Okay, even by my relaxed standards it’s been too long since the last update. Oh, on a related note, I’m retiring the name “Daily Bulletin”. From now on, these blog posts will run under the title “The Marquee”. Short, sweet, and not quite so misleading.
I haven’t actually done much since the last update: I got a new computer, broke it in record time, ordered another, worked, saw a single movie (Side Effects, it was alright)… That pretty much brings you up to date. It’s looking unlikely that the new computer will arrive before the Oscars, which means I won’t get to do a podcast. But you can definitely still expect write-ups on my Oscar picks and my top 10 for 2012.
In any event, surprisingly little of note has gone on in the world of movies since the last update. Awards-wise, Argo was the big winner at the BAFTAs, taking best picture. Ben Affleck topped the competition again to grab another best director win. A similar storyline unfolded at the WGAs, where Chris Terrio won best adapted screenplay for Argo. Meanwhile, Zero Dark Thirty scribe Mark Boal took home the award for best original screenplay.
I guess I haven’t been too vocal about my leanings in terms of award winners this year, but let me just editorialize and say I’m getting 2011 flashbacks. That was the year where a perfectly good film (The King’s Speech) bested a really great one (The Social Network). This year, we’ve got the same scenario going, with Argo standing in for the former and Zero Dark Thirty for the latter. These are the sorts of things that bum me out during awards season. I enjoyed Argo just fine, but nothing about it stuck with me at all (Well, “Argo-fuck yourself!” aside, maybe). Meanwhile, Zero Dark Thirty continues to intrigue and fascinate me. Well, whatever. Congrats to Ben Affleck I guess. At least Lincoln will get a piece of the recognition when Daniel Day-Lewis wins best actor.
Okay, that took a weirdly bitter-sounding turn. Argo is good, I’ve just seen better stuff this year. Hence the frustration. Affleck seems like a good dude, and I look forward to seeing his future work as a director.Moving on…
Umm… Well, I wish I had something exciting to discuss here. Given that I’ve taken a week and a half off, I expected there to be something more substantial to talk about. Not so much, as it turns out. You know it’s a bad time for movies when A Good Day To Die Hard is tops at the box office, despite being brutally panned by, well, pretty much everyone.
I hate to do this for a first post back after a break, but I’m going to anyway. Yep, linkdump!
-Danny Boyle’s next movie Trance now has a red-band trailer.
-The Hollywood Reporter has the lowdown on the Berlin Film Festival, which wrapped up yesterday.
-Film School Rejects offers up more casting news than you can shake a stick at.
-Total Film has a couple of awesome pieces of concept art for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming film Pacific Rim.
-The Daily Mail says there’s a “75 per cent chance” Sam Mendes will return to direct the next James Bond movie.
-Latino Review reports Harrison Ford will return as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode VII.
Well, that’s gonna do it for now. Hopefully the days ahead bring more substantial news for me to sink my teeth into.
