The Weekend that Was …

This weekend was quite busy with the Academy Awards and all; but there was a lot of other stuff going on too. Here’s a recap:

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO …

I lifted my embargo, if ever so slightly – I probably caught about an hour in total of whole awards show. I was flipping between this, Black in Latin America and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? on TCM. Overall there were no major surprises for my part. I was happy for The Artist win. I mostly followed the action on twitter, which was quite fun.

Among the many things I learned this year:

  • Jean Dujardin is adorable – probably due in large part to the broken English. I wonder if I would come over as charismatic and endearing with my horrible, non-existent French? I think I know the answer to this one :)
  • Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph are now on my list of favorite people in the world
  • Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne are not fans of Vodka
  • Hugo may be worth seeing (wish I had done in 3D)
  • No awards show will ever get the “In Memoriam” part right.
  • Angelina Jolie has a leg ;)
  • Meryl Streep is awesome (but kinda already knew that)

Congrats to all the winners!

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE CHAMP

Over at Box Office Mojo, the results are in and it looks like Act of Valor took top honors over this past weekend. Gone and Wanderlust did not perform so well. Nothing to see here.

ANOMALOUS MATERIAL MOVIE DRAFT

On Saturday and Sunday, Anomalous Material was on fire with bids for film titles flying off the board! Alas, my list is complete and the 8 films that I will be tracking over the next twelve months will be:

  • Beast of the Southern Wild
  • Hysteria
  • Hotel Transylvania
  • Snow White and the Huntsman
  • Untitled International Thriller (50% split) – a.k.a. Bigelow Bin Laden film
  • Taken 2
  • The Lucky One
  • Sparkle

MY DWINDLING DVR LIST

If you follow my tumblr account, you will see that I also was playing catching with my DVR queue. From Friday, any image posted to my tumblr account represents a film I have seen (less Something New and North and South, which were re-watches). Incidentally, stay tuned for tomorrow’s entry in the ‘Overlooked’ series, as I will be covering one of the films.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Well I am getting better at this whole planning thing so in addition to my entry tomorrow, you can look forward to the following this week:

  • My Fantasy Movie Pitch (Thursday)
  • Profile of the Pelham Picture House (this weekend)
  • Revisiting another Universal Classic (Wednesday)
  • and possibly a few more surprises …

How about you? What were you up to at the weekend? Share below in the comments section.

 

Among Your Viewing Options This Weekend ….

This Presidents’ Day weekend has a lot of viewing options. I have plucked of the larger releases although please keep in mind that many smaller, independent films screening in a theater near you.

 

Special Viewing of the Re: Generation: for two days only (well actually ONE day now 2/23), this interesting looking film is being shown in select theaters around the country; check out the synopsis and trailer:

 

FIVE DJs TURN THE TABLES ON THE HISTORY OF MUSIC

Follow DJ Premier, Mark Ronson, Skrillex, Pretty Lights and The Crystal Method as they remix, recreate and re-imagine five traditional styles of music. From the classical perfection of the Berklee Symphony Orchestra to the bayou jams of New Orleans jazz, our five distinctive DJs collaborate with some of today’s biggest musicians to discover how our musical past is influencing the future.

What does this weekend have in store for you in terms of cinematic viewing? Please respond in the comments field below.

Some Exciting Changes Coming …

Hi Everyone!

iluvcinema.com is getting a ‘facelift’! Same content, just with a few cosmetic changes. In the coming days, I hope to have the site up and running for you to enjoy in time for the holidays! Think of it as my Christmas present to you!

Until then …

Iba at iluvcinema.com

Be Sure to Visit July 31st!

Hi all,

As you can see I have not been posting regularly in the past month or so … stay tuned to my blog for a July 31st special post that will explain my recent scant postings.

Until then ….

My Fall/Holiday Season "Must Watch"

The season is upon us – the  film season for adults.  As much as I enjoy some of the gloss big blockbusters, I am really looking forward to these offerings of the season:

  • The Young Victoria – I like Emily Blunt and I love historical dramas
  • An Education
  • Bright Star (will try to catch this weekend)
  • Nine (the Musical) – this film is more or less a curiosity, everything and the kitchen sink is in it … I cannot wait to see how it all comes together – hopefully
  • The Road - I have been waiting for this film for a while for the following two reasons 1) Viggo Mortensen and 2) I have started reading the book and would love to see the transfer of the bleak work onto the screen
  • Whip It - I love the “quirkiness” of Drew Barrymore in front of the camera and I anticipate that she works her same magic behind it as well
  • Precious – am bracing myself for severe depression
  • Invictus – Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman at it again; throw in Matt Damon for good measure = I’m sold!
  • A Single Man - hopefully this is the film that will prove to a wider audience the talent and more importantly the range of Colin Firth; another interesting note: Tom Ford, he of the fashion world is at the helm
  • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - obvious curiosity aside, I looked at the trailer and was genuinely intrigued. I usually run hot and cold with Terry Gilliam, but this looks like one that I have to see in my cinema.
  • Sherlock Holmes - I have my reservations about this movie (Guy Ritchie) but I love the Sherlock Holmes story and it has been sorely missed from the big screen for some time.

And here are some family film offerings:

  • Where the Wild Things Are
  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
  • A Christmas Carol

As you can see my list is MUCH longer than my summer picks. So far I have seen CoCo Before Chanel – a worthy enough film if not a bit plodding and slow in parts.

… I will try to keep you posted as to my progress in seeing these and probably several other films from now until the end of the year.

The Weinstein Company – Nine

Just saw the trailer for The Weinstein Company‘s “Nine.”  What do you think?