This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2008

Because it's futile to try and wait until the beginning of December anymore.

Previous installments:
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2004
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2005
end-of-2006 film stuff (detrius 2, the Richard Donner Cut)
This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2007

http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/10/23/the-oscar-race-begins-gotham-nominations-boost-the-wrestler-rosemary-dewitt-rebecca-hall-melissa-leo/

and ...

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/here-are-the-14-films-up-for-an-animated-oscar

This thread can, of course, now lie dormant while the 1950s film poll results are unfurled.

I'm not even finished with '07!

I'm not even finished with '04!

The obvious topic of this year is the major gains that have been made by MSM in eliminating the position of "film critic" as a full-time given. It's been a major topic for a few years running, but this year the proof was really in the pudding, et al.

http://www.filmlinc.com/fcm/nd08/fccrisis.htm

This might be too detritusy for the detrius thread, but:

http://www.ethansays.com/2008/11/robert-dowey-jr-is-ews-entertainer-of-the-year.html

My initial impression is that '08 was a pretty weak year for cinema - at least for movies that got wide distribution.

Foreign film distribution seemed particularly anemic this year, too.

in happy news, The Dark Knight score is Oscar-ineligible.

I didn't like TDK score, but ... well, the music branch is such a weird, fickle, vindictive bunch.

there were too many ppl's names on the score sheets, or something

And none of them were John Williams, I surmise.

John Williams tends to write heroic music, not deep anguished important graphic-novel stuff.

Hai just caught up with Oscar's best animated feature from 2005 (W&G and the Were-Rabbit). It was good and cheesy.

15 Docs Continue in 2008 Oscar® Race

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 81st Academy Awards®. A record 94 pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“At the Death House Door”
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“Fuel”
“The Garden”
“Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts”
“I.O.U.S.A.”
“In a Dream”
“Made in America”
“Man on Wire”
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell”
“Standard Operating Procedure”
“They Killed Sister Dorothy”
“Trouble the Water”

The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed all the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

-----

Another year in which the committee has apparently tried to eliminate any candidates that might have some semblance of recognizable cachet (Man on Wire and the newest Errol Morris aside). Left off the list (though I'm not sure of the vagaries of eligibility):

Chicago 10
Chris & Don. A Love Story
Gonzo
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Shine a Light
Up the Yangtze
Young@Heart

Early pick: Trouble the Water will win.

I've seen 4 of those, and think “Standard Operating Procedure” is one of the best films of the year. "Trouble the Water" wd be a decent pick, but since Obama hardly mentioned Katrina at all I don't expect his slavish showbiz cultists to pay it heed.

shamefully missing: "Up the Yangtze"

The Polanski doc sacrificed eligibility by premiering on HBO, right?

I'm reading elsewhere that it had a one-week qualifying run in theatres before the HBO broadcast, so it was eligible.

So apparently Oscar nods will be on Jan. 22, the one-year anniversary of Heath Ledger's death.

since Obama hardly mentioned Katrina at all I don't expect his slavish showbiz cultists to pay it heed.

Will Obama mentions outnumber Apatow mentions in last year's detrius thread?

well short of Dark Knight mentions, alas

Well let the good times roll, then.

Such is the nature of this year, I could even see Dark Knight slipping into Indiewire crix poll's top 10.

anyone wanna share their favorite films so far?

In order:

Viva
Flight of the Red Balloon
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
WALL·E

Um, that's it so far.

Ah, last year's thread had me watching 1-2 flicks a night in December trying to catch up on everything I missed.

In no order:

Flight of the Red Balloon
Wall-E
Rachel Getting Married
The Witnesses
Paranoid Park
Taxi to the Dark Side

Paranoid Park a fairly strong "honorable mention."

Along with the weird little psycho-thriller The Memory Thief.

Nothing on my list, though, is more than 3 of 4 stars.

Films that definitely came out this year, in no real order:

Teeth
Enchanted
Be Kind Rewind
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Brideshead Revisited
Man on Wire
Happy-Go-Lucky
Flashbacks of a Fool
Of Time and the City
Hunger

Films that came out in the UK this year, also in no order:
Noise
I'm Not There
Hors de Prix (Priceless)
Caramel
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
4 luni, 3 saptamini si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days)
There Will Be Blood
Battle for Haditha
Juno

Plus Paranoid Park, which came out here in the last week of 2007, but which I didn't catch till the new year.

(actually, Noise didn't really come out at all, but I saw it at the touring Australian Film Festival)

(oops - Enchanted should be listed alongside Paranoid Park as a late 2007 one)

Of those not mentioned so far, Roy Andersson's You, The Living deserves a shout. Did it even get a US release, though?

EH, you may then concur w/ Ed & me that it is a "dire year"? (of course, that's how I feel about the decade)

MoMA is showing Dark Knight in a couple weeks, so since I'm a member I may get to see how long I can last with it.

You and Ed have both seen a bunch more movies this year than me, so who am I to argue if you both say it's a dire year?

I think the total number of posts in this thread might end up telling that tale.

People who say a year is dire for film or music or any other artform must know they're talking nonsense, right? I mean, OK, you might track general slow trends in quality over the years if you're that way inclined, but with the sheer numbers of films released in a year, it would be a statistical freak to match all freaks if one year turned out to be good and the next one bad? No?

(The EoY Top 10 I submitted to Uncute magazine was this btw

You, the living
4 months, 3 days & 2 weeks
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
There Will Be Blood
Wall-E
In Bruges
Sweeney Todd
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Be Kind Rewind
Charlie Wilson's War )

...unless you've seen a shitload of movies.

(xpost)

The only way it makes sense to me is if you judge goodness or badness by the quality of, say, your three or four favourite films in that year.

yes, Alba, I mostly agree with those caveats. (except I've sen a shitload of stuff throm the '00s and the '70s, and the '70s are better.) If I had a better memory, i could make a list of all the international stuff I'd like to see based on my reading that won't be released in the States for months, or ever.

Oh, I can completely understand someone comparing decades against each other, as I implied. Though even then, I doubt that even the most avid cinephile is really in a position to take into account all the branches of world cinema. It's the "Last year was great for films, this year is bad" that rings so hollow.

I dunno if there's a better thread to ask this in, but since I've gotta submit a top 10 to my paper next week, any reccomendations from this year that are already on DVD/Netflix would be awesome.

xp: although the Editor I referred to probably sees 400+ films a year, so I think that's a level where "____ Year" gains credibility (in terms of what was screened locally).

2 that haven't been mentioned (maybe) that go together nicely:

Still Life
Up the Yangtze (just out on disc)

xp: although the Editor I referred to probably sees 400+ films a year, so I think that's a level where "____ Year" gains credibility (in terms of what was screened locally).

Not at all! It's the other way around. If you've only seen 10 films, then yeah, I could see how one year could be good and the next bad for you, but if you're seeing 400 then the sample becomes big enough for a marked shift in quality from one year to the next to be a remote statistical possibility. Unless, as I say, you're only judging these things according to the very best in one year vs the very best in the next.

the very best in one year vs the very best in the next

I think this IS the core principle. "wow, it's been a great year, cuz I saw a slew of total dreck in '07 but a slew of forgettable mediocrities in '08."

I see a little bit where Alba's coming from, but I see a small enough sample that a year lives or dies by the presence or absence of one or two films (Inland Empire and Children of Men in 2006).

I think judging a year as better or worse based off the number of perceived masterpieces is totally reasonable.

Which is why Roger Ebert is a consistently happy man.

others that get about 3.5/4 from me:

My Winnipeg
Standard Operating Procedure
The Witnesses

and
Woman on the Beach

My Winnipeg and You, The Living are top of my "missed its week in Glasgow and so downloaded but haven't watched yet" list.

Unfortunately I haven't seen a single 3.5 in my opinion, much less a 4. I envy Roger Ebert so.

bevare Vincent Gallo curses. bevare.

Does Synecdoche, NY have a UK release date yet? I pretty much hated it, but I bet Alba laps it up.

I've only seen 13 releases this year, which is why I usually wait until January to make a list. Rachel Getting Married is probably my #1 so far, although if I wasn't such a stickler about these things, I might be tempted to replace it with 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, which didn't come to Chicago until February.

Does Synecdoche, NY have a UK release date yet? I pretty much hated it, but I bet Alba laps it up.

Slurp slurp. You can keep your slapstick In Bruges tat and I'll have my nonsensical quirkfests.

I'm still repping for The Visitor, but I think I'm on my own and losing the will.

Has The Road been bumped to post-Oscars?

Still not seen most of the prestige/Ocsar drama: The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire, Changeling, Che, Milk, Benjamin Button.

Synechdoche, NY got dumped by its Israeli distributor following poor U.S. performance. I assume it will eventually make it to the UK, but not in a hurry.

4 Months wasn't commercially released anywhere but LA til '08.

In the US, you mean.

Actually, I haven't really loved a Charlie Kaufman project since Being John Malkovich, and I didn't really like that much on second viewing.

http://cinemascopian.com/2008/11/18/synecdoche-new-york-but-not-in-tel-aviv/

In Search of a Midnight Kiss, The Visitor and In Bruges were my favourite pre-Summer films. Summer was a yawnfest, unduly hyped by serious people who should have known better.

I thought Still Life and Woman on the Beach were both from last year.

Haven't seen The Visitor, but I'm assuming it's on DVD now, so I'll put it on my queue. I like Richard Jenkins.

Still not seen most of the prestige/Ocsar drama: The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire, Changeling, Che, Milk, Benjamin Button.

The only ones that have actually been released are Slumdog and Changeling.

yah, but I've had chances to see The Wrestler and Che at festivals and failed to take them because I are idiot.

Those are my favourite pre-Summer, post-Oscar films, that is. I don't think of things like TWBB at a 2008 film because of the Oscars. Richard Jenkins is great in it, but the other male lead is pretty weak and the more criticism I hear from people who've seen it, the less sure I become. Definitely worth 90 minutes though.

yes, 4M3W2D didn't play America til '08. Only Europe and Los Angeles.

Still Life and Woman on the Beach both began their NYC theatrical runs in January.

hmmm, Synecdoche's US numbers do not look that bad to me until the expansion last weekend (only 80 screens) -- I mean, what did they expect?

http://the-numbers.com/movies/2008/SYNEC.php

Apparently the Israeli distributor may not have been appropriate, so maybe it wasn't as simple as numbers. Still no UK release date, but it played at London FF.

Charlie Kaufman films always come out in the Spring in the UK.

o ya, My Winnipeg and the latest Ken Jacobs are both also worth "honorable mentioning."

I missed Ken Jacobs' son's film.

So did everybody, right?

It got pretty nice reviews and was out of NY in about a week flat.

My avant-garde choice so far wd be (despite the weak finish) Profit motive and the whispering wind.

It's way early to do this, but I'll continue to play jaymc by doing my early Oscar predix in the top 10 categories.

PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL•E

DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

LEAD ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Kristin Scott-Thomas, I've Loved You So Long
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

LEAD ACTOR
Benicio Del Toro, one of the two parts of Che
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Vicki Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Rosario Dawson, Seven Pounds
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Elsa Zylberstein, I've Loved You So Long

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Bill Irwin, Rachel Getting Married
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth
Rachel Getting Married, Jenny Lumet
Synechdoche, New York, Charlie Kauffman
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen
WALL•E, Andrew Stanton

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth
Doubt, John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon, Peter Morgan
The Reader, David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Australia, Mandy Walker
Blindness, Cesar Charlone
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister
Milk, Harris Savides

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
Standard Operating Procedure
They Killed Sister Dorothy
Trouble the Water

Not at all! It's the other way around. If you've only seen 10 films, then yeah, I could see how one year could be good and the next bad for you, but if you're seeing 400 then the sample becomes big enough for a marked shift in quality from one year to the next to be a remote statistical possibility. Unless, as I say, you're only judging these things according to the very best in one year vs the very best in the next.

I think that's exactly how you compare years - by comparing the best of each year. Of course I can't know if I actually saw the best movies that came out this year - in fact I probably didn't - but I think that the universe of movies that gets screened in wide release in the US in a given year is small enough, and the echo-chamber of critical opinion is loud enough, that I can feel fairly confident that I at least heard about the majority of movies that got a significant amount of acclaim.

It's probably true that average quality across all 400 or so films released in a year doesn't change much from year - but who cares? The average film is mediocre. The only thing I would bother to consider is the quality of the movies that were worth watching - which are generally a handful in a given year anyway.

doesn't change much from year to year

Benjamin Button looks dumb.

I can't decide if Eric Roth adapting Scott Fitzgerald instead of Forrest Gump will aid or undo him.

Benjamin Button looks dumb.

Yes. Most everything from the remainder of the year looks nearly as dumb as everytning from the year so far.

oops, didn't realize I had BB down in both screenplay cats. I don't really even know what to replace it with in the original screenplay cat.

Saw 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days in the 2nd week of January or thereabouts. Probably the first thing I can think of in all those years of reading/watching/thinking about etc lists (music or movies or otherwise) that was released in January and made such a strong impression -- its easily recallable at the end of the year.

Other release I really liked was Terror's Advocate, a Barbet Schroeder doc about French lawyer Jacques Verge, which is a really absorbing history of 20th century terrorism.

I dunno if there's a better thread to ask this in, but since I've gotta submit a top 10 to my paper next week, any reccomendations from this year that are already on DVD/Netflix would be awesome.

it was released in germany in 2007 but the edge of heaven was by far the best film i saw this year and it had a theatrical release in the us and uk this year. i know its out on DVD now. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days as mentioned upthread is out on DVD as well.

i saw a christmas tale this weekend and i really liked it but other than that and WALL-E i haven't seen much worthwhile this year.

Terror's Advocate is on my waitlist at the library; it got limited US release in fall '07.

Edge of Heaven was a little too stilted for me, tho I liked Hanna Schygulla.

Eh, I don't see them nominating Nolan as director, especially when the other FX-laden movie seemingly in the running, Button, has a more Academy-friendly pedigree. (But I guess it depends if guilds, GGs, critics give have much truck with Dark Knight.)

I can also see BB tanking commercially and becoming 'untouchable.'

So was the question ever answered re a posthumous nomination for Ledger – will the Academy allow it?

allow? I think it's pretty much a shoo-in.

I think Happy-Go-Lucky looks to have a shot at Actress & Original Scr (precedent w/Leigh). Sally Hawkins might scoop up some critics awards.

too bad it was pretty terrible

I talk about this in Rolling Documentary Thread 2008, but Doc shortlist kinda sucks. ORDER OF MYTHS and AMERICAN TEEN are better than like (at least) ten of those docs. I'm definitely rooting for MAN ON WIRE. I'm not sure if STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE will even make my top ten doc list...

In regards to Alfred's question, I can't see anything in the rules that would disallow a posthumous Oscar. In addition to the obvious Peter Finch example, James Dean, Spencer Tracy, Ralph Richardson, and (most recently) Massimo Troisi have all been nominated for Oscars after their death.

2008 is a great year for film. I actually have a super solid top 25.

I interpreted Alfred's question not to be about the posthumous part, but the goddamn Joker in a Batman movie part.

or that a self-medicating/eradicating tragic case appears to be playing a, well, you know

ROMAN POLANSKI was eligible. UP THE YANGTZE, YOUNG@HEART, SURFWISE and STRANDED weren't.

Edge of Heaven was lovely, yes -- maybe a richer snapshot of Germany through fiction than stuff like Baader Meinhof..?

Oh, for some reason I recalled reading something recently about how Finch was eligible only because he died after the nominations came out, which then cast doubt as to whether posthumous nominations were allowed at all.

I don't think that works chronologically; Spencer Tracy and James Dean had been nominated posthumously.

(in fact, Dean was nominated posthumously 2 years running)

No, I know. I wish I could figure out where I read that.

I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...

(The Oscars will go back to really sucking this year.)

In addition to the obvious Peter Finch example,

Well, Finch was nominated before his death.

I interpreted Alfred's question not to be about the posthumous part, but the goddamn Joker in a Batman movie part

well, there is THAT, but I've said all I'm gonna about the bat movie.

Well, Finch was nominated before his death.

IT WAS YOU!

Finch was nominated before his death.

I would be jaymc-level-disturbed if you knew that given your age, but the iMdB lists his death as 1/14/77, and sez "Nomination and award were posthumous."

I believe it was The Ecumenical Liberation Army that offed Finch.

Why can't I find where you posted that bit about Finch, Alfred? I've done searches on ILX, Stylus, and your blog.

jaymc does Oscar research, 1938:

http://www.afoolintheforest.com/images/2007/11/04/grouch_shiva_detail.jpg

I would be jaymc-level-disturbed if you knew that given your age,

well, there's books, see.

I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...

xp: books with errors.

I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...I really wish there were ridiculously early Artforum/critics lists to bat around cuz 2 months of pre-nominations Oscartalk, oy...

Only two-point-five weeks of pre-nominations Oscartalk before this thread turns back to crix and their shameful art.

I am not going to sacrifice much of my next 3-4 weeks to movie-binge for my first critics-group vote. So many of Tape Store's faves will have to acquire other champions.

Anyone else love Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist?

to name just one.

I am not going to sacrifice much of my next 3-4 weeks to movie-binge for my first critics-group vote.

I'm not either ( ... if I don't start getting some screeners soon).

LEAD ACTOR
Benicio Del Toro, one of the two parts of Che
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Wot no Josh Brolin in W.?

Could be a biopic-tastic lead actor year.

no, America has turned the page on W., the film and the man.

Revolutionary Road? Literary cred + mysterious Mendes love

I just sort of ignored that one just to see how it plays. I wanted to do the same with Doubt, but even last year had Atonement still in the mix.

What about Misty Upham for Supporting Actress?

And more Rachel Getting Married love, plz! Best director and best picture!

OK, it won't win either, but Lumet and Hathaway both deserve statues.

Too webcammy for Oscar. Some critics stuff, I think.

(not webcammy, just... minicammy)

2008 is a great year for film. I actually have a super solid top 25.

curious to see this

Anyone else love Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist?

n/m

lolllllll. still haven't seen the dark knight, paranoid park (or anything 4th quarter, for that matter), and this is super rough:

1. Rachel Getting Married
2. My Winnipeg
3. Forbidden Lie$
4. Wall-E
5. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
6. Pineapple Express
7. Fierce People
8. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
9. The Order of Myths
10. Southland Tales
11. The Mother
12. American Teen
13. The Fall
14. The Strangers
15. Man On Wire
16. Frozen River
17. Charlie Bartlett
18. Animation Show Vol. 4
19. Stop-Loss
20. Up the Yangtze
21. Tropic Thunder
22. Trouble the Water
23. Iron Man
24. Joy Division
25. Standard Operating Procedure

I want to see Frozen River and Up the Yangtze very much.

Ropes of Silicon pretty much agrees with my Oscar predix and their snubbing of Australia overall. (And Brad's actually *seen* it, which I can't say for myself.)

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/oscar-predictions-my-first-stab-all-top-eight-categories

(Then again, the only reason I had Zylberstein in my own picks was likely because of RoS.)

"Let's Talk About the Rain" is in my top 5 for sure this year. I like it so much I went out and rented "The Taste of Others" the next night.. AND I wrote a review of it:

http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2008/11/the-weather-is-actually-never-mentioned/

It was boring!

Sorry, the film, not your review, which like any good review, made me rethink my own judgement.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for the actors.

I did like Jamel Debbouze as Karim. I was interested in his character and the racial angle, but I couldn't tease out much of that. For the most part, it felt like it was playing out to some rhythm I couldn't dance to. I found the farcical elements with Jean-Pierre Bacri irritating - I often struggle to enjoy the comedy of blinkered asses.

Americans have nothing to say on this; IFC distributing it in '09. I did like Taste of Others.

Saw The Secret of the Grain/ La Graine et le mulet last spring at Tribeca; opens at Christmas. French-Tunisian immigrant restaurant family melodrama. Didn't blow me away, but I supposed it'd be in my top 20:

http://www.ifccenter.com/film?filmid=64039

I'm kind of surprised Rain isn't out in New York - I feel like NYC gets French films BEFORE England does a lot of the time.

I was kind of surprised it was playing in the Cineworld multiplex here - maybe it's because I've Loved You So Long did rather well recently.

It looks to me like Jaoui has made 3 films since Taste that have NEVER played here... The foreign release slate has shrunk drastically here just in the past couple years (at least one major art-foreign distributor folded).

I thought "Look at Me" was a fairly big hit, as foreign films go?

That's depressing news about the availability of foreign films in New York though - I've always felt NY was on pretty much equal footing with Paris as a movie-lover's capital.

my friends who've lived in paris have said that's pretty much not the case

i have not seen a movie that was released this year since august :(

(it was tropic thunder and it was great)

The foreign release slate has shrunk drastically here just in the past couple years

^^^^^
This. I'm way more depressed about this this year than I am about the extinction of film criticism in MSM, though I suppose the two are intertwined somewhat.

Tracer, maybe in the '70s and '80s; not any more.

You know, I was looking at Jaoui's Actress filmography! yeah, Look at Me is the only one she directed since ToO and it did get distributed and grossed $1.7 mil, which qualifies as a foreign hit.

in NYC, aside from the foreign stuff that opens at Lincoln Plaza or Quad (usually involving the Holocaust, modelish gays, or preadolescent boys), you have to wait for things to show up at the Walter Reade Thtr or other nonprofits' annual fests of French, Latin American, Korean etc films.

foreign stuff that opens at Lincoln Plaza or Quad (usually involving the Holocaust, modelish gays, or preadolescent boys)

Thank goodness John Waters' year end list won't have to suffer over distribution woes this year.

Given that I liked it more than anyone I know, Pineapple Express at #6 seems insane.

the Oscar foreign submissions:

http://movie-on.blogspot.com/2008/09/2009-oscar-foreign-language-film.html

Most written-about thus far seem to be Gomorra, Waltz with Bashir (which opens in NYC at Christmas), Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Tony Manero.

Would really like to see Waltz with Bashir.

Really uninterested in Baader-Meinhof or Gomorra. The 90s are over, k thx lol

Never hearda Tony Manero

re Baader-Meinhof, you mean '90s films about the '70s? have you ever seen Fassbinder's The Third Generation?

The latest Cahiers all-time list puts our #2 ahead of our #1. (also, no Brit films in their top 100)

http://www.cahiersducinema.com/article1337.html

whoops. wrong thread...

Naw, that feels like it's in the right thread sort of.

19. Stop-Loss

I can only approve if you've seen 25 films.

Waltzes with Bashir is very powerful in many ways, but is let down by some really bland animation.

I sort of felt the same way about Persepolis last year. Actually, that animation sort of gave me a headache.

11. The Mother

Didn't this come out like three years ago?

everything comes out diff places all kinda years. I think i saw it here in '07.

http://www.filmlinc.com/fcm/nd08/fccrisis.htm

FILM CRITICISM IN CRISIS?: A New York Film Festival panel discussion hosted by Film Comment September 27, 2008, at the Walter Reade Theater

Participants:
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Emmanuel Burdeau, Cahiers du cinéma Editor
Kent Jones, Film Comment Editor-at-Large
David Hudson, GreenCine Daily Editor
Jessica Winter, O magazine film critic
Pascual Espiritu (aka Acquarello) of Strictly Film School
Seung-hoon Jeong, former critic for Korean film weekly Cine 21

JRo: I started out as a film critic in New York, Paris, and London, and at that time you had to live in a city like that if you were going to learn about the history of cinema. Today you can learn about the history of cinema anywhere in the world virtually. Some of the most sophisticated film venues in the world exist in places like rural Argentina, and some of the most sophisticated film viewers I know live in the middle of nowhere. Whereas once, when I really wanted to know about what was going on in film, I would read The New York Times, which I still read, but today that’s not what I read, that’s not where I would go. I would go to my man David Hudson here, who is actually able to tell me every day what’s going on in film criticism around the world. I would read writers like Pascual in Strictly Film School. If I go to the New Yorker, this is just a personal thing, instead of going to the back I would be more likely to go to the front to find out what’s going on in film. So all of these things are versions of big changes. They’re changes which even relate to whether the future of cinema is in theaters or not, because there are some arguments that maybe it’s not, and that changes whole notions of community and notions of audience. But what I do find is that even though there is more of everything on the Internet, which makes it more confusing, I find that I am constantly meeting people in their twenties who know much more about film than I possibly could have in my twenties. I can’t think that it’s either the end or the beginning of anything. We’re right in the middle of a lot of really big changes in which we’re using old definitions for new things that are going on, and so there’s a lot of confusion.

also Kent Jones floats Ghostbusters as the beginning of the end (of something), which I think is a much better candidate than Star Wars or Jaws as it, of the three, was made by a crap filmmaker.

also forget my Mother comment, i was thinking of something else.

Ghostbusters, otoh, had a much better screenwriter(s) than the other two.

so am i wrong in thinking that the prop. 8 vote makes milk the obvious best-picture frontrunner? if it had failed, i could imagine some reluctance to go with another gay best-pic, but things being as they are it would still be a Statement and all. (not discounting the fact that it is supposed to actually be good.)

Also, Brokeback didn't win.

haha oh yeah. i had it in my head that it did, i guess because ang lee won.

so yes. the year of The Gay.

(and i haven't seen milk, but if the oscars wanna go all statement-y, i'd be totally happy about it. oscars for gus, sean, give it a sweep.)

You guys are crazy if you can start making lists already. I haven't seen most of the year's flicks until near the end of December (just because it takes so long to get ahold of all the foreign films, and so much of the Oscar bait hasn't been released yet). I'm guessing the only films I've seen that will make my final list will probably be Dark Knight and Wall-E (both probably at low spots), and maybe maybe Waltz with Bashir.

I've got a list 50 flicks long tho of what I'm gonna see over the next month.

Star Wars is for little boys
Jaws is for teenagers and working stiffs
Ghostbusters is for New Yorkers and graduate students

The quality of trolling is way down, gabbneb. The lolz just aren't there :(

THE MOTHER is a brilliant documentary you probably haven't seen: http://truefalse.org/events/theMother.htm

That's right, I haven't seen that one.

The Milk/Prop 8 connections have been drawn by Oscar bloggers for a month or so now, but I think the ace up its sleeve is that it's a biopic, not that it's politically the right thing to do.

Saw The Visitor last night; it's got the liberal good intentions that Oscar adores.

Just saw The Baader-Meinhof Complex, far from Oscar winning material

xpost Did you like it, though? I've been holding off partly because I don't trust its good reviews.

I don't expect to see anything from this year better than the first 45 minutes of WALL-E.

Just saw The Baader-Meinhof Complex, far from Oscar winning material

You mean it's great, right? we have this problem every year...

Ghostbusters, otoh, had a much better screenwriter(s) than the other two.

You've got to be referring to Ramis co-writing Groundhog Day? cuz the rest of his resume leaves me cold, and Aykroyd -- my fave SNL performer ever -- has a much worse one, plus he's doubtlessly to blame for all the ectoplasm-geek stuff that bored me in Ghostbusters.

You mean it's great, right? we have this problem every year...

Right, I see what you mean. No, it's not great, not bad either, just a bit prolix. Can't imagine anyone not already interested in or knowledgeable about the RAF finding the film all that interesting. The cast is good though.

I don't expect to see anything from this year better than the first 45 minutes of WALL-E.

No shit.

not that I dislike the rest of it.

Right, but there's no comparison between the two sections.

yes, it's the Full Metal Jacket of 2008.

14. The Strangers

watched this last night - very effective for about an hour and then potential, squandered. I don't know if the director was going for arthouse relativism or grindhouse nihilism with that ending but he doesn't have the chops for the former or the balls for the latter. nice use of joanna newsom tho.

what's all this 'ghostbusters' bashing about?

that it's a mediocre Ivan Reitman comedy?

hey doc morbius or any other nyc ppl have you seen desplechin's "a christmas carol"? i really liked it a lot but my date thought it was trying too hard and visually a little ugly. if you have seen it would it make anyone's top ten? it makes mine for lack of competition more than merit

Catherine Deneuve looked like pumpkin pie in a couple of photos.

ghostbusters is hilarious and pretty ridiculous in a good way, u mad

I last saw it in 1984; it didn't impress me then, except for the StayPuft Man.

I probably won't get to Desplechin for another week or two, at least.

Christmas Tale is one of the only hopes I'm holding out for 2008, but my enthusiasm is tempered even for that.

Dissing Ghostbusters is like kicking a puppy.

ghostbusters is closer to an anarchist '70s comedy than some empty headed big budget bullshit.

Um, I took it as arthouse relativism, and i though he pulled it off. (see AV Club review; it's spot-on)

xxp: a big fat bloated puppy with a racist scared-maid-bugging-her-eyes-out gag.

which gag?

You know a film I really loved that doesn't seem to be getting much year end critical love? Redbelt.

I liked The Last Mistress but i'm probably the only one around here i'm guessing

I avoid Breillat.

Sight & Sound on the best DVDs of '08:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49501

Still Life was terrific, and much the best Jia film I've seen.

Saw Synecdoche two nights ago; fantastic! It's in the top 5, I think?

I'm thankful real detrius will begin next week.

So I was trying to think of what would figure into this year's Indiewire/VV poll top 10 on the long car ride home from Thanksgiving and ... um, there really are no frontrunners this year, especially after I realized that 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days was included in last year's poll. (I had jotted it down as the #1 by default on my list of candidates.) Here's what I've got:

A Christmas Tale
The Class
Flight of the Red Balloon
Paranoid Park
My Winnipeg
Che
The Wrestler
Man on Wire
Gabrielle
Synecdoche, New York

I'm not sure what other NYFF-type entries will be considered. Lorna's Silence? Night and Day? 24 City?

surely milk makes that list too? (and the van sant twofer makes him man of the year?)

I guess I thought that (and Slumdog Millionaire) would probably suffer for their Oscar buzz, but then again, There Will Be Blood and No Country were top 3 last year ...

Sight & Sound on the best DVDs of '08:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49501

looks like i have to see L'Enfance nue.

Found the Artforum lists on another MB. Did no one tell John Waters about Tearoom?!

John Waters
1 (a). VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (Woody Allen)
1 (b). LOVE SONGS (Christophe Honore)
2. MISTER LONELY (Harmony Korine)
3. SAVAGE GRACE (Tom Kalin)
4. MAN ON WIRE (James Marsh)
5. THE LAST MISTRESS (CATHERINE BREILLAT)
6. MY WINNIPEG (Guy Maddin)
7. THE WRESTLER (Darren Aronofsky)
8. TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (Alex Gibney)
9. MILK (Gus Van Sant)
10. CASSANDRA'S DREAM (Woody Allen)

Amy Taubin
1. MILK (Gus Van Sant)
2. CHE (Steven Soderbergh)
3. ASHES OF TIME REDUX (Wong Kar-Wai)
4. TULPAN (Sergey Dvortsevoy)
5. WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Ari Folman)
6. BALLAST (Lance Hammer)
7. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (Mike Leigh)
8. MOMMA'S MAN (Azazel Jacobs)
9. WENDY AND LUCY (Kelly Reichardt)
10. WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL (Matt Wolf) and
PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE (Steven Sebring)

James Quandt
1 and 2. ITINERAIRE DE JEAN BRICARD (Jean-Marie Straub & Daniele
Huillet) and LE GENOU D'ARTEMIDE (Jean-Marie Straub)
3. THE HEADLESS WOMAN (Lucrecia Martel)
4. LIVERPOOL (Lisandro Alonso)
5. TONY MANERO (Pablo Larrain)
6. 24 CITY (Jia Zhang-ke)
7. UNITED RED ARMY (Koji Wakamatsu)
8. WONDERFUL TOWN (Aditya Assarat)
9. CLEOPATRA (Julio Bressane)
10. SUMMER HOURS (Olivier Assayas)

Karen Cooper [Director of Film Forum]
(in alphabetical order)
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Fatih Akin)
THE HUMAN CONDITION (Masaki Kobayashi)
HUNGER (Steve McQueen)
JOHN AND KAREN (Matthew Walker)
LOUISE BOURGEOIS: THE SPIDER, THE MISTRESS AND THE TANGERINE (Marion
Cajori and Amel Wallach)
MAD MEN (Matthew Weiner, series producer and creator, AMC) [TV]
QUARRY (Richard P. Rogers)
SILENT LIGHT (Carlos Reygadas)
TULPAN (Sergey Dvortsevoy)
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Ari Folman)

Stuart Comer [Curator of Film, Tate Modern]
1. BERNADETTE (Duncan Campbell)
2. The Temenos (Lyssaraia, Greece, June 27-29, 2008)
3. HUNGER (Steve McQueen)
4. Aurelien Froment, FOR ARGUMENT'S SAKE (presented by the Serpentine
Gallery in collaboration with LUX, Goethe-Institut, London, January
17, 2008)
5. THE SHAPE OF A RIGHT STATEMENT I (Wu Ingrid Tsang)
6. TEAROOM (William E. Jones)
7. THE DIAMOND (DESCARTES' DAUGHTER) (Emily Wardill)
8. THE WAY HE ALWAYS WANTED IT II (Stephen Prina)
9. WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL
10. FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON (Hou Hsiao-hsien)

>3. SAVAGE GRACE (Tom Kalin)

omg. i forgot about ...that thing

Surmounter to thread.

Eric -- Gabrielle? I think you were misled by those 2 recent FC pieces ... it got a US release 3-4 years ago. (DVD at end of '06, I think)

hmmmm, no one picked the right Jia film.

I guess I was. I was actually using that very magazine as my cheat sheet, without actually reading the articles.

(I sort of thought the movie sounded familiar, but I never bothered to see it because David Ehrenstein's rabid fandom has me highly skeptical.)

I'd love Woody's response to John Waters' fervent endorsement of his most recent product.

Meanwhile, what does Breillat have to do to top one of his year-end lists?

(Short of making a dull, middlebrow movie, I mean.)

Watched Forbidden Lie$ the other night and actually gasped at one of the big twists.

7. THE WRESTLER (Darren Aronofsky) - saw the trailer, could be great based on Mickey Rourke's face alone.

Have you seen 24 City, Morbs?

I didn't even bother looking through these, but consider these Golden Satellite nominations the trial run for the Golden Globes, et al. (Stuff really IS happening earlier and earlier, huh?)

Picture, Drama:
Frost/Nixon
Frozen River
Milk
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Picture, Comedy/Musical:
Choke
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Tropic Thunder
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Director:
The Dark Knight - Christopher Nolan
Frost/Nixon - Ron Howard
Milk - Gus Van Sant
The Reader - Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle
The Visitor - Thomas McCarthy

Actor, Drama:
Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Mark Ruffalo - What Doesn't Kill You

Actress, Drama:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Actor, Comedy/Musical:
Josh Brolin - W.
Michael Cera - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Ricky Gervais - Ghost Town
Brendan Gleeson - In Bruges
Sam Rockwell - Choke
Mark Ruffalo - The Brothers Bloom

Actress, Comedy/Musical:
Catherine Deneuve - A Christmas Tale
Kat Dennings - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Lisa Kudrow - Kabluey
Debra Messing - Nothing Like the Holidays
Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia!

Supporting Actor:
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
James Franco - Milk
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
Rada Sherbedgia - Fugitive Pieces

Supporting Actress:
Penelope Cruz - Elegy
Viola Davis - Doubt
Rosemarie DeWitt - Rachel Getting Married
Anjelica Huston - Choke
Beyonce Knowles - Cadillac Records
Sophie Okonedo - The Secret Life of Bees
Emma Thompson - Brideshead Revisited

Original Screenplay:
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Elegy
Frozen River
Milk
The Visitor

Adapted Screenplay:
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Foreign Film:
Caramel - Lebanon, France
The Class - France
Gomorrah - Italy
Let the Right One In - Sweden
Reprise - Norway
Sangre de mi Sangre - Argentina

Documentary:
Anita O'Day - The Life of a Jazz Singer
Encounters at the Far End of the World
Man on Wire
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Religulous
Waltz with Bashir

Animated/Mixed Media Picture:
Bolt
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who
The Sky Crawlers
The Tale of Despereaux
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir

Original Score:
Australia
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who
Milk
Quantum of Solace
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E

Original Song:
"Another Way to Die" - Quantum of Solace
"By the Boab Tree" - Australia
"Down to Earth" - WALL-E
"If the World" - Body of Lies
"Jaiho" - Slumdog Millionaire
"The Wrestler" - The Wrestler

Editing:
Australia
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Slumdog Millionaire

Cinematography:
Australia
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Brideshead Revisited
The Duchess
Snow Angels

Art Direction:
Australia
Brideshead Revisited
City of Ember
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Costume Design:
Australia
Brideshead Revisited
City of Ember
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Sex and the City

Sound:
Australia
The Dark Knight
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
WALL-E

Visual Effects:
Australia
The Dark Knight
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace

This IS too fookin' early.

Penelope Cruz for Elegy?!

Satts are pretty good about getting right name/wrong movie or vice versa. I'm surprised they didn't nominate Downey Jr. for Iron Man.

Or The Soloist, considering these nods were probably written in stone before the movie even got pushed to next year.

According to Ropes of Silicon ...

National Board of Review (12/3)
LA Film Critics Association (12/9)
New York Film Critics Circle (12/10)

I will pay no heed to any of these whorehouse hustles that mention Frost/Nixon.

yes, I saw 24 City -- the HD video projection was amazing, but I'm less thrilles with the substance (ie, no Still Life).

I never bothered to see it because David Ehrenstein's rabid fandom has me highly skeptical.

Did he love I'm Not There too?

I will pay no heed to any of these whorehouse hustles that mention Frost/Nixon.

Apparently some still think that likely turd will be a major Oscar player outside of Langella. Crossing my fingers not, but I'll have to watch it either way.

Did [David E.] love I'm Not There too?

Does that movie also advocate the theory that gay people are inherently superior to straight people?

(also?) Only if David Cross playing Ginsberg managed that.

I did a better Nixon than Langella. In the sixth grade.

(plus, hilariously, the filmmakers seems unaware that they're more interested in Frost)

The best onscreen Nixons: Dan Hedaya and Glenda Jackson in Nasty Habits.

and on TV, Jason Robards and Dan Aykroyd.

"Ballast, Frozen River and Rachel Getting Married led the field with six nominations each at the 2009 Film Independent's 24th Annual Spirit Awards," report Erin Maxwell and Michael Jones for Variety. "All three are in the running for best feature, best director and best female lead for actresses Anne Hathaway, Melissa Leo and Tarra Riggs."

List:

http://www.spiritawards.com/nominees

As usual, Milk, Woody Allen films being "independent" = ridiculous.

but yay for Up the Yangtze, Silent Light, Secret of the Grain

Melissa Leo is really close to being a lock in my opinion.

what of Hathaway glitz? (and she's good)

I suppose Streep looks like a contendah for her 43rd nomination, no? (the trailer for "Doubt" looked like "Notes From a Scandal" meets "Agnes of God")

Oh I'm not saying Leo's a lock to win anything. I just think she's probably a lock for an Oscar nod. I'm not subscribing to the MSM theory that this is a particularly rich year for Best Actress contenders ... even Streep is suspect, afaic.

Oscar's "nod" comes complete with tapioca dribbling down his chin.

Doubt was a solid Broadway entertainment (esp with Cherry Jones' honking Bronx-accented nun); I just don't know if it can work as a film. You're not sposed to know at the end if priest is a pedo or not ... I can see PS Hoffman's casting messing with that equation.

^uh, spoiler?

I was hoping that Streep would be cast in the Hoffman part.

I was sort of excited about Frost/Nixon until I found out that Ron Howard directed it.

Seeing Revolutionary Road and Milk this week.

milk is interesting. i wonder if van sant toned down some of his recent auteurial/aesthetic impulses to make it accessible and legitimise some of the themes.

where are you seeing revolutionary road? i'm pretty excited for it, but i think it's after christmas, here.

Haha! Mike D'Angelo breaks the hard news that Gran Torino isn't the same old late-breaking Eastwood Oscar contender, that it's not a tasteful portrait of old age, but rather that it's mostly just scenes of Clint Eastwood as a grouchy old racist, shouting things like "Listen, Eggroll!" at gang-bangers.

Here's probably the leading dozen actress contenders, in no particular order:

Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Keira Knightley, Duchess
Nicole Kidman, Australia
Kate Beckinsale, Nothing But the Truth
Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy

Can't argue with that, though I think you could easily cross off Kidman and Williams or Knightley to bring it down to 10.

is Rachel Getting Married really as vile as everyone says it is?

>I was sort of excited about Frost/Nixon until I found out that Ron Howard directed it.

bingo

I'm nowhere as big a Rachel fan as others, but "vile"?

Frozen River takes Best Pic at Gotham Awards (I still don't get their raison d'etre):

http://www.indiewire.com/biz/2008/12/awards_frozen_r.html

bad choice of words, but there seems to be a pretty significant backlash (even online) to Rachel against the generally positive critical reception. a friend told me it's an inferior version of the same themes covered by that last Noah Baumbach film (which I hated)

I found the script spotty esp re the elephant in the room that's revealed midway, but Demme and the actors elevate it.

Those Golden Satellite nominations are pretty hideous -- Choke!! -- but is Che dead in the water for all these doorstops? Begins its 1-week NY?LA runs on the 12th, I think.

A worthy critic who must go unnamed sez Rev Road is dreadful; I would expect no less of putting a good novel in Sam Mendes' paws.

it is a great novel. i just hope the film's kind of psychological. the book's so loaded with tiny details and incidences that are perceptual and heartbreaking; depressions and resignations and failings, and it'd be sad if he'd stripped it down to a chronology of events.

i still haven't seen wendy and lucy (is it even out? i remember missing it at nyff) - is it good?

Winslet's certainly up to the challenge of playing April, but the novel is one of the more emotionally violent experiences in fiction. Mendes might turn the psychodrama into last year's Baumbach flick.

Sam Mendes doesn't do psychology, just flying plastic bags.

I have a W&L screener in the pile at home; it opens in NY in a week.

W+L is a nice little film with a small handful of great scenes. Nothing earth-shattering, though it sticks with you.

btw, the "NBR" announcement is tomorrow.

how do you wrestle with forecasting an organization that chalks up “The Bucket List” as one of the year’s best?

http://www.incontention.com/?p=3236

it's mostly just scenes of Clint Eastwood as a grouchy old racist, shouting things like "Listen, Eggroll!" at gang-bangers.

Eric, that pretty much makes Gran Torino sound like the multi-Oscared As Good as It Gets.

W+L is a nice little film with a small handful of great scenes. Nothing earth-shattering, though it sticks with you.

This sounds about right. I saw it at CIFF.

Oscar 'standings' for yall to geek out on:

http://www.incontention.com/?page_id=3244

I'm a bit surprised at the mentions of Rosemarie DeWitt for supporting actress from Rachel, good tho she was. Isn't Debra Winger's comeback status/ performance just the kind of thing they'll eat up?

i might still take a look.
multiple right ons for being down on the last baumbach film. there was no point to that movie at all. it was like all the pretentious trimmings that detracted from the first one (eustache posters, general aesthetic of academia) but extended to full length cinematic meandering.

Isn't Debra Winger's comeback status/ performance just the kind of thing they'll eat up?

Definitely, although she already earned one of these nods in 1993.

I understand Winger's part is really a bit of nothing, tho. (Not that it prevented Catherine Keener from getting a nod for Capote.)

It most certainly is not a bit o' nothing (and she's getting into Beatrice Straight/Judi Dench age range).

I understand Winger's part is really a bit of nothing, tho.

Yeah, she's onscreen for a while (I want to say 15-20 minutes), and her presence hangs over the whole thing, whereas if you removed Beatrice Straight you'd miss nothing but the mascara around her eyes.

But Beatrice Straight's entire part is just one elongated Oscar clip (monologue of a wronged wife), whereas I understand Winger has no such moments.

(Mind you, I'm only speaking about this in terms of what nets Oscar nods, since I haven't seen Winger yet ... and, um, I actually like Beatrice Straight in Network.)

I know what Winger scene they would play on the show. There's screaming.

Mike D'Angelo lobbies NYFCC for Silent Light, Annamaria Marinca, Fu'ad Aït Aattou.

http://enchantedmitten.blogspot.com/2008/12/open-letter-to-new-york-film-critics.html

(EH, these inaccurate tipsters are the same dingalings who told you I'm Not There sucks?)

NBR pajama people: Slumdog Millionaire, Eastwoo, Hathaway

http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/

no real "Bucket List" there -- even the empty "Frost/Nixon" is being taken seriously elsewhere-- but Slumdog seems to be Best Film without being one of the Best 10.

Roman de Gare is an entertaining bit of fluff but a ludicrous Best Foreign Film.

I fell asleep during Frost/Nixon last night (whatshisface was good as Nixon!)

I'm fine with Cruz in the running for Supp Actress.

I thought David Edelstein had it right: Nixon is posthumously thrilled to be rep'd by an aging matinee idol like Langella.

whereas I understand Winger has no such moments.

There's one brief, violent scene between her and Hathaway that would probably be her Oscar clip.

oh yeah, Fincher was NBR best director. Oscar best picture shoo-ins starting to look like Slumdog, Button, Milk and a scramble for the last two.

my friend/classmate's Jordanian film "Captain Abu Raed" is getting serious buzz for Foreign Oscar Nom, and i couldn't be happier for him. debut feature film, and debut feature Jordanian film in history!

my top 3 US films so far are StandOpProcedure, Milk and WALL-E.

Oscar best picture shoo-ins starting to look like Slumdog, Button, Milk and a scramble for the last two.

I guess I'd have to hedge my bets and fill those two slots with The Dark Knight and The Wrestler, because that Departed/No Country demographic can't have just disappeared overnight.

Ebert

The Wrestler is nowhere huge enough of a bummer to fill Departed/NCfOM slot. (It's also ultimately conventional and "slight" in its way, which is why I dodn't like it too much.)

Sight and Sound Top 10, with Hunger first (playing nowhere in US but LA til '09):

http://www.filmdetail.com/archives/2008/12/05/sight-and-sounds-top-films-of-2008/

Edelstein lists Rachel, Wall-E, Happy-Go-Lucky on top (wild cards: Kit Kittredge and Shotgun Stories):

http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52780/

(caveat on my Wrestler comment: unless the staple-gun scene really freaks 'em out)

Shotgun Stories, bleh. But, wow, he loves Rachel Getting Married.

I prefer Taxi to the Dark Side to Standard Op Procedure. I don't remember if it got a wide release for 2007 Oscar eligibility; if not, I'm counting it this year.

didn't play NY til this year, no. I just liked SOP's agenda and the bells and whistles more.

The Wrestler is nowhere huge enough of a bummer to fill Departed/NCfOM slot.

So what is? Dark Knight isn't really a bummer in that sense, either.

Or is this just all one big Obama year at the Oscars?

Ebert onna de crackpipe: "Benicio del Toro is persuasive as the fiercely ethical firebrand."

xp: What promises are the Academy backtracking on?

It's always possible that the two blood 'n guts winners were an Oscar aberration; now back to uplift (even with assassination).

I'm betting DK will get a Best Pic nod if only for the ratings boost.

apparently they've altready announced a Dark Knight "tribute" segment whether it's nominated or not.

European Film Academy Awards:

Best film
"Gomorra"

Best director
Matteo Garrone, "Gomorra"

Best actor
Toni Servillo, "Gomorra"

Best actress
Kristin Scott Thomas, "I've Loved You So Long"

Best screenwriter
Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni di Gregorio, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso and Roberto Saviano, "Gomorra"

Carlo di Palma European Cinematographer Award
Marco Onorato, "Gomorra"

European Film Academy Prix D'Excellence
Magdalena Biedrzycka for costume design, "Katyn"

Best composer
Max Richter, "Waltz With Bashir"

European Film Academy Critics Award - Prix FIPRESCI
Abdellatif Kechiche, "The Secret of the Grain"

European Film Academy documentary - Prix Arte Rene
"Rene" Dir. Helena Trestikova

European Film Academy short film - Prix UIP
"Frankie" by Darren Thornton

I'm betting DK will get a Best Pic nod if only for the ratings boost.

Are you suggesting that Academy members care that much about TV ratings, or that some combination of ABC/AMPAS/PricewaterhouseCoopers will rig the vote after the fact?

there was an occasional return in the last decade to giving the top prize to a film that was a huge pop phenomenon (Titanic, Return of the King) for the first time since The Godfather (we can spot the differences here, yes?).

The Dark Knight doesn't sport a power ballad theme song like Titanic and Return of the King?

I was thinking more that no Cinema Studies classes are going to be teaching the other 3 alongside The Godfather until Idiocracy comes true.

WashDC critics for Slumlord Millionaire, and first wins I've seen for Streep and DeWitt:

http://www.altfg.com/blog/awards/washington-dc-film-critics-awards-2008/

Are you suggesting that Academy members care that much about TV ratings, or that some combination of ABC/AMPAS/PricewaterhouseCoopers will rig the vote after the fact?

Conversely, it never reflects too positively on the industry's functionality as anything other than a blockbuster assembly line when TV ratings tank every time they fill their nominations with costume epics and Michael Claytons.

Which is to say, I don't think it's irrational to think that a few people gladly cite a "respectable" blockbuster whenever they can get away with it.

Whatever happened to pre-millennial detrius analyst Alex Fung?

I dunno. I miss him, tho.

hellboy 2 was the shit, why is no one mentioning it in here?

i also liked dark knight & wall e

i suspect if dark knight gets the nod it will be bcuz its an awesome movie & not bcuz of ratings

God, I hope Dark Knight does not get nominated for Pic, though I'd be fine with Ledger.

yeah, Crash, Finding Neverland, Chocolat, Elizabeth, all recent "awesome movies."

Maybe deej wants Dark Knight nominated because it would make less room for the non-awesome potential nominees.

I want awesomeness like Babel to get a place at the adult's table.

Richard Corliss top 3 are

Wall-E
Synecdoche, New York
My Winnipeg

http://tinyurl.com/5zjmj4

(further down... Speed Racer)

yeah, Crash, Finding Neverland, Chocolat, Elizabeth, all recent "awesome movies."

― Dr Morbius, Monday, December 8, 2008 12:59 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

poor logic -- if dark knight wins its bcuz it was awesome, that does not mean that there cant be other reasons other things have won in the past

i am impressed that morbs digs wall e tho, i thought you would have been uninspired by such 'hope' and 'change'

the Academy does not share the Awesome Generation's awesome def of awesome.

My favorite parts of Wall-E were the dead dry earth and the space station of doughy Barcaloungers. So gonna happen and easily imaginable, respectively.

I bet I like Speed Racer more than The Dark Knight.

If I get into my Dark Knight screening this week, I'm taking an aisle seat so I can leave when I've had enough.

re: Corliss ... kind of odd to see a still-employed critic not wetting himself over Man On Wire.

dark knight is a pretty depressing movie to carry the banner of the awesome generation tbh

I was the wet noodle on Man on Wire on the Noise board. btwn Philippe Petit and Desplechin, the French are pissing me off lately.

morbs is gonna come back to this thread in a week and just go NUTS about the dark knight being "the greatest work of pop art since war of the worlds", i can feel it in my BONES~!

$5 fine

(for all Spielberg-related baits)

TDK does sort of cover some of the same territory from War of the Worlds

The Broadcast Film Critics Awards (or Critics Choice or something like that) announced these as their nominations. In other words, this is what they think will be nominated for Oscars.

BEST PICTURE

Nominees:
• Changeling
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Doubt
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Wall-E
• The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:
• Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino
• Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
• Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn - Milk
• Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

Nominees:
• Kate Beckinsale - Nothing But the Truth
• Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie - Changeling
• Melissa Leo - Frozen River
• Meryl Streep - Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees:
• Josh Brolin - Milk
• Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
• Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
• James Franco - Milk

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:
• Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis - Doubt
• Vera Farmiga - Nothing But the Truth
• Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
• Kate Winslet - The Reader

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Nominees:
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Doubt
• Milk
• Rachel Getting Married

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:
• Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
• David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
• Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
• Gus Van Sant - Milk

BEST WRITER (Original or Adapted Screenplay)

Nominees:
• Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
• Dustin Lance Black - Milk
• Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
• Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Nominees:
• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
• Wall-E
• Waltz With Bashir

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (Under 21)

Nominees:
• Dakota Fanning - The Secret Life of Bees
• David Kross - The Reader
• Dev Petal - Slumdog Millionaire
• Brandon Walters - Australia

BEST ACTION MOVIE

Nominees:
• The Dark Knight
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Iron Man
• Quantum of Solace
• Wanted

BEST COMEDY MOVIE

Nominees:
• Burn After Reading
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Role Models
• Tropic Thunder
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Nominees:
• John Adams
• Recount
• Coco Chanel

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Nominees:
• A Christmas Tale
• Gomorrah
• I’ve Loved You So Long
• Let the Right One In
• Mongol
• Waltz With Bashir

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Nominees:
• I.O.U.S.A.
• Man On Wire
• Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
• Standard Operating Procedure
• Young At Heart

BEST SONG

Nominees:
• "Another Way to Die" (performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, written by Jack White) - Quantum of Solace
• "Down to Earth" (performed by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman) - Wall-E
• "I Thought I Lost You" (performed Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, written by Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele) - Bolt
• "Jaiho" (performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar) - Slumdog Millionaire
• "The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen) - The Wrestler

BEST COMPOSER

Nominees:
• Alexandre Desplat - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Clint Eastwood - Changeling
• Danny Elfman - Milk
• Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight
• A.R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire

Gran Torino too old-school to get the Crash racial scab-picking vote.

Awaiting NYFCC balloting, already feels like "Anything But Slumdog."

LA goes today; pundits think Prop 8 will decide their vote.

(I'm beyond sick of the Milk/Prop 8 meme, btw, but I guess it's sort of unavoidable.)

duh, I keep thinking it's the 10th, better stop refreshing the NY site...

I don't read enough of the NY members' stuff to know if they might go Button.

(also I just got send Rev Road promo materials but no disc! hafta hit the screening next week I guess)

I guess I'll get the same. Good thing I already saw that one. (Surprisingly not the worst thing I've seen all year.)

Let Us Not Anticipate "Revolutionary Road," eh?

It's potentially perfect for Kate & Leo but, y'know, Mendes. Titanic gans gonna be bummin' tho (except for Eric, apparently). Kathy Bates as Mrs Givings is depressing casting.

gans = fans

Bates is terrrrible in this one.

woulda bet.

I mean, she's just boring. For a character actress, she rarely leaves much of an impression.

Michael Shannon, however, ought to be good (or at least memorable) enough to avoid the apparent RR awards-implosion.

LAFCC:

Picture: "Wall-E"
Runner-up: "The Dark Knight"

Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight"

Actor: Sean Penn, "Milk"
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Actress: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, "Happy-Go-Lucky"

Supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Elegy"
Runner-up: Viola Davis, "Doubt"

Screenplay: Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"

Foreign-language film: "Still Life"
Runner-up: "The Class"

Documentary: "Man on Wire"
Runner-up: "Waltz With Bashir"

Animation: "Waltz With Bashir"

Cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, "Still Life"
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Production design: Mark Friedberg, "Synecdoche, New York"
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, "The Dark Knight"

Music/score: A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

New Generation: Steve McQueen, "Hunger"

Douglas E. Edwards independent/experimental film/video: James Benning, "RR" and "Casting a Glance"

If TDK was/is the alternative, go WALL•E!

Nice to see the "Happy-Go-Lucky" love.

so Penelope Cruz is now the Supp Actress frontrunner, eh?

Unless they somehow gerrymander it so that Kate Winslet has to win (i.e. if she misses in the lead category for Rev. Road). Jaymc will be all nostalgic for the mid-'90s when it seemed every year had to have a Woody Allen win in that category.

I think just Wiest and Sorvino won, right?

Judy Davis, Jennifer Tilly, Samantha Morton also nom'd in the '90s.

Yeah, it was a short reign, but damned if people weren't predicting Julia Roberts or Goldie Hawn or whoever for Everyone Says I Love You out of habit.

And then Kirstie Alley for Deconstructing Harry.

didn't Goldie Hawn get a GG actress nom (comedy)?

I dunno. Jaymc?

hurrah hurrah, "Still Life." Cinematography as well as foreign film is a nbit shocking (I'm guessing the US guild won't nominate that DP?).

Viola Davis reprises her one scene from Broadway in Doubt as the possibly abused child's mother. She's a fine actor, and possibly this year's Beatrice Straight.

I'm guessing no Oscar tech noms for Synecdoche either. Kaufman?

xp I don't follow the Globes. Research, however, says no for Hawn but yes for Farrow (Alice), Keaton (Manhattan Murder Mystery), and Ullman (Small Time Crooks).

I thought Elaine May might have won something for STC.

Farrow also won the NYFCC that year.

Mia was great in Alice! "ooooh, Coltrane..."

Eric, have you seen Still Life? I know Alfred liked.

Yeah, it's easily in my top three -- a real surprise (Jia's other two films were just ok to pretty good).

Jia has made seven other films, five of which are available in the US.

Other two films I've SEEN: Unknown Pleasures and The World.

I guess I can now make some NY predix:

Picture: Milk
Director: Gus Van Sant
Actor: Mickey Rourke
Actress: Meryl Streep
Sup. Actor: Heath Ledger
Sup. Actress: Viola Davis
Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman
Cinematography: Benjamin Button
Foreign Film: Waltz With Bashir
Documentary: Man On Wire
Animation: WALL•E

No, haven't seen the Jia.

xxp: I thought Platform and Unknown Pleasures were major; 24 City (US release next year) is somewhat disappointing.

NYFCC, as they come:

Actress: Sally Hawkins

wow, they got up early.

Nathaniel of Film Experience has had enough of Eastwood deification:

I really wish the Times had bolded the "finally"-- please highlight the absurdity editors! Yes, poor Clint --always left out of industry honors. So little attention has been paid! It's like people can barely remember his name when it comes time to fill out year-end ballots. As for his acting never being recognized: does no one realize that he regularly makes top 100 movie stars of all time lists. (I repeat: Top 100. All Time. That's quite an achievement) Does no one understand that two acting Oscar nominations and multiple trophies from Oscar and other groups (3 more honors this morning from the BFCA) for other achievements is more than most stars ever get? --more than several stars combined? Are so few people really unable to admit that equally talented directors and much more talented composers are never as lauded / rewarded for their efforts precisely because they lack his incredible fame and the cumulative public goodwill that comes from being an enduring icon of the screen?

Clint-Mania no longer makes me crazy for its overblown qualities. You probably don't believe that but tis true. I've accepted it. But, no, the craziness now comes from its sheer relentlessness, not its size. Clint's 2009/10 Oscar move -- I'm sorry movie -- will be a Nelson Mandela picture starring Morgan Freeman. Ka-Ching! The Gran Torino/Changeling double is not the last chance to honor him. Clint currently has 4 Oscars which means he's tied for 25th place for most Oscars ever. Most of the top 24 are behind the scenes people (composers, costume designers, art directors, producers) and a few other multi-hyphenates like Clint.

I know. Or else that one was unanimous enough to pass on the first ballot (or whatever their arcane system affords).

Haha, I can't decide whether I was surprised or not that Ed G. liked GT.

xxp: yeah, neglected he is not. (Also, contrary to Ed G's take, John Ford he is not.) And his best film of the last 20 years is still White Hunter, Black Heart.

(Also, contrary to Ed G's take, John Ford he is not.)

Howard Hawks he might be, tho.

No!

i think it's cool that the LAFCC went with WALL-E, it's kind of a kick to the Academy that would never deign to give best pic to something like that

I'm ready for Clint Eastwood's forced retirement by mother nature

xp: But I've heard Slumdog Millionaire is a cartoon!

xxp: yeah, riiiiiight. (also, Ron Howard's best films -- of the ones I've endured -- are still Splash and Apollo 13.)

Parenthood is the only even remotely good Ron Howard movie and that's all the more I want to talk on the matter.

Screenplay: Rachel Getting Married

jeezus, the script is its Achilles heel!

Judging by his Clint rave, I hope Andrew Sarris takes his bathroom break during the Best Actor voting.

>Screenplay: Rachel Getting Married

was this a mistake?

It's a decent script without the plate washing sequence. Shuddup.

and w/out the Deep Dark Secret. "decent" is not best.

I'd have gone for Guy Maddin or Andre Techine.

have you guys seen the new TCM year-in-deaths montage? always so much better than the Oscars'.

I hope Rex Reed is summoned to assist Sarris in the can.

you're pervy.

Yeah, Guy Maddin would've been a great choice. Love that faux-butch approximation of Chris Marker.

or Woman on the Beach!

Critics awards are an excuse for cocktails and gossip. After a few Bombay and tonics, I'd vote for the WALL-E robot as Best Actor.

Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire

fuck Danny Boyle.

Yep, NYFCC is pretty officially as middlebrow as the Board of Review.

I put off watching Slumdog every night.

Eric predix 0/3 so far! Never gonna make Gurus of Gold roster, buddy.

(ok, you're way better at the AAs, obviously)

i really want to see My Winnipeg and am still kicking myself for missing it

Slumdog is "decent" enough as Rachel Getting Married, if not more so (and more involving)

Once again, this thread is the highbrow-chitty version of the gay threads.

Vichi, it's hard to persuade oneself to watch a film whose title evokes an Oasis album.

(xpost)

Who can possibly predict crix awards, I ask you? (That said, I'm now fearing Milk might even be a little too hip for this room.)

xp: champagne supernova in Mumbai!

Eric, seen In the City of Sylvia yet? It's making the Slant mail circuit.

also, yr use of "middlebrow" is rockist.

well, if it wasn't for us gays, who'd decide what's decent and what's just utterly fantabulous

x-post - this thread is severely rockist! cinesnobist! or something

I don't see Milk winning w/ this bunch unless Penn does.

You bring up cinephilia/rockism at your own peril. I'm not stepping into that one again. (Actually I didn't step into it the first time. Rockism is far too boring for me to compare/contrast.)

Yeah, I'm guessing Slumdog is probably the likeliest victor now.

I wish to hell there were as many good middlebrow movies as there were even ten years ago.

Yeah, like Parenthood.

did u guys see this ? should I? does no one care anymore?

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTI3MTE1NjAwNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDM3MzMwMg@@._V1._SX269_SY400_.jpg

xp: like Amistad

What, Slumdog or My Winnipeg? Yes on the latter, not sure on the former.

Now HERE'S the surprise I've been waiting for (and, obviously, not predicting):

Actor: Josh Brolin

Oh wait. False alarm, SUPPORTING actor.

Now I'm depressed, that was almost fun for a second.

wau, and a better choice than Clint at least (xxp)

oh, never mind.

junkfood assassin over the Joker every time!

Yeah, are they going to put Heath in lead or something?

Well this clears up one possibility in best picture ...

Animated: WALL-E

xp: oh hell no

haha

Morbs, if i went as your South Asian date, would you go see Slumdog?

I have it at home, come on over. ;)

Ooh.

what other screeners do you have that you haven't seen yet (and are willingly avoiding) ?

I've lost track. I just need a big enough bloc o'time to watch Che. Are you the revolutionary type?

I'm not into blood if that's what you're asking.

(I have other fetishes though)

I'm into bandannas and bananas.

yellow hanky left?

what were the handkerchief colors that would designate if you were a penetrator or penetratee again ?

gosh this thread has gone incorrigibly gay

i'm glad i didn't live thru the 70s

it seems like Happy Go Lucky wasn't even released here

xxp: those aren't colors, they're right-left. not that I remember which is what.

ha Eric, Sicinski gives Slumdog 3/10.

OK, now this is sort of bizarre.

Director: Mike Leigh

Yeah, Sicinski was tearing into Slumdog (and Slumdog fans) on another MB in the middle of supporting LA's award for Pixar.

has Leigh entered middlebrow?

xposting myself, but I mean, does ANYONE even really consider H-G-L to be anything more than minor Leigh?

I still haven't seen that either. If I go tonight I'll probably find a screener in the mail.

Happy-Go-Lucky vs Slumdog for Best Film?

Director ballot seemed to take the longest...

Nah, watch them award Revolutionary Road now.

I wonder what life-achievement award Armond will get to rail against this year? He doesn't like Clint...

Wait, where are you seeing Director?

(I'm getting the results from M'DA's tweets ... username g3mk0 googleproofed)

A-ha. Yeah, it's up on the site now, too.

leigh has ALWAYS been middlebrow. it is surprising to see the film in eoy lists because it was widely detested on release.

sally hawkins is talented though.

but the Gotham crits have always adored Leigh!

Yeah, I think Leigh's won like 8 or 9 times with these guys.

xxp: yeah, I know. hurray for middlebrow

french critics like him too. mad, all of yers.

he was hated in britain, i suppose i should say, except by his placemen. not as bad as terence davies.

not to get all jmc, but NYFCC only gave to Leigh prev for Topsy Turvy.

yeah, I saw Leigh bashed on a DVD extra by some faggy associate of the frequently unwatchably arty Derek Jarman...

that's "arty" as in idolized by art-schoolers

terence davies is hated?

I guess I counted the Naked-Secrets and Lies-Topsy Turvy-Vera Drake affection as one long orgy.

Supporting actress: P. Cruz

You forgot M'DA's "ugh" aside

I was fine with this performance, but could definitely do without the sweep on its behalf.

oh, Ed G will be THRILLED

I wasn't aware he hated Cruz in it (though she is a ludicrous stereotype).

(Ed will have to write the supporting actress capsule this year.)

First Film: Frozen River

I didn't see VCB either, not paying for any more Woody films

it is surprising to see the film in eoy lists because it was widely detested on release.

By whom? It has an 84 on Metacritic (including seven A+/four-star reviews), which ties it for 8th-best of the year.

Are you talking about UK critics?

I liked Cruz in VCB, would be fine with her getting an Oscar nomination, but I'm also hoping there are more worthy candidates in that field.

Yeah, I was under the impression that the UK reviews were pretty brutal (comparatively).

The Canadian Cinemascope shat all over it.

but limeys hate everything we laud!

Short of actually dressing up in a gold statuette costume with a little hole cut in the shiny bald head for her face, and hopping around in each scene with her feet together in a heavy cylindrical base with her name embossed in big letters, Angelina Jolie could not make her career expectations for this film any clearer.

Peter Bradshaw

made me LOL.

xpost HGL was pretty hated by the public and liked or loved by the critics. the whole film hinges on whether or not you like or dislike Poppy. i thought it was okay as a film but fairly admirable/succeful as an antidote to the horrible cynical characters that populate most film and media.

I liked Cruz in VCB, would be fine with her getting an Oscar nomination, but I'm also hoping there are more worthy candidates in that field.

It's probably my favorite performance of hers, but I'm much more of a DeWitt supporter. Haven't seen Viola Davis' Beatrice Straight moment yet.

I am a Samantha Morton (Synecdoche) supporter, and an athletic supporter

yes I know, no AA for SM

I'm completely in the tank for Cruz in Volver.

Still titter over MoviePhone pronouncing it "VOL-va."

"I saw Leigh bashed on a DVD extra by some faggy associate of the frequently unwatchably arty Derek Jarman"

lol. i agree jarman is shit too. but like leigh (and terence davies) he has powerful friends in the uk critical fraternity.

there is some divide between the 'arty' jarman lot and the social-realist leigh/loach lot. (davies is kind of between the two camps -- faggy social-realist.) my, this is an 80s post.

I do like some Jarman, mainly Caravaggio and... ummm....

faggy social-realist

probably about the only sort of social-realist cinema I can stomach

Jarman's best work remains his Pet Shop Boys videos.

for years i thought i liked Carravagio but i re-watched it recently and found it embarrassing.

well that's quite possibly in my future.

but Eric, you love Martin Ritt!

one of Leigh's Brit TV films, Home Sweet Home, is so hilarious it reduces me to helpless panting.

but Eric, you love Martin Ritt!

I know you're joking. I like the way 501s look on Paul Newman.

I was thinkin' Norma Rae and Sounder

I've never seen any of Leigh's TV stuff, though I always hear good things about Abigail's Party.

they're hardly different in any significant way from the theatrical stuff, mostly all worth a look.

(TT being the outlier, as a period piece)

Best Foreign Film - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Best Actor - Sean Penn, Milk

^w/out any 'tweet' elitism

I thought they'd go for Langella or Jenkins, but oh well.

Best Film and Best Doc left ... do you think they're hassling eachother over the possibility of putting Man on Wire in the top category?

Thank God no one's gone for Jenkins yet.

Man on Wire or SOP?

Tell me about it.

(xpost)

I'd be thrilled if WALL-E gets two nods.

If any doc has the crossover appeal this year, it ain't the one you like, Morbs.

I think M'DA might have had his iPhone confiscated.

crossing over to... Rex Reed?

they gave Doc to No End in Sight last year, hardly a cuddly choice.

Man on Wire: "It was my dweeeeam," shut up, frog

frog

lol racist

(sorry, Clint's GT character rubbing off)

Man on Wire gets it.

I meant maybe the reason they waited so long to award doc was because there was a significant portion of voters who wanted to push Man on Wire for best film, which would then preclude the need for a best doc award.

Happy-Go-Lucky is the only thing that has more than one award, so maybe that wins ... but logic doesn't always matter (i.e. United 93).

Oh wait, Milk has 2 acting awards.

Picture: Milk

NYFCC to LAFCC: "Thank you for making us have to award this one."

Man on Wire + United 93 as Best Films would be WTC overkill

what was yr final score, Eric?

probably about 3 right, but I'm not going to bother looking. i was right that NY would carry the baton LA didn't for Milk

we need to settle some offbeat categories...

Best Gay Porn in Drag: Stop-Loss or Never Back Down?

Best Frank Langella Impersonation

Best Gay Porn in Drag: Stop-Loss or Never Back Down?

It would be great to just have "best gay film" as a category and then bypass Milk in favor of one of those two.

The Witnesses might still edge out Milk for my "best gay film."

Are you gonna watch Milk, or is it going to be your unseen pinata a la I'm Not There for this year?

No, I don't have it in for Milk or Van Sant like I do for Haynes/Dylan.

how'm I gonna write a sentence about Woman on the Beach when I can't rescreen til the DVD comes out on 12/30? I hope I wrote something about it here last January...

Jean Hersholt Award to go to Jerry Lewis!!

GO MAN ON WIRE!!!!!!

So while I can't post "the Black List 2008" - scripts mutually agreed by execs not to be produced until next year coz they're all in high-demand - as it wouldn't be advisable on my end, here is pretty much the British equivalent:

Expect to see many in or on the way to a theater near you in 2009

2008 HOLLYWOOD BBC ELITE LIST

BEST SCRIPT OF THE YEAR – WINTER’S DISCONTENT by Paul Fruchbom

THE HOLLYWOOD BBC ELITE LIST
47 RONIN, THE by Chris Morgan
AMAZING ADVENTURES OF THE MONOGAMOUS DUCK, THE by Neeraj Katyal
BACHELORETTE by Leslye Headland
BEAVER, THE by Kyle Killen
BROKEN CITY by Brian Tucker
* BUTTER by Jason Micaleff
C.O.D. by Lars Jacobsen
FRESHLY POPPED by Megan Parsons
FUCK BUDDIES by Liz Meriweather
GALAHAD by Ryan Condal
GARY COLEMAN/EMMANUEL LEWIS PROJECT, THE by Dan Fogelman
GAY DUDE by Alan Yong
GET HIM TO THE GREEK by Nick Stoller
GOING THE DISTANCE by Geoff LaTulippe
* INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS by Quentin Tarantino
LOW DWELLER, THE by Brad Inglesby
SEQUELS, REMAKES AND ADAPTATIONS by Sam Esmail
SUNFLOWER by Misha Green
UNDERAGE by Neustadter and Weber
WEST IS DEAD, THE by Andrew Baldwin

HONORABLE MENTION

4TH KIND, THE by Olatunde Osunsanmi
AMERICAN WAY, THE by Brian Kistler
APPALOOSA by Robert Knott and Ed Harris
ACOD by Ben Karlin and Stu Zicherman
AMBULANCE CHASERS by Jon Zack
BAD ROBOT by Deena Berezin Dervenis
BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED, THE by Hanna Weg
BIG HOLE by Michael Gilio
BLACK HOLE by D.W. Harper
BLOOD KING by Kenny Ryan
BLOWBACK by Eric Nazarian
CODE NAME VEIL by Matt Billingsley
COLD WARRIOR, THE by Chuck Mondry
CONFESSIONS OF A HIGH SCHOOL SECRET AGENT by Ben Epstein & Graham
Moore
DATE NIGHT by Brian Kopelman & David Levien
DISCONNECT by Andrew Stern
DRUG OF CHOICE by Mark Frydman
ESKIMO PIE by Nick Schenk
F WORD, THE by Elan Mastai
FAMILY, THE by Scott Kosar
FARRAGUT NORTH by Beau Willimon
FIANCE, THE by Jennifer Robinson and Dyanne Stempel
* FORTY THOUSAND DOLLAR MAN, THE by no author or date
FREE by Dan Gilroy
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL by Jamie Matheson
GROWN MAN BUSINESS by Justin B.H. Gibson
HACHIKO by Stephen Lindsey
HEART OF THE ATOM by Jan Eliasberg
HELL, INCORPORATED by Chris Copeland
HONEST MAN, AN by Jonathan Kludzinski
HOT FOR TEACHER by Jay Dyer
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE by Josh Heald
HOW TO RIG AN ELECTION by Billy Ray
I’M WITH CANCER by Will Reiser
INFORMANT, THE by Kurt Echinwald
IN THE YEAR OF THE DOG by Denis Gansel
* JANE EYRE by Moira Buffini
KANE & LYNCH by Kyle Ward
KEIKO by Elizabeth Wright Shapiro
KIDNAP by Knate Gwaltney
KILL PROM by Peter Craig
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR, THE by Adam Torchia
LAST BACHELOR, THE by Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn
LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN by Kurt Wimmer
LAYMENS TERMS, THE by Jeremy Bailey
LITTLE AMERICA by Peter Craig
LONG BAD NIGHT, THE by Kelly Masterson
MAN UNDER by Ann Cherkis
MAN OF CLOTH by Josh Zetumer
MOUNTAIN, THE by Jayson Rorthwell
MR. RIGHT by Max Landis
MY SPY by Jeremy Slater
NIGHTLY NEWS by Matt Venne
PEOPLE LIKE US by Lee Rose
PERSON OF INTEREST, A by D.V. de Vincentis
PHANTOM LIMB, THE by Kevin Koehler
PRECARIOUS PEOPLE by David Mirkin
RAINEY THE ASSASSIN by Brian Horiuchi
* RED LEAVES by Nathan Parker
RUINED by Dennis O’Neill
SEX WITH ANIMALS by Nick Guthe
SMASH by Aarron Philson Brown
SNATCHED by Lee Patterson
SO WHAT by Rivelle and Wilkenson
SOLITARY MAN by Brian Koppleman
STOP HUNTINGTON ANIMAL CRUELTY by Adam Sachs
STUNTED by Zayd Dohrn
SWINGLES by Jeff Roda
TAXONOMY OF BARNACLES by Amy Lippman
* THIS SIDE OF THE TRUTH by Matthew Robinson
TORSO by Ehren Kruger
UNTITLED FOX ATOMIC/CHANNING TATUM PROJECT (aka SEOUL) by Doug Jung
UNTITLED MALLUSIONIST COMEDY by Jace Ricci and Robbie Pickering
UNTITLED TIM ALLEN PROJECT by Grant Nieporte
* WILL by Demitri Martin
YOUR DREAMS SUCK by Kat Dennings and Geoffrey Lit

http://www.latimes.com/env-2009-globes-nom-list-scorecard-html,0,2597614.htmlstory

Snubbing all the Milk candidates in best supporting actor in favor of Tom Cruise has to be considered the Globes' Brokeback moment. Ha!

The Supp Actor noms are gross.

The nominations on the whole are gross. It's almost like the HFPA knows their clout has significantly dropped off since the proliferation of 8,468 other end-of-year movie awards.

What's the point of throwing all those nominations at Revolutionary Road and The Reader other than to reinvigorate Kate Winslet's campaign, anyway?

"Button" is one of those deluxe Precious Moments films that the GG's adore, with plenty of payola to dish out.

Well, does The Wrestler exist on any aesthetic merits independent of Mickey Rourke's award begging?

Probably not, but then again I haven't seen that one making much headway into other categories a la Ray.

wow, with possible exception of Fincher, that Best Director list is sickmaking too.

Between Jerry Lewis at the Oscars and Rickey Henderson at Cooperstown, 2009 is shaping up as a great acceptance speech year.

yay, got "Revolutionary Road" in mail, now can go to hear ILXor 69's band instead of screening.

The Wrestler is like an inferior version of Huston's Fat City.

Did UPS deliver that one, Morbs? I got a weird phone call that I was getting a "very important" delivery from them and needed to be there to sign for it.

Yeah, I guess the only saving grace of the best director category is they didn't slip John Patrick Shanley in there.

So while I can't post "the Black List 2008" - scripts mutually agreed by execs not to be produced until next year coz they're all in high-demand - as it wouldn't be advisable on my end, here is pretty much the British equivalent:

Is this pasted from a blog or something, or is you talking?

xxp: yes, UPS; the doorman gave it to me this morning. ("Defiance" is in there too.

What's yr gripe against Shanley?

47 RONIN, THE by Chris Morgan

Keanu is doing this.

I'm glad they made it sound like I had to go attend a screening to see that. What a waste of my time.

In Bruges and The Duchess with well paid for noms.

Is Harvey Weinstein connected w/ any of those?

I saw that list:

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/the-black-list-is-out/

Meanwhile, I still haven't gotten a lot of the viable contenders like Frost/Nixon and Benjamin Button. Apparently, the studios can tell when they need extra support and should shell out for critic screeners and when they don't.

Pleased/surprised to see Colin Farrel and The Visitor get a nod. Don't expect either to be mentioned next year. Supporting actor list is very weird. Still haven't seen most of this stuff though.

THE BEAVER by Kyle Killen
BUTTER by Jason Micallef
BIG HOLE by Michael Gilio
FUCKBUDDIES by Liz Meriwether

They've all got the "attention-grabbing title" bit down.

xxp, yeah, the Black List is everywhere. It's not like it's some secret that people lose their jobs over. I got mailed a copy and I'm a putz.

I am interested in that BBC List though. There was a UK equivalent of the BL last year, but I don't remember it having anything to do with the BBC.

Ugh, The Visitor is the pits.

There are much worse films in the other best film category.

xp: since Jeff Wells loves it, I figured.

Blacklist with loglines, btw

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/12/the_black_list_2008_the_full_l.html

FUCKBUDDIES by Liz Meriwether
“A guy and a girl struggle to have an exclusively sexual relationship as they both come to realize they want much more.”

THE F-WORD by Elan Mastai
“Two best friends struggle with falling in love without ruining the bond between them.”

how many "industry people" are on this thread? cuz does anyone else like to read about films that haven't been made?

I hope industry people connected with The Visitor are on this thread, so they know how much I hated their movie.

yeah, let's get back to talking about films that aren't in theaters yet.

Not exactly sure how Rebecca Hall got nominated for Vicki Cristina Barcelona, either.

does anyone else like to read about films that haven't been made?
― Dr Morbius

yeah, let's get back to talking about films that aren't in theaters yet.
― caek

Touche.

Eric, did you explain why you hate The Visitor elsewhere? My film buddy loathed it too, but I didn't find his reasons convincing.

films that aren't in theaters that some of us have seen!

seriously, I'd much rather be doing all this in February bcz of that.

I didn't LOATHE The Visitor – the actress who plays the mom is very fine – but the first 45 minutes are one long excruiating meet-cute.

seriously, I'd much rather be doing all this in February bcz of that.

Yes, always strike when the iron is cold.

This is probably going to be an inside baseball thread until February. You could put a note in your calendar?

My friend's objection to the Visitor was this guy and the dialogue he was given, which was fair enough, but didn't ruin the film for me.

He was my favorite part, though I wish he would've had a more revealing wardrobe.

Ha. The mom was my favorite. She is a stone fox.

Seriously, though, the movie was pretty appalling. From an spectator/reflexive standpoint, it suggests that we should care about the plight of illegals because their situation is enough to rouse the very brief ire of a comfortable, bored, middle-aged white guy, et al. I'm sure there's validity to a lot of what the film wants to say, but that very Haggis-derivative scene involving Jerri Blank's mom buying immigrant jewelry doesn't make me feel charitable enough to parse around.

what did the visitor get a nod for?

(And, yep, stacking the decks a little making all the film's central illegals forgiving, humble and dead sexy.)

Haggis-derivative

Oh snap.

I felt like I got enough out of the relationship that I could pretty much ignore the politics. I agree that the politics were incredibly lightweight.

I was at the Edinburgh screening and in the Q&A I asked McCarthy how they fixed the drums in post, which was stupid. I thought after that should have asked why they didn't show the interior of the detention centre.

(Not that I have a major ideological issue with that. I'm all for only sexy people being in movies.)

I'd also ask McCarthy why he apparently has such an anti-piano bias.

I mean, I like afrobeat as much as the next guy, but I don't buy that it's realer than classical piano music.

Haggis-derivative

sounds like Scottish Spam.

what did the visitor get a nod for?

Um.... wtf. Did I imagine it getting something?

looks like broadcast film critics and golden satellites... but nothing from the globes

I thought I saw it listed in the GG best drama category, but I'm thinking LA Times site put that in there by accident.

Yeah, it was totally listed in there by accident when I first put that link up. Now it's gone.

Ha, I thought I was going crazy.

http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/la-dispatch-globes-shower-love-on-benjamin-button/

But Hollywood will focus as much on what was shut out, and there were several surprises. “Doubt” was also nominated in five categories (including Meryl Streep for best actress in a drama), but failed to make the list of the best film drama nominees. “Australia,” the epic drama starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, was shut out completely of the major categories, a terrible harbinger for its Oscar hopes. “Milk,” the biopic starring Sean Penn as the late gay rights activist Harvey Milk, was not nominated for best picture even though it has been touted as a lock for one at the Oscars.

Yes, always strike when the iron is cold.

The hot iron of this MSM horse-race idiocy are getting to be as loathsome to me as our presidential campaigns. It takes up time that would better be used discussing actual near-great films of the year (like The Witnesses and Woman on the Beach) that don't mean shit to these cokeheads.

I was actually preparing for The Visitor to be much worse than it was in terms of fetishizing the "authenticity" of the Other, and in fact, that jewelry-buying scene seemed like it was written into the movie specifically to preempt charges that the film's white liberal perspective is blind and uninformed (although I guess you could argue that in so doing, the film becomes more self-congratulatory). In synopsis form, the narrative does absolutely seem naive and hackneyed, but I think the script is a little more subtle than that, and Jenkins deserves some praise in not overplaying the role, either.

and can we replace "nod" w/ "blowjob" henceforth?

the black list is weird. i remember back in '99 when i was interning at a no longer existent "indie" film company a couple of the scripts making the rounds around town that i feel like people were lolling over ended up being made into 'boat trip' w/cuba gooding jr and 'the ringer' w/johnny knoxville.

So who should we have been expecting for Supporting Actor that wasn't nominated for the GGs, besides Josh Brolin? Is it just a terrible year for high-profile supporting performances?

Franco?

Jenkins deserves some praise in not overplaying the role, either.

Not particularly. Not playing an unplayable role =/= bravery.