Recommended Viewing

Okay. It's been awhile since anyone has posted here. I thought I would start a thread concerning must see television and film. I've been listening to more film podcasts, and there are probably fifteen films I want to see reasonably badly, but the question is always time. I haven't seen Umberto D yet. I haven't seen F is for Fake or any number of other cult classics. Why spend time going to see Funny People?

So, I'm going to start a list of things I want to see/feel like it's a shame I haven't seen and then hopefully get some responses back from the peanut gallery. So many films/shows...so little time.

TV: I want to watch the 3rd season of Dexter. I really enjoyed the first two, and I simply haven't had the follow through to get through the rest of Season 3.
I want to finally watch the rest of Twin Peaks Season 2. I always get bogged down after they catch Laura's murderer.

Film: I want to go on a Kurosawa tear. Yojimbo, Ran, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, etc. etc. etc.
In general, I want to beef up on my foreign film library. Those films force you to sit and pay attention, and my short attention span just isn't allowing me extending viewing.

What say you?

A Few Projects for the '00s

It's been awhile, but I came to a realization this weekend that I think warrants a discussion or two. About a month and a half ago, we went through each decade and tried to set aside the five 'most essential' films for that period. I thought that process went really well, but I think we missed a pretty interesting conversation: this year is 2009, technically the last year of the '00s, and we haven't talked about what this decade's 'essential films' are. So, my suggestion is that we do that. I think all the contributors/readers here should try to put together a list of at least 5 and no more than 10 movies from this decade that they deem 'essential,' and then we'll duke it out in the comments.

I'm also interested in having a conversation about what films are looming on the horizon this year that might be worth getting excited about (and might make these lists). Let me know if you think that's a good idea, and I'll start a new thread.

Okay, I'll get to work on at least the first project and have a list up some time tomorrow.

2004 "Shouldawonit" Oscars

BEST ACTOR (Jamie Foxx / Ray):
Johnny Depp / Finding Neverland (1 vote)
Jim Caviezel / The Passion of the Christ (1 vote)

BEST ACTRESS (Hilary Swank / Million Dollar Baby):
Hillary Swank / Million Dollar Baby (2 votes)

BEST DIRECTOR (Clint Eastwood / Million Dollar Baby):
Clint Eastwood / Million Dollar Baby (1 vote)
Mel Gibson / The Passion of the Christ (1 vote)

BEST PICTURE (Million Dollar Baby):
Million Dollar Baby (2 votes)

2005 "Shouldawonit" Oscars

BEST ACTOR (Philip Seymour Hoffman / Capote):
Heath Ledger / Brokeback Mountain (2 votes)

BEST ACTRESS (Reese Witherspoon / Walk the Line):
Felicity Huffman / Transamerica (1 vote)

BEST DIRECTOR (Ang Lee / Brokeback Mountain):
Ang Lee / Brokeback Mountain (1 vote)
Chan Wook Park / Oldboy (1 vote)

BEST PICTURE (Crash):
Munich (1 vote)
King Kong (1 vote)

2006 "Shouldawonit" Oscars

Next verse, same as the first:

BEST ACTOR (Forest Whitaker / The Last King of Scotland):
Tommy Lee Jones / The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (1 vote)
Forest Whitaker / The Last King of Scotland (1 vote)
Ryan Gosling / Half Nelson (1 vote)

BEST ACTRESS (Helen Mirren / The Queen):
Kate Winslet / Little Children (3 votes)

BEST DIRECTOR (Martin Scorsese / The Departed):
Paul Greengrass / United 93 (1 vote)
Alfonso Cuaron / Children of Men (2 votes)

BEST PICTURE (The Departed):
United 93 (2 votes)
Pan's Labyrinth (1 vote)

2007 "Shouldawonit" Oscars

Same drill. Here's a list (actual winners are in parenthesis):

BEST ACTOR (Daniel Day-Lewis):
Daniel Day-Lewis (3 votes)

BEST ACTRESS (Marion Cotillard):
Cate Blanchett (2 votes)
Ellen Page (1 vote)

BEST DIRECTOR (Joel Coen):
P. T. Anderson (3 votes)

BEST PICTURE (No Country For Old Men):
There Will Be Blood (2 votes)
No Country For Old Men (1 vote)

2008 "Shouldawonit" Oscars

That's it: I'm throwing down the gauntlet. Gaston, we talked the other night about a new list project: the "Shouldawonit Oscar Awards." We take the 4 Big Categories--Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Picture--and we list the REAL winners for each year. I think the smart way to do this is to work backwards from 2008. So, let's get to it: I declare this post the post for 2008. Let's use the comments section to actually haggle the nominees. I'll keep a running tally of vote-getters here in the main post.

BEST ACTOR:
Mickey Rourke (3 votes)

BEST ACTRESS:
Kate Winslet (3 vote)

BEST DIRECTOR:
Danny Boyle (3 votes)

BEST PICTURE:
Man On Wire (1 vote)
Slumdog Millionaire (1 vote)
There Will Be Blood (1 vote). Yep.