Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Could Iron Man be the First Great Movie of 2008?

The reviews seem to indicate so. Honestly, I was very underwhelmed by the trailer, but the fact that a superhero movie has a 94% on RT is really something. And considering how weak a year it has been for movies, I can see myself being there on Friday (or maybe a week from Friday...I feel obligated to see Baby Mama). We'll see. It's great to see Robert Downey, Jr. getting this kind of exposure, though.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Blindness Trailer



Hmm...not as bad as I was expecting, but not quite as good as some were hoping. I don't think it was a bad trailer by any means, but I don't think I'm going to remember it vividly in a few months. Doesn't exactly look like Oscar's kind of film, but it has Mierelles and Moore behind it, so anything's possible. I should read this book.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Cannes Contenders Announced!

From IMDb:

Clint Eastwood's Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, will compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival next month, festival organizers announced today (Wednesday) as they unveiled the titles of 19 movies, selected from 1,792 films submitted from 96 countries, that will vie for the prestigious award. (A 20th film, from France, is due to be announced soon.) Steven Soderbergh's four-hour Che, about Cuban revolutionary hero Che Guevara and made up of two films (The Argentine and Guerrilla), will also contend for the prized trophy. German director Wim Wenders will be coming to the festival with his The Palermo Shooting. U.S. screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) is also entered in the competition with his first film as a director, Synecdoche, New York, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. "There are films that are hair-raising because they break new ground," festival president Gilles Jacob told a news conference in Paris. Among U.S. films screening out of competition will be the Steven Spielberg-George Lucas production of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, starring Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem; and the animated DreamWorks comedy Kung-Fu Panda, featuring the voices of Jolie, Jack Black, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman. The festival runs from May 14 to May 25.

Amazing lineup right there.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Hamlet 2 Redband Trailer...

Embedding is disabled. Sorry :-(

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ACSlH9PSo7g

Okay, so...I think it looks totally amazing. However, I'm quite sure the Academy won't agree with me on that. But I'll keep it in the predix for now just because I don't want to sell my soul just yet. Rock me, sexy Jesus!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

W. Casting

It seems like every day now, we get a new cast member for Oliver Stone's upcoming W. to be released in 2009. So far, we all know Josh Brolin is playing George W., Elizabeth Banks is playing Laura, Thandie Newton is Condi, Ioan Gruffudd is Tony Blair, James Cromwell is H.W., Ellen Burstyn is Barb, Rob Corddry is Ari Fleischer, and Jeffrey Wright is Colin Powell.

Even if the film doesn't end up being any good, I'm still loving the casting process of this film and it seems like I'm not alone (just check the IMDB boards). So, my question is:

Who do you think should play the other parts? Cheney? Rove? Maybe even Kerry?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Dates for 2009 Set!!

Thanks, as usual, to AwardsDaily for these.

Monday, December 1, 2008: Official Screen Credits forms due
Friday, December 26, 2008: Nominations ballots mailed
Monday, January 12, 2009: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT
Thursday, January 22, 2009: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater
Wednesday, January 28, 2009: Final ballots mailed
Monday, February 2, 2009: Nominees Luncheon
Saturday, February 7, 2009: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation
Tuesday, February 17, 2009: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT
Sunday, February 22, 2009: 81st Annual Academy Awards presentation

Yay.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Predix Revamp (For Real)

OMG, I'm actually posting something!

BEST PICTURE
1. Australia (maybe? I truly have no idea)
2. Doubt
3. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
4. The Soloist
5. Revolutionary Road (I'm actually starting to like this)

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Baz Luhrmann - Australia
2. Woody Allen - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
3. John Hillcoat - The Road
4. John Patrick Shanley - Doubt
5. Ed Harris - Appaloosa

BEST ACTOR
1. Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
2. Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
3. Viggo Mortensen - The Road
4. Jim Carrey - Yes Man (I like this premise, and he's so overdue for a nod it hurts)
5. Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt

BEST ACTRESS
1. Meryl Streep - Doubt
2. Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road
3. Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
4. Nicole Kidman - Australia
5. Kerry Washington - Mama Black Widow

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Robert Downey, Jr. - The Soloist
2. Michael Sheen - Frost/Nixon
3. John Malkovich - Burn After Reading
4. Josh Brolin - Milk
5. Kodi Smit-McPhee - The Road (maybe this year's Abigail Breslin/Saoirse Ronan?)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Viola Davis - Doubt (allegedly, Adams' role in this is brief and not that memorable)
2. Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (I'm saying that this will be that one film every year that audiences and critics love, but doesn't do very well come awards time...except in one acting category)
3. Scarlett Johansson - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
4. Renee Zellweger - Appaloosa
5. Catherine Keener - The Soloist

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Australia
3. Hamlet 2
4. WALL-E
5. Synecdoche, New York (I'm starting to like this again...kinda)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Doubt
2. The Soloist
3. Revolutionary Road
4. The Road
5. Appaloosa

That's better...

Monday, April 7, 2008

Valkyrie Release Date Delayed AGAIN

Thanks to Everything Oscar for the info.

Turns out that my prediction for the bomb of 2008 is even more accurate.

R.I.P Charlton Heston

I meant to post this earlier, but Blogger was down. Nonetheless, my condolences to the family and friends of the legendary, Oscar-winning Charlton Heston. And, though I couldn't disagree with his politics more, I respect him for voicing his not-so-Hollywood-friendly opinions.

By the end of 2008, will anyone in Hollywood still be alive? It's all so tragic...

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Remember Last Oscar Season...

When Helen Mirren was everyone's favorite actress?

Guess what? It happened to me again.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Predix Revamp

BEST PICTURE
1. Tunnel Rats
2. Prom Night
3. Saw V
4. Meet the Spartans
5. The Love Guru

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Uwe Boll - Tunnel Rats
2. David Hackl - Saw V
3. Nelson McCormick - Prom Night
4. Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer - Meet the Spartans (will the Academy be willing to honor dual directors two years in a row?)
5. Tom Putnam - The Hottie and the Nottie (but don't count out David Schwimmer. You know how Oscar loves their actors turned directors)

BEST ACTOR
1. Mike Myers - The Love Guru (overdue much?)
2. Drake Bell - Superhero Movie
3. Eddie Murphy - Meet Dave (the Norbit snub helps him out)
4. Larry the Cable Guy - Witless Protection
5. Kal Penn - Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay

BEST ACTRESS
1. Jessica Simpson - Blonde Ambition
2. Paris Hilton - The Hottie and the Nottie
3. Carmen Electra - Meet the Spartans (overdue, but can she top Paris?)
4. Shannyn Sossamon - One Missed Call
5. Tara Reid - Clean Break (could she be the comeback of the year?)

In case you haven't noticed (please tell me you have), this is my excuse for an April Fool's joke. However, I'll be posting one of these very soon. My current predix are bothering me quite a bit.