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Best Picture

Micah Hatch — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:26:18 +0000

And here it is – the mountain top – the Best film of the year.

Epic.

Ok, they have expanded the film this year to 10. ten. One-Zero. This is like every march when the NCAA toys with expanding the NCAA Basketball pool. It isn’t that there are more quality contenders – it just means there are more contenders. So – Lets trim the feild and subtract the bottom 7:

Up: Good film, But an animation will not win best picture

Up in the Air: Solid film, but not a serious contender

District 9: Too Sci-fi action-y for the Academy.

The Blind Side: Too feel good, not enough meat in this drama.

An Education: Its a fine story that falls a bit too short of Oscar’s standards.

A Serious Man: A nod for the Coen Bros. previous work; but not as fine as their previous work

Precious: a film with buzz, but that buzz is a mosquito, not a wasp (ie – no sting here)

Hows that for trimming the fat off the kobe steak of the Academy? Now, we have beef that quality, not quantity. Now – best picture has to be the BEST all around film. It has to have strong acting, writing, directing and editing. Based off the nominations, that rules 1 of these films out right away (avatar has no acting nominations). That leaves 2 films, 2 films that face each other in almost every category that they are nominated for. One has won 3 major awards leading into the Oscars (2 for the best actor) while the other has won 18 major awards (not including the independent film festivals it has been accepted to) for Best picture, best director, Best actor, best editing and best cinematography. The second film the AP and Time magazine rank it in the top 10 films made in 2009; The AP also lists it as one of the top 10 films in the last 10 years.

DAMN.

Ladies and Gentleman – picked the latter of these two the first time I saw it to win (The Hurt Locker) and the former I said was not great enough to win (Inglourious Basterds). I just wanted to give you the evidence to support what I have said all along – “The Hurt Locker” Is the best picture of the year.

MY PICK: The Hurt Locker

ACADEMY AWARD GOES TO: Avatar

Best Director

Micah Hatch — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:15:55 +0000

When you think of the words “Best Director”, What comes to mind? Francis Ford Coppola for Godfather II (believe it or not – he never won for the Godfather. Look it up)? Scorsese for not winning so many times? Oliver Stone? Ford for… well, everything? Regardless, history happens with this nomination. 18 times men (every winner has been a man) have been repeat winners (for 40 of the 81 Best director oscars ever given out)

Basically, win 1, and you have a chance of potentially winning again if your nominated.

This is only the 2nd time an african-american has been nominated for an Oscar (first Was John Singletary for “Boyz in the Hood”, who is also the youngest nominee in history) and the 4th woman in history. The Academy is notorious for not taking first time nominees, or directors early in their career – is there a reason for that? Maybe because there are many fine directors who have never won, maybe because it takes many years to hone this craft, and you have to pay your dues to get the respect of the directing community.

So – who wins?

I find it hard to believe that Jason Reitman has paid his dues – though he has made a very solid and fine film – to get an Oscar this time through. The same goes with Lee Daniels for Precious; though the film was good, I doubt he can get the statuette this time through. As a result – that leaves us 3 films

Quentin Tarantino seems to be here every time he makes a film. His self proclaimed masterpiece, 10 years in the making, “Inglourious Basterds” is a fine film in the vein of Tarantino films. At the same time, Tarantino doesn’t really make a film that does anything daring directing-wise. He is solid, and a pure student of film, constantly watching films from around the world, in all genres and all points in history. But proclaiming something as your masterpiece does not a masterpiece make.

Kathryn Bigelow has paid her dues and then some. In her first film in 7 years after being basically blacklisted after the debacle known as “K19 – The widowmaker” in 2002 (affectionately known as K-19: The Careertanker) she has come back to create a true masterpiece, a film that not only encapsulates the Iraq war disaster, but the feelings of being on the front line.

In a year where Avatar earns more money then any other in global ticket sales, gets 9 nominations – I can see James Cameron going home empty handed.

MY PICK: The Hurt Locker

ACADEMY AWARD GOES TO: The Hurt Locker

Academy Awards Pre-viewing pleasures!

Micah Hatch — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

I am all atwitter (yes, I just said “atwitter”. Get over it.) about this week. First, it is Super Bowl week, a magical week where football comes to a magnificent head and blows its shoulder padded load all over sports fans from coast to coast. Ask a football fan who they think is going to win, and they will give you a step by step breakdown of the season, who has the better secondary when in a 3rd and long scenario when blitzing 4 and the free safety in the A gap (I know – for those who aren’t football fans like I, you just read white noise. Yes you CAN read white noise. read the previous sentence and see if any of it makes sense). But other then my irrational obsession with football, this is ACADEMY NOMINATION WEEK! I am so over stimulated viscerally (since this NEVER happens, them both occurring the same time!) that I actually haven’t stopped talking for an entire day about the Oscars or football. And with some people, BOTH! By Sunday, the phrase “Who’s going to win” will have crossed my lips no less the 2,173 times, and made those closest to me contemplate the benefits of murder. Just to be clear: Yes you go to jail, and might be forced to give up “lovin’” to a large man named Bruno, but you never have to cook your own food again, or wash your cloths, plus prison workout are notoriously harsh, whopping you into the best shape of your life. So it isn’t all bad. But I digress…

This might be an odd choice – picking my favorites to win BEFORE viewing all the films. In fact, it probably would never work EVER. But, every year before the football season even starts – in fact, immediately AFTER Sunday’s game, the pundit’s will be picking NEXT years SuperBowl match-up. It is one of the glories of sport – you have a small pool in which to pick from, and you have basically a 1 in 16 shot of getting a team in the SuperBowl right. So, in that spirit, I will be picking My favorites for each category NOW, and then as I watch and review the films individually, my opinions might change. So we will see how this little experiment holds out. So, without further adieu…

BEST PICTURE
Good God… 10?! TEN BEST PICTURES NOMS….!?
Settle in for a second. think how much a waste that is. there is no runner up statuette. No Bronze Oscar for 3rd place. Just one. Why do we need 10?! In past years, yes, that might have been needed, even necessary. But this year? Look at the list, and you can find four films that can be scratched off right away (My thought on that: would Up, The Blind Side, District 9 or An Education be on this list in ANY other year?) My front-runner is “A Hurt Locker”. Now, I must admit, when it came out in theaters, I was not overly enthusiastic on it. However, I am hearing good things (yes, I saw it too, and was impressed) and think it has an excellent shot. All that being said, it is James Cameron’s “Avatar” that steals the glory – though I do think that there is a chance you might see Lee Daniel’s up there for “Precious”

Prediction: Avatar. Hopeful: The Hurt Locker. Dark Horse: Precious

BEST DIRECTOR
Maybe it is just me, but isn’t it a huge misnomer that the Best Director DIDN’T direct the best film? Shouldn’t that be the case? Wouldn’t the best director ALWAYS make the best film?
Not when James Cameron is making a film.
Ok, Ok, that is just me being bitter. James Cameron knows how to shoot an epic, visually stunning film. The way he creates a scene that is brilliant before your eyes borders on genius. There in lies the problem. If he worked for McDonald’s, He would make 1 Big Mac a day, it would cost 43 dollars (even though the menu said $4.95) look like the most incredible Big Mac ever. But there lies the problem: Once you eat it, you realize it taste just like every other Big Mac, and, even though it is pretty, you walk away still feeling a little hungry, like something was missing. Ladies and Gentleman: AVATAR!
Maybe I am not being fair, having not seen it yet. But – I somehow doubt it.

Prediction: A Hurt Locker Hopeful: Up in the Air Dark Horse: Avatar

BEST ACTOR
At first glance – I was shocked, and thought: “My God – this is the weakest Best Actor Class I can EVER imagine!” Jeff Bridges? Clooney? Jeremy Renner? You cannot be serious…
But then I thought about it. Jeff Bridges has always been around in that arena of “he could be brilliant or nuts – time will tell”. In a hybrid story of Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard, I keep picturing “The Dude” as Johnny Cash in “walk the line”. Let me put it another way: Remember when Michael Jordan Retired the first time and went away to play baseball, and people thought “its Michael Jordan! He can do anything!” especially to us impressionable 12-13-14 year olds then. Then we saw him hit. and field. and realized that something was not quite right as we watch the HOUSTON ROCKETS win the NBA title TWICE!!!
I am getting that sense of foreboding with Jeff Bridges.

Prediction: Collin Firth Hopeful: Jeff Bridges Dark Horse: George Clooney

BEST ACTRESS
As weak as the men are, the woman are that strong. It is like looking at an amazing cross section of talent, young, in Prime, and older – Maybe some of you remember the 1999 All Star game at Fenway – the all century team – as they announced these hall of famers, every name that came out was bigger then the last, some recently deceased, others long gone, but the chills, the chills you get from seeing Pete Rose on the field, getting a standing ovation, Ted Williams coming out, being announced as “the Greatest Hitter of all time” and throwing the ball to Nomar in his prime… It brings a tear to your eye.
Ladies and Gentlemen…. The Greatest living actress… Meryl Streep.

Prediction: Meryl Streep Hopeful: Helen Mirran Dark Horse: Gabourey Sidibe

Best Supporting
I will group Men and women together for the because… well, I can. Who Do you go with? Those who have been nominated before? What about the ones who already have a statue, do they deserve another? How about those who played creepy, despicable characters? What about a military person (though I am not saying which side he fought on…)? The List could go on… But the roles, they are more limited.

Prediction: Stanely Tucci Hopeful: Cristoph Waltz Dark Horse: Christopher Plummer
Prediction: Mo’Nique Hopeful: Maggie Gyllenhaul Dark Horse: Penelope Cruz

Best Original/Adaptive Screenplay
Someone recently asked me what the difference was between the two.
Seriously.
I blinked until I thought my eyes would shoot out of my head. For those of you who might not know: Best original screenplay is for the film that is a concept created solely by the writer (hence ORIGINAL) where best adaptive is taken from another source (Theatre, novel, ETC)
If this isn’t obvious enough for you, just ask me for a further explanation, leave me your address, and please, don’t mind me when I arrive at your house with a shovel to crack you over the head.

Prediction: Inglourious Basterds Hopeful: A Serious Man Dark Horse: The Messenger
Prediction: Precious Hopeful: In the Loop Dark Horse: Up In the Air

CES 2010 Sony Dash & Bravia NX800 with 3D

Thunder E — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:05:00 +0000

The Sony Dash is a 7” personal Internet viewer that allows it user to have a desktop internet device placed anywhere around the home. The cool thing about the Dash is that is supports Flash based widget,. Sony has 1000 available at launch,, everything from sports updates, viewing email, photos to a Lava Lamp. The Dash will Retail for $199.99

The Sony Bravia NX 800 Series

Full HD 1080p resolution

Edge LED Backlighting with monolithic design

Motionflow 240Hz technology for smooth motion

Built-in Wi-Fi¹

BRAVIA Internet Video and Widgets²

Full HD 3D ready technology (emitter and glasses sold separately)Sony wants its user to have the ability to choice between getting a Solid television and doing a simple upgrade to 3D

Avatar- $1 billion in three weeks

Thunder E — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:44:26 +0000

Wow, just wow. In three weeks Avatar has become the fastest movie to reach the $1 billion mark worldwide. Which makes James Cameron the only Director to have two $1 billion movies. This puts Avatar at 4th all time above Dark Knight.

Enjoy Y’r Entertinament- 3D Technology at home

Thunder E — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:59:12 +0000

In this edition of Enjoy Y’r entertainment, we discuss the emerging success of 3D tech and how companies are going to start implementing it with TV’s and Bluray players in 2010. Will it be a content driven push with the success of movies like Avatar and Toy Story? Or manufacturer driven by like of Sony & Samsung.? How will price pay a role?

Avatar Movie tech Review

Thunder E — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:34:21 +0000

Had the opportunity to see the movie Avatar over the Weekend at a Imax 3D theater. With that I present our first Video Movie review, though this isn’t a typical review. Rather it covers the technology used in the movie and the use experience. What and how future movies may benefit from this and also some set backs I saw in the technical presentation. Enjoy

p.s I give the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars

Avatar New Trailer

Thunder E — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:30:32 +0000

Its time to sell the movie hard