31 posts tagged “movies”

I think I have pretty good taste in movies.  I really do.  I can be a wee bit of a film snob, in fact.  So that makes what I have to say here rather difficult for me.  Deep breath.  Okay.  Here we go.

I've been watching Raiders of the Lost Ark this week, in anticipation of seeing the new Indiana Jones flick.  Because believe it or not, I never have seen Raiders.  I've never seen ANY Indiana Jones movie!  How insane is that?  I see a LOT of movies.  I think I'm at least reasonably knowledgeable when it comes to movies.  I've certainly seen more new movies than older ones, but I generally catch the older movies that are notable.  Which, of course, the Indiana Jones movies are.  I can't explain how I managed to miss those movies.  It's been bugging me.  So yeah, I'm watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I'm about, I'd guess, 80% of the way through.  But when I woke up this morning, the ol' family was going to the new movie.  So, I went along.  I'll probably watch the end of Raiders tonight.

Now, I know that Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most beloved of all movies.  Ever.  I know that.  I know!  But ... and here's where it gets hard ... I kinda think it's just ... okay.  I think it's a fun movie.  I think it's entertaining.  I like it.  But I really don't loooove it.  I expected to just fall head over heels in love with it.  But no.  I don't feel that way.  As fun as it is, that's not enough for me.  I find myself paying far too much attention as I watch it to the little things I don't like.  Little things that aren't really so little.  Like, you know, the stilted dialogue.  I get it, this is an homage to B-movies, to old serials.  I see that.  I appreciate that.  The dialogue is still not great (it reeks of George Lucas).  I find the score to be enormously intrusive and annoying.  Yeah, that Indy theme is classic.  But it's overused, and the music in general is overdone.  I find the character development to be pretty iffy.  Particularly when it comes to the Karen Allen character, Marion.  I'd say Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Lucas and Mr. Kasdan had certain issues when it came to developing female characters back then.  And speaking of Ms. Allen, I kinda don't think her performance was all that strong.  And finally, I don't think this is a movie that holds up all that well.  I wonder if my issues with the film have something to do with the fact that I'm looking at it for the first time in 2008.  I've seen countless movies that no doubt borrow freely from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and maybe the idea that I've seen so much of this before, that it's not fresh to me like it would have been in 1981, maybe that's a big problem with me seeing it now.  I feel like this is one blasphemous paragraph.  I can't help it.  I LIKE the movie.  In parts, I like it a lot.  But #17 on the top 250 at imdb.com?  I don't see that.  What was it, #60 on the AFI top 100 of all time?  Hmm.  I think I've seen 100 better movies.  200.  Did I say that I like the movie?  I do!  And maybe something will happen in the last 20 minutes that I haven't seen that'll make me come back here and take all of this back.  But I doubt it.  I DO like the movie, though.  This is just me feeling like this is a movie that isn't quite living up to the hype, that's all.

So that brings me to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  It's interesting to me just how similar my feelings were today to the feelings I've had while watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.  In both cases, I love the first hour or so.  And in both cases, I think things lose momentum the longer the films go on.  I think Crystal Skull is a very good action/comedy.  I do.  It's paced well, it has what's good about Raiders, and it does justice, I think, to a couple of the original characters.  Harrison Ford is great.  No one else has aged so well.   It's an impressive looking film.  I think the writing was pretty decent, actually.  I didn't have as many issues with dialogue, in fact, as I did with Raiders.  But STILL.  I think it's very good, not great.  For one thing (this could be a spoiler, so watch out!), Steven Speilberg and his alien obsession is getting a little tired.  I found that aspect of the movie to be pretty, oh, what's the word?  Lame?  Kinda.  And once again, I get that these movies are an homage to B-movies!  But how many times can one suspend disbelief?  The plot holes and improbabilities (impossibilities) get to be a bit much.  A guy repeatedly missing his mark when shooting a gun is one thing.  Four guys with machine guns firing at someone ten feet away and never even coming close?  Hmm.  So yeah, I liked the movie.  I did.  I would recommend it, even.  But ... okay, here's where it gets REALLY BLASPHEMOUS.  I promise, I have good taste in movies!  I do!  But here we go...

I kinda sorta (don't hate me!) like the National Treasure movies more than either of the Indiana Jones films I'm discussing.  Now, am I saying National Treasure, parts one or two, are GREAT films?  No.  They're dorky and quite far-fetched.  And I think they're fun, just like I think the Indiana Jones movies are fun.  But for me, I just kinda like 'em both more.  Particularly the second one.  I find the fun parts to be a little more fun.  I think the chemistry among the actors is better.  I find the general plot to be more interesting.  Now, I fully understand and accept that I'm THE only person alive who feels this way.  Or, at the very least, I'm the only one admitting it.  It's just an opinion.  But I kinda want to see National Treasure 2 again.  I have no particular desire to see Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull again.  I DO, however, want to see Temple of Doom and Last Crusade.  Definitely.  And I love Harrison Ford.  He obviously kicks Nicolas Cage's ass.

So.  There.  I said it.  Whew.  It was hard to get that out there.  But I feel better now.  Ha.

Iron Man kicked ass, though.  Oooh.

So, I think I failed to come here and declare my love for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so I'm saying now, oooh, I love that movie!  I do!  Okay, here's the trailer, not because I think anyone hasn't seen it, just because I want to watch it again, and I feel like plugging it into my page here:

Anyway.  I loved pretty much everything about this one.  The cast especially.  I already knew I liked Jason Segel, and I've always liked Mila Kunis.  And though I've always liked Kristen Bell, I just haven't ever seen that much featuring her (aside from her voice in Gossip Girl!).  Well, I like her even more now.  I think she was great here.  And I didn't even know Russell Brand before this, but he was strangely awesome.  Yeah, I thought this was fun.  I did.  I really kinda want to go see it again!  Soon!  Probably my favorite movie in the early going of 2007 so far.

I also saw Baby Mama, just today (well, on Saturday), and I liked it, too.  Not nearly as much as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I thought it was pretty good.  Not super funny, but it was nice.  I think I'd be pretty happy with anything featuring Tina Fey.  Though I still haven't quite been able to get myself hooked on 30 Rock.  I need to keep trying.  Hmmm.

But yes.  Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  Yay!

Looks like I went ... 15-9 on my "will win" Oscar predictions?  I think so.  I don't feel like double-checking, ha.  And I'd like to give myself partial credit for the best song, too.  So 15.5-8.5?  Ha.

Anyway, you know what?  That was my favorite Oscars show in quite some time.  Maybe ever in some ways.  I can't say I'm disappointed at all in the results this year, and that's almost never the case.  The things I was most pleased about:

- Peter and the Wolf won for Animated Short Film!  YAY!  That's so awesome.
- Marion Cotillard's win for La Vie en Rose.  I still like Ellen Page, but ... and don't tell anyone I said this ... I almost think I was happier that Marion won when it came right down to it.  My favorite acceptance of the night, along with...
- Marketa Irglova being allowed to come back on stage after the orchestra too quickly played her off following her win with Glen Hansard for their song from Once.  I was saying to anyone who would listen that they needed to let her come back, that they had ruined one of the most popular acceptance moments of the night, and they did!  And yeah, I was super happy those two won.
- I enjoyed Tilda Swinton's acceptance speech, too.  She sometimes comes across as kinda creepy on the big screen, ha, but she seems kinda cool to me.
- Diablo Cody won for Juno!  She seems awesome.  I had never seen her much before, and yeah, I like her a lot.  It's cool that she writes a column for Entertainment Weekly now.
- The Bourne Ultimatum won three awards.  Nice.
- Ratatouille and Brad Bird won!  Very well deserved.  Ratatouille should have been up for Best Picture.

I thought Jon Stewart did well, too.  Nothing spectacular, but he didn't get in the way of the show, he kept it moving, he was funny when he needed to be, and the show ended almost on time.  Wow!

So yeah, I'm happy.  I think, the more I've thought about it, Cotillard's win pleases me most.  She's just way cool.  Very good.

And finally, the last eight categories:

I've seen only Pirates here.  WILL WIN: Hmmm.  I can't believe Norbit was nominated for anything, even if it did have good makeup.  I mean, seriously.  "Academy Award-nominated Norbit" just sounds so wrong.  It IS wrong.  I'm going with La Vie en Rose here, though Pirates may well take it.  SHOULD WIN:  From everything I've read, Marion Cotillard's transformation into Edith Piaf is remarkable.  I'll pick Rose here, too.

Let's see.  I've seen just Bourne and Ratatouille here.  And I don't know a whole lot about sound editing, to be honest with you.  WILL WIN: I'll say Bourne.  SHOULD WIN:  Well, Bourne had by far my favorite sound editing of the year!  Ha, ha.

And in this category, I have seen ... Atonement.  That is all.  WILL WIN: Hmm.  Not Across the Universe.  Not Elizabeth.  I'm going to go with Sweeney Todd here.  Maybe Rose could be a dark horse.  SHOULD WIN: Well, Keira Knightley looked awfully good in that green dress.  But no, I'll keep being dull and I'll stick with Sweeney Todd here.  Sasha Baron Cohen's costume alone would do it, I'd say.  But my heart is with you, Keira.  Yeah, quite a dress.  Ha.

Noooooooooooo clue what any of these are like.  You know what?  I'm gonna watch them all RIGHT NOW!  Research!  And I'll even do quick reviews.  Okay!  I MET THE WALRUS:  Hmm.  Despite the glowing reviews beneath the trailer at YouTube (can't seem to find the whole thing online), I think this just looks heavy-handed and obvious, and truthfully, I don't care for the animation.  Aside from that, looks swell.  MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI: Well.  Impressively animated.  Very odd.  I don't think I totally get it at first.  But much better than Walrus.  MEME LES PIGEONS VONT AU PARADIS: Uh, that was interesting.  Again, really well-animated.  These are weird, man.  Ha.  MY LOVE: Okay, I just watched the first ten minutes or so.  I don't feel like sitting through a full half hour.  It looks like a painting come to life, which is cool.  But yeah, I don't know.  I don't feel pulled in enough to watch the whole thing.  My apologies.  Perhaps it's a tad too Russian for me.  PETER & THE WOLF:  Hooooooooooooooly cow.  We have a winner.  That is AWESOME.  Whoa.  I LOVE it.  The whole thing.  It's beautiful.  Ends just as it should.  Oooh.  So, WILL WIN: I fear it'll be the Tutli-Putli one.  SHOULD WIN: Peter!  SO good!  Now I have another category to really get excited about tonight.  GO PETER!  That wolf rules.  Yeah, this category only took me an hour, hour and a half!

I've seen the first three on that list.  WILL WIN:  Juno.  Seems to me that each year, my favorite film wins for screenplay.  I assume it'll continue this year.  SHOULD WIN:  Juno.  But Michael Clayton was nice.  And Ratatouille rules, jut maybe not for screenplay.

I've seen Ratatouille, and though I haven't seen Persepolis, I admire it.  WILL WIN: Ratatouille, though I'm not sure if that's the right choice or not.  SHOULD WIN:  Ratatouille, though I'm not sure if that's the right choice or not.  Persepolis looks so awesome.  But Ratatouille is easily one of my favorite (if not my single favorite) movie of 2007.  Surf's Up seems out of its league in this company.

I've seen Juno and Michael Clayton.  WILL WIN: I see this as the Coens' to lose.  Country.  SHOULD WIN: I don't know.  Paul Thomas Anderson seems like a good choice to me.  But not having seen all of these, it's just a vague sort of guess on my part.

I've seen just Juno.  And Ellen Page was so good, this is the category I saved for last intentionally.  It's the one (before I watched those animated films, anyway) that I've cared about the most.  WILL WIN:  I see this, sadly for me, as a race between Christie and Cotillard.  My head says Julie Christie will take it, BUT, I'm going for the minor upset and saying Cotillard will take it.  I certainly hope so, anyway.  If Ellen Page can't win it, I want Marion Cotillard.  I really, really like her, and it sounds like she did a great job.  I can't STAND Julie Christie.  Sorry, I just can't.  SHOULD WIN:  Ellen Page is my pick.  But again, Marion Cotillard is cool.  Still, go Ellen!

ANYWAY, that took forever.  Dude, I REALLY want Peter and the Wolf to win.  C'mooon!

Okay, continuing the last post, eight more pointless Oscar predictions!

Okay.  Of these, I've seen ... four!  Atonement, Michael Clayton, Ratatouille and Yuma.  And I have no idea which score was best.  I do remember Ratatouille's music, the rest, not so much.  Soooo.  WILL WIN: Um, Atonement?  Seems like the most serious of the bunch.  SHOULD WIN:  No preference.  But if I remember Ratatouille, it must have made an impression.  So we'll go with that.

I've seen Bourne and Into the Wild.  Liked 'em both.  No idea if they were well edited, though.  So yeah, yet another category that I'm not qualified to judge.  But ... WILL WIN: I'm guessing maybe this is a category in which the night's big winner racks up an extra award.  And I think No Country for Old Men will be the big movie of the night.  So I'll pick it here.  And SHOULD WIN: I have no preference.  Let's just say No Country again.

Wow.  Okay, I haven't a clue.  I mean, I'm an expert in picking best film editing compared to what I know about this category.   WILL WIN: At Night.  Why not?  Ha.  SHOULD WIN: Well, I do enjoy a short film entitled, Le Mozart des Pickpockets, so it has my support.

I enjoy the screenwriting categories, generally speaking.  But sadly, I've seen only Atonement here.  So, WILL WIN: I'll go with There Will Be Blood on this one.  Just a hunch.  SHOULD WIN: I'm being kinda boring on these, picking the same for will and should win, but I'll stick with Blood.

First of all, thanks to these for all being short, quick to type titles.  Ha.  And yeah, I don't know any of these again.  WILL WIN: Hmm.  Let's go with Beaufort.  SHOULD WIN:  4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, or Persepolis.  From EVERYTHING I've read, the Academy messed this category up.  Those two are the ones to beat, and they didn't receive nominations.  I'd love to see either, particularly Persepolis.  And among the nominees?  Uh, dunno.  Katyn.

Uh, still haven't seen these.  Not even Sicko.  WILL WIN:  I suspect No End In Sight, though maybe Sicko will be popular amongst the rather liberal Academy voters.  SHOULD WIN:  Um, let's stick with Sight.

I've seen the last three on that list.  Thought they were all equally good.  WILL WIN: Javier Bardem, no question.  I'd be pretty shocked if he didn't take this.  SHOULD WIN: From everything I've seen and heard, I suppose Bardem.  But it would be seriously cool to see Hal Holbrook take this.  He's a good guy.  And I do like Wilkinson in everything I see him in.

I've seen Atonement, Juno and Michael Clayton, and really, really liked all three.  I liked Juno best, then Clayton, then Atonement.  Still need (want) to see the other two.  WILL WIN: I think it'll be No Country.  Everyone I've talked to who has seen this thinks it's the best, and the critics love it, and yeah, it has the feel of a winner.  SHOULD WIN: Juno.  Comedies (which I guess this kinda is) never win, but dude.  They're underappreciated, and Juno is awesome.  The best movie of the year.  It just is.  The writing, acting, direction, all excellent.  I would be beyond thrilled if this took the big prize.

Okay then!  Eight to go!  Tomorrow.

Well, it's Groundhog Day ... again.

Okay, it's not, but it IS Oscar Eve Eve, and as I sit here listening to the way awesome Juno soundtrack (I loooove Ellen Page and Michael Sera singing "Anyone Else But You."  Wow.), I've decided that it's a fine time for me to start making my very own Oscar predictions.  Who am I to make Oscar predictions?  Why, I'm a guy who goes to a medium amount of movies each year!  And manages to see a handful of the nominated films.  And I read a lot about this stuff.  So I make educated guesses, and I hope like crazy that a select few films will win each year.  No, I'm not very qualified, but I don't caaaaare.  So let's do this.

I'm gonna cover eight categories per day, today and Saturday and Sunday before the show.  I'll do a mix each day of small and big categories.  And I'll tell you who I think WILL win, and who SHOULD win (says me).  Here we go:

Uh, did the voters like Enchanted's music, by any chance?  That's pathetic.  I liked that movie.  Quite a lot.  But come ON.  There were good songs in other films.  That's absurd.  There's a rule that says each country can submit just one film in the foreign language category but three songs from one movie can be nominated here?  Hmm.  So anyway.  I've seen Enchanted (very good), and I've seen August Rush (pretty bad, though Keri Russell made it okay).  I haven't seen Once, which I'm quite certain is the best film of the three.  So, let's see.  WILL WIN:  I say it's gonna be "Happy Working Song," which I actually really enjoyed.  However, would it be as good without the rats and cockroaches?  Probably not.  Is a song nominated because it's a great song, or because it worked best in the film in which it was featured?  Not sure.  And SHOULD WIN: Again, I haven't seen the film, but I suspect "Falling Slowly" really oughta win this one.

I saw three of these.  Bourne, Ratatouille and Yuma.  I want to see No Country.  I never will see Transformers unless someone pays me, as I am a huge film snob and Michael Bay sucks.  So ... I don't even know what this category entails, quite honestly.  So.  Uh, WILL WIN: I'm not looking at anyone else's predictions as I write this stuff, so this one's the equivalent of me throwing darts.  I'm going with ... um ... hmm.  No clue.  Okay, I'll say Bourne.  Why not.  And SHOULD WIN?  Sheesh.  Fine, 3:10 to Yuma.  I just liked it, ha.  I seriously don't know just what Sound Mixing is.

I've only seen Pirates here, which I liked in spite of myself (I thought the second Pirates was atrocious, but the third was aaaight).  So visual effects, hmm?  Seems like all three were good in that regard.  So will the Academy like big, metamorphizing (made-up word?) robots?  Grotesque pirate stuff?  Or anti-religious polar bears and Nicole Kidman?  Hmmm.  WILL WIN:  I have no idea again.  Um ... we'll go with Transformers.  Looked like the robots were cool.  SHOULD WIN:  Well, I'll go with The Golden Compass, because I think that world they created looked pretty impressive.  And I don't want Pirates to win for this, because I think the visual effects were worse than they seemed.

Of these, I have seen American Gangster and Atonement.  I desperately want to see There Will Be Blood.  I would see Sweeney Todd, but I probably won't unless it comes to HBO.  I thought both Gangster and Atonement were awesome, and both looked fantastic.  There Will Be Blood and Sweeney Todd look amazing in different ways.  So.  WILL WIN: Sweeney Todd.  Can't see Tim Burton's dark, dark London missing here.  SHOULD WIN: You know, that's tricky.  I wonder sometimes if the more dramatic sort of look in a movie is easier than something more subtle.  I'm actually going with American Gangster here, because it did an incredible job of recreating 70's Harlem.  Just amazing.  Atonement was beautifully done, too.  I wouldn't count out Blood, though.

I've seen only Atonement here, though I would love to see all the others.  WILL WIN: They all looked lovely from what I can tell.  I think ... I'll say There Will Be Blood.  SHOULD WIN: Jesse James.  It looked sorta spectacular to me.  I don't really think it ever opened in theatres here.

Dude, I've obviously seen none of these, and I have no idea what any are about.  Thus, me picking a "will" and "should" win is ridiculous and pointless.  So, WILL WIN: Sari's Mother, of course.  SHOULD WIN: Well, Salim Baba is fun to say, and La Corona reminds me both of beer and the sun, and Freeheld sounds like the craptastic Mick Jagger joint Freejack, but yeah, it's Sari's Mother's night to shine.

Now we're talking.  BIG category!  Woo!  I've seen three of the five: Dee, Ronan and Swinton.  Of those, I think Swinton's performance was best.  She tends to creep me out sometimes, but she was good, and that's a damn fine film.  WILL WIN: Cate Blanchett.  It pains me to say it, but yeah, I think she'll take it for the Bob Dylan thing.  I'm going through a bit of Cate Blanchett Overexposure Syndrome (CBOS) at the moment, but she's obviously a great actress.  And people seem to LOVE that performance.  It looks hokey and weird to me in the trailer, but I haven't seen it, and I can only assume it's as good as people say.  SHOULD WIN: I think Swinton, though I have heard awfully good things about Ryan, too.  As for Dee, she was very good, and Ronan?  Great, but I really preferred Ramola Garai as the slightly older Briony Tallis.  She was so good, and no one noticed.

It's embarrassing that I've seen just Clooney's performance here.  Seriously embarrassing.  But that's the way it goes.  WILL WIN:  Hmmm.  It's tricky, you know?  It's my belief that, at this moment, Daniel Day-Lewis is, with Russell Crowe, the best actor around.  Period.  But all of these guys are great.  I'm gonna rule out Jones.  I see Mortensen as a long shot, but those sound like famous last words, ha.  I also don't honestly see Depp taking this.  So Clooney or Day-Lewis?  I think Daniel Day-Lewis will take it.  Looks like quite a part.  SHOULD WIN: I truly, truly think Clooney was amazing in Michael Clayton.  Brilliant.  For the last shot of the movie alone, he should win.  A less showy part, but excellent.

So wow, that took forever.  I'll do eight more tomorrow!

This post should come as no surprise if you know me, because yes, I do have extremely broad taste in movies, and yes, sometimes I do enjoy a good romantic comedy.  Sometimes, I prefer a good romantic comedy.  It's true.  Yes, I can have vaguely girlish taste in movies sometimes.  I embrace it.  Ha.

So today I went and saw Definitely Maybe, starring Ryan Reynolds (of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place!), and three actresses I like.  Well, four if you count Abigail Breslin, and let's, because she's always good, and she's becoming someone who kinda just plain doesn't make bad movies.  Quite a feat for someone so young.  But yeah, we're talking Rachel Weisz and Elizabeth Banks and Isla Fisher.  I like all three quite a lot.  Especially Isla Fisher.  But we'll get to that in a moment.  First of all, I just want to say, I really, really, really, really liked this movie.  I remember seeing the trailer initially and feeling rather unsure about it, because there was a very real chance it was gonna be cutesy and nothing more, but you know, it works.  It just does.  I think it's smart, and sweet, and nice.  Very well-acted, and, I think, quite well-written and directed.  It's much better than an average romantic comedy, I think.  It has something more to offer.  It's a little more insightful about the way relationships actually work, and it doesn't really dumb things down too much just to be cute (I would be more specific, but I don't want to spoil anything).  The characters are well-drawn.  No one's a villain, no one's perfect.  Yeah, I seriously really enjoyed this movie.  My favorite, probably, of the movies I've seen in 2008 so far.  I'd like to see it again.  And it did something extra surprising, which is, it kept me guessing about what was going to happen.  An unpredictable romantic comedy!  Unusual.  The general plot is, Ryan is Abigail's dad, and he's getting a divorce from Abigail's mom.  Abigail wants to know the story of how her parents met, and Ryan tells the story about the three women with whom he had serious relationships before Abigail was around, changing the names of the women to make it a mystery, and he lets Abigail guess which of the three turned out to be her mom.  I don't know if I really explained that so well there, but you can go watch the trailer at the official website, over here.  Looks like you can watch the first five minutes of the movie, too!  Good idea, movie website guys!  Though I don't know if the first five minutes included any of the three main actresses involved.  Definitely not Isla Fisher, I'd say.  ANYWAY.  My point is, they don't let you know who the mom is as you're watching, and I couldn't guess how it was going to go.  Which was kinda nice.  Yes, I think it's a really good movie.  I really do.

I am a sap, of course, so you may judge my opinions about things like this accordingly.

So anyway, Isla Fisher.  She is AWESOME.  Part of me thought as I watched the movie that, as a guy, you could sorta look at the three main female characters as a sort of test about what your type is, ha.  I'd say which one you like best might sorta say something about you.  And I don't know.  The Isla Fisher character had me hooked immediately.  That's my type.  But that's not my point here.  My point is, Isla Fisher is really, really good.  I want to say that I've seen her only in two movies.  This, and Wedding Crashers.  Ah, she was in I Heart Huckabees?  I didn't remember that.  I kinda didn't get the appeal of that movie, so I think I forgot large chunks of it.  But yeah, she's been in two movies that I really remember well, and in both, she's been my favorite part.  I think she completely stole Wedding Crashers.  I thought she was brilliantly, sweetly nutty there.  She's much different in Definitely, Maybe, but equally good.  I love watching her.  So yes, just wanted to give her a shout out.  Good stuff.  She's becoming one of my favorite actors very quickly here.  I should see Hot Rod!  Andy Samberg's cool, too.

And NOW I'm gonna go write another, mostly private post about something I don't wanna share with the world!  Yay!

Marion Cotillard is downright ... what's the word?  Intoxicating.  Makes me want to speak French much better than I do now.

Mes yeux sont bleus.

It's a little early to be saying this, since the big show is weeks away still, but there's news today that there may just be an end to the writers' strike within, oh, the next week or so (it's even in the New York Times, I'm not making it up!), and it has me thinking about the upcoming Oscars.  Let's assume there's gonna be a full-blown, over-the-top, 5-hour normal sort of Oscars this year.  I hope there is, because ... well, okay, first thing's first.  The reason I'm writing this post is...

Ellen Page really, really, really, really, REALLY should win the best actress Oscar this year.  And since this is from my absolute favorite photoshoot for anyone in recent memory, I'm gonna share a photo of Ellen now:

Seriously my favorite images from any photoshoot I can remember.  Something about the black and white sweater and the red scarf.  It's awesome.  Nice to have an excuse to post that, ha.

But yes, Ellen needs to win the Oscar.  If you're reading this and you have a vote in the matter, don't blow it.  Cate Blanchett is a fine actress.  But c'mon.  She's already played Queen Elizabeth, been nominated for the same role before, and she's already won an Oscar, for The Aviator.  No one really loves Elizabeth: The Golden Age, anyway.  Just, let's not go there.  Julie Christie just plain sucks.  Refer to her acceptance speech at the SAG Awards, please.  Self-absorbed?  Yes.  How much had she had to drink that night, anyway?  Snooty and annoying, and no one saw that movie.  The latter goes double for Marion Cotillard, who I'm sure is a fine person and a wonderful actress, but La Vie en Rose?  No.  And then there's Laura Linney, who I like, but c'mon.  Let's be bold for once, Academy voters.  Let's vote for something different.  And for a movie people really, truly loved.  One that people actually saw.  And for once, vote for the best performance of the year.  Ellen Page is no Cate Blanchett, it's true.  Thank goodness.  She's far more awesome.  Just go see Juno again.  It's the best, most fun, most heartfelt, most original performance of the year.  This is the right choice for the Oscar.  We all know it.

So yeah, the reason I want there to be a big, overblown show this year is, doesn't Ellen Page deserve that?  How much would it suck to be an actress, 20-years-old (!), nominated for an Academy Award, only to see a strike keep you from attending the ceremony?  It would seriously blow.  She's been cool about that prospect from everything I've read, but c'mooon.  These things don't come around every day.  So for her, yeah, let's get the strike settled and let's have a show.

And lets produce some new episodes of Pushing Daisies while we're at it.  But that's another post.

Anyway, yeah, Ellen Page is awesome.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.  And I still need to get my hands on a Juno movie poster.

I.

LOVE.

JUNO.

Seriously.  Loooooove.  And Ellen Page is just awesome.  I want to see it again!  Rightnow!  Brilliant.

Three morons got up and left the theatre after the first three minutes.  Idiots.  I don't get that at all.  You did know this was about a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant before you bought your tickets, right?

Seriously, Ellen Page.  Amazing.