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Movie Quote of the Day – (500) Days of Summer, 2009 (dir. Marc Webb)
Tom: It’s these cards and the movies and the pop songs, they’re to blame for all lies and the heartache, everything.
(500) Days of Summer and 9 Other Great Films the Academy Completely Ignored This Decade
I was really shocked that (500) Days of Summer was completely ignored by the Academy this year. It was on several critic’s top ten lists. It had won several critic awards for its screenplay. I really thought, at the very least, it would get nods for Original Screenplay and Editing (hello, that Expectations vs. Reality scene was fucking awesome). I even had it on my predictions for Best Picture.
Alas, this was not the case and was probably, for me, the biggest disappoint of Tuesday’s announcements. However, this is not the first time an amazing piece of cinema has gone completely un-lauded by the Academy. I’ve picked one film from each year of this past decade that also has zero Oscar nominations to its name.
My Oscar Nominations Predictions
The Academy Award nominations will be announced at 5:30AM PST tomorrow, February 2nd. I’ve got predictions for 10 of the 24 categories. I’m also going to supply some alternates. I love being able to predict what the nominations will be, but at the same time, it would be nice for some surprises to sneak in there too!
Best Picture:
- (500) Days of Summer
- An Education
- Avatar
- District 9
- The Hangover
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Precious
- Star Trek
- Up In The Air
(Alternates: Up, Invictus, A Serious Man)
5 Awesome Uses of Music in Film 2009
There were a lot of wonderful soundtracks and scores this year, as I mentioned in an earlier post. This time I’d like to talk about 5 instances where filmmakers used a song to enhance a scene.
Inglourious Basterds – Cat People (Putting Out The Fire With Gasoline) by David Bowie
BAFTA Nominations Are In
There are a few odd things in this list, but keep in mind these are for Britain, so some films that are eligible for Oscar haven’t been released there yet.
The one thing that is certain is Jeremy Renner is closer now to being a lock for a Best Actor nomination by the Academy.
Full list of nominees and my analysis after the cut.
Reflections on the Golden Globes
As shocking (and for many, upsetting) as Avatar‘s win over The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds is, it doesn’t mean it’ll take the top prize at the Oscars in March. It’ll be nom’d for sure, but that really is all that’s certain at this point.
Why I’m “Up In The Air”
Yesterday I finally saw Up In The Air, and as much I love (500) Days of Summer, Star Trek, Adventureland and Inglourious Basterds, I want it to win Best Picture.
My reasons are after the cut.
Top Fifteen Movies of 2009
Here’s my list of my Top 15 movies of the year. I really loved movies this year and there was just no way I could do just a Top Ten this year. Granted, I haven’t seen a lot of the “end of the year oscar buzz” movies, so perhaps after I get to see them later in the year this list would change, but as it stands now, this is my list.
Read the rest of this entry
Utah Film Critics Like “Up In The Air,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Best Picture
Up in the Air
(runners-up: The Hurt Locker; Inglourious Basterds)
Best Achievement in Directing
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
(runner-up: John Hillcoat, The Road)
the diary of a film history fanatic 