Oh Oscar Buzz 2009...

Once Oscar buzz for the year ends, the buzz for next year's begins. I feel like a total jackass for making this post, but for some reason, I think it would be fun to see if my predictions will actually come true since this is wayyyyyyy before than any of the typical Oscar prediction stuff. Let's do this...

Potential Oscar Contenders
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Directed by David Fincher(Zodiac, Se7en, Fight Club, and etc.)
Starring Brad Pitt, Academy Award-winning Cate Blancett, and recently Academy Award-winning Tilda Swinton
Written by Eric Roth(Munich, Ali, The Insider, Forrest Gump, and etc.)
Plot outline: Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.
Reasons why it will probably get nominations and wins:
a) Zodiac could have potentially done well at this year's Oscars but mainly due to its ridiculously early release date, it didn't get any nominations. This film has a nice Q4 release date, making it a a reasonable pick as a potential contender and they could possibly use nominating this film as a way to apologize for snubbing Zodiac.
b) Brad Pitt has only been nominated once for an Oscar and didn't win.
c) They love Cate Blanchett and must love Tilda Swinton maybe even more at the moment for giving her Best Supporting Actress.
d) Period piece.
f) Just look at Fincher and Roth's previous work.
Likelihood of getting a nomination: Very likely and could very well be the frontrunner of next year's Oscars.

The Changeling
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Angelina Jolie, Amy Ryan, and John Malkovich
Written by J. Michael Straczynski(a bunch of Babylon 5 shit...)
Plot outline: A mother's prayer for her kidnapped son to return home is answered, though it doesn't take long for her to suspect the boy who comes back is not hers.
Reasons why it will probably get nominations and wins:
a) Look at Clint's track record. Every movie he's made since Mystic River has gotten nominations of some kind.
b) Angelina Jolie didn't get a nomination for her atrocious yet critically hailed performance in A Mighty Heart this year. The Academy could use this opportunity to make that up.
c) Amy Ryan is all the rage these days because of her turn in Gone Baby Gone.
d) John Malkovich is relatively respectable.
e) Period piece.
f) November release date.
Not sure about that writer but I'm not sure it matters that much since Million Dollar Baby won Best Picture and it was written by Paul "I created Walker Texas Ranger and wrote and directed Crash" Haggis.
Likelihood of getting a nomination: I think it would be borderline impossible for this not to get an Oscar. I'd say Jolie is a frontrunner for Best Actress but I'm not sure about everything else.

Milk
Directed by Gus Van Sant(Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester, My Own Private Idaho, and etc.)
Starring Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, and Josh Brolin
Written by Dustin Lance Black(nothing particular...)
Plot outline: The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White.
Reasons why it will probably get nominations and wins:
a) After indulging himself with his Tarr-influenced arthouse fare(Gerry, Elephant, and Last Days), Hollywood could use this as way to welcome Van Sant back.
b) Has a natural liberal guilt-type sympathy "important" atmosphere built into it.
c) Emile Hirsch wasn't nominated for Into the Wild and they could use this to make up for the snub.
d) Josh Brolin is all the craze with No Country and American Gangster.
e) Period piece.
f) Sean Penn.
The story is not exactly uplifting but after recent years, that doesn't seem too big of a problem. The screenwriter is a bit of an unknown, though.
Likelihood of getting a nomination: Very likely.

The Argentine
Reasons why it will probably get nominations and wins:
Likelihood of getting a nomination:

Wall-E
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Frost/Nixon
The Soloist
Defiance
Blindness
Burn After Reading
Body of Lies
Australia
The Duchess
Valkyrie
The Road
Synecdoche, New York
I'll add some more... Later...

Oh 1st Annual Albertos Winners...

Nominees
I'll write explanations for the wins later. And the winners are...

Best Film:
Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
Reasoning: I don't know. I like it. If there were a runner-up, I'd say Death Proof was it.
Best First Film:
Red Road(dir. Andrea Arnold)
Reasoning: Same as above.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Simon Yam, Election
Reasoning: In a lot of ways, he plays a similar character to Daniel Day-Lewis' Daniel Plainview except he's a gangster instead of an oil man and he is much, much subtler at portraying this psychopath. Both films even end up having their "protagonists" bludgeoning their "enemy's" head with an object(a rock in this case), but the difference between the actors' approach couldn't be any different. The character is actually shrouded in mystery for a good portion of the film until you realize this guy is off his fucking rocker, which makes the fact that I actually thought he was the lesser of two evils in the "election" all the more shocking. He's the type of guy that'll be calmly smiling at you one second and then murder you senselessly the next. It's a truly impressive performance.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Parker Posey, Broken English
Reasoning: Almost picked Keira over her mainly because she made watching Pirates extremely enjoyable, but that's probably more due to sex appeal than her actual performance. I made up for it with her lips winning the best body award category. Parker Posey gives an extremely vulnerable and somewhat scary performance in this film. I don't know what else to write. Umm...
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Michael Cera, Juno
Reasoning: He's just so damn lovable.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Death Proof
Reasoning: For a movie that's basically a bunch of chicks talking, the one that stuck out to me was her. It's most likely due to the fact that I thought she was the most attractive out of the bunch and she wears a cheerleader outfit throughout the whole movie, but let's be honest if someone can come across this sexy without doing anything much other than talk, they deserve some recognition.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Brief On-screen Appearance:
Barry Corbin, No Country for Old Men
Reasoning: It feels strange saying this about the actor who played Maurice from Northern Exposure, but my reasoning was quite simple here: he gave the best and most memorable performance in the movie and he was probably not even in it any longer than 5 minutes.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Brief On-screen Appearance:
Tina Fey, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
Reasoning: Because I fucking hate Tila Tequila.
Best Ensemble Cast:
Juno
Reasoning: I was hesitant about giving this category to this film because it's fairly overrated in my eyes and the lead actress, Ellen Page, who is in practically every scene annoyed me with her performance, but all the supporting players are so delightful that I simply had to give this category to it.
Best Performance by an Inanimate Object:
Craig T. Nelson's hair, Blades of Glory
Reasoning: Because it was easily the funniest part in the movie.
Best Performance by a Body Part:
Keira Knightley's lips, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Reasoning: Why not?
Best Performance by an Animal:
Spike, The Game Plan
Reasoning: For looking so good in a tutu.
Best Action Film:
Live Free or Die Hard(dir. Len Wiseman)
Reasoning: Works best as an action flick in the bunch.
Best Crime Film:
Election(dir. Johnnie To)
Reasoning: Basically good all-around.
Best Horror/Suspense Film:
28 Weeks Later(dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
Reasoning: Best out of the bunch.
Best Comedy Film:
The Game Plan(dir. Andy Fickman)
Reasoning: Because it makes me happy and I have a man crush Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Best Animated Film:
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters(dir. Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis)
Reasoning: It's number 1 in the hood, G.
Best Director:
Hal Hartley, Fay Grim
Reasoning: Because he's the man.
Best Screenplay:
Quentin Tarantino, Death Proof
Reasoning: He essentially made a movie about a bunch of chicks that basically talk the whole time and it wasn't horribly boring and annoying? Simply amazing...
Best Line of Dialogue:
"Number one on the field and number one in your heart.", The Game Plan
Reasoning: Because it's #1 in my heart.
Best Exchange of Dialogue:
Live Free or Die Hard[Rated]
Matt Farrell: You just killed that helicopter with a car.
John McClane: I was out of bullets.
Reasoning: Because he just killed that helicopter with a car.
Best Set Piece/Scene:
Car chase in the rain, We Own the Night
Reasoning: Best. car. chase. I've. ever. seen.
Best Editing:
John Axelrad, We Own the Night
Reasoning: Because that car chase is edited incredibly.
Best Score:
Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood
Reasoning: Because it's easily the best thing that came out of the movie.
Best Song:
"Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" performed by Peter Sarstedt, Hotel Chevalier
Reasoning: Because it was utilized in such a way that made it crucial to the film as a whole and it's pretty good as well.
Best Cinematography:
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Syndromes and a Century
Reasoning: Because it's beautiful?

Oh 1st Annual Albertos Nominees...

Basically, this is going to be the Oscars done by me and only me. My nominations, my choices, my everything. I'll add in new categories and omit some of the more technical awards that are hard to judge. I'll try to stick with mainly American and English-language films for the categories because that's how it usually is for the Oscars. And here are the nominees...

Best Film:
The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
Death Proof(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End(dir. Gore Verbenski)
Southland Tales(dir. Richard Kelly)

Best First Film:
Broken English(dir. Zoe Cassavetes)
Gone Baby Gone(dir. Ben Affleck)
Red Road(dir. Andrea Arnold)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, The Game Plan
Owen Wilson, The Darjeeling Limited
Simon Yam, Election
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
Will Smith, I Am Legend

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Golden Door
Kate Dickie, Red Road
Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Nicole Kidman, Margot at the Wedding
Parker Posey, Broken English

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Superbad
Kurt Russell, Death Proof
Louis Koo, Election
Michael Cera, Juno
Tony Curran, Red Road

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adrienne Shelly, Waitress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Death Proof
Naomi Watts, Eastern Promises
Samantha Morton, Control

Best Performance by an Actor in a Brief On-screen Appearance:
Adnan Maral, Fay Grim
Barry Corbin, No Country for Old Men
Bill Murray, The Darjeeling Limited
Dan Swallow, There Will Be Blood
Paul Reubens, Reno 911!: Miami

Best Performance by an Actress in a Brief On-screen Appearance:
Tila 'Tequila' Nguyen, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Tina Fey, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

Best Ensemble Cast:
Death Proof
Eastern Promises
Election
Juno
Margot at the Wedding

Best Performance by an Inanimate Object:
Bowling pin, There Will Be Blood
Cheerleader outfit, Death Proof
Craig T. Nelson's hair, Blades of Glory
ID card, Superbad
Paddy Considine's moustache, Hot Fuzz

Best Performance by a Body Part:
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's biceps, The Game Plan
Jack Black's ass, Margot at the Wedding
Keira Knightley's lips, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Owen Wilson's nose, The Darjeeling Limited
Viggo Mortensen's balls, Eastern Promises

Best Performance by an Animal:
Sam, I Am Legend
Some goose, Hot Fuzz
"Chase" dog, No Country for Old Men
Some snake, The Darjeeling Limited
Spike, The Game Plan

Best Action Film:
Exiled(dir. Johnnie To)
Hot Fuzz(dir. Edgar Wright)
Live Free or Die Hard(dir. Len Wiseman)
Tears of the Black Tiger(dir. Wisit Sasanatieng)

Best Crime Film:
Eastern Promises(dir. David Cronenberg)
Election(dir. Johnnie To)
Triad Election(dir. Johnnie To)
We Own the Night(dir. James Gray)
Zodiac(dir. David Fincher)

Best Horror/Suspense Film:
28 Weeks Later(dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)
I Am Legend(dir. Francis Lawrence)
Vacancy(dir. Nimrod Antal)

Best Comedy Film:
Blades of Glory(dir. Josh Gordon & Will Speck)
The Game Plan(dir. Andy Fickman)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry(dir. Dennis Dugan)
Margot at the Wedding(dir. Noah Baumbach)
Superbad(dir. Greg Mottola)

Best Animated Film:
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters(dir. Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis)
Ratatouille(dir. Brad Bird)
The Simpsons Movie(dir. David Silverman)

Best Director:
Andrea Arnold, Red Road
Hal Hartley, Fay Grim
Johnnie To, Election
Quentin Tarantino, Death Proof
Wes Anderson, The Darjeeling Limited

Best Screenplay:
Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen, Superbad
Hal Hartley, Fay Grim
Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
Richard Kelly, Southland Tales
Quentin Tarantino, Death Proof

Best Line of Dialogue:
"DRAINAGGGGGE!", There Will Be Blood
"Like a man dick?", Superbad
"Look at these assholes.", The Darjeeling Limited
"Number one on the field and number one in your heart.", The Game Plan
"Yippy-kai-yay, motherfucker.", Live Free or Die Hard[Unrated]

Best Exchange of Dialogue:
Fay Grim
Ned Grim: It's porn.
Simon Grim: It sure is.

Live Free or Die Hard[Rated]
Matt Farrell: You just killed that helicopter with a car.
John McClane: I was out of bullets.

Best Set Piece/Scene:
Bathhouse fight scene, Eastern Promises
Car chase in the rain, We Own the Night
Drug house scene, Gone Baby Gone
Musical number with watermelon umbrellas, The Wayward Cloud
Oil derrick accident, There Will Be Blood

Best Editing:
Hal Hartley, Fay Grim
John Axelrad, We Own the Night
Sam Bauer, Southland Tales
Sally Menke, Death Proof

Best Score:
Hal Hartley, Fay Grim
Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood

Best Song:
"Feeling Good" performed by Nina Simone, Golden Door
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" performed by Donovan, Zodiac
"Rock Lobster" performed by The B-52's, Knocked Up
"Sea of Love" performed by Cat Power, Juno
"Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" performed by Peter Sarstedt, Hotel Chevalier

Best Cinematography:
Cheng Siu Keung, Election
Cheng Siu Keung, Triad Election
Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood
Robert Yeoman, The Darjeeling Limited
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Syndromes and a Century

Oh GOB...

Film:
The Brothers Solomon(dir. Bob Odenkirk)
The best way to sum it up is to rip off the quote on the front cover: it's Dumb and Dumber meets Knocked Up. That's not to say that it comes close to either of those films in terms of quality since the whole affair is a relatively laughless experience because the characters are so upbeat and cheerful that they come across as more creepy than funny. This is a serious contender for worst film from last year with supposedly funny moments like a somewhat overweight woman getting hit by a bus, Will Arnett's character kissing and then licking the wet footprint of the chick he wants to bag, and essentially every line reading by Will Forte. It was bad.
*1/2 out of ****
Music:
Disfear - Live the Storm
Probably the best thing I've listened to from this year so far, but given the group's pedigree(singer from At the Gates, guitarist from Entombed), it's still kind of disappointing. In Exodus is a highlight.
*** out of ****
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Its a lot like the recent album by The Magnetic Fields in that it sounds all shoegaze-y and pop-y. I'd rate the albums about the same, but I'd probably give this one the edge.
**1/2 out of ****
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
It has some songs that are on the cusp of being good but they all end up falling short. The whole album screams EPIC and in a way is a mess because of it. It's overlong and the opening track sounds a little too much like Modest Mouse's "Float On" to the point that it almost verges on plagiary. It's interesting enough to maybe warrant a listen, but overall, it's pretty average.
** out of ****

Oh Shaving...

Film:
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle(dir. Alan Rudolph)
After the artistic misfire that was Welcome to L.A., I simply had to watch another film directed by Rudolph to wash away the sour aftertaste that film left and while it was successful in helping me forget about how horrible that film was, it still doesn't redeem my faith in the director completely. The film has some of the same problems that that film had like a narrative that is sometimes stagnant during long stretches of time and has so many characters that it doesn't really know what to do with all of them, but this film is much better acted and doesn't become as frustratingly redundant as that film. The film is very much centered on Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance, which I was not overly fond of. It's convincing enough and while I'm no expert on Dorothy Parker, it just seemed fairly surface-oriented. The whole story is probably supposed to be more tragic than I thought it was because I mainly didn't really have much sympathy for her character because she led a fairly superficial life and was a bit too mopey for my tastes. Out of all the actors in the film, Lili Taylor stuck out the most in terms of presence, which I find surprising since her character was about as minor as you could possibly get. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Escape From New York(dir. John Carpenter)
I wasn't really into the film until they introduced the spiked baseball bats and trashcan top shields in the "arena" scene, which definitely lives up to its promise. There's no denying that Snake Plissken is a bad ass, but throughout most of the film's running time, I was frankly bored. I, however, thought it made up for the boredom I experienced with its final 15 minutes or so. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street(dir. Tim Burton)
There were kids in the screening of it I attended and it seemed like they had a better time with it than I did probably because it reminded me of something along the lines of a bloody version of a Disney cartoon with some of the most unlively musical numbers I've ever seen and I don't really "get off" on fake gushing blood like they most likely do. I think the film's biggest flaw was the fact that the musical numbers were dully staged and the lead actors don't have all that terrific voices. I'm sure the non-film version of the musical is a sight to behold, but Burton mainly shot his actors standing around singing instead of really attempting to do anything enticing visually with these numbers. It would have probably been better if it wasn't a musical at all. The best number was easily the one with Sasha Baron Cohen because the film has a wicked sense of humor and that was perhaps the most humorous portion of the film. I'm assuming that the film is a truncated version of the original musical since the story doesn't feel like it's all that fleshed out and therefore, not as engaging as it could have been. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Music:
Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
Their sound is perhaps a little too indebted to The Cure. Nothing really striking about the album, but it's a decent enough listen.
**1/2 out of ****
The National - Boxer
What was all the fuss about? It's certainly listenable, but it's definitely no masterpiece.
**1/2 out of ****

Oh Yeah...

Film/TV:
The Game Plan(dir. Andy Fickman)[rewatch]
I will continue to champion The Rock's performance until another rewatch convinces me that it's not one of the most entertaining performances of last year, but during this viewing, I actually started to become emotionally involved with this story more than I would have liked to the point that I almost started to cry at given moments. Nothing profoundly depressing really happens, but father-offspring relationships in film, when done well, often have a tendency of getting me emotional beyond belief. The last time I ever cried at a movie was Flags of Our Fathers because of some of the father-son relationship moments, but that was actually understandable. This, he just gets the kid taken away and predictably gets her back, but there's something about this film that I found profoundly touching and heartwarming about its view on familial relationships and how we should cherish these relationships more often. It's not exactly a new message, but the way The Rock and company handle it is most definitely heartfelt and that's all that really matters in my eyes. It does stumble with some of it's comedic moments because it's a fucking PG-rated Disney film with The Rock in it, but The Rock's ability to elicit laughs through what I assume is purposeful hammy delivery of some of his lines like the soon-to-be-legendary "#1 on the field and #1 in your heart" catchphrase his character constantly recites and his genius facial expressions makes it a performance worth cherishing and once, the film turns somewhat serious, his performance actually improves immensely. It's this adaptive element to his performance that makes it fascinating and what I deem more interesting than DDL's in There Will Be Blood. This movie definitely puts the heart at #1 and the mind at maybe #532, but in a way, I think it's some sort of family film masterpiece because of it. It's not considered a guilty pleasure by me any longer. I wholeheartedly recommend.
*** out of ****
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 2[TV]
When I was watching one of the new episodes recently, it donned on me: Aqua Teen Hunger Force is my favorite TV show. Sure, there are other shows that have vied for this position like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, and some other sitcoms, but this is the show that consistently amazes me with its bizarre artistry and happens to make me laugh more often than any of those others shows. It has had its ups and downs like any other show and this season had some lows like the surprisingly lame and tame Super Trivia and the obligatory obnoxious episode with MC Chris's MC Pee Pants character, but for 13 episodes, this season is the pinnacle of television comedy that opens and closes with a bang. With great episodes like Mail Order Bride, Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future, Super Squatter, Super Bowl, and the list goes on, it's hard not to regard this a masterpiece of television art and entertainment.
**** out of ****
The Hunting Party(dir. Richard Shepard)
A film so satisfied with itself that if it was able to suck it's own dick, it would very well do so and afterwards, start making fun of itself for doing so. The film's deconstructive elements don't come off as witty and clever like the filmmakers probably thought they would, but come off as a depressing form of preemptive defense to criticism. You could imagine one of the individuals involved in the production responding to criticism with, "Well, didn't you see the title cards that show that the film is aware that it's not honest and truthful?" In the film's realm of logic, a woman would pride herself for being gang raped for hours at a time to the point that she gives out this information as a display of authority over our central protagonists who are journalists portrayed as adrenaline junkies that find some sort of sick satisfaction out of being around death and war until one of the bitches they were banging turns up dead because of this bad dude's ethnic cleansing campaign. The proceedings are watchable to a degree, but you have to wonder what the fuck were the people making this thinking? The protagonists are as smug as the filmmakers so it's hard to really give a shit about any of them and probably the most infuriating aspect of the film is a title card at the end that puts quotations around searching in a sentence similar to "The U.S. are probably busy 'searching' for Osama bin Laden." I'm fine with people criticizing the U.S., but the image of the director patting himself on the back for being such an awesome rebel rouser is simply inescapable. Fuck you Richard Shepard and fuck your film.
*1/2 out of ****
Blue Velvet(dir. David Lynch)
Usually, I go out of my way not to look at the reviews on the Blockbuster Online site not because I might be influenced and steal someone's ideas for these reviews, but because they're usually so goddamn stupid that it simply astounds me that there's people out there that actually write those horrible reviews. A lot of the users on there wrote about how this film was too weird and I'm properly in the minority that thought it wasn't weird enough at least in relation to Lynch's current output. I just find it difficult to regard this film in a very positive light knowing that he made what I feel are much better films. This whole muckraking theme of digging up the dirty little secrets in suburbia is not an exactly profound one and Frank Booth is such a stereotypically evil dude that he even have lackeys that cackle a bunch. Most interesting aspect of this story is the character of Dorothy, but the film doesn't focus on her all that much at least in comparison to Jeffrey and Sandy that are so golly gee wholesome that they verge on parody. I still enjoyed the film and there's a technique that is employed near the end that makes it seem like we're not supposed to buy into the ending too much so maybe a rewatch would start to unveil something resembling a masterpiece. The ending, while maybe a little too pat, is mainly noteworthy for its final shot of Isabella Rosselini hugging her son and the music of Blue Velvet playing hinting that she will never be able to forget all the abuse that Frank has put her through. It starts to make you question the film as a whole and provides a lot of food for thought that was severely missing in the rest of the picture. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Brave One(dir. Neil Jordan)
It wasn't as godawful as I was expecting and it remains ultimately watchable throughout, but it just feels so bland and most of all unnecessary that I simply can't recommend it. In a world with Ms .45, I have no idea why I would recommend this. A scene from the film even reminded me of a scene from another Abel Ferrara film, King of New York, with the two black hoods approaching and harassing Foster's character on a subway, but the result is predictable and dull, while the result in King of New York was slightly ridiculous yet totally awesome. This film also leaves really no interpretation for the viewer as it questions its protagonist's actions rather bluntly and a call-in radio session that provides all sorts of angles for this situation for the viewer in probably the most asinine way imaginable. Its not a painful watch or anything, but it's hard to imagine having a desire to watch it ever again or remembering it at all in the coming weeks. It was mediocre.
** out of ****
Music:
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
** out of ****
Against Me! - New Wave
**1/2 out of ****
Blonde Redhead - 23
**1/2 out of ****

Oh 2008...

Log
Upcoming?

Oh 1966...

1966
1. Masculine, feminin(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Battle of Algiers(dir. Gillo Pontecorvo)
3. The Face of Another(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
4. The Pornographers
5. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly(dir. Sergio Leone)
6. Cheyenne Autumn(dir. John Ford)
7. El Dorado(dir. Howard Hawks)

Need to see/rewatch: Au Hashard Balthazar, Persona, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Blowup, A Man for All Seasons, Torn Curtain, The Wild Angels, Fahrenheit 451, and more...

Oh Injuns...

Cheyenne Autumn(dir. John Ford)
He used this film as a way to atone for some of his sins as a filmmaker relating to the portrayal of Indians in his previous work and ended up making probably his most politically incorrect and offensive film to most viewers and fans today. I wasn't offended, but it's easy to understand how someone would be offended by the film and be unable to defend it as wholeheartedly as his earlier work because of the use of Latino actors for the roles of Indians. Maybe, during the time when films like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner were considered cutting edge socially conscious cinema, this was considered noble and important, but now, it's hard not to look at it with disdain for such a ridiculous move on the filmmakers' part. However, I can't look at the film too negatively mainly because of recent examples in cinema(Memoirs of a Geisha, I'm looking at you) that are even more offensive and ridiculous in their casting and given the time it was released, it's hard to criticize Ford's sentiment, even if the Indians are predictably portrayed as noble victims instead of full-rounded characters in the film. Being a Ford fan, the idea of a film directed by him with a truly epic running time is especially enticing and even if this film doesn't rank among his best work, it's still a fascinating watch much in the same way as a film like Southland Tales is. As a cohesive whole, it might not work as well as one would like, but for the sum of its parts like a memorable comedic interlude with James Stewart playing an amusingly apathetic Wyatt Earp, it definitely warrants a watch. I recommend.
*** out of ****

Oh 2008 Movies Watching Log...

Basically going to keep track of all the 2008 movies I see and rank them in a sort of hierarchy of goodness. I will still write reviews, but the ratings found on here might not coincide with the ratings I give in my reviews because a film might "become" better the longer it sinks in or it could potentially "get" worse so this log will probably be in line with my actual thoughts of a film in terms of quality than my reviews as the year progresses. It will also make it easier on myself when I make an annual list. Here we go...

Movies & Ratings:
Paranoid Park(dir. Gus van Sant)
**1/2 out of ****
Still Life(dir. Jia Zhangke)
** out of ****
Rambo(dir. Sylvester Stallone)
** out of ****
Vantage Point(dir. ?)
** out of ****
Semi-Pro(dir. Kent Ackerman?)
** out of ****
Diary of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero)
*1/2 out of ****

Oh 2008 Album Listening Log...

It's going to be a sort of log and hierarchy at the same time! This is going to be strictly albums I've listened to from 2008 and not what I've listened to in 2008. The format will be Artist-Band and then quickly followed with a rating.

Albums & Ratings:
Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those That Can See But Cannot Feel
*** out of ****
Disfear - Live the Storm
*** out of ****
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
*** out of ****
Portishead - Third
*** out of ****
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
**1/2 out of ****
The Magnetic Fields - Distortion
**1/2 out of ****
The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
**1/2 out of ****
Beach House - Devotion
** out of ****
Sons and Daughters - This Gift
** out of ****
Black Mountain - In the Future
** out of ****
Cat Power - Jukebox
** out of ****
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
** out of ****
Xiu Xiu - Women as Lovers
** out of ****
British Sea Power - Do Your Like Rock Music?
** out of ****
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
** out of ****
Drive-By Truckers - Bright Than Creation's Dark
** out of ****
Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
** out of ****
Times New Viking - Rip It Off
** out of ****
Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
*1/2 out of ****

Oh the Sun, England, and the Old West...

Sunshine(dir. Danny Boyle)
This film was a beautiful-looking yet empty experience. The film's narrative inched at a crawl through most of the running time and once the film ends, you realize that you didn't give a shit about what happened to any of these characters because of a serious lack of character development. Several of the actors were sketchy at best and once the characters started to get picked off one by one, you were kind of glad that you don't have to watch some of these actors try to act anymore. I'm probably the only person out there that thought the narrative's turn to slasher territory was for the better because of the immediacy it created that was severely lacking in the narrative up until that point. The special effects were incredible to look at, but the film as a whole was a disposable experience.
** out of ****
Control(dir. Anton Corbijn)
A by-the-numbers account of Ian Curtis's short life with Joy Division, his wife, and his mistress. The only things differentiating this from other music biopics is it's gorgeous black and white cinematography and it's pacing. The pace of the film is hypnotic at first as it took on the aimless rhythm of a young Curtis's life, but once everything is set up for his downward spiral, it became tedious. Samantha Morton gives an incredible performance as Curtis's wife who disappointingly ends up being relegated to the background for most of the running time. Sam Riley is fine as Curtis even if his performance is perhaps too elusive and acts more like a marker for Curtis instead of an embodiment of him. It's worth seeing, but if you're expecting to learn anything about Curtis and Joy Division, you're definitely going to be underwhelmed.
**1/2 out of ****
Unforgiven(dir. Clint Eastwood)
The film's anti-violence slant would have be fine if it didn't indulge itself with an act of vengeance with it's finale. It would be one thing if Eastwood directed this act as something that would alienate the audience say with it's grotesqueness, but it just comes off as a heroic act that undermines everything that the film has been preaching on about up to that point. Clint is fine in the role that he plays in pretty much every film he's in and Morgan Freeman doesn't really fit into this picture with his portrayal of the same character he always plays, Morgan Freeman. The character of The Kid was basically a screenwriter's construct to shoehorn this underlying message that violence is bad and his turn, while for the better, was totally expected. Gene Hackman's portrayal of the gruff sheriff was definitely the most entertaining and interesting part of the film and the long period of the running time that the film focused on his character was definitely the best portion of the film. It's anti-violence message would have been fine if the film didn't come off as so preachy and hypocritical and the fact that The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance handled similar themes in a much more elegant and subtle fashion 30 years before it tells you something. I definitely would not call this film a masterpiece of modern western cinema, but it's still a film to check out.
*** out of ****