Immediate Post-Oscar Thoughts...

I guess the main surprise to me, and I know that other people saw this coming, was that The Blind Side snuck into the Best Picture race, eliminating Invictus in its wake. That's not really a move up or down to me, but rather sideways, as I liked both films, but wasn't particularly passionate about either of them. I'm a little disappointed that, even with the lackluster Best Picture love for Invictus, Matt Damon still stole a Supporting Actor nod. I love Matt Damon and he's a wicked talented actor and I suppose this is the Academy's way of making up for not nominating him for Best Actor for The Informant!, but I'd have liked to see The Hurt Locker love showered onto Anthony Mackie, perhaps, or maybe a deserved nod for Alfred Molina, who was snubbed. I haven't seen The Last Station, so I can't judge Helen Mirren or Christopher Plummer's nods, although, of course, I am a bit sad to see newer faces like Emily Blunt and Abbie Cornish forgotten. Although, of course, Helen Mirren probably deserves the nod.

I was especially placed by the inclusions of A Serious Man and District 9 both in the screenplay races and in the Best Picture line-up. People have been predicting District 9 as a likely one for both and A Serious Man as a likely possibility for screenplay, but I was psyched to see A Serious Man included in the Best Picture line-up. I was slightly baffled, but not entirely, to see Penelope Cruz nominated for Best Supporting Actress. I haven't seen Nine, but I suppose Penelope Cruz's talent and charm make up for the bad press and supposedly-eh movie.

I haven't seen In the Loop, but I will, and I am pleased to see it get a spot. I'm even more pleased to see Avatar shut out of the screenplay race. Not that Avatar had a bad script, as many would argue, but simply that there are far stronger scripts in the running this year.

I think I'm out of things to say for this moment, but I do have to run anyhow off to class. These nominees weren't full of too many surprises, but if the inclusion of The Blind Side for Best Picture says anything, it says that Sandra Bullock is definitely the frontrunner, which makes me sad, because, to be frank, Meryl Streep's performance was infinitely better. She's won before, sure, but jeezum, she still deserves it now.

I am sad that pretty much none of my longshots, at least of the announced categories, came through, but that was to be expected.

PREDICTIONS? Hardly, as if Sharlto Copley and Michael Sheen are getting nominated...

I have made the roughest combination of a dream list/prediction sheet. You'll see some glaring omissions, particularly from films I haven't seen yet, although some clear front-runners to get nominated I have left in some categories either for lack of a better suggestion or because I have faith that said film is awesome in that particular field. There are a couple categories that have an extra nominee because I couldn't narrow it down. There is a very clear bias in these selections. I have cut out a lot of Nine, there's no Invictus to be found, very little The Lovely Bones, but I also haven't seen any of those three so that's no surprise.

Movies yet to be watched, Oscar-wise, include (but are not limited to): The Lovely Bones, Nine, Invictus, The Last Station, The Young Victoria, The Hurt Locker, A Single Man, Crazy Heart, The Messenger, Brothers, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and a big host of others I could see. As it is, chances I'll see The Last Station or Brothers are kind of wobbly. Love Helen Mirren and the stars of Brothers, but goddamn does the material look eh.

Also to note, my original best Actor category had eight people (Michael Stuhlberg, George Clooney, and Matt Damon were also on it). I feel like a traitor totally ignoring Morgan Freeman, but this is a tough category this year, IMO.

ANYWAY, here is my intensely rough list praising District 9 and Bright Star far more than either will ever get praised:

(*asterisks mark movies I haven't seen*)

Best Picture
Avatar
District 9
An Education
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Julie & Julia
A Serious Man
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air

Best Actor
*Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
Sharlto Copley – District 9
*Colin Firth – A Single Man
*Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker
Michael Sheen – The Damned United

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Abbie Cornish – Bright Star
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabby Sidibe – Precious
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
*Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Alfred Molina – An Education
Stanley Tucci – Julie & Julia
*Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Cristoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent – Inglourious Basterds
*Julianne Moore – A Single Man
Mo’Nique – Precious

Best Director
*Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
James Cameron – Avatar
Jane Campion – Bright Star
Joel and Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
Lone Scherfig – An Education
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

Best Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9
An Education
The Informant!
Precious
Up in the Air

Best Editing
Avatar
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up in the Air

Best Cinematography
Avatar
Bright Star
District 9
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds

Best Costume Design
Bright Star
*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds
Julie & Julia
*Nine
*The Young Victoria

Best Make-Up
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Art Direction
Bright Star
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
*Nine
A Serious Man

Best Visual Effects
2012
9
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Best Sound Editing
Avatar
District 9
*The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Up

Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
District 9
*The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Up

Best Original Score
Avatar
The Informant!
The Princess and the Frog
Star Trek
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Song
“I See You” – Avatar
*“The Weary Kind” – Crazy Heart
“Almost There” – The Princess and the Frog (or “When We’re Human” or “Down in New Orleans”)
“Cinema Italiano” – Nine
“All Is Love” – Where the Wild Things Are

Best Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
*Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Up

(excluded: Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary Feature)

4 Movies, 5 Days...

Not bad, not bad at all in my humble opinion. Since my arrival home Thursday evening I have seen Avatar, Fantastic Mr. Fox, An Education, and The Princess and the Frog. All of which I think were good. I blabbed on about Avatar and although I certainly liked the other three movies, I don't really feel too strongly about blabbing on for ages.

And in older film world... I've been slowing making my way through The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly on hulu. I'll finish it tonight is my hope. >.>

If Dexter doesn't distract me! Or gnawing guilt over my unfinished internships applications that I seriously need to get down to. Or how behind on House I am.

Gah.

I will say that the music in The Princess and the Frog was quite excellent. I love the nostalgia of 2D Disney animated musicals. Carey Mulligan was fabulous in An Education (and Rosamund Pike was adorably ditzy). Fantastic Mr. Fox was cleverly adorable. But as for their respective best bet categories, although Carey Mulligan has an excellent chance at the Best Actress, Meryl Streep's Julia Child was simply stunning. LOVED it. And Fantastic Mr. Fox is excellent... but you got to be kidding me, it is no Up. If it was competing against the opening montage of Carl and Ellie's life together only, it would still lose in my book. People cheer over the beautiful silent opening of Wall-E... well, I say, what Wall-E does in half an hour, Up does in about five minutes. Not to mention reducing me to tears.

These are the logs of the Starship Sarah. Her ongoing mission? To seek out unknown space, to see movie after movie after movie, to talk and talk about them until people roll their eyes, fall asleep, and beg for mercy.

BTWs, no, I am not a Star Trek fan (save the new one). As I explain to all of my friends, Star Wars is pop culture, Star Trek is cult, and I love me some cult, and I like camp, but Jesus Christ, all I thought while watching Wrath of Khan was "Khan has a REALLY nice chest" and "I wish I were watching Star Wars." >.>

Still to see in theatres in the coming days? Up in the Air (comes out Wednesday! :D), Invictus, Nine, The Blind Side, A Single Man, Crazy Heart, The Messenger, and The Lovely Bones. Maybe The Last Station and The Young Victoria. Hope to catch The White Ribbon eventually, and The Beaches of Agnes. Will rent Food, Inc., The Hurt Locker, In the Loop, and others...

I saw it. Avatar.

I'm not going to blab on particularly long about Avatar because, well, I don't have that much to say. It was, to be frank, quite awesome. I really enjoyed it. Some people complained beforehand about the story being trite and thin and the dialogue being rather meh, but it hardly distracted me. It was hardly Shakespeare, but when it comes to sci-fi epics, I mean, how simple are the Star Wars lines that are endlessly quoted?

"May the Force be with you."
"My name is Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you."
"I love you." "I know."
"No, I am your father."

None of these are exactly poetry either, but they are all incredibly awesome lines, particularly Harrison Ford's improvised ESB line pre-carbon freeze. So I see nothing to complain about with Avatar. Beside that, it is an EPIC. And by epic, I mean that the plot is going to be somewhat traditional in many ways, and that's nothing to guffaw at. Storytelling-wise, there's nothing revolutionary about the movie. The special effects are fucking amazing, of course, but the story itself is what it is supposed to be - strong, powerful, striking, and good. But not revolutionary.

But on the special effects, can I say how fucking amazing they are again? And it's not just the Na'vi, which were done very well, but also simply all alien life on Pandora. Every creature, all the flora, the whole thing was just so beautiful and, for lack of better word, exotic. It felt like I was truly transported to this location, which is what the best sci-fi and fantasy epics do. I have the same feeling with Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and to bring in video games, the sci-fi epic I am partial to: Mass Effect. These are spectacular worlds that tell amazing but traditionally-based stories. I am happy to see Avatar and look at it as a new classic. Although the special effects will soon enough be commonplace and not long after become outdated, the epic nature of the beast will keep it around for a long time.

It's not the special effects that made Star Wars or Lord of the Rings as awesome as they are, and it's not that they told a wildly original story - they simply brought us into this new world and captivated us with a beautiful story and a well-thought out and captivating world.

In fact, I want to return to Pandora really soon, and I hope that, if good sequels can be imagined, that there will be sequels. But only if they can be good (take a cue from Pixar; even though Toy Story 3 is eleven years after Toy Story 2, it's because they were waiting for a good story and I have few doubts that Toy Story 3 won't deliver the goods. Toy Story 2 did). We have enough bad sequels in the world. Other than that, I look forward to seeing Avatar again. I might dare to do it again in theatres if I find time between all the other movies, but probably not. I will see it again. And hopefully love it just as much. Because it truly is a GREAT film in both content and era. While maybe not the best film I've seen of this year or my favorite (and I am still lacking several, so we'll see what happens), I have a feeling that this movie will last.

I think I read somewhere that James Cameron doesn't see this film to be as timeless as Titanic, but I have a feeling it'll prove otherwise. For example, over thirty years later, everyone still knows what Star Wars is. Even if the damned fools haven't seen it.

Don't worry, I'm fixing that. Bard Film Committee is doing a Star Wars weekend next semester. A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. I am FORCING all my WEIRD friends who haven't seen Star Wars to come. I just don't understand. It's such an amazing classic.

One of my favourite things about future!motherhood (y'know, in ten years or so is what I'm aiming for) is going to be sharing my childhood experiences with my kids. The Pixar films, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. And you know what? They're seeing Avatar too. And a shitload of other movies. 'Cause, well, if you know anything about me, I effing love movies. My kids better too.


PS: Let me make this very clear. Yes, I think Sam Worthington is a hunk. Yes, I think he was amazing in Terminator Salvation (as was Anton Yelchin. Sorry, Christian Bale, you're normally great but you really blew in that movie). Yes, I am going to start seeing movies probably explicitly because he is in them. No, Anton Yelchin is still my future husband.

PPS: I am attempting to do a double feature tomorrow of Fantastic Mr. Fox and An Education. Wish me luck! Hope it doesn't snow TOO much.

Oh Movies! How I Long to See You! Let Me Count You...

Up in the Air
...because I love that who seems to be the most successful Twilight actor played an annoying human and I am rooting a hundred percent for Anna Kendrick even though I have only seen the previews. Oh and George Clooney and Jason Reitman are fabulous too. I liked Thank You for Smoking far more than I liked Juno (I liked Juno plenty; but it was way overrated) and the previews just look stunning and I've only heard good things.

Fantastic Mr. Fox
...because, although sometimes I am not that into Wes Anderson, this looks wonderful. I didn't really pay it much attention until I finally saw the preview before Where the Wild Things Are and then thought to myself how wonderful that film would be. Meryl Streep and George Clooney hardly hurt my desire to see what looks like a very clever and quality animated film. Also, good reviews encourage me.

The Road
...because, although I've been back and forth on my expectations for this film ever since I heard about it, if Cormac McCarthy thinks it's a good adaptation of his magnificent novel, I might end up genuinely liking it. Plus, Viggo Mortensen does no wrong.

Precious
...because I like crying during movies. I'm a little apprehensive that it'll be overhyped and a replay of the whole Slumdog Millionaire craze (good, tear-jerking indie movie sweeps the awards... not that the two are the same movie because I've gotten the impression that Precious is no holds-barrel depressing and horrific as opposed to Slumdog Millionaire's general cheeriness despite the slums), but it's also been beloved by many, even if not by all. I can understand the fatigue, but I still liked Slumdog Millionaire too.

Invictus
...because I adore Morgan Freeman and am excited to see a movie that looks perfect for him. Not to mention that the trailer looks very strong, the plot is interesting, and Matt Damon is also a really fantastic actor. Clint Eastwood directing doesn't hurt it either.

The Lovely Bones
...because I fell in love with the book when I was required to read it the summer before my freshman year of high school, staying up until 9am finishing it, crying like a baby. Saioirse Ronan is a wonderful actress (one of the actually quite good parts of Atonement, as the Academy recognized her before), Peter Jackson is certainly a capable director, and although Mark Wahlberg can be kind of questionable, he did kick major ass in The Departed (Oscar nom!) and the rest of the cast looks solid. Oh and the trailer makes me cry every time I see it.

The Hurt Locker
...because I'm behind on the game and missed it over the summer and my feminine power side is just so excited that Kathryn Bigelow is being talked up as a Best Director possibility because it is still so sad how old-fashioned the film industry is. I love me some old white guy movies, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see alternatives succeed! Not to mention that I've only heard the best things about this movie and I enjoy quality action-centric films.

The Princess and the Frog
...because for all that Disney has done wrong, they made some awesome movies in the '90s and this seems like a good return to form. Maybe it won't be quite Pixar-level, but I still think it'll be an enjoyable ride.

2012
...because I am so curious as to see what happens after the world implodes.

Avatar
...because I want to be convinced that it is actually worth the hype (I doubt I will be). Alternatively, I look forward to telling everyone how it isn't good enough. But I love Sam Worthington, so I'd also like for it to succeed. Maybe. Maybe not. We'll see. I'm really wary of this movie.

Sherlock Holmes
...because it looks badass and Robert Downey Jr. is beyond amazing (not to mention that the rest of the cast is also quite strong and Guy Ritchie does make some good films... let's all forget that he remade the already nutty Swept Away...). I love action flicks too, if I didn't already make that part clear.

An Education
...because the critics told me to for Carey Mulligan and I am their slave (I wish I were lying).

A Serious Man
...because I've heard it is good. And I do like me some Coen brothers. And I went to my first bar mitzvah this year so now I'll all kinds of curious about the whole premise of this film.

A Single Man
...because I do quite like Colin Firth and want to see how he does in this (supposedly, fabulously).

Nine
...because I remember when I saw the trailer before I even heard most of the awards prediction possibilities about it and thought to myself "well this looks AWESOME" and watched the trailer about ten more times that evening. Also, just LOOK at that cast. And it's directed by Rob Marshall of Chicago... and I went back and rewatched Chicago for the first time in a while recently and remembered just how actually good it was. And those visuals? Oh god, I am exciting myself all over again for this movie.

The Blind Side
...because although it could easily be cheesy and lame and eh, I still find myself attracted to it in all its tear-jerking glory.


And god I hope that's all the movies I plan to see (there will be more, especially when the award nominations start rolling in and I realize which ones I'll need to see... fuck the Oscars for naming the nominees so late this year; I'll already be back at school with absolutely no time or a Netflix account... bizznatches). I also hope that most of these movies are worth seeing.

PS: Fuck tag limits. I also intended to tag: 2012, The Princess and the Frog, and Other Awards, but the stupid character max stopped me. >.<