Oscar Night in Review

Highlights:

• Scott Rubin thanking his boyfriend in his Best Picture acceptance speech
  
• That gorgeous royal-blue stage floor
• The Kodak Theatre itself, so grand and glorious
• Jon Stewart giving Marketa Irglova a chance to speak

Most-deserving winners:

• Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
  
• Art Direction: Sweeney Todd
• Film Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum
• Original Song: "Falling Slowly," Once (free download here)
  
• Makeup: La Vie en Rose
  

Best performances on the E! network's red carpet telecast:

• Julie Christie, calling for the closure of Guantanamo
• Laura Linney, rescuing poor Jennifer Garner from Garey Busey

Best-dressed:

• Marion Cotillard (yes, I'm obsessed with her)
• Cate Blanchett (stunning! I loved the color combination)
• Katherine Heigl (I admit this one grudgingly, since she's so obnoxious)
• Javier Bardem and his mom

Honorable mention:

• Anne Hathaway (great color choice)
• Ruby Dee (lovely)
• Jason Bateman (so handsome!)
  
• Ellen Page (appropriately youthful and Goth-tinged)
• Helen Mirren (didn't love it on the red carpet, but it looked amazing on stage)
• Jon McLaughlin, the cutie who sang "So Close" (subtle polka-dot on the jacket was a fun surprise; wish I could find a photo)
  

Worst-dressed:

• Kelly Preston (dressed as a summer squash)
• Jennifer Hudson (white is NOT her color)
• Keri Russell (couldn't fill her boob cups)
• George Clooney's girlfriend (shower curtain)
• Cameron Diaz (bridesmaid at a summer wedding out in the backyard)
• Rebecca Miller (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiaiaiai kill me now!)
  

Oscar Nominees: Live-Action Short Films

Last night I watched all five of the live-action (as opposed to animated) short films that are nominated for the Oscar this year. These are fictional stories; there is a separate category for documentary shorts.

I'll list the five films in order of how much I liked them, from least to most:

* Il Supplente (The Substitute) - Bizarre Italian creation in which teenagers are encouraged to torment each other and pretend to be rabid goats. A head-scratcher.

* Tanghi Argentini - Light-as-a-feather story starring Wallace Shawn's tubby, sagging brother as a Belgian accountant-ish person who sets himself up with an internet blind date, then must furiously study the tango.

* Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets) - Two bumbling petty thieves adopt a deaf-mute 8-year-old who enjoys slithering across the greasy, sticky floors of theaters to raid the purses of unsuspecting moviegoers. A tired premise, perhaps, but all three actors impress with an abundance of charm.

* The Tonto Woman - Scripted by Elmore Leonard. The storyline is predictable and a bit dull, but British actress Charlotte Asprey is unforgettable as an Old West woman dealing with physical and emotional scars.

* Om Natten (At Night) - The longest and most serious of the nominated films, this portrait of three college-aged women with terminal cancer kept me on the verge of tears for most of its 39-minute running time. Danish writer-director Christian E. Christiansen creates an intimate setting in which to explore the terror of facing premature death. The eerie, bluish-white hospital lighting intensifies both the inevitability and the utter wrongness of what is happening to these beautiful, young people.

My prediction for Oscar night: Les Mozart des Pickpockets will steal the prize.

RIP Heath Ledger

A.O. Scott, film critic for the New York Times, just published a wonderful piece about the career and contributions of Heath Ledger. You can read it here.

I think Heath was the best actor of his generation. A tragic loss.

Oscar Trivia Quiz

I can't resist a good Oscar trivia quiz!




Can you beat my score?

Oscar Nominations Announced

Here are the nominees!


Best Picture

• Atonement
• Juno
• Michael Clayton
  
• No Country for Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

My score: 4/5 - I picked The Diving Bell and the Butterfly instead of There Will Be Blood.

Apparently the voters have strong stomachs. Overall I'm pleased, though I would have preferred to see Diving Bell on this list in place of Atonement.


Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Ellen Page, Juno
• Julie Christie, Away from Her
• Laura Linney, The Savages
• Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose

My score: 4/5 - I missed Cate, picking Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart instead.

The Academy's Cate fixation knows no bounds. Too bad for Angelina, who deserved recognition for her mature, heartfelt performance.


Best Actor

• Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• George Clooney, Michael Clayton
• Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
• Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

My score: 3/5 - I picked Frank Langella and Ryan Gosling instead of Jones and Mortensen.

Perhaps the voters were feeling guilty about not making room for TLJ in the supporting category for No Country, so they threw him a bone here. Reviews of his work in Elah were mixed; personally, I think he was aiming for stoic and overshot, hitting mannequin instead. Surprised and glad to see Mortensen instead of Gosling. And hooray for Johnny Depp!


Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
• Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
• Ruby Dee, American Gangster
• Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
• Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

My score: 3/5 - Missed Dee and Ronan; I picked Catherine Keener and Vanessa Redgrave.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised, to see child actor Saoirse Ronan get this bid instead of her magnificent elder co-star, Redgrave. Yes, Ronan gave a solid, believable performance, but nothing spectacular. Also upset about the snub of Keener, who turned a blah part into something memorable as well as integral to the film (Into the Wild) as a whole.


Best Supporting Actor

• Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
• Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
• Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

My score: 5/5 - Hooray for me!

These are all solid nominations, though the Academy missed a chance to recognize a truly amazing performance by a child actor: Ahmad Khan Mahmizada as the loyal, forgiving Hassan in The Kite Runner.


Best Director

• Jason Reitman, Juno
• Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
• Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
  

My score: 3/5 - I picked Sean Penn and Joe Wright instead of Reitman and Gilroy.

Into the Wild was overlooked in so many categories, but this one hurts the most. Penn's clear-eyed focus and restraint are evident throughout this wonderful film. Given the Academy's tradition of celebrating actors-turned-directors (Redford, Costner, Eastwood), it's surprising that they didn't jump on this opportunity.


Best Original Screenplay

• Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Ratatouille
• Diablo Cody, Juno
• Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
• Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
• Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

My score: 4/5 - I had Kelly McDonald (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) over Oliver.

Three female nominees in this category--wow! I'm so glad to see Tamara Jenkins in particular.


Best Adapted Screenplay

• Christopher Hampton, Atonement
• Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Sarah Polley, Away from Her
  

My score: 4/5 - Missed Sarah Polley; I picked Sean Penn.

Another snub for Into the Wild, but I'm thrilled to see this recognition for Sarah Polley! This will be an interesting category to watch. The Coens are the presumptive favorite, but fellow Oscar winner Harwood could pull an upset for writing the screenplay that everyone said would be impossible to create.

My overall score: 30/40. Not too bad.

Predicting the Oscar Nominations

After a very long pause, I'm back with my predictions for the Oscar nominations. You can tune in to the E! channel at 5:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday, Jan. 22 (tomorrow) to evaluate my Nostradamity.


Best Picture

I predict:

• Atonement
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  
• Juno
• Michael Clayton
• No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood did very well with the critics, but I think it might be too dark and violent for some Academy voters. I suspect that the more inspiring Diving Bell will grab that fifth spot. The only sure thing on this list is is No Country; any of the others could be bumped out by Blood, Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd, or (if the goddess smiles) I'm Not There.

If I ruled the Academy:

• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Away from Her
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  
• I'm Not There
• There Will Be Blood

Best Actress

I predict:

• Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
• Ellen Page, Juno
• Julie Christie, Away from Her
• Laura Linney, The Savages
• Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose

As always, this is my favorite category. I hope and expect that the voters will recognize Laura Linney's stunning work in The Savages instead of the throwaway performance of the great Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I adore Cate, but even she could barely keep from giggling through that atrociously trite script.

If I ruled the Academy:

• Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
• Julie Christie, Away from Her
• Laura Linney, The Savages
• Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
• Molly Shannon, Year of the Dog

Best Actor

I predict:

• Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening
  
• George Clooney, Michael Clayton
• Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
  
• Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
  

Viggo Mortensen has plenty of buzz for his balls-out performance in Eastern Promises, but I think he will be a surprise omission here. I'm looking for voters to go with the likable Ryan Gosling, even though he smirked through Lars and was out-classed by his luminous co-star, Emily Mortimer. Denzel Washington (American Gangster) is an Academy favorite and has a slim chance to jump in ahead of Langella, Gosling or Depp. Another potential spoiler is the delectable Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild.

If I ruled the Academy:

• Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
• Gordon Pinsent, Away from Her
• Mathieu Amalric, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages

Best Supporting Actress

I predict:

• Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
• Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
• Catherine Keener, Into the Wild
• Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
• Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement
  

This is probably a dumb pick, but I think Vanessa Redgrave has a good shot for a surprise nomination here. Her screen time in Atonement is brief, but she is devastating. Ruby Dee may take the fifth spot instead for her lucky grandma in American Gangster. Redgrave's young co-star, Saoirse Ronan, also has a shot.

If I ruled the Academy:

• Allison Janney, Juno
• Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
• Marcia Gay Harden, The Mist
• Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
• Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement

Best Supporting Actor

I predict:

• Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
• Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
• Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

A big show of support for Diving Bell could push Max von Sydow into this group, perhaps ahead of Hoffman. Tommy Lee Jones could sneak in alongside Bardem for his world-weary sheriff in No Country.

If I ruled the Academy:

• Ahmad Khan Mahmizada, The Kite Runner
• Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
• Philip Bosco, The Savages
• Vincent Cassel, Eastern Promises

Best Director

I predict:

• Joe Wright, Atonement
• Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
• Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Sean Penn, Into the Wild

Tony Gilroy has a good shot for directing the widely-admired Michael Clayton, but I think voters will reward Anderson instead for his unique vision, even if the film itself was too much for them to handle. A wild card here is the veteran director Sidney Lumet, who surprised everyone this year with his excellent crime drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

If I ruled the Academy:

• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, Grindhouse
• Sarah Polley, Away from Her
  
• Sean Penn, Into the Wild
• Todd Haynes, I'm Not There
  

Best Original Screenplay

I predict:

• Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, Ratatouille
• Diablo Cody, Juno
• Kelly Masterson, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
• Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
• Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Nancy Oliver has a shot for her clever-but-corny Lars and the Real Girl. I will be extremely upset if the Academy fails to recognize the brave, pitch-perfect work of Tamara Jenkins this year.

If I ruled the Academy:

• Diablo Cody, Juno
• Mike White, Year of the Dog
• Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
• Todd Haynes and Owen Moverman, I'm Not There
• Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, The Darjeeling Limited

Best Adapted Screenplay

I predict:

• Christopher Hampton, Atonement
• Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Sean Penn, Into the Wild

Aaron Sorkin has a shot for the fast-paced script of Charlie Wilson's War, but I think the voters will dismiss him as a lowly TV writer, albeit one of the best. Sarah Polley could nose her way into this category for the spare, delicate script of Away from Her.

If I ruled the Academy:

• Andrew Dominik, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  
• Sarah Polley, Away from Her
  

Here's hoping I get at least a few right in each category!

Big-Screen Bonanza

Over the past few weeks I've seen quite a few movies on the big screen. Here are my thoughts on a few of them:

Bug - Disturbing movie about a down-on-her-luck woman (Ashley Judd) who welcomes a mysterious stranger (Michael Shannon) into her home. The man tells her that he is an unwitting test subject for U.S. Army experiments involving tiny aphids growing under his skin. Ashley Judd gives a surprisingly intense, powerful performance; this may be the best work of her career. Harry Connick, Jr. pops in as the snarling, abusive ex-husband; it's an easy role, but he plays it very convincingly, and his muscular pecs are a fun bonus. This movie is not for the faint-hearted, but if you can handle the gross and scary stuff, it's a worthwhile movie with psychological twists and turns and very effective stage decorations and lighting. I saw it at the Century 20 in Daly City with my friend Austin.

Waitress - I read a review saying that this movie was more substantive than its corny plotline (waitress, unlucky in love, makes pies and gives them clever, unexpected names based on her mood) suggests. So I decided to give it a chance. Results: mixed. I enjoyed the sensuous, slow-motion pie-making sequences with dreamy narration by Keri Russell. Made me seriously question my commitment to my no-dessert rule. The rest of Russell's performance, though, was nothing special, reflecting her limited acting range. Certainly there are many Hollywood stars who could have imbued the character with more subtleties and quirks--Maggie Gyllenhaal comes to mind. An unrecognizable Andy Griffith plays the grumpy old codger with a heart of gold underneath. The script was not terrible overall, but the craptastic ending made me groan. I saw Waitress with my friend Jeff V. at the Metreon.

Black Book - This is a Dutch movie from Paul Verhoeven, the man responsible for the nasty-fun Showgirls and Starship Troopers. Unlike those movies, Black Book is a serious film that tells the inspired-by-a-true-story of a Jewish woman who joins the Dutch Resistance in fighting the Nazi occupying forces in Holland near the end of World War II. The violence is extremely intense and disturbing, which is appropriate for the horrors being portrayed. The Dutch actress in the lead role gives a solid performance, but this movie is appealing mainly because of the exciting, fast-paced action and unexpected plot twists. I saw it at the Kabuki with my friend Ian.

Away From Her - The best new movie I've seen this year. This is a devastatingly beautiful film written and directed by Sarah Polley, who was already known as a very good actor (My Life Without Me, The Sweet Hereafter) and is now my favorite young director. Portraying a woman facing early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, the divine Julie Christie lights up the screen. Her gorgeous blue eyes and bright smile fade ever-so-gradually as the movie progresses; by the end, nearly all of the life is gone from her face. Gordon Pinsent brings tremendous dignity to the role of Christie's husband. His conversations with the head nurse at the assisted-living facility made me cry. Olympia Dukakis, in a difficult supporting role as the spouse of another Alzheimer's patient, shows why she is among our very best living actors. The cinematography is excellent, with beautiful shots of the snow-covered Canadian landscape providing a visual symbol of the characters' journey through the winter of their lives. Overall, an incredible achievement by Polley--I'm very excited about her potential as a filmmaker. I saw this one at the Embarcadero.