Roger Ebert came quickly to the defense of Crash and its best picture win over Brokeback Mountain. I agree 100% with what he says here. I thought Brokeback Mountain was a good movie and wouldn't have been upset if it had won, but I thought Crash was a better movie so I'm glad it took home the big prize. For all of those idiots screaming "homophobia" to explain the results, remember that Ang Lee won for best director and normally a split between director and picture for two different movies is viewed as a tie of sorts. Besides, last time I checked Phillip Seymour Hoffman won best actor for his portrayal of Truman Capote - a man who was gay, so get over it and quit whining.

Posted March 9, 2006 | link | 0 comments

I'm not going to do a complete indepth analysis to explain each of my picks for tonight's ceremony because in the end it's just an awards show that already garners too much attention and speculation as it is. Having said that, here are my picks for the major categories...

Best Picture & Best Director: These categories will be split between Crash and Brokeback Mountain, with each category going potentially either way. My gut is telling me Crash for picture and Ang Lee for director.

Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)

Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

Supporting Actor: George Clooney (Syriana)

Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardner), although beware of dark horse nominee Amy Adams for her performance in Junebug.

Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis (Crash)

Adapted Screenplay: Dan Futterman (Capote)

Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain)

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Documentary: The easy pick due to its box office popularity is March of the Penguins, but there's a lot of love out there for Murderball.

Foreign Film: Paradise Now

Posted March 5, 2006 | link | 0 comments

A great little black comedy called The Ice Harvest hits DVD shelves this week, so if you didn't get around to seeing it last year (which is likely considering it was a box office flop) make sure to give it a chance. I especially recommend it to fans of dark humor who can still laugh even in the face of something gruesome, which this film thrives on.

On a side note, I'd just like to point out that in addition to John Cusack this film stars Billy Bob Thornton, who is now officially the king of the anti-Christmas movie thanks to The Ice Harvest and Bad Santa.

Posted March 1, 2006 | link | 0 comments