Trailer time! I've been wanting to do one of these forever, but with the writers strike making next year's release schedule a little sparse, and the Oscar season leaving only upcoming Oscar-nominated films in the previews, I didn't have many options. But I've finally compiled a list of upcoming releases that I really want to see. Check them out.
Watchmen: So this comes out really soon (like next week), and you've probably already seen the TV spots a billion times, but the more I see and read about this story, the more it sounds freaking awesome. These superheroes are kinda evil and massively screwed up. It takes place in a 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president. The big blue guy (Dr. Manhattan) won America the Vietnam War by single-handedly wiping out the Vietcong. In real life, Nite Owl is impotent. The Comedian kills for hire. Rorschach is a vigilante (superheroes are now outlawed) who wears a creepy, ink blotted mask and runs around dispensing bloody, medieval justice. It has origin stories for most of the "superheroes." The visuals look great. I have more...
17 Again: When I first heard about this movie, I didn't think it sounded that good (it's Big in reverse, starring Zac Efron). But I saw the trailer recently and it really cracked me up. Efron displayed some decent comic timing and charm, his wife is played by Leslie Mann (Mrs. Judd Apatow) who is a great comedic actress, and I would really like to see a light, fluffy comedy that doesn't blow.
500 Days of Summer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt has the potential to become one of my favorite leading men, and Zooey Deschanel is almost always vibrant and likable. I love this trailer for not having any dialogue and for intriguing me with it's music, the juxtaposition of it's beautiful shots, and the seeming absurdity of it's story (was there a musical number outfitted with a cartoon bird?) Needless to say, I am damn anxious to see a movie that looks this offbeat, yet sincere.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine: I thought the X-Men movies were only so-so, but this trailer made me really excited. And now that Hugh Jackman has completely won me over with his awesomeness, I'm there. It also stars Liev Schieber (with fantastic sideburns) and Taylor Kitsch ("Friday Night Lights" fans!) carrying a magical, light waving stick (or something). The trailer completely energized me.
Adventureland: Love this cast (Kristin Stewart is always worth watching, plus that's Martin Starr, otherwise known as Bill Haverchuck, the best character on "Freaks and Geeks"), love this atmosphere (for a second, I desperately wanted to work at a theme park), and the comedic tone is right up my alley. Where do I screen?
Star Trek: Geeky revelation time - I am a huge fan of some of the original Star Trek films, namely 2, 4, & 6, and used to watch "Star Trek: The Next Generation" rather faithfully. I'm stoked to see this reboot that boasts an interesting cast, some great visuals, and the promise of something unexpected.
State of Play: Great cast (Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren), tight suspense, and Ben Affleck in a supporting role as a possibly crooked politician. I really like that. It's good to see him back in front of the camera in something that looks reputable. It's also based on a critically praised BBC show that once starred James McAvoy (although, sadly, he's not in the movie).
Sorry I'm a day late with this. The way Academy Award buzz goes, everyone's probably over it now. But the house is being remodeled right by the office and I couldn't get this out yesterday.
The OSCARS! As predicted by almost everyone, Slumdog swept just about everything it was nominated for. It wasn't my favorite movie of the year (as I've said before, I felt this was a year with a lot of good films, but not very many great ones), but I won't deny that is was fun and inspiring, and well-acted. So while I would have preferred Milk (one of the only movies that really stuck in my gut) I can't really begrudge Slumdog for it's success. Probably because all of the cast and crew involved look so grateful and thunderstruck and excited to even be at the Academy Awards, let alone sweeping the prizes. Seriously, those kids? So adorable and did such a great job in the film. And Dev Patel and Frida Pinto just seem like really sweet, humble people. Can't help but be happy for them. So, well done, Slumdog Millionaire.
How about Hugh Jackman? Where has he been hiding all this charismatic musical talent? I know he's done stuff on Broadway (even hosted the Tony's) but I was not expecting to be so charmed. I couldn't understand everything in that opening number, but it was still really fun to watch, and he was by far the best belter in the 'ode to musicals' number. I just wish we had seen him a little bit more. He seemed to disappear for long stretches of time, where at previous shows, the host was around for just about every segment. I would have loved to see a little more off-the-cuff Jackman humor. Definitely wouldn't complain about having him back again.
As for the other changes in format, I'm really torn. Like just about everyone else, while I didn't mind Queen Latifah singing during the memorial montage, why was it filmed so disastrously??? The camera kept cutting to her instead of just focusing on the images. I couldn't read several of the names and that seems a rather huge guffaw when they're supposed to be being honored. The many montages were at least fresh (they didn't roll out the usual images of Charlie Chaplin, Singin' in the Rain, or Gone With the Wind) and celebrated films from this year, but they were still too long and often drew attention to films that were better left forgotten (Space Chimps?) We're supposed to be celebrating the best here, people! However, as someone who loved Pineapple Express, I really enjoyed the short film of Seth Rogen and James Franco watchind and commenting on movies in character. Right on spot!
With the format for the Acting Awards presentation, again, not sure. I like the look in theory, having 5 former winners come out and really honor each of the nominees. That made it feel like a real honor to be nominated, even if it was just glorified ass-kissing. In some cases, it really worked - Shirley McClaine to Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard to Kate Winslet, Robert De Niro to Sean Penn - the tributes seemed honest, heartfelt and touching. But in many of the other cases, the presenter was so clearly reading off the telepromter, not speaking to the nominee, that the format felt rather stiff. And they took so long! I don't know. I missed seeing clips of the performances.
I did, however, love the way the presented the Best Picture nominees. Rather than role out a clips package for each film throughout the broadcast, scenes from the nominees were mixed with clips from former Best Picture winners and nominees that had similar subject matter, tone, themes or dialogue that applied. Like cutting Frost/Nixon with clips of All the Presidents Men and Apocalypse Now, or The Reader with other May-December romances from The Graduate and Lost in Translation as well as WWII/Holocaust material from Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List. They mixed Milk with Norma Rae, Braveheart, and Network's infamous "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore." Benjamin Button went with Shakespeare in Love, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and A Beautiful Mind. And my favorite bit was editing relating the theme of destiny in Slumdog Millionaire with similar scenes from Forrest Gump, Casablanca and Million Dollar Baby. Can you tell that this technique was my favorite? Here's video if you want a refresher:
Onto the fashion. TOO MUCH WHITE! I think I said this last year too. I like color. I want more color. That said, most of the white/silver/cream/"barely mint"/pale pink dresses were lovely. My favorite whites were Taraji P. Henson and Anne Hathway, and I loved Natalie Portman for using a daring color and looking fabulous.
Favorite of the Night: Kate Winslet. Are you surprised? Of course not. Truth is, I don't even really like the dress, and from certain angles the hair looked too severe. But when I saw her in motion, no one looked lovelier. She had a Grace Kelly thing going and put all together, she was the Queen of the Night for me. I feel really bad about some of the bashing I've read about her speech. At the Golden Globes, she won twice, was completely shocked and teary, and it came off fake to a lot of people. I can't believe that of her. I choose to believe that she was genuine. I don't remember her speeches at the SAG's or BAFTA's so I don't know if she acted "surprised" at those occasions either. But I felt that her speech at the Oscar's was completely charming, genuine and heartfelt. There's a difference between being surprised and being overwhelmed. I didn't see any fake emotion, or overdone blubbering, or false surprise. But she just won an Academy Award after having lost 5 times before, and after having dreamt of it most of her career; isn't the lady allowed to be overcome a bit? To cry a little? I thought she seemed very happy, grateful, humble and excited and none of it seemed false or overdone to me. And I was watching for that too. The whistle to her dad was great.
On the male side, did you all see Robert Downey Jr.? Wowza! That man is hot! Look at the cleanup between the Golden Globes and now. And he's 44! WTH! Beautiful man.
Love this man! ------>
Side note: I have fallen in love Tilda Swinton and the wonderful, bizarre things she wears. I read Go Fug Yourself daily and they freaking love her. They have decided that she should just go by SWINTON (in caps) because she's so freakishly odd and unique, and that moniker just tickles me to no end. Elizabeth and I have taken to shouting it whenever we see her. On anyone else, this ensemble is crazy, but on SWINTON it is freaking fabulous. (Check out all the things Go Fug Yourself has to say about SWINTON here.)
That's all for me this year! Here's hoping next year is much better and that I'm feeling more inspired to write about it. I missed doing my Oscar buildup and lists, but really just couldn't muster up the CARE this year. Please enjoy the SWINTON!
So who called Ben as the person behind Kate's legal problem? My mom and I both suspected Sun at first, then I was completely thrown by the appearance of Claire's mom, but once she was cleared, I knew it had to be Ben. How else would they get Kate to go back to the island with them? And how are they gonna convince her now? (Though I loved Jack being, "No, he wouldn't" and Ben just goes, "No. You're right. It was me" with no guilt or shame. Psychotic as he is, I love the way Michael Emerson plays him!)As for Ben and his lying, manipulating ways, I'm sure he can't be trusted and that he's really only looking out for himself and/or the island's well-being, but I still think they should all go back. Regardless of Ben's motives, they have to go back and save their friends - they can't leave Juliet and Sawyer and Rose and Bernard there. (Or they could go back and finish whatever purgatory they're supposed to live - whatever happens first.) Looks like the nosebleeds are catching up with everyone. Daniel says it has to do with how much time you've spent on the island: more = quicker dying from the time shifts. So Charlotte was supposedly born there, that explains her, and Juliet was an Other for years, that explains her, but what about Miles? I'm beginning to suspect that he too was born on the island and is the son of Dr. Chang from the Dharma Initiative videos. That would explain the opening of the season premiere with Chang feeding his child.
I don't really care about the Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle because Kate deserves neither of them, and Jack kinda reminds me of Dan Humphrey sometimes (ever so obliquely) but I really like Sawyer. He's a stupid hothead most of the time, but his heart is in the right place. So I was kinda broken for him last night, sharing emotions all over the place, and oh my goodness, the sadness on that face as he watched Kate help Claire give birth! That was beautiful...
(It has been theorized that those whispers in Seasons 1-3 that always presaged "the Others" may actually be our intrepid time travelers moving through the jungle, avoiding changing the past. Doesn't really seem likely when I think about it, but it's a nice theory.) JIN'S ALIVE! JIN'S ALIVE! JIN'S ALIVE!!! I am so relieved. Just don't let Sun go crazy and do something she'll regret once she finds out!
Everyone else say "Rousseau!" the second you heard those castaways speaking French? What I'm really loving about this season is the way it is exploring where these historical island figures originated and how their history make have intersected with the Losties before.
Something I read on EW: Check out these photos of 1950's Other Ellie and who is presumably Eloise Hawking, Farraday's mother. Same person? Would explain Daniel's comment about Ellie looking familiar. Also of note, the TWoP recap posited this theory: Widmore and Ellie/Eloise are siblings. The way he said "Shut it, Ellie." The fact the he was Daniel's benefactor and covered his mess? Could be reaching, but I like it.
BSG:
ZARECK KILLED THE QUORUM!?!?!?! WHAT THE HELL?
I know this is a mutiny, but damn, that was a radical step. Shocked the hell out of me! Are they even gonna bother reorganizing a democratic system now? Their "disposal" does clear the way for Adama/Roslin to lead the entire fleet as they see fit, without a whole lot of checks and balances. Something tells me they'll take a little time to get the Quorum up and running again. Also, whatcha wanna bet Lee becomes the new Vice Prez...
Quick thoughts: Is Sam okay? I'm assuming yes, but we didn't see it. How awesome is Romo Lampkin? That bugger is consistently entertaining, loved his assessment of the "trial" and thank GODS he stuck around to help Kara. And a big GO TYROL!!! Everyone played an important part, but I'd say Tyrol was the hero of the hour, even if no one else knew it! I also loved his "You got me" laughing scene with Kelly. But what was up with the tear on the wall of Galactica's engine room?
After last week's excellent build-up, I felt like this episode wrapped things up a little too quickly and cleanly. I understand the time constraints, but I felt more time and planning should have been given to plotting how Adama/Tigh/Kara/Lee got so many people together so quickly, to specific motivations for some of the mutineers (they gave us a nice Narcho moment, but how about some time with Racetrack, Connor, people on the command deck, like Hoshi?), and a resolution that didn't feel so rushed. I have no problem with what actually happened in the episode, but the pacing in the second half felt off. (I'm just nitpicking, because the fact is, this two-parter was absolutely stellar!)
I am really glad that Gaeta had a moment with Gaius there at the end. As much as the mutiny was in many ways a selfish cover to assuage his guilt over New Caprica, I do believe that Felix did it for many of the right reasons, at least to himself. It wasn't a power hungry move on his part, like it was for Zareck, and there were many instances of Gaeta trying to avoid bloodshed tonight. I really liked that last conversation with Gaius - whom Felix started out idolizing - where you at least partially understand the pain of this character. I was relieved that Gaius said the right thing - that he knows who Felix really was. That's a good send off for the character, and the beginning of a redemption arc for Baltar. (How awesome is it that less than 2 hours after being saved from a bloody coup, Baltar is already sexxing up a Six!) But I did appreciate his realization that he is responsible for the Baltar Harem Cult and he can't abandon them. Some growth!
Here's hoping we will see some actual repercussions for this event dealt with - not just for those guilty of mutiny, but for Adama, Roslin and Lee to figure out a better way to lead these people, and for individual conflicts to be addressed within the fleet and our main characters.
P.S. Adama and Roslin were really on their game tonight. Welcome back Madame Airlock! As for Adama, as usual TWoP put it best:"Also not rolling over: Admiral William Adama, who literally spends the entire episode telling every single person in the world to fuck off as loudly as one can through one's dentures. He is a Lean, Mean, Fuck You machine. It is amazing. Turns out his Bucket List has one item on it, and that item is: Everybody Goes To Hell. Bill's Care Bear Glare powers have never been so magically delicious. He tells Gaeta to cram eleven things up his ass, invites Zarek to blow him, calls his lawyer a pimp, tears holes in the hull using his glare... A couple of lieutenants actually cry, because he's that scary. Finally they have no choice but to tie him to a chair in front of a firing squad. Then he just starts spitting at people."
Last night's episode was kind of a disaster. And apparently the show is skipping over February sweeps and coming back in March instead. Interesting. Jacob said it best: "Not exactly a high note to leave on, but the show's been off its game -- and seemingly rewriting itself every week -- since around the time Jack showed up. I'm willing to wait for it to right itself." Right there with you, buddy.
I hate Ms. Carr. I hate her tiny face and her big, innocent doe-eyes, and the way she seems incapable of realizing that even though she wasn't fucking her student (yet), privately meeting him in secluded coffee shops all over town is not appropriate! Letting him and Serena call you "Rachel" is not appropriate. You're crossing lines all over the place here, lady, and encouraging Dan to continue writing and praising his unimaginative, hack short stories definitely counts as a crime against humanity! And both you and Dan need to grow up and stop accusing the Internet of slander for posting a rumor that has a partial basis in reality. No one was in danger of getting fired until you brought it to the Headmistress. GOD!
Jacob had this amazing thing to say about the commencement of Dan and Ms. Carr's affair: "Then, at this precise moment in time that they are boning Letourneau style, the Doppelqueller decides not to fire Rachel after all, and Serena decides for the one billionth time that she didn't actually mean to break up with Dan, so by their own actions they have turned him and Rachel into an entire episode of Tyra without their knowledge, which means that once again Dan is fucking it up for everybody, but this time it is awesome because he's not even doing anything bad, and nobody even knows that the thing that was made up at the beginning of the episode is now totally true, just because Blair Waldorf imagined it hard enough. This is why you don't fuck with Blair Waldorf: she can actually will you into being a pedophile."
SUGGESTIONS FOR YOUR RETURN:
When Blair promises to go "black ops" that should mean something better than sending the same old shit to Gossip Girl.
Rufus - get over yourself. It's your fault Dan is so horrible.
Blair needs a big, messy meltdown, stat!
Apparently Chuck has also been banished to the world of non-existent storylines involving no major characters and no interesting information along with Nate and Vanessa. Please reincorporate these characters into the show - you know, the one at high school, where they know other people like Serena and Blair and Jenny. (Honestly, that Eyes Wide Shut parody was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. Don't do that to my Chuck!)
Winner: Again, nothing crazy. But he does look damn sharp in this black, velour suit and navy shirt. It's better than his storyline.
