Ranking the Best Picture winners since 2000

The Oscars have come and gone.  The R and R Review didn't write one blog about it.  Why not, some of our loyal readers have asked?  Because, we are lazy.  Too busy eating out.  The awards show was good and I give it overall high marks, but I don't want this blog to focus on the 81st Academy Awards.  All fall, I thought the slate of movies that were considered the "best" of the year seemed very weak.  I will admit, I didn't get to see all of them, as the R and R Review is very cheap and hasn't increased my business expense account.  But, of the ones I got to watch:  The Reader, Benjamin Button, Slumdog and Milk (ah, I only missed one), I thought this year was a little down.  Slumdog Millionaire was my favorite, but it was everyone else's, too.  How could it not be?  However, I really didn't think it would stand up well against previous winners.  So, what did I do?  I decided to compare it against the other winners for Best Picture this decade and rank them.  Here they are:

9.  A Beautiful Mind (2001):  Just didn't really like this movie that much.  Traffic should have won, I don't know what the Academy was smokin'.  Maybe too many of them were smokin' something when they watched Traffic and forgot to vote?  God, I love Michael Douglas.

8.  Chicago (2002):  I'm not a big musical fan, so maybe that is why I rated this movie so low.  However, it was the first musical that kept my attention for more than 10 minutes.  Also, I'm not a Renee Zellweger fan.  There, I said it.

7.  Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King (2003):  I liked the first two movies in the trilogy better.  This one ended up winning for all three.  I kept thinking the movie was ending and would stand up to leave.  This happened for 45 minutes.

6.  Crash (2005): This movie was better than Brokeback Mountain, no matter what people say.  I am not homophobic because I think that.  Who wouldn't want to be stuck on a mountain with Jake Gyllenhaal?  Crash was just better, so get over it.

5.  Gladiator (2000):  A great epic movie that was actually recognized.  In recent years, the Oscars don't reward these types of movies.  It wasn't the best movie of the decade, but very entertaining.

4. Slumdog Millionaire (2008):  Stacks up much better than I thought.  Too bad the kids had to leave Disneyland to return to the slums.  But, they made good money, according to the producers.

3.  Million Dollar Baby (2004):  I didn't want to see a movie just about a woman trying to become a boxer.  It turned out to be a lot more than that...even though it was a movie about a woman trying to become a boxer.

2. The Departed (2006):  Who doesn't like a good mob/cop movie?  They are some of Hollywood's absolute best movies.  Plus, this one had Jack, Leo, Alec, Matt, Martin and Mark.

1.  No Country for Old Men (2007):  I was surprised this was my favorite, as I liked There Would Be Blood better last year.  However, the Coen brothers really foll0wed Cormac McCarthy's book.  This had all the elements of a great movie.

Review: Coco Loco

So over the weekend I decided to venture out of my comfort zone of Moes and Chipotle and try out a new Cuban restaurant by the name of Coco Loco. Previously, I had my standby restaurant, Havana Sandwich Shop, a very straight forward title for a straight forward dining experience. This was once you got past the metal bars on the windows. However, tragically for me, the place burned down a few months ago and there is no hope of it rebuilding. There are other Cuban restaurants in town, but are more than my preferred 7.5 minute driving radius, so I went to the internet to find my fix. What did my Cuban deprived stomach find, but Coco Loco.

First, the name made me hesitate. Why wouldn’t it? It made me think of an Americanized restaurant serving Cajun burgers next to phony Ropa Vieja. But, it was getting quite late and I was hungry and I was desperate. (Note: It is very rare for me to try out a new place it without any advice. I was way out on a limb here).

When we pulled up, and I saw it was sitting in a strip center (not to be confused with a strip joint), I really wanted to keep driving to a vacant building and explain to my wife that Coco Loco must have fallen victim to the economy. Let’s get Chili’s instead? But, I was strong and forged ahead (actually I was so hungry, I didn’t think I could make it to Chili’s). As we did a drive by (without a gun), my wife pointed out that there were authentic Cubans serving and eating inside. My wife has Cubanadar I guess.

Once I got passed the simple surroundings, and my wife informed me that real Cuban restaurants had glass table tops (these were actually acrylic), I was excited for my experience. I ordered my favorite, the Ropa Vieja with moros and maduros. My wife ate the Lechon Asado with moros and maduros, as well. While my Ropa Vieja was a touch soupier than I expected, the flavors were not all that bad. It resembled real Cuban food. It’s hard to go wrong with moros and the maduros were ripe enough for a tasty treat. My wife’s Lechon Asado was a bit dry on the edges, so they get marked down for that, but the center part of the pork was tasty, although I’m not sure I would ever order it. The server was extremely nice and knew Spanish, as my wife loves to prove I’m an idiot and talk to them in a language I can’t understand. They snicker and point at the gringo when they are done. Silly American. All in all, this was not a true replacement for Havana, but a place I will try again. I give it a Spork Rating of:

Mid-Season Review of 24: Season 7

By BA Roof with an afterward by Christopher J. Robinson about episode 10.

***SPOILER ALERT***

BA Roof:

Editors Note: I watched 24 Redemption right before Episode 1 of Season 7, so I got confused with some inauguration content from an earlier post. My comments have been revised. I'm stupid.

I’m skipping my review of the Oscars to discuss a much more important topic: this season’s 24. I got into 24 by watching Season 5. I had enough friends pleading with me to watch the show. Ok, so I have no friends and was just bored and decided why not give it a try? I liked it so much, I went and bought the previous four seasons, but have only watched Season 1, so far. Hey, I’m a very busy and totally important guy. Tragically, the writers were abducted and replaced with glue sniffing drones for Season 6 and the franchise nearly died. For this year’s Season 7, there was supposed to be an overhaul.

So, is this season any better for 24? Yes and no. They finally scrapped CTU, which I couldn’t believe was still around for Season 6. I mean, how many terrorist attacks really happen in Los Angeles? They also shook up the cast a bit, which was long overdue, since I got tired of seeing the same people winning the Presidency like it was a deal made in some backroom bar. Maybe it is a deal made in some backroom bar in real life, but at least it’s not obvious.

I am, however, still very disappointed with the show. For some reason the writers keep coming up with plot twists that seem virtually impossible. Let me list the problems: (1) I know this is minor, but all the trees have leaves and the grass is green and some characters wear light jackets while others wear heavy ones. It’s the same day. Is it June or is it February? I have no clue, but it doesn't add up. (2) No one trusts or believes Jack. Give me a break. This guy has saved us how many times and we still don’t trust him? (3) How does a small African nation have the ability to corrupt so many high up people in the government and get this magical device that can cripple the country? Why haven't the Russians done this already? (4) Why on earth would there be a single device that can cripple the entire country so easily? (5) How can a low level FBI agent have so much access to the computers and why does his superior always trust what he says, knowing there is a mole in his department?

I know 24 can sometimes stretch the truth for entertainment, but at least make it seem plausible. That's what was so great about earlier episodes. This week’s episode didn’t have too much overt crazy writing. Most of it was plausible. Ok, maybe not the simple way one could erase the FBI computer files, or everything Chris discusses below. But, there have been plenty of moles in the FBI over the years. However, stay tuned. The trailer for next week’s show demonstrates how an African leader can have his loyalist storm the White House and hold the President hostage. Yeah, right. The most heavily guarded building in the world. I’m guessing next week’s episode will finally do me in and I will never be able to watch 24 again. See if I’m right. Spork Rating for Season 7 so far:

Christopher J. Robinson:

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Wow. Where to begin? I have never been more frustrated with poor writing than I was last night. Even though I love Rhys Coiro as Billy Walsh on Entourage, his character in 24, FBI Agent/cube monkey Sean Hillinger, has really bothered me. Apparently, computer nerds at the FBI are trained in all aspects of intelligence field work and issued Glocks. If you get angry at your computer, just pull out your Glock and cap your PC.

So last night, Sean and Erika are walking around the office and openly discussing Dubaku and how they have committed high treason within an ear shot of maybe 6-10 coworkers. Completely absurd. I think there was a moment when Sean even bumped into someone while talking about Jack and Renee, who is supposedly dead. Now, let’s not even get into the technical aspects of wiping out the FBI’s entire network in 30 seconds; it hurts too much to think about. This brings us to Sean shooting Erika in the stomach, her bleeding out immediately, then turning the gun on himself and shooting his arm point blank. Again, why is an IT guy at the FBI (not a field agent) issued a gun? If he was not issued the gun, how did he get it into the building? Surely they must have some sort of security protocol put in place, medal dectors at the door, something. After he shoots himself, he slides the gun over to Erika’s lifeless body but fails to get her prints on the gun. Doesn’t Sean think that a shooting inside the FBI will be investigated? Doesn’t he watch CSI?

After the doctors bandage up his arm, Sean casually and effortlessly puts on his jacket, runs down the hallway, is grabbed BY THAT ARM without flinching, then when he is placed in the interrogation room, is shown leaning on the table with both arms. Not once does he flinch or show any pain. How hard is it to add the line “God dammit! That hurts! Come on, man. I was just shot right where your grabbed me! Aghhhhh. F*** that hurts!” And I love how he had an extra button down shirt at the office, in case he ever gets shot at the office and needs to clean up and look presentable again.

Finally, we have the uncomfortable crowbar scene with Jack and Tony on the steps. It’s as if the writers sat down, went to work, and when they finished they had 10 hours of story line. “Oh, crap. How can we awkwardly continue the plot?” As BA Roof and I have discussed countless times, it is not that hard to keep the plot in tact while at the same time making certain aspects of the show more believable. I just do not understand the laziness and how they get away with it.

I do, however, love the obvious sexual tension between Jack Bauer and Agent Renee Walkers breasts. That was the silver lining to last night’s episode.

I'm with BA Roof on his spork rating for the Season thus far, but last night's episode gets...

Oregon’s 1900% Beer Tax Increase

With state governments scurrying around searching to find extra money like field mice scavenging for cheese, they are coming up with some unusual and overzealous scenarios. This week an Oregon legislator announced an idea to raise beer taxes. When governments want more of your money, they always go straight to the easiest tax to hike: the Sin Tax. Too bad I enjoy sinning and always seem to get stuck with the tab.

Now your local thief Oregon legislator may tell you that this tax will raise a pint of beer at most by 15 cents and that the current tax is only one measly cent. Who can’t afford 15 cents? And, I mean, come on…the only thing worst than something NOT being taxed, is something being taxed too low, right? But critics are fast to point out that the tax could amount to a $1.50 increase PER PINT. How can this be??? Well the increase per barrel of beer would be around $50, and some (in the beer lobby, so maybe their numbers are a tad high) say that once everyone on the supply chain takes their cut, the cost increase from the tax will increase the cost of the finished product by a lot. This means the famous microbreweries in Oregon could be out of business with the new tax.

So what is the big deal with increasing the taxes? Who cares about a bunch of drunk hippies? Charging them an extra $1.50 will get more taxes for our government officials to waste. Right? I know many of you slept through economics class, but the higher something costs (or in this case a tax), the less people will spend, meaning less tax revenue for government. Since fewer products are being bought, the beer companies and microbreweries have less revenue, as well, and profits drop and the breweries are forced to lay off people. More become unemployed creating a bigger strain on tax resources of the state and now since the state is getting less tax revenue, because of this simple increase in beer taxes, they have to cut more programs and/or increase taxes somewhere else. See the vicious cycle? Are you dizzy too? Let me put down my beer.

Now, maybe Oregon’s beer tax is a little low right now. It hasn't been raised in three decades. Or, maybe the government is too big and there should be fewer taxes. However, when your state has an industry built around brewing beer, maybe you need to keep the taxes low on that industry so people keep their jobs. One thing is for sure, a potential increase of this magnitude is too much for any time period, but especially at a time of such economic uncertainty. I mean, how are people going to drown their sorrows when they get laid off if beer is prohibitively expensive? This tax increase gets a Spork Rating of:

NO SPORKS!!

Not even for effort.

Beryl Meets Jared Leto

Whether you know him as Angel Face from Fight Club, Paul Allen from American Psycho, or yes, the Jordan Catalano from My So-Called Life, his real name is Jared Leto and he sings and plays guitar in a dreadfully awful band called 30 Seconds to Mars.

In NYC over the weekend, Beryl and Linds were walking through Union Square on their way to dinner when they brushed shoulders with the aforementioned Hollywood C-lister. So Beryl is all “Like OMG!!! Linny, I think that’s Jordan Catalano!!!” and Linds is all “Who?” and then Beryl realized that it was in fact, Jordan Catalano.

As Beryl turned and approached the once object of her prepubescent affection, she asked “Would it be like [brieft pause] so uncool if I asked for a picture, or something?” Catalano obliged, posed for the pic and walked away. This is when things took a HUGE turn for the worse… Beryl, in her state of giddy, star-struck euphoria, managed to yell out “HUGE My So-Called Life fan!!!!” This was the lamest thing that she could have possibly said.

When asked by the R & R Review if she frenched Jared Leto, Beryl responded with a deflated and wistful “No.”

While approaching Jared Leto and asking for a photo took some major cojones, Beryl managed to lose a couple of Sporks with her little quip at the end. Thus, Beryl’s encounter with Jared Leto gets…

2009 Daytona 500

So, I’m not sure how many of our loyal readers (yes, all 3 of you) watch NASCAR. I can tell you with confidence that the other R wants nothing to do with the sport. Yes, the cars drive round and round and at first glance can seem boring. But, I seem to have a sweet tooth for some good ole southern racin’ and yes, Days of Thunder is one of my favorite movies. Why is this? Because, of the drama between the drivers and the governing body. It’s like combining a ten car accident on the interstate, with the fighting of hockey with the dysfunctional governing body of…maybe Olympic gymnastics?

This leads me to describe one of the worst Daytona 500s I’ve seen in a very long time. If you haven’t heard, we are in the midst of an economic meltdown. NASCAR heavily relies on sponsorship dollars to fund its race teams. Did you know it can cost as much as 20 million dollars a year to fund a team? There are 43 teams that make a race every weekend. That’s a lot of money. Also, if you don’t watch often, three of the four car brands circling the track every weekend come from Detroit. With the car industry on life support and corporations hoarding every penny found, NASCAR desperately needed a strong 500 to increase viewers and attendance. Instead, it got its typical drama combined with a shortened race due to poor contingency planning by the sport.

The biggest issue of the day, besides the rain, was my favorite, yet slightly overrated driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I loved his daddy, so naturally I followed Junior. However, Junior doesn’t drive like his daddy and doesn’t win like his daddy, causing a lot of frustration for me and many other NASCAR fans. A good friend of mine and I often complain after a race how Junior once again screwed things up. Well, during this race he happened to spin out Brian Vickers shortly before the rain came. Many of the commentators and cry-baby drivers claimed that Junior recklessly hit Vickers, causing a major pileup. Well, first Junior had an incredible run on him and Vickers recklessly blocked his pass. As Junior was trying to come back into the race from the grass, he “rubbed” him. And as Harry Hogge said in Thunder, rubbin, son, is racin’. If the other driver’s can’t handle it…they need to go to Dancin’ with the Stars.

That leads to the question: why were they racing so hard with so many laps left? Well, rain was coming and in NASCAR you can’t race in the rain because of the slick tires used by the sport. Now, I understand that NASCAR can’t control the weather. But, they knew the bad weather was approaching hours in advance. Instead of moving up the biggest race of the year by an hour or so, and cut out their horrible pre-race celebration…they kept to the script, ensuring a rain ruined race. The BIGGEST race! The Super Bowl of NASCAR! It would be like if at the end of the third quarter of the Super Bowl, they cancelled the fourth quarter because of rain. NASCAR needs to learn a lesson from MLB. When the weather delayed Game 5 in the 6th inning of the World Series last year, did MLB place the game in the books? No, it let it resume days later. NASCAR should probably run the 500 a weekend earlier, or schedule the second race of the season somewhere on the east coast, rather than California so they could delay the race if needed. Instead, they stopped it only 3/4ths of the way through, with a lot of racing left to the imagination.

This year's Daytona 500 gets a Spork Rating of:

Fox Bros. BBQ

So, I really enjoy some good southern BBQ, but as strange as it may seem, Atlanta doesn't seem to have much in that department. Yes, it's a major city and it's located in the South. One would think a plethora of amazing BBQ joints would dot the scene. In fact, it was a consideration for me when deciding whether to move to Atlanta. Now, I must get all lawyer on you and establish that rating BBQ is about as subjective as rating the looks and intelligence of your child over your friend's. It's very subjective. There's even different styles from all over the country. So in reading this review, keep that in mind and don't shoot the messenger.

However, my wife, understanding my obsession for locating good bbq like a pig digging for truffles, stumbled upon this place called Fox Bros. BBQ. Now, I know many Atlantans have known about this place for eons...I'm not from Atlanta, so back off! I just discovered it like Christopher Columbus found the New World, so we will pretend it's truly a new discovery.

I must admit, I was very impressed with the food at Fox. I ate the pulled pork meal, with Brunswick stew, mac 'n cheese and everyone's favorite...Tater Tots. Yes, Virginia, they do have TOTS! I must rave about the pork, though, because it's the first time in Atlanta that I've eaten pulled pork from a restaurant and actually tasted that wonderful smoky flavor. It was very tender, well seasoned and served over a single slice of white bread. It puts everywhere else I've eaten bbq thus far in Atlanta to shame.

So here is the lowdown:

Pros: Great smoked pulled pork, awesome Brunswick stew, tasty Mac 'n cheese and they have Tots on the menu. Also, a very decent bear selection for a bbq joint.

Cons: Service was nice enough, but really slow on Sunday afternoon, the sweet tea was a bit watered down, the pork may have been a notch too dry (but I'll let it slide because it was so tasty), and unfortunately it was lacking in a variety of bbq sauces at the table.

All in all, if you live in Atlanta, or are visiting, consider this Spork Rating when choosing your BBQ joint of choice:

You can't go wrong with Fox Bros. BBQ

Joaquin Phoenix Takes it to Letterman

The real debate this week has not been whether or not a disc-golf course in Austin, TX that creates one job is the very definition of pork barrel spending or an actual economic stimulus, but whether or not Joaquin Phoenix’s recent appearance on Letterman was Andy Kaufman-esque or further evidence of the true mental unraveling of a two-time Oscar nominated actor.

Last year, Phoenix rocked Hollywood with his announcement that he was retiring from acting to pursue a new career in music. It was widely assumed that Joaquin would follow in his Walk The Line footsteps and attempt to join the rock community. As it turns out, Joaquin Phoenix wants to become a hip-hop star. As the story grew more and more bizarre, we learned that brother-in-law (and Hollywood’s finest young actor) Casey Affleck will direct a feature-length documentary of Phoenix’s explosion into the hip-hop scene. Casey will be following his every move. Apparently, filming began at Phoenix’s first live gig in Las Vegas last month. But this gets even better. P Diddy has signed on to produce the album. Yeah, that’s right. Diddy. They’ve been spotted around town partying it up, big time.

Do we really think that Casey Affleck would take a sabbatical from acting, at his peak no less, to chronicle the breakdown of one of his closest friends? Nah. There is no way this is real. If Joaquin was truly losing it, Casey would know, and the most he could hope to gain by documenting it would to capture the demise and ultimate death of his wife’s brother. That would be pretty twisted.

I am thoroughly convinced that this is a hoax. And it is pure genius. This will be the greatest joke performed on the public at the hands of an actor… ever. Unless of course, Andy Kaufman is still alive.

Joaquin Phoenix’s appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman gets…

Pre Pre-Season NCAA Football Coach Review – Lane Kiffin

So, interesting choice for a first review, right? College football is still over six months away (shhh, stop crying SEC fans) and our boy Lane hasn’t even coached a game for UT…not even the Spring game. However, Coach Kiffin has given the eleven other SEC schools a treasure trove of great material for decades to come. How could a pre pre-season review be ignored? First, I’ve diagnosed Lane’s problem. He has a mild case of Tourette’s syndrome. I mean, the guy says every bad thought that goes through his overworked brain. Filter, Kiffin, Filter. We could start way back in the NFL for this review, but let’s just focus on the time Kiffin has been coach of UT:

1. Made fun of and belittled a talent rich high school in Florida where he just nabbed a top recruit from UF.

2. Bragged about stealing recruits from other schools on camera.

3. Called Urban Meyer a cheat on camera, which was untrue and landed him a nice reprimand from SEC Commish Mike Slive.

4. Was subsequently reported for two recruiting violations by his own school and his excuse? “Other schools do it, too” (This is the same guy that bragged he got all but one answer right on NCAA recruiting exam).

5. Said he fired a staff member when his driver was 25 minutes late picking him up at the airport (Reason: That was 25 more minutes Urban and Saban had to get recruits). Maybe he is just insane?? UT quickly said no one had been fired and that Coach Kiffin was just running a very “disciplined program”. Are two recruiting violations in his first few months disciplined?

I could give Laney boy a 5 Spork review for making something relevant come out of Tennessee football for the first time in nearly a decade. However, relevant doesn’t equate to greatness in this case. When Urban took over Florida, he immediately focused on football and the fundamentals. He won two national championships in four years. Saban has made similar progress in Babalama by nearly winning the SEC Championship and playing in a BCS bowl game in his second year. The Nutt defeated the last three National Champions and won the Cotton Bowl in his first year at Ole Miss. Even Auburn’s new lackluster coach Chizik has enough brains to just shut up and pray if he works hard enough, something good will happen (see: Ron Zook for results). Instead of focusing on the fundamentals of football, Kiffin has done a knock up job of pissing off his rivals by his accusations, cheating and dirty tricks and at the same time made a bigger joke out of his school. I mean, have you actually heard the lyrics to Rocky Top??? These are huge negatives for a team coming off one if its worst seasons in a long, long time. So for that, kiddin’ Kiffin gets:

Guide to the Spork System

No Sporks (but reviewed): Run away. Far, far away. Think the Majestic with Jim Carrey.


One Spork: A One Spork Rating will tell you that something is dreadful. If it's an airline, there's good chance you've been on the runway for four hours, the seats are too small, all of the food and drinks cost something, you've been bumped for the second time in two days and all future flights are delayed. Think US Airways.
Two Sporks: A Two Spork Rating usually means something is just mediocre. If you were staying in a Two Spork hotel, you are probably watching a 25-inch tube television that only gets 15 channels (five of which are guides), the towels are rough and usually only three are provided when four are needed, and the bed is hard as a rock, but there are no bed bugs or roaches sleeping with you.



Three Sporks: A Three Spork Rating is the lowest of the ratings that can get you recommended by the R and R Review. This means a dinner was tasty, but not memorable. Think of winning a Toyota Camry on the Price is Right...you are happy for the reliability, but aren't wowed by the image you now portray.



Four Sporks: A Four Spork Rating is given to something that is truly great, but for whatever reason it is a step short of perfection. Think of going on a date with a jaw-droppingly beautiful woman/man that has a great sense of humor and makes you feel completely comfortable around them, but when you get back to their place they own a cat.

Five Sporks: This is the hardest rating to achieve. A Five Spork Rating is not thrown around like a four year old kid in a bouncy house. It is reserved for perfection or as near perfection one can get in its particular medium and/or genre. Think George Washington meets Abe Lincoln.




We also use half sporks and that's pretty self-explanatory. If you need a guide for that, you probably shouldn't be reading our blog.

The Spork System

Any review that you read on the R&R Review will be accompanied by a "Spork" rating. The Spork rating ranges from 0 to 5 Sporks, including halves. For example, last night's episode of Lost might have received a rating of 4 Sporks, had it been reviewed on this blog.










A brief description of each Spork rating will be posted shortly.

Welcome to the R&R Review

The R&R Review is a writing club that was conceived in the foothills of North-Central Florida. It evolved into a film review journal and plans to add the political musings of its co-founders along with critiques of b&bs, books, golf courses, restaurants... honestly, there are no boundaries.

We will review everything from movies and books to hotels and resorts. It is the New Yorker meets Entertainment Weekly meets Food and Wine meets the Economist meets Us Weekly.