Academy Award Winners

I gotta be honest, there are a few surprises.

BEST PICTURE:* The Hurt Locker* Avatar* The Blind Side* District 9* An Education* Inglourious Basterds* Precious* A Serious Man* Up* Up in the Air

DIRECTING:* Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)* James Cameron (Avatar)* Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)* Lee Daniels (Precious)* Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)

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)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:* Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)* Helen Mirren (The Last Station)* Carey Mulligan (An Education)* Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)* Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:* Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)* Matt Damon (Invictus)* Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)* Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)* Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:* Mo'Nique (Precious)* Penelope Cruz (Nine)* Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)* Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)* Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:* Precious (Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher)* District 9 (Written by Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell)* An Education (Screenplay by Nick Hornby)* In the Loop (Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche)* Up in the Air (Screenplay by Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:* The Hurt Locker (Written by Mark Boal)* Inglourious Basterds (Written by Quentin Tarantino)* The Messenger (Written by Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman)* A Serious Man (Written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)* Up (Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter. Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:* El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)* Ajami (Israel)* The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)* Un Prophete (France)* The White Ribbon (Germany)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:* Up* Coraline* Fantastic Mr. Fox* The Princess and the Frog* The Secrets of Kells

ART DIRECTION:* Avatar (Art Direction: Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg. Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair)* The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Art Direction: Dave Warren, Anastasia Masaro. Set Decoration: Caroline Smith)* Nine (Art Direction: John Myhre. Set Direction: Gordon Sim)* Sherlock Holmes (Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood. Set Direction: Katie Spencer)* The Young Victoria (Art Direction: Patrice Vermette. Set Direction: 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:* The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)* Bright Star (Janet Patterson)* Coco before Chanel (Catherine Leterrier)* The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Monique Prudhomme)* Nine (Colleen Atwood)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:* The Cove* Burma VJ* Food, Inc.* The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the * Pentagon Papers* Which Way Home

FILM EDITING:* The Hurt Locker (Bob Murawski, Chris Innis)* Avatar (Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron)* District 9 (Julian Clarke)* Inglourious Basterds (Sally Menke)* Precious (Joe Klotz)

MAKEUP: * Il Divo (Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano)* The Young Victoria (Jon Henry Gordon, Jenny Shircore)

ORIGINAL SCORE:* Up (Michael Giacchino)* Avatar (James Horner)* Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat)* The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders)* Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)

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

SOUND MIXING:* The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett)* Avatar (Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson)* Inglourious Basterds (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Mark Ulano)* Star Trek (Anna Behlmer, Andy Lenson, Peter J. Devlin)* Transformers: Revenger of the Fallen (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson)

SOUND EDITING:* The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson)* Avatar (Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle)* Inglourious Basterds (Wylie Stateman)* Star Trek (Mark Stroeckinger, Alan Rankin)* Up (Michael Silvers, Tom Myers)

VISUAL EFFECTS:* Avatar (Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones)* District 9 (Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken)* Star Trek (Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:* Music by Prudence* China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province* The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner* The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant* Rabbit a la Berlin

ANIMATED SHORT FILM:* Logorama* French Roast* Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty* The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)* A Matter of Loaf and DeathLIVE ACTION

SHORT FILM:* The New Tenants* The Door* Instead of Abracadabra* Kavi* Miracle Fish

The American President - a sort of oldie, but pretty goodie

I say sort of oldie because it came out 15 years ago, and I say pretty goodie because it is a good, solid romance. It's a chick flick but a decent one at that.

Michael Douglas plays President Andrew Shepherd, a widower and father who has an very large approval rating, but begins to get uncomfortable with the perception surrounding his being a single father. Coincidentally, he meets hard-charging political strategist and lobbyist Sydney Wade (Annette Bening - American Beauty). Shepherd is immediately taken by Wade and invites her to a State dinner, the two begin a relationship, much to the chagrin of Sydney's boss and much to the delight of President Shepherd's political rival, the scheming Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss - Jaws). Rumson begins to attack Sydney and the President's character which sends President Shepherd's approval ratings tumbling and eventually forces Shepherd to choose between one of his priority bills and the bill Sydney was hired to get passed. The film also stars Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, and Samantha Mathis.

This is basically just a well done, feel good romance movie. It has likable good guys, hatable bad guys, chemistry between the stars, a happy ending. It's really hard to say anything bad about it. I'm sure some of those people who are so super conservative or liberal would focus too much on whatever political thing is going on in the movie rather than the movie itself, but those people need take a hike anyway. It's not too long, it progresses nicely, and ends on high note. It's not overly cheesy or cliche' but then again most romances have those, which is one of the reasons we like them.

I guess if I had to say one critical thing about the film is that I thought it may have spent a little too much time focusing on the race for votes which is the mechanism used to drive the action of the film and not enough on the relationship of our main characters. But that's me being nit picky.

I don't know if you necessarily need to go out and rent this one, because it's not going to change your life or anything, and its also on like every week. But since its on TV a lot (and there's usually a reason for a movie being on TV a lot...it's a good movie) I would recommend cuddling up with your snuggle buddy and taking this one in.

A Serious Man - Coen Brothers, so it'll probably be awesome the 6th time I see it

A Serious Man is the newest Coen Brothers creation. If you haven't at least heard of the Coen Brothers, you have 2 options. Go jump off the nearest really tall building or do some research on them and watch some of their movies, because they (the movies and the Brothers, not the really tall buildings) are awesome. Having said that, however, Coen Brothers' movies are also very weird, and sometime very hard to really understand. They all have this strange, um, thing, about them. I find that the first time I watch a Coen Brothers movie, I am a little confused, and find myself saying, "well, that was okay...i guess..." But then the second time I like it a little more and the third a little more, and so on and so forth. Usually the opposite happens with most movies. They lose a little bit of their luster after each subsequent viewing. I say all of that to say this. A Serious Man was okay...i guess...

A Serious Man is a very black comedy of Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, who is a good man who's live is unraveling around him. His wife Judith is leaving him for a totally pompous acquaintance, his unemployable brother Arthur sleeps on the couch and gets in serious legal trouble, his son Danny is a discipline problem and a total pothead, and his daughter Sarah is stealing money from his wallet, an Asian student is blackmailing him for grades, and all the while Larry tries to keep his life in order and find answers to all of this through guidance of 3 very unhelpful Rabbis. This is a movie about the Jewish faith, about trying to stay faithful amongst all the crap that's going on. If you know the biblical story of Job, this is a black comedy based on that.

The Coen Brothers always find ways to deal with very deep themes in their movies. This one is no different. This would be a very serious, very depressing drama if there were not the series of outrageous events, circumstances, and characters that inhabit this film. There are no big stars in this flick either, however, you'll probably recognize a few of the actors.

It is really hard for me to write a truly honest review of this movie because I can't help but think that this movie is actually much better than I thought after my first viewing. If I had to tell you right now, without anything else, what I thought of the movie, I would have to say I thought it was a little dull, very strange, and a bit difficult to understand the point. But I can't say that because I know it is a Coen Brothers movie and their flicks are so subtle and creative and different that they all end up being good. This movie is definitely creatively done, and definitely original.

My suggestion to you guys is this. If you like Coen Brothers movies, you should rent this one. But be forewarned that it is a much more serious "comedy" than some of their others. It will be difficult to grasp at first, I think. If you don't like the Coen Brother's or you are like Timmy and need explosions and car chases to keep you entertained, then you are going to find this one very dull. Maybe after I see this one again, I can write a better review, but until then, this is all I've got.

Couples Retreat - a bit more serious than I thought

What can I say about this one other than it was "Okay"? Couples Retreat is a movie with an all-star comedic cast including Vince Vaughan, Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Juno), Jon Favreau (Swingers, I Love You, Man), Faison Love (The Perfect Holiday, Idlewild), Kristen Davis (Charlotte from Sex and the City), Malin Akerman (The Heartbreak Kid, Watchmen), and Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, When in Rome). When ever you have Vince Vaughan and Jason Bateman in a movie, there are going to be laughs. This movie was no different. There were plenty of laughs. I mean I laughed a lot, but for a comedy to be truly funny and really good, the ratio between laughs and seriousness needs to be right. This movie was too light on the laughs and too heavy on the seriousness. Hence, the highly specific "Okay" rating.

Couples Retreat is centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional. In attending these sessions, the couples realize that things aren't so hunky dory and all of the couples problems get multiplied and exacerbated.

Like I said before, this movie is bad, its just not great. I expected more from the comic geniuses in this flick, and I didn't get it. Vince Vaughan has some of his classic, hilarious rants. The naked Asian guy from The Hangover is in it. You see all the hot girls in their underwear and bikinis. My favorite part is seeing Kristen Davis, who I think is an absolute smoke house, in a not much clothing a lot. And the scenery is breath taking. It made want to go on vacation bad. But the real scene stealer is the little kid who plays Vince Vaughan and Malin Akerman's youngest kid. He's cute as hell and everything he says and does is hilarious. Obviously the cuteness helps, but still.

If you rent this one, you won't be terribly disappointed, but you won't be thrilled either. If I had to give it a number grade, it would be probably a B- maybe a C+ if I wrote this on a Monday.

New York, I Love You - Paris, je t'aime too.

Some of you may be blown away at my multi-lingualness and you very well should be, because I just wrote some French at you. New York, I Love You is the sister film to 2006's Paris, je t'aime which translates into Paris, I Love You. Creative, I know. The premise behind both these films is that they are a series of short vignettes, each directed by a different director, each about a different kind of love, each in a different part of the city. I personally think it is a really cool premise.

New York is a little different from Paris in that Paris's stories never really intertwined and some of New York's did. It is also different in that we were told who was directed what in Paris but not in New York. Paris had a couple of fantastical scenes, where as New York really only had one-ish. I like both of these movies equally for different reasons.

New York stars many big name actors. Some playing roles that are very atypical for them, some not. If you want to see a movie with tons of big names, that doesn't suck, as I've heard but don't know first hand about Valentine's Day, then you'd like this one. Some of the big names include in no particular order, Bradley Cooper, Shia Le Beouf, Natalie Portman, James Caan, Andy Garcia, Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson, Christina Ricci, Blake Lively, Orlando Bloom, Anton Yelchin, Ethan Hawke, Drea De Matteo, Maggie Q., Robin Wright Penn, Chris Cooper, Cloris Leachmen, John Hurt, and more and more.

I like this movie because it is like watching a bunch of tiny little movies because each is it's own interesting story, and each is filmed in its own special way. Characters in one story appear briefly in other stories. Character's from two different stories interact in transition between the various scenes.

This film doesn't have a end goal. The stories and characters don't combine into one final resolution. It is a film that just contains different stories about different love in an amazing city. The stories range from a story about a boy (strangely) losing his virginity to a manny and his charge to a husband and wife in love to a lonely, aging star and a bell hop. They are very different but all very intriguing. I do however recommend that everyone see this movie. It's not going to blow your socks off, but I think you will feel a little bit more cultured, maybe a little bit happier after you see this. This is more on the movies-are-an-art-form side of the spectrum than the movies-are-just-for-entertainment side, but it is still quite entertaining. Rent this one, pour some red wine, get cozy with your honey, and enjoy the show. Or rent this one, be like Timmy and open a Natty Light, and enjoy the show. Regardless, rent this one.

Zombieland - FINALLY! I good movie!

I will totally watch this movie again! Zombieland is a completely entertaining movie. From beginning to end, I was having fun. I love it when silly movies don't take themselves very seriously, and this one definitely doesn't. For those of you who don't know anything about Zombieland, and are just going by the name, this is not a scary, Zombie movie, this is a funny Zombie movie, and it's pretty dang funny too.

Zombieland takes place in the very near future when a plague of some sorts turns just about everyone on earth into flesh eating Zombies. The movie follows 4 survivors as they try to reach some sort of "Zombie-free" zone. The story is told by Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg - the poor man's Michael Cera) in which he explains how everything happened and periodically tells us the rules of survival, which appear written on the screen when on of his rules works or doesn't. He is accompanied on his journey across the country by Tallahassee played by an absolutely hilarious and entertaining Woody Harrelson. These two are joined by Wichita (Emma Stone-Jonah Hill's girl in Superbad, who is actually hot in this) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine). There are many fun and entertaining parts as the 4some journey's across country to California where we have a super show down between the zombies and our heroes.

There are multiple reasons why I liked this movie. Firstly, everyone in the movie is does a really great job and is hilarious. I mean, my boy Woody kind of steals the show, but there really isn't a weak actor in the bunch. It's also filmed in Georgia, and while I didn't necessarily recognize anything right off, I'll be glad to share a little trivia with you. There is a section of the movie that takes place in an ridiculously large, and opulent home owned by a super hilarious movie star, who has a really funny cameo. That house is in Buckhead. There's also a scene at an amusement park. That is filmed at the theme park in Valdosta. Just a little trivia. Like I said earlier, this movie doesn't take itself seriously, so there are a lot of "yeah right" scenes, but because of the nature of the movie you are totally cool with it. There's also something wickedly fun about killing a lot of zombie, I don't know what it is, but it's really cool. Call me weird.

I recommend this one to everyone. I do that with one bit of warning though. It's a ZOMBIE movie, so there is going to be a lot of gross, gory parts. Either prepare yourself for it, or get over it and grow a pair, but either way, you gotta see this one. You'll have a blast.

Whip It - Drew Barrymore's directing debut

The back of the DVD box for Drew Barrymore's directorial debut about women's roller derby's says something along the lines of "pure genius." Well, I wouldn't go that far, but I wouldn't say it was "pure retard" either (pardon my political incorrectness there).

Whip It is the story of Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page - Juno) who is a sort of edgy, "alternative" misfit who has grown unhappy with her small-town Texas life football and beauty pageants. Football loved by her father Earl (Daniel Stern - Home Alone I and II) and the pageants by her mother Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden). Bliss just wants to get out and needs a plan and a calling. She eventually finds a flyer for a Roller Derby event, schemes to attend, gets invited to try out and becomes Babe Ruthless, her alter-ego roller derby character. She makes the team, lies about her age, works hard to succeed, experiences her first love with the young lead singer of an Indie rock band, gets disappointed in love, bonds with her new family of roller derby girls who include such actresses as Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig (SNL, Knocked Up), Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, Old School), Eve, and Andrew Wilson (Luke and Owen's older bro), fights with her mother to escape the beauty pageant and live her new dream as roller derby star. And they all live happily ever after. The End.

This was a good movie in that it had an interesting cast that all seemed to mesh with one another. It was also pretty cool in that it is a decent flick about women's roller derby which I can honestly say I've never seen.

It should be noted that the word "good" for the purposes of this review is the be defined as "well acted, well written, well cast, well directed." It is not to be defined as "I liked it." Because I was actually kind of bored with it. I mean, I like Ellen Page, I like Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, and Juliette Lewis, but I just didn't like this movie. I felt it kind of hard to believe that Ellen Page's little ass could handle one match in the rough sport of roller derby. I also just wasn't that intrigued by the roller derby sport. I know the idea is to see sexy women in skimpy outfits, knocking the crap out of each other, and that's supposed to be hot, but I just don't think it is. The women are tattooed and butch and the only time women fighting is hot is when it involves bikinis, a kiddie pool, and lots of jello...or mud...or KY jelly...

This is one of those well made films that just felt a little flat to me. The fun parts just didn't feel all that fun, the sad parts just didn't feel all that sad, and the happy parts just didn't feel all that happy. Maybe I was in a bad mood when I watched this, but I honestly wouldn't recommend anyone rent this. If I comes on HBO or something, maybe you can watch it, but don't waste you hard earned money on this one.