Golden Globe Predictions

Now I'd like to preface this list by saying that I haven't seen a number of the pictures nominated.

To be really fair. No one outside of the movie industry has been able to see five of the nominated films because they havn't come out yet. (Nine, Avatar, It's Complicated, Sherlock Holmes, The Lovely Bones)

I also like many of you out there no I don't live anywhere near an indie movie theater which means that just about all of the indie and foreign films were inaccessible to me.

None the less I will do my very best to guide you through the nominees and give my predictions about who will win.


1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. AVATAR

I certainly am looking forward to seeing it, but as it is not in theater yet I must reserve judgment.

2. THE HURT LOCKER

It's one of those movies that did not make it to my local movie theater. None the less I have eard good reviews of it.

3. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

I am a shameless Quentin Tarentino fangirl. So naturally I loved this movie, but I can hardly call myself objective when it comes to this movie.

4. PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

This movie actually did come to my local theater, but it looked so damn depressing that I couldn't work up the will to watch it. I'll see it when I can cry in the comfort of my own home thank you very much.

5. UP IN THE AIR

I haven't seen Up in the Air yet, but I have heard good reviews. Quite frankly I don't think it will win because it's a comedy/drama staring George Clooney, it's a little too mainstream for the people voting.

Who I want to win: Inglorious Bastards
Who I think will win: Precious: It has everything that award shows look for. A lower budget film with intense emotion and an unknown lead.

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. EMILY BLUNT in THE YOUNG VICTORIA
2. SANDRA BULLOCK in THE BLIND SIDE
3. HELEN MIRREN in THE LAST STATION
4. CAREY MULLIGAN in AN EDUCATION
5. GABOUREY SIDIBE: PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

I'm going to be honest I haven't seen any of these either but Emily Blunt and Helen Mirren are tremendous talents.

Who I want to win: Gabourey Sidibe: What can I say I love it when an uknown underdog wins the race. And I especially love it when credit is given to actresses who are not a size 6 (hell lets face it in Hollywood size 2 is standard)
Who will win Sorry no clue

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. JEFF BRIDGES in CRAZY HEART
2. GEORGE CLOONEY in UP IN THE AIR
3. COLIN FIRTH in A SINGLE MAN
4. MORGAN FREEMAN in INVICTUS
5. TOBEY MAGUIRE in BROTHERS

I havn't seen any of these movies either. However I have been reading reviews. I have heard tremendous things about the performances given by Morgan Freeman and Tobey Maguire.

Who I want to win: Jeff Bridges: because the Dude Abides. Also because he has been nominated four times before and has never gotten a Golden Globe or Oscar.
Who will win I'm going to narrow it down and say it's between Morgan Freeman, Tobey Macguire, and Jeff Bridges. Two seem to have given remarkable performances and the other has been snubbed a few times.

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

It is the perfect indie romantic comedy. It's quirky and artistic without trying too hard to be quirky, and unlike so many movies of the same drama it avoids being overly pretentious. I thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt really did a great job acting.

2. THE HANGOVER

The Hangover is by far one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. However straight up comedys never seem to fair well at award shows.

3. IT’S COMPLICATED

It's not in theaters yet

4. JULIE & JULIA

I did not see this movie, largely because the reviews I heard of it made it seem a bit boring. I am however a big fan of Amy Adams and Meryl Streep.

5. NINE

Is also not in theaters yet.

Who I want to win: The Hangover - lets face it award shows rarely recognize real comedy movies. They generally hand over the prize to dramadies, and indie ironic flicks that are funny but not laugh out loud funny. The hangover is a hilarious well written comedy that has a lot of heart. I have to say that Zach Zach Galifianakis also turns in a great performance, it's very hard to play a character like Alan who needs to be a completely bizarre screw up of a man yet still be believable and lovable.
Who will win: It's Complicated has the most seasoned and well respected cast so I think it will win this category.

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR
MUSICAL

1. SANDRA BULLOCK in THE PROPOSAL

I saw The Proposal it was a trite romantic comedy, there was nothing really worth noting about it. The fact that it is nominated means that there were very few movies with strong comedic female leads this year.

2. MARION COTILLARD in NINE
3. JULIA ROBERTS in DUPLICITY
4. MERYL STREEP in IT’S COMPLICATED
5. MERYL STREEP in JULIE & JULIA

I didn't see the rest of these movies but I have a prediction.

Who I want to win: Meryl Streep
Who will win: Meryl Streep


6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY
OR MUSICAL

1. MATT DAMON in THE INFORMANT!
2. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS in NINE
3. ROBERT DOWNEY JR in SHERLOCK HOLMES
4. JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
5. MICHAEL STUHLBARG in A SERIOUS MAN

The only movie of the bunch that I have seen is (500) Days of Summer. I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt carried that movie and did a great job, but boy does he have tough competition. Daniel Day-Lewis and Robert Downey Jr are two of the best actors of their generation, and Matt Damon is also a fantastic actor.

Who I want to win: Joseph Gordon- Levitt he is a very talented young actor. I have been following his career since Third Rock From The Sun, and he just keeps getting better. I'm really glad he has finally gotten some recognition for work he has done as an adult.
Who will win: Daniel Day Lewis because he is fricking Daniel Day Lewis and he is awesome in every role he attempts, he drinks your milkshake. Robert Downey Jr is a great actor as well, but Sherlock Holmes is an action comedy and those tend to do very poorly at award season.

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

1. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
2. CORALINE
3. FANTASTIC MR. FOX
4. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
5. UP

Who will win: Up lets face it the animated category almost always goes to Pixar

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. BAARIA (ITALY)
Medusa Film; Summit Entertainment
2. BROKEN EMBRACES (SPAIN)
El Deseo SA; Sony Pictures Classics
3. THE MAID (CHILE)
(LA NANA)
Forastero; Elephant Eye Films
4. A PROPHET (UN PROPHETE) (FRANCE)
Chic Films/Page 114/Why Not Productions; Sony Pictures Classics
5. THE WHITE RIBBON (GERMANY)
(DAS WEISSE BAND – EINE DEUTSCHE KINDERGESCHICHTE)
X Filme Creative Pool/Les Films Du Losange/Lucky Red; Sony Pictures Classics

Yep I havn't seen any of these and I don't know enough to even make guesses.

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE

1. PENÉLOPE CRUZ in NINE
2. VERA FARMIGA in UP IN THE AIR
3. ANNA KENDRICK in UP IN THE AIR
4. MO’NIQUE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
5. JULIANNE MOORE in A SINGLE MAN

I don't know and to be honest I don't feel too strongly about any of these actresses.

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE

1. MATT DAMON in INVICTUS
2. WOODY HARRELSON in THE MESSENGER
3. CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER in THE LAST STATION
4. STANLEY TUCCI in THE LOVELY BONES
5. CHRISTOPH WALTZ in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

The only movie of the bunch I have seen is Inglourious Bastards and I think Christoph Waltz deserves to win. He steals every scene he is in, and manages to be remarkably charming while playing a character that is despicable.

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

1. KATHRYN BIGELOW: THE HURT LOCKER
2. JAMES CAMERON: AVATAR
3. CLINT EASTWOOD: INVICTUS
4. JASON REITMAN: UP IN THE AIR
5. QUENTIN TARANTINO: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Much like the last category I have only seen Inglourious Bastards, and I am a complete Quentin Tarentino Fangirl. I can't be objective when my hero and favorite director is concerned. Obviously I want him to win, but I can't be a fair judge.

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

1. NEILL BLOMKAMP, TERRI TATCHELL - DISTRICT 9
2. MARK BOAL - THE HURT LOCKER
3. NANCY MEYERS - IT'S COMPLICATED
4. JASON REITMAN, SHELDON TURNER - UP IN THE AIR
5. QUENTIN TARANTINO - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

I have only seen one of the films listed. However, there is more then one way to judge. Typically science-fiction and comedic moves do not get nominated. My money is on The Hurt Locker or Inglourious Bastards.

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

1. MICHAEL GIACCHINO - UP
2. MARVIN HAMLISCH - THE INFORMANT!
3. JAMES HORNER - AVATAR
4. ABEL KORZENIOWSKI - A SINGLE MAN
5. KAREN O, CARTER BURWELL - WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

I think this contest comes down to James Horner who has written dozens of beautiful scores (Titanic, Braveheart, House of Sand and Fog) and Karen 0 and Carter Burnwell who brought a really fresh sound to Where the Wild Things Are

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

1. “CINEMA ITALIANO” — NINE
Music & Lyrics by: Maury Yeston
2. “I WANT TO COME HOME”
EVERYBODY'S FINE
Music & Lyrics by: Paul McCartney
3. “I SEE YOU” — AVATAR
Music by: James Horner, Simon Franglen
Lyrics by: James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell
4. “THE WEARY KIND (THEME FROM CRAZY HEART)” — CRAZY HEART
Music & Lyrics by: Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett
5. “WINTER” — BROTHERS
Music by: U2
Lyrics by: Bono

It's between U2 and Paul McCartney because the voters are probably most familiar with their work.

This completes the movie portion of the Golden Globes Predictions. Stay Tuned for the much better informed Television section.

Dollhouse Canceled

A moment of silence please for Dollhouse.

That's right folks the wonderful Joss Wheadon creation known as Dollhouse has officially been given the ax. Although Dollhouse has managed to gather a very devoted fan base, it never appealed to a large enough audience for Fox to keep it around. And so it is another brilliant Joss Wheadon show has been given the ax by the Fox network, and sadly there is nothing we can do about it.

Ok, that may not be true. Maybe if we complain enough they will turn it into a movie like they did with Firefly. Sadly Dollhouse isn't as good as firefly and probably won't translate as well as well to the big screen. We can still hope though.

But I digress. The show is currently on a break but will return on December fourth to finish out the second season. There are 8 whole episodes that have yet to air, and fortunately we will be able to see them all without having to buy the DVD boxed set.

If you have never seen Dollhouse you should do so. The first four episodes of the second season are available on Hulu

http://www.hulu.com/dollhouse

For more information on the show http://www.fox.com/dollhouse/

Put Roman Polanski in Jail

Recently Roman Polanski was arrested on a long outstanding warrant. People from all areas of film have come fourth to demand his immediate release. Woody Allen, Tilda Swinton, Martin Scorsese, Monica Belucci, John Landis, and many others have come fourth in support of Roman Polanski.

As much as I wish I could be, I am not really part of the film industry. I stand outside the real world of film it as a small critic on a mostly unknown blog. All the same I have a voice, and I can't remain silent about this subject.

Roman Polanski drugged and raped a 13 year old girl, when he was in his forties. He admitted he was guilty in court, but then fled before he could serve any punishment. Being a brilliant artist does not give you a license to do whatever you want. Roman Polanski forced himself on a young woman, and it is a completely inexcusable crime. No amount of brilliant and beautiful movies can erase the ugliness of that one act.

In the Declaration of Independence it states that "All Men are created equal". I believe that this statement was never meant to be taken literally, clearly some people are born with more talent then others. At it's core this statement means that all people should be treated and valued equally under the law. If Roman Polanski was an auto mechanic or a school teacher as opposed to a director he already would have served his time in jail. I don't understand why so many in the film industry are apt to absolve a man of his crimes simply because he is a genius director who faced a great deal of personal tragedy.

Here is a very good article on the subject

http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2009/09/28/puzzle-activity-time/#more-16939

And here is a less biased article

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/29/polanski.filmmakers.protest/index.html

Seriously, another post will be happening sometime in the near future.

The Vampire Diaries Review

Last Thursday The CW premiered it's newest show The Vampire Diaries.

As the name suggests it involves both vampires and diaries. The Vampire Diaries takes place in a small Virginia Town known as Mystic Falls that seems be suffering from an angst epidemic. The Main Character is a girl names Elena who recently lost her parents in a car crash, is currently dealing with a little brother who is swiftly becoming a drug addict, and is about to be caught in a tragic and dangerous love triangle with vampire brothers. You heard me right vampire Brothers one brother is good the other one is evil, and both are interested in Elena because she looks exactly like a girl they used to know.

The show is based on "The Vampire Diaries" series by LJ Smith. The "Vampire Diaries" series was written at least a good decade before Twilight, but somehow the show comes off looking like a weaker version of Twilight. This is probably due to the fact that the Twilight movie is better written and acted then this show, and yes I too am shocked that I just wrote that sentence. There were many changes made in the story as "The Vampire Diaries" made the transition from book to television, I think most of them were for the better.

In the book Elena is the most popular girl at school who has an army of minions who do her bidding, she is blond, has just returned from a trip of France, seems considerably less upset about her parents, and is obsessed with getting Stefan Salvatore. The TV series made Elena a little more like Bella Swan; a smart, well liked brunette girl, who is often quite awkward. Instead of Elena strongly pursuing Stefan and Stefan resisting her advances like the brooding responsible vampire he is; they meet and get to know each other in a fairly normal way.

The acting in the series is pretty weak but passable. The only characters that really stood out in their performance were Katerina Graham who played Elena's best friend Bonnie, and Ian Somerhalder (Better known as Boone on Lost) who clearly enjoyed playing an over the top villain Damon Salvatore, the rest were very generic in their performance.

The writing in the series isn't particularly strong either, yet I have hopes that it will improve as the series moves along. The first episode had to establish a lot about the series and sometimes things got a bit mixed up. Sometimes it felt like the series ran from one character to the next establishing why each was angsty, as opposed to following the real plot line of love and murder and letting the angst develop in it's own time. Also, the way it was shown on camera it wasn't clear if Damon had the ability to turn into a raven, or if he just sends a random raven around to freak people out. I also found the Dear Diary format to be a bit annoying and overplayed, hopefully this aspect will fade away or be used more effectively as the story progresses. Hopefully the next episode will have a little more action and a little less angst.

I suppose the bottom line is "The Vampire Diaries" is an ok show. It's nothing spectacular but I have decidedly seen worse. Vampires are a very popular genre right now so you can expect this show to hang around till at least the end of the season. Lets hope the acting and writing tighten up a bit by then.

Melrose Place: The Next Generation

Melrose Place premiered tonight on the CW. premier

Much like the origional Melrose Place the story centers around a group of young and very attractive people living in LA. The plot follows the various tenants of an apartment as they experience various degrees of scandal and corruption while looking very pretty.

On the Surface everything about Melrose Place is great. The TV show is filled with beautiful people, great wardrobe, beautiful locations, a fun soundtrack, and the cinematography is quite good. Yes, with it's focus on all things pretty it's somewhat understandable that the creators of such a shallow and pointless remake could forget to add some things which give a show depth.

The writing is questionable. It almost seems like the writers came up with a bunch of sexy and or scandelous things for the characters to go through, and put little thought about how or why they made sense. Early in the show a person is found brutally murdered in the swimming pool. Miraculously by the end of the day the cast seems to have completly recovered and not be the least bit shaken up by the murder. Of course it's easy to understand how some people might be a tad distracted by getting engaged, or plotting to steal a priceless work of art, or making the decision to whore themselves out to pay for medical school. I know that soap operas work by throwing improbable scandal over improbable scandal, but couldn't they have showed the characters a bit more upset and perturbed by the murder. I don't mind when shows have crazy amounts of drama, so long as characters react appropriately and it makes sense in terms of plot and character development.

Of course maybe I shouldn't blame this all on the writers. Maybe the script called for the actors to be acing a bit more scared, on edge, or pensive on the state of their own mortality; but the actors just didn't deliver. I sincerely doubt that the cast of Melrose Place could collectively act their way out of a paper bag. Ashlee Simpson-Wentz should quit trying to be an actress, the ability to lip-sync and the ability to read lines are very different things. In fairness to Ashlee most of the cast was pretty terrible.

I see few if any redeeming qualities about this show. Watching Melrose Place is like looking into the eyes of Paris Hilton, sure she is beautiful and stylish but there is something missing in her cold vacant stare that tells you she has no soul.

History tells me that many people enjoy the shallow mindless fun of a soap opera. If you don't mind bad acting and improbable plots, so long as it leads to sexy scandals; then by all means do watch this show. It's airs on The CW Tuesday nights at 9.

Honestly I'd recommend holding out for a different guilty pleasure show to come around this fall.

Boondock Saints 2 Trailer

OMG after years of rumors it appears as if Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day is actually coming out.

The trailer usually shows us the very best moments of a movie, and I have to say judging by the trailer it looks like this movie won't be as good. Yet I still want to see it.