The 83rd Annual Academy Awards

As you've probably heard by now, The King's Speech was a big winner. This British production took home awards for best original screenplay, best actor, best director, and best picture. Although The King's Speech was a good film, I chose The Social Network as best picture. Natalie Portman won a well deserved oscar for her performance in Black Swan. Inception managed to score honors in sound mixing, sound editing, special effects, and cinematography. The biggest upset of the night came for me when The King's Speech director Tom Hooper beat The Social Network's David Fincher for best director. The most well deserved award of the night in my opinion, was Aaron Sorkin's win for best adapted screenplay for his work on The Social Network. In his speech, Sorkin mentioned the honor in receiving an Academy Award just like Paddy Chayefsky did in 1976 for his film, Network. Melissa Leo won best supporting actress, however the real show was not her acceptance speech, but rather the humor of the award's presenter, 94 year old screen icon, Kirk Douglas. That wraps up another year in film history. Hopefully 2011 will bare films as good as some of the ones in 2010.

The Top Ten Films of 2010

With 2010 over, and the Academy Awards at the end of the month, I decided to post my top ten films of 2010.

1. Animal Kingdom
2. Black Swan
3. The Social Network
4. Winter's Bone
5. The Fighter
6. True Grit
7. Inception
8. The King's Speech
9. The Kids Are All Right
10. Toy Story 3

Don't Tread Past Me! Frequently Overlooked Classics

I recently saw the new film Animal Kingdom. Despite being a fantastic film, it received very little attention here in the United States. This film got me thinking about other films that have been passed by despite being excellent. Here's a list of films you probably didn't see, but are definitely worth checking out.

1. Animal Kingdom (2010) (Australia)
2. Onibaba (1964) (Japan)
3. Blood Simple (1984) (USA)
4. Choke (2008) (USA)
5. Death at a Funeral (2007) (Britain)
6. The Ice Stom (1997) (USA)
7. American Buffalo (1996) (USA)
8. Barry Lyndon (1975) (USA)
9. Following (1998) (Britain)
10. Miller's Crossing (1990) (USA)

Academy Awards 2011

The Academy Awards are on February 27th. They will be celebrating the best in filmmaking from the year 2010. The nominees were announced last Tuesday. Here are my picks for the winners.

Best Picture- The Social Network

Best Director- David Fincher (The Social Network)

Best Actor- Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Best Actress Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Best Supporting Actor- Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Best Supporting Actress- Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Best Foreign Language Film- Biutiful (Mexico)

Best Documentary Feature- Restrepo

Best Animated Feature- Toy Story 3

Best Film Editing- Andrew Weisblum (Black Swan)

Best Visual Effects- Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb (Inception)

Best Original Song- "We Belong Together" (Toy Story 3)

Best Original Score- A.R. Rahman (127 Hours)

Best Cinematography- Matthew Libatique (Black Swan)

Best Sound Mixing- Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novic (Inception)

Best Sound Editing- Richard King (Inception)

Best Costume Design- Jenny Beavan (The King's Speech)

Best Art Direction- Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay- Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Best Original Screenplay- David Seidler (The King's Speech)

Best Makeup- The Wolfman

Ten Great Directors, and Five Great Films they've made

Here are my ten favorite directors, and my five favorite films each of them has made.

The Coen Brothers
1. The Big Lebowski (1998)
2. No Country For Old Men (2007)
3. Burn After Reading (2008)
4. Fargo (1996)
5. True Grit (2010)

Quentin Tarantino
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
3. Kill Bill Pt 2 (2004)
4. Kill Bill Pt 1 (2003)
5. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Akira Kurosawa
1. Seven Samurai (1954)
2. Rashomon (1950)
3. Ran (1985)
4. Kagemusha (1980)
5. Stray Dog (1949)

Francis Ford Coppola
1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Apocalypse Now (1979)
3. The Godfather Pt II (1974)
4. The Conversation (1974)
5. Dracula (1992)

David Lynch
1. Blue Velvet (1986)
2. Eraserhead (1976)
3. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
4. Mulhollad Drive (2001)
5. Dune (1984)

Paul Thomas Anderson
1. Boogie Nights (1997)
2. There Will Be Blood (2007)
3. Magnolia (1999)
4. Hard Eight (1996)
5. Punch Drunk Love (2002)

Stanley Kubrick
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. Barry Lyndon (1975)
3. The Shining (1980)
4. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
5. Spartacus (1960)

Martin Scorsese
1. Goodfellas (1990)
2. The Departed (2006)
3. Taxi Driver (1976)
4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. Casino (1995)

Christopher Nolan
1. Memento (2000)
2. The Dark Knight (2007)
3. Inception (2009)
4. Insomnia (2002)
5. Batman Begins (2005)

Alfred Hitchcock
1. Vertigo (1958)
2. Psycho (1960)
3. Rear Window (1954)
4. North by Northwest (1959)
5. Notorious (1946)

25 Modern Classics

I decided, after choosing ten classics for a film aficionado, to select ten more modern classics. These films were released within the last 25 years, were, and continue to be popular and acclaimed, and thus far into their short history, have avoided fading into cultural insignificance.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. Goodfellas (1990)
3. Boogie Nights (1997)
4. Fargo (1996)
5. Blue Velvet (1986)
6. Memento (2000)
7. The Departed (2006)
8. The Big Lebowski (1998)
9. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
10. Burn After Reading (2008)
11. The Social Network (2010)
12. Kill Bill Pts 1 & 2 (2003-2004)
13. No Country For Old Men (2007)
14. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
15. The Matrix (1999)
16. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
17. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
18. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
19. Back to the Future (1985)
20. Die Hard (1988)
21. Toy Story (1995)
22. The Dark Knight (2007)
23. Gladiator (2000)
24. There Will Be Blood (2007)
25. Office Space (1999)

How to become a film aficionado: Ten Essential Classics

Having trouble getting into film? Here are ten great classic films that will open you up to legendary directors and get you in the middle of hard core film discussions right away.

1.The Godfather (1972) (USA)
2. Citizen Kane (1941) (USA)
3. Rashomon (1950) (Japan)
4. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) (USA)
5. The Seventh Seal (1957) (Sweeden)
6. Breathless (1960) (France)
7. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) (Italy)
8. Easy Rider (1969) (USA)
9. Pulp Fiction (1994) (USA)
10. Goodfellas (1990) (USA)

The Results Are In. And The Film of the Year Is...

Colin Firth gave a great performance in The King's Speech. Christopher Nolan broke new ground in his unorthodox thriller, Inception. Darren Aronofsky's direction of Black Swan was one of the best we've seen in the 2000s. But the film that will be remembered from 2010, the year's defining work, is The Social Network. Winning Golden Globes for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Drama Motion Picture, The Social Network also managed to score quite well in the Critic's Choice Awards, winning Best Picture there as well. Although the Academy Awards will ultimately decide which film is the best film of the year, it's hard to think that The Social Network will fail to continue its winning streak.

The Five Things I'm most excited to see in the film world in 2011

With 2011 already upon us, many rumors and early information about projects for the year are circulating. Here's the five things I'll be most anxious to see.

1. The Wolverine
Following up on a stunning directorial feat in 2010's Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky is signed to direct this film about the X-Men's Wolverine visiting Japan.

2. The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick, director of Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line, has signed prolific actors Sean Penn and Brad Pitt to work on his latest film, a drama about relationships between members of a 1950s American family.

3. Criterion Collection Releases
The Criterion Collection is one of the finest DVD releasing companies with films like Seven Samurai, The Rules of the Game, and Breathless in their collection. 2011 looks to be a great year for them, with possible releases like Broadcast News, Kiss Me Deadly, Carlos, and Everything you wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask.

4. The Hangover 2
This follow up to the funniest film of 2009 should prove to be equally hilarious.

5. Jack and Jill
Adam Sandler is sharing the screen with legend Al Pacino in this new comedy. The dynamic between the two should be interesting to say the least.

Ten Films that made me love Film

Maybe you are just beginning to have an interest in film as you stumble upon this blog. My interest in film was sparked chiefly by watching them. Here are ten films that made me love films.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction is a film that I think anyone can appreciate. The film is crammed with great dialogue and memorable characters. While there is enough action to satisfy any audience, this film also has a deeper layer, holding a powerful story of redemption. After seeing Pulp Fiction, my mind was made up. I loved the movies.

2. Platoon (1986)
Platoon delivers an intense emotional shock through its gritty portrayal of relationships between soldiers in the Vietnam War. This was the film that showed me how powerful a story can be when it is shown on the screen. This film sparked my desire to see more films, in hope that others would measure up to this mark.

3. The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather is amongst the greatest films of all time. It served to reinforce how powerful a medium film is. The tale of Michael Corleone's descent from war hero to mafia boss is staggeringly told in this classic portrait of the seedy under belly of America.

4. Ed Wood (1994)
This film recounts the exploits of the so called worst director of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr. Rather than spend time taking cheap shots at Ed Wood, director Tim Burton shows the eccentric Ed Wood as a man who truly loved all that cinema had to offer. Seeing a man who loved film so much that he did anything he could do to put on another production inspired me to refuse to abandon hope as I marched forward in pursuit of a filmmaking career.

5. Up in the Air (2009)
In 2009, America was weary of the recession and reaching out in hopes of making a connection. Up in the Air was such a tremendous film for me because it captured all of the fears, doubts, and hopes of that time.

6. The Deer Hunter (1978)
This film's stingingly tragic end struck me in a way only a great film can ever manage to accomplish. The cripplingly real story of friends torn apart by war seized me and once again reminded me of the strength of a film.

7. Memento (2000)
Memento is undoubtedly one of the most innovative films of all time. The method in which the story is told is stunningly unique and makes for one great film. Memento opened me up to the endless possibilities of storytelling through film.

8. Ran (1985)
A late life masterpiece from director Akira Kurosawa, Ran is lush with color and epic in scope. Kurosawa's camera angles and directorial style showed me the storytelling advantages that can only be taken advantage of by a filmmaker.

9. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
This film stunned me in its creation. I was baffled by how a director could make a space ship look so realistic when mankind had yet to set foot on the moon. 2001: A Space Odyssey opened me up to the fact that there are no limits in filmmaking.

10. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
The final showdown in this epic spaghetti western is among the best shot sequences in all of film. Only through a masterful use of the camera was such an epic cinematic feat possible.

The Top Ten Film Adaptations of Shakespeare Plays

Many of Shakespeare's plays have been adapted into films. Here's my picks for the ten best adaptations.

1. Ran (1985)- based on King Lear
2. Hamlet (1996)- based on Hamlet
3.Hamlet (1948)- based on Hamlet
4. Scotland P.A. (2001)- based on Macbeth
5. Throne of Blood (1957)- based on Macbeth
6. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)- based on Much Ado About Nothing
7. My Own Private Idaho (1992)- based on Henry IV
8. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996)- based on Romeo and Juliet
9. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999)- based on a Midsummer Night’s Dream
10. The Forbidden Planet (1956)- based on The Tempest

Film Years: The Good, The Bad, and 1975

Earlier in this year, many critics dubbed it, "The Worst Film Year Ever." While they have been largely quieted by the successes of The King's Speech, The Social Network, and Black Swan, among others, it is still a good opportunity to discuss some notoriously good and notoriously bad film years.

1953
This was a horrendous year, it's only decent offering being Julius Caesar. While avoiding good films, 1953 managed to rack up such garbage as the undeniably cheesy western, Shane, How to Marry a Millionaire, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, both lackluster cookie cutter Marilyn Monroe vehicles, and Hondo, an easily forgettable and mind numbingly predictable John Wayne film.

1969
With classic films like Midnight Cowboy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Wild Bunch, and Easy Rider, 1969 was a defining year of the American New Wave of Filmmaking and a year that will go down in the history books.

1975
A year marked by such immortal films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Barry Lyndon, Nashville, and Dog Day Afternoon, 1975 continued to display the great works that defined the American New Wave, and planted the seeds of the Hollywood Blockbuster in its most famous film, Jaws.

1976
One of the finest years in film history, 1976 saw the release of Rocky, All The President's Men, Network, and Taxi Driver. While some of the films of 1976 have fallen into a pit of cultural insignificance, they remain important documents of America as the nation finished its second century.

1983
While Terms of Endearment and Return of the Jedi managed to keep this year from being a disaster, few other films released in 1983 held any lasting interest.

1995
Braveheart and Toy Story were undoubtedly classics, but 1995 was brought down by weak films like Batman Forever, Casper, Die Hard With a Vengeance, and the infamous flop, Waterworld.

1999
American Beauty, Magnolia, The Sixth Sense, The Green Mile, The Matrix, Fight Club, and cult favorite Being John Malovich were all released in this stunningly good year.

2009
In 2009 the Academy changed the number of best picture nominees from 5 to 10 films to fit all the great films released that year. Up in the Air, Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, An Education, Up, Precious, and A Serious Man were all products of 2009.

While some years are good and some are bad, even the worst years have a few redeeming films. And even the best years have to suffer a few Waterworlds.

Golden Globe Picks

They recently announced the nominees for the 2010 Golden Globes. Since this is a film blog, I neglected to post my opinions on the television awards. Nonetheless, here are my picks for the film awards in the Golden Globes.

Best Picture- Drama: Black Swan

Best Picture- Comedy or Musical: The Kids Are All Right

Best Actor- Drama: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)

Best Actor- Comedy or Musical: Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version)

Best Actress- Drama: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Best Actress- Comedy or Musical: Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)

Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)

Best Supporting Actress: Mila Kunis (Black Swan)

Best Director: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)

Best Screenplay: The Kids Are All Right

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3

Best Original Song: “Coming Home” (Country Strong)

Best Original Score: 127 Hours

Best Foreign Language Film: Biutiful

The Ten Best Films you've never seen

1. Straw Dogs (1971)
Director Sam Peckinpah, better known for his 1969 film, The Wild Bunch, is on the top of his game in this 1971 thriller. Dustin Hoffman plays a timid American who finds himself harassed by local thugs upon moving to Britain with his wife. The film culminates in a bloody siege of Hoffman's house, in which Hoffman finally decides to settle things by violence. Controversial for a perceived pro-violence message, this gritty classic is worth the difficulty you may have in finding it.

2. The Conversation (1974)
This film, from director Francis Ford Coppola, is often overshadowed by Coppola's The Godfather Pt II, released in the same year. Although this film is far less popular, it is definitely worth checking out. Coppola's original screenplay examines the dangers in monitoring others. Gene Hackman gives one of the best performances of his career as the complex and paranoid snoop, Harry Caul.

3. Alphaville (1965)
In this unorthodox film noir, Jean Luc Godard, director of Breathless, creates a nightmarish future city and a hardboiled wise guy trying to tear it all down. The film is almost like blending Roman Polanski's Chinatown with Orwell's novel, 1984. Utilizing the jump cuts that made Godard famous, this film is an interesting take on a classic genre.

4. El Mariachi (1992)
Everyone has heard of director Robert Rodriguez and his films like Spy Kids, or his most recent film, Machete. Few though, have heard of Rodriguez's first film El Mariachi. Made for a microscopic budget Rodriguez earned from a stay in a research hospital, the film twists the classic tale of mistaken identity from goofy comedy to brutal action.

5.Happiness (1998)
Despised by many for it's comedic treatment of controversial subjects, Happiness was avoided by many mainstream filmgoers. Raunchy and candid in its subject matter, Happiness manages to deal with very tough topics without having a cruel tone. The story concerns a group of people whose sex lives are not quite normal. If you have a strong stomach and aren't easily offended, Happiness might be a great film for you.

6. My Dinner With Andre (1981)
This film might seem incredibly boring. The plot is nonexistent, with the whole film consisting entirely of a dinner conversation. That aside, this is a stunningly original work with unorthodox insights on the human condition and its relation to the theater.

7. Onibaba (1964)
This stunningly shot Japanese horror film is among the best films to ever be produced in the land of the rising sun. When a young woman who lives with her mother in law learns that her husband has been killed in a war, the young woman begins to have a relationship with her late husband's best friend, only to be haunted by a demon. The cinematography is amazingly well done, particularly in the horrific chase through a field of tall grass during a hellish thunderstorm.

8. Two Lane Blacktop (1971)
Part road race film, part reflection on speed and human nature, Two Lane Blacktop is a staggeringly well written work. With characters simply known as the driver, the mechanic, the girl, and GTO, director Monte Hellman crafts a wonderful tale of youth, speed, and the dangers of both of them.

9. Army of Shadows (1969)
Master director Jean Pierre Melville reintroduces us to the French Resistance during the Second World War with this dramatic thriller. Melville's men and women of the resistance find great turmoil not only struggling with the Third Reich but with their own moral choices and the consequences of their choice to take a stand.

10. Secret Honor (1984)
Phillip Baker Hall steals the show in Robert Altman's one actor film about the life of Richard Milhous Nixon. Hall's Nixon sits secluded in his study dictating a secret autobiography that covers his whole presidency, and all the people who tried to bring him down. Hall gives one of the best screen performances of all time, often breaking his lamenting soliloquy with a fit of rage.

House (Japan) (1977)

House is perhaps the strangest horror film I have seen. The plot concerns a group of young girls at a haunted house whose furniture attacks them. Filmed in lush colors with less than dazzling special effects, this is far from being a standard horror film. Anyone looking for a more adventurous Halloween film, who isn't afraid to step outside the box of horror film conventions will enjoy this off-the-beaten-path classic of Japanese cinema.

Gore Rating:
7/10

Scare Rating:
7/10

Overall Rating:
8/10

Halloween (1978) (USA)

Halloween is truly an American horror classics. Eighteen years after Alfred Hitchcock's influential masterpiece, Psycho, this film took the premise of the psychotic serial killer and reinvented it into the Slasher film. A young Jamie Lee Curtis stars as a girl who is stalked by infamous killer, Michael Myers. Legendary director John Carpenter made this iconic film, whose style would be imitated in such films as Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and many others.

Gore Rating:
7/10

Scare Rating:
7/10

Overall Rating:
8/10

Nosferatu (1922) (Germany)

Nosferatu was the first film to introduce the most legendary of all horror icons, Dracula. After being originally written by Bram Stoker, Dracula was adapted to film in this silent classic from 1922. Although the film quality has faded over the years, this film is still terrifying just short of a century later. Anyone looking for a more classic approach to halloween should try this film.

Gore Rating:
0/10

Scare Rating:
7/10

Overall Rating:
7/10

Slumber Party Massacre (1982) (USA)

Slumber Party Massacre is one of the cheesiest horror films ever made. From the Pizza man arriving dead to the drill wielding psycho, Slumber Party Massacre delivers the classic cult slasher feel like no other film can. Filled with scenes of screaming high school girls, this film will thrill anyone who loves Piranha or similar movies. The plotlessness and completely ridiculous screenplay may make some viewers who favor more high brow works thoroughly frustrated.

Gore Rating:
9/10

Scare Rating:
6/10

Overall Rating:
5/10

Onibaba (1965) (Japan)

Onibaba is among the most interesting horror films I have ever seen. The story is about a recently widowed woman who begins to have relations with her late husband's best friend, only to be haunted later by her mother in law. The film is mainly shot at night in very tall grass, making for some spectacular cinematography. The nightmarish scenes of frenzied running through the dark field are stunningly horrific.This film is a little off the beaten path. In fact, unless you're a Japanese film buff, you've probably never heard of it. That aside, it's well worth the hunt to find this gem.

Gore Rating:
4/10

Scare Rating:
7/10

Overall Rating:
9/10

Halloween Horror Films

For Halloween, I will be posting about various horror movies, from horror classics to foreign horror films to cult films. I will introduce and rate the films based on scariness, gore, and overall quality.