Spring is here. Easter is here. A lot of people take this opportunity to take a little vacation, and maybe even travel. I'm not doing that this year. Then again, I've never been in Oslo during Easter before, so it'll be a new experience anyway. Sort of.
I do love travelling, though, and one of my favorite cities in the world is Rome. Rome and New York, but I'll get back to New York on another occasion.
Last year I was fortunate enough to spend three wonderful vacations in Rome. First trip was a week in March, then a week and a half in May/June, and then another Weekend in October (for the concert mentioned in the previous post about Gianna Nannini).
I've never been inside the Colosseum. I've never really did any of the big touristy things. I much prefer just walking around the city and explore it by myself. And Rome is definitely a city to explore. Here's a couple of pictures from the beautiful city that is Rome. Or Roma, if you prefer the Italian version of the name. And I do.
Spring 2007
Colosseo
AS Roma plays Juventus at Stadio Olimpico, March 2009
Pantheon
Fontana di Trevi
Well, this not much of a tour guide is it? More a quick look into some of the sights in Rome. I'm honostly not that great at taking pictures, and especially not of the scenery. First of all, I have a shit camera. Second of all, I just sort of forget. Most of my pictures are from other settings. Out drinking with friends during night, etc. And well, those pics tend to be even more out of focus.
When I was a wee boy about yay high, my family and I went on Holiday to Italy. This was back before cd-players were the standard for cars, so when we bought some Italian music to listen to in the car, we bought a tape. We bought Gianna Nannini.
So, basically, Gianna Nannini is one of the first artists I was introduced to. It was 88-89, and I was 5-6 years old. Luckily for me, she is still going strong, and last October I went to Rome and saw her live in concert. It didn't dissapoint.
From the concert at Palalottomatica in Rome, October 2009. I was way in the back, so could only get pic of the atmosphere with my cell-phone cam
It was just amazing to go to Rome for a concert, and sit there with thousands of Italians singing along to an artist I had been listening to for about 20 years.
So I really recommend you checking out these videoes and live clips. Personally I love her voice, and the versatility in her tunes. And I also love the fact that sometimes when you listen to the songs, you can almost hear her smile. Nice.
This tune, Aria, is from the album "Perle", an acoustic-ish album with some of her greatest tunes played down. Great album. No video for this, just the tune.
This next is a live clip, and she is great live, from 1984. "Ragazzo dell'Europa" and "California".
Music-video for "Voglio Fare L'Amore"
"Sognami" Live
Music-video for "Meravigliosa Creatura"
Music-video for "Maledetto Ciao"
Music-video for "Bello Impossibile"
Last one for now (I could go on forever) is the theme from the World Cup 1990 (Football... or soccer for those in America)
Just the other day, as I was having dinner at some friends place, we started listening to some golden oldies. And I said "Next time I'm home, I'm gonna make a playlist on Spotify with tunes from the Woodstock-era". I actually said it in Norwegian, but that's not the point. And so I did. Or at least, I made a list with songs that have that feel to it. Maybe it's because some of those songs really just makes me wanna sit around in a big park with friends, drinking a beer, enjoying the sun and some of the amazing music that were created before I was.
Anyway, here is a little selection of some of those songs. Enjoy!
Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit ( Live from Woodstock 1969 )
The sun has started to go Hannibal Lecter on the remaining snow in Oslo, and if I wasn't looking forward to the Spring earlier ( which I was ), then I am definitely doing so these days.
I've opened my window, and the sounds from the streets are quite nice. The cold air, not so much. Still a little too early to go for a BBQ in the park, but not too early to start dreaming of those long days of just reading/listening to music/BBQ'ing/socializing outdoors in general....
So, here are a couple of good tunes to listen to when you are sitting/laying down in the park this sping/summer.
Matt Weddle - Hey Ya ( Cover tune )
Jamie Cullum - Don't Stop The Music ( Another cover... not intentional, though )
As an avid lover of film, I chose to stay up all Sunday Night to watch the 82nd annual Academy Awards. ( For those of you who find it weird that I stayed up all night to watch it, Norway is several hours behind Hollywood-time, so there you go. ) The show being broadcasted on NRK, which do not show commercials, meant that there would instead be a studio discussing the events of the show during it course. On several occasions, I'd sort of preferred the commercials, though... ( there were people in the studio, btw... the studio itself didnt discuss the movies )
As usual, there were one movie who did stick out from the bunch, this time "The Hurt Locker". Kathryn Bigalow became the first female director to ever win the "Best Director" award. The movie won 6 trophies altogether, also winning for Best Motion Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Sound Mix and Best Sound Editing. Not as many as last years big winner, Slumdog Millionaire, but definitely enough to be considered this years Academy Award Favorite.
In my opinion, The Hurt Locker was not a bad choice for either of those awards, although I was hoping for "Inglorious Basterds" for both Directing and Film. Quentin Tarantino's movie not only had a vast diversity in it's brilliant cast ( Mike Myers, Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz to mention but a few ), but some of the scenes stood out as just pure magic.
Christoph Waltz won, not surprisingly, for his magnificent portrayal of Hans Landa in the Quentin Tarantino movie. Best Supporting Actor was the only Oscar for Inglorious Basterds thought. Another big favorite that also took home the Oscar was Mo'Nique, for Best Supporting Actress. She was absolutely breath-taking in Precious, and deservedly took the little golden geezer back to her home.
I've seen all the 10 movies which were nominated for best film, and I must say that I did like the fact that they raised the numbers of nominees this year. There were a lot of great movies competing this year, and by having only 5 nominees movies I predict movies such as Up, Up in the Air, An Education and District 9 probably wouldn't have been found amongst the them. This does not mean they are not good movies, though. It's differcult to rank such diverse movies as Inglorious Basterds vs. Up, Precious vs. Avatar or An Education vs. District 9.
Out of the 10 movies, there were actually no movies I really disliked. Up in the Air was one I really enjoyed, and especially the performances from George Clooney and Vera Farmiga. ( I'm still puzzled as to why Anna Kendrick was nominated, but maybe I was just annoyed by her character, more then the actual acting... )
Sandra Bullock was also a favorite for Best Actress ( who would've seen that coming? ), and won her first Oscar. Her role in The Blind Side was a great one, though, and in my opinion - and obviously the Academy's opinion - her career best. Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe, for An Education and Precious respectively, were also strong candidates, though.
Jeff Bridges finally got his award, and he gave an emotional acceptance speech. It was weird to see "The Dude" emotional. I was very happy for him, although I can't wait to see Colin Firth's performance in "A Single Man", which from the clips I've seen seems like a fantastic job by the Englishman.
Other then that, other highlighs/weird moments were:
- Ben Stiller dressed as an Avatar handing out the Oscar for Best Make-Up ( in which, as Stiller himself pointed out, Avatar wasn't nominated ) - The Kanye-moment of the Oscars, as Elinor Burkett took the mic from Louie Psihoyos as he held his acceptance speech for the Best Short Subject Documentary - Barney Sti.. I mean, Neil Patrick Harris opening the show. Wasn't a great song... but, come on... it's the Barnacle!
Anyway, here are a few clips from some of the movies that were nominated ( or had actors/actresses nominated for their parts in ).
Precious ( 2 wins, 6 nominations in total )
The Hurt Locker ( 6 wins, 9 nominations in total )
Up in the Air ( 6 nominations )
Crazy Heart ( 2 wins, 3 nominations in total )
An Education ( 3 nominations )
A Single Man ( 1 nomination )
And a little bonus:
From last years Oscars, Ben Stiller doing an amazing impression of Joaquin Phoenix ( as he was when interviewed by David Letterman ).
It's Friday, which means it's Weekend. Although some people obviously have to work Weekends as well - in order for us others to be able to buy necessary ( and not quite as necessary ) items when we're off - for many of us this means a couple of days of: ( about 41 words in that sentence.. definitely too many )
a) relaxation
b) drinking
c) spending time with family & friends
d) reading
e) nothingness
f) watching movies
g) ...
well, the list goes on...
Anyways, from all of me, to all of you ( probably not that many ( yet? ) to be honost ), here are a couple of tunes to enjoy.
Have a great Weekend!
Stevie Wonder: "Sir Duke" & "I Wish"
Kanye West feat. Jay-Z: "Never Let Me Down"
Alicia Keys: "Empire State of Mind Part 2"
Sam Cooke: "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Hope you'll enjoy these tunes. I most certainly do.
Having caught up with some of the nominees, I'd like to reflect a little bit about some of the nominated movies and actors/actresses for this years Academy Awards.
First of, Jeff Bridges. The Dude. There's something very likable about this guy. And he's done some great performances, and some brilliant movies. He is nominated for his lead role in the movie Crazy Heart. He plays Bad Blake, a country-singer who is pretty much finished. Playing in small bars and even a bowling-alley ( reference to "The Big Lebowski", anyone? ), drinking a little bit too much Whiskey and with a somewhat troubled relationship with his former protege, he is struggling with money and himself. And yeah, I never thought I'd see Colin Farrell singing country in a movie. ( Well, now I have )
The story is definitely not a revelation. We've seen similar stories before. I did enjoy the movie, though. I enjoyed Jeff Bridges performance, and also really loved the chemistry he had with Maggie Gyllenhaal. The movie itself it not nominated for best picture, which is totally understandable. It's not a great movie. It's just a good movie. Jeff Bridges, though... He makes no mistakes here. Sad, lonely, pathetic, but also funny, nice and with a good heart. Nominated for the 5th time this year ( 3 times for supporting, 2 for leading ), he is yet to win an Oscar.
He is up against George Clooney ( Up in the Air ), Colin Firth ( A Single Man ), Morgan Freeman ( Invictus ) and Jeremy Renner ( The Hurt Locker ). Having seen Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker, I'd say out of those two Jeremy Renner is his biggest threat. I do hope Jeff Bridges wins the award, but I have my doubts.
Will Quentin finally win an Oscar for directing? Inglorious Basterds was, in my opinion, a great movie. The cinematography was fantastic, and some of the scenes are truly brilliant. The long, opening scene of the movie is amazing in so many ways. Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa steals most ( if not all ) of his scenes in the movie. Let this man win the award for Best Supporting Male, and I'll be quite happy no matter what the outcome in the rest of the award ceremony.
On other notes, Gabourey Sidibe should definitely be one of the faves to win for her lead role in Precious. A very solid performance in her very first movie. Oh, some of the scenes in the movie were filmed where I lived during my 5 months in New York. I recognized my subway station on Dyckman Street in Inwood. I saw it, and I said "Hey, that's my subway station from where I lived in New York." True story.
For actress in a supporting role, ( not yet seen Nine, for which Penélope Cruz is nominated for ), I'd say both Maggie Gyllenhaal ( Crazy Heart ), Vera Farmiga ( Up in the Air ) and Mo'Nique ( Precious ) are good contenders for this. Anna Kendrick ( Up in the Air ), not so much.
A lot of movie-talk these days, but it's Oscar-time.
Next Sunday night will see the 82nd Academy Awards take place. A lot can be said of the Oscars, but the discussions before and after are almost half the fun. The first Academy Awards show was held in May of 1929, where "Wings" won the award for best picture. Here's a short look at some of the nominees for Sunday's big show.
Actor in a Leading Role:
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart George Clooney in Up in the Air Colin Firth inA Single Man Morgan Freeman in Invictus Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
Actor in a Supporting Role:
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
Actress in a Leading Role:
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
Actress in a Supporting Role:
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
Cinematography:
Avatar -Mauro Fiore Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Bruno Delbonnel The Hurt Locker - Barry Ackroyd Inglourious Basterds - Robert Richardson The White Ribbon - Christian Berger
Directing:
Avatar -James Cameron The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow Inglourious Basterds -Quentin Tarantino Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire - Lee Daniels Up in the Air - Jason Reitman
Best Picture:
Avatar - James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers The Blind Side - Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers District 9 - Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers An Education - Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers Inglourious Basterds - Lawrence Bender, Producer Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire - Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers A Serious Man - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers Up - Jonas Rivera, Producer Up in the Air - Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
Writing (Original Screenplay):
The Hurt Locker- by Mark Boal Inglourious Basterds - by Quentin Tarantino The Messenger - by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman A Serious Man - by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen Up - by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy
Well, there's some of them. I don't wanna come with too many predictions, although I do feel Christoph Waltz definitely deserves an award for his Supporting Role in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. I haven't seen all the movies involved here, though, so it's hard to come with too many predictions. But how can anyone outplay Christoph as Hans Landa in the Tarantino movie, which I also hope will land a couple of other awards in itself, namely for cinematography and directing.
