Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny

     Yes, the title of this post is a real movie. Can a movie possibly be as ridiculous as that? The answer, quite frankly, is yes... yes it can. And the best part is, it is not a (intentional) comedy! It is a kid's movie.

     Here's a little bit of history about the making of this film, before I go into the movie itself. In the early 70's, Pirate's World (located on current, unused Disney property in Florida) was not doing well. So, the company decided, as a last resort to make money, produce a film. "Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny" was the offspring of this joyous idea. I feel like knowing this helps one to fully appreciate this movie for what it is.

One of Santa's few times getting out of his sled

The movie starts at the North Pole in Santa's workshop as elves (kids in costumes) slave away at making toys. They sing a song that I do not remember a single lyric to, one of the many forgettable songs. Suddenly, an elf looks outside to see ( in a nature shot) "rein"deer, but no Santa. This makes the elves concerned, so they sing about it. Then, we cut to Santa, who was dropped off (sled and all) by his reindeer because they were too hot, I think. Santa's sled is stuck in the sand For at least 3 minutes, Santa sings a song that is mostly complaining about the hot Florida sun. This is interjected with various shots of children playing and being froze mid whatever they were doing. By the end of the "song" the kids unfreeze and (through the powers of mind control) all walk to Santa's side. The kids then proceed to try to help Santa, using various (obviously ineffective) animals to pull the sled out, including a gorilla, well a man in a gorilla costume. All of the other animals were real, and I can imagine many children were harmed in the making of this film because they were handling these animals with almost no help. For this whole part, Santa's fat ass stays in the sled except for two times (maximum) when he gets out to "help" the children. After all of this hard work, they give up and magically convene. Guess what? It's story time with Santa!! This is easily the most baffling part of this movie, and almost of any movie I have ever seen.

The following is all the story Santa tells the kids (it's a whole other movie!):
     A girl is walking through Pirate's World, an empty and dangerous "amusement" park that I can picture not being very amusing. She keeps walking until she walks into the room with a diorama and narration to describe. Here begins the story of Thumbelina. Yes, a story inside a story inside a movie. Very deep. This segment is all how the girl pictures the story of Thumbelina while looking at the diorama and listening to the narration.
     A lonely woman, who has not married and has no children, wanted a child. So, she does the natural thing to do: go to a witch to produce a child. I guess adopting is too mainstream. The witch then performs a song that I would easily call the most pointless song in the whole movie. It is also probably the longest song in the movie. It drags on and on and serves absolutely zero purpose, especially when (after dancing, mixing, and doing a lot of witchy things to a cauldron) the witch solves the woman's problem by pulling out a seed from a jar and giving it to her. This is the seed of life, bringing Thumbelina into the world. This was beyond creepy.
    Now, Thumbelina is alive. I can't even sum up the rest of her story it is that crazy, but I'll try. For some reason, T. leaves her house (I forgot why) and ends up spending a whole winter freezing outside. I really thought she was going to die. Suddenly, she gives decides that she should seek help, so she finds a house that belongs to a mole widow. I think somewhere in there I missed frogs that wanted to marry and rape her. At this mole's house, T. stays safe and sound until she meets another suitor: an older mole. After meeting, he takes her back to his home, a dark cave. Did I mention how creepy the mole costumes are? Well, they are. The mole proposes to her and she says yes. I thought she was going to get raped. The woman mole is very sexist and demands that women stay in the house, get married, etc. On T.'s wedding day, she gets cold feel and leaves. There is also a bird who T. saved somewhere during this.
     This is arguably the best part of T.'s story. After she leaves the moles, she finds other small humans. Of course, since she is Thumbelina, the prince instantly wants to marry her... a minute after meeting her. She says yes and they get married in flowers and they sing a song that sounded like it was on repear. I don't know... I gave up at this point. The End to Thumbelina's movie.
     Remember the girl walking around Pirate World? She leaves the diorama room and walks through the park again and sees her boyfriend (?) and they walk away.
     That's the end of Santa's story to the children.

     (At this point in the movie, an hour had passed. If you look at the title, you would see that one of the title characters has yet to be seen, mentioned, or even remotely hinted at.)
     Santa is still pretty depressed about not being able to move his sled, and the kids leave Santa - they just walk away. Then, comes the most epic entrance ever: the first showing of the Ice Cream Bunny (a man in a creepy disturbing costume)!!
     He is first seen driving a car, almost a pickup or fire truck I think. That's not even the best of it, there are children in the vehicle that a costumed man bunny is driving. Kids are hanging off the truck, literally!! This sequence goes on for almost five minutes, all comprised of either the bunny driving or Santa looking concerned. At one point, a dog almost gets hit by the bunny, and in the next shot, the dog is in the car. The bunny keeps driving, even through Pirate World at one point (it was dirty). This makes me wonder, why didn't Santa walk to Pirate World? It didn't seem that far. Eventually, the bunny shows up to aid Santa. After some "dialogue"/noises, Santa rides off with the bunny without the kids, leaving them stranded exactly where he was. The children all wave off into the distance as Santa and the bunny drive away, until they realize that they're screwed. Out of nowhere, the sled (the source of Santa's struggles disappears, presumably to the North Pole. The kids are like "WTF!" Then, over a shot of the bewildered children, a nice little Christmas message is added. This was the most un-Christmasy movie about Santa I have ever seen.

The Ice Cream Bunny's arrival

     Keep in mind, this was not a well-made film. It was one of the cheapest movies I have ever seen. The acting was horrendous, the costumes were ridiculous, the "plot" was pointless, and it was just creepy. This was just a hilarious, horrible, and horrendous, movie.

P.S. If you watch this movie, watch the RiffTrax version. It is hysterical and makes this train wreck watchable. As a matter of fact, this was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

RiffTrax Cover

P.P.S. The Tumbelina segment was originally made for Pirates World and just added into the middle of this film for no reason. It is literally a separate film (with title credits and "The End") added into another film.

"Struck By Lightning" World Premiere

Backround:     
     One of the many benefits of living in New York is the annual Tribeca Film Festival. It is a great film festival that I have not previously had the pleasure of attending. So, when I heard that "Struck By Lightning" written by and starring Chris Colfer was being premiered here, I really wanted to go (even though I'm not a fan of "Glee"). Unfortunately, tickets were sold out. Fortunately, the Tribeca Film Festival has "rush" tickets available where you show up early and wait, and after the ticketed people go in, you can buy a ticket if there are any left. Me and my fellow movie watcher just reached the front of the line after a 2+ hour long wait only to be told that there were no more seats, but she said to wait a little longer just in case some become available. Lo and behold, there were very few more seats. We were going to see the film!

Red Carpet

     While we were still waiting on line, Mr. Colfer himself made his appearance on the red carpet set up and walked up and down the line for people with tickets and interacted with them... all of them. (I took pictures when he was close to me.) I'm always close to the famous people but never actually meet them **cough cough** Daniel Radcliffe **cough cough**

Hugs! (I swear the woman in red was my old science teacher...)

   


     Anyway, we finally took out seats in the sold out theater, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. The seats for the "rush" tickets were not great, in the back corner of the auditorium. We still had a clear view of the screen. Now, the world premiere of "Struck by Lightning" happened.

Review:
     Colfer is certainly very talented, as I have heard "Glee"-fans tell me. He is a very funny performer, and his script is hilarious and smart.
     Colfer plays Carson, a high school senior struck by a bolt of lightning and killed. That's how the story begins, with Carson dying. We are then sent to his life in high school and how he ended up getting struck by lightning.
     Carson's main goal in this film is to get into SouthWestern, and he decides to publish a literary magazine in order to make him look better, on top of already being the editor of the newspaper and president of the writing club. In order to get any submissions for the magazine, Carson has to blackmail people.
     His parents divorce left his mother Sheryl (Allison Janney) a mess. His father Neal (Dermot Mulroney) is engaged to a pregnant pharmacist April (Christina Hendricks), who Sheryl meets at the pharmacy filling her prescriptions. At school, his classmates include his only friend Malerie (Rebel Wilson) and the bitchy cheerleader Claire Mathews (Sarah Hyland).
     The humor in this movie is very original; it feels like not a lot of it has been done before. Aside of being soley funny, I felt like this was one of the more realistic high school films (although no movie will ever be 100% realistic in terms of high school). The characters were all relatable to people I know.
     In such an amazing cast, Colfer was definitely a standout. He was funny and self-aware as a high school student in over his head.
     When this movie is released in theaters, I recommend it. Teenagers are not the only age group who will enjoy this movie.

Rating: 4.5/5

Q&A:
     The only reason I want to mention the Q&A is to say that Emma Watson was at the premiere and asked a question. I had no idea she was there until she after the question was asked and Colfer pointed it out. She wasn't that far from me and I was in awe. She is one of my favorite people and seeing her in person was my favorite moment of the night. Unfortunately, she left to quickly for me to take a picture of her.

Q&A

"The Hotel New Hampshire" by John Irving

John Irving is easily my favorite author right now. This is the second book I am reading by Irving and I have been immensely satisfied by both of them. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" was the first, and that became one of my favorite books of all time.

"The Hotel New Hampshire" follows the Berry family as they run several hotels. Their first hotel as a family is in New Hampshire. Eventually, they end up in Vienna to open the second Hotel New Hampshire.

A lot of insanity is revealed in this book, as told from the perspective of the second son and third oldest kid, John Berry. Some memorable and crazy story lines include incestuous feelings, a furry in a bear suit, a plane crash, and prostitutes living in one of the hotels.

Published in 1981, this novel holds up very well. It follows a typical pattern of Irving's book with a decade spanning story, something involving New Hampshire, and semi-autobiographical elements. I love his style. Irving manages to captivate the audience with stories of seemingly normal people who live abnormal lives.

With a wide array of characters and plots, "The Hotel New Hampshire" is an incredible book that tells an original story. I can't wait to read more of his books and watch the movie adaptation of this book starring Rob Lowe and Jodie Foster.

Rating: A

John Carter

I appear to be the only person who actually wanted to see John Carter. TO me, it looked like an interesting movie with great visuals, but I wasn't able to see it until a month after it's release. It's such a shame that this film made no money.

As of my viewing of John Carter, I have read the introduction and first two chapters of "A Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Borroughs, the first novel in the "Barsoon" series of books in which John Carter is based on. Except for the very first scene, I am happy that this film follows this book closer than I thought it would. The one major change in the first few scenes compared to the first two chapters is actaully kind of important, but kept the same idea. After the introduction scene, the first scene on Earth is exactly like the introduction in the book with the author being called to John's residence right before his death. This is where the manuscript of his adventures are discovered. Then the story begins:

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter

Instead of having the title character (played by Taylor Kitsch) end up in the cave after being chased by Indians after they attacked his best friend, the movie changed John into a person who was arrested and escaped jail. He is then chased by Indians after a three way battle between the INdians, the law, and john. It is very different from the book actually. Once John gets to Barsoon, I have no idea how closely the movie follows the book.

The story is actually quite entertaining, even though the beginning scenes on Earth (excluding the scenes with the author) and the introduction scene are a little underwhelming. They aren't bad, just a little cliched. On Mars (Barsoon), there is an alien species that is tall and green, but there are also groups of humans who are at war, as described in the opening scene. Their history gets a tad confusing, but it is never impossible to follow.

Kitsch and Collins

There is a staple strong female lead in Dejah Thoris (played by Lynn Collins). There are also several bad guys whose names I don't know; it got confusing after a while trying to figure who is who.

John gets drawn into this planet's war while becoming aquatinted with its natives.

The visuals in this movie are definitely a standout. They are never less then perfect and almost justify the film's insane budget, almost. The green aliens look amazing, the white apes in the arena battle scene look amazing, the landscape looks amazing, the air battles looks amazing; you get the idea.

John Carter fighting some White Apes

The acting is strong as well. Kitsch is a suitable enough lead, but there probably would have been a couple better choices (maybe Ryan Gosling or Chris Hemsworth?). Collins actually gave a really god performance. She breaks through her characters stereotypes and makes it her own.

Overall, a strong movie that was not perfect, but was definitely a lot of fun with amazing special effects and strong performances.

Rating: A-, 4/5, 8/10

The Hunger Games

I realized that my blog has become mostly an awards prediction site, so I am going to try to change that and post more reviews, especially outside of movies and television. SO, my next post will be about my love of The Hunger Games.

This was easily my most anticipated movie of March, the first half of the year, and possibly the whole year. I am a huge fan of the books and expected the movie to live up to that hype. Unfortunately, this film was unable to live up to the massive expectations I had set on it prior to it's release.

Don't get me wrong, this was a great film, and that is all that matters in the world of movie reviews. I am one of the few people who can look at a book and it's film adaptation as separate forms of entertainment and judge both of them equally.

The Hunger Games is an amazing movie. The book is even better, but the movie is still great. The movie follows the book fairly well, with only several differences that, if anything, improve the story.

katniss Everdeen is an amazingly well-written character, in my opinion. She is a female character who is strong and focuses on survival. (She is more like Lisbeth Salander than Bella Swan.) Katniss never needs a love interest, but one is forced on her by the expectations of the Panen viewers of the Games (and the general public). She is a very brave character, as shown in her volunteering to take her sister's place in the Games. Jennifer Lawrence is perfect for the role, even though there was a point when I doubted the Oscar nominees suitability for the role. She makes Katniss seem like a normal person who is scared, sad, and brave all at the same time.

Peeta Mellark, the male lead, is played strongly by Josh Hutcherson. He is never bad as Peeta, but he never becomes amazing, still a great fit for the role.

The supporting cast also does an outstanding job. Elizabeth Banks was a standout for her role as Effie Trincket (although they supposedly never say her name.) She really is the perfect Effie and delivers the classic line "That's mahogany!" I love that line. Woody Harrelson is also great as Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta's drunken mentor. It is a very kung fu-movie type role in which the mentor is a drunk who used to be a hotshot. Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Alexander Ludwig, and the rest of the tributes also do great jobs in their roles.

This film also looks amazing with perfect costumes, makeup, and great visuals. Even though a lot of people are complaining that this film would have been better with more violence and blood, I feel like that is very superficial and not true. That doesn't matter in any movie, unless they were to cut it out completely. The Copernicus scene was actually very violent.

I highly recommend this film, even more to people who have not read the book because a lot of high expectations will then be set, which will probably not be lived up to. When I talk to people about this film, I don't think they understand that I actually love this movie. My girlfriend even thought that after I saw it with her. I saw it twice for crying out loud.

Rating: A, 4.5/5, 9/10

P.S. The IMAX version was really great.

My Oscar Reactions

This is my category by category reaction of the 84th Academy Awards

Best Picture: 
Winner: The Artist
I really like The Artist (it's my 7th favorite film of the year), but I think that Hugo and The Descendants were more deserving of the Best Picture nominees.

Best Director:
Winner: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
This seems like a case of a director winning just because the film won Best Picture. MArtin Scorsese should have won and based on Hugo's wins in the technical categories, he could have.

Best Actor:
Winner: Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Jean did a great job in The Artist, but George Clooney easily should have won. I would have been really happy is Gary Oldman won, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.

Best Actress:
Winner: Meryl streep - The Iron Lady
Anybody who has seen The Iron Lady will know that this is not a great movie. I love Meryl Streep, but she really shouldn't have won. Even though I knew this would never happen, I really wanted Rooney MAra to win for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I would have also preferred Viola Davis.

Best Supporting Actor:
Winner: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
This was definitely more of a "Lifetime Achievement Award," but this is one of the few wins that I am happy about. He is a great actor who was way overdue for a win. I definitely would not have minded if Nick Nolte were to win...

Best Supporting Actress:
Winner: Octavia Spencer - The Help
Everybody is great in The Help, but I really wanted Jessica Chastain to win solely based on her whole year. She became one of my favorite actresses this year and did some really great work.

Best Original Screenplay:
Winner: Midnight in Paris
Another win that I am very happy with. I love this movie. Any of the movies winning I would have been happy with.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Winner: The Descendants
This definitely seemed like a safe bet, and it deserved it's win. As much as I love Hugo, The Descendants had a better screenplay.

Best Animated Feature:
Winner: Rango
Was there really a question about this? After The Adventures of Tintin being snubbed, this was the only serious contender. For a fleeting second, I though that Chico & Rita had a chance, but that didn't happen.

Best Foreign Film:
Winner: A Separation
This is an amazing and powerful movie and was one of the only lock at the awards. There could have been an upset here because of how unpredictable this category tends to be.

Best Art Direction:
Winner: Hugo
I really wanted HArry Potter to win here, but I am happy with Hugo's win.

Best Costume Design:
Winner: The Artist
Jane Eyre should have won. End of story.

Best Original Song:
Winner: "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets
This is a really sad category with only two nominees. The song from Rio is really good, but The Muppets had a strong backing. Each song had a 50/50 shot.

Best Original Score:
Winner: The Artist
This is the only category that I predicted The Artist would win. In my opinion, Hugo has a better score, but The Artist uses the score to tell what the characters are saying. It played an important role in the film.

Best Cinematography:
Winner: Hugo
The first shocker of the night. The Tree of Life seemed like a sure bet because of how beautiful it is. Hugo somehow won this award.

Best FIlm Editing:
Winner: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I predicted this long shot and I got it right! I love this movie so much, and I am very happy to see it get some recognition even if it was in a smaller category.

Best Makeup:
Winner: The Iron LAdy
I was really hoping for a Harry Potter win here. The Iron LAdy really didn't deserve to win two awards. Harry Potter had to make the audience believe that this fantasy world is world, and they do that perfectly.

BEst Visual Effects:
Winner: Hugo
Harry Potter had three chances to win an award tonight and the Academy failed to do so; I am very disappointed because now HArry Potter will never win an OScar... ever. Hugo had great visuals, but HArry Potter is iconic. Even in the clips they showed, the effects are jaw-dropping and really deserved some award.

Best Sound Editing and Sound Mixing:
Winner: Hugo
All of the nominees have good sound, but I have to agree with the Acadmey; Hugo's sound is amazing. I was hoping for a surprise from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but this is fine too.

Best Documentary, Best Documentary Short, BEst Live Action Short Film, BEst Animated Short Film:
I really have no opinion about these films because I haven't seen any of them. Animated Short winner The Fantastic Flying Book of Mr. Morris LEssmore is on my phone ready to watch.

OVerall: I am disappointed with this year's winners, but there were a bunch of awards that I agree with.

Oscar Drinking Game!!

I am soooo excited for the OScars tomorrow night. Is there a better way to celebrate than to paly a drinking game during the broadcast? I think not.

I took a whole bunch of different drinking games I found online and mashed them together. So, here is my official drinking game for the 84th Academy Awards:
(I am under the age of 21 so I am substituting actual alcohol with something else - it's still fun!)

Take a sip when:

• Somebody gets cut off by the orchestra
• THe camera cuts to George Clooney
• The camera cuts to Brad Pitt and/or Angelina Jolie
• The camera cuts to jack Nicholson
• There is a montage
• Somebody trips on the way to accept their award
• A winner tells their kids to go to sleep
• Anybody references Uggie the dog from The Artist
• There is a weed joke
• Somebody starts their speech with "Wow" or thanks the Academy
• A muppet appears onstage

Take a shot when:

• The Artist wins an award
• Somebody thanks God in their acceptance speech
• When somebody cries during their acceptance speech
• When Martin Scoresese's name is said
• Whitney Houston is mentioned
• When a winner curses and it has to be edited out (Melissa Leo...)
• Eddie Murphy is mentioned
• Somebody wins and says that they did not expect to win but still have a speech prepared
• A foreign person wins and apologizes for not speaking English
• The phrase "Hollywood magic" is said (or any form of it)
• Harry Potter wins an Oscar
• The camera cuts to Snubbed people (Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, or Ryan Gosling)
• The Help wins an award

Take two shots if:

• Extremely Loud and INcredibly Close wins either of it's two nominations
• The Artist loses best picture
• Bridesmaids wins an Oscar
• A loser gives a dirty look to the winner in their category
• Rango doesn't win BEst Animated Feature

*BONUS*

For every category, choose one nominee you want to win and one you Expect will win:

If the winner is the one you WAnt: Take one shot

If the winner is the one you Expect: Take two shots

If the winner is the one you want and Expect: take three shots

If the winner is neither: Take four shots

Have fun and be safe!!

My Bests of 2011

I know it's a month into 2012, but this is my first chance to post my favorites of 2011

BEst Pictures:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3. Hugo
4. Drive
5. Warrior
6. The Descendants
7. The Artist
8. Contagion
9. Melancholia
10. Midnight in Paris
11. Margaret
12. Jane Eyre
13. The Ides of March
14. A Separation
15. The Muppets
16. War Horse
17. Carnage
18. We Need to Talk About Kevin
19. Martha Marcy May Marlene
20. Margin Call

Honorable Mentions:
Coriolanus, The Debt, Source Code, Trust, J. Edgar, X-Men: First Class, Super 8, Another Earth

Best Ensemble:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PArt 2
2. Midnight in paris
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
4. Margaret
5. The Help

Honorable Mentions:
The Descendants, Bridesmaids, Contagion, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Ides of March, The Artist, Margin Call, The Muppets

Best Director:
1. Martin Scorsese - Hugo
2. David Fincher - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3. Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive
4. Steven Spielberg - War Horse
5. Ralph Fiennes - Coriolanus

Honorable Mention:
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist, George Clooney - The Ides of March, Kenneth Lonergan - Margaret, Lars von Trier - Melancholia, Alexander Payne - The Descendants

Best Actor:
1. Ryan Gosling - Drive/The Ides of March
2. Michael Fassbender - Shame/A Dangerous Method/Jane Eyre/X-Men:First Class
3. George Clooney - The Descendants
4. Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar
5. Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Honorable Mentions:
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Joseph Gordon LEvitt - 50/50, Ralph Fiennes - Coriolanus

Best Actress:
1. Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia
3. Mia Wasikowska - Jane Eyre
4. Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
5. Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Honorable Mention:
Viola Davis - The Help, Anna Paquin - Margaret, Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Albert Brooks - Drive
2. Alan Rickman - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
5. Christopher Plummer - Beginners/The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
4. Nick Nolte - Warrior
4. Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Honorable Mention:
George Clooney - The IDes of March, Brad Pitt - The Tree of Life, Ezra Miller - Wee Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Carey Mulligan - Shame/Drive
2. Jessica Chastain - The Help/The Tree of Life/Coriolanus/The Debt
3. Shailene Woodley - The Descendants
4. Rachel McAdams - Midnight in paris
5. Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus

Honorable Mention:
Berenice Bejo - The Artist, Octavia Spencer - The Help, MArion Coltiard - Midnight in paris

Best Original Screenplay:
1. Midnight in Paris
2. Melancholia
3. Contagion
4. A Separation
5. Margaret

Honorable Mention:
50/50, The Artist, Win Win, Young Adult, Bridesmaids, Margin Call

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
3. Hugo
4. The Descendants
5. Jane Eyre

Honorable Mention:
Coriolanus, Carnage, Drive, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Moneyball

Best Art Direction:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
3. Hugo
4. Anonymous
5. The Artist

Honorable Mention:
Contagion, Jane Eyre, Melancholia, War Horse

Best Cinematography:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
2. Hugo
3. War Horse
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
5. The Tree of Life

Honorable Mention:
Anonymous, Coriolanus, Drive, Melancholia, Jane Eyre

Best Editing:
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
3. Hugo
4. Drive
5. Contagion

Honorable Mention:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Coriolanus, Moneyball

Best Costume Design:
1. Jane Eyre
2. Anonymous
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
4. Hugo
5. The Help

Honorable Mention:
War Horse, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Muppets

Best Score:
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PArt 2
3. War Horse
4. Hugo
5. The Artist

Honorable Mention:
Shame, Drive

Best Visual Effects:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PArt 2
2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
3. Hugo
4. The tree of Life
5. Super 8

Honorable Mention:
Anonymous, Captain America: The First Avenger, Melancholia, Source Code

Best Makeup/Hair:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PArt 2
2. The Iron Lady
3. Hugo
4. Anonymous
5. My Week with MArilyn

Honorable Mention:
J. Edgar, The Help

BEst Sound:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows PArt 2
2. Hugo
3. Drive
4. Super 8
5. Coriolanus

Honorable Mention:
Cars 2, Rango, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Source Code

BEst Animated Picture:
1. Rango
2. Puss in Boots
3. Kung Fu Panda
4. The Adventures of Tintin
5. Rio

"The Grey" 2012

     As the very first movie released in 2012 that I saw, it is my honor to review "The Gray" starring Liam Neeson:

     What a way to start off the new year. January is notoriously known as a "dumping ground" for studios to release really bad movies (I.E. this year's "One For the Money" and "Man on a Ledge"), but this is one major exception.

     The story starts off simply enough: some people who work in the wilderness of Alaska are going home. Ottway (Neeson), a wolf hunter for the drill company, is on the verge of killing himself the last night in Alaska when he hears the howls of wolves in the distance. He goes and hunts the wolf and doesn't kill himself.

     While on the plane, there is an accident. The plane crashes in the middle of nowhere in one of the most intense and startling plane crashes in film history. There are only a handful of survivors and they have to struggle to stay alive as they fight against natural elements around them and a pack of wolves. The wolves are absolutely brutal to these poor survivors.

     As a whole, this movie works. The characters become well-developed as they have to work together to stay alive. The acting is uniformly strong among the whole cast, especially Neeson, who carries to film on his shoulders. Although there are some cliches that are inevitable in almost every film now-a-days, this is a highly original, and often surprising, film. Not many movies make me actually sit on the edge of my seat and cringe or gasp in shock or horror. The film never really loses a sense of surprise regarding the deaths of the characters, except in one scene where it was obvious that somebody was going to die (it was still a frightening death).

     **Spoilers ahead**
     My biggest problem that lies in this film is the ending. I'm sure that many other people also had this problem (I know the people I was with did). It just ends. That's not even the worst part about it, the movie ends right before a fight between the last survive and the alpha wolf! There is one very short post-credit scene that shows the outcome, but how freaking awesome would it be to see Liam Neeson fighting a giant wolf! if this were added in the film, my rating would definitely be higher.


Final Rating: 8/10

Who Will/Should/Might win at the OScars 2012

Best Picture
Who Will Win: The Artist
Who Should Win: Hugo
Who Might Win: The Descendants

Best Director
Who Will Win: Michel Hazanavicius "The Artist"
Who Should Win: Martin Scorsese "Hugo"
Who Might Win: Martin Scorsese "Hugo"

Best Actor
Who Will Win: George Clooney "The Descendants"
Who Should Win: George Clooney "The Descendants"
Who Might Win: Jean Dujardin " The Artist"

BEst Actress

Who Will Win: Viola Davis "The Help"
Who Should Win: Rooney Mara "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Who Might Win: Meryl Streep "The Iron Lady"

BEst Supporting actor

Who Will Win: Christopher Plummer "Beginners"
Who Should Win: Christopher Plummer "Beginners"
Who Might Win: Max von Sydow "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress

Who Will Win: Octavia Spencer "The Help"
Who Should Win: Jessica Chastain "The Help"
Who Might Win: Berenice Bejo "The Artist"

BEst Original Screenplay

Who Will Win: Midnight in Paris
Who Should Win: A Separation
Who Might Win: The Artist

Best Adapted Sceenplay

Who Will Win: MOneyball
Who Should Win: The Descendants
Who Might Win: The Descendants

Best Animated Film

Who Will Win: Rango
Who Should Win: Rango
Who Might Win: Puss in Boots

Best Foreign Film

Who Will Win: A Separation
Who Should Win: A Separation
Who Might Win: IN Darkness

Best Art Direction

Who Will Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Who Should Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Who Might Win: Hugo

Best Costume Design

Who Will Win: Jane Eyre
Who Should Win: Jane Eyre
Who Might Win: The Artist

Best Original Song

Who Will Win: "Man or Muppet" form "the Muppets"
Who Should Win: "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets"
Who Might Win: "Real in Rio" from "Rio"

Best Original Score

Who Will Win: The Artist
Who Should Win: Hugo
Who Might Win: War Horse

Best Cinematography

Who Will Win: The Tree of Life
Who Should Win: Hugo
Who Might Win: The Artist

Best Editing

Who Will Win: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Who Should Win: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Who Might Win: The Artist

Best Makeup

Who Will Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2
Who Should Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Who Might Win: The Iron Lady

best Sound Editing

Who Will Win: Hugo
Who Should Win: Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Who Might Win: The Girl with the dragon Tattoo

Best Sound Mixing

Who Will Win: Hugo
Who Should Win: Hugo
Who Might Win: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Visual Effects

Who Will Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Who Should Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Who Might Win: Rise of the Planet of the APes

Oscar nominations per Film...

compared to my predictions per film.

Film: Number I predicted / Number Received


Hugo: 11/11
The Artist: 10/10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: 8/3
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 7/5
The Help: 6/4
The Descendants: 5/5
War Horse: 5/6
Moneyball: 4/6
Anonymous: 3/1
Transformers: Dark of the Moon: 3/3
The Iron Lady: 2/2
Midnight in Paris: 2/4
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol: 2/0
The Muppets: 2/1
My Week with Marilyn: 2/2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes: 2/1
Shame: 2/0
The Tree of Life: 2/3
50/50: 1/0
The Adventures of Tintin: 1/1
Arthur Christmas: 1/0
BEginners: 1/1
Bridesmaids: 1/2
A Dangerous MEthod: 1/0
Drive: 1/1
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: 1/2
Gnomeo and Juliet: 1/0
J. Edgar: 1/0
Jane Eyre: 1/1
Kung Fu Panda 2: 1/1
Machine Gun Preacher: 1/0
Puss in Boots: 1/1
Rango: 1/1
Super 8: 1/0
W.E.: 1/1
We NEed to Talk About Kevin: 1/0
Young Adult: 1/0
Albert Nobbs: 0/3
A Better Life: 0/1
A Cat in Paris: 0/1
Chico & Rita: 0/1
The Ides of March: 0/1
MArgin Call: 0/1
Real Steel: 0/1
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: 0/3
Warrior: 0/1

Oscars 2012: Surprises and Snubs

This is a list of the biggest surprises and snubs in this year's Oscar nominations:

Best Picture:
Surprise:
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close -this is a film that I greatly enjoyed, but after mediocre reviews, I don't think that anybody thought that this would actually get nominated.

Snub:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - After a lot of support from the guilds this masterpiece (in my opinion) was left with five nominations... but not one for BEst Picture. It seemed like a lock.

Best Director:
Snub:
Steven Spielberg - This one is barely a snub since not a lot of people really thought that Spielberg would get nominated, but I thought his direction in "WAr Horse" was flawless and deserving of a nomination.

Best Actor:
Surprises:
Demian Bichir - I have not yet seen this movie, but it didn't seem like the type of movie thAT WOULD GET AN ISCAR NOMINATION. THIS REALLY CAME OUT OF THE BLUE, EXCEPT FOR THE SAG NOMINATION.

SNUBS:
MICHAEL Fassbender - Anyone who has seen "Shame" would know that Fassbender does an amazing job as a sex addict and he is really committed to the role. Everybody thought that he would receive an Oscar nomination, even if just for show.
Leonardo DiCaprio - Although "J. Edgar" didn't get stellar reviews from critics, DiCaprio was well deserving of a nomination.

Best Actress:
Snubs:
Tilda Swinton - This is an incredible movie and Swinton was much more deserving of a nomination that Close, whose movie was not very good.

Best Supporting Actor:
Surprises:
Nick Nolte - I have hear very good things about this movie, but I never expected an Oscar nomination to come from it.
Jonah Hill - I'm not a huge fan of Hill, and I thought that he was just okay in "MOneyball." His performance did not seem like a standout performance in anyway to me.

Snub:
Albert Brooks - He was seen as an early frontrunner in the OScar race, but he didn't even get a nomination. He seemed as sure if a nomination as Plummer did.

Best Supporting Actress:
Surprise:
Melissa McCarthy - I am a very big fan of "Bridesmaids", but did anybody actually think that she would get a nomination?

Snub:
Shailene Woodley - She pulled off a "Mila Kunis" (A.K.A. a young, pretty actress getting nominated for a Golden Globe but not for an OScar in a major award contender)! I was very confident in her getting a nomination for her amazing work as George Clooney's daughter.
Carey Mulligan (Shame) - I know she wasn't an awards favorite, but she did give one of the best performance of the year and she did get a SAG nominations. There is always a random nominee or two, and I hoped it would have been her.

Best Original Screenplay:
Surprise:
A Separation - This very well received Iranian film was seen as an outside contender in the category, but not a lot of foreign films get screenplay nominations.
Margin Call - This was a very small film that people speculated might possibly contend for some awards, but that chance was not very likely.

Snub:
50/50 - One of the most well-received films of the year: a comedy about a man with cancer. This is something that has never really been seen like this before, so I thought the academy would embrace it.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Surprise:
The Ides of March - Cue random George Clooney nomination. I personally love this movie, but I did not think it would get an Oscar nominations, let alone in the Screenplay category.

Snub:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - The nomination from the WGA made my hopes rise... a lot.

Best Animated Feature:
Surprises:
Chico & Rita and A cat in Paris - I'm placing these two films together because they really came out of left field.

Snub:
The Adventures of Tintin - This seemed like a definite nomination, and even possibly a win. At least this makes "Rango" safe...

Best ScOre:
Surprises:
The Adventures of Tintin - I didn't even know it was possible for a composer to get two nominations in one year...
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - I honestly don't even remember the music from this film, but it must have been good!!

Snub:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - This score has received a lot of attention from other awards, so I am really surprised to see it not get nominated.

Best Original Song:
Surprises:
"Real in Rio" Rio - A random song from a random kid's movie got a nomination? I really like this movie, but best song? really?
Only 2 nominees!! - wtf


Snubs:
"THe Living Proof" The Help, "Hello Hello" Gnomeo and Juliet, and many other songs - This is more of a snub for a missing three nominees.

Best Art Direction:
Surprise:
Midnight in Paris - I love this movie, but I don't know what set designs made this a nominee.

Best Cinematography:
No snubs or surprises because I guessed all of them!


Best Costume Design:
No Snubs or Suprises!


Best Editing:
Surprise:
The Descendants - I don't know what was so great about the editing in this film. This is one of my favorites of the year, but the editing was not a standout.

Best Makeup:
No snubs or surprises(, but I still thought that "Albert Nobbs" was a very creepy movie and the make up was not that good...)

Best Sound Editing:
Surprise:
Drive - Of all the nominations the Academy could have awarded this amazing movie, they give it one for Sound Editing.

Snub:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - This movie was an amazing example of all sorts of technicalities, including sound.

Best Sound Mixing:
Surprise:
Moneyball - What Sound Mixing was there in "Moneyball" that was worthy of an OScar nomination?

snub:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - This movie was an amazing example of all sorts of technicalities, including sound.

Best Visual Effects:
Surprise:
Real Steel - The effects do look great, but this nomination was not really expected.

Snub:
The Tree of Life - Just see this movie. You will understand.

Oscar Nominations!!

THe long awaited day has arrived and here are the nominees for the 84th annual Academy Awards: 
(Bolded are my predictions for winner)
(Underlined are my predictions from before the nominees were announced)

Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Director
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
JC Chandor, "Margin Call"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, "Bridesmaids"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, "The Ides of March"
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Animated Feature
"A Cat In Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score
"The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams
"The Artist," Ludovic Bource
"Hugo," Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse," John Williams

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio," Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

Best Documentary Feature
"Hell and Back Again"
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
"Pina"
"Undefeated"

Best Documentary Short Subject
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?"
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
"Incident in New Baghdad"
"Saving Face"
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

Best Achievement in Film Editing
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Achievement in Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"The Iron Lady"

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
"Drive"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"