Prima Ballerinas

Yesterday I watched two movies. The Red Shoes and Black Swan. Both of them tells you the story about a ballet company rehearsing and playing a famous ballet, and both of them ends like their respective ballets does.

The Red Shoes was released 1948 but has survived the test of time, and is now considered one of the best pictures ever made, and rightfully so. It's a fantastic achievement for cinema with lush cinematography, beautiful music and great sequences.

But what about Black Swan?
Well according to me it's a future classic. Such a visually lush movie with great storytelling and performances. What more could you ask for? Natalie Portman gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance as Nina Sawyers, the doomed ballerina whoms search for perfection ultimately destroys her. Natalie conveys all of her characters emotion, both as the "good" Nina and the "bad" Nina. Also we must applaud Portman for the preparing of her role.

Mila Kunis is also great, and certainly is a rising star. Barbara Hershey gives also a great performance as the role of an overprotective mother (you can see the comparision with her role and Rapunzels fake mother in Tangled).

This will be the film I will root for to win Best Picture and Best Actress during the Academy Awards!

So for the rates.
The Red Shoes - A+
Black Swan - A/A+

The French Goddess

While Inception makes lots of money at the boxoffice this week, the reviews has almost all cited out two actors as standout first Joseph Gordon-Levitt and secondly the always divine Marion Cotillard.

Marion Cotillard began her Hollywood invasion 2003 when she starred in Big Fish. But it would take 4 more years til she got her real breakthrough. In 2007 she briliantly portrayed Edith Piaf in such a way that it was impossible for the Academy to not give her the award. It was a landmark for several reson, first she managed to win the Oscar with a foreign-language performance and secondly we all know it was all about the performance. She wasn't famous in US before so there's no way anyone voted for her because she had paid-her-dues or anything like that. Since then her career has just gone up.

In 2009 she doubled it with Public Enemies and Nine. Both movies flopped at the Box office and with critics. None of them was any major player at the Oscars as it first was predicted, but when the critics was to point out their favourite in the movies, it was almost always Marion Cotillard who the raved about. But there was no Oscar nomination for her, why?

Weinstein Company completely destroyed the campaign for Nine marketing her as lead actress, which lead to Penélope Cruz's inferior performance to get nominated.

This year her only "real" Hollywood project is Inception, where she once again has recieved nothing but praise. If there is an Oscar nod coming up, I don't know. It's too early to tell, but if the film goes bigger at the box office it could very well be the film with most nominations this year and hopefully Marion Cotillard will also get one.

So Juliette Binoche, you can dethrone yourself as the leading french actress cause Marion is here to stay!

I'm Back for Good

After an hectic spring where school has been #1 priority I will no be back for good and I promise. Though I noticed following Oscar took too much of my time, I will only do it during the Award season so I will not foresee anything right now, well maybe I give you one after Toronto Fesival or So.

Also forgive me if I sometimes lack knowledge of the cinema of 2010 cause I really haven't had the time to search those movies out.

So I hope you all will enjoy the blog again :)

10 word reviews

Agora
Enjoyable if a bit dry, Weisz makes a compelling performance.
Best in Show: The Score

Videocracy
Interesting view in the media world of Italy, lacks little narrative.
Best in Show: The segment about the Journalist.

Reopening Awardtak

During the last couples of weeks I haven't been writing something on this blog, which I am very ashamed off, but shame on the one who gives up. I will probably update my site to something more modern and fresh so stay tuned for more movie news!

PS. There is a late surge of support for Meryl Streep in Best Actress Race, wonder if it helps DS.

My predictions

OK I may have excaggerated when I said that I wouldn't talk about the Oscars first.

Here's my prediction for every category (will be updated):
Best Picture - The Hurt Locker
Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Best Actor - Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Best Actress - Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique - Precious
Best Original Screenplay - Inglourious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay - Up in the Air
Best Cinematography - The Hurt Locker
Best Film Editing - Avatar
Best Art Direction - Avatar
Best Costume Design - The Young Victoria
Best Original Score - Up
Best Original Song - "The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart
Best Visual Effects - Avatar
Best Make Up - Star Trek
Best Sound - Avatar
Best Sound Editing - Avatar
Best Foreign Language Film - The White Ribbon
Best Animated Feature Film - Up
Best Documentary Feature Film - The Cove

Announcment

I am happy for Invictus NOT nominated for Best Picture, but The Blind Side makes me sick, I am not going to buzz about the Oscar til next year again, I am so sad for the Blind side getting nominated in best picture!

Cheat List

Use this list to keep track for the next hour to come which has the chance of being nominated!

Supporting Actress
Cotillard
Cruz
Farmiga
Gyllenhaal
Kendrick
Krüger
Laurent
Mo'Nique
Moore
Morton

Supporting Actor
Baldwin
Capaldi
Damon
Harrelson
Mackie
McKay
Molina
Plummer
Tucci
Waltz

Actress
Blunt
Bullock
Cornish
Cotillard
Laurent
Mirren
Mulligan
Ronan
Sidibe
Streep
Bridges

Actor
Clooney
Damon
Day-Lewis
Downey Jr.
Firth
Freeman
Maguire
Mortensen
Renner

Director
Avatar
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Precious
A Serious Man
Up in the Air
The White Ribbon

Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
Broken Embraces
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
It's Comlicated
A Serious Man
Up
The White Ribbon

Adapted Screenplay
Bright Star
Crazy Heart
An Education
Invictus
In the Loop
Julie & Julia
Precious
The Road
Star Trek
Up in the Air

Picture
(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Cazy Heart
District 9
An Education
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
The Messenger
Nine
Precious
A Serious Man
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are
The White Ribbon

Jespers Movie Column #2

Hello and welcome back to my movie column!

Since last time you read this blog some major awards has been, the PGA, DGA and SAG. The Hurt Locker won both the PGA and DGA and is right now the frontrunner, while Inglourious Basterds won the SAG. Also IB and Bright Star were both snubbed by the CDG, but that guild has often snubbed major contenders for the costume design prize.

The SAG further provided us that the Best Actress race is closer than we thought. Instead of rewarding the greatest of them all with one of the greatest performance of the year who is certainly overdue for a third Oscar! They gave it one of the most average actresses with the most average performance, BUT overdue for a NOMINATION not a win, also she's once of the NICEST in Hollywood STRETCHING herself with a DRAMATIC role. So please if somebody read this DON'T VOTE FOR SaBu only because she is nice!

There has only been two movies out this week I'm interested too see, and that's Off and Running & maybe Edge of Darkness. BTW, Avatar surpassed Titanic worldwide in box office counting, and it has showed no sign to be slowing down drastically!

The INOCA nominations was announced yesterday and gave a good bunch of nominees, but I'm quite disappointed that Bright Star wasn't nominated for Best Picture!

While in Sundance the movies with the most buzz right now are The Kids are All Right, Blue Valentine & The Runaways. Of these I think TKAAR will be the one with most Oscar chances because of Moore and Bening starring.

Bye bye for now

Oscar nominee predictions!

Best Picture
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Avatar
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Up in the Air
5. Precious
6. An Education
7. Up
8. Invictus
9. Star Trek
10. District 9
Alt: A Serious Man
From the Outside looking in:
Nine, The Messenger, (500) Days of Summer, The Hangover

Best Director:
1. Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
2. James Cameron - Avatar
3. Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
4. Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
5. Lee Daniels - Precious
Alt: Clint Eastwood

Best Actor
1. Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
2. George Clooney - Up in the Air
3. Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
4. Colin Firth - A Single Man
5. Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Alt: Viggo Mortensen - The Road
From the Outside Looking in:
Tobey Maguire

Best Actress
1. Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
2. Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
3. Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
4. Carey Mulligan - An Education
5. Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Alt: Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones
From the Outside Looking In:
Emily Blunt, Marion Cotillard, Melanie Laurent

Best Supporting Actor
1. Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
2. Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
3. Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
4. Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
5. Matt Damon - Invictus
Alt: Christian McKay - Me and Orson Welles
From the Outside Looking In:Anthony Mackie, Alfred Molina

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Mo'Nique - Precious
2. Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
3. Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
4. Penélope Cruz - Nine
5. Samantha Morton - The Messenger
Alt: Julianne Moore
From the Outside Looking In:
Diane Krüger, Marion Cotillard, Melanie Laurent

Best Foreign Language Film:The Milk of Sorrow
A Prophet
The Secret in Her Eyes
Winter in Wartime
The White Ribbon
Alt: Samson and Delilah

Best Animated Feature Film:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Alt: 9

Best Documentary Feature Film:
1. The Cove2. Food, Inc.
3. Under Our Skin
4. The Beaches of Agnes
5. Burma VJ
Alt: Valentino: The Last Emperor

Best Original Screenplay
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Hurt Locker
3. (500) Days of Summer
4. A Serious Man
5. Up
Alt: The Hangover

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. Up in the Air
2. Precious
3. An Education
4. District 9
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Alt: In the Loop

Best Cinematography
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Nine
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Avatar
5. The White Ribbon
Alt: Bright Star

Best Film Editing
1. Avatar
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Up in the Air
5. District 9
Alt: Precious

Best Art Direction
1. Avatar
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. Sherlock Holmes
5. Where the Wild Things Are
Alt: Nine

Best Costume Design:
1. Nine
2. The Young Victoria
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Sherlock Holmes
5. Coco Before Chanel
Alt: Bright Star

Best Make Up:
1. District 9
2. Star Trek
3. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Alt: The Road

Best Visual Effects:
1. Avatar
2. Star Trek
3. District 9
Alt: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Original Score:
1. Avatar
2. Up
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. Star Trek
5. A Single Man
Alt: The Informant!

Best Original Song:
1. "The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart
2. "Cinema Italiano" - Nine
3. "I See You" - Avatar
4. "I Want To Come Home" - Everybody's Fine
5. "All Is Love" - Where the Wild Things Are
Alt: "Take It All" - Nine

Best Sound Mixing
1. Avatar
2. District 9
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Star Trek
5. Up
Alt: Nine

Best Sound Effects Editing:
1. Avatar
2. District 9
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Up
5. Star Trek
Alt: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Animated Short Film:
1. The Cat Piano
2. Partly Clody
3. A Matter of Loaf and Death
4. Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
5. French Roast
Alt: The Kinematograph

Best Live-Short Film:
1. The Response
2. Kavi
3. The Door
4. The Ground Beneath
5. Instead of Abracadabra
Alt: Miracle Fish

Best Documentary Short Film:
?????

Most beautiful image of 2009

Best Actress 1934

She may have digusted Leslie Howard, but for everyone else she was the bright spot in Of Human Bondage

Here I am with another edition of Best actresses, this time I will take a look at the 1934 race

There were three nominees this year and one write-in candidate cracking the top 3 after the nominees were announced. Also another write-in candidate took in a considerable amount of votes.

The write-in candidates were Myrna Loy, with her comic and dazzling performance in The Thin Man, and Bette Davis who gave a performance we could compare with european actresses in Of Human Bondage. Loy was wonderful in her iconic role and gave it life with her witty dialogue and charming & mature voice, while Davis was magnificent as a lost woman starring opposite Leslie Howard. Davis was the one cracking the top 3.

Now to the nominees!

The worst of the bunch was Grace Moore as the opera singer in One Night of Love. The Movie and her were favorites to win the big awards in 1934 and got lots of noms, but ended up neither winning best actress or picture, which is lucky cause both she and the movie is quite stiff and oldfashioned with not much life in it... though she had a good voice.

Then there's Norma Shearer in her prestige role in The Barretts of Wimpole Street. She gives the roles a great depth of warmth and strongness as the bedridden rich woman. This is like Moores performance very oldfashioned, but still the difference is that Shearer gives all her charm into her role while Moore just seems dull.

The best is still Colbert as the heiress on a trip with Clark Gable. Like Loy she gives one of the best comedic performances of all time and show that Colbert is best when she's funny. Also this year she had Cleopatra & Imitation of Life, neither of them tops her performance in It Happened One Night.

Everyone loves her, and she knows that!

The biggest omission was though Marlene Dietrich in The Scarlett Empress.

Nightmares

Last night I watched the SAG red carpet, but was to tired to actually watch the ceremony so I went to sleep with the hopes that I would wake up and watch Meryl Streep winning a SAG, but in my dream SaBu won it and I woke up directly believing it was the right winner. Then I understood it was just a dream so I went to sleep again, this time SaBu was still the winners, but so was George Clooney, Mo'Nique, Christoph Waltz & INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. This time my nightmare didn't scare me.

I woke up 09.00 and got my computer started and WHAT DID I SEE?! SABU WON!!! WTF? Well it isn't so much WTF?! since Meryl Streep won the SAG last year they maybe want to spread the wealth, but an exciting Oscar it will be with neither Best Actress or Best Picture clear yet. Also on the happy news Inglourious Basterds and Glee won awards. IB was for me a surprise since the nomination of Krüger pretty sealed their love for the movie.

So now it's really:
Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker vs. Inglourious Basterds vs. Up in the Air

Of these movies I think Up in the Air has the weakest chances of winning.

The nominees will probably be:

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
An Education
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Precious
Up
Up in the Air

All these seems to be safe bets with Up and Invictus little bit shaky since they both have some things detracting them. Up is an animated film and Invictus no one really loves just respects.

Now to the rest of the three.

(500) Days of Summer
District 9
The Messenger
Nine
A Serious Man
Star Trek

All have chances to be nominated, but for now I pick

A Serious Man
Star Trek

Crossing my fingers

The Oscar nominees are announced in a week or two and hopefully a surprise nod will go to the great Laurent. Damnd Weinstein who first campaigned her at the leading category then later the supporting causing confusion!

Jespers Movie Column #1: Sundance Starts, Award Season middling

Hello everybody!

I decided to start a column on my blog every saturday where I write about the past week that has been and anticipating the week to come.

Of all the things that has happened this week the most talked about must be the Golden Globe awards in which Avatar went home with two awards for Best Picture and Director, this caused much stir (both good and bad) at many movie forums and blog since everyone was excepting The Hurt Locker or Up in the Air to sweep some awards (THL went totally unawarded), but for me it was only a good surprise since I totally love Avatar and want it to win the Oscar next! In the best supporting actor & actress categories the awards went as everyone expected to Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique, who certainly did cause every fashion police out there outrage for her cause she didn't shave her legs before the ceremony. Otherwise she gave the greatest speech of the evening even beating Streep for the Speech queen.

The Best actress categories went as suspected to Streep and Bullock who now both is battling out for the Oscar. Best Actor was more surprising with Robert Downey Jr. winning one for Sherlock Holmes, and Jeff Bridges getting a standing ovation for his Crazy Heart.

As said Avatar won Best Picture: Drama, but the most surprising and undeserving winner went to The Hangover, who further cemented this years Golden Globe to be all about money. Also the star-studded musical Nine went unawarded.

In Iowa the Sundance Film Festival has opened and so far I've only heard about the film Howl that has been screened and starring James Franco. According to early reviews it seems that film is a bit mess, but lovable, while Franco is getting good notice. You will stay further noted about the Sundance.

In UK the BAFTA announced their nominations, they said YES to An Education, but Nein to Inglourious Basterds. Also they nominated Audrey Tautou, a total undeserving nomination, she's very dull in the movie.

At the Boxoffice all over the world Avatar still stands strong and will probably be sinking (god I hate to say that word it seems so cliché now) Titanic for the #1.

One new that also came was that Kidman had hired Jolies manager for herself. Kidman is many times very private with her off-screen life, but even if the press and bloggers some times jokes bad things about her they should salute her for making the way of the most famous couple of our time Brangelina, since Kidman was first cast as Mrs. Smith but later dropped out which made Jolie getting the role.

And now to the tragic news that hit me today was the death of the great Jean Simmons (80 years old). She starred in over 50 movies during her lifetime which included such classics as Black Narcissus, Great Expectations, Hamlet, Elmer Gantry, Spartacus and Guys & Dolls. She also gave good performances in Young Bess and The Happy Ending, and she even played the swedish queen Desirée opposite Marlon Brando.

RIP Jean Simmons

Also I want everyone to think some minutes about the victims in Haiti and praying to god or whatever you believe in that everything will be fine again in Haiti, maybe it won't happend today or tomorrow but someday it surely will.

Next Week
More fabulous movie news with SAG, More sundance and more box office extravaganza on the line.

RIP Jean Simmons

At the Cinema

The weekend that will come does offer some interesting movies, if you want more mainstream you can go to The Tooth Fairy, Extraordinary Issues or Legion. If you Want "Oscar" you can go to Creaton.

Then what I think seems the most interesting of the weekend:

1. Room and a Half (Andrey Khrzhanovsky)
2. The Girl on Train (André Téchiné) starring the goddess herself, Deneuve.
3. Paranoids (Gabriela Medina)

Live blogging the Golden Globe Award

01.33. Well since nobody seems to be reading I will not live blog anymore, but you will get my reactions tomorrow : )
01.32. Well I'm back and there's Fergie looking very good.

01.22. I will quit blogging the red carpet and begin later during the ceremony.

01.20. I haven't seen Mariah Carey yet, but the reports aren't nice...

01.18. Chloë Sevigny looks great!

01.11. Melanie Laurent has arrived, she looks great.

01.08. Kristen Bell is not good.

01.05. Sigourney Weaver wears something green, can't see it all, but it looks great as of here.

01.05. Julianne looks great, isn't that the same earrings as in 2003? Also Tom Ford is there. Moore needs an Oscar soon.

01.02. Glee! Glee! Glee! Jane Lynch looks splendid, she's so funny.

00.59. Penélope! Joseph! all the stars are coming. Also Sophia Loren has comed.

00.57. Christina Hendricks, she's really pale, but stunning.

00.56. The Facebook girl is annoying!!!

00.56. Anthony Mackie interviewed, also very humble. Hopefully he won't become any new Jamie Foxx.

00.54. I'm seeing a little picture of Marion Cotillard now, she is dressed in black quite a change from all the white she has done before.

00.53. Glenn Close is there, she needs an Oscar NOW!

00.53. No the streamer went off :( but it's on now.

00.47. Carey Mulligan looks wonderful, the news says she has got the role in My Fair Lady.
Also the dress is much better than her BFCA dress. She's such a sweetheart.

00.44. Streeps seems to have some fans at the bleachers.

00.42. Jayma Mays, you have to love her in Glee.

00.42. Am I the only one NOT liking Gyllenhaal's dress?

00.33. They told what the time was in sweden during the live carpet show : D

00.31. Chris Colfer from Glee is interview right now, not my favourite from the show but he sometimes has the tendency to steal the show.

00.26. Jane Lynch, she actually looks very good in a dress I don't think many women at her age would dare to wear.

00.25. Wonder if The Legends (Kidman and Pfeiffer) will come to the GG?

00.20. Oh god, Maggie Gyllenhaal isn't looking good at all, too much pig colour, the movie stars are arriving.

00.16. Lee Daniels!!! Even though I will not nominate him for my award I am still rooting for him to win, cause he seems very nice.

00.16. Ginnifer Goodwin looks stunning.
UPDATED: Sorry, I saw wrong...

00.13. Cory Monteith from GLEE is being interviewed, seems to be a very humble guy. Glee is one of my favorite shows right now. Cory sings much better live than studio.

00.10. Are it usual for the movie stars to arrive later than the tv stars?

23.59. There's the Glee cast, Lea Michele looked stunning in her black dress. Jayma Mays and Jessalyn Gilsig also looked great.

23.59. There was a clip with Britanny Murphy, RIP.

23.52. Agree with that guy, I take Kirsten Dunst every day over Jennifer Aniston.

23.48. Oh God! E! coverage is much funnier than NBC, why can't I watch E!

23.42. PS. Tom O'Neil is on the Live Carpet show. DS.

Tonight I will live blog the Golden Globe ceremony If i don't fall asleep, it's night here in Sweden you know ; ) .

So hopefully you will all join me : )

Wil Nine get some love from HFPA?

Golden Globe Predictions

Best Picture: Drama:
1. Up in the Air
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Inglourious Basterds

Best Picture: Comedy or musical:
1. (500) Days of Summer
2. Nine
3. The Hangover

Best Director:
1. Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
2. James Cameron - Avatar
3. Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Best Actor: Drama:
1. Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
2. George Clooney - Up in the Air
3. Colin Firth - A Single Man

Best Actor: Comedy or Musical:
1. Matt Damon - The Informant!
2. Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine
3. Robert Downey JR. - Sherlock Holmes

Best Actress: Drama:
1. Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
2. Carey Mulligan - An Education
3. Gabourey Sibide - Precious

Best Actress: Comedy or Musical:
1. Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
2. Meryl Streep - It's Complicated
3. Marion Cotillard - Nine

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
2. Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
3. Woody Harrelson - The Messenger

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Mo'Nique - Precious
2. Penélope Cruz - Nine
3. Julianne Moore - A Single Man

Best Screenplay:
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Up in the Ar

Best Original Score - Avatar
Best Original Song - "The Weary Kind
Best Foreign Language Film - A Prophet - France
Best Animated FIlm - Up

Best Actress 1932/33

Hello! I'm back with one more edition of Best Actresses, this time I will dig into 1932/33.
Don't get fooled by the looks!

This lineup consists of May Robson, Diana Wynyard and Katharine Hepburn. The average moviegoer may only know about Katharine Hepburn, the other two were a character actress and a british actress.

Diana Wynyard who gives "life" to her role as the wife and mother in a noble family in the movie Cavalcade. This is the sort of role Norma Shearer would get offered if it was a MGM Picture and would probably rock it, sadly Wynyard is just an object for the public at the times imagination of a noble wife. She just stands there looking pretty and is incorporated with the costumes and art direction. Well well it's not Wynyard fault that the performance screwed up, overall the film screwed up everything else in it, with it's stiff and oldfashioned way.


Then there's the two other ladies Hepburn and Robson.

Hepburn was deserving of a nomination, but NOT for Morning Glory which is a mediocre performance by one of the all-time best. Instead she should have got a nomination and win for her warm and dazzling performance in the american classic Little Women. But back to her nominated and victorious role she plays... surprise an actress. In some way her ra-ta-ta voice and manners didn't work her in which she SHOULD have played it more subtle like she did in Summertime many years later.

So my winner is May Robson. She gives her "Eliza Doolittle-with-a-twist" character real depth and warmth during the whole movie and she shines as much in the role as rich and poor.


But I've got an Ideal lineup:
Kay Francis - Trouble in Paradise
Greta Garbo - Queen Christina
Katharine Hepburn - Little Women
Barbara Stanwyck - The Bitter Tea of General Yen


Fifth Spot goes for the current to Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms, but could easily be switched as I see more movies from 1933

Posters of 1942

Today I searched for Casablanca posters at google and found this

I always thought that the most well known Casablanca poster was one of the most beautiful posters of all time, but this is much better than the last one.

Best Actress 1950

Today I'm restarting Best Actress Editions, which means that all the years I've done I will update and write about all the other years. So I start with one of the most acclaimed year 1950!



Sorry Anne, I'm on Team Bette.


But way was it acclaimed I always come to ask myself. I myself can't understand it. Sure it gave us two of the greatest performances and comebacks of all time, Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. and Bette Davis in All About Eve. But the rest is just ordinary performances by respected actresses. Baxter is the worst of the bunch with her shoing-in a role that could have been made magnificently by anyone else, also it dosn't help that she's outstaged by Bette Davis, Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter.



By no means is the other two Parker and Holliday are bad, on the other hand they are very good... but they doesn't truly make anything really memorable neither of them. Both of them would later turn in better and richer performances.

Then there's the two Divas. Gloria and Bette






Even in this picture you can see how good she is in this picture.

Gloria is playing the recluse movie actress from the old days who desperately wants a comeback, she finds it in a playwright who later becomes her sort of gigolo. In the whole movie Gloria portrays her character with insanity and over-the-top feeling which makes her transition to the character a delightful event to watch, even if delightful isn't the turns of event in the movie.

Bette on the other hand plays a succesfull theatre actress, but with age on her neck she's slowly withdrawing against her will from the top. Bette is has good as she's ever been in this role as Margot Channing and really makes a whole event circus around her magical quotes like
"Fasten your seatbealts, it's going to be a bumpy night."


Both of them got great help from the supporting cast who lift them up in the sky, also they both got some of the most memorable quotes in movie history. So it's a tough decision to choose between Gloria and Bette. I would want a tie, but since I don't think Bette would ever accept a tie I must choose Gloria because of her complete scene-chewering.



Bette Davis is looking sour, is because of she losing both times to a newcomer on-screen and off-screen? Or is it because of she couldn't even won over me who is ranking her as the best actress ever? But she's defenitely deserving of her Cannes Film Festival Prize.


Some snubs was Katharine Hepburn, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Taylor and Ingrid Bergman.

So Who's your favorite of all these?

Bright Star

Only sometimes in a decade such a magical film comes out where everything is just fantastic. Last time this happened was in 2007 when the masterpiece There Will Be Blood was released. This year it has actually happened more than once. There is:

• Inglourious Basterds
• The White Ribbon
• (and partly) Avatar - if only the screenplay and the acting would be a little better, still it will probably make my #1

and now a small period drama called Bright Star has done it. It is perfectly crafted by Jane Campion, and you feel that she has put her heart and soul on this project. With a detailed story she tells us the love affair of the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, masterly played by Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish. There love is not the most conventional one and has one big detractor, the John Keats working partner who is masterly played by Paul Schneider. Fannys family is always in her presence and her love-kinded mother is played by Kerry Fox. The story continues and so comes the end, which I'm not going to say much more then that Cornish is breathtaking.

The cinematography is gorgeous, the costume design is also. The music is a big part of the movie and gives it a very romantic and friendly feeling.

Grade: A/A-
Best Scene: The Forrest scene at Valentine.

10 word reviews

Birth
Engaging and intelligent drama. Kidmanthelegend is both captivating and magnificent.
Best in Show: That's a three-way-tie between the cinematography, the score by Alexandre Desplat and Kidman.

7 Women
Interesting drama directed by the great John Ford. Bancroft is outstanding.
Best in Show: The Whole ensemble. It wouldn't work otherwise.

The Lovely Bones
Dull and lifeless, with good performances by Sarandon and McIvers
Best in Show: What I mentioned above

First Predictions: Major Categories

Here's my new prediction for best picture all based on buzz, awards, reviews and box office

Colors:
Dark Green - Fighting for the Win
Green - Locks
Yellow - Safe Bets
Red - Fighting

Best Picture:
1. Up in the Air
2. Avatar
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. Precious
6. Up
7. An Education
8. Invictus
9. Star Trek
10. The Messenger

Bubbling Under:
Nine, District 9, A Serious Man, (500) Days of Summer

Best Director
1. Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
2. James Cameron - Avatar
3. Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
4. Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
5. Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino

Bubbling Under:
Lee Daniels, The Coen Brothers

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

Bubbling Under:
Viggo Mortensen, Tobey Maguire

Best Actress:
1. Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
2. Carey Mulligan - An Education
3. Gabourey Sibide - Precious
4. Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
5. Helen Mirren - The Last Station

Bubbling Under:
Melanie Laurent, Marion Cotillard, Abbie Cornish, Emily Blunt, Tilda Swinton

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
2. Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
3. Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
4. Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
5. Matt Damon - Invictus

Bubbling Under:
Christian McKay, Anthony Mackie, Alfred Molina

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Mo'Nique - Precious
2&3. Anna Kendrick & Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
4. Julianne Moore - A Single Man
5. Samantha Morton - The Messenger

Bubbling Under:
Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Diane Krüger, Melanie Laurent

Best Original Screenplay:
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. (500) Days of Summer
3. Up
4. The Hurt Locker
5. A Serious Man

Bubbling Under:
The Messenger

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. Up in the Air
2. Precious
3. An Education
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
5. District 9

Bubbling Under:
Invictus, Bright Star, In the Loop etc. etc. (This race is very crowded)

Best Animated Feature:
1. Up
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. The Princess and the Frog
4. Coraline
5. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Bubbling Under:
9, Ponyo

Best Foreign Language Film:
1. Germany
2. France
3. Argentina
4. Finland
5. Norway

Bubbling Under:
God Knows?

Best Documentary Feature Film
1. The Cove
2. The Beaches of Agnes
3. Food, Inc.
4. Burma VJ
5. Under Our Skin

Bubbling Under:
Valentino: The Last Emperor? Every Little Step?

Best Animated Short Film (?)
1. The Cat Piano
2. Partly Cloudy
3. A Matter of Loaf and Death
4. French Roast
5. Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty


The Tech will come tomorrow!

Oscar Race: Best Picture

This week we almost now for sure which 10 will be nominated since both the DGA and PGA is announced. Right now there are 5 locks those are:

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

They all have the critic support, the buzz and the precursors. Almost all of them did well on the box-office and no one of them flopped. The Hurt Locker is the critical favourite and is one of the frontrunners to win alongside Up in the Air. Avatar and Inglourious Basterds are both dark horses that could prevail in the race because of their box-office success and admiration of them by the people. Precious was once the frontrunner, but the buzz has since failed to materialize during the award season and it has to be satisfied for a nomination in Best Picture only.

Then the rest of the five? Right now these seems safe bets for three of the places

An Education
Invictus
Up

But all of these are pretty unsafe. An Education seems safest, but it could be snubbed in favor of more mainstream or american products, the buzz is almost all about Carey Mulligan for the film. Invictus got good reviews but not great, but it's still a Clint Eastwood picture and we know the AMPAS loves him. Up is the unsurest of these three because of it's an animated movie and the buzz has faded a little, but because of the snub last year for Wall-E it's probably getting nom'ed.

Then the rest two of the spots, here are some contenders

(500) Days of Summer
District 9
The Messenger
Nine
A Serious Man
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are

All of these pictures have the same chances. (500) Days of Summer and The Messenger both suffers from being independent film. Where the Wild Things Are and District 9 was too long ago and the buzz is gone pretty much.

So it's going to be A Serious Man, Star Trek or Nine. Old Oscar wisedom says Nine. But since I want to predict otherewise I say that

A Serious Man
Star Trek

Will Be nominated!

My Own Love Song

Will Zellweger win another Oscar?

The Recruit

I just can't understand how bad everyone was in this movie I'm now watching, happily Colin Farrell has got a career revival after his Golden Globe Win.

10 Words Reviews:

Moon
New unconventional sci-fi pic, with bravura performance by Sam Rockwell.
Best in Show: Sam Rockwell

Saraband
Great Swan Song, but certainly not one of Bergmans best.
Best in Show: Liv Ullmann