Token Oscar Picks

After failing horribly at my Razzie Picks last night, I feel a little more confident going into the Oscars, especially since I've actually seen some of these flicks.

So here are my picks for some of the big 83rd Academy Awards categories:

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

• Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
• Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
• Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3
• Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
• Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone

Token Pick: Aaron Sorkin.  Does anyone really think Sorkin won't be walking off with an Oscar tonight?  His script was typical of his style, but fantastically brilliant.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

• Mike Leigh, Another Year
• Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson & Keith Dorrington, The Fighter
• Christopher Nolan, Inception
• Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
• David Seidler, The King's Speech

Token Pick: The King's Speech.  While Nolan's Inception was mind blowingly frightening, Seidler's story of the King who wasn't suppose to be, overcoming his horrible stutter, was the kind of thing Oscar loves.

Best Achievement in Directing

• Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
• Joel & Ethan Coen for True Grit
• David Fincher for The Social Network
• Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
• David O. Russell for The Fighter

Token Pick: David Fincher.  Now, keep a close eye on this, because usually whoever wins Best Director means that movie will win Best Picture, but we could see a first tonight.  I say Fincher's ability to use smooth camera moves to make hooded sweatshirts look cool with Aaron Sorkin's words beats out Hooper's royal King's Speech.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams for The Fighter
• Helana Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
• Melissa Leo for The Fighter
• Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
• Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

Token Pick: Melissa Leo.  All signs seem to indicate this will be only one of The Fighter's big awards.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale for The Fighter
• John Hawkes for Winter's Bone
• Jeremy Renner for The Town
• Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right
• Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

Token Pick: Christian Bale.  And this will be the other award for the Fighter, most likely barely beating out Geoffrey Rush's brilliance.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
• Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole
• Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
• Natalie Portman for Black Swan
• Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

Token Pick: Natalie Portman.  After collecting the Independent Spirit Award last night, she has a bunch of trophies on her mantle for the title role.  Looks like Oscar will be joining them.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem for Biutiful
• Jeff Bridges for True Grit
• Jessee Eisenberg for The Social Network
• Colin Firth for The King's Speech
• James Franco for 127 Hours

Token Pick: Colin Firth.  Firth's turn as the Royal Monarch was mesmerizing, and will earn him his first Oscar of his already storied acting career.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

• 127 Hours
• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids Are All RIght
• The King's Speech
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

Token Pick: The King's Speech.  While The Social Network grabbed all the early critics awards, The King's Speech has won the awards that matter when picking a winner for the Academy.  In other words, in other award shows where members of the Academy are also voting members, The King's Speech wins.  So this year, for what may be the first time, we'll have a different movie winning Best Picture and Best Director.

Check out all the nominees here, and don't forget to watch on ABC. 

Token Razzie Picks

Tonight is the Razzie Awards, where the worst movies in Hollywood are celebrated the night before the Oscars celebrate the best movies in Hollywood. Started back in 1980, the Razzies have been handing out The Golden Raspberry Award to "winners" that include Sandra Bullok.

This year's nominees include, yet again, some of the biggest money-makers (Twighlight Saga: Eclipse) and stars (Jennifer Aniston, Miley Cyrus, Jessica Alba, Jack Black) in this year's Hollywood "films."

Let's take a look at who The Spinoff thinks will take home some of those Golden Raspberries. And let's keep in mind that The Spinoff only watches good movies, so we don't watch these crappy pieces of so-called cinema.

Worst Prequal, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequal

• Clash of The Tians
• The Last Airbender
• Sex & The City 2
• Twilight Saga: Eclipse
• Vampires Suck

Token Pick: Twilight Saga: Eclipse. The Razzies love to nominate the Twilight movies. 'Bout time it takes one home.

Worst Screen Couple/Worst Screen Ensemble

• Jennifer Aniston & Gerard Butler, The Bounty Hunter
• Josh Brolin's Face & Megan Fox's Accent, Jonah Hex
• The Entire Cast, The Last Airbender
• The Entire Cast, Sex & The City 2
• The Entire Cast, Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Token Pick: Josh Brolin's Face & Megan Fox's Accent. Brolin's face alone was freakin' horrible.

Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3-D

• Cats & Dogs 2: Revenge of Kitty Galore
• Clash of the Titans
• The Last Airbender
• Nutcracker 3-D
• Saw 3-D (aka Saw VII)

Token Pick: Nutcracker 3-D. From everything I read from the Boston Globe review of Nutcracker 3-D, not only was the 3-D horrendously bad (as any post-conversion will be), but the movie took away the heart and sole of the story: the music.

Worst Actress

• Jennifer Aniston, The Bounty Hunter & The Switch
• Miley Cyrus, The Last Song
• The Four "Gal Pals," Sex & The City 2
• Megan Fox, Jonah Hex
• Kristen Stewart, Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Token Pick: Miley Cyrus. I don't know how she's been able to stay a star in the first place.

Worst Actor

• Jack Black, Gulliver's Travels
• Gerard Butler, The Bounty Hunter
• Ashton Kutcher, Killers & Valentine's Day
• Taylor Lautner, Twilight Saga: Eclipse & Valentine's Day
• Robert Pattinson, Remember Me & Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Token Pick: Taylor Lautner. Any actor who never puts his shirt on in a movie deserves to be labeled the worst.

Worst Picture

• The Bounty Hunter
• The Last Airbender
• Sex & The City 2
• Twilight Saga: Eclipse
• Vampires Suck

Token Pick: Vampires Suck. Of all the films nominated, this one recieved the lowest score from RottenTomatoes.com. Give it the Golden Razzie.

Check out all the nominees for the Razzies here.

Gervais's jokes biggest suprise at Globes

Well, last night's Golden Globes didn't have many surprises, except maybe for Ricky Gervais's extreme off-color jokes, which according to many media outlets, is getting him banned from hosting the show ever again. Even worse, "...any movie he makes he can forget about getting nominated." Take a look for yourself.



Need we forget, however, that this is Ricky Gervais? Did we really think his jokes weren't going to be edgy and risque? And here's a question, did the Hollywood Foreign Press not review his jokes before the show? If he went off script, then by all means be mad at him, but if his jokes were approved, then shuddup and deal with it, boys.

It's back again?!

Just when we think that something is gone for good, it comes back from the grave. So is the case with the Fast & the Furious series.

That's right, Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are back in another movie with fast cars (and maybe some more action) but definitely more bad acting: Fast Five. Hopefully there will be more of Jordana Brewster in this one, however. Because I definitely did not get enough of her in Fast & Furious.

Somehow, though, they've added The Rock to this installment, and somehow this is also suppose to be a prequel to Tokyo Drift, like how Fast & Furious was. I don't really care, though, because I don't understand the plots of any of these movies.

But, when push comes to shove, I'll probably end up seeing it. If for nothing else, then for Jordana Brewster.

"Cowboys & Aliens;" Is this a joke?

The name of the movie is "Cowboys & Aliens." The movie's plot, as provided by Universal Studios, reads as follows on IMdB.com:

The Old West.. where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde. It's a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been...

But here's the kicker. The movie stars Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. It's being directed by Jon Favreu of Iron Man fame, and the producers include Brian Grazer (24, A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster, Apollo 13), Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, The DaVinci Code), and Steven Speilberg (I think we know what he's done, don't we?).

My question is: WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?!

If I was a produced being pitched this idea, I think I would have said, "Ok, sounds like a great straight-to-DVD release idea. Oh, you want Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig to star in it?! Gosh darnit then let's make this into a big-budget action fest! This ain't no B movie anymore!"

I'm at a loss. Take a look at the trailer and tell me what you think everyone was thinking when they signed on for this flick.

First-Class: The Social Network

I believe that Aaron Sorkin is a screenplay god. In case you don't know what he's done, let me refresh your memory: A Few Good Men, The American President, Sports Night, The West Wing, and Charlie Wilson's War.

And now, he's given us The Social Network, a fictionalized tale of the start of Facebook.

Or is it?

SPOILER ALERT!

It's not.

The Social Network is about popularity and belonging and attention and friendship. It's a subtle yet powerful look at how technology has made my generation, those of us that have come of age during the internet age, during the Facebook age, live our lives: through the internet. Through social networking websites. The Social Network is about Mark Zuckerberg, played brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg, the "creator" of Facebook, and his quest to join the elite Harvard Final Clubs. He is obsessed with exclusivity. He wants to be popular.

But he's a geek, nerd, dweed, whatever you want to call him. He's also brilliant. His ability to write code is shown in the movie as pure mind-blowing power--he hacks into several websites and eventually crashes the Harvard servers by creating a website that compares Harvard girls, all while drunk after breaking up with his girlfriend. It is in these early scene that we learn who Zuckerberg is: lonely, outcast, misunderstood, and needy. In a hearing with the Harvard Advisory Board, Zuckerberg asks for "some recognition." That's all he really wants throughout the movie.

Sorkin's script is music to the ears. His quick banter between characters is mesmerizing. And while he sets aside his usual "walk-and-talk" dialogue that became famous in The West Wing and the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Sorkin's script oozes something special.

The fictionalized tale of Facebook is also engrossing and at times painful to watch. The backstabbing and friendship and loss of friendship adds flaws to every character. Zuckerberg is made out to be a king, and all his men are only there to tell him what he wants to hear. At first, it's Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), Zuckerberg's best friend, who goes from the it man to the wrong man. The story of Facebook is as much the story of the end of the friendship of Zuckerberg and Saverin. And while part of this may be due to Sean Parker, the Napster founder played appropriately by Justin Timerblake, in the end its Zuckerberg and his quest to join an exclusive club, that tears apart his own world.

And the end of this amazing film, Zuckerberg comes across as an ass-hole, a nerd, a social dweeb, and a nice guy. It's up to the movie-goer to decide.

But really, this is an Aaron Sorkin tour-de-force. Or maybe I'm just in love with Aaron Sorkin.

FINAL GRADE: A

Is Joaquin Phoenix Serious?

For those of you who don't know, "Walk the Line" star Joaquin Phoenix has basically gone off the radar (in a lot of ways) and he is trying to resurrect his celebrity status...in the form of a rap career. To answer your next question: yes, he does suck, but it seems like that hasn't stopped the powers that be from making a film out of it all. Here's the trailer for "I'm Still Here" about Phoenix's attempt to be a relevant musician. Good luck with that...

Could Be Worth Seeing!

Deniro and Edward Norton? Can't be a BAD movie, right? Here's the trailer for "Stone."

This Movie Should Be Made...Like Now.

Speilberg, are you reading this? Here's the trailer for the next truly great piece of cinema: "Serenity Now." Starring the legendary cast of Seinfeld, this triller has all the makings of a masterpiece. Coming to a theater near you...

Great job by user "lorocker" on youtube for compiling this.

Happy Birthday Harrison Ford!

Harrison Ford, a God on screen, and perhaps the actor who has portrayed more iconic characters then any other (like Han Solo, Jack Ryan, and Indiana Jones). The Top 5 lines countdown above is pretty good, but it's missing my hands down favorite line from Mr Ford, and it comes from Clear & Present Danger. Unfortunately, I cannot find a video of the line anywhere, so here's the script from IMDb.com:

The President: [on who gets punished for 'Reciprocity'] You'll take the blame. Cutter and Ritter will take some too, but it won't amount to much. They'll get a slap on the wrist and $20,000 an hour on the lecture circuit. The rest, you'll dump on Greer. Yes, you'll take him down with you. You'll *destroy* his reputation. But it won't go any further than that. It's the ol' Potomac two-step, Jack.
Jack Ryan: I'm sorry, Mr. President, I don't dance.

"Despicable Me" Could Be Damn Good!

Rarely am I sold on an animated film, but I think that "Despicable Me" has all the makings of a good flick to check out. At least, it has everything that I would enjoy:

-3D: It just makes everything that much better...for a reference, see Avatar.

-Good voices: Jason Segel, who stars in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "How I Met Your Mother" on CBS, and the British comedian Russell Brand, who everybody loves to hate, and the one and only Steve Carell, king of wacky voices.

-Score! Literally, the movie even has a good score. Super Hip Hop producer Pharrell Williams put together every note of music for the movie in his debut scoring a feature film.

-The synopsis: A man who delights in all things wicked, supervillain Gru (Steve Carell) hatches a plan to steal the moon. Surrounded by an army of little yellow minions and his impenetrable arsenal of weapons and war machines, Gru makes ready to vanquish all who stand in his way. But nothing in his calculations and groundwork has prepared him for his greatest challenge: three adorable orphan girls who want to make him their dad.
Animated fighting..I'm in! In theaters today...