One Day to Oscar!

So my plan to blog regularly leading up the Oscars was, obviously, not realized.

However, I did manage to see all ten nominees for Best Picture (as well as a fair amount of others). 2010 was indeed a good year for film. The biggest change in "gearing up to Oscar" is that there is so much media these days that there are rarely any surprises, and if there are, they are "predictable" surprises like one of the dark horse nominees in one of the Supporting categories. It renders the who-will-win speculations almost irrelevant. What is too bad is that the perpetual "Oscar news" almost never gets beyond the same sound bites. Which is a shame given all the potential to profile some stellar work.

So I'm not going to talk about who I think will win.

I can say that there was only one Best Pic nominee that I didn't like this year - Winter's Bone. Perhaps it was because I had high expectations. It's the lone quiet, low-budget indie pic of the group, an instant underdog. But God was it boring. Excruciating. Now there are some who will accuse me of not being patient, of not being able to appreciate the "subtleties" of such a film. To them I say, that is bull. I blame the editor. All of the scenes are full ones, meaning we are privy to every piece of the action - someone leaves their house, walks to the car, gets out of the car, walks to their destination, knocks on the door, waits, the door opens and they state their business, they enter the house, get settled, have a conversation, leave, walk to the car, drive, etc. Over and over and over. Properly edited, the whole thing could have taken forty minutes and not lost a single plot point.

On the other hand, 127 (which I wrote about last entry) is surprisingly exhilarating and uplifting story for being about a guy who is stuck in a canyon for five days and has to cut off his arm. Filmmaking at its best.

I was also pleasantly impressed by Blue Valentine, the small indie pic that wasn't nominated for Best Picture (but surely could have taken Winter's Bone's spot...) but got a nod for Michelle Williams for Best Actress. I'll admit, I was a bit afraid to see it which, for a film buff, can be an intoxicating notion. I was afraid because I'd heard it was intense, hard to watch. I was intrigued because I couldn't quite get a feel for why. Sometimes, if there is gratuitous violence or a one-dimensional display of victimization, I don't want those images stuck in my head. But I didn't find Blue Valentine hard to watch at all. Yes, I left the theater preoccupied by the dynamics and the subject matter, but I'll choose that any day over a movie that is just something to do to spend an evening.

What I liked about Blue Valentine most was the way the story was told. When we meet the two main characters - a blue-collar married couple with a young child - they are clearly at a crossroads in their marriage. It's hard to tell exactly what is wrong, but both are weary. The filmmakers jump back and forth in time, revealing various pieces of their history that build to an appropriate climax. What I love most is that, at the end, neither is clearly to blame. There a dozen major complexities that ultimately seal this couple's fate. I liked that it was not a story where you spent the movie rooting for someone you know will ultimately get away. At the end of this one, I found myself honestly hoping they could work it out.

In terms of the Oscar broadcast itself, I am really looking forward to seeing hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway. I give the producers a lot of credit for going young. At the same time, Franco and Hathaway bring a sense of old-school charm to the table where it doesn't just seem like some old white guys are desperately baiting a younger demographic by bringing in some "young people".

Last year, right after the last Oscars, I was out in L.A. for the first time in my life. I got to take a tour of the Kodak Theater (the highlight of my trip) and love that I can watch and recognize certain places.

Sure would be nice to make it into that audience one day.

127 Hours

James Franco is everywhere.

If you take away the movies (of which, according to imdb, there are six more to come just this year), there is the collection of short stories, a regular part on General Hospital (yes, the soap), the guest spot of 30 Rock, and an upcoming run on Broadway.

And he's co-hosting the Oscars this year...

I had not been a big Franco fan. I just chalked him up to a restless young star willing to be overexposed while his flame was hot. I think it was when the short stories came out and I accused him of doing the bait-and-switch (the "while I'm famous I might as well go ahead and cut my album" syndrome).

127 changed that for me. I now love James Franco. Or maybe I love Aron Ralston, the real-life climber Franco plays in the movie. Or Danny Boyle who directed it. Needless to say, I found it to be a great experience all-round. I doubt it will win anything on Oscar night, but it's worthy.

I didn't go in with any sort of expectations or knowing much at all (which is good for me and very, very rare). I knew the premise - basically, a hyper-active hiker gets trapped and cuts off his arm to save his life - and I knew the filming was fast-paced. A face-paced tale where the main character can't move most of the show? I was in, if only to see how Boyle pulled it off.

As you might imagine, this involves some flashback, but mostly fantasy, but here it works.

I'd heard the opening described as "jittery" which worried me a little. Jittery usually translates to bad hand-held camera which makes me nausous. But it's not like that. Boyle uses split screen and fast cuts in a surprising fluid fashion which manages to emphasize the action without the typcial "get it? this guy lives fast" rib poke.

I don't want to give away much more, but be prepared to come out of the show wanting to climb some mountains.

Oscar Season Begins!

Sunday afternoon I was sitting at the bar at Max & Erma's having a late lunch, and the bartender asked me who I favored for one of the NFL playoff games. I smiled, knowing I had no good answer for this man who was surely just making friendly conversation. "Well, if you'll tell me whose playing," I said, "I can take a good guess."

I do, however, know that the nominations for the Academy Awards are announced on the last Tuesday of January...

Most of the nominees this year are a surprise to no one. But I think that has become a sign of the times. There is so much more media now-days that it is impossible for something to be "dug up" that hasn't already gotten a lot of attention.

One thing is for sure, 2010 was a good year for movies.

As far as the Best Pic nominees, I was hoping that the decision to have ten nominees (started last year) would have reverted back to five. But no. I'm not at all a fan of this decision, but I will refrain from this rant because no real good or insight can come from it.

As to the films nominated, there is no obvious "dud" or commercial favorite that has no business on the list, which is nice. For me, the clear forerunners are - The Social Network, The King's Speech, and True Grit. My personal favorite for the win is The Social Network. It has an engaging script (by Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame) and great performances. But more than that, it is one of those rare "contemporary" films that manages to capture the essence of a not-so-distant past/present that feels very timely. What makes it intriguing is that we are able to view its success alongside a sea of less notable films, television shows, music, and books that are attempting to do the same thing and failing.

The King's Speech was very solid all-round, but I couldn't help feeling like it was very dated. The story is very linear and predictable (flawed noble underdog gets help from unlikely source and ultimately triumphs...) but Colin Firth deserves everything he's got coming to him, and there were a few scenes that were simply breathtaking in its cinematography. True Grit was also solid and touching. I'd love to see Hailee Steinfield (the fourteen year old making her debut) take home the Oscar for Supporting, but that category is exceptionally strong this year.

I won't go through the whole list, that gets tedious and boring. I can say that I only have four out of the ten shows to see (127 Hours, The Fighter, Inception, and Winter's Bone).

Last year, my gearing-up-for-the-Oscars project was to see as many Meryl Streep movies as I could to tip the proverbial scales in hope of a win for Streep for Julie and Julia. Alas, my efforts were in vain, but I have not given up the pursuit of a new project.

Tune in for further developments...

Official Reason I Have Not Been Posting

Tonight I was at a birthday party and got the question, "Hey, why haven't you blogged?" It was my friend's mom who I'd forgotten had been a regular visitor...

When I started this blog, almost two years ago, I'd already been thinking about it for at least that long. One of the reasons I hesitated is that I didn't want to be one of those people who just stopped posting. It was one of my main peeves in a reading blogs. So I made an effort to post every five or six days. And I did that for the good part of those two years.

Then I stopped. I've turned into one of those people.

But with good reason. I have stopped because I am working on my manuscript. Truly. I'm more than half way through my fourth draft and with the new job eating away at formerly unlimited free time (not that I'm complaining about having a steady income...) I honestly do not have the head space to do both right now.

So if you've been one of the lovely people who continue to check in on me, I will return.

...especially when Oscar season begins...

Thoughts While Driving...

So it's been a while. I know that.

And I miss it, the blogging, but quite frankly it's boring to talk about. However, I am surprised to find myself stopping short of writing every time I think of something. Of course much of it has to do with starting the new job. And I'm happy to yield my creative energies in that direction for a little while. But at some point I'm sure to find myself chomping at the bit.

In the meantime, here are some thoughts that have not quite made it into full-blown explorations.

- The other night I was driving home and came across the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". I laughed because I can remember thinking, as a kid, that the Devil totally won that competition. Listening now, it's clear that the Devil's piece was heavily reliant upon his back up band and all he really does is screech the bow menacingly back and forth across the strings. On the other hand, it was the 1970s I felt Johnny's solo seemed very old-fashioned-y hillbilly cornpone. It is now quite obvious that Johnny was the more technically adept fiddle player.

- Likewise, I heard Duran Duran and was reminded of another time when I was sure of what I believed, only to laugh now. I was at a slumber party for a youth organization I was involved in. The age range of the girls in attendance was eleven to sixteen, which makes for an interesting mix, but I was in the younger girl group and we simply thought it was cool that the older girls still (if somewhat begrudgingly) wanted to hang around with us. Anyway, we were watching Friday Night Videos (the poor man's MTV) and Hungry Like the Wolf came on. We were enthralled. Toward the end of the video there is a very explicit scene of a couple kissing, with prevalent tongue action. One of my friends let out an "Eww" and a few of us responded in kind. Looking over at the couch, I caught the eye of one of the sixteen year olds who, with arms folded, half rolled her eyes and said, "In a few years you'll like all of it and it'll all be just fine..."

- I bought a new car, which means I said goodbye to the Jeep. I kind of feel bad since at the end it was more like a good riddance (what with the gummy mess of tape from the roof stuck to my arm all day long and the miserably hot summer with no A/C). But there will be some day when I will miss it - the howdy-do waves from young men, the ease in parallel parking (okay, so I will admit I have not yet grown comfortable doing this in the new Nissan...) the general hipness it seemed to evoke in perfect strangers. But alas, when I gathered my last stray CD from it's crumb-covered floor and swung the door shut, I felt pretty satisfied.

- I am off on another adventure, leaving tomorrow to meet up with friends from graduate school in Vail, and remembering that I went out almost a year ago to help the friend with said house prepare it for ski season. I am eager to return to the lush countryside of Colorado and stand in awe of its vast beauty.

Okay, so that wasn't so hard. Now I've just got to find a way to sustain it...

The Ficus That Loves Me

While moving into my apartment in Grandview in the fall of 1996, I was out at one of the big box stores, buying light bulbs or returning the wrong size window blinds (or something equally errand-y), when I impulse-bought a small potted ficus tree.

I knew nothing of plants. Even having grown up the daughter of an avid gardener, my knowledge and experience was embarrassingly low. Still, something compelled me and I heaved it into my cart filled with items for my new place.

Over the years, I've bought other plants, a spider plant here, an adopted aloe plant there. But they never lasted. The cat ate one, another simply refused to grow roots and could be lifted in and out of the pot at will, and another required more water than I could consistently remember to provide. But ficus has thrived.

It survived my time at COSI (where I worked 18-hour days for two solid months and once left glass from a shattered ceiling fan on my bedroom floor for four days). It survived the move to my home where I placed it in the middle of the large picture window, with the same sun it received in the apartment. At Christmas, I adorn it with a single strand of lights and top it with a Santa hat left over from college.

What I love most about the tree is it's gentle forgiveness. It doesn't require me to work for its reward. When I remember to prune it back, tiny leaves grow in and impress me; when I don't, it doesn't punish me. The other day, my friend Brooke, while waiting on me to go for a walk, wondered allowed if maybe the pot was too small. It took me a week and a half of thinking about it, purchasing (and then returning) a pot way too big, and inquiring about the right type of potting soil, but I finally got the plant settled into it's new digs.

Tonight I spread out newspaper and carefully went about my first-ever plant transplant. I've seen my mother perform dozens of these over the years and never once considered its point beyond an obligated task. But it felt good to do something for my ficus. A long over-due thank you of sorts.

Makes me consider getting another plant. But I probably won't anytime soon.

Running to Stand Still

In a few hours a mini-van filled with writers will arrive in my driveway and swoop me away for a long weekend of reading and writing and generalized mixture of comraderie and solitude.

I've been looking forward to it all week. Well, longer than that, but the anticipation has ramped up considerably in tandem with a busy schedule full of unknowns.

It's no secret that I've been looking for consistent work for quite some time. For my whole adult life it sometimes seems, but, of course that's not quite an accurate perspective, just how I feel in the moment. However, in the past week, I've been in the early first-interview stages of three opportunites with great potential. As I've been busy juggling all of the proverbial balls and exhausting myself with the "what if" game, I've been itching to get my butt in on a porch swing and comb over comments from my manuscript.

The retreat place is a large former "hunting cabin" set up with a large living space and several small rooms with single beds and sinks. There is a large kitchen and dining area for leisurely meals, and, best of all, that sprawling back porch overlooking a creek. Last year we spent most of our time on that porch; quite a sight, all those open laptops among the trees.

But first I need to finish my lengthy to-do list...