"Every crazy a-lister owns an island...

Nicolas Cage, Celine Dion, Charles Widmore. This is a whole new world in front of me, LL." 


Well said, 30 Rock.


Sorry to bring my TV obsession into this space again but if there is anything you should know about me it is my love of that show. Now back to the real deal.

• The King's Speech (nominated for Best Picture, Colin Firth for Best Actor, Helena Bonham Carter for Best Supporting Actress, Jeffrey Rush for Supporting Actor, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Tom Hooper for Best Director, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound Mixing, Original Screenplay).

WOOF. That's such a long list that I gave it it's own paragraph. It definitely deserves it. Going into seeing The King's Speech I was honestly expecting this super uptight, normal British period piece but I am glad to say that I am highly mistaken. Though told in a classical narrative, the continued use of the wide-angled lens, off-centered shots for the majority of the film and fantastic wallpaper made this film extremely enjoyable. Colin Firth is amazing and all the buzz is very much needed. He is poised and well constructed. Jeffrey Rush is welcomed comic relief as well as Helena Bonham Carter as well though in frightfully smaller role than usual.

• True Grit (Best Picture, Best Actor- Jeff Bridges, Best Supporting Actress- Hailee Steinfeld, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Coen Brothers for Best Director, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Adapted Screenplay), second most nominated film after The King's Speech.

I should fess up before I write this and say that I took a class on the Coens' last semester so obviously I am already enamored with their work. On the other hand, I don't believe that this is their best work (I am severely partial to O Brother). Ever a staple, their witty dialogue is well matched with both of the nominated figures this time around. Steinfeld's youth holds no barrier for her part. I do have to ask though I will not receive a response from them, what's it always with the hats?! Symbolism riddled throughout definitely make this an interesting film for their repertoire. I haven't had such a rough time understanding a male lead since Enis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. Matt Damon is also a treat providing some of the comedic relief in a mostly serious film (can't wait for his return as Carol in 30 Rock!) Overall well executed but not their best.

• The Gruffalo (Best Animated Short Film)

BBC short film that was based off a children's book by Julia Donaldson. Very cute and entertaining for the younger set. Though it was told in the same fashion as a fable, I expected the end result of the story to have a moral but in the end, he is just a witty little mouse. The animation is very well done but definitely not my favorite in the category so far.

I would like to take this time to thank all of you for reading along. Special shout outs this week go to Zoe, Sarah and Laurie for seeing Blue Valentine with me, Ben for bringing me on a date to see The King's Speech, Sofija for passing along Mel's website for watching movies online and for all ye abroad who are reading, especially my sister Kelsey. I love you all!!

Keep checking back in! 17 down, 41 to go!

YouTube Woes

When I began this lofty quest, I had high hopes of the internet being my greatest resource in finding all the nominated shorts , documentaries and foreign films that I would not be able to see otherwise. Unfortunately since Google has made a lot of copyrighted material disappear, I am having a really rough time finding some of these items. If you are reading out and want to help out *in fake southern drawl* a poor, helpless gal like myself, please post me links on Facebook if you are my friend, Twitter or here. Your help would be most welcomed.

Since my last posting, I have watched the Live Action Short nominee The Confession. The Irish are funnier than I expected. Watch it below.

I also went and saw Blue Valentine, Michelle William's nomination for Best Actress, with a few friends. I cried hysterically for about the last ten minutes of the film but now I can also see why some people were up in arms about Ryan Gosling not getting nominated. He made my heartache. What a great turn for him. Wish he would have received some recognition.

I also watched Exit Through the Gift Shop, nominated for Best Feature Length Documentary. Where I started with the film was certainly not where I ever thought I would end in the film. If you have Netflix, which I do not understand why anyone would not, it is on instant. Scathing and unexpected, it is one of the best documentaries that I have seen in a while.

That's all for now. 14 down, 44 to go!

Hereeeeee are the Nominations!

FINALLY! The day that you have all been waiting for: the official start to my blogging.

Also known as the day that the Academy announces who the nominees are for the 2011 Academy Awards but we all know that you are more excited to read my ramblings though...right?

So here is the official Academy Award site. It should automatically pop up on the nominations section but if not, just use one more click. I'm sure you all are smart enough to figure it out :)

A few snubs that are worth talking about here, most importantly Christopher Nolan.

It came as a shock to many that the Inception director did not garner a nomination though it is important to note that he has been snubbed in the past as well. Nolan has yet to achieve a personal nomination for direction but has been recognized for his screenwriting skills.

Other note-worthy snubs at least in my opinion include Miss Julianne Moore in The Kids Are Alright (though this was a little bit of a long shot, I still really like her and wanted her to get some recognition), the much buzzed about documentary Waiting for Superman, critically land uber-adorable Despicable Me. 

On the other hand, we get to see Mark Ruffalo's face due to a surprise Best Supporting Actor nod

and youngster Hailee Steinfeld as well.

There are 58 nominated films and I'm starting at 11 previously viewed films. The ones that I have seen not as recently, I MIGHT re-watch heavily dependent on homework and an actual social life.

This will be the craziest month of my life. I'm glad that you all are here to join me!

Red Carpet Breakdown

While some may have deemed the Golden Globes a surprise earlier on this week, I beg to differ.

First of all, there are only 90 members in the Hollywood Foreign Press Society. This would mean that in order to get a majority vote, only 46 members would have to vote for your film. Some might think that this is a great deal but in comparison to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has 6,000 members and therefore a majority would mean convincing 3,001 people. The legitimacy of the Golden Globes has greatly decreased in my option as previously stated which is another reason why Ricky Gervais' opening monologue about The Tourist being nominated. As many of you probably already know, The Social Network cleaned up many of the top awards. Annette Benning and Natalie Portman (!!) walked away with the Best Actress tophies while Colin Firth and Paul Giamatti were the Best Actors. The Fighter walked away with both supporting prizes which will probably be similiar to the Oscars as well.

TV is not the point of this blog but I'm still a little upset that Tina Fey didn't win because she is my idol.

That said, there are awesome fashion wins and disasters to talk about as I promised!

The winner in my book is Anne Hathaway.

I can't wait to watch her host the Oscars just because she is gorgeous and adorable and I have a HUGE lady crush on her. Next on my list is....

I wish this was MY So-Called Life. Very minimalist but very chic. Love it. I am not a fashion guru though so for more coverage and citing where I got my photos from visit Fashion Editor at Large

Anticipation

I know that I grabbed you all's attention a little preemptively but I promise that you will not be disappointed.

Since I have written last, I actually have not seen too many of the films that are garnering some buzz. I can cross The Town, Black Swan and Despicable Me off the list that I think will be happening at the end of the month. Three feet of snow severely inhibited some of the time that I had to watch the films but in the future, I promise that this will NOT be an excuse.

The Golden Globes are this Sunday. This year I am a little disappointed with the selections in the Musical/Comedy category but I'm not sure there was too much to choose from. I do have an all day event that I will be at on Sunday but I will be on the watch for the winners both in the ceremony and in the fashion category because lets be serious, I judge everyone's outfits. So check back with me later on next week for a break down. It will be more than entertaining.