"The slower we move, the faster we die. Make no mistake: Moving is living."

from the trailer of Up in the Air, the new film from director Jason Reitman (Juno) opening in limited release on November 13 and widening over the Thanksgiving holiday. It's a dark comedy about a life constantly on the move. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a "corporate downsizing expert" who travels around the country firing people. The film explores a phenomenon that is far from an anomaly in today's fast-moving world, the idea that we are all loners and can't build relationships because we never have the time to stop for a second and make the effort.
Up in the Air is getting rave reviews on the festival circuit this year, particularly for Clooney, newcomer Anna Kendrick, and Reitman's screenplay adapted from Walter Kirn's novel. Look for it as a formidable contender in the upcoming awards derby. I, for one, am extremely satisfied with the trailer, which Reitman himself cut. It looks like a very pertinent and introspective film for our times. Reitman has said that it is his most personal film yet, and it definitely has a darker tone than Juno or Thank You For Smoking.
WATCH THE TRAILER. IT'S BRILLIANT.

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"I didn't say I would kill you! Are you serious?"

Wow, Serena. Take a chill pill.
An epic screaming match ensued when the lineswoman caught Serena's foot stepping over the baseline while service was in progress during her US Open semifinal against Kim Clijsters last night. After a lot of racket-wielding and cursing, a point was deducted for her outburst, and Serena lost 6-4, 7-5. Earlier in the match, she received a warning for code violation when she smashed/broke her racket after losing the first set.
I'm glad I missed this match, although watching Serena go after that terrified lineswoman is slightly amusing. Apparently, she threatened to shove her tennis racket down the woman's throat. FYI Serena, that doesn't work.

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"Damn, random person in the Congo! You just got served!"

Jon Stewart always makes my day. :)

Watch the clip here.

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Cirque de la Mort

All the insightful (or stupid) revelations of Michael Jackson's death, courtesy of the media and The Daily Show.

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In all seriousness, the nonstop coverage, make that media circus surrounding Jackson's death has perhaps turned into the death of news as we know it. There are all kinds of events going on, and yet, every single news network feels the need to dissect whatever information they can find about something that already happened. A legal panel on his will, a tour of the empty Neverland ranch, interviews with his choreographers about how excited he was for his "This Is It" tour, medical reports, more medical reports... It's really just a rehash, an excuse to talk about it some more. Why are they taking the "new" out of news?? The Jackson family is even seizing this opportunity for attention. During a CNN interview, Jackson's father sidestepped questions about his son and instead plugged his new record label. Wow.
We get it: He was a legendary performer and a mysterious public figure. What else is there to say?
But today, we pause for this special announcement from Sarah "Drill, baby, drill" Palin. So now the media has moved on, at least for a moment. They'll probably return to analyzing every minute detail of Michael Jackson's death, but in the meantime, they can bring in their political panels and discuss this unexpected development.
My question is: why won't Palin serve out the rest of her term? That would seem like a better political move in my mind. She could then focus on her presidential ambitions. (You know she wants to run 'cuz there ain't no satisfaction in Wasilla.) But leaving abruptly without a clear explanation is a bad move. She'll seem too pushy, too impatient. It won't be long before she takes over the airwaves again. *rolls eyes*
On a lighter note, I'm finding Wimbledon to be a nice distraction from cable news and its shenanigans. Today's Murray-Roddick semifinal was a blast to watch, except Murray had some anger issues during the match. I am very glad Roddick won; he's finally bringin' back his A-game. This weekend should be fun. Happy early 4th of July!

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Late Night Critique

I've been watching parts of Conan O'Brien's new Tonight Show, sometimes on TV, but mostly online. He's obviously had some big shoes to fill. Now, I may not be the best person to comment on Conan's first few weeks: I've been a fan over the years, and Conan's style appeals to people my age. Of course, his physical comedy (the "string dance") and self-deprecating humor (pale Irish guy with oddly arranged hair) may not go well with his new target audience: middle aged average Joes, the people who made Jay Leno #1 for over a decade. Time will tell if a) Conan can rebrand himself to reach wider demographics and b) loyal Jay Leno fans will permanently adopt Conan as their new go-to late night host. It does not help that Jay will be back on NBC in September with a primetime talk and variety show every day at 10pm, and his old viewers might tune in then, skip Conan, and go to sleep earlier. In the meantime, Conan figured out a way to find out what people really think of him:

Btw, regarding another late night host: can we please get over Letterman's controversial remarks about Sarah Palin??? Yes, he crossed the line, but is that a reason to fire him? People like him push the envelope for a living, and yet, this particular instance has made people angry as hell. Moving on...
The Adventures of Obama & the Fly: OK, you've probably heard about Obama's fly swatting during a CNBC interview; the blogosphere has discussed it ad nauseum. Conan, as well as the always entertaining Jon Stewart, each offer their own thoughts on this frivolous pop culture moment. Conan adds a little addition, while Jon recounts a similar experience.
Hope summer is treating everyone well. I've still been busy, but I'm trying to relax too.

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Jandy Timsamlake!

Word.

I'm pretty pumped for this week's SNL. The very talented Justin Timberlake has been a kick-ass host in the past, with such classics like Homelessville, The Barry Gibb Talk Show (with Jimmy Fallon), and Hip Hop Kids. I've been uber-stressed and very volatile lately, so that video put me a better mood temporarily.
Here's one of his recent cameo appearances:

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No Surprises

Not surprisingly, I can't seem to concentrate today. I'm lacking in cohesive thoughts, hence the jumbled list form of today's dispatch.
-Apparently, Columbia is one of the greenest schools in the US. The environmentalist in me is very pleased to hear this. My application for the summer program is 80% complete, but I still need to finish that dreaded personal statement. Blerg.
-Getting ready for another trip, this time to Chicago for Wind Ensemble adjudication. I am eagerly looking forward to getting out of borderline dead suburbia and touring the Windy City, if it didn't have to come during what I like to call school's Spring Tempest. Looks like I will have to do loads of homework on the 9hr. bus ride.
-The drama on this week's Office episode was tense! Michael acted so differently around the new VP, like we've never seen him before. It was ironic: I didn't know whether to laugh or cry in the last part. (No spoilers in case you haven't seen it yet.)
-Speaking of The Office, John Krasinski stars with SNL alum Maya Rudolph in a new dramedy from American Beauty and Revolutionary Road director Sam Mendes, Away We Go. [trailer] It has the potential to be a great flick, and I've been looking forward to it for a while.
-RIP Natasha Richardson. It's devastating to hear about a tragic accident that didn't deserve to happen to such a classy actress. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't seen a lot of her many stage and screen credits, but growing up in the '90s, I loved her work in The Parent Trap.
-Fact: 60% of my Saturdays are spent procrastinating, stressing, lamenting, pondering, and writing pointless blog posts like this.
-Fact: Radiohead has a song for every mood. I wish I had their creativity.

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Hollywood's Annual Night of Cinematic Mercy (1)

So, now that awards season has finally commenced with the grand soirée of them all, the Academy Awards, I want to reflect on yet another convoluted whirlwind this awards cycle. But before that, my thoughts on the changes/caveats/everything else about this year's ceremony, "the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", after the jump. Once again, I embedded a few YouTube clips for your convenience. :)
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The Good:
-Hugh Jackman actually turned out to be a fine host. I had slight qualms about the Oscars steering away from the comedian emcee thing they have long established as a trademark. Hugh's song and dance background ideally fits the mold of the Grammys or the Tonys more so than the Oscars, but I was wrong this time around. His "recession-proof" opening number was a lot of fun to watch and contained great jokes ridiculing the inevitable problem of how much of the general public has no interest in the nominated films. And, of course, he was uber-charming. :)
-New presenter format for acting awards: If you've watched the show before, you're probably aware of the tradition they have of bringing back the 4 winners from the previous year and have them present the award of the opposite sex (i.e. last year's Best Actor present Best Actress) in kind of a "passing of the torch". This year, many awards watchers panicked when Oscar producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark mentioned they were abandoning this tradition. However, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the new "passing of the torch" approach. For each acting award, they brought back 5 past winners to introduce each of the 5 nominees, and one of them was designated to open the envelope. Very cool and a method that truly never crossed my mind until yesterday.
Here's a sample (Best Actress):

-Queen Latifah singing during In Memoriam: Again, a lot of awards watchers were initially confused by this new addition. Usually, they just play some nostalgic-sounding classical music, sometimes played live by a famous classical musician (always nice and perfectly appropriate), but this year, the talented Queen Latifah sang a lovely song to accompany the montage of the people the film industry lost this year. It was a interesting change, but it worked it pretty well. Of course, the reel culminated with one last tribute to the legendary Paul Newman.
The Bad:
-the Original Song conglomeration: Shows how much the Academy cares about this category. First, b/c of their uber-puzzling preferential ballot system in this category, they only nominated three instead of the usual five songs. Then, they give each song a mere 60-65 seconds of performance time in a mash-up of sorts. Come on.
-no film/acting nominee clips: I like these b/c they give people an idea of what the nominee did to deserve (or in some case, didn't deserve) their nomination. Normally, they omit these if they have time constraints, and obviously they did with this year's new presenter format, which took up the time normally allotted for the clips. So, they actually had a good reason to omit these, unlike years past, where they've sometimes just eliminated that portion for seemingly no reason.
The Ugly:
-Montages: Like every show, I was hoping there would be less of them this year, but there were actually more. But instead of them being random featurettes of different aspects of filmmaking or whatever else they like to use in montages, each montage was a "Yearbook" of the year in Romance, Action, Comedy (featuring a clever short film from Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, and James Franco), and Animation. While it's nice that they're using this to mention the films they don't nominate, I must object when they put, for lack of a better term, crappy movies in a montage with good movies. For instance, the Romance montage featured moments from the likes of Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Revolutionary Road combined with those from Mamma Mia!, High School Musical 3, and Twilight. Wrong choice. The latter group, no matter how popular they are, DO NOT BELONG AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS IN A MONTAGE WITH OTHER GOOD FLICKS.
-a vast majority of the presenters: They didn't belong there (btw: Huffington Post has a poll about this topic). They didn't deserve to be there. Especially sitting in the same room and breathing the same air amongst living legends like Meryl Streep, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Robert DeNiro, etc. Robert Pattinson? Zac Efron? Sarah Jessica Parker? The list goes on. I mean, every year, they get a few odd presenters that seem out of place (last year, Miley Cyrus owned this category), but this year, I felt like it was nearly everyone. Was the rest of the world unavailable? Geez. Interestingly enough, I thought I was the most peeved about this (I always complain about undeserving presenters), but my co-editor was practically shouting when we were discussing this in our conversation today. He said, and I quote, that "it was like they just picked up some random hobos off the streets of L.A. and had them present. Every time, I was shouting at the TV, 'Get off the freaking stage!'" And, I hate to admit it, but he's right. I absolutely concur; it just didn't feel like the Oscars with those talentless idiots handing out all the awards. And, another observation: many of them presented multiple awards in a row. Seriously AMPAS, was no one else available???
-Red Carpet, as usual: You've probably figured out by now that I'm pretty apathetic towards these, and while I did jot down some things during E!'s always horrendous Red Carpet (only they can get away with using the phrase "glamastrator"), there's really not much you missed.

Big 8 Awards Summary (I accurately predicted all of them, but it's nothing to brag about since this year was so pre-determined by the precursors/zeitgeist):
•Supp. Actress- presented by Tilda Swinton (2007), Whoopi Goldberg (1990), Anjelica Huston (1985), Goldie Hawn (1969), & Eva Marie Saint (1954)
Winner: Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)- A lot of Oscar pundits suddenly began predicting Viola Davis (my personal fave of the nominees) last week, but I played it safe and stuck with Penélope. I just couldn't see why the Academy, of all people, would change it up.
Great speech to start out the night! I especially appreciated the part about "protecting art", which never gets old around these parts. And just like her fellow Spaniard Javier Bardem last year, she ended with a little bit to her Spanish fans and family.
•Original Screenplay- presented by the hilariously awesome Tina Fey and Steve Martin (one of the only good presenter pairs)
I'm glad they brought back the feature of reading a few lines from each screenplay while playing that particular scene. It provides a brief glimpse into the arguably most important part of filmmaking, the blank page.
Winner: Dustin Lance Black (Milk)- WALL•E had a pretty good shot here, but in the end, I think the Academy preferred the perpetually rousing speeches to the perfectly measured silence.
Another powerful, but political speech (starts at about 3:54) which I know people thought might have been too deep, but you have to understand how personal Milk was to this guy. He's openly gay, and after hearing Harvey Milk's story, he was determined to write the film and pitch it to studios even though it was deemed a huge risk by others. Bravo!
•Adapted Screenplay- presenters: ditto.
Winner: Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
This was a given, so not much to say here; the 1st of 8 Oscars for Slumdog last night, at least according to the mental tally I kept.
•Supp. Actor- presented by Alan Arkin (2006), Cuba Gooding Jr. (1996), Kevin Kline (1988), Christopher Walken (1978), & Joel Grey (1972)
Winner: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)- There was no way they weren't going to give it to him, especially after his tragic death, winning pretty much every award on the face of the Earth for this role, and his family flying all the way out from Australia to accept it on his behalf. Say what you will about the excessive hype, but Heath deserved it. That said, I feel bad for the other Supp. Actor nominees, who were great too but had no shot at all.
Anyway, God bless his family for staying strong and delivering one of the most heartfelt moments of the evening.
•Director- presented by Reese Witherspoon
Winner: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)- No room for surprises here.
Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Slumdog, I give major props to Danny Boyle for having the guts to take a camera straight through the streets of Mumbai and shoot the film without big stars or hefty studios. Here's to a job well done, maestro.
•Actress- presented by Marion Cotillard (2007), Nicole Kidman (2002), Halle Berry (2001), Shirley Maclaine (1983), & Sophia Loren (1961)
You guys know about my affinity for the amazing Kate and my irking feeling of her winning for the wrong role this year (well actually the wrong year too. IMO, she should have won 4 years ago for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.) I've gradually come to terms with it, and it all came full circle last night during Marion Cotillard's moving tribute during the nominees presentation (0:58 on the aforementioned video). I was once more reminded of why I love this actress and her truly sublime work over the years, and at that moment, I realized, this girl deserves it for everything. She deserves it, and I will be happy. And I am, b/c it's about time.
Winner: Kate Winslet (The Reader)- Some prognosticators were sticking to their guns and predicting Meryl. Others sensed a potential vote split and made their last minute prediction to indie darling and "actor's actor" Melissa Leo. They were possible outcomes, but ultimately, it's the year of the Kate.
"Academy Award Winner Kate Winslet" has quite the ring to it! Her speech is at 5:10 on the video, so I don't need to discuss it. More contained and less teary than her second Globes speech.
•Actor- presented by Adrien Brody (2002), Sir Anthony Hopkins (1991), Michael Douglas (1987), Sir Ben Kingsley (1982), & Robert DeNiro (1980)
I really enjoyed Best Actor this year because, aside from Brad Pitt's excruciatingly mediocre turn in ...Benjamin Button, we were treated a phenomenal crop of nominees this year. Yes, I was bitter over one equally fabulous contender (*cough* Leo DiCaprio *cough*) being overlooked by everyone except the Globes, but life goes on. (Unfortunately not for the fanboys, who can never get over anything.) It's never perfect. More on this later in my reflections.
Winner: Sean Penn (Milk)- As I eluded to previously, the Best Actor race this year has constantly shifted between Sean and comeback story of the year Mickey Rourke. It was presumably a really close vote, but Sean probably won because of his performance being incredibly transformative and pertinent to today's political landscape. It should be noted that Sean lost two major precursors, the Golden Globe and BAFTA, to Mickey, but these were largely due to a general apathy towards Milk by the two organizations. However, these "commie, homo-loving sons of guns" got it right. Go Sean!!
•Picture- presented by Steven Spielberg
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight)
SHOCKER. Yay for the cute little Indian kids! Fox Searchlight supposedly spent a lot of money and effort to get them all there, but they made it.
Note: I don't predict the other 16 awards b/c of my lack of awareness of them, and it would take way too long to summarize everything. :(

I deeply apologize for the length; that's definitely enough for today. I promise my reflections post tomorrow will be shorter(!) and the last cinema post for a while. We all need a break from this stuff.

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Under the Weather

So here's how I feel right now.

Yep, not so well. I've succumbed to the common cold, unfortunately. Of course, it did not come as a surprise, since colds spread like rapid fire this time of year. My nose is congested, I think I might have a fever (possibly), and I am currently surviving on cough drops. I made the wrong decision to go to school this week, seeing as this damn cold has greatly reduced my productivity level. I kept zoning in and out during class today and felt hungry every two seconds. Odd. Not to mention, this week has been such a bore. In the meantime, these people sure as hell aren't reduced to sneezing every second like me, unless they fall ill on their boat. (Just a reminder: as with all SNL material, there is some vulgarity, so be aware!)

Btw, we totally need more of the rest of The Lonely Island. Love Andy, but Akiva and Jorma are hilarious as well, not to mention the masterminds behind all Digital Shorts. None of them will ever be as great as Lazy Sunday, but one can dream.

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Shorts

"Rejected Shorts" A random selection picked out from my YouTube favorites after a long day. My Saturdays always tend to be long, since they are spent at Forensics tournaments... (Friendly warning: the video is slightly inappropriate. =D)
Hmm...nothing else to look forward to. Oh wait, new SNL tonight with the classic Steve Martin hosting and Jason Mraz as musical guest! And tomorrow night after the Super Bowl, a.k.a. the biggest TV event of the year, there's an hour-long Office episode. It should entail some interesting Dunder-Mifflin developments b/c those always happen in the hour-long shows. :) And, I'm starting an exciting (I hope!) series of posts on- you guessed it -cinema. Again, I apologize if the "film-bitching" bores you. I know I inevitably dwell on that topic around this time every year. I promise I don't talk about movies nearly this much during the rest of the year, except for maybe the summertime. Hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend!

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Live-writing: The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Sorry for the delay, and I also apologize greatly if I've been boring you with all of this awards/cinema crap. I realize not all of you are interested, and that's perfectly OK. This is why I added a jump to this post, so you don't have to read all of this if it bores you. (Which it might... :/) I added some video clips as well = good entertainment for a frigid Friday.
Live-writing ended up being pretty much an epic failure. I had to eat dinner during red carpet, and there was no way I was going to keep up on typing while eating. Also, from years of mindless red carpet watching, I have developed a habit of not paying close attention to that madness. Unfortunately, I literally bore myself because I tend to either reiterate the obvious or say whatever random remark that pops into my head at any given moment, so my live-writing skills are not adept as others I have read. Boooooring. (Gah, other people make it look so easy!) My ongoing goal is to conjure up more witty and unique things to say. Nevertheless, here is my running commentary from during the show. Sorry, Zany. Some of the clips are from Hulu. :(
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Red Carpet: (as usual, channel surfing between E!, TV Guide, and the NBC pre-show)
-Ryan Seacrest: no one cares about the weather and air-conditioned limos. Is that all you got? This is going to be a long evening.
-One of the first "victims", Taraji P. Henson. She seems so down-to-earth, and I didn't know her name was Swahili! Nice! :)
-The Office crew: charismatic and cheery as always. But, what kind of frock is Jenna Fischer wearing? It looks like too much of a summer, casual dress that washes her out.
-Alec Baldwin: sometimes, he scares me, but speaking the truth never hurts. "Don-tcha just hate when E! asks you dumb questions?" LOL.
-Tina + Amy: Amy recovered really quickly from "Baby Mama" status. And, Tina is just so cleverly classy, if that makes any sense. (I know I will using those words a lot tonight.)
-Jonas Brothers, Zac Efron, etc.: Screaming tweens unite!
-Miley Cyrus: that dress is actually really nice, but she shouldn’t be wearing it. It doesn't look good on her. Also, why can't she ever shut up??? I don't care that her mother won't buy her the car she wants!
-Kate + Leo: 2 things: 1. I know black is incapable of reflecting light, but they look luminous. These "homies" need to stop making us all look like failures. (Just kidding; love them.) 2. They are forced to bear the brunt of one of Ryan Seacrest's dumbass questions: “Leo, you live out here, so you’re not used to the whole domesticated life. How did you handle that?” Umm, dude…it’s called acting.
-Brangelina: this moment of PURE INSANITY, with swarms of cameras & people all around. 'Nuff said. I guess they don't like Seacrest either.
-Anne Hathaway: Lovely blue, strapless dress. She's definitely learned her lesson from two years ago. With her harrowing turn in Rachel Getting Married, get ready for a fruitful awards season, girl!
-Slumdog Millionaire is, to the blogosphere, becoming slightly overrated at this point. Don't get me wrong; people love the movie very much (as do I), but does it deserve "Best" citations from practically everyone? That said, the cast and crew is doing a fantastic job of promoting the film and having a blast! =D Note to E!: "phone a celebrity"? Really? Clearly she hasn't the movie.
-Where's Meryl? That woman always knows what to say. As does Emma Thompson.

The Show: (Finally, shallowness over.)
-opening montage: Why on earth did they pick the song “When I Grow Up” by the Pussycat Dolls to use? Lame.
-JLo: “Mama talking.” And the 1st award of the night goes to: a very flustered Kate Winslet for The Reader. Personally, I was rooting for Viola Davis to pull an upset. She absolutely knocks it out of the park in Doubt, and Penelope Cruz, also great in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, currently leads in critics awards. I haven't seen The Reader yet, but it's on my list, of course. Loved Kate's speech even though I usually dislike when people read from prepared lists. She gave shoutouts all the right people, which is sharp. A lot of people forget to mention the author of the source material, but she didn't. Thanking her kids was so cute. Breathe, girl, breathe!
-Memo to Miley Cyrus: we don’t need to see your tongue, dear.
-Original Song: "The Wrestler" is such a beautiful song. Though, Clint Eastwood looks pissed and ready to do the Gran Torino finger-gun thing to Bruce Springsteen: "Get off my Golden Globe!!!"
-Burn After Reading clip: Hey Coen Bros.! Don Cheadle wants to work with you! [/shameless plug]
-liked the speech (or lack thereof) from the HFPA president.
-I’m not as well read on TV, but I’m surprised Jon Hamm (Mad Men) lost for Best Actor in a Drama series.
-My mother (who is complaining) needs to cut the delightful Sally Hawkins some slack. She gave (with some security from the witty Emma Thompson) a decent speech, considering that she is a Hollywood newcomer. Yes, she rambled and paused and did this and that, but she seems like a lovely person. I'm really happy she won, because her performance is quite easily one of the best comedic roles this year and deserved the high praise. I guess maybe there was the chance Meryl would win because: A. She's Meryl. B. Mamma Mia!'s box office clout. C. She gives the best speeches, making for wonderful television. D. She has 2 nominations and they might not want her to go home empty-handed. Anyway, it's so unfair that Sally had such a crappy seat, so it took her forever to get up on stage.
-Ricky Gervais venting about not being nominated. "How rude are you lot?" "Well done, Winslet! I told you, do a Holocaust movie and the awards start coming." [A reference to her self-parody on his hilarious sitcom Extras, starting at 3:25 on the video]
-On the TV miniseries front, HBO's John Adams is doing very well, with wins for the show, Laura Linney, and Paul Giamatti. Tom Hanks is usually pretty awesome, but is he high tonight? Then again, everyone at the Globes seems like that, always. I have a hunch that the spontaneous and unexpected moments are primarily the result of A LOT of champagne being served.
-Of course, a very deserved standing ovation for the late Heath Ledger. It’s going to be so sad on Oscar night. Unfortunately, all this awards buildup for him takes away from the excitement of the rest of awards season.
-Tom Brokaw???? Oh, he’s presenting the Frost/Nixon clip. My bad. He must feel so out of place.
-Foreign Film: I agree with the Waltz with Bashir director's quote on how he hopes children of the future can watch the film and think it's an "ancient video game that could never happen", but the quote is getting ancient. He's used it for every award the film has won.
-Seth Rogen’s cocaine/Mickey Rourke joke really fell through.
-Patrick Dempsey and Amy Poehler echoing: “And-and the-the Golden-Golden Globe-Globe goes-goes to-to: Alec Baldwin!" That guy is hilarious on 30 Rock, as is the entire cast. Unfortunately, he acts like a douche sometimes, detracting from the character he plays.
-Renee Zellweger’s scrunchy face perpetually disgusts me. It always looks like she ate too many lemons before coming. Also, what’s with the see-through dress? Atrocious.
-Awkward presenter pairings: P. Diddy and Kate Beckinsale, Megan Fox and Terrence Howard (btw, why does he over-enunciate his words?) Whoever picks this combinations might have had too much champagne too.
-Best Comedy series: HAHAHAHA! The most random clip for The Office: Dwight giving birth to a watermelon. (1:35 on the video)
-30 Rock wins! YAY! Tracy Morgan’s speech (2:58 on the above video), not so much. Thank God he left before he could say something super controversial. "Deal with it, Cate Blanchett!" (Whaaaat???)
-Argh, I hate when the presenter is biased, like Jane Krakowski presenting Best Actress in a Comedy Series to Tina Fey. Just kidding, I love all the 30 Rock guys! Tina’s speech = short & sweet, excellent as usual. All the haters can just suck it! But seriously, that woman truly does not deserve the hate she's received this year. It's not her fault that most people think she is actually Sarah Palin; the media firestorm behind the phenomenon is partially to blame too. I also find it amusing that she actually reads the blogosphere, but I'm glad she's well aware of the unfair criticisms.
-Steven Spielberg: a very deserved tribute to a man who has contributed so much to the magical world of cinema. You just can’t imagine movies without him. I agree with what he said: "People want to make movies that appeal to broader audiences, but we can't forget that we are an audience of individuals." However, this award always makes everyone snooze. No offense Mr. Spielberg, but I think this is the first time you've nearly made me doze off. zzzzzzzzz
-Whimsical pairing: Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Emma's joke backfired a bit, but she took it all in stride. Dustin, on the other hand: lighten up!
-Colin Farrell winning for In Bruges, another win I didn't see coming. We didn't need to know that he has a cold, though. And, Sandra Bullock's remarks made energy level shoot way down.
-Wow, that energy level is still at low levels with Sacha Baron Cohen’s monologue. The Madonna/Guy Ritchie joke was funny, though. I guess Salma Hayek didn’t agree (cutaway shot).
-Vicky Cristina Barcelona wins! I was actually predicting that. That producer’s speech was too drab though. Random thought: why did no one except Penélope show up??
-By far one of the most unexpected moments: Kate part deux. I thought there was no way she was winning twice, especially if Meryl was gonna go home empty-handed… I WAS WRONG!!! Oh my God, she won 2 awards! (My brain is desperately trying to process this as she hobbles up onstage, with the help of Leo, Emma, and a myriad of other scrambling people, and not one but two guys to escort her onstage. Amid the shock, I accidentally tune out half the speech!) She had absolutely no clue she was going to win for this, so no prepared list this time. Classy shoutouts to her fellow nominees, albeit forgetting Angelina (of all people! LOL, but I don't blame her. She is genuinely shocked.) and acknowledging the gifted author of Rev. Road, Richard Yates. After more rambling and "not wrapping up", she does wraps up...here come the waterworks. Girl, please hold it together. Btw, your husband’s right there, so don’t spill out everything. For the most part, it was a heartfelt, honestly delivered speech (yes, even at 3:59 when it gets awkward maybe). However, that was a lot to digest. One more time: oh my God, she won 2 awards! I have to get it out of my system.
-Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) and Rainn Wilson (The Office): awkward pairing handled reasonably well with an effective joke. Mad Men wins Best Drama series! I was wondering when all the love for that show was actually going to arrive.
-I knew Mickey Rourke had a shot at winning tonight. It was going to be either him or Sean, unless HFPA felt like throwing a curveball. Now, on to the Oscar! Although he seems a little confused (again, I don't blame him. He's not used to all the attention.), he gives a surprisingly contained speech, besides the obvious errors in not thanking the HFPA but thanking his dogs and Axl Rose (??). Censors probably not pleased at Darren Aronofsky, however. Btw, Leo DiCaprio is one classy dude for embracing the Mickster, but we already knew that. Where is Sean?? Mickey's "down and out" speech gives a pretty needed boost to his PR campaign this season. This is truly the comeback of the year: has-been B-list --> Oscar winner, perhaps? Despite prognosticators saying it would be too much of a risk to award Mickey, due to his iffy reputation in the industry, it's looking more and more feasible.
-Slumdog sweeps. Surprise, surprise. Jai ho!
Lastly, here are some brief post-show comments from my eccentric, "quote machine" friend Megan:

KER-SPAZ. SLUMDOG WON EVERYTHING IT WAS NOMINATED FOR. AND KATE WINSLET GOOD LORD WOMAN YOU LOVE LEO MORE THAN YOU LOVE YOUR HUSBAND BUT GOOD FOR YOU GIRL.
I love awards season. And I really love live television, where people in the audience can give presenters the bird and nobody can do anything about it. Love love love.

The spontaneity of live television never ceases to surprise us all. :)

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Lazy Sunday

The title, of course, is honor of the classic (well, kind of) SNL Digital Short, as well as the fact that it feels like that kind of day. Is it just me, or has the quality of the Digital Shorts decreased significantly since the days of Lazy Sunday, especially this season?
Speaking of SNL, last night's episode with John Malkovich hosting definitely hit some high notes. I enjoyed his monologue with the twisted 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, as well as the "Cool Obama" commercial and the sketch with Fred and John as twins who get a calculator for Christmas. (All have been uploaded to Hulu.com, so I'm too lazy to post the links) It was nice to see Amy back on Weekend Update, even though Seth soloing worked out pretty well.
I'm a bit late in posting this, but for the record, I just watched it now. More comedy, this time on Prop 8, courtesy of FunnyOrDie: (you'll definitely recognize some of the faces)


On a more serious note: Awards Watching update; this might become a regular feature.
-Lisa Schwartzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) 's reviews of Frost/Nixon and Doubt have me very interested in the former and quite frankly, worried for the latter. After reading reviews from other reliable sources, I think my sentiments are shared by others.
-Milk's rave reviews make me wonder when I'll have a chance to see it. Hopefully very soon.
-Last week brought the first precursors but not much to note, aside from the ongoing rise of Slumdog Millionaire. This week's precursors are much more significant, with the Broadcast Film Critics (BFCA) and New York (NYFCC), Los Angeles (LAFCA), and Chicago area critics announcing their nominees, as well as the Golden Globe nominations, all of which should spice things up a bit.
As for me, back to studying slant asymptotes and other such useless things for PreCalc...have a good week and stay warm (it's frigid here)!

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"Microgement"

Classic. Now we know how Dunder Mifflin really sells paper. (From this week's episode, "Customer Survey")

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Election Day Landscape

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." ~Mahatma Gandhi
I feel like another chapter of Americana is ending. After nearly two years of rising and falling, peaks and tumbles, momentum, downfalls, anticipation, punchlines, and everything in between, everything comes down to this moment. So, I urge people to vote today, regardless of who they support and the issues on their minds. This is your chance to make a difference, your right to take action, your day to fight for what you believe in. Do you want to make your voice heard? Secure your future? Take a stand? If so, this is your opportunity. Don't waste it! VOTE, because it matters. Below: some last minute inspiration from some people who really want us all to vote today.

And, if that's not enough, this song might help too. Lastly, I leave you with some pictures I took in and around my neighborhood: a few snapshots of suburbia in early November (both McCain-Palin & Obama-Biden campaign signs and more foliage).

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Election "Magic Map"

On last night's SNL Weekend Update Thursday, Fred Armisen made me laugh so hard with his uncanny spoof of the "magic map" CNN (primarily Chief National Correspondent John King) uses for their election coverage. It's about mid-way through the clip.

It's been all over the Internet today, and here's what John King had to say on AC360 just about an hour after the episode aired.

Lol about what he said about Lou Dobbs. =D Currently, SNL's increasing relevance adds some biting satire to this intense election season. 10 days to go until Election Day!
I wasn't quite feeling "The Office" last night. There were too many plot lines to cover in barely 20 minutes, but everything has its highs and lows. An aside: I MISS PAM! :( The Crime Aid (Crime Reduces Innocence Makes Everyone Angry I Declare) auction was pretty creative, and the return of Roy was an interesting twist, although Roy has somewhat frightened me ever since the episode way back in Season 3 when he tried to kill Jim.
In other less important pop culture news, High School Musical 3 was released today. Expect movie theatres across the country to be teeming with obnoxious tweens and teeny-boppers, and SNL will probably mention it on tomorrow night's episode, so stay tuned. I never understood the big deal about that franchise. Perhaps it is b/c I am out of touch with my generation, which could be true, b/c most films I watch are not the typical things teenagers are interested in. Btw, is it supposed to appeal to tweens, teens, or both? It seems like its target audience is tweens, but I know people my age who love it as well. I'm not sure. But, I think the main explanation this baffles me is simply: it's a really stupid phenomenon. I apologize for my blunt remarks, but those who share my opinion would probably say the same. My posts have been rather uninspired lately (basically SNL videos, but TV can be inspirational), so bear with me while I try to find some more interesting material to write about. Have a good weekend!

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Drama in three parts

I really need to mention this! The videos speak for themselves. And for those of you who already know about this, it wouldn't hurt to watch it again. =D
4 October 2008- The original incident

16 October 2008- Response, build-up?

18 October 2008- Hilarity ensues.

Btw, this week's episode was probably the best in a while, mainly due to the Mark Wahlberg cameo and Amy Poehler's Palin rap. Josh Brolin was a fantastic host, and for some reason, this week's material just felt like more of the top-notch "SNL-ness" we need right now. (I wrote a review about the current season so far for English, so I could elaborate on this topic, but I'm too lazy to do that right now...) I'm also enjoying the additional "Weekend Update Thursday" shows after "The Office".
Sorry for today's brief dispatch. It's been a busy week, and the next few weeks will be no different. In the meantime, I wish you all a pleasant week (if that's possible)!

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Idle at the moment

The much-needed 3-day weekend due to Columbus Day has made me feel relaxed for once. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to do anything interesting. :(
On Friday for my journalism apprenticeship, we wandered around downtown asking people about who they were voting for in the presidential election. Unfortunately, my friend and I didn't really get a lot of people to talk to us. No one is around at 9:30 on a chilly Friday morning, not to mention, they don't notice two nerds holding notepads, squinting at the uber-bright sun. =D It would have been more effective if we did it during lunch time, when a lot of people, especially office workers, are out and about. Among the few people we managed to get: an African-American guy sitting outside of a restaurant exclaimed: "Obama is the MAN!!!" (lol.); a conservative college student for McCain (interesting.); and an undecided Caucasian man who blamed it on "lack of interest" (a problem for lots of voters). Most of these we got through the help of another girl in the group: a cheerleader-type blonde wearing stiletto heels. (Figures; who isn't going to talk to her, especially guys??) Some of the people my friend and I talked to were really annoying. These two ladies sitting on a bench doing absolutely nothing claimed they "didn't have time for this". One guy questioned us: "Can't you respect my privacy?!!?" (Wow, he must have had a bad day.) I mean, I realize it can be sort of a personal question, but you can just say who you're voting for and walk away. A lot of people couldn't talk to us: everyone at Breugger's Bagels was either on a cell phone or a laptop, and a few homeless-looking guys walking around looked rather big and scary. Afterwards, we combined the group's data and each wrote a vague story about it. Well, at least, mine seemed vague. I had to make up names and ages of people, b/c we forgot to ask.
Current "semi-obsessions": "Superwoman" by Alicia Keys. I love this song; feminist pride! Alicia Keys is one of my favorite artists. Her versatile contralto range + classically-trained pianist = a truly inimitable style. I also admire her charity work fighting AIDS in Africa; Revolutionary Road International Trailer. YouTube won't let me embed it, so I found another version.

I love how the mood changes, along with the music. It really gives people a feel for what to expect in regards to the dark tone of the film. I still would have liked to see more of the supporting cast, particularly Michael Shannon, who plays John Givings. His character is arguably the most complex and interesting of all the supporting characters. The one thing that stood out was the random guy who came out of nowhere with his typical trailer announcer voice ("Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio...Academy Award nominee Kate Winslet"), *cringe*. That felt out of place. Also, why was the "Road" in Revolutionary Road gold? Hmm...I wonder why. Besides those minuscule flaws, I'm loving this new trailer. And for those of you haven't seen it, here's the first theatrical trailer, also very good. It's currently playing with DreamWorks' Ghost Town and Paramount Vantage's The Duchess.
FYI: I fixed the video on my previous post, so check it out if you're interested. Sorry I didn't realize my original video was taken down. I'm gonna go chill for a while. Happy Thanksgiving to Zany and the rest of the Canadians!

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GOTV times infinity

This newly released PSA, created and produced by actor/activist Leonardo DiCaprio (it was supposedly his idea) in conjunction with Declare Yourself, features a myriad of notable names urging us to vote in the upcoming election. See for yourself:

It's interesting that they start out with this sort of reverse psychology ("Don't Vote!"), but later, they list a sampling of the issues we should be concerned about and remind us of the power of voting.
I like the concept, but the message gets slightly redundant when 20 different people (maybe even more) are saying the same thing over and over. However, I have a generally positive opinion of celebrities using their star power to promote causes for the greater good. I especially have a lot of respect for those who devote much of their time as activists for issues they seem to be extremely passionate about and do it all with class and dignity. I could probably write a whole essay on that, as well as the celebrities that are the complete opposite, but that's for another time.
Anyway, it's just a little bit of nitpicking on this rather chilly Friday. It's only October , but it's quite cold already. Nevertheless, I still adore the month of October! (More on that later.) This weekend could potentially be very, very hectic with our school's annual Homecoming Game and Dance. Although I have not attended in previous years, I decided to go this year, mainly through the insistence of one of my friends. As usual, I don't have a date, but I am going with a nice group of friends who, like me, are at the bottom of the social ladder, but we're "cool" in our own special ways. :) (Writing that made me feel happy.) I hope I have fun and don't come to regret spending an entire Saturday doing this. I'm also helping with Homecoming Setup tomorrow morning for volunteer hours, and I'm going to try to be productive!
Before I forget, a little shoutout to kibberon regarding her intriguing post I just read: I understand what she means. For me, I try extremely hard to not make my blog like a journal, mainly b/c I feel my life as a stressed out, over-achieving high schooler isn't all that compelling. I guess there's a ton of other things worth mentioning, so I try to find a variety of interesting topics to rant about. I hope I have succeeded in that and have not bored any of you yet. Although in kibberon's case, I must say that I really enjoy reading about the interesting and the mundane things that happen in her life. So, I suppose it could go either way. That part of it makes her blog unique, and that goes for all of you. Your blogs are about everything under the sun, and it makes for a great read after a long day at school. So, thanks to everyone! Blerg, I gotta go finish everything I have to do, so I'm not swamped with work Sunday night. Have a lovely weekend!

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Trailer Park (2)

Here is Part 2, as promised.
Rachel Getting Married could be Anne Hathaway's most interesting film yet. I enjoyed her in the 2 Princess Diaries flicks (guilty pleasure =D) as well as The Devil Wears Prada (although Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt steal the show from her), but her role here is so much more complex and will stretch her to a new level. Anne plays Kym, a recovering drug addict let out of rehab so she can attend her sister's wedding. But, there's no telling when she might stir up trouble and draw attention to herself. Kym seems to go through a deep emotional journey throughout. I like the trailer & plot and really hope I get to see the film, even though it's an indie. A bit more offbeat from all the previously mentioned movies, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, is a comedy about two interesting teens (Michael Cera and Kat Dennings) who meet at a concert. Initially, they pretend to be a couple so they can fit in with everyone else, but after some pretty crazy adventures, they fall for each other. In brief, it sounds like a nice, feel-good movie, something we all need sometimes.
Paramount Vantage has not officially released a trailer for Revolutionary Road, but they recently added a section about it on their website. This can only mean that it's coming very soon. In the meantime, "Entertainment Tonight" provided a sneak peek, which should suffice for now. I despise those entertainment news shows, who have the urge to embellish every last thing about some dumbass celebrity's escapades, but occasionally they have features on upcoming films. This one did not come without any exaggerations: they put too much emphasis on making this sound like Titanic 2 ("what if they didn't die?"), when this film is a total contrast from Titanic. Blerg. Anyway, everyone (and I mean everyone) has had some super high expectations for this film, and I hope it doesn't disappoint. While the teaser (or whatever you want to call it) was poorly edited, it was still impressive, and I definitely felt the '50's vibe (very "Mad Men"-esque; surprise, surprise). The tagline seems to be: "How can you break free without breaking apart?"; very simple but symbolic. The film is really shaping out to be a descriptive and profound character study, just like the novel. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, playing "distressed couple in suburbia", look like they're gonna knock it out of the park with their portrayals of these deeply flawed characters. The acting looks incredible, and the fight scene looks plucked out of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, except replace Richard Burton and Liz Taylor with Leo and Kate...pretty hardcore drama. I know I'm biased, since they are 2 of my fav. working actors, but seriously, Leo + Kate = freaking amazing. It's hard to deny after seeing the teaser. You can sense both the chemistry and the tension. I was hoping to see more of the supporting characters, though. However, I'm now really amped about this flick and can see the end product turning out to be really fantastic. This one and the next trailer seriously gave me chills.
And last but certainly not least, Miramax launched the official trailer for Doubt, which also looks absolutely astounding. Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams are intertwined in a scandal at a Catholic school. Sister Aloysius (Meryl) accuses Father Flynn (Phil) of abusing a male student but seemingly has no evidence to support her claim. Sister James (Amy), a novice nun training under Sister Aloysius, takes a secondary role in the scandal, but before long, realizes the holes in the accusation. Also, the boy's mother (Viola Davis) informs Sister Aloysius of Father Flynn's kindness toward her son. Meryl clearly takes the lead here with her fierce, determined character. The confrontation scenes between Meryl and Phil look so intense, and the film tackles some extremely thought-provoking moral and psychological issues. The mood of the film seems very disturbing, but in a good way. The trailer's editing was great; I loved the quick chain of events and drama. "There is no evidence. There are no witnesses, but for one, there is no doubt." Great tagline, if it is the actual tagline. The play was highly successful and won both the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award. Cherry Jones, who played Sister Aloysius in the play, won the Tony for Best Actress. In terms of the big picture, I'm also biased here, since I love all three main actors. Their work continually impresses and amazes me. Once again, it's a starry, critically acclaimed cast with such an intense premise, and I sincerely hope this film does not disappoint.
Still waiting on: Synecdoche, NY, screenwriter extraordinaire Charlie Kaufman's new film, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener; and The Road, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy and starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron.
And finally, if you haven't noticed, yes, I have a very eclectic taste in things and love to ramble on and on. :)
Don't forget to check out Part 1 if you didn't already. See below.

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Trailer Park (1)

I haven't had a movie post in a while, so I wanted to show the trailers of some stuff I'm looking forward to. Click on the links to view them. A few of these you may recognize from my Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies of 2008 posts back in May. Beware: this post is uber-long, so I split it into 2 parts.
Here's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button trailer, which I posted about a while back, but this one is actually in English. Also, this is a TV spot that aired during the Olympics. It's not the best quality, but it shows some scenes from the film. Both are awesome, and I can't wait for the film. It has a mysterious aura to it, which I love. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett look spectacular, and Brad has the challenge of playing Benjamin at every age in his life (he ages backwards!). And, "Aquarium" from "Carnival of the Animals" was a great music choice for the trailer. :)
Changeling is Clint Eastwood's newest film, based on a true story about a woman trying to find her kidnapped son in 1920's L.A. Angelina Jolie plays the woman, Christine Collins. When the police find a boy that resembles her son, they return him back to her, but she doesn't think the boy is really her son. This leads to a momentous battle with the LAPD and Christine being sent to an asylum for her suspected insanity. It's an intriguing topic, but the trailer was...meh. I'd like to see more out of it, or perhaps it's b/c I've just seen some really awesome trailers lately. Angelina's mother role looks rather hammy, but then again, it is a grieving mother. The film itself garnered positive reception in May, when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, so we'll see what the rest of the critics think this fall.
Another film generating a lot of awards buzz at the various film festivals is Frost/Nixon. It tells the tale of David Frost (Michael Sheen), a British journalist, and his candid interviews with Nixon (Frank Langella) at the height of the Watergate scandal. Both actors look top-notch, and Langella definitely has a great shot at the Best Actor prize, which many people have speculated for months. The 2006 play version got rave reviews, and Langella won the Tony Award for Best Actor. Maybe that will translate to Oscar gold. A little background on the two lead actors: Michael Sheen most notably played Tony Blair in 2006's The Queen, and Frank Langella is a celebrated stage actor who hasn't gotten much recognition for his film work. I didn't really know who he was until I found out about this movie. From the trailer, some have said Langella's Nixon is too much of a charicature and reminds them of an SNL impression. I don't have much of an opinion, but I did notice his voice might have been a bit too exaggerated; I don't recall Nixon's voice being that big and booming. Anyway, that is for the individual to decide.
A new film from Atonement director Joe Wright, The Soloist is about LA Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) who meets and writes about a musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), also based on a true story. Nathaniel, once a Julliard student, is homeless and schizophrenic. The two form a close bond and learn much about each other. It seems like an inspirational story, but I've read some comments of people saying it might be too cheesy. Yes, this kind of film has definitely been done before, or as one person stated (it made me crack up a bit), "a very Oprah-friendly flick", but The Soloist might be able to separate itself from similar films.
That's all for now. More tomorrow.

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