So, apparently...while James Cameron was telling everyone in the room to "pat themselves on the backs", the cameras turned to Jessica Lange spitting! Genius.

Also, I think the reason I love watching the Globes more than any other awards show is because of what a mindfuck the guest list is! All the TV nominees (especially the TV Movie/Miniseries ones) really add to that. I mean...Janet McTeer?! Jessica Lange?! I love that they are in the same room with the obvious invites, like Streep and Farmiga (and yes, calling Farmiga an "obvious invite" still feels weird...in a fantastic way!)

Of course, the free-flowing alcohol makes everything so loosey-goosey (I love your red carpet unhinged self, Julia Roberts!), and Ricky Gervais is always welcome (even though the host addition did feel mostly pointless) just so he can make ruthless jokes about Mel Gibson and Jennifer Aniston right before they come onstage to present awards!

Golden Globes, January 2010

So January already feels like it is just slipping by...and I still haven't seen Leap Year! (er...I'm kind of serious)

My goal is to see as much as I can in theatres this year, even if it means making the trek (all the way to the Clearview!) to see The Book of Eli. Which is why I definitely need to get hired at either a) Film Forum, b) the IFC, or c) the Sunshine so I can get free passes to these things! I love you Gary Oldman, but...

Anyway, I DID see Daybreakers. Which was...kind of hilarious. I'm really glad it wasn't just me, because if anything, the context in which you see that kind of movie sort of makes or breaks the experience, I think. First of all, it was a 12 am show, so pretty much everyone in the room was smashed, Icees and all. And then the group of kids in front of us kept blurting out Twilight references throughout (and SCREAMING at every sudden loss of an eyelash!)

But ultimately I am very glad I saw it (11 bucks aside) because Willem Dafoe stole the damn show! He must have improvised the hell out of it, because there really wasn't evidence of that kind of wit anywhere else in the script (even if his character is the best suited for the kind of dialogue he has). Exhibit A: "Being human in this world is like barebackin' a five dolla' whore!"

Exhibit B: "I love a good barbecue!" Fabulously ridiculous.

Now, the Golden Globes...I really just don't give a shit about awards shows anymore. It's always kind of disheartening because a part of you wants to believe that they really are honoring the "best" (but then again you could ever really do a great job at that, since it's basically subjective and the competitive aspect of it just transforms the "honor" into something else entirely). But it is nice to see Jeff Bridges finally get up there...

Anyway, I still like watching them, if only to see Streep speak in public (I'm going to wager that watching her speech seven times on youtube--like I did--- was a better deal than heading out to see anything else at the multiplex!). And I love that Mo'Nique is part of the awards game this year--I really think she represents so much that is fundamentally opposed to these kinds of things---but ultimately it is great to still see her get all teared up at the podium (and she is so commanding, shit!) More, please.

Sad that Sidibe didn't win, and Bullock didn't really do anything awesome last night (although her speeches have been consistently humble and sweet), but I'm still reeling from the Streep-Bullock lip-lock at the Critic's Choice Awards (gah!). The twenty-or-so seconds leading up to Bullock's speech at that show were so priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM0isI4qtcE

I also love the whole circling-of-the-prey thing going on at the beginning. Awesome!

2009

Ugh, so each time I try to re-visit 2009, I keep getting reminded of everything I didn't see! As much as I'd like to catch up with everything, I think the better thing to do now is to look forward! I am going to try and see everything in 2010, and beyond. With that being said, I will be taking these with me, long after 2009...

--Coraline

--Joaquin Phoenix in Two Lovers

--Vinessa Shaw in Two Lovers (parts)

--Isabella Rossellini in Two Lovers

--Amy Adams in Sunshine Cleaning

--Emily Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning (parts)

-- Clifton Collins, Jr. in Sunshine Cleaning

--Steve Zahn in Sunshine Cleaning

--Carrie Preston in Duplicity

-- Duplicity

-- Paul Giamatti in Duplicity

-- Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in Duplicity

--Paul Rudd in I Love You, Man

--Jason Segel in I Love You, Man

-- Anvil! The Story of Anvil

-- Every Little Step

-- Up

-- Drag Me to Hell

--Adriana Barraza in Drag Me to Hell

--Alison Lohman in Drag Me to Hell

--Lorna Raver in Drag Me to Hell

--David Paymer in Drag Me to Hell

-- Glenn Kenny in The Girlfriend Experience

-- Catherine O' Hara in Away We Go

--Carmen Maura in Tetro

-- Maribel Verdu in Tetro

-- Julie White in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

-- Patricia Clarkson in Whatever Works

-- Michelle Pfeiffer in Cheri

-- The Hurt Locker

-- Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

-- Tilda Swinton in Julia

-- Marion Cotillard in Public Enemies

-- Bruno

-- Sascha Baron Cohen in Bruno

-- Jim Broadbent in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

--Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer

-- Joseph Gordon Levitt in 500 Days of Summer

-- Vera Farmiga in Orphan

-- Margo Martindale in Orphan

-- Mischa Barton in Homecoming

-- In the Loop

-- Mimi Kennedy in In the Loop

-- Peter Capaldi in In the Loop

-- Gina McKee in In the Loop

-- Thirst

-- Kim Ok-Bin in Thirst

-- Kang-Ho Song in Thirst

-- Hae-Sook Kim in Thirst

-- Julie & Julia

-- Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia

-- Stanley Tucci in Julie & Julia

-- Jane Lynch in Julie & Julia

-- Deborah Rush in Julie & Julia

-- Linda Emond in Julie & Julia

-- Amy Adams in Julie & Julia

-- Chris Messina in Julie & Julia

-- Melanie Laurent in Inglorious Basterds

-- Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds

-- Michael Fassbender in Inglorious Basterds

-- Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds (for being funny, regardless of anything else)

-- Imelda Staunton in Taking Woodstock

-- The September Issue

-- Grace Coddington in The September Issue

-- Kerry Fox in Bright Star

-- Bright Star

-- Matt Damon in The Informant!

-- Melanie Lynskey in The Informant!

-- A Serious Man

-- Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man

-- Fred Melamed in A Serious Man

-- Amy Landecker in A Serious Man

-- Whip It

-- Ellen Page in Whip It

-- Marcia Gay Harden in Whip It

-- Alia Shawkat in Whip It

-- Kristen Wiig in Whip It (parts)

-- Juliette Lewis in Whip It (parts)

-- Sally Hawkins in An Education

-- Peter Sarsgaard in An Education

-- Rosamund Pike in An Education

-- Dominic Cooper in An Education

-- Carey Mulligan in An Education

-- Where the Wild Things Are

-- James Gandolfini in Where the Wild Things Are

-- Catherine Keener in Where the Wild Things Are

-- Catherine O' Hara in Where the Wild Things Are

-- Chris Cooper in Where the Wild Things Are

-- Max Records in Where the Wild Things Are

-- Paul Dano in Where the Wild Things Are

-- Willem Dafoe in Antichrist

-- Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist

-- Mo'Nique in Precious

-- Precious

-- Gabourey Sidibe in Precious (parts)

-- Mariah Carey in Precious

-- Paula Patton in Precious (parts)

-- Lenny Kravitz in Precious (for being hot)

-- Xosha Roquemore in Precious

-- the Precious soundtrack

-- Jason Schwartzman in Fantastic Mr. Fox

-- Meryl Streep in Fantastic Mr. Fox

-- Nicolas Cage in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans

-- Jennifer Coolidge in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans

-- Fairuza Balk in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans (for just being there)

-- Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans

-- Broken Embraces

-- Brothers

-- Tobey Maguire in Brothers

-- Sam Shepard in Brothers

-- Mare Winningham in Brothers

-- Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (parts)

-- Natalie Portman in Brothers (parts)

-- Bailee Madison in Brothers

-- Melissa Leo in Everybody's Fine

-- Lynn Cohen in Everybody's Fine

-- Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air

-- Amy Morton in Up in the Air

-- Melanie Lynskey in Up in the Air

-- Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (parts)

-- Matthew Goode in A Single Man

-- Julianne Moore in A Single Man

-- Colin Firth in A Single Man (parts)

-- CCH Pounder in Avatar

-- Zoe Saldana in Avatar

-- Sigourney Weaver in Avatar

-- Nine (cause I liked watching it)

-- Marion Cotillard in Nine

-- Daniel Day-Lewis in Nine

-- Judi Dench in Nine

-- Nicole Kidman in Nine

-- Kate Hudson in Nine (for making me like her again)

-- Fergie in Nine

-- Penelope Cruz in Nine

-- Sophia Loren in Nine (for just being there)

-- The Young Victoria

-- Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria

-- Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria

-- Miranda Richardson in The Young Victoria

-- Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria (parts)

-- Jim Broadbent in The Young Victoria

-- Harriet Walter in The Young Victoria (for just being there)

-- Paul Bettany in The Young Victoria

-- Meryl Streep in It's Complicated

-- Alec Baldwin in It's Complicated

-- Steve Martin in It's Complicated

-- John Krasinski in It's Complicated

-- It's Complicated (loved watching it- but is it mostly Meryl???)

-- The White Ribbon

-- Mariana Loyola in The Maid

-- Catalina Saavedra in The Maid

-- The Maid

Oh my GOD! In re-reading what I've written so far, I am so horrified that it might make me sound like one of those dreadfully opinionated little brats at my school. Ugh, maybe I am one of them after all. Well, I should probably take the time to add a disclaimer that I do not claim to really know ANYTHING, and I am aware that these are just my opinions, for what (if anything) they are worth.

I guess I should try focusing on positive things more often. I think I know (essentially) that in order for your criticism to mean anything, you have to contribute something of your own to try and fix what you perceive to be problematic.

I guess that's why I've never wanted to be a "Critic". I mean we're all critics more or less, but how do some people make a career out of it? Why are their opinions given such a high platform? What have they done to deserve being listened to at such relatively high volume?

I guess.

Well, if I'm going to be any kind of critic, I should have my humility in check, is what I'm after. Especially if I'm a snarky one. It's important for me to keep telling myself that!

And keep talking to other people. Keep reading. Keep watching.

The world was created for me. I am a speck of dust.