Obviously Losing

Oscar Predictions

2011-02-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

Best Picture
Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win: Black Swan

Best Director
Will Win: David Fincher, The Social Network
Should Win: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

Best Actor
Will Win: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Should Win: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Best Actress
Will Win: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Should Win: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor
Will Win: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Should Win: Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actress
Will Win: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Should Win: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Original Screenplay
Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win: Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: The Social Network
Should Win: Toy Story 3

Best Animated Feature
Will Win: Toy Story 3
Should Win: Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film
Will Win: In a Better World
Should Win: ?

Best Documentary Feature
Will Win: Inside Job
Should Win: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Best Cinematography
Will Win: True Grit
Should Win: Black Swan

Best Editing
Will Win: The Social Network
Should Win: Black Swan

Best Art Direction
Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win: Inception

Best Costume Design
Will Win: Alice in Wonderland
Should Win: True Grit

Best Makeup
Will Win: The Wolfman
Should Win: The Wolfman

Best Original Score
Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win: How to Train Your Dragon

Best Original Song
Will Win: "I See the Light," Tangled
Should Win: "I See the Light," Tangled

Best Sound Mixing
Will Win: Inception
Should Win: Inception

Best Sound Editing
Will Win: Inception
Should Win: TRON: Legacy

Best Visual Effects
Will Win: Inception
Should Win: Inception

Best Live Action Short
Will Win: Na Wewe
Should Win: ?

Best Animated Short
Will Win: Day & Night
Should Win: ?

Best Documentary Short
Will Win: Strangers No More
Should Win: ?

Top 10 Films of 2010

2011-02-26T22:48:00.000-08:00

#10
#9
#8
#7
#6
#5
#4
#3
#2
#1

Top 10 Albums of 2010

2011-01-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

#10
Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
#9
Gogol Bordello - Trans-Continental Hustle
#8
Robyn - Body Talk
#7
John Grant - Queen of Denmark
#6
The Unthanks - Here's the Tender Coming
#5
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
#4
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
#3
Jónsi - Go
#2
Owen Pallett - Heartland
#1
Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away

Final Oscar Predictions

2010-03-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

Best Picture
Will Win: Avatar
Should Win: Avatar

Best Director
Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Should Win: James Cameron, Avatar

Best Actor
Will Win: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Should Win: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress
Will Win: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Should Win: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Will Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Should Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Will Win: Mo’Nique, Precious
Should Win: Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Original Screenplay
Will Win: Inglourious Basterds
Should Win: Up

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: Up in the Air
Should Win: In the Loop

Best Animated Feature
Will Win: Up
Should Win: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Foreign Language Film
Will Win: El Secreto de sus Ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes)
Should Win: ?

Best Documentary Feature
Will Win: The Cove
Should Win: The Cove

Best Cinematography
Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Win: The Hurt Locker

Best Editing
Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Win: District 9

Best Art Direction
Will Win: Avatar
Should Win: Avatar

Best Costume Design
Will Win: The Young Victoria
Should Win: Bright Star

Best Makeup
Will Win: Star Trek
Should Win: Star Trek

Best Original Score
Will Win: Up
Should Win: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Original Song
Will Win: “The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart
Should Win: “The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart

Best Sound Mixing
Will Win: Avatar
Should Win: Avatar

Best Sound Editing
Will Win: Avatar
Should Win: Avatar

Best Visual Effects
Will Win: Avatar
Should Win: Avatar

Best Live Action Short
Will Win: The Door
Should Win: ?

Best Animated Short
Will Win: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Should Win: ?

Best Documentary Short
Will Win: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Should Win: ?

--Will Win tally--
Avatar – 5
The Hurt Locker – 3
Crazy Heart – 2
Inglourious Basterds – 2
Up – 2
The Blind Side – 1
The Cove – 1
El Secreto de sus Ojos – 1
Precious – 1
Star Trek – 1
Up in the Air – 1
The Young Victoria – 1

--Should Win tally--
Avatar – 6
Crazy Heart – 2
Fantastic Mr. Fox – 2
Bright Star – 1
The Cove – 1
District 9 – 1
The Hurt Locker – 1
Inglourious Basterds – 1
In the Loop – 1
Julie & Julia – 1
Precious – 1
Star Trek – 1
Up – 1

Top 20 Films of the Decade (2000-2009)

2010-02-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

#20

#19

#18

#17

#16

#15

#14

#13

#12

#11

#10

Top 10 Films of 2009

2010-02-15T00:39:00.000-08:00

#10

Final Oscar Predictions

2010-02-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

Best Picture
1. Avatar
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Up in the Air
5. Precious
6. Up
7. An Education
8. A Serious Man
9. District 9
10. Invictus
------------------------------------------
11. Star Trek
12. Nine

Best Director
1. Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
2. James Cameron, Avatar
3. Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
4. Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
5. Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon
------------------------------------------
6. Lee Daniels, Precious
7. Clint Eastwood, Invictus
8. Lone Scherfig, An Education

Best Actor
1. Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
2. George Clooney, Up in the Air
3. Morgan Freeman, Invictus
4. Colin Firth, A Single Man
5. Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
----------------------------------------
6. Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
7. Viggo Mortensen, The Road

Best Actress
1. Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
2. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
3. Carey Mulligan, An Education
4. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
5. Helen Mirren, The Last Station
----------------------------------------
6. Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria

Best Supporting Actor
1. Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
2. Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
3. Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
4. Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
5. Alfred Molina, An Education
----------------------------------------
6. Matt Damon, Invictus
7. Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker

Best Supporting Actress
1. Mo’Nique, Precious
2. Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
3. Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
4. Julianne Moore, A Single Man
5. Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
----------------------------------------
6. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
7. Samantha Morton, The Messenger
8. Penelope Cruz, Nine
9. Marion Cotillard, Nine

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Up in the Air
2. Precious
3. An Education
4. District 9
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
----------------------------------------
6. Crazy Heart
7. Invictus
8. The Last Station

Best Original Screenplay
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Up
4. A Serious Man
5. 500 Days of Summer
----------------------------------------
6. The White Ribbon

Best Animated Film
1. Up
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Coraline
4. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
5. Ponyo
----------------------------------------
6. The Princess and the Frog

Top 10 Albums of the Decade

2010-01-23T12:48:00.000-08:00

#1
Guillemots - Through the Windowpane
#2
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

#3
Bjork - Vespertine

#4
Rufus Wainwright - Poses

#5
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

#6
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

#7
For Stars - We Are All Beautiful People

#8
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

#9
The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion

#10
Daft Punk - Discovery

Top 5 Albums of 2009

2010-01-09T19:22:00.001-08:00

(in alphabetical order)

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

The Dodos - Time to Die

Florence and the Machine - Lungs
Loney, Dear - Dear John
Regina Spektor - Far

The Tetris God

2009-12-08T00:33:00.000-08:00

Literal "Safety Dance"

2009-12-08T00:22:00.001-08:00

Charlie's "Duet with Myself"

2009-12-02T00:29:00.000-08:00

Most Horrible Punishment Imaginable

2009-09-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

Upcoming

2009-09-27T23:37:00.001-07:00

Here's a list of the movies that I'm looking forward to for the rest of this year. Let's hope that a few of them hit it out of the park, cause God knows 2009 could use some great films.

A Serious Man - Oct. 2
Where the Wild Things Are - Oct. 16
Precious - Nov. 6
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Nov. 13
The Road - Nov. 25
The Last Station - Dec. 4
Up in the Air - Dec. 4
Broken Embraces - Dec. 11
Invictus - Dec. 11
The Lovely Bones - Dec. 11
The Princess and the Frog - Dec. 11
A Single Man - Dec. 11
Crazy Heart - Dec. 16
Avatar - Dec. 18
Nine - Dec. 18
Sherlock Holmes - Dec. 25
The White Ribbon - Dec. 30

Cross Country Timelapse

2009-09-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

Perfect use of Michael Nyman's "An Eye for Optical Theory."

Kanye's Apology: The Musical Adaptation

2009-09-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

2009 so far...

2009-09-05T21:49:00.001-07:00

This has been a dismal year at the movies, and the rest of 2009 doesn't look too promising either. Still, there have been several films worth checking out. Here's my Top 10 for the year so far, and hopefully this list will look very different four months from now:

1. Sugar
2. District 9
3. The Cove
4. Up
5. Ponyo
6. Tulpan
7. We Live in Public
8. Goodbye Solo
9. Inglourious Basterds
10. The Hurt Locker

Sudden Ominous Music Heard Across U.S.

2009-09-01T23:29:00.001-07:00

Meet Curtis

2009-09-01T00:39:00.000-07:00

Give this kid his own show pronto!

New Spike Jonze commercials

2009-08-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

And, yes, that is Brad Pitt...

Marshmallow Murder

2009-08-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

Cat Earns Food

2009-08-14T00:15:00.000-07:00

That's right, calicos are the best!

The Optometrist Made Me Cry

2009-08-06T23:44:00.000-07:00

I know Frank from USC, and his videos are consistently entertaining. But I particularly enjoyed this one:

Rain Orchestra

2009-07-30T22:22:00.001-07:00

There's literally nothing left now that hasn't been done.

Dragon Tank

2009-07-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

Another lol Onion video: click here.

Web Cam Synchronicity

2009-07-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

How do you even go about planning something like this?

"Blair Witch Project" 10 years later

2009-07-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Click here to read my interview with the two directors of The Blair Witch Project. And check out the magazine to catch up with the movie's three stars.

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

Web Site Story

2009-07-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

"How can a modern technology / Hold onto 50s philosophy?"

A scene from Transformers 2

2009-07-02T23:46:00.000-07:00

I'm still here...

2009-06-27T15:00:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. But in my defense, this week was one of the most crazy in pop-culture history, thereby making my week at the office very, very, very busy.

Upcoming topics I plan to write about: The Oscars' decision to have 10 Best Picture nominees; Bruno < Borat; Miyazaki's new film, Ponyo; remembering Michael Jackson; and, of course, more random YouTube videos.

Scribblenauts

2009-06-13T00:06:00.000-07:00

Why did I not play this game at E3?!?!

Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes

2009-06-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

Still the best album of 2009.

Metric - Sick Muse

2009-06-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

The video's a bore, but the song is one of the year's best.

The Purple Man

2009-06-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

The videos of charlieissocoollike are some of the most charming on YouTube. It doesn't hurt that he also has an adorable British accent.

Ah, L'Amour

2009-06-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

What is Marriage?

2009-05-28T00:41:00.001-07:00

Yup.

Suzi Barett Hates L.A.

2009-05-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

Local comedian tries to warn her friend about Los Angeles.

The National - So Far Around The Bend

2009-05-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite songs so far this year. And Nico Muhly (on the piano) is such a cutie.

Last Day Dream

2009-05-18T23:46:00.000-07:00

Directed by Chris Milk for Beijing's 42-Second Dream Film Festival.

Concerts

2009-05-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

While at last night's Loney Dear concert at Club Spaceland, I started wondering about how many concerts I've been to in my entire life. Apparently, not that many. Below is a list of every band or musician I can recall seeing. What about you? I'm sure some of your lists will put mine to shame. (note: I'm not including opening acts)

Animal Collective
Asobi Seksu
Beirut
Bjork
Blink 182
Bloc Party
Bob Dylan
Destroyer
Elbow
For Stars
Gogol Bordello
Joni Mitchell
The Little Ones
Loney, Dear
Los Lobos
Migala
The Offspring
Paul Simon
Ra Ra Riot
Randy Newman
R.E.M.
Rufus Wainwright
Sigur Ros
The Swell Season
Van Morrison
Weezer
The Wrens

Ponyo trailer

2009-05-13T20:40:00.001-07:00

Here's the French trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo, which is one of my most anticipated films of the year.

Autoworkers Compete to Keep Jobs

2009-05-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

Onion brilliance strikes again. There's a line in this video that me literally LOL for 10 whole seconds, and that's no easy task.

Click here to watch.

200 Years That Changed the World

2009-05-03T14:18:00.001-07:00

You can fool around with the graphs here.

Moshi Alarm Clock

2009-05-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Pretty cool, but worth $50? Perhaps.

The most frightening thing in the world

2009-04-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

Watch it all the way through.

Updating...

2009-04-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting anything lately. I'll have (big) things to write about soon enough. But for now, here's a list of some of my recent EW articles:

'Gathering Storm' spoofs: Which celebrity gay-marriage parody rains more laughs?

Adam Sandler is Hollywood's most valuable comedian?

'Crash' dominates Netflix three years after it won Best Picture: Wait...what?

Book Review: 'Blade Runners, Deer  Hunters, and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off'

Webby Award nominees: Was 'Bill O'Reilly Flips Out -- Dance Remix' the best viral video of 2008?

'Shadow of the Colossus' is being made into a movie: Yay! But who should direct?

'Toy Story' 3-D double feature: Ready to put on your glasses?

Sufjan Stevens - Detroit

2009-04-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Just indulging in some Sufjan Stevens nostalgia.

Train Station Dance

2009-04-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

I love these things.

100 Favorite Films

2009-04-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

I made a version of this list roughly two years ago, but I felt it was time to revisit the idea. Simply put: if I was stranded on a desert island, these are the 100 films I'd want with me. What movies are missing? What are you shocked to see included?

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
400 Blows, The (1959)
8 ½ (1963)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Amarcord (1973)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Back to the Future (1985)
Badlands (1973)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Battle of Algiers, The (1966)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
Bicycle Thief, The (1948)
Black Stallion, The (1979)
Blade Runner (1982)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Breathless (1960)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The (1920)
Casablanca (1942)
Children of Paradise (1946)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Citizen Kane (1941)
City Lights (1931)
City of God (2002)
Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Conformist, The (1970)
Conversation, The (1974)
Days of Heaven (1978)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Fall of the House of Usher, The (1928)
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Fantasia (1940)
Godfather, The (1972)
Goodfellas (1990)
Grand Illusion (1937)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Ikiru (1952)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
L’Atalante (1934)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Lord of the Rings, The (2001-2003)
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962)
Man with a Movie Camera, The (1929)
Matrix, The (1999)
Memento (2000)
Metropolis (1927)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Network (1976)
Night of the Hunter, The (1955)
Nightmare Before Christmas, The (1993)
North by Northwest (1959)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Passion of Joan of Arc, The (1928)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Playtime (1967)
Pleasantville (1998)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Producers, The (1968)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Raging Bull (1980)
Rashomon (1950)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Rules of the Game, The (1939)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Seven Samurai, The (1954)
Seventh Seal, The (1957)
Shining, The (1980)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Stalker (1979)
Star Wars Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983)
Sunrise (1927)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Taxi Driver (1976)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Thin Red Line, The (1998)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Titanic (1997)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
Ugetsu (1953)
Underground (1995)
Vertigo (1958)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Wings of Desire (1987)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)

Disney Templates

2009-04-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

I knew Disney reused certain animated movements to save money, but I didn't realize that it occurred to this extent.

Wicker Man Fifth Symphony

2009-04-03T23:23:00.000-07:00

Artistic Sheep Herding

2009-04-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Is this for real?

30 Hula Hoops

2009-04-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

Cause you gotta do something...

"I really want to show you something"

2009-03-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

The year's most beautiful trailer can be viewed here.

The Wii

2009-03-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Click here for my PopWatch piece on the Nintendo Wii, which has naturally sparked a fight among the readers. Manners, everyone!

Silence of the Lambs: The Musical -- in Legovision!

2009-03-23T21:27:00.001-07:00

Much, much, much better than the actual movie.

Unkle - "Heaven"

2009-03-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Spike Jonze's new cool music video.

Who's that in the background?

2009-03-18T22:00:00.001-07:00

My acting career both starts and ends with my "blink and it's gone" performance in this week's Totally Lost episode. Click here to watch.

Transformers: Third Time's the Charm?

2009-03-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

My PopWatch post on the third Transformers movie is here.

Pick Me!

2009-03-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

If only football were this cool...

Nicely done

2009-03-13T00:09:00.000-07:00

The genesis of Indiana Jones

2009-03-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much here lately because I've been so consumed with reporting and writing things for EW's News Briefs and PopWatch blogs. I've been coming home mentally exhausted.

Here's my PopWatch post about a 125-page transcript of the original Indiana Jones story conference involving producer George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg, and writer Lawrence Kasdan. The result of the meetings was Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Interesting info

2009-03-04T22:47:00.001-08:00

Xtranormal

2009-03-04T19:29:00.000-08:00

My PopWatch post on Xtranormal, a website that lets you create your own animated movies (like the one below), is here.

Welcome!

2009-02-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

Flower power

2009-02-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

My PopWatch post on the PS3 game, Flower, is here.

Oscar Recap

2009-02-22T23:40:00.000-08:00

I went 20/24. Either I'm very good at the predicting the Oscars or there were relatively few surprise winners tonight. I think it's a mixture of both.

Despite the awards generally going as expected, the show was an elegant and smooth affair. Credit must go to show producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon for organizing the evening into a "movie production story" narrative, and for the smart idea of having five past nominees present each acting award.

The show looked stunning (it didn't hurt that I was watching it on my parents' HDTV). I especially liked how all the monitors were integrated into the sets (e.g. during the sound-editing, sound-mixing, and film-editing awards, the TV monitors were arranged to look like floating mirrors).

Hugh Jackman was an agreeable master of ceremonies, but I think you got to stick with comedians for this gig. The show's best moments were comedic ones, such as the banter between presenters Steve Martin and Tina Fey, or the hilarious montage video starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Janusz Kaminski (of all people!).

As for the awards themselves, I'm fine with "Slumdog Millionaire" winning Best Picture, Director, etc. But did it really have the best sound mixing (I think "The Dark Knight" did). Did it really have the best score? Debatable, but oh well.

I'm thrilled "Milk" won two major awards for screenplay and best actor. Special props to Dustin Lance Black for his inspiring acceptance speech. Hopefully a few more people who voted "yes" on Prop. 8 will seek out the film, but probably not.

All in all, a very fine show for a very mediocre year of movies. And now it's onto 2009, which promises to be a vast improvement.

Final Oscar Predictions

2009-02-20T19:04:00.000-08:00

Best Picture
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Milk

Best Director
Will Win: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Gus Van Sant, Milk

Best Actor
Will Win: Sean Penn, Milk
Should Win: Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress
Will Win: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Should Win: Meryl Streep, Doubt

Best Supporting Actor
Will Win: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Should Win: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress
Will Win: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Should Win: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Doubt

Best Original Screenplay
Will Win: Milk
Should Win: Milk

Best Foreign Language Film
Will Win: Waltz with Bashir
Should Win: Waltz with Bashir

Best Documentary
Will Win: Man on Wire
Should Win: Man on Wire

Best Animated Film
Will Win: WALL-E
Should Win: WALL-E

Best Art Direction
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Cinematography
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Costume Design
Will Win: The Duchess
Should Win: Revolutionary Road

Best Film Editing
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Milk

Best Makeup
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Win: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Best Original Score
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Win: Milk

Best Original Song
Will Win: "Down to Earth," WALL-E
Should Win: "Down to Earth," WALL-E

Best Sound Mixing
Will Win: The Dark Knight
Should Win: The Dark Knight

Best Sound Editing
Will Win: The Dark Knight
Should Win: WALL-E

Best Visual Effects
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Win: Iron Man

Best Animated Short Film
Will Win: La Maison en Petits Cubes
Should Win: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Best Live Action Short Film
Will Win: Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Should Win: Manon on the Asphalt

Best Documentary Short
Will Win: The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306
Should Win: ?

Oscar Shorts

2009-02-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

You can read my PopWatch post on this year's Oscar-nominated short films here. And below is one of those animated shorts, Oktapodi, in its entirety:

Flight of the Conchords - "Carol Brown"

2009-02-16T17:14:00.001-08:00

Directed by Michel Gondry.

Flight of the Conchords - "Friends" & "Stay Cool"

2009-02-10T00:36:00.000-08:00

The Novel 100

2009-02-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

During one of my recent sessions of aimlessly wandering the web, I came across the existence of a book called The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time. Daniel S. Burt, a NYU professor of literature, took it upon himself to rank the best novels ever, and while any "best of" list is a futile act of subjectivity, his list seems credible.

However, after browsing the whole list, I realized something very unsettling: I had read only seven of the novels. This will not do.

So now I have embarked upon a lifelong quest to read all 100. In all likelihood this task will never be completed. I know that no matter what I may say, I'll probably never get around to reading War and Peace, for example. But it's a goal, and I like goals. Almost as much as I like lists.

You can see Burt's complete list here. How many have you read?

Kiwi!

2009-02-06T00:59:00.000-08:00

A lovely short film made in 2006.

Wait for it...

2009-02-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

Totally Lost

2009-02-04T23:12:00.000-08:00

Finally I have video proof that my office is the coolest place to work in the world. Behold "Totally Lost," EW's new web series where writers Jeff Jensen and Dan Snierson discuss each week's "Lost" episode and provide teasers for next week's show. Having never seen an episode of "Lost," I have no idea what they're talking about most of the time. However, it's neat to see my office being featured in all its glory, and I'm thoroughly impressed with Jeff and Dan's acting chops.

Here are links to the first two episodes:

Episode 1: Piggy

Episode 2: The Guy from "My So-Called Life"

And so it begins...

2009-02-03T00:29:00.000-08:00

No Bale for Christian

2009-02-02T18:59:00.001-08:00

My respect for Christian Bale as a person went down the toilet after listening to this enormously entertaining clip.

Hulu's Super Bowl commercial

2009-02-02T00:35:00.000-08:00

Directed by Peter Berg.

Scott & Denby on Charlie Rose

2009-01-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

You're not going to find a more intelligent conversation about the Oscar nominations than Charlie Rose's discussion with film critics A.O. Scott and David Denby.

Watch the video here (their chat starts at 14:05).

The Meowtrix Reloaded

2009-01-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

Oscars - Who Will Win?

2009-01-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

BEST PICTURE
1. Slumdog Millionaire - 45%
2. Milk - 30%
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 15%
4. The Reader - 10%
5. Frost/Nixon - 0%

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire - 45%

2. David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 30%
3. Gus Van Sant, Milk - 15%
4. Stephen Daldry, The Reader - 10%
5. Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon - 0%

BEST ACTOR
1. Sean Penn, Milk - 41%
2. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler - 39%
3. Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon - 20%

4. Richard Jenkins, The Visitor - 0%
5. Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 0%

BEST ACTRESS
1. Kate Winslet, The Reader - 45%
2. Meryl Streep, Doubt - 40%
3. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married - 10%
4. Melissa Leo, Frozen River - 5%
5. Angelina Jolie, Changeling - 0%

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight - 100%
2. Josh Brolin, Milk - 0%

3. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt - 0%
4. Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road - 0%
5. Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder - 0%

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona - 50%
2. Viola Davis, Doubt - 40%
3. Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler - 10%
4. Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 0%
5. Amy Adams, Doubt - 0%

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Slumdog Millionaire - 50%
2. The Reader - 30%
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 20%
4. Frost/Nixon - 0%
5. Doubt - 0%

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Milk - 50%
2. WALL-E - 45%
3. Happy-Go-Lucky - 5%
4. In Bruges - 0%
5. Frozen River - 0%

Animal Collective - My Girls

2009-01-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

Merriweather Post Pavilion

2009-01-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

Animal Collective's new album gets better and better each day I listen to it. I'm pumped for their Saturday show at the Troubadour.

Say No to Gran Torino

2009-01-16T20:14:00.000-08:00

I wasn't planning to write about Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. But now the movie is doing well at the box office, and whispers are circulating that it might even slip into the Best Picture race.

If Gran Torino gets nominated for Best Picture, that's it, I'll be done with the Oscars. It's the worst movie I saw this year, and the mere idea of it being rewarded with a Best Pic slot is sickening to my stomach. It's sickening because it means so many other more deserving films (e.g. WALL-E, Doubt, The Wrestler) will be overlooked in order to serve the Academy's Eastwood fetish.

I don't think Torino will get in. I like to think there's still some sanity left in this world. Eastwood will probably receive an Actor nomination. Fine. I'll let that slide as some sort of career appreciation award for what is supposedly his last performance. But in the event that Torino does get nominated for Best Pic, here are the reasons why I'll be disowning the Academy Awards:

(warning: major spoilers follow)

1. Gran Torino insults its audience at every single turn. Eastwood's vision of what contemporary kids and parents are like is primitively contrived. I highly doubt any father would let his daughter text-message during her grandmother's funeral. Oh, Clint, children are so insulting these days! But it doesn't stop there -- oh, there's the boy who kneels before the church pew and says, "Spectacles, testacles, wallet, and watch." Kids these days! Oh no, there are the kids who don't help an old woman pick up her groceries. There are the young black men who make sexually crude comments about a young Vietnamese woman. On and on and on...

2. I don't think Clint intended Torino to be a comedy, but that's the way it played for my audience. This is revealing of both Mr. Eastwood and my audience. First, all of the movie's "comedy" consists of Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) calling his Hmong neighbors every racial slur in the book. Are we supposed to detest Walt? I certainly did within minutes of meeting him. Or are we supposed to find him funny? Oh, isn't that cute -- he's so ignorant and mean-spirited yet loveable in his own quirky way. Ugh. Imagine if his neighbors were a different ethnicity, say, African American, and the entire movie consisted of Walt calling them every racist word that exists for black people. Would people still find Walt so enjoyable? As for my audience, shame on you. You shouldn't laugh simply because a character uses a racist word. That's not comedy. Films have to earn their laughs, and relying on hackneyed racial slurs doesn't cut it.

3. The acting from everyone besides Eastwood is amateurish. Bee Vang's performance as the next-door boy, Thao, never felt natural or believable, and Ahney Her's delivery as Thao's sister sounded consistently forced. I won't even address the cringe-inducing turns by the Hmong gang members.

4. Eastwood's direction is not known for its subtlety. I can never forget the scene that nearly ruined Million Dollar Baby for me: when Maggie's white-trash family visits her in the hospital, and they're wearing shirts from Universal Studios! Eastwood rarely trusts his audience to figure things out for themselves, so he pounds and pounds away. This happens all over the place in Torino, but two examples particularly come to mind. The first is when Walt gives Thao his Silver Star medal. Why? Oh, there's a reason: so Eastwood can include a slo-mo shot just 10 minutes later of Thao wearing the medal right after Walt's death. See, it's symbolism! Second, during the reading of Walt's will, the lawyer is about to announce who will receive Walt's 1972 Gran Torino. Cut to Walt's granddaughter, who is visibly grinning as if she actually thinks she'll get the car. Come on, Clint. First off, we know the daughter shouldn't be expecting that car since it's obvious to everyone that Walt hates her. Second, even if she did think she had a slight chance of inheriting the car, wouldn't she keep her smile to herself until the lawyer finished reading the will? Nope, this was just another opportunity Eastwood couldn't pass up: "My audience is so stupid that I have to show them one more time how horrible this granddaughter is."

5. As the movie is about to end, the end-titles song starts playing, and it's Eastwood's voice that we hear singing! I was looking forward to exiting this movie theater in peace, and now Clint's raspy voice has to follow me on my way out. I laughed, though, because just when I thought Gran Torino couldn't find a way to get any worse, it did. I got to give Eastwood credit for that -- the man sure is committed.

My Oscar Ballot

2009-01-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

If the Oscar nominations were up to only me, they'd look like this:

PICTURE
Doubt
Milk
Synecdoche, New York
Up the Yangtze
Waltz with Bashir

DIRECTOR
Yung Chang, Up the Yangtze
Ari Folman, Waltz with Bashir
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Andrew Stanton, WALL-E

ACTOR
Sasson Gabai, The Band’s Visit
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, New York
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

ACTRESS
Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Julianne Moore, Blindness
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Love You So Long
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Samantha Morton, Synecdoche, New York
Hanna Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
In Bruges
Milk
Synecdoche, New York
WALL-E
The Wrestler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Blindness
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
The Band’s Visit
The Edge of Heaven
Up the Yangtze
Waltz with Bashir

ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir

DOCUMENTARY
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
Taxi to the Dark Side
Up the Yangtze
Waltz with Bashir

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Blindness
Cloverfield
The Fall
Paranoid Park
Up the Yangtze

FILM EDITING
The Edge of Heaven
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Synecdoche, New York
Up the Yangtze

ART DIRECTION
Blindness
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Synecdoche, New York
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir

COSTUME DESIGN
Caramel
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Fall
The Other Boleyn Girl
Revolutionary Road

ORIGINAL SCORE
Blindness
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir

SOUND MIXING
Cloverfield
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
WALL-E
Wanted

SOUND EDITING
Blindness
Cloverfield
Slumdog Millionaire
Speed Racer
WALL-E

VISUAL EFFECTS
Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

MAKE UP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Synecdoche, New York

--NOMINATION TOTALS--
Synecdoche, New York - 8
Milk - 7
WALL-E - 7
Waltz with Bashir - 7
Blindness - 6
Doubt - 6
Up the Yangtze - 6
Cloverfield - 4
Revolutionary Road - 4
Slumdog Millionaire - 4
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 3
The Edge of Heaven - 3
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - 3
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days - 2
The Band's Visit - 2
The Dark Knight - 2
The Fall - 2
Frost/Nixon - 2
The Wrestler - 2
Burn After Reading - 1
Bolt - 1
Caramel - 1
Encounters at the End of the World - 1
In Bruges - 1
Iron Man - 1
I've Loved You So Long - 1
Man on Wire - 1
The Other Boleyn Girl - 1
Paranoid Park - 1
Speed Racer - 1
Taxi to the Dark Side - 1
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - 1
Wanted - 1

Zelda: The Wind Waker

2009-01-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

Apple's New Laptop

2009-01-07T00:23:00.001-08:00

Top 10 Films of 2008

2008-12-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

#10

Top 10 Albums of 2008

2008-12-28T22:56:00.000-08:00

(in alphabetical order)

The Carpetbagger

2008-12-19T22:13:00.000-08:00

David Carr at The New York Times is back doing his Oscar blog, and what's great about Carr is that he approaches the Academy Awards with a healthy dose of perspective and humor. I'm particularly enjoying his videos this year. Here are two recent examples:

The Bagger's Backyard and Robotic Predictions

President to Face Down Monster Attack

2008-12-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

Benjamin Button

2008-12-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night, and while the $150 million film is an impressive achievement, it's also somewhat underwhelming.

David Fincher's decision to shoot with digital cameras only heightens the artificiality of many sequences. While the computer effects used to make Brad Pitt age in reverse are nearly flawless, the CGI elsewhere in the film is rather shabby. For instance, the exteriors in Russia look as if they're from a video game. And any ocean shot in the first half of the movie reeks of obvious CGI enhancements. It's odd, then, that Fincher later chooses to shoot a few scenes on real water, with the result being much more authentic.

The central problem with the film's appearance is that I never really felt I was there. I never thought I was truly out to sea with Benjamin, or in Russia with Benjamin, or in New York with Benjamin. There was always this vague sense that the scene was enclosed in some sort of virtual space, akin to how I felt when watching 300.

The film's other significant flaw is that save for Benjamin's extraordinary reverse-aging condition, he's not much of a protagonist. He's a good-hearted and inquisitive man, and he has the benefit of eventually looking like Brad Pitt, but the character wasn't quite able to hold my interest for 165 minutes. Cate Blanchett's Daisy, on the other hand, easily steals our attention from Pitt's Benjamin, especially during the film's second -- and more emotional -- half.

Still, I'm amazed that this movie exists at all. I'm always pleased to see a director aiming for the stars and trying to accomplish something this complex and epic in scope, and I hope the film doesn't stumble too badly at the box office because I'd love to see more big gambles like this one.

But, ultimately, Benjamin Button is a disappointment. It will probably still be nominated for Best Picture due to its sheer size and pedigree, but this isn't your Best Picture winner, folks.

TV On The Radio - Golden Age

2008-12-06T15:09:00.001-08:00

The Mountain Goats - Sax Rohmer #1

2008-12-06T13:03:00.001-08:00

Feist - I Feel It All

2008-12-06T01:23:00.000-08:00

Finally!

2008-11-24T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have seen a few great films this year, namely Doubt, Synecdoche, New York, and Waltz with Bashir (the last of which I still need to talk about). But, up until this point, I had not seen any GREAT films. That is, a film that rises above being just an artistic achievement and takes hold of your heart.

Gus Van Sant's Milk is one of those films. At its most basic form, it's a biopic. And it may be very hard to make a bad biopic when your subject is the exuberant and life-loving Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician elected to office in California and a man who helped lead the gay rights movement in the 1970s. So, yes, Harvey Milk is a hero, and a biopic about his life was overdue and, considering recent political events in California, extremely relevant.

But, Van Sant's Milk soars beyond the conventions of the biopic, and the biggest reason for that is Sean Penn. I've never really cared for Penn and his bad-boy image, but he does something amazing in this film -- he makes you completely believe that you're watching Harvey Milk on the screen. He makes you understand Milk's ideals; he makes you recognize Milk's personal regrets; and as Milk writes down his manifesto to his supporters in the event that he's assassinated, Penn makes you believe Harvey's every word. It's a hell of a performance, and I don't see how any other actor will be able to take away the Oscar that will be awarded to Penn.

Of course, my opinion is biased. Of course, I have a personal stake in this film's message. Of course, as a young gay man, the film speaks more directly to me than it will for others. But, I can't help it -- that's who I am. The things that make up my personality will always influence how I respond to a movie or a person or an issue.

I look objectively at Milk and see Dustin Lance Black's compassionate and thoroughly researched script. I see not only Penn's stellar work, but a lively supporting turn from Emile Hirsch, a complicated and disturbed take by Josh Brolin, and a subtle, graceful performance from James Franco. I hear Danny Elfman's wonderful choir-dominated score and admire Harris Savides' sun-drenched cinematography. And Van Sant's unobtrusive yet brisk storytelling.

I notice all that objectively, and yet it's my heart -- and all the pain and guilt and fear and self-loathing that I let sit inside me for longer than I should have -- that responded strongest to Milk. It's a movie that was made for me and for the many others out there like me, and thank God it happens to be made so damn well.

Unless something stupendous is released in December, Milk is the best film of the year.

Guitar Hero Bike

2008-11-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

Teamwork

2008-11-22T01:35:00.001-08:00

No Doubt About It

2008-11-20T22:16:00.000-08:00

John Patrick Shanley's Doubt is one of the year's best films. It's an expertly constructed movie in which every moment feels necessary, and it has the wisdom to realize that what's on the screen is enough. This kind of material could have very easily been pushed into messy melodrama, but Shanley holds back, which shifts the focus of the movie from the plot's actions to the characters' moral compasses.

It must be noted that I have not seen Shanley's play, and I imagine that those who have seen it will approach the movie with a "been there, done that" attitude. From what I've been told, the movie is very faithful to the play, so I imagine the play's admirers will not get much more out of the film apart from analyzing how the actors' performances differ.

But, having not seen the play, I can say one important thing: Doubt works as a movie. At no point did I feel like I was watching the mere cinematic adaptation of a play. This movie moves and breathes on its own terms. It's by no means a large production in terms of the amount of characters or number of sets, but the complexity of the issues it deals with makes it an expansive work.

The acting is sublime. Again, I cannot compare Streep's take on Sister Aloysius Beauvier to the one by Cherry Jones. I'm sure they're different, but different is not necessarily a negative thing. Streep makes Beauvier an utterly believable character -- one that I am certain existed in the film's 1960s era, and the sort of person I know to still exist today.

Philip Seymour Hoffman can do no wrong, nor can Amy Adams. And Viola Davis nails her small but vital part. I wish we saw more of her.

I will not get into the film's plot, nor its characters' ambiguities. I dare not rob you of the movie's unexpected power. Doubt will hit you hard, and that it accomplishes that by doing so little is the best compliment I could give it.