Category: Movies

Golden Globes Award Nominations Announced

Golden Globe AwardsThe nominees for this year’s Golden Globes awards were announced the other day, for TV and film. And surprise, surprise, my favorite filmmaker Woody Allen (see: My top 11) was recognized. His recent film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” received four nominations! Not only that, one of my other favorites this year, The Coen Brothers’ “Burn After Reading”, received two nominations.

The full list of nominees is here. I haven’t seen a lot of the film nominees, so I can’t say much more about them. Yet. Of course, you can leave a comment below if you want. A TV drama that I like a lot, “Brothers and Sisters”, received two nominations also.

What do you think about the list of nominees? It makes me want to go see some more movies!

Previous: My post about Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Previous: My post about Burn After Reading


Happy Birthday, Woody Allen!

Happy Birthday to Woody Allen!

Woody is one of America’s greatest filmmakers and humorists. A short overview of his life and career is here on Wikipedia. But that does not do it justice. The man has been making very-good-to-outstanding films since the 60s and continues today. And that is not to even mention his books, plays, or his clarinet playing. He is one of the truly great artists of our time and I honor him by wishing him a wonderful birthday.

The main thing, though? His films. So many deserving, quality films. Here are my “Top 11” Woody Allen films, at least for today, in no particular order:


Burn After Reading – The Movie

Burn After ReadingIf you have an open mind and enjoy some dark and quirky humor, then you will really like this movie. I really did! The performances are great all around, the script is wild and funny, the pace is quick with lots of twists, and I was laughing out loud and loving this film. Maybe it is not for everyone. But nothing is, right?

Here is the Rotten Tomatoes page, where it currently has a very good 78% rating. And here is the official web site, check it out. This Coen Brothers film is in a league with The Big Lebowski and Fargo, and that means it is really good. If you didn’t like those then you might not like this. But then what the $%^& is wrong with you? 😉  Ha, just kidding…

More info and lots of video trailers to watch are here on the IMDB site, another great movie site. I’m just saying’, go see it if you like something a little out of the ordinary. It was really good! Have you already seen it? Let me know what you thought, leave a comment.


Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Life is the ultimate work of artTonight we saw the new Woody Allen film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (official site). Woody is not in it but it has his unmistakable imprint in the writing and directing. In other words, it’s a good one. The excellent Rotten Tomatoes site is rating it an 80%, which is pretty high, with the consensus sentence being “A beguiling tragicomedy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona charms with beautiful views of the Spanish city and a marvelously well-matched cast”. You can read plenty of reviews on the RT site.

The Woodman rarely makes a weak film and this one entertains, and more. OK, ok, it is not his absolute best but that is such a high standard. It is 


Happy Birthday, Steve Martin!

Happy August 14th Birthday to Mr Steve Martin [wikipedia, read this], actor, comedian, writer, and general funny guy. I’ve laughed at and admired him since the early days of the happy feet, the arrow through the head, the cruel shoes, and the banjo with jokes. His humor, along with his expressions and his timing, made him hilarious.

He’s had a great career, long and varied. He’s been in a slew of films, too many to count now. Some were funny like The Jerk, The Man With Two Brains, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, Roxanne, and Bowfinger. Others were simple formula pictures that he brought up just by his being in them, like Father Of The Bride, Housesitter, and All Of Me. And some were clunkers like Cheaper By The Dozen and Bringing Down The House. But Steve was always worth watching. What was your favorite of his films? Least favorite? Leave a comment and let me know.

And now a few quotes [after the jump]


Swing Vote – The Movie

Swing VoteI won free tickets to a “sneak preview” of the new movie Swing Vote. Of course, it is playing everywhere now so you can see it too! Well, if you want to that is. I liked it. It’s not great but I thought it was entertaining, and if you like Kevin Costner in comedies then you will like this. It’s a comedy mixed with a little drama too, and some of a political satire thrown in for good measure. You just have to accept the far-fetched story line and then you will probably enjoy it.

The local paper gave it three stars out of four and I guess that sounds about right. Costner is pretty good and there are some funny and clever parts. Not a perfect movie, of course, but it’s a pleasant way to pass a couple hours. With movies, I always check the wonderful Rotten Tomatoes site, and in this case their Swing Vote page. Hmmm, maybe I liked it more than most critics, because the RT page only has a 38 out of 100 rating, but that might have changed by the time you read this.

Have you seen this movie? Do you want to? Let me know in the comments…


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