Oscar Countdown!
It's on. 4 weeks from Sunday (last sunday, bread-making Sunday), I'll be watching Oscars! Woohoo! My favorite time of year. Not because I like awards all that much (the the ceremony, codes of behavior and enterprise is fascinating in and of itself, speaking of which, check out Jim English's awesome Economy of Prestige for more on that topic!) and certainly NOT because I believe that getting an oscar guarantees a good movie, but i just love the idea of taking time to celebrate movies. It's my kind of event. My second favorite weekend in Hamleto will be March 1-4, when the documentary film festival hits town! woohoo!
But back to the Oscars. I was delighted to see that Ryan Gosling, of Half-Nelson is nominated for best actor. His performance was one of the most riveting ones i've seen all year. Hm....maybe it's cause i'm a sucker for movies shot in and around the classroom...and the word dialectics comes up! watch it. NOW. The other nominations are fairly predictable, though I'm stunned that Babel has hit so many. Should finally bite the bullet and watch that one. I'm just afraid i'll come aways with a "so what?" feeling. Kind of how I felt after watching Wong Kar Wai's 2046. like HUH? mega-HUH...
Guess I should go see Letters from Iwo Jima too...
Rented Roads to Koktebel (yes, Midwesterngal bit the bullet and tried Netflix...) the other night, and it was excellent. Ok, you have to be in the mood for SLOW, and DEPRESSING RUSSIAN flick, but it was beautifully shot. A little low on dialogue for my taste, but the movie made up for it in drawn out shots of endless Russian steppe...I'm loving roadtrip movies these days. It's a Russian version of Transamerica, minus the transsexual and the great dialogue and the good music. Yeah, lacked some, but worth it anyhow...Verdict: rent it if you're in the mood for something slow, meditative and depressing.
But back to the Oscars. I was delighted to see that Ryan Gosling, of Half-Nelson is nominated for best actor. His performance was one of the most riveting ones i've seen all year. Hm....maybe it's cause i'm a sucker for movies shot in and around the classroom...and the word dialectics comes up! watch it. NOW. The other nominations are fairly predictable, though I'm stunned that Babel has hit so many. Should finally bite the bullet and watch that one. I'm just afraid i'll come aways with a "so what?" feeling. Kind of how I felt after watching Wong Kar Wai's 2046. like HUH? mega-HUH...
Guess I should go see Letters from Iwo Jima too...
Rented Roads to Koktebel (yes, Midwesterngal bit the bullet and tried Netflix...) the other night, and it was excellent. Ok, you have to be in the mood for SLOW, and DEPRESSING RUSSIAN flick, but it was beautifully shot. A little low on dialogue for my taste, but the movie made up for it in drawn out shots of endless Russian steppe...I'm loving roadtrip movies these days. It's a Russian version of Transamerica, minus the transsexual and the great dialogue and the good music. Yeah, lacked some, but worth it anyhow...Verdict: rent it if you're in the mood for something slow, meditative and depressing.