Category Archives: Movies

That’s entertainment

During a lively discussion about the Oscar nomination hits and misses with a friend of mine in the ‘hood, a nine-year old girl listening in countered,

“You know this awards stuff isn’t really important, right?”

A child with perspective.  I hate that.

Well, she’s gonna love this.  I now want to address the egregious omission of Ben and Leslie of Parks and Recreation from the E! Online “TV’s Top Couples Tournament.”

Thirty-two couples are vying for the title, and Ben and Leslie aren’t even being considered.

Thank goodness Lil’ Sebastian isn’t alive to see this day.

Since the obvious winner isn’t allowed to compete, I want to make sure some good couples make it into the round of Sweet 16.

Couples like…

  • Phil and Claire of Modern Family
  • Castle and Beckett of Castle
  • Leonard and Penny of The Big Bang Theory
  • Barney and Robin of How I Met Your Mother

I’m sure you have your favorites, so vote today!

It’s very important.

Rain day

Guess who was waiting to greet me at my front door this morning?

Surly little devil.

And rumor has it he plans to hang around all day.

Uninvited.

Now, I have two possible responses to my unwelcome guest.

First, I can let him ruin my day.  Get nothing accomplished.  Eat too much.  Get depressed. Perhaps shed a tear or two for no particular reason.

Or I can chose the far healthier response…

Go see a movie.

I still may not get as much work done as originally planned.  I may — okay, I will — eat junk food.  And if I end up crying, that simply means…

It was another great day at the theatre.

Popping the question

My nephew got engaged last week.

He proposed to his girlfriend while they were making dinner at his apartment.  They texted me the news, including photos of the ring.  A few days later they made the announcement on Facebook.

A modern love story.

I couldn’t help but compare that to Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice.  (I watched it again last night when my cable box was on the fritz.)

He proposed the first time in the rain.  They argued, and she rejected him.

The second time (pictured here) they met in the middle of a field — in the middle of the night — in their night clothes. 

Then Mr. Darcy asked Elizabeth’s father for her hand in marriage before the family had even eaten breakfast.

For such a proper time in history, that whole thing seems a bit scandalous in comparison….don’t you think?   Imagine your own son or daughter wandering into your front lawn at dawn in their PJs talking weddings.  You’d think they were drunk.

Of course, it would make a good story.

Knee jerk

I was in a meeting this morning when the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards were announced.

It’s like having to work on Christmas Day.

Since I missed the entertainment editors’ reactions immediately following the event, I feel compelled to add my own.  As always, it’s a mixed bag of relief and regret.

(Feel free to add your own.)

I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE…

  • All the Oscar love for Moneyball (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing).  It’s one of the year’s best.  Understated.  Over-delivers.
  • Bridesmaids’ recognition come in the two categories where it is deserved — Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay.  It was a funny comedy, but I think we all got a bit overly excited about just how good it was.
  • The head-to-head competition between Brad Pitt and George Clooney, both in the Best Actor category and in other categories where their films are nominated together.  No two friends enjoy going at each other so much or do it as well.  Bodes well for the ceremony itself.

I’M SAD TO SEE…

  • Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was not given a Best Picture nod.  If you’re going to nominate 10 films, why not the most successful franchise in motion picture history — and its most critically acclaimed final installment?  Nods for Art Direction, Makeup and Visual Effects don’t seem near enough.
  • Michael Fassbender was robbed of the Best Actor nomination for Shame. I should also complain about Ryan Gosling’s omission from the list, but Fassbender alone is a crime.  A crime.
  • And, on the flip side, should a movie have to have a certain life in the theatre to earn a Best Picture nod?  The Tree of Life was barely there.  Try to see it now.  Try to remember it if you did.

Okay.  That’s all I have right now.

What do you think?

Star baby

Like many of you, I loved watching the Golden Globes last night, and look forward to the many award shows yet to come.

SAG Awards.  BAFTAs.  Independent Spirit Awards.  And of course, the almighty Oscars.

But a part of the process I don’t enjoy that much is the red carpet coverage.  Sure, it’s fun to see the array of fashion do’s and don’ts, but the inane interviews make even the most beautiful gowns painful to behold.

I read a book last night instead.  (You can see the dresses during the ceremony, right?)

Perhaps if I had a red carpet history like Tyler Sercombe, I’d feel differently.

At the ripe ol’ age of one, Tyler has already been photographed with more than 130 celebrities, including Meryl Streep, George Clooney, and Johnny Depp.

Her mom Donna started taking her to premieres when she was a month old. They have been to about 60 so far.

Yep.  I’d put my book down for that.

2012 Golden Eggs

It’s Golden Globes Sunday!

That means it’s time for The Egg’s annual sticky predictions.

Who should win?  Who will win?  Tragically, they aren’t always the same.  But The Sticky Egg accepts the challenge of trying to predict both.

Will we get it right?  Doubtful.  (But it’s fun trying.)

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

* “The Descendants”
“The Help”
“Hugo” will win
“The Ides of March”
“Moneyball”should win
“War Horse”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs” — should win
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
* Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady” — will win
Tilda Swinton, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

* George Clooney, “The Descendants”will win
Leonardo DiCaprio, “J. Edgar”
Michael Fassbender, “Shameshould win
Ryan Gosling, “The Ides of March”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

BEST MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

“50/50″
* “The Artist”will (and should) win
“Bridesmaids”
“Midnight in Paris”
“My Week With Marilyn”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Jodie Foster, “Carnage
Charlize Theron, “Young Adult”should win
Kristen Wiig, “Bridesmaids”
* Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”will win
Kate Winslet, “Carnage”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* Jean Dujardin, “The Artistwill win
Brendan Gleeson, “The Guard”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “50/50″
Ryan Gosling, “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”should win
Owen Wilson, “Midnight in Paris”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

* “The Adventures of Tintin”will (and probably should) win
“Arthur Christmas”
“Cars 2″
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Flowers of War” (China)
“In the Land of Blood and Honey” (USA)
“The Kid With a Bike” (Belgium)
* “A Separation” (Iran)will win (based on what I’ve read)
“The Skin I Live In” (Spain)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
* Octavia Spencer, “The Help”will (and should) win
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Kenneth Branagh, “My Week with Marilyn”
Albert Brooks, “Drive” — should win
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Viggo Mortensen, “A Dangerous Method”
* Christopher Plummer, “Beginners” will win

BEST DIRECTOR

Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
George Clooney, “The Ides of March”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”will (and should) win
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
* Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

BEST SCREENPLAY

* Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – “The Ides of March”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – “The Descendants”
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin – “Moneyball” will (and should) win

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

* Ludovic Bource – “The Artist”
Abel Korzeniowski – “W.E.”
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”will (and should) win
Howard Shore – “Hugo”
John Williams – “War Horse”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Hello Hello” — “Gnomeo & Juliet,” music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin — will win
“The Keeper”— “Machine Gun Preacher,” music and lyrics by Chris Cornell
“Lay Your Head Down”“Albert Nobbs,” music by Brian Byrne, lyrics by Glenn Close — should win
“The Living Proof” — “The Help”; music by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr.; lyrics by Mary J. Blige, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas
* “Masterpiece” — W.E., music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

“American Horror Story”should win
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Boss”
“Game of Thrones”
* “Homeland” –  will win

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

* Claire Danes, “Homeland”
will win
Mireille Enos, “The Killing”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Madeleine Stowe, “Revenge”should win
Callie Thorne, “Necessary Roughness”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
* Kelsey Grammer, “Boss”will win
Jeremy Irons, “The Borgias”
Damian Lewis, “Homeland” — should win

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

“Enlightened”
“Episodes”
“Glee”
* “Modern Family”will (and should) win
“New Girl”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

* Laura Dern, “Enlightened”will win
Zooey Deschanel, “New Girl”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Laura Linney, “The Big C”
Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation” — should win

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
David Duchovny, “Californication”
Johnny Galecki, “The Big Bang Theory”should win
Thomas Jane, “Hung”
* Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes” will win

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* “Downton Abbey”will (and should) win
“The Hour”
“Mildred Pierce”
“Too Big to Fail”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Romola Garai, “The Hour”
Diane Lane, “Cinema Verite”
Elizabeth McGovern, “Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece)
Emily Watson, “Appropriate Adult”
* Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce” will (and should) win

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Hugh Bonneville, “Downtown Abbey” (Masterpiece)
will (and should win)
* Idris Elba, “Luther”
William Hurt, “Too Big to Fail”
Bill Nighy, “Page Eight” (Masterpiece)
Dominic West, “The Hour”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story” should win (YEA!)
Kelly MacDonald, “Boardwalk Empire”
Maggie Smith, “Downtown Abbey” (Masterpiece)will win
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Evan Rachel Wood, “Mildred Pierce”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

* Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Paul Giamatti, “Too Big to Fail”will win
Guy Pearce, “Mildred Pierce”should win
Tim Robbins, “Cinema Verite”
Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”

Enjoy the Globes!

Asterisks (*) denote actual winners.

From page to screen

I can’t believe it.

I’m actually excited about the premiere of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

After slogging through that relentless tome of a book, believe you me, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

Several factors have come together to make me want to be one of the first folks in the theater.

1.  Whereas most books are better than their on-screen interpretations, the Tattoo movie can’t miss.  The English translation of Stieg Larsson’s bestseller was front-loaded with the most mind-numbing tedium imaginable before getting to the action that propelled readers through the rest of the book.  Stieg even found a way to make the ending slow.

Based on director David Fincher’s reputation and the killer trailers I’ve seen to date, I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t adopted the author’s penchant for pokey pacing.

I’m also psyched to hear Tattoo’s musical score is the work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who penned the brilliant, Oscar-winning score for The Social Network.  In fact, the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has already been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Of course, Tattoo has a great cast.  And I’ve already mentioned the intense trailers.  Some critics have even applauded the film for sticking closer to the book’s original plot line than the Swedish version did.

Closer to the book?  I don’t want to know!

Director’s cut

I love Jason Reitman.

Or, more specifically, the movies he directs.

He first caught my attention in 2005 with Thank You for Not Smoking.  Then along came Juno, its oh-so-unique voice the brainchild of writer Diablo Cody.  And in 2009, Reitman brought us the brilliant George Clooney vehicle Up in the Air, my choice for Best Picture Oscar.

Sadly, the Academy was more impressed by tales of the war abroad than at home.  Whatever.

Reitman and Cody have teamed up once again to bring us Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt.

This film has none of Juno’s quirky teen speak; Theron’s character is way past that. This golden girl blew out of her one-horse town years ago and is living large in the big city, a successful writer of youth literature.

Or that’s what it looks like from back home.  Her reality — and the lives of the people she left behind –  are very different than they appear on the surface.

I love this film.  I love the performances that Reitman pulled out of his actors.  I love that he didn’t feel the need to ‘nicen up’ Theron’s character as she continues her path of destruction.

And I especially love the possibility that Oswalt — Patton Oswalt, the chubby standup comedian — might get an Oscar nomination.

Jason Reitman did that.

By George

Have you seen this promotional pic of the new movie The Descendants?  Did you wonder what George Clooney was hiding from?

Turns out his co-stars.

I saw the movie this afternoon with my friend Caroline who is visiting from Kentucky — George Clooney’s hometown, in fact.  (She knows the man.)  So we were excited to see if the movie and George himself deserved all the Oscar buzz.

Not so much.

Apparently director Alexander Payne spent all his money on the big man himself and surrounded George with a TV movie-of-the-week cast.  I mean, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo as his co-star?  Get real.

While there were excellent turns by Shailene Woodley as George’s oldest daughter Alexandra and Beau Bridges as his cousin Hugh, no one else really measured up to George or the script.

Hey Alexander — when you center a film around a sick room, you might want to make sure your cast is healthy first.

Boo

I like scary things.

I like scary movies — not gory, mind you, but scary.  I saw all three Paranormal Activity films (even the last one which spit all over the franchise) and can’t wait for Daniel Radcliffe’s new venture The Woman in Black.

The trailer totally creeps me out.

I like scary TV shows, too.  American Horror Story is easily the spookiest thing I have ever seen on television (next to Dark Shadows from my childhood days).

Being scared — if only for an instant — is big fun.

But getting a friend request from your unborn child on Facebook? That’s sick scary….as in just a little too real to laugh about later.

But that’s how Olla Condoms, a Brazilian company, has chosen to market their products.  They randomly select men on Facebook, create a fake profile for their unborn sons and then send friend requests with the message “Avoid surprises like this. Use Olla Condoms.”

Jeepers creepers.

It reminds me of a Halloween card that Shoebox had in their line years ago — they may still.  It featured a women on the cover saying, “For Halloween, I wanted to send you the scariest card I could find.”

Inside it said, “I’m pregnant.”

Talk about scary — I couldn’t even hold the card in my hand.