Update to - And the Oscar goes to.....

Happy New Years Eve! I hope you have a safe and Happy New Year celebration! Kent and I are going to bring in the New Year skiing at Stevens Pass! Enjoy the fireworks display to the left and be a part of of display here in Seattle!

Now.....on to the blog post and update to - And the Oscar goes to.....

Yesterday we saw our final movie of 2008. We went to see Frost/Nixon.

I really like this play turned movie. It was a fascinating behind the scenes look at David Frost's interviews of President Nixon.

There were excellent performances by Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost. It plays like a drama as the disgraced former president and the up-and-coming talk show host verbally battle for credibility in a series of interviews. One of the main focuses of this film is the byplay between Frost's advisor's as they argue about the best way to confront Nixon. I am not sure that it was intentional but the parallels between the way Nixon thought - and the way George. W. acts - are very close! When Nixon says in the final interview "I'm saying that when the President does it, it's not illegal - that's what I believe" - sent shivers down my spine.

In the last few days we also saw Valkyrie with Tom Cruise. It too was a good movie - I think Kent liked it more than I did - I'm not a huge fan of Tom Cruise but the storey was very interesting. I had no idea that there were so many attempts on Hitler's life. Basically its a very entertaining drama with historical element. Although the ending is no surprise, there is suspense and intrigue thinking about what could have happened at that time if the plot was successful. Left me thinking about how the world would have been different if Al Gore had not lost Florida - surely 9/11 would have occurred but the reaction of the United States would have been much different! If you have the time go see it, if not, its worth a rental.

Another favorite of ours in the last week was the movie Marley and Me. Kent and I read this book over the summer after getting a dog of our own and really enjoyed it! Laughed out loud and cried like a baby! I think I even let out a sob at one point - how embarassing!

I'm not a huge fan of Jennifer Anniston or Owen Wilson but I thought they both did an excellent job in this movie. I am going to read the book again!

Here is my favorite review that I read at Fandango on line - cracked me up.

"This movie is 20% or less Marley and Me and 80% or more sex with Jennifer Anniston. PG is the WRONG rating. I am so angry that I was sitting there with my children thinking this was a cute movie about a man and his dog and being horrified that it was sex sex sex." Hilarious!

We must have seen a different movie orI was not as "focused" on the sex as she was - they were afterall trying to have a family!

The final movie that I will spend some time on was the movie Milk with Sean Penn.

Harvey Milk changed history. His courage changed lives. In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978 at the hands of another very public figure of the time.

Everything about this film is excellent. Sean Penn should get an Oscar. The use of period footage, the portrayal of a time in history, the anatomy of struggle is all there. A great tribute. Although we still have a way to go - we really have made a lot of progress in achieving equal rights for gays and lesbians.

I loved - Burn After Reading which I blogged about after seeing. Click the link to see my review. In Sept. I blogged about the movies that we had seen to date in - And the Oscar goes to..... Up to that point we had seen 25 movies. We ended the year seeing 37 movies! So - in addition to the movies we saw that were posted in Sept. we saw the following in no particular order:

• Frost/Nixon


• Valkyrie


• Marley and Me


• Milk


• Eagle Eye


• Twilight


• Beverly Hills Chihuahua


• Bolt


• Burn After Reading


• W.


• Body of Lies


• Quantum of Solace

We are already looking forward to seeing the list of Oscar nominees for 2008 performances to be announced on Jan 22, 2009 and for the Oscars on Feb. 22, 2009.

Here's to another great year of movies!

Later -

Jim