Now that I have recovered from the After Party... Oscars in Review...

It was a startling night at the Oscars with no clear cut winner... 3 different movies had 3 Oscars... Hell, if King Kong could have taken one more technical Oscar... it would have had the most without garnering even a nomination in the Major categories...

The big shock of the night was anything beating out Brokeback Mountain... The only shock for me was that it was Crash that did it! Crash was not a great movie... and in any other year... it would have been lost in the crowd. However... it did win. I think the split was obvious..... hopefully this year the Oscar voters will nominate some movie that people actually WATCHED during the year.

As for the show itself... it was probably the worst produced Oscar broadcast ever. The stage was cheesy, the clips were shown with no subtext or storyline for doing so, and the host was mediocre.
As per request... I am gonna talk a little about Jon Stewart.... Let me just say, I love Jon Stewart. The Daily Show is one of the most fun shows on Television and he is tremendous as the host. However...... His opening monologue simply sucked ass. I hate when they try and make fun of the stars at the start. It is pretty tired. Creativity would be nice, and Jon showed a lack of what makes him so good every night. It was almost like he was afraid to attack. I personally was looking forward to him giving fake Oscar News all night... a little take on his show... Tabloid fodderish. But.. it was mostly Jon Stewart trying to be Billy Crystal.... and the world is SICK TO DEATH of Billy Crystal and an imitation we simply don't need.

Barbara Walter's special was great this year... I have NO idea why they would move it from the front of the Oscar Broadcast to the Wednesday before... It was in the perfect spot... breaking up the Red Carpet interview parade with some real in depth interviews made the production have more of a professional feel. I really missed it being directly before.

Oscar Preview!

Well... I gave up my quest... I didn't see Good Night and Good Luck(a friend of mine did and said if I needed sleep.. it would be good) OR Munich. BUT... I did see Walk The Line... Today in fact. Walk The Line should have been nominated ahead of Crash. It was a much better movie because it had a heart and a soul. The music, the triumphs, the tragedy... it all adds up to a truly wonderful film. However... Here is my alternate Top 5 movies of 2005.

1) Batman Begins -- Nothing came in the vicinity of this great film. It is fantastic in every aspect and ignored because... well it is a Batman movie!

2) Wedding Crashers -- Any movie which which I have watched more than 5 times before the Oscars has to be in my top 5. Ignored because it is a comedy... but the acting is flawless, the dialogue extremely creative and the movie is TRULY HILARIOUS.

3) Capote -- This should win tonight, if the Academy Voters have any sense.

4) Walk The Line -- I am kinda taken aback at how damn good the acting and directing in this movie is. I wanted to push the Play Movie Again button on the DVD!

5) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- Although imperfect, it still a great film. It is the best in the series so far... and the most popular movie of 2005(highest Box Office).

A few words about the show tonight... Jon Stewart will be a terrific host. He has the perfect demeanor and he is quick on his feet. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix should tie for Best Actor...I truly would hate to try and pick between them. They were both incredible!
Best Director should go to Steven Speilberg... I haven't seen the movie... but I don't need to. Any year in which he makes a movie, he deserves to win Best Director. I will be watching Munich as soon as it is on at a theatre within 50 miles or on DVD.

and lastly... Best Animated Feature... Easy.. The Corpse Bride is the best one by a mile and a half. My KIDS fell asleep during the other nominees.... THAT IS BAD!

A VETO? Dust off the Presidential Procedure Manual...

First off ... my last political post spoke of my lone agreement with GW Bush.... Now it seems that old GW Bush is back on my bad side. You see, I don't understand why our 90 year old Grandmas and 3 year old children need to be strip searched at the airport...but yet GW Bush thinks it is perfectly safe for the United Arab Emirates to own our sea ports. Any thoughts?

Oh... I know those brilliant people at the Department of Homeland Security will still be in charge of security... but the last I checked.... they only search 10% of the cargo coming into and out of our ports as it is. If a country where terrorists were financed for the 9-11 attacks can own our ports...won't they have gained access to the knowledge of how these guys check that cargo? Won't it be easier for a terrorist whom even the UAE doesn't know is a terrorist to slip into the organization and then ship in something heinous? I know... I know... it is my paranoid nature....and of course my bias against Arabs. I mean... I don't know why I would be biased against people who hate us so much they are burning our countries' flag in the streets over a stupid cartoon drawn by someone in a completely different country. I know I am insensitive for feeling that maybe...just maybe I am overreacting when I feel more threatened by the 27 year old Arab gentleman wearing a long black leather trenchcoat in July and getting on the plane than the 3 year old from Minnesota and his 90 year old grandmother who are being picked over like they are roadkill and the buzzards are swarming.

My problem with GW Bush is that he usually is the one who is all gung ho for crazy security measures... but in this case... He has threatened to issue his first VETO.... that's right... numero uno... the first one... He says he will veto any bill passed which would stop the UAE from purchasing our ports. He says the Department of Homeland Security will still be in charge of security and they will protect us... even if Osama Bin Laden's next prodigy is working for them.

The fact that he hasn't vetoed a bill despite the largest spending binge in US history during his 5+ years in office is enough reason to be disillusioned with ol Dubya.... BUT his threatening to use one in a case where he wants to sell our ports to the enemy is just plain mindboggling.

What is his motivation? How much under the table money is being shuffled into his friends pockets? Jack Abramoff is out of the picture... so who is paying him off now?

A Trip to Brokebutt... er Brokeback Mountain......

When I was watching the red carpet lead up to the Golden Globes, Joan Rivers had Heath Ledger with her and introduced him by saying.. "I am here with Heath Ledger, star of Brokebutt.. I mean Brokeback Mountain." I almost fell out of my chair laughing. This movie is no laughing matter however. It is a very serious drama and love story of sorts.

Brokeback Mountain is of course a story of forbidden love... homosexual love. Being a Heterosexual... I am just not feeling the romance here... but plenty of women in the audience were. The movie was well shot, well directed and well acted. I thought the script was a bit lacking at times. I didn't always feel connected to the characters...as I said this is probably just my inability to grasp how men could um... be with each other. It isn't a homophobic kind of thing.... I had no real problem with them being together, it just isn't something I can identify with. Especially when you are married to someone as HOT as Anne Hathaway. How can one push her into becoming a sad, bitter old biddy? She is wonderful, beautiful and full of life. It is tragic how they could use make up to make her look so unattractive... ugh.. That part was painful.

Anyway... I guess you are getting the point that I left the theatre wondering what all the fuss was about? This movie rates as a 9 of 10 for movie making.... and a solid 5 of 10 for story line. The story line was mostly cliche and the ending played unabashedly to make the audience tear up. I didn't get sad... mostly cause it was so apparent that I was supposed to. I just didn't have that much wrapped up in the characters or understand their motivations enough.

I really don't need to see this movie ever again... it was pretty much an excuse to show 2 male movie stars having sex with each other. Big deal... 6 of 10 is my overall grade... it rates as the worst of the Oscar nominees I have seen so far.

Anyway, 2 more to go. Good Night and Good Luck and Munich. I am sure both of these films are gonna be as unlifting as the other 3 nominees..... NOT!

Finally....an issue with which I can agree with GW Bush...STOP THE PRESSES!

I can't believe I am saying this, but GW Bush is finally saying something that makes sense! Nuclear energy is his latest push. He wants to spend (no shock there...he is quite the liberal) $250 million to research building new Nuclear Power plants in the USA which use Nuclear Fuel waste to create electrical power. I wholeheartedly agree with the concept here. Nuclear energy is the cleanest, safest and cheapest power source known to man and it should be exploited.

Now.. I know in the past there have been problems(Chernobyl), but that is where improvements should be made. Safety FIRST! No compromises on that front and heavy regulation. Burning Oil, Natural Gas and Coal to produce electricity is WAY more harmful to the environment than a Nuclear Power Plant.

While I am wary of how this man, who is clearly the most incompetent President since Hoover, gets something like this done.... I do believe this is clearly an area which deserves funding for research and development.

2 Down... 3 to Go.... Oscar Movies...A Review

My quest this year is to view all 5 movies nominated for Best Picture before the ceremony. I have so far seen 2. It is a tough chore to find these movies as they are all in limited release this year. I find it kinda weird that Hollywood nominates movies no one has seen and then puts them on at so few theatres it is hard to go see them.

Last week, I rented Crash on DVD, it was the easiest one to find cause it had been a only a few screens and out on DVD in less than 4 months. This used to mean the movie sucked....so I was a bit wary. I see why it was nominated... quirky timeline... socially preachy plotline... and GREAT acting. While the movie is a bit of a downer, ok it s a HUGE downer, I still found it interesting and a good movie. Although I never really plan to watch it again.

Then.. tonight I went to see Capote. I had a failed attempt to see it last weekend when the only theatre it was playing at in all of Central Indiana...sold the last ticket right in front of me for the 7pm showing and didn't offer a 9:30 showing. LAME. Anyway, I managed to get a ticket to the 4:30 show on a Thursday... which was more than half full. I am guessing if they put this movie on in a few more theatres it might actually make some money.

Capote was an excellent film. Truly excellent. Incredible acting, Incredible Script, Incredible Cinematography, Incredible Direction. The movie was moving. It explored an extremely fascinating character. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was just flat out flawless. I am more intrigued after leaving the theatre and am now interested in learning as many details about Truman Capote and the enigmatic Harper Lee than ever before. I was reading that the rumor is that Capote co-wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird" with Harper Lee... and that is why she has never written another novel. I don't know, but Harper Lee and Truman Capote are fantastic writers and this film captures them in a light that will have enraptured. I was glued to every moment in the film. Lost in the texture and the soul of the film.

The other 3 movies have a tough row to hoe to be better than this movie in my mind. Of course... I still think Batman Begins is the best film of 2005. Apparently the academy didn't watch that one cause it is everything movies are supposed to be. I have watched it several times and it stands as a masterpiece of the action movie genre.

Capote is a close second right now... Going to see Brokeback Mountain this weekend and then I will have to take a road trip to find Good Night and Good Luck and Munich. Look for the reviews...coming soon.

Cheney The Drunk

Cheney admitted he had "one beer" at "lunch" before the shooting took place. Hmmm...

That sounds like the defense Cheney gave during his 2 previous DUI arrests.

18 hours, 200 pellets in the face, 2 witnesses, 1 drunk Vice President..... No Police Interview or Blood Alcohol test.

Dick "Big Time" Cheney is in hot water... BIG TIME.

Quailgate... Day 4

This thing has great legs... and I can't even tell you how many great jokes I have seen and heard about it. Geez... Saturday Night Live hasn't even happened yet! I love that the news media is starting to call it... "Quailgate." I wonder how long until someone drags Dan Quayle into the mix? (I am guessing now) Maybe when Cheney said he mistook Whinnington for a 'Quail'... he meant he mistook him for Dan Quayle? Does Cheney hold some sort of hidden hatred for Dan Quayle left over from his days when he was in the administration with Danny boy? Who knows?

Cheney has really...really done it this time. He has gone and upset PETA... I love that they told him to pick up a Tennis Racket! Fantastic! I also love that picture of Cheney on the article....



Doesn't he look like he is ready to shoot you with a 28 gauge shotgun? It is a priceless picture, who sits around with that look on their face? How pissed was he when they snapped it? Was this right after his daughter came out of the closet? Does he have a thorn in his paw? Or is he simply watching Brokeback Mountain? Is he drunk? He kind of has that edge to him in this photo... maybe he was just starting a drunken rant about Saddam, or non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction?

He is apparently going to speak to the press... I can't wait for that one!

It will most assuredly be "BIG TIME!"

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I have just read that Cheney will be interviewed at 2pm EST and the interview aired on FOX News Channel at 6pm. Brit Hume gets the exclusive interview. Why? Because is a Right-Wing Republican Shill who will "Pepper" the ViceRoy... Er.. Vice President with a series of softball questions. BRIT... I implore you... Ask him if he had been drinking.....PLEEEEAAASSEEE?

Dick "Big Time" Cheney.... WOW!

This is story is fantastic... I just can't leave it alone. ... Although I do feel for the man who was shot, the story is just fascinating. How does one suffer a "Minor" Heart Attack?

The coverage was positively inspiring....as were the late night comedy hosts. Jon Stewart's use of the video game Duck Hunt as a simulation was excellent( as was Keith Olbermann's).

The press conference was the best press conference I have ever seen. I mean never has one of these things been so entertaining..... Cheney waited 14 hours to be interviewed by Police. What was he doing during this time? Well that is the topic of today's list!

Here is an hour by hour rundown of Cheney's activities...following the shooting...


5:50pm Cheney Shoots 78 year old lawyer
5:51pm Cheney Yells "Damn I just shot the biggest bird I have ever seen! Now that's BIG TIME!"
5:52pm Cheney is informed it wasn't a bird, but his hunting buddy.
5:53pm Cheney Finishes up that the other half of that fifth of Vodka he was drinking before the hunt.
5:54pm Ambulance Called...
6:01pm Ambulance Arrives... tries to take Cheney away thinking he is having another "episode".
6:03pm Lawyer carted away... Cheney taken back to the house.
6:34pm Cheney attempts to collect on his "largest shot" bet with the guys in the hunting party.
6:35pm Cheney threatens to "Shoot every last one of you cheaters" if they don't pay up.
6:36pm Cheney's pacemaker goes into high alert mode.... they pay him off to shut him up.
6:45pm Cheney eats dinner of Roasted Quail with the others... is openly and loudly wondering when the "Big Bird" is gonna be served.
7:00pm Cheney passes out on the couch....drooling on his shirt sleeve.
8:00pm Secret Service informs White House of the shooting.
8:10pm Police come asking to interview Cheney... Secret Service says he is "too tired" to speak...arranges morning meeting.
4am Cheney wakes up... reaches for a bottle of scotch to start his morning routine. Is stopped.
5am Cheney finally sobers up a bit and realizes he is in deep doo-doo.
6am Cheney tells Ranch owner to get a press release out.
8am Ranch Owner calls smallest newspaper in America...Gives them the scoop.
9am Cheney interviewed by police.... gets irrate when cited for not having proper stamp on his hunting license.
9:15am after police are gone... Cheney drinks scotch...