And The Winners Are...

...everyone I would have voted for! For the first time ever the four acting awards were given to the very people I was rooting for! Heath Ledger, posthumously honored for his great work in The Dark Knight. Penelope Cruz for her fiery performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. If you have not seen this little film, go out and rent it right now. For his amazingly moving performance as Harvey Milk, I was thrilled that Sean Penn won. I implore everyone to see Milk. And the shining star of this award season - Kate Winslet! I'm ecstatic that she was finally honored by Oscar. Her marvelous work in The Reader is yet another terrific performance to add to her already stunning resume.

Other highlights included presenters Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Ben Stiller, and Natalie Portman; the touching acceptance speech by Dustin Lance Black (winner for Best Original Screenplay for Milk); and the ceremony itself. Hugh Jackman was flawless as first time (and hopefully not last time) host. I loved how the ceremony was completely revamped. It was immensely enjoyable and I loved the musical numbers. And more so tonight than any other ceremony, there really seemed to be a palpable camaraderie among everyone. It felt genuine and uplifting. A wonderful night to celebrate movies!

Brit and Aussie Go International

Yea! A good thriller! I was immediately sucked into The International. I love when movies throw us right into the story and don't make us sit through a boring exposition. The International starts somewhere in the middle of Salinger (Clive Owen) and Whitman's (Naomi Watts) investigation into the corruption and arms dealing of the world's most powerful bank. I was on the edge of my seat more than once during this picture. It did a really good job of building tension and the shoot out at the Guggenheim was super fun. I also liked the fact that Owen and Watts were working very closely on this case, but there was no romantic tension. They were just work associates and we didn't have to sit through the whole "will they or won't they" garbage. It was refreshing. Unfortunately I think the movie ran out of gas a little bit towards the end and the finale seemed a little rushed, but I liked the rest of the film too much to truly let that bother me.

On a different note I have to mention the hilarious Super Bowl shorts of The Office. Fantastic!

Pushers and Lovers

I must be getting soft at my old movie going age. I'm far too easy to please nowadays. Case in point: Push. Like Appaloosa, there seems to be a number of things off with this picture, but I still found myself having a good time. I really liked the kinetic and frantic energy of this movie and I thought the location choice perfectly suited the action and story. I also liked the "world" they created for these characters to live in, but I really would have liked to have seen them explore it more closely. Chris Evans was yummy to watch and I think Dakota Fanning made another good choice on her journey to grown up movie star. Most disappointing though were the giant plot points, or at the very least important details, that were sadly missing.

I'm a sucker for these big ensemble, interweaving storyline movies. Love Actually, Crash, Sin City - all very good. He's Just Not That Into You is a nice addition to my list. The success of these films hinges on the many characters who often don't get a lot of screen time to connect with the audience. Several characters in He's Just Not That Into You are enjoyable - Ginnifer Goodwin is exceptionally charming and I thought the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Aniston storyline was particularly sweet. No storyline here is large enough to carry an entire film by itself, but together they make a good complete story. What the movie could have done without are the topic introductions and chapter titles. They really weren't necessary and didn't better the film at all. But that's my biggest complaint in an otherwise satisfying movie.