tears of a clown

tears of a clown is a must read for anyone sceptical of the tea party movement and it's leader, a madman named glenn. tracing his rise from a morning shock jock to the spokesman of the right wing, dana milbank does a great job of examining beck as a showman. beck's showboating is more for ego gratification and financial gain rather than ethical beliefs. this is very irresponsible considering how close beck comes to inciting his listeners to violence. of course the book details the questionable facts glenn uses to make his points, but really, isn't that a given?

2011 oscar noms

Best motion picture of the year

Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) A Protozoa and Phoenix Pictures Production Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers

The Fighter (Paramount) A Relativity Media Production David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers

Inception (Warner Bros.) A Warner Bros. UK Services Production Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers)

The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features) An Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision and Gilbert Films Production Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers

The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company) A See-Saw Films and Bedlam Production Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers

127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) An Hours Production Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers

The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures Production Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers

Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) A Pixar Production Darla K. Anderson, Producer

True Grit (Paramount) A Paramount Pictures Production Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

Winter's Bone (Roadside Attractions) A Winter's Bone Production Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Javier Bardem in "Biutiful" (Roadside Attractions)
Jeff Bridges in "True Grit" (Paramount)
Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
James Franco in "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Christian Bale in "The Fighter" (Paramount)
John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions)
Jeremy Renner in "The Town" (Warner Bros.)
Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features)
Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features)
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole" (Lionsgate)
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions)
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan" (Fox Searchlight)
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine" (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Amy Adams in "The Fighter" (Paramount)
Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company)
Melissa Leo in "The Fighter" (Paramount)
Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit" (Paramount)
Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom" (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best animated feature film of the year

How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
The Illusionist (Sony Pictures Classics) Sylvain Chomet
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney), Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O'Hara (Set Decoration)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.), Stuart Craig (Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
Inception (Warner Bros.), Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration)/span>
The King's Speech (Paramount), Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set Decoration)
True Grit (Paramount), Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration)

Achievement in Cinematography

Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Matthew Libatique
Inception (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company) Danny Cohen
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit (Paramount) Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design

Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Colleen Atwood
I Am Love (Magnolia Pictures) Antonella Cannarozzi
The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company) Jenny Beavan
The Tempest (Miramax) Sandy Powell
True Grit (Paramount) Mary Zophres

Achievement in directing

Black Swan (Fox Searchlight), Darren Aronofsky
The Fighter (Paramount), David O. Russell
The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company), Tom Hooper
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), David Fincher
True Grit (Paramount), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Best Documentary Feature

Exit through the Gift Shop (Producers Distribution Agency) Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz A Paranoid Pictures Production
Gasland Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic A Gasland Production

Inside Job (Sony Pictures Classics) Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs A Representational Pictures Production

Restrepo (National Geographic Entertainment) Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger An Outpost Films Production

Waste Land Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley (Arthouse Films) An Almega Projects Production

Best documentary short subject

Killing in the Name Nominees to be determined A Moxie Firecracker Films Production
Poster Girl Nominees to be determined A Portrayal Films Production
Strangers No More Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production
Sun Come Up Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger A Sun Come Up Production
The Warriors of Qiugang Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon A Thomas Lennon Films Production

Achievement in film editing
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter Paramount Pamela Martin
The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company) Tariq Anwar
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Jon Harris
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Best foreign language film of the year
Biutiful Mexico
Dogtooth Greece
In a Better World Denmark
Incendies Canada
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) Algeria

Achievement in makeup
Achievement in makeup (Sony Pictures Classics) Adrien Morot
The Way Back (Newmarket Films in association with Wrekin Hill Entertainment and Image Entertainment) Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
The Wolfman (Universal) Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) John Powell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
Coming Home from Country Strong (Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen Gems)) Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
I See the Light from Tangled (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
If I Rise from 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best animated short film
Day & Night (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production Teddy Newton
The Gruffalo A Magic Light Pictures Production Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
Let's Pollute A Geefwee Boedoe Production Geefwee Boedoe
The Lost Thing (Nick Batzias for Madman Entertainment) A Passion Pictures Australia Production Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) A Sacrebleu Production Bastien Dubois

Best live action short film
The Confession (National Film and Television School) A National Film and Television School Production Tanel Toom
The Crush (Network Ireland Television) A Purdy Pictures Production Michael Creagh
God of Love A Luke Matheny Production Luke Matheny
Na Wewe (Premium Films) A CUT! Production Ivan Goldschmidt
Wish 143 A Swing and Shift Films/Union Pictures Production Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Achievement in sound editing
Inception (Warner Bros.) Richard King
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
Tron: Legacy (Walt Disney) Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
True Grit (Paramount) Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
Unstoppable (20th Century Fox) Mark P. Stoeckinger

Achievement in sound mixing
Inception (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company) Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
Salt (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
True Grit (Paramount) Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Achievement in visual effects
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.) Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter (Warner Bros.) Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
Iron Man 2 (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment, Distributed by Paramount) Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Adapted screenplay
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter's Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Original screenplay
Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
The King's Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

shows that have not or never did jump the shark

buffy the vampire slayer
angel
sopranos
northern exsposure
seinfeld (except the last episode)
six feet under
cheers
mash
simpsons
the office
true blood
dexter

methland

Methland by nick reding is chronicle of the wages of both drug abuse and the war on drugs, but even more than that it is a story of america in the 21st century and the wages of big business on the heartland. reding tells of the rise of meth as a result of the intrusion of big agriculture, big pharmaceutical and special interests into the lives of middle americans. an intrusion that has lead to the poverty, hopelessness and desperation that so often fosters rampant drug addiction. told with compassion and detail this is reporting that tugs at the heartstrings and makes the reader think. there can be no doubt of meth's profound impact on rural areas of the united states. areas that were once considered ideal places to raise families and are now increasingly becoming ghost towns. this is a book that explains why with a gentle but firm hand.

green hornet review

if anything green hornet was a mixed bag. the best way to comment on it is to do a simple pro and con list..

what worked:

michel gondry's direction style - as a fan of michel's directing style i was pleased to see that his quirky style translates into a more straight forward narrative and mainstream action film. he even managed to use techniques from his music videos to pretty good effect.

Christoph Waltz - once again a fun villain performance form unglorious basterds star Waltz. i've always said that a superhero movie is only as strong as it's villain. and christoph was both funny and sinister as chudnofsky.

the black beauty - yeah i'm a sucker for the green hornet's car.. as the center for most of the action the car held its own and almost became a character.


what didn't work.


seth rogan - normally i like him and green hornet is an old enough character that most geeks won't have a problem with a complete reimagining of the character, what bothered me though is he was a little too eager in this one. i liked his enthusiasm for the project and i know he was looking for this to make him an even bigger star than he already is, but his performance came across to me as hyperactive slightly annoying.

the script - not to rag on seth rogan more than i have to, but he co-wrote the script and i found the dialogue a bit dated and tired.

the 3D - this is really more of a question of technology than poor movie making. the new 3D technology is just not as good for live action films as it is for animated ones. i found it unnecessary and at times distracting. It didn't really add to my experience at all and i feel that in a few years time the 3d effects will not hold up.



I give it a 6 out of 10.

My top 10 movies of 2010

10)



scott pilgrim vs. world

i may not have been thrilled with michel cera's portrayal of title character scott pilgrim, but that didn't stop this movie from being a blast of hyperactivity and harmless fun. a pretty faithful adaption of the hit comic book (up to the end that is), this movie succeeds because edgar wright is a fan of the source material and it shows.



9)



machete

this is not a movie that will show up on many top 10 lists, but i loved it. It was silly and over the top with violence cheesy one liners and gratuitous nudity. but that's not what got me. what got me is that the script was complex enough not to make feel like an idiot watching it. "high brow" and low brow at the same time.

8)



kick ass

another comic adaption. this was a smart but nasty piece of work that knew exactly what use what to discard and what to add to make the book come to life on the big screen. as a fan of the source material i was pleased to see that this movie was just as hard hitting as the comic.


7)



true grit

coen bros latest film is the rare case when the remake is better than the original, mainly due to pitch perfect performances by josh brolin, jeff bridges and especially newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. westerns aren't usually my cup of tea, but i was immediately taken in by the first frame and didn't want it to end.

6)



black swan

this psycho-sexual thriller is the topic of a lot of conversation lately. sadly a lot of folks don't get it. in the end this is a surprisingly honest depiction of mental illness, from the point of view of the sufferer. to all those who didn't get it, put yourself in the shoes of natalie portman's character.


5)



blue valentine

perhaps the most honest and brutal portrayal of a dying marriage ever done in any art form, blue valentine is not easy to watch. heartbreaking, touching and poignant, you root for the characters even if you know what will happen. this film could go down as the performance of both ryan gosling's and michelle williams' career.


4)





the fighter

i'm no fan of sports, but i have no problem with sports movies and the fighter is one of the best sports movies since the wrestler. christian bale gives one of his best performances as a drug addicted fighter trying to train his brother. a slice of life story with characters you like despite their flaws.


3)



winters bone is a mystery, poverty and the meth trade, but at heart it is a tale of family and the lengths one girl will go to save hers. most hollywood films that exam poverty and middle america do so through big city eyes. this film feels like it was made by characters that are similar to the ones on screen and that makes all the difference.


2)



inception

christopher nolan once again made a film that was both a commercial hit and genuinely good piece of art. visually stunning and narratively complex, inception isn't as hard to follow as some said. watch it again, you'll see. i wav expecting a small little science fiction film, instead we got this mind bending block buster. well played chris, now go make batman 3.

1)



the social network

many critics have dubbed this film the film of a generation. a film that defines where we are in 2010 as people. perhaps, but what really got me about this film is how david fincher managed to maintain his dark mise en sin while dealing with a subject that could be typical and unchallenging. instead he shows the creepiness the can sometimes come with the facebook experience.

New year! more updates!

This year I promise more updates to this blog!
stay tuned!