Oscar Nomination Day Laughs and Tears

DUDE DID YOU HEAR THE OSCAR NOMINATIONS WERE ANNOUNCED TODAY!!! OMG

Anyway, needless to say, like everyone else this year's slate of nominees gave me some things that made me really happy and also some things that made me not so happy. Though, honestly, more of the former than the latter. So, here's what I thought of the noms.

Things That Made Me Smile

• JACKI WEAVER. Sure, it came at Mila Kunis's expense (or was that Hailee Steinfeld's fault) but since Weaver was kind of iffy it made me so happy to hear her name being called. I can't wait to see her on Oscar night.
• JOHN HAWKES. What a very pleasant surprise! Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic but it's Dale Dickey and Hawkes that really shine in "Winter's Bone" so I'm glad to see at least one of them getting recognized.
• "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Social Network" in Best Score. In fact, that whole Best Score category is pretty good. The music branch didn't screw it up too badly, did they! But those two are particularly deserving (more thoughts on this category later).
  
  
  What would "How To Train Your Dragon" have been without it's stellar John Powell score?
  
  
• "Dogtooth" in Best Foreign Film. HELLLLL YESSSSS.
• The Christopher Nolan snub. I know I'm going to get a lot of hate for that, and honestly I do feel sorry for the guy, but he was the weakest link in that category and though Id've preferred the spoiler to be Debra Granik or Luca Gaudagnino or someone like that the Coen Bros. are totally deserving.
• "Exit Through the Gift Shop" in Best Documentary. So, the Documentary branch has proven that they don't just care about relevant subject matter, and that they just award really good documentary filmmaking! Yea!
• "I Am Love" in Best Costumes. I think it speaks for itself, but the Costume Branch always seems to throw a bone to movie bloggers (remember "Bright Star" last year? heh)
  
  
Ooooh so pretty!


• Michelle Williams bringing the otherwise sadly ignored "Blue Valentine" to at least one nod. I wish it had been Ryan Gosling but I'm super happy for her since the performance was wonderful and she totally deserves it.
• The fact that I predicted 10 out of 10 in Best Picture. I mean, not that it was that hard, but still.

Things That Made Me Frown

• The lack of "Scott Pilgrim" in the visual effects category. I don't want to call it a snub because maybe it was never that realistic to begin with but it's a real pity.
• Andrew Garfield's snub. I suppose this is John Hawkes's fault and I'm happy for him but Garfield gives a fantastic performance and it's depressingly ironic how he was shafted, just like Eduardo in the movie.
• The Best Song category. I didn't really have any favorites going in but that group is really weak. I think this category becomes increasingly irrelevant as the years go along...
• Julianne Moore's "snub". The more I think of it, the sadder it is. In my opinion, Moore's performance is superior to Annette's and she is just as overdue as Bening, if not more so. It's odd how out of the two performances, it was Bening's and not Moore's that took off. I think Bening is totally deserving but I wish they'd gone for two leading lady noms from the same movie this year.
  
  
It's okay Julianne. You'll get your Oscar soon.


• Mila Kunis won't be an Oscar nominee. I'm totally okay with her not getting nominated (duh, Jacki Weaver), but the idea of her being an Oscar nominee was so awesome to me. Plus, what clip would they have used for her? HA!

So there you have it. All in all, it's a pretty satisfying group of nominees and I can't wait for the big night. Comment below on your reactions to the big announcement! :)

Yay, Gosling! Nay, Gosling... (Two Short Reviews)

All Good Things: It's really disappointing when a concept with such high potential falls as flat as this one did. The real life story is fascinating and the cast looked to be truly intriguing, but due to the film's unfocused direction and tonally-confused screenplay, the entire film turns into a boring slog that goes completely nowhere and leaves you knowing less about the topic than you did before you watched it. However, while Gosling and Frank Langella were unable to come out of this film unscathed, Kirsten Dunst was quite the opposite - in fact, she did quite fantastic work, the likes of which could be the only redeeming thing about this movie. Dunst gives such subtle work and her arc was absolutely perfect. I do hope we see more of her soon, because she's proven here her worth, and this movie is perhaps worth watching to see her fantastic performance. Oh! By the way -

Kristen Wiig is hilarious. (5/10)

Blue Valentine: Despite what the critics will have you think, this film does have flaws, which I attribute in large part to its screenplay. The overall effect of the writing is perfect - the development of the relationship between Gosling and Williams is perfectly paced and bittersweet. However, some of the smaller units end up feeling slightly unnecessary and rambly. Of course, starting with this small complaint is to give too much emphasis to the negatives, which really pale in comparison to the wonderful things about this movie. Williams, who I love, may not be doing her best work here, but it is still a heartbreaking performance; and Gosling is simply stunning. He completely inhabits his character and the way he plays the very last scene is simply devastating. In reality, that last scene sealed the deal for me - what with the Grizzly Bear score and the fireworks and the...aghhh. It was just so moving. The film is truly an achievement, if not the masterpiece that some have called it. (8/10)

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

Not much can be said about this film besides the brilliance of Michelle Williams as Wendy. After all, the story is rather limited - in so many words, it's basically Wendy screaming for her dog the entire time - yet, somehow, thanks to Williams and the director, Kelly Reichardt, it works so well. Williams is SO effin' good in this movie! Add her to the growing list of horrible Oscar snubs in 2008, because she gives one of the best performances of that year, if not the entire decade. She inhabits so completely this character - even the way she walks is brilliant. It's really remarkable, how wonderful Williams is. Also, I think something should be said for all the bit-part actors. I feel like in these one-man-show indie films, the supporting players are usually not that good, but in this film, they were all quite impressive! So, despite being somewhat limited, it works so, so well and everything feels so real. What an achievement.

9/10