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

A Statement of New Year, New Blog

OK, so not really.

Here's the deal, darlings: KateJones, aka The Movie Girl, wants to start writing more critical analysis, because she thinks she wants to be a critic when she grows up.  Thusly, this blog will henceforth be a forum of practice and, well, practice.

So, I am going to start writing critical article-thingies for new films, old films, and television shows.  I might even write more than one criticism of the same film (the more I watch The Dark Knight, the more I want to talk about it.)

All I ask for from you, dearlings, is that you comment comment comment, tell me WHEN I'm wrong, WHY I'm wrong, and maybe if I don't make any sense sometimes.

Also, keep in mind that I will NEVER be wrong, but you are allowed to incorrectly disagree.

Merry New Year!

A Statement of Setting a Good Example (And About The Dark Knight)

Having just told Lady Liberty to write in her blog, it seemed to prudent to follow my own advice.

Earlier this week, one of the best films of the year, The Dark Knight, was released on DVD, BluRay, etc, etc, etc.  I have watched it twice.  Because that's what I do.

Having seen the film in the theater later in its run (I was in London when it opened in the US, and came home the day it opened in the UK, natch), I was able to sneak into an uncrowded screening, have a row to myself, and settle into one of the most creepy and delectable performances in recent memory; the overshadowing and brilliant job done by Heath Ledger is a true tribute to a man who will never again grace the big screen.  The decayed makeup, the incessant tongue-action, that walk, are all marks of an amazing performance, one of a thoughtful and talented actor.  Let it not go unsaid that this was the loss of a man who could have been his generation's greatest performer.

At the time I found the film excellent, but long and slightly overwrought by the end (we love you, Harvey Dent... they couldn't give you your own movie?  Seriously?), and as was expected of everyone, I focused mainly on Ledger's performance in the initial viewing.

So... these second and third viewings.

Make things much more digestible.  On the small screen the Joker and the stunts and the intensity are of course lessened, but not to the extent that they become ineffective.  It also gives the viewer a chance to concentrate more on the story, which is less overwhelming when you can focus on it.  Batman has limits.  The Joker doesn't.  This is the message buried deep beneath the mob hits, the explosions, and the breathless trips to Hong Kong.

Batman might be a vigilante, but he is a good vigilante.  And just when he realizes what he "would have to become" in order to beat men like the Joker, we begin to fear that that's what will happen; he will break his own rules out of heartbreak, anger, and sheer irritation at this guy who just won't quit.

In the end, though, he reassures us that this will never happen; he takes the blame for the kidnapping of Commissioner Gordon's family, and the death of Dent.  He puts himself in harm's way and goes on the lam to prove to himself, and to us, that he is the Dark Knight.  Gallant and true, and willing to do what it takes.

So watch it again, ok?

(This can also be done late in January, when it is re-released in the theaters as a run-up to the Oscars.  Another chance for big-screen excitement!  Hooray!)

A Statement About Grey's and the Ginormous Shark

Grey's Anatomy, where have you gone?

I remember a time, not-so-long-ago, when I knew and loved (or loved to hate) every character on Grey's Anatomy.  I didn't know everything there was to know about all of them, or any of them, but I rooted for them, hoped for them, and tough-loved them through any number of traumas, family dramas, and patients.

So what the hell is going on?

Season 3 was dark and unrelenting; George's dad died, Meredith's mom died (and Meredith almost joined her), Izzy and George slept together, Alex fell in love with a mentally unstable patient, Bailey's marriage started to fall apart, the Chief and his wife ran hot and cold, Burke left Cristina at the altar, and Meredith and Derek "broke up."

We came back hopeful in Season 4, but it took a while to clean up the mess from the previous year, and then the disaster that was the Writer's Strike occurred.  Finally, finally, things got back in the swing when they returned.  Creator Shonda Rimes announced that she had watched all of the show's DVDs during the strike, and she was going to recapture the tone.  In the season finale, Meredith standing in the field surrounded by candles, making the big romantic gesture for Derek was exactly what we wanted; a sign that the old Grey's was back.

Oh, how very wrong we were.  The Izzy/Denny "thing"... there aren't really words.  It was good to hear late last week that there is a plan, that in theory there will be an explanation that will make sense to everyone.  But reflected in this is a larger problem.  A story that potentially bizarre and polarizing should not take eight episodes to wrap up.  And if it's going to take that long, the audience should not be kept in the dark to the point that they feel compelled to give up before the payoff.  Viewers have to have faith in the writers of any show, and when the writers go so completely off the deep end without even a hint of explanation, that trust is shaken.  Seriously.

Factor into this more new characters than anyone could possibly care about (that said, Kevin McKidd's Owen Hunt is yummy, and does indeed make a perfect addition to the cast... too bad he has to share his time with Melissa George's ridiculous Sadie...), and it seems that the old Grey's is irrevocably lost.  We still love our core characters, but they are not given enough attention for us to put up with their antics any longer.  And since it is virtually impossible to back-track once these characters have been added and these mistakes have been made, it brings us to a defining moment, and a sad conclusion: Grey's Anatomy has jumped the shark.

A Statement About Holiday Movies

Tis the season to watch all of those movies that your mother will only let you watch after Thanksgiving.  I have compiled a list of my faves, fully recognizing that it's a guilty pleasure kind of list, and not one necessarily reflecting film quality.  So here are my favorites.

Holiday Inn/Meet Me in St. Louis- These two have to be listed together, because they are not strictly Holiday Movies.  Or rather, they are ALL Holiday Movies.  Each one covers about a year in the life of their characters, but each gave life to a classic Christmas song; Holiday Inn is the first film featuring the song White Christmas, while Judy Garland sings Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas for the first time in St. Louis.  Classic.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- Are you serious, Clark?

The Santa Clause- Ok, ok.  I know it's nouveau and a bit cheesy, but all of the Santa Clause films are charming and funny, with fun holiday pop visuals.  Just go with it.

The Muppet Family Christmas- Not the Muppet Christmas Carol.  The Family Christmas.  You know, the one where they invade poor Fozzie's mother's house, Miss Piggy gets caught in a snow storm, and all of our Sesame Street friends show up to help with the Christmas Pageant.  Also, an errant Turkey tries to convince Swedish Chef that Big Bird is actually the Christmas meal.  Amazing.

Love Actually- Charm in abundance, every notable British actor from the past ten years (except the grandes dames, who really get enough movies together), and a warm and cheerful message that doesn't over-do the goo.  Not every character gets a happy ending, but every viewer finishes the film in full Christmas spirit.

When Harry Met Sally- Actually, this is the last film to watch before the holiday movies go away until next year.   Culminating on New Year's Eve, this rom-com mainstay is the perfect way to wrap things up.

So... yeah.  What are your "must-see" films for this time of year?