Batman, Nolan get shafted!

Tuesday's Oscar nominations conveyed three things to me:

1. Apparently the Academy wants even fewer people to watch the show this year.

2. The Academy voters are out of touch with American moviegoers.

3. The Oscars are no longer relevant.

That is how upset I am about "The Dark Knight" not being nominated for Best Picture, and Christopher Nolan getting snubbed for director. I have a feeling that Heath Ledger wouldn't be nominated in his unbelievable performance as the Joker if he was still alive. This irks me even more than "Shakespeare In Love" beating out "Saving Private Ryan" for Best Picture.

I haven't seen all of the nominees, but TDK was the best movie I had seen last year. I saw "Benjamin Button," and I thought it was a good movie but not a great movie. It bore a striking resemblance to "Forrest Gump" (possibly because both movies had the same screenwriter), but was a little better because of convincing special effects, and director David Fincher's penchant for witty humor and refusal to let the film get overly sentimental. The bottom line is "TDK" was a better movie.

"The Reader" was supposedly the movie that "stole" TDK's spot. It received mixed reviews, and was supposedly just an okay adaptation of the book.

"Slumdog Millionaire" is this year's "Juno," the little film that surprised everyone. After its sweep at the Golden Globes, it's the favorite to win.

Anyway, back to the travesty that is the "TDK" snub. One could argue that Oscar doesn't want to pander, and the public doesn't always like the best movies... Just because McDonald's sells more food than any other restaurant doesn't make it the best. Still, huge moneymakers like "Titanic" and "LOTR: Return of the King" have been nominated for and have won Oscars. Also, most critics said the film brought the "superhero" genre to another level, and had it on most of their top ten lists. I just believe that the Academy thinks it's too good to have a "comic book movie" among their Best Picture nominees.

Also, Wall-E, another great film, was snubbed, likely because the film was relegated to the Animated Feature category (which it will most likely win), and didn't want a "cartoon" among their Best Picture nominees. By the way, "Wall-E" has a good shot at winning for Best Original Screenplay, aka the Citizen Kane Pulp Fiction consolation prize (since, once again, TDK's screenplay wasn't nominated.)

Once again, the Academy has proven to me that they are mostly interested in big, sprawling epics, and artsy, stuffy films that are too depressing and/or boring to be watched more than once.

However, there were some good picks that came out of this year's mess. Robert Downey Jr. got a nod for "Tropic Thunder," and Taraji P. Henson was recognized for her role as Benjamin Button's adopted mother.

Some people will probably tune in because on Brangelina's nomination. Pitt was nominated for "Benjamin Button" and Jolie for "Changeling."

Still, I am so upset at this point that I am seriously considering not watching the Oscars this year, because I hope this becomes the lowest-rated telecast in Oscar history, and these guys get the message to either wake up and smell what they are shoveling, and/or bring some new, young blood into the Academy's membership rolls.

More random thoughts...

First of all, Warner Bros. and Fox came to an agreement on "Watchmen," so it will be released as scheduled in March! Apparently, Fox will receive a flat fee along with a cut of the gross, and will even get a piece if there are sequels to this movie. I think that's a little too much money because Fox didn't think the movie would be a success and deliberately tried to unload the movie rights, but the point is the movie will release on time!

I watched "Pineapple Express" on DVD and enjoyed it thoroughly. A very original idea, great acting, great story and a good balance of action and comedy. I also disagree with the critics- the movie was not too long.

Finally, my dude of the month (the previous recipient was Niners coach Mike Singletary), Is Chelsey Sullenburger, the pilot of the US Airways jet that landed in the Hudson River the other day. The plane takes off from LaGuardia, and a flock of birds cripples both of the engines. Sullenberger, a former Air Force fighter pilot who flew the F-4, realizes he won't make it to an airport, so he aims for the river. He keeps the plane in one piece during landing, and keeps his composure, making sure everyone exits the plane in a timely fashion. He even checks the plane twice to make sure no one is left behind. Because this guy did his job perfectly, no one on the plane was killed or seriously injured. The next time I am on a plane, I hope this guy is the pilot.

Another list of the greatest performances.

 So, apparently the folks at Total Film Magazine stole my idea, and compiled a list of the 150 greatest performances ever.

I find it interesting that they also came up with the number 150.

Total Film is a British movie magazine, and this publication and its U.K. counterpart Empire Magazine are both great magazines. They are fun to read, and the writers are simply people who love movies, not snotty film critics who only like artsy-fartsy foreign movies, or like the people at Premiere magazine, who are little more than paid shills for the movie studios. These are just a bunch of guys who love movies, and, like me, are more into the big special-effects movies (at least the good ones) and genre movies. The magazine definitely is geared toward guys, though. (One of their lists is the 69 greatest movie sex scenes.)

This was an interesting list, to say the least. Their knowledge of movies is obviously a lot more broad than mine, and there were a lot of performances from older movies on the list which I either need to see or have no desire to see. First of all, here are the performances that were on my list, and their rank on the TF list.

Robert Shaw, Jaws (150)

Christian Bale, American Psycho (148)

Eddie Murphy, Bowfinger (136)

Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption (134)

Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast (128)

Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream (115)

Uma Thurman, Kill Bill (103)

Daniel Craig, Casino Royale (98)

Paul Giamatti, Sideways (96)

Reese Witherspoon, Election (92)

Tom Hanks, Cast Away (91)

Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove (80)

Edward Norton, American History X (72)

Frances McDormand, Fargo (71)

Kathy Bates, Misery (65)

Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas (61)

Brad Pitt, Fight Club (59)!!!!

Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands (55)

Leonardo DiCaprio, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (53)

Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs (48)

Sigourney Weaver, Aliens (47)

Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction (45)

Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange (41)

Joe Pesci, Goodfellas (37) - it says in this article that Pesci retired from acting... I can’t blame him after “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag.”

Peter Finch, Network (36)

Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry (16)

Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II (4)

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will be Blood (3)

28 performances in common! Not too shabby.

Their greatest performance of all time was Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” I have only seen parts of this movie, and that’s why it wasn’t on my list.

There were also several very daring and creative picks I have to give them credit for, like Christopher Guest in “This Is Spinal Tap” (These go to 11!), John Cusack in “Grosse Point Blank” (which I should have put on the list), Sly Stallone for “Rocky,” (ditto), Steve McQueen, the epitome of coolness in “The Great Escape,” (He was on my list for “The Sand Pebbles”), Winona Ryder in the cult classic “Heathers,” Mark Wahlberg as Dirk Diggler in “Boogie Nights,” Harrison Ford as Han Solo in “Star Wars” (A performance he is supposedly ashamed of), Schwarzenegger as the title role in “The Terminator,” Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off,” Steve Martin in “The Man With Two Brains,” and of course, the Brits can’t leave out Sean Connery as James Bond in “Goldfinger,” the quintessential 007 movie. Finally, you know these people know what they are talking about, because Jeff Bridges as The Dude in “The Big Lebowski” earns a spot on the list.

Kudos for putting Daniel Day-Lewis at #3 for “There Will be Blood.” He really was that good.

It looks like each actor can only appear on the list once... I guess that’s why Brando isn’t listed for “The Godfather.” Instead, they recognized him for “On the Waterfront.”

Overall, I think it's a very good list with a wide variety of dates and genres. No list is perfect though... There are a few I disagree with like Kim Basinger in “L.A. Confidential” (was she even acting?) James Spader in “Crash” (the 1996 movie) which was a sick, twisted and downright awful movie. And Ellen Burstyn’s performance in “Requiem for a Dream” was way too low at #115. I would put it in my top five. And out of all of Russell Crowe’s great performances, they recognize the horrendously overrated “Gladiator?!”

Finally, where the hell is Gordon Gekko, the greatest movie character of all time?

12 movies I can't wait to see in 2009

Here are the films I am looking the most forward to this year... Who knows how many of them I will actually see with a baby on the way...

1. Star Trek (5/8)

The good: After Rick Berman ran this franchise into the ground with mediocre series and movies, Trek returns to theaters with J.J. Abrams at the helm, taking on the origin story of Captain Kirk and his crew. As a lifelong Trekker, I have been busting to see this ever since the announcement that the movie would be made. The visuals in the trailer look great, I love the new yet retro look of the Enterprise, and the bridge looks like an Apple Store on crack. Kudos for casting Zachary Quinto as Spock and Simon Pegg as Scotty. I hope this Chris Pine guy can fill the larger-than-life shoes of Jim Kirk.

The bad: The trailer is nonstop action from beginning to end, and I hope the actual movie is not wall-to-wall action, because "Star Trek is about people and emotions." (Gene Roddenberry's exact words). On the other hand, I hope the super hardcore Trekkers give the movie a little bit of latitude and don't expect every little shit detail to be absolutely correct, because this movie, even though it is "Trek," is a re-imagining of the concept. There are already people complaining that the saucer on the Enterprise is the wrong size, and I agree with Shatner that they need to get a life and get out of their parents' basements!

2. Watchmen (3/6?) 

The good: This film, about costumed heroes in an alternate timeline in which the U.S. won the Vietnam War and Nixon is serving his fifth term as president, is based on what many say is the best graphic novel ever created. I am currently 3/4 of the way through it and it has blown me away. The plot, the characters and the artwork is like nothing I have ever seen before. The film has a big enough budget ($130 million) to handle the effects, will be rated R, and has a director (Zack Snyder) who seems to respect the source material. The trailers look damn good!

The bad: Legal problems, particularly a judge's ruling that Fox still owns the rights to the film, and Warner Bros. shouldn't be allowed to release it may delay the film. The result will be millions of pissed off comic book fans and moviegoers, so it would behoove both studios to resolve this dispute ASAFP.

3. Inglorious Basterds (8/21)

The good: Quentin Tarantino directs a film taking place in WWII Europe. He calls the film his version of "The Dirty Dozen." I'm sold!

The bad: Hmmm... I'm thinking....

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (7/17)

The good: Director David Yates, who did a great job with "The Order of the Phoenix" returns. Also, I look forward to how a major plot development at the end of the book will turn out on the screen.

The bad: There really isn't anything that can go wrong here.

5. Avatar (12/18)

The good: James Cameron directs his first feature film since "Titanic". That was 11 years ago! Cameron promises a compelling sci-fi script with groundbreaking special effects. I, for one, believe him.

The bad: Multiple production delays and a budget approaching $300 million. This will likely be the most expensive movie ever made. Deja vu, anyone?

6. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (6/26)

The good: The first movie had little substance, but the effects were mind-blowing, and it was an absolute blast to watch. This time around, most of the cast is back, and the budget is up significantly over the first film, so I'm expecting another great popcorn movie.

The bad: Four words, "A Michael Bay Film."

7. Public Enemies (7/1)

The good: Johnny Depp plays John Dillinger, and Christian Bale plays the FBI agent who tries to take him down. I'm sold!

The bad: Michael Mann's last film, "Miami Vice," was a disappointment.

8. Monsters vs. Aliens (3/27)

The good: Good premise, and trailers make the movie look like it will have good action scenes and a lot of laughs. Dreamworks' animation department has been underwhelming lately, churning out "Shrek" sequels, and movies with groups of cute CGI animals that have mostly been 90-minute strings of pop-culture references and little actual plot. This film looks like a refreshing break from this. And Colbert plays the President of the United States!

The bad: The trailers have a few too many flatulence jokes for my tastes, and I hope this doesn't carry over to the movie.

9. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (5/1)

The good: Takes the best character from the X-Men movies and gives him his own story. Hugh Jackman says he loves playing this role.

The bad: Have the X-Men films worn out their welcome? Also, if "Watchmen" gets delayed as a result of the judge ruling that Fox has the rights to the film, many fans promised to boycott this movie, released by Fox.

10. Terminator: Salvation (5/22)

The good: Trailers look great, and the post-apocalyptic storyline looks compelling. Christian Bale portrays John Connor. I'm sold!

The bad: Can a Terminator movie work without Schwarzenegger? And former music video director McG, who was a grade-A hack on the awful Charlie's Angels films, redeemed himself with "We Are Marshall," but he is still a question mark in my book.

11. The Wolf Man (11/6)

The good: Now is a good time for a remake of this film, and they wisely decided to keep the setting in 1880s London. Also, the screenplay is co-written by Andrew Kevin Walker, who wrote "Se7en" and gave an uncredited rewrite to "Fight Club." Legendary makeup artist Rick Baker, who was responsible for the shocking transformations in the now classic "An American Werewolf in London" is also working on this film.

The bad: The film was moved from February to November, possibly because of production and/or marketing problems.

12. Untitled Bruno Project (5/15)

The good: "Borat" was one of the funniest movies ever made. In "Bruno," Sascha Baron Cohen is back, this time as a gay Austrian fashion reporter who wants to start a TV show in America. Supposedly "Bruno" uses the same mockumentary filmmaking approach, in which unsuspecting people who are interviewed appear in the movie. Cohen supposedly even made it on to the set of the TV show "Medium" in character, and this footage may or may not appear in the film.

The bad: This type of film was funny once, but could it work a second time?

Deliberately NOT on this list:

2012: Yet another special effects-laden disaster movie from Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, which I am sure will have about as much depth as a puddle on a sidewalk.

Sherlock Holmes: Robert Downey Jr. is now an A-list star and a good choice to play such a legendary role, but Guy Ritchie should not be directing anything, let alone a big-budget star vehicle. 

The year in movies... A wrap-up

I don't have enough movies to fill a top 10 list, so I will just list my favorites of the year. I hope the Academy decides to recognize more mainstream films as opposed to the usual sprawling epics, period pieces, and artsy-fartsy stuff, because many of this year's summer films have been better and smarter than ever.

"Iron Man": Concentrates more on characters than effects and action, but still is very entertaining. Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly cast.

"The Dark Knight": The best movie of the year, and the ultimate superhero/comic book movie. The intricate plot and complex characterizations, along with some bang-up action sequences make this an unforgettable film. If Chris Nolan decides to make a third movie, he will be hard pressed to top this. If the Academy doesn't give this movie nods for supporting actor (the late Heath Ledger), director, and picture, they should be ashamed of themselves.

"Tropic Thunder": The funniest movie of the year was a great spoof of war movies and viciously poked fun at the shallowness of the movie industry. Robert Downey Jr.'s performance in blackface was one of the many highlights of the film (take notice, Oscar!). Also, the appearance of a certain A-list movie actor as a chubby, balding movie producer was hilarious, though not the career reviver that many people thought it was.

"WALL-E": I wasn't exactly gushing over this when I saw this in the movie theater, but I enjoyed it more and better appreciated the film's intricacies after repeat viewings. WALL-E was visually stunning, and had a great plot despite the limited use of dialogue. The film also communicates a very clear, but not heavy-handed message about the environment.

"Cloverfield": Very clever and creative look at a gigantic creature attacking New York through the eyes of ordinary people. Fun to watch and very scary. Also, the effects were top-notch considering the $25 million budget.

"Hellboy II": See below.

I can't really come up with a worst movies list, since I only saw two truly bad movies this year... "The Happening" and "Be Kind Rewind." I will spare you the details and just advise you to avoid these movies at all costs, although "The Happening" is often so bad it's funny.

Instead, I will give you my biggest disappointments of the year. Here goes...

"Jumper": It looked like a great premise, with a great concept, cool effects and a decent director (Doug Liman). Instead, we get a barely watchable film with a cliched plot, unlikable characters and lousy acting. The film leaves room for a sequel that will never be seen. I am not shedding any tears.

"Indiana Jones and the Lame Space Aliens": Not horrible, but a huge waste of time and money. This movie should not have been made, because it screws up an otherwise great trilogy. The South Park episode on this movie pretty much sums it up.

"Zack and Miri Make a Porno": I thought Seth Rogen's everyman charm and improvisational off-the-cuff acting style would be a perfect match for Kevin Smith's style of moviemaking. Instead, it looks like Smith is trying to make his version of a Judd Apatow movie, except this movie isn't nearly as funny as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" or "Knocked Up," and the romance between the characters seems saccahrine and artificial.

I guess it's about time I added something...

School is about to start up again on Monday, so I probably should post something while I have the time.

I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," the first movie I have seen in some time. I enjoyed the movie, liked the concept, and would recommend it, but it didn't knock my socks off. The effects were unbelievable. You couldn't tell what was makeup and what was CGI. Everything looked totally realistic, and the best special effects are the ones you don't notice. Also, Brad Pitt was great, and it's evident that David Fincher is now one of the top film directors out there.

However, the story was a little too much like "Forrest Gump." Both movies were an epic journey through time, but this time it was with someone who ages in reverse rather than a mentally handicapped person. It went for the heartstrings at times, but never went overboard (see Adams, Patch). Again, a good movie, but not particularly memorable and not one of the best of the year.

On DVD, I finally got to watch "Hellboy II." Loved it. A huge improvement over its prequel. Now that director Guillermo Del Toro has made a name for himself ("Pan's Labyrinth" was unbelievably good), the studio let him have free rein on this film. The plot, about an ancient feud between humans and elves was compelling, the characters were well-developed and quite funny at times, and the creatures and effects were great. Del Toro's imagination and creativity are as good as ever here, and he makes the most out of the modest (by today's standards) $80 million budget. I really hope another sequel is on the way, because a lot of plot lines are deliberately left up in the air. And I can't wait to see what he does with "The Hobbit."