Movie Review: Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 dares to explore what happens when kids outgrow their toys.  The toys, who are sentient unbeknownst to their owner, must face their fate.  Do toys go to college with the kid, to the attic, to another home, or just the junk yard?

This movie explores every angle.  It does it with fun, humor, heart, and even one particularly scary moment that only makes you appreciate the characters even more.

The movie integrates a ton of new characters (see the poster attached to this review) but without detracting or devaluing the established characters we know & love.  And, it has a nice way of re-introducing the core characters in a very funny & exciting opening scene.

I was a little surprised that I wasn't quite moved to tears by the emotional ending.  Maybe I will be upon repeat viewing in private.  There is one scene, however, involving a tortilla -- yes, a tortilla -- that is so bizarrely hilarious that it triggered tears of laughter.  For humorous subplots, a close 2nd goes to -- without getting spoilery -- a very different kind of Buzz Lightyear.  ;)

This movie is a perfect way of wrapping up the Toy Story trilogy but could also work as a stand-alone story.  It's equally great for kids & adults.  Like all Pixar movies, it looks amazing.

About the only very minor flaws are that the point of the plot is driven home a little often, to the point that it feels like beating a dead horse, and that the evil Zurg doesn't make a cameo until the closing credits (I was hoping for a Zurg & Buzz father-son reunion).  My only other complaint is that the movie didn't send me out of the theater "pumped" about it afterwards, but I can't deny a quiet appreciation for how well it was made.

I may change my mind later, but my initial gut reaction is that the movie deserves a letter grade of "A" which in my scale translates to 5 out of 5 stars.  And, in terms of Pixar movies, TS1 & TS2 are a little lower down the list for me, but I think TS3 is 2nd only to Finding Nemo.

Letter Grade:  A

5-Star Scale:  5 out of 5 stars

Anticipated Movies of 2010

Here are lists of movies in 2010 that I'm certain, tempted, or iffy about seeing:

Must See

• *** Iron Man 2 *** (May 07)
• The A-Team (June 11)
• Toy Story 3 (June 18)
• Harry Potter and Deathly Hollows, Part 1 (November 19)
• Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (December 10)
• Tron Legacy (December 17)

Curious / Tempted

• She's Out of My League (March 12)
• How to Train Your Dragon (March 26)
• Clash of the Titans (March 26)
• Kick-Ass (April 16)
• The Last Airbender (July 02)
• Inception (July 16)
• Red (October 22)

Iffy

• Hot Tub Time Machine (March 26)
• Date Night (April 09)
• The Losers (April 23)
• Robin Hood (May 14)
• The Karate Kid (June 11)
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice (July 16)
• Salt (July 23)

Hmm, so far, not a single movie in August or September and only one in October for which I've only read the cast list & a paragraph summary. Well, it's a little soon to know what's that far ahead anyway.

*Revised* 2009 Movie Rankings: 23, Not 22, Movies; I Forgot About "Taken"

I keep forgetting to include "Taken" among my movies that I saw in 2009. IMDb.com lists it as a 2008 movie because it was released in 2008 in a few dozen countries, but it didn't make it to the U.S. until 2009.

I admit, "Taken" is another 2009 movie I didn't see in theaters, though I always meant to. I saw it on DVD at a friend's house and then rented it via TiVo a few months later. But, I'm still counting it.

I'm glad to count it, as it was one of the best movies of 2009. It was a surprisingly well written action movie about a character, played with perfection by Liam Neeson, that is smart, capable, and fast on his feet but without seeming superhuman. It's relentless & fast paced but without feeling spastic or lacking a human element. It's like a Daniel Craig-era Bond movie or a Jason Bourne movie without the memory loss subplot.

So, here's my revised list of 23, not 22, movies I saw in 2009...

All 23 Movies I Saw In 2009

23. (F) Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
22. (C-) Push
21. (C) The Soloist
20. (C+) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
19. (C+) District 9
18. (B-) Monsters vs. Aliens
17. (B-) X-Men Origins: Wolverine
16. (B-) Terminator Salvation
15. (B) The Proposal
14. (B) Julie & Julia
13. (B) 2012
12. (B) Moon
11. (B) Sherlock Holmes
10. (B) Avatar
09. (B+) 500 Days of Summer
08. (B+) Gran Torino
07. (B+) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
06. (B+) The Time Traveler’s Wife
05. (B+) Watchmen

04. (B+) Taken
03. (A-) Up
02. (A-) The Blind Side
01. (A) Star Trek

Note: I just got back from seeing Avatar a 2nd time, this time in 3-D. I know I may be in the minority on this, but I still have to give it a B, not a B+. Despite how amazing it looked, I still got a little bored both times. Without a less predictable story and multidimensional characters, it's not much more than an exercise in amazing special effects. I'm not alone. I've read reviews where the writer has said you could turn the volume down on the movie or listen to an iPod while you watch, and it would still be amazing. Sorry, not good enough for me. I don't want *just* great visuals. I'd rather have lesser visuals if it means a greater story. In fact, even the story wouldn't be so bad if not for so many aspects of it feeling done before. Don't get me wrong, the movie overall was still good, just not great.

My Ranks for All Twenty-Two 2009 Movies I Saw This Year

This wasn't a great year for movies. Last summer's big three were The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Wall-E -- and that was just the summer. This year didn't seem as big. Sure, the Star Trek franchise was resurrected with a shockingly good reboot/re-imagining, and The Blind Side was a surprising Thanksgiving success that continues to sell out and earned Sandra Bullock a Golden Globe nomination. But, the year also gave us one of the worst movies all time with Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

There weren't enough excellent movies to have a top 10 list of 2009, so I'll just rank all 22 that I saw, from worst to best. I admit, I saw Push, The Soloist, and The Proposal on DVD rather than the big screen, but as 2009 movies, I'm still counting them.

All 22 Movies I Saw In 2009

22. (F) Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
21. (C-) Push
20. (C) The Soloist
19. (C+) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
18. (C+) District 9
17. (B-) Monsters vs. Aliens
16. (B-) X-Men Origins: Wolverine
15. (B-) Terminator Salvation
14. (B) The Proposal
13. (B) Julie & Julia
12. (B) 2012
11. (B) Moon
10. (B) Sherlock Holmes
09. (B) Avatar
08. (B+) 500 Days of Summer
07. (B+) Gran Torino
06. (B+) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
05. (B+) The Time Traveler’s Wife
04. (B+) Watchmen
03. (A-) Up
02. (A-) The Blind Side
01. (A) Star Trek

My Top 30 Favorite Films of the Decade (2000 - 2009)

It's always so hard to rank movies (TV shows too). There are so many factors to consider, so many shades of grey.

Some movies are fresh on your mind. Some you're having to judge based on memories of when you saw them several years ago. For instance, I constantly wonder whether "Under the Tuscan Sun" should be one of only nine movie to which I give the ultimate A+ grade. At one time, I must have thought so. I haven't gotten around to watching it lately, so as odd as it feels to say it's better than "The Dark Knight" or even "Iron Man," I'm going to have to go on my opinion of it that is several years old.

Then there's the conflict between objective observation of quality and inexplicable personal appeal. In other words, the best movies and your favorite movies aren't always the same things. Sometimes a movie blows you away the first time, but you have little or no interest in seeing it again. "Memento" would be an excellent example of this. Other times, a flawed or less ambitious movie still has higher re-watch factor, such as "Love Actually" or "Frequency."

Anyway, here's my best attempt to rank the best -- uhm, I mean, my favorite -- movies of the 2000 - 2009 decade. I may change my mind on half of it later, but it'll do for now:

30. The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
29. Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
28. X2: X-Men United (2003)
27. Watchmen (2009)
26. The Prestige (2006)
25. Children of Men (2006)
24. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
23. Ocean's 12 (2004)
22. The Queen (2006)
21. Up (2009)
20. Waitress (2007)
19. Serenity (2005)
18. The Lake House (2006)
17. Spider-Man (2002)
16. Cars (2006)
15. Wall-E (2008)
14. Love Actually (2003)
13. Batman Begins (2005)
12. The Blind Side (2009)
11. Ocean's 13 (2007)
10. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
09. Iron Man (2008)
08. Star Trek (2009)
07. Ocean's 11 (2001)
06. Finding Nemo (2003)
05. The Dark Knight (2008)
04. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
03. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
02. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
01. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

Honorable Mentions: The Bourne Trilogy (2002/2004/2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Gran Torino (2009), Casino Royale (2006), 500 Days of Summer (2009), United 93 (2006), The Bucket List (2008), The Terminal (2004), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and Frequency (2000).

Yes, "Avatar" is intentionally left out. It's on the borderline. It looked good, but the story was a little weak & unoriginal. All the super-glowing reviews I've heard for it on blogs & podcasts -- even the ones from people who admitted the flaws in the story -- come from people who saw it in 3-D. When I went, it was sold out in 3-D. It looked great in 2-D, but I've heard it's just not the same. I'm tempted to see it again, this time in 3-D, to see if the increase in quality raises my opinion of it from B to B+. If so, then it will be an Honorable Mention of the decade too.

And, I'm sure my Facebook friends are tired of excuses I find to mention this, but I think it can't be said enough... The worst movie of 2009, one of the worst cinematic travesties of the decade, and yes, one of the worst movies of all time was, sadly & shamefully, "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen." It joins the ranks of other Grade-F movies "Highlander 2: The Quickening," "Event Horizon," "Batman & Robin," "Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows," and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier."

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 8]

Best Actress must be next. They're doing the five past winners thing again. The nominees: Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Melissa Leo, Meryl Streep, and Angelina Jolie. I only saw The Reader and Changeling, and I liked Jolie in Changeling better. It will almost certainly go to Winslet or Streep, but Jolie is my pick anyway. The winner: Kate Winslet. Oh, hey, she thanked Peter Jackson too. He directed one of her first films (if not *the* first film for her).

Wow, her speech went on for a while, and they didn't interrupt her with music. They haven't done that all night. They must just be letting this one go long tonight if it has to.

Best Actor is next. The presenters: Michael Douglas presenting Frank Langella. Robert DeNiro presenting Sean Penn. Adrian Brody presenting Richard Jenkins. Anthony Hopkins presenting Brad Pitt (they were together in the great movie Meet Joe Black), and Ben Kingsley presenting Mickey Rourke. My pick is Frank Langella, though Mickey Rourke is almost certain to win. Winner: Sean Penn. Wow, his wife Robin Wright Penn looks great! Dude, thank your wife. Thank your wife. There's the political commentary. Two more things? More political commentary. Mentions Mickey Rourke. Did he thank his wife??? If he did, I sure did miss it.

Best Picture, presented by Steven Spielberg. First, a Best Picture nominee montage, with a focus on this year's nominees but with clips from past winners sprinkled in. The nominees: Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire. My pick: Slumdog Millionaire. Winner: Slumdog Millionaire. Good. It truly was the most deserving out of those nominated.

-----

Comments on the show:

The new way of presenting acting nominees with five past winners per category saying nice things about the current year's nominees was a good idea in a way, but it carried on a little long and dragged down the momentum of the show.

I don't understand why there were only three Best Song nominees instead of five, but I do like the fact that they combined shorter versions of them all together into one performance rather than doing full versions of each, sprinkled throughout the show.

I also like how they clumped similar categories together back to back using the same presenters to save time, though I think having Will Smith present four or five awards all on his own was a little excessive.

I wasn't so sure about Hugh Jackman hosting since I've never watched him host the Tony Awards, but it really didn't matter much because once the show got started, there really wasn't too much for him to do.

And, not once did they start music in the middle of a person's speech. That was respectful. Now, if winners will just learn to police themselves on how long they go on crying and catching their breath, the show might be over by 11:30.

Overall, I liked the show. You could tell they were trying new things, and many of them worked or were at least improvements. With a little tweaking (and, I'm sorry, some overall better nominees), next year's show could be excellent.

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 7]

Liam Neeson and Freida Pinto are up to present Best Foreign Language Film. Woops. I don't think the nominees were in the same order on the screen as they were in which they read them aloud. Whatever won, it's a Japanese film.

Queen Latifah is on stage. Oh, here we go... In Memoriam (with Queen Latifah singing "I'll Be Seeing You"): Bernie Mac. Michael Crichton. Pat Hingle. Roy Scheider. Isaac Hayes. Ricardo Mantalban. Stan Winston. James Whitmore. Charlton Heston. Sydney Pollack. Paul Newman.

I wish they had filled the screen with the memoriam images. Instead we got a view of the stage which had monitors showing various pictures of those that passed away and their work. The end result is that the images of them were very small on the TV screen. A few times, a person's name got cut off at the bottom of the screen or was just too small to read well. I know they're trying some new things this year, but I'd rather they just let the memoriam fill the screen as they have in the past.

Reese Witherspoon is up to present the Best Director award. Her dress is a little weird. Anyway, my pick is Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (although Chris Nolan for The Dark Knight would have been just as deserving had he been nominated). Winner: Danny Boyle -- who, in my defense, really does look like Rudy Giuliani, so it was an honest mistake.

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 6]

Okay, if they still have to do Score, Song, Best Foreign Film, Best Picture, a tribute to Jerry Lewis (?), and the In Memoriam parts, they must not be trying to finish by 11:00. They haven't done the boring lawyer part yet either.

Eddie Murphy is out to present the Jean Hersholt Award (whatever that is). The recipient is Jerry Lewis. These parts are usually long & boring. Time for raspberry jelly toast.

And, now a music montage of the Best Score nominees. Zac Efron & Alicia Keys are out to present the award. My pick: Slumdog Millionaire. Winner: Slumdog Millionaire.

Now, the best Original Song. One nominee from WALL-E and two from Slumdog Millionaire. Being performed on stage. Why are there not five nominees? My pick: WALL-E. I have to admit a little bit of language bias for my pick. Although, wow, the Indian songs are pretty catchy & lively. And, they did a little bit of a blend of songs at the end. Nice. The winner: "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire. And, now that I see the songs performed, which jogs my memory how they sounded in the movie, I think I'm okay with the Slumdog win. That was a great song, even if the lyrics were in a different language.

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 5]

Looks like Best Supporting Actor is up next. They're bringing out five past winners again. This could take a while. Cuba Gooding, Jr. did a great job introducing Robert Downey, Jr.'s nomination. Kevin Klein is doing the introduction for Heath Ledger. And, the winner is: Heath Ledger. No surprise. His parents & sister are accepting the award on his behalf. Very nice.

The next award must be for Best Feature Documentary. Interesting how they're introducing them by showing clips of some of the filmmakers talking about their films. Bill Maher (urgh) is there to take a pot-shot at religion and maybe just present a freakin' award in the process. The winner: Man on Wire. Now, the Best Documentary Short Film. Winner: Smile Pinki.

And, now the 2008 action movie montage. Kind of weird that they take the effort to recognize action movies, but they never consider nominating one.

Will Smith is up to present the award for Best Visual Effects. There should be more than two nominees for this. My pick is Iron Man. The Dark Knight would be okay. *But,* *of course,* it goes to Benjamin Button.

Will Smith stays for Best Sound Editing. The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, and Wanted. Great nominees. My pick: WALL-E. Winner: The Dark Knight. Wow! I wasn't expecting that. It probably would have been my 2nd choice, though Iron Man would have been an extremely close 3rd.

Will Smith still up for Best Sound Mixing. Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, and Wanted. My pick: WALL-E. Winner: Slumdog Millionaire. Wow! Another surprise.

Oh, that's not Rudy Giuliani in the audience. That must be Danny Boyle, director of Slumdog Millionaire. Woops.

Will Smith *still* up for Best Film Editing. I do like how they're grouping the awards together this year. The nominees: Frost/Nixon, The Dark Knight, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, and Benjamin Button. My pick: Slumdog Millionaire. The winner: Slumdog Millionaire.

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 4]

Natalie Portman & Ben Stiller are out to present Best Cinematographer. Ben Stiller looks like Joaquin Phoenix did on David Letterman with the wild hair, shaggy beard, and sunglasses. It's the funniest thing Stiller has ever done (which isn't saying much). Natalie Portman looks hotter than Angelina Jolie too, though I'd prefer to see her hair down. My pick is Slumdog Millionaire with The Dark Knight an *extremely* close 2nd choice. The winner: Slumdog Millionaire. Woohoo.

Now, the guys from Pineapple Express are watching clips from 2008 comedies. So, were there only 1.5 comedies last year. Most of their clips are from dramas.

Those guys are up to present Best Short Film. No clue here. The winner is...something from Germany.

Hugh Jackman is singing & dancing in a tux & top hat. Very un-Wolverine-like. I think that's Beyonce who's joining him now. They're doing a Oscar song montage.

Ooh, a commercial for a Sandra Bullock movie with Ryan Reynolds and Betty White. I am there. It's called The Proposal. I have to wait until June for it. Bummer.

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 3]

Jennifer Anniston and Jack Black are up to present Best Animated Feature: Bolt, Kung-Fu, and WALL-E. My pick: WALL-E (duh). The winner: WALL-E!

Anniston & Black stay up there for Best Animated Short Film. A couple of them look foreign. I think Presto will win, and I base my prediction on absolutely nothing. Hmm. The French one won. Well, the title sounded French, but the award acceptor is Japanese and speaks barely any English. Interesting.

Daniel Craig and Sarah Jessica Parker are up to present Best Art Direction. I totally forgot to make my pick for this earlier. The winner: Benjamin Button. Let me look again at the nominees. Nope, out of the three I saw, I would have picked The Dark Knight or Changeling instead.

Craig & Parker remain to present Best Costume Design. Benjamin Button is the only one I saw. The winner: The Duchess. Don't know; didn't see it.

And, they're still up there for Best Makeup. My pick is Hellboy II. Benjamin Button will probably get it though. And, it does.

Two people I don't know are to present...a 2008 love montage. Oh, that reminds me, I still wanted to see Last Chance Harvey.

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 2]

And, the Oscars have begun. Less fanfare than usual. No prelude, clip montage, etc. Just Hugh Jackman.

It's going to be hard to get used to hearing Jackman's Australian accent. I'm so used to hearing him as Wolverine. He's singing now. He's bringing back the nominee music montage that only Billy Crystal used to do. He brought Anne Hathaway on stage to help with the Frost/Nixon segment. Oh, she can sing too.

I like how the The Reader portion of the music montage had nothing to do with The Reader. The lyrics implied that Hugh never got around to seeing The Reader. That's okay; he didn't miss much. Now, Hugh's sitting on Frank Langella's lap.

Hugh's pointing out several nominees in the front row. Where is Jack Nicholson? He's not nominated for anything, but doesn't he usually get an honorary front row seat anyway?

Woops. They had a little trouble with the curtains when revealing the screen to show the previous Best Actress montage. You could actually hear someone say, "Open them!"

Five actresses are up to present the Best Supporting Actresses. My pick is Taraji P. Henson out of the two movies I saw, but she may be the least likely of the five to win. Wow, this is a long presentation. They're talking about the roles of the nominees rather than showing clips. If they do this with every award, this will be a long night. The winner: Penelope Cruz. Wow, they're letting her go on forever with her acceptance. This show may last until Tuesday.

Steve Martin and Tina Fey are up to present one of the screenplay categories. Tina Fey looks better than Angelina Jolie too. This is the Original Screenplay category. The only one I've seen here is WALL-E, so it's automatically my pick. I wish J. Michael Straczynski had been nominated for Changeling. And, the winner is: Milk.

Now, the Adapted Screenplay category. Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire. My pick is Slumdog, with Frost/Nixon a very close 2nd choice. The winner: Slumdog Millionaire. Woohoo.

Was that Rudy Giuliani in the crowd?

Live Blogging: 81st Annual Academy Awards [Half-Hour 1]

Red carpet time...

Kate Winslet looks great. Josh Brolin, yeah who cares, he's with Diane Lane. Diane Lane always looks great. I can't tell if she's got short hair or just wearing it up. I like her better with longer hair (I like just about any woman with longer hair). But, she looks good anyway. Amy Adams look good too.

Taraji P. Henson looks good too. There's Pitt & Jolie -- super briefly. I'm sure everyone will be saying how hot Jolie is. I actually think Diane Lane and Amy Adams are hotter.

There's the cast of Slumdog Millionaire, including the kids that played the younger versions of the main characters. Freida Pinto -- another woman hotter than Angelina Jolie.

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens -- Who are they? Am I that old already? Am I that out of touch? Okay, yes. I am, and I know it.

Holy crap, Robert Downey, Jr.'s wife is the hottest yet. Dude, keep staying off the drugs. Screwing up that marriage would be a crime. :)

Miley Cyrus looks like she's wearing a silver Christmas tree from Wal-Mart. Anne Hathaway looks good. Her dress makes her look like a metallic mermaid.

And, here are the lawyers from Price Watershouse Coopers dressed in boredom. Penelope Cruz looks good from the waist up, but from the waist down she looks like she's wearing the curtains from old haunted house. Richard Jenkins -- I don't know who he is.

There's Marisa Tomei. She looks really great, but it's surprising how un-revealing her dress is. Maybe that's intentional since she shows nearly everything in The Wrestler. Also, it's probably cold out there. Practical choice Marisa.

Now they're talking about the stage and the music. And, that's pretty much it for the red carpet.

2009 Oscar Picks

The Oscars are tonight. Real quick, before they air, my wishes and predictions are below.

Best Picture

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Frost/Nixon
  
• Milk
  
• The Reader
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  

1st Choice: Slumdog Millionaire
2nd Choice: Frost/Nixon
3rd Choice: Benjamin Button
4th Choice: The Reader
(Didn’t see Milk.)
All four that I saw were good, but only Slumdog Millionaire left me a complete sense of satisfaction. Benjamin Button, while containing a lot of nice technical achievements, was a little over-rated story-wise. And, neither Frost/Nixon nor The Reader were quite as engaging and enthralling as I think they were meant to be. After seeing four of these movies now, I will join many others who claim that, despite being a summer popcorn movie based on a comic book, The Dark Knight *really* does deserve to be in this list. It is no less special, epic, emotional, engaging, or well made than the ones actually nominated. I didn’t get around to seeing WALL-E a 2nd time to see if I thought it deserved to be in this list, but I do remember enjoying it more than I enjoyed The Reader.

Best Director

• David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
  
• Stephen Daldry - The Reader
  
• Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
  
• Gus Van Sant - Milk
  

Similar opinion as above. Same order of preference. There’s no reason Christopher Nolan shouldn’t be in this list.

Best Actor

• Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
  
• Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
  
• Sean Penn - Milk
  
• Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
  

From all the hype, it sounds like Mickey Rourke is a lock, but I saw The Wrestler yesterday, and I just wasn’t as impressed as the rest of the world. I like Brad Pitt (not for the reasons ladies like him); I think he’s capable, watchable, and likable. But, I wasn’t blown away by his performance. Having not seen Milk or The Visitor, Langella gets my vote by default.

Best Actress

• Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
  
• Angelina Jolie - Changeling
  
• Melissa Leo - Frozen River
  
• Meryl Streep - Doubt
  
• Kate Winselt - The Reader
  

The only two I saw here were The Reader and Changeling. I’m doubting Angelina Jolie is not much of a contender for this, especially with Winslet & Streep in the mix, but I actually liked her performance. From what I’ve heard, Hathaway has a good shot, but that movie, or at least her character in that movie, didn’t look very watchable to me from the trailers & clips I saw of it.

Best Supporting Actor

• Josh Brolin - Milk
  
• Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
  
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
  
• Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
  
• Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
  

A default vote, since The Dark Knight was the only movie here I saw. But, Ledger is a lock. I have a hard time imagining anyone else winning, regardless of the reasons people voted the way they did. And, he definitely deserves to be nominated to say the least.

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams - Doubt
  
• Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  
• Viola Davis - Doubt
  
• Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Maria Tomei - The Wrestler
  

I only saw Button & Wrestler. It sounds like Tomei may be a favorite for this, and she was good in her small role. However, I can’t help but wonder, was her emoting and delivery of lines enough to get her the nomination, or does the Academy give extra credit whenever an actress spins on a pole, wears a fishnet body stocking, bends over to the camera wearing a thong, and lets the makeup department litter her body with fake tattoos and nipple piercings. I’ll go with Taraji P. Henson, even though I think she’s a long shot.

Best Original Screenplay

• WALL-E
  
• Happy-Go-Lucky
  
• Frozen River
  
• In Bruges
  
• Milk
  

Another default vote. WALL-E was the only one I saw. I’ve read good things about In Bruges and Happy-Go-Lucky. I’m intrigued enough that I might check them out on video someday.

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Frost/Nixon
  
• The Reader
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  
• Doubt
  

My choices here have the exact same order of preference as my Best Picture and Best Director picks.

Best Animated Feature

• Bolt
  
• Kung-Fu Panda
  
• WALL-E
  

Didn’t see Kung-Fu Panda though I’ve heard it’s good. Bolt was good, but not *quite* as good as I was hoping. In fact, my broadest complaint with it is that it felt a little short on overall quality compared to a Pixar movie. So, no brainer, it’s WALL-E.

Best Cinematography

• Changeling
  
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• The Dark Knight
  
• The Reader
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  

1st Choice: Slumdog Millionaire
2nd Choice: The Dark Knight (very, very, very close 2nd; virtually a tie)
3rd Choice: Changeling
4th Choice: Ben. Button
5th Choice: The Reader
Ooh, tough, tough, category. Slumdog felt unique in it’s overall look. It was at time lively and kinetic but without using an excess of shaky-cam, which is about the only thing that keeps The Dark Knight from being my #1 pick. I liked the visual look & feel of Changeling. The camerawork in Benjamin Button was good, but I can’t remember any particular impressive scenes. And, I’m not entirely sure why The Reader is in the list.

Best Costume Design

• Australia
  
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• The Duchess
  
• Milk
  
• Revolutionary Road
  

A default vote. Button is the only one I saw.

Best Film Editing

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• The Dark Knight
  
• Frost/Nixon
  
• Milk
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  

Slumdog did such a good job cutting between the different time periods & settings. It was a little confusing in the beginning, but I like how things come together in the end. I think the editing had to be done carefully to balance all the elements.

Best Makeup

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• The Dark Knight
  
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
  

Excellent category. Benjamin Button had people looking different ages, and Dark Knight had the deformities of the Joker & Two-Face (although much of Two-Face’s look was done digitally). But, the makeup work done in Hellboy II was original, diverse, extensive, creative, and impressive.

Best Original Score

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Defiance
  
• Milk
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  
• WALL-E
  

I don’t notice music too much in movies, but I think Slumdog may have stood out here.

Best Original Song

• “Down to Earth” from WALL-E
  
• “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire
  
• “O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire
  

Sort of a default vote for WALL-E. Although I saw Slumdog, I wouldn’t have understood the words in the songs. Why are there only three nominees instead of five? Did enough people complain about the live performances of the Best Song nominees that they shrank the list?

Best Sound Editing

• The Dark Knight
  
• Iron Man
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  
• WALL-E
  
• Wanted
  

I’m no expert on sound, but since there’s no dialogue in the first half of WALL-E, the strength of the movie relies on two main things: images and sounds effects. I think WALL-E is a lock for one, if not both, of the sound awards.

Best Sound Mixing

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• The Dark Knight
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  
• WALL-E
  
• Wanted
  

Same opinion as for Best Sound Editing.

Best Visual Effects

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• The Dark Knight
  
• Iron Man
  

Another really great category. With all the armor, computer screens, and in-helmet displays done by computer graphics, I’d be shocked if Iron Man didn’t win. But, there again, I almost forgot about the digital effects used to make Harvey Dent look like Two-Face in The Dark Knight. While equally excellent in quality, I think Iron Man is still more deserving when you factor in quantity of effects.


EDIT
I neglected to include Best Art Direction. Out of the three I saw, I would have preferred The Dark Knight or Changeling to win, but Benjamin Button got it instead.

My Ratings for Oscar-Nominated Movies

My list of movies I’ve seen that are getting two or more Oscar nominations each, along with my letter grade and the list of nominations for each:

(A) Iron Man - 2 Nominations

• Best Sound Editing
  
• Best Visual Effects
  

(A) WALL-E - 6 Nominations

• Best Animated Feature
  
• Best Original Screenplay - Andrew Stantion, Jim Reardon, and Pete Docter
  
• Best Original Score
  
• Best Original Song - “Down to Earth”
  
• Best Sound Editing
  
• Best Sound Mixing
  

(A) The Dark Knight - 8 Nominations

• Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger
  
• Best Cinematography
  
• Best Film Editing
  
• Best Art Direction
  
• Best Makeup
  
• Best Sound Editing
  
• Best Sound Mixing
  
• Best Visual Effects
  

(B+) Changeling - 3 Nominations

• Best Lead Actress - Angelina Jolie
  
• Best Art Direction
  
• Best Cinematography
  

(A-) Slumdog Millionaire - 10 Nominations

• Best Picture
  
• Best Director - Danny Boyle
  
• Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy
  
• Best Cinematography
  
• Best Film Editing
  
• Best Original Score
  
• Best Original Song - “Jai Ho”
  
• Best Original Song - “O Saya”
  
• Best Sound Editing
  
• Best Sound Mixing
  

(B+) Frost/Nixon - 5 Nominations

• Best Picture
  
• Best Director - Ron Howard
  
• Best Lead Actor - Frank Langella
  
• Best Adapted Screenplay - Peter Morgan
  
• Best Film Editing
  

(B) The Reader - 5 Nominations

• Best Picture
  
• Best Director - Stephen Daltry
  
• Best Actress - Kate Winslet
  
• Best Adapted Screenplay - David Hare
  
• Best Cinematography
  

(B-) The Wrestler - 2 Nominations

• Best Lead Actor - Mickey Rourke
  
• Best Supporting Actress - Marisa Tomei
  

(B+) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 13 Nominations

• Best Picture
  
• Best Director - David Fincher
  
• Best Actor - Brad Pitt
  
• Best Supporting Actress - Taraji P. Henson
  
• Best Adapted Screenplay - Eric Roth & Robin Swicord
  
• Best Cinematography
  
• Best Film Editing
  
• Best Art Direction
  
• Best Costume Design
  
• Best Makeup
  
• Best Original Score
  
• Best Sound Mixing
  
• Best Visual Effects
  

Partial Best Picture Commentary

For some reason, it's been hard for me to keep in the habit of blogging for the last few months, including doing full-fledged movie reviews, but I still have a tendency to leave comments on other people's blogs.

Quoted below is the comment I made to an entry about the Best Picture nominated film Frost/Nixon over at TheReelAddict.com. The writer of the original post said they were having trouble "getting" Frost/Nixon. My comment strays a bit into my overall opinion of this year's Best Picture nominees.

I know what you mean. I have similar feeling about all four of the five Best Picture nominees I’ve seen. They’re good, but not quite *that* good. Slumdog Millionaire comes the closest to having a complete, epic, well rounded story with a satisfying emotional payoff at the end (even if the plot depends too much on a convenient series of coincidences).

I feel that the strength of Frost/Nixon was in the performances which play very well, sometimes in very intense close-up monologues. I also noticed the similarities between Frost/Nixon and sports movies. But, that’s one of the elements I actually liked. It was interesting to see Frost & Nixon spar for a while, then go back to their respective corners to re-group and then break between rounds. It felt like a boxing match. I don’t like sports, particularly boxing, but it was interesting to me to see the typical sports formula applied to a long interview where words were flying rather than fists. I liked that twist.

The biggest problem with this movie and other Oscar nominees from this year and other years is what I call the “so what” factor. Sometimes, I watch a movie and no matter how well made it was or how much I respect the performances, I still feel like, “Eh, so what.”

Did I learn anything, did I get excited, did I laugh a lot, did I almost tear up a little, am I more relaxed or in a better mood for having seen the movie? If the answer to all those questions is “no,” then the movie didn’t quite hit every mark. I sort of learned some things about both Frost & Nixon through the movie, but with biopics, it’s always hard to tell what’s true and what’s creative license.

As good as Kate Winslet’s performance was, I feel that The Reader definitely missed on all those marks. While I may sound like the typical geek (which I am), I’m more convinced now that The Dark Knight should have at least been nominated. For a comic book movie, it had all the high production values and top caliber performances you’d expect from an Oscar-worthy movie, but it was also written well and covered a lot of moral and philosophical issues without being depressing or draining. I might need to see Wall-E again to determine if I’d feel the same way about it (as good as it was, I think my expectations for it were *even higher* which clouded my opinion of it).

Frost/Nixon would be my 3rd choice for Best Picture after Slumdog Millionaire (1st) and Benjamin Button (2nd choice; also less emotional gravitas than it’s given credit for).

Live Blogging: 80th Annual Academy Awards [Hour 4]

Harrison Ford is up to present Best Original Screenplay. Noms: Juno, Lars and the Real Girl, Michael Clayton, Ratatouille, The Savages. My pick: Juno. The winner: Juno!!! Yay! The screenwriter, Diablo Cody, looks a little like a weirdo, uh, I mean, free spirit, but she is talented to pull off the script that she did.

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Helen Mirren is up to present Best Actor. Is it just me or is Helen Mirren kind of hot for an old chick. I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last year. I loved the fact that after winning an Oscar, she didn't mind being in National Treasure 2. Noms: George Clooney (he was very good in Michael Clayton, the best part of the movie); Daniel Day-Lewis (for There Will Be Blood, my personal pick and sure winner); Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd (ugh, I'm not a Johnny Depp fan); Tommy Lee Jones (for the Valley of Elah; I didn't see that one, but he was really good in No Country for Old Men); Viggo Mortensen (for Eastern Promises). And the winner: Daniel Day-Lewis. No big surprise. Wow, his voice is very difference in real life. Just makes the performance that much more powerful.

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Best Director. Presented by Martin Scorsese. Noms: Diving Bell & Butterfly, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood. The Coen brothers win for No Country for Old Men.

Best Picture. Presented by Denzel Washington. Noms: Atonement (my 5th choice), Juno (my 1st choice), Michael Clayton (my 4th choice), No Country for Old Men (my 3rd choice), There Will Be Blood (my 2nd choice). No Country for Old Men wins. Hmmm. I would say, "It was good, but I don't think it was quite *that* good," because frankly, I felt that way about all the entries this year. I think this was just an "off" year. As a normal, everyday, mainstream movie-goer, Waitress and Ocean's 13 tied as my favorite movies of 2007. I also really respect Juno, Charlie Wilson's War, and The Bucket List. So what do I know.

All in all, a boring, uneventful Oscars ceremony. Nothing wrong with it, just not exciting either. We need another Lord of the Rings movie. ;)

Live Blogging: 80th Annual Academy Awards [Hour 3]

After the commercial, Jon Stewart is seen playing Wii Tennis against a little girl. That's pretty funny.

Colin Farrell is up to present another nominated song, this one from Once, a movie I've heard good things about and may have to check out on video. The song sounds okay. The guys over at TheMovieBlog.com *hate* the live performances of Best Song nominees, calling it a waste of time. I disagree. Best Song is the only category in which you can enjoy the content live. For everything else, you have to have to have either seen the movie or gotten a good impression from the quick clip.

Jack Nicholson is up to present a montage of Best Picture winners throughout Oscar history.

Renee Zellweger is up to present Best Film Editing. My personal pick and the winner... The Bourne Ultimatum. Wow, Bourne may not be in the main categories, but it's cleaned up in the technicals it was nominated for.

Nicole Kidman is up to present... a freakin' huge necklace she's wearing. It looks like she fell through a chandelier on the way to the stage. Anyway, she's presenting Robert Boyle for an Honorary Oscar in art direction.

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Penelope Cruz is up to present Best Foreign Language Film. I actually saw one or two of the foreign language nominees last year, but last year was a good year. This year, not so much. An Austrian film wins. It's called The Counterfeiters.

Patrick Dempsey is up to present the final Best Song nominee, also from Enchanted. Continuing my earlier argument in support of the live Best Song performances, it breaks up the night. Without the songs, it's just awards and montages. And, frankly, it's the montages I'd like to get rid of.

John Travolta is up to present the winner for Best Song. The winner is the song from Once. Marketa Irglova is really pretty, but unfortunately she wasn't given a chance to say her thanks as her fellow music partner and co-star took up all the time. There's no way he hogged it intentionally. They just didn't give them enough time. When they have two people winning an award, they should let both of them talk, even if each person gets half the time.

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Oh, that's so nice. Jon Stewart gave Marketa her chance to say her thanks. She looks & sounds so nice. Nice job, Jon Stewart.

Cameron Diaz is up to present Best Cinematography, something she can barely pronounce, apparently. Noms: Jesse James, Atonement, Diving Bell & Butterfly, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood. My vote, Blood. And, it wins. Yay.

Hillary Swank is up to present the memoriam montage, the only truly worthy montage of them all. Dabbs Greer, the pastor from Little House on the Prairie. Lois Maxwell, Moneypenny from James Bond movies. Suzanne Pleshette. Ingmar Bergman (not familiar with his work, but his name is very recognizable). And, of course, Heath Ledger.

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Amy Adams is up to present... her really, really pretty, awesome good looks. She's so pretty. Such nice, long, silky, red hair. Such a sweet voice. What is she doing? Oh, she's presenting Best Original Score. Noms: Atonement, Kite Runner, Michael Clayton, Ratatouille, and 3:10 to Yuma. No strong preference here. Dario somebody won for Atonement. Okay. Bye, bye, Amy.

Tom Hanks is up to present U.S. soldiers in Iraq who are presenting Best Documentary Short Subject. That's pretty cool to do it that way. Tom Hanks gets to present the nominations for Best Documentary Feature, which all sound very serious. Taxi to the Dark Side wins.

Live Blogging: 80th Annual Academy Awards [Hour 2]

Nice montage of bincoulars & periscopes. Now one of bad dreams. I know they're just joking. But, I could do without all montages.

Keri Russell is up to present a song from August Rush, something I never got around to seeing but am still very tempted to. Keri Russell should be nominated for Best Actress in Waitress. Waitress is one of two great films sadly overlooked this year, the other being Charlie Wilson's War. Waitress ties with Ocean's 13 as my favorite movie of 2007, but Waitress would be far more Oscar-friendly. Unfortunately, it came out during the summer, so I guess it got forgotten by Oscar season. If I had done a top 10 list of 2007 movies, Charlie Wilson's War also would have been in the top 10, if not top 5.

Owen Wilson is up to present Best Live Action Short Film. Needless to say, I didn't see any of these. The winner sounds like a French film. Whatever.

Jerry Seinfeld's character from Bee Movie is "up" to present Best Animated Short Film. Wow, bunch of foreign stuff here too. Something called Peter and the Wolf won. Looks like claymation. And, the makers are British this time. American short films must suck.

Alan Arkin is up to present Best Supporting Actress. Tilda Swinton won for her role in Michael Clayton. That's one of only two of the movies that I saw. She said she's giving her award to her agent for bringing her to America. She then jokes about George Clooney wearing the nippled Batsuit under his costume on the the set everyday. George looks embarrassed. But, even he mentioned the horrible movie Batman & Robin during the red carpet pre-show. I think he beats himself up quite a bit for that movie, but I don't blame him at all. I think all the blame rests with Joel Schumacher.

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Jessica Alba is up to present some of the awards already given out previously. Jon then makes a joke about Jessica Alba and Cate Blanchett both being pregnant but that with Jack Nicholson there, they may have to re-tally after the show. That's pretty funny.

Josh Brolin and James McAvoy are up to present Best Adapted Screenplay. Did Josh Brolin just call Jack Nicholson, Mike Nicholson? My pick here is There Will Be Blood. The winners are the Coen brothers for No Country for Old Men.

A boring business guy is up now to explain the voting.

Mylie Cyrus is up to present another song from Enchanted, this one sung by Kristen Chenoweth. Chenoweth is really pretty. She's wearing a pretty nice grey dress. I like grey dresses. Women should wear that color more often. The song, however, is not that great. The choices must not have been that good this year.

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Judi Dench and Halle Berry are up to present... wait, no they're not. Two big curly headed guys whose names I can't remember who starred in movies I can't remember are presenting Best Sound Editing. My vote is for The Bourne Ultimatum. Sweet!!! Bourne won!!! And, I just realized something. This is the only category, other than Best Picture, for which I had seen all five movies. I would have been okay with anyone of them, except Transformers, winning. There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men both had great sound.

Best Sound Mixing. Bourne Ultimatum is up for this one also, so are Old Men, Ratatouille, and Transformers, as well as 3:10 to Yuma which I didn't see. Sweet!!! Bourne Ultimatum won for this one too!!! Excellent.

Forrest Whitaker is up to present Best Actress. From this category, I've only seen Juno, so my vote is for Ellen Page by default. Though, it's not like Cate Blanchett can do any wrong. I also like Laura Linney even though I haven't seen her in much. Marion Cotillard won for La Vie En Rose, a French film. Eehhhh. Whatever.

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Live Blogging: 80th Annual Academy Awards [Hour 1]

The show is opening with computer graphic montage of images from various movies throughout history. Many of the images come from movies that were probably never up for Oscars, except maybe the technical ones. Lots of sci-fi images.

And, with no fanfare or buildup, here's Jon Stewart. He brings up the Writer's Strike first. "Welcome to the make-up sex," he says.

Jon comments about the focus on killers in several of the nominations this year. "Thank goodness for teenage pregnancy," he says, referring to Juno.

Dang, who is that with George Clooney. Is that his wife, his girlfriend, his cousin? Whoever she is, she's quite, quite nice looking.

Jon awkwardly throw in an Iraq War reference. Then he jokes about John McCain's age.

Jennifer Garner is presenting the first award. Nice dress; slightly weird hair-do. Best Costume Design. I only saw Atonement. The designer for Elizabeth: The Golden Age won. Although I didn't see it, I could tell from clips & previews that it's a pretty deserving movie for this category.

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George Clooney is up to... talk about something, I think the history of the Oscars. He looks less grey right now. I wonder if colors his hair in movies or in real life. Wow, these clips of past Oscars make me wish the more recent Oscars were more interesting.

Anne Hathaway and Steve Carrell are up to present Best Animated Film. Steve was "thinking" he was presenting Best Documentary. Anne corrected him. Did Steve Carrell just say, "Shit"? My vote goes for Ratatouille, but just barely. I think it was good but over-rated. Truthfully, I didn't see Surf's Up, and I wouldn't want to see Persepolis. Ratatouille won. Whatever.

Katherine Heigl is up to present Best Make-Up. She looks pretty nice. She apologizes, saying she's not very good at this and incredibly nervous. I thought she was joking, but maybe not. She pretty much just presents the nominees, and she does look & sound genuinely nervous. La Vie En Rose won for Best Make-Up. Ehh, whatever. This was not a compelling category this year.

Amy Adams is up to sing a nominated song from Enchanted. I like Amy Adams. She was about the only thing I liked about the movie Junebug, and she also played a nice yet under-used character in Charlie Wilson's War. I've heard good things about Enchanted, even from a few male critics, but I haven't brought myself to see it yet. Maybe I'll break down and rent it one day.

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Dwayne Johnson is up to present Best Visual Effects. Noms: Golden Compasss, Pirates 3, Transformers. My picks is Golden Compass. And, it wins. Whoa. I was a little worried it would go to Transformers. Granted, Golden Compass wasn't a great movie (neither is Transformers), but specifically in terms of visuals, I had more problems with Transformers.

Cate Blanchett is up to present Best Art Direction. Noms: American Gangster (probably should have caught that one), Atonement, Golden Compass, Sweeney Todd, and There Will Be Blood. My pick is Golden Compass again. Ugh. Sweeney Todd got it. I didn't see that movie, but I could tell just by looking at it that I wouldn't want to.

Jon is joking about the wide acting range of Cate Blanchett, saying that the pitbull in No Country for Old Men was even played by Cate Blanchett. He then says that even he, right now, is being played by Cate Blanchett.

Jennifer Hudson is up to present Best Supporting Actor. Noms: Casey Affleck, Javier Barden (he'll probably win and is deserving), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (my personal pick), Hal Holbrook, and Tom Wilkinson (good but not super). The winner is: Javier Bardem. No big surprise. Is it just me or does Javier Barden look a lot like Jeffrey Dean Morgan (I think that's the right name of the actor who played Denny in Grey's Anatomy)?