Oscar Noms Tomorrow

i think there may now be a race for 'best picture' after the pga defied the critics and went for 'the king's speech' which WAS the best picture of 2010.

'The King's Speech' Takes PGA Award

the producer's guild awarded 'the king's speech' best picture last night. this came as a major surprise to 'the social network' cheerleaders.this now puts the oscar foe best pic in flux. flux is good. maybe this tear the oscar ceremony won't be all the formally expected to win. for too many years now the oscars have become a fait accomplis in most categories. maybe a bit of nail biting will liven things up.

The Best of Film 2010: Let the Arguements Begin

 yes it was a good year for film lovers. my personal tastes vary and there was a lot to satisfy my movie going pleasure. i can't limit my 'best of' to ten. the following are just representing the treasure trove of movies that more than satisfied in 2010.

these films affected me in different ways. some are brilliant pieces of film making. a couple just made me smile. two made me shudder in a good way. one specifically dazzled my eyes and ears. some made me cry or a least shed a few tears. some made me think well after the film ended. but after all is said and done they all satisfied and touched me in one way or another. 

(argue amongst yourselves. my work is done)

1. the king's speech
simply the all around best. acting, directing, screenplay and characters you care for. give colin the oscar now.

2. Inception

a feast for the eyes and ears. what direction and editing are all about.

3. Black Swan

a psycho sexual feast. i just happen to love films that blur the line between reality and fantasy. a better descent into maddness has not been served up before. give natalie the oscar now.

4. Shutter Island

a mystery to die for. another film that blurs the line between what is real and maybe not so real.

5. Agora

does history repeat itself? see for yourself.

and the rest in no particular order



The Town

ben affleck triumphs in his sophmore directorial effort. why the hell is blake lively not getting supporting kudos?

 127 Hours

the film some are afraid to see. has no one ever heard of great editing. a triumph in cinema fotography

 City Island

a slice of life gem. andy garcia has never been better.

 Hereafter

no pronouncements or denouncements. just a call for thoughtful dialogue. clint eastwood amazes yet again.

 Fair Game

the truth can prevail.

 The Social Network

amazing on most levels. a bit overwritten and yet surprisingly underdeveloped characterization. the characters btw are some of the most despicable people i've ever spent two hours with.

 Remember Me

an indie with heart. robert pattinson is more than a vampire heart throb. he has the wounded soul of a montgomery clift.

 Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

i really did not want to see this film. i was more than pleasantly surprised.

 Letters to Juliet

a romcom for all ages. vanessa redgrave shines.

 Twilight Eclipse

the best of the trilogy. you may say well hell that's not saying much. well maybe not to you but it is to me.

 The Fighter

i went kicking and screaming. i was wrong. christian bale is worth the admission price.

 The Tillman Story

oh america the beautiful...not so much.

 Hiachi: A Dog's Tale

why the hell this little gem went straight to dvd i'll never know. if you ever loved a pet or had a pet love you this is a must.

After Thought

i don't know why he left as both he and msnbc are being tight lipped about this. but i am so sure he is not gone for good. he will resurrect somewhere else. bigger and better. can he get any better? who will really really tell it like it is i.e. the truth. matthews? somewhat. o'donnell? he's really getting there. but neither have the olbermann wit. he was, is, unique. mostly i'll miss his right on 'special comments'. sometimes i felt as if i had written them. no one person on tv has ever personified my thoughts so well and seemingly with ease. who will make me think BIGGER now? i feel like i have lost a good and trusted friend. but only for a time i hope.

The Final 'Countdown'

this came as a surprise. an unhappy surprise. i've been a faithful viewer if keith's 'countdown'. the bar at msnbc has been lowered a bit. well thanks for the eight years keith. you made it all easier to take.

NEW YORK — Commentator Keith Olbermann signed off his msnbc cable television show Friday night after nearly eight years. 

"Msnbc and Keith Olbermann have ended our contract," Phil Griffin, president of msnbc, said Friday.
"Msnbc thanks Keith for his integral role in msnbc's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," Griffin said.

Olbermann announced his departure before closing his show with a reading from a James Thurber novel, a Friday night tradition.

Recounting his move to msnbc after departing ESPN, Olbermann said, "I was supposed to fill in for the late Jerry Nachman for exactly three days. 49 days later there was a four-year contract for me to return to this nightly 8 PM time slot which I had fled four years earlier."

He noted that the show gradually established an anti-establishment position.
"The program grew thanks entirely to your support with great rewards for me and I hope for you," Olbermann told viewers.
"There were many occasions particularly in the last two and a half years where all that surrounded the show — but never the show itself — was just too much for me. But your support and loyalty and if I may use the word insistence ultimately required that I keep going."
Olbermann did not explain why he was leaving.

Happy Birthday Diane

i've always enjoyed diane lane on film. she lived up to her promise in 2002's 'unfaithful'. deservedly she got a best actress nom. it's a hot sexy film with a hot and sexy diane, richard gere and the super hot olivier martinez.

trailer

early on there was the 1997 charmer 'a little romance'. if you've never seen it rent it, sit back, relax and enjoy.

trailer

and most recently there is this year's 'secratariat'. i'm not sure why the box office for this fell way below expectations. probably just one more good film lost in a damn good year for film. it's available 1/25 on blu ray and dvd

DVR Alert: 'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena' Tonight

the prequel to last season's hit 'spartacus' starts tonight night on starz

trailer

Happy Birthday Bill

Happy Birthday Shelley and Dolly

'The King's Speech' Leads BAFTA Noms with 14

2010 BAFTA NOMINATIONS

BEST FILM
"Black Swan," Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
"Inception," Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
"The King's Speech," Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
"The Social Network," Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Cean Chaffin
"True Grit," Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

DIRECTOR
"127 Hours," Danny Boyle
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky
"Inception," Christopher Nolan
"The King's Speech," Tom Hooper
"The Social Network," David Fincher

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"Black Swan," Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin
"The Fighter," Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
"Inception," Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right," Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
"The King's Speech," David Seidler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"127 Hours," Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
"The Social Network," Aaron Sorkin
"Toy Story 3," Michael Arndt
"True Grit," Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

LEADING ACTOR
Javier Bardem, "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
James Franco, "127 Hours"

LEADING ACTRESS
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
Julianne Moore, "The Kids Are All Right"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Noomi Rapace, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"
Pete Postlethwaite, "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Barbara Hershey, "Black Swan"
Lesley Manville, "Another Year"
Miranda Richardson, "Made in Dagenham"

ORIGINAL MUSIC
"127 Hours," Ar Rahman
"Alice in Wonderland," Danny Elfman
"How to Train Your Dragon," John Powell
"Inception," Hans Zimmer
"The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat

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

EDITING
"127 Hours," Jon Harris
"Black Swan," Andrew Weisblum
"Inception," Lee Smith
"The King's Speech," Tariq Anwar
"The Social Network," Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

PRODUCTION DESIGN
"Alice in Wonderland," Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara
"Black Swan," Therese Deprez, Tora Peterson
"Inception," Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
"The King's Speech," Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
"True Grit," Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

COSTUME DESIGN
"Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood
"Black Swan," Amy Westcott
"The King's Speech," Jenny Beavan
"Made in Dagenham," Louise Stjernsward
"True Grit," Mary Zophres

SOUND
"127 Hours," Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C. Laneri, Douglas Cameron
"Black Swan," Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella
"Inception," Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, Ed Novick
"The King's Speech," John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland, Douglas Axtell

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
"Alice in Wonderland," Nominees TBC
"Black Swan," Dan Schrecker
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait'hadi, Christian Manz
"Inception," Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
"Toy Story 3," Nominees TBC

MAKE UP AND HAIR
"Alice in Wonderland," Nominees TBC
"Black Swan," Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
"The King's Speech," Frances Hannon
"Made in Dagenham," Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
"Biutiful," Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Soren Stærmose, Niels Arden Oplev
"I Am Love," Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi D'Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante
"Of Gods and Men," Xavier Beauvois
"The Secret in Their Eyes," Mariela Besuievsky, Juan Jose Campanella

ANIMATED FILM
"Despicable Me," Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
"How to Train Your Dragon," Chris Sanders, Dean Deblois
"Toy Story 3," Lee Unkrich

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
"127 Hours," Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Christian Colson, John Smithson
"Another Year," Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
"Four Lions," Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
"The King's Speech," Tom Hooper, David Seidler, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
"Made in Dagenham," Nigel Cole, William Ivory, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
"The Arbor," Clio Barnard (director), Tracy O'Riordan (producer)
"Exit Through the Gift Shop," Banksy (director), Jaimie D'Cruz (producer)
"Four Lions," Chris Morris (director/writer)
"Monsters," Gareth Edwards (director/writer)
"Skeletons," Nick Whitfield (director/writer)

SHORT ANIMATION
"The Eagleman," Stag Michael Please
"Matter Fisher," David Prosser
"Thursday," Matthias Hoegg

SHORT FILM
"Connect," Samuel Abrahams, Beau Gordon
"Lin," Piers Thompson, Simon Hessel
"Rite," Michael Pearce, Ross Mckenzie
"Turning," Karni Arieli, Saul Freed, Alison Sterling, Kat Armour-Brown
"Until the River Runs Red," Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (VOTED FOR BY THE PUBLIC)
Gemma Arterton
Andrew Garfield
Tom Hardy
Aaron Johnson
Emma Stone

Remembering Cary on His Birthday

one of the best. handsome, suave and a much better actor than he was give credit for being.

 he appeared with three of my favorite actresses in three of my favorite films

with audrey hepburn in 'charade'

with deborah kerr in 'an affair to remember'

and katharine hepburn in 'bringing up baby'

Golden Globe Winners and Oscar Front Runners

Golden Globe Winners

Best Motion Picture – Drama
* The Social Network
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* The Kids Are All Right
Best Director – Motion Picture
* David Fincher for The Social Network
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
* The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
* Colin Firth for The King’s Speech
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
* Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* Paul Giamatti for Barney’s Version
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
* Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
* Christian Bale for The Fighter
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
* Melissa Leo for The Fighter
Best Original Song – Motion Picture
* Burlesque: Diane Warren (“You Haven’t Seen The Last of Me”)
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
* The Social Network: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Best Animated Film
* Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Language Film
* In a Better World (Denmark)

Best Television Series – Drama
* “Boardwalk Empire”
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
* “Glee”
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
* “Carlos”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie – Television
* Al Pacino for You Don’t Know Jack
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie – Television
* Claire Danes for Temple Grandin
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
* Jim Parsons for “The Big Bang Theory”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
* Laura Linney for “The Big C”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
* Steve Buscemi for “Boardwalk Empire”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
* Katey Sagal for “Sons of Anarchy”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Television
* Chris Colfer for “Glee”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Television
* Jane Lynch for “Glee”

'Harry's Law' Tonight on NBC

 the great kathy bates in her own series. i hope i hope.....

and an added bonus it brings the talented brittany snow ('american dreams') back to series tv

Happy Birthday Betty

betty's 'lifetime achievement' at 2010 sag awards

betty white on 'hot in cleveland'*

*season 2 of 'hot in cleveland' begins wednesday night, 1/19, on tvland

R.I.P. Susannah York

susannah york was an amazing actress. she should have been bigger. i've always thought her problem was julie christie. they had the same talent, great,  but julie just had that certain something, screen magic, that susannah apparently did not. or maybe she did but julie just got moved to the forefront first having won an oscar in 1965.
however that did not diminish her real talent.

for me susannah will best be remembered for her role as alice in 'they shoot horses don't they'. she was oscar nominated in 1969. she lost to goldie hawn, a ridiculously absurd sham, in 'cactus flower'. 

and there was 'tom jones', 'the killing of sister george' and 'a man for all seasons' amongst others. she made her time on this planet quite memorable.

Golden Globes Today

some of my favorites from past globe awards below