the academy awards... this time, with more blog!

One of the greatest benefits of being a Film Studies major -- other than personal enrichment, of course -- is the heightened ability to be a braggard. I get to spend my time reading Entertainment Weekly, scouring IMDb and Wikipedia, and watching anything on E! and Vh1, while telling myself is all research. All the time I spend in a matinée at the Laemmle or with a DVD on, I consider to be studying for an edge in my path through the Industry. So it is with great vindication that I announce myself as the winner of this year's Oscar pool. Now, I only won $6.25, but this was my first Oscar pool ever, and it is with pride that I toot my own horn. So here is my amateur account of the results of Sunday night's almost-didn't-happen 80th Academy Awards.

Best Picture - No Country for Old Men

The Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men, unsurprisingly took top billing at this year's primo awards show. While I would never have voted for it as being the best of anything, it certainly had wonderful performances across the board, interesting filmmaking choices (notably the lack of music), and portrayed an unusual worldview. In my opinion, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood deserved the award more, but No Country was always going to win.

Best Directing - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Hand in hand with the best pic award for the film (just seeing Sam Rudin on TV gives me shivers), Joel and Ethan Coen were awarded their second Oscar for directing. I keep promising to watch Fargo, and I loved Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where Art Thou, so I can see why they won even if the film wasn't my favorite. Just like PTA did in Blood, they counterbalanced violent characters against sweeping pastoral landscapes, but the claustrophobic world within a motel room was where the Coens shone with this film.

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Had Daniel Day-Lewis not been awarded Best Actor, there absolutely would have been blood, if I had anything to say about it! *rimshot* He has shown, once again, his devotion to the craft of acting (when he's not making shoes, of course), and his superhuman ability to transform into another person so completely. His Daniel Plainview was so believable a lonely tyrant that I couldn't help but feel for him even when I couldn't agree with his actions. I'm past due for a Day-Lewis retrospective, as it's been years since I've watched My Left Foot or Last of the Mohicans. So hammy Sir Olivier takes issue with Method acting, if it makes Day-Lewis turn out the kinds of performances that he does, then I say to hell with Olivier! [/vitriol]

Best Actress in a Leading Role - Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose

I haven't seen La Vie en Rose, so all I can say about Best Actress Marion Cotillard's performance is secondhand. Her physical transformation, at least, was remarkable, and everything I've read about her dedication to learning how to mirror Edith Piaf's tics and performance styles has been incredibly respectable. Of the performances I did see, my vote was for the wonderful Laura Linney, but I can see why the Academy would have gone for a perhaps more demanding performance than one as restrained as Linney's.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

No one was surprised that Javier Bardem won Best Supporting actor, so I don't have much to say here. He certainly put on quite a show as Anton Chigurh, which is evident once you see how adorable he is in interviews. Also, I'm reminded to finally watch El Mar Adentro, as I've wanted to for years. Also, Bardem is about as Spanish as they get. Did you see his mama's jewelry?

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Though I expected Cate Blanchett to win Best Supporting Actress, I'm not surprised that this would have been the category to get Michael Clayton as award. Unfortunately, traffic kept me from the screening I was hoping to attend the other night, so I have to wait until it comes in my Netflix soon. I can say, however, that Swinton's eccentric acceptance speech was just what I wanted from her. She is the one reason why I can't fully regret having seen Constantine (in theaters, no less - it was not my decision), so I'm glad to see her so well-respected.

Best Writing (Original Screenplay) - Diablo Cody, Juno

Diablo Cody's win for Juno was both expected and endearing. I read her screenplay after I saw the film, but it's definitely for more than just her previous employment choices that she's Hollywood's "It Girl" new screenwriter. Some of the dialogue is a bit hamfisted ("honest to blog," seriously?), but the relationships and themes are so believable, and the voice so unique, that I'm very glad she won. I know she's gotten flack for being a one-trick pony, but I think that her ability to write a smart young female character, and an aging manchild more believable than anything Matthew McConaughey might play, is hard to find these days.

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

I haven't read Cormac McCarthy's novel, but against Atonement and There Will Be Blood, I can understand why this award-sweeping film's screenplay would have won. I haven't read Upton Sinclair's Oil! either, but I've read that PTA took a lot of liberties with his adaptation, and I certainly would never have voted for Chris Hampton's take on Ian McEwan's outstanding novel. As for the other two nominees, I'm afraid I'm out of the loop.

Best Cinematography - Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood

Of all of the beautiful shots in all of the nominated films in this category, There Will Be Blood was absolutely saturated with them. It's difficult to tear your eyes away from the characters whenever they're staring each other down, but there are certain moments when the world of the film just screams with poetic juxtaposition. The most striking of these occurs when Eli Sunday marches towards Daniel Plainview, determined to get an answer about a previously made promise. He strides past a pool of oil glistening on the scorched California earth, and the clear expanse of blue sky dotted with unassuming clouds is perfectly, crisply reflected in the black gold. Stunning.

Best Music (Score) - Dario Marianelli, Atonement

Marianelli is officially the only Joe Wright return collaborator that I am impressed with. Though I enjoyed Atonement greatly, it wasn't that swell of an adaptation, and Keira Knightley was only slightly less obnoxious than she was in Pride & Prejudice. [Though I must say, she perfectly fits McEwan's physical description of Cecilia.] The film's score is one of the most enrapturing elements of the beautiful story, tying together a wonderfully WWII appropriate piano theme with recurring intrusions of typewriter sound. Without the score, this film would have been something entirely different. Take that, Dogme 95!

Best Music (Song) - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, "Falling Slowly," Once

John Stewart, who did a much better job hosting this year than he did a couple of years ago, totally won my "favorite Oscar host ever" award when he (or whichever of the show's producers, whatevs) let Marketa go back onstage to give a speech after she was cut off the first time around. Once and its beautiful music affected me so strongly, I don't really know how to quantify my pleasure at the fact that it got some critical recognition during awards season. Please, please, for the love of art, see Once. Oh, and Amy Adams is a darling, and I hope that she gets cast in the first run of the inevitable Broadway adaptation of Enchanted, which would do very well on stage.


So, I can't really say much about the other "big" categories...editing/mixing? Well, I saw some of the dailies from the Bourne Ultimatum, and it was so shaky that I can't imagine I'd be able to sit through the entire thing without a little dizziness. Ratatouille as best animated feature? Couldn't watch it, as I dealt with a horrifying rodent problem last year when I moved into a new apartment, and I don't think I will be seeing it anytime soon. I will be seeing Persepolis this weekend though, after I finish reading Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel. I thought it had a shot of winning as it wasn't eligible for Best Foreign Language feature, but apparently Ratatouille was the fan favorite of the year. I didn't see any of the shorts or the foreign language nominees, I'm afraid, so all I can say there is that The Counterfeiter looks pretty fantastic.

Again, sorry for being so lax with posting these past few months. I'm trying to up my media intake, so hopefully I'll be able to vent my musings with some frequency in the future. That's all, folks!

JUNO

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted, but after I finished my thesis, I chose to escape into a cocoon of down comforters and TV on DVD (particularly Veronica Mars, which is awesome). I have since reemerged to work on my heavy amounts of final paper-writing this week, figure out the details of getting an entertainment internship next semester, and prepare my final video project for the end-of-semester media studies screening.

On Tuesday, November 27th, I went to a free screening of Juno, which I had been looking forward to for months and months, and it took me quite a few days to sort out my thoughts about it. The film was truly everything I could have hoped for. Every element was finely crafted, and the excellent story and performances were augmented by a particularly impressive set design and soundtrack. I have still yet to see Hard Candy, so this was my first experience with Ellen Page in a starring role (though I'm sure she was cute as Kitty Pryde), and she blew me out of the water. Going in to this movie as an avid Michael Cera fan, I was surprised to see him take more of a background role, but incredibly glad that Page was always in the spotlight.

For those of you who have somehow managed to stumble onto my blog and yet do not know the premise of Juno, it takes us through the trials of accidentally pregnant high school junior Juno MacGuff as she prepares to give her baby to adoptive parents Mark and Vanessa Loring. At the same time, she is trying to reconcile her feelings for her best friend and babydaddy Paulie Bleeker, whom she is constantly awed by.

J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney, playing Juno's dad and stepmom, were very impressive. Janney played an alternate-universe version of her character Ms. Perky from 10 Things I Hate About You, but more realistic in her concern for the well-being of a teenager. Simmons, though, really stuck with me. Whenever he and Page were on screen together, I felt very emotionally connected to the scene, because it can be difficult to portray a loving father-daughter relationship realistically in movies sometimes.

Jennifer Garner as Vanessa was almost too simple, which really worked, especially in contrast to the complicated psyche of Mark. For the first time, I found myself annoyed by a Jason Bateman character - what can I say; I really liked Teen Wolf Too. I wasn't entirely sure to what extent Mark and Juno's relationship was supposed to be unsettling, but without giving away the end of the movie, I will say that it added a very unexpected wrench to the possibly overdone premise of the film.

Juno's friends Olive and Paulie give an interesting view of who Juno is, even though she says (in the trailer, even), "I'm not really sure what kind of girl I am." They're the sort of people I would have enjoyed spending time with if I were in high school, and they're really good people dealing with huge emotions...the basic emotional make-up of a high school student, I think. The romance between Juno and Paulie was incredibly heartfelt in its tempered anguish, and I felt fulfilled by it whenever Juno and Paulie were alone on screen together.

The final third of the film was surprisingly sweet and lofty, considering the sardonic, dry tone that the rest of the film uses. After watching the movie, I read Diablo Cody's screenplay, which was just a hair better than the resulting film. Just enough clever lines were cut to make the film PG13, but since I saw the movie first, I have to remember it as excellent as it was when I was trying to reign in my joy at watching it in the theater two weeks ago. I have since ordered a hamburger phone on eBay, and I can't wait to see the movie again.

trailer thursdays!

My trailer reviews will never fall on the same day of the week, it seems...

Wristcutters: A Love Story (October 19)
Sometimes I think the value of an independent film can be hinted at by the caliber of actors who consent to play bit parts. Tom Waits and Will Arnett both appear in small roles in this movie that I've barely heard of. Though I'm really not a fan of Shannyn Sossamon, when Patrick Fugit's onscreen I'm sure I will have nothing to complain about. He's toeing the line between hot and sexyugly, and I think I like it. He plays a man who's killed himself, and is searching for his ex-girlfriend who is also somewhere in the afterlife. So basically, it's Defending Your Life but more cynical. Awesome.


Southland Tales (November 9)
I have no idea what's going on here, but Moviefone calls it an "ambitious fusion of comedy, drama, dystopian science fiction, and music." It's possible that Richard Kelly, after turning enough heads with the amazing Donnie Darko was told his next script would have a huge budget, and he just threw every crackpot idea he had at it. Hopefully, Kelly will follow Charlie Kaufman's school of crazy with this one. The Rock and Sean William Scott are involved. Good heavens.


I'm Not There (November 21)
The way that this film uses a number of very different actors to play Bob Dylan is going to be very exciting, I think, and will probably diminish the romanticism of movies like Ray and Walk the Line. That's not to say it's trying to subvert those movies like Walk Hard is (see below), but that it will give some rawness to the film. The trailer doesn't reveal very much, but David Cross plays Allen Ginsberg, and I am pretty pumped to see that.


August Rush (Novermber 29)
This movie looks like it has everything heartwarming I would want to see, except maybe an underdog sports team beating State against all odds. I'm a total sucker for Freddie Highmore, and this looks like it will be an inspiring, if unconventional, hero tale. Robin Williams' presence and appearance are a bit baffling, but if there's enough Terrence Howard then I won't care. Most importantly though, it completely makes my spirit soar when movies are able to convey the magic that comes from a love of music. It seems as though this film does place a heavy emphasis on what music can do to our souls. Lastly, I must reiterate that Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers are two of the most beautiful people in Hollywood.


Juno (December 14)
This movie originally got some hype as the "closest we'll get to an Arrested Development reunion," but that is an entirely misguiding reason to want to see this movie. Of course, Michael Cera might just be my soulmate, so there is no question that I'd want to see this, but the trailer is particularly impressive. I still haven't seen Hard Candy, but from what I've seen, Ellen Page has a charming frankness that will play against Michael Cera really well. I've yet to see what the big deal is about Jennifer Garner, but it seems like her primary role is to temper Jason Bateman's pre-mid-life crisis. Can't wait. It's the hipster Knocked Up, with a splash of Junebug.


Walk Hard (December 21)
I got to see about half an hour's worth of clips from this movie when Judd Apatow was on the Columbia panel at Comic Con, and it was gut-bustingly hilarious. Definitely over-the-top, and with a pretty broad sense of parody, but I trust Judd Apatow to do that without insulting the audience's intelligence too much. There's a whole panoply of cameos that look very promising, as well.


Be Kind, Rewind (January 25)
Another trailer that I saw at Comic Con, and I am really hoping that my expectations are not too high for this film. After Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I was disappointed by The Science of Sleep, even though I felt that Gael Garcia-Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg are both impressive. Maybe the problem there is that I know Charlie Kaufman's writing will impress me, but Michel Gondry's directing is not always a hit. In the world of music video directors turned feature directors, though, Gondry is much more of a Spike Jonze than a ... McG. Anyway, I think Mos Def and Jack Black will have great chemistry, and the premise is very charming. As anyone who's ever reenacted something with their friends understands, most of the appeal of movies is what you share with people reminiscing about them.