Veronica Mars

I can't believe that they are replacing the sexy and extremely talented Kristen Bell and her fucking amazing show Veronica Mars...



...with the trashy and very unnecessary Search for the New Pussycat Doll show. I am counting down the days until my beloved Veronica Mars comes back and nobody cares who the new Pussycat Doll is. Let me remind you how sexy Kristen Bell is, again.



Very nice.

Oh and I pray to God that they don't *u kno what* Veronica Mars. The ratings for this season have been the best so far and I know they have a full season order of 22 to finish with the six episodes left starting in May. I cant wait until May fucking 1st!! :)

Old Grades 5

• Crank
, dirs. Neveldine & Taylor B+

• The Unbearable Lightness of Being
, dir. P Kaufman D+

• Home of the Brave
, dir. Winkler B+

• Silent Hill
, dir. Gans B

• Miami Vice
, dir. M Mann C-

• Good Night and Good Luck
, dir. Clooney B+

• Children of Men
, dir. Cuaron A

• Blood and Chocolate
, dir. von Garnier C+

• Marie Antoinette
, dir. Coppola A-

• Pan's Labyrinth
, dir. Del Toro A+

• The Queen
, dir. Frears A-

• Factory Girl
, dir. Hickenlooper A

• Deja Vu
, dir. T Scott B

• Little Children
, dir. Field A+

Oscar Winners

*Winners in bold

Best Picture

Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

YAY! I knew that The Departed would win. Even though I would have prefered Babel, The Departed was excellent as well and I am very happy with the Academy's choice.

Best Director

Clint Eastwood- Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears- The Queen
Paul Greengrass- United 93
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- Babel
Martin Scorsese- The Departed

Finally, Marty has won an Oscar. Seeing him so happy up there on the podium filled me with glee.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Leonardo DiCaprio- Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling- Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole- Venus
Will Smith- The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker- The Last King of Scotland

Forest Whitaker took this and I applaud him on improving his speech after the GG and SAG disasters.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Penelope Cruz- Volver
Judi Dench- Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren- The Queen
Meryl Streep- The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet- Little Children

Helen Mirren (obviously) took the Oscar for The Queen. She is such a funny woman and she was hilarious while being elegant at the same. Her salute to Queen Elizabeth was a nice touch.

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley- Little Children
Djimon Hounsou- Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy- Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg- The Departed

Big Surprise here. I thought Eddie Murphy would edge out Arkin, but I guess not. Even though Murphy's performance was better than Arkin's, Arkin's was still very good.

Best Supporting Actress

Adriana Barraza- Babel
Cate Blanchett- Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi- Babel

I am so glad that Jennifer Hudson took this even though I liked Barraza's performance better. Hudson just shone in Dreamgirls and she rose to a grander level than the one it was already at.

Best Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt- Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan- The Departed
Best Animated Feature: Happy Feet
Best Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Cinematography: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Costume Design: Marie Antoinette
Best Film Editing: The Departed
Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Original Song: I Need To Wake Up- An Inconvenient Truth
Best Original Score: Babel
Best Makeup: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing: Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Visual Effects: Pirates 2
Best Foreign Film: The Lives of Others
Best Animated Short: The Danish Poet
Best Live-Action Short: Binta & the Great Idea
Best Documentary Short: Blood of Yingzhou District

My final score is 15/24 (63%) which is a C. Meh. Not bad. That's what most people got anyways so its all good. :)

Oscar Predictions

Best Picture

Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Winner: The Departed
Alternate: Little Miss Sunshine
My Vote: Babel

To me, Babel is the best picture of the year. However, I feel that a Martin Scorsese pic is the right choice for this year and plus, it's a close second for me behind Babel. Little Miss Sunshine does have the chance for an upset with the PGA and the SAG behind it.

Best Director

Clint Eastwood- Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears- The Queen
Paul Greengrass- United 93
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- Babel
Martin Scorsese- The Departed

Winner: Martin Scorsese- The Departed
Alternate: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- Babel
My Vote: Martin Scorsese- The Departed

Marty has been overdue for a billion years and he should get his due recognition tonight. If he doesn't......it would be a MAJOR travesty. His direction of The Departed was masterful.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Leonardo DiCaprio- Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling- Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole- Venus
Will Smith- The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker- The Last King of Scotland

Winner: Forest Whitaker- The Last King of Scotland
Alternate: Peter O'Toole- Venus
My Vote: Leonardo DiCaprio- The Depa......Blood Diamond?

Forest Whitaker is going to take this tonight. Even though I haven't seen his performance yet, there is no denying that he has made an amazing impression with critics. My vote would go to Leo. I'm just gonna pretend that it says The Departed next to his name instead of Blood Diamond.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Penelope Cruz- Volver
Judi Dench- Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren- The Queen
Meryl Streep- The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet- Little Children

Winner: Helen Mirren- The Queen (DUH!)
Alternate: Meryl Streep- The Devil Wears Prada
My Vote: Kate Winslet- Little Children

Helen Mirren will be crowned for The Queen tonight. Receiving over 20 critics awards is a sure sign that she is going to win tonight. Meryl Streep doesn't have a chance at all, but if there were chances she would have one. To me, Kate Winslet gave a career defining performance in Little Children. While Mirren was great, Winslet was extraordinary.

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley- Little Children
Djimon Hounsou- Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy- Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg- The Departed

Winner: Eddie Murphy- Dreamgirls
Alternate: Alan Arkin- Little Miss Sunshine
My Vote: Jackie Earle Haley- Little Children

Eddie Murphy did win the Golden Globe and the Screen Actor, so I think he has a good shot at winning this. Alan Arkin recently won the BAFTA and he could upset Murphy. My vote goes to Jackie Earle Haley for giving a creepy but deeply sad performance in Little Children. Making a sex offender a sympathetic character is no easy task and Haley fulfills it marvelously.

Best Supporting Actress

Adriana Barraza- Babel
Cate Blanchett- Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi- Babel

Winner: Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls
Alternate: Abigail Breslin- Little Miss Sunshine
My Vote: Adriana Barraza- Babel

Jennifer Hudson is as sure of a lock as Mirren is. This is a true breakout, star making performance. She comes in a close second place for me. First place, however, is Adriana Barraza's heartbreaking and devastating work in Babel. Her last scene, in particular, just floored me. If there was any chance for an upset, it would go to Abigail Breslin for her endearing and heartwarming work in Little Miss Sunshine.

Best Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt- Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan- The Departed
Best Animated Feature: Cars
Best Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Cinematography: Children of Men
Best Costume Design: Marie Antoinette
Best Film Editing: The Departed
Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Original Song: Listen- Dreamgirls
Best Original Score: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Makeup: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing: Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Visual Effects: Pirates 2
Best Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Animated Short: The Little Match Girl
Best Live-Action Short: West Bank Story
Best Documentary Short: Recycled Life

Top 10 of 2005: #3

November dir. Greg Harrison

I never thought a 73 minute movie would affect me as much as November did. Not only is it challenging and perplexing, it also offers Courteney Cox's best performance to date. November takes us through a moment in Sophie Jacob's (Cox) life. She and her boyfriend (James LeGros) stop at a corner store to get some food. Sophie persuades Hugh to go in and get her some chocolate while she waits in the car. As Hugh is ready to purchase the chocolate, a robber comes in and he is gunned down. Meanwhile Sophie doesn't notice a thing in the car, while getting a call from her lover Jesse (Michael Ealy). With Hugh dead, Sophie seems to enter a state of depression. Daily visits to a psychiatrist (Nora Dunn) and dinner with her mother (Anne Archer) do nothing to help. What also adds to the distress is while teaching a photography class, Sophie finds a picture of herself waiting in her car, outside of the store, on the night of Hugh's death in a slide. This is when November starts to go haywire on us. To say anything more would be ruining the experience, so I'll stop. Greg Harrison directs this movie fantastically and with the movie's muddy green tint, it adds to the experience. The screenplay by Benjamin Brand is taut and exciting, never letting up from the tension and suspense. Courteney Cox gives an excellent performance. Shedding every inch of "Monica", Cox gives a strong and mysterious performance as Sophie. She knows this character inside and out and fully fleshes her out on the screen. LeGros, Ealy, Dunn and Archer are all great as well with their small but vital characters. This movie is a great one and really makes you think long and hard after watching it. One of the best psychological thrillers I have ever seen and a compact masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Another (Unofficial) Top 10

1.Babel (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
2.Little Children (Todd Field)
3.World Trade Center (Oliver Stone)
4.The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
5.Akeelah and the Bee (Doug Atchison)
6.The Descent (Neil Marshall)
7.Dreamgirls (Bill Condon)
8.Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris)
9.Factory Girl (George Hickenlooper)
10.A Prairie Home Companion (Robert Altman)

Still more movies to see..... :)

My Personal Awards (so far)

Best Picture

Akeelah and the Bee
Babel
The Departed
Little Children
World Trade Center

Best Director

Todd Field- Little Children
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- Babel
Neil Marshall- The Descent
Martin Scorsese- The Departed
Oliver Stone- World Trade Center

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Sacha Baron Cohen- Borat
Matt Damon- The Departed
Leonardo DiCaprio- The Departed
Hugh Jackman- The Fountain
Patrick Wilson- Little Children

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Julianne Moore- Freedomland
Ellen Page- Hard Candy
KeKe Palmer- Akeelah and the Bee
Meryl Streep- The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet- Little Children

Best Supporting Actor

Steve Carell- Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley- Little Children
Eddie Murphy- Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson- The Departed
Brad Pitt- Babel

Best Supporting Actress

Adriana Barraza- Babel
Abigail Breslin- Little Miss Sunshine
Maggie Gyllenhaal- World Trade Center
Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi- Babel

Best Actor in a Limited or Cameo Role

Bryan Cranston- Little Miss Sunshine
Joe Pesci- The Good Shepherd
Tim Russell- A Prairie Home Companion
Paul Walker- Flags of Our Fathers
Koji Yakusho- Babel

Best Actress in a Limited or Cameo Role

Jane Adams- Little Children
Jennifer Connelly- Little Children
Viola Davis- World Trade Center
Mia Kirshner- The Black Dahlia
Phyllis Somerville- Little Children

Best Adapted Screenplay

Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer- Borat
William Monahan- The Departed
Bill Condon- Dreamgirls
Todd Field & Tom Perrota- Little Children
Garrison Keillor- A Prairie Home Companion

Best Original Screenplay

Doug Atchison- Akeelah and the Bee
Guillermo Arriaga- Babel
Neil Marshall- The Descent
Darren Aronofsky- The Fountain
Michael Arndt- Little Miss Sunshine

When I see all movies that I need to see, more categories will be added and some of the above categories will change :)

Old Grades 4

The Fountain

, dir. Aronofsky A

A Prairie Home Companion

, dir. Altman A

Babel

, dir. Iñárritu A+

Sorry, Haters

, dir. Stanzler C

The Black Dahlia

, dir. De Palma C

Little Miss Sunshine

, dirs. Dayton & Faris A

The Good Shepherd

, dir. De Niro A-

Flags of Our Fathers

, dir. Eastwood A

Dreamgirls

, dir. Condon A

Saw III

, dir. Bousman A

Saw II

, dir. Bousman A

Saw

, dir. Wan A

The Pursuit of Happyness

, dir. Muccino B+

Final Destination 3

, dir. Wong A

Oscar Predictions (w/ Actual Nominees)

My Predictions- Normal writing. Actual Nominees- Bold writing

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Leonardo DiCaprio- The Departed
Ryan Gosling- Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole- Venus
Will Smith- The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker- The Last King of Scotland

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Leonardo DiCaprio- Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling- Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole- Venus
Will Smith- The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker- The Last King of Scotland

I got 4.5/5 of the noms. I got Leo for a nominee, just not for the right movie lol. Happy with 4 of the noms. Leos performance from The Departed should have been nominated.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Penelope Cruz- Volver
Judi Dench- Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren- The Queen
Meryl Streep- The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet- Little Children

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Penelope Cruz- Volver
Judi Dench- Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren- The Queen
Meryl Streep- The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet- Little Children

Easily got 5/5. These have been the 5 nominees throughout the whole season. Nothing was going to change that. Happy with all 5 of these nominees.

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley- Little Children
Brad Pitt- Babel
Eddie Murphy- Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson- The Departed

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley- Little Children
Djimon Hounsou- Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy- Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg- The Departed

I got 3/5 of the nominations. From the clips I have seen, Hounsou's performance looks like he is screaming and crying the whole time. Mark Wahlberg's performance was very good, but Jack Nicholson's was amazing.

Best Supporting Actress

Adriana Barraza- Babel
Cate Blanchett- Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi- Babel

Best Supporting Actress

Adriana Barraza- Babel
Cate Blanchett- Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin- Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi- Babel

I got 5/5 here. This was also a fairly easy category to predict. With Emily Blunt really being the only spoiler, these nominees were for sure. I am happy with all of them.

Best Director

Bill Condon- Dreamgirls
Stephen Frears- The Queen
Paul Greengrass- United 93
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- Babel
Martin Scorsese- The Departed

Best Director

Clint Eastwood- Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears- The Queen
Paul Greengrass- United 93
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- Babel
Martin Scorsese- The Departed

I got 4/5 of the nominations here. I honestly thought Eastwood was dead after he didn't pick up a DGA nomination, but I was wrong. I really wanted Condon to get in here. Happy with the rest of the noms, especially Greengrass who really deserved it.

Best Picture

Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Best Picture

Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

I got 4/5 of the nominations here as well. Never underestimate Clint Eastwood. Feel bad for Dreamgirls.