2000s Oscars!!!

I am really just in shock that I have finished, so I apologize if this isn't particularly well articulated.  I know it seems a bit silly getting emotional just because I finished a movie list, but it really feels like a huge deal.  Obviously I love films, but honestly, right now that feels like a very small part of it.  I have probably mentioned this before, but I make my extremely tiny salary through writing and editing.  Looking at my earlier entries, there is a definitive jump in quality, which I owe to this blog, as writing over a thousand posts certainly counts as progress.  I am still no Virginia Woolf but hey, at least I'm improving (and, you know, haven't drowned myself yet).  I also have connected with some great people and have been lucky enough to keep up a correspondence with a few of you.  I want to take this time to thank my frequent commentator Ray (can I call you a friend at this point or is that too forward?).  I hope to one day speak about films with the same level of intelligence and humor that you do.  I hope you feel better soon.

I also want to thank all of my readers, even if you are just a creepy lurker who never leaves a comment (no offense).  I'm flattered that you would take time out of your days to read my blog.  I will stop there before I give you all horrifying Sally Field flashbacks.

Currently I think the combined lists from all the editions contain 1157 movies.  As my next project, I will be reviewing the remaining titles, in no particular order.  It won't be at the alarming frequency that we have all become accustomed to, but I do promise to keep up with this blog fairly regularly.  After that, who knows?  I will probably find another list to tackle and I hope you will join me again.  If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments!

And now, my Oscar picks!  Enjoy and let me know what you think!

BEST PICTURE: Little Miss Sunshine
Nominees: The Lord of the Rings
                  The Departed
                  No Country for Old Men
                  Once
                  Moulin Rouge!
                  Sideways
                  Pan's Labyrinth
                  Kill Bill
                  Downfall
WORST PICTURE: Irreversible
Nominees: Meet the Parents
                  Passion of the Christ
                  Borat
                  Uzak
BEST ACTRESS: Nicole Kidman
Nominees: Uma Thurman
                  Abigail Breslin
                  Toni Collette
                  Ivana Baquero
BEST ACTOR: Javier Bardem
Nominees: James McAvoy
                  Daniel Day Lewis
                  Steve Carell
                  Javier Camara
BEST DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson
Nominees: Alexander Payne
                  Quentin Tarantino
                  Martin Scorsese
                  Jonathan Dayton
                  Valerie Faris
BEST LINE: "Okay, everybody just pretend to be normal, okay?"
Nominees: "When you decide to be something, you can be it.  That's what they don't tell you in the     church.  When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals.  Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."
"Revenge is never a straight line.  It's a forest, and like a forest it's easy to lose your way...to get lost...to forget where you came in."
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."
BEST SONG: "Come What May"
Nominees: "Falling Slowly"
                  "Elephant Love Medley"
                  "Your Song"
               
             

1990s Oscars!!

Greetings all!  I am currently quite miserable, as I am in pain and sick from the medication that was supposed to help with the pain.  As always, watching an absurd amount of movies has helped me cope and has made the days seem a little less endless.  Going into this project, I knew that the 90s was probably going to be my favorite decade.  I was delighted to realize that I still had favorites left to discover, although the 90s certainly had its share of lemons.  So, without further ado, here are the best (and a little bit of the worst) this decade had to offer:

BEST PICTURE: American Beauty
Nominees: The Sixth Sense
                  Festen
                  The Piano
                  Scream
                  Reservoir Dogs
                  The Silence of the Lambs
                  Goodfellas
                  Fargo
                  The Bravehearted Will Take the Bride
BEST DIRECTOR: Coen Brothers
Nominees: Martin Scorsese
                  Wes Anderson
                  David Fincher
                  Eric Rohmer
                  Agnes Varda
                  Hideo Nakata
BEST ACTRESS: Julianne Moore
Nominees: Frances McDormand
                  Toni Collette
                  Holly Hunter
                  Gong Li
                  Maggie Cheung
                  Irene Jacob
                  Susan Sarandon
                 Adrienne Shelley
                 Juliette Binoche
BEST ACTOR: Anthony Hopkins
Nominees: Tom Hanks
                  Steve Buscemi
                  Morgan Freeman
                  Ewan McGregor
                  Ralph Fiennes
                  Jeremy Irons
WORST PICTURE: The Rapture
Nominees: Pretty Woman
                  Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
                  Strictly Ballroom
                  Xich Lo
                  Funny Games
BEST LINE: "Anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and a shovel.  I doubt anybody would               miss you."
Nominees: "Look inside yourself.  You are more than what you have become."
                  "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
                   "Movies don't create psychos.  Movies make psychos more creative!"
                   "Hold onto your butts!"
               

1980s Oscars!!

Hello everybody!

It's Oscar time again and at least here you might have actually heard of the movies (I'll be here all week folks!).  Here we say goodbye to the eighties and select the best (and the worst) of the decade.  I have had a great time with these movies. They certainly made my recovery time less hellish.  Feel free to create your own categories in the comments!

BEST PICTURE: The Princess Bride
NOMINEES: Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back
                       When Harry Met Sally
                       The Breakfast Club
                       The Killer
                       Children of a Lesser God
                       Crimes and Misdemeanors
                       Fatal Attraction
                       Die Hard
                       Cinema Paradiso
                       Raiders of the Lost Ark

WORST PICTURE:
NOMINEES: Sunless
                       Koyaanisqatsi
                       The Ballad of Narayama
                       Landscape in the Mist
                       The Asthenic Syndrome

BEST DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
NOMINEES: Francois Truffaut
                       Rob Reiner
                       Martin Scorsese
                       John Hughes
                       Claude Lanzmann
                       Spike Lee

BEST ACTRESS: Glenn Close
NOMINEES: Isabelle Huppert
                       Sigourney Weaver
                       Marlee Matlin
                       Anjelica Huston
                       Li Gong

BEST ACTOR: Dustin Hoffman
NOMINEES: William Hurt
                       Robert De Niro
                       Ben Kingsley
                       Jack Nicholson

BEST LINE: "God is a luxury I can't afford."
NOMINEES: "You killed my father.  Prepare to die."
                       "Come with me if you want to live."
                       "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life        
                          with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
                        "Out of the fire of love comes ashes.  Even the greatest love eventually fizzles out."

1970s Oscars!

Hello all!

We have finished yet another decade.  I went into the 1970s expecting to have to sit through mostly over the top artsy movies and gritty Vietnam war dramas.  Fortunately, we also got some of the best comedies and musicals of all time.  I do have to admit I am a bit trepidatious about the 80s.  Although I guess I should be more scared to start the 80s on my album blog.  Here are my top and bottom picks of the 1970s.  This isn't scientific and totally subjective but feel free to argue with me in the comments section!

BEST PICTURE: Grease
Nominees: Manhattan
                  Annie Hall
                  Star Wars
                  Jaws
                  Alien
                  Barry Lyndon
                  The Godfather: Part II
                  Fox and his Friends
BEST ACTOR: Robert De Niro
Nominees: Richard Dreyfus
                  Robert Redford
                  Woody Allen
                  Bruno Ganz
BEST ACTRESS: Diane Keaton
Nominees: Meryl Streep
                  Jodie Foster
                  Hanna Schygulla
                  Piper Laurie
WORST PICTURE: Salo, 120 Days of Sodom
Nominees: The Tin Drum
                  The Hills Have Eyes
                  A Clockwork Orange
                  Pink Flamingos
                  Eraserhead
BEST DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
Nominees: Steven Spielberg
                  Rainer Werner Fassbinder
                  Martin Scorsese
                  Ridley Scott
BEST LINE: "To you from me Pinky Lee!"-Grease
Nominees: "My analyst warned me but you were so beautiful I got another analyst."-Manhattan
                  "Love is too weak a word for what I feel for you.  I lurve you."-Annie Hall
                  "Death has come to your little town, Sheriff."-Halloween

1950s Oscars

Hey everybody!
It is time of year again, ladies and gentlemen.  I am officially done with the 1950s. Now that we are saying goodbye to the Golden Age of Hollywood and the production code, I am sure there are plenty more treats in store.  I feel like I found the most obscure gems in this decade and while I am sad to see it go, I am excited for the sixties.  So, as always, use the comment section to debate, add your own categories, or call me a cottonheadedniggymuggins.

BEST PICTURE: Le Trou
Nominees:
Wages of Fear
The Searchers
Some Like It Hot
Anatomy of a Murder
High Society
Rear Window
Seven Samurai
Sunset Boulevard
Night of the Hunter
12 Angry Men
Guys and Dolls
The African Queen

BEST DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa
Nominees:
Jacques Becker
Alfred Hitchcock
Billy Wilder
Otto Preminger
Charles Laughton
John Huston

BEST ACTRESS: Katharine Hepburn
Nominees:
Sally Jane Bruce
Debbie Reynolds
Eva Marie Saint
Kim Novak
Jean Simmons
Grace Kelly

BEST ACTOR: Marlon Brando
Nominees:
James Stewart
Cary Grant
Marc Michel
Jack Lemmon
Robert Mitchum

WORST PICTURE: Mon Oncle
Nominees:
Gigi
Ordet
Lola Montes
M. Hulot's Holiday

BEST LINE: "I am big! It's the pictures that got small!"
Nominees:
"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers"
"You're a cookie full of arsenic!"
"You've got more twists than a barrel of pretzels!"

Enjoy!

1940s Oscars

Another decade gone and the golden age of Hollywood is drawing to a close.  This has, as always, been a fantastic ten years of movies.  We certainly have had the downs as well, but again, as always, the good outweighed the bad.  This moment is always bittersweet because although I do feel accomplished I am going to miss this era.  This era has the best actors, lines, and the grittiest noirs.  Truly amazing and it makes me sad that this decade is often ignored by my generation.  Oh well, on with the awards!

Best Picture:
Rope
Nominees:
Spellbound
Rebecca
Double Indemnity
Gaslight
Ox Bow Incident
The Magnificent Ambersons
Red Shoes
Letters from an Unknown Woman
Now, Voyager

Best Director:
Alfred Hitchcock (shut up; he will always win!)
Nominees:
Carol Reed
Joseph Mankiewitz
Emeric Pressberger
Michael Powell

Best Actress:
Olivia de Havilland
Nominees:
Joan Fontaine
Joan Bennett
Katharine Hepburn
Moira Shearer

Best Actor:
Henry Fonda
Nominees:
James Cagney
Joseph Cotten
James Stewart
Spencer Tracy
Humphrey Bogart

Worst Picture:
Ivan The Terrible
Nominees:
Fires Were Started
Monsieur Verdoux
Louisiana Story
Paleface

Best Line:
"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Nominees:
"The stuff dreams were made of!"
"Made it, Ma.  Top of the world!"
"Oh Jerry, let's don't ask for the moon.  We have the stars."

1930s Oscars!!!

We are done with the 30s!!!!


I have to say, I am bit sadder to see these go than I was to end the 20s era.  Some of my favorite movies were in this decade.  I enjoyed the swashbuckling adventures and the fast-talking comedies.  I also fell in love with French cinema and Laurence Olivier.  I conquered the quest of finding Me and My Gal and I sat through even more Chaplins! I got to see the perspective of people living in another time and experiencing historical events that seem really far away from me now.  Truly an unforgettable era and it makes me sad that people from today's generation will spend their time seeing movies like The Vow for the rest of their lives instead of looking behind them and experiencing this wonderful age of cinema.  As always, feel free to comment and/or add your own categories.


BEST PICTURE: M
Nominees: Captain Blood, The Thin Man, The Gold Diggers of 1933, The Grand Illusion, Love Me Tonight


WORST PICTURE: Triumph of the Will
Nominees: Babes In Arms, The Black Cat, The Wizard of Oz, Make Way for Tomorrow


BEST ACTOR: Jean Gabin
Nominees: Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn (shut up; I love him!), Clark Gable


BEST ACTRESS: Olivia de Havilland
Nominees: Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Fontaine, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Blondell


BEST LINE: "I love Russians! Comrade, I have been fascinated by your five year plan for the last fifteen years!" from Ninotchka or "Peabody, you disgust me." from Gold Diggers of 1933.


BEST DIRECTOR: Jean Renoir!!!!
No competition!

The Oscars!

Hey people!


WE ARE DONE WITH THE TWENTIES!


We have come a long way.  So this decade started us off with Way Done East and we finished with Pandora's Box.  We have laughed with Buster Keaton and were disgusted with Griffith.  We were entirely weirded out with Andalousian Dog (I pretty sure I screwed up the spelling) and delighted with The Passion of Joan of Arc.  I feel like I have learned a lot since I started and I also think I am a better person for experiencing this very unique era.


So I decided to do the Oscars for this decade.  Okay, so they are not really the Oscars considering I am going to make up most of my own categories and this is going to span a decade rather than a year.  But work with me people!  Feel free to comment on differing opinions or if you want to come with your own categories you may.  Here we go!


Best Picture: Winner: The Passion of Joan of Arc
                    Nominees: Sunset
                                     Sherlock Jr.
                                     Pandora's Box
                                     Blackmail


Worst Picture: Winner: Napoleon
                       Nominees: Strike
                                        The Jazz Singer
                                        October
                                        The Battleship Potemkin


Honorary Award: The Jazz Singer for introducing sound (besides exceptions such as Sunset or Phantom of the Opera).


Honorary Award: Napoleon for making one of the most boring movies (and the longest) I have ever seen.


Best Director: Winner: Alfred Hitchcock
                      Nominees: There are no nominees!  It is always Hitchcock (except for Woody Allen)


Best Actress: Winner: Louise Brooks
                     Nominees: Renee Falconetti
                                      Joan Crawford
                                      Janet Gaynor


Weirdest Movie: Winner: Un Chien Anadalou
                           Nominees: Man With a Movie Camera
                                            Sunset
                                            Last Laugh
                                            Haxan


Best Actor: Winner: Buster Keaton
                   Nominees: George O'Brien
                                    Harold Lloyd
                                    James Murray
                                    Charles Chaplin

Best Line: Winner: "You ain't seen nothing yet." The Jazz Singer
                Nominees: It was the silent era!  What else is there to choose from?