Important Announcement

Dear whoever is reading this,

It’s been almost 9 months that have been writing this blog. And I think it’s time for my blogging “career” to come to an end.

The truth is, I just haven’t really gotten all of that much out of it. I started writing this blog because I wanted a venue to express myself. I’ve gotten some nice feedback and I’ve met some nice people online.

But I’m just not getting what I wanted out of this. I don’t feel inspired to do it. And I haven’t been able to post as consistently as I wanted to.

So I’ll be moving on to other things. I’m not going to delete this account or remove my posts or anything like that. I’ll leave this blog the way it is in case anyone wants to read my previous posts.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever blog again. But if I do, I think it will in a different way than this. Goodbye for now readers.

Sincerely,

John D’Amico

*P.S. I saw “Project X” last weekend and it was a pretty fun movie.

2012 Academy Award Winners Predictions

Here’s my predictions for what will win in the major categories at the 2012 Academy Awards this Sunday.

Best Picture: The Artist

Best Director: Michael Hazanavicius – The Artist

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin – The Artist

Best Actress: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer – The Help

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris

Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource – The Artist

Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie – “Man or Muppet” – The Muppets

Best Animated Feature: Rango

Best Foreign-Language Film: A Separation

By: John D’Amico

A Separation Movie Review

“A Separation” is the Oscar-nominated Iranian film from writer-director Asghar Farhadi. It tells the story of a married couple going through a divorce. But they soon go through a tragedy that could end up ruining their lives.

I’m pretty sure that if I had the opportunity to see this movie earlier, it would have definitely made it into my top 10 of the year list.

“A Separation” is a film that really keeps your attention all of the way through. There were very few moments during where I got bored.

“A Separation” was nominated for two Academy Awards this past Tuesday in the categories of Best Foreign-Language and Best Original Screenplay. And in my opinion both nominations were well-deserved.

I wanted to address something. It’s not really about this film specifically, but more films in general. A lot of people are turned off by the idea of subtitled films. And at first I was nervous about it too. But when I gave it try I found that it really wasn’t so difficult. I’m not saying that it’s not a challenge at all, but it’s really not as bad as you might think.

I don’t really have too much to say about this one, so I’ll end with saying that it’s definitely a film that I recommend to anyone who wants to see an interesting, well-made piece of cinema.

I give “A Separation” an 8.5/10.

By: John D’Amico

Biggest Oscar Snubs 2012

The 2012 Academy Award nominations were announced today and these are in my opinion the best biggest snubs.

• Albert Brooks for Best Supporting Actor for “Drive”
• Ryan Gosling for Best Actor “Drive” or “The Ides of March”
• Mike Mills for Best Original Screenplay for “Beginners”
• Nicholas Winding Refn for Best Director for “Drive”
• “Drive” for Best Picture
• Shailene Woodley for Best Supporting Actress for “The Descendants”
• “Drive” for various technical categories such as Best Film Editing or Best Cinematography
• Michael Giacchino for Best Original Score for “Super 8″
• “Super 8″ for Best Visual Effects
• “Pictures in My Head” and “Life’s a Happy Song” for Best Original Song for “The Muppets”
• Also, why was “Bridesmaids” nominated for Best Original Screenplay?

Overall I wasn’t too pleased with the nominees this year and I hope next year do a better job.

By: John D’Amico

2012 Academy Awards Nominee Predictions

Best Picture: The Artist, The Descendants, Drive, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, War Horse

Best Director: Michael Hazanavicius-The Artist, Terrence Malick-The Tree of Life, Alexander Payne-The Descendants, Martin Scorsese-Hugo, Steven Spielberg-War Horse

Best Actor: George Clooney-The Descendants, Leonardo DiCaprio-J. Edgar, Jean Dujardin-The Artist, Michael Fassbender-Shame, Brad Pitt-Moneyball

Best Actress: Glenn Close-Albert Nobbs, Viola Davis-The Help, Meryl Streep-The Iron Lady, Tilda Swinton-We Need to Talk About Kevin, Michelle Williams-My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branaugh-My Week with Marilyn, Albert Brooks-Drive, Jonah Hill-Moneyball, Nick Nolte-Warrior, Christopher Plummer-Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo-The Artist, Jessica Chastain-The Help, Janet McTeer-Albert Nobbs, Octavia Spencer-The Help, Shailene Woodley-The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen-Midnight in Paris, Diablo Cody-Young Adult, Michael Hanazavicius-The Artist, Terrence Malick-The Tree of Life, Will Reiser-50/50

Best Adapted Screenplay: Lee Hall and Richard Curtis-War Horse, John Logan-Hugo, Alexander Payne-The Descendants, Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zailan-Moneyball, Tate Taylor-The Help

Best Animated Feature: Arthur Christmas, The Adventures of Tintin, Kung Fu Panda 2, Rango, Winnie the Pooh

Best Foreign-Language Film: Footnote, In Darkness, Monsieur Lazhar, Pina, A Separation

The 2011 JohnJamesDAmico Awards

These are the nominees for the first ever JohnJamesDAmico Awards. The winners are in bold.

• Best Picture: The Artist, Beginners, Cedar Rapids, Drive, The Ides of March, Midnight in Paris, The Muppets, Super 8, Source Code, The Skin I Live In

• Best Director: JJ Abrams-Super 8, Pedro Almodovar-The Skin I Live In, Michael Hazanavicius-The Artist, Mike Mills-Beginners, Nicholas Winding Refn-Drive

• Best Actor: Jean Dujardin-The Artist, Ryan Gosling-Drive, Ryan Gosling-The Ides of March, Jake Gyllenhaal-Source Code, Owen Wilson-Midnight in Paris

• Best Actress: Viola Davis-The Help, Britt Marling-Another Earth, Michelle Monaghan-Source Code, Amy Ryan-Win Win, Emma Stone-The Help

• Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks-Drive, Bryan Cranston-Drive, Jonah Hill-Moneyball, John Lithgow-Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Michael Parks-Red State

• Best Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo-The Artist, Jessica Chastain-Take Shelter, Anne Heche-Cedar Rapids, Elle Fanning-Super 8, Ellen Page-Super

• Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen-Midnight in Paris, JJ Abrams-Super 8, Michael Hazanavicius-The Artist, Phil Johnston-Cedar Rapids, Mike Mills-Beginners

• Best Adapted Screenplay: Pedro Almodovar-The Skin I Live In, Hossein Amini-Drive, Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, Jason Segal and Nicholas Stoller-The Muppets, Steve Zailan and Aaron Sorkin-Moneyball

By: John D’Amico

My Top 10 Movies of 2011

Just a disclaimer: this is an incomplete list. There are a number of films that I have yet to see this year but I didn’t want to put this off any longer. So without further ado, here are my picks for the best movies of 2011.

Honorable Mentions: Hobo with a Shotgun, Moneyball, Red State, Take Shelter, The Trip, Win Win

10. The Ides of March – Good ensemble but Ryan Gosling gives the best performance I’ve seen from any actor this year.

9. Source Code – Great, smart, sci-fi movie.

8. Cedar Rapids – Very underrated movie.

7. Beginners – Emotional, unique, and very well-acted. I hope writer/director Mike Mill gets at least one Oscar nomination.

6. Drive – Bloody, grim, dark, and awesome. A lot of people put this as their favorite of the year but I couldn’t do that. And another great performance from Gosling.

5. The Muppets – I didn’t grow up with the Muppets but I really loved this film. I don’t have a review of it by the way.

4. The Skin I Live In – One the best twist ending I’ve ever seen in a movie.

3. Super 8 – I’m not a huge sci-fi fan, but this year had some great ones and this is no exception.

2. Midnight in Paris – Owen Wilson gives his best performance and Woody Allen writes and directs it excellently.

1. The Artist – Smart, witty, funny, dramatic, and highly enjoyable. I never expected this to be my favorite of the year but it is.

So that’s my list. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

By: John D’Amico