There Will Be Blood

So I just screened There Will Be Blood, and that film is simply amazing. There is a level of significance and sophistication that is so clear and powerful that its almost hard to watch. I found myself literally gasping at seemingly unimportant moments that were just immaculately created. The oil-lined grave would be one of them. God that was a creepy image.

The score was particularly incredible and the AMPAS' disqualification of it is an absolute tragedy. Johnny Greenwood's score expresses chaotic melancholy and sense of crumbling reality that is present in the protagonist's world view. Incredible work.

And to say that Daniel Day Lewis deserves an Oscar is an understatement. This performance is so good he should get an automatic Oscar next year too. It doesn't seem like one award really does this work justice. DDL gives one of the best performances I have ever seen, and he is truly mesmerizing.

A Masterpiece.

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Stunning.

2008 Anticipated List

Not the MOST anticipated because I haven't gone through everything, but these few seem to have a lot of potential. Some are total popcorn movies, while others have some serious Oscar likability.

BURN AFTER READING - Coen Brothers, Pitt, Clooney, Malkovich, Swinton, and Frances McDormand.....are you serious?

CHOKE - Really baity character descriptions and a character with Alzheimer's...works almost every time if done well.

CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Mini-Fanning, and Tilda Swinton...are you serious part 2?

TRANSIBERIAN - Woody Harrelson bouts with Ben Kingsley (playing a Russian villian)...on a train. Need I say more?

THE CHANGELING - Clint Eastwood...nuff said.

ROCKNROLLA - If the writer and director of Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels decides to give the world another London crime dramedy...who am I not to love it?

MAMMOTH - Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal. Hot Like Fire.

THE DARK KNIGHT - Been wanting this since Batman Begins came out.

IRON MAN - Love me some comic books, and I love me some Robert Downey Jr.

CHARLIE BARTLETT - Just looks like fun. And I loved Anton Yelchin in Alpha Dog

LEATHERHEADS - George Clooney can do anything. And he does it in such a cool way!

It's a fun crowd.

Winners

I posted my predicted winners on the right in asterisks.

We have a Brokeback Mountain/Crash Remix on our hands. Except No Country For Old Men would lose to a good movie like Juno and There Will Be Blood, while Brokeback lost to a stupid one.

That's just how I feel.

Later Platers.

Diablo Cody on Letterman

Got this from AwardsDaily.

I just fell in love...as much as one can with an on camera persona one has never met....ya. I love her.

She is what she is, and that says A LOT in Hollywood. Also, she is genuinely funny...not just "toil over a script to make it funny" but actually funny. You can see Juno radiating from her and that is what makes her writing natural and just plain brilliant. So many writers are afraid to put themselves in their work because if no one likes my psuedo-autobiographical then that means that they don't like me! (Insert Self Esteem issue here) As a result, most writers end up writing superficial surface level screenplays that lack heart and soul.

I think we will see amazing things from her. Can't wait!





Watch out for Juno to upset for a Best Picture win. No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood could split votes and Juno could go home with a statue...let's hope! Juno has a disturbingly impressive box office showing, with no signs of stopping, and Juno could win 3 of its 4 nods. Sorry Mr. Reitman, it's not happening.

You guys think Juno has a chance?

Later Players.

Heath Ledger Dead

This is so sad.

There aren't really any words here. He was an incredibly talented actor who had just begun to show what he had to offer.

Condolences.

FROM THE AP:

NEW YORK (AP) — Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan residence, and police said drugs may have been a factor. He was 28.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the Manhattan apartment believed to be his home. The housekeeper who went to let him know the masseuse had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.

The Australian-born actor was nominated for an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," where he met his wife, actress Michelle Williams, in 2005. Ledger and Williams had lived in Brooklyn and had a daughter, Matilda, until they split up last year.

Ledger was to appear as the Joker this year in "The Dark Night," a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins." He's had starring roles in "A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot," and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball."

Ledger grew up in Perth, and began doing amateur theater at age 10. At 16, he moved to Sydney to pursue an acting career, quickly landing TV movie roles and guest spots on Australian television.

After several independent films and a starring role in the short-lived Fox TV series "Roar," Ledger moved to Los Angeles and costarred in "10 Things I Hate About You," a teen comedy reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew."

Offers for other teen flicks came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.

"It wasn't a hard decision for me," Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, `You're crazy,' my parents were like, `Come on, you have to eat.'"

His latest role was in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan — as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.

Thoughts and Prayers.

How Did I Do?

BIG EIGHT: 33/40 - 82.5%
TECHS AND OTHERS: 39/63 - 61%
ALL TOGETHER: 70%

Not a bad year! Got all the Best Picture, Original Screenplay, and Cinematography correct, but those sound and music nominees killed me. Who thought Enchanted would grab 3 songs. I mean really!

Apparently Into The Wild did not hold the power that many thought it would only scoring 2 nods. Not even Sean Penn could pull out a directing nod (YAY JASON REITMAN!!!).

There is quite the brawl for the most nominations though:

Atonement - 7
Michael Clayton - 7
No Country For Old Men - 8
There Will Be Blood - 8

So......exciting


Best Picture: 5/5
Atonement
There Will Be Blood
No Country For Old Men
Juno
Michael Clayton

Best Director: 4/5
Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Sean Penn - Into The Wild - Jason Reitman - Juno
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton

Best Actor: 4/5
Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Emile Hirsch - Into The Wild - Tommy Lee Jones - In The Valley Of Elah
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Best Actress: 4/5
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page - Juno
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart - Laura Linney - The Savages

Best Supporting Actor: 4/5
Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Hal Holbrook - Into The Wild
Tommy Lee Jones - No Country For Old Men - Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War

Best Supporting Actress: 3/5
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Catherine Keener - Into The Wild - Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Vanessa Redgrave - Atonement - Saoirse Ronan - Atonement

Best Adapted Screenplay: 4/5
No Country For Old Men
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
There Will Be Blood
Into The Wild - Away From Her

Best Original Screenplay: 5/5
Juno
Michael Clayton
Lars And The Real Girl
The Savages
Ratatouille

Animated Feature: 2/3
Ratatouille
Persepolis
The Simpsons Movie - Surf's Up

Documentary: 3/5
Lake Of Fire - Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience
No End In Sight
Sicko
Autism: The Musical - War/Dance
Taxi To The Dark Side

Documentary Short: 2/4
Salim Baba
Ochberg's Orphans - Sari's Mother
La Corona (The Crown)
Freeheld

Foreign Film: 3/5
12 (Russia)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Beaufort (Israel)
The Unknown (Italy) - Katyn
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (Brazil) - Mongol

Art Direction: 3/5
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - American Gangster
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - The Golden Compass

Editing: 4/5
Michael Clayton - The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
There Will Be Blood
Into The Wild
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country For Old Men

Cinematography: 5/5
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
No Country For Old Men
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Costume Design: 3/5
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Atonement
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
3:10 to Yuma - La Vie En Rose
Hairspray - Across The Universe

Makeup: 1/3
300 - Pirates 3
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Norbit
La Vie En Rose

Original Score: 3/5
Eastern Promises - Michael Clayton
Atonement
The Kite Runner
Lust, Caution - 3:10 to Yuma
Ratatouille

Original Song: 2/5
Come So Far (Got So Far to Go), Hairspray - August Rush
Guarunteed, Into The Wild - Enchanted
Falling Slowly, Once
Do You Feel Me, American Gangster - Enchanted
That's How You Know, Enchanted

Sound Editing: 2/5
300 - The Bourne Ultimatum
Transformers
3:10 to Yuma - There Will Be Blood
Ratatouille
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - No Country For Old Men

Sound Mixing: 3/5
Transformers
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - Ratatouille
300 - 3:10 to Yuma
No Country For Old Men
The Bourne Ultimatum

Visual Effects: 3/3
Transformers
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
The Golden Compass

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Director Updates

So I don't have a total breakdown for the category but the Director chart is posted on the sidebar. I still believe that Joe Wright could upset here with the "epic pic director" slot, and Tim Burton could appear for the overdue slot. Tony Gilroy feels weak right now.

What do you guys think?

Alright Kids

I have a had a rough few days with school starting and stress piling up. I will most definitely be posting some reactions to the Globes soon, and will be updating the charts.

Thanks for hanging with me.

DGA Nods!

Great line up here!

Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Sean Penn - Into The Wild

Huge boost for Sean Penn and Tony Gilroy and their respective films, while There Will Be Blood continues to build momentum. Julian Schnabel needed this as well.

Good job DGA.

Directors update later.

Original Screenplay

Personally, I find the Original Screenplay category to be one of the most entertaining categories of any year. Here, we can find some of the most eclectic, enjoyable, thought-provoking projects of the year. It's always fun to delve in to the most original and creative projects of the year.



THE PLAYERS
1. Juno
2. Michael Clayton
3. Ratatouille
4. The Savages
5. Lars And The Real Girl

THE CHASERS
1. I'm Not There
2. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
3. Eastern Promises

It's clear that this category loves to award the quirky comedy with an emotional foundation, and that is exactly what Juno delivers. Not only are the lines well scripted, but the characters are too. It's a vast improvement on the Little Miss Sunshine model, and it seems like the clear winner here.

Michael Clayton seemed to be building so much Best Picture steam, only to stumble into the "unlikely" slot. So, the witty and clever adult law drama is likely nominated in this category: often considered the place to say "Oh, I'm sorry you didn't get into Best Picture...but here's a screenplay nod!!!"

Ratatouille has long been praised as one of the best reviewed movies of the year, and will most likely receive a nod here like The Incredibles did a few years ago. It's near impossible for animated films to break into the top five whether or not they deserve it, so once again, this category is where this animated masterpiece will fall.

The Savages and Lars and The Real Girl seem to be building momentum with their precursor nominations. The Savages has racked up the LAFCA award along with some regional nominations, while Lars and The Real Girl picked up the NBR award, a Satellite Award nomination, and a BFCA nomination. These two seem very likely to receive the 4th and 5th slots in this category.

The Chasers represent a completely different tone of film making. I'm Not There could get the weird yet cool nomination. Before The Devil Knows Your Dead could get the thrilling and intense nomination. And Eastern Promises could get the foreign mystery thriller nomination. It's a very cool year, and the range of possibilities is as diverse as it has ever been.

Loves it.

Later Players.

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ASC Nominations

Cinematographers are weighing in with the ASC nominations.

The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
No Country For Old Men

No Into The Wild huh?

Intriguing. What do you guys think?

Poll!!!

Surprisingly, Tilda Swinton won this weeks poll for most likely to be snubbed. I'm not sure if this is because most people don't really know her, or if they haven't seen Michael Clayton, but either way there is clearly a weakness to her performance that lead most of you to believe she could be snubbed.

The role is not as baity as others in the category and that could lead to the snub, but I don't really see the industry respect waivering that much.

My Pick: Atonement for Best Picture

It's too glossy and if the Academy decides to go gritty this year, Into The Wild, There Will Be Blood, and the many many others will overcome Joe Wright's Oscar-pleading project. It feels like Walk The Line.

BAFTA Long Lists

Variety has the BAFTA long lists up. These lists show the 15 contenders that the five for the short list will be chosen from. Atonement racks up 17 long list nominations, 4 of which in the Supporting Actress race (could not be happier about the Brenda Blethyn recognition!!!).

Here they are!

The Sweeney Todd snub in director and picture can be explained because screeners were not sent out. Don't read too much into this. Especially since it still received 9 long list nods without any publicity.

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USC Scripter Nominations

Awards Daily has the USC Scripter nominations up. And they are...

Atonement
Into The Wild
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac

The Scripter Awards recognize the year's best effort in screen writing adaptation. Last year, only two of the five Scripter nominees matched up with the Oscar top five, those being winner Children of Men, and Notes On A Scandal.

I will take this opportunity to give my breakdown of the Adapted Screenplay chart and give the break down the way I see it.

Historically, the winner of the Scripter has been Best Picture nominated 12 out of 19 times. The winners that missed were Children of Men, A Civil Action, The Hurricane, Wonder Boys, A River Runs Through It, Fried Green Tomatoes, and 84 Charing Crossing Road.

The Scripters started nominating instead of just plain awarding in '97, and since then 33 out of their 50 nominees have gone on to receive adapted screenplay nominations. Generally, they average a 3 or 4 nomination match with what AMPAS declares the best of the year. Only once have they matched up perfectly, in 2005, when they nominated Syriana as Adapted, but AMPAS nominated it in Original.

Atonement and No Country For Old Men get in without fail, and Into The Wild gets this nod as either an industry love match to a Best Picture nomination, or an apology à la Hotel Rwanda for not making the Best Pic short list. There Will be Blood is gaining serious momentum and seems very likely. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is falling fast and could get overtaken by the likes of Charlie Wilson's War, Sweeney Todd, Zodiac, or Gone Baby Gone. In the end, Scripter matches 3 or 4 to the Oscar list.

It's nice to see recognition for the brilliantly nuanced Zodiac finally come around at least a little bit, but I think it will pretty much stop here.

It's a great race.

THE PLAYERS
1. No Country For Old Men
2. Atonement
3. Into The Wild
4. There Will Be Blood
5. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

THE CHASERS
1. Charlie Wilson's War
2. Gone Baby Gone
3. Sweeney Todd
4. Zodiac

Diet Reviews!!!

I have been needing to get caught up on a few reviews so I just decided to lump them together and do Diet Reviews: a trimmed down version of what could have been a much wordier diatribe full of descriptive but superfluous adjectives. Much like that last sentence.

ATONEMENT
Um, ya. So this film was pretty much near perfect in its technical execution, which may ultimately be its tragic flaw. The film appears so glossy-perfect in its stunning cinematography and art direction that the whole thing feels a little plastic. Classic case of style trumping substance, though James McAvoy is was just what I thought he would be ever since I saw The Last King Of Scotland: a growing leading man. Watch out for him. GRADE: A-

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM
I have heard that the definition of an idiot is someone who does the same thing over and over but expects different results. I....am an idiot. I continuously see these new Alien or Predator movies because I loved the first two so much and hope that a return to brilliance will be just around the corner. This movie is horrible. Like as horrible as The Marine...horrible. Enough Said. GRADE: F

JUNO
I never bought into the cult love for Little Miss Sunshine last year, so I thought I would be particularly jaded to the apparently similar Juno this year. Remind me to never trust people because this film is anything but Little Miss Sunshine. Its gritty yet charming attitudes and truly original writing represent an enjoyable and original film, not a veneer of family awkwardness that both feigns originality and is shaped like a dancing Abigail Breslin. Ellen Page is incredible. And so is this movie. GRADE: A-

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
I need to see this again. I think it is brilliant, but I need to make sure I wasn't just vibing into a manipulative attempt to be complex for complexity's sake. But technically it was stunning. LOVE the no score choice. GRADE: A

I AM LEGEND
Just plain fun. Unfortunately the movie could have been a little less action and a little more "what should we think of this?" Often sacrifices truly thought-provoking, and inherently more interesting, questions for the cheesy jump-out-at-you moments that grew so annoying. Also, I kinda think it would have been amazing if they never really showed those baddies, and left it up to us as to whether he had gone insane. Just more interesting to me, I suppose. GRADE: B-

THE GREAT DEBATERS
Denzel Washington's second directorial effort is not as good as his first. This film is unfocused and often too wide ranging to garner any effective sentiment from an audience. In the effort to display many problems as a little wrong, the film sacrifices the importance of making one over arching issue WAY important. Very bleh to me. GRADE: C+

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