFECT as Tony Stark, and I can't imagine any other actor being able to portray both the world-weary playboy and the abashed superhero trying to right his wrongs. Downey's own experience and age bring so much more to this role than any of the usual strong-jawed Hollywood boy toys (or weird floppy-haired emo counter-casting hero types) could have shown on the screen.

And, ultimately, the wisecracks in the dialogue and some really great visual humor involving Tony Stark's robotic assistants help make the whole thing just a truly enjoyable cinematic experience. (If anyone out there, like me, laughed and cried with that GM "sad robot" commercial a few years back, you'll love how they give a few inanimate objects some real character in here.)

If you're going to see this on the big screen, be prepared. I didn't know this ahead of time and now wish I had... there is an additional scene that plays at the very end of the credits, with a *major* star making an appearance as another central figure in the Marvel universe, basically setting up a sequel that must have the fanboy crowd licking their lips. Yep, get ready for The Avengers. It's already up for sale on the HSX!

And, PS, when did Robert Downey Jr. get so hot? Check out those arms!