not so golden globes

In case you haven't seen this year's nominations, the full list can be found here. Don't they seem like an admission that this was kind of a dull year, cinematically speaking? (Disclaimer: I'm definitely not qualified to comment on any of this, since of all the Best Picture nominees in both categories, I've seen exactly one...but that won't stop me!) The one I did see was "Prada"--VERY average, in my opinion. My fiance saw "The Departed" and thought DiCaprio was terrific but overall it was a poorly-executed flick (no pun intended). I'm no film historian, but I also can't remember a time when two different categories (Best Actor and Best Director) had not one but two slots filled by the same person (DiCaprio and Eastwood, respectively). Maybe they deserve it, but that's a bit like stacking the deck, no? Wouldn't you hate to be one of the other nominees, knowing that one of the other guys has twice your chance of winning?

Also, I'm sorry, but none of the "Prada" performances were award-worthy--I mean, Streep was great in it, but compared to past award-winning roles, this was a total cakewalk for her. And Emily Blunt? Also good, but if she deserves an award, shouldn't the cast of "Mean Girls" have been nominated, too? It just doesn't seem like it would be all that difficult to play a one-dimensional self-absorbed bitch. (Her hair in that movie, on the other hand, deserves special recognition. I should bring a still shot to my colorist. Oh wait, that's me.) Anyway, I think it says a lot about this year in movies that that kind of role could generate a nomination.

Must take this opportunity to continue my movie-themed post by acknowledging that I must be at odds, taste-wise, with 99% of the viewing public. My fiance and I watched M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" for the second time recently and both enjoyed it immensely, despite knowing what the big plot twist was. To me, that says that the point of watching this movie isn't for the big reveal, and maybe that's why it was so widely panned: caught up in anticipating the twist, they didn't fully appreciate the other elements that make it one of my favorite films of the past few years: an incredible atmosphere and production design (the whole set seems eerily "out of time"), a beautifully haunting score, and a luminous turn by Bryce Dallas Howard, as well as other great performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Adrien Brody. I'm also so moved by the love story: when you strip away the plot circumstances (which are, admittedly, implausible, but to me that doesn't detract from the magic), you're left with an elemental purity and depth of emotion that rings completely true. I think the film really needs to be watched as a commentary on the nature of love and on the extreme measures people will take to deal with grief and loss, and as that, I think it's a complete success. Just had to go on the record as saying that someone really loved this film.