Posts Tagged ‘James Franco’

Best surprise: With song/dance man Hugh Jackman as host, surprise presenters, and funny gag bits, the Oscar’s was one of the most entertaining it’s been in a long time. (Ratings were even up 6 percent from last year’s telecast.)

Worst surprise: Chances are you won your office pool because just about no surprise winners threw off our ballots. “Slumdog Millionaire” cleaned up winning 8 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay as predicted, and Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, and Penélope Cruz won as expected. The biggest upset was Sean Penn winning Best Actor over Mickey Rourke, but really we all knew it was between the two anyway.

Worst use of presenting the Best Pictures:  Up until the last ten minutes of the show, you wouldn’t even know which films were nominated for Best Picture, and isn’t this what the night was really all about? Instead of showcasing clips throughout the night like usual, the clips were only shown right before the award was handed out. Even worse, they were intermingled with previous films that have similar themes making the clips confusing and taking attention away from the nominees.

Best presentation of movies: The montages of film genres recapping the best of 2008 were done so in great pop culture fashion. Coldplay’s “Lovers in Japan” played to the great romance flicks, Wall-E the adorable robot found a tape of the best animation movies, and the hilarious James Franco and Seth Rogen reprised their “Pineapple Express” roles as they watched DVDs of the funniest comedies.

Worst use of presenting the Best Songs: The song nominees, which are usually played in their entirety throughout the night, also weren’t given their full due. The two “Slumdog Millionaire” songs and “Wall-E” song were shortened and played one after the other. We all knew “Jai Ho” was going to win, but “Wall-E” should have been given it’s own set piece rather than making John Legend sing with “Slumdog’s” Indian back-up dancers and drummers.

Best use of presenting awards: Rather than randomly presenting awards, the telecast walked the audience through the making of a movie starting with the screenwriting process to art direction to editing. Stars associated with the category was also a nice touch like action hero Will Smith presenting Best Visual Effects and Sound Mixing and “Religious” filmmaker Bill Maher presenting Best Documentary.

Best presenters: Steve Martin and Tina Fey presented the screenplay awards humorously (“Don’t fall in love with me” Martin stoically told a googly eyed Fey) and controversially (poking fun at Hollywood-favorite Scientology). And don’t forget about Ben Stiller who delivered a dead-on impression of Joaquin Phoenix’s bizarre appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman” while presenting with Natalie Portman. It would have been even funnier though if it wasn’t just parodied at the previous night’s Independent Spirit Awards.

Best use of presenters: Keeping most of the identities of the presenters top-secret beforehand made for a more exciting show because you never knew who was going to come out next. Hello Will Smith, hello Reese Witherspoon!

Worst use of presenters: While it was fun seeing past winners like Nicole Kidman, Robert De Niro, and Christopher Walken, presenting the nominees, it came off too self-congratulatory. Instead of comments like “You really nailed it” and Marion Cotillard clasping her hands together cooing “Thank you” to Winslet, let’s see some clips instead. Most viewers at home haven’t seen all the movies, so it’d be more interesting to see the performances for which they’re nominated. 

Best acceptance speech: Instead of the director or co-stars accepting on his behalf, the acceptance of Heath Ledger’s Oscar by his family was much more touching. “Tonight we are choosing to be happy and celebrate what he has achieved,” his mother, Sally Bell, said.

Funniest acceptance speeches: Where to begin? First there’s Phillipe Petit, the subject of the documentary, “Man on Wire,” who not only balanced the Oscar on his chin, he also made a coin disappear.  Then the Japanese director of the Best Animated Short, “Kunio Kato thanked Mr. Roboto.” Finally, Best Director, Danny Boyle, bounced up and down in homage of Tigger for his children.  

Worst camera shots: Awkward alert… Not only did Jennifer Aniston have to present an award mere feet away from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the camera cut away to Brangelina twice! At least Jolie and Pitt made nice and weren’t giving dirty looks.

Best use of teeny boppers: While baby faced stars like Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Robert Pattinson, and Amanda Seyfried presented and performed on stage to most likely draw in the younger audience, their presence was downplayed and didn’t make the Oscars feel like the Teen Choice Awards.

Best secret talent: Anne Hathaway showed off her really good voice in her pretend-impromptu song and dance number with Jackman. Look out Beyoncé. Maybe you won’t be needed next year.

Here are the winners of the major categories:

Best Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”

Best Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader”

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”

Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Got “Milk”? You better because it’s up for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards later this month. I only wish we learned more about Harvey Milk the person and not just Harvey Milk the politician.

In this fact-based account, director Gus Van Sant (“Good Will Hunting”) tells the story of Milk (Sean Penn) who went from a 40-year-old San Francisco hippie to become the first openly gay man elected to city office. We watch as Harvey builds an alliance of enthusiastic supporters, goes through relationships, and cuts off his long ponytail to put together a clean-cut façade to become a politician.

But what’s great about him is that even though he swapped flared jeans for a business-like three-piece suit, Harvey didn’t lose his inner spirit and initiatives. Never one to give in to the status quo, he’d personally run around and pick up dog poop to score votes from the people and challenge his opponents to debates. When one opponent asserts that gay teachers will in turn produce gay students, Harvey quips that if that were true there’d be a lot more nuns running around.

That kind of attitude makes Harvey endearing and inspirational along with one poignant scene where he pins a death threat on his refrigerator telling boyfriend Scottie (James Franco) that the threat is only as scary as they allow it to be.

The problem is that most of the other characters are not all that endearing. While Franco’s performance is good and is virtually in disguisable from his “Pineapple Express” stoner role, his character isn’t there when Harvey needs him the most and tells Harvey’s business acquaintance “Sorry I pissed in your pool.” He really did.

Diego Luna, as another of Harvey’s love interests, is stuck to a pouty, one-dimensional role, and Emile Hirsch and Alison Pill as Harvey’s campaign workers have some of the better performances. Unfortunately, Penn wasn’t as outstanding as I was anticipating. In fact, he’d often lapse too far into his “I am Sam” character. 

The story itself was also not quite as outstanding as expected with a slow storyline. The film mostly consisted of a never-ending stretch of loss after loss during Harvey’s campaign until he finally at last won. We also know that ultimately Dan White (Josh Brolin), Harvey’s colleague, ultimately assassinates him and due to the framing device of Harvey recording his story for it to be told in the event of his assassination heightening the tension throughout the film, the actual assassination scene is very anticlimactic.

We’re also left wanting more in terms of the emotions and motives of the characters. For example, why exactly did White kill Harvey? He always seemed off-kilter, so what was he going through to make him the way he was? What did Harvey did his whole life before he got involved in politics? Why was Harvey involved in the shallow, one-dimensional relationship with Luna’s character and wasn’t he affected by what eventually happened between them? Van Sant recently told Entertainment Weekly, Harvey’s life was quite romantic but it really didn’t seem that way in the movie.

So get “Milk” but know that it’s kind of like milk. Just as you should drink it but it’s not as good as soda, you should see “Milk” but it’s not as good as the other four Best Picture nominees.

“Slumdog Millionaire” vs. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?” Brad Pitt vs. Mickey Rourke? “Mad Men” vs. “True Blood?”

Who will win?

We’ll find out when the 66th annual Golden Globes air Sunday on NBC at 8/7 c, but in the meantime here’s Positively Celebrity’s picks for who will be seeing gold.

Best Motion Picture – Drama

* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

The Reader

Revolutionary Road

Slumdog Millionaire

While “Slumdog Millionaire” is equally if not more deserving, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the most popular and beloved movie right now.

Best Actor in a Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn, Milk

* Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Rourke will most likely win at the Oscars, but Pitt will win at the Globes because he is more popular and mainstream.  

Best Actress in a Drama

* Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jolie, Changeling

Meryl Streep, Doubt

Kristin Scott-Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long

Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Fresh off her Critics Choice Award Thursday night, Hathaway will go on to win the Golden Globe as well.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Burn After Reading

Happy-Go-Lucky

In Bruges

Mamma Mia!

* Vicky Cristina Barcelona

This one goes to the beloved Woody Allen’s film. The Coens (fresh off last year’s “No Country for Old Men” accolades) won’t win again for “Burn After Reading,” not enough people saw “Happy-Go-Lucky” or “In Bruges,” and many didn’t take “Mamma Mia!” too seriously.

Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy

Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Colin Farrell, In Bruges

James Franco, Pineapple Express

Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges

* Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey

If Bardem didn’t just win last year for “No Country for Old Men,” I’d say he’d win, so this year it could be a toss-up between Farrell and Hoffman. Given Hoffman’s popularity and long, great career, I’ll predict him.

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy

Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

* Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading

Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!

Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey

Hawkins is the critical favorite who has the best chance of all these ladies to be nominated for an Oscar. Yet, look out for Streep, whose popularity and work in “Doubt” could help score her a win.

Best TV Series- Drama

Dexter

House

In Treatment

* Mad Men

True Blood

“Mad Men” did win last year, but its second season was even better than its first. Plus, the show didn’t have much of a chance to celebrate last year because a boring press conference took the place of an actual show due to the writer’s strike.

Best TV Series- Comedy

* 30 Rock

Californication

Entourage

The Office

Weeds

“30 Rock” is the best comedy on TV right now, and it is yet to win a Golden Globe for best comedy.

Best Actor in a TV Drama

Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment

Michael C. Hall, Dexter

* Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Hugh Laurie, House

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors

This could be a toss-up between Hamm and Hall, but I’ll give the edge to Hamm due to “Mad Men’s” enormous popularity.

Best Actress in a TV Drama

Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters

Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU

* January Jones, Mad Men

Anna Paquin, True Blood

Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Field, Hargitay, and Sedgwick are starting to become clichés in this category, and Paquin’s “True Blood” isn’t well-known. Plus, Jones really had a chance to flex her acting muscles on this season of “Mad Men.”

Best Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy

* Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Steve Carell, The Office

Kevin Connolly, Entourage

David Duchovny, Californication

Tony Shaloub, Monk

Baldwin won two years ago in this category, but, again, no comedy is better than “30 Rock” right now. Plus, Baldwin’s great lines and even greater delivery of them really makes the show.

Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy

* Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?

America Ferrera, Ugly Betty

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Debra Messing, The Starter Wife

Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Fey has been on a complete winning streak this last year with all her accolades and praise. Either she could continue her streak or there could be a backlash. I’ll go with the latter and give the edge to Applegate for her fresh, funny performance. Plus, she’s yet to win an Emmy or a Golden Globe for “Samantha Who?” and it’s about time.

The Hollywood Foreign Press recently announced the nominees for this year’s Golden Globes airing on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. on NBC. This year’s Golden Globes has special significance because last year the winners were announced during a lackluster press conference due to the writer’s strike. 

Usually, the Golden Globe nominations and winners are a good indicator of who and what will be nominated for the Academy Awards. So if you haven’t seen these movies or TV shows yet, now is your time to start checking them out.

MOTION PICTURES

Drama

Best picture

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

“Frost/Nixon”

“The Reader”

“Revolutionary Road”

“Slumdog Millionaire”

Positively fact: Kate Winslet has two chances to be in a Best Picture winner. She stars in “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road” where she is reunited with “Titanic” costar, Leonardo DiCaprio.

Best actress

Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”

Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”

Meryl Streep, “Doubt”

Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”

Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”

Positively fact: While all the other actresses are previous nominees, this is Hathaway’s first Golden Globe nomination.

Best actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”

Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”

Sean Penn, “Milk”

Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Positively fact: This is Rourke’s first Golden Globe nomination, and Langella’s first nomination since 1970’s “Diary of a Mad Housewife.”

Comedy or musical

Best picture

“Burn After Reading”

“Happy-Go-Lucky”

“In Bruges”

“Mamma Mia!”

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Positively fact: You may not have heard of some of these comedies. “Happy-Go-Lucky” came out in April and is about a woman who’s optimism has a less than cheerful effect on others. “In Bruges” was released in February and stars Colin Farrell as a hitman in Belgium.

Best actress

Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading”

Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!”

Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”

Positively fact (s): This is the first Golden Globe nomination for Hall and Hawkins. Also, McDormand is married to Joel Coen, one of the directors of “Burn After Reading.”

Best actor

Javier Bardem, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Colin Farrell, “In Bruges”

James Franco, “Pineapple Express”

Brendan Gleeson, “In Bruges”

Dustin Hoffman, “Last Chance Harvey”

Positively fact: Bardem won at last year’s Golden Globes for best actor in a drama for his performance in “No Country for Old Men.”

TELEVISION

Drama

Best television series

“Dexter” (Showtime)

“House” (Fox)

“In Treatment” (HBO)

“Mad Men” (AMC)

“True Blood” (HBO)

Positively fact: If “Mad Men” wins, it will the show’s second, consecutive win.

Best actress in a drama series

Sally Field, “Brothers and Sisters”

Mariska Hargitay, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”

January Jones, “Mad Men”

Anna Paquin, “True Blood”

Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

Positively fact: Jones didn’t earn a nomination last year, but the Hollywood Foreign Press must have warmed up to her portrayal of cold, isolated housewife, Betty Draper.

Best actor in a drama series

Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment”

Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”

Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”

Hugh Laurie, “House”

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, “The Tudors”

Positively fact: Hamm won in this same category at last year’s awards.

Comedy or musical

Best television series

“30 Rock” (NBC)

“Californication” (Showtime)

“Entourage” (HBO)

“The Office” (NBC)

“Weeds” (Showtime)

Positively fact: All of these shows have been nominated before, but none have ever won. Past winners include “Extras,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Desperate Housewives.”

Best actress

America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty”

Tina Fey, “30 Rock”

Debra Messing, “The Starter Wife”

Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds”

Positively fact: Fey won last year and could be on track to win two years in a row. Messing, who also was nominated last year for “The Starter Wife,” has never won in this category despite being nominated six times for “Will & Grace.”

Best actor

Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”

Steve Carell, “The Office”

Kevin Connolly, “Entourage”

David Duchovny, “Californication”

Tony Shalhoub, “Monk”

Positively fact: All of these actors have been nominated before, but Duchovny won last year.

Burn After Reading: Fresh off their Best Picture-winning No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers bring us this comedy with an all-star cast. Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand play foolish gym employees who try to extort a CIA agent (John Malkovich) after finding his top secret CD-ROM. Best Supporting Actress Tilda Swinton and George Clooney also star. Sept. 12

Righteous Kill: Robert De Niro and Al Pacino team up for the first time since 1995’s Heat to play NYC detectives searching for a serial killer. De Niro and Pacino are reason alone enough to go. Sept. 12

Eagle Eye: Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan are being tracked by a stranger on their cell phones in a story conceived by Steven Spielberg that is pertinent in today’s technological times when everyone’s always within reach of a Blackberry or iPhone. Sept. 26

Rachel Getting Married: Anne Hathaway takes a departure from her chipper roles as a recovering drug addict and black sheep who’s attending her sister’s wedding. Oct. 3

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist: Michael Cera of Superbad and Juno and Kat Dennings of The 40 Year-Old Virgin play high schoolers who fall in love en route to a secret late-night concert in a realistic teen comedy. Oct. 3

Changeling: Clint Eastwood’s 1920s story of a woman (Angelina Jolie) whose young son disappears is already creating Oscar buzz for Jolie. Oct. 24

Quantum of Solace: The highly-anticipated “Bond” film picks up an hour after Casino Royale left off. Nov. 7

The Soloist: In this potential Oscar fare, Jamie Foxx plays a musical prodigy who ends up homeless and mentally ill on the streets of L.A. and is paired with Robert Downey Jr. as a journalist. Nov. 21

Milk: Sean Penn stars in this biopic of Harvey Milk who was the first gay man elected to political office. Directed by Gus Van Sant and also starring Emile Hirsch and James Franco. Nov. 26

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Brad Pitt ages backwards from age 80 to eight in this fantasy based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story. Also starring Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton. Dec. 25

Marley & Me: Dog lovers rejoice! Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star in the film adaptation of the beloved book about the “world’s worst dog.” Dec. 25

Revolutionary Road: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite for the first time since Titanic – only this time they’re not a love-struck couple. This is a story about what happens to a suburban-living married couple after they fall out of love. Dec. 26

As I already have a Netflix membership that is seriously underused, I have a hard time justifying the cost of going to see movies when they’re new to theaters.  That said, there are some movies that are must-sees, and “Pineapple Express,” the latest from the Judd Apatow family of frat-pack, gross-out films, is one of them.

Let’s start with the actors–stars James Franco and Seth Rogen first crassed up the screen together in Apatow’s cult TV series “Freaks and Geeks,” and Rogen has been a prominent player in Apatow’s rotating company of stoner oafs from the get-go (think “40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”). 

Rogen also doubles as one of the movie’s screenwriters; here, as in “Superbad,” Rogen’s touch is unmistakable–a healthy mix of stoner humor, the outrageous, and heart.

While Rogen’s capable turn as out-of-it underdog Dale doesn’t disappoint, it’s Franco’s turn as Dale’s drug dealer, Saul, that’s the real gem.  If you’ve only seen Franco in the “Spiderman” films, you are in for a treat–this is a character we haven’t seen Franco do before, and he goes for it with gusto.  After years of playing brooders and antiheroes, Franco seems to revel in the sheer fun of the film’s absurdity and disappears into the role.

It’s that complete dedication to the ridiculous nature of the movie that really makes this movie a must-see.  The plot leaves something to be desired in terms of plausibility, but dedication Rogen, Franco, Rosie Perez, Gary Cole and the rest of the cast to the absurd world of the movie elevate it to pure enjoyment and let you suspend your disbelief.

And yes, it’s funny, too.

In short: any faults the movie may have are made up for by the quality of the jokes.  “Pineapple Express” is well worth seeing now, and again later, via Netflix.

Here’s five things you probably don’t know but should:

1. “I’m not gonna write you a love song caused you asked me to.” – But she did. The context of the hit single, “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles was that her label (Epic) actually asked her to write a “marketable love song” for her album.

2. Congratulations, it’s twins! – Actors James Franco (Pineapple Express) and Hayden Christensen (Jumper) share the same birthday, that of April 19th. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’ve noticed that they also share the same nose, mouth, and eyes…(whoa, that’s a lot of gorgeous).

3. All in the Family – Actor Nicholas Cage is the nephew of great Hollywood Producer Francis Ford Coppola (Lost in Translation), and he is also cousins with “Office” actor Jason Schwartzman.

4. More Birthday Madness – Get ready for this – Will Smith, Heather Locklear, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michael Douglas were all born on September 25.

5. “Gossip Girl” co-stars Blake Lively and Penn Badgley have known each other since they were ages 11 and 12.