Thoughts on the Academy Awards, and Markéta Irglová

Since most of the big movies that were nominated for Academy Awards have not come out on video yet, I can't say much about the big winners last night, other than I am very excited to see There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, and a few others. (Michael Clayton is out now, and I plan to see it this week.)

One pleasant surprise was the three Oscars that The Bourne Ultimatum won – Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Film Editing – beating out some of the other heavy contenders. Kudos guys, it was a great film.

Ratatouille beat out Persepolis for Best Animated Feature, which wasn't a big surprise. Although I really liked Ratatouille, and haven't seen Persopolis yet, I was rooting for the underdog, since the subject matter of Perspolis seems so thought provoking, and important – but what do I know, for as I said, I haven't seen Persepolis yet…

There was one Oscar that I was really rooting for, and that was Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for best song, in the movie Once. As you may already know, Once is my favorite movie of the year so far (again, I haven't seen Blood or Old Men), and is likely to remain a favorite for a long time. The winning song, "Falling Slowly" is superb (I am not sure the live performance at the Oscars quite did it justice). I was ready to throw a conniption if one those songs from Enchanted beat it out.

And indeed I nearly did throw a conniption when the orchestra ushered Irglová off the stage without letting her get a word in. But later, thanks to the supreme tact of John Stewart (he went up a few notches in my book because of this), Irglova was allowed to come back on stage and say a few words. This could have been a really awkward moment for her, but what she said was perfect:

"Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along the way. Thank you."

Here is the video of their win (at least as long as it doesn't get yanked from youtube):

My Top Ten Sci-Fi / Fantasy Films of All Time

OK - another top ten list coming at you - this is for us geeks that know Elvish, Klingon, and the pedigree chart of the Skywalker family. I don't actually know those things, but can appreciate the hard work that goes into such a hopelessly pointless endeavor. (You could be the guy in the DVD extras of the LOTR, credited as a Tolkein lingust...). Topping the list by a long shot is The Matrix.

1. The Matrix
2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Abyss
4. Terminator 2
5. Contact
6. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (This is really just one big movie, not 3)
7. Alien
8. Children of Men
9. 2001: A Space Odyssey
10. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Notables: As a huge Sci-Fi fan, my list of notables got really big really quick. But rather than apologize, I will let it stand as it is.

Planet of the Apes (1968)
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Back to the Future
The Terminator
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Aliens
Serenity
The Matrix Reloaded
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
X-Men
The Sixth Sense
Unbreakable

Comments
Apollo 13 - Really wanted to put it on the list, but not really science fiction, because the science is real, and so is the story.
E. T.: The Extra-Terrestrial - This movie tops all kinds of lists, but I find it to be corny and tired. Maybe because I didn't grow up with it - oh yeah, and because it was a product of the 1980's.

My Top Ten Comedy Films of All Time

OK, now that you are all wondering how the heck I came up with my top ten drama films of all time, I have used the same scientific method and determined my top ten comedy films of all time (with a few notables). Oh and yes - I love Napoleon Dynamite, and will forgive you if you don't, but you must have some other redeeming qualities to make up for it.

1. Airplane!
2. Napoleon Dynamite
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
4. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
5. Rocketman
6. What's Up Doc
7. The Money Pit
8. The Princess Bride
9. M*A*S*H
10. What About Bob

Notables: I really wanted to put these movies on there somewhere, but when push came to shove, they got left out.

- Annie Hall
- It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
- Toy Story
- Happy Gilmore

Omitted (evil chuckle) - While decent, these films have often topped other "Best Comedies" lists, and I never quite understood why:

- Some Like it Hot - Boring, and really only one good joke in the final seconds of the film.
- Tootsie - Overrated, although I can see how it was good in the early 80's because nothing was funny back then.
- The Graduate - I don't get it, this movie is a drama, not a comedy...

Heath Ledger

As the circumstances of Heath Ledger's recent passing continue to surface, I found myself thinking about all of the movies I have seen him in. I am sad to say that I haven't gotten around to seeing Brokeback Mountain yet, which is arguably his best performance if the critics have their say. His films that most easily come to mind that I have seen are A Knights Tale, Four Feathers, Ned Kelly and The Patriot. Of those four A Knights Tale was the most fun - Four Feathers and Ned Kelley were interesting, and The Patriot was way overrated (but that wasn't Ledger's fault).

My Top Ten Drama Films of All Time

As I get this blog started, I wanted to give you my top 10 films of all time. Obviously this is a difficult choice. How many of you have been asked, "What is your favorite movie?" and found it impossible to choose? Well, I am the same way. However, in the spirit of being decisive, and giving fodder for discussion (I am sure many of you will disagree with my pics), here they are:

1. Amadeus
2. The Shawshank Redemption
3. Unforgiven
4. Babel
5. The Usual Suspects
6. The Silence of the Lambs
7. The Matrix
8. Pulp Fiction
9. Braveheart
10. Memento

Notables that I had to remove from the list under duress:

Fight Club
Saving Private Ryan
Pan's Labyrinth
Casablanca
Psycho
It's a Wonderful Life
12 Angry Men
City of God

I think I will also post this as a running list and watch it develop over time. By the way - if it isn't clear already - if you haven't seen one or any of these movies, I highly recommend each of them, you will be blown away, moved, or otherwise changed. I could watch any one of these over and over (for that matter, I have).