Earth

I saw Earth yesterday and enjoyed it thoroughly. If you like the series, Planet Earth, than you will definitely enjoy this as this movie comes from that footage. I read that 40% of Earth is comprised of completely unseen Planet Earth footage. It makes you laugh, it makes you smile, and it makes you want to cry. What more can you ask for from a rated G movie?

And... we have more of these movies to look forward to from Disney. Under the name Disney Nature, they are scheduled to release one per year. Next one is due out on Earth Day, 2010 and is called Oceans.

What I've been up to the Past 11 Months

Since I've been absent for so long, here a couple of things I've been seeing, reading, listening to, etc:
-The Twilight Series - yeah... I resisted too, and I don't like vampires either
-Britney Spears concert - no singing, but soooo entertaining
-Most of the Oscar Nominated Films - who didn't see Slumdog? If you haven't seen Milk - do it! I'm here to recruit you.
-Trying new restaurants around the TC - Barrio anyone?
-Naturally, I've been watching a lot of TV - Lost, Real Housewives, Gossip Girl, etc. I do DVR shows that I never seem to find time for - Gray's, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters. Don't worry - I know about Izzy.
-Reading a lot of dlisted.com and laughing my ass off
-I did read Pillars of the Earth and then started to read World Without an End right away - that was a mistake. Still haven't finished it and I usually don't do that.
-Music I've been listening to lately: Fleet Foxes, Bird and the Bee, Blitzen Trapper.

That's just a snapshot. More to come!

Trust Your Instincts... Trust Me

So... I watched Mr. Brooks last night. Now, I knew this looked like a horrible movie, but I heard a few people say it was good. Why do we as humans have to repeat our mistakes over and over before we ever learn? I should've known it was going to be bad... I mean Dane Cook is in it in a somewhat serious role. If that is not a red flag, I'm not sure what is. The movie follows Kevin Costner (another red flag), as Mr. Brooks - duh - a successful business man who also happens to be a serial killer who has a split personality - his other personality is played by William Hurt. Yep... Mr. Brooks talks to William Hurt but no one else can see or hear him talk to William Hurt. Then along comes Dane Cook who witnesses and has photos of Mr. Brooks murdering a couple. But instead of taking the pics to the cops he asks to go along with him the next time he kills someone. That's all I'm going to say besides that Demi Moore plays the lead investigator. There were way to0 many things crammed in the plot to go any further.  

I definitely should have trusted my instincts on this one instead of questioned them. After all, my instincts are what dragged me to Coon Rapids to see There Will be Blood. Next time I'll listen.

In the Valley of Elah

I watched In the Valley of Elah last night. The movie is based on actual events and follows Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) as the father of a solider, who upon returning home from Iraq goes missing. Hank, a former military police officer himself, travels to New Mexico where his son went missing and works with a local police detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) to try and figure out what happened to his son. 

In the Valley of Elah was a moving film with political undertones. Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for a 2007 Academy Award for this film. 

I recommend it. 

Gone Baby Gone

I finally finished watching Gone Baby Gone Saturday night. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

If you don't know the plot - which I didn't - I'll give you a brief synopsis. It follows Casey Affleck's character (Patrick Kenzie) who is a private detective along with his girlfriend in Boston. The two of them specialize in missing person cases. When a little girl goes missing they get called by the family to help investigate - trouble, suspense and police corruption ensue. 

Amy Ryan definitely deserved her Oscar nomination for supporting actress for playing Helene McCready, the mother of the missing girl. Apparently her Boston accent was so believable, that Ben Affleck asked her what part of Boston she was from. Affleck makes his directorial debut in Gone Baby Gone. Not bad. Not bad at all. I'll probably rate it as 4 stars on my Netflix.

And the Oscar Goes To...

There weren't a lot of surprises tonight, but overall everyone was deserving of their wins. Hooray for the MN nominees - The Coen bros and Diablo Cody - for coming out victorious.

The Winners are...

Picture: No Country for Old Men

Director(s): Joel & Ethan Coen

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Actress: Marion Cotillard 

Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem

Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton

Original Screenplay: Juno - Diablo Cody

Adapted Screenplay: The Coen Bros - No Country for Old Men

Animated Film: Ratatouille

Art Direction: Sweeney Todd

Cinematography: There Will Be Blood

Costume Design: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Documentary Feature: Taxi to the Dark Side

Documentary Short: Freeheld

Film Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum

Sound Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum

Sound Mixing: The Bourne Ultimatum

Foreign Language Film: The Counterfeiters

Makeup: La Vie en Rose

Original Screenplay: Atonement

Original Song: "Falling Slowly", Once

Animated Short: Peter and the Wolf

Live Action Short: Le Mozart des Pickpockets

Visual Effects: The Golden Compass

Fun Oscar Facts!

- Joel & Ethan Coen have never won an Academy Award for their directing. Their only Oscar comes from Best Screenplay for Fargo.

- Joel Coen is married to actress Frances McDormand.

- The Coen brothers refused to give Josh Brolin (Llewelyn Moss) an audition for No Country for Old Men. Brolin had directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino direct an audition tape for him, helping him to get the part.

- The hairstyle of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in NCFOM, was modeled from a photograph of a 1979 brothel patron. 

- While filming on location in Texas, the Coen brothers had to stop a day of filming after a dark black cloud of smoke appeared in the sky, ruining the shot. The dark cloud turned out to be the result of director Paul Thomas Anderson practicing oil derrick pyrotechnics on the set of There Will be Blood. The Coen brothers were able to resume filming the next day, after the smoke finally dissipated. 

- Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood) had his first big break directing Boogie Nights.

- Paul Thomas Anderson has never won an Academy Award.

- Paul Thomas Anderson dated Fiona Apple for 2 years. Currently he is dating SNL actress, Maya Rudolph. The 2 have a daughter, Pearl, together.

- Daniel Day-Lewis is married to the daughter of famous playwright, Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman).

- Michael Clayton is the only film in the 2008 Academy Awards to obtain more than one acting nomination.

- Viggo Mortensen briefly dated the daughter of another '08 nominee. He dated Lola Schnabel, Julian Schnabel's (The Diving Bell & the Butterfly) daughter for 2 years.

- Viggo Mortensen is multi-talented. He speaks 6 languages - 4 fluently. He is a published poet and currently owns his own publishing company. He is an accomplished photographer - having an exhibit at the Robert Mann gallery in NYC in 2000. He is a Jazz musician who, to date, has released 3 CDs. For the film, A Perfect Murder, where he played an artist, he actually painted the murals for his character's art studio.

Friday night... not so much a good TV night

Writers strike or not... has anyone noticed that there are NO good TV shows on Friday night? I mean don't get me wrong... if desperation ensues I do enjoy me some 1 vs. 100, but give me a break. 

So... I'm off to watch Gone Baby Gone. I'll let you know. Ben Affleck as a director - we'll see.

Oh yeah... Normally, I would be out to dinner with my rich, devastatingly hansom boyfriend on a Friday night, but it appears as though he got pulled into an important meeting. 

I Love Oscar Night!

The 80th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday (2/24) on ABC. I love going to see the nominated films. It's like a scavenger hunt - crossing off the movies/performances as I see them. Below, I'll recap some of the nominees, who's projected to win and who I'd like to win.

Best Picture:

Atonement

Juno 

Michael Clayton

*No Country For Old Men - People Magazine pick, Entertainment Weekly pick

*There Will Be Blood - Jodi's pick

I would love to see There Will Be Blood win this category, but I also loved No Country, and have to route for the MN natives, the Coen Brothers. I'd say either of those 2 have a good chance, but it looks like the critics are going with NCFOM.

Best Actor:

George Clooney: Michael Clayton

*Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood - People, EW, Jodi

Johnny Depp: Sweeney Todd

Tommy Lee Jones: In the Valley of Elah

Viggo Mortensen: Eastern Promises

The only performance I haven't seen is Tommy Lee Jones'. I have In The Valley of Elah next on my Netflix queue. Hands down, though, DDL blew me away. He definitely deserves it.

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett: Elizabeth, The Golden Age

*Julie Christie: Away from Her - People, EW

*Marion Cotillard: La Vie en Rose - Jodi

Laura Linney: The Savages

Ellen Page: Juno

I saw both La Vie en Rose and Away from Her. I found Marion Cotillard's performance to be far more riveting than Julie Christie's.

Best Supporting Actor:

Casey Affleck: The Assassination of Jesse James

*Javier Bardem: No Country for Old Men - People, EW, Jodi

Phillip Seymour Hoffman: Charlie Wilson's War

Hal Holbrook: Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson: Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress:

Cate Blanchett: I'm Not There

Ruby Dee: American Gangster

Saoirse Ronan: Atonement

*Amy Ryan: Gone Baby Gone - People, Jodi

*Tilda Swinton: Michael Clayton - EW

This one I am not sure about at all. While I haven't see Gone Baby Gone, I think Amy Ryan could have a chance here.

Best Director:

Julian Schnabel: The Diving Bell & the Butterfly

Jason Reitman: Juno

Tony Gilroy: Michael Clayton

*Coen Brothers: No Country for Old Men - People, EW, Jodi

Paul Thomas Anderson: There Will be Blood

What Netflix Movies are at My House

I gotta watch Oscar Nominees right now!
The Assassination of Jesse James
Gone Baby Gone

Next in my Queue:
1. American Gangster
2. In the Valley of Elah
3. Across the Universe