"Oh, you are so full of s***"

Kevin: I'm not. I'm not. In fact, I'd like a raincheck.

Joan: Oh, it's not gonna happen. This was like... Haley's Comet. It's not coming around again for 57 years."

10 movie minutes later.

Joan: That was a real misstep.
Kevin: Awwww, that was a sweet thing to say.

[Great Moments in Screen Bitchery #544
Joan Allen to Kevin Costner in The Upside of Anger]

P.S. Joan so deserved the Oscar in '05. Just sayin' repeatin'. The film is totally unworthy of her but she's firing on all cylinders. Wasn't even nominated. What a world. What a world.

Best Pictures: Dances With Wolves & The Lost Weekend

It's been nearly six months since the last episode of the tri-blog series Best Pictures From the Outside In. At this rate we'll be done in 2021! Literally. "Stay tuned!!!" Nevertheless we're finally back with a new installment pairing 1990's Dances With Wolves & 1945's The Lost Weekend.

Read it @ NICK'S FLICK PICKS

and comment on that discussion there.

Since those conversations are rarely about the Oscar field but just the winners, I thought I'd share a few quick words on 1990 and 1945 right here. I've noticed in my own lists over the years that the further back in time I go the more I agree with Oscar's choices. I'm guessing this is not a case of Oscar once having better taste (i.e. mine - haha) but simple math. I've seen more films from the modern era so the chance of disagreeing grows. For instance, Oscar's best picture field for 1990 was composed of...

• Awakenings
• Dances With Wolves
• Ghost
• The Godfather Part III
• Goodfellas

Which was almost nothing like my list at the time (though I hadn't seen Goodfellas) which went like so back in the day...

• Edward Scissorhands *winner*
  
• Ghost
• The Grifters
• Longtime Companion
  
• Postcards From the Edge

I'm not sure I could stand by the Ghost cheese 20 years later or Longtime Companion (I don't remember it well) but the other three have had staying power in my brain and in movie culture, too.

My decrepit ancient copy of Inside Oscar is filled with color markings -- I once used the book to track my film viewing. Certain years have highlight markings all over the film titles. The 40s are my weakest decade but strangely 1945 is all marked up. I'd rank the Best Picture nominees like so

1. Mildred Pierce (Such a goodie. Watch it before the Kate Winslet remake arrives)
   
2. Spellbound
3. Anchors Aweigh
4. The Lost Weekend
5. The Bells of St. Marys (the first sequel nominated for Best Picture and the only BP nominee from '45 that I haven't seen. But I didn't really care for Going My Way so I'm in no rush)

I love those first three so I'm fine with Oscar's list. But is that because I've seen so little else from '45? I wonder, if I saw 100 films from each film year before my time, would my taste rarely align with Oscar's? Have you ever wondered about the same thing? A "yes" answer means hidden gems and new favorites await you in every single film year should you only start to look for them.

Now, read our boozy bender with Kevin Costner over at Nick's Flick Picks.
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Day of Rest "Bad Horse"

Shhhhhhhhh.
"Dances With Wolves" isn't sleeping well. It's those scary animal sounds keeping him awake. I've been watching 'DWW''s TV series Little Forts on the Prairie for a day and a half now. Will the first season ever end? I think I'm almost to the final episode. The things I do for blogging and Oscar history, I tells ya.

I've gone to Boston for the weekend. You can call me by my Sioux name "Watches The Whales".

Pssst. There will be blog updates. Craig & Jose & Robert will be in and I'll see y'all on Monday. Enjoy.
KEVIN COSTNER

Halfway House: Robin Coming Back to the Hood

halfway through the day, stop a movie halfway through. What do you see?

Getting way ahead of it all but my thoughts drifted off to 2010 this morning and what movies await. I'm mildly curious about what Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett will bring to the millionth version of Robin Hood (2010). What is there to add? What angle can feel fresh? So out of curiousity a quick peek back at Kevin Reynold's 1991 blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves which I've always disliked, primarily for its lack of tonal cohesion and for its absurd length (155 minutes to tell a story everyone knows by heart already?) But I understand some people love it.

Speaking of quick peeks, 77 and ½ minutes in Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) gets one.

Offscreen Voice: "I told you you can't go down there!"

What's causing her astonishment down there? Why it's Kevin Costner's infamous butt double!!! Why any star would need a butt double for a scene filmed in long shot through a waterfall is a head scratcher. Eighteen years later it's still a prudish mystery.

Will Cate's mouth go similarly agape for Russell's arse in the next version? We'll find out in 159 days.
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