NO WIRE HANGERS!

Today is the anniversary of the birth of the GREAT Joan Crawford. In her honor, I am removing all wire hangers from my closet, and asking everyone I know who's name is Tina to bring me an ax!

REVAMP

I'm planning a revamp of the blog. It has started to feel like homework to me, I have many thoughts and idea's I feel like posting, that are not on topic of the theme of this blog, and so I just don't post. Hence, I am thinking about a new name, new look, and a more general attitude. My thoughts on politics, entertainment, gay issues, and life. The wheels are turning, but it is only partially baked at the moment.

My Oscars

For the first time, probably ever, I have seen every acting performance nominated for an Oscar. I actually feel that I can make educated opinions on who I believe should take the award. So here is my list of the nominated actors, listed in my order of worst to best!!! I'm sure none of my picks will actually take the award home, except maybe Mo'nique. But I am listing them anyway!!!!

Best Supporting Actor:
5. Stanley Tucci The Lovely Bones
4. Matt Damon Invictus
3. Woody Harrelson The Messenger
2. Christoph Waltz Inglorius Basterds
1. Christopher Plummer The Last Station

Best Actor:
5. Morgan Freeman Invictus
4. George Clooney Up In The Air
3. Colin Firth A Single Man
2. Jeff Bridges Crazy Heart
1. Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker

Best Supporting Actress:
5. Anna Kendrick Up In The Air
4. Penelope Cruz Nine
3. Vera Farmiga Up In The Air
2. Maggie Gyllenhaal Crazy Heart
1. Mo'Nique Precious

Best Actress:
5. Sandra Bullock The Blind Side
4. Meryl Streep Julie and Julia
3. Carey Mulligan An Education
2. Helen Mirren The Last Station
1. Gabourey Sidibe Precious



OK, so I really think that 18/20 of the nominees are totally deserving, even Sandra Bullock (altho she SHOULDN'T win). Morgan Freeman and Anna Kendrick really were terrible in their roles, and shouldn't even be nominated. They should be replaced by Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) and Diane Kreuger (Inglorius Basterds) respectively.

BUSY BUSY BUSY

I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted. I am such a slacker. Unfortunately, life just gets in the way sometimes. I promise a nice big Oscar post. And as of next week, will hopefully be back to regular blogging!!!! SEE YOU SOON!!!! Have a GREAT Oscar sunday!!!!

Obsessed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I want to BE Emily Blunt!

She won a Globe for Gideon's Daughter\

She is one HOTT BETCH!!!!

Happy Birthday Blunt!

Emily Blunt can pretty much do no wrong in my book. Every single thing I have seen her do is magic. Even if the film itself is stinky, she is always great. Today is Emily's birthday. She turns 27 (wow, she's the same age as me, and look what she has accomplished, now I am depressed). I have loved her ever since I saw The Devil Wears Prada. She delivers a wonderfully nuanced comic performance in that movie. She is almost the villian of the piece, but she plays her character, also named Emily, with such panache that you can't help but love her. She is a wonderfully flawed and desperate person. This is the stuff great comedy is made of. People desperately trying to climb their way up the ladder and hide all of their idiosyncracies, and failing miserably. I just love me some Blunt.

She also does some brilliant work in, my personal favorite, Sunshine Cleaning. Here is a wounded woman, wallowing in her old wounds. The relationship between Blunt and Amy Adams in this one is such a joy to watch. I really believe them as sisters.
See also, My Summer Of Love, The Young Victoria, and The Jane Austen Book Club for some Blunt Brilliance!!

My God, can we just give her and Oscar already. Although she does have John Krasinski, so I guess she's probably doing ok.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLUNT!!!!!!!

Musings on Impersonation Acting

I just want to say a word or two or sixty about performances based on actual people. This year in the Oscar race there are a few people who are playing real people. Some, like Sandra Bullock are playing people who no one really knew before the movie. And some, like Meryl Streep and Morgan Freeman are playing people who we have a clear picture of in our heads. You can't get away with a shoddy performance as someone we all know.
There are two requirements, in my opinion, of playing a famous person on screen.

1. That you give a realistic and believeable portrayl of whomever the person may be. Adopting their mannerisms, speech patterns and looks in order to make us believe that you are that person.
2. (This is where many actors fail) To give us a believable picture of the parts of this person's life that we have not been able to see. To marry the impersonation with the human factor.

It is number two where I have seen the most actors fail. There have been numerous performers who have played famous people, many to Oscar-winning success. And many have failed. What they need is that human factor. We, the audience, need to belive that not only are you the person we have seen on TV or in the movies, but that you are the person we did not get to see. That is the point of the biopic, after all. To show us the person behind the persona.

Five Best Performances as Famous People

5. Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There

4. Michael Sheen in The Queen

3. Sean Penn in Milk

2. Drew Barrymore in Grey Gardens

1. Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner's Daughter

What's your favorite/least favorite biopic performance?????

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

Who's Afriad of Virginia Woolf?
4/4 stars

I just watched Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf all the way through, for probably the first time in my life. I had seen the whole movie, just never in one sitting. This movie contains four of the greatest performances in film history. It is, hands down, the best overall cast of all time. I really think that the fact that all four of this films stars garnered Oscar nominations, and all deserved to win. Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal and Sandy Dennis all deliver powerhouse performances. To say that it is the most successful film of all time, might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I do believe it is close. I'm not talking about financial success, I'm talking about artistic success. The performances, the direction, the cinematography, the adaptation. As far as stage adaptaions go, it does manage to take a somewhat claustrophobic play, and open it up. It takes it to new locales, and out of the one room of the play, but it does so without losing the claustrophobia of the story; the feeling of being trapped.
When it comes to performances, everyone is pitch perfect. Elizabeth Taylor, in one of the most deserving Oscar wins in history, is hearbreaking and gut-wrenching. Richard Burton is wounded and tough. George Segal is a wonder and Sandy Dennis brings vulnerability to new heights.
This is a MUST SEE classic!!

LIFE AFTER TOMORROW

Title: Life After Tomorrow
Director: Gil Cates, Jr. Julie Stevens
Starring: Allison Smith, Sarah Jessica Parker, Senta Moses, Dara Brown, Martha Byrne
Rating: 2.5/4 stars

I am a musical theatre junkie. As much as I deny it, I also secretly LOVE Annie. So when I came across this documentary about life after Annie, I couldn't resist. This is not the best documentary ever made. It doesn't reveal any hidden truths, or touch the heart. It is essentially a bunch of former child actors whining about their life, since they could never live up to having been in one of the biggest hit musicals of all time (SJP aside).
What I did love about Life After Tomorrow was the surprise little tidbits about the showbiz life. Stories about touring, and stage mothers and hookers. I am such a sucker for backstage gossip.

I was also so surprised by how many faces I recognized. OK, so theatre queen that I am, I knew that Sarah Jessica Parker had been in Annie. I had no idea that MSNBC's Dara Brown and soap star Martha Byrne were former orphans too. And Allison Smith, who I love on Kate and Allie. It was so interesting to hear all of their stories, and see all the old photographs. But let's be honest, no one really wants to listen to you whine.

THE LIVING END

Title: The Living End
Director: Gregg Araki
Starring: Mike Dytri, Craig Gilmore, Darcy Marta
Rating: 3/4 stars

The Living End is what all movies should be. It is truly HONEST. In Hollywood, AIDS has been presented in many ways. Usually the person with AIDS is a tragic hero (i.e. Philadelphia, It's My Party). That is not really the case here. The two 'heroes' of this movie are neither tragic or heroic. They are just real. In a Thelma and Louise-esque tale, two HIV positive young men, on the run from the law, travel the west coast. It doesn't have the intrigue of Thelma and Louise, you never see the cops chasing them. They simply have a 'fuck the world' attitude. They don't know how much longer they have, so they must enjoy it.
I really liked the tone of this movie. It wasn't preachy. It didn't want to change anyone's mind. It just wanted to tell a story. It wanted to show you what two people who love eachother, will go through for one another, and examines what draws one person to another. Like, does having one thing in common, albeit a big thing, make two people work, or does it take more?  This movie really got me thinking. It is independent filmmaking at it's best.

CRAZY HEART

Title: Crazy Heart
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall
Rating: 3.5/4 stars

Loved Crazy Heart even though it is a big ol' cliche. This movie follows an old formula: down and out musician/athlete/writer meets younger woman, falls for her, hits rock bottom, cleans up his act and comes back from despair. Crazy Heart is among the best of these "Washed-up old drunk" movies for three reasons: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and an amazing soundtrack.
Bridges plays a drunk so sublty, that when he hits rock bottom, you finally realize that he was drunk for most of the movie, but he functioned so well in those scenes that the audience (and the rest of thze characters on screen) doesn't realize it. He deserves every award he gets.
Gyllenhaal is so believable in this cliche role. The age difference almost bothered me, but Maggie was so convincing in her love for Bridges, that it didn't skeeve me out at all. And she really broke my heart a few times.
The music in Crazy Heart surprised me. I don't consider myself a fan of country, but the songs were like vintage Dylan, and were so well written that I downloaded the soundtrack and even sing along. A lovely movie!!!

THE CELLULOID CLOSET

Title: The Celluloid Closet
Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Starring: Lily Tomlin, Quentin Crisp, Armistead Maupin, Gore Vidal, Arthur Laurents, Harvey Fierstein
Rating: 4/4 stars

The Celluloid Closet is a gayssential. This documentary drawn from the work of Vito Russo, is a pretty comprehensive look at homosexuality in the movies. I first saw this one years ago on television. It combines two of my favorite things to research: movies and gay history. I set out to see as many of the movies mentioned in the movie as I could, and I have done pretty well. What this movie does is examine how and where homosexuals have been portrayed in the movies from the early years of Hollywood. It also gives a taste of how these protrayals effect the audience. It uses clips from a wide range of movies, from Wings to Advise and Consent to Philadelphia. Granted, it is somewhat dated now, as it was released in 1995. The 15 years of Hollywood since then have had a huge improvement in the way they portray gay people, thanks to movies like Milk, Angels in America and Brokeback Mountain. Despite it's dated-ness, it is a wonderful look at the history. Not only is this a great movie for its research value, it also has some great things to say about our lives and experiences.

INVICTUS

Title: Invictus
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon
Rating: 1.5/4 stars


Invictus is everything I expected The Blind Side to be, but wasn't. This movie used all of the manipulative tactics there are to play with the audience's emotions. Sweeping music, epic shots, dialogued filled with 'profundity' and stadiums full of extras screaming for the fictional sports team in the movie. Honestly, I am not a big Eastwood fan. I have always thought he was a pretty self-important director. And this movie proves it. It was really nothing more than a piece of melodramatic junk.
Morgan Freeman, whose performance in Driving Miss Daisy is one of my all-time faves, does nothing at all in this movie. His oscar nomination baffles me because, besides looking like Nelson Mandela and having an accent, doesn't do any acting at all. Every one of his lines sounds like it came from a book of Mandela quotes, there is no human factor in this performance.
The 1.5 stars I have given this movie, are all for Matt Damon, who I usually despise. He is great in this movie. His character could have been the one with the most cheeseball moments, but he rises above, delivering a nuanced and beautiful performance. A well deserved Oscar nomination!!

Slacker

I have not posted in like 4 days. I guess I should get on that. I have seen Crazy Heart and Invictus and will post my reviews of them, as well as my gayssential review of The Celluloid Closet. And the ladies need some love too, don't they. It'll happen, just a lot of distractions.

Joan Crawford--2/3

Joan Crawford is, sadly, remembered more as 'Mommie Dearest' than anything else. It's sad because she really was one of the greatest actresses of her time, of any time. She is always fantastic. See The Women, Johnny Guitar, Mildred Pierce, or Grand Hotel and you will see her in all her glory. I just watched What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? again after a long time. I always remember this movie as, pretty much, belonging to Bette Davis. And the truth is that it really does. But when I watched it this time, I fell in love with Crawford's performance. I am pretty sure that this is Joan's most understated and beautiful performance. She sits quietly back while Bette Davis has a scenery feast. And she manages to break my heart as well. I love her in every scene. The movie is set up for you to root for Joan as Blanche, while Bette's Jane treats her like shit, but somehow every other time I have seen it, I have rooted for Jane. I guess it was my love for a loud brassy broad. This time, however, I actually caught myself getting teary for Blanche.
The two scenes that got me, both involved Blanche and the telephone. The first is the first time that Jane leaves the house, after she has served Blanche her beloved bird on a platter and taken her phone away. Blanche realizes she needs to do something. So, for the first time, she thinks about getting herself down the stairs to the telephone. She comes as close as to put her crippled feet on the floor, but chicken's out. A few scenes later, after much more terrible treatment, Blanche finally takes the chance. She pulls herself out of her chair, and down the stairs. She calls the doctor that she has been trying to get to help her sister. Crawford is so desperate. And her desperation grows and grows as the movie goes on. She is so quiet about it. She is not the silent movie star or the over the top leading lady she was for much of her career. She is subtle, and quiet in her desperation, and defeat. I have a new attitude on this movie now!! Thanks Joan!!!!

You wouldn't be able to do these awful things to me if I weren't still in this chair.

Oscar Time!!! (gay squeal)

The 82nd Academy Awards are only a month away, and FINALLY we have the Oscar nominees. I have awaited this day with ganticipation (that is 'gay anticipation') for so long. This is one of the first years in a long time when I have actually seen a great deal of the nominated movies, and I feel that I am actually making informed opinions. And I have many of them!!! I was not really surprised by most of the nominations that came out today. Honestly, this award is so heavily predicted that it is essentially predictable, aka boring. But there are always a few surprises. And whether they are good or bad, I always hope for these surprises!!

SURPRISE 1: Two of the 10 Best Picture nominees gave me pause. One in a good way (District 9) and one in a bad way (The Blind Side). I am so glad that District 9 made the cut. This movie was brilliant. And I usually despise alien movies. The thing about this one is that it is an alien movie, that serves as a fantastic metaphor for how humans treat eachother. I am so mad that The Blind Side made this list. It really proves to me that the whole reason for making 10 nominees was as a marketing strategy. I saw it, and I actually liked it, but I don't think it is worthy of this spot. I can think of at least 3 movies that should be there instead of it. SAD SAD SAD!!

SURPRISE 2: There were two songs that I predicted were locked in the Best Original Song category: 'The Weary Kind' which did get a nomination; and 'Cinema Italiano' which did not. I am shocked that 'Take It All' from Nine made the cut over 'Cinema Italiano'. It is an odd choice, since 'Cinema Italiano' is a better song. I only hope that this now means that Marion Cotillard will be perfroming on the telecast.

SURPRISE 3: OK, not really a surprise, but I was afraid that Bright Star would not get a Best Costume Design nomination, and I am soooooooooo happy that it did. It and The Young Victoria are my favorites to win this one.

Lastly, my 'SINS OF OMISSION', those that were not nominated, that I believe should have been!

SINS OF OMISSION: (500) Days of Summer (Best Original Screenplay), Sharlto Copley (Best Actor), Alfred Molina and Anthony Mackie (Best Supporting Actor), Marion Cotillard and Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress), Every Little Step (Best Documentary), Where The Wild Things Are (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design), The Stoning of Soraya M. and both of it's leading ladies.

Mozhan Marno in The Stoning of Soraya M.

NIGHTHAWKS

Title: Nighthawks
Director: Ron Peck
Starring: Ken Robertson, Rachel Nicholas James
Rating: 3/4 stars

This is one interesting film. Released in 1978, it depicts a time in gay life when AIDS wasn't even a thought. The story of a London teacher and his escapades in the gay bar scene, Nighthawks could be a documentary. Long shots of men dancing are plentiful. This movie is the definition of 'slice of life'. A couple of times I found myself bored with the lengthy scenes with no dialogue, and weird 70's disco music playing in the background. But it served the purpose of showing what Jims experience was really like, in a way that no other film has done for me. Nothing much happened in this movie, and yet it is pretty brilliant. I say that because at the beginning of the movie, when Jim entered the bar, I felt sorry for him, but, by the end of the movie, he again enters the bar, and I felt somhow empowered. A brutally realistic movie, that portrays the experiences of sleeping with, and getting to know different men, Nighthawks really made me think. When Jim frankly discusses his sexual identity with his students at the end of the film it is such a wonderful moment. This is a Gayssential!!

WHEN IN ROME

Title: When In Rome
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, Danny DeVito, Anjelica Huston, Jon Heder, Don Johnson
Rating: .5/4 stars

This movie should be erased from history. A few (and far far between) funny lines does not a movie make. This is the worst piece of junk I have seen in a long long time. I do love a romcom, and usually give them a lot of leeway. I cannot do that for When in Rome. I wanted to see this movie for one reason and one reason only. I have a crush on 4 of the male stars. They all make my heart and libido go pitter-pat. Thank God I had a free pass, and didn't pay for this movie. The writing was HORRENDOUS. The director must have been out of town when they made this. I have lost a little respect for Anjelica Huston for making this movie. I thought she had more taste. Anjelica, whatever the paycheck you got for this one, IT WASN'T WORTH IT!!! The Dax Shepard shirtless count was only 3.5 times....and that makes me sad as well. The only terrible acting here was Bell, but the rest of the cast had such terrible material to deal with, that they couldn't rise above it. I wish I could 'un-see' this movie!!

**I made Dax the biggest for all to enjoy!!!!

Oprah Winfrey--1/29

Today is Queen Oprah's birthday, so I'm writing about her. Op hasn't made that many movies as an actress, but everything she does tends to be significant. She always plays strong women overcoming terrible odds and adversity. Her best performance to date, in my opinion, is her first. The Color Purple is one of my favorite movies. Its one that I can catch on TV at any spot and will sit and watch the rest, and sob at the end of. Oprah is amazing in this movie. She is Sofia. Granted, I read the book after I saw the movie, but there is NOTHING about Sofia in the book that I don't see in Oprah's performance. She captures the strengh and vulnerability of Sofia with grace and dignity in every word.

My favorite scene of Oprah's in The Color Purple is when she finally goes back to see her family, after being in jail, and being Miss Millie's maid. She hasn't seen her children in years, but their reunion is cut short by Miss Millie's ignorance and selfishness. Oprah shows you how hurt Sofia is in this moment, without showing too much. She walks a fine line between being true to the character and being over the top. She gives us a whole person in this movie, a whole person's life, a whole person's soul. I can only imagine what Oprah's career would have been like, had she focused on film acting, rather than her talk show. God knows the world would be a completely different place were that the case. She may have been a fantastic Mary Jones in Precious or Mrs. Miller in Doubt. I do love her, and would love to see her do more acting when her show goes off the air. Happy Birthday Oprah!!!!!!!!!

Diana Rigg--1/28

The movie version of the Sondheim musical A Little Night Music is pretty much universally thought to be one of the worst movie musicals of all time. The transfer to screen just didn't work for this one. Some blame it on bad casting (Elizabeth Taylor) and some on bad filmmaking (Harold Prince was a successful stage director, not film). I happen to appreciate this movie, because I LOVE the source material. There is one thing in this movie that is the bright spot, whether you like the movie or not, you will love Diana Rigg. She is FANTASTIC as the long suffering wife of Count Mittelheim. Her wry wit, and spot on comic timing crack me up!  She delivers looks over her teacup that remind me of one of the greatest at "the look" Bea Arthur. It's not just her comic chops that I love. She breaks your heart at the same time. When she is degrading herself, she holds herself together so well. And, my God, she is class all the way! I can't even tell you!! Love her. Watch this movie, the whole thing, on YouTube.

LITTLE ASHES

Title: Little Ashes
Director: Paul Morrison
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Javier Beltran, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell
Rating: 1.5/4 stars

I had high hopes for this movie, I really did. I was really interested in seeing the relationship between Frederico Garcia Lorca and Salvador Dali. Pretty much what I was given was a mediocre gay romantic drama. This was pretty formulaic. Boy meets boy. Boy is afraid of attraction to boy. Boy screws requisite loud, lonely straight girl. Boy dumps boy. Boy runs into boy years later and realizes boy is a freak. Thats all it was. The style of this film was pretty uneven, and the tone was all over the place. I just couldn't get into it. The only redeeming thing this movie had was Javier Beltran. He gave a wonderfully real performance. He was also VERY nice to look at. Robert Pattinson did just what I expected him to do. His performance was all over the place. He went from brooding to The Joker at the drop of a hat. This role would have been perfect for Heath Ledger, he would have done something interesting, and maybe had an accent that was consistent! Such a shame. This movie had such potential, and just fell into a formulaic mess, that was no better than any B gay romance!!!

The Gayssentials

Here is a list of some of my Gayssentials, by genre:

Comedy:

3-The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert**

2-Sordid Lives

1-The Ritz

Drama:

3-Bent

2-Torch Song Trilogy

1-Maurice

Romance:

3-Kissing Jessica Stein

2-My Beautiful Laundrette

1-Beautiful Thing**

TV:

3-Serving In Silence

2-An Early Frost**

1-Tales of the City

Coming Out Stories:

3-Making Love

2-Dorian Blues

1-Get Real

Classics:

3-Advise and Consent

2-The Children's Hour

1-Victim


Seen any of these? Have any thoughts on them?? A personal Gayssential???

Gayssential

Gayssential (gey'sěn'shəl)
        noun. def-A Gay Essential. A movie, book, television show that is essential to gay life either historically, politically or for its entertainment value. ex. You've never seen BEAUTIFUL THING? You must, its a Gayssential.

I plan to start working my way through my Gayssentials, reviewing them. So I am coining the term now!

Rita Moreno--1/26

Rita and Treat Williams in The Ritz

Rita Moreno is an Oscar winning actress. I remember her most from my early introduction to musical theatre in the movie versions of The King and I and West Side Story. It wasn't until a few years ago, that I came across a fantastic little comedy from the 70's by one of my favorite playwrights, Terrence McNally. The Ritz is most definately Rita at her best. I LOVE this movie for many reasons, but this is not a review, this post is all about Rita. She is the queen of comedy in the movie. As Googie Gomez, the headliner at a gay bath house, she carries this movie on her shoulders, and she is not even the star. Rita makes every moment she is on screen a 'must watch' moment. Her energy is infectious. Her tempermental moods, and loud mouth are comedy gold. The scene that sticks out the most for me is Googie's entrance into the movie. In the first few moments, she comes on the scene, and she stakes her claim on your funny bone. Her accent, her attitude, her facial expressions. Again, I find, with comedy it's hard to say what it is that makes it brilliant. Its something that you need to see to believe. So just go rent The Ritz. You won't be sorry. It is a Gay Essential, or Gayssential as I like to call them!

GYPSY

Title: Gypsy
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Rosalind Russell, Karl Malden, Natalie Wood, Ann Jillian
Rating: 2/4 stars

Last night I popped this in for the first time in about 5 years. It was nice to revisit the big screen adaptation of one of my favorite musicals. This movie lacks some of the energy that I love about the show. It feels kind of heavy, even in it's lightest moments. Rosalind Russell does make a great Mama Rose, driving through the story like a bulldozer. Her singing is dubbed fantastically by Lisa Kirk, who sounds exactly like Russell. Wood actually does her own singing here, unlike in West Side Story. Its too brash, and she cannot blend, poor Ann Jillian has to fight to be heard during their duet, and it's Wood's character Louise who is the meek one. Singing aside, I actually do love Wood's performance, she really makes the journey to becoming Gypsy Rose Lee believable. She goes from mousy tomboy to sexy woman, and we don't even see her working at it. Malden is bland. Jillian has a great voice, but thats about it. The look of the film is drab and washed out, especially during the strip sequence, where I want more brightness and glamour. Overall a mediocre adaptation of a GREAT musical!

Bullock????

With her SAG win, I am now officially SCARED that Sandra Bullock is going to win an Oscar. I liked her in The Blind Side, but really??? It's going to be a long wait 'til Oscar time.
I suppose if she wins she can join Elizabeth Taylor (Butterfield 8), Gwenyth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Halle Berry and Reese Witherspoon in the Most UNDESERVING Best Actress Oscar Winners Club!!! I'm setting myself up for disappointment!!!!

SAG AWARDS!!!

OK...starting the Live Blog...Be sure to check back for updates!!!

Starting kind of late, because of internet issues...DAMN!! But here we go with the reactions.

• ALEC BALDWIN=Best Actor in a Comedy Series I am not surprised because he is AWESOME and the actors love him!!
• TINA FEY=Best Actres in a Comedy Series I am surprised that Toni Collette didn't take this one...She is BRILLIANT in TARA.  But I do love me some Tina, so I'm not holding it against anybody!!!
• Cast of GLEE=Outstanding Ensemble of a Comedy Series Disappointment sets in. I just don't get Glee, and why they are winning this stuff, and Lea Michelle looks like a Monchichi!!
• CHRISTOPH WALTZ=Best Supporting Actor OK, Now I really need to see this movie. What the hell are you talking about in your speech man?? I don't get it really.
• JULIANNA MARGULIES=Best Actress in a Drama Series She so deserves this one. The Good Wife is fantastic and Julianna is brilliant in it! But I must say that I just don't get her dress, velvet, droopy boobs???
• MICHAEL C HALL=Best Actor in a Drama Series I know many Dexter fans who will be happy about this one!!
• Cast of MAD MEN=Best Ensemble of a Drama Series They always seem to win these awards, this is a show I have not been able to get into! I don't know why. But John Slattery is a silver FOX and Christina Hendricks is BEYOND gorgeous.
• Ken Howard is great, but I hate when they do all these speeches...just get to the awards!!!!
• OOOOOOOOOOO It's Betty White time!!! She is so deserving of this award!!!
• Good speech Sandra. Heartfelt and funny, I'm sure Betty LOVED it!!
• This Package is making me tear up!!! I love me some Betty!!!!!
• Now I am officially SOBBING!!!
• Betty White is ABSOLUTELY a LEGEND!!! She really has done everything and can continue to do so! She is hilarious, and dirty. I wish she was my grandma, and yet I kind of feel like she is!! WOW!!!!!
• DREW BARRYMORE=Best Actress in a TV Movie/Miniseries Most deserved!! She was AMAZING as Little Edie! She made me love the real Little Edie even more!!!!! Acceptance speech...iffy! But I love that it's real!
• KEVIN BACON=Best Actor in a TV Movie/Miniseries I got this from Netflix, but I sent it back without watching it...is that bad?!? He is a sexy man though....and only gets sexier with age!!
• The Memoriam. This is always hard to watch. So sad, Hollywood really lost some greats this year. Patrick Swayse, Harve Presnell, Jennifer Jones, James Whitmore, Karl Malden, Natasha Richardson and Bea Arthur! I'm so glad they included 'God'll get you for that, Walter'!!!!!
• MO'NIQUE=Best Supporting Actress OK...This one is in the bag...She is BRILLIANT in Precious, I just love watching every one of her acceptance speeches. She is so eloquent!! And she knows it. She is sort of my hero right now!!!
• JEFF BRIDGES=Best Actor I don't know about this one, because I haven't seen the movie. But he is always stellar in everything, so it's ok. I was secretly rooting for Jeremy Renner though!!!!
• SANDRA BULLOCK=Best Actress I am a little mad..see previous post!!!!!
• INGLORIUS BASTERDS=Best Ensemble Now I DEFINATELY need to see this one! Sad that it wasn't Hurt Locker!!!

Lesley Ann Warren--1/23

This column is not always about people who have turned in the best work, consistently, but is also about a singular performance or moment on the screen. As I was re-organizing my DVD collection today, I was making mental notes of performances I wanted to mention here in the future. When I got to the letter 'v' I saw a movie, and thought "I have to talk about Lesley today". Lesley Ann Warren is not the greatest actress ever. She doesn't have a long long list of stellar performances to mention. But she does have at least one performance that has affected me, like in a life changing way. Victor/Victoria is one of those comedies that I feel has taught me something about how to perform comedy. And Lesley Ann Warren is perhaps the highlight of that movie.
She plays what could be your typical 'gangster's moll', but she does it with such panache and style that it is unforgettable. One of the things I love about comedy, is when beautiful women are not afraid to look like fools. This is why I love Lucille Ball, Fran Drescher, Debra Messing and other television commedienne's. Warren has this quality in spades, and her comic timing in Victor/Victoria is impeccable. She really has something special in this movie. It's so hard to explain without actually just showing the whole movie, but there is a commitment. Lesley LOVES Norma, and she plays her without any condescension. And I love how she is loud, and over the top. Yet she has a vulnerability and a reality to her that is awesome.
This is one of those Oscar history things that kind of makes me mad. She lost to Jessica Lange for Tootsie. Now I really think Jessica just won for that, because she was also up for lead actress that year, and they wanted to give her one. She wasn't going to beat Streep in the lead category, so they gave her the supporting statue. Looking at these two performances next to each other, Lesley Ann Warren should have taken the trophy. She is FANTASTIC in this movie. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

R.I.P. Jean Simmons

Simmons in THE THORN BIRDS

Hollywood lost a great star today. Jean Simmons passed away at the age of 80. A star in such classics as The Robe, Young Bess, Guys and Dolls and Elmer Gantry, Simmons will be missed. Her work on the screen was always stellar, and she was also in The Thorn Birds, so for that alone we should be mourning her loss!!!! Rest In Peace.

Piper Laurie--1/22

Today is Piper Laurie's birthday. One of America's best actresses turns 78. And so, She gets some Lady Love today. I have loved pretty much everything I have seen her do. Although, looking at her filmography, I really haven't seen as much of her work as I thought I had. She has just made such an impression that it has made me think I have seen her in more. I guess I will have to make an effort to see more of her work.
The movie that I love Piper in the most is, of course, Carrie. She is chilling in every scene. Margaret White drives a steak of guilt and fear through Carrie's heart, and the audience as well. She makes me quiver. I definately find Margaret White, as she is played by Piper Laurie, to be the real scare factor of this movie. Carrie doesn't scare me, but her crazy ass christian mother does. That may be my personal fear of christians as a whole, but the way that Piper Laurie plays this woman, gets me every time. Particularly her first and last scenes. In the first, when she is trying to peddle her dogma to Mrs. Snell, she begins to reveal the scariest parts of her self. We all have met someone like that. Someone who stays for that extra minute when we don't want them to, and makes us quietly search for the quickest escape route.
The grand finale of Carrie is one of my favorite scenes in any movie. It is chilling and thrilling. Piper Laurie shows us how truly crazy Margaret White is. She is off the beam, and the mania in Laurie's eyes is seared into my brain. She is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

I just read on the Carrie trivia page on imdb, that Piper Laurie thought her character was so over the top  that it must be a comedy. I love that. I love that she went there, and wasn't afraid to let it all go. Whatever it was that gave her that freedom, it is a thrill to watch. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIPER LAURIE!!!

Lady Love: Anne Heche--1/21

Anne Heche is pretty much universally considered to be a lunatic. I am not saying I disagree with this thought process, but maybe her lunatic-ery is part of what makes her a brilliant actress. She has turned in some awesome performances over her career, Birth, Wag The Dog and Volcano come to mind. But, today it's her work in the 1996 HBO movie If These Walls Could Talk. It's a fantastic movie about three women, in three different times, all dealing with the same problem, an unwanted/unexpected pregnancy. Anne Heche plays the modern day woman. A college student, pregnant by one of her professors. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE her in this movie. Her portrayal is so heartfelt. She shows the struggle of a young woman making a very difficult choice, and you feel all of her agony over her choice. There is a cliche in movies that I love, and that is the 'single tear'. I love it because it can tell a whole story in one moment. When Anne is lying on the table, having the procedure done, she has an emotionless face, yet a 'single tear' falls down her cheek. I love this moment, so much. She is fantastic. I suppose that from madness, comes great art.

If you haven't seen If These Walls Could Talk, see it, it also has some awesome work from Sissy Spacek, Cher, Eileen Brennan, Diana Scarwid and Demi Moore. And Cher directed the segment where Heche stars!! Love it!!

Soapbox: Best Actress???

I know this is, like, sacrilegious, BUT...I DO NOT WANT MERYL STREEP TO WIN THE BEST ACTRESS OSCAR THIS YEAR!!!! Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Meryl. And I think she was great in Julie and Julia. BUT, this was NOT the best performance by an actress this year. I know the Oscar's don't usually get it right. They don't. Sometimes they hit the nail on the head: Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Hudson, Sean Penn. And sometimes they let other factors dictate the winner: Gwenyth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon.
For some reason, Box office receipts and other political reasons get the Oscar voters to make the wrong decision. This years Oscar race seems almost to be a shoe in for Meryl Streep, and that makes me sad. If she wins, it will be an Oscar for her career. Her nomination this year will be a record 16th. And she has only won 2. And those two were in the early 80's. So it has been more than 20 years since she won. I know that her career has been illustrious. She really should have won for her work in The Bridges of Madison County, Silkwood and One True Thing. But she didn't. Does that make it OK for you to reward her for Julie and Julia. It was a great performance. But, it was not even close to the performances of Gabby Sidibe, Carey Mulligan or Shoreh Agdashloo this year (Agdashloo isn't even in the running for her powerhouse performance in The Stoning Of Soraya M.) So Streep should not win. She did not give the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
The other front runner for this years award is Sandra Bullock. Don't get me started on this. She was also great in The Blind Side, but it is not even close to the performers I mentioned earlier. Seriously Academy??? I just don't understand it. It does make me very angry. The category is supposed to be the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for 2009, not Career That Deserves Recognition, nor is it Best Box Office Blockbuster.
I just know I am going to be VERY disappointed come Oscar time!!!!

Lady Love: Joan Cusack--1/20

For some reason, comedic roles are considered less prestigious than dramatic ones. I don't get this. Comedy is just as hard, if not harder than drama. It bothers me that comedic actresses so rarely get recognized by the acting awards of Hollywood. Joan Cusack is one of the BEST comedic actresses there is. And she's not so bad at drama either, when she gets the chance to do it (Arlington Road is fantastic.) She has been twice nominated for the Oscar for Working Girl, and the movie I am going to talk about today In & Out. She didn't win either time, but each role is fantastic.
In In & Out, Joan plays the long suffering fiance of a closeted teacher. If you haven't seen this movie, you really should. Joan is the BEST part of this movie. She delivers screenwriter Paul Rudnick's brilliant one-liners with expert timing. One of my favorites "Does anybody here KNOW how many times I've had to watch Funny Lady!?!?!?"
The key to great comedy, in my opinion, is to have tremendous vulnerability. And Joan has it here in spades. She is such a lovable loser, and when she cracks it is heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time. The best scene in the movie is when her fiance comes out of the closet at their wedding. Joan reacts with the necessary shock. The way that Joan raises her voice is so funny. "Was there oh, ANY OTHER TIME YOU MIGHT'VE TOLD ME THIS? I'm wearing a wedding dress, WHICH YOU PICKED OUT!" It is seared in my brain. I love it. Joan Cusack is my comedy hero!!! I can't believe she lost the Oscar to Kim Basinger, disgusting!!!!!!!!

Lady Love: Barbra Streisand--1/19

OK. I know, Streisand? Really? Could I BE any gayer?? I will be honest here. I am not a huge fan of Babs as a singer, and I am kind of over her as a filmmaker. But, as an actress, I think she is BRILLS. I know her ICON status tends to cloud many peoples opinion of her as an actress. The same thing happens to Cher and Bette Midler, sadly (Cher and Bette will be mentioned in future columns, I promise.) But lets really look back at Barbra, the actress. She delivers in pretty much everything she has done, from FUNNY GIRL to NUTS to THE PRINCE OF TIDES and, yes, even MEET THE FOCKERS.

I am thinking today of THE WAY WE WERE, my personal favorite of her movies. There are some awesome scenes. Katie listening to Hubbell's story in class. Their first dance. The big fight scene. And, of course, the beautiful ending (I'm tearing up thinking about it.)

The scene I always think of in this movie is after a fight between Katie and Hubbell. She is feeling so alone, so she makes a call. She calls her best friend, Hubbell. She is so vulnerable. She steps out on a limb. She tells him that she doesn't know who else to call, who else to talk to. What Babs does in this scene is so sweet, and lovely. She is not the tough, self-deprecating Katie we have seen throughout the movie. She is broken-hearted, yet there is not an ounce of pity in Barbra's performance. This scene is, in my opinion, one of the GREAT telephone scenes in all of movies. I love it, and I wish that Babs, the actress would come out more often.

Lady Love: Toni Collette--1/18

In honor of Toni Collette's Golden Globe win last night for UNITED STATES OF TARA (a brilliant series), she is the subject of today's Lady Love column. I love Toni. She is one of my favorite actresses (I have many favorites, so get used to hearing that sentence.) She has given numerous fantastic performances, pretty much everything she does is fantastic.
Today I want to talk about her brief but affecting performance in THE HOURS. Here it's a performance about the subtle cracking in a facade. Toni as Kitty is everything Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) wishes that she was. Kitty is popular, beautiful, classy and stylish. She has her life together. When she comes to ask Laura to feed her dog while she goes to the hospital for tests on her ovaries, she has to reveal a weakness. She tries to hold it together, but for a brief moment, she loses her grip. Toni does such fantastic things in this scene. She manages to crack just so slightly, and catches herself with such ease. It is a joy to watch. When Laura does the unexpected and plants a passionate kiss on Kitty, Toni is able to show us Kitty's whole range of emotions. Revulsion, flattery, condescension and pity.

Toni makes the most of a brief scene in a fantastic movie. I have seen THE HOURS many times. It has been a while since I last watched it, and thinking back on the most affecting, telling moments in the movie, this scene always comes to mind. It is one of the most memorable. Toni Collette has given MANY moments of brilliance on the screen, so this will definitely not be the last time you see her in this column. LOVE HER!!!!!

Globes Globes Globes

MY REACTIONS TO THE 67th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBES (in bullet points)

• THE FASHION: This is not a fashion blog so I will just say this. Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Garner, Toni Collette and Sofia Vergara were the best dressed women there. And Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock looked like they bought their dresses at Forever 21. PS Julia was also a HOT DRUNK MESS THE WHOLE NIGHT which made for great TV!
• THE HOST: I LOVED Ricky Gervais as the host. He was hilarious. He wasn't overly present, he was there just enough to make an impression and do his brand of humor, which is hilarious.
• THE MEN: So, I pretty much could care less about the male winners. I just love actresses more. I wasn't surprised by any of them, except Robert Downey Jr., who was looking HOTT by the by. His speech was also the best.
• THE WOMEN: OK...I could not be happier about the wins of Mo'Nique (of course, she was the most deserving) Toni Collette (her show is brilliant) and Drew Barrymore ("this is the best thing to wear for today") I was not at all surprised by Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock's wins. Although, I don't think Bullock was the best of her competitors. (I'll get on another soapbox about that later)
• THE SPEECHES: Best speeches of the night go to Mo'Nique, Drew Barrymore and Robert Downey Jr. Worst speeches of the night go to Christoph Waltz and The Producers of GREY GARDENS.
• THE BIG WINNERS: OK Globes, you got it right with Grey Gardens, and Mad Men, but beyond that, I am disappointed. The Hangover? Really? Over Julie and Julia and (500) Days of Summer? I was a little mad at that one. Then Glee over Modern Family and 30 Rock?? Seriously??? DISAPPOINTED. Then lastly AVATAR over The Hurt Locker???????? I AM NOW PISSED!!!!!!
• OVERALL: Overall it was a pretty good show. I sometimes wish only the actors got to make speeches, because they were the only interesting ones, but that's just me. Some of those winners have me scared for the Oscars though!!

Well, there you have it. Expect a soapbox speech from me later about the Best Actress category this awards season. I am a little angry about it!

Lady Love: Nicole Kidman--1/17

Nicole Kidman is one of my all time favorite actors. So its only natural that I would start this feature with her. There are so many performances of hers that are brilliant, but today I am thinking about DOGVILLE. A movie that many movie goers that I know have never even heard of.
This movie is BRUTAL. It is long, it is jarringly unrealistic, and it is tough to get through. What makes it worthwhile are the performances, especially Nicole's. She is haunting. She goes through the pantheon of human emotions in DOGVILLE, but if you blink, you might miss one. Her performance is so understated and quiet. She goes through a fat lot of terrible things in this movie (being a fugitive, being a slave, being raped repeatedly, being chained up) and she shows the complete breakdown of a person. And yet, there is always some glimmer of hope in her eyes. She is always hoping that something will come along and change her pitiful state. And in the end, she becomes vengeful. There is a moment when she is talking to her father, at the end of the movie. She is sitting in the back of his car, and she makes a decision that is not a hard one for her, but that means the destruction of a whole town. A decision that I was SHOCKED by when I first saw this movie, but Nicole makes it understandable.
Nicole's performance in this movie is realism at its best. That's one of the great things about DOGVILLE and why I watch it over and over again. It's presentational style, and colloquial speech patterns, are counteracted with the most realistic form of acting: simply being. It isn't loud, it isn't over the top, it is free from self-indulgence. Nicole Kidman in DOGVILLE is one of the greatest performances by an actress of all time! (Yea, I said that) See DOGVILLE, and see the magic for yourself!

Top 10 Movies of 2009

I have done my list of the performances, and now here is my list of the movies. This is just my list. There are many movies I did not see, but these are the ones that I think are the BEST!!


Top 10 Movies of 2009
10-An Education
9-(500) Days of Summer
8-The Young Victoria
7-Sunshine Cleaning
6-The Stoning Of Soraya M.
5-The Messenger
4-Precious
3-District 9
2-A Single Man
1-The Hurt Locker