Tag Archive: mickey rourke


Golden Globes 2010 Predictions

Filed under: Uncategorized — Leave a comment
January 12, 2010

2010 has gotten off to a crazy start, so I’m posting my Golden Globe predictions to start the week.  I doubt I’ll see any more of the films between now and Sunday, so away we go…

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Who I’d Like to Win: The Hurt Locker.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if it does win.  It all starts with the script as they say.

Who Will Probably Win: Up in the Air.  The modern day equivalent of a classic Hollywood film.  You threw in the fact that it’s more upbeat than Locker and it was directed by a (legitimately talented) Hollywood legacy kid, and all the signs of there.  That said, Tarantino is HUGE overseas and this is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, so who knows?

Best Director – Motion Picture

Who I Want to Win: Katheryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Who Will Probably Win: Katheryn Bigelow.  This is one of those categories where every nominee is legitimate, but I think the Globes will set the stage for a female director to walk away with the top prize.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture

Who I Want to Win: Matt Damon in the upset. 

Who Will Probably Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds.  This is the scene stealer category.  Not much more to add.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture

Who I Want to Win: Mo’Nique.

Who Will Probably Win:  As cynical as I am, I think the two ladies from Up in the Air will split the vote and Mo’Nique will actually win this category.

Best Actor – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical

Who I Want to Win: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 500 Days of Summer.  If I could have played any role in a movie I saw in the past 12 months, this would have been it.  I admit I’m jealous.

Who Will Probably Win:  Man, I could make a strong case for every nominee here.  I really don’t know so I’ll go with Gordon-Levitt.

Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical

Who I Want to Win: Meryl Streep – It’s Complicated.

Who Will Probably Win:  Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia Yeah I know I’m cheating a bit here, but…it’s Meryl Streep.

Best Actress – Motion Picture – Drama

Who I Want to Win: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious.  Now the cynicism kicks in – it ain’t gonna happen.  But giving the sister her due.

Who Will Probably Win:  Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side.  Accuse me of being biased since she was by far one of the most down to earth actresses I’ve met (on her level), but I think Blind Side mania gets its coup de gras with a victory here.

Best Actor – Drama

Who I Want to Win: George Clooney, Up in the Air.  You know, as I write this entry I’m starting to recognize how much personal biases really do shape who wins awards in this town.  Ah, got to love Hollywood politics…

Who Will Probably Win: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart.  I think this is this year’s ‘Mickey Rourke Special’ where a guy who’s been around forever gets some overdue love from his peers.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Who I Want to Win: 500 Days of Summer. If for no other reason than the Hall & Oates dance sequence.  Damn you, Joseph Gordon-Levitt…

Who Will Probably Win: The Hangover.  Time will tell if this film is as transcendent as the comedies that came before it, but it was certainly the crowd pleaser of the year.

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Who I Want to Win: Up in the Air.  One more admission of bias: Clooney’s the star, they shot in the Midwest, and guys I’ve worked with worked on this film.

Who Will Probably Win:  The Hurt Locker.  And I won’t be remotely upset of it does win.  The most ‘powerful’ film of last year in my opinion.

One last note, Ricky Gervais is the host.  I’m in the cult of people who love his sense of humor; if you’re unfamiliar with his work (creator of The Office and Extras, two shows I love), the Globes is probably the perfect opportunity to see if he’s your cup of tea or not.

Later,

M

Advertisements
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

My Thoughts on the Oscars

Filed under: Movie Reviews, the Batman — Leave a comment
February 23, 2009

 

oscar1

Hey, did, did someone correctly predict four out of five in the major categories?  (And I said I could see Penelope winning, scroll down.)  Maybe I should think about a career in the movie industry?  No, this year was fairly predictable if you’ve been following awards season.  Anyway, quick thoughts on the show in no particular order…

Thought the change in format was excellent.  Don’t know if you can do this every year, but it was great to be different.

Hugh Jackman’s opening was a nice way to set the mood, but I was hoping they wouldn’t overdo the ‘musical’ thing.  Uh oh…

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Man on Wire is a really enjoyable documentary if you haven’t seen it.  Don’t let the quirky French cat who balanced the Oscar on his face turn you off to it if you haven’t seen it.

Five past winners welcoming the ‘new kid’ into the club?  Brilliant.  That can stay.

How the hell did they convince Jerry Lewis to keep it short?

The first musical number was the first thing to pull me out of the show.  But Beyonce showing off that thickness in the red piece?  As a great man once said, “Great googly moogly.”

Let’s get these out of the way with one train of thought:  Right as I was daydreaming about how smooth and natural Alicia Keys-Aziz sounds, my ‘Best Man’ had to text me to tell me she was wearing too much makeup.  I don’t know why but they cracked me up.

But in case there was any doubt about who is still the Sexiest and Most Beautiful Black Woman on the Planet, Halle Berry had to show up and remind the young’uns she ain’t giving up her crown anytime soon.

Alright, now back to the show…

I’m a fan of Queen Latifah, but I was a little irritated they had to sing through the In Memoriam part of the show.  Sydney Pollack was a guest in one of my classes once; incredibly down to earth for a guy of his stature.  And Paul Newman, man.  As Dragline said in Cool Hand Luke, “You, my friend, are an original.” 

You probably know I’m a sports fan, which means you probably know I’m a little superstitious.  I was genuinely worried I was bringing bad karma onto Heath for pouting about The Dark Knight not being nominated more in my predictions column.  I was going to watch the film before the show, but held off.  I was more than ready to toss over every piece of furniture in the house if I heard any other name announced.  So to say I was relieved was an understatment.  A year ago, if you would have told me that any non special effects aspect of a Batman film was a lock for an Academy Award, I would have gladly taken it.  Perspective people.  One last time, thank you Heath.

Happy to see Kate Winslet join the club finally.

I got love for Mickey Rourke, but I was delighted to see Sean Penn ‘officially’ hit Icon status with another Academy Award.  Loved the fact DeNiro was up there too; those are the kind of things I geek out over no matter how old I get.

What else needs to be said about Slumdog Millionaire?  However you want to define the term, it really was ‘The Movie of the Year.’

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Best Actor

Filed under: Movie Reviews — Leave a comment
February 19, 2009

 

langella-nixon1

Here are the nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture:

  • Richard Jenkins in ‘The Visitor’
  • Frank Langella in ‘Frost/Nixon’
  • Sean Penn in ‘Milk’
  • Brad Pitt in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
  • Mickey Rourke in ‘The Wrestler’

What Could Happen:  This is probably, probably a two man race.  Sean Penn has won quite a few awards for his performance as Harvey Milk, and he’s won an Oscar in recent memory (Mystic River, probably my favorite Clint Eastwood film).  In the other corner is Mickey Rourke, this year’s ‘feel good/comeback’ story, for his performance in The Wrestler.  Another performance I enjoyed immensely by the way.  The irony in this category though…

What Should Happen:  is my favorite Lead Actor performance listed here is the one put in by Frank Langella playing Richard Nixon.  Frost/Nixon wasn’t a film I was dying to see, but once I got into it, I was immediately drawn in by Langella’s performance.  He’s already won a Tony for playing the same role, but that shouldn’t take away from how well he transitioned his performance from stage to screen. 

Who I’m Cheering For:  I’m sure I’m one of many who wouldn’t mind seeing a win from Penn, Langella, or Rourke.  Penn proved (again) how he can disappear into a character and make it his own; Langella took one of the most unpopular Presidents in American history, and made him a sympathetic flawed human being; and Rourke famously drew from his own career missteps to portray a past his glory days legend trying to stay relevant in a young man’s game.  If I have to choose among the three, I’ll roll with Penn.  From the outside looking in, the character he played seems the least like ‘Sean Penn’ or the characters I normally associate with him (i.e. super machismo man’s man).

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

My Golden Globe Pics

Filed under: Uncategorized — Leave a comment
January 9, 2009

 

golden-globe_0114051

Alright gang, the Globes is this weekend, and as you can probably guess, I’ve seen almost every nominated film and performance.  Here are my picks for the film categories:

Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical

I could make a case for Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia (the biggest hit) or Emma Thompson in Last Chance Harvey  (solid as always), but I’m going with Frances McDormand in Burn After Reading.  With Clooney, Pitt, and Malkovich all hamming it up, McDormand brought the comedy more through mannerisms and behavior than over the top theatrics.  Well played.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical

Not even his best work this year in my opinion, but I’m going with James Franco in Pineapple Express.  I’ve said this before, but at a pretty young age he’s shown a) range, b) he takes his craft seriously, and c) no real love affair with being a ‘celebrity.’  My kind of actor.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

If this were the People’s Choice Awards I’d easily choose Mamma Mia, but instead I’m taking Burn After Reading.  A tightly written genre piece by the Coen brothers, that’s pedigree enough without the all star cast. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

At this point, we know Penelope Cruz can be more than a pretty face.  Doubt is a good movie, but I keep hearing it’s better on the stage where it originated.  Call me biased, but I say Kate Winslet for the Reader.  With all due respect to the other four actresses in this category (and I admire and respect all of them, they were great), I feel with some rewriting Kate Winslet could play the characters that they’re nominated for.  But watch the Reader, no one else on this list could play that role but Winslet.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

joker-heath-ledger

I think you and I are destined to do this forever.  (sigh…)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Jolie, Streep, Winslet…there are some heavyweights in this category.  I’d cast my vote for Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married.  She’s been around so I don’t want to use the word ‘breakthrough’, but she definitely wasn’t playing the glamour girl in this role.  The Globes are more of the ‘feel good’ awards, and the timing would be perfect.  Speaking of feel good…

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Frank Langella is my dark horse here for Frost/Nixon, and in my opinion, Sean Penn as Harvey Milk was the best performance of the year.  But this is a ‘who I think will win’ column, and all signs point to Mickey Rourke for the Wrestler.  I didn’t bring as much of his past into the theatre with me as most people, but I still thought it was a great performance.  Now I’m hearing he’ll co-star in Iron Man 2.  Got to love Hollywood…

Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Motion Picture – Drama

If you want to see a fun, politics free, well crafted movie, Slumdog Millionaire is the way to go.  Written by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Danny Boyle, Slumdog is way, WAY lighter than its competition (Frost/Nixon, Benjamin Button, Reader, Revolutionary Road).  And the way things are in the real world right now, that lightness is the perfect tonic.

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Wrestler

Filed under: Movie Reviews — 3 Comments
December 23, 2008

 

wrestler_2

Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei are both nominated for Golden Globes for their acting in The Wrestler.  Now, I can’t say I’m a card carrying member of the Mickey Rourke Fan Club; he’s alright of course, but his ‘peak’ was before I started loving movies. The reason this movie was on  my must see list is because of my own interest in the wrestling business.  Like a lot of young boys of my generation, I spent countless Saturday afternoons cutting promos like Ric Flair, jumping off my bunk beds like Ricky Steamboat or Randy Savage, and slamming pillows like Hulk Hogan.  As you get older and you realize it’s a show, it loses its luster of course.  I’m still aware of what’s going on, who’s champion and so forth, but nothing like how I used to be.  I watched Ric Flair retire this year, and for me it really was the end of an era so to speak.

Anyway, this film isn’t about the Ric Flairs or Hulk Hogans who made (and kept) enough money so that the worst price they’ve paid is the damage they’ve done to their bodies (like most professional athletes who spend the second half of their lives in constant pain; another blog for another time).  Mickey Rourke’s character, “Randy the Ram” is one of those big guys from the 80s who made crazy money, blew it all on cars, drugs, i.e. the stuff that doesn’t appreciate in value over time.  Now in the 21st century, he has a grown daughter who wants a relationship with him but can’t let herself trust him, a career built completely on nostalgia, and a body that’s telling him he can no longer do the only thing that he really knows how to do.  It’s a story that we’ve seen a thousand times before, but it’s played so well, it’s still very sad to see. 

Rourke will get nominated, I have no doubt about that.  Can he ride the momentum into a win?  Possibly.  I wasn’t knocked out of my boots by his performance, but he sure as hell put the movie on his back and carried it.  PROPS from me for the Wrestler.  You don’t have to be a Mickey Rourke fan or a wrestling fan to enjoy this movie I think, but it definitely helps.

Tags: , ,
Comment