Back to Work

Today I went back to work. For real this time. I am whooped man. The Film Festival is officially behind us. I won't look back at least for now. Today was about work. Which, quite frankly, sucked. What was I expecting right?

I don't know what to say. There are two ways to look at this day. First thing I thought when I got there was sssssssssssssssssssssssss. Air out of balloon, wind out of sails etc. But then there was something else. A little bit of arrogance maybe. Just a little renewed confidence set in. Its a nice little feeling. Its similar to that feeling you get when you walk around listening to your headphones. Its like your there and you can interact in their world, but you live in your world. Its nice. A little obnoxious maybe, but a nice feeling anyway.

It didn't matter too much anyway, because our Baseball Draft really kicked off in earnest today, and that occupied most of my thoughts.

I took Chase Utley with my first pick this morning and Juan Pierre. These are two picks that I am quite pleased with. I cant say any of my goals for the future because my enemies will read this.

-T

Fantasy Baseball Draft

The Day After

Day 9. The 4 movie Big Finale *LOL*

Today was pretty long and tiring, but pretty darned good nonetheless. A 4 movie Finale.

First was a movie that was just flat out not good. I don't know what to say about it much more than that. Things That Hang From Trees. The ongoing theme of this festival for Steph and me is how to make good films from small amounts of money. Well heres an example of a lousy film that was made with a lot more money than we would get. I have nothing else to say other than this movie was just lame.

Second was Charlize Theron's movie East of Havana. She produced the movie that is. And the important part is that it was shot on the same camera that we bought. Thats a big deal. And it was important for us to get a look at what our camera can do. And its nice. Real nice. As a film, this movie was quite good. A real look at a tough situation for poverty stricken people in Cuba. Its interesting to see how American Rap Music can appeal to the poor and downtrodden in Cuba in much the same way it spoke to similar people in America in the late 80s and early 90s.

The next film we saw was American Dreamz. This was a lot of fun. A real, big budget movie that will be released in a few weeks. It appeals of course to the Idol fans in both Steph and me of course. It was very funny. I think, of course, some of the audience members got a little carried away with their Anti-Bush excitement. The movie has a President character in it. In my opinion, it is much more a parody of our media than of our President. But these people are all stupid, so they don't see it.

The last movie of the night was LOL. This is one of the most interesing movies for us. It is made for dirt cheap (3000 dollars), and by a filmmaker (Joe Swanberg) that seems to have a similar outlook on movies as us. It was a very cool film. I really liked it a lot. It serves as inspiration. Kind of like, "If this can get in, than ours can get in." But thats a little unfair, as LOL is not a bad film. I just know that it is something that we could make.

The last day was a long one. By the time it was over, I had quite a headache and I was looking forward to sleeping in late the next day. Fortunately, I had 2 days off to recover. What a day! What a week!

-T

Day 8. Bickford Schmeckler and Movie Orgasms

Day 7. Work Sucks, Movies Rule

Day 6. V for Obnoxious, Cowardice and Irresponsible

Day 5. Charlize F-ing Theron told me I can do this stuff

Day 4. Bettie page. Spoiled fun and accidental genius?

Day 3. Alan Berliner and Cassidy Schmassidy

Day 1. F*CK! SXSW is on!!

Ok, here we go. The day arrived. I got up and went to work. But I spent pretty much the whole day just trying to get out of there. We managed to get out a bit early which worked out really well. So I had enough time to get home, get showered and eat.

So lets get to it. Steph and I got downtown in pretty decent time. We took MOPAC down to Cesar Chavez Blvd. We had to stop at an ATM to make sure we had money to park. We parked in the Convention Center Parking Garage. From there we went to the convention center to get our Badges. We picked up our badges and a bag full of swag. An interesting and personal thing happened here, but I will get into that a little later.

We got a coupon for a free beer. That was a good way to start. After that, it was time to walk to the Paramount movie theater and find some food along the way. We ate at Schlotsky's Deli, and it was pretty good.

Ok. The first movie was called F*ck, and it was pretty darned good. It was a documentary about the word. Where did it come from? What does it mean? Why do people like saying it? This movie was good. It was very funny and pretty clever. Even when it got a little political, it still stayed pretty even and in the middle. Although, people in the audience seem to respond only to the parts that are sort of typical "liberal" positions. It was also very cool to be able to hear from the director after the film was over.

The next film we saw was Robert Altman's new film Prairie Home Companion. This one was a big deal. This is the North American premiere of a major Hollywood film. Not that Altman wants to be known as a Hollywood filmmaker. The best part was that John C. Freaking Reilly spoke on stage before the movie started. Holy Crap that was cool. The movie itself was pretty good. It was a little weird which is typical of RA, especially in his recent movies. Unlike his recent movies, this one was pretty enjoyable. Fun to watch in a lot of places. Especially Reilly and Woody Harrellson.

After the movie, we popped into the after party at a bar on 6th street. We saw JC Reilly again there which was cool.

We headed home around midnight or so. What a night! All in all, a great beginning to what should be an awesome, if not exhausting, week of movie stuff! Woo Hoo! I'm lovin this!

-T

We got the Camera!!

Its here! Its here! The Camera is here. I'm so excited I can just about burst. Its here just in time for us to go to the Film Festival and not really use it.

The Panasonic DVX100B. Its very complicated, and a little overwhelming. I am excited to get started on it, but its a bit frustrating because its not just something you can dive right into. It comes with two books, a thick manual plus another book about how to get the most out of it. Additionally, it comes with a tutorial cd.

I did open it up and turn it on. I shot a couple of shots of Sonny. Let me just say, you can see the difference. Really. This thing looks good! I can't wait to make a movie.

In another quick note, Steph and I drove downtown tonight to do a little scouting. We got a decent look at where the convention center is and where we may park tomorrow. I am so excited about this. I'm glad Stephanie pushed this issue with me. I'd be damned mad if I blew off an opportunity like this.

-T

Barry Bonds Book

Barry Bonds is Back in the News today and now it is really juicy. I mean big time. Just when you thought that you were going to have to watch his smug face all year acting like he had gotten away with it all and was headed to the hall of fame. SMACK. Its all downhill now.

Today, Sports Illustrated released some excerpts from a book that comes out later this month. Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada are writers for the San Francisco Chronicle who have been following the Bonds story for almost 10 years. This book is essentially a wrap-up and summary of all of their work. And it is juicy. These guys are very credible and are generally going to be believed.

The best part is this. It will turn the heat back up under Barry just in time for the season to start, and will guarentee that this issue will not go away.

-T

Aunt Melinda

My Aunt Melinda died last night. I CANT believe I just wrote that. Its a sentence that I have never typed before. Its absurd and surreal. This is impossible. It can't be real.

Yesterday morning I was thinking about jokes. My family likes to tell jokes. I was trying to think of some to tell one of my co-workers, but I couldn't remember any. I got my phone out and thought to call my Aunt Melinda. She would know some great jokes. I have no idea why I did that. My Aunt and I are pretty close. But I don't talk to her on the phone very much or anything. I just thought to call her. I didn't though. I figured she was busy. Turns out, she was in the hospital. Her kidneys and Liver were failing.

My mother called me last night and said, my Aunt Melinda is in the hospital and it was very serious. I worried. I thought, this could be life threatening. I thought in the next few days I might have to start thinking about how she might be possibly dying. I understood how serious it was, but I thought there would be time to process it. I thought there would be time to see if she could fight it. About 2 hours later my mom called and said that she won't make it through the night.

What!? How can this be? Two Hours. She was one of my favorite people who will always be there. Two hours later. She won't make it though the night.

And she didn't. My Aunt Melinda died just before midnight last night. And I can't believe I just said that.

My family is struggling with this. I tend to handle deaths pretty well. This morning when I got up and found out that it was really true, I accepted it pretty well. People often say things about Heaven and spirits and things like that. For me, I always really believed that those things were true. Some people think these things, but when death comes, they have a tough time with them. I really don't. I really feel those emotions. When I heard that she had died. I immediately thought of her in Heaven with my Granny and I gave a little smile.

I am stunned and shocked. Its hard to process it all. I am very sad for my family. I hope they will be ok. But when they say she's in a better place, I believe it. I really do. I have heard the saying that both Birth and Death are doorways to new worlds, and I believe that. I also believe that God has a plan for everyone. Some of this sounds like crap. But I believe its true. I really do.

I love you Aunt Melinda. I thank you for the time I spent with you and I will never forget you.

Your Nephew
-Tom

Ok, lets talk about Crash

Let me come right out and say this...I did not want Crash to win Best Picture. I did not think it was the best movie of the year. I did not think it should have been nominated for best picture at all. So lets talk about why.

The makers of Crash, and it supporters too, have done something that bothers me a little bit. They have positioned Crash to be a "provacative" movie. They can say "If someone doesn't like it, then we have done a good job." The problem here is this. The reason I didn't like it has nothing to do with the subject matter. The reason I don't like it, is that it is a flawed film from a filmmaking point of view.

The problem for me is that the film doesn't work as a story. The Acting is fantastic. The Cinematography is great. And, for the most part, the scenes are well written. As a collection of scenes, however, it just doesn't add up to any kind of satisfying resolution. Its like there's no end. I can accept the idea that all of these people's lives are incredibly intertwined. Its just that this strange circle of people never really go anywhere or amount to much. It really is just a collection of scenes that deal with a very serious topic. While it may work to make a strong point about racial disharmony, it really falls short as a story that works.

Another issue is this. In any movie, you must be careful to be true to your characters and your story while trying to make your point. In this case, the filmmakers seem to be pushing so hard to get their point across, that sometimes the characters do and say things that seem unnatural. Terrence Howard's reaction to the police after being hijacked is simply too much to be believed. I could believe he would freak and give Ludacris what he gave him. But he puts the gun in his pants and steps out to the police who have guns on him? No way. That was unnatural. And you might say that someone would actually do that, and I believe it could happen. But they did not show me anything about his character that would make that action believable. Another thing, is pretty much all of Ryan Phillippe's role in the films ending. It all just doesn't work for me. Phillippe and Tate in the car posturing to each other. Its the same old tired "Let me show you whats in my pocket/Take your hand out of your pocket or I'll shoot" bit. Its stupid. How about just say something like. "Hey, I have a statue just like yours. Its in my pocket, can I show you?" And then I am to believe that Ryan Phillippe, the good cop, just burns his car and hides the evidence. The guy had a gun on him. Who wouldn't believe that the guy tried to pull the gun on him? No one, thats who. You can't lose touch with reality just to prove a point. No matter how good the point.

These flaws are from a purely filmmaking point of view are not based on the issue of racism. So without even getting into that, the film has some serious shortcomings. I think many of those were overlooked because people were so enamored by its strong stance on Racism. But you still have to do your job. This movie faked its way to the Oscar. Its like Country music. If you pick a subject that is serious and important and that everyone is passionate about, then they won't notice when do shoddy work. Thats just the way it is.
-T

Oscar Prediction Time

Its SuperBowl Sunday in Hollywood California. Thats Los Angeles for those who don't know. Its the most important day of the year for movie nerds. So its time to make those picks. A little more difficult than making a Super Bowl pick. I will list what Should win in the categories I have seen enough of the choices to feel comfortable.

Here we go:


Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:

----Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Diana Ossana, James Schamus


Capote (2005) - Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven

Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Grant Heslov

Should win: Munich (2005) - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel



Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:

---Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005)



Should Win: Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow (2005)

Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line (2005)

David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)



Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win Felicity Huffman for Transamerica (2005)



Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)

Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Charlize Theron for North Country (2005)

Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005)



Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain (2005)


George Clooney for Syriana (2005)

Matt Dillon for Crash (2004)

Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man (2005)

William Hurt for A History of Violence (2005)



Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Amy Adams for Junebug (2005)

Catherine Keener for Capote (2005)

Frances McDormand for North Country (2005)

Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005)

----Winner/Should Win: Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain (2005)



Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:

Should Win: George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Paul Haggis for Crash (2004)


----Winner: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005)


Bennett Miller for Capote (2005)

Steven Spielberg for Munich (2005)



Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:

---Winner: Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco


Should Win: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - George Clooney, Grant Heslov

Match Point (2005) - Woody Allen

The Squid and the Whale (2005) - Noah Baumbach

Syriana (2005) - Stephen Gaghan



Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana


Capote (2005) - Dan Futterman

The Constant Gardener (2005) - Jeffrey Caine

A History of Violence (2005) - Josh Olson

Munich (2005) - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth



Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:

Batman Begins (2005) - Wally Pfister

Should Win: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Rodrigo Prieto


---Winner: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Robert Elswit


Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Dion Beebe

The New World (2005) - Emmanuel Lubezki



Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:

Cinderella Man (2005) - Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill

The Constant Gardener (2005) - Claire Simpson

Crash (2004) - Hughes Winborne


---Winner/Should Win:Munich (2005) - Michael Kahn


Walk the Line (2005) - Michael McCusker



Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - James D. Bissell, Jan Pascale


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) - Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan

King Kong (2005) - Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau

Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer



Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - Gabriella Pescucci

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Colleen Atwood

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) - Sandy Powell


---Winner: Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Jacqueline Durran


Walk the Line (2005) - Arianne Phillips



Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:

---Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Gustavo Santaolalla


The Constant Gardener (2005) - Alberto Iglesias

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Williams

Munich (2005) - John Williams

Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Dario Marianelli



Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Hustle & Flow (2005) - Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard ("It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp")


Crash (2004) - Michael Becker, Kathleen York ("In the Deep")

Transamerica (2005) - Dolly Parton ("Travelin' Thru")



Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Howard Berger, Tami Lane

Cinderella Man (2005) - David LeRoy Anderson, Lance Anderson


---Winner/Should Win/Should be one of about 6 Oscar Nominations!!!Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) - Dave Elsey, Annette Miles



Best Achievement in Sound
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic, Tony Johnson

King Kong (2005) - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett

Walk the Line (2005) - Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, Peter F. Kurland


---Winner/Should WinWar of the Worlds (2005) - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ron Judkins



Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:

King Kong (2005) - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Wylie Stateman


---Winner/Should Win: War of the Worlds (2005) - Richard King



Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar

King Kong (2005) - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor


---Winner/Should Win: War of the Worlds (2005) - Pablo Helman, Dennis Muren, Randy Dutra, Daniel Sudick



Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:

Corpse Bride (2005) - Tim Burton, Mike Johnson

Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) - Hayao Miyazaki


---Winner: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - Steve Box, Nick Park



Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:

Bestia nel cuore, La (2005) - Cristina Comencini (Italy)


---Winner: Joyeux Noël (2005) - Christian Carion (France)


Paradise Now (2005) - Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine)

Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (2005) - Marc Rothemund (Germany)

Tsotsi (2005) - Gavin Hood (South Africa)



Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:

Darwin's Nightmare (2004) - Hubert Sauper

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - Alex Gibney, Jason Kliot


---Winner/Should Win: March of the Pinguins (2005) - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau


Murderball (2005) - Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro

Street Fight (2005) - Marshall Curry



Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:

---Winner: God Sleeps in Rwanda (2005) - Kimberlee Acquaro, Stacy Sherman


A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (2005) - Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson

The Life of Kevin Carter (2004) - Dan Krauss

The Mushroom Club (2005) - Steven Okazaki



Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:

Badgered (2005) - Sharon Colman

The Moon and the Son (2005) - John Canemaker, Peggy Stern

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005) - Anthony Lucas

9 (2005) - Shane Acker


---Winner/Should Win:One Man Band (2005) - Mark Andrews, Andrew Jimenez



Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:

Ausreißer (2004) - Ulrike Grote

Should Win: Cashback (2004) - Sean Ellis, Lene Bausager

Síðasti bærinn í dalnum (2004) - Rúnar Rúnarsson, Þórir Snær Sigurjónsson


---Winner: Our Time Is Up (2004) - Rob Pearlstein, Pia Clemente


Six Shooter (2005) - Martin McDonagh


So there it is. Good Luck to all, except for King Kong.

-T

Its SuperBowl Sunday in Hollywood California. Thats Los Angeles for those who don't know. Its the most important day of the year for movie nerds. So its time to make those picks. A little more difficult than making a Super Bowl pick. I will list what Should win in the categories I have seen enough of the choices to feel comfortable.

Here we go:


Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:

Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Diana Ossana, James Schamus

Capote (2005) - Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven

Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Grant Heslov

Should win: Munich (2005) - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel



Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005)

Should Win: Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow (2005)

Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line (2005)

David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)



Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Winner/Should Win Felicity Huffman for Transamerica (2005)

Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)

Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Charlize Theron for North Country (2005)

Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005)



Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Winner: Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain (2005)

George Clooney for Syriana (2005)

Matt Dillon for Crash (2004)

Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man (2005)

William Hurt for A History of Violence (2005)



Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Amy Adams for Junebug (2005)

Catherine Keener for Capote (2005)

Frances McDormand for North Country (2005)

Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005)

Winner/Should Win: Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain (2005)



Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:

Should Win: George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Paul Haggis for Crash (2004)

Winner: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Bennett Miller for Capote (2005)

Steven Spielberg for Munich (2005)



Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:

Winner: Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco

Should Win: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - George Clooney, Grant Heslov

Match Point (2005) - Woody Allen

The Squid and the Whale (2005) - Noah Baumbach

Syriana (2005) - Stephen Gaghan



Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:

Winner/Should Win: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana

Capote (2005) - Dan Futterman

The Constant Gardener (2005) - Jeffrey Caine

A History of Violence (2005) - Josh Olson

Munich (2005) - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth



Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:

Batman Begins (2005) - Wally Pfister

Should Win: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Rodrigo Prieto

Winner: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Robert Elswit

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Dion Beebe

The New World (2005) - Emmanuel Lubezki



Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:

Cinderella Man (2005) - Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill

The Constant Gardener (2005) - Claire Simpson

Crash (2004) - Hughes Winborne

Winner/Should Win:Munich (2005) - Michael Kahn

Walk the Line (2005) - Michael McCusker



Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:

Winner/Should Win: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - James D. Bissell, Jan Pascale

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) - Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan

King Kong (2005) - Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau

Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer



Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - Gabriella Pescucci

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Colleen Atwood

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) - Sandy Powell

Winner: Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Jacqueline Durran

Walk the Line (2005) - Arianne Phillips



Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:

Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Gustavo Santaolalla

The Constant Gardener (2005) - Alberto Iglesias

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Williams

Munich (2005) - John Williams

Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Dario Marianelli



Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:

Winner/Should Win: Hustle & Flow (2005) - Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard ("It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp")

Crash (2004) - Michael Becker, Kathleen York ("In the Deep")

Transamerica (2005) - Dolly Parton ("Travelin' Thru")



Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Howard Berger, Tami Lane

Cinderella Man (2005) - David LeRoy Anderson, Lance Anderson

Winner/Should Win/Should be one of about 6 Oscar Nominations!!!Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) - Dave Elsey, Annette Miles



Best Achievement in Sound
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic, Tony Johnson

King Kong (2005) - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett

Walk the Line (2005) - Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, Peter F. Kurland

Winner/Should WinWar of the Worlds (2005) - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ron Judkins



Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:

King Kong (2005) - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Wylie Stateman

Winner/Should Win: War of the Worlds (2005) - Richard King



Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar

King Kong (2005) - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor

Winner/Should Win: War of the Worlds (2005) - Pablo Helman, Dennis Muren, Randy Dutra, Daniel Sudick



Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:

Corpse Bride (2005) - Tim Burton, Mike Johnson

Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) - Hayao Miyazaki

Winner: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - Steve Box, Nick Park



Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:

Bestia nel cuore, La (2005) - Cristina Comencini (Italy)

Winner: Joyeux Noël (2005) - Christian Carion (France)

Paradise Now (2005) - Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine)

Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (2005) - Marc Rothemund (Germany)

Tsotsi (2005) - Gavin Hood (South Africa)



Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:

Darwin's Nightmare (2004) - Hubert Sauper

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - Alex Gibney, Jason Kliot

Winner/Should Win: March of the Pinguins (2005) - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau

Murderball (2005) - Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro

Street Fight (2005) - Marshall Curry



Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:

Winner: God Sleeps in Rwanda (2005) - Kimberlee Acquaro, Stacy Sherman

A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (2005) - Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson

The Life of Kevin Carter (2004) - Dan Krauss

The Mushroom Club (2005) - Steven Okazaki



Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:

Badgered (2005) - Sharon Colman

The Moon and the Son (2005) - John Canemaker, Peggy Stern

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005) - Anthony Lucas

9 (2005) - Shane Acker

Winner/Should Win:One Man Band (2005) - Mark Andrews, Andrew Jimenez



Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:

Ausreißer (2004) - Ulrike Grote

Should Win: Cashback (2004) - Sean Ellis, Lene Bausager

Síðasti bærinn í dalnum (2004) - Rúnar Rúnarsson, Þórir Snær Sigurjónsson

Winner: Our Time Is Up (2004) - Rob Pearlstein, Pia Clemente

Six Shooter (2005) - Martin McDonagh


So there it is. Good Luck to all, except for King Kong.

-T

2005 Official Movie Rankings

At long last, the time has arrived. 2005 was a banner year for Tom. I have seen more movies this year than any other. At the moment I have seen 58 2005 movies. I plan to sneak a couple more in tomorrow morning before the big show. The Superbowl for movie makers. So, at long last, I have made my official list. Here goes.

The first step is to determine the bad movies. In Baseball we have something we call The Mendoza Line that seperates the Bad hitters from the fair or good hitters. It is based how low a player's batting average can be before it negates that player's good defense. We have a line in the movie world too. It is the point at which poor filmmaking quality can no longer be tolerated in spite of fun or entertainment levels. Or vice versa. I should come up with a name for this line. Hmmmmmm

So I went through the whole list and decided which movies I would say are simply Bad movies. I came up with 12. These I ranked in order from worst to least worst.

The next step was to go through the list and determine which movies are top ten worthy. I usually do this and come up with about 15. This year it was 13. 13 movies that were legitimately top 10 movies.

The next step, of course, is to eliminate 3 movies from the top ten. That was also pretty easy. There were three that were just not quite there for me.

Here is the catch. I made the list today right before I went to see one last movie....and guess what. Its a top ten movie no doubt. Which means there is one movie that was a top ten one and got nudged out at the last minute. And its a biggie too.

The next step is the big deal. To rank the top ten. The first thing I did was to determine if they were in the top or bottom of the top ten. I came up with 3 bottoms and 7 tops. I ranked the bottom 3 then moved on to the other 7.

After all of that, I took the other 32 movies and broke them up in to top middle and bottom of the rest. I did not rank them all, just put them in general groups.

So here we go.

The Top Ten
1. Munich
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Goodnight and Good Luck
4. Revenge of the Sith
5. Hustle and Flow
6. Walk the Line
7. Elizabethtown
8. TransAmerica
9. Capote
10. Cinderella Man

I think that Munich and Brokeback mountain stand out above the rest. Flawless filmmaking and both very compelling stories. Munich edges out Brokeback, but not by much.
Now lets talk Star Wars. Seriously. I know that few will support this, but they don't know as much about film as I do. This movie was flawless. Oh, not just flawless for an average movie either. Never before was there a movie with more work to do. George Lucas put himself into a place where no filmmaker has been. Tying two movies that were made in the last 6 years seemlessly to 3 movies that were made more than 25 years before. It does this, and does it brilliantly. To be honest, for a long time I thought it was truly the best film of the year. I decided, however, that it doesn't have quite enough punch in the What does it mean? department. After all, it is still a fantasy adventure. But if anyone says that its anything less than brilliant, they are film snobs and pretenders.

The rest of the Top 10 was pretty easy. Hustle and Flow and Elizabethtown are two you might not see on other lists, but they were incredible. These, while very different in most ways, are films about life, what it means and what is important.

You might notice that Crash is missing. Well, it made the top 10. Only for a minute. Because I saw Transamerica tonight and...forget it. Sorry Paul Haggis. Crash is a very good film. It packs quite a punch in the What does it mean? department, but is sorely lacking in the Does anything that happens make sense? department.

So it was a great year. I belive I will see North Country and Enron tomorrow, so I will edit them in later. For now... here is the Official Tom list of 2005.

1. Munich
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Goodnight and Good Luck
4. Revenge of the Sith
5. Hustle and Flow
6. Walk the Line
7. Elizabethtown
8. TransAmerica
9. Capote
10. Cinderella Man

11. Crash
12. War of the Worlds
13. The Island
14. Rent
15. The Jacket

Best of the Rest (no particular order)
Upside of Anger
March of the Penguins
House of Wax
Bad News Bears
Constant Gardner
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
Fever Pitch
Must Love Dogs
Skeleton Key
Chronicles of Narnia
Wedding Crashers
Batman
Mr. And Mrs. Smith

Middle of the Rest (no particular order)
Ice Princess
Murderball
Junebug
A Lot Like Love
Wallace and Gromit Were Rabbit
Red eye
Sky High
Guess Who
Monster in Law
40 year old virgin
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Hitch

Worst of the Rest (no particular order)

Pretty Persuasion
Bewitched
Herbie
Are We There Yet
Fantastic Four
Madagascar
King Kong

-------------The Bad Line------------

Flightplan
The Longest Yard
Dukes of Hazzard
Sin City
Miss Congeniality 2
Dark Water
White Noise
The Ring Two
Man of the House
Dirty Love
Boogeyman
Cursed

There it is, in all its glory. Man, I love my job.

-Tom

And now for something completely different

I woke up this morning to watch a little bit of the World Baseball Classic. Live from Japan, it was a game that started at 3 am here. I watched about a half hour before I went to work.

It was alright. It was cool to see Ichiro. I'm pretty excited about this thing. Its tough to deal with at first. There are a lot of games in the far east, which make them pretty tough to watch. There will be games in these time zones on Tuesday. It should be pretty cool to watch.

The Americans are, of course, awesome. The Dominican Republic team is also incredible.

In addition, Spring Training has gotten underway. The Dodgers are playing, with all their new guys. I am loving Nomar as a Dodger. This should be a great season.

Woo Hoo...Baseball is back!

-T

Nuts

Well, tonight we got thwarted. The car's battery was dead. We were going out to eat and then going to see Matchpoint. Alas no. The universe conspired against us.

Thus ends our streak of 7 straight days of seeing an oscar nominated movie. We did ok though. Still a few more to get to. And almost time to make the list. I can't wait.

On another note, I spent a lot of time working on my MySpace profile I finally got it close to what I like. I'm not done yet though, so we will see what develops.

Thats all for now. Next week I will be back to real writing.
-T

Hustlin and Flowin....whoa!

Its hard out there for a pimp. Indeed it is. Holy crap was this movie good. Ok Ok, I blew it. Yesterday I flat out said that I thought I'd seen everything with a shot to crack the top 5. I also told my buddy Brian that I thought Terrence Howard wouldn't pose a threat to the other 4 Oscar Nominees.

First thigns First. Terrence Howard gave THE best performance by an actor in a leading role last year. Seriously. Strathairn, Hoffman, Ledger, Phoenix were all awesome. In a year with some REALLY good performances, Terrence Howard absolutely was the best.

As for Hustle and Flow the movie? Amazing! I thought this was fantastic. It has to be said...I loved it. It was much better than Crash. I'm going to watch it again and again. This movie is twice the movie Crash is. And I feel comfortable in saying its going to crack the top 5 or at least 10. Its crazy that this movie is not nominated and Crash is.