The InSneider

FINAL 2012 OSCAR NOMINATION PREDICTIONS

2012-01-24T03:23:00.000-08:00

T-minus 2 hours, so I'd better get these on the record quick!

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
A Separation

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Ugh, I hate all of these and want to just start from scratch but I'm exhausted, so I'm posting them without much thought. Fingers crossed tomorrow!

THE WORST 10 MOVIES OF 2011

2012-01-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Sitting through these movies was akin to torture. We've got one critically acclaimed arthouse film, three DOA Sundance movies, three big-budget bombs, 2 VOD premieres and a studio "comedy." Each one is to be avoided at all costs.

10. MELANCHOLIA – A pretty yet pretentious, not to mention pointless exercise in sheer boredom from agent provocateur Lars von Trier. I have more respect for The Tree of Life! At least that was about something... I think.

9. THE DETAILS – I loved Jacob Aaron Estes’ Mean Creek, but The Details was just a complete mess. Horrible voiceover, hammy acting & a terrible script. It features Laura Linney giving Tobey Maguire a blowjob, which is probably why it has been sitting on a shelf for a year. Seriously, who wants to pay to see that?

8. I MELT WITH YOU – This movie made me wish I’d signed a suicide pact with my own high school friends. Pellington's gotta take this shit back to film school and work out his issues.

7. THE SON OF NO ONE – Didn’t see the re-edited version that was cobbled together after its disastrous Sundance screening, but can't imagined it improved much. Just a goofy, self-serious story featuring some solid actors giving embarrassing performances. C'mon, Pacino! You're better than this!

6. GREEN LANTERN – What the fuck happened here? The first 30 minutes were a total joke. Second straight year a Ryan Reynolds movie has made my Worst 10 list. Amateur VFX, a ridiculous plot, a silly villain and a bland love interest hobble this superhero pic. Thank God auds steered clear of this turd and spared us all a sequel... for now.

5. COWBOYS & ALIENS – Popcorn garbage for the masses. How much more boring can Daniel Craig get outside of the Bond franchise. Harrison Ford can’t possibly chew more scenery. The story was insulting. Something about aliens needing gold. Who comes up with this shit? A big-budget slog to sit through. Speaking of those...

4. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES – Was so excited to see this movie due to a great trailer, but it was just loud, action nonsense that I’ve seen a million times before. It took no risks and did nothing to differentiate itself. Director Jonathan Liebesman let me down here, as did the one-note Aaron Eckhart, who is so much better than this B-movie material.

3. TRESPASS – Joel Schumacher has made a lot of great movies, and it's sad to see what has become of his once-promising career. How do you waste not one, but TWO Oscar winners in Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman? This was a generic, by-the-numbers thriller that debuted on VOD for a reason: it sucked.

2. THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II: FULL SEQUENCE – Talk about a dude out of ideas. While I liked the premise in theory, Tom Six just kept throwing more shit (literally) at the screen to see what would stick, and ultimately, none of it did. This is lowest common denominator filmmaking and fairly offensive, which is not a word I throw around lightly. Just utter garbage.

1. YOUR HIGHNESS – A crass, stupid, schlocky, laugh-free movie. Shocking how so many funny people can work together to create something so lame and out of touch. This was staggeringly awful, but I KNEW it would be going into it, so I have only myself (and Universal) to blame. What has happened to the David Gordon Green we all knew and loved? He needs to leave comedies behind him and focus on making Brad Land's hazing memoir Goat... or anything that's worth his time.

IF I HAD AN OSCAR BALLOT...

2012-01-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

... It would look an awful lot like this. And keep in mind, while I LOVED movies like Bellflower & Hesher, I'm not sure I'd put them on an OSCAR ballot. They're perfect for my personal Top 10, but these are movies that realistically might have a chance, however small, of getting serious awards recognition.

BEST PICTURE

50/50
Beginners
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Super 8
Warrior
Win Win

BEST DIRECTOR

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Steve McQueen, Shame
Bennett Miller, Moneyball
Gavin O’Connor, Warrior
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

BEST ACTOR

Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

BEST ACTRESS

Olivia Colman, Tyrannosaur
Viola Davis, The Help
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Charlize Theron, Young Adult

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Patton Oswalt, Young Adult
Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, The Help
Elle Fanning, Super 8
Bryce Dallas Howard, The Help
Carey Mulligan, Shame
Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50
A Better Life
Midnight in Paris
Win Win
Young Adult

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Descendants
Drive
The Ides of March
Moneyball
The Skin I Live In

2011 MOVIE LIST ... 137 & COUNTING!

2012-01-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

It's back again and better than ever!

THE STANDOUTS (18) - This should go without saying, but these are all must-sees.

Win Win ***1/2
Warrior ***1/2
I Saw the Devil ***1/2
Drive ***1/2
50/50 ***1/2
Hesher ***
Bellflower ***
Moneyball ***
Young Adult ***
The Ides of March ***
Super 8 ***
The Debt ***
A Better Life ***
Rango ***
Kidnapped ***
Rise of the Planet of the Apes ***
War Horse ***
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold ***

THE GOOD (36) - These represent quality filmmaking all-around.

Attack the Block ***
Red State ***
Bridesmaids ***
Contagion ***
Shame ***
Take Shelter ***
Midnight in Paris ***
The Help ***
The Descendants ***
Martha Marcy May Marlene ***
Beginners ***
The Skin I Live In ***
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ***
Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within ***
Tyrannosaur ***
Sound of My Voice ***
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close ***
We Need To Talk About Kevin ***
The Trip ***
Hanna ***
Page One ***
Friends With Benefits ***
The Change Up ***
Cedar Rapids ***
Ceremony ***
Submarine ***
Exporting Raymond ***
Jeff, Who Lives at Home ***
The Robber ***
Water For Elephants ***
Another Happy Day ***
Hall Pass ***
Source Code ***
The Lincoln Lawyer ***
Bernie ***
Still Screaming **1/2

THE GOOD... BUT SHOULD'VE BEEN BETTERS (21) - Why weren't these good movies better? I don't really know. But they should be. Hence, the name of this section.

The Artist ***
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo ***
Crazy Stupid Love ***
The Hangover Part II ***
X-Men: First Class **1/2
J. Edgar **1/2
Kill List **1/2
The Devil's Double **1/2
Paranormal Activity 3 **1/2
Miss Bala **1/2
My Week With Marilyn **1/2
Dirty Girl **1/2
The Guard **1/2
The Beaver **1/2
Margin Call **1/2
Bad Teacher **1/2
Super **1/2
Grave Encounters **1/2
Immortals **1/2
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark **1/2
American: The Bill Hicks Story **1/2

THE GUILTY PLEASURES (16) - These are movies that I shouldn't like but I do, for one reason or another. I only feel ashamed because the Internet tells me I'm supposed to.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas ***
Hobo With a Shotgun ***
Fast Five ***
Final Destination 5 ***
Just Go With It ***
Fright Night ***
Transformers: Dark of the Moon **1/2
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows **1/2
Take Me Home Tonight **1/2
The Green Hornet **1/2
Thor **1/2
The Double **1/2
The Mechanic **1/2
The Woman **1/2
Unknown **
Zookeeper **

THE UNDERWHELMING DISAPPOINTMENTS (37) - Chalk it up to expectations but these movies just didn't cut it for me.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy **1/2
Straw Dogs **1/2
Snowtown ** 1/2
Texas Killing Fields **1/2
Our Idiot Brother **1/2
Captain America **1/2
Paul **1/2
Horrible Bosses **1/2
Tower Heist **1/2
The Adventures of Tintin **
Hugo **
30 Minutes or Less **
Machine Gun Preacher **
Something Borrowed **
Rampart **
Page Eight **
The Adjustment Bureau **
The Tree of Life **
Scream 4 **
Limitless **
Insidious **
Knuckle **
Cold Weather **
The Dilemma **
The Sitter **
Fireflies in the Garden **
Real Steel **
Rubber **
The Catechism Cataclysm **
Peep World *1/2
The Rum Diary *1/2
Everything Must Go *1/2
A Dangerous Method *1/2
Coriolanus *1/2
Carnage * 1/2
The Thing *1/2
The Details *1/2

THE BAD (9) - For better or worse, I just don't know what these movies were thinking.

Melancholia *1/2
I Melt With You *1/2
The Son of No One *1/2
Green Lantern *1/2
Cowboys & Aliens *1/2
Battle: Los Angeles *
The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence *
Trespass 1/2*
Your Highness 1/2 *

OOPS, I MISSED (54): Abduction, Albert Nobbs, Anonymous, Arthur Christmas, Beautiful Boy, The Big Year, Buck, Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star, Colombiana, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, The Conspirator, Cars 2, Cracks, The Darkest Hour, The Eagle, The Flowers of War, The Future, Good Neighbors, Happy Feet 2, Happythankyoumoreplease, Henry's Crime, In a Better World, Incendies, In Time, The Iron Lady, Jack and Jill, Jane Eyre, Killer Elite, Kill the Irishman, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Lady, The Ledge, The Lie, London Boulevard, Meek's Cutoff, Miral, NEDS, Project Nim, Puncture, Puss In Boots, Red Riding Hood, Retreat, Salvation Boulevard, Senna, Septien, Sympathy For Delicious, Tabloid, Terri, The Three Musketeers, Trust, Vanishing on 7th St., We Are What We Are, What's Your Number?, Wrecked

COMING SOON (14): Another Earth, Brawler, Extraterrestrial, In the Land of Blood and Honey, The Last Circus, Like Crazy, Margaret, The Muppets, Pariah, Point Blank, A Separation, Sleeping Beauty, We Bought a Zoo, Weekend

THE INSNEIDER'S TOP 10 of 2011

2012-01-20T01:43:00.000-08:00

I've been putting off making this list because I consider these types of things so terribly final, when really they're just snapshots in time, as memories evolve. Sometimes you just happen to make up your mind 3 hours before you leave for Sundance, which really kicks off the new year in terms of moviegoing. Without further ado... here goes nothing. Send all hate mail to theinsneider@gmail.com, and please excuse the cop-outs.

10. (tie) ATTACK THE BLOCK and SUPER 8
Joe Cornish, come on down! You're the next contestant on MAJOR HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR! I thought this movie was overhyped... and then I saw it. The classic movie it reminded me of? Ghostbusters. John Boyega is a star in the making. The Basement Jaxx score was sick! The monsters were simply designed yet they looked really cool. Just a wildly entertaining alien invasion movie set in a unique location. And it was made on the cheap, not that I think about a movie's budget while I watch.
On the other end of the spectrum lies Super 8, the movie Steven Spielberg probably wishes he directed this year, and I say that as a fan of War Horse. J.J. Abrams is batting .1000 in my book. While this movie had its share of 3rd act problems, everything around it was gold. Just pure cinema. Another movie about filmmaking involving kids, only unlike Hugo, it's actually fun to watch. Joel Courtney is a nice find & Elle Fanning was every bit as good as Shailene Woodley in The Descendants. Loved its opening frames, the train crash, the gas station scene, the projector scene, the love triangle, the friendships, the score. Hell, i even dug the locket device. Only next time J.J., cool it with those lens flares. Seriously.

9. (tie) BELLFLOWER and HESHER
Evan Glodell & Spencer Susser are filmmakers to watch, or rather, listen to, since they each have a unique voice. These movies are a little messy but life's edges are never smooth. Joseph Gordon-Levitt just goes for it in Hesher & Devin Brochu impressed the hell out of me considering how much is asked of him. Plus it featured music by Metallica, which is the quickest way to my heart.
Bellflower also features some bitchin' mood music. I had no idea what I was sitting down to see when I caught this at Sundance with my occasional Twitter sparring partner but eternal idol Drew McWeeny, and I think I can safely say that both of us were blown away. Just raw and real and bat-shit insane. I mean, it's protagonist is named Woodrow for fuck's sake! But I loved it. Long live Medusa!

8. CONTAGION
It played even better on second viewing. Loved the end, when Steven Soderbergh reveals how all the storylines tie together. It made me think, which is more than I can say about most movies. And that prom scene? Touching stuff. This was so much more than a star-studded disaster flick. Let's just pray it's not the future.

7. YOUNG ADULT
I'm not a huge Diablo Cody fan but I'll be damned if this isn't one of the best scripts of the year. I'll put it this way: This is my favorite movie from Jason Reitman, who has improved his storytelling skills with each movie he has made. Charlize Theron gives the best female performance I saw all year. Like she did in Monster, for which she won an Oscar, the South African beauty just goes for it here and plays the character as written, warts and all. Patton Oswalt has never been better and their odd couple relationship was genuinely affecting to watch, perhaps because I have a couple friendships like that, with girls who wouldn't give me the time of day back in high school. I'm glad some things change, even if the characters in this movie don't, which in my opinion, is the whole point.

6. MONEYBALL
Steven Soderbergh leaving to go direct like 4 other movies is the best thing that ever happened to this film, because director Bennett Miller knocked it out of the park. Easily my favorite film from a major studio this year. Glad to see Brad Pitt get some recognition for his tricky performance here, because I've long felt that he's an underrated actor overshadowed by his looks, which isn't as bad a problem as it sounds. He works wonders with the subtle nuances in this material and thank God that Jonah Hill was up to the challenge of standing toe-to-toe with him. Both these guys deserve Oscar nominations, and who would've said that 2 years ago? Even the dude who played David Justice was good! And that score is great in a Social Network kind of way.

5. 50/50
Not many movies can balance comedy and tragedy as skillfully as this. JGL once again stands out as a kid my age who's diagnosed with some crazy cancer. I was a little underwhelmed emotionally for the first hour as the main character tries to play it cool, but when the gravity of the situation hits him... it's simply devastating. Joe deserves the same Oscar nod Jesse Eisenberf earned last year. He's among the finest actors of his generation. I hear he owes it all to French Stewart. HA! Roger and Bryce are great in supporting roles, and Anna Kendrick is still quite good as Anna Kendrick. Jonathan Levine continues to grow as a filmmaker and this is evidence of his eye-opening evolution. Let's give Will Reiser credit too. Not only did he wrte a script, he beat cancer! I smell awards in his future...

4. I SAW THE DEVIL
Forget The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, this is the best serial killer thriller of the year. It's a long subtitled movie but you never feel the running time. The violence comes fast and furious, but in order for it to have the impact it does, you have to be emotionally invested in the characters. Can't say enough good things about this one, which is crying out for an English-language remake at Warner Bros. with 2 of either Leo, Ben or Matt. Take your pick. Leo was supposed to play Patrick Bateman back in the day and is now developing a movie about H.H. Holmes, so clearly he's open to playing a serial killer. After all, Brad Pitt did it 20 years ago,,,

3. DRIVE
The coolest movie of the year starring the coolest actor of the year, who counts 3 solid movies and 1 broken-up fight on his 2011 resume. I went as Ryan Gosling's character Driver for Halloween. Albert Brooks was mahvelous playing against type. Oscar Isaac owns the screen during his limited screentime. Perlman has the perfect face to play such a menacing Joombah. Nicolas Winding Refn pulled off 2 of the best scenes of the year in addition to curating its best soundtrack, I've seen it 4 times and I'm already ready for #5. Now the $64,000 question: To sequel or not to sequel?

2. WIN WIN
Saw it at Sundance and it has stayed with me ever since. Tom McCarthy wrote the best screenplay of the year. Paul Giamatti is excellent, as usual (The Ides of March just missed the cut for this list), but Bobby Cannavale steals this movie along with naturalistic newcomer Alex Shaffer, who has a bright future ahead of him. This is a smartly observed slice of modern day life. Financial problems, family turmoil, and good old-fashioned wrestling. How can you not like this movie!

1, WARRIOR
There can only be one champion and this is undoubtedly it. I cried the first time and was still crying the 4th time. Maybe it's because I have 2 brothers but I found this sports story remarkably moving. Sure it's built on some classic cliches, but those exist for a reason. Tom Hardy is a certified star and his scene with a drunk Nick Nolte should be used for the latter's Oscar clip, provided he lands the nomination he deserves. The only problem with this movie are the cutaways to those annoying high school kids. Otherwise, it's an overlooked masterpiece of machismo. A stunning finale, which like Win Win, takes advantage of The National's strange power. Bravo to Gavin O'Connor! Rent it on DVD, since I doubt you caught it in theaters. It's inexplicable that this failed to catch on with mainstream audiences. I loved it.

BRETT RATNER'S OPEN LETTER TO HOLLYWOOD

2011-11-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Colleagues,
Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a well-deserved earful from many of the people I admire most
in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I
said in a number of recent media appearances. To them, and to everyone I’ve hurt and
offended, I’d like to apologize publicly and unreservedly.
As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any
young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments. And
they pale in comparison to what any gay, lesbian, or transgender individual must deal with as
they confront the many inequalities that continue to plague our world.
So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it
pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I
know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes
out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably
feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming
weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help
stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated.
As a first step, I called Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th
Academy Awards telecast. Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest
moment of my career. But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association
with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.
I am grateful to GLAAD for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to
increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised and I look
forward to working with them. I am incredibly lucky to have a career in this business that I love
with all of my heart and to be able to work alongside so many of my heroes. I deeply regret my
actions and I am determined to learn from this experience.
Sincerely,
Brett Ratner

The InSneider's Top 10 and Worst 10 of 2010

2011-02-27T00:03:00.001-08:00

Earlier this evening, Entertainment Weekly's John Young posted a Top 10 list that reminded me I hadn't formally posted one of my own.

Seven of John's Top 10 films made my own list, and I haven't seen I AM LOVE (his #10) or WAITING FOR SUPERMAN (his #8), though I have screeners of both. Clearly we have very similar taste in movies, as the only one we seem to disagree on is INCEPTION. While I admire Christopher Nolan's mind-bending original vision, I can't say I was a huge fan of his multi-layered narrative, which ultimately left me cold.

Without further ado, here are The InSneider's Top 10 Films of 2010, as well as the Worst 10 Films of 2010. Feel free to weigh in with your own in the comments section.

TOP 10

Honorable Mention: THE KING'S SPEECH, A SERBIAN FILM and MESRINE (PART I: KILLER INSTINCT & PART II: PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1)

10. THE GHOST WRITER
9. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
8. NEVER LET ME GO
7. CATFISH
6. THE FIGHTER
5. BLUE VALENTINE
4. BLACK SWAN
3. TOY STORY 3
2. KICK-ASS
1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK

WORST 10

Dishonorable Mention: DEFENDOR, DAYBREAKERS and CASE 39

10. TRON: LEGACY
9. SEX AND THE CITY 2
8. CITY ISLAND
7. THE KILLER INSIDE ME
6. REPO MEN
5. BURIED
4. DOUBLE TAKE
3. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
2. SOMEWHERE
1. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

FINAL 2011 OSCAR NOMINATION PREDICTIONS

2011-01-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

Live from Sundance for the record...

BEST PICTURE

127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

ALT: Blue Valentine

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David O. Russell, The Fighter

ALT: Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit

BEST ACTOR

Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine

ALT: Jeff Bridges, True Grit

BEST ACTRESS

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

ALT: Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

ALT: John Hawkes, Winter's Bone

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Lesley Manville, Another Year
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

ALT: Barbara Hershey, Black Swan

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech

ALT: Blue Valentine

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

ALT: Rabbit Hole

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
Toy Story 3

ALT: The Illusionist

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Client 9
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Inside Job
The Tillman Story
Waiting for Superman

ALT: Waste Land

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

ALT: 127 Hours

BEST EDITING

127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network

ALT: Blue Valentine

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

127 Hours
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Tron: Legacy

ALT: How to Train Your Dragon

2010 MOVIE LIST ... 119 & COUNTING!

2010-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

It's back again and better than ever!

THE STANDOUTS (19) - This should go without saying, but these are all must-sees... yes, even the animated sequel, the comic book adaptation, the foreign-language films and the are-they-real-or-not documentaries!

The Social Network ***1/2
Kick-Ass ***1/2
Toy Story 3 ***1/2
Black Swan ***1/2
Blue Valentine ***1/2
The Fighter ***1/2
Catfish ***1/2
Mesrine (Part I: Killer Instinct and Part II: Public Enemy No. 1) ***
Never Let Me Go***
The Ghost Writer ***
Exit Through the Gift Shop ***
Biutiful ***
127 Hours ***
Rabbit Hole ***
The King's Speech ***
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer ***
Mother ***
Winter's Bone ***
Carlos ***

THE GOOD (19) - You could argue with the lower half of this list but I think these movies represent quality filmmaking all-around.

The Kids Are All Right ***
The Town ***
Cyrus ***
Let Me In ***
Greenberg ***
Cell 211 ***
Green Zone ***
I Love You Phillip Morris ***
The Square ***
The Disappearance of Alice Creed ***
The American ***
The Next Three Days ***
I'm Still Here ***
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work ***
The Book of Eli ***
Conviction ***
Youth in Revolt ***
Middle Men ***
Louis C.K.: Hilarious ***

THE GOOD... BUT SHOULD'VE BEEN BETTERS (18) - Why weren't these movies better? I don't really know. But they should be. Hence, the name of this section.

Shutter Island ***
The Red Riding Trilogy (1974, 1980 and 1983) ***
True Grit ***
Barney's Version ***
The Company Men ***
Animal Kingdom ***
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World ***
Splice ***
Tiny Furniture ***
Due Date **1/2
Easy A **1/2
Secretariat **1/2
Stone **1/2
Paranormal Activity 2 **1/2
7 Days **1/2
The Greatest **1/2
Winnebago Man **1/2
Raging Boll **1/2

THE GUILTY PLEASURES (23) - I just added a dozen movies to this part of the list when I realized that they were guilty pleasures. I shouldn't like them but I do, whether it's because I love crazy horror movies, or enjoy Tom Cruise when he's allowed to be charming, or like spending 90 minutes with Sandler, Spade and Salma Hayek's cleavage. Anyone could poke holes in my arguments but it wouldn't change the fact that I would still recommend all of these movies to my friends or anyone else looking to be entertained, if you consider something as creepy as The Poughkeepsie Tapes to be entertainment. Also, please note that just because these are "guilty pleasures," doesn't mean they're not great films. For the record, I loved Salt, Frozen and The Karate Kid. I only feel ashamed because the Internet tells me I'm supposed to.

Salt ***
I Spit On Your Grave ***
Frozen ***
The Karate Kid ***
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane ***
The Human Centipede ***
Jackass 3D ***
Machete ***
The Poughkeepsie Tapes ***
MacGruber ***
Grown Ups ***
Piranha 3D ***
Knight and Day **1/2
The Other Guys **1/2
Predators **1/2
Devil **1/2
The Crazies **1/2
Little Fockers **1/2
Hot Tub Time Machine **1/2
Takers **1/2
The Expendables **1/2
The Sorceror's Apprentice **1/2
Saw 3D **

THE UNDERWHELMING DISAPPOINTMENTS (29) - Chalk it up to expectations but these movies just didn't cut it. They were all missing something vital, from Inception's character development to Get Him to the Greek's third act, or from a threatening villain in Despicable Me to more Mel Gibson swearing in Edge of Darkness. I'm embarrassed to have Inception and Cop Out on the same section of this list but both were, to me, underwhelming disappointments. I mean, I still thought Inception was good, and perhaps it belongs atop the Good But Should've Been Betters, but going into it, I was expecting a capital-G Great movie, and it didn't deliver on this promise, IMHO. It probably deserves it's own WTF category, but that sounds too generous. BTW, my entire opinion on Inception is subject to change upon an upcoming second viewing.

Inception ***
Dogtooth **1/2
Enter the Void **1/2
Get Him to the Greek **1/2
Despicable Me **1/2
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo **1/2
The Way Back **1/2
Date Night **1/2
Iron Man 2 **1/2
The Losers **1/2
The Wolfman **1/2
Edge of Darkness **
All Good Things **
The Loved Ones **
The Girl Who Played With Fire **
Unstoppable **
It's Kind of a Funny Story **
44-Inch Chest **
Dinner for Schmucks **
Operation: Endgame (DVD) **
Cropsey **
Brooklyn's Finest **
Nowhere Boy **
Cop Out **
Case 39 (Delta) *1/2
Two Gates of Sleep (AFI) *1/2
Daybreakers *1/2
Defendor *1/2
Tell-Tale (DVD) *

THE BAD (10) - For better or worse, I just don't know what these movies were thinking. Just horrendous decisions at every turn. Johan Grimonprez's Double Take (an experimental film, mind you) was only 80 minutes, yet it was more grueling to sit through than the 146-minute estrogen marathon known as the Sex and the City sequel. Meanwhile, Tim Burton has officially lost his mind, Michael Winterbottom's movie was as schizophrenic as its two-faced protagonist, and I could tell within the first 30 seconds of Elm St.'s opening credits that the movie was going to be a completely vapid and utterly pointless remake. Hopefully, Platinum Dunes has learned something from the Elm St. nightmare and apply it to future remakes of movies that don't need to be remade. As for Buried, I admire the effort, but I thought Ryan Reynolds was way out of his element and ultimately, he wasn't able to make a torturous experience any less painful.

Tron: Legacy *1/2
Sex and the City 2 *1/2
City Island *1/2
The Killer Inside Me *
Repo Men *
Buried *
Double Take *
Alice in Wonderland *
Somewhere *
A Nightmare on Elm St. 1/2*

THE UNGRADEABLE (1) - I cannot, in good conscience, assign a star rating to A SERBIAN FILM. It is the most fucked up movie I have ever seen, and as such, cannot be graded on a traditional scale. If I was forced to rate it, it would be a lot closer to four stars than no stars. But like I said, a star rating wouldn't do this movie justice, and would serve no purpose, since it can't be compared to any other movie that I've ever seen, let alone any of the films on this year's list.

HAVE SCREENERS FOR (12): Howl (need to finish), Leaves of Grass (need to finish) Get Low, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Restrepo, The Tillman Story, Valhalla Rising, Centurion, Solomon Kane, Frankie & Alice, Hereafter, I Am Love

STILL HAVEN'T SEEN (1): Another Year

OOPS... I MISSED (17): The Secret in Their Eyes, The Last Exorcism, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, Four Lions, Welcome to the Rileys, RED, Megamind, Fair Game, Inside Job, Monsters, Made in Dagenham, Casino Jack, The Tourist, How Do You Know, Love and Other Drugs, Morning Glory, Solitary Man

2011 GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATION PREDICTIONS

2010-12-14T01:25:00.000-08:00

Real quick, for the record.

Best Picture - Drama

Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

Best Picture - Comedy/Musical

Alice in Wonderland
Easy A
How Do You Know
The Kids Are All Right
Love and Other Drugs

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception

Best Actor - Drama

Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

Best Actress - Drama

Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Tilda Swinton, I Am Love
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Best Actor - Musical/Comedy

Jim Carrey, I Love You Phillip Morris
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
Robert Downey Jr., Due Date
Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
Ben Stiller, Greenberg

Best Actress - Musical/Comedy

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Julia Roberts, Eat Pray Love
Emma Stone, Easy A

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Fighter
Pierce Brosnan, The Ghost Writer
Matt Damon, True Grit
Jack Nicholson, How Do You Know
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Kristin Scott Thomas, Nowhere Boy

Best Screenplay

Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John J. McLaughlin, Black Swan
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Seidler, The King's Speech
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

Best Animated Feature

Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Best Original Score

127 Hours
Black Swan
The Ghost Writer
The Social Network
Inception

The InSneider's FINAL 2010 Oscar Predictions

2010-03-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

The time has come. The hour is upon us. The red carpet is ready for Louboutins. I'm hoping to go 24/24, but I'll be happy with 20 correct predictions. Looking forward to a fun show with hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, and praying that The Ten Experiment pays off for the underdog/frontrunner. Without further ado, here are The InSneider's FINAL 2010 Oscar Predictions. You can thank me later.

BEST PICTURE

Avatar - 30%
The Blind Side - 1%
District 9 - 1%
An Education - 1%
The Hurt Locker - 40%
Inglourious Basterds - 10%
Precious - 5%
A Serious Man - 1%
Up - 1%
Up in the Air - 10%

WILL WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - If it wins, it'll be the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner ever, but it has been steamrolling through the pre-cursors and should reap the rewards of the preferential voting system. Forgive the pun, but it'll come down to the wire.
COULD WIN: AVATAR - The highest grossing movie of all-time also helped usher Hollywood into a new technological age. It's a bona fide worldwide sensation, but its detractors may be too loud to overcome on Oscar night.
SHOULD WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - Without question, it was the best movie of the year, with characters you actually manage to care about. The most suspenseful film of the last decade and a great, edge-of-your-seat war film to boot.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: A SERIOUS MAN OVER A SINGLE MAN. Why do people keep drinking the Coen Brothers' Kool-Aid? Even when it's good, it's still unsatisfying. A Single Man had feeling where A Serious Man had only self-loathing and contempt. Just spare me next time, OK?

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker - 60%
James Cameron, Avatar - 30%
Lee Daniels, Precious - 2%
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air - 1%
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds - 7%

WILL WIN: KATHRYN BIGELOW - She'll be the first female filmmaker to win the award, and it's about damn time.
COULD WIN: JAMES CAMERON - Even I recognize what Cameron accomplished with Avatar. It's a milestone in cinema. But his ex-wife will almost certainly have the last laugh.
SHOULD WIN: KATHRYN BIGELOW - She put me right there, in the suit with Jeremy Renner, and her movie knocked my socks off. She deserves it.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: NEVERMIND. I can actually live with this slate of nominees, although TOM FORD (A Single Man) or MARC WEBB (500 Days of Summer) would've been nice...

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart - 80%
George Clooney, Up in the Air - 5%
Colin Firth, A Single Man - 5%
Morgan Freeman, Invictus - 0%
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker - 10%

WILL WIN: JEFF BRIDGES - He was legitimately great in Crazy Heart, but this is more of a Lifetime Achievement Award than anything else. Everyone in Hollywood has worked with him and loves him accordingly though, so expect him to take the stage tonight.
COULD WIN: JEREMY RENNER - Gave an explosive performance in the year's most admired movie. He anchored The Hurt Locker and if there's an upset waiting to happen in this category, it'll be Renner who ascends to the podium.
SHOULD WIN: COLIN FIRTH - Gave the single-best performance of the year in A Single Man. Lost a lot of momentum to Bridges and never recovered in the race. It's a shame.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: MORGAN FREEMAN OVER ADAM SANDLER (Funny People) and ROBIN WILLIAMS (World's Greatest Dad). That's right. These guys actually put themselves out there and did something different for a change. Freeman as Mandela sounds nice on paper but it wasn't nearly as compelling as we all imagined it would be.

BEST ACTRESS

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side - 40%
Helen Mirren, The Last Station - 0%
Carey Mulligan, An Education - 15%
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious - 15%
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia - 30%

WILL WIN: SANDRA BULLOCK - This race is between Bullock and Streep, and I think America's Sweetheart Sandy has this one in the bag. The Blind Side had my bitch-ass in tears throughout, but those glistening drops of saltwater weren't because of Bullock's world-class emoting or anything like that. I thought her performance was better than it had any right to be, and she definitely impressed me, but it paled in comparison to Julia Roberts' fiery turn in that other 'true story,' Erin Brockovich. Still, this is Bullock's Oscar to lose and I understand why.
COULD WIN: MERYL STREEP - The Godmother of the Oscars was very good as Julia Child, making an otherwise mediocre film not only tolerable, but downright enjoyable. That said, to reward her for Julie & Julia over her turn in last year's Doubt would be as unspeakable a crime as the one at the center of the latter film. Surely, I'm making a bad joke, but seriously, to put Julie & Julia in the history books with Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer would be as funny as any joke in that half-good movie.
SHOULD WIN: GABOUREY SIDIBE - To be honest, the best performances in this category belonged to the newcomers, Sidibe and Mulligan, and if the Academy had any balls at all, they'd put Sidibe up on that stage. Mulligan was the young, pretty darling of the Oscar season, but Sidibe's performance was the one that stuck with me and challenged my preconceptions the most. Mo'Nique wasn't alone in those nightmarish scenes. We felt for that girl, Precious, and that's due to the skill, grace and complexity of Sidibe's startling performance.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: HELEN MIRREN OVER ZOE SALDANA (Avatar), by default. I haven't seen The Last Station so I won't bother arguing for or against Mirren's performance. I've heard she's as excellent as her reputation implies, outshining even Tolstoy/Dr. Parnassus himself, Christopher Plummer. But Saldana was the heart and soul of Avatar, if Avatar in fact had a soul. Her motion-captured performance is the finest I've yet seen birthed in that medium. I could feel the humanity and sensitivity in Neytiri thanks to her. In the $400 million world of Pandora, she's what stood out.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon, Invictus - 0%
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger - 5%
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station - 5%
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones - 0%
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds - 90%

WILL WIN: CHRISTOPH WALTZ - He managed to be alternately terrifying and hilarious as The Jew Hunter in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. He's as good a lock to win as the Lakers. As a lifelong Celtics fan, I'm ashamed to admit I just wrote that. Or did I?
COULD WIN: WOODY HARRELSON - Showed a sensitive side beneath his tough military man exterior in The Messenger, and had a solid commercial year with Zombieland and 2012, but he's no match for Waltz.
SHOULD WIN: CHRISTOPH WALTZ - Somebody pour this guy a delicious glass of cold milk already!
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: MATT DAMON OVER ANTHONY MACKIE (The Hurt Locker). Seriously, that is the biggest travesty of this year's nominations. Damon made for one of the least-inspiring sports team captains I've ever seen, and his accent was In 'N Out like the fast-food joint. It was a complete shock to hear his name last month, and to ignore Mackie's contribution to The Hurt Locker is a slap in the face to that film. Rant over.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz, Nine - 0%
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air - 2%
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart - 1%
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air 2%
Mo’Nique, Precious - 95%

WILL WIN: MO'NIQUE - She totally let herself go for the role and embraced the nastiness of her character. Straight up, Mo'Nique deserves this Oscar. Four years ago, after seeing Lee Daniels' Shadowboxer, I would've bet One Meeeeeelllion Dollars that I'd never type that sentence in my lifetime, but here we are, and I for one, am happy as hell for this voluptuous woman.
COULD WIN: VERA FARMIGA - She's building up quite a resume but even if Mo'Nique weren't such a dominant force, she'd probably fall victim to a split vote with co-star Anna Kendrick.
SHOULD WIN: MO'NIQUE! Clap your hands everybody! Now everybody clap your hands!
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL OVER MELANIE LAURENT (Inglourious Basterds) AND MARION COTILLARD (Nine/Public Enemies). How do you steal not one but TWO! movies and still manage to go unnoticed? Crazy Heart was a one-man show and Gyllenhaal was fairly miscast. I didn't leave the theater thinking about her, and she should've been snubbed along with Julianne Moore (A Single Man) accordingly.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Hurt Locker - 40%
Inglourious Basterds - 30%
The Messenger - 5%
A Serious Man - 5%
Up - 20%

WILL WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - Most web pundits have argued that this is the closest race of the night, but if The Hurt Locker is really as beloved as it seems, I don't see how even Quentin Tarantino, who has already won this award for Pulp Fiction, mind you, can derail that freight/gravy train. Boal worked his ass off and literally put his life on the line to write that script. How do you not honor that kind of commitment?
COULD WIN: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - If anyone is going to steal Boal's Oscar, I want it to be Quentin, whose script managed to reinvent World War II and make a rag-tag group of Jewish soldiers look positively bad-ass.
SHOULD WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - The Hurt Locker couldn't be the Best Picture of the year without an Oscar-worthy screenplay, now could it?
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: A SERIOUS MAN OVER 500 DAYS OF SUMMER. The Clint Eastwood myth is not real. The Academy doesn't go for everything the guy does. They're WAY too busy going for everything the Coen Brothers do. I mean, are you shitting me? A Serious Man was a what-the-fuck kinda movie, as in, a movie you walk out of saying to your friend/date/whoever, 'what the fuck was that?' This is a Best Picture nominee with a 10-minute Yiddish prologue. 500 Days of Summer spoke to my generation. The generation that was raised thinking we'd find love like some dork on a sitcom, or in a movie. We were sold a pack of lies, and 500 Days of Summer exposes the sad, ugly truth. There may not be such a thing as a soulmate, and we might have to deal with that at some point. It doesn't mistake practicality for cynicism. If anything, it promotes realism, and what that means to two people looking at their relationship from two very different perspectives.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

District 9 - 5%
An Education - 15%
In the Loop - 5%
Precious - 25%
Up in the Air - 50%

WILL WIN: UP IN THE AIR - Has been losing altitude but I'll go with the safe landing and pick the writing non-team of Reitman and Turner to win the gold.
COULD WIN: PRECIOUS - Has maintained its momentum throughout the season, to the point where I could see an upset, but something tells me Fletcher is too much of a newcomer here to knock off Reitman.
SHOULD WIN: UP IN THE AIR - Think of it as a consolation prize for being relegated to the bench in the Best Picture discussion.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: DISTRICT 9 OVER A SINGLE MAN. All due respect to District 9, which I generally liked but thought was remarkably overpraised/overrated, but who left District 9 talking about the script. I loved the ending and I'll grant its enthusiasts that, but for me, District 9 didn't reinvent the wheel of anything. Anyone who had been following Hollywood for the past few years couldn't have been THAT surprised by its 'surprise' success. A Single Man used words like daggers. It was a screenplay with soul, that was responsible for the best performance of the year, bar none (Colin Firth's). Again, this race is between Up in the Air and Precious. The former has been losing altitude while the latter has maintained its momentum throughout the season. I could see an upset, but I'll go with the safe landing and pick the writing non-team of Reitman and Turner to win the gold.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Coraline - 5%
Fantastic Mr. Fox - 15%
The Princess and the Frog - 5%
The Secret of Kells - 5%
Up - 70%

WILL WIN: UP - It's the only animated nominee with Best Picture and Best Screenplay nominations. 'Nuff said.
COULD WIN: FANTASTIC MR. FOX - Its late surge actually came too early, and Clooney/Streep were too busy campaigning for their other movies. An Adapted Screenplay nom would've helped, and its other nomination, for Best Original Score, won't be enough to help pull off the upset.
SHOULD WIN: FANTASTIC MR. FOX - Up was great for 20 minutes and forgettable for the next 70. Fantastic Mr. Fox had more charm in its protagonist's tail than that talking dog had in his. Don't get me started on this one.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: Who cares? Pixar wins. The fix is in and the Academy is down with Up.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Burma VJ - 5%
The Cove - 60%
Food Inc. - 20%
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers - 10%
Which Way Home - 5%

WILL WIN: THE COVE - A great documentary that actually managed to make the world a better place. Oscar is going to swim with The Cove team this year, and rightfully so.
COULD WIN: FOOD INC. - Food Inc. wasn't half the documentary The Cove was, and sadly, I think that's its main competition.
SHOULD WIN: THE COVE
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: ANYTHING BESIDES THE COVE OVER ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL. The Anvil! documentary was awesome and if you haven't seen it, you had to add it to your Netflix queue or rent it from your local video store before they go out of business. It embodied the American dream. Come to think of it, I think the Oscars would've benefited from an Anvil performance.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Ajami (Israel) - 5%
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru) - 0%
A Prophet (France) - 30%
The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina) - 35%
The White Ribbon (Germany) - 30%

WILL WIN: THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES - A Prophet and The White Ribbon are the two best-known films and thus, the front-runners, but The Secret in Their Eyes has been getting rave revieWs, and could pull off the upset. We'll see when Quentin opens that envelope...
COULD WIN: THE WHITE RIBBON - Michael Haneke's confusing bit of ominous German business might've rubbed some voters the wrong way.
SHOULD WIN: A PROPHET - A truly great prison movie that might be a tad too violent for the prudish Academy.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: N/A. I didn't seen enough foreign films this year, outside of horror movies on DVD. Let's just be thankful that THOSE don't get nominated for Oscars and move along peacefully, shall we?

BEST ART DIRECTION

Avatar - 60%
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - 15%
Nine - 0%
Sherlock Holmes - 25%
The Young Victoria - 0%

WILL WIN: AVATAR - They designed a new world, and that's pretty cool.
COULD WIN: SHERLOCK HOLMES - Victorian London looked pretty gnarly.
SHOULD WIN: THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS - Gilliam's movie was a nightmare but it looked like a wonderful dream.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: WHO CARES? This category bores the shit out of me.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar - 30%
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 0%
The Hurt Locker - 35%
Inglourious Basterds - 15%
The White Ribbon - 20%

WILL WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - Ackroyd's work was masterful and put you right in the sweat-soaked middle of Iraq.
COULD WIN: AVATAR - There were some some gorgeous shots, especially of Jake Sully flying. The fact that some voters won't be able to separate its computerized contributions could hurt it.
SHOULD WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - Cinema verite at its finest.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: HARRY POTTER 6 OVER A SINGLE MAN. The cinematography in A Single Man is both brilliant and breathtaking, with the camera's color filters changing in accordance with George's disposition. I didn't see Harry Potter 6 but did it really look all that much nicer than Harry Potter 4 or 5. I doubt it...

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Bright Star - 20%
Coco Before Chanel - 20%
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - 10%
Nine - 10%
The Young Victoria - 40%

WILL WIN: THE YOUNG VICTORIA - Because the Academy loves Sandy Powell and Emily Blunt is a bigger movie star than Abbie Cornish.
COULD WIN: BRIGHT STAR - Janet Patterson is well liked in the industry, but was the movie?
SHOULD WIN: N/A. I only saw Nine and Dr. Parnassus and neither of those were particularly Oscar-worthy in any regard.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: ALL OF THOSE OVER INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. I haven't seen the girly movies on this list like Bright Star, The Young Victoria or Coco Before Chanel, but I truly loved the costumes on display in Inglourious Basterds, especially Brad Pitt's white tuxedo and Melanie Laurent's red dress. Va-va-voom, Shoshanna!

BEST EDITING

Avatar - 35%
District 9 - 0%
The Hurt Locker - 45%
Inglourious Basterds - 10%
Precious - 10%

WILL WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - The movie is all about creating suspense and tension, and the editing is what ratchets those up to almost unbearable levels.
COULD WIN: AVATAR - Did Avatar even have an editor?
SHOULD WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - If it wins early in the night, it's a good sign that The Hurt Locker will also win Best Picture.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: DISTRICT 9 OVER STAR TREK. I relished the editing in Star Trek, which seemed to move at light-speed and certainly felt like the fastest movie of the year. I actually loved Dana Glauberman's work in Up in the Air, too. Didn't love District 9 but at least it wasn't 3 hours like some other overrated sci-fi movie on this list. The Precious editing is a love-it-or-hate-it thing but I respect its inclusion in this category, as it married some ugly images that were nonetheless profound within their unfortunate context.

BEST MAKEUP

Il Divo - 20%
Star Trek - 70%
The Young Victoria - 10%

WILL WIN: STAR TREK - With no District 9 to compete with, this one should be a cakewalk.
COULD WIN: IL DIVO - The Academy loves its old-age makeup.
SHOULD WIN: STAR TREK - Those Romulans were far out, dude!
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: When I start crying about Make-Up awards, unplug my laptop and delete my life, OK. Star Trek takes this one for giving Eric Bana pointy ears.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Avatar - 15%
Fantastic Mr. Fox - 5%
The Hurt Locker - 15%
Sherlock Holmes - 20%
Up - 45%

WILL WIN: UP - Giacchino delivered a memorable, fanciful score that made its silent opening sequence pure cinematic joy.
COULD WIN: SHERLOCK HOLMES - Hans Zimmer is a beloved veteran, and his twangy Sherlock score brought a unique flavor to that film.
SHOULD WIN: UP - Don't question it, just go with it.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: Avatar over A SINGLE MAN. Abel Korzeniowski was robbed! The guy composes maybe the lushest musical score of the year and he can't even crack the top 5, nor can Marvin Hamlisch, who came out of retirement to do the witty score for The Informant!. They even denied Giacchino a dual nomination by ignoring his work on Star Trek, which boldly reinvented that theme and kept that film propelling that blockbuster from one set piece to the next. Oh well... the Academy will make it up to him with an Oscar for Up.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Crazy Heart - 'The Weary Kind' by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett - 75%
Nine - 'Take It All' by Maury Yeston - 5%
Paris 36 - Loin de Paname by Wagner/Thomas - 0%
The Princess and the Frog - 'Almost There' by Randy Newman - 10%
The Princess and the Frog - 'Down in New Orleans' by Randy Newman - 10%

WILL WIN: 'The Weary Kind' from CRAZY HEART - The song drives the movie, and it's a good song too. How unusual!
COULD WIN: 'Down in New Orleans' from THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG - When New Orleans is involved, anything is possible. Remember the Super Bowl?
SHOULD WIN: 'The Weary Kind' from CRAZY HEART - It's the only song I've heard but I dug it so I will it well.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: N/A. I'm just relieved that 'Stu's Song,' Ed Helms' ridiculous piano-driven ditty from THE HANGOVER, didn't get nominated.

BEST SOUND EDITING

Avatar - 50%
The Hurt Locker - 25%
Inglourious Basterds - 5%
Star Trek - 10%
Up - 10%

WILL WIN: AVATAR - Avatar is a good bet anywhere below-the-line.
COULD WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - The Hurt Locker will challenge Avatar everywhere below-the-line, except for Visual Effects, of course.
SHOULD WIN: N/A. I don't know enough about sound to have an opinion, but another Hurt Locker win sounds pretty good to me.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: N/A. The nominees and I have reached a peaceful understanding.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Avatar - 40%
The Hurt Locker - 35%
Inglourious Basterds - 5%
Star Trek - 10%
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 10%

WILL WIN: THE HURT LOCKER - Whoa! I'm predicting a split in the sound categories! Crazier things have happened...
COULD WIN: AVATAR - Coulda, woulda, shoulda and probably will, but I like to be a contrarian.
SHOULD WIN: N/A. My opinion on sound is moot. Hoping the Academy 'mixes' it up, and gives The Hurt Locker team another Oscar to add to its tally.
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: N/A. If I'm OK with it, you're OK with it. Although Transformers 2 was a true piece of shit and no one who worked on it has any business being inside the Kodak on Oscar night. This is all about that dude, Greg Russell, who gets nominated every year and has the same number of Oscars as I do. ZERO! Though one could make the case that because I worked as a production assistant on The Departed for one day, that I share in its Best Picture win.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar - 98%
District 9 - 1%
Star Trek - 1%

WILL WIN: AVATAR - The single biggest lock of the night, even more so than in the acting categories. Changed the way movies are made. Consolation prize for losing Best Picture to The Hurt Locker... I hope.
COULD WIN: N/A
SHOULD WIN: AVATAR
HOW DARE THEY NOMINATE: For shits and giggles, I'll say DISTRICT 9 OVER 2012. But really, I could give a shit. I just thought 2012 had some sweet, End of the World CGI-mayhem, while none of the visuals in District 9 had me doing backflips on the way out of the theater.

SHORT CUTS: I haven't seen any of these 15 films so these predictions are just total shots in the dark.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

French Roast - 20%
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty - 10%
The Lady and the Reaper - 0%
Logorama - 25%
A Matter of Loaf and Death - 45%

WILL WIN: Logorama - The Academy has to be sick of Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit series by now, right?
COULD WIN: A Matter of Loaf and Death - Then again, who doesn't like Wallace and Gromit?

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province - 30%
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner - 5%
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant - 40%
Music by Prudence - 5%
Rabbit a la Berlin - 20%

WILL WIN: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant - Timely and decidedly American.
COULD WIN: China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province - Emotional subject matter with far-reaching implications.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

The Door - 25%
Instead of Abracadabra - 5%
Kavi - 25%
Miracle Fish - 40%
The New Tenants - 5%

WILL WIN: Kavi - Because I like the name. Sue me.
COULD WIN: Miracle Fish - Because trusted prognosticator Scott Feinberg (And the Winner Is...) is predicting this one.

Post your predictions in the comment section below, and if you beat The InSneider, I'll see to it that you win a prize to be named later! Enjoy Oscar night and GO HURT LOCKER!

The InSneider's 2010 OSCAR NOMINATION ANALYSIS

2010-02-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here's my scorecard, with analysis for every category. Capitalized movies were nominated and movies in parentheses are those that I predicted would be nominated and were not. And let me hear how you did in the comments section below!

NOTE: * indicates my early projection to win the Academy Award

BEST PICTURE (9/10)

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A SERIOUS MAN (Star Trek)
Up
Up in the Air

I was humming along with 7 in a row, and I finished strong with the last 2, but it was #8 that proved to be an insurmountable obstacle. Hours before I made my FINAL predictions, I had A Serious Man locked in as a Best Picture nominee. Then I spoke with a girl I trust and she convinced me that The Blind Side would be nominated. Considering its impressive box office and late-season heat, it wasn't a bad gamble. Because Star Trek was one of the 2-3 standouts of the first half of 2009 and most people liked it, I thought it had a chance at beating out the Coens' love-it or hate-it A Serious Man, which had encountered its own backlash, facing accusations of anti-Semitism. But the Coens prevailed over Capt. Spock and the gang. I suppose it was wishful thinking on my part. The Academy going for 3 sci-fi movies would be unusual, even for them. This race is still Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker and it's looking like the little guy could actually pull off the "upset."

BEST DIRECTOR (5/5)

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker*
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

What more is there to say, really? This is between Bigelow and her ex-husband, Mr. James "self-proclaimed 'King of the World'" Cameron.

BEST ACTOR (5/5)

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart*
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

No surprises here. This is Bridges' Oscar to lose at this point.

BEST ACTRESS (5/5)

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side*
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Again, nothing to bat an eyelash over. It's Bullock vs. Streep all over again, although I do think that Sidibe and Mulligan will get a higher percentage of the votes than they did at the Golden Globes. This is the one acting category to keep your eye on. Things could get interesting.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (4/5)

MATT DAMON, INVICTUS (Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker)
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds*

Simply an instance of wishful thinking on my part. I wrote from my heart, rather than my head. Mackie turned in the 2nd best supporting performance of the year but somehow got snubbed in favor of a completely forgettable Matt Damon performance that barely registered in a dull, uneven movie. This is a black eye for the Academy. Ridiculous! I understand why Freeman had to be nominated for playing Mandela, but Damon? C'mon, AMPAS! Over Molina and Sarsgaard too? Unacceptable! Waltz will waltz away with this one, no contest.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (3/5)

PENELOPE CRUZ, NINE (Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds)
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, CRAZY HEART (Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds)
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious*

A couple of surprises here. Predicting both Inglourious actresses was obviously a long-shot on my part, but I wasn't expecting both of them to be snubbed, let alone by someone from Nine not named Marion Cotillard, who was easily the best thing about that movie. Still, I suppose Cruz was the next best and she's obviously beloved by the Academy, since this is her 3rd nomination in 4 years. Fox Searchlight did such a great job with the Crazy Heart campaign that up until the last minute, I thought it had a legit chance at a Best Picture nom. Gyllenhaal has been snubbed before, for Secretary and Sherrybaby, so maybe this was the Academy's way of making it up to her. I do think that she was better than Samantha Morton and Julianne Moore, so I'm fine with her recognition despite my disappointment that both Basterdesses were left out in the cold. Regardless, Mo'Nique takes this award without much of a fight.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (4/5)

The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds
THE MESSENGER (500 Days of Summer)
A Serious Man
Up

Along with Mackie, the exclusion of Summer writers Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber was the most heartbreaking for me. I loved their movie and I was very surprised to see them snubbed in a category that Fox Searclight has had success with young writers in before. See Little Miss Sunshine's Michael Arndt and Juno's Diablo Cody. I quite liked The Messenger and would've liked to have seen it nominated over A Serious Man or Up, but it knocked my second-favorite screenplay of the year out of contention, leaving that excellent film with no nominations, same as me. A shame, but congrats to Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon. Shocked to see the Academy honor two war-themed movies (3 if you count Basterds) here but then again, they are very different depictions. Expect The Hurt Locker's Mark Boal to walk away with the gold statue.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (4/5)

DISTRICT 9 (Crazy Heart)
An Education
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air*

Crazy Heart had the WGA and the Scripter on its side but in the end the movie with the Best Picture nomination won out. So happy to see In the Loop here. It looks like the Brit contingent stood up for themselves, and it's a well-deserved nomination. Sad for A Single Man's Tom Ford, who wrote a touching adapted screenplay with David Searce. There's been a lot of bad press swirling around Up in the Air's Jason Reitman but this award is his and Sheldon Turner's to lose.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE (4/5)

Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
THE SECRET OF KELLS (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs)
Up*

Find me someone who went 5/5 in this category. I dare you. This was the biggest surprise of the morning. I don't even know what The Secret of Kells is! I thought it was a filler submission so there could be 5 nominees this year. Congrats to Tomm Moore I suppose! Pixar's Up still has this in the bag, although Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox will give it a run for its money.

BEST DOCUMENTARY (2/5)

Burma VJ
The Cove*
FOOD, INC. (The Beaches of Agnes)
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS (Every Little Step)
WHICH WAY HOME (Mugabe and the White African)

See what happens when you don't know the nominees? You get burned! I had a feeling that the Daniel Ellsberg documentary was going to get in. Should've gone with that over Mugabe and the White African. Really thought Every Little Step was going to make the cut here. Surprised to see Food, Inc. in the field. I did see that one and I had some problems with it. The Cove should swim away with Oscar gold on the big night.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM (4/5)

Ajami - Israel
THE MILK OF SORROW - PERU (Winter in Wartime - The Netherlands)
A Prophet - France
The Secret in Their Eyes - Argentina
The White Ribbon - Germany*

The three locks delivered and Israel found the support it needed for Ajami. Winter in Wartime just got picked up by SPC which made me think it'd be a bit more accessible, which is exactly what I've heard The Milk of Sorrow wasn't. In the end, the Netherlands' loss was Peru's gain. It's always a tough category to predict, and Haneke isn't for everyone, but barring an upset, his White Ribbon has the Oscar wrapped up.

BEST ART DIRECTION (2/5)

Avatar*
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
NINE (Inglourious Basterds)
Sherlock Holmes
THE YOUNG VICTORIA (Star Trek)

Not one of my best categories. Dr. Parnassus was a trendy pick here early in the season and I don't know why I forgot about it. Oh wait, yes I do. It was a horrible movie. But I'm happy to give credit where credit is due and yes, Terry Gillim's movie looked great and brought the funky weirdness. Surprised to see The Young Victoria here and not Basterds but what do I know. The blockbuster guesses did not pay off. Tsk tsk.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (4/5)

Avatar
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (Nine)
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

I've never seen a Harry Potter movie and I don't care to start now. Hadn't really heard a single mention about the cinematography in the latest HP sequel. This one came completely out of left-field, but at least it bumped out Nine, which for all its bells and whistler, still looked visually drab and plastic. No clue who takes this award, other than I feel confident saying it won't be Harry Potter 6. A lot of different styles on display here. Good variety. A fun category that pits Avatar directly against The Hurt Locker.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN (3/5)

Bright Star*
COCO BEFORE CHANEL (Inglourious Basterds)
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS (Sherlock Holmes)
Nine
The Young Victoria

Not bad, although I'm puzzled as to why Inglourious Basterds isn't here. Then again, I've only seen Nine and Dr. Parnassus and neither one was a good movie, so perhaps that's where my bias stems from. Still, all of these nominees seem awfully alike with the exception of the wacky Dr. Parnassus. A total toss-up for me.

BEST EDITING

Avatar
DISTRICT 9 (Star Trek)
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds
PRECIOUS (Up in the Air)

Kinda shocked to see Up in the Air's Dana Glauberman missing here. Thought she was a can't miss lock. Not surprised District 9 got the nod over Star Trek. Thought some of those cuts in Precious were a little curious to say the least, but I guess the Academy went for its daring choices and artistic flourishes.

BEST MAKEUP (1/3)

IL DIVO (District 9)
Star Trek*
THE YOUNG VICTORIA (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus)

The Young Victoria's inclusion here came as a surprise, more so than Il Divo, which I still have to see. Apparently Toni Servillo's aging is remarkable. I'll pass and revisit this category at a later date...

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (2/5)

Avatar
FANTASTIC MR. FOX (The Informant!)
THE HURT LOCKER (A Single Man)
SHERLOCK HOLMES (Star Trek)
Up*

So Giacchino didn't pull off the rare double nomination but he's still the front-runner for his wonderful work on Up. The Hurt Locker is the big surprise in this category. I've been a fan of Marco Beltrami's since the Scream days, right up to 3:10 to Yuma. He's paid his dues and it was nice to see him rewarded with a second nomination. He really added to the tension of Bigelow's film. This category could provide a minor surprise on Oscar night. Keep an ear out!

BEST ORIGINAL SONG (2/5)

Crazy Heart - 'The Weary Kind' by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett*
NINE - TAKE IT ALL BY MAURY YESTON (Nine - 'Cinema Italiano' by Maury Yeston)
PARIS 36 - LOIN DE PANAME BY WAGNER/THOMAS (Avatar - 'I See You' by L. Lewis/J. Horner)
The Princess and the Frog - 'Almost There' by Randy Newman
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG - 'DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS' BY RANDY NEWMAN (An Education - 'You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger' by Beth Rowley)

I feign ignorance on Disney's The Princess and the Frog. Should've expected two nominations from that one. And I definitely haven't seen Paris 36, let alone listened to any original music from the movie. Picked the wrong song from Nine too. Tough category. Oh well. No U2 or Paul McCartney could leave the door open for a "crazy" win by Ryan Bingham and previous Oscar nominee T Bone Burnett.

BEST SOUND EDITING (3/5)

Avatar*
The Hurt Locker
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (District 9)
Star Trek
UP (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)

I thought Up would get one of these nods, which is why I had it as the alternate pick in both categories. No idea why Basterds got these nods over District 9 and to be honest, I don't really care. The only people who do are sound editors and mixers. Avatar takes both of these, right?

BEST SOUND MIXING (4/5)

Avatar*
The Hurt Locker
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (District 9)
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

See above.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS (3/3)

Avatar*
District 9
Star Trek

Avatar takes this in a cakewalk. It has a date with destiny in this category, I'm afraid.

The InSneider's FINAL 2010 OSCAR PREDICTIONS

2010-02-02T04:20:00.000-08:00

The Time is upon us. Nomination Tuesday. There may be a few laughs. There will probably be a few tears. There will definitely be a few surprises. But unfortunately, there will not be any blood, unless Twilight: New Moon is nominated for Best Picture. Then I might be compelled to kill indiscriminately.

For "reel" though folks, tomorrow's Best Picture nominees are anyone's guess. Guys like Kris Tapley, Steve Pond and Dave Karger know better than I, but the bottom line is that none of us have a vote, and with 10 Best Picture nominees this year and a new preferential voting system, the once-predictable Academy is capable of anything. So let's give it our best shot, shall we?

BEST PICTURE

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air

ALT: The Hangover

I'd say there are 7 locks in this race and they're not who you might think. The vulnerable three are The Blind Side, Star Trek and oddly enough, Up, in that order from least to most. I really feel that District 9 is a lock and that Blomkamp is a Lee Daniels-backlash away from a Best Director nomination. It's Complicated, The Hangover, The Messenger, Invictus, Nine, The White Ribbon and (500) Days of Summer could all slide in here and shake up the landscape for the Big Prize. I think it really boils down to the consensus... what movies did everyone agree to like. A Serious Man is a polarizing film. Some love it, others hate it. That won't fly with Oscar... I think. Up wasn't nearly as beloved as Wall-E, which famously failed to land a nomination, bu the expansion to 10 nominees seems pre-designed to help Pixar escape the nomination ghetto.

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

ALT: Neill Blomkamp, District 9

This category is pretty much sewn up. I don't think Blomkamp will be nominated for his first feature, and even though Daniels hasn't won over many people on the publicity circuit, he deserves credit for pulling off a tricky adaptation of difficult material. If there's a dark horse, it's Austrian helmer Michael Haneke for The White Ribbon. An Education helmer Lone Scherfig is an ultra-long shot.

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

ALT: Matt Damon, The Informant!

This one is all but set in stone. If there's a weak link, it's Morgan Freeman who seems content to coast on his reputation at this point in his career, but the lure of him as Mandela will be too strong for voters to resist. Some feel The Road's Viggo Mortensen or The Messenger's Ben Foster could pull off a surprise nomination but if anyone sneaks into the field, it'll be Damon, who has hasn't been nominated since Good Will Hunting despite 13 years of steadily impressive work.

BEST ACTRESS

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

ALT: Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria

Again, I think you can take this category to the bank. It's possible that a lot of voters didn't see The Last Station but I think Mirren has enough support in the ranks. It'll be close but she should hang on against young upstarts Blunt and Abbie Cornish.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

ALT: Alfred Molina, An Education

UPSET ALERT! The Academy, as a group, is not dumb, nor is it blind. To ignore Anthony Mackie's stellar work in The Hurt Locker would be a crime on par with the nomination of Johnny Depp for Best Actor in Pirates of the Caribbean. Jeremy Renner would never have given the performance that he did, if Mackie didn't push him in every scene. Kathryn Bigelow would not be winning all these awards if Mackie didn't bring his A-game to the set every day. I think the Academy ends up recognizing his invaluable contributions. Molina's heat has been fading fast, especially with his co-star Peter Sarsgaard also competing in the category. If anyone else slips in under the radar, it could be Christian McKay whose portrayal of Orson Welles in Me & Orson Welles won raves across the board. Alec Baldwin has also been popping up on some lists but I think they'll only capacity in which you'll see him at the Oscars will be as co-host with Steve Martin. It would be embarrassing if Matt Damon got nominated here for Invictus in the same year he gave a better performance in the superior film The Informant!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Mo’Nique, Precious

ALT: Julianne Moore, A Single Man

UPSET ALERT! This is me going way out on a limb. Kruger got the SAG nomination but Laurent was clearly the heart and soul of Inglourious Basterds. The two foreign actresses could cancel each other out, or support for Basterds could overwhelm the mighty trio of Moore, Crazy Heart's Maggie Gyllenhaal and The Messenger's Samantha Morton. Meanwhile, Nine and its lovely ladies, including Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz, seems to have fallen off dramatically. As much as I loved A Single Man, I just don't see what was so special about Moore's performance, but if she is nominated, it'll likely be over one of the Basterdesses and Oscar darling Samantha Morton.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up

ALT: Avatar

UPSET ALERT! Why is it such a given that Pixar's Up will be nominated here? Outside of its first 10 minutes, it's a completely forgettable film. Will that heartbreaking first sequence be enough to overpower the box office behemoth known as Avatar. I'm also not sure why The Coen Brothers are considered locks, but if the film finds enough support for a Best Picture nomination, then that passion will carry over to this category. If not, we could see The Messenger, The White Ribbon or possibly The Hangover. History says that since James Cameron wasn't nominated for Titanic, he's liable to miss out again this year. Not surprising since Avatar's strong suit wasn't its screenplay. On the other hand, you don't make $2 billion worldwide with a shitty script...

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education
Crazy Heart
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air

ALT: District 9

UPSET ALERT! Tough category. Crazy Heart and In the Loop are not sure bets at all, and A Single Man, District 9, Julie & Julia or Fantastic Mr. Fox could very well take one of those two spots. But something tells me the Brits will assert their influence in this category and give In the Loop the boost it needs, and none of the three sci-fi Best Picture nominees will score writing nods, but they'll all score visual effects nods. I don't think the Star Trek duo of Kurtzman and Orci should get there hopes up here despite scoring WGA nods, although that recognition is a good sign for Crazy Heart writer/director Scott Cooper.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

ALT: Ponyo

The Academy loves Miyazaki but something tells me that tomorrow's forecast will be Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which earned surprising critical acclaim and made a mint at the box office. Mary and Max and A Town Called Panic loom as long-shot contenders.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Beaches of Agnes
Burma VJ
The Cove
Every Little Step
Mugabe and the White African

ALT: Food, Inc.

UPSET ALERT! I've got a feeling that Food Inc. will find itself on the outside looking in. The Daniel Ellsburg documentary could find its way into this field too. The Cove is the only real lock here but I admittedly haven't seen enough of the movies shortlisted for this award. Scott Feinberg is predicting four different movies in addition to The Cove, so clearly I know nothing.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Ajami - Israel
A Prophet - France
The Secret in Their Eyes - Argentina
The White Ribbon - Germany
Winter in Wartime - The Netherlands

ALT: The Milk of Sorrow - Peru

Call it a hunch. This is as much about the movies as it is the countries submitting them, which makes me think Israel's Ajami will get a nomination over Peru's The Milk of Sorrow, which itself could invade The Netherlands' spot. But Winter in Wartime just got theatrical distribution which makes me think it will score a nod after all, plus I've read that Peru's entry is pretty abstract. A Prophet and The White Ribbon will surely make the cut, as should Argentina's entry The Secret in Their Eyes.

BEST ART DIRECTION

Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek

ALT: A Serious Man

Could The Lovely Bones finally find some love here? It's possible, but something tells me Avatar and Basterds are locked, and Sherlock Holmes is a strong #3. I expect Harry Potter 6 and Star Trek to show up before Jess Gonchor's solid work in A Serious Man, while District 9 remains a serious possibility here.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
The White Ribbon

ALT: The Road

A Serious Man's Roger Deakins is always a threat here, and for my money, A Single Man featured the best cinematography of the year. But The Road's Javier Aguirresarobe could be the one who benefits if Nine registers as a zero with the Academy. It's definitely the one wearing the bulls-eye on its back in this category.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

ALT: Coco Before Chanel

Shame that A Single Man isn't getting more attention for its classy threads, but so it goes for a film that has been criminally ignored this season. The most memorable costumes of the year, in my opinion, were Melanie Laurent's red dress and Brad Pitt's white tux in Inglourious Basterds. The stars of Nine basked in the glow of its high fashion, while the other three nominees all satisfy the Victorian quotient.

BEST EDITING

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up in the Air

ALT: District 9

Something tells me that A Serious Man and (500) Days of Summer will draw the short straws in this category, especially if all three of the sci-fi films score Best Picture nominations. I thought Alan Edward Bell did a great job handling Summer's unique structure and successfully charting the peaks and valleys of that doomed relationship. If the Coens are, for some reason, ignored in the Original Screenplay category, a consolation nomination could manifest itself here under their editing alias Roderick Jaynes. I give Star Trek the nod over District 9 because it felt like the fastest film of the year to me, although both could get in if Tarantino's longtime editor Sally Menke pays the price for his long, talky scenes. Up in the Air's Dana Glauberman is a well-respected pro so she's definitely in.

BEST MAKEUP

District 9
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Star Trek

ALT: Il Divo

Oscar loves its actors who age but the work in District 9 and Star Trek is too showy to be ignored, and I'd "imagine" Dr. Parnassus will steal that third spot thanks to Terry Gilliam's wacky vision.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Avatar
The Informant!
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up

ALT: Sherlock Holmes

UPSET ALERT! Another tricky category. I bet Michael Giacchino scores a well-deserved double nomination here for his work on Star Trek and Up, although the latter is the safer bet. Hans Zimmer was ineligible last year for The Dark Knight, so he could get some sympathy love for his work on Sherlock Holmes, and Alexandre Desplat did some delightful work in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Hamlisch's marvelous score for The Informant! could be a critics-only thing but I think the veteran composer will hear his name, along with Abel Korzeniowski, whose work in A Single Man was the single best of the year. James Horner's Avatar score was actively forgettable but I doubt he'll be denied, especially since the Academy's orchestra will be playing his music all evening.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Avatar - 'I See You' by Leona Lewis and James Horner
Crazy Heart - 'The Weary Kind' by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
An Education - 'You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger' by Beth Rowley
Nine - 'Cinema Italiano' by Maury Yeston
The Princess and the Frog - 'Almost There' by Randy Newman

ALT: 'Down in New Orleans' from The Princess and the Frog

I really have no idea how this one goes, as the Music Branch is a fuckin' fickle bunch. If I was concerned about TV ratings, I would nominate U2 for singing "Happy Birthday" at this point. Crazy Heart's Bingham is guaranteed a nomination, as is Randy Newman, although I haven't heard any songs from that soundtrack so I'm not exactly a qualified expert. The Leona Lewis track at the end of Avatar was tacky and didn't really fit with the rest of the movie but Avatar has to get double-digit nominations somehow, right?

BEST SOUND EDITING

Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

ALT: Up

Who knows? Who cares? This is for the stat-padders.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

ALT: Up

Ditto. Except for the ongoing story about Transformers mixer Greg Russell, who has been nominated something like 11 times without winning once.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

ALT: 2012

2012 featured non-stop mayhem but something tells me that black hole in Star Trek will be the difference. Plus it was, you know, a good movie. The flashy effects of Transformers 2 could also sneak in here over District 9.

APPRX. FINAL TALLY:

Avatar - 10
Inglourious Basterds - 10
The Hurt Locker - 9
Star Trek - 7
Up in the Air - 7
District 9 - 5
Precious - 5
An Education - 4
Up - 4
Crazy Heart - 3
Nine - 3
The Blind Side - 2
The Last Station - 2
The Princess and the Frog - 2
Sherlock Holmes - 2
A Single Man - 2
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 2
The White Ribbon - 2
(500) Days of Summer - 1
Ajami - 1
The Beaches of Agnes - 1
Bright Star - 1
Burma VJ - 1
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - 1
Coraline - 1
The Cove - 1
Every Little Step - 1
Fantastic Mr. Fox - 1
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 1
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - 1
The Informant! - 1
In the Loop - 1
Invictus - 1
Julie & Julia - 1
The Lovely Bones - 1
The Messenger - 1
Mugabe and the White Elephant - 1
A Prophet - 1
The Secret of Their Eyes - 1
A Serious Man - 1
Winter in Wartime - 1
The Young Victoria - 1

2009 MOVIE LIST... 132 and Counting

2010-01-19T10:51:00.000-08:00

So we meet again, old friend...

THE STANDOUTS (16) - Just great movies that you'd have to be crazy to neither appreciate nor enjoy.

The Hurt Locker ***1/2
Inglourious Basterds ***1/2
500 Days of Summer ***1/2
A Single Man ***1/2
Anvil! The Story of Anvil ***1/2
Humpday ***1/2
Fish Tank ***1/2
Capitalism: A Love Story ***1/2
Where the Wild Things Are ***
The Cove ***
Up in the Air ***
Sugar ***
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire ***
Away We Go ***
Funny People ***
The Hangover ***

THE GOOD (31) - These movies met or exceeded my admittedly high expectations, whether those are unfair or not.

Brothers ***
The Road ***
The Messenger ***
Red Cliff (Part I - DVD Import) ***
Watchmen ***
More Than a Game ***
In the Loop ***
The Blind Side ***
The Soloist ***
Everybody's Fine ***
An Education ***
The Informant! ***
Paranormal Activity ***
Fantastic Mr. Fox ***
Taken ***
Star Trek ***
Rudo y Cursi ***
Zombieland ***
Adventureland ***
I Love You, Man ***
The Collector ***
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans ***
The Girlfriend Experience ***
Collapse ***
Big Fan ***
State of Play ***
Bruno ***
The Escapist ***
Mystery Team ***
Lymelife ***
Black Dynamite ***

THE GOOD BUT SHOULD'VE BEEN BETTERS (23) - Enjoyable enough but missing some crucial element.

Avatar ***
The White Ribbon **1/2
Up ***
Crazy Heart ***
District 9 ***
The Chaser ***
The Baader Meinhof Complex ***
Public Enemies ***
That Evening Sun ***
Julie & Julia ***
Tyson **1/2
Moon **1/2
Tetro **1/2
The Burning Plain **1/2
Coraline **1/2
The Great Buck Howard **1/2
The International **1/2
Whip It **1/2
Jennifer's Body **1/2
Bronson **1/2
The House of the Devil **1/2
Food Inc. **1/2
The Missing Person **1/2

THE GUILTY PLEASURES (24) - Most people will rag on these but they exceeded my modest expectations.

Martyrs ***
The Informers ***
Sherlock Holmes ***
World's Greatest Dad **1/2
Antichrist **1/2
Surveillance **1/2
Fanboys **1/2
Land of the Lost **1/2
Orphan **1/2
Crank 2: High Voltage **1/2
Law Abiding Citizen **1/2
Obsessed **1/2
The Killing Room (DVD) **1/2
Next Day Air **1/2
G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra **1/2
X-Men Origins: Wolverine **1/2
The Last House on the Left **1/2
Spread **1/2
Extract **1/2
Surrogates **1/2
The Slammin' Salmon **
Weapons (DVD) **
Paul Blart: Mall Cop **
Fired Up **

THE UNDERWHELMING DISAPPOINTMENTS (28) - Failed to meet my reasonable expectations, or just generally unsatisfying.

A Serious Man **1/2
The Lovely Bones **1/2
Nine **1/2
Observe and Report **1/2
Invictus **1/2
Duplicity **1/2
Taking Woodstock **1/2
Thirst **1/2
Armored **
Knowing **
Paper Heart **
Drag Me to Hell **
The Box **
Angels and Demons **
Monsters vs. Aliens **
A Perfect Getaway **
Friday the 13th **
The Taking of Pelham 123 **
Couples Retreat **
The Brothers Bloom **
Year One **
The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard **
Whatever Works *1/2
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus *1/2
Grace *1/2
The Marc Pease Experience *1/2
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men *1/2
Bart Got a Room *1/2

THE ACTIVELY BAD (10) - Not good movies AT ALL, and anyone who tries to argue otherwise is WRONG.

2012 *1/2
My Bloody Valentine 3-D *1/2
Horsemen *1/2
The Stepfather *1/2
Terminator Salvation *1/2
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen *1/2
Pandorum *
Halloween II *
Amusement (DVD) *
Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach (DVD) *

DVD - Direct-to-DVD title

COMING SOON (3): A Prophet, Saw VI, Franklyn (DVD)

THE INSNEIDER'S FINAL GOLDEN GLOBE PREDICTIONS

2010-01-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right?

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Should Win: The Hurt Locker
Will Win: Avatar
Could Win But Shouldn't: Up in the Air
Definitely Won't Win: Precious
Comments: This is a tough race to call. Where the Oscars might be down to Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker, it's true that Up in the Air is very much still in play for the HFPA. Furthermore, Precious, which might make more sense for the Oscar then the Globe, takes a clear backseat here to the European sensibilities of Inglourious Basterds, which looms on the outside as a dark horse waiting to again rewrite history.

BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY/MUSICAL

(500) Days of Summer
The Hangover
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

Should Win: (500) Days of Summer
Will Win: (500) Days of Summer
Could Win But Shouldn't: Julie & Julia
Definitely Won't Win: The Hangover
Comments: This could be the toughest race of the night to call. I would expect the Meryl Streep movies to split the vote. Julie & Julia seemed to be the more critically acclaimed film, but It's Complicated received a screenplay nod. The Hangover made the most money and seems to be the best liked, but it's the only nominee without a Best Actor or Actress nomination, and how many 40+ foreign journalists would really vote it as one of the two best movies of the year. Nine could benefit from the Harvey Weinstein campaign, plus the fact that it's the only musical in the category. That said, I can't shake the feeling that (500) Days of Summer was CLEARLY the best film in this category, and Globes voters would have to be blind not to see that.

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
James Cameron - Avatar
Clint Eastwood - Invictus
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow
Will Win: James Cameron
Could Win But Shouldn't: Quentin Tarantino
Definitely Won't Win: Clint Eastwood
Comments: This is a 2-person race, between ex-spouses Bigelow and Cameron. Bigelow is expected to win but Avatar is a worldwide phenomenon and I'd expect the HFPA to honor Cameron and his box office behemoth here. His self-designation as King of the World may prove true tonight.

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA

Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Tobey Maguire - Brothers

Should Win: Colin Firth
Will Win: George Clooney
Could Win But Shouldn't: Jeff Bridges
Definitely Won't Win: Tobey Maguire

Comments: As much as I hope that Firth or Bridges will take this award, there's no denying that the HFPA is an organization of starfuckers that won't be able to resist having Clooney take the stage for playing a slight variation of himself.

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA

Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious

Should Win: Gabourey Sidibe
Will Win: Carey Mulligan
Could Win But Shouldn't: Sandra Bullock
Definitely Won't Win: Emily Blunt
Comments: This is between Bullock and Mulligan. Something tells me Bullock may prevail on Oscar night, if not Sidibe. But for some reason, I expect the HFPA to want to honor Mulligan with her first "BIG" award. Plus a football drama with a Southern lead doesn't sound like the voters' cup of tea.

BEST ACTOR - COMEDY/MUSICAL

Matt Damon - The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine
Robert Downey Jr. - Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg - A Serious Man

Should Win: Matt Damon
Will Win: Matt Damon
Could Win But Shouldn't: Robert Downey Jr.
Definitely Won't Win: Michael Stuhlbarg
Comments: Day-Lewis always brings it but he almost made it look too easy. On the other hand, Damon gained a ton of weight and burrowed into the physical transformation required of his character. Gordon-Levitt was really excellent but it seems like the nomination could wind up being his reward. I think the HFPA would love to have Iron Man Downey Jr. on stage but Sherlock Holmes is probably too slight of an effort. Look for Damon, who is also nominated for Supporting Actor, to prevail, joining his Ocean's 11 pal Clooney in the winner's circle.

BEST ACTRESS - COMEDY/MUSICAL

Sandra Bullock - The Proposal
Marion Cotillard - Nine
Julia Roberts - Duplicity
Meryl Streep - It's Complicated
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia

Should Win: Marion Cotillard
Will Win: Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
Could Win But Shouldn't: Meryl Streep - It's Complicated
Definitely Won't Win: Julia Roberts
Comments: This one is pretty much a lock. Cotillard was excellent but she wasn't in the movie that much. This is Streep's statue to lose. Her only competition is herself. Roberts led a non-starter of a movie. She's here for star appeal only. And Bullock will get a closer look for her performance in The Blind Side.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon - Invictus
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Should Win: Christoph Waltz
Will Win: Christoph Waltz
Could Win But Shouldn't: Woody Harrelson
Definitely Won't Win: Matt Damon
Comments: Lock it up. Nothing to say about this one.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz - Nine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Mo'Nique - Precious
Julianne Moore - A Single Man

Should Win: Mo'Nique
Will Win: Mo'Nique
Could Win But Shouldn't: Anna Kendrick
Definitely Won't Win: Julianne Moore
Comments: Ditto the above. It's a done deal, whether Mo'Nique likes it or not.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell - District 9
Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
Nancy Meyers - It's Complicated
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air

Should Win: Quentin Tarantino
Will Win: Quentin Tarantino
Could Win But Shouldn't: Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
Definitely Won't Win: Nancy Meyers
Comments: This is a tough one. Up in the Air could pull it off, and don't count out Mark Boal. But something tells me it's Tarantino's turn. And frankly, he earned it.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

Should Win: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Will Win: Up
Could Win But Shouldn't: Coraline
Definitely Won't Win: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Comments: No contest. Fantastic Mr. Fox had a nice late surge but I don't think it will be enough to overthrow Pixar.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Baaria (Italy)
Broken Embraces (Spain)
The Maid (La Nana) (Chile)
A Prophet (Un Prophete) (France)
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) (Germany)

Should Win: A Prophet
Will Win: A Prophet
Could Win But Shouldn't: The White Ribbon
Definitely Won't Win: Baaria
Comments: Never count out Pedro Almodovar but Broken Embraces never found awards traction stateside and A Prophet is a highly anticipated February release that won the Cannes Film Festival. The White Ribbon is a serious threat but something tells me that Haneke isn't for everyone.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Avatar - "I See You" by James Horner & Simon Franglen
Brothers - "Winter" by U2
Crazy Heart - "The Weary Kind (Theme From 'Crazy Heart')" by Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett
Nine - "Cinema Italiano" by Maury Yeston
Everybody's Fine - "I Want To Come Home" by Paul McCartney

Should Win: Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett
Will Win: U2
Could Win But Shouldn't: James Horner & Simon Franglen
Definitely Won't Win: Maury Yeston
Comments: Will Globes voters be able to resist seeing U2 or Paul McCartnet onstage? I say no. Ryan Bingham's song is vital to Crazy Heart but country music may not be for most foreign journos. Avatar could definitely win even though Leona Lewis sings over the end credits and the song doesn't really match the rest of the movie.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Michael Giacchino - Up
Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!
James Horner - Avatar
Abel Korzeniowski - A Single Man
Karen O and Carter Burwell - Where the Wild Things Are

Should Win: Abel Korzeniowski
Will Win: Michael Giacchino
Could Win But Shouldn't: James Horner
Definitely Won't Win: Karen O and Carter Burwell
Comments: I thought Avatar's score was particularly weak, while Korzeniowski's work sparkled in A Single Man. Horner is the heavy favorite but Giacchino is a rising superstar, and Up is just as well-liked as Avatar.

Agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? Let me hear you in the comments below!

Predicting the WGA Nominations

2010-01-11T01:11:00.000-08:00

I didn't bother to predict the DGA or PGA nominations because, frankly, who cares? But the WGAs have always been a bit more interesting to me so let's take a stab at them. But first, a look at the movies that are ineligible this year for one reason or another.

Original: Adam, Antichrist, Broken Embraces, Capitalism: A Love Story, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Inglourious Basterds, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, Me and Orson Welles, Moon, Ponyo, The Princess and the Frog, Trucker, Up, The White Ribbon

Adapted: Angels & Demons, Coco Before Chanel, The Damned United, District 9, An Education, Everybody’s Fine, Fantastic Mr. Fox, In the Loop, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Red Cliff, The Road, A Single Man, That Evening Sun, A Woman in Berlin

With that settled, here are my predictions for Best Original Screenplay:

(500) Days of Summer - Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
Bright Star - Jane Campion
The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
A Serious Man - Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Sugar - Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden

It's tough to ignore the box office goliath that is Avatar here but James Cameron's screenplay isn't its strong suit. I realize that Titanic got a nomination here but that was a classy period piece. I think the WGA snubs Cameron and lets others have their day... Jon Lucas and Scott Moore's The Hangover is a close call but there were several other comedies this year with more graceful screenplays, such as Judd Apatow's Funny People, Greg Mottola's Adventureland, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick's Zombieland and Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida's Away We Go. None of them had quite the same fresh perspective and perverse insight as (500) Days of Summer though... I gave Two Lovers some consideration, as well as The Messenger, with both being critics' darlings, but in the end, I gave that spot to Sugar. At the end of the day, it was the better movie. I think if The White Ribbon were eligible it would snag that 5th slot so instead I gave it to a wholly different foreign language film... If there are any other serious contenders, they'd have to be Nancy Meyers for It's Complicated, and Lynn Shelton for Humpday, which was rather brilliant. I think Bright Star gets a nod here since Campion has won the award before in 1993 for The Piano.

Moving on, here are my predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay:

The Blind Side - John Lee Hancock
Precious - Geoffrey Fletcher
Star Trek - Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci
Up in the Air - Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Where the Wild Things Are - Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers

There's a lot of prestige sitting on the sidelines here but what can you do? Invictus, The Lovely Bones and Nine were all major letdowns, critically as much as commercially. The second tier of flopped "prestige" pics include Brothers and The Soloist... The Informant! is a close call here but that movie seems to have been forgotten, and those who remember immediately recall Matt Damon's performance before Scott Z. Burns' screenplay... The Last Station has to be in play here, as well as two more likely nominees in Crazy Heart and Julie and Julia, but for some reason, I think the WGA honors the moneymakers like The Blind Side and Star Trek. Where the Wild Things Are is my hip arthouse pick.

If I hit 7/10, I'll be happy. It's a very unpredictable field when you take into account all the ineligible screenplays. Best of luck to all the writers out there!

If I Had An OSCAR Ballot...

2010-01-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

...It would look something like this. Please keep in mind that while I loved certain movies (like ANVIL! and HUMPDAY, which were two of the top-10 movies of 2009 in my humble opinion) there's no way I could legitimately vote for them for Best Picture. These have to be SOMEWHAT realistic choices, otherwise there would be no point to this exercise. Also, I have abstained from voting in categories which I am ill-informed about (like Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Art Direction, Makeup, Original Song) or could not find five choices for due to my lack of familiarity with the possible nominees (Foreign Language, all shorts categories). Feel free to show off your own Oscar ballot in the comments section below, and thanks in advance for reading. I hope you enjoy my picks.

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes my vote to WIN.

BEST PICTURE

(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
Capitalism: A Love Story
The Cove
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds
A Single Man
Sugar
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker*
James Cameron, Avatar
Tom Ford, A Single Man
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Colin Firth, A Single Man*
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Adam Sandler, Funny People
Robin Williams, World's Greatest Dad

BEST ACTRESS

Katie Jarvis, Fish Tank
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Maya Rudolph, Away We Go
Zoe Saldana, Avatar
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Michael Fassbender, Fish Tank
Jamie Foxx, The Soloist
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard, Nine/Public Enemies
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Mo'Nique, Precious*

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer
Away We Go
Humpday
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds*

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education
In the Loop
A Single Man*
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox*
Up

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Anvil! The Story of Anvil*
Capitalism: A Love Story
Collapse
The Cove
More Than a Game

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Single Man*
The White Ribbon

BEST EDITING

(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek*
Up in the Air

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Inglourious Basterds*
Nine
A Single Man
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The Hurt Locker
The Informant!
A Single Man*
Star Trek
Up

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar*
Star Trek
Watchmen

BEST ENSEMBLE (not an actual award)

Fish Tank
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds*
In the Loop
The White Ribbon

FINAL TALLY (out of 16):

Inglourious Basterds - 4 (Supp. Actor, Original Screenplay, Costume Design, Ensemble)
A Single Man - 4 (Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Score)
The Hurt Locker - 2 (Picture, Director)
Precious - 2 (Actress, Supp. Actress)
Anvil! The Story of Anvil - 1 (Documentary)
Avatar - 1 (Visual Effects)
Fantastic Mr. Fox - 1 (Animated Feature)
Star Trek - 1 (Editing)

2010 OSCAR PREDICTIONS: NEW YEAR'S PULSE

2010-01-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

It's 2010 and you know what that means... it's time to take the pulse of this year's Oscar race and revise my predictions accordingly. But first, here are the Top 5 Biggest Questions Heading Into the Home Stretch:

1. Q: Does Pixar's UP have a Best Picture nomination in the bag?
A: Beyond its first 20 minutes, I thought UP was pretty disappointing. It more or less already has the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (although FANTASTIC MR. FOX is coming on strong), so personally, I'd like to see another movie take its place in The Ten. That said, a Best Picture nomination is looking more and more likely as late releases like INVICTUS, NINE and THE LOVELY BONES are turning up DOA at the holiday box office.

2. Q: Can A SINGLE MAN win over enough voters to secure a Best Picture nomination?
A: God, I hope so... but probably not. I'm not hearing/seeing the traction it needs outside of Colin Firth's magnificent performance, which in my humble opinion is, without rival, the best of the year. The movie itself just isn't getting the attention it deserves. Harvey Weinstein should stop spending on NINE and start "paying" attention to Tom Ford's debut.

3. Q: What's the deal with THE LAST STATION? Did anybody actually see this movie? Are Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer both sure things?
A: I haven't seen THE LAST STATION but Mirren/Plummer are really messing up my predictions. Mirren I can live with because, well, she's Helen Mirren and I'm not that passionate about the lead actresses who would be left out (although I never saw Tilda Swinton in JULIA). But a "career achievement" nomination for Plummer? C'mon! There are a lot of deserving actors this year whose careers would definitely be helped by a supporting nomination. Can't we just pretend this movie never happened and nominate Emily Blunt or Abbie Cornish (or preferably Maya Rudolph from AWAY WE GO) for Best Actress and either Alfred Molina or Peter Sarsgaard from AN EDUCATION (or BROTHERS' Tobey Maguire or FISH TANK's Michael Fassbender)?

4. Q: Speaking of Best Supporting Actor, that's the deepest race this year. Can THE HURT LOCKER'S Anthony Mackie sneak in?
A: I think so. THE HURT LOCKER was by far the best movie of the year and Mackie was the cast's standout. Jeremy Renner may drive the movie's action but Mackie is the picture's heart and soul. It's a breakout performance that deserves to be properly recognized. But again, he's up against some tough competition, and the press seems to be seizing on Woody Harrelson and Alec Baldwin's late heat for THE MESSENGER and IT'S COMPLICATED, respectively.

5. Q: Does INVICTUS merit any attention outside of Morgan Freeman's lead performance, and is there any debate in the Best Actor category?
A: INVICTUS was a total rush job by Clint Eastwood that failed as a sports movie and as a movie about Nelson Mandela, so no, it deserves to be ignored with the exception of Freeman, who wasn't even that great as Mandela but nonetheless was good enough in a weak field. The same goes for Daniel Day-Lewis in NINE, but both awards season veterans should find enough good will to secure nominations. It'd be an Oscar travesty if Jeremy Renner isn't nominated for carrying THE HURT LOCKER. He's probably the last guy in but that's OK since there's not really a sixth man threatening his position. The predicted five should be safe.

Without further ado, here are The InSneider's latest predictions for the 82nd Academy Awards. Let's take a look, shall we?

BEST PICTURE

Avatar
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

ALT: A Single Man

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

ALT: Neill Blomkamp, District 9

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

ALT: None

BEST ACTRESS

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

ALT: Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

ALT: Tobey Maguire, Brothers

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Mo’Nique, Precious

ALT: Julianne Moore, A Single Man

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man

ALT: Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education
District 9
Precious
A Single Man
Up in the Air

ALT: Julie & Julia

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

ALT: Ponyo

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Beaches of Agnes
Burma VJ
The Cove
Every Little Step
Mugabe and the White African

ALT: Food, Inc.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
A Single Man

ALT: The White Ribbon

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Avatar
The Informant!
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up

ALT: Sherlock Holmes

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
A Single Man
The Young Victoria

ALT: Public Enemies

BEST ART DIRECTION

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds
The Lovely Bones
Nine
A Serious Man

ALT: Star Trek

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

ALT: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

The (Non-Doc/Foreign/Short) Contenders: 9, 500 Days of Summer, Amelia, An Education, Antichrist, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, Avatar, Away We Go, The Blind Side, The Boys Are Back, Bright Star, Broken Embraces, Bronson, Brothers, Bruno, Capitalism: A Love Story, Cheri, A Christmas Carol, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Coco Before Chanel, Collapse, Coraline, The Cove, Crazy Heart, Crude, The Damned United, District 9, Everybody's Fine, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Fish Tank, Food Inc., Funny People, The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Humpday, The Hurt Locker, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Informant!, Inglourious Basterds, In the Loop, Invictus, It's Complicated, Julie & Julia, The Last Station, The Lovely Bones, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Moon, Nine, Ponyo, Precious, The Princess and the Frog, Public Enemies, The Road, A Serious Man, A Single Man, Sin Nombre, The Soloist, Star Trek, The Stoning of Soraya M., Sugar, Taking Woodstock, Terminator Salvation, Tetro, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Up, Up in the Air, Valentino: The Last Emperor, Watchmen, Whatever Works, Where the Wild Things Are, The White Ribbon, The Young Victoria

LATEST 2010 OSCAR PREDICTIONS

2009-12-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

With only Nine, Sherlock Holmes, It's Complicated and The Last Station left to see, here's where we now stand in this year's race...

BEST PICTURE

An Education
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Last Station
Nine
Precious
A Single Man
Up
Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard, Nine
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Mo’Nique, Precious

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

500 Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education
Precious
A Single Man
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Beaches of Agnes
Burma VJ
The Cove
Every Little Step
Mugabe and the White African

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar
Bright Star
Nine
A Single Man
The White Ribbon

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Bright Star
The Informant!
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Public Enemies
A Single Man

BEST ART DIRECTION

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Star Trek

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

The (Non-Doc/Foreign/Short) Contenders: 9, 500 Days of Summer, Agora, Amelia, An Education, Antichrist, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, Avatar, Away We Go, The Blind Side, The Boys Are Back, Bright Star, Broken Embraces, Bronson, Brothers, Bruno, Capitalism: A Love Story, Cheri, A Christmas Carol, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Coco Before Chanel, Collapse, Coraline, The Cove, Crazy Heart, Creation, Crude, The Damned United, District 9, Everybody's Fine, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Fish Tank, Food Inc., Funny People, The Hangover, Harry Brown, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Humpday, The Hurt Locker, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Informant!, Inglourious Basterds, In the Loop, Invictus, It's Complicated, Julie & Julia, The Last Station, London River, Love Ranch, The Lovely Bones, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Micmacs, Moon, Nine, Ondine, Ponyo, Precious, The Princess and the Frog, Public Enemies, The Road, A Serious Man, A Single Man, Sin Nombre, The Soloist, Soul Kitchen, Star Trek, The Stoning of Soraya M., Sugar, Taking Woodstock, The Tempest, Terminator Salvation, Tetro, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Up, Up in the Air, Valentino: The Last Emperor, Watchmen, Whatever Works, Where the Wild Things Are, The White Ribbon, The Young Victoria

2010 OSCAR PREDICTIONS - TAKE THREE

2009-07-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

Once again, this time after seeing a few more trailers...

BEST PICTURE

An Education
Avatar
Brothers
The Hurt Locker
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Rob Marshall, Nine
Lone Scherfig, An Education

BEST ACTOR

Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Hilary Swank, Amelia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Alfred Molina, An Education
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Judi Dench, Nine
Mo’Nique, Precious
Natalie Portman, Brothers
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Rachel Weisz, The Lovely Bones

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Biutiful
Bright Star
Broken Embraces
The Hurt Locker
Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious

The Contenders: 9, 500 Days of Summer, Agora, Amelia, An Education, Antichrist, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, A Serious Man, Avatar, Away We Go, Biutiful, Bright Star, Broken Embraces, Bronson, Brothers, Bruno, Cheri, A Christmas Carol, Coraline, The Cove, Crazy Heart, District 9, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Funny People, The Greatest, The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Humpday, The Hurt Locker, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Informant!, Inglourious Basterds, In the Loop, Invictus, Julie & Julia, The Last Station, Love Ranch, The Lovely Bones, Moon, Nine, Ponyo, Precious, Public Enemies, The Road, Shutter Island, The Soloist, Star Trek, Sugar, Taking Woodstock, Terminator Salvation, Tetro, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Tree of Life (tentative), Up, Up in the Air, Watchmen, Whatever Works, Where the Wild Things Are

2010 OSCAR PREDICTIONS - TAKE TWO

2009-07-01T03:39:00.001-07:00

Welcome back. You can see a lot has changed. Here goes nothing.

BEST PICTURE

An Education
Avatar
Brothers
The Hurt Locker
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones
Rob Marshall, Nine
Lone Scherfig, An Education

BEST ACTOR

Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS

Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Hilary Swank, Amelia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Richard Gere, Amelia
Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Alfred Molina, An Education
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Judi Dench, Nine
Mo’Nique, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Biutiful
Bright Star
Broken Embraces
The Hurt Locker
Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious

Contenders I Have a Good Feeling About: An Education, Avatar, Away We Go, Biutiful, Bright Star, Broken Embraces, Brothers, Funny People, The Hurt Locker, Julie & Julia, The Lovely Bones, Nine, Precious, Up, Where the Wild Things Are

Contenders I Can’t Fully Back Just Yet, For One Reason Or Another: A Serious Man, Agora, Amelia, Antichrist, Cheri, Green Zone, Invictus The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Informant, The Last Station, Love Ranch, Public Enemies, Shutter Island, Taking Woodstock, Tetro, The Tree of Life, Whatever Works

EXAMINER #5: 10 summer movies with a shot at awards glory

2009-06-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

In my world, it’s never too early to start talking about the Oscars. Awards season has become a yearlong marathon and I’m just feeding the beast. With that in mind, here are 10 summer movies that voters could still be talking about this winter.
Best Picture: Realistically, Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” is probably the most likely summer Oscar nominee, considering its esteemed pedigree. However, “The Hurt Locker” is the kind of smart thriller that could make a dent during awards season and blow the race wide open. But if I had to pick one summer movie that will earn some kind of Best Picture nomination, it would be Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” which has a great shot as the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical. Friends who have seen it have come away impressed with one arguing that it’s better than the director’s two other films, “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up.” High praise, indeed.
Best Director: You’d have to go back a few years to find the last female nominee for Best Director but 2009 is shaping up as the year of the female filmmaker, Though questions still linger around Mira Nair’s “Amelia,” even with two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank as the famed aviatrix, Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” made quite an impression at Cannes, and Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” was the talk of Sundance. Yet its “The Hurt Locker’s” keymaster Kathryn Bigelow who proves she can blow stuff up with the best of the boys, having delivered a visceral, adrenaline-fueled ride that had me on the edge of my seat. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve seen a movie as well-crafted and executed as The Hurt Locker, and credit Bigelow for making a tough, suspenseful movie with real balls.
Best Actor: Most “experts” would choose Johnny Depp as the leading summer contender in this category, since his turn as John Dillinger in “Public Enemies” will certainly garner at least some attention from awards voters. But it’s confession time, gang; Depp has lost me over the past few years, and I know I’m not alone. Let’s look at the history: He was nominated for seven Golden Globes before finally winning in 2008 for “Sweeney Todd.” And he’s been nominated for three Academy Awards in the last five years, but the movies have been the first “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Finding Neverland” and “Sweeney Todd.” Are those REALLY Depp’s three best performances? No “Edward Scissorhands” or “Ed Wood,” or at least six other performances in six much better movies? So if you’re looking for some Johnny Depp love, you’ll find it in the potholes of my “Scissorhands” DVD. I jumped off his bandwagon the day he sold out to Disney. So who’s left?
Duncan Jones’ “Moon” allows Sam Rockwell the opportunity to shine, and the actor responds with some of the best work of his fine career in the sci-fi drama, working pretty much alone for the entire movie. But while I was impressed overall with Jones’ debut feature (particularly Clint Mansell’s haunting score), I was also never totally comfortable with its screenplay, and personally, I feel critics are overrating the film.
Jeremy Renner is bound to breakout after his fearless, ferocious performance in “The Hurt Locker” and Adam Sandler (so good in 9/11 drama “Reign Over Me”) will get some serious Golden Globes consideration for his Apatow collaboration “Funny People,” but for my money, the honest-to-God most likely nominee (at least for Globes love) is “Brüno” alter-ego Sacha Baron Cohen, who won the Globe for Best Actor in 2007 for “Borat.”
Best Actress: It’s a slow three months for actresses outside of romantic comedies and bloody genre pics, but for those interested, Michelle Pfeiffer is supposedly divine in Stephen Frears’ “Chéri.” The film received mixed reviews overseas but Pfeiffer has always been an American favorite, and her campaign still has heat.
Best Supporting Actor: As much as I loved Anthony Mackie in “The Hurt Locker,” the loudest awards buzz surrounds German actor Christoph Waltz, who plays Hans “The Jew Hunter” Landa in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds.” Reviews out of Cannes say he’s the one to watch amongst the ensemble. It’ll also be interesting to see whether “Basterds” is eligible for Best Foreign Language film, since apprx. 60% of the dialogue is non-English. Another possible contender is Billy Crudup, who plays J. Edger Hoover in “Public Enemies.”
Best Supporting Actress: I’ve heard Leslie “Apatow’s Wo-“ Mann steals the show in “Funny People,” (her husband always knows how to use her comic skills) and Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard returns to the bigscreen as Depp’s squeeze in “Public Enemies,” but there’s one actress you can never count out of the awards race and that’s Meryl Streep, who is rumored to give a delicious performance as Julia Child in “Julie & Julia.” I also wouldn’t discount the young duo of Abigail Breslin and Sofia Vassilieva who star in the cancer drama “My Sister’s Keeper.”
Best Original Screenplay: There are a lot of options here. Apatow was nominated for a WGA Award for “Knocked Up” and Funny People seems to be more mature than his other work. Woody Allen has a million Oscar noms and a new movie with Larry David called “Whatever Works.” “The Hurt Locker” is a well-structured nail-biter thanks to journalist Mark Boal’s airtight screenplay. And Lynn Shelton’s “Humpday” is the most brilliant film to come out of the thriving mumblecore movement. But a romantic comedy in which the guy doesn’t get the girl? How bold! That’s why I’m giving the nod to Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter’s “500 Days of Summer,” which was a 2006 Black List finalist that could wind up being this year’s “Juno.” That trailer is simply irresistible.
Best Adapted Screenplay: As a filmmaking God, Michael Mann is always a threat in the Best Director category, but in my humble opinion, he stands a better shot of sneaking into this category come January for co-writing “Public Enemies” with Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. Other than that, there aren’t many real contenders in this category coming out this summer although “Brüno” looms as a real possibility since most of its writing team was Oscar-nominated for “Borat.” Other adaptations include “Chéri,” “I Love You Beth Cooper,” the long-delayed adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” and of course, the latest installment of the “Harry Potter” series, which hasn’t garnered any major screenplay nominations, although scribe Steve Kloves was once nominated for “Wonder Boys.”
Best Documentary: The environmental doc “The Cove” has been making waves since its debut at Sundance. Look for it to be this year’s “An Inconvenient Truth.” According to Variety, “Eco-activist documentaries don’t get much more compelling.”
Best Animated Feature: It looks as though the Academy Awards’ animation category could have five nominees this year as opposed to three, so Hayao Miyazaki figures to be a shoo-in for a slot considering his history. The acclaimed Japanese filmmaker returns to theaters with “Ponyo,” and while he’ll have to contend with Pixar’s “Up,” Henry Selick’s “Coraline,” Wes Anderson’s take on “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Shane Acker’s “9,” the third “Ice Age” film, Robert Zemeckis’ “A Christmas Carol” and Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have history on their side having won the Oscar for “Spirited Away” in 2003, in addition to a nomination for “Howl’s Moving Castle” in 2006. Early word has been promising, with Variety comparing the film to “The Little Mermaid.”
The 10, again, in order of release date: “Chéri” (June 26); “Public Enemies” (July 1); “Brüno” (July 10); “The Hurt Locker” (July 10); “500 Days of Summer” (July 17); “The Cove” (July 31); “Funny People” (July 31); “Julie & Julia” (Aug. 7); “Ponyo” (Aug. 14); “Inglorious Basterds” (Aug. 21)

Original Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-10725-Movie-Awards-Examiner~y2009m6d15-10-summer-movies-with-a-shot-at-awards-glory

EXAMINER #4: 'Land of the Lost' is worth a visit

2009-06-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

I never thought I’d type the following sentence but I’m glad I have the chance to now. “Land of the Lost” was good. Believe me, I’d been as skeptical about Universal and Brad Silberling’s bigscreen take on Sid and Marty Krofft’s cult TV series as the rest of the Internet, but “LOTL” is just pure, undeniable summer fun.
The appropriately off-kilter screenplay is surprisingly adult without taking itself too seriously, and stars Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel have a nice, easy chemistry that makes for an appealing trio on which to hang a very simple CGI-fueled adventure story.
I can remember watching “Land of the Lost” on TV when I was a kid but its theme song was the most memorable thing about the show, so I had no particular attachment to or nostalgia for the original series. The film still follows Dr. Rick Marshall (now a quantum paleontologist) but the screenplay turns his kids, Will and Holly, into grown-up characters. Lovable man-child Will Ferrell plays Marshall while Anna Friel co-stars as brainy hottie Holly, a Cambridge student who has closely followed Marshall’s career. The two eventually meet up with desert hick Will (Danny McBride) who’s just happy to be along for the wild ride.
Ferrell has made a career out of playing wacky characters, but while Dr. Marshall is certainly eccentric, he actually seems like one of Ferrell’s more “normal” roles. With a limited supporting cast, Ferrell is forced to do a lot of heavy lifting over the course of the picture, and he really finds the appeal in the character’s kooky panic and bizarre confidence.
McBride can always be counted on to wring the most laughs out of restrained material. Remember, he was one of few bright spots in “Drillbit Taylor.” McBride operates best in R-rated mode but thank God he’s around to keep the PG-13 crowd off-balance on its toes. Watching him and Ferrell duet on Cher’s “Believe” has to be seen to be, uh, believed.
I’m not as familiar with Friel, having never seen her work on “Pushing Daisies,” but she manages to not get in the way of the Ferrell/McBride laugh locomotive, and when she gets opportunities to shine, she takes advantage of them, none more so than during the trio’s introduction to the love-him-or-hate-him Chaka (Jorma Taccone), whose hands have a habit of roaming Holly’s chest throughout the film.
Chaka is used as an effective comic device for most the running time, the highlight of which was his “Chorus Line” bit, but there were several moments where he just felt annoying and superfluous, like a hairy Jar Jar Binks. The film’s T-Rex, on the other hand, strikes just the right tone of menacing silliness as the trio’s antagonist-turned-savior.
I won’t bother making excuses for the film’s lame villain and his army of non-threatening Sleestaks, or its ridiculous plot, which is just plain stupid, but thankfully story and logic are beside the point. It’s fun, weird and well designed by Bo Welch, and it ends just as the characters begin to wear out their welcome. The score was also excellent, so it came as no surprise when Michael Giacchino’s name popped up during the very cool end credit sequence, which I thought belonged at the beginning of the film. Speaking of which, both “LOTL” and last week’s “Drag Me to Hell” featured an old school Universal logo and very similar-looking title cards, with two words bigger than the other, in the same quadrants of the screen. Of course in “LOTL,” the old logo is a clever reminder that the “Lost” of the title refers to nostalgia, hence the Cher and “Chorus Line” bits, among other thinly veiled references to geographic landmarks and pop culture icons.
“Land of the Lost” may seem like the movie to bring your kids to this weekend but I also think its not-so-subliminal stoner humor plays to an older, hipper crowd that will appreciate zany sequences like the one where Rick and Will play Marco Polo after ingesting a hallucinatory substance.
Most critics have been giving “LOTL” a tough time but I think if you go in with modest expectations like I did, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Just don’t expect the same old family-friendly formula because this is one strange movie.

Original Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-10725-Movie-Awards-Examiner~y2009m6d5-Land-of-the-Lost-is-worth-a-visit

EXAMINER #3: Chris Messina runs away with 'Away We Go'

2009-06-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

You might recognize Chris Messina. Then again, you might not.
The actor, who may be best known for starring in the little-seen indie comedy “Ira and Abby,” landed a highly coveted role as one of Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch in 2007 before popping up in two of the better films of 2008, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Towelhead,” where he worked with Academy Award winners Woody Allen and Alan Ball, respectively He also starred in last year’s charming pot comedy “Humboldt County,” from directors Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky, and the goofy romantic comedy “Made of Honor,” although we don’t have to talk about that one for the purposes of this column. Regardless, 2008 was a stellar year for Messina and credit Variety for spotting his unique talent early.
Messina Madness continues later this year in “Julie & Julia,” where he’ll play Amy Adams’ husband before starring in “An Invisible Sign Of My Own,” opposite Jessica Alba (as a math teacher -- Wow!). Of course, it wasn’t always this easy for Messina, whose early career struggles include just missing out on a role in “The Departed” (which won Best Picture and finally earned Martin Scorsese an Oscar) and co-starring in a HBO medical drama from J.J. Abrams that wasn’t picked up.
But every actor knows that if they wait long enough, it’s possible that breakout part will come, and for Messina, that role arrives in “Away We Go,” an indie comedy from yet another Oscar-winning director, Sam Mendes, and the husband-wife writing team of Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.
“Away We Go” stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as Bert and Verona, a young, unmarried couple who are about to have a baby and don’t know where they should plant roots and start their family. They travel around America visiting various friends and family members, sampling different cities, but the movie soars highest when Bert and Verona cross the border into Montreal, where Messina’s Tom Garnett lives with his wife Munch (Melanie Lynskey, not to be confused with Richard Belzer), who has suffered multiple miscarriages. They’ve adopted several children and they seem to be the happiest family in the film.
There’s a scene featuring the couples out for a night on the town where Munch starts dancing and Tom reveals that she’s just suffered yet another miscarriage. And as Tom describes how this latest setback has made him feel, Munch’s dance takes on a different meaning, almost like a spiritual cleansing. She just lets go and gives herself completely over to the music and the moment, emoting simply with the language of her body as Tom sits there watching with a look on his face that shows how completely in love with her he is and how much they’ve been through together. He seems to marvel at her strength, admiring how she can soldier on after losing five pregnancies. And while the scene may belong to Lynskey, being the active character onscreen, it only fully works because of how well Messina sells the essence of their relationship. In terms of pure storytelling, the scene is supposed hold a mirror up to Bert and Verona’s relationship -- When times get tough, will they endure in the face of uncertainty, as Tom and Munch have? But Messina helps make the scene mean something else, something… more. It’s at once a truly touching (and silent) moment between a husband and wife, and a heartfelt admission by a father to his friend
The other scene that could well be Messina’s Oscar moment, finds Tom constructing a little house out of diner food, arguing that it’s not a real home without the love, which he represents by drenching the house in gooey syrup. It’s a delicious metaphor that really works, because to Tom, that’s what a family is all about -- the syrup on top -- the love. Not biology.
In his all-too-brief-but-still-perfect 15 minutes of screen time, Messina makes a powerful impression, while Mendes says more about marriage and its compromises and complexities than he did in all of “Revolutionary Road.” “Away We Go” throbs with life, from the laughs and the tears to the rollercoaster of emotions in between, including the fear, the anxiety and the cluelessness. Bert and Verona have no idea what to do, but they know they’ll help each other to get it done because they have supreme faith in one another.
As for the leads, I’ll admit that Rudolph and Krasinski might look ridiculous together on paper, but they have fantastic chemistry together onscreen. Rudolph is the backbone of the film, its anchor so to speak, since everything orbits around the little bundle of joy in her belly, and she gives an eye-opening performance that I honestly never knew she was capable of, judging strictly from her quality work on “SNL.” Meanwhile, I’ve been a vocal critic of Krasinski’s film work. “Leatherheads,” “License to Wed” and “Smiley Face” were all miserable movies that did him no favors, nor did his own directorial debut “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men,” although the less said about that one in a column where I’m trying to sing his praises, the better.
Krasinski’s just always seemed better suited to the small screen, in my humble opinion. Of course, it’s hard to redefine yourself as a film actor when everyone who meets you thinks you’re just Jim from “The Office.” It’s why none of the “Seinfeld” or “Frasier” or “Friends” alums have real movie careers with the exception of Jennifer Aniston (whose career is living on borrowed time while she continues to coast on her wholesome Rachel appeal). Thankfully, Mendes finally cracks the cinematic enigma that is Krasinski, using the actor’s skills to maximum effect, employing his gift of comic timing to make his character’s fears and neuroses relatable. I believe that Krasinski is more than just that one dopey look on “The Office,” he just to find his niche (the semi-slacker indie comedy suits him well) and work with a good director who can adapt his gifts for the bigscreen.
Still, as surprising and impressive as the lead performances in “Away We Go” are, it’s Messina who steals the movie. From the moment he stepped onscreen, I couldn’t stop thinking, ‘who is this guy?’ It’s really one of the two best supporting performances that I’ve seen the first six months of the year, along with Anthony Mackie from “The Hurt Locker,” which we’ll be taking a look at soon. Until then…

Original Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-10725-Movie-Awards-Examiner~y2009m6d3-Chris-Messina-runs-away-with-Away-We-Go

EXAMINER #2: 'Star Trek' stands out amongst May blockbusters

2009-05-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

As much as I’d like to believe that I’m not a total fanboy… I totally am. So you can imagine how I spent the first four months of2009 -- drooling over the month of May, when not one or two, not three or four, but five major franchises would be waging battle at the box office over the first four weeks alone; "Wolverine," "Star Trek," "Angels and Demons," "Terminator Salvation" and "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian." And that doesn’t even take into account this weekend, the last of the month, which all the other studios conceded to Pixar’s “Up” except for Universal, which in a savvy bit of counter-programming, releases Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell,” a goofy horror movie that's aimed at a very different, equally loyal albeit smaller audience.
What’s ironic about “DMTH” is that it’ll be the first film Raimi has directed for his genre label, Ghost House Pictures, and the first Ghost House release that won’t open at #1. That said, “DMTH” has good buzz so despite my initial doubts about the project, I’ll be at the ArcLight at midnight on Thursday to judge for myself.
May also featured two indies about brothers, although they (the brothers and the movies) couldn’t be more different. The first, “Rudo y Cursi,” from Carlos Cuaron, Alfonso’s brother, stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as rival soccer stars. Get over the fear of subtitles and go see it while you still can because it’s one of the ten best films I’ve seen so far this year!
The other, “The Brothers Bloom,” is a con-man movie from Rian Johnson, who also wrote and directed the overrated high school noir mockery “Brick.” “Bloom” stars a pair of Oscar winners (Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz), an Oscar nominee (Rinko Kikuchi who steals the film with her mute performance), and Mark Ruffalo, who should’ve been nominated for an Oscar by now. Unfortunately, all the acting talent in the world can’t save Johnson’s lifeless script, which is as phony as the schemes The Brothers Bloom concoct. I’ll spare the film any further commentary but needless to say, I wasn’t a fan. Johnson clearly has talent but his style is all over the place and he’d be well served by directing someone else’s screenplay for a change. I don’t understand the press love he’s been getting.
But back to the blockbuster box office behemoths. The summer movie season officially kicked off with Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” followed by J.J. Abrams’ reboot of “Star Trek” for Paramount, followed by Sony and Ron Howard’s “Angels and Demons,” which had only six days before Warner Bros. unleashed the hell that is McG’s “Terminator Salvation” into theaters. Meanwhile, Ben Stiller took another paycheck role in Fox’s “Night at the Museum 2: Battle For the Smithsonian,” but I haven’t seen that sequel so I can’t bash it, although it doesn’t really belong in the conversation since it’s aimed at a much younger demographic than the other four films.
Now, going into May, judging strictly by the trailers, I was super stoked to see “Star Trek” and “T4.” I had supreme faith in Abrams and very little faith in McG, but then again, I grew up on James Cameron’s “Terminator” films and I’d never been a “Star Trek” kind of guy. I loved the “T4” trailer’s use of Nine Inch Nails’ “The Day the World Went Away,” but I suspected it was making the movie look more awesome than it really was. The “Star Trek” trailer looked equally awesome and obviously, like something I’d never seen before. Abrams and his young cast sold me on a new universe, where as “T4” sold me on a world I’d heard a lot about over the course of three movies, and couldn’t wait to see for myself.
Elsewhere, despite the production problems and online piracy, I thought “Wolverine” looked pretty cool, if a bit cheap, while the “Angels and Demons” trailer seemed to reveal that director Howard didn’t really fix any of “DaVinci’s” considerable problems, chief amongst them, the lazy casting of Tom Hanks, who looked absolutely miserable running around Rome.
As it turned out, “Star Trek” was the best movie by far, and even it had its script problems. You can read my full review for the Colorado Springs Independent here. None of the other three turned out very good, namely because of bad scripts that were compromised by the Writers Strike. I’d have to say that “Wolverine” was my next favorite of the four, if only because it resembled fun. Sure, it paled in comparison to its predecessors (yes, all of them, even Brett Ratner’s “X3”), but it wasn’t nearly the trainwreck I was expecting and the opening credits were great. Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston are two of my favorite character actors but “Wolverine” was missing a villain like the “X-Men” series’ Ian McKellan, whose sinister presence was also missing from the “DaVinci Code” sequel “Angels and Demons,” which had a couple of decent moments but felt shockingly flat considering the solid source material. I’ve read three of Dan Brown’s books and his writing is quite cinematic, as though it would lend itself perfectly to adaptation for the bigscreen. But both “DaVinci” and “A&D” were undeniably clunky and that’s inexcusable from a director of Howard’s caliber. Hanks was never a good fit for this series, and yet, if he couldn’t make it work, who the hell else could?
Which brings us to the relentlessly grim and joyless “Terminator Salvation,” which McG should be downright embarrassed about. The screenplay felt like a cruel joke, and while credited scribes John Brancato and Michael Ferris will be held primarily responsible, it deserves to be noted that A-Listers Jonathan Nolan (Oscar-nominated writer of “Memento,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Prestige”), Simon Kinberg (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “X3,” “Jumper” and “Sherlock Holmes”) and Paul Haggis (Academy Award-winning writer of “Crash,” “Casino Royale,” “Million Dollar Baby” and “Walker, Texas Ranger”) all had a hand in shaping the script. The performances in “T4” were all cringe-worthy and borderline laughable with the exception of Anton Yelchin’s take on Kyle Reese. It was a tough Stateside debut for future “Avatar” star Sam Worthington, whose Australian accent snuck in and out of the movie along with Christian Bale’s angry Welsh inflection. As for the supporting cast, Common and Helena Bonham Carter were truly awful, while Bryce Dallas Howard and Jadagrace had no characters to play. The wham-bam action was decent but free of any kind of suspense (it’s been rumored that McG left his 2nd Unit to handle the action so he could focus on the “performances”) and the entire movie felt devoid of fun, failing to do anything new with the series.
Hollywood is batting 1-4 in my blockbuster book so far this summer, but hey, look on the bright side: There’s a new Pixar movie coming out on Friday! And for the crazy handful of you who might not be down with “Up” allow me to suggest a more “adult” theatrical experience, Steven Soderbergh’s low-fi drama “The Girlfriend Experience,” which stars (former?) porn star Sasha Grey as a high-priced Manhattan call girl. Grey makes an impressive mainstream debut and there’s actually very little sex or nudity in the film, which begs saying that it’s still worth seeing, guys! “The Girlfriend Experience” is also available to watch On Demand in the privacy of your own home for $9.99, a great bargain considering the absurd cost of movie tickets and concessions today.
As for June, the film I’m most excited about is Todd Phillips’ comedy “The Hangover,” starring the motley crue of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifiankis, a mysterious baby, Mike Tyson and his tiger. I’m also looking forward to Tony Scott’s remake of the 70s classic “The Taking of Pelham 123,” starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta; a bigscreen imagining of “Land of the Lost” with Will Ferrell and Danny McBride; the new Francis Ford Coppola film “Tetro” starring the always-interesting Vincent Gallo; the final cut of Harold Ramis’ biblical comedy “Year One,” which was produced by Judd Apatow and stars Jack Black and Michael Cera; Michael Bay’s bigger, louder “Transformers” sequel and the Woody Allen comedy “Whatever Works,” starring Larry David. There’s also another comedy from an Oscar-winning filmmaker that opens June 5 in limited release that we’ll take a look at next week. Until then…

Original Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-10725-Movie-Awards-Examiner~y2009m5d28-Star-Trek-stands-out-amongst-May-blockbusters

EXAMINER #1: 'Twilight' takes bite out of MTV Movie Awards

2009-05-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

If you’re wondering what’s happened to the MTV Movie Awards, you’re not alone.
It seems like it was just a few years ago that the MTV Movie Awards were relevant to pop culture. Now? They’re an afterthought. The reason? The nominees have officially become ridiculous.
Here are the facts: Beginning in 1992, the first six Golden Popcorn winners for Best Movie were “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “A Few Good Men,” “Menace II Society,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Se7en” and “Scream.” All were rated R. In 1998, the PG-13 “Titanic” briefly interrupted the R-rated winning streak before “There’s Something About Mary,” “The Matrix” and “Gladiator” continued the trend. Since then, the only other R-rated winner was “Wedding Crashers” in 2006. Most of those movies fit my definition of a “modern classic,” so I’ll give MTV credit for being on top of its game in honoring influential films that, for the most part, have withstood the relative test of time.
That said, the last two Best Movie winners have been the summer blockbusters “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and “Transformers.” Now, my problem isn’t that both of these movies made a ton of money, because with the exception of “Menace II Society,” all of the Best Movie winners listed in the previous paragraph made over $100 million at the domestic box office. I take exception with “POTC 2” and “Transformers” because they’re both mediocre movies, at best, and their triumphs illustrate a troubling trend; Where the MTV Movie Awards once honored challenging adult material that also appealed to a youthful demo, voters are now confusing the biggest movies with the best, allowing the show to be content existing as a popularity contest as decided by the high school crowd.
This year, the Best Movie nominees are a mixed bag: “The Dark Knight,” “High School Musical 3,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “Twilight.”
I won’t argue with the selections of “Slumdog” or “Dark Knight” because those were both great movies. But it’s a shame that neither will likely take home the Golden Popcorn on May 31 because it’s a foregone conclusion that the mass cult of “Twilight” fans will stuff the ballot box, ensuring its victory and more airtime for its dreamy star Rob Pattinson. Furthermore, the success of “Twilight” on the evening will dictate how the next few years of MTV Movie Award shows will play out, given that Summit has two sequels on the way.
Take for example the Best Kiss category, which usually features an inspired group of liplockers. This is a category that has historically been dominated by same-sex kisses. Past winners include “Cruel Intentions,” “American Pie 2,” “Brokeback Mountain” and most recently, “Talladega Nights.” This year, I would’ve thought that Sean Penn and James Franco to win for their scintillating smooch in “Milk,” but I fully expect the “Twilight’s” ratings-boosting duo of Kristen Stewart and Pattinson to take the stage because life, and more specifically the MTV Movie Awards, isn’t fair.
Then again, what does ‘fair’ have to do with anything? The MTV Movie Awards aren’t supposed to be the Oscars. Its primary goal is to entertain a few million teenagers for a couple hours, not to get the awards “right.” How can anyone take the show seriously when Angelina Jolie and Anne Hathaway are respectively nominated for “Wanted” and “Bride Wars” instead of “Changeling” and “Rachel Getting Married?”
This is an awards show that changes its categories annually, forcing this year’s voters to spend their time contemplating the Best 'WTF' Moment. This is an actual award, people. What qualifies as a 'WTF' moment? Amy Poehler peeing in the sink in “Baby Mama.” Forget the fact that Ashton Kutcher did the exact same thing in “What Happens in Vegas.” Why does this category even exist? Did MTV learn nothing from past awards such as Best Summer Movie So Far, which was only mildly less embarrassing than Best Summer Movie You Haven’t Seen Yet, which amounted to Best Trailer. It’s also hard to forget the discontinued awards for Sexiest Performance (which only objectified women) and Best Frightened Performance, which went to whatever flavor-of-the-month Scream Queen could look the most scared in her underwear.
I know MTV targets a younger, more PG-13 audience these days, and I’m not asking for voters to show some love to Frank Langella or Melissa Leo. I just wish they would hold themselves to the same standards as MTV’s audience in the 90s, which apparently had much better taste. Fortunately, in ten years, “Slumdog” and “Twilight” won’t even be mentioned in the same breath, let alone the same category.
Regardless of who wins, “SNL” star and professed “Motherlover”Andy Samberg promises to be a high-energy host who should be able to keep the evening moving at a nice pace. And I can take solace that at the very least, MTV nominated Bruce Springsteen’s heartbreaking theme to “The Wrestler,” which the Academy had the nerve to snub.
I know there’s a legion of “Twilight” fans on Examiner.com because it’s one of the site’s most popular topics and I’d hate to alienate that considerable readership with my first column (although I’m pretty sure this will be the first and last time “Twilight” is involved in a discussion of National Movie Awards), but this could be the last chance to save the MTV Movie Awards. Click here to vote until May 31!

Original Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-10725-Movie-Awards-Examiner~y2009m5d15-Twilight-takes-bite-out-of-MTV-Movie-Awards

Early Predictions for the 2010 Oscars

2009-05-08T02:37:00.000-07:00

Taking a cue from InContention's Kris Tapley and The Film Experience's Nat Rogers, among others, I've decided to throw up some way-in-advance Oscar predictions for next March. These are total shots in the dark, gang. I just wanted to go on record based on my gut feelings about this year's race, which hasn't even started to take shape yet. Please forgive mistakes in category placement, whether it's a lead actor/actress being in the supporting category (or vice versa) or an original screenplay that is really adapted. And lastly, you'll note that my two favorite films so far this year, The Hurt Locker and Away We Go, neither of which have been released yet, are scattered amongst the predicted potential nominees. I had to represent on their behalf. Without further ado, your 2010 Oscar nominees... but probably not.

BEST PICTURE

Avatar
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious
Shutter Island

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones
Rob Marshall, Nine
Lone Scherfig, An Education

BEST ACTOR

Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island
Morgan Freeman, The Human Factor

BEST ACTRESS

Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Hilary Swank, Amelia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon, The Human Factor
Alfred Molina, An Education
Mark Ruffalo, Shutter Island
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Judi Dench, Nine
Sophia Loren, Nine
Mo’Nique, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Rachel Weisz, The Lovely Bones

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Biutiful
Bright Star
Broken Embraces
The Hurt Locker
Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Precious
Shutter Island

Contenders I Have a Good Feeling About: An Education, Avatar, Away We Go, Biutiful, Bright Star, Broken Embraces, The Hurt Locker, The Lovely Bones, Nine, Precious, Shutter Island, Up, Where the Wild Things Are

Contenders I Can’t Fully Back Just Yet, For One Reason Or Another: A Serious Man, Agora, Amelia, Antichrist, Brothers, Cheri, Green Zone, The Human Factor, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Informant, Julie & Julia, The Last Station, Love Ranch, Public Enemies, Taking Woodstock, Tetro, The Tree of Life, Whatever Works

MTV Movies Blog: Who should direct the fourth 'Mission: Impossible'?

2009-03-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

Some random AICN reader calling himself ‘supastring’ wrote in to report that Tom Cruise was on some popular program called “Smap Smap” in Japan where he revealed that he has started working on the story for a fourth film in the “Mission: Impossible” series, and that he’s been “thinking about how to stage a big action sequence in downtown Tokyo.”

Some of you might bemoan the idea of another "Mission: Impossible" film but I, for one, have always preferred Cruise’s Ethan Hunt to Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, or any of the modern incarnations of James Bond, although to be fair, I am a Tom Cruise apologist who thinks the man is incapable of giving a flat-out bad performance.

Of course, this should be treated as just a rumor at this point but if “M:I:IV” were to happen relatively soon, we wanted to stay ahead of the development process and recommend 10 directors who might be a good fit for the series.

Now obviously it’d be cool if Steven Spielberg or James Cameron or Peter Jackson decided to do “M:I:IV” but that would NEVER happen, so they’re not on the list. Likewise, we eliminated Brian DePalma and John Woo who directed the first two installments, and while we wouldn’t oppose J.J. Abrams’ return considering his feature debut “M:I:III” was the best in the series and Paramount shouldn’t mess with a good thing, we have a feeling the studio won’t mind if Abrams is busy directing “Star Trek” sequels for the next few years. We also excluded Oliver Stone, David Fincher and Joe Carnahan, all of whom spent significant time developing “Impossible” sequels, as well as past Cruise collaborators Ben Stiller, Ed Zwick and Bryan Singer, plus directors like Gavin Hood and McG while we wait until May to see how “Wolverine” and “Terminator Salvation” turn out.

So without further ado, here’s my wishlist for “Mission: Impossible 4” directors, in alphabetical order.

1. Timur Bekmambetov – The Russian director of “Wanted” has his own distinctive style that could be just what the series is looking for. He’s currently prepping the English-language third installment of his “Night Watch” trilogy but I’m not sure he’d let that stop him from listening to Cruise’s pitch.

2. Peter Berg – The Hancock” director has really started to come into his own as a visual storyteller. I just think he has really good instincts and I like how he always seems to be challenging himself. Plus I just have a weird feeling that he and Tom would really get along.

3. Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker” director would be a bold, brave choice who could really crank up the adrenaline. “The Hurt Locker” is the real deal and should have her in the hunt for Best Director at next year’s Oscars, after which everyone will want a piece of her.

4. Neill Blomkamp – Blomkamp directed the impressive short films “Alive in Joburg” and “Tempbot” before signing on to direct the long-gestating “Halo” movie. His debut feature, “District 9,” comes out this July and will be his first real mainstream test. Of course, if he ever has any questions, he can always ask his mentor Peter Jackson.

5. Jan de Bont – What the hell happened to this guy? He directed two AWESOME movies in “Speed” and “Twister” and then he fell off the face of the Earth after directing “Speed 2: Cruise Control” (HA!), “ The Haunting” and “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.” On second thought, maybe he should stay away from movies with colons in their titles. But on third thought, de Bont shot “Die Hard” and “The Hunt for Red October,” plus he served as a producer on “Minority Report,” which means he has ties to Cruise, who has the power to resurrect the man's once-great career.

6. Joe Johnston – The director of “Jurassic Park III” already knows a thing or two about inheriting franchises. This fall he’ll stake his claim on “The Wolf Man” and he’s also attached to the “Captain America” movie, which could keep him off this “Mission,” but like it or not, his stock is on the rise so long as “The Wolf Man” makes a killing at the box office.

7. Justin Lin – His work on “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” brought him back for April’s “Fast and Furious,” which will test his box office metal. But if Cruise is serious about shooting in Tokyo then it couldn’t hurt for him to sit down and hear Lin’s take on the material.

8. Pierre Morel – The French filmmaker managed to turn “Ta ken’s” simple set-up into a surprise international hit. Lionsgate will soon distribute his new movie “From Paris With Love” which stars John Travolta, who might be able to put in a good word with his friend and fellow Scientologist.

9. Jonathan Mostow – The director of “Terminator: Rise of the Machines” has a lot riding on this fall’s Bruce Willis-starred “The Surrogates.” Disney obviously likes what they’ve seen since Mostow is attached to write and direct “Swiss Family Robinson” for the studio. He’s a realistic get and could be a decent catch for a new “Mission” movie. I mean, how many truly A-List directors are rushing to direct #4’s?

10. Matt Reeves –Could Abrams leave the reins of the “M:I” franchise in his longtime collaborator’s hands? Reeves is a really smart filmmaker who helped make “Cloverfield” a pop culture sensation, and while he’s currently working on the “Let the Right One In” remake and an “Invisible Man” movie, he could be an interesting if darker choice for the series.

Original Link: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/03/23/who-should-direct-the-fourth-mission-impossible-berg-biegelow-bekmambetov/

FINAL 2008 OSCAR PREDICTIONS and IF I HAD A BALLOT

2009-02-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

This is The End. My only friend, The End.

It all comes down to this, gang. MY PREDICTIONS for the 81st Annual Academy Awards, as well as my own personal selections IF I HAD A BALLOT. It's pretty self-explanatory. Should Win is what I HOPE wins on Sunday night. That doesn't mean I necessarily thought their work was the best of the year (for instance, I'd give Best Supporting Actress to Rosemarie DeWitt for Rachel Getting Married, but somehow she wasn't nominated), it just means that OF THE NOMINEES, this is who I would vote for. Likewise, just because I think someone WILL win, doesn't mean I think they SHOULD win. If you have an Office Oscar Pool, you can take these predictions to the bank, because they're money, baby!

There are a couple upsets sprinkled throughout, including both of the lead acting categories. Right now, the only other prognosticator picking Rourke AND Streep is Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere. I just think this is Mickey's year (Sean Penn just won for Mystic River) and Kate Winslet got nominated for the wrong performance, opening the door for Meryl Streep, who hasn't won since Sophie's Choice in 1983. I'd say she's every bit as due as Kate. Supporting Actress is a tight race (I even had difficult deciding who I'd vote for) but Penelope Cruz has a distinguished body of work behind her now, plus she's never won (sorry Marisa Tomei) and she has plenty of screentime (sorry Viola Davis), although that rarely matters in this category (ahem, Judi Dench). Original Screenplay is another one to watch. Dustin Lance Black has Milk's Best Picture nomination on his side but the Academy could choose to reward its first animated film and go with Wall-E. And no, I don't think The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will get shut-out. No way, no how. PLEASE NOTE: I will not be predicting any of the Short Film categories.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers (i.e. friends and family) for checking out The InSneider. I hope you all enjoy the show and if you're in the Boston area, feel free to stop by The InSneider's temporary headquarters. It'll be a magical night to remember, so here's hoping Hugh Jackman has some surprises in store for us. So without further ado, here are my Final 2008 Oscar Predictions as well as my wishlist for Sunday night. The envelope, please...

BEST PICTURE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

SHOULD WIN: Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk

SHOULD WIN: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

SHOULD WIN: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
WILL WIN: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

SHOULD WIN: Meryl Streep, Doubt
WILL WIN: Meryl Streep, Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

SHOULD WIN: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
WILL WIN: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

SHOULD WIN: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
WILL WIN: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Wall-E

SHOULD WIN: Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
WILL WIN: Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Wall-E

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare, The Reader
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

SHOULD WIN: John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
WILL WIN: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

SHOULD WIN: Kung Fu Panda
WILL WIN: Wall-E

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

SHOULD WIN: Man on Wire
WILL WIN: Man on Wire

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Departures, Japan
Revanche, Austria
Waltz With Bashir, Israel

SHOULD WIN: Waltz With Bashir, Israel
WILL WIN: Waltz With Bashir, Israel

BEST ART DIRECTION

Changeling - Art Direction: James J. Murakami; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight - Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Peter Lando
The Duchess - Art Direction: Michael Carlin; Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road - Art Direction: Kristi Zea; Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

SHOULD WIN: Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Chris Menges and Roger Deakins, The Reader
Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight
Tom Stern, Changeling

SHOULD WIN: Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Danny Glicker, Milk
Catherine Martin, Australia
Michael O’Connor, The Duchess
Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road

SHOULD WIN: Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Michael O’Connor, The Duchess

BEST EDITING

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Lee Smith, The Dark Knight
Mike Hill and Dan Hanley, Frost/Nixon
Elliott Graham, Milk
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

SHOULD WIN: Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST MAKEUP

Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan, The Dark Knight
Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz, Hellboy II: The Golden Army

SHOULD WIN: Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST SCORE

Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard, Defiance
Danny Elfman, Milk
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Thomas Newman, Wall-E

SHOULD WIN: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SONG

“Down to Earth,” Wall-E - Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; Lyrics by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire - Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyrics by Gulzar
“O Saya,” Slumdog Millionaire - Music and Lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasm

SHOULD WIN: “Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: “Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SOUND EDITING

The Dark Knight - Richard King
Iron Man - Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire - Tom Sayers
Wall-E - Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Wanted - Wylie Stateman

SHOULD WIN: Richard King, The Dark Knight
WILL WIN: Richard King, The Dark Knight

BEST SOUND MIXING

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight - Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
Slumdog Millionaire - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
Wall-E - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
Wanted - Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montano and Petr Forejt

SHOULD WIN: Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick, The Dark Knight
WILL WIN: Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt, Wall-E

VISUAL EFFECTS

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
The Dark Knight - Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
Iron Man - John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

SHOULD WIN: Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Top 143 of 2008... So Far

2009-02-18T00:23:00.000-08:00

Here they are, in a very particular set of orders. All films are judged on a 4-STAR system. Top TBD List COMING SOON!

THE STANDOUTS (24) - See these movies. They will not disappoint.

Tell No One ***1/2
Dear Zachary ***1/2
Doubt ***1/2
Man on Wire ***1/2
The Dark Knight ***1/2
Young@Heart ***1/2
Rachel Getting Married *** 1/2
The Wrestler ***1/2
Slumdog Millionaire ***1/2
Waltz with Bashir *** 1/2
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *** 1/2
Cloverfield ***1/2
Frost/Nixon ***
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (It had a qualifying run in NY) ***
Bigger, Stronger, Faster: The Side Effects of Being American ***
Let the Right One In ***
Vicky Cristina Barcelona ***
The Wackness ***
The Fall ***
Wendy and Lucy ***
Gran Torino ***
Nothing But the Truth ***
The Class ***
Elite Squad ***

THE GOOD (36) - All pretty solid/entertaining movies that exceeded my expectations, which are a funny thing, in that they inherently affect what you think of the films themselves.

Pineapple Express ***
Forgetting Sarah Marshall ***
Tropic Thunder ***
What Doesn't Kill You ***
I've Loved You So Long ***
Elegy ***
The Hammer ***
In Bruges ***
Zack and Miri Make a Porno ***
Bolt ***
Kung Fu Panda ***
Shine a Light ***
U2 3D ***
W. ***
Towelhead ***
Baghead ***
Sex and the City ***
American Teen ***
Wanted ***
Step Brothers ***
Battle in Seattle ***
Transsiberian ***
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist ***
Tony Manero ***
Seven Pounds ***
Yes Man ***
The Incredible Hulk ***
Speed Racer ***
The Foot Fist Way ***
Mister Lonely ***
Ben X ***
Traitor ***
Afterschool ***
The Bank Job ***
Role Models ***
Timecrimes ***

THE GOOD BUT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BETTERS (21) - I wanted to like these movies more than I actually did. They're all enjoyable but they fall short of greatness. But just because they're listed here doesn't mean I liked 'The Good' films more, I just thought that the potential to be better existed and thus, they fell short of certain expectations.

Gomorrah ***
Milk ***
Revolutionary Road ***
Frozen River ***
The Reader ***
Hunger ***
Iron Man ***
Wall-E ***
Funny Games ***
Happy-Go-Lucky ** 1/2
Red **1/2
The Strangers **1/2
While She Was Out ** 1/2
Get Smart **1/2
Redbelt **1/2
Snow Angels **1/2
Body of Lies **1/2
21 **1/2
Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay **1/2
Charlie Bartlett **1/2
Paranoid Park **1/2

THE GUILTY PLEASURES (19) - People will rag on these movies but if you feel like actually giving them a chance, you should "definitely, maybe" catch up with them on DVD.

The Ruins ***
Lakeview Terrace ***
Rambo ***
Teeth ***
Trick 'r Treat **1/2
The Midnight Meat Train **1/2
Hellboy II: The Golden Army **1/2
Definitely, Maybe **1/2
Untraceable **1/2
Street Kings **1/2
Strange Wilderness **1/2
Frontier(s) **1/2
The Rocker **1/2
The Promotion **1/2
What Happens in Vegas **1/2
Drillbit Taylor **
College **
Pathology **
Mirrors **

THE UNDERWHELMING DISAPPOINTMENTS (33) - Whatever my expectations were, these movies failed to meet them for whatever reason. They all have their moments but ultimately, they're half-baked, at best.

Valkyrie **1/2
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian **1/2
Cassandra's Dream ** 1/2
Hamlet 2 **1/2
Defiance **1/2
Adam Resurrected **1/2
Quantum of Solace **
Blindness **
Burn After Reading **
Choke **
Miracle at St. Anna **
Changeling **
Pride and Glory **
Hancock **
RocknRolla **
Eagle Eye **
Four Christmases **
The Love Guru **
Super High Me **
You Don't Mess With the Zohan **
Jumper **
Vantage Point **
The Grand **
Quarantine **
Appaloosa **
Bedtime Stories **
Semi-Pro *1/2
Stop-Loss *1/2
Smart People *1/2
Be Kind Rewind *1/2
Leatherheads *1/2
Baby Mama *1/2
The Air I Breathe *1/2
Synecdoche, New York *1/2

THE ACTIVELY BAD (12) - I rolled my eyes multiple times and laughed unintentionally at all of these movies, which you should avoid at all costs. Consider yourselves warned.

Righteous Kill *1/2
Homo Erectus * 1/2
The Signal *
The Happening *
The Day the Earth Stood Still *
Anamorph *
Max Payne *
Surfer, Dude *
Saw V *
Shutter *
The Eye 1/2*
Prom Night 1/2*

COMING SOON: Che, The Visitor, Everlasting Moments, Sukiyaki Western Django, Shotgun Stories, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Son of Rambow, Revanche, The House Bunny

HOLY MOLY, BATMAN! IT'S LAST CHANCE HARVEY!

2009-01-22T05:52:00.000-08:00

Lesson of the Day: Don't bet against Harvey Weinstein. The Reader pulls off a SHOCKING upset over The Dark Knight, which gets the Best Picture shaft, not to mention nothing for Christopher Nolan in the writing or directing categories due to the curious inclusion of Reader director Stephen Daldry and writer David Hare. Happy-Go-Lucky's Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan get snubbed yet writer-director Mike Leigh gets some love with an Original Screenplay nod. Should known the Academy would keep Waltz With Bashir in the Foreign Language category (where it is sure to win) so they Pixar could lock up another Animated Feature Oscar with Wall-E. Had a feeling Japan's Departures would sneak in. No love for Rachel Getting Married outside of Hathaway's nom. Brangelina BOTH get nommed (questionable, especially Jolie) while neither Leo or Kate get noms for Revolutionary Road, whose sole rep in the acting categories is Michael Shannon. That's because Winslet got nommed for The Reader, where she's been hiding in the supporting category all season. The move allows Taraji P. Henson to score a Supporting Actress nom for Ben Button. Robert Downey Jr. capitalizes on all his good buzz over the last couple years with a Supporting Actor nom for Tropic Thunder. Melissa Leo beats out Cate Blanchett and Kristin Scott Thomas for the last Best Actress slot. Richard Jenkins edges Clint Eastwood in the Best Actor category. Stephen Daldry sneaks in the Best Director lineup over Darren Aronofsky, while Martin McDonagh slips past Robert Siegel in the Original Screenplay category. Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel fails to cash in on his film's front-runner status. I was WAY OFF on the Score and Documentary categories. I should've known they'd go for Werner Herzog again. I NAILED the Editing lineup. Wanted pulled off a couple upsets in the Sound Mixing and Editing categories. Frankly stunned that Woody Allen wasn't recognized for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, or Tom McCarthy for The Visitor, in favor of newcomer Courtney Hunt, who wrote and directed Frozen River. Time to go to work... be back later with more meaningless analysis.

FINAL 2009 OSCAR NOMINATION PREDICTIONS

2009-01-22T05:08:00.000-08:00

Most of you who read this blog know me personally, so you know that I'm the worst procrastinator in the history of the Internet. Thus, it's fitting that I'm making these final predictions at 5 a.m., a mere half-hour before the Oscar nominations are announced. Yet even I, a dedicated prognosticator, have no idea what to make of this year's contenders except for that in the end, as William Goldman once said of Hollywood, "Nobody Knows Anything." With that in mind, here's The InSneider's take on the 2009 Academy Award nominations. I'll be back soon with my "If I Had a Ballot" post. Please note: I will not be making predictions for the Live Action or Animated Short Film categories.

BEST PICTURE

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. Frost/Nixon
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4, The Dark Knight
5. Milk

ALT: The Wrestler

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
2. David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
4. Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
5. Gus Van Sant, Milk

ALT: Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon

BEST ACTOR

1. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
2. Sean Penn, Milk
3. Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
4. Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
5. Richard Jenkins, The Visitor

ALT: Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ACTRESS

1. Meryl Streep, Doubt
2. Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
3. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
4. Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
5. Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long

ALT: Melissa Leo, Frozen River

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
3. Josh Brolin, Milk
4. Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
5. Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky

ALT: James Franco, Milk

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. Viola Davis, Doubt
3. Kate Winslet, The Reader
4. Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
5. Amy Adams, Doubt

ALT: Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Dustin Lance Black, Milk
2. Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
3. Robert Siegel, The Wrestler
4. Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Wall-E
5. Thomas McCarthy, The Visitor

ALT: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
2. Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
4. John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
5. Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

ALT: David Hare, The Reader

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. Waltz With Bashir, Israel
2. The Class, France
3. Everlasting Moments, Sweden
4. The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
5. Revanche, Austria

ALT: Three Monkeys, Turkey

BEST ANIMATED FILM

1. Wall-E
2. Waltz With Bashir
3. Kung Fu Panda

ALT: Bolt

BEST DOCUMENTARY

1. Man on Wire
2. Trouble the Water
3. Pray the Devil Back to Hell
4. I.O.U.S.A.
5. At the Death House Door

ALT: Standard Operating Procedure

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
3. Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight
4. Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler
5. Roger Deakins, Revolutionary Road

ALT: Catherine Martin, Australia

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. The Dark Knight
3. Iron Man

ALT: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST MAKEUP

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. The Dark Knight
3. Tropic Thunder

ALT: Synecdoche, New York

BEST EDITING

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Milk
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. The Dark Knight
5. Frost/Nixon

ALT: Revolutionary Road

BEST ART DIRECTION

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. The Dark Knight
4. Changeling
5. Milk

ALT: Frost/Nixon

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Deborah Hopper, Changeling
3. Michael O’Connor, The Duchess
4. Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road
5. Catherine Martin, Australia

ALT: Eiko Ishioka, The Fall

BEST SCORE

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. The Dark Knight
4. Revolutionary Road
5. The Reader

ALT: Gran Torino

BEST SONG

1. The Wrestler
2. Wall-E
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. Bolt
5. High School Musical 3

ALT: Gran Torino

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. The Dark Knight
3. Iron Man
4. Wall-E
5. Slumdog Millionaire

ALT: Defiance

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. The Dark Knight
3. Iron Man
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. Wall-E

ALT: Defiance

The 2008 Most Overlooked and Underappreciated Lists

2009-01-21T00:32:00.000-08:00

It seems like the mainstream media is a broken record come Oscar season, talking about the same actors over and over again. It's because we all get caught up in the "serious contenders" who studios are spending money on campaigns for, as opposed to who we feel did genuinely deserving work. With this in mind, I compiled the following lists hoping to illuminate the best performances that were either overlooked or severely underappreciated this year. By this I mean performances that few were writing/talking about. So you won't find The Wrestler's Mickey Rourke or Wendy and Lucy's Michelle Williams on these lists because people noticed their exceptional work. And to be clear, some folks listed below did get a glimpse of the awards spotlight this season. I'm not saying that no one else appreciated Milk's Emile Hirsch or What Doesn't Kill You's Mark Ruffalo because that obviously wasn't the case... just that not enough people were passionate about them one way or the other. The following lists reflect my personal taste and represent, in my humble opinion, some of the best work of the year.

The Top 25 Most Overlooked and Underappreciated Supporting Performances

1. Ben Kingsley, The Wackness
2. Bill Irwin, Rachel Getting Married
3. Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
4. David Harbour, Revolutionary Road
5. Emile Hirsch, Milk
6. Peter Macdissi, Towelhead
7. Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight
8. Ethan Hawke, What Doesn’t Kill You
9. Charlie McDermott, Frozen River
10. Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City
11. Jane Lynch, Role Models
12. Adam Scott, Step Brothers
13. Evan Rachel Wood, The Wrestler
14. Jason Butler Harner, Changeling
15. Emily Mortimer, Transsiberian
16. Martin Henderson, Battle in Seattle
17. Ari Graynor, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
18. Mark Strong, Body of Lies
19. Alan Alda, Nothing But the Truth
20. Noel Fisher, Red
21. Noah Emmerich, Pride and Glory
22. Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man
23. Chris Parnell, The Grand
24. Thomas Haden Church, Smart People
25. (tie) Toby Kebbell, RocknRolla and Catinca Untaru, The Fall

The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Movie Duos

1. Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt, Frost/Nixon
2. David Kross and Ralph Fiennes, The Reader
3. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, Step Brothers
4. Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson, Let the Right One In
5. Edward Norton and Tim Roth, The Incredible Hulk

The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Dramatic Performances

1. Mark Ruffalo, What Doesn’t Kill You
2. Francois Cluzet, Tell No One
3. Naomi Watts, Funny Games
4. Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. (tie) Brian Cox, Red and Andre Ramiro, Elite Squad

The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Comedic Performances

1. Adam Carolla, The Hammer
2. Danny McBride, The Foot Fist Way
3. Steve Coogan, Hamlet 2
4. Kat Dennings, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
5. Jack Black, Kung Fu Panda

The Top 5 Most Underappreciated Ensembles

1. The cast of Slumdog Millionaire
2. The cast of Young@Heart
3. The cast of Baghead
4. The cast of Zack and Miri Make a Porno
5. The cast of Forgetting Sarah Marshall

BONUS LIST: The Top 3 Most Interesting/Compelling/Fascinating Documentary Subjects

1. Phillipe Petit, Man on Wire
2. (tie) The Bagby Family, Dear Zachary and The Bell Family, Bigger, Stronger, Faster: The Side Effects of Being American
3. Hannah Bailey, American Teen

2009 OSCAR PREDICTIONS AS OF DECEMBER

2008-12-20T20:04:00.000-08:00

Everybody else is doing it so why the hell not?

Going into the season, when I hadn't seen anything, I personally thought that despite all the Ben Button hype, Sam Mendes would prove he's truly The King of the World and Revolutionary Road would win Best Picture in the end.

Of course, I had no idea what Revolutionary Road was about because I hadn't read the book yet and the truth is, it's a small miracle this movie even got made. It's very good, don't get me wrong, but it softens the characters and their attitudes towards each other, losing a penetrating brutality that doesn't scar so much as bruise.

Kate and Leo were both excellent but the truth of the matter is that I was a little underwhelmed by Revolutionary Road. The end in particular did not sit very well with me. There were a couple missed opportunities in my mind.

Is it one of the top 25 films of the year? Absolutely. But do I think it's one of the top 5? No. To be fair, I think one would appreciate the film more if they've ever been married. But ultimately, while I thought DiCaprio was actually better, or at least more consistent than Winslet (although that may just be the characters), I don't think it was a character/performance he'll be remembered for. Winslet may be more memorable if only because you're not likely to forget one of the scenes toward the end of the film (a gorgeous sweeping shot across a living room). But you can't argue that it's not a career best performance from either DiCaprio or Winslet, and I'm just not hearing the passion out there for Leo this year, at least certainly not as loud as The Aviator or The Departed.

There are plenty of other questions to be sure. Will voters embrace Clint Eastwood like they have in the past? Will voters feel Frank Langella's Tony Award is enough? And will they snub the yin to Nixon's yang, Michael Sheen's David Frost. Will Sheen accept supporting status, despite the fact that both roles are clearly both leads. Of course, that line is getting blurrier each year. Heath Ledger, lead or supporting? Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder, lead or supporting? Could The Reader's Kate Winslet be nominated in the supporting actress category since she's a lock for a lead nom for Revolutionary Road? Will the dual nomination help or hurt her Oscar chances? Could Milk earn dual supporting actor nominations for its impressive trio of Josh Brolin, James Franco and Emile Hirsch?

I 'doubt' Miramax will push Philip Seymour Hoffman for lead even though he most definitely is a co-lead with Streep. The acting in the scene where they're without a third party in Sister Aloysius' office is the stuff movies are made of. Hoffman's performance walks an incredibly fine line and I feel it registers as one of the best of the year and his career. There's such focus and restraint in every scene. He's so careful to 'control the look on his face' as Sister Aloysius puts it. The way his eyes dart back and forth as Streep applies pressure. It's like watching two boxers in the ring, throwing acting punches at each other. And believe it or not, Amy Adams holds her own with them. Of course everyone will be talking about Viola Davis and deservedly so. She's fantastic. Lock her up on the chart cuz she ain't goin' nowhere!

I'm still waiting to see Australia, Valkyrie and I'm holding off on Button to hopefully save the best for last. I don't want to watch it during some week filled with screenings. I don't want Button to be an awards season casualty, a statistic, another notch on my moviegoing belt. I want it to be special and so it shall, on Christmas Day, so long as it's not sold out.

Meanwhile, I still have no idea what to make of The Dark Knight. Is it Best Picture material? Does that even matter? Who knows? Nobody. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button remains a giant Question Mark for me right now. Without further adieu...

BEST PICTURE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

BEST DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant - Milk

BEST ACTOR

Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn – Milk
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Woody Allen - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Jenny Lumet - Rachel Getting Married
Robert Siegel - The Wrestler
Andrew Stanton - Wall-E

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare - The Reader
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley – Doubt

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Encounters at the End of the World
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
Man on Wire
Standard Operating Procedure
Trouble the Water

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Bolt
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Death threats? Let's hear 'em below.

2008 GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATION PREDICTIONS

2008-12-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

Here goes nothing...

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA (a surprise sixth could be The Reader)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
Mamma Mia!
Tropic Thunder
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR - COMEDY
Jim Carrey, Yes Man
Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
James Franco, Pineapple Express
Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Keira Knightley, The Duchess
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City
Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married
Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant, Milk

BEST SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, Wall-E

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E
Waltz with Bashir

Spot the Differences?

2008-07-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Could these posters be any more similar? I know it's only a teaser poster but is the best Fox Searchlight could do a week after HBO debuted its True Blood poster online? What ever happened to originality? How could they waste the opportunity to stick two babes like Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried on the poster? And when you have a movie called Jennifer's Body, wouldn't you wanna, I dunno, show off her body on the poster?? By the way, I've read Jennifer's Body and considering it was written by Oscar-winning (cough, bullshit, cough) scribe Diablo Cody, I was none too impressed. My expectations are considerably low but what do I know? I passed on Juno.

REVIEW: GENERATION KILL

2008-07-18T02:38:00.001-07:00

If you're on the fence about watching HBO's new wartime miniseries Generation Kill, let me suggest that you give it a chance. In fact, I strongly recommend watching. I've seen all 7 of the episodes and the series definitely gets better as it goes along. The first episode is actually the hardest to get through, so if you've already sampled the first chapter, you might as well stick with it. It's true that it's nearly impossibly to distinguish the characters. I've spent more than 7 hours with the soldiers of Generation Kill and I only know a handful of the characters' names. But there is something captivating about the series. The finale is, in my opinion, the best episode, and the very last scene is a chilling montage set to a classic Johnny Cash song. I have more to say about the finale but I'll update this post later with what I took away from it. Stay frosty!

REVIEW: THE DARK KNIGHT - ***1/2

2008-07-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Spoilers lie ahead. Tread carefully.

My ex-roommate rarely used his Hollywood connections to bring me anywhere cool but two weeks ago he passed along the opportunity of a lifetime… a chance to see The Dark Knight early, in glorious IMAX, with a post-screening Q+A with producers Charles Roven and Emma Thomas and co-writer/director Christopher Nolan. In short, it pretty much lived up to the hype.

Forget Tony Stark. Forget Speed Racer. Forget Prince Caspian. Forget Indiana Jones (oh wait, you already did…). Forget Carrie Bradshaw and Po the Panda and Bruce Banner and Maxwell Smart. Hell, forget about Wall-E! Because this summer belongs to one man, one myth, one legend: The Joker. Excuse me, The Joker as imagined and brought to life by the late Heath Ledger, whose remarkable performance is worthy of all the Oscar buzz and in the process, somehow makes his tragic death that much more sad. It’s true that by the end of the movie, Ledger’s Joker has become one of cinema’s most iconic bogeymen, up there with Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs and Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men.

Ledger’s performance is scary-good on its own merit but his overdose makes it all the more haunting. I hate to go off point here so early but you really can’t discuss this film without talking about Heath’s death. A lot of really famous, influential artists and performers have died recently including but not limited to Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Stan Winston and George Carlin. It’s always terrible news to hear and my condolences go out to all of their families, friends and fans, but I’m in my 20’s and those guys all meant something truly special to the generations before me. I was a fan of all of their work but it didn’t really affect me on that personal level. Heath’s death was something different.

I’d actually met Heath once while working for the NYU paper. It was a press junket for Brokeback Mountain. He was a really nice guy. He went around and shook everyone’s hand at the table and looked them in the eye and asked them their names. And whether or not he was just acting nice to be polite to us pen-pushers (after all, he was a pretty great actor), it seemed like he genuinely listened and cared. You know how sometimes when you meet people you know you’re never going to see again and you exchange names but it goes in one ear and out the other. Well Heath wasn’t like that. Imagine that, a movie star who actually cares. Anyways, he spoke about how much Brokeback Mountain meant to him and I think we all understood what a risky role it was to take. The career ramifications it could have for a leading man in Hollywood. Personally I thought it was a beautiful film and the only ramification I saw was an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Anyways, it was probably a 20-minute interview and I remember only getting one or two questions in because there were a lot of veteran sharks around the table, but it was an incredible experience because I knew from the tears on my shirt at the end of Brokeback that I’d just witnessed an incredible performance that in my mind, deserved an Oscar. (Plus, Toby Jones’ Capote was better than Philip Seymour Hoffman’s!)

This was a guy with an incredible future ahead of him, not just career-wise, but with his fiancé Michelle Williams and their daughter Matilda. I actually cried when I heard he died. I was speechless. It just didn’t make any sense. It still doesn’t. I’m just glad I got to meet him. And I’m glad he gave us The Joker to remember him by. Why so serious? Because seriously, Ledger gives an unforgettable performance that’s chiefly responsible for making The Dark Knight the best Batman film ever.

The Dark Knight starts off with the prologue we’ve all already seen by now, a stunning bank heist starring The Joker as one of his own henchmen. Now I’m not very political but I believe it was Barack Obama who recently said that being a good American is about having faith in your fellow man. Well The Joker doesn’t have faith in his fellow man. He sees the worst in everybody, including the lazy, greedy colleagues in crime whose only concern is money. The Joker is about the principle of crime. He gets pleasure from senseless debauchery. The Joker is The Man With the Plan to be sure, but for someone who wants to harness the seething rage of Gotham’s criminal element and concentrate it on something larger itself (anarchy), he sure does pride himself on having no plan at all. He just… does. And that’s the theme of The Dark Knight. What would you do if the world ran amok? Would you give in to the chaos and join it or would you fight back in the name of justice, even if it meant your life?

The actual plot of the film is a little dense so I’m not going to say much about it, but suffice to say, The Dark Knight deals with the grey area in the spectrum of justice, where black and white and the phrase “by the book” just doesn’t cut it. It’s about how a city needs its heroes, and more important, how it needs the right ones wearing the right colors. Batman is ‘The Dark Knight,’ but Gotham’s White Knight is District Attorney Harvey Dent as played by Aaron Eckhart in a nearly-as-incredible performance that will almost surely be overshadowed by Ledger’s, unfairly or not. He puts Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face to shame and let me tell you something gang, Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones ain’t too shabby an actor. To be honest, The Dark Knight is really about Harvey Dent and his fall from grace. It’s his story arc, his revenge story, his romance that we’re ultimately involved in. Batman and The Joker just provide the appropriate pushes to move his narrative along.

Now as for the title character, Christian Bale just may be the best Bruce Wayne ever, imbuing the man behind the mask with both a cocky swagger and a quiet vulnerability. Then again, Bruce’s mood swings are all part of Batman’s charm. It’s clear more he’s more comfortable as the playboy billionaire, and of all the actors to play the character on the bigscreen, he looks like he’s having the most fun without the cape. But while he’s certainly better than Val Kilmer and George Clooney, I still think Michael Keaton rocked the suit the hardest. For starters, Bale’s voice as Batman is kind of ridiculous. I don’t know how people can deny this fact. Bale is one of the greatest actors of his generation but he snarls every line in this growling baritone like he’s Bruce’s cousin, John Wayne or something. Bale is still solid in the role but even as the straight man it seems like he’s settling for triples instead of swinging for the fences.

Maybe it’s the costume that hides his expression but there’s always been something kind of cold about Bale’s Batman. I think Tobey Maguire’s done a much better job in the Spider-Man series except for that ill-advised Saturday Night Fever moment in the last one. Maybe it’s because this Batman hasn’t had a great romantic interest since Katie Holmes was the weak link of Begins and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Rachel is more into blondes than brunettes. Either way, Ledger and Eckhart clearly overshadow Bale, although I acknowledge they get much juicier material to chew on while Bale makes good with the scraps he’s given, selling the occasional one-liner but for the most part, unable to escape being background noise in his own movie.

I guess it’s tough when you’re acting opposite Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Jesus, those are some of the best character actors alive. What a cast! Freeman does the same old song and dance more or less but Caine has some choice moments to work with and Oldman is fantastic as Gordon despite being saddled with a quasi-lame plot twist. His performance goes a long way toward selling the finale, which by the way, is better than the lackluster climax of Batman Begins but still leaves something to be desired. But more on the ending in a moment.

As for the rest of the cast, Katie Holmes would probably look better in IMAX but there’s no doubt that Maggie Gyllenhaal is an improvement in the thankless role of ADA Rachel Dawes. She’s much more womanly where as Katie always felt too young for Bale and lacked that combination of mature intelligence and elegant beauty needed to play Rachel. And while he’s not quite as good as Tom Wilkinson (who seems bound to add a Sir to his name soon), the habitually underrated Eric Roberts is also strong as Mob boss Salvatore Maroni. Elsewhere, Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow makes a brief, meaningless cameo that could’ve been worked in better. Lost’s Nestor Carbonell looks like he’s wearing eyeliner. Anthony Michael Hall is wasted. Colin McFarlane’s Commissioner Loeb has a nice if all-too-predictable scene opposite Oldman. Tiny Lister makes the most of his bit part as a criminal who’s tasked with a significant decision and William Fichtner is great as a bank manager.

The film also stars Joshua Harto as a conniving Wayne Enterprises staffer who learns Batman’s identity and attempts to blackmail him on the news; Chin Han as a potential business partner of Wayne’s who is really an accountant helping the Mob hide its money while fortifying his empire in China; David Dastmalchian as one of Joker’s crazy-eyed henchmen; Andy Luther as a good cop who gets a bad idea, and a couple of crooked cops to keep things interesting as we try to deduce who is on Maroni’s payroll.

Now back to that pesky ending. It’s not entirely satisfying, it feels a little rushed and as a result, it’s just a tad disappointing considering the rest of the film. The Joker is literally left hanging and the Two-Face’s arc lacks a meaningful payoff. We don’t care about his tragic fall like we should. It also complicates potential directions for the inevitable sequel to go, and while Nolan may not have compromised his artistic integrity for the sake of a sequel-tease, we’re left with questions that a sequel can’t possibly answer. I suppose the ending is true to Nolan’s original artistic intention but I feel like the villains’ fates should’ve been reversed since I can’t imagine them recasting The Joker and it would seem silly to address his fate after the fact. The ending also raises questions as to what will become of Gordon’s son, played by Nathan Gamble. While the will-he-or-won’t-he climax raises genuine suspense and creates real dramatic tension, I found myself wishing Nolan had really gone for it and killed the boy. Rachel’s death is a great twist you don’t see coming but I feel like if you’re gonna kill off the love interest that early anyway, you might as take the brutality to the max. There’s another instance where you feel the restrictions of the PG-13 rating and the studio’s insistence that the film be friendly for summer tentpole-sized audiences of all ages despite Nolan’s natural inclination towards darkness. It’s when The Joker slashes Gamble and the camera cuts away. And it’s not that we need the gore to know how vicious and fearless The Joker is, but it feels a little too Charmin’ soft. I’ve also read multiple reviews comparing The Dark Knight to Heat but the end doesn’t resonate nearly as much and it certainly had the chance to since like Hanna and McCauley, Batman and The Joker need each other. Bruce Wayne needs to see that Bat signal in the sky. He needs to feel wanted. It’s hard having a purpose when you’re already a billionaire. What’s his goal as a businessman, to accumulate more unnecessary wealth? It’s only necessary to continue funding Batman’s technology. And The Joker needs Batman because like all rebels, he’s really just looking for someone strong enough to challenge his authority. . But ultimately The Joker serves as a mirror, showing Batman and Dent who they really are and what really lurks inside their broken hearts.

Other random thoughts on the film. We’ll start with the not-so-good. The whole story feels a little padded and too dense and there are times when the screenplay becomes a little too bogged down in superfluous cop talk that adds very little to the actual story. There’s also a sonar gimmick that looks kinda cool but seems more Bond than Batman to me, and there were times I found the whole idea kind of annoying, although there’s a great visual payoff in the Batlair where Lucius Fox pulls the plug on a wall of surveillance monitors. The action sequences are all gripping stuff, although there are some moments that get lost in the shuffle, whether it be the frenetic editing or the choreography itself, most noticeably in the nightclub scene where Batman is just tossing bodies left and right but you can hardly see anything in the club.. Besides the Heat-esque opening, there’s a spectacularly staged car chase with a great moment where a SWAT vehicle gets run off the highway into the water. Cross-dressing Joker R.N. is absolutely terrifying (as are the shaky-cam video clips on the news) and the hospital scene as a whole is really well done, especially the reveal of Two-Face. The Joker’s interrogation scenes are all awesome. The Hong Kong sequence is dizzying and amazing, even better than Mission: Impossible III’s eye-opening aerial sequence thanks to a truly great escape that had our audience applauding.. To truly appreciate the epic scope of this 2 and a half-hour film, you simply must see it in IMAX. I don’t care how many shows are sold-out, just wait at the theater until your first viewing is presented in the majesty of IMAX. The brooding cinematography by Wally Pfister is gorgeous and the rousing score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer perfectly captures the mood of the film, especially toward the end.

With The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan has weaved an epic crime saga and raised the bar for superhero movies, Hats off to everyone involved in this thrilling achievement including David S. Goyer and Jonah Nolan who, forgiving my minor criticisms above, co-wrote the for-the-most-part excellent story and screenplay, respectively, but especially Heath Ledger, who will be sorely, sorely missed by many, but particularly by this film lover. R.I.P.

Mid-Show Theories

2008-02-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

Yikes, I am doing horrible with my predictions but a couple things come to mind. Namely, Ethan and Joel Coen's acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay was extremely short. Perhaps the brothers know for a fact that they'll be back onstage later in the night? I mean, after all, the Academy went out of their way to produce that little ditty about how secrets the results are, as if we didn't already think that. Also, does No Country losing in both sound categories signal a kink in its armor. Now that the Coens and Bardem have gotten their just desserts, is it possible we won't be hearing from the No Country boys the rest of the night? Can't believe Marion Cotillard just won. Good for her. She's beautiful. Poor Linney though. Hopefully one of these days...

Final OSCAR Predictions

2008-02-21T20:33:00.000-08:00

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

SHOULD WIN: There Will Be Blood
WILL WIN: No Country for... WAIT A SECOND! Do I really want to be the umpteenth person to predict the boring 'Old' front-runner? Hell, no! The InSneider doesn't play it safe and since it seems like all you have to do to get linked to on the overwhelming glut of Oscar blogs is go against the tide, I'm going with.... ATONEMENT. That's right people. The original front-runner is bound to rear its ugly head in at least one category on Oscar night so why not the top prize? Think about it. The Academy is heavily male but I can't ignore the ladies, as much as they might ignore me. Now some folks think that the female vote is exactl what could propel Juno to the podium at the end of the night but that theory gives me pregnant pause. The backlash exists, people! And the Academy is not comprised of teenage girls, but strong, intelligent women who might favor the period romance. I mean, there has to be some reason that Atonement snuck into the field ahead of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Into the Wild and Sweeney Todd. The BAFTA's ( I know, I know) proved the support is there, and the male vote is bound to be split between NCfOM and TWBB. As big a hit as Juno has been at the box office, I can't see anyone, even the film's staunchest supporters, really checking off that box and naming Juno the Best Picture of the Year. It's just an inconceivable scenario to me. Could Clooney's Clayton cold-clock the Coens? Yes, but that movie doesn't really feel like a Best Picture either. So if there are only three possibly movies I can actually see winning the grand prize, and two of them will likely split the vote, then that leaves Atonement standing tall. Plus Oscar loves those one-word titles. Think: Gandhi, Amadeus, Platoon, Unforgiven, Braveheart, Titanic, Gladiator, Chicago, Crash.

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

SHOULD WIN: Schnabel
WILL WIN: The Coens. I predict this will be the only award of the night for the Coen brothers and as such, it will be considered their consolation prize for making a movie that was thisclose to being a masterpiece before it overreached with a heavy-handed, confusing and confounding ending. Reitman doesn't belong here and should be happy to be nominated. I see Gilroy and PTA being rewarded in other categories (as you'll see below) and Schnabel, well, he gets the shaft here. The Coens have to win something and this will be it.

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
4 Other Dudes from Movies not as good as There Will Be Blood

SHOULD WIN, WILL WIN, CAN'T LOSE: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
And Clooney's ride home, or to Dan Tana's, will be silent, just like the end of Michael Clayton, unless of course chatterbox Tony Gilroy is in the same limo.

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

SHOULD WIN: Linney
WILL WIN: Christie
People are getting sick of the little moppet named Ellen Page. Blanchett's movie wasn't any good. I doubt a foreign-language performance is capable of winning. And while Linney has an excellent body of work and the respect of the entire industry, Searchlight pretty much conceded this award early on by not making a big enough push for The Savages. That leaves Christie, the epitome of what an Oscar nominee should be. She didn't campaign for the award and she wasn't seemingly everywhere at once like Little Miss Juno. It's a last hurrah for her career and she'll go out on top.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
4 Other Dudes from Movies not as good as No Country for Old Men

SHOULD WIN, WILL WIN, CAN'T LOSE: Bardem, for creating an iconic cinematic villain. This is one category where you can't stop what's coming. Now watch all the live-bloggers out there scramble to write how Bardem's win at the beginning of the night signals a possible No Country sweep. I think this year has some surprises in store and it'll be quite the opposite. This could be the only award No Country takes. I might winding up sounding like an idiot a few days from now but someone has to take a risk, right?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

SHOULD WIN: Blanchett
WILL WIN: Blanchett
This is essentially a two-woman race between Blanchett and Swinton. Ronan is too young and Dee is too old, not to mention she was in the movie for 5 whole minutes and no one walked out of AG talking about her performance. Ryan was the popular pick a few months back but I think her campaign peaked at the wrong time while Swinton has really come on strong as of late. This could be where the Academy rewards Michael Clayton but Blanchett's performance is much more technically accomplished, I don't think it matters that she's already won this award before for The Aviator. I'm Not There was a bit of a mish-mash (though it exceeded my expectations) but I think the Weinsteins helped her with that 45-minute highlight reel they packaged with Variety, and in the end, she really is quite the cross-gender chameleon. Frankly, Swinton has been better before (see The Deep End for proof) and strong as she is in Clayton, she was overshadowed by Clooney, Wilkinson and yes, even Sydney Pollack.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

SHOULD WIN: Bird
WILL WIN: Gilroy
Everyone says El Diablo has this one in the bag but I wouldn't be so sure. The Juno script had heart but it also had a lot of annoying one-liners that felt more appropriate for a low-grade sitcom. Clayton, on the other hand, was a first-rate legal thriller that was deceptively smart, if not a tad dull. Sure it plays like a Grisham adaptation but people really admire how Gilroy's film harkens back to the conspiracy films of the 70's and they could choose to reward him in this category, since he's better known as a writer than a director. For the record though, I think Juno and Clayton are the worst two scripts out of this bunch, but we know Jenkins and Oliver really stand no shot, and Bird will get his in the animation category.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away From Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

SHOULD WIN: Harwood
WILL WIN: Anderson
My guess is as good as ours. Honestly, my head tells me that Anderson has the 3rd best chance of winning this one but I can't give it to the Coens, despite them taking WGA and Scripter honors. Big whoop! Their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel was fairly straight-forward and I still feel like audiences will be pissed they were denied any kind of satisfactory resolution. Harwood is a solid bet, seeing as he tackled the toughest assignment and came up with the idea of shooting from Jean-Do's point of view, plus he already overcame crazy odds a few years back when he surprised everyone with his win for The Pianist. That said, There Will Be Oscar for PTA, and if his film doesn't win Best Picture and the Coens steal Best Director, this is what he'll wind up with for making one of the best films this side of 2000. His adaptation of Upton Sinclair's Oil! was much more creative than the Coens and his abominable creation, Daniel Plainview, is one of the most despicable characters in the history of cinema, ensuring that he'll stay in our minds long after this year's ceremony.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins, The Assassination of Jesse James...
Seamus McGarvey, Atonement
Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Roger Deakins, No Country for Old Men
Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood

SHOULD WIN: Kaminski
WILL WIN: Kaminski
Another incredibly difficult category to call. It seems like Deakins' year but Kaminski's camerawork was integral to the storytelling. The guy's an old pro and if the Academy is looking for fresh 'blood' than I think Elswit stands the best shot. Deakins' work in Jesse James was superior to No Country as well, and his double nomination might wind up costing him the statue. McGarvey's eight-minute tracking shot of Dunkirk is widely admired but I thought it was completely pointless and I doubt I'm alone in that assessment. If the work speaks for itself, Kaminski should prepare his acceptance speech for his brilliant work on Diving Bell.

more coming...

The OFFICIAL Oscar Nomination Predictions

2008-01-21T02:36:00.000-08:00

Our Oscar nomination predictions for Variety's office pool were due on Friday so here's what I submitted. Keep in mind, this is what I think will be nominated on Tuesday, not what SHOULD be nominated. Every year prognosticators offer up their expert predictions and every year Oscar yields plenty of surprises, so I tried to account for that unpredictable thinking with my picks. There were no alternates allowed on the sheet but I decided to offer them up for fun anyways. I'm also offering up a No, Really? nominee in selected categories for nominees that for some reason or other I don't think should be nominated. Here goes nothing. Oh, and an asterisk (*) indicates what I think will eventually win come Oscar night.

Best Picture:
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood*

Alt: Michael Clayton
No, Really?: Juno (box office leader but there's a well-deserved backlash)

Best Director (same 5 as Best Picture)
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly*
Joe Wright, Atonement

Alt: David Fincher, Zodiac
No, Really?: Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton (first movie and it was a little slow)

Best Actor
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood*
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Denzel Washington, American Gangster

Alt: James McAvoy, Atonement
No, Really?: Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises (way better in A History of Violence)

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en rose*
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Ellen Page, Juno

Alt: Laura Linney, The Savages
No, Really?: Keira Knightley, Atonement (pretty face but a surface-level performance)

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James...
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men*
Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Alt: Max von Sydow, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No, Really?: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War (one great scene, not much else)

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There*
Jennifer Garner, Juno
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Alt: Ruby Dee, American Gangster
No, Really?: Catherine Keener, Into the Wild (c'mon, are you kidding me? brian dierker outshone her)

Best Adapted Screenplay (same 5 as Best Picture)
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly*
Sean Penn, Into the Wild

Alt: James Vanderbilt, Zodiac
No, Really?: Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Wilson's War (the very definition of an uneven movie)

Best Original Screenplay
Brad Bird, Ratatouille*
Diablo Cody, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl

Alt: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, The Darjeeling Limited
No, Really?: Steve Zaillian, American Gangster (classic example of a good but not great movie, and the script was painted in broad strokes)

Best Original Score (NOTE: The Academy has disqualified There Will Be Blood and Into the Wild so I have amended their inclusion. Such a shame...)
Dario Marianelli, Atonement*
Paul Cantelon, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
Alexandre Desplat, Lust, Caution
Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille

Alt: Marco Beltrami, 3:10 to Yuma
No, Really?: Howard Shore, Eastern Promises (forgettable)

Best Costume Design
Atonement*
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Hairspray
Lust, Caution
Sweeney Todd

Alt: La Vie en rose
No, Really?: Across the Universe (even the costumes couldn't distract me from the mess onscreen)

Best Editing
Atonement
Into the Wild
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men*
There Will Be Blood

Alt: The Assassination of Jesse James...
No, Really?: The Bourne Ultimatum (slow down there Chris, let my eyes process what the hell I'm seeing before you cut to another shot for .0001 seconds)

Tiebreakers (total nominations WITHOUT GOING OVER):

Sweeney Todd: 4
Atonement: 6
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: 4
Michael Clayton: 6

'Tis the Oscar Season to be Jolly

2007-12-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

The following are not Oscar predictions. They are merely an assessment of the Oscar season the way I see it shaping up in my own mind. I'm not saying I think In the Valley of Elah will be nominated for Best Picture, merely that I'd love for such a thing to happen. Obviously my mind will be changing as I see more films. That said, I've seen a lot, including every film on this chart. There are no wild guesses here. I don't need to poll any Academy members to know that Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard will be nominated, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to lock them into my chart at this point in time. Speaking of which, there seems to be this huge rush amongst Oscar prognosticators to be the first one to anoint someone or something Best This or Best That, to be the first champion in a film or performer's corner. Rather than make educated guesses months in advance, based on films I haven't even seen a single frame of, I'm starting this blog to tell you how the movies that I have seen measure up against each other. Anyways, please note that in some categories, a handful of honorable mentions are made beneath the Top 5 contenders, while my personal favorites are marked with an asterisk.

So who am I and why should you care about what I think? I'm MiraJeff. Who the hell are you? I'm just teasing, folks. The truth is, you shouldn't care what I think at all. What are you even doing reading this? The point is, as William Goldman so famously said, no one knows anything. Especially not at this stage in the game. This blog was started as an act of defiance, a bold, boredom-provoked answer to the hordes of 'expert' prognosticators who are as much in the dark as the rest of us until that magical evening known as Oscar Night. You won't see these predictions or picks or whatever you want to call them anywhere else, either because they suck or because others are afraid to make them. Regardless, these are the names and movies you should be paying attention to. 2007 is shaping up to be a great year for movies. There's a lot of depth this year. Some films are bound to get lost in the shuffle, others will peak at just the right time. The Oscar season is a rollercoaster ride for everyone and I look forward to taking that ride with each and every one of you. My readers. My people. Enjoy!

BEST PICTURE

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly*
Grace Is Gone
In the Valley of Elah
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac

(Honorable Mention: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Control, Into the Wild, No Country for Old Men, Once, Ratatouille, Reservation Road, Things We Lost in the Fire)

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson- There Will Be Blood
Ethan and Joel Coen- No Country for Old Men
David Fincher- Zodiac*
Sean Penn- Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

(HM: Susanne Bier, Things We Lost in the Fire; Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd; John Carney, Once; Anton Corbijn, Control; David Cronenberg, Eastern Promises; Andrew Dominik, The Assassination of Jesse James...; Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton; Paul Haggis, In the Valley of Elah; Sidney Lumet, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead; James C. Strouse, Grace is Gone; Joe Wright, Atonement)

BEST ACTOR

John Cusack- Grace Is Gone
Daniel Day-Lewis- There Will Be Blood*
Benicio Del Toro- Things We Lost in the Fire
Emile Hirsch- Into the Wild
Tommy Lee Jones- In the Valley of Elah

(HM: Mathieu Amalric, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; Christian Bale, Rescue Dawn; Don Cheadle, Reign Over Me; George Clooney, Michael Clayton; Russell Crowe, 3:10 to Yuma; Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd; Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and The Savages; James McAvoy, Atonement; Joaquin Phoenix, Reservation Road; John C. Reilly, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story; Sam Riley, Control; Seth Rogen, Knocked Up; Adam Sandler, Reign Over Me; Denzel Washington, American Gangster)

BEST ACTRESS

Helena Bonham Carter- Sweeney Todd
Jodie Foster- The Brave One
Angelina Jolie- A Mighty Heart
Laura Linney- The Savages*
Anamaria Marinca- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

(HM: Halle Berry, Things We Lost in the Fire; Marketa Irglova, Once; Ashley Judd, Bug; Nicole Kidman, Margot at the Wedding; Keira Knightley, Atonement; Ellen Page, Juno; Charlize Theron, In the Valley of Elah)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Casey Affleck- The Assassination of Jesse James...
Javier Bardem- No Country for Old Men*
Paul Dano- There Will Be Blood
Vlad Ivanov- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Max von Sydow- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

(HM: Ashraf Barhom, The Kingdom; Philip Bosco, The Savages; Adrien Brody, The Darjeeling Limited; Chris Cooper, Breach; Russell Crowe, American Gangster; Brian Dierker, Into the Wild; Robert Downey Jr., Zodiac; Albert Finney, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead; Ben Foster, 3:10 to Yuma; Ed Harris, Gone Baby Gone; Ethan Hawke, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead; Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War; Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild; Omar Metwally, Rendition; Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Superbad; Armin Mueller-Stahl, Eastern Promises; Igal Naor, Rendition; Alan Rickman, Sweeney Todd; Mark Ruffalo, Reservation Road; Ed Sanders, Sweeney Todd; Timothy Spall, Sweeney Todd; Denzel Whitaker, The Great Debaters; Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton; Steve Zahn, Rescue Dawn)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett- I'm Not There*
Jennifer Jason Leigh- Margot at the Wedding
Shelan O'Keefe- Grace is Gone
Amy Ryan- Gone Baby Gone
Susan Sarandon- In the Valley of Elah

(HM: Jennifer Connelly, Reservation Road; Ruby Dee, American Gangster; Kelly Macdonald, No Country For Old Men; Emily Mortimer, Lars and the Real Girl; Samantha Morton, Control; Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement; Saoirse Ronan, Atonement; Meryl Streep, Lions for Lambs; Marisa Tomei, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days- Cristian Mungiu
The Darjeeling Limited- W. Anderson, R. Coppola, J. Schwartzman
Grace Is Gone- James C. Strouse*
In the Valley of Elah by Paul Haggis
The Savages- Tamara Jenkins

(HM: Steve Zaillian, American Gangster; Kelly Masterson, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead; Quentin Tarantino, Death Proof; Diablo Cody, Juno; Judd Apatow, Knocked Up; Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl; Matthew Michael Carnahan, Lions for Lambs; Noah Baumbach, Margot at the Wedding; John Carney, Once; Brad Bird, Ratatouille; Mike Binder, Reign Over Me; Allan Loeb, Things We Lost in the Fire)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Ronald Harwood, based on the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby*
Into the Wild by Sean Penn, based on the book by John Krakauer
No Country for Old Men by Ethan and Joel Coen, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy
There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson, based on Oil! by Upton Sinclair
Zodiac by Jamie Vanderbilt, based on the books by Robert Graysmith

(HM: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford by Andrew Domink, based on the novel by Ron Hansen; Atonement by Christopher Hampton, based on the novel by Ian McEwan; Gone Baby Gone by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane; Reservation Road by Terry George and John Burnham Schwartz, based on the novel by Schwartz)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Beowulf
Ratatouille*
Surf's Up

Movies I Have a Date With: Lust, Caution

Still to See: Away From Her, The Band's Visit, Beaufort, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Enchanted, Evening, Hairspray, The Kite Runner, Lake of Fire, Love in the Time of Cholera, Man in the Chair, Music Within, The Namesake, No End in Sight, Persepolis, Shrek the Third, Starting Out in the Evening, Stephanie Daley, Talk to Me, This is England, La Vie en rose, Waitress, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Youth Without Youth

My Golden Globe Nomination Reaction

2007-12-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

So the HFPA decided to throw a couple of curveballs after all. If you look below, you'll see why I am not paid to prognosticate, the choicest example being that I completely forgot the Best Supporting Actress category. That's what happens when you blog into the wee hours of the morning. I slept for about 90 mins before waking up at 4:55 to head into the office, which lucky for me, is only a block away. A group of four brave souls huddled around a computer watching CNN.com's live feed of the announcement before the big categories were shown on TV. The first call was first-time nominee Nikki Blonsky at 6:10. Over the course of the day I had the pleasure of speaking to: John Travolta, Ryan Gosling, James Schamus, Aaaron Sorkin, Ellen Page, Diablo Cody, Russ Smith, Todd Black, Helena Bonham Carter, Jennifer Todd, Adam Shankman, Walter Parkes, Jim Brooks, Cristian Mungiu, Jonathan Sehring, Marc Forster, Marjane Satrapi, Tom Wilkinson, Christopher Hampton, Ronald Harwood, Michael Brook, Alberto Iglesias, Dario Marianelli, Jamie Cullum, Christina Applegate and the one and only Jeremy Piven. It was a pretty hectic day. I started to crash around 11:30 and by noon I was back home, sound asleep in bed.

Looking at the predictions, Into the Wild was dealt a crushing blow in its Oscar hopes, missing out on being one of 7 Best Picture, Drama nominees. Swap out that one for Eastern Promises and I would have been dead-on. The Best Actress, Drama category was the easiest to predict and I went 5-for-5 there, as well as in the Best Foreign Language Film category, where The Counterfeiters didn't make the cut while Persepolis did, although it was snubbed for Best Animated Feature Film, along with Beowulf, in favor of Bee Movie and The Simpsons Movie, the latter of which was completely deserving. Not sure why I didn't go with my gut last night.

In the Best Actor, Drama category, James McAvoy rode Atonement's momentum to snag a spot from Emile Hirsch. McAvoy is excellent in the film, but for some reason I thought the HFPA would take a cue from Paramount Vantage's ad campaign and vote with their hearts, but oh well. My Juliette Binoche prediction proved futile in the Best Actress, Comedy/Musical category, where the HFPA also chose to snub Laura Linney, who for my money gave one of the best female performances of the year in The Savages. However, the org did single out Philip Seymour Hoffman for his fine work in that film. The HFPA also somehow left The Savages out of the Best Picture, Comedy/Musical category, instead choosing to reward Across the Universe, which came as a bit of a surprise considering how divided critics were over the Julie Taymor art film.

In the Best Director category, the HFPA decided to recognize Ridley Scott for American Gangster over Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood, a truly inexplicable move if there ever was one. Sean Penn was also left off the list in both the Directing and Writing cateogories despite Into the Wild being his best film.

I can't really argue with the Globes' love for John C. Reilly in Walk Hard, as he truly carried that movie, though I am a bit surprised they ignored the gifted Steve Carell for Dan in Real Life, a movie that a lesser actor would have walked through in their sleep.

I'm totally Golden Globe'd out so I'm going back to bed before I check out a midnight IMAX screening of I Am Legend. I'll be praying in my dreams that it's not as bad as I've heard. As Ahnuld once said, I'll be back..

Golden Globe Nomination Predictions

2007-12-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

Before we begin, I'd just like to stress again that I am NOT a prognosticator. It seems a bit silly to me, guessing what other people are going to pick as the best of 2007. I just wouldn't want to stake my professional reputation on something that is completely out of my control. That said, since this is My First Blog and all, I've decided to take the opportunity to try my hand at predicting the Golden Globe nominees, most of whom I will have the incredible chance to talk to tomorrow, as I take nomination reactions for V. The HFPA is a rascally group. They're unpredictable, yet they never reinvent the wheel. I suspect they'll play it pretty safe this year, but I've decided to spice things up a bit and predict some underdogs, especially in the Best Actress, Comedy/Musical category, where I have the sinking feeling that Juliette Binoche will be overlooked despite being impossible to resist in the surprisingly charming Dan in Real Life. Without further adieu, my latenight idiocy, posted for all the world to see and make fun of. Then again, don't be surprised if I told you so. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get up soon...

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA
Atonement
Into the Wild
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
(alt: The Great Debaters, American Gangster)

BEST PICTURE, COMEDY/MUSICAL
Charlie Wilson’s War
Hairspray
Juno
The Savages
Sweeney Todd
(alt: Across the Universe, Enchanted)

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd
Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(alt: Denzel Washington, The Great Debaters; Joe Wright, Atonement)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Diablo Cody, Juno
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
(alt: Christopher Hampton, Atonement; Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Wilson’s War)

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
Mathieu Amalric, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
(alt: Denzel Washington, American Gangster OR The Great Debaters; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Jodie Foster, The Brave One
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley, Atonement
(alt: Halle Berry, Things We Lost in the Fire; Anamaria Marinca, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days)

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Steve Carell, Dan in Real Life
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Tom Hanks, Charlie Wilson’s War
Jack Nicholson, The Bucket List
(alt: Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages; John C. Reilly, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY (yes 6 of ‘em, like 2005’s Best Actor, Comedy/Musical)
Amy Adams, Enchanted
Juliette Binoche, Dan in Real Life
Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno
(alt: Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James…
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
Max von Sydow, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(alt: John Travolta, Hairspray; Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Beowulf
Persepolis
Ratatouille
(alt: The Simpsons Movie)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
The Kite Runner
Lust, Caution
Persepolis
(alt: The Counterfeiters)