Schedule

So I have a lot to talk about in upcoming posts and here is a tentative idea on what will be coming up:

Award shows:

Bafta Nominations

Academy Award Nominations

DGA Winners

Reviews:

Junebug

The Constant Gardener

And a review of the big films from last weeks Sundance Film Festival.

And of course there will be news, and even some more interesting things that I come upon.

Latro

SAGs in Review

So I of coursed watch the SAG Awards last night, and they were pretty interesting. I like the SAGs because they aren’t as structured as the other award shows, or so it seems. Plus I was very excited by some of the winners, especially Crash, the other award shows completely forgot about that movie it seemed, with just a few other nominations for the other award shows. I also liked the fact that Brokeback Mountain didn’t win any awards, because I think the other nominees deserved it more. Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved the award so much, and I think he’s going to get the Oscar also. I was happy to see Paul Giamatti win for Cinderella Man, because he doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves. Although I love Don Cheadle so I wish he could have won also, but at least he got one for Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture. I think most of the winners deserved their awards, including Keifer Sutherland for 24, which is an amazing show in which he is fantastic in, Sandra Oh for Grey Anatomy, Lost for Ensemble television and Sean Hayes for Will & Grace. Sean Hayes’ and S. Epatha Merkerson’s speeches were both very nice and I was glad to see them win, especially Hayes since this in the last season of W&G. The highlight of the night was when Shirley Temple Black received a Lifetime Achievement Award; I didn’t know about half of the amazing things that she did, including being an ambassador. Dakota Fanning talked about Temple-Black’s career, and then Jamie Lee Curtis (who tripped very gracefully on the way out) presented her with the award. I only wish that Arrested Development would have won for Ensemble Cast comedy, because I love that show, and since Fox cancelled it, it would have been good to see them win, over Desperate Housewives. I also enjoyed the memorable moment from last year, when Jamie Foxx was trying to showcase Ray and was having a hard time get through his lines. The one thing that was very interesting was that Brokeback Mountain walked away empty handed, how will this affect the Academy Awards. Its going to see in the upcoming weeks how the other award shows play out, including the Academy Awards, the BAFTA's, and the Independent Spirit Awards.

SAG Winners

Here are the winners of last nights Screen Actors Guild awards:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: Crash (2004) - Ludacris, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man (2005)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: "Desperate Housewives" (2004) - Roger Bart, Andrea Bowen, Mehcad Brooks, Ricardo Chavira, Marcia Cross, Steven Culp, James Denton, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Brent Kinsman, Shane Kinsman, Eva Longoria, Mark Moses, Doug Savant, Nicollette Sheridan, Brenda Strong, Alfre Woodard

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: "Lost" (2004) - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yoon-jin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O'Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Rodriguez, Ian Somerhalder, Cynthia Watros

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Sean Hayes for "Will & Grace" (1998)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman for "Desperate Housewives" (2004)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series: Kiefer Sutherland for "24" (2001)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh for "Grey's Anatomy" (2005)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Paul Newman for Empire Falls (2005)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: S. Epatha Merkerson for Lackawanna Blues (2005)

...and The Golden Globe goes to...

Here are the winners...

Best Motion Picture – Drama: Brokeback Mountain

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Walk the Line

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Felicity Huffman for Transamerica

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: George Clooney for Syriana

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Anthony Hopkins

Best Director - Motion Picture: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana

Best Original Song - Motion Picture: Brokeback Mountain - Gustavo Santaolalla, Bernie Taupin ("A Love That Will Never Grow Old")

Best Original Score - Motion Picture: Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams

Best Foreign Language Film: Paradise Now (Palestine)

Best Television Series – Drama: "Lost"

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy: "Desperate Housewives"

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Empire Falls

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers for "Elvis"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: S. Epatha Merkerson for Lackawanna Blues

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy: Steve Carell for "The Office"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy: Mary-Louise Parker for "Weeds"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Hugh Laurie for "House, M.D."

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama: Geena Davis for "Commander in Chief"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Paul Newman for Empire Falls

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Sandra Oh for "Grey's Anatomy"

Golden Globes Tonight

Just a reminder that the Golden Globes will air tonight at 8 pm on NBC. The awards that are in recognition of both film and television are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press are an indicator of possible Oscar winners.

More information and a list of Nominees

The Family Stone

So, The Family Stone was different then I thought it was going to be. From the trailer it looked like a funny romantic film, however it turned out to be pretty sad. I did like the film, although there were scenes that I wouldn’t have missed had they not been in there.

The film is about an uptight woman (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) who goes with her boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney) to his family Christmas party, where she is unwanted and unable to fit in.

Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams, who played siblings to Mulroney’s character, were both very good, and most of the comedy in the film came from Wilson. Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson did a wonderful job as the parents of the family. Also appearing in the film was Claire Danes, she played Sarah Jessica Parkers sister, who comes to help her sister make it through the holiday. While watching the film it made me long for Christmas again, even though it has only been a few weeks since the holiday.

Brokeback Mountain

What can I say about Brokeback Mountain that hasn't already been said. Did I like the movie, yes, it was one of the better ones that I have seen, but by no means is this a great film. For all the hype I must say, I was a little let down. I was looking forward to this movie, after I heard how good Heath Ledger was in it, but I for one didn't find his portrayal to be that great, half the time I couldn't even understand what he was saying. Jake Gyllenhaal on the other hand was amazing, he seems to be picking really good movies to make, including this film and Jarhead, and yet the press isn't talking about him that much.

Maybe the fact that I am not a fan of Ang Lee (director) has something to do with it. After all this is the man who gave us The Hulk. The film wasn't awful, but it wasn't filmed the greatest. Don't get me wrong there are some good shots in it, for example (this scene was in the trailer) when Heath Ledger's character is standing and the fireworks are going off behind him after he just got into a fight, the upward angle made the shot look even better. The final shot of the film was also very nice a good way to end the movie.

Don't get me wrong this was a good movie, but out of all the films that I have seen this year Munich was the best, and in my opinion deserves more recognition and awards.

American Dreamz

So I saw the trailer for American Dreamz, and I can not wait for this film. From the trailer it seems to be funny but in a satirical way and the fact that it has an amazing cast helps.

For more information visit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465142/combined

The Chumscrubber: Bad Title, Good Film

The Chumscrubber was a film different then most. Yes it showed teen angst, but it dealth with it differently. I enjoyed watching The Chumscrubber, I found it to be funny, in a dark satirical way, and also sad. The film had an amazing cast both on the adult and teenager side, starring: Glenn Close, William Fichtner, Ralph Fiennes, John Heard, Lauren Holly, Jason Isaacs, Allison Janney, Carrie-Anne Moss, Rita Wilson, Jamie Bell, Justin Chatwin, Rory Culkin, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Camilla Belle. The film was set in a California Suburbia. When Dean Stiffle (Jamie Bell) finds his best friend Troy after he committed suicide he neglects to tell anyone. The local school drugs dealers want to find Troys stash of drugs so they kidnap Deans brother Charlie, but accidently take the wrong Charlie, and the childs parents never even notice. The film is about how parents don't even pay attention to there children, or to other people for that matter. The film is Arie Posin's first full lenght feature film, and it is very good, and we can except some great films from him in the future.

Well I didn't see this one coming!

Sometimes I think that celebrities think that the rest of the world is stupid. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have finally admitted that they were a couple and that Jolie was pregnant. Even though everyone has known since Mr and Mrs Smith came out. Anyone watching the film could see the chemistry between the two, and that they were more then just friends. Also all the vacations they took together, the fact that Jolies son Maddox was calling Brad dad, and also the fact that he was going to legally adopt her children. Usually I don't pay so much attention to all this celebrity propoganda, but this just annoyed me. Do they seriously think that the world hadn't already guessed that they were a couple.

And the Oscar goes to...

This years Oscar's are already shaping up to be better then last years. First off Jon Stewart (host of The Daily Show) is going to be hosting the award ceremony this year. Also Director Robert Altman is being given an Honorary Award. Altman who has directed such films as Gosford Park, The Company, and Dr T and the Women, is being honored for having, "a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike."

As a sidenote, Gosford Park is one of my favorite movies. The cast was phenomenal and the story was so intriguing. Altman is a wonderful director and certainly deserves the award. I'm sure that there will be more Academy news as the ceremony approaches.

Of all the ideas.....

Of all the movies that I thought would never get a sequel, The Butterfly Effect was number 1. I apparently was wrong because there is going to be a Butterfly Effect 2, and there is also going to be a television series based on the show. Couldn’t Hollywood think of something else to make. There are so many better scripts, plays, or books that can be made into a movie. But then again Hollywood executives have decided to make Final Destination 3 and Fast and the Furious 3. It just seems that they like to make stupid sequels.

For more information visit: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=17825

Chronic (what) cles of Narnia

Well let me just start out by saying that The Chronicles of Narnia was awesome. Being the huge Harry Potter fan that I am, I wasn’t to excited about Narnia and I thought that it was being over hyped. The movie was intense, and I was even biting my nails. The movie had a lot of cool CGI and special effects. I am way to tired to talk all about it now, but later on I’ll give some good information about the film.

Wedding Crashers: Uncorked and Awesome

So yesterday I rushed out to buy the Wedding Crashers DVD, the “Uncorked Edition.” They added 8.5 minutes onto the theatrical version. I think the best thing about Wedding Crashers is that no matter how many times you watch it, when Vince Vaughn delivers those lines so quickly you just can’t help yourself. I laughed as much this time as I did the three times that I saw it before.

DVD to See: Undertow

Well I know that this DVD came out quite a while ago, but I didn’t have this blog then so I’m going to talk about it now. Well I watched Undertow again, starring Jamie Bell, Josh Lucas, and Dermot Mulroney. I haven’t seen it for a long time so I decided to watch it again. Well I actually watched it twice, the second time listening to commentary and with subtitles. The commentary by Bell and director David Gordon Green, was very interesting, it discussed why they used certain shots and interesting facts that happened during filming. I also watched Under the Undertow, which was basically a production diary.

Jamie Bell as Chris in Undertow

Josh Lucas as Deel

Well enough about that, time to talk about the film. I love this film, it is so visually appealing. I love how Green was able to incorporate freeze frames, and also he repeated sequences in different tints. For example in the beginning of the film when Bell’s character is throwing a rock through a window they show him throwing it a couple of times and in different tints. This movie is so good, and I would recommend watching it with some of the commentary and the making of, it has a really good story, which I didn’t even mention. Well here is a little summary from imdb.com “The Munns, father John (Mulroney) and sons Chris (Bell) and Tim (Alan), recede to the woods of rural Georgia. Their life together is forever changed with the arrival of Uncle Deel (Lucas), though the tragedy that follows forces troubled Chris to become a man.” So go out and watch this movie, it’s worth the time.