The End Of The First Year

Somehow I have seen all of the best pictures that were nominated for production for 1928.  But as you move towards seeing 450 movies it was bound to happen.  I've also seen the nominees for best picture in unique and artistic production as well, the only year they had that category.  I will cover all of them in my assessment of 1928.  As well as a few more films that closed out some more years.

The Racket (1928) - A Howard Hughes production about a police captain who is honest is sent out to the "sticks" when he stands up to the local mob boss.  Very well done, well acted and covering topics that were self censored years later by Hollywood.  The quality is amazing, they have fixed the film so that 85 years later it still looks almost new.  A great film that could be made today.

Here is the part that I have been dreading for sometime, which movie is the best of 1928.  I'll start with the nominees for unique and artistic production where you had Sunrise a classic that won by F.W. Murnau, Chang: A Drama Of The Wilderness about villagers in Siam dealing with elephants and just life in general and King Vidor's The Crowd.  Of those three, all amazing films I think The Crowd should have won but was badly edited by the studio, especially the ending.  For the best produced films Wings was the best movie, the main reason is the airplane footage was terrific.  Second would be The Racket for it's gritty portrait of crime in the 1920's and third Seventh Heaven, still a great movie.

Three Coins In The Fountain (1954) - Romantic film of the 1950's, very stylish in the way it was filmed and well acted although most of the actors and actresses were not major stars.  A story of three young women who are working in Italy and the romances they find themselves in.  Cinematography is incredible, the music was very nice, the story was good.

This makes four out of five for this year and On The Waterfront is still the best film of the year.  I would put this movie third after The Caine Mutiny since the story was better than I though it would be, but not as good as the other two above it.

Winter's Bone (2010) - Should you make a movie if information you find out at the end of the movie meant you didn't have to watch the entire film to understand what it means?  Here is an example, if I told you in The Godfather in the opening wedding scene that Michael Corleone would kill Carlo the groom at the end of the film would it make sense to you?  Winter's Bone is the opposite of this.  This film could have been done in twelve minutes.  There is one reason that saves this film and it was the incredible acting performance of Jennifer Lawrence.  Otherwise there was no reason to make this film.

This being the eight film of ten for the year it is clearly down in the bottom of the pack.  Not as bad as 127 Hours but pretty close.  Inception is still my lead for the best film of the year and it may just stay that way.

Wake Island (1942) - A somewhat fictionalized account of the battle of Wake Island mainly since the battle was still going on while the film was being made.  Right after Pearl Harbor Japan started attacking Marines stationed on Wake Island.  The film shows the brave soldiers as they defend the island.  This is another WWII film made during the war so it is more propaganda than showing an entertaining movie.  Nevertheless it is still a good film even if it didn't get all the fact correct.

This closes out 1942 another great year of movies.  This is going to be a tough year but Mrs. Miniver was the best film of the year.  Now it gets very difficult but the rest in order would be Kings Row, Ronald Reagan in one of his finest roles; The Talk Of The Town, great acting performances; Random Harvest, Greer Garson in a another great film and Ronald Coleman; Pride Of The Yankees, could be higher and has Gary Cooper but does have the yuckies the worst team in baseball which dropped it at least two places; Yankee Doodle Dandy one of James Cagney's most well know roles; The Magnificent Ambersons another great Orson Wells film but not his best; The Pied Piper a rather good WWII film, but not as good as Mrs. Miniver; Wake Island, see review above and 49th Parallel which wasn't that good, but still better than some year's best pictures.

Barry Lyndon (1975) - My 446th film and an epic Stanley Kubrick movie.  Ryan O'Neal is an Irish man who falls into military fame and nobility but not very well acted.  You could have got at least a dozen better actors.  It looks as beautiful as any other Kubrick film, but drags on a bit long.  Think O Lucky Man! but based in the 18th century.

And this too closes out 1975, a very interesting year for movies.  The 1970's besides the 1930's is one of the best decades of Hollywood movies.  One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is clearly the best film since it is historically only one of three to sweep all the major awards of best picture, director, actor, actress and screenplay.  That and it is one of the most powerful films you will ever see.  Second is Dog Day Afternoon another amazing drama that is so well done.  Continuing with amazing dramas you have Nashville as the third best, a great Robert Altman movie with an all star cast.  Jaws falls into fourth only because what it lead to for the 1980's.  It was a great action film but because it was one of the first "blockbuster" movies it set the pattern that Hollywood started to follow after Heaven's Gate and almost ruined Hollywood.  Not that Jaws is a bad film, but what it did to the movie industry, even if accidental, causes it to be in fourth.  And Barry Lyndon is fifth, not one of Kubrik's best but still a good film that was worthy of being nominated.

If Your Doctor Gets Amnesia, Does That Mean You Don't Have To Pay The Bill?

Too bad Alfred Hitchcock didn't tackle that problem in Spellbound but he did raise other important issues like wild psychedelic dreams twenty years before everyone started taking acid.  And a bunch of other films as I shorten my list of nominated movies.

Spellbound (1945) - Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck are psychoanalysts in a Vermont mental hospital and you find out rather quickly that Gregory Peck is an imposter and doesn't know who he is.  A bit of twists and turns and a wild dream scene designed by Salvador Dali even without dripping clocks is still good.  Typical Hitchcock mystery with twists and turns but still a classic, not his best, but not his worst.

At this point seeing four out of five for this year, The Lost Weekend still stands as the best so far.  It is a great gritty drama and has more attack bats than the other films nominated that year.  Although Joan Crawford does give a good challenge to the attack bat, I'll wait until I see The Bells Of St. Mary's to properly rank everything.

Chocolat (2000) - A nice film about a worldly woman who comes to a small French town with her daughter in the late 1950's.  The town is very rigid and traditional and she opens a chocolate shop and puts the town on its head during the Easter holiday.  Very good acting, the story moves well and to be honest it was much better than I though it would be.  It's a very enjoyable movie.

This now closes out 2000 and the best picture of the year was the Oscar winner Gladiator.  It was overall the best produced movie.  The acting was good, could have been better.  The cinematography was great, the battle scenes were great.  A complete movie compared to it's competition.  Second would be Chocolat since it was also a good film but didn't have the epic like quality of Gladiator.  Third is Traffic since it took chances you don't see in other movies, like the different story lines in different color shades.  Fourth is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon mainly since it was a foreign film and it is rare for them to be nominated for best picture.  Fifth is Erin Brockovich mainly since it is good film but not as good as the other four.

Seventh Heaven (1927) - A silent classic from the first year of best picture nominees.  Starring a young Janet Gaynor who won best actress and Charles Farrell as a sewer cleaner who saves Janet Gaynor from her abusive sister and pretends she is his wife to keep her from being arrested.  Have I mentioned that Europe is not better than us lately?  As you can guess they have to pretend until the police come but start to build a relationship.  Just at the point when they are going to fall in love, WWI starts.  So he goes off, she takes care of the house and he comes back after being left for dead but only ends up blind and finds his way back home to be with her.  Trust me, it's better than my description.

There is one more film to see for the first year and I know it's not going to make this any easier.  Both Wings and Seventh Heaven are amazing films.  Maybe the Racket will help push one of these to the top, or be better than the other two nominees.  Since I have it on tape and will be seeing it soon I will be able to close out the first year.

The Lives Of A Bengal Lancer (1935) - A classic action film with Gary Cooper as an English Army officer in India out in the northwest frontier fighting rebels.  Lots of shooting, great explosions or as good as you could get in 1935 and a bit of comedy makes this a great overall film.

This puts me at eleven out of twelve since it was one of two years where they nominated twelve movies.  And while this was a great film, Mutiny On The Bounty is still the best of all of them.  I can see why they nominated so many films, so many of them were really good, this one is definately in the top five for the year.

Bad Girl (1932) - A pre code classic staring James Dunn years before his Oscar in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and Sally Eilers as two wise cracking people who end up falling in love and try to deal with married life.  Since each of the are so stubborn they always make mountains out of molehills of everything.  But of course love conquers all so you know they'll turn out alright.

This now closes out 1932 and it was a strong year.  While it can be challenged but Grand Hotel is the best picture because it is so rare to see so many stars in one film from this era.  And such great acting from all of them.  I want to say there is a three way tie for second, but I can't cop out again like I did with 1939 so I will have to go with The Champ since it has such lasting power and one of the most powerfully moving endings with Jackie Cooper loosing it, try and not get choked up.  Third and only by a razor edge would be Five Star Final from the amazing acting of Edward G. Robinson.  And the last of this tie for fourth is Arrowsmith as a great John Ford film with Ronald Colman in one of his finest roles.  Bad Girl is in fifth, the top of the bottom half, but the hill slopes down very steep at this point putting One Hour With You at sixth, Shanghai Express at seventh and last The Smiling Lieutenant.

Imitation Of Life (1934) - The original one that was nominated staring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers.  A nice story about a widow who ends up hiring Louise Beavers as a housekeeper since she is doing door to door sales of maple syrup and trying to raise a small daughter.  She trades room and board for Louise Beavers and a place for her daughter to live too.  Claudette Colbert eventually risks it all to open a pancake shop using Louise Beavers' family recipe and they become moderately successful.  That is until the great Ned Sparks tells them to package the mix to make even more money.  She does and becomes the pancake queen, a rather cool title I may add.  Mix in issues of race relations, mother and daughter falling for the same guy and you have a movie with some good ups and downs.

This now puts me at eleven out of twelve as well being the other year to have twelve films.  While it will be a difficult task to rank all of them, this one does sit near the top, maybe a bit closer to the middle.  It is also the third film that Claudette Colbert was in, the other two Cleopatra and the so far leading best picture It Happened One Night.

Wilson (1944) - A very, very fictionalized account of the life of Woodrow Wilson.  A major flop when it came out, which is not surprising since people still remembered how horrible his presidency was twenty five years later.  It's like if someone made a movie about Pol Pot and only talked about how much he loved farming and wanted to get the community to become more involved in growing their own food and ignore that whole killing field thing.  It's long, boring and a complete waste of time.  Probably the worst film of the decade.  Unless you're a mental patient like me who has to see every film nominated, don't see it, you'll be happy that you didn't waste the two and half hours of your life.

But seeing my 441th film has helped me finish out 1944.  I will have to say of the four films that were worth being nominated, obviously excluding Wilson, Since You Went Away should have won best picture over Going My Way.  I understand that WWII was going on and Going My Way is a comforting movie, but so is Since You Went Away.  And Lionel Barrymore has a bit part in there, how can you compete with that?  Going My Way is in my opinion the second best film of the year.  For third it does get tough again between Gaslight and Double Indemnity, each of them having major influence on society.  I will have to flip a movie reel and say Double Indemnity takes third because it influenced so many other film noir directors.  Gaslight has become part of our popular culture and even 70 years later if you say you are gas lighting someone, they know what you mean.  Very few movies have that distinction.  And last is Wilson, proving once again that the people who pick the movies sometimes really get it wrong.

1928 - 2011

Nope the post is not a memorial to Jack Kevorkian or Juan Maria Bordaberry the thirty sixth President of Uruguay, but to the fact that I have now seen every best picture with the exception of Argo which just won this year.  It also means that I have finally watched Schindler's List.

Schindler's List (1993) - The last best picture for me to see, somewhat fitting since I swore years ago before I started this project that this would be the one best picture that I wouldn't see.  But I got to watch it and can honestly say that I do not ever need to see this movie again.  Is it a bad movie?  No, it's one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen.  But the subject is so depressing, the acting is so incredible, the film is so intense that it is one of the best movies ever made.  If you watch this movie and you are not sad or depressed, you don't have a soul.  It is based upon the life of Oskar Schindler during WWII as he tried to profit off the war and went from exploiting concentration camp prisoners to helping save their lives.  If you've seen it you understand, if you haven't you should see it once in your life.

As I now have seen four of the five films, it's obvious that Schindler's List is the best picture of the year.  I still have to see The Piano but I can't imagine it betting better than Schindler's List.

One Night Of Love (1934) - An opera musical that is also a romance film.  Staring Grace Moore as a woman who loses an American Idol type of opera contest on the radio and decides to still go to Europe and make it big.  She does as a singing waitress who is discovered by an opera teacher who then trains her under the condition that they won't fall in love.  Don't think I need to go any further in the plot, I'm sure you can guess how it ends.

This being the only year besides 1935 to have twelve films nominated, I have now seen ten of them and honestly this is down in the lower ranks.  It's no where as good as It Happened One Night or The Thin Man or Here Comes The Navy and I have to say The Gay Divorcee was much better and I am not a fan of musicals.  It's not the worst film that I saw that year, that is a death match between The Barretts of Wimpole Street and Flirtation Walk for that title.

Ruggles Of Red Gap (1935) - This is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.  Charles Laughton plays an English butler who is lost by his employer in a poker game to a cattle baron from Washington State.  As a result he has to travel back to America and become their butler but is mistaken for an English Army officer.  Great acting, great script and Charles Laughton reciting the Gettysburg Address is amazing.  This is a lost gem that people should watch.

This too is the tenth movie I've seen from a year that had twelve movies, and while it may not be as good as Mutiny On The Bounty, which also has Charles Laughton in an terrific role, it is up there.  I would put it in the top five easily, it's just that good.

Disraeli (1930) - Biopic from 1929 actually since back then at the start of the Oscars they would have the movies across two years, like a hockey season when they are not on strike.  George Arliss won the best actor Oscar for his portrayal as English Prime Minster Benjamin Disraeli during the 1870's as England is attempting to purchase the Suez Canal.  Not the greatest picture you'll ever see but it is fascinating to see a movie from the 1920's.

As the third film for the year, it isn't as good as All Quiet On The Western Front but much, much better than The Love Parade.  Right now it's in the middle and I'll see how it will compare to the remaining two which will be on TCM in a few months.

The Pied Piper (1942) - My 434th film and ironically another one based in Europe.  An Englishman on vacation in France tries to get back to England when Germany invades.  He is asked to take the children of the inn he is staying at with him, and while he tries to get to England the number of children he has keeps increasing, hence the title.  The interesting thing is this is another war movie made during WWII so it has a different feel than movies made about WWII after the war ended.  Somewhat silly and sappy at times, but nevertheless a good movie, well acted.  Has Roddy McDowell years before he played his greatest acting role as Dr. Cornelius.

I am now at nine out of ten movies for this year and there is a lot of competition.  Also being three years from 1939 makes it still in the era of great movies.  As compared to Mrs. Miniver, another movie taking place during the war, it's not better.  Clearly it's not the worst movie, but it will have trouble climbing to the top five for the year.  I can finally place it when I see the last movie from that year I haven't seen, Wake Island.

Watching Paint Dry With The Backdrop of WWI

Never realized that horses could be so much more boring than I though they were.  That and a few more modern films make up this update.  I have a best picture I taped recently, not hard to guess if you've read previous posts, and if you haven't then read my previous posts.  It will be the headliner of my next post.  Until then let me tell you about boring.

War Horse (2011) - Steven Spielberg's offer for a best picture nominee about a English boy who has to sell his horse, actually his father does, to an army captain at the start of WWI.  He then ends up finding the horse about sixteen hours later at the end of the film.  It is a very good family film, cinematography was beautiful, but this is a kids movie and not a best picture.

This is not even in the top five for 2011, no where near The Artist or Midnight In Paris.  But an enjoyable film if you want to see a heartfelt family movie that doesn't offer much as a war film, you might enjoy it.

The Help (2011) - Much better than I thought it was going to be.  A fictitious story based in the early 1960's in Mississippi about the relationships between domestic help and their employers.  The domestic help is black and the employers are white.  Some of the characters are a bit cartoonish, but it helps tell the story.  The characters are well defined and does get a positive message out to the viewer.

As another film from the same year as War Horse, this one clearly was in the top five.  It wasn't as good as The Artist, but if there were only five films nominated this would have made it up there.

The Descendants (2011) - Can you tell I was getting a free preview of the premium cable channels?  A film about a husband dealing with his wife in a coma after a boating accident and having to deal with his children he has distanced himself from over the years.  It is a comedy-drama, kind of hard to guess after my summary of the film, but it is.  Well acted and it follows the ironic twists as he finds out about his wife's personal life and how it interferes with his business.

This was a good film, not a great film.  It did win best adapted screenplay, but that was more of the academy didn't want the film to go empty handed in my opinion.  No where as good as The Artist and I'm not sure if it will be in the top five.  I still have two more films to watch from this year but this one is still in the middle, but close to the bottom.

The House Of Rothschild (1934) - Put aside all of your conspiracy theories for a moment and enjoy George Arliss play dual roles as the Rothschild patriarch in the late 18th and early 19th century.  A very sugar coated version of history, but well acted.  Even has Boris Karloff who is creepy no matter who he plays.  It was made before WWII so it is strange to see the type of pro-Semitic cinema like Gentleman's Agreement but made in the mid 1930's.

This was a good film, not the best film of the year, that is still It Happened One Night.  It would sit lower down but not near the bottom.  Seeing this was one of two years where twelve movies were nominated, and this being the ninth film I've seen, I'll wait until I've seen all of them to properly rank this one.

Oscar Results

A surprising evening on a number of award winners, others what you would expect.  Who would of thought that Lincoln was so hated?  By the way anyone else see the irony of the First Lady announcing Argo as the winner only months after Benghazi?  Of course not, that never happened.  Here are the results.

Visual Effects
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Life Of Pi
Winner - Life Of Pi
Adam - 1
Chris - 1

This film had the best screen effects, think of it a kid and a tiger on a boat?

Sound Mixing
Chris - Les Miserables
Adam - Les Miserables
Winner - Les Miserables
Adam - 2
Chris - 2

The only musical nominated in this category it was going to win.

Sound Editing
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Life Of Pi
Winner - Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty
Adam - 2
Chris -2

I don't think anyone expected this to be a tie and if you did, you're lying.


Cinematography
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Life Of Pi
Winner - Life Of Pi
Adam -3
Chris - 3

Another technical award claimed by Life of Pi.

Makeup & Hairstyling
Chris - Les Miserables
Adam - Les Miserables
Winner - Les Miserables
Adam - 4
Chris -4

I think this has a lot to do with the popularity of the films in this category that and if people have historic memories.  This was against Hitchcock and The Hobbit, and the only film where people weren't alive to remember was Les Miz, you have to believe the hairstyle was correct.

Costume Design
Chris - Anna Karenina
Adam - Anna Karenina
Winner - Anna Karenina
Adam - 5
Chris -5 

Everyone said it was going to win and it did.

Production Design
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Anna Karenina
Winner - Lincoln
Adam - 5
Chris - 5

This could be a sign that Lincoln could start winning more trophies?

Film Editing
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Argo
Winner - Argo
Adam - 6
Chris - 5

This is beginning to follow along in my theory and moves me ahead of the wife.

Music Original Song
Chris - Les Miserables
Adam - Skyfall
Winner - Skyfall
Adam - 7
Chris - 5

I'm moving ahead.  Everyone picked this song, I've never heard it, never saw Adele sign before, but boy can she sing and she is really good looking.

Music Original Score
Chris - Skyfall
Adam - Life Of Pi
Winner - Life Of Pi
Adam - 8
Chris - 5

Pulling way ahead now.

Writing Adapted Screenplay
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Argo
Winner - Argo
Adam - 9
Chris - 5

Can't even see you in the rear view mirror.  Still following along in my theory of Argo winning Best Picture.

Writing Original Screenplay
Chris - Moonrise Kingdom
Adam - Zero Dark Thirty
Winner - Django Unchained
Adam - 9
Chris - 5

Really, do we have to give Quentin Tarantino another Oscar?

Short Film Animated
Chris - Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare
Adam - Paperman
Winner - Paperman
Adam - 10
Chris - 5

I was right they were being snobbish towards The Simpsons since it's a TV show.

Short Film Live Action
Chris - Death Of A Shadow
Adam -Death Of A Shadow
Winner - Curfew
Adam - 10
Chris - 5

And the reason why this film won is because there is water in the ocean.  Can't think of a better reason since there isn't one.  Talk about better odds playing powerball.

Documentary Short Subject
Chris - Redemption
Adam - Inocente
Winner - Inocente
Adam - 11
Chris - 5

I rolled the five sided dice and it landed on my number.

Best Animated
Chris - Brave
Adam -Wreck-it Ralph
Winner - Brave
Adam - 11
Chris - 6

I like how the winner took time to embarrass her daughter during her speech, that kid will be having therapy in no time.

Best Documentary
Chris - How To Survive A Plague
Adam - Searching For Sugar Man
Winner - Searching For Sugar Man
Adam - 12
Chris - 6

Maybe fifteen years ago How To Survive A Plague would have won, but AIDS films are no longer trendy, especially since we so much more to ignore like Benghazi, the deficit, wars, freedoms being eroded, failing economy, you know the things that don't exist so films about looking for a blues musician can win Best Documentary.

Best Foreign Language
Chris - Amour
Adam - Amour
Winner - Amour
Adam - 13
Chris - 7

It was nominated for Best Picture which it would never win, so it's going to win this one.

Best Supporting Actress
Chris - Anne Hathaway
Adam - Anne Hathaway
Winner - Anne Hathaway
Adam - 14
Chris - 8

The best part was Seth MacFarlane hitting on Sally Field dressed as the Flying Nun.

Best Supporting Actor
Chris - Christoph Waltz
Adam - Tommy Lee Jones
Winner - Christoph Waltz
Adam - 14
Chris - 9

I think there may have been a bias against Lincoln at the awards, more on that later.

Best Actress
Chris - Jennifer Lawrence
Adam - Jennifer Lawrence
Winner - Jennifer Lawrence
Adam - 15
Chris - 10

The funniest is her answers to reporter questions after she won, look it up on the web.

Best Actor
Chris - Daniel Day-Lewis
Adam - Daniel Day-Lewis
Winner - Daniel Day-Lewis
Adam - 16
Chris - 11

I have a feeling that they had no choice but to give him the award since no one was anywhere close.  But if they could avoid giving another award to Lincoln I think they would have.

Best Director
Chris - Steven Spielberg
Adam - Steven Spielberg
Winner - Ang Lee
Adam - 16
Chris -11

Like here.  Lincoln is about the first Republican president and seeing how Queen Obama the first gave the Oscar for Best Picture one may think the White House had some influence on the awards?  Probably not, but it felt a bit a little too much like North Korea to me.

Best Picture
Chris - Argo
Adam - Argo
Winner - Argo
Adam - 17
Chris - 12

The 85th Best Picture and I won this year.

Picks for the 2012 Oscars

Once again my wife and I have our annual competition on picking the nominees for best picture.  And as usual I spend time researching and she mainly just guesses.  And a good number of the years she wins, like last year.  So once again we go at it, I have been told to mention that she guessed on her answers and that will remain in effect until she wins and then she planned it that way.

Visual Effects
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Life Of Pi

While this movie did not earn any of the major nominations in acting, it is supposed to be an amazing looking film that I think will win most if not all of the technical awards.

Sound Mixing
Chris - Les Miserables
Adam - Les Miserables

Another remake of the classic this time from the Broadway musical.  It's the only musical nominated in this category so it seems like a cinch to win..

Sound Editing
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Life Of Pi

Les Mis was not nominated in this category and best bet is to go with Life of Pi on a technical award.


Cinematography
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Life Of Pi

From what I understand this is a lock up for this category, and of course another technical award.

Makeup & Hairstyling
Chris - Les Miserables
Adam - Les Miserables

Last year it was only makeup, now they've added hairstyling.  All I can say is, it's about time!  My guess is that Anne Hathaway cut her hair for Les Mis so it seems like a good choice.  Also going against Hitchcock and The Hobbit should make this one an empty netter.

Costume Design
Chris - Anna Karenina
Adam - Anna Karenina

This is one of those type of movies that are made for these categories and everyone has it to win.

Production Design
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Anna Karenina

Was known as Art Direction last year.  The first time we have a different film.  My guess is that the wife is sticking to the technical logic of Life of Pi, I'm sticking with it following costume design.

Film Editing
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Argo

Life of Pi will win many of the technical awards, but I don't think on this one, my reasoning I will mention later.  Ok, I can't wait, I think Argo will win Best Picture.

Music Original Song
Chris - Les Miserables
Adam - Skyfall

This could go either way since Les Miz is a popular musical, but I think people want to keep awarding Adele and the James Bond franchise.

Music Original Score
Chris - Skyfall
Adam - Life Of Pi

Either my wife is going with the James Bond theory or just a guess.  I'm going with I think this is another technical award Life of Pi will win.

Writing Adapted Screenplay
Chris - Life Of Pi
Adam - Argo

This is the only major, besides Best Picture, that Life of Pi is nominated for so it could have a chance.  My theory is that they want to award Argo since Ben Affleck didn't get the Best Director nomination and since it will win Best Picture.

Writing Original Screenplay
Chris - Moonrise Kingdom
Adam - Zero Dark Thirty

This one looks like a toss up that anyone could win.  My theory is that they don't want Zero Dark Thirty to go away empty handed so this is a safe award to give to a film that won't win anything else.

Short Film Animated
Chris - Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare
Adam - Paperman

This is one that I hope to be wrong, but everyone on the web is saying that Paperman will win.  My guess is that they are being snobbish towards The Simpsons since it's a TV show.

Short Film Live Action
Chris - Death Of A Shadow
Adam -Death Of A Shadow

These are the pure wild cards of the Oscars, glad that I won't lose any ground since last year the wife went three for four and I went zero for four.

Documentary Short Subject
Chris - Redemption
Adam - Inocente

Write one through five on five pieces of paper, put it into a bag and pull out one of the strips.  That is the best way to chose these films, no way to even begin to guess.

Best Animated
Chris - Brave
Adam -Wreck-it Ralph

Usually there is a clear front runner, not this year so who knows.  Adam Carolla had a voice in Wreck-it Ralph so that's good enough for me.

Best Documentary
Chris - How To Survive A Plague
Adam - Searching For Sugar Man

You never know, this was the only one I heard of and people on the web were predicting it.  Maybe it was the only one they heard of too.

Best Foreign Language
Chris - Amour
Adam - Amour

This is the first time in many years I was aware of the best foreign language films, even saw the Canadian War Witch.  But seeing how Amour was also nominated for Best Picture it should make it a shoe-in for Best Foreign.

Best Supporting Actress
Chris - Anne Hathaway
Adam - Anne Hathaway

This is one of the most obvious ones to pick, everyone says she has it.

Best Supporting Actor
Chris - Christoph Waltz
Adam - Tommy Lee Jones

This is the most competitive award out there.  No one knows who will win, but these two are the front runners.  One of them should win.

Best Actress
Chris - Jennifer Lawrence
Adam - Jennifer Lawrence

Another obvious one, no one else is even in the running.

Best Actor
Chris - Daniel Day-Lewis
Adam - Daniel Day-Lewis

If he doesn't win then we know that the ballots were sent to Venezuela to be counted.

Best Director
Chris - Steven Spielberg
Adam - Steven Spielberg

This will be the highest award that Lincoln will win and since Ben Affleck didn't get nominated.

Best Picture
Chris - Argo
Adam - Argo


When the nominees were first announced it looked like Lincoln would win.  Since then Argo has been winning everything so it looks like it will take the top prize.

The Life of Pip

Not only Great Expectations, but four other films that helped me finish off the year with 425 movies seen so far.  I am closing in, even with a little over 75 to go as I am writing this, including the new nominees which I will post about later, my goal is to try and see 50 more this year.  I may have to break down and rent a movie or two, but to average one a week will get me that much closer to seeing everything.

Great Expectations (1947) - The classic Charles Dickens tale about an orphan who does something nice for an escaped prisoner, who gets recaptured and then when released becomes a secret benefactor to him.  Very well acted by John Mills, Alec Guinness and Finley Currie.  And very rare to see a well done English film from this era.

This now completes 1947 and Gentleman's Agreement was the best film of the year.  Second is close, but Miracle on 34th Street edges out Great Expectations since it has become a lasting Christmas classic.  Very close behind in fourth is The Bishop's Wife and last is Crossfire.

Madame Curie (1943) - A rather fictionalized but well acted movie based on the lives of Marie and Pierre Curie, the same people who found radium.  They cashed in on it since chemicals were very popular in France in those days and ***(Spoiler Alert)*** they win a Nobel Prize, back when it still had value.  It brought back the great combination of Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon who were also a couple in the previous best picture Mrs. Miniver.

No matter how good this film was, it went up against Casablanca.  I would put it in the middle of the pack for this year, for example it was better than Heaven Can Wait but not better than the Ox Bow Incident.  Only two more to go for this year, but nothing is going to be better than Casablanca.  If it was, everyone would be talking about it, and they're not.

Les Miserables ( 1935) - The first one to be nominated for a best picture Oscar and it wasn't a musical.  Fredric March plays Jean Valjean and Charles Laughton is Inspector Javert.  I hate to say this because I don't want to belittle Charles Laughton's incredible acting, but he looked like John Candy.  This version covers more of him in prison and on the lam, but very little with the street battles with the army, guessing the budget wasn't there.  Also doesn't have the full ending.  It was made one year after Raymond Bernard made a four and a half hour version that covered the street battles wonderfully, but didn't show him much in prison, in fact starts when he is being let out.  Also this version has a lot of differences from the novel, but still a good film.

As I close out this year, still three to go, Mutiny On The Bounty is still the best film.  While this movie also had Charles Laughton, he was much better in Mutiny and Clark Gable was better than Fredric March

One Hour With You (1932) - A silly romantic musical comedy with Maurice Chevallier and Jeanette MacDonald.  The two of them in a movie and it not being a musical would be shocking.  Mainly a story about a doctor whom people is having an affair with his wife's friend or something mindless like that.  Like I said it was silly and a lot of fluff, but enjoyable if you like that sort of thing, but I don't.

This went up against Grand Hotel, and it clearly lost.  It is currently fighting The Smiling Lieutenant  for last place and with one more film to go for this year it will stay near the bottom.

Double Indemnity (1944) - The classic film noir movie.  Even though I have never seen it before now, I knew the story since it has been used and parodied many times.  Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, who did play a kind father in My Three Sons also had a lot of movie roles where he was really evil, this one no exception.  Well shot, somewhat cheesy with a lot of the lines, but very enjoyable.  And Edward G. Robinson is great as always, but really does hold the film together floating in and out of scenes.

While it didn't win it set the standard for other films in this genre.  It lost to Going My Way, which is a nice film but not as meaty as Double Indemnity.  My guess is if it came out a few years later it could of won, but this was made during WWII and I think that is what kept it from winning.  That and I also think that Since You Went Away was much better and it should have won, but I have one more film from this year and I will be watching it soon.

Six From Six Different Decades

It's getting harder to find movies to watch, but over the past few months I have been able to find them where I can.  Six more movies has moved me up to 420, my goal is to be at 425 by the end of the year and I think I'll make it.

A Touch Of Class (1973) - A romantic comedy of that era.  Starring George Segal and Glenda Jackson about an American businessman who is married but meets a divorced English woman and they decide to have an affair.  After a disaster of a trip to Spain and everything that could go wrong, they somehow decide to keep the affair going back in England.  A silly comedy of errors and a predictable ending but something that you would expect to see in the early 70's.

I am now at four out of five for the year and so far The Sting was still the best.  While it was impressive to see the Exorcist nominated and since I just watched it again recently reminding me what a real horror film it is, it wouldn't win.

Lost Horizon (1937) - The great Capra masterpiece.  The film that cost an incredible amount for it's time.  The story of a man and a group of people he has saved taken to Shangri-La and how they learn to live in utopia.  Everyone except for his brother whom he leaves with and after realizes what he gave up, fights to get back.  The best part is that they found lost footage, the audio at least, and put it back into the film with still shots.  A rare film to see but so good that it's worth it.

I have now seen all ten movies from 1937 and the part I dread the most about years from this era, trying to pick the best film.  It was very hard, but I'll go with the academy on this one and agree that The Life Of Emile Zola was the best film.  The problem is that at least five others would be second best including Captain Courageous, The Good Earth, Lost Horizon, Dead End, and A Star Is Born could all have possibly won as well.  The remaining are all tied for third.  Proving again that the late 30's to the early 40's was a great time for Hollywood.

Precious (2009) - To be honest I didn't expect this film to be good.  I was wrong it was very good.  A very depressing tale about an sexually, emotionally and physically abused teenager trying to better herself.  The acting was very well done and the screenplay a bit sappy at times, still was done very well and told a good story.  I would consider it a modern day Sybil.

Now seeing nine out of ten my mind still hasn't changed, A Serious Man was still the best film, The Hurt Locker has fallen lower.  Precious was a much better film, it was a better acted film, better told story, better edited than The Hurt Locker.  And even after I see the last film I am confident that my opinion will not change.

Moneyball (2011) - The semi true story about the Oakland A's rise with no money back in 2002.  Brad Pitt is a great actor and carries the film.  If you are a baseball fan you will enjoy it.  If you are a Seattle Mariner fan like me, you will have to relive the nightmare of that lousy 20 game winning streak that knocked Seattle out of first place.

Almost half way through this year, five more to go.  Moneyball is up there, not as good as The Artist or Midnight in Paris but third for now.

Coal Miners Daughter (1980) - The life story of Loretta Lynn wonderfully acted by Sissy Spacek who truly earned the best actress award for her acting.  A typical bio-pic showing how she became a musician and her climb to fame and the trials and tribulations she faced.  An enjoyable film even if you can't stand county music.

I am now in the majority of this year and I am thoroughly confused.  The remaining nine years of this decade were some of the worst films ever made to be nominated for best picture.  But so far of the three I have seen from 1980, all are really great films.  I am still troubled by Ordinary People beating Raging Bull, but it was better.  While Coal Miners Daughter was not better than Ordinary People, if was made anywhere from 1981 to 1989 it would have won best picture.  But it came out in 1980 and right now sits in third place.

Anne Of The Thousand Days (1969) - A biographical film about Anne Boleyn.  Very similar to A Man For All Seasons, but this covers a bigger time frame.  And not as good.  The acting was respectable, Richard Burton is Richard Burton, you get your money's worth.  He plays a decent Henry VIII but nowhere near as good as Charles Laughton.  Genevive Bujold was good as Anne Boleyn but the film was long and felt longer.

This now wraps up the 40th year where I have seen every film.  And without blinking an eye, Midnight Cowboy was the best film.  Not so much that it was such a good film, more to do with the competition.  Anne of The Thousand Days falls securely into second.  Hello Dolly is third, a good musical but still not a great film.  Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid is more hype than movie and is only saved from last because Z was nominated.  I have no idea why they nominated such a boring and meaningless film, but it is last for the year and the decade.

83 Out Of 84

That's right; I've seen 83 out of 84 films for best picture.  This leaves Schindler's List, which ironically I stated that before I even started this project that I don't ever want to see the film because I know how depressing it will be.  I will have to see it, but there is still time.  I also watched a few other film now putting me only 80 films left at the current moment.  It's been getting harder to find movies that I haven't seen, but what do you expect when you've seen over 400 nominated films?

Shakespeare In Love (1998) - A romantic comedy about Shakespeare trying to write Romeo and Juliet.  No one knows if it is true or not, doesn't matter.  It's the same style as The Girl with the Pearl Earring, taking a historic event and creating a story about it.  Well acted and enjoyable a good film to see.

This has now completed 1998 and the best film was Saving Private Ryan.  This is one of the finest war movies ever made and clearly was the best quality film.  Shakespeare In Love is second, a good film but not as good as Saving Private Ryan.  Third would be Elizabeth, another film from the same era as Shakespeare In Love, although a bit dry, falls perfectly in the middle.  Fourth is The Thin Red Line, another good war movie, not as good as Saving Private Ryan and too many characters like too many chefs, a little less would have made it stronger.  And last is Life Is Beautiful a film that attempts to tell a heartfelt story but comes across creepy.

The Mission (1986) - A drama about Jesuit missionaries in South America in the 18th century.  Good acting performances by Robert De Niro and Jermey Irons, great scenery, interesting story.  A typical 80's drama, good film but nothing that great or to write home about.

This makes four out of five for the year and so far Platoon is still the best film.  It came out at the right time and was slightly better than The Mission.

Test Pilot (1938) - What a film!  Clark Gable, Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracey.  And if that's not enough add in Lionel Barrymore.  It's like ordering fried chicken, bacon and smoked sausage and lets just add a filet minion to that plate.  Clark Gable is a ace pilot who flies planes for the military and attempts to set speed records.  He had trouble, lands in Kansas, falls in love with Myrna Loy and takes her back to New York City.  Spencer Tracey is his co-pilot and tries to keep him sober and from spending money as soon as he gets it.  The great Lionel Barrymore is the owner of the company who tests the planes and plays the part as amazing as he always does.

This film is from the great era in Hollywood.  This year is only surpassed by 1939.  So far every film, nine out of ten for this year, have been incredible.  So is this film better than You Can't Take It With You?  Some movie algebra will have to be done.  First using the Lionel Barrymore formula gets us to a tie since he was in both.  The next equation is the director formula.  Test Pilot was directed by Victor Flemming, You Can't Take It With You by Frank Capra.  Normally using the Capra formula will solve the equation, but not this time since Flemming went on to direct Gone With The Wind the next year.  The next formula is best director formula, Flemming won one, Capra won three and one of them was for You Can't Take It With You.  Therefore You Can't Take It With You is still the best film of the year, mathematically proven.

Gosford Park (2001) - A Robert Altman film, you can't go wrong with that.  A mystery that takes place in the early 1930's on an English estate with a cast of characters spending the weekend hunting.  A murder takes place, other skeletons in the closet are revealed amongst multiple storylines.  Stylish a very classy film, costumes hit the mark, very good acting, what you would expect from Robert Altman.

This now completes 2001 and the best film is still A Beautiful Mind.  A great drama that none of the other films can ever come close to.  Second is Lord Of The Rings since it is a great fantasy film with great special effects and really well done.  Third is almost a tie between Gosford Park and In The Bedroom, but since Robert Altman directed Gosford Park it goes into third and In The Bedroom fourth.  Last and least is Moulin Rouge, glad I will never have to watch that again.

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (2011) - Should be titled Extremely Obnoxious and Incredibly Sappy.  The film revolves around an obsessive child who a year after losing his father in the World Trade Center on 9/11 tries to find who owns a key he finds in a vase.  To be fair there is good acting, Max von Sydow is really good, and the film is well done.  You can tell the goal was not to make the best picture, just one good enough to be nominated.  And that they succeeded in doing.  It generates buzz about the film and insane people like myself will have to see it since it was nominated.  It's worth watching, you don't feel cheated or like you want your money back after seeing it, but it's not going to be remembered as one of the best films of the decade.

Was this better than The Artist?  What planet are you from?  No way.

No One Smashes Up a Research Lab Like a Welsh Miner

That's right you should have guessed that I saw The Citadel and a bunch of others.  Closed out three more years as well.  I'll start with a classic from the 1930's.

The Citadel (1938) - A King Vidor directed film with Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell about an English doctor who first starts working for Welsh miners in their form of a HMO and tries to research how to cure tuberculosis.  They start getting angry since he won't just give them unnecessary prescriptions or claim them unable to work when they can, so they destroy his lab and research.  He goes to London and falls into the very comfortable trap of getting paid a lot to do basically nothing.  After a terrible accident he questions his morals and fights for his principles, better late than never.

1939 is considered the apex of the early film industry, therefore the years before and after are almost as good.  Again this film did not disappoint.  The acting is amazing, my guess Robert Donat's best actor for 1939 was partially to make up for his performance in this film.  Its not as good as You Can't Take It With You or Grand Illusion, but definitely up there with the best for the year.

On Golden Pond (1981) - Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman in a somewhat slow moving drama about a daughter dropping off her soon to be step child with her parents in their summer home.  Her father is old, angry and has never liked anyone but bonds with the kid over fishing.  When his daughter comes back she is jealous of the relationship that the kid has that she never did and cries.

This reminded me of In The Bedroom in that there are great actors and actresses with a really boring script.  You replace the actors and you have a really, really bad film.  There isn't much to this film and it's too safe and boring, but with good acting you can make it watchable, or nominated in a weak year.  Not good enough to win best picture though.

Love Story (1970) - Love is never having to say why did I watch this movie.  It is one of the king of the tearjerkers about a young couple getting started in life and the wife gets sick and dies.  Very sappy and melodramatic but a popular film and I will admit since I have watched my wife twice go through life threatening illness, it is very hard to watch someone you love suffer.

Compared to the other movies, it's not the best picture by far, but since I have the last film of that year to review next I can properly rank this movie.

Airport (1970) - The epic everything that could go wrong in a day at a Chicago airport movie.  An all star cast with Bert Lancaster, George Kennedy, Dean Martin and many others.  All of the personal conflicts of each person with a vicious snowstorm and a crazed man with a bomb on a flight to Rome.  Good drama and funny to see people smoking on an airplane.

Since I have now seen all of the films for 1970 this year can be closed out.  Patton was the best film miles above the rest.  You could combine all the other films and they still would not be as good as Patton.  Second would be Five Easy Pieces another strong film that shows the period of time as a photo in an album.  Third is very close but I would give the slight edge to M.A.S.H over Airport, even though both went on to have life during the decade, eleven years on television for M.A.S.H and at least three sequels for Airport, but M.A.S.H was funnier and that will give you an edge.  And last is Love Story.

Atlantic City (1981) - A small film at the time called low budget, now would be called independent, about a gangster who is a legend in his mind who falls into a drug deal and is able to get away with the money.  Burt Lancaster plays the part very well and is supported by Susan Sarandon a woman down on her luck trying to become a blackjack dealer.  They are surrounded by Atlantic City's rebirth that started in the late 1970's and eventually came back to life, as good as you can in New Jersey, by the mid 80's.  So it shows the historic background mixed with the conflicts of the characters.  This is a really good film that does not get enough notice.

Seeing this has now helped me close out 1981.  And Chariots of Fire was the best film, although it was a weak year.  Second I would put Atlantic City since it was such an interesting film, third is the now classic Raiders of the Lost Ark, fourth is On Golden Pond due to the acting and last is Reds which dragged on way to long and seriously who cared?

Smilin' Through (1933) - Norma Shearer, Fredrick March, Leslie Howard star in a sad and confusing story about a man raising his niece who ends up falling in love with the son of the man who killed his wife to be during their wedding fifty years earlier.  I know everyone can relate to this, it happens all the time.  But even though it is a somewhat sappy drama, it moves well and the acting is great.

Now I have seen this film I can attempt to close out 1933.  This will be difficult since I don't think I've ranked a year with ten movies with the exception of 1939 where I copped out and said all were worthy, can't do that this time.  Best picture overall was Cavalcade, dry as it was it was still done really well.  Second is I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang since Paul Muni was amazing in it.  Third is Little Women, the acting was terrific and the classic story just moves you.  The rest would then be 42nd Street a funny musical, then The Private Life of Henry VIII for Charles Laughton's great acting, Smilin' Through as a sold film, next State Fair for being a wholesome movie, Lady for a Day a Capra classic, She Done Him Wrong the great Mae West vehicle and last A Farewell to Arms, acted wonderfully but written by Hemingway will always get you to the back of the line.

400 and Counting!

That's right, I've now have seen more than 400 films that have been nominated for Best Picture.  And I was able to add in another Best Picture, narrowing down that list to only two movies I haven't seen yet.  And a bunch of other reviews, but I'll start with the 82nd best picture.

Out Of Africa (1985) - Not only is the 82nd film I've seen, I have completed the 1980's and have seen every best picture from 1928 to 1992.  The last two Schindler's List (1993) and Shakespeare in Love (1998) are all that remain, until next year of course.  You may be asking why am I spending time talking about statistics and other films?  That's because this is more interesting than Out of Africa.  Talk about boring.  The cinematography was great, the musical score was wonderful, costume design was amazing.  The acting, ugh.  The script, yawn.  It goes on and on and you wonder why I should care about a Dutch woman who moves to Africa and gets stuck with a coffee plantation that ends up burning down, the processing plant that is.

I have now seen all of the films for 1985 and without a doubt the best movie was Out of Africa.  As horrible as it was, nothing else was as good.  It was a very weak year and this film had the luck to be made at the right time.  Witness will stay second only because it had some action, but was not a great cop movie.  Third is Prizzi's Honor since it had a good cast.  Fourth is A Color Purple very narrowly beating out Kiss of the Spider Woman, both lucky to be nominated.


Finding Neverland (2004) - What a surprise, another bio-pic!  This one is loosely based on J.M Barrie and his inspiration on writing Peter Pan.  The acting was good, it is an enjoyable film but if you read the real history, it wasn't as happy as an ending as the movie would imply.  The child whom Peter Pan is named for eventually committed suicide and commented that he despised the story.  The time line in the film is also wrong as to what happened in real life.  But it still is a good movie to see.

Another year completed and the best film was Million Dollar Baby.  It is a strong powerful drama and Clint Eastwood did a great job.  Second is The Aviator a great Martin Scorsese movie and great acting by Leonardo DiCaprio.  Finding Neverland is third, Ray comes fourth and Sideways is fifth only because it is the weakest of the movies this year.

Lady For A Day (1933) - The 400th movie I've seen so far on this project.  I was debating which of the movies I have on the DVR to watch for the 400th and I went with the oldest produced movie.  And it's a Frank Capra movie so it sealed the deal.  A typical Capra fairy tale type of story about a poor woman who sells apples and has a daughter she left in Europe as a baby to be raised in a convent.  She has been lying to her in letters saying how she is a wealthy socialite in New York City, but now her daughter is coming to visit with her fiancee who is from royalty.  A mobster who buys apples from her for good luck agrees to make her appear to be a wealthy socialite, spends a ton of money and eventually convinces the police, the mayor and the governor to go along.  A truly unrealistic movie, but that's what Capra was great at, the modern urban fairy tale with the happy ending.

Now that I've seen nine out of ten films nominated this year, it appears that Cavalcade is still the best picture.  Lady for a Day was good, but it doesn't crack the top five.

Dead End (1937) - A gritty drama about a dead end street in Hell's Kitchen and the conflicts that go on during one summer day.  Joel McCrea in one of the few non westerns he did and a young Humphrey Bogart play oppose each other.  McCrea is guy who never escaped from his poverty and still lives in the neighborhood.  Bogart is a gangster who got plastic surgery and comes back to see his mom and old girl friend.  His mom rejects him, his old girl friend is a diseased prostitute, not a great reunion, don't think they have a Hallmark card for that.  One notable item is that this was the first appearance of the Dead End kids who became the Bowery Boys and made a ton of movies for the next twenty years.

A great film from a great year.  1939 has been the apex of great movies from this era , which means the years leading up had great movies as well, this year is no exception.  While The Life of Emile Zola is still the best picture, and Dead End is a great movie, it falls to the bottom of the pack.  This year was so strong, so many good films, that if it came out ten or twenty years later it could have won.  The story is somewhat timeless, but it earned it's spot as one of the ten best.

One Hundred Men And A Girl (1937) - Be careful what you click if you do an Internet search for this movie.  A warmhearted musical staring a teenage Deanna Durbin and the great Adolphe Menjou as a father and daughter trying to find a venue for their orchestra.  Not much of a story, very good music and Deanna Durbin was an amazing singer.  A good film overall.

Compared to other movies from 1937, see my comments from Dead End above if you skipped to this film.  This one falls to the bottom, not because it was a musical, but because there really wasn't much meat to the film.  But they did perform some Wagner in the movie, so it is definately worthy of best picture status.

Seabiscuit (2003) - Another movie from the decade of bio-pics.  Based on the story of the famous horse who raced back in the late 1930's.  Not interested?  Neither am I.  If you love horse racing then this is a movie for you.  Otherwise it was a well done film, big budget, rather popular, but not much more than that.

And now I have seen all the films for 2003.  In fact I have completed thirty two years now as well.  And still the best picture was The Return of the King.  It was an overall award for The Lord of the Rings, but it also better film than the others.  Second would be Master and Commander a great action film reminiscent of the old swashbuckler films of yesteryear.  Third is Mystic River, a very strong drama and great acting.  Fourth is a close call, but Lost in Translation squeezes in mainly for the original quirky nature of the film.  Last is Seabiscuit mostly for the unnecessary commentary that was full of political opinion and distracted from the film, thankfully it stopped about half way through the movie, but not enough to save it from last place.

How ofter do you get to see Red Buttons at 40 pretend to be 25?

You can when he won his Oscar for best supporting actor in 1957.  Yes and along with Sayonara, two more to put me closer to 400.

Saynonara (1957) - Marlin Brando and Red Buttons are solders in post WWII Japan who end up falling in love with Japanese women.  This is at a time where it was illegal to marry a Japanese woman as an American and bring her back to the US.  More of a social commentary yet still a good drama.  Brando is in his prime and is great to watch.  Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki won supporting actor and actress awards were great, even though he was a bit too old for the part he was playing.  Get past that and you'll appreciate his acting.

Now I have seen all the films for 1957 so I can now make a final assessment of that year.  The Bridge on the River Kwai was the best picture in a very strong year, somewhat of a rarity of this decade.  Second would be 12 Angry Men, a classic drama with an all star cast.  The rest are in a very tight race, I could call it a three way tie for third but that would be a cop-out.  So Witness for the Prosecution gets third with Tyrone Powers eyebrows and all, Saynonara fourth and Peyton Place fifth.

Mary Poppins (1964) - This was a great movie and my 396th.  I am not a fan of musicals.  I am not into kids movies.  But this film is done so well that you can't not enjoy it.  If you don't, you don't have a soul.  Great special effects for its time, catchy songs but not as good as the sequel Sherry Bobbins.

This puts me at four out of five for this year.  And seeing how two of the films I couldn't stand and the other two are musicals, there is still a chance that I might find Becket the best film.  Otherwise My Fair Lady is still first and Mary Poppins is second.

Midnight In Paris (2011) - Another great Woody Allen film.  I love Woody Allen.  His movies, his books, anything he does.  Even his obscure attempt to do drama in the late 70's and in the 80's, its all good.  An interesting story about a screenwriter in Paris with his fiancee and her family having doubts about his relationship and his work.  He finds himself each night being transported back to Paris in the 1920's and hobnobbing with well know artists and writers of the time.  After a while he wants to stay there because he thinks this is the best time in history to be.  He ends up in the 1890's and a women he is in love with from the 1920's wants to stay in this time era because she thinks it's the best.  And the artists from the 1890's want to be in the Renaissance era.  The moral of the story is that the time you are in now is the best, stop romanticizing about the past, enjoy the now.

As I start to see the rest of the films for 2011, so far the first two have been great.  This is not as good as The Artist but it is in second and will take a lot to move it further down.

Revenge in Maine

That actually sounds pretty cool as a movie title, but viewers had to settle with In The Bedroom.  That and two others helped me reach the 394 mark meaning I only have 100 films left to see.  Of course until next year when more movies are nominated, but unless I take a decade or two off, I'll always be in double digits or less (hopefully) of films to see.

In The Bedroom (2001) - What if you take a very slow moving script and mix up so-so actors with a few incredible acting performances?  You get a film that is good, at times great and others like watching paint dry.  The movie is about a young man in love with a divorced or soon to be divorced mother who's ex-husband, or soon to be ex-husband, ends up killing him.  The parents are distraught, the guy is going to get a slap on the wrist and the parents can't live with that.

Why didn't this film win best picture?  It's because if you take away Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson and Marisa Tomei this film would be horrible.  The three of them were outstanding, the rest were no where in their league and it showed.  The story creeps along at times and falls into the age old trap of making the "villain" inhuman at times to help justify the actions of the "heroes" of the film.  A Beautiful Mind was clearly better done but the acting is very close.

The Human Comedy (1943) - Young Mickey Rooney and even younger Van Johnson and Donna Reed in a typical WWII film about life at home.  Very similar to movies of this era during the war, at times more propaganda and education than entertainment.  And while it is classified as a comedy, it is more dramatic and slightly depressing at times.  The story is about a young man getting a job while his older brother is at war and his father has already passed on.  Again as I've posted before, movies during WWII had no knowledge when the war would end, so the films are filled with hope and inspiration for the movie goers not to be depressed when they left the theater.  It differs from films made after the war ended, then you can give a happy or sad ending, but people already know what the final result was.

This film is great more for the mood and the slice of time it portrays.  It's a great example of using art to reflect a specific time and place in history.  And the acting was great and the movie really does pull you in, it's a good story that is entertaining to watch.  Yet it was matched up against Casablanca and ended up losing.  It's only the seventh film I've seen that year, three more to go, but I would put it in the top three right up there with The Ox-Bow Incident.

Life is Beautiful (1998) - One of the few foreign language films to be nominated and win three Oscars.  Roberto Benigni ends up in a concentration camp during WWII and tries to hid it from his child.  Not as awkward as The Day The Clown Cried, but rather unrealistic.  I wouldn't go as far to say it was disrespectful, but it is hard to make a comedy about such a depressing subject.  While I admire the attempt it wasn't that good.  I should also note that I didn't see the original version, the one I saw was dubbed.  And while dubbed films have gotten a bit better over time, they still are not as good as a movie in the language it was filmed in.

I would like to compare it to the best picture of the year but this is one of the three years that I haven't seen the best film yet.  And like 1985 I have now seen all the other films that were nominated and didn't win.  So for now I can say that this wasn't the best film, Saving Private Ryan is still holding the top spot.

Did anyone ever really trust a Romanian Count before WWII?

And as you see in Watch On The Rhine you couldn't trust them during the war either. As well I added Room at the Top and Talk of the Town to my list, creeping closer to 400.

Watch On The Rhine (1943) - Bettie Davis and Paul Lukas who won best actor, are refugees from Europe at the start of WWII. They are committed Fascism fighters raising money to send back to Europe so they go back to Bettie Davis's family in Washington DC. And as my post title hinted, a Romanian count is living there spending all his time playing poker at the German embassy. He tries to sell Paul Lukas out, fails and is killed by Paul Lukas who takes all of his fundraising and flees back to Europe.

This film is more of a propaganda film, it was made during the war and without knowing how it will end (obviously) this film has a interesting characteristic to it. Like Mrs. Miniver a year earlier, movies about WWII made during WWII are more intense than those made after the war. But it did go up against Casablanca, so it wasn't the best film, but worthy of the top ten, even in the top five.


Room At The Top (1959) - English film from the new era of movie making that occurred in the late 1950's in England. A gritty drama about a man who will do whatever it takes to succeed right after the end of WWII. He keeps angling for a better job and looks to marry a rich man's daughter. Along the way he falls in love with a married woman who he promises to be with, but then goes with the rich girl. She gets drunk, dies in a car accident and he gets himself nearly beaten to death but is brought to the wedding on time and marries the rich girl he got pregnant.

It reminded me somewhat of A Place in the Sun, but not as good. That and you can't compare Laurence Harvey to Montgomery Clift, or the rest of the cast for that matter. Since this was the last film to see for 1959, and the 390 film I saw overall, here is the final verdict for the year. Ben-Hur is still the best picture, a classic epic. A Nun's Story would be second from fine acting from Audrey Hepburn, close third is The Diary of Anne Frank, depressing but still a great drama. Anatomy of a Murder gets fourth because Otto Preminger is a great director, with the exception of Skidoo, and Room at the Top fifth since it was a tough year.

The Talk Of The Town (1942) - A somewhat preachy movie that has an incredible acting team with Carey Grant, Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman about a man being framed for arson and murder. Carey Grant is the town anarchist and all around angry guy. He's framed for burning down the factory and killing a night watchman. He flees from jail and hides out at Jean Arthur's rental home who she is preparing for law professor Ronald Colman. While there he thinks Carey Grant is the gardener, gets into great philosophical discussions with him, all the while Jean Arthur is trying to get Ronald Colman to take up Carey Grant's case but wouldn't do it anyway since he is going to be nominated for the Supreme Court.

As you can guess it all works out for the best, but a good film anyway. It did lose to Mrs. Miniver and rightfully so.

Does proving that a German Psychiatrist doodles mean him diagnosing you as a manic depressive invalid?

In the world of Frank Capra it sure does! I'm sure you've guessed by now that I have seen Mr. Deeds Goes To Town and two other classics including a strong eyebrow acting role from 1946. But first...

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936) - The Frank Capra classic that won him his second best director for the 1930's. A typical Capra style like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or Meet John Doe, this time it's a small town poet from New England who inherits 20 million dollars from a long lost uncle and moves to New York City. Not only the typical fish out of water story, but everyone is out to con him from his money or to embarrass him in public. Yet as the hero he is not the bumbling fool people take him for and when he decides to give his money away they try to declare him insane. A unrealistic trial by the state, he wins over everyone and is the hero who gets the girl.

Is it sappy? Yes. Is it unrealistic? Yes. Is it a great movie? Yes. The story may be annoying at times, but Gary Cooper is great and you will enjoy every minute. As compared to The Great Ziegfield, as I've said before nothing was going to beat that movie because of what Florenz Ziegfield meant to the entertainment industry and he was missed.

The Smiling Lieutenant (1932) - A classic from before the self imposed censorship from the movie industry came about. A silly musical about an officer in the Austrian army winking at a visiting princess who is offended. Trying to avoid an international (or continental) incident, he has to be their escort while visiting Austria and ultimately has to marry her. Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins are comical and lustful in a well acted film. Even though I don't like musicals, the songs relate to the story, the songs are rather comical and the sexual situations are what you would seed about forty years later in films, not what you expect when you think of movies from the 1930's.

This is a great film, but you can't use basic movie math to compare it to the best picture of 1932, Grand Hotel, you will need to do movie calculus. In this case you would apply the Lionel Barrymore algebraic equation. Did Grand Hotel have Lionel Barrymore? Yes. Did The Smiling Lieutenant have Lionel Barrymore? No. The answer is Grand Hotel was the best film of 1932, it just as simple as that.


The Razor's Edge (1946) - Based on the W. Somerset Maugham's novel, where he is one of the main characters. Does that mean he's not real or it's not a novel???? And Tyrone Power's eyebrows, Gene Tierney, Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter and Herbert Marshall all make up an all star cast. About a WWI vet who decides to find himself by traveling around Europe and Asia and finds enlightenment in India starring at a mountain. In other words, he became a hippie after the war and traveled like a bum trying to become a zen master. Gene Tierney is shallow and loves him but wants the life of luxury in Chicago (joke's on her) and then becomes bitter when his eyebrows show up ten years later.

It was a very good movie, but nothing could beat The Best Years of Our Lives the year after WWII ended. I don't think Gone With The Wind could win, so there is no need to compare it but just say it was one of the better films for the year.

It's been awhile.......

It's been awhile since I have posted and I have seen a bunch of movies. Nothing like taking a few days off to watch movies.



Darling (1965) - Julie Christie staring in her Oscar winning role, and besides that there wasn't much to this film. She was fantastic, the movie, eh. It's the story of a model who is bored with everything around her and chronicles her rise to royalty.



This means that I have finished 1965 and my mind has not changed, The Sound of Music was the best picture. As much as I don't like musicals, this is a really, really good one and a good film. Second is A Thousand Clowns for being such a great dramatic comedy. Doctor Zhivago in all of it's depression is third, Darling is fourth and fifth is Ship of Fools.



Foreign Correspondent (1940) - A Hitchcock film that competed against itself for best picture with Rebecca. It doesn't have the great Laurence Olivier, it has Joel McCrea. It's a spy thriller about a journalist who is sent to Europe and gets tangled up in a murder mystery conspiracy.


The film is a Hitchcock film, so it is good. Not as good as Rebecca, or other movies that year, but good suspense as you would expect from Alfred Hitchcock that doesn't disappoint.


The Long Voyage Home (1940) - Based on four plays by Eugene O'Neill about sailors on a ship in early World War II in the Atlantic. Directed by John Ford and staring John Wayne is all you need to know that this is a film worth watching. The stories blend into one another so that they are one film, but unless you knew the film was based on four different plays, the story seems a bit choppy.


This makes the ninth out of ten films for 1940, so I can't make an official assessment, but this one is up near the top.


State Fair (1933) - Staring Janet Gaynor, Will Rodgers and Lew Ayres, a non musical version of an Iowa family spending a week at the state fair and all of the drama, romance and comedy that comes with this. It's a light hearted film that is very enjoyable, very funny at times. To be honest I am glad I didn't see this movie when I was younger, I would not have understand it as a kid growing up in New York City. But I have been to state fairs and know what significance they hold, especially to people in rural areas.


It's not as serious as Cavalcade or other films nominated that year, so I can see why it didn't win best picture. But never-the-less a good classic film. See it before it falls apart even more and is lost forever.


The Thin Red Line (1998) - An all star WWII film about the battle of Guadalcanal. Very violent and gritty, good qualities of a war movie. A few too many characters makes it hard to follow the multiple story lines and to be honest Steven Spielberg did a better job with Saving Private Ryan. Some great acting though, but a rather long movie.


I still haven't seen the best picture of 1998, Shakespeare in Love, so this will sit in a holding comparison pattern. So far all the films I've seen make 1998 a very strong year.


Trader Horn (1931) - They don't make movies like this anymore, and probably for good reason. If you attempted to make a remake and keep the integrity of the original you wouldn't stop being sued. A "Many animals were harmed" disclaimer could also be used for this film. It's a story about a trader adventurer who ends up "saving" a white queen, a young girl who was taken from her missionary parents as a baby in Africa. From a standpoint on race it makes Birth of a Nation look like Remember the Titans.

Still the footage is amazing, it was filmed in Africa in the early 1930's. It's worth seeing it just for that. Doesn't come up to the level of Cimarron which was a bit of a mini epic, but still a good movie.

In Old Arizona (1929) - Don't mess with the Cisco Kid. Somehow Army sergeants from Brooklyn don't get this. The film is very old, one of the first major sound films. It's about Arizona before it was a state and how the Army is trying to track down the Cisco Kid who steals horses, gold, women, ham steaks and anything he gets his hands on. Typical Western storyline, action and scenery, but good enough to be one of the few Westerns to get nominated for best picture. It's hard to compare films from this time period to modern films, but there is something so cool to see a movie from over 80 years ago.

1929 was a mixed year, not counting that stock market thing. It was bad because President Coolidge left office, but my paternal grandmother was married that year which was good since further actions allowed me to post my ramblings on the Internet. I've only now seen two films from this year, so I still can't determine which was better, I'll leave it in second for now next to Broadway Melody which won best picture.

Blossoms in the Dust (1941) - A bio-pic about Edna Gladney, the woman who started the Texas Children's Home and Aid Society staring the beautiful Greer Garson. Not the most accurate portrayal, but most movies do take liberties. A very enjoyable movie, warm and heartfelt, makes you realize how tough it was to be an orphan back in the day. Things that we take for granted today were not the same ninety years ago. Does make you appreciate and honor those who work to get children adopted.

Now to try and compare this movie with the best picture of 1941 is a fruitless venture since the movie that won for best picture was NOT the best picture. This is the infamous year of Citizen Kane being snubbed, so the best that this film could do is second best, but so far seeing eight out of nine, it's falling in the middle.

Song of Bernadette (1943) - The story of a teenage girl who in the 1850's in France believed she saw the Virgin Mary and dug up a underwater well of mineral water. The film does do a good job to balance the religious overtones with reality. If you believe in the story as true then the film shows you it happened. If you question the truth the film also presents it from the logical perspective to show that it was circumstance and not a miracle. That is the sign of a good movie that can bring both sides together. Otherwise it is very, very long and you get the point rather quickly. Also France in the 1850's looks just as filthy as today, some things never change.

This film is good enough to be in the top ten of the year, but nowhere near to Casablanca.

The Right Stuff (1983) - The 385th film I have seen so far. The epic film based on the Mercury Seven and Chuck Yeager during the dawn of the space age. Star studded cast, good special effects, very well done movie. Reminds you how brave the first Astronauts were and how great of an American Chuck Yeager is.

Since I have now seen all films nominated for 1983 I can finally say that this was a very weak year for movies. As I posted before I considered this a year where all the films had a losing record. Well one film hit the .500 mark (or at least 9 and 7) which would be The Right Stuff. Not that it is a great film, but it is good and better than the others. Second would be Tender Mercies, mainly because of Robert Duvall and not because of the film. Third would be The Dresser, fourth is Terms Of Endearment and fifth is The Big Chill. Glad this year is over with.

Oscar Results

My streak has been ended. For the past five to six years I have won, maybe a tie somewhere in there, but this year my wife won. Here are some interesting statistics:

92% is the combined correct picks, between us we got 22 out of 24 correct. The two we missed Best Editing and Live Action Short Film;

83% was what my wife got, 20 out of 24;

67% was my score, 16 out of 24.

Here is a breakdown of each category.

Visual Effects
Chris - Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Adam - Hugo
Winner - Hugo
Adam - 1
Chris - 0

This is one of the few that I got right that my wife didn't. My guess of Hugo winning the technical awards payed off.

Sound Mixing
Chris - Hugo
Adam - Hugo
Winner - Hugo
Adam - 2
Chris -1

Another of the five technical awards won by Hugo.

Sound Editing
Chris - Hugo
Adam - Hugo
Winner - Hugo
Adam - 3
Chris - 2

Looking pretty smart, ain't I? S-M-R-T!

Cinematography
Chris - Hugo
Adam - Hugo
Winner - Hugo
Adam - 4
Chris - 3

From what I've seen, this is going to be a very enjoyable film to watch.

Makeup
Chris - The Iron Lady
Adam - Albert Nobbs
Winner - The Iron Lady
Adam - 4
Chris - 4

This is one of the first gambles that I made that didn't work out.

Costume Design
Chris - Hugo
Adam - The Artist
Winner - The Artist
Adam - 5
Chris - 4

This gamble paid off, my theory was that The Artist will win most of the categories it's running for.

Art Direction
Chris - Hugo
Adam - The Artist
Winner - Hugo
Adam - 5
Chris - 5

This was a toss up, but one of the many technical ones that Hugo won. I was right on Costume Design, wrong on this one.

Film Editing
Chris - The Artist
Adam - The Artist
Winner - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Adam - 5
Chris - 5

What the? This is one of two that neither of us would have guessed. That includes the two guys who won the award. My only guess is that they wanted this film to get some recognition so this was the one award. They were the same ones who won last year for The Social Network, maybe they are in good with their crowd.

Music Original Song
Chris - The Muppets
Adam - The Muppets
Winner - The Muppets
Adam - 6
Chris - 6

Like I said, who is going to vote against The Muppets. Watching the two nominees my wife commented after they showed the song from Rio that it couldn't lose enough.

Music Original Score
Chris - The Artist
Adam - The Artist
Winner - The Artist
Adam - 7
Chris - 7

No-brainer on this one, it's a silent movie.

Writing Adapted Screenplay
Chris - The Descendants
Adam - The Descendants
Winner - The Descendants
Adam - 8
Chris - 8

I called this one, it was rather obvious. People wanted to recognize the film, this is one award that is commonly used. And I was right, it was the only award the film won all night.

Writing Original Screenplay
Chris - Midnight In Paris
Adam - Midnight In Paris
Winner - Midnight In Paris
Adam - 9
Chris - 9

I was glad to see this since Woody Allen is one of the greatest comedic filmmakers of all time. And of course, he wasn't there.

Short Film Animated
Chris - The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Adam - La Luna
Winner - The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Adam - 9
Chris - 10

These awards I consider to be the wild cards. There is no real way to know who will win unless you have seen all of the films and are involved in this community. Otherwise it is a pure guess and one I wasn't lucky on.

Short Film Live Action
Chris - Tuba Atlantic
Adam - Raju
Winner - The Shore
Adam - 9
Chris - 10

The only other category that neither of us was able to get right.

Documentary Short Subject
Chris - Saving Face
Adam - Incident in New Baghdad
Winner - Saving Face
Adam - 9
Chris - 11

Maybe I should have researched these a bit, but still they are a lottery and I guessed wrong. I've been lucky in the past, this year it went to my wife.

Best Animated
Chris - Rango
Adam - Rango
Winner - Rango
Adam - 10
Chris - 12

Back in the winning momentum, but still two behind my wife.

Best Documentary
Chris - Undefeated
Adam - Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Winner - Undefeated
Adam - 10
Chris - 13

Now I am in trouble, this is the last of the wild cards and I was 0 for 4, the wife was 3 for 4.

Best Foreign Language
Chris - A Separation
Adam - A Separation
Winner - A Separation
Adam - 11
Chris - 14

Not much of a surprise here. Of course seeing the new Rassmussen polls we should be at war with Iran by the end of the week.

Best Supporting Actress
Chris - Octavia Spencer
Adam - Octavia Spencer
Winner - Octavia Spencer
Adam - 12
Chris - 15

Everyone knew this, if you didn't I would like to sell you a bridge.

Best Supporting Actor
Chris - Christopher Plummer
Adam - Christopher Plummer
Winner - Christopher Plummer
Adam - 13
Chris - 16

Would you like to buy a second bridge?

Best Actress
Chris - Meryl Streep
Adam - Viola Davis
Winner - Meryl Streep
Adam - 13
Chris - 17

This is the empty net goal. I had a feeling that I may be losing and would need a desperate attempt to try and tie or pull ahead at the end.

Best Actor
Chris - Jean Dujardin
Adam - Jean Dujardin
Winner - Jean Dujardin
Adam - 14
Chris - 18

Getting towards the end and it's looking all The Artists from here on.

Best Director
Chris - Michel Hazanavicius
Adam - Michel Hazanavicius
Winner - Michel Hazanavicius
Adam - 15
Chris - 19

The fourth out of five, rather obvious.

Best Picture
Chris - The Artist
Adam - The Artist
Winner - The Artist
Adam - 16
Chris -20

And the 84th best picture is The Artist.