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

Chart Updates....

Full updates on the side bar. The year is looking to be extremely interesting. I will be breaking down the categories soon, when time opens up a little bit. Starting with Best Actress.

What do you guys think of the predicts?

Jon Stewart!!!!!

While I loved Ellen (who couldn't) I am thrilled with Jon Stewart taking the hosting duties this year. Especially given the politically charged movies this year. Can't wait.

Updates on predicts after Toronto.

P.S. Word on the street is that Reservation Road is freaking awesome. I have been predicting this since I heard about the cast, and even the awful poster and stupid trailer couldn't turn me off. Lovin' this!



Awful poster. Check out Awardsdaily.com for a full panning of this one sheet.

Updates and Questions

I will be updating the side bar and running some profiles and thoughts on the major contenders pretty soon.

Classes are starting here so things are hectic. But I promise I'll get around to it.

Thanks.

For now, what do you guys think about this season? Have any ideas about sleeper noms or clear frontrunner? Who is a shoe-in? Who needs some help?

P.S. I'm lovin' that "Atonement" got some raves from its first screening. More on that later.

Superbad

Well, I have found a group of comic actors with the stick together qualities of the Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson-Will Ferrell clique that I don't actually hate. The Judd Apatow group is the new Ferrell group, and they didn't just replace, they freakin' out performed!

Superbad, the new Seth Rogen penned comedy featuring the ever hilarious Jonah Hill (Knocked Up) and Michael Cera (Arrested Development), is the funniest movie of the summer. A throwback to the Dazed and Confused movies where high school students act like the hedonistic characters they are, Superbad is SuperAwesome! Taking place in just one day, the story focuses on Seth and Evan's quest for alcohol, popularity, and of course, vagina.

Starting right off the bat with some of the most original (and let's admit it....hilarious) shock humor to grace the silver screen, the movie quickly becomes a fascinating exploration of a truly unique relationship. While initially Seth and Evan live in a world where nothing but women matter, the truth, as it usually does, reveals itself: the only people they really care about are each other. Unfortunately the scripts only weak point is the transition into said emotional area. It was break neck! Funny one second, dramatic whiplash the next. Fortunately the tangible chemistry between the two not only saves the impractical scene, but makes us care as well.

Rogen's cop and the formidable "Fogell" add some incredibly entertaining supporting characters, but that is their only real role: blatant humor ("I have a boner!") The acting across the board achieves what it is supposed to: a believable cast of high school students who actually act their age. And the script and director fortunately do their jobs as well: avoiding self-importance, and existing as if they don't at all.

The bottom line is, Superbad is hilarious, and fun. And if you can get past the randomly indulgent spat near the beginning of the third act, then the movie is damn near perfect. See it!

RATING: B+

The Lovely Bones

Alright, I know this is way premature, but I am loving the casting for the 2008 project The Lovely Bones, adapted from Alice Sebold nearly infamous book about a little girl who is raped and murdered, spending her time after death watching her family cope.

Let's run this down:

Peter Jackson is directing - Hopefully it stays under 3 hours

Rachel Weisz and Ryan Gosling are the grieving parents - LOVE both of these actors and with Half Nelson and The Constant Gardner giving them both Oscar attention in the last few years, they will be on the radar REAL fast.

Susan Sarandon as the grandmother - If she doesn't win for In The Valley Of Elah this year, then she very well might next year. This role is an amazingly baity role.

Saoirse Ronan as Susie, the victim - If the attention for Atonement isn't the perfect momentum going into this role, then I don't know what is. If her performance this year gets enough attention, little Ronan could be looking at back to back nods.

AND MY FAVORITE!!!

STANLEY TUCCI as George Harvey, the killer - SO HAPPY! After one of his best (and totally underrated) performances last year in The Devil Wears Prada, Tucci looked to breaking out of his job as the actor who's face you know but not his name. This is the best role in the movie, and he is already my front-runner for winning in 2008.

I know all of this is premature, but I'm lovin' it.

The Kite Runner

The fact of the matter is, really famous books have a history of not doing so well at the Oscars (Cold Mountain, Memoirs Of A Geisha), while little known ones do better.

I'm nervous about this one, but the trailer is hot like fire, and the setting is political and very current so who knows?

Reservation Road Trailer

Well apparently YouTube has taken down the trailer, so here is another link to check it out. Don't understand why Focus Features would take it down, but that's that I suppose.

Check it out here

Here We Go Again!

So as some of you know, I don't really believe in making predictions for the following year right after the awards show is over, so I usually end up holding off until festival season to get my first round of predictions up.

I will be doing a profile of each major category as I get to it, but I have a my first round of predics on the sidebar.

Next post should be focusing on the supporting categories.

Check it out and let me know what you think!