Sunday, February 26, 2012

Final Score: 11 for 24.

Time I've now effectively lost never to get back: 3 hours 10 minutes.


At least I closed out the big four with a perfect record. Not that they were all that difficult to pick.

That's not so bad. Other than the opening sequence and the Cirque Du Soleil thing, it was a relatively TAME telecast. Chris Rock wasn't even that controversial, well, he wasn't. His hair on the other hand...brother what happened?

Kind of saw the shadow of J-lo's nipple. I missed it, had to catch it on TMZ.

The film Colin Firth and Michelle Williams appeared in together when she was "12" - A Thousand Acres. Haven't seen it.

If I had remember that Christopher Plummer wasn't even nominated for A Sound of Music I would have chosen him instead of Max Von Sydow. Oh well.

First time in ages that we've actually seen the Best Picture of the year.


Upcoming

* My take on Topps Baseball's Golden Giveaway (Quick Preview: Meh!)
* A new Doctor Who Review
* Maybe a new Doctor Who Photo Comic
* Maybe a preview of the 2012 Angels?
and the obligatory Much, Much More!

Oscars 2012 results so far

Yeah, I'm not doing so hot. 7 out of 20 so far, with the big four to go.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
WINNER: Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
I chose Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
I chose Benice Bejo in "The Artist"
WINNER: Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
I chose WINNER: "Rango" Gore Verbinski

ART DIRECTION
I chose WINNER: "Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo

CINEMATOGRAPHY
I chose "The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
WINNER: "Hugo" Robert Richardson

COSTUME DESIGN
I chose WINNER: "The Artist" Mark Bridges

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
I chose "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
WINNER: "Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)
I chose: "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
WINNER: "Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

FILM EDITING
I chose "The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
WINNER: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
I chose WINNER: "A Separation" Iran

MAKEUP
I chose WINNER: "The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
I chose WINNER: "The Artist" Ludovic Bource

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
WINNER: "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
I chose "Real in Rio"from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett


SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
WINNER: "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
I chose "La Luna" Enrico Casarosa

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
I chose WINNER: "The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George

SOUND EDITING
WINNER: "Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
I chose "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl

SOUND MIXING
I chose "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
WINNER: "Hugo" Tom Fleischman and John Midgley

VISUAL EFFECTS
WINNER: "Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
I chose "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
WINNER: "The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
I chose "Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
I chose "The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
WINNER: "Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen

1 for 2 so far.

Hugo has won both Cinematography and Art Direction. I picked the latter, missed the former. For those scoring at home batting .500.

Last Minute Oscar Picks

84th Annual Academy Awards
My last minute picks are Double Starred. It's starting RIGHT NOW.


Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
**Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
**Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
**Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Actress in a Supporting Role
**Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

Directing
**"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

Best Picture
**"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Nominees to be determined
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
**"Rango" Gore Verbinski

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
**"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
**"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

Art Direction
"The Artist"
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
**"Hugo"
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris"
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse"
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
**"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
"Hugo" Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
**"The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E." Arianne Phillips


Documentary (Feature)
"Hell and Back Again"
Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
**"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Pina"
Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
"Undefeated"
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)
**"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad"
James Spione
"Saving Face"
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"
Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen


Film Editing
**"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen


Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
**"A Separation" Iran



Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
**"The Iron Lady"
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland




Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
**"The Artist" Ludovic Bource
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams

Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
**"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett


Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
**"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby



Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
**"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø



Sound Editing
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
**"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom


Sound Mixing
**"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
"Hugo"
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
"Moneyball"
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
"War Horse"
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson



Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
"Hugo"
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
"Real Steel"
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
**"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Superbowl Live Blogging Cancelled

I have company over, it would be RUDE to live blog during the game.

So it's cancelled. I know you're all disappointed.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Superbowl XLVI Live Blogging

For the third or fourth straight year I will be live-blogging my view of the Superbowl from my wonderful PAID-OFF Tempur-Pedic bed in front of my 46" Plasma, watching in HD this year.

Grub will be a CPK Frozen Pizza, Frozen TGI Fridays Mozzarella Sticks, Chips and fresh Guac. You're welcome to come over but it ain't gonna be no party.

I'm picking the Giants to win, it's the glamour pick - which means if I follow my own past will be the wrong pick.

So tune in tomorrow.

Doctor Who Review - Story #117 - 5B "Four to Doomsday"

I will admit it, I have the Doctor Who bug again. Doesn't everyone get a bug up their butt about something every now and then? Plus it feels good to write something. Anything.

I recently decided to vary my Classic Doctor Who viewing, mostly because since there's so many stories out there (over 200 so far) and the show has been on for so long, if you decide to view in a certain order the entire thing can get overwhelming. What I've been doing is taking a sampling of all the different Doctors. As you know I already reviewed a whole season's worth of the Fourth Doctor stories, so when I came back to Classic Who I thought I might try someone different and looked at the First Doctor's first serial. The problem with the First Doctor is that not all the episodes are available easily and some are frankly missing (there are missing episodes in each Doctor's run until the Fourth Doctor). So I moved on to the Fifth Doctor.

After enjoying his first serial Castrovalva I wanted to delve right back into another story, one that was a bit more, well, standard fare. The introductory episodes of a new Doctor always feel a bit off, in that since the personality isn't really established anything goes. The interesting thing with the current incarnation of the Doctor, Matt Smith, is that anything goes for the entire run with him.

"Four to Doomsday" starts off with the TARDIS materializing inside of a giant spaceship, complete with the Star Wars-esque long opening shot of the giant cruiser. The Doctor puts on a silly helmet which is supposed to let him breathe and steps out into a room filled with all sorts of scientific devices. He discovers that he's being watched, and our villains are introduced. Appearance wise they are similar to the Vogons of Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, who as we all know or should know was a former script editor for Doctor Who. Oh and when I say Vogons, I mean the ones from the ORIGINAL BBC television version, not the ones from the Hollywood Movie (which I rather like, but I digress). They hail from the planet Urbanka, are aptly named Monarch, Enlightenment, and Persuasion. Shortly after introducing themselves our heroes are given a warm welcome and asked to assist Monarch in his plan to relocate the entire Urbankan population to Earth.


Vogon Prostethic ...err...oops, Monarch


The Doctor then discovers that Monarch has been preparing Earth by snatching up whole tribes or small cities over their previous visits. He enlists an Ancient Greek named Bigon to help them thwart the green pile of goo's plans. There's some further interesting bits involving robots, dragon dances, gladiator combat and aboriginal dancing. It's all rather muddled to be honest, and following the actual plot was more than a hassle. In the end our hero is still The Doctor, the villains are still stupid and good wins the day.


Burt Kwouk and Illarrio Bisi Pedro



Random Thoughts

* I can really see why the character of Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) was so reviled by fans back in the day, because he's rather obnoxious throughout the proceedings.
* Tegan and Nyssa don't get a lot to do either, and are used as hostages for the most-part.
* Former Pink Panther series regular Burt Kwouk has a part as the leader of the Chinese faction of Monarch's slaves.
* Nyssa collapses at the end of the episode for no apparent reason and is simply tired.
* The scenes of the four earth-cultures doing their "entertainment" are rather odd and misplaced. However, they are also the most interesting parts of the episodes.
* There is a really hilarious set of scenes where the Doctor exits an airlock and space walks to The TARDIS. You really have to see it.


The there's the space helmets. This episode is full of them. No one really knows why.


I can't say that this was my favorite serial, nor can I really recommend watching it other than for completist sake. Nothing really exciting happens, though we do get another look at The Fifth Doctor's new personality, and I suppose that's something. Too bad it's not really enough.


Collectibles

There doesn't appear to be anything collectible that would tie into this episode directly, other than the requisite novel adaptations and video releases. All of which are readily available. If you have to have them.


Previous Entries in the "Doctor Who Review" Series:

1st Doctor #1 - An Unearthly Child
4th Doctor #1 - Robot
4th Doctor #2 - Ark in Space
4th Doctor #3 - The Sontaran Experiment
5th Doctor #1 - Castrovalva

Special - 4th Doctor Collectibles
Special - Character Building Tardis Mini Set

Friday, February 3, 2012

Doctor Who Toys - The Pandorica is Open!

Was it a mere two weeks ago that I posted about finding Doctor Who Toys cheap? This afternoon I decided on a whim to go to Yoga class by myself and on the way back, feeling VERY refreshed and relaxed I stopped into the same Comic Book Store DreamWorld Comics, where lo and behold the Pandorica Chair and River Song were now nestled in the $2 toy box. There were, in fact, two complete sets. So not to ruin it for someone else I left the second set in the box, along with several of the side-pieces.

As soon as I got home I put it together and I really like it. The chair is well designed and does hold the Doctor in quite snugly. I haven't tried the Amy figure yet, especially since I don't have QUITE the right one.

To make a really keen display you really only need a couple of the side-pieces, earlier in the day I tried it with the top on, and it looks good, but it's hard to see really. I'll relight it though and see what I can do.

The River Song figure that comes with it is OK, I'm happy to have her, but I'm really thrown off by her hair and her head. All in all though I'm really happy. Remember I got these pieces at outrageously low prices.


The Gang's All Here! I consider the Roman Auton to be Rory. So there.