'09 Oscar Party Menu

Ever since I saw a picture of someone making a submarine sandwich look like the Titanic for the 1998 Oscars, I've wanted to make a menu based around the "Best Picture" Oscar nominees. I knew I had a real winner in 2005 with my idea of doing Million Dollar Baby-back ribs and last year with either There Will Be Blood pudding or There Will Be Blood sausage. This year, though, I finally decided to not only plan the menu, but also make it. Even if it's just for me. Which it might be.

So far, I've come up with items for four of the five "Best Picture" nominees - basically, everything except The Reader (if you have an idea, please let me know - as long as it's not dessert. I've got two desserts... I think I need an hors d'oerves/side kind of idea).

OSCAR PARTY 2009 MENU

Millionaire "Slumdogs"
"Indian-style" hot dogs served on grilled flatbread with diced tomatoes, sauteed onions, fresh cilantro, and curry mayo

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Mushroom Caps
Large button mushroom caps stuffed with chorizo sausage, spinach, and Parmesan cheese

"Frost[ed]/Nixon" 'I'm Not a C[r]ookie' Cake
A chocolate chip cookie "sheet cake" topped with a chocolate ganache frosting

Harvey "Milk" Shakes
Regular milkshakes with a variety of additions (chocolate, berries, etc.)

Again, still looking for an idea for The Reader (hard to come up with a decent food idea for a movie dealing with illiteracy), so if you come up with something, please let me know!

Friday's Top Five - Christmas Movies

Once again - "that time of year." And, on the last Friday before the 'big day,' I've decided to lay out my top five favorite Christmas movies. This list will be decidedly controversial, but then I've never been 'typical' in terms of my tastes in... well... anything really. Enjoy!

5. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
"B-but this is the best Christmas movie of all time! How can you rank it so low on your list?!" Invariably, whenever I tell people that I don't think Frank Capra's perennial holiday classic is the "best," I get this reaction, just as I'm sure I'm getting it from you right now. I suppose, for me, the over-saturation of this movie over the course of the last fifty years has worn this movie thin. Don't get me wrong - I still enjoy it. But, for me, this film has become such a classic that it doesn't pack the same punch it used to. Still, I love the character of Clarence ("Heavy on the cinnamon and light on the cloves!") and find George Bailey's character arc to be one of the most fascinating in cinematic history. So, there!

4. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1964)
As a kid, I used to love the old Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, characterized by the wooden puppets and fun little sing-alongs. (These are the guys who are also responsible for "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "The Year Without Santa Claus," "The Little Drummer Boy," and the animated "Frosty the Snowman".) "Rudolph," though, always stood out to me as something special. The fantastic characters - the elf who wants to be a dentist, the Abominable Snowman with a toothache, the singing snowman, the eccentric prospector, an island of 'misfit toys,' and, naturally, the red-nosed reindeer with a heart of gold - coupled with the memorable songs, the fun animation, and the vocal talents of Burl Ives (as Sam the Snowman) really helped to make Christmas a memorable time for me as a child.

3. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" (1966)
I actually prefer this animated version to the live-action Ron Howard-Jim Carrey from 2000 for a number of reasons. Firstly, I get awfully nostalgic when watching this version, mainly because it's the version I loved so well as a child. Secondly, I think that 26 minutes of the voice talents of Boris Karloff do more to establish the Grinch as one of the nastiest creatures in all of literature than Jim Carrey does in 104 minutes. Finally - and what I feel makes the whole movie - is the Grinch's theme ("You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch") sung by Tony the Tiger himself, Mr. Thurl Ravenscroft. Better in every way (in my humble opinion).

2. Scrooged (1988)
In my mind, there are few comedians alive who can square with Bill Murray. The man has been doing deadpan for ages and been doing it well-enough to have made a career out of it. One of my favorite roles - largely for sentimental reasons - is his turn as a spiritless television executive in Richard Donner's retelling of Dickens' classic book, A Christmas Carol. Taking on the 'Scrooge' role (as does Buddy Hackett), Murray is surrounded by a host of magnificent talent, including Carole Kane as the sadistic Ghost of Christmas Present, Alfre Woodard as the female Bob Crachitt, Karen Allen as Murray's big-hearted lost love, and Bobcat Goldthwait as the disgruntled laid-off employee. A fabulous film that I don't see nearly as often as I'd like!

1. Elf (2003)
I know, I know. "A Will Ferrell movie at No. 1?! Stephen, you're slipping!" And that may well be true. It seems, however, that Ferrell's honest turn as the lively, unassuming human-turned-elf Buddy strikes a chord with me and stands as a modern Christmas classic. Masterfully acted (including some standout performances from Ed Asner, the lovely Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, and Bob Newhart - with great cameos by Amy Sedaris, Faizon Love, Leon Redbone, John Favreau, Kyle Gass, Andy Richter, and Peter Dinklage), wonderfully written, and unendingly charming, Elf stands as a great film about the child-like wonder of Christmas that gets so easily lost this time of year.

Honorable Mentions: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), "Frosty the Snowman" (1969), "A Garfield Christmas Special" (1987), "A Claymation Christmas Celebration" (1987), "The Little Drummer Boy" (1968)

Friday's Top Five (Saturday Edition) - Comic Book Movies

As crazy as life's been lately, it's been difficult for me to update with any amount of regularity. Unfortunately, this is likely going to get worse with Christmas right around the corner and J-Term and the musical happening almost immediately after that. Still, now seems as good a time as any to talk about a subject near and dear to my heart - comic book movies. With the almost electric buzz surrounding the upcoming Watchmen film, there's been a lot of talk as to what the best comic book movies are/have been. So, here's the list of my top five.

5. Superman II (1980)

While 1978's Superman: The Movie let Hollywood know that superheroes could legitimately be done on the silver screen (by making us all believe a man could fly), it was the sequel that really perfected the series. Expanding the Superman mythos by including a trio of Kryptonian killing machines as well as the genius of Hackman's Lex Luthor, Superman II answers the question, "What if the world had no Superman?" Better than the original and far better than its three predecessors (and, yes, I'm including 2006's 'should-have-been-a-relaunch' Superman Returns), Superman II is the beacon of the Superman series.

4. X2: X-Men United (2003)
Yet another sequel that surpassed the original (which seems to be a trend on this list), X2 took everything that was good about the first X-Men film and made it bigger! From the opening sequence involving Nightcrawler 'porting through the White House to the first appearance of Colossus to Wolverine going berserker... X2 has it all. Of course it helps that Nightcrawler - one of my favorite mutants - finally got time on the big screen. X2 also did what the first film couldn't do in terms of story - it fleshed out the characters even more and created some truly unforgettable moments. It's a shame that Brett Ratner had to come along and ruin the whole franchise...

3. Batman Begins (2005)
After the horrid Joel Schumacher renditions from the late 1990's, Batman needed a Hollywood makeover... so thank heaven for Christopher Nolan, critically-acclaimed director of Memento and Insomnia, who gave the Batman franchise the shot-in-the-arm it desperately needed. Defying convention, Nolan concentrated on the origins of the Caped Crusader only putting Christian Bale (in my mind, the best Batman to date) in costume for little over a half an hour. He also opted to focus on some lesser-known Bat-villains like the Scarecrow and R'as al Ghul rather than bigger names like the Joker or the Penguin. All these risks paid off in full as Batman Begins reminded moviegoers of just how awesome the Dark Knight really is.

2. Iron Man (2008)
Marvel has had a lot of hits on their hands ever since the first X-Men movie in 2000, but none have been quite as well-done as this year's summer smash, Iron Man. The elements of story, direction, effects, characterization, and score fit together so well. Robert Downey, Jr. owned the film as the charismatic billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. Jeff Bridges was villainous perfection as Obadiah Stane (a.k.a. the Iron Monger) while Gwenyth Paltrow lit up the screen as the sweet Pepper Potts. The biggest weak point of the film was Terrance Howard's far-t00-subdued performance as James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, making me happy to see Don Cheadle stepping into the role for the sequel. With the Nick Fury cameo leading to an Avengers movie and the fact that this is Marvel's first film as their own independent studio, I would say that Iron Man is Marvel's greatest achievement to date.

1. The Dark Knight (2008)
If Superman: The Movie proved that Hollywood could do a superhero film well, then The Dark Knight proved that a superhero film could be an Oscar-caliber event. Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, and the rest of the cast of Batman Begins returned to pit the titular Dark Knight against his greatest foe: the Joker, masterfully played by Heath Ledger. I'll admit, I was as skeptical as anyone when I heard Ledger was going to play the Joker... but, like so many other comic fans and moviegoers, I was blown away by the caliber of his performance. Ledger was a runaway freight train, bowling over every other character in the film and giving audiences a new vision of horror and villainy. Now, with The Dark Knight being re-released in theaters to remind the Academy of Ledger's performance, it seems legit that some Oscar attention might finally be paid to a superhero movie... and, in my mind, it's long overdue!

Honorable Mentions: Spider-Man 2 (2004), Sin City (2005), X-Men (2000), 300 (2006), Spider-Man (2002), Superman: The Movie (1978)

So... what are some of your favorite comic book movies?