Favorite Movies of 2011

The Academy gets their say on Sunday, but these are the real best films of 2011.


01 Weekend


02 A Separation


03 Drive


04 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


05 Hugo


06 Bridesmaids


07 Bill Cunningham New York


08 Moneyball


09 The Descendants


10 Warrior

Honorable Mention: War Horse, Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, Senna

Perfect 10

How awesome was Arcade Fire at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday? They were amazing--in every sense of the word. To think I almost didn't go see them! I was going to get tickets when they went on sale, but then I balked. First it was the price, $45+. I hate paying more than $20 for a show, but I had to admit that Arcade Fire now belong to the masses. Demand is high, and I must pay the price. What really kept me from getting tickets, though, was that I didn't have anyone to go with. I figured I could find someone to go later on, and that I should just get tickets anyway. But what if I can't find anyone, then I'd be stuck with a pretty expensive ticket. In the end, I told myself that seeing them enthrall a sold-out crowd at the Hollywood Bowl was enough. I've experienced the Arcade Fire and I can go without seeing them this time around.

Thankfully, a couple of weeks ago, I found out that a friend had an extra ticket, so I snatched the opportunity. I don't know why I even doubted that I wouldn't be able to find someone to go. It's freakin' Arcade Fire! Their shows are a religious experience, rousing and sublime. I won't go into details about the setlist, but they played a fairly even spread of songs from Funeral, Neon Bible, and The Suburbs. The best numbers continue to be from Funeral, though, but songs like "We Used to Wait" and "No Cars Go" are going to be staples in future shows.

The show was on Thursday, but it heralded a pretty enjoyable weekend. I saw "Waiting for 'Superman'" on Friday and then "Let Me In" on Saturday. Both are very good films, "Superman" more for fostering debate about education and "Let Me In" for beautifully adapting "Let the Right One In" and maintaining its spirit and even adding more to the story. Had I not seen "Let the Right One In" I probably would have been more enamored with "Let Me In." It's just difficult not to compare the two when they're so similar in tone and spirit.

The weekend culminated with the beautiful and fun wedding of Dan and Alice. I put on a suit for the first time in a couple of years and had a great time hanging out with the TNT crew. I danced a little and dusted off my Roger Rabbit, the only dance move I really know, apart from the Running Man, but everyone knows how to do that. Weddings are a lot of work, and Alice did a great job of putting hers together. It was lovely, tasteful and fun. I wish I had eaten more cake, though.


Congrats, Alice and Dan!

52 Films in 52 Weeks: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

I'm doing terribly at this endeavor. With less than three months left in the year, I have only watched five of the 52 films on my list. Tonight I managed to cross Mr. Smith Goes to Washington off the list. This was a film I have always wanted to see--a deeply beloved classic. TCM aired it this weekend and I sat myself down to watch.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is exactly what I expected it to be, an entertaining and empowering piece of political schmaltz. Mr. Smith is too good to be true, and obviously someone as decent and innocent as he will never get elected in today's world. This is a film that would never work in today's very cynical days, but I think even the darkest cynic can not help but be moved to action by Mr. Smith's display of heroic filibustering in the film. If only there was at least one Mr. Smith in today's Congress. I think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ought to be required annual viewing for members of Congress so that they can realign their priorities.

In technical terms, though, there's not much to discuss about Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. There's nothing groundbreaking about it. What its classic status rests on is its simple but heartwarming story and the power and appeal of the performances by Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. Few people can pull of what Stewart does here, turning a rather dull, innocent of a character into someone appealing. Mr. Smith is almost too good, but Stewart makes us believe that such a person can exist and even be interesting. Stewart's performance takes off when he begins to discover that his fellow senators are not the well-meaning politicians he thought they were. The sense of betrayal and disappointment Stewart communicates through his eyes is heartbreaking.

My favorite performance, though, is Harry Carey's wry portrayal of the President of the Senate. With his bemused smile Carey creates a character who is pragmatic but not so broken that he fails to see the decency and strength of purpose displayed by Mr. Smith. The enjoyment he gets out of seeing the young senator filibuster and prove everyone wrong is one of the film's biggest delights.

A Fourth of July Weekend

Katie, Rob and I completed our 20 miler tonight, and it went well--much better than the 18 miler, and it even went better than the 12 miler last week. We were shooting for a marathon pace during last week's run but missed it and finished with a pace over 9 minutes. Our pace for the 20 miler? 9:04. We ran faster for 20 miles than we did last week for 12.

While I usually run during the evening hours, it's rare for me to do a long run in the afternoon, let alone 20 miles. Due to Rob's holiday travels, though, Monday afternoon was the only time all three of us could run. We figured starting out later in the afternoon might be slightly cooler. Yeah, right. The run's beginning was slightly disheartening. While it wasn't excessively hot, it was still warm and kind of humid. I was sweating profusely in just the first three miles--wearing black was a bad idea. I finished my sports bottle full of Gatorade in the first three miles--a bottle I was planning to last me 10 miles. Quite an inauspicious start to a very long run. What shade there was, though, made a huge difference.

We ran 2 laps around the Rose Bowl to start and then headed north in our usual route. The heat was still troublesome, and while I thought I was maintaining a fast pace, I kept falling behind Rob and Katie. Realizing now that we were actually running fast, I understand why my "fast" pace just wasn't fast enough. We were planning to run as far up the forest trail as we could, but on the way up we encountered a sign saying the trail ahead was closed. That didn't stop us, though, and we kept running. We reached the wood bridge I excitedly proclaimed that we were halfway done. Then it happened. I once again rolled my ankle. I rolled my ankle twice during the 18 miler. This time I not only rolled my ankle but tripped and fell. I didn't roll my ankle badly nor was I hurt by my fall apart from a small scrape on a knee. While on the ground, though, I felt like I couldn't get up. Katie and Rob helped me up and brushed off the dirt on my back. As they were doing so, a forest ranger pulled up and told us the trail was closed in as nice a way as possible. Rather than risk a ticket, we turned around and headed south.

Thankfully, it started to cool down by this time, or at least the shaded regions got larger. While I felt better, I still kept lagging behind Katie and Rob. I think it was partly me holding back so I had something for the tough, late miles, but I also slowed down to avoid rolling my ankle again in the rocky terrain along the arroyo. I was as much as a minute behind the two of them. Eventually I caught up as we turned around near South Pasadena. I ran ahead thinking that they will catch up, and they did. In the end, though, I guess I saved up more energy or I just got a second wind, but I finished ahead of Rob and Katie ad the end. All in all it was a great run and it helped that it got cooler towards the end. Now we taper. Only 12 miles next week.

The 20 miler was a great way to cap a terrific and busy holiday weekend. A recap:

Saturday
-Ran 8 miles to break in my new shoes prior to running with them for the 20 miler.
-Helped Chaps move into his new apartment.
-Went on a bike ride on the Whittier Greenway Trail, a 4.6 mile bike/pedestrian trail converted from an abandoned railroad right-of-way.

-Met up with Liza and Alice for dinner at Wurstkuche, which was then followed by drinks at Royal Clayton's, which was then followed by bread pudding AND chipotle fries at Pete's.



Sunday
-Laundry
-Hamburgers with family in West Covina. While there I watched a "Deadliest Catch" marathon. Geez, gripping stuff that show.

Monday
-Slept until 11 am. It was great!
-Watched Toy Story 3. Yup, I choked up at the end. Terrific movie.
-Ran 20 miles (see above).
-Grocery shopping.
-Cooked steak and mashed sweet potatoes for dinner.

Thanks to the long weekend, though, I feel well-rested and mostly ready to face the next four days.

A Musical Life

I saw South Pacific at the Ahmanson tonight, and once again I find myself thinking how great it would be if real life was a musical where everyone just breaks out into song-and-dance. If that were the case I would greet every new morning by bursting out into this number from Singin' in the Rain, arguably the greatest movie musical of all time.

52 Films in 52 Weeks: Chinatown

From the beginning I doubted I would complete the "52 Films in 52 Weeks" challenge, but I'm still shocked how soon and how far I fell behind. "Chinatown" is only my third film and we're already 14 weeks into the year. I'm 11 weeks behind! I guess that's not insurmountable, but it would require me to double up movies some weeks. What makes it tough is that there are movies I also want to watch outside of this series. Currently I have Arnaud Desplechin's "A Christmas Tale" from Netflix. Netflix's streaming movies is proving to be an indispensable tool.

As I mentioned, my third film in this series is Roman Polanski's "Chinatown." I have long wanted to see this movie both for its classic status and--as I consider myself a Los Angeles booster--its depiction of the City of Angels. I'm happy to report that, like "Casablanca," it lives up to its reputation.

Jack Nicholson makes Jake Gittes a fascinating, well-rounded character. Gittes is jaded, cynical, manipulative, and tempermental, but he also proves to incredibly sympathetic and vulnerable. The look on Gittes's face at the film's conclusion as everything goes to heck is devastating. I guess this is the big surprise to me, how much depth there is to Gittes. I expected him to be a classic hard-boiled private investigator, but this was a nice surprise to find such a complex figure navigating us through the story.

The story itself is lurid but not in a sensational way. It seems to be a straightforward P.I. story at first--a woman hires Gittes to follow her husband who suspects of cheating on her--but then the layers are peeled and we are soon following a story that touches on political corruption, murder, and incest. Polanski grounds the film, though, so that as the story unfolds its dark, troubling secrets, the effect isn't something sensational or graphic. Instead the viewer feels the impact on these characters. It's lurid not for entertainment's sake but because life is full of dark, unseemly realities.

For its depiction of L.A., the filmmakers' experience in the city is clearly evident. From the neighborhoods and streets they mention specifically to the history of the city, Los Angeles is an essential component of the film. "Chinatown" does play to the L.A. stereotype of being an "artificial" city, a city that probably shouldn't exist let alone be the sprawling metropolis that it has become, but I think it also goes beyond that. "Chinatown" doesn't call into question Los Angeles's existence, but instead it brings to light the fact that underlying the city's growth and all the civic conveniences that have come about is a culture of corruption and greed. A price was paid for our comforts and as much as it can be smoothed over and hidden, it can't be undone. In this way it parallels the story of Faye Dunaway's character. Evelyn has lived a privileged life, but she paid for it in many ways. Like her, we are beholden to figures like her father, Noah Cross, for what they have provided us but we also are paying for their sins. There's nothing we can do about it now to correct it, so we are left to acknowledge the dirty truth and go on about with our lives.

"Chinatown" is a terrific film, and it ends with a perfect, albeit troubling line, a nihilistic shrug of sorts: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

Helvetica

I wish Blogger gave Helvetica as an option so I can write this review of Gary Hustwit's documentary, Helvetica, using that typeface. I'm surprised it's not an option since it is so ubiquitous, and it is Helvetica's omnipresence that Hustwit dissects in this documentary. Helvetica is everywhere even if you don't realize that the typeface you're looking at is Helvetica--American Airlines, Crate & Barrel, American Apparel, Target, Staples, and countless more--all use Helvetica. The film charts Helvetica's fifty year history, from a Swiss font and a favorite typeface of Modernist designers to its rejection by Post-Modernists to its modern day resurgence as designers reinterpret the uses of the font.

To do so, Hustwit interviews quite a few designers, who I assume are legends in the field, and they discuss their relationship to Helvetica. Some embrace it as a versatile font that suggests sober efficiency when used one way and cool stylishness when used another. Think of its usage on IRS tax forms and subway signs and then compare it to, say, an American Apparel ad or some art poster. Others, though, mostly designers who came of age during the Vietnam era, view Helvetica as a "corporate" font, a typeface devoid of identity and meaning. They point to the fact that corporations overwhelmingly use Helvetica as proof that it's fascist and needs to be overthrown. One designer only half-jokingly correlates the use of Helvetica to sponsoring the Vietnam War. Then Helvetica comes roaring back as designers find ways to give it new connotations and uses. And with more self-taught designers, it has again become ubiquitous. The thesis of the film is that Helvetica may well be the perfect font. It is simple, clean, and versatile. Even those who hate it do so because of its usefulness.

Helvetica is a very enlightening film and it's fascinating to realize that things we barely give any thought to really convey a lot, that the visual medium is so strong, prevalent and effective that a quick glance is enough to send us a message. Signs, signs, everywhere a sign! The film stretches itself to be a movie, though, and at times its editing style borrows too much from the essence of its subject--too cool and placid. Still, it's an interesting topic and I can't wait for the sequel. Times New Roman? Comic Sans?

Kings and Queen

After two months in my possession I finally got around to watching Arnaud Desplechin's "Kings and Queen." Finally! Was it worth the wait? Yes, but its rewards are something the viewer has to work to earn.

There is usually a point while watching a highly acclaimed foreign film that I have to remind myself that I'm supposed to like the movie. "This is good," I tell myself, "you have to like it." More often than not I do like the movie, but other times I'm just bewildered and made to feel like I somehow missed the point stupid American that I am. This internal dialogue occurred early on during the two-and-a-half hour running time of "Kings and Queen." What exactly was the point of these two parallel stories? We have Nora's story, a seemingly glamorous and luminous woman, who discovers that her father is dying, and we have Ismael, Nora's ex, who is confined against his will in a psychiatric hospital. Nora's story is all pathos, while Ismael's is madcap. We assume that Nora is our heroine, whose fortunes we are meant to care about, while Ismael is the character we find entertaining but ultimately dismiss as trifling. Eventually we'll see the two confront each other and we expect Nora to be triumphant.

Desplechin, though, is far too sophisticated for something so banal and predictable. Halfway through the film, he coyly pulls the rug from beneath the viewer's feet. He does so quietly but powerfully. We discover things about the characters that make us question their morality and sense of obligation. As the film goes on, we realize that Nora isn't the put-together, empathetic character we might have presumed and Ismael has more depth than we gave him credit for. "Kings and Queen" isn't a story about the conflicts between these two but rather we view their plights in parallel. Nora and Ismael's fortunes don't rise and fall in unison. Instead they move towards opposite poles. We soon view Nora as selfish, an egotist prone to using the men in her life for her gain, and that includes taking advantage of her father's affection for her. The film does not depict Nora as evil or corrupt, merely that she is a woman with moral flaws beneath her seemingly perfect existence. Ismael's development moves him toward a deeper understanding of relationships, family, and what it means to need people in your life. Nora marries a rich but dull man she clearly doesn't love out of convenience, while Ismael erratically pursues happiness. Desplechin doesn't judge who's right or who's wrong, only that this is how it is. Life is full of compromises because sometimes that is the only way it can be made bearable.

At two and a half hours, "Kings and Queen" is too long. It moves deliberately and takes its time to develop its characters and their motivations, and in the end, it works in giving us hot-blooded, real characters and situations. The characters played by Emmanuelle Devos and Mathieu Amalric are complex creations. They don't play types; they inhabit real people. Although "Kings and Queen" may be a chore to watch at times, it is also a fascinating film, beautiful and complex. I liked it.

Sunday = Funday

Shrimp Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms, originally uploaded by savemejebus.

To paraphrase an Of Montreal song, everyday should be like Sunday, yesterday in particular. Not that there was anything especially spectacular about it, but the day just felt complete.

I started with a 14 mile run with the gang at the Rose Bowl. The weather was perfect--clean, fresh air and spectacular views of snow-covered mountains. Afterwards, I grabbed coffee from Jones and picked up ingredients from Whole Foods for the risotto (see picture above) I was going to make as my Oscar dinner. I'm shocked to discover that Whole Foods doesn't sell shrimp with heads on. For shame! I needed the heads to make a broth. Luckily I live right by a Korean market that does sell whole shrimp--and it was on sale for $2.90/pound.

Before heading home I stopped by FJ's to get some new music. Man, that guy has quite a collection. I'll need to come by again and get some of his 1,000 cover songs.

By the time I left FJ's house it was too late to make myself a breakfast or lunch, so I just stopped by Heirloom in South Pasadena and got an open-faced egg salad sandwich. When I got home the Oscar preshow was starting.

I began making the broth for the risotto just before the Oscars started and it perfumed my apartment with the smell of shrimp broth, which is a good thing. Out of the context of being with my family, it reminded me of growing up and my Mom cooking dinner.

Cooking risotto takes some time, but it's not difficult to make. The ingredients are few and simple to prepare. I think I prefer making things that take a while to make. Like a lot things I prefer pacing myself instead of rushing. I can prep the next ingredient while the others are simmering. If only I always had a couple of hours to cook, and when you're starving, taking two hours to cook something is out of the question. The risotto turned out great. The fresh shrimp broth really makes a difference. I paired it with the pan-fried bell peppers I liked so much last week so that I had a truly Venetian meal.

As for the Oscars themselves, there were some suprises. Unfortunately, they were bad ones. Precious for adapted screenplay? And as much as I like Sandra Bullock as an actress and person, she was easily the least of the five nominated performances. She now has the distinction of winning a Razzie and an Oscar in the same year--the worst and the best.

The show was one of the worst ones I recall seeing in the 20 years I've been watching the Oscars. The hosts, though, were terrific. Steve Martin has been my favorite Oscar host, and I hope he comes back again. However, for a show that ran long, there were no memorable moments, but there were a lot of awkward segments. I like John Hughes but he does not warrant an extended tribute. All in all, I was underwhelmed.

To close out the evening I decided to watch Kings and Queen, a DVD I've had from Netflix for almost two months now. But after an hour, the activities of the day and just the lack of sleep the last couple of weeks caught up with me and I started falling asleep. I turned the movie off and turned in. It was the earliest I've gone to bed in some time. It was great, and I woke up today feeling refreshed. Actually it took me some time to realize that it's Monday.

Another work week coming up and a fun weekend next week.

Oscar Predictions

With just a few hours until the start, here are my last minute Oscar predictions. I always plan on posting these sooner, but I always fail. This year's race has been very predictable, but who knows, maybe the Academy will throw some surprises. The closest race is in actress where Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep duke it out. I'm hoping Streep wins. One surprise that I won't be shocked by would be if "The Blind Side" wins. With ten nominees and a new voting system in place for best picture, it's quite possible that "The Blind Side" may sneak in for the win. I hope not!

Picture
Will: The Hurt Locker
Should: Up in the Air

Director
Will: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Should: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Actor
Will: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Should: George Clooney, Up in the Air

Actress
Will: Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Should: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Supporting Actor
Will: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Should: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Supporting Actress
Will: Mo'Nique, Precious
Should: Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Original Screenplay
Will: Inglourious Basterds
Should: A Serious Man

Adapted Screenplay
Will: Up in the Air
Should: Up in the Air

Documentary Feature
Will: The Cove
Should: The Cove

Foreign Film
Will: A Prophet
Should: N/A - Haven't seen any

Animated Feature
Will: Up
Should: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Cinematography
Will: The Hurt Locker
Should: Inglourious Basterds

Art Direction
Will: Avatar
Should: Avatar

Costume Design
Will: The Young Victoria
Should: N/A - haven't seen any

Film Editing
Will: The Hurt Locker
Should: The Hurt Locker

Sound Mixing
Will: Avatar
Should: Avatar

Sound Editing
Will: Avatar
Should: Avatar

Original Score
Will: Up
Should: Up

Original Song
Will: "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart
Should: "The Weary Kind"

Make-Up
Will: Star Trek
Should: Eh, only saw Star Trek

Visual Effects
Will: Avatar
Should: Avatar

The Last Station

Since my last post was already incredibly long, I didn't include the final thing I did this weekend: watch The Last Station. Here's my brief take on it.

The Last Station is a pedestrian, mostly unremarkable production that is distinguished by terrific performances, especially Helen Mirren as Countess Sofia, a conniving woman prone to hysterics who nonetheless wins over the audience's sympathies. Mirren gives the film real heat. The scenes between her Sofia and Christopher Plummer's Leo Tolstoy really make the movie. Here is a couple, married for a long time, both passionate, who--when they are not driving each other to madness--are madly in love. The film is really a story about love that has persisted. Most stories are about newfound love or the discovery of love, but The Last Station focuses on love as a bond through the years. In Mirren and Plummer's portrayals, we see an old couple who have seen way too much and know all there is to know about love. There are no effusive words about love exchanged between the Countess and Tolstoy, but when the two of them literally crow at each other in the film's best scene, there is no denying the film's appeal.

The love story completely trumps the film's other intrigue, the battle between Sofia and Vladimir Chertkov, played by a weasely Paul Giamatti, over Tolstoy's copyrights. Sofia wants to keep it in the family, while Chertkov wants it ostensibly for the benefit of the people or, more likely, himself. This story is never as interesting as the domestic interplay between Tolstoy and Sofia. The parallel love story between James McAvoy's character and a fellow Tolstoyan also pale in comparison. If not for Mirren and Plummer, The Last Station would simply be an ordinary, run-of-the-mill Masterpiece Theatre production with a big name cast.

Grade: B-

52 Films in 52 Weeks: You Can't Take It With You

Sadly, I've already fallen behind on my mission of watching 52 Oscar movies in 52 weeks. I'd say I'm about three weeks behind. I actually watched "You Can't Take It With You" a couple of weeks ago but never got around to posting my thoughts on it. In short, it's an entertaining movie that hasn't aged well--it was enjoyable and had very charming performances from the entire cast. What I enjoyed most was seeing Lionel Barrymore in essentially the polar opposite role he took on in "It's a Wonderful Life." Here he doesn't care about money, and in the later film that's all he cares about--and both films had the same message: no man is failure who has friends.

"You Can't Take It With You" is too slight and trifling, but worst of all, it drags and just didn't seem to want to end. It could have taken a more sprightly pace. However, if anyone's interested in remaking a best picture winner today, they should start with this one. I think it can be updated easily and effectively.

It makes me wonder how this year's Oscar nominees will fare years from now. Speaking of Oscars, I've somehow managed the feat of having seen all ten best picture nominees, practically all of them in theaters by paying real dollars! "The Blind Side" was the only one I saw via a borrowed screener. I've also seen a couple of others via screener. "The Lovely Bones" was a sad failure. I haven't read the book, but it seemed that Peter Jackson was too faithful and reverential. The "in-between" sequences were just too much, and by film's end I was rolling my eyes. Very disappointing.

Tonight I watched "A Single Man." I quite liked it, if a bit over-stylized. Still, its a very evocative and effective story of a gay man mourning the death of his longtime partner. This is an impressive debut from Tom Ford, focused and assured. The big surprise is how well he plumbs the depths of sadness and sorrow beyond just a shallow depiction. I guess it was a bit unfair of me to expect that Tom Ford would be unable to fashion something as substantial as this. It's a stylish and stylized film, yes, but it also has emotional heft beneath the film's gorgeous visuals. The film does wallow in its poetic depiction of sorrow a little too much. The film wears grief like a plush robe and never takes it off even for a moment. It could have used a change in emotional wardrobe now and then.

The performances are terrific. Colin Firth embodies grief and heartbreak beautifully and it's always a delight to see Julianne Moore. Nicholas Hoult is weirdly beguiling as an aggressively seductive student. He doesn't seem to be seducing Firth's character as much as he is pouncing on him, but Hoult and Firth have some nice moments near the end upon which the film's climax crucially depends. Matthew Goode was the one that impressed me the most. In the role of the dead lover, Goode has a character that in most films like it would essentially be hollow and beatific, but in his few scenes, Goode imbues the character with beauty and warmth. The film's best scenes involve Goode. First as he and Firth lounge at home reading, and second, the flashback to their meeting--the film's best moment. In these scenes we come to fathom the depth of George's grief. He has not only lost a lover but also the source of life's bliss and, to quote W.H. Auden, nothing now can ever come to any good. "A Single Man" really struck a chord, not just as a gay man. I think its story of loss and grief is universal and one that anyone can empathize.

I'm still doing a terrible job of updating this blog. Suffice it to say, I've actually run more than my posts the last few weeks suggest, but it's also true that I really ought to be running more. Due to a turn of events, though, I probably will have more time for both running and blogging now, and as I've been doing a lot of thinking lately it will probably be good for me to do both. We shall wait and see how well I do.

52 Films in 52 Weeks: Casablanca

I frequent a pop culture discussion board and some of the participants have been doing a project called "52 Films in 52 Weeks" the last few years. The idea is to list 52 movies to watch during the year. Some list films they've been meaning to watch but never got around, some list films by decade or by year, some by director. I've never participated before, so this will be my first year. For my theme I am going with best picture winners I haven't seen or barely remember watching. That only took me to 45 movies, though, so I chose seven wild card movies, classic best picture nominees. I kicked off the series last night by watching Casablanca, which I owned. I picked it up at Virgin Records' clearance sale as it was about to shut down. I've had it for a year and just never got around to watching it.

With a lot of things--movies, books, albums--that have stellar reputations, approaching them can be a bit of a disappointment. Catcher in the Rye, for example, just couldn't match the breathless adoration people had for it. It probably didn't help that I read it after college, way past the ideal age for the novel to matter. Casablanca is an undisputed classic. As Roger Ebert says, no one has said one critical thing about it. It's a film even those who hate black and white movies fall in love with. Frankly, he's right.

Casablanca lives up to its reputation. The dialogue crackles, the performances are perfect, and the story captivates. It's unabashedly romantic but moreso because it's more complex, suggesting that love isn't just about getting the girl in the end, that sometimes letting her go is an even more truer expression of love. The film's love triangle between Humphrey Bogart's Rick, Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa, and Paul Henreid's Victor works because it is not uneven. Where most film love triangles are of the scalene variety, Casablanca's is refreshingly equilateral. Victor is a noble and worthy combatant for Ilsa's heart. The film tilts in favor of Rick and Ilsa on the passion meter, but it also wisely avoids painting Victor as unworthy of Ilsa's affection. If anything, we might wonder if Ilsa is worthy of Victor's love. Isn't it also interesting that the film seems to advocate for polyamory? The film does not judge Ilsa at all and justifies her love for two men at the same time. When was the last time you saw a movie that depicted polyamory as valid?

Watching Casablanca was a great way to kick off the series. I doubt, though, that they will all be as good. In fact I'm dreading quite a few of them. I've heard nothing good about Cecil B. DeMille's Greatest Show on Earth. One down, 51 more to go. Imagine, if all goes well, in a year I can say that I've seen almost all the best picture winners (I may miss some due to availability).

Oscar Predictions

It's an hour until the show. I just wanted to get my predictions on the record.

MOTION PICTURE:
Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colson

DIRECTING:
Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
WALL-E, Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon & Pete Docter

LEAD ACTOR:
Sean Penn in Milk

LEAD ACTRESS:
Kate Winslet in The Reader

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona

ANIMATED FEATURE:
WALL-E, Andrew Stanton

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Man on Wire, James Marsh & Simon Chinn

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Class, France

ART DIRECTION:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Donald Graham Burt & Victor J. Zolfo

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

COSTUME DESIGN:
The Duchess, Michael O’Connor

FILM EDITING:
Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

MAKEUP:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom

ORIGINAL SCORE:
WALL-E, Thomas Newman

ORIGINAL SONG
"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman & Gulzar

SOUND EDITING:
Slumdog Millionaire, Glenn Freemantle & Tom Sayers

SOUND MIXING:
WALL-E, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick & Ben Burtt

VISUAL EFFECTS:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton & Craig Barron

ANIMATED SHORT:
“Presto”, Doug Sweetland

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
“The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306”, Adam Pertofsky & Margaret Hyde

LIVE ACTION SHORT:
“Manon on the Asphalt”, Elizabeth Marre & Olivier Pont

Winner

Someone did pretty well in his Oscar predictions.

Oscar Predictions

Best Picture
Will/Should: No Country For Old Men

Best Actor
Will/Should: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Best Actress
Will: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Should: Laura Linney, The Savages

Best Director
Will/Should: Joel and Ethan Coen

Best Supporting Actor
Will: Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Should: Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Best Supporting Actress
Will/Should: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best Original Screenplay
Will: Juno
Should: Ratatouille

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will/Should: No Country For Old Men

Best Animated Film
Will/Should: Ratatouille

Best Documentary Feature
Will/Should: No End In Sight

01.13.2008: 9 miles

Distance: 9 miles
Time: 1:25:01
Where: Rose Bowl/Arroyo Seco

A very good run today. It was just me and FJ, and I think FJ was holding back a little, but it felt good. I still had a little something when I finished. FJ went another five miles. I would have gone a little farther but five more miles is more than I think I should be doing at this moment. I'm on track for my half marathon training. I'll try to do 11 or 12 miles next weekend. I'm not sure what distance I'll do the weekend before Surf City--10 or 12--but I'm just hoping that I get in shape for it.

As for my knee, it still doesn't feel 100%. It might have something to do with not running for a while, but they feel a little weak. I might do more lower body workouts at the gym to strengthen my legs. Things are looking good, though.

Rejoice!

The Laemmle's Claremont 5 is having its grand opening this Friday, July 27. Thanks to Liz for the heads up.

The National Pot Palladium Rose Bowl Run

When I read earlier this week that the Mann National in Westwood was set to close, I considered going out there one more time to see a movie. I didn't realize that it was going to close so soon. The National's last show was the 10:10 showing of Shooter. I missed it.

I'm hoping that another theater chain will pick up the lease on the National, but I doubt it. Single screen theaters are a thing of the past. I doubt Shooter has been packing it in at the National the last couple of weeks. It would be great if someone with a love for films can pick up the lease and show a different classic film every week. That's very unlikely, though.

So long, National. We'll always have Saving Private Ryan.

* * * * *

I received a mysterious text message this evening from a number I couldnt't recognize asking me if I was going to "do 420 right" tomorrow. I figured out who the text was from later. It was sent by the old co-worker I ran into last week--the one who was fired for e-mailing nude modeling photos of himself using his work e-mail.

Well, I'm going to risk looking like a big square by saying this, but I have never smoked marijuana, unless you count second hand smoke. I've never done any illicit drugs of any sort, and I'm really not that curious. I figure I don't miss it, so why bother? Besides, life is cheaper that way and I would have no idea where to go to buy some.

Now I'm 30. Way too old to try it for the first time. I've passed the allowable age for beginners. The next window won't open until I'm in my 60s and suffering from glaucoma or cancer.

* * * * *

I've neglected to mention this last week, but I'm delighted that LiveNation will be renovating the Hollywood Palladium. Driving by it the last few years, it looked so forlorn and I wondered when it will be eventually destroyed. So the news of LiveNation's agreement comes as a sweet surprise. I can't wait to go there for shows when it reopens.

I suppose this week is a wash in terms of old entertainment venues. The National closes and the Palladium gets a new lease on life.

* * * * *

I ran again today at the Rose Bowl. 3.5 miles, I think, in a little over 30 minutes. The legs felt great and I only took one walk break. My left calf still feels tight. It tightened on me last month during the marathon, and it felt tight during a couple of other runs since then. I thought the layoff would do it some good, but I was wrong. Maybe a massage would help?

I also went to my Thursday yoga class for the first time in six weeks. The knee held up well, but I am still being careful with it, but it's good to be back.

Save the National!

Westwood just keeps changing. I just read in Jeffrey Wells's "Hollywood Elsewhere" column that the Mann National will be closing. I don't know if the theatre has landmark status--I doubt it--but I would hate to see it torn down. At the same time, I really don't think it should be anything but a movie theatre. One of the few things I miss about Westwood is the moviegoing experience. Sitting in a single-screen theatre like the Village or the National is a wonderful experience and I never fail to imagine what it was like to see a movie there back in the glory days. I saw Saving Private Ryan there, and when my brother returned from the Philippines, I made a point of taking him there to see Gladiator so he can experience it too.

I admit I haven't seen a movie at the National in years. Living forty miles away in West Covina with its nearby multiplexes totaling 68 screens, it's just much to convenient to stay here. But I do miss it. While watching Zodiac I immediately recognized the National and missed it anew.

Even if the theatre closes I hope it's not torn down. I'm sad just thinking about it.