Ok, ok! I am voting with my loins! I have always had a crush on this guy since he came out in
Spiderman. So now that he has finally done a film that pleases the academy, I choose him as my
Best Actor this year. I haven't seen
Colin Firth and
Javier Bardem yet (except on their movies' trailers).
Jesse Eisenberg plays
Zuckerberg to a T and
Jeff Bridges is just amazing in
True Grit. But my eyes and attention was just transfixed at James Franco in 127 Hours. I was just rooting for his character to hold on and not give up. He really played the gamut of emotions in this movie. I know he's a longshot to win but in my book, he's my winner!
I just love this guy's body of work!! I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button three times - during its theatrical release! I was just so moved by the movie! And of course, who could forget The Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac and The Game - all movies that I really enjoyed and loved. I think it was only Panic Room which I didn't quite like. So it was a surprise for me to learn that he directed this film! David Fincher doing a talkie! That's new! He just really did a good job in making this film tight and gripping and interesting!
It's one of those rare years where most of the Oscar-nominated movies have already been screened here in Manila. This year, out of the ten Best Picture nominees, only The Kids Are All Right, Winter's Bone and The King's Speech have to make their way here - which is remarkable! There were years when I was growing up, that I would see the Oscar-nominated movies, only after they've already won.
Anyhow, my pick for Best Picture would still be The Social Network. I think the academy should give this award to this movie since among all the nominees, it has the most recent theme, and it chronicles something that is actually happening now! Facebook has really revolutionized the social habits of today's youth.
It does help that David Fincher turns something that would, maybe, look boring on paper, look interesing on screen. And I admit, I was transfixed with this movie, from that scene where Jesse Eisenberg was having this clever conversation with this co-ed up to the last scene. I was really impressed!! At that time, I had only seen Inception (which is equally impressive too!). This film just took me on the rollercoaster ride that the characters in it were expressing. I really actually cared for them! And they're not even nice people!!
Finally, because of the power of the Internet, the youth of the Middle East are starting to wake up! I know it's a stereotypical comment to see Arab countries as oppressive to women, backward in social justice and cruel to gay people - but with what I'm seeing now, people everywhere, regardless of race and cultural background - all want freedom and democracy - to making their voices heard!!
I guess because the Internet allows information to cross through borders - the Middle Eastern youth have seen what freedom and democracy has done to many of the more economically progressive countries, so they want the same for their own countries. Down with dictatorships and oligarchies and hello to the new Middle Eastern political order - where they youth can have a more active role and voice in governing their respective countries. In the end, the oligarchies in Tunisia and Egypt fell, and I won't be surprised if the bandwagon continues as it spreads like wildfire in the region.
My gay friends are often amused when I tell them that here in the Philippines, gay men still prefer straight men - and all of them would look incredulously at me! Of course, common sense would dictate that it's a no-win situation, but in a country where poverty is widespread, it is not uncommon for straight men to 'use' gay men for money, for career advancement, for any viable reason that a beautiful but poor woman would also do just to hook up with that filthy rich but really ugly man.
So I told them, really feminine gay men (and many masculine gay men) have relationships with handsome straight men, albeit poor men, who sometimes 'abuse' these gay men. But of course, I believe these 'sisters' of mine get into these 'relationships' with eyes wide open, so they really know the consequences of their actions. So it's not uncommon to see them crying their hearts out in the end when the straight guy decides to be with the woman he really loves! But even then, some gay men still continue to support their lovers plus their wife and their kids too! See, love is really blind!!
