A silly post

Just watched 2006's Casino Royale, which I hadn't seen since seeing it in theaters, and I just wanted to say that I love Eva Green and Daniel Craig together. I'm glad they reunited for The Golden Compass, though that story was more about Daniel Craig's and Nicole Kidman's characters instead. Also, I thought this was a cute picture of them, probably promoting Casino Royale.




Picture credit: media.canada.com

There Will Be Oscars

This is not to say that there is actually going to be an Academy Awards ceremony this year---apparently it's still up in the air---but no matter what, I have complete faith that There Will Be Blood will snag wins for nearly all of its nominations, except for Best Animated Feature, because it's not nominated.

No spoilers below.

I saw it last night for the first time. And it's safe to say that this movie is the reason why I want to be in movies and work on movies and direct movies and compose for movies and write movies (...maybe). The performances are gritty and selfless, and though Daniel Day-Lewis has received a bulk of the credit---just like he should---the actors playing the younger and older versions of his son, the adorable Dillon Freasier and the tragically composed Russell Harvard, deserve praise as well. I did get a lot out of Paul Dano as Daniel Day-Lewis's fanatically religious nemesis, yet somehow I think that he was the only actor overshadowed by Daniel Day-Lewis. Don't get me wrong, IMO Paul Dano delivered a wonderfully perverse performance; however, I found his youngness all wrong. I mean, look at Daniel Day-Lewis's character. You do not mess unless you are twice as bulky and twice as nasty. Dano was too young for me.

There was a surprising battle in the film between faith and greed and how the two repulsed one another. I loved how each character dealt with and evaluated each in his life, and how all their lives changed depending on which they pursued.

There will be Oscars for Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson for Direction and the Cinematography category...but I'm still mulling over Best Picture. I bet it's between There Will Be Blood and Atonement, and we all know how I feel about Atonement (...lustily). I'm not willing to give up that dream yet.

Go see There Will Be Blood. And PS: though the music wasn't nominated, it should have been. It will blow you away.

Picture credit: Playbackstl.com

Unbearably sad day

What a terrible way and time to go. Heath Ledger will be forever missed and never forgotten.

RIP.

Just in case you didn't buy what I was saying in the previous post...

Here's Miley's "Start All Over" video, all taken in one shot. Very Feist-y, no?

Fully and shamefully admitted: I really like Miley Cyrus

I'm not saying I watch Hannah Montana or anything, but I have to spread the word about the huge talent that exists in this tiny 15-year-old girl that stars in the TV show that my 10-year-old sister drools over. I mean, just look at her rocking out in that picture above!

I don't own either Hannah Montana CD--there are two, and my sister has both--but I do bop around to these two incredibly peppy, legitimately ROCKING tracks featured on Miley's second Hannah Montana (widely successful) effort, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. From what I can distinguish on iTunes, this is actually a collection of two CDs--the first recorded by Miley's alter ego, Hannah Montana, and the second recorded by The Real Miley. Meaning, the second CD reflects more of Miley's personal taste and lacks the little lessons that all of the Hannah Montana songs seem to have: "Find yourself in you!" "Nobody's perfect!" "Everybody makes mistakes!" "Life's what you make it!" "Don't let anyone tell you what you can't do!"

Instead, Miley's disc has a more mature feel: her voice is tough and strong and the lyrics are not necessarily sweet but they are simple. The power of her voice is actually quite impressive, and the sporadically girly candor is refreshing: "The next time we hang out, I will redeem myself." There's even some exploration in the way she sings. In "See You Again," she stutters on the word "stutter," getting a chuckle out of me, at least, with "I st-st-stutter when you ask me what I'm thinkin' 'bout." Don't let the pink-and-white, Disney-emblazoned CD cover fool you! Tracks like "See You Again" and "Start All Over" are rough, sexy, and make you want to get down (...I'm living proof).

Bonus: she actually plays guitar. And sings live. (Except she might have a body double for that.)

Credit: Amazon.com, Post-Gazette.com, TheBosh.com

With the Oscar nominations coming out tomorrow...

The nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards will be announced tomorrow, January 22. Hopefully, the show will go on...with all of the celebrities and fashion and drama and battle. Please, producers and WGA members: can't we all be friends?? I want to see my Oscars!

In the spirit of the season...my predictions and hopes for this year's Oscars.

RED COMMENTS are the edits I made after seeing the full list of 2008 Oscar nominees!


I see it coming:

Ellen Page nabbing a Best Actress nomination for Juno, as well as Julie Christie for Away from Her and Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose CHECK

Daniel Day-Lewis scoring that Best Actor nomination for There Will Be Blood CHECK

Atonement, American Gangster, Michael Clayton, No Country For Old Men, and There Will Be Blood will be the 5 Best Picture nominees. SWAP "AMERICAN GANGSTER" FOR "JUNO"


I'll be surprised if:

Amy Adams scores a Best Actress nod for Enchanted DIDN'T HAPPEN

Tim Burton is nominated for Best Director for Sweeney Todd DIDN'T HAPPEN

Helena Bonham Carter is nominated for the Best Actress statue for Sweeney Todd DIDN'T HAPPEN

Hairspray gets a Best Picture nomination DIDN'T HAPPEN

James McAvoy is nominated for Best Actor for Atonement DIDN'T HAPPEN

Little Miss Sunshine's Paul Dano scores a Best Supporting Actor nomination for There Will Be Blood DIDN'T HAPPEN


I so hope that:

One of the songs from Enchanted is nominated for Best Original Song, so that Amy Adams can sing live at the show TWO SUNG BY AMY WERE NOMINATED!!

Gordon Pinsent from Away From Her will be nominated for Best Actor (IMO, Julie Christie gets a lot of credit that he deserves) DIDN'T HAPPEN

Laura Linney is nominated for Best Actress for The Savages DID HAPPEN!! HOORAY!!

J.K. Simmons is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Juno's father in Juno DIDN'T HAPPEN

Viggo Mortensen, our very own Aragon, gets his first nomination for Eastern Promises DID HAPPEN

Cate Blanchett isn't nominated twice...I love her, but there are other actresses this year who deserve the attention DID HAPPEN...ALL RIGHT

Philip Seymour Hoffman is nominated twice, for The Savages and Charlie Wilson's War ONLY NOMINATED FOR "CHARLIE WILSON"


MORE GOOD NEWS: "Falling Slowly" from Once is nominated for Best Original Song! We'll have Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová singing live at the show!


Picture credit: farm1.static.flickr.com

Little-known fact about John McCain: he was HOT

All together now: Whoa.

Forget Hillary nabbing a win in New Hampshire two weeks ago. Forget the all-out racial debate. Forget that Kerry endorsed Obama (sketch?). I never would have expected this this primary season. Impressive, Senator McCain! This warrants a "Daaamn!"






(Hot) photo credit: /jsm_flightsuit.jpg

Menswear-inspired obsession continues

Sweater vests, grandpa sweaters, those BC shoes with the buttons on them, tuxedo vests, super-tailored blazers, plaid button-downs, ANY button-downs, scarves that double as ties, boxers, newsboy caps, fedoras...if it looks like it once belonged to a man (especially a very old man), I probably want to wear it.

Not that these pumps look like anything a man would wear, but I'm waaaay into this black, lace-up, high heeled thing. I just want to crop my hair to my chin, put on a very short dress, slap on some wooly tights, and tap my way down the street.




Made by Elves Evan Oxford
$88.00, Urban Outfitters

Investor Menswear Pump
$23, Payless

Loving it, loving it.

Photo credit: ELLE Fashion Report

Nothing is off-limits on Broadway

What. Shrek the Musical? I'm speechless.

Supposedly there's not much to be afraid of. David Lindsay-Abaire, who won the Pulitzer for his 2007 play Rabbit Hole, is doing the book and lyrics. Jeanine Tesori, who composed Thoroughly Modern Millie, a 2002 Broadway (and personal) favorite, is responsible for the Shrek music. And apparently Sutton Foster, who won a Tony for her leading role in Thoroughly Modern Millie is in talks to play Princess Fiona.

Plus, Christopher Sieber, who originated the role of Sir Dennis Gallahad in Spamalot is rumored to play Farquaad. (But he's probably more-loved, at least in my opinion, for portraying the cute, geeky dad of Mary-Kate and Ashley in the short-lived but freaking amazing "Two of a Kind". God, I miss that show. I can't believe they ended it JUST as Christopher Sieber hooked it up with the babysitter. So cruel.)

I mean...all of the above sounds AWESOME. Sutton Foster is probably one of my favorite stage actors ever, and I would leap at any chance to see her onstage. But let's get back to the original heresy at hand:

SHREK THE MUSICAL????? Honestly, what? I can't decide if I'm horrified or just really, really surprised that whoever it was picked...Shrek. You know, I think I'm just really surprised. How was it not Aladdin? How have we not seen that muscular, purple-vested, tiny-capped man on the Broadway stage yet. Is it the whole flying carpet thing? Or the whole Genie-exploding-out-of-a-lamp thing that has so many people shunning this wonderful movie?

I'm not horrified. Now that I think about it, I'm looking forward to see what they do with the Shrek costume and the innumerable number of backdrops and wheel-on sets that will obviously have to happen. I mean, let's face it: if Broadway can pull off Legally Blonde, anything can happen.

Credits: Broadway.com, Gavin Barker Associates

Rent: goodbye, love

Broadway.com announced today that Jonathan Larson's beloved Rent will close on Broadway this June, ending its widely successful twelve-year run.

If you have not yet seen this moving, energy-charged show and live somewhere near the Nederlander Theatre in New York, I beg you to hustle out there before June 1. The electric music, energetic performers and heartfelt, yet somehow not-overdone message reminding us to seize the day should be enough to convince you that you have just witnessed one of Broadway's finest achievements in the Little Musical That Could.

In other sad news, The Client actor Brad Renfro has passed at the age of 25 in Los Angeles, reportedly after a night of drinking. The Client remains a memorable movie to me and I am stunned by this loss, having kept tabs on this great actor's agenda for years. He will be sorely missed in the film community, I have no doubt.

Addicted to Gossip

Yup. I've discovered Gossip Girl. Thank you, Adela. And it is now occupying my days and nights. Love love love it. And love love love the boys in it!

Top 5 things I love about Gossip Girl:
1) The gorgeous Penn Badgley, whose Brooklynness snags the Upper Crust heart of formerly-skanky Miss Serena van der Woodsen.
2) The phoenomenal shots of Manhattan, especially the ones that show the entirety of Central Park from above.
3) Fourteen-year-old Taylor Momsen's naughty-yet-nice Jenny Humphrey. Does she really know better?
4) The sleazy, slick Chuck Bass, played by twenty-year-old Ed Westwick. I wish I could be one of his conquests. Also, I heard that he's actually British. Hot.
5) The hipster soundtrack that successfully undertones the sexy rebellions that go down in every episode. We have Alexandra Patsavas, who supervised the music for The O.C. and still does so for Grey's Anatomy, to thank for that.

Top 5 things that I think Gossip Girl could do without:
1) Blair Waldorf's one black friend and one Asian friend. Too obvious, CW.
2) Blair Waldorf's Serena-obsessed Nate mate, played by Carrie Underwood's very own Chace Crawford. He's so boring and thoughtless, I often forget that he's in the show.
3) That one episode covering "Ivy Week." Oh-em-gee, DARTMOUTH and YALE and BROWN, oh my! Give me a break. Like we've seen any scenes about SATs and homework and in-class essays. Ivy League schools are clearly NOT on these people's agendas.
4) Kristen Bell's narration. Love the lady, but I find her sugary-sweet "I told you so" voiceovers annoying. I know that the narration is a shout-out to the "title character," but come on...I bet we could do without.
5) The WGA strike. I need more episodes!

Oh, and some Gossip gossip:

Apparently, Blake Lively, who plays Serena, and major hottay Penn are "dating quietly" in real life. Don't know how I feel about that. (Read: he should be single. It's more fun for me.) Also not sure how I feel about the scarf he's wearing in the picture to the left. And surely you've heard about Blake Lively's nose job?

You know you love me.
xoxoxo.

Source: Gossip Girl Report, NY Daily News

Sopping, sexy magazine cover feeds my Atonement fire

I am obsessed with all things Atonement: Atonement the film, directed by Joe Wright and starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley; Atonement the soundtrack, composed by Pride and Prejudice's Dario Marianelli (I'm listening to it as I write this); Atonement the novel, written by the lyrical Ian McEwan; and now, the Entertainment Weekly feature, which includes a sexed-up photo shoot which could be compared in lustiness to last year's David and Victoria Beckham W photo shoot.

In the EW interview with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, the two reveal the dirt behind their (dare I say it?...incredible) love scene in the film. They both speak remarkably candidly, and the interview even begins with Keira excusing herself to fetch her cigarettes. They seem close, but not too close, not Mr. and Mrs. Smith-close.

Favorite parts of the interview:

[on the love scene]
James: I've seen actors who really fancy each other and are indeed f---ing, and it's rubbish.
Keira: In fact, a lot of directors say, "Don't f--- each other" because it'll ruin it.

[on the "c-word" used in the film]
James: We call each other it all the time!

[on her 2006 Oscar nomination for Pride and Prejudice]
Keira: I knew that I hadn't got a f---ing hope in actually winning it.
(This was the year of Reese Witherspoon and Felicity Huffman.)


I personally don't expect Oscar nominations for either of them, but if Oscar does come through for the Atonement actors, I hope that it recognizes both of them...or just James McAvoy. In the movie, Keira delivers a beautifully tumultuous performance by my standards, but the story was really about James's character and Keira's Cecila Tallis could almost be considered a supporting character found only in Robbie Turner's lovesick fantasies. (Don't take that the wrong way. Atonement doesn't pull a Sixth Sense or anything.) I found James's boyish, concupiscently-driven Robbie to be a genuine, flawed protagonist that I wanted so badly to find true happiness, success and love. The film is separated into two parts, 1930 and 1934, and I found Robbie's change into mannish adulthood to be not only totally believable but heartbreakingly dire. As for Keira, as much as I love her, her whispery "Come back to me" attitude grew old with me.

My personal triumphs of the film include the lush location of the Tallis house, Miss Saorise Ronan's precocious 13-year-old version of Briony Tallis, the gorgeous untertones of Dario Marianelli's Golden Globe-winning score, and James McAvoy's unbelievable talent of looking twenty years old in one shot and thirty in the next. Love it all.

And love that Entertainment Weekly cover. Luckily, the entire interview is online for you here, and you don't have spend the $4 on the actual magazine. Unless, of course, like me, you want to have that cover to keep and treasure for the rest of your natural years.

Photo sources: www.james-mcavoy.net, EW.com

New Coldplay album just...wait for it...SITTING AROUND

Look for Coldplay Day sometime this May.

Apparently, the new album, supposedly titled Prospekt (oh, leave it to Coldplay!), is scheduled to d-r-o-p on May 19. Apparently, the album is a solid 43 minutes long. Averaging 4 minutes per song, that gives us...10.75 songs. Cool. I can deal.

The rumored Prospekt tracklisting:
Famous Old Painters
Glass Of Water
Lost!
Cemeteries of London
Violet Hill
Poppy Fields
42
Yes!
Leftrightleftright
Rainy Day
Prospeckt's March

Oooh. I was SO ON about the 10.75 thing.

I certainly can not wait. I am especially excited for "Lost!" and "Yes!" Oh, man. Coldplay never fails to disappoint--their music and their babies never fail to considerably excite me. Come onnnn, May.

My top played Coldplay songs on iTunes:
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
In the Sun
How You See the World No. 2
Warning Sign
Parachutes

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, Rock Insider, Absolut BCN

Clinton and Obama still the best of friends

I heard they made brunch together this morning.

Watch out tomorrow night for another Democratic debate in LAS VEGAS. I sense a shotgun wedding...

Photo credit: MSNBC

Brave Sir Aiken

Only three more days until Clay Aiken's Broadway debut in Monty Python's Spamalot as Brave Sir Robin, the role originated in 2005 by David Hyde Pierce. I'll tell the truth: I hadn't even heard about this until about fifteen minutes ago, but I must say: I'm pretty excited.

When Clay was on American Idol--in, what, 2003? 2004?--he was my absolute fave. His loss to Ruben Studdard was, in my eyes, horrifying and unjust. Needless to say, his first album, Measure of a Man, was in my sweaty little showtune hands about ten minutes after it was released.

However, Clay unpredictably lost my fanship when he appeared in one of my all-time favorite TV shows--Scrubs--in 2005 as Kenny, the Southern-accented, angel-voiced, laid-off Sacred Heart employee. Puh-LEEZE, as Manda from the Jessica Darling books would say. One of my biggest pet peeves is when singers appear in movies or TV shows as characters who aren't singers--and then sing. And of course, at the end of the episode, Kenny wins a talent show. By singing. By singing ISN'T SHE LOVELY.

Okay, granted, it was an unusually cheesy Scrubs episode, as the episode satirized live-audience sitcoms. But still. The cheesiness of the storyline and the oh-so-sad firing of Clay's character combined with Clay's character just HAPPENING to have a beautiful voice was enough to make me puke. Thus, I did not purchase any of Clay's forthcoming albums. I was that mad.

But now I'm over it.

I haven't seen Spamalot but I know the music, and I must admit that I am anxious to see Clay Aiken performing the David Hyde Pierce classic, "You Won't Succeed On Broadway." I haven't gotten my ass out to see Spamalot in the 1.5 years I've lived in New York so far--just haven't really seen the appeal. Ironically enough, the scrawny yet soothingly-voiced Clay Aiken may just be the catalyst for the purchase of a $50 Spamalot ticket.

Oh, and PS: He may just be good. Mike Nichols, the director of everything, stated in October that Clay "is an excellent comic actor and a master of character. People will be surprised by his wide ranging talent." I certainly can't wait to be bowled over!

This just in: few high school students actually need backpacks

Looks like Ashley Tisdale missed the memo Re: Punch Left Fist In Air In Euphoric Anticipation of Summer Vacation.

High School Musical: Return to the Sea. Just saw it. And yes, it was even cornier than the original.

Yet I watched only half of it, and did something else, and had to return to it. To finish it. Why? I have no idea. (Well, Zac Efron. Zac Efron is the answer.)

I won't lie. Some songs were actually pretty catchy. "Bet On It"--awesome, but watching Zac Efron dance by himself in golf course, curing his frustration through constant pelvis-popping and rib isolations? Less awesome. Also, I genuinely enjoyed the gospel end of "Everyday"...or was it the gospel end of "You Are the Music In Me"?

Whatever. Also, Vanessa Hudgens looked waaaay more cutesy and good-girl in this movie than in the last. Flash-forward two months: Nakie incident.

Favorite quote: "That girl's got more moves than an octopus in a wrestling match."

Oh no, I just turned on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on TV...and remembered the tragic Weasley twist at the end of Book Seven. Oh, sad!

Atonement receives Globe for Best Sex Scene

Atonement scores Best Original Score (pun very much intended) and Best Motion Picture (Drama). Was crossing my fingers for a Joe Wright win for Best Director, but I suppose that was too much to ask for. Sweeney also scored doubly with Best Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) and Best Actor (Musical/Comedy)--yesss. Johnny.

I saw it coming:
The Atonement wins
Daniel Day-Lewis (heard the raves)
Julie Christie (same)
Ratatouille (...same)
Extras (brilliant)
Jeremy Piven (does he ever not win?)
Samantha Morton (is she never not awesome?)

Totally surprised me in a good way:
Tina Fey's win for 30 Rock
Queen Latifah for Life Support (what the heck even is that? Okay...)
Jim Broadbent (wish he was my dad, sorry Dad)
Cate Blanchett (I guess I should have seen it coming)
Johnny Depp (ditto. I mean, he was singing to knives)

Things that are apparently awesome that I have still never heard of:
Mad Men?
Longford?

For a full list of winners and nominees, check out IMDb.

Hope for an Best Original Song Oscar nomination for any song from Enchanted. Amy Adams singing live? My heart would go on...

That was bad.

Billy Bush is the final straw

Even though the Golden Globes star party was heartwrenchingly cancelled (who doesn't love watching all those cool people eat dinner with one another and boozedly accept their awards?), I still tuned it at 9pm tonight to catch some winners. I was actually expecting a very, VERY boring press conference during which two, bespectacled, balding, stage-frightened men monotonously read off all the winners off of a single sheet of paper. I predicted no glam, no flashiness, just two balding men and all of the winners' names.

Instead, I was greeted at 9pm with two very glammed-up Access Hollywood "anchors." Oh, joy. Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell were dressed in their Sunday best, eager to share with "you all at home!" the Golden Globe winners.

Okay. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's Access Hollywood. If there is another thing that I can't stand, it's Entertainment Tonight.

I know that parties and celebrities--and awards, too--aren't news. They aren't politics. They aren't international debate. I simply cannot watch or listen to "breaking news" and commentary about celebrities in that real-news fashion. Eck.

So it was a major disappointment to see Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell share the news of the winners with me. I really, really, REALLY wanted a press conference, because then I would have been able to see what a press conference looks like. I really wanted two nervous balding men, not two hairsprayed, eyelined people stupidly hash out "the surprises" and "the totallies" of the evening. I returned to Baby Boom at the start of the first commercial break. I couldn't stand more than 9 minutes of the "Winners' Special!"

Come on, WGA. Come on, producers. Don't mess up the Oscars.

Love,
Someone who watches movies

Well...THIS is awkward.

In England, a pair of fraternal twins, a boy and girl, separated at birth, UNKNOWINGLY MARRIED EACH OTHER.

THEY GOT MARRIED.

Apparently their marriage was immediately annulled once their true relationship came into light...which I think kind of sucks. I mean, yeah, that is weird, but still. Give the two some time.

Nicole Richie gives birth to tattooed baby

Kidding. Nicole gave birth today in LA to a Miss Harlow Winter Kate Madden. (No word on whether or not the baby was born covered in tattoos.)

Now that is one freakin' AWESOME name.

Congratulations to the happy couple. I can't wait to see the adorable little girl. Plus, you know what's awesome?

This: The Richie Madden Children's Foundation. Looks like the pair have totally cleaned up their DUI ways and have decided to use their power for good! There's an adorable self-taken (taken by Joel, not by me) picture of them on the site, too. So darling. Yay Maddens!

And Christina Aguilera has given birth, too!! No news yet on gender or cool name, though.

Keira Knightley looks healthy

I really loved Atonement--everything from the rhythm of the typewriter to the epic beach shot to the library scene to Saoirse Ronan, whose name is apparently pronounced "Ser-shuh." (How in the world do those letters make "Ser-shuh"?) I even saw it twice, I'll care to boast. The one thing that I could have had more of was meat on Keira Knightley's bones. She's beautiful in so many ways, but I think she would be even more stunning with a more prominent décolletage, no? I mean, in this picture she actually looks like a bone. A bone that is about to take a dip.

Regardless, have my ten fingers crossed for Atonement at the Globes...or whatever the Globes are now. A news conference. (Exciting.) Maybe Keira will score another Oscar nom? Wow: 22 years old and 2 Oscar nominations. I should really get on with achieving something, or something.

Also...Saoirse Ronan as Susie in The Lord of the Rings' take of The Lovely Bones"? BRILLIANT. Can't wait. Though I wish Ryan Gosling was still in the cast...

Hillary and Obama are fond of one another

Taken after the New Hampshire debate.

I just think this is a funny picture. He looks ma-a-a-ad! Can't we all be friends?

Tonight's GREY'S. Drama recap.

Dr. Bailey: Best. Sobfest. Evfest.
Derek and Meredith: DONE. Sure.
Nurse Rose: Looks like Meredith. IMO.
Alex and Izzie: Whoa there. Major Yummy Eyes coming from Alex.
George: An intern, yet hangs with the big guys.
Meredith's sister, still don't know her name: Had a rash. It went away during a commercial break.
Cristina: In one scene. What's up with that?
Dr. Han: Has an Asian name, but isn't Asian.
Dr. Burke: Still homophobic.

This was the last Grey's episode for a long while. The best thing about it was the Patty Griffin song, "Up to the Mountain," which played while Dr. Bailey and Dr. Did Meredith's Mom talked about faith. Oh, and Glenne Headley from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"--the movie-- and "Mr. Holland's Opus" guest-starred with brown hair.

Actually wasn't that bad of an episode. Am very much agreeable with possible Alex/Izzie storyline. Come on, WGA! Get our Grey's back on the air!