This is the new hotness by the way. For all your '05-06 FRS needs.
dynamarx - 8:27 PM
Monday, January 24, 2005
2004: Don't look back
Oscar nomination predictions, nine hours ahead of the announcement:
Best Picture
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Hotel Rwanda
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways
Best Actor
Don Cheadle
Johnny Depp
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jamie Foxx
Paul Giamatti
Best Actress
Annette Bening
Catalina Sandino Moreno
Imelda Staunton
Hilary Swank
Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actor
Thomas Haden Church
Jamie Foxx
Morgan Freeman
Clive Owen
Peter Sarsgaard
Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett
Laura Linney
Virginia Madsen
Natalie Portman
Meryl Streep
Best Director
Clint Eastwood
Marc Forster
Taylor Hackford
Alexander Payne
Martin Scorsese
Best Original Screenplay
The Aviator
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Wine
Hotel Rwanda
The Incredibles
Kinsey
Best Adapted Screenplay
Closer
Finding Neverland
Million Dollar Baby
Ray
Sideways
Tough calls, for the most part. See you next year. Thank you for playing.
dynamarx - 11:56 PM
Sunday, January 23, 2005
2004: The year we lived in squalor
1 -- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Some thoughts: The first 2004 movie I saw in 2004 is also the best. An Annie Hall for the video-game generation. Soul power.
What we said then: Great acting ... scenes on the frozen lake ... Carrey-as-kid ... bookstore/room transition ... surreal imagery ... elegant Jon Brion score [9/10]
Nagging question: What's next for Michel Gondry?
They said it better: David Edelstein, Elvis Mitchell, bonus: Jonathan Rosenbaum (****)
Best Actors: Will Ferrell, Paul Giamatti, Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter Sarsgaard, Gael Garcia Bernal
Best Actresses: Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Virginia Madsen, Julie Delpy, Uma Thurman
Honorable mentions: Anchorman, Closer, Shaun of the Dead, Coffee and Cigarettes, The Aviator
Dishonorable mentions: Team America: World Police, The Polar Express, Napoleon Dynamite
Remainders: In Good Company, The Passion of the Christ, Primer, House of Flying Daggers, Vera Drake, Goodbye Dragon Inn, Ray
Tomorrow: Oscar nomination predictions!
dynamarx - 1:40 PM
Saturday, January 22, 2005
2004: These pretzels are making me thirsty
2 -- Sideways
Some thoughts: One of this year's several movies about understanding an old love before moving on to a new one, Sideways delivers on the hype (even if some call it overrated). So much hype, in fact, that you hardly need this blog to talk more about one of the best movies of the year. So let's move on.
What we said then: The best acted movie of the year ... Giamatti is great, Haden Church has a hard job (making his jerk character likeable), Oh and Madsen transcend the "girl" roles ... gritty, dull mise-en-scene matches the story, character ... Giamatti's two best scenes -- stealing the money from his mom, and trying to smile and be nice when ex-wife says she's pregnant ... Haden Church's meow, his "what the fuck is wrong with you" (twice!) and his golf club antics are hilarious ... a poignant and unhurried movie, unforced melancholy ... similar to but better than Schmidt because it never takes easy shots at its characters ... drinking the '61 wine at fast food joint ... other than a strange aside into the fat girl's home to retrieve the wedding rings (which still wasn't bad), a seemingly flawless film ... PG describing why he loves pinot (a grape that needs nurturing) ... PG and THC are two sides of the same male mind [10/10]
Nagging question: Is there a way Jamie Foxx and Paul Giamatti can split the Oscar?
They said it better: Richard Corliss, Charles Taylor, bonus: J. Hoberman
dynamarx - 3:00 PM
