pop sanctum

The great Pulitzer Prize winning writer Roger Ebert  has passed away at 70 years old. The 46 year veteran film critic for the Chicago Sun Times, was undergoing chemo therapy for a cancer relapse. Ebert lost part of his jaw along with the abilities to eat, drink and speak in 2006 after a battle with cancer. However he remained busy with his blog and Twitter account. He continued to review films and write books as well as producing the PBS show “Ebert Presents at the Movies”.

Roger Ebert is a huge inspiration to me. I grew up watching “Siskel and Ebert”. My great love of movies was forged during those years. I’ve read and loved his countless books including “I Hated Hated Hated That Movie” and “Life Itself”. Ebert was not just the greatest film critic ever, he was also an amazing writer and communicator. Losing his speech couldn’t silence him.

“You play the cards you’re dealt,” Ebert wrote. “What’s your choice? I have no pain, I enjoy life, and why should I complain?”

“I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state,” Ebert wrote. “I am grateful for the gifts of intelligence, love, wonder and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting.”

I’m heartbroken and I’m not the only one. You will be missed, Roger.

Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster by Kristen Johnston

The excellent book ‘Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster’ by Kristen Johnston tells the story of the actress’ addiction problems which culminated with her stomach “exploding” in London in 2006. That’s right, her stomach blew up. I’m sure it was just as painful as it sounds but the book is not about Johnston feeling sorry for herself.

The lovely star of sitcoms ’3rd Rock from the Sun’ and ‘The Exes’ as well as films, struggled with alcoholism and opiate addiction until that fateful day in London. As a highly functioning addict, only very close friends suspected the truth. Johnston’s aim with ‘Guts’, is transparency in sobriety. Since very few people knew of her addictions, Johnston was told to keep her sobriety a secret but she wants to remove the stigma of addiction.

We all have addictions whether caffeine, nicotine, food, alcohol, reality TV, etc. We know that mental illness is a disease and addiction is a form of mental illness.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of ‘Guts’. It’s a fast and funny read.

Greetings readers. As you may or may not know, I (UltimateJenn) co-host a podcast about all things Disney called Mouse on the Couch. Recent session topics include a discussion on ‘John Carter’ and why it failed, listener e-mails, and Disney Sidekicks who became headliners. The next session (28) will be a discussion on The Disney Stores.

If you enjoy Disney parks, movies, television, books, merchandise, or if you want to hear what my voice sounds like,  give us a listen. You can subscribe to Mouse on the Couch under podcasts on iTunes under Sports and Recreation. You can also go the Mouse on the Couch website to listen and/or contact us.

Let me know what you think!

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth)

As a huge fan of the Suzanne Collins book trilogy ‘The Hunger Games’, I had high expectations for the film adaptation. ‘The Hunger Games’ opened in theaters today and it’s a solid, streamlined version of the story. At two and a half hours, it moves along briskly while giving us a good feel for the characters and their mostly desperate situation.

*****************SPOILERS AHEAD**********************************

In a dystopian future, North America has been divided into districts ruled over by President Snow (Donald Sutherland).  Each year two “tributes”, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, are chosen by lottery (called “Reaping”) to fight to the death, with one final victor, in a televised event known as the ‘Hunger Games’.  The movie begins on the “Reaping Day” for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Then it’s off to the Capital for primping, training and the brutal game itself. Below is a map of Districts 10, 11, 12 and 13 on a map of Panem.

********************************END OF SPOILERS*******************************

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen is perfection. There’s so much intelligence behind her expressive face and still manner. Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale don’t have quite the power of presence that Lawrence shows but to be fair, they’re not given as much to work with. And I think that’s okay at this point. I would recommend reading the books as they are much richer in detail and story. Film has limitations that books can overcome.

If you think this is the new ‘Twilight’, think again. ‘The Hunger Games’ are the antithesis of ‘Twilight’. Katniss is smart, strong and resourceful. Although there are two boys in her life, romance is the furthest thing from her mind.

  ‘The Hunger Games’ is such a well-done film, I would recommend it to anyone except young children as the game itself is brutal and deadly for most of its participants. What did you think of it?

Did you enjoy this year’s Oscar telecast? I think it was better than last year however I’m still bitter about the best song nominees not getting to perform. I mean there were only two?! Anyway, a couple of my favorite moments are below.

Sacha Baron Cohen showed up on the red carpet as his eponymous character from the upcoming film ‘The Dictator’ carrying “Kim Jong-il’s” ashes. “The Dictator”, flanked by hot lady bodyguards, proceeded to dump the ashes on E! correspondent Ryan Seacrest. Seacrest said “Now you know why this isn’t taped. Anything can happen, and it most certainly did — all over my lapel.”

Sacha Baron Cohen's Dictator character

View the E! video of the incident.

Ryan Seacrest interviews “The Dictator”

A great moment during the show was Jim Rash’s Best Adapted screenplay win, along with Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon. Rash (‘Community’s hilarious Dean Pelton) struck an identical pose as presenter Angelina Jolie as Alexander Payne spoke for the trio.

Rash told Entertainment Weekly,”Honestly, as soon as I saw her pose like that, I was like, ‘I’m going to do that’. I knew Alexander was going to take the reins, so I was like, ‘How can I make a moment?’ — selfishly,” laughed Rash. “I almost thought it was a little Dean Pelton, somehow. I was bringing it all together. Because I have stood like that [on 'Community'].”

What were your favorite moments?

Best Picture
WINNER: The Artist — Thomas Langmann
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Directing
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
WINNER: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
WINNER: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
WINNER: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
WINNER: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Adapted Screenplay
WINNER: The Descendants — Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
WINNER: Midnight in Paris — Woody Allen
A Separation

Best Animated Feature
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
WINNER: Rango — Gore Verbinski

Best Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
WINNER: Undefeated — Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin, and Rich Middlemas

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
WINNER: A Separation (Iran) — Asghar Farhadi

Best Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Hugo — Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
WINNER: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Hugo
Moneyball

Best Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
WINNER: Hugo — Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Best Costume Design
Anonymous
WINNER: The Artist — Mark Bridges
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Best Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
WINNER: The Iron Lady — Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Best Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin
WINNER: The Artist — Ludovic Bource
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Best Original Song
WINNER: “Man or Muppet,” The Muppets — Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio

Best Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Hugo — Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Hugo — Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
WINNER: Hugo — Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
WINNER: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore — William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
WINNER: Saving Face — Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Live-Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
WINNER: The Shore — Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Jessica Chastain

And  now I present: Snow and Cyndie

Once upon a time there lived a vain Queen who banished a lovely girl named Snow from her kingdom. The resourceful Snow moved deep into the forest to live amongst the animals that she loved. Deer, bunnies, squirrels and birds visited her little cottage every day.

Not so far away in another kingdom, there lived a peasant girl named Cyndie. Cyndie was forced into indentured servitude by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. However Cyndie was never lonely because she had her friends the mice and birds that lived outside her home.

One day Cyndie was in the forest gathering firewood when she happened upon a cottage. Realizing that she had wandered too far away from her home, she knocked on the door hoping to find a place to sleep until morning.

Delighted to have human company, Snow and Cyndie soon discovered their shared affinity for the creatures of the forest. The quick witted girls spent all night discussing their hopes and dreams.

As morning came, the girls had devised a business plan to open a dress shop. They would design the clothes and their animal friends would help to create them.

As they became more and more successful Snow and Cyndie helped others start businesses. Soon Snow & Cyndie Designs was the premiere fashion boutique in several kingdoms.

Known for their kindness, intelligence and common sense, the ladies’ counsel was sought by rulers far and wide. In this way, Snow and Cyndie helped shape policies in many kingdoms. They inspired in everyone a desire to dream and create leading to centuries of happiness throughout the lands.

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo 
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse 

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life 

Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor 
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners 
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help 

Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Rash & Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo 
George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian, Moneyball 
Peter Straughan & Bridget O’Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Animated Film
The Adventures of Tintin
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango 

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)

Best Picture (Drama): The Descendants

Best Actor in a Movie (Drama): George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Picture (Comedy or Musical): The Artist

Best Actress in a Movie (Drama): Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actor in a Movie (Comedy or Musical): Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best TV Series (Comedy or Musical): Modern Family

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Supporting Actress in a Movie: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Actor in a TV Series (Comedy or Musical): Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama): Claire Danes, Homeland

Best Foreign Language Movie: A Separation (Iran)

Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Best Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen

Best Animated Movie: The Adventures of Tintin

Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Best Actress in a Movie (Comedy or Musical): Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Idris Elba, Luther

Best Original Song: “Masterpiece,” W.E.

Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Best TV Series (Drama): Homeland

Best Actor in a TV Series (Drama): Kelsey Grammer, Boss

Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Best Miniseries or TV Movie: Downton Abbey

Best Actress in a TV Series (Comedy or Musical): Laura Dern, Enlightened

Best Supporting Actor in a Movie: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Forgive me, readers. UltimateJenn has been remiss in her blogging duties but now I’m back with some 2011 favorites.

ULTIMATEJENN’S Favorite TV of 2011

1. ‘COMMUNITY’ NBC’s criminally under-appreciated comedy is the best show on television. Creator Dan Harmon along with his cast and crew are invigorating the medium every week.

Favorite episodes of 2011

‘Advanced Dungeons and Dragons’ The study group plays a lively version of the titular game with perennial outcast Fat Neil.

‘Paradigm’s of Human Memory’ The study group reminisce about their time together in a series of “flashbacks” that were never part of the show.

‘A Fistful of Paintballs’ Part one of the season finale, the study group participates in a campus wide game of paintball while spoofing “spaghetti westerns”.

‘For a Few Paintballs More’ Part two of the season two finale, the game concludes with ‘Star Wars‘ spoofing.

‘Remedial Chaos Theory’ The group attends a housewarming party at Abed (Danny Pudi) and Troy’s (Donald Glover) new apartment. Six alternate realities are explored.

2. ‘AMERICAN HORROR STORY’ FX’s thrilling mix of horror, suspense and family drama was a real treat. This twelve episode series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk amazed with the saga of the Harmon family’s dissolution in their extremely haunted house.

Favorite episodes:

‘Halloween Part 1‘ The Harmon’s prepare for Halloween as we are introduced to the previous owners of the “Murder House”, troubled gay couple Chad (Zachary Quinto) and Patrick (Teddy Sears).

‘Birth’ Vivien (Connie Britton) gives birth to her twins in the house, dying in the process.

‘Afterbirth’ Ben (Dylan McDermott) joins Vivien and Violet (Taissa Farmiga) in eternal haunting as a happy family. Constance (Jessica Lange) raises her grandson, the possible “antichrist”.

3. ‘Cougar Town’ This hilarious ABC comedy spent the last half of the year off the schedule, unfortunately.

4. ‘How I met Your Mother’ Funny and heartbreaking, this CBS sitcom benefits from an amazing ensemble.

5. ‘Fringe’ A science fiction winner this J.J. Abrams Fox show is constantly evolving.