An Open Letter to Landmark Cinemas

Dear Landmark,

First of all, let me say I really appreciate what you bring to Milwaukee. Without your two locations, we'd all be stuck waiting for the release of any independent or limited release movies worth a damn.

That being said, what the hell, Landmark? I distinctly remember seeing, in the lobby of your very own, nationally respected Oriental Theatre, a poster for Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a reportedly outstanding film that just earned four Oscar nominations.

Later, I noticed that the posters had a date of "February 1st" attached to them- it was a little longer than I wanted to wait for a film I was so excited about, but I understand you have locations all over the country, and you can't get every print to everybody at once.

But now, after all this, I see you're not getting said film this Friday, nor are you getting the highly regarded Persepolis on Friday at all. What gives?

I notice that Diving Bell is playing at both of your locations in Chicago- you couldn't send one of those prints up the Interstate? I know our market here is small, but don't make me promises you can't keep.

Will you have it soon? Can I trust you when you say you will? Will I finally get to the theatre, only to be shown Alvin and the Chipmunks instead?

Stop shattering my hopes, Landmark. I want to make this relationship work again.

- Duncan

(mini-open letter to Marcus Cinemas:

You guys didn't promise me anything, but do you really need a print of Diving Bell in both Green Bay and Appelton, WI, without providing one for the state's biggest city? Just saying.)

Links for Tuesday

A slow starting week for the blog here- apologies.

What's been happening? Well, Ethan and Joel Coen won the Director's Guild award, making NCFOM's Best Picture chances just that much higher. It also won the ensemble SAG award (and then apparently Josh Brolin forgot that Tommy Lee Jones was much more important than he was and hogged the mic), and honestly we should just stop wondering now.

Also winning SAGs- Daniel Day Lewis, Julie Christie, Javier Bardem, and Ruby Dee. One of these things is not like the others...

The song "Falling Slowly" from Once, as I anticipated, is now in danger of having it's Oscar nomination revoked because it may not have been written for the film (duh!). I'm not saying forget the rules, I'm just saying get it right the first time, Academy. My take- they should revoke it (because if it beat 'original' songs it would seem unfair), but replace it with...another song from Once! "If You Want Me" was the only other song on the shortlist, but since that list was apparently also a piece of crap they could also go with "Fallen From the Sky," "Once," or "The Hill." (Or this!).

Meet the Spartans rules the Box Office, because we as a people are mentally incompetent. I would have been fine with Rambo, I really would have.

New Line finally settled with Peter Jackson awhile ago, so he's going to exec produce a 'Hobbit' movie (and another, blatantly unecessary LoTR film. Let's not get carried into nineties-era Lucas terriority here, people). So who's going to direct said film that wouldn't be a big step down from Jackson? Maybe... Guillermo Del Toro?

Speaking of which, beyond sequels like LoTR and The Dark Knight, I try not to scan crazy far ahead into movie news, because who wants to wait forever when they're excited about something? But get this- there's a 2009 movie called Public Enemies, about FBI agent Melvin Purvis tracking down John Dillinger.

Sounds cool enough already. But there are also three details that make it completely awesome, and I will list them in order of their excitement factor:

1. Michael Mann is directing it (Heat, Collateral, The Insider, The Last of the Mohicans)
2. Who will play Dillinger? Johnny Depp, that's who.
3. Oh, and the FBI Agent? Christian fucking Bale! Christian Bale is so awesome these days that a couple of months ago I had a conversation with Dave that went something like this...

Dave: There's making a fourth Terminator movie...
Me: Ugh.
Dave: It's directed by McG...
Me: Ugh.
Dave: and Christian Bale might be in it.
Me: Sold.

Crash, will now be a tv series. Yeah, there's really no need for that. The Onion's headline says it all. I felt, immediately after seeing that film, that it was pretty good, but why is it a modern masterpiece all of a sudden? Now I hate it to the point of revulsion, like a pretty good pop song that I can't go to any public restroom without hearing twice. The only good thing that has ever resulted from Crash is this list at McSweeney's internet tendency.

The WGA has agreed to provide the Grammy's with lame banter and uneccessary introductory monologues. Where's the waiver for The Oscars, already? Does anyone give a Belgian weasel about the Grammy's anymore? No!

My problems with the Grammy's: First of all, there's about eight billion different, gratiuitous, and hard to distinguish on the best of days categories. Second, in the major categories, all that ever gets nominated is what's all over the radio and at the top of Billboard charts anyway- I'm not saying it's not good music, but come on- we all know that popularity is not the basis for artistic merit.

This would be like if The Oscars nominated Spiderman 3 and At World's End and Transformers for everything, simply because they sold the most tickets.

The Savages Review

Tamara Jenkins' small film The Savages, sounds like a terribly depressing affair on paper. A struggling playwright (Laura Linney) and a frumpy Bertol Brecht scholar (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), get the word that their father is suffering from dementia and needs to be taken care of, and they fly to Arizona to do so.

And there's plenty of depressing subtext as well- Hoffman's girlfriend is being deported back to Poland on an expired Visa, Linney is having a quiet, joyless affair with a married neighbor and temping to pay the bills while getting rejected for artistic fellowships.

But there's a warm side to this film, from its naturalistic cinematography and light humor, to the patient way that it lets its story unfold.

The last name of all three major characters is "Savage," and they're constantly at each others' throats- the father in particular (Phillip Bosco), is unlikeable and rough, and Jenkins never forces him to recant his ways or apologize for anything. In one scene, while his two children are at each others' throats arguing, he simply turns down his hearing aid and ignores them, lost in his own world at the end of his life.

These Savages are cleverly contrasted with a few pets that come in and out of the story, a dog and two cats, and the simplicity of connection is illuminated by them- we love animals unconditionally, and warmly, but our feelings about other human beings are complex and hurtful. In the end, we're all animals.

The Savages reminded me of a more humanistic Woody Allen film, because it shared a similar academic New York sensibility, but it never went too far making its characters unrealistically pithy or absurd. Sometimes the film relies a little too much on embarassment for humor (like when Linney tries to help her father to the bathroom on a plane and his pants falll down), which seems unecessary when life itself can be so funny in such a three-dimensional film.

I also got the feeling that it would have benefited from teling us more of the history involved with the three of them- we know that the mother left, and the father was not really up to the task, but we get only glimpses of the childhood that's left so many marks on the two siblings.

Overall, it's a great character study, and a winning film.

When to See It: Before it Leaves theaters.

Lefotver thoughts:

• This doesn't quite puch anything off the 2007 top 20, but it's definitely top 30 material.
• Has there ever been a movie where an affair with a married man is a good idea? The longer they strung that sub plot out, the more annoying it became.
• Some really surreal shots of Sun City, AZ in the opening of this film- I don't if they made it this way or it is this way, but it appeares like a suburban fantasia for the elderly full of golf-carts on the street, water aerobics, and happy-faced mailpeople riding old fashioned bikes.
• Glad to see Laura Linney get an Oscar nomination, but Hoffman was just as good.
• Linney's cat was named "Genghis."

The Netflix Diaries: Surf's Up

Last year, in predicting the Oscars for abc.com's official contest, I went with the favorite, Pixar's Cars, and got burned by the trendy, overly precious Happy Feet stealing the statue.

Let me tell you- Happy Feet is nothing special- it's just an environmentally minded novelty film with dancing penguins in it, and the multiple personalities of Robin Williams. We actually rented it from Blockbuster (children's fare is the one thing we usually miss in the theater, because we're... not children), and found it seriously overrated.

So when yet another Penguin themed CGI film came out this year, Surf's Up, I found it hard to muster up any motivation to see it- turns out I missed a pretty fun family film. And it's no surprise at all that it usurped The Simpson's Movie for the final, not a chance in hell, Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Surf's Up asks the viewer to pretty quickly accept the idea that penguins like to surf, and many of them live on a tropical looking beach and surf all the time, and once you do, it's a pretty straightforward sports movie. Shia LaBeouf voices a runt penguin that dreams of becoming a champion surfer, and eventually gains the help of Jeff Bridges' disgraced former surfing champion.

And for once, Surf's Up doesn't go too crazy with the "guess the unnecessary celebrity voice" game, despite James Woods in a minor role. Any major draws at least actually fit their part (Jon Heder voices a very stoner-sounding chicken), and it's rounded out by people with actual voice talent (like Brian Posehn and Diedrich Bader).

A well chosen soundtrack moves the film along, and the ultimate message of this sports film is to not get too competitive, which is a good one for some kids to learn.

But the real thing that sets Surf's Up apart is the faux-documentary style in which it was done- there are off-screen interviewer's, and boom mics visible. The pacing of verite scenes inter-cut with talking head interviews makes it like a long episode of The Office, except about surfing penguins. It's a clever gag that they never take too far, and make it fun for those of us older than ten.

It's got precious little hope for an Oscar come February 24th, but it worth seeing all the same.

2007's Bottom Five Film's- Duncan

This list was even harder to fill out than the top 20, because perhaps to justify to myself spending so much money on movies, I rarely walk out of the theater thinking something was just downright bad.

So these are the five most disappointing movies I saw in 2007- that's not to say they didn't have redeeming qualities, or good intentions, but it the end they just couldn't pull it off. I can see why some critics would harsh on Bee Movie or Beowulf, for example, but I can't imagine expecting more than I got in either case. So all five of these are "Bad Movies That Had the Potential to Be Good," to varying degrees.

5. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (my review)

Some movies are twenty minutes too long, some half an hour, and usually it's forgivable in the face of good acting, beautiful cinematography, and a compelling story. But an entire excess hour really saddled down AJJCRF until it just became too much.

I'm eventually buying this and editing my own version on Windows Movie Maker or something- is that possible- and then I'll have a masterpiece.


4. The Golden Compass (my review)

Oh, book to film adaptations. Will you ever work? The previous entry had too much of the book that inspired it, but The Golden Compass had too little of its source material. Plus they got caught in that interminable family film limbo and watered down most of the parts of the book that were actually, you know, interesting.

3. Lust, Caution (my review)

Boring. Unnecessarily sensational. Overly mannered. Too much Mah-Jong. I'm already bored writing about this again.

2. Sunshine (me ranking it dead last on the summer countdown)

So close! Much like I Am Legend, it completely falls apart in a third act finale that's implausible, hackneyed, and gross. I wasn't sure if it made it worse or better (or higher or lower on this list) because the first two acts were so well executed.

The difference of course- I wasn't too surprised when I Am Legend fell apart, because Francis Lawrence is not Danny Boyle.


1. Before the Devil Know's You're Dead (me calling it the most overrated film of the year)

At least Rotten Tomatoes for Sunshine was a tentative 60% among the "top critics" (i. e. the more legimate than this blog could ever be critics), trying to warn me that it falls apart eventually. Those same critics were agog to the tune of 92% for Sidney Lumet's miseryfest of botched robberies and angrily slammed phones.

It just seems ultimately pointless- Really, movie? Robbing your parents jewelry store is a bad idea? I had no idea that betraying your family in a desperate attempt to skip the country before being investigated for tax fraud would go wrong. Thanks for the life lesson.

Also it completely wasted one of the coolest titles of the year, which is the real tragedy. I was stoked when the words "May you be in Heaven half an hour..." appeared on the screen, and then the title came in to complete it, but it was all downhill from there.

Best Original Song Oscar- What Happened?

One of the traditionally most ridiculous categories to predict, beyond the short films, is the Best Original Song Oscar.

The big complaint this year is that three songs from Enchanted got nominated. Now, I understand that Alan Menken has history on his side: eight wins for Disney standards like "Under the Sea," "A Whole New World," and "Colors of The Wind" from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Pocahontas, respectively. So I actually went to YouTube and checked out the three songs. "So Close" is okay- kind of a cheese-ball ballad that really feels dated to me, but I could see why it's nominated, at least in a year with a Randy Newman Pixar song or something. But both "That's How You Know" and "Happy Working Song" are complete pieces of fluff- pale imitations of earlier Disney musical songs that are absolutely nothing special.

The August Rush song, "Raise It Up," is nice and soulfull- but honestly some of the after-school rap lyrics are honestly cringe inducing. Also, children singing is very hit or miss for me.

So here are my choices, from the original list of 59, for what I'd vote for.

"Do You Feel Me" - Diane Warren (perf. by Anthony Hamilton)
from American Gangster



Randomly sung during a nightclub scene in Ridley Scott's all-but overlooked crime drama, this song left an immediate impression- it could have been any random seventies cover, but Diane Warren (an Oscar song giant herself) captured the soul of the era, and Anthony Hamilton delivers it. No offense to Amy Adams' singing voice, but come on.

"My Hands Are Shaking" - Sondre Lerche
from Dan In Real Life



If I had known that Norwegian troubadour Sondre Lerche composed the score and wrote several songs for Dan in Real Life, I probably would have gotten off my ass and seen it. As it is, you shouldn't have to be a former Beatle to get an Oscar nomination for a pop song.

"Pop! Goes My Heart" - Andrew Wyatt (perf. by Wyatt and hugh Grant)
from Music and Lyrics



Good song? Yeah, it's cheesy and captures the era. But mostly, how awesome would it be to see this performed at the Oscars? (assuming there is an Oscars).

"Guaranteed" - Eddie Vedder
from Into the Wild



Usually I'm not the biggest Eddie Vedder fan, but this seems to fit the mood of the story perfectly. What's with the Academy not liking pop stars anyway? This getting the shaft, after winning the Golden Globe, is pretty strange on the heels of both Vedder's and Johnny Greenwood's late-breaking disqualifications for Best Score.

And finally, the only one of the academy's five I agree with:

"Falling Slowly"- Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
from Once



Curiously, this song seems like it shouldn't have been nominated, as per the Academy's bitchy rules (it was written well before the film, and even released on Hansard and Irglova's "The Swell Season"). But as long as the voters were ignorant enough of it to nominate it, there's no way it should lose.

I would be well more pissed than any other Oscar fiasco (including Crash over Brokeback Mountain, Titanic over L. A. Confidential, anything) if "Falling Slowly" doesn't win the statue.

2007's Bottom Five Film's- Dave

Best Movie That Was Bad, But Had The Potential To Be Good:

The Kingdom – All-star cast? Check. Decent writer? More or less a check. Good story? Surprisingly, yes. Good director? Check.

So what the hell happened?

Honestly, I do not know. My best guess is that I think the director, Peter Berg, chooses to showcase the action pieces more than the heart that lies with Carnahan’s script. Even though the action pieces are quite good, it almost becomes too much in a film that could have had as much soul as the best action movie of the year, The Bourne Ultimatum.

5. Spider-Man 3 – Three is a crowd. The latest (‘Cause there is more to come) installment in the web-crawler’s trilogy falls short of the previous two. While it may not be a horrible movie, it is certainly a disappointment.


4. Next – “Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interest of the government and medical establishment in his power, he lies low under an assumed name in Vegas, performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling "winnings." But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm.”

That is the plot synopsis from IMDB.com. The scary part is that this is not the most ridiculous thing in the movie. Julianne Moore plays a tough FBI agent, but the cream of the crop is Nicolas Cage’s hairpiece.

3. Shrek the Third – I kind of knew what to expect going into this movie, but it was still bad. The joy that was in the previous two is just not there anymore and they plan on making two more films. Ugh.

2. Rush Hour 3 – I did not see this film, yet the awfulness is so palpable I had to put it number two.

Actually, I put it here because this movie raises more questions than answers.
Consider the following:

• Why was there a six year gap between Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3? It is not like Chris Tucker wasn’t available.
• Did Rush Hour 2 leave that many questions unanswered?
• What does $50 million + $53.25 million + $7 million equal? You could say $110.25 million, and you would be correct. How about the paydays for Tucker, Chan, and Ratner? That would be correct too. How does this happen?
• Tucker’s character is from California, Chan’s is from China, yet the movie is set in France. What?
• You can clearly see the ridiculousness of this all

1. Lions for Lambs – I figured this would actually be a good movie, if not a great one. I looked and saw that Robert Redford was directing and producing the film, which has yielded such results as Ordinary People and A River Runs Through It. I saw Matthew Michael Carnahan, who is an up and coming writer and brother to Joe Carnahan of Narc fame. I saw Tom Cruise, who I admire and has previously worked with Joe Carnahan on Narc for great results. I saw Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, and rising stars Derek Luke and Michael Pena. I figured this was the first movie coming out of the United Artist stable under Tom Cruise’s guidance and he would not allow it to fail.

I was horribly wrong. This film fails on so many levels it almost mystifies me. Similar to this year’s All the King’s Men, I found myself wondering how all this talent just went to waste.

The only positive to this movie is that is clocks in at 88 minutes.

Academy Award Nomination Musings

Best Picture Nominees: No surprises here. I thought Sweeney Todd would have a chance, especially after the Golden Globes win, but Michael Clayton garnering a nomination is not shocking. No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood are the clear frontrunners right now. I do not think the comparisons between Juno and Little Miss Sunshine have ever really been deserved (Because I think Juno is a lot better), but at least Little Miss Sunshine had an outside chance to actually win the category.

Best Actor Nominees: Every major entertainment news outlet (Entertainment Weekly, Rotten Tomatoes, etc.) lauded Tommy Lee Jones, but figured him for dead. Jones getting a nomination is a bit of a surprise because of the underwhelming box office of In the Valley of Elah and the crowded field. However, I think this category is already closed because one of the nominees drinks your milkshake! He drinks it up! Excellent to see the Academy also give a nomination to Viggo Mortensen for his daring and dark performance. Here is a bold prediction for the 2010 Oscars – which will award the 2009 movies – Viggo Mortensen will actually win his Oscar then.

Best Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett? Really? In this category? I know that critics said her performance and the costume design were the only highlights of the film, but I did not figure her for a nomination. I thought Blanchett’s Golden Globe nomination was because of the dearth of fantastic female performances, but apparently, the Academy is sold on her. I figured that Angelina Jolie had a spot clinched because of the emotional impact and hype surrounding A Mighty Heart. Finally, congratulations to the almost always underrated and undervalued Laura Linney.

Best Supporting Actor Nominees: Easy to see these nominees coming.

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: No surprises here either, as all of these women have received multiple nominations from various sources.

Best Director Nominees: Two surprises in this category. I did not have Jason Reitman picked at all. I figured Juno would receive praise for a variety of things, but never did I see a Best Director nomination coming for him. Tony Gilroy is just a tiny bit surprising because this is his first feature film. Impressive for Gilroy, but I figured that Ridley Scott would skate in for his courtesy nomination. The omission of Joe Wright is not overly shocking, but still seems odd for an incredible movie.

Best Original Screenplay Nominees: Nice to see some new blood in the category in the form of Tamara Jenkins and Nancy Oliver. Brad Bird’s inclusion is excellent to see that the Academy is willing to award outstanding animated films.

Best Adapted Screenplay Nominees: Congratulations to Sarah Polley. I thought the Academy would give their love to Aaron Sorkin, just like the folks who run the Emmys.

Overall, the only thing that kind of surprises is the lack of love for Sweeney Todd. I thought it would have an outside chance at multiple nominations, but apparently not. However, looking at other guild nominees, it should not be overly surprising.

Also, this sounds weird, but I am glad to see that Into the Wild did not get a nomination. After several guild nominations, I thought it had a chance to grab the last spot. I saw this movie and did not walk away with the sense, “Oh, this could be a Best Picture nominee.” It is a good movie, but not one of the five best of the year.

It's Oscar Nomination Day!

I feel like it's Christmas or something.

Anyway, here are the nominees. No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood lead the field with eight apiece, followed closely by Michael Clayton and Atonement with seven. The final Best Picture nominee is Juno, with four nominees total.

Dave and I both called four out of the big five (I had The Diving Bell and the Butterfly instead of Juno, he had Sweeney Todd instead of Michael Clayton), and did pretty well overall. A breakdown follows:

Dave:

Total: 56 out of 85 predictions correct, or 65.9%

Big eight categories (Actor/Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress, Picture, Director, both Screenplays): 28 out of 40, 70%

Technical categories: 23 out of 32, 71.9%

Miscellaneous (Animated Feature, Song, Score): 5 out of 13, 38.5%

Categories nailed: Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Visual Effects

One Wrong: Best Picture, Lead Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Animated Feature

Me:

Total: 63 out of 89, 70.8%

"Big eight": 35 out of 40, or 87.5%

Techs: 22 out of 36, 61.1%

Misc: 6 out of 13, 46.2%

Categories Nailed: Original Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress

One Wrong: Best Picture, Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Animated Feature, Cinematography, Editing, Visual Effects, Costume

Not too shabby, I'd say. In fact, since the news broke late last night that both Johnny Greenwood and the Into the Wild team were disqualified for score, and the Original song nominees were nut-bonkers (three songs from Enchanted? really?), I say we throw out those two categories and give us a boost to 75% and 71% correct in the categories that we could reasonably predict.

Hopefully before the ceremony itself we'll have time to catch up on everything- there's usually a print that comes through town of the nominated live and animated shorts, so everything but Documentary short (and usually most of foreign) has played in Milwaukee by late February.

In fact, since Into the Wild completely got the shaft (only 2 nominations? ouch.), this will be the first time I've seen all five Best picture candidates before they were even announced (and Dave, I trust, will see Michael Clayton soon). So look forward to Oscar Prediction columns even longer than the nominee ones.

Consensus Top 20

For the curious, and because I like math, here's Dave and my top 20's combined by a simple points system:

19t. Juno 7
19t. American Gangster 7
18. Ratatouille 10
16t. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 11
16t. The Mist 11
15. No End in Sight 12
14. Eastern Promises 13
10t. Grindhouse 15
10t. Michael Clayton 15
10t. Knocked Up 15
10t. 3:10 to Yuma 15
9. Away From Her 17
8. The Bourne Ultimatum 18
7. Rescue Dawn 22
6. Atonement 28
5. Zodiac 32
4. Once 33
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 34
2. There Will Be Blood 35
1. No Country for Old Men 40

So that's the Reverse Shot master list, I suppose. Tomorrow we have the worst of the year for you, and we see how well we did with our Oscar predictions.

2007's Top 20 Films- Dave

Nine Movies That Would Have Probably Made My Top Twenty If They Had Arrived In Milwaukee Sooner, Or If I Had Made An Effort To See Them:

Away from Her, Control, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, Gone Baby Gone, King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Michael Clayton, The Orphanage, and Persepolis.

Only Away from Her, Gone Baby Gone, King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, and Michael Clayton made it to the Milwaukee market and I never got around to seeing any of them. Hopefully, I will catch Michael Clayton as it is going into a re-release for an Oscar run. As for the remaining five, they have not hit the Milwaukee market yet, but – assuredly – I will see them when they do. I have a feeling that they are all spectacular films based on their trailers, the reviews, and the award nominations they are receiving.

20. 28 Weeks Later
19. Breach
18. Juno
17. The Namesake
16. Knocked Up
15. 3:10 to Yuma
14. Into the Wild
13. Rescue Dawn
12. Ratatouille
11. The Bourne Ultimatum

I think that Breach and The Namesake could have been contenders for Best Supporting Actor if they had a campaign and a later release date. I am also not entirely blown away by Juno, though it is a very good movie. 3:10 to Yuma, Rescue Dawn, and – yes – 28 Weeks Later are all solidly crafted movies that I was unsure at first and all pleasantly surprised by.

I find the Best Picture talk for Into the Wild to be kind of crazy talk. I think the performances and cinematography are all top notch, but as an overall product, it does work that well for me.

Ratatouille and The Bourne Ultimatum are both outstanding fares for various reasons. I miss the early 1990’s because these two films would have garnered Best Picture buzz. The world has changed from the days of Beauty and the Beast and The Fugitive getting Best Picture nominations.

10. The Mist

I was initially reluctant to see this film because I know that Stephen King adaptations tend to be horrible. However, I figured the pairing of Frank Darabont and King has yielded good results in the past and I had nothing to do on a weekday afternoon.

This film’s focus is so sharp on the paranoia and power structures that arise with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Though some labeled this a “B Movie,” it is nowhere near that in its portrayal of small townspeople.

Plus, the ending is surprising and still shocks me months after I first saw the film.

9. No End in Sight

Hey, look! A documentary! I rented this one a few weeks ago – on the same night that I rented The Namesake – and was entranced by it. Charles Ferguson’s film is not nearly as explosive as Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, but the intimate interviews of people that do not support the war or have become disillusioned by it is mesmerizing. If you want to watch only one documentary on the conflict in Iraq, make it this one.

8. Eastern Promises

When I heard Cronenberg and Mortensen were re-teaming for another film, I was excited. Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises may lack the down-to-earth feel of A History of Violence, but it is still packs a powerful punch.

Mortensen’s performance was probably the most unhinged of any actor this year. The raw emotion – and body parts – that he put on display here is admirable. Supported by an outstanding supporting cast, Eastern Promises was one of the most satisfying films of the year.

7. Once

It should get nominations for Best Song, but it probably will not. It should probably merit a Best Picture nomination, but the Academy has not nominated a film for solely Best Picture since Grand Hotel.

This is the little musical that could and like Spielberg says, “This movie gave me enough hope for the rest of year.”

6. Grindhouse

Robert Rodriguez made a documentary / lecture called Film is Dead. I would like to make an addendum to that saying the cinematic experience is dead.

There are a few exceptions where going to the movies becomes an experience. Whether it is because people dress up like the characters, religiously attend midnight showings of the movie, or know every single line of the film.

However, Grindhouse was the most fun at the movies all year. It was a unique experience that allowed people to stand up and cheer, openly cringe, and laugh hysterically at things that traditional Hollywood movies would not cue you to laugh at.

5. Atonement

I was completely fascinated with this movie after I saw the trailer. The movie lives up to the incredible hype that surrounds it constructing a beautifully tragic tale.

After I had seen the film, I told a friend about it and how excellent I thought it was. He said that he did not want to because “it seems like a British movie that is created solely for the purpose of making an Academy Awards run.” I could not disagree with him more, citing the stellar performances, outstanding editing, and the overall scope of the film.

4. There Will Be Blood

“Drainage! Drainage, Eli! Drained dry, you boy! If you have a milkshake and I have a milkshake and I have a straw and my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!”

Daniel Day-Lewis sells this movie all by himself.

3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Initially, people wondered if Tim Burton’s distinct visual style would hinder the film. I think the end product has silenced anyone who ever did question that.

Burton’s delightful film cruises along with toe-tapping songs, Johnny Depp’s memorable performance, and an exquisite complimentary cast.

I wish this film would get all the Academy Award nominations it deserves. People would argue that musicals tend to get overlooked by the Academy, but they should stop and notice the excellence this film exudes.


2. Zodiac

If I had run of the Academy Awards, Zodiac would be the runaway leader in nominations. However, because the film was released in March and has had a minimal campaign, it will get entirely overlooked come Oscar time.

Remarkable performances from everyone made this the best ensemble piece in my eyes. From Gyllenhaal’s restraint to the always undervalued Anthony Edwards everybody had a genuine feel to them. Robert Downey Jr.’s performance was arguably one of the best of the year, but in a crowded field, he has almost entirely been forgotten.

The cinematography is an awesome spectacle as it is the first film to completely use the Vesper-Thomson film system. The editing, score, and attention to detail are heightened to a point that you feel like you are really in the Bay Area.

James Vanderbilt, having improved his writing skills since Basic, is at the top of his game and I hold out hope that he will be recognized for his work come January 22nd.

In the end, the person who deserves the most credit for Zodiac is David Fincher. His meticulous work and research on the film makes this film the highlight of his career. This movie – along with one other this year – left me completely breathless at the end, even though I knew what the outcome was going to be. Just like…

1. No Country for Old Men

This is movie perfection. There is no other way to describe it. I feel that no matter how many adjectives I throw out there they simply will not do this movie justice.

So much has already been said about the film that I feel I can only add one thing: Javier Bardem is not the “ultimate badass.” I would call him the ultimate car wreck. There has never been a character that is so horrific and methodical, yet I can not take my eyes off of him. I want to see what he will do next and I know that it is going to be something atrocious. That is how I know the Coen Brothers truly captured something menacing.

Most Overrated Film of the Year:

Charlie Wilson’s War – Yes, the two male leads are quite good. The script is very good for about 75 minutes. However, the more I think about this movie, the more I do not like it. I view Julia Roberts as a waste of space, Mike Nichols seems content to let his stars do what they want, and I wonder how the heck it managed a Best Picture Comedy or Musical nomination at the Golden Globes.

Best Guilty Pleasure Film of the Year:

300 – It made a gazillion dollars and has amazing visuals, but the dialogue is a tad ridiculous and – at times – it really quite cheesy. In ten years this movie may still be heralded as a visual achievement, but I do not think it will age well. Still, Snyder’s unique vision is entertaining for its slow-motion fight scenes and bombastic catchphrases.

2007's Top 20 Films- Duncan

The clock is ticking on "best of" columns for 2007. But, due to the curse of the midwest, I must compose my list not having seen things like Persepolis, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and The Savages, since the first two don't open for two weeks in Wisconsin, and the latter just got here.

So know that this list will be revised, if applicable, when I do see those films, and I'll link back to it when appropriate. I ended up seeing over fifty films released last year, depending on how you count it (I say count February to January, since this month is all about seeing art-house award contenders that hadn't made it here yet). And with very few exceptions, they were all pretty much a good time. Whittling it down to 20 was hard.

The latter half of the list:

21. Ratatouille
20. Paprika
19. Stardust
18. Juno
17. Gone Baby Gone
16. The Darjeeling Limited
15. American Gangster
14. The Bourne Ultimatum
13. 3:10 to Yuma
12. Knocked Up

Pretty self explanatory runners-up. I'm obviously not as high on Juno as other countdown makers, but it's still a great film in a crowded year. Paprika is the only thing to make the list that I missed in the theater- otherwise I saw most of this list on the first weekend I could.

11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The only film in all of 2007 that I saw more than once in theaters, so it leapfrogs The Bourne Ultimatum and Knocked Up from the Summer Countdown for the ten-spot. I never would have predicted, based on the first two films, that I'd eventually be as stoked for first-day midnight showings of the Harry Potter series as I was for Lord of the Rings, but the last three films are right up there with any other famous trilogies. Can't wait until November.

10. Atonement

After I saw Atonement, I read the Ian McEwan novel (normally something I'd have done first), and to my surprise still preferred the film. It was able to cut very efficiently through a beautiful, but plodding novel, and maintain a tense energy throughout.

It's not really as "Oscar"-ish at it seemed at first glance, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It eschews redundant pining and melodrama for a twist that is both satisfying and heart-wrenching at the same time. In a slower year, I wouldn't have hesitated so much to put it into my Best Picture nominees.

9. Zodiac

As I am now reminded, January through March is not the best time to go to the movies (unless you're Dave, who's seeing Cloverfield this weekend and Rambo(?) next weekend, he tells me. I felt like I had to share this with you). This is the only representative from the Mid-winter and Spring months of 2007 on this whole list- The Namesake, Reign Over Me, Hot Fuzz, and The Host are all in the twenties for sure, but still.

Robert Downey, Jr. steals the show in David Fincher's moody, atmospheric procedural not-quite-a-thriller about the unsolved Zodiac killings in San Francisco. Jake Gyllenhaal does a workmanlike job as a cartoonist obsessed with the case, but never really solidifies this picture into an awards contender. Between this and what I hear is a bland turn in Rendition (I didn't see it), we're still waiting for you to capitalize on the potential you showed in Donnie Darko, Jake.

8. Rescue Dawn

Christian Bale eats live worms. For real.

7. Michael Clayton

A heart-pounding, throwback thriller that has stuck in my memory so well I might go see it again once they re-expand it next weekend (so far, the Clayton and No Country teams are positive enough about multiple Oscars noms that they've planned the Awards rerun expansions already. If Into the Wild makes it into the final five, they'll probably re-up that as well).

6. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

True story: right before I went to see this with Nicole, we had lunch at Boston Market and I ordered a chicken pot pie. Yeah.

5. Away From Her

Bought it on DVD, and it still holds up. Further information (from my parents, who watched it on my fervent recommendation) has revealed to me that the K. D. Lang song that plays over the credits is a classic Neil Young song.

So maybe they chose it to appeal to the presumably older than I am target audience of this Alzheimer's centered drama. So what- the Ray LaMontagne song from the trailer is still a better fit, I way.

4. There Will Be Blood

Basically the shortest three hours I spent in a movie theater this year. Between the score, the visuals, and the utterly ridiculous badassness of Daniel Day-Lewis, an instant buy on DVD. And it's a shoe-in for a Best Picture nomination on Tuesday, to boot.

3. Once

I know, I know, this was runner up to Away From Her on my list four months ago. What can I say? I'm not paid enough for this to not change my mind about things. Watching it on DVD, I realized what an efficient, brilliant film it turned out to be for the budget.

And they say nothing elevates a film like the right soundtrack, but this is really a case of a brilliant soundtrack elevating a bootstraps indie film to an instant classic. It's a shame that only two songs ("Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me") are eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar, and that's the only place that Once has a shot at showing up in.

2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

(See review)

1. No Country For Old Men

Sure, pick the most lauded film of the year, Duncan. Way to go out on a limb. What can I say? You can't argue with two Coen brothers, a Pulitzer-winning author, two badasses and a complete psychopath.


Most Overrated film of the year:

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

When I caught up with this one, I remembered vaguely the premise and that it got outstanding reviews. And while the execution is there, and the cast is more than able (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei's breasts, Ethan Hawke, and Albert Finney), it's just a miserable film about misery for the sake of misery. Much like the similarly lauded but god-awful House of Sand and Fog, I can just never get behind sad people with bad luck doing horrible things to each other.

Plus, 83-year old Sidney Lumet decides to fracture the timeline of this film with completely jarring and useless Tarantino cuts, which recur until you just start wishing for the thing to end. Maybe the critics were just so proud of him for managing to shoot a whole film without soiling himself that they gave him a free pass.

Best Guilty Pleasure: Across the Universe

Who doesn't like a good sing along? I have no intention of buying Julie Taymour's cheesy, goofball Beatles collage movie (maybe as a gift), but I did pick up the soundtrack to blast in my car.

It's been such a strong year for musicals/music-related pictures I thought the Academy might dust off the "Best Musical" category and nominate Across the Universe, Once, La Vie En Rose, Hairspray, and Sweeney Todd.

Omissions:

I never had the effort to see Into the Wild (which would be an inspiring yarn of natural connection and individualism if (spoiler) its protagonist didn't starve to death in an abandoned van in Alaska(end spoiler)). And that's the only film in the running for Best Pic I haven't made it to, except for Diving Bell as I mentioned. I could really care less about The Great Debaters (I was on the Chess Team in high school. The Debate Team was a bunch of nerds) or The Bucket List. I didn't ever really feel the need to see La Vie En Rose or A Mighty Heart, because I'm not into French music or bad French accents. And there was too big a part of my mind that thought Lars and the Real Girl sounded too much like a National Lampoon's movie (the crappy ones, with Paris Hilton in them for five minutes) to take seriously.

Otherwise I saw just about everything, which is way too many for someone who doesn't get paid to.

Trailer Report: The Savages, Snow Angels, The Band's Visit

Some interesting upcoming features in front of There Will Be Blood over the weekend..

The Savages

trailer link
(not on YouTube? Get with the program, people!)

This film on paper? Sounds horribly depressing. Two dysfunctional adult siblings have to decide what to do with their cranky, elderly father as his health fails. I had no idea at all it had comedic moments in it- Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays tennis! Hilarity ensues...

Snow Angels



Sam Rockwell alert! He seems to play strictly sad cases these days, based on this and his part as the paranoid brother in The Assassination of Jesse James. And he got second billing to Kate Beckinsale!?

This looks depressing, but not as depressing as David Gordon Green's previous directorial efforts- All the Real Girls and Undertow. Seriously, can he just make a movie about kittens or something?

The Band's Visit



Interesting fact about this film- it was disqualified for the Best Foreign Film Oscar for containing too much English. Isn't that kind of harsh, considering that America is such an obnoxious world power that English is becoming sort of a neutral language between other cultures? Oh sorry, is our lack of diplomacy forcing your children to learn our language? Then your movies fail to be different enough!

And the foreign category is completely whack this year anyway- France didn't submit The Diving Bell and the Butterfly because they'd rather it won Best Picture, but then Persepolis doesn't make the shortlist for the Oscar- neither does Spain's most lauded film, The Orphanage, or any other foreign film with any buzz that I've heard about (like Iran's Offside, or Romania's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days). Can we just agree, AMPAS, to scrap your ridiculous "one movie per country" rule and just let merit win out next year? Sheesh.

Duncan's Oscar Nominee Predictions

So, no more hand-wringing, no more shuffling my feet- it’s time to lay down some cold, hard, Oscar Predictions.

Best Picture

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Michael Clayton

The BAFTAs came out last night, and just like I thought, Atonement led the field with 14 nominations, but Sweeney Todd was nowhere. So welcome back to contention, Joe Wright, Keira Knightly, et al. Too bad there aren’t enough British people in the Academy to give you more than one Oscar or two come February.

No Country and Blood have cemented all around support, while Into the Wild seems to have had the wheels fall off, despite earlier Guild support. I’m guessing (it’s a gut feeling), that it’ll ultimately get pushed off the ballot by The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. Although if I’m wrong anywhere on here, it’s probably the exclusion of Juno, but it feels like a mirage of a juggernaut to me- it should end up with the Eternal Sunshine combo of leading actress nom and original screenplay win for its trouble, but nothing else.

Best Director

Joel and Ethan Coen- No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson- There Will Be Blood
Joe Wright - Atonement
Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton

This came down to three locks- Coens, Anderson, and Schnabel, another BAFTA/Globe influenced inclusion in Wright (Sorry Tim Burton), and a tossup between Tony Gilroy and Sean Penn. This is pretty close to the DGA’s list, but with Wright instead of Penn, and they usually call four out of five (and almost always predict the winner).

Best Original Screenplay

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

Most of the heavy hitters are in adapted this year, which leaves this category open for newcomers and oddballs- I’m counting on Brad Bird to duplicate his Incredibles nomination, and Jenkins and Oliver’s screenplays are getting lots of buzz. And Diablo Cody’s Juno script is a guaranteed winner already.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Joel and Ethan Coen- No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson- There Will Be Blood
Christopher Hampton- Atonement
Ronald Hardwood- The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
James Vanderbilt- Zodiac

Four Best Picture Nominees, and the nearly forgotten about Zodiac. What gets me is that the Coen brothers are almost certain to win for No Country, but they did the least work of anyone in adapting that novel- it’s nearly scene for scene, word for word the same as McCarthy. Go figure.

Lead Actor

Daniel Day Lewis – There Will Be Blood
George Clooney- Michael Clayton
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises
Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
Emile Hirsch- Into the Wild

“Ladies and gentlemen… I’ve traveled over half our state to be here tonight. I couldn't get away sooner because my new well was coming in at Coyote Hills and I had to see about it. That well is now flowing at two thousand barrels and it's paying me an income of five thousand dollars a week. I have two others drilling and I have sixteen producing at Antelope. So, ladies and gentlemen... if I say I'm an oil man, you will agree.”

Lead Actress

Julie Christie- Away From Her
Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page- Juno
Angelina Jolie- A Mighty Heart
Laura Linney- The Savages

Another film from the first half of the year that would have many more nominations if it came out a month ago- Away From Her is going to end up with just Christie’s nomination, but she’s the favorite for the statue. Angelina Jolie… ugh. But she’s got the homecoming dance vote. Ellen Page will probably set some sort of record for the youngest person to ever get a lead nomination, and hopefully Laura Linney will have had enough time for The Savages to make the rounds of the country before ballots are due.

Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem- No Country For Old Men
Casey Affleck- The Assassination of Jesse James
Phillip Seymour Hoffman- Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook- Into The Wild
Tom Wilkinson- Michael Clayton

An easy field this year- Holbrook has the most acclaim of anyone in that film, but he’s got too much competition to take home the statue.

Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett- I’m Not There
Amy Ryan- Gone Baby Gone
Saoirse Ronan- Atonement
Tilda Swinton- Michael Clayton
Ruby Dee- American Gangster

If there’s one thing this category loves, it’s old ladies and little kids- hence Ruby Dee, plus pint-sized Saoirse Ronan garnering Atonement’s only acting nom (sorry Keira. Go eat a cheeseburger). Cate Blanchett get’s this year’s obligatory “extreme transformation” nomination, but hopefully not the win- Amy Ryan really deserves the accolades she’s been getting for making us feel for an unlikeable character.

Animated Feature

Persepolis
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

This is an easy category to predict the nominees for (sadly, Paprika is getting no love from anyone), but the Ratatouille versus Persepolis debate is impossible to figure- Pixar’s been taking home all of the early awards, but the Oscars never go for the obvious in this category. Plus the political and biographical context to Persepolis make it a much more unique and appealing choice.

Cinematography

Roger Deakins- No Country For Old Men
Robert Elswit- There Will Be Blood
Janusz Kaminski- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Seamus McGarvey- Atonement
Eric Gautier- Into the Wild

I was on the fence about the double nod for Deakins (he got two guild noms, with one for The Assassination of Jesse James), but I think Into the Wild is powered by the strength of the cinematography. Kaminski is owed one after getting shafted for his work on Children of Men.

Editing

“Roderick Jaynes”(the Coens)- No Country For Old Men
Dylan Tichenor- There Will Be Blood
Jay Cassidy- Into the Wild
John Gilroy- Michael Clayton
Chris Lebenzon- Sweeney Todd

Atonement is not terribly jumpy or complex to merit an editing nomination, and Into the Wild beat it out for the guild nods. Otherwise, some very epic films fill out this category, the winner of which usually wins best picture (I read this on awardsdaily.com, my favorite Oscar Blog).

Art Direction

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Sweeney Todd
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Dave had the fortitude to look up the rest of the individual technical nominees. Me? Just the movie title. I just think about these things in general terms, with an eye on the guild noms. Sweeney Todd seems like it’ll make up for lost love in these categories, and otherwise period pieces are a good bet. No Country is an unconventional choice, but it has unanimous across the board support, and it is set nearly thirty years ago…

Visual Effects

Pirates 3
300
Transformers

There’s a pattern to this category- two obvious choices (Transformers, Pirates), and one visually innovative choice, thus 300.

Makeup

Sweeney Todd
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Pirates 3

I figure a year for outstanding makeup grotesquery, between squid people, pale faced throat-slashers, and stroke victims with their eyes sewn shut.

Costume Design

Atonement
Sweeney Todd
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
La Vie En Rose

More love for Sweeney Todd. But I think this statue is going to be won solely by that green dress from Atonement, which everyone is raving about.

Sound Mixing

No Country For Old Men
300
Transformers
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood

Sound Editing

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
300
Atonement
Transformers

Never know how many to predict for these two- sometimes it’s three, sometimes five. I figure I’ll go with all ten to cover my bases- if they only nominate three out of the five I pick, I can say I was right! No Country has the guild nom, and is well done despite being mostly silent. There Will Be Blood is a sonic masterpiece, with the score interwoven so well into the proceedings that it’s as rich as any musical in depth. Atonement fills out the editing for the war scenes, as that category loves war. I could be way off here, more than any other categories, but it’s worth a shot.

Original Score

Dario Marainelli- Atonement
Johnny Greenwood- There Will Be Blood
Alberto Iglesias- The Kite Runner
Howard Shore- Eastern Promises
Brook/King/Vedder- Into the Wild

Greenwood has to get a nod. He just has to. Marinelli is the prohibitive favorite, but Greenwood’s score is far and away the best accompaniment to its film.

Original Song

“Do You Feel Me” from American Gangster
“That’s How You Know” from Enchanted
“Guaranteed” from Into the Wild
“Falling Slowly” from Once
“Walk Hard” from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Another impossible category, but I’m putting my money on “Falling Slowly” sticking in the minds of anyone who saw Once- hands down the best song in a film this year. Otherwise, Disney’s rep for original songs will get the one from Enchanted on the list, the Eddie Vedder song just won the Globe, and the Oscars usually have an oddball choice (like “Blame Canada” from the South Park Movie).

(Totals: There Will Be Blood- 10, No Country For Old Men- 9, Atonement- 9, Michael Clayton- 7, Diving Bell- 6, Sweeney Todd- 6, Into the Wild- 6, Transformers/300- 3.)

Dave's Oscar Nominee Predictions

Best Picture:

Atonement
Juno
No Country for Old Men
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

I would place money on Atonement, Juno, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood.

This leaves one slot for American Gangster, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Michael Clayton, and Sweeney Todd. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is very fresh and not enough people have necessarily seen it. Charlie Wilson’s War and Michael Clayton are being more heralded for their performances and writing than the overall product, while American Gangster seems to have lost a lot of steam amongst the onslaught of late award contender releases.

This leaves Sweeney Todd, a lavish musical featuring stellar performances, a respectable director, and it is based on a musical that is well liked. This film has a lot of similarities to Chicago, though I do not see it winning this award on Oscar night.

Best Director:

Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood
Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Coen Brothers – No Country for Old Men
Ridley Scott – American Gangster
Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Again, the No Country for Old Men juggernaut continues. Paul Thomas Anderson is also a certain bet for a first time Best Director nomination.

Ridley Scott will get the nomination for American Gangster because he is Ridley Scott. Similar to how he achieved one for Black Hawk Down, this is more of a courteous nomination than anything else.

Tim Burton fits into a similar category with Ridley Scott, but Burton’s nomination will come as a result of a body of work. He has never received an Academy Award nomination for direction, but Sweeney Todd should result in his first nomination in his distinguished career.

Again, this leaves one slot for Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson’s War), Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), and Joe Wright (Atonement). While it would not entirely surprise me to see Wright get a nomination, I feel that Schnabel will get the nomination out of respect for his film and this will be the film’s ultimate merit.

Mike Nichols is left off the ballot because he was given a talented cast with a script from a talented writer.

Best Actor:

George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson’s War
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises

Clooney, Day-Lewis, and Depp are locks for this category. This leaves two slots open, one which James McAvoy (Atonement) could very well receive.

Hanks is loved by the Academy and they may figure that his turn as the seedy Congressman is a bit of a digression for him that he admirably pulls off.

I picked Mortensen for the last spot because his performance is so real that it is scary, believable, and the never nominated Mortensen is prime for his first nomination as a spectacular mob member. This will leave Christian Bale (Rescue Dawn) and Denzel Washington (American Gangster) without a nomination, similar to James McAvoy.

Best Actress:

Julie Christie – Away from Her
Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley – Atonement
Ellen Page – Juno

Christie, Jolie, and Knightley have been surrounded by Academy Award buzz since their movies hit the cinemas.

Cotillard’s turn as Edith Piaf is being heralded as “revolutionary,” which could see her garner an Oscar nomination. The Golden Globe win really solidified her changes.

Ellen Page will earn her first nomination for Juno, leaving Cate Blanchett on the sidelines for Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Best Supporting Actor:

Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook – Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

This category does not have the depth that Best Actor does, as four spots – Affleck, Bardem, Hoffman, and Wilkinson – all seem assured. This leaves one spot, which I think will come down to four people: Paul Dano, Robert Downey Jr., Hal Holbrook, and John Travolta. Ultimately, I think Travolta is ruled out because he is not going to the depths and demonstrating the range that his competitors do. Dano, while great, gets lost in Day-Lewis’ towering performance. Everybody seems to have forgotten about Zodiac (Which should be nominated for numerous awards, but that will not happen). This leaves the soulful Holbrook. His performance is restrained and completely harrowing when we last see him. This should secure him his first ever nomination.

Best Supporting Actress:

Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
Romola Garai – Atonement
Julia Roberts – Charlie Wilson’s War
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Blanchett, while shut out of the lead category, will garner a Supporting Actress nomination for her portrayal of Bob Dylan.

Roberts and Swinton will receive nominations for their pedigree and receptive reviews of their performances. This allows Amy Ryan to receive a nomination as she capitalizes on all of her critics’ award victories.

This leaves one spot for two actresses, playing the same character. Saoirse Ronan and Romola Garai will battle it out for the final spot, leading me to believe that Garai will get the nomination for her role as the repenting sister in Atonement. Ronan, also deserving, watches as he aged character gets the nomination.

Best Original Screenplay:

Eastern Promises – Steven Knight
I’m Not There – Todd Haynes and Oren Moverman
Juno – Diablo Cody
Knocked Up – Judd Apatow
Michael Clayton – Tony Gilroy

Gilroy, Cody, and Knight all seem like lock picks. I chose Haynes and Moverman because their script displays a level of complexity with its interpretation, not to mention the Academy recognizes Haynes from his work on Far from Heaven.

This leaves one spot, which I think Judd Apatow may get a nomination for. Think about it: Successful movie, Hollywood’s “it” guy, well reviewed movie, sharp, edgy, crisp dialogue, what is not to like? If Borat can get a nomination here, Apatow’s script about family coming together is just as worthy.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Atonement – Christopher Hampton
Charlie Wilson’s War – Aaron Sorkin
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men – Ethan and Joel Coen
There Will Be Blood – Paul Thomas Anderson

This category filled itself out. Seriously. I did not have to put any thought into this category.

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Roger Deakins – No Country for Old Men
Robert Elswit – There Will Be Blood
Janusz Kaminski – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Seamus McGarvey – Atonement

A titan of a category featuring multiple past nominees. Deakins receives the rare double nomination for both of his bodies of work. Robert Elswit sealed his nomination with the incredibly shadow play at the train station as the light dances across Daniel Day-Lewis’ face. Janusz Kaminski is being lauded for his unique work on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, plus, he is a past winner. Seamus McGarvey joins the group for his steadfast work in Atonement, but mainly for the long tracking shot on the beach at Dunkirk.

Best Art Direction

Ian Bailie – Atonement
David Crank – There Will Be Blood
Dennis Davenport – Hairspray
Dante Ferretti – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Peter Rogness – Across the Universe

I think of this category – along with Costume and Make Up – as the “eccentric category.” Unique visions often receive the awards, but more traditional films can also offer their splendor. Bailie and Crank get nominations for the epic quality of their work. Davenport, Ferretti, and Rogness get nominations for their unique interpretations and creations. Rogness is almost a lock because the Academy likes the flair that Taymor films bring to the table.

Best Costume Design

Marit Allen – Love in the Time of Cholera
Marit Allen – La Vie en Rose
Colleen Atwood – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Jacqueline Durran – Atonement
Albert Wolsky – Across the Universe

Again, with this category, the more decadent, the better. I have another double nominee in Marit Allen for her large scale and elegant creations in La Vie en Rose and Love in the Time of Cholera. Colleen Atwood, a past nominee for her stellar, dark creations. Jacqueline Durran for the scope of the work she did on Atonement. Finally, Albert Wolsky for his quirky creations in Across the Universe.

Best Make Up

Rick Baker – Norbit
Florence Batteault, Sandrine Cirilli, Chloe Van Lierde – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Nana Fisher – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Nana Fisher gets a nomination for her singular vision of people’s hair. Rick Baker always gets a nomination. He is the John Williams of Make Up. I figured that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’s make up will garner attention for Amalric’s transformation.

Editing

Ethan and Joel Coen – No Country for Old Men
Pietro Scalia – American Gangster
Dylan Tichenor – There Will Be Blood
Paul Tothill – Atonement
Juliette Welfling – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I selected the Coen Brothers and Tichenor for having tightly paced films. Even though There Will Be Blood clocks in at over two and a half hours it does not feel it. Scalia is a previous double winner and the Academy has given him four nominations already. Tothill weaves a wonderfully complex film into a masterpiece. I gave the last slot to Welfling because The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is going to get love across the board.

Sound Mixing

Tony Dawe – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Peter J. Devlin – Transformers
Randy Thom – Ratatouille

Sound Editing

David Evans – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn – Transformers
Michael Silvers – Ratatouille

For the sound categories, I picked Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street because musicals tend to do well in these categories and the actual sound effects are quite good in this film. I selected Transformers because I am playing the odds. Every Michael Bay movie – except for The Island – has received Oscar nominations for sound. As for Ratatouille, this is a movie that is going to be overlooked this year in a lot of places it should not be. Is it one of the best films of the year? Absolutely. I think the Academy will try to give this gem nominations where it can get them. Also, Brad Bird’s The Incredibles won an award for sound achievement.

Best Visual Effects

John Fraizer – Transformers
John Fraizer and Allen Hall – Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End
Trevor Wood – The Golden Compass

Pirates and The Golden Compass receive nominations not because they are groundbreaking, but because they are working on the pedigree of their predecessors. The Golden Compass operates with Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings as its predecessor. Transformers gets a nomination because of the scale of the work. 80 hours of special effects went into a single frame of Transformers.

Best Original Song

Enchanted – “That’s How You Know”
Grace is Gone – “Grace is Gone”
Into the Wild – “Guaranteed”
Love in the Time of Cholera – “Despedida”
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story – “Walk Hard”

I am horrible with this category. These are all the Golden Globe nominees.

Best Original Score

Michael Brook, Kaki King, and Eddie Vedder – Into the Wild
Clint Eastwood – Grace is Gone
Jonny Greenwood – There Will Be Blood
Albert Iglesias – The Kite Runner
Dario Marianelli – Atonement

Again, horrible with this category. All of them were Golden Globe nominees, save Greenwood. His score is a character in There Will Be Blood.

Best Animated Feature

Persepolis
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

This was a relatively self-explanatory category.

Totals: Atonement- 9, Sweeney Todd- 8, There Will Be Blood-8, No Country For Old Men- 6, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- 5, Michael Clayton- 4, Charlie Wilson's War- 4, Charlie Wilson's War- 4, Juno/Transformers/Ratatouille/Into the Wild- 3