I Want to Be a Producer!

Last night's Oscar awards (and yes, I did watch the entire thing from beginning to end...funny what 12 straight hours of Mardi Gras will do to you come Sunday night) rekindled my long-simmering desire to be a big-time movie star, or at least the awkward-looking guy who gets up on stage and accepts the award!

A few quick-hit thoughts on last night's Oscar ceremony, apropos of nothing directly Jew-related, but relevant none the less because, c'mon, it's the Oscars!

-Hugh Jackman, exactly what a host should be, just not used effectively. His opening song was creative and funny, would have liked to see more.

-Good to see two fellow Jews presenting together in Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller. Way to represent you two!

-There are a few movies I was not planning on seeing that now have piqued my interest, namely Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (Penelope Cruz won for Best Supporting Actress) and "Man on Wire" (Best Documentary).

-If you went for a snack during the Best Animated Short award, you missed the most memorable acceptance speech of the night, delivered by Kunio Kato. Check it out here!

-The winners confirmed my suspicion that "Benjamin Button" is a cinematic masterpiece of visual effects, that lack any sort of interesting story to tie it all together. Button won three awards for its effects, but no acting awards.

-Props to "Slumdog Millionaire," one of the only Best Picture movies in recent memory that I have both seen and enjoyed.

-That being said, I still say the best two movies of the year were Wall-E and Dark Knight. While they were both recognized (Wall-E for Best Animated and Dark Knight for Heath Ledger and an effects award) they should have gotten more.

-I want to be in the movies!



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Movie Watch: The Reader

After scoring a surprise Oscar nomination this morning for Best Picture, is The Reader just another Holocaust movie or is it something more?


The "Holocaust Movie" The Reader was unexpectedly nominated for Best Picture at this morning's Oscar nominations. Luckily, I just so happened to see the film this past weekend, and have a few thoughts to share.

More or less, Holocaust movies tend to get a bad rap as dark, depressing and all the same. With the national mood at such a low point, the wisdom of releasing yet another re-hash of one of the world's darkest hours could certainly be suspect.

However, the Reader presents a new side of the puzzle, with different questions abounding. Kate Winslet plays a mysterious yet likeable figure with some dark secrets regarding her Holocaust past. Without giving too much away, suffice to say that the movie presents moralistic questions and dilemmas in a way I have not seen before.

Make no mistake, the movie is dark and you will leave the theater more than a little uncomfortable. However where the Reader succeeds is that this unease is due to the questions left unanswered rather than to the handling of the sensitive subject matter.

So by all means, check it out for yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you to come prepared for what you are asked to debate within yourself.
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