There is a dividing line between entertainment and art. I should preface this statement by noting that it is entirely possible for entertainment to be art and for art to be entertainment. These are not mutually exclusive terms. They are, however, descriptors by degrees, a hierarchy, that affect us as humans in different ways.
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The 83rd Annual Academy Awards Aftermath
The irony that permeates the night after the 83rd Academy Awards marked the official end of the 2010 movie season is the way that Anne Hathaway and James Franco, the two young, hip movie stars tapped to host the show and inject some youth and excitement into the proceedings, had to preside over The King’s Speech winning every major award. Many of us talk and threaten and bluster over boycotting the Oscars when things like this happen, when Crash defeated Brokeback Mountain or Shakespeare in Love won over Saving Private Ryan, but I feel betrayed this year in a way that I haven’t felt in the past.
Academy Award Predictions
After over a month, I’m finally back with some new content. Hoping to continue to actually update this thing in March.
The Oscars are tonight. I’m looking forward to them this year much more than previous years, simply because I’ve seen so many of the nominees compared to previous years. Here’s what I’m thinking about the big categories from tonight’s ceremony:
2011 Academy Award Nominations Reaction
Award shows are an odd duck by their very nature. The average man, the layperson, doesn’t get anything tangible out of them other than a somewhat twisted sense of pride, the notion that we were ‘right’ for liking a certain film, television show, play, piece of music, etc., and finding commiseration with the opinions of others. We may not have some fancy degree or have spent X years in school studying movies, but dammit, we knew Million Dollar Baby was the best movie released in 2004 (note: it wasn’t), and feel vindicated that the Academy (with a big A, of course) agreed in our assessment. It’s a confirmation of taste. Comfort comes from the knowledge of a job well done.
Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under
Yesterday, Amanda Palmer released her newest album, the full length Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under (with all requisite references and entendres entirely intended) as a digital download on her site. The standard variable price structure applies, but anyone can have it for the low low price of 69 cents (a number that is likely just as deliberate as the title and cover of the album). As such, considering the price, I encourage everyone to buy it. Pretty good deal, all things considered, getting an entire album of twelve songs for less than the price of one song on iTunes. Obviously, those with a particular affinity for Miss Palmer probably already have the thing, as there’s no real reason not to. The question, of course, for the critic in the room (or so I consider myself, lack of credentials and all), is whether it’s any good.
Blue Valentine
“She sends me blue valentines all the way from Philadelphia to mark the anniversary of someone that I used to be.”
Continuity
There is some (well, lots, really) discussion of specific events from the Marvel comics New Avengers: Illuminati #2 and Avengers #’s 7 and 8. Keep that in mind, more spoiler conscious folks.
Never Let Me Go
“Keeping yourselves well, keeping yourselves healthy inside, is of paramount importance”
A Proviso: The last thing I would want to do is give away the meat of this film, as it’s a wonderfully off center world that is quite satisfying to discover as it develops. It is, however, basically impossible to keep the crux of the book and film secret when talking about its artistic merit with any depth, and as such it will be discussed in detail in the below article. I would recommend that anyone who has not read the book or seen the film and wants to keep things fresh should probably skip reading this for now and either run to a book store RIGHT NOW and read it, or pick up the DVD/Blu-Ray/Format of your choice on its (US) release date February 1. We’ll be waiting here for you. The internet is funny that way. Now, let’s get to business.
Announcing the 2011 Screening Log
A good friend of mine, who maintains a movie review website over at Film Blather and also occasionally writes for Cinematical/Moviephone maintains a yearly screening log of every film he watches and corresponding letter grades for each one. I’ve made the decision to actively steal that idea and use it myself, just to see how things go. I like the idea of using it as a reason to not rest on my laurels watching the same things over and over again (a habit I sometimes have difficulty breaking) and search out new films and television shows.
I’m still trying to figure out how to implement TV shows into the screening log, but it’s a work in progress. You can find the log here, or via the link at the top of the page.
Top Ten Films of 2010
There have been years where I’ve only seen a handful of new movies. That was definitely not the case this year, as the close to thirty films released in 2010 that I saw over the course of the year is one of the highest numbers I’ve done in a while. I think I’ve also done a good job of seeing as many of the “important” films of the year as well, the awards contenders, that is. For those films that I did not previously review in any fashion on this site, I’ll post what is in essence a mini-review with one exception. Links will be provided to reviews already on the site. There is one glaring omission to the list, which is entirely because Blue Valentine doesn’t open in Boston until the middle of January. I’m not sure if it would crack the top ten (this is a pretty damned good top ten), but it’s something to consider. If It does assert itself as a top ten film, I will update my list accordingly. However, for right now, without further ado, the top ten films of 2010:
