Oscar Nominations
Alli’s review over at The Shane Fan Club is much better. Much shorter, too.
Best Picture:
I can’t say I’m terribly surprised about any of these. These have been lauded by the critics for months now. I’ve seen 3 out of the 5 and hope to catch Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck before the actual show.
I really wished that King Kong would have gotten a little more recognition. That movie was absolutely fantastic and I think that the academy widely ignored it because Peter Jackson had just recently had his day in the limelight with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It was a much better movie than Munich, which I thought dragged on way too long and was only acclaimed because it was Spielberg’s latest (although Eric Bana was very good.
And don’t let the SAG Award for Crash fool you. The Academy will go with the cowboys.
My prediction: Brokeback Mountain (although I really really REALLY want Crash to win)
Best Actor:
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Capote”
- Terrence Howard, “Hustle & Flow”
- Heath Ledger, “Brokeback Mountain”
- Joaquin Phoenix, “Walk the Line”
- David Strathairn, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
This was a year of some strong performances by men in movies. I’ve only seend 2 of these performances (Walk the Line and Brokeback Mountain), BUT from what I’ve seen of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance in Capote, I have a strong feeling that he is going to win. While he may not be the most deserving this year (Joaquin Phoenix became Johnny Cash and, to borrow a quote from my boy Silent Bob, Heath Ledger’s Ennis Delmar existed), but I really think that he is going to take home the Oscar this year because he is pretty much ALWAYS good.
I think that it is really cool that they recognized Terence Howard’s performance in Hustle & Flow, but I don’t think he’ll win. I haven’t seen the flick, but he is an up-and-coming star who was terrific in MY favorite movie of the year, Crash. David Straithairn…be happy with the nomination, sir…this isn’t your year.
My prediction: Philip Seymour Hoffman (definitely wouldn’t mind if Joaquin won, though)
Best Actress:
- Judi Dench, “Mrs. Henderson Presents”
- Felicity Huffman, “Transamerica”
- Keira Knightley, “Pride & Prejudice”
- Charlize Theron, “North Country”
- Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line”
I have a feeling that the Academy is going to go against the grain on this one. Common sense would say, “pick Reese Witherspoon…she won the Globe and the SAG” and while Reese was excellent in Walk the Line, I really think that Felicity Huffman is going to win for Transamerica. I don’t know why. I haven’t seen it (have only seen two of these performances, the other being Charlize in North Country), but I have this feeling that this is the type of role that usually gets noticed by the Academy.
I thought that there were a lot of really good performances from the year that got left off this list. Surprisingly absent is Claire Danes, who (if you asked anyone 3 months ago) was a shoo-in for Shopgirl, but really fell off the radar. Whoever was the publicist behind Mrs. Henderson Presents should get a huge raise. I hadn’t even heard of that movie a month ago and it is up for all sorts of stuff. Keira Knightly…see note to David Straithairn. I guess since no one saw Proof besides me and Alli, the Academy can’t prove it existed and thus cannot nominate Gwyneth Paltrow for this award.
My prediction: Felicity Huffman
Best Supporting Actor:
- George Clooney, “Syriana”
- Matt Dillon, “Crash”
- Paul Giamatti, “Cinderella Man”
- Jake Gyllenhaal, “Brokeback Mountain”
- William Hurt, “A History of Violence”
This is really a tough category. Much tougher than the Best Actor category, which really has only 2 contenders. I have not seen A History of Violence, but the other 4 performances are all deserving of recognition. My wonder is whether the Academy might give this one to George Clooney because he will not win the Directing (nor will he even come close). However, out of the 3 other performances I saw, Jake Gyllenhaal’s really was the best, I thought. Paul Giamatti is a great actor, but this role isn’t a lot different than some of his others…he’s just the “aw shucks” guy who is desperately unattractive, but you can’t help but like him. Matt Dillon, I’m sorry, but you weren’t even the Best Supporting Actor in your own movie (*cough cough* Terence Howard *cough* Don Cheadle).
While I would have liked to see someone from Crash win this one, I don’t think they picked the right person.
My prediction: Jake Gyllenhaal (who will share it with Heath Ledger)
Best Supporting Actress:
- Amy Adams, “Junebug”
- Catherine Keener, “Capote”
- Frances McDormand, “North Country”
- Rachel Weisz, “The Constant Gardener”
- Michelle Williams, “Brokeback Mountain”
Now I can’t really speak from any sort of authority on this one. I’m just going to go with my gut. I agree with Alli. Michelle Williams does NOT deserve to be up. Her acting was mediocre at best. Catherine Keener, you are always very good. Amy Adams, to me, you’ll always be the “purse lady” (and, subsequently, Jim’s girlfriend) from The Office. Didn’t see your movie, so that’s all I’ve got for you. I really really would like to see Frances McDormand win, but I think this is Rachel’s year.
My prediction: Rachel Weisz (outside chance of Amy Adams in an upset)
Best Director:
- Ang Lee, “Brokeback Mountain”
- Bennett Miller, “Capote”
- Paul Haggis, “Crash”
- George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Steven Spielberg, “Munich”
Honestly, I think it’s garbage that Spielberg is up for this award. Munich was, in my opinion, one of his worst efforts as a director. I was bored and I thought that it was just not that good of a movie. I would love for Paul Haggis to win this one, but he won’t. The cowboys win again.
My prediction: Ang Lee
Best Adapted Screenplay:
- Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, “Brokeback Mountain”
- Dan Futterman, “Capote”
- Jeffrey Caine, “The Constant Gardener”
- Josh Olson, “A History of Violence”
- Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, “Munich”
This discussion is really an exercise in futility. If anyone in their right mind thinks that Brokeback Mountain will NOT win this award, I would think seriously about banning you from my blog forever. Fortunately, no one reads (or if you do, there’s NO WAY you’ve read this far), so I’ll give you a pass.
My prediction: Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
Best Original Screenplay:
- Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, “Crash”
- George Clooney and Grant Heslov, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Woody Allen, “Match Point”
- Noah Baumbach, “The Squid and the Whale”
- Stephen Gaghan, “Syriana”
I think that Stephen Gaghan is extremely talented. I thought that Syriana was thought-provoking and interesting. BUT, no one else I saw it with liked it very much. I’ve heard Woody Allen is at the top of his game in Match Point, but to me, that’s not saying much because I can’t stand his movies.
I think that this might be one of the only categories where the person that I think will win and the person I want to win will converge on the podium to give their speech.
My prediction: Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
OK, so I could go through all the rest of the awards, but that would be a really REALLY long post. And since we’re having a party for the Young Adults here at the house, I won’t get to live-blog like I did with the Golden Globes, but I will leave you with this. Batman Begins is up (deservedly) for Best Cinematography. And while it won’t win, I’m just glad it got recognized. Same with The Chronicles of Narnia. Both were excellent movies.
The Historian
The Historian
By Elizabeth Kostova
Rating: 10 out of 10 (1st of the year!)
My dear and unfortunate successor…
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is probably the best book that I have read in the last 5 years. Part Dan Brown, part Bram Stoker, Kostova weaves a tale of history and family that spans from the 1930s up to present day.
The narrarator, an 18-year-old daughter of a European diplomat, tells the story through a series of letters from her father (who also tells his story with other letters from other characters…but that’s confusing). The story centers around her father, who in his younger days was a scholarly historian who discovers a strange, old book that contains nothing in it except for the middle spread, which contains an woodcut image of a dragon with the word “Drakyula”. With the sudden disappearance of his mentor and adviser, he goes on a journey that leads him behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War into the historic mountains of Transylvania and Wallachia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Istanbul.
I will admit that I was really skeptical upon being recommended this initially by Amazon.com because of my interest in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. You see, when I was a kid, I had a terrible series of recurring nightmares that involved vampires…so much so that I actually had to see a family friend who was a therapist briefly. I don’t tend to put myself into those types of situations often, but this story was far too intriguing for me to ignore.
After speaking with a few people who had read it, I decided that I really wanted to as well so I put it on My Amazon.com Wish List and I was lucky enough to get it for Christmas this year (thanks, Tom and Carol!).
After reading my first three books, I was ready for something a little heftier and I certainly got it in this book. For anyone looking for Dan Brown’s fast-paced style, you will be somewhat disappointed. I, on the other hand, was not. I loved the way that Kostova weaved a story out of this, pushing the plot along deliberately, but not pushing it too hard, allowing for time to appreciate the beauty that she was describing (old, war-torn cities, eastern European capitals, beautiful churches and monasteries) and to feel strongly for the characters that she develops over the course of the novel. While hers have depth and back story, Brown only provides enough so that screenwriters can adapt his books into characters to be played by famous actors.
The Historian is a perfect example of a book that could be very easily ruined by a transformation by Hollywood. Now, don’t get me wrong…I think it would be a FANTASTIC movie…IF (and that’s a BIG if) it were done right (do you hear me, RON HOWARD? DON’T SCREW UP DA VINCI CODE BY CASTING TOM HANKS IN A ROLE THAT WAS CLEARLY WRITTEN FOR GEORGE CLOONEY!!!). I almost would be sad to see it made into a movie, particularly if they did as awful a job with it as they did with The Firm.
Sorry, got a little off topic there. Back to the book…
I was enthralled by it. It was interesting, exciting, and completely enjoyable. And it wasn’t too scary. No nightmares for me this time…I don’t know if I would recommend it to everyone, BUT…if you’re like me and enjoyed the historical part of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, but you think that Dan Brown could be a better writer*, read Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian. My other recommendation is another book that I read last year by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, The Rule of Four. The Historian and The Rule of Four are excellent, character-driven novels that paint pictures while still telling stories.
I’ve noticed that I haven’t really told a lot about the book here, which is good. All I really want to do is recommend it based on what I’ve said above. I don’t want to give anything away…it’s just THAT GOOD.
So there it is, my lengthy review. Next, I’m really going to try and finish Ogilvy on Advertising. I know I keep saying that, but I’m serious this time. No, really. I am. Seriously.
*I don’t want it to be misconstrued here…I LOVED the Dan Brown books. HOWEVER, after reading excellent novels like The Rule of Four and The Historian I have to say that Dan Brown’s books would be seriously lacking if he didn’t do such ridiculous research. His ability to describe scenery or to develop a character is lacking compared to Caldwell/Thomason and Kostova (see last line of Angels & Demons…I rest my case).
First Tournament
Me and my new team played in our first volleyball tournament (OK, not totally, but it was MY first tournament) of the year this weekend. We got second, which is completely awesome compared to our exploits last year. We struggled a lot last year…with some reshuffling we’ve found a better team and we are kind of just getting used to each other.
It was good to be back in the gym playing competitively. While I’m certainly not at the weight that I want to be at right now, I’m feeling in better shape (although this tournament I feel like crap afterward). I am really looking forward to the year. I think that we will get better as the year goes on and it will be good motivation for me to get in shape.
I have to say, I have this one friend on my team whose name is Josh. Josh is our setter and he is very VERY good. Josh could have played with a better team this year, but he chose to play with me and two other guys from work because he is a really good guy. I enjoy playing with him and I think that he brings the level of play of those around him up. Anyway, I was just thinking tonight how he is a good friend. I know that he could have played with someone else and he didn’t and I’m grateful for that.
I like having a good setter around.
My New Favorite Blog
Alli has decided to start a personal blog. It is something near and dear to my heart that I helped her set up. I’m excited for her to have it because I think that she is a thoughtful writer and she’s funny too.
Anyway, I’m proud to announce the arrival of…
THE SHANE FAN CLUB
I think that it will be a fun read and I suggest you go link it. She has a funny post up there from yesterday about Molly Ringwald.
Awesome New Mac Stuff
I’m so excited.
I’m a nerd when it comes to new stuff from Apple Computers. Two weeks ago (or so…I can’t remember) was the latest Macworld keynote speech
The new Mac stuff looks totally sweet. I am most looking forward to the new release of iLife ‘06. I’m still on iLife ‘04, which I love, but I am totally looking forward to picking up iLife ‘06. The thing that I am most psyched about is the iPhoto update. I use iPhoto more than any other program in the iLife suite. One thing that is heinously missing from my current suite of iLife (but has been in subsequent releases) is subfolders for albums. My album list is ridiculously long and I like things nice and neat (although my office at home or my desktop would not suggest that).
Other interesting things:
…the new MacBook Pro…
one of these days, when I have some mad money, I’m going to pick up a laptop to kick around with. I have a feeling that in the next couple months, we’ll see just a standard “MacBook” to replace the iBook and it will have an Intel chip and be a little cheaper (although who knows for sure?). I just want something to take on trips and to Panera on a lazy Saturday morning.
…new iMacs…
This seems to be about the 4th time in the past 12 months that the iMac has been updated. I got a 20″ iMac G5 when they were the new hotness and I still feels like it is new. But it has since received:
- a processor bump
- an integrated iSight
- a remote and a new program (Front Row)
- a sweet program called Photobooth
- another processor bump (due to the new Intel DuoCore chip)
That’s quite a bit in a year. It’s hard to keep up.
Overall, I really expected to see Apple drop their prices on their hardware considerably so that they would be able to keep up pace in the cheap cheap CHEAP (cheap) market of PCs. I think that a lot of folks out there would buy a tiny little Powerbook…err…iBook…err…MacBook if they were at least COMPETITIVE on price. But with what you can get something to kick around with on Dell’s web site…it’s hard to make that decision (without factoring in the whole “having to learn a new OS” and “I have to buy all new software” stuff).
For me, I just want a laptop for very minor stuff, so I’m not going to spend an exorbitant amount of money on it. I have a great desktop machine at home and a rockin’ new dual processor AMD64 custom build at work. I just want something for the small amount of traveling I do and, again, for just kicking around.
I wish I had the money to buy a “just kicking around” laptop, but until topFIVEdesign really takes off, I’m probably won’t. Plus, there is a lot of other stuff that I need to buy before I even CONSIDER getting a laptop. But that’s another discussion.
People are dumb
My friend Phil sent me this e-mail and I thought it was really funny. I am going to publish it here because I don’t really like forwards, but this is worth sharing…
Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: “I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever,”
–Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.
(On September 17, 1994, Alabama’s Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.)
“Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can’t help but cry. I mean I’d love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff.”
–Mariah Carey
“Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life,”
–Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.
“I’ve never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body,”
–Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.
“Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country,”
–Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC.
“I’m not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president.”
–Hillary Clinton commenting on the release of subpoenaed documents.
“That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I’m just the one to do it,”
–A congressional candidate in Texas.
“Half this game is ninety percent mental.”
–Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark
“It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.”
And
“We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur.”
–Al Gore, VP
“I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix.”
–Dan “Potatoe” Quayle
“We’ve got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?”
–Lee Iacocca
“The word “genius” isn’t applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”
–Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.
“We don’t necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people.”
–Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC Instructor.
“If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure.”
–Bill Clinton, President
“Traditionally, most of Australia’s imports come from overseas.”
–Keppel Enderbery
“Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.”
–Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina
“If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there’ll be a record.”
–Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman
Breakfast for Dinner
Last night Alli and I had some dinner with my parents. We had one of my favorite things in the world for dinner: breakfast.
I could eat breakfast for any meal during the day. I love me some eggs, hash browns and especially BACON. My dad made up this concoction that had spinach, mushrooms, peppers, sausage, cheese and hash browns in it. Oh yeah…there were eggs too.
Mom made french toast, which I sampled a slice of (but only a slice…trying to watch my CARBS!).
I didn’t weigh myself this morning, but hopefully I didn’t do too much damage for the competition.
Four Things
I thought this meme looked fun.
Four jobs I’ve had in my life
- Roofer
- Pizza Maker at the Pizza Shack
- Marketing Communications Specialist at Perceptive Vision, Inc.
- Graphic Designer at Perceptive Software, Inc. (Yes, it’s the SAME company)
Four movies I can watch over and over
Four places I have lived
- Overland Park, KS
- Lamoni, IA
- Council Bluffs, IA (briefly for a summer as a basement dweller)
- Olathe, KS (home, sweet home)
Four TV shows I love to watch
Four books I’d want with me on a desert island (I added this one)
Four places I have been on vacation
- Santa Fe, NM
- St. Lucia, BVI
- Orlando, FL
- London, England
Four of my favourite dishes
- Bacon Cheeseburgers
- Pizza (Ham, Pepperoni, Mushrooms from the aforementioned SHACK)
- Tomato, Cottage Cheese, Pepper, Bacon Omelette (a mom specialty)
- Steak
Four websites I visit daily
Four places I would rather be right now
- In my basement watching TV with Alli
- London
- On a volleyball court
- Bed
Four bloggers I am tagging
OK…so that was fun. Hook it up.
Busy Busy
Work is freaking CRAZY right now. Not only that, but I’m totally into The Historian. I’m really enjoying that book and it is REALLY long.
Trying to get through it.