Sunday 1/10/10

WHO I READ

When I got married in 1997, my best man was Eric Robinette. We met when we were the two movie writers for the student newspaper at Wright State University. He is a journalist for Middletown Daily Journal, so he is a bit more refined while I am out of practice. Our opinions are remarkably similar, although he is MUCH higher on Stanley Kubrick than I am. And when we will disagree, you'll usually see so in his comments section. Here's his site: http://www.sircritic.com/

My hero is Roger Ebert. He needs no introduction. His site: http://www.rogerebert.com/

I will always treasure Owen Gleiberman for his lead for a review of Godard's Hail Mary: "While we are on the subject of sacrilege, why is it every time I see a Godard film I want to throw a brick at the screen?" He remains at Entertainment Weekly, and is part of a blog here: http://movie-critics.ew.com/

James Berardinelli is my favorite critic I discovered online. He is probably closest to where I hope I can go as a writer. His reviews can be found here: http://www.reelviews.net/master.html

Ain't It Cool got its reputation as a tips website, but I will check it because of a few writers they had. The best, Moriarty, has left the site and struck out on his own, under his real name Drew McWeeny. I agree with him less than anyone above, but his analysis is interesting. His pan of Old Dogs gets my vote as funniest review of 2009. He can be found here: http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured

Finally, after reading some really bad conservative Christian reviews for entertainment, I wanted to find a Christian prospective with intelligence, respect for art, and without well, the conservative attitude. I might not always agree with Steven Greydanus, but I know he will offer food for thought. His site is here: http://www.decentfilms.com/

These are the guys who I most enjoy for my film reading, although a lot of times just going to Rotten Tomatoes and picking a movie to read many reviews is my preference. What fun is the movies if you don't toss about many of the opinions about it?


NEVER MIND

Last week I wrote that Avatar was not a threat for Titanic's domestic record. I did not read the number correct. It is indeed a threat. If it passes The Dark Knight by the end of February, it is definitely a threat.


NEVER MIND, PART 2

I have decided not to do a best of list for the decade just completed. As I have read many other lists, I have realized there are just too many films I missed this decade for me to do a list that was anything but incomplete. So I won't. As for the end of the year list, there are two films left for me to watch, and I should complete that this week.


BEST PICTURE RACE

I stand by the top eight contenders I wrote earlier: Avatar, Up in the Air, Precious, The Hurt Locker, Up, Inglourious Basterds, Crazy Heart, and Julie & Julia. The question is what are the other two?

Nine has crashed and burned. Poor box office and poor showings in critics awards were bad signs. For me the final nail in the coffin was the failure to be nominated by the Art Directors Guild. This film looked to be a designer's dream, so this shows me too many Hollywood people are looking elsewhere.

I still think the Sci-Fi contenders, District 9 and Star Trek are hurt by Avatar, which will get more votes than either.and that they have to contend with each other. I still don't think either will be nominated for picture. So I fall back to An Education, a film I had previously stated was not as much a contender as others thought. I still think it is an uphill battle, but I am now predicting An Education to get a best picture nomintation.

Then there is Invictus. Box office? Mediocre. Critics? OK reviews, but not great. But it is directed by Clint Eastwood, and he is Hollywood royalty. He once got a small Japanese language film a best picture nomination. So I think he can pull this off.

One other note: Oscar voters are people too, and can respond to emotion as much as anyone else. The Blind Side has now made 200 million dollars by responding to people's emotions. While I stop short of predicting a best picture nomination, I would not surprised to see one.

MY FAVORITE SHOW IS BACK

Chuck kicks off its third season on NBC tonight. The second season was released on DVD Tuesday, so several episodes have been played in my house this week. Tonight's premiere is a major event for us.

Chuck is hard to classify. Is it a comedy? Yes. A drama? Yes. Action? Yes. The comedy, of a nerd thrown into the spy game, is what drew me in. But what probably has held me is the genuine affection for its characters, especially in the relationship between Chuck and his older sister Ellie. Its the best sibling relationship I've seen portrayed. There's a lot of silliness in the show, but the relationshios are real. It's a wonderful dynamic.

HEALTH UPDATE

Weight: 245. Ugh. Blood sugar still too high. Double ugh. Doctor's appointment Wednesday to see if the blood suger is better. Triple ugh.