Yeah whatever

In the back of my sadistic mind, I wanted Little Miss Sunshine to win to ignite the controversy. Can't say it was the most predictable Oscars either, since I only got 16/21 right, but the main eight, Murphy aside, were all pretty predictable. Whatever, Marty got his Oscar, and my Departed DVD is arriving shortly.

Now on to 2007. Zodiac. This Friday.

The 2006 Oscars are here!

And Freak is, once again, for the 4th year since he's been heavily into the film circuit supporting nothing. Not even his dear Lost in Translation did he care since he knew the film had no chance of winning. Was a joy to see Sofia accept the screenwriting award though. However, if there was one film out of the nominees every year I did think deserve the Oscar was Sideways, Brokeback Mountain, and The Departed (whose fate shall be decided tonight). For entertainment level alone, this year deserves an Oscar alone, since out of all the categories, Best Picture this year is the most unpredictable. In 03, 04, 05, Return of the King, Million Dollar Baby (or if I recall), and Brokeback Mountain (which was of course upset) were the clear favorites. Not the case this year. If Little Miss Sunshine takes Best Picture, the shock compared to Crash winning won't be half as widespread. The Departed, I think, is still the most favored, but Little Miss Sunshine or Babel winning would hardly ignite the same shock as did Crash. It can be said that neither Little Miss Sunshine or The Departed are generally academy favorites; one a crime film (not even really a serious crime film, it's closer to a cartoon crime film), the other an independent "family favorite." So if we're going by appeal to the academy alone, Babel seems to be the one with the advantage, with its obvious social message. If we're going by appeal to the general public, Little Miss Sunshine is the film that has won the fans over. The Departed seemed to be the one hyped all year, but still not enough to gain an advantage over the other two films. Judging by box office revenue and mainstream attention, however, The Departed is the most one with the advantage. Over 130 million in the box office compared to Little Miss Sunshine's 59 million and Babel's minute 33 million. I do not think that Letters From Iwo Jima and The Queen have any chance of winning, so I'll exclude them for the conversation. If I'm pressed to answer, I would like The Departed to win or more importantly for Scorsese to win Best Director, not because I think he gave the best direction this year, but because... yeah ya know.... Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas are still my favorites of their respected years and he was the best of the nominees.

My Predictions: (I predict I'll get 18 right)
Best Picture - The Departed
Best Director - Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress - Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor - Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Departed
Best Cinematography - Children of Men
Best Editing - Babel
Best Art Direction - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette
Best Score - Babel
Best Song - Melissa Etheridge, "I Need to Wake Up," An Inconvenient Truth
Best Make-Up - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Sound - Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing - Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Visual Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Animated Feature - Happy Feet
Best Foreign Film - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth

Who I want to win/Least Favorite (with respect to the category) from each category
Best Picture - The Departed/Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Director - Martin Scorsese/Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker/Ryan Gosling
Best Actress - Penelope Cruz/Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actor - Mark Wahlberg/Alan Arkin
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson/Adriana Barraza
Best Original Screenplay - Pan's Labyrinth/Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Original Screenplay - The Departed/Little Children (jesus christ)
Best Cinematography - Children of Men/The Illusionist
Best Editing - The Departed/Babel
Best Art Direction - Pan's Labyrinth/Dreamgirls
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette/The Queen
Best Original Score - Pan's Labyrinth/Babel
Best Song - I Need to Wake Up/Patience
Best Make-Up - Pan's Labyrinth/-
Best Sound - Pirates of the Caribbean/Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing - Letters from Iwo Jima/Flags of Our Fathers
Best Visual Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean/-
Best Animated Feature -/-
Best Foreign Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth/Water
Best Documentary Feature/An Inconvenient Truth/-

And finally... (just to express Freak's bitterness)... his [deserved to win].
Best Picture - Marie Antoinette
Best Director - Sofia Coppola - Marie Antoinette
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress - Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette
Best Supporting Actor - Sergei Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Supporting Actress - Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Best Original Screenplay - Miami Vice
Best Adapted Screenplay - A Scanner Darkly
Best Cinematography - Marie Antoinette
Best Editing - Miami Vice
Best Art Direction - Marie Antoinette
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette
Best Original Score - The Fountain
Best Original Song - "Fools Rush In" - Marie Antoinette
Best Make-Up - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Sound - Miami Vice
Best Sound Editing - Miami Vice
Best Visual Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Animated Film - A Scanner Darkly
Best Foreign Language Film - Volver
Best Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth

Top 10 of the 80s

Top 10 of the 60s

Favorite Directors: Richard Linklater

From cultural anecdotes to philosophical ponderings to acute observations of relationships. One of the most exciting directors working today.














1. Before Sunset - 9/10
2. A Scanner Darkly - 9/10
3. Before Sunrise - 9/10
4. Waking Life - 8/10
5. Dazed and Confused - 7/10
6. Slacker - 6/10
7. The School of Rock - 5/10
8. The Newton Boys - 3/10

Two films I'm currently fond of

Due to high strain of me wanting to complete the last five positions in my top 50, I put in two movies that have been growing on me quite a bit. They're two of the most organic films I have ever seen in my life.


Au hasard Balthazar















Paris, Texas

My Oscars: 2004

Best Picture:
2046
Collateral
Before Sunset
Clean
Mysterious Skin

Best Director:
Wong Kar-Wai - 2046
Michael Mann - Collateral
Richard Linklater - Before Sunset
Kim Ki-Duk - 3-Iron
Martin Scorsese - The Aviator

Best Actor:
Tom Cruise - Collateral
Tony Leung - 2046
Al Pacino - The Merchant of Venice
Ethan Hawke - Before Sunset
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Aviator

Best Actress:
Maggie Cheung - Clean
Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace
Julie Delpy - Before Sunset
Audrey Tautou - A Very Long Engagement

Best Supporting Actor:
Clive Owen - Closer
Nick Nolte - Clean
Jamie Foxx - Collateral
Eric Bana - Troy
David Carradine - Kill Bill: Volume 2

Best Supporting Actress:
Zhang Ziyi - 2046
Natalie Portman - Closer
Gong Li - 2046
Virginia Madsen - Sideways
Cate Blanchett - The Aviator

Best Original Screenplay:
2046
Collateral
3-Iron
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Aviator

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Before Sunset
Sideways
Mysterious Skin
Closer
Million Dollar Baby

Best Cinematography:
2046
Collateral
Before Sunset
House of Flying Daggers
A Very Long Engagement

Best Editing:
2046
Collateral
Sideways
The Aviator
3-Iron

Best Art Direction:
2046
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Collateral
A Very Long Engagement
House of Flying Daggers

Best Costume Design:
2046
The Aviator
Troy
House of Flying Daggers
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Best Original Score:
2046
Collateral
Finding Neverland
House of Flying Daggers
Troy

Best Make-Up:
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Passion of the Christ
2046

Best Sound:
2046
The Aviator
Collateral
Spider Man 2
The Polar Express

Best Sound Editing:
2046
Collateral
The Aviator

Best Visual Effects:
2046
Spider Man 2
I, Robot

Best Animated Film:
The Incredibles
Shark Tale
The Polar Express

Best Foreign Language Film:
2046
Clean
3-Iron
House of Flying Daggers
A Very Long Engagement

Best Documentary:
Fahrenheit 9/11
Super Size Me
The Story of the Weeping Camel


Total Nominations:
2046 - 16
Collateral - 11
The Aviator - 8
Before Sunset - 6
House of Flying Daggers - 5
A Very Long Engagement - 4
Clean - 4
3-Iron - 4
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 3
Sideways - 3
Closer - 3
Troy - 3
Mysterious Skin - 2
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - 2
Spider Man 2 - 2
The Polar Express - 2
The Passion of the Christ - 1
Finding Neverland - 1
Million Dollar Baby - 1
Maria Full of Grace - 1
The Merchant of Venice - 1
Kill Bill: Volume 2 -1
I, Robot - 1
The Incredibles - 1
Shark Tale - 1
Fahrenheit 9/11 - 1
Super Size Me - 1
The Story of the Weeping Camel - 1

Total Wins:
2046 - 13
Collateral - 1
Clean - 1
Closer - 1
Before Sunset - 1
The Incredibles - 1
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - 1
Fahrenheit 9/11 - 1

Overrated Films of 2006 (1-5)

Here comes the nasty Freak.....

Little Children – Absolutely laughable. Idiotic symbolism, blatant exposition, piles of literary references to highlight the completely obvious; the most immature kind of filmmaking there is. It’s basically American Beauty but not half as excruciating to watch and easy to make fun of. The Haley flyers, the pool scene, the masturbating, and the corny dream sequences make American Beauty’s floating bag looks like credible filmmaking. My most hated of the year.

V for Vendetta – The difference between Sin City and V for Vendetta is that Sin City is about nothing and it knows it. V for Vendetta is about nothing and it doesn’t know it….the blatant attempt at dramatic depth of the lead character’s unfortunate past. Deep stuff. And how about the absolutely horrible visuals, about as creative as lego blocks; films like The Matrix at least constructs a convincingly futuristic vision of dystopian society. But wait, the lead character is a masked hero who spews pseudo-literature dialogue. Let’s all have an early Halloween and go buy V masks!!!!

Babel – Another film which uses a fabricated tagline as an anchor to mask its shallowness… the miscommunication nonsense that tries to convince us that three such coincidental stories actually have anything to do with each other. Inarritu clearly understands how to connect the dots, but his directorial progression is about as skewed as Haggis’s and his storytelling as about as natural as Crash’s dialogue.

Letters From Iwo Jima – Frightening how Eastwood is still doing the very same thing he’s been criticized endlessly for. He has yet to progress as a director, still doing the same old “flashback narratives,” character monologues about their “unfortunate pasts,” and some easily defined undertones of honor and courage; vintage sentimental American filmmaking as its best. Hire a damn screenwriter Clint.

The Queen – Perhaps the film doesn’t really think much of itself, but it just strikes me as inconsequential. How many times do I have to hear “Good morning, your majesty” or watch a display of English mannerisms over and over again? Maybe there’s a few character archs into Mirren’s insecure character, but those aside, this is a highly forgettable film with an overrated leading performance. They’ll just be another one next year. I’ll just go and watch a Sam Mendes in the meantime.

Top Ten Most Anticipated Films of 2007

1. My Blueberry Nights

Wong. Weisz. An adorable female cast. Worth seeing just for the cast, but also to see how Wong handles the film in English and with a new cinematographer. Easily the most anticipated film of next year.

2. Summer Palace

Just the plot line induces orgasms. This is exactly my kind of ideal romantic film backdrop.

3. Arms and the Man

It's Mann. Duh. I doubt it's as ambitious as his previous films, but if it ever gets finished, which is probable, Daniel-Day Lewis and Colin Farrell are both rumored to be in it. I'm game.

4. Balloon Rouge

Not the biggest fan of Binoche, but Hou needs a change of style and cast.

5. Spider Man 3

Was not fond of the sequel, but worth watching for kernels and laughs at least, and Kirsten.

6. Sunshine

Another possible blockbuster with potential to be entertaining. Sci-fi film about a mission to the sun? Exciting.

7. Silk

Worth seeing for Keira naked, or maybe for her period.

8. Sin City 2

I enjoyed the original. I enjoy bombastic and blood-splashing comic-book films, so it's got my ticket.

9. Cassandra's Dream

Another vintage Allen? Probably, but his films are always at least entertaining for a matinee. And Colin Farrell in an Allen film? Interesting.

10. She Ji

Leung doing a performance outside of the lonely wander/star-gazer role? I digs.

The six phases of Marie

Curiosity of her new home - Insecurity about her abilities - Adjusting into a party atmosphere - Growth into motherhood - Minor marital affair - Leaving her life of glamour and perfection


About nothing????

Oh btw...

Best Film of the Year is a tie. Surprise?

But anyways, I don't like the fact that the Marie Antoinette DVD had no commentaries.

Birthday Treat For Me?

Which one's the best treat?

2005 vs. 2006

Until recently, I wouldn't have imagined 2006 having any chance over 2005 for better quality of films. But, the recent streak of films I have seen has convinced me that 2006 is at almost better, if not equal to 2005.

Both years have produced two masterpieces (the only four masterpieces of those two years combined). The third and fourth (Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles/The Fountain and Brokeback Mountain/A Scanner Darkly) best film of each years are relatively equal in quality. In all, I have rated four films from each year above 8.5/10. But the films rated 8/10 and above comes out to 8 for 2005 and 9 for 2006, with all 2005 films making the top 35 millenium list and only four making it in 2006. That is most likely the deciding factor of me still considering 2005 superior. However, I have seen almost all of the significant 2005 films and only 50 2006 films. And two films I saw from 2005 that made the top four are films I saw in September the following year, so until around that time next year, I can never be sure. There is a chance of 2006 films declining in quality, highly unlikely, but possible. But even more possible is the chance of 2006 films increasing in quality.


The only four masterpieces made in the last two years.....

Updated 2006 Oscar Picks: Closer To Almost Final

Best Picture:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
The Fountain
A Scanner Darkly
Volver

Best Director:
Sofia Coppola - Marie Antoinette
Michael Mann - Miami Vice
Darren Aronofsky - The Fountain
Alfonso Cuaron - Children of Men
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Actor:
Hugh Jackman - The Fountain
Colin Farrell - Miami Vice
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus

Best Actress:
Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Ivana Baquero - Pan's Labyrinth
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Sienna Miller - Factory Girl

Best Supporting Actor:
Sergei Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth
Robert Downey Jr. - A Scanner Darkly
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Jamie Foxx - Miami Vice
Steve Carell - Little Miss Sunshine

Best Supporting Actress:
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Rachel Weisz - The Fountain
Mia Kirshner - The Black Dahlia
Scarlett Johansson - Scoop
Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Science of Sleep

Best Original Screenplay:
Miami Vice
The Fountain
Marie Antoinette
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Adapted Screenplay:
A Scanner Darkly
The Departed
Curse of the Golden Flower
Children of Men
The Devil Wears Prada

Best Cinematography:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
Children of Men
The Fountain
Curse of the Golden Flower

Best Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Departed
Children of Men
The Fountain

Best Art Direction:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
Miami Vice
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Costume Design:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls

Best Original Score:
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
Volver

Best Original Song:
"One Of These Mornings - Moby" - Miami Vice
"Fools Rush In - Bow Wow Wow" - Marie Antoinette
"We're No Here - Mogwai" - Miami Vice
"I Need To Wake Up - Melissa Etheridge" - An Inconvenient Truth
"Listen - Beyonce Knowles" - Dreamgirls

Best Make-Up:
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Marie Antoinette

Best Sound:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Fountain
Children of Men

Best Sound Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
United 93
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Fountain

Best Visual Effects:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Animated Film:
A Scanner Darkly
Ice Age: The Meltdown

Best Foreign Language Film:
Volver
Curse of the Golden Flower
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Documentary:
An Inconvenient Truth


All Films Seen: (Orange = Total Nominations)(Blue = Total Wins)
10/10
1. Marie Antoinette (13) (6)
1. Miami Vice (13) (5)

9/10
3. The Fountain (13) (2)
4. A Scanner Darkly (4) (2)

8/10
5. Volver (5) (1)
6. Curse of the Golden Flower (5) (0)
7. Children of Men (5) (0)
8. The Departed (5) (0)
9. Pan's Labyrinth (8) (2)

7/10
10. Little Miss Sunshine (1) (0)
11. Babel (0) (0)
12. United 93 (1) (0)
13. The Devil Wears Prada (4) (1)
14. An Inconvenient Truth (2) (1)
15. Scoop (1) (0)
16. The Science of Sleep (1) (0)

6/10
17. The Last King of Scotland (1) (0)
18. Casino Royale (0) (0)
19. Letters From Iwo Jima (2) (0)
20. Dreamgirls (2) (0)
21. The Queen (0) (0)
22. Old Joy (0) (0)

5/10 (all zeros nominations and wins below this line, except ones specified otherwise)
23. Akeelah and the Bee
24. Thank You For Smoking
25. The Descent
26. The Illusionist
27. Ice Age: The Meltdown (1) (0)
28. Inside Man
29. Snakes on a Plane
30. Venus (1) (0)
31. World Trade Center
32. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2) (1)
33. The Black Dahlia (1) (0)

4/10
34. Factory Girl (1) (0)
35. V for Vendetta
36. Shortbus
37. A Prairie Home Companion
38. Half Nelson
39. Flags of Our Fathers
40. Hollywoodland
41. Little Children
42. X-Men: The Last Stand

3/10
43. The Da Vinci Code
44. Confetti
45. SherryBaby
46. Candy
47. Ask the Dust

2/10
48. Art School Confidential

1/10
49. The Break-Up
50. Basic Instinct 2

MA + MV soundtrack

Sexy listens, both of them, might buy both.

Top 10 of the 50s

My Oscars: 2005

Taking a study break to do this. Yes, it is truly addicting.

Best Picture
The New World
Three Times
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
Brokeback Mountain
March of the Penguins

Best Director
Terrence Malick - The New World
Hou Hsiao-hsien - Three Times
Zhang Yimou - Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Michael Haneke - Cache

Best Actor
Ken Takakura - Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck.
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote

Best Actress
Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice
Q'Orianka Kilcher - The New World
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
Qi Shu - Three Times
Naomi Watts - King Kong

Best Supporting Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Jérémie Renier - L'Enfant
George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck.
Christian Bale - The New World
Colin Farrell - The New World

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Junebug
Gong Li - Memoirs of a Geisha
Scarlett Johansson - Match Point
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

Best Original Screenplay
Three Times
The New World
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
Match Point
Cache

Best Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Pride and Prejudice
Munich
A History of Violence
Capote

Best Cinematography
The New World
Three Times
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck.

Best Editing
The New World
Three Times
Munich
Cache
L'Enfant

Best Art Direction
The New World
Three Times
L'Enfant
Munich
Good Night, and Good Luck.

Best Costume Design
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride and Prejudice
The New World
Walk the Line
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Best Score
Brokeback Mountain
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World
Three Times
Munich

Best Make-Up
The Chronicles of Narnia
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Best Sound
King Kong
The New World
Munich
Batman Begins
Last Days

Best Sound Editing
King Kong
Munich
Batman Begins

Best Visual Effects
King Kong
War of the Worlds
The Chronicles of Narnia

Best Foreign Language Film
Three Times
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
Cache
L'Enfant
Shanghai Dreams

Best Documentary Film
March of the Penguins
Grizzly Man
Murderball

Best Animated Film
Corpse Bride
Wallace and Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Madagascar


Total Nominations:
The New World - 12
Three Times - 9
Brokeback Mountain - 8
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles - 6
Munich - 6
Cache - 4
L'Enfant - 4
Good Night, and Good Luck. - 4
King Kong - 4
Walk the Line - 3
Memoirs of a Geisha - 3
Pride and Prejudice - 3
Capote - 2
March of the Penguins - 2
Match Point - 2
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 2
The Chronicles of Narnia - 2
Batman Begins - 2
Shanghai Dreams - 1
War of the Worlds - 1
Last Days - 1
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - 1
Junebug - 1
The Constant Gardener - 1
A History of Violence - 1
Corpse Bride - 1
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - 1
Madagascar - 1
Grizzly Man - 1
Murderball - 1

Total Wins:
The New World - 5
Brokeback Mountain - 3
King Kong - 3
Three Times - 2
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles - 1
Pride and Prejudice - 1
Memoirs of a Geisha - 1
March of the Penguins - 1
Junebug - 1
Corpse Bride - 1
The Chronicles of Narnia - 1

Won't be on too much Feb 5-12

Study week. Three tests between this time span.... and they're all so much reading. I'm likely to come online maybe three times a day, check on a few things, make a few posts, take a break, but no MSN definitely.

I'll fantasize about Rachel's white cap...

Sorry for boring ya lately

With boring collages. Would anyone like to show their breasts?




I know, why don't we be like them....

Top 10 of the 40s

Top 10 of the 30s

Top 10 of the 70s