Unusually Crowded Actors' Races

I've always found the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscar races more exciting. It's partly because I'm somewhat of an actressexual (a term introduced by Nathaniel of The Film Experience), but it's also because this race is often so competitive, with two or three slots open to surprise nominees up to nomination night. (Last year was an exception, with all five nominees in the lead actress race practically locks long before).

In an Oscar year that seems to be seeing an uncharacteristic dearth in competitive female performances, the male categories seem unusually, but pleasantly, crowded with so many possibilities. And while most of the significant female performances have already been seen (the few exceptions include Julia Roberts of Charlie Wilson's War, Halle Berry of Things We Lost in the Fire, and Giovanna Mezzogiorno of Love in the Time of Cholera), strong vehicles for male performances (the aforementioned three films, American Gangster, There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd, etc.) have yet to come out. The Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor races are shaping up to be the most exciting categories to watch for this year.

My current predicted nominees for the Best Actor race are Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson's War), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), James McAvoy (Atonement), and Denzel Washington (American Gangster). Of these, only McAvoy and Jones are, as of this moment, safe bets. The other three could be replaced by a whole mob of potential nominees. Joaquin Phoenix (Reservation Road) and John Cusack (Grace is Gone) have had their buzz diminished for different reasons (failure of the film for Phoenix, failure to sustain buzz for Cusack). George Clooney (Michael Clayton) is a definite contender, with his characteristic clout in Hollywood and a film that was generally well received. The buzz for Philip Seymour Hoffman's turn in The Savages has a lot of people excited about how it plays out when the film is released to wider audiences later in the year. Johnny Depp may yet shine in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Javier Bardem may capitalize on his astounding success with No Country for Old Men (for which he's almost sure to get a nod for the supporting category) and get more attention with Love in the Time of Cholera.

What makes this race so exciting, however, is the deluge of strong male performances from recent wide releases and Toronto hits. The acclaimed 3:10 to Yuma has lauded co-leads in Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, also a critics' favorite, has Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, though the latter would likely be placed in the supporting category. The victory of Eastern Promises in Toronto ups the chances of Viggo Mortensen for a first nomination, though how much it does so is unclear. Sean Penn directs Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild to a possible first nom of his own. And before we can say, "Whoa, there's too many of them already," Before the Devil Knows You're Dead swoops in from outside the radar with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke looking at awards consideration. Any of these could end up as nominees.

My predicted Best Supporting Actor nominees are currently Affleck, Bardem, Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Benicio del Toro (Things We Lost in the Fire), and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton). I'm least confident about the nods for del Toro and Dano, though the Academy likes the former enough (for a nom and a win) and the latter could be propelled by a highly probably nomination for his co-star Day Lewis. Wilkinson's role is too juicy to ignore, as are Bardem's and Affleck's. Hoffman's turn in Charlie Wilson's War has big potential to make him a major contender at year's end. Ben Foster might be given a shot at a first nom with 3:10 to Yuma. Philip Bosco could sneak in by playing the ailing patriarch in The Savages. Maybe oft-ignored Mark Ruffalo could bypass his film's bad reviews even if Phoenix can't. People are all a-buzz about Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild even more than they are about Hirsch in that film. Former nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl could get in for Eastern Promises. Will people remember John Travolta's antics in the well received Hairspray? Alan Rickman could be a scene-stealer in Sweeney Todd, as could Dustin Hoffman in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (he is Mr. Magorium, after all). And what about Hawke's co-lead performance in Devil (it can pit him here against co-star Albert Finney), and Crowe's own in American Gangster?

These are the types of races that make Oscar enthusiasts' hobby of predicting nominees so difficult and yet so fun and rewarding at the same time. Bring it on!

Donsol, Philippine Entry to 80th Oscars

Donsol, directed by Adolfo Alix and starring Sid Lucero and Angel Aquino, will represent the Philippines in the Foreign Language Film category of the 80th Academy Awards. The Variety article is here. I personally didn't see this one coming (I was expecting Kubrador), but it's a pleasant surprise.

Other films that have submitted their entries: Austria (The Counterfieters), Belgium (Ben X), Canada (Days of Darkness), Finland (Man's Job), France (Persepolis), Germany (The Edge of Heaven), Japan (I Just Didn't Do It), Korea (Secret Sunshine), Norway (Gone with the Woman), and Singapore (881). The French and German entries are very strong contenders.

2007 Horror Two-fer

Later this year, two potentially great horror films will come out. The first is George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead. Yes, it's a new film from the master of zombie movies. What's interesting about it is that it goes back to the origins of the plague of living dead, with a group of teenage documentarists capturing the worst rampages of the undead on video. Sounds kinda like The Blair Witch Project, but with zombies and Romero's magic touch, I'm sure this film will be significantly different and well worth the time of any horror fan. The second is gallo master Dario Argento's La Terza Madre (Mother of Tears: The Third Mother), the third film in the trilogy started by Suspiria and continued with Inferno. Loved Suspiria, will be watching Inferno soon...can't wait for Third Mother. It has Asia Argento (the director's daughter), demons, witches, lots of blood (what Argento film goes without it?), and other extremely interesting stuff. Both films will be shown in the Toronto Film Festival. Someone give me a plane ticket to Toronto!!!

Mini-Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

On Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

The Good: The Silver Surfer looked great with and without the silver sheen, and Lawrence Fishburne's voice gave his character nobility and strength.

The OK: Chris Evans is still amusing as Johnny Storm, and there's a better team dynamic within the Fantastic Four.

The [Terribly] Bad: Doctor Doom and Galactus, two of the most powerful and terrifying baddies in Marvel comicdom, are here reduced to ridiculous caricatures of themselves. Julian McMahon portrays Doom as an immature, unsophisticated American instead of a brilliant, refined, supernaturally gifted Latverian, and Galactus is, well, a cloud. I'd have been happy with a gigantic hand or huge glowing eyes emerging from that cloud, but they can't give us even that much. I won't even go into how annoying Galactus's defeat was...

Grade: C+. It was a fun ride anyway.

Action Heroine Blog-A-Thon: Warrior Women of Asia

Through the decades of cinema, Asian action films have had various interesting faces for an ever expanding world audience: the samurai flicks of Japan (from Akira Kurosawa's Shichinin no Samurai to Takeshi 'Beat' Kitano's Zatoichi), Hong Kong's classy police thrillers/dramas (a prime example of which is Infernal Affairs), Bruce Lee's deadly martial arts showcases and Jacky Chan's kooky acrobatic escapades, Korean vengeance films (mainly courtesy of auteur Park Chan-wook), and of course, the wuxia genre of flying fighters and dancing blades. Since the release of the monumental wuxia film Hsia nu (A Touch of Zen) in 1969, with a powerful female warrior played by Feng Hsu, Asian action women have enjoyed most exposure in this genre, lending their natural fluidity and grace to dancing atop trees, over water, over seasonal changes in the elements. Asian women, with their misleading fragility and innocence, have made excellent heroines in this and other subgenres of the action/adventure mold and have given us some of the more memorable cinematic moments in recent years.

As my contribution to Film Experience's Action Heroine Blog-A-Thon, I present my list of top 5 most memorable action heroines since 2000 (any earlier and no short list would give these women justice). NOTE: This is not meant to be a shortlist of the best female performances.

5. Sammi Cheng as Wu Yen in Chung mo yim (Wu Yen, 2001)
Not many outside the fandom of Hong Kong cinema, Sammi Cheng, or both have probably heard of this film, even by its international release title Wu Yen. But many fans of HK pop superstar Sammi Cheng, reigning queen of HK showbiz, would probably be hard pressed to find a more irresistably amusing, endearing, and ass-kicking role for their idol. Cheng plays the title character, a warrior woman in the rich wuxia tradition, who has been cursed with a nasty facial birthmark, an annoying spirit obsessed with her (played by another superstar, Cecilia Cheung), and a hate-love relationship with the Emperor (acted out brilliantly by the late great Anita Mui). The film itself is mostly funny but tends to be dramatic near the end, and Cheng handles the prism of emotions--and fight scenes--remarkably well. For this role, she won a nomination from the Hong Kong Film Awards and a victory from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Actress.

4. Zhao Wei as Sue in Chik yeung tin si (So Close, 2002)
Fans may be divided on who the real star was in 2002's babe action flick So Close: traditionally hot star Shu Qi, all-around star Karen Mok, or cutesy Zhao Wei. My vote goes to Zhao Wei, not only because she has the longest screentime out of all three, but she also has the greatest development in terms of character. It's a big leap from being only second to big sis Shu Qi to being the trigger-happy, blade-wielding warrior woman that she becomes in the last half of the film. And while she becomes the modern action heroine that any man would be terrified of angering, she never loses the innocent cuteness for which just as many men would want her as their lover/bodyguard.

3. Aya Ueto as Azumi in Azumi (2003)
Anime fans rejoice! Japan has released a lot of anime-inspired live-action flicks in the past, but not very many come close to the approximation of the gleeful gore, maniacal pretty boys, and vengeance driven cute girls the way Azumi does. From the very beginning, the film is filled with gratuitously visual bloodletting, and in the midst of it all is martial artist and swordswoman extraordinaire Azumi. She's an exceptionally young warrior who loses many of her friends and consequently her innocence about life early on, and Aya Ueto is a natural is showing how her character matures throughout the film. The scene where she kills off a townful of enemies near the end is priceless, but her dramatic moments are just as precious. For playing a tragic character so well in her first acting job, she was nominated by the Japanese Academy for Best Actress. They gave her the Newcomer of the Year and Most Popular Performer awards.

2. Maggie Cheung as Flying Snow in Ying xiong (Hero, 2002)
What deadly grace and beauty! The dance-like nature of wuxia battles has never been as elegantly and aesthetically captured onscreen as it was whenever Flying Snow was in a scene in the fantastic Hero. Who better to play such a tragically powerful character than the magnificent Maggie Cheung? She lends her considerable acting talent to a character with as many layers as the film has colors. Who could forget the forest duel between her and Moon (Ziyi Zhang), or the countless versions of her battle with Nameless (Jet Li)? In all that splash of color, it is Maggie Cheung's beauty and skill that shine through in every frame.

1. Ziyi Zhang as Jen Yu in Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000)

While Michelle Yeoh may be the heroine of this film, there is no doubt that it was young Ziyi Zhang's spunky charisma and awe-inspiring pixie beauty that had world audiences so transfixed on a newly revived genre (wuxia). She gets to fight with almost every breathing character in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, including an inn full of that region's greatest fighters (or so they think). There are moments when sympathy for her character becomes doubtful, but there are as many moments when she shows great vulnerability, and regardless of how you feel about her at first, the development of her character near the end is so intense that by the time the last sequence rolls, she has hooked you in. Ziyi Zhang has proven in later films that she is a true actor (for her best perf, watch 2046). But it was her high-flying, tragic Jen Yu that put her, wuxia, and the warrior women of Asia back on the map. The role won her too many citations to mention, but they include noms for Best Actress from the Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards.

Honorable Mentions: Qiu Yuen for playing the non-nonsense, butt-kicking landlady in Kung Fu Hustle (2004), and Shin Eun-kyung for playing deadly gangster Cha Eun-jin in the Korean flick Jopog manura (My Wife is a Gangster, 2001).

Shannara!

Finally, Terry Brooks has allowed the film adaptation of his Shannara books. Warner Bros. has acquired the screen rights to the series. Oddly, they intend to start with the second book, "The Elfstones of Shannara." But it's one of the best books in the series, and I really want to see this series on screen, so what the heck.

See the full Variety article here.

Action Heroine Blog-A-Thon

This Joke[r] isn't funny...

...which is to say that it's scary, creepy, promising. This is Heath Ledger as the Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight (pic taken from AICN):

Review: Spider-Man 3

I had to see Spider-Man 3 a second time to realize that it was not such a bad movie after all, and a third time to see it as a drama that just happens to be about a comic book hero.

That is not to say that I learned to love the film during the subsequent viewings. When a movie fails to take a hold of its audience and convince them of its power the first time, there is something intrinsically wrong with how it was made. I wish I could say I loved the third installment as much as I did the first and the second (by far the best of the trilogy). But the second viewing did dispel my earlier opinion of the film being a careless mishmash of unnecessary and overly saccharine sequences. The second (and third) time around, the movie is more solid, and the dramatic encounters, while still on the cheesy side, make more sense.

The action sequences, particularly the fights between Peter Parker and Harry Osborn, could easily be the best in the trilogy in terms of flash and excitement, but with such exhilaration comes the dizzying shots and the obvious CG-look of the characters. The acting here is highly commendable, with the three leads (Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco) turning in especially affecting performances. Others may be turned off by the fact that every major character in this film sheds a tear or sobs outright, but a more careful assessment of it might reveal that all the comic book flair simply surrounds and at times intensifies what happens to be essentially a dramatic picture, with many of the requisite themes in the genre (i.e., deaths, doubts and realizations, hurting loved ones, learning to forgive oneself before others, etc.). Thinking of it this way, the movie is not as much a disappointment as one viewing suggests. Irrational at some points (e.g., overly simple and convenient way of getting the alien symbiote to Earth, the police doing nothing but watch Spider-Man struggle against Sandman and Venom, etc.), but never boring and always affecting.

The major flaws: the film might have been much leaner and more meaningful without the Sandman angle (there are many other possible ways to introduce Peter Parker's turning to the dark side); and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a thoroughly useless character here. What a letdown for comic book fans! The inclusion of James Cromwell in the cast as her father had led many to think that Stacy would have a role the significance of which would be comparable to that of the original character, but she was simply a plot device, and not a very effective one at that. Many might include in this list of major annoyances Parker's horrid dancing under the influence of the symbiote, but I for one found it extremely amusing. Sam Raimi's touches of humor (thank God for Bruce Campbell) are very much appreciated in a film that is ultimately the darkest and most dramatic of the three. Grade: B

Leo and Kate on the Oscar road

I should have called it then.

As soon as the news surfaced that Sam Mendes will be directing his wife Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road, I thought to myself, "This would be a perfect vehicle for a Winslet-DiCaprio reunion," as it is about a suburb couple in the 1950s struggling with their domestic lives. As I see it (see my article entitled "What will it take to win Kate Winslet an Oscar?"), such a reunion would pave the way for that Oscar that has eluded Winslet and, to a somewhat lesser extent, DiCaprio. With a strong source material and an Oscar-winning director, this seems like the actors' best bet for glory in the horizon (unless the Theodore Roosevelt project comes first). IMDb lists the project as having a 2009 release date.

In other news on Oscar-bound actors, almost-nominee Emily Blunt has been cast as the young Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria, a possible 2009 release as well. Oscar-winner Juliette Binoche is in the Amos Gitai project Disengagement. Whoever lands the role of Margaret Thatcher in the recently announced biopic will likely be a top Oscar contender whatever year the film comes out.

Review: 300

What a visual spectacle! Blood sprays in copious amounts but never distracts from the sheer dance-like beauty of the fight scenes, whether as a tableau or as a flowing artwork. The brilliance of bright colors would have ruined the faithfulness of the movie's look to that of the graphic novel on which it is based. Instead of using such hues, the film relies on stark imagery (less-than-human creatures among the Persians, an eerily towering and slinky Xerxes, the mesmerizing Oracle) to give the film its power. The score is adequately elevating, dramatic and roaring, as much a central device as the visual effects. In an adaptation like this where the technical aspects can be the central performance, the actors could be overacting at best, disastrously bad at worst. In 300, the actors have the necessary gravitas to not be swallowed by all the visual splendor and still emerge as the strong characters they are supposed to be. In particular, Gerard Butler as King Leonidas has just the right intensity to make his performance a true highlight of the movie. Successful in virtually every aspect, 300 will most likely stand the test of time as a truly masterful blend of technical prowess and substance. Grade: A

Oscar Year 2007: Overview

Oscar Year 2006 can be considered special for several significant reasons. It was the year Helen Mirren broke the trend of relatively young actresses taking home the plum prize for years, Martin Scorsese won for the first time after six nominations for directing, Mexicans and other non-Americans lorded over major categories, and interestingly, no one knew what would win Best Picture until perhaps into the last few awards on Oscar night. Whether or not one agrees with the decisions made by the Academy for the 79th, it cannot be denied that it was, as far as [un]certainty of results went, a very exciting year.

Will Oscar Year 2007 be as vigorous and alive? What will be this year's Pan's Labyrinth or Children of Men or The Departed? Will another film break out from Sundance like Little Miss Sunshine did? Has Mirren started a trend that can be sustained?

Year of the Blockbusters


Whatever the collective quality of film year 2007 will be, there is no doubt that it can potentially be the biggest in terms of box-office receipts. 300 has already started the avalanche of almost certain blockbusters. This month also has, at its end, TMNT, the CGI return of the reptile ninjas. April will be relatively quiet, with only the Rodriguez-Tarantino project Grindhouse being a potentially big draw. The month of May is traditionally when the summer blockbusters start to emerge, and this year seems to take that trend to the extremes; Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, all behemoth second sequels to behemoth precursors, come out that month. June has Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Live Free or Die Hard, which are relatively weak when July is considered: Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and The Simpsons Movie. Moviegoers will certainly be happy campers, but not very wealthy ones at the end of that run of hits. And of course, come the end of the year, Beowulf in November and His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass in December will undoubtedly be dominating the box office in their respective months.


How will this translate into Oscar love? Blockbusters have, of course, been awarded with the top prizes in the past (with Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King being the most notable in the last 10 years), but this crop of summer blockbusters will likely be relegated to the technical categories, the most traditionally friendly of which have been the sound and visual effects departments. It would be difficult to think of these races without nods for Spider-Man 3, Transformers, or Pirates, if not all three. With much more Oscar-friendly release dates, Beowulf and The Golden Compass have more potential to cross over into the major categories, especially considering who have been assembled to work on their production.

Gold for Gold

The Golden Compass and The Golden Age. Can these titles prove auspicious in the films' quest for Oscar gold?

Since the Lord of the Rings trilogy, New Line has not been able to return to Oscar glory in a big way. The company obviously hopes to change that with the adaptation of Philip Pullman's critically acclaimed and well loved first novel, The Golden Compass. The December date and the star power of principal actors Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig certainly help its bid for a Best Picture nod, but it is more likely to be a significant player in all the technical categories. Costume designer Ruth Myers is a two-time nominee. Editor Anne V. Coates has been nominated five times and won on her first nod for no less than Lawrence of Arabia. Though only a recent nominee (last year for The Queen), Alexandre Desplat can get his second nod in a row for scoring Compass. The rich fantastical world of Pullman's creation also opens up possibilities to nominations for art direction, cinematography, makeup, and visual effects. If it proves to be as good as imagined and hoped, a nod for its adapted screenplay is not unlikely, given that between the two of them, screenwriters Tom Stoppard and Chris Weitz have three previous nominations (Stoppard won one for Best Picture winner Shakespeare In Love).


The Golden Age is a sequel of sorts to Elizabeth, a major contender in the 71st Academy Awards with seven nominations and a win for makeup. With significant citations for sequels in series such as The Lord of the Rings and The Godfather, the Academy does not notoriously shy away from a follow up to a previously honored film. While it would be difficult to argue the place of Elizabeth among those two well loved epics, there are considerations that might allow voters to bypass whatever stigma they may have against films labeled as "sequels." As mentioned above, Elizabeth won only one award in 1999. Most notable among its losses was that of Cate Blanchett in the Best Actress category; with a haul of precursor awards and critical praise, she was expected by many to win the award over eventual winner Gwyneth Paltrow. This alone can secure Blanchett a second nomination for the same role, if not a win this time. With most of the Elizabeth nominees having returned to work on The Golden Age, it is likely to be a significant player, particularly in the categories of art direction, cinematography, costume design, makeup, and original score. These are always prime categories for period pieces on royalty, and that genre is the other strength of The Golden Age. The film will not be looked upon easily as a mere sequel for, after all, it simply chronicles events that actually historically occurred after the events portrayed in Elizabeth.

All hail the Queen


The last time that Blanchett's Elizabeth I graced the screens, Judi Dench won an Oscar in the supporting category for portraying the same Elizabeth I in her later years. This year, clashing with The Golden Age for Oscar glory in a war of period royalty films is The Other Boleyn Girl, where Natalie Portman plays Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth's mother. Previous nominee Portman will likely face Blanchett in the Best Actress race, assuming that category confusion (Portman for lead, Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn for supporting, or vice versa?) does not spoil her chances the way it did Leonardo DiCaprio's last year (for The Departed). The Other Boleyn Girl is also the likeliest spoiler for The Golden Age in the technical categories, particularly costume design, where seven-time nominee and two-time winner Sandy Powell is up for the former. Both are potentially lush, intense dramas on British royalty (an even hotter commodity now that Mirren just won), but Boleyn may entice viewers and voters more for its fresher and more controversial theme.

Oscar fodder

It is too early to determine for certain how the major studios will be playing it out in the 80th Oscars, but right now it seems that the films with most Oscar-friendly themes, cast, and crew are to be found in the last four months of the year, as is usually the case. Aside from The Golden Age (October), The Other Boleyn Girl (October), Beowulf (November), and The Golden Compass (December), we have the following movies to watch for:

In the Valley of Elah is another Paul Haggis project, set to be released in September. It stars Tommy Lee Jones as a career officer in search of a son who went AWOL upon his return from Iraq. Haggis seems to be a staple now in the Oscar races, and the theme seems especially apt for Oscar attention, particularly for an acting nod for Jones.

Tony Gilroy directs George Clooney to a possible second nomination in the September thriller Michael Clayton. Clooney plays a New York attorney whose high profile cases in his 15-year career come back to haunt him. In a year of adaptations (see more on this below), this film has high potential to be honored for its original screenplay. Supporting turns by Tilda Swinton and Oscar-nominee Tom Wilkinson can also get some play, as can music by Oscar regular James Newton Howard.


American Gangster, to be released in November, is a biopic on drug smuggler Frank Lucas directed by Ridley Scott. It stars Denzel Washington as Lucas and Russell Crowe as Det. Richie Roberts. Given these credentials, nominations in the major categories, including adapted screenplay (by scribe Steven Zaillian), are highly likely.

Lions for Lambs is also out in November and is even more crowded with star wattage than American Gangster. Robert Redford, an Oscar winner for Ordinary People, stars and directs no less than Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep in this film about ramifications of the war in Afghanistan. How can this film go wrong?

Love in the Time of Cholera, an adaptation by Ronald Harwood of the beloved Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel, can pick up significant buzz for the film itself, its director (Mike Newell), the screenplay, and its principal actors (most notably Javier Bardem), but only if it works. A great source material is no assurance of success. Regardless of the quality of the film as a whole however, it has great potential in the technical categories.

Proving that November is the month to watch now that the Academy has pushed the Oscars to an earlier date than usual, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood also comes out then. Daniel Day-Lewis can get serious ink as a Texas prospector in this adaptation, and so can Little Miss Sunshine alum Paul Dano.


Charlie Wilson's War is probably the biggest potential contender for Oscar glory in the horizon, with a 25 December playdate and a cast that includes Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar winners all. It is directed by respected auteur Mike Nichols and adapted by Aaron Sorkin from a book on Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson's dealings in Afghanistan. Like Lions for Lambs, the film seems to have one of the formulae that are unlikely to go wrong (though it still can).

Despite the failure of Dreamgirls to sustain its momentum in the last few stretches of last year's Oscar race, another musical, a much darker one, can achieve what others of its genre have failed to do since the 2002 victory of Chicago. December sees Tim Burton's adaptation of Sweeney Todd, the musical on the barber out for revenge. It stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in plum roles that can land them nominations. Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen can sneak in for potentially strong supporting turns. With such stalwarts as Dante Ferretti for art direction and Colleen Atwood for costume design, the film can dominate the technical categories even if it is snubbed for the top prizes (a scenario that would be reminiscent of the fate of Dreamgirls).

This short survey of the big Oscar films coming out late this year reveals that high-profile adaptations can dominate the 80th race. Aside from those already mentioned, the Keira Knightley/James McAvoy-starrer Atonement and the Marc Forster-helmed The Kite Runner can get serious Oscar attention.

Last year's trends?

Helen Mirren's victory in the 79th ceremony was significant for actresses over the age of 50, what with the Best Actress category having been dominated by such young women as Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, and Hilary Swank. An early look at this year's crop of performances seems to indicate that the 80th will be a return to recent tradition: with potential nominees being as young as Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, and even controversial Dakota Fanning, and major contenders being Blanchett, Roberts, Bonham Carter and Reese Witherspoon, veterans may be put on the sidelines once more. Right now, the only two who seem capable of getting into the final five are Vanessa Redgrave and Julie Christie. That is, if the early release of their respective films (Evening for Redgrave, Away from Her for Christie) does not significantly cripple their chances. Perhaps, like last year, a film like The Queen can suddenly come out and raise a storm with a central performance by a respected, relatively more mature thespian.

It is too early to know how foreign films will fare in this year's race, if there will be another Pan's Labyrinth getting a haul of nominations. The recent Berlinale film festival raised some buzz on the strong lead performance of Marion Cotillard as singer Edith Piaf in La Mome; if the film is released to a wider audience at a strategic time, then Cotillard and the film itself can gain traction. Perhaps more exciting to most forecasters is to see how Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, a drama in Mandarin, will be received. It stars respected Asian actors Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Joan Chen and is set for a friendly September release by Focus Features, the distributor of Lee's Brokeback Mountain. Asian performances have not been significantly honored by the Academy, so it remains to be seen how Lee's involvement can affect the way this film is received by the voters.


Little Miss Sunshine, until the last moments of last month's Oscars a viable contender for Best Picture, came out of the Sundance Film Festival. Robert Redford's brainchild has increasingly become a hotbed for Oscar-worthy films over the years. This year, some significant nominations can come from the most recent festival. Severe lack of buzz for the film (despite the early controversy) most likely shatters Dakota Fanning's chances of getting a nod for her performance in Hounddog, but it can have a resurgence if it is released to wider audiences this year. The Ten was a well received film, praised for its originality and for the strength of its ensemble, but its chances beyond getting some support for a Best Original Screenplay bid are dim. Catherine Keener for playing criminally insane in An American Crime, Michael Douglas as a mentally unstable dad in King of California, and Samuel L. Jackson as a down-on-his-luck former boxing legend in Resurrecting the Champ can get campaigns started for their performances. But among the actors, never-nominated John Cusack's turn as recent widower due to Iraq in Grace is Gone and brother-sister drama by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Savages are the most buzzed and have the greatest potential of landing noms.

Unpredictability

Whatever the outcome of this year in film, the most recent Oscar ceremonies have taught us that even Academy voters, usually seen as stuffy, traditional conservatives, can be unpredictable. If films this year can still surprise, shock, or scandalize us (for good reasons), and the Academy chooses to honor unexpected films and people (how about one of the summer blockbusters for the major categories?), then the 80th could prove to be the most exciting Oscar year yet. What a way to celebrate 80 years of the best in film that would be!

24th among Oscar predictors!

I'm proud to say that OscarCentral listed me as 24th among over 80 Oscar predictors this year. Given how unpredictable this year was relative to those in the past, and that I started with this whole prognostication hobby only in 2002, that's an achievement I'm happy about.

Film-Otaku Awards 2006

BEST PICTURE

1. Pan's Labyrinth
2. The Departed
3. Children of Men
4. The Science of Sleep
5. Babel

6. The Queen
7. Stranger Than Fiction
8. Dreamgirls
9. Volver
10. Running With Scissors


BEST DIRECTOR

1. Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men)
2. Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth)
3. Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
4. Stephen Frears (The Queen)
5. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)

6. Mel Gibson (Apocalypto)
7. Pedro Almodovar (Volver)
8. Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep)
9. Marc Forster (Stranger Than Fiction)
10. Robert De Niro (The Good Shepherd)


BEST ACTOR

1. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed)
2. Gael Garcia Bernal (The Science of Sleep)
3. Hugh Jackman (The Fountain)
4. James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland)
5. Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)

6. Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
7. Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)
8. Clive Owen (Children of Men)
9. Joseph Cross (Running With Scissors)
10. Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa)


BEST ACTRESS

1. Gong Li (Curse of the Golden Flower)
2. Helen Mirren (The Queen)
3. Penelope Cruz (Volver)
4. Gina Pareno (Kubrador)
5. Kate Winslet (Little Children)

6. Annette Bening (Running With Scissors)
7. Natalie Portman (V for Vendetta)
8. Yeong-ae Lee (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)
9. Rachel Weisz (The Fountain)
10. Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sherrybaby)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Michael Sheen (The Queen)
2. Brad Pitt (Babel)
3. Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond)
4. Mark Wahlberg (The Departed)
5. Hugo Weaving (Little Fish)

6. Jack Nicholson (The Departed)
7. Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine)
8. Brian Cox (Running With Scissors)
9. Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
10. Michael Caine (The Prestige)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
2. Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
3. Jill Clayburgh (Running With Scissors)
4. Adriana Barraza (Babel)
5. Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)

6. Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada)
7. Jin Chen (Curse of the Golden Flower)
8. Maribel Verdu (Pan's Labyrinth)
9. Emma Thompson (Stranger Than Fiction)
10. Kate Winslet (Romance & Cigarettes)


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Pan's Labyrinth
2. The Science of Sleep
3. Stranger Than Fiction
4. The Queen
5. Babel


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Children of Men
2. The Departed
3. The Prestige
4. The Last King of Scotland
5. Running With Scissors


BEST ART DIRECTION

1. Pan's Labyrinth
2. Marie Antoinette
3. Curse of the Golden Flower
4. Dreamgirls
5. Children of Men


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Children of Men
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Marie Antoinette
4. Flags of Our Fathers
5. Babel


BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Curse of the Golden Flower
2. Marie Antoinette
3. Apocalypto
4. The Devil Wears Prada
5. The King and the Clown


BEST MAKEUP

1. Pan's Labyrinth
2. Apocalypto
3. Marie Antoinette
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
5. The King and the Clown


BEST SCORE

1. Pan's Labyrinth
2. Babel
3. The Fountain
4. The Departed
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest


BEST SOUNDTRACK

1. Dreamgirls
2. Children of Men
3. The Departed
4. The Last King of Scotland
5. Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah: Ze Moveeh


BEST SONG

1. "Listen" (Dreamgirls)
2. "Volver" (Volver)
3. "You Know My Name" (Casino Royale)
4. "I Need to Wake Up" (An Inconvenient Truth)
5. "Fearless" (Jet Li's Fearless)


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
2. The Fountain
3. Superman Returns
4. X-Men: The Last Stand
5. Pan's Labyrinth


BEST ACTION SEQUENCE

1. Death of Charles Xavier (X-Men: The Last Stand)
2. The chase (Apocalypto)
3. The siege (Children of Men)
4. V's final battle (V for Vendetta)
5. Battle of Iwo Jima (Flags of Our Fathers)


BEST ONE-ON-ONE FIGHT

1. Emperor Ping vs. Prince Jai (Curse of the Golden Flower)
2. Rocky Balboa vs. Mason 'The Line' Dixon (Rocky Balboa)
3. Professor X vs. Jean Grey (X-Men: The Last Stand)
4. Robert Angier vs. Alfred Borden (The Prestige)
5. Borat vs. Azamat (Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan)


BEST CAMEO PERFORMANCE

1. Keri Russell (Mission: Impossible III)
2. Michael Caine (Children of Men)
3. Julianne Moore (Children of Men)
4. David Bowie (The Prestige)
5. Elaine Stritch (Romance & Cigarettes)


BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE

1. Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan)
2. Jack Black (Nacho Libre)
3. Will Ferrell (Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby)
4. Tony Yalda (American Dreamz)
5. Catherine O'Hara (For Your Consideration)


BEST VILLAIN

1. Idi Amin (The Last King of Scotland)
2. Captain Vidal (Pan's Labyrinth)
3. Emperor Ping (Curse of the Golden Flower)
4. Magneto (X-Men: The Last Stand)
5. Owen Davian (Mission: Impossible III)


BEST ENSEMBLE

1. The Departed
2. Volver
3. Babel
4. Running With Scissors
5. Thank You for Smoking


BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

1. Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
2. Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
3. Joseph Cross (Running With Scissors)
4. Yeong-ae Lee (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)
5. Ivana Baquero (Pan's Labyrinth)


WORST PICTURE

1. Eragon
2. Pulse
3. The Nativity Story
4. The Hills Have Eyes
5. Silent Hill


WORST PERFORMANCE

1. Jodelle Ferland (Silent Hill)
2. Laurie Holden (Silent Hill)
3. Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick (The Omen)
4. Kristen Bell (Pulse)
5. Keisha Castle-Hughes (The Nativity Story)


2005 Awards

Archived Film Reviews

Crash
Manderlay
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Doom, Cinderella Man, The Upside of Anger
May
Initial D
V for Vendetta
Nanny McPhee
MirrorMask
Fearless
Just Friends
The Hills Have Eyes
Silent Hill
Mission: Impossible III
The Da Vinci Code
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Omen
Superman Returns
United 93
Romance & Cigarettes
Donsol, Batad: Sa Paang Palay, Mudraks, Rotonda
Lady in the Water
Kubrador
American Dreamz
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
The Devil Wears Prada
Sarong Banggi
The Departed
Pulse, Keeping Mum, Akeelah and the Bee
The Banquet, The Prestige, The King and the Clown
The Grudge 2, World Trade Center, Marie Antoinette
The Science of Sleep
The Queen
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
Flags of Our Fathers
Ang Pamana: The Inheritance
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, A Scanner Darkly
An Inconvenient Truth, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Babel, The Nativity Story
Little Miss Sunshine
Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh, Ligalig, Super Noypi
Blood Diamond
Eragon, Volver, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Good Shepherd, Stranger Than Fiction
Apocalypto, Children of Men, The Good German, Sherrybaby
300
Spider-Man 3
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Gone Baby Gone, Eastern Promises, The Golden Compass, Control
Day of the Dead
La Terza Madre

79th Academy Awards winners

79th Academy Awards winners (asterisks indicate correct predictions):

BEST PICTURE
The Departed*

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, The Departed*

BEST ACTOR
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland*

BEST ACTRESS
Helen Mirren, The Queen*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
predicted: Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls*

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
predicted: Peter Morgan, The Queen

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
William Monahan, The Departed*

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Lives of Others, Germany
predicted: Pan's Labyrinth, Mexico

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Happy Feet
predicted: Cars

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
An Inconvenient Truth*

BEST ART DIRECTION
Pan's Labyrinth*

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Guillermo Navarro, Pan's Labyrinth
predicted: Emmanuel Lubezki, Children of Men

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Milena Canonero, Marie Antoinette
predicted: Chung Man Yee, Curse of the Golden Flower

BEST FILM EDITING
Thelma Schoonmaker, The Departed*

BEST MAKEUP
Pan's Labyrinth*

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
predicted: Alexandre Desplat, The Queen

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"I Need to Wake Up," An Inconvenient Truth
predicted: "Listen," Dreamgirls

BEST SOUND MIXING
Dreamgirls*

BEST SOUND EDITING
Letters from Iwo Jima*

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest*

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Blood of Yingzhou District*

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Danish Poet
predicted: The Little Matchgirl

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
West Bank Story*

FINAL SCORE: 15/24, 6/8 in the major categories. Enough surprises to keep the ceremonies interesting, with sweet wins by Martin Scorses and The Departed. Three results I'm not happy with: Alan Arkin for Supporting Actor, Pan's Labyrinth's loss in the Foreign Language Film category (travesty!), and the loss of "Listen" after Beyonce and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson perform it so amazingly.

Film-Otaku Awards 2006

Coming soon (right after the Oscars)

Mini-Reviews

Apocalypto

Whatever controversial thing Mel Gibson ends up doing next, it cannot be contested that as a director, he is truly a gifted artist. Apocalypto is essentially a big extended chase scene, an action/adventure film set at an intriguingly dark time and place of savage beasts and human sacrifices. What could have been a cheesy National Geographic special becomes a major achievement because of Gibson's gift for authenticity (the dialect in the whole film is Mayan) and visual beauty, with the costume designs, makeup, and production design being among this year's most memorable. The ensemble is of highly capable, naturalistic actors, thus making it easy to sympathize with them despite the strangeness of the language. For sheer beauty and exhilaration, but not so much for the story itself, Apocalypto is definitely a film worth watching and ignoring Gibson's latest controversies for. Grade: B+

Children of Men

From stark beginning (the youngest person in a sterile future human world has just been murdered) to hopeful yet still gloomy end, Children of Men is what many recent science fiction films have tried and failed to be: smart without being condescending, futuristic without being glaringly modern, dark without being constantly shrouded in night, engaging and character-driven without milking audiences for cheap tears or thrills. Its vision of the future, as adapted from P.D. James's novel, is terrifying, with no new births replacing a dying race steeped in chaos and lawlessness, but without resorting to the usual post-apocalyptic tactics of covering everything in a blanket of darkness, the brilliant Alfonso Cuaron makes this future scary and depressing. A comparable movie, at least in terms of general feel, would perhaps be the 1973 film Soylent Green, but Cuaron ups the ante with a fabulous cast (Clive Owen is as good as always, and Michael Caine and Julianne Moore offer strong support), an appropriately "retro" British soundtrack, and the small strokes of genius that he is known for (a deer darting amidst ruins, dogs and cats overrunning the homes of a dying species). Add to the mix astounding cinematography, perhaps this year's best, and you have a certified masterpiece. Grade: A

The Good German

Anyone who thought that Steven Soderbergh had just a little too much fun in making Ocean's Twelve (Julia Roberts as Julia Roberts...ummm, ok), sacrificing substance in the process, would probably be inclined to think the same about his latest, The Good German. It is so obviously and admittedly inspired by Casablanca, from the poster to the ending shots, that it becomes little more than a misguided homage to the film and its genre (with a bit of film noir thrown in). The film is ultimately a waste of Cate Blanchett's talent and the beautiful photography, with a rudimentary story and serious miscasting in George Clooney (never more awkward) and Tobey Maguire. Soderbergh should realize that rather than offering an inferior copy, a better way to honor a film genre he loves would be to give the audiences something that they would remember on its own merits. Grade: C

SherryBaby

The plot and style of SherryBaby are extremely simple; it's a linear story of how Maggie Gyllenhaal's character, Sherry Swanson, tries to rebuild her life, principally as a mother, after a three-year prison sentence. It is a good film, certainly, but there is nothing remotely special about it except Gyllenhaal's brave performance. While her perf is nowhere near being this year's best, it is definitely worthy of praise, and so she has this film to thank for making audiences take notice. Ultimately, however, they might as well entitle this film The Maggie Gyllenhaal Awards Showcase for all its worth. Grade: C+

Images from IMDb.

Mini-Reviews

Eragon

Eragon might be the worst film of the year (I've seen Pulse, so that's saying a lot), on the levels of acting, visual effects , direction, writing, and editing. One word to describe all these aspects: MESSY. Putting aside the glaring, senseless omissions from the book (it is never mentioned, for example, that Arya is princess of the Elves), the film is a technical disaster, with one scene fleeting to the next with no subtlety or grace. What should have been the most exciting part of the film (the war between the King's forces and the rebels) becomes an orgy of weird shots, disastrous pacing, and forced drama. The whole film has the feel of a terribly long, extended trailer for a fantasy miniseries (of which there have been many that are much better executed than this one). Small surprise: Jeremy Irons, who contributed significantly to making the Dungeons & Dragons film unbearable, is this film's lone saving grace, acting with gravitas yet not overdoing it as he did in that other stinkfest. Grade: F

Volver

Let me begin by saying that the snub for this film in the Best Foreign Language Film category, and to a lesser extent in the Best Screenplay and Best Director races, is a travesty. Volver may not be Pedro Almodovar's best film, but it proves beyond doubt how masterful he is directing an ensemble of great actresses in a film without excesses. Vibrant, bittersweet, heartwarming, Volver is proof that small films can pack a large punch. Penelope Cruz's performance is one of the best for female actors this year , subtly strong and affecting, and costars Carmen Maura and Lola Duenas are formidable performers in supporting roles. In fact, it wouldn't be so easy or fair to label theirs as merely supporting performances. Volver is truly an ensemble piece to be treasured for generations to come. Grade: B+

The Pursuit of Happyness

Consider yourselves warned: if you don't like films that make you cry as early as the first few sequences, then you probably won't like The Pursuit of Happyness. Then again, it is a significant strength of the film that doesn't too consciously or overbearingly try to squeeze tears out of its audience like a sponge. With a performance as rooted and as honest as Will Smith's, the film doesn't have to try too hard. It is a simple film with no flair, making it all the easier for the audience to connect with Smith's character as he traverses a life that is all too familiar to us, whether or not we have lived something like it. It's a very human, organic story, and if it makes you cry along the way, then it would have achieved part of its purpose. Grade: B+

The Good Shepherd

I find it hard to comprehend why The Good Shepherd hasn't taken off among critics and Academy voters, as it is common Oscar fodder, with a big cast (headed by Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie) and having been directed by the great Robert De Niro. As far as I am concerned, its only flaw is that it is too long (at nearly three hours), and yet it isn't the type of three-hour movie where you would be tempted to quit viewing it halfway. It is an engrossing story of how the CIA became the leading intelligence agency in the world, smoothly and elegantly directed by De Niro, and adequately acted by its ensemble cast. The frames are shot beautifully, and the set pieces are admirable (it deserves its lone nomination of Best Art Direction). What went wrong? This is a film that should be cherished, if you have three hours to spare. Grade: B+

Stranger Than Fiction

What a delicious concoction of, yes, fiction, this film is. Stranger Than Fiction has a novel story (Will Ferrell's character hears in his head his life being narrated), strongly affecting performances (primarily by Ferrell and Emma Thompson, but Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman also offer strong support), and adequately magical direction by Marc Forster. It is ultimately a story about controlling one's destiny and living life to the fullest until it ends, but, as a friend of mine had said, the film achieves getting this message across without being preachy about it. With all the good things going for it on all levels, Stranger Than Fiction doesn't have to try too hard to make us feel for its characters and the story. This is truly a gem of a film (one that should have easily gotten a Best Original Screenplay nod). Grade: A

Images from IMDb