78th Academy Awards Nominees

Here is the list of nominees for the 78th Academy Awards, with some comments and my scores:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Munich
Score: 3/5. I predicted Walk the Line and King Kong (silly me) instead of Capote and Munich.

Achievement in Directing
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Bennett Miller (Capote)
Paul Haggis (Crash)
George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Steven Spielberg (Munich)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener) instead of Spielberg.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow)
Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)
David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man) instead of Howard.

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents)
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
Kiera Knightley (Pride & Prejudice)
Charlize Theron (North Country)
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Ziyi Zhang (Memoirs of a Geisha) instead of Knightley.

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
George Clooney (Syriana)
Matt Dillon (Crash)
Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain)
William Hurt (A History of Violence)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Terrence Howard (Crash) instead of Hurt.

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams (Junebug)
Catherine Keener (Capote)
Frances McDormand (North Country)
Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
Score: 5/5!

Original Screenplay
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Match Point
The Squid and the Whale
Syriana
Score: 4/5. I predicted Cinderella Man instead of Match Point.

Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Munich
Score: 5/5!

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Don't Tell (Italy)
Joyeux Noel (France)
Paradise Now (Palestine)
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (Germany)
Tsotsi (South Africa)
Score: 3/5. I predicted Belgium's L'Enfant and China's The Promise instead of Don't Tell and Sophie Scholl - The Final Days.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallce & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Score: 3/3! I'm one of a very few people who predicted Howl's Moving Castle. I was banking on support of the animation branch for animation god Miyazaki Hayao, and I was right.

Achievement in Art Direction
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice
Score: 3/5. I predicted Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe instead of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Pride & Prejudice.

Achievement in Cinematography
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World
Score: 3/5. I predicted The Constant Gardener and King Kong instead of Batman Begins and The New World.

Achievement in Costume Design
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk the Line
Score: 3/5. I predicted Cinderella Man and The White Countess instead of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Walk the Line.

Achievement in Film Editing
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk the Line
Score: 2/5. I predicted Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck., and A History of Violence instead of Cinderella Man, The Constant Gardener, and Walk the Line.

Achievement in Makeup
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Score: 2/3. I predicted The New World instead of Cinderella Man.

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Pride & Prejudice
Score: 2/5. I predicted Cinderella Man, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and King Kong instead of The Constant Gardener, Munich, and Pride & Prejudice. Interestingly, we have three first-time nominees in a category that usually shuns non-veterans. But hey, this year John Williams has two more noms to add to his gazillion.

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
"In the Deep" (Crash)
"It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" (Hustle & Flow)
"Travelin' Thru" (Transamerica)
Score: 2/3. I predicted the other Hustle & Flow song, "Hustle and Flow."

Achievement in Visual Effects
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds
Score: 2/3. I predicted Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith instead of War of the Worlds. The snub for the last Star Wars film hurts. I was expecting War of the Worlds to be ignored instead. Well, at least I correctly predicted a nod for Narnia, which was left out of many other predictors' lists.

Achievement in Sound Mixing
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds
Score: Ouch, 2/5. I suck at predicting this category. I predicted Batman Begins, Munich, and Syriana instead of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Memoirs of a Geisha, and War of the Worlds (why is this one popping up?!).

Achievement in Sound Editing
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds
Score: 2/3. Wow, Memoirs of a Geisha is reaping technical noms. I predicted Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith instead of Memoirs.

Best Documentary Feature
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight
Score: 3/5. I predicted Mad Hot Ballroom and Rize instead of Darwin's Nightmare and Street Fight.

I'll be posting my Should Win, Will Win, and Should Have Been Nominated lists for the major categories soon.

Final Predictions

Final Oscar predictions are up. Yes, I'm going out on a limb by still predicting a King Kong nomination for Best Picture and Howl's Moving Castle for Best Animated Feature, but what the heck. I'm hoping for variety.

Screen Actors Guild Winners

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has named the following winners in this year's SAG Awards:

Best Ensemble
Crash

Best Male Actor in a Leading Role
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)

Best Female Actor in a Leading Role
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)

Directors Guild Winner

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has named Ang Lee as the best director of the year.

Movie News: Nativity

New Line has announced that they will release a film called Nativity, which is on the life of the Virgin Mary. After being mesmerized and greatly inspired by The Passion of the Christ, I say bring it on. I wonder who's going to direct this? And who's going to play the Virgin?

Producers Guild winner

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has named "Brokeback Mountain" the best picture of the year.

My Film Awards

For the past two years, I've also been posting my own Film Awards (check out last year's list here). I've always been at least a month late in posting it since I kinda "cheat" and wait to get to watch most of the year's acclaimed releases. Here in the Philippines, "Brokeback Mountain;" "Walk the Line;" "Good Night, and Good Luck.;" and a slew of other praised films have yet to be shown, so I don't want to name my "Bests" just yet. This month and February are crucial; most of the good films are going to be shown here during that period. I'll have my final awards out sometime around Oscar night (note: that doesn't mean it influences my own decisions), but here's the list of my Top 10 Films of 2005, thus far. I'll be regularly updating this list in the sidebar (if it needs to be updated) until the final one comes out in March.

1. "King Kong"
2. "Cinderella Man"
3. "Crash"
4. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
5. "The Constant Gardener"
6. "Batman Begins"
7. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
8. "In Her Shoes"
9. "A History of Violence"
10. "Sin City"

Golden Globes Winners and my comments

Golden Globe winners:

Best Picture-Drama
Brokeback Mountain

Best Director
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Picture-Comedy/Musical
Walk the Line

Best Actor-Drama
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
*I predicted Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Actress-Drama
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)

Best Actor-Comedy/Musical
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)

Best Actress-Comedy/Musical
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney (Syriana)

Best Supporting Actress
Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
*I predicted Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Screenplay
Diana Ossana, Larry McMurtry (Brokeback Mountain)
*I predicted Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco (Crash)

Best Score
John Williams (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Best Song
"A Love That Will Never Grow Old" (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Foreign Language Film
Paradise Now
*I predicted, and hoped for, Kung Fu Hustle

Some notes on the Golden Globes:

-Though Oscarwatch predicted it, I was still surprised over the win of Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener). Michelle Williams was the clear favorite. Still, it was always Williams and Weisz duking it out in the precursor critics awards.
-A bigger surprise was the win of Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry for the screenplay of Brokeback Mountain over the expected winners, Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco for Crash. Right now, Brokeback Mountain seems unstoppable, with wins for Best Picture-Drama and Best Director (Ang Lee).
-Everything else was rather predictable, though I was seriously rooting for a surprise and delightful win by Kung Fu Hustle for Best Foreign Language Film.
-Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie were hilarious. Ironically, they were winners for Best Actress and Actor, respectively, in Drama. They even upstaged Steve Carrell (Best Actor-Comedy).

Another Guild Citation

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS (ASC)

Wally Pfister (Batman Begins)
Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain)
Robert Elswit (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Andrew Lesnie (King Kong)
Dion Beebe (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Updated Preidictions for Best Make-up and Best Original Song

The Academy has released its official list of finalists for the Best Makeup category, and neither Memoirs of a Geisha nor King Kong is there. So a major overhaul of the predictions for that category.

Critics Choice Awards winners

Here is the list of winners from the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA):

Best Film - Brokeback Mountain
Best Director - Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Best Actress - Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Best Actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Best Supporting Actor - Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams (Junebug) AND Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
Best Ensemble - Crash
Best Writer - Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco (Crash)
Best Family Film - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Best Documentary - The March of the Penguins
Best Young Actor - Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Best Young Actress - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds)
Best Foreign Film - Kung Fu Hustle
Best Animated Feature - Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Best Composer - John Williams (Memoirs of a Geisha)
Best Soundtrack - Walk the Line
Best Song - "Hustle and Flow" (Hustle and Flow)
Best Comedy - The 40 Year-Old Virgin

More Guild Citations

VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY (VES)

Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Supporting Visual Effects:
Jarhead
Kingdom of Heaven
Memoirs of a Geisha

Updated Predictions

I have updated predictions in the major categories and added my predictions to all other categories except Best Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, Best Animated Short, and the Documentary categories.

Just a few notes:
-I greatly struggled over whether Russell Crowe or Terrence Howard was going to get the fifth, rather uncertain slot (all the others are practically locks). I am settling for Crowe, who had a resurgence with nominations in the Golden Globes and from the SAG (Howard lacks the latter).
-The Best Supporting Actress category is such a pain to predict this year. If you look at the precursor awards, it's a mess! Only Michelle Williams, Frances McDormand, and, to some extent, Rachel Weisz seem to be constants. It's a free-for-all for at least three spots, I think. I have great doubts about Amy Adams, but what the heck.

My Favorite Books of 2005

5) Tori Amos: Piece by Piece (Tori Amos, Ann Powers). Didn't I say that I loved Tori Amos? This book shows a lot of Tori's insights and reveals a lot of the things that Toriphiles have been wondering about. With that said, it's a book that non-Tori fans might be able to appreciate only for its lyrical writing and for Tori's unique views (fans of The Da Vinci Code may like her treatise on Mary Magdalene here), but Tori's trademark oddness might not get across to those not accustomed to it. I, along with other Toriphiles, love that oddness, so this book is a real treasure and rare opportunity for us to share in everything that is real Tori.

4) Eldest (Christopher Paolini). The sequel to the immensely popular Eragon, Eldest manages to maintain that sense of exhilaration and excitement felt in the first book, with its tale of dragons and dragon-riders and lost legacies re-discovered. It's easy to sympathize with Eragon, though not necessarily with his world, which as far as fantasy worlds go isn't very well-detailed or involving. I hope that changes in the third, which I look forward to.

3) A Feast for Crows (George R.R. Martin). Just like Tori Amos in my list of favorite albums, my favorite author has to take only the third spot this year. His writing is still top-notch and better than any other fantasy author alive, but the absence of my favorite Song of Ice and Fire characters, Jon Snow and Daenerys, takes away a significant bit of delight. Still, I loved reading about Jaime and Arya and Cersei (not so much Sansa) again, and if anything, my excitement over the release of A Dance with Dragons has been multipled at least five-fold. Can't wait to get my hands on that.

I rather agonized over which of the Top 2 books to name number 1. I immensely loved both books and believe that both are among the best in their respective series (in the case of my #1, it's the best), of which they are both the penultimate installments. But in terms of sheer readability and emotional involvement, I finally decided that the less "high-fantasy" type had to take the top spot this time.

2) Knife of Dreams (Robert Jordan). Book 10 in the series, Crossroads of Twilight, is by general consensus the worst and most useless one in the series. So of course, Jordan had to make up for that with the 11th, right? In my opinion, he did. I still have no idea how he can finish the whole story in the next book short of making it at least 1,500 pages long, but more than enough of the big, heart-stopping events Jordan was once known a lot for were present in Knife of Dreams. A lot of loose ends were finally resolved, and Tarmon Gai'don is palpable. My favorite plot-lines here: Elayne's and Egwene's, with the former taking the top prize for "It's about freakin' time" (the second doesn't make the cut; it's moving along but far from being resolved). Actually, that or Mat's story, which progresses finely. Mr. Jordan: please finish this series before you write anything else. We've had too long a wait already. Hehe, talk about pressure.

1) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling). With a few expert strokes of her wand, J.K. Rowling managed to propel her series from children's book to epic fantasy. The book has lost none of its predecessors' readability or innocent wonder, but the story ripens beautifully (and I'm not just talking about the three leads' significant...maturity). Without giving any spoilers, I'm saying that you'd have to be a complete stiff not to be moved by the events in the last few chapters, or stirred by excitement over how potentially magnificent and huge in every sense of those words Book 7 could be. I believe it will be, if J.K. Rowling's great writing magic so far is any indication.

The Guilds Have Spoken...

The past few days have been a whirlwind of nomination frenzy, with some films losing significant steam, some cementing their front-runner status, and others surprising nearly everyone, even the most experienced prognosticators. And these nominations are not to be scoffed at: these are the Guilds speaking, and in terms of Oscar push, they hold A LOT of undeniable power.

So here's a rundown of how the Guilds have been playing out so far (the technical guilds, e.g. visual effects , makeup, etc., have yet to release their nominations):

PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA (PGA)

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Walk the Line

DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA (DGA)

George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Paul Haggis (Crash)
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Bennett Miller (Capote)
Steven Spielberg (Munich)

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD (SAG)

Actor:
Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)
David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck.)

Actress:
Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents)
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
Charlize Theron (North Country)
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Ziyi Zhang (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Supporting Actor:
Don Cheadle (Crash)
George Clooney (Syriana)
Matt Dillon (Crash)
Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain)

Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams (Junebug)
Catherine Keener (Capote)
Frances McDormand (North Country)
Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)

WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA (WGA)

Original:
Cliff Hollingsworth, Akiva Goldsman (Cinderella Man)
Paul Haggis, Bobby Moresco (Crash)
Judd Apatow, Steve Carell (The 40 Year-Old Virgin)
George Clooney, Grant Heslov (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale)

Adapted:
Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana (Brokeback Mountain)
Dan Futterman (Capote)
Jeffrey Caine (The Constant Gardener)
Josh Olson (A History of Violence)
Stephen Gaghan (Syriana)

Films Eligible for Oscar Nominations

Check out the complete, official list of films vying for Oscar honors here.

Unconfirmed Oscar host: Jon Stewart

It's not to be confirmed until a few hours from now, but the reliable word is that Jon Stewart will be the host of the 78th Annual Academy Awards ceremonies. Read the article here.

My Favorite Music Albums of 2005

In the heat of the Oscar and awards season, I've neglected the fact that my site is about my being an "otaku," and by definition, I'm into more than just movies. Music and literature are also significant joys in my life. So I'm doing something here that I didn't get to do in my original website (which was exclusively on films): give a list of my favorite albums and books of the year. I can't say that I'm as non-selective with books and albums as I am with movies; whereas I try (try being the operative word here) to watch as many films as I can every year, I buy only the albums and books that I'm really interested in. After all, I'm no album or book reviewer.

Anyway, here's my list of Top 5 Albums of 2005:

5) Love. Music. Angel. Baby. (Gwen Stefani). At times reminiscent of 80s pop, sometimes sweetly mellow, but always entertaining, Gwen Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. is as enjoyable as sensible, quality dance albums can be. I'd be hard-pressed to name a catchier, more "last-song-syndrome" tune than that of "Hollaback Girl" (B-A-N-A-N-A-S), although "What You Waiting For?" and "Rich Girl" are nearly as addictive. For someone like me who loves practically everything Japanese, "Harajuku Girls" was a cute (kawaii), amusing song. In fact, that Japanese theme was all over the album, making it additionally novel and worth adding to any musical collection of anyone who just wants to have fun.

4) Amarantine (Enya). While A Day Without Rain was a good album with very catchy ("Wild Child") and inspiring ("Only Time") tunes, it had nowhere near the mystic, ethereal beauty that held me in thrall when I listened to The Memory of Trees and the albums prior to that. It has been said that Enya has gone too pop and mainstream, and I was getting inclined to agree. Amarantine is a welcome return to the otherwordly music that this Irish songstress has long been known for. There's a sorry absence of songs in Gaelic, but the fictional language Loxian makes an interesting substitute. Apparently, Enya and constant collaborator Roma Ryan enjoyed their turn at speaking Elvish for the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. I hope that this is a sign of better, more mystical things to come for Enya.

3) The Beekeeper (Tori Amos). I still think that Tori Amos is brilliant. In fact, she's my favorite artist of all time. But the last Amos album that I could call brilliant is From The Choirgirl Hotel. After that, the albums have ranged from good to great, but none of them have been as inspired as her previous releases (particularly my favorite, Boys For Pele). The Beekeeper almost makes it back to those great days for Toriphiles, with "Sleeps With Butterflies" being a worthy Amos single and "Sweet the Sting" being amazingly, lovingly cloying. But it's still not in the leagues of Tori's first releases. I'm probably just missing the harpsichord. Well, at least Tori's going back to more piano pieces. I'm still a big Toriphile and still waiting for the next release from this fiery, brilliant artist.

2) Aerial (Kate Bush). Twelve years after The Red Shoes (unfortunately my only other Kate Bush album), which is considered by many to be rather inferior to her previous works, Kate Bush returns with a bang. Well, perhaps that isn't very appropriate; Aerial is quietly, subtly mesmerizing. The themes of the two discs (A Sea of Honey and A Sky of Honey) are diverse: among the subjects of her songs are her son Bertie, Joan of Arc, laundry, birds, and pi. Yes, the infinite number pi. Ever heard someone sing the number as the chorus? Sounds kitschy, but it's very well made. And yes, birds. In several pieces in the second disc, Bush sings in birdsong. Unlike #3 in this list, Aerial does not fall short of brilliant. I eagerly await her next project. Until then, I'll listen to birdsongs with newfound appreciation.

1) Comet's Tail (Cynthia Alexander). Okay, some of you (particularly those not from the Philippines) will be scratching your heads in confusion. Who's Cynthia Alexander? She is widely considered (at least by those who are in tune with the best local music, and not just the mainstream) to be one of the country's greatest musicians. She's a premiere bassist (she won an Asian competition back in the 90s), but she also plays other instruments. In fact, she's responsible for most of the instrumentation in this third album, Comet's Tail. The songs play like dreams, for that's in fact what they are; Alexander says that most of her songs find their roots in her actual dreams. It's hard to find a more luminous, serene, involving album in recent years than this one. You're probably tired of me using this adjective, but this album is BRILLIANT, a cut above all the rest. You can't know how much I want those of you who don't know her to actually get to hear her music. Though her songs are not available here, you might want to check out her website. I'm sure you can find other sources for her songs online (wink wink).

Note: Here in the Philippines, Fiona Apple's much lauded album Extraordinary Machine is yet to be released. I love Fiona's music, so if I had been able to get this one in time, it probably would have made it to my Top 5.

Golden Globe Predictions

Here are my predictions for the upcoming Golden Globe awards:

Best Motion Picture-Drama
Brokeback Mountain

Best Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical
Walk the Line

Best Actor-Drama
Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Actor-Comedy/Musical
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)

Best Actress-Drama
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)

Best Actress-Comedy/Musical
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney (Syriana)

Best Supporting Actress
Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Director
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Foreign Language Film
Tsotsi

Best Screenplay
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco (Crash)

Best Original Score
John Williams (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Best Original Song
"A Love That Will Never Grow Old" (Brokeback Mountain)