Short films!

Oscar-readiness 2011 is winding to a close. I just watched the animated and live action Short Film nominees. The animated ones were just so-so this year. The only stand-out is the beautiful The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which you can watch for free here. The rest really weren't that great. To be fair, La Luna wasn't available for screening, so I can't comment on that one.

The live action shorts, however, they were fantastic. I can't remember ever seeing such a strong crop of shorts in one year. You can download them from iTunes, and it really is worth the seven bucks. My favorite is probably Pentecost, the story of an Irish altar boy that had me guffawing with laughter from start to finish. But they're all good and really worth your time.

Last night Jen and I saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which finished off Best Picture and Supporting Actor. After my movie madness, here are the categories I ended up finishing:

Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Art Direction
Best Make-up
Best Live Action Short Film

I was one film away from completing another six categories, but I didn't see the need to subject myself to Transformers 3 or that horrible movie Madonna made in order to romanticize two really awful people who were totally Nazis.

Yes, I said Nazis!

Tomorrow night is the big show. I'm betting on major wins for The Artist and major laughs from Billy Crystal. Whee!

"Get something pretty."

How fabulous is this? The furs! The feathers! Sharon Stone's beaded chevron dress at 1:29 that I will sit down and watch Casino on cable TV every time I stumble upon it just to get a glimpse of!



Mobster lady fashion. Yes, please.

The Tree of Boredom and Despair

Oscar readiness continues. I just put myself through watching The Tree of Life. I loathe Terence Malick’s work. He’s put me through a lot and now the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has allowed him to put me through even more.

This film is largely about a man’s reminiscences of his childhood and the different pulls his mother and father had on him. It could have been a compelling story, but instead of actually telling the story, Malick just shows us 2 hours and 20 minutes of disjointed scenes, each lasting a few seconds. I felt like I was watching somebody’s old family movies. Have you ever watched a stranger’s family movies for 2 hours and 20 minutes? No. Of course not. Because you’d have gotten up and left.

It was a classic Terence Malick film: visually stunning, but packed with heavy-handed symbolism (which I assume Malick thinks is deep), and also butt-numbingly dull. I constantly checked the timer on the DVD player, willing it to count down faster.

I like to call this movie “The Emperor’s New Clothes” as I think that story accurately describes the reason why The Tree of Life was nominated for Best Picture. Terence Malick has this aura of genius around him, presumably because he makes films sparingly and lives as privately as JD Salinger. I think people are afraid they’ll look silly if they say they think Malick is a hack, so instead they panic and nominate him for awards. 

For my part, the credits are rolling and I feel like I’ve just been released from being kidnapped.

Downton madness continues unabated!

In celebration of all things Downton, and just in time for the airing of the Christmas Special tomorrow night (!) the fine folks over at Vulture have supplied us with Downton Abbey paper dolls. Go here to print them.

Check out Lady Sybil's suffrage accoutrements and socialist needlework. The Dowager Countess' assortment of emotions! (My favorite is "smug.") Also includes awesome accessories such as O’Brien’s evil miscarriage-inducing soap, Thomas' oozing wounded hand, and the corpse of Mr. Pamuk!

Bring me my scissors and paste. I know what I’m doing tonight.

Further proof that Colin Firth is easily the dreamiest, most charming man in the world.

Meryl Streep won a BAFTA (read: British Oscar) for The Iron Lady and, on her way to the stage, she had a Cinderella moment and lost her shoe.

Lucky for her, the presenter was none other than Prince Charming himself.

A very happy V-Day to my fellow Downton fans

"One can't go to pieces at the death of every foreigner. We'd all be in a state of collapse every time we opened a newspaper."

Go here to see the artist and to download and print them. Careful to whom you send the Evil Thomas one.

This cannot end well.

Check out this article from the New York Times. This has got to be the stupidest behavior I have ever encountered, and I have been to fraternity parties and read the entire Twilight series.

"The digital era has given rise to a more intimate custom. It has become fashionable for young people to express their affection for each other by sharing their passwords to e-mail, Facebook and other accounts."

Now serving complimentary crack rocks in the Super Bowl sky box.

"My husband cannot (bleeping) throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times."

-Giselle, apparently gunning for a spot on the SportsCenter team

  

[sarcasm] She is such a classy lady. [/sarcasm]

Movie posters reimagined for another place and time

My favorite is Inception.

Check them all out here.

My favorite person right now

For obvious reasons.

Do I find Tom Brady's disappointment delicious?

I may not eat for a week.

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...



Photo by Eugene Sribnyi


Last night I went to see Romeo and Juliet performed by the State Ballet Theater of Russia.

It was an utter delight.

Test Your Awareness

The British are such a delight. Take a look at this ad for visual awareness and take the test.



How did you do?

AND DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS BEFORE WATCHING THE VIDEO!