Tag Archives: The Blind Side

Favorite Films about Yo Momma

Let’s face it, it’s still a man’s world, especially in Hollywood.  Sure, Kathryn Bigelow became the first female director to take home that little gold statue this year, but it was for directing a war film about men.  I had a sudden notion, in honor of Mother’s Day, to invite everyone to share their lists of their favorite films about mothers.  There’s no shortage of father-and-son films — hell, you could make an argument 90% of all films made are in some way thematically tied to the bond or lack thereof between fathers and sons either symbolically or literally — but I’ve been wracking my brain to name even just ten films about mothers or Mother and Child— hey, there’s a plug for that new Naomi Watts/Annette Bening film that just opened in limited release this weekend to good reviews.

Sam Jackson asks Naomi, "Hey, girl, when you gonna lemme take you for a spin down m***** f****** Mulholland Drive?"

So what did I think of?

  • The film that sunk Faye Dunaway’s career and made her a camp queen, Mommie Dearest
  • Albert Brooks’ sardonic Mother Continue reading →

82nd Annual Academy Award Nominations

And here are your nominees...

Well, as expected the new 10 Best Picture Nominees format allowed for such popular films like District 9, Up and The Blind Side to compete against the usual suspects…but the biggest surprise was the inclusion of the Coen Brothers’ unfairly little seen (and the ‘Spin’s Best Picture of the Year at The Davies) A Serious Man.  Had any “man” film made it to the dance, I would’ve bet money on A Single Man instead.  It’s nice to be surprised sometimes.

Here are your 10 Best Picture Nominees:

  • Avatar
  • The Blind Side
  • District 9
  • An Education
  • The Hurt Locker
  • Inglourious Basterds
  • Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
  • A Serious Man
  • Up
  • Up in the Air

Click here for the IMDB’s complete list of nominees.

And what were the biggest snubs?  No love for Emily Blunt?  No love for Abbie Cornish?

Oh well, girls…at least you are young and have years ahead of you to get your eventual just “reward”.

Feel free to share your predictions on who you think will take home the big prize!

The 4th Annual Davies Awards in Film

A Look Back at 2009:

Once upon a time…

…in 2008, while the world economy went into a tailspin, Hollywood delved into super-depressing, self-important mode and the Davies Awards asked sourly, “Why So Serious?”

But then the Brothers Coen and Quentin Tarantino looked around with their impish grins and wondered, “Why can’t we be a little serious but have fun, too?”  Meanwhile, The King of the World, James Cameron awoke from a decade long hibernation to deliver us into a fantastic world we had never seen and finally made a film where 3D technology rose above gimmick status.  All the while, his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow masterminded the ultimate coup-d’etat.  Will a woman director finally take home Oscar…for a war film?

But these golden days seemed so far far away back in January…

2009 began ominously. The multiplexes seemed a dark abyss. Continue reading →