Monthly Archives: February 2012

If I ran the Oscars…

Posted on February 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

Every year I post my picks of who I wish would win in nine of the major Oscar categories. Since the Oscars are tomorrow, I figured I’d better hurry and do so. This isn’t necessarily who I predict to win, just the ones that I think should.

Normally, I’m really good at seeing the majority of the nominated movies before Oscar night. This year I haven’t seen most of them which makes me sad. What makes me even more sad is that I don’t really want to see a lot of them: War Horse, Moneyball, and even Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close don’t tickle my fancy at all. I’m sure I’ll see them one day, but for now here are my votes:

Best Picture
The Artist
Out of the nominated Best Pictures I would really like to see The Artist win, even though I loved Midnight in Paris.

Best Director
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Midnight in Paris and I would love to see Woody Allen to win another Oscar.

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
If George Clooney wins for The Descendants there will be serious eye rolls where I’m at. He’s a great actor just like Julia Roberts is a great actress… I guess. It’s not that I don’t like him, I just see George Clooney saying different lines in every movie he’s in. I don’t see the character. The Descendants feels like Michael Clayton: I Left My Job and Now I’m Living on the Beach. I really hope Jean Dujardin wins for The Artist. Carrying a silent movie on your shoulders, especially in this day and age, is nearly impossible and he did it.

Best Actress
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
This category is a really tough one for me. Meryl Streep hasn’t won an Oscar in years and probably deserves to win for her performance in The Iron Lady. I love Viola Davis and she was wonderful in The Help, but I didn’t feel like it was a very difficult role for her to play. Michelle Williams defied a lot of naysayers by tackling the role of Marilyn Monroe, a task most actresses wouldn’t even dare try to do. I’m crossing my fingers for this one.

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
I really loved Beginners. From the lovely Mélanie Laurent to that adorable dog, this movie was a hit. Christopher Plummer delivered a beautiful performance and I just know he’ll win.

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, The Help
I am SO glad Melissa McCarthy was nominated for Bridesmaids and Octavia Spencer gave the most memorable performance from The Help. But with The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Debt, Coriolanus, and The Help Jessica Chastain had an unprecedented year full of five unique and diverse performances, and she truly shined in The Help.

Best Original Screenplay
Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids was easily one of my favorite movies of the year. Clever as always, Kristen Wiig wrote a great movie. And the thought of this winning an Oscar makes me really happy.

Best Adapted Screenplay
George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
I was really impressed with The Ides of March. It was a captivating political thriller and I was glad to see it recognized. I hope it wins.

Best Animated Feature
Rango
I liked Kung Fu Panda 2 which was unexpected, but I want Rango to win.

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Posted in Lists, Movies

“I’m a mormon” ads

Posted on February 23, 2012 | 5 Comments

The recent “I’m a mormon” ads are a series of online videos, billboards, bus panels, and commercials that depict members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as mormons, engaging in a variety of activities often citing the church as the major motivating influence in their lives. They are an attempt to improve the way the church is perceived by everyday people. Instead they are divisive, they sensationalize religion, they boast about how wonderful and hip “normal” mormons can be, and they isolate the LDS church even more from the rest of the world.

The Mormon Church has always released ads, but in the past they depicted stories that taught lessons like honesty or family togetherness. Now we have cancer survivors, professional surfers, and Brandon Flowers from The Killers telling you how great it is to be a mormon. I honestly wonder when other churches will start doing the same thing, “Hi, my name is Mohammed. I love my family and I run my own restaurant. And I’m Muslim.” “Oh yeah? Well, I’m Venus Williams. I won Wimbledon, I can kick your ass and I’m a Jehovah’s Witness!” “Hi. My name is Jesus. And I’m a Jew.” Such ads would only propel a hugely divisive society.

I have a problem when any religion becomes a branded, marketable commodity and not just a course for living your life. I’m reminded of photoshopped women in health and beauty magazines. Often they are altered and manipulated to sell a product or a lifestyle and these mormon ads are no different. I’d be surprised to see an ad like this: “Hi. I’m Phil and I’m about 350 pounds. I work in IT for a large insurance company and I sit in a grey cubicle all day. I like to come home to play video games all night. I got divorced last year and I guess people think I’m kind of weird. My name is Phil, and I’m a mormon.” That ad would be crazy.

I was raised mormon and served an LDS mission in Recife, Brazil. I remember being taught to be “in the world but not of the world” or to be proud to be called a strange or unusual people. To be considered different supported the idea that we were “true followers of Christ” because his supporters have always been persecuted. We were proud to be perceived in that way. I was taught not to wear my religion on my sleeves but to be “lead by example.” I also remember retaliating against being called “mormon” because we were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, not mormons. For the church to embrace the title “mormon” and such a strong desire to be understood or accepted by the rest of the world is very strange to me.

I absolutely detest these new mormon ads. I wish they would go away. If the Mormon Church would like to improve their image they should refocus on ways to help the poor and needy and not waste millions of dollars on ads that are backfiring. Everyone who I’ve talked to regarding these ads finds them in poor taste and extremely divisive. I totally agree. I don’t care if you’re mormon or not. Just be a good person, gosh dangit!

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Posted in Miscellaneous

Steve McQueen’s Hunger and Shame

Posted on February 16, 2012 | 2 Comments

Last year was a huge year for Michael Fassbender and that is lucky for all humans because he is a total dreamboat. In 2011 he starred in Shame, X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, and the overlooked yet beautiful Jane Eyre.

A couple years ago my friend Shanthi and I watched Hunger at the Northwest Film Forum and we both really loved it. Fassbender played Bobby Sands, an Irish volunteer who led a hunger strike against the British government in 1976. This 2008 film was based on actual events leading up to Sands’ death in his prison’s hospital after 66 days of hunger-strike. Fassbender was amazing in this movie and should have won every award imaginable for his part in this movie. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. (It’s available on Netflix streaming.)

Fassbender was equally (if not more) impressive in Shame, a 2011 film in which he plays Brandon Sullivan, a compulsive sex addict who shamefully hides his actions from everyone he knows. Carey Mulligan, who I love, also starred in this film as Brandon’s flawed sister. Shame is not a film I would recommend to just anyone. It is very graphic. However it was one of the most intriguing depictions of sex addiction that I have ever seen. The truth is Fassbender should have been nominated for an Oscar for his role in this movie. He was incredible.

Steve McQueen is the British artist and filmmaker who directed both Hunger and Shame and his career is one that I will definitely be following. I also have a feeling we’ll be seeing much more of Michael Fassbender!