I was in California for the last week, so there was a legit reason for the lapse in posting. No, I wasn't seeing agents or doing anything productive -- just visiting a good friend and doing all the tourist-y things. I did realize that despite most people complaining about it, I really like the humidity in Florida. Whenever I go elsewhere my skin dries out abnormally fast.

I also went snowboarding. Odd thing -- there were handicapped parking spots by the slope. I know it must be a law or something to have them, but.... I'm sure there's a better joke here but I can't think of it, so we'll just stick with the random observation.

My most recent watch was The Host, a Korean horror/thriller/dark comedy. Very enjoyable, though the movie could've been trimmed a little bit in the middle. It's just creepy-scary, not jump-out-scary (which I hate more than anything), so keep that in mind. Definitely worth a rental. Also, watch it with the original dialogue and English subtitles. The dubbing is awful. Rating: 5.5/7

I also watched Sydney White, mainly because it was there. Also, in the scene with the gym, the UCF gym was used, which was weird. The worst part was for the band at the end they used the UCF band, as well as the UCF fight song (which is just terrible anyway). Overall though, the movie lacks any sort of quality, other than one-liners that will be fun to quote because they are so bad. For example, "This is called a so-rority, not a ho-rority," or, "What's another word for 'douche-baggary,' I don't want to use it three times in one sentence." Definitely not worth a rental. Rating: 2/7

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Sad to say the only category I picked 5 for 5 on (without alternates) was Supporting Actress. Shame. Either way, here are some opinions on Oscar nominations.

Excited for/surprised/etc:
Atonement for Best Picture (hoped for/didn't think would happen)
Viggo for Best Actor (great call on nom/didn't think would happen)
Brad Bird for Ratatouille screenplay (I forgot about this for some reason -- great nom)
Sarah Polley for adapted screenplay (forgot about this one too -- I fail)
Lack of Simpsons Movie in animated feature
Saoirse Ronan nomination

Sad/disappointed in/etc:
Michael Clayton getting nominated for, well, anything (Best Pic/director included)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly missing Best Picture (wtf is this?)
Lack of any Zodiac representation

You know what the funny thing is, that while I missed a few key predictions, I'm actually happy overall. For example, I forgot Ratatouille in screenplay, but it's totally deserving. Also, I was predicting Angelina Jolie because of buzz, but she definitely shouldn't have gotten nominated.

Now, I have a formula...

I will not reveal the formula yet, but STATISTICALLY SPEAKING the winner for best picture should be... No Country For Old Men.

The only potential problem with this is the excessive violence, but last year 'The Departed' won. But then again, would two violent movies win in a row? Who knows. But, for right now the statistical favorite, as well as my favorite, is NCFOM. Calling that shit now.

But.... to be honest, for history sake, I would be happy with 4 of the 5 nominees. There Will Be Blood was a very good movie, Juno is extremely enjoyable, Atonement was heartbreakingly beautiful, and No Country For Old Men is perfect. The only winner I would be pissed about it Michael Clayton. What does this mean? Great year for movies.

Only thing that could make this year more perfect would be Julian Schnabel winning best director and Marion Cotillard winning Best Actress. Two uphill battles, but they both have globe wins, so we will see. Yay for cheering for the non-frontrunners!

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Yesterday I went to the theater and saw 27 Dresses. Short summary: a mildly entertaining flick not without flaws, but nonetheless enjoyable.

Actually, I really don't feel like writing much more. The easy highlight of the movie is Judy Greer, once again in a supporting role, and once again hilarious. If only the rest of the movie had as much wit as her character. A majority of the scenes are inevitable train wrecks you can already see played out, but there it is, in front of you anyway. Unpredictability is not this story's strong point.

Rating: 4/7

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I don't normally do this, but I am bored. Here are my predictions for Oscar nominations, which come out Tuesday. Well, these will also reflect movies I 'hope' have a chance, so... yeah.

* indicates a lock for a nomination

Best Picture
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly*
Juno
No Country For Old Men*
There Will Be Blood*
alternate: Michael Clayton

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson*
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen*
Sean Penn
Julian Schnabel*
Joe Wright
alternate: Sidney Lumet (please please please)

Best Lead Actor
George Clooney (Michael Clayton)*
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)*
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)
Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild)
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)
alternate: James McAvoy (Atonement)

Best Lead Actress
Julie Christie (Away From Her)*
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose)*
Keira Knightley (Atonement)
Laura Linney (The Savages)
Ellen Page (Juno)*
alternate: Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)

Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James...)*
Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)*
Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood)
Max Von Sydow (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)
alternate: Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild)

Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)*
Kelly MacDonald (No Country For Old Men)
Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)*
Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
alternate: Ruby Dee (American Gangster)

Original Screenplay
Brad Bird (Ratatouille)*
Diablo Cody (Juno)*
Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)*
Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl)
alternate: Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)

Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)*
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men)*
Christopher Hampton (Atonement)
Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)*
James Vanderbilt (Zodiac)
alternate: Sean Penn (Into the Wild)

Cinematography
Roger Deakins (The Assassination of Jesse James...)
Roger Deakins (No Country For Old Men)
Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood)*
Janusz Kaminsk (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)*
Seamus McGarvey (Atonement)
alternate: Eric Gautier (Into the Wild)

Editing
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - aka Roderick Jaynes (No Country For Old Men)*
John Gilroy (Michael Clayton)
Tatiana S. Riegel and Dylan Tichenor (There Will Be Blood)*
Christopher Rouse (The Bourne Ultimatum)
Paul Tothill (Atonement)
alternate: Jay Cassidy (Into the Wild)

All right, so these are a combination of my hopefuls and what I think will happen. If my main five get nominated for all the categories I'd be very happy -- but then again, I would have a harder time choosing winners. Oh well, come Tuesday we'll see how close I was for the big categories.

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A redefined Top Ten of 2007.

1. Zodiac

David Fincher's finest to date, even surpassing 'Seven' and 'Fight Club.' Here is a movie that is split almost two ways -- the first half about the killings, the second half about the obsession. Both halves are amazing and together form this perfect movie. Sadly, the movie came out too early in the year, and will most likely be looked over come Oscar time.

2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

There are very few movies that I would make everyone see if I possibly could. This would be one of them. The movie is inspired by Jean-Do Bauby's "locked-in syndrome," in which he blinks out an entire memoir with only his left eye. He is completely paralyzed and somehow manages to accomplish that. Jean-Do is a witty man (even moreso in the memoir itself), and that helps offset the deeply serious subject matter. Yet, at the same time, the scenes of his family coping with his immobility are overwhelming. It is perfect and innovative the way this story was filmed, and supreme credit goes to the director, cinematographer, and writer. I will write a more lengthy review at a later date.

3. No Country For Old Men

A movie that will not be overlooked come Oscar time is the Coen Brothers' latest. Seeing this twice in theaters, the movie is smart, clean, and altogether flawless. People bitch about the ending. The first viewing it caught me off-guard, but when I saw it a second time I liked it a lot better, and think it's the only way the film could've ended. I feel this movie will be studied for years to come.

4. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Where most movies would falter, 'Devil' rises up and becomes that much better. There are no questions of motivation, there are no flaws in pacing, and the acting is completely top-notch. Sidney Lumet is the mastermind behind this picture, but a fabulous script by Kelly Masterson and the always-great Philip Seymour Hoffman take this film out of the standard 'jewelry store robbery movie' genre and elevate it to greatness.

5. Juno

You would have to try really hard not to love Juno. The character, specifically -- but also the movie. I would try to describe scenes in this movie, but it would lose all effect. But ever since Juno accuses her ~4 year-old sister of puking blue slurpee into the vase, I couldn't help it. It's rare when I laugh at parts in a movie that are in the trailer, but I was that guy. It seems like Juno is the female version of any of the characters from 'Knocked Up' or 'Superbad.' But the real success here, where those movies have good one-liners, it's the stupid jokes that are endearing. Here, Juno herself is what the movie is about -- her quirky personality comes second to the movie as a whole.

6. Atonement

Atonement is a movie that on first glance seems all about love, but people forget to factor in ignorance, betrayal, lust, jealousy, and self-loathing. The twisting of this movie is delicate and perfectly executed. Visual art of the highest form, the whole movie is a pleasure to look at and just take in. Gotta love British period pieces.

7. La Vie en Rose

A one-woman show for Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf, and how great it is. The music aside, this is pure storytelling in a creative way. Taking the life of a person and re-ordering it for increased affect is risky, but here works extremely well. Perhaps there is a reason Edith Piaf was the pride of France.

8. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tim Burton is very hit-or-miss for me. On the one hand is Batman and Big Fish, but then there's also Planet of the Apes and Sleepy Hollow. Here I think is his best work to date, with an eerie movie/musical that lifts well from the source material. Johnny Depp also shines, showing he has more range than most working actors today. A great movie, but not for everyone.

9. Ratatouille

I'll be honest -- I liked the Incredibles, but not so much as everyone else. Here Brad Bird steps up again for Pixar and produces the best animated film in years. A great blend of wit, passion, and cooking detail, the movie could've been twice as long and I still would've watched it three times.

10. The Bourne Ultimatum

The third installment in the series, and the best of the bunch (which we all know is rare). The plot is a bit flimsy, but still strong enough to justify the endless action sequences that put many imitators to shame. Believe the hype when they say, "You are glued to the screen."

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I will not do a 'honorable mentions' because that is a cop-out, though in a year like this it would be more than justified. 2007 was a phenomenal year for movies, with so many great flicks. I could've probably made a top 20 and feel strongly about all of them.

Interesting two French movies are on my list. Aren't I cool and indie?

And as with all top 10 lists, let me say that I know people will gripe. Really, I just do these so whoever may stumble across the list will feel a tiny bit more inclined to see a few of these, and I know that they will appreciate it. Any time I can get people to see these films instead of Epic Movie or The Bucket List I am pleased.

And lastly -- I stand by these rankings. Isn't No Country For Old Men a better movie than Zodiac? How can you rank perfect movies that are so different? It's like judging any kind of art: When you're stuck in the middle, go with the one that makes you feel something.

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I know I'm a little behind on the curve, but today was the first time I saw the 2000 movie 'The Beach' with Leo DiCaprio.

This movie seems to be a perfect, almost classic example, of a movie with a fantastic first half -- maybe even first two thirds -- and an ending so awful it has to be said twice. The ending was awful.

The story starts with some witty voice-over with solid characterization for Leo; we get his philosophy on life and why he'll do anything, like take a shot of snake blood. Then he gets to the island, moving past some gun-wielding drug henchmen, and eventually makes it to the Beach, a society of about thirty people who live in this paradise where everyone does their small share of work a day, and the rest of the time is spent high on marijuana and playing sports and having sex.

I don't even gripe about the obscenely obvious plot point of Leo tracing the map for his 'friends' in the beginning, though I would've liked for it to surfaced earlier, and the principle conflict to be something else.

The problem with the movie is no central focus, with the movie making multiple stabs at problems and hoping four mediocre plots will amount to one great one. Here's a tip: it never does. All right, sometimes it does, but we need to A) LOVE the characters, B) LOVE the scenarios, and C) it has to be witty. An example that comes to mind is 'Love Actually,' though many movie based on vignettes and handfuls of characters pull this off. But 'The Beach' is not a vignette movie, therefore fails miserably.

Leo being stationed in isolation to watch for the newcomers is when the movie jumps the shark. The movie even stoops so low as to parody a video game, which is so terrible that I will not describe it, and also pray that you never have to see it. Talk about being thrown out a movie. It's even worse than if Tyler Durden was splicing penises into your film reels.

So we get thirty minutes of Leo playing Rambo, with the headband and everything. The movie promises, at first, a focus on this perfect society, then shifts to themes of imaging your life alone, to the morality of mercy killings, to an unfortunate ending where everyone lives happily ever after. A movie like this does not deserve a happy ending. Actually, allow me to rephrase.

The definition of a 'happy ending' is always redefined, in every movie, according to the circumstances the characters are in. In 'Fight Club,' the Narrator shoots himself in the face, yet he's rid of Tyler Durder and kind-of ends up with Marla. That's close to a happy ending. In 'Titanic' Rose loves Jack and does all the things she never would've done without meeting him. That's pretty happy.

The acceptable happy ending for 'The Beach' should have been Leo getting off the island with his original two friends, while the others are either left ambiguously on the island, or maybe everyone gets off, but that should not have happened without at least one important character dying. The ending that made the cut involves, basically, everyone saying "oh well," and returning home unharmed. No one believes strongly enough in the Beach, in themselves, in the paradise, in their drugs, or in their love to stand up and fight. And a story with characters who appear strong but are that passive doesn't deserve recognition.

So my advice, if you have not seen this film, is to watch the first hour and fifteen minutes, shut it off, and then think up your own ending. It will be better, I promise.

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2007 was a great year for movies. For 2006 I remember saying the only movies that I really enjoyed were 'The Departed,' 'The Devil Wears Prada,' and 'The Queen.' 2007 was not like that, with dozens of great movies coming out.

This list is still a bit premature. I need to see 'There Will Be Blood' and 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,' both of which I'm pretty sure will be on a revised version of this list, but other than those I've seen everything noteworthy, and here is my top ten of 2007.

[Note: I will elaborate more later when I have time.]

1. Zodiac
2. No Country For Old Men
3. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
4. Juno
5. Atonement
6. La Vie en Rose
7. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
8. Ratatouille
9. The Bourne Ultimatum
10. Away From Her

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I am not much of a TV watcher. The only shows I keep up with are The Office (which is on hiatus from the writer strike) and Project Runway. Since Project Runway is now back on the air post-New Years, I'll discuss that.

This season is shaping up nicely, and it look like the clear favorite so far is Rami, winning two challenges, including the most recent one. Jack had much potential, and him going home was pretty disappointing. Kevin also has potential, placing High a number of times, though he still has to win. My personal favorite is Kit. This week's challenge was to make an outfit with items found in a Hershey's store (not just candy, but pillows, plastic wrappers, etc.). Here are some creative favorites.

Kit's



Rami's



These pictures aren't too great since you can't see the details, like candies used as studs on the belt, for example.

I like creative reality TV.

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