Blackout is a pop culture junkie who wants to spread his addiction of television and film to as many people as possible. If you're planning on sitting in front of a screen, you might as well watch the good stuff.
PLOT:Alice returns to Wonderland and learns she must defeat the Jabberwocky in order to end the reign of the Red Queen.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1This film is all about the breathtaking visuals. The art direction is outstanding. The Red palace is beautifully drawn and filled with monkeys doing all the heavy lifting. The White castle is also ornately drawn with chess piece aspects everywhere. Of course, Tim Burton also has dark edge to the forests and other locations in Wonderland.
2 Johnny Depp is fun as the The Mad Hatter in the beginning but becomes quite dull in the middle of the story. The March Hare is much more crazy and fun to watch. Talk about stealing thunder.
3 The story has some adventure elements but not much happens. Granted the original is not that amazing either. A girl falls down a hole, meets some strange people, ticks off a queen and runs back home. At least Tim Burton imported the Jabberwocky from Lewis Carroll’s poem into the mix.
4 I didn’t find myself rooting for Alice. As child, she had a sense of naivety and wonderment. As a 19-year-old, she just seems annoyed by her situation and that’s not fun to watch.
5 While there is some amazing coloring in this film, they needed to go back to the drawing board with Anne Hathaway’s White Queen. She was hard to look at with her white-washed hair and clothes accented with incredibly dark and off-putting lipstick. What a shame.
Time for my fearless Oscar predictions. It’s basically a fight between Avatar and Hurt Locker and Bullock and Streep. The rest seem pretty straightforward. Remember that I’m not voting for who I want to win, but who I think the Academy will vote for. From smaller to bigger, here we go:
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
INSTEAD OF ABBRACADABRA
(Seems quirky and fun.)
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH
(Wallace & Gromit can’t lose.)
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
CHINA’S UNNATURAL DISASTER
(It’s sad. It has children in it.)
SOUND EDITING
AVATAR
(Those beasts sound scary.)
SOUND MIXING
AVATAR
(Pandora is alive both visually & aurally.)
ORIGINAL SCORE
UP
(It’s uplifting. Get it?)
ORIGINAL SONG
THE WEARY KIND [CRAZY HEART]
(Only songs that deals with theme of film.)
VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR
(Umm, it’s all visual effects.)
MAKE-UP
STAR TREK
(Romulan tattoos and Spock ears, oh boy.)
COSTUME DESIGN
YOUNG VICTORIA
(Royal period dramas always win these.)
ART DIRECTION
AVATAR
(Pandora. Need I say more?)
FILM EDITING
HURT LOCKER
(It’s the editing that brings the suspense.)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
HURT LOCKER
(Intense camera movement keeps you involved.)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
THE COVE
(Who doesn’t want to save dolphins?)
ANIMATED FEATURE
UP
(It’s Pixar. It’s up for Best Picture. Duh.)
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE WHITE RIBBON
(It’s been winning a bunch of awards lately.)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
UP IN THE AIR
(It’s gotta win something. It’s a pretty slick script.)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
(Tarantino deserves one. He rewrote history!)
BEST DIRECTOR
KATHRYN BIGELOW [THE HURT LOCKER]
(Won’t it be cool having a woman win?)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
MO’NIQUE [PRECIOUS]
(It’s a slamdunk. Why have other nominees?)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPH WALTZ [INGLORIOUS BASTERDS]
(See comment for Best Supporting Actress.)
BEST ACTRESS
MERYL STREEP [JULIE & JULIA]
(Streep has done more than just go against type.)
BEST ACTOR
JEFF BRIDGES [CRAZY HEART]
(It’s his time. Shoulda got it for The Big Lebowski.)
BEST PICTURE
HURT LOCKER
(Everything works in this film. Avatar’s story is plain.)
RATING: R for disturbing violent content, language & nudity
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 18 minutes
STARRING: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed),
Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), Ben Kingsley (Elegy)
DIRECTOR:Martin Scorcese (Cape Fear)
WRITERS:Laeta Kalogridis (Pathfinder, Alexander)
PLOT: A US marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderess who has escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 A skillfully shot film. The camera movement and angles are creative, creepy and captivating. Of course, I expect that from Scorcese. The visual effects, lighting and cinematography of the dream sequences are also masterfully done.
2 Leonardo DiCaprio does amazing work. He keeps you connected to his character through his wide range of emotions. The squinty eyes get a little distracting a times though. Ruffalo and Kingsley also give wonderful performances.
3 It’s weird but the plot is both predictable and complex at the same time. I think I’ve seen too many movies where I don’t get shocked at revelations anymore. Book of Eli’s twist was far better.
4 The movie runs a little too long and slow at times. The beginning and end are well paced but three-quarters in I was a getting sleepy from all the talking.
5Some of the music was a little overdone. When our main characters are approaching the hospital/prison we are so bombarded with suspenseful music, it's almost laughable.
Gary Oldman (Air Force One), Mila Kunis (Max Payne)
DIRECTOR: The Hughes Brothers (From Hell)
WRITERS:Gary Whitta (newcomer)
PLOT:A post-apocalyptic tale, where a lone man goes west to protect a sacred book.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Being a Christian, I was impressed with the religious overtones in this film. I love how they unabashedly talk about the power and the importance of the Bible.
2 This film is beautifully shot. The camera has this mesmerizing flow to it. The clouds in the background, the silhouettes when Denzel is killing people, the dusty roads. All good.
3 There is definitely some brutal violence in this film. Denzel is pretty handy with his machete, but Washington’s performance trumps the gratuitous mayhem.There are plenty of slower, reflective moments in this movie.
4 You can’t help but think of Mad Max and The Road Warrior when watching this film. And Gary Oldman reminded me of Mickey Roarke’s bad guy role in Enrique’s Hero music video.
5 Some of the product placement was a little silly. Apparently, GMC and Motorola outlasted the apocalypse. The KFC moist towelettes instead of soap was fun, though.
RATING: PG-13 for some violent content and language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 15 minutes
STARRING: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement),
Mark Wahlberg (The Happening)
Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia)
DIRECTOR:PeterJackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong)
WRITERS: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and
Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings)
PLOT: A murdered girl watches her family and her killer deal the aftermath of the horrific incident.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Stanley Tucci is really creepy as the suspected killer. Didn’t know why they had to go so far as to give him the perv pedophile mustache. Tucci steals this movie.
2Some of the images shown in the afterlife are really amazing. I found I was more captivated in the beginning rather than the end of the film, however.
3Enjoyed watching relative newcomer Rose McIver as the sister trying to solve the murder. Some nice work, very suspenseful. Loved her last scenes.
4 I didn’t like how they didn’t spend more time on the parents relating as a couple. They focus on Wahlberg and then all of sudden the marriage is in turmoil. Some more conversation between the parents would have been nice. I also thought they should have included a little more on the emo girl who can sense Susie. Her and potential boyfriend Ray are given an introduction then ignored and then brought back in at the end. Sloppy storytelling.
5 I have no problem with the fact that this film didn’t depict the rape as described in the book. I thought it was just as effective this way without being gratuitous. For some reason, people complained about Jackson leaving out the rape, but you know if he put it in the movie, people would have complained that he showed the raping of a young girl. I guess you just can’t win sometimes.
Just a quick Superbowl Commercial edition. I’m happy the Saints won. The second half was much better than the first half. Being in Canada, I got totally screwed out of seeing the cool new commercials. Thank goodness there’s the internet. Here are my top 5, in no particular order.
FIVE FAVOURITE SUPERBOWL COMMERCIALS
1 Bud Light - Asteroid: Loved that they got the scientist from Lost in the commercial. Fun stuff.
PLOT: Survivors of a plane crash deal with a mysterious remote island that messes with time and space.
GENERAL THOUGHTS: This is the best show on TV in my opinion. It keeps you guessing and theorizing and doesn’t dumb things down. Great cast, great acting, great visuals and great mythology.
FIVE QUESTIONS I WANTED ANSWERED:
1 What is the significance of the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42? Hope it’s not just a neat thing to look for in episodes.
2 Why were these people chosen (how are they connected)? I’m thinking Christian Shepherd has something to do with it. But why?
3 What is the Black Smoke? Sure it’s a security system but it also judges people and who controls it?
4 What’s the deal with Richard and Desmond? Why does Richard never age and why is Desmond so important with his time-traveling skills?
5 Who is Jacob and the “Man in Black”? I hope they give the Man in Black a name (like Esau or something). Why does everything seem to hitch on these two individuals.
The Golden Globes are hard to predict. There are not that many people voting for this thing. The Hollywood Foreign press has less than 100 members. It’s like Family Feud. The Globes used to be considered a good predictor of the Oscars but lately they’ve been picking completely random people, just to see what they’re going to say. The two things I like most about the Golden Globes is that they try to honour comedies and because of the free alcohol, the winners are often a little tipsy. The added bonus this year is that Ricky Gervais is hosting (they haven’t had a host for years). He’s a funny guy. It’s gonna be a fun show. Here’s who I think will win and should win. Oh yeah, and I don’t do miniseries.
BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Will Win:The Hurt Locker
Should Win:Up in the Air
BEST ACTOR – DRAMA
Will Win:George Clooney (Up in the Air)
Should Win: George Clooney (Up in the Air)
BEST ACTRESS – DRAMA
Will Win: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Should Win: Carey Mulligan (An Education)
BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY
Will Win: (500) Days of Summer
Should Win: (500) Days of Summer
BEST ACTOR – COMEDY
Will Win: Daniel Day Lewis (Nine)
Should Win: Matt Damon (The Informant!)
BEST ACTRESS – COMEDY
Will Win:Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
Should Win:Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Win:Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
Should Win:Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will Win: Mo’nique (Precious)
Should Win:Mo’nique (Precious)
BEST DIRECTOR
Will Win:James Cameron (Avatar)
Should Win: Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Will Win: Up
Should Win: Fantastic Mr. Fox
BEST FOREGIN LANGUAGE FILM
Will Win:The White Ribbon (Germany) (just guessing)
Should Win: A Prophet (France) (just guessing)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Will Win:Mark Boa; (The Hurt Locker)
Should Win: Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Will Win:Michael Giacchino (Up)
Should Win: Karen O (Where the Wild Things Are)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Will Win:The Weary Kind – Ryan Bingham (Crazy Heart)
RATING: PG-13 for violence, language and sensuality
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 2 minutes
STARRING: Christopher Plummer (Up, Inside Man),
Heath Ledger (Dark Knight, Brothers Grimm)
DIRECTOR: Terry Gilliam (Brothers Grimm, 12 Monkeys)
WRITERS: Terry Gilliam (Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas)
Charles McKeown (Adventures of Baron Munchausen)
PLOT: A traveling show allows audience members to choose between light and darkness in a contest between the devil and Dr. Parnassus.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Going in I expected Heath Ledger’s role in the film to be minimal but he is in a very large chunk of the movie. He does great work here, not Joker great, but still.
2 The weaving in of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell is pretty ingenious. Gilliam did good with a tricky situation, after Ledger’s death.
3 Musician Tom Waits (Coffee & Cigarettes) does an excellent job as the devil, Mr. Nick. He has this wonderful mix of sliminess and sinister charm that’s fun to watch.
4 The imaginarium is amazing. The special effects and art direction in the imaginarium are creative and captivating. Spellbinding and trippy stuff.
5 Unfortunately, they don’t spend enough time in the imaginarium. A lot of the film takes place in the ‘real world’ which also has its own moments of weirdness. I didn’t like the ‘real world’ stuff as much. The modern morality tale didn’t work for me.
So now that we’re into 2010, it’s time to look at some up and coming films. In the past I have listed twenty films that have caught my eye but this year I thought I would narrow it down to one a month. You may notice that I have nothing for August or September. Not all films have been announced for the year, some changes take place, so we’ll have to wait and see. Right now, there is nothing too exciting in those months. The picks for the rest of the year, again, are based on director/actor pedigree, buzz, trailers and descriptions. Here are my initial picks for 2010.
JANUARY
THE BOOK OF ELI
Release Date: January 15
Director:The Hughes Brothers (From Hell)
Writer: Gary Whitta (newcomer)
Starring: Denzel Washington
Plot: In the future, across the wasteland of America, a lone warrior must fight to bring civilization the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption.
FEBRUARY
SHUTTER ISLAND
Release Date: February 19
Director: Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, The Departed)
Writer:Laeta Kalogridis (Alexander, Pathfinder)
Starring:Leonardo DiCaprio
Plot: A US marshal goes to a remote island to investigate the disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.
MARCH
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Release Date: March 5
Director:Tim Burton (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Writer: Linda Woolverton (Lion King, Mulan)
Starring: Johnny Depp
Plot: Alice returns to Wonderland, meets up with her friends, including the Mad Hatter and tries to finds her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror.
APRIL
DATE NIGHT
Release Date: April 9
Director: Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum)
Writer: Josh Klausner (Shrek the Third)
Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey
Plot: A couple’s routine date night goes awry when they take another couple’s dinner reservation and end up involved in the criminal underworld.
MAY
ROBIN HOOD
Release Date: May 14
Director:Ridley Scott (American Gangster)
Writer: Brian Helgeland (Man on Fire, Payback)
Starring: Russell Crowe
Plot: In thirteenth century England, Robin Hood and his merry men confront corruption in the town of Nottingham. Steals from the rich, gives to the poor.
JUNE
TOY STORY 3
Release Date: June 18
Director: Lee Unkrich (Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2)
Writer: Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine)
Starring:Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
Plot: As Andy goes to college, the toys try to stick together when given to a room full of untamed tots. Also Barbie comes face to face with Ken.
JULY
INCEPTION
Release Date: July 16
Director: Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knigh, Insomnia)
Writer: Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
Plot: It’s a contemporary sci-fi action thriller set within the architecture of the mind. Watch the trailer and see for yourself.
OCTOBER
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Release Date:October 15
Director: David Fincher (Zodiac, Fight Club)
Writer:Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men)
Starring:Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake
Plot: How Mark Zuckenberg, a Harvard sophomore student, created the most the popular networking site, Facebook.
NOVEMBER
DUE DATE
Release Date: November 5
Director: Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Road Trip)
Writer: Adam Sztykiel (Made of Honor)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Zach Galifianakis
Plot: Peter has to get home in time for his wife to give birth unfortunately he has to count on Ethan to get there by car.
DECEMBER
VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
Release Date: December 10
Director: Michael Apted (7Up series, Amazing Grace)
Writer: Richard LaGravenese (PS I Love You)
Starring:Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley
Plot:Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace and land on a ship headed fot the very edges of the world.
OTHER FILMS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT
Youth in Revolt (Jan 8); I Love You Phillip Morris (Feb 12); Hot Tub Time Machine (Mar 19); MacGruber (Apr 23); Wall Street 2 (Apr 23); Iron Man 2 (May 7); Shrek 4 (May 21); Prince of Persia (May 28); The A Team (Jun11); Johan Hex (Jun 18); Knight and Day (Jul 2); The Last Airbender (Jul 2); Despicable Me (Jul 9); Dinner for Schmucks (Jul23); Salt (Jul23); Little Fockers (Jul 30); The Other Guys (Aug 6); The Expendables (Aug 13); The Baster (Aug 20); The American (Sept 1); Unstoppable (Nov 12); Harry Potter 7, Part I (Nov 19); The Green Hornet (Dec 22)
