academy awards « Seedust

March 5, 2010

And the Academy Award Goes To…

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: academy awards, Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, Inglourious Basterds, Manufactured Avatar, PRECIOUS, Quentin Tarantino as a writer, Sandra Bullock, The Last Station — naera @ 10:19 am

Having reviewed most of the Academy contending movies on DVD last month, except for Hurt Locker (which I heard is great) and Precious (I cannot watch this movie for the life of me… Even my girlfriend wouldn’t watch it with.) I’m pretty certain of the winners this Sunday. The picks are based on my prediction of who the Academy will favor, not who I think ‘should’ win – a clear distinction.

Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker”. Because the last time James Cameron won Best Pic for Titanic, he impulsively blurted out, “I’m the King of the World”, then Celine Dion drowned the audience with her tearjerking sound track… Oye vie, the Ego and the Drama combined were too overwhelming for me. This year, they will give it to Kathyrn Bigelow as a first-time winner, the opposite of her ex-husband James, and as a female filmmaker. Good enough reasons, I say.

Best Director: Manufactured by James Cameron will win because he won’t win best picture.

Best Original Screenplay: If I were a great writer, I would want to do screenplay all the way… Quentin Tarantino is a Gift to the movie world. He accomplishes this in Inglourious Basterds in the way he articulates and drapes his vision in writing with so much weight, character and details. Not to mention the pacing, color, plot, and how he subjects his characters through different dimensions like no other. I dream that Quentin and Christoph will work together again.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, a man’s man. This is his time, and this time only.

Best Actress: Even though Helen Mirren should walk away with the Oscars for “The Last Station”, this year, as crazy as it sounds, feels like Sandra Bullock…. Undeservingly, yes, but at the same time she is very likable and her acting was surprisingly ‘good enough’ in The Blind Side. My daughter adores her, therefore I love Sandra now. In plain english, the voters want to anchor Sandra from Comedy to Drama. Simple.

Best Supporting Actor: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHRISTOPH WALTZ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hands down. This is the third time I’m writing about him. May there be more Christoph in the future of movies, please.

Best Supporting Actress: Heard Mo’Nique has quite the attitude and expects payday for just about everything. The funny thing is when asked on interviews, she saids it like it is and roars out her view in great lengths, no apology necessary. I kinda like. Heard Mo’Nique was great in the movie. Precious deserves to be recognized in a category, and this is the proper category for that winning.

Best Animated Feature: “Up”. Imagine an animation film that jerked the grown-up audience to shed more tears than they did with the Titanic, and your child is wondering what-the-heck is wrong with mom and dad…

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February 9, 2010

Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: academy awards, brad pitt, Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, Inglourious Basterds, Melanie Laurent, Oscars, Quentin Tarantino as a writer — naera @ 10:29 am

Let me explain Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds as simplistic as possible: petrifying.

Ten minutes into the movie I was haunted by his ominous aura that carries throughout the story. His performance as the sinister Col. Hans Landa is the driving force in Basterds and he summons the audience’s attention with a compelling psyche. For this he deserves a standing ovation.

Hands down, Tarantino’s gift as a writer/director has Waltz gliding down our spine, seeps into the center core and loops into a knot with no exit. Furthermore, Waltz paired with Melanie Laurent, who plays Shosanna Dreyfus, is like a portrayal of heaven and hell battling in an Inferno. Their personas in the film are indeed complex.

Yes, Waltz subdued Brad Pitt’s stardom in the movie. No, I do not understand why Mike Myers had any business standing next to a fine cast of actors…

Inglourious Basterds is a Nazi flick rich in pacing, color and plot. But without Waltz, Inglourious Basterds would not be as superbly compelling.

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Helen Mirren’s Agony in The Last Station

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: academy awards, Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, James McAvoy, The Last Station, The Oscar Award — naera @ 8:00 am

FYI, Miley Cyrus The Fraud, tried to diss Helen Mirren The Queen on Jonathan Ross Show by Me Me Me-ing herself to nausea.

The Oscars is a month away and I’ve had the savoring privilege to review the Oscar nominated movies for awards consideration. Thanks to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) my opinions will have some influence on the votes. During the last two Thursdays, my girlfriend and I have stretched out on the couch after a nice lunch and be entertained.

The Last Station was a such a pleasure to absorb, with soreness in between. The two words that pivot Helen Mirren’s portrayal as Tolstoy’s wife, Sofya, is energetic heartache. I can see ourselves within her reflection in the cracked mirror, understanding a woman’s need to cling onto what’s sacred and having to fight for what is rightfully and equally hers. Maybe it’s the alpha female syndrome of securing our power, our family, our life.

Christopher Plummer does not overshadow Helen Mirren’s roaring thunder of a character, but compliments her severity, as a man who is equally as stubborn and passionate about his own beliefs. Watching the two dance on fire, ice, then in bed mimicking the rooster’s mating call, you can’t help but understand despite their lunacy and chaos, their love for one another is as heavy and pure.

The two actors’ talents are bigger than life and almost made me wish James McAvoy, whom I am dearly fond of, wasn’t in the movie to begin with. The movie’s climax and ending with Mirren and Plummer at the train station is all that we care about.

Helen has my vote as the Leading Actress on this award season.

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October 7, 2009

Movie To See: PRECIOUS

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: abuse, academy awards, fat, Gabourney "Gabby" Sidibe, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Mo'Nique, movie, PRECIOUS, Sapphire, teen pregnancy — naera @ 7:48 am

Watch this trailer… It’s tough… However, Precious must be seen because it’s a film that will stick with you for years. I couldn’t shake off the wretched feeling after seeing The Kite Runner three years ago, but Precious will be ten times more intense… Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, tells the story of a poor abused teenager, raped by her father, who is pregnant with her second child, seeking to find a new direction in life through the help from her alternative school. Gabourney “Gabby” Sidibe, Mo’Nique, the Velveeta Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz stars, and Lee Daniels directs.

Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are the executive producers of this creation and there is a reason why… Oprah was abused and molested as a child. Tyler Perry also had a similar gruesome and frightening upbringing. You can read this article and begin to grasp why the movie is a symbolic parallel to generations of human ache and dysfunction. It’s calling out to all of us.

On a lighter note, saw an interview of Mariah Carey about her role in Precious. She couldn’t resist, and kept insisting how ugly and fugly the director Lee Daniels made her look. How she compromised and lost her universal sex appeal for the role of her life. Snort, snort. The torture of looking less than ultra glam is like being contaminated with scabies for this Hello Kitty and Strawberry Shortcake Diva. But the movie trailer, I was amazed. I buy her character 100 percent!! Mariah deserves a standing ovation for stepping away from her diamond encrusted shrine and fulfilling a role as a real compassionate human being.

Here is a short clip of Gabby’s Precious interview, see how articulate, smart, grounded and lovely she is. I can’t wait to see more of her in the future.

This movie will not be forgotten during the award season. Guaranteed Gabby, Mo’Nique, even Mariah, will be called out loud as Academy nominees.

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