Excogitating Genius, With Brandon Brendel

Staring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Colin Farrell
Directed by Scott Cooper

JB's Awards
Academy Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Critics Choice Award - Best Actor
Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Independent Spirit Award - Best Male Lead
LAFCA Award - Best Actor
Desert Palm Achievement Award
Prism Award - Performance in a Feature Film
Screen Actors Guild Award - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

A great movie! Great performances, great music, great cinematography. My only gripe was that I felt like JB and Maggie Gyllenhaal's characters fell for each other quite abruptly. (Is that a spoler? Eh, it happens pretty early on) It is explained that a lot of the film was shot out of sequence, so they had already shot some of their more intense scenes together before the scene of their meeting, therefor they already had a relationship built up. He chalks there quick romance up to love at first sight.

Man oh man! All these awards for JB's performance! I'm trying to figure out why he got all of the accolades for this particular role. Now, I'm not knocking his performance at all. It was an amazing performance. I'm just saying that, after having just watched almost every movie he has done, there are plenty of other performances that I would put up against this one. Is it that he showed his musical prowess along with the acting? Well, he did the same in The Fabulous Baker Boys and he wasn't even nominated. Is it because it was picked up by Fox Searchlight? I guess it was just his time, albeit much later that it should have been. There are a lot of similarities in this character and his recent role in The Open Road.

Starring: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges
Directed by Grant Heslov

What a great cast! A reporter stumbles upon the story of his life, a secret branch of the US military that specializes in using psychic powers. There are some twists and turns in the plot and I made the mistake of starting this one when I should have gone to bed, so I think I got lost on a few turns. Enjoyed it while I was coherent, though. Definitely will watch again. Hey, when I get to Spacey's movies!

The Dude is back! Well, kind of. JB got a bit typecast in peoples minds as The Dude with the cult following of The Big Lebowski. But I have to say, this is the only other character of his that I saw a lot of The Dude in. It was like, "The Dude Goes to the Army...and Has Psychic Powers". A very fun role in a fun movie.

Staring: Jeff Bridges, Lauren Ambrose and Lois Smith
Directed by George LaVoo

I'm not going to lie to you, this movie jerked a few tears from me. It wasn't really a sad movie, but there was a moment that got to me. It was mostly about how the love of and for a dog can really bring out the best in man and how strong that bond can be once established.

JB has been playing some angry characters lately. Here, as writer Jon Katz, his life is seemingly out of control. He has writer's block and is semi-separated from his wife. While angry at the world, you can really see his love for his dogs. When a kennel sends him an abused dog, he is really put to the test. I really enjoyed his performance here, very well-rounded.

Directed by Michael Meredith

Alright! A baseball movie! Awesome! Not so much. I think it would have been a lot better with me playing JB's minor league baseball playing son than Justin Timberlake. I felt like it just kind of plodded along, at least it was only an hour and a half.

JB did keep the movie alive. I really like his southern characters. His character, ex-baseball star Kyle Garrett, is pretty complex. Separated from his family, I felt like what he really wants is love and his family, but his main obstacle is his own ego. In the movie he says that he just loved himself too much. So, good JB, the rest, eh. Oh, Mary Steenburgen was pretty good to in her smaller role as JTs ailing mother.

Staring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges
Directed by Jon Favreau

Fun stuff! See what happens when you put great actors in action movies too. I think that a lot of the time the big action movies rely too much on special effects and explosions. This movie shows what can happen when you throw some high quality acting in the mix too. Hollywood is getting smart! A lot of the movie was improvised as well because the final script wasn't complete when they started shooting, giving the dialogue a very natural feel.

JB looks like a bad-ass with his shaved head and beard. Playing Obadiah Stane, who ends up as Downey Jr.'s main nemesis (or as JB puts it, "another type of good guy"), JB still had that likability factor. But there is something churning deep down that comes forward in a few key scenes. Obadiah wants his company to succeed at all costs, and won't let Tony Stark, who has had a change of heart, stand in his way. I love it when JB gets rowdy!

Jeff Bridges talks Iron Man. How fast does his hair grow?:

Narrated by Jeff Bridges
Directed by Morgan Neville

While there isn't too much narration from Jeff Bridges, I thought that this was a very interesting look at the birth of the art scene in Los Angeles. Includes a great interview with the late Dennis Hopper. I need to set my easel back up and do some more painting!