Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Out on DVD Today (February 2nd)

Here is a bit of what is out on DVD today:

Zombieland
Rated: R, 1 hr. 21 min.

Love Happens
Rated: PG-13, 1 hr. 49 min.

New York, I Love You
Rated: R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Amelia
Rated: PG, 2 hr.

The House of the Devil
Rated: R, 1 hr. 33 min.

I recommend Zombieland. I also recommend that you avoide The House of the Devil unless you enjoy not-so-scary-and-slow-moving horror films. I myself am looking forward to seeing Amelia.

The Academy Award Nominations 2010

Today the 82nd Annual Academy Awards nominations were announced. Here is a complete list of the nominees:

Actor in a Leading Role:
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"

Actor in a Supporting Role:
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Actress in a Leading Role:
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"

Actress in a Supporting Role:
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Animated Feature Film
"Coraline," Henry Selick
"Fantastic Mr. Fox," Wes Anderson
"The Princess and the Frog," John Musker and Ron Clements
"The Secret of Kells," Tomm Moore
"Up," Pete Doctor

Art Direction
"Avatar" Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
"Nine" Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
"Sherlock Holmes" Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Young Victoria" Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography
"Avatar," Mauro Fiore
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," Bruno Delbonnel
"The Hurt Locker," Barry Ackroyd
"Inglourious Basterds," Robert Richardson
"The White Ribbon," Christian Berger

Costume Design
"Bright Star," Janet Patterson
"Coco before Chanel," Catherine Leterrier
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," Monique Prudhomme
"Nine," Colleen Atwood
"The Young Victoria," Sandy Powell

Directing
"Avatar," James Cameron
"The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow
"Inglourious Basterds," Quentin Tarantino
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," Lee Daniels
"Up in the Air," Jason Reitman

Documentary (Feature)
"Burma VJ," Anders Ostergaard and Lisa Lense-Moller
"The Cove," Nominees to be determined
"Food, Inc.," Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers," Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
"Which Way Home," Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)
"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province," Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neil
"The Last Campaign of Governer Booth Gardner," Daniel Jung and Henry Ansbacher
"The Last Truck: The Closing of a GM Plant," Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
"Music by Prudence," Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
"Rabbit a la Berlin," Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Film Editing
"Avatar," Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, and James Cameron
"District 9," Julian Clarke
"The Hurt Locker," Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
"Inglourious Basterds," Sally Renke
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film
"Ajami," Israel
"El Secreto de sus Ojos," Argentina
"The Milk of Sorrow," Peru
"Un Prophete," France
"The White Ribbon," Germany

Makeup
"Il Divo," Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
"Star Trek," Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, and Joel Harlow
"The Young Victoria," Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)
"Avatar," James Horner
"Fantastic Mr. Fox," Alexandre Desplat
"The Hurt Locker," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
"Sherlock Holmes," Hans Zimmer
"Up," Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)
"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nina," Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart" from "Crazy Heart," Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Picture
"Avatar," Producers: James Cameron and Jon Landau
"The Blind Side," Nominees to be determined
"District 9," Producers: Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham
"An Education," Producers: Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey
"The Hurt Locker," Nominees to be determined
"Inglourious Basterds," Producer: Lawrence Bender
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," Producers: Lee Daniels, Sara Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
"A Serious Man," Producers: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"Up," Producer: Jonas Rivera
"Up in the Air," Producers: Daniel Duniecki, Ivan Reitman, and Jason Reitman

Short Film (Animated)
"French Roast," Fabrice O. Joubert
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty," Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)," Javier Recio Garcia
"Logorama," Nicolas Schmerkin
"A Matter of Loaf and Death," Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)
"The Door," Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
"Instead of Abra Cadabra," Patrik Eklund and Mathius Fjellstrom
"Kavi," Gregg Helvey
"Miracle Fish," Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
"The New Tenants," Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing
"Avatar," Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
"The Hurt Locker," Paul N.J. Ottosson
"Inglourious Basterds," Wylie Stateman
"Star Trek," Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
"Up," Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing
"Avatar," Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, and Tony Johnson
"The Hurt Locker," Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
"Inglourious Basterds," Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, and Mark Ulano
"Star Trek," Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson, and Peter J. Devlin
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects
"Avatar," Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones
"District 9," Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, and Matt Aitken
"Star Trek," Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"District 9," Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
"An Education," Screenplay by Nick Hornby
"In the Loop," Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
"Up in the Air," Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Hurt Locker," Written by Mark Boal
"Inglourious Basterds," Written by Quentin Tarantino
"The Messenger," Written by Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
"A Serious Man," Written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"Up," Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Doctor; Story by Pete Doctor, Bob Peterson, and Tom McCarthy


Not too many surprises in the nominees for this year's awards. What do you think of the nominees?

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will occur on March 7, 2010 from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.






Excellent Acting, Lovely Visuals, and a Disappointingly Flat Story.



The Lovely Bones

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci

Rated: PG-13

2 hrs. 15 min.

The Lovely Bones is told by 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Soairse Ronan), murdered in December of 1973, as she watches her family struggle in the time after her disappearance from a place called "The In-Between." She must find closure with her death before she may move on to heaven.

The acting by lead Saoirse Ronan is absolutely superb. She is able to project her own fears, frustrations, and countless other emotions on the audience rather well. Mark Wahlberg plays the role of a father in search for answers to perfection, and we root for him to find the answers he desperately seeks for the sake of his murdered daughter. Stanley Tucci's creepy version of George Harvey also stuns. In fact, all of the acting is utterly impressive, but those three in particular stand ahead of the rest.

As brilliant as the acting may be, it does not account for the fact that the story itself lacks. While it is true that films based on books will never logistically be able to include everything that the book does for the sake of time, there were so many elements missing from the film. Moments in the story that were important to the integrity of the original plot were completely cut; these moments are also essential to the emotion behind the story. Even a friend who had never read the book stated that there seemed to be something missing.

It seemed as though the director was more focused on making the film visually spectacular as apposed to trying to keep the story well-rounded. That may pass in epics like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson, but that does not fly in emotion-based dramas such as The Lovely Bones.

Overall, it is a good attempt, but even the strong acting cannot save the story from completely falling flat.

Grade: C+