Eight Below

This film may have surprised critics with a heartfelt, but original story, but I almost felt bad when I left the theater and didn't feel anything emotional. My assumption is that I felt nothing because I have never really owned a pet and don't understand what it feels like to lose one. However, that aside, it was a decent family film. The film folows an explorer (Paul Walker) who is on an expedition in the antarctic, when a huge blizzard hits. His team is forced to abandon their station and return to their homes. However, the helicopters do not have enough room to fit the exploration teams sled dogs and the dogs are forced to be left behind. The film then shows how the dogs survive being on their own in the Antarctic. After talking with a friend who owns many pets I would say that if you DO own a dog then this is a fantastic movie, if not then you will just develop a fear of Leopard Seals.

16 Blocks

Bruce Willis is back and is sporting a moustache that makes him look like a dog. 16 Blocks is about a cop (Willis) who has a little over 100 minutes to transport a man (Mos Def) to the courthouse to testify for a witness. However Willis' fellow cops have a different plan. They decide to kill the man before he gets any further than the second block. Naturally Willis will not allow it and does everything in his power to protect his transportee.

This film is okay, but I wouldn't recomend it to anyone. Bruce Willis played the same character he always plays, while Mos Def played a delightful character that you couldn't get enough of. The problem was, you didn't get enough of Def's character so the film didn't work as well as it could have.

Inside Man

Let me just say that Spike Lee is one heck of a film maker. This movie is without a doubt one of the best movies I have seen since 'Capote.' The film follows a hostage negotiator played by Denzel Washington, who is on an assignment to save fifty hostages from four dangerous criminals robbing a New York Bank. The brains of the criminal operation is played by Clive Owen, who does an amazing job at playing a caracter whose face is hardly ever seen. Jodie Foster is also in the film and plays someone who is hired for Private, yet dangerous opperations. I can't really give more information on her character, because you aren't really sure why she is there until the end of the movie.

Though the ending runs a little long this movie can not be missed. I suggest that if you are planning to see a movie sometime in the near future you see "Inside Man."

Note: The film looks as though it would be one of those cliche Action/Crime thrillers, but it isn't. It falls under every category of film. There's a little action, lots of drama, yet a good amount of humor to keep the audience interested. There is even a romantic element between Denzel's character and his wife.

"Failure to Launch" stars Matthew McConaughey as a 35 year old man who is terrified of commitment and lives with his parents (played by Kathy Bates and terry bradshaw). In the film Tripp's (McConaughey) parents really want him out of the house so they hire a woman to pretend to be his girlfriend, so that he will fall in love and fly the coop.

This film is everything a romantic comedy should be. It's hysterical, but it doesn't just appeal to females. Guys will enjoy it just as much, if not more. The humor in the film is classic and will keep you laughing until the very end.

Oh, and just a warning. There is a nude scene in the film that you will very surprised by. Probably one of the funiest moments. I won't say who it is, though. You'll just have to find out on your own.

Okay, I may have hated 'Date Movie,' but protesting against the film because a scene shows a couple beating up a homeless man is absurd.

The scene in the film shows the two main characters on their first date. When the date is about over the guy says something along the lines of "You make me feel like no one else has. You make me feel like..." and the girl finishes his sentence "Bum Fighting?" She then proceeds to walk up to a homeless man and beat the heck out of him.

I found very little in this movie funny, but I did laugh during this scene. Sure if someone did this in real life it would be inappropriate and criminal, but keep in mind: This is a film from the guys who wrote the Scary Movie films...

Nothing is meant to be taken seriously...

I've always thought that if you don't like something in a movie then don't see it... and if you haven't seen it, don't protest the film...

One of my all time favorite films is Dogma and it was protested because it mocked religion. But when asked, most protestors had not seen the movie or any other works by Kevin Smith (The writer/director).

Though the movie was terrible it should not be taken out of theaters. That would be censorship, which is something I have a problem with. Even if the content is offensive to some people, it is creative expression. And especially in a film like "Date Movie" it should NOT be taken seriously.

Here is a link to an article about the protest.

Well the Oscars didn't turn out the way I had thought/hoped...

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
WINNER
Philip Seymour Hoffman - "Capote"

OTHER NOMINEES
Terrence Howard - "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger - "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix - "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn - "Good Night, and Good Luck"

MY PICK: PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN .... Okay, so this one turned out alright...

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
WINNER
George Clooney - "Syriana"

OTHER NOMINEES
Matt Dillon - "Crash"
Paul Giamatti - "Cinderella Man"
Jake Gyllenhaal - "Brokeback Mountain"
William Hurt - "A History of Violence"

MY PICK: PAUL GIAMATI - "CINDERELLA MAN"

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

WINNER
Reese Witherspoon - "Walk the Line"

OTHER NOMINEES
Dame Judi Dench - "Mrs Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman - "Transamerica"
Keira Knightley - "Pride and Prejudice"
Charlize Theron - "North Country"

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

WINNER:
Rachel Weisz - "The Constant Gardener"

OTHER NOMINEES
Amy Adams - "Junebug"
Catherine Keener - "Capote"
Frances McDormand - "North Country"
Michelle Williams - "Brokeback Mountain"

MY PICK: CATHERINE KEENER - "CAPOTE" ... For the record Rachel Weisz REALLY bugs me...

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
WINNER
"Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"

OTHER NOMINEES
"Howl's Moving Castle"
"Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"

MY PICK: "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"

ART DIRECTION:

WINNER
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - Art Direction: John Myhre, Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau

OTHER NOMINEES
"Good Night, and Good Luck" - Art Direction: Jim Bissell, Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" - Art Direction: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
"King Kong" - Art Direction: Grant Major, Set Decoration: Dan Hennah and Simon Bright
"Pride and Prejudice" - Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood, Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

MY PICK: "Memoirs of a Geisha" - Art Direction: John Myhre, Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
WINNER
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - Dion Beebe

OTHER NOMINEES
"Batman Begins" - Wally Pfister
"Brokeback Mountain" - Rodrigo Prieto
"Good Night, and Good Luck" - Robert Elswit
"The New World" - Emmanuel Lubezki

MY PICK: ANYTHING BUT 'GEISHA' AND 'NEW WORLD'

COSTUME DESIGN:

WINNER
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - Colleen Atwood

OTHER NOMINEES
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Gabriella Pescucci
"Mrs Henderson Presents" - Sandy Powell
"Pride and Prejudice" - Jacqueline Durran
"Walk the Line" - Arianne Phillips

MY PICK: Memoirs of a Geisha

DIRECTING:

WINNER:
"Brokeback Mountain" - Ang Lee

OTHER NOMINEES
"Capote" - Bennett Miller
"Crash" - Paul Haggis
"Good Night, and Good Luck" - George Clooney
"Munich" - Steven Spielberg

MY PICK: Not Ang Lee... I don't know why, but I really didn't think he should win it...

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

WINNER
"March of the Penquins"

OTHER NOMINATIONS
"Darwin's Nightmare"
"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"
"Murderball"
"Street Fight"

MY PICK: 'Penguins" deserved every ounce of that award.

FILM EDITING:

WINNER
"Crash" - Hughes Winborne

OTHER NOMINEES
"Cinderella Man" - Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
"The Constant Gardener" - Claire Simpson
"Munich" - Michael Kahn
"Walk the Line" - Michael McCusker

MY PICK: "Cinderella Man" - Mike Hill and Dan Hanley

MAKEUP:

WINNER
"The Chronicles of Narnia" - Howard Berger and Tami Lane

OTHER NOMINEES
"Cinderella Man" - David Leroy Anderson and Lance Anderson
"Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" - Dave Elsey and Annette Miles

MY PICK: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"

MUSIC (SCORE):

WINNER
"Brokeback Mountain" - Gustavo Santaolalla

OTHER NOMINEES
"The Constant Gardener" - Alberto Iglesias
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - John Williams
"Munich" - John Williams
"Pride and Prejudice" - Dario Marianelli

MY PICK: Brokeback deserved it, but I wouldn't have been disappointed with either of the John Williams nominations.

MUSIC (SONG):

WINNER
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - "Hustle & Flow"

OTHER (more deserving) NOMINEES
"In the Deep" - "Crash"
"Travelin Thru" - "Transamerica"

MY PICK: To me this was the biggest upset. "In the Deep" totally deserved that oscar, and I would have settled for a Dolly Parton Oscar, but my heart sank when Queen Latifa shouted out that the winner was a song about how life is hard for a pimp.

BEST PICTURE:

WINNER
"Crash"

OTHER NOMINEES
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Munich"

MY PICK: Capote

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):

WINNER
"The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation"

OTHER NOMINEES
"Badgered"
"The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello"
"9"
"One Man Band"

MY PICK: "9"

SOUND EDITING:

WINNER
"King Kong" - Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn

OTHER NOMINEES
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - Wylie Stateman
"War of the Worlds" - Richard King

MY PICK: War of the Worlds

SOUND MIXING:

WINNER
"King Kong" - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek

OTHER NOMINEES
"The Chronicles of Narnia" - Terry Porter, Dean A Zupancic and Tony Johnson
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P Russell, Rick Kline and John Pritchett
"Walk the Line" - Paul Massey, DM Hemphill and Peter F Kurland
"War of the Worlds" - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ronald Judkins

MY PICK: "Walk the Line"

VISUAL EFFECTS:

WINNER
"King Kong" - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor

OTHER NOMINEES
"The Chronicles of Narnia" - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, and Scott Farrar
"War of the Worlds"- Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randy Dutra and Daniel Sudick

MY PICK: King Kong

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):

WINNER
"Brokeback Mountain"

OTHER NOMINEES
"Capote"
"The Constant Gardener"
"A History of Violence"
"Munich"

MY PICK: Brokeback Mountain / Capote

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):

WINNER
"Crash"

OTHER NOMINEES
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Match Point"
"The Squid and the Whale"
"Syriana"

MY PICK: Crash...