Olympic Tragedy

Sadly, an Olympic athlete has met an untimely end shortly before the opening ceremony. Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian Luger, crashed into a metal pole during a practice run and passed away. So sad to see someone so young (21) lose his life so senselessly. I guess this shows the impermanence of life. You just never know. At least Mr. Kumaritashvili was doing what he loved best.

NBCOlympics story.

Winter Olympics, Activate!

Finally, four years have passed and I can once again enjoy more winter sports in a concentrated period of time. There's just something about the Olympic Games that I love. My goal this year = 100 hours of viewing. Up tonight, the opening ceremonies. Won't be as good as the Beijing opening, but since the Winter Games are only about 1/5 as large as the Summer, the ceremony should be appropriately smaller.

Unexpected Enjoyment

As I've entered my late adolescence at 36, I find myself moving further and further away from enjoying most of the pop music released these days. Imagine my surprise when I came across and actually enjoyed this song. Maybe because it's a mash-up of two hits from growing up? Maybe because it's such a train wreck to watch, your eyes can't be brought to look away? Who knows, but it's stuck in my head.

Good Company

As I was watching Up in the Air about 2 weeks ago, I kept thinking that I had seen Anna Kendrick somewhere before.



Good intentions though do not mean instant actions, so the thought faded away for a while. As I was perusing the Oscar Nominations the other day, compiling my list of nominated films still to see (which by the by is 4: A Serious Man, Il Divo, Bright Star and Coco Before Chanel), seeing Anna's name reminded me that I wanted to see if I had caught her in anything else. So a quick trip to IMDB gave me the answer. Did I? It was only one of my favorite nights I've ever spent at the cinema...



She was Fritzi in Camp! And pretty much stole that movie, too. I saw Camp at a New Directors festival in NY. Nearly the entire cast was in attendance, and everyone cheered, laughed and applauded each high moment and performance on screen. Great night. So in honor of my discovery, I present to you Fritzi's shining moment in the film....



As an added bonus, here is my favorite performance from the film...



Not seen Camp? Shame! Go watch it ASAP.

Ad-Winner

The following gets my vote as best Advertisement of this year's Super Bowl

I've got Spirit...

The Independent Spirit Awards are being given out this year on March 5. As a voter, I have until February 22nd to cast my ballot for the winners. However, I haven't seen all of the films yet up for nomination. Has anyone reading this watched all of the films listed below (or at least the ones for Best Feature) and offer some insight? Does anyone have a favorite they'd like to champion? My vote cannot be bought, but a good argument can always sway one's mind.


BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
500 Days of Summer, Producers Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Mason Novick, Steven J. Wolfe
Amreeka, Producers Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin
Precious, Producers Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
Sin Nombre, Producer Amy Kaufman
The Last Station, Producers Chris Curling, Jens Meurer, Boonie Arnold

BEST DIRECTOR
The Coen Brothers for A Serious Man
Lee Daniels for Precious
Cary Fukunaga for Sin Nombre
James Grey for Two Lovers
Michael Hoffman for The Last Station

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
Easier With Practice
The Messenger
Paranormal Activity

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
Big Fan
Humpday
The New Year Parade
Treeless Mountain
Zero Bridge

BEST SCREENPLAY
Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman for The Messenger
Michael Hoffman for The Last Station
Lee Toland Krieger for The Vicious Kind
Greg Mottola for Adventureland
Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber for 500 Days of Summer

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Sophie Barthes for Cold Souls
Scott Cooper for Crazy Heart
Cherien Dabis for Amreeka
Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious
Tom Ford, David Scearce for A Single Man

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Maria Bello for Downloading Nancy
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Gwentyth Paltrow for Two Lovers
Gabby Sidibe for Precious
Nisreen Faour for Amreeka

BEST MALE LEAD
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Colin Firth for A Single Man
Joseph Gordon Levitt for 500 Days Of Summer
Souleymane Sy Savane for Goodbye Solo
Adam Scott for The Vicious Kind

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Dina Korzun for Cold Souls
Mo'Nique for Precious
Samantha Morton for The Messenger
Natalie Press for Fifty Dead Men Walking
Mia Wasikowska for That Evening Sun

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Jemaine Clements for Gentleman Broncos
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
Cristian McKay for Me And Orson Welles
Ramon McKinnon for That Evening Sun
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins for A Serious Man
Adriano Goldman for Sin Nombre
Anne Misawa for Treeless Mountain
Andrij Parekh for Cold Souls
Peter Zeitlinger for Bad Lieutenant

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
Anvil!
Food Inc
More Than a Game
October Country
Which Way Home

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
A Prophet
An Education
Everlasting Moments
Mother
The Maid