Well, spring break is just about here. And I'm very much ready for it. I had two essays due a day apart from each other, but thankfully they're finished, and after that the only serious thing I have to do is take a quiz in Media Arts (which will be easy, but I still have to do it) and practice memorizing my recitation for Ways of Knowing.
But while I'm finishing many things, I think I'll still be left worrying over spring break. My grandfather was just put into hospice after going to the hospital a couple days ago. His kidneys have completely shut down, and he has congestive heart failure. I didn't realize the seriousness of it at first when my mom called me Sunday night. So on Monday I wrote him a card, saying that he'll get better soon and that the doctors will do all they can to help him. But now I find out there is nothing left to do but wait for him to die.
Yet there's one thing I absolutely want to do before he goes, and that's to give him a phone call. It's making me anxious that whenever I am finally able to get a hold of him, it'll be too late. I never realized how little of him I saw. My family only made it to Florida a handful of times. So now I'm left, like with my grandmother who passed away not too long ago, that my relationship with my grandparents is very distant, and it hurts.
My dad is going to try and fly to Florida this weekend, and he hopes he won't be too late. And I'm worried I won't be able to make his funeral either. It crushed me that I couldn't come to my Grandma Harriet's, since it was so close to Christmas, and my parents just had enough to buy plane tickets for themselves. But I'm still not sure how much of a possibility it'd be. The economy has not been kind to my family.
I at the very least want to send my personal good byes through phone. That's as much as I can do. Because I think the last time I was on the phone with him, he was telling me how slow the traffic lights were around the hospital he goes too. And I really hope he gets my card too, because I wrote a joke he'd probably like. That was one thing we did when I was about 8. I told him a joke, and he would always remind me of it when I was on the phone with him.
But it seems like my father hasn't been handing the phone over to Matt and me in the later years for some reason. They used to be more lively when we were young. You almost think they would remain 80 years old for the rest of your life. But my grandpa is 89. And he has lived a full life. My Grandma Lydia is 91, and she might be gone before I even finish college.
It makes me realize my own mortality, because the next oldest people I know are my parents, and how soon will they go? My dad will be 62 in May, and my mom just turned 55.
One thing I will make sure of for my children is that they have a good relationship with their grandparents. Because I wish I had a better one with mine.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Smells Like Victory
Last night, I received a phone call from Kirby (with a rather bad line, but we dealt with it) around 11. She's quite aware about my uneasiness of her challenging the copyright issue with Pioneer, so she called to reassure me that she e-mailed Pioneer, and that her letter was very formal and polite. She even read it to me. It sounded very clear and non-confrontational, although Kirby's had trouble writing these kinds of letters in the past. She wrote a very elegant letter to the principal of our high school last year about changing the date of Snowball so that it didn't conflict with our theatre's performance dates of "Little Shop of Horrors," and our principal just about threw a fit (which, to this day, makes absolutely no sense, as I had read the letter, and it was completely polite.) At any rate, I had also contacted my cousin Brian (who has had to deal with publication), and he and his other writer friend both agreed that Kirby and I should hold onto the copyright. So we'll see how this goes.
Other than that, Kirby and I chatted for some time (until midnight at least), just catching up on things. She's still having doubts about her major (business and film), and thinks it would just be easy to go into med school where she's guaranteed a good salary. We ended our chat with plans to write a screenplay together.
I skipped Yoga this morning (for feminine health issues), and actually accomplished quite a bit. I read through "Shakespeare's Inferno," wrote a catalog description for it, and sent it to Kirby. Then I made my Top 20 list for the poetry section of the Oval, and e-mailed that off to my editor. Then I went down to housing to find out about a single room in Turner. I was right, there were none left, so I requested a room in Knowles again, and if everything goes through all right. I shall be in room 455. Since I was feeling quite on top of things, I called my mom's cousin Bud (who took Zack and I in when the snowstorm prevented us from leaving Missoula), and asked him out to lunch sometime next week.
I watched "Apocalypse Now" in my Film/Lit class. It was quite a gritty movie, but a very well done formalistic approach to the Vietnam War. Although, I'll have to say that my favorite part was the puppy. After the movie ended, I walked outside to see that my environment had turned very dark, and cold, and rainy. It was really quite miserable as I made my way to the Food Zoo to grab dinner before my plenary lecture over Darwin in the Gallagher building.
Once again, I cannot wait until the weekend.
Other than that, Kirby and I chatted for some time (until midnight at least), just catching up on things. She's still having doubts about her major (business and film), and thinks it would just be easy to go into med school where she's guaranteed a good salary. We ended our chat with plans to write a screenplay together.
I skipped Yoga this morning (for feminine health issues), and actually accomplished quite a bit. I read through "Shakespeare's Inferno," wrote a catalog description for it, and sent it to Kirby. Then I made my Top 20 list for the poetry section of the Oval, and e-mailed that off to my editor. Then I went down to housing to find out about a single room in Turner. I was right, there were none left, so I requested a room in Knowles again, and if everything goes through all right. I shall be in room 455. Since I was feeling quite on top of things, I called my mom's cousin Bud (who took Zack and I in when the snowstorm prevented us from leaving Missoula), and asked him out to lunch sometime next week.
I watched "Apocalypse Now" in my Film/Lit class. It was quite a gritty movie, but a very well done formalistic approach to the Vietnam War. Although, I'll have to say that my favorite part was the puppy. After the movie ended, I walked outside to see that my environment had turned very dark, and cold, and rainy. It was really quite miserable as I made my way to the Food Zoo to grab dinner before my plenary lecture over Darwin in the Gallagher building.
Once again, I cannot wait until the weekend.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Hanging My Head High
On days like these, I find my mind wandering, unfocusing on what I should be looking at, but getting distracted by all the pretty details around the main point.
I'm trying to find a way to get a single room in Turner Hall, since Erin and I agreed we really didn't want to double up in Miller. I know Turner has them, or at least it's stated on the website under the matrix tab. Granted, there's probably not a lot, but I'm trying just for the off chance someone may have decided against getting a single. I've been getting far too comfortable with having a roommate go home on the weekends that I really don't think I can deal with one that stays all the time. I love the privacy! I can watch movies really late at night without worrying about waking someone up! I can listen to my music! I suppose if I can't get a single, I'm going to try and get a double in Knowles Hall, hopefully on the 4th floor again. That way, I'll be closer to where Zack lives (who is making plans for Knowles). This whole thing preoccupied my mind during Yoga. Which was sort of contradictory.
After my Brit Lit class, I walked to South Higgins to this eyecare place so I could get my glasses tightened (I got them slightly bent the other day, and they keep falling off my face). The lady there tightened them, although they still feel somewhat loose. From there, I walked over to Rock'n Rudy's, listening to Patton Oswalt on my iPod and trying hard not to crack up and look like a lunatic. I bought a water container, so that way I can save some money on my meal plan from buying up water bottles.
I met up with Zack for dinner, and aftewards we went to the gym. I'm trying to shape up (even though I weighed myself there, and I'm surprisingly at 118), and Zack is trying to lose weight. I feel sort of bad for him because he loses weight easily, but he also gains it easily too. I'm trying hard not to push the whole "healthy eating regiment" on him, and just letting him push himself instead. I want to help, but sometimes I feel more like a trainer/mom/screeching back-monkey when trying to make sure he doesn't forget something, or not to eat cheeseburgers every night. I have to just be silent, because I guess that's how I'll be heard the most.
Anyway, we both worked out for about an hour, until I left to take a shower, and Zack left to do an acting project. He met me in the lobby in Knowles a little after to show me two shooting scripts he checked out of the library for me: Atonement and American Beauty. I'm excited to look at both, as I'm interested in writing a script myself, and looking at another script will give me some sort of idea in format. I don't really have much of an idea to write on, seeing as I'm trying to come up with an idea for a short story to submit to the upper-division writing class next semester. Regardless, I'm very intrigued to start looking at the shooting scripts, and looking superior in my Intro to Film class :)
And I shall end this entry with a verse from a poem we read in my Brit Lit class that really struck a cord with me. It sort of describes how I feel most of the time. It's from Tennyson's "Ulysses."
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
I'm trying to find a way to get a single room in Turner Hall, since Erin and I agreed we really didn't want to double up in Miller. I know Turner has them, or at least it's stated on the website under the matrix tab. Granted, there's probably not a lot, but I'm trying just for the off chance someone may have decided against getting a single. I've been getting far too comfortable with having a roommate go home on the weekends that I really don't think I can deal with one that stays all the time. I love the privacy! I can watch movies really late at night without worrying about waking someone up! I can listen to my music! I suppose if I can't get a single, I'm going to try and get a double in Knowles Hall, hopefully on the 4th floor again. That way, I'll be closer to where Zack lives (who is making plans for Knowles). This whole thing preoccupied my mind during Yoga. Which was sort of contradictory.
After my Brit Lit class, I walked to South Higgins to this eyecare place so I could get my glasses tightened (I got them slightly bent the other day, and they keep falling off my face). The lady there tightened them, although they still feel somewhat loose. From there, I walked over to Rock'n Rudy's, listening to Patton Oswalt on my iPod and trying hard not to crack up and look like a lunatic. I bought a water container, so that way I can save some money on my meal plan from buying up water bottles.
I met up with Zack for dinner, and aftewards we went to the gym. I'm trying to shape up (even though I weighed myself there, and I'm surprisingly at 118), and Zack is trying to lose weight. I feel sort of bad for him because he loses weight easily, but he also gains it easily too. I'm trying hard not to push the whole "healthy eating regiment" on him, and just letting him push himself instead. I want to help, but sometimes I feel more like a trainer/mom/screeching back-monkey when trying to make sure he doesn't forget something, or not to eat cheeseburgers every night. I have to just be silent, because I guess that's how I'll be heard the most.
Anyway, we both worked out for about an hour, until I left to take a shower, and Zack left to do an acting project. He met me in the lobby in Knowles a little after to show me two shooting scripts he checked out of the library for me: Atonement and American Beauty. I'm excited to look at both, as I'm interested in writing a script myself, and looking at another script will give me some sort of idea in format. I don't really have much of an idea to write on, seeing as I'm trying to come up with an idea for a short story to submit to the upper-division writing class next semester. Regardless, I'm very intrigued to start looking at the shooting scripts, and looking superior in my Intro to Film class :)
And I shall end this entry with a verse from a poem we read in my Brit Lit class that really struck a cord with me. It sort of describes how I feel most of the time. It's from Tennyson's "Ulysses."
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
And the Oscar goes to....
All together, I believe most of my predictions were big winners. Here's a quick overview, and some inquisitive thoughts:
Best Picture: Win!
Slumdog Millionaire [Called it! Quite deserving.]
Best Actor: Fail!
Sean Penn, Milk [I chose Mickey Rourke, who, by the looks of the underdog pattern the Oscars were going, I thought might get it. I secretly wanted Sean Penn to win, because he looks like he put on a very superb performance.]
Best Actress: Win!
Kate Winslet, The Reader [After about 6 noms, I'm so excited she won. She had the most gorgeous dress on too. She was one of the wins I was jumping with joy.]
Best Director: Win!
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire [I'd like to say I knew Boyle from his beginnings. And he's come a long way, so it's nice to see the guy, of which I own two of his movies, win something.]
Best Foreign Language Film: Fail!
Departures [I swear, Waltz with Bashir was all I heard the critics rave over.]
Best Score: Fail!
A.H. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire [Okay, okay, the music was very good. I just really liked the whimsical feel to Benjamin Button.]
Best Song: Fail!
Jai Ho, by A.H. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire [I kind of biffed it on this one. I got the song titles switched in my head. I really liked the song played at the end, which was this. And I think if I knew that before, it would have been my pick.]
Best Film Editing: Win!
Slumdog Millionaire [And indeed the editing was splendid.]
Best Sound Mixing: Fail!
Slumdog Millionaire [I still think WALL-E should've come home with something in sound design. It was basically all sound! But whatev.]
Best Sound Editing: Fail!
The Dark Knight [I suppose Batman needed to come away with something other than Heath Ledger's win.]
Best Visual Effects: Win!
The Curious Case of Benjamin [Like I said, Brad Pitt + trippy aging process = PURE AWESOME.]
Best Short Documentary: Fail!
Smile Pinki [I knew it was going to be one of the India ones.]
Best Feature Documentary: Win!
Man on Wire [For once, the buzz was not misleading.]
Best Supporting Actor: Win!
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight [All that wait since July was well worth it. I'm so glad Heath Ledger got the honor he deserved. And even from the grave, he can still win gold.]
Best Live Action Short Film: Win!
Spielzeugland (Toyland) [Once again, something with Nazis had to win, besides Kate Winslet.]
Best Cinematography: Win!
Slumdog Millionaire [It was beautifully filmed, even over Indian slums.]
Best Makeup: Win!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [The crazy aging process all the characters went through needed to be recognized.]
Best Costume Design: Win!
The Dutchess [Going by my theory, period pieces, especially really old ones, will almost always win.]
Best Art Direction: Win!
The Curious Case of Benjamin [It's a beautiful film, and it needed more wins.]
Best Animated Short Film: Fail!
La Maison en Petits Cubes [Okay, this one sort of threw me for a loop. Pixar, what's up? What happened to Presto the Rabbit?]
Best Animated Feature Film: Win!
WALL-E [Between a panda and a dog, cute robots are so much cooler.]
Best Adapted Screenplay: Fail!
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire [Okay, I can contest a little bit on this. But it was written very well.]
Best Original Screenplay: Win!
Dustin Lance Black, Milk [Muwhaha, I was right. We needed some mentioning of gay rights.]
Best Supporting Actress: Fail!
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona [I feel sort of stupid for just scanning over Penelope Cruz. I thought she would win the Golden Globe if Kate Winslet wasn't there. But once she was out of that category, it would've been the natural move to assume Penelope Cruz would win it.]
So there, 14/24. I was really excited for Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, and Danny Boyle. All did a marvelous job. And the upcoming movies for this year look intriguing :)
Best Picture: Win!
Slumdog Millionaire [Called it! Quite deserving.]
Best Actor: Fail!
Sean Penn, Milk [I chose Mickey Rourke, who, by the looks of the underdog pattern the Oscars were going, I thought might get it. I secretly wanted Sean Penn to win, because he looks like he put on a very superb performance.]
Best Actress: Win!
Kate Winslet, The Reader [After about 6 noms, I'm so excited she won. She had the most gorgeous dress on too. She was one of the wins I was jumping with joy.]
Best Director: Win!
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire [I'd like to say I knew Boyle from his beginnings. And he's come a long way, so it's nice to see the guy, of which I own two of his movies, win something.]
Best Foreign Language Film: Fail!
Departures [I swear, Waltz with Bashir was all I heard the critics rave over.]
Best Score: Fail!
A.H. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire [Okay, okay, the music was very good. I just really liked the whimsical feel to Benjamin Button.]
Best Song: Fail!
Jai Ho, by A.H. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire [I kind of biffed it on this one. I got the song titles switched in my head. I really liked the song played at the end, which was this. And I think if I knew that before, it would have been my pick.]
Best Film Editing: Win!
Slumdog Millionaire [And indeed the editing was splendid.]
Best Sound Mixing: Fail!
Slumdog Millionaire [I still think WALL-E should've come home with something in sound design. It was basically all sound! But whatev.]
Best Sound Editing: Fail!
The Dark Knight [I suppose Batman needed to come away with something other than Heath Ledger's win.]
Best Visual Effects: Win!
The Curious Case of Benjamin [Like I said, Brad Pitt + trippy aging process = PURE AWESOME.]
Best Short Documentary: Fail!
Smile Pinki [I knew it was going to be one of the India ones.]
Best Feature Documentary: Win!
Man on Wire [For once, the buzz was not misleading.]
Best Supporting Actor: Win!
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight [All that wait since July was well worth it. I'm so glad Heath Ledger got the honor he deserved. And even from the grave, he can still win gold.]
Best Live Action Short Film: Win!
Spielzeugland (Toyland) [Once again, something with Nazis had to win, besides Kate Winslet.]
Best Cinematography: Win!
Slumdog Millionaire [It was beautifully filmed, even over Indian slums.]
Best Makeup: Win!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [The crazy aging process all the characters went through needed to be recognized.]
Best Costume Design: Win!
The Dutchess [Going by my theory, period pieces, especially really old ones, will almost always win.]
Best Art Direction: Win!
The Curious Case of Benjamin [It's a beautiful film, and it needed more wins.]
Best Animated Short Film: Fail!
La Maison en Petits Cubes [Okay, this one sort of threw me for a loop. Pixar, what's up? What happened to Presto the Rabbit?]
Best Animated Feature Film: Win!
WALL-E [Between a panda and a dog, cute robots are so much cooler.]
Best Adapted Screenplay: Fail!
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire [Okay, I can contest a little bit on this. But it was written very well.]
Best Original Screenplay: Win!
Dustin Lance Black, Milk [Muwhaha, I was right. We needed some mentioning of gay rights.]
Best Supporting Actress: Fail!
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona [I feel sort of stupid for just scanning over Penelope Cruz. I thought she would win the Golden Globe if Kate Winslet wasn't there. But once she was out of that category, it would've been the natural move to assume Penelope Cruz would win it.]
So there, 14/24. I was really excited for Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, and Danny Boyle. All did a marvelous job. And the upcoming movies for this year look intriguing :)
More Predictions.
I thought it would be more suiting, and more interesting, if I completed my predictions for the Oscars. I won't go into much detail on why I believe my prediction is right. We'll just see when the Oscars happen:
Best Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Dutchess
Revolutionary Road
Again, I have a slight bias since I haven't seen every movie. But I think Benjamin Button will take it, since it was a beautifully directed movie.
Best Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
I'm kind of at a loss of what may get it. Although Slumdog Millionaire did wonderfully capture India's landscape.
Best Costume Design
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dutchess
Milk
Revolutionay Road
I'm choosing The Dutchess because a couple years ago, Marie Antoinette won. Oscar gets really impressed with 18th-19th century attire.
Best Documentary Feature
The Betrayel (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
From watching my critic shows, Man on Wire is always praised.
Best Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness-from the Balcony of Room 306
Again, going out on a limb here. It will probably be one of the India ones.
Best Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The editing in Slumdog really added to the suspense.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz With Bashir
This is another one I have no idea about, but Waltz With Bashir has been talked about a lot, and it's supposed to be really good.
Best Make-up
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Brad Pitt's aging was really quite breath-taking.
Best Short Animated Film
La Maison En Petits Cubes
Lavatory-Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
I loved the rabbit :)
Best Short Live Action Film
Auf Der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
WWII has to enter this award show somehow.
Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
WALL-E, I suspect, is going to grab most of the sound awards.
Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
See above.
Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Again, the aging process was AMAZING.
Best Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Dutchess
Revolutionary Road
Again, I have a slight bias since I haven't seen every movie. But I think Benjamin Button will take it, since it was a beautifully directed movie.
Best Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
I'm kind of at a loss of what may get it. Although Slumdog Millionaire did wonderfully capture India's landscape.
Best Costume Design
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dutchess
Milk
Revolutionay Road
I'm choosing The Dutchess because a couple years ago, Marie Antoinette won. Oscar gets really impressed with 18th-19th century attire.
Best Documentary Feature
The Betrayel (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
From watching my critic shows, Man on Wire is always praised.
Best Documentary Short
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness-from the Balcony of Room 306
Again, going out on a limb here. It will probably be one of the India ones.
Best Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The editing in Slumdog really added to the suspense.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz With Bashir
This is another one I have no idea about, but Waltz With Bashir has been talked about a lot, and it's supposed to be really good.
Best Make-up
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Brad Pitt's aging was really quite breath-taking.
Best Short Animated Film
La Maison En Petits Cubes
Lavatory-Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up
I loved the rabbit :)
Best Short Live Action Film
Auf Der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
WWII has to enter this award show somehow.
Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
WALL-E, I suspect, is going to grab most of the sound awards.
Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
See above.
Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Again, the aging process was AMAZING.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
My Predictions for the 81st Academy Awards
In light of the Academy Awards approaching this Sunday, I've decided to record my predictions for some of the major categories. This year really is a tight race, since to me, the best picture is really up in the air. But without further ado, I give my predictions for the 81st Academy Awards:
Best Picture
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Reader
I've really only seen the last three on this list, and I believe Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamin Button would both be very deserving to win Best Picture. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button shares my number one spot with Slumdog Millionaire, but I know only one can be the victor. So I've chosen Slumdog Millionaire because of the innovate way Danny Boyle shot the movie. The India portrayed in this film has never really been seen before, maybe with the exception of National Geographic. But even then, the story of Slumdog Millionaire seemed almost unconventional to me, in the terms of movies made in India. It was like a modern, urban, fairy tale that constantly mesmerized you with the injustice of the young boy's life, and how nearly every major event in his life helps him answer the questions on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" That's probably what stood out the most to me and makes me think Slumdog will take the Oscar in its jaws--not only because it was beautifully shot and edited with intense jumpcuts between the past and present, but because the story met itself full circle, guiding audiences to believe in fate once again. It is written.
Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Granted, I have not seen The Wrestler yet, but the buzz around Rourke is so palpable I would be surprised if he doesn't win. In just the interviews and previews I've seen, his weather-beaten mug just shows years of history behind this character. For a while, I was pulling strong for Sean Penn (who still has just as great a chance to snatch it too), but now the end of the marathon is clearing out, and I can see Rourke receiving that little golden statuette after we thought his career was long flushed down the toilet.
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Now, I did see Winslet in this one, and I'd have to say it was a stunningly chilling performance. I was confused as to why the Academy decided to drop her Revolutionary Road nomination, and put up The Reader, something she won in the Supporting Actress category at the Globes, but now I see that her role in The Reader is more Best Actrees-worthy. I've never seen Kate more tired and haggard in a role--in a good way. You really sense the heaviness later on when we discover her involvement with the Nazis. Kate did an excellent job in making this character unlikable, but intriguing at the same time, like when she says, "The dead are dead. It doesn't matter how I feel." And if the Meryl doesn't grab the Oscar to join her little army of golden men, Kate Winslet is a shoe-in.
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
Okay, if Heath Ledger doesn't get it, I will be forced to kick a baby. He's been wracking up the awards since the Globes, so all I have left to do is cross my fingers and hope the Academy gives Ledger what he deserves. And it's not because he's dead. It's because his performance was hands down one of the best of 2008. Hell, one of the best in a decade. He threw his heart and soul into that role with such gusto, that an Oscar would be a wonderful form of gratitude to this man who had so much talent.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
While watching Benjamin Button, I remember being very impressed by the woman who played Brad Pitt's "foster mom." She was genuinely engaging, from the moment she's flirting with her boyfriend at the end of WWI and discovers this ugly man-baby on her porch, to the moment she was slowly dying but still living it up with her good sensiblity. The character "Queenie" was one of my favorite performances in the movie, and I really hope Taraji P. Henson gets it.
Best Director
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
While I was slightly torn with who to choose, I really think Danny Boyle deserves this honor. I first became acquainted with him through my obsessive crush at 13 with Ewan McGregor. McGregor performed in three Boyle flicks, until their falling out with The Beach (where Leonardo DiCaprio, not McGregor, was cast): Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary. From just these three movies, I've seen how far Boyle has gone. These three films weren't shabby (Trainspotting, to me, is a classic), but after seeing Slumdog Millionaire, it was as though Boyle strengthened the skills he had in the '90s to create this fast-paced, dazzling spectacle. He's done a magnificent job here, after being unrecognized for so long, that I think it would be appropriate for him to win.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
David Hare, The Reader
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
This category is kind of tricky, since Frost/Nixon would be my second guess for adapted screenplay, seeing as it came off of the stage. But I think if someone were to take a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and turn it into a full length, almost 3 hour movie, it deserves some freaking gold. Plus, I'd like to see my beloved Benjamin Button win some awards.
Best Original Screenplay
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, WALL-E
This one is also very tricky. I think this can really go three ways: Milk, WALL-E, and Happy-Go-Lucky. These three I've heard the most about. But I remember seeing an interview with the man who wrote the screenplay for Milk, and I was quite impressed with all the research he went through to produce this story. So my money's on Milk.
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard, Defiance
Danny Elfman, Milk
A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Thomas Newman, WALL-E
Okay, I promise to back up my choice, as there were two others in this category I think would be just as worthy. The music in Benjamin Button really brought the form into the content of the movie for me. It was magical, mysterious, whimsical--everything this movie was. It really made you feel like you had entered another world with this enchanting score. My other two choices were Slumdog Millionaire and WALL-E. Slumdog, to me, dealt more with music that had lyrics, which really belongs in the Best Song category. WALL-E also had a brilliant score, making up for the lack of dialogue. It was also enchanting, but I guess I just felt more engaged with Benjamin Button.
Best Song
"Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, WALL-E
"Jai Ho" by A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
"O Saya" by A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
I have the soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire, and the first song is "O Saya," which has some wonderful tribal beats cleverly mixed in with M.I.A.'s vocals. While I liked the song from WALL-E, I just feel like "O Saya" is the anthem to this year's Oscars.
Best Animated Feature Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
Duh. WALL-E is even good enough to put into the Best Picture category if the competition wasn't so tight.
So there's my prediction list. Tune in tomorrow to see how close I came!
Best Picture
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Reader
I've really only seen the last three on this list, and I believe Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamin Button would both be very deserving to win Best Picture. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button shares my number one spot with Slumdog Millionaire, but I know only one can be the victor. So I've chosen Slumdog Millionaire because of the innovate way Danny Boyle shot the movie. The India portrayed in this film has never really been seen before, maybe with the exception of National Geographic. But even then, the story of Slumdog Millionaire seemed almost unconventional to me, in the terms of movies made in India. It was like a modern, urban, fairy tale that constantly mesmerized you with the injustice of the young boy's life, and how nearly every major event in his life helps him answer the questions on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" That's probably what stood out the most to me and makes me think Slumdog will take the Oscar in its jaws--not only because it was beautifully shot and edited with intense jumpcuts between the past and present, but because the story met itself full circle, guiding audiences to believe in fate once again. It is written.
Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Granted, I have not seen The Wrestler yet, but the buzz around Rourke is so palpable I would be surprised if he doesn't win. In just the interviews and previews I've seen, his weather-beaten mug just shows years of history behind this character. For a while, I was pulling strong for Sean Penn (who still has just as great a chance to snatch it too), but now the end of the marathon is clearing out, and I can see Rourke receiving that little golden statuette after we thought his career was long flushed down the toilet.
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Now, I did see Winslet in this one, and I'd have to say it was a stunningly chilling performance. I was confused as to why the Academy decided to drop her Revolutionary Road nomination, and put up The Reader, something she won in the Supporting Actress category at the Globes, but now I see that her role in The Reader is more Best Actrees-worthy. I've never seen Kate more tired and haggard in a role--in a good way. You really sense the heaviness later on when we discover her involvement with the Nazis. Kate did an excellent job in making this character unlikable, but intriguing at the same time, like when she says, "The dead are dead. It doesn't matter how I feel." And if the Meryl doesn't grab the Oscar to join her little army of golden men, Kate Winslet is a shoe-in.
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
Okay, if Heath Ledger doesn't get it, I will be forced to kick a baby. He's been wracking up the awards since the Globes, so all I have left to do is cross my fingers and hope the Academy gives Ledger what he deserves. And it's not because he's dead. It's because his performance was hands down one of the best of 2008. Hell, one of the best in a decade. He threw his heart and soul into that role with such gusto, that an Oscar would be a wonderful form of gratitude to this man who had so much talent.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
While watching Benjamin Button, I remember being very impressed by the woman who played Brad Pitt's "foster mom." She was genuinely engaging, from the moment she's flirting with her boyfriend at the end of WWI and discovers this ugly man-baby on her porch, to the moment she was slowly dying but still living it up with her good sensiblity. The character "Queenie" was one of my favorite performances in the movie, and I really hope Taraji P. Henson gets it.
Best Director
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
While I was slightly torn with who to choose, I really think Danny Boyle deserves this honor. I first became acquainted with him through my obsessive crush at 13 with Ewan McGregor. McGregor performed in three Boyle flicks, until their falling out with The Beach (where Leonardo DiCaprio, not McGregor, was cast): Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary. From just these three movies, I've seen how far Boyle has gone. These three films weren't shabby (Trainspotting, to me, is a classic), but after seeing Slumdog Millionaire, it was as though Boyle strengthened the skills he had in the '90s to create this fast-paced, dazzling spectacle. He's done a magnificent job here, after being unrecognized for so long, that I think it would be appropriate for him to win.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
David Hare, The Reader
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
This category is kind of tricky, since Frost/Nixon would be my second guess for adapted screenplay, seeing as it came off of the stage. But I think if someone were to take a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and turn it into a full length, almost 3 hour movie, it deserves some freaking gold. Plus, I'd like to see my beloved Benjamin Button win some awards.
Best Original Screenplay
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, WALL-E
This one is also very tricky. I think this can really go three ways: Milk, WALL-E, and Happy-Go-Lucky. These three I've heard the most about. But I remember seeing an interview with the man who wrote the screenplay for Milk, and I was quite impressed with all the research he went through to produce this story. So my money's on Milk.
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard, Defiance
Danny Elfman, Milk
A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Thomas Newman, WALL-E
Okay, I promise to back up my choice, as there were two others in this category I think would be just as worthy. The music in Benjamin Button really brought the form into the content of the movie for me. It was magical, mysterious, whimsical--everything this movie was. It really made you feel like you had entered another world with this enchanting score. My other two choices were Slumdog Millionaire and WALL-E. Slumdog, to me, dealt more with music that had lyrics, which really belongs in the Best Song category. WALL-E also had a brilliant score, making up for the lack of dialogue. It was also enchanting, but I guess I just felt more engaged with Benjamin Button.
Best Song
"Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, WALL-E
"Jai Ho" by A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
"O Saya" by A. R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
I have the soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire, and the first song is "O Saya," which has some wonderful tribal beats cleverly mixed in with M.I.A.'s vocals. While I liked the song from WALL-E, I just feel like "O Saya" is the anthem to this year's Oscars.
Best Animated Feature Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
Duh. WALL-E is even good enough to put into the Best Picture category if the competition wasn't so tight.
So there's my prediction list. Tune in tomorrow to see how close I came!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Classy Musings
I woke up this morning from a dream. I was at my house during Christmas, and my mom was giving my friend Whitney a glass of wine. No idea why I had that dream. I woke up from my roommate's alarm, which is set at the same time as mine, but for some reason it goes off two minutes early.
I had to scramble to my Intro to Film class whilst looking at the notes I took for "Pulp Fiction" (which is really a gem, and I'm deeply surprised it took me this long to actually see it). We had a quiz over the movie and "mis-en-scene," which I have mixed feelings about because the amount of time the prof. allots to us is very short. When I'm put under time constraints like that, my mind tends to slow down tenfold, and my writing is pockmarked with scribbles and scratches. Ugh.
I turned in my Ways of Knowing essay with some slight reservation, because I hope my prof. doesn't notice I stretched the margins a bit (I had to, otherwise my conclusion would have been piddly). We discussed Plato's Allegory of the Cave, which I know quite a bit on (thank you Humanities class). I added some thoughts, but I became very fatigued halfway during the class that I probably looked half-stoned.
Media Arts was cut somewhat short, since my prof. just wanted to lecture and show a few short scenes from "The Jazz Singer." We received our homework assignment back, which shocked me with a "B." A "B's" not a bad grade--it's just that I saw quite a few "A+" papers lingering on the table, so it made me feel somewhat diminished. We had to write a canonical for a paper. The directions were very brief, so I didn't know how much to include. The comment on my paper was that I needed less plot, and that I only had to write up to the inciting incident. Thaaaanks.
The majority of this afternoon has been committed to homework. Some of the poems I read from Brit Lit were intriguing--we're moving into the Victorian Age. I really liked Tennyson's "Mariana" and "The Lady of Shalott." Very Arthurian in a way.
The Girl Talk concert is on tonight, and I'm pretty excited to get some cardio/dancing down. Granted, I don't really like rap/hip-hop music, but the interesting fusion with rock/pop songs almost excuses it. My ex, Padraig, has already begun giving me a bad time about going to see them (now the reason why I broke up with him becomes very clear...). But he has a universal disliking for just about everything, and his music preference is very limited to metal/Icelandic/gothic music. And I'm always try to stay open-minded about things. Nevertheless, the concert will more than likely go a little past midnight. Which is fine, because my only class on Friday begins at 1!
I hope to have more intriguing things to discuss in later entries, especially with the Academy Awards coming up! And now, as I wait for my handsome knight, Zack, to come by for dinner, I'll leave with a verse from "The Lady of Shalott":
And down the river's dim expanse
LIke some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance--
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The borad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
I had to scramble to my Intro to Film class whilst looking at the notes I took for "Pulp Fiction" (which is really a gem, and I'm deeply surprised it took me this long to actually see it). We had a quiz over the movie and "mis-en-scene," which I have mixed feelings about because the amount of time the prof. allots to us is very short. When I'm put under time constraints like that, my mind tends to slow down tenfold, and my writing is pockmarked with scribbles and scratches. Ugh.
I turned in my Ways of Knowing essay with some slight reservation, because I hope my prof. doesn't notice I stretched the margins a bit (I had to, otherwise my conclusion would have been piddly). We discussed Plato's Allegory of the Cave, which I know quite a bit on (thank you Humanities class). I added some thoughts, but I became very fatigued halfway during the class that I probably looked half-stoned.
Media Arts was cut somewhat short, since my prof. just wanted to lecture and show a few short scenes from "The Jazz Singer." We received our homework assignment back, which shocked me with a "B." A "B's" not a bad grade--it's just that I saw quite a few "A+" papers lingering on the table, so it made me feel somewhat diminished. We had to write a canonical for a paper. The directions were very brief, so I didn't know how much to include. The comment on my paper was that I needed less plot, and that I only had to write up to the inciting incident. Thaaaanks.
The majority of this afternoon has been committed to homework. Some of the poems I read from Brit Lit were intriguing--we're moving into the Victorian Age. I really liked Tennyson's "Mariana" and "The Lady of Shalott." Very Arthurian in a way.
The Girl Talk concert is on tonight, and I'm pretty excited to get some cardio/dancing down. Granted, I don't really like rap/hip-hop music, but the interesting fusion with rock/pop songs almost excuses it. My ex, Padraig, has already begun giving me a bad time about going to see them (now the reason why I broke up with him becomes very clear...). But he has a universal disliking for just about everything, and his music preference is very limited to metal/Icelandic/gothic music. And I'm always try to stay open-minded about things. Nevertheless, the concert will more than likely go a little past midnight. Which is fine, because my only class on Friday begins at 1!
I hope to have more intriguing things to discuss in later entries, especially with the Academy Awards coming up! And now, as I wait for my handsome knight, Zack, to come by for dinner, I'll leave with a verse from "The Lady of Shalott":
And down the river's dim expanse
LIke some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance--
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The borad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
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