Grammys Aftermath: The Four Must-Have Artists

Somehow, the Grammys weren't absolute shit this year! Yes, this post may be a week (or two) late, but the biggest night for the music industry was actually something to remember for once - surprising underdog wins, electric performances, Gaga in an egg, Cee-Lo and Gwyneth Paltrow proving (again) to be an unstoppably giddy duo, Ricky Martin wearing scary silver pants, Christinia Aguilera falling down, etc. With lots of post-telecast Arcade Fire buzz (including the creation of this hilarious blog), I decided it was time to scream and shout about my favorite band, as well as others that hit the mark.

For starters, Arcade Fire probably had the worst performance of the night... unless you're a big fan of having a seizure while riding a bicycle. With a camera on your head. I mean, really, Arcade Fire? You might be Canadian, but that shit doesn't fly on American television. I was disappointed with this madcap performance - turn down those damn strobe lights and rock out. "Month of May" is also the most superficial track on The Suburbs ("We Used to Wait" would have been a better choice), but at least the band got to put out a confident "Ready to Start" as the credits rolled.

If you don't own The Suburbs, go buy it. Right now. While Funeral is still my favorite album from the band, they're an incredibly smart group of incredibly talented musicians that still remember the art of putting together a fully realized album; all of their stuff presents a theme, and works through its nuanced layers. I couldn't have been happier with their big win, and hope the new exposure works wonders.

Three other performers proved why you should be downloading - Florence + the Machine, Mumford & Sons, and the Avett Brothers. While Esperanza Spalding won Best New Artist (and was the most searched name on Google the next day, as no one had a fucking clue what was going on), Flo and Mumford & Sons should have been vying for the award; I've gushed about Lungs on the blog before, while Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More is one of my most played albums. The Avett Brothers have been around for a long time (their first full album was released in 2000), but paired with Mumford & Sons and Bob Dylan (who has definitely sold his soul to the Devil), they showed why they're still worth the buzz they've slowly built up through the years. Meanwhile, Flo's part in the opening Aretha Franklin tribute proved to everyone that this fire-haired Brit can sing the roof off (did I make up that expression...?). All three of these bands present different facets of what's truly hitting the mark in the more folky scene right now.

Next year, get ready for some heavy competition from the likes of Kanye West and Adele; My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is hands down the best "hip-hop" album in years, and proves the genius behind Kanye's outrageous public antics... while Adele's 21 (which is posied to debut at #1 on Billboard this week) is one of the most beautifully emotive albums ever put together, let alone by a 21-year-old woman.

Quote of the Day

Old snow is for losers.
-Little blonde girl, screaming on 113th Street

Quote of the Day

I feel like I'm in The Day After Tomorrow, rushing to get inside before the freezing air kills me instantly.
-Abaigeal Reilly

2010 Oscar Nominations - First Impressions

AND IT BEGINS! After my first frantic sprint through the nominee list, I'm happy with the results, especially given my frustration in recent years. There are certainly things I'm furious about (No Nolan for Directing?!!?! Ruffalo over Garfield for Supporting Actor? WHERE'S RYAN GOSLING?) and ecstatic over (Winter's Bone! Michelle Williams!), along with a few tradition curveballs (Javier Bardem, Jacki Weaver); given the momentum certain films have had throughout the awards circuit, I can't complain or nitpick too much (ex. the lack of love for my darling Blue Valentine).

The race for Best Picture undoubtedly comes down to The Social Network vs. The King's Speech. I'm giving the edge to The Social Network (right now), as it has won almost every possible critical award so far... However, The King's Speech leads the Oscar pack with 12 nominations. Whew.

The nominee in bold is what I believe will win (at this point in the race, as some categories are still up in the air), and the italicized nominee is my person favorite. Sometimes, these choices line up, hence the double duty. I'm only tackling the big(ger) categories, so head over to http://oscar.go.com/ for the full lineup; I certainly have options about all of the technical business, and am more than willing to have that conversation.

Best Picture
'Black Swan'
'The Fighter'
'Inception'
'The Kids Are All Right'
'The King's Speech'
'127 Hours'
'The Social Network'
'Toy Story 3'
'True Grit'
'Winter's Bone'

Best Actor
Javier Barden, 'Biutiful'
Jeff Bridges, 'True Grit'
Jesse Eisenberg, 'The Social Network'
Colin Firth, 'The King's Speech'
James Franco, '127 Hours'

Best Support Actor

Christian Bale, 'The Fighter'

John Hawkes, 'Winter's Bone'

Jeremy Renner, 'The Town'

Mark Ruffalo, 'The Kids Are All Right'

Geoffrey Rush, 'The King's Speech'

Best Actress
Annette Bening, 'The Kids Are All Right'
Nicole Kidman, 'Rabbit Hole'
Jennifer Lawrence, 'Winter's Bone'
Natalie Portman, 'Black Swan'
Michelle Williams, 'Blue Valentine'

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, 'The Fighter'
Helena Bonham Carter, 'The King's Speech'
Melissa Leo, 'The Fighter'
Hailee Steinfeld, 'True Grit'
Jacki Weaver, 'Animal Kingdom'

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, 'Black Swan'
David O. Russell, 'The Fighter'
Tom Hooper, 'The King's Speech'
David Fincher, 'The Social Network'
Joel & Ethan Coen, 'True Grit'

Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy, '127 Hours'
Aaron Sorkin, 'The Social Network'
Michael Arndt, 'Toy Story 3'
Joel & Ethan Coen, 'True Grit
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini, 'Winter's Bone'

Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh, 'Another Year'
Scott Silver & Paul Tamasy, 'The Fighter'
Christopher Nolan, 'Inception'
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg, 'The Kids Are All Right'
David Seidler, 'The King's Speech'

Quote of the Day

Listen honey, I don't care if you smell like straight manure, just please don't step on these heels. They're brand new.

-Rando woman on the 1 train, to a homeless man

Quote of the Day

So... is it Alejandro? Or Roberto?

-Jim Bolster, making some sort of joke about Lady Gaga

Ten Favorite Films of 2010

With Oscar talk finally reaching scorching levels, and the nominees to be announced January 25th, I figured it was high time to finally put together my favorite films of the year... These are my favorite films, not what I technically consider the "best"; these are the films that hit me the hardest, had me leaving the theater on the high , brain churning and heart thumping.

Critical darlings like True Grit, The Town, and The Fighter (Christian Bale is a lock for Best Supporting Actor, and I'll be rooting for Amy Adams to win Best Support Actress) just missed my top ten, and I excluded documentaries from this list (Exit Through the Gift Shop would definitely be nestled in the middle of the pack). There are a few films I wish I had seen, and hope to check out before February 27th - Another Year, Animal Kingdom, Biutiful, Somewhere, and I Am Love... If I've written a full review for the film, its title below links you over to that post.

10. 127 Hours - I'm not crazy about Danny Boyle's style, but he shows true flair and artistic inhibition with this unorthodox biopic about human triumph; anchored by James Franco's strong performance, the final 20 minutes of this film are transcendent.

9. The King's Speech - While I found the British historical drama a little safe for all of the crazed Best Picture buzz, Colin Firth's performance is nothing but perfection; Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter are inspiring choices, and the film's uplifting story is inspired.

8. Never Let Me Go - After mixed reviews from critics, and a lukewarm box office reception, this quiet and achingly gorgeous romance-drama with a tinge of sci-fi on the edges never found the audience it deserved. The tone isn't for everyone, but it follows the book's haunting mood and message.

7. Winter's Bone - Jennifer Lawrence is a big new talent in Hollywood, and I hope to see more from this young woman; there's a silent scream towards the end of the film that will rock your entire soul. One of the grittiest films of the year, this was potentially a made-for-television concept that is instead executed with class and restraint.

6. The Kids Are All Right- Too bad Julianne Moore isn't receiving more recognition next to (the brilliant) Annette Bening; both actresses are incredible strong as lesbian moms struggling to keep their family together. It's the smartest "comedy" of the year, centered by a flawless ensemble cast, a film truly about the strength of relationships.

5. Toy Story 3 - Pixar can do no wrong. It's as simple as that. This is the sort of film that can enthrall children while touching upon the deepest pangs of nostalgia in adults, and still entertains on every level.

4. Inception - Christopher Nolan once again proves he can do more than just steer the Batman franchise in the right direction; everything about this film is big, bold, and ambitious. It's not always perfect, but every second of this movie is pushing the summer blockbuster in a new direction.

3. The Social Network - David Fincher took the ludicrous idea of "the Facebook movie," and turned a quasi-biopic from 2004 into something brilliant and thought-provoking. The film shoots sparks with every intelligent frame, and Sorkin's script is truly jaw-dropping.

2. Blue Valentine - Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling create one of the most realistic relationships every captured on screen. It's a heartbreakingly beautiful film, raw and depressing while still illuminating and hopeful. My heart was in my throat for the entire film.

1. Black Swan - Natalie Portman's descent into artistic obsession as a prima ballerina is my personal cinematic obsession of the year. Darren Aronofsky's film might be wild and polarizing, but he's crafted one of the most visceral and overwhelming experience I've ever seen on the big screen. Aronofsky deftly plays with themes he's been exploring his entire career, and Black Swan is finally his masterpiece, gorgeous and breathtaking.

Quote of the Day

Catwoman? Yes, please... I can't stop thinking about Keira in sexy skintight black patent leather.

-Ross Ramone, on news that Keira Knightley is in the running for a female role in Christopher Nolan's third Batman film

Quote of the Day

I have decorum... I'm wearing a collared shirt!

-Ethan Smith

Film Review: 127 Hours

In 2003, Aron Ralston amputated his lower right arm after spending 127 hours trapped under a boulder, stranded while mountain climbing in Utah. Danny Boyle, the wily British director who recently took America, and the Oscars, by storm with the crowd-pleaser Slumdog Millionare, has developed Ralston's incredible true story as the source for his unconventional biopic, constructing as a nearly one-man show for actor James Franco, in his first truly star-making turn.

The story of 127 Hours is known by the audience going into the theater (Ralston's incredible tale of survival made national headlines; I vividly remember watching a new story about the ordeal), and Boyle moves briskly to set up the main stage for his action, zipping through Ralston's preparation for the clim and helping two girls her runs into (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn) on their own hike. When Ralston finally begins the 127 hours of confinement and frustration, the film takes off; it's an interesting construct, given that the action doesn't physically leave the small fissure Ralston is trapped in. Boyle employs his distinct directorial style to the picture, weaving in hallucinations and visions, creating a play between Ralston's reality and fiction that slowly deteriorates.

Boyle uses every trick in his book - gorgeous widescreen landscape shots, fisheye cameras, shifting perspective, montage, split screen, amplified color, sound manipulation. 127 Hours is a virtuoso performance for the director, a chance to reall play with his aesthetic; after the incredible success of Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle is given free reign on this unique follow-up. I personally don't care for some of Boyle's choices, which was my most problematic experience while watching the film; I respect Boyle's skills, but I'm decidedly not one of his fans. I think he created some truly astounding visual moments, but I often found the directorial choices to be burdensome and overdetermined. The visual tricks took me out of the tale, and often made me focus on what was going on with the camera rather than the man trapped in the canyon; I wish Boyle could have streamlined his vision a little bit, and let some of the most absurd moments breathe.

Regardless of Boyle's trappings, the film is a stage for James Franco and his incredible talents; if it weren't for Colin Firth's dynamo performance in The King's Speech, I'd be calling Franco my favorite for the Oscar come February. Franco fully embodies Ralston in a draining performance that shows an actor pushed to his limits. The entire film rests on Franco's shoulders. It's interesting that Boyle originally wanted Cillian Murphy as his lead. After seeing Franco in the role, pushing Ralston through his hallucinations to arrive at the gruesome climax, it's impossible to envision another actor embodying the human spirit of Ralston on screen.

Any problems I have with Boyle's direction is undone in the final 20 minutes; the finale is near-perfect cinema, and one of the most rewarding end notes this year. Boyle and Franco do not make the infamous amputation easy - it's gory, disturbing, and unsettling; there have been reports of people vomiting and passing out while in the theater (a woman in the show before mine was taken out by ambulance). It's a brutal sequence, but ultimately a beautiful and empowering one, taking the aesthetics of torture porn to new heights in the overriding determination of the human will to live. 127 Hours works so well because it ends as a triumphant tale about the human spirit, and about taking time to appreciate everything in life. If your heart isn't pounding, and if tears aren't pouring down your face, by the time the credits roll (Boyle does some wonderful soundtrack work to help that pull at the soul), you might need to ask yourself if you're alive at all. A-

Quote of the Day

I just think Prada should be shut down, and truly I think they hate Americans. I think they’re still angry at us for WWII.
-Joan Rivers, to New York Magazine

Film Review: Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine has been plagued by the hoopla over the MPAA's initial NC-17 rating; after an intense appeal process, the film (released in theaters December 29th) will be rated R, without any edits from the unrated cut that has been circling the festival circuit followed by heaps of praise. Every single lick of praise is well deserved for this small gem - Blue Valentine is one of my favorite films of the year (narrowly losing out to Aronofsky's masterpiece in Black Swan for the top spot), tapping into a deep emotional reserve that I've never quite seen splayed across the screen. Prepare for the onslaught of tears.

Blue Valentine tells the tale of two lovers, Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams). The story flits between the couple's dissolving marriage, centered around their daughter Frankie (the adorable Faith Wladyka, making a gorgeous feature debut that is absolutely heartbreaking), and the romantic kindling to their torrid relationship years earlier. One of the most astounding things about Blue Valentine is the emotionally punch behind such a seemingly slight structure; the narrative plays light and loose, but the way the film grabs you by the heart and never lets go is almost crippling. I have never seen a film this intense, or this real. I was wrecked by the time the credits rolled, so deeply affected I could barely move. It's a realism that's shattering and nearly revolutionary; watch who you see this film with, because the aftereffects are profound. This is the pinnacle of independent cinema, and a height that the industry should continually strive for.

The center of the film is focused on the couple's stay at a cheap "romance" motel, attempting to rekindle some sort of sexual chemistry that's been missing. The scenes in the motel are nearly embarrassing to watch, uncomfortable in the way that it feels like you're spying on a couple's most intimate, secret moments; it's a good thing that edits were not forced upon the studio to received an R rating, because deleting a single element would have diminished the spell this film casts. When things turn to the almost unbearable, director Derek Cianfrance flips to the giddy memories of true love, and the picture explodes in its tension between the two times.

Cinafrance crafts a rough, documentary aesthetic that works entirely with his seemingly invisible presence, and he pulls out impeccible performances from his two leads. The physical transformation between the two time periods is remarkable in and of itself, but the way both Gosling and Williams behave as coiled balls of energy is truly breathtaking. Both actors have fully inhabited their characters, and are completely devoted to their relationship at two distinctly different moments. Allegedly Gosling and Williams lived together before and during shooting, even participating in scripted conversations and fights. The performances carry an honesty that isn't usually seen in Hollywood; it's true naked abandon, and if both aren't awarded Oscar nominations, I will be livid. This is the best work the two have ever done.

The fact that the early NC-17 rating, and that the film is often said to be too "gory" in its depiction of a dying relationship, might hurt the chances of Oscar nominations for Blue Valentine makes me incredibly sad. If the (historically conservative) Academy can't recognize the bravest piece of cinema on screens this year, then something must change. Blue Valentine is gritty, raw, and honest with every frame. It's a pulsating depiction of love in all of its stages; it's not an easy film, but it's something that will touch everyone. The film is heartbreaking, but strangely uplifting. There is a unyielding heart beating firmly at the core of Blue Valentine; the film ends with an ellipses, not a period. It's not always perfect filmmaking, but the emotions at its core are undeniably perfect, almost impossibly rendered. Blue Valentine shows something truly beautiful, delicate and unflinching. A+

Quote of the Day

Alex, go buy some soda! People can't survive only on water. You need some soda on Christmas.

-Poppop

Quote of the Day

When I was pregnant with you, you know what my worst fear was? That you would come out with a cleft palate... Every expectant mother has an irrational fear!

-Mama Smith