PPS- (a statement)

Let us all applaud Lady Liberty, who not only posted  the other night, but also finished the first draft of her first feature-length screenplay.

Yay, her!

A Statement About the Oscar Nominees

OK, you've already seen them by now, blah blah blah, I'm not going to take up space by re-listing them.  Go here to see them if you haven't already.  

I just have a couple of thoughts:

First of all, I am extremely nervous about Kate Winslet's chances here.  Yes, she has been winning everything under the sun, especially for her role in The Reader, but the problem is that everything she has won for The Reader has been in the supporting category.  The fact that she did not receive a Best Supporting Actress nom for The Reader, but rather a Best Actress, might be extremely detrimental to her cause.  The Academy can be very picky about things like this.  If it's a supporting role, it's a supporting role, no ifs, ands or buts.  I'm not sure a dual nomination would have helped her any (lots and lots of vote splitting), but the fact is, she got the wrong nomination for the right film.

If anyone is going to upset her, let there be no mistake, it will NOT be Meryl Streep, but Anne Hathaway.

Second of all, it is an absolute and utter travesty that The Dark Knight did not get nominated.  I'm not saying that because it's, you know, my new favorite movie, but rather because it was one of the best films of the year.  It seems that all of the tremendous strides that were made with the recognition of LOTR have been obliterated by the lack of recognition for The Dark Knight.  What was it the man said?  "The Dark Knight was to super-hero films what The Godfather was to gangster films."  Or something like that.

As to the "overrated" Heath Ledger performance, the Academy can be sentimental, but logical about these kinds of things.  This was a talented actor who probably should have won a time or two before, but now will never have the opportunity to even be nominated again.  The other actors in his category were great, but they will all go on to give great performances in the future.  If there is one lock in the competition, it is Heath Ledger.

Anyone who picks anything but Wall-E for Best Animated Feature needs to have their head examined, but more on that later.

I suppose that's all for now.  Full picks to follow in a few weeks.  And anyone in possession of a DVR on Oscar night will be my hero forever... I'm still going to be à Londres for The Big Show.

(PS- Anyone who needs the Short Film pics for an Oscar pool, ask me in another week)

A Statement About Tropic Thunder

Happy Inauguration Eve, everyone!

In the spirit of "Yes we can," let us encourage our fellow bloggers, Lady Liberty and Mr.Stringbean, to get off their asses and write a post.  Yes. We. Can.

In  other news, let us discuss the second film on my Virgin Atlantic odyssey, the shockingly Oscar-baity flick Tropic Thunder.

"Oscar baity?" you ask, awestruck.

"Oscar baity," I reply, definitively.

What does that mean?  Well, it means there is a very very very excellent chance that Robert Downey Jr. could nab a Best Supporting Actor nom for his role in the film.  Will he win?  Certainly not.  Comedic roles very rarely win anything, not to mention a certain Mr. Ledger who seems all but unbeatable at this point.  That said, it will literally be an honor just to be nominated, because the film is vulger, hilarious, punchy, boundary-pushing, and outrageous.

And I loved it.

By now everyone knows about the movie within a movie (within a movie?) being shot in a remote jungle in Vietnam (hello, Hawaii!) the abandoned method actors, the exploding director, RDJ doing a stunningly successful job... in blackface.  However, what is not mentioned nearly as loudly is the job done by Tom Cruise, who, while finding no friends in this blog, will find effusive compliments for his thoroughly out-of-character turn as the most obscene film exec this side of Harvey Weinstein.  He came pretty darn close to complete redemption in the eyes of The Movie Girl, kids.  Let's see how he follows it up.  (And Valkyrie doesn't count)

What is the most fascinating thing about Tropic Thunder, though, is how easily it could have gone horribly, horribly wrong.  It is a Hollywood insider's movie, complete with jokes about contract negotiations, agent-talent relations (Matthew McConnaughy shows up as a butt-kissing agent... one wonders how far he had to go for research), an analysis of how to do a film about a mentally challenged person ("Never go full-retard").  Tropic Thunder never once takes itself even remotely seriously, as the industry does all too often, and goes so far as to make the movie studio head a terrorist negotiator.  A terrorist negotiator who scares the crap out of the terrorists.

Amazing.

Coming Up: Reaction to the Oscar Noms!  And if you haven't already watched it, follow this link to watch a great little film called Oktapodi.  

A Statement About Virgin Atlantic, How Much It Rocks, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the inaugural post of 2009.

Aren't you excited?

So first of all, I write this evening from Londontown, and I arrived on Monday night, courtesy of a little airline known to the world as Virgin Atlantic.  God, what an ecstatic trip it was.  Even in Economy (not to be confused with Upper Class, or even Premium Economy), they give you real food, a glass for your complimentary wine, and a phenomenal selection of films to watch on demand during the flight.

Like, so many films you can't decide which ones to watch, and you're concerned that the flight will not be long enough to accommodate your viewing needs.  (It wasn't)

Up first on the Films Bitsy Missed This Past Summer?  Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Late last year I reviewed Zack and Miri Make a Porno, in which my conclusion was something along the line of "ordinary plot dressed in sheep's clothing."  Or something.  Let me state from the first that Forgetting Sarah Marshall is, in effect, an ordinary breakup film.  Unlike Zack and Miri, though, Sarah Marshall injects the concept with new life, which makes it both exciting and hilarious to watch.

Let us first start with the usual suspects in Judd Apatow comedies, for most of them make appearances here: Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, and Jack McBrayer all show up and make us smile by merely appearing on screen, and then they proceed to make us laugh out loud with their unbelievable antics (Brief summary: Rudd as stoned surfer, Hill has one of the best faux-British accents I have ever heard, Hader plays the obnoxious step-brother with a grossly gooey wife, and as for McBrayer, he essentially plays his character Kenneth from 30 Rock... on his honeymoon.  Classic.)

The film, of course, is about one man (Jason Segel)'s quest to forget his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Marshall, who has unceremoniously dumped him (while he was naked!) for another man.  Ouch.  The most surprising revelation comes at the end, when we find out that Segel actually wrote the film, which holds much insight into both the male and female perspectives on relationships.  Yes, Sarah is a bitch who broke our hero's heart.  But when the two sit down and have an honest conversation about their last months together, we see a woman who was genuinely hanging on by a thread, and who did everything she could to try to salvage the relationship.

She is a terrible person, but it is nice to see the character not completely condemned to the House of Heartless Women.

Segel's character rebounds with a pretty young hotel concierge, Mila Kunis (who bears a striking resemblance both in attitude and mannerisms to our own Lady Liberty... who knew?), who teaches him how to live, the things he was missing from his life in his former relationship, etc.

The point is, this is how you take a trite concept ("the break-up movie") and make it fresh-- give us good, real characters who, despite their eccentricities, are relatable, and then make it funny and outrageous.

Plus, a little full-frontal male nudity doesn't hurt (especially when there is no porn shoot involved.)

Coming Soon- Films Bitsy Missed This Past Summer, Part II: Tropic Thunder