Mr. President

Barack Obama officially became the 44th President of the United States today.

"I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God."

Indeed, so help you God Mr. Obama because this job is no small task and will take every ounce of energy, but I believe in you. In fact, the entire nation wants to believe in you. By my estimate Obama will begin office with the highest approval ratings for any incoming President. In the latest poll he was two percentage points below JFK, but he will undoubtedly have a strong post inaugural bounce that will put him ahead.

After taking the oath of office, Obama gave his inaugural address. My three favorite parts of the speech were:

"The people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

Seeing as I want to work in developing nations, it comes as no great surprise that I liked that part.

"We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

Obama will be tested by foreign nations. He must be strong.

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship."

In words reminiscent of JFK, Obama asks for a call to service.

For the full text of the speech, click here.

While I don't expect Obama to save us from all of our problems, for it is hard to save us from ourselves, I believe he will be a great improvement from the last eight years, and maybe even the last fifty years. I will set the bar high for him, as any voter should do for their representative. To settle for less than one believes is to hardly believe in anything at all.

In conclusion, I welcome our new President and say farewell to the old President. May the door not hit you too hard on the way out George.

Have a nice day.

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Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Monday, which is January 19th, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Let us not forget his dream. This is my favorite speech of all time. My roommate said the same thing. He's Asian, I'm white, MLK was black. I guess that speaks for the power behind his message that all men are created equal.



Alternatively, click here to visit the original link.

While we remember MLK, let us not forget that there is more work to be done. If you want a reminder that there are many racist people out there just read the comments on youtube for this video. Maybe things will continue to change for the better now that Obama is President. Rosa sat, King walked, and Obama ran. As we watch the inauguration tomorrow, remember that King's dreams echo still.

Have a nice day.

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Hip-Hop/Rap

I am tired of people assuming that all hip-hop and rap music is meaningless and only about sex, drugs, and money. In my point of view rap is one of the best forms of poetry out there. While I do think a lot of hip-hop and rap music is pretty excruciating to listen to, there are definitely plenty of notable exceptions. My favorite songs are those that deal with politics/conflicts/social affairs. Thus, for my fun and your potential pleasure, I have assembled ten songs that I think people should actually read the lyrics to. They are arranged in a top ten format, although they are certainly not necessarily the best songs out there, but ten that I happen to like a lot. For each song I will include a snippet of lyrics and a link to the complete lyrics.

10. Black Eyed Peas – “Where Is The Love?”

This song was very popular when it came out, and not only did it have a catchy tune, but a good message to boot.

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate

Full Lyrics

9. Eminem – “White America”

This song has a lot of energy and deals with the freedom of speech

America, hahaha, we love you, how many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful
Country of ours, the stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect,
The women and men who have broke their neck's for the freedom of speech the United States
Government has sworn to uphold, or so we're told...

Full Lyrics

8. Public Enemy – “Fight The Power”

Public Enemy is one of the quintessential oldschool political hip-hop groups

While the Black bands sweatin'
And the rhythm rhymes rollin'
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

Full Lyrics

7. Saul Williams – “Scene III Act 2 (Shakespeare)”

Saul Williams is a poet who is well know for his unique blending of alternative hip-hop with poetry. This song is about President Bush and the War in Iraq.

I didn't vote for this state of affairs. My emotional state's got me prostrate, fearing my fears. In all reality I'm under prepared. 'Cause I'm ready for war but not sure if I'm ready to care. And that's why I'm under prepared. 'Cause I'm ready to fight, but most fights got me fighting back tears. 'Cause the truth is really I'm scared. Not scared of the truth, but just scared of the length you'll go to fight it. I tried to hold my tongue, son. I tried to bite it. I'm not trying to start a riot or incite it. 'Cause Brutus is an honorable man. It's just coincidence that oil men would wage war on an oil rich land. And this one goes out to my man, taking cover in the trenches with a gun in his hand, then gets home and no one flinches when he can't feed his fam. But Brutus is an honorable man.

Full Lyrics

6. Mos Def – “Dollar Day for New Orleans (Katrina Klap)”

This is Mos Def's unreleased (I think) song about Hurricane Katrina.

So there's a story about the lady in Louisiana
She's a flood survivor and the rescue teams
They come through, and they, I guess tryna recover people
And they see this women she's wadin through the streets
I guess it'd been some time after the storm
And I guess they were shocked that you know she was alive
And rescue worker said, "So, oh my God h-how did you survive
How did you do it? Where've you been?"
And she said, "Where I been? Where you been?"
Hah, Where you been? You understand?
That's about the size of it

Full Lyrics

5. Nas – “Sly Fox”

I can't stand Fox News. Apparently neither can Nas.

Watch what you watchin'
Fox keeps feeding us toxins
Stop sleeping
Start thinking
Outside of the box and
Unplug from The Matrix doctrine
But watch what you say Big Brother is watchin'

Full Lyrics

4. Jedi Mind Tricks – “Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story”

Jedi Mind Tricks is crazy. I included a really long passage, but this may be the single best anti-war song I have ever read/listened to.

They want to harm us
They all up on us
Bang, bang, bullet hit my chest, feel no pain
To my left, the captain caught a bullet right in his brain
Body parts flying, loss of limbs, explosions
Bad intentions, I see my best friend's intestines
Pray to the one above, It's raining and I'm covered in mud
I think I'm dying, I feel dizzy, I'm losing blood
I see my childhood, I'm back in the arms of my mother
I see my whole life, I see Christ, I see bright lights
I see Israelites, Muslims and Christians at peace, no fights
Blacks, Whites, Asians, people of all types
I must have died, then I woke up, suprised I'm alive
I'm in a hospital bed, they rescued me, I survived
I escaped the war, came back
But ain't escape Agent Orange, two of my kids born handicapped
Spastic, quadriplegia, micro cephalic
Cerebral palsy, cortical blindness, name it they had it
My son died he ain't live, but I still try to think positive
Cause in life, God take, God give

Full Lyrics

3. Emmanuel Jal – “Warchild”

Emmanuel Jal was born in Southern Sudan. When civil war broke out there his father joined a rebel army and his mother was killed by government soldiers. Emmanuel joined thousands of other children traveling to Ethiopia for an education, but when he got there he was recruited by a rebel army and turned into a child soldier. He was taught to kill Muslims and was brought back to Sudan to fight. After five years he escaped with other boys on foot. Many boys didn't survive the trek. Those that survived are known as the "Lost Boys." He eventually reached a friendly aid worker who smuggled him into Kenya. While studying in Kenya, Emmanuel took his frustration out by singing. I really like him, which may be due to his amazing story as a child solder turned hip-hop artist.

Note: I couldn't find a site with lyrics of his songs, so I copied the lyrics down myself.

All people struggling down there
The storms only come for awhile
And after awhile they’ll be gone
My father was working for the government as a policeman
A few years later I heard he joined a rebel movement
That was formed to fight for freedom
I didn’t understand the politics at hand
Of this because I was only a child
After awhile I saw the tensions rise at hand
Between the Christian and the Muslim regime
We lost our possessions
And my mother suffered depression
And because of this…
I was forced to be a war child.

I believe that I’ve survived for a reason
To tell my story, to touch lives.

Music Video

2. 2Pac – “Changes”

I really like this song and really wanted it to be number one. There are few songs that create such a portrait of life in the projects. As a note, Huey refers to Huey Newton, the co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party. He was later assassinated.

I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself
is life worth living should I blast myself?
I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm black
my stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch
Cops give a damn about a negro
pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares
one less hungry mouth on the welfare
First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers
give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other
It's time to fight back that's what Huey said
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead
I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere
unless we share with each other

And still I see no changes can't a brother get a little peace
It's war on the streets & the war in the Middle East
Instead of war on poverty they got a war on drugs
so the police can bother me

Full Lyrics

1. Immortal Technique – “The 3rd World”

There really wasn't any question about it in my mind, Immortal Technique's lyrics will blow your mind.

Lock and load your gun, where I'm from: the Third World son,
Been to many places but I'm Third World-born.
Guerrillas hit and run where I'm from: the Third World son.
You polluted everything, and now the Third World's gone.
The waters poisoned where I'm from son,
Seven hundred children die by the end 'this song.
Revolution'll come, where I'm from: the Third World son.
Constant occupation, leaves the Third World torn.

Full Lyrics

That's it for now, have a good day!

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Oscar Nominations Predictions!

These are predictions for what films are going to be nominated for Oscars. The actual nominations will be announced in a week, on the 22nd of January. A lot of these picks are conventional wisdom, but I'm going to give it a go anyways. And no, I won't be predicting the categories like sound mixing. I'd love to but I don't have the time. For some awards, like cinematography, I'll give a quick brief on what each means. Even I had no idea what Art Direction was until a few weeks ago.

Best Picture

Slumdog Millionaire

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Milk

The Dark Knight

Gran Torino

The first three are locks. Gran Torino is gaining a lot of support, especially because of the $30 million it made over the weekend. Frost/Nixon is a popular choice, but I feel like it's losing steam. The Dark Knight could easily be replaced by that or Doubt, but a man can hope.

Best Actor

Sean Penn, Milk

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor

I see Brad Pitt getting bumped off in favor for Jenkins. The Oscars always throw in an under-appreciated actor just to recognize them for a good performance (see Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson and Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises ). Plus, Pitt didn't do much besides look old and sad. And later, young and sad.

Best Actress

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Meryl Streep, Doubt

Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long

The first four are locks. I picked Scott Thomas over Angelina Jolie (Changeling), who got love for A Mighty Heart last year. Her film, in French, is about a woman with a painful secret that returns to her sister after a fifteen year absence. Happy-Go-Lucky is a British film about a schoolteacher who always remains optimistic and happy, no matter what her predicament is.

Best Director

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Gus Van Sant, Milk

Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Once again, I have Frost/Nixon going down in favor of Clint Eastwood.

Best Supporting Actor

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt

Josh Brolin, Milk

Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder

Downey Jr. is a wild card but he's going to get the final slot for a few reasons. First, Heath Ledger is going to win anyways so it doesn't really matter who's nominated. Second, the Academy Awards needs the ratings boost. Lastly, he's awesome and totally deserves the recognition.

Best Supporting Actress

Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis, Doubt

Kate Winslet, The Reader

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

All of these are pretty solid, little competition here. The only question is, will Kate Winslet be eligible for a supporting role? She had a major part in The Reader , but she's trying this category to avoid competition with herself in the Best Actress race. She made it into the supporting category at the Golden Globes, but who knows with the Oscars.

Original Screenplay

Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Wall E

Martin McDonagh, In Bruges

Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Robert Siegel, The Wrestler

Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married

In Bruges is a long shot, I know. I have hope, especially since it's been gaining popularity since the Golden Globes and BAFTAs. This category is insanely wide open. The only sure thing is Milk .

Adapted Screenplay

Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon

Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight

No real surprises among this bunch. The sources of these screenplays: Two Broadway plays, an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, a little-known novel, and a comic book character.

Cinematography

Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Tom Stern, Changeling

Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight

Mandy Walker, Australia

The cinematographer works with the lighting of each scene. It may not seem like a big deal, but a film's lighting often influences the audience's mood. For example, a lot of The Dark Knight is shot with low-key lighting in order for us to feel as somber as the characters in the movie.

Art Direction

Mark Digby and Michelle Day, Slumdog Millionaire

Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Nathan Crowley and Peter Lando, The Dark Knight

Erwin Prib and Eva Stiebler, The Reader

Kristi Zea and Debra Schutt, Revolutionary Road

Art direction is really made up of both the art director and set design. They construct the sets, choose locales, create props, basically everything in the background of the film. This award usually goes to period pieces which require re-creating the look and feel of decades long past. I know the first three seem repetitive, but they are technically dominating movies. The Reader is the compulsory Holocaust-era movie, and Revolutionary Road follows Mad Men-style 50's production design.

Costume Design

Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Johnetta Boone, Cadillac Records

Michael O'Connor, The Duchess

Donna Maloney and Ann Roth, The Reader

Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road

This category also features epic dramas set in the past, as it would require a lot of ingenuity to recreate the everyday clothing of their settings.

Makeup

Jean Ann Black, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Roz Abrey, Hellboy: The Golden Army

Peter Robb-King, The Dark Knight

Benjamin Button for all the old-person makeup, Hellboy (which I'm watching as I type this) for its amazing, creative creatures, and The Dark Knight for making Heath Ledger unrecognizable as The Joker.

Editing

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Elliot Graham, Milk

Lee Smith, The Dark Knight

Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill, Frost/Nixon

Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

Eh.

Visual Effects

Eric Barba and other dudes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Shane Patrick Mahan, John Nelson, and Ben Snow, Iron Man

Chris Corbould and others, The Dark Knight

I feel like listing my favorite effects shot from each movie here.
Benjamin Button : What else but the beautiful battle with the submarine?
Iron Man : When Tony Stark's armor goes too far into the atmosphere. His armor freezes, and he slowly plummets back to earth.
Dark Knight : Two words: Truck Flip.

Original Score

Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Thomas Newman, Wall E

Hanz Zimmer and James Newton Howard, The Dark Knight

Hanz Zimmer, Frost/Nixon

A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Hanz Zimmer is just a sweet name. But props to my boy A.R. I never thought I'd see him here. For those that don't know, Rahman is probably the most famous composer in India. He does the soundtracks for lots and lots of popular Bollywood films. And to Oscar presenters - when you say his name, it's pronounced Rehman, not Ramen like the delicious noodles.

Original Song

"Gran Torino", Gran Torino

"Down to Earth", Wall E

"The Wrestler", The Wrestler

"O Saya", Slumdog Millionaire

"Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire

Clint Eastwood returns to his Paint Your Wagon days (remember that Boy Meets World episode?) and sings once more. Seriously, yeah, he sings the song "Gran Torino". Bruce Springsteen was commissioned to write the depressing-as-hell theme for The Wrestler . Two songs from Slumdog is probably unlikely, but they're equally deserving. "O Saya" is the drum-heavy song in the very beginning when the boys are being chased by the police. "Jai Ho" is the song during the credits dance sequence. Here's hoping both get nominated so we can see the performances during the ceremony. A.R. Rahman and M.I.A. on stage together would be pretty incredible.

Animated Film

Wall E

Kung Fu Panda

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Kung Fu Panda was the shit. If it wasn't for that cute little robot, it might have had a chance to win.

Foreign Language Film

Israel, Waltz With Bashir

France, The Class

Turkey, 3 Monkeys

Sweden, Everlasting Moments

Germany, The Baader Meinhof Complex

Bashir is the frontrunner, an animated documentary in the style of A Scanner Darkly . It's about an Israeli soldier who fought in the first Lebanon War. His memory of that period seems to be missing, so he interviews fellow soldiers and friends to remember what happened during the war. The Class is a French film about a teacher and his students in a run-down Parisian school. The Turkish production 3 Monkeys has a politician accidentally killing a pedestrian and asking a servant to take the fall in exchange for a substantial reward. Everlasting Moments is a Swedish movie in which a poor woman wins a camera in a contest, changing her life forever. Lastly the German film with the really long title is about the Red Army Faction, a German terrorist organization that did assassinations and bombings and such in the '60s and '70s.

Should be fun.

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Roland Burris

Roland Burris, Blagojevich’s appointment to replace Obama in the United States Senate, was sworn into office today. Thus, Burris is now my new Senator. How do I feel about this?

1) Burris is a terrible candidate. He has lost many, many races, including a failed run for U.S. Senate (he never made it out of the primary). He won’t last more than two years. He’ll have a serious primary and general election opponent.

2) He is pretty egotistical. I don’t know his policy views too well, but I know that he thinks he is the big tuna. He freaking named his son and daughter Roland and Rolanda.

3) Blagojevich will be removed from office, but he and Burris got the last laugh. I found it fitting that Burris was sworn in with a huge grin on his face. Seriously, who would have dreamed that anyone would not only accept Blagojevich’s appointment, but would actively pursue it after Blagojevich was arrested? Not I, and definitely not Harry Reid.

4) Harry Reid has egg on his face. Seriously, while I don’t like Reid, I feel bad for the man because he took a leap and finally took a firm stance on something, only to have the unthinkable happen.

5) Reid and Durbin had no legs to stand on when they originally denied him his seat.

6) I am glad Burris was seated because I strongly believe in justice and the concept of “innocent until proven guilty.” Burris hasn’t done anything wrong, so there is no reason not to seat him. Actually, Blagojevich hasn’t even been indicted yet.

7) Hopefully this will lead to more states changing their laws and making it so governors cannot appoint replacement U.S. Senators. It is inherently undemocratic. There should be special elections, just like in the U.S. House. At least some progress can be made. Maybe appointments have to have been elected to statewide office before (sorry Caroline). Another possible step is to make it so that there is a special election, but until then there is a temporary appointed placeholder. Either way, this current system blows.

8) I am actually looking forward to seeing what kind of a Senator Burris is. I am kind of a geek.

9) Have a good day.

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2008 Awards in Film

I already posted this as a note on facebook so you may have read it already. I made a handful of changes for this version, including a few more awards.

Best Movies of 2008
These are my 8 favorite movies of 2008 (to hell with top ten lists), my favorite performances, the biggest disappointments and other miscellaneous awards.

Note: I wasn’t able to see the following movies as of January 15 which were supposed to be good and may have affected the final awards:
Wall E, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler, Doubt, Rachael Getting Married, Gran Torino, Punisher: War Zone

8. W. (Oliver Stone)
This film is far from perfect, but it must be included for doing something I never thought was possible. It made me feel sympathy for George W. Bush. Yes, the same George W. Bush that stole an election, shoved two wars down our throats, outed Valerie Plame, patted Brownie on the back for a job well done, and a handful of other misdemeanors. W. shows how Bush was assailed all his life by people who didn’t think that he could live up to the family name. His quest for the presidency was nothing more than an attempt to prove to all these people, especially his parents, that he could do something with his life. Josh Brolin as Dubya and Elizabeth Banks as Laura give career performances. The rest of Bush's cabinet was hit and miss. Jeffery Wright was cool and collected as Colin Powell. Thandie Newton's Condi Rice made me want to stick a live grenade in my mouth to end the torture of her twitchy, nasally caricature. W. could have been a classic if Stone didn't rush this project into development.

7. Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller)
Easily the funniest movie of 2008. Robert Downey Jr. playing an African American could have been hideously inappropriate but it worked really well. Instead, the movie was controversial for the “full retard” joke, which was actually pretty brilliant. Production values for this movie, with the massive explosions and shootouts were as good as actual war movies. The fake trailers at the beginning were priceless. Not the biggest fan of the Tom Cruise sequences, though.

6. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman)
I have no idea what this movie is about but I know that there was some great message to be found within all the insane things that happened. I need to watch it a few more times to digest everything. Otherwise, the acting is really good. Even though the main character is the ever-awesome Phillip Seymour Hoffman, all women in his life, including Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and Catherine Keener, steal every scene. I can only recommend this movie to people who are fans of movies like Blue Velvet and Eternal Sunshine... that are trippy and confusing. This movie is really messed up, but probably a masterpiece.

5. Choke (Clark Gregg)
The most criminally underappreciated film of 2008. It received a lot of attention at Sundance but a weak opening and mixed reviews killed its chances of finding a wide audience. Sam Rockwell is hilariously twisted as a sex-addict who works at a historical re-enactment village and pretends to choke in fancy restaurants in order to exploit the Good Samaritans who rush to his aid. But that’s not what the movie focuses on. The movie is really about the relationship between Rockwell and his mother (Anjelica Huston, mamma Tenenbaum). The sex and choking are just quirks of the main character. Choke is based off a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, so expect a lot of Fight Club-esqe dark humor. Plus, it has the semen of Jesus Christ, which is always nice.

4. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
I have nothing else to add to the discussion. Everyone knows why this is good. My only complaint is that the movie wasn’t longer. I wanted Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face to take more time. He turned from a saint to a psychopath to quickly for me.

3. Milk (Gus Van Sant)
The fact that Prop 8 passed makes this movie even more relevant. As much as it’s about the political rise of Harvey Milk, it’s about the crusade for homosexuals to achieve equal rights. They still don’t, because of bitches like Anita Bryant, even after the all the progress made by Milk in the 70’s. Sean Penn is so good, it’s one of those times when you forget that he’s an actor and not Milk himself. The film is shot like a documentary, cutting back and forth between actual footage and what was recreated. All the supporting actors are good, with Emile Hirsch and James Franco. Josh Brolin dominated his bit role as Dan White, the conservative rival of Harvey Milk, especially during his drunken tirade. Watch Milk. Be moved. Overturn Prop 8.

2. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)
That’s right, In Bruges is #2. I've been trying to champion this film ever since I saw it at the Michigan Theater in March. I laughed, I cried, I fell out of my seat when Colin Farrell karate-chopped the dwarf. Farrell is at his best as an emotionally devastated, yet hysterically cynical hitman. He has great chemistry with his patient, wise partner played by Brendan Glesson (Mad-Eye Moody). The best part about the film is the complexity of each character, even the “villain” played by Ralph Fiennes. Everyone does good and bad things, so you find yourself loving and hating them at the same time. The film is has layers of subtext and metaphors and all that, so watch it a few times to pick up on everything.



1. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
Bollywood movies are awesome. Yeah, they’re unrealistic and melodramatic but I grew up with them so they hold a special place in my heart. Slumdog Millionaire is a typical Bollywood film, but this time it’s placed in the hands of an auteur. It’s kind of bizarre how well this movie worked, especially for me. Danny Boyle was already my favorite film director from his work in Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. A.R. Rahman is my favorite singer/composer from his decades of Bollywood music. Them working together only existed in my dreams before this. The cinematography and editing is frenetic and exciting. “O Saya” blasting in the background as a group of boys outrun the police in the slums of Bombay is pure cinematic magic. Acting is decent but the actors are young. It’s nice to see actors from my childhood like Anil Kapoor and Saurab Shukla in a movie like this. Slumdog combines the style of Pulp Fiction with the genuine good feelingness of The Shawshank Redemption. Fact: This is the best film I have ever seen.

Best Actor:
Sean Penn, Milk
(Runner Up) Josh Brolin, W.

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
*Embarrassingly, I haven’t had the chance to see the better female performances of 2008 like Anne Hathaway in Rachael Getting Married, Meryl Streep in Doubt, either of Kate Winslet’s movies, among others. I’ll fix this for 2009.

Best Director:
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
What other director can you think of that made a kick-ass zombie movie( 28 Days Later), next made a pleasant kid's movie (Milions), then directed an intense, beautiful sci-fi thriller ( Sunshine ) and followed that with a Bollywood movie? Danny Boyle is a mad man. What's next, a revenge drama about an undercover African soldier infiltrating the Janjaweed, only to be revealed as a time-traveling vampire? Knowing Boyle, that movie would own.
(Runner Up) Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
* I feel bad for Christopher Nolan. Because his work was sweet.

Best Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Yeah yeah you know why. RIP.
(Runner Up) Josh Brolin in Milk
*no, I do not have a man crush on Josh Brolin. He’s just a good actor this year

Best Supporting Actress:
Michelle Williams, Synecdoche, New York
(Runner Up) Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Biggest Disappointments:
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
It was entertaining enough for me to enjoy it three times, but it could have been SO much better. More action with real stunts, none of this green screen nonsense. Less Shia swinging with monkeys.

2. Burn After Reading
The Coen Brothers follow up the American classic No Country for Old Men with this crap. Terrible things happen to all of the characters, like in all their films, but at least No Country… wasn’t trying to pass off as a comedy. John Malkovich needs to realize that shouting all the time isn’t funny. After this and Leatherheads , George Clooney needs to stop doing comedy.

3. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
It’s not a bad film at all. The cinematography and all that technical stuff was first class. But when you team up David Fincher and Brad Pitt, you except something like their previous two masterpieces, Fight Club and Seven. Benjamin Button was way too long and didn’t have enough exciting sequences. Sure that sounds whiny, but when I see a three-hour long film I want hardcore, face-melting action sequences like in Return of the King.
* It’s not Brad Pitt’s fault. He was really good in both movies, but the overall products weren’t that great

Best Quote:
“There’s nothing I like better than kicking your ass. Except maybe eggs”
~ The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), The Spirit

Real Best Quote:
“Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn't, so it doesn't.”
~Ray, In Bruges

Best Quote From a Movie That Applies to the 2008 Presidential Election:
"I am not a candidate, I am part of a movement. The movement is the candidate."
~Harvey Milk, Milk

Best Scene:
*MILD SPOILER*
Slumdog Millionaire: Jamal dives into a pool of human excrement and swims through it to get a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan. While disgusting, this perfectly embodies India’s adoration of film stars. Jamal’s pure joy after receiving the autograph is something we all hope to feel one day.



Best Mamma Mia Song and Dance Sequence
Does Your Mother Know? Word.



The Will Smith Award for Ok Movies With Awful Third Acts:
Hancock
(Seven Pounds was awful throughout)
*This award was started after 2007’s I Am Legend, which actually pretty awesome for most of the movie except for the ending, which was so bad that it made the whole movie worse.
Hancock was really funny when Will Smith was an asshole. It was also pretty solid for the action sequence in the bank and the dialogue with his PR guy (It’s nice to see Jason Bateman in roles like this). The twist was surprising and well done. Everything after that, especially the boring-as-hell climax in the hospital, sucked. I wanted a smackdown with some super-powered villain that would tear up downtown L.A.

The New Trend:
There has been a resurgence of movies shot from the perspective of hand-held cameras (which tends to give Xin Xu headaches). First seen in The Blair Witch Project, it returned in January’s Cloverfield, followed in Diary of the Dead and Quarantine. All were hits and this technique is going to be bled dry in the coming years.

Signs That the Superbad Backlash has Begun:
1) Star Michael Cera’s new teen comedy Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist grossed a meager $31 million dollars. Superbad made $121 million. That’s a big difference.
2) Zack and Miri Make A Porno also grossed $31 million, and that was with the Kevin Smith fanbase already in place. I guess the title drove people away.
3) Pineapple Express did a bit better with $87 million overall, with Paper Planes and some surprisingly intense action sequences. But it was nowhere near Seth Rogen’s last lead role in Knocked Up, which had $148 million.
4) Role Models had McLovin and it grossed a fairly solid $66 million.

Is the end of the Seth Rogen-Judd Apatow era already coming? We’ll see in 2009’s Year One, Funny People, and Observe and Report.

The Requiem for a Dream Award for “Why Would You Make A Movie This Depressing?”
The Boy With the Striped Pajamas. Children. Innocence. Holocaust. Tears.

Thanks for reading. Please post comments/observations if you feel like it.

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Obama's Stimulus Plan

Obama is a smart man.

Many people have heard about Obama’s stimulus recovery plan. There are two basic tenets to the plan: (1) the liberal approach – government spends, spends, spends, and (2) the conservative approach – tax cuts. While this is an extremely condensed version, it is fairly accurate.

Obama’s stimulus plan included 300 billion dollars in tax cuts, even though his economic team came out with a report showing that tax cuts are only two-thirds as effective in creating growth as increased spending is. While he had more money going towards spending, it isn’t as much more as one would expect. Why is this?

Over the last couple weeks there has been some public outbursts about his plan. Where did these come from? Republicans? No, but instead they came from Democrats. Mitch McConnell (the Republican Senate Minority Leader) didn’t make a peep. Instead, John Kerry and other Democrats demanded increased spending, especially on “green industry.”

Obama then met with Senate Democrats and agreed to their wishes, giving the appearance of working with the Senate, while improving his plan and still keeping Republicans content with the 300 billion dollars in tax cuts.

This is smart for four reasons:

1) Obama isn't going it alone. People love checks and balances.

2) It will pass through the Senate, I think, fairly easily.

3) If it doesn't pass for some reason, people will blame the Senate.

4) If it passes and then fails when it is implemented, Obama isn't solely responsable.

Have a good day.

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