TheFlickChickTV
Furiously fussing over flicks. Massive dislike of turnips.Archive for Good Movies
My Award Show has a first name it’s O-S-C-A-R…
It’s Oscar Season bitches! Yay… Below are the nominees for the categories I like to see – all others are snack breaks during the telecast to me and since I’m the one writing this, I get to pick! Enjoy!!
Actor in a Leading Role
- Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
- George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
- Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
- Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
- Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”
Actress in a Leading Role
- Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
- Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
- Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
- Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
- Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”
Actress in a Supporting Role
- Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
- Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
- Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
- Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
- Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Matt Damon in “Invictus”
- Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
- Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
- Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
- Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”
Cinematography
- “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
- “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
- “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
- “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
- “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger
Directing
- “Avatar” James Cameron
- “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
- “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
- “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
- “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman
Foreign Language Film
- “Ajami” Israel
- “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
- “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
- “Un Prophète” France
- “The White Ribbon” Germany
Best Picture
- “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
- “The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
- “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
- “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
- “The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
- “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
- “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
- “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
- “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
- “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
- “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
- “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
- “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
- “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
- “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Writing (Original Screenplay)
- “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
- “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
- “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
- “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
- “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy
Fraternal Twins, Irish Accents, Louboutins, & Gun Twirling = HOT!
Oh my God, Flick Chicks! Have I got a great double feature for you!! Boondock Saints and Boondock Saints II: All Saints’ Day – the first is on DVD and the second is in theatres now. A great cult flick, the first one introduces us to Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) McManus – fraternal twins/avenging angels and super hotties! Ladies, prepare to give thanks for the black t-shirts, turtlenecks, jeans, and pea coats that the boys wear… Le Sigh!!
Ok, so the story is that fed up with the indifference and/or incompetence of the police, the boys take matters into their own hands and, with the help of their friend and low level mob bag-boy Rocco, they decide to take on the criminal element of Boston. Afraid he’s next, the local mob boss puts Il Duce, a ka-ra-zy assassin on their tail. All the while, FBI agent Smecker (Willem Dafoe) is also following them, with 3 Boston detectives who are about 2 steps behind Smecker. He, however, starts having a crisis of faith – he believes that what they’re doing is for the general good, but asks whether he should condone the brothers’ killing of criminals.
In the end (and one of the best scenes) Smecker shows up to warn/back up the brothers at the mob boss’ house…DRESSED IN DRAG!! Il Duce shows up too and it all leads to the climactic ending which I won’t give away here.
Boondock Saints 2 finds the boys in Ireland hiding out until a copycat murder in Boston occurs. Designed to flush out the boys, someone kills a priest in their neighborhood and makes it look like it was the boys. Of course, they go back to Boston to clear themselves. On the way they meet Clifton Collins Jr and once they’re back in Boston, they’re pursued by Smecker’s protege, Eunice Bloom (Julie Benz), a hot chick FBI agent with the best shoes EVER and a sassy gun twirling routine (which Sean Patrick Flanery helped her with BTW). Eunice is awesome as she holds her own, and then some, with the original 3 detectives.
Both written & directed by Troy Duffy, these are fantastic movies…a bit violent, but the violence is beautifully choreographed and the entire subject kick-starts the debate as to whether the brothers are good or evil as they try to save society from evil men by killing them. The movies are a thinking girls’ film with the social issues, hot boys, a kickass chick, and great shoes!
Big Cops, Small Town, Moderate Violence…HUGE LAUGHS!
JohnnaChick and I, we’re bad FlickChicks. We’ve neglected our duties to post hot boys and cool flicks for all the chicks out there. We hang our heads in shame and promise to try to be better. First off, House is on…I may be a little distracted. House and Cuddy are at a doctor conventions with an 80′s theme. I wish I had gone to med school – lawyers don’t have cool conventions like that, we just booze it up.
However I digress, I’m here to talk about the movies…and just recently I revisited a fun flick: HOT FUZZ. Oh English Humour…how dry you are! Such a great tongue in cheek view at the cop/buddy movies. So much so that the straight laced Sgt. Angel (Simon Pegg) is paired with the bumbling PC Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) and (of course) they learn from each other: Angel learns to loosen up and stop being in his head all the time. Danny learns…basically how to do his job semi-compentently, but he’s got a heart of gold, so really, it all evens out. Rounding out the station are Danny’s dad, 2 Detectives named Andy (the Andies), a chick officer named Doris (who I haven’t decided whether she’s the station slut, or just pretending, or just being one of the boys), and a couple other offices and 1 k9 officer named Saxon.
Best scenes are (1) Angel’s introduction of BAD BOYS and POINT BREAK after a night of drinking with Danny and (2) the shoot out between Angel & Danny and the entire town, during which Danny must face off with his father and basically re-enacts the part in Point Break where Keanu is chasing Patrick Swayze, falls due to his bum knee, and is rolling on the ground and shoots into the sky as Patrick jumps a fence.
By the way, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost…cuties in their uniforms! So, do yourself a favor, go get Hot Fuzz and, while you’re at it get Shaun of the Dead. Same team of Pegg, Frost and Edgar Wright (director) put that one together and it’s zombie gold!
Be Kind, Rewind
Apparently we at FlickChick have no concept of time… Be Kind Rewind is a day late, which means Crush of the Week will likely be up late too. Sorry y’all!
Keeping with the foreign film theme, I have a good one for you to watch: Sur Mes Levres (Read My Lips). This 2001 film is one of the best French noir/romantic thrillers ever!
Carla’s a hearing impaired secretary at a real estate firm who is a totally not confident and mousey girl and gets passed over for promotions. Paul (Vincent Cassel), is a rakish, handsome, ex-con who is totally incompetent, but gets hired by Carla mostly ’cause he’s hot and she can (good for her).
The unlikely pair realize that they can work together to get what they want: Carla a promotion and Paul revenge on the crime boss that sent him to prison. Meanwhile, the attraction cannot be denied and the relationship takes on new meaning to both of them.
People, the sexual tension is ridiculous and it is coupled perfectly with the tension in the story. The chemistry between the 2 leads is so well played. The push/pull of Paul’s bad boy to Carla’s good girl going bad is fantastic and really well developed – it’s not just something that happens in an instant. You really root for them to get together, find the money, and drive off into the sunset.
It won the 2002 Best Writing Cesar, Best Actress Cesar for Emmanuelle Devos (Carla), Vincent Cassel was nominated for a Best Actor Cesar, and the film was nominated for a Best Film Cesar (among other nominations). The film won a whole bunch of other awards too. Do yourself a favor and rent this movie!
Be Kind, Rewind
CET OBSCUR OBJET DU DESIR (That Obscure Object of Desire), 1978 — The film is directed by the amazing Luis Bunuel, his last unfortuately, pal of Salvador Dali, director of Belle De Jour (Catherine Deneuve), and countless other gems. This film explores romantic duality, desire, rejection, manipulation and then pretty much obliterates any concept of traditional gender roles or relationships. In truth, the film is not about any ot these things and leaves you with no answers whatsoever- amazingly. As well, through the entire film, Bunuel has brilliantly manipulated the audience by…well I’m not going to tell you, but it’s pretty damn cool. Don’t spoil it for yourself… it’s too good.
This fil
m was nominated for 2 Oscars, Best Film in a Foreign Language and Best Adapted Screenplay– Nominated for 2 Cesar Awards, Best Director and Writing, and won The National Board of Review for Best Film and Best Director, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Film and the National Society of Film Critics Awards for Best Director.
Not bad for a kid from Catalonia, eh?
Crush of the Week
Johnna Chick may be posting her own, however I’d like to share my crush of the week (actually just a permanent one)… MICHAEL VARTAN.
Previously a hot superspy of Alias fame, he then played a hot French chef in the short lived Kitchen Confidential. He’s now on Hawthorne playing a hot doctor. Y’all, if I can’t have a real live doctor hubby, I’ll take one that plays a doctor on TV.
He’s also got a few movies under his belt, 2 of my favorites being One Hour Photo (because we get to see his bare bum) and Mists of Avalon (because we get to see his bare bum). I did not watch Monster In Law, mostly because I can’t stomach JLo, but might just because he’s in it.
Aside from that, the man is French (ooh la la) (actually, he was born in France, but is Polish/Bulgarian – whatever…potato, potahto) and looks hot sporting a shiner. And, he’s a talented actor. Seriously. Check him out at www.imdb.com.
Be Kind, Rewind
I watched Michael Bay’s “The Island” (2005) this weekend…twice…back to back. Once on its own and once with the commentary – so actually I only watched it when MB was talking to see what he was talking about.
Anyway, watched the movie for the first time. When it came out, my love for Michael Bay had not yet taken hold. I had seen Bad Boys, Armaggedon, The Rock, and Bad Boys 2. I hadn’t seen Pearl Harbor (and still haven’t seen the whole thing). Loved them all. Ask my BF Maria – I obsessed over finding The Rock on DVD throughout my 4th of July weekend visiting her…another story, another time.
So, loved MB’s movies, but he hadn’t registered on my radar yet. With The Island, I had an aversion to Scarlett Johannson and on principle refused to watch it. But now, in order to have the proper fodder for these posts, I decided what harm could come of this? Right?
Well, let me tell you, I really enjoyed it. Both times I watched it. And, in listening to the commentary I realized that I really like the action movies because despite the fact that MB is a workhorse on set and expects his crew to be too, he has FUN when he works. And that, my friends, is what I see in all action movies. When he tells us about the time he threw his megaphone down after getting upset that something didn’t go right, the glee in his voice as he recalls how the batteries flew out of that thing makes me laugh…sometimes I want to throw stuff around like that too, but law books don’t break on impact easily. They’re heavy!
Actors get to learn cool things like archery and kung fu and wire work. Directors get to set up shots to blow things up. Stunt guys get to roll cars end over end. It’s like being a kid again! And that’s what I like to see…these boys and girls, with their cool, shiny toys that they get to break into millions of pieces on purpose. Maybe it’s because my job’s about putting things together and making things work (except when I’m filing a divorce for some client or another), but seeing the sheer abandon on the crew’s face when they hit the detenator and watch as an entire desert set go KABOOM! SWOON…
Be Kind, Rewind
It has been decided.
Be Kind, Rewind will be the name for our Movies You Might Have Missed, Hidden Gems, Sleepers, If You Didn’t See This Movie, You Should, Maybe You Should Watch This Movie Again-type post. I was pretty torn up over the getting the name just right. Seriously. Here goes…
Waking The Dead, 2000, 
Keith Gordon-Dir. (Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly) Yes, the guy who played the son to Rodney Dangerfield in “Back to School” makes films that are brilliant character studies of the people who live and love. In this fantastically paced mystery/lovestory/politico film, Fielding Pierce (Crudup) lives the life of an aspiring politician. Along the way he falls in love with Sarah (Connelly), a fiercely idealistic woman who devotes her life to helping others – unfortunately she’s killed in an explosion while assisting members of the Chilean resistance. Nine years later, in the middle of a congressional election, Fielding is suddenly flooded with thoughts and visions of his lost love.
Two words. SO GOOD!
In Defense of Giant Alien Robots…
So, I’m on Twitter (actionflikchick – if you want to follow) and I follow a bunch of actors, producers, etc. Today I read a tweet that got my back up and I had to respond.
Kristen Bell decided to go see District 9. Now, I’ve heard nothing but raves, which means I won’t be able to watch it until it comes out on DVD because the super hyping of the movie is going to ruin it for me; the bar is now waaaaay too high and I’m going to be disappointed. Happened with Amelie, Crash, and Collateral. Anyway, she watched D9 with a few people, some of which had the opinion that the film should have had “more fighting and technology.” Now seeing as the movie was basically the story about disenfranchised shanty town dwellers that happen to be aliens. Now, I fail to see how you could add more technology into the film – people in shanty towns, to my knowledge, do not have iPhones or AppleTV. As for fighting, we’ll see once we watch the film how much or little there is.
But, it was her comment that irked me. She said “people are idiots. god forbid a movie focus on story. god forbid there is dialogue. i politely recommended they go see transformers again.” Then she mentions she hasn’t watched Transformers2.
As someone who watched Transformers and Transformers2 (twice) and enjoyed both films, I find it annoying that people are getting on their high horses about the films. The movies are about giant alien life forms that take form in robots that can transform into everyday mechanical things. This isn’t Shakespere people. It’s not an allegory for inequality or the struggle of man against the prejudices of others. It’s a movie about GIANT FREAKIN’ ROBOTS and their civil war that has spilled onto Earth.
Perhaps people need to stop trying to be “hip” or “intellectual;” they need to stop critisizing the dialogue of a movie about robots and be amazed at ILM’s ability to give giant robots facial expressions and movement. I mean really, I don’t expect a monologue while Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf are running through the Egyptian desert being shot at by evil robots. Really, I don’t . I expect running and screaming against the backdrop of Michael Bay’s elaborate explosions.
So, in response to Ms. Bell, and those people who hate Michael Bay films and other similar action films, I politely suggest she go watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – with an open mind, before giving her opinion or making the suggestion that those of us who enjoy popcorn movies are less brainy than the other movie-going public.
I can only imagine that she, and the Bay-haters, are the same people who looooove Radiohead and wear white belts and think all movies should be socially consious, or teach viewers a lesson. Well, I don’t like Radiohead or wear white belts, and I don’t want lessons in my movies, I want fun because I am there to be entertained!
I Need a Hero… (and hi!)
Hey there Flick Chicks! Hope you guys are getting into the groove of checking in with us for informaiton and commentary on the goings-on in Hollywood. I’d like to thank the head Flick Chick Johnna for letting me contribute.
A little about me: I’m an attorney in LA (insert LA Law reference here). I work in the entertainment industry and love movies. I love action movies the best. Don’t get me wrong…I do like a nice rom-com or thriller, but there is nothing so satisfying as a cute boy, guns a-blazing, with an explosions in the background. As the old Bonnie Tyler song says, “I need a hero! I’m holding out for a hero at the end of the night. He’s gotta be strong, and he’s gotta be fast, and he’s gotta be fresh from the fight.”
So, I’m here as your guide to the action flick - the current and past - and, from time to time, the action TV series (too bad Fastlane is gone…). No intellectual musings, socio-economic/political interpretations (unless the movie seriously calls for it), or social commentary here. Just good old gunpowder and displays of pyrotechnic glory…it’s good for the soul!
johnna sunshine
LawGirl
