So, I finally saw Gone Baby Gone since it was released on DVD and I have to say that I was very impressed. The film was based off of a novel by author Dennis Lehane who also wrote Mystic River. Like Mystic River, this movie deals with some uncomfortable subject matters especially for me since I have a young daughter of my own. I do not want to give too much away about the movie, so don't worry about any spoilers coming from me here. I am biased because I am a Ben Affleck fan, but I feel he deserves incredible praise for his work on this film. (Speaking of Affleck, here is a link back to my January 23rd issue which had my Top 10 for Affleck & Damon.) He does not appear in the film, but he co-wrote the screenplay based on the novel and also makes his true directorial debut in fine fashion. I often take notice of the technical aspects of a movie in addition to the characters, story and acting. The technical aspects of Gone Baby Gone seemed very strong and I would attribute much of that to Affleck. I actually feel he probably even deserved an Oscar nomination for Directing. He also was blessed with a tremendous cast to bring this story to life. It starts with his younger brother, Casey Affleck, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for another film, but just as well could have received a nomination for this role. You might think he only received this part because his brother was the producer, writer and director and I am sure that helped, but Casey Affleck is really a tremendous actor in his own right. The film also stars Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. You really can't go wrong with these two amazing actors and they both do their normal exceptional job as would be expected. The lone actual Oscar nomination from this film went to Amy Ryan who makes you really dislike her character as you are meant to. I will discuss this a little more below when I make my Oscar predictions. The way the movie ends really creates a moral dilemma for the characters, but also for the audience as you consider what you feel to be the right thing to do. In order to not spoil the movie for anybody, I will not go into details, but I found this to be a very interesting quandary. Despite dealing with difficult subject matters, overall I feel the film really delivers even before the ending, but then this ending really leaves you thinking for quite a time long after watching the movie. That is a trait that many quality films possess and Gone Baby Gone is definitely a quality film from start to finish.

The 80th annual Academy Awards ceremony (Oscars) is to be held tonight beginning live at 7:00 pm central on ABC. Many people love the red carpet coverage and you can begin watching that live on E! or TV Guide channels beginning at 5:00 pm central. Both of those channels already have Oscar related programming on now until they go live to the red carpet at 5:00. For what it's worth, I figured I would give you my Oscar predictions for tonight's awards.
As you have read in past issues, I am a big fan of No Country For Old Men, Michael Clayton and Juno, though I feel it will be No Country For Old Men that is the big winner tonight.
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: I think it is a foregone conclusion that this award will go to Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood. I have not seen this performance, so I cannot really comment on it. I did see George Clooney in Michael Clayton and that is who I will be cheering for.
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: As I have discussed several times before, I believe that Javier Bardem will win this award hands down for his role in No Country For Old Men. Not only is this the best performance of this year, but is one of the best of all time in my opinion.
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: It looks like Julie Christie will likely win this award for Away From Her. Again, I did not see this performance, but I did see Ellen Page in Juno and I feel she is very deserving of this award as well and hope she somehow pulls it out.
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: This race seems to be pretty wide open. Ruby Dee won at the SAG awards and could win to honor her long career. I saw Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton and I think she is very deserving as well. As I mentioned above, Amy Ryan put in a great performance in Gone Baby Gone and I believe that she will be the winner tonight though it could go to any of the three.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: This award will go to Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille which is also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: This is always one of my favorite awards because it honors the quality and originality of the writing. This year I have no doubt that Diablo Cody will win this award for her incredible film Juno.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: This is another award that I feel should go to the Coen Brothers for No Country For Old Men. Though the ending of the film could create an opening for Atonement or There Will Be Blood. I am pretty surprised that Gone Baby Gone did not at least get a nomination in this category.
BEST DIRECTING: This award will definitely go to Joel & Ethan Coen for No Country For Old Men. I feel Tony Gilroy did a particularly excellent job with Michael Clayton, but this award definitely will go to the Coens who already won the Directors Guild award.
BEST PICTURE: No surprise here, I expect this award to go to No Country For Old Men as well. Though I have had high praise for Juno and Michael Clayton, I feel this is by far the best film created this past year. It is a true masterpiece and I cannot wait for it to be released on DVD, so I can watch it a couple more times.

As I said before, I expect No Country For Old Men to be the big winner tonight and deservedly so. Those are my picks, so let me know if you feel strongly about any of them. I highly recommend Juno, Michael Clayton, Gone Baby Gone and No Country For Old Men which I have seen and felt were outstanding. They are either out on DVD already or will be very soon, so let me know what you think once you see them.

The ceremony is scheduled for 3 hours, but I really feel that is too long. I say this every year, yet it doesn't seem to change. All of the awards should be presented, but not all have to be done during the live show. I feel the awards I listed above plus maybe Original Song and Cinematography are the only awards that need to be part of the live show. I do not care to see the presentations for documentaries and some of the more technical awards. They could take a couple minutes to honor all of those winners, but they do not need to take about an hour of the show to present each one and allow acceptance speeches as well. You would still have presentation of special achievement awards and the video honoring all of the actors who passed away since the last ceremony. If the ceremony was tightened up a little bit, I feel it would make it more entertaining and increase ratings. I don't know if it will ever happen, but I would be a big proponent of doing it as soon as possible.

That will wrap up another issue of Kickin' it. I need to go get ready to start watching the red carpet coverage. I plan on posting a Oscars Recap issue tomorrow night, so be sure to look for that. Thanks for reading and be sure to click on the Archive buttons in the upper left column to make sure you have not missed any previous issues of Kickin' it Old School. Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here is another great optical illusion. Follow the directions first above the picture and then below.
If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot the dots will remain only one color, pink.

However if you stare at the black "+" in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black "+" in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you may only see only a single green dot rotating.

It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear.
This should be proof enough, we don't always see what we think we see! Pretty cool, huh?

Quote of the day: "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these." -George Washington Carver

Download this: "Bless The Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts - I am in no way a country music fan, but I still feel this particular song is amazing with a very worthwhile sentiment as well.