The Oscar nominations were announced yesterday – some were expected, others were surprises good and bad. We’ve seen only a handful of the movies but several will be showing at The Moxie in the near future so Springfieldians can enjoy an alternative to the mainstream offerings at our other theatres. If you haven’t been to The Moxie you owe it to yourself to indulge in this entertainment pleasure – small cinema, intermission, concession stand with beer and wine and a live introduction to each flick.
Last weekend we saw “The Queen” which was excellent and Helen Mirren is outstanding in her portrayal of QEII – right down to all the mannerisms. Questions – why does The Queen need to carry a purse and what does she put in it? Your thoughts please!
We also saw “Freedom Writers” with Hilary Swank – the true story of teacher Erin Gruewell in Long Beach, CA who turned a class of high school students away from gang violence with her unorthodox teaching methods – despite NO assistance from her stodgy supervisor and a school administrator who clearly was out of touch. Can someone in education please tell me it’s not really like that out there? I’ve never been a teacher in the public school arena but I sadly fear the portrayal was not a fluke.
The film with the most Oscar nominations (but NOT for Best Picture) was “Dreamgirls” – we saw it a couple of weeks ago and I had to rate it as “did not meet expectations.” Jennifer Hudson was fabulous and I’m rooting for a long and successful career for this young lady with a killer set of pipes – but it ended up being a lot of songs with a story woven around them. I usually like musicals but had we not been in the middle of a row I might have actually left. Probably will buy the soundtrack though! Ditto on Eddie Murphy for a great performance – best I’ve ever seen from him although I love his Donkey in Shrek.
Will Smith is up for best actor for “Pursuit of Happyness” – a movie based on a real life story – enjoyable but predictable movie but I didn’t find his performance Oscar-worthy. Best part of the movie was seeing it at a killer theatre on the Plaza in KC.
What’s your take on movies? What does QEII carry in her bag? Please share your thoughts.
First of all, Her Majesty carries a handbag because it matches her shoes – duh! I’m willing to bet it contains hand sanitizer (even though she wears gloves) and booze. Probably some Valium too. I mean, how could she make it through the day with a stiff upper lip unless she had a stiff one?
I haven’t seen any of the nominated movies so I can’t comment on them. However, I’d love to see The Pursuit of Happyness and The Queen.
By: Tammy on January 26, 2007
at 7:59 am