The Social Network

In honor of talking about David Fincher, I wanted to do The Social Network. When I first heard of this movie, I thought to myself, "Are you kidding me, a Facebook movie?!", as I'm sure a lot of you did. Needless to say, going into it, I wasn't really excited, and I had no expectations. This movie absolutely blew me away. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes it so great, but I will try. First, Mark Zuckerberg (even though I know he's a real person) is SUCH a great character. He has all the redeeming qualities of the protagonist, but also the qualities of the bad guy. I found myself rooting for him, feeling sorry for him, and hating him all at the same time. Not only Mark Zuckerberg was a good character, but so was Eduardo and the Winklevoss twins. Eduardo straddled the line between being a total pushover and being tough and a badass. The twins were like the total stereotypical pampas Harvard students. Also, the story was just really interesting. I had no idea about all of the stuff that went on. And another thing that made it interesting was just how smart they all were. It's hard to imagine that much brain power packed into one person.
I know that people are skeptical because of everything the real Mark is saying about how it isn't true and stuff like that. But the truth of the matter is that no one is going to just be okay with looking like an ass on a worldwide stage like he did. But even if it isn't true... it's a MOVIE, and a damn entertaining one at that. So who cares? I sure don't, and you shouldn't either. Long story short, see this movie. It is probably my favorite one of the year. And I'm sure everyone of this generation can appreciate it. Facebook and social networking sites have pretty much defined us. This is the movie of our generation, and people will be talking about it for a very long time.

Best Director

No real surprise nominees here. I am surprised, however, that Danny Boyle wasn't nominated for 127 Hours. Not only is he a genius, and 127 was masterful, but ever since Slumdog Millionaire, he has got an 'in' with the Academy. Otherwise, I really like David Fincher for this category. The Social Network was awesome and the acting was really good in it, which is a testament to the directing. I really hope the Coen brothers don't win. I am like morally against them. Everyone seems to absolutely love their movies... I just don't get them. True Grit was a pretty normal movie as far as all of theirs go, but I'm just tired of them. It's like the Academy has a quota to fill: At least one Coen Brother's movie must be nominated every year. It's boring. Boring especially because they win a LOT of the time. Luckily, however, I don't think they have a chance this year, really. Their competition is too good, and their movie being shut out at the Golden Globes does not fair well for them. If Fincher has any real competition, I would say it is Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan. The movie was so unique, and I thought it was done extremely well.

The Kids Are All Right

This movie stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple with two kids. Their kids find their sperm donor father, Mark Ruffalo, and mayhem ensues. I’ve seen this movie twice, and I enjoyed it both times. It was not my favorite movie, however; I thought it was kind of cliché and just slow moving. Also, I thought the dialog was weird and awkward. I thought this especially when the daughter was talking. Her dialog seemed way too forced, and it didn’t sound like that would be coming out of a teenager’s mouth. One thing I thought was really funny (and kind of desperate) throughout the movie was Annette Bening’s wardrobe. There is one scene in particular that I can remember, when the couple is buying landscaping supplies, and she is wearing a denim, cut-off, button-up shirt. It’s like they were trying really hard to prove that she was really a lesbian. I thought it was funny because it was so stereotypical, but I can definitely see that it was desperate. I am a big Annette Bening fan, but in this movie, I didn’t really believe her. She seemed like the same exact person as other movies she’s been in. Also, I did not really enjoy Mark Ruffalo in this movie. He just seemed way too doofy and awkward for no reason. I don’t think that he should have been nominated, but oh well. Overall, this movie was okay. It wasn’t anything really special.

Just a Fun Video

I'll have a new post soon-ish, but in the meantime, here's a pretty funny video from Dana Carvey's return to SNL.

Party On!

Supporting Categories

Best Supporting Actor
While I love this category this year, it is also the source of the biggest snub of all the nominations! This category is very strong this year. Christian Bale is the obvious front runner in my eyes. He is also my favorite. He was absolutely perfect in The Fighter. From two minutes into that movie, I thought Bale should and would win. He totally made that movie what it was. His performance was so dynamic, and I completely forgot that he was Christian Bale. Other than him, everyone was good, but no one compares. The snub is Andrew Garfield. He definitely should have been nominated for his role in The Social Network. Mark Ruffalo took his place, and I don't think he was very deserving of a nomination; especially when it kicked Andrew Garfield back. I am a huge Mark Ruffalo fan, don't get me wrong, but I don't really consider him a great actor. I thought his performance in The Kids Are All Right was very one-sided.

Best Supporting Actress
Again, a very strong category. There isn't much to say about it. Melissa Leo should win and is going to. She was amazing in The Fighter. She will win it in a landslide. She was awesome. Leo, along with Christian Bale, totally stole that movie. She was perfect as the crazy, overbearing stage mom. My second choice would probably be Hailee Steinfeld, but I don't think she has a chance in hell against the competition. I am kind of disappointed that Mila Kunis wasn't nominated. I thought her performance in Black Swan was haunting. I can't really compare her to the woman who is nominated instead of her, I didn't see Animal Kingdom.

Winter's Bone

I know many of you probably haven't even heard of this movie. It is a small independent film that did very well at Sundance. I watched this movie a couple days ago as a refresher. I saw it when it first came out in August not expecting it to get and Oscar recognition. And here it is with four nominations. When I saw it the first time, I wasn't really excited by it at all. I was pretty indifferent about it, actually. This time around, it still didn't really excite me, but I could appreciate it more. It is about a girl's search for her father in order to keep her home. The biggest thing I can say about this movie is that it has SO MUCH character. Every single one of the actors just looked so real and so unique. It was like they really were those people. I was thoroughly impressed. This is a testament to the acting, but also the makeup and costume people. Just looking at these people just gave me the creeps and made me think that they weren't good people. The acting really was great in this movie. Jennifer Lawrence was very convincing, and I was extremely impressed by John Hawkes. Very good nominations. The first time I watched it, I didn't really notice him as much, but this time I did. The story is kind of slow moving, and there are quite a few characters to keep track of. So, it's not my favorite, at all. I can always tell something isn't that good when I don't really know what to say about it.

Oscar Winners

I posted my predictions a couple days ago, and here is why I think those people will win come Oscar night.

 Best Actor         

This category is AMAZING this year. I have three favorites out of this group. Jesse Eisenberg was my favorite until very recently. In The Social Network, I think that he did a great job. He was pompous and did a perfect job of making us think he's an asshole and hate him while feeling sorry for him at the same time. He is so under estimated. Before this movie, I didn't really think anything of him even though I absolutely loved Zombieland. I think it's great that he's getting recognition for this great role. James Franco in 127 Hours is my new favorite. This may not be surprising because I've already gushed about that movie on here, and I continue to do it to ANYONE that will listen to me. That being said, he was so likable and courageous, and he carried the movie excellently. I mean, he's on screen for 95% of the movie.  He did a great job showing Aron's struggle to stay present in his own mind and not give up. Even though these two are my personal favorites, I have to say that the Oscar will go to Colin Firth. He did very well, don't get me wrong, but his performance wasn't exciting at all. The King's Speech is the complete formulaic Oscar movie, plus the Academy loves a speech impediment. I have to admit this is kind of disappointing, and I hope that me, and everyone else, are wrong. Jeff Bridges is over-rated in my opinion, he won last year, and I'm tired of him. And I didn't see Biutiful, but I don't really think that Javier Bardem has a chance. It is impressive, however, that he got nominated for a foreign film.

Best Actress

In this category, my favorite is also who I think will win. Natalie Portman is a shoe-in for this category. She was perfect as Nina in Black Swan. Vulnerable with a dark side, and completely crazy. She was eerie and did a perfect job of being afraid of not knowing what she is capable of. I absolutely loved her. Her only real competition is Annette Bening as Nic in The Kids Are All Right. I've always been a fan of hers, ever since American Beauty, which is my favorite movie of all time. But she was not my favorite in this movie. I feel like her character was just a repeat of Carolyn from American Beauty. Also, she just seemed to try way too hard to be stereotypically gay. Jennifer Lawrence did a pretty good job, but I think that Winter's Bone is just too small of a movie and she's just too young with way too strong of competition. I haven't seen Rabbit Hole or Blue Valentine, but I am a huge Michelle Williams fan, so I'm sure she's good in her movie. 

More to come. I figured I'd do them in groups. 26 Days til the ceremony!!