Retiring

I am officially retiring this blog. I haven't been paying much attention to it recently, as I have been busy and unable to update. I am not ruling out the idea of picking back up with it at a later date, but for now I just do not have the time. It has been a fun ride, and I appreciate you reading and commenting on my humble little blog. Now go out and watch some movies.

Food for Thought

With every crazy person that shoots up a school or blows up a building, inevitably the country waits for the media to find the scapegoat. This usually occurs in the form of a movie, video game, or album that the crazy person loves and tries to emulate. The latest installment of this has happened because of the unbelievably tragic events at Virginia Tech and the crazy person responsible. Apparently he was a big fan of the Asian revenge movie Oldboy, which is now the media perceived reason for why 34 people are dead and countless more are scarred for life. What the media doesn't seem to understand, or doesn't want to, is that crazy people are and always will be crazy. If they weren't emulating one thing it would be another. Crazy people do crazy things. They would do them regardless of whether they loved A Clockwork Orange or Eminem, because they would find some other outlet for their hate/anger/hatred. The idea that a movie or video game could be responsible for mass murder is laughable, it is like blaming United Airlines for 9/11. Crazy people will do crazy things, why does anyone care what their favorite movie or video game is and why does no one seem to wonder why they are actually crazy to the point of violence? America just wants the easy answer to make them feel good, so any scapegoat will do. We do not want the truth, because the truth is too messy. We want a simple easy answer so we can feel warm and snuggly inside. This is why this kind of thing will always happen. I can only hope that whoever causes the next tragedy is a Romantic Comedy fan, those really do need to be outlawed.

Random Top 10 Lists (Zombie Movies)

I am reading the (so far) very good Stephen King book Cell at the moment, which is about cell phones turning people into zombie-like creatures. I have always been a big fan of the Zombie sub-genre in horror, and I got to thinking about the best zombie movies. Here's what I came up with...


10. Zombie
9. The Return of the Living Dead
8. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
7. Dead Alive
6. Re-Animator
5. Shaun of the Dead
4. 28 Days Later
3. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
2. Day of the Dead
1. Night of the Living Dead


Just Missed: Cemetary Man, Land of the Dead, Zombie 2.

Food For Thought

After seeing the excellent documentary Jesus Camp, I learned an important fact...the only thing more crazy than a born again Christian is a their children.

Random Top 10 Lists (They Passed On What?)

This is a list of famous actors who had the misfortune of passing up the chance to play some of the great film roles of all time. The person who actually played the role is listed in parenthesis.


10. Julia Roberts as Viola in Shakespeare In Love. (Gwyneth Paltrow)
9. George Raft as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. (Humphrey Bogart)
8. Haley Mills as Lolita in Kubrick's Lolita. (Sue Lyon)
7. Sylvester Stallone as Axl Foley in Beverly Hills Cop. (Eddie Murphy)
6. Steve McQueen as Sundance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. (Robert Redford)
5. Alber Finney as T.E. Lawrence in Lawerance of Arabia. (Peter O'Toole)
4. Will Smith as Neo in The Matrix. (Keanu Reeves)
3. Gene Hackman as Hanibal Lacter in The Silence of the Lambs. (Anthony Hopkins)
2. Robert Redford as Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. (Dustin Hoffman)
1. Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones. (Harrison Ford)

2006 Cammy Awards

Best Picture

Babel
Children of Men
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
World Trade Center

Winner: Children of Men

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed)
Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)
Clive Owen (Children of Men)
Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)

Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed)

Best Actress

Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette)
Shareeka Epps (Half Nelson)
Beyonce Knowles (Dreamgirls)
Kate Winslet (Little Children)

Winner: Kate Winslet (Little Children)

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men)
Clint Eastwood (Letters From Iwo Jima)
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)
Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Oliver Stone (World Trade Center)

Winner: Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men)

Best Supporting Actor

Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)
Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond)
Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
Jack Nicholson (The Departed)
Brad Pitt (Babel)

Winner: Jack Nicholson (The Departed)

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett (Akeelah and the Bee)
Jennifer Connelly (Blood Diamond)
Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
Julianne Moore (Children of Men)

Winner: Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)

Best Breakthrough Performance

Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Shareeka Epps (Half Nelson)
Tip "T.I." Harris (ATL)
Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland)

Winner: James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland)

Best Screenplay

Guillermo Arriaga (Babel)
Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby (Children of Men)
Rian Johnson (Little Miss Sunshine)
William Monahan (The Departed)
Iris Yamashita (Letters From Iwo Jima)

Winner: Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby (Children of Men)

Best Ensemble Cast

Babel
Blood Diamond
The Departed
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine

Winner: The Departed

Best Song

Franco Battiato - Ruby Tuesday (Children of Men)
Jennifer Hudson - And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (Dreamgirls)
Jack Johnson - Upside Down (Curious George)
Beyonce Knowles - Listen (Dreamgirls)
T.I. - What You Know About That (ATL)

Winner: Franco Battiato - Ruby Tuesday (Children of Men)

Best Cinematography

Michael Ballhaus (The Departed)
Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men)
Wally Pfister (The Prestige)
Dick Pope (The Illusionist)
Rodrigo Prieto (Babel)

Winner: Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men)

Best Special Effects

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns
X3: X-Men United

Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Best Sound Effects

Letters From Iwo Jima
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Saw 3

Winner: Saw 3

Best Debut Feature Film

Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine)

Worst Film

Date Movie

My Oscar Predicitions

Best Picture: The Departed
Best Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Best Actor: Peter O'Toole (Venus)
Best Supporting Actor: Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)
Best Actress: Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed
Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine
Best Animated Film: Cars
Best Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Cinematography: Children of Men
Best Costume Design: Marie Antoinette
Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvienant Truth
Best Documentary Short: Recycled Life
Best Film Editing: The Departed
Best Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Makeup: Apocolypto
Best Score: The Queen
Best Song: I Need To Wake Up (An Inconvienant Truth)
Best Animated Short: No Time For Nuts
Best Live Action Short: The Saviour
Best Sound Editing: Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls
Best Visual Effects: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Top 20 Albums of 2006

It is that time again, time for me to jump into the music side of things and give my top 20 albums of 2006. Last years top 5 was strong (Kanye West, Common, Fall Out Boy, John Legend, Jack Johnson), lets see if this years list compares. As always, I can only rank what I have heard, so if your favorite obscure artist did not hit the list, shame on you for not getting me a burnt copy of the album.



1. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
2. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
3. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
4. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
5. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
6. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
7. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
8. John Mayer - Continuum
9. Ghosteface Killah - Fishscales
10. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
11. John Legend - Once Again
12. T.I. - King
13. The Roots - Game Theory
14. Jack Johnson - Curious George Soundtrack
15. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
16. Ben Harper - Both Sides of the Gun
17. The Killers - Sam's Town
18. Tool - 10,000 Days
19. Corine Bailey Rae - Corine Bailey Rae
20. Nas - Hip Hop is Dead

Oscar Predicitons

With nominations only a few days away, it is time for my yearly Oscar predictions. The last 2 years I have picked a really high percentage right, this year may prove more difficult. This is a harder year to predict than most, and I have not been able to pay as much attention as I would have liked to the process due to work, but here goes nothing...


Best Picture

Babel
Dreamgirls
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Children

Best Director

Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)
Clint Eastwood (Letters From Iwo Jima)
Stephen Frears (The Queen)

Best Actor

Forrest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland)
Peter O’Toole (Venus)
Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed)
Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)

Best Actress

Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)
Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)
Kate Winslet (Little Children)
Penelope Cruz (Volver)

Best Supporting Actor

Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)
Jack Nicholson (The Departed)
Brad Pitt (Babel)

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal)
Shareeka Epps (Half Nelson)
Adriana Barraza (Babel)

Best Original Screenplay

Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine)
Peter Morgan (The Queen)
Guillermo Arriaga (Babel)
Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction)
Paul Greengrass (United 93)

Best Adapted Screenplay

William Monahan (The Departed)
Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking)
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta (Little Children)
Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men)

Best Animated Feature

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Documentary Feature

An Inconvenient Truth
Deliver Us From Evil
Jesus Camp
The Ground Truth
The War Tapes

Best Foreign Language Film

Pan’s Labyrinth
Volver
Water
The Lives of Others
Black Book

Best Cinematography

Children of Men
Babel
Apocalypto
Pan’s Labyrinth
United 93

Best Art Direction

Children of Men
Dreamgirls
Pan’s Labyrinth
Babel
Pirates of the Caribbean 2

Best Editing

The Departed
Dreamgirls
Babel
Casino Royale
United 93

Best Visual Effects

Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Night at the Museum
Superman Returns

Best Costume Design

Dreamgirls
Pan’s Labyrinth
Marie Antoinette
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
The Devil Wears Prada

Best Makeup

Pan’s Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Apocalypto

Best Original Score

Phillip Glass (The Illusionist)
Alexandre Desplat (The Queen)
Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel)
Howard Shore (The Departed)
Han Zimmer (The DaVinci Code)

Best Original Song

Prince - The Song of the Heart (Happy Feet)
Beyonce - Listen (Dreamgirls)
Melissa Etheridge - I Need To Wake Up (An Inconvenient Truth)
Aretha Franklin & Mary J. Blige - Never Gonna Break My Faith (Bobby)
Sarah McLachlan - Ordinary Miracle (Charlotte’s Web)

Random Top 10 (or 20) Lists (Xmas Movies)

20. Home Alone 2 (1992)
19. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
18. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
17. Bad Santa (2003)
16. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993, Animated)
15. Gremlins (1984)
14. Elf (2003)
13. A Christmas Carol (1951)
12. The Santa Clause (1994)
11. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962, Animated)
10. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965, Animated)
9. Scrooged (1988)
8. Home Alone (1990)
7. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
6. Frosty The Snowman (1969, Animated)
5. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964, Animated)
4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
3. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, Animated)
2. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
1. A Christmas Story (1983)