The Center Seat

10. Marion Cotillard's heartfelt, emotional acceptance speech for Best Actress in La Vie En Rose.

9. Jon Stewart's sly wit. Good to have him back.

8. Javier Bardem's shout-out to his mommy en español. Anyone know what he said? I'm just curious.

7. Ethan Coen's two short-but-sweet acceptance speeches. "Uh, thank you very much." and "I don't have a lot to add to what I said earlier. Thank you." Awesome. He should teach a course.

6. Tilda Swinton giving props to Clooney's Bat-nipples when she won Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton.

5. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's stirring performance of "Falling Slowly" from Once contrasts sharply with all four of the competing songs which, frankly, look like they're trying too hard in comparison.

4. Diablo Cody's humble, shaken acceptance speech (and dedication of her Oscar to the writers) when she wins Best Original Screenplay for Juno. (Note: she wasn't being grumpy when she walked off, people. She was trying to hold it together so she wouldn't start bawling like a five-year-old in front of all those famous folks.)

3. Frances McDormand is visibly stoked as her husband Joel and brother-in-law Ethan nonchalantly accept their Oscar for Best Director for No Country For Old Men.

2. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová win Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" from Once, over three songs from Enchanted.

1. Jon Stewart brings Markéta Irglová back onstage to finish her acceptance speech, after the orchestra cut her off in what would have been one of the harshest moments in Oscar history. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

What do you do when there is absolutely no new quality movie fare in the theaters? I guess stay home and pout... or go see some old quality movie fare.

I was intrigued by my friend Pistola's raves on South Minneapolis's Riverview Theater (as well as a great review in City Pages), so Captain Crash and I took a leisurely drive along the Mississippi and checked it out.

Guess what... I have a new favorite theater.

The Riverview has:

• one screen with over 700 seats
• a huge, comfy lobby with 60's mod decor and cozy living-room furniture
• popcorn with real butter
• and best of all, admission tops out at $3.

Unlike many other single-screen theaters, they don't limit themselves to one show; the Riverview plays at least three different movies per day (five on the weekends). Friday night at 9:00, they were showing Into the Wild; we had initially loved that one, so we decided to see it again.

It was even better the second time, people. The run time is almost 2 1/2 hours long, but it flies right by. Into the Wild is a heartbreaking story, and just like ten years ago with Titanic, we all know how it's going to end... but that doesn't diminish a thing. Big kudos to Sean Penn for crafting this story in such an intense and affecting way. There were countless mind-blowing performances; Hal Holbrook absolutely deserves his nomination, but the Academy could have shown some love for Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden... The list goes on. At the top of the list, though, should have been Emile Hirsch for his subtle and complex work in the lead role. His heartbreak is devastating at the end of the story, when he makes a vital realization (which ultimately comes too late.) And, hey, if anyone feels like sending an I-deeply-love-Nayana present, that Eddie Vedder soundtrack is boss.

Saturday it would have been my sixth wedding anniversary with the former Mr. Anthony... but just to show you what mature and well-adjusted people we are, Greg and I went to lunch and then caught Juno at the Heights. (In case anyone wonders, this is my third Juno viewing. And, yes, it still kicks ass.) Greg does not have anywhere near my enthusiasm for good film, and he was about to waste his cash on Fool's Gold. I just couldn't let him do it, folks. Even if he did stomp mercilessly on my heart and break it into a million pieces (just kidding, Greg, you know momma loves ya), no one deserves to sit through that drek. He also mentioned a desire to see Untraceable. Ugh. Looks like I'll have to nip that one in the bud, and drag him to see a real thriller, like No Country For Old Men.

Juno is comedy of the highest quality. And I've officially decided that I'm ok with all the weird lingo in the beginning of the movie that seemed to irk so many people. In fact, the offbeat dialogue may actually be one of the biggest reasons I liked the movie. There's nothing wrong with expressing old, common experiences in a new, uncommon way. I am still firmly a massive Diablo Cody fan.

So that was it for this weekend. This week, I'm going to try to finally tackle The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Roman Holiday, Sabrina (the original with Audrey Hepburn), and whatever looks good on TCM.

P.S. I'm crossing my fingers on that writers' strike thing, people. It looks like we may actually have a deal... so Oscars as usual? (oh please oh please) ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

At 7:30 Central Standard Time in a small Minnesota apartment, a semi-nude woman with messy hair huddled under three comforters and stared expectantly at the television set.

So, yeah. Oscar noms are out. No huge surprises as far as I'm concerned. I was kind of hoping for that "surprise" everyone was predicting: that Atonement would be snubbed. OK, so it wasn't horrible... but I thought there were other films (Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd) that were much more deserving.

But yay for Hal Holbrook! and my girl Diablo! and Ellen Page! and the Coen brothers!

It's been a good year for film, I think. But will we really get to celebrate on February 24?