George Clooney – The Empty Theatre

I will post the categories as they are announced. The winner will appear in green. If it matches my pick, that will be all that appears. If I guessed wrong, I’ll post what was my pick in red. I’ve picked The Artist to be the big winner tonight, picking up seven awards; Best Picture, Director, Actor, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costume Design, Cinematography & Film Editing.

The 84th Annual Academy Awards, Hosted by Billy Crystal

Well… I went 12 for 24 tonight, finishing at 50%, which is worse than last year. I’m getting progressively worse, as I had my best year 2 years ago at 15 of 24. Maybe next year…. Good show!

8:36 – Best Picture – The Artist; FUCK YES! I knew it! I knew it! So glad this one won, it definitely deserved it. Good job! 12 for 24

8:29 – Best Lead Actress – Michelle Williams for My Week With Marilyn; Winner – Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady; One of their “Make Good” wins… Though, pretty soon they’ll have to do it for Michelle Williams. It’s a vicious cycle 11 for 23

8:18 – Best Lead Actor – Jean Dujardin for The Artist; KNEW IT! It’s too bad he had to upset Gary Oldman who is long, LONG overdue, but Dujardin deserved it. 11 for 22.

8:03 – Time for the In Memorium… I never cry at this. And really? “What A Wonderful World?” How basic is that? Are you gonna switch to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” too?

7:59 – I’m kinda glad they do all the special awards at a separate ceremony… It keeps the main show tight.

7:53 – Best Director – Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist; I’m really glad he won and not Hugo… this is saving my picks for the night. I may miss out on Best Actress though… 10 for 21

7:45 – Best Animated Short – The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore; I really liked the animation on this one, it’s fascinating… you can catch the full film on YouTube here! 9 for 20

7:42 – Best Documentary Short – Saving Face; I had heard very good things about this one, and it seemed like a no brainer. Good job. 8 for 19

7:39 – Best Live Action Short – Time Freak; Winner – The Shore; I took a stab in the dark on this one. I went with Time Freak because I like time travel. 7 for 18

7:30 – Best Original Screenplay – Woody Allen for Midnight In Paris; Hooray! Now that we’re out of the technical awards, I’m doing well. Suck it Hugo! 7 for 17

7:27 – Best Adapted Screenplay – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash for The Descendants; Happy for all three of them. Especially Jim Rash, he’s got something to head back to the set of Community with! 6 for 16

7:24 – Billy Crystal really knows how to pull out of a flub. Respect, Mr. Crystal.

7:18 – Best Original Song – Bret McKenzie for “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets; I knew it! I’m glad I now get to say Oscar Winner Bret McKenzie! 5 for 15

7:13 – Best Original Score – Ludovic Bource for The Artist; Good! I really loved this score. Brilliant, and it definitely was the best of the year. 6 for 14.

7:09 – This is a fun little bit. Havin’ a bit o’ fun at the stars! Good times. Get on to the next award.

7:01 – Best Supporting Actress – Christopher Plummer for Beginners; I just want to say that I am really happy for Jonah Hill getting the nomination. It was unexpected, but deserving. And I’m glad Plummer finally won. He deserves it, too. 5 for 13

6:56 – Best Visual Effects – Rise of the Planet of the Apes; Winner – Hugo; Goddamnit Hugo! Rise of the Planet of the Apes had really good effects… and you’re ruining my picks. 4 for 12

6:47 – Best Animated Feature – Rango; I’m glad this film won… such gorgeous animation on this one. Amazing. Definitely deserved it. 4 for 11

6:46 – I wonder if Chris Rock will ever get work on an Animated film again?

6:43 – Best Documentary Feature – Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory; Winner – Undefeated; WOW! Another upset. Everything I heard was that Paradise Lost had this locked up… wow. 3 for 10

6:35 – I’ve always wondered what an at the movies interpretive dance would look like… Wait, no I haven’t. Still kinda cool though.

6:34 – YAY! Muppets! But if they’re gonna be in the balcony, why couldn’t they get Statler & Waldorf?

6: 29 – Best Sound Mixing – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; Winner – Hugo; Hugo’s been the spoiler so far tonight. I only had it for like 1 award. 3 for 9.

6:26 – Best Sound Editing – Drive; Winner – Hugo; And now Drive is shut out… which is too bad, that movie got no love. The biggest snub of the night. 3 for 8.

6:25 – Best Film Editing – The Artist; Winner – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; WOW! Did not expect that! Good job! 3 for 7

6:23 – Bradley Cooper needs to lose the mustache.

6:22 – Such a hilarious and great Christopher Guest cut scene… just so funny. Good to see those guys together.

6:13 – Best Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer for The Help; I haven’t seen this film, I’m sure I will eventually, but it seems like such an easy film to say is good, so I just had no desire to. Good for Octavia. 3 for 6

6:07 – Best Foreign Language Film – Bullhead (Belgium); Winner – A Separation (Iran). I knew I should have changed my pick… I don’t know why I stuck with Bullhead. 2 for 5

6:01 – I like this “My First Movie” montage. It’s a really fun insight into these actors, actresses and Hilary Swanks.

5:58 – Best Make-Up – Albert Nobbs; Winner – The Iron Lady. Don’t know why I was rooting against The Iron Lady… I just felt the Albert Nobbs make-up was so fantastic. 2 for 4

5:56 – Best Costume Design – The Artist; I was really pulling for this one tonight. 2 for 3

5:53 – Really? The only pre-1970 film in that montage was Midnight Cowboy. Way to be, Oscars… Way to be.

5:45 – Best Art Direction – Hugo; First correct prediction tonight… Hooray! 1 for 2 so far.

5:44 – Best Cinematography – The Artist; winner – Hugo; I was really pulling for The Artist. So far off to a bad start.

5:41 – I’m pretty sure the first Oscars ceremony I ever watched was hosted by Billy Crystal… he’s got a special place in my heart when it comes to the big show

5:39 – I never thought I’d see Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill hanging out, and nominated for performances in the same film… Good on ya, Jonah.

5:35 – Throwing Tin Tin a nod in the opening sequence is literally the least they could do, since they couldn’t nominate it for some stupid gorram reason!

5:33 – What the hell?! Why is Justin Bieber tainting the Oscars? Come on… you’re better than this, Billy…

5:30 – And here we go… with Morgan Freeman kicking things off! Can’t wait to see the opening number!

5:23 – I’m a big fan of Brian Grazer, so I’m excited to see how his show gets pulled off. Sure it’s gonna be great. Significantly better than anything Brett Ratner could have done.

5:18 – Normally no one ever says “I watch the Oscars for the commercials.” But that Muppets, Google+ commercial set to Under Pressure was awesome!

5:15 – Who is this British chick doing interviews? She’s fucking terrible.

5:12 – George Clooney’s looking sharp. Looking better than yesterday when I watched him die in Return to Horror High. Stacey looks like the Oscar statue.

5:03 – Bradly Cooper doesn’t do a terrible Christopher Walken. Can’t wait for Wet Hot American Summer 2.

5:00 – Aaaaaaand we’re off! I don’t really get into the Red Carpet, because I don’t really care who’s wearing whom. Sometimes the interviews are fun, though. So we’ve got the blog going… settle in for a fun night!

50/50

5 Stars

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick and Anjelica Huston

I was warily intrigued when I first heard the concept of a comedy about a guy dealing with cancer. Especially one starring Seth Rogen. But I was pleasantly surprised, and delighted, with the final product that was 50/50.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, 500 Days of Summer) stars as Adam, a 27-year-old writer for NPR who receives the lift altering news that he has a rare form of cancer. He moves through his life with the help of friends and family and comes to terms with the state of his life.

The main obstacle this film had to overcome was the contrived nature of a cancer story line. It immediately tugs on your emotional strings. Or if it’s written by Nicolas Sparks, it punches you in the face. But writer Will Reiser, making his feature debut, handled the subject matter with an earnestness that tends to be glossed over in most cancer tales. Reiser based the script on his own experiences following a cancer diagnoses and getting through it with the help of his friend, co-star Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Funny People). There’s a feeling of realism to the dialogue that helps you empathise with what Adam’s going through, and I’m sure many men of my generation would act and react in a similar fashion.

Gordon-Levitt handles the subject matter with a delicacy so as not to disrespect it. But you can feel the humour and despair he exudes as Adam. Rogen does something bizarre. In the same role, he plays the familiar man-child archetype he’s perfected over the course of his career, but at the same time brings an air of poignancy.

I highly recommend this film. It’s funny in all the right places, but knows exactly when to be serious, and never feels trite. A must watch for the year.

The Ides of March

4 stars

Starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Evan Rachel Wood, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Marisa Tomei

I went into The Ides of March expecting one film, but got a completely different one, marked by stellar performances from an amazing cast.

Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Blue Valentine) stars as Stephan Meyers, a young, idealistic campaign manager for a Governor running for President (George Clooney, who also wrote and directed), who gets caught up in the dirty political machine that threatens his views and career.

I was anticipating a tight political thriller in the vein of All The President’s Men or State of Play. And I was completely let down. It’s not that it isn’t a political thriller, but it’s a lackluster one. It lacks any sort of punch to really keep the audience on the edge of their seat. But we do a thoroughly engaging character study on what the political machine can do to a person, and feels like an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes of a presidential campaign.

Throughout the course of the film, Gosling’s Meyers goes through a transformation from idealistic young political hotshot, to jaded, cynical, willing to the play the game staffer. It’s that transformation that makes the film, and Gosling’s performance sells it.

It’s interesting how well the cast mirrors the theme. You’ve got the heavyweight veterans supporting the young rookie (relatively, to the rest of the cast). Clooney delivers a so-so performance as the candidate, but it’s Hoffman (The Big Lebowski, Capote) and Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man) who really shine as competing campaign managers who show Meyers how it’s really done. Evan Rachel Wood (Across The Universe, Thirteen) is enchanting as a young intern who serves as the cornerstone for a potential scandal.

It’s not genre defining, but definitely one of the best political films in the past few years, despite laying the actual politics on a little thick.

Drive

5 stars

Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks and Ron Pearlman

The Transporter is a sometimes pleasing, but mostly over the top action franchise. But what if The Coen Brothers directed an installment? That’s the feeling I got off of Drive, and it was a damn good feeling.

An enigmatic stunt driver moonlights as a getaway driver, living by specific set of rules. But when a deal goes south while trying to help a friend, he finds himself on the run from the West Coast mob.

This is the odd movie that has the feel of a 70s/80s B-Movie, but doesn’t fully drop into over-the-top ridiulousness to make it cheesy. It’s actually a great edge-of-the seat action thriller, that touches on the right amount of gore, and has the perfect blend of drama and action. And a lot of credit must go to Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson). I don’t want to say he was the best for the job, as I’m admittedly unfamiliar with his work (though it’s all in my Netflix queue), but I do get the feeling that under a less capable director, the film would have devolved into Drive Angry.

Gosling steps into “Strong, Silent” or “Daniel Craig” mode for this film, and is never really given a name (at least not to my recollection, correct me if I’m wrong), which only adds to the air of mystery. There’s a calm, understated intensity to his demeanour until he needs to defend himself or the ones he cares for. That’s when he explodes, and it’s fantastic to see him work.

We’re given the supporting cast in small doses, no one really given too much to do, but enough to leave an impression. I was particularly fond of Albert Brooks (Finding Nemo, Broadcast News) as the villain. It seemed to be new territory for him and he slipped into the role magnificently.

This is hands down one of the most surprising films of the year, and definitely one of the best. Following these two performances (this and Ides of March), Gosling is a shoe-in for at least one Oscar nomination.

Tag: George Clooney

Live Oscars Blog-o-Thon 2012!

50/50, The Ides of March, Drive