Blogger by day, superhero by night
So Monday was the big day, I had a big Christmas party at work and the Breaking Emotions Blogathon closed up. To be honest, the blogathon participation was better than I expected but I must have underestimated the commitment of blogging since I myself have somehow fallen into the trap of struggling to find time to write blog posts. That being said, I figured what better way to say farewell to a blogathon than to take part in an Alphabet Movie Meme by Katy from The Drama Lama.
400 might not be an important number to some but for me it actually is somewhat special. I have been waiting for it for quite some time now actually, the big round number of 400. Seeing the number getting closer and closer just made me realize that I’m almost at 500, then, soon I will be a 1000 and then.. I don’t know. Okay, I might me exaggerating because getting to 400 has taken me almost three years. On this rate, it will take me forever to get there but I’m ready for the ride, it’s been so fun so far! As the number got closer, I thought why not celebrate it with something special since I haven’t done it with my other hundred posts. Plus, I had a lot of time with all my school work, deadlines, additional obligations and an up-coming trip… Kidding but I still had a lot of fun putting the alphabet together, had some issues with couple of letters because some didn’t have enough options, some had too many. To be fair, a lot of my favorites were left out but overall, I think it worked out well. It consists of movies, directors, actors and actresses who’s lives revolve around movies.
I have now decided to pay much more time on categories that are rather lonely and since Actor/Actress category should be (by now) among the biggest categories in my blog I’m taking it very seriously from now on. The first actor special post was dedicated to Heath Ledger because he is and always will be my favorite. The second, as you already saw, is Leonardo DiCaprio because it seems that he can’t do wrong in my book as well.
DiCaprio started out from an early age being in TV-series and movies throughout his teenage years opposite to some of Hollywood’s greatest names like Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Then came James Cameron’s Titanic and after that, well you know what happened – DiCaprio hit the jackpot. It seems that this charming and hardworking Hollywood leading drama actors picks his roles very carefully and then acts them with precision and utmost respect because all of his movies are well-respected. (Not gonna do summaries of all the movies, although I’ve seen most of them.)
This Boy’s Life (1993)
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
This is the contemporary version of the most famous and ever-lasting love story between Romeo and Juliet – I say contemporary because I feel like it is the best word to describe this movie. I just remember its collision between the urban world and the fact that the dialog was kept like it was originally – did it felt weird? Yes it did, I don’t remember feeling comfortable with this movie at all but maybe it was my young age and naive thought that every romantic movie should be easy to follow.
Titanic (1997)
I still remember that this was literally the first time I went to the cinema to watch a movie (I think that 101 Dalmatians doesn’t count – it is a cartoon) and while I was quite young I cried like I knew something about love and stuff. Well, Titanic does that to you, you cry because Rose doesn’t let Jack onto the door (or what ever) that is big enough for two of them (kind of) and he then drowns – you cry because you feel like it’s unfair that the hot guy has to die and the woman survives. Or you might cry because other people died as well.
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
The Beach (2000)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
This is one of my favorite DiCaprio movies because it isn’t too serious (which he is especially good at) but it has a slight humor to it. Together with Tom Hanks they portray a true story about Frank (DiCaprio) who by the time he is 19 becomes a millionaire – and not by doing honest work. DiCaprio is a young man who is a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer and the whole movie evolves and progresses through out his lies while Carl (Hanks) is trying to catch him. Watched it at least three times and would be happy to watch it again – brilliant.
The Aviator (2004)
The Departed (2006)
These are the type of movies that I think are just exactly what DiCaprio is good at – serious, thrilling and utmost interesting to watch. The chemistry between DiCaprio and Matt Damon in this one is, as far as I remember, amazing to watch and you can’t do wrong when you are Martin Scorsese. It won an Oscar for the best movie of the year in 2007 and a nomination for DiCaprio and also Mark Whalberg. The cast is great, the story is captivating and the directing is something to inspire towards to.
Blood Diamond (2006)
Body of Lies (2008)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
Shutter Island (2010)
By now I think I’m writing summaries of those DiCaprio movies I’ve seen more than once and therefor Shutter Island is next. Another great collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio while the shaking line between reality and madness is played to its greater limit. DiCaprio is now a detective who investigates a mysterious escape out of a mental institution. Together with Mark Ruffalo as his partner they enter a visually stunning atmosphere (it’s the 50’s) – timeless and interesting to watch over and over again.
Inception (2010)
Don’t lie, you knew it was coming and why not? DiCaprio does leave his comfort-zone a bit, doing an action packed sci-fi movie but still gets a chance to add all that drama and bitterness he has brought to us for many years. I think that having the drama in it was the reason DiCaprio finally agreed to work with Christopher Nolan and along with Joesph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard,Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy this science fiction movie is much more than just the effects (also because Nolan does very little CGI).
Coming up:
J. Edgar (2011) – In October you get to see DiCaprio portray a FBI director. Directed by Clint Eastwood.
The Great Gatsby (2012)
Django Unchained (2012) – All I can say is that Quentin Tarantino is coming back with DiCaprio, Jackson, Foxx, Waltz and many others.
Short facts: (from IMDb)
11 November 1974, Hollywood, California, USA
Birth Name
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
Leo
Lenny D
6′ (1.83 m)
Mini bio: (from Wikipedia)
DiCaprio, an only child, was born in Los Angeles, California. His German-born mother, Irmelin (née Indenbirken), is a former legal secretary, and his father, George DiCaprio, is an underground comic artist and producer/distributor of comic books.[7] DiCaprio’s mother moved from Oer-Erkenschwick at the Ruhr, Germany, to the U.S. during the 1950s,[8] while DiCaprio’s father is a fourth-generation American of half south-Italian (from the Naples region) and half German descent (from Bavaria in southern Germany). DiCaprio’s career began with his appearance in several commercials and educational films. After being booted off the set of children’s television series Romper Room for being disruptive at the age of five,[16] DiCaprio followed his older stepbrother Adam Farrar into television commercials, landing an ad for Matchbox cars at 14.[16] In 1990, he got his break on television when he was cast in the short-lived series based on the movie Parenthood. After Parenthood, DiCaprio had bit parts on several shows, including The New Lassie and Roseanne, as well as a brief stint on the soap opera Santa Barbara, playing the young Mason Capwell. His involvement in Parenthood and the daily soap earned him a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor each.
A committed environmentalist, DiCaprio has received praise from environmental groups for his activism.[4] In the past, he has opted to fly on commercial flights instead of chartering private jets, and it was reported that he drives a hybrid car and has solar panels installed on his house.[4] In an interview with Ukula about his 2007 film 11th Hour, DiCaprio cited global warming as “the number-one environmental challenge.”[84]
And here is the list just one more time, now with only the winners listed! PS: Congrats to The King’s Speech and Colin Firth !
The King’s Speech (2010): Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin – FAV (I listed this as my favorite from all the nominees – well done, me).
Colin Firth for The King’s Speech (2010) FAV (Same thing with Colin, YAY! for Colin, I knew he’ll get this one!)
Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010) FAV (I think this was too obvious to be even a surprise, it was just – ahah, I knew it, blah).
Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010) (Wasn’t my FAV for a reason, I haven’t watched this movie yet – it’s next on my list..)
Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010) (Same story as with previous winner, Christian Bale..)
Tom Hooper for The King’s Speech (2010) (I gave this to The Social Network since I tried to even the playing field, TKS gets the best movie, TSN gets the director.. Academy Awards apparently don’t fallow the rules that way.)
The King’s Speech (2010): David Seidler FAV (I like when I’m right and with TKS I’m almost always right it seems..)
The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin FAV (Thank god it wasn’t in the same category as TKS, all else it would’ve been even harder to pick my favorite..)
Toy Story 3 (2010): Lee Unkrich (Haven’t seen it.. don’t intend to watch it either, sorry Toy Story..)
Hævnen (2010): Susanne Bier(Denmark) (No comments.. god, I should really pay more attention to European films..)
Inception (2010): Wally Pfister (Wasn’t my favorite but at least Inception got something for it’s visuals…)
The Social Network (2010): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall FAV (I was right again…)
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara (Wow, it got an award for something. Not the best from Tim Burton though!)
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Colleen Atwood (Another one, apparently the art and costumes were the best.. while of course other nominees didn’t have that kid of imagination in hand – Wonderland pretty much can be everything and anything.)
The Wolfman (2010): Rick Baker, Dave Elsey (Same thing as with Alice in Wonderland I think.. Making a man into a wolf pretty much sets the bar high.)
The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (I had my finger crossed for Zimmer cause I like his work but TSN deserves it also.)
Toy Story 3 (2010): Randy Newman(“We Belong Together”) (Me and this song don’t belong together, haven’t even heard it…)
Inception (2010): Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick FAV (If Zimmer doesn’t get an award, the sound mixers get it – yay for them!)
Inception (2010): Richard King FAV (The sound is all about Inception this year, great!)
Inception (2010): Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb, Paul J. Franklin FAV (So visuals and the sounds were perfection in Inception.. end of story!)
Inside Job (2010): Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs
Strangers No More (2010): Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon
The Lost Thing (2010): Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann
The Confession (2010/IV): Tanel Toom (This is an Estonian!! Like, yay – too bad he didn’t win, but I’m gonna list him anyway cause I can do what ever I want.)
God of Love (2010): Luke Matheny – winner.
Another year of movies has passed and after the Golden Globes there is only one big event that puts an end to it all (meaning the last year): The Academy Awards – Oscars. And since I did a post about the Golden Globes I felt that I had to do one about the Oscars as well. Now, I am not gonna predict anything, because my taste is pretty shaky lately due to my school work which would be officially over tomorrow – but I am gonna mention my favorites ( by adding a FAV behind it) from the categories in case I’ve seen most of the nominations. Anyway, here it is – Road to the Oscars 2011:
Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, John Smithson
Black Swan (2010): Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
The Fighter (2010): David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg
Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas
The King’s Speech (2010): Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin – FAV
Toy Story 3 (2010): Darla K. Anderson
True Grit (2010): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
Winter’s Bone (2010): Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan
Nominees:
Javier Bardem for Biutiful (2010)
Jeff Bridges for True Grit (2010)
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network (2010)
Colin Firth for The King’s Speech (2010) FAV
James Franco for 127 Hours (2010)
Nominees:
Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole (2010)
Jennifer Lawrence for Winter’s Bone (2010)
Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010) FAV
Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine (2010)
Nominees:
Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)
John Hawkes for Winter’s Bone (2010)
Jeremy Renner for The Town (2010)
Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech (2010) FAV
Nominees:
Amy Adams for The Fighter (2010)
Helena Bonham Carter for The King’s Speech (2010) FAV
Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010)
Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit (2010)
Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom (2010)
Nominees:
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (2010)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit (2010)
David Fincher for The Social Network (2010) FAV
Tom Hooper for The King’s Speech (2010)
David O. Russell for The Fighter (2010)
Nominees:
Another Year (2010): Mike Leigh
Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan
The King’s Speech (2010): David Seidler FAV
Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin FAV
True Grit (2010): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone (2010): Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini
Nominees:
How to Train Your Dragon (2010): Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders FAV
L’illusionniste (2010): Sylvain Chomet
Toy Story 3 (2010): Lee Unkrich
Nominees:
Biutiful (2010): Alejandro González Iñárritu(Mexico)
Kynodontas (2009): Giorgos Lanthimos(Greece)
Hævnen (2010): Susanne Bier(Denmark)
Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve(Canada)
Hors-la-loi (2010): Rachid Bouchareb(Algeria)
Nominees:
Black Swan (2010): Matthew Libatique
Inception (2010): Wally Pfister
The King’s Speech (2010): Danny Cohen FAV
The Social Network (2010): Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit (2010): Roger Deakins
Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): Jon Harris
Black Swan (2010): Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter (2010): Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech (2010): Tariq Anwar
The Social Network (2010): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall FAV
Nominees:
Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat FAV
The King’s Speech (2010): Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
True Grit (2010): Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
Nominees:
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Colleen Atwood
Io sono l’amore (2009): Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech (2010): Jenny Beavan FAV
The Tempest (2010/II): Sandy Powell
True Grit (2010): Mary Zophres
Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman
How to Train Your Dragon (2010): John Powell
Inception (2010): Hans Zimmer FAV
The King’s Speech (2010): Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Nominees:
127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman, Rollo Armstrong, Dido(“If I Rise”)
Country Strong (2010): Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges(“Coming Home”)
Tangled (2010): Alan Menken, Glenn Slater(“I See the Light”)
Toy Story 3 (2010): Randy Newman(“We Belong Together”)
Nominees:
Inception (2010): Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick FAV
True Grit (2010): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland
Nominees:
Inception (2010): Richard King FAV
Toy Story 3 (2010): Tom Myers, Michael Silvers
True Grit (2010): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey
Unstoppable (2010): Mark P. Stoeckinger
Nominees:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi
Inception (2010): Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb, Paul J. Franklin FAV
Iron Man 2 (2010): Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, Daniel Sudick
Nominees:
GasLand (2010): Josh Fox, Trish Adlesic
Inside Job (2010): Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs
Restrepo (2010): Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
Waste Land (2010): Lucy Walker, Angus Aynsley
Nominees:
Killing in the Name (2010): Nominees TBD
Poster Girl (2010): Nominees TBD
Strangers No More (2010): Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon
Sun Come Up (2010): Jennifer Redfearn, Tim Metzger
Nominees:
Day & Night (2010): Teddy Newton
The Gruffalo (2009) (TV): Jakob Schuh, Max Lang
Let’s Pollute (2009): Geefwee Boedoe
The Lost Thing (2010): Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann
Nominees:
The Confession (2010/IV): Tanel Toom
The Crush (2009): Michael Creagh
God of Love (2010): Luke Matheny
Na Wewe (2010): Ivan Goldschmidt
Wish 143 (2009): Ian Barnes, Samantha Waite
Wow, if you didn’t do the counting, I’ll do it for you – the most nominations this year went to The King’s Speech (review coming soon) – a total of 12 nominations! My favorite number by the way. So I guess the question now is, how many it will actually get…
METTEL RAY 