Anne Hathaway as Catwoman

ugh. that was my first reaction and it remains even more so after her atrocious oscar hosting stint. of all the people they were considering for the new Catwoman in the next Batman movie, she was the only one i was actively hoping it wouldn't be.

i just don't like her at all. she's one of those people that rubs me the wrong way, i have to say it. she seems completely full of herself and irritating, in interviews and in movies. not to mention i can't imagine her as Catwoman in the slightest. Catwoman has to be sexy, right? isn't that like, the number one quality she has to have? so they must be going a different direction then, 'cause they forfeited that trait right off the bat.

actually, in christopher nolan's batman movies, the women are by far the weakest characters. not really just his batman movies, but all his movies, period. he seems to have a difficult time writing female characters, because they are ALWAYS boring, bland, and two dimensional. i don't see this working out. it's not like Batman Begins was that great anyway, i think maybe The Dark Knight was a fluke.

again, ugh.

The Oscar Show

i'm back! been a while but i'm back to regular updates from now on. first things first, the Oscars.

well, what can i say? except that i think it was quite possibly the worst oscarcast i have ever seen in my life, and i'm not kidding. god what the hell were they thinking with anne hathaway and james franco? he was a lifeless corpse onstage and she was the manic, over excited cheerleader. it was seriously painful to watch, and excruciatingly boring. they have probably replaced david letterman as worst hosts in oscar history, so at least there was one person laughing sunday night. i should give franco a little more of the blame, the dude looked shellshocked and/or stoned the entire night. why did he even agree to do it? at least she was trying, probably too hard to make up for his being a total statue.

it wasn't just them either. the whole show was shoddily produced, with random backgrounds to old movies thrown on screen for no apparent reason- it was like they had no idea what they wanted to do with each segment. and that kids choir they brought out at the end? why??? what the hell was that for? and why do it at the end, when people are literally on their way out the door?

what a disaster. it was completely understandable that billy crystal received a standing ovation when he came out, reminding the audience what a real host looks like, and probably igniting hope that he'd take over from there. even the hologram of a dead bob hope was funnier.

actually, i've been saying for years that conan o'brien needs to be offered a chance to do this. he was a great emmy host, and he's exactly the kind of billy crystal-esque, song and dance man they like. plus, he's, you know, funny and can actually do jokes during the ceremony. he's also not mean in a ricky gervais way so there's no reason to fear that. i'm telling you, conan is their guy, he'd be PERFECT for this kind of thing. if they don't ask him to do it next year they're out of their minds.

as for the winners themselves? they were good, even though my predictions were pretty disastrous. king's speech won, and it's a good winner but probably not as good as the social network. or true grit. the acting winners were great (i LOVE colin firth), but i kinda hate melissa leo now. she's totally obnoxious and full of herself. the shorts screwed me over, like they do every year. i've said this before too: why do they not take live action short, doc short, and animated short, remove them from the telecast and dump them in the technical ceremony? PLEASE, for the love of god, get rid of the shorts and i might actually stand a chance at winning one of these oscar pools someday.

Random Thoughts on the Oscar Noms

i didn't do too bad, some of my wild cards did make it in. John Hawkes for Winter's Bone and Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom. overall, the nominees are pretty good, but The King's Speech led with 12, which means it's the new frontrunner. True Grit was second with 10 and The Social Network only got 8.
thank god mila kunis was left out in supporting actress, she never deserved it. the academy didn't seem to like Black Swan that much, it only got 5 nods and it was expected to do much better. Yay for Toy Story 3! it seems with a Best Pic category of 10 nominees, there's a permanent slot for whatever Pixar film that comes out in a given year :) imo the only acting category that's a real race for the winner is Supporting Actress- i think it's gonna be Hailee Steinfeld. i predicted her to end up in lead, because it's you know, a lead role...but apparently they thought she had a better chance to win if she went supporting. i think they're right. they loved True Grit too much to let it go home empty-handed, and the only real thing it has a chance to win other than that is cinematography. The Town was almost completely snubbed, which isn't too disappointing because the movie wasn't that great. the funniest snub is Christopher Nolan for Best Director. the academy really hates that guy, he's been snubbed 3 times by them after first being nominated by the Director's Guild. i can't complain too much because i think he's overrated anyway (but he did deserve it for The Dark Knight). i think this is a really close race btw The King's Speech and The Social Network. so much so that i'm predicting a split year- with David Fincher winning director for TSN, and TKS taking Best Picture.

Last Minute Oscar Predictions (NOW EDITED WITH ACTUAL NOMS)

so, the oscar noms come out in just 5 hours, so here are my final predix for the top 8 categories:

Best Picture:

127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
*Winter's Bone (i predicted The Town instead, but this is better)

Best Director:

Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan
*The Coen Brothers- True Grit (i had Nolan for Inception)
David Fincher- The Social Network
Tom Hooper- The King's Speech
David O'Russell- The Fighter

Best Actor: (got 'em all!)

Javier Bardem- Biutiful
Jeff Bridges- True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network
Colin Firth- The King's Speech
James Franco- 127 Hours

Best Actress:

Annette Bening- The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman- Rabbit Hole
*Jennifer Lawrence- Winter's Bone (i had my wild card with Julianne Moore, but she's good too)
Natalie Portman- Black Swan
*Michelle Williams- Blue Valentine (haven't seen this one- had Hailee Steinfeld here in lead instead)

Best Supporting Actor:

Christian Bale- The Fighter
*John Hawkes- Winter's Bone (had Andrew Garfield for TSN, didn't think he'd be snubbed)
Jeremy Renner- The Town
Mark Ruffalo- The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush- The King's Speech

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams- The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter- The King's Speech
Melissa Leo- The Fighter
*Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit (had Lesley Manville instead, but i only cause i predicted Steinfeld in lead)
Jacki Weaver- Animal Kingdom

Best Adapted Screenplay: (got all these)

127 Hours
Toy Story 3
True Grit
The Social Network
Winter's Bone

Best Original Screenplay:

*Another Year (Black Swan was snubbed in this category)
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech

i threw in quite a few wild cards in the acting categories, but i had to do it because it's more what i think SHOULD be nominated. we'll see how i do tomorrow!

The King's Speech (2011)

Tom Hooper, the director of the HBO miniseries John Adams, has directed a wonderful behind-the-scenes drama in The King's Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI, Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist Lionel Logue, and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife. It's a very intimate and personal story, as George VI is probably one of the least known English monarchs, despite being the father of the still reigning Elizabeth. The WWII era in England was dominated by the great PM Winston Churchill as far as history remembers, but George VI was the official head of state at the time. He assumed the throne in 1936 when his brother Albert (Guy Pearce) abdicated in order to marry his American mistress, who was divorced and therefore banned from becoming royalty. Known as Bertie, he was shy, abused as a child, and afflicted with a terrible stutter. The film tells the story of how he worked with Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist, who brought him out of his shadow and eventually gave him the courage to assume his duties and triumph in a way his irresponsible brother never could.

Every role is wonderfully acted, and Colin Firth is well-deserving of his likely Best Actor win next month. Hooper directs the witty and literate screenplay in much the same way he did John Adams, with mostly close-ups and set almost entirely indoors, in small rooms, to enhance the realism and intimacy of the characters. It has the effect of making them feel more like real people and not just historical figures (the one exception being Timothy Spall in a bit part as Winston Churchill, who's a bit campy and caricatured when he shows up, somewhat reminding the audience of the more known but also more important stories still to be told of this era). The ultimate triumph of Bertie over his speech impediment, to rally his nation to the cause at the dawn of the war, is an emotionally uplifting and hugely satisfying moment. The King's Speech is a lovely film, and one of the best of the year.

True Grit (2010)

 The Coen Brother's remake of True Grit, is one of the best movies of the year and miles ahead of the 1969 original, starring John Wayne. Jeff Bridges gives a great performance as Rooster Cogburn, the meanest one-eyed marshal in the South, hired by 14 year old Mattie Ross to track down Tom Cheney, the man who killed her father. Bridges embodies Cogburn in a way John Wayne never did, making him a fully developed character in and of himself. Mattie is played by the 13 year old Hailee Steinfeld in her first film, and she dominates the screen, practically carrying the movie, as she's in every scene. Apparently she's being campaigned for Supporting Actress at the Oscars, and she's guaranteed a nod, but she should really be placed in Lead. other parts are filled out by Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, in pitch perfect performances as well.

The Coens have been on a roll lately, with True Grit likely to become their 3rd best picture nominee in the last 4 years (No Country For Old Men and A Serious Man were the others, the latter being my favorite CB movie ever). It's well-deserving of all the recognition. it's in many ways a traditional western, but the dark humor and tone of the original book is perfectly suited to the Coen Brothers quirky style. the material was a perfect fit for their treatment of it, far surpassing the lighthearted (and lightweight) version from '69. another problem with the first film was the obnoxious Kim Darby as Mattie, who was way too old for the part (21) and inspired very little sympathy for her plight. rather than rooting for her rescue at the end, you rather hoped she'd be disposed of. that's not a problem in this one, as Hailee Steinfeld has you on her side the whole time, seeing everything from her point of view in voiceover narration. the emotionally charged final act also elevates the film into having a deeper resonance than most westerns. definitely see this one, it's worth the price of admission.