Oscar Review

I was VERY happy with the turnout of this year's Academy Awards.

Why Miley Cyrus was on it, I don't know...but it was a great show.

I think we all predicted Avatar to sweep the board, so that's why I casted most of my votes for it. I loved The Hurt Locker, but I didn't anticipate it winning 6 awards including Best Picture + Director. Thankfully James Cameron didn't get the ego boost he had anticipated.

The acting awards were predictable, but I'm very happy with who won (except I never saw Crazy Heart). Sandra Bullock was great in The Blind Side, along with Cristoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (wish it won more) and Mo'Nique in Precious (oh my gosh).

So glad Up won two awards. Such a great animated film.

I did wish Up in the Air had won for Best Adapted Screenplay, but I really can't complain with Precious.

I'd like to watch a few of these movies again so expect some reviews in the near future...

2007

2007 was another great year in movies. Lenny and I went to the movies almost every weekend this year as we both prepared to leave LA. I saw 33 movies this year and spent a whopping $251.

Before I give you the rankings, let me just warn you, No Country for Old Men did not make the cut. While this movie was great and definitely deserved its Oscar win, I just wasn't as amazed as I expected to be. After seeing it a few times now, I have definitely gained more respect for the Coen brothers' unique style of filmmaking (if you haven't seen Fargo, add it to your netflix now). However, the my top 3 picks for '07 go to:

1. Shooter
2. 3:10 to Yuma
2. The Bourne Ultimatum
3. Into the Wild

For me, Shooter is another classic action thriller. Every time I watch it, I am amazed at the storyline and how it manages to continually surprise me. The cast is perfect with the balance of known (Wahlberg, Glover) and unknown (Mara, Pena) actors. Mark Wahlberg is a pro, and I'm eagerly waiting for his first Oscar win.

Let's keep this short. Here's the rest for '07:

Funniest Movies:
1. I Now Prounounce You Chuck & Larry
2. Knocked Up (don't see this with your sister like I did)
3. Blades of Glory

Worst Movies:
1. Balls of Fury
2. Evan Almighty
3. Mr. Brooks

Biggest Disappointments:
1. Spider-Man 3
2. I Am Legend (sorry everyone...I expected much more out of this film. Will did great, but the storyline just didn't strike me as very engaging except for the one scene with the dog)

Meet Lenny

This blog wouldn't be complete without giving my cousin Lenny a proper introduction. I grew up going to the movies with Lenny. We started out with movies like Rugrats (first time I ever cried in a movie), then we moved on to more sophisticated cartoons, and then on to certain films my parents probably wouldn't have wanted her to take me to.

Lenny had been thinking about getting out of LA and when we decided to come to Nashville she decided she would follow us out and move to Phoenix. I only get to see her 2 or 3 times a year now, but we talk almost every week and most of our conversations consist of nothing but movies and TV.

Our big question now is...who's going to win Best Picture on Sunday?
I'm pulling for Inglourious Basterds. I think they can surprise us and win over Avatar. What do you think?