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If we are what we eat, then it’s definitely worth watching this movie to figure out what we’re becoming.
Two of the main contributors are Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, both bestselling authors whose recent works have helped cast light on the greasy innards of our food supply machine.
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For every one of you who hated the show of security that is the TSA line in airports - I am sure you thought of doing this a few times.
Is that secure enough for you Mr. President?
To his credit, the President joked that he saw the man’s sole.
Next year’s Golden Globe awards promises to be a superstar studded event (hopefully a strike like this year won’t reduce the show to a press conference) after looking at the nominations, announced today. As usual, most of the movies nominated are the ones released in the last 3 months of the year (I really hate this practice). But some of the gems from early on did make it (especially in the comedy category). I haven’t seen some of the new movies but among the nominations I really like, are the ones for “Tropic Thunder” (if only the Academy Award people will shed their inhibitions about nominating comedic pictures), Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” (with the Indian music superstar A.R. Rahman winning a nod as well) and of course the incomparable performance of the late Heath Ledger in “Batman: The Dark Knight.”
The superstars that are nominated are (in no particular order):
Some of the other familiar faces in award shows continue their uncanny ability to attract the voters and this year we see the return of uber-nominees Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet (nominated twice this year), Kristin Scott Thomas, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Dustin Hoffman.
I am also pleased to see two comeback kids getting nominated: Robert Downey Jr. (for his extremely funny albeit controversial role in “Tropic Thunder”) and Mickey “The Voice” Rourke (for the critically acclaimed “The Wrestler”). I am a bit surprised to see no sign of my beloved Cate Blanchett (for “…Benjamin Button”) though.
Just in case you haven’t already seen it, here’s the preview for the latest Indiana Jones caper (”Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull“), coming to a theater near you this Summer:
Harrison Ford is 66 years old but might have a better chance at reviving an ancient franchise than Sylvester Stallone who tried to do the same recently with Rambo and Rocky without much success. To make sure the audience will include people other than AARP members, the filmmakers (both Spielberg and Lucas are back together) have wisely cast up-and-comer Shia LaBeouf (of “The Transformers” fame) and the great Cate Blanchett in supporting roles.
The trailer doesn’t reveal much and I am not sure the original theme music is contemporary enough but I’ll reserve further judgement until I see the actual movie.
As a movie buff, I look forward to the Academy Awards every year with great anticipation. However, the 80th Academy Awards being hosted at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles tomorrow, doesn’t excite me as much as some of the previous years. There seems to be a shortage of superstar celebrities in the running save a Depp or a Blanchett. And even the movies for which these two are nominated didn’t ignite the box office like a “Gladiator” or a “Blood Diamond” from recent years. Even a potential hit like “Charile Wilson’s War” with uber stars Tom Hanks and Julie Roberts (both not nominated) was a dud at the box office.
But still, I have seen a few of the movies for which lesser (from a box office perspective) stars have been nominated and have to say all of them are fabulous movies in their own right and some of the performances will go down in history as among the greatest ever. Cue in my predictions for a few categories.
I have mentioned all nominees in the lists below with my choices in bold yellow color.
This is not exactly a tight race if the critics and oddsmakers are to be believed. I haven’t yet seen “There will be Blood” but I am really looking forward to. I do think Day-Lewis is one of the greatest actors of our generation and that he should have won over Adrien Brody in 2003 for “Gangs of New York.” So that’s why I am casting my vote for him despite not seeing the movie. Depp will be my emotional favorite as he has never won. Mortensen was phenomenal in “Eastern Promises” but I am not sure he deserves an Oscar for this role. Tommy Lee Jones should be given another Oscar just once and they should not do it for a specific movie as he plays the same character every time (and he’s real good at it). I didn’t see “Michael Clayton” and can’t comment on Clooney’s role though I was so bored by “Ocean’s Thirteen” that I don’t want him to win this year.
I have seen most of these movies and I had earlier blogged about “La Vie en Rose” and at that time said that if the Academy did not nominate Marion Cotillard, it’d be time to throw the members to the dogs. Yes, Cotillard’s performance was that good. So, I think she should win this. While most people are rooting for Julie Christie, I think she was only good in “Away from Her,” not great. Although I think the Academy missed out on nominating the director of “Away from Her,” Canadian actress Sarah Polley. Blanchett, to me is a worthy successor to Meryl Streep for the title of the world’s greatest living actress and I am certain that she’ll be nominated many more times and I am really hoping she will win this year’s supporting actress award for also which she’s nominated. There has been only great performances in Linney’s career but I don’t think this is her year. Ellen Page, while fabulous in “Juno,” is too fresh to win it this year.
For best supporting actor, I think Javier Bardem is a shoo-in for “No Country for Old Men.” In it, he utters to a hapless store clerk: “Call it, friendo.” This spine chilling phrase is still stuck in my head. See the movie if you haven’t: you’ll be stunned. If Bardem doesn’t take the prize, I’d want this to go to Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild,” a very brief but moving performance.
For best supporting actress, I am rooting for Cate Blanchett even though Amy Ryan is supposed to be very good in “Gone Baby Gone” from Ben Affleck.
For best animated feature, my pick is “Ratatouille” from the incomparable Brad Bird. Even though Bird did not convince me to start liking rats, he came very close.
[Hat Tip to Tomas of The Closet Entrepreneur for the link]
Saw this short movie today, and thought I’d share it. The full version is not available on youtube, but the first chapter is shown above, and you can catch the full movie in one piece at:
Some of the things shown are overly simplified, but then cramming even a broad explanation of a complex problem into a 20 minute short necessitates a certain amount of abbreviation. There are some little nuggets here that are revealing. Only 1% of the consumer goods purchased in the US is used 6 months after its purchase?? That’s a telling statistic! [see comments below]
On a related note, there’s a stunning documentary doing the rounds right now which I highly recommend. The movie is “Manufactured Landscapes” and it’s a documentary by Jennifer Baichwal, on the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. Baichwal follows Burtynsky on his travels as he photographs the impact of humans on the landscape. Some of the shots in the movie are scarcely believable, as the scope of industrialization in parts of our planet takes time sink in. The images will stay with you long after you’ve left the theatre. The opening tracking shot of a factory is worth the price of admission in itself. Watch, and wonder.
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