I Drink Your Milkshake! I Drink It Up! (The Oscar Noms Are In)

(to understand you have to see There Will Be Blood, Click the pic to go to a site I have been posting at of late. But only if you've seen the movie, Spoiler Alert!)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced this year's Oscar nominations. It used to be that the Oscar nominee list would be very close to the Golden Globe list, but for the past few years, the Academy has gone in different directions. And in each case, the right one. The Golden Globes are a bit of a joke to me, whereas I think you can trust the Academy's picks. Part of that is because of how the Academy works, check it out at Wikipedia.

I would say the Oscars are the one of the only award shows truly doing their job, which is honouring the best. Most award ceremonies try to please everyone, hence compromising their decisions. Anyways, this year is no different, The 80th Annual Academy Award nominations are superb. I'm not going to list everything. If you want to see a complete list go here.

Leading the pack is There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men with 8 nominations each. P.T. Anderson was ignored by the Golden Globes, but he picks up nominations for Direction, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Juno, the best movie of the year, has 4 well deserved nominations. One nomination proves the Academy's intelligence as the animated film Ratatouille was nominated for Best Screenplay. Another smart move was honouring Atonement far less than the Globes did. The lead actor and actress were deservedly shut down.

The one disappointment to come out of the announcement was one I was already aware of. Jonny Greenwood's original score for There Will Be Blood was not eligible due to some technicality (check it out here). However, if it was, I bet There Will Be Blood would be leading the Oscars with 9 nominations.

The Academy Award winners will be announced on February 24th. I was planning on posting Oscar predictions but this year is really hard to guess. With two movies with 8 nominations, it's hard to tell who they'll favour.

Cloverfield

You probably already know, but here is a run-down of the movie. Created by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) and written by Drew Goddard (Buffy, Lost), Cloverfield is a "Blair Witch" style monster movie in which we only see surviving footage of a catastrophe. The main gimmick of the film is that the trailer never revealed what the monster was. And, no, my review wont spoil that surprise. The main character is Rob (Micheal Stahl-David) who leaves for Japan the following morning. His friends, led by camera wielding Hud (T.J. Miller), secret love Beth (Odette Yustman), brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and Jason's girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) are throwing him a goodbye party. The party doesn't go as planned when New York is attacked by an unknown creature.

The entire film is purposely poorly shot as if it actually happened. This is effective in creating realism, but the often shaky cam caused me and others in the theatre minor motion sickness. The film quality is suspiciously excellent though. At least The Blair Witch Project's handheld camera effect was authentic. Overall the look does work, especially early on when we catch the first glimpses of the monster which prove more effective than later closeups.

A lot of people will judge this movie based on how they feel about the monster. I was disappointed. But after months of hype, could anyone really be impressed? The monster is actually quite scary at times, and the CG is executed better than I'm used to. In the end, the monster doesn't really justify the mystery but it does it's thing. Personally, I expected something more interesting from the brilliant mind of Abrams who is responsible for the most complex TV on air today. Superb writer Drew Goddard does a good job of injecting his trademark humour into the film which may actually be the highlight. This was common during his days behind TV's Buffy. However, with Buffy, he was also able to bring considerable emotion and heart as well as dark themes. Cloverfield gets high points in some areas but it falls short with it's characters who never really captivate us.

The movie is simply a thrill-ride. I'm not usually a fan of straight up action flicks or monster movies but Cloverfield brings genuine scares and laughs to the table. I was unreasonably hoping for a rich movie-going experience but was let down. Cloverfield does provide a new take on the monster movie, and there's no denying it's a fun way to kick off 2008.

Best of 2007: The Top Ten Films

Here it is, the main event. Each year from day one to the end, I maintain a top ten list of the years films. I work surprisingly hard on it, many collective hours spent by the finish. A difficult task, to rank films, but it leads to further time spent analysing the years best movies. By the end, I am usually quite confident in my choices, and this edition is no different. Genre-wise, it was truly the year of the Comedy. Acting-wise, it was truly the year of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who turned in three brilliant performances (something Christian Bale did as well, but not quite at the level of Hoffman). Also a year to remember for film maker Judd Apatow and Canadian buddy writer/actor Seth Rogen. Otherwise memorable for the rise to fame for Canada's Ellen Page. A wonderful 12 months for a true film lover filled with surprises. Counting down from 10 to 1, here are the best films of 2007...

10. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead/The Savages (Tie)It was far too difficult to choose between these Phillip Seymour Hoffman driven films. Both equally brilliant and well acted yet completely different. Each film is filled with despair and darkness. The Savages is a little more willing to show optimism however, while Before The Devil Knows You're Dead refuses to budge. Both must-sees that had to make my list. To really put 2007 in perspective, these two films would have been in my top 5 the last couple years, easily.

9. Into The WildAt turns exhilarating and heartbreaking, the true story Into The Wild is a brilliant character study. Relentlessly gorgeous to watch, Sean Penn does a fantastic job writing and directing this great film. Sprawling across a huge journey with unforgettable characters along the way. Filled with lessons learned, as well as lessons ignored, which leads to devastating consequences.

8. No Country For Old MenThe ultimate suspense film. The Coen Brothers do it again, but this time better. Displaying all the tricks up their sleeve with even more control and intelligence. Probably the best writing of their impressive career. Filled with excellent characters that are perfectly cast (Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem are great). In typical Coen style, the movie is darkly funny and immensely thrilling. This is the Oscar-front runner.

7. Hot FuzzThe only through and through comedy on my list, Hot Fuzz is too hilarious to ignore. Writer/star Simon Pegg along with best friends director/writer David Wright and actor Nick Frost deliver their best effort yet. Previously with their TV show Spaced and cult film Shaun Of The Dead they were already at the top of the comedy world, but this is their masterpiece. A surprisingly interesting plot combined with some memorable action and dozens of laugh out loud jokes, Hot Fuzz is one of the best films this year.

6. Knocked UpIn 2005 The 40-Year Old Virgin shocked audiences by bringing a level of sincerity and heart not usually included in a raunchy comedy. Writer/director/producer Judd Apatow continues that tradition with Knocked Up, which turns down the laughs a little bit and increases the humanity, heart and, yes, even dramatic scenes. On one side, a pitch-perfect comedy, on the other a wonderful tale of unexpected pregnancy and unlikely love.

5. OnceFlying under the radar of North American audiences this year was the Irish film Once. One of the best reviewed movies of the year according to www.rottentomatoes.com, it is difficult not to fall in love with the film and it's characters. Rare is a film so true to life, let alone a musical. Staggeringly beautiful and heartfelt, with a tremendous ending Hollywood would never have allowed. Oh, and the music is brilliant.

4. Superbad
An unusually accurate portrait of high school students thanks to the fact it was written by high-schoolers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Now age 24, they began the script for the film at 13. Filled with non-stop laughs and overwhelming heart, Superbad is a classic.

3. There Will Be Blood
The scariest film of the year comes from an unexpected source. Paul Thomas Anderson provides a bloody good tale of greed. A sprawling, dark epic of madness. Even the score is unsettling. Featuring a stunning show from Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood is incredible.

2. Ratatouille
Ratatouille will unfortunately be overlooked by many movie-goers because it is an animated film marketed for children. A terrible shame indeed. Writer/director Brad Bird continues to single-handedly save American animation from convention and boundaries. His filmography is a short list but masterful (The Iron Giant and The Incredibles were brilliant as well). A Multi-leveled story with fascinating characters and clever, original writing. Ratatouille is among the best animated features ever made.

1. Juno
Perhaps the largest surprise of the year, Juno showed up late in 2007, winning many hearts in the process. Brilliant writing and superb direction. Stunning acting from Micheal Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, J.K. Simmons, and Allison Janney. Featuring a legendary performance from Ellen Page, all the actors bring all the right stuff to their characters. Even the soundtrack is unforgettable, perfectly capturing the spirit of the film. It is hard to compare Juno to other comedies and/or comedy-dramas as its' serious content brings unprecedented emotional resonance and insight. I really don't need to defend its' spot at number one of 2007 because it actually deserves to be discussed in contrast to films of any year before or after it. Nor would I make the statement that it is "the best of it's kind", because, simply, it is truly one of a kind.



Click on the film titles to check out what other critics had to say at Rotten Tomatoes.

Best of 2007: The Top Ten Films (Runner-Ups)

2007 was an incredible year for film, making it especially difficult to narrow the best films into a top ten list. I always like to point out the films that almost made the cut. Even between my runner up list and my actual top ten, there are many unmentioned films worthy of recognition. This time around, the films on my runner-up list would have easily made many top ten lists of recent years. In alphabetical order, they are...

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days© IFC Films

Away From Her© Lions Gate Films


The Darjeeling Limited© Fox Searchlight Pictures


Eastern Promises
Paris, Je T'aime© First Look


Rescue Dawn© MGM


Zodiac© Paramount Pictures

All links in film titles lead to their "Rotten Tomatoes" page

There Will Be Blood

© Paramount Vantage

From writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson comes There Will Be Blood. An extreme departure from his other work, but a welcomed one. It's impressive when a director can create different types of films, and Anderson does impress. TWBB is a sprawling story of oil man Daniel Plainview, played jaw-droppingly great by Daniel Day-Lewis. The movie follows Plainview from the beginning of his oil days to many years in the future. One day, a strange young man by the name of Paul Sunday tells Daniel about a place where he could make a fortune. In exchange for the information, Paul is given $600 and sent on his way. It turns out that the place he spoke of was his old family ranch where the rest of his kin remain. This includes his brother, Eli, a self proclaimed prophet. Plainview, obviously not a man of God, does not take a liking to Eli. In fact, much of the film depicts his growing hatred of Eli, as well as all those around him.

Daniel Day-Lewis goes so far beyond what is expected of an actor, becoming the undeniable highlight in an already masterful film. Paul Dano, an actor I have been fond of since a surprising performance in The Girl Next Door, continues to grow as an actor. However, when he shares a scene with Day-Lewis, he does have a little trouble. The supporting cast are of the highest quality and really add to the movie.

Paul Thomas Anderson abandons his trademark zooms and tracking shots for Kubrick-like film making. Distracting, violent music plays over still shots of desert. The camera lies still as we observe Plainview's increasing insanity. I believe this to be the best study of madness since The Shining. Day-Lewis matches Nicholson's legendary performance and, dare I say, surpasses it. However, TWBB brings more to the table than just madness. The Shining never had too much below the surface (come on, it was a Stephen King book) but TWBB is overflowing with artistry and hidden meanings.

The score, composed by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood is unforgettable. Not always pleasing to the ears, but always enhancing that which is on screen. It draws attention to itself at unexpected moments, suggesting unusual emotion behind the events and dialogue. Even if one is not for the bizarre music, there is no denying that it matches the tone and oddity of the storytelling. If nothing else, it solidifies Greenwood as a composer of the utmost quality and creativity.

It is evident we are not supposed to like Plainview early on. He lacks a redeeming quality. The only apparent attribute going for him is his supposed love for his "son". However, that doesn't really count when we also see his desire for oil is stronger. It is much easier to take the side of Eli Sunday. I would like to suggest, however, that both men are similar. Different beliefs, yes. Different personalities, yes. But both men suffer from the same disease, lust for power, and both deal in deception. Plainview and Sunday are both selfish, and will use others for personal gain. This is a film that requires multiple viewings and deep thinking to fully analyze the characters.

The movie is long, and not for everyone. It is very strange, at times slow, but always, in an odd way, thrilling. It is captivatingly sad, desperately insane, but mostly completely terrifying. The last 15 minutes gave me chills that still echo at the thought of what took place. In the wrong hands, the heart of capitalism and the word of God is as black as oil.

The film's ending is currently being debated. Some say it doesn't fit and is too extreme and macabre. I believe it is the only logical place to go after exploring the darkness of man's greed. The film's last moments, last shot and last spoken line are legendary. Rarely can a movie have such a lasting impression solely with one frame. TWBB is among impressive territory, and even if doesn't match the films that inspired it, it still serves as another brilliant work in P.T. Anderson's career. It seems he can't go wrong. I have heard critics say he borrows too much from other artist's material. This is ridiculous as his original stories are all just that, original. So what if he borrows some techniques? Would it be better if we never saw another movie reminding us of Kubrick or Welles? Masterpieces breed masterpieces. That's a good thing.

There Will Be Blood is certainly the weirdest movie released in 2007. Therefore, it is also the most worthy of discussion. All the best films are.

Best of 2007: The Film Awards

The 1st Annual Bronze. Film Awards...

Best Score

The Runner-Ups:

Matt Messina & Kimya Dawson, Juno

John Murphy & Underworld, Sunshine

The Winner: Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood


Best Supporting Actor

The Runner-Ups:

Ethan Hawke, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Tommy Lee Jones, No Country For Old Men

The Winner: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War

Best Supporting Actress

The Runner-Ups:

Allison Janney, Juno

Catherine Keener, Into The Wild

The Winner: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There

Best Actor

The Runner-Ups:

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages

The Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Best Actress

The Runner-Ups:

Julie Christie, Away From Her

Laura Linney, The Savages

The Winner: Ellen Page, Juno


Best Screenplay

The Runner-Ups:

Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men

The Winner: Diablo Cody, Juno


Best Director

The Runner-Ups:

Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men

Jason Reitman, Juno

The Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Outrage!!

OK, I just saw the romantic-comedy Waitress. I wasn't expecting too much, but the charming Browncoat Nathan Fillion was in it so I couldn't resist. What a mistake! This movie was so bad I am actually frightened at what can be done with film. Dear God.....

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I just checked the Rotten Tomatoes page and it's at 89%!!!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

I mean no offense to the late writer/director of Waitress but the writing and direction are abysmal.

This statement will mean more to those that know me best but here goes...Waitress is even worse than Transformers which makes it my least favourite movie of the year (2007). Mind you I avoided most of the bad ones.

Wow.

Truly horrific.

The Orphanage

© Picturehouse

The Orphanage is a Spanish horror film from director Juan Antonio Bayona. Belen Rueda plays Laura, a woman that returns to her childhood orphanage (no longer so) with her husband and adopted child Simon. Her plan is to run her own organization helping special children with her husband played by Fernando Cayo. Her plans, however, change when Simon goes missing under peculiar circumstances. Perhaps even supernatural. Simon had been talking of imaginary friends, but certain clues suggest they were not imaginary.

Unlike the typical Hollywood horror, The Orphanage shows restraint and only interrupts the suspense with a scare at the right time. And suspenseful it is. Bayona creates the tone very quickly and never lets go. A rare eerie ghost story that pleases us with each surprise. Most films of it's kind lose their effect during revealing plot points whereas The Orphanage gets better. In fact, the movie keeps getting better until it's final frame (which is very memorable). The film is also an amazing accomplishment for not being single-minded. By this I mean the film makers are smart enough to know a story such as this needs to be played as a realistic drama so that we can accept it and give it a chance as a great movie, not just a great horror. The characters are great and the story, even ignoring the fantasy, is top-notch. Although we are kept interested by anticipating whats around the next corner, we also care just as much about the fate of the characters. An instant classic, and a serious candidate for foreign film of the year.

Best of 2007: Album Of The Year

This was so very easy. There were a few great albums released in 2007, but one stood very far above them. Here are the ones that KINDA got close...

Cassadaga by Bright Eyes

The Cool by Lupe Fiasco

Hospital Music by Matthew Good

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire


...And the very best album...

In Rainbows by Radiohead

Welcoming In The New Year

It is now 5 in the morning, and a thought has just struck me with the force of a small animal that has just been tested positive for rabies: I should take some time out of my hectic life to write a little note welcoming in 2008. Personally, my resolution is to live life to the fullest and fill every moment to its maximum with happiness and joy, which is precisely the reason I spent the last 3 hours watching Lord of the Rings and having a delightfully insightful 45 minute long MSN conversation with Adam, who happened to be sitting next to me at the time. All the reflecting I've done in the last ten minutes over the past year has led me to this one profound thought that gives me inspiration and motivation in facing the new year, and I'm going to share that wisdom with you:

Gandalf would make Harry Potter eat shite in a wizard fight.

I mean honestly, Harry Potter would just get owned. even if Ron and Hermione were backing him up, he would get his ass handed to him. I'll use an analogy if I may; it would be as though Harry is a small 7 year old child eating an ice cream cone, and Gandalf was a 300 pound gladiator wielding Excalibur who also happened to have magical powers. He would go up to Harry and knock his ice cream out of his hand. And then Punch him in the face. And give him a compound fracture in his leg so that one leg is always shorter than the other, so that when he grows up and goes to Hogwarts all the other kids laugh at him and call him "Helpless Harry". And then Gandalf sets him on fire.

In any case, Happy New Years!