February in Movies

Happy leap day everyone! I actually didn't realise until half way through the day that it was in fact the leap day...after spending half of the day trying to figure out when the leap day was. Gosh I'm cool. Anyway, that is February over. And if I'm being honest, I'm glad to see the back of it. I have always disliked February (aside from the madness of Oscar season) because everything is so up in the air at school, and by the end of the month we're out of that "ugh I miss the holidays so bad" phase and into the "can't wait for the holidays, but let's get some work done please" phase. The sooner I can get earning some credits, the better.
While last month was really good in terms of movie-watching, this one definitely wasn't. I'm still getting used to the fact that I lose over six hours of my day to school, which means less time to do stuff that I actually want to do. And then I just got into The Hunger Games series, so reading that has taken over most of my nights. Hopefully time management will fall into place in March.

Movies I had never seen before until the month of February...

Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983 - I don't think I ever got the chance to stick this on last month's one. If you have not seen the trilogy, YOU NEED TO SEE IT.
Perfect Sense - In one of my classes we had nothing to do, so I filled out my film journal (must update that page) instead. Someone grabbed my book and they were flipping through it, and everyone seemed to be quite taken by Perfect Sense's page. Hopefully more and more people get to see it.
Kung Fu Panda - I know, I should have seen this in 2008. I'm so slack.
Kung Fu Panda 2 - WAY cooler than the first one. Which is quite an achievement.
Hallam Foe - My friend had this at her house, and being suddenly in love with Jamie Bell, I jumped on it. It was quite impressive, and it was also by the director of Perfect Sense.
Trespass - When it was Valentine's weekend we had these little love hearts saying which movies were good for couples to watch. One was on this movie. I nearly lost faith in humanity. No one should see this movie, let alone couples.
Sin City - Am I the only one who didn't like this film?
The Exterminating Angel - Was going to review this one but then I realised that there weren't many ways to review it. So odd...yet so great.
Flashbacks of a Fool - My friend had this too, and since it has Mark Strong, Olivia Williams and Felicity Jones (oh, and Daniel Craig) in it, I felt obliged to watch it. Nice enough movie - but Felicity Jones' general amazingness made the movie for me.
13 Assassins - Surprisingly my first live action Asian film. I almost got shot for saying that. Don't worry guys, I'm going to make amends...
The Beaver - We're watching Braveheart at school at the moment. And somehow, I'm having trouble picturing Mel Gibson without a beaver puppet on his hand. That's how much The Beaver damaged me.
Moneyball - It is so sad that this didn't come away with any Oscars.
Dark Victory - I love old films. I know that makes me sound like a hipster (and good lord do I hate hipsters), but anything black-and-white with muffled sound is good to me.
Munich - I'm catching up with all of the Steven Spielberg movies this year so I can truly justify my love for the god guy. I really liked this one, even though for a while I had problems trying to figure out what accent Daniel Craig was trying to achieve.
The Three Musketeers - If I had a say, I would have nominated this for Best Art Direction. It looked BEAUTIFUL. But then we got flying boats and a whole lot of other crap...yeah, I can see why it got snubbed.
Monte Carlo - Wasn't as bad as I was expecting. But do you expect me to believe that a goody two shoes like Selena Gomez would go to Paris with people like Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy, who are both known for more, ah, risqué roles? So confusing.
Fright Night - I was so disappointed with this one. I thought it would be kinda entertaining, but it just wasn't. Still, I want to give Anton Yelchin cuddles.
Shakespeare in Love - Watched this in class for our Shakespeare unit, on video (what are the odds?!). Okay, so maybe Gwyneth Paltrow didn't exactly deserve Best Actress, nor did the film deserve Best Picture, but it was still pretty cool. And it is obvious that looks run in the Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes family.
One Day - Such a good idea, but it was so shallow. Anne Hathaway's accent was atrocious. I still love her, though.
Tanner Hall - It was so weird seeing Rooney Mara with long hair and looking all girly. But you could see that she would one day be an Oscar nominated actress. This was quite a good film for the most-part, but like One Day, it was completely ineffective.

Films I've already seen before but the need to watch again because I'm cool like that...

The Help - Every time the trailer for this comes on at work I wait for Jessica Chastain to come on (in a small clip where she's jumping around and hugging Minny) and I have a full-on spaz attack. Every. Damn. Time.
Strictly Ballroom - I should rewatch my entire Baz Luhrmann set. I'm so excited for The Great Gatsby.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. - This movie keeps renting and renting. Which is fine by me. Laughs+Ryan Gosling's abs=worth more than the price of the rental.
Inglourious Basterds - Still utter perfection, no matter which way you look at it.
Lost in Translation - Oh gosh, this movie is almost perfect. I want to be Sofia Coppola.
Thor - Watched this for a third time with my friends. I grew more attracted to Tom Hiddleston. But my goodness, THERE ARE SO MANY CROOKED ANGLE SHOTS!!!!
Friends with Benefits - A 12am movie with my friends. You know that fake movie with Jason Segel and Rashida Jones that is put into the movie? I really wanna see that. (Also, this is the first movie that I've seen twice this year. Weird.)

What do you think about any of these movies? Watched anything good this month?
NOTE: I'll be gone for the next couple or three days. I'm going to the Arts Festival down in Wellington with my class to see a couple of Shakespeare plays, and won't be back until 2.30am on Saturday morning (and then I have work on Saturday afternoon, so who knows if I'll get anything posted?). Don't miss me too much!

Tuesday Links and Other Stuff #14

What I'm watching tonight...

Well, I got home a little late from work, so hopefully I have enough chance to catch up on One Day, this week's sole DVD release, and Tanner Hall, a Rooney Mara film which I picked up off Fatso since we didn't get it from Blockbuster. I've heard it isn't so good...but I'm down for anything with Rooney in it and it looks interesting enough.

Video of the week...

Another song...an Oscar winning song, as we would have it. Written by a New Zealander, too. Sorry, I can't get enough of 'Man or Muppet', as I've been singing along with it ALL DAY. Plus, I've been pulling the "I know an Oscar winners Dad" all day, too. Haha.

Plug...
Listen to me on the LAMBcast. It has been a while since I took part in the show (like, a long freaking time), so it was fun to get chatting again. We (Nick, Dan, Steve and Jessica) talk about what we've been watching lately (I chose to chat about Moneyball)...and I love Jessica for bringing up War Horse, haha. Also, I get quite angry during the rant session.

Links...
One movie I've been recommending like crazy is Perfect Sense, and Film Intel reviews it and gives us more reasons why more people should see it.

Tyler @ Southern Vision continues his All-Time Favourites series with The Double Life of Veronique, one of my favourite movies of all-time too.

Another underrated film I love is Please Give, which Steven @ Surrender to the Void loved too.

Speaking of the LAMB, we all voted for our ten favourite movies of 2011. And they rocked, guys.

And speaking of fellow LAMBcaster Dan, he reviews one of my all-time favourite films Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.

Cherokee blessed us with a post recently, all about Bridesmaids and why it isn't as great as everyone thinks it is. Unless you're watching it at 2am with your best buddies, you will probably laugh at everything.

The lovely Diana of Aziza's Picks just celebrated her 23rd birthday with a very lovely post indeed. Go wish her a belated happy birthday!

Well, the Oscars may be over, but Rachel @ Rachel's Reel Reviews posted a very good post on what to hate about Oscar season. I may love the Oscars, but I agree with all of these.

Again, as Nikhat has seen everything (apart from Shame), she can unleash her official favourite movies of 2011. Such a great list.

Feeling like you could offer some feedback for a blog? Lime Reviews wants to know what you think. Even though Mette's blog is perfect.

There have been so many Leo vs. Oscar jokes this week, but this is my favourite.

Final word...
Now that Annual Awards Nerdism is over, did you enjoy the series?

AAN: It Is All Over. And This is My 800th Post.

I only watched half of the Oscars. I decided not to go home 'sick' after all and I managed to not get my phone taken off me in class even though I checked it at least 20 times for winners. In fact, today has been an exciting day. In my English class, the teacher decided to ask the class for the 24 categories at the Oscars. Me being me, I knew all of them. As soon as the bell rung, I bolted out the door - and then the fire alarm went off, which was weird. I got home, found an online stream, but that got taken down. Luckily, a link I'd saved for last year's show worked this year. My life does not get more exciting than this.

All in all, even though I wasn't as excited this year, I was still jumping for joy all day at school. I'm sad it is over. I cried during the montage, because I'm going to miss the films like War Horse breaking my heart. Now, I will go through my year catching up on all of the films I missed - The Artist, A Separation, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy...I can't wait until May when they start rolling out all of the awards season movies on DVD. While I felt that last year was better, at least it wasn't The King's Speech fronting this year of film.

My thoughts on the winners:

-We all knew that The Artist was going to win Best Picture. But I was doubtful, considering how strong Hugo was at the start of the show. Hopefully the win will speed up The Artist's expansion in NZ.

-I AM SO UNBELIEVABLY PISSED THAT VIOLA DAVIS DID NOT WIN BEST ACTRESS. I wanted Rooney Mara to win (and what a clip they showed of her), but this was the year for Viola. Anyway, Meryl Streep is a goddess. I loved what Colin Firth said to her. I miss him winning things.
-Even though I haven't seen The Artist, I am so glad that Jean Dujardin won. Anyone but George Clooney. I loved Jean's speech, too, I learned a thing or two from that.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - Best Picture

Welcome to part five of my official Oscar predictions - this season of Annual Awards Nerdism is just about done. Tonight I will rank the 7 Best Picture nominations that I've seen (in order of how much I like them) and end with my final prediction for the big winner, but first, I have a few words about the Oscars this year.
PAST PREDICTIONS: Acting; Writing and Directing; the 'Bests' and Visuals; Sound and Design.

If I've been taught anything about this past year of film, it is that I am big on emotional manipulation. When I go to the movies, I like to have something to show for it when I first come out of the cinemas. Two films that made me show my experience clearly were The Help and War Horse. If you saw me after seeing those films, you would have thought that someone had stabbed me in the heart or something, because the tears just kept coming and coming. And when you cry in a movie, you obviously got something out of it. So where people were turned off by the emotional manipulation, I succumbed to it, and as I watched more and more 2011 films I started to find it was a vital ingredient. Which is perhaps why I didn't take after The Descendants, a film with barely any sentimentality, or I wasn't convinced by Moneyball's emotional coldness. I need emotions - I have to be able to connect with a film, which I believe is the main basis of this blog.

Anyway, enough of all of that deep stuff. A lot of people have been turning off the Oscars this year. Even 'prominent awards bloggers' (what does that even mean?) have been turning off in the Oscars. While I admit that I'm nowhere near as excited for the awards as I was last year, I'm still very much willing to jump to the defence of them. Sure, there are some strange nominations this year. Sure, the ones that did get nominated weren't the most exciting choices. Sure, this awards season has been predictable. But as I said before, I like emotions. And the Oscars are full of those. I like watching the reactions, the gushing speeches, the applause - I like seeing people rewarded, because film-making obviously is hard work, and when you make a movie good enough for the Academy, you did something right. I just think it is a magical day, no matter what happens. That probably stems from my dream to actually win an Oscar one day...I honestly couldn't think of anything cooler. Whatever the outcome of tomorrow, I'll still be checking my phone like crazy in my last class of the day (well, providing the teacher is distracted enough), I'll be rushing home after school to hopefully get a good online stream, I'll probably be squealing over some good wins. Because I'm cliché like that.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - Acting

Welcome to part four of my official Oscar predictions, which 2012's Annual Awards Nerdism has been coming down to. Tonight I'll take a look at the four acting categories, in poetic form again, of course.
PAST PREDICTIONS: Writing and Directing, the 'Bests' and Visuals, Sound and Design.

Just in case:
Happy Fassy - Who I really want to win.
Lowkey Loki - Who will really win.
Overwhelmed Owen - Who really won't win.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir - A Better Life / George Clooney - The Descendants / Jean Dujardin - The Artist / Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy / Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Having no Fassy caused a bit of strife,
there was a surprise nomination for A Better Life,
Gary Oldman finally got his first big nom,
and Brad Pitt was indeed the bomb,
the race comes down to two that are slick,
George Clooney or Jean Dujardin are everyone's pick,
but the Cloon has been awarded before,
and I can't say his work deserves an award,
so give it to the Frenchman, whose words are few,
even though I feel like Brad Pitt is probably due.

Only seeing two performances out of this category - Brad Pitt's and George Clooney's - it is a bit hard to properly pick a winner, but my money is definitely on Jean Dujardin. And to think I left him out of my initial predictions. I'm gunning for Brad Pitt, though, because he was fantastic in Moneyball...and you all know how I feel about The Descendants. It would be nice, and totally unsurprising, if Gary Oldman took this award, though.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - Writing and Directing

Welcome to part three of my official Oscar predictions, the big one that this season of Annual Awards Nerdism has boiled down to. Tonight I'll be looking at Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. 
PAST PREDICTIONS: 'Bests' and Visuals; Sound and Design.

Just in case you are not familiar with how Fassy, Loki and Owen are used for predictions, here is a refresher:
Happy Fassy - If this person wins, I will let out a squeal in my biology class that will probably get my phone taken off me...why do I have to have school while the Oscars are on?
Lowkey Loki - This is the only prediction you should really listen to, because it is the one who I think will take home the prize.
Overwhelmed Owen - There ain't no way this movie is going to win that prize.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash - The Descendants / John Logan - Hugo / George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon - The Ides of March / Steven Zallian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chevrin - Moneyball / Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I have not seen the March that has Ides,
and I still fail to get my tongue around Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,
but the film loving Hugo left me impressed,
I was one of the few who thought The Descendants was a mess,
Moneyball was the one who united two screen-writing Gods,
since we're talking baseball it should have the best odds,
but The Descendants has George Clooney and kids,
so I wouldn't be surprised if it actually wins,
I'll just have to sit in my bitter disappointment party alone,
and wish that the winner was really Hugo.

While I did like The Descendants to some degree, I'm not one of the ones who has been singing it's praises at each corner. I actually think that it is probably the most overrated film of 2011. The screenplay itself was just okay...it did well with the realism and the lack of sentimentality, but I did not think that the character of Sid was very well-written at all. In fact, he is one of the worst written characters I've seen in quite some time. So I have to wonder why so many people love this film, because he was a real deal-breaker for me. (and rant is over) The Descendants has a good chance of taking this award since it won the WGA, but I wouldn't count out Moneyball since Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin did such a bloody awesome job with it. I think Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy could pull an upset, too. Look to this as one of the more exciting categories of this year's Oscars.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - the 'Bests' and Visuals

Welcome to part two of my official Oscar predictions, the big one that this 2012 series of Annual Awards Nerdism has come down to. Tonight, I'll be looking at the 'Bests' (Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, Best Documentary - Features) and the Visuals (Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Editing, Best Achievement in Visual Effects). NOTE: I'm not going to attempt the awards for the Shorts because I'll end up looking like a fool.
PAST PREDICTIONS: Sound and Design

Just in case you can't remember what Fassy, Loki and Owen are used for in the prediction process, here's a quick reminder:
Happy Fassy - Who I want to win. Doesn't mean that they will win, though.
Lowkey Loki - Who I think will win. The only prediction of mine that really matters.
Overwhelmed Owen - The longshot. If this wins, it will be stranger than the Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Best Picture nomination.

The 'Bests' Awards

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

A Cat in Paris / Chico and Rita / Kung Fu Panda 2 / Puss in Boots / Rango

I've already talked out my feelings about this category, so go here for more. We all know that Rango is going to win, though.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - Soundies and Design

Welcome to part one of my official Oscar predictions, which is what this series of Annual Awards Nerdism has boiled down to. In the five nights leading up to the Oscars I'll share my predictions with y'all...with some poetry to come in some categories. Tonight, I'll be dealing with the 'soundies' (Best Achievement in Sound Editing, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Song, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Score) and the 'design' awards (Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Makeup, Best Achievement in Costume Design). 

As per usual, I shall be using Fassy, Loki and Owen for my predictions. Just in case you don't know what they mean in prediction terms:
Happy Fassy - Who I want to win. Doesn't necessarily mean that they will win, though.
Lowkey Loki - Who I think will win. This is my official prediction.
Overwhelmed Owen - The longshot. If this wins, there'll be a bit of an outrage.

Soundies awards.

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Drive / The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / Hugo / Transformers: Dark of the Moon / War Horse

Okay, so out of all the categories sound editing is the one I know the least about (apart from the shorts). But surprisingly, I've seen all of these films, so I should have a good idea of how great their sound was edited. A huge part of me wants Drive to win, since this is it's only nomination and it deserves so much more than this. However, I had MAJOR problems with the sound when I was watching this on the plane...which is probably just a by-product of how crap their sound system is. However, out of all of the nominees, I think that Hugo has the best chance of winning, since I think it will sweep most of the technical awards. And that's all I have, since I didn't go into any of these movies with the sole purpose of watching, or, er, listening to their sound editing.

Tuesday Links and Other Stuff #13

What I'm watching tonight...

This week is another one of those weeks where I don't particularly have any interest in the movies coming out (apart from the love of my life Midnight in Paris, which I'm going to add to my collection tomorrow), but I feel obliged to watch them all. I watched The Three Musketeers last night, which would have been followed by Fright Night (which has the guy I want to give cuddles, Anton Yelchin), if I hadn't accidentally picked up the 3D Blu-Ray thinking it could be played on my normal Blu-Ray. So thanks to my ignorance, I'll be watching it tonight, along with Monte Carlo (just to see if it is bad like I think). I might get around to watching Paranormal Activity 3 next week, since I can't be bothered going through a three movie night on a school night. It is exhausting.

A bit of randomness...

Tomorrow, I'll start my official Oscar predictions. Like last year, they'll be divided into specific groups for each day. That means that there won't be much else happening on the blog until at least Tuesday, as posting twice or three times a day generally doesn't work on this blog in terms of readership and stuffs. And for anyone who was around last year - yes, there will be prediction poetry!

A bit more randomness...
I literally just passed 150 followers. While that might not be the biggest achievement to most of you, it excites me quite a bit - but it scares me, because I think I'm going to let all 150 of you down somehow! Oh well, thank you 'Fulmer' who can be found on Twitter here, for being my 150th follower.

A plug...
The first plug is for a great fellow blogger Andy Buckle at Andy Buckle's Film Emporium. He recently changed his URL but had a bit of trouble doing that. You can now find his blog at http://thefilmemporium.blogspot.com so if he's missing from your blogroll or subscriber, make sure you are aware of the changes. I feel so sorry for him - and equally scared to change my really immature URL. But despite the problems, Andy is still rolling out some great stuff!

Links...
There's a lot happening on the LAMB at the moment, with the LIONS (like the Oscars, just voted by us movie bloggers who know where it is at) being added to that list. Check out the winners each day!

Speaking of the LAMB, I recently returned to the LAMBcast (which will be up sometime next week), and the lovely Jessica from The Velvet Cafe decided to chat about War Horse on there. She thought she'd get a lot of crap for liking it - but then I came along!

Getting into the spirit of 'best of' 2011 lists in Nikhat, who I swear has seen everything. Her list of the best scenes of 2011 is great!

Tyler, the master of epic lists, unveils his 50 Essential Arthouse Movies. He'll be proud of me - in class we had to write about genres of films and I wrote about arthouse, drawing a lot of inspiration from this list!

Scott @ Front Room Cinema asks the question to watch or not to rewatch? I ask this question quite often!

One movie I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing is The Deep Blue Sea, starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston. Aziza gives a nice review of it!

A great site I just discovered is Letterboxd, which CS @ Big Thoughts from a Small Mind thoroughly recommends as well. And guess what - it was designed in NZ!

Final word...
On a scale of 1-10,  how excited are you for the Oscars this year?

Bette Davis' Blind Eyes

Film: Dark Victory
Year: 1939
Director: Edmund Goulding
Written by: Casey Robinson
Starring: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry Travers, Cora Witherspoon.
Running time: 104 min. 

1939 is known as the Golden Year of Hollywood. I mean, when one year can produce two monumental films like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz and then have movies like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Stagecoach and The Rules of the Game scattered in between, you know that something was in the water. One film from that great year that tends to get forgotten is Dark Victory, a Warner Bros. production based on an unsuccessful Broadway play starring Bette Davis. This is a film that deserved to be dragged out into the spotlight now, because this is everything the romantic films of today can't be. It is the kind of melodrama that doesn't skip the human emotion.

Underrated Showcase Sundays - Chico & Rita

Underrated Showcase Sundays is a pretty straight-forward: every Sunday I'll shed some light on a film which I think doesn't get enough love. The showcase will be largely unstructured (well, compared to my other reviews) and will often just be random thoughts. It doesn't matter if I've seen it before or not. Tonight's instalment, though, is one that I hadn't seen before, and decided to post now as we near the home stretch for the Oscars.

In amongst the chameleon antics of Rango and the big franchise players Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots is the Spanish film Chico & Rita, which was lucky enough to get a place in the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars. It may not be in 3D, nor does it employ the almost 'realistic' looking animation that Rango did, but there is no denying that Chico & Rita is a beautiful, moving tale that could actually serve as a great companion piece to The Artist (I'm guessing). It is a simple tale of two people in love: Chico, a young piano player and Rita, a beautiful singer. Just as soon as they've fallen in love they are torn apart by the allure of fame. Rita is discovered by an impresario named Ron, and takes her to New York where she has a lot of success, and while Chico follows her there, he doesn't take as much as she does. As her star rises, his talent goes ignored, and there's no way that the two could remain together.

10 2011 Films I Want to See in 2012

By now, you've probably seen all of these films. You're probably sitting there, laughing at me for not seeing any of these films yet. But in NZ, it is still 2011, and will stay that way until at least May/June. 2012? What is this year you speak of? You futuristic beings.

This list is in alphabetical order, just because there's no particular order in which I want to see them.

50/50
So, it would be nice if someone gave this a release date here. I know that Australia is getting it next month or so, but I can't see the same happening here. Like Warrior, it will end up going straight-to-DVD, even though it probably deserves a whole lot more. Why do we do this - give lots of crappy movies a proper release and leave the good-looking, critically acclaimed ones to get put straight on the shelf? It sucks. I might just buy this Blu-Ray off Amazon, because I might actually get to finally see Joseph Gordon-Levitt's latest to tide me over until his mammoth 2012 kicks in to gear.

The Artist
This actually came out last week, but there have been a few problems. First of all, it is only showing in nine small cinemas across the entire country. Second of all, the closest place it is playing to me is three hours drive away. I don't know what the heck is going on here, especially as we're pretty good with showing every movie up for an Oscar in every bloody cinema there is. I think the cinemas are a bit cagey because it is silent, but it has been on the news basically every night (with the most terrible puns I've ever heard - "it was a silent film that made the most sound" etc). I hope it does eventually come to cinemas, just so I can justify my love for Jean Dujardin and Uggie.

Carnage
As anyone, I'm a pretty big fan of Roman Polanski. So it will be pretty damn interesting to see him doing a comedy. This is specifically my type of comedy - it is based on a play, so that means for the most part the sets are pretty restricted, letting the dialogue show through. It also has a very simple idea, too, which I like. Plus, the cast is pretty cool, too. Christoph Waltz is always perfect. I thought this film would have got more attention than it did, so I'm not terribly unhappy that it currently has an April release date. However, I would be surprised if it even made it to many cinemas here.

Like Crazy
This came out two weeks back, but like The Artist, it isn't playing anywhere near me. Don't ask me why I want to see this so much, because I honestly don't know. Maybe it's because I want to give Anton Yelchin a cuddle so much (gosh I love the word cuddle). Maybe it's because I LOVE Felicity Jones. Maybe it is because it looks like exactly like my sort of film - romantic, but realistic. It looks like it could rip my heart out. And I like that feeling every now and again (no, I'm not an emo or goth or whatever you call them now).

Martha Marcy May Marlene
I'm SO incredibly pissed that I missed this at NZFF. And even though I haven't seen this, I'm still kinda sad that it didn't get much Oscar love. I would have loved to have seen an up-and-coming actress like Elizabeth Olsen getting an Oscar nomination. But whatevs, Oscar or no Oscar, I still really want to see this film. Just the idea of a cult (and an apparent great use of editing, which I always love - such a nerd) is enough to get me excited. I think this comes out in March, but again, I doubt it will come to any cinemas near me. If it does, my butt is right on that seat!

A Separation
One of my biggest regrets of 2011 was that I didn't go and see this film at the NZFF. I remember that it played directly after Melancholia, and I did ask Mum whether I could see it as well but nothing ever amounted so I let it go. When I got out of Melancholia, the screening was completely sold out. Now, I have to wait until April (hopefully) to see this Iranian film which is apparently quite amazing. Please please please Palmerston North, GET THIS FILM AT YOUR CINEMAS!

Shame
Okay, so here's one I won't be seeing in cinemas, unless I sneak in as I threatened to do when I go to the capital on a school trip next week. People always look at me strangely when I say I want to see this movie, and then I have to explain that it is about a sex addict and it stars my fifth husband and blah blah blah. But trust me, my reasoning for wanting to attempt sneaking in is because this actually looks like the type of film I'd like to make. I like the idea of harrowing addict dramas. And I know I shouldn't judge a movie by it's trailer, but that trailer makes me want to make a movie so much. Then there's the whole Michael Fassbender and his...golf stick.

The Skin I Live In
If I were to judge my anticipation just by watching the trailer, I would not want to see this film. The trailer is so odd, with the feel good, slightly porn-ish sounding music playing in the background when I'm sure this is supposed to be a serious movie. But I've read plenty of good things about this film, and I always like to see something a little out of the ordinary. And I'm glad that Antonio Banderas has decided to do something a little different to voicing an extremely seedy cat. I knew I should have hunted down one of the smaller cinemas in Melbourne (but it was hard enough trying to find the two huge ones that I did...THAT PLACE IS SO BIG) so I could see this, but I'm waiting for an April cinema release.

Take Shelter
Here's another movie that I should have seen at NZFF, but I actually couldn't. Why? Because it was playing on my birthday. And despite the fact that all I wanted for my birthday was a few tickets to the film fest, I didn't get to go over to see it. Which was fair enough, because it was playing pretty late and I had school the next day. But it is okay, as it is coming out on DVD next month. I placed many warnings in my emails to my Dad on the order, threatening all sorts of things. I sincerely hope he did end up getting it (because he only said "I think I did"), because I need another Jessica Chastain movie like I need to breathe air. Seriously.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I shouldn't complain too much about this one, since it is my own fault that I haven't seen it yet. It came out in cinemas a month ago, but I still haven't seen it, because I haven't had a chance to go over to Palmerston North to see it. I can't really be bothered begging and pleading to have someone drive me over, but my parents just seem to go over whenever I can't go (which sucks). Oh well, I should keep trying to learn how to drive, even though my Mum's car hates me. Otherwise, it'll be a DVD watch for me, which is more than okay: I can try my best to wait for a cast like Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch, directed by the excellent Tomas Alfredson. If I can live without gluten, I can do this too.

What do you think of all of these films? What are some 2011 films that you still need to see?

Let's Talk About Baseball...With Brad Pitt.

Film: Moneyball
Year: 2011
Director: Bennett Miller
Written by: Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Brent Jennings, Kerris Dorsey.
Running time: 133 min. 

"It's hard not to get romantic about baseball." - those words are some which are stowed away in a planet far away from me. I don't know the first thing about baseball, apart from the fact that when a ball comes at you, you should try and hit it. There's something about running around all of these bases, too. But that's as far as my knowledge - or interest - goes. Like Senna, Moneyball had to do the monumental task of winning me over, despite the sporty trimmings and the lack of familiarity. Unlike Senna, Moneyball couldn't hit the ball right out of the park for me (see, I learnt something), but it hit it far enough. Even if I couldn't quite get romantic about baseball, I had quite a good time watching people talk romantically about a sport from another planet that I don't inhabit.

A Conversation with 'The Beaver'

What is she talking about, you say? Have my chronic headaches that have plagued me all week or my new gluten-free diet sent me into a world of hallucinations, and now I'm resorting to have conversations with a beaver? No. Loyal readers, or readers who have been around these parts since around May last year, will remember I did this 'A Conversation with...' series where I got a fake 'interview' called Christopher (after the ginger cat that I never got) and I 'became' the movie and answered some questions. It is pretty high-tech stuff. So, coming at you each Thursday night (hopefully) is another season of the Conversation series - which is just my naive way of saying that during the July school holidays I lost my creative juices and gave up on reviewing films this way, but I feel like it needs to come back. So let's start off with 'Season 2', where we'll chat with Jodie Foster's The Beaver first.

CHRISTOPHER: Hello there. Now, before we begin, I don't know who I am supposed address, you or the beaver puppet?
THE BEAVER: I am no 'puppet'.

C: Right, so I suppose you're going to tell me that you're a 'real boy'...
TB: I would, if I was Pinnochio. You're supposed to just go with it.

C: But what if I want to talk to the actual film and not just...you?
TB: Well then you're cripes out of luck. You've only got me.

C: Well I guess that shall suffice. Okay then, tell me a bit about yourself/the movie.
TB: This is a picture of Walter Black, a hopelessly depressed individual. Somewhere inside him is a man who fell in love. Who started a family. Who ran a successful company. That man has gone missing. No matter what he's tried, and he's tried everything, Walter can't seem to bring him back. It's as if he's died, but hasn't had the good sense to take his body with him. So mostly what he does is sleep.

C: Mhm...so where do you, the Beaver, come into the story?
TB: I lend a helping hand to our Walter...or rather he lends me a hand! You get it?

C: Wow, you're jokes are almost as bad as that of How Do You Know, whom I interviewed last year.
TB: I have big stars in my cast, too.

C: Speaking of 'big stars', let's talk about Mel Gibson.
TB: How'd I know that would be on your question list?

C: Because he's the reason nobody wants to see you.
TB: Well, that's not my fault, now is it? He's not even the star of the movie. *I'm* the star of the movie. People shouldn't care about him. They should care about *me.*

C: You're kinda sounding like Miss Piggy right now...
TB: What, just because we're both puppets?

C: I think that's where the comparison ends. In terms of 2011 puppet movies, The Muppets comes out on top.
TB: Well, I can't really compete with the feel good nature of that movie, nor do I have any song or dance numbers.

C: No...your film is more on the 'downbeat' sides of things.
TB: As you start to realise that I mean business and this isn't Mel Gibson's film any more, things do start to get a bit serious. Especially as we dwindle down to the end, we realise that old Mel really does have a bit of a problem and I may have caused it...even though it is not my fault.

C: Yes...things do get very dark towards the end. It kind of detracts from the philosophical moments scattered throughout the film.
TB: Well, at first, I take care of all of the philosophical moments. I'm almost like a self-help guide, except I'm a puppet. Maybe they should make lots of beaver puppets and distribute them around the place or something. I can just imagine what they would have on their packet: "Hello. The person who handed you this card is under the care of a prescription puppet, designed to help create a psychological distance between himself and the negative aspects of his personality. Please treat him as you normally would, but address yourself to the puppet. Thank you." But anyway, I digress. I thought I might leave the philosophical to the two teens, Norah and Porter.

C: They did have some interesting things to say, particularly towards the end, but their characters felt a bit redundant compared to everything else happening in the film.
TB: I guess *I* do take most of the attention. But they're played by Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence, two fine young actors who can rustle up a bit of attention by themselves.

C: That's true. Finally, Jodie Foster has proved herself as an actress, but she was a good choice to direct your big 'starring role'?
TB: She was just fine, but I think the proof is in the pudding. I had some good material to work with, but then I also had some really, well, shit material to work with. She didn't do a lot to elevate that, but she did what she could. It's nothing new. I can't help but feel a little short-changed.

C: Hey, well at least Ricky Gervais made a joke about you at the Golden Globes.
TB: He made a joke about Johnny Depp, too. And where is he at now? Exactly.

What I got:

No Pixar, No Problem: I Talk Out the Animated Oscar Race.

This was posted this morning at the LAMB for their 'LAMB Devours the Oscars' series. You can check it out there, or check it out here...do as you please...

I actually wrote a post about the animated film category a LONG time ago, and I was predicting that should The Adventures of Tintin be eligible, it would sweep this category. I received confirmation that it was indeed eligible, but once it came for nomination time, no dice. If that didn’t win, I was gunning for Winnie the Pooh to take the prize, just because it was so awesome, but nothing happened there, either. So now, we have an extremely weird and incredibly ‘meh’ line-up for this year’s animated Oscar...without any PIXAR (suck on that, Cars 2). Let’s get into it, shall we?

A Cat in Paris

This one was the only animated feature I didn’t get to catch in time for writing this post, even though it is out on DVD here (it just continues to elude me). I’d always had a feeling that this would get in, but only if they took five nominees, which in other words means it has no chance of winning. But you can see just how much the Academy loves cats – this is the first of two movies to feature a cat. Maybe if Snowy out of Tintin was a cat, it would have been nominated?
The Drawcard: Generally positive consensus. Cats.
The Drawback: Not seen by a wide enough audience, and there are better films nominated.
Chance of Winning: 25%

Chico & Rita

Let it be said that this is not animation for kids, this is animation for adults. In a lot of ways, I felt like this one would have been better as a live action film rather than an animated film, mainly because its story is so beautiful, but also so overdone. As for the film’s chances, they’re about next to none. While being a perfectly good film, A Cat in Paris definitely beats it to the punch for being the ‘better’ foreign animation, and this one still remains to be seen by a lot of people. However, whilst watching it I was remembering The Princess & the Frog...this is a very Disney style animation, just a bit more adult. That could work in its favour.
The Drawcard: Being an animation for adults.
The Drawback: Has anyone besides me actually seen it? It stands virtually no chance.
Chance of Winning: 10%

Kung Fu Panda 2

This one came as a bit or a surprise to me, as I knew it had been quite positively received but I didn’t think that it would be enough to get it in. However, I just watched this one and its predecessor the other day and I was quite impressed. Being a long time since I’ve seen Rango (which I loved), I’m very much in the Kung Fu Panda 2 camp at the moment, and see it as the only one that could possibly beat Rango. Because, of course, it has twice the awesomeness.
The Drawcard: Generally positive consensus, good box-office take, original also got nominated in this category back in 2009.
The Drawback: Rango.
Chance of Winning: 50%

Puss in Boots

I caught this one on the plane, so forgive me if I didn’t think it was so spectacular on a 10” low-def screen. But no, this was quite a good movie, bringing light to one of my favourite characters from the Shrek franchise. However, since Puss was in the whole movie, I could tell how insanely creepy he was. Like, seriously, should he even be fronting a movie for kids? He is...well...quite seedy. Anyway, does this have any Oscar chances? Well, for me it was a bit of a surprise nomination, and I can’t see it beating Rango at all. It was pretty run-of-the-mill, but an improvement of the last two Shreks.
The Drawcard: Spanning from a popular franchise, being genuinely beautiful to look at. Cats.
The Drawback: The lead cat being largely inappropriate for target audience. Rango.
Chance of Winning: 40%

Rango

It is pretty darn obvious that this is going to win. Despite the fact that it came out literally ages ago, it has held up this entire time and people seemed to like all of the Western references it has going on in it. Rango is a really cool movie, there’s no doubting that, but I’ve yet to physically meet someone who actually liked it – I either mix with really bad people who don’t have taste or they’re seeing something that I don’t. Perhaps it is one for us people who like our movie references and chameleons...and hopefully the voters are one of us, too. I won’t be grumbling if this takes the prize.
The Drawcard: Everything, from the references to the impeccable animation to Johnny Depp.
The Drawback: Slightly hesitant response from the people of Dannevirke, New Zealand. That should hurt its chances badly.
Chance of Winning: 95%

And this is what a year looks like without PIXAR...how many more of these years are we going to see in our lifetime?

Tuesday Links and Other Stuff #12

What I'm watching tonight...

As planned last week, my Tuesday Movie Nights consists of Crazy, Stupid, Love. (again) and The Beaver. Because no-one loves me and I'm alone and feeling poorly on Valentine's Day. LOL JK, Valentine's Day doesn't exist in my world. Unless Jeremy Irvine wants to call me up tonight.

Video of the week...

Jean Dujardin's Villain Auditions from Jean Dujardin

So, I've accepted the fact that I'm not going to see The Artist in the near future. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to change my name to Jean Dujardin or laughing until I cry over his 'villain auditions'. I think that We Bought a Zoo Too or Bridesmaids 2 look like the best.

Links
Contesting for my favourite post of the year is Sati's incredible '48 Hidden Images from Black Swan'. I want to shove this post in the face of everyone I know who hated it and show them what a freaking masterpiece it is. And I applaud Sati for paying attention to the movie so much!

You know what movie I still have nightmares about? Abduction. Mike @ Front Room Cinema reminded me of why it was so bad. I still like joking about it, though.

Tyler's excellent Southern Vision just hit the one-year mark...hasn't he done so well? Go wish him and his blog a happy birthday.

Candice @ Reel Talk has a chat with the director of the brilliant animated film Chico & Rita, which is far more underrated than it deserves.

These may not be the 30 best films of the 2000s, but there are some great things on this list. Max @ Anomalous Material hit the nail right on the head with most of them.

Another person on The Muppets bandwagon is Aziza. Seriously, y'all need to see this film.

On a completely different bandwagon is Surrender to the Void, who loved Incendies just as much as I. Y'all need to see this film too.

But a bandwagon I'd like to be on is for Tyrannosaur, which I really want to see. Bonjour Tristesse makes a strong case for why I should be on that bandwagon.

Final word:
Which Jean Dujardin villain do you want to see the most?

AAN: The BAFTAs are Better than the Oscars.

There, I said it. I think I might just base my whole awards season around the BAFTAs and end it there. Because the Brits know where it is at. You won't find any Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close here.

I don't really have a tremendous amount of things to say about the BAFTAs since I didn't watch the show and they won't have a lot of impact on the Oscars at all. So just some sprawled thoughts on the winners - which may not make a lot of sense, since World War 3 is still going on in my head (okay, I think ever since I watched Trespass the excessive screaming from that movie has been stuck in my head wreaking all sorts of havoc).

-The Artist won Best Film. Can't say that was a surprise. Hopefully every cinema in NZ will take note so maybe it won't be playing in only nine cinemas and might actually come to Palmerston North before the Oscars. Just a thought.
-Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for the Best British Film. I still need to see this movie...but no-one has found the kindness in their heart to drive me over to the cinemas. Eh.

-I'm going to change my name to Jean Dujardin. I like the way it rolls off my tongue...it sounds so sexy. I don't care if I'm a girl.
-So, I guess that means Jean Dujardin will win the Oscar? Anyone but George Clooney, baby. But I'm sad that Fassy didn't win, because I would have yelled 'SUCK ON THAT, OSCARS!' from the rooftops (...of Dannevirke, New Zealand).
-Oooh, Meryl Streep won Best Actress, just as I predicted it. I think the race is practically 50/50 between Davis and Streep...it'll be interesting to see who gets it. But you know me, my heart is with Rooney Mara all the way.
-Christopher Plummer got Best Supporting Actor. Usually I get sick of people sweeping all of the awards, but not Plummer. He was amazing in Beginners.

-I'm sorta surprised that Octavia Spencer won Best Supporting Actress, even though I'm not sure who else it could have gone to. Alas, my dream of seeing Jessica Chastain deliver an acceptance speech this season is quashed :'(

Underrated Showcase Sundays - Strictly Ballroom

Ah, weekly features. I figured that the blog needs some more of those (with a bit of luck, you shall see the return of a weekly feature that y'all loved sometime soon). This weekly feature, the Underrated Showcase Sundays, is pretty straight-forward: every Sunday I'll shed some light on a film which I think doesn't get enough love. The showcase will be largely unstructured (well, compared to my other reviews) and will often just be random thoughts. It doesn't matter if I've seen it before or not. For example, I'm starting with Strictly Ballroom, which I first watched three years ago and has had it's place in my DVD collection for two of those years. Let's get into it, shall we?

(NOTE: If this doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, bear with me. World War 3 is going on in my head right now and I feel like if anyone touches it, it might fall to pieces. It's probably not doing me a lot of good to be staring at a computer screen, but I'm determined to do this.)

Back when I was 13, I had a huge Baz Luhrmann phase. I'm not sure how it started - if my memory serves me correctly, it may have been the million watches of Romeo + Juliet I went through, because back then, I'd never seen anything like it. But between the stylish modernism of Shakespeare's romance, the lavish and spectacular musical Moulin Rouge! and the slightly disappointing and over-ambitious Australia, people tend to forget Luhrmann's first effort, Strictly Ballroom. In saying that, back in it's day (in which I was not alive to see), the film was a huge hit in Australia and it even scored a Golden Globe nomination for Best Comedy, losing out to Mrs. Doubtfire. Yet, while Luhrmann has had bigger fish to fry in Hollywood - including his up-coming 3D adaptation of The Great Gatsby - his smaller roots are not to be ignored.

BAFTA Predictions w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

Well...here we go. We're on the home stretch. The BAFTAs are generally my favourite awards of the season because the Brits usually know what they're talking about, even though there are a few oddball nominations here. Now, I know you might be a little sick of awards talk (even though I think it has been curiously absent and it is more about the backlash this year), but bear with me. My pageviews/comments have been down for a little bit, and I don't think this post will help with that...but it needs to be done.

Now, a refresher on the way Fassy, Loki and Owen are used for predictions:
Happy Fassy: Who I want to win, but doesn't necessarily mean that they will win.
Lowkey Loki: Who will win. My final prediction.
Overwhelmed Owen: The complete longshot.

Best Film:
The Artist / The Descendants / Drive / The Help / Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I'm going for Drive all the way, as I'm still fuming over how ignored it was at the Oscars. Actually, I think that Drive and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, two films which failed to get a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars have a better chance of winning this award than actual nominee The Help. I'm surprised that the BAFTAs loved The Help as much as they did, but I can't see it taking many awards apart from the acting ones. As for the actual winner, it'd be stupid not to pick The Artist, as that seems impossible. But I wouldn't be surprised if the most overrated movie of the year The Descendants takes the award...every seems to love that one for some strange reason.

Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year:
My Week with Marilyn / Senna / Shame / Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy / We Need to Talk About Kevin

This is possibly one of the hardest categories to pick, considering how much quality there is in it. I think that My Week with Marilyn is the longshot considering it was the lowest rated out of all of them, but the fact that it has a lot of nominations in the acting categories could mean that it isn't such a longshot. Alas, my heart is with Senna, my favourite film of 2011, and I could definitely see it taking out the award. However, with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy having a Best Film nomination and all, it has the advantage over everyone. I wouldn't go past Shame and We Need to Talk About Kevin to take away the award, though...can they all just win?!

THE REST AFTER THE JUMP!

Another Gem from the 'Nic Cage Has Bills to Pay' Franchise

Film: Trespass
Year: 2011
Director: Joel Schumacher
Written by: Karl Gajdusek
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Ben Mendelsohn, Cam Gigandet, Jordana Spiro, Liana Liberato, Dash Mihok, Emily Meade. 
Running time: 86 min. 

Maybe we treat Nicolas Cage unfairly. Maybe, in some better world, his attempts at rebooting his career are actually good. Or maybe, Nicolas Cage is just messing with us and he's inventing a new form of comedy: where he tries too hard with so little. I think there is something that we can take away from the past few years of his career: he is a more is more kind of guy, and unfortunately that doesn't work when you are an Oscar winning actor. His recent effort, Trespass, is possibly his worst film to date. And that doesn't even have that much to do with him. His 'more is more' technique seemed to rub off on everyone else in the movie: everyone screamed at the top of their lungs even though no-one could hear them, the villains were so over-the-top they were measly caricatures, and then there was Jordana Spiro...but we'll get to her later. I don't know whether anyone was trying to compete with Nic to get the 'most over-the-top' award or something, but everyone managed to annoy me more than Nic's worse films and Cam Gigandet's entire filmography combined. It is the longest 86 minutes I've ever had to sit through in my life.

It Seems I Got Myself an Award

I vaguely remember the 'Liebster Award' thingy going around sometime last year, and I think I may have received one, but I never took action (you can just imagine me at the Oscars, I won't even turn up for that shit, LOL JK). However, it is making the rounds again somehow, and the lovely Nikhat (blogging soul sister) from Being Norma Jeane gave me this award. Thanks for that! Now I have to pass it on to five other bloggers who have under 200 followers. I've seen this Liebster thing on a couple of blogs now, so if your site was nominated on those two blogs, I'm sorry but you're ineligible. I'm gonna go with some new peeps ;)

1) It is only fitting to give this award to an awards blogger. Never Too Early Movie Predictions is the most awesome prediction site ever, I tell ya!
2) One site's design that I'm truly jealous of is Film Flare's, which is tended to by the lovely Maria Sofia. Such a beautiful site.
3) I've championed Cherokee's site Feminising Film a lot, and there is a reason for that. She may not have posted anything this year (come on, get onto it! haha) but when she does post there is so much awesomeness.
4) There are always awesome reviews on Surrender to the Void...reviews which I do get extremely jealous of!
5) that's...So Freaking Hollywood is a site that I don't nearly go to enough but there are some awesome things happening here. I always learn something new!

So there, if you wanna accept this award, accept it. If you don't, then don't. To be honest, I don't usually buy into these awards too much, but I didn't have anything to post tonight and I'm in a very grateful/giving mood, so there ya go :)