2k5jan17 @ 12:45 am

clive owen's character was perhaps the most like me in "closer." not that we're all that close, but holy hell, did i see reality in that performance. too bad all four lead roles were scum of some species or another. thomas hayden church's goofball groom in "sideways" displayed such a joie de vivre (pronounce it the way space ghost does, it's way funny), it was impossible not to love that assclown (and still cheer when he literally got the snot beaten out of him by a helmet). jamie foxx was almost under the radar in "collateral," in a good way, but he got what was coming to him in the more prestigious category, so it's ok he didn't win here. david carradine managed to annoy the hell out of me in "bill." every time one of his stupid monologues starts on that soundtrack, i want to throw the disc out. just kidding -- me like "good night, moon" too much. but seriously, he's way too oily for me to support in any way, shape, or form. at the golden globe awards last night, clint eastwood called morgan freeman the best actor on the planet or something. now, aside from the very kriszty-esque hyperbole, i guess i can accept the feeling behind the assessment. he really did rule in "glory." and "levity" (one of the few soundtracks that dork e from the eels executed a near-perfect score from start to finish and did not annoy me a single time). and "the power of one" (one of the best hans zimmer soundtracks ever). and "street smart" (thank you, tom reilly).

natalie portman played two too many pathological liars last year. perhaps that's what she is in real life (i have this hypothesis that a lot of actors gravitate to roles that are stupid-easy for them to slip into; witness great nut jobs like oldman, dafoe, walken, hopper, gibson). the lame rip-off of "the usual suspects" ending totally blew, especially because it was at the graveyard memorial thing jude law's character said he hadn't visited since he was a kid. uh, he frickin' writes obituaries but he never goes to places where the aura of the dead hang out. i know, i know, it's probably some oh-so sly commentary on how journalists don't bother to step out of their offices to get a story -- gee, you only hear about that problem once every eight hundred years. shut up and kiss me.

virginia madsen displayed more than some talent in "sideways," but neither of the women leads made a huge overall impression. what's with the crappy roles for women these days? i swear, i'm not intentionally sexist, but i must be, because i haven't seen most of the stuff the supposedly good performances were in. i guess i only sought out the mediocre acting by women last year.

best director went to mr. aystwoad. what's up with that? isn't he a republican-type doohickey? i know the hollywood press tends to lean a bit more right than the academy of motion picture arts and sciences, but wowzers. or maybe "million dollar baby" really was that good for these people. was it as good for you as it was good for me? (too bad "gratitude" isn't on the oingo boingo album that's playing.)

obviously, i would've voted for marc forster and "finding neverland."

screenplay's always struck me as a weird category. up until the last half hour, the adaptation of "sideways" from a novel was very clever, so i'm ok with that win. "closer" had bigger problems than a doofy story and crap characters. couldn't tell you about "the aviator" and "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" may have been sleeker than "adaptation," but it sure didn't impress me with its ideas as much (though i think i agree with its conclusions -- or what i feel its conclusions are -- more). "finding neverland" was adapted from a play, putting it in the same class as "closer." far superior. i wish they'd separate the previously existing material stuff from the original.

i love "old habits die hard." i love mick jagger. i love krista. i love "accidentally in love." i love adam duritz. i love krista.

if memory serves, none of howard shore's score for "the aviator" is on the bleah soundtrack i own. he did such a beautiful job on the "lord of the rings" trilogy and on "gangs of new york," i'm guessing he excelled here as well, but i sure didn't collect any evidence with my own ears. i thought jan a.p. kaczmarek should have gotten this with no contest. the spinning, whirling, flying, soaring sensations his score attached to certain scenes in "finding neverland" truly married audio to visual in everlasting union. it was hard to tell if hans zimmer's work in "spanglish" was what i liked, or if it was some of the additional licensed music listed during the credits. i'll check on it, but there was a chase-like scene with paz vega and téa leoni (twas very funny to me, being a dilettante runner) that had a great, speedy, latin-flavored ditty.

"mar adentro" ("the sea inside") sounds like a great film, and i bet it won as kind of a consolation prize for bardem not getting an acting award. not! i don't think any voting block does that. i still think "un long dimanche de fiançailles" ("a very long engagement") should have won. i wager with myself that the ernesto guevara movie wins the oscar, just because of the title character. silly people.

no clue which episodes qualified the television series for awards, since the stuff from this season is so minimalish. what, half of the episodes have aired? come on, cats and dogs, get real. heard plenty of the "desperate wives" buzz, haven't seen the show yet. "arrested development" hasn't been super-hot this season, but it's slowly ramping up. i saw most of one episode of "nip/tuck," twas cool. haven't watched "24" since the end of the first season. have yet to find "lost." and so on.

i am ecstatic that geoffrey rush and "the life and death of peter sellers" won their respective categories, because i don't doubt he did a great job in that film. shame it didn't get a theatrical release. i have wait for the dvd! fast-forward to five minutes after the previous sentence: now i've read some words from people who've seen the thing, and it sounds like the hype machine foiled me again. i'm still only borrowing the film before going full-on looney tunes and making the purchase. heard "iron jawed angels" was really good and "the lion in winter" remake really wasn't. i love the original anyway. such great lines.

peter o'toole as henry ii, reading james goldman's script: "i've snapped and plotted all my life. there's no other way to be alive, king, and fifty all at once."

john castle as prince geoffrey, reading james goldman's script: "i know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows, and Henry knows we know it. we're a knowledgeable family.

yes, the crazy dude who wrote this was william "i wrote the effing princess bride book/movie" goldman's brother. it's like they were twins.

it's great jason bateman finally got nominated and won for "arrested development." i just hope the show doesn't go the way of "monk," and pretty much abandon its premise in favor of coasting on the mere presence of its cast.

not only is ian mcshane alive and well, he won for best actor in a tv drama! i remember him from "lovejoy" on a&e way back. it's not on dvd here in the states yet, but the uk and germany have it. weirdos.

hey, denis leary got nominated for "rescue me"! i guess i should start watching that show. he tried cops before firefighters, but "the job" got cancelled right quick. idiots at abc didn't know what a great show they had. or maybe they did, but the country didn't. yay, america!

christine lahti also received a nomination, for her acting on "jack and bobby." i hope that show survives for a while. me like. oliver platt (major underrated, reporting for duty) received a wave hello for his work on "huff," which i don't get to even think about watching because i don't get showtime. i miss "deadline."

charlize theron and emily watson got nominations for "the life and death of peter sellers." i had no idea! nice going, ladies. watson had a weird role in "equilibrium," which i didn't super-enjoy on thursday night (jan13).

end 2:47 am

oingo boingo's farewell: live from the universal amphitheatre, halloween 1995 album