COMING SOON...

...REQUIEM FOR A DREAM...

...MOULIN ROUGE!...

...CATCH ME IF YOU CAN...

...COLD MOUNTAIN...

...THE AVIATOR...

...PRIDE AND PREJUDICE...

...THE DEPARTED...

WHO WILL BE NEXT?
THE ANNUAL CHINO CHOICE AWARDS

Top 10 Anticipated Movies of 2008

1. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD - This movie is my number 1 most anticpated movie of 2008 because of so many reasons: 1) Leonardo DiCaprio, my 2nd favorite actor is in it, 2) Leo and Kate Winslet are together again after the 11 year seperation since "Titanic" (1997), 3) Really talanted director Sam Mendes is doing the picture, and 4) everything about this movie screams OSCAR. Could this be my next years Best Picture? I'm so excited even for the trailer to come out! But as for now, I have to settle with this one and only steamy picture of the lead stars.

2. MAMMA MIA! - Probably the biggest reasons why I'm so excited for this is because I saw the stage version on Broadway last year. Though I really, really enjoyed the stage version (I had good seats too), I think the movie would be much, much better. Even the trailer says so. I think with the casting of Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried the movie might turn into this years less-glamorous "Hairspray". With 5 musicals released last year, ("Across the Universe", "Hairspray", "High School Musical 2", "Once", "Sweeney Todd") the addition of this and Zac Efron's "Footloose" is really exciting!

3. AUSTRALIA - Australian vesion of "Gone with the Wind" anyone? Haha. Well it has all the right ingredients to make an Oscar Epic. Nicole Kidman + Baz Luhrrmann = Payback Oscar for 2001. However, I feel like when I watch this, It'll istanstly be overshadowed by their "Moulin Rouge!" power-work. Whatever, it's great to have Baz back.

4. ASHECLIFFE - No matter how wierd the title or cast or setting, just tell me its another Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio partnership, I'll storm the movie theaters the first day it's released. This two is my favorite team of the century. They can do new wrong.

5. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - What an awesome cast. Just because Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt and Tilda Swinton (all made Oscar nominated movies and two have Oscar nominated performances this year), this will definetely be under the Oscar radar. It's really cool to have another Oscary-fantasy-drama again.

6.UNTITTLED KURT COBAIN PROJECT - Though I'm really dissapointed that Joe Anderson didn't get the part of the late rockstar, I guess I'm still pretty much excited to see a biopic of the Nirvana singer. Ryan Gosling will play Cobain (I'm positive he'll lip sinc, the only time he'll completely COMPLETELY win me over is if he sings himself) and its interesting to see Scarlet Johansson in the role of Courtney Love. This film will rock

7. THE YOUNG VICTORIA - Ever since I gave Emily Blunt a nomination for her supporting work in "The Devil Wears Prada" (2006) , I've been so excited to see her as a lead star. Best Actress anyone? I have a feeling she can do it...The Academy has always loved Queens.

8. FOOTLOOSE: THE MUSICAL - I really enjoyed Zac Efron in "Hairspray" (I don't wanna sound like I'm part of the fad, but he's annoying in "High School Musical 2") and I'm quite interested to see what he'll do the Kevin Bacon character in an all-round musical version. His song "Bet On It" from HSM2 was just a preview for this. I gotta admit, fine, he was good at that part.

9. THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Ohhhh..not really my "type" of movie, but I'd really like to see what Heath Ledger left off. I also wanna see Johnny Depp filling in and how they actually do it.

10. DOUBT - Amy Adams and Meryl Streep! WEEE HEEEE!

My Updates Top 10 of All Time

1. Gone With the Wind (1939, Victor Fleming)
2. The Godfather (1972, Francis Ford Coppola)
3. The Wizard of Oz (1939, Victor Fleming)
4. Some Like it Hot (1959, Billy Wilder)
5. Singin' in the Rain (1952, Gene Kelly and Stanely Donan)
6. The Graduate (1967, Mike Nichols)
7. Rear Window (1954, Alfred Hitchcock)
8. Across the Universe (2007, Julie Taymor)
9. The Departed (2006, Martin Scorsese)
10. Tootsie (1982, Sidney Pollack)

What ya think?

Movie Review: Across the Universe (2007, Julie Taymor)

* * * * *

Cast: Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, T.V. Caprio, Bono, Eddie Izzard, Lisa Hogg, Harry J. Lennix, Selma Hayek
Screenplay: Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais
131 minutes / Color

Julie Taymor’s beautiful, visual feast “Across the Universe” wasn’t only a complete dream for me, but a dream for any Beatles fan. As a musical set to the lovely tunes of 31 Beatles songs, the whole film and the music fits together like the beauty of jam and bread. The whole cast hits the right notes and so did female director Taymor.

Set in the 1960s during pre and post Vietnam War, we are introduced to the two main characters: the rich American High School student Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) and British steel worker Jude (Jim Sturgess). Jude leaves England and his girlfriend and goes to the shores of America to look for his long-lost father.

When he arrives there, Jude gets fairly disappointed when he learns his father is already married to another woman and is nothing but a janitor at Princeton College, New Jersey. As Jude temporarily bunks in his father’s janitor room, he meets Max (Joe Anderson) and the two misfits hit it off real fast. The two become the closest of friends and he later invites Jude over for Thanksgiving dinner.

Lucy, Max’s sister, who is depressed at the moment because of her boyfriend fighting the war in Vietnam, meets Jude during the dinner and they grow a connection. Jude quickly falls for her but the two get separated when Max drops out a college and persuades Jude to move with him to New York.

The two go on to New York and start their new life of art (Jude’s new profession), weed, and sex and rock n roll. They rent a duplex with Sadie (Dana Fuchs), their landlord and singer by night. Lesbian Prudence (T.V. Carpio) and estranged guitarist Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy) lives with them in the apartment too.

When Lucy’s boyfriend dies, she feels she can’t take her surroundings and asks her parents if she can live in New York for awhile with her brother Max. They agree, with hesitation. As she gets to New York, she also gives Max a letter saying that he has to go to war as soon as possible. Lucy’s spark with Jude also gets turned on again and they end up being together.

As Max goes off to the fight, Lucy gets to “affected” by the pointless war, joins The Radicals, a group of peace rebellions who want the war to stop and never goes back to school. As Jude and Lucy’s beautiful relationship starts getting torn apart due to her work, the two face a dark zone in their lives.

During a strike demonstration in Columbia University that Jude gets forced to go to, he is caught up in the “helter-skelter” crowd and is instantly deported. As Max arrives home from the war, war-torn, him and Lucy try to restart their lives again…without Jude.

As Jude lives in England, he misses his friends so much that he hallucinates Max (song “Hey Jude”) and the hallucinations tell him to go back to America, back to the girl he loves. Jude follows and travels back to the States the right way to get back with Lucy, making everyone know that “All You Need is Love”.

Though there are plenty of sub stories and events in the film, the movie is basically “boy gets girl-boy losses girl-boy gets girl again”, but with all this Beatles music and lovely visuals and an great ensemble cast, “Across the Universe” becomes more then a simple tale but also the best movie musical of the year. Best Movie? Maybe…it’s a secret.

I do consider “Across the Universe” as one of my guilty pleasure. Already I’ve seen it probably more then 10 times. If there was a cult, I’d love to be their leader. With a movie like this, there’s bound to be one.

As much as I love the cast (most of them did okay, better in singing however), two people really stuck out acting and singing wise: performance wise. These are the young newcomers Jim Sturgess and Joe Anderson.

Sturgess explodes onto the screen as a wonderful, wonderful leading man with an amazing voice to match. His covers and renditions of many Beatles songs were amazing and his untrained acting and voice was beyond brilliant. He did so well for a first movie. I can’t wait to see his future projects.

Joe Anderson’s supporting performance for Max is already classic for me. He was so natural-like and did not only show-off some great singing skills, but also some wonderful dramatic and comedic scenes as well. All his scenes were done with a naïve but wanna-be strong sense which really worked for the performance. He was wonderful and did a great job. This is his break: good enough for awards consideration!

The breathtaking musical numbers are accompanied by the beautiful voices of the 6 principal cast members and truly amazing direction by Julie Taymor. Almost all the songs in the movie were absolutely beautifully done. Out of the 30 songs, their were only 2 songs that didn’t compare to their originals (“Let it Be” and “Come Together”). The rest were equal and most were even better.

My favorite song was sung by my two favorite cast member and two favorite singers in the film. “Strawberry Fields Forever” was too extraordinary and Sturgess and Anderson in it were absolutely incredible. The whole song and sequence was a masterpiece and extremely done well.

Other notable songs with great vocals and staging were “All My Loving” (cool Jim Sturgess solo beginning), “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (great slow version), “It Won’t Be Long” (exciting song, Wood’s high-low vocals was the shiznick), “I’ve Just Seen a Face” (First big production number in the bowling alley), “If I Fell” (romantic, Wood’s best songs), “I Want You” (great Viet Nam soldiers Production Number starring Anderson), “Dear Prudence” (“look around” part is the best), “I Am the Walrus” (twisted Bono cameo), “Because” (Uber cool number when their singing in the water naked – beautifully staged and amazingly sang), “Something” (so good that it’s haunting), “Oh! Darling” (fun “breakup song”), “Across the Universe” (lovely title tune), “Helter Skelter” (really rocking, Dana Fuchs is an amazing performer), “Happiness is a Warm Gun” (delirious and daring, loved it), “Hey Jude” (the climax of wonder) “Don’t Let Me Down” (rested but splendid), “All You Need is Love” (one of the best finale’s ever, corny in a sense-but altogether amazing).

Julie Taymor’s direction and concepts were so good that she has done the Best Female directing all decade. If I’m not mistaken, girls only started directing this decade so do we have a Best Female Director of All Time? Possibly…She is pure genius.

The techs were just so wonderful. The costume design (rightly earned Oscar nomination on this one), the art direction and especially the visual effects were stunning. I’d love to see the making of this movie to see how they did some of those beautiful effects. To top it all off, the movie had miraculous cinematography.

To rap it up, “Across the Universe” was sheer wonder from beginning to end. It was a blast of exuberant colors, lightings, visuals and songs and was really enjoyable (especially if you’re an enormous Beatles fan like me). I’m not sure if I’m just in pure “Beatles” shock, but “Across the Universe” is a must-see film experience and waiting for the movie for nearly two years was really worth it. All I can give to this movie and it’s entire cast is LOVE.

Movie Review: Bee Movie (2007, Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith)

* * * *

Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Mathew Broderick, Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Barry Levinson, Larry King, Ray Liotta, Sting, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Miller
Screenplay: Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder, Andy Robin
90 minutes / Color

One thing I really don’t get with animated movies is the fact that they always use big name stars in the lead (or even small) roles. I find it funny because there are so many more talented voice actors out there that could do a better job. Not that I’m saying I didn’t enjoy “Bee Movie”. I found it really fun and funny and even cute. It’s a great effort that surpasses the ranks of the overrated “Simpson’s Movie” this year.

In an active hive in Central Park, there live many Bees working for their company Honex, to not only provide their whole hive with honey but also feed and keep them running for the next year. When Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld), a curious bee, leaves the hive to explore the outside world before working for Honex forever, he meets Vanessa Bloome (Renee Zewllweger), a kind and beautiful florist. There’s only one problem…she’s human!

After hanging around with Vanessa for a while, Barry discovers one of the most shocking things in his life: humans are stealing honey and forcing bee’s to work for no charge! This angers Barry and starts legal action against every human in the Honey Industry.

As he fights for the Bee’s legal rights with his friends Adam (Mathew Broderick) and Vanessa, though times rise but they still manage to win and the honey industry is completely terminated. All the bees are free and every single drop of honey is returned back to them. Barry grows rich and lazy…

One day, when Barry goes to visit Vanessa. It seems like she is leaving forever. Vanessa explains that the park is completely dead because since the bee’s were free and they have all their honey to last them for a lifetime, their old habits of flying around and dropping pollen has lead to New York’s dead plants and will lead to the death of their animal life too.

Barry feels completely guilty for all of this, flies to California with Vanessa, steals a flower parade show float and all the Bee’s pollinate the city to the tune of “Here Comes the Sun”. At the end, Barry and Vanessa re-open her flower store and also open a Law Firm for animals in need.

That’s basically it. Well even though it sounds really corny, “Bee Movie” turned out to “bee” really cute indeed. It was fully of stupid jokes (that kids probably don’t understand) and it made me laugh throughout the film!

The voice talents were mediocre. Like I said, I don’t really “feel” that whole fact of using big name stars in the head. They just did an okay job. Seinfeld was great but Broderick and Zellweger was off.

What saved the movie for me is the humorous screenplay. It was funny, charming and surprisingly smart. It angers me that the really annoying flick “Surf’s Up” got an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature and not this. This certainly deserves a place over that overrated piece of mush.

“Bee Movie” was so full of a new type of energy and zest in an animated film and filled with jokes that go beyond regular kiddie stuff. It blew away my low expectations and I wasn’t even watching the movie with an open mind. I’m not sure if I’m just retarded and really low for these jokes, but watching this movie literally made me laugh out loud.

SAG WINNERS!

Sorry for the late post, but here is is anyways. SAG clearly shows us the front runners for the Oscars. Here's the winner and here's my thoughts:

Best Ensemble Cast - "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN"
Will definitely be winning the Oscar for Best Picture. It looks likes this, the DGA and WGA is supporting it. Even if "There Will Be Blood" or "Juno" takes home the PGA, it has no chance with all the support "No Country for Old Men" is receiving.

Best Actor in a Leading Role - DANIEL DAY-LEWIS for "THERE WILL BE BLOOD"
Yes. The Oscar is his. NO MATTER WHAT. Nothing could get in his way.

Best Actress in a Leading Role - JULIE CHRISTIE for "AWAY FROM HER"
Don't declare her the winner just yet, the artsy people might just go for Marion Cottilard for "La Vie en Rose", but just count her as an alternate. One Christie downside: She has an Oscar, Marion doesn't.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role - JAVIER BARDEM for "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN"
Just as much as a lock as the movie is for Best Picture. All is said.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - RUBY DEE for "AMERICAN GANGSTER"
As much as I don't want her to win, she has a certain "old" edge that won't stop her from winning now. I really think she's gonna win this year now. Remember Alan Arkin?

Joel and Ethan Coen win the DGA!

Well the Coen Brothers won the Director's Guild of America Award and it isn't surprising at all. Could the brother's be expecting their Oscars? YES. The movie for Best Picture? Most probably. Love the picture. Looks great. The last time someone shared the awards of the DGA I think was in 1961 right? Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for "West Side Story"? Anyways, congrats boys!

SAG PREDICTIONS

WOW. Oscars are soooo near, but we gotta go through SAG First.

Best Ensemble Cast
WINNER: "No Country for Old Men". I'm going say this and choosing this, knowing that there's SO much love.

ALTERNATE: Even though "Into the Wild" was shut out in most major categories (exception of Hal Holbrook), it think it could make a surprise snag to "No Country's" award.

Best Actor
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis for "There Will Be Blood". He's unstoppable. HELLO OSCAR!

ALTERNATE: George Clooney for "Michael Clayton". He can manage to get it, since Ryan and Emile weren't nominated and this category lacks Depp, he can surely win (remember he snagged quite a few critics awards too, it sure does help).

Best Actress
WINNER: Marion Cotillard for "La Vie en Rose". Though is a 3 horse race with Page and Christie, I think she's capable of winning SAGs heart by playing a real-life-person. Remember Helen Mirren?

ALTERNATE: Ellen Page for "Juno". No one said she was out. Just because Julie won the Globe, numerous critics awards and got an Oscar nomination I don't think she can outshine Ellen's pregnant Juno in the little Indie-that could film.

Best Supporting Actor
WINNER: Javier Bardem for "No Country for Old Men". Practically a lock for the Oscar. Let's add the SAG to his collection of awards this year...

ALTERNATE: Hal Holbrook for "Into the Wild". This veteran can win the hearts of his fellow actor's with the "OLD FACTOR". Not to sound insulting, okay?

Best Supporting Actress
WINNER: Cate Blanchett for "I'm Not There". I think she'll win but she has two HUGE threats: an veteran and a newcomer.

ALTERNATE: Ruby Dee for "American Gangster". When the SAG nominations came out, everyone new Ruby ("overrated") Dee would get an Oscar nomination. They started all this buzz for her, they could give her the award too. If she wins here, the Oscar is practically hers. Amy Ryan isn't "Gone Baby Gone" yet.

RIP Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

As I entered my class room a few minutes from 7AM in the morning, I received one of the most shocking things I've heard in a long, long time. Everyone was screaming and shocked to hear the terrible news of the death Oscar nominee Heath Ledger. Apparently, the 28-year-old Leading Man died from a Drug Overdose in New York right before he was about to have a massage. This is one of the saddest and worst things that has happened to Hollywood in recent years. In his short career, Ledger has grazed the screen with memorable performances and awesome portrayals. Right when he was at the top of his game, with a critically acclaimed work and controversial role, Hollywood has lost one of their brightest starts. RIP. He will surely be missed. This is my tribute to you:

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) - Ledger started out in teen version of Shakespeare's "Twelth Night" as main star Patrick who is paid to take out an bitchy, self-abosorb, rebillion girl named Kat (Julia Stiles). As the film boomed, Ledger quickly got world wide recognition and became a teenage sweetheart in the ranks of Leo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp.

The Patriot (2000) - He then went on to "The Patriot" as Mel Gibson's son Gabriel. "The Patriot" was just a stepping stone till Ledger garners bigger roles in the new century.

Knight's Tale (2001) - became Ledger's first film where he was the star of it all. No woman (Julia Stiles) or Veteran Oscar winner (Mel Gibson) could steal his thunder this time. This was finally Ledger's chance to be one of Hollywood's leading men catching the eye of thousands, gaining nominations for the MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice Awards. But those awards were mere minor...

The Brother's Grimm (2005) - Right before Ledger's biggest movies of all time, he graduated from mere teenage star to ACTOR OF SERIOUS FILMS. He first showed off his acting skills and had a little fun in the mystical fairy tale of "The Brother's Grimm" with Matt Damon.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Not only does Ledger's performance in "Brokeback Mountain" become his most memorable performance to date, but his Ennis character became one of the most well-received performances of the decade. Ledger shot up A-List star and not only garnered an Oscar nomination for his role as the homosexual, but also nominations for the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, MTV Award, Satellite, Screen Actor's Guild Award, and numerous critics awards - ALL FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR! Heath graduates with a well-received controversial performance. The kid had a bright future ahead of him.

Casanova (2005) - For his 4th film of 2005 (the other is "Lords of Dogtown"), Ledger visits Italy to tell the true story of womanizer Casnova who falls in love with a stubborn woman named Francesca Bruni (portayed by Sienna Miller).

I'm Not There (2007) - In one of the most acclaimed movies of the year, Ledger not only bares-it-all, but also amazes audiences with his work as a younger version of Bob Dylan in Todd Hayne's "I'm Not There". Now with his A-List Status, Ledger could do any project he wanted and was a perfect addition to the wonderful all-star ensemble of the Todd Hayne's project.

Batman: The Dark Knight (2008) - In his last performance to date, it isn't even released yet, Heath Ledger gives us all he has after garnering the controversial role of The Joker in "Batman: The Dark Knight", sequel to the 2005 "Batman Begins". When Ledger got the role, many talks arose on how he'll "ruin the movie" or how his new look would affect the franchise. People, you'll just have to wait till summer to see the Great Ledger, in the last film of his career.

REST IN PEACE, YOU TALENTED BOY YOU!

OFFICIAL 80th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS.

-WTF: NO AMY ADAMS!?
-EVEN MORE WTF: HAIRSPRAY GAINS NO NOMINATIONS AT ALL!?
-Ruby Dee nominations is disgusting
-INTO THE WILD SNUB :(
-ATONEMENT GETS IN! YAY!
-SURFS UP was better then THE SIMPSONS FYI
-I’M SO GLAD FOR ACROSS THE UNIVERSE-My friend Michelle can rub SO CLOSE in my face now!
-EWWW NORBIT GETS A NOMINATION
-I love the JUNO love :)
-I got at least 4/5 in every major category
-WOW. Cate Blanchett: DOUBLE NOMINEE

Best Motion Picture of the Year
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Actor in a Leading Role
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS - "There Will Be Blood"
GEORGE CLOONEY - "Michael Clayton"
JOHNNY DEPP - "Sweeney Todd"
TOMMY LEE JONES - "In the Valley of Elah"
VIGGO MORTENSEN - "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress in a Leading Role
CATE BLANCHETT - "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
ELLEN PAGE - "Juno"
JULIE CHRISTIE - "Away From Her"
LAURA LINNEY - "The Savages"
MARION COTILLARD - "La Vie en Rose"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
CASEY AFFLECK - "The Assignation of Jesse James..."
HAL HOLBROOK - "Into the Wild"
JAVIER BARDEM - "No Country for Old Men"
PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN - "Charlie Wilson's War"
TOM WILKINSON - "Michael Clayton"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
AMY RYAN - "Gone Baby Gone"
CATE BLANCHETT - "I'm Not There"
RUBY DEE - "American Gangster"
SAORISE RONAN - "Atonement"
TILDA SWINTON - "Michael Clayton"

Best Director
JASON RIETMAN - "Juno"
JOEL AND ETHAN COEN - "No Country for Old Men"
JULLIAN SCHNAVEL - "The Diving Bell and the Buttefly"
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON - "There Will Be Blood"
TONY GILROY - "Michael Clayton"

Best Original Screenplay
"Juno"
"Lars and the Real Girl"
"Michael Clayton"
"Ratatouile"
"The Savages"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Atonement"
"Away From Her"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Cinematography
"The Assignation of Jesse James by..."
"Atonement"
"No Country for Old Men"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Film Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatium"
"The Diving Bell and the Buttefly"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"The Golden Compass"
"Sweeney Todd"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Costume Design
"Across the Universe"
"Atonement"
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Sweeney Todd"

Best Makeup
"La Vie en Rose"
"Norbit"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

Best Original Score
"Atonement"
"Into the Wild"
"Michael Clayton"
"Ratatouille"
"3:10 to Yuma"

Best Original Song
"RAISE IT UP" - "August Rush"
"HAPPY WORKING SONG" - "Enchanted"
"SO CLOSE" - "Enchanted"
"THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW" - "Enchanted"
"FALLING SLOWLY" - "Once"

Best Sound
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"3:10 to Yuma"
"Transformers"

Best Sound Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Transformers"

Best Visual Effects
"The Golden Compass"
"Pirates of the Caribbea: At World's End"
"Transformers"

Best Animated Feature
"Persopolis"
"Ratatouille"
"Surd's Up"

A few more hours till the Oscar nominations are announced!

Woohooo! YAY! Can't wait. If you wanna watch the announcing of the nominations live, log on to Oscar.com at 8.30EST. Oh and if you're in the Philippines like me, just log on tonight at 12 midnight. :P

My final predictions are posted below.

Movie Review: The Bucket List (2007, Rob Reiner)

* * *

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, Rob Morrow
Screenplay: Justin Zackham
97 minutes / Color

Running with the longest 97 minutes of the year, “The Bucket List” was not great, but just okay. Before watching the over-sentimental flick I did not expect anything to be amazing (it was kinda hard knowing that Oscar winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman were gonna be in it) and got exactly what I expected to get: a mediocre, boring, much-emoting buddy tale about friendship and life. However, it really wasn’t a bad film. I’m just curious though: why the hell are they campaigning for Oscars?

This is how the story goes: Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) who has been diagnosed with cancer for several years now, goes to the local hospital every once in a while to be treated in an experimental approach to try and push back the cancer process.

In the other hand, we are introduced to multi-millionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), who owns many hospitals around the country. One day he has made a rule that every room should consist with two beds and two patients. That very same day, he gets diagnosed with cancer too and is roomed with Carter for several months.

When the two learn that they only have six more months to live (hopefully a year), Carter, has an idea to do something his college professor had told him years ago. This was to make something called “The Bucket List”, a list of things that he wants to do before he dies.

When Edward sees the list, he adds on his own personal “crazy” choices to Carter’s reasonable/sentimental choices and says that with his money (and their life span) they can accomplish everything they want to do before they kick the bucket. The two now go on a crazy adventure jumping out of planes, getting tattoos, eating in France, visiting tourist attractions around the world and racing racecars.

When Carter tells Edward that he has to get in contact with his daughter as a number on the list, Edward gets angry and the two friends split their ways, not finishing the list. When Carter’s time comes to die, however, Edward returns as a good friends and decides to finish the last two things on their list before Carter passes way.

After Carter’s funeral, Edward then goes onto meet his daughter and when Edward dies, he has both his and Carter’s ashes be put in earns on top of Mount Everest as the last thing on their Bucket List: Witness something majestic.

As I watched the film, I felt like it was trying to be something more. It seemed like they were trying to get an easy way into popularity because of the big name director and the big name actors. Sadly, for this flick, star power does not improve it at all. As I look back, I even begin considering that it might even be the actor’s who made the movie worse. Not to mention the mediocre screenplay…

The screenplay was nothing special. Half of the movie was just getting to a certain “let’s-go-out-and-do-it” point and the rest of the movie was just crazy/stupid stunts that these people with these ages and conditions shouldn’t even be doing. It was nuts, unrealistic and I hardly enjoyed it. It was just a movie, playing on my screen, not terrible but not interesting.

The two leading men, even though their resumes are filled with extravagant performances in excellent movies, are too disappointing to be true. When it comes to Morgan-Jack terms that means they weren’t bad, but just not as great as they usually are. This Jack performance tried to touch it’s old good-comedy-crazy roots (“Terms of Endearment” (1983), “As Good As it Gets” (1997)), but he didn’t dig deep enough to reach them. For the first time in my whole life time, I though Morgan Freeman was a better actor then Jack Nicholson…WOW.

Reiner who has made such brilliant works like the every-so beautiful “Princess Pride” (1987), “When Harry Met Sally” (1989), “Misery” (1990) and “A Few Good Men” (1992) has remained status of his a director who hasn’t made any good films this decade. I mean, after this and “Rumor Has It…” (2005), it seems like old Robbie has lost his touch. Let’s just not hope its forever.

Just one thing to remember: don’t let the talent suck you in. Don’t think that this movie is “amazing” due to biasness. I love these actors, especially Nicholson but it really just didn’t work for me at all. Rob Reiner’s “The Bucket List” is a mere mediocre peace of work, that shouldn’t have been made, because the world could spin without it. Jack, Morgan and even Reiner could have made a better film this year, maybe not together, but certainly something better. Time to leave this movie where it belongs: the bucket.

FINAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS.

I think I'm confident about this. I HOPE I'M WRONG FOR BEST ACTRESS. I WANT AMY ADAMS...

Best Picture
Into the Wild
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

ALTERNATE: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Actor in a Leading Role
DANIEL DAY-LEWS - There Will Be Blood
EMILE HIRCH - Into the Wild
GEORGE CLOONEY - Michael Clayton
JOHNNY DEPP - Sweeney Tod
VIGGO MORTENSEN - Eastern Promises

ALTERNATE: Ryan Gosling - Lars and the Real Girl

Best Actress in a Leading Role
ANGELINA JOLIE - A Mighty Heart
CATE BLANCHETT - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
ELLEN PAGE - Juno
JULIE CHRISTIE - Away From Her
MARION COTTILARD - La Vie en Rose

ALTERNATE: Amy Adams - Enchanted

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
CASEY AFFLECK - The Assignation of Jesse James
HAL HOLBROOK - Into the Wild
JAVIER BARDEM - No Country for Old Men
PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN - Charlie Wilson's War
TOM WILKINSON - Michael Clayton

ALTERNATE: John Travolta - Hairspray

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
AMY RYAN - Gone Baby Gone
CATE BLANCHETT - I'm Not There
CATHARINE KEENER - Into the Wild
SAORISE RONAN - Atonement
TILDA SWINTON - Michael Clayton

ALTERNATE: Rubby Dee - American Gangster

Best Director
JOEL AND ETHAN COEN - No Country for Old Men
JULIAN SCHNABEL - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON - There Will Be Blood
SEAN PENN - Into the Wild
TONY GILROY - Michael Clayton

ALTERNATE: Tim Burton - Sweeney Todd

Movie Review: Gone Baby Gone (2007, Ben Affleck)

* * * * *

Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monahan, Ed Harris, Amy Ryan, Morgan Freeman, John Aston, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver, Michael K. Williams, Madeline O’Brien
Screenplay: Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard (Based on the novel “Gone Baby Gone” by Dennis Lehane)
114 minutes / Color

Brother team Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck surely make a great one. They BOOM the screen with a great action-drama “Gone Baby Gone” and show many harsh realities of a Boston town. The ensemble offers a big range of incredible performances, good performances and excellent performances (Affleck and newcomer Amy Ryan). With that, Ben Affleck’s directional debut “Gone Baby Gone” is way worth then just a single watch, but a way underrated movie.

Set in Boston, when a 4-year-old girl named Amanda McCready (Madeline O’Brien) gets abducted, the whole town AND the whole country goes on a frantic search for the frightened child. Amanda’s aunt Beatrice (Amy Madigan), then hires (romantic) private detectives Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monahan) to help the entire country to search for this one little girl.

Even though the two have very little experience, they are hired for two main reasons. One, they are not police and, two; they know the neighborhood that they live in. Head of Police, Captain Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman) thinks otherwise and thinks the two shouldn’t be in the case since he’s experienced loosing a child and thinks he should take care of everything. The two still continues in their search for Amanda.

As they search and research, they begin working with detectives Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole (John Aston) on the missing child’s case. They have a hard time seeing that Amada’s mother, Helene (Amy Ryan) is a hard-headed junkie who abandons her child at home every night to go drinking and partying with her bar buddies.

For weeks they get nowhere and something always seems to get Patrick and Angie off track whenever they work with the cops. Helene tells them that there was money (around $300,000) she stole from a drug dealer and that stolen cash might be a reason why her child disappeared. Patrick soon links all his acquired evidence together and sees that not only did Amanda’s greedy Uncle steal her for the money as a ransom, but also Detective Remy and Capt. Doyle was apart of it too. It seems that, Doyle, after loosing his child, took Amanda from them thinking he and his wife would take care of her better. While Remy just wanted his own cut of the cash.

But the case isn’t finished yet when Patrick finds everything out and goes to the mountains to get Amanda from the hands of the elderly couple. He and Angie reach a decision that will change their lives: return Amanda to her unconcerned, fame-hungry, drug-addict of a mother or just forget the whole thing and leave her with the love of a kind elderly couple that will surely cherish and take care of her?

Angie thinks he should leave her, but Patrick cannot let the man get away with the law and take the kid from the privilege of having her real mother with her. Patrick decides and Amanda goes back to her mother, where she sits at home and watches TV while her mother goes on dates and parties like a wild cat. This soon leads Angie into her decision that they should be separated forever for she thought that the whole thing could’ve been solved in a “better” light.

Casey Affleck, as main star Patrick Kenzie, gives us a performance worth every single of his brother’s past performances. He doesn’t only give us that detective-looking-for-victim performance that we always see on TV or other non-worthy movies, but shows us that he is a very flamboyant actor with many skills. Affleck delivers us a nomination worthy action hero that we hardly get from the 80 years the Academy Awards have been going on. Casey was the best choice for his brother’s film and is an utter revelation as a confused character trying to do the right thing and trying to decide on that. He was brilliant.

Amy Ryan, on the other hand is so unforgettable that even though her character should be hated by the inner depth of all human beings, I cannot help but love her immensely. Her performance as a bad role model and fame-hungered mother, using her child’s missing status as something she could gloat about gives us a hard time to evaluate and analyze her complex character. Hey, saying that she was using her fame as an excuse is already an analysis and I think that I’m hardly right. That’s what I truly loved about her, she’s hard to keep tabs on. Her face showed that she was grieving, but they way she talked and acted made us think otherwise. Creating a character like this is very difficult and Ryan does it spot on.

Ben Affleck gives us a film that is really superior in terms of direction. This, his feature debut as a director is so good and so witty that he should never, ever graze the screen as an actor again. He has so much talent in writing and directing then doing whatever he does (gallivanting) around the screen like an idiot. His direction was top-notched and blew me away completely. I never knew Affleck has so much talent.

Affleck’s screenplay work with Stockard, to adapt Dennis Lehane’s Boston tale is great. The whole story keeps you locked to you see and it’s so very much engaging. You wouldn’t wanna leave you seats for this thriller is more suspenseful and exciting as any other “horror” film in this new decade.

To top of the banana spilt is the rest of the ensemble. Monahan finally puts herself into use again, after “Mission: Impossible 3” (2006), I didn’t know what was gonna happen to her anymore. Thanks goodness she did the right move. Morgan Freeman wasn’t so special however. Any man could have played that part. His name is too thrown around nowadays and I don’t really like it or enjoy hearing it. Harris and everyone else did great things to their tiny parts and made “Gone Baby Gone” truly memorable for me.

With “Gone Baby Gone”, the Affleck’s create a compelling crime-drama with so much spunk and fine performances that all of my raves today are truly deserving. C Affleck was excellent. Ryan was outstanding. The writing was heavenly. The direction was masterful and the story was full of thrills and twists.

The final twist in the ending gives the movie the final zest and richness it needed to be one of the best of the year. It lays to us a choice of morality or realism. With those two choices, that is how the world goes round and this is what makes the film so intriguing and so truthful that it’s hard to leave your seat for a split second.

I give this movie a standing ovation for not only entertaining me for nearly two hours but also giving us a lesson that stereotypes do exist in parents (Ryan’s mother) and that decisions, even though they seem morally wrong, have to be chosen for it’s the truthful and the “real” thing to do. If that makes sense to someone who didn’t watch the movie? Ben, Casey, Amy and all the other apart from them who helped in the creation of this wonderful flick, congratulations, you’ve done a brilliant piece of work. Kudos to you all.

Some upcoming stuff

Well, I've got plenty of reviews coming up. Just saw:

1) Gone Baby Gone 5/5
2) The Bucket List 3/5
3) Bee Movie 4/5
4) Across the Universe - 5/5

Plus, tommorow I'll be seeing "Juno".

Also, I shall post my final Oscar Predictions..SOOOON

:D

Movie Review: Charlie Wilson's War (2007, Mike Nichols)

* * *

Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Brian Markinson, Jud Tylor, Hilary Angelo, Cyia Batten
Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (Based on the book “Charlie Wilson’s War” by George Crile)
97 minutes / Color

Did get educated regarding Charlie Wilson’s actual war? Yes; BUT I still had a sense of feeling that the movie was rather pointless (despite a great performance by Hanks and a pretty good screenplay). I guess the mediocrity really came from the foundation of it all, which means the overrated performances (Hoffman and Roberts) and over-hyped direction of “The Graduates’” (1967) Mike Nichols. Final summary of “Charlie Wilson’s War” is: Interesting but Mediocre.

Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a womanizer, over-the-top-scotch-drinker and fun-wheeling government official in the United States. As the wild person he is, he never failed to do his missions and jobs and is about to face one of the most relevant things he’ll ever do that’ll make the Afghans win the 1980’s Cold War.

As a member of the United States Defense committee, he is soon asked by rich socialite Joanna Herring (Julia Roberts) to take on a mission to try and help the Afghans win the war against the Soviets by raising money through the government.

After seeing the harsh effects that happened to Afghanistan due to the attacks by the Soviets, Wilson is later convinced and starts his fund raising. He gets in contact with Gust Avrakotos (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a specialized CIA agent, and the two start their work in persuading the American Government to give 5 million dollars to buy weapons and supplies.

The two make it big, as their 5 million dollar donation, finally turns into a great sum of 1 billion dollars as they convinced them! Afghanistan, using the super deadly weapons that the Americans donated, ended up winning the Cold War and Charlie Wilson not only got re-elected for Congressman, but becomes one of the most important men in American history.

At the start of the year, “Charlie Wilson’s War”, a new “sensation” with great star-power led the buzz. Everything from the acting, direction and screenplay were in consideration for the Academy Awards. Everyone thought that this and “Atonement” would wipe everything out. When it came Oscar Season, it seems that Charlie Wilson really will be battling some big wars. Now, this movie has gotten mediocre reviews and has a huge, huge, huge long shot at getting nominated…for anything.

Though it has garnered a few fans, it seems that this movie didn’t impress me so much (despite the 3 stars -- Hanks, Roberts and Hoffman--I constantly praise for their Oscar wining performances). The movie turned out to be interesting with some parts boring, acting was mediocre, screenplay was great, and the movie turned out to be completely over hyped. I’m sorry to the fans, but I really didn’t feel it that much.

I must admit however, it started with a great bang, the scene where Tom Hanks is in the Jacuzzi with the play boy star and producer in Las Vegas. Great “misleading’ first scene, the rest of the movie was a political drama, trying to hide itself with a few comic moments.

Tom Hanks, an iconic legend by now, was actually pretty great. The role worked for him like his other movie which he put on a Southern accent for “Forrest Gump” (believe me, this and that don’t compare). However, he shined the most and did well in the title performance. Amy Adam’s small role was fun (I’m not just speaking as an “Enchanted” fanboy), but she was definitely underused.

The over hyped and overrated duo: Mrs. Julia Roberts and Mr. Phillip Seymour Hoffman weren’t only uninteresting to watch, but we’re very…hmm…what’s the word? Fine, I’ll just say a phase: “Not to good for all their awards buzz”. Julia’s accent was not too flattering, her character development was thin and she looked liked a transvestite (haha, I just had to point that out). Hoffman was practically the same as he usually is, except he had different makeup and costume. As least his other two acclaimed performances this year (“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” – he’s excellent there) wasn’t like this. He’s completely overrated. Sorry to anger those who really loved Roberts and Hoffman in this. But hey, reviews are just a matter of opinion right?

As the film progressed, I thought it was okay and the screenplay was really great, but it was too “thin-a-plot”. It seems like everything was in place and then everything just ended. Just when the character’s were developing or showing a different face, the movie just suddenly ended. This kinda annoyed me, because I wanted to see it more. Maybe a final 30-40 minutes of absolutely wonderful acting and dialogue could have given them a rightly deserved 4 or even 5 stars. Just too bad.

The showcase of the war scenes were probably the best part of the movie. It was a mix of comic styling / video game style. It was actually pretty cool, and if those were visual effects, I am pretty amazed. Cool scene they were.

As I watched “Charlie Wilson’s War”, it just popped up and went. Nothing special, but really, really, really far from terrible. It’s one of the highest ranked 3 star films this year…if that makes sense to you. It was uncompelling and rather thin and I think Mike Nichols couldn’t put his talent to better use with different material. I anticipated this film a lot and it ended up being a let down.

Late WGA and PGA nominations.

WGA NOMINATIONS

Original Screenplay -
"Juno" / Diablo Cody
"Michael Clayton" / Tony Gilroy
"The Savages" / Tamra Jenkins
"Knocked Up" / Judd Apatow
"Lars and the Real Girl" / Nancy Oliver

Adapted Screenplay -
"No Country for Old Men" / Joel and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" / Paul Thomas Anderson
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" / Ronald Harwood
"Into the Wild" / Sean Penn
"Zodiac" / James Vanderbilt

PGA NOMINATIONS

Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures -
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" / Miramax
"Juno" / Fox Searchlight
"Michael Clayton" / Warner Brothers
"No Country for Old Men" / Miramax-Paramount Vintage
"There Will Be Blood" / Miramax-Paramount Vintage

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS!

Best Motion Picture Drama - "Atonement"

Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - "Sweeney Todd"

Best Actor in a Drama - DANIEL DAY-LEWIS in "There Will Be Blood"

Best Actress in a Drama - JULIE CHRISTIE in "Away From Her"

Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy - JOHNNY DEPP in "Sweeney Todd"

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy - MARION COTTILARD in "La Vie en Rose"

Best Supporting Actor - JAVIER BARDEM in "No Country for Old Men"

Best Supporting Actress - CATE BLANCHETT in "I'm Not There"

Best Director - JULIAN SCHNABEL for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

Best Screenplay - JOEL AND ETHAN COEN for "No Country for Old Men"

Best Original Song - "GUARENTEED" from "Into the Wild"

Best Original Score - DARIO MARIANELLI for "Atonement"

Best Animated Feature - "Ratatouille"

Best Forieng Language Film - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

Oh man, I'm so lazy to post reviews...

Saw Charlie Wilson's War (2007) around a week ago. Damn! I'm so lazy to post a review for that unflattering and rather disporting film. I will though. SOON. Promise.

DGA nomiees!

Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Sean Penn, Intbo the Wild
Jullian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

DAMN! I sucked this year. I only got 3 nominees right? Couldn't I at least get four? LOL. Moving on...

THOUGHTS:
-The Coen are practically a lock
-With support from the SAG and DGA, it looks like "Into the Wild," "No Country for Old Men," and "Michael Clayton" will probably be up for a Best Picture nominations. Lets wait for the PGa though.
-"Atonement" and "Sweeney Todd" aren't considered out yet...but are unlikely.

Happy Birthday Elvis!

WELL, its the King of Rock 'n' Rolls birthday today. I'm just here to pay a small tribute to him with these two very cool Elvis films I've seen:

Jailhouse Rock (1957) - Black and White glory, Elvis, good story, nice sound and emotion. One of Elvis' very few dramas, he really scores high here. I shan't forget his very memorable (and probably most iconic song to date) "Jailhouse Rock" which is performed here to greatly. The staging is wonderful.

Viva Las Vegas (1964) - Now this is really the one to watch out for. I think this is really his best, best work. Acting and vocal wise. And Ann-Margaret is also such a perfect leading lady for him. Their poolside duet "The Lady Loves Me" is the best in the movie. So bittersweet and the film is just really interesting, all together. The title tune shouldn't be forgotten too. THIS HAS ELVIS MARK....Worth a watch!

This tribute ain't much. But it's for the King. Just to say: "YES. WE STILL REMEMBER YOU."

If you think about, Hairspray has quite a big chance.

Okay, part if this post is really wishful thinking. But if you think about it, "Hairspray" (that amazing movie musical that stunned everyone last summer) really has a big shot at being nominated for Best Picture. Let me tell you why I think so.

First of all, "Hairspray" is the most well received musical of the year. I won't even count "High School Musical 2"! I mean look, "Across the Universe" had mix reviews, "Enchanted" only is a Best Song and Best Actress contender and "Sweeney Todd" lacks a SAG nomination that it so desperately needed (it needs a DGA nod also).

Since "Hairspray" got a SAG nomination for Best Ensemble, we all know that the actors (who not only votes for SAGS but also for the Oscar) actually support the film. Since its winning SO many Ensemble Awards (just recently the Critics Choice Award), I think it will win the SAG. I really do. Okay, "No Country for Old Men" might disapoint, but I think it stands a great chance.

It got some Golden Globe nominations too. That doesn't hurt its chances at all. All we need to know that "Hairspray" will be nominated for Oscar's Best Picture is if gets nominated for the PGA awards. I think it's really, really close. With all the wonderful techs, producers will definitely not turn their backs on this project.

Yes, "Dreamgirls" got DGA, SAG, PGA nominations and a Golden Globe win for Best Picture, but sometimes we shouldn't compare really great films with overrated ones...

Well, if you don't believe me. A GUY CAN WISH RIGHT?

DGA Predictions

Well everyone's talking about it. I honestly don't know when they'll be announced. Tommorow right? Whatever. I can't keep track with so much on my mind. Here's my predictions:

Joel and Ethan Coen, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - WINNER
Joe Wright, ATONEMENT
Jullian Schnabel, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
P.T. Anderson, THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Tim Burton, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER FROM...

On the Globes this Sunday...

WOW. I hope the Oscars don't turn out like this.

(SOURCE: http://imdb.com)

"Amid Strike Fears, Golden Globes Reduce Coverage

In the wake of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have proposed scaling back their coverage of Sunday's Golden Globe awards from a three-hour ceremony and dinner to a one-hour press conference announcing the winners. Fearful of WGA picketing, and a recent statement by the Screen Actors Guild that none of the 70+ acting nominees would attend the ceremony, the Globes made a mad scramble on Monday to come up with a contingency plan that would allow some kind of network television coverage (and thus save millions of dollars in advertisting revenue) without the fear of picketing or no-shows from high-profile celebrities. To insure that the show would go on in some way, NBC, Dick Clark Productions (which produces the Golden Globes show) and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have decided to cancel the traditional dinner and ceremony, and instead broadcast a press conference via NBC News (which is not affected by the WGA strike) to announce the winners, and bracket this one-hour special with a number of different news programs centering on the Globes. At press time, while the WGA had agreed to withhold its picketing from the press conference, it had not given an official go-ahead for the additional coverage. Negotiations were said to be ongoing regarding the use of clips and the Globes party coverage.According to the Los Angeles Times, NBC issued a statement late Monday afternoon that said Sunday evening would tentatively contain the following broadcasts (all times are Eastern):

7pm: A Dateline NBC special with interviews and clips of the nominees (initially scheduled for Saturday)

8pm: Tentatively, a retrospective/clip show to be produced by Dick Clark Enterprises

9pm: A NBC News press conference announcing the Golden Globe winners

10pm: An Access Hollywood-style Golden Globes party show

The new broadcast plan will allow for a certain amount of red carpet coverage and party coverage in addition to the press conference. Nominees and party attendees would be expected to go down a traditional red carpet, but they would then split off to various parties. Once the awards were announced, the winners would have an opportunity to give a statement or reaction from either a party site or the press room. So far, no potential attendees have confirmed or denied they would attend any of the festivities.

The Internet Movie Database takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the articles above. Studio Briefing is edited by Lew Irwin and articles are the copyright of StudioBriefing. The Celebrity News articles are licensed from WENN (World Entertainment News Network) and published for the entertainment of our users only. The WENN items do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that WENN's reporting is completely factual. Please address any complaints regarding the content of WENN to imdb@wenn.com."

THANKS IMDB for ARTICLE!

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS WINNERS!

Best Picture
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Best Director
Joel and Ethan Coel - NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Leiws - THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Best Actress
Julie Christie - AWAY FROM HER

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem - NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Ryan - GONE BABY GONE

Best Documentary
SICKO

Best Family Film
ENCHANTED

Best Animated Film
RATATOUILLE

Best Comedy Movie
JUNO

Best Ensemble Cast
HAIRSPRAY

Best Foriegn Language Film
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

Best Song
Falling Slowly - ONCE

Best Composter
Johnny Greenwood - THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Best Young Actor
Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada - THE KITE RUNNER

Best Young Actress
Nikki Blonsky - HAIRSPRAY

Best Screenplay
Jiablo Cody - JUNO

COULD THE BIG 6 BE LOCKS?

Oscar Predix.

Best Picture
1. No Country for Old Men
2. Atonement
3. There Will Be Blood
4. Into the Wild
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber from Fleet Street
6. Juno
7. Hairspray
8. American Gangster
9. Charlie Wilson’s War
10. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

THOUGHTS: As off now, "No Country for Old Men" is nearly a lock, but we must remember that Critics don't vote for the Oscars. We have to wait till the Oscar nominations come out. But hey, the SAG nod surely helps. It's biggest competition however are "Atonement", "There Will Be Blood" AND "Into the Wild" who are really strong at this point of the race. "Hairsprays" status had gone way up after the SAG nomination, lets see if it snags the Globes.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
1. Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood
2. George Clooney in Michael Clayton
3. Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber from Fleet Street
4. Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises
5. Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild
6. James McAvoy in Atonement
7. Denzel Washington in American Gangster
8. Ryan Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl
9. Tom Hanks in Charlie Wilson’s War
10. Frank Langella in Starting Out in the Evening

THOUGHTS: Daniel Day Lewis seems to have this one in the bag. George Clooney is his only threat at this point because he's the only "strong enough" contender who got a SAG nomination as well as a GG. True Viggo got a SAG and GG nom, but do you HONESTLY think he's strong enough? Nuh-uh.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
1. Julie Christie in Away From Her
2. Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose
3. Ellen Page in Juno
4. Amy Adams in Enchanted
5. Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart
6. Keira Knightly in Atonement
7. Cate Blanchett in The Golden Age
8. Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
9. Nikki Blonsky in Hairspray
10. Nicole Kidman for Margo at the Wedding

THOUGHTS: The critic wins from Christie and Cottilard just show how powerful their peformances are, but will the Academy go for them or the other Oscar-friendly performances...like, let's say ELLEN PAGE.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1. Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men
2. Casey Affleck in The Assignations of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War
4. Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild
5. John Travolta in Hairspray
6. Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton
7. Ethan Hawke in Before the Devil Knows You Dead
8. Phillip Bosco in The Savages
9. James Brolin in American Gangster
10. Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma

THOUGHTS: Bardem practically has the Oscar already. He just needs the SAG to truly secure his position. Affleck may upset and everyone else...their just fillers. With "Hairsprays" SAG nom and the lack of enthusiasm for "Michael Clayton", I have a very good feeling that Travolta might just get a nomination. It would be very, very cool!

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1. Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There
2. Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone
3. Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton
4. Saoirse Ronan in Atonement
5. Ruby Dee in American Gangster
6. Catharine Keener in Into the Wild
7. Romola Garai in Atonement
8. Julia Roberts in Charlie Wilson’s War
9. Michelle Pfeiffer in Hairspray
10. Vanessa Redgrave in Atonement

THOUGHTS: It's Cate vs. Amy Ryan. Nuff said. However...there might be some SAG upsets.

Movie Review: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007. Sidney Lumet)

* * * * *

Cast: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marissa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Amy Ryan, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Shannon, Blaine Horton, Brian F. O’Bryne
Screenplay: Kelly Masterson
117 minutes / Color

Sidney Lumet’s new movie “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” should give the acclaimed director a 6th Oscar nomination and maybe even a win. The film turns out to be extremely intense, interesting and the ensemble works wonders with their magnificent acting powers. Masterson’s original screenplay cannot get any better and the film is one of the most unpredictable of the year. As you watch, you will cling onto your seats, terrified and in wonder of what the main characters will do next. The experience is amazing.

In the story, we meet Andy (Academy Award winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a man married to the sexy Gina (Academy Award winner Marissa Tomei), but still unhappy with his “low paying job” even though we all know his money goes to drugs and not himself and his wife. We also meet Hank (Ethan Hawke), Andy’s brother who has a lot of debts and Child Support to pay, without the means to pay it. The brothers lead miserable lives struggling for money, until Andy gets an idea…

In the Suburbs, their parents, Charles (Albert Finney) and Nannette (Rosemary Harris), own a high class jewelry shop with around $600,000 dollars worth of rocks and bobs and necklaces. They device a plan that Hank would go there early one weekend and rob their parents shop with a toy gun and escape quickly, but Hank does one move that changes the whole course of their plan…and their lives.

On his way to the shop, Hank picks up a friend named Bobby (Bryan F. O’Bryan) to help him rob the place. As Bobby robs the shop, Hank’s frightened mother does her best to defend herself and grabs a gun from the counter cabinet. When Bobby gets shot by Nannette, his only impulse is to shoot her back and they both die…

Now with the thing they’ve done, the boys must face the personal grief of their mother’s death, while having her and their friend’s death in their conscience. Their father, Charles (Albert Finney) is extremely not happy and begins an investigation of his own.

After the funeral, the boys still need their money…badly, but their personal lives are cracking up as the family turns more dysfunctional and ugly. Hank now must also face death threats from Bobby’s family members and must pay them $10,000 to support Bobby’s wife and child.

The boys have no way out and must take things into their own hands. Andy, a little crazy after he learns his wife was actually cheating on him for his brother, kills his Drug Dealer and takes his money to try and pay back Bobby’s family before his brother gets murdered.

When Andy and Hank arrive at Bobby’s house to give his widow and his brother-in-law their money, Andy gets a sudden (and wrong) impulse and shoots the brother-in-law rapidly in the face. He turns to his brother, still angry at the fact he’s been sleeping with his wife, this gives Bobby’s widow time to grab a gun and shoot Andy in the belly. Hank runs away and is never seen again.

Andy is soon sent to the hospital and Hank escapes with enough money to pay his debts. However, their father Charles, who learned from an old Jewel Seller contact that his son Andy was trying to sell him jewels, he knows that his son (missing out Hank) was the one who organized the whole crime that lost his wife…he then travels to the hospital.

As he sees Andy on the bed apologizing to him, he says to his son that everything is okay and misleads him, allowing him to sleep. As his son is at rest, Charles grabs a pillow and suffocates him till he dies of “natural causes”.

“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” is definitely dark and crazy, but if you look closely at the movie, you’ll realize that it’s one underrated piece of work, that isn’t just full of death and sex and drugs, but it’s a masterpiece in two ways: acting and writing.

The screenplay of Masterson: WOW, one of the most unflawed works on the year. The way it was written was so unique and well done. The way we get to see all the character’s point of views in this particular event is just genius. It makes us feel that all characters play such a big part in the story (that’s why it hurts for me to put Ethan in his campaigned category: Supporting). Lumet’s unconventional direction and the magnificent film editing compliment the screenplay very, very well.

However, the main attraction of “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” is it’s magnificent ensemble of talented artists. All the performances in this movie (even the few minutes of Rosemary Harris) are so flawless and first-rate that you’d like to kill yourself from over amazement…

Supporting players Albert Finney and Marissa Tomei make their screen time worth while with really great acting. Tomei, who I last remember in “Alfie” (2004) didn’t make me cringle at all. She was pretty good, but still, her work in “In the Bedroom” (2001) is far superior. Albert Finney was great, but once again (like Tomei) his other films, particularly his recent supporting roles in “Big Fish” (2003) and “Erin Brockovich” (2000) are far, far, far superior then his performance in this. They are not bad at all, just not as brilliant as Hawke and Hoffman.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman was great, no “Capote” (2005) but his role is very much too memorable not to give him a Best Actor nominations (at least for now), but I do have the sense he’s overrated in this film for one reason: everyone says he’s better then Ethan Hawke. WHICH I FIND VERY CRIMINAL.

Ethan Hawke was all glory and no play and I’m singling him out as not only the best performance in the entire duration of the film, but also one of the best supporting actors of the year. He was very brilliant. In a weak year for supporting performances, it truly makes me cringe knowing they he’s not getting enough attention…the attention he truly and desperately needs and lacks. Hawke was the bomb and made “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” a true piece of art because he stole the show from “lead” Hoffman and led the ensemble with a great, passionate, dark, show-stopping performance.

This drama is full of great suspense and thrills and Masterson gives the characters a certain depth that we end up relating (or at least “feeling”) for their problems. “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” goes beyond an ensemble drama, which right now so many people are classifying it as, and transforms itself into a film with everything an Oscar/Film lover needs.

Movie Review: Atonement (2007, Joe Wright)

* * * * *

Cast: James McAvoy, Keira Knightly, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn, Juno Temple, Alfie Allen, Patrick Kennedy, Benedict Cumberbatch
Screenplay: Christopher Hampton (Based on the novel “Atonement” by Ian McEwan)
130 minutes / Color

Joe Wright, as a director, with only a few films, has already become one of my all time favorites. This and his 2005 work “Pride and Prejudice” (both with Keira Knightly) are so fantastic and “Pride” is such a master work. When it comes to the movie “Atonement’, Joe Wright, once again puts his mark as a filmmaker and stuns audiences with not only his direction, but his casting choices (Keira, McAvoy and the ensemble of brilliant actors).

Starting out in 1935 England, in the home of the mega rich Tallis family, we are introduced to the youngest daughter Briony (Saoirse Ronan), a devoted 13-year-old playwright in a boring summer day in their gigantic mansion. On that day she makes shocking discoveries about the House Keeper’s son Robbie (James McAvoy), that he is really in love with Briony’s Sister Cecilia (Keira Knightly).

Robbie, on an eager attempt to clear a dark cloud between him and Cecilia, writes a very passionate (and very “sexy and steamy”) love note to Cecilia saying that he wants to lick her “wet cunt” and that he loves her. Robbie (in a very wrong move) tells the young Briony to deliver it to her older sister but she reads it also, which leads to a conclusion that Robbie is a “sex maniac”.

She delivers it anyways and Cecilia sees that letter and feels the same way toward the young man. Expressing her feelings, she and Robbie have a passionate love-making session in the house’s library and Briony walks in and gets instantly traumatized. Not saying anything, Briony and the couple continue on to dinner which is a celebration to their brother Leon (Patrick Kennedy) and his friend Paul Marshall’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) visit to the estate.

When the entire dinner guests realize that two young boys are missing, they all spread out to look for them in the estate. Young Briony goes alone and wonders into the bushes where she sees her cousin Lola (Juno Temple) getting raped by a mysterious figure. As she shines the flashlight to them, he runs away and she implies it’s the sex maniac Robbie, who she saw “attacking her older sister Cecilia in the library” (not knowing it is actually guest Paul Marshall). Robbie soon gets convicted for a crime he didn’t do and leaves Cecilia alone…

5 years later, World War II begins and the government asks Robbie if he would either stay in jail or fight for the army. Eagerly wanting to see Cecilia, he accepts the Army Job and gets out of prison. He meets up with Cecilia and promises each other that when the war is over, they’d meet in a beautiful beach house by the sea.

Now 18, Briony works in the city as a nurse, while being ignored by her sister and Robbie. She is an adult now and realizes the wrong accusations she did that one summer. She does all she can to make it up to Cecilia and her lover, but they do not accept any of Briony and her asking for forgiveness.

In a tragic end, Robbie ends up dying in France from a sickness, on the last day of his stay there. Cecilia, back in England, supposedly safe in a bomb shelter drowns when the bomb shelter is blown up and the water breaks inside. Briony, feeling forever guilty for taking the couple’s life away from them becomes a writer again, as she was 5 years ago and writes a novel called “Atonement” and bases everything by fact and not changes one name for she wants to tell the truth of what really happened that night.

Briony only drops one actual event, she doesn’t make Robbie and Cecelia die like they really did and she makes them meet in the beach house, the thing they always wanted to do, to show people they they’ll always be together forever…now in heaven.

As a result, “Atonement” is not only a vibrant mix of beautiful costumes, sets and colors, but is also filled with rich performances and magnificent shots from director Joe Wright. The ensemble is amazing. Even the 5 minute performance of veteran Vanessa Redgrave as an aged-version of Briony is first-rate and absolutely perfect.

James McAvoy, who last year made an astonishing performance in “The Last King of Scotland” (2006), does it again and is surely one of the brightest stars in the Hollywood scene today (along side his beautiful co-start Keira Knightly off course). He makes a chummy character and puts a lot of interesting thoughts in it. Throughout the movie, you have the “need” to know what Robbie is thinking. Throughout the movie we are very unsure of what Robbie is thinking and this is all done by the face acting of McAvoy. He is completely capable as an actor to make the audiences very interested in a character that could be normal as ever and make his too mysterious to be true. No one could have pulled “Robbie” off as he did.

Keira Knightly, doesn’t pull a Best Actress performance like she did in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice” as Elizabeth Bennett, but she was no other then impressive. Though I got kinda ticked off when she said “Come back to me. Come back”, it wasn’t a problem for her character had a lot of sex appeal and she brought a lot of glory into McEwan’s character. Oh yeah, did I mention how BEAUTIFUL she was? Damn that green dress!

The Briony’s however, were the people fighting to be on screen. They were all tooooooo fantastic to be true. Ronan’s start was exciting and she is a fantastic young actress (way better then the overrated likes of Abigail Breslin and Dakota Fanning). Redgrave as I said was perfect, she was emotional and it came very natural. Garai however was the standout. She was fantastic and her acting skills are so pure and so great that she stole the movie from Keira Knightly. Underrated performance is given by Romola Garai and she should be praised…a lot!

The technicals of the film were also very awesome, not only was the movie beautiful but it was also really great to look at (exclude the beautiful actors okay?). How can I even begin with the beauty of the sets and costumes? Everything the characters and every place they were in, complimented each other, not to mention the perfect cinematography and lighting. The summer day felt hot and humid like summer, the death scenes were dark and sad, and the ocean was gray and windy. Fantastic colors and great components that compliment each other are one thing people appreciate, and “Atonement” is highly appreciated.

I love Joe Wright’s direction. From the first shot of “Pride and Prejudice” to the last shot of “Atonement”, everything Wright has done is absolutely perfect in every single directional aspect. He is really gifted and I am looking really, really, really, really forward to his next movie. He can’t do any wrong. ALL IS SAID.

Now I understand all the love for “Atonement”, I can’t say it’s the Best of the Year, but that its one of the best. Artistically it probably is though. A screenshot of the film, the beautiful of that split second, will give you a summary of how wonderful and beautiful the entire picture is. McAvoy, Knightly and Garai give remarkable performances and Wright’s direction is flawless.