I figured I should do a post on Oscars just so we have a place to discuss them. That is what I am doing write now, I am doing a post on Oscars.
A couple of random thoughts to start things off:
1. I know people always complain when you discuss Oscars and have to point out that they are meaningless or whatever. Fair enough. Like anybody doesn’t know that. But I’ve noticed that this year more than usual they have had a positive effect already. The main one is the amount of discussion I have heard about Kathryn Bigelow. As recently as when THE HURT LOCKER came out you could not find anybody outside of nerd clubs who even knew that movie existed. Now it’s one of the most discussed movies and Kathryn Bigelow leans closer to “household name” than to “name only known by movie nerds who like NEAR DARK or POINT BREAK.” I’ve also run into many people who would not have seen HURT LOCKER if not for all this awards talk, and also some of the other nominees that wouldn’t have been nominated without the expanded 10 best picture nominees, mostly A SERIOUS MAN. So that’s good. I myself have to admit I probly wouldn’t have gotten around to seeing CRAZY HEART if Bridges wasn’t up for best actor.
2. I put Kathryn Bigelow up there because I want her to win (and think she will) but if Cameron ends up winning let’s not roll any cars or anything. I personally don’t think AVATAR is up to the standards of earlier in his career, but you have to admit that “best director” is a good way to honor the movie for its technical achievement and daring. It’s easy to look at its ridiculously gigantic success and say that it was an obvious crowdplease, but that dude was working on that movie for years with sayers saying “nay” on all sides. The tenacity to get that made at that budget, to invent the technology and to at least on a technical level orchestrate it all together is something probly no other director could’ve done. So although I would rather reward a movie that to me has more heart and soul to it I think those would be legitimate reasons to give him the award.
If Jason Reitman got it I would be kind of pissed though.
After the “jump” or whatever it’s called I will present to you a series of posters commemorating previous works of all the best director nominees, arranged in order of preference of who I would want to win. (read the rest of this shit…)
(pretty big spoilers in this one, sorry)
Jimbolo kindly put this link in some comments, but it was cool enough I thought I should give it its own post. The cartoon band “Gorillaz” (who once named a song after Clint) have 
Okay, my last two reviews brought out everybody’s expertise of mixed martial arts competitions and professional wrestling. Let’s see how you guys do with this sport.
I don’t know if you guys remember this, but one time I reviewed a horror movie called 
THE SMASHING MACHINE is a documentary about Mark Kerr, at the time an undefeated fighter in UFC, Pride and other mixed martial arts competitions. The director is John Hyams, whose UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION was so unexpectedly great I felt compelled to watch everything else he’s directed. In fact, Van Damme’s admiration of this movie is apparently what got Hyams the gig on the ol’ UNISOL.
THE LATE SHIFT was the HBO movie based on the book based on the time when Jay Leno and David Letterman were fighting over taking over The Tonight Show. It seeks to put you backstage and in the board rooms and Emmy parties to see with your own simulated eyes what happened. But at the same time it can’t help but distance you because that’s not Leno or Letterman, in my opinion it’s actually a couple of actors doing impressions. They also have legendary unfunny impressionist Rich Little playing Johnny Carson. He does a good impression but looks nothing like him, so in his scenes you just have to look away from the screen and then it seems like it’s Johnny.
I was looking through my notebook tonight and I found a review of THE LONG KISS GOOD NIGHT that I apparently never posted. It’s kind of like finding a dime under the couch.
PUSH – BASED ON THE SHORT STORY BUTTON, BUTTON BY RICHARD MATHESON
Speaking of small time horror remakes, the STEPFATHER one came out on DVD a week or two ago. This is another one where it’s not really a big name for the teens to have heard of like NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or something, so it’s kind of weird that they bothered. But the source material is an underrated movie with a good, simple premise, so that’s attractive. I think the original’s script by Donald Westlake is real good, but it’s definitely elevated by a great performance by Terry O’Quinn. And that guy’s apparently on the popular television program LOST, so you’d think they’d just push the original on the kids and not bother with a new one. You’d think that – but the old one doesn’t have text messaging in it. The new one does. Also, internet research instead of going to the library. It’s a whole new ball game. 
