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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 1:05 pm
by Sabin
First off, I always look forward to your year-end round-ups. I never fail to find one or two performances that I've totally overlooked during the year (especially Mean Girls' Amanda Seyfried).

I gotta take you to task for something, man. Not Jon Lovitz. That's fine. Hated the film, but whatever. Some people just need their Rudnick fix.

Michael Pitt? Of The Dreamers that I saw? I saw many mechanical performances this year (wasn't fortunate enough to see Open Water before I was ruined for me; either way, not much desire to check it out) but Pitt would have to be near the top of my list. That guy wasn't convincing doing ANYTHING! Didn't like Garrell too much but he had the "Sullen Lad" thing down, whereas Pitt...well, he's a young actor going full bare in a Bertolucci film - which is to be admired - but he somehow managed to be both the dullest and most obnoxious presence I saw in film last year. Is this a sympathy nod for him surviving The Village or something? Or am I just on an entirely different wavelength (seeing The Dreamers on DVD probably didn't do any favors to the cinematography, mise-en-scene, et al)?

Thanks for the time. I needed to get that out.




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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:11 am
by Damien
Updated above

Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:38 am
by Sabin
Updated with a slew of additions.



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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 1:25 am
by Reza
--Big Magilla wrote:
--Reza wrote:Is Ladies in Lavender a 2004 release?

Not for Oscar purposes. I understand it may not get a U.S. release and go straight to video here.

Have any of you guys seen this film?

I suppose I can understand why the film is going straight to video in the U.S. It is like a Hallmark Hall of Fame tv film (although that did not stop the Meryl Streep starrer - Music From the Heart - from getting released on the big screen). However, the two lead performances here just cannot be faulted. Both Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are superb.




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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 2:06 pm
by Big Magilla
--Damien wrote:I just found McAdams relentlessly perky in The Notebook. But I LOVED Joan Allen in the film, and think that she, not Garner or Rowlands, should have been the center of critical attention.

I found the McAdams character too flighty. I wasn't at all impressed with Joan Allen. Claire Trevor, Betty Field, Constance Ford and Lee Patrick were much better at playing this kind of character in the 50s. When Allen laughs after being snotty, it's a self-conscious laugh like she's saying "I'm really a nice person at heart." The above-mentioned ladies would have given a sarcastic laugh, making the audience work harder to find something likeable in them.

James Garner, playing a macho take-charge character who, if ever so briefly, breaks down crying when he realizes he can't fix everything, gives a career high performance. It's easily the equivalent of Clint Eastood's work in M$B, an unexpected turn from an actor we thought we had completely figured out by now.




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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:53 pm
by Big Magilla
--Reza wrote:Is Ladies in Lavender a 2004 release?

Not for Oscar purposes. I understand it may not get a U.S. release and go straight to video here.




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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 11:44 am
by Damien
--Penelope wrote:Damien, did you see Mean Girls? I hate to disagree with you again on an actress, but I was totally taken with Rachel McAdams in both Mean Girls (playing the rich bitch for laughs) and The Notebook (playing the rich bitch for pathos, and benefiting from nice chemistry with Ryan Gosling--the four performances are the reason to see this schmaltzfest).

I haven't seen Mean Girls, but thanks for reminding me about it, Penelope -- it's one of about a dozen pictures I need to see before closing the book on 2004.

I just found McAdams relentlessly perky in The Notebook. But I LOVED Joan Allen in the film, and think that she, not Garner or Rowlands, should have been the center of critical attention.




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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 11:23 am
by Reza
Is Ladies in Lavender a 2004 release?

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:56 am
by Big Magilla
I liked McAdams in Mean Girls, but not in The Notebook. Maybe she should stick to playing bad girls.

Rowlands was great in the elevator scene with Ethan Hawke, but otherwise forgettable in Taking Lives.

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:03 am
by Penelope
--Damien wrote:You could add Rowlands for Taking Lives, but then again she's even whinier there then she is in The Notebook. (Rachel McAdams was easily the year's most unappealing actress.)

Damien, did you see Mean Girls? I hate to disagree with you again on an actress, but I was totally taken with Rachel McAdams in both Mean Girls (playing the rich bitch for laughs) and The Notebook (playing the rich bitch for pathos, and benefiting from nice chemistry with Ryan Gosling--the four performances are the reason to see this schmaltzfest).




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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:55 am
by Damien
--Big Magilla wrote:I had been considering Gena Rowlands for the fifth supporting actress slot until I finally saw The Notebook. Had her role been slightly bigger or slightly less whiney toward the end, she might have made it, but I wasn't really impressed with either her or Rachel McAdams who played the younger Allie.

You could add Rowlands for Taking Lives, but then again she's even whinier there then she is in The Notebook. (Rachel McAdams was easily the year's most unappealing actress.)




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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:53 pm
by Sonic Youth
Imelda Staunton is best actress of 2004 no more. She has been replaced by, IMO, a true stunner.

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 8:52 pm
by Sonic Youth
Expanded my list to include Best Director, Screenplays, Foreign Language film, Docus, and a load of techs.

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:25 pm
by Sabin
Son Frere! I forgot about Son Frere! Gawddammit, I've been meaning to see that for months now. Well, that's another one for the list. Sheesh...

I'm typing this from the library. I'll get some more winners in later.

BEST PICTURE
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Before Sunset
3. Bad Education
4. Million Dollar Baby
5. Primer

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Michel Gondry - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Pedro Almodovar - Bad Education
3. Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
4. Martin Scorsese - The Aviator
5. Richard Linklater - Before Sunset

BEST ACTOR
1. Paul Giamatti - Sideways
2. Liam Neeson - Kinsey
3. Gael Garcia Bernal - Bad Education
3. Ethan Hawke - Before Sunset
5. Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby

BEST ACTRESS
1. Julie Delpy - Before Sunset
2. Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
3. Laura Linney - Kinsey
4. Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace (if I could tie with Hilary, I would)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Mark Wahlburg - I (heart) Huckabees
2. Liev Schrieber - The Manchurian Candidate
3. Willem DaFoe - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
4. Phil Davis - Vera Drake
5. Mark Ruffalo - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Virginia Madsen - Sideways
2. Cate Blanchett - Coffee & Cigarettes
3. Irma P. Hall - The Ladykillers
4. Cate Blanchett - The Aviator

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Bad Education
3. I (heart) Huckabees
4. Kinsey
5. Primer

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Before Sunset
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. Sideways
4. The Manchurian Candidate
5. Mean Girls

BEST ENSEMBLE
1. Bad Education
2. Kinsey
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. I (heart) Huckabees
5. Vera Drake

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Bad Education
3. Birth
4. I (heart) Huckabees
5. The Incredibles -- amazing year!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Hero
2. Bad Education
3. The Aviator
4. Million Dollar Baby
5. Birth

BEST FILM EDITING
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Bad Education
3. The Aviator
4. Million Dollar Baby
5. Before Sunset

BEST ART DIRECTION
1. The Aviator
2. Bad Education
3. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
5. Hero

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
1. Bad Education
2. House of Flying Daggers
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. Ray
5. The Aviator

BEST MAKEUP
1. Hellboy
2. Kinsey
3. The Passion of the Christ
4. Bad Education
5. The Aviator

BEST SOUND MIXING
1. The Aviator
2. The Incredibles
3. Ray
4. Spider-Man 2
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

BEST SOUND EFFECTS
1. The Aviator
2. The Incredibles
3. I, Robot
4. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
5. Spider-Man 2

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Spider-Man 2
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (I love in camera effects)
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
4. I, Robot
5. The Aviator -- so many other terrific picks.




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2004 Oscar Shouldabeens

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2005 12:40 pm
by Reza
2004
Best Picture
The Aviator
Bad Education
Kinsey
The Sea Inside
*Sideways

Best Actor
Javier Bardem, The Sea Inside
Gael Garcia Bernal, Bad Education
Jeff Bridges, The Door in the Floor
Paul Giamatti, Sideways
*Liam Neeson, Kinsey

Best Actress
Annette Bening, Being Julia
*Nicole Kidman, Birth
Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake
Hillary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
Kate Winslet, Finding Neverland

Best Supporting Actor
Thomas Hayden Church, Sideways
Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
Massimo Girotti, Facing Windows
Jeremy Irons, The Merchant of Venice
*Clive Owen, Closer

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
Laura Linney, Kinsey
*Virginia Madsen, Sideways
Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda
Natalie Portman, Closer

Best Director
Pedro Almodovar, Bad Education
Bill Condon, Kinsey
Mike Leigh, Vera Drake
*Alexander Payne, Sideways
Lars Von Trier, Dogville