John’s Movie Musings

Welcome to the new site!  Nothing is too different yet, but as time goes by, I’ll be able to add some new features.  First up, the Review Index is working.  You can get to it from the link at the top, or over there on the right.  –>

Also, I think my Weekly Box Office widget actually sorts correctly now.  That alone will make this all worth it.

If you’ve got any suggestions or features you wanna see, let me know in the comments.

Enjoy!

Oh, and there’s a new Twitter feature at the end of each post.  Any other sites I should add?

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sean Penn (“Milk”)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Kate Winslet (“The Reader”)

DIRECTING
Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger (“The Dark Knight”)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Departures

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Wall-E”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
”Man on Wire”

The official Oscar nominations were announced early this morning.

Here we go…

Best Picture:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire

I haven’t seen a single one of these. The Dark Knight and Wall-E were my favs of 08. So yeah, we’re off to a pretty typical start.

Best Actor:

• Richard Jenkins (“The Visitor”)
• Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”)
• Sean Penn (“Milk”)
• Brad Pitt (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
• Mickey Rourke (“The Wrestler”)

Best Actress:

• Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”)
• Angelina Jolie (“Changeling”)
• Melissa Leo (“Frozen River”)
• Meryl Streep (“Doubt”)
• Kate Winslet (“The Reader”)

Any guesses?

Director:

• David Fincher (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
• Ron Howard (“Frost/Nixon”)
• Gus Van Sant (“Milk”)
• Stephen Daldry (“The Reader”)
• Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire)

I guess I should check out some of these movies.

Best Supporting Actor:

• Josh Brolin (“Milk”)
• Robert Downey Jr. (“Tropic Thunder”)
• Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”)
• Heath Ledger (“The Dark Knight”)
• Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”)

Best Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams (“Doubt”)
• Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”)
• Viola Davis (“Doubt”)
• Taraji P. Henson (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
• Marisa Tomei (“The Wrestler”)

Well I didn’t see any of the women, but happy to see both Heath Ledger and Robert Downy Jr. for the men. But if these awards mean anything, it’s gotta go to Heath.

Best Animated Film:

• “Bolt”
• “Kung Fu Panda”
• “Wall-E”

Hey, I saw all those. Gotta be Wall-E.

Documentary:

• “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
• ”Encounters at the End of the World”
• ”The Garden”
• ”Man on Wire”
• ”Trouble the Water”

Hey look, Man on Wire made it.

Of all the nominations, Benjamin Button got 13, Slumdog Millionaire got 10, The Dark Knight and Milk each had 8, while Wall-E got 6.

So any predictions? They are predicting a huge audience this year because The Dark Knight (a movie people actually watched) is up for so many awards. I guess we’ll find out on Feb 22.

CES is finally over and I’m slowly getting back into normal life. Reviews coming soon.

Goodbye 2008. Did it end like a Hollywood kiss, complete with a camera pan to the sky? Or was it full of hype, yet utter disappointment? With the year come and gone, here’s the top ten money-makers. And not a single pretentious art-house flick amongst ‘em. Suck on that, Ebert.

#10) Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! – $155M
Never did see this. I hear it’s popular with the lil’ ones. But so is Speed Racer. Yeah.

#9) Quantum of Solace – $165M
Not nearly as good as Casino Royale. But I still like this start, restart Mr. Bond.

#8) Twilight – $170M
A vampire movie that feeds on testosterone. Just like the undead in Sex and the City.

#7) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – $175M
I must say, this is surprisingly high considering the first was pretty weak.

#6) Kung Fu Panda – $215M
It’s so full of awesome, not even Chuck Norris could squelch it.

#5) WALL-E – $224M
Really close to The Dark Knight for my best of the year. It warrants a second watching.

#4) Hancock – $228M
How Hancock beats WALL-E is unfathomable. Seriously? Hopefully none of you bought the DVD.

#3) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – $317M
Yeah, yeah. You like Hancock and I like Indy. We’re even.

#2) Iron Man – $318M
Great story. Weak villian. Definitely awaiting the sequel and the VH-1 Behind the Movie special.

and of course…

#1) The Dark Knight – $531M
I’ve seen it twice and still want to see it again. They are re-releasing it in theaters ahead of the Oscars to build up hype for Heath Ledger and to try and topple Titanic’s $601M total. Go see it in IMAX if you can.

Thanks 2008. Now get out of here and fetch me Twenty Oh Nine.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua opens today. If you’ve seen the trailer, enjoy this:

Thanks Rifftrax. That made my day.

Labor Day has passed so it’s time to see how well the Summer movies turned out.

The big winner, of course, was The Dark Knight. Over the weekend, it passed the $500M mark, making it the #2 movie of all time. Titanic is over $600M and there’s not many big movies in the fall to slow Batman down. It might take it.

Two other movies crossed the $300M mark: Iron Man and Indiana Jones. Iron Man comes out on DVD in two weeks, so I can finally watch it. I hear it’s awesome.

Here’s the Top 10 Breakdown:

1. The Dark Knight — $506M (and counting)
2. Iron Man — $318M
3. Indiana Jones — $316M
4. Hancock — $227M
5. Wall-E — $218M
6. Kung Fu Panda — $214M
7. Horton Hears a Who (really?!) — $155M
8. Sex and the City — $153M
9. Prince Caspian — $142M
10. The Incredible Hulk — $135M

The Dark Knight and Wall-E were my favs of the summer. How ’bout you?

(thanks to BoxOfficeMojo for the data)