A Life in Movies
The latest blogathon event around the film-blogging world is ‘A Life in Movies’ this quite simply means I have picked a film from each since I was born. That year being 1987. The approach I have taken to this post is to document the films which have meant something to me. Mainly from that time (although the first couple of years will be that I watched them when old enough to remember).
I always enjoy doing blog posts like this one as it always lets you take a trip down memory lane when it comes to certain films. Also the thought of then posting them the same day as many other blogs and then having the chance to compare and see if they have chosen any of the same films in their list as well.
Most of the films in my list consist of my most watched films ever. Mainly because of over watching as a child and not being able to pass the film over if it is on TV now. So here goes my life in movies . . .
Oscars 2011 – Live Blog
Live updates with my thoughts on the 2011 Oscars!
- Well I made the decision to watch E! for the red carpet coverage, which I have no idea if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Ready for the Oscar ceremony to start on Sky Movies.
- Alec Baldwin included in the opening scenes with James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Appearing in all the best picture nominees. Brilliant start!
- Ahhh Morgan Freeman making a little appearance too!
- Very clever editing Franco and Hathaway into the films!
- Hugh Jackman looked like he wanted to be back on the stage!
- Getting the parents and grandparents involved. Very funny! Especially Franco’s grandmother saying Marky Mark! Mark Wahlberg, love it!
- A look back at ‘Gone with the Wind’ the ultimate classic <3
- Tom Hanks presenting ART DIRECTION – WINNER - Alice in Wonderland
- CINEMATOGRAPHY – WINNER – Inception
- Credit given to Christopher Nolan!
- Awww Kirk Douglas! Standing ovation for him. He’s just incredible for his age. Very funny with both Franco and Hathaway. Struggling to speak bless him!
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – WINNER – MELISSA LEO for The Fighter
- Now for a very over the top speech . . . Or maybe not, she actually sounds very nervous. Just dropped the f-word too.
- Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis presenting. Timberlake claiming to be Banksy!
- BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM – WINNER – THE LOST THING
- BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – WINNER – Toy Story 3
- Hathaway talking about the very first Academy Awards
- Presenters Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem . . . wearing old school white tux’s.
- BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – WINNER – The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin
- BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – WINNER – The King’s Speech – David Seidler
- Oldest person to win that award, he hopes its broken quickly and often.
- Hathaway performing musical number, directed at Hugh Jackman . . . Using ‘On My Own’ from Les Mis. Franco comes on in a very pink dress. Charlie Sheen joke!
- Helen Mirren and Russell Brand presenting
- BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – WINNER - IN A BETTER WORLD (DENMARK)
- Reese Witherspoon presenting. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – WINNER - CHRISTIAN BALE for The Fighter
- He actually sounds rather nervous with his speech, Dicky Eklund is there too
Very emotional in his speech, especially towards his wife and daughter. - Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman presenting . . . Aussie rules!
- BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – WINNER – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
- SOUND MIXING – WINNER – INCEPTION
- SOUND EDITING – WINNER – INCEPTION
Pretty Boy Actors: A Curse?
Being an actor and being attractive at the same time and in some cases being labelled a “pretty boy” can place a lot of extra pressure on the actor. After so long if they are not already showing brilliant acting roles they hit a point when their good looks no longer cut it in the world of film. This could be related to that if they are a young actor their “fan girls” grow up and they are still trying to do the same type of roles, this loses some of their fan base and its either show you can act or the work will dry up and you will slowly be forgotten about. But if they can act and show they can act what a career they will have!
Movie Quote of the Day 26
Today’s quote comes from Titanic, should this be something that is always remembered?
“A woman’s heart is an ocean of secrets.”
Recreating the Movie
After making the first post in what I hope to be a regular feature on the blog, and it being well received thus far and receiving quite a lot of views in a day. I have seen been looking through my photos in order to find pictures which can relate to a movie or movie scene. So I should have some material for this section for a couple of weeks, but now with the incentive to think movie moments at all times and capture the moments in pictures!!!
Look forward to seeing The Proposal, The Wrestler, Titanic and many more . . .
Avatar (2009) Build Up!
I have just realised that I have not made any posts about Avatar . . . and actually find this quite shocking for quite a lot of reasons. Those being; I have seen the trailer loads of times over the past few months and in 3D a couple of times, I love fantasy films and the thought of getting totally lost in another world, this is the most expensive film ever made at 300 million, it has been an idea for 15 years and taken the past 4 years for James Cameron to make the film . . . and we all remember the success he had in his last big venture, still the biggest box office taking ever in Titanic. But Avatar is going to be Epic in a totally different way. CGI . . . 3D . . . in a Sci-Fi/action/adventure/thriller, it just promises to be out of this world and blow you away to something that you have never seen before, and by looking at the trailer and pictures it is certainly going to do just that.
100 Sexiest Actors – 3
In 3rd place is a fantastic actor (who in my view is underrated for his acting) . . . Leonardo DiCaprio.
News: Titanic Stars Hand Over Cash To Ship’s Last Survivor
Awwwww I think thats really nice
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have proved their generosity is of Titanic proportions – after donating $30,000 (£20,000) to help the last remaining survivor from the doomed ship.
The pair, who starred as tragic lovers in the 1997 blockbuster, along with the movie’s director James Cameron, handed over the cash to ensure 98-year-old Millvina Dean can pay her nursing home fees, reports Access Hollywood.
Dean was the ship’s youngest passenger at nine months old when the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank en-route to New York in 1912. She is the ship’s only living survivor.
Photographer Don Mullan made an appeal to help raise money for Dean in the Sunday edition of the Irish Independent newspaper, and also reached out to Winslet, DiCaprio and Cameron in a bid to raise awareness.
Mullan has already set up an exhibition to raise funds.
He explains to the publication, “I figured that if the edition sold out, it would secure Millvina for a full year. My plan, however, was to double the impact and thereby secure her for two years.
“I decided, therefore, at the opening of the exhibition, to publicly challenge James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, 20th Century Fox and Celine to match me dollar for dollar.”
According to reports, Mullan is still waiting to be contacted by Celine Dion, who won an Oscar for the movie’s theme song My Heart Will Go On.
Winslet Pities Young Actresses
Yeah it definatly is more intense now. I am pleased for Kate too
Kate Winslet is relieved she found fame in the 1990s – because young actresses today face more intense media attention than she ever did.
The British beauty shot to international stardom alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in 1997′s Titanic, and faced a barrage of press comments about her curvy figure at the time.
Winslet “bounced back” from the criticisms and learned to love her figure – but admits she found the unwanted attention “f**king hard”.
And the 33 year old pities those just starting out in Hollywood – because she’s convinced they face even more judgement about their looks and their personal lives.
She tells Marie Claire magazine, “It’s really, really tough. It’s like, ‘She’s fat, she’s thin, she’s married, she’s divorced.’ I had all that and bouncing back is f**king hard.
“I’m really, really happy I’m not a younger actor or actress working now because they have to run before they can walk.”
Jolie And Hanks Named Most Popular Oscar Winners Ever
Probably the expected results from this poll. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, voted the favorites for best actor, actress and supporting categories. Titanic favorite of the best picture winners.
Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts have come out triumphant in a poll to find America’s favourite ever Academy Awards winners.
Hanks has twice walked away with the Best Actor Oscar, for 1993′s Philadelphia and the following year’s Forrest Gump.
He saw off competition from Russell Crowe (Gladiator) and late star Paul Newman (The Color of Money) to be crowned America’s most popular winner of the trophy, according to a joint survey by U.S. magazine Parade and Entertainment Tonight to mark the annual ceremony on Sunday.
Morgan Freeman was named the top Best Supporting Actor for 2004′s Million Dollar Baby, seeing off Sean Connery (The Untouchables) and George Clooney (Syriana).
Roberts, who won an Oscar for her turn in Erin Brockovich in 2000, was America’s favourite Best Actress winner, beating Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line) and Jodie Foster (The Accused) to the honour.
Jolie was recognised as Best Supporting Actress in 1999’s Girl, Interrupted, and saw off Renée Zellweger (Cold Mountain) and Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost) in the Parade poll.
1997′s Titanic remains the public’s favourite Best Film winner, ahead of The Godfather and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Romantic Movies – Top 25
As it is Valentine’s day I decided to do my top 25 Romantic Movies. With the best romantic moments and quotes from this selection of my favorites.
Oscar Season
As the Oscars are in a week. I decided to look through my collection of DVDs and see which are Best Picture winners or have an acting Oscar associated with them. So I will try to review a lot of them over the next week. Re-watch and some of them even watch for the first time. As looking at a couple of them I haven’t actually watched them yet.
The List
- Adaptation (Best Supporting Actor: Chris Cooper)
- All About Eve (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor: George Sanders, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay)
- American Beauty (Best Picture, Best Actor: Kevin Spacey, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay)
- As Good As It Gets (Best Actor: Jack Nicholson and Best Actress: Helen Hunt)
- Chicago (Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Zeta Jones)
- Dead Man Walking (Best Actress: Susan Sarandon)
- Dreamgirls (Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson)
- Erin Brockovich (Best Actress: Julia Roberts)
- GoodFellas (Best Supporting Actor: Joe Pesci)
- Good Will Hunting (Best Supporting Actor: Robin Williams and Best Original Screenplay)
- Gladiator (Best Picture, Best Actor: Russell Crowe)
- L.A. Confidential (Best Supporting Actress: Kim Basinger and Best Adapted Screenplay)
- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay)
- Mary Poppins (Best Actress: Julie Andrews)
- Million Dollar Baby (Best Picture, Best Actress: Hilary Swank, Best Supporting Actor: Morgan Freeman and Best Director)
- My Fair Lady (Best Picture, Best Actor: Rex Harrison and Best Director)
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Best Picture, Best Actor: Jack Nicholson, Best Actress: Louise Fletcher, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay)
- Rain Man (Best Picture, Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director)
- Ray (Best Actor: Jamie Foxx)
- Rocky (Best Picture and Best Director)
- Scent of a Woman (Best Actor: Al Pacino)
- Terms of Endearment (Best Picture, Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine, Best Supporting Actor: Jack Nicholson, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay)
- To Kill A MockingBird (Best Actor: Gregory Peck and Best Adpated Screenplay)
- Titanic (Best Picture and Best Director)
- Training Day (Best Actor: Denzel Washington)
- Wall Street (Best Actor: Michael Douglas)
- West Side Story (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor: George Chakiris, Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno and Best Director)
