Saturday, January 23, 2010

"Hold on to your butts."



Good day to all, txtcritic here.

I'm currently hung over from last night, when I went with a few friends to a midnight screening of "Jurassic Park" at our local Landmark Theatre (i.e. the only one in New York), the Sunshine. Aside from the fact that I'd never gotten the chance to see Spielberg's dino opus on the big screen (I was 7 years old when it was released, and chickened out at the last second when my family was going), it was a pretty unbelievable experience.

While sure, the silly flourishes stuck out even more on a big screen, I was taken aback by how well the movie holds up. It's paced incredibly well, the special effects are still staggering, and even when you know what's coming, some of those sequences still terrify; the T. Rex sequence at the halfway mark still had me fearing for the lives of Timmy and Lex. Not to mention it was a completely sold out crowd, applauding and cheering every few seconds, with "booooo"s in the appropriate spots (e.g.: the first appearance of the lawyer, Lex declaring "I'm a vegetarian"). Anyway, if you're in the area, they're showing it again tonight, and every weekend, the Sunshine shows a 'classic' movie, and usually a fun one to see at midnight with a crowd.



But I digress. I'm off to a shitty-movie-marathon day ("Extraordinary Measures," "Legion," "The Tooth Fairy"), but I should be back to my apartment around 7:00EST, when I will begin to drink and (attempt to) live-blog the SAG award red carpet arrivals, and then the awards themselves. It will be my first time really live-blogging, so bear with me as I work out the kinks.

Hopefully you'll join me tonight. Any long shots you're pulling for, or last-minute 'no guts, no glory' picks? Personally, I'd love to see Gabby Sidibe take Best Actress, and "Precious" or "Inglourious Basterds" throw a wrench into the awards race by taking Best Ensemble.

15 comments:

FrenchGirl said...

bad day?!

Alex said...

I really want to see Vera Farmiga throw Mo'Nique a curveball, if only to make Supporting Actress a slightly interesting race.

I actually don't think Inglourious Basterds for Ensemble would be a big upset. Didn't it win the prize at the BFCA's? Then again, maybe SAG still thinks "Best Ensemble" is another way of saying Best Picture.

txtcritic said...

Well, the issue this year is that the prohibitive favorite (at least at the moment) for Best Picture is a special-effects driven film which will not be a factor in the acting race(s), so the SAG awards will probably not be a huge Best Picture indicator like it's been in the past, but still a triumph for one of those two films would be nice.

Michael Parsons said...

So hoping for a Gabourey upset as well, and possibly an upset in Ensemble ('Precious' would be awesome)

Wayne B said...

I have a feeling that Waltz better watch out for Plummer.

Juno101 said...

Fuck, I just want Precious to win something along with BSA. I mean Precious deserves much more.

Lev Lewis said...

It would be lovely if either Sidibe or Mulligan took actress. I know it's a race between Streep and Bullock, but I can't remember the last time I disliked an acting frontrunner as much I dislike Streep and to a far larger extent Bullock. It's hard to think of a more boring winner than Streep in "Julie and Julia" and a less-deserving winner than Bullock in "Blind Side".

(I also wouldn't say no to Renner winning, but it's hard to begrudge Bridges anything).

Unknown said...

txtcritic, why are you watching all those terrible movies? i hope you're getting paid.

As for the SAGs, it's a shame all the acting races seem over (Bullock is even campaigning for Streep), so I'm up for a surprise in any category, even a totally undeserved one!

Unknown said...

Plus, FUCK YES to betty white's lifetime achievement!

Anonymous said...

I am rooting hardcore for Colin Firth to get actor, he so deserves it! And I'm rooting for Carey Mulligan for actress, and An Education for ensemble. I think Mo'nique and Waltz deserve their supporting accolades.

Jude said...

I LOVE JURASSIC PARK AND WAS SO HAPPY WHEN I SAW THE T-REX THE SECOND THE SITE LOADED! The only thing to keep this excitement going would be a win for Anna Kendrick tonight!

NATHANIEL R said...

I love Jurassic Park, too. That's definitely my favorite Spielberg year since he made two brilliant movies.

I would love to see this on the big screen again and you chose the movies most indelible single image for the screen shot. well done.

I haven't been to Sunshine at midnight in so long. Must put on my list of "to do"s

Ryan Ray said...

I was 6 or so when Jurassic Park came out. I was ridiculously excited and we finally went to go see it in a drive-in theater. Of course it was the second feature, after the Flintstones, but sadly I fell asleep only a half hour in or so. I was very disappointed that I never got to see it on the big screen. Oh well, at least I saw the Flintstones...

I checked their website and apparently Aliens is coming up in March. I'd love to see that on the big screen too!

txtcritic said...

"txtcritic, why are you watching all those terrible movies? i hope you're getting paid."


Alas, I have an addiction, I go see everything. If it helps, "Extraordinary Measures" started at 11:40, so it was a $6 admission, and then I movie-hopped into the other 2, so three movies for $6, not so bad.

Also, if it helps, I didn't stay for the entirety of "Tooth Fairy."

Andrew R. said...

C'mon, Precious, win something besides Supporting Actress! Best Picture or Actress or something!

You honestly plan on watching Extraordinary Measures, Legion, and Tooth Fairy? You are insane.