Oscar Nominees 2012

As usual, I’m way too tired to write too much about this year’s crop of Oscar nominees at the moment, but, I do want credit for staying up to watch the nominations again, so, here’s my three minute break down of what I think. Major kudos to Gary Oldman for receiving his first ever Oscar nomination this morning for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”. Yep, that’s right, the dude has been robbed year after year since he started his amazing career, so, even if I haven’t seen the movie, here’s to you, Mr. Oldman! Rock on!

Also very excited to see Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt, not to mention the writers and producers all make the cut for “Moneyball”, which, as you may remember, I freaking loved! Also loved “The Descendants”, so, congrats to Alexander Payne for his writing, directing and producing nominations. I’m praying he takes home at least one of the three Oscars he’s nominated for this year. Also thrilled to see George Clooney nominated for Best Actor, even if it was totally expected. Less thrilled to see him nominated again for his so-so script for “The Ides of March”, which was kind of a major snooze.

And speaking of Best Screenplay, WTF, man? “Margin Call”? I had to look that shit up, seriously, I was like, what the hell movie is that? Then I remembered: “Oh, that’s that TV movie looking crap with Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto and Simon Baker.” Now, in the movie’s defense, I have not seen it it, so, it might be a freaking masterpiece, but, all I see it as right now is the movie that stole nominations from “The Tree of Life” and “Young Adult” among others, so, as usual, the Academy fudges up the screenplay nominations.

Ah well, at least “The Help” scored a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination…oh wait…IT DIDN’T! So, you know what that means? That means that Tate Taylor, the writer/director of the movie that scored three acting nominations and a Best Picture nod didn’t get nominated for shit. I’m sorry, but, that’s gotta sting. And if you ask me, his nomination was stolen by the senseless star-fucker of a nomination for “The Ides of March”. But the Academy does this every freaking year…if an actor writes a script, they get nominated. And sometimes, they even win. Grrr…it’s like blonde actresses at the Golden Globes all over again!

Was also very excited to see Woody Allen get some love for “Midnight in Paris”, still not my favorite of his films, but, I’ll never complain when the Woodman scores a nomination. And I think his screenplay nod for “Paris” makes him the most-nominated screenwriter in Academy history, which is very cool. He was head-to-head with my other man, Billy Wilder for a few years, but, I think he’s finally surpassed him. So, good on you, Woody!

And finally, I am really over the moon happy for my man Terrence Malick for scoring a directing and Best Picture nomination for “The Tree of Life”. Those two nods almost make up for the fact that the movie was totally robbed in the technical categories like sound and visual effects. Thankfully, it made the cut in the cinematography category, and hopefully, that is where it will bring home some serious gold for the long-overlooked Emmanuel Lubezki!

Oh, and one more thing before I fade off to sleep…“War Horse” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” for Best Picture? Are you fucking kidding me? Urgh…if there was ever a case for keeping the nods down to five again, those two klunkers should be Exhibit A. Yikes…I mean, if you really wanna show some balls, nominate “Bridesmaids” or something else exciting at least. Jeez…the only good thing about their inclusion in the Best Picture race is that I’ve seen them both and for the first time since they bumped up the nominations to ten, I’ve seen all of the Best Picture nominees this year. So, there’s that.

Oh, and one more one more thing…how cool is it that Melissa McCarthy scored a Best Supporting Actress nod for a comedy?! That is so rad. Kudos also to the “Bridesmaids” writers for their Best Screenplay nod as well. Comedy is always overlooked at the Oscars, so, any time it can sneak in is cool with me. OK, I’m done. Love to hear what y’all think of the nominees, so, comment away…

Oh, and, if you ask me, “Hugo” is seriously overrated. I am totally stunned that it scored the most nominations. Seriously…wow. To see the full list of this year’s nominees, click here.

Library Karma

OK, so, two weeks ago Greta was manhandling one of her favorite library DVD’s, “Hercules”, and she broke it. Actually, more like, cracked it in half. That’s right, DVD’s crack and even break, especially old-ass rental DVD’s from the library. Who knew?

So, what did I do when I took it back? Like all good parents I pulled out the cracked “Hercules” DVD and told the smiling woman at the loan desk that I wasn’t sure if it was broken when we got it or if we did it ourselves, but, in any case, the DVD was unplayable. I know I should have just told her the truth, especially with my daughter half-watching me while I did it, but, hey, I didn’t wanna have to buy a new one for the library, so, I lied.

And guess what happened? Nothing! The librarian told me that this kind of thing happens all the time and that she’d put a sticker on it saying that it was already broken when I got it. Whew…in a perfect world, that would have been the end of the story. And it was…until yesterday when I returned a heaping pile of DVD’s to the library only to learn that they were three days late and that I owed a whopping $12.00 in library fees! TWELVE DOLLARS!

For only two more dollars I could have bought a new copy of “Hercules” on DVD at Amazon. Wow…karma really is a bitch. Lesson learned, Library Gods, I will not lie to you again…

“Moneyball”

Wow…just came home from a very rare night out with my brother to see the new Brad Pitt/Jonah Hill movie, “Moneyball” — no Greta, no Mrs. Yeti, no need to watch my language when I drove! Yay! — and lemme tell ya, the movie rocked!

I’ve been watching a lot of Oscar-bait bullshit this past couple of weeks –yeah, I’m talking to you “War Horse” — but “Moneyball” is the real deal, baby! Fresh, exciting, funny, this is a movie everyone in America should see and love. Seriously, it’s that good. The acting, writing and directing is amazing and like the rest of the movie feels totally lived-in and real. I swear, this flick is so authentic you could practically smell the peanuts and hot dogs in the stands!

And as far as Brad Pitt goes, wow, he and George Clooney (for his incredible turn in my other favorite movie of the year, “The Descendants”) are gonna make things difficult for Oscar voters this year in the Best Actor category. Pitt has never been better than he is here, and that is really saying something in my book, since I’ve been a fan of his since he cameo-ed as the Steadman’s babysitter’s boyfriend on “Thirtysomething” back in the day!

And Jonah Hill, who I am also a huge fan of, is nothing short of a revelation. His chemistry with Pitt here is incredible…sweet, funny, heartfelt and always totally real in the best sense of the word. If there’s any justice in the world, he should snag a Best Supporting Actor nod as well.

Anyway, check out “Moneyball” while you can. Not only will it renew your faith in movies, but, if you’re like me and my sappy-assed brother, it will renew your faith in life itself. I’m not kidding, man…this is an underdog movie for the ages. Don’t miss seeing it on the big screen!

And for the love of God, don’t go see it on an empty stomach. I’ll be craving Dodger dogs and fresh-roasted peanuts for weeks…