Eating the Dinosaur - Chuck Klosterman

I just finished reading Chuck Klosterman's Eating the Dinosaur, and, much like every other book he's written (aside from Downtown Owl, which was a novel) I tremendously enjoyed it, and had to force myself to not read it all in one night. I really enjoy reading, and unfortunately, studying History at Queen's destroyed my enjoyment reading, and made reading more of a process of trying to soak up as much information as possible for later use in conversation or essays. Luckily, after university, I got back to reading for fun, and have found I enjoy it more now than ever, and I think the university style reading still affects how I read, as I find myself wanting to further research things I read within books. Back to the book itself, a collection of previously published essays, a couple I had read, but most I hadn't. I find this to be a good way to break up a book, so that you can read piecemeal, and not lose connection with the story if you put the book down for a few days or weeks. As with all his work, I found myself readily agreeing to much of what he wrote, and the ideas made for great philosophical discussions, or chatter with friends. It's funny, because I remember reading SPIN magazine when I was in high school and university and absolutely HATING his articles...I think maybe he's evolved as a writer, and I've evolved as a reader/thinker. This is great, because it makes me feel smarter, like I somehow 'get it' now, whereas I didn't earlier...or maybe he just was a shitty writer back then. (probably not, I should go back and reread some of his stuff). It doesn't make sense to get into everything this book covers, but suffice it to say, if you read this book and couldn't find something to be interested in between the covers, I'd be very surprised. Sports, Music, Culture, Politics, Philosophy, Society, it's all there. I think what I really like is that it makes Pop-Culture seem like it's actually important, and a worthy field for intellectuals, and not just people who've got nothing better to do. Highly recommended.

Oscar Post Mortem

The above snapshot in time shows how they killed it less than halfway into the show last night. James Franco, who was brilliant in 127 Hours, seemed about as interested in being there as I was in listening to Colleen Atwood read her monotone acceptance speech for Best Costume Design for Alice in Wonderland (it was the right winner, but she literally read off a tiny scrap of paper in a monotone voice making no eye contact and going over time). Anne Hathaway was happier to be there, but she acted like she was the unpopular girl invited to the cool kids' party. "Look I've got a dress on, yay! Look a movie star, wowie!"

I was happy that it was going at a quick pace, though I still think they need to set a moratorium on thanking your illegal alien garderner Manuel and your British Nanny as well as Craft Services in your acceptance. That being said the guy who thanked his mom for doing Craft Services for his short was hilarious. No one cares about someone they've never heard of thanking their grade 3 teacher after they win Best Sound Editing. Kirk Douglas was more entertaining with his lines than nearly all of the winners were with their acceptance speeches. Other than Melissa Leo dropping the f-bomb and the documentary makers commenting on Wall Street CEOs not being in jail (kudos without going Michael Moore on it), there wasn't anything noteworthy said...though I might want to see Colin Firth's dancing.

Of the 18 categories I cared enough to have an opinion on, I got 8 of them right, though I have no idea how to judge Sound Editing versus Mixing. They're the same idea in my head and I have no idea why they don't just have one Sound Oscar. I saw 8 of the 10 Best Picture candidates (Toy Story 3 and Black Swan being the exceptions) and for once felt qualified to offer opinion on the films and nominees, as you can judge in my past posts lately...

Good: Christian Bale getting recognized and giving Dicky Ecklund the shoutout; Inception and Social Network winning 7 between them, showing that the Academy isn't all that out of touch (though Christopher Nolan should have been nomiated for Best Director); Colin Firth being crowned; Trent Reznor winning an Oscar; Alice in Wonderland being recognized for their stunning artistic achievement (art literally - winning Art Direction and Costumes); The Kids are Alright being shutout.

Bad: True Grit and 127 Hours both being shut out; lame acceptance speeches nearly across the board; the fact that Billy Crystal got more applause than the hosts did all night long; Celine Dion's ego overshadowing the "In Memorium" piece of the show; Halle Berry deciding that Lena Horne was somehow more worthy of singling out for a memorial than any of the others who passed this year (um Dennis Hopper anyone?) I'm sorry, it may sound bad, but I just don't think one person deserves that extra recognition over all the others who passed.

Ugly: for a night of stars, when they showed shots of the audience, I saw fewer stars than I recall seeing at the Oscars for years. It used to be everyone was there, even if they weren't up for anything. Thanks to Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for showing up (I realize they both had movies they were involved with be up for awards, but I can't recall them not showing up in past years, whereas I didn't see a lot of the usual crowd.) Maybe Oscar just isn't the big show it used to be, or maybe, which I think is more likely, their hosts this year just gave no one any spark of anticipation or wanting to be there.

All in all, a rather tedious 3+ hours with a few good moments thrown in, and no real surprises at all. I was expecting at least one or two instances where the 2 front runners would split votes allowing third place to sneak out the win. No movie won more than 4 Oscars this year, which is fair because the there were a bunch of great films this year and each had their own strengths.

Kudos to the Coens for their reply to having 10 nominations for the great True Grit: "Ten seems like an awful lot. We don't want to take anyone else's." I think since both they and Jeff Bridges already have Oscar gold on the resume, it was easier to overlook the movie this year, and good for them having such a great attitude about it. (I also think 127 Hours suffered from the director already having his Oscar success - Danny Boyle [Slumdog]).

Also be sure to check out Steve's Oscar breakdown.

Now I look forward to Summer movie season and all the Marvel superhero flicks!!! Popcorn Action...yay.

The King's Next Speech: Oscar Acceptance

Well I finally saw The King's Speech yesterday, just in time to confirm the popular opinion that Colin Firth will be crowned this year's Best Actor at the Oscars. What a performance. I just raved about how great James Franco was in 127 Hours, and was a big fan of Jeff Bridges in True Grit, but I have to grant that this is Firth's year.
The key of this film to me is the interplay and relationship between Firth's 'Bertie'/King George VI and Geoffrey Rush's Lionel Logue. This is the perfect casting of two fantastic actors at the top of their games in roles perfectly suited for them. Helena Bonham Carter's turn as Firth's wife (and future Queen Mum) Elizabeth is also quite impressive, as she gives a very nuanced and subtle, yet entirely affecting performance as the loving wife concerned for her husband.
The film is funny, touching, moving, and, based mostly on the real story (just some tweaks to make for more of a filmgoing experience).
The film is up for 12 Oscars, and is well deserving of them. But Firth is just so good in the role, such a powerful performance, such a chemistry between he and Rush, that it's impossible not to love.
Steve made some good observations about the film on his blog as well, and I must agree, when it started to examine the very nature of leadership and Divine Right of the Monarchy, it became so much more than just the story of George overcoming the stutter.
Highly recommended.

127 Hours - James Franco, have you arrived? [SPOILER ALERT]

The second half of my Toonie Tuesday Double Feature was Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. This film tells the true story of Aron Ralston, a climber and outdoor adventurer (much in the way I used to dream my life would be when I was 17 and wanting to be able to be outside the rest of my life).

Pretty straightforward: Aron goes out one weekend April 2003 canyoneering in Utah (Blue John Canyon), and during the course of his activities, a boulder came lose and crushed his right arm, pinning it to a rock.

I remember so clearly reading about this when it happened, and thinking how amazing it was, and in film form, it's just as amazing.

Aron made the one cardinal mistake you cannot make when you go into the backcountry: he didn't let anyone know where he was going. I'll be honest, in some instances I've done the same thing, but never on my own that far out.

Because no one knew he was there, no one knew he was missing and no one was looking for him.

James Franco has been given the role of a lifetime here, and he absolutely deserved his nomination for Best Actor. He's pretty much the only one in the movie, and the entire focus of the film is on him. To his credit, he thrives in the role. I could imagine many actors not being able to pull it off, so to see Franco do it, is a very rewarding experience.

This being a true story, you already know the ending, but the sign of a great film is when they can make the journey to that ending one that captures your emotions and has you completely invested in Aron and what's happening to him.

Time begins to pass as Aron realizes just how completely screwed he is. He goes through stages of anger, sadness, rage, acceptance, and the gamut between. Over the course of 5 days, you see him descend into delusions and hallucination, as he runs out of water and has to resort to drinking his own urine. You feel like you're there with him, and you're the one who has to do it or dehydrate and die.

One crucial scene has Aron on the cusp of a breakdown when he catches himself and repeats to himself "Don't lose it. Don't lose it."

When the realization sets in, Aron videotapes goodbyes to his family as we catch flashback glimpses to his life. These are gutwrenching and you feel the anguish he must've felt knowing that he'd likely never see his parents or anyone again.

Boyle has done a fantastic job directing, because I felt so invested in Aron, and I cared so much about him, and what he went through, and how he had to fight through everything before making the choice that I'm sure a majority of people wouldn't be able to.

The boulder isn't moving. He hasn't chipped it away with his multitool (NOT a Leatherman, but a no name piece of junk that he curses), so he finally rationalizes that in order to live, he must cut off his hand and get himself out or he will die. Unfortunately, the tool is too dull to saw or even break his skin. So he starts to carve his name and dates in the stone as a final marker for his resting place.

It seems as though he's given up and abandoned himself to his fate, when he hallucinates a child, his future son, and is renewed in his inner strength. At this time he just bends his arm so far that he snaps first one, and then the second, of his arm bones. What follows is VERY GRAPHIC, gory, and unsettling, but also crucial to the story. That he ACTUALLY cut off his own hand to free himself. The worst part is shown to be when he has to cut through a nerve and the pain is just excruciating to the point where I could feel my own arm in the theater hurting. (It was all in my head of course, but you know what I mean).

The moment when he finally detaches brings a sort of calm to things, when he actually realizes what it means; that he's free.

He bandages himself up as well as possible, packs up his stuff, offers a Thank You to above, and makes the labourious way out of the canyon.

When he makes it to a small pool and falls in for that drink, you're as happy for him as anything. Then when he takes off further, and can barely find his voice, screaming with nothing coming out (much like in dreams or nightmares), you're urging him on, willing his voice to cry out, and when he finally does cry for help and the hikers turn and come running, your spirit soars. When he takes the water down, when he gets 2 of the 3 hikers to run ahead so he can keep going, you will him to go on, and when he collapses, you worry, even though you know this can't be how it ends...finally, when it looks like Aron is losing consciousness, the helicopter comes around the bend and touches down, I'll be honest, I started crying.

This is a movie about the human spirit, and just how powerful it is. That usually sounds cheesy, but in this case, it's true. James Franco is fantastic, and I urge you all to see this film. If you enjoyed Into the Wild, think of this as a similar film with a happier ending.

This film doesn't need an Oscar, the fact that this actually happened, and Aron is still alive and thriving (with that son now) is more than enough proof in the victory of the human spirit, that Best Picture seems small and meaningless in comparison. I'm in super cheeze mode apparently, but this film really inspired me.

The Fighter: Christian Bale's movie.

The first on my double bill of Oscar films on Toonie Tuesday at the Movies: The Fighter Christian Bale is phenomenal in this film. He dropped over 30lbs to portray Dicky Eklund, Micky Ward's older (half) brother. Although Mark Wahlberg's name is at the top of the billing for The Fighter, this is Bale's movie. When he's not on screen, you're waiting for him to be back on, and when he's not in a scene, it's a notch less visceral than when he's on.

Dicky is almost 10 yrs older than Micky, and was a boxer as well, who even fought Sugar Ray Leonard in the late 70s, but is now a crackhead, as well as Micky's trainer. The story may be about how Micky finally gets a shot, gets himself together and out from under his mother and brother's shadows, but the far more interesting story is about Dicky. Bale is so good, so scene stealing, it makes others pale in comparison. Mark Wahlberg is good as Micky, most of his acting coming from showing the conflict between loyalty to Dicky and his family, and wanting a chance to make it.

Amy Adams and Melissa Leo both got nods for Best Supporting Actress for their roles as Micky's girlfriend and mother respectively. Adams is an actress I can't stand, so she must be good if I didn't despise her in this film. Leo is great because of how much I despise her portrayal of Micky and Dicky's mother Alice. Leo creates a character that's just so living in denial about Dicky's drug issues and the fact that he's 40yrs old and won't be having a comeback, that she's ruining the potential of Micky, and using his career as a way to run her life. I'd hate to be one of the 5 daughters, as Alice obviously loves Dicky more than any of them, with Micky a distant second.

One pivotal scene has Micky forcing his mother to accept that he needs a chance, and he needs to be the focus for once, and not Dicky. Solid acting and I won't be disappointed if she walks away with the Oscar. But on the whole, this isn't a Best Picture winner.

Christian Bale should walk away with Best Supporting Actor (though I've yet to see Geoffrey Rush's performance in The King's Speech [I will in the next 48 hrs]). His performance is so powerful and he inhabits the role so deeply, you'd think it was who he was all the time. For me, there are a few scenes where Bale simply rises to another stratosphere: when he's in prison and going through crack withdrawl in his cell; when he gets out of prison and leaves the gym saying he has to go somewhere (code for crackhouse); and in the final fight scene when he tells Micky that it's his time to take it, because he (Dicky) was never good enough.

Great performances in this film, Bale first and foremost, but without that, it wouldn't be nearly what it is.

True Grit = Truely Great

So I'm trying to copy my review from Facebook here, but it won't seem to do that...so I'll just link it instead.
I loved this movie. I love, and continue to love Jeff Bridges. I will reserve Oscar decisions until I see the other 3 movies on my list this week (127 Hours, The Fighter, and the King's Speech), except to say that Hailee Steinfeld should win Best Supporting Actress for sure. Bridges won last year of course, so I'm not holding breath for him to repeat, but he makes a damn fine case for it.
It goes without saying, you have to see this movie. I've loved Westerns since I was old enough to watch movies. This would be one I'd use to convert non-believers who dismiss them as one-dimensional.
So good, I almost want to go back to the theater today.