“When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other, that God exists, and not only does He exist, you’re doing His will.”
-Kill Bill Volume 1

Nicky: You have really kind eyes, you know that?
Andy Stitzer: Thanks. Umm… your hat has sequins.
-The 40 Year Old Virgin

Kyle: Michael Bay gets to keep making movies and Cartman gets his own theme park; there is no God.
-South Park

Airport Lot Attendant: There’s a minimum charge of 4 dollars, long term parking charges by the day.
Carl Showalter: I guess you think you’re… you know like an authority figure, with that stupid fuckin’ uniform, huh buddy? King clip-on-tie there, big fuckin’ man huh? You know these are the limits of your life, man. The rule of your little fuckin’ gate here. Here’s your 4 dollars, you pathetic piece of shit.
-Fargo

Surprise surprise. No Country for Old Men took home this year’s best picture statue. It also won for Joel/Ethan Coen’s outstanding directing (finally), adapted screenplay, and brilliant Javier Bardem. And of course, Daniel Day-Lewis won for There Will Be Blood. He truly does drink your milkshake. Honestly if he didn’t win, I’d swear off the Academy for good.
There Will Be Blood was my favorite film of the year and although I’m a little disappointed it lost, I know it won’t be forgotten come 20-30 years from now. Still, I’m glad No Country won as well. This was the award the Coen Brothers should’ve gotten for Fargo and should’ve been nominated for The Big Lebowski.
Each best picture nominee got at least one award. Michael Clayton‘s Tilda Swinton won for her menacing corporation head. She was fantastic, but Blanchett was better as Bob Dylan. Nearly forgotten Atonement got a best score win while Juno won for best original screenplay. Accepting the award was Diablo Cody, who came dressed as Fred Flinstone.
Ratatouille scored another win for Pixar. It still haunts me that Surfs Up was chosen in that category over The Simpsons Movie. Marion Cotilard won best actress. Haven’t seen the movie she was in and don’t really want to. All I know is that Ellen Page deserved that trophy. She’s young, she’ll win sometime hopefully. Same goes to Paul Thomas Anderson. A Kubrick for this generation, the mastermind was shut out for his sweeping masterpiece. Oh well, Orson Welles lost for Citizen Kane. Yep, I just compared Blood to Kane because its just that good. Hopefully, this was just a preview for more greatness to come from him.
The surprise appearance by Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill was hilarious enough to make up for the fact that Knocked Up and Superbad were totally shut out and Norbit got a nod instead. As for the host himself, Stewart, another fine job. He managed to keep things fun for the 3 hour ceremony. His joke that Cate Blanchett was a dog in No Country was sheer genius, as was his salute to binoculars.
Congrats to the Coen Brothers for finally winning. Daniel and Javier, you deserved it, and P.T. Anderson will be called up one day soon. Let’s pray for a good ceremony next year and a good winner as well. Maybe a few less accents would help, too. Mostly, please get Judd Apatow’s name on the ballot for once.

My question to you: Will No Country For Old Men hold up and become a classic? My answer: yes. But I think this will be a French Connection-Clockwork Orange scenario: the former was deserving and soon became a classic but the latter would one day become a timeless and forever discussed masterwork. No Country will be like French and Blood will be like Clockwork

Llewelyn Moss: If I don’t come back, tell mother I love her.
Carla Jean Moss: Your mother’s dead, Llewelyn.
Llewelyn Moss: Well then I’ll tell her myself.
-No Country For Old Men

Plainview: Did you think your song and dance and your superstition would help you, Eli? I am the Third Revelation! I am who the Lord has chosen!
-There Will Be Blood

I remember going into see Juno at the begginning of December when it was mostly unknown and playing in limited release. Critics praised the film and urged people to stray away from tyical studio films and rush directly into this one. Now, Juno plays nationwide, is nominated for four oscars, and has made over $100 million. Suddenly it’s faced a giant backlash. People who stood by its side and other detractors are suddenly standing up and pointing out the film’s every flaw: it’s a phony, it’s unoriginal, it’s unrealistic, it’s not funny, and the list goes on. Despite all the criticism, I still stand by the film’s side and refuse to remove it from my top 10 movies of the year.
There’s an axiom that an independent film is only good until its discovered. That seems to be the case for Juno. I was lucky enough to see it before it had been discovered. As the credits roled, there was not a dry eye in the audience nor a single person who hadn’t gotten up and joined in the standing ovation the crowded theatre gave it. This was before the hype built up and the expectations so little. That’s why it seems most people who went to go see it now felt dissapointed, as if they were expecting the greatest movie ever made. My question is, do you really think they were trying to make the greatest film ever made? Would you be as dissapointed walking out of Norbit because it wasn’t the greatest film ever made? You probably weren’t expecting it to be (and you better not think so). So if you haven’t seen Juno yet, go in with no expectations and prepare to be surprised.
Now, let’s move on to the criticism. Some range from just matter of opinion, questioning if its really that funny or realistic. Some though are just plain ridiculous. On one website, a critic complained about the fact that Juno chugs a pitcher of Sunny D for her pregnancy test at the beggining of the film. He wonders, why Sunny D? Why couldn’t she just drink water. My question: what is the problem with drinking Sunny D? She couldv’e drank anything but I guess she liked that drink. Faulting the film at that is just sad and ridiculous. But the most serious criticism is the film’s dialogue. People are scorning it, saying that it’s “too hip”? Would you prefer the characters speak in 18th century British accents? I found the dialogue original and hilarious. To say that its not the way kids speak nowadays is not only cruel but hypocritical. Those people who accuse the film of this are adults. What do they now of how kids speak nowadays. It’s up to us kids to decide whether the dialouge is how we speak. My answer: yes. If you want a more realistic way of how teens talk nowadays, Juno would’ve face an R rating and an overload of “that’s what she said” jokes.
No matter what detractors say, I still love Juno as much as I did the day I first saw it. You may not be able to take down No Country at the Oscars, but Juno, you’re a firm reminder of the power of independent film, a subtle and hilarious comedy, and worthy of being mentioned in the Best Picture race. Continue to spread your charm and show what effect a great comedy can have.

Frank Costello: When you decide to be something, you can be it. That’s what they don’t tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I’m saying to you is this: when you’re facing a loaded gun, what’s the difference?
-The Departed

Corporations have dominated America. And one day, they’ll probably end up destroying it. That’s what’s already happening as seen through the eyes of Michael Clayton, a brilliant legal thriller with so of the most haunted heroes and evil villains in years. And the scariest part, its all real.
Michael Clayton (Clooney) is a “fixer” (or as one character puts it, a “janitor”) for big corporations, cleaning up the messes they leave behind and trying to attain their good image. Fellow corporate lawyer Alex (excellent Tom Wilkinson) feels a battle of conscience with his profession after discovering a deadly secret about the corporation he has defended for years and begins to snap. Is he mad, or trying to say something important? Only Michael seems to understand the true nature of his craziness, and at stake is the good name of a major chemical company and the lives of over 400 people. The brilliance of the film is that its a thriller, but not to overstated. It’s resembles the great political thrillers of the 70s like The French Connection and All the President’s Men who let you get to know the characters for a while and understand how their minds work and then jolt you up with random intense violence and thrills. A film like this hopefully make Americans more aware of what happens behind the scenes of big corporate America and big fancy law firms every day.
Tony Gilroy’s directing give the film a tight, tense look and his writing is filled with memorable lines (“Does it look like I’m Negotiating?”). The decision to make it travel back in time and back to the future immerse the audience in the story. But, the ensemble cast is truly winning here. Wilkinson is convincing as a man loosing his mind and Tilda Swintion is quietly creepy as the evil head of the chemical company. But Clooney is truly brilliant. His performance helps him escape the dreaded pretty-boy reputation. It’s those sad sorry eyes and ambivalent smile in the final scene that so brilliantly show a man finally understanding the atrocities he’s unwittingly defended for years for millions of dollars and the feeling of freedom finally gripping him.

Juno MacGuff: Nah… I mean, I’m already pregnant, so what other kind of shenanigans could I get into?
-Juno