Yearly Archives: 2011
Cinema Fanatic’s 2011 Holiday Gift Guide
It’s that time of year. Everyone is frantically trying to finish end of the year projects at work or at school. People are freaking out because they are alone (hopefully not forever though!), etc. etc. It’s also that time of year when we celebrate those we love by giving them things we think they’ll love (or that we love and want to convince them to love, too). Thus I give you my first-ever Holiday Gift Guide, filled with 15 things that I think would make awesome gifts for the movie lover in your life.
Movie Quote of the Day – Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, 1997 (dir. Jay Roach)
Dr. Evil: You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads! Now evidently my cycloptic colleague informs me that that can’t be done. Can you remind me what I pay you people for, honestly? Throw me a bone here! What do we have?
Number Two: Sea Bass.
Dr. Evil: [beat] Riiiight.
Number Two: They are mutated sea bass.
Dr. Evil: Really? Are they ill-tempered?
Number Two: Absolutely.
Dr. Evil: Oh, well, that’s a start.
Movie Quote of the Day – Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 2008 (dir. Nicholas Stoller)
Sarah Marshall: It got really hard to keep taking care of you when you stopped taking care of yourself. I tried to get you out of the house. I tried to get you off your little island you love so much – the couch. You didn’t want to see the light of day. God, there was one week when you wore sweatpants. . .every day.
Peter Bretter: Oh, you know what, if they were Sean Jean sweatpants it would have been fine, but because they were Costco brand, it’s the worst thing I could do.
Oscar Vault Monday – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969 (dir. George Roy Hill)
This was one of the first films I remember seeing as a child as well as one of the first I remember seeing multiple times. It was a favorite of both of my parents (and presumably still is). It’s also one of the most beloved films of all time. Currently it ranks #152 on the IMDb’s user rating generated Top 250. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is on several of the American Film Institute’s lists: 100 Years… 100 Movies – #50, 100 Years… 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #73, 100 Years… 100 Thrills – #54100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains: Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid – #20 Heroes and the 10 Top 10 – #7 Western Film. In 2003 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning four: Best Sound, Best Cinematography (won), Best Score (won), Best Song (won), Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Director and Best Picture. Surprisingly neither Paul Newman nor Robert Redford were nominated for Best Actor. The winner in 1969, Midnight Cowboy, was also nominated for seven Academy Awards, and actually won less awards than Butch Cassidy; it won Adapted Screenplay, Director and Picture (both its leads were nominated, but lost Best Actor to John Wayne in True Grit). The other films nominated that year were Anne of the Thousand Days, Hello, Dolly! and Z (which won film editing – often an award that aligns with Best Picture, and Best Foreign Language Film).
The Artist, Scorsese Winners At Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards
Looks like the race is off to be more of the same film winning over and over again. At least the acting categories are a little different for this critics group. The winners are after the cut; you can see the full list of nominees here.
The Artist Still Frontrunner After Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Nominations
I still think I need to see The Artist again before I decide my final thoughts on it. Really glad to see Drive and Michael Shannon still in the mix. Some interesting nominations in the supporting categories. The winners will be announced tomorrow.

























