Why Aaron Sorkin Won an Oscar

I've mentioned previously the genius that is Aaron Sorkin, and he just took home an Oscar tonight at the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay. Here's why...








Oh Aaron, I love you.

Review: Requiem for a Dream

This film is devastating. It's exhausting. It's beautiful in the most terrifying way possible.


Requiem for a Dream is directed by Darren Aronofsky, who has been fairly unrecognized until this year's Black Swan. Even now, people are more fired up about the girl-on-girl action than they are whether or not the film deserves awards, or who it was directed by. Well the directing job here in Requiem is fabulous. The film follows a mother, her son, and his girlfriend and best friend, as they lose themselves, sell themselves, give themselves, to drug addictions. There are four actors who carry the whole of the film on their shoulders, a striking editing job, and a riveting soundtrack that combine to make to make Requiem a masterpiece about our inner demons and the monster of addiction.

Clockwise from top left: Druggie, Druggie, Mama, Druggie.

It stars Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly in one of her strongest performances ever, and Marlon Wayans, who despite his tendency to nab Razzies, comedy nominations, and Kid's Choice Awards, pulls off his role like some kind of pro (that's called great directing, kids).

Actress Ellen Burstyn plays one of the main characters, Sara Goldfarb, an aging mother who lives alone, and slowly begins to drown in an accidental addiction. Now Burstyn is someone you may not have heard of, so let me fill you in on a little secret. She's an actress of the highest caliber. She's been nominated six times for an Oscar, and won only once. But Burstyn is one of only twenty-one people who has ever won the "Triple Crown" of acting, winning an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy, a feat even 16-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep can't claim. Even before she completed her Triple Crown Emmy win, she was nominated in 2006 for an Emmy for a performance of only 15 seconds and 38 words. Her character didn't even get a name in the credits of that episode, just the title "Ex-Lover #3". Ellen Freaking Burstyn, ladies and gentlemen, Ellen Freaking Burstyn.

"Yeah, and I'm 78 and still a babe, take THAT Betty White"

Despite Ellen's incredible performance in Requiem for a Dream, she lost the Oscar to Julia Roberts' Erin Brockovich. Lame. It's kind of like if Shakespeare in Love had won Best Picture in 1998 instead of Saving Private Ryan...OH. WAIT. Damn.

The film's fourth star is actor-musician, Jared Leto, who plays addict/dealer Harry Goldfarb. Leto, who has acted in a surprising number of Oscar winners and critically acclaimed films, is probably slightly better known as the lead singer of the band Thirty Seconds to Mars, but that's not saying much. He's not really the Brad Pitt of household names.

Even though he should be.
[insert gratuitous picture of shirtless Jared Leto here]

His band was the first Western band to film a music video in China, the first to film a music video in the Arctic Circle, and the first to feature the voices of tens of thousands of fans as an instrument of sorts on tracks of their album. But back to his acting. Leto is infamous for his methods of getting into character, and for Requiem the actor shed nearly 30 pounds from his already-slight frame, lived homeless with drug addicts on the streets of New York, and the Aranofsky allegedly asked him to refrain from having sex for thirty days to feel what it's like to really crave something.

This is who his girlfriend was at the time:
Cameron Diaz. She was pissed about him
being a starving smelly homeless guy who
wouldn't sleep with her.
She's now his ex.

The experience of being Harry Goldfarb was so traumatizing, that after they were done filming, Leto flew to an effing monastary in Portugal to like, recover from his no-longer-so-fake addictions.  Seriously.

"Sheeeit, Portugal?"
"Yeah, Wayans, look at my teeny arms, I'm liek fainting right now."

Also the soundtrack was written by Clint Mansell, with string quartet arrangements by a Pulitzer prize winning composer, David Lang. It was so good that it's been used over and over for films like I am Legend, Babylon A.D., The Da Vinci Code, Lost, and even the Lord of the Rings films.

Just so you know, when I say this film is disturbing, don't say I didn't warn you.

Profuse use of profanity, a bunch of nudity, and sex, you name it, it's in here. It was so disturbing the MPAA, gave the film an NC-17, causing Aronofsky to release it as unrated and dooming it to open in only 2 theaters in the nation to make a grand total of $64,000 it's opening weekend, which is about how much Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid for three words of dialogue in Terminator 2. Despite Requiem for a Dream's wrenching realism, and the staggeringly phenomenal performances by its cast, the director and editor's work, and the soundtrack, the film didn't make much of a splash, and garnered only a single, lonely Oscar nom.

It rather defies genres; it's not an action flick, it's not a romance, it's a drama, but it's somehow also horror. Requiem for a Dream deserves more attention, to be sure, but just be aware you may not be able to sleep without having terrifying drug dreams about your appliances trying to eat you for about a week. It's that good.

Director: Darren Aranofsky (Pi, Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream)
Rated: Not Rated (original)
R for intense depiction of drug addiction, graphic sexuality, strong language and some violence (edited version) 
Trailer

What is With These Beards?

Look, beards are great, okay. Beards are cool, like their sexy cousin, stubble. Beards can even magically make some people look better than they looked beardless!

Case in point. Pictured: a magical beard.

But recently some famous celebrities have been walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, and probably the Oscars with variations of horrendous beards. Let me demonstrate something:

This is how you wear a beard. It's
like an accessory.

Now check this out:

Their orange beards make me want to cry. Not because orange is a bad color for a beard- remember Jesse up there? And not because the color reminds me of spicy food and that makes my eyes water. This would be like that dress Helena Bonham Carter wore to the Golden Globes. Remember that one? Yeah. Stuff...just didn't match. That's what these beards remind me of. Okay, that's their natural beard color, what can they do? It's not bad that the color doesn't match, they just look ridiculous.

Distinctive Face of the Week: Colin Farrell

I'd like you all to know that this weekly post takes longer than a movie review to write. It takes longer than making fun of the Golden Globes red carpet looks. It takes forfreakingever. Why? Because it takes me all day to find someone with a truly distinctive face. I tried to make Anne Hathaway this week's distinctive face before realizing she looks strikingly similar to Emmy Rossum. Then I tried Demi Moore, but she looks like Jordana Brewster. Mila Kunis looks like Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron looks like a young Jared Leto, and then I was like, "oh What about Ashley Olson?" Before remembering she has a literal freaking twin. I figured this would be a quick and easy addition to this blog until I found out just how rare a distinctive face really is...

This week's Distinctive Face? Colin Farrell

It's like George Clooney and Enrique Iglesias had an Irish lovechild who looks
like he melts chocolate with his eyes

Ah Colin Farrell. Where to begin? Farrell is kind of like a Tom Hanks- he does Forrest Gump and then he does...Da Vinci Code. Colin here has been in some excellent films, and directed by the likes Oliver Stone, Joel Schumacher, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, and Peter Weir. He's been nominated over and over for Best Actor awards from pretty much everyone except the Academy, but also he was Bullseye in Daredevil. Yeah, remember that? NO! Ack don't recall it, it's too awful. 

Here's to make you feel better and forget about that whole Daredevil business

Farrell broke into mainstream Hollywood in 2000's Tigerland, and has been working his way up to the big time ever since. True, his career has been spotted with "eh" moments, but overall he's established himself as a versatile, talented actor. Farrell usually takes on challenging, not-the-norm roles, often affecting an accent. He's been cast in supporting roles under Tom Cruise, Christian Bale, Kevin Spacey, but graduated to leading roles in recent years. His life in the spotlight has been characterized by scandals- a sex tape, a crazy stalker, drugs and alcohol threatened to derail his career until he got sober.

I pretty much just don't want to write another paragraph
so um...here is this picture, 'cause it, you know, says a
thousand words and stuff.

Best moment of his career so far? His role as a hitman with a heart in the dark comedy In Bruges. Think Boondock Saints meets a bit of Snatch. Check it. 'Cause it's amazing. His latest projects are London Boulevard with Keira Knightley, and The Way Back, which I've talked about before. Expect to see him later this year in the comedy Horrible Bosses, which stars kind of everyone, including the guy from the Old Spice commercials. Seriously.

Aw he has a nice smile too. Look,
Seriously, this is just so much better
than more words, right?

Review: The Social Network

When the unconventional posters for The Social Network were released in conjunction with its dramatic, innovative trailer, the world knew this movie would be something else. Or maybe I'm just obsessed with trailers. No matter.

The Social Network is directed by David Fincher, who isn't really a household name despite the fact that he's directed films like Benjamin Button and Fight Club. Martin Scorcese, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron...they tend to make "bigger" films in the sense that they make a billion dollars. Fincher, on the other hand, is a little more selective; he's less prolific, and his films rarely ever graze the $100 million mark. But this guy knows what he's doing. After all, got Aaron Sorkin on board, who is one of the most beloved screenwriters I know of for his show, The West Wing, which ran for seven fast-talking seasons. If you know Kevin Smith, you know he's infamous for writing long-winded monologues for his characters. Sorkin is known for dialogue as well, but in a different way. He writes fast-paced give-and-take conversation like no other. Social Network is very much an idea that Sorkin was meant to write the words to. He captures Zuckerberg, Parker, the Winklevoss twins beautifully, and without any trepidation. Despite the fact that the media has downplayed the reality of the caricatures Sorkin created in comparison to the actual people, I beg to differ. Their souls are right there on film. Watch an interview with Zuckerberg, or Parker, and you'll recognize what Sorkin brought to the screen right there. I loved Sorkin's Zuckerberg, but his Winklevoss twins were spot on, and oh so humorous they stole every scene they were in.

The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, who has been on the rise the last couple of years seemingly out of nowhere. He's been around for maybe ten years, but in 2009 he did five films in the course of one year. Considering he's only done like 20 films, that's a quarter of his career in one year. That year's Adventureland and Zombieland put him in the big leagues, and he was soon acting alongside some of the biggest names in showbiz. Now he's starring in a film that he's been nabbing nominations for like crazy. He's expected to be announced as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor later today.

"omg you guys, just hand over my Oscar already"

 And this guy was born to deliver lines written by Aaron Sorkin, which is awesome. And if you haven't seen the movie yet, be prepared to get the creepy crawlies at the intensity of his cold staring black eyes as he bites his words from his mouth. Beautifully done.

Justin Timberlake has a major role as Sean Parker, the guy who invented Napster, and also a driving force behind why Facebook is the biggest, coolest thing ever these days. Andrew Garfield portrays Eduardo Savarin, Zuckerberg's financial partner when they started Facebook, whom Zuck eventually coldly cut out of the company. His strong performance may have contributed to his landing the new Spider-Man reboot movie (which I still have not formed opinions about). Armand Hammer, otherwise known as Armie Hammer, but come on, let's just call him by his name people, it's so much funnier, plays both Winklevoss twins. Which is also awesome.

Also he- er they. Er he. Look great in a suit.

The story of Facebook, as told by The Social Network, is a story of an insanely smart dude, someone who understands how people tick maybe better than he understands how he himself ticks. It's the dramatic story of friendship, of betrayal, and of a rise to a kind of fortune people don't even dream of because it's so impossible.

"Yeah, well, people always thought being this
gorgeous was too impossible to dream of too
but here I am"

Look, people have said that it's too dramatized, it's unfair to Zuck, it doesn't tell the whole story, or whatever. And yeah, Zuckerberg rented out a theater and took the whole company to see the movie when it came out, supposedly in a show of good humor and acceptance or something. Yeah I don't buy it. This guy is smart okay. He obviously can't decry the film, because it makes him look bad. Instead, support it, be kind, be cool. It's all about being cool. Then take the office to see it to demonstrate to them that you're awesome, you get movies made about you, you're cool, you're in charge, and you will screw them over if they mess with you. Sounds smart to me. YOU CAN'T FOOL ME ZUCKERBERG!

Now I'm gonna link this to Facebook.

Director: David Fincher
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and language.
IMDb page
Trailer:

2011 Golden Globes: Photo Nomination

I hereby nominate this photo for most awkward Red Carpet look.

Jane Krakowski. Ready to give birth, even at the Golden Globes.

This really is a wonderful dress, and a great color, but also she's pregnant. Did you see Natalie Portman's dress? Okay, it was simple, modest, very motherly, great color choice, and it looked great on her. But Jane Krakowski here is wearing four-inch heels which, unless she's on some crazy pain medications, are probably killing her back. The dress has also been tailored not just for a pregnant woman, but specifically for her pregnant belly, so it is cradled in some very tight fabric. What makes this dress the most awkward of the night is the slit up the side. Is that for easy access in case she goes into pre-term labor, because that's the only explanation I can think of.

2011 Golden Globes: Just a Quick Laugh

This is Annette Bening at the Golden Globes and R-Patz like three years ago. The striking similarity was just too funny to not post, my friends.