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Oscar Predictions 2013 Season
In a few days the big event will be upon us. I know it will be worth everything I endured the past year. There was the teen movie where the audience looked like it was separated into different groups, huddled by the campfire glow from their cell phones, texting away. I recall the small cluster of elderly people behind me who I assumed were addicted to hard candies based on the crackling, unwrapping noises that pierced the still air throughout most of the movie. All of these things will melt from my memories as the flood of winning Oscar nominees settle into fresh impressions. This was a tough year for me with a few of the categories because the competition was so close. I have my pre-Oscar meal planned, washed my soft cozy afghan and dusted the big screened television; so, I am ready for my favorite day of the year. I really do not have a bucket list but one day I want to be part of the audience sitting at the Oscar telecast. Better yet, I would do almost anything to be a seat filler. If the chance ever comes I already know I would leave behind a tastefully wrapped chocolate candy on each celebrity’s seat upon my departure. Please find below my choices for who I feel should receive the Oscar this year.
BEST ACTOR: Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
This was a tough call because I feel Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave deserves it just as much as Matthew. I would prefer a tie here; however, I feel the academy will choose Matthew based on his recent body of work.
BEST ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
If anyone can grab this from Cate it will be Judi Dench for Philomena. This is tough but I decided on Cate for her different moods on display.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club
His role was more complicated to pull off and he was brilliant with his performance.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave
I actually was leaning towards Jennifer Lawrence for the longest time but the more I thought about it I decided Lupita was extra special. The dark horse here would be June Squibb for Nebraska, but Lupita deserves the win.
BEST DIRECTOR: Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave
This was the hardest one for me to make a decision. Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity deserves this just as much as Steve McQueen. The new technology he created for the cameras, the difficulty in pushing actors who were alone in many scenes; it was amazing work. However, I am choosing Steve based on the variety of cast and scenes in this film. He kept me absolutely engaged throughout the film.
BEST PICTURE: 12 Years a Slave
Since the beginning I have been telling everyone that this film needs to be shown in every classroom. Being based on a true story only made this movie more incredible for me.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Gravity
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Frozen
I only saw 3 out of the 5 nominees and if I had seen The Wind Rises my answer may have been different.
VISUAL EFFECTS: Gravity
So another year comes to a close and I want to thank each of you for your encouragement, support, comments and total acceptance of me; a part neurotic, obsessive, film lover.
Roger Ebert 1942-2013
The first movie I can recall seeing at a theater was Pinocchio. From that first time I became enamored with movies; following my brothers, parents and grandparents in our love for cinema. I was fortunate to have sat in some of the old regal movie theaters with their intricately carved terra cotta walls and bright marquees. There was one theater that stood out from all the rest for me. It had a lobby with marble columns that soared up towards a high domed ceiling. Between the candy counter and the aisle entrances were black wrought iron gates trimmed in gold. Seats were covered in a maroon colored velour fabric. They probably looked deeper in color due to the orange glow of lights coming out of the cauldrons and pots that were part of the carved reliefs along the walls. I loved going to see a film in this movie palace. In fact, I thought I could easily get hired as an usher there because of my strong affection for movies; not understanding I was underaged by a few years. As times changed so did movie houses; going from the ornateness I just described to square, flat walled boxes that were void of any personality. I will say the plus for me was when stadium seating was introduced; eliminating my anxiety over the possibility the seat in front me getting occupied by a tall person.
I see this bridge between old and new being similar to Roger coming on the scene. There were movie critics before him, but he took movie reviews in a new direction. Roger made them personal, adding a quick turn of words that could be sarcastic as well as funny. What I liked most about his reviews were the way they made me feel as if he was talking directly to me. Roger’s reviews were not only the highlight when I read the newspaper, they instilled a comfortableness that I still get to this very day when holding the pages of a newspaper. Because of him, when I decided to write movie reviews; I wanted to make them personal. To show how the movie related to me was something important I wanted to share with the readers. There is nothing like having a movie surprising the viewer and taking them away to a different place. I will sadly miss Roger’s reviews but I can just see him now having spirited discussions with his dear friend Gene Siskel and some of the classic movie stars from yesteryear.
Oscar Predictions 2012
As the final days up to the Oscar telecast turn like the last pages of an engaging, voluminous novel; I look back at the past year with a sense of joyful pride. There have been some amazing movies that lingered with me like a comfortable old sweater on a cool day. I have also seen a variety of dreadful films that weighed me down to the point where I felt my seat was swallowing me up alive. No matter which type of film it may have been, what has heightened my movie watching experience has been my ability to share these films with each of you. Thank you for your likes, opinions and sharing your personal stories. Now if I can only get asked to be a seat filler at the Oscar telecast, my life would be complete. So, before the biggest holiday of the year takes place this Sunday; here are my picks for what I feel deserve the Oscar.
Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Director: David O. Russell
Best Animated Feature: Wreck-It Ralph
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
To everyone I wish you an Oscar night filled with fun and excitement, before we all get a good night’s sleep to begin a new year in search of that perfect 4 star movie. Happy Oscar Day!
Top Ten Favorite Movies of the Year 2012
Before the movie studios begin their marketing campaigns when the Oscar nominations are announced tomorrow, I wanted to put out my top ten films for the year. There is no secret formula or pouring over statistics and sales figures involved with my decisions. The basis used is how the movie affected me. Was I moved by the story, did it take me away to a different reality, did the entire experience linger with me afterwards are just some of my criteria. I know ultimately it comes down to one’s personal tastes and with the variety my fellow movie bloggers have shown, we all have different opinions on our movie choices/ratings. There is no right or wrong pick; the selections made come from our love of the movies. So before I start evaluating the academy’s Oscar nominations, here is my list. I do hope you get the opportunity to experience at least a couple of these amazing films.
1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Argo
3. Life of Pi
4. The Other Son
5. Samsara
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
7. Silver Linings Playbook
8. Beasts of the Southern Wild
9. Lincoln
10. Django Unchained
Happy 1 Year Anniversary
One year ago today I started this movie/dvd review blog. Every day since I posted a new review and today I want to thank all of you for your support, your likes, your twitters and your comments. At first I had no goal or dream for these reviews. But as time went on a dream formed inside of me and it has been my motivation. I am so proud to say I stayed focused and committed to doing these reviews and reached my dream: I have written a review every single day for an entire year. I know what some may say, but I say why wrestle with one’s obsessions when they can easily shake hands with them. Starting this new year I plan on continuing to introduce you to new and old movies, with the hope of being able to still surprise you at times. Also know that if a day should pass without a review, do not worry. I am fine but before my house is picked to audition for an episode of some hoarding show, I need to address the mountain of magazines growing on the floor, the pile of unopened CD’s multiplying on the dining room table and the mounds of papers sprouting in the most unusual places. Once again thank you from the deepest place in my heart. Let us go see what is playing at the movies!
Flash Movie Review: The Emperor and the Assassin
The incredible Great Wall of China, the buried Terra Cotta Army near Mount Li, the massive national road system of China all have something in common. They came out of the monarchy of Qin Shi Huang (Ying Zheng), who became the first emperor of a unified China. This dramatic movie was massive on several levels. The historical factor was fascinating to me and the drama in the king’s life played out like a Shakespeare tragedy. He was the man who conquered the several kingdoms of China to create one unified country, going from a king to an emperor. The underlying story in this overwhelming production was about a plan the king formed with his concubine, where he would send her to hire an assassin to kill him. The goal was to use the attempted assassination as a catalyst to attack one of the kingdoms. While the concubine Lady Zhao, played by the incredible Li Gong as Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern, Memoirs of a Geisha) was away, she discovered the king’s compassion was a facade. Playing the king was Xuejian Li (The Blue Kite, Happy Times), who brought a dramatic flair to his role. There were many aspects to this period film that were enormous. From the sets to the amount of extras, the film portrayed what I imagined the royal court must have been like back in those days. My attention was completely captured by this film with its huge battles, royal secrets, political backstabbing and historical significance. There were some scenes with blood. Chinese with English subtitles.
3 1/2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: School for Scoundrels
I believe I had this instructor for a teacher years ago. He was not a nice man and neither was the one in this movie. The teacher was Dr. P and he was played by Billy Bob Thornton (Mr. Woodcock, The Astronaut Farmer). One could trademark Billy Bob’s sarcastic meanness; he does it very well. The only thing though, it was nothing new for me; he has done this type of character before. The other lead actor was meter reader Roger, played by Jon Heder (Blades of Glory, Napoleon Dynamite). And here again, was a role similar to others Jon has done before. It just may be that Jon has a narrow range in his acting abilities, so he can only get cast for these type of characters. In this story Roger signed up for Dr. P’s confidence building course, hoping to gain assertiveness and get the girl of his dreams. I am afraid some of the actions taken in the course were far-fetched for me. With so few fun scenes, I started to get bored as the movie progressed. There was nothing horrendous in the movie, but there was not a lot of levity either. At the end of the day, just like I did not like that mean teacher back in school, I did not like this movie.
1 3/4 stars — DVD
Oscar Telecast
As I was scrapping the last spoonful of ice cream out of my 2nd container, the Oscar telecast came to a close. Another season of movies fighting their way to the ultimate prize in Hollywood–the Oscar statuette. Overall, I enjoyed the telecast, with its even pacing and shorter than usual acceptance speeches. I am not sure if it was the length of the telecast or the amount of caffeine I consumed from the lovely chocolate creations, donated by my local bakery; but, it seemed as if I needed more bathroom breaks. It was good to see Billy Crystal again. Having him host was like finding a comfortable sweater that was out of fashion, so you would only wear it to the grocery store. Some of his jokes were funny or at least amusing, though the focus group clip did nothing for me. As for the movie stars in attendance, I felt their attire was elegant in a muted way. Though what was up with Angelina’s leg? Did she think her dress was not beautiful enough without thrusting her leg out? Cirque du Soleil did a wonderful piece, though the space of the stage made it look too busy for me. I did not know what to look at first. And so what if their act had nothing to do with the movies, maybe they were there for the cool factor, albeit fifteen years ago. Though I wish the results would have been different, I will continue to seek out those elusive 4 star movies…right after I fill out my application to be a seat filler for next year’s show.
3 stars
Oscar Predictions
As I prepare for what is the biggest holiday in my world, the Oscar awards, I am wrestling with either placing my cycling bike in front of the television or my dessert tray alongside my couch. Looking over my list of nominees, I certainly would have made some different choices. However, since I am not a member of the academy (why won’t they respond to my pleas?!) I must make do with what has been given to me. Sorry Ryan Gosling, come back next year Leonardo Dicaprio and Michael Shannon please do not take their snub personally. Following, I give you my choices on who I think should get an Oscar:
Best Actor: George Clooney
Best Actress: Viola Davis
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer
Best Original Screenplay: A Separation
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants
Best Director: Martin Scorsese
Best Picture: Hugo
moviejoltz 