Friday/Final Round-Up

So you may have noticed that I haven't written a new post since the end of January. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, I've been crazy busy with school. Second, these three are the only movies I've seen in the last 8 weeks. And third, not to be melodramatic, but the train wreck that was the Oscars kind of killed movies for me. I'm exaggerating, of course, but it's true that my heart is not really in writing about movies anymore. My goal when I started this blog was to practice writing so that I could pursue a career in film preservation after grad school. As it turns out, that is not the right career path for me, so my priorities - including my Netflix queue and this blog - have shifted. I've enjoyed writing, when I had the time, so this may not be goodbye forever, but it is certainly goodbye for now. Thanks for reading.

And if you need to know, I really liked, liked and loved the Round-Up movies, in that order.

Movie Poster Monday: Bridesmaids

What I like about this poster is that it delivers exactly what you need to know about the film: the Apatow lineage above the title and THAT CAST. On the poster here we have, from left to right, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McClendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne. Wow. I can't recall another cast that was made up of as many actual female comedians, rather than comedic actresses (you're looking at four Groundlings and a UCB-er.). And even more exciting, if you skim down the extended cast list... Melanie Hutsell! My all-time favorite SNL cast member!

I'm hoping this turns out to be more Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Knocked Up than Year One or Superbad. I have mixed feelings about many of the films on Judd Apatow's resume, but I think the strength of this cast and Wiig's writing should make for a great film.

83rd Academy Awards Nominees

By now you've surely seen the list of nominees for this year's Oscars ceremony. I've looked over the list once or twice, but I haven't really formed any conclusions yet. Perhaps that's because I've seen hardly any of the films. Last year, I managed eight of the 10 Best Picture nominees before Oscar Night (that number actually didn't change after Oscar Night, but I'm still hoping to pick up the spare one day). This year, I've seen a measly three of the nominees already (Black Swan, Inception and Toy Story 3). I've got my work cut out for me over the next month.

Now, the nominees:

BEST PICTURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

Friday Round-Up

I mentioned The Winning Season on Tuesday to say that I could not have been more wrong in my earlier optimism. I really don't have a whole lot to say about it. As I was watching the film, I became more and more certain that the script must have been butchered. There was too much left unsaid and unexplained for that to have been the intended story. And I doubt they could have assembled that cast with that script. Seriously, Rooney Mara? Emma Roberts? I was kind of bummed out by Sam Rockwell. He is probably my favorite actor currently working and he has consistently given dynamite performances, but his work here just seemed joyless.

The Thing was really solid entertainment. I love that it just kicked off with minimal exposition and didn't let up. The effects were incredible and gruesome - every one of them made my jaw drop. Kurt Russell was great (and really, that hair and beard? Ridiculously good-looking.). Quentin Tarantino said that young people aren't really familiar with Russell's bad-ass work, and that is definitely true for me. I'm glad I saw this film because now I'm more inclined to check out Big Trouble in Little China, for instance, which I have heard good things about but never felt the urge to see. I had always assumed, and even more so after I watched it, that The Thing had been a success, but I see now that it wasn't. It more than deserves any of the cult status it has.

Happy Birthday, Cary Grant

Today would have been Cary Grant's 107th birthday (I think that's a weird way to describe it, "would have been." There are pretty much no circumstances under which today would have been his 107th birthday. But that's the way people say it, so I will too). Here's a really great tribute to my favorite actor from Tony Curtis.