Monthly Archives: February 2009

Any of ‘em you think they screwed up? Any they got right? I heard the Kate Winslet movie was slow as all get out. But Holocaust movies always get Oscars, even if they make Nazis sympathetic, like they did in The Reader. So you knew she was going to get it. And sorry, but I thought Penn had the third best performance I saw over the weekend. Shoulda gone to Langella, though Rourke woulda been fine as well. I thought it was I liked Slumdog a lot, but I wasn’t crazy about the ending. But I can see why it got Best Pic. I never did get around to seeing Benjamin Button. I understand it was a perfectly good movie, but not Best Picture Worthy. And I have to disagree with Smackdown’s assessment that Penelope Cruz is one of the best actresses going. But I didn’t see any of those Best Supporting Actress Movies, so sure, she wins. Best Supporting Actor? I only saw two films, and thought Brolin and Ledger were both terrific, but it was pretty predetermined that Ledger was gonna win. Your thoughts?

Alright, kids, gonna actually get these up on time this week. This week the questions are about movies that won Oscars last night. One guess per person.

And the award for Best Actor goes to…The back of Mickey Rourke’s head. Seriously, the back of his head took up like half of the running time. That being said, though, I thought this was a great film. As a fan of wrestling in the 80s, more than a few of my old heroes are dead now due to the same excesses that Rourke grapples with. And Marisa Tomei, wow. That was a, ahem, terrific performance. In terms of Best Actor, I still think Langella was more impressive. Sorry, but asking Mickey Rourke to play a down and out hero hero from the 80s with a drug problem wasn’t exactly asking him to play Hamlet. But I do think the film probably deserved a nom for Best Picture instead of the Reader. Not a single person who has seen that movie thought it was very good, and the reviews weren’t all that great either.

Milk was a very enjoyable film, though not Best Pic worthy, in my opinion. Sean Penn was great, and Josh Brolin was also very good as Dan White. Langella still deserves it over Penn. Let’s see how he holds up against Rourke. Off to see the Wrestler. Let you know how it is later.

Before we get to my Slumdog review, a little venting: Leave it to the stupid Riverview Theatre to take a movie off the marquee two days before it goes up for a best pic award. Last night, it showed that Benjamin Button was showing at 10 p.m. Now it’s appears that the movie isn’t showing at all in Philadelphia. Crap. I guess those showtimes I looked up ended last night. Oh well, it might be a blessing in disguise. If memory serves, somebody got shot watching Benjamin Button at the Riverview over Christmas. Anyhow, the closest place to watch it is apparently Voorhees. I don’t even know where in the hell Voorhees is.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so Slumdog Millionaire was pretty awesome. Wasn’t as well done as Frost/Nixon, I didn’t think, and none of the performances were as incredible as Langella’s, but it was a better story. So as of right now I’m torn as to which one should win. Gonna see Milk at 7:15. Maybe I’ll find a way to get to Voorhees tomorrow night and go see Button then. But it’s really dumb that you can’t watch one of the films up for an Oscar anywhere in Philadelphia. Still waiting for somebody to invite me to a freaking Oscar party. Um, hello? I’ll even bring over some good Oscar questions.

Two days away from Oscars and I have seen none of the Best Pic noms. Inexcusable, so I’ve decided to take care of that in one fell swoop. I’m gonna try to watch four of them today. Frost/Nixon at Noon, Slumdog Millionaire at 2:30, Milk at 7, and Benjamin Button at 9:10 p.m. Keep in mind, there is a decent chance I will quit halfway through. But I am going to make an honest effort (I have no desire to see The Reader and it’s not gonna win.) If you wanna join me for Frost/Nixon or Slumdog, drop me a line. Also, if you are having an Oscar party on Sunday that I can invite myself to, shoot me a line as well. I have a break this afternoon, so I’ll let you know on the site how it’s going.

Are the Axis of Evil settling in for a rivalry with Fort Awesome at the Good Dog? It’s starting to sound that way. Rumor has it they’ll be back tonight. Action kicks off at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, if the past several Thursdays are any indication, expect a wild night at the Bards. Bards Thursdays seem to be when the heavyweights come out to play. 10:15 p.m. Also, any time you want to recommend a wild card round topic, feel free to drop me a line. Tonight’s round is from a suggestion by a regular. Finally, in case you haven’t heard yet, you can play quizzo on the picture tube*. Go to Comcast On Demand>>Free Movies>>Scene It Trivia>>History-1.

*Think I’m done shilling this thing? Not even close.