One Foot in Heaven

It's been a crazy ride these past few days, and some absolutely amazing things have happened. I honestly feel like I've had one foot in heaven this weekend--the awesome just keeps rolling in. Never mind that I have an exam in T-minus four hours...I think pop culture holds its rightful place in my life.

First up: let's take a hit of Pot. I'm talking about Harry Potter-- or more specifically, the recently released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 trailer that has everyone buzzing. I'm guessing that most everyone has seen it, but on the off chance that you haven't, update yourself right here:

If that doesn't get you pumped for the summer premiere of one of the most epic series conclusions of all time....then you don't have a soul. Seriously-if you're not on the HP bandwagon yet, get on it. There's still time. But you do not want to miss out on the magic of this last installment (get it?? magic??). For once, the hype is right (can't say the same for Twilight, though).

Secondly, I have to touch on the Royal Wedding. I was beyond stoked for "the social event of the decade" because, in the words of Jon Stewart, "Prince William is marrying a muggle" (see that awesome HP segway there? I am hilarious)! I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I refused sleep all of Thursday night and instead had myself a very regal celebration: first, I caught the last half hour of The Queen (2006), which I'd seen before in theatres (but more on that later), then I cracked open my newly-purchased copy of The King's Speech (2010), and finally I flipped over to BBC's live coverage of the main event. Yes, I had quite the busy night (so busy I just had to skip school the next day...). Kate's dress was amazing, and the whole event was enough to convince me that fairy tales really do exist...I'm now actually hoping to marry the remaining prince-the ginger one-and move into Buckingham palace with the royal fam. Fingers crossed.

(Side note: The King's Speech gets better and better every time I see it...it's really grown on me. It was especially exciting to watch it Thursday knowing that it's the story of Prince William's great-grandfather...and that it concluded on the same balcony that saw the end of the public portion of Will and Kate's perfect royal ceremony).

Next, I feel like I just have to throw in a mention of the Bin Laden capture because it's so epic and historical. And it happened just before I was about to pop in tonight's movie so I got delayed a couple hours due to intense news watch-age. Totally worth it. Go Team America.

Finally, we arrive at tonight's movie--and a major milestone in the BPC!! After conquering Babel (2006), I have officially completed my first entire year on this list...that is, I have seen every film nominated for Best Picture in 2006. Congratulations, me, it's about time I knocked out one of these!

Babel tried very hard to get somewhere special, but it set out in so many different directions that it ended up mostly just jogging in place. I get that it was trying to be an edgy, shocking exploration of the limitations of language and the buried similarities of the human experience all over the world-- and to a certain degree, it succeeds in this endeavor--but for the most part it's just dizzying, dramatic, and dripping with sadness. Still, the Moroccan scenery was breathtaking and certain players, like Brad Pitt, for example, managed to shine through the structural fog.

2006 was a pretty solid year for movies, if you ask me. With Babel bringing up the rear and Little Miss Sunshine sliding in at fourth place (I loved this charming little comedy but it can't hold a candle to the remaining three), the year's winner is tough to determine. I hated The Queen when I saw it (twice) in theatres five years ago- but I was 13 then, and this one is a little too grown-up to be appreciated by a seventh grader. Now, I'm absolutely fascinated by this picture and I'd love to give the whole thing another careful watch (since I only caught the end last week). Obviously Letters from Iwo Jima sucked me in...it's certainly one of the best war movies of recent years. Still, I have to side with The Academy when I choose my winner for 2006: The Departed.

The Scorsese was sizzlin, the DiCaprio was dazzlin- and that Flogging Molly track was indescribably perfect. This is one of those movies you just can't stop thinking about even months after you've watched it- one whose twists and turns keep you reeling long after you've put the DVD back to bed. Love it.

Smilin' Through

Due to the fact that this past weekend contained my senior prom (which was very exciting, for anyone who may care!), I have not gotten a chance to watch a single movie since last week's Elizabeth Taylor tribute...and that feels like so long ago. Today I struggled to stay awake for all of Goodfellas (1990), and not because it was a bad movie. Anyone who's seen it knows it's anything but boring, but I was buckling under the exhaustion of a very long weekend and I just couldn't seem to keep my head up. I had to rewind it to watch the scenes I snoozed through, and even then my eyelids were fighting me. Needless to say, it was a very difficult accomplishment.

This has got Martin Scorsese's brilliant little handprints all over it- certainly an apogee of the director's bold style. The technique I dig the most is his tendency to pair upbeat classic songs with macabre scenes of death and violence...it keeps his films from ever rolling over into the deep end of drama. Emotional detachment like this feels refreshing in today's drama genre, where every new film out there seems to be trying so hard to make us cry that it forgets how to be good.

Robert De Niro is one of the funnest guys to watch onscreen.
Seriously...every time he steps into the frame of a movie a little part of me wants to jump up and applaud because I just know it's about to get good. And while he gives a satisfyingly awesome performance here, I don't think he wins this film.
If I were going to hand out a medal to the actor who does the most powerful mobster impression in Goodfellas, I'd have to give it to Ray Liotta. His screaming, cursing, gun-slinging gangster is as bad-ass as they come...so where was his Oscar, Academy?
Instead, the award went to Joe Pesci, a bronze-medal-er in this one, if you ask me, slotting himself in well behind Liotta and De Niro on the figurative acting podium. Incidentally, Pesci's acceptance speech was among the shortest of all time. The guy got up there on the stage, picked up his statuette, and delivered the following eloquent, emotional address: "It was my privilege. Thank you." Really, that's all you got, Joey? No genuine appreciation of any kind? I'm sure Ray Liotta's speech would have been brimming with joy and sincere gratitude if he had been given his rightful crack at the golden man.

Anyway, I seriously loved this movie, but it failed to surpass The Departed (2006) in my book. That's Scorsese at his finest, if you ask me, and anyone wanting to brush up on this director's modus operandi ought to pop that one out of their Redbox.

I'm approaching the realization that this list is not going to be finished by the end of the year, and though the thought of failure makes me want to give up completely, I'm just going to keep smilin' through until the credits roll on 2011 and see how far I've come by then. Who knows...maybe I'll have some sort of breakthrough in a few months and power my way through the remainder of the movies. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

True Grit

Why does time pass so much faster when you have important things to get done? It's like some sort of switch exists in the space-time continuum that flips on and off depending on the urgency of the tasks at hand. Seriously.

But anyway. It took some true grit on my part to stay awake and watch a movie tonight. I'm nearly nodding off now and I would be asleep already if I hadn't just witnessed such an awesome movie.

Before tonight, the only Scorsese film I had seen was The Departed (2006), and it was so good that I sort of bought into the whole Scorsese-craze. But after conquering Taxi Driver (1976), I'm all in. For real, this guy is a savant.
He gives his movie such an edgy, desperate vibe that I feel like I've become more hard core just from watching this one. Seriously, I could probably go rob a bank right now and not even break a sweat. Thank you for the inspiration, Marty.

Then...

...and now






It almost made me sad to see a fresh-faced, vibrant young De Niro after having watched his current geriatric self hobble through his latest work on Saturday. I miss this old Deer Hunter, muscle-bound, silky-locks De Niro (have you checked out his hair lately?? yikes...); this movie reminded me exactly why we consider him to be one of the greatest actors alive. I'm pretty sure he's the only guy out there who could make a reclusive taxi-driving potentially racist quasi-stalker seem like a lovable guy while also shooting up an entire whorehouse in the presence of a young child. That pint-sized whore was played by a young Jodie Foster, who wasn't Scorsese's first pick for the role by any means, but after a string of girls turned it down, the already established child-star Foster was tossed the part. Personally, I thought she did a pretty good job. But nowadays she just sort of bothers me. I really can't put my finger on why...but for some reason I want to throw my coke at the screen every time her face is on it.

Anyway, I loved Taxi Driver. LOVED it. I see now why it's up there with the greatest movies ever made (number 52 on the American Film Institute's list)...it's certainly up there with the best movies I've seen. So, in light of my new-found love of gritty Scorsese flicks, I'm thinking Goodfellas (1990) is going to be my next viewing. And with that, I'm heading off to bed.

Well, with that, and... "You Talkin' To Me?????? I Said...You Talkin' To Me??"
(Greatest. Line. Ever).

The Right Stuff

It's true...I lost nearly a week of movies, and I have no idea how I'm going to make it up. Our school has this ill-placed week-long break stuck in the middle of February, and my family used the first part of it to go skiing in Breckenridge. I learned two things: that I'm not destined to be a skiier, and that next time I should pack a couple DVDs to save myself from late night cable. My whole body is sore from countless awkward falls into the powder, and I really can't stand to see one more episode of a poorly written cookie cutter crime drama.
Anyway, the point is that I lost a lot of time and I'm just about to lose some more. Tomorrow I leave for North Carolina, and Friday, I jet off to Washington DC and don't return home until Sunday. How am I going to recover all these days of missed movies? I guess I'll have to double up this summer...

Sunday, February 27th is just four short days away...and I'm almost counting down the seconds. It's the biggest day of the year if you ask me...more exciting than Christmas and more meaningful than my birthday. That's right, this Sunday night marks the eve of the Oscar ceremony, a night when cinematic history will be written. I anticipate a lively and entertaining broadcast, as Anne Hathaway and my future husband James Franco are slated to host the event. The Academy better have made some wise choices, because there will be one angry kid out there if JFranc (like the nickname??) and 127 Hours go home empty-handed. I've listed them before, but in the name of simplicity, here are the nominees for Best Picture:

1. Inception Mind-blowing. How else can you describe it? This one achieves a rare double victory, pleasing the pickiest of critics and exploding into a box office success all at once. Though I'm skeptical that it has a chance amidst all these other attention-grabbers, I'd say Inception can still dream of gold (get it...dream?!).

2. The Fighter Still haven't seen it! I know, I know, I'm a major slacker. This one just didn't look all that good to me in the commercials. I just feel like the tough-Boston-down-on-his-luck guy thing has been way over done, and so has the whole boxing thing. I mean, we have The Departed (2006) (amazing flick) and Million Dollar Baby (2004) (still need to see this one!)...so what do we need The Fighter for?? Maybe just to see Christian Bale slim down to cancer-victim size.

3. Toy Story 3 Love it! But it won't win in this category...I'm 99% sure (though I'm just as sure it will take the cake in the Animated Feature category). This one really hit home for me because I'm also going to college in the fall, and I feel just like Andy, giving up my childhood and driving off into the sunset...I definitely needed the tissue box to make it to the closing credits.

4. Black Swan Interesting. Very interesting. I found it both haunting and wildly entertaining, and ended up heading back to the theater more than once to really digest this one. It's a very original piece of work, with brilliant cinematography and directing (though Darren Aronofsky is no Danny Boyle). Natalie Portman deserves the Oscar for throwing herself into this twisted ballet world.

5. True Grit Haven't seen this one either! If I had to base my opinions on those of my friends, though, this one isn't winning anything.

6. 127 Hours I can't say enough good things about this movie. This one is my favorite for sure. If you haven't seen it, GO NOW! I'm still reeling over the fact that Danny Boyle didn't get a director's nod for his highly original work here, and I will be reeling if JFranc doesn't win his Oscar (though he will find some tough competition in Collin Firth).

7. The Kids Are All Right So I haven't seen this one either...but from what I've heard and read, it's not that great of a film. It's only nominated because of its progressive subject matter...or at least, that's what I've gathered. I'll get around to seeing it eventually (it's on my list!) and have some sort of opinion to share.

8. The Social Network Ehhh...it's alright. Quirky, cute, a little shocking sometimes...but Best Picture material? I don't think so. But although I don't think it's worthy of the golden man, The Academy may very well think it is come Sunday night. I guess we'll see.

9. Winter's Bone Ok, you got me...I didn't see this one either. So I'm not exactly qualified to be making all of these predictions. But here's another one I'm going to make anyway: The Academy won't be throwing this dog a bone (another pun?? I'm on fire tonight!). These Sundance-born indies still don't seem to have the wattage that a major studio film like Inception has.

10. The King's Speech I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this movie is overrated!! I'm not saying it's not good, because it is, but it's not the best of the bunch by any stretch (and I haven't even seen the whole bunch yet!). Still, if I was a bettin man, I'd say the odds are very much stacked in this one's favor.

So there you have it, a round-up of my current opinions as we head into the final days before the Oscars. It'll be a real nail-biter waiting to hear the verdict on these movies, with the top contenders (in my mind) being The Social Network, The King's Speech, Inception (maybe), and (I know it's probably just a pipe dream, but I'm gonna keep on dreaming) 127 Hours. The others, I think, are not nearly as likely to win. We'll see on Sunday night which film has the right stuff to become number one.

Now for the challenge, something I've been putting off lately. I watched American Beauty (1999) tonight and found it very...interesting. Despite being laden with graphic language and occasionally obscene images, the film felt poetic and graceful all the way through. Kevin Spacey, ever the acting savant, puts up a fantastic performance as a confused, aimless middle-aged man, and Annette Benning, a current nominee whose fate will be decided Sunday night, shines in her also-nominated turn as a repressed wife on the edge. Chris Cooper also surprises in his gritty portrayal of the homophobic neighbor. A twisted, sordid take on the American family deserving of pensive analysis.