Well, Matthias beat me to it (and some good picks there too), but I'm gonna do this anyways. That's right folks...I'm taking time away from my current Thomas Harris obsession (author of Silence of the Lambs etc) to do this so I hope you appreciate it. :)
Anyways...here goes.
Best Animated Short:
I really have no idea what will happen here. I've heard that Destino is good, but I agree with Matthias, Pixar may win with the crowd-pleasing Boundin'.
Best Live Action Short:
Again, I've had no interaction with the nominees in this category. I'll go with Two Soldiers just because it sounds intriguing.
Best Documentary Short:
And again. I really need to get more interaction going with short films. I'll say Chernobyl Heart, it sounds sufficiently interesting.
Best Original Score:
Return of the King, hands down. The only movie that could even challenge here would be Finding Nemo (Disney always puts somone into this category), but its not going to happen.
Best Original Song:
Howard Shore did well to pick someone like Annie Lennox this year. Last year's soundtrack lacked the big closing song that everyone looks for (Enya did Fellowship). Look for a bit of competition from A Mighty Wind but again, this is ROTK's year.
Best Sound Mixing:
This one will come down to one of the two ship movie nominees. I like Master and Commander over Pirates of the Caribbean though, the sound in that movie is incredible and really took my breath away both times I saw it.
Best Sound Editing:
Same as above...should go to Master and Commander.
Best Film Editing:
In my opinion, this is the weakest area of ROTK. Its such a huge movie based on so large a story that it was impossible for Jackson to come up with a perfect solution. Instead he had to settle for just ok and I think it shows throughout the course of the film. If the Extended version of ROTK had been released to the theaters then ROTK should get this, but as things stand, Master and Commander should take this one.
Best Cinematography:
The Academy may feel burdened to award Minghella with something here, but I doubt it. I think ROTK takes this one home. Kudos again to Master and Commander and Seabiscuit, but this shouldn't be a issue.
Best Art Direction:
ROTK. Easily. Its spectacular...breathtaking. In any other year M & C would take it easily, but ROTK is so BIG... How can it not win here?
Best Costumes:
To be honest, I was surprised that Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't at least nominated here. M & C was good, but nothing spectacular. I see this one as coming down to Last Samurai and ROTK and I don't see ROTK winning. They've lost out in the past to lesser movies, and Samurai really well in this area.
Best Makeup:
Why is M & C nominated here? I'm not really sure. I think we all can agree, however, that whoever did Johnny Depp's makeup should be given some sort of award. That aside, ROTK will win here. Too many Orcs to let it slip.
Best Visual Effects:
One word...Gollum. Nothing else should even be considered. ROTK takes it.
Best Foreign Language Film:
The Barbarian Invasions. I've heard its excellent.
Best Documentary Feature:
The Fog of War. I really want to catch this one when it comes to the Bijou.
Best Animated Feature:
The sad fact of the matter is that I am sure some pathetic Academy member actually voted for something other than Finding Nemo here. That film is incredible visually and aurally and its freaking hysterical to boot. Its a sure thing.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Though ROTK is nominated it shouldn't win here. Excellent movie, but aside from broad generalizations it doesn't realize much of Tolkien's work. I've heard amazing things about City of God and part of me would like to see it win, if only to bring in some publicity, but at the same time I think it would be a grave injustice if Mystic River didn't win this one.
Best Original Screenplay:
Is this even a competition? Sophia Coppola is going to take this one by storm and the only thing that could even shake a stick at her is In America. Coppola has a tremendous career in front of her and Lord knows she has the guidance to make the most of it.
Best Supporting Actor:
Big kudos to Ken Watanabi for his work in Last Samurai, but no one is taking this thing from Tim Robbins. I just saw Mystic River for the second time last night and he is truly wonderful.
Best Supporting Actress:
Toughie here. Everyone says this is the year Renee Zellweger finally gets her Oscar, but I'm going out on a limb to predict Shohreh Aghdashloo as the one who takes it home. I haven't seen Sand and Fog, but from what I gather her peformance was excellent. Here's to hoping the Academy doesn't slack off and give it Zellweger just because she didn't win for Chicago last year.
Best Actor:
People...forget about Johnny Depp's win at the Screen Actors Guild awards. I loved his role as much as anyone else, but I cannot even imagine him getting the Oscar over his competition. This one comes down to either Bill Murray or Sean Penn. I've seen both Lost in Translation and Mystic River and both are excellent movies with incredible displays of acting. However, this one should go to Sean Penn. How he manages to make me go from mourning his daughter with him to absolutely hating him with every atom of my being is beyond me, but he does it, and he does so easily. Everyone over at HSX seems to think Depp or Murray are going to win this one, but if Penn doesn't go home with Oscar I'll be enraged.
Best Actress:
Easy. Charlize Theron. I haven't seen Monster, not sure if I will (something about lesbian serial murderer prostitutes that is keeping me away...), but by all accounts her work is going down as one of the greatest performances in recent memory. Good for her.
Best Director:
Its really unfair to think about how loaded this category is with talent this year. Eastwood, Weir, Coppola, Jackson... How can this be an easy choice? But I think it has to be. The Academny CAN NOT allow Peter Jackson to go unrecognized for his work on The Lord of the Rings. They cannot. To do so would be a travesty and a horrible injustice. What that man has done with those films, all book-to-movie 'errors' aside, is breathtaking. If anyone can sit through a showing of ROTK and not leave with a feeling of respect for the creator of that film, then they have some serious issues of desensitization to be dealing with. Jackson deserves this, as much as it hurts to leave Eastwood, Weir, and Coppola out of it, this award should be his.
Best Picture:
As with directors, there were so many good movies to come out this year. Everyone knows that ROTK is going to win this one, and it deserves to win as well, but its so painful think that movies like Mystic River and Master and Commander are being left out. This was the year of the Hobbit. Everyone has known that for over a year now. ROTK was a masterpiece and should be rewarded as such.
So there you have it. The final tally is:
Return of the King: 8
Mystic River: 3
Master and Commander: 3
Lost in Translation: 1
Last Samurai: 1
House of Sand and Fog: 1
Finding Nemo: 1
We'll see how I do on Sunday. Thoughts anyone?
Met up w/ JQ and the Mesh for lunch today down at Lupi's. Had an excellent time. The pizza was choice (gotta love pepperoni and crumbled bacon...mmm) and conversation satisfyingly random. I think we hit on every major topic from church building locations to Jeff Kyle's campaign to the current residents of Catacombs to Scotland to sports...and probably a few things besides that (like Mesh's finished copy of the Neo-Natal newsletter or whatever its called). Gotta love it.
Things have been pretty crazy the last few days. Between my new job, writing assignments, photography, and this, I'm amazed I sleep at all. I'm a happy man though. The Cubbies picked up Greg Maddux yesterday, a move which officially gives them one scary pitching rotation. Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano, Matt Clement, and Greg Maddux. Holy Crap. Maddux is the oldest one on the staff and the average age for the rest is something like 25. Add to that the fact that they picked up Derrick Lee, Todd Walker, and LaTroy Hawkins and I think this team is capable of GREAT things. Perhaps even World Series type of things. I can only hope. I want to see the ivy turn red during the season again...
I watched Lost in Translation for the first time tonight. Katie gave it to me for Valentine's Day (great present, eh?). I liked it...alot. Its got to be Bill Murray's crowning achievment, edging out Groundhog Day for the honor. Its a great story and it deals with some touchy stuff. Very thought provoking. Sofia Coppola has a long, rich career ahead of her. I think I'd put this at #6 on my favorite movies of last year list.
Off to bed now...gotta get up for American Lit w/ Foreman tomorrow. I think we're studying Poe right now. Should be good. Then we work out the morphology and syntax of Swahili for Linguistics later on. Fun stuff all the way. Within the next two days I'll have my Oscar predictions up so check back.
It was recently announced that a scriptwriter has been found for the Ender's Game movie... EG is one of a the greatest works of Science Fiction ever written, in my opinion anyways. To hear that its going to be made into a movie makes me happy, but it also scares the hell out of me. I know they're going to mess it up...I just have this feeling.
Anyways, Penny Arcade's latest is quite fitting given my topic and its so true...so true. All we can do is wait and eventually become disgusted at the horrendous products which will inevitably come spinning our way.
Its been so long since I blathered senselessly that I decided to dedicate this one as the start of a new version. So yeah, this is version 2.0. Its really no different from previous versions, though it does include new blatherings. I guess that counts...
Anyways, I dicovered my newest addiction today (the latest in a LONG line which goes back to my very early childhood). Its called the Hollywood Stock Exchange and I'm hooked...all the way. Basically, its an online stock market dealing entirely with fake money and revolving around Hollywood. Personally, I think its kind of a brilliant idea and the fact that anyone spent such an extraordinary amount of time on this stuns me. When you sign up you get 2 million H$ (hollywood dollars) and you can use that 'money' to buy shares in various movie projects, actors, directors, funds, etc etc...you name it. If a movie or actor or director you own stock in does well, you make money. If they bomb, you lose. It truly is its very own stock market...they even have a ticker you can get to scroll across your desktop. I spent over an hour this evening going through tons of stuff, buying shares in stock like Jim Caviezel, Brad Pitt, Ender's Game, The Longest Yard, and bidding on what movie/actor will win what awards at the Oscars. This system is amazing...you can sell short, do a call or a put on upcoming films, they even have movie funds where veteran 'traders' take your money and put it into items in a group. I currently have stock in a Warner Bros and DreamWorks groups. As of right now I've made about 3,000 H$ on various things like Caviezel, Christian Bale, Jude Law, and my pick that Tim Robbins will win Best Supporting Actor. I love it.
Phew....in other news, I survived the second day of assassins. Still don't know who my new target is, but my new contract is supposed to be in my mailbox tomorrow. I know I'm never going to win this game (mostly because I refuse to be a complete moron and go around with a supersoaker or umbrella or something of that nature), but I'd like to make it into the upper ranks this year. That would be cool.
Oh yeah, it really kills me that Jeff Kyle is running for Student Body President. I wish I knew why anyone would consider that man to be a good leader. Recently he's been self-promoting on the e-board...its shameless. I much prefer the 'post-flyers-everywhere-of-the-candidate-doing-many-unbelievable-and-yet-rather-funny-things' campaign. Basically exactly what Sutherland is doing with Iwan right now....all I can say is that Crazy Iwan has my vote, and not simply because he's the only alternative at this point. Oh well, in honor of Mr. Kyle's latest aspirations I would like to give you my latest quote. I hope you all enjoy. As you read, please remember that this is the man who will be leading Covenant's student body next year. Be afraid.
It really is beautiful. The fact that I can sit here, write up a blog, prepare some journals for class, and wait for my assassins contract to wander in unawares is absolutely wonderful.
Yeah, Covenant's game of assassins started up today. For the non-Covenant readership (i think there's at least one or two), Assassins is a game in which each student who signed up is given the name of another student who is playing. You then must figure a way to 'assassinate' that person with a water gun before you are yourself assassinated. Its fun to see how easily people can be spooked while the game is going on. So, I'm sitting here in second lobby, enjoying the wireless access and hoping that my contract will come walking in (or out) at some point in the near future.
UPDATE: I got her... :)
So my first training session down at Mt Vernon is over. I'm really pleased, I think it went quite well. I was working with a lady named Sabrina and partially with another one named Cathy. I did alot of serving drinks and carrying food and occasionally taking orders. I also learned the ins and outs of the ordering program they have on all the computers. Pretty cool stuff actually. I really want to get through with this training as quickly as possible since right now I'm not making any tips...just minimum wage. Both Sabrina and Cathy made about $50 for the meal...and they said it was an average day. I'm going back in a little while to pick up the night shift. Gotta log as many hours of training as I can so they will be quicker to toss me out on my own. I've gotta say, for a food service job it really isn't bad. Old people can be a pain in the ass to serve, but then the rewards are often quite large.
More on this later...don't forget to put up your movie lists on my previous post.
Right...as promised I thought I'd go ahead and compile this. I'd like to note that these are the best movies of 2003 that I've seen. Therefore, supposedly amazing movies like Big Fish and Lost in Translation and other not so amazing ones like Cold Mountain will not be seen here. Ok...just wanted to clear that up.
Number 10: Bad Boys 2
Hehe...just kidding.
10. X-men 2
Yeah, I know its a comic book movie, but I still thought it was pretty damn good and I can't wait until the bring Gambit in for the next one. The scene where Nightcrawler takes the White House was amazing. I wanted to rewind it and watch it several more times.
9. 28 Days Later
This one was pretty gross and over the top, but I really liked the camera work. There's something about the 'hand-held camera' look in a horror film that brings out the fear in me. That plus the scenes of vacant London are pretty spectacular...Britain's way of giving Tom Cruise and Vanilla Sky the finger.
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
The only reason this movie was even mildly successful is Johnny Depp. The man is awesome, plain and simple. Take him away and all you have is Walt Disney's version of a monster flick. Geoffrey Rush was good too, but only because of his scenes with Depp.
7. Finding Nemo
Normally I'm not real big on the cartoons, especially the cotton candy Disney stories, but this one is pretty spectacular. It could've had the worst plotline in the world and I still would have liked it. The things Pixar is able to pull off are amazing, this movie is easily one of the most spectacular displays of CGI I've ever witnessed. Add to that what turns out to be a pretty funny story and I don't know how anyone could not like this movie.
6. Seabiscuit
I was real skeptical about this one when it came out. Sure, there are some pretty good sports movies out there (Rudy, Remember the Titans, and recently Miracle), but a horse movie? With Toby Maguire? I finally saw it over Christmas break and to be honest, its pretty good. Chris Cooper and Jeff Bridges are solid and Maguire could be better, but he doesn't hurt anything too much.
5. Love Actually
Okay, this movie was huge in Britain while I was over there, but I didn't see it until a couple weeks ago. Its basically a Who's who of British actors and soap stars (good grief...Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson...) and it really is funny. Granted, you have to look past the gratuitous nudity stuff which takes place in one branch of the story, and you also have to have a certain taste for British humor. If you don't, this will probably be a terrible movie to you. Otherwise, good laughs, a typical dose of romance, and a really funny scene where Hugh Grant dances to some glam rock. I loved it.
4. Kill Bill volume 1
Many discussions have been had about this movie, whether to hate it or to love it or perhaps a bit of both. I've finally decided that I loved it. Its possibly the most violent movie I've ever seen (I cringe just thinking about that door scene), but its also one of the best filmed movies I've ever seen. Tarentino is a master behind the camera and I can't wait until volume 2.
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
This is where is starts getting tough. I just saw this movie again recently and it is really really good. Everything about it is good. Those of you who thought it was boring should be ashamed. Russell Crowe is easily one of the best actors in the world right now (La Confidential to The Insider to Gladiator to A Beautiful Mind to this...how?) and Paul Bettany holds his own as well. But it really goes beyond that. Everyone in this movie does their job...even the kid actors. The story is rock solid and Weir's focus on character development is truly remarkable. In any other year this should easily be the best movie, sadly (or is it?) this just happens to be an incredibly deep year at the movies.
2. Mystic River
Again, any other year... Sean Penn and Tim Robbins deserve the Oscars for their acting in this movie. The part at the end where Laura Linney is talking to Penn is one of the most haunting movie scenes I witnessed all year. Everyone in this movie gets it right. Even Lawrence Fishburne, a major movie star playing a very small part, adds his piece to the puzzle. Great story too...I saw the book at B&N the other day, I think I'll have to read it.
1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Say what you want about Jackson's deviations from Tolkien's tale, this movie is just amazing. I still can't get over how he was able to capture both the intimate story of Frodo and Sam and still not lose track of the greater picture, that being the battles of the Pelennor Fields, among other things. Ian McKellen and Sean Astin really stand out in this one and while in some ways its a shame that no one in this film will get an acting award, perhaps its fitting. This truly is an ensemble movie, or set of movies if you prefer. To deny this movie best picture would be criminal, in the same way that it would be a terrible thing if Peter Jackson wasn't recognized in some way for his work.
So yeah, that's it. I'm sure this list is going to change in the very near future as I finally get around to watching Lost in Translation, Big Fish, Cold Mountain (though probably not in this case), Elephant, The Last Samurai, etc etc. Be that as it may, this is it for now. So, drop some feedback with your own favs. I'm out.
So today I got myself a job. Or, as Spoon (and perhaps some others I know) would put it, I got a real job. That's not to say that I don't consider working at Covenant to be a real job. Far from it actually as I've made really good references and gotten some good basic management experience that should help out down the road. But, my time as an employee of Covenant College has finally come to an end (especially with me being gone this summer too).
Anyways, my new employer is Mt. Vernon restraunt at the foot of the mountain. One of their servers quit yesterday and since I already had an application on file down there they asked me to come in. The interview wasn't really an interview...it was more of a "we have to train you so can you come in on these days?" kind of thing. I start on Thursday morning and should be ready to be on my own by Monday. I'm kind of excited really. Its a decent job and the main clientele of the place is rich elderly people who like to give big tips. Most servers average $40-60 on a regular night (that's about 5 hours) and on big nights it can double or more...or so I am told.
So yeah...I need money...badly. Hopefully this will supply me with some. Then I can do things like take my girlfriend out to eat, or go see Indie films at the Bijou, or even (gasp) buy a movie or something. Whoa...that'll be cool :).
But now, I am off to bed. Its been a really long day which started way too early this morning with a 3 hour photography class (8-11) and has kept going steadily until now. I found a really good Jeff Kyle quote which I will be putting up shortly (you're welcome, Mesh) and I am also going to be posting my favorite movies of last year as well as my predictions for the Oscars. Stay tuned.
Well, Matty was in my room earlier this evening and for some reason he decided to try and look up some info on the streaker from the Super Bowl. He ended up finding the guy's webpage and it turns out that apparently this dude is a 'professional streaker.' He's been streaking at major events since 1993 and his resume includes things like the men's final at the 2002 Wimbledon, the 2003 Tour de France, the Rugby World Cup Final 2001, Mr Universe and Ms World 2000, and many other rugby and soccer events. Apparently he also streaked through the 2001 Liberal Democrats Election. Personally, this floors me. I also find it really amusing.
In other news...I finished reading Nick Hornby's How to be Good on Monday. Interesting read...quite disappointing ending if you ask me though. I was hoping he'd take it in a different direction, but instead it all finishes up rather abruptly. Oh well...I'm now reading High Fidelity which is excellent so far. Great movie too for any of you that haven't seen it already.
Hehe...I've been intrigued by the banter which inevitably occurs in my comment section whenever I post. Somehow it always ends up with Pnut and Spoon bulldozing in and trying to chase my 54A flatmates down, or something like that. Liz and Dunx, don't let them push you guys around...they're always like that. However, just for the record, I have to disagree with Duncan on the football issue. I love British football...especially over there (Kathryn's right...it sucks here), but it still can't compare to American football, in my humble opinion.
Great game tonight. Possibly one of the best Super Bowls I've ever watched. I was supremely impressed with the way Carolina played and Jake Delhomme just earned himself a hefty pay raise. For awhile I thought for sure that New England was going to lose and that it was going to be because of Vinatieri's missed field goals, but Tom Brady, being the stud of a player that he is, did what he does best and gave AV another chance.
I'm also happy because I'm pretty sure I just beat Mesh and Josiah in the $5 pool we had going. Mesh said the Pats would win 14-10 and Josiah picked 17-10 (or some very close derivation of that). My pick was 28-10 and since the final score was 32-29 and we were playing that the closest pick wins, I believe I get to rake in the $10. This makes me happy :)
I really like having wireless access in my room. I think its mostly because I'm a lazy bum and don't like having to climb the stairs to the 1st Belz lab, but I'm a creature of convenience...what can I say.