"The empty-headed treat life as a plaything; the perceptive grasp its meaning and make a go of it." - Proverbs 15:21

It's a really nice Saturday morning, and I'm here on my laptop with a movie on in the background - the movie "Away We Go" to be exact. Now, if you've followed my blog, my Facebook, or my Flixster, you know I love that movie - this is about the sixth time I've watched it. It got me thinking - what is it about the movie that has me putting it in so often. A co-worker of mine went to see the movie "Couples Retreat" in theaters and told me that she loved it. I watched it on DVD and thought it was one of the worst comedies I've seen in a long time. To be fair, numerous critics, and my dad for that matter, HATED "Away We Go." I began thinking what is it about movies in general that makes one of us love them and another of us hate the same one?

The conclusion I've come to is that movies hit people at different moments in their lives. "Away We Go" is about a young couple trying to find the perfect place to start a family. Maybe for someone like my dad it's not something that concerns him so it just seems pretentious. Starting a family is still something that remains ahead of me, so it's interesting and entertaining for me to watch it depicted on film. I'm not in (or in need of) couples therapy so maybe I don't get the humor in a movie like "Couples Retreat" (although I still think it's lousy). I mean how many movies did you watch as a little kid and think what you were watching was AMAZING only to revisit as an adult and wonder how you ever liked something so silly (for me, it was the Disney TV movie "Cheetah). Maybe in ten years or so "Away We Go" won't be in my DVD player as often - but hopefully I still won't find "Couples Retreat" funny.

"Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred." - Proverbs 15:17

I have eaten meat one time since last Thanksgiving. If you had told me a year ago that I would practically be living the dietary life of a vegetarian, I would have thought you were insane. I love(d?) burgers, meatball & pepper pizza, bacon, and, well, bacon. Then I saw the movie "Food, Inc.", and while it alone did not sway my eating habits, it kind of visualized a lot of the things I had been struggling with in the past. I guess the movie was the feather that broke the camel's back.

I still truly do believe that humans have the right to eat animals. From both a religious and a just a social standpoint, there is nothing evil about being a carnivore. I may eat meat once again - I have actually been careful not to label myself a 'vegetarian' to anyone, because I don't want to feel guilty if I get the sudden urge to eat a chicken nugget or a turkey sandwich. To me it's not about killing an animal, it's about the cruelty that leads up to the animal's death. It's about the crap that is in the meat that could make me sick. It's about the disgusting companies tantamount to the big oil folks who are manipulating what we eat solely for profits and not worrying about the well-being of others.

When I decided to lose weight, in less than a year I shed 90 pounds. When I set my mind to doing something where I am the only thing in the way, I achieve it. Maybe that's why I wanted to play around with vegetarianism - and stop short of labeling myself with that title. We'll see how it goes, but I would encourage you to watch "Food, Inc." if you've been thinking about trying out eating less or no meat. Peace!

"An unlucky loser is shunned by all, but everyone loves a winner." - Proverbs 14:20 (The Message)

THE OSCAR POST

It's that time of year again - time for my annual predictions and thoughts on the Oscars. See, as a single guy, I find movies are a great way to pass the time. During the last movie year I saw roughly 75 movies in theaters, and many more on DVD. When the nominations were announced, I had already seen all ten of the best picture nominees - that's how geeky I am when it comes to this stuff. That being said, I am still getting to some of the nominees via DVD, and won't get to them all - no normal person would be able to in that amount of time - and some of the movies aren't even accessible to us yet. All right, here it goes:

For a Full List of Nominees, Visit: http://us.imdb.com/Behind/ballot/IMDb_RTO2010ballot.pdf

BEST PICTURE - I've seen all of the nominees.
Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Win: Inglourious Basterds
Shouldn't Be Nominated: A Serious Man, The Blind Side, District 9
Should Have Been Nominated: Away We Go, (500) Days of Summer, Crazy Heart
Quick Thoughts: This is seemingly a two-way race between Avatar and The Hurt Locker...but I really hope for a shocker and 'Basterds' or 'Up' take the win. Right now, I'd say Hurt Locker has the momentum, but I would say it's a coin toss. Another spoiler could be Up in the Air, but don't count on it. And can I just use this opportunity to once again hate on A Serious Man - it's terrible.

BEST DIRECTOR - I've seen all of the nominees.
Will Win: Katheryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
Should Win: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
Shouldn't Be Nominated/Should Be Nominated: This is strong category once again.
Quick Thoughts: I think Bigelow has this one in the bag. Here's the thing though - most Oscar critics say that the best director/best picture award go hand in hand....meaning if Bigelow wins, The Hurt Locker will win Best Picture. Some years that is true, but others it's not. If she wins, it could be more about her being a worthy female, not the movie itself...meaning Avatar could still win best picture.

BEST ACTOR - I've seen all of the nominees.
Will Win: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Should Win: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Shouldn't Be Nominated: Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Should Have Been Nominated: Matt Damon for The Informant!
Quick Thoughts: This is a very strong category, including the likes of Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and Colin Firth (A Single Man) but it's Bridges that will win...it's almost a lock.

BEST ACTRESS - I've seen all of the nominees.
Will Win: Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia
Should Win: Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Shouldn't Be Nominated/Should Have Been Nominated: None - as much as I loved Zoe Deschenel in (500) Days of Summer, this is the right five.
Quick Thoughts: Bullock carried "The Blind Side", and she is favored to win by most, but my gut is telling me that Streep will take it - and she will have earned it. Not enough people have seen "The Last Station" but people, honestly, Helen Mirren rocked it - she really deserves to win.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - I've seen four of the five nominees.
Will Win: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Should Win: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Shouldn't Have Been Nominated: Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
Should Have Been Nominated: Zach Galifianakis for The Hangover
Quick Thoughts: Thank goodness for Cristoph Waltz! This is one of the weaker categories overall, but his Nazi role in "Inglourious" was incredible. Tucci was fine in a terrible movie, so I wish the Academy would have thrown some love behind "The Hangover." Comedy always gets the Oscar shaft. I didn't see "The Messenger" as it never came near me - I was bummed because it looks really good. Oh well.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - I've see all of the nominees.
Will Win: Mo'nique for Precious
Should Win: Mo'nique for Precious
Shouldn't Have Been Nominated: Penelope Cruz for Nine
Should Have Been Nominated: Melanie Laurent for Inglourious Basterds
Quick Thoughts: Mo'nique gave the year's most powerful performance overall, and betting against her is foolish. She is the show's surest thing to a lock. If she doesn't win, there will be riots. I would say if you took the last ten years of supporting actress winners and put them up against Mo'nique, they would all lose. She was THAT good.

The Other Races:

WW: Will Win
SW: Should Win

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal
WW/SW Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger (2009/I): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy


Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education (2009): Nick Hornby
In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher
WW/SW Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography

Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore
SW Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Christian Berger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Bruno Delbonnel
WW The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson

Best Achievement in Editing

Avatar (2009): Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
District 9 (2009): Julian Clarke
WW/SW The Hurt Locker (2008): Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Joe Klotz

Best Achievement in Art Direction

WW/SW Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith
Nine (2009): John Myhre, Gordon Sim
Sherlock Holmes (2009): Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
The Young Victoria (2009): Patrice Vermette, Maggie Gray

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Bright Star (2009): Janet Patterson
Coco avant Chanel (2009): Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Monique Prudhomme
Nine (2009): Colleen Atwood
WW/Don't Care The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell

Best Achievement in Makeup

Il divo (2008): Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano
WW/Don't Care Star Trek (2009): Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow
The Young Victoria (2009): John Henry Gordon, Jenny Shircore

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

Avatar (2009): James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer
WW/SW Up (2009): Michael Giacchino

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

WW/SW Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")
Faubourg 36 (2008): Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas("Loin de Paname")
Nine (2009): Maury Yeston("Take It All")
The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Almost There")
The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Down in New Orleans")

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

WW Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson
SW The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Mark Ulano
Star Trek (2009): Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson, Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
WW/SW The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Wylie Stateman
Star Trek (2009): Mark P. Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin
Up (2009): Michael Silvers, Tom Myers

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

WW/SW Avatar (2009): Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones
District 9 (2009): Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken
Star Trek (2009): Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Coraline (2009): Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog (2009): John Musker, Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells (2009): Tomm Moore
WW/SW Up (2009): Pete Docter

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Ajami (2009)(Israel)
WW Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)(Germany)
El secreto de sus ojos (2009)(Argentina)
SW Un prophète (2009)(France)
La teta asustada (2009)(Peru)

Best Documentary, Features

Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land (2008): Anders Østergaard, Lise Lense-Møller
WW The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens
SW Food, Inc. (2008): Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009): Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home (2009): Rebecca Cammisa

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

WW China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) (TV): Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009): Daniel Junge, Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) (TV): Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Królik po berlinsku (2009): Bartosz Konopka, Anna Wydra
Music by Prudence (2010): Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett

Best Short Film, Animated

French Roast (2008): Fabrice Joubert
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (2008): Nicky Phelan, Darragh O'Connell
La dama y la muerte (2009): Javier Recio Gracia
Logorama (2009): Nicolas Schmerkin
WW Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV): Nick Park

Best Short Film, Live Action

The Door (2008): Juanita Wilson, James Flynn
Istället för abrakadabra (2008): Patrik Eklund, Mathias Fjällström
Kavi (2009): Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish (2009): Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey
WW The New Tenants (2009): Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson