'Carol of the Bells'

Remembering Ava on Her Birthdate

i loved ava gardner. she was earthy. and she was a beauty. was she a great actress? probably not. but she had a screen presence that better actresses did not. she does have some memorable roles. and she has one absolutely brilliant performance. as maxine faulk in 'the night of the iguana' she stood her ground with two of the screen's finest deborah kerr and richard burton. in fact given the showier role her performance came off as the film's best. not getting an oscar nom in 1964 for this role when mary poppins and molly brown did is an ultimate oscar insult. well that being said we lost ava too soon. but she lived...damn did she live!!!

if you only see one ava film in your life make it tennessee williams 'the night of the iquana'. it is quite remarkable as directed by john houston. the cast is stellar all around. treat yourself to a classic.

ava and richard burton

the trailer

'Merry Christmas Darling'

DADT Repealed and Signed into Law by Barack Today

a promise kept. i don't understand why anyone wants to go to war. as a gay man i certainly understand the civil rights nature of this law and am thus i am proud. but now that we got rid of this can we finally put an end to war. ah silly dopey naive me. 

'Twelve Days of Christmas'

'Baby It's Cold Outside'

If It's Christmas It's 'Love Actually'

spend another holiday season with 'love actually'

'Carol of the Bells'

2010: the Cinescape

a film in review by matt shapiro

'Miracle on 34th Street'

'The Town' Releases Today on Blu Ray and DVD

the golden globes decided to ignore 'the town' except for a nod to jeremy renner in the supporting male category. you should not ignore it. when i first saw it i wondered if it would catch on. many film critic organizations got it right and it made more ten best lists than i thought it might. this is a nice surprise. it also appears to be getting rewarded in the ensemble acting category where that distinction applies. the credit for this goes to ben allleck. there is not a weak acting moment in this film.

mr. affleck also gave rebecca hall and blake lively their best roles to date. especially ms. lively. for those of you who only know her as serena on 'gossip girl', where she is actually wonderful, you ain't seen nothing yet. as the meth addicted krista she shines. and it seems that only the san diego film critics and i noticed. blake gives one of the best supporting performances of 2010. is it because of 'gossip girl' that she can't really be taken that seriously. have we forgotten that two time oscar winner sally field appeared in 'gidget' and 'the flying nun' before major film roles?

you owe it to yourself to see this film. this is just a reminder. i'll bet the farm it makes one of the ten nominations come oscar time. i'll bet the same farm the oscars ignore blake lively. they've made bigger mistakes in the past but don't get me started.

'THE TOWN' IS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF 2010

blake as krista

 with director affleck

It's Time for Serious Oscarbation to Begin

The SAG Nominations in Film

The nominees in film are:
 
Best Ensemble
”Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“The Kids Are All Right”
“The King’s Speech”
“The Social Network”

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “True Grit”
Robert Duvall, “Get Low”
Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network”
Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
James Franco, “127 Hours”

Best Actress
Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Hilary Swank, “Conviction”

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner, “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo, “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush, “The King’s Speech”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham-Carter, “The King’s Speech”
Mila Kunis, “Black Swan”
Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”

Best Stunt Ensemble
“Green Zone”
“Inception”
“Robin Hood”

The SAG Nominations in TV

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

"Boardwalk Empire"

"Dexter"

"The Good Wife"

"Mad Men"

"The Closer"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

"30 Rock"

"The Office"

"Glee"

"Modern Family"

"Hot in Cleveland"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"

Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

Hugh Laurie, "House"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"

Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"

Glenn Close, "Damages"

Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Steve Carell, "The Office"

Chris Colfer, "Glee"

Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"

Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Betty White, "Hot in Cleveland"

Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

Tina Fey, "30 Rock"

Edie Falco "Nurse Jackie"

Jane Lynch, "Glee"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

John Goodman, "You Don't Know Jack"

Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"

Dennis Quaid, "You Don't Know Jack"

Edgar Ramirez, "Carlos"

Patrick Stewart, "MacBeth"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin"

Catherine O'Hara, "Temple Grandin"

Julia Ormond, "Temple Grandin"

Winona Ryder, "When Love Is Not Enough"

Susan Sarandon, "You Don't Know Jack"

Kerry Ellis: 'Defying Gravity'

Filmography 2010: 270 Films in 6 Minutes

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