Four Score and Seven Years Ago

Julia: This past lazy Sunday morning, I decided breakfast and a movie would be a great idea.  There are some great breakfast ideas on Pinterest and I have been wanting to try this one for a while.  I am starting to get obsessed with using muffin pans for breakfast, dinner and dessert.   What is better than an egg, bacon and toast muffin!  This one is courtesy of Martha Stewart so it has to be good.

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter
• 6 slices of bread (I used 3 sandwich thins)
• 6 slices of bacon (You can use turkey bacon to make it healthier)
• 6 eggs (Once again, you can use egg whites for a healthier option)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it so simple.  You can change the number of ingredients and basically just put it in the oven after prep.  First you will want to cook the bacon a little less than you normally would as you are preheating the oven to 375. Grease the muffin pan with unsalted butter.  Tear the bottom half of the sandwich thin in half and place in the muffin pan creating a cup.  Put one slice of bacon in each of the bread cups and crack an egg over it.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Put your breakfast muffins in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the bacon gets crispy and the eggs are set.  Off to the movies!

Andy: As I keep harping on it’s, (say it with me) OSCAR season!  With the nominations being announced mere days a go, Lincoln topped the list with 12 nominations making this instant classic a must see in the theater with my turtle dove!

In a lock performance for a Best Actor win, Daniel Day-Lewis was mesmerizing as Lincoln.  I couldn't help but wonder how on earth could one memorize ALL those lines!?  It seemed like if he wasn't giving a speech on the end of slavery he was telling a story (which I thought hilarious -  at one point in the film a character played by D Day from Animal House actually says, “Oh, no! Not another story!").

The supporting characters in the film were a veritable who’s who of actors.  It was like Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line where every scene brought a new familiar face.  I loved the trio of Tim Blake Nelson, James Spader and John Hawkes - who coincidentally is a contender in the Actor category this year for The Sessions. This trio added a bit of humor to an otherwise sometimes too talky film.  Tommy Lee Jones was great as always and I am glad to see the Academy agrees.  David Strathairn had a nice meaty OSCAR potential part as well but with so many great performances, he failed to get a coveted nod.  Finally, Sally Field had an amazing scene where she breaks down and then has to literally next scene put on a happy face.  I liked her, I REALLY liked her.

I remember when I was in High School the school actually gave us tickets to see Spielberg’s Schindler’s List in history class. If history classes are not doing so for Lincoln they should!  A must see for all generations.

And the Nominees Are...

BEST PICTURE

• Amour
• Argo 
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

ACTOR in a Leading Role

• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook 
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables 
• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master 
• Denzel Washington, Flight

ACTRESS in a Leading Role

• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook 
• Emmanuelle Riva, Amour 
• Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild 
• Naomi Watts, The Impossible 

ACTOR in a Supporting Role

• Alan Arkin, Argo 
• Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook 
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master 
• Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln 
• Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained 

ACTRESS in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams, The Master 
• Sally Field, Lincoln 
• Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables 
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions 
• Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook 

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

• Brave 
• Frankenweenie 
• ParaNorman 
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Anna Karenina 
• Django Unchained 
• Life of Pi 
• Lincoln
• Skyfall 

COSTUME DESIGN

• Anna Karenina 
• Les Misérables 
• Lincoln 
• Mirror Mirror 
• Snow White and the Huntsman 

DIRECTING

• Amour, Michael Haneke 
• Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin 
• Life of Pi, Ang Lee 
• Lincoln, Steven Spielberg 
• Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• 5 Broken Cameras
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• Searching for Sugar Man

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• Inocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

FILM EDITING

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• Amour, Austria 
• Kon-Tiki, Norway 
• No, Chile 
• A Royal Affair, Denmark 
• War Witch, Canada 

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Misérables

MUSIC Original Score

• Anna Karenina
• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

MUSIC Original Song

• "Before My Time" from Chasing Ice 
• "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from Ted 
• "Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi 
• "Skyfall" from Skyfall 
• "Suddenly" from Les Misérables 

PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Anna Karenina 
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 
• Les Misérables 
• Life of Pi 
• Lincoln 

SHORT FILM Animated

• Adam and Dog 
• Fresh Guacamole 
• Head over Heels 
• Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"
• Paperman 

SHORT FILM Live Action

• Asad
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
• Henry

SOUND EDITING

• Argo 
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

SOUND MIXING

• Argo
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi 
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

VISUAL EFFECTS

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Marvel's The Avengers 
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman

WRITING Adapted Screenplay

• Argo written by Chris Terrio 
• Beasts of the Southern Wild screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin 
• Life of Pi written by David Magee 
• Lincoln written by Tony Kushner 
• Silver Linings Playbook written by David O. Russell 

WRITING Original Screenplay

• Amour written by Michael Haneke 
• Django Unchained written by Quentin Tarantino 
• Flight written by John Gatins 
• Moonrise Kingdom written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
• Zero Dark Thirty written by Mark Boal 

The movies in blue are movies we have already seen so you can expect to see some reviews here as we get closer to the OSCARS.  We still have 45 days until the OSCARS so I will be sure to update this list as we preview this year's contenders.

Intermission

Julia: Well a move across town and the holidays led to a brief hiatus from our blog, think of it as a brief intermission.  Fortunately we were able to see a little film that may be a huge contender at the OSCARS.  We'll know for sure tomorrow morning when the nominees are announced!  In the meantime, please to enjoy...

Andy: Seeing a movie the day after Thanksgiving is an unofficial family tradition.  So in keeping the tradition alive I went to see OSCAR buzzed Silver Linings Playbook after Thanksgiving with my blushing bride, sister and brother-in-law. 

It stars Sexiest Man Alive (sorry ladies he’s gay)* Bradley Cooper as a man straight out of the mental hospital after catching his wife another man and practically beating him to death.  While re cooperating with his parents, played by Jackie Weaver (Animal Kingdom) and Robert DeNiro (in what could be his first OSCAR nomination in a hard to believe 21 years!), he sets his sights on losing weight and bettering himself in an effort to win his wife back. Along the way he meets, through the help of his friend, a recently widowed young girl – Jennifer Lawrence (aka Katniss Everdeen) –   with some baggage of her own.  The two have similar quirks and through what seems to be chance encounters the two form a bond and start training for a dancing with stars type talent show.

Without giving away the entire movie, the scenes with Cooper and Lawrence were sweet, DeNiro was amusing as a dad with OCD watching the Eagles in ritualistic fashion.  God forbid you move the remote!  The Eagles could lose!  The ending had the big cat tearing up a bit. As OSCAR nominations are announced this Thursday, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Cooper, Lawrence and DeNiro all got the old tip of the hat from OSCAR. Jackie Weaver is a long shot but you never know. Demian Bichir came out of nowhere last year so we will just have to wait and see.

Worth checking out in the theater but not being a huge theatrical success you could probably survive waiting for Netflix. 

Julia: *editor's note - Andy is misrepresenting Brad's sexual preference.  He likes to dash the hopes of all women when it comes to sexy movie stars, as if we had a chance anyway!