The Sunday Salon (on a Monday)

This is because I was working yesterday and too exhausted to blog about anything by the time I came home. :P

I've been in work all day today too but feel guilty towards most of you guys who I'm subscribed to because I lagged behind in checking out your blogs this week and, as a result, came home to 1000+ unread posts on my Google Reader and promptly marked them all as 'Read'.

I'm a devoted follower to most of you, though, so will be checking out the posts I missed the next time you blog. :)


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Today's Sunday Salon is mostly about film! (Don't worry - there's a bit about books at the end! Scroll down if you can't stand the film talk.)

Ta-Da!

Yeah, most of you who have followed me for a while now (and I do love you) will know that this blog isn't just a book blog. I also post about my bigger passion in life - films.

Now, books and films do tend to fight it out over what holds my attention more and where my heart belongs.

I love books. I'm a devoted reader.

But films are my passion. Films are what I'm obsessed with, what I can quote at the drop of a hat, and what I can talk about for hours and hours without getting bored (though the same usually can't be said for the person I'm talking about them too.)

That being said, as a film buff, I can honestly say that I HATE THE OSCARS.

The award season is the vainest, stupidest part of the year for film. All these films that sneak in and get a limited release at the end of the year (to a private audience featuring mostly film critics) are hailed as the greatest thing to hit our screens since celluloid was invented.

I just hate it.

One of the main things I really dislike is that the majority of these films are specifically made for Oscar consideration.

Just like a lot of summer blockbusters are made to pull the audiences in with their dazzling sfx and explosions, these films are always centred around one individual's - usually the underdog - struggle to overcome something fierce in life. They use the epically lame and dramatic music to bring a tear to your eye before you realise that this is Hollywood real, not real real.

When did this kind of thing start happening?

I first really noticed it when The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was released last year. This is based on a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald but was being advertised as the biggest vanity project I'd ever seen.

Constant moving images of soft lensed 'beautiful-looking' Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, falling in love, were displayed on TV Screens, Billboards, around the internet. Why couldn't this have been released in the summer if it was such an epic tale? Because it wouldn't have had a chance for consideration.

I still haven't watched it, but I've heard that it was quite the disappointment. I'll get around to it, eventually.

My point to this whole Oscar rant is that every year for the past couple of years, I've boycotted the award season. I refuse to watch actors being paraded around like prize ponies, claiming that 'their art' is important. (But clearly not as important as your vintage Chanel shoes, right?)

But then this year, I realised that, as a film buff, I'm missing out on films that might actually have a good reason to be considered.

One of my favourite films of the past couple of years is Juno.

It's so witty and clever and has such a good story - You'd be a fool not to miss it.

But this film garnered its awards too. If I hadn't seen it before the award season started, I might have completely missed it.

This was a small independent film written by a first-time writer and no huge superstars. But it had an incredible story and such a great script.

No-one ever thought this would be in line with some of the bigger Oscar contenders. But it was!

That just goes to show that sometimes the academy use their brain and actually think outside of the box of dozens of films that are being shoved down their throats for consideration during the last couple of weeks of each year.

So ... (Yes, I DO have a point!)

I have decided that this year, being the film geek I am, I am going to set myself a challenge watch every film that has been nominated for the BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR award this year! That way, rather than bitching about the films nominated, I can make a proper decision based on my own opinion of whether or not these are deserving of such an Oh-so-grand accolade.

Woot!

The list is as follows:

1) Avatar (2009)
2) The Blind Side (2009)
3) District 9 (2009)
4) An Education (2009)
5) The Hurt Locker (2009)
6) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
7) Precious (2009)
8) A Serious Man (2009)
9) Up (2009)
10) Up in the Air (2009)

So far, I've seen one of them. I went to see Avatar with my dad the other week. The review will be up soon.

I'm quite excited about this, actually. How many people actually sit and watch the Oscars (I won't actually be watching them this year :P but you get what I mean) having watched all of the nominees?

So my question to you, lovely readers, is:

Have you seen any of the films up for consideration this year? What did you think of them? And which one do you think will win?


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ON THE SUBJECT OF BOOKS . . .

So, I noticed yesterday that I have 49 subscribers. I don't know how many of you still bother to read this blog but that is amazing.

I can't believe people actually want to read the crap I write. :P

So, as a treat to you to show you how grateful I am to you for putting up with me, when my subscriber list hits 50, I'm going to be putting on a mini sort of competition thing to celebrate my vanity. It's really that I'm going to give a couple of you a treat to show you how much I love yous.

It'll probably be a while. We still have to wait for that 50th subscriber but watch this space . . .

Have a good week. x x x