Oscar Countdown

Sunday February 28 is Hollywood’s big night – The Academy Awards. And the Oscar goes to…

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio/The Revenant – he’s the big fave. I have not seen the film and don’t plan to, but I’m sure he’s worthy. He fought a CGI grizzly bear!!

Matt Damon/The Martian – fun choice and so good

Bryan Cranston/Trumbo

Michael Fassbender/Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne/Danish Girl

Best Supporting Actor

Sylvester Stallone/Creed – seeming the sentimental fave. He was good but Michael B. Jordan deserves this nomination

Christian Bale/The Big Short – oh he can do crazy smart well

Tom Hardy/The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo/Spotlight – spot on

Mark Rylance/Bridge of Spies – superb and subtle

Best Actress

Brie Larson/Room – big fave and I agree. She blows you away

Cate Blanchett/Carol –captivates

Jennifer Lawrence/Joy – frankly she acted well, but not a winner. (annoying movie)

Charlotte Rampling/ 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan/Brooklyn – truly a stunning role in a tiny but excellent film

Supporting Actress

Kate Winslet/Steve Jobs – she won the Golden Globe and is always up for a great classy speech

Rooney Mara/Carol – should be a lead actress nom

Rachel McAdams/Spotlight – good job in a large ensemble movie

Alicia Vikander/The Danish Girl – she’s an up and coming actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh/Hateful Eight – crassly good  in this gross flick

Best Picture/Director

The Revenant/Alejandro G. Inarritu – seems to be the hot choice right now

Spotlight/Tom McCarthy – my personal fave. It was hot early on, but seems to be fading

The Big Short/Adam McKay – clever, sharp, and oh so edgy

Bridge of Spies – well done

Brooklyn – a classy little film. Worthy of watching

Mad Max: Fury Road/George Miller – ugh in my opinion. One big chase and a bit of a bore

The Martian – quite entertaining and worthy crowd pleaser

Room/Lenny Abrahamson – intense and well done, but tough subject

Good luck to all………..Hollywood still churns out some very worthy product that stretches the mind and soul. They entertain, amuse, and can make us weep.

Chris Rock as host should prove interesting as usual. The man is astute and funny. 

Happy Weekend everyone

Oscar Night 2012

Oscar night. This is the Super Bowl for movie fans. I grew up in a household that revered films, Hollywood, and movie stars. I'm not talking celebrities - I'm talking movie STARS. Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis. Golden oldies. Today's talent - Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Clint Eastwood (more as a director), Glenn Close, Colin Firth, Kate Winslet, and more. An excellent movie can transport, entertain, and enlighten.

I am the film critic for The Little Paper of San Saba - a town without a cinema. Thanks to Cecil Cherico for creating my press pass.

My Oscar ballot (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly) is filled out and ready for tonight. I think The Artist shall win big. I'm hoping for George Clooney as Best Actor for The Descendants and Viola Davis as Best Actress for The Help. As I reviewed the nominees, I can say it's been a good year at the movies with worthy contenders. Hooray for Hollywood!

Oscar Dreams

One quick followup to my Oscar post. I'm very pleased with all of The King's Speech victories. They helped my Oscar ballot with 17 of 24 correct. Hurrah!

I loved David Seidler's acceptance speech. He won for Best Original Screenplay. Elderly white haired gentleman who overcame a stutter - this award obviously meant the world. He began by saying that his father always said he'd be a "late bloomer". Classy and understated. Wow!

Kudos to him.

I love the movies. This year's Academy Awards show was a tad boring, trying too hard to be hip and cool. And yet, when it came down to the actual victors - they gave really heartfelt speeches, they are true to their craft, and they epitomize acting star quality. It was worth paying my $$$ and sitting in the dark and spending precious time to enjoy their performances.

Hooray for Hollywood and here's to the David Seidler's of the world. Write, write, write, create, and dream.

Oscar awaits

Oscar Picks

A year's worth of sitting in the dark, and it comes down to Sunday, February 27th. Academy Awards time. Who shall win Oscar?

I look back at 2010 as a so-so year for movies, and yet when I look at the nominations, I think, "Wow. That one was great. Or such a superb performance. Or I could watch that one again." So, I think 2010 was a good year for a small number of really fine films. It was "eh!" for the medium grade - entertaining and worth your money, but not awesome. There's been a whole lot of crap made and I think films are being cranked out to fill the DVD and instant viewing pipeline. With that said, let me give an opinion on key categories.

Ballot courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.

Best Picture: All worthy contenders. I think The King's Speech will win - it fits the Oscar sensibility. Well filmed, well acted, and British accents. As far as innovation - Inception or Black Swan should take the statue. And for sheer joy to watch again and again - Toy Story 3.

Best Actor: Colin Firth, hands down. Jeff Bridges won last year and gets better and better. Jesse and James - young brilliant actors who shall build great careers. Javier - sorry, didn't see you. But I bet you were good.

Best Actress: Natalie Portman has grown through the years and I think she was excellent in her ballerina breakdown. I give her the statue, but I'm fine if Annette Bening wins. She's so dynamic on the screen.

Best Supporting Actress: This is so tough. Melissa Leo started out ahead, but I think Hailee Steinfeld might just pull the final punch. I'd award the whole lot of 'em. (Jacki Weaver is a surprise gem in a wee Aussie film - whew!)

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale went full tilt into his role and came up a winner. But Geoffrey Rush could ride that King's Speech momentum and he was awfully key to Colin's performance.

Best Director - David Fincher - Social Network. The old split the award from picture trick and I think that's okay. We'll see.

Best Original Screenplay - either King's Speech or Inception (that was darn good creative writing)

Best Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin knocked it out with Social Network. This movie captures 2010 with his language and pacing.

Just working on this post makes me want to re-watch these movies and performances. Hollywood is still alive and brings magic to the darkness.

Roll film...............

Film Fascination

I am the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba, a town with no theater. Nonetheless, a good friend, Cecil, decided I needed a press pass worthy of my title. So far, this has garnered no free movies, no free popcorn - just a few laughs. I don't care. I love the movies and the experience. The concept of NetFlix is cool - discs in the mail or streaming video whenever you want to watch a movie. We even have a big screen and comfy chairs with cupholders. But I am easily distracted and less involved at home.

I enjoy the movie theater experience and agree with a quote from director Werner Herzog (WSJ, 2/23/10). "I'm sitting there in awe and astonishment and I enjoy to be in a place where there are people around you and the curtain opens and the miracle begins."

Superb acting, dialogue, scenery, costumes - there's just nothing like movie magic.

This year the nominees for Best Original Screenplay are:
Mark Boat: The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino: Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon and Owen Moverman: The Messenger
Joel Cohen and Ethan Cohen: A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Peter Doctor, and Tom McCarthy: Up

All worthy contenders. Writers rule!