A note to first time BSG watchers; these aren't the reviews for you. I plan to write about the show with the ending in mind. If you haven't seen the show, you will be spoiled on stuff that happens at the end. You've been warned.

Laura Roslin has beat terminal cancer. Sure, the odds were long against her, but she won, thanks to a crafty scientist and a half-Cylon, half-human baby. Moments before, Laura had ordered the military guys to kill the child, but Baltar being Baltar, he comes up with a save to both side with humanity (this time at least) and to avoid the public responsibilities of being president of the colonies.

OK, it's certainly a miracle, even if the explanation is a bit more on the 'magic' side than the 'science' side. But I can forgive it simply because the characters and their actions, including Baltar's Hail Mary to save Roslin, makes sense for the story.

But really, that's not the important stuff here; while I can admit to being a little worried the first time through, all rational thinking people knew the female lead wasn't going to bite it in the middle of the second season. What is important is how the characters, including Roslin herself, deal with her impending death (and miraculous resurrection).

Roslin, naturally, hunkers down and spits out one last directive: kill the Cylon fetus. The tests are inconclusive, the mother is possibly not a threat, but Roslin will take no chances with the safety of her human children, so the baby must die.

It's a bit hard to watch someone, even a fake someone, being that ruthless to another person, but Roslin has not reached Helo's level of awesome. She doesn't see Sharon as a person, so what of it, kill that thing's baby before the child can hurt any of her *real* charges. And in just a few episodes down the road, that thinking with lead Roslin to kidnap Hera and let Sharon and Helo believe she's dead.

It's cruel, it's heartless, and it makes perfect sense. Roslin will eventually come to love that child, but now, all we get to see is her fear on display.

Speaking of fear...Oh, Baltar.

I can forgive Baltar for his role in the Cylon attacks; he was really more pawn than player, but here, he's reckless and angry, and he gives a nuke to a terrorist group. A nuke that goes off, kills a bunch of people, brings the Cylons to New Caprica, who then kill a bunch more people.

It's crap like that that makes me unwilling to see his side of arguments, even when he's right. What the Colonials never knew was that New Caprica was all his fault, and here begins his greatest sin. Because Roslin gave him an honest assessment of his character, and he was so ashamed of his faults (how could he have any faults), he chose to embrace all his faults, give up on his people and side with Cylons.

Unforgivable. I'm glad it never came out (the Colonials would have killed him for certain, and he's too juicy a character to lose), but yeah, I'm certainly never going to love him.

Now, I don't really have much to say about the flashbacks, other than to share how shocked I was to learn about Roslin and Adar's affair (and that that storyline was Mary McDonnell's idea). But I won't leave you hanging; if you really want an in-depth reading of Roslin's experience here, check out Jacob's recap. Yes, it's long, but it's one rare time I can say I would rather read his recap than watch the episode (as much as I love Laura Roslin, the episode's flaws are numerous). No joke there; it's all true. 

Here's something worth noting that I've missed in previous viewings; in season three's "Dirty Hands," Roslin and Adama come under fire for drafting civilians to work on the tylium ship. But, all the way back her, Lee casually mentions how some civilians were *brought in* to handle the grunt work, like our terrorist Asha Janik.

Talk about good planning, but it begs an interesting question: We never really get to see the civilian fleet (I'm guessing money played a big role in that), but what do they do all day? No wonder there is so much unrest; with 48,000 bored people laying about with nothing to do, I'm surprised we haven't seen more unrest.

No wonder they embraced New Caprica so readily.

Next up: "Black Market"

Whoo-hoo.

Yeah, I should have known that Jeff Bridges was a lock, but I wasn't the only one to be thrown off by the screenplay wins.

But forget all that; twelve years after the "Titanic" debacle swept the Oscars, I have my ("L.A. Confidential"-inspired) revenge.  Yes, it's petty and time to move on, but I can't help it; I was happy to see "Avatar" (and James Cameron) fail.

I have no idea how good "The Hurt Locker" is, just as I have no idea what I'm going to think when I finally do see "Avatar." It will be a while before I can really weigh in on that debate, but right now, I'm going to take some pride in the Academy for honoring a small picture over another  blockbuster (and for finally giving a female director an Oscar: Go Bigelow!).

How can this feeling of smug superiority be wrong?

A note to first time BSG watchers; these aren't the reviews for you. I plan to write about the show with the ending in mind. If you haven't seen the show, you will be spoiled on stuff that happens at the end. You've been warned.

First, the battle; while it lasts on screen for maybe seven minutes, this battle is still one of my favorites. If you can describe a battle as beautiful, this is it, with the mournful music, Lee's unique view outside of the action (echoes of Midway), the ghastly imagery of the resurrection ship's destruction (and all the empty bodies floating out into space), it's really something spectacular.

Plus, this battle was the first time I really started paying attention to the music in the show; Bear McCreary is an extraordinary musician, and with the battle sequence themes and the Roslin/Adama theme at the end, I'm officially in his camp forever. FOREVER.

As I said, the battle is the focal point of the action, but there's a lot more here than just the attack. Admiral Cain meets her end here, and while she's a great character (written and performed), I think Starbuck is wrong in her assessment of Cain.

The Colonials were not safer with her around; sure, Starbuck doesn't (likely) have all the facts about Cain, but here is a woman who murdered her best friend, sent her soldiers on suicide runs for a paltry victory, left civilians to die, and then abused and tortured an enemy soldier.   

Starbuck sees a woman she admires, one who doesn't dither or second-guess herself, someone who always acts. Starbuck loves Adama and Roslin, but she can't help but feel that they aren't the leaders she wants them to be.

However, I also think Roslin was somewhat wrong (and somewhat right) about Cain. Cain could back down; she had the opportunity to assassinate Adama/Tigh, etc., and she didn't. Maybe, in light of their shared victory, she was more willing to see his position. Maybe she felt, strategically, it wasn't the right time. Maybe she didn't have the fight in her anymore. We'll never really know, but like Adama's choice, she made the right one (fortunately, Gina and her handy sidekick Gaius were around to clean up a future mess).

Speaking of Gaius, what an odd journey this second half of the season finds for him. He shamelessly lies to this damaged woman, in the hopes that she will become the flesh and blood woman he's been missing. As always, he's a man with an agenda that benefits only him (and his actions will affect thousands). People are going to die because of his relationship with Gina (starting with the deaths in this episode we saw here), and what makes him so despicable (but so compelling) is that he doesn't think about anything but what's happening right now. (All the good will he bought in "Pegasus?" Gone.)

Another person not thinking things through is one Lee Adama; I always liked Lee, but he's too idealistic for his own good. He wants everything and everyone to be something they're not, and when he's confronted with some hard truths, he falters and breaks. In a few episodes, he'll be so confused and disillusioned he won't even recognize himself. He'll be better for the hardship, but it's not exactly going to be fun to watch someone rebuild themselves.

OK, I think I've rambled on enough about this episode that surprises me every time. However, as an unrepentant 'shipper, I couldn't let this review end without mentioning the final promotion scene between Roslin and Adama. After everything I've seen the two of them go through, that scene still gets to me.

She gives him his dream, he tries to give her hope. She promotes him in the Fleet, he promotes her in his heart. They both acknowledge how they feel, even if they can't say it out loud. I never asked for that relationship, but it was, it is my favorite. And here it begins.

 Next up: "Epiphanies"

I mean that literally; it's not a great movie, but I really enjoyed about half of it, which is more than I can say for "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."

He dies...and some years later, its 2018. The machines have taken over the world, but a scrappy band of resistance fighters, including one John Connor (Christian Bale) are still fighting the good fight to defeat Skynet and take back their planet.

The Resistance finds a Skynet base, and while they are attempting to download some data and rescue some prisoners, Skynet strikes. John Connor is the only survivor, but out of the wreck comes Marcus; he's a bit confused, but once he meets up with a young Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and a mute girl Star (Jadagrace), he gets a better handle on the history he's missed and what is out there.

Along the way, both main characters encounter a lot of baddies, lots of things are blown up, and we get to see just how screwed humanity is in this world gone mad. The audience is fairly immersed in this post-apocalyptic world, but like the other films in this series, the action scenes just really bored me.

I really liked Marcus's journey and while I knew his secret, it's interesting to see how the other characters, including Marcus, react to this not-quite human. That was the half I liked; the endless stretches of CGI monster battles and Connor brooding at times made the film a chore rather than a joy.

The Terminator franchise has always lived and died on the special effects, and while they have always been phenomenal, watching things explode for twenty minutes is not my idea of fun movie watching. A lot of the sequences were, I suspect, an homage to previous films, but they mostly came off as derivative. Maybe if you've seen one Terminator smackdown, you've seen them all.

I liked Marcus and his storyline enough to keep watching, but I can't really recommend the film. It was better than "T3," but so are a lot of movies. Who knows, maybe I'm just still bitter about "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" getting axed; as much I liked Marcus, I'd much rather see more of that than another movie.

"Terminator Salvation"

Written by John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris

Directed by McG

Starring: Chrisitan Bale (John Connor)
Sam Worthington (Marcus Wright)

Anton Yelchin (Kyle Reese)

A note to first time BSG watchers; these aren't the reviews for you. I plan to write about the show with the ending in mind. If you haven't seen the show, you will be spoiled on stuff that happens at the end. You've been warned.

Ok, my metaphor might have fallen apart there, but really, it's true. The fight, the delay, the backstabbing, it's all in the first five minutes. Like all of the two parters before and after in this series, part one is really just the setup; all the pieces are placed on the board and all hell is going to break loose when we come back next week. Yes, it's slightly formulaic, but it doesn't stop "Resurrection Ship, Part One" from being a fantastic episode.

I think it's partly because while it's setting up the next episode, it's also offering some groundwork for the rest of the season (and that killer finale).

The extended cut of "Pegasus" opens with Starbuck proposing a rescue plan to Adama and Roslin. It's a crazy plan (hell, it's a Starbuck plan, that goes with the territory) and while our leaders our sympathetic, they are not willing to let their people go on a mission with that many variables.

Into this Starbuck turmoil comes Admiral Cain, who wants the same thing Starbuck does. Starbuck is immensely disappointed in her leaders, and here is a woman who promotes her, believes in her, and is willing to do what Adama and Roslin were not (fight the Cylons instead of fleeing).

But, here's the point Starbuck's missing; Cain has been fighting the Cylons for six months, killing and dying to regain home worlds that cannot be regained. The Colonials could kill every Cylon in the galaxy, and they would still not be able to drink the water on Caprica.

Roslin realized on day one that going home wasn't possible, and as hard as it has been for the Colonials, they are better for going forward rather than looking back at what they have lost.

Another suffering from the "looking back" disease is Gaius Baltar. He sees a damaged, suicidal Six model in Gina, and thinks that if he helps her, she can be the real live girlfriend he's been missing. But his need to recapture the past is so strong that he's missing who Gina is. She's broken, she can't be fixed, and she will sooner destroy the Colonials than run away with him.

I love the Gaius in this arc (the only time that happens) because while he definitely is helping her to have sex with her, he genuinely wants to heal her. It's the first time we see that he cared about his Six. (I'm having trouble believing that I wrote that sentence, but I did. Dammit.).

One last thought for this week: during my first watch of the series, I didn't notice the downside to Cylon resurrection, because what would be the downside? No matter what happens, you will never die. You live forever. With the specter of death hanging over our characters, who wouldn't want that?

Gina wouldn't. It will be a few seasons before we see just how wrong eternal life is, but here we have the first glimpse of it. A person who can live forever chose instead to kill herself (and took a bunch of others with her).

Nobody wins.

Next up: "Resurrection Ship, Part Two"

The movie opens with a mob boss getting whacked by some robbed figure. Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) was on the scene for a different, but related, reason, but since the culprit was in the cape, the police and the residents of Gotham City believe that Batman has finally lost it and has taken to executing criminals.

Of course, Batman would never do that, so Bruce Wayne begins investigating this new crime stopper in town. Of course, Wayne's got his own problems; an old flame, Andrea (voiced by Dana Delany), "the one that got away," decides to come back to town and Bruce is once again faced with the choice of love or his Batman mission.

We get a little background on Batman and Bruce Wayne, a story with both decent and believable twists, gorgeous animation and a satisfying ending. Bonus: the film is only 76 minutes long. It's not rushed, and in parts (especially some fight scenes) the film drags, but most of the way through I was pretty gripped by Batman's latest mystery.

I don't think "Mask of the Phantasm" packs the same emotional punch "Dark Knight," but in my book, it's the second best Batman movie. No one is more surprised at that statement than me.

"Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (1993)

Directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce W. Timm

Written by Alan Burnett

Starring: Kevin Conroy (Batman, voice)

Dana Delany (Andrea Beamont, voice)

I can admit, with only a small amount of shame, that I'm a big fan of the books the movie is based on. Yes, they're chick lit with a lot of the clichés of the format, but they're fun and Sophie Kinsella has a good sense of humor and a light tough with both humorous and touching scenarios.

Unfortunately, none of that made it in to the movie.

She's vastly unqualified for the gig, and is hired for some unknown reasons (seriously, I watched the whole thing and they never explain why she got the job). She struggles at first, but after her boss, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), gives her the push to write a unique (uniquely stupid) column, her fame (but not fortune) skyrockets. "Hilarity" ensues.

I know I'm being harsh here, but I really have trouble seeing something I liked made into such garbage. Yes, Rebecca loves shopping, but in the novels, she has an MBA. Business writing is a bad fit for her, but she's not an idiot. A commonly used device is to make a character stupid in the hopes of getting a laugh, and it's one I wish I could ban from television and movies. I can't, and so I must suffer through movies like this one.

I don't think I've ever seen a film so disconnected from reality as this one; I imagine even a struggling magazine looking for a fresh voice would hire someone who could write coherently about its subject matter. I don't see how in any circle her column would gain her that amount of fame.

Couple those fatal flaws with her obnoxious friends and family and her blander-than-bland love interest,  and I was ready to quit at the 20 minute mark.

I admire Fisher's attempts to bring some of her charm to this impossible role, and while she tries her best, the foundation was too weak to save. She deserves a better role, and I hope she finds it soon and that I'll never have to watch her in this type of role again.

Is that too much to wish for?

"Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Written by Tracey Jackson,  Tim Firth and Kayla Alpert

Directed by P.J. Hogan

Starring: Isla Fisher (Rebecca Bloomwood)

Hugh Dancy (Luke Brandon)

A note to first time BSG watchers; these aren't the reviews for you. I plan to write about the show with the ending in mind. If you haven't seen the show, you will be spoiled on stuff that happens at the end. You've been warned.

Whew, what a doozy of an episode. At this point in our rewatch, I can say unequivocally that this is the darkest the show has gone (and for a series that opened with a genocide, that's saying something).

You would think by now the fleet has learned that all good things that happen to them have a bitter aftertaste, but they haven't quite given up hope. They welcome the Pegasus fleet into their family, but instead of more survivors to enrich their lives, they get a group of moral-free soldiers whose only goal is to payback the Cylons for what's been lost.

At the front of this group stands Admiral Cain, a warrior in every way. She's fierce, protective of her crew and completely unwilling to bend her view of the world. She's a monster for sure, but kudos to the writers for giving her character more depth than that.

 "Razor" will cover a lot of her sins in more detail, but the short version is that her post-attack world is the road-not-taken for Adama. Way back in the miniseries, he had a moment where he could have picked her way, abandoned the civilians and fought the Cylons in a war he could not win. He thought about it, he was going to do it, but Roslin and her pragmatic words convinced him to give up their home worlds and find a new place to start over.

Cain choose to fight the impossible fight; she stripped away everything that made her human and she and her crew became killing machines. They found an infiltrator and beat and raped her for betraying them; they murdered civilians who didn't want to become one of them; Cain killed her best friend and first officer for not agreeing to order men on a suicide mission.

It's insane, but if your only goal is to eradicate the enemy, the losses don't matter after a while, which makes the situation with Tyrol and Helo a bit tricky.

They walked in on one of Cain's men raping their beloved Sharon Valerii; they were protecting her, and one Lt. Thorne ended up dead. Cain has them brought to the Pegasus, and she convicts them of treason and sentences them to die.

She's not wrong here; the rules say she can do this, Tyrol and Helo both took oaths to uphold those rules, and they are guilty.

But she is wrong; she is so focused on maintaining the present, military rules, she doesn't see that with just 50,000 humans left, she must protect all of them (something Roslin will have to re-learn in the next few years).

Her shortsightedness will be her downfall, in the form of her Cylon lover Gina.

Gina is a Cylon like every other Cylon; she had a mission, she completed it, but she was captured and tortured for no reason other than to torture her. The Fleet will pay the price for what they did to her later on (her veneagance will last longer than she would have ever imagined), but seeing Baltar's reaction to her, I can see why he chose the Cylon side for a while. This was the one arc where I actually thought well of him; the Pegasus humans are not worth siding with.

But somewhere in that fleet is Kendra Shaw, Cain's legacy, and she's probably still convinced their choices were the right ones. She keeps repeating that mantra at night, in hopes the nightmares will stay away. Soon, she'll see how the other side handled the end of the world, and she will weep for all of her Pegasus family, Cain included. Her actions will save them all.

Next up: "Resurrection Ship, Part One"

So begins "District 9," an ambitious but flawed science-fiction movie.

Before they can do that, they need to show the public they (the humans) are not monsters, and Multinational United, the corporation in charge of the relocation, decides they need the Prawns' permission to move them, and here's where we meet our "hero," Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley). He's the man in charge on the front lines, and while he's generally against violence, he can be cruel when he feels like it.

But, well, things take an interesting turn when Wikus, after killing an *unruly* Prawn, finds a hidden canister, gets some black gunk sprayed on him and his arm mutates into an alien form.

Oh, how the mighty fall.

As expected, things don't work out too well from him after that, but I'll spare you more plot details.

The good parts of "District 9" are what science-fiction does best; the film asks the hard questions about humanity and shows what would likely happen in this scenario. Prawns look like monsters, but they've got nothing on humans. But (you knew that was coming), while "District 9" is pretty fearless (and gruesome) in showing the dark side of humanity, the film falls short of being a great movie.

For starters, the faux-documentary technique works for the material, but it lasts for too long. It's distancing, and works against getting to know the characters we're spending our two hours with. In line with that, making our protagonist a feckless coward was a brave choice, but it's really hard to spend the time watching a movie when there is no one to route for. The last 40 minutes of the film take all those interesting ideas about humanity and Apartheid and animal testing and they just congeal into a slow-paced action flick (not a good thing).

What "District 9" does right it does very, very well. Even the problems I had with the film aren't necessarily deal breakers, but they all add up to a film that I thought well of, but not one I enjoyed watching (or need to watch again).

Want a different take? Check out Jim's review.

"District 9"

Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

Starring: Sharlto Copley (Wikus Van De Merwe)

A note to first time BSG watchers; these aren't the reviews for you. I plan to write about the show with the ending in mind. If you haven't seen the show, you will be spoiled on stuff that happens at the end. You've been warned.

But you know what - I don't care. "Flight of the Phoenix" is one of my favorite episodes, and I love it more now than I did before. It just makes my heart happy.

I've got a soft spot for broken characters and everyone is feeling it this time. They're all a little bit raw and easy to piss off; as Adama puts it, they finally realize they will be stuck in this *temporary* life for a while now, and once that reality sets in, out goes the hope (the happiness left the room during the miniseries).

Enter Tyrol, and his glorious plan to restore some of what's been lost. Sure, he's as hopeless and pissed off as the rest of them (beating on Helo is not going to help you, Chief), but he needs some escape from the Boomer fallout, and repairing things is just what he does. In the process, he even gets a little (very little) healing for himself; he accepts that he loved Boomer and that it's okay that he loved her (which explains a lot about his behavior in "Pegasus" and "Someone to Watch Over Me"). Eveyone else may hate her (and her twin Athena), but like Commander Adama, he's not about hating.

Speaking of Athena, she gets to do some healing of her own with some computer virus trick that saves the ship and the fleet and probably doesn't make sense (again, not caring!). Looking back, it's easy to say that she never betrayed her human family, but during the first watch of the show, I was always waiting for that moment when she had taken enough of their crap and gone back "home" to her real family. To her (and her writers' credit), she had more character than I gave her (or them) credit for. We'll talk about her more next week, but for now, she rocks and keeps on rocking. This is her first step to acceptance; she'll "roll the hard six," and she'll win this family in the end.

Of course, all this stuff is pretty cool (and moving too), but the reason to stick around this episode (and why I'm willing to forgive a lot here) is because of the final scene. Tyrol has built his ship, Starbuck has successfully flown it, and the crew has something to show for all their time together. Something positive came out of all their misery, and in their joy, they dedicate their *baby* to their mother, their dying leader.

They fight, they survive, they fight some more, but right now, they know she's not going to be around for too many more fights ("a month at the outside - Doc Cottle), so they gift her the best of themselves.

Yes, there's some trite lesson in there about the enduring strength of the human spirit, and blah blah blah, but it's a moment that always sticks with me.

Say what you will about it, I love this episode.

Next up: "Pegasus" (the extended cut)

A note to first time BSG watchers; these aren't the reviews for you. I plan to write about the show with the ending in mind. If you haven't seen the show, you will be spoiled on stuff that happens at the end. You've been warned.

Here, we get some small glimpses into what their lives are like. Racetrack, Gaeta, Dualla, and especially Kat get screen time that would normally go to Starbuck and her issues or Baltar and his scheming ways. We still get some moments with them too, but this time, it's not their hour.

During my first watch of the show, I'm sure I didn't even know those characters' full names (hell, I don't even call Racetrack by her real name), and while Racetrack and Kat were never favorites, Gaeta and Dualla (the ultimate background character) were ones who grew in surprising (and not all good) ways, and the actors and writers always justified my liking them.

Of course, that's not all we've got going on here; the biggest news is we have met another Cylon model, the duplicitous and at times unhinged Number Three in D'Anna Biers.

The reporter cover story is just a front, but it's something that fits who she is too. When she and Baltar began their quest to find the final five, she was looking for the truth of the Cylons. Here, she's looking for a scoop, but the real story is more than the scoop. Again, I know it was just a front to get the footage of a still-alive and still-pregnant Athena to the Cylons on Caprica, but it works on both levels.

I didn't think too much of the episode the first time through, and I still think the Tigh assassination plot was silly and unnecessary, it works more for me this time. I doubt RDM and company planned it this way, but all the characters they focused on here didn't survive the series. It was nice to see them all again, even for a little while.

Next Up: "Flight of the Phoenix"

Can't wait!

"The Hurt Locker" Written by Mark Boal

"Inglourious Basterds" Written by Quentin Tarantino

"The Messenger" Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman

"A Serious Man" Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

"Up" (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

My pick: "Inglourious Basterds"

I suspect that Tarantino is going to get shafted in the "bigger" awards, but they like to keep him around and happy, so I can see him taking home this prize.

Best Adapted Screenplay

"District 9" Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

"An Education" by Nick Hornby

"In the Loop" by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire") by Geoffrey Fletcher

"Up in the Air" by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

My pick: "In the Loop"

Again, I'm flying blind on a lot of these picks, and while the more conventional part of my brain says "Up in the Air" will take this one, the screenplay categories awards tend to go to risker, "edgier" movies, so I'll be bold in my choice.

Best Supporting Actress

Penélope Cruz in "Nine

Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"

Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"

Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air"

Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

My pick: Mo'Nique

She's the clear frontrunner this year, and while I don't want to say anyone's a "lock" for the win, she's won every other prize for her role, and I see no reason for her to stop now.

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon in "Invictus"

Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger"

Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"

Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"

Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

My pick: Christoph Waltz

Again, I'm going with the safe choice. He's got considerable buzz for his role, that's good enough for me. (Ever feel like you're just on repeat?)

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"

Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

My pick: Sandra Bullock

It hurt a little to write that. Granted, I haven't seen "The Blind Side," and I know I'm prejudging her role in it, but while I've always liked Bullock, I've never found her a particularly moving actress. I wouldn't begrudge her a win, but it just feels a bit wrong.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"

George Clooney in "Up in the Air"

Colin Firth in "A Single Man"

Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"

Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

My pick: Jeremy Renner

Conventional wisdom says Jeff Bridges is a lock, and they're probably write, and I *know* I should pick him to win, but I'm listening to my stupid heart on this one. I've seen Renner in other roles, he's fantastic, so I'm in his corner this time.

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"

James Cameron, "Avatar"

Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"

Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds" 

My pick: Kathryn Bigelow

The big story of the Oscar nominations is the showdown between "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker;" they both scored nine nominations each and are directed by former spouses Bigelow and Cameron. Again, here's me prejudging, but it also seems to be a contest of substance ("Hurt Locker") and style ("Avatar").

I can't really weigh in this fight because I haven't seen either one, but my "Titanic" bitterness is still alive and well, and I don't want to see Cameron or "Avatar" win any more awards than is has to (the Visual Effects award is rightfully theirs).

Put me down for Team Bigelow.

Best Picture

"Avatar

"The Blind Side"

"District 9"

"An Education"

"The Hurt Locker"

"Inglourious Basterds"

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

"A Serious Man"

"Up"

"Up in the Air"

My pick: "The Hurt Locker"

We've got 10 nominations for Best Picture this year, and the big showdown still comes down to two contenders.

Yes I want "Avatar" to fail more than I want "The Hurt Locker" to win (is this how Yankees' haters feel), but from a money perspective, "Avatar" made the most money of any movie ever, and that's a hard fact to ignore.

However, money (or a massive visual effects spectacle) doesn't lead to quality, and I can't imagine that "Avatar" is a great movie. When I see it, I may feel differently, (and I'll eat that crow and like it) but for now...

"The Hurt Locker" ALL THE WAY!!!!!

A note to first time BSG watchers; these aren't the reviews for you. I plan to write about the show with the ending in mind. If you haven't seen the show, you will be spoiled on stuff that happens at the end. You've been warned.

In a lot of ways, Season Two of BSG feels like two mini-seasons grouped together (coincidently, so does Season Four); the first part pretty much ends here. While some groups have been coping with the end of the world and constant fights with their enemies in the here and now, one group has been looking for a future, and they find it.

Earth turns out to be real, and while it will take them a long time to find it (longer than they ever thought), they know that it's not a fantasy or a beautiful lie.

This longing for home comes up a lot in this series, not surprising considering that all their homes were taken from them, but it's not until the last few episodes in Season Four that the characters really begin to ask themselves what that means. When they are stuck in such misery (and it's only going to get worse), can that place really be home?

I've always found the expression "A house is not a home" to be fairly dumb, but just because it's dumb doesn't mean it's not true. Right here, they been looking for a place to live and grow and prosper, and they never realized that where they are now matters too. They are home, even if they don't know it. What makes the final moment of "Revelations" so bitter, and that seed was planted in the miniseries by Adama and heartily fertilized by Roslin, is that they never thought the present was as important as the future (something Roslin only figures out on her deathbed). Foolish humans.

But for now, the Fleet has just come through its first crisis and not everybody made it through, but the people who survived know that they are a family.

For better or worse, they are all in this together, and with their first Civil War ended, they all vow to move forward. Together.

Next Up: "Final Cut"

On one hand, I liked a lot of "Funny People,"* Judd Apatow's look at death and dying. Adam Sandler gives a great performance as schmuck comedian George Simmons, who discovers that he's got a rare blood condition that will kill him.

George is a wildly successful actor, but once he gets his diagnosis, he returns to his roots as a stand-up and discovers Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), a struggling comic who is still trying to find his style (and become wildly successful himself).

George hires Ira to write some jokes for him, which quickly turns into George paying Ira to be his buddy/personal assistant. There is a good friendship there, but there's also a lot of tension, because Ira wants to be honest with *friend,* but you can't always be honest with your boss.

That evolving relationship (and its turbulent ups and downs) is the best part of the movie, but like other Apatow movies, the side characters and their stories just don't interest me. Ira's buddies and his crush on a comedienne really drag the film down, contributing to one of the bigger faults: at 2½ hours, "Funny People" is just way too long.

Most of the excess comes from the side plots that really don't need to be there and over-indulgence in comedy scenes, which are supposed to be painfully unfunny (and are unfunny). It's a flaw he keeps going back to in his films, and I hope he can eventually get it out of his system. He's a decent storyteller, and pretty funny one, but success is not helping him grow.

Better luck next time, Judd.

"Funny People" (2009)

Written and directed by Judd Apatow

Starring: Adam Sandler (George)

Seth Rogen (Ira)

*Spoilers ahead in my review addendum

Yes, George goes through the tropes of death in the movie: he takes stock of his life, doesn't like what he sees, and at Ira's urging, reaches out to some people from his past to make amends and say goodbye. We've seen all this before (and will likely see again), but what is unique in George's journey is what happens after he gets better.

In most movies, the cancer patient gets the "all clear" sign at the end of the film, and the audience is left knowing that he/she will be a better person for having come this close to death. Here, we get to see George cope with being prepared for death, but getting that second chance. How do you go on when you were sure you were done?

George goes on by reverting back to himself, the schmuck we met at the beginning, which is probably closer to real life than a miraculous transformation of other movies.

I've never seen that before, in movies or television, and it's why I'm not willing to give up on Apatow's films, even the flawed ones.

And like "Planet of the Apes," I didn't really like this one too much, but I don't think that's the point of "Wall Street."

He eventually gets the attention of one Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a soulless and corrupt investment banker (best in the business, and the most ruthless). Bud slowly begins to make his dream come true and slowly begins losing his soul in the process. Fortunately, it's not on overnight process for Bud, thanks in large part to his father, Carl (Martin Sheen), who keeps our young climber grounded (to a point).

The crux of the film, the moral quandary, comes down to a man torn between two fathers: one a Devil that embodies all his darkest dreams, and one a Saint (played by Martin Sheen) who embodies the idealist dreams of youth. It's an old story in "modern" dressing, but for the most part the performances hold up to 20 years of scrutiny. Gekko is still delightfully evil, Carl Fox is wise but also practical in his lefty impulses, and Bud Fox swings between the two with believable ambivalence.

(Apparently, Charlie Sheen chose his dad to play his character's father, and the characters' relationship is all the richer for the real-life back story of the actors.)

But, despite how much I liked the performances, there's really not a lot to like in the movie. "Wall Street" is too simplistic and (at times) heavy-handed to get invested in the story (it's no fun watching when you do all the thinking for us, Stone). I can't even feel sorry about our hero's downfall when we can see that he did know better, but he followed Gekko's path anyway.

Greed wasn't good for him, and if 2008 taught us anything, it wasn't good for the world.

"Wall Street" is a good time capsule, but it's best as a relic.

"Wall Street" (1987)

Written by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone

Directed by Oliver Stone

Starring: Charlie Sheen (Bud Fox)

Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko)

Martin Sheen (Carl Fox)