OSCAR 2010 RECAP: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE AWESOME!

Another Oscars come and gone, and all in all it was a fairly goos ceremony this year. Leeeeeettttts...RECAP!

THE GOOD

HOLLYWOOD PRETTY MUCH GOT IT RIGHT!

In my opinion those most deserved of their Oscars got them (possible exception for Sandra Bullock but her speech redeemed kinda redeemed it).

Speaking of speeches, this was a great year for great acceptances. Christpoh Waltz's speech was beautiful and poetic, while Jeff Bridges was a fun goofy romp with the heartfelt family tribute thrown in.

Martin and Baldwin were great as hosts, although I could have done for a bit shorter opening monologue.

The John Hughes tribute was fantastic and touching and the tribute to Horror movies was great.

THE BAD

INTERPRETIVE DANCE!

Look, I am a singer songwriter so I enjoy every year when the Best Song nominees are performed. This year they jettisoned that idea in lieu of the Original Score Nominees set to Interpretive Dance. Personally, I would have rather seen Ryan Bingham preforming the beautiful eventual winner "The Weary Kind" then to see some poppin and lockin to the sounds of THE HURT LOCKER.

Furthermore, Barbara Striesand trying to create her own "Do You Believe In Miracles" moment while introducing Katheryn Bigelow. "Hey Babs, shut yo mouth when the relevant folks is talkin!"

Also, the woman who won Costume Design starting off her speech by saying "I've won two of these already" in such a superior way. GUES WHAT, I DON'T HAVE AN OSCAR, I DONT EVEN HAVE A RAZZIE SO SAY THANK YOU AND KINDLY EXIT YOU WORTHLESS HARPY!

and finally... THE AWESOME





















ALL HAIL THE CRAZY PURPLE KANYE STALKER LADY!

Seriously, that was pretty awesome. The Real Story is pretty great, but it might be better to imagine that she was just some crazy that was unaffiliated with the story and found her way to the stage.

and of course the most awesome....

HURT LOCKER FTW, HURT LOCKER FTW, BIGELOW BOOMBAYE, BIGELOW BOOMBAYE, F-U JAMES CAMERON RIGHT IN THE A! MWAH HAH AH HAH HAH AHAH AHAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111ONE!




ahhhhhhhh. nice

THE OFFICIAL GLORIOUS NOISE OSCAR PICKS 2010

So we ware just a mere 24 hours away for the big night in Movies for 2010. A myriad of questions abound, and just as every other person on earth with a blog, facebook, twitter or what have you will be doing. I know offer you my 2010 OSCAR PICKS!

BEST PICTURE
What Will Win- The Hurt Locker
What Should Win- The Hurt Locker

Despite all the dirty e-mail goofiness this week, I am still confident that Hollywood will get this right. I have lost count as to how many people have told me "I loved the Hurt Locker but I don't EVER wanna see it again." This is the precise statement that many times makes for a Best Picture winner.

BEST DIRECTOR
Who Will Win- Katheryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker
Who Should Win- Katheryn Bigelow- The Hurt Locker

There are so many reasons to root for this, The Hurt Locker is brilliant, the whole ex-wife/ex-husband thing. However, my main reason for this vote is that I very much want to live in a world where the director of Point Break is also a Best Director winner.

BEST ACTOR
Who Will Win- Jeff Bridges- Crazy Heart
Who Should Win- Jeremy Renner- The Hurt Locker

If I took the time to also do a tighest Best Actor races list, this year could most certainly be at the top. Between George Clooney, Bridges and Renner you have three of the most remarkable performances to all happen in the same year. This one is kind of a pick-em, it could be anybody.

BEST ACTRESS
Who Will Win- Sandra Bullock- The Blindside
Who Should Win- Gabourey Sidibe- Precious

Oscar loves to award the Movie star whos been around for ever that finally gives them an excuse to hand them a trophy (see Nicole Kidman) and that is probably what will happen this year. I like to root for the unknown that comes out of no where so I would dig seeing Sidibe win. That said Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep won Golden Globes and all Streep does is win Oscars so who knows.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Who Will- Christoph Waltz- Inglourious Basterds
Who Should- Same

It's this plain, if Waltz doesn't win it will be one of the bigger upsets ever.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Who Will- MoNique- Precious
Who Should- Vera Farmiga or Anna Kendrick- Up In The Air

Again, Oscar voters love to spotlight the breakout star in his/her first dramatic role, so I see MoNique winning. That said Up In The Air would have been nothing without the amazing performances of it's two Supporting ladies and it would be a treat to see one of them grab some gold.

The 8 Greatest Best Picture Races Of All Time

So yesterday I offered my top 7 times where the Oscars got it wrong, today I offer a balance.

For movie lovers like myself, a tight race for best picture can be as exciting as a great Super Bowl or NCAA Basketball championship game. The building suspense as you wait to hear the name called can be exhilarating. Furthermore, looking back at a race where a grip of classic films were all nominated together can make you wonder what was in the water that year.

So that said, I offer you the 8 greatest races in history. (Winners in All Caps)








8. 1997
TITANIC
As Good As It Gets
Good Will Hunting
The Full Monty
L.A. Confidential


Our first pick is a sore spot for me, but certainly deserves recognition. It was the year where everyone was asking "Could one of these absolutely brilliant Indie films beat the big Hollywood Blockbuster darling?" The answer ended up being no but even an avowed hater like me can't deny the juggernaut Titanic was, and that coupled with the quality of it's competition is what puts it on the list.

7. 1962
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
The Longest Day
The Music Man
Mutiny on the Bounty
To Kill A Mockingbird

We start the countdown with one of those great "looking back" years. The Longest Day was Darryl Zanuck's D-Day tale that had so many big name stars it would cost a billion to make today on payroll alone. The Music Man was the latest in a long line of great Movie Musicals that were an often favorite among Oscar voters. Mutiny boasted Marlon Brando in his prime and a previous version had won best picture in 1935, and of course To Kill A Mockingbird is widely regarded as one of the most important movies made about civil rights. Ultimately the prize went to Lawrence the film which practically coined the term "epic" (clocking in at 3 and 1/2 hours), and in many ways set the tone for cinematography and ensemble casting moving forward.

6. 1939
GONE WITH THE WIND
(9 others including Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Wizard of Oz and Stagecoach)

This year would certainly be higher if not for the fact that this was a 10 nominee year and I feel that waters it down a bit (see this year). However, the 4 films listed above alone could make this this a number 1 pick on other lists.

5. 1994
FORREST GUMP
Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Quiz Show
Four Weddings and a Funeral

So this is the other year that was also included on yesterday's screwjob list, but it very much deserves a spot here. This Oscar year very much set a tone for things to come, high profile indy flicks, beloved blockbusters, and films no one knew about at the time that are now considered classics. It's no small surprise that the Titanic Oscars just two years later looks strikingly similar.

4. 1976
ROCKY
Taxi Driver
All The President's Men
Bound For Glory
Network

This list is all about groups of movies so good it's hard to believe they were in the same year. So many times when you discover a classic film you haven't seen before, you may ask yourself "That was amazing, so why didn't that win the Oscar?" A year like 1976 is definately one that falls into that category.

3. 1980
ORDINARY PEOPLE
Raging Bull
Coal Miners Daughter
The Elephant Man
Tess


This is one of those crazy years that had a little bit of everything you look for in great film. Brilliant bio-pics, Long respected directors at there best with Scorsese's Bull and Polanski's Tess, and you had the emergence of a future star director with David Lynch and Elephant Man. The winner Ordinary People could go down as won of the more forgotten Best Picture winner (see my retro review) but Robert Redford's directing debut falls right in line with the other nominees from this year where any of these films would have been an acceptable winner.

2. 1967
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
Bonnie and Clyde
Doctor Doolittle
The Graduate
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

This certainly falls into the category of "Did all of those filcks come out at the same time?" It really is hard to believe, but yes they did. Sidney Portier was busy this year starring in two nominated films, one a comical and the other a serious look at Race in our culture at a very volatile time. Add to the fold Arthur Penn's brilliant tale of Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate which many feel help launch the indie film movement, and you certainly have a year packed with greatness.

1. 2007
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
There Will Be Blood
Michael Clayton
Atonement
Juno


Michael Clayton and Atonement are beautiful films, that said Juno was pretty much nominated for acknowledgments sake, but 2007 was pretty much a two horse race and what a race is was.

It had been quite a many years since two films had simultaneously effected people so greatly as No Country and There Will Be Blood did. There were so many interesting storylines to behold in this showdown.

First off, both films had been shot in roughly the same area of Texas, to the point where an explosion in No Country interrupted shooting on Blood. You also had the story of a well respect director in Paul Thomas Anderson facing off with the long beloved but never awarded Coen brothers.

The battle got more and more fascinating on Oscar night as both films started grabbing up trophies and you never knew which one would take it until the envelope was opened.

The Seven Biggest Best Picture Oscar Screwjobs In History

So Oscar night is only a few days away and we see the great possibility of two absolutely mind-blowing films (The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds) getting served the all-mighty crapburger in favor of overblown bluster and spectacle. Whether you agree with that opinion or not, it wouldn't be the first time such a travesty has happened. So now lets take a look at other occurrences of this unfortunate outcome. (Winners in all caps)


7. 2008
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Milk
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Last year makes the list not for the movies that were nominated but more for the one that wasn't. Last years final five were certainly no real prize (hence the move to 10 nominees this year), but none of them were as powerful as Darren Aronofsky's dark tale of a desperation. Furthermore, of the films that were up for the prize, either Milk or The Reader were certainly more deserving than Slumdog. Cute and Uplifting does not always a Best Picture make.



6. 1976
ROCKY
All The President's Men
Bound For Glory
Taxi Driver
Network


I know this may be a quite unpopular addition to the list, and to be fair this year will also be included on my Greatest Best Picture Races list later, but think about it for a second.

Rocky is an absolute classic, and quite possibly the greatest sports movie ever made, but is it better than All The President's... AND Taxi Driver? THAT I cannot wrap my head around.










5. 1990
DANCES WITH WOLVES
Awakenings
Ghost
The Godfather III
Goodfellas

Ultimately this year was a two horse race (and the fact that The Godfather III was nominated at all could secure this ceremony a spot on the list), however, Dances with Wolves over Goodfellas? Seriously?

It is a shame that Martin Scorsese had to wait until 2006 to finally see one of his films receive the highest honor, even as deserved as The Departed was. It would have been considerably more fitting to see Marty snag the trophy for his masterpiece 16 years earlier.




4. 2005
CRASH
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Good Night and Good Luck
Munich


2oo5 was a strong year for film. Munich was an intense look at the aftermath of the '72 Olympics killings, Capote was a fantastic telling of non-fiction as was Good Night and Good Luck. And of course there was Brokeback Mountain the heart wrenching tale of forbidden love between gay cowboys that was brilliantly acted, directed and shot.

The only problem is that none of those films won. Instead, your winner was Crash, a pompous procedural that came to its' grand conclusion (spoiler: Racism is BAD!) in the special, ham-handed way that makes mindless Oscar voters pee their pants, all the way to the podium!



3. 1994
FORREST GUMP
Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Quiz Show
Four Weddings and a Funeral


This was another very strong year for film but the reason this is a snub has changed over the years. At the time of this particular race the big battle was between Gump and Pulp Fiction. In fact one of the great statements heading into that ceremony was made by Roger Ebert. (Paraphrasing) "Most Oscar voters are as old as your Grandpa. Now who would your Grandpa vote for? A movie about heroin addicted hitmen Or a film about how God loves really stupid people?"

The reason this argument has changed is the way the popularity of Shawshank rose over the last 15 years. At the time the film was not super well-known, but now if you ask 10 people, I would say at least half of them would consider Shawshank among their favorites. Makes you think the outcome could have been considerably different if the film had more buzz around it in '94.

2. 1997
TITANIC
Good Will Hunting
LA Confidential
As Good As It Gets
The Full Monty


It was all I could do to not put this year at number one because I am still angry some 13 years later.

I will say this, no matter how "touching" or "beautiful" you think the story is, or how great you think the effects are or how much money they spent on it (sounding familiar yet?...cough...Avatar...cough), there is NO FREAKING WAY Titanic should ever be considered the superior film to it's competition from that year.

Now Full Monty was most likely a consolation addition. But LA Confidential?...As Good As It Gets?...Good Will Hunting? better than "King of the Freaking World"? That is something NO ONE could ever convince me of.


1. 1941
HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY

I am not writing out all of the nominees for our number 1 (there were 10 that year). Let's look at our winner. How Green Was My Valley was Produced by Darryl Zanuck and Directed by John Ford (two of the greatest of all time) and it is hailed as a brilliant story of a disintegrating Welsh family and their struggles. It was good enough to beat out Sergeant York and The Maltese Falcon on Oscar night.

However, there is one major reason that this year is our number one choice as Greatest Oscar Screwjob.

And that reason is.....

It also beat this film......



That's right! Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE! The film that just about...well...everyone who knows about film calls the greatest of all time.

Now, this inclusion is no way to say that Valley, Maltese Falcon, or Sgt. York were bad or undeserving films, but it's the way that Kane lost the wins the prize.

You see, the film was kind of an "unauthorized" biography of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Welles denied to his dying day that the film had anything to do with Hearst but there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. From some of Hearst's speeches being used verbatim to the fact that the infamous "Rosebud" was also Hearst's pet-name for his girlfriend's honeypot.

Understandably Hearst was unhappy about all of this and used all of his connections in Hollywood, and numerous threats, to try and make sure the film wasn't released. The film was released and was nominated for 9 Oscars (Including Best Picture as well as Best Actor and Director for Welles). Witnesses at the ceremony say the film was booed every time it was announced as a nominee and the film ended up winning only one award. Many say the reason for the shutdown was that many Oscar voters were afraid of Hearst and therefore voted against the film. The award the film did win (Best Screenplay) was shared between Welles and Herman Mankiewicz (seen as a final F-U to Welles that he had to share an award).

So the high powered friends of a Hollywood bigwig cowered to him and allowed him to get his way on Oscar night...couldn't ever happen again could it?

Whats That DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD?:

So let me get this straight; Nicolas Chartier who financed The Hurt Locker and is one of the 4 officially credited producers can’t attend the Academy Awards because he sent a mass email that never even mentioned Avatar by name? And the Oscars governing body thinks his badmouthing is so much worse than what nearly everyone in the Best Picture category has done year after year?So I must ask: is it mere coincidence that Academy president Tom Sherak (at one time a bigtime Fox movie exec), Oscars producers Bill Mechanic (at one time a bigtime Fox movie exec) and Adam Shankman (currently a bigtime Fox Broadcast talent), and Academy Board Of Governors member Jim Gianopulos (currently a bigtime Fox movie exec) all have strong ties to the Avatar studio?

OH.....MY....GOD....





NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RETRO REVIEW: ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)

OK so I am a day late with this weeks RETRO REVIEW, but here it is. As the Oscars are approaching I figure for the next few weeks I will dedicate my Retro-view to somewhat forgotten Oscar winners of the past.

Today's selection is ORDINARY PEOPLE, which was a huge Oscar winner in 1980. The flick was Robert Redford's directing debut and took home Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Timothy Hutton and Best Director for Redford.

The movie is straight out one of the heaviest flicks you could ever watch, but absolutely spot on in it's storytelling. The story follows a crumbling family dealing with the recent death of one son and the even more recent suicide attempt of another. (Hutton)

Hutton makes his film debut in this one and you can almost immediately tell why he won awards for his performance, and he is brilliantly complemented by to dramatic heavy hitters in Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore. Moore's performance made even more powerful by how "against type" she is as the emotionally shut off and cold Matriarch.

This movie makes you very tense at times, especially in scene's between Hutton and his Therapist (an amazing performance by Judd Hirsch), you really find yourself waiting for one of these characters to explode.

As the movie reaches it's climax you are left with a lot of questions, but even more you are left with empathy for all parties involved.

DVD REVIEW: BIG FAN (2009)

From time to time I will review a lesser known film that perhaps didn't spend anough time in the theaters for you to catch it, but is now availiable on DVD.

Staying with the Football theme today is BIG FAN.

BIG FAN stars Patton Oswalt as Paul, an obessed New York Giants fan who is stuck with a tough decision after his gridiron hero assaults him in a strip-club.

The movie is the directing debut of Robert Seigel, writer of The Wrestler, and yet again he paints a dark and almost hopeless picture with this film. Oswalt, who is one of the funniest comedians on the planet, makes himself nearly unrecognizable in his creation of the character. You really do get sucked into the character of Paul, leading you up to a true feeling of anxiety and the story reaches it's climax. Seigel just plain knows how to write a story about sad and desperate individuals, and has presented another story that makes you want to take the characters off the screen and help them, while at the same time being infinitely entertained by their downfall.

RETRO REVIEW: EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN (1988)

Once again I am here to offer you your Friday night video store alternative. THE FRIDAY RETRO REVIEW.

Going with a football theme for the Super Bowl weekend I have picked EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN.

The flick, based on a novel by legendary sports writer Frank DeFord, stars Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, Timothy Hutton and John Goodman.

The story follows 25 years in the life of Gavin "The Ghost" Grey (Quaid) and the people in his life as he goes from College Football hero to Pro Star to frustrated retiree. Director Taylor Hackford (Officer and a Gentleman, Ray) offers a great representation of how people deal with reality once the glory starts to fade.

The film is extremely well acted and Lange really shines as Babs, the suffering Debutante come "Players Wife", and also features strong supporting roles from Hutton and Goodman.
If Bull Durham was the quintessential ROM-COM disguised as a sports film, then "ALL AMERICAN" is it's dramatic counter part, dealing with issues of love, adultery, betrayal and the civil rights movement much more than it deals with the gridiron.

That said, the football scenes in the movie are fantastic. The uniforms of the period are spot on, the sequences are beautifully shot and some spots are even imagined in a shockingly accurate "NFL Films" style. The portrayal of the characters or so specific that portions of the movie could only have been written by a veteran sportswriter.

FUN FACT: Real NFL players were used for the football scenes and one of them (Tim Fox of the New England Patriots) broke Dennis Quaid's collarbone while filming a scene. The footage was used for the film, so Quaid is not acting when you see him writhing in pain in the snow.