I skipped my French lab today, but I think it was the right decision. I applied for three more internships, and wrote another two pages of my SIP, so I think it was time well spent. It was more beneficial for me, anyway.

In honor of the French that I was not appreciating, I watched this:


I think I learned more French in one segment of Flight of the Conchords than I would in lab.

In honor of the self-congratulatory spirit of the Oscars this year, I'm writing myself a self-congratulatory post. I should really bet money on the Oscars! I only got Costumes and Documentary wrong. I am a powerhouse.

I'm totally posting this before they announce best picture. This was maybe the most boring Oscars ever. It was certainly the most masturbatory, what with this ridiculous theme of 'congratulations to us for congratulating ourselves for 80 years!' they have going on tonight.

Predictions for Oscar - I have some.


Best Picture: No Country For Old Men
Director: The Coen Brothers (No Country For Old Men)
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Actress: I really want to say Julie Christie, but Marion Cotillard will win this.
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton
Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody (Juno) And when she wins, a little piece of my heart will die.
Adapted Screenplay: There Will Be Blood Diving Bell and the Butterfly could easily win this category, or No Country For Old Men if they're feeling the Cormac McCarthy love especially strongly.
Cinematography: There Will Be Blood
Art Direction: Sweeney Todd Or maybe Atonement?
Costumes: Atonement The green dress cinched this months ago.
Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum I suppose this could go to No Country For Old Men, but I'm betting on the Academy being tired of giving them Oscars after they probably didn't 'get' the ending.
Score: Atonement
Special Effects: The Golden Compass
Foreign: Austria - Counterfeiters
Song: Falling Slowly - Once
Make-up: La Vien En Rose
Sound Mixing: The Bourne Ultimatum
Animated: Ratatouille
Documentary: No End In Sight

I'm not even going to bother with the shorts...I've seen them all, but honestly, I have no idea what the Academy looks for in those categories. I think half the voters just do 'eeny-meeny-miny-mo' to choose.
I look forward to being [mostly] right tonight.

So, it turns out that there are a lot of people who think Diablo Cody and her script are ridiculous:

Timothy Brayton writes just the sort of movie reviews that I like to read:

"I went to see Jumper with a female friend, who wanted to go because Hayden Christensen is pretty. I wanted to go because Rachel Bilson is pretty. Our post-film analysis concluded that because Jamie Bell is so pretty now, it makes watching him as a 13-year-old in Billy Elliot kind of awkward."

I sort of feel that way every time I see Jamie Bell now that he's all grown up.
You can read the rest of his review here.

This is HORRIBLE:

A woman goes into her local hospital for routine minor surgery to remove a tiny lesion on her labia. But just before the anaesthetic is administered, her doctor leans over her - out of earshot of the operating theatre staff.
“I’m going to take your clitoris too,” he whispers

And that's not all! He's removed sexual organs for no reason, ignored cancer growing inside of a woman's cervix, and in 1996 he withheld antibiotics from a dying mother. She eventually died. You'd sort of think that after doing all this, he'd be in jail or something...wrong! Nothing has happened to him, and no action has been taken against him. How Australia, how??? You're breaking my heart here.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

Maybe this makes me horribly biased, but I love the idea of this movie because it reminds me so much of 'Bröderna Lejonhjärta,' one of my favorite movies as a child.

I LOVE that the soundtrack is composed mostly of Joy Division.

Patrick Fugit is perfection. Why is he not in more?

Everytime I see Shannyn Sossamon, I wonder how many good movies she'll have to make before I forget about how abysmal she was in 'A Knight's Tale.' I didn't see 'One Missed Call,' but I'm guessing that pushed her back a bit.

Tom Waits? Hell to the yes! Figures that he'd do miracles and crap...Tom Waits = Magic. It's that simple.

It's really too bad that this film floated around in its own limbo for so long...it definitely deserved far more fanfare than it received.

The dialog is fantastic:
"I'm not going out tonight. It just makes me depressed."
"So, what you gonna do? Kill yourself?"

OMG WILL ARNETT!

'Gloomy Sunday' in the soundtrack? Je l'aime!

I wish all romantic comedies were this original, beautiful, and entertaining.





Unrelated:
According to IMDB, there's an Arrested Development movie coming out in 2009...IS THIS TRUE???
Edit: There is indeed a movie in the works, I found a yahoo article about it. I feel almost overwhelmingly happy now!

Valentine's Day has a soundtrack.

Lovefool - The Cardigans
My Love - Justin Timberlake
Love Stinks - The J. Geils Band
Fiona - The Low Life
What I'm Trying To Say - Stars
Digital Love - Daft Punk
Crazy Love, Vol. II - Paul Simon
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths
I'm Your Man - Leonard Cohen
All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Love Is Only A Feeling - The Darkness
Still In Love Song - The Stills
I Want You - Fiona Apple & Elvis Costello
I Know It's Over - The Smiths
I Want Your Love - The Chromatics
I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton
Love - Building On Fire - Talking Heads
The Origin of Love - John Cameron Mitchell
I'm The Man Who Loves You - Wilco
Prove My Love - Violent Femmes
Crown of Love - Arcade Fire
Fistful of Love - Antony and the Johnsons (f. Lou Reed)

Elderly Hero of the Week: Diana Athill, British literary editor, novelist, and memoirist

"Any time anyone fell in love with me, it was very funny -- I used to instantly despise them. I felt like Groucho Marx saying he wouldn't want to join a club that would have him."

"I was lacking for most of my life in maternal instinct, but there was a short time when I got pregnant and wanted to have the baby. But I was amazed by how quickly I recovered from not having it. I was quite sad, but not unduly sad and I've thought about it very little since. I feel a little bit ashamed of that."

via 'Men? Oh gosh, there a lot of them...confessions of a promiscuous 90-year-old woman'

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, so I thought I'd honor it with some of the truly terrible pick-up lines that I've heard:

Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes.

Are you free tonight, or will it cost me?

If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put 'U' and 'I' together.

Ya know what would look good on you? Me.

Hey babe, wanna get lucky?

You must be a hell of a thief, because you just stole my heart from across the room.

Was your father a thief? Someone stole the stars and hung them in your eyes.

Did you wash your pants in Windex? I can really see myself in them.

I'd like to name a multiple orgasm after you.

I'd like to swap bodily fluids with you.

Keep it classy, folks. Happy V-Day.

Kids - they can be so cruel, and sometimes, so right.

"Since you really have no chance at winning the Academy Award, do you still have fun being nominated?"
Well said, well said.

I especially love the part at the end where Jason Reitman stomps off.

Where do they find the fans for these segments, and do they give them ecstasy prior to taping? How hard did they have to work to find a roomful of people whose reaction to this was anything better than "Huh...eh"? It's a mystery to me.

This really requires no explanation. LOVE Sarah Silverman.