Red Rock Canyon

I stayed in Las Vegas last weekend for work.  Rather than lose (more) money in the casinos, I opted to enjoy some of nature's majesty.  I went to Red Rock Canyon.  Click the link below to see my pictures.

Pictures from Red Rock Canyon

Oscar Predictions

It's time for the Oscars. Here are my thoughts on the main categories. I'll give the nominees, my prediction, and my personal pick.

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Prediction: No Country for Old Men. This has generally been considered the front runner, and it is well deserving. The Coen Bros. adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel is a perfect blend of author and filmmakers. I've been a fan for many years so it would be thrilling to see the Coen's have a big night at the Oscars.

Personal pick: There Will Be Blood. As big a fan as I am of the Coen's and No Country, I still think this sprawling epic from director Paul Thomas Anderson was the better movie. I was fascinated from the first frame with the exquisite camera work and brilliant score from Jonny Greenwood. It's actually exciting to have two such dark and fascinating movies in the running for best picture.

Best Actor
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeny Todd
Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis. I think this has to be the most "sure thing" along with the supporting actor category. Day-Lewis dominates as a oil tycoon who gains wealth and power while losing his humanity. It's a stunning performance and though still relatively unseen by the masses has spawned some catch phrases.

Personal pick: Daniel Day-Lewis. For full disclosure, Viggo Mortensen is the only other nominee I've seen to this point, but Day-Lewis's performance is really one for the ages.

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney - The Savages
Ellen Page - Juno

Prediction: Julie Christie. It has been 42 years since Christie won Best Actress for Darling. She's won several critics awards and she's given many fine performances in her career. The biggest marks against her is that the film was not widely seen and she hasn't done much to campaign for the award. I still think her long career will push her up to the podium.

Personal pick: Laura Linney. This is another category where I've not seen many nominees, only Ellen Page actually. Page was cute, but really Juno overall is a little too cute. Cotillard is probably the strongest contender outside Christie, but she does star in a foreign film which has been historically difficult for acting awards. I'm a Linney and Blanchett fan. They are always worth watching. Blanchett has won before, and Linney has been snubbed too many times so my sentimental vote goes to Laura Linney.

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck - Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Prediction: Javier Bardem. This one has to be considered a lock. Bardem has dominated all other year end awards. His turn as Anton Chigurh, the unstoppable force of evil in No Country, is a stunner.

Personal pick: Javier Bardem. That's my call, friendo.

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Saorise Ronan - Atonement
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Prediction: Amy Ryan. This category usually ends up with a surprise win. That may not happen this year, but I think it is a three way toss-up between Ryan, Blanchett, and Swinton. The Academy loves Blanchett (see multiple nominations), but her movie was little seen. Ryan throws down a perfect Boston accent. Is Swinton, Hollywood enough? As for the others, Dee has too little screen time and Ronan is too young.

Personal pick: Cate Blanchett. She is always good, and she does Bob Dylan. But do we need to see her win for doing an impersonation again (The Aviator). She is capable of so much more.

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Ethan & Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman - Juno
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Prediction: Ethan & Joel Coen. Like Best Picture I'll be happy with a Coen Bros. win or Anderson. I've been a fan of both for years now. The Coen's won the DGA award and that is a very good predictor from year's past.

Personal pick: The Coen's and Anderson. Yes, I'm cheating and calling a tie. Anderson made the best movie of his career so far. The Coen Bros. have thrilled and entertained me for years. They should have more than a screenplay Oscar (Fargo) at this point anyway.

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody - Juno
Nancy Oliver - Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy - Michael Gilroy
Brad Bird - Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins - The Savages

Prediction: Diablo Cody. I think the former stripper will win because Hollywood likes to think it is young, hip, and makes a great story. My fear is that now we'll be getting copy cat movies that drowned us in pseudo-hip. Sure the movie has a distinctive flavor, but it is also too cute, too "wink-wink" hip, and too lightweight.

Personal pick: Brad Bird. Yes, I'll go with the animated movie. Come on, he made a rat who cooks entertaining, funny, and worthy of our compassion.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton - Atonement
Sarah Polley - Away From Her
Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Joel & Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men

Prediction: Joel & Ethan Coen. As mentioned before, I think this was a perfect match between author and filmmakers. The Coen Bros. have always had an great feel for dark stories. Their adaptation is very faithful, and although I love the Coen's original stuff, I'd like to see them take a crack at another McCarthy novel.

Personal pick: Joel & Ethan Coen. Yes, There Will Be Blood was my favorite film of 2007, but I've never read Oil! the story on which it was based. I have read No Country for Old Men. Loved the book, love the movie. It is one of the rare occasions where the movie is up to the challenge and matches the effectiveness of the book.

Best Animated Film
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Prediction: Ratatouille. Pixar dominates this category as well it should. They always make quality product, and when Brad Bird is involved (The Incredibles) it is top notch.

Personal pick: Ratatouille. I've seen it a couple of times now. It's just a solid movie. I did enjoy Persepolis which has a great animation style, but Ratatouille really is more entertaining. Surf's Up just looked like a Disney reject, and I'm shocked it beat out The Simpson's Movie for the last nomination.

And to end with some quick predictions in some other categories:

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins is nominated for No Country and Jesse James, but that means votes may be split so I predict Robert Elswit will win for the beautiful There Will Be Blood. I actually hope Deakins wins for one of them as he has never won, and I think he is the best cinematographer working today.

Best Film Editing: This one is made interesting by the name Roderick Jaynes (my prediction). Jaynes is not a real person. It's the pseudonym for the Coen Bros. who edit their films. With this, they are actually personally nominated for 4 Oscars giving them the chance to make some history if they win them all. Christoper Rouse is nominated for The Bourne Ultimatum, and although I like the Bourne movies, I'd rather not see it win an editing award. My pick would go to Dylan Tichneor for There Will Be Blood.

Best Original Score: Jonny Greenwood for There Will Be Blood was robbed by ridiculous Oscar rules and therefore this category does not matter. No other score this year came close to this one.

Best Original Song: Normally I wouldn't even mention this category as it has a history of craptastic nominees. However, this year the film Once is nominated with the beautiful and touching "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. It was one of my favorite movies of the year and included several songs good enough to fit in this category. Hopefully the three Enchanted songs will cancel each other.

Best Documentary Feature: I normally see more of these, but I feel confident having only seen No End in Sight that it should take the prize. I think everyone should see this movie on how the Iraq invasion went wrong. It effects our present and future.

Best Art Direction: Sweeny Todd
Best Costume Design: Atonement
Best Makeup: La Vie en Rose
Best Visual Effects: Transformers. Giant robots fighting look COOL.
Best Sound Mixing: Transformers. Loud usually equals win.
Best Sound Editing: Transformers. For the past 40 years the sound mixing winner gets Sound Editing too. Could Transformers get 3 Oscars?

SXSW Preview, Part III

The official lineup was announced.  Thanks to The Austinist for providing us updates.

Citay (San Francisco, CA) - I was first turned on to this west coast band from today's KEXP Song of the Day podcast.  I listen to this podcast each day in hopes of finding something new and good.  I think I might have found that in Citay.  Their easy going rhythms and almost background-like vocals make the music sound almost completely instrumental and progressive, but not a "jam band" kind of way.  They are self-described as "Happy Hardcore/German Pop/Soul".  I am not sure if that is a joke, but whatever their music is, I like it.  I recommend Little Kingdom and Seasons Don't Fear the Year.  I am pretty sure that I want to see this band at SXSW.

Our Lunar Activities (Stornoway, UK) - I think I'll probably listen to any band that has some reference to the moon, sun, or animal in its name.  After listening to the UK band Our Lunar Activities, I question why I have such an odd selection process.  Their music reminds me of what bands like Snow Patrol have become.  This sort of Indie Pop is what will most likely become (or maybe already is) the next wave of popular music.  It's catchy and easy for the masses to like and adds a certain "feel good" quality.  Our Lunar Activities doesn't do anything special for me.  I'll probably skip their show.

Pterodactyl (Brooklyn, NY) - The word "Pterodactyl" is one of my favorite words.  And the band "Pterodactyl" would be one of my favorite bands if I found noise and screaming to be in any way pleasant.  

2007 Year in Review: Video Games

My game platform of choice is the XBox 360 so my favorite games of the year were all played on that system. In December I did play some games on the Nintendo DS, but none of those games could break into my top 5. All of these games were released in 2007.

5. Halo 3
I had not played any of the previous titles in this series where Master Chief battles a collection of alien races called The Covenant. Due to this, I wasn't invested in the storyline and working with the controls in the single combat mode took some time. However, the best part of the game is the versus mode. Battling a friend in the various maps is just a blast.

4. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
I had previously played both versions of this game (new trilogy and original trilogy), but I was glad to get this new game that combined all 6 movies into one. This allowed you to play any of the characters throughout the saga. The game is great for all ages.

3. Crackdown
This game proved to be a very original third person shooter combined with a super hero game with some Grand Theft Auto action to boot. You play as a super cop that becomes more powerful as the game proceeds. Throwing cars, jumping across rooftops, and using powerful guns adds to the fun as you battle the mobsters that have overrun the city. The open feel of the game kept it fresh and fun through the whole story, plus it has a good replay value.

2. Assassin's Creed
This trailer shows some of the greatness of this game. The game has stunning graphics, a great story, and addictive game play. You play as Altair, an assassin during the Crusades, who must go on mission to find information and take out city leaders. Besides the original story, the game also features climbing features that allows your character to climb most surfaces. The ending had me eagerly awaiting a sequel.

1. Bioshock
When I first bought a 360 back in 2006 it was specifically to get Gears of War which remains one of the best games I've ever played. In 2007, the release of Bioshock caught me by surprise and blew me away. After a plane crash, you find yourself in the underwater city called Rapture. It's an idealistic, art deco city that has gone horribly wrong. You must find your way through the city and encounter many wondrous and disturbing things. The story, graphics, game play, and music are all top notch. The twist in the story leads to a great ending that had me eager to replay it and awaiting a sequel. It would be very interesting to see if a movie could be made from this game.

The other games I played this year on the XBox 360:

• MLB 2K7
• Spider-Man 3
• The Orange Box
• The Simpson's Game

The other games I played this year on the Nintendo DS:

• Brain Age 2
• Drawn to Life
• The New Super Mario Bros.

SXSW Preview, Part II

In Part II of my SXSW preview, I review three new bands.

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis (London, UK) - I had to do a double take to make sure I read the name of the city that Kitty, Daisy & Lewis are from.  I don't need to get my eyes checked, they are from London.  But judging by the sound, you'd think cross between country and big band were at least from somewhere in the states.  The first two songs (Mean Son of a Gun and Ooo Wee) sound a bit like something your mom and dad might have heard when they met at the high school dance.  I hope I can find time to check them out.

The Spinto Band (Wilmington, DE) - I seem to remember a song by this band a couple of years back called Oh Mandy.  So you can imagine my surprise when I went to their site and found that this was being dubbed as their "new single".  I remembered this song quite well, but the thing is, I didn't find the other two songs (Direct to Helmet and Mountains) on their site to sound much like Oh Mandy.  Oh Mandy sounds pop-ish, but in a cool way (and yes, there is such a thing).  The other two songs sound alternative with good rhythms.  I like it and I'd like to see these guys play during the trip.

Jandek (Houston, TX) - There are times that you listen to something so completely different that you can't determine if it is genius or crap.  That is where I am with Jandek.  Though quite minimalistic and often times lacking in an identifiable rhythm, I could see where this is the type of band that might be cool live, but their studio album leaves something to be desired.  Unfortunately, I am not inspired enough to find out.  I'll probably skip this one.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (SXSW Band Previews)

It's that time of year again where SXSW is nye upon us.  I am going to attempt to survey the list of rumored bands over the next month or so in search of something (hopefully many things) to get excited about.  So, I'll give as many bands as I can, in a random pecking order, at least two (maybe more) listens to and give my thoughts on them and some qualitative rating on whether or not I think they are worthy of one hour of my four days in Austin.  And in case your wondering, established bands that are playing (i.e. My Morning Jacket, Breeders, Nada Surf, etc.) will not be reviewed.  This should be exploratory.

Bear Hands (Brooklyn, NY) - A Brooklyn band at SXSW?  Wait, isn't that what SXSW is made up of these days?  I have come to believe that everyone who lives in the borough of Brooklyn is in a band.  After two listens of their three songs on myspace, they remind me a bit of Modest Mouse, particularly the song Bad Blood.  I like the guitar and rhythm in Golden.  Long Lean Queen might be a little too "poppy" for my tastes, but tolerable because everything I heard is promising.  I think I might take the opportunity to check them out should the schedule allow.

Birdmonster (San Francisco, CA) - I do make it a point to give any band with a silly name a listen. Birdmonster might make me regret this.  The song Ice Age starts off decently, but then erupts into thrashing guitar chaos which I find annoying.  Cause You Can sounds like cheesy rock trying too hard to be indie.  The only song I found tolerable was No Midnight.  Chances are I won't check them out unless they are playing ahead of someone I really want to see and I have to establish position.

Plants & Animals (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) - The first thing I learned about this band when I clicked on their website was that they have a sense of humor about the internet.  That is a great start in my opinion.  The trio are self-described as "Indie/Rock/Healing and Easylistening".  I found the two songs on myspace Lola Who and Faerie Dance to be a nice rhythmic mix of sounds and quite full for only three people creating music.  I like the changes in sound that complement each other throughout the songs that make each a suite-like song.  I can't wait to hear more by this band.  I am definitely going to see Plants & Animals.

Big McLargeHuge

And now for something completely different ...

From the great minds of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

2007 Year in Review: Books

This post will be slightly different in terms of my 2007 review. With books I'm usually well behind in reading recent releases so this list is based just on the books I read in 2007.

5. Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
Every since the movie version of Fight Club, I've worked my way through reading Palaniuk's novels. I've enjoyed each one as they provide a twisted view of the world using satire and shocking characters. This novel focuses on a reporter that discovers a culling song that kills once read aloud. He goes on a journey to destroy all copies, but still has struggles with the power of death at his fingertips.

4. The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
This novel fits right in with A Confederacy of Dunces. In this tale by McLarty, a loser named Smithy Ide makes a cross country journey by bicycle to identify his sister's body in L.A. It is a journey of discovery for the character and a look at America, the good and the bad.

3. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
This was my big surprise of the year. The description sounded like a cheesy romantic novel, but within a few chapters I realized this was much more. The characters and story quickly captured me. It combines a tragic romance with a sci-fi element that should easily fascinate more than the romance crowd. It will be interesting to see how Hollywood adapts it when the movie is released later this year. Thanks to D for this one.

2. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Forget the Will Smith movie and two previous adaptations (The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man), read the novel for the real experience. Each adaption has some good moments, but they all miss the overall feel and horror of Matheson's novel. One last human dealing with his solitary state while living with the deadly attacks of world that has succumbed to a mystery change creates a haunting and unforgettable novel.

1. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
I reviewed this autobiography in 2007. It is the tragic and touching story of a boy who survived being recruited as a soldier in the Sierra Leone civil war. It is a sad story of the world we live in, but shows the amazing ability for human survival and individual betterment.

The other books I read in 2007:

• An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
• Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
• I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle
• King Dork by Frank Portman
• Perfect From Now On by John Sellers
• Perfume by Patrick Suskind
• Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman