Academy Awards Summary

For those who did not watch the 80th annual Academy Awards, it was a fine show. Several inspired acceptance speeches, a refreshing lack of the usual Hollywood snobbery and arrogance, and a host who wasn't half bad. Jon Stewart returned for a second time and said just enough to add a bit of humor while not overstaying his welcome and becoming irritating. Without further adieu, I present to you the winners list. (* indicates correct prediction, x indicates incorrect prediction, - means abstained from selecting)

Actor in a Supporting Role- Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men (*)
Visual Effects- The Golden Compass (x)
Animated Feature Film- Ratatouille (*)
Short Film (Live Action)- Lez Mozart des Pickpockets (-)
Short Film (Animated)- Peter and the Wolf (-)
Costume Design- Elizabeth: The Golden Age (x)
Makeup- La Vie en Rose (x)
Actress in a Supporting Role- Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton (x)
Documentary Short- Freeheld (-)
Documentary Feature- Taxi to the Dark Side (-)
Art Direction- Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (*)
Music (Score)- Atonement (*)
Sound Mixing- The Bourne Ultimatum (x)
Music (Song)- Once (-)
Foreign Language Film- The Counterfeiters (-)
Film Editing- The Bourne Ultimatum (x)
Actor in a Leading Role- Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood (*)
Cinematography- There Will Be Blood (x)
Actress in a Leading Role- Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose (x)
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)- No Country for Old Men (*)
Writing (Original Screenplay)- Juno (*)
Directing- No Country for Old Men (x)
Best Picture- No Country for Old Men (*)

Diablo Cody's improbable victory for Original Screenplay (Juno) was a delightful surprise (my solitary impressive pick), but Ellen Page's snub for Best Actress in a Leading Role made the win bittersweet. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly came up completely empty which was, in my opinion, the biggest crime of the show. This French film was a true masterpiece and it deserved at least one honor in acknowledgment of its brilliance. The award for Cinematography should have certainly gone to Atonement, but There Will Be Blood was indeed deserving. I was quite proud of Javier Bardem and Daniel Day-Lewis and their awards were absolutely deserved. No Country for Old Men won several top honors and took home a total of 4 awards- the most of any film at the show. The Coen brothers' masterful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel indeed got some much needed attention on this fine evening. Cheers to all the great films honored.

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Odds and Ends

Today I was finally able to see Atonement, the only film nominated for Best Picture that I somehow missed. An compelling mix of drama, romance, and war genres, Atonement tells a very tight and indeed very tragic tale. On a warm summer day in 1935, young Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) is feeling especially imaginative. Robbie Turner (James McCavoy) and Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightly) are in love, and young Briony steps in to accuse Robbie of a crime he did not commit. This false accusation dramatically changes all three lives forever. The film is indeed sorrowful and stunning, with jaw-dropping cinematography. The imagery is quite extraordinary, especially one 5 minute sequence set on the beaches at Dunkirk. This stellar scene is able to encompass the entire spectrum of the human condition in a single, sweeping shot. I also quite enjoyed the performances by McCavoy and Ronan. Ronan does indeed deserve a nod for Best Supporting Actress, but does not deserve to win. More on that in a moment.

Although this film was exceptionally well done, and indeed one of the finest pictures of the last year, it did not quite have the magic for me that some of the other top films did. I was moved certainly, but it did not really absorb me into its story. The ending really played out like a quality film, but a fairly lengthy sequence in the 3rd act is very misleading, and I mean that in the worst way possible. It is not a clever twist or thoughtful device to mislead the audience, it is an ill-conceived chapter that makes the ending less than epic. It is still a very fine film and should not be missed.

I also just picked up Professor Layton and the Curious Village for the Nintendo DS. I must say that my shiny white DS Lite has been sitting in a drawer for about a year now due to the lack of intriguing titles. That has all changed now that I am absolutely addicted to this game. The concept in a nutshell is that you are a bit of a Sherlock Holmes type of character (the Professor) but each and every way you turn, there is a new puzzle to solve. As you move about the village trying to solve a mystery, residents will give you puzzles, the Professor will randomly challenge you (you play his assistant), and each and every new situation requires you to solve some sort of devious brain teaser. This game is a true delight. The puzzles are challenging and fun, and it provides you with an excellent opportunity to exercise your mind while following a lighthearted, yet completely immersive narrative. I highly recommend this game if you enjoy puzzles, riddles, or quality DS games.

Arsenal drew Birmingham today, 2-2. The big news of the match however was a horrific tackle just 3 minutes in that lead to a devastating injury to Eduardo. The Croatian striker has broken both bones in his lower leg and is out for at least the rest of 2008. Rumors are already beginning to circulate that this could indeed be a career ending injury. As a football fan and an avid Arsenal supporter, I would sincerely like to extend my best wishes to such a fine footballer. Manchester United made the day even worse by clobbering Newcastle United 5-1 and drawing 3 points closer to Arsenal in the race for the Premiership. Hopefully, Arsenal can rally together and bounce back from such a dreadful day.

On a more positive note, I finally feel like I'm qualified to make some Oscar Predictions. I'm doing this just about 16 hours prior to the ceremony because I simply had to watch Atonement to give a fair opinion. Please note that I have abstained from a few categories in which I am not qualified to pick winners.

Actor in a Leading Role- Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Actor in a Supporting Role- Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Actress in a Leading Role- Ellen Page, Juno
Actress in a Supporting Role- Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Animated Feature Film- Ratatouille
Art Direction- Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Cinematography- Atonement
Costume Design- Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Directing- Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Film Editing- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Music (Original Score)- Atonement
Sound Editing- Transformers
Sound Mixing- Transformers
Visual Effects- Transformers
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Writing (Original Screenplay)- Juno

Best Picture-
No Country for Old Men

I guess we'll know in just a few hours how I did.
I'm out.

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Movies, Elections, and more

Today I had the privilege to visit the Sundance Cinemas. This high class theater has only 2 locations, one in the fine city of Madison, and the other in San Francisco. As soon as you walk in, you go to the box office and select where you are going to sit on a touch screen computer. You pay something in the neighborhood of $4 in royalty charges, but hey, you pay a premium price for a premium movie-going experience. The Sundance Cinemas also offers snacks and goodies to keep you happy during your viewing of whatever independent/foreign/art-house film you have chosen to see. One would expect of course to see things like popcorn and Raisinets, but no, you have a broad selection of imported beers, fine wines, scones, and several other French-sounding pastries. This is high class, people.

So, I walked into the theater and sat in my chair, which was only slightly less relaxing than a La-Z-Boy. Now then, the film. I went to see Le Scaphandre et le papillon, more commonly known as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The film is based off the memoirs of one Jean-Dominique Bauby, the charming and vibrant editor of ELLE magazine. Bauby, who held one of the most prestigious positions in the fashion industry during the early 1990's, suffered a massive stroke on 8 December 1995 at the age of 42. The stroke debilitated his brain stem and left him with a rare condition known as "locked-in syndrome" in which a patient is fully aware of the outside world, but has little or no way of communicating their thoughts or feelings. Bauby was left with only the ability to blink his left eye, and he used a system devised by his speech therapist to dictate an entire book. Through a painstaking process of watching the therapist speak the alphabet and blinking to stop her, he was able to slowly form words and sentences. Using this system, Bauby spoke about his life, and indeed life in general in a truly poetic and engaging manner. In just over 200,000 blinks, Bauby created on of the most moving stories to be found in contemporary literature. The part of Bauby is played to perfection by Mathieu Almaric, who turns in yet another extraordinary performance in a leading role. 2007 was absolutely packed with extraordinary individual efforts, from Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood to Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; indeed Mathieu Almaric certainly deserves to be mentioned in any discussion of superb performances from the past year. I cannot think of a single complaint to write about this film. It is an emotional roller coaster ride, taking the viewer through pain, depression, joy, happiness, helplessness, frustration, anger, and finally, triumph. The story is tightly crafted and expertly paced, with not a single scene botched or wasted. If you truly watch this movie with all of your being, and carefully ponder what it has to say, it may slightly alter your outlook on life. This story is a moving tale of the triumph and persistence of the human spirit, and it should not be missed.

In politics, Barack Obama continued his undefeated run, winning the great state of Wisconsin and adding 74 delegates to his total. It looks like Hillary's "eh, it's just Wisconsin" approach to campaigning here really turned out well for her... Of course, John McCain won the Republican primary, but that was kind of a foregone conclusion considering Ron Paul will never get enough votes from moderates, and Mike Huckabee is too religious to gain widespread support. I for one am a proud Christian, and I think Mike Huckabee is a great man. But, mainstream religion of any kind is no longer chic in the United States, and its not cool to try to put God back into the Constitution. I mean, the founding fathers weren't all devout Christians or anything. Right, totally. Regardless, there are not enough traditional Conservatives to get Huckabee in office, so at this point, McCain's neo-Conservative rubbish has pushed my favor into the Obama camp. I suppose I thought I'd never say this, but Obama for President in 2008, baby.

On a side note, I'd like to say that this will be my last post about HD DVD. Toshiba officially announced that they are stopping all production of HD DVD players. Paramount and Universal pulled out of the HD DVD camp, with Universal already proclaiming its commitment to Blu-ray.

It's okay HD DVD, you had a good run, but Blu-ray just fought a better fight.

Cheers.

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Bounced / Death of a Format

Good day, readers.

Arsenal was devastated today in the 5th Round of the FA Cup when they were handed a stunning 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. The enormous pile of injuries clearly took their toll today, as Arsenal was able to field just 14 players. Arsenal was missing several key players, including superstar striker Emmanuel Adebayor. In addition, Manuel Almunia, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, and Gael Clichy were not able to play, crippling Arsenal's defensive capabilities. ManU quickly took advantage of the Gunners' defensive weakness, putting the game on ice with two goals in the first 20 minutes of play. The supporters had it right though as they sang "we'll be back to win the League!" as time expired. The Gunners hold fast to a 5 point lead in the Premiership, and they are still alive and well in the UEFA Champions League.

On a more positive note, the UW Men's Basketball team bounced back this week after being defeated by Purdue for the 2nd time this season. The Badgers posted a pair of solid wins this week over 13th ranked Indiana and the much improved Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Badgers look to finish strong after an impressive 21-4 start. The only game that should really give the Badgers much trouble is Michigan St. on 28 February. Looking on the bright side, we are playing at home, and it is exceedingly rare for us to lose games at the Kohl Center.

Finally, to any folks who have followed the HD movie format war, it is finally over. This week, Netflix and Wal-Mart both announced plans to stop supporting HD DVD, and reports are now coming out of Japan that Toshiba is stopping production of its HD DVD players. Reuters is responsible for the Toshiba report, so the source is indeed credible.

As such, HD DVDs are awfully cheap, and I was able to pick up several on Amazon at $15 a go. I was able to view two of my recently acquired films this week: Shaun of the Dead and The Pianist.

Shaun of the Dead became an instant cult classic in 2004 under the brilliant directing by Edgar Wright and witty performances by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The trio of Brits created Shaun to be a spoof of George A. Romero's landmark horror film, Dawn of the Dead. The film does just about everything it needs to do to be effective: it has a wry script filled with sarcastic characters and it never, ever takes itself too seriously. The film purposely includes all the standard bits and pieces of a generic horror/action movie, only it is hilariously funny and incredibly well crafted. I highly recommend this film along with Wright/Pegg/Frost's follow up effort, Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz is essentially built off the same idea as Shaun, only it spoofs generic cop action films such as Bad Boys II and Point Break. It is infinitely funnier and higher quality than the rubbish it pokes fun at.

On a more serious note, The Pianist is a moving and emotional tour de force. If you are not moved to the point of tears while watching this film, you have no soul. Adrien Brody turns in a performance for which mere words can do no justice. Indeed, the Academy did well by awarding him the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2002. Brody plays Wladyslaw Szpilman, the famous Polish composer on whose memoirs the film is based. The film opens with Szpliman at the height of his career as a talented pianist who plays for a popular Polish radio station. The film quickly moves on through the occupation of Poland by the Germans in World War II, and we spend the next 90 minutes or so watching the incredible true story of his survival in the Warsaw ghetto. The end is immensely rewarding as we see his triumphant restoration to prominence. The film can be considered nothing other than essential viewing. Saving Private Ryan is the definitive film on the brutality of the German war machine, Schindler's List is the definitive film on the over-arching idea of genocide and the obliteration of the Jews as a people, and The Pianist takes the idea of Schindler's List and focuses it down to a single person, providing the most intimate and truly human perspective of what it was like to be persecuted in such a way. Indeed, the film begs to be seen because after all, history means nothing if we do not learn from our mistakes.

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Barack Obama Visits Madison

I freely admit that I am Conservative Republican, but that does not mean that I'm unwilling to participate in the Democratic process. I believe that being a responsible citizen involves making an informed decision based on the best information available at the time. With that in mind, I attended the rally for Barack Obama with about 17,000 other people at the Kohl Center. Although Mr. Obama can be credited with being an outstanding speaker and a rather charming public figure, his points ranged from poignant political commentary to idle fluff. As a Conservative, I am bound to disagree with many pieces of his platform, but I found much to like about Mr. Obama's proposals. I believe that with his momentum (8 victories in a row), he will be the next President of The United States, and that alone was good enough reason to attend this event. This is as close as I am ever going to get to our nation's next President.

Here are some photos straight from the floor of the packed Kohl Center:

Waiting in line to get onto the floor with about 2000 other people.

Already been waiting in line for about 90 minutes.

The security: metal detectors followed by mandatory wand-over and bomb dog sniff down.

The press stage. Lots of expensive cameras.

Oh yeah, we were totally right next to CNN.

Lots of excited people. I kind of felt like a rock star when the crowd started cheering.

Jumbo-Bama.

The man himself. He's talking about an old gentleman who lost his pension.

So there you have it. I actually attended a historic event.

w00t.

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5 Points Clear / Crazy Essay

I still don't have enough time to make posts, so I'm going to have to make things brief...

Manchester City gave Arsenal a beautiful gift by defeating Manchester United at home in a 2-1 decision. The Blues defeated their crosstown rivals in both the home and away fixtures for the first time since 1970.

At Emirates Stadium, Philippe Senderos and Emmanuel Adebayor sent Arsenal five points clear of Manchester United with a convincing victory over a solid Blackburn side who have been consistently near the top of the Premiership in the 2007/08 campaign. In what may be eventually seen as a turning point for the entire season, Senderos headed home a beautiful cross by Cesc Fabregas in just the 4th minute of play. This slim margin held all the way to the 2nd minute of stoppage in the second half, when Adebayor added to his already impressive pile of goals with a powerful strike from the six yard box and gave the Gunners a 2-0 result. Adebayor is now tied for 1st place in the Premiership with 19 goals and holds this honor alongside the sensational Cristiano Ronaldo.

On a personal note, I found an essay that relates Calvin and Hobbes, the classic Bill Watterson comic strip that ran from 1985-1995, and Fight Club, the absolute masterpiece of a film from 1999.

This essay suggests that Fight Club contains the adult versions of Calvin (The Narrarator/ "Jack"), Hobbes (Tyler Durden), Suzie Derkins (Marla Singer), and others. It is a fascinating arguement, I encourage you to check it out.

Bed time.

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More Movies / Snow / Wii-tard

The last few days in the lovely town of Madison have been nothing short of insane. We got roughly 35 cm of snow and the city was pretty much snowed in. Cars were buried, busing stopped, people fell, classes were canceled, and all around it was not good times. There is a solid 1 meter drift outside my back door... how delightful. I suppose it could be worse... it's not like I've never seen snow before. You gotta' love Wisconsin.

So today I went to Best Buy to pick up The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford on Blu-ray since they had it on sale. Whilst in the video game section browsing for new software titles, I noticed a shipment of three Wii's. Now for those of you familiar with me and/or my blog, you know that I already have a Wii. You may also know that I am an avid eBayer. I know that Wii's currently fetch something like $350 on eBay (MSRP $249.99). Essentially, I can make $100 by swiping my credit card through a machine and shipping it off somewhere. But no, I decide to let the Wii's stay on the shelf and hopefully some underprivileged and/or disabled child somewhere will find the miracle of Wii because of my heroic and selfless act. Not likely, but hey, it could happen. Now then, the slightly pompous and overconfident Best Buy sales lackey approaches me, having overheard my discussion with my roommate on how we should get some Wii's and make some quick cash. He says to me "oh yeah man, you should totally buy the Product Replacement Plan on it. I mean, I sold one of these things on eBay for like $350 without the PRP and like $425 with it. I mean, people just know that this thing will work if it has the PRP with it."

... ... ...

Really? Really? Because I, being a former Best Buy sales associate, happen to know that you would lose your job if you ever pulled a stunt like taking a Wii and selling it on eBay for profit. I also know that if anybody with some good sense would call Nintendo, your Best Buy would never get Wii's again. Ever.

The guy was a Wii-tard, that's all I'm saying.

Anyway, I did actually get what I went there for, which was a brand new copy of The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford. I know that my review of this might be controversial because I have seen so many comments to the effect of "this is way too long and way too boring." So, let me preface this review by saying if you do not have a lot of patience (especially movie patience), this movie is not for you. If you need more substance to your films than tightly woven character dramas in a western setting, this movie is not for you. And finally, if you don't like flat out epic pieces of art pressed onto celluloid, this movie is not for you.

Brad Pitt is in top form as the enigmatic, sometimes charming, sometimes psychotic Jesse James. Pitt plays his finest role since Fight Club back in 1999. Casey Affleck as supports Pitt as Robert Ford in something of a breakout performance that got him nominated for an Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) and clearly proved that the acting talent in the Affleck family sadly all went to Casey rather than Ben. Affleck is slowly consumed by his rather creepy obsession with Pitt, while Pitt is quietly driven mad with paranoia. The last 30 minutes of the film are especially impressive and serve up one of the more thought provoking endings of recent memory.

The film's Blu-ray transfer was only alright, indeed it is easy to be distracted by the rampant grain and repeated white crush in the first bit of the film. The blacks lack depth in several scenes and overall I was slightly disappointed in the video transfer, although it can hardly detract from such a fine film.

On a side note, I was bored after Assassination, and I flipped the TV on. The film Ghosts of Mars happened to be playing, starring Natasha Henstridge and Ice Cube. Oh yes, and Jason Statham. As I am sure you have deduced, this film features some very solid (really desperate), AAA (B movie) stars. From what I could gather out of the convoluted plot, there are crazy microorganisms on Mars that infect people to protect "their" planet. The infected of course go crazy, get hyper aggressive, and move about, killing the inhabitants of a prison camp on Mars. Meanwhile, cops and crooks gang up to save the day with lots of shotguns and do-it-yourself grenades (apparently: can of fruit + mining detonators = big explosion... who knew?). Finally, they decide to blow the zombies to kingdom come with a nuclear reactor explosion. How original. Henstridge is of course the typical hot chick who, despite getting into numerous fights that would likely shatter 90% of the bones in her fragile body, still has her hair perfectly styled and has but a single scratch on her neck. Statham is the hardcore chauvinist trying to hook up with Henstridge, and Ice Cube is the (stereotypical) angry criminal with a heart of gold. Basically, I still can't understand just why exactly I sat through this piece of rubbish. This movie was flat out terrible. Henstridge also wears a full suit of loose-fitting leather for the entire movie... so nothing really pans out in the "hot chicks with guns" area either. Totally lame.

I'm out.

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PS- Check out MyExtraLife. It is an awesome webcomic. Scott Johnson (the creator) also does a sweet podcast.

Top of the Table / Portal

Today I am a happy man. Arsenal has finally taken back the top spot in the Premiership with a solid win over Manchester City. Emmanuel Adebayor has exploded onto the scene this year as not only one of the finest strikers in the Premier League, but one of the finest footballers the world over. Adebayor brings deft moves, lightning speed, and raw power and strength to the Gunners in a way no other player does. His incredible consistency and focus has really aided Arsenal in their 2007/08 Premier League campaign.


Adebayor added two more goals yesterday, one in the 9th minute and another in the 88th to bring his goal total to 11 in the last 8 games. Eduardo scored on a pass from Adebayor in the 26th minute as well, meaning the Togolese striker had a hand in all 3 of Arsenal's goals. Arsenal played fairly tight at the back as well, holding the stellar Manchester City offense to just a single goal. A 3-1 result put Arsenal in position to take back the top spot from Manchester United. Just a few hours later, ManU drew against Tottenham 1-1 and Arsenal reclaimed their position at the top of the table.

I'd like to take a moment to comment on Portal, part of Half Life 2: The Orange Box (360, PS3, PC). Portal equips you with a portal gun (such an unexpected name, right?) that can create what is essentially a wormhole from one location to another. The catch is that you may only shoot the gun at solid surfaces. As you can imagine, a top notch game development team like Valve can work wonders by throwing very devious puzzles at you. I cannot express just how impressive and innovative this game is, it is one of the finest games in ages. These are my first impressions, I'll post my full review soon.

My apologies for the infrequency of posts recently, I have been rather ill. Apparently University Health Services is filled with inept medical professionals and I have quite simply never seen such disreputable health care. Anti-shout out to you, UHS.

I'm out.

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