The Oscar Noms or Avatard Will Be The Death Of Me

The Academy Awards. The most prestigious award ceremony on the face of the planet. Which is pretty sad, considering they have always been political and have are now nothing  more than a ratings grab (which is also political).

I used to love the Oscars. When I was little, I believe I was in 6th grade, I watched the Academy Awards for the first time at my grandma's house. After watching it, I wanted nothing more to be in that room with those people. I had no aspirations to win one (I still don't want one. They're a money and career maker sure, but to me it's valueless because of the politics), I just wanted to sit in the same room as these great people who make movies.

It was really the first time I seriously considered filmmaking as a career. Though I officially wouldn't decide on it until High School. Though, even now I'm not sure...

But, working in Hollywood (as an intern, to be fair) has taught be how valueless the award really is. The "members of the academy" who vote for the Oscars, are your run-of-the-mill filmmakers. Writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, they all vote. And they all vote for who they are going to work with next or who they are buddies with. Not for who they think is the most deserving for their script, performance, or movie. Because, who doesn't want to work with an Academy Award winner? It means one thing: money.

I wanted to be in the same room as the people? What the fuck was wrong with me?

Like I said, it's all a sham. The most prestigious of all these sham awards, but a sham just the same.

I didn't watch the Academy Awards last year. And I'm not planning on it this year. Because, I have better stuff to do (like watch an actual movie, not an award show with clips from movies).

Still, just because I think the Oscars are valueless, doesn't mean I don't have an opinion. As always, I have a very strong opinion. And, as always, I feel compelled to force it upon you. Feel free to disagree or discuss it with me as comments on this blog or on my Fbook posting of this blog. I get off on those kind of discussions.

BEST PICTURE
AVATARD
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR
UP
AN EDUCATION
A SERIOUS MAN
DISTRICT 9
THE BLIND SIDE

THOUGHTS AND WINNER: The Hurt Locker should win. Avatard is the only likely upset. This whole 10 movies instead of five dealy really is a mixed bag. Obviously a move to grab more viewers, as big grossing hits like Blind Side, Up, and Avatar may not have made it otherwise. This change comes after the Dark Knight was left out, a film many though deserved a nomination and would have made for greater ratings. There just wasn't room for the Dark Knight with 5 nominees, so the category was expanded so it would never get snubbed again (oops, too late! But better late than never I guess...)!

It's awesome that Up got a nom! Usually Animated films get shafted. Which is a shame, because Pixar movies are every bit as good as non-animated films. Out of 10 films, Up is certainly one of the years best. I obviously also totally agree with Inglourious Basterds and A Serious Man. I respect Up In The Air and District 9, but both are overrated. I understand why Precious was nominated, even if I wasn't a fan.

With all my love for Inglourious Basterds, making it my #1 movies of 09 and all, I actually would rather see The Hurt Locker win best picture. Because it really is the highest quality movie of the year. That shit is the perfect flick!

WTF! NOT DESERVING: Avatard? For me, the best way to judge the quality of the movie is 40% script (I am a screenwriter after all, so script is very important), 30% acting/directing, and 20% everything else. Avatard seems to have earned an Oscar nom based on that 20% everything else alone. In this case, special effects.

I would call Avatard the least deserving Best Picture Nom ever, but the Blind Side was also nominated this year. Now, I haven't seen the Blind Side, but it looked like trash. Pure, unadulterated trash. Avatar and The Blind Side were obviously the two "ratings grab" pics of the bunch, because popular movies make for better ratings. And neither deserve to be anywhere near the Best Picture category, even if there were 20 nominees!

I got into an argument with a girl today at work about Avatard. She said she couldn't talk with someone who didn't like Avatard. It's not like I'd have stimulating conversation with someone stupid enough to think Avatard is the best picture of the year anyway...

SNUBBED: Star Trek! If your looking for a popular film that has great special effects AND a good script, why not go with Star Trek? It's characters were more three dimensional than Avatard's (even without the 3-D glasses) and old Star Trek, it was much better paced (hard to get bored in a 2 hour movie), its message didn't bash you over the head, it was exciting, it was emotional (don't tell me your eyes didn't tear up in the opening scene [which was a masterpiece of a scene by the way!] and your heart didn't soar at the end when The Enterprise came screaming out of warp just in time to save Spock, our crew functioning as a perfect unit... sigh... so dreamy...), it was expertly acted, and the dialog was incredibly strong. Fuck, I could watch it right now. Star Trek was not simply the best written and executed blockbuster of the year, it is one of the best of the decade, rivaling other greats like The Dark Knight, Minority Report, and Casino Royale.

This may be coming from a Trekkie, but remember, I was NOT a Trekkie until I saw this year's Star Trek. In fact, being a Star Wars fan, I was strongly anti-Trek. Its converting power alone speaks highly of it's quality.

Moon was also snubbed. In any other year (any year without Star Trek [I do mean this year's movie, not any Trek movie]) Moon would have easily been the best Sci Fi film of the year. Moon feels like a classic 70s Sci Fi flick, yet it's brand new. Expertly written, acted, and directed (by a first timer), Moon truly deserved a best picture nomination.

I know this is all opinion, but I really feel Moon and Star Trek were among the years 10 best made films. Observe and Report was my second favorite film of '09, but you don't see me championing that film for a best picture nom! Nor am I saying that Sherlock Holmes (which I loved, loved, loved) deserves a best picture nom. I feel that I understand the difference between a film I personally enjoy and a film that is just fucking great, and Moon and Star Trek are both.

Also, The Road probably could have used a Nom over a lot of those choices. It was better than Up In The Air, Precious, District 9, and Avatard (haven't seen Blind Side or An Education [wow. I've seen all but 2 this year. Out of 10!].), but I'm not going to get nit picky. Moon and Star Trek are more deserving anyway.

And, by the way, I am now watching (listening) to Star Trek as I write this. 1080p HD picture is wasted as I write this blog. Because I love you.

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges - CRAZY HEART
George Clooney - UP IN THE AIR
Colin Firth - A SINGLE MAN
Morgan Freeman - INVICTUS
Jeremy Renner - THE HURT LOCKER

THOUGHTS: To be honest, I've only seen 2 of these performances. George Clooney was okay, not really anything impressive about his role in Up In The Air. Seen it before, George. Ever hear of Michael Clayton? Pretty similar character, much better acted.

Renner, though, I love Renner (a character in the script I am writing now is named Renner. The most bad-ass character). He is incredibly bad-ass in The Hurt Locker (see? Bad-ass). I'm not sure it was the best performance of the year, but it was pretty awesome and he's the only one on the list I can think to root for. Jeff Bridges is awesome normally, but Crazy Heart looks lame, so I gotta go Renner (though, like I said, I have not seen Crazy Heart, A Single Man, or Invictus). Bridges totally should have gotten an Oscar for his Iron Man role, though! Awesome baddie.

Snubs: Sam Rockwell. He's really the best lead performance I can think of this year. I don't want to spoil the plot to Moon, so I won't say why he rocked so hard, I'll just say he did rock... hard. He is the fucking man. The best man, this year. And he got snubbed.

Also, Michael Stuhlbarg rocked A Serious Man oh, so hard. He is more than deserving. But, in a category with only five noms, it is not surprising he was left out. The Academy prides themselves on snubbing comedic preformances (even one as serious as Mr. Stuhlbarg's). 

Other than that, it would have been cool to see Chris Pine as Kirk get a nom or Brad Pitt from Basterds (though Pitt's part would most likely fit better under supporting, even though he was the poster and trailer), but neither were especially deserving. It's just more my personal preference. I mean, you gotta give Pine some props for owning the role of Captain Kirk without doing a Shatner impression. Also, Mark Ruffalo is a lot of fun in Brothers Bloom and Viggo worked really fucking hard on The Road, but I'm no surprised neither got nominated.  

Oh, and Robert Downey Jr. was pretty great as Mr. Holmes. But, the world kinda has it right. It was must more a Golden Globe worthy performance than an Oscar performance. But a nom would have been a start in making up for his being robbed by Heath Ledger last year (was that last year?). Heath only won cause he's dead (Sorry to say it, but it's true. That's politics, bitch). His performance rocked, no doubt about it, but Downey Jr. as an Irish actor playing an African American was unbelievable.

I guess I would have liked to see Christoph Waltz get the lead nom, but it's fair enough that he got best supporting. He did have the most screen time of any dude in Basterds, and he was easily the best actor in any category this year, but it makes sense that his role only counts as supporting.

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep - JULIE & JULIA
Carey Mulligan - AN EDUCATION
Gabourey Sidibe - PRECIOUS
Sandra Bullock - THE BLIND SIDE
Helen Mirren - THE LAST STATION

THOUGHTS: I really don't have much to say about actresses, because I must be sexist. Or gay. Because I really don't pay much attention to female roles. I will say though, that if Meryl Streep got nominated for anything, she probably deserves to win it (even though I haven't seen Julie & Julia).  Because she is the greatest actress of all time. Just amazing. The Precious girl was really awesome too, so her winning wouldn't be a bad thing.

WTF! UNDESERVING: Okay, like I said, I haven't seen The Blind Side. But, having seen Sandra Bullock in many other films (Speed being one of them) it's hard to believe she is talented enough to be nominated for anything. The trailer for Blind Side confirms this. Throwing on a bad accent is not acting. Ratings grab!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Woody Harrelson - THE MESSENGER
Christopher Plummer - THE LAST STATION
Stanley Tucci - THE LOVELY BONES
Matt Damon - INVICTUS

WINNER & THOUGHTS: It doesn't even matter who else was nominated, Christoph Waltz had the greatest performance of the year. Of the decade even.  His is right up there with Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men.

SNUBBED: I'm not even going to take the time to think about it. Because Christoph owns it. If he doesn't win, it will be the biggest upset of the year (meaning it will be what I am most upset about. Even more upset than if Avatard wins in every cat. The man is that deserving!).

Fine, I'll do one. But it's totally personal. Karl Urban was an incredible Dr. Bones McCoy. Both because he was most like the original character and he was playing my favorite character. But, still, he was no Deforest Kelly. That man is one of the greats.

Fine, I'll do two... and three. But they're also personal. I thought Jude Law and Mark Strong both rocked Sherlock Holmes pretty hard. But neither are really Oscar quality. Just personal preference.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vera Farmiga - UP IN THE AIR
Anna Kendrick -  UP IN THE AIR
Mo'nique - PRECIOUS
Penelope Cruz - NINE
Maggie Gyllenhaal - CRAZY HEART

THOUGHTS: Don't have a whole lot, cause of the whole sexist and homosexual thing.  Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were both great in Up In The Air though. Far better than Mr. Clooney.

BEST ANIMATED FILM
UP
CORALINE
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
THE SECRET OF KELLS
THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX

THOUGHTS: Up! Up got nominated for both Best Picture and Best Animated Film! Fantastic (not Mr. Fox)! Awesome! I loved Up! Totally deserves it. It would be nice to share the love, though. If Up were to win Best Picture, Coraline should get Best Animated, cause that movie rocked too. As far as Animation goes, it was even better than Up, but like I said, animation is only part of it. Up had a far better script, so it will win the category. Which is just, because it will not win best picture.

I was not a big fan of Fantastic Mr. Fox. The animation was lazy, the script was 'meh,' just not that good. There aren't any more deserving animated films, so I'm not complaining (unless it wins). I'm just thankful Monsters Vs. Aliens was not nominated. Even though Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Stephen Colbert, and Will Arnett were all in that movie, it sucked balls. Big, sweaty balls.

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow - THE HURT LOCKER
 James Cameron - AVATAR
Quentin Tarantino - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Jason Reitman - UP IN THE AIR
Lee Daniels - PRECIOUS

THOUGHTS: Give it to Kathryn Bigelow! See, I'm not sexist! But, seriously, she deserves it. Her film was the best. Interesting factoid, I heard on NPR that she is actually James Cameron's ex-wife. As is tradition, I did no fact checking, but if that's true, that's crazy! I hope to God she wins, just so she can shove it in that prick of an ex-husband's face (Cameron really is an arrogant prick. Who calls their own movie a game changer? Asshole.)!

Tarantino and Reitman are also deserving. Up In The Air is Reitman's worst movie in my opinion, but he is a fantastic director. And Basterds really is Taratino's masterpiece, so I can't argue with that nom. Taratino may be arrogant, but at least he's less arrogant than Cameron.

SNUBBED: J.J. Aaaaaabrams (Leeeeroy Jeeeeenkins!!!!)!!!! The man is a master of the motion picture (not so much the TV show [LOST sucks!]). Mission Impossible III and Star Trek are both amazing films. Both saved a doomed franchise. He is a fantastic director and deserves the directing nomination even more than Star Trek deserves the Best Picture nom.

The Coen Bros! They need to get nominated every year. Because they are two of the best directors at work today. Their skills are far superior to Tarantino's, Cameron's, Reitman's, Peter Jackson's or basically anyone but Stephen Spielberg. They rock. And A Serious Man rocks. The biggest mystery of the year may be why the weren't nominated.

WTF! UNDESERVING: James Cameron. Maybe he was great once (I still respectfully disagree), but Avatard was not deserving! The man's far past his prime. Don't really need to get into too much of an Avatard rant... again...

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nick Hornby - AN EDUCATION
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell - DISTRICT 9
Jesse Armstrong and Armando Iannucci - IN THE LOOP
Geoffrey Fletcher - PRECIOUS
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner - UP IN THE AIR

THOUGHTS: I've only seen three, District 9, Precious, and Up In The Air, and none of the scripts were really deserving of an Academy Award. But, all are decent, so it's not an outrage if any wins. I will say, Up In The Air is my first pick of the five, and District 9 is my second fav. There just weren't any great adaptations this year. All the best shit was original. Up In The Air will most likely win.

SNUBBED: Sherlock Holmes? Not really, cause it isn't Oscar quality. But, personally, I like it as far as adapted scripts go in '09. Does Trek count as Adapted? Probably, not, but if so, it's a better script than District 9.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Mark Boal - THE HURT LOCKER
Pete Docter and Bob Peterson - UP
Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon - THE MESSENGER
Joel and Ethan Coen - A SERIOUS MAN

THOUGHTS: Didn't see The Messenger, but the other four are all GREAT choices! Quite possibly the best pool of choices ever. Basterds has some pretty fantastic dialog, The Hurt Locker is shockingly real and insightful, A Serious Man is hilarious and quirky in that Coen way, and Up might be the best written animated film of all time. What a great pool! I really don't know who I want to win!

SNUBBED: Hmmmm, like I said, those noms are pretty great. Because I didn't see The Messenger, my own personal list would switch it out for Star Trek. Cause that really was a solid script.

THANK GOD: Avatard wasn't nominated! If it had been, the Oscars would have suddenly no longer been the most presitigious sham. Because you'd be hard pressed to find even an Avatard fan who truly thinks the script is any good. Of course, it is such an unoriginal piece of shit, that if it had been nominated, it would had to have been under Best Adapted Screenplay.  Because it was an adaptation of Fern Gully.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
AVATAR
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
THE HURT LOCKER
SHERLOCK HOLMES
UP

THOUGHTS: Sherlock Holmes and Up both have fantastic scores. I own them both, and listen to both frequently. Up will most likely win, because it's great, but I'd rather see Sherlock Holmes win. Any other year (using this phrase because of Trek again), It'd be my favorite score. I don't remember the score to Fox or The Hurt Locker, but they must have both been pretty good. I don't doubt that. I'm gonna look into it.

WTF. UNDESERVING: Avatard again. Not just because I hate this movie, the score is truly undeserving. I like the composer, James Horner. But this score sounds like any other of his scores. It's just like his score for The Mask of Zorro. So, like the script, there is nothing original about this Best Original Score Nom.

SNUBBED: Okay, Trek may have not actually be snubbed. It may have been disqualified because even though it is only used sparingly, the Star Trek theme is not original. Though, really, the composer only used it once. His main theme for the movie was entirely original. I have a good ear for scores, and this one was robbed. It's the best of the year, no question. I was actually listening to it before I turned on the Trek Bluray.

Interesting factoid (that needs no double checking because I am a nerd and I actually know it), the same composer did Up and Star Trek (he also did the great score for Mission Impossible III). He had a hell of a year!

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK

THOUGHTS: All are deserving. Even Avatard. In fact, if Avatard doesn't win, it will have been robbed. That sounds weird coming from me, right? But it's true, Avatard has the year's best special effects. Any other year (that phrase again, with Trek, only backwards!), Trek would have deserved it. Because Star Trek has amazing special effects. Puts all other space epics to shame, even Star Wars (effects wise!).  District 9 was good for it's budget, but it gots nothing on Star Trek. And Star Trek gots nothing on Avatard.

Well, that's all folks. A huuuuuuge blog with all my Oscar thoughts. Took me forever to write... entire length of Star Trek and then some....

I really don't know enough nor care enough about the other categories. I will say, I want Holmes and Trek to win where they can in those techincal categories, to make up for a lack of other nominations.

I love you.

Best 9 Movies of '09

It's the end of the year (and the decade, but I'll get to that in a future blog)! You know what that means, right children?

Lists! Glorious lists! Let's start with the best list of them all... The Best Movies of 2009 list! A countdown! In a very particular order.

This year, I only picked 9 movies, both because it's kind of clever (best 9 of '09, see what I did there?) and because there really are only 9 movies this year that deserve the honor of being listed (that's right, being listed by me is an honor, mother fucker!). I mean, there were other good movies this year, like The Hangover, Up In The Air, Taken, Watchmen, Coraline, and I Love You Man - just to name a few - but none of those movies are good enough to be on my list. I only list the cream of the crop... the gems... the movies I would theoretically show my children in 25 or so years (should they exist [damn, I sure talk about my children a lot in these blogs... say something about my subconscious much?]).

These are the movies you, yes YOU, owe it to yourself to see, if you value my opinion (and if you don't why the fuck are you reading my blog, cockface?). You may not agree on all, but you should at least see them so you can formulate your own opinion.

A word of warning before we proceed. Though it is safe for all to view the names on the list, if you haven't seen a movie, I would not read my explanation about why I chose it, as it will contain spoilers. If you saw the movie though, please read about why I chose it.

So, without further ado, here we go!


9. Moon - An original Sci Fi movie? Yes, 2009 had three notable ones (Avatar, District 9, and Moon) An original Sci Fi movie a low budget? 2009 had two of them (District 9 and Moon). An original Sci Fi movie that was great? 2009 only had one... Moon (District 9 was merely good and Avatar was fair at best). Moon has a real classic feeling premise and pays homage to classic Sci Fi flicks like 2001: A Space Odyssey, without becoming a rip off. I love the story of man works isolated on moon, man has accident, man finds out he has a clone. Though the twist of a station run on the man power of clones who are afterward incinerated was telegraphed too well, leaving the twist not quite the shock it could have been, it still stands as a fucking great Sci Fi film. Sam Rockwell fucking kills it, proving again why he deserves to be one of my favorite actors (another honor for all to aspire toward). Double the Rockwell really is double the fun. Seriously, the man should get an Oscar nom for his fantastic acting opposite himself. Can't wait to see him in Iron Man 2, hopefully his part is bigger than the first trailer suggests.



8. Up - Though it really is hard to compare any movie to Toy Story, as it stands as a classic at this point, Up is most certainly, at the very least, my second favorite Pixar film (possibly my fav). While last year I felt Wall-E was hugely overrated, Up deserves every bit of praise it has received. No animated film has better tugged at the heart strings. The dialogue-less montage showing the life and times of Carl and Ellie was heartbreaking and the end with Carl filling the void left by Russell's father made me teary eyed as well. The humor was also especially poignant, as the squeaky voiced alpha dog had me in stitches with every phrase, both times I viewed it. The 3-D was killer too, and the animation was the best of the year (even Cameron's MoCap can't "out magic" Pixar). I also love the 1930s, adventure aesthetic the film had going on (very Indiana Jones). There is no justice in the movie world if Up does not recive an Oscar nom... for Best Picture, not best animated film.



7. The Road - Every once and a while I need a film that is simply, "depressing as fuck" (which is why No Country for Old Men is my favorite film of the decade [but more on that in a future blog]) to get a break from all the candy films (you know, the blockbusters like Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes). This year, The Road fit the bill quite nicely (as well as two darker ones to come [and by darker, I am not saying they are darker than The Road, because this is an impossibility). The Road is incredibly faithful to the book as far as I can remember it (it's been a while since I listened to the book on tape). The movie isn't ruined by Hollywood, that is, no explanations for the end of the world are forced on the audience. It's just as ambiguous as the book. The story of survival of a father and son is as engaging as it is depressing and heart breaking. The ending is fantastic, as it's not necessarily happy. Though we, as the audience, are confident this family will not devour the boy, we do realize, in horror, that they were the ones who were following the man and the boy with the dog. So, the man and the boy left the god-send of a shelter to escape friendlies. Also, though finding the family gives us hope for the boy, we know all are doomed, eventually. I love bittersweet endings like this.



6. Sherlock Holmes - This is one of those movies that seems tailor made for me. A buddy cop/bromance at it's soul, with plenty of badass action and humor (would one expect anything less from Guy Ritchie?). Downey Jr. and Jude Law are fantastic together, and their back-and-forths are incredibly amusing in a very Riggs/Murtaugh, Lee/Carter, Cassidy/Sundance way. Though much CGI is required to create 19th century London, little is used in place of old fashioned stunt work. Holme's investigative skills mirror Shawn Spencer's of Psych (Holmes stories were most likely an influence on the fake psychic detective) and the apparent use of magic and Holme's skepticism toward it would not feel out of place in an Indiana Jones movie. I always love Mark Strong and he makes a fantastic foe here, getting the chance to deliver great "evil doer" speeches (which I get weak in the knees for). Plus, this film beautifully sets up the sequel through the mysterious Moriarty, just as Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace have build up the Quantum organization. Cannot wait for Sherlock Holmes 2. Let us hope the rumors that one, Brad Pitt, will play Moriarty are true. Guy Ritchie really is a phenomenal director, as Snatch, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, RocknRolla, and now Sherlock Holmes, are all among my favorite movies.



5. The Hurt Locker - Jesus Christ, my heart was racing this entire movie. The expression, "it keeps you on the edge of your seat" has never better described a movie than The Hurt Locker. Basically, the main character has the possibility of being blown to smithereens at nearly any moment, and you believe the filmmakers will do it, after they killed Guy Pearce in the amazing opening sequence. Though all the Iraq parts are all top notch, the movie is at it's most interesting when Renner's character returns home and we learn he really is addicted to the adrenaline of war. The film's last moments when we see that danger really is his element left a very interesting taste in my mouth indeed.




4. Star Trek - This is how you reboot a franchise, mother fucker! Both sequel and prequel, Star Trek brilliantly sets up a brand new universe for Kirk, Spock, and Bones to play in without any expectations of their fates (unlike earlier prequels where each character's fate was known). The fact that its plot mirrors Star Wars is a huge plus. I actually got a very similar feeling of wonder and joy watching Trek that I originally got 12 years ago when I first saw Star Wars. The script is great and the action scenes really are top notch (including the CGI). The space drill set piece, especially, is a masterful scene, squeezing every bit of tension possible from the scenario and setting, reminding me of the film that best makes use of tension, Jurassic Park. Seriously, first, we see Engineer Olsen miss the landing and get cooked by the laser of the drill! Then we watch as this almost happens to Kirk! Then, as Kirk fights a Romulon, the blasts of the Romulan's gun shoot holes in Sulu's parachute, making his landing dangerous! He has to slice his parachute to save himself, a decision he regrets when he later falls off the drill toward Vulcan! You get the idea, no opportunity for tension is missed. Through its great writing and casting, my love for new Trek has converted me into a "trekkie" of sorts, as now I appreciate (and even love) the old Trek movies and the original series. This and Holmes should make for some killer sequels in the coming years.



3. A Serious Man - I don't think a year goes by when a Coen Bros' movie is not on my top of the year list. A Serious Man is great, as it leaves you thinking and begs for a second viewing just like No Country For Old Men (again, No Country is my favorite film of the decade). The ending is just as inspired as No Country's. The ambigious final shot of the tornado barreling down on the children, destined, most likely, to kill them all, sends shivers down my spine. I love the way Larry and his son seem to receive immediate punishment from God himself at the ending, whether or not this is the message the Coen's intended. Full of both Coen comedy and Coen sorrow, A Serious Man stands among their best films.



2. Observe and Report - The top two films on my list earned their position by delivering something completly unexpected. Though it is great when a film fulfills or even surpasses my expectations like Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, and A Serious Man, it is a different joy all together when they defy them, delivering in a way I never imagined. Observe and Report is the most original and dark comedy in years (if it can even be called a comedy). Completely free of the Seth Rogen mold that is beginning to grow stale, Observe and Report seems to spit in the face of what is expected in the Hollywood system. I really cannot believe Warner Bros made this movie. Rogen's character, Ronny, date rapes the girl he loves and shoots a flasher in the chest at point blank range (in the most shocking scene of the year). Jody Hill is a hell of a writer/director (see also, Foot Fist Way and Eastbound and Down which make up his "main character slowly goes insane trilogy).




1. Inglourious Basterds - As previously stated, this film was not at all what I expected, in the best way possible. I love WWII movies, but Basterds is a whole new type of WWII movie. Scenes of dialog that can last for 45 minutes... yet, the dialog is so brilliant, so realistic, so filled with tension... ugh.... Wordgasm... I'm not a Taritino fan, at all (though I really like Reservoir Dogs), but this movie really is a masterpiece. Pitt delivers, of course, but you cannot, I repeat, you cannot top Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa. He really is the best villain since Chigurh in No Country, and he stands in the top three of the decade alongside Chigurh and The Joker (though I would argue he does top the late Mr. Ledger). Out of all the Oscar hopefuls this year, I feel most strongly about Christoph Waltz... give this man the fucking Oscar! Now!


Well, that's it. That's my list. Not really sure what else to say about that...

Bee (buzz) seeing you.