I have to post my TOP TEN LIST for 2007 before January ends--even though I haven't seen PERSEPOLIS or CHARLIE WILSON's WAR.
First, an overview: this have been the BEST year for movies in at least 3 years! It produced not one, but two memorable lines, "Friendo" & "Whoa...dream big!"
I could have easily flipped five of my 'honorable mentions' into the Top Ten. Nevertheless, in my mind, two films transcended all other movies in 2007 ... but you have to wait until the very end to find out which two!!
It is also encouraging that the critic's lists has been all over the map this year --I've seen very few repeats on anyone's lists. Mine is no exception -- except mine is the definitive list!
So I will start with my new favorite category:
Ambitious Failures:
I have to start with perhaps the most ambitious failure of all time:
I'm Not There - if you want to make a movie about Bob Dylan, make it about Bob Dylan!!
Across the Universe
Inland Empire
3 Worst:
3. Premonition (Sandy, I still love ya!)
2.'300'
1. Goya's Ghosts
ehhh . . . what's the fuss?
Amazing Grace
Away From Her
The Kingdom
Michael Clayton
Rescue Dawn
Year of the Dog
Saw & enjoyed (13):
2 Days in Paris
3:10 to Yuma
Becoming Jane
The Bourne Ultimatum
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The Golden Compass
Harry Potter 5
Into Great Silence (doc.)
The Jane Austen Book Club
A Mighty Heart
Ratatouille
The Savages
Sweeney Todd
Honorable mention (10):
(I had to think of a reason to keep these films out of the Top Ten!)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Breach
Control (UK)
The Darjeeling Limited
Into the Wild
Juno
Margot at the Wedding
Sicko (doc.)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (UK)
Zodiac
Top Ten Movies of 2007
10. Gone Baby Gone -- Breach and Zodiac are in a virtual tie for #10, but I have to give it to first-time director Ben Affleck and his love for South Boston.
9. Lars and the Real Girl
8. The Lives of Others (Germany) - 2006's Oscar winner
7. Eastern Promises
6. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly (France)
5. La Vie en Rose (France)
4. Once (Ireland)
3. Atonement
. . . and now for the separation from great to awesome!. . .
2. There Will Be Blood -- ambitious movie-making on a grand scale, with a grand performance by Daniel Day-Lewis.
1. No Country For Old Men -- hands down, a brilliant movie. [Don't like the ending? So you think you're a better writer than Cormac McCarthy??]
Now it is on to the Oscars!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
"And the SAG Goes to . . ."
As Alessandra Stanley pointed out in today's New York Times, no actor wants to hear those words! So instead, the envelope opening at last night's 14th annual Screen Actor's Guild awards was preceded by "And the actor goes to..." And with one exception, the recipients in the film categories were no surprise. In what is fast-becoming conventional wisdom this award season, the front-runners for the Oscars appear to be set. [See an upcoming post charting the major awards to see who will be prohibitive favorites this year.]
I was hoping for more intrigue from the acting community this year. Compared to the Oscar nominations, the SAGs got it right more times than it did not. Recognizing Angelina Jolie, Emile Hirsch, and Ryan Gosling makes up for their inexplicable nominees in the Best Ensemble Cast category: 3:10 to Yuma instead of Atonement?? Hairspray instead of Juno? Hell, I am amazed that American Gangster beat out the superior casts of There Will Be Blood, Gone Baby Gone, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead! (I could pick five better nominees in this category, and I'm not even an actor!!)
None of the aforementioned deserving nominees won, of course. But I cannot make an argument against Daniel Day-Lewis, Javier Bardem, or the cast of No Country for Old Men winning last night. Nor would I want to. I do have a beef with the female acting categories: both smell of "career achievement" awards. True, Julie Christie has done some of her bravest, finest work in her 'mature years.' But did she give a better performance than Marion Cotillard? I don't think so!
Which leads us to "Female actor in a supporting role." You know what I think about this one! Can you say "Don Ameche: quick, give him an award before he dies?" Ruby Dee playing somebody's mamma--give me a break! Amy-Cate-
Tilda, all have reason to feel robbed. But especially Cate: I have to believe her stunning turn as Bob Dylan is being undervalued/overshadowed by her Best Actress nomination for Elizabeth. Her performance so dominated I'm Not There -- that's the role that deserves a Best Actress nod.
Before I close, I have to leave you with a list I usually save for my Oscar recap (but in these parlous times, who knows if there will even be an Oscars!) The Best Dressed/Best Looking List! (I'm only qualified to rank the females).
First, these women all looked great: Marion Cotillard, Diane Lane, Ellen Page, Anna Paquin, Amy Ryan. Perry Reeves.
Best Dressed/Best Looking:
Runners up:
Christina Applegate-Teri Hatcher-Jamie Lynn Sigler-'Sloan' from Entourage
#4. Vanessa Williams
#3. Kyra Sedgwick
#2. Marcia Cross
#1 (hands down): Kate Beckinsale !! (in fact, if Naomi Watts ever does anything to lose my favor, I think I have a replacement!)
I was hoping for more intrigue from the acting community this year. Compared to the Oscar nominations, the SAGs got it right more times than it did not. Recognizing Angelina Jolie, Emile Hirsch, and Ryan Gosling makes up for their inexplicable nominees in the Best Ensemble Cast category: 3:10 to Yuma instead of Atonement?? Hairspray instead of Juno? Hell, I am amazed that American Gangster beat out the superior casts of There Will Be Blood, Gone Baby Gone, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead! (I could pick five better nominees in this category, and I'm not even an actor!!)
None of the aforementioned deserving nominees won, of course. But I cannot make an argument against Daniel Day-Lewis, Javier Bardem, or the cast of No Country for Old Men winning last night. Nor would I want to. I do have a beef with the female acting categories: both smell of "career achievement" awards. True, Julie Christie has done some of her bravest, finest work in her 'mature years.' But did she give a better performance than Marion Cotillard? I don't think so!
Which leads us to "Female actor in a supporting role." You know what I think about this one! Can you say "Don Ameche: quick, give him an award before he dies?" Ruby Dee playing somebody's mamma--give me a break! Amy-Cate-
Tilda, all have reason to feel robbed. But especially Cate: I have to believe her stunning turn as Bob Dylan is being undervalued/overshadowed by her Best Actress nomination for Elizabeth. Her performance so dominated I'm Not There -- that's the role that deserves a Best Actress nod.
Before I close, I have to leave you with a list I usually save for my Oscar recap (but in these parlous times, who knows if there will even be an Oscars!) The Best Dressed/Best Looking List! (I'm only qualified to rank the females).
First, these women all looked great: Marion Cotillard, Diane Lane, Ellen Page, Anna Paquin, Amy Ryan. Perry Reeves.
Best Dressed/Best Looking:
Runners up:
Christina Applegate-Teri Hatcher-Jamie Lynn Sigler-'Sloan' from Entourage
#4. Vanessa Williams
#3. Kyra Sedgwick
#2. Marcia Cross
#1 (hands down): Kate Beckinsale !! (in fact, if Naomi Watts ever does anything to lose my favor, I think I have a replacement!)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
In memoriam, part II
This is supposed to be a happy time of year, but as with the recent Golden Globes fiasco, my enthusiasm for awards season is once again crushed -- not by those selfish writers this time -- but by the shocking, untimely passing of the great actor HEATH LEDGER, on the same day the Oscar nominations are announced. So I cannot write my usual 'Outrage!' post with the same outrage (even though there is plenty to be outraged about!)
It was only two years ago that Ledger earned a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for his incredibly moving lead performance in "Brokeback Mountain" -- a performance that makes it impossible to argue with those (like 'friend of the blog' John Shepperd) who say he gave the Best Performance of the Year! [Even though Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a deserving winner as Truman 'Capote,' and even though, if I had a vote, I would have picked Terrence Howard, as the loveable Memphis pimp in "Hustle & Flow."] Ledger brought shadings to that gruff, uncommunicative cowboy that made you ache for his unhappiness.
I don't know for whom to feel more sad: co-star and former lover Michele Williams (and mother of his only child), co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, who shared some very intense and intimate moments with him onscreen in 'Brokeback,' or former co-star ("Ned Kelly") and lover Naomi Watts, who must be bummed that "Eastern Promises" got only ONE nomination! ("Transformers" got 3, for Christsakes!)
I am just relieved that Mary-Kate Olsen was cleared of all wrongdoing in this matter, in spite of the over-zealous New York Times reporting (Get your facts straight, NYT!)
Now, on to the nominations ....
WHAT? Did somebody decide "Michael Clayton" was a good movie and not tell me? Maybe I saw a different movie: the one I saw was a potentially-interesting story scuttled by an inept script and an even inept-er (!) director! I can think of half-a-dozen directors more deserving of an Oscar nomination than Tony Gilroy: David Cronenberg-Tim Burton-Joe Wright-Sidney Lumet-David Fincher-Sean Penn-Ben Affleck-Paul Greengrass (that's 8, and that's off the top of my head!!!).
In short, the movie was inept. Tom Wilkinson is a great actor, but he did NOT deserve a nomination for his valiant but unsuccessful effort to create a plausible character out of that mess of a script he was given: because Gilroy wanted to film it both ways, Wilkinson was not convincing as either a cutthroat corporate lawyer or as a stark-raving lunatic. So he failed to elicit respect or sympathy in his brief time on screen. I would have stood and cheered if that movie earned two nominations: for George Clooney's and Tilda Swinton's riveting performances. Instead, the Academy gave it seven, and a superior effort, Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" got two lousy nominations.
But the Academy's ineptness doesn't stop there. The EASIEST category to fill in 2007 was for "Best Original Score": there were exactly five film scores that transcended all competition:
ATONEMENT - Dario Marinelli (I have the CD!)
EASTERN PROMISES - Howard Shore
INTO THE WILD - Eddie Vedder
ONCE - Glen Hansard (I have the CD!)
THERE WILL BE BLOOD - Jonny Greenwood
(Notice a theme? Three of the five are by rock musicians.) The Academy, in its infinite hipness, got exactly one out of the five right (Atonement). ONE! Even the Globes got 3-out-of-5! My only solace is that John Williams was unemployed this year.
But that's not the biggest outrage: in the Best Actor category, Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl") and Emile Hirsch ("Into the Wild") carried every frame of their respective movies. And what do they have to show for it? An invite to the SAG awards, that's what!
P.S. I feel as bad as anyone that Angelina Jolie got passed-over for her dead-on portrayal of Marianne Pearl in "A Mighty Heart." But don't blame Laura Linney for 'stealing' her spot. She was awesome in "The Savages." Instead, the weak member of the Best Actress category is -- surprisingly -- CATE BLANCHETT! [And I enjoyed both her and her movie!] But compared to her bust-out performance in "I'm Not There," this reprise of her already-nominated role in "Elizabeth," coming on the heels of Helen Mirren's stunning performance of the same character on HBO, just feels obligatory.
P.P.S. Don't even get foreignfilmguy started on the Best Foreign Language Film category! Romania was not even short-listed! That's how pathetic this category has become! [How can you not short-list Romania?]
I STILL LOVE YOU, CATE!
It was only two years ago that Ledger earned a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for his incredibly moving lead performance in "Brokeback Mountain" -- a performance that makes it impossible to argue with those (like 'friend of the blog' John Shepperd) who say he gave the Best Performance of the Year! [Even though Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a deserving winner as Truman 'Capote,' and even though, if I had a vote, I would have picked Terrence Howard, as the loveable Memphis pimp in "Hustle & Flow."] Ledger brought shadings to that gruff, uncommunicative cowboy that made you ache for his unhappiness.
I don't know for whom to feel more sad: co-star and former lover Michele Williams (and mother of his only child), co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, who shared some very intense and intimate moments with him onscreen in 'Brokeback,' or former co-star ("Ned Kelly") and lover Naomi Watts, who must be bummed that "Eastern Promises" got only ONE nomination! ("Transformers" got 3, for Christsakes!)
I am just relieved that Mary-Kate Olsen was cleared of all wrongdoing in this matter, in spite of the over-zealous New York Times reporting (Get your facts straight, NYT!)
Now, on to the nominations ....
WHAT? Did somebody decide "Michael Clayton" was a good movie and not tell me? Maybe I saw a different movie: the one I saw was a potentially-interesting story scuttled by an inept script and an even inept-er (!) director! I can think of half-a-dozen directors more deserving of an Oscar nomination than Tony Gilroy: David Cronenberg-Tim Burton-Joe Wright-Sidney Lumet-David Fincher-Sean Penn-Ben Affleck-Paul Greengrass (that's 8, and that's off the top of my head!!!).
In short, the movie was inept. Tom Wilkinson is a great actor, but he did NOT deserve a nomination for his valiant but unsuccessful effort to create a plausible character out of that mess of a script he was given: because Gilroy wanted to film it both ways, Wilkinson was not convincing as either a cutthroat corporate lawyer or as a stark-raving lunatic. So he failed to elicit respect or sympathy in his brief time on screen. I would have stood and cheered if that movie earned two nominations: for George Clooney's and Tilda Swinton's riveting performances. Instead, the Academy gave it seven, and a superior effort, Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" got two lousy nominations.
But the Academy's ineptness doesn't stop there. The EASIEST category to fill in 2007 was for "Best Original Score": there were exactly five film scores that transcended all competition:
ATONEMENT - Dario Marinelli (I have the CD!)
EASTERN PROMISES - Howard Shore
INTO THE WILD - Eddie Vedder
ONCE - Glen Hansard (I have the CD!)
THERE WILL BE BLOOD - Jonny Greenwood
(Notice a theme? Three of the five are by rock musicians.) The Academy, in its infinite hipness, got exactly one out of the five right (Atonement). ONE! Even the Globes got 3-out-of-5! My only solace is that John Williams was unemployed this year.
But that's not the biggest outrage: in the Best Actor category, Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl") and Emile Hirsch ("Into the Wild") carried every frame of their respective movies. And what do they have to show for it? An invite to the SAG awards, that's what!
P.S. I feel as bad as anyone that Angelina Jolie got passed-over for her dead-on portrayal of Marianne Pearl in "A Mighty Heart." But don't blame Laura Linney for 'stealing' her spot. She was awesome in "The Savages." Instead, the weak member of the Best Actress category is -- surprisingly -- CATE BLANCHETT! [And I enjoyed both her and her movie!] But compared to her bust-out performance in "I'm Not There," this reprise of her already-nominated role in "Elizabeth," coming on the heels of Helen Mirren's stunning performance of the same character on HBO, just feels obligatory.
P.P.S. Don't even get foreignfilmguy started on the Best Foreign Language Film category! Romania was not even short-listed! That's how pathetic this category has become! [How can you not short-list Romania?]
I STILL LOVE YOU, CATE!Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Thanks for nothing, WGA!
Normally at this time of year, I would be writing my "Most wonderful time of the year" post, but not this year! I have to write this instead:
************************
Open letter to the Writer's Guild of America:
So you flex your muscles at the expense the 2008 Golden Globes, but you spare the SAG awards on TNT ... are you proud of yourselves? You must be feeling very powerful that you can pick and choose which awards shows (and late night shows) to which you give your imprimatur.
No sense of irony that awards shows contain the most-poorly written, lame, and unfunny drivel of anything your TV writers produce this side of "Two and a Half Men"? Not even a hint? You think you're making a stand by depriving America of that Bruce Vilanch-written banter crap we have to sit through every year? These shows will only be improved by not having a script!
Well, your ploy has backfired with this wannabe writer! How dare you deprive me of my single greatest joy of the movie season! And you threaten to do the same with the Academy Awards?? I wouldn't want to be on that picket line in front of the Kodak theater -- up against hoardes of those lunatic fans who camp out just to sit in the bleachers--if you strong-arm the stars to boycott the Oscars!!
Unaffectionately yours,
foreignfilmguy
********************
On the bright side, the Globes had an off-year in its nominations (especially on the TV side), so this cancellation might lessen the Globes influence on Academy voters. [I mean, they snubbed "Into the Wild"!] It also opens the door for a more obscure awards show to gain some influence: namely, last night's "Critic's Choice Awards" on VH-1 !
(I had never heard of them, either).
It was a great show! Helped in large measure by the stars it attracted: inaugural Joel Seigel award recipient, Don Cheadle, who brought all his high-powered friends (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Casey Affleck). And host D.L. Hughely was actually funny --get him to write the Globe material!
But the critics did their best work in choosing the winners:
Best Song: "Falling Slowly", Once - yea!
Writer: Diablo Cody, Juno
Director(s): Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Foreign Film: The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
Supp. Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Supp. Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
[who managed to get a shot in at Pres. Bush, the only political moment of the night!]
Actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
So thank you, Broadcast Film Critics, for allowing me to announce for another year:
"Let the Awards Season Begin!!"
************************
Open letter to the Writer's Guild of America:
So you flex your muscles at the expense the 2008 Golden Globes, but you spare the SAG awards on TNT ... are you proud of yourselves? You must be feeling very powerful that you can pick and choose which awards shows (and late night shows) to which you give your imprimatur.
No sense of irony that awards shows contain the most-poorly written, lame, and unfunny drivel of anything your TV writers produce this side of "Two and a Half Men"? Not even a hint? You think you're making a stand by depriving America of that Bruce Vilanch-written banter crap we have to sit through every year? These shows will only be improved by not having a script!
Well, your ploy has backfired with this wannabe writer! How dare you deprive me of my single greatest joy of the movie season! And you threaten to do the same with the Academy Awards?? I wouldn't want to be on that picket line in front of the Kodak theater -- up against hoardes of those lunatic fans who camp out just to sit in the bleachers--if you strong-arm the stars to boycott the Oscars!!
Unaffectionately yours,
foreignfilmguy
********************
On the bright side, the Globes had an off-year in its nominations (especially on the TV side), so this cancellation might lessen the Globes influence on Academy voters. [I mean, they snubbed "Into the Wild"!] It also opens the door for a more obscure awards show to gain some influence: namely, last night's "Critic's Choice Awards" on VH-1 !
(I had never heard of them, either).
It was a great show! Helped in large measure by the stars it attracted: inaugural Joel Seigel award recipient, Don Cheadle, who brought all his high-powered friends (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Casey Affleck). And host D.L. Hughely was actually funny --get him to write the Globe material!
But the critics did their best work in choosing the winners:
Best Song: "Falling Slowly", Once - yea!
Writer: Diablo Cody, Juno
Director(s): Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Foreign Film: The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
Supp. Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Supp. Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
[who managed to get a shot in at Pres. Bush, the only political moment of the night!]
Actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
So thank you, Broadcast Film Critics, for allowing me to announce for another year:
"Let the Awards Season Begin!!"
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