Did I really only update twice in the past month? Huh.

Anyway, it's November, and I wanted to update my fall movie to-see list. It's officially Oscarbait season, which means we'll get a lot of treacly schlock mixed with legitimately good movies.

I want to be psyched. I want to look at the fall movie preview and get excited and schedule viewing dates, meeting up with friends and arguing over what to see.

But really? There are only three movies I care at all about seeing this fall: Precious, The Princess and the Frog and New Moon. Only two of those I expect to be *good* movies; New Moon is purely for the LOLZ. I *was* excited to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but Terry Gilliam is dead to me for signing the Free Polanski petition and I don't want to support him financially. (This REALLY irks me because one of my Monty Python DVDs is missing and now I can't replace it!)

I don't know - am I missing something? What good movies are coming out this year?

Oh, and fox1013 alerted me to this.

Filmmakers, why are you trying to destroy our childhood? First you gave Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs a plot, then you gave the Wild Things all these Adult Issues and Angst, and now you're making the Berenstain Bears interact with PEOPLE?!

Where the Wild Things Are was an issue of adults dumping all their issues on a story and projecting their problems through someone else's characters. It made a children's book into a Movie For Adults ABOUT Childhood...wow, deep. I swear, sometimes I really love autism, because I saw that film with my brothers and the best part about it was watching Daniel crack up laughing during the movie's biggest "emotional" scenes.

But now? Now the Berenstain Bears will be a ZANY comedy about bears meeting people...except the entire point is that they live in a society of ONLY BEARS.

Some children's books just aren't meant to be movies, darnit. A kid's book/YA book that WOULD make a good movie? The Westing Game. But nowadays I don't trust anyone to do it right.

I live in the city and don't have much money. One of my goals this year was to take advantage of the many fun free events the city has to offer. That hasn't always worked out, since this year, the rain, it raineth every day. (Although next week looks like it's only raining every other day!) But now there are a ton of summer movies coming out that are making me squee.

500 Days of Summer - saw it, loved it. They used my favorite Regina Spektor song over the opening sequence, and that in of itself is a good sign.

Julie and Julia - It's all about the food porn. And Meryl Streep.

Adam - Love story about a man with Asperger's syndrome and his neighbor. Hits a lot of things I find interesting, and it looks like a film where the character with the disability is treated with dignity.

Paper Heart - Michael Cera playing yet another version of George Michael Bluth after being such a whiny stick-in-the-mud about the Arrested Development movie, and it also has Seth Rogen who I'm getting sick of, but Charlyne Yi is adorable and the premise is right up my alley.

Taking Woodstock - Something to do with Woodstock and a hotel, I don't really care, because the five names listed in the trailer were Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Eugene Levy, Emile Hirsch, and Liev Schreiber! I LOVE ALL OF THEM!

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS! - I am Tarantino's bitch and my butt will be in the seat...not on opening night, because I'll be at camp, but very soon afterwards!

Oh, and I still have not seen Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It's one of those movies I feel obligated to see but I don't actually *want* to see it. Forget the changes from the book to the movie, those are going to happen, but the first four movies are just exercises in shoddy filmmaking for me. The fifth is the only one that made Hermione cool without going over board with the GRRRL POWERRRRR and gave Ron some dignity and relevance, and I've still only seen it once because, well, I just don't think they're very good movies. But I will feel WRONG if I DON'T see it in the theater. *pout*

I NEED TITLES!

I need suggestions for books and movies about goal-setting; the main character should have a goal, should achieve his/her goal, but not without a lot of hard work and smart thinking. They can be non-fiction or fiction, though I would prefer fiction, and the characters should be teenagers, as I'm looking for texts to use for a unit at work.

There's one week until the Oscars. I want to be excited for it, because by next Sunday, I will have seen all 5 nominees in the Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress categories. All I'm missing right now are Frozen River, Changeling, and The Reader, which I'm saving for last because it's got my girl in it. I'll have plenty of time to catch up since this is the NYC mid-winter break (WOOO!)

Anyway, I'm quite proud of myself for catching up and going in as an informed viewer, because I'm a geek about the ceremony and it's more fun if I've seen everything. But as for the nominees themselves, I'm not very excited about them. I think last year's movies kicked this year's movies' ASSES. No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood were two of the best movies of the DECADE, as far as I'm concerned, and even though I had issues with all three of these, I still think Atonement, Juno, and Michael Clayton were more interesting than this year's crop.

Take in point, Slumdog Millionaire, the movie everyone but swsa ADORES. Me? I liked it. I didn't love it. I thought it was great as a coming-of-age story, but then it shifted gears into a pretty formulaic love story that I just didn't buy, and I was quite confused. I was disappointed. And the thing is, I *still* think it deserves Best Picture in comparison to the other movies nominated for Best Picture. I liked Milk, Benjamin Button, and Frost/Nixon just fine, and they were pretty good and accomplished movies, but I wouldn't call any of them *great* films by any means.

Now, *my* pics for the 5 best films (that I saw) are The Wrestler, The Visitor, Happy-Go-Lucky, Let the Right One In, and Wall-E. Four of those had just about *zero* chance of getting in, but I was so hoping that the last one would transcend the Animated Feature category.

For the other categories, these are my hopes & predictions:

Best Actor - This one is so hard. I kind of want a three-way tie between Rourke, Langella, and Jenkins, all SO so good. I think (and hope) this is Rourke's year, though.

Best Actress - Kate. Haven't seen it yet, but I don't care. I'm rooting for her because she's awesome.

Best Supporting Actress - You know, I was never impressed with Penelope Cruz before, but I thought she was pretty damn impressive in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. That said, I'd rather see it go to Marisa Tomei.

Best Supporting Actor - Please. There's no sense even predicting this one. It's Ledger's year. And while I do think he's deserving, I so deeply wish that he and Robert Downey Jr. could split it with a tie.

When SAG nominations and critic's picks started coming out, I felt annoyed by the snubbing of Revolutionary Road. It has Kate and Leo, and I thought that having the picture nominated would increase Kate's chances of finally winning an Oscar.

As it turns out, the critics have very good reasons to overlook this movie.

( Revolutionary Road, with mentions of American Beauty and Little Children )

1) The winner of the bracketology poll of great female characters was, unsurprisingly,

Buffy Summers

. She had to beat a lot of other worthy contenders to get there. I can hardly think of another more deserving, as she has touched so many of our lives.

2) I finished my Austen reread with ( Persuasion )

3) It's Oscar-bait season, and therefore a poll is in order.
Poll #1321416 Oscar bait
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14

I plan to see/have seen these *verry serrious* Oscar-bait movies or Oscar-bait performances:

Philip Seymour Hoffman is determined to be in every film ever made from now on. Agree/disagree?

Most awesome surprise nomination?

Real-life holiday update coming soon.

Now that Twilight is the BIGGEST THING EVER, to the point where the movie opening November 21st has been advertised all over the place SINCE MAY, I am caught between two worlds.

A part of me is completely disgusted and sick of sparkly vampires and resenting that writers think their stupid vampire stories can ever compete with Buffy. I'm also annoyed because, from what I hear even from the books' FANS, the writing is not actually good at all. I mean, there are a lot of diehard Harry Potter fans, myself included, who don't try to pretend that she's the best children's author ever, but she's still good! Despite her abuse of adverbs, she's quite clever and engaging. Twilight fans - the ones I hear from, anyway - say that Stephanie Meyer's writing is worse than Anne Rice's.

On the other hand, I like being in the know. A lot of my students like these books and I feel like I should stay on top of that stuff. And when something is popular, I like knowing what it's about. I don't like feeling left out! The only exception to the rule is reality TV; I have no problem being completely in the dark about sleazy reality TV people, the only exception to THAT exception being Top Chef because I like seeing the recipes people create. ANYway, I like knowing what is up.

To read Twilight or not to read Twilight? I can't decide.

ALSO, I am super mad at Stephanie Meyer for naming her main character Bella. Bella was GOING to be the name of my main character of my NaNoWriMo book. I changed her name to Annabelle because I didn't want to look like I was copying. Stupid Stephanie Meyer.

In other news, I have not abandoned my newest bracketology poll. I'm getting so many nominations that I think I'm going to do a DOUBLE bracketology contest and start with 128...unless that's somehow mathematically impossible. Anyway, name some more people.

Also, I am drinking beer while writing this post. This makes me happy. I never used to like beer. Now, I suddenly do. This is a good thing. Now when I go out for a drink with friends after work at some pub, no one will look at me strangely when I try to order a White Russian. I still love those, but not at every bar.

I have only one thing to say about WALL-E...

Spoiler alert: The robot falls in love!

Okay, people. I wanted to start the Movie Musical Bracketology today, but I'm short a few nominees! I don't have 64!

( Look here to see what I have so far )

So give me a few more.

In addition, I need help dividing things into four different categories. I'm thinking something like Classic Musicals, Irreverent Musicals, Sad-Ending Musicals, Rock Musicals...except I don't know what should apply to what category. So I need some help, especially since I haven't seen all of these. Leave category suggestions as well, please, since some of these I haven't seen.

ETA: Okay, people, I'm seriously thinking that someone else should take up this banner and do the bracketology in her journal, because I have not seen more than half of these and I am embarrassed. Like, I now have 64, and I've only seen 24 of these. I should not be in charge of this thing.

Okay, so a lot of us are disappointed by the Oscar nominations. swsa didn't get her Angie nomination, jheaton didn't get his preferred documentary in, and I had to endure seeing The Simpsons Movie passed over for that piece o' crap Surf's Up. *seethes* But, let's not dillydally and stay depressed over the Academy's stupid choices. Let's celebrate favorite movies of a genre with a brand-new bracketology!

Bracketology Returns: THE MOVIE MUSICAL

RULES AND REGULATIONS:
- The movie has to have characters that sing, that randomly burst into song. Such is the world of the musical.

- They may either be musicals written exclusively for the screen, or stage musicals that were adapted into films.

- No Wizard of Oz. I adore it, but it went straight to the top for the Kid Movie poll, and what's the point of doing this if it will yield the exact same result?

- Made-for-TV-movie musicals count. Musical episodes of TV shows do not count.

- Disney animated musicals are allowed, but try to vote for other things first just so this isn't a complete retread of the Kid Movie poll.

My nominees:
Hairspray (2007)
Moulin Rouge!
South Pacific
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

Nominate away!

Poll #1124455 Three of a Kind
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14

Best unplanned-pregnancy movie of the year?

I will refrain from voting until I have seen the last item on the list, probably tonight or tomorrow.

Jerry Falwell is dead. Is it wrong that when I saw that, my very first thought was "YAY!"

Anyway, the final round of the Most Awesome Kids Movie of All Time was yesterday. The competition is over. The winner is...drumroll please...

THE WIZARD OF OZ

This was my pick as the big winner from the very beginning. Some of you had me worried for a minute, but then it started winning big and I began to relax. I am glad the most enduring classic is the movie that won. Honorable mention goes to The Princess Bride, which wouldn't make my personal top 4, but I do recognize its inherent Awesomeness and congratulate it for almost winning.

And check it out - How I Met Your Mother was renewed for a third season! *Three* good things happen in one day!

Since my Kid Awesome throwdown is commencing as we speak and the battle will soon be over, I'd like to pimp out blixie's livejournal, for she is holding a Bad Awesome competition. Vote for your best bad movies ever.

But since we're on the subject, I felt the need to show clips of my favorite Bad Movie ever. I didn't nominate it in the competition because I'm fairly certain I'm the only one who's seen it. It's called Sinbad of the Seven Seas and it is GLORIOUSLY awful.

The Trailer:


A Sneak Peak at one of the most "Exciting" Scenes!"

Welcome to Thunderdome

Two Movies Enter. One Movie Leaves.

Here it is, folks - the Final Two. Thank you all for playing and cast your vote for the Most Awesome Kids Movie of All Time. Choose carefully.

Poll #984432 Final Round
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 27

The Final Two

*bites fingernails*

( The results of Round 4 )

The Final Four

We're down to the bare bones, people. Only one more round to go after this one.

Poll #982206 Final Four
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 30

Muppets vs. Lions, Tigers, and Bears

Wimpy Liesl vs. Wimpy Buttercup

While we wait for everyone to respond to the Top 8 poll, I'm putting up another YouTube post: movies that should've gone farther, but didn't.

My excuse for doing this? Well, why not?

( Favorites That Didn't Make It )

That's all for now - I couldn't find decent clips for some of my other favorites, like my beloved Babe.

Round 4 of the Most Awesome Kid Movie Ever

It's baaaack. All your choices for the top 8 movies are now pitted against each other to battle to the top four. Choose wisely, my friends, or you will be haunted for the rest of your lives.

The last two battles are easy choices for me. Battle #2 is haaaard, but still with an obvious answer. Battle #1? Well, this just proves that I'm not playing favorites because I never wanted to choose between those two. Too hard. So hard, in fact, that I won't vote in that round and just see what the masses have to say. Lord help me if it ends up in a tie.

ETA: Never mind. I have to vote so one doesn't get completely trounced by the other. I thought for sure this would be a close race.

Poll #981529 Elite Eight
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28

Part of Your World vs. Rainbow Connection

Tale as old as time vs. Tale even older than, er, the tale as old as time

Glass slippers vs. Von Trapp family singers

Pirate ship vs. Time machine

Before we start voting for the top 8 kids movies tomorrow, I thought I'd follow mmaresca's and swsa's lead and show clips from each film.

( Behind lies 8 clips chock full of Kid Awesome )

Round 3 voting is complete!

( Moving onto the Elite Eight )

Round 4 is coming up. I'm not posting a poll yet because I want to post clips of those eight movies first, and I can't do that from my computer at work. Stay tuned for the final three rounds of voting!

Round 2 voting is over!

( The results of Round 2 )

Round 3 - The Sweet Sixteen

You've chosen the top 25% of your favorite kid movies. And now this is where the competition gets tricky. Your favorites might be competing against each other to nab a spot in the Elite Eight. Choose wisely, my friends.

Several of these are heartbreaking for me. And I apologize in advance to swsa for Battle #4.

Poll #980215 Round 3 - The Sweet Sixteen
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 33

The Little Mermaid vs. Toy Story 2

The Lion King vs. The Muppet Movie

Beauty and the Beast vs. E.T.

The Wizard of Oz vs. Mary Poppins

Cinderella vs. The Incredibles

The Sound of Music vs. The Parent Trap

The Princess Bride vs. The Great Muppet Caper

Back to the Future vs. Aladdin