The Broadcast Film Critic Awards:

Best Picture - No Country for Old Men
Best Directors - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Best Actress - Julie Christie - Away From Her
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Best Picture Made for Television - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Best Documentary -Sicko
Best Family Film - Enchanted
Best Animated Film - Ratatouille
Joel Siegel Humanitarian Award - Don Cheadle
Best Foreign Language Film - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Best Song - Falling Slowly - Once
Best Composer - Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood
Best Comedy - Juno
Best Young Actor - Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada - The Kite Runner
Best Young Actress - Nikki Blonsky - Hairspray
Best Screenplay - Diablo Cody - Juno
Best Ensemble - Hairspray

Here is a slide show of some of production designer Jack Fisk's work including his most recent movie, There Will Be Blood. My favorite image is this sketch of the house he ultimately built for Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven.

Probably not many things are more boring to read than a press release but I am much too lazy today to actually summarize the one below. Well, maybe I'm not. United Artists has reached a deal with the WGA allowing writers guild members to work on the studios films. The rest of the details are below.

The Writers Guild of America and legendary United Artists Films have reached a mutually beneficial independent agreement. While the details are not being disclosed in this announcement, the comprehensive agreement addresses the issues important to writers, including New Media.

As a result of this agreement, Writers Guild members will be able to work with United Artists while the strike against other companies continues.

The agreement is unique to United Artists Films and does not involve Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), a shareholder of United Artists Entertainment.

"United Artists has lived up to its name. UA and the Writers Guild came together and negotiated seriously. The end result is that we have a deal that will put people back to work," said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West.

"This agreement is important, unique, and makes good business sense for United Artists. In keeping with the philosophy of its original founders, artists who sought to create a studio in which artists and their creative visions could flourish, we are pleased to have reached an agreement with the WGA," said UA co-owner and CEO Paula Wagner.

On the other hand, MGM released the folowing statement, saying that it does not agree with United Artists' decision:

Regarding United Artists Films seeking an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America (WGA): Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) understands the desire of United Artists to resume its business activities, but respectfully disagrees with its decision to sign an interim agreement with the WGA.

MGM remains committed to working with AMPTP member companies to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the WGA that positions everyone in our industry for success in a rapidly changing marketplace

Fox Atomic has hired Karyn Kusama to direct Jennifer's Body, a quirky comedic thriller written by Juno scribe Diablo Cody.

Megan Fox will play a cheerleader in a sleepy town whose perfect life goes haywire when she becomes possessed and begins killing the young men in town who lust after her.

Hard C partners Jason Reitman and Dan Dubiecki will produce with Mason Novick. Reitman directed the Cody-scripted Juno for Atomic's sister company Fox Searchlight.

Kusama directed Girlfight and Aeon Flux. Shooting begins in early March.

ASC Nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography:

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

From Awards Daily.

At the end of this weekend’s NYTimes piece on Ethan Coen’s foray into writing three short plays for the stage, the younger Coen brother mentions their upcoming project:

“Our next movie is all about Hebrew school,” Mr. Coen said, with excitement, “in a big way.” It starts shooting in Minnesota this spring.

Candidly autobiographical, “it’s about a family of four in the Midwest, in 1967,” he said, “and one of the kids is about to be bar mitzvahed. Yes, horrible things happen.”

Ever vigilant to bring you the latest updates, I linked around and found this breaking news in the Minneapolis Star Tribune from, er… last November:

Their new Minnesota film won’t exist in the same offbeat imaginary universe as “Fargo,” Ethan said. “For one thing, the period is 1967 and it also takes place in a Jewish family in a Jewish community. We grew up in St. Louis Park, which was and is a heavily Jewish suburb. It’s more that than the Scandinavian ethnic thing that was in ‘Fargo.’”It’s summer,” added Joel, “so we’re not dealing with one of the hallmarks, at least in people’s minds, of Minnesota life, which is the cold.”

But in some ways it promises to be a similar upper Midwestern comedy of manners. This is a Minnesota story, the Coens insisted, born out of specific memories of their youth.

From EW. Screw this, I'll still watch it but this is totally ruining my Sunday night television schedule.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has finally announced that this Sunday's Golden Globe telecast on NBC and champagne-soaked dinner are now cancelled. In its place will be an hour-long HFPA press conference covered live by NBC News beginning at 6:00 PST. "We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007’s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television,” said Jorge Camara, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. “We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year’s Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled.”

Marlon Wayans has joined the cast of Paramount's upcoming G.I. Joe feature. He will play Ripcord, the leader of the military unit. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (what, why?) is also in negotiations to join the project, based on Hasbro's U.S. soldier action figure.

British newcomer Gemma Arterton and Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko have been cast as the two female leads in the next installment of the James Bond franchise. Arterton will play Agent Fields in the Marc Forster-directed movie, which is still known only as ''Bond 22'' and is currently filming in London for a Nov. 7 release.

Worst of 2007

No real explanation needed here. I pretty much never want to see any of these movies again.

5. Beowulf
Sure the 3-D is nice and neat but everything else is so boring none of it really matters. Things look up towards the end when a giant dragon appears but by that time I was so indifferent to the whole thing that I don't think anything could have saved it.

4. TMNT
I am still confused by this movie. Was it a sequel to the other turtle films or a stand alone entry? Something happens during the running time but I can't remember exactly what or how. I'm most confused as to why I even went to see this in the first place.

3. Planet Terror
Robert Rodriguez's half of Grindhouse is designed as a bad movie and it works. Maybe too well.

2. Margot at the Wedding
God, what a disappointment. It's just one miserable conversation after another, then someone shits their pants.

1. Ghost Rider
The worst kind of movie. So mediocre you can't even laugh at it. You just sit there counting off second after grueling second until the whole thing ends. Walking out is probably a better option but you think it will get better, it has to. It never does.

Best of 2007

2007 has been an amazing year for movies, filled with more out and out masterpieces than any year in recent memory. Looking at the list of movies I saw this year there were at least 25 movies that I could had included in this top ten list, pictures that are somewhere between great and amazing. Actually pairing down this list has taken more than one attempt, switching films into different slots trying to actually decided how I really feel about each one. The simple fact is that I love each one of these, in fact, any of the top five could be switched about and I would have no problem. Any of them could be number one. My hardest decision was between my number one and two choice. Trying to decide between a movie that was more emotionally moving that I connected with more than any other film this year or one that is such a towering accomplishment that it towers over most other films. Either way, I can't wait to watch any of these again.

Before the list, here are the films I wanted to see but missed throughout the year or haven't got around to yet: Grace is Gone, The Savages, Youth Without Youth, Charlie Wilson's War, The Great Debaters, The Kite Runner, Away from Her.

And now, the ten:

10. Atonement
I was surprised that this ended up making the list but when I was looking back over the films I remembered how well this is put together and how tragic the whole thing is. It also features that amazing tracking shot and that alone is enough for it to make this list.

9. I'm Not There
I'm not even sure how this film works but it does. This could have been a disaster but it somehow is a cohesive whole that brings together fragments of Bob Dylan to explain him better than any normal biopic ever could have.

8. Lars and the Real Girl
Again, a film that probably shouldn't have worked. A relationship between a man shut off from society and a sex doll should never have been this funny, sweet, and moving.

7. Control
The gorgeous black and white photography is almost enough to recommend this film. Add on top of that one of the most straight forward and best biopics that doesn't so much turn the genre on its head (like I'm Not There) but does everything right without the usual cliches that haunt these type of films.

6. Knocked Up/Superbad
I know, I'm cheating. I honestly couldn't decide which of these two movies that I liked more. It usually comes down to which one I have most recently watched, and with these two that decision changes often.

5. No Country for Old Men
This could easily be the best movie of the year. Pretty much a perfect movie and probably the Coen Brother's best film. That is saying something.

4. Juno
Free of any cliches, this film walks a tight rope. It could make a wrong turn at any moment but it never does. Maybe has the best written parents of any film in this type of genre.

3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford
Moody and lyrical, this might be the quietest western I have even seen. This has the best cinematography of any film this year, the kind of images that make you want to go outside but you know when you get there it won't look as good as this. This starts as a somewhat typical narrative and then becomes something deeper and more emotional than what is expected.

2. Into the Wild
I loved this movie. It was really difficult to move this from my number one slot. If someone were to make a movie just for me, this would be it.

1. There Will Be Blood
An amazing movie. Nasty and full of hate you lean forward as each scene progresses waiting to see what happens next. One of the best first acts of any movie in recent memory and it only gets better from there. This is a film that people will be talking about twenty years from now, placing it along some of the all time greats. Shocking, mesmerizing, beautiful, a masterpiece.

Runners Up: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, The Bourne Ultimatum, American Gangster, Eastern Promises, Once, Zodiac, The Darjeeling Limited, Ratatouille, Rescue Dawn, Michael Clayton

-

Best Performances, Men:
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Josh Brolin, No Country for Old Men
Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Viggo Mortenson, Eastern Promises
Sam Riley, Control
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Mathieu Amalric, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Christian Bale, Rescue Dawn

Best Performances, Supporting Men:
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Paul Schneider, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
Ethan Hawke, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Best Performances, Women:
(most of these performances are supporting, my favorites nonetheless)
Ellen Page, Juno
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Charlotte Gainsbourg, I'm Not There
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Keira Knightly, Atonement
Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement
Marissa Tomei, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Catherine Kenner, Into the Wild
Emily Mortimer, Lars and the Real Girl
Bianca, Lars and the Real Girl
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Samanth Morton, Control

Best Opening Title Sequence:
Juno

Best Final Shot:
Michael Clayton

Best Endings:
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
The Bourne Ultimatum
Juno

Best Music:
There Will Be Blood

Best Cinematography:
(I couldn't pick just one)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Control
Into the Wild

Best Poster:


Best Movie that Loses it's way in the Third Act:
I Am Legend

Best Movie Released in 1977 but Just Now Getting Theatrical Distribution:
Killer of Sheep

Best Movie Quotes:
"I'm finished." - Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood

"If you have a milkshake and I have a milkshake and I have a straw and my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!" - Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood

"I've had it with this shit." - A teenager in baggy jeans and backwards baseball cap walking out of There Will Be Blood five minutes before it ends

"Next time I see that Bleeker kid I'm going to punch him in the wiener. " J.K. Simmons, Juno

"This is my hat now! This is totally my hat!" - Danny McBride, Hot Rod

"Look at my red hands and my mean face... and I wonder 'bout that man that's gone so wrong." - Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

"I got a boner!" - Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Superbad

"I googled murder." - Maude Apatow, Knocked Up

"You can't stop what's comin'. It ain't all waitin' on you. That's vanity. " - Barry Corbin, No Country for Old Men

I am only posting this to help me on my best of 2007 round up. It is much easier to look at one list than to go back through all my posts and try to remember what movies I have seen. I didn't want to post something then remember a movie or scene that I had forgot to mention. Anyway, here are all of the 2007 releases I have seen up to yesterday.

Breach
Ghost Rider
The Astronaut Farmer
Zodiac
300
Reign Over Me
The Lookout
TMNT
Grindhouse
The Hoax
Hot Fuzz
Spider-Man 3
Once
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Knocked Up
Killer of Sheep (1977)
Ocean's 13
Interview
Transformers
Live Free or Die Hard
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie
The Bourne Ultimatum
Hot Rod
Superbad
3:10 to Yuma
In the Valley of Elah
The Kingdom
The Darjeeling Limited
Into the Wild
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Dan in Real Life
Lars and the Real Girl
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Control
Badlands (1973)
No Country for Old Men
Michael Clayton
Gone Baby Gone
Rescue Dawn
American Gangster
Beowulf
Atonement
I'm Not There
I Am Legend
Juno
Margot at the Wedding
Walk Hard
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Eastern Promises
There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood

This is the first film I have seen from a modern director (going back to say, the early nineties, around when Quentin Tarantino started) that you could put in the pantheon with the great movies of all time. That isn't to say that there haven't been great, amazing, masterpieces made during this time, anything but that. There have been many movies I have loved, most of my favorites of all time. What I am trying to say is this is a movie in a classic sense, something you could put on a double feature with any number of classics and not have a drop in quality. To try and make sense of this, you aren't going to put Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Godfather together, There Will Be Blood would fit.

I don't want to say much more, this is just something you have to experience. Paul Thomas Anderson has easily become the best working director from his generation and Daniel Day Lewis is, as always, amazing. A monster that comes at you like a force of nature. Never stopping or regretting, he just moves forward never looking back. I could go on and on praising every aspect of this picture but that would become repetitive and probably not even begin to give the film its due respect.

NOTE: The picture above is from the best scene in any film from 2007.

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS AWARDS VOTING FOR 2007 FILMS

BEST PICTURE
*1. There Will Be Blood (48) - Paul Thomas Anderson [Paramount Vantage]
2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (28) - Julian Schnabel
3. No Country for Old Men (27) - Joel and Ethan Coen

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (57) - Cristian Mungiu [IFC]
2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (42) - Julian Schnabel
3. Persepolis (18) - Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

BEST DIRECTOR
*1, Paul Thomas Anderson (47) - There Will Be Blood [Paramount Vintage]
2. Joel and Ethan Coen (29) - No Country for Old Men
2. Julian Schnabel (29) - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

BEST NONFICTION FILM
*1. No End in Sight (43) - Charles Ferguson [Magnolia]
2. Sicko (20) - Michael Moore
3. Terror's Advocate (18) - Barbet Schroeder

BEST ACTOR
*1.Daniel Day-Lewis (66) - There Will Be Blood [Paramount Vantage]
2. Frank Langella (34) -- Starting Out in the Evening
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman (21) -- The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Casey Affleck (37) - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford [Warner Bros.]
2. Javier Bardem (30) - No Country for Old Men
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman (29) - Charlie Wilson's War

BEST ACTRESS
*1. Julie Christie (53) - Away from Her [Lionsgate]
2. Marion Cotillard (50) - La Vie en Rose
3. Anamaria Marinca (28) - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Cate Blanchett (42) - I'm Not There [The Weinstein Company]
2. Amy Ryan (29) - Gone Baby Gone and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
3. Tilda Swinton (23) - Michael Clayton

BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. Tamara Jenkins (28) - The Savages [Fox Searchlight]
2. Paul Thomas Anderson (19) - There Will Be Blood
3. Ronald Harwood (17) - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. There Will Be Blood (51) - Robert Elswit
2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (40) - Janusz Kaminski
3. No Country for Old Men (33) - Roger Deakins

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM to "Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind" by John Gianvito

FILM HERITAGE AWARD "to Ford at Fox, a 21-disc box set from Fox Home Video."

FILM HERITAGE AWARD "to Ross Lipman of the UCLA Film and Television Archive for the restoration of Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep and other independent films."

This is copied from Coming Soon and is the kind of stuff that I feel will ultimately turn the public against the striking writers. Now, of course, I have no knowledge one way or another but I think once the public actually begins to feel the effects of the strike they are just going to want their entertainment like they are used to. Missing a few new episodes in a time when re-runs are normal is one thing, missing entire awards shows or television seasons is another.

While NBC still hasn't made it official whether the Golden Globes will air or not, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) President Alan Rosenberg made the following statement on Friday, saying that no actors are expected to show up because of the Writers Guild's picket lines to be set up at the awards. He also comments on the late night talk shows:

After considerable outreach to Golden Globe actor nominees and their representatives over the past several weeks, there appears to be unanimous agreement that these actors will not cross WGA picket lines to appear on the Golden Globe Awards as acceptors or presenters. We applaud our members for this remarkable show of solidarity for striking Writers Guild of America writers.

We have also been asked about our position regarding network talk shows. We urge our members to appear on the two programs that have independent agreements with the WGA, The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. However, actors who are asked to appear on the struck network talk shows will have to cross WGA picket lines, creating the same situation that has led to the consensus among actors to skip the Golden Globes.

As I have said since this strike began on November 5th, we must stand united with our brothers and sisters at the WGA.

Writers Guild of America, West President Patric M. Verrone followed with a note thanking SAG's support:

We are grateful to our brothers and sisters in SAG for their continued solidarity and support. The entire awards show season is being put in jeopardy by the intransigence of a few big media corporations. We urge the conglomerates to return to the bargaining table they abandoned and negotiate a fair and reasonable deal with writers to put this town back to work.

Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) President Jorge Camara says the HFPA is in a bind:

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been placed in an extremely difficult position with the ongoing Writers Guild strike. We are making every effort to work out a solution that will permit the Golden Globes to take place with the creative community present to participate. We hope to announce a resolution to this unfortunate predicament on Monday.

In related news, The Hollywood Reporter says that Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's United Artists is making an independent deal with the WGA, much like David Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants did:

The WGA recently signed such a deal with David Letterman's production company, allowing writers of his late-night talk show to get back to work. A deal with UA would be notable because it would represent a first film company deal and allow UA to get cracking on new script development and execute any necessary rewrites on active projects.

Plainview: Are you an angry man, Henry?

Henry Brands: About what?

Plainview: Are you envious? Do you get... envious?

Henry Brands: I don't think so.

Plainview: I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.

Henry Brands: That part of me is gone... working and not succeeding- all my failures has left me. I don't care as much.

Plainview: If it's in me, it's in you. There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to make enough money that I can move far away from everyone.

Henry Brands: What will you do about your boy?

Plainview: I don't know. Maybe it will change. Does your sound come back to you? I don't know. Maybe no one knows that. A doctor might not know that.

Henry Brands: Where is his mother?

Plainview: I don't want to talk about those things. I see the worst in people. I don't need to look past seeing them to get all I need. I want to rule and never, ever explain myself. I've built my hatreds up over the years, little by little, Henry... to have you here gives me a second breath. I can't keep doing this on my own with these... people.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

This is a film about a man who experiences "locked-in syndrome," where he is alive and conscious but unable to communicate with the world after a massive stroke. A film that could have been like any number of other films about medical dilemmas but it isn't, this is something completely different. No other film has shown what actually living with a particular ailment is really like. The first third of this film is shot from Jean-Dominique Bauby's point of view as he lies in a hospital bed able to move only one eye. We see only what he sees, from nurses moving in and out of frame to his simple gaze at the wind blowing into his window.

During this sequence that I was thinking the film would almost bee too painful to watch. You experiences the locked in syndrome along with him and feel trapped, wanting to break free. A speech therapist begins to work with Bauby, each day shes reads the alphabet, arranged in the order of most frequently used letters, and he will chooses a letter by blinking. Realizing he still has his consciousness his mind begins to race, to imagine the world and enjoy it. Heard from an internal monologue eventually he blinks out one of his first phrases, "I have decided to stop pitying myself". It is here that we are free from his body but not shown Bauby until he sees himself. He catches his reflection in a glass case and thinks he looks like something trapped in formaldehyde.

Filmed in French, these moments of Bauby working out sentences almost become rhythmical, it is imperative we see the great efforts he went through to write his memoir, it is his only way to show how his mind is working. There must be made a special mention to director Julian Schnabel who actually learned French in order to make this movie. The studio wanted to film it in English but he made the right decision, saying it would be foolish for the French to be reading subtitles in a film about one of their own.

You could call this film inspirational, and it is, but not in any traditional sentimental way. We are never given the big scenes of forgiveness or closure, we just follow along with Bauby's mind and his life with this disorder. Scenes end before you expect them to and things are left unsaid when you expect them to be communicated. On top of all that there is the wonderful cinematography that is not only able to capture his life from his view point but also his mind and spirit free from his body.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I had a weird reaction to this movie. I knew while watching it that it was a film of quality. It looks great, with great performances, and is filled with wonderful production design that captures the tone of the musical perfectly but as I sat there and watched all these things combine to become the final film I realized that I just wasn't a fan. I enjoy most of Tim Burton's other films and this one is obviously very Brutonesque but maybe that is the problem, it is almost too much of a perfect match for him. With the Gothic architecture and 19th century rock star costumes it all adds up to exactly what you would expect in a Burton film.

Since I recognize that the movie is of quality, just not for me, I have decided to make a list of three things I liked and three things I disliked from the film. This seems to be the easiest way to do this.

THE GOOD

1. Sacha Baron Cohen as Todd's dueling barber Signor Adolfo Pirelli. He is perfect here with an over the top Italian accent and a costume that is too crazy to even describe. He is almost the antithesis to Johnny Depp, all bold moves and loud gestures. I wish he could have been in the movie more.

2. The entire musical sequence set under the bright sun on the seaside. Johnny Depp's reactions to Helena Bonham Carter's song are priceless and all it's nice to come out into the sun after all the gloom from the rest of the movie.

3. The performances. Again, all of these are good (except one) and they all work within the musical genre. None of theme seem out of place breaking into song during the middle of scenes.

THE BAD

1. Timothy Spall. He plays Beadle Bamford, right hand man to the films nemesis, Judge Turpin. This being a villain I know the audience is supposed to hate his character, and I did. I also hate his performance. So vile without even a hint of humanity, it is one note, the wrong one.

2. The ending feels way too abrupt. There are loose threads that are left untied at the conclusion that should be dealt with. Major characters are left on the verge of changing their lives and we are never told what fates lay ahead for them.

3. I just wasn't much a fan of the songs from the film. Probably 70% of the entire film is sung and none of them ever captured me the way great musicals usually do. Sure there are little melodies or orchestrations here and there that I enjoyed but as a whole they didn't do a lot for me.

Then again, who knows? Maybe I'll revisit this somewhere down the road and really enjoy the film.

Here are a few photos of Demian Bichir as Fidel Castro from one of Steven Soderbergh's two Che Guevara pics, The Argentine or The Guerrilla. Completely unrelated to these pictures but when looking at info for these movies on IMDB I noticed that none other than University of Texas at Arlington's own Lou Diamond Phillips would be featured in one of the two films.

In honor of Sacha Baron Cohen's retirement of Borat and Ali G the LA Times has posted short article and a top ten list (posted below) of the best moments of the characters. My favorite moment for the show is actually much simpler, just Ali G and a furry chicken (see the video at the end of the list).

10. Andy Rooney Interview ("Da Ali G Show," Season 2). Someone finally has the guts to toss Ali G out the door. Who else would it be other than "60 Minutes' " elderly curmudgeon? You can almost hear Rooney's blood pressure spike when Ali G asks, "Is it because I's black?"

Very Nice Quote: "Has journalists ever put out tomorrow's news by mistake?"

9. Borat's Sister ("Da Ali G Show," Season 1). Borat attends a wine-tasting with a pair of older gentlemen. After one too many, he produces a stack of Polaroids of his "beauty queen" sister ("She wants to move to U, S and A"). The jaw-dropping payoff is unforgettable.

Very Nice Quote: "We make a joke! We pretend to be husband and wife!"

8. United Nations ("Da Ali G Show," Season 1). Ali G tours "the United Nations of Benetton," with representatives from "the three corners of the world." The highlight is a chat with former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who seems genuinely amused by such questions as, "Is Disneyland a member of the U.N.?"

Very Nice Quote: "Big-up yaself, Boutros Boutros Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Respect."

7. Kazakhstan vs. Borat. Borat's greatest piece of living theater took place off-camera. Representatives of the actual Kazakhstan battled him in the media (Borat responded with a press release of randomly-arranged Cyrillic letters); on the Internet (the suspension of his website, www.borat.kzi) and even at the White House (Borat arrived at the gates one day before an official visit by Kazakh President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev).

Very Nice Quote: "[Kazakh] women can now travel on inside of bus."

6. Noam Chomsky Interview ("Da Ali G Show," Season 2). Baron Cohen clearly loves playing with the English language. To see Ali G share a mangled discussion with the famed linguistics professor and political activist is surreal, hilarious -- and so Chomsky-esque.

Very Nice Quote: "Me know loads of words: Parachute, photograph, spaghetti . . . "

5. Dropping Science ("Da Ali G Show," Season 1). This panel segment of "Da Ali G Show" brings together doctors, a futurologist and a creationist to discuss "techmology" ("Is it good, or is it wack?"). It all ends with the creationist struggling to defend his bathroom habits. A perfect example of the way Baron Cohen mocks the dumbing down of our culture -- by dumbing down our culture.

Very Nice Quote: "So you's saying we ain't come down from monkeys. Has you ever eaten a banana?"

4. Naked Wrestling Match ("Borat: Cultural Learnings . . .") Borat and his "producer," Azamat (Ken Davitian), engage in a full-frontal brawl over their mutual love of a Pamela Anderson bikini photo. Later, Borat will claim he can still taste Azamat on his mustache. P.S. "Borat's" screenplay got an Oscar nomination.

Very Nice Quote: "How dare you make hand-party over Pamela!"

3. Pat Buchanan Interview ("Da Ali G Show," Season 2). No other exchange better displays Baron Cohen's gift for leading his victims into Abbott and Costello-style lunacy. Ali G wants to know if Saddam Hussein does indeed possess weapons of mass destruction, " . . . or, as they is called, BLTs." It's hard to tell if Buchanan's just playing along, or if he truly is concerned about what Ali G calls "a war over sandwiches" -- with or without mustard gas.

Very Nice Quote: "So how long was you president for?"

2. In My Country, There is Problem ("Da Ali G Show," Season 2). In front of an audience of Tucson locals, Borat and His Cowboy Astoni-Band perform an original composition. The lyrics are viciously anti- Semitic. But what comes off more offensive is the crowd's enthusiastic response, singing along with glee. A dark, amoral bit that's as disturbing as it is funny.

Very Nice Quote: Too hurtful to be repeated here.

1. The Star-Spangled Banner ("Borat: Cultural Learnings . . ."). Borat hogties a sacred cow. In January 2005, Baron Cohen made headlines when he attended a rodeo in Salem, Va., and butchered the "Banner." The result was the tuneless debut of Kazakhstan's national anthem ("All other countries are run by little girls"), and the "Borat" movie's definitive set piece.

Very Nice Quote: "May you destroy their country so that for the next thousand years, not even a single lizard will survive in their desert!"

According to this Brandon Routh will not being returning to the next Superman film and neither will director Bryan Singer. This is actually too bad as Routh was easily the best thing about Superman Returns, able to follow in Christopher Reeve's footsteps nicely. Variety is now reporting that Routh will be replaced in the stand alone sequel by whomever is cast as Superman in the upcoming Justice League of America movie.

UPDATE: Maybe the above story is wrong after all, this is from Chud:

Latino Review is frequently on the money and it's a slow news day so it's time to run with the death knell of Brandon Routh as Superman. But the story isn't quite as clear-cut as the front-page LR article makes it seem, even if it turns out to be confirmation of a detail that most people have suspected for quite some time.

Kelvin has supposedly known for several weeks that Routh was forever out of the Superman outfit, and that whoever is cast in George Miller's Justice League flick will carry over to the next standalone Superman flick. He's been sitting on the news out of defernce to the folks at WB, but today El Guapo is pointing to a December 27th Variety blog that 'confirms' his news.

Thing is, the blog doesn't do that at all. Thompson on Hollywood says that "the next Superman we will see on the big screen will not be Brandon Routh, but a younger Superman among a cast of youthful superheroes in The Justice League," which is a given. The post doesn't claim that the same actor will carry over into another Superman entry in place of Routh. The 'news' is even buried at the bottom of a Dark Knight post -- it's hardly breaking info.

If I was Kelvin and knew that Routh was out, I'd be looking for any excuse to get around WB and run the info, and the Variety blog is probably good enough; it could certainly be miscontrued as confirmation that Routh is going to be digging ditches once again. Though I believe Kelvin is probably right, probably better to keep this filed as speculation until there's a real confirmation.

This just became one of my most anticipated films of 2008. I love survival stories, with men against the elements and this sounds exactly like that. This story has already been told on film once, in the fictional film Alive. From Hollywood Elsewhere.

I've just heard from a non-vested party that a Sundance World Documentary selection called Stranded is a major wow. It's partly a first-hand, looking-back documentary and partly a re-enactment of the 1972 Andes plane crash disaster in which 16 people (including members of a rugby team from Uruguay) managed to survive over a 72-day ordeal, partly by eating the flesh of those who'd been killed.

"It's a lot like Kevin McDonald's Touching The Void," the guy told me, "and I mean easily as good as that...the survivors go back to the site and describe what happened with parts of it reanacted...it's really something else." The French-produced doc was directed and written by Gonzalo Arijon. It will show four times at Sundance (the first screening being early Friday evening, 1.18), and is also booked to show at Roger Durling's Santa Barbara Film Festival at the end of the month.

The full title is actually Stranded: I've come from a plane that crashed on the mountains.

Mathieu Amalric, who is really sort of amazing as a paralyzed stroke victim in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, has been cast as the villain in the 22nd installment in the James Bond franchise, which Marc Forster is directing

The author-screenwriter teams behind Atonement, Into the Wild, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood and Zodiac have been named finalists for the 2008 USC Libraries Scripter Award.

Scripter is presented annually by the University of Southern California Libraries to the writers of the most accomplished cinematic adaptation of a book, novella or short story.

Last year’s winner was Children of Men. The year before it was Capote and before that, Million Dollar Baby.

David Cross has written about why he made Alvin and the Chipmunks. I would add to this, his reason #4a would be more than enough for me to star in the movie.

Sean Penn has been selected to lead the jury panel at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from May 14-25. Penn was quoted in Variety as saying, ''In the last few years, it seems there has been a rejuvenation of cinema building worldwide; increasingly thoughtful, provocative, moving, and imaginative films by talented filmmakers: that a new generation of filmmaking may have begun. The Cannes Film Festival has long been the epicenter in the discovery of those new waves of filmmakers from all over the world. I very much look forward to participating in this year's festival as president of the jury.''

The contestants for the next season of Survivor, Survivor: Micronesia, have been revealed. This season pits past contestants against another tribe full of fans of the show. You can go over to EW to read about all of the contestants and see photos of both tribes, below is all of the favorites and a few of the fans. I do wish that Tom Westman had returned to the game but it is probably for the best, past winners always seem to be the first voted off in these situations.

So who was lucky enough to make the cut? The Favorites tribe features contestants going all the way back to season 7, including two from the recently completed Survivor: China — gravedigger James Clement and the person who engineered his ouster, Amanda Kimmel. Survivor: Fiji sends its most popular player, 55-year-old Yau-Man Chan, while the Cook Islands season is responsible for three contestants: flirt-tastic Parvati Shallow, triple-crossing Jonathan Penner, and challenge dominator Ozzy Lusth. Rounding out the tribe is Survivor: Panama 's Cirie Fields, Vanuatu's Eliza Orlins and Ami Cusack, and Survivor's biggest villain ever: Pearl Islands ' Jon Dalton (a.k.a. Jonny Fairplay), who once famously faked his own grandmother's death to further himself in the game. ''You can't do the season and not invite your most notorious person,'' says Probst. ''And Fairplay delivered, I will say that.'' Does that mean he delivers a victory? Don't bet on it, laughs Probst. ''This guy is no threat to win this game — zero.''

No people from the highly regarded Palau or lowly regarded Guatemala seasons made the trip. That is in large part because two popular contestants — Stephenie LaGrossa and Bobby Jon Drinkard — already appeared in both those seasons, and Palau's winner, Tom Westman, declined to participate. (No other past winners were chosen.) Survivor: Micronesia was shot on many of the same beaches as the Palau season, and will also feature the return of Exile Island, which was absent from Survivor: China.

The Fans taking on the Survivor two-timers include a large-and-in-charge firefighter (Joel Anderson), a beauty pageant coach (Chet Welch), a golf course vendor (Kathleen Sleckman), and a man who scoops ice cream for a living in Hell…Michigan, that is (Erik Reichenbach). In contrast to recent seasons, where contestants were heavily recruited and largely unfamiliar with the program, the new players of Micronesia are all followers of the show. How they fare against their heroes remains to be seen.

From McSweeny's

EXCERPTS FROM
MY REJECTED SCRIPT:
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR
SAVE CHRISTMAS.
BY BEN JOSEPH

- - - -

Page 7

INT. SANTA'S WORKSHOP

(SANTA oversees elves working hard to make toys. Nothing could possibly ruin this scene of Christmas magic.)

SANTA: Good work, everyone! Nothing could possibly ruin this scene of Christmas magic.

(Suddenly, the lights dim and everything shakes as a meteor streaks overhead!)

EXT. NIGHT THE NORTH POLE—LATER

(Two ELVES approach a smoking crater. RUFUS, a street-smart elf with "urban" flair, follows reluctantly.)

RUFUS: Yo, let's bounce. This ain't right.

ELF 1: But what if it's filled with candy?

ELF 2: Do you think it's weird we don't have names?

(Suddenly, two FACE-HUGGERS leap out of the crater!)

ELVES 1 AND 2: Ahhh!

RUFUS: Aw, hell naw!

Page 63

EXT. NIGHT THE CANDY CANE FOREST

(A red glow shines in the near distance. SANTA approaches it.)

SANTA: Rudolph? Is that you?

(PREDATOR decloaks, revealing the glow to be his targeting laser!)

SANTA: Gulp.

(PREDATOR fires, hitting an ALIEN right behind SANTA!)

SANTA: Maybe I can put you on the "Nice" list after all.

PREDATOR: Thanks, Santa. Also, I talk now.

(SANTA and PREDATOR shake hands.)

PREDATOR: Let's give these aliens what for.

(RUFUS pops out from behind a candy cane.)

RUFUS: Damn, son! This shit just got real!

Page 102

INT. SANTA'S WORKSHOP

(The workshop is now an alien nest. SANTA, MRS. CLAUS, and RUFUS are cocooned to the wall. Alien eggs sit in front of them. Nearby, PREDATOR wrestles with the ALIEN QUEEN!)

SANTA: Hurry, Predator! There's not much time!

(The QUEEN's got PREDATOR on the ropes, when—BLAM!—the ALIEN explodes in a cloud of goo. A SILHOUETTED FIGURE enters the room holding a smoking plasma rifle.)

PREDATOR: Jesus! Took you long enough.

JESUS: Sorry. Traffic was a bitch.

(JESUS throws a rifle to PREDATOR.)

JESUS: You ready to party like it's my birthday?

PREDATOR: Is Christmas considered a deadweight loss under modern microeconomic theory?

(The pair coolly cock their rifles.)

RUFUS: Now that's what I'm talking about!

This is from the Vanity Fair article on Indian Jones I posted earlier. A little information about Spielberg's next project, Chicago 7.

My glance strays to a side table, where headshots of actors under consideration for his likely next directing project, Chicago 7—about the conspiracy trial that grew out of protests at the 1968 Democratic convention—lie on the surface. Among them I spy Will Smith, Taye Diggs, Adam Arkin, and Kevin Spacey; Sacha Baron Cohen (as Abbie Hoffman) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (as William Kunstler) are also linked to the project, which has a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. After Chicago 7, Spielberg will probably go on to direct Lincoln, with Liam Neeson in the title role.

CBS' Late Show With David Letterman will return to air tonight (Jan. 2) with guests Robin Williams and music act Shooter Jennings. Since the Letterman-owned Worldwide Pants owns Late Show and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (which also returns tonight), it was able to secure a unique interim agreement with the WGA that allows writers to work on the shows during the strike.

Letterman's guests on Thursday (Jan. 3) will be Bill Maher, Juno star Ellen Page, and performers from the Broadway musical Young Frankenstein. Friday's guests will be Donald Trump and hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco. Leno, O'Brien, and Kimmel have not revealed their guests for this week, though Leno has Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee on tonight.

Vanity Fair has their new cover story on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull up at their website. The feature also features new photos of all the stars from the film, including the first one of Cate Blanchett as the villainous Agent Spalko, by Annie Leibovitz.

An article on the beards some of the writers have been growing during the strike and a video with Conan O'Brien showing his off.

This is from Devin Faraci's year end round up over at Chud. It is the best summary I have read so far of the year in movies, or, at least it is the closest summary to my own personal opinion.

People keep comparing 2007 to 1999, but to my mind there's no comparison - this was a year studded with flat out masterpieces while 99 was a year filled with exciting new voices, or filmmakers finding their footing. For some of those filmmakers, 2007 was the year they came into their own and made the best movies of their careers.