FYC Ad Of The Day

A Mighty Heart

Well, I just got back from a wonderful family wedding and I will not be posting again today other than what I have to say here, and an FYC ad.

I finally got around to watching A Mighty Heart and as a whole, it is seriously flawed. Fractured editing, poor camera angles, emotionless lighting, and an overall underwhelming directorial sentiment are just a few of the technical problems with the film. It has some incredible moments, and I will give it that, but it seemed to be trying so hard to become an investigative preachy morality tale of differences and misunderstanding that it ended up becoming a lesson in the art of alienating international struggles as a simple plot device.

That being said, Jolie is pretty much stellar in this film. I have not seen her dig into a character so much since Girl, Interrupted, for which she won a Supporting Actress award. She was strong yet vulnerable in the same way Julianne Moore was in Far From Heaven, while displaying complete devastation in the style of Naomi Watts in 21 Grams.

I believe she should be nominated for this performance, but it is very possible she could be snubbed. If she does not get a nod at least, it is the fault of the director for pointing the camera in the wrong direction. Too many shots were focused on the recipient of Jolie's lines instead of on her. I think a lot of desperation and drive were missed from her because of those botched moments.

One hell of an emotional breakdown at the end though.

For these reasons...I have decided to bump Amy Adams from the top five on the sidebar and give it to Jolie. I don't think AMPAS can ignore this performance. I mean, the Globes, SAG, and BFCA couldn't...

Film: C+
Jolie: A-

Later Players.

FYC Ad Of The Day

There Will Be Blood

Boxofficemojo is reporting an opening weekend performance of 186,000 for There Will Be Blood. Seems like it underperformed? Well considering that the movie showed in only two theaters with a per theater average of 93,000, it would seem like there is a level of anticipation that has not been seen since Brokeback Mountain averaged 109,000 in 5 theaters.

There Will Be Blood is building momentum in a big way, and feels like a darkhorse to win this year. I know that No Country For Old Men is on a war path to victory, but when one film wins that much, upsets tend to happen (Raging Bull, Brokeback Mountain, Saving Private Ryan, Goodfellas etc).

Watch out now.

P.S. I am at a family wedding right now, so I will most likely not be able to post until tomorrow, but who knows maybe I'll get around to something tonight.

Later Players.

Poll Results

Alright kids, most of you thought that Atonement would get the most nominations this year, followed up with Sweeney Todd.

Interesting, considering both films received no attention at the SAGs, and Into The Wild lead the BFCAs and the SAGs. However, I agree with most of you. It might just be a hunch, but I think AMPAS will not be able to resists a beautifully shot, British, sprawling epic and the new Joe Wright project will grab a bunch of nods.

My vote: Atonement.

Check the new poll!

"YOU'VE CHANGED THINGS. FOREVER. THERE'S NO GOING BACK. SEE, TO THEM YOU'RE JUST A FREAK. LIKE ME!"

::Chills::

FYC Ad Of The Day

Best Actor

As always, this category is full of the best performances of the year despite gender or role size. It just so happens that great dynamic leading roles tend to be written for men. Not a good thing, but a true thing.

THE PLAYERS
1. JOHNNY DEPP - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
2. DANIEL DAY LEWIS - There Will Be Blood
3. GEORGE CLOONEY - Michael Clayton
4. EMILE HIRSCH - Into The Wild
5. RYAN GOSLING - Lars And The Real Girl

THE CHASERS
1. Viggo Mortensen - Easern Promises
2. Denzel Washington - American Gangster
3. James McAvoy - Atonement
4. Tom Hanks - Charlie Wilson's War

Though Sweeney Todd might miss out on the Best Picture nod (if SAG tells us anything), Depp is a sure thing. He has incredible industry respect and tends to be nominated if he breathes the right way. It doesn't hurt that he surprises with a strong singing voice, is paired with an overdue director, and has never won before. I don't give the SAG snub any bearing...but that's only because it's Johnny Depp.

The only actor that will give Depp any competition is the veteran tour-de-force of Daniel Day Lewis. I would place him at the top of the list, but DDL has an Oscar already, while Depp does not. Nevertheless, Lewis has rave reviews, the most precursors, and nods from BFCA, GG, and SAG. A sure thing.

I don't necessarily understand the craze that is George Clooney in Michael Clayton. He will be nominated, but I don't feel like the performance is all that impressive, and that maybe he is getting notice for being himself in a decent and smart drama. His supporting and directing nods of a few years ago were more impressive, but Clooney is the NBR winner and a shoe-in with Depp and Lewis.

This is where things get a little more confusing. Hirsch got snubbed by the Globes, but supported by the BFCA and SAG in a big way. Considering that the HFPA tends to embrace the stars (to put it nicely), it is easily understood that Denzel would beat out performances like Hirsch's indie foray. Also, go ahead and factor in the massive support that Into The Wild had at the SAGs and BFCAs and what are we left with? Hirsch, as a "breakout performance" type nominee.

A few months ago, no one would give real notice to Gosling's weird-yet-impressive turn in Lars And The Real Girl. But now, with a GG, BFCA, and SAG nomination under his belt, the youngster who broke onto the scene last year with a knockout performance in Half Nelson is looking to be nominated for the second time in two years.

This category is so incredibly competitive this year, that The Chasers would make a great list on their own. Viggo Mortensen could, and probably will, upset Gosling for the fifth spot. He has recognition from all of the majors, but given his previous snubs and the low exposure of Eastern Promises, I just don't feel like he will ever get nominated until the year he is going to have enough to actually win. Washington never fails to disappoint these days, but his fate depends on the mood of AMPAS. Is it an indie Brokeback-Capote year or a Seabiscuit-Master And Commander year? If American Gangster is in, there is no telling what might happen. McAvoy has the exact same situation: if Atonement dominates, he will get in over someone more deserving. And finally, never underestimate Tom Hanks. He can do anything. The end.

I cannot express how impressing this list is. It's a great year for film, and AMPAS can't go wrong with five of these nine...even Tom Hanks.

Later Players.

Trailer Time!

Here are a couple of trailers to the mindlessly entertaining movies that I am looking forward to. Think of this as an "I am sorry I didn't post Best Actor last night, it will go up today, but enjoy these until then"...post.

Ya.

FYC Ad Of The Day

So...I Didn't Post On Christmas...

I'm only human people. I probably will have Best Actor up tonight, but for now enjoy the next post.

Visually Stunning. Can't wait to see it.

Later Players

FYC Ad Of The Day

Best Actress

This year has served as one of the strongest displays of talented women in recent memory. We have come a long way from last year when only five women were deserving of the nomination. Competition is great for the advancement of quality, so I am very happy to say that there are about nine women fighting for this year's top spots. HOORAY! TALENT!



THE PLAYERS
1. JULIE CHRISTIE - Away From Her
2. MARION COTILLARD - La Vie en Rose
3. ELLEN PAGE - Juno
4. CATE BLANCHETT - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
5. AMY ADAMS - Enchanted

THE CHASERS
1. Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart
2. Keira Knightley - Atonement
3. Helena Bonham Carter - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
4. Jodie Foster - The Brave One

Julie Christie is blowin' it up right now and she is paving a very dominant path to Oscar gold. She is the NBR winner and a Globe, SAG, and BFCA nominee to boot. She is a comeback actress, a previous winner, and she has a role that screams Oscar. Christie will be there come Oscar night, but she is not a shoe-in for the win.


Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard have been gaining major ground on Christie when it looked like she was going to win everything she set her eyes on. Cotillard has a huge fan/critical support base and also has the biopic thing going for her. But La Vie en Rose is a foreign film and she could get Penelope Cruz-ed: all love, but no Oscar. She looks good for a nomination though. Page, however, fills the role as "Oscar new-comer." Last year, she broke out with her graphic and startling performance in Hard Candy, and this year she follows that acclaim up with a likable and quirky performance that has the stuff to be remembered for a long time. She could upset with a win, but her youth could hurt her against the other experienced veterans in the race. Page and Cotillard are both BFCA, GG, and SAG nominees.


Blanchett is in a strange place. The Academy loves her like with the unconditional love a parent gives a child, but the movie she could be nominated for, in this category at least, was pretty much critically panned. She could lose the nomination for that reason, but I doubt it.

Amy Adams was simply a revelation in Enchanted, and without her, the film would have induced theater-wide migraines of annoyance. Instead, she made Enchanted feel like an hour and a half of smiles. She could get snubbed, since she is the only actress who got shut out at the SAGs that I have in the top five. Perhaps voters won't support two comedic performances in the same year, and Page will beat Adams out of the short list.

If this happens, Jolie or Knightley will snag the spot. Jolie has been nominated for all of the majors (BFCA, GG, and SAG) and I would put her in the top five, but her film came out too early, and I think AMPAS might want to avoid being accused of embracing stars rather than performances. Her performance is good, but others are better. Knightley will get in if AMPAS goes crazy for Atonement, but if the SAG snub shows us anything it's that Atonement is not nearly as strong as we thought.

Carter and Foster both give stunning performances but just don't have the drive or support that other women have. They both need a Globe win to survive, but that does not seem likely in any way, shape, or form.

P.S. If you didn't get that the HOORAY! TALENT! was an allusion to HOORAY! BEER! Red Stripe ads, then I don't know what to do. Your loss? I guess...

Later Players.

First A+ Of The Year

You will notice in the sidebar "Review" section that I have given my first A+ of the year to Gone Baby Gone. This film is an intense morality play of a thriller that not only kept me guessing, but kept me caring enough to guess more. The brothers Affleck shine, and show that each of them will be making movies for a very long time. Ed Harris is one of the most underrated performers of the year, and Amy Ryan deserves all the attention she is getting.

I was simply blown away by this film. It's gritty, fun, and, most importantly, not easily digested. Truly haunting. Congrats Mr. Affleck on a stellar directorial debut.

FYC Ad Of The Day

Supporting Actor Update

Supporting Actor is a race much like the Best Actress race of last year: a race with a clear top five, a clear winner, and a very slim chance for surprise. Fortunately, out of the top five performances, there isn't a single disappointing one, which is always nice. Let's break it down.

THE PLAYERS
1. JAVIER BARDEM - No Country For Old Men
2. TOM WILKINSON - Michael Clayton
3. CASEY AFFLECK - The Assassination Of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
4. PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN - Charlie Wilson's War
5. HAL HOLBROOK - Into The Wild

THE CHASERS
John Travolta - Hairspray
Tommy Lee Jones - No Country For Old Men
Max von Sydow - The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

No one can stop Javier Bardem. Plain. And. Simple. He is a respected, foreign actor playing a truly baity psychotic role. And AMPAS loves to love scary done well (See: Kathy Bates). He has been destroying the regional critic awards and has a BFCA, GG, and SAG nod. He's in. It's just the way it is.

Tom Wilkinson and Casey Affleck started the season the same way: as a possible nomination threat despite a cloud of suspicion and uncertainly looming over their heads. But fortunately for both, good precursor showings have helped to calm the concern. Affleck is one of the break-out performers of the year when you combine this performance with his work in Gone Baby Gone. On the other hand, Wilkinson doesn't need to break out. He's good, and everyone knows it. He probably should have won for his stunning work in In The Bedroom, and some might say this nod would be an apology, but "some" would only say that if his performance as the manic-depressive born again power litigator wasn't so breathtaking. Each actor has BFCA, GG, and SAG nods.


Holbrook and Hoffman will get in with the help of industry respect. Holbrook has never been recognized and reviews have secluded him as stand-out. He's the feel good "it can happen to anyone" story of the year, much like Jackie Earle Haley last year. Hoffman, however, dominates on a completely different kind of respect. He's just a phenomenal character actor in a pretty good movie. He's the Blanchett of the male categories, and like Blanchett he can do no wrong. Holbrook has a BFCA and a SAG nod, and Hoffman has a BFCA nod to go with his GG nomination.

The top five are pretty much concrete, but Travolta or von Sydow could get in as a comeback/veteran vote, and Tommy Lee Jones received incredible help from the SAG nomination, but still remains unlikely to upset any of the top five.

Alright, that's that.

Later Players.

The Dark Knight Trailer

FYC Ad Of The Day

Supporting Actress Updates

The race for supporting actress is a crowded one filled with baity roles like a desperate mother, an under-the-surface insecure power lawyer, a bitchy little sister, and even Bob Dylan. The choices certainly are fun this year, but the race has become exceedingly boring with three of the possibilities being from the same film, and really only one or two open spots.


THE PLAYERS
1. AMY RYAN - Gone Baby Gone
2. TILDA SWINTON - Michael Clayton
3. CATE BLANCHETT - I'm Not There
4. CATHERINE KEENER - Into The Wild
5. SAOIRSE RONAN - Atonement

THE CHASERS
1. Vanessa Redgrave - Atonement
2. Ruby Dee - American Gangster
3. Julia Roberts - Charlie Wilson's War

The only women who are actually "locked" into this race (as locked as anyone can be at this point) are Ryan, Swinton, and Blanchett. Ryan has taken the precursors by a storm only a little less powerful than that of the Helen Mirren hurricane of last year. She has snagged wins from Los Angeles, New York, The National Board Review, and an oodle of regional wins on top of that. Not to mention being nominated at the Globes and SAG.

Which is really all Swinton and Blanchett have going for them. Each of them have stolen a few regional critics awards from Ryan, but not enough to usurp Ryan's critical reign. Blanchett is an Oscar golden child and can do no wrong (see: her possible best actress nod despite a critically panned film), so it is very likely that she will be on the short list. Swinton is a respected actress who has never quite gotten her due, but the Academy desperately wants to give it to her. C'mon she was in the running for Narnia a few years ago! Michael Clayton gives her the perfect venue to stand out, and she does exactly that as the dynamically intriguing "Karon Crowder." Both Blanchett and Swinton received kudos from the Globes and SAG.


Ronan and Keener round out the list in the typical "who is else is getting runner up or one-time nodded?" category. Keener receives the SAG nom while Ronan didn't, and it was the other way around for the Globes, which was strange since SAG typically goes younger before any other precursor. Knowing this, I think Ronan is the most likely to get bumped from the list and replaced by either one of her film counterparts (probably Redgrave) or Julia Roberts/Ruby Dee for Charlie Wilson's War and American Gangster, respectively. Dee needs American Gangster to get a BP nod for any hope, and Roberts just needs blind luck or a Golden Globe miracle. It feels like Keener is in though. I mean, she got the nod in 2005 for a less than outstanding performance in Capote, so who is to stop her this year?

The race has definitely thinned down, and would have been more interesting if Sweeney Todd's Helena Bonham Carter would have been campaigned supporting instead of lead, but it's whatever. I've moved on.

Later Players.

New Digs and Predicts!

Two Things:

1. You will notice that I have completely overhauled the blog. Now it doesn't look like a children's toy box, which really is quite wonderful. Hope you enjoy!

2. I have updated the sidebar with the Supporting Actress Nominees that I believe, as of now, will earn the coveted title "Oscar Nominee." I will be updating the sidebar as I go along and profile "The Players" of each race over the next few days. Right now I could go ahead with the write-up on these lovely supporting ladies, but it's four o'clock in the morning and I am going to pretend to sleep now. So instead, here is the early sidebar to sustain your Oscar-sized hunger.

Later Players.

Alright...Time To Do This Again

Life has recently taken a liking to forcefully slapping me with as many hardships as possible, so the blog has taken a liking to being completely ignored for the upkeep of my sanity.

But now I'm back!

Coming in the next few weeks before the nominations are released will be a breakdown of the categories that is much needed. The last time I updated them was in October methinks so the sidebar needs some revamping. Some things look like they have stayed the same (No Country, Atonement, etc etc) but some of my early year picks were just horrendous (Reservation Road....nuff said...I'm sorry!) and MUST be reevaluated.

That's first on the list along with some reviews. It looks like I might be helping realbuzz.com with some reviewing duties so I will be sure to link from here.

Alright. More soon.

Later Players