Blood Diamond

Adventure is one of the hardest genres to get right. Tip your hat too far one way and you have a mindless action movie, another way and the story gets too muddled for it's own good. The latter is the problem with Blood Diamond, not that it isn't good, it's just that there is too much.

The basic set up is fairly simple and perfectly suitable to an adventure film, but it gets bogged down by characters and sub plots that are unnecessary. The political side of the diamond conflict is also shown, and needed to give the film it's extra weight, but even in its simplified form there is a little much.

Leonardo Dicaprio and Djimon Hounsou give wonderful performances and Jennifer Connely does the best she can but it is in her character that the major problems occur. She ends up being largely forgettable and her appearance in the film feels more like a necessity to the plot.

If the film had been a bit more focused it would have been great. What is done right is wonderful and there is just enough of it to overcome the problems.

And the Actor goes to...

The SAG Awards just started and if I didn't post my predictions then I would have nothing else to do but watch the SAG Awards.

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"

UPDATE: Jenifer Hudson it is. She thanks every person at the Dreamgirls table, individually, and it's a big table.

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"

UPDATE: Eddie Murphy just won. Some people still remember when he was funny, too bad he doesn't. Leonardo DiCaprio looks like he wants to be somewhere else.

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Helen Mirren, "The Queen"

UPDATE: Helen Mirren. Both The Queen and Marie Antoinette have their titles come up over a shot of each ruler in a portrait pose, then they look directly into the camera. This has nothing to do with the award but I can't really think of a joke about Helen Mirren.

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

UPDATE: Forest Whitaker. Rightly so.

Best Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: "Little Miss Sunshine"

UPDATE: Little Miss Sunshine. The show is over, allowing more time for TBS to show Men in Black.

Global warming solved: the end is nigh.

The Last King of Scotland

I knew when I left the theater today that I had seen a great performance, but was not so sure about it being a great movie.

The problem lies in the fictional character Nicholas Garrigan played by James McAvoy. It has nothing to do with his performance, which is really top notch, it's with the fact that this is another movie in the somewhat small genre of showing a minorities plight through that of a white mans eyes, joining the ranks of Glory and The Last Samurai. I'll give it credit for this not being a typical biopic (if you could even call it that) but the problem is this character is not very likable. Charming and charismatic, yes, but once you think back to all the mistakes and foolish decisions that he has made it becomes clear he deserves a fate far worse than what he receives.

As for Forest Whitaker, he wholeheartedly deserves all the attention and awards he has been receiving. He turns from a teddy bear to a well, a real bear in an instant. When he is off screen you wait for him to return, his energy draws you in.

As for everything else, the movie looks and sounds great. There is tension that never seems cheated, it is only once you look back that the problems begin to develop.

Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth starts out as a grim story about the last days of the Spanish civil war but then turns into some kind of twisted fairy tale for adults.

Director Guillermo Del Toro has meshed his story of soldiers and revolutionaries with a dark fable about an underworld princess destined to restore order to an ancient kingdom.

The two stories are linked by Ofelia, who with a faun to guide her, comes to believe she is the princess of this other world. She must complete a series of tasks in order to open the portal and restore peace.

I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. It's a heartbreaking tale of cruelty and hopelessness, but just the moment the world seems too oppressive we are allowed to see another world altogether.

The film reminded me of Robert Bresson's Mouchette. Another story of a child who doesn't seem destined for this world. While that film never strayed from the harsh realities, this films flights into fancy feel just as earned, never distracting or interrupting the story.

Letters from Iwo Jima

It seems that every two years Clint Eastwood releases a new film (this year he released two), and like clockwork, each new film joins the previous efforts in the upper pantheon of Eastwood's best.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a World War II variation on the battle for the Alamo. From the Japanese point of view, we are able to see soldiers preparing and waiting for the enemy to arrive. Knowing they are outnumbered with no support coming they are basically waiting to die. This is a minimalist war film, focused on the day to day activities of these soldiers.

Eastwood depicts these men objectively and with a quiet sympathy. General Kuribayashi, played here by the great Ken Watanabe, arrives on the black sands of Iwo Jima knowing this battle was lost before it ever began. There are more than 100,000 Allied troops on their way to take the island, and with barely a fifth of that number of his own soldiers, faced with dwindling supplies, Kuribayashi understands that conventional Japanese battle plans are useless. Their only option is to dig in, creating a network of tunnels through out the island. The tunnels create a claustrophobic sense to the war scenes, adding another layer of doom over the soldiers heads.

Kazunari Ninomiya as Saigo also delivers an outstanding performance. As a soldier who wants nothing more to get home to his wife and newborn daughter, he will do whatever is necessary to survive the invasion.

Letters from Iwo Jima works as a companion piece to Eastwood's earlier Iwo Jima film, Flags of our Fathers. The American story was about lies to make war appear heroic, this is concerned only with fighting for survival.

Eastwood has delivered a restrained and honest document about the war.

Oscar Nominations (Part Two)

Here is the full list. I hope it's not hard to read, I just copied and pasted from the website.

Dreamgirls had the most nominees, but three of their eight are for best song.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children” (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Cars” (Buena Vista) John Lasseter
“Happy Feet” (Warner Bros.) George Miller
“Monster House” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Gil Kenan

Achievement in art direction
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“The Good Shepherd” (Universal)
Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall
Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero
Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs
Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
“The Prestige” (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti

Achievement in cinematography
“The Black Dahlia” (Universal) Vilmos Zsigmond
“Children of Men” (Universal) Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Illusionist” (Yari Film Group) Dick Pope
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Guillermo Navarro
“The Prestige” (Buena Vista) Wally Pfister

Achievement in costume design
“Curse of the Golden Flower” (Sony Pictures Classics) Yee Chung Man
“The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox) Patricia Field
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount) Sharen Davis
“Marie Antoinette” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Milena Canonero
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Consolata Boyle

Achievement in directing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Stephen Frears
“United 93” (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass

Best documentary feature
“Deliver Us from Evil” (Lionsgate)
A Disarming Films Production
Amy Berg and Frank Donner
“An Inconvenient Truth” (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
A Lawrence Bender/Laurie David Production
Davis Guggenheim
“Iraq in Fragments” (Typecast Releasing)
A Typecast Pictures/Daylight Factory Production
James Longley and John Sinno
“Jesus Camp” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Loki Films Production
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
“My Country, My Country” (Zeitgeist Films)
A Praxis Films Production
Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer

Best documentary short subject
“The Blood of Yingzhou District”
A Thomas Lennon Films Production
Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
“Recycled Life”
An Iwerks/Glad Production
Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
“Rehearsing a Dream”
A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production
Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
“Two Hands”
A Crazy Boat Pictures Production
Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr

Achievement in film editing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Steven Rosenblum
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Thelma Schoonmaker
“United 93” (Universal and StudioCanal)
Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson

Best foreign language film of the year
“After the Wedding” A Zentropa Entertainments 16 Production
Denmark
“Days of Glory (Indigènes)” A Tessalit Production
Algeria
“The Lives of Others” A Wiedemann & Berg Production
Germany
“Pan’s Labyrinth” A Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj/Estudios Picasso Production
Mexico
“Water” A Hamilton-Mehta Production
Canada

Achievement in makeup
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Click” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) David Marti and Montse Ribe

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Gustavo Santaolalla
“The Good German” (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
“Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Alexandre Desplat

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”
(Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler
Lyric by Anne Preven
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from “Cars”
(Buena Vista)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls”
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Willie Reale

Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films Production
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Nominees to be determined
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
A Big Beach/Bona Fide Production
Nominees to be determined
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
A Granada Production
Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers

Best animated short film
“The Danish Poet” (National Film Board of Canada)
A Mikrofilm and National Film Board of Canada Production
Torill Kove
“Lifted” (Buena Vista)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Gary Rydstrom
“The Little Matchgirl” (Buena Vista)
A Walt Disney Pictures Production
Roger Allers and Don Hahn
“Maestro” (Szimplafilm)
A Kedd Production
Geza M. Toth
“No Time for Nuts” (20th Century Fox)
A Blue Sky Studios Production
Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier

Best live action short film
“Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)”
A Peliculas Pendelton and Tus Ojos Production
Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
“Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)” (Kimuak)
An Altube Filmeak Production
Borja Cobeaga
“Helmer & Son”
A Nordisk Film Production
Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
“The Saviour” (Australian Film Television and Radio School)
An Australian Film Television and Radio School Production
Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
“West Bank Story”
An Ari Sandel, Pascal Vaguelsy, Amy Kim, Ravi Malhotra and Ashley Jordan Production
Ari Sandel

Achievement in sound editing
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Lon Bender
“Flags of Our Fathers” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
Alan Robert Murray
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II

Achievement in sound mixing
“Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
“Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
“Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton
“Flags of Our Fathers” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff

Achievement in visual effects
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
“Poseidon” (Warner Bros.)
Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
“Superman Returns” (Warner Bros.)
Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum

Adapted screenplay
“Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (20th Century Fox)
Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer
Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by William Monahan
“Little Children” (New Line)
Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta
“Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Screenplay by Patrick Marber

Original screenplay
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by Iris Yamashita
Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Michael Arndt
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Written by Guillermo del Toro
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Written by Peter Morgan

Oscar Nominations (Part One)

It's 7:27 and my eyes aren't quite open yet. I'm laying in bed while Keith Urban is talking about the wonders of rehab and apparenty Oprah had a baby when she was fourteen. It's too early to be watching E.

I think they just brought out their style expert to predict the nominees. He said Helen Mirren might take the whole kit and caboodle. There are five minutes to go, I think I'll get some water.

It's starting now, Salma Hayek is reading the nominees, along with someone nobody cares about.

Supporting Actress:

Adrianna Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Good to see that Abigail Breslin made it.

Supporting Actor:

Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

No Jack Nicholson, who are they going to keep cutting to in the crowd on Oscar night? I would be upset but they went with Wahlberg instead, who probably gives a better performance. Will Jackie Earle Haley arrive on a dirt bike? Eddie Murphy has to be the favorite to win at this point.

Lead Actress

Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

No surprises.

Best Actor:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland

Hmm, DiCaprio nominated for Blood Diamond instead of The Departed. Good that Ryan Gosling made it.

Best Director:

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93

No Bill Condon or Dayton/Faris. This does not bode well for Dreamgirls and Little Miss Sunshine. Letters from Iwo Jima is looking better.

Original Screenplay:

Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little MIss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen

Another nominee for Letters. The style expert just realized that Jackie Earle Haley was in Bad News Bears.

Adapted Screenplay:

Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

Borat and Children of Men, good. Again, no Dreamgirls.

Foreign Film:

After the Wedding
Days of Glory
The Lives of Others
Pan's Labyrinth
Water

No Volver. I don't know much about the others.

Animated Film:

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

They need to hand out 3D glasses when they show the Moster House clip.

Best Picture:

Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Wow, no Dreamgirls. I can't say I'm upset. I have no idea who are the front runners are at this point.

I'll be back to post the rest of the list soon. I guess I need to head off to watch Letters from Iwo Jima, Pan's Labyrinth, Last King of Scotland and maybe even Blood Diamond.

Oscar Predictions

I'm too lazy to go through all the tech categories so I'm just going to stick to the majors. I'll be up at 7:30 in the morning to post the nominees as they are announced.

Best Picture

Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

This has been the group being predicted the past few weeks and I don't see anything changing. The only two with an even outside chance are Letters From Iwo Jima or United 93.

Lead Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland

Can Sacha Baron Cohen sneak into the group? He has the years most talked about performance. Ryan Gosling could very easily be bumped having not been nominated for the SAG or Golden Globes.

CORRECTION: Turns out that Ryan Gosling was nominated for the SAG. I still feel he is the most likely to be bumped though.

Lead Actress

Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

All five of these women seem to be a lock.

Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson, The Departed

Brad Pitt, Babel

Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond could bump one of these five out. I included Haley because, well, because he was in Breaking Away and Bad News Bears. That's enough for me. I would also like to see Mark Wahlberg nominated here.

Supporting Actress

Adrianna Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

This will be a young group if all five make the final list. I guess it doesn't really matter, it seems Jenifer Hudson already has the award in the bag.

Director

Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Dayton/Faris, Little Miss Sunshine
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

There always seems to be a surprise in this category, rarely do the nominees match up perfectly with the nominees for best picture. I have a fear that Dayton and Faris could be knocked out. This could lead to Clint Eastwood, Paul Greengrass, or (hopefully) Alfonso Cuaron

Screenplay, Original

Babel, Guillermo Arriagathe
Little Miss Sunshine, Michael Arndt
Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro
The Queen, Peter Morgan
Volver, Pedro Almodovar,

This is one category that United 93 has a legit change of sneaking into, but will Academy members feel the film is too improvised to merit the nomination? If it does make the list it will probably bump off one of the foreign language films.

Screenplay, Adapted

The Departed, William Monahan
The Devil Wears Prada, Aline Brosh McKenna
Dreamgirls, Bill Condon
Little Children, Todd Field
Thank You for Smoking, Jason Reitman

Children of Men deserves a spot in here but it seems the one complaint people have had with it has been the script. I wouldn't be surprised if Notes on a Scandal made the the final list.

Animated Feature

Cars
Flushed Away
Happy Feet

I had to guess three, so there are three.

I left off the Documentary Feature category. I haven't seen enough or know enough about the potential nominees to make an accurate guess. I hope that Jesus Camp makes the final five though.

Snow Angels Reviews

From movie city indie

NOTHING LIKE A BITTERSWEET COMEDY-TRAGEDY AT 8:30 IN THE MORNING at Sundance: sigh. David Gordon Green’s fourth feature, the casual yet deeply serious, soulful Snow Angels continues along his own lovely path, reaching into particulars of working class life with wit and empathy. Life is a river, and sometimes it freezes over: Gordon, working with generous breadth in adapting Stewart O’Nan’s book, warms the heart. The cast is large, Altman-sized. Green moves between them fluidly. There are at least ten major characters, their interactions marshaled with novelistic care. It’s a tapestry of overwhelming complication, adroitly described, demonstrating well the abiding truth that you must forgive trespasses in tiny towns. Set in an unnamed Pennsylvania town (but shot in Nova Scotia), the movie conveys the chill of disillusionment, yet in the foreground or in the corner of many of the widescreen shots, tendrils reach. Trees, rooted, that will revive come spring. Annie (Kate Beckinsale) is the mother of Tara, a small girl. Working as one part of the seemingly entirely non-Asian staff of the local China Town restaurant, Annie tries to avoid estranged husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell), who's developed a few messianic tics since their separation, and keep meetings with Nate (Nicky Katt), husband of China Town co-worker Barb (Amy Sedaris), a secret from all. Another co-worker is teenaged Arthur (Michael Angarano), whom Annie babysat for many years, and who is in a want-a-first-kiss flirtation with Lila, a proto-glamour-geek behind cats-eye glasses, under rats-nest tangle of dark hair (Olivia Thirlby). Theirs is a sweetly hopeful young romance despite the quietly catastrophic onset of middle-aged disillusionment in Arthur’s parents (still floppy-haired Griffin Dunne, weary yet luminous Jeanneta Arnette). The acting is very, very good, with the performers matching the capacity of Green’s fully furnished world to surprise from shot-to-shot.

The world falls apart terribly in this small, unspecified town and the landscape swallows many sorrows. And yet. Things change but life does not stop: young love, old love, they are as true as the hurts notched across years of acquaintance or relationship. Establishing shots are used as socioeconomic shorthand, and meticulously gathered props and interior design have talismanic weight.

As always, Green and his regular cinematographer Tim Orr observe landscape, working as the first-est second unit of them all. (How do they find the time to shoot all this concrete yet lyrical coverage?) Shots matter in movies like George Washington, All the Real Girls, Undertow and Snow Angels: An overweight grandmother with faded tattoos on her forearm. Kate Beckinsale’s bare calf, cocked, across a motel room bedspread. Snowflakes on red wool. A lovemaking scene that builds from the elegant example of Don’t Look Now (plus a bonus goofball cunnilingus button). We see a boy in class seen drawing an enormous power transmission line, and Green cuts to the real line, which dominates a hillside and horizon without a lick of majesty. Among many other glorious instants, I would single out one of Lila, outdoors, watching Arthur leave the school grounds, taking a photograph of this boy to whom she is all the time more drawn; it’s from a bit of distance, and unsteady, framed just a little high on her as she looks over her glasses through the glass viewfinder of her twin-lensed medium format camera, contrasting geometry both above and below her of the outdoor stadium, and her bulky-at-the-base winter coat planting her there like a tree. The next couple of shots? Landscapes in the style of the photographs she’s taken: for a second, her eyes are the film’s omniscient vision. Green is good at this, at throwaway beauty. “Let me take your breath, okay? Now let’s move along.”

Dialogue matters to this still-young writer-director, too, as anyone who likes his films would tell you. A girl browsing a slang dictionary as a tease: “Fellatrix. I like that”; “If Tom Cruise were a little girlie, girlie, he’d look like you”; “Can you say that in Spanish?”; “She had a pickle”; “I’ll suck you right up my tailpipe, bud”; “I’m nice, aren’t I?... Do you have any idea of how adorably cute you are? … Right now?” And emotion, with motion: a girl’s “Stupid things you say make me like you even more,” caught in a handheld shot that moves uneasily back from a two-shot into an empty high school corridor, leaving them framed at the center of their world.

Aside from worthy embellishments on Robert Altman, Green makes a wry nod to Cameron Crowe with a bit involving a pencil earlier; the two men are parallel sweethearts. An end-credit bonus unlikely to be found in Altman or Crowe: there’s a tune in the movie entitled “Four Robots Fucking in A Wool Sock.”


And one more from indie wire

The moment in "Snow Angels" that qualifies stand-alone filmmaker David Gordon Green as the most artful of film masters occurs when Glenn (Sam Rockwell), a broken man, dances with two drunken patrons at a rundown tavern in the small Pennsylvania town he calls home. A birthday cake sits on a nearby pinball table without explanation. The room is dark, so dark that it's hard to say if one of the shuffling patrons holding Glenn is a man or woman. But everything is placed with the same attention to perfect detail as his previous three feature films, "Undertow," "All the Real Girls" and his best film, "George Washington."

Glenn's dance brims with true human feeling. It's a brave sequence, something I can't imagine another American filmmaker attempting. That's what separates Green's filmmaking from all others - his bravery for tackling unique storytelling.
Glenn (Rockwell) and his pretty wife Annie (Kate Beckinsale) have separated and both struggle to piece their lives back together. Glenn wants reconciliation with his wife and young daughter. Meanwhile, she embarks on an affair with a married man. As bad decisions lead to tragedies, "Snow Angels" makes a turn midway and shifts from family melodrama to a a thriller with a climax alongside a frozen lake. Of course, this is a thriller done the David Gordon Green way, meaning it's quiet, subtle and completely natural.

Sam Rockwell gives a physical performance, bashing his head against his pick-up truck. Rockwell does what Green needs everyone to do - he comes off believably as a regular Joe. Michael Angarano puts his aw-shucks personality to good use as Arthur, an affable teen who works with Annie. Olivia Thirlby stands out as Arthur's nerdy girlfriend. Theirs is the sweetest on-screen kiss in recent memory.

The only false notes belong to the too beautiful Kate Beckinsale. It's as if she's the only cast member who refused to wipe away her Hollywood make up for the sake of the story. "Snow Angels" is Green's first film shot above the Mason Dixon line as well as the first feature he adapted from a novel instead of his own writing. Yet, "Snow Angels" syncs perfectly with everything Green has shown audiences up to this point (including beautiful work from his regular cameraman Tim Orr). Green's growth is his ability to craft suspense.

The undeniable truth of Green's filmmaking is that there is no ambivalence about his movies. You either love his sense of deliberately paced naturalism or you find it lulling. Point Blank: I am a fan and will always celebrate his work.

Golden Globe Winners

Best Motion Picture/Drama: Babel

Best Actor/Drama: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress/Drama: Helen Mirren, The Queen

Best Motion Picture/Musical or Comedy: Dreamgirls

Best Actor/Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat

Best Actress/Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada

Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Best Animated Feature Film: Cars

Best Foreign Language Film: Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, The Queen

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Painted Veil

Best Original Song: Prince, "The Song of the Heart" from Happy Feet

Golden Globe (Movie) Predictions

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Babel
Bobby
The Departed
Little Children
The Queen

Babel has the most nominations of any film but I can't really see it winning here. Without Dreamgirls or Little Miss Sunshine in the competition this seems like it will go to The Departed.

My Pick - The Departed
My Preference - The Departed

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Penélope Cruz – Volver
Judi Dench – Notes On A Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal – sherrybaby
Helen Mirren – The Queen
Kate Winslet – Little Children

Helen Mirren has won almost (if not all) of the critics awards up to this point, I don't see anything changing here.

My Pick - Mirren
My Preference - Mirren

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Departed
Peter O'Toole – Venus
Will Smith – The Pursuit Of Happyness
Forest Whitaker – The Last King Of Scotland

Whitaker, like Mirren, has won the majority of the of the critic's awards up to this point. But the Hollywood Foreign Press usually likes to give their awards to movie stars other than actors. I don't think Leonardo DiCaprio will split votes with himself so I predict the award will go to him, but not for The Departed. I am only guessing this because well, the HFPA are wacky.

My Pick - DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)
My Preference - DiCaprio (The Departed)

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You For Smoking


This category probably comes down to Little Miss Sunshine or Dreamgirls. If I had to guess I would pick...

My Pick - Little Miss Sunshine
My Preference - Little Miss Sunshine

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Annette Bening – Running With Scissors
Toni Collette – Little Miss Sunshine
Beyoncé Knowles – Dreamgirls
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada
Renée Zellweger – Miss Potter

Was Miss Potter even released? I don't think anyone beats Meryl Streep in this but I wouldn't be suprised to hear Beyoncé's named called (though she doesn't deserve it).

My Pick - Streep
My Preference - Collette (By default, her starring in my favorite movie out of the group of nominees.)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Sacha Cohen – Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
Johnny Depp – Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Aaron Eckhart – Thank You For Smoking
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell – Stranger Than Fiction

This is a strange group. If he wins, will Borat go on stage to accept the award?

My Pick - Cohen
My Preference - Cohen

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Adriana Barraza – Babel
Cate Blanchett – Notes On A Scandal
Emily Blunt – The Devil Wears Prada
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi – Babel

Even though the acting only shines when she is singing, Jenifer Hudson does that one song really well. You know the one I'm talking about, right?

My Pick - Hudson
My Preference - Hudson

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Ben Affleck – Hollywoodland
Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson – The Departed
Brad Pitt – Babel
Mark Wahlberg – The Departed

A group of movie stars. Eddie Murphy will probably be awarded here, and deservingly so. Of course, never count out Jack Nicholson when it comes to any kind of award.

My Pick - Murphy
My Preference - Wahlberg

Best Animated Feature Film

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Cars, becuase it is from Pixar. Even if it is one of their lesser efforts.

My Pick - Cars
My Preference - Monster House

Best Foreign Languge Film

Apocalypto (United States)
Letters From Iwo Jima (Japan, United States)
The Lives Of Others (Germany)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Volver (Spain)

If Apocalypto wins will Mel Gibson thank sugar tits? I'm going to guess on a win for Letters From Iwo Jima here, just so they can get Clint Eastwood on the stage.

My Pick - Letters from Iwo Jima
My Preference- Volver (It's the only one I have seen of the five)

Best Director - Motion Picture

Clint Eastwood – Flags Of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood – Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears – The Queen
Alejandro Iñárritu – Babel
Martin Scorsese – The Departed

Martin Scorsese.

My Pick - Martin Scorsese
My Preference - Martin Scorsese

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Babel - Written by Guillermo Arriaga
The Departed - Written by William Monahan
Little Children - Written by Todd Field, Tom Perrotta
Notes On A Scandal - Written by Patrick Marber
The Queen - Written by Peter Morgan

The Departed script has the best dialogue of any of the nominees but I still don't think it will beat The Queen.

My Pick - The Queen
My Preference - The Departed

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Painted Veil - Composed by Alexandre Desplat
The Fountain - Composed by Clint Mansell
Babel - Composed by Gustavo Santaolalla
Nomad - Composed by Carlo Siliotto
The Da Vinci Code - Composed by Hans Zimmer

I have no idea what Nomad is. I am getting tired of the atomospheric acoustic guitar scores, so that takes out Babel. This guess is based entirely on items I have read, so with that...

My Pick - The Painted Veil
My Preference - The Da Vinci Code (It was easily the best thing about the movie)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"A Father's Way" – The Pursuit Of Happyness
Music By: Seal and Christopher Bruce
Lyrics By: Seal

"Listen" – Dreamgirls
Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Henry Krieger, Anne Preven and Scott Cutler

"Never Gonna Break My Faith" – Bobby
Music & Lyrics By: Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy and Andrea Remanda

"The Song Of The Heart" – Happy Feet
Music & Lyrics By: Prince Rogers Nelson

"Try Not To Remember" – Home Of The Brave
Music & Lyrics By: Sheryl Crow

Is there any way they are not going to give this award to Beyoncé? It't the only song out of the nominees that I remember, even if it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the music in the film.

My Pick - "Listen" – Dreamgirls
My Preference - "Listen" – Dreamgirls

Children of Men

Here is a fan made trailer that really captures what is so brilliant about the movie. Be careful though, it contains quite a bit of spoilers.

A photo from Austin's favorite movie of 2007

Hell in the Pacific (1968)

I stumbled across this last night on Turner Classic Movies. Knowing absolutely nothing about the plot, I was intrigued when within the first ten minutes of watching there were maybe three words said, and these were all Lee Marvin talking to himself.

The film stars the aforementioned Marvin as a United States Marine and Toshiro Mifune as a Japanese Officer stranded together on a deserted Pacific island during Wold War II. The Two men are at first hostile towards each other, with Mifune attempting to protect his water and Marvin psychologically attacking him. Eventually they from a fragile relationship over the building of a raft and their attempted escape from the island. The cinematography on the island is gorgeous and the scenes at sea are realistic. All this serves as a backdrop to the fantastic performances from both actors.

The one problem is the ending. I later learned that this was tacked on by one of the producers after he was unhappy with the original conclusion.

The film is directed by John Boorman.

Two side notes:

A website for a screening at Harvard two years ago says this film is in english and japanese with english subtitles. The version I saw last night contained no subtitles and it worked very well. It further showed the lack of communication between the two men with the audience (well, me) not knowing what the Japanese soldier was saying.

About half way through the film I thought the islands looked familiar and had appeared on a season of Survivor. Sure enough I was right. As the title card for The End appears another note is presented underneath, "filmed entirely on the islands of Palau." This was home to the tenth season of the show. And yes, I realize this means absolutely nothing to anybody but me, either way I'm still patting myself on the back.

Snow Angels

Production stills from David Gordon Green's upcoming movie can be found at rope of silicon.

Synecdoche, New York

Charlie Kaufman will be directing for the first time from his script Synecdoche, New York. It is about a theater director who puts on a play inside a warehouse with a recreation of New York for its stage.

In talks to join the cast are...Philip Seymour Hoffman as the theater director, Catherine Keener to play his first wife, Michelle Williams his second wife, Samantha Morton as his sometimes lover, and Tilda Swinton for Keener's best friend.

Spike Jonze is producing.

There is more information on the film here.

The Wicker Man

I missed this movie in the theater, but after watching this I really need to see it...

This is by far the worst example I have seen of a great movie poster being turned into a horrible DVD cover.

Anticipations

This is a nice article on films being released in the next year.

I would add David Gordon Green's Snow Angels to the list as well (here is an article on that film).

Top Ten 2006

1. The Departed
No other movie offered more pure entertainment coupled with such a mastery of cinema.

2. Children of Men
Can there be a tie for number one? This movie offers far too many ideas to discuss here, with far too many great sequences.

3. INLAND EMPIRE
It seems like David Lynch's entire career was leading to this.

4. The Good Shepherd
This plays like a film from the 70's, I mean that as a compliment.

5. The Proposition
A western that is like no other western.

6. Casino Royale
I can't say it's the best Bond movie of all time but that's only because I've seen about three James Bond movies.

7. A Prairie Home Companion
The fact that the final Robert Altman movie deals with death and the end of an era feels right. The fact that it's a comedy feels even better.

8. Half Nelson
Even if the movie wasn't good it would be worth seeing for the Ryan Gosling performance.

9. Little Miss Sunshine
Not the funniest movie of the year but the best comedy that seems rooted in reality.

10. United 93
Is it too soon for this movie to be made? It's probably not soon enough. I'm not even sure what that means.

Runners Up: The Good German, Little Children, Volver, Catch a Fire, Flags of our Fathers, Marie Antoinette, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Movies missed by me or that haven't opened here yet: Old Joy, Letters From Iwo Jima, Blood Diamond, Apocalypto, Last King of Scotland, Pan's Labyrinth, Notes on a Scandal


Worst Five

1. Harsh Times
This title actually describes how it feels to sit through the movie.

2. Little Man
From the people that brought you White Chicks and Scary Movie.

3. You, Me & Dupree
A comedy that ruins the talents of Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas, and Seth Rogen. It also stars Kate Hudson.

4. For Your Consideration
This may not actually belong on this list as it did offer some laughs but at some point the entire thing becomes boring and tedious.

5. The Da Vinci Code
I don't want to ruin this movie for anyone but here it is: Tom Hanks finds a historical artifact and explains it. This is followed by a chase and at some point the word apple means something. Repeat over and over and over and over...


Best Last Shot: United 93

Best Music: The Good German

Best Cinematography: Children of Men

Best Quote: "I'm gonna go have a smoke right now. You want a smoke? You don't smoke, do you, right? What are you, one of those fitness freaks, huh? Go fuck yourself." Alec Baldwin, The Departed

Best movie officially released in 2005 but not shown here until March 2006: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Best Documentary: Jesus Camp

Best Director Q & A: David Lynch after INLAND EMPIRE

Best movie released on DVD the same week it was released in theaters: Bubble

Best movie that was only good because Lucas Black: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Best movie to see in 3D: Monster House