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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Hey Internet, Stop Being Such Cynical Effing Douchebags Blog-a-Thon
So in the movie blogging world (and probably others), there's something called a "blog-a-thon" in which someone proposes a topic and then lots of folks write a post on that topic (this is similar to what's called a "carnival" in other areas of the internet). I've never actually participated in one of these blog-a-thons, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Stacie Ponder recently threw up a challenge:
I'm not afraid to get excited about movies. When did looking forward to something or having an unabashed I cannot fucking wait to see that attitude become passe? These are movies, people...they're entertainment. I pay money to be entertained, and I want my fucking face rocked off. I want to circle a release date on my calendar and be the first in line when the date arrives. ...
One day, and one day only: Tuesday, March 18.
You: write about something in the world of film that fills you with complete and total unbridled fucking retarded JOY.
Well then, what shall I write about? She's not picky about it - I can choose a movie or a scene or just about anything I want. There's actually a pretty easy answer for this, one which I've been looking forward to for a long, long time. I got a taste about 2 years ago and had an opportunity to revisite about a year ago, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I could not participate. So another year has passed, and this time I'm ready. I've circled my calendar and I've even taken time off work so that I can partake in the filmic goodness that is the
2008 Phildelphia Film Festival. To be more specific, I'm filled with "complete and total unbridled fucking retarded JOY" for the
Danger After Dark series, which is filled with all sorts of horror and gangster films. I've never even heard of most of them, but I think that's a big part of the appeal (and it's part of what made my experience in
2006 so fun).
Yeah, sure, the PFF isn't a world renowned festival like Sundance, Toronto, or Cannes, but it's my damn festival, and I love that there's a whole slew of genre films that I'll probably never get a chance to see otherwise. Sure, there are some other festival darlings I'll probably check out (
Son of Rambow comes to mind), but what I'm really looking forward to is the unbridled joy of genre filmmaking. In
2006, I saw a bunch of Danger After Dark films, and absolutely loved every minute of it. The only thing missing from this year's festivities is another
Adult Swim For Your Lives event.
Timecrimes
Just a few movies that are currently on my list:
- Black House: South Korean horror is the new J-Horror. Oh hell, I just saw someone calling it "K-Horror." Groan.
- Confession of Pain: From the makers of Infernal Affairs (remade in the U.S. by Martin Scorsese as The Departed), this probably won't be as good, but who knows?
- Pistoleros: Described as "a modern Spaghetti Western with a Nordic twist." Say no more, I'm there.
- Timecrimes: Time travel thriller? Directed by someone named Nacho? I'm in.
- The Last House in the Woods: Good ol' Italian horror fun.
- Epitaph: Did I mention that South Korean horror is the new J-Horror?
Pistoleros
And then there's to the totally off the wall stuff, like
Bad Biology (from the makers of
Frankenhooker!) or
Dead Fury (raunchy, gory, animated fun directed by someone who's actually known as FSudol).
No, it's not a prestigious festival, but I like it, and I can't wait.
Update: The Blog-a-thon is up over at Final Girl.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Trailer Park
It's been a while since I've kept up with what movies are in production. I used to totally geek-out on various movie news sites and forums. For instance, I remember seeing behind the scenes footage of the
first Lord of the Rings film somewhere around 1999 (two years before the film came out). Since then, I've tended to let that sort of thing go (with an occasional
exception), for a few reasons. First, it's really annoying to follow a production over the course of years and realize that you still have to wait two more years before you'll finally get to see it (the aformentioned LotR being a good example). Second, following every detail of a production tends to build up expectations that are too lofty... it's rare that a film will truly impress when you've spent years building up
expectations (LotR is a good example of that, but again, that's the outlier. A film you've been following for years is more likely to be like
The Phantom Menace.) And finally, following a movie production from beginning to end without learning spoilers is near impossible. Even movie trailers these days are often filled with spoilers (plus, they have a tendency to be overedited, repetitive and boring, but we'll get to that in a second.)
Trailers are an interesting art form. Since the advent of DVD, I've had the opportunity to watch a lot of older trailers, and boy are they awful! There are some exceptions, of course, but sometimes I'm really in awe of how bad movie trailers used to be. Now, I'm no expert, but I think the zenith of movie trailers was probably the 1990s. I remember going to the movies then and almost looking forward to the trailers as much as the movie I was seeing. Perhaps I've just matured to a point where the tricks of the trade just don't work on me anymore, but I remember enjoying trailers for movies that ended up being terrible. These days, I'm usually able to pick up on that sort of thing right away. Of course, the mid-90s were also a time where people were still in awe of what could be done with the latest special effects... something I imagine people have become bored with. Many of the things that used to make trailers interesting are now simply cliched tropes (i.e. frenetic editing, pulse-pounding music, movie guy voiceover, etc...) I think we're starting to see a trend for more interesting trailers, even though the typical stuff is still dominant.
So let's take a look at some recent trailers for big new movies and see if I should start paying more attention:
- The Incredible Hulk: Let's just pretend that Ang Lee movie never happened. For all intents and purposes, this is your typical Hollywood trailer. It's probably a little better than your average trailer, but it's still pretty stereotypical. It looks like the fun popcorn flick the Ang Lee version was never able to capture.
- The Dark Knight: The trailers they have for this now are pretty straightforward. Again, typical Hollywood fare, though perhaps a little more upscale. However, it should be noted that the original teaser for this movie was a six-minute featurette that tells the story of a bank heist. For some reason, this mini-film is not available on the web, except for this lame bootlegged version. It's a brilliant trailer though, and it really makes me want to watch this movie. The newer trailers are awful by comparison...
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: This is almost unfair, as nostalgia serves to make this more enjoyable than it probably is, but it's pretty well done. The only thing that bothers me is that it looks like we're going to revisit the mysterious government room with all the crates. I don't know why, but that bothers me. I love that it's just sorta thrown on the end of Raiders with no explanation... and I love that the next two movies make no mention of it at all.
- Lost Boys: The Tribe: I can't believe they're making this movie, but the trailer is pretty unintentionally funny. Bill Simmons sums it up perfectly:
I don't think I've ever enjoyed a movie trailer as much as the one for the "Lost Boys" sequel on MTV.com, not just because Corey Feldman introduces it in the beginning like he's James Lipton, but because of the way Corey seems to be randomly inserted into the trailer at various points, almost like how they stick Guillermo into real movie trailers on Jimmy Kimmel's show.
Heh. I have almost no desire to see this. I do, however, want to revisit the original now, as I have not seen it in... uh... over a decade?
There are probably a hundred other trailers out there that I could review, but I'm realizing again why I try to avoid all the hype surrounding upcoming movies. I'm not totally immune, but I find that it usually helps my enjoyment of the actual film...
Update: Fledge comments, and answers the unspoken question: Why is it called a "trailer" if it's shown
before the film?
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
GitS:SAC - More Thoughts
After several episodes of
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, I have a few other quick thoughts:
- In my last post, I whined about how the plot of the GitS being too obtuse. However, after watching several episodes, I think my fears were unwarranted. There is still a tendency for the plot to occassion a quick info-dump which can sometimes be overwhelming, but for the most part, each episode is relatively easy to understand. The potential exceptions are the "laughing man" episodes, but I'm guessing they're a bit confusing because the story is still in progress and so there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
- Also in my last post, I noted that the series seems to have a lighter tone than the films, and I think that's definitely true. For instance, Major Kusanagi is definitely displaying more of a light-hearted attitude than she does in the movies, where she has a much more earnest style. She even smiles a lot. She's still a badass though, and a very likeable character. The one thing that bothers me is her uniform, which seems to consist of a one-piece bathing suit, thigh-high stockings, and a jacket.
All female cops wear this stuff, right?
There was some low level nudity in the movies, but there was at least a partial explanation for that (she was wearing one of those invisibility suits). I know there's a time-honored tradition of something called fan service in anime, and if this qualifies, then it's actually pretty tame when compared to series that are actually fan service vehicles, but still. Every time I see the major wearing that outfit, my immersion (or "transport", if you prefer) in the story momentarily snaps, and I have to wonder why this woman is wearing what amounts to lingerie while conducting her police work. It's not like we ever see Batou walking around in a speedo, vest, and combat boots. Of course, this is a total nitpick and when she gets sent into a battle situation, she wears more reasonable attire, so it's not a complete disconnect.
- The movies tend to be more philosophically inclined than the series, which seems content to let the philosophical implications of their universe simmer beneath the surface of a straightforward police procedural. This is probably why the plot of the series is a little easier to follow than the films, and it actually works pretty well because it's not like any other police procedural on TV. Such shows are a dime a dozen. I could probably turn on my TV and have my choice between 3 different episodes of Law & Order right now. But GitS:SAC is a police procedural that focuses on hacking, and it's surprisingly effective at taking the usually dull or fake-sounding hacking tropes and turning them into something more compelling to watch. I think a large part of this is that it's not just computer hacking here, but rather "ghost hacking" (i.e. hacking people's brains). Ghost hacking is inherently disturbing, and so these stories carry more weight than, say, a typical episode of 24 (which has such laughable techno-babble as to be actually entertaining, but that's a different story). Anyway, I think this style suits the series well, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the episodes.
That's all for now. More as the series progresses.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Wii Game Corner
Some quick reviews for games I've played recently:
- Super Mario Galaxy: As usual, Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach and Mario's looking to rescue her. This is probably the best reviewed game for the Wii. Metacritic has it at a 97 and there's not a single review below 90. While this is perhaps a bit too high, I do agree that it's a fantastic game. There are some imperfections. The default camera anges are sometimes a bit off, but that's a general platform game problem, so it's hard to fault the game too much for that. Similarly, the controls are sometimes a bit awkward, but for the most part, it works fine. There are some Do it again, stupid or twitch levels, but I expected this and there aren't that many levels that get too frustrating. Otherwise, the game is great. It's the best looking Wii game I've played, and the music is pretty good too (it evokes the older Mario games while doing its own thing). Aside from the camera and sometimes awkward controls, the gameplay is generally fun and easy to pick up. The level design is great (the general concept of the spheroid, 3D levels with neat gravity tricks is well done), and the game is broken up into little bit-sized chunks (something that appeals to people like myself who don't want to have to play for hours at a time to get anywhere). Bottom line, it's a lot of fun. I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm looking forward to playing more, and I can see why people are heaping praise on the game.
- No More Heroes: This game follows the exploits of Travis Touchdown, an amateur hitman who uses a beam katana (basically a lightsaber) to dispatch his enemies. His goal is to become the #1 ranked assassin in the world... and to do so, he must take out the top 10 assassins. To do this, he must pay the United Assassins Association to set up matches against each assassin, and to pay for these matches, Travis must take on various odd jobs. There are a few positive aspects of this game, but for the most point, it's a mess. The gameplay is interesting, but much too simplistic. You basically need to just keep pressing the A button. A lot. The game tries to add other attack modes (wrestling moves, charging up an attack, etc...), but none of those are really necessary. For the most part, the game just pits you against a bunch of enemies at a time, and you press A a lot. Now, the one good thing about this control scheme is that when you get to a certain point, the game prompts you to do a "kill move" and displays a direction on the screen for you to slash your wiimote, at whichpoint you see a slow-motion animation of your kill move. This is actually a pretty cool interaction and it works well... The game doesn't seem to care how accurate you are with your killing slash though (several times I know I went in the wrong direction, but it registered anyway). The boss fights are relatively fun (at least, when compared to wading through wave after wave of henchmen). Each boss has certain unique powers and you need to figure out how to counter them. The game is broken up into bite-sized chunks, which, as I've already mentioned, is something I like. Unfortunately, that's where the good things about this game end.
This screenshot probably makes the game look better than it is...
The game wants very badly to be something like the Grand Theft Auto games, but with assassins instead of petty criminals. The game is framed in an open-ended cityscape that you can drive around in. There are stores and places to find work, etc... Sound familiar? Yeah, it is, except that the cityscape is tremendously boring. The "open-ended" cityscape turns out to be a little closed off. There's very little you can do here. In GTA, you can steal other cars, get into trouble, cause general meyham, or simply drive around and find jumps. In this game, you can... drive your indestructible motorcycle (which handles like a boat) to your next job (or to a store). And that's pretty much it. Oh, and you live in a hotel (just like GTA!), but in a delightfully irreverant twist, the "save" function happens when you go to the toilet! How clever! It even has authentic flushing sounds to signal a successful save. The fighting in the game is very repetitive and monotonous. The only thing that sorta saves it from that trap are the boss fights, which are decent (but not great). The "odd jobs" portion of the game is inexplicably awful. You need to run around the city and tackle missions like "collecting coconuts" and "lawn mowing" (yes, seriously, there is a mission called "lawn mowing"). In and of themselves, these mini-games aren't that awful, it's just that they're so very out of place in this type of game.
The game's visuals are a bizarre mish-mash of styles. It's attempting a low-fi comic book style, which would be fine, except that the graphics are clunky and the animations sometimes choppy. When you dispatch one of the enemy hoards, the slow motion animation is decent, but every enemie basically squirts blood like a hose (think Kill Bill or Evil Dead II) and when the screen clogs up with lots of enemies, you really can't see anything (Luckily, all you need to do to get through this is keep pressing A.) Other visual aspects of the game (such as the menues or the assassin ranking screen) seem to be trying to harken back to old-school video games (very pixelated) and are strangely divergent with the other visual styles of the game. The voice acting in the game is pretty good, actually, but the music... perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if there were more than 2 songs in the whole game. It doesn't take long to get annoyed by the music.
While not garnering the universally positive reviews that Mario Galaxy did, No More Heroes still seems to have done quite well for itself. It's the 10th ranked game on Metacritic, and it's got a score of 84 (which is pretty good). If you can't tell from the above, I think this is wildly inflated. There are some good things about the game, but overall it's a mess.
- Miscellaneous Sports Games: I've played Madden 08, NBA Live 08, and Major League Baseball 2K8. I haven't played any of these a lot, but of the three, Madden was the best. It has some pretty neat Wiimote controls (touch pass versus a more bullet-like pass, depending on how you throw, etc...) and is generally pretty fun. I loath the game of basketball, and so I probably have an unfair bias against NBA Live 08... however, I did enjoy the slam dunk competition. Finally, we come to 2K games' just released baseball game, which has a neat pitching controller scheme, but otherwise is pretty glitchy. At one point, after throwing a pitch, the pitcher animation froze for about 10 seconds before resuming and throwing the ball at me (the batter). I've always had bad luck with 2K sports games, and they don't seem very trustworthy as a company in general, so this didn't surprise me much.
One thing I'm noticing about a lot of 3rd party games for the Wii is that they're trimmed down from the versions released on other systems. For instance,
Madden 08 is missing lots of features that are on other systems. I haven't played the game enough to know whether what's missing is really that important or not, but it does make purchasing a game for the Wii a little nerve-wracking. Am I really getting the same game? The different controller scheme also makes you wonder if they just tacked on Wii controls, or if the game actually has a well-thought-out scheme. I'm really hoping the
announced Star Wars game isn't just a toned down version of the real game (
early news doesn't look so promising on that front, though it does look like they're trying to add a Wii only gameplay mode). This sort of trouble, when combined with Blue Ray's victory in the HD format war, makes the Playstation 3 a viable purchase for me. Much as a I hate Sony, I might have to do it... though I think I'll wait for the price to come down (or maybe I can get one of those
crazy deals where I get 15 discs along with it) before I seriously consider it.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Initial Thoughts
I've started watching this series, and after the first episode, several things occur to me.
- The first episode recalls the films in a few ways. Obviously, it's not exactly the same, but for example, both the first film and the first episod of SAC start with Major Kusanagi jumping off a skyscraper roof to attack criminals. Another similarity is Geisha robots attacking their clients (shades of GitS2: Innocence, though that movie came out after this series). Obviously this is taking place in the same universe, so you'd expect such similarities, but I do hope that the series isn't just rehashing the same ideas over and over again. Indeed, there are some differences. For example, there seems to be an element of lighthearted humor here that isn't really present in the movies (at one point in the first episode, Batou turns his head, smiles, and says "I think he broke" in a sorta goofy way. Also, the Major seems to be a little... less intense... than she is in the movies.) In any case, one episode is not enough to make a real comparison, and maybe they were just trying to get people into the series by referencing conventions from the rest of the GitS universe.
- I'm watching this on Netflix's online service, so I don't have a choice but to watch the dubbed version of the series. However, the dubbing at least seems better than the first film (the second film inexplicably does not have dubbing). Then again, the first film had some of the most atrocious voice acting I've ever heard (though perhaps some of that is due to the writing/translation), so perhaps that's not saying much.
- The animation is notably inferior than the two feature films. The first film used a more traditional animation technique, while the second film used an interesting blend between traditional and computer generated 3D imagery. The series also uses CG, but it's much less textured or detailed and the movements are a little less fluid. I'm guessing this had something to do with budgetary or time constraints (producing 26 half hour episodes must be more resource intensive to produce than a 2 hour movie). However, while the animation did seem odd initially, I'll probably get used to it. It's not that bad, and it's not like I frown at live action movies with poor special effects or video games that don't have eye-popping graphics. The important thing to me is the story and the ideas.
- Speaking of which, another thing that's becoming apparent about the entire GitS series is that they either have intentionally obtuse plots, or something is getting lost in translation (or both). The ideas underlying the series are definitely very interesting (and I believe that's what I responded to in the first two films) and can be challenging. This first episode seems more plot-centric than the films (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but I definitely think there's still something that's lost in translation here, and perhaps not just when it comes to language (though that's probably a big part of it). It might be cultural (or political) references I'm not getting either. The first episode of SAC is not as difficult as the first film. I got the basic idea of the plot, but I got a little tripped up by all the detailed references to military or governmental organizations. In any case, it doesn't seem to be a coincidence that both movies are a little difficult to understand (though the first is worse in this respect than the second) and so is this first episode.
More thoughts as I progress through the series... again, I've only watched a single episode, so it's probably not fair to make some of the statements above until I've seen more of the series.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Link Dump: SF Edition
I have a few ideas of longer type posts, but nothings gelling at the moment, so here are a few links I've run across lately:
- Mind Meld: Today's SF Authors Define Science Fiction - It's an interesting question, and there are lots of interesting answers here (don't miss part 2). I tend to favor a more broad definition that some of the authors, something akin to John Scalzi's or David Louis Edelman's definitions. It's hard to say though. How does one classify something like The Baroque Cycle. The whole thing takes place in the distant past, and there's not much in the way of scientific speculation (the characters are speculating I guess, but we're not), but it's clearly got a handle on science and technology and Stephenson is clearly a SF writer. I don't know that a definition that excludes The Baroque Cycle is a bad one, but I'd kinda like mine to do so.
- Fledge is a Singularity Skeptic - My problem with the singularity is that no one really knows what it would look like. We can speculate and doing so makes for fun SF, but still, I share Fledge's skepticism for a lot of it:
The proponents of AI argue that if we just add levels of complexity eventually we will have something approximating the real thing. The approach is to add more neural net nodes, add more information inputs, and [something happens]. But my sense of the human brain (which is partly religious and partly derived from my career as an MRI physicist specializing in neuroimaging) is that the brain isn’t just a collection of N neurons, wired a certain way. There are layers, structures, and systems within whose complexities multiple against each other.
I'll say that I think a singularity is possible, but I have no idea when. I'm pretty sure it won't be happening in the next 15 years, as Verner Vinge has speculated. Of course, he freely admits the possibility of singularity failure...
- SF Starship Size Comparisons - Interesting. I always thought Star Destroyers were larger than they are...
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective Spaceship Captains - Not as comprehensive as it sounds, but still fun. References to the obvious (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, etc...) and the not so obvious (Futurama).
That's all for now...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Subterranean Stephenson
Interesting article about geeky dads who worry that their kids won't become geeks, too, and how they try to instill a sort of geeky work ethic in their kids.
Science fiction author Neal Stephenson once told me something memorable as we were hanging out in his back yard. He pointed to an unfinished kayak under a tarp. He said he was slowly working on it, in part to mentor his kids, even though they did no work on the boat, nor express the least bit of interest in this project. None-the-less he continued puttering on the undertaking while they were home. Stephenson said when he was a kid, his dad was constantly tinkering on some garage project or another, and despite Neal's complete indifference for any of his dad's enthusiasms at the time, he was influenced by this embedded tinkering. It was part of the family scene, part of his household, like mealtime style, or the pattern of interactions between siblings. Later on when Neal did attempt to make stuff on his own, the pattern was right at hand. It felt comfortable, easy. Without having to try very hard, he knew how to be a nerd.
Interesting stuff. And speaking of Stephenson,
Warren Ellis apparently finished the Baroque Cycle lately:
I have just finished reading The Baroque Cycle of Neal Stephenson, and feel like giving up writing entirely.
I guess he liked it? Further thoughts on
his blog:
I finally got to finish reading the last of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. I'd never normally recommend you read a 3000-page work, but the Cycle is just a towering piece of work, and I think you should read it before you die. A hundred pages from the end, I got that terrible longing sadness, the one that comes when you realise you're near the end of something and you'ĺl never have the joy of reading this in the same way again.
I've had that feeling before. I definitely had it while reading the Baroque Cycle, but that was more just because I'd been reading the thing for 2 years. And it had one of Stephenson's better endings, I think. I had the same feeling while reading
Cryptonomicon, except I had it more like three or four hundred pages from the end. Heh. [Warren Ellis links via
No Mod Required]
Update: Shamus joins in the discussion
Alex and I had about Cryptonomicion.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Oscar Liveblogging
As is traditional, I'll be liveblogging the Oscars tonight. If you're interested, here are previous installments:
2007,
2006,
2005 and
2004. Check back for frequent updates (starting around 8:30 pm EST), and feel free to hang around and leave comments to play along...
Anyway, here are my picks for the major awards:
- Best Picture: For the first time in, well, ever, I've actually seen all of the Best Picture nominees. The category essentially boils down to No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Juno has an outside chance, except that comedies don't usually do well in this category, and often movies like this will be rewarded with a Best Screenplay nod, which Is what I'm betting on. Michael Clayton, while a fine movie, has inexplicably garnered a lot of attention. Nevertheless, a hot new director and Hollywood's most popular actor probably aren't enough to beat out the competition. In the end, I'm going with No Country for Old Men. It's about time the Coens got a best picture/director win.
- Best Director: Again, going with the Coen brothers here for No Country for Old Men. It's pretty rare for best picture and director to be split. The only other person I could see taking the award is PT Anderson. Jason Reitman is good, but I'm honestly surprised to see him get the nomination, let along win the award. Julian Schnabel's film didn't get a best picture nom, which means he's pretty much dead in the water. Tony Gilroy is a dark horse I guess, but I can't see him winning.
- Best Actor: I've got to go with Daniel Day-Lewis for this. No one else commands attention on the screen the way he does, even when he's spouting off about milkshakes and such. That said, some folks will be put off by the scenery-chewing ending, so I guess there's a possibility for someone else to take the award... but I just don't see anyone in this category taking it (despite not having seen a couple of the films here)
- Best Actress: With the exception of Juno, I haven't seen any of the films these actresses are nominated for. The buzz seems to be with Julie Christie's turn as an Alzheimer's patient, but Ellen Page is also a decent bet. I'm torn, but I'll say Julie Christie (though I'd rather Ellen Page won, as I think she's a fantastic actress).
- Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, playing the chilling, unstoppable killer Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, hands down. No real contest here, though some people might go for Hal Holbrook as a sympathy vote.
- Best Supporting Actress: This might be the toughest of the major categories. Everyone loves Cate Blanchett, and her gener-bending turn as Bob Dylan seems to have impressed a lot of folks (I didn't see it, but I can't picture anyone else pulling this sort of gimmicky thing off without it seeming gimmicky). Ruby Dee might get a sorta career achievement award for her performance in American Gangster, but that's all she really has to go on. Amy Ryan has an excellent, showy performance that's sure to garner attention, while Tilda Swinton's role require more of a quiet, vulnerable intensity. I'm going with Swinton here, because Michael Clayton isn't likely to win any of the other awards it's nominated for, but the Academy will still want to award it in some way (and best supporting nods are often a way of doing so). Plus, you know, it's a good performance.
- Best Original Screenplay: Juno is the film everyone loves, but not enough to give it a best picture win, so I'm betting the Academy will throw the screenplay award to Diablo Cody's script, which despite the too-cool-for-school hipster dialogue that occasionally grates, probably deserves the award. Another outside chance for Michael Clayton, but it's just not as clever or charming as Juno.
- Best Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men will get this, I think, though there's an outside chance that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will pull an upset. There Will Be Blood is too loosely based on it's source material, and it's streghths are with the way it's filmed and acted, not the writing.
- Editing: For some reason, this award often tracks with best picture, so I'm going with No Country for Old Men. I suppose there's an outside chance that The Bourne Ultimatum will win, though I think enough people will be put off by the frenetic cutting and shaky camera.
- Cinematography: Roger Deakins may get the most votes, but they'll be split between No Country for Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (which both seem to be gorgeously photographed, though I've only seen one of them), so I'm going with Robert Elswit's work on There Will Be Blood.
- Visual Effects: I think Transformers will take this one. For some unknown reason, people seem to like this movie, and I'll admit that the effects are pretty good.
- Musical Score: Well, not sure about this. The typewriter-laden score for Atonement makes the biggest impression (perhaps because it's overused:P), but I think Ratatouille's score is pretty good too. I'll go with Atonement, just because it is striking (no pun intended).
- Best Song: For the second year in a row, a single film has garnered 3 nominations for this category. And I'm learning from last year's mistake and guessing that votes will be split up between those three, and thus none will get enough votes to beat "Falling Slowly" from the popular film Once. Musicals just ain't my thing, but I have to admit, I got chills from Once on a number of occasions, so that's my pick.
- Makeup: No idea. I'll just say La Vie En Rose as the other two nominees don't seem like the type to inspire a lot of votes (I mean, Norbit? NORBIT!?)
- Best Animated Film: Ratatouille is a great film and my pick, though I guess there's an outside chance that Persepolis will win this.
- Best Documentary: No End in Sight is the favorite here. Yay Iraq!
- Best Foreign Language Film: I've only even heard of one of these, so I'm betting that's going to win. So my pick is: The Counterfeiters.
That's all for now. Check back around Oscar time for lots of updates! Feel free to post your picks in the comments...
Oh, and
Alex has posted his picks (we only really disagree on Best Supporting Acress... he picked the one person I didn't even consider), and he may be liveblogging (though I think the Aussie broadcast is behind the U.S. broadcast... so he'll be delayed).
Update 4:00 pm: The fine folks at
Greencine will also be liveblogging...
Update 7:39 pm: I'm sorry, but does Barbara Walters actually not realize who Ridley Scott is? And she's got this job why?
Update 8:03 pm: I'm sorry, I can't take this pre-Oscar, red carpet crap. I'll be back at 8:30, when the updates will come more frequently.
Update 8:27 pm: Regis just called Javier Bardem "Xavier" Bardem, and the best part about it was that you could tell that Regis knew he was saying it wrong, but he went ahead anyway like nothing was wrong. Well played Regis. Well played.
Update 8:32 pm: And the show begins with a montage thingy. You know, I wonder how the show would have been if the WGA strike was still going strong. There was apparently some super secret plan that was in the works, but obviously didn't see the light of day. And John Stewart is hosting again? Huh, I didn't think anyone would want to host multiple times. Not bad so far.
Update 8:36 pm: "Too often, the Academy ignores movies that aren't good" Heh. Oh, and again with the sunglasses, Jack Nicholson? Again?
Update 8:42 pm: Oh boy, the costumes award! Let's just say there's a reason I didn't pick one above. And what a shock, the most absurd, showy costumes get the win. Holy crap, I blinked and she was done her speech. Well done, woman I've never heard of!
Update 8:50 pm: "Hi, I'm George Clooney, I'm going to mention a bunch of things you wish would happen at this Oscars, like a streaker running across the stage." Depending on how you classify the opening, this is Montage #2. We're only 20 minutes into the broadcast. What's the over under for montages? I'm going to say 18. Place your bets!
Update 8:53 pm: Good presentation by Steve Carell, and best Animated Film goes to Ratatouille! I'm one for one so far, and Brad Bird gives a mildly amusing speech, followed by the typical thank yous and the music ushering him off stage.
Update 8:56 pm: Were there really so few movies to nominate for Best Makeup? And holy crap, my shot in the dark guess is correct - I'm two for two!
Update 8:59 pm: As is traditional, the first best song nominee performance warrants a break so that I can start drinking alcohol. I do like Amy Adams a lot though...
Update 9:03 pm: First music performance down, and I'm still alive (mmm, beer). A good sign. I actually am kinda looking forward to "Falling Slowly" from
Once. In case you can't tell, musicals ain't my thing, but I kinda enjoyed
Once and I think it deserves this award.
Update 9:08 pm: Can you smellllll what the Rock is cooking? It's apparently the visual effects award. Again, I have to wonder why there are so few nominees. What the -
The Golden Compass wins the award? Huh. I could have sworn
Transformers was a shoe-in. I actually never saw
The Golden Compass... And I'm 2 for 3 so far.
Update 9:12 pm: Art Direction award goes to
Sweeney Todd (another movie I haven't seen, but given Tim Burton's work, I'm not surprised this won for Art Direction). I guess we're getting all the "small" awards out of the way first, eh? Heh, people with accents are funny. Almost makes the traditional "Thank You" speech bearable.
Update 9:17 pm: Montage #3! Though at least we're getting to a good award early. Best Supporting Actor goes to ("Call it, friendo") Javier Bardem. Shocking! I love it when people speak a foreign language in their acceptance speech. I think they bleeped him too. I'm 3 for 4.
Update 9:22 pm: Javier Bardem's speech was not a classic Oscar moment. It could have been, if his entire speech was in Spanish. That would have been awesome. Are you kidding me? Montage #4. For binoculars and periscopes. Seriously? I guess it was a joke, but still. #4. And wow, #5. Bad dreams, an Oscar salute. Making fun of montages with more montages still counts as a montage, right?
Update 9:26 pm: Music performance #2, and I'm on beer #2. This does not bode well for me. You'll be lucky if I'm conscious by the end of the Oscars, let alone able to piece together coherent sentences.
Update 9:30 pm: Are the short film awards really necessary? Not to belittle the films themselves, but it's not like the grand majority of the audience has ever even heard of these things. And Seinfeld is still pimping his Bee Movie stuff? With another montage (#6)!
Update 9:38 pm: Yet another montage (#7). I'm beginning to think that the "super secret Oscar plan" for if the WGA strike was still going was just to show non-stop montages. And best supporting actress goes to Tilda Swinton. Yes! In your face
Alex! I'm 4 for 5. And a decent speech too.
Update 9:41 pm: The little asides before commercials where former winners comment on their award has also got to be part of the "super secret Oscar plan" for if the WGA strike was still going.
Update 9:44 pm: I Watch Stuff is also liveblogging: "Tilda Swindon wins, dressed as half a wizard. Or possibly as an art piece: 'Woman Emerging From Satin.'"
Update 9:48 pm: Jack Nicholson "I'm going to have you killed, Josh Brolin." And best adapted screenplay goes to
No Country for Old Men. Er, interesting speech? Keep it simple, Ethan. I like it. Incidentally, this does not bode ill for
No Country, but it doesn't necessarily bode well either. Best screenplay awards tend to go to movies that are too cool to win the best picture awards. But I still think
No Country will win.
Update 9:54 pm: Ahhhh, another song. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Antonio Banderas. (For those who don't know or remember, Banderas performed one of the best song nominees in 2005 in what has become one of the better unintentionally funny Oscar moments).
Update 9:58 pm: It's been like, 20 minutes, since the last montage. I'm going through withdrawal pains.
Update 10:06 pm: Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill are awesome, imitating Dame Judi Dench and Halle Berre (that would make sense if you were watching - incidentally, how does one become a "Dame"?). And best editing goes to
The Bourne Ultimatum. Darn, I'm 4 for 6. This also does not bode so well for
No Country though at least
There Will Be Blood didn't win, which would be a really bad sign for
No Country. And Sound Editing (an award I didn't pick) also goes to
The Bourne Ultimatum. Perhaps this isn't too surprising. Lots of people like that movie (including me - it's in my
top 10 movies of 2007), so it makes sense that it would be given these smaller awards.
Update 10:08 pm: Montage #8! I feel better now.
Update 10:14 pm: Cate Blanchett is scared of herself, I think. Or maybe she's just thinking, "I can't believe I got nominated for being in a film no one saw or liked." And best actress goes to... Marion Cotillard? Huh? Ok, I guess. I wasn't expecting that, but then, I didn't see most of the films in this category. Foreign people are funny. I'm 4 for 7.
Update 10:20 pm: Fourth nominated song. So close. Oh, and this is the one I actually like. And it's performed by the actual people in the movie. Seriously though, the song loses something without context. But I'm still rooting for this one.
Update 10:20 pm: Jack Nicholson, what the hell? You've replaced your lame sunglasses with trendy ones? Montage #9! Best pictures of the past.
Update 10:29 pm: I'm a moron. Apparently the earlier award for editing was actually "Sound Editing." But
The Bourne Ultimatum wins this one too, so my thoughts then remain. Also, I remain at 4 for 7. Heh, John Stewart: "Someone just took the lead in their Oscar pool with a guess." Hehehe.
Update 10:32 pm: Who the hell is Robert Boyle? I bet a montage will tell me why this guy is getting an Honorary Oscar. Yep, montage #10. Score.
Update 10:34 pm: Some other livebloggers:
Update 10:43 pm: Best foreign film goes to
The Counterfeiters. Huzzah! I'm 5 for 8. Incidentally, I'm obligated to say that the
process for nominating films for this award is retarded. That is all.
Update 10:50 pm: The crowd is clearly with "Falling Slowly" for best song. It better win. And it does! I actually like the best song winner. Shocking! Make Art, Make Art! Awwww, she didn't get to say anything. Poor girl... I'm 6 for 9.
Update 10:54 pm: Montages I'm looking forward to:
- Cinema's Greatest Bowel Movements (with emphasis on Dumb and Dumber)
- Great Moments in Lawn Care (with emphasis on My Blue Heaven)
- The Oscar Tribute to Vomit (with emphasis on The Exorcist)
Update 10:57 pm: They let Markéta Irglová come back out and give an acceptance speech. That's actually kinda nice of them.
Update 11:00 pm: Hehehe, blondes are dumb and can't pronounce cinematography. And the award goes to
There Will Be Blood. I'm 7 for 10. Oh my, Paul Thomas Anderson looks absolutely diabolical.
Update 11:02 pm: Yay dead people! Montage #11.
Update 11:09 pm: And best score goes to
Atonement and it's stinkin' typewriters. I'm 8 for 11 though. Who is that sitting next to James McAvoy (on the left)? She looks like a zombie.
Update 11:15 pm: All of the nominees for documentary, short subject are about Iraq. Several of the full documentary nominees are about Iraq as well. Yay Iraq!
Update 11:20 pm: Just a callout for
The King of Kong and
My Kid Could Paint That, two documentaries that could be nominated if we didn't demand that documentaries be controversial or about Iraq. And the Oscar goes to...
Taxi to the Dark Side. Huh, it looks like we'll get our political statement of the night... and not much of one. Apparently I suck at picking this award. I'm 8 for 12 so far.
Update 11:28 pm: Original Screenplay goes to Juno, which pretty much means it won't win best picture. Still, it's a worthy win, and I'm glad. I didn't expect someone named Diablo to cry, but good on her. It was her first script, after all, and it was pretty darned good. I'm 9 for 13.
Update 11:35 pm: Montage #12! Oh, they chose to show a bad scene for Daniel Day Lewis, but he's going to win anyway. Look at Johnny Depp grinning maniacly like he knows he's going to win. Whoa, look at Viggo's beard. And best actor goes to, big surprise, Daniel Day Lewis. I'm 10 for 14.
Update 11:37 pm: I'm sorry, did he say his grandfather was Michael Bolton? It can't be! Ok, I just rewound, and it sounds more like Michael Bolkin or something. Phew. I thought we had a time travelling no talent ass clown on our hands.
Update 11:40 pm: Montage #13! And the best director oscar goes to Joel and Ethan Coen! Great reprise Ethan! Oh wow, I want to see
Henry Kissenger, Man on the Go. Well done guys, you deserve it.
Update 11:45 pm: And best picture goes to
No Country for Old Men. A complete surprise? Yeah right!
Update 11:50 pm: Only 3.5 million hours. Not bad. I came in at 13 for 17 (I think I lost count somewhere in there), which is 76%. Not too shabby, and about average for my picks the last few years. All in all, a decent show this year, though nothing too special seemed to happen. Oh well, there's always next year. And they're ending the show with the Mission Impossible theme song? What the heck? Well, that's my cue, have a good night folks.
Update 2/27/08: Alex has posted his thoughts on the awards, and he's got a new theme on his website too.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday is List Day: Oscars Edition
The Oscars are this weekend, so here's a few lists for your enjoyment including some movie related ones. Oh, and of course, I'll be liveblogging the Oscars (as I did
last year, and even a
few years before that). Feel free to stop by and play along!
Random Ten
- Eels - "Rock Hard Times"
- Guster - "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today"
- Weezer - "The Good Life"
- Mr. Bungle - "Egg"
- The Who - "Pinball Wizard"
- The New Pornographers - "Twin Cinema"
- Mansun & 808 State - "Skin Up Pin Up"
- Tool - "The Pot"
- KMFDM - "Blame"
- Radiohead - "Bodysnatchers"
Top 5 3 Oscar Pseudo-Blunders
Everyone does Oscar Blunders lists, but there are some that I've always thought were being a little too harsh. Were the below wins really a "blunder"? Probably, but I think it's worth considering that the films that won...
- Rocky beats 3 classics - I think Rocky's sequels have irrevocably ruined the reputation of the first film, which is a lot better than most people seem to give it credit for. On the other hand, is it really a better film than Taxi Driver, Network, and All the President’s Men (other nominees that lost)? That's a tough lineup to beat, to be sure, and I'm conflicted. Taxi Driver is indeed one of my favorite films, but so is Rocky and if I had to watch one of them right now, I'd probably pick Rocky. It's perhaps not objectively a better-made film, but subjectively, I could definitely see Rocky winning.
- Titanic wins best picture: This movie gets unfairly maligned, I think, because it just didn't go away. The film was in theaters for months, we had to listen to that stupid song for months, and we had to watch all those teenage girls swoon over Leo. Nevertheless, Titanic is a good film, and it didn't have much in the way of comptetition. The only other nominee that puts up a fight is L.A. Confidential, which I agree is a good film, but is this really a huge blunder?
- Annie Hall beats out Star Wars: On a personal subjective level, there's no way Star Wars should have lost to Annie Hall. But now that I'm older, and now that I've had the Star Wars franchise knocked down a peg or two by the prequels, I think it's fair to say that, you know, the first Star Wars film was poorly made and it pales in comparison to The Empire Strikes Back. But then, I really don't like Annie Hall at all. I recognize it as a well made film and it did make me laugh a few times, but hell, we're talking Star Wars here! Ok, maybe this is a huge blunder.
Alright, so this list didn't go so well and I can't think of any more. Fleh. See you Sunday.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Anathem
Holy crap! I just found out that Neal Stephenson's new novel is to be titled
Anathem, and
according to Amazon, it's set to be released on September 9, 2008. Also, it's 928 pages. I don't know how I missed this, but apparently, some details about the novel leaked last September, in
this LJ entry:
He's writing a science fiction novel unrelated to Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle. It's set on another planet and has aliens and so on. It's really about Platonic mathematics, but he needed the aliens and space opera-ish elements to spice it up a little bit, just like the pirates kept people engaged in the Baroque books. He's nearly finished writing it, and if he doesn't finish by the end of the calendar year he'll have to give some money back. If everything proceeds according to schedule, it should be available in stores in about a year.
Damn! Looks like my US Civil War era
prediction was a bit off, though I do think my prediction is still in place for the next
Cryptonomicon/Baroque Cycle style novel will feature at least one portion set in the US Civil War Era. Or something. In any case, I'm psyched. (via this
wikio page I found in my referrers)
Update 3.31.08: Lev Grossman, geek blogger for Time magazine,
reports on the plot:
Since childhood, Raz has lived behind the walls of a 3,400-year-old monastery, a sanctuary for scientists, philosophers, and mathematicians—sealed off from the illiterate, irrational, unpredictable "saecular" world that is plagued by recurring cycles of booms and busts, world wars and climate change. Until the day that a higher power, driven by fear, decides that only these cloistered scholars have the abilities to avert an impending catastrophe. And, one by one, Raz and his cohorts are summoned forth without warning into the Unknown.
Interesting. No mention of other planets or aliens, but a promising plot, I guess.
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