All right, maybe I'm being unfairly vicious but ever since reading in reviews that Pattinson was completely inoffensive and uninteresting in Remember Me, just like he's been in every one of his movies that I've seen, I'm dropping the nice subterfuge. No more of that "well it's not his fault that girls are crazy, maybe he's a real decent fella and even a better actor!" crap.
Ok, Remember Me got about 8 million at the box office. I'm not even pretending I'm not gleeful about those numbers. I sincerely hope the next Taylor Lautner vehicle goes the same route. So I LOVE how people are going "oh, it only opened in 2,000 theaters!" as if Remember Me was an authentic underdog indie film with nothing going for it but grit and determination. Christ, some of the best movies I saw last year opened in 15 theaters in North America and never expanded to less than a few hundred.
Let's be realistic. Say it did open in 3,000 theaters - that'd translate to what, 12 million? Oh "If only, if only"....
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Food in Fiction
I've always had a weakness for either 1) foods in films or 2) descriptions of food in books. If done well, then it adds to the sensory experience of the overall product, especially if the character eating said food is cool. This has been an inherent problem for me ever since I was six or seven, when I read a picture book where the hard-worked protagonist always longed for a cold dish of chocolate sorbet.
So, a little list of food cravings I developed as result of a book or film:
Books:
Any Fantasy Writer
It seems that all fantasy writers love to include sumptuous descriptions of food in their books. And why not? Imagining the taste of food is often better than the actual taste. And for someone like JK "I never met an adverb I didn't like" Rowling or JRR Tolkien, these elaborate, sensual details can only enrich the expanses of a fantastical world and draw the reader further in, whether it be Hogwarts' Main Hall or orchard of Narnia.
Ex #1: Redwall, Brian Jacques "Tender freshwater shrimp garnished with cream and rose leaves, devilled barley pearls in acorn puree, apple and carrot chews, marinated cabbage stalks steeped in creamed white turnip with nutmeg,.." "half a dozen boiled eggs, some crisp summer slad, two loaves of hot bread, two hazelnut cream junkets, two- no, better make it four - oven baked apple pies, and chuck in some medium-size quince tarts and October nutbrown ale."
Ex #2: Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie" Series. Even harder to bear. There are half-chapters devoted to passages about making of the food, the history of food, relishing the taste of food.
"Almanzo ate the sweet, mellow baked beans. He ate the bit of salt pork that melted like cream in his mouth. he hate mealy boiled potatoes, with brown ham-gravy. He ate the ham. He bit deep into velvety bread spread with sleek butter, and he ate the crisp golden crust. He demolished a tall heap of pale mashed turnips, and a hill of stewed yellow pumpkin. Then he sighed and tucked his napkin deeper into the neckband of his red waist. And he ate plum preserves and strawberry jam, and grape jelly, and spiced watermelon-rind pickles. He felt very comfortable inside. Slowly he ate a large piece of pumpkin pie."
Ex. #3: The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett "Fresh roasted eggs, roasted potatoes with butter and jam, oatcakes and current buns with clotted cream, muffins, and sizzling ham"
Ridiculous.
Films:
Films traditionally focus more on a specific dish or food item, unless it's a food orgy like Julie and Julia. I'm usually more obsessed if it's just one.
Cannoli - The Godfather
"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." Enough said.
So, a little list of food cravings I developed as result of a book or film:
Books:
Any Fantasy Writer
It seems that all fantasy writers love to include sumptuous descriptions of food in their books. And why not? Imagining the taste of food is often better than the actual taste. And for someone like JK "I never met an adverb I didn't like" Rowling or JRR Tolkien, these elaborate, sensual details can only enrich the expanses of a fantastical world and draw the reader further in, whether it be Hogwarts' Main Hall or orchard of Narnia.
Ex #1: Redwall, Brian Jacques "Tender freshwater shrimp garnished with cream and rose leaves, devilled barley pearls in acorn puree, apple and carrot chews, marinated cabbage stalks steeped in creamed white turnip with nutmeg,.." "half a dozen boiled eggs, some crisp summer slad, two loaves of hot bread, two hazelnut cream junkets, two- no, better make it four - oven baked apple pies, and chuck in some medium-size quince tarts and October nutbrown ale."
Ex #2: Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie" Series. Even harder to bear. There are half-chapters devoted to passages about making of the food, the history of food, relishing the taste of food.
"Almanzo ate the sweet, mellow baked beans. He ate the bit of salt pork that melted like cream in his mouth. he hate mealy boiled potatoes, with brown ham-gravy. He ate the ham. He bit deep into velvety bread spread with sleek butter, and he ate the crisp golden crust. He demolished a tall heap of pale mashed turnips, and a hill of stewed yellow pumpkin. Then he sighed and tucked his napkin deeper into the neckband of his red waist. And he ate plum preserves and strawberry jam, and grape jelly, and spiced watermelon-rind pickles. He felt very comfortable inside. Slowly he ate a large piece of pumpkin pie."
Ex. #3: The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett "Fresh roasted eggs, roasted potatoes with butter and jam, oatcakes and current buns with clotted cream, muffins, and sizzling ham"
Ridiculous.
Films:
Films traditionally focus more on a specific dish or food item, unless it's a food orgy like Julie and Julia. I'm usually more obsessed if it's just one.
Cannoli - The Godfather
"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." Enough said.
Milkshakes - Pulp Fiction, There Will Be Blood
I legitimately craved for milkshakes endlessly after I saw There Will Be Blood. Pulp Fiction only made me desire it in a classic tall glass with whipped cream and a cherry.
Especially the other day when I ordered a milkshake and it turned out to be a "five dollah milkshake."
French Toast - Kramer vs. Kramer
Exactly the way Dustin Hoffman makes it.
Macarons - Marie Antoinette
I'm not even sure macarons were directly in the movie, but there's definitely the association, with what the famous Parisian macaron bakery Laduree providing all the pastel-colored treats.
Pies - Waitress
"Falling in Love Pie"
Strudel with FRESH CREAM - Inglourious Basterds
During a recent visit to an adorable Austrian cafe in the city, I not only demanded whipped cream but when it came on the plate adjacent to the strudel, I took a spoon and scooped it onto the strudel instead.
I legitimately craved for milkshakes endlessly after I saw There Will Be Blood. Pulp Fiction only made me desire it in a classic tall glass with whipped cream and a cherry.
Especially the other day when I ordered a milkshake and it turned out to be a "five dollah milkshake."
French Toast - Kramer vs. Kramer
Exactly the way Dustin Hoffman makes it.
Macarons - Marie Antoinette
I'm not even sure macarons were directly in the movie, but there's definitely the association, with what the famous Parisian macaron bakery Laduree providing all the pastel-colored treats.
Pies - Waitress
"Falling in Love Pie"
Strudel with FRESH CREAM - Inglourious Basterds
During a recent visit to an adorable Austrian cafe in the city, I not only demanded whipped cream but when it came on the plate adjacent to the strudel, I took a spoon and scooped it onto the strudel instead.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Oscar Rant #1
And J. LO FOR GOD'S SAKE. Adam Skank-man if you're trying to be hip then at least keep up with us. Who gives a crap about J. Lo anymore?
I realized what I missed. Each year, there's at least ONE montage featuring past movies and actors that are completely unfamiliar to me, that makes me think "wow, who are they? What are these movies?" and inflame my love for movies all over again. This year all we had was the horror montage, aka "excuse to slip in a Twilight scene at the Oscars" montage. There was no REAL celebration of movies, of the past. The Oscars are just as important in honoring tradition and the ghosts of films and actresses and actors past as they are about the Now. I mean, what was up with that tidbit about The Dark Knight? Everything felt dreadfully contrived. "Look! That movie you and your eight-year-old cousin watching actually recognize! Aren't we cool?" I actually missed Sid Ganis, I missed the awkward silences and the long dull speeches. There was a lot of disinterested "you're Taylor Lautner, I'm sure as hell not going to clap for you" moments to "MERYL STREEP AKA THE ONLY CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD ACTOR HERE TONIGHT" sappiness and not a lot in between.
I realized what I missed. Each year, there's at least ONE montage featuring past movies and actors that are completely unfamiliar to me, that makes me think "wow, who are they? What are these movies?" and inflame my love for movies all over again. This year all we had was the horror montage, aka "excuse to slip in a Twilight scene at the Oscars" montage. There was no REAL celebration of movies, of the past. The Oscars are just as important in honoring tradition and the ghosts of films and actresses and actors past as they are about the Now. I mean, what was up with that tidbit about The Dark Knight? Everything felt dreadfully contrived. "Look! That movie you and your eight-year-old cousin watching actually recognize! Aren't we cool?" I actually missed Sid Ganis, I missed the awkward silences and the long dull speeches. There was a lot of disinterested "you're Taylor Lautner, I'm sure as hell not going to clap for you" moments to "MERYL STREEP AKA THE ONLY CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD ACTOR HERE TONIGHT" sappiness and not a lot in between.
Oscar Recap
For all the changes they put to the telecast, it was no more interesting than last year's. For some reason, it just didn't feel very Oscar-ish.
Maybe that's because we had TAYLOR LAUTNER, MILEY CYRUS, KEANU REEVES, ZAC EFRON and a shitload of other irrelevant actors (Demi Moore? What?) present awards?
Much as I love Neil Patrick Harris, that number was useless. The John Hughes tribute was outrageously long when you think about all the other geniuses who never got the time of day at the Oscars, and the fact that 3/4 of the aging audience had clearly never seen his movies, hence the unenthusiastic applause near the end. So. Awkward.
And Jason Reitman and Tarantino lost their screenplay Oscars? Fuck that. Did anyone care about the screenplays for Precious or The Hurt Locker? This is the time when I feel that, FUCK PRECURSORS, I'm feeling pretty sure that Reitman wouldn't have lost if the media didn't flip out over his supposed "douchebaggery" aka awkwardness with Sheldon Turner, and if people weren't so "oh Precious is so cute, it should go home with something!" The fact that Tarantino and Reitman went home empty-handed is just plain wrong. I hope they got some good consolation booze afterwards.
Only good part of the evening was when Kathryn Bigelow won and when the camera panned to Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem sitting together. OH and when Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. presented. Thank god these exquisitely talented and funny people also happened to be "hip" with the MTV crowd. Though I wish Jack Nicholson would come back :(
All in all, a severe lack of class or decorum. The whole MTV aura, the 5-actors-fellating-I-mean-presenting, (though Tucci admittedly was funny as fuck) and I stand by my proposition that Adam Shankman can go to hell.
Maybe that's because we had TAYLOR LAUTNER, MILEY CYRUS, KEANU REEVES, ZAC EFRON and a shitload of other irrelevant actors (Demi Moore? What?) present awards?
Much as I love Neil Patrick Harris, that number was useless. The John Hughes tribute was outrageously long when you think about all the other geniuses who never got the time of day at the Oscars, and the fact that 3/4 of the aging audience had clearly never seen his movies, hence the unenthusiastic applause near the end. So. Awkward.
And Jason Reitman and Tarantino lost their screenplay Oscars? Fuck that. Did anyone care about the screenplays for Precious or The Hurt Locker? This is the time when I feel that, FUCK PRECURSORS, I'm feeling pretty sure that Reitman wouldn't have lost if the media didn't flip out over his supposed "douchebaggery" aka awkwardness with Sheldon Turner, and if people weren't so "oh Precious is so cute, it should go home with something!" The fact that Tarantino and Reitman went home empty-handed is just plain wrong. I hope they got some good consolation booze afterwards.
Only good part of the evening was when Kathryn Bigelow won and when the camera panned to Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem sitting together. OH and when Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. presented. Thank god these exquisitely talented and funny people also happened to be "hip" with the MTV crowd. Though I wish Jack Nicholson would come back :(
All in all, a severe lack of class or decorum. The whole MTV aura, the 5-actors-fellating-I-mean-presenting, (though Tucci admittedly was funny as fuck) and I stand by my proposition that Adam Shankman can go to hell.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Casting Rumors Squeal #2
Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro, and Gael Garcia Bernal for Scorsese's Silence.
I've just finished my first GGB movie, Y Tu Mama Tambien (which was fucking incredible, btw. Dirty and explicit as I've heard, obviously, but also hysterically funny, awkward, sad, and surprisingly tender. There's something somewhat innocent about Julio and Tenoch's Superbad-like subservience to Luisa. They're initially terrified of her sexual advances. And the last scene is just *so* well acted) Anyhoo, I officially get all the fuss about him, and to see these three sensitive, scarily intelligent, lovely tornadoes of sexiness and talent act together in a movie would just be....weird. And epic.
Not sure about the chemistry between the three (I'm still always a bit wary of all-star-casts, because big names occasionally translates to me-me! acting. But I'm optimistic, especially with the inclusion of DDL. Something DDL doesn't get enough credit for is his ability to spark with other actors. When he's onscreen, all anyone wants to watch is him and his dynamic energy, of course, but he's equally brilliant at building an undeniable chemistry with his screen partners, whether it be Madeleine Stowe, Paul Dano, or Leonardo Dicaprio. Even if said screen partner is miserably less effective than DDL (cough last two names) at establishing their own significance with the audience.
So basically, DDL could dance with a hatrack and make it look good. Benicio Del Toro would probably be his usually freaked out, strangely entrancing self, and Gael Garcia Bernal might bring some sexy normalcy to the trio (can't comment on him as much as the other two, since I need to see more work of his.) So all in all, crossing fingers and hoping Scorsese goes for this much more interesting storyline than yet another goddamn Hollywood biopic.
I've just finished my first GGB movie, Y Tu Mama Tambien (which was fucking incredible, btw. Dirty and explicit as I've heard, obviously, but also hysterically funny, awkward, sad, and surprisingly tender. There's something somewhat innocent about Julio and Tenoch's Superbad-like subservience to Luisa. They're initially terrified of her sexual advances. And the last scene is just *so* well acted) Anyhoo, I officially get all the fuss about him, and to see these three sensitive, scarily intelligent, lovely tornadoes of sexiness and talent act together in a movie would just be....weird. And epic.
Not sure about the chemistry between the three (I'm still always a bit wary of all-star-casts, because big names occasionally translates to me-me! acting. But I'm optimistic, especially with the inclusion of DDL. Something DDL doesn't get enough credit for is his ability to spark with other actors. When he's onscreen, all anyone wants to watch is him and his dynamic energy, of course, but he's equally brilliant at building an undeniable chemistry with his screen partners, whether it be Madeleine Stowe, Paul Dano, or Leonardo Dicaprio. Even if said screen partner is miserably less effective than DDL (cough last two names) at establishing their own significance with the audience.
So basically, DDL could dance with a hatrack and make it look good. Benicio Del Toro would probably be his usually freaked out, strangely entrancing self, and Gael Garcia Bernal might bring some sexy normalcy to the trio (can't comment on him as much as the other two, since I need to see more work of his.) So all in all, crossing fingers and hoping Scorsese goes for this much more interesting storyline than yet another goddamn Hollywood biopic.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Marion Cotillard as...Kay Corleone?
I simply cannot express how much I loved Marion Cotillard in Nine this year. This is what truly great actresses do, elevate underwritten characters that would have been insipid in the hands of a less capable actress.
Luisa Contini literally does *nothing* but complain throughout the entire goddamn movie, yet Cotillard transforms Luisa's whining into nothing short of angelic martyrdom. Her desperate devotion to a husband whom she alternately hates and worships; her exquisite anguish at being torn between supporting the Guido Show and finding her own self-assertion is continually expressed by little more than a glance or a embrace.
Well, what kind of a role does that sound like, really? Kay Corleone! A tool used by her doting/patronizing husband, an underwritten role which critics called a little more than useless. A role that, as gallantly as Diane Keaton tries to play her, is so annoying we couldn't care less what happened to her. What if Marion Cotillard, with her unmatched empathy and grace, had been there forty years earlier? *Sigh*. Of course, there's the problem of Marion being French, since I always thought the point of Kay being an all-American WASP was to show Michael's conflict between his inescapable Mafia roots and his (failed) attempts to assimilate into the "legitimate" American life.
Nevertheless! If I were any good at graphics I would try to Photoshop Marion Cotillard into a Godfather frame, but as it is, you'll just have to settle for this:
"Oh, Michael. Michael, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage. It was an abortion. An abortion, Michael. Just like our marriage is an abortion. Something that's unholy and evil. I didn't want your son, Michael! I wouldn't bring another one of your sons into this world! It was a son, Michael! A son! And I had it killed because this, must all end!"
Can't you TOTALLY see Marion doing that? I can. The look of pain in her large, miraculously expressive eyes, as Marion's hissy French accent trembles with barely contained anger and scorn, something similar, I imagine, to her electrifying interrogation scene in Public Enemies. My, I think that sounds perfect.
Luisa Contini literally does *nothing* but complain throughout the entire goddamn movie, yet Cotillard transforms Luisa's whining into nothing short of angelic martyrdom. Her desperate devotion to a husband whom she alternately hates and worships; her exquisite anguish at being torn between supporting the Guido Show and finding her own self-assertion is continually expressed by little more than a glance or a embrace.
Well, what kind of a role does that sound like, really? Kay Corleone! A tool used by her doting/patronizing husband, an underwritten role which critics called a little more than useless. A role that, as gallantly as Diane Keaton tries to play her, is so annoying we couldn't care less what happened to her. What if Marion Cotillard, with her unmatched empathy and grace, had been there forty years earlier? *Sigh*. Of course, there's the problem of Marion being French, since I always thought the point of Kay being an all-American WASP was to show Michael's conflict between his inescapable Mafia roots and his (failed) attempts to assimilate into the "legitimate" American life.
Nevertheless! If I were any good at graphics I would try to Photoshop Marion Cotillard into a Godfather frame, but as it is, you'll just have to settle for this:
"Oh, Michael. Michael, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage. It was an abortion. An abortion, Michael. Just like our marriage is an abortion. Something that's unholy and evil. I didn't want your son, Michael! I wouldn't bring another one of your sons into this world! It was a son, Michael! A son! And I had it killed because this, must all end!"
Can't you TOTALLY see Marion doing that? I can. The look of pain in her large, miraculously expressive eyes, as Marion's hissy French accent trembles with barely contained anger and scorn, something similar, I imagine, to her electrifying interrogation scene in Public Enemies. My, I think that sounds perfect.
Why Do I Feel This Will Be More Entertaining Than the Tim Burton One?
The first Alice in Wonderland ever made, in 1903, a hundred and seven years ago. According to EW, the Cheshire cat was the family pet and the White Rabbit is just fucking scary. And the shrinking and re-shrinking, oddly enough, impressive considering the time period. Very innovative, really. And strangely entrancing...
Also, clocking in at twelve minutes, it was longer than any other feature film of the time.
Also, clocking in at twelve minutes, it was longer than any other feature film of the time.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Montage Time!
Kind of wish the guy used more interesting scenes - this is kind of like that top-25 pop song medley where the movies feel alarmingly similar, but still deeply gratifying.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Film Orgasm #1
News: Marion Cotillard taking the lead in Woody Allen's next movie.
[love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love]
[love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love][love]
Friday, February 26, 2010
Adam Shankman Rant
Dear Adam Shankman,
Their fans will already be in bed by the time the Oscars start, you DUMB TURTLEFUCK. Or they will youtube them the next day. 1 minute online versus swimming through three hours of boring adult talk and movies they've never even heard of. I would far prefer an organized Kanye-like stunt at the Oscars than have these glossy hacks besmirch a night that supposedly celebrates *good* movies. Even if you argue that the Oscars celebrate populist mediocrity, there is nothing that Efron, Lautner, or Cyrus have done that even reaches mediocrity. They're the reps of Crapland. I'm down with K-Stew because she's been in some pretty solid stuff - Into the Wild, Adventureland, and I loved Panic Room and The Runaways look interesting, at least. She's an industry veteran, despite her debatable acting skills. Whereas all the others have come straight from the showbiz cookie-cutter factory. I mean, was it too hard to get Shia LaBeouf, man? Preteens love him and he's going to be in Oliver Stone's Wall Street 2 (and dating Carey Mulligan!). He actually has more than a 10% chance of retaining a long acting career, unlike the three I mentioned. For god's sake, even Megan Freaking Fox! At least she has a goddamn personality. And unlike Efron and Cyrus, does not resemble a hermaphrodite.
And don't even get me on the John Hughes tribute. Much as I love him, how about a dead guy whose movies can be fondly referenced by at least 40% of an audience? What a fucking shame it will be when we see Scorsese, Bridges, and Streep clap in polite befuddlement ignorance after what will surely be a MTV-birthed montage. Way to make them feel like dinosaurs and remind them that, you know, they're not an important demographic.
Fuck you very much,
Stella
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Campused #1
Irregular sleeping habits again. Penne a la Vodka, extra-salty sweet potato fries, and my little creme brulee debacle. I wanted to make creme brulee, but god knows I don't have one of those flame-torch thingamabobs to make the melted sugar top, so I decided to combine a creme brulee recipe with a baked flan's ( flans have easy sugar crusts on the bottom that do not require flame torchblowers).
Alas, I poured the cream mixture into the still-liquid burnt sugar. Stupid. I hastily baked the whole thing anyway, but when it came out the sugar and the cream were still unhappily melded together in a dreadful watery hybrid. So I mixed the two together, rationalizing that two tasty things could make one tasty thing. I was right! The creme brulee mixture, infused with the rich caramelized sugar, birthed this ginormously palatable pudding-like concoction. I went to the dining hall later to get two bananas, and sliced them into the pudding. So I made crustless banana pie, in essence. I was proud of my cooking noggin for once, and my general inattention to things. So. good. My first invented recipe, yay!
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Best Post Ever.
As an antidote for my awards-deprivation, I watched some old Oscar montages. Here are some of my all-time favorites (btw, the Oscar people taking down all the unofficial oscar videos on Youtube drive me NUTS. More videos = more publicity and fans, and don't take them down unless you're willing to replace them! Assholes)
Woody Allen's Tribute to New York:
Post 9/11 montage tribute made by Nora Ephron, also marking Allen's first-ever appearance at the Oscars. This was also the *first* Academy Awards ceremony I ever watched as a kid, and I had no idea who the shit Woody Allen was at the time. I wish the montage centered more on New York itself than the Important movies ("The Apartment" and "On the Waterfront" clips, for instance, are not entirely relevant to the city's uniqueness. More lights, less interiors) But the best part is Allen himself, busting the audience's gutss)
John Williams - Movie Score Medley
One of the best things you'll ever see. Seamless medley of classic scores. Dazzling.
1990 Movie Montage
Someone called this the "greatest film montage ever" and I have yet to see a worthy contender. There are clips from nearly a hundred movies, many of which I don't recognize, with Old Hollwood stars I don't recognize, and the best thing I can say about it is that its maker really loved movies.
wow.
2003 - Supporting Actress Montage
I only watch the first half of this clip. 75 supporting actresses, in fleeting glimpses. The music is just swoony and perfectly matched to the minute-or-so showcase of the playfulness, sadness, and sexiness displayed by these invaluable players. My favorite is the shot of Eva Marie Saint from "On the Waterfront" lowering herself in her childlike exquisiteness.
And screw montages, but my *FAVORITE* awards-show moment of all time:
Witty Daniel Day-Lewis + a losing Robin Williams + a very stoned Jack Nicholson = More Epic Than Avatar
If only the Oscars had these kind of moments. They would never have to worry about ratings again. Absolutely the funniest moment ever.
Woody Allen's Tribute to New York:
Post 9/11 montage tribute made by Nora Ephron, also marking Allen's first-ever appearance at the Oscars. This was also the *first* Academy Awards ceremony I ever watched as a kid, and I had no idea who the shit Woody Allen was at the time. I wish the montage centered more on New York itself than the Important movies ("The Apartment" and "On the Waterfront" clips, for instance, are not entirely relevant to the city's uniqueness. More lights, less interiors) But the best part is Allen himself, busting the audience's gutss)
John Williams - Movie Score Medley
One of the best things you'll ever see. Seamless medley of classic scores. Dazzling.
1990 Movie Montage
Someone called this the "greatest film montage ever" and I have yet to see a worthy contender. There are clips from nearly a hundred movies, many of which I don't recognize, with Old Hollwood stars I don't recognize, and the best thing I can say about it is that its maker really loved movies.
wow.
2003 - Supporting Actress Montage
I only watch the first half of this clip. 75 supporting actresses, in fleeting glimpses. The music is just swoony and perfectly matched to the minute-or-so showcase of the playfulness, sadness, and sexiness displayed by these invaluable players. My favorite is the shot of Eva Marie Saint from "On the Waterfront" lowering herself in her childlike exquisiteness.
And screw montages, but my *FAVORITE* awards-show moment of all time:
Witty Daniel Day-Lewis + a losing Robin Williams + a very stoned Jack Nicholson = More Epic Than Avatar
If only the Oscars had these kind of moments. They would never have to worry about ratings again. Absolutely the funniest moment ever.
Deprivation
I'm craving for more award shows. If Jeremy Renner's Sgt. James is an adrenaline junkie, then I'm an awards show junkie, a complete snoz for the embarrassing/funny/cringe-inducing star moments, the glitz, the awkward stars, the tense openings of the envelopes, the run-on tributes, and best of the all, the glorious (I actually spelled glourious at first. Damn Tarantino) film montages.
Funny how I always turn to my blog when it's homework time again. Somehow writing on my blog "justifies" not doing the hw. Very bad.
Anyways, the the SAG awards were two weeks ago, the BAFTAS aren't until for another two weeks. That's an entire month between the two. Grrr. I wholeheartedly wish someone could have taped the DGA awards and put it up on youtube for Oscarmaniacs as myself.
Spent the whole weekend cooking and watching movies instead. Curried potato-leek soup with apple slices, peach-mango guacamole (sounds fancy, but not really. I just brought a jar of peach-mango salsa from Whole Foods and emptied it into the guacamole), crepes with whipped cream and blueberry compote. Wanted to make sweet potato fries as well, but decided to save them until next week. Whole Foods opportunities don't come along very often.
Also read some more David Sedaris [/love].
Movies: Sid and Nancy, half of Far From Heaven before the DVD went berserk on me, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and Angels in America.
Sid and Nancy - Nancy is so intensely unlikeable, without any redeeming qualities whatsoever (I would have taken bitter wit, style, refreshing no-bullshit attidude, fearlessness, beauty, teasing allure - just about anything - but all I got was a clingy, dumb, chubby chick. Just didn't work.
Angels in America - better than most of the movies I've seen. Award for Best Example (of utilizing a television series' length to its full extent, instead of as an excuse to drag out a plotline.) Mike Nichols, Pacino, Streep, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, Mary-Louise Parker, plus a bunch of little-known actors that knocked me out cold.
Typical prestige piece, you say? NEVER. Angels in America has a sexy, fast-thudding pulse, a movie that pants with emotion and wit. Four hours of TV felt like a quarter of the length, so absorbed I was into the seamless chapters, each story and couple as strong and compelling as the next. (No Julie and Julia here, folks) Un-freaking-believably eloquent script by Tony Kushner. As every great piece of cinema has, a few WTF moments here, pure visual bliss there. Couldn't stop watching. An absolute privilege to watch.
Funny how I always turn to my blog when it's homework time again. Somehow writing on my blog "justifies" not doing the hw. Very bad.
Anyways, the the SAG awards were two weeks ago, the BAFTAS aren't until for another two weeks. That's an entire month between the two. Grrr. I wholeheartedly wish someone could have taped the DGA awards and put it up on youtube for Oscarmaniacs as myself.
Spent the whole weekend cooking and watching movies instead. Curried potato-leek soup with apple slices, peach-mango guacamole (sounds fancy, but not really. I just brought a jar of peach-mango salsa from Whole Foods and emptied it into the guacamole), crepes with whipped cream and blueberry compote. Wanted to make sweet potato fries as well, but decided to save them until next week. Whole Foods opportunities don't come along very often.
Also read some more David Sedaris [/love].
Movies: Sid and Nancy, half of Far From Heaven before the DVD went berserk on me, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and Angels in America.
Sid and Nancy - Nancy is so intensely unlikeable, without any redeeming qualities whatsoever (I would have taken bitter wit, style, refreshing no-bullshit attidude, fearlessness, beauty, teasing allure - just about anything - but all I got was a clingy, dumb, chubby chick. Just didn't work.
Angels in America - better than most of the movies I've seen. Award for Best Example (of utilizing a television series' length to its full extent, instead of as an excuse to drag out a plotline.) Mike Nichols, Pacino, Streep, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, Mary-Louise Parker, plus a bunch of little-known actors that knocked me out cold.
Typical prestige piece, you say? NEVER. Angels in America has a sexy, fast-thudding pulse, a movie that pants with emotion and wit. Four hours of TV felt like a quarter of the length, so absorbed I was into the seamless chapters, each story and couple as strong and compelling as the next. (No Julie and Julia here, folks) Un-freaking-believably eloquent script by Tony Kushner. As every great piece of cinema has, a few WTF moments here, pure visual bliss there. Couldn't stop watching. An absolute privilege to watch.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Never Read Oscar Reader Comments Ever Again
I am seriously despairing that I live in a world where most people have never re-read a book, but somehow, eagerly prefer to watch regurgitated Lifetime feces like "The Blind Side" even though they know exactly what they're getting. And love it unabashedly. And call movies like "Avatar", "Up in the Air", and "Inglourious Basterds" (and I quote), "depressing obscure artsy fare".
DO WE HAVE BRAINS THE SIZE OF CATS AND DOGS TO THE POINT WHERE WE FIND EATING SHIT APPEALING?
Sorry. Just in a slightly emotional state right now.
DO WE HAVE BRAINS THE SIZE OF CATS AND DOGS TO THE POINT WHERE WE FIND EATING SHIT APPEALING?
Sorry. Just in a slightly emotional state right now.
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