--Eric wrote:
I don't think our tastes overlap too often, but this is unquestionably my choice for this category as well. And I didn't even much like the film.
Gael García Bernal is unquestionably my Best Actor choice this year as well!
It's a lovely, performance, isn't it? One of those rare performances that combines movie star radiance, beguiling inventiveness and deeply felt humanity--both a joy and a heartbreak to watch.
Damn, it's a shame it's in a movie made by a director whose films I won't watch.
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"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
--Penelope wrote:Best Actor:
1. Gael Garcia Bernal (The Science of Sleep)
I don't think our tastes overlap too often, but this is unquestionably my choice for this category as well. And I didn't even much like the film.
Gael García Bernal is unquestionably my Best Actor choice this year as well!
It's a lovely, performance, isn't it? One of those rare performances that combines movie star radiance, beguiling inventiveness and deeply felt humanity--both a joy and a heartbreak to watch.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1264569498
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
I've been meaning to see C.R.A.Z.Y. for ages. And I can't believe I missed Diane out of my list - wonderful performance (didn't care for Affleck much at all).
This is probably too early (I've yet to see Letters from Iwo Jima or Last King of Scotland, for example), but I had to get this out of my system after this horrifying nominations morning.
Best Picture:
1. C.R.A.Z.Y.
2. Pan’s Labyrinth
3. The Science of Sleep
4. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
5. L’Enfant
Best Director:
1. Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.)
2. Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep)
3. Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)
4. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (L’Enfant)
5. Sofia Coppola (Marie Antoinette)
Best Actor:
1. Gael Garcia Bernal (The Science of Sleep)
2. Jérémie Renier (L’Enfant)
3. Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine)
4. Michel Côté (C.R.A.Z.Y.)
5. Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat)
Best Actress:
1. Helen Mirren (The Queen)
2. Kate Winslet (Little Children)
3. Penelope Cruz (Volver)
4. Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)
5. Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal)
Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)
2. Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
3. Ben Affleck (Hollywoodland)
4. Stephen Campbell Moore (The History Boys)
5. Marc-André Grondin (C.R.A.Z.Y.)
Best Supporting Actress:
1. Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada)
2. Sandra Bullock (Infamous)
3. Phyllis Somerville (Little Children)
4. Diane Lane (Hollywoodland)
5. Frances DeLaTour (The History Boys)
Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. The Painted Veil
2. The History Boys
3. Marie Antoinette
4. Little Children
5. Children of Men
Best Original Screenplay:
1. The Science of Sleep
2. Pan’s Labyrinth
3. C.R.A.Z.Y.
4. L’Enfant
5. The Queen
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Best Film
1. Pan’s Labyrinth
2. Children of Men
3. Volver
4. The Queen
5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Best Director
1. Guillermo del Toro for Pan’s Labyrinth
2. Alfonso Cuaron for Children of Men
3. Pedro Almodovar for Volver
4. Stephen Frears for The Queen
5. Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne for The Child
Best Actor
1. Jeremie Renier for The Child
2. Sergi López for Pan's Labyrinth
3. Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat
4. Ben Whishaw for Perfume: the Story of a Murderer
5. Michael Sheen for The Queen
Best Actress
1. Penélope Cruz for Volver
2. Helen Mirren for The Queen
3. Ivana Baquero for Pan’s Labyrinth
4. Eva Green for Casino Royale
5. Kate Winslet for Little Children
Best Supporting Actor
1. Stephen Fry for V For Vendetta
2. Alec Baldwin for The Departed
3. Samuel Barnett for The History Boys
4. Mark Wahlburg for The Departed
5. Michael Caine for Children of Men
Best Supporting Actress
1. Carmen Maura for Volver
2. Blanca Portillo for Volver
3. Frances de la Tour for The History Boys
4. Diane Lane for Hollywoodland
5. Hilary Swank for The Black Dahlia
I still have lots to see. Of particular interest to me are new films from Alain Resnais, Tsai Ming-liang, Bruno Dumont, Lukas Moodysson & Todd Field.
My choices are not based on U.S. release dates but on when the film received it's first commerical run.
Best Film
**Borat: Cultural Learning of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Host
The Queen
Tristram Shandy: A #### and Bull Story
Volver
Best Director
**Pedro Almodovar for Volver
Joon-ho Bong for The Host
Stephen Frears for The Queen
Anna Kokkinos for The Book of Revelation
Michael Winterbottom for Tristram Shandy: A #### and Bull Story
Best Actor
Nick Barkla for Em4Jay
**Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat: Cultural Learning of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Steve Coogan for Tristram Shandy: A #### and Bull Story
Sergi Lopez for Pan’s Labyrinth
Derek Luke for Catch a Fire
Best Actress
Emily Barclay for Suburban Mayhem
Penelope Cruz for Volver
Laura Gordon for Em4Jay
Laura Linney for Jindabyne
**Helen Mirren for The Queen
Best Supporting Actor
James Cromwell for The Queen
Stephen Fry for V for Vendetta
Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Shadow Boxer
Tim Robbins for Catch a Fire
**Michael Sheen for The Queen
Best Supporting Actress
Lola Duenas for Volver
Amanda Henderson for I Am a Sex Addict
**Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls
Carmen Maura for Volver
Blanca Portillo for Volver
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
I think I might actually be done this year. A couple stragglers here and there that I'll get around to, like 'The Death of Mr. Lazarescu'. Recently rewatched several on this list and no.'s 5 through 10 are damn cllose in my mind. Not quite four stars but close enough and rewatchable enough for the leeway. All in all, a pretty solid year.
Best Picture
1. 'Children of Men'
2. 'The Departed'
3. 'Pan's Labyrinth'
4. 'Letters from Iwo Jima'
5. 'Brick'
6. 'The Proposition'
7. 'L'Enfant'
8. 'Old Joy'
9. 'Volver'
10. 'Casino Royale'
Best Actor
1. Ryan Gosling ~ 'Half Nelson'
2. Jeremie Renier ~ 'L'Enfant'
3. Leonardo DiCaprio ~ 'The Departed'
4. Daniel Craig ~ 'Casino Royale'
5. Kazunari Ninomiya ~ 'Letters from Iwo Jima'
(missing out by a hair: Matt Damon, William Oldham for 'Old Joy', Gael Garcia Bernal, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody, and the wonderful Nathan Fiollion for 'Slither')
Best Actress
1. Judi Dench ~ 'Notes on a Scandal'
2. Shareeka Epps ~ 'Half Nelson'
3. Maggie Gyllenhaal ~ 'Sherrybaby'
4. Penelope Cruz ~ 'Volver'
5. Jennifer Hudson ~ 'Dreamgirls'
Best Supporting Actor
1. Robert Downey, Jr. ~ 'A Scanner Darkly'
2. Ray Winstone ~ 'The Proposition'
3. Mark Wahlburg ~ 'The Departed'
4. Alec Baldwin ~ 'The Departed'
5. Brendan Fletcher ~ 'Tideland'
Best Supporting Actress
1. Carmen Maura ~ 'Volver'
2. Eva Green ~ 'Casino Royale'
3. Emma Thompson ~ 'Stranger than Fiction'
4. Emily Blunt ~ 'The Devil Wears Prada'
5. Maggie Gyllenhaal ~ 'Stranger than Fiction'
I'm nowhere near ready for a final list, but here's a preliminary look at my lists in the top categories:
Best Film/Director-
1) Letters From Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood)
2) L'Enfant (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
3) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
4) The Black Dahlia (Brian DePalma)
5) Flags of Our Fathers (Clint Eastwood)
Best Male Lead-
1) Kanzunari Ninomiya, Letters From Iwo Jima
2) Jeremie Renier, L'Enfant
3) Ken Watanabe, Letters From Iwo Jima
4) Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
5) Josh Hartnett, The Black Dahlia
Best Female Lead-
1) Julia Jenstch, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
2) Luminita Gheorgihu, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
3) Helen Mirren, The Queen
4) Maggie Cheung, Clean
5) Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Supporting Male-
1) Nick Nolte, Clean
2) Michael Sheen, The Queen
3) Tsuyoshi Ihara, Letters From Iwo Jima
4) Jesse Bradford, Flags of Our Fathers
5) Florian Stetter, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Still debating Sheen's lead/support status. If I eventually put him in lead, he'll be fourth there, and the last spot would go to Adam Beach (Flags) or Joshua Jackson (Bobby). I waffle between those two and Florian Stetter constantly.
Best Supporting Female-
1) Sharon Stone, Bobby
2) Pam Ferris, Children of Men
3) Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada
4) Eva Green, Casino Royale
5) Jessica Lange, Don't Come Knocking
--flipp525 wrote:True, Penelope but I couldn't find a spot for her performance in the lead category and I thought she needed to be recognized this year.
You coulda got rid of Streep, who is certainly more borderline Supporting than is Blanchett.
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"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
True, Penelope but I couldn't find a spot for her performance in the lead category and I thought she needed to be recognized this year. I can slightly rationalize her placement in supporting by noting Dench's narrative control as well as the bookend opening and closing scenes, making her the film's true "lead", if one has to choose between the two. Also, I'm a fan of the Zoe Heller novel which, according to Barbara Covett, purports itself to be the story of Sheba Hart but really ends up revealing more about the narrator herself.
I thought I could get away with it by placing Shareeka Epps in the appropriate category.
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"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
You people are nuts!!! Cate Blanchett is NOT, I repeat, NOT a supporting player in Notes on a Scandal. You're just enabling the Academy to continue this horrid practice.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
I haven't seen enough movies to do this, and even if I had, my tastes this year skewed so wide of Oscar standards (or, considering Jackass Number Two, so far below), that it wouldn't make sense to list them here.
That said, I am rooting for probable Oscar nominees Eddie Murphy, Leonardo DiCaprio (for Departed) and Alfonso Cuaron (I'm holding out hope).