Posts Marked Sandra Bullock

  • “10 Things I Learnt Watching the 2010 Oscars While Medicated” by Tim Hayes

    March 11th, 2010

    It’s Thursday, which means it’s…

    Tim Hayes on Theatrical Thursdays

    Mr. Hayes is not only the ALMT publicist and lead editor,
    but also contributes film journalism and reviews to     Critic’s Notebook and Cinemattraction.

    Ten things I learnt watching the 2010 Oscars while medicated:

    1. Whatever you think of the E! red carpet coverage, thank your god of choice if you avoided the annual spectacle on foreign television, where the presenters are never sure who all these people are but wonder if they might be able to swing a green card in return for a quickie.

    2. In the year that the channels for getting independent films in front of audiences collapsed almost completely, independent films gathered up just about all the prizes they were up for.

    3. Carey Mulligan made a novice’s mistake by wearing a strapless Prada number covered with little keys and scissors, and looked like an employee at Wonderland’s hardware store. At this rate she’ll be the one wearing a swan next year. In contrast, Hilary Swank is an experienced old hand, and knows that the approved response to the failure of a worthy film like “Amelia” is to go on live TV with her breasts presented for public inspection.
    They passed.

    4. Mauro Fiore winning the cinematography Oscar for “Avatar” is a watershed for sure, since it’s the first winning film to be shot entirely digitally and the visuals in the film are stunning. But as the digital revolution rolls on, the idea that one individual controls the look of a film gets harder to take at face value. “Inglourious Basterds” was not perfect, but Robert Richardson gave the film a vibrant, colorful identity that never felt like it was the work of a committee or born in a server room.

    5. Neil Patrick Harris was funny. It happened in ’97 and involved telepathic contact with a ferret. Since then, not so much.

    6. Sandra Bullock gets a bad rap, but she meets the definition of a movie star: a) her name is enough to get people out of their houses, and b) she makes it look easy. The first of those has only arrived lately, but the second has been obvious ever since she cast a withering look at Sylvester Stallone’s knitting in “Demolition Man” back in 1993. Plus she produced “Gun Shy”, an all-time underrated black comedy which revolves around Liam Neeson’s irritable bowel syndrome.

    7. “Precious” and Mo’Nique deserved to win recognition because the film touched a nerve and got people talking, and because of its fiercely independent mindset. The weird friction going on as the E! machine attempts to process the people who made the film was amusing at first, then uncomfortable, and now just needs to stop. It’s becoming hard to tell who’s patronising who.

    8. Hell will consist of people interpreting Hans Zimmer’s film music through the medium of dance.

    9. “The Hurt Locker” is likely to be the lowest earning and least seen Best Picture winner Oscar has ever produced. So tentative was the film’s release pattern that it was nominated in the Independent Spirit Awards a year ago, rather than the ones held last week. But who cares. Kathryn Bigelow is a great film maker, spiritual heir to Howard Hawks, greatly gifted in several other arts as well as film making, and inadvertently brought about my introduction to ALM Talkies. May she never be tempted to make tire commercials again.

    10. The two winners of the Best Documentary Short got into an argument onstage. The 87-year old mother of one of them tried to trip the other one with her cane on their way to the stage. I want all three of those nutters to host next year.

    (The video is below, in case you missed it.)

    Here are Tim Hayes Oscar-nominated reviews:

    The Hurt Locker: Nominated for 9 Oscars, won 6
    Avatar: Nominated for 8 Oscars, won 3
    Precious: Nominated for 6 Oscars, won 2
    Nine: Nominated for 4 Oscars
    Invictus: Nominated for 2 Oscars
    The Lovely Bones: Nominated for 1 Oscar

    March 11th,2010 Uncategorized | Sections: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments

  • ALMT-MM: The Weary Kind wins Best Song at Oscars

    March 8th, 2010

    On ALMT-Music Mondays I write about music.

    Happy International Women’s Day everyone! I am in a joyous mood because we have our first female Best Director in the history of the Academy Awards.  Being a female filmmaker, I am very hopeful that this can open doors for myself and others in my shoes.

    Women have stories to tell; people want to listen.

    Now that I got that out of my system, it being Music Monday let’s talk music.  Everyone will be talking about Sandra Bullock and Kathryn Bigelow, but let’s revisit the Best Song of last night: The Weary Kind, Theme from Crazy Heart.

    I thought it was strange that we didn’t get to hear the songs, what with the 10 film profiles taking their space. I would have loved to hear the competition.  Music buffs out there, what are your thoughts?

    March 8th,2010 Blogging, Music Mondays, Video | Sections: , , , , , , | No Comments