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2010 Academy Awards

After watching 15 films this year, I’ve chosen who I would select if I were a member of the Academy. My selections are ordered from best to worst.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

1. Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
2. Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
3. Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
4. Penelope Cruz in “Nine”
5. Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

1. Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”
2. Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
3. Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
4. Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
5. Matt Damon in “Invictus”

Performance by an actress in a leading role

1. Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”
2. Helen Miren in “The Last Station”
3. Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
4. Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
5. Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Performance by an actor in a leading role

1. Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
2. Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
3. Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”
4. George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
5. Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”

Achievement in directing

1. Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds”
2. Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker”
3. James Cameron for “Avatar”
4. Jason Reitman for “Up in the Air”
5. Lee Daniels for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Best motion picture of the year

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Avatar
4. An Education
5. A Serious Man
6. District 9
7. Up in the Air
8. The Blind Side
9. Up
10. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

These are my personal selections – As far as predictions go, I expect Jeff Bridges will likely edge out the best actor category, and The Hurt Locker for best director + picture. We’ll see tonight!

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2009 Academy Awards

It’s that time again.

This is my 4th year ranking Academy Award nominees. Once the nominations are made, I watch every film nominated for Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Actress, Director and Picture. Afterwards, I like to rank the nominees in each category. Normally I write up some commentary about each performance, but this year I’ve just been too busy. The following list will need to suffice.

As usual, this is how I would have voted the categories, if I had been a member of the Academy. My selections are ranked from best to worst.

Best Supporting Actress

1. Viola Davis (Doubt)
2. Amy Adams (Doubt)
3. Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona)
4. Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
5. Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
2. Josh Brolin (Milk)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
4. Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
5. Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Best Actress

1. Kate Winslet (The Reader)
2. Meryl Streep (Doubt)
3. Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
4. Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
5. Angelina Jolie (Changeling)

Best Actor

1. Sean Penn (Milk)
2. Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
3. Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
4. Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
5. Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Director

1. Gus Van Sant for Milk
2. Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
3. Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
4. David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Stephen Daldry for The Reader

Best Picture

1. Milk
2. Frost / Nixon
3. The Reader
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Again, these are my personal selections – not who I predict to win.

The show begins in 90 minutes – I hope you’ll be watching!

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The Academy Agrees…

The Academy and I agreed on 5 out of 6 categories. We agreed No Country for Old Men deserved Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor. We agreed Daniel Day-Lewis deserved the honor of Best Actor, and Marion Cotillard was last years Best Actress.

We disagreed on Best Supporting Actress. The Academy selected Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton, who was my #3 selection behind Cate Blanchett & Amy Ryan. When I heard her name called I was really surprised! Judging by her reaction I think she was really surprised as well. =)

As for the show itself, Jon Stewart did an excellent job as usual – I hope they continue to bring him back. As for me, I’ll probably go quiet for a few weeks as I move back to Seattle. So close your browser and go out and see No Country for Old Men, and Juno. =)

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Best Picture

Ack – I’ve got to run and do some errands before the show tonight, so no commentary about my best picture selection this year. Here’s how I rank the category:

#5 – Atonement

#4 – Michael Clayton

#3 – There Will Be Blood

#2 – Juno

#1 – No Country for Old Men

The Oscars air at 8 PM, starting with the red carpet arrivals, then the actual ceremony begins at 8:30. Should be fun!

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Best Director

I don’t have much time today to put my last two picks together, so I’m going to go easy on the commentary and just add a few notes to each. First up, my selection for best achievement in directing, in reverse order as usual:

#5 – Jason Reitman, Juno

Juno is a fun movie to watch, and I’ve hard from many people that they left the theater more upbeat, happier about live and love. Perhaps its these qualities are the reason behind Jason’s nomination… If not, then I’m a bit confused – I thought the movie was told in a straightforward manner and didn’t see much evidence that this film was pushing the definition of the art. So it’s my #5 selection.

#4 – Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Among other things, I was struck by how this movie was able to build such tense moments. The very beginning of the film throws us directly into the fire with an intense, passionate narration from Tom Wilkinson – there isn’t much on the screen so we gravitate towards the madness in his voice. This is juxtaposed against the out of breath, sweaty Tilda Swinton which immediately starts your mind racing. Tony rewinds to four days earlier and uses much of the film to build the tension back up to, then passing this level. It was a really effective technique and keep my interest in the film peaked throughout.

#3 – Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a movie about a man (Jean-Dominique) who has a stroke that leaves him paralyzed. He’s only able to blink one eye, which is how he communicates with the world. The directing in this movie was really amazing and very different from anything I’d seen prior. The movie begins with a blurry picture, it’s hard to focus and recognize people, and then you realize that it isn’t a story about some character, it’s a story about YOU. YOU ARE Jean-Dominique. The first half of the movie is told entirely from your perspective. You try to speak with others, but you can’t move our mouth. The narration (if you can call it that) is actually what you’re thinking. This technique is so effective that during the last half of the film, which is focused mostly on Jean-Dominique’s family, we know exactly what Jean-Dominique is feeling. He’s completely motionless, except for his eye, yet we know exactly what must be going on in his head.

#2 – Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood begins by showing us just how difficult mining was back in the late 1800’s. There’s no dialog for the first 15-20 minutes as we simply absorb the struggle and determination of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). The movie also has humor at unexpected moments, and creative musical elements during important scene transitions. Although long (2 hours 40 minutes) the pace is steady and keeps our interest (unlike the unnecessarily long & slow moving Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford from Andrew Dominik).

#1 – Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

This year my pick goes to the Coen brothers for No Country for Old Men. This film is an amazing, modern western. Watching the film, I was surprised by the lack of music. There is absolutely no music throughout the entire film. This leaves it up to the director & actors to produce all the drama seen on screen. This might tank other films, rendering important scenes as comical or scripted – yet in this movie the pacing & characters bring the film to life. Some scenes are bleeding with tension, others evolve with a sense of discovery – actions & reactions seem more genuine, more visceral. The film was amazing to watch, and I think the directorial vision was the biggest reason why.

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Best Actor in a Leading Role

Next up, my selection for best actor. My thiking, in reverse order:

#5 – Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah

Tommy Lee Jones plays the role of Hank Deerfield, a former military officer who investigates the disappearance of his son who has returned from Iraq. When his son is found murdered, he helps a local detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) investigate. The story has a mild set of twists and turns, but nothing overly surprising. Eventually they piece together what happened the night his son was murdered.

As explained during the movie, the title refers to the valley where David fought Goliath. Hank uses this story to illustrate that much is possible when you conquer your fears, also that things aren’t always what they appear. In many ways, this is an analogy to many parts of the plot line. Hank has a shrine to his Army son at home and believe’s he’s every bit the respectable soldier that he was. Yet this reality falls apart the more Hank investigates exactly who his son was. Just like David, Hank must push past his fear that his son was not completely honorable. Tommy does a good job with this, but I felt the role was fairly straightforward, and others could have played the part just as well. Tommy’s role as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in No Country for Old Men was a much better performance.

#4 – Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Johnny Depp is Benjamin Barker, a barber falsely arrested by the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who has the hots for his wife. After returning from imprisonment he adopts the name Sweeney Todd and plots his revenge against Judge Turpin. He’s unable to capitalize on an opportunity to murder the Judge and instead takes out his anger on innocent visitors to his barber shop. Eventually the Judge does return and Todd is able to get his revenge. As you probably already know, the entire film is a musical – there’s little direct dialog from Depp, nearly all his of his lines are sung.

I was impressed that Johnny Depp did all his own singing in this film. His songs are very moody and draw you into his character. The lack of direct dialog means we’re drawn more to his eyes, body language and mannerisms – all qualities that Depp is skilled at (think: Captain Jack Sparrow, or Willy Wonka). As a result this role is an excellent fit for him and the result is quite memorable.

#3 – Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Viggo Mortensen plays the role of Nikolai, a driver for Kirill (Vincent Cassel), the son of a Russian mob boss Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). They operate out of Semyon’s restaurant in London. Nikolai is the cleanup man for the operation and handles the disposal of bodies as well as the protection of Kirill. When Kirill kills a rival Chechen leader, Semyon hatches a plan to save his son from their revenge. He promotes Nikolai (giving him the same distinctive tattoos) then tells the Chechen’s that Nikolai is actually the one they’re looking for. This culminates in a brutal fight scene in a Russian bath house.

I think Viggo is a strong actor, he played the role of Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings series, and was the star of A History of Violence. In this role he has a really interesting character – the movie unfolds showing him as an integral part of the mob – he has a thick Russian accent and a slew of tattoos that attest to his rank. Yet as we follow the escapades of Kirill, who brings Nikolai everywhere he goes, we learn that Nikolai has a good & pure heart. The conflict leaves you feeling uneasy, as if you don’t really understand what Nikolai is all about, yet he’s confident in his actions. When it’s later revealed he’s an undercover police officer things drop into place. I found myself rethinking many earlier parts of his performance as a result… Ohh, and that brutal fight scene? It’s very intense. Roger Ebert says it "sets the same kind of standard that The French Connection set for chases. Years from now, it will be referred to as a benchmark." You’ve been warned.

#2 – George Clooney, Michael Clayton

George Clooney is Michael Clayton, an attorney at a large New York law firm who’s often called upon as a ‘fixer’. He will go anywhere at anytime to help important clients and important cases with difficult issues. One such case is the U-North case. The lead defense attorney, Arthur (Tom Wilkinson), has gone off his medicine and caused a scene during a deposition. Michael tries to help Arthur, who’s also a longtime friend, but a few days later Arthur mysteriously dies. Michael breaks into Arthur’s apartment and finds that he was actually building a case for the prosecution. Michael suspects foul-play, and when his car is also blown up (luckily not harming him), he finishes the job Arthur began by confronting U-North with the incriminating evidence Arthur found.

George Clooney does a really good job in this film – his character has just the right balance of affection for his friend Arthur, aspirations for a better career, bad habits, and moral integrity. George plays the role without going over the top in any one these areas, which makes him very relatable. He has a commanding presence in many scenes, forcefully dishing out his agenda & taking control of key moments – such as advising an important client who’s hit a jogger, and in the final scene where he confronts a director at U-North. For all these reasons, he ranks highly in my picks this year.

#1 – Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Daniel Day-Lewis is Daniel Plainview, an oil speculator in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. After doing the digging & striking oil on his first well, he goes on to manage his own oil prospecting company. One day he’s approached by a man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) who tells him that he knows where oil is so plentiful, it seeps out of the ground. Daniel follows his lead to the small town of Little Boston, and after confirming his claim buys up all the land he can and begins drilling. Many things happen during his quest for oil in Little Boston, his adopted son loses his hearing due to a drilling accident, a man claiming he’s Daniel’s brother is revealed as a fraud, and Daniel must play nice with an influential local resident, Eli Sunday (Paul’s twin brother), to keep up appearances. This is a really broad summary of the movie (which is almost three hours) – there’s much more going on here than I can write in a paragraph.

Anyway, Daniel Day-Lewis is my pick for best actor this year. His character is dedicated to his business. He cares about nothing else (not even his own health as shown in the beginning) – he’s 100% focused on being absolutely the best oil man possible. This personality trait comes into conflict many times during the movie. What’s interesting is how Daniel resolves each of these conflicts in different ways. One common theme is how the intensity at which he deals with these conflicts increases as his oil business grows. By the end of the film, he’s developed such a distaste for others that he ends up disowning his son and killing another almost as if to only amuse himself. It’s an amazing and eerie performance.

Next up – best director, then best picture. Hopefully I can get both posted before the Oscars begin tomorrow night.

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Best Actress in a Leading Role

So far, this category has the strongest set of nominees. All five performances were exceptional, and ranking them was tough. After debating about a few choices in particular, I settled on the following ranking:

#5 – Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cate Blanchett plays Queen Elizabeth I. The film begins in the year 1585 and Elizabeth has yet to marry or have a child. She’s under pressure to find a husband because if she does not, her imprisoned cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots will be heir to the throne. There are many suitors, but she’s only attracted to Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) who has just returned from the New World and is eager to return.  Meanwhile King Philip II, King of Spain has built the Spanish Armada in order to invade England, and Mary organizes an attempt to assassinate Elizabeth. The assassination attempt fails, and Elizabeth must sign the order to execute Mary. The invasion attempt also fails as Elizabeth leads the battle to defend England from the approaching armada.

While the movie was entertaining, I didn’t find her acting really exceptional. Perhaps a big reason is because it’s the second time she’s played the same character (she played a younger Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Elizabeth). She faces a slew of trials in this movie and is able to act the part in each, but the movie is just a glorified soap opera. In the end I don’t think the performance is Oscar worthy. Her performance as Jude Quinn in I’m Not There was better.

#4 – Laura Linney, The Savages

Laura Linney is Wendy Savage. Her father, Lenny (Philip Bosco) has grown elderly and has dementia. He was living in Arizona with his longtime girlfriend, but after she dies, Wendy and her brother Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) decide to bring him back to Pennsylvania & put him in a nursing home. The story mostly focuses Wendy, an aspiring playwright who’s been unsuccessful at finding love or success in her career. It seems she’s been spinning her wheels for awhile, not really making any progress on either front. But this changes after spending time closer to her brother & father.

Laura’s performance was interesting to watch – there’s a definite transition in her character through the course of events with her father. At the beginning, she seems confused with life, not really grasping onto any one thing in particular and lying to everyone around her. It’s as if she’s told so many white lies, she doesn’t know what she wants out of life anymore. But this changes when she puts her father into the nursing home. She desperately wants her father to have the best home and for him to be comfortable. Yet, because he has dementia he doesn’t recognize her efforts, or even who she is – he thinks she’s just another annoying caregiver. Laura plays the part well, balancing the jumbled set of emotions and priorities with her longing for success and desire for appreciation from others. Yet the performance wasn’t quite as good as my next pick.

#3 – Ellen Page, Juno

Ellen Page is Juno MacGuff, a high school student who accidentally gets pregnant with her longtime friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). Paulie’s clearly in love with Juno, yet Juno isn’t sure if she loves him. Juno contemplates getting an abortion, but eventually decides that she will have the baby and give it to a needy family. Through a newspaper ad (Pennysaver FTW!), she finds Mark & Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman & Jennifer Garner) and signs the paperwork to give her baby to them. During the remaining months before giving birth, Juno forms an odd friendship with Mark, developing a crush on him. When Mark decides to leave Vanessa, Juno has second thoughts about handing over her baby. But in the end, Juno realizes that Vanessa will provide a good home for the baby & also decides she really does love Paulie.

I really liked this film, and Ellen Page is a big reason why. Her character begins as a confident high school student, who knows exactly what she likes and why others are the way they are. But this perspective shifts during her pregnancy. Many different elements evolve Juno. Her friendship with Mark makes her realize there’s room to explore her musical interests. Her "stupid step-mother" becomes one of her best friends. After getting to know Vanessa better, she realizes that she should try not to judge others. She learns her father is wiser than she gives him credit, and that she really does love her best friend Paulie. Ellen strings all these experiences together into a character that evolves as the movie unfolds without seeming like she’s going through the motions. Her narration also helps us understand how her perspectives evolve. In the end, not only do you leave the movie feeling good about Juno, you leave feeling better about yourself (wow that’s corny, I can’t believe I just wrote that).

#2 – Julie Christie, Away from Her

Julie Christie plays Fiona Anderson, an older woman who’s begun losing her memory due to Alzheimer’s disease. Before it gets too bad, she convinces her husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent) that it would be best for the both of them if he were to place her in a nursing home. He reluctantly does, even though he doesn’t like the nursing home’s policy that prohibits him from visiting for the first 30 days (supposedly so she will adjust to her new surroundings). After 30 days, he visits for the first time and finds that she’s forgotten who he is, and has become affectionate for another resident. Grant’s saddened, but he keeps visiting her, often just to watch her from across the room. He tries to read her books to remind her of the past, but although she seems to recognize him as a kind person, she doesn’t seem to recognize him as her husband any longer. In the end, Grant’s efforts turn towards making her happy rather than trying to fight her disease.

This movie was really touching and very emotional to watch. Julie’s performance was amazing. At first, she slowly transitions her character as the disease sets in. It begins with momentary lapses of concentration, then episodes confusion, then scenes of bewilderment. It becomes more serious as she becomes mentally detached from the importance of her surroundings such as her home and mementos. Things change a bit after she moves into the nursing home & bonds with another patient – she seems more up-beat, less isolated. Yet when Grant tries to make her happy (mostly by reading to her) you can tell inside she really is very unhappy – she clearly longs for memories that escape her grasp. Julie does all this with a very genuine touch, without seeming corny. It was really an amazing performance.

#1 – Marion Cotillard, La Môme (La Vie en Rose)

Finally, Marion Cotillard stars as Édith Piaf in La Môme (AKA "La Vie en Rose" here in the US). The movie covers Edith’s entire life, interweaving her childhood & adolescence, with that of her career at its peak. The movie ends with the final years of her life. The film is a dramatized documentary of the life of Édith Piaf, an extremely popular French singer. We watch her early years unfold as a child, then singing on street-corners, then advancing to sing in a popular nightclub, then advancing into full-fledged international celebrity as a highly regarded music hall singer. Throughout nearly all of the movie she’s shown as a heavy drinker, which has consequences for her health later in life.

Marion’s performance wasn’t as touching or emotional as Julie Christie’s, but I was amazed at her technical ability and extreme range. Marion’s performance stretches nearly all of Édith’s life. Marion’s able to capture Édith’s drunken & insecure adolescence – singing on street corners and in nightclubs, often with wild mood swings. She’s able to capture her love/hate relationship with her celebrity during her rise to fame. After falling in love with a boxer, there’s an extremely emotional scene when she finds out he won’t be visiting her any longer. In her last phase of life, she’s shown completely deteriorated, and unable to care for herself as a result of her youthful excesses and extreme arthritis. During each of these phases Marion is absolutely excellent – I was astounded that she performed so well during all these different phases of life. Which is exactly why she’s my selection for Best Actress this year.

Expect posts for Best Actor, Best Director & Best Film soon. I’ve only have one film left to watch before the Oscars on Sunday!

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Oscar Time: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Tonight I finished Into the Wild, the last movie I needed to watch to make my selection for best supporting actor. So, here is my thinking, in reverse order as usual:

#5 – Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Tom Wilkinson plays the role of Arthur Edens, an attorney who has spent the past few years of his life building a defense for a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against an agricultural products company, U-North. His life takes a turn when he has a mental breakdown during an important deposition. He decides that he’s been living a lie defending a company he knows to be guilty. He knows U-North knowingly produced cancer causing chemicals and his new found fondness for one of the victims causes him to pursue U-North rather than defend them.

Tom’s my #5 pick because I didn’t see Arthur’s history in much of Tom’s performance. Arthur is supposedly the law firms most experienced lawyer, someone who has been working the U-North account for quite some time, but also known to be a bit erratic when not taking his medication. But all this is spoken too and doesn’t really seem evident in his performance. Instead we’re introduced to him after he’s off his medication, so we only see his eccentricities. Such a strong and capable lawyer surely would be struggling to balance a mental instability with the logical & reasoned application of the law. I was also disappointed that his character never really explores his affections for one of the victims.

#4 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the role of Gust Avrakotos, a frustrated CIA agent eager to help congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) fight against the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan. With Charlie’s help to obtain congressional funding, Gust and a small group of CIA agents help fund the local Mujahideen fighters. Their (US funded) resistance is a success and the Soviets withdraw, but Gust is left disappointed that the US government is not willing to assist the Afgans with rebuilding their society.

Usually I’m a big fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I thought he was amazing in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Love Liza, and especially Capote (where he won the Oscar for Best Actor, as I predicted two years ago). I’m not sure who I would cast for this role, but it would not have been Philip. It’s not that he did a bad job – he had the best acting (by far!) in this movie. The problem here is that I don’t think the role is very unique (how many frustrated government employees in bad moustaches have we seen before). His character is entirely predictable, he has no bonds to others, no intriguing morals, no real personal depth. Winning an academy award demands an amazing character and performance, and the character just isn’t Gust.

#3 – Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild

Hal Holbrook plays the role of Ron Franz, an older gentleman living by himself with no immediate family. He meets the movie’s main character, Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) when he spots Chris hitch-hiking and offers him a ride. Chris has been hitch-hiking across the country in a heroic effort to seek personal truth, a reconnection with nature, a freedom that can only be realized through poetic ideals unencumbered by the motions of modern life. Chris’s encounter with Hal is especially memorable because of how Chris challenges Hal’s unconscious assumptions & for the strong bond formed between the two.

Ron is an especially interesting character because he arrives at a turning point in Chris’s travel to Alaska. Chris has already been on the road for some time, and has planned to leave society forever and head to Alaska. Ron is the last person he befriends on that journey. When Ron first meets Chris, he’s clearly confused. He doesn’t understand why a well educated young person would want to ignore his potential and ‘live in the dirt’. Yet as the two get to know one another, it’s clear Ron begins to question who’s actually living the better life – the young traveler, or the old man set in his ways. Their relationship ends on an especially poignant moment – a moment Hal delivers exceptionally well, leaving us wondering what happened to Ron after Chris heads to Alaska.

#2 – Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Casey Affleck plays the coward Robert (Bob) Ford. Yes, apparently every time I mention Robert Ford, I must also remind you that he was a coward for shooting Jesse James (Brad Pitt). The movie moved at a snails pace, chronicling Bob’s affection for Jesse James & for his outlaw lifestyle. Bob’s eager to join his gang of outlaws & be just as much a celebrity as Jesse. Yet his eagerness turns against him as Jesse jokes about his seemingly childish affection. Bob never earns the complete trust of Jesse and his desire for celebrity ultimately causes him to assassinate Jesse. Jesse was considered by many to be the Robin Hood of the wild west, and Bob is forever branded as a coward.

Casey was impressive in this role. At first he’s in awe of Jesse, eager to prove himself worthy of being a member of the gang. He completely idolizes Jesse & trembles when in Jesse’s presence. Yet his obsession turns resentful when his brothers tease him about his admiration, and he fails to gain Jesse’s trust. Gradually we see Casey’s resentment turn into a desire to prove himself better than Jesse, which leads to his assassination. Afterwards his character transitions once again, to that of someone haunted with extreme guilt & resentment. Casey managed to make all these transitions believable – transparent to the viewer, yet complex when viewed by other characters.

#1 – Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Javier Bardem plays the role of Anton Chigurh, a professional hitman, hired to collect a bag of money that’s been found Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin). He follows the signal from a tracking device hidden in the bag as Llewelyn tries to escape traveling city to city. He’s quick to eliminate people he believes are sinners (those trying to steal the loot), and he uses the flip of a coin to determine if the innocent should also be dispatched.

This movie was incredibly captivating, largely in part to Javier’s performance. He’s ‘the hunter’, methodically chasing after the stolen money. He’s has no problem murdering those in his way. Yet he’s not a mindless killer – as we follow him, we learn he believes he’s principled in his ways. He uses the flip of the coin to decide what to do with innocents. The tension and randomness of the flip introduces some tremendously tense moments in the film. His encounter with a gas station attendant is especially captivating. I was left holding my breath the entire scene, completely entranced by his performance as he asked the attendant to call the coin-flip without knowing the consequences of being wrong. Javier commanded my attention and put on an amazing performance which makes him my pick for best supporting actor.

I’m down to 6 films left to watch – hopefully I can get through them before the award ceremony!

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Oscar Time: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Two years ago I began the annual tradition of ranking all the Academy Award nominees, in each of the major categories. My goal isn’t to pick who I expect the winners to be, instead I select who I would have voted for if I were an academy member.

This year, there were a total of 19 films nominated for the acting awards, best picture & best director. I had only seen a few of the films before they were nominated (Atonement, Juno, No County for Old Men) – so it’s been a mad scramble to try and watch all 16 other films. Although I still have a few to watch, I have finished a few categories. So let’s start out with my pick for best actress in a supporting role.

My selection, in reverse order:

#5 – Ruby Dee, American Gangster

Ruby Dee plays the mother of self-made drug lord Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington). She has very little screen-time in this film – Denzel Washington (Frank Lucas) & Russell Crowe (Detective Richie Roberts) dominate the picture, but her character plays a very important role in Frank’s life. Although Frank runs a heroin empire, he built his business on a foundation of family-first thinking and a strong work ethic. It’s evident that his mother is a very important figure in his life – she’s possibly the only person he actually respects & honors.

I imagine this must be a very difficult role to cast. Imagine looking for an actress that could command the respect & devotion of a drug-lord son played by Denzel Washington. In the end, Ruby did just that. In particular – while it doesn’t look it from the still above, she towers over Denzel with fiery emotion & conviction in that scene. But, in the end, her lack of screen time & importance to the plot mean she’s my #5 selection.

#4 – Saoirse Ronan, Atonement

Saoirse Ronan plays the role of 13 year-old Briony Tallis, the younger sister to Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Cecilia and the housekeeper’s son Robbie (James McAvoy) seem to have a ‘thing’ for one another. One night, Robbie asks Briony to deliver a note to Cecilia. He thought he gave Briony an apology note (for breaking a vase earlier in the day), but he accidentally gives her a sexually explicit love letter. Briony reads the note, but delivers it to Cecilia without a word. Later that night, she catches Robbie & Cecilia making love. Then, before the night is up she also finds her cousin being raped by someone who flees into the darkness. She tells the police it must have been Robbie and shows them the love letter as evidence of his ‘crazed sexual urges’. Robbie is taken from Cecilia, put in jail then shipped off to war. Only later does she realize she had jumped to conclusions and that Robbie was innocent. Much of the movie follows Robbie & Cecilia during this time, how they long for one another, and the guilt Briony feels for separating a couple in love.

Although I didn’t enjoy the film (I’ll save that commentary for my post on best picture nominees), Saoirse does a good job with this character. She makes it quite clear what an imaginative & active mind young Briony must have, writing screenplays, carefully analyzing others, and yet she remains somewhat of an introvert. However, if I were forced to make a best supporting actress selection from this film, I would have selected Romola Garai for her role as the 18 year-old Briony. I think the 18 year-old Briony was much a more emotionally conflicted & complex character.

#3 – Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Tilda Swinton plays the role of Karen Crowder, a director of a large agricultural products company, U-North. U-North is the target of a multi-million dollar lawsuit, alleging that their products are actually toxic. When the lead lawyer representing the plaintiffs discovers a damaging internal U-North memo & has a mental breakdown, Karen tries to cover it up in an all out effort to save U-North and solidify her reputation as a top company official.

I’ve been a bit vague in my description, since I do not want to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen this movie. If you haven’t seen Michael Clayton, I do recommend it. As for Tilda’s role, it was quite good. Her character is put under tremendous stress given how important winning this case is to both her company and her professional reputation. As the tension in the movie escalates, I found it really interesting to watch her character push her personal comfort zone. It takes a unique skill to portray her character’s goal of outward confidence in the face of ever increasing internal distress when making decisions. In the end, these tensions clearly shake her character to her core.

#2 – Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Amy Ryan plays the role of Helene, mother to a child who’s gone missing. Casey Affleck plays a local private investigator (Patrick), hired by Helene’s sister to help find her niece. Ed Harris & John Ashton play detectives under the command of Morgan Freeman. The story has a fair number of twists and turns, following Patrick as he uncovers a tangled web of relationships between pimps, drug dealers & crack heads. The movie also presents many morally ambiguous situations which I imagine could spark much heated debate among viewers.

Amy’s role in this film was pretty amazing – she’s a selfish, low-income crack-addict of a mother. She’s so preoccupied with satisfying her own interests that she completely neglects her child. During the investigation into her daughters disappearance we begin to see this attitude shift — she begins to realize how much she loves & misses her daughter – yet in the end she returns to her old selfish ways. This spectrum of motherly devotion is what Amy delivered so well in this movie and makes her my #2 pick.

#1 – Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There

Finally, Cate Blanchett plays the role of Jude Quinn in I’m Not There. The movie is meant to show the different stages of Bob Dylan’s life. It does this by using six different actors, all playing different characters, all meant to portray a unique part of Bob Dylan. Not knowing this, the movie can be confusing to take in. I’m not a Bob Dylan fan, and I don’t know his history so it was even more confusing for me. While watching the movie, I was constantly trying to think about how these characters connected and how to make sense out of the film.

In fact, I had become so distracted by trying to sort out the plot and meaning of the film that I had forgotten to pay attention to the actors themselves. When I caught myself mid-film and realized that I had been watching Cate all along, I was taken aback. I had been so distracted that I hadn’t picked up that Cate was playing the role of a man. I was so completely sucked into the lifestyle, mannerisms and personality of her character that I hadn’t thought to evaluate the actress behind the character. I was even more amazed when I had a “wow” moment thinking about how she had been nominated as the best supporting actress for playing the role of a man. Overall, I was completely impressed by her acting in this film and she gets my pick for best actress in a supporting role.

Over the next few days I’ll post my picks in the other major categories. Hopefully I can finish everything before the big night – next Sunday, Feb 24th.

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Oscar Results…

[Originally posted on MySpace]

Well, the results are in. The winners were:

• Best Picture: The Departed
• Best Director: Martin Scorsese
• Best Actress: Helen Mirren
• Best Actor: Forest Whitaker
• Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson
• Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin

So how did I do?… Well, I got everything right. The academy on the other hand got 3 of the acting awards wrong. =) Alan Arkin was a total surprise, Helen Mirren was a sensible choice (she was my #2), and Jennifer Hudson was the media favorite – everyone knew she was going to win.

But watching the awards, I couldn’t help but get upset over the directing of the show itself. Rapid, unnecessary camera changes, reaction shots from the wrong people, and a horrible salute to American filmmaking ensured the show was as dreary as years past. But let me cite a few specific examples…

First, during the introduction to the best international film category WHY would you put the camera on Sacha Baron Cohen (you know him as Borat)… HE ISN’T NOMATED IN THAT CATEGORY. HE DIDN’T MAKE A FOREIGN FILM. HE MOUTHED IT SO YOU WOULD GET A CLUE!… If disparaging the entire category was the directors goal, then he certainly succeeded.

Second, during Alan Arkin’s acceptance speech, he put the Oscar down on the ground so he could read his notes. Right as Alan Arkin begins to get choked up, so surprised that he won this category the director switches the camera TO A CLOSEUP OF THE OSCAR ON THE FLOOR. WHY?! Were all the computer animated Oscar tropies not enough to show us what it looks like?! Alan Arkin was a complete underdog in this category – why can’t we watch his tearful acceptance speech? Argh!

Third, … well, I’m not even going to talk about how magnificently Clint Eastwood botched the introduction of Ennio Morricone. The guy is a musical legend. A master! And you couldn’t be bothered to memorize his introduction or bring your glasses!? I’m glad I didn’t get a chance to see your film!

Fourth – Graham King, producer for the Departed gave a wonderful, tearful acceptance speech when he won best picture. Scorsese won best director just prior, and even before best picture was nominated you could tell how moved both Graham and Marty were. So after Graham finishes his speech and walks backstage with Jack Nicholson at his side, to meet with Marty the camera switches to watch the confetti drop?!… WTF?! Show us the backstage celebration! Show us Scorsese celebrating his film! Show us Jack!

Fifth – Chris Connelly… I think I wore out my mute button. Nuff said.

Gah I’m pissed.