Chickflix

And the winners are

2010-03-08T06:18:06Z

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker

Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Foreign Language Film
El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina

Film Editing
The Hurt Locker

Documentary Feature
The Cove

Visual Effects
Avatar

Original Score
Up, Michael Giacchino

Cinematography
Avatar

Sound Mixing
Avatar

Sound Editing
The Hurt Locker

Costume
The Young Victoria

Art Direction
Avatar

Supporting Actress
Mo’Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Adapted Screenplay
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Makeup
Star Trek

Live Action Short Film
The New Tenants

Documentary (short subject)
Music by Prudence

Animated Short Film
Logorama

Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker

Original Song
The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart, Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett

Animated Feature Film
Up

Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterd

How surprised were you? I love that there is a woman with the Best Director. And I am very happy that Avatar didn’t sweep. I would have loved to see Up in the Air get more recognition, but all in all I think they did well. Too bad the production of the show was so bad.

Academy Awards for Acting

2010-03-06T00:56:17Z

Sunday night the Oscars for acting will be handed out. And while some of the acting categories seem locked, others look like they could go any which way. Bridges or Clooney? Or could there be a dark horse in Renner? Streep or Bullock? Wouldn’t it be a hoot if Penélope Cruz actually won for Nine? Vote for your faves and let’s see who comes out on top.

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This category seems to be be a toss-up between Meryl and Sandra, but they all were really great in their roles!

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Quick! Show of hands. How many of these movies have you actually seen?

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Anyone think there is a chance in hell of anyone but Mo’Nique winning this one?

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Best Picture Oscar

2010-03-03T20:07:40Z

It is just days until the Oscars and the ballots are being counted and recounted by those nerdy accountants they always drag out. With 10 pictures in the running for Best Picture this year, I think it may split the vote all over the place and make it a very close race with several movies; the bookies, however, have it down to a toss-up between The Hurt Locker and Avatar. The real question though is not who will win but who should win for Best Picture? Cast your vote and let’s see if we at chickflix think the Academy got it right.

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For a more complete list of the odds click here.

I’m really hoping for an upset, for the Academy to pick one of the lesser touted films. Up in the Air, Precious, Up? What do you think?

The Last Station

2010-02-22T18:45:14Z

This is a wonderful film! It should be on the expanded Academy Awards list for Best Picture, but sadly it isn’t. At least both Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as his wife Sofya are nominated in their respective acting categories. The Last Station is the story of the last years of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s life, his tempestuous relationship with this wife, his coterie of adoring sycophants who turned him into a cult figure, and a young man who became his personal secretary and family confidante.

Fear not though; this is not a heavy Russian novel of a movie. It is a superbly well-crafted love story set inside a fascinating historical period drama. Tolstoy was born into an aristocratic family but after writing Anna Karenina and War and Peace, he developed a “radical anarcho-pacifist Christian” philosophy that fueled a utopian movement lead by worshipful Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti). Part of this philosophy was to renounce worldly goods, which created a huge problem for his wife Sofya (Mirren) who wanted their family to hang onto their wealth including the rights to all Tolstoy’s writing after his death.

Based on a biographical novel of the same name by Jay Parini, The Last Station, written and directed by Michael Hoffman (One Fine Day and Soapdish), begins in 1910, when a naïve young writer named Valentin (James McAvoy) is hired as Tolstoy’s secretary. He arrives at the Tolstoy estate to find himself thrown into the middle of a power struggle between Tolstoy’s wife Sofya and Chertkov who is determined to get Tolstoy to sign a new will. Valentin is fascinated and confused by the Tolstoys’ passionate relationship, and he soon finds himself a pawn between all the factions in the battles, keeping diaries to let each side in on what is going on in the house. At the same time, he is initiated into the ways of love by a young woman living in the Tolstoy commune, and is schooled in it further in conversations with Tolstoy himself.

Helen Mirren is extremely deserving of the Oscar nod for her portrayal of Sofya, Tolstoy’s wife, lover, muse and antagonist. No matter what she is doing — screaming, watching or seducing — you never question her love of her husband and in the end it is truly tragic. (Bring some tissues.) Christopher Plummer is also excellent as Tolstoy and his portrayal of the relationship with Sofya is probably one of the most nuanced roles of his career. I hope they both win. James McAvoy as Valentin delivers a comic coming of age tale and he definitely holds his own with these powerhouse actors. He comes to the Tolstoys with stars in his eyes and in the end has played witness to the total destruction of a marriage, but is nonetheless eager to jump back into a romance of his own with the woman he loves.

The Last Station is beautifully shot and the pacing is just right. It is what real filmmaking is all about. This is a film for grown ups and I mean that in the sense that the story is intelligent, the characters multi-dimensional and the psychological impact deeply resonant. I’d recommend it for anyone who appreciates great characters, great acting, great scriptwriting, and great direction. Can you tell I really, really liked this movie?

This book of photographs by the Countess Sophia Tolstoy looks like it could be a very interesting adjunct to the movie. And there is the original book which I will no doubt read.

Valentine’s Day

2010-02-18T03:22:03Z

Garry Marshall is brilliant. He made a mildly entertaining movie with an A-List cast and a name that virtually guarantees it a place in holiday rerun history. Valentine’s Day is like Crash-light. Really, really, really light. It follows a bunch of folks whose lives intersect in various ways as they break up, make up, find love or survive singledom on Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles.

The cast is a virtual who’s who of stars from the big and small screen – including McSteamy and McDreamy, Kathy Bates, Jamie Foxx, Topher Grace, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah, the two Taylors (Lautner and Swift), former Alias co-stars Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper, Julia and Emma Roberts, Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo… Need I go on?

There’s no real way to review the storyline without giving too much away. All I can say is the movie is enjoyable enough, if not particularly deep. Director Garry Marshall knows how to deliver a solid mainstream chick flick. And as a fellow Northwestern alum, it’s always fun to spot his quick nod to our alma mater – in this case on an extra’s sweatshirt. It’s also worth sticking around for the end credits. Among the outtakes – a fun, little salute to Marshall’s chick flick classic, Pretty Woman. Watching Valentine’s Day is like watching a special, star-studded edition of The Love Boat. If that floats your boat, then go and enjoy. If not today, then perhaps next Valentine’s Day.