Movie Review - OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE...

Earlier today, I watched the action comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre at AMC theaters.

Directed by Guy Ritchie (who helmed 2009's Sherlock Holmes and co-wrote the script for Disney's 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin), Operation Fortune was an entertaining film...and Ritchie's personal take on the Mission: Impossible, Charlie's Angels and 007 franchises.

Operation Fortune was your typical spy flick...with Orson Fortune (Jason Statham), Sarah Fidel (Aubrey Plaza), Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes) and J.J. Davies (Bugzy Malone) needing to infiltrate the hidden lair (or in this case, a fancy yacht and a Turkish villa) of a celebrity-obsessed arms dealer named Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant). The reason: They needed to locate a MacGuffin (known as 'The Handle') that's worth a billion dollars and could cause worldwide financial collapse if placed in the wrong hands.

The 007 part arrived when Fortune and Co. enlisted the aid of an actor named Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett), whose celebrity status allowed him and the group to get close to Simmonds on his yacht and seek The Handle's whereabouts. While he has appeared in numerous projects throughout the years (most of them TV shows), the last time I've heard of a film that Hartnett starred in was 2006's The Black Dahlia.

(I believe that 2005's Sin City was the last movie featuring Hartnett that I actually saw at the theater!)

A lot of espionage and car chases took place throughout the rest of the film, with Operation Fortune concluding with a shootout between Orson's rival Mike (Peter Ferdinando) and armed goons working for Trent and Arnold...two bio-tech moguls in possession of The Handle. It didn't end well for these two groups, which was great news for Orson as he was able to secure the billion-dollar device.

Operation Fortune concluded on a feel-good note, with Orson and Co. going on vacation after a succesful mission (despite Nathan's attempt to enlist them on the next job), and Danny Francesco shooting a scene for a movie that was inspired by his interaction with Greg Simmonds.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre may not have been as well-polished as Sherlock Holmes, but it was still an enjoyable flick that was nicely directed by Ritchie. I look forward to his next project, a war drama known as The Covenant, which arrives in theaters nationwide on April 21.

Movie Review - GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY...

"It's a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth, don't you think?"
- Detective Benoit Blanc
A few hours ago, I celebrated Thanksgiving Eve by watching Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery at AMC theaters.

Needless to say, this murder-mystery comedy—once again directed by Rian Johnson—was just as good as the 2019 original film, Knives Out!

Just like Knives Out, Daniel Craig reprised his role as Benoit Blanc, the world's greatest detective, in Glass Onion. And joining Craig was yet another all-star cast...this time featuring Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Leslie Odom Jr. and Dave Bautista.

According to a Google search, Ethan Hawke was apparently in Glass Onion as well, but I didn't recognize him in the movie. (I reckon he was among the people that Lionel, Leslie Odom Jr.'s character, was talking to during that video conferencing session in the opening scene.) Ram Bergman—who helped produce the Knives Out sequel with Rian Johnson—was hilarious in his brief cameo!

You'll notice that I left out Janelle Monáe above...and that's because I wanted to save the best for last! Just like Ana de Armas in the first Knives Out installment, Monáe was definitely the star of Glass Onion—(SPOILERS AHEAD) playing not one but two characters in the sequel: Andi Brand and her sister Helen.

Monáe did an excellent job differentiating between Andi and Helen in her performances; with Andi being the confident entrepreneur who would be at the center of the film's murder-mystery plot, and Helen being the uncertain but caring sibling who wanted to seek justice for Andi's fate in this movie.

Glass Onion was just as humorous and clever as Knives Out, with Daniel Craig clearly relishing the comedic role of Detective Blanc once again, after saying farewell to James Bond in last year's No Time to Die.

Glass Onion is one of the best films I've seen in 2022; it's too bad that this masterpiece will only be in theaters for the next few days before it begins streaming on Netflix later next month.

Watch Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on the big screen as soon as possible! It's definitely worth the ticket price...

I give this Knives Out mystery two thumbs way up.

Movie Review: PREY FOR THE DEVIL...

Earlier today, I watched the horror flick Prey for the Devil at AMC theaters.

I had to put a lot of thought into deciding whether or not I should see this film...considering that for personal reasons, I continue to refuse to view the classic devil-walks-among-us horror movie, The Exorcist. (Traumatic childhood memories will do that to ya!) This is despite the fact I've watched all but one of the Paranormal Activity flicks, as well as all of The Conjuring films—including spinoffs like The Nun and Annabelle!

As for Prey for the Devil, it had its predictable moments of jumpscares and suspense. I would actually say that the recent horror movie Smile had more frightful scenes than this flick, which is directed by The Last Exorcism's Daniel Stamm.

Nevertheless, I think the reason why Prey for the Devil still touches a nerve for me is that I was raised Catholic. I wouldn't say I'm a devout Catholic considering the fact I haven't gone to church on a weekly basis since before the pandemic, but the story about Lucifer and demons still freak me out.

However, one amusing thing about Prey for the Devil is the main location of this movie: Which is the fictional St. Michael the Archangel School of Exorcism in Boston, Massachusetts. Schools of exorcism do exist in real life (as the Vatican really does teach courses about this sacramental rite), but only in a Hollywood flick can St. Michael be a high-tech, multistory compound that's something you would see in a Jason Bourne film, a James Bond movie or even an Avengers flick by Marvel Studios!

As for the cast, the performances were superb. Jacqueline Byers was stoic as Sister Ann, Colin Salmon was noble as Father Quinn, Christian Navarro was helpful as Father Dante and Posy Taylor did a great job portraying the possessed persona of Natalie.

Linda Blair would be proud of Taylor's performance! Even though I never watched The Exorcist...nor do I intend to in the future. Have a fun Halloween, everyone!

The 94th Annual Academy Award Nominations...

Here are some notes on today's announcement:

- As mentioned in my review for the film last month, Nightmare Alley rightfully received a nomination for Best Cinematography. It is also up for Best Picture, Production Design and Costume Design.

- Dune: Part One is up for 10 awards: Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design, Cinematography, Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound, Visual Effects and Original Score.

- Free Guy, No Time to Die, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home are all up for Best Visual Effects...though it will most likely be Dune that wins the award.

- Billie Eilish received a Best Original Song nomination for No Time to Die. Adele's Skyfall is still my favorite Bond song.

- Licorice Pizza is up for Best Picture...which means I just might finally watch it since all of those radio and TV commercials for this movie didn't convince me to do so.

- I still watch the classic sitcom I Love Lucy on TV, so I just might see Being the Ricardos since Javier Bardem (who plays Desi Arnaz) and Nicole Kidman (who portrays Lucille Ball) are up for Best Actor and Actress, respectively.

- I might also watch West Side Story (even though I never viewed the 1961 original) since Steven Spielberg is nominated for Best Director... We'll see.

Click here for the full list of Academy Award nominations. Happy Tuesday!

Movie Review: NO TIME TO DIE...

Earlier today, I watched the newest James Bond flick, No Time to Die, at my local AMC theater. And needless to say, it was a very action-packed and emotional end to the Daniel Craig era as agent 007!

No Time to Die is the fifth and final installment where Craig played "Commander Bond" and worked with his buddy Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) as well as fellow MI6 cohorts Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), M (Ralph Fiennes), Tanner (Rory Kinnear) and Q (Ben Whishaw). And this is the first and final time that Bond worked with Nomi (Lashana Lynch)...who became the new 007 while Bond was off the grid for 5 years.

And why was Bond off the grid for 5 years? He was laying low after feeling betrayed by the love of his life, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux)—whose past would literally come back to haunt and threaten her, plus Bond and the rest of the world, after hiding in the shadows since Madeleine was a child. More on this later.

Along with Moneypenny, Nomi and Madeleine Swann, another butt-kicking Bond girl appeared in No Time to Die through Paloma (Ana de Armas)...who will hopefully return in future Bond films! Though I reckon she won't continue to beat the crud out of the bad buys while wearing a lovely black cocktail dress.

Going back to Madeleine's past, No Time to Die's main villain was a man named Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek). The opening scene of the film did a very suspenseful and scary job introducting this antagonist—who, surprisingly, wasn't initially after James Bond but Swann, her father Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) and his Spectre organization.

[No Time to Die also continued the unofficial tradition of having a newly-minted Academy Award winner as the Bond villain. Christoph Waltz won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Django Unchained in 2013 before appearing in 2015's Spectre, while Rami Malek won the Best Actor Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody in 2019 before landing the role of Safin in No Time to Die.]

In regards to the music, No Time to Die's film score felt more epic than those in previous Bond flicks...and that's because none other than the great Hans Zimmer composed the music for the new installment! David Arnold, who conducted the music for 1996's Independence Day (one of my all-time favorite scores), worked on previous Bond flicks beginning with 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies and ending with 2008's Quantum of Solace, respectively.

Arnold's music in the Bond movies was commendable, but you can never go wrong with Zimmer! I'm thinking about buying No Time to Die's music score on compact disc soon.

In regards to the movie's opening song, I like Billie Eilish's No Time to Die...but Adele's Skyfall from the 2012 film of the same name will always be my favorite Bond song! I put Skyfall on loop through my Winamp MP3 player while I typed this review.

All-in-all, No Time To Die is a terrific film. It obviously remains to be seen who will replace Craig as James Bond. But once MGM Studios makes the announcment, here's hoping that the replacement will bring the same kind of grittiness and sauve to the role that Craig did since he first appeared in 2006's Casino Royale.

And as I said earlier, I hope Ana de Armas' Paloma will join Moneypenny, Nomi, M and Q in the next Bond sequel! Have a great weekend.

TOXIN: Speculating About a Future Friend and Foe of SPIDER-MAN and VENOM...

As an FYI, spoilers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage are included in this blog entry!

So the day after I watched Venom: Let There Be Carnage last weekend, I read a couple of articles (like this one) regarding the glowing pupils in Detective Mulligan's (Stephen Graham) eyes after he was left for dead by Shriek (Naomie Harris) atop that cathedral at the end of the film.

It turns out, this was a hint as to what Mulligan might become in the next Venom film should it get made...and that's him having his own alien symbiote that transformed into the anti-hero known as Toxin!

In the Marvel printed series Extreme Carnage, just like in Let There Be Carnage, Mulligan comes face-to-face with Carnage—who infected him with a piece of symbiote that caused him to become Toxin in the comic books. However, unlike Carnage (who is pure evil and tentacle-riddened savagery), Toxin isn't so villainous, but still tentacled...and actually formed a partnership with Spider-Man as Toxin fought his crimson-skinned creator and Venom himself.

If the ending of Let There Be Carnage is any indication, Spidey isn't the only foe that Venom will confront in his next cinematic appearance—but also an obscure villain who casual moviegoers (like me) didn't know about until we Googled about the various Easter eggs found in Venom 2.

I'm thinking that a really cool post-credits scene for this December's Spider-Man: No Way Home would be of Peter Parker (Tom Holland), MJ (Zendaya) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) kickin' it at Parker's apartment when someone comes knocking at his front door.

The visitor is none other than Detective Mulligan...who traveled all the way to New York City from San Francisco to ask Parker if he could help the detective confront a certain sharp-toothed nuisance that's been plaguing California's Bay Area. (Mulligan became aware of Parker thanks to news coverage of him regarding the Mysterio incident in the end credits scene of Spider-Man: Far from Home.)

Mulligan shows Parker the front page of a Daily Bugle newspaper, and of course, Venom made the main headline and photo!

Mulligan suggests to Parker that they should team up against Venom, which makes Peter skeptical. Parker himself knows that he could hold his own against Eddie Brock's (Tom Hardy) alien symbiote—what with Peter being an Avenger and all—but what does Mulligan have to offer in this fight?

It's at this moment that Parker, MJ and Ned watch in stunned disbelief as Mulligan nonchalantly transforms into Toxin. Before Peter himself can get up in arms in regards to the giant symbiote standing before him at the front door, Toxin assures Spidey that he is not the webslinger's enemy and asks for his help once more...extending a clawed hand, which reverts back to the human hand of Detective Mulligan, before Peter reluctantly shakes it in agreement.

MJ and Ned obviously continue to watch this in stunned disbelief.

Of course, LESS THAN ZERO PERCENT of what I just typed in the last four paragraphs will actually happen at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but's it something fun to speculate about!

All I can say is, there's no way that director Andy Serkis would've included that final cryptic shot of Mulligan in Let There Be Carnage if that was indeed the last we saw of him. Spider-Man and Venom are both the good guys in their respective films, so it's unlikely that they'll have a protracted fight scene when they finally meet each other for the first time.

There's most likely an actual antagonist that will force Spider-Man and Venom to team-up and fight against...and if Morbius and all of the other classic Spidey villains are too predictable a foe, then Toxin will do just nicely! We'll see.

And yes, I'm gonna watch Daniel Craig's final James Bond film No Time to Die tomorrow! Carry on.

REMEMBERING SEAN CONNERY (1930-2020)...

Rest In Peace, Sir Sean Connery... While the rest of the world honors him as one of the best iterations of Agent 007 in the James Bond franchise, I remember him for his role as Professor Henry Jones, Sr. in 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Soviet submarine commmander Marko Ramius in 1990's The Hunt for Red October. I saw these films when I was still in elementary school, and it was Red October that got me interested in filmmaking when I drew my own storyboards for a submarine thriller after I watched the Tom Clancy-inspired movie at the theater on opening weekend. While Connery had officially been in retirement from acting since 2006, he will be missed by the world of cinema.

The Scottish legend passed way in Nassau, Bahamas at the age of 90 yesterday. My condolences to Connery's family.

Logan Lucky...

Earlier this week, I caught a matinee screening of Steven Soderbergh's newest film Logan Lucky. Much like his work on Ocean's Eleven and its two sequels a decade ago, Logan Lucky is a feel-good heist flick...where the robbers manage to execute their plan beautifully while giving money back to those who helped them accomplish the caper (both knowingly and unknowingly) along the way. Though I'm wondering: Is Logan Lucky supposed to be a bit of a reboot of the Ocean's movies? You know— Channing Tatum is the ringleader like George Clooney? Daniel Craig is the sidekick like Brad Pitt? Adam Driver is the unwitting but faithful third accomplice like Matt Damon? And Riley Keough (moreso than Katie Holmes in this film) is Logan Lucky's gorgeous and badass equivalent of Julia Roberts' character? And Hilary Swank is playing the newer version of... I forgot who was after Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his crew in that franchise. Andy Garcia? Hm, besides him.



Anyways, Logan Lucky is a very fun film. It's the opposite of 2010's The Town (which is also an excellent heist flick), where everything went wrong during the final caper even though the ringleader in that movie (played by Ben Affleck) managed to get away at the end and live the life he wanted based on his stolen earnings. And another reason to watch Logan Lucky? Seeing Daniel Craig portray a character who isn't a moody protagonist with a European accent (I'm referring to his work on both the James Bond franchise and 2011's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Enjoy his wacky Southern accent in Soderbergh's film before Craig goes back to playing 007 in the next Bond flick...out in theaters in 2019. Carry on.

Leo Finally Wins an Oscar!

The 88th Annual Academy Awards... Much props to Leonardo DiCaprio for finally winning a Best Actor trophy for his role as a vengeful bear attack victim on The Revenant tonight! Along with Brie Larson (who won Best Actress for her amazing performance in Room) and Alicia Vikander (who took home the Best Supporting Actress trophy for The Danish Girl), this makes up for The Force Awakens getting ravaged by Mad Max: Fury Road in three of the categories they were both nominated for (Best Sounding Editing, Sound Mixing and Film Editing). The Force Awakens also lost Best Visual Effects to Ex Machina and Original Film Score to The Hateful Eight. Oh well. Maybe Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will win something at the Academy Awards next year...with Episode VIII after that in February of 2018.

And Spotlight won Best Picture while Birdman's Alejandro González Iñárritu repeated as Best Director for helming The Revenant, yadda yadda yadda. If you want to win an Oscar for Best Original Song, write one for a James Bond flick. Just ask Adele for Skyfall and now Sam Smith for Spectre. Carry on.

Star Wars: Episode VII Has Begun Filming!

"Officially begun, production has." These were the words, in Yoda-speak, that let followers of Star Wars' Facebook fan page know that J.J. Abrams has begun principal photography on Star Wars: Episode VII this morning. Production is taking place at London's Pinewood Studios (where the majority of James Bond movies and other films like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug were shot). A B-roll shoot has been taking place in Abu Dhabi for the past few weeks, but today is the day that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and newcomers like Adam Driver and John Boyega (who currently plays a U.S. drone pilot accused of terrorism on FOX's 24: Live Another Day) begin adding a new chapter to the Star Wars saga. The countdown to seeing the Galaxy far, far away back on the big screen next year has officially begun!

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit...

Earlier today, I watched the latest installment chronicling the cinematic exploits of Tom Clancy’s popular CIA analyst, Jack Ryan. Directed by Kenneth Branagh (who also plays the movie’s main antagonist, Viktor Cherevin) and featuring Chris Pine as the title character once portrayed by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck, respectively, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit revolves around a rogue Russian cell trying to wreak havoc on the United States through economic and terrorist means. Along with making a passing reference to the September 11, 2001 attacks, Shadow Recruit also has a theme that plays on insider trading and other shady acts by Wall Street that helped start America’s Great Recession six years ago. Factoring all of this together, Shadow Recruit is a smart espionage and action thriller that is almost on the same level as previous Clancy-inspired flicks like Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.



There wasn’t any major gripe I had with Shadow Recruit, except maybe for Keira Knightley as Jack Ryan's girlfriend, Cathy Muller. Performance-wise, she was great... However, despite the fact she pulled off a nice American accent in the movie, I couldn’t help but think of Knightley suddenly speaking in a British drawl that obviously defined her characters in such movies as the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and the 2005 action-crime flick, Domino. Other than this, Knightley was commendable, and Chris Pine was as adept to playing the well-known government spy as he was portraying Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek films. Even though Tom Clancy is sadly no longer around to churn out great military literature from which these movies can be made, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit shows that as long as the series is in the capable hands of a filmmaker like Branagh and a cast that features talent like Pine, Knightley, Kevin Costner (as government agent Thomas Harper) and Branagh himself, Jack Ryan will continue to be an enthralling agent on the big screen. Maybe not as enthralling as a certain British spy who goes by the code number 007, but riveting nonetheless.

Peter O'Toole (1932–2013)

Rest In Peace, Mr. O'Toole... I remember how amazed I was when I watched Lawrence of Arabia up on the big screen during a film festival held at my college (Cal State Long Beach) twelve years ago. Peter O'Toole obviously worked on many movies since then—ranging from 1967's Casino Royale (actually a spoof of James Bond) to the 2007 Pixar animated flick, Ratatouille. But it will be his role as T.E. Lawrence in 1962's Oscar-winning World War I epic that O'Toole will be best remembered for. The accomplished actor passed away at Wellington Hospital in London today. He was 81.

Olympus Has Fallen: Movie Review... I saw the White House-invasion action flick today, and the first thing that I want to say is, Gerard Butler did to the terrorists what Jack Bauer would've done if the now-defunct FOX TV show 24 was on HBO, Starz or Showtime instead. In other words, more gory scenes where bad guys nonchalantly get shot in the head and even knives jammed into their jugulars and/or craniums by the guy who played a Spartan in 2007's 300. Not that this is a bad thing (assuming you're not a pacifist who deplores ultra-violent movies, or just aren't a fan of Gerard Butler)... The way that the intruders make their way into the House On 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is so merciless and brutal that you want an ex-Special Forces-turned-Secret Service agent showing up on scene to put a dent in the insurgents' plans. That's where Butler comes along.



Nitpicking-wise, there are many things to critique about in Olympus Has Fallen. First and foremost, this film isn't even close to being original. The movie opens and concludes with a saturated look at the American flag (a la Saving Private Ryan); and not only did he see 24, but the screenwriter must have also watched 1997's Air Force One while writing Olympus' script. Instead of Russian terrorists led by none other than Gary Oldman, you have rogue Korean commandos who fall under the command of Rick Yune [of 2001's The Fast and the Furious, 2002's Die Another Day (in which Yune played a North Korean-born Bond villain), last year's The Man with the Iron Fists and 2009's Ninja Assassin] wreaking havoc on the U.S. government. And instead of Air Force One, we, of course, have the White House being the iconic locale that's (somewhat plausibly) invaded by foreign attackers. Plus, there's a mole in the Secret Service that allows the terrorists to gain access to the President (this time played by Aaron Eckhart and not Harrison Ford). And lastly, instead of the late Jerry Goldsmith—who composed the memorable score for Air Force One, you have Trevor Morris...whose bombastic but patriotic music for Olympus Has Fallen was obviously inspired by Air Force One and maybe even Hans Zimmer's tune for 2001's Pearl Harbor. In regards to the movie's visual effects, which looked really fake in the trailer, the computer-generated shots appeared a lot better in the actual movie. There were still some scenes with shoddy FX work (namely, the F-22 Raptors chasing after the AC-130 gunship that strafes Washington, D.C., and the shots of CG Black Hawk helicopters superimposed with grainy stock footage of Capitol Hill and other D.C. landmarks), but other than those, I was hardly taken out of the film with these post-production imperfections, hah. Imagine if the venerable FX house Industrial Light & Magic worked on Olympus Has Fallen... Wow. That would've been cool.



In regards to what I enjoyed about Olympus Has Fallen, it's the fact that this is a feel-good action flick if you're a Yank. Sure, pretty much all of the Secret Service agents and D.C. police (and even Navy SEALs) who show up to defend the White House were wiped out by Yune and company, but the way that Butler dispatches these antagonists with ferocity deservedly elicited cheers from the audience. (Despite being gagged and bound, one Korean commando was foolish enough to laugh at Butler's character as he interrogated the terrorist in one scene; the commando stopped laughing, permanently, after getting the previously-mentioned knife to the throat.) And being a military buff, I like how the filmmakers accurately portrayed the way flares are dispensed from the AC-130 gunship when threatened by missiles fired by the F-22s. Though if only the F-22 saw real combat instead of having to continuously engage in fictional big-screen dogfights as seen in this film, 2008's Iron Man and the Transformers trilogy. Oh well. So would I recommend Olympus Has Fallen for viewing, you ask? Sure. Just make sure you watch it with another flick like this Friday's G.I. Joe: Retaliation to get your 6 bucks worth...if you're going to a matinee at AMC or Regal Cinemas or something. Oh, and here's hoping that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un doesn't obtain any copy of this movie. He might get ideas.

85th Annual Academy Awards... Ben Affleck received vindication tonight as his political thriller Argo took home the Oscar for Best Picture. Life of Pi's Ang Lee pulled off an upset on Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) and David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) by winning the trophy for Best Director, Quentin Tarantino won Best Original Screenplay for Django Unchained while Argo also got the nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. Catwoman—err, Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress for Les Misérables, Christoph Waltz won another Best Supporting Actor trophy (as expected) for being in a Tarantino film (Django Unchained this year, Inglourious Basterds in 2010), Daniel Day-Lewis was crowned as Best Actor for his portrayal of the 16th U.S. president in Lincoln, and Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook. I was rooting for Jessica Chastain to get props for her portrayal as Maya in Zero Dark Thirty...up until I watched Lawrence hold her own against the likes of Robert De Niro in Playbook. You still cool in my book, Jessica.



Anyways— With the dry recap of who took home the gold this year now out of the way, just thought I'd mention that the 85th Annual Academy Awards were quite—interesting. Seth MacFarlane didn't disappoint in delivering gasp-inducing jokes such as the one about John Wilkes Booth being "the only actor to get inside Lincoln's head" ("150 years...and it's still too soon?"), the fact that Django Unchained was considered a "date movie" for violence-prone music artists Chris Brown and Rihanna, and singing a song about all the actresses who went topless on-screen [looks like Naomi Watts and (I think) Charlize Theron weren't so amused when their names were mentioned in this music number]. On another amusing note, I found it hilarious that the cast of The Avengers (Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson) was invited to present the award for Best Visual Effects...only to name Life of Pi as the winner and not Joss Whedon's hugely-successful comic book flick. Ditto with Norah Jones—who sang the Oscar-nominated tune for Seth MacFarlane's Ted (which Jones had a cameo in)...only to have the trophy (rightly) go to Adele for Skyfall (which had the rare accomplishment of sharing the Best Sound Editing award with Zero Dark Thirty). And lastly, imagine if the orchestra played the Jaws theme (to signify when a winner's speech went on one second too long during the ceremony) during Michelle Obama's presentation of Best Picture. Needless to say, the wrath of the White House against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would be much greater than the one heaped upon Zero Dark Thirty by Senator John McCain and his fellow congressmen. Then again, maybe not.