Movie Talk at Rogue Slayer Law Student Movie Fan

UPDATED: I've put asterisks on the ones I picked correctly.
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Okay - time to put it out there. Here are my picks for tonight's Academy Awards. When filling out my contest ballot, I'm always torn between voting for who I think should win vs. picking who I think will win. In some categories I give in and vote for who I think the Academy members will pick, but in others I'm unable to set aside my personal choice. So here they are:

*Leading Actress: Charlize Theron, Monster
*Leading Actor: Sean Penn, Mystic River

*Supporting Actress: Rene Zellweger, Cold Mountain
*Supporting Actor: Tim Robbins, Mystic River (I would prefer Ken Watanabe, but I don't think he'll win)

*Best Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Directing: Lost In Translation (I really think she did an excellent job - the editor needed to have a firmer hand)

Original Score: Cold Mountain
*Original Song: "Into the West," LOTR

Adapted Screenplay: Mystic River
Original Screenplay: In America

*Animated Feature: Finding Nemo
*Foreign Language Film: The Barbarian Invasions
*Short Film - Animated: Harrie Krumpet
*Short Film - Live Action: Two Soldiers
*Documentary Feature: The Fog of War
*Documentary Short: Chernobyl Heart

Art Direction: The Last Samurai
Cinematography: Cold Mountain
Costume Design: The Last Samurai
Film Editing: Seabiscuit
*Visual Effects: LOTR
*Makeup: LOTR
*Sound Editing: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
*Sound Mixing: LOTR

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Okay - The clock is ticking toward The Awards! The Girl and I, through tag-team internet searches and phone calls, tracked down a suitable trophy for the victor of our Pick the Winners Contest. I picked it up on my way home from work, and it is now standing on the entertainment center, flanked by the two 75th Academy Awards posters from last year. I had actually brought my gym bag with me this morning with the intention of hitting the health club for the first time in months, but I had to check my priorities!

The Guyfriend and I walked to Whole Foods Markets at lunch today so I could pick up some more Dagoba chocolate (Chai and Lavender) to use in creating chocolate dipped fruit for the party. What - it's fruit, so it must be healthy, right?

Now tomorrow I just have that small matter of a 15-20 page motion for summary judgement to write, and a contracts test to prepare for. No problem. To waive, to sleep - no more.
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Well, the ball is now rolling for our annual Academy Awards Party. The E-vites have been sent, replies are coming in, and the Chinese restaurant has been selected for take-out. Even though we've moved since last year's event, The Girl and I have decided to make the half hour trek to the restaurant in the old neighborhood because hey, you don't mess with perfection. I've scheduled Tivo to record a few Oscar-related shows before then, so we can have them on in the background before the red carpet arrivals start up.

Still to do: Print out the ballots, pick up a trophy for the Pick The Winners contest, and make the specific food item selections!

Plus we still have a couple of films to view... but not many.
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The Guyfriend and I were out for a lunchtime walk today (the sun is out, it's 45 degrees - ah, nice), and we passed a house which also contains an optometrist's office. I noticed there was a plaque on the mailbox:

"Lettercarrier: Please Ring The Bell Twice"

I wonder if they deliberately worded this in an attempt to be gender inclusive, to avoid hearing repeated movie references, or both...
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Oof - I'm in depressing movie overload. I've seen a spate of films lately which could all fall into the category of "Consequences of Bad Choices or Inaction." Some of them were more plausible than others, but all were disturbing, depressing, frightening, or some combination thereof.

I'll post up more complete reviews later, but let me just sum up what I've viewed in the last week or so: The Ring, 21 Grams, Monster, Thirteen, Capturing the Friedmans, and House of Sand and Fog.

One up note was that we saw Big Fish between 21 Grams and Monster. That was much more fun and light, but even it was tinged with regrets and lost opportunities. I find myself longing for the meaningless escapism of summer films. Where are you, Lara Croft???
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