Song of the Day: 'Elusive Buttertfly''

'elusive butterfly' had a haunting quality about it when bob lind released it in  1966. it's been covered by any number of artists each one adding to it well. it's one of those standards that will remain popular for years to come. simply put it is a 'beautiful' song where melody and lyric are perfectly joined together.

petula clark added her own 'naturalness' to it with her cover. pet always had the ability to make her cover stand on it's own alongside the original if not rising above it. in this case her cover surpassed the original by miles.

the nicest surprise came a decade ago when jane olivor covered it. her voice and the arrangement recaptured the 'haunting' feeling it had seemingly lost over the years. thank you jane. she made the butterfly elusive again.

Golden Globe Nominations 2010

The King’s Speech leads with 7.  The Fighter and The Social Network tie for second with 6.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KING’S SPEECH
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Halle Berry, FRANKIE AND ALICE
Nicole Kidman, RABBIT HOLE
Jennifer Lawrence, WINTER’S BONE
Natalie Portman, BLACK SWAN
Michelle Williams, BLUE VALENTINE
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Jesse Eisenberg, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Colin Firth, THE KING’S SPEECH
James Franco, 127 HOURS
Ryan Gosling, BLUE VALENTINE
Mark Wahlberg, THE FIGHTER
BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
BURLESQUE
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
RED
THE TOURIST
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Annette Bening, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Anne Hathaway, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
Angelina Jolie, THE TOURIST
Julianne Moore, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Emma Stone, EASY A
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE -MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Johnny Depp, ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Johnny Depp, THE TOURIST
Paul Giamatti, BARNEY’S VERSION
Jake Gyllenhaal, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
Kevin Spacey, CASINO JACK
BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, BLACK SWAN
David Fincher, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Tom Hooper, THE KING’S SPEECH
Christopher Nolan, INCEPTION
David O. Russell, THE FIGHTER

BEST SCREENPLAY
Danny Boyle, 127 HOURS
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Hart, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Christopher Nolan, INCEPTION
David Seidler, THE KING’S SPEECH
Aaron Sorkin, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexander Desplat, THE KING’S SPEECH
Danny Elfman, ALICE IN WONDERLAND
A.R. Robin, 127 HOURS
Trent Reznor, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Hans Zimmer, INCEPTION
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BIUTIFUL
THE CONCERT
THE EDGE
I AM LOVE
IN A BETTER WORLD
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, THE FIGHTER
Helena Bonham Carter, THE KING’S SPEECH
Mila Kunis, BLACK SWAN
Melissa Leo, THE FIGHTER
Jacki Weaver, ANIMAL KINGDOM
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Christian Bale, THE FIGHTER
Michael Douglas, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
Andrew Garfield, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Jeremy Renner, THE TOWN
Geoffrey Rush, THE KING’S SPEECH
BEST ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
THE ILLUSIONIST
TANGLED
TOY STORY
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Bound to You” – BURLESQUE
“Coming Home” – COUNTRY STRONG
“I See the Light” – TANGLED
“There’s a Place for Us” – THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE DAWN TREADER
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” – BURLESQUE

Remembering Lee on Her Birthdate

AFI AWARDS 2010: Announcing The Honorees

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR

BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
127 HOURS
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
THE TOWN
TOY STORY 3
TRUE GRIT
WINTER'S BONE

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

THE BIG C
BOARDWALK EMPIRE
BREAKING BAD
GLEE
MAD MEN
MODERN FAMILY
THE PACIFIC
TEMPLE GRANDIN
30 ROCK
THE WALKING DEAD

AFI SPECIAL AWARDS

THE KING'S SPEECH
WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

 and if you are interested these was their 2009 picks

'Social Network' Appears to be the Juggernaut to Beat

based on the critics picks anyhow. but will the majority of oscar voters pick a well written, directed, edited and acted film about some of the most despicable people EVER for best picture. they might; i hope they might not. it will make my best of 2010 but not THE best of 2010. spending two hours with this group was almost as bad as being a guest when 'rachel getting married' got married. i said almost!

but hell i'm the guy who still can't figure out 'the hurt locker' over 'avatar', 'up in the air', 'precious' and 'the blind side' last year.

The New York Film Critics 2010 Have Their Say

Best Film
“The Social Network”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Director
David Fincher, “The Social Network”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Actor
Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Actress
Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Supporting Actor
Mark Ruffalo, “The Kids Are All Right”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Supporting Actress
Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Screenplay
“The Kids Are All Right”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Cinematography
“Black Swan”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Animated Film
“The Illusionist”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Non-Fiction Film
“Inside Job”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best Foreign Language Film
“Carlos”
(Runner-up: TBA)
Best First Feature
“Animal Kingdom”
(Runner-up: TBA)

Broadcast Film Critics Nominees 2010

Nominees:

• 127 Hours
• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The King's Speech
• The Social Network
• The Town
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:

• Jeff Bridges - "True Grit"
• Robert Duvall - "Get Low"
• Jesse Eisenberg - "The Social Network"
• Colin Firth - "The King's Speech"
• James Franco - "127 Hours"
• Ryan Gosling - "Blue Valentine"

BEST ACTRESS

Nominees:

• Annette Bening - "The Kids Are All Right"
• Nicole Kidman - "Rabbit Hole"
• Jennifer Lawrence - "Winter's Bone"
• Natalie Portman - "Black Swan"
• Noomi Rapace - "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
• Michelle Williams - "Blue Valentine"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees:

• Christian Bale - "The Fighter"
• Andrew Garfield - "The Social Network"
• Jeremy Renner - "The Town"
• Sam Rockwell - "Conviction"
• Mark Ruffalo - "The Kids Are All Right"
• Geoffrey Rush - "The King's Speech"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:

• Amy Adams - "The Fighter"
• Helena Bonham Carter - "The King's Speech"
• Mila Kunis - "Black Swan"
• Melissa Leo - "The Fighter"
• Hailee Steinfeld - "True Grit"
• Jacki Weaver - "Animal Kingdom"

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Nominees:

• Elle Fanning - "Somewhere"
• Jennifer Lawrence - "Winter's Bone"
• Chloe Grace Moretz - "Let Me In"
• Chloe Grace Moretz - "Kick-Ass"
• Kodi Smit-McPhee - "Let Me In"
• Hailee Steinfeld - "True Grit"

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Nominees:

• The Fighter
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King's Speech
• The Social Network
• The Town

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:

• Darren Aronofsky - "Black Swan"
• Danny Boyle - "127 Hours"
• Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - "True Grit"
• David Fincher - "The Social Network"
• Tom Hooper - "The King's Speech"
• Christopher Nolan - "Inception"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Nominees:

• "Another Year" - Mike Leigh
• "Black Swan" - Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin
• "The Fighter" - Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson (Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson)
• "Inception" - Christopher Nolan
• "The Kids Are All Right" - Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
• "The King's Speech" - David Seidler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Nominees:

• "127 Hours" - Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle
• "The Social Network" - Aaron Sorkin
• "The Town" - Ben Affleck, Peter Craig and Sheldon Turner
• "Toy Story 3" - Michael Arndt (Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich)
• "True Grit" - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• "Winter's Bone" - Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Nominees:

• "127 Hours" - Anthony Dod Mantle
• "Black Swan" - Matthew Libatique
• "Inception" - Wally Pfister
• "The King's Speech" - Danny Cohen
• "True Grit" - Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION

Nominees:

• "Alice in Wonderland" - Stefan Dechant
• "Black Swan" - Therese DePrez and Tora Peterson
• "Inception" - Guy Hendrix Dyas
• "The King's Speech" - Netty Chapman
• "True Grit" - Jess Gonchor and Nancy Haigh

BEST EDITING

Nominees:

• "127 Hours" - Jon Harris
• "Black Swan" - Andrew Weisblum
• "Inception" - Lee Smith
• "The Social Network" - Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Nominees:

• "Alice in Wonderland" - Colleen Atwood
• "Black Swan" - Amy Westcott
• "The King's Speech" - Jenny Beavan
• "True Grit" - Mary Zophres

BEST MAKEUP

Nominees:

• Alice in Wonderland
• Black Swan
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
• True Grit

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Nominees:

• Alice in Wonderland
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
  
• Inception
• Tron: Legacy

BEST SOUND

Nominees:

• 127 Hours
• Black Swan
• Inception
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Nominees:

• Despicable Me
• How to Train Your Dragon
• The Illusionist
• Tangled
• Toy Story 3

BEST ACTION MOVIE

Nominees:

• Inception
• Kick-Ass
• Red
• The Town
• Unstoppable

BEST COMEDY

Nominees:

• Cyrus
• Date Night
• Easy A
• Get Him to the Greek
• I Love You Phillip Morris
• The Other Guys

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Nominees:

• The Pacific
• Temple Grandin
• You Don't Know Jack

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Nominees:

• Biutiful
• I Am Love
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Nominees:

• Exit Through the Gift Shop
• Inside Job
• Restrepo
• Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
• The Tillman Story
• Waiting for Superman

BEST SONG

Nominees:

• "I See the Light" - performed by Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi/written by Alan Menken & Glenn Slater - Tangled
• "If I Rise" - performed by Dido and A.R. Rahman/music by A.R. Rahman/lyrics by Dido Armstrong and Rollo Armstrong - 127 Hours
• "Shine" - performed and written by John Legend - Waiting for Superman
• "We Belong Together" - performed and written by Randy Newman - Toy Story 3
• "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me Yet" - performed by Cher/written by Diane Warren - Burlesque

BEST SCORE

Nominees:

• "Black Swan" - Clint Mansell
• "Inception" - Hans Zimmer
• "The King's Speech" - Alexandre Desplat
• "The Social Network" - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• "True Grit" - Carter Burwell

'Cairo Time' *1/2stars

i love small films that give us an unexpected love that will be all to brief. i could not wait to see this 2010 film. and i love patricia clarkson who is totally underrated and under utilized in film. this film and her performance is not going to help her out much. 

the director for some odd reason has her walking in slo-mo for the entire film. it's almost as though she just finished a guest star role on amc's 'the walking dead' and didn't get out of character. her lines are delivered, and i use that word deliberately, no matter the emotion with a one notemonotone. it's as if ms. clarkson filmed this entire movie stoned. what the hell was the director thinking?

the only saving grace in this film is the performance of egyptian actor alexander siddig. i can't figure out how he could even react to the wooden ms. clarkson.

forget this one.

AFI Top 10 List 2010

“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The Kids Are All Right”
“127 Hours”
“The Social Network”
“The Town”
“Toy Story 3″
“True Grit”
“Winter’s Bone”

NY Film Critics Online Awards 2010

Best Picture
“The Social Network”
Best Director
David Fincher, “The Social Network”
Best Actor
James Franco, “127 Hours”
Best Actress
Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
Best Supporting Actress
Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”
Best Screenplay
“The Social Network”
Best Foreign Language Film
“I Am Love”
Best Documentary
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
Best Cinematography
“Black Swan”
Best Music
“Black Swan”
Best Ensemble
“The Kids Are All Right”
Best Debut Feature
JohN Wells, “The Company Men”
Best Breakthrough Performer
Noomi Rapace, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

LA Film Critics Awards 2010

Best Picture
“The Social Network”
(Runner-up: “Carlos”)
Best Director
(tie) Olivier Assayas, “Carlos,” David Fincher, “The Social Network”
Best Actor
Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
(Runner-up: Edgar Ramirez, “Carlos”)
Best Actress
Kim Hye-ja, “Mother”
(Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone”)
Best Supporting Actor
Niels Arestrup, “A Propet”
(Runner-up: Geoffrey Rush, “The King’s Speech”)
Best Supporting Actress
Jacki Weaver, “Animal Kingdom”
(Runner-up: Olivia Williams, “The Ghost Writer”)
Best Screenplay
“The Social Network”
(Runner-up: “The King’s Speech”)
Best Cinematography
“Black Swan”
(Runner-up: “True Grit”)
Best Animated Film
“Toy Story 3″
(runner-up: “The Illusionist”)
Best Foreign Language Film
“Carlos”
(Runner-up: “Mother”)
Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film
“Last Train Home”
(Runner-up: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”)
Best Music/Score
(tie) “The Ghost Writer,” “The Social Network”
Best Production Design
“Inception”
(Runner-up: “The King’s Speech”)
New Generation Award
Lena Dunham, “Tiny Furniture”

'Wishful Drinking' Tonight HBO at 9

carrie fisher can be a hoot. the reviews for this broadway show were pretty good. here's hoping.

Kyra Closing Shop

kyra sedgwick has decided to make the next season the final season of 'the closer'. after 7 seasons i'm really going to hate saying goodbye to brenda lee johnson. i suppose kyra's decision is too have the hit tnt series go out while it's still on top of it's game. all the same i'm going to miss one of the best ensmble casts on tv.

My Favorite Films of the Year

with a few films yet to see it's time to look back at some of my favorite films of 2010. are they the best films of 2010? well they are as far as i'm concerned. will they get oscar noms? not all of them but so what. they are films that in one way or another moved me, touched my spirit, made me laugh or cry or taught me something about real life, possible life or made up life. they all made me think. i would revisit all of them again and in some cases i already have and one of them more than twice revisited. they are the movies i've recommended over the past eleven months and still recommend. i am not a critic in the strict sense of the word although i am quite critical. i'm an opinionist. and i am damn opinionated. at some point after the new year i'll opinionate on my top films of the year. and the worst. and there were so many worst this year as there is every other year. but my worst are those that had the pretense to believe they could/would be the best.

a best:

'shutter island'

the first major film of the year starred the ever growing leonardo dicaprio. martin scorcese directed it and it was a whole new ballgame for him. i think it's his best film. i mean even he seemed to have had enough of gangsters and crooked cops. i'm glad he did. this is a masterpiece of storytelling. it opened in february so the short term memory of the oscar voters may forget it. they shouldn't.

besides the brilliant performance by dicaprio there is the wonderful michelle williams, mark rufalo in the first of two worthy roles this year ('the kids are alright') and the should be nominated as actress in a supporting role the always terrific patricia clarkson. 

simply put it's a story of madness. it's a mystery. i know it's a good mystery because i did not figure it out. therefore it went above and beyond the formular most films follow. not since 'the sixth sense' has a hollywood mystery caught me this much off guard.

i gave it ***stars when it came out. i should up it to ***1/2 stars as no other mystery surpassed it this year.
'shutter island' is available on dvd and blu ray.

i hope hollywood surprises me and gives this film it's due with noms come february. i just won't bet the house on it!

'The Tourist' Opens Wide Today

depp, jolie and venice...it has possibilities...or not.

Happy Birthday Judi and Felicity

Debra Winger

one of the true pleasures of this mostly mediocre tv season is the  return of debra winger. debra plays frances a no longer younger actress on the hbo series 'in treatment'. i really hate that debra walked away from film all those years ago but i do respect her decesion. she appears every now and then on film and tv and i am always 'there'. i even suffered thru the god-awful 'rachel getting married' a few years ago. took me a bit of time to forgive debra for that one.

check her out on 'in treatment'. her beauty and talent have not faded but are aging with perfection.

'Inception' in 4.26

'Inception' on Blu Ray and DVD Today

not a single film that i've seen has come out so far this year that has moved 'inception' from my favorite film of the year slot. nor from my best film of 2010 thus far. granted i have a few more to see but....

leo, marion, joseph gordon-levitt and the rest of the wonderful cast bring life to an amazing original screenplay brilliantly crafted and directed by christopher nolan.

now we can own it...rewind it, slow-mo it or just watch in over again and again. this has never been a see it once film. it is chock full of moments, sequences, shots that need to be seen again, studied and pondered over. this is one helluva film...an amazing fete really.

it deserves oscar noms for film, directing, editing, screenplay, best actor, supporting actress, music. sound editing, special effects and cinematography.  did i leave any out?

i guess you know how i feel about 'inception'. i gave it my highest rating when i first saw it. the next three times did not change my mind. this is film making at it's best.

Happy Birthday Ellen

ellen's oscar win was for her performance in 'alice doesn't live here anymore'

my favorite ellen burstyn film was her oscar nominated 'resurrection'.