Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Random Thoughts and Observations

1. Listen to The Dark Knight score here.

2. The Dark Knight looks great on Blu-ray. The scenes for IMAX are presented in 1.77:1 and the non-IMAX scenes are 2.40:1. You can barely tell when it switches back and forth because it's so intense (as Jemaine would say). The extras for the disc are a little sparse and I wish Nolan did commentaries, but with a film this good, who cares? By the way, my Molly Sims-Jamie Lynn Sigler moment is the emergence (ahem) of the batbike.

3. Hugh Jackman has been tapped to host the Oscars. I guess I can no longer deny that the Oscars are the Super Bowl for women and gay men.

4. I'm through with The Office. It's off my weekly recording until someone tells me otherwise. It's been coming down the pike for the past few weeks, but Phyllis throwing baby Jesus in the drawer was the last straw. Too bad Jessica Alba and Jack Black are guest-starring on the show immediately following the Super Bowl.

5. Every film critic group in America is passing out awards. I'm going to limit further lists and discussions to Houston and the I-35 corridor. Click below for the 2008 Austin Film Critics Awards.

Top 10 Films
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Synecdoche, New York
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Wrestler
WALL*E
Frost/Nixon
Let the Right One In
Gran Torino


Best Picture
The Dark Knight

Best Director
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Best Actor
Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Original Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Dark Knight, Jonthan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

Best Cinematography
The Fall, Colin Watkinson

Best Original Score
The Dark Knight, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer

Best Foreign Language Film
Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) - Sweden

Best Documentary Film
Man on Wire

Best Animated Feature
WALL*E

Breakthrough Artist Award
Danny McBride, Pineapple Express/The Foot Fist Way/Tropic Thunder

2 comments:

Lawyer said...

I'm backed up about 4 weeks on both the office and 30 rock.

My Sims/Sigler moment is when Heath is yelling "Hit me, Hit me" while facing said batbike.

That is a GREAT list from the AFC. The best I've seen (or, the most similar to my own).

Doctor said...

You might like the 2007 Austin critics awards:

Top Ten
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old men
Juno
Into the Wild
310 to Yuma
Knocked Up
Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead
Atonement
American Gangster
Eastern Promises

Best Film
There Will Be Blood

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best Actor
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Best Actress
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men

Best Supporting Actress
Allison Janney, Juno

Best Foreign Film
Black Book

Best Documentary
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Best Animated Film
Ratatouille

Best First Film
Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody, Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay
Ethan & & Joel Coen, No Country For Old Men

Best Cinematography
Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood

Best Original Score
Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood

Breakthrough Artist
Michael Cera, Superbad, Juno

Austin Film Award
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, Grindhouse


And for the sake of completeness, Austin critics in 2006:

Best Film
United 93

Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón, Children of Men

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed

Best Actress
Ellen Page, Hard Candy

Best Supporting Actor
Jack Nicholson, The Departed

Best Supporting Actress
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Best Original Screenplay
Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alfonso Cuarón, Children of Men

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, Children of Men

Best Foreign Film
Pan’s Labyrinth

Best Documentary
This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Best Animated Film
Cars

Best First Film
Rian Johnson, Brick

Breakthrough Artist
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Austin Film Award
Richard Linklater, A Scanner Darkly

Top Ten Films
1. United 93
2. The Departed
3. Pan’s Labyrinth
4. Children of Men
5. Brick
6. Borat!
7. Little Children
8. The Queen
9. The Prestige
10. The Fountain