Out on DVD this week...

Just wanted to let you know what's out on DVD this week. I watched Stranger Than Fiction and really enjoyed it. There were some things that bothered me about it, but it's one of the better films I've seen lately. I don't know whether I'm going to like Pick of Destiny, A Good Year (based on Peter Mayle's book, A Year In Provence) and Tideland (Terry Gilliam's new film). Have you seen anything good lately? I want to hear your reviews!

I'm just going to say it...I love the Academy Awards

Okay, okay...I know they were too long and Celine should have stayed home, but I must say I really enjoyed this years show. Ellen was relaxed and very funny, there were some entertaining aspects such as the Pilobolus dancers, the awesome sound effects choir, and some other great moments. I agree that there was a lot of fluff that could have been removed, but as a whole I thought it was very entertaining. Not as entertaining as the snow though! Whenever it snows I get so excited I don't know what to do with myself. No more school closings or snow chains but the excitement is still there. We only got 5" in NJ, but in Vermont there is over 2ft! I'm going to make it up there one weekend because I'm feeling snow deprived.

I saw three movies this weekend. For Your Consideration, Babel, and The Prestige. Of the three, I liked The Prestige most. I've always been into stage magic, and this tale of two dueling magicians is sure to please. I didn't care for Consideration or Babel. If you happen to rent For Your Consideration, there is a scene where the sound is completely off. Fred Willard is talking and the camera is behind him. His words don't match up with his lips. I've never seen anything like it!

And the oscar goes to...

How could I not post my predicted winners for this evening's award show. Unfortunately, I missed quite a few of the films being nominated but am going to get to them now that they are on DVD. I did catch the first five minutes of The Last King of Scotland on our plane to Utah. So here we go! Please note, these are the nominees that I think will win, not neccessarily those that I want to win.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: FOREST WHITAKER (I'm sad to say that I didn't see any of the films in this category) but Forest has been the talk of the town and has some great buzz.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: EDDIE MURPHY- There could be a surprise in this race though.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: HELEN MIRREN

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: JENNIFER HUDSON

ANIMATED FEATURE: HAPPY FEET- I disagree with this as I think Monster House was a million times better than Happy Feet.

ART DIRECTION: PAN's LABYRINTH

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Children of men

COSTUME DESIGN: DREAMGIRLS

DIRECTING: MARTY SCORSESE

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH-

DOCUMENTARY SHORT: TWO HANDS

FILM EDITING: BABEL

FOREIGN FILM: Pan's Labyrinth

Makeup: Pan's Labyrinth

Music (score): The Queen

Music (song) : Listen from Dreamgirls

Best Picture: Any of the films nominated could take this one. I'm rooting for The Departed and Martin Scorsese this year.

Short Film animated: The Little Matchgirl

Short Film Live Action: Binta and the great idea

Sound Editing: Letters From Iwo Jima

Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls

Visual Effects: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): The Departed

Writing (original screenplay) : Little Miss Sunshine


I hate picking winners as I usually don't agree with those chosen. We shall see what happens tonight. It's supposed to snow here 3-5 inches tonight. Anyone want to meet up for KFC/Taco Bell tomorrow for lunch? I just heard the CEO say they are changing the name to KFR.

AFV

It's hard for me to believe that America's Funniest Videos is still going strong. The show premiered on January 14, 1990 with host Bob Saget. Many years later, it was hosted by Daisy Fuentes and John Fugelsang. Today, Tom Bergeron has the job of introducing these videos and being corny while doing so. I'm puzzled over the fact that people are still watching this show. Are they really? Are you secretly watching? I thought it was funny back in the day, ohhh perhaps 12 years ago. I wonder if my changed feelings toward this show has to do with age? Maybe I've seen enough kids hit their dad in the nuts with a bat? I don't know...My mission is to come up with the next AHV. Something with silly voiceovers, wacky sound effects, and happy families winning money. Want to brainstorm?


PS. When I exited the West 3rd Street Subway station this morning, a cheery woman tried handing me a NYC Condom. "But I hardly know you, I don't even know your name" was the response I wanted to give. Instead, I declined politely.

In a hottub!

In a hottub!

I've been sick for the past 5 days and am just starting to feel better. Nothing more fun than being sick over a long weekend. I watched a lot of crappy tv, some movies, and read Jim Cramer's new Mad Money book. I recently started to watch Mad Money and have gotten excited about learning the stock market. I played the stock market game like I'm sure many of you did in middle school, but this is the real thing now. I highly recommend watching Jim Cramer's show. His story is an interesting one, and it's amazing how his enthusiasm has gotten young people interested in the stock market. I'm still learning and building up my stock portfolio, but here's what I own as of now:

Apple
Wells Fargo
NewsCorp (yes I know, I feel awful about admitting this one)
Blockbuster

We'll see what happens!

Wholphin DVD...the best gift ever!!!

I want to share something with you and I hope you will subscribe to this after reading the post. I did, and it's the best gift I have ever given myself. I look forward to receiving this quarterly DVD in the mail as it contains some of the best short films that you will ever see. Wholphin DVD is a quarterly DVD magazine from McSweeney's. I first learned of Wholphin at Sundance last year. The content on the DVDs is so incredible and definitely worth subscription price ($40 a year). I have enjoyed everything on the now three issues and I can't even begin to explain some of the things I have seen. There's a documentary on Al Gore by Spike Jonze where he spends time with the Gore family (You HAVE to see this one), a really early film by Alexander Payne, Foreign Sitcoms w/new subtitles written by a bunch of today's best known comedy writers, and much much more. Sound good? Well it really is, and I encourage you to subscribe. Their website is also great because they post many extra films which aren't on the DVDs. When you get your copy give me a call and we can talk about how great they are. Looking for the perfect gift? This is it!

Was that a dreamgirl? or did a car just crash through that wall?

Don't know if any of you saw this news story about a car that plowed through the wall of a movie theater during a showing of "Dreamgirls". It just so happened that the SUV came through in the middle of Jennifer Hudson's version of Cadillac Car.