And the Oscar Goes To...

The Academy Awards on Sunday was supposed to represent "young, hip" films and actors. For the most part, hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco did their part spot on though not all of the winners were so "young" or so "hip".

Let's just get the fashion of the night out of the way, shall we?

Best Dressed

 I could not have been happier about the return to Hollywood glamour on sight at this years awards. The men all looked dashing in classic tuxedos and the women in, mostly, fuller skirts. My best dressed of the night is Marisa Tomei- stunning! Anne Hathaway would have taken top honors but she got to wear more dresses than anyone else. She was absolutely stunning as well and a pure delight to watch. I totally want to be her friend. No, you are not mistaken, that is Helena Bonham-Carter up there. This was perhaps the best (and most normal) she has ever looked!

Worst Dressed

Christian Bale's beard and Jennifer Hudson's hair was amongst my least favorites of the night. I know everyone else loved Gwyneth Paltrow's silver, modern dress but I did not. Annette Bening, who has looked very nice all season, chose a shapeless dress that did nothing for her. Same can be said for Mrs. Robert Downey Jr (a producer I love) but who chose a somewhat matronly dress. Also, what was up with the wings on Nicole Kidman's dress?

Eh? Dressed

The "Eh?" category was created for those dresses that I couldn't quite decide if I liked or not, or were completely boring (see: Jennifer Lawrence). Ever since her divorce, Scarlett Johanson has looked like she just woke up and forgot to brush her hair. The dress isn't bad, but the overall look is not. I love almost everything about Mila Kunis' dress save the lace pasties. From a distance it looks much better than it did in close ups when I feared for an FCC fine. Cate Blancett was on many of my friends Best list, but I was confused when I first saw it. It didn't play well on TV and looked clunky and white. It's actually a lovely pastel lilac shade that I liked much better in some photos.

* Pre-Show: I'm really tired of some of these interviewers (for the life of me I cannot remember her name... Vanessa Milian? Whatever, the brunette with the best spot on the carpet right before they go in. Ugh!), as well as E!'s eagles nest chatter. Save it for your "Fashion Police" show! Tim Gunn was wonderful. He seemed the most prepared and asked great questions. I love that he also asked questions tweeted and facebooked by viewers. As much as I love Vanity Fair magazine (and I really do), their West Coast editor Krista Smith was as boring as the room they were in. Why was everyone whispering? My Father informs me it is because the VIP lounge is supposed to be a quiet respite to the chaotic evening. Whatever, I couldn't hear half of them and what I did hear was BORING.

* The opening montage was great! I loved that they weaved many of the best picture movies into the "Inception" concept. The biggest laughs went to the "Inception", "The Fighter", and the "Black Swan" bits. ("The dance of the Brown Duck!"). PS- How can I get Morgan Freeman to narrate my dreams?

* As briefly stated earlier, the joke on hiring Hathaway and Franco was to appeal to a younger demographic. The host's riff on that very topic was funny. I also think they were two of the best hosts we've seen in a while. Franco with his quiet, very dry humor, and Hathaway with her over the top enthusiasm played well off each other.

* I loved Kirk Douglas presenting. Just the fact that he can walk out on stage is amazing and the shows producers were milking it for all it was worth. I did feel badly for the Supporting Actress nominees. Poor things. PS- Can you believe that was the first time someone had drop the F-bomb during the telecast? How can that be true. Poor, poor Melissa Leo.

* Dear Aaron Sorkin- This isn't your first award. This isn't even your first award for this movie. Who else can you have to thank? When the music starts playing, WRAP IT UP! That is not your cue to keep talking and thanking random people. Geez.

* Two words: Franco as Monroe

* Best Live Short acceptance speech:


* I'm kind of sad the special Oscar's are no longer televised, though it does save space. At least they all got to walk out and wave. Honorary Oscars were give to Eli Wallach (actor), Jean-Luc Goddard (film maker), Kevin Brownlow (historian), and Francis Ford Coppola won the Thalberg Award. [side note: What do you think Goddard does with his awards? Sell them? Throw them away? Give them to bystanders at the nearest cafe? He is famously not interested in awards and never attends them. Curious.]

* The ode to this years musicals (there weren't any FYI) featuring my favorites: "Harry Potter" tiny ball of light and "Twilight" He doesn't own a shirt. (Not sure why it says "Grammys 2011")


* Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law's banter was hilarious! Only these two guys can get away with a hooker dressed as Batgirl joke.

* I'm curious, why are they doing additional tributes during the "In Memoriam" segment? Last year it was John Hughes and this year Lena Horne. What makes them so special? Why the added time? It really bothers me when I think of the people who don't make the telecast due to time constraints. They could have shown at least 5 other faces instead of Lena Horne's twice.

All in all I got 19 out of 24 correct predictions, further emphasizing that all you need to win the office pool is to go and see the movies! How did you do? Highs and lows??

WWQTW?: Diner

Sorry for the delay. This is my review for January's WWQTW? Movie Club. I started a new job at the new year, and it's taking me a bit longer than I anticipated to get back into the groove of blogging. Oh well, better late than never!

***** (5 stars)

Last night was our first meeting of the WWQTW? Movie Club. I really thought we needed a comedy a) because we have never had one yet and b) because now was the time for some laughs. What better way to start the new year than on a high? There were lots of yummy treats including hummus, fresh fruit, chips and dip, mint pea crostini (my creations by way of Jamie Oliver), King Cake (god bless Mardi Gras season), peanut butter pie, cookies, and more wine than we knew what to do with. Needless to say, my liver and stomach where very happy, then very sad with me.

This month's movie was Barry Levinson's "Diner" about a group of twenty-somethings in Baltimore during the '50s. The movie introduced the world to the acting talents of: Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern, Ellen Barkin, and Tim Daly. That's a seriously impressive cast, many of whom hadn't really worked much before. This was also Levinson's first film. He would go on to helm "The Natural", "Good Morning, Vietnam", "Rain Man" (AA- Best Director), "Avalon" (AA nominated), "Sleepers", "Bugsy" (AA nominated), and "Wag the Dog".

Modell (Reiser):  "We all know most marriages depend on a firm grasp of football trivia."

"Diner" is an hilarious movie about becoming an adult, finding love, keeping friends, and just living life. The movie was filmed chronologically for the most part with the diner scenes filmed at the end. Levinson wanted the cast to really feel like friends and many of the best lines were ad libbed as a result. The Popcorn Scene is one of the most famous in the film and has cropped up in pop culture ever since. Rourke bets the guys he can get the dream girl to feel him up at the movies. He takes the bet mostly because he's in a bad way over some gambling losses, but it's also a pretty telling moment for her character. Once in the theater, he unbuttons his pants and puts his penis up through the bottom of the popcorn box. When his date reaches in, she gets the shock of her life and Rourke losses the bet on a technicality. So funny!

Tim (Bacon): "All I did was I parked the car on a nice lonely road, I looked at her, and I said fuck or fight."

"Diner" is one of those movies your parents love because they were living that time and feel nostalgic, but it holds up. Not just since it's release in 1982, but as a movie about the past. Everyone can identify with the problems and humor that each character faces. We all know the cocky guy, the shy guy, the sports nut, the juvenile, the married guy, the funny one, etc. Because we can identify, we fall in love with the characters easily and stay in love even though we ourselves grow up and move from one label to the next. It is a great movie (with equally great soundtrack) that should be on every one's list.

And The Nominee Is...

The Academy announced it's list of Oscar nominations early this morning. I wait all year for the Oscars. It's been a family tradition to sit around, nosh on nibbly bits, and yell in shock and excitement as they name the winners. Needless to say, it's been on my calendar for months! Below are all the nominees (best of luck to all!) as well as my predictions. Who do you think will win? Any major snubs?

BEST PICTURE:

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

No real surprises here. True Grit missed out on the Globes, but everyone agreed it would make the list here. I'm going to have to pick The Social Network to win. As much as I hate to think it, there doesn't seem to be any other logical choice. I'll hold final judgement for when the Producers and Directors Guild's name their winners. I'm still crossing my fingers for Inception! I also have to say, this year should have been the debut of the 10 nomination list. Look at all these really great films!


DIRECTING:
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit

This was going to be a tough race for a nomination and I'm surprised Christopher Nolan missed the ticket until I remember he always misses. The best bet here is David Fincher and it's well deserved for a great film and equally distinguished career. The upset may be Aronofsky, but the Academy still skews older so it's unlikely.


ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

Julia Roberts campaigning paid off and Javier Bardem won a nomination. Good for him. I haven't seen the picture yet, but I hear he is amazing. For me, it's between Colin Firth (already one up with the Globe) and Jeff Bridges (although he won last year, and the Academy doesn't award back to back that often). The surprise upset could be Franco who was superb and was on screen for the duration of his one man show.


ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Anette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

This is Portman's to lose really, and she certainly deserves to win it!

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawks, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

A few surprises here. What's up John Hawks! I just loved him in Deadwood and You, Me, and Everyone We Know. He must have pushed out Andrew Garfield which is really too bad but he's young and has the opportunity to be back on this list in the future. My vote, and yours if you're smart, is for Bale.


ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld edged out Mila Kunis in one of the best decisions the Academy made this year. If you haven't seen True Grit go now! She is a knockout. Logic says Leo to win and I agree with that, though Steinfeld or Bonham Carter could upset.


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

If Aaron Sorkin doesn't win, something is wrong.


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

This is always a tough category to call.... I'd love to see Inception win, but I fear I will become a broken record. That script is just so genius! This may be where The Kids Are All Right gets some love though.


FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Biutiful
Dogtooth
In a Better World
Incendies
Outside the Law

In a Better World won the Globe so I pick it here as well. I'd love to see Biutiful win as well.


ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 or bust.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Matthew Libatique
Inception (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Danny Cohen
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit (Paramount) Roger Deakins

It's hard to think that Inception won't sweep the technical awards, and this is their first chance. So many of the effects where done in camera and the composition of shots is almost as important as the script or the acting for the film to have worked so well. Deakins is a legend and could upset, but I cross my fingers that is not the case.


FILM EDITING:
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter (Paramount( Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Tariq Anwar
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Jon Harris
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

I'm kind of surprised Inception was not named here, but what are you gonna do? I vote for The Social Network to win. Really, as long as 127 Hours doesn't I really don't care. The cuts in that movie were distracting!


DOCUMENTARY:
Exit through the Gift Shop (Producers Distribution Agency) Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz A Paranoid Pictures Production
Gasland Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic A Gasland Production
Inside Job (Sony Pictures Classics) Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs A Representational Pictures Production
Restrepo (National Geographic Entertainment) Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger An Outpost Films Production
Waste Land Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley (Arthouse Films) An Almega Projects Production

Tough call.... How awesome would it be if Exit Through the Gift Shop won? Otherwise, I vote Restrepo.


ORIGINAL SCORE:
How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) John Powell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Hans Zimmer made a haunting score for Inception, but I'm a bit surprised to see it nominated. While almost unrecognizable, he was very open about his use of pre-recorded music (namely Edith Piaf) that we wove into the score, altered, slowed down, or sampled. The Academy has looked down on this sort of thing in the past and are likely to do so again. Still, the 16 year old in me is freaking out at the thought that Trent Reznor could win an Oscar!

ORIGINAL SONG:
"Coming Home" from Country Strong (Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen Gems)) Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
"I See the Light" from Tangled (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
"If I Rise" from 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
"We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

I think I've the only person without a hard on for A.R. Rahman. Thank god he won last year so I'm not so worried. I will, however, be taking a bathroom break during the performance of this song. What does Indian/Bollywood music have to do with being stuck in a crevice, except that I would rather die there then have to listen to any more of it out of context? Globe winner Burlesque wasn't even nominated, so the field is wide open. I vote Randy Newman. Can you believe he's only won one Oscar?

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.) Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter (Warner Bros.) Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
Iron Man 2 (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment, Distributed by Paramount) Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Hmmmm..... How high brow will the Academy be? I think it's between Inception and Harry Potter. Alice could have made it, but anything in 3D automatically loses in my book.


ART DIRECTION:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney), Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.), Stuart Craig (Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
Inception (Warner Bros.), Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration)/span>
The King’s Speech (Paramount), Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set Decoration)
True Grit (Paramount), Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration)

This is a tough one. The Academy tends to award this prize to period pieces, so The King's Speech and True Grit are the forerunners here. It would be neat to see Inception win this as well (am I beginning to sound like a broken record yet?). Again, those sets where just fantastic!


COSTUME DESIGN:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Colleen Atwood
I Am Love (Magnolia Pictures) Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Jenny Beavan
The Tempest (Miramax) Sandy Powell
True Grit (Paramount) Mary Zophres

Lot's of good nominees here and past winners. I love Colleen Atwood always, and Sandy Powell is pretty spectacular as well. She just won a year ago, so this may be too soon for her to win again. Alice in Wonderland was ALL about the costumes though, so I hope it's Atwood. Look for Beavan to upset.
 
MAKEUP:
Barney's Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

Off the top of my head, it seems like FX make-up rarely wins this award. Maybe I'm senile. So, I pick Barney's Vision to win. Any make-up that convinces us that Paul Giamatti could get wit Minnie Driver, Rachel LeFevre, and Rosamund Pike deserves to win.

SOUND EDITING:
Inception
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

These next two categories always seem to confuse people. Basically, Sound Editing is all about getting the final mix of sound, dialogue, foley (FX), etc, ready for the final mix. This includes recording additional dialogue (ADR) and background. Tron: Legacy and Inception are my front runners. Both had multiple tracks of music, dialogue, and FX to master.

SOUND MIXING:
Inception
The King's Speech
Salt
The Social Network
True Grit

Sound Mixing involves the process by which multiple tracks (for example, several parts of dialogue recorded both during the shoot and after, i.e. ADR) into one track. The levels must be made perfect so there is no discrepancy. This is the final result of all the sounds layered to create what we hear in the theatre. Again, I pick Inception though True Grit could also win here.

For the nominees in the short film and documentary categories, please seethe Academy Awards official site here.