random thoughts on the 2016 oscars

So no predictions this year, because my heart would conflict with my head.

All I'll say is this... please let the two La La Land songs cancel each other out so that Justin Timerlake, Sting or Lin-Manual Miranda wins for Best Song. That would make me almost as happy as Jonathan Quick returning to the LA Kings goal crease yesterday :)

Note: I'll be updating this in real time, so keep clicking refresh on your browser and help my page views that I'm not monetizing go up ;) 

The Preshow

• Lisa is here and we're drinking champagne and eating cheese, crackers and salami.
• So far our faves on the red carpet are our buddy Sting, and Lin-Manuel's eyebrow :)
• Love Taraji P. Henson, Kirsten Dunst and Octavia Spencer's dresses.
• Oh no Jessica Biel... what is that thing around your neck?
• Robin Roberts is also having a bad gold dress day. And why did you lighten your hair?
• Oh love the cute little kid from Lion. And love his sneakers! If you didn't see that movie, go see it!
• Can't wait for the Jimmy Kimmel / Matt Damon feud to continue tonight. Hahaha.
• Trudie Styler is too thin to wear a flowy dress like that. But have I mentioned how good Sting looks? Always... like a fine wine...
• It's the thing on Mrs. Timberlake's neck again. But look how cute and fun her hubby is :)
• Halle Berry's hair. Wow. 
• Love Lin-Manuel and his mom. So cute. 
• Nicole Kidman's dress is too pale for her pale skin. But otherwise very elegant. 
• I do not love Viola Davis' dress.. not a great neckline. She's likely going to win an Oscar in that dress, preserving it for posterity.
• Oh hi Ryan Gosling.. :) Robin Roberts tells Ryan, "I would be happy to be your arm candy." Lisa says, "You and the rest of America Robin.."
• Is Casey Affleck ever going to finish this mountain man movie so he can shave and get a hair cut? 
• What the heck is Dakota Johnson wearing?!?! That looks like a 1950s nightgown. Ugh. 
• Pro Tip Michael Strahan: Be careful with your hand motions.
• Love Naomi Harris' slick white look and mis-matched shoes. 
• Michelle Willams looks adorbs. And love she continues to bring her BFF Busy Phillips.  
• Emma Stone looks ready to win an Oscar that looks like her... minus the fringe.

The Show

• Bring on JT!! Party time.. best opening ever! Can't Stop The Feeling/Lovely Day remix! LOVE!! SO GOOD! SO POSITIVE! 
• Here we go.. Jimmy and Matt, part 1. Jimmy reaching out and healing the rift.. by pointing out that "The Great Wall" lost $80 million. 
• And Meryl being over-rated gets the biggest applause of the night. (And I really like her dress for once.) 
• And Best Supporting Actor goes to... Mahershala Ali for "Moonlight." I agree with this win. He was great in that film. 
• "This is the fun part of the show.... before you realize you taped your boobs to your dress for nothing." - Jimmy Kimmel
• Best Makeup and Hair: "Suicide Squad.." that's what I picked, even though I still haven't seen it. I picked it because Jared Leto scares me in the trailer. 
• Kate McKinnon is channeling alt facts Kellyanne Conway and no one seems to realize it...
• Best Costume Design: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Yay!! Colleen Atwood looks shocked. Um, FYI, when you work on a Harry Potter film, you might win stuff ;) 
• Okay. LOVE the Cadillac commercial... good will defeat evil people. Keep the faith..

• "Algebra's Angels" (love that!) aka the women of my fave movie of the year, "Hidden Figures" -- Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae ... the real life Katherine Johnson! Standing O, and some tears. 
• OJ continues to win things... "OJ: Made in America" = Best Documentary Feature. And classy to thank Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown and their families. 
• Dwayne Johnson is coming out ... could it be to introduce our favorite could-be EGOT winner??
• Lin-Manuel Miranda time... doing an original prologue to "How Far I'll Go." SO GOOD!  Lisa is freaking out on my sofa right now. She's just a sort of huge LMM/Hamilton fanatic. ;)
• Moana girl knocked it out of the park... didn't miss a beat, even when one of the dancer's "waves" whacked her in the head.  #nopressure
• And she's been gif'd. Poor thing
• I really thought Jimmy's mom or Cousin Sal would bring over canoli's or something. But parachuting movie candy was a much more fun visual.
• Best Sound Editing: Arrival. Interesting.. So far Suicide Squad, Fantastic Beasts and Arrival have more Oscars than La La Land. 
• Oooh, and now Mel Gibson's movie has more Oscars than La La Land (so far). Hacksaw Ridge = Best Sound Mixing
• Oh, now it's time for Viola Davis to get her Best Supporting Actress Oscar....
• What's with the weird camera angle on Mark Rylance and his little Charlie Chaplin hat?
• Called it. 
• Best Foreign Language Film goes to .. the guy who can't get into America thanks to Trump's travel ban. ("The Salesman")
• Sting performing the beautiful "The Empty Chair." Note: I saw him do this same song, sitting on a chair about 12 feet away from me two weeks ago at the Palladium. It was just as beautiful then.... probably more so because he was RIGHT THERE. But this time, he ended with this on the screen behind him. "If we don't have the moral courage to challenge authority... we don't have journalism."  LOVE (says the Journalism major.)
• Best Animated Short Film = "Piper" Lisa is happy. 
• "As a human being, I'm against any sort of wall that wants to separate us" - Gael Garcia Bernal. If you haven't seen Mozart in the Jungle (on Amazon Prime), go watch it. Great show. And he's a joy. 
• Best Animated Film.... please Moana. But .... Zootopia (not a shocker). It's more fit for today's political climate... but not as touching as Moana. 
• There's Dakota Johnson's bad dress again. Let's just look at Jamie Dornan. 
• "La La Land" finally wins something! Best Production Design. And the winners get played off....
• And now the tourists from the tour bus gag walk in.. and just start taking photos. Ryan Gosling and Nicole Kidman are being the official greeters. 
• This bit was kinda lame to start, but the stars playing along is making it awesome!
• Best Visual Effects goes to The Jungle Book. Considering every character in the film except Mowgli was a visual effect, I agree with this win too. 
• From Mashable "Seth Rogen wearing Back to the Future shoes and singing Hamilton is as jarring as actual time travel would be." 
• And the award for Best Film Editing goes to .. Hacksaw Ridge, which now has more Oscars so far than La La Land does.
• Best Documentary Short Subject: The White Helmets. 
• Best Live Action Short Film: Sing
• ... And Jimmy Kimmel is tweeting Donald Trump. Asking if he was up and letting him know #Merylsayshi
• This John Cho/Leslie Mann technology awards intro about the Film Tech Awards is hi-lar-ious. #gofilmscientists 
• Best Cinematography goes to "La La Land".. okay so now it's in a tie for most awards won (2) with Hacksaw Ridge.
• Mean Tweets.. the Oscar edition. Jeff Bridges and DeNiro's were the best! 
• Oh god. And there's the song I can never get out of my head. UGH. 
• And Matt Damon just tripped Jimmy Kimmel.. on accident. Yeah. HA.
• Time for Music Awards... don't crush my dreams Academy. Don't do it!
• Best Original Score can go to La La Land.. that'd be fine
• And Best Original Score goes to La La Land.. okay. Fine. This is allowed.
• Best Original Song goes to.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! "City of Stars" wins. DO NOT LIKE.
• "Hilary, and now this" - Erika Shen
• In Memorium... I can't take this this year. And Jennifer Aniston almost losing it over Bill Paxton (#rip) at the beginning. Oy. At least last year I was distracted from the sadness by Dave Grohl. 
• And now, Ben Affleck "and guest".. aka Matt Damon, who keeps getting played off the stage, to present the writing awards.
• Best Original Screenplay: Manchester by the Sea. I agree with this.
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Moonlight. I also agree with this. 
• Best Directing: Damien Chazelle... the man responsible for that friggin' song being on the big screen. The youngest Best Director ever. 
• I have to say.... the clip packages before some of the awards this year are pretty spectacular.
• Brie Larson is seriously glammed up this year. 
• Best Actor will be Casey or Denzel... depending on how you feel about alleged sexual assault allegations.
• And the Best Actor Oscar goes to Casey Affleck. He deserves it for the performance. It was heartbreaking. That whole movie was heartbreaking.
• Denzel looks like he's gonna cry. #sniff
• Why doesn't Ben Affleck look happier that his baby bro just won an Oscar? He's still winning in that race with two (but neither for acting... hmmm.)
• Oh hi Leo...
• Meryl does not look amused by her clip.
• Best Actress goes to Emma Stone!! WOW. Now we get to see that dress next to the Oscar. 
• Okay.. now let's give La La Land Best Picture so we can all go home. (Oh wait.. I'm already here.)
• And the Best Picture is La La Land. SHOCKER.
• WAIT what? Moonlight has won Best Picture!!! WOW. They read the wrong name for Best Picture!?!? Wrong envelope? What the heck just happened?

And goodnight. Is Jimmy Kimmel doing an after the Oscars show this year? I feel like we need an official follow up to that. WOW.

Okay.. I just went back and rewound the announcement on Tivo. Warren Beatty did look in the envelope for another card. He knew it was wrong. He should have said something then instead of letting Faye Dunaway read the wrong movie. Some envelope-stuffing accountant is getting fired tomorrow. WOW.

Well.. upon further investigation, it looks like a show producer will be losing their job. The envelope Warren Beatty opened said "Actress in a Leading Role." Someone said Leo put the card back in and handed it to a producer when he and Emma Stone came off stage, and that the producer then accidentally handed it to Warren Beatty. BUT in an after-show interview, Emma Stone says she had her card the whole time. BUT she didn't have it on stage when the La La Land people were accepting. #envelopegate2017..

Maybe this means they didn't win Best Song too? Hey.. I can dream... :)

random thoughts on the golden globes

Tonight kicks off Hollywood Awards season with the not-to-be-taken-too-seriously Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globes. I'll be live blogging the show live tonight with my random thoughts so keep refreshing the page if you care...

For once, I've seen almost all* of the nominated films way in advance of tonight. (Thanks bacterial throat infection that knocked me out for three days before Christmas!) And as I have cut down on TV the last two seasons, I've seen almost none of the nominated TV shows except OJ and Game of Thrones, so that should be interesting.
(*Still need to watch Hacksaw Ridge and I've never heard of Sing Street so...)

I'm making no predictions before the show starts ... other than that La La Land will win Best Musical or Comedy Film, and The People vs. OJ Simpson will win for Best Limited Series.

I am making a disclaimer though: Jimmy Fallon really annoys me lately, so my patience with him will be thin.

• Okay.. I liked Jimmy's opening number.. pretty clever flip of La La Land's opening number to the red carpet traffic jam. And big star power included in the taped piece (Hi JT!), although I kept waiting for Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone to appear. 
• Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds - most beautiful presenting team ever. 
• Okay, no one from Nocturnal Animals should win anything. Hated that film. Mahershala Ali from Moonlight should have won.
• Billy Bob Thornton just won Best Actor in a TV Drama over Rami Malik and Matthew Rys for a show I've never heard of. 
• Gee I wonder if Julia Louis Dreyfus will win Best Actress in a TV Comedy for Veep again?
• Nope! Yay! Tracee Ellis Ross for Black-ish. I watch that show sometimes.. 
• I've seen none of the nominated comedies except Mozart in the Jungle. Which reminds me, I still need to watch Season 3 of Mozart in the Jungle. 
• PEOPLE! The Electric Light Parade is coming back to Disneyland! I'm SO excited (And now I have that song in my head instead of "City of Stars" - yes!)
• Yeah, Hacksaw Ridge looks too violent. I can't deal with another Saving Private Ryan right now. That's why I haven't watched it yet.
• I WILL be watching Big Little Lies on HBO because I love Reese Witherspoon, who's now presenting with Nicole Kidman. Reese does the cutest Instagram stories. 
• Sarah Paulson won for People vs. OJ Simpson. Shocker. I wonder how this compares to her Emmy. (That's sarcasm people.) And she thanked Marcia Clark, instead of OJ like Jimmy Fallon suggested... because she's smart. 
• Look! The People vs. OJ Simpson won for Best Limited Series. Thank you. Thank you very much. 
• Bad comedy bit from Sofia Vergara intro-ing Sly Stallone's daughters as Miss Golden Globe.
• Yes Jimmy. Don't even try to imitate Sting. You will never even come close to succeeding because he is eons cooler, more talented and better looking than you, even though he's 25+ years older than you.
• Wow. La La Land won for Best Score. I agree with this choice. 
• Best Original Song. Rooting for JT. Fear that "City of Stars" will win.. then it will be back in my head again. 
• Dammit! It's not that I don't like "City of Stars." It's lovely. It will also stick in your head forEVER like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." But the composers were super cute. "This is for musical theatre nerds everywhere!"

Commercial break.. when in Rome... (but it's Prosecco, not Champagne. All the bubbles, no headache!) 

• Yeah, with the Michael Keaton intro, I'm now officially done with Jimmy Fallon. Wonder how much champagne he's had already tonight...
• Best Supporting Actress Drama. This is a tough category. Viola was great, but I would have given it to Michelle Williams. She was heartbreaking in Manchester by the Sea.
• Oh good! The Electric Parade commercial is back! Stick in my head Electric Parade theme, stick in my head!! Get that other thing OUT!
• Awww. The cute little kid from Lion. He was so good in that movie! If you haven't seen Lion yet, go see it. Such a good, true story! 
• I really hope this Goldie Hawn bit is a bit....
• Which Ryan will win Best Actor Musical or Comedy?
• Gosling! And thank you producers for not playing you know what!
• If anyone has ever wondered, day-old leftover Spicy Tuna rolls are still good. 
• Oh Felicity Jones. What are you wearing? This is not a 1960s prom...
• Best Animated Film...This is between Moana and Zootopia, IMHO. (But I'm rooting for Moana.)
• BTW, have you all seen this? Mind blown by this today!
• Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell should be hosting the Golden Globes. 
• Hmm.. Zootopia. AKA The USA in 2017. 
• We lost Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds within ONE day, Jimmy. Not "a couple of days." 
• Nice tribute video though....
• If you see Manchester by the Sea, be prepared to ball your eyes out. It's really good. But the most heartbreaking movie I've seen in a really long time. You've been warned. 
• So, anyone watching The Night Manager? Is it binge worthy?
• New Beauty and the Beast trailer? I'm really excited for that movie. I loved the animated version, and I think Emma Watson is so excellent at everything. 
• I feel like I should start watching The Crown. And I know I need to start watching Stranger Things. And I will no longer be watching Westworld....
• TV Series Drama. Come on GOT!! 
• Okay, I am now finally going to add a Streaming Plan to my Netflix. I hope my wifi can now handle it (although it crashed my Tivo watching Amazon Prime yesterday... but I made it through an entire 6 season re-watch of GOT on HBO Go in June.)
• Meryl Streep Lifetime Achievement time. 
• Love you Meryl.. great speech on the (not my) President Elect, the bully, and the role of the press going forward, and the role of all of us to act with empathy. "Take your broken heart. Make it into art" - the dear departed Princess Leia. :*(
• Best Director - Damien Chazelle for La La Land.... does this make it the Oscar front-runner? (And again, thank you GG producers for playing the opening number song instead of you know what.)
• There are a lot of actresses with small chests wearing very V-dipped-in-front dresses. Note Amy Schumer had to have a nude panel there on her V-dipped dress holding her girls in... yay for real-sized girls being famous too! 
• Yay Ben Affleck trimmed his beard from when I saw him before Christmas at a "Live by Night" screening. 
• So the new Lando Calrissian's show is cleaning up at the Globes this year....
• Matt Damon is here! If the good Jimmy (Kimmel) was hosting this show instead of annoying Jimmy (Fallon), there'd be a bit here. (Other than his comment on him winning Best Actor Musical or Comedy last year for... The Martian.)
• Think Emma Stone will win for Best Actress Musical or Comedy??
• YEP. 
• Brad Pitt looks GOOD for someone who's rep is being raked over the coals by a crazy anorexic lady. 
• Okay.. I just have to make it through this win without them playing you know what.. please producers, don't let me down!
• YES! "Another Day of Sun" again! Oh, and another correct prediction from me. La La Land = Best Musical or Comedy.
• Um, you have 15 minutes left for like 2 categories. That play off of the La La Land team was just rude!
• Love Bree Larson's dress!
• Ooh Viggo got nominated for Captain Fantastic. That was a great movie that no one is talking about! Go see that one too!
• Wow. They gave Best Actor Drama to Casey Affleck despite his personal controversy... Maybe the HFPA doesn't read US Press. (Casey needs to follow Ben's lead in the facial hair -- and normal hair -- trimming department though.) Despite all that, he was pretty amazing in this film. As I mentioned, it's a heartbreaking film and he was great. 
• Best Actress Drama -- aka who will compete against Emma Stone for the Oscar -- is....who? Isabelle Huppert? Um.. okay. A foreign film winner? I'm going to assume that Natalie Portman, Ruth Negga and Amy Adams cancelled each other out and she snuck in.  (OH! Or based on her speech, she's really good at kissing the HFPA's asses...)
• Yay, now I have the Rocky theme in my head.
• Moonlight is Best Picture Drama..... VERY interesting. I liked it. Didn't love it. Probably need to watch it again now. 

Well, that concludes the show. Can Amy and Tina come back next year please? Kthxbai. 

random thoughts during the 2016 oscars...

So yesterday I had the bright idea to live blog my random thoughts on the Oscars today, so here we go....with a few disclaimers:

1. I am already drinking a very nice Wild Horse Pinot Noir. (It's after 5pm!) 
2. I apologize in advance for the negativity that will be spewed if The Big Short wins anything.
3. I'll try to keep the Dave Grohl comments to a minimum since this is a movie thing and he's a music thing, but hey.. I'm not the producer that hired him to perform tonight :P
4. If hours #2 and #3 (and likely #4) get boring, you may end up with random thoughts on the Kings vs. Sucky Ducks of Anaheim game that starts at 6pm PT. (That game will mean the difference between the Kings having a 6-point or 2-point lead in the Pacific division. #priorities)

First up: A Quick Red Carpet Summary

These people looked amazing: Alicia Vikander, Sofia Vergara, Saoirse Ronan, Bree Larson, Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron

These people need to fire their stylists: Whoopi Goldberg, Olivia Wilde, Daisy Ridley, Rooney Mara, Charlotte Rampling, Amy Pohler

Fave quote from the Red Carpet: "I am presenting best live action short... because I'm short." -- Jacob Tremblay (who is wearing Milennium Falcon cuff links and Darth Vader socks with his mini-tux)

Missing from the Red Carpet: Jennifer Lawrence....

And now on to the show...

Nice of the producers to put Creed and Straight Outta Compton right next to each other, right at the end of the intro montage.... hmm.

The Monologue: 

• Chris Rock is wearing a white tux jacket. Coincidence? 
• "The Oscars... otherwise known as the white people's choice awards." 
• Thank you Chris Rock for saying what I've been thinking for weeks about Jada Pinkett Smith: "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited.... But I get it. She's mad her man Will wasn't nominated for Concussion. I get it. It's not fair Will was this good and didn't get nominated. But it was also not fair that Will Smith was paid $20m for "Wild Wild West." Word. 
• I think he handled the whole controversy well... and made some very biting, yet true comments. I give him an A.

This year the show is following the order a film is made... first up, the writing awards. Um.. ok. I was all ready for Supporting Actor....

Best Original Screenplay: Spotlight. Yay! Amazing film. 

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe should do a comedy together. That was a fun intro.

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short. No comment. (I'm trying to be good)

Um... that Stacy Dash bit.. What? She's not big enough to be on that stage even if she is trying a mea culpa for being a complete idiot.

Thank god for Sarah Silverman's brain... show is back on track.. sort of.

I can't believe this Sam Smith song got nominated. Did not like it in the Spectre opening credits and like it less now. Although it is very brave of him to attempt hitting those high notes on live television in front of 80 million viewers. (Sorry Sam, you're no Adele.)

These pop-up video factoids are going to get really old, really quick.

Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander. Yay! She so good in that film... she just makes your heart ache with hers.

Wait, so they are scrolling her thank you's on the bottom of the screen before she even gets to the stage. That's a little too staged for my liking.

"And we're black." Chris Rock on returning from commercial break... to the orchestrations of Huey Lewis and The News' "Power of Love."

Can I just say again how beautiful Cate Blanchett's dress is? Is that sexist?

Best Costume Design: Mad Mad: Fury Road. Bummer. My first prediction fail. And really... did a costume designer seriously wear black jeans, a scarf and a leather jacket to the Academy Awards?!?!?!? And then she gets played off while talking about the possibility of Mad Max's environmental prophecy coming true. Nice.

I heart Tina Fey.

Best Production Design: Mad Mad: Fury Road. Again... did these women not get the "black tie" memo on their invites?

Is Jared Leto wearing a rose as a bow tie?

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Mad Max: Fury Road. This film is going to be the top winner in terms of Oscar count tonight. Mark my words.

Why was Jennifer Garner smiling like a fool while Benicio Del Toro was talking about Leo being mauled by a bear and left for dead as he introduced The Revenant? Was she imagining Ben Affleck was under the scruffy beard?

"Shoulda-be nominee Michael B. Jordan." Chris Rock dig #? (I'm drinking wine and decided an hour ago to not even try to count...)

Best Cinematography: The Revenant. Yep. Beautiful picture....

When Liev Schreiber speaks, I can't help but feel like I'm watching an HBO documentary...

Best Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road. That's four.

[Kings/Ducks 0-0 with 5 minutes left in the 1st period.]

I can only imagine the broken THX intro that made Brie Larson look really confused is leading to the Sound categories....

Yep.

Going out on a limb and betting these will be #5 and #6 for Mad Max: Fury Road.

Best Sound Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road.. and there was either a sound problem or a censor button going off right when they got to the stage. Those naughty Australians ;)

Best Sound Mixing: Mad Max: Fury Road. #6. Am I psychic or what? :p

Andy Serkis can only mean it's time for Visual Effects.. and I predict this is Mad Max: Fury Road's win #7.

Best Visual Effects: WHOA! Ex Machina UPSET! I am not happy. This is the award my friend Paige's hubby was up for for Mad Max. Bummer. If there was going to be an upset I thought it would be The Revenant's bear.

Okay, Jason Segal and Oliva Munn are pretty hilarious summarizing the Sci-Tech awards. A friend of my friends Daryl and James had something to do with "The Image Shaaaakkkkerrrr." I know this because James told me about it on our hike last weekend.

Yay! John Williams. Tonight is his 50th Oscar Nomination says C-3PO, so it must be true.

They keep teasing music.. where is Dave Grohl?

Okay Chris Rock, selling Girl Scout cookies in the audience was kind of genius. I hear the audience is usually starving. Way to win "Dad of the Year" and "Best Host" in one bit.

Best Animated Short: This is the one I predicted based on the posters. The Minons presented this in Minion-language. Bear Story won... well since a bear didn't win Best Visual Effects..... this is however the first Oscar for the country of Chile.

Buzz and Woody are presenting Best Animated Film and celebrating Pixar's 20th Anniversary. Gee, I wonder what is going to win this award ?? ;)

Best Animated Feature: Pixar's Inside Out. SHOCKER (not really)

Finally getting to the other Best Original Song performances... next up, The Weeknd performing "Earned It," the song that made Fifty Shades of Grey an Oscar Nominee the same year it swept the Razzies...  he is singing much better than Sam Smith, but not better -- I predict -- than Dave Grohl will.

[Kings/Ducks 1-1 to start the 2nd period. And check out this Drew Doughty hip check on Dave Perron.. apparently I'm missing one of the best games of the year according to the NBC Sports announcers, who, knowing it's Oscar night, also predict Dreeeeew will be up for a major award -- the Norris Trophy -- this year. Duh.]

Are those the same glasses Kate Winslet wore in Steve Jobs?

Chris Rock goes to the movies in Compton. This is going to be good....

• Chris Rock: "Do you feel that Trumbo should've been a bigger hit?" 
• Compton Movie-Goer: "What?"
• Chris Rock: "What about The Bridge of Spies"
• Compton Movie-Goer:"Where are you getting these movies from? You're making this up and messing with me, right? I come to the movies all the time..." 
• Chris Rock: "These are real movies!"
• Compton Movie-Goer:"Like in London and stuff?"
• Chris Rock: "What was your favorite movie of all time?"
• Compton Movie-Goer:"Super-fly."

Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance in "Bridge of Spies"! Yay. His performance deserved it. Sorry Sly. And a hug from Steven Spielberg :)

[Kings up 2-1 thanks to Tanner Pearson! Woot!]

Louis C.K. presenting Best Documentary Short Film ... and changing someone's life in the process. "This Oscar is going home in a Honda Civic." As someone who used to own a Honda Civic, I'm kind of offended.....

Best Documentary Short Subject: A Girl in the River - The Price of Forgiveness

Best Documentary Feature: Amy -- the one documentary I saw. Sad, sad story of Amy Winehouse.

[Sucky Ducks just tied it. Dammit]

Chris Rock raised $65k selling Girl Scout cookies.. thanks in large part to Suge Knight. Way to ruin it...

Required statement on diversity from the Academy President...

In Memorium... with a special performance by Dave Grohl and his guitar (but not that guitar) of "Blackbird."  (Sniff .... Alan Rickman :*( Sniff David Bowie.)  And beautiful performance by Dave.

Yay! It's time for Jacob Tremblay to present Best Live Action Short..... from on top of an apple box.... cuz he's short. He's so cute, even if he's standing too far from the microphone. I blame Chris Rock for that for his inaccurate apple box placement. Yet cute Jacob still said "Thanks Chris. I loved you in Madagascar." Aww.

Best Live Action Short: Stutterer

Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul

Veep Joe Biden gets a standing ovation... as he tries to find his teleprompter. Based on the start of his speech -- about intervening when men and women are abused -- I think he's introducing Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens to You" performance from "The Hunting Ground." Yep... "Welcome my friend Lady Gaga."

She's amazing. And what a powerful moment bringing abuse survivors out on the stage with "Survivor," "It Happened to Me," and "Unbreakable" written on their arms. A most deserved Standing O for them too.

There are still technically two more Best Original Song nominees left to perform, but since they're not going to win, can we just give Lady Gaga and Diane Warren their Oscar now?

Pharrell and Quincy Jones are presenting Best Original Score. Pharrell's hair is blond. Did he, Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera start a "Voice Coaches Blond Hair Club"?

Best Original Score: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight. Yay! He's there to accept. He and John Williams got to sit together in a box. Fancy. He gets a standing O too... and a hug from Quincy. He has an Italian translator, he give special thanks to his fellow nominee John Williams and dedicates the award to his wife Maria. Aww.

OOH, Common and John Legend are coming out. They won Best Original Song last night. Maybe we won't have to hear the other two nominated best songs.

Best Original Song: WHAT?!?!?!?!? The crappy James Bond song?!?!?!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?

[And while that was happening, the Sucky Ducks are somehow now up 4 goals to 2 and the Kings acquired forward Kris Versteeg from the Hurricanes for a player I've never heard of and a draft pick.]

Now you bring out Sasha Baron Cohen to disrespectfully introduce Room?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

Best Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu for "The Revenant" ....that's Back to Back wins! And he's getting played off as he's making a point about diversity and "making the color of our skin as irrelevant as the length of our hair."

Alright.. the final stretch. I've eaten way too many crackers with cheese tonight. Should have bought Girl Scout cookies....

Best Actress: Brie Lawson from "Room" ... and little Jacob Tremblay (who was ROBBED of a Supporting Actor nomination! ROBBED!) gets her second hug! Her speech is so happy! No tears at all... that's good. She was miserable enough in that movie.

Okay... Best Actor is next. I'm afraid to say anything right now...

Best Actor: THANK GOD! Leonard DiCaprio!! First Oscar, 6th Nomination. Is Kate Winslet crying? In the wide shot she's jumping up and down clapping. Standing Ovation. He totally rehearsed this speech.. but that's okay. He had long enough to prep... And yay for the climate change statements! Note: He did NOT get played off. (The director's not that dumb)

Best Picture: SPOTLIGHT!  Not The Revenant, but not The Big Short either! Whoo hoo! YAY FOR JOURNALISM!!! And an amazing cast!

[And the Kings just lost 2-4 to the Sucky Ducks. Lead in the Pacific down to 2 points :( ]

And Chris Rock ends the show with... "I want to invite everybody here to BET Awards this summer. I just want to say good night, this has been an amazing experience, congratulations to all our Oscar winners, buy some Girl Scout cookies, Black Lives Matter. Thank you Brooklyn!"

And then all the winners came back out on stage.. nice touch.

The END!

Chris Rock was pretty great considering what he ended up having to deal with... that probably made him better.

• Best bits: Compton Movie Goer Interviews and the Girl Scout cookies. 
• Worst bits: Stacey Dash and the kid accountants

Final Tally:

• Mad Max: Fury Road = 6 Oscars
• The Revenant = 3 Oscars
• Spotlight = 2 Oscars
• Everything else that won = 1 Oscar

Correct Oscar Prediction Count: 18/24
(I think that's what I got last year too... ) 

2016 oscar predictions

I've decided I'm going to live blog my random, likely very biased thoughts on tomorrow's 2016 Academy Awards. So check back starting at 5pm PT and keep refreshing this page as I muse on things like how Chris Rock handles #oscarsowhite and how long I have to wait to see Dave Grohl perform.

But before then, I'm posting my predictions so we can see how I do. I have seen all Best Picture nominees and most of the films that generated Acting nominations (except for 45 Years and The Hateful Eight) so I'm not just winging this. (Although in the documentary, short and foreign language categories, I've only seen one film.. so go Amy... which was really sad, btw.)

• Best Picture: I am still undecided here... as long as it's The Revenant or Spotlight (and NOT The Big Short), I will be happy.
• Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant ... or all hell will break loose in Hollywood and Kate Winslet might seriously hurt someone.
• Best Actress: Brie Larson, Room
• Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, Creed ...because he's old and isn't normally in good movies so this is Hollywood's shot to reward him for all the money he's made them. I still think little Jacob Tremblay from Room was robbed of a nomination here and was WAY better that Sly.
• Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl. Her performance was heartbreaking and amazing. (And not really "supporting" but whatever.)
• Best Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant. I actually liked the movie he'll win for this year, unlike last year (Birdman). Although I would not be surprised if George Miller sneaks in here for Mad Max: Fury Road, because that movie was crazy amazing!
• Original Screenplay: Spotlight 
• Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short (ugh) Although my actual choice would be the beautiful Brooklyn, by Nick Hornby... or The Martian... or Room... or even Carol. Can you tell I did NOT like The Big Short?
• Best Animated Feature: Inside Out
• Cinematography: The Revenant.... beautiful
• Costume Design: Carol
• Documentary Feature: Amy (and for once, I actually saw one of these)
• Documentary Short: No real clue, so going with the scariest, most serious looking poster.. A Girl in the River
• Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road
• Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul, which I have a screener of, but can't watch. It's about a child who dies in the Holocaust and I'm trying to have a happy 2016.
• Make-up and Hair: Mad Max: Fury Road
• Original Score: As much as I want John Williams to win for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I fear it's going to be that older guy who scored The Hateful Eight. He just better show up to accept it, cuz I don't want to hear Quentin Tarantino accept on his behalf again. 
• Original Song: "Til It Happens to You," from The Hunting Ground... because I want to see Lady Gaga accept an Oscar. And her co-writer, the amazing Diane Warren -- who has been nominated eight times and wrote a ton of songs I love -- deserves it!
• Production Design: This will go to Mad Max: Fury Road, but I wish The Danish Girl would win because that film (about two painters) looked like a painting itself. 
• Animated Short: No clue.. picking World of Tomorrow or Sanjay's Super Team because I like the names and the posters ;) 
• Short Film: Shok
• Sound Editing: I think Mad Max: Fury Road is going to sweep all these techie awards so...
• Sound Mixing: See above 
• Visual Effects: Again, Mad Max: Fury Road, because a) see above and b) my friend Paige's husband was part of this effects team. They left LA to go live in Namibia for a year and Paige posted really fun videos of them all riding dune buggies through giant hills of sand in the middle of nowhere :) So I'm biased by association here. Although, I also thought the bear in The Revenant was real... so real I couldn't watch "the scene" with my eyes fully open. So I wouldn't be shocked if that pulls an upset.

labor day weekend tradition... slightly altered

Every year, I plan a group outing to the Hollywood Bowl on Labor Day weekend to say goodbye to summer with wine, cheese, and the movie music of John Williams. Usually, there are a ton of Star Wars nerds (myself included) with their light sabers at the ready, waiting for John Williams to conduct the LA Philharmonic in the playing of the Star Wars theme. This year though, John Williams is off writing and conducting new Star Wars music for The Force Awakens, so he was only at the Bowl in a videotaped intro (and in spirit, of course). 

Instead, this year, David Newman conducted the the LA Philharmonic as it played the entire score to my favorite movie ever, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, playing above on-screen. I was in movie music heaven because -- as everyone who goes to the Bowl with me each year knows -- if they don't play music from E.T., I consider the evening a bust, no matter how much fun I may have had pretending I was conducting the orchestra with my purple light saber. 

If you've never been to the Bowl, and love movies, these Movies "In Concert" nights are the perfect introduction to the Bowl experience. I also had a blast at Back to the Future In Concert back in June.

The two highlights of the evening (other than the Reese'e Pieces cookies my friend Linda made. Yum!) were both in the last 10 minutes of the film. 

First, my favorite scene tied to musical score in all of film history... the bike chase. The climax, as Elliott fears the end and E.T. saves the day, makes me both tear up and smile wide at the same time, every time. (Here's a link to the video Linda recorded and put on facebook.) It's just perfect -- especially now that they're back to showing the original version where the cops are trying to stop the kids with threats of rifles instead of walkie talkies. (Not that I'm for threatening to shoot kids and sweet aliens on bicycles with rifles. The walkie talkie "edit" just looked dumb.... like really, really dumb. Thank you Steven Spielberg for realizing this and restoring the scene to its original awesomeness / level of fearfulness followed by elation for its 30th Anniversary.) 

And then the finale, (spoiler alert) where E.T. goes home... I dare you not to tear up. This is why I love John Williams and Steven Spielberg.

random thoughts during the 2015 oscars

Notes from the Red Carpet..

Dakota Johnson looks great and I love that she and her mom are embarrassing each other on worldwide television.

Reese Witherspoon looks amazing. Loved "Wild." My fave movie of the year!

Don't love Emma Stone's dress but still love her and her quote of the night: ".. Bradley Cooper, who I know...he's a normal person." Uh yeah.

Why did Faith Hill cut her hair?

Kerry Washington looks great, as always.

I love Bradley Cooper. ...he's "a normal person" ya know.

I love Chris Evans too. But I love Chris Hemsworth more. Where's Thor?

Fun fact: Patricia Arquette lives across the street from my boss. (And Justin Timberlake lives across the street from my poker hostess with the mostess... I think this "across the street from famous people" is becoming a thing in my life.)

Now on the with Show!

Ok NPH, I have big hopes for you tonight. #nopressure

Loved NPH's opening number with Anna Kendrick and Jack Black! Super fun!

Thanks Lupita Nuongo for getting me the "teleprompter flub" spot on my Oscar bingo card by saying "And the Actor goes to.." JK Simmons already won an Actor. And now he has an Oscar! "Whiplash" was a crazy intense film and his performance was crazy, intense and amazing! And his speech was also one of the best ever. Call your mom and dad! I love you Juno's dad!

Oh hi Adam Levine. Who predicted "Lost Stars" would get a nomination when she saw "Begin Again" last summer? Oh yeah, that would be me.

I hated "The Grand Budapest Hotel"...just fyi. It felt like it was 10 years long. But it can win Hair/Makeup and Costume, as long as that's all it wins.

Wes Anderson has been making movies for 17 years?!?! He looks like he's only 17.

Ok. Best Oscar Performance EVER! "Everything is AWESOME!" Love you Batman!  Plus, thanks 

for the "Wacky Tux" space on my Oscar bingo card, Adam Sandburg. 

New best quote of the night, from NPH:

"I love that dress. It takes a lot of balls to wear that dress."

(Talking about this woman who won for "Documentary Short Subject.")

Gwyneth Paltrow really likes wearing pink to the Oscars, doesn't she?

The Glen Campbell song, performed by Tim McGraw, was totally sad. Thanks Julianne Moore for the "tears" box on my Oscar Bingo card. Could we have the "In Memoriam" now too so we can just get all the sad over with at once.  #rememberrobin

NPH reenacts the "Birdman" tighty whitie scene. Painful. Part Deux.

Jared Leto in a powder blue tux. No comment. Okay.. a comment... Why Jared, why?

Yay for Patricia Arquette! And yay for her equal rights and wages for women speech! She rocks.

Christian Grey's sister is singing. A song from super songwriter Diane Warren. That is all.

Okay, I haven't seen "Interstellar" yet. But I find it hard to believe it just beat "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Dawn of the Planet of rhe Apes" for Visual Effects. Can someone tell me why?

Anna Kendrick is taller than Kevin Hart. And it's not just her heels, Kevin.

LOVE Jessica Chastain's dress. That's one of my colors! I WANT that dress!

"Birdman" wins for Cinematography. Shocker!

Now the sad "In Memorium." #rememberrobin

Jennifer Hudson's voice is sooo good. Wow.

Best Filming Editing goes to "Whiplash." This is sad, because if "American Sniper" had won, I could have continued my "across the street from famous people" theme, as nominee Gary D. Roach lives next door to my BFF Christina up in the SCV. Oh well...

Great "Glory" performance. More "tears" for my Oscar bingo card.

Idina Menzel rocks. That is all.

So you're telling me John Legend's name isn't really John Legend? It's John Stephens?!?! Mind. Just. Blown. (And Lonnie Lynn? Really "Common"? But can't say I blame you on that one....)

Umm... is Lady Gaga really singing songs from "The Sound of Music," or have I just had too much wine? I mean she has a good voice, but she's definitely no nun.

AHHHHHHH JULIE ANDREWS!!!!  Bow down people. Bow down.

YES! "The Grand Budapest Hotel" did NOT win Original Screenplay. Any of those movies were better. So congrats "Birdman." (Why do I feel that's not the last time I'll type that tonight? #worktweettoclientscomingsoon)

2nd Best Speech of the Night goes to former weird kid Graham Moore, who won Best Adapted Screenplay for "The Imitation Game."  "Stay weird,  stay different." Yes!

And now, the only acting award that could go more than one way.....

Whoo hoo! Eddie Redmayne winning Best Actor for "The Theory of Everything" makes me soooooo happy! Such an amazing performance in an amazing film!

Julianne Moore wins. So well deserved. But why couldn't Matthew McConabeard say "Alright" three times instead of just once so I could win on my Oscar bingo card?

Best Picture... "Birdman" or "Boyhood?" (It shoulda been "Wild")

Birdman. Not a surprise. Have I mentioned that "Wild" was my favorite movie this year? Le sigh...

P.S. None of these Oscar bingo cards won. You suck Jimmy Fallon. Is the Jimmy Kimmel Oscar special on yet?

things i think about when i'm home sick

I woke up all achy and tired and congested today, so I stayed home sick. I popped a Nyquil and took a good nap till texts about emails about work awoke me. After dealing with said emails, I checked out the Tivo guide and saw that my favorite of The Lord of the Rings trilogy -- The Two Towers -- was on, so I started watching that. Upon getting to the almost-end, I was reminded of how much I LOVE this scene...



I have seen that movie at least 20 times and I still get chills when Gandalf appears at the top of the hill at dawn "at first light on the fifth day" with Eomer, and they charge down the hill "To the Keep!" to save the day, as the sun rises behind them and blinds all the evil, icky Orcs and Uruk-hai, as the score crescendos. So awesome!

So then I started thinking about other movie scenes I love and can watch over and over and over again and still get goosebumps from. I'm sick and medicated, so I've only remembered two so far...

I call this one, "Neo and Trinity KickAss." I love this scene because it is the epitome of cool. Cool music, cool choreography, cool special effects, and not a single emotion shown by the two rebels on a mission.

 


And from my favorite movie of all time... "The Escape" from E.T. To quote a YouTube commenter, "5:30 = the most magical moment in cinema history." I LOVE this scene, have since I was 10, and get really ticked off at John Williams when he doesn't play this music at his summer Hollywood Bowl concerts.
(Sadly, the quality of this clip sucks, and it's from the special edition where Spielberg replaced the agents' guns with walkie talkies. But I have the original version on both DVD and VHS [and yes, I still have a combo VCR/DVD player to play it on], so I'm good ;)



More will come as my head clears and I think of them.

What are your favorite goosebump-enducing movie scenes?

the good, the bad and the oscar noms

The Oscar(R) nominations were announced early this morning. My tradition is to record the live announcement on E! at 5:30a.m. and then watch when I wake up. Today's announcements -- viewed on TiVo at approximately 6:40a.m. -- were a little surprising...

• Good surprise: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting nominated for Best Picture! There seems to be a backlash going against this film because of their nomination today though. Apparently people don't think it is worthy. Or feel it was just produced as Oscar-bait that the Academy fell for. Whatever. It is a film with great performances that makes you really feel something. I loved it. 
• Bad surprise: The Tree of Life was also nominated for Best Picture. This means I now have to watch it. Ugh. Have not heard good things about it from anyone. And my head already hurts from day-to-day work crazy. I don't need my "entertainment" to strain it more. Oh, and btw, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was NOT nominated for Best Picture. (But sadly, that wasn't a surprise.)
• Good surprise: Hugo -- my fave surprise of screener season -- leads all films with 11 nominations
• Bad surprise: Cars 2 and Golden Globe + PGA Winner The Adventures of TinTin did not get nominated for Best Animated Feature. Eek. 

The acting categories had a few snubs and a few surprises too, but overall, nothing shocking. And it's not like I'm going to complain about a category of noms that means more live coverage of George Clooney and Brad Pitt in tuxes. ;) 

my fave filmmaker's "face"

A pal posted this to Google+ back in December, but I just got around to reading my feed and found it. It's pretty fascinating. It's amazing what you see over and over again, and even love, but don't really think about until someone points it out to you.

 

hidden gems

So I've just submitted my ballot for the 2011 Producer's Guild Awards. And while I'm not going to say how I voted (although anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows my #1 and 2 picks after my Golden Globes rant last night), I do want to point out some hidden gems discovered in my screener pile, that I probably wouldn't have watched if I didn't get the movie delivered to my home for free. If you are looking for a good film to watch, see one of these. You won't be disappointed.

• Hugo -- I watched this because I had to in order to rank it for voting. It was the last movie of the 10 nominees I watched. And this was probably the sweetest surprise of the year. This movie is heartwarming and beautiful to look at. Great performances, even from Sasha Baron Cohen, but especially from Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Asa Butterfield, who stars as Hugo and has the most sad, expressive blue eyes you'll ever see. This is a great film for anyone who loves stories about underdogs and happy endings.
• My Week with Marilyn -- Michelle Williams is amazing. That's the story that follows this film everywhere, and don't get me wrong, she is. But so is Eddie Redmayne, who plays Colin, narrates the film and provides its emotional center. This film is a sweet love story between the two of them, layered between the story of Marilyn's week of filming on Sir Lawrence Olivier's The Prince and the Showgirl, and the insecurities that followed her. It's no best picture, but again, a really sweet story.
• Midnight in Paris -- I usually hate Woody Allen movies, but this didn't feel like a Woody Allen movie. The cast is great and the whimsical storyline, while completely unrealistic, totally appealed to the writer in me searching for inspiration. And I loved that it was set in Paris and had a lovely Parisian soundtrack.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- I would have seen this movie even if I didn't get the screener. I was waiting for this screener. I loved this movie! The cast is amazing and the story -- 9-year-old Oskar's search for the lock that fits a key he found in his father's closet, after his father (portrayed by Tom Hanks) died on September 11th -- is both heartbreaking and life affirming. And Thomas Horn, who plays Oskar, is great. He was discovered on Kids Week of Jeopardy, so you know he's wise beyond his years. 

2011 in films... most of which i didn't see

It's pretty sad that I don't even recognize a third of these movies... I really don't have a favorite movie this year :(

my two fave muppets become x-men

X-Muppets by ~Rahzzah on deviantART

chills!

July 15th better hurry up!

2010 -- the year that was

It's New Year's Eve, my most hated of holidays. People put way too much emphasis on going out, drinking, and cheering when the clock strikes 12. Any time I've tried to "celebrate" this "holiday," I usually regret it... I get in a fight with someone, or the evening doesn't live up to the artificially manufactured expectations that it be awesome, and I feel like I've failed the Party Gods. So this year, I'm sitting on my couch watching movies, with a vodka cranberry in hand. This has been a not-awesome year, and I prefer to just let it slip quietly into the past.

The year 2010 actually started off really well. I was the happiest I'd been in a long time... for about six days. Then things went awry. Sadness, worry and stress took over my personal and professional lives. I'd like to say those feelings lessened as the year went on, but alas, they did not. My mom was diagnosed with MS in June. Work got all re-org-ish over the summer, some people I loved working with are no longer there, and it now seems more in flux than it's ever been. And since July, four colleagues, all under the age of 50, have passed away, three from health issues that took them from this earth way before their time; and the fourth was killed the day after Christmas at the hands of a drunk driver in Vermont. (RIP Johannes, Leslie, Wayne and Kaye.) So sad.

The year was not all bad though. I traveled a lot, (although most of it was for work) and went three places I'd never been before. I also saw a lot of great shows and concerts, participated in three great volunteer events, and made a great home improvement. This year also saw me convert from PC to Mac at home, and I must say I love the freedom of my light, easy to use, virus-free MacBook now, even though converting all my files (or not, as the case may be) was a pain. I got my awesome Droid Incredible phone. And I went to Pilates almost every week of the year. (But went on only one hike due to my knee problems, finally diagnosed in May as runner's knee... although I do not run). Here are some of the highlights of the year:

January:

• My mom and dad celebrated their 40th Anniversary

February:

• Bon Jovi Concert #1 in Anaheim
• Saw Cast and Producers of LOST at PaleyFest

March:

• Bon Jovi Concert #2 in Los Angeles @ Staples Center

April:

• I started blogging (here) again!
• Michael Buble Concert @ Staples Center
• Trip #1: Seattle, WA, for the first time
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2002!

May:

• Trip #2: San Francisco for Web 2.0 Expo
• The 2010 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season
• Renoir in the 20th Century @ LACMA, with Mom, on Mother's Day
• Trip #3: Boulder, CO
• Upgraded to the Droid Incredible
• Trip #4: New Orleans (my one non-work, just for fun trip, for Jason & Nora's wedding!)

June:

• Sting's "Symphonicity" @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Jonny Lang @ House of Blues, Hollywood
• Grease Sing-Along @ the Hollywood Bowl
• I got my new, gorgeous back patio installed!

July:

• Hosted my first 4th of July BBQ
• Went to the Grammy Museum

August:

• RENT @ the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris
• Trip #5: St. Louis, MO, for the first (and hopefully last) time ever
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Goo Goo Dolls @ the Greek Theatre

September:

• Trip #6: Raleigh, NC, for the first time... at the same time as Hurricane Earl
• Trip #7: Palo Alto, CA
• Southern California Coastal Cleanup Day
• Trip #8: San Francisco, again

October:

• Trip #9: Phoenix
• Trip #10: New York City & Hackensack, NJ
• Apple and pumpkin picking in Yucaipa, CA
• The Kings season begins... awesomely. 

November:

• Volunteering for Operation Gratitude
• Disneyland with The Z's 

December:

• My first year with outdoor Christmas lights!
• Volunteering @ LA Regional Foodbank
• Christmas Cocktails
• 12 days of vacation kicks off

And here's what I did this year, according to some of my favorite Facebook status updates:

As 2011 nears, I'm thinking about what I can do to make it better than 2010 was. I think my overall goals are to take care of myself, and strive for happiness in my life and the lives of those close -- and not so close -- to me.

To that end, I want to:

• Get Healthy: I will eat better and utilize either my Wii Fit or the treadmill -- that I plan to "borrow" from my parents' garage -- at least three times per week, in addition to continuing Pilates. I also want to resume hiking when the time changes.  
• Write More: I will not put my journal in a drawer. I will keep it in eyesight and use it to brain dump feelings and ideas not for public consumption here.
• Read Actual Books: A minimum of four this year. One per quarter. That's doable, right? (Sub-goal: I will not let my magazine pile deter me from this goal, no matter how tall it gets.)
• Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Host More: I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more (see goal #1 ;) 
• Travel for Me: I will go to Portland this year to spend time with friends -- I've made that promise. I also hope 2011, one way or another, will finally be my Italian vacation year. I'm thinking either April for someone's birthday, or a solo tour in the Fall. 

That's six things, some more complicated than others. But I was quite amazed with everything I got done in December simply by planning my month, day by day, and checking things off a list. Tomorrow is the start of a new calendar and I can start filling it in right away :)

filmography 2010 - enjoy!

Love this!



Here's a list of all the films featured. Enjoy!

the reign of the boy wizard continues

'Harry Potter' leaps to $125.1M opening weekend, matches franchise's best ticket count - latimes.com

I contributed $13.50 to that $125.1 million, and will be contributing another $18 next Sunday when we go re-see it in IMAX ;)

I loved the film, but really don't want to wait till next July for Part 2. Part 1, which is essentially the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7), (also known as Harry, Ron and Hermione go camping in really dark and spooky woods for a reeeeeeally loooong time), is dark and kinda slow, as it's leading up to the multiple battles and ultimate climax at the end of the series. And the place they chose to end Part 1 -- while it made sense as a cliffhanger -- was really depressing. The end of Part 2 is much better :) Plus Part 2 has (at least in the book.... it better be in the film!) my favorite line of the whole book, when sweet, calm, motherly Mrs. Weasley goes all psycho protective mama-bear on Bellatrix, after Bellatrix barely misses killing Ginny with a spell, and then fights her to the death. Goooooo Mrs. Weasley! :)

can't wait! can't wait! can't wait!!

countdown to awards season begins... now

It feels like I haven't been to the movies in ages, and lets face it, with the exception of Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3 and Inception, the 2010 summer movie season kinda sucked. So I'm happy that the fall movie season (aka the beginning of my favorite season -- Awards Season, the fabulous time of year when I get screener dvds delivered to my doorstep!) is finally here.

I kicked it off last night with Ben Affleck's The Town. Ben wrote, directed and stars in this Boston bank robbery drama, that also stars Jeremy Renner (as a long-time "townie" bud and fellow-bank robber of Ben's character) and Jon Hamm (as the FBI agent trying to take them down). Thoroughly enjoyed this... good script, great cast, good action and suspense. I'm now hopeful for the rest of the fall releases. And while I doubt many of these will be award nominees, for pure entertainment value, here's what I'm most looking forward to seeing:

• The Social Network (October 1)
• Life as We Know It (October 8)
• Red (October 15)
• Hereafter (October 22)
• Due Date (November 5)
• Morning Glory (November 12)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Part 1 (November 19)
• Burlesque (November 24)
• The Fighter (December 10)
• How Do You Know (December 17)
• TRON Legacy (December 17)

more inception... with a pixar twist :)

This is why the internet is awesome sometimes...

Trailer for "UPception"




Trailer for "Toy Story 3: Inception"



And that's just two of the recuts. Hang out on You Tube for a while and you'll find Inception "trailers" starring the casts of "The Matrix," "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," "Monsters Inc.," "The Simpsons Movie," "The Dark Knight," "Lord of the Rings," "Lost" and "Titanic"!

i need to see this movie again...

...I can't stop thinking about the ending, and articles like this don't help :p

Inception Explained: Unraveling The Dream Within The Dream