Memosaic

Monday, December 27, 2010

2010: Favorite Scenes and Films

2010 may not have been the best year for movies, but the following wonderful scenes will live in my memory for years to come:

Michelle Williams tap dancing while Ryan Gosling sings and plays the ukulele in Blue Valentine.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg bickering hilariously about lions and tuna in The Other Guys.

Christina Aguilera belting out “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” in Burlesque.

Amy Adams and Melissa Leo confronting each other for the first time in The Fighter.

Johnny Depp, as the Mad Hatter, making a tiny dress for Alice during the Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland.

Diane Lane and Secretariat sharing a moment of non-verbal communication before a big race in Secretariat.

Annette Bening slowly simmering at the dinner table after discovering her partner is having an affair with the host in The Kids Are All Right.

I should also mention my ten favorite 2010 films, so here they are in order of preference:

The Fighter
Secretariat
Burlesque
Shutter Island
Toy Story 3
Marwencol
The Other Guys
Hereafter
True Grit
Alice in Wonderland


Honorable Mention: Winter’s Bone, Date Night, Salt, The Next Three Days, Ondine, Red, The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, Rabbit Hole, Despicable Me, Cyrus, City Island, Tangled , Let Me In, The Karate Kid, Only When I Dance, Queen of the Lot.

Dishonorable Mention: Grown Ups, Hot Tub Time Machine, Furry Vengeance, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, The Runaways, EAT PRAY LOVE.

May you have a Happy New Year at the movies!

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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Early Oscar Talk

I'm excited about talking with Priscilla Leona again today on her "Question Reality" radio show. We'll be discussing the 2010 Oscar race. It's a bit early, I know -- but with so many awards and nominations from other groups already announced, we don't want Oscar to feel neglected!

Priscilla is one of the most enthusiastic, fun talk show hosts working today, and it's always such a treat to visit with her. "Question Reality" airs on L.A. Talk Radio each Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Here's the link to listen: www.latalkradio.com.

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Winter's Bone Named Best 2010 Film by SDFCS

Winter's Bone was voted Best Film of 2010 by the San Diego Film Critics Society yesterday. The film tells the story of a teen girl desperately trying to salvage her family as she searches for her father in the drug-ravaged Ozarks. Jennifer Lawrence, playing the teenager, won the society's Best Actress award, while John Hawkes won Best Supporting Actor for his role as the girl's troubled uncle.

Here's the complete list of awards:
BEST FILM: Winter's Bone
BEST DIRECTOR: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
BEST ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
BEST ACTOR: Colin Farrell (Ondine)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Leslie Manville (Another Year)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain and Chris Morris (Four Lions)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: I Am Love
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Exit Through the Gift Shop
BEST ANIMATED FILM: Toy Story 3
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Wally Pfister (Inception)
BEST EDITING: Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Dante Ferretti (Shutter Island)
BEST SCORE: Rachel Portman (Never Let Me Go)
BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE: 44 Inch Chest
BODY OF WORK: Rebecca Hall (The Town, Please Give, Red Riding 1974)
KYLE COUNTS AWARD: Duncan Shepherd

Congrats to the winners and to SDFCS for including some of my favorites -- such as Winter's Bone, Toy Story 3, Shutter Island, Jennifer Lawrence and Duncan Shepherd (who recently retired after serving as the outstanding film critic for The San Diego Reader for almost 40 years!).

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Thursday, December 02, 2010

Leslie Nielsen, a Great Film Funnyman

My condolences to the family, friends and fans of Leslie Nielsen, who passed away last weekend. He was truly one of our great film funnymen.

According to Debbie Reynolds, we have her to thank for Mr. Nielsen's decision to go into comedy. During an interview on Movie Addict Headquarters last year, Debbie explained to me that she advised Leslie to try comedy while they were making
Tammy and the Bachelor early in his career -- at a time when he considered himself "a serious dramatic actor."

It's not surprising that Roger Ebert called Leslie Nielsen "the Laurence Olivier of spoofs." If you have any doubt about that, take another look at Airplane and The Naked Gun movies.

Leslie Nielsen will be greatly missed. But we're fortunate to have his hilarious performances recorded on film.

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