Mini Movie Review: Thor: ★★★½

Thor delivers everything that a viking could ask for, battles of legendary proportions, interdimensional travel, sibling rivalry/betrayal and Norway! Expect to see a hammer wielding demigod flying around like Superman. By far the most fantastical Marvel feature to date, yet true to the comic book mythology, Thor effectively sets up the final pieces leading to the upcoming Avengers movie. *smashes coffee mug on ground* “I want another!”

P.S. Stay for the stinger following the credits. If you’re not familiar with Marvel lore, read this. It will help you understand the stinger better:

(MAY CONSIDER AS SPOILER)

http://marvel.com/universe/Cosmic_Cube

I only share this because more than half the theater didn’t get the reference in the stinger.

2011 Academy Awards: My picks!

The nominees are out and here are my picks!

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
• Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
• James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
• John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film

• “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
• “Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

• “Alice in Wonderland”
  Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
  Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Inception”
  Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
• “The King's Speech”
  Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
• “True Grit”
  Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
  

Cinematography

• “Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
• “Inception” Wally Pfister
• “The King's Speech” Danny Cohen
• “The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
• “True Grit” Roger Deakins

Costume Design

• “Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
• “I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
• “The King's Speech” Jenny Beavan
• “The Tempest” Sandy Powell
• “True Grit” Mary Zophres

Directing

• “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
• “The Fighter” David O. Russell
• “The King's Speech” Tom Hooper
• “The Social Network” David Fincher
• “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Documentary (Feature)

• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
• “Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Killing in the Name” Nominees to be determined
• “Poster Girl” Nominees to be determined
• “Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
• “Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
• “The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon- *guess

Film Editing

• “Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
• “The Fighter” Pamela Martin
• “The King's Speech” Tariq Anwar
• “127 Hours” Jon Harris
• “The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Foreign Language Film

• “Biutiful” Mexico
• “Dogtooth” Greece
• “In a Better World” Denmark
• “Incendies” Canada
• “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

Makeup

• “Barney's Version” Adrien Morot
• “The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)

• “How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
• “Inception” Hans Zimmer
• “The King's Speech” Alexandre Desplat
• “127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
• “The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)

• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
• “I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
• “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
• “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best Picture

• “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
• “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• “The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
• “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• “Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

• “Day & Night” Teddy Newton
• “The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
• “Let's Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe- *guess
  
• “The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
• “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Confession” Tanel Toom
• “The Crush” Michael Creagh
• “God of Love” Luke Matheny
• “Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt
• “Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing

• “Inception” Richard King
• “Toy Story 3” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
• “Tron: Legacy” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
• “Unstoppable” Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing

• “Inception” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
• “The King's Speech” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
• “Salt” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
• “The Social Network” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects

• “Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
• “Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
• “Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
• “Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
• “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Winter's Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
• “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
  Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
• “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
• “The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

My celebrity lookalikes, or so I'm told...

It has been a very interesting week. Throughout my life I have been told that I resemble certain celebrities, but through the years I have never been labeled as one specific celebrity so often and frequently as I have this year. People have frequently told me I look like the following:

1. Bradley Nowell (lead singer of Sublime) but not dead or on drugs.

But I don't see it.

2. Ethan Suplee (actor) only 100 pounds thinner.

But again, I don't see it.

3. Justin Timberlake (as far fetched as it sounds)

I may have real deal DANCE MOVES, but again, I don't see it.

But over the last few months, on an almost daily basis, I've been hearing the same phrase. In person, on the web, and even from family members. "You look like Jason Statham," those are the words that have been uttered more frequently than you can imagine. Do I think I resemble the British action star? Well, besides sharing the same hair cut and 5 o'clock shadow, no I do not. But it seems others would disagree.

Comments are left on my semi-popular Youtube video "A Tribute to the Handshake in Predator" everyday. And only recently have I been getting comments from complete strangers regarding my Jason Statham-esque looks. Here are a few examples:

"To the guy in the red.....if you were a little leaner....BAM!!! JASON STATHAM lol"

urb3stm8

"You look like Jason Statham"

larrymcjones

Yesterday, while walking to lunch with my friend, a homeless/crazy man, stopped us, asked us if we were famous. He said to me, "You know who you look like? Have you seen the Expendables? You know the guy that drives all the cars and gets all the women? You look just like him, man, for real." Had this not been happening as a regular occurrence I would have just laughed off the compliment and chalked it up to this man's insanity. But at this point, I might just have to buy into the hype. To hell with it, I do look like Jason Statham...

And the Nominees are...Golden Globes 2010

This is the time of the year I love most. Christmas music on every radio station, lights hanging on homes and trees, and the best films of the year getting the buzz they deserve. With today's announcement of the Golden Globes I'd like to share a few thoughts and make my picks for the winners.

TV:
I honestly could care less for just about everything in this section. But I will say that besides being nominated for Best TV Series (drama) The Walking Dead didn't get as much respect as it should have.

1. Best Supporting Actress in a series, mini-series or TV movie
Hope Davis, The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch, Glee
Kelly MacDonald, Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles, Dexter
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

2. Best Actress in a TV series, comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Bic C
Lea Michele, Glee

3. Best TV movie or mini-series
Carlos
The Pacific
Pillars of the Earth
Temple Grandin
You Don't Know Jack

4. Best Actor, TV series comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

5. Best Actress in a TV series, drama
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Piper Perabo, Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick, the Closer

6. Best Supporting Actor in a series, mini-series, or TV movie
Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-0
Chris Colfer, Glee
Chris Noth, The Good Wife
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
David Strathern, Temple Grandin

7. Best TV Series, comedy
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
The Big C
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie

8. Best Actor in a mini-series or TV movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Ian McShane, Pillars of the Earth
Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
Dennis Quaid, The Speicla Relationship
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

9. Best Actress in a mini-series or TV movie
Hayley Atwell, Pillars of the Earth
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Judi Dench, Return to Cranford
Romola Garai, Emma
Jennifer Love Hewitt, The Client List

10. Best Actor in a TV series, drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie - House

11. Best TV series, drama
Broadwalk Empire
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men
The Walking Dead

MOVIES:
This is the section that matters in my book. Although a few of the categories are a complete joke (Best motion picture, musical or comedy) You can see who I think will come out on top.

1. Best original song – motion picture
Bound to You - Burlesque
Coming Home - Country Strong
I See the Light - Tangled
There's a Place for Us - Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me - Burlesque

2. Best original score – motion picture
Alexandre Desplot, The King's Speech
Danny Elfman, Alice in Wonderland
A.R. Rahmin, 127 Hours
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Hans Zimmer, Inception

3. Best screenplay – motion picture
Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, Kids are All Right
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Seidler, The Kings Speech
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

4. Best foreign language film
Biutiful, Mexico, Spain
The Concert, France
The Edge, Russia
I Am Love, Italy
In a Better World, Denmark

5. Best animated feature film
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

6. Best Actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone, Easy A

7. Best Actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Johnny Depp - Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp - The Tourist
Paul Giamatti - Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal - Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey - Casino Jack

8. Best supporting Actor in a motion picture
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

9. Best supporting Actress in a motion picture
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

10. Best Director – motion picture
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, Social Network
Tom Hooper - King's Speech
Christopher Nolan - Inception
David O. Russell - The Fighter

11. Best motion picture, musical or comedy
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

12. Best Actress in a motion picture, drama
Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

13. Best Actor in a motion picture, drama
Jesse Eisenberg - Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg - The Fighter

14. Best motion picture, drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network

There you have it. It's not a perfect analysis because I have not seen everything nominated, but after few educated guesses and personal opinion that's the way I see it.

FIN

The Royal Journal's Greatest Hits: "Life on Mars?"

Is there life on Mars? Back in January 23, 2008 NASA posted some photos that had me wondering if Big Foot was actually a martian? And I had this to say about it:


This still image, captured by NASA's Mars rover, "Spirit" in 2004, is stirring up a debate around the world these days. Check out the picture and decide for yourself what the controversy might be. A magnified version of the picture, appears to resemble a human form among a crop of rocks. Let's zoom in and see what all the fuss is about.Some say it looks like a rock, others say it looks to be a figure striding across the surface of the planet. This controversy has been all over the news this week and has reignited the debate about life on the Red Planet.

Personally, if you ask me, I don't think that it is an alien life form at all. In fact, I think it is just a rock structure that just happens to resemble a living figure. But, I do want to point out something funny that I noticed. Look at the position the so called "figure" is in. It looks awfully familiar, doesn't it? The picture above is a frame taken from the Patterson-Gimlin film. It was allegedly filmed on October 20, 1967 by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin who claimed the film was a genuine recording of a Bigfoot. Many have called the film a hoax, but it is a unique and interesting piece of film. See for yourself...

There is a reason I have laid out all this info. I want to bring it back to the original subject. I say, if the world really wants to believe this picture is of a distant being, I just want to point out that based on past experiences (see above), it would be more likely that NASA has actually spotted Bigfoot on Mars and not an alien life form. I mean come on, it's a single photograph, it could just be a smudge on the lens (think about it, the rover traveled millions of miles through space before arriving. Something could have easily smeared). It could also be a strange pile of rocks, Jimmy Hoffa or even a piece of beef jerky. In fact, if you think about it, after all that pestering those mischievous hikers did to Bigfoot in those classic commercials I wouldn't be surprised if this picture was just Sasquatch's way of getting his revenge.

or THIS:

The Royal Journal Greatest Hits: Success is it in the Coffee?

Coffee or tea, you ask? Here's a little ditty I wrote back on February 5, 2007 that should help you resolve that dilemma, I hope you enjoy:

Today was a beautiful winter day in Southern California. You know, 70 plus degrees, clear skies, the kind of weather that makes one want to tip back a tall piping hot cup of coffee. Actually, wait a tick, that's not exactly my cup of Joe (wow, that pun wasn't intended, but it works quite nicely), I would in fact, prefer a cool crisp ice-cold water over anything on a day like this. But here in SO CAL folks seem to disagree with me. They drink the hot stuff like its some sort of magic potion that has the power to grant anyone their innermost desires. Whether it's an aspiring actor trying to make it big time, or a recent college grad attempting to break into the industry as a director, producer or even writer. To them this hot beverage is their key to "making it" in this town. That's why I think people, specifically in the entertainment business seem to be piling into the nearest Starbucks. The proof is in the company's logo (right), you can plainly see there is some sort of mystical witch pictured right in the center. She has the long wavy black hair and even appears to be using some sort of meditation or telekinetic power, which must be her devious method in mystifying all the tasty drinks inside each store. And for the price you have to pay for one of these hot beverages, there better be more in that cup than just coffee.

I originally thought the name "Starbucks" was derived from the actual amount of money one would pay for a cup of their coffee. If you break down the name you can get the real meaning. It's just like Dan Brown's best-selling book The Da Vinci Code. Words are symbols and symbols are words. If you split "Starbucks" in half it becomes becomes "STAR" and "Bucks." Everyone knows most stars have 5 points, so if you take the word "STAR" and switch it with the number "5" you get "5 bucks coffee." Is it a coincidence or a just secret code thought up by the company's founders to reveal their true motives?

I am almost convinced that Starbucks is also a cover for an ancient religious secret society that has been attempting take over the world for centuries. I mean, if you really think about it, there is one of these coffee shops on every street corner in every major city around the world. Their world domination plans must not be far from completion. So please, keep going to Starbucks, you never know your wildest fantasies may just come true, even if it's world domination.

Changes coming to the old blog...

Its been way too long since I last posted something to this blog, so the first major change is that I am going to start blogging again. Second, I'm thinking that the "Royal Journal" is outdated and in desperate need for change! That's why over the course of the coming weeks, I am going to revamp the site and christen it with a new name (recommendations welcome, but I think I might know what I'll be calling it). Stay tuned, I'm looking forward to getting more involved. Lately I've been ALL too distracted with Twitter, so I will find a way to incorporate my tweets with my blog. Enjoy your weekend...but not TOO much!

BADNESS!

BADNESS Photoshop logo

I spent most of the night creating this on Photoshop. "Badness" is a word that is prominently used in my family, and if you don't know it by now, I am a HUGE Utah Jazz fan.

This will be put on a Tshirt for next seasons NBA season (that's the plan anyway)

What y'all think?

Most embarrassing or Amazing video I've ever made...

Greatest Action Movie EVER MADE?

Today could very well be the best day of my life. The first official trailer for the Sylvester Stallone directed action epic The Expendables was released to the world. Besides the fact that this film contains a cast that could conquer the free world on their own, it seems to be an entertaining film.Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever believed that Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger & Bruce Willis would have ever appeared in the same movie. But the fruition of this film not only proves that there is a God, but proves that he loves us VERY much! See for your self!

Yeah Sly is getting up there in age, but that didn't stop him from making Rambo 4 and as we all know that movie was action art! With the likes of Schwarzenegger, Lundgren, Rourke and Willis, brought together, these "old men" are defying the odds and showing that "old" is the new "bad ass." Never have I ever looked so forward to old age.

###

Sundance 2010 - "Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No"

Here is a little animated short that we saw today about Dock Ellis and his no-hitter he pitched while high on LSD. Very funny. Take a watch, you'll laugh.

Sundance 2010 - "Buried" Review (in a coffin edition)

Sundance 2010 - "Buried" Review (in a coffin edition) from Kreshjun on Vimeo.

Official "Buried" Teaser trailer

Sundance 2010 - "High School" Review

Sundance 2010 - "High School" Review from Kreshjun on Vimeo.

"Splice" Review - Sundance 2010 (family day edition)

Sundance 2010 (family day edition) - Splice Review from Kreshjun on Vimeo.

Sundance 2010 - Burbank to Salt Lake City

Kreshjun gears up for Sundance 2010...

Sundance 2010 - Packin' Up Packin' In from Kreshjun on Vimeo.

*yes that is Fever Ray playing in the background!

Top Five Films of 2009, says I.

2009 has been quite the year, but not exactly the best in theaters. Normally it is very difficult to pick my top five films for the year, but over the span of these 365 days, that task was actually VERY simple. This year it was very much about "quality and not quantity."

My Top 5 films of 2009 are as follows:

1. Moon1a. The Hurt Locker

2. District 93. Inglorious Basterds4. Zombieland5. Avatar

Mr. Monk and the Odlands...

After working on the hit USA series Monk for the last 3 seasons I was honored to attend the show's final wrap party. Here are a couple pictures of Tony Shalhoub with me and my mother. Yes, I'm a good son, I take my mom to fancy schmancy Hollywood parties.

Universally Friendly

"Universally Friendly" I made this with Photoshop. What do you think?

Haven't blogged in a while. Here's why...

For the past few months things have been very hectic in the life of Kristian Odland. The madness all started at the end of July with Comic-con 2009 in San Diego. As usual the convention was completely enjoyable (as you can see in the photo). My badness brothers, Tim & Kyle, joined me at the convention and we partook in the geeky goodness. Click here to see all the pictures from the madness.

Only days following the magic that was Comic-con, came the Odland family vacation. I packed my bags and flew east to Utah to meet up with the family for our week-long trip to Jackson Hole, WY. There was loads of outdoor fun to be had including canoing, hiking and swimming. But as it is true with all vacations, it went by WAY too fast. The downside of my vacation coming to an abrupt end was the fact that I had huge pile of stuff to deal with on my plate of life. A new job at KTLA and the giant chore of finding a new roommate.

Now, weeks later I'm working 7 days a weeks, have found a new roommate and couldn't be more content with life. Now I just need to get back to blogging. I have neglected you, oh Royal Journal, for too long now. Time to reconcile!

Oh in case you're wondering what I'm doing at KTLA, I'll show you...



Freelance news writer KTLA, Los Angeles
short by Sarah Grooters