Oscar Picks

With only, literally, a few more hours until The Academy Awards I will post my picks for the major categories - along with what I would pick and a little blurb about my choice/reasoning behind it.


I'll start where all movies start - the page:


Best Original Screenplay - My pick is Midnight in Paris & it's what I think will win. I loved this film, loved it, loved it, loved it. 


Best Adapted Screenplay - I believe The Descendants will win here, based entirely on what it has won up to this point - which is basically everything. As for my pick...I'm partial to Moneyball because of my love of baseball.


Moving on to the acting categories:


Best Supporting Actress - My pick and who I think will win is Octavia Spencer for The Help. She's great and steals every scene she's in.


Best Supporting Actor - My pick would be Nick Nolte in Warrior but I feel strongly that Christopher Plummer will win for Beginners. Plummer, while great, didn't match the emotional range Nolte found in Warrior - a truly underrated film.


Best Actress - This one is tough. A part of me wants to say Streep, because that's where the sentiment is leaning, but I'm not going to do that. I believe Viola Davis will win for The Help. Now, my pick, I go for Rooney Mara for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but you really can't pick a loser in this bunch (even though I believe Williams in My Week With  Marilyn is the weakest - she does a great impression/acting her Ms. Monroe but that was it to me).


Best Actor - I believe Jean Dujardin for The Artist will win. My pick is Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which is also a role that is largely silent and relies more on expression, but when Oldman speaks as Smiley - you pay attention to every single word.


The final two awards of the night:


Best Director - Based on what he's won leading up to this night I believe the winner will be Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist. My pick lies in two camps: Hugo and Midnight in Paris. Scorcese does a beautiful job with Hugo as does Allen for Midnight in Paris, but I am forced to choose one and I choose Woody Allen.


Best Picture - The Artist will win here, even though my pick is Midnight in Paris. There seems to be no stopping The Artist train, unless The Help pulls a Crash from 2005 and comes out of nowhere.

Favourite Films of 2011

Well, it’s been a while but now that I have had time to go through most of the films from the past year I can finally say I have a definitive list of my favourite films from 2011.

There are a couple on here that I did not expect to like as much as I did and there are quite a few not on here that most people did like. My list is full of action, drama, romance, comedy, animation, animals, murderers, Paris, film lovers, supernatural events, baseball, cults, cancer, me crying and even tattoos.

1. Midnight in Paris – When I saw this film, I loved it from the very first sound of dialogue. I had no idea what it was truly going to be about, but when everything unfolded, I loved every minute of it. The writing is crisp, terrific, and whimsical and Owen Wilson is hilarious, kind, and even romantic. This is my favourite film of 2011.

2. 50/50 – If ever there was a film that perfectly balanced comedy and drama, this is it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is vulnerable, funny, and Seth Rogen is great in a non-Seth Rogen roll. Sure the subject matter is a bit dark but the way comedy is woven into it, it feels natural and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry during at least one point during the film…and then laughed hysterically the next.

3. Warrior – Nick Nolte deserves his Oscar nomination, and if I had anything to say about it, he’d win too. I don’t like the whole MMA/UFC sporting world but this film, and it’s characters played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are fantastic and really make you want to stand up and cheer. It’s ‘Rocky’ for a new generation.

4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Rooney Mara is the film. Simple as that. David Fincher does a beautiful job framing and setting the mood of the film but this is Mara’s time to shine and she does so so beautifully. She is smart, defiant, fearful and sexy all at the same time.

5. Hugo – If you love film, then you love ‘Hugo’. An ode to filmmaking with a great use of 3D technology and an All-Star cast to boot.

6. Rango – The best animated film of the year. It’s quirky, it’s odd, it’s peculiar, it’s beautifully animated, it’s funny, it’s Johnny Depp, it’s talking lizards and mariachi birds, it’s ‘Rango’.

7. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol – The best action/adventure film of the year. The set pieces are awesome, the chase sequences clever and it features the best stunt I’ve ever seen – Tom Cruise scaling the tallest building in the world. I was literally on the edge of my seat during that scene and I’m not joking. I got nervous as he stepped out into that Dubai air. Thrilling action and great direction from Brad Bird.

8. Win Win – I’ve been a fan of Tom McCarthy ever since I saw ‘The Station Agent’. Then came ‘The Visitor’ now ‘Win Win’. Paul Giamatti is usual great self and there is equal parts humour and drama and sports drama here that makes it a film for everyone.

9. We Bought A Zoo – This is a film I did not expect to see on my list. I just watched this and I loved it. I’m an animal lover and a Cameron Crowe fan and the combination just worked for me. The family drama, Thomas Hayden Church, ScarJo, tigers, all of it worked for me. Yes, I also cried during this one too.

10. The Change-Up – Hands down the funniest film I saw this year. I have no idea why people didn’t go see this film but I did not laugh harder at any film than I did during this one. And when it came time for a lesson to be learned the dramatic note was hit just right and it made me appreciate the film even more. Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman play each other perfectly and you can see the fun they are having playing each other and it translates to that audience.

11. Super 8 – It’s ‘E.T.’ meets ‘The Goonies’ and it takes the heart of both of those films – the kids – and uses it to its advantage by crafting a story with likable characters and an emotional core that pounds at your heart. Yes, I cried a bit here too.

12. Moneyball – A great baseball film with great performances from Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

13. Martha Marcy May Marlene – I saw this film on Halloween and that backdrop made this film more creepy and eerie than it needed to be. Elizabeth Olsen is great and John Hawkes is menacing without even raising his voice.

14. X-Men: First Class – I’m a fan of the ‘X-Men’ movies and I was nervous about exploring its origins even when the original films are so recent. James McEvoy and Michael Fassbender play their parts perfectly as best friends soon-to-be-turned adversaries and the prospect of more ‘X-Men’ films with these two as Professor X and Magneto is promising.

15. (Tie) The Help & Scream 4 – ‘The Help’ is a good drama with some quite funny moments and great acting from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. It’s a solid film that does it all right: acting, writing, and setting a tone. ‘Scream 4’ is just a damn good time and a nice return to Woodsboro for me, as the original is one of my favourite films. It has great, witty, writing and some clever kills and twists.

Welcome to Lob City

Do you feel that? That’s the winds of change. A new era is born in Los Angeles professional basketball. With the addition of Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, and Chris Paul the Clippers, yes those Clippers, are now the talk of tinsel town.

Lob City is a metropolis where DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin touch the sky and throw the ball down with thunderous claps that leave the audience breathless. I’m thinking of taking up residence in Lob City. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about the Clippers this much since 2006 and before that, I can’t recall a time when I spent much time talking about them at all. Thanks to some key additions this offseason the Clippers have sent a message to their cross-hallway rivals. A message that I feel is worthy of an image. Granted, the original image I borrowed this idea from did not pan out for it’s previous owner, but I feel confident in creating this image and standing behind it 100%.

State License Plates Part 8: South Carolina

Honest to God, I knew very little about South Carolina before I started writing this piece. I know that their Gamecocks won back-to-back College World Series titles in 2010 & 2011 and that they have a crescent moon hanging over them every single night. Beyond that, I am clueless as to what they have to offer us as a state. May 23, 1788 is when they became a state but they were also the first the secede from the Union and was the founding state of the Confederate States of America. I might suggest a do-over for those guys, hindsight being 20/20 and all.

It’s known as ‘The Palmetto State’ which is a direct reference to their state tree the palmetto. It’s motto is ‘Prepared in Mind and Resources’, but I don’t know what resources they have but I guess it’s best to be prepared (as the Boy Scouts say). OK, enough with the boring stuff let’s take a look at that plate.

I initially liked the resemblance of the state flag on the plate and upon further viewing, I still like it. The colours are supposed to resemble a sunrise but it doesn’t really resemble that at all. I would’ve preferred them using their state colour, indigo, throughout the plate and maybe just directly related the plate to the flag. Indigo background, with a white crescent moon, palmetto and font. That would make it more resemble Michigan’s old plate but the indigo would make the blue deeper and darker and, I think, would’ve made the white lettering pop a bit more. Alas, this is what we have.

I like that it’s different from the other plates we’ve seen. The blending of the colours looks much better than the New Jersey plate. Mainly because the colours compliment each other and seem more natural as if it were an actual sunrise. I really like the palmetto tree in the middle as it naturally draws your eye right to the centre of the plate and then up and the moon and then you see ‘South Carolina’. Seems mystical with the crescent moon there and the sunrise gives it a sleepy/relaxing feel. Having never been to South Carolina I would assume that it’s a nice place to live and visit.

Aha! Then there’s the website I should go to: Travel2SC.com. But, like Pennsylvania before it, why are they telling people who own cars and RVs in South Carolina to go to that website? Do they assume that South Carolinians get around in their cars and travel often enough that people from other states will see them traveling down the road and think ‘Hey let’s go to South Carolina!’ I might think ‘Hey!, Why’re people from South Carolina everywhere else but South Carolina? Must not be the place to live…’ That’s a bit of a stretch but I am sure that there are some people out there that will think that way.

Overall, I like that the plate is different and the numbers and tree and moon really stand out. I just wish the ‘South Carolina’ was the as dark as the numbers. With that being the only drawback I give this plate a B+.

5 Things I hope to see & hear less of in 2012

2011 has ended. Now that it’s 2012 here are 5 things I hope to see & hear less of in 2012. They are, for lack of a better reason, things that just really pissed me off this year because they were constantly in my face and ears on account of they were considered popular. In 2012, I hope they go away.

1. Adele – Back in March of 2011 I was driving up to the Bay Area and I was listening to BBC Radio 1 and I heard Adele for the first time. I’ll admit, I liked her voice and her overall sound and then I dismissed her. That was until her album ‘21’ started blowing up Stateside and her voice was just about all I had heard. I began hearing ‘Rolling in the Deep’ on the Top 40 stations, then the easy listening ones, at baseball games, and finally on the local rock stations(?!). I’m sorry, what? I missed the part where Adele was considered rock. Now with ‘Someone Like You’ I’ve heard at least a snippet of it every single day as I tune my radio dial. I hate that song. The overexposure has caused me to hate Adele as well and it’s not because of anything she has done, it’s all on the radio/media’s part. I blame them completely. Now, there are a few Adele songs that I like, ‘Chasing Pavements’ being one of them, but you never hear that on the radio. Will Adele be less of a factor in 2012? Early on, no, but as the year progresses I’m sure the gushing love for her will wane and people will move on to the next big thing in pop music. God help us.

2. The Foo Fighters & Red Hot Chili Peppers – This one is more of a ‘I hope to hear less of these guys forever’ because let’s face it the amount of radio play these two bands get is ridiculous. Now that they each have a new album out I feel more inclined to listen to anything other than these bands when their songs play.

A. Let’s start with the Foo. I do enjoy a good Foo Fighters song, ‘Monkey Wrench’ and ‘Everlong’ immediately come to mind but there was a period when they churned out an album every 2-3 years but it felt like they never left. They would release a single then that would get played out and then another and then another and then another and then before you know it they have another album out with another single and another and the cycle kept repeating and it came to a point where I just said ENOUGH! ALL OF IT SOUNDS THE SAME!! How do these guys keep winning Grammy’s when their sound has not evolved? I’m annoyed as all get out and to top it all off they just released another album and, what feels like, three singles all at once in ‘Walk’, ‘Rope’, and ‘These Days’. Ugh, go away already. Less is more. I appreciate the break you took between your last album in 2007 until now but c’mon, I’m sick of it.

B. RHCP. My freshman year in college I lived down the hall from a guy who would play his bass along with the Chili Peppers and at first I didn’t mind, but then I found out that all he played along with and listened to was the Chili Peppers. Couple that with the release of their double-album ‘Stadium Arcadium’ (ugh) and you have the perfect storm for me to begin to loathe the Chili Peppers for life. Like the Foo Fighters, they have a new album out and also like them I hate the songs they play on the radio. ‘Rain Dance Maggie’ is a perfect example of this mainly because it’s a gibberish title, which is what they are about, but I that song is just plain awful. I’m sick of the Chili Peppers and their jumble of words to make rhymes about California. I get it you’re from Los Angeles, congratulations, just let me enjoy ‘Californication’ and ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ and leave me be. I don’t want new Chili Peppers and the constant play of their new crap has lessened my liking of their classics because I’m tired of their sound. By the way, I used to like the Chili Peppers. Used to.

3. Food Trucks – It’s convenient (if you can find it)! It’s fast (sometimes)! It’s gourmet (but causes heartburn)! It’s fusion (because no one else puts Mexican & German food together for a reason)! It’s a damn food truck. These things popped up everywhere over the last year with menus ranging from macaroni & cheese to lobster and sometimes both. Food trucks need to go away. I don’t want to stand in a line in the rain or in the hot sun waiting for a sweaty guy or girl to make me a bleu cheese and bacon slider when I could be sitting down in a restaurant with air conditioning and having a sweaty guy or girl make the exact same thing. That, and I don’t want to have to drive somewhere different every time to get food I like. Contribute to the local economy, buy some real estate and open up shop. Until then, stay off my streets.

4. Angry Birds – ‘WTF is an Angry Bird?’ is a question I asked my friend one day and he showed me a game – not on his phone (because he doesn’t have the game) but a video clip of it. Damn, that shit is annoying. I can see how it’s addicting but I am tired of seeing those Angry Birds everywhere. From Pistachio ads to iPhone/iPod ads to t-shirts and plush toys I cannot escape them. Hopefully 2012 brings a different kind of bird flu.

5. Pop-House Music Fusion – I’m a fan of House music and I tend to like some Pop songs but lately, and especially in 2011, there was an influx of pop stars collaborating with DJ’s to create songs with catchy beats and house influences that instantly become hits because they are easily accessible. Whether it’s Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris) ‘We Found Love’ or Flo Rida’s ‘Good Feeling’ it’s all over the place and tainting the water supply that is good House music. If you want to listen to good House music try Vitalic or Junior Jack. The stuff they play on the radio is easily digestible and instantly forgettable. Here’s to hoping 2012 fades out this Pop-House trend.

Will these disappear or lessen in prominence 2012? Probably not. But a guy can hope can’t he?

State License Plates Part 7: Maryland

April 28, 1788. Breathe it in. That was the date Maryland became a state and gave a ceremonious middle finger to the Brits as it shoved a crab down their pants. Charming.

I’ve been to Maryland once, just once, and it was to see the Orioles play. On that night Mike Mussina was pitching and I had by far the worst hot dog I have ever had at a baseball game. It wasn’t until later that I learned that the best places to eat are at the restaurants just beyond left field on the concourse. You live and you learn.

Maryland is known as ‘The Old Line State’ which was bestowed upon it by George Washington as he associated the state with its regular line troops, the Maryland Line, who served in the Revolutionary War. It’s motto: ‘Manly deeds, womanly words’. Uh, OK. So they all speak niceties to each other but they act out aggressively toward others? Or do they open doors for ladies and speak softly to their companions? Strange motto for a strange state.

When I think of Maryland I think of crabs (the crustacean), the Baltimore Ravens, and subsequently Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Wire’, the aforementioned Orioles, and of course their wacky flag. What’s up with their license plate?

In short, I like it. They use a simple white background with black text/numbers that are a bit blocky but it gives them a clear definition.

I really like the font used for ‘Maryland’ and ‘www.maryland.gov’. It’s elegant, simple, and easily legible. Speaking of that wacky flag, it’s on prominent display in the centre of the plate in the form of a shield which – maybe I’m reading too much into this – looks to reference their state nickname and the Maryland Line that fought in the Revolutionary War.

*Upon further reading it harkens back to the George Calvert and his coat of arms (hence the shield form) and being that he was the first Lord Baltimore, why not infuse it with the state because the flag is unique to the state, and now the University of Maryland has wrapped its arms around their heritage and adopted it as a part of their uniforms.

Overall, this plate is simple, clean, neat and elegant. There are no distractions and the plate serves its purpose. I give it a an A.

(I’m not here to discuss the flag but there’s an interesting history behind it here that I think you should check out because it provides some perspective on the state history and the struggle within the state during the Civil War.)

The Best Pop Album of 2011?

The other day I talked about the best dance album of 2011. Today I am here to discuss the best pop album of 2011. Now, it’s a bit of a mishmash of an album I have chosen because it’s not a definitive ‘pop’ album. It’s a bit electropop and dance.

Now you might be saying: “Skillet, you already chose a Best Dance Album. If this one has dance infused with it doesn’t that make it a dance album?”

No. It’s my opinion, GTFO.



The album comes from Sneaky Sound System, who I fell in love with during my time in Australia in 2007. During that time they had released their self-titled debut album and it was blowing up all over the country and songs were playing at nearly every club I went into. Scratch that, I heard at least one Sneaky song every night I went out. Their tunes are just that catchy and danceable.

They followed up with their sophomore effort “2” and while I wasn’t in Australia to experience it I made sure I got enough Sneaky Sound System here so that I could fill the void. It’s a great album with memorable tracks and is something I listen to from beginning to end frequently.

Here they are, minus one member, in 2011 with “From Here to Anywhere” and it’s my pick for pop album of the year. It starts out strong with ‘Friends’ and singer Connie Mitchell belting out an important question ‘Why can’t we be friends?’. From there the next five songs deliver and continue with an electropop vibe with danceable beats and some great hooks.

If there is a fault with the album it lies with three out of the last four songs. The closing track ‘Lovetown’ is cheesy and goofy but is different in tone flavour than the rest of the album. ‘I Need You So’ and ‘1984’ are fine but just not as strong as the beginning of the album. It’s with ‘I’m Not Leaving’ that my faith in the group is restored. It’s an awesome track with Connie at her best.

All in all, a nice follow-up album and I just hope that the 2nd half of the album isn’t the direction that the group is headed because their strength lies with Mitchell’s vocals and their synths and beats. ‘Lovetown’ is, in all honesty, a crappy song that really diminishes the value of the album and I essentially skip over it every single time but the best parts of the album help overshadow that one tiny snag and make it my pop album of 2011.

Other tracks of note: ‘We Love’, ‘Big’, ‘Really Want To See You Again’