Reel Blog

I’m behind on the reviews ReelMarla Family! I’m working on some other projects, but don’t worry, I’ll have some updates for you soon.

Don’t forget Toy Story 3 is coming out!

I don’t know what it is, but there are always certain movies that might be on HBO that I get sucked into as soon as I see one scene. It doesn’t matter how many times the film plays during the month, if I happen to flip through the channel and see it, I’ve got to watch it. It’s usually because of the action, characters, or jokes –if it’s a comedy, I’m hooked instantly.

Here’s a small list of some of the movies I’m talking about.

The Dark Knight
This film just grabs me and won’t let me go with the tension that builds with the help of the score. Also, the crazy Joker played by the late Heathe Ledger is like no other character. That man played the heck out of that part. He deserved the Oscar.

Taken
I just love the part when Liam Neeson is on the phone listening to his daughter get kidnapped and homedude tells the kidnapper in so many words, “Look man, I’ve got a serious set of special skills that will make your life a nightmare when I get my hands up on you fool.”

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Every scene is just funny. That’s all I have to say.

Eagle Eye
This ain’t the best movie, but Jerry Shaw played by Shia LeBeouf is always running or trying to get out of a jam. There’s always some kind of action.

The Incredible Hulk
I just like Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) saying, “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” and he just turns to the Hulk. I always know it is on.

300
It doesn’t matter when I turn to 300 when it’s on, there is always some kind of battle, Gerard Butler is always throwing down and his wife is tough too.

Tropic Thunder
I can’t look away from this crazy, over-the-top film because it’s hilarious, filled with action, the cast is good and has a few great cameos.

I have many more picks, however, not enough time.

Hello Reel Marla family! I’ve been out of town, so there will be some great updates and reviews coming soon. Check back.

Enjoy your day!

Sorry ReelMarla family. I got snowed in and didn’t get a chance to see any new releases so I can review them for you. Don’t worry, I’ll be seeing some new ones very soon.

Let me tell you, it snowed so much, it’s been since 1993 that we got over 20 inches of snow. It is just too darn much white stuff for me. Well, at least I’m safe and alive.

Since I was stuck in the house, I decided to watch a couple of movies from Netflix on line. Against my better judgement, I watched Single Black Female starring Farrah Franklin. Does anyone remember Farrah? She was in Destiny’s Child for a hot minute.

Well this movie was so bad. The writing was awful. The acting — if that’s what you want to call it — was horrendous. I’m trying to figure out what in the MMMM was the point of this flick? I think high school students could make a better film than this. You won’t believe how LOW BUDGET this film is. I think our family camcorder is more upgrade then the camera used to film this. Oh my.

Single Black Female lacked a good story, imagination and just everything. This movie truly lets me appreciate good and true actors. The acting was so bad, it made me uncomforable watching it. Oh my word. My reel rating is 0. I couldn’t even eek out a .5 or 1 reel rating. It isn’t even worth your time of watching it on basic cable. I hate to rip on a movie this bad, but it was ha-or-eeee-bulllll. Sorry Farrah, good luck on your next project.

Well excuse me! Avatar has been bumped out of its number one spot after seven weekends straight by Dear John. Check out the top 10 box office movies this weekend.

1. Dear John, $32.4 million (2,969 theaters)
2. Avatar, $23.6 million (3,000)
3. From Paris With Love, $8.1 million (2,722)
4. Edge of Darkness, $7 million (3,066),
5. Tooth Fairy, $6.5 million (3,218),
6. When in Rome, $5.5 million (2,456)
7. The Book of Eli, $4.8 million (2,820)
8. Crazy Heart, $3.7
9. Legion, $3.4 (2,339)
10. Sherlock Holmes, $2.6 million

Okay kay kay, the 2010 Oscar Nominations are in. See if your favorite is in the list below. I’m not feeling some of the nominations, but every year there are nominees that I feel are truly not worthy of the nod. I don’t get it. I really don’t. I need a performance to give me the willies, chills, or goose bumps and a few of these actors didn’t.

I thought Sharto Copley in District 9 was as good as the actors nominated in a Leading Role. I thought Paula Patton in Precious was better than Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air. I mean come on. Paula sold her character to me. She made me cry and wished I had a kind and caring teacher as sweet as her. When she performed, I could tell it came from her soul.

And what! No Matt Damon for The Informant or Tobey Maguire for Brothers?
These two performances were better than George Clooney’s Up in the Air. Matt Damon was funny and odd as heck in The Informant and Tobey gave me those chills I was talking about. Homedude brought forth a intense performance. Well gentleman I give you a Marla Reelies award nomination.

I know Avatar or The Hurt Locker have to win something. They are leading the bunch with 9 nominations each.

Best Picture

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

A Serious Man

Up

Up in the Air

Directing

James Cameron – Avatar

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker

Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

Lee Daniels- Precious

Jason Reitman- Up in the Air

Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges- Crazy Heart

George Clooney – Up in the Air

Colin Firth – A Single Man

Morgan Freeman – Invictus

Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon- Invictus
Woody Harrelson- The Messenger

Christopher Plummer -The Last Station

Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones

Christoph Waltz – Inglorious Basterds

Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side

Helen Mirren – The Last Station

Carey Mulligan – An Education

Gabourey Sidibe – Precious

Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Actress in a Supporting Role

Penelope Cruz – Nine

Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air

Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart

Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air

Mo’Nique – Precious

Animated Feature Film

Coraline

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Princess and the Frog

The Secret of Kells

Up

Cinematography

Avatar

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Hurt Locker

Inglorious Basterds

The White Ribbon

Writing – Original Screenplay

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The Messenger

A Serious Man

Up

Writing – Adapted Screenplay

District 9

An Education

In the Loop

Precious

Up in the Air

Music (Original Song)

“Almost There” – The Princess and the Frog

“Down in New Orleans” – The Princess and the Frog

“Loin de Paname” – Paris 36

“Take It All” – Nine

“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart”) – Crazy Heart

Music (Original Score)

Avatar

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Hurt Locker

Sherlock Holmes

Up

Visual Effects

Avatar

District 9

Star Trek

Art Direction

Avatar

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Nine

Sherlock Holmes

The Young Victoria

Sound Mixing

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Star Trek

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Sound Editing

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Star Trek

Up

Short Film (Live Action)

The Door
Instead of Abracadabra

Kavi

Miracle Fish

The New Tenants

Short Film (Animated)

French Roast

Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty

The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)

Logorama

A Matter of Loaf and Death
Makeup

Il Divo

Star Trek

The Young Victoria

Foreign Language Film

Ajami

El Secreto de Sus Ojos

The Milk of Sorrow

Un Prophete

The White Ribbon

Film Editing

Avatar

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

Documentary Short

China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

Music by Prudence

Rabbit a la Berlin

Documentary Feature

Burma VJ

The Cove

Food, Inc.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Which Way Home

Costume Design

Bright Star

Coco before Chanel

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Nine

The Young Victoria

Akon’s large-scale venture the Hitlab.com is a really cool site that showcases aspiring singing artists; some of us would never be exposed to. You can listen to thousands of artist and their music all over the world. You can vote, purchase songs and even upload your own music and bio. Exciting!

I’m truly impressed by this site. I frequent it several times a week. You may also have the opportunity to be discovered by using Akon’s DHS (Dynamic Hit Scoring) Lab. DHS is a really unique technology that can predict if your song has the promise to be a hit. DHS is amazing. It totally breaks down your song into variables such as rhythm, pitch, tone and other factors and compares the structure of the music to the top 100 billboard charts of the past several years. So, an artist’s score can be higher if their variables bear a resemblance to the ones of hits. And, some lucky artist could get discovered and be given an opportunity to perform live in front of Akon. Heck, that sounds like some good news right there.

There are so many songs I like on this site. It’s like listening to my own radio station without all the ads and interruptions. There’s one artist I really like and that’s Heda Rose. Check out her music. My jam is Leaving With Me.

Go to the site hitlab.com and come on back and let me know if you think it’s a good site too.

It’s less than a month away Family, until The 41st Annual NAACP Image Awards will air on February 26, 2010 at 8pm EST on FOX. I know you wont be missing it. Below is the full list of nominees. Tell me if you agree or disagree with the nominations.

Outstanding Motion Picture
“The Blind Side” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Invictus” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Michael Jackson’s: This Is It” (Columbia Pictures)
“Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
“The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Denzel Washington – “The Taking of Pelham 123″ (Columbia Pictures)
Idris Elba – “Obsessed” (Screen Gems)
Jamie Foxx – “Law Abiding Citizen” (Overture Films)
Morgan Freeman – “Invictus” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Quinton Aaron – “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Anika Noni Rose – “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Gabourey Sidibe – “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Sandra Bullock – “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Sophie Okonedo – “Skin” (Jour De Fete Films)
Taraji P. Henson – “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself” (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Adam Rodriguez – “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself” (Lionsgate)
Anthony Mackie – “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)
Chiwetel Ejiofor – “2012″ (Columbia Pictures)
Danny Glover – “2012″ (Columbia Pictures)
Lenny Kravitz – “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Alfre Woodard – “American Violet” (Universal Pictures)
Mariah Carey – “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Mo’Nique – “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Paula Patton – “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Zoe Saldana – “Avatar” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
“American Violet” (Samuel Goldwyn Company)
“Amreeka” (National Geographic Entertainment)
“Endgame” (Montery Entertainment)
“Medicine for Melancholy” (IFC Films)
“Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture
“The Maid” (Elephant Eye Films)
“Rudo y Cursi” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Sin Nombre” (Focus Features)
“Skin” (Jour De Fete Films)
“The Stoning of Soraya M.” (Mpower Pictures)

Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical or Television)
“Capitalism: A Love Story” (Overture Films)
“Crips and Bloods: Made in America” (Gravitas Ventures)
“Crude” (First Run Features)
“Good Hair” (Roadside Attractions)
“More than a Game” (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television)
Anthony Peckham – “Invictus” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Geoffrey Fletcher – “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
John Lee Hancock – “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker – “Notorious” (Fox Searchlight)
Tyler Perry – “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself” (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television)
F. Gary Gray – “Law Abiding Citizen” (Overture Films)
George Tillman, Jr. – “Notorious” (Fox Searchlight)
Lee Daniels – “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Scott Sanders – “Black Dynamite” (Apparition)
Spike Lee – “Passing Strange: The Movie” (IFC Films/Sundance Selects)

For more information on The NAACP Image Awards go to www.naacpimageawards.net and of course come on back.

Sorry everyone, I’m a little late with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts 2010 nominations. Don’t worry The BAFTA Awards aren’t until February 21, 2010. Check out the nominees below.

BEST FILM

AVATAR - James Cameron, Jon Landau
AN EDUCATION - Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
THE HURT LOCKER - Nominees TBC
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE - Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
UP IN THE AIR - Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Daniel Dubiecki

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

AN EDUCATION - Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey, Lone Scherfig, Nick Hornby
FISH TANK - Kees Kasander, Nick Laws, Andrea Arnold
IN THE LOOP - Kevin Loader, Adam Tandy, Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche
MOON - Stuart Fenegan, Trudie Styler, Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker
NOWHERE BOY - Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae, Kevin Loader, Sam Taylor-Wood, Matt Greenhalgh

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

LUCY BAILEY, ANDREW THOMPSON, ELIZABETH MORGAN HEMLOCK, DAVID PEARSON - Directors, Producers – Mugabe and the White African
ERAN CREEVY - Writer/Director – Shifty
STUART HAZELDINE - Writer/Director – Exam
DUNCAN JONES - Director – Moon
SAM TAYLOR-WOOD - Director – Nowhere Boy

DIRECTOR

AVATAR - James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp
AN EDUCATION - Lone Scherfig
THE HURT LOCKER - Kathryn Bigelow
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THE HANGOVER - Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
THE HURT LOCKER - Mark Boal
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino
A SERIOUS MAN - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
UP - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
AN EDUCATION - Nick Hornby
IN THE LOOP - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE - Geoffrey Fletcher
UP IN THE AIR - Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

BROKEN EMBRACES - Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Anne Fontaine
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Tomas Alfredson
A PROPHET - Pascale Caucheteux, Marco Chergui, Alix Raynaud, Jacques Audiard
THE WHITE RIBBON - Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz, Michael Haneke

ANIMATED FILM

CORALINE - Henry Selick
FANTASTIC MR FOX - Wes Anderson
UP - Pete Docter

LEADING ACTOR

JEFF BRIDGES - Crazy Heart
GEORGE CLOONEY - Up in the Air
COLIN FIRTH - A Single Man
JEREMY RENNER - The Hurt Locker
ANDY SERKIS - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

LEADING ACTRESS

CAREY MULLIGAN - An Education
SAOIRSE RONAN - The Lovely Bones
GABOUREY SIDIBE - Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
MERYL STREEP - Julie & Julia
AUDREY TAUTOU - Coco Before Chanel

SUPPORTING ACTOR

ALEC BALDWIN - It’s Complicated
CHRISTIAN McKAY - Me and Orson Welles
ALFRED MOLINA - An Education
STANLEY TUCCI - The Lovely Bones
CHRISTOPH WALTZ - Inglourious Basterds

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

ANNE-MARIE DUFF - Nowhere Boy
VERA FARMIGA - Up in the Air
ANNA KENDRICK - Up in the Air
MO’NIQUE - Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS - Nowhere Boy

MUSIC

AVATAR - James Horner
CRAZY HEART - T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton
FANTASTIC MR FOX - Alexandre Desplat
SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL - Chaz Jankel
UP - Michael Giacchino

CINEMATOGRAPHY

AVATAR - Mauro Fiore
DISTRICT 9 - Trent Opaloch
THE HURT LOCKER - Barry Ackroyd
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Robert Richardson
THE ROAD - Javier Aguirresarobe

EDITING

AVATAR - Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 - Julian Clarke
THE HURT LOCKER - Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Sally Menke
UP IN THE AIR - Dana E. Glauberman

PRODUCTION DESIGN

AVATAR - Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
DISTRICT 9 - Philip Ivey, Guy Poltgieter
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Nominees TBC
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco

COSTUME DESIGN

BRIGHT STAR - Janet Patterson
COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Catherine Leterrier
AN EDUCATION - Odile Dicks-Mireaux
A SINGLE MAN - Arianne Phillips
THE YOUNG VICTORIA - Sandy Powell

SOUND

AVATAR - Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson, Addison Teague
DISTRICT 9 - Brent Burge, Chris Ward, Dave Whitehead, Michael Hedges, Ken Saville
THE HURT LOCKER - Ray Beckett, Paul N. J. Ottosson, Craig Stauffer
STAR TREK - Peter J. Devlin, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger, Ben Burtt
UP - Tom Myers, Michael Silvers, Michael Semanick

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

AVATAR - Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones
DISTRICT 9 - Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, Nicolas Aithadi
THE HURT LOCKER - Richard Stutsman
STAR TREK - Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

MAKE UP & HAIR

COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen, Jane Milon
AN EDUCATION - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Sarah Monzani
NINE - Peter ‘Swords’ King
THE YOUNG VICTORIA - Jenny Shircore

SHORT ANIMATION

THE HAPPY DUCKLING - Gili Dolev
MOTHER OF MANY - Sally Arthur, Emma Lazenby
THE GRUFFALO - Michael Rose, Martin Pope, Jakob Schuh, Max Lang

SHORT FILM

14 - Asitha Ameresekere
I DO AIR - James Bolton, Martina Amati
JADE - Samm Haillay, Daniel Elliott
MIXTAPE - Luti Fagbenle, Luke Snellin
OFF SEASON - Jacob Jaffke, Jonathan van Tulleken

ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD

JESSE EISENBERG
NICHOLAS HOULT
CAREY MULLIGAN
TAHAR RAHIM

If you are looking for more information on BAFTA go to www.bafta.org.

Well family… here is the list of the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards winners. Don’t be mad if your favorite didn’t win. There is always next year!

FILM

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: Inglourious Basterds
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Mo’Nique, Precious
Outstanding performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture: Star Trek

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: Mad Men
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series: Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Glee
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series: 24

Congratulations to all the winners and the nominees too. You all did a FANTASTIC job! Keep on entertaining us. If you need more information on the Screen Actors Guild check out www.sagawards.org.