She seriously has to stop being fantastic all the time. It is getting annoying. She can make any movie more tolerable. Kinda like Emma Thompson, and Maggie Smith.

I can't explain why. I just find her acting either bland or over done. I never understood why she is so popular.

The film of the week this time is NAKED!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107653/

This is not a nice film. I personally found it quite disturbing at times. It is about a man Johnny who flees to London after raping a woman. While there he visits his ex girlfriend and has various weird things happen around him. This film doesn't have much of a plot. It is more of a dark and bleak slice of life story. Johnny is not a hero in the slightest. He thinks the world will end in 1999, he rants and raves about prophecies and the meaning of life to random people. He is a bit like one of those ranting hobos you probably see on the street. This film is very character driven.

Not much happens plot wise but all the characters are fascinating and feel real. What makes this film special though is how human he is. He feels a connection with his ex girlfriend by he still has sex with many woman and almost forces himself on one. If this was done by any other director it wouldn't have that heart and depth that Mike Leigh brings to all his films. If you are looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon I don't recommend this since it can be pretty disturbing. However if you want to watch a great film by one of Britain's best directors around then you need to see this. It has become a favorite of mine. David Thewlis delivers an amazing performance that should be remembered as one of best in film history.

The film of the week this time is FIRES ON THE PLAIN!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053121/

This is one of the most depressing films ever. It is about Japanese soldiers trying to survive in a jungle near the end of WW2. They face starvation and cannibalism as their resources dwindle. This is probably the best anti war film next to Paths of glory. I wish more films like this were made. I love a good war film and in the end it doesn't matter whether it is about Americans or Germans, but I like seeing stories of the other side more these days.

The film of the week this time is FITZCARRALDO!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083946/

Fitzcarraldo is one of Werner Herzog's best films. It is also one of the many films to show the madness of Klaus Kinski. People think that Christian Bale's outburst on set was bad, but his was nothing compared to Klaus Kinski's insanity. He and Herzog were one of the best teams in film history. Herzog even wrote an amazing book Conquest of the useless. If you have any interest in film you have to get that book. Fitzcarraldo is about a man who tries to build an opera house in the middle of a Peruvian jungle. All of Herzog's films are worth seeing but this is a good place to start.

I went with my Step dad and mom and it was a fun night. The show itself was a bit dull. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are funny but their material was awful. The only time they made me laugh was the Paranormal activity bed spoof when Steve smacked Alec. The problem with the Oscars this year was most of the show felt tacky and fake. The dancing at the start was okay, but having those random people dance to the best scores of 2009 was terrible. Especially when the started flipping and crap to the Hurt Locker score. That was just awful in a strange way. The best speach by far was Michael Giaccino's. He has a great talent for public speaking. Overall I would say the show was pretty mediocre.

The best part to me was the free food afterward at the Governer's ball. That and I got a chance to speak to Jeff Bridges for about 10 minutes about acting, directing, and other such things. He was the nicest guy I met there. I also spoke to the director of Crazy Heart. That was quite inspiring to me to talk to those guys. I also talked to James Cameron about directing. I can't tell what he is like though. He said some nice things and gave good advice but he seems oddly cold. I don't know how to explain it. Overall I would say it was a good night. Hopefully I will be going to the Oscars next year, heck maybe even be nominated eventually:P The awards themselves were hit and miss. I was glad to see Hurt locker win best picture, and best director even if I thought A Serious man was the best film nominated. Sandra Bullock should not have won though. I liked her speach and I think she is a good actress but the best actress was clearly Carey Mulligan.

I had to rent a tuxedo, which took ages because they have to fit it. I was hoping to get a red one but they ran out. I always feel that guys are limited in their fashion for formal events. Tuxedos are nice but they look a bit dull after a while. I envy girls and how free they are to try different color dresses. I hope one day I will become a pretty lady so I can wear all the dresses I want. Maybe I will wear a dress to the Oscars instead like the South Park guys Trey Parker and Matt Stone did:D Thankfully I bought a fancy top hat which I will try to wear to the event if my Step dad will let me. I doubt he will though since he thinks I will look silly with it. Not that he is wrong, I just like being silly sometimes. I was even going to bring a cane. Anyway I hope the event goes well. I know my choices won't win but it's going to be entertaining at least I hope.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/

I am not usually a fan of Tim Burton. To me his best films are Big Fish, and Ed Wood. Mars Attacks is fun too I guess. Alice in wonderland however has none of the magic that Big Fish had. Oddly enough the visuals are both the best and worst part of the film. They are beautiful to look at yet they feel empty. The problem with CGI is that some directors rely on it too much. CGI is what helped ruin The Lovely Bones. That film bathed in it's visuals to a point where the story became secondary. Same with Alice in Wonderland though it is a much better film than The Lovely bones. Let's start with the story. I was a bit iffy on making Alice an older girl but in the context of the story it works well. The girl who plays Alice Mia Wasikowska was pretty decent too. I remember her from Defiance, and That Evening sun. Even though she doesn't impress here as much as she has before I think she has potential as an actress. Having Alice return to Wonderland at 19 is an interesting concept and thankfully the film pulls it off very well. While in Wonderland she meets all her old friends and she learns that she must end the Red Queen's reign of terror. The cast in this film is fantastic, however they mostly feel either underused or missused. The Cheshire cat is the best character by far because he is voiced by Stephen fry. I don't think Fry was even playing a character, maybe he is actually a Cheshire cat. I don't know why but hearing Fry's voice is very relaxing yet fascinating at the same time. He makes the Cheshire cat sound more sophisticated than a sack of greasy brains. Alan Rickman is also quite good as the Blue Caterpillar. Then again when is he not good? Even though the cast perform their roles pretty well, their characters are made more annoying by the film's very forced and irritating quirkyness. It's hard to explain, but Tim Burton's characters recently all feel like just that, characters.

They never feel like people or things that I find interesting. Having quirky and weird characters is good, but the film better be able to support them otherwise we just have a bunch of weird people with nothing to do. Johnny Depp was my first major problem with this film. He is good in it I guess, but I think Burton should try working with a different lead actor because the Mad Hatter was just annoying as hell most of the time. His interactions with other characters are mostly overly weird and silly word games and filler that doesn't add much to the film. Depp seems to be talking to himself most of the time. Well not really he does interact with others but he never feels connected to anybody. That could be the point though since he is mad as a tub of soggy badgers. His madness starts off as endearing but by the end I just found him tiresome. Anne Hathaway was okay as the White queen, but her delivery felt too airy and weird for the sake of it. Really the problem I had with the film overall is it lacked wonder. Big Fish had some fantastic visual moments that were a pleasure to watch.

Alice in wonderland just overloads you with visuals that are meant to captivate but they end up becoming background to the dull and generic story. The visuals were just pretty to look at with the occasional symbolism. Visuals can mix with story well like in The Fall, but this film doesn't do it well. This film could have been a charming off the wall yet dark tale with fascinating oddball characters. Burton however decides to turn it into a cheesy and cliche good vs evil quest story with a climactic battle at the end. I never got any idea of why I should care about anyone in the film. Some characters were fun to watch like The Red Queen and her huge head but nothing else. The story didn't captivate me in the slightest. It also has an awful dance scene at the end that is probably one of the worst I have watched in years. Thankfully it doesn't last long. There is also a cliche and generic girl power message that while trying to make a point it just felt thrown in for the hell of it. This is not a bad film really. Some parts are fun and charming to watch, it just feels lifeless and empty compared to other much better films like Big Fish, and Tideland. I wouldn't recommend it but if you like Tim Burton then you may enjoy it.

Overall I give it a 5.5 out of 10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XHt32UVqLk&feature=related

I think he says "Fill your pants with beans." at one point.

The film of the week this time is STREETS OF FIRE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJGo2rvfSuA

I would post the IMDB link, but you have to see the trailer to understand how awesome this film is. This is the definition of 80's movie. I don't know why but the 80's had a higher concentration of ridiculous movies than most other decades. This movie looks like it is set in the 50's, but it is more a parody of that decade in a way since everything is so exaggerated and crazy. Everyone speaks like they are constantly ready to fight you. There are amazing lines like "From now on it's for real!" The cast is great too with Wilem Dafoe being as creepy as ever, and the underrated Michael Pare fighting to save the beautiful Diane Lane. Rick Moranis is in it too, because why the hell not right? This is not a great movie. It is campy and cheesy beyond belief at times and it almost seems to be a parody of itself. Oddly enough that makes it more fun to watch because of how ridiculous it is. Try not to think too much and just enjoy the great music and silly and fun story.