Thursday, January 29, 2004

 

Well, they announced the Oscars this week. Of course, Kill Bill Volume 1 was totally snubbed - they didn't even give a nomination to Uma Thurman. Not that I was all that surprised. But the movie deserved at least a couple of noms. Since Kill Bill isn't up for anything, I have to put my support totally behind Lost in Translation. If there is any justice at all, Bill Murray has to win for Best Actor, and it would be one helluva "fuck you" if Sofia Coppola took Best Director (remember all the abuse she took for acting in Godfather 3? Well, it looks like she's since found her niche - behind the camera). Other people I'd love to see win - Charlize Theron for Monster (she really deserves it, even though the terrific Naomi Watts is also nominated for 21 Grams), and Benecio Del Toro for 21 Grams (he was amazing in that).


Aside from KB, the most glaring snubs to me were Scarlett Johansson for Lost in Translation (she at least deserved a Supporting Actress nod, even though the role was closer to a lead - she had real chemistry with Bill Murray), and Christina Ricci for Monster. And I was surprised that American Splendor didn't get more nominations than just one for Best Screenplay (Adaptation). Paul Giamatti really deserved a nomination for playing Harvey Pekar in that one.


And where was Irreversible for Best Foreign Language Film? What a bunch of wimps.


Tuesday, January 27, 2004

 

Haven't been very good at writing new posts lately. Too much on my mind, I guess. But here's my latest installment for your reading enjoyment. LOL


Haven't seen many movies at the theater lately. The one I've seen since my last post was Monster, the new movie starring Charlize Theron as female serial killer Aileen Wuornos. By now you must have heard all the buzz about this being an Oscar-worthy performance for Theron, and how the normally beautiful Charlize underwent a radical physical change (by gaining some weight and having a terrific makeup person) to the point where she's practically unrecognizable. This is the kind of job that deserves a "best makeup" Oscar, by the way. Too many times the award goes to someone who did something over the top, from big special effects movies. But in Monster, the makeup is actually a big reason why the movie works. You totally forget you are watching Charlize, and you get totally wrapped up in her performance. With bad makeup, it wouldn't be as effective. Even though the changes she underwent were very subtle (but very effective too).


Enough about that. More on the performances. I thought Charlize was amazing, but the supporting cast was good too. Christina Ricci plays Selby, Aileen's lover, and she does a really good job. A scene where the two of them make out behind a skating rink is particularly passionate. Selby is kind of a lonely wimp with no clear idea of what she wants out of life, and hooking up with Aileen gives her a chance to finally rebel against the people who are trying to control her (especially her father) and helps give her some direction. Unfortunatley, it's a bad direction that involves multiple homicides.


Some cool character actors in this one, too. From Lee Tergeson (who played Beecher on OZ) as a particualrly brutal john who prostitute Aileen comes across one night, to Pruitt Taylor Vince (star of the movie Heavy, and who was also in last year's Identity), as a much more sympathetic john. To the terrific Bruce Dern as Aileen's only friend besides Selby, Thomas, who runs a storage facility where Aileen keeps her stuff.


And the script is pretty damn good too, as well as the direction, both by Patty Jenkins. Definitely worth seeing.


Not much else. On TV, I've been catching the latest edition of The Surreal Life. Last season Corey Feldman was the standout "celebrity" as "the most whiny, annoying roomate in television history." By the end of last season, everyone in the house hated Corey's guts. Well, this season it's a new batch of celebrities, including some interesting ones like Ron Jeremy (it is hard to look at him and believe that he's a porn legend - what a charmed life this guy has had), who's actually a pretty likeable guy, to Tammy Faye, who's very uptight but pretty likeable too. Erik Estrada comes off pretty well too. The only other ones who stand out are Tracy Bingham, formerly from Baywatch, who comes off as a selfish, obnoxious bitch so far, and Vanilla Ice, who is trying to be the new Corey Feldman and coming up a little short. But with his constant temper tantrums and bitching all the time about his past image, he's a little more grating on the nerves than Corey, who was annoying but always good to laugh at. The new season is only a couple of episodes in, but this should be fun.


Oh well, that's all for now. Until next time......



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