Blergh. Muh head is assploding on Buwett Swunday! Sinus infections suck.
• Oscar. Look, I liked The Hurt Locker as much as anybody (I saw it twice in theaters and bought the Blu-Ray), but winning Best Original Screenplay over Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds? What the hell? I can see The Hurt Locker taking Best Picture over Basterds, I'm right there with that... but Screenplay?? Seriously? It's things like this that makes me want to swear off ever watching the Academy Awards each year.
• Can't. I have had at least a dozen people tell me that I need to see The Cove which just won Best Documentary. I love films of all kinds and am a huge fan of documentaries, but I cannot watch anything where dolphins are slaughtered. That's a weakness I'm perfectly willing to live with...
• Strange. Katheryn Bigelow was well-known to me long before she directed The Hurt Locker. Mostly because of this poster which has hung on my bedroom wall for the past 13 years...
Her movie Strange Days is one of my all-time favorite films. Written by (her then husband?) James Cameron, it's just cool entertainment. It has a great cast (I fell hopelessly in love with Angela Bassett after this performance), a really good story, an intriguing premise, and most everything else I love about the movies. The fact that it was so beautifully directed was just icing on the cake. All I can do is hope that the Oscar win for Kathryn Bigelow will mean we finally get a release of Strange Days on Blu-Ray.
As an added bonus, Kathryn Bigelow also directed a movie in 2000 called The Weight of Water starring the incomparable Elizabeth Hurley... TOPLESS!! I owe Kathryn Bigelow a massive debt for that astounding moment of brilliance in cinematic history, so congratulations on your Academy Awards!
• Teaser. The stupid-ass "teasers" that television news shows do during commercial breaks are getting more and more asinine. Shows like "Entertainment Tonight" always waste time before taking a break telling you what's coming up after the break. It's stupid, but nobody cares because it's not like you'll die if you miss anything on "Entertainment Tonight." You can, however, die from missing something on the news...
"And this just in... another big auto-maker launching a recall. We'll show you what cars pose a risk for your safety this time! It's eleven minutes of uninterrupted news at 11:00 on KIRO 7... tonight!"
Yes, let's not just come out and say which cars might kill you as a public service in the name of safety... instead let's keep it a secret so we can whore out our shitty local news program. Whatever.
And now my sinuses are smooshing into my brain, so I should probably go to bed.
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I guess that I’m the only one that though I.B was total QT wankery. Highly enjoyable wankery, but wankery nonetheless.
It’s got chunky pacing, radical and meaningless tone shifts, and ultimately the heroes don’t really succeed in their mission…someone else does, they just get some shots in before they’re done.
And having actually read the screenplays of both IB and HL…the latter was a much better read taken on its own.
Hurt Locker, however, was my 2nd favorite movie of the year. After Star Trek.
Waltz’s win, however…very much deserved.
What the fuck do I know? I like Dollhouse.
Now, I shall celebrate Bigelow’s win by watching the episodes of Homicide she directed.
I told Steven last night – I don’t think I will be able to watch The Cove. I know I should, but I have such a vivid memory, I know it will haunt me forever. Just seeing that bloody body of water during the Oscars was enough. (And I was surprised how much footage they showed of Food, Inc. as well!).
I have a special place in my heart for “Strange Days.” I remember hearing about the casting calls for extras in L.A. — they pretty much invited everyone out for a New Years Eve party to celebrate the year 2000 (this was sometime in the mid-1990s). So — people took their own liberties to be slightly futuristic (and mostly cyberpunk) with big signs saying “2K.” Little did they know that, years later, the phrase would be Y2K. Oh well…
But yes — very underrated movie. And it made me appreciate Angela Bassett in a whole new way.
Hope your smooshy sinuses are feeling better!
The Cove is a really well done, amazing film that is incredibly hard to watch. I was horrified watching it. I’m glad it won.
I hear ya on the sinuses.
Hope you feel better!
I will never watch anything like “The Cove.” I can’t even watch those damn ASPCA or whatever commercials with the Sarah McLachlan song in it. I hide my head under a pillow until it’s over.
Seriously. I do.
For pretty much the same identical reasons, I cannot, and will not watch The Cove. Couldn’t deal with it.
I’m with you. I didn’t think either of the writing awards represented the best screenplays. Tarantino got robbed.
I didn’t realize she directed Strange Days. I love that movie and the soundtrack.
I’m glad I read this post, so I know to stay away from The Cove. I have no interest in watching that type of slaughter either.
Oh yeah! I had forgotten to mention the soundtrack! Yes, it is indeed awesome… “Fall in the Light” is one of my most favorite songs, and Deep Forest has a kick-ass track on there too!
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Inglorious Bastards *tooootally* should’ve won.
I’m glad The Cove was made, but I’m with you. There’s no way I could watch it.
!!! I hate the teasers. I think Access Hollywood/ET spend 90% of the show talking about what’s coming up next. Argh.
I watched The Cove, but I really wish I hadn’t. Some things can’t be unseen, sadly.
Don’t see it.
And I’m glad The Hurt Locker won.
You and I are on the same page. The biggest upset for me was Hurt Locker winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. I will never understand how some of these winners are picked.
Tarantino was robbed.
Strange Days remains one of my favourite films. Saw it on the big screen. Amazing!
And the soundtrack. Amazing! I still prefer Juliette Lewis’ rendition of Hardly Wait over PJ Harvey’s.