A long overdue blog post

My god, it's been . . . almost two years since I last posted to my blog! Two years!!! I almost feel ashamed of that, because I used to blog so regularly back in the day. I can attribute the lapse to any number of factors: the rise of Facebook and gradual decline of blogging as a means of social networking, a busy work and home schedule, simply not having as much to say as I used to . . . but I hope to change that going forward. I'd very much like to return to blogging, and that may require more stimulation of the little gray cells, to coin the phrase of a certain Belgian detective often played by David Suchet. So for the three or four people who still bother checking this blog, even the hardcore readers who haven't seen a post in close to two years . . . let the games begin a new!

Oscar Night 2009: LIVE BLOGGING!!!

In summation . . .

Well, it was an evening of some surprises, though with just as many awards going as predicted. Slumdog Millionaire fared much better than I expected it to, winning all but one of its nominations. WALL-E took home Best Animated Feature, continuing Pixar's Oscar streak. Kate Winslet finally brought home an Oscar, and Heath Ledger won the second-ever posthumous Oscar. Though I thought The Dark Knight would have fared much better than it did tonight. I thought Hugh Jackman proved to be quite a good and engaging host, and I really liked how the acting awards were presented as individual profiles of each nominee. All in all, a pretty good show.

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11:53 pm

Best Picture: Christian Colson for Slumdog Millionaire — Well, the favorite won it! And I had gotten so used to seeing Jack Nicholson give the Best Picture award that I was caught off-guard by Steven Spielberg walking onto the stage.

Best Actor: Sean Penn for Milk — Wow, this was a major upset here! I was fully expecting (and dare I say, hoping!) Mickey Rourke to win. Though that was a nice little call-out he did to Rourke in his speech.

Best Actress: Kate Winslet for The Reader — Woohoo!!! Finally! After how many nominations? Was it five, six? The incredible Kate Winslet finally brings home that wonderful golden trophy that she so righteously deserves.

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11:22 pm

Best Director: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire — I was personally hoping for David Fincher to win this one, even though I knew it was Slumdog’s.

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11:09 pm

Best Foreign Language Film: Departures from Japan — I'm seriously going to have to find out where these foreign language films are being shown! Because in retrospect, I would love to have seen such films like City of God or The Lives of Others on the big screen.

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11:03 pm

Best Original Song: A.R. Rahman and Sampooran Singh Gulzar for "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire — I liked how they grouped all the songs together in this show, rather than spread them out across the night. I think there are fewer song selections this year, too. You know, with all these awards, I may have to see Slumdog Millionaire sooner rather than later!

Best Original Score: A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire — I couldn't help but notice that all the nominated musical selections were slow and meditative, with Slumdog Millionaire being the notable exception (at least instrumentally).

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10:45 pm

You know, I really enjoyed seeing Eddie Murphy give the Jean Hersholt tribute to Jerry Lewis. It reminded me of the Eddie Murphy I knew and loved back in the '80s. And that was quite a lovely speech by Jerry Lewis.

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10:36 pm

Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire — Hmmm, seems like a dead heat now between Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamin Button!

Best Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, and Resul Pookutty for Slumdog Millionaire — Now I had thought The Dark Knight would pick up this one, because the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing must be a very fine line. That was a very nice acceptance speech, though!

Best Sound Editing: Richard King for The Dark Knight — I missed this speech, because I was letting Nora back into the apartment. :)

Best Visual Effects: Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, and Craig Barron for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Like I said earlier, Benjamin Button is gaining quite a fooothold here!

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10:19 pm

Best Documentary Short: Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki — I wonder if these are playing at the E Street Cinema, too. Or the Drafthouse!

Best Documentary Feature: James Marsh and Simon Chinn for Man on Wire — Wow, I wasn't expecting Bill Maher to present an award tonight! And the magic tricks were a nice touch, too.

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight — I must disagree with a comment made to this live-blog post, because this is a worthy award for a very worthy performance. And Heath Ledger now becomes the second-ever posthumous award winner, after Peter Finch for Network. And I think it's very classy for the Academy to allow his family the opportunity to accept his Oscar.

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9:56 pm

Okay, I'm less impressed with this musical number than I was the first one. Hugh Jackman has great energy, but this number here seems a little redundant.

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9:48 pm

Best Live Action Short: Jochen Alexander Freydank for Spielzeugland — Okay, I must fess up to my idiocy here, because that short film with James Franco and Seth Rogan, it didn't even occur to me that this would be the buildup to the category's Oscar! Here, I thought it was just another montage.

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9:36 pm

Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire — Wow, Ben Stiller's really stealing the spotlight here! Is it me, or does he actually look good in that scruffy beard?

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9:28 pm

Best Makeup: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Wow, I thought Hellboy II would take this home! But I think Benjamin Button could be gaining a strong foothold here tonight! Look out, Slumdog!

Best Costume Design: Michael O'Connor for The Duchess — Now this award makes sense, because costume design on a period piece is always a sure-fire winner.

Best Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — Oooh, now I had thought this would go to either The Dark Knight or The Duchess. The first of many surprises tonight!

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9:10 pm

Best Animated Short Film: Kunio Katô for La Maison en petits cubes — Okay, I published pre-emptively just now. But I'd like to make it to the E Street Cinema sometime, as I think these shorts are playing there!

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9:07 pm

Best Animated Feature: Andrew Stanton for WALL-E — Pixar's Oscar streak continues! And I think I like Jack Black's plan of action RE: Pixar. ;)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire — You know, I'm intriged that Tina Fey and Steve Martin not only presented both screenwriting awards, but presented them one after the other! I regretfully haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, so I can't comment on the faithfulness of its adaptation.

Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk — Another big award at the beginning! I had a feeling it would come down to either Milk or WALL-E.

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8:49 pm

Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona — Wow, I didn't think they'd start off with an acting Oscar right off the bat! But it's a great way to get me hooked. :) And it's quite nice to see Eva Marie Saint grace the stage!

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8:36 pm

Now this is an interesting musical number! Though I admit, a little unexpected. ;) But I like how Hugh Jackman's getting the audience involved directly, as this is quite a good nominee montage. I didn't realize Anne Hathaway could sing so well, either!

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8:31 pm

Wow, that's some stage they got! And it looks like the festivities are about to begin! Woohoo!!!

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8:25 pm

Wow, that's a super-long dress that Marisa Tomei is wearing tonight! And I'm wondering if it was wise to bring up her previous Oscar win (for My Cousin Vinny), because that was one of the greatest whiskey-tango-foxtrot moments in Oscar history.

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8:06 pm

You know, after all these years, even after seeing his bad-boy persona so strong and so believable in Grindhouse and No Country for Old Men, it's still hard to see Josh Brolin as anyone other than Brand from The Goonies.

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8:00 pm

All righty, people, it's time to get this party started!!! :) Tonight will mark my third year of live-blogging the Oscars, and this year I'm blogging the show from Nora's laptop (my own little change of venue). I'm quite excited to see this year's crop of winners, and I'm feeling pretty good about Hugh Jackman as host! And with all the possible outcomes, upsets, and surprises that could unfold before us tonight, naturally the suspense is terrible. Will Slumdog Millionaire sweep all the awards it's been nominated for, or could Benjamin Button or The Dark Knight sneak up from behind? Could Meryl Streep and Robert Downey, Jr., overpower Kate Winslet and Heath Ledger? Or will Kung-Fu Panda upset Pixar's Oscar streak? . . . By the end of tonight, all our questions will be answered! :)

Shameless self-promotion

Before I forget, I just wanted to remind my audience (which might be growing to a record high of five readers!) that I'll be live-blogging this Sunday's Oscar ceremony!

This'll be the third year in what is rapidly becoming an annual tradition for me, and it's definitely an experience that I look forward to each February!

So stay tuned for Sunday night's festivities right here! And keep your eyes peeled for any surprises (read, upsets) that might surface come awards time!

Oscar Night 2008: LIVE BLOGGING

In summation . . .

Well, I can honestly say it's been an interesting awards show! It proceeded on schedule for the most part, with No Country taking home the major awards it was expected to, and Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor—though I never expected the Best Actress and Supporting Actress categories (along with several others, like Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects) to proceed as they did. But all things considered, it was a good Oscar ceremony! The surprises made it worth watching, and Jon Stewart proved to be an excellent host this time around.

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11:46 pm

Best Picture: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin for No Country for Old Men — Again, I was hoping for There Will Be Blood. But it was quite nice to see Denzel presenting Best Picture.

Best Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men — Doh! I was hoping for Paul Thomas Anderson, but the Coens did just make movie history by being the first pair to win Best Director since 1961.

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11:36 pm

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood — Another one that was clearly a lock, but having seen There Will Be Blood, I can honestly say this Oscar was righteously deserved.

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11:29 pm

Okay, now for the final big three! While these last three winners are somewhat predictable, the suspense in the air is palpable, because this has been an evening of great surprises! Will these last awards go out on schedule, or are all bets off?

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11:26 pm

Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody for Juno — I say again, is this really a surprise? Though I like that tattoo Diablo Cody has on her right arm!

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11:18 pm

Best Original Score: Dario Marianelli for Atonement — Doh! I was hoping for James Newton Howard for Michael Clayton. But at least I'm consoled by the fact that Amy Adams is smokin' hot!

Best Documentary, Short Subject: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth for Freeheld — Like Best Animated Short, this too was an original way to present the nominees—a video feed from troops in Iraq!

Best Documentary Features: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner for Taxi to the Dark Side — I'm just breathing a big sigh of relief that Michael Moore isn't back up on the Oscar stage . . .

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11:05 pm

Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit for There Will Be Blood — Oooh, I was expecting Roger Deakins for Jesse James, but I'll agree with this call as well.

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10:57 pm

Now that was a nice gesture—letting Markéta Irglová come back on stage to finish her acceptance speech. Good call, very classy.

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10:52 pm

Best Original Song: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for the song "Falling Slowly" from Once — Yet another surprise! Because like Dreamgirls last year, I thought Enchanted would score a victory with one of its three songs in the lineup.

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10:45 pm

Best Foreign Language Film: Die Fälscher from Austria — I'm gonna have to visit the E Street Cinema sometime to see some of these foreign films. Because I think The Lives of Others played there last year.

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10:33 pm

Best Film Editing: Christopher Rouse for The Bourne Ultimatum — Okay, make that three Oscars for The Bourne Ultimatum! :)

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10:28 pm

Okay, Jack, you had me scared there for a minute. I thought for some reason they were going to do Best Picture early this year, too!!!

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10:15 pm

Best Sound Editing: Karen M. Baker and Per Hallberg for The Bourne Ultimatum — You know, I think this might be the first Bourne film to win an Oscar!

Best Sound: Scott Millan, David Parker, and Kirk Francis for The Bourne Ultimatum — Wow, Bourne Ultimatum wins two Oscars!!! This I didn't expect, but I'm certainly not complaining. :)

Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose — Wow, they did this award early this year! Usually it's saved for close to the end of the show, along with actor, director, and picture. But then again, the 2005 ceremony started right off the bat with Best Supporting Actor, so I guess the precedent's already been set. But getting back to the Best Actress award, this was another surprise, because I was thinking it'd be either Julie Christie or Ellen Page.

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9:50 pm

Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men — I think having Josh Brolin, a No Country co-star (and who will always remain Brand from Goonies to me), was something of a giveaway. Though I'm wondering why their speech came to an abrupt end.

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9:41 pm

Best Live Action Short: Philippe Pollet-Villard for Les Mozart des pickpockets — It's very good to see Owen Wilson back on the scene. And I think Philippe Pollet-Villard's English is pretty good, despite his claims to the contrary.

Best Animated Short: Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman for Peter & the Wolf — That was a very original way to present this award—Jerry Seinfeld in his bee character from Bee Movie, even doing an animated envelope!

Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton — Okay I admit, this one really surprised me. For a while, I had no idea who would take home this gold trophy, because it seemed like a five-way tie all around. If anything, I had expected Amy Ryan to edge ahead of the competition, and I hadn't really thought much of Tilda Swinton's performance in Michael Clayton. But I guess surprises like this are what make the Oscar ceremonies so interesting.

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9:19 pm

Best Visual Effects: Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, and Trevor Wood for The Golden Compass — Wow, I didn't realize The Rock would be presenting an award tonight! And I admit to being surprised, because I thought Pirates was a sure-fire shoo-in for this award, running practically neck-and-neck with Transformers.

Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for Sweeney Todd — This makes perfect sense, being a Tim Burton film (which I alluded to last night). Though I don't think Cate Blanchett played a pit bull in No Country for Old Men.

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men — Now I ask you, was this really a surprise? I was really hoping for Tom Wilkinson, but I was kind of resigned to Javier winning. And he noticed, too, that you have to speak fast in acceptance speeches! I'm glad he called out the orchestra on that.

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9:02 pm

Damn, Amy Adams is hot! And we're approaching the first of the acting awards soon!

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8:58 pm

Best Animated Feature: Brad Bird for Ratatouille — Okay, now Brad Bird should have been given a chance to finish his acceptance speech. It seemed like he had a very short window to talk. But on another note, did Steve Carrell say "shot" or "shit"?

Best Makeup: Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald for La Vie en Rose — Again, let them finish their acceptance speeches! Especially since there were two winners (and the first was a man of very few words).

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8:43 pm

Best Costume Design: Alexandra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age — Awesome! First award of the night! This seemed like the logical choice, being that it was a heavy regal period piece.

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8:40 pm

Okay, this is the Jon Stewart I was hoping for two years ago! Witty, funny, clever, engaging—this is the Oscar host that we need, and thankfully the one we received. :)

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8:37 pm

All things considered, I think Jon Stewart handled the topic of the writer's strike as good as could be. At first, I was a little nervous (and I wasn't sure what to make of the "make-up sex" comment), but the idea of writers and actors coming together (outside of the Vanity Fair after-party, that is) is a good idea and a good springboard from which to move forward.

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8:30 pm

All righty, looks like this party is about to get started!!! :)

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8:26 pm

Gee, no pressure from Regis tonight! 'Cause nothing makes a group of dancers feel more confident and composed than reminding them that the whole world is watching you live on TV, looking for any little slip-up!

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8:17 pm

Wow, Daniel Day-Lewis looks very different than I remember him! I'd gotten so used to seeing him in the characters of Bill The Butcher and Daniel Plainview that I'd forgotten how he looked without the facial hair and makeup. (Though I don't think those earrings look right on him.)

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8:07 pm

Okay, that interview comment about John Travolta wearing/not wearing a dress in recognition of Hairspray was somewhat unexpected. Though I did enjoy Kelly Preston's dress!

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8:00 pm

It's time to get this party started, y'all, because this is the night that all of Hollywood and movie fans everywhere have been waiting for! The Red Carpet has been rolled out, the stars are showing up, and with the writer's strike now resolved, the show can go on! (Talk about excellent timing.) I'm crossing my fingers that Jon Stewart proves to be a worthy and engaging host, much like Ellen DeGeneres was last year. I must admit, I had reservations when I learned that he'd be hosting this year, because I found him a bit too deadpan and uninteresting when he hosted the ceremony two years ago. But the next 40 minutes or so will probably be filled with interviews and photo shoots, so keep it here until then!

Predictions for tomorrow night's Oscars

One last plug before tomorrow night's show: I'm live-blogging the Oscar ceremony tomorrow night!!!

And now that I've gotten that out of the way, here are predictions on the winners for this year:

• No Country for Old Men will take home Best Picture gold, though I'd prefer There Will Be Blood instead. No Country left me very puzzled at the end, without any sense of resolution, and while I normally don't decry that (since I watch and adore David Lynch's films), it just didn't work for me with No Country for Old Men.



• The Coen brothers will jointly take home the directing award, becoming the first pair to win a directing Oscar since I think West Side Story in 1961. Personally, I'm crossing my fingers for Paul Thomas Anderson, because his direction for There Will Be Blood was just magnificent.



• Daniel Day-Lewis is a shoo-in for Best Actor (though George Clooney is on record for being disappointed that he'll likely be losing to Daniel Day-Lewis). Johnny Depp definitely deserves an Oscar one day, but I can't see him winning for Sweeney Todd—and definitely not over Daniel Day-Lewis.



• Can't say I know who'll get Best Actress, being that I haven't seen any of the nominated performances.



• Like Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood, Javier Bardem is a shoo-in to win Best Supporting Actor, though I'd prefer either Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton or Casey Affleck for Jesse James.



• Best Supporting Actress feels like an all-around tie, because from what I can see, all of them have a shot at winning. Amy Ryan seems to be the favorite for Gone Baby Gone, though I can somehow see Tilda Swinton swiping it for Michael Clayton (though I honestly wasn't too impressed with her performance).



• Best Original Screenplay is a toss-up between Juno and Ratatouille, though I think Juno edges ahead by a hair with its chances.



• No Country will undoubtedly take Best Adapted Screenplay, though Sarah Polley might—might!—score an upset with the script for Away From Her.



• Having seen three of the five nominees for Best Cinematography (No Country, There Will Be Blood, and Jesse James), I can honestly say that all three had wondrous cinematography. Though I'd have to say Jesse James inches ahead by a hair.



• Sweeney Todd will take Best Art Direction, simply because Tim Burton's dark worlds necessitate very pronounced artistic flair.



• Elizabeth: The Golden Age will take Best Costume Design. Why? Because it's a heavy period piece, far more so than Atonement. When you deal with 15th-, 16th-, 17th-century regals, you don't just put the bare minimum into the costume design. Just ask Sofia Coppola!



• I'm crossing my fingers that James Newton Howard takes home the gold for Best Musical Score for Michael Clayton—a score which I found to be a fantastic cross between Heat and Traffic.



• I can see The Transformers taking the gold for Best Sound, though the third Pirates movie is a shoo-in for Best Visual Effects. If you don't believe me, just watch the final battle royale at sea in Pirates, and you'll see what I mean.



• For Best Documentary Features, I think No End in Sight will emerge the winner, though I don't discount Michael Moore's Sicko—not by a mile. The only reason I can see him not winning is a) because he's controversial by nature—and pretty much basks in the controversy he creates—and b) because I don't think Hollywood wants to hear him finish his acceptance speech from when he won for Bowling for Columbine (which he claims he will do if he wins).



• Best Animated Feature belongs to Ratatouille, end of story.

So there are my predictions. I don't have anything riding on them, except my credibility. ;) But either way, I hope you'll join me tomorrow night for a fabulous awards ceremony!

Shameless self-promotion

In just another week, the Oscar ceremony will be happening! And with the writer's strike now over, we can be assured that the show will indeed go on.

And as a reminder to my loyal readers, I'll be live-blogging the Oscar ceremony again next Sunday night. Should be a fun-filled evening! Possibly with a few surprises (i.e., award upsets) thrown into the mix (though sadly, I don't have inside information).

A whole new world—Fritz's World, that is!

You may not have noticed it, but I've subtly inserted updates to my blog template! One I've been wanting to do for some time; the other was a suggestion that worked out surprisingly well.

The updates I speak up are a rotating quote feature, fittingly named "Notable Quotable," just below my profile on the sidebar—the planned update. The other is a link to my Flickr stream and a small strip featuring thumbnails of my most recent pictures. That one was Will's suggestion, since I've posted quite a lot of photos onto Flickr—perfectly highlighting my newfound passion for photography.

I'm very grateful for Will's assistance in making these template updates. Being that I have a very basic knowledge of HTML, I was in need of assistance—which is to say, all I could get! His assistance was rewarded in advance with potato soup.

A year of blogging!

Well, it has now officially been one year since I first began blogging. On a wing and a prayer, I posted my first entry a year ago tonight, and have made it a (semi) notable year since then:

• Reviewing close to 80 movies
• Live-blogging the Oscar ceremony this year
• Keeping up to speed on the Indy 4 sequel and Star Trek prequel
• Ranting, raving, and occasionally praising my Nittany Lions and Nationals
• Recognizing many birthdays
• Sharing a few laughs from my warped sense of humor
• Keeping everyone abreast about life here in the nation's capital

What can I say in closing except, may the coming year be another landmark year of blogging!

Oscar night: LIVE BLOGGING!!!

In summation . . .

What can I say, except that it's been one hell of an awards ceremony! Marty got his first Best Director and Best Picture wins, perfectly highlighting his illustrious career (though I'm sure all the naysayers will say it was an apology award, but I don't agree with that assessment; I think he genuinely earned his awards for The Departed). And Forest won a righteously-deserving Best Actor. I'm still not happy that Rinko Kikuchi lost to Jennifer Hudson, but as they say, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. All in all, 'twas a good year at the Oscars.

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12:16 am (wow, this was a long night)

Best Picture: Graham King for The Departed — Wow!!!!! This I didn't expect. I was expecting Little Miss Sunshine or Letters from Iwo Jima to win, with The Queen a major long shot, and a tie between Babel and The Departed. But this has been a banner year for Marty!!!

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, for The Departed — In my best Homer Simpson voice . . . woohoo!!!! With this kind of welcoming committee (Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola), you just knew that Marty was going to win. A wonderful award for a wonderful filmmaker.

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland — I'm not a praying man anymore, but . . . thank you, Lord!!!! Honest to God, I thought he would lose to Peter O'Toole. And that was a hell of a good acceptance speech, too!

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11:56 pm

Best Actress: Helen Mirren for The Queen — Not unexpected, really. And that was a nice aceptance speech, too! But Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a man of few words, isn't he?

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11:48pm

Best Film Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker for The Departed — Yay! Another one I was cheering for. Thelma won an Oscar for a previous Scorsese movie, Raging Bull, and she definitely deserved this award for The Departed.

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11:35 pm

Okay, the suspense for the last major awards of the night is killing me! We have the major acting and directing awards yet, not to mention Best Picture! I'm seriously crossing all my fingers and toes for Marty and Forest right now.

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11:31 pm

Best Original Song: "I Need To Wake Up", awarded to Melissa Etheridge for An Inconvenient Truth — Wow, now that's an upset!!! With 3 nominations in this category, I honestly thought that Dreamgirls would win. (And it looked like Jennifer Hudson was dangerously close to a "wardrobe malfunction" in the middle of it all, too.) Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Queen Latifah present this award last year, too?

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11:16 pm

Best Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine — Doh! I was hoping for Babel.

Best Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel — Okay, this guy is just a great musician! His guitar soundtrack to Babel and other Alejandro González Iñárritu films is nothing short of spectacular, and I've heard it used before in The Insider. In fact, didn't he win an Oscar last year for scoring Brokeback Mountain?

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10:51 pm

Best Documentary Feature: Davis Guggenheim for An Inconvenient Truth — Now honestly, did anyone expect this to lose? Not me, though I actually thought Jesus Camp had the potential to make it an upset. And I'm surprised Al Gore didn't try to make an announcement again, since the first one either got botched or was a joke.

Best Documentary Short Subject: Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon for The Blood of Yingzhou District — Again, where can I get these films?

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10:40 pm

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls — Okay, I really really reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally wanted Rinko to win. She was so heartbreaking in Babel, and this award actually makes me angry. I think Esther Rolle sums up my feelings best here.



Best Foreign Language Film: The Lives of Others, from Germany — Wow, I was expecting Pan's Labyrinth! (And stop cutting off acceptance speeches!!! That's so rude to the winners.)

Best Visual Effects: John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall for Pirates of the Caribbean — Yay! This is another one I was rooting for. On another note, my father taught a set of twins in the early '70s named David and Richard Hoover, who then went on to become cartoonists in Hollywood. There was a Richard Hoover up for the Superman Returns award! Coincidence, or same person? :)

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10:16 pm

Best Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro for Pan's Labyrinth — Okay, I think I need to see Pan's Labyrinth now! (And for the record, I'm still amazed that The Black Dahlia was in the running.)

Best Costume Design: Milena Canonero for Marie Antoinette — Didn't see this film. To be honest, I don't really want to, either. Kirsten Dunst just doesn't impress me anymore as an actress.

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9:53 pm

Best Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan for The Departed — Yay!!! This is one I was cheering for. Great movie, The Departed. It was refreshing, too, to see Tom Hanks do a comedic moment again! It's been too long. (And I didn't even recognize Jack Nicholson with a shaved head!)

Best Animated Feature: George Miller for Happy Feet — Didn't see this one, either.

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9:39 pm

Um . . . okay. So was that an official announcement for Al Gore or not? That's reeeeeeeeally open-ended there, people!

And can I read that screenplay, Ellen? The one you gave to Martin Scorsese that you said was a cross between Goodfellas and Big Momma's House? :)

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9:26 pm

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine — Now it get interesting, for we get into the acting awards!!! God, the suspense is always awful in the moments leading up to the moment the envelope opens—but that's what I love about it! I actually didn't have a preference in this category (okay, maybe I was rooting for Eddie or Mark), but congratulations, Alan!

Best Sound Mixing: Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, and Willie D. Burton for Dreamgirls — I was hoping for Pirates myself. (And let them finish their speeches! Don't cut them off.)

Best Sound Editing: Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman for Letters from Iwo Jima — Interesting sound effects ensemble there! I never even conceived of an entire chorus so accurately producing the sound effects of a montage like this! Quite remarkable! And just what did Greg Kinnear say when his dialogue was silenced there? ;)

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9:06 pm

Best Live-Action Short: Ari Sandel for West Bank Story — Good acceptance speech! And where can I find these live-action short films?

Best Animated Short: Torill Kove for The Danish Poet – You know, I just realized that the only animated shorts I've seen lately are those that precede Pixar films! Didn't the one before Monsters, Inc. win an Academy Award, too? (I think it was called The Birds?)

Best Makeup: David Martí and Montse Ribé for Pan's Labyrinth — Okay, I wasn't expecting that Will Ferrell/Jack Black/John C. Reilly intro, but it nevertheless worked.

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8:48 pm

Best Art Direction: Eugenio Caballer and Pilar Revuelta for Pan's Labyrinth — First award of the night! I haven't seen this film yet, actually, but I am intrigued by it.

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8:43 pm

Ooooh, all that applause for Al Gore! Do I smell political feelings surfacing here? ;)

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8:42 pm

Let the festivities begin!!! :) So far, I'm pretty pleased with Ellen DeGeneres as the host. She's more animated and more enthusiastic than Jon Stewart from last year, as usual her jokes are on par with her unique blend of comedy, and she seems to really have her audience at ease. I think a good choice was made in having her host this year's ceremonies! (And good point about the boring speeches!)

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8:33 pm

Okay, that Peter O'Toole/Lawrence of Arabia thing was kinda unnecessary. (And yes, Jennifer, I do like your dress!)

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8:05 pm

Thank God Joan Rivers isn't here to do fashion commentary!!! I don't think I could stomach it.

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8:00 pm

All right, let's get this party started!!! The Red Carpet has been rolled out; the nominees are rolling in; Barbara Walters has finished her schtick; Ellen DeGeneres is on the scene; I've got my whiskey sour in hand . . . let's bring on the awards, baby! :)

Start spreading the news!

As a final plug before the show starts, tonight I'm going to live-blog the Oscars. So tune in tonight for the fun and excitement!

Oooh, they have the internet on computers now!

I'm suddenly remembering why I upgraded to DSL in the first place. While I've been visiting my family in PA for the holidays, blogging hasn't been easy. On top of just generally being busy, my main obstacle is that the only computer I have at my disposal still runs on dial-up! After having DSL in my own home and having high-speed connectivity at work, I've gotten so used to the conveniences of faster speed and constant connectivitiy that I've forgotten just how much of a hassle dial-up can be. I think Comic Book Guy sums it up nicely when he makes his statement about high-speed modems.

I've done it!

Well, I've finally done it! I've finally joined the whole online community of blogging.

I guess this means I'll be posting semi-regularly about the general happenings of my life, which include Penn State football games, Washington Nationals baseball games, local Washington, DC, happenings . . . and lots and lots and lots of movie reviews!

This would probably be the appropriate time to state that I'm something of a movie buff, that I watch way too many movies for my own good, and have a strong passion for storytelling. So consider yourself warned. Oh, and all movie reviews will come replete with spoilers. I welcome all comments and viewpoints--not just about film or books or football or baseball, but about whatever. So see you all soon!