Best Picture

My two favorite Best Pictures were about cutting arms off. How often does that happen?

My thoughts on the Best Picture Nominees -

“Black Swan” - I really enjoyed this movie and thought the story arc was perfect. I was delighted with the actresses in this movie and was disappointed that more of them weren't nominated for their acting. The makeup, costuming and dancing are incredible. Natalie Portman will win best actress.

“The Fighter” - I guess I liked Rocky better. Marky Mark is awesome. I did like the sisters and thought that they did a great job with setting the film in a particular time.

“Inception” - I had no idea what it was about when I went. Blew me away. That scene with Paris folding up? Loved it. Also, this movie freaked me out and has wormed its way into my subconscious. I still have nightmares where Leonardo DiCaprio screams at me to wake up. Too much shooting and action at the end with the snow, etc. Other than that, I loved the movie and thought it was incredibly well done.

“The Kids Are All Right” - I watched this on DVD with Anna. I was disappointed. It was more like a really good TV show, not a movie. The acting was great. I am glad to see a mainstream movie about a lesbian couple and their family that addresses family issues. That doesn't mean it's the Best Picture. Annette Bening is favored to win BA, but I hate those awards which are about careers and not the specific performance. I do like actresses that allow themselves to play unsympathetic characters, but I don't think she'll win.

“The King's Speech” - I saw this with Frank and Anna (my last blog was about that experience). I did not want to see this movie (even less than Toy Story III). That said, I thought it was really moving and beautifully filmed. It has the "Best Picture" feel and I would suggest that this movie will win. Colin Firth will also win Best Actor.

“127 Hours” - I meant to see this movie when it was at The Ross a few months ago (before it was nominated), but I didn't make it to the movie before it left. I actually drove to Omaha in the middle of the day to see this at a google-plex theater because it was the only theater in Nebraska still showing the movie (and it's not out on DVD yet). I loved just about everything about this movie - it is beautiful - huge shots and close ups depending on the feel of the scene. Fast movement contrasted with slow movement contrasted with dream movement. This guy travels a million miles an hour and is forced to slow down - stop - and it is profoundly done. I am glad I saw this on the big screen - they really used the medium and the filming is incredible. The rock should have gotten a nod for best supporting actor. "Thank you."

“The Social Network” - Bill and I watched this on DVD and the kids watched it with me, and then they watched it over, and over, and over. Of all of the nominees, I have seen this movie the most. The kids loved the story and it is well done. I loved the dialogue in this movie. I have read that the script was unusually large and there was concern they would need to cut it, but there are no pauses in this movie. Everyone talks like a policy debater - fast, but also accurate and authentic. I think this movie is masterfully written and should get best adapted screenplay.

“Toy Story 3” - I saw this on DVD with the kids during a blizzard. And they watched it umpteen more times. I loved Toy Story I, I liked Toy Story II and Toy Story III was fine, but not as good as the first one, in my opinion. Rex totally got stiffed on a nomination for best Supporting Actor. He's always been my favorite toy. "We're going to daycare!"

“True Grit” - This is a beautiful movie and it has a great pace. I loved the little girl and hope she wins an Oscar, but she won't. This movie has a "Best Picture" movie feel to it with the costuming and casting and filming. It's a Western though, and I'm just saying, it's gonna be "King's Speech."

“Winter's Bone" - I loved this book and thought they did an incredible job with the film. The main character is a low-income, spunky girl. So of course it was my favorite film. :-) This movie is uncomfortable - the poverty, drugs, guns, and hopelessness are hard to watch. I loved the plethora of animals and the worn out clothes and the chill inside the house. I found this story satisfying in that it is real, but the character does things that most of us would find challenging if not impossible. The story would be very different if she committed her mom, sent the kids to live with relatives and joined the military. Those are the choices I would make, and we haven't even poised me on a boat in a frozen lake with a chainsaw facing a group of women who recently beat the shit out of me.

Saw off your own arm? Or saw off both your father's dead arms? Gah. I am guessing the Academy will be more impressed with a speech.

A Mov(ie)(ing) Story

Most years I disdain the Oscars. They are not the kind of movies that I like to watch. "Life is Beautiful" is the example I usually give people. I HATE that movie. Hate it. It is manipulative and annoying. Kind of like the Oscars.

This year I was quite taken by the Best Picture nominees and needed to see just a few more to have seen them all. And as my kids get older they are able to see more adult-themed movies with me, which I love. Anna, for example, was my companion at Toy Story I at the age of 3 and also my companion at Toy Story III at the age of 16. She will see anything with me, and we've seen most of the Best Pictures together this year. We went to and discussed "Black Swan" and "Winter's Bone" and "The Kids are Alright." (There are a few she refuses to see - like "True Grit," but I have Bill to see "True Grit" with, so it's all good.) The kids have been quite obsessed with "The Social Network," which they watch over and over again.

Frank and Anna went with me to a late showing of "The King's Speech." We were all three rendered quite speechless by it. As the credits rolled, Frank spoke first. "That was really good." "I liked it too," Anna said. "Me too, and I didn't expect to like it," I said. The conversation continued as we walked to the van. We talked about characters and history and costumes and I thought again, for about the millionth time, how brilliant it is to make little people with your own DNA and someone's DNA that you choose, and then expose them to all the things that you want to expose people to, and then you end up with these younger adults who are like you but not like you and I know that it is not psychologically good to be your kids' friend, but when it comes to stuff like movies, it is not only good, it is great. I have raised children who appreciate movies and stories and want to talk about their experiences, and I love it.

"I wanted to name you Wallis," I said to Anna as we walked.

"Really?!" she said incredulously.

"Yes. I have always been fascinated by that story and think it's kind of a cool name," I explained.

"Why didn't you?" she asked.

"Your dad wouldn't let me," I said.

Her laugh rang through the street.

"What did you want to name me?" Frank asked.

"Well, I thought you were Henry until I met you and then I knew you were Franklin," I said, telling him a story he already knew.

"But what did you want to name me that Dad didn't like?" he asked with a cute little wicked grin.

"Sebastian," I said, knowing that Frank would know where the name came from.

"Se-BASTIAN?!" Anna howled.

"I would have liked that," said Frank. And as he said that I thought of the summer that Frank and I watched the "Brideshead Revisited" miniseries together. The other kids were not interested, and in fact made fun of the show, but Frank loved it as I always have. Frank knew immediately that I was referring to the character from Brideshead.

"I am glad I am Anna," Anna said as she put her arm around my waist.

"And I am glad that I am Frank," Frank said as he put his arm around my waist on the other side.

I am speechless.

What's the Difference Between and Eccentricity and a Bad Habit?

I have a huge old tub, but it is attached to the wall on one side. In the tub in my head though, I have one of these. (You can click on the link if you want to see the bath rack.)

I got into the habit of reading in the tub when I was in my early teens. In those days a book a day was nothing. If I didn't have much going on I could easily read two books a day. I would read as I walked to and from the library. I would read laying on my back on the merry go round. I would read on the porch swing and at the lake on the beach and on the couch and in bed and, I would read in the tub. It's still one of my favorite places to read.

I will lay in the tub until the water cools. Sometimes I get out, but sometimes I just add more hot water. I am most likely to read in the tub when the weather is cold out. I love a hot, steamy bathroom with a closed door.

I have dropped books in the tub, but it doesn't happen often. And now that I have a Kindle, I take the Kindle in the tub. I put it in a giant ziploc bag when I do that, but I do take it in the tub with me.

Books last me a lot longer these days. I have a job, kids, pets, hobbies, repeat, and I don't have entire days to lounge around reading. I have been reading my February book club book for a couple of weeks now and wanted to finish it Friday night, but fell asleep with a few chapters left to go. Saturday morning I got up, took care of the animals, ran a tub, and finished it before leaving for my morning dance class. The water cooled as I cried over the perfectness of the ending (Major Pettigrew's Last Stand). I was glad to be in the tub so I could put the book aside and think about the ending for a few minutes as I soaked. I held a washcloth to my face, and then pulled myself out of my lukewarm tub, left the steamy bathroom, and rejoined the world.