The Ayayay!-des of March

Woops. It looks like Smokey and Ben (as well as my 3 awesome followers) have been sitting around waiting for me to put up a new post for a while now. Never fear, your consistently and handsomely late friend has returned! At least until I have a life again.

So what's been racking this old brain o' mine lately? Mostly LOST theories. Sprinkled with some pessimism and a healthy dose of Gaga (by the by, I hope you have all seen her latest glory of a video; I'll touch on it in a bit). I do have another juicy topic to discuss however, and that's this year's Academy Awards. I guess that's as good a starting point as any.

In a nutshell, the Academy awards were A.) Predictable, B.) Dull and C.) Disappointing. I was, however, pleased to see Christoph Waltz walk away with "Best Supporting Actor" (an award he deserved greatly). Speaking of which, please find Waltz's spectacular number on Jimmy Kimmel Live! attached below (I hope you enjoy it as much as I did). I was also ecstatic that Sandra Bullock received the Best Leading Actress award (Miss Congeniality finally got some much deserved love!).



Sadly, however, these victories were greatly diminished by the results of the writing and "Best Picture" categories. I thought that Up in the Air and Inglourious Basterds clearly deserved the best Adapted and Original Screenplay awards, respectively. But I still had hope as the awards began to wind down. After finally watching The Hurt Locker, I feel confident in saying that it did not deserve "Best Picture". Locker was a decent action movie at best (it is after all, just a series of bomb disarming scenes separated only by a few very contrived "bonding/psychological analysis" scenes). Accordingly, Bigelow did not deserve Best Director (she did a decent job but Cameron's 14-year devotion to Avatar, a picture that will forever shape the future of cinema, clearly deserved that one). Up in the Air was the most relevant and clever film of 2009 and it saddened me to see it lose to the likes of The Hurt Locker.

Now for some very mild controversy: I recently saw the new Polanski film, The Ghost Writer. I thought it was an extremely well crafted (and expertly written) labor of love that showcased some excellent performances (particularly those of Ewan McGregor and the wonderful Olivia Williams). In the traditional vain of Roman Polanski's films, Writer slowly builds up the tension as it approaches its brilliant climax and leaves you truly shaken.

Now before I start getting some heated comments along the lines of "you should not have seen that movie because it was directed by a child molester", I'll say this: judging it as a stand-alone picture, The Ghost Writer deserves every bit of high praise it has been receiving. And, if you ask me, I'd be willing to bet that there are thousands of unheard crimes much worse than Polanski's going in in Hollywood right now. Just because few are caught and accused, we should not assume that worse activities do not take place (some done by people we revere and love). Regardless, despite the controversy surrounding this film, I strongly recommend it to anyone who appreciates Polanski's mastery. He is, without a doubt, one of the father's of the modern-day thriller and The Ghost Writer is a testament to his skill and legacy.


I sincerely hope all of you have feasted your eyes (and ears) on the lovely queen of pop's new video (if not, it's posted below, be advised: it has some graphic content). To me, it's a mess––a beautiful mess––but a mess nonetheless. Although I personally don't think it bests the brilliance of "Bad Romance", I still appreciate its daring ideas and execution. My biggest fear regarding the video is that many people will simply overlook the mini-movie's many messages and think of it as cheap entertainment. That's why I'm including a link to a page that attempts to deconstruct and analyze the video for your reading and viewing pleasure.



Here's the link to the page that deconstructs the video: http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/03/deconstructing-lady-gagas-telephone-video/37458/

Lastly, I would like to plug a very excellent new television show that premiered earlier this year. Caprica (my personal choice for best new show of the year) is a fantastic new show that deserves more viewers. Already a big Battlestar Galactica geek, I've felt like something was missing from my life ever since the glorious cylon saga ended. Thankfully, with the arrival of Caprica, I can once again sleep at night. Caprica is an excellently acted drama that serves as a precursor to the events that take place in Galactica. I recommend this amazing show to anyone who appreciates tense dramas with interesting and complex characters. Please check out Caprica on Syfy at 9PM EST on Fridays. It'll be worth it.



Well, I think I've said enough for today. It feels good to be back. Please feel free to leave me any comments or bash my opinions. Have a wonderful week people.

Do Work Son,

The Guy in the (not so) Horn-Rimmed Glasses