Jesse & Justin's Best And Worst Movies of 2008

So with all the movies we have watched this year there is no way that we couldn't compile a best and worst list. We watched a total of 462 movies this year....yes, i said 462. Now some of you may think that is pathetic, but we think it is quite awesome. And that number isn't even counting the mulitple times that we watched certain movies, and also doesn't count tv shows. Counting all of those we would easily be in the 600's. We are quite amazing. Yes, we are. Unfortunately a lot of the movies we watched this year were not movies that came out this year. These lists do not include many of the highly acclaimed movies that have recently come out (i.e. gran turino, the wrestler, slumdog millionaire, doubt, synechdoche ny, the reader, revolutionary road, etc.) because like i have said before they haven't come to cedar city or even st. george so there is no way we could have seen them. These lists only include the movies that we have seen. There were some crappy movies out there this year that we did not see and that's why they don't show up here. Without further ado, our lists of the best and worst.

Jesse's 5 Worst Films of 2008
5-August
4-10,000 B.C.
3-The Happening
2-Hancock
And Jesse's worst movie of the year....
1-Funny Games

***Just missing the list: Over Her Dead Body***

Justin's 5 Worst Films of 2008
5-Hancock
4-88 Minutes
3-Prom Night
2-Funny Games
And Justin's worst movie of the year (and one of the worst of the decade)...
1-The Happening

***Just missing the list: Untraceable, Deception, Twilight, And crappy Indiana Jones***

Jesse's 5 Best Films of 2008
5-Penelope
4-Cloverfield
3-Son of Rambow
2-Young At Heart
And Jesse's Favorite movie of 2008...
1-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

***Just missing the list: In Bruges***

Justin's 5 Best Films of 2008
5-Ghost Town
4-Son Of Rambow
3-Young At Heart
2-The Dark Knight
And Justin's Favorite movie of 2008...
1-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

***Just missing the list: Cloverfield***

There you have it folks. Now go watch all of these movies. Neither of our lists contain a single 'R' rated movie, so you can all go watch them. However, by the time these movies that we didn't get to see come out on video, these lists will probably change. But i love our lists.

The Curious Case Of Jesse And Justin

Who gets tired of watching or talking about movies? We certainly don't. I am not (for once) going to ramble on and on. Let's just get to the point shall we. Everybody should see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It is such a fantastic movie. So beautiful in every single way. As much as it sucks for me to say this, Batman no longer can be argued as the best movie of the year. CCBB (i acronymed it) is better in every single way. However the directing in both of these movies is incredible. Batman, i am sorry, but you cannot be the best movie any longer. And i know Wall E has become popular and trendy to say it's the best film of the year, but it no longer has any chance whatsoever to be called that. People love it and can call it their favorite movie of the year, that's fine, but it is certainly not the best picture of the year. Sorry wall e and batman lovers, but that button movie is pretty darn good. I will predict right now that it gets nominated for 10 academy awards and will win 6. I will guarantee wins in best adapted screenplay, best makeup, and best visual effects. I will have to try and see the others before i guarantee the others.

*This opinion of mine does not include revolutionary road, the reader, gran turino, the wrestler, slumdog millionaire, or doubt, because nothing comes to cedar city so i haven't been able to see any of these. However, i find it very difficult to believe any of these could be better.

2006 Justademy Awards

These two stupid blogs posted backwards and they squished together, so it is kind of hard to read. Sorry. In the future i will only be doing one at a time to avoid this mess. No more spoiling. 2007 was supposed to post first but whatever.

2006 Best Supporting Actress
Rinko Kikuchi {Babel}
Cate Blanchett {Notes On A Scandal}
Adrianna Barraza {Babel}
Jennifer Hudson {Dreamgirls}
Abigail Breslin {Little Miss Sunshine}


Justademy's 2006 Best Supporting Actress
Rinko Kikuchi {Babel}
Cate Blanchett {Notes On A Scandal}
Adrianna Barraza {Babel}
Emma Thompson {Stranger Than Fiction}**
Jennifer Connelly {Blood Diamond}**


And the Winner is...

Adrianna Barraza {Babel}


2006 Best Supporting Actor
Mark Wahlberg {The Departed}
Eddie Murphy {Dreamgirls}
Jackie Earle Haley {Little Children}
Djimon Hounsou {Blood Diamond}
Alan Arkin {Little Miss Sunshine}


Justademy's 2006 Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon {The Departed}**
Michael Caine {Children Of Men}**
Jackie Earle Haley {Little Children}
Djimon Hounsou {Blood Diamond}
James McAvoy {The Last King Of Scotland}**


And the Winner Is...

Jackie Earle Haley {Little Children}



2006 Best Actress Nominees
Helen Mirren {The Queen}
Kate Winslet {Little Children}
Penelope Cruz {Volver}
Judi Dench {Notes On A Scandal}
Meryl Streep {The Devil Wears Prada}


Justademy's 2006 Best Actress Nominees
Helen Mirren {The Queen}
Kate Winslet {Little Children}
Ivana Baquero {Pan's Labyrinth}**
Penelope Cruz {Volver}
Judi Dench {Notes On A Scandal}


And the Winner is...

Kate Winslet {Little Children}



2006 Best Actor Nominees
Forest Whitaker {The Last King Of Scotland}
Leonardo DiCaprio {Blood Diamond}
Ryan Gosling {Half Nelson}
Will Smith {The Pursuit Of Happyness}
Peter O' Toole {Venus}


Justademy's 2006 Best Actor Nominees
Forest Whitaker {The Last King Of Scotland}
Leonardo DiCaprio {The Departed}**
Ryan Gosling {Half Nelson}
Will Smith {The Pursuit Of Happyness}
Brad Pitt {Babel}**


And the Winner is...

Forest Whitaker {The Last King Of Scotland}



2006 Best Director Nominees
Martin Scorsese {The Departed}
Paul Greengrass {United 93}
Clint Eastwood {Letters From Iwo Jima}
Stephen Frears {The Queen}
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu {Babel}


Justademy's 2oo6 Best Director Nominees
Martin Scorsese {The Departed}
Alfonso Cuaron {Children Of Men}**
Clint Eastwood {Letters From Iwo Jima}
Todd Field {Little Children}**
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu {Babel}


And the Winner is...

Alfonso Cuaron {Children Of Men}



2006 Best Picture Nominees
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine
Babel


Justademy's 2006 Best Picture Nominees
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Children**
Babel
Children Of Men**

And the Winner is...

Little Children

2007 Justademy Awards

So awhile back i decided to make my own academy awards from 1980 to present and post them on this here blog. Unfortunately the 1980's are taking me longer than i expected. So i decided to post them backwards than originally planned. I will be posting from 2007 backwards to 1981. Why? Because i have seen almost all the movies from the last eighteen years that even remotely had a chance at an award, so it takes me less time and gives me more time. Get it? Good. So since for the first time in the 81 year history of the academy they got it 95 percent right last year so there aren't many changes to be made. So, you will be getting a double dose today. I will be giving you 2oo7 and 2006. Boy did the academy totally miss the boat in 2006! My awards are also called the Justademy awards. Bryan said that, i believe as a joke, but i liked the sound of it good enough so that's their names. And here we go. Remember the format? The winners are highlighted in red, and the ones that i nominated that are different than the original nominations are italicized and asterisked, so you can't possibly miss them. Here we go for real. And they do look a little flashier this time. Ok, now really.

2007 Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett {I'm Not There}

Tilda Swinton {Michael Clayton}

Amy Ryan {Gone Baby Gone}

Saoirse Ronan {Atonement}

Ruby Dee {American Gangster}

Justademy 2007 Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett {I'm Not There}

Tilda Swinton {Michael Clayton}
Amy Ryan {Gone Baby Gone}

Saoirse Ronan {Atonement}

Marisa Tomei {Before The Devil Knows You're Dead}**

And the Winner is...

Amy Ryan {Gone Baby Gone}

2007 Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck {The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford}

Javier Bardem {No Country For Old Men}

Tom Wilkinson {Michael Clayton}

Hal Holbrook {Into The Wild}

Phillip Seymour Hoffman {Charlie Wilson's War}

Justademy 2007 Best Supporting Actor

Paul Dano {There Will Be Blood}**

Javier Bardem {No Country For Old Men}

Tom Wilkinson {Michael Clayton}

Jeremy Davies {Rescue Dawn}**

Phillip Seymour Hoffman {Before The Devil Knows You're Dead}

*Yes, i consider him the supporting role in this movie*

And the Winner is...

Javier Bardem {No Country For Old Men}

2007 Best Actress Nominees

Ellen Page {Juno}

Marion Cotillard {La Vie En Rose}

Cate Blanchett {Elizabeth: The Golden Age}

Laura Linney {The Savages}

Julie Christie {Away From Her}

Justademy 2007 Best Actress Nominees

Ellen Page {Juno}

Marion Cotillard {La Vie En Rose}

Charlize Theron {In The Valley Of Elah}**

Belen Rueda {The Orphanage}**

Julie Christie {Away From Her}

And the Winner is...

Marion Cotillard {La Vie En Rose}

2007 Best Actor Nominees

Daniel Day-Lewis {There Will Be Blood}

Viggo Mortensen {Eastern Promises}

Tommy Lee Jones {In The Valley Of Elah}

Johnny Depp {Sweeney Todd}

George Clooney {Michael Clayton}

Justademy 2007 Best Actor Nominees

Daniel Day-Lewis {There Will Be Blood}
Viggo Mortensen {Eastern Promises}
Tommy Lee Jones {In The Valley Of Elah}

Grant Anderson {Away From Her}**

Josh Brolin {No Country For Old Men}**

And the Winner is...

Daniel Day-Lewis {There Will Be Blood}

2007 Best Director Nominees

Paul Thomas Anderson {There Will Be Blood}

Tony Gilroy {Michael Clayton}

Jason Reitman {Juno}

Julian Schnabel {The Diving Bell And The Butterfly}

Joel & Ethan Coen {No Country For Old Men}

Justademy 2007 Best Director Nominees

Paul Thomas Anderson {There Will Be Blood}

Tim Burton {Sweeney Todd}**

Paul Haggis {In The Valley Of Elah}**

Jason Reitman {Juno}

Joel & Ethan Coen {No Country For Old Men}

And the Winner is...

Joel & Ethan Coen {No Country For Old Men}

2007 Best Picture Nominees

Atonement

Michael Clayton

No Country For Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Juno

Justademy 2007 Best Picture Nominees

3:10 To Yuma**

No Country For Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Once**

Juno

And the Winner is...

No Country For Old Men

A First For Me

Today I shoveled my very first snow-covered driveway. I didn't get many opportunities to do that growing up in St. George. Let me tell you, I picked a doozy!

This is from the top of the driveway:


This is from the bottom of the driveway:

Okay, so the sun helped a little...but it was still major work!

Proof that Poor People Can Still Decorate for Christmas

This is our Christmas tree. The tree was given to us by my sister, the decorations are made completely out of construction paper, crayons, and staples. Eat your heart out, Martha.

Justin On The Road

So after many many months of debating i finally broke down and decided to read The Road. I don't like reading books that they make movies of because for some reason it makes me enjoy both versions less. But i had to because i couldn't wait for the movie any more. I finished it today and i must say, i was very underwhelmed. I don't get it, and that makes me sad. I want to be in the loop, i want to think it's a brilliant piece of literature....but i don't. I thought it was boring, uneventful, and i seriously wanted to punch the little boy right in the face. I don't care if he is only a small lad, i would like to have thrown him into a tree and then held him under water until bubbles stopped surfacing. Ok, not really, but the punch in the face part was very accurate. I couldn't even believe his character. No little boy is going to sit there and question his dad over and over when he continues to save his life over and over again. And the kid was such a freaking whiner. I know he was little, but i would like for somebody else to go through that book and count the times that he says he is scared. I bet it is close to a hundred. Whine whine whine whine whine whine whine. I was just waiting for his dad to punch him, or to kill him and eat him. That would have been fine too. I really really hope the movie is better. But also i am not a novel enthusiast just like anybody that knows me knows. Maybe that's why i don't appreciate it. I can imagine the performance Viggo Mortensen is going to give though, and that is going to be something to see. Maybe the expectations killed it for me, or maybe it was the boring parts. Either way the book really is ok but if anybody is going to read it i would say start on page ninety.

ESPN

There is a fantastic article on espn.com about jerry sloan. You, yes you, should read it. Here is the link yo! http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=Sloan-081209&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

For Jake

So i came home from work the other night and showed me a little clip of the show we love. It was a testament to the brilliance and hilarity of the show. Some people call this fantastic show the Gilmore Girls. Now i know what some people probably think, that i just like this show because Jesse does. So very not true. If i were a single dude and i had been introduced to this show i would have watched it and loved it then to. So this little clip goes like this. Sookie and Lorelai are standing outside of this very large house that Luke had bought for Lorelai. Then the conversation goes like this; Lorelai: "It's big" Sookie: "That's what she said" blah blah blah blah then Sookie: "I think it just got bigger" Lorelai: "That's what she said." This is a testament because this episode was written and had already aired (a little over a year) before this joke ever appeared on the office. So take that Jake. The show is hilarious, and awesome, and is still one of the wittiest shows to ever appear on television. I heart those gilmore girls. Their quick witted humor, and cynicism, and sarcasm makes me feel all warm inside. Justin and the gilmore girls-12, jake-0.

Football Talk

I have not posted a football blog for quite awhile so i don't want to hear any complaints. Yes, that means you nic. Not really, but as the joker would say, "here we go."

Hmm....all the bcs games are pretty much crap. I don't care about the money or the rules or any other crap. I want to watch good football. Is Texas and ohio state going to be good football?! Heck butt no. Would Boise st. give them a better game than ohio st? Not by much but heck butt yes. Let's glance at them real quick....ok that was all the time i needed to come up with this conclusion. Florida/Oklahoma is going to be the only close game and that one may not even be close. I think they will both score a hundred bajillion points but i think oklahoma wins because i think they are the best team. Utah should beat alabama. Alabama has a huge offensive line i know blah blah blah. But so does BYU and look what their defensive line did to Byu's offensive line.....and Alabama's defense???? What?? How are they the third ranked defense in the country? That was a testament to me that they didn't play anybody that could throw a football. Those db's couldn't guard anybody. They let tebow throw three touchdown passes. Yes, three! And i can throw a football better with my butt than he can with his arm. Then Texas is going to destroy ohio st. and usc is going to pee all over penn st. Is anybody else getting tired of the las vegas bowl? I mean it is better than the poinsettia bowl but do we really have to play arizona and tuitama again? Like bryan said he is a very average qb which means he will destroy our secondary, but he can also run so that means we are pretty much screwed. Jake Locker anyone? Sadly before the season started everybody thought we would be a bcs buster and here we are, maybe going to barely squeek by in the las vegas bowl. It's so disappointing. Although college football really needs a playoff i have come to terms with the fact that it may never happen. Stupid college football people. Oh and bryan also pointed out that pitta is not a finalist for best te?!?!?!? Pitta is the best te in the nation by a country mile (and i hear that's far.) Get real. Why do i love college football so much when it is just high school politics? I don't know. At least in basketball they give every school a fair chance at the national championship. In what other sport are teams automatically disqualified just because of their location? Not just some teams either, about half of them. It drives me nuts. I swear if the games weren't so dang good, and the atmosphere so dang cool, and the rivalries so dang intense, i swear i wouldn't watch it.

Jesse's Pet Peeve

Right now, I'm watching "Lucky You," a Romantic Comedy starring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore. I wouldn't really recommend it, by the way. But the real reason I'm writing this post is because of a pet peeve that I've recently noticed. It has to do with the genre "Romantic Comedy." This genre is very deceiving about half the time. There should be a genre simply titled "Romance" although I know that turns people off. Any movie that is about a girl and a guy getting together, with a happy ending, is considered a "Romantic Comedy." This just bugs. "Lucky You," for example, was found in the Comedy section at Hollywood Video. It is wholly considered a Romantic Comedy. This movie is not funny in any way. There is no comedy. There are no jokes. Not even any sexual humor, or physical comedy.

There are a lot of movies like this. They are considered Romantic Comedies even though they aren't funny, and aren't even meant to be funny. I think a new genre needs to created for such movies, so I know what I'm renting.

Jesse's Top 5 Scariest Evilist Villains

(in no specific order)

1. Harry Powell--Night of the Hunter (1955)
2. Iago--Othello
3. Raymond Lemorne--Spoorloos (1988)
4. Anton Chigurh--No Country For Old Men (2007)
5. The Joker--The Dark Knight (2008)