An Education

It’s official. I am in ♡ with Carey Mulligan.

An Education is a coming of age story of a young girl on doorstep of adulthood and also an honest look at sexual politics and a woman’s place in the world during the early1960s.

Outstanding performances from the cast comprising of Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson and Sally Hawkins.

It is also the breakout performance of Carey Mulligan whom I have fallen so in love with.

Must watch!

The Case of Itaewon Homicide

The movie is based on an unsolved murder case at a hamburger chain in Seoul’s Itaewon district, where an innocent college student was stabbed to death by a stranger. Two Korean-American teenagers, prime suspects of the murder case, blamed each other for the horrific crime. The suspects threw contradictory evidence at investigators, creating confusion about what actually happened.

Since the movie is based on an unsolved murder case, I expected the movie to be another Memories of Murder. The movie somehow didn’t appeal to me. Found it boring. However it did manage to show how the Korean justice system managed to botch a simple homicide where the suspects were freed when one of them was the real killer.

[this is a work in progress]

Burn, baby, burn - it fired me up

Film:
1. Inglourious Basterds – because it reignited my excitement with cinema

2. The Hangover – because it afforded me a fine evening of laughter with the Enfants Terribles
3. A Serious Man – for the uncompromising ending and beautiful cinematography by my former boss Roger Deakins
4. An Education – for a supercharismatic central performance
5. Nowhere Boy – for fine performances all round

Actor:
1. Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) – couldn’t take my eyes off him

2. Christian McKay (Me & Orson Welles) – a close second, not an easy persona to capture
3. Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy)
4. Andy Serkis (Sex & Drugs & Rock’n'Roll)
5. Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man)
6. Adam Sandler (Funny People) – got papped behind him leaving BAFTA (that’s no way to live)
7. John Travolta (The Taking of Pelham 123)

Actress:
1. Carey Mulligan (An Education) – old school screen charisma

2. Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy) – did a great, feisty Q&A for us at The Phoenix, East Finchley
3. Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey)
4. Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank)

Supporting Actor:
1. Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds) – captured the humour whilst retaining the character’s intrigue

2. Alfred Molina (An Education) – also a close second, helped pull off the ending with a pivotal moving scene
3. Ed Helms (The Hangover)
4. Thomas Sangster (Nowhere Boy) – striking screen presence
5. Peter Capaldi (In the Loop)
6. Fred Melamed (A Serious Man)

Supporting Actress:
1. Kristin Scott Thomas (Nowhere Boy)

2. Claire Danes (Me & Orson Welles)
3. Rosamund Pike (An Education)

Director:
1. Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) – gets it on the strength of the opening scene alone

2. The Coen Brothers (A Serious Man)
3. Todd Phillips (The Hangover)
4. Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
5. Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)

Script:
1. The Hangover

2. A Serious Man
3. Up in the Air

TV:
Gavin & Stacey

Gig:
1. Hothouse Flowers – Community hall, Baltimore, West Cork

2.
Bat for Lashes – The Roundhouse
Christy Moore – Festival Hall
Lisa Hannigan – Festival Hall

3.
Blur – Hyde Park (The Enfants Terribles’ first gig)
Michael Franti & Spearhead – Empire Shepherd’s Bush
David Gray – The Roundhouse

LP:
Sea Sew – Lisa Hannigan

The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

Single:
1. Glass – Bat for Lashes

2. Say Hey – Michael Franti & Spearhead

Book:
The Great Lover – Jill Dawson

Art:
Dream – Jaume Plensa

Anish Kapoor – Royal Academy

Play:
August: Osage County (NT)
Prick Up Your Ears (The Comedy)

Sports event:
1. Ireland winning the 6 Nations

2. Spurs 9-1 victory over Wigan

Website:
Posterous

Saddest loss:
John Martyn

It is now 2010, and everything from reviews to teasers is suddenly culminating to this. A reflective and hopefully not so irrelevant list of my favorite movies from 2009. I know that publishing such a compilation seems so out of date when we’re already in the new decade, but I want to contemplate on the past year a tiny bit before plunging into the future.

Before we count down, I’d like to share with you the ineligibles and the honorable mentions. The ineligibles are movies that seemed likely in making the list, but are ones I never got around to seeing. The honorable mentions are films that just barely missed the cut.

Ineligible: In the Loop, Fantastic Mr. Fox, A Single Man, The White Ribbon

Honorable Mentions: Drag Me to Hell, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, Coraline, Moon

And so we begin. It’s time to throw all numerical scores out the window and to simply go with intuition.

10. Where the Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze’s adaptation of beloved children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, is an assortment of innocence, wonderment, and loneliness. The treatment of these consolidated emotions is a bit rushed and unfocused, however, and what remains is a frenetic and rather sloppy movie; but where the film lacks in steadiness is where it succeeds in providing unabashed and sometimes painful emotion. Jonze’s artful construction of a purely fantastical world serves as a harbor of nostalgia for those who were once tormented children. From building forts to feeling ignored, Where the Wild Things Are manages to beautifully exhibit both the wonder and terror of growing up.

9. Humpday

Humpday is a cleverly inquisitve movie. At first, the film asks questions about sexuality and masculinity, but as it meanders to a fitting end, these queries slowly transform into examinations of a concept that is far more frustrating than sex. Growing up. Unbeknownst to our main characters, Andrew and Ben, they do make discoveries about themselves, and their inner demons are quietly exorcised. What makes this overall experience so cathartic is the innate goodness and relatability of the characters we follow. Now being twenty years old, I often bump into the proverbial quarter-life crisis. Thoughts of past accomplishments and future ambitions come up for dissection, and I’m sometimes unsure how to assess myself. Humpday happens to mirror some of my thoughts and apprehensions perfectly.

8. Adventureland

Adventureland isn’t just a movie that’s set in 1987. It’s a recollection of personal memories that vicariously warps us back to our own pasts. While watching this film, it’s natural to recall that sacred instance we first fell in love; it’s reactionary to conjure up memories of simply hanging out with old friends and realizing that life is pretty amazing when shared with the right people. Adventureland’s ability to feel like something in the past tense is a reminder that these years are the best years of our lives. Its depiction of joy, frustration, regret, and inebriation is honest and endearing, making us want to latch onto our own Adventureland, whatever that may be, forever.

7. A Serious Man

The latest Coen Brothers film, A Serious Man, opens with the quote, “Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you.” What follows is an hour and a half of comically tragic torture, all befalling our gentle and very disgruntled subject, Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg). How we respond to his misfortune depends on our own religious beliefs, considering that Joel and Ethan Coen never pamper us with their own direct discernment, other than to antithetically “Accept the mystery.” Many of this film’s oddities and philosophical undertones are stylistically reminiscent of one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, and that is perhaps why I adore it so much. Its wandering nature is not only thought provoking, but also brave, for it ultimately encourages us to find our own meaning to the movie’s unfortunate events ourselves.

6. An Education

Collectively, college students can be as pretentious as they are naive. I am no different. Nor is the main character of An Education, Jenny (Carey Mulligan). Her desire to become an adult far too quickly is triggered by the splendor of pop culture. She eventually finds herself circumscribed by an exquisite, highbrow life for which she is not yet ready, and it all clusters into a horrible yet calculated mess by the end. The illusion with which she is enamored is undeniably charming and elegant, and credit must be given to those across the Atlantic who made this film. Interestingly enough, behind said illusion is a reality we, myself included, should try to accept. We mustn’t be so quick to let our pretension overbear our not so necessarily terrible innocence.

5. The Hurt Locker

The most cataclysmic dangers in Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker are not epic or turbulent. Rather, they are unforeseeable and omnipresent. Trouble could be within a crowd of seemingly innocent civilians, or behind a wall hundreds of feet away, or dangling between loose bomb wires that are within one’s grasp. The notion that these dangers are all “could be’s” and “what if’s” is what makes the experience all the more terrifying. Additionally, the characters we see endure these crises are communally unstable and unpredictable, only heightening the already established tension. The intensity that is embedded within The Hurt Locker damages our characters psychologically, and we are challenged to accept them as imperfect individuals who are merely trying to survive.

4. Star Trek

As made evident by his television series, Lost, JJ Abrams has a penchant for creating thoughtful relationships between strong characters. With Star Trek, he takes familiar faces from a renowned franchise and still manages to create crisp dynamics. It’s an absolute joy to watch the relationship between James Kirk (Chris Pine) and Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), one that traverses both directions in time, blossom from pure hatred to something a little less vile. Their exchanges, which range from simple bickering to physical engagement, are some of the best parts of the film, and where their individual character arcs conclude makes the journey with them that much more satisfying.

3. Up in the Air

Ryan Bingham’s (George Clooney) forlorn philosophy on relationships is one that I, more often than not, subscribe to. Yet, his gradual but never completed metamorphasis into a more susceptible person is alleviating on multiple levels. I say “never completed” because we don’t really know if he is a changed man by the end. Along the way, Ryan is damaged, betrayed, and abandoned, and we are left without a cathartic, warmhearted climax. Knowing that everything is literally up in the air by the end of this film, we become refugees who are forced to find a home in whatever makes the film seem whole to us. Our interpretations of such a bold ending will be subject to debate, and this is where our human tendencies will be examined. This beautiful experiment that director Jason Reitman conducts is one that I will not forget being a part of.

2. Mary and Max

Australian film, Mary and Max, is a claymation feature that is crude and sophisticated. The tone is childlike in appearance, but its deeply sad themes resonate particularly well with me at this point in my life. Currently attending college, I feel like I’m inside some sort of purgatory or in-between. I’m no longer a kid, but I’m not yet an adult. This place can be, at times, very lonely. The film’s characters are from both ends of the spectrum-Mary is a young, lonely girl, and Max is an old, misunderstood hermit. Where they converge in similarities and differences is exactly where I reside-that bubble of misunderstanding and uncertainty. Complemented by a captivating score, Mary and Max unfolds with the innocence of a children’s book, but its insight is extremely powerful.

1. Inglourious Basterds

I never thought I’d ever be putting a Tarantino film at the top of a favorites list. He’s a filmmaking genius, but the romantic in me doesn’t necessarily anchor to his masculine movies. However, upon further meditation, there’s no doubt in my mind that Inglourious Basterds is my favorite film of 2009. Tarantino’s orchestration of remorseless action serves as a shrewd device for both entertainment and examination, and I love everything that occurs on screen. More impressively, beyond the conscious brutality that Inglourious Basterds sustains is a great deal of lacerating tension that comes from people simply talking. Tarantino’s loud audacity is most prominent in his quietest scenes, creating a wholesome, epic experience-one that I admire from beginning to end.

These two are soo cute together. Since I saw Carey in ‘An Education’, I’m in love with her. Oh, and I LOVE her hairstyle. It’s just perfect! There’s just a few actresses like her out there. As for Shia, I’m not a huge fan of the movies he’s done. Transformers, Indiana Jones, not my cup of tea – but he’s not that bad to look at I’m really looking forward to seeing them in a movie together…apparently they’re both starring in ‘Wall Street 2′.

Mo 1/4: Rosie Perez, Switchfoot
Tu 1/5: Patricia Heaton, Carey Mulligan, Yonder Mountain String Band
We 1/6: Ray Romano, Nellie McKay
Th 1/7: Steven Wright, Michelle Monaghan
Fr 1/8: Jason Segel, Shiri Appleby

20th Century Fox recently released another few movie stills from the upcoming film “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps” by director Oliver Stone (World Trade Center, South of the Border) and starring Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Carey Mulligan,Susan Sarandon, Michael Douglas, Josh Brolin and Charlie Sheen.

Synopsis: As the global economy teeters on the brink of disaster, a young Wall Street trader partners with disgraced former Wall Street corporate raider Gordon Gekko on a two-tiered mission: To alert the financial community to the coming doom, and to find out who was responsible for the death of the young trader’s mentor.

I am a huge Shia Labeouf fan, and this is one of my anticipated movies of 2010.I am clearly biased about him, Transformers and Eagle Eye is 2 of the best action movies of the decade and he did an outstanding job in these films. I’m willing to see New York, I love You for him. Heck, I don’t even know that there was a Wall Street 1 movie and now I’m willing see the sequel.

Almost there. Not quite yet though…

But, man, what a frustrating year.

I felt like Tyler Coates‘ picture here summed up what my attitude was going into this year. And what all of our attitudes should’ve been. As it always should be.

And now Alec Baldwin sums up how I felt about this year.

Though this year has brought some things that I desperately wanted to see.

Or never thought I would see (all together in the same club).

Or things that I would be okay never seeing again.

And some things, things from my childhood, came to an end.

Some things, I think, I realized I was glad to see go.

And it really hit me in this past year that some things will not last forever.

And some of those things are through. Professionally, I mean.

Oh well. Shit happens. Things come. And things go.

And they keep going.

It’s all about perspective.

Isn’t that what they say?

This was the year of hope.

This was the year of rejections.

This was the year of saying that you wanted a revolution.

And it was also the year where you said, “Could you try not to rub your beard up against my forest of tears?”

It was about new things.

And new things to regret (in the morning)(probably)(but hopefully not).

It was, for me, the year I just accepted the often hellish, nonstop barrage of celebrity bullshit.

…Especially in the face of weird hookups that I just can’t condone.

And seeing things I loved shat upon.

But these things happen.

We hold onto the good.

And let go of the bad.

Time to dust yourself off.

Maybe you’ve learned some things. About life, the world, and yourself.

And make some decisions.

And have some fun.

But just remember…

It’s easy to ride off into the sunset.

It’s hard to still be there when the sun rises. But there’s where the true excitement and the fun lay.

Hopefully we’ll see you there.

from here.

The biggest year on record for domestic Box Office receipts was also one of the most forgettable years in memory for the movies. 2009 may have seen us forking over more money than ever to go to the movies, but it also shortchanged us with films that often felt altogether unwatchable. (2012 anyone?) But from amidst the muck and mire of underwhelming, overproduced Hollywood stinkers, came a handful of truly good films to remind us that not everyone behind a camera assumes their audience has the intelligence of a rutabaga. And so, since everyone has a best of list this time of year,  The Pictorial has selected five of what we feel to be the few … the proud … the movies that mattered.

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker © Summit Entertainment 2008

Why it mattered: Because it’s rare that press-fed hyperbole like “Riveting,” “Gut-Wrenching,” and “Unforgettable” are accurate. Kathryn Bigelow’s war epic is all of that and more.

Precious

Precious © 2009 Lee Daniels Entertainment

Why it mattered: Because heartbreak has never been more heartening. And because Mo’Nique gave one the year’s most extraordinary perforamances.

The White Ribbon

The White Ribbon © Sony Pictures Classics, 2009

Why it mattered: Because evil has rarely been quite so beautifully explored, so thoughtfully weighed, so skillfully rendered as in Michael Haneke’s dark study of a small German town.

An Education

An Education © BBC Films, 2009

Why it mattered: Because Carey Mulligan’s Jenny was a reminder of just what a bravura performance can do—in this case turning an old worn-out shoe of a story into something fresh and funny and new.

500 Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer © Fox Searchlight, 2009

Why it mattered: Because it’s a love letter to Los Angeles that doesn’t involve Hollywood, and because it’s a movie about love that is in no way a love story.

Okay, so you may think I’m a little biased based on my posts but if you look back through my blogs you’ll notice that I wasn’t pushing Sister Aloysius to the podium, so I can be a little impartial. But this year I truly believe that Meryl Streep should win the Golden Globe, the SAG, the Oscar, and in spite of not being British, the BAFTA. These are my reasons:

1. Carey Mulligan. I have devoted two blogs to An Education: An Education that’s nearly a dropout, and Carey Mulligan and her Cello Education. In addition to all my problems with the movie I do believe that her role could have been played by several other actors out there. Abbie Cornish could have played Jenny. Saoirse Ronan or AnnaSophia Robb would have looked more youthful and school-girlish. It may have been Carey Mulligan’s breakout performance but it could have just as easily been the breakout performance for Cornish and the others.

2. Speaking of Abbie Cornish, for the same reasons as above Carey Mulligan could have been Fanny Brawne in Bright Star. The two actors are practically interchangeable.

3. Gabby Sidibe was precious but it would be difficult to vote for her when the supporting performance by Mo’Nique was far better. I would be very surprised if Mo’Nique doesn’t take home a statue this year. I would be shell-shocked and sitting in a rubber room if Mo’Nique and Sidibe take home statues. I also think it’s a bit unfair to have one of the producers (Oprah) own her own TV show where she can campaign ad nauseum, and for free. And if she is the producer of your movie, you can’t say no to her interviews, which makes me cringe. Speaking of campaigns …

4. … I always thought Harvey Weinstein and Harvey Fierstein were the same person. I was wondering when Fierstein got into promoting — er — producing. Somewhere during one of Weinstein’s many campaigns I was straightened out. Harvey Weinstein steamrolled Chicago into our frontal lobes, and now he’s trying the mind meld with Nine. The problem is, Nine stinks. How can any actress be nominated in such a bad movie? I hated the Broadway Nine too. The plot was paper thin. Jane Krakowski nearly got stuck in her giant unraveling sheet and Banderas was nearly incomprehensible. Nice eye candy, but incomprehensible. The movie is glitzier, meaner, harder and just plain rotten.

5. Helen Mirren in The Last Station. If I recall, Meryl Streep was supposed to play Sofya Tolstoy. She was smart to back out. I will be surprised if it rakes in more than it cost to make. Wait, where is this movie anyway? Playing in Siberia? Are they going to pop it on us two minutes before the Oscar vote? Is Mirren naked again? Sigh. She had her time recently, and it’s not her time again. The subject matter is, quite frankly, boring. I rather watch a DVD. This is the only movie of the lot I’ve yet to see.

6. Sandra Bullock. I say to her, congratulations, well done. I liked The Blind Side. She may even get an Oscar nod, but if she wins it for that performance I will go insane. It’s not the Erin Brockovich performance of the year.

7. That leaves just one performance: Meryl Streep as Julia Child in Julie & Julia. Think about it. Who else could have played Julia Child? Okay, Dan Aykroyd doesn’t count. He would not only look absolutely ridiculous but you would pee in your pants in laughter at the wrong times. The critics gave Meryl Streep unanimous thumbs up. There is no question that she nailed it this time. Ergo, for all of the reasons above, there should be no doubt. It is the right time and the right reason to make this Meryl Streep’s year.

An Education is a gem of a film, a gorgeous, luminous exploration of one girl’s unfurling sexuality and awakening to the world, guided by a charming older man. Author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy) adapted the screenplay from journalist Lynn Barber’s memoir. It’s a delicate piece of work, all the more remarkable coming from a writer who has focused so intensely on contemporary masculinity. The film’s tagline reads “Sometimes an education isn’t always by the book,” and at its heart lie two questions: can education be accomplished through more than book learning? Does it have intrinsic value?

Carey Mulligan (Kitty Bennet in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice) plays Jenny, an earnest, precocious schoolgirl in 196os Britain stifled by her overbearing parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour) and the monotomy of her adolescent regimen. Passionate about everything–literature, music, Juliette Greco and all things French, and Oxford, where she hopes to read English–she can’t help but be charmed when David, a 30-something Peter Sarsgaard, suddenly takes an interest and whisks her into a glamorous world of concerts, art auctions, and weekend trips to Paris, along with his rakish business partner Danny (Dominic Cooper, last seen as Keira Knightley’s lover in The Duchess) and the beautiful but vacuous Helen (Rosamund Pike, in quite a departure from Jane Bennet). David’s easy humor overwhelms both Jenny and her parents’ objections about cavorting unchaperoned across Europe, and soon she becomes complicit in bamboozling them. But even when signs begin to appear that David and his friends are not all they seem, the allure of their sophisticated lifestyle threatens to overwhelm and destroy Jenny’s dreams of Oxford.

“Go to Oxford no matter what, because if you don’t you’ll break my heart,” Jenny’s favorite teacher tells her, but here we see the otherwise lovely Olivia Williams pinched and nearsighted, having labored for her own degree only to be buried alive in a second-rate teaching job. What’s the point, Jenny asks, when she can have the life she desires now, and the adults around her appear to be miserable has-beens who have given up on their dreams? Why strive for the “hard and boring”?

An Education asks the tough questions without providing easy answers. Somewhat predictably, the film ultimately comes down on the side of hard work for its own sake, along with self-respect, pride, and dignity, but Jenny’s demands are not unreasonable at a time when we are churning out liberal arts majors into an economy that cannot support them. Has our education system always been inherently flawed, that we teach students to think and desire and dream, yet provide little context upon graduation for them to exercise these marvelous talents while earning a living?

An Education wrestles with the terrible fear of giving up on yourself, and explores the fine line between knowing when to challenge what you’ve always been taught and when to listen to what you’ve always known.

Let’s face it, 2009 had a season of terrible, big budget, disastrous movies. So much so I felt I threw away over $100 to hyped-up pieces of poo. At the same time, there were some excellent films hidden amongst the Autobots, the superheroes, and The Ugly Truth. For many, most of their success came from the fresh faces we saw in an industry where the same garbage is recycled constantly.

Here are ten actors whom I believe took that next step in their careers this past year.

10) Jesse Eisenberg

Who I always considered the “other Michael Cera,” Eisenberg showed us his goofy and awkward nature in Adventureland, and Zombieland and managed to stand on his own. In 2010, he’ll be starring as Mark Zuckerberg, cofounder and current CEO of Facebook, in David Fincher’s The Social Network.

Stephen Lang

9) Stephen Lang

Public Enemies had many problems throughout. But, it was Lang who upstaged Christian Bale in every scene he was in. In fact, Lang was not only in the last seen of Enemies, but was also in the first in The Men Who Stare at Goats. It’s obvious he got these roles because of the one he’ll be remembered for — the buff, scary, military badass in James Cameron’s Avatar. There is no question in my mind that when Hollywood needs an old, grey haired, macho man in a script, they’ll be calling Lang’s agent.

8 ) Chris Pine

Personally, Pine got my attention back in ‘06 when he played one of the Tremor Brothers in Smokin’ Aces. Now, he is known worldwide as the new James T. Kirk. The difference between Pine and William Shatner is that when people watch the old Star Trek, they see Shatner. Pine has the opposite problem; they see Kirk, not Pine. One could argue he was so good for that role you don’t see the actor. Unfortunately, right now, his name is still unknown to many.

Zach Galifianakis

7) Zach Galifianakis

I don’t know how he did it, but in The Hangover, Galifianakis turned weird into cool. The 40 year old comedian used his humour, his antics, and his beard to make us fall in love with him — even when we saw that quick flash of him receiving a blowjob by an old lady in an elevator. This year, he also worked alongside Jason Schwartzman in HBO’s Bored To Death and can be seen in Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air.

6) Taylor Lautner

It’s no secret that I am not fan of New Moon. However, Lautner stole the second film, hands down. I’m curious to see where Lautner goes with his career. If he blossoms into a great actor, I could see him being his generation’s George Clooney. Mainly how he presents himself: his swagger, his charming smile. Or, he could go the other way and be the next Jonathon Taylor Thomas, who’s seen every once in awhile at different coffee bars throughout Kitsalano.

Honourable Mention: Sharlto Copley

Talk about a guy who came out of nowhere. There were many gambles going into the production of District 9. One of the biggest was an unknown actor taking the lead. With a script with surprisingly many layers, Copley had to pull them off. Well, he didn’t. The consensus was Wikus was not a sympathetic character. And really, even I had to imdb his name for this honourable mention. So, after some success, he’s still unknown. Recently he finished wrapping The A-Team, directed by Joe Carnahan. Copley will be playing “Howling Mad” Murdock.

Honourable Mention: Jeremy Renner

There’s been Oscar buzz surrounding Renner’s performance in The Hurt Locker. For me, this is one of those films that I, personally, have to watch again. I feel I was too harsh when reviewing it. That said, if there was one thing that I really enjoyed, it was the character Renner portrayed. But if he isn’t nominated, and with the cancellation of the series The Unusuals on his back, how far will he be able to go?

Honourable Mention: Adam Scott

Adam Scott and Brittany Snow in "The Vicious Kind."

Before I get into my top five, I feel I need to share the performance by Scott in The Vicious Kind. This movie has won some awards but is totally off everyone’s radar. Anyone who I know who has seen it thinks it’s one of their favourite films of the year. Even though Scott is magnificent in his role, I’m afraid it’s going to take another project to get him noticed by the public.

5) Anna Kendrick

All I have to say is I’m in love with Kendrick. It has nothing to do with her roles in Twilight or Up In The Air, but with her first late night interview with David Letterman.

I loved how she was drowning Letterman in compliments. At first, you ask yourself is she was flirting or not. Since this interview is post Letterman sex scandal, you can see how bashful and awkward he becomes in the latter part of the interview. Kendrick has earned herself a Golden Globe nomination for UITA, and, as much as I’d like to dub her the new Zooey Deschanel, I think it would be more correct to say she’s this year’s Amy Adams.

4) Christopher Waltz

Christopher Waltz

Waltz has undoubtedly mastered his craft for a long time in Europe working in film and television — and it shows. Hans Landa not only became a fan favourite in Inglorious Basterds, but he stole the movie from everyone except for Quentin Tarantino. People are expecting an Oscar nod for Waltz, and I’m even going to say, he deserves the win. It appears his next few projects will be keeping him in Hollywood. Currently, he’s filming alongside Seth Rogen in The Green Hornet.

3) Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana

There’s no doubt that Saldana has had a wonderful year. Starring in the latest Star Trek as the well-known Uhura, and lately and as the blue, ten-foot tall hottie Neytiri in Avatar. These two roles have carved her into a lead actress. Lately, she’s been acting  in Takers, Burning Palms, The Losers, and the American, urban remake of Death at a Funeral. And don’t worry, she’s all ready to go for J.J. Abrams next installment of Star Trek.

2) Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington

Talk about another newcomer who stole the show from Christian Bale. Terminator Salvation banked everything on the Batman star. But, it wasn’t John Connor who was the protagonist, it was Marcus Wright. Remember the first time you saw the trailer to this film? Worthington’s credit went up and you went, “Who the hell is that?” Well, after Avatar, he’s probably the hottest action star right now (I’m not talking sexually). Next year, he’ll be kicking butt in the remake Clash of the Titans. By the trailer alone, we’re expecting more action than Avatar and Salvation combined.

1) Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper

I’m not surprised if you immediately disagree with Cooper being number one. But just think, a year ago he was just Jim Carrey’s best friend in Yes Man. In 2009 he took major roles in He’s Just Not That Into You and The Hangover. He’s also in one of the year’s worst, All About Steve. What separates Cooper from everyone else on the list is that he is the only one who has become a household name. Everyone I know can point out who Bradley Cooper is and they know his movies. He’s also showing his diversity by taking a main part, alongside Copley, in The A-Team. He’s adding action to his comedic and romantic roles.

Other Honourable Mentions:

Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) — Has a few good roles lined up.

Ashley Greene (Twilight: New Moon) — Twilight will not be her only success.

Ken Jeong (The Hangover, All About Steve) – One of the funniest supporting actors of the year.

Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds) – Like Waltz, she’s breaking into our realm of North American cinema.

Carey Mulligan (An Education) — I have yet to see this, and I’m sure if I have, she’d be in the top ten. However, I’d be a fool not to give her an honourable mention.

Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) — It wasn’t the acting that made this movie great — it was the story.

Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Terminator Salvation) — If he pulled off “Come with me if you want to live.” better, he may have been in the top ten. I’m kidding. He’s young and shows promise.

Oscar nomination ballots have now been sent out to the Academy!  Thus, I felt it was time to issue a new set of Oscar Predictions.  Since I last went on record, we have heard from a multitude of critics groups, the National Board of Review, and have received nominations from the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild.  What conclusion can we draw from them?  I draw mine here.

Best Picture

1. Up in the Air
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Avatar
4. Precious
5. Inglourious Basterds
6. Up
7. An Education
8. Invictus
9. Nine
10. A Serious Man

Big changes this week, though nothing changes at the top.  I still think “Up in the Air” is going to win – and not just because I love it so much.  It is slowly picking up steam at the box office, and it is a movie that pretty much everybody really likes.  It is powerful storytelling with commanding performances, the recipe for usual Oscar success.

But its two biggest threats have changed since the last set of predictions.  ”The Hurt Locker” has clearly established itself as the critical favorite, the movie that scores the most with the various critics groups from New York to Oklahoma.  This can be good and bad, but the good critical favorites are usually the ones that are mixed with audience support.  With only $12 million in the bank, it is clear that “The Hurt Locker” does not have this.  If people a more populist pick for Best Picture with the expansion of the field, this would most likely send a message of adherence to pretentiousness.

The opposite message would be sent with the selection of “Avatar.”  I resisted for as long as I could, but now it is virtually undeniable.  With critics clearly behind it and box office standing at a formidable $213 million, this has a lot going for it.  Yet it has a gender prejudice going against it.  Only rarely do action movies fly with the Academy; just look at how they snubbed “The Dark Knight” last year for “The Reader.”  I think many will see it as little more than a visual spectacle and technological innovator.

“Inglourious Basterds” has really jumped on the scene, getting top nominations from the Golden Globes and the SAG.  I didn’t think this was possible in August, but I guess I was wrong.

“An Education” didn’t really fall; everything else just went up.  Same goes for “Invictus,” but I think we are looking at this year’s “Frost/Nixon” or “Good Night, and Good Luck” here.  By that, I mean the movie that gets a bunch of nominations with no real chance at winning any of them.

“Nine” actually dropped, though.  Audiences didn’t receive it well as shown by the lackluster $5.4 million it posted Christmas weekend.  Critics aren’t digging it, and its Rotten Tomatoes score is now sitting at a dreadful 37% fresh.  On the other hand, we can’t forget that it did get a SAG Best Ensemble nomination over high-flying “Up in the Air,” among others.  This is a movie that the actors seem to like, and they make up a large portion of the voting body.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see it slip off the charts completely, but don’t count it out just yet.  (“Precious” dropped too, but I offer some explanation on that in the Best Director section.)

The tenth slot continues to puzzle me.  Now, I have it going to the Coen’s “A Serious Man,” but this is another big question mark.  It failed to get a nomination for Best Picture at the Golden Globes (where “It’s Complicated” did, so “ha!” to all my detractors on that one), which is pretty big considering that “Burn After Reading” made it last year despite being met with a slightly chillier reception.  And it pains me to pick this while so many of my favorite movies sit in the cellar.

Best Director

1. Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
2. Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
3. James Cameron, “Avatar”
4. Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
5. Clint Eastwood, “Invictus”

Bigelow has gained a lot of strength with most of the critics groups on her side, and I can now see a Best Picture-Director split between “Up in the Air” and her.  The momentum for her to become the first female director to win the Oscar may just be too big to deny.  Not to mention the fact that if “Up in the Air” takes screenplay and picture, Reitman will walk away with two statues.

James Cameron is the real star of “Avatar,” and the Academy will no doubt want to honor his work.  This is a project that he has had in his head for over 15 years, and his patience while the technology caught up with the idea should be rewarded.

Tarantino takes over the fifth spot from Rob Marshall because of the lack of love for “Nine” (which is mostly because of him).  The “Inglourious Basterds” love the critics, Golden Globes, and SAG have displayed is enough to get its director a nomination.  After all, it really is his movie.

Lee Daniels drops off the chart because of his Golden Globes snub when “Precious” was clearly well received by the group.  ”Precious” has lost a ton of momentum from its release in November, mainly due to bumbling Lionsgate who refused to capitalize on the limited release success by taking it nationwide then.

People see the Academy as Clint’s cronies, which isn’t necessarily true.  Maybe they just set out to make a statement last year with their “Gran Torino” shutout, but I think that the financial success came too late to make an impact.  ”Invictus” hasn’t exactly lit the box office on fire; however, I just get the sinking feeling that he is still going to get nominated here.  Call me crazy.

Best Actor

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

The only change here is Bridges falling to number 4.  He has only won awards from critics whose awards truly mean something like the Los Angeles Film Critics Circle;  Clooney and Firth have been taking all the others.  I’m getting a vibe that this a performance that is being honored for honor, not because people really love it.  I am getting the latter vibe from Clooney, who has been taking the prizes from a lot of the smaller, less renowned critics circles.

This is the standard top 5 now among almost everyone.  I can’t help but feel like there has to be some kind of shake-up here, some surprise nominee.  But who?  Maybe Daniel Day-Lewis will find his way in like always, or perhaps Matt Damon will surprise for his turn in “The Informant!”  He had a heck of a year, and the Academy could see fit to honor that with two nominations.  Just spitballing here.

Best Actress

1. Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
2. Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
3. Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious” 
4. Helen Mirren, “The Last Station“
5. Marion Cotillard, “Nine”

I’m sorry, but I cannot pick Sandra Bullock here.  I keep seeing all these raves for her and wonder if I saw the same movie and performance as they did.

I moved Sidibe back a spot because the critics awards seem to be hinting that this race will be a duel between Streep and Mulligan, the veteran and the fresh face.  However, I could see a possible vote split propelling the novice to victory.

With Abbie Cornish showing up nowhere and “Bright Star” seemingly forgotten, she falls off the list.  I replaced her with Marion Cotillard because the Academy loved her enough to give her an Oscar when no one knew who she was.  Even though the buzz on “Nine” is down, I have a feeling there will be plenty of love for the ladies.  Cotillard does have two emotionally wrenching numbers in the movie going for her.

And I’ll use this post to congratulate Meryl Streep on receiving her 25th Golden Globe nomination.

Best Supporting Actor

1. Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
2. Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
3. Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
4. Alfred Molina, “An Education”
5. Matt Damon, “Invictus”

This is the category with the big shake-up this week.

Christoph Waltz is winning almost everything, so I can still place him in the number one slot.

Stanley Tucci jumps from off the list all the way to number 2.  I think its a mix of career achievement and a very good year (despite the apparent “The Lovely Bones” flop).  Christopher Plummer shares the former of these; Matt Damon, the latter.  I think the fact that Plummer is 80 years old, well-respected, and has no nominations is enough to get him into the field.

Woody Harrelson, Alfred Molina, and Matt Damon were the three men vying for my last three slots.  Despite Globes and SAG snubs for Molina, I still feel confident that he can make it.  Damon and Harrelson got the two nominations that Molina missed, so logic would probably say that they would be the two to fill the spots.  But I just get the feeling that Damon will get in because of the one-two punch of “Invictus” and “The Informant!”

Best Supporting Actress

1. Mo’Nique, “Precious”
2. Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
3. Julianne Moore, “A Single Man”
4. Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
5. Penelope Cruz, “Nine”

No large change here.  Mo’Nique is becoming quite the juggernaut, and unless she goes full Eddie Murphy, there’s no chance she loses it.

If she does go full Eddie, Anna Kendrick takes it.  Her “Up in the Air” co-star, Vera Farmiga, takes over the fourth slot from Penelope Cruz.  ”Nine” love isn’t very strong, but she is the scene stealer.  And she gets her picture here because she was too stunning not to feature.

Best Original Screenplay

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

Tarantino’s dialogue has won over the Academy once before, and I think he may do it again this year.  He could be the new Woody Allen (for the Oscar voters) – just don’t tell him that I said that.

“A Serious Man” moves into the the nominees mainly because I can’t ponder hearing “Winner of One Oscar Nomination – BEST PICTURE.”  I know it will happen eventually, but I don’t think it can the first year.

If “(500) Days of Summer” doesn’t get nominated here, I will hit something.  It is too creative and brilliant to be ignored.

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Up in the Air
2. An Education
3. Precious
4. Invictus
5. District 9

“Up in the Air” is still king here.  Even if it doesn’t take Best Picture, I have a hard time seeing it losing this category.

“An Education” moves up despite missing out at the Golden Globes.  There is a sizable British faction of the Academy, and they will see to it that he gets his just reward for this great screenplay.  ”Precious” moves down not only because of the Globes screenplay snub, but also because of a general loss of momentum.

“Invictus” gets a bump up mainly because “District 9″ moves into the field as a wild-card contender.  ”Avatar” has probably dashed its hopes in the Best Picture field, so the Academy could reward it here.  This was a well-scripted movie that scored with audiences and critics alike, and it deserves more than technical nominations that it is bound to lose to “Avatar.”

So, what are your thoughts?  Am I crazy to still think “Up in the Air” will win Best Picture?  Or that Jeff Bridges won’t win Best Actor?  I’m dying to know what you think, so don’t hesitate to tell me!

* A quick note to say that not being a paid staff critic means not seeing all contenders, especially those that decided to open in 12 theaters nationwide despite the hype. “The Road” didn’t come to any of 50 theaters within an hour radius, nor did “The Hurt Locker.” I also have not yet seen: “Sherlock Holmes,” “Avatar,” “Nine,” “The Young Victoria,” “The Messenger,” “Precious” and a few other possible contenders. If in January or February after catching them on DVD or at my dollar theater I feel they would have significantly altered my list, I’ll make a postscript post!  Now, here we go.

10)  Up

Pixar is great at making visually stunning animated films that use the best and most innovative technologies. Yet they are also  great at instilling the stories they tell with these flashy tools with real humor, intelligence and heart. The first 10 minutes of “Up” is arguably the most emotional and heartbreaking sequence of the year– I doubt kids were able to get the depth of that opening scene, that one was just for the adults. As powerful as that scene was, luckily the Pixar gang breaks things up after that and settle in for laughs, thrills and zaniness. The angry dog with the malfunctioning voice box is worth the price of admission alone, and the sub-plot dealing with a Howard Hughes-like hero turned villain is just icing on the animated cake. Last year I had to throw “Bolt,” on the list, this year the animated winner is “Up.”

9)  Watchmen
This one holds up for repeated viewings; the time I saw it way back in March on the big screen had dulled a bit in my brain, but a recent spin of the DVD was a quick reminder of the testosterone-fueled manic mayhem artistry of Zach Snyder. Snyder’s never shooting for an Oscar– as fun as “300″ was it wasn’t really a “great” film in the glorious sense, but it is still fun these few years later and worth a view if you missed it. It proved he could adapt a graphic novel and maintain the feel of the substance in a new format, he does that on a much larger scale here. “Watchmen” was and is the greatest graphic novel of all time, cracking “Time” magazines list of best 20th century novels and worthy of any college reading list in lit class. Alan Moore also penned it to be un-filmable and un-adaptable and balked at the idea of anyone trying to do so; as such his name is nowhere to be found in the credits of the film. His work stands on it’s own and this film doesn’t top that, but neither does it destroy it either. This is one of the few adaptations that neither disgraces its source material, tries to one-up or re-format it, or makes it more palatable. This is a film that works best for  fans of the comic, and it doesn’t insult them. You can enjoy this without having read the book, but it’s so much better as a companion piece, one that steps into the epic story and brings the characters and situations to life. There isn’t time for everything and the ending is different, but we know why this one works better on the big screen and that one worked better in print. It’s just a thrill to see Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan and the rest living and breathing in the cinema and retelling this dark, cynical and unflinching tale of what could be if it were possible for “heroes” to live among us and what the true cost of peace might be in this present world. Every actor does a great job of embodying their character, there are not blatant missteps in that area in the slightest. The music wraps it all together in a bold way, the action is visceral and the attention to detail is at least in the same neighborhood as the original graphic novel: a really fun, flashy film.

8)  Where the Wild Things Are

This was the year to be a movie-going twenty-something indie-geek. Why? For numerous reasons, but just look at the work our generations beloved writers got at the Cineplex– Dave Eggers was the driving force for this screenplay and another one higher on the list (you’ll see soon enough); Nick Hornby wrote another great film a little higher on the list. The director of this one? Spike Jonze. The soundtrack is done by Karen O and friends (“the kids”). These kind of names were everywhere this year if you noticed. Anyway, this one adapts a children’s book that is close to the heart of most Gen X and Gen Y kids that was full of great pics and a handful of words. Jonze and Eggers bring it to life with sheer beauty and creativity, yet maintain the threat and under-current of childhood aggression. The voice acting is superb, the use of real suits rather than CGI is awesome, the whole thing plays wonderfully surreal and enveloping.

7)  Inglorious Basterds

There are times I really want to hate Quentin Tarantino’s films. He’s so full of himself. He’s pretentious, self-aggrandizing, and guilty of lapses in judgment. Yet he’s also capable of great, great film-making: Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Death Proof and now this. I’m glad he seems to not do commentary tracks, because I couldn’t bear to hear him evaluate his own work, but if I don’t have to hear him and I can just appreciate the work at face-value, I’m always entertained. “Inglorious Basterds” is a big, violent, stylistic piece of near meta-fiction and it doesn’t have a dull moment in it. It’s pulpy, funny, scary, and it pulls emotional strings like a puppet master but it’s also over-the-top, ethically questionable and it loves itself. It builds to a fantastic conclusion that gives the audience such a burst of pay-off even though we quickly remind ourselves that “it didn’t really happen that way! What’s up with this?” Oh, but Quentin wanted to make us wish it had ended that way with him being the one supplying it to us. It’s probably his best work since “Pulp Fiction.”

6)  Funny People

Judd Apatow’s name gets slapped on most comedies that come out these days, but he’s usually just a producer or the guy signing checks for his buddies to make their films. The only ones he’s been fully involved with as writer, director and producer are “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” and this one. They all are laugh-out-loud funny movies that can be watched a zillion times without losing appeal and they all work in surprising warmth and sentimentality for their characters of perpetual adolescents, lazy stoners, commitment-dodging dorks and funny people. “Funny People” is Apatow’s best work yet— it’s also his most serious. At times it feels like 3 movies in one: the main story of George Simmons, stand-up comedian turned star of critically ravaged money-machine earning films finding out he has a rare blood cancer and only has an 8 percent chance of living much longer; the story of Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) a new stand up comic who becomes Simmon’s assistant and writer and his roommates trying to make it in comedy; and the story of Simmon’s “one that got away” (played by Leslie Mann, Apatow’s wife– the couples children play the children in the movie). The first hour and a half and the last fifteen minutes are beautiful– funny, dark, emotional. This is the “ugly side” of comedy and what a life in the field often entails and the varied reasons that propel people into the field in the first place. It pokes fun at Sandler in a way, we all know he’s taken a critical beating in almost every role he’s ever portrayed– in “Funny People” you see such ridiculous fake movie clips from Simmons filmography— his head on a baby’s body in “Re-Do,” or as a “Mer Man” in a movie of the same name (really not that far from “Little Nicky” or the “Water Boy” in premise).  Adam Sandler gives a truly great performance in this movie– you get to see the wit, charm and silliness that made audiences love him in critical hate-fests like “The Wedding Singer,” “Happy Gilmore” and “50 First Dates” (and I stand by all three of those as being good movies), the crudity and blue humor of his stand-up, the music appreciation of his albums and the dark, angry, sad, dramatic character traits he used in his critically appreciated turn in “Punch Drunk Love.” The story of his illness and how he deals with it out of the public eye, his journey to making as much peace with that as he can and then finding out he is better and not knowing what to do next is the heart of this movie. The Rogen, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman scenes are truly funny and keep the laughs in place to balance things out, but the ex-girlfriend and kids 40-minute sequence goes on for about 15 minutes too long and throws the pacing off. It’s disruptive, a bit; it makes sense in retrospect why it is needed, to get to that last fifteen minutes of pay-off and not-quite-resolution we have to take that journey in some way, but it lingers too long and perhaps could have been arrived at in a more fulfilling way. That’s enough griping, though, because the things that work in this film really work and more than make up for any possible over-length. Is this the first major-studio “Meta-Comedy?” If so, it’s a good one.

5)  It’s Complicated

It seems like that as soon as the hype for this film emerged and people began praising Nancy Meyers for making intelligent films for grown women, every male talk show host and newscaster had to make comments like “is it weird that I want to see this too?” (Here’s looking at you Letterman and Lester Holts). First, there’s a difference between “chick flicks” and “excellent movies written and directed by women featuring female characters that aren’t clichés.” “Chick Flick” is a term for churned-out, re-treaded romantic comedies or crying-movies that women will watch ad infinitum, dragging along their significant others; they don’t care that the plot is recycled and the emotional reactions are forced and insipid, they just want a feel-good love story or a feel-sad cry story. And that’s fine, the same terminology can be applied gender-crossing genres like “slasher films,” “shoot-em’ups,” “family comedies” and the ever-increasing “bro-mance.” Nothing wrong with paying for a particular thing and getting what you paid for without over-thinking it. But what Nancy Meyers has done here, like she did in the excellent “Something’s Gotta Give” in 2003, is produce a film that features grown women in real ways, but also a film featuring an excellent cast from top to bottom– Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinski and the rest of the entire cast deliver hilarious performances in a truly fun and entertaining film. Heck, the guys get as much screen time even though Jane (Streep) is the main protagonist. What I notice more in Meyer’s films than gender is money— all of these people seem to be doing very well for themselves, living in nice houses, driving nice cars and working flexible enough schedules to not only find themselves in these predicaments but to make them funny. I get the feeling that a movie about a woman falling for her ex-husband and having an affair with him when he’s married to a young woman as well as potentially finding herself courting another newly divorced middle-aged man would be a lot less light and funny if they were all broke and working crappy jobs. Anyway, it’s very funny and Krasinski is on a roll this year with this, “Away We Go,” and the “Office.” Baldwin and Martin are hysterical together and here’s hoping the proposed joint-hosting of the Oscars by them will really happen (speaking of joints, the pot sequence featuring Martin, Baldwin and Streep is pretty hilarious).

4)  Up in the Air

There are two types of great actors. One type disappears into their role so much so that you forget who you are watching. They become who they portray down to every look and every expression; their voices change, their appearance changes, you can totally forget who you are watching if you don’t remind yourself. Daniel Day Lewis and Johnny Depp are that kind of an actor. Then there are great actors who are so recognizable and consistent that you couldn’t possibly forget who they are. They don’t drastically alter their voice or appearance, and you always know it’s them up on the screen yet they’re such a joy to watch and so capable of giving wonderful performances that it doesn’t matter. George Clooney is that type of actor. He is also great at being likable and entertaining even when he is playing people who shouldn’t be that likable and whose moral compass is a bit suspect. “Up in the Air” could be his finest performance (but “Michael Clayton” is so close it’s too tough to call). In “Up in the Air” Clooney plays a man whose job it is to fly around the world, landing in a city where a company is firing employees and go in to do the firing for the managers who are uneasy of doing the dirty work themselves. He’s also a motivational speaker whose main message is aimed at encouraging people not to be too attached to either things or other people, and he spends as much of his time as possible living in a way to do just that himself. This is a good film, a timely film, a very 2009 kind of movie. The director, Jason Reitman, also directed “Juno,” “Thank You For Smoking,” and some “Office” and “SNL” episodes, all of which are sort of evident in this film. There’s no happy ending and no real resolution, so if you like things in nice little packages you might want to step away. But if you like intelligent films that tell their story on their own terms regardless of what the audience thinks they want and ones that do it in such a way that you wouldn’t have changed a thing after all when you think it over, this is your movie.

3)  (500) Days of Summer
Yeah, it is a bit of an indie hipster comedy. It’s post-emo generation film (first wave emo, folks, we‘re talking “The Smiths“); it’s a romantic comedy that really isn’t all that romantic when you re-think it. It’s about the idea of love and how bad people want it without really knowing what they want or caring who they want it with. It’s a realistic dating movie, one that certainly doesn’t go where such a thing usually goes and is thoroughly entertaining even so. It’s funny; it’s creative. The style of the plot takes a few dozen days over the course of a relationship between Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt– yes, the kid from “3rd Rock From the Sun” all grown-up) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel in a friggin’ charming performance that is crush-worthy), chops them up and throws them at the audience in random order. So we see happy scenes, romantic scenes, funny scenes, silly scenes, angry scenes, depressing scenes, and like in any relationship any one of these scenes may be from any point in the relationship, the beginning or the end. The soundtrack is great, and this is certainly the kind of movie in which the soundtrack is part of the cast and integral to the story. A really great, really true sort of movie that is too honest to be a real date movie, but one that will make a lasting impact more than any of those typical flicks do.

2)  An Education

This is such an excellent movie. It’s now up for a Golden Globe, so at least it’s retained memory for some critics– I was worried this one would slip right under the radars and be forgotten since it came out a little earlier than most-award show contenders. Carey Mulligan got a lot of hype over her role as Jenny in this early 1960s London-set coming-of-age story, with folks declaring her a new “Audrey Hepburn.” Watch this and you’ll see why, and the comparisons are valid. She shines in this story about a high school girl planning on college when she falls for an older man who woos her with trips to Paris and nights on the town, causing her to rethink her plans. Peter Sarsgaard is that older man, and a character seducing a girl 20 years his junior, a senior in High school no less, should be too creepy to like but Sarsgaard plays David well enough to where when you almost do like him through much of the film. David is charming Jenny’s parents as much as he is her, and he’s a con artist of the highest caliber in this story. The screenplay is based on a memoir by British journalist Lynn Barber and it’s adapted to the screen by Nick Hornby. Hornby usually hones in on Gen X slacker male characters and throws their neurosis’s onto the pages of his novels or on the screen with his adaptations with flair– “About a Boy,” “High Fidelity,” “Fever Pitch“– so as much as I love his work I never would have guessed he could so greatly  feature a smart, strong young woman as a protagonist, but he does and the script works excellently. The director, Lone Scherfig, is from Denmark and she hasn’t really done anything American so I’ve never seen her other work but going on how beautifully this one is shot I’ll be sure to check her future projects out. The most pleasantly surprising 2 hours I spent at the movies this year, totally sneaking up on me to make my list– from the 3 dollar theatre to number 2 on my list of the best 2009 pictures!

1 )  Away We Go

This one’s it. I really, really loved this movie. Apparently it’s a love-it or hate-it pick because I’ve read every opinion imaginable about this one and I honestly can’t see how you could come down on the “hate it” side of the aisle. It’s so much fun, it’s such a warm, funny, clever, unique, realistic, relatable, entertaining flick! Dave Eggers, who I mentioned way back on number 8 with “Where the Wild Things Are” pulled double duty on fantastic films this year, writing two truly great screenplays–this one‘s his best; Sam Mendes takes a more optimistic turn at the camera with a great directorial job (not that he didn’t do a good job with “Revolutionary Road,” “Road to Perdition” or “American Beauty,” just that judging by those films I wouldn’t think he would give anything close to light-hearted a shot). John Kransinski of “The Office” gives a funny and great performance– I’m beginning to think he’s the 21st century John Cusack, someone we average yet possibly quirky guys can relate to when we see him on the screen. Krasinski is the lead, playing Burt Farlander. Maya Rudolph is the other lead, playing Burt’s girlfriend “Verona,” and when the couple decide to hit the road in an attempt to find a home and something to do with their lives as they approach the end of their twenties, they run into every possible kind of acquaintance and character actor, all played to perfection by various joys-to-watch like Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeff Daniels and Jim Gaffigan. The best screenplay of the year in a movie that works with all emotions and never dumbs itself down.

I won’t lie to you guys, when I learned about An Education I turned into this woman:

I found the soundtrack while putting cds away at the work and, I’ll admit, the only reason I checked it out was because of how wonderful the cover looked…

and because when I looked on the back I saw artists like Duffy ( sorry Duffy, you get ZERO Bowies for Smoke Without Fire.), Ray Charles,  and one of my new favorites: On The Rebound by Floyd Cramer. That is probably one of the happiest songs I’ve heard in a while. You can feel how completely liberated this person feels and their glee is contagious.

With this new found knowledge I went to work the next day anxiously awaiting 6 w o’clock when Cynthia would collect me so we could go watch it. To become completely obsessed with this movie and soundtrack it took me, oh, a day and a half maybe? I’m obsessive, I know, I know.

But how couldn’t I be? Just look at how amazing their outfits were:

Of course, the outfits don’t make the movie (but they do help immensely), this I know, but the story line was a TRUE PIECE OF GOLD -

Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a 16-year-old girl from Twickenham, England, leads an ordinary and boring life. Her father insists she studies constantly in order to gain admission into Oxford which leaves little time for ordinary teenage escapades. One day, while walking home in the rain with her cello, a dapper older gentlemen offers her a ride. Eventually Jenny accepts and enters David’s (Peter Sarsgaard) car. This, as it come to be, was the turning point in her young and inexperienced life. A smooth operator, David convinces her strict parents (Alfred Molina & Cara Seymour)  into letting her live a fancy adult life of jazz clubs, horse races, and tight dresses. But, unfortunately, all (excessively) good things must come to an end and Jenny finds her life in ruins when the seams in David’s nest of lies unravel.

SO GOOOOD.

Thus, I award An Education:

 + 1/2

31/2 out of 4 David Bowies!

The movie truly was nearly perfect. Maybe it was just Peter Sarsgaard’s fleshy chest that threw it off a bit. Regardless, I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT.

Carey Mulligan, a young and brilliant new actress, stars as Jenny, a 1960’s British schoolgirl who’s fallen for a much older man, played by Peter Sarsgaard.  It’s a classic coming of age story.

An Education has an amazing ensemble.  Mulligan and Sarsgaard are both perfect in the lead roles, and Alfred Molina, who plays Jenny’s strict and excessively proper father, deserves just as much praise.

It’s a familiar story, but it’s so well acted and well told that it’s 100% worth seeing.  Plus, being a period piece in London and Paris, it’s beautiful to look at.

RATING:  8/10

These are pictures of some of my favourite actresses, on set of their latest movies:

1. Natalie Portman in ‘Black Swan’

2. Marion Cotillard in ‘Inception’

3. Carey Mulligan in “Wall Street 2″

4.Keira Knigthley on ‘Never Let Me Go’

It’s December! The only other thing good about December aside from Christmas is that the awards season starts here! Yay!

Hence, several critic groups have released their choices. Here’s a brief summary for the top three Best Actress contenders:

Meryl Streep:

• Boston
• New York Film Critics Online
• Southeastern
• New York Film Critics Circle
• San Francisco
• Alliance of Women

Carey Mulligan

• NBR
• Washington
• Indiana
• Toronto
• Dallas
• Utah

Gabourey Sidibe

• African-American
• Las Vegas
• Detroit

Meryl and Carey tie for the first place with 6 wins apiece, and Gabby has 3. Meryl has never been a critics darling since her Sophie’s Choice in 1983 where she virtually swept almost all of the critic prizes back then. She is a lock for the Golden Globe comedy, but the bigger question are the other major precursors – BFCA, SAG and BAFTA. A SAG win is very crucial. It will ensure her victory in March 7. Last year, she went to win the lead SAG but lost to Kate Winslet who also won, but in the supporting category.

In my opinion, Meryl can win this year without sweeping the major precursors. She has enough talk around her after her almost-win last year and her ‘overdue’ scenario. She has not won since 1983 and that poses a great disappointment to fans and critics alike. She’s the greatest American actress of all time and yet she only has two Oscars.

This is very crucial to Meryl’s career. Winning will ensure her place in history(as if she’s not already), and more roles will come to her. If not, we’ll get into that.

4/5

Directed by: Lone Scherfig

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson, Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina and Rosamund Pike

To those of us ill-fated enough to be born in the decade of shoulder pads, mullets and metal, the fulness of life is forever denied; reared with the crushing belief that no time will ever be as cool, as free or as bohemian as the 1960s.  What with The Beatles, Hepburn and the birth of free love, how could any other New Romantic, Girl Power decade ever compete?  After an hour and a half of sitting through this gloriously rich, thick cut dialogue between the bourgeois relics of the 50s and the young champions of liberated pleasure, An Education proves, hands down, that the 60s wins the decade of the century award … and then some.

Adapted from the autobiography of journalist Lynn Barber by Nick Hornby, An Education charts the coming of age of one Jenny Mellor; a promising school girl, a well rounded Oxbridge candidate and an exceptionally gifted conversationalist.  A coincidental meeting with middle-aged play boy David plunges Jenny into a decadent world of fine art, fine clothes and fabulous French music.  Wildly opposed to the studious lifestyle envisioned by Jenny’s father, it is a road that leads to heartbreak and wasted potential.

Draped in an array of costumes that are best described as breathtaking, Carey Mulligan leads an exceptional ensemble cast with both flair and poise.  Mulligan captures the perfect balance between an academic wisdom and a worldly naiveté and not only is she beautiful, but her timing is spot on and her delivery perfect.  Peter Sarsgaard is disarmingly charming as the dangerous David whilst Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike support with an aloof sophistication that would make even Evelyn Waugh envious.  If possible, Pike is perhaps even more ravishing than she was back in her days as a Bond girl and Emma Thompson is flawless, as always, in her small but memorable role as Jenny’s virtuous Pharisee of a Headmistress.

Together with Nick Hornby’s beautifully lyrical text, director Lone Scherfig creates a world of intoxicating temptation, for toxic it truly is, as beguiling for the audience as it is for the chief protagonist. The only hole, perhaps, is in the blindly driven ignorance of Jenny’s parents as they thrust her towards an Oxford education with an almost farcical and cringe-worthy pretence to pomp.  Amidst the whirligig of artists, authors and glamorous locations, though, this frustration is easily forgotten as An Education slides elegantly towards its humble and poignant conclusion.

It’s my favorite time of the year. Not just because of the holidays — but because it’s Oscar season. I’ll admit my nerdiness: I get giddy predicting who’ll be nominated. I visit awards blogs. I see all the movies I think could score nods. And my favorite night of the year is the Oscar telecast. I make bets. I order take-in. I watch the winners unfold with awe.

And this week, the Golden Globe noms were announced. It’s often the first big step to Oscar night — even if these nominations don’t always match the Academy’s picks. But it’s always a good indication of what’s to come.

Hence, here are my comments on this year’s Globe slate:

BEST PICTURE — DRAMA

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
Up In The Air

NOTES: This is actually a more interesting Globe category than usual.

Because this year, the Oscars increased its Best Picture slate to 10 nominees — a ridiculous move, especially because this is a down year for motion pictures. Hence, this year’s Globe Best Picture race is a good indication what the actual best five dramas of the year are.

Which makes Avatar and Precious a surprise when the melodramatic, more-Academy-like epic Invictus was left off the list. And what happened to Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones?

But it’s good to see Inglourious Basterds here. I was curious to see whether the major awards would welcome Tarantino back since he hasn’t been nominated since 1994 with Pulp Fiction. And Basterds deserves the attention.

Still, my pick for the winner: Up In The Air. It’s arty and subtle enough to be a safe selection. It’s got the likable-as-ever George Clooney. And its subject matter — about a man who travels around the country firing people — is timely.

SNUBS: Invictus; A Single Man; The Lovely Bones; An Education; Star Trek (Remember: These could make an appearance since the Oscars are going for 10 noms this year.)

BEST ACTRESS — DRAMA

Emily Blunt– The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious

NOTES: This makes it seem more likely that Sandra Bullock may actually be on her way to becoming an Oscar nominee. And this gives momentum to Emily Blunt, who has been considered a dark horse. I’m just glad to see Carey Mulligan here. Her performance is touching and tough.

SNUBS: Abbie Cornish — Bright Star; Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

BEST ACTOR — DRAMA

Jeff Bridges– Crazy Heart
George Clooney – Up In The Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman –Invictus
Tobey Maguire – Brothers

NOTES: Tobey Maguire? Really? Jeremy Renner should be here for another war movie:The Hurt Locker. Spider-Man’s nomination is the biggest surprise of this year’s Globes.

This one should be a race between Jeff Bridges (who has never won) in a shambled, Kris Kristofferson-like performance as a country singer, and George Clooney (a two-timer winner) for his measured portrayal of a hatchet man.

SNUBS: Jeremy Renner — The Hurt Locker; Viggo Mortensen — The Road

BEST PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY

(500) Days Of Summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

NOTES: Hooray for The Hangover — easily the best comedy of the year, if not the last few years. But I call it: (500) Days Of Summer will upset Nine in this race.

SNUBS:A Serious Man (Really? Julie & Julia instead of the Coen Brothers?)

BEST ACTRESS — MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Sandra Bullock – The Proposal
Marion Cotillard – Nine
Julia Roberts – Duplicity
Meryl Streep – It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

NOTES: Streep will get an Oscar nod for Julie & Julia. But something tells me Sandra Bullock will upset here, as a consolation prize for having a big year and for not winning Best Actress in a Drama.

SNUBS: None

BEST ACTOR — MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Matt Damon – The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis – Nine
Robert Downey Jr. – Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – (500) Days Of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man

NOTES: Expect Damon to nab an Oscar nod. Hence, he should win here. The only surprise nom: Downey Jr. Maybe people really are starting to like him.

SNUBS: None [Editorial Note: Zach Galifianakis could've easily gotten a nom for The Hangover]

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penélope Cruz – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up In The Air
Anna Kendrick – Up In The Air
Mo’nique – Precious
Julianne Moore – A Single Man

NOTES: Good to see Vera Farmiga in this race — a fine actress, from Clifton, N.J., who has never been nominated. This one category that could be duplicated, nominee by nominee, in the Oscars.

SNUBS: No one major. These really are the five that stand out.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christopher Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

NOTES: This is the most crowded, open race of the year. So there are plenty of snubs I’ll list below. But it’s good to see Waltz, who gave the most memorable performance of the year in any film. And it’s good to see Tucci and Plummer — veteran actors who have never gotten much awards attention.

SNUBS:Alfred Molina — An Education (subtle and funny as an overprotective father — and never nominated); Alec Baldwin — It’s Complicated< (taking his brilliant comedy work on TV and translating it to film); Christian McKay — Me And Orson Welles (celebrity impersonations often do well at the Oscars) Expect one of these three men to slip into the Oscar race, because Damon will likely not get nominated.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess And The Frog
Up

NOTES: This was actually a great year for animated films. But, as much as I loved Coraline, expect Up to have a slight advantage over Fox. And don’t be surprised if one of these films slips into the Oscar Top 10.

SNUBS: None.

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
James Cameron – Avatar
Clint Eastwood – Invictus
Jason Reitman – Up In The Air
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

NOTES: A cool category for a few reasons: Reitman is becoming quite the young auteur; Q.T. is back; and Bigelow and Cameron used to be married. Eastwood’s nomination also shows Invictus could still be a major Oscar contender.

SNUBS: Lee Daniels — Precious; Rob Marshall — Nine; Tom Ford — A Single Man; Joel & Ethan Coen — A Serious Man

BEST SCREENPLAY
District 9– Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
The Hurt Locker — Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds — Quentin Tarantino
It’s Complicated– Nancy Meyers
Up In The Air –Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

NOTES: District 9 is the surprise here. It’s Complicated is unexpected, too. Especially since this category is exclusive because unlike the Oscars, the Globes don’t have a screenwriting category for adapted scripts.

SNUBS: A Serious Man — Joel & Ethan Coen; (500) Days of Summer — Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; An Education — Nick Hornby; Fantastic Mr. Fox — Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Up — Michael Giacchino
The Informant! — Marvin Hamlisch
Avatar – James Horner
A Single Man — Abel Korzeniowski
Where The Wild Things Are — Karen O and Carter Burwell

NOTES: This may be the only love Wild Things gets this awards season — but it’s neat to see Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O here.

SNUBS: The Lovely Bones — Brian Eno (one of my favorite musicians — the former Roxy Music keyboardist and ambient music pioneer); The Princess And The Frog — Randy Newman; Up In The Air — Rolfe Kent

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Cinema Italiano” – Nine
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston

“I See You” – Avatar
Music by James Horner and Simon Franglen
Lyrics by James Horner, Simon Franglen and Kuk Harrell

“I Want To Come Home” – Everybody’s Fine
Music & Lyrics by Paul McCartney

Sir Paul's work for Everybody's Fine is quite possibly the best thing about that movie

“Winter” – Brothers
Music by U2
Lyrics by Bono

NOTES: The Globes often do a much better job picking the best song from a movie than the Oscars. They gave Bruce Springsteen a statuette last year for the great title song from The Wrestler when the Academy didn’t even nominate him. And because the Hollywood Foreign Press gives out the Globes, they tend to favor Europeans like McCartney and U2. Which is good, because they’re incredible musicians who write indelible music. I’d like to see Sir Paul win here, because he’s had a great
late-period career. And I definitely will not be happy if they give it to James Horner for another sappy song from a James Cameron movie (Horner is the guy who wrote the horrible ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from
that iceberg movie).

SNUBS: “All Is Love” from Where The Wild Things Are – Karen O, Nick Zinner; “Almost There” from The Princess And The Frog — Randy Newman

TWO FINAL NOTES:

1. Another reason I’m pissed the Academy Awards will have a whopping 10 Best Picture nominees? It makes the Golden Globe Best Picture races less exciting. Part of the fun used to be seeing which of the Globe
nominees end up as Oscar noms. Now, with 10 slots, it’s almost as if all of them will be there when the Academy unveils its slate.

And I Want My Globes: Will the Foreign Press recognize QT's latest work?

Most people usually see the Golden Globes as the pre-cursors and foreshadowers of the Academy Awards, but there’s one big difference: Best Picture is divided into Drama and Musical/Comedy. This allows for a lot of variety, plus two winners in each of the biggest categories: Picture, Actor, and Actress. The Director, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor/Actress awards are lumped together, so it becomes a bit more prophetic of the Oscar race than the others (for example, the winners of Best Actor were Sean Penn (the eventual winner) and..ahem…Colin Farrell). This year’s three front-runners for Best Picture-Drama (and the coveted Best Picture Oscar) are Up in the Air (likely for Screenplay), The Hurt Locker (likely for Director, unless the “King of the World” has any say about it) and Precious (which is more actor-driven than production), with blockbusters Avatar and Inglourious Basterds weak competition. The Best Picture-Musical or Comedy section has the same variety: indie darling (see my piece on the Spirit Awards) vs. big-budget musical (the most viable candidate) vs. silly comedies (The Hangover? way to defy expectations, you snooty critics). Here’s the full list: http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/

We're Best Picture nominees...who'da thunk it?!

This year’s Golden Globes race has three, count ‘em three, actors with two nominations: Matt Damon, Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock. Last year Kate Winslet was in the same boat and went home with both statuettes, so I’m apt to think the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (the governing body over the Globes) will want to reward each of the two-timers with at least one award apiece. Matt Damon is a good bet for the Best Actor-Musical or Comedy prize as the delusional whistle-blower in The Informant!, partly because he has no chance in the Supporting Actor contest against Christoph Waltz as the villain of the year in Inglourious Basterds (then again, neither do the other guys), and partly because his only real competition is Daniel Day-Lewis in Nine (although I’ll be cheering for Joseph Gordon-Levitt as usual), and that’s only because Day-Lewis is Day-Lewis. Streep is against herself in the Best Actress-Musical or Comedy category, and her chameleonic performance in Julie & Julia has better odds than the lead in Nancy Meyers’s latest middle-age madcap It’s Complicated. Bullock has the tough sell: the nomination for The Proposal is a gift pure and simple (Meryl Streep overshadows all other actresses), and her career-best part as a Southern charity-case in The Blind Side has a tough job against favorite Carey Mulligan in An Education and “Precious” herself, but I still think she’ll come away with the trophy. The Best Actor-Drama category is neck-and-neck; everyone but Tobey Maguire has a chance, but since Invictus and A Single Man are both missing from the Best Picture roster, I’m guessing Clooney will ride the high praise for both him, his film and his co-stars to the top. The choices for Supporting Actress  may also yield a win for Up in the Air, but if Precious falls short in the Picture and Actress categories, the judges may make up for it with a win for Mo’Nique. Let me know what you think!

Best Motion Picture-Drama

• Pick: The Hurt Locker
• Predict: Up in the Air

Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy

• Pick: (500) Days of Summer
• Predict: Nine

Best Performances-Drama

• Pick: George Clooney, Up in the Air
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Predict: George Clooney, Up in the Air
• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Best Performances-Musical 0r Comedy

• Pick: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
• Predict: Matt Damon, The Informant!
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Performances

• Pick: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Predict: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
• Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Director

• Pick: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• Predict: James Cameron, Avatar

Best Screenplay

• Pick: Up in the Air
• Predict: Up in the Air

Best Animated Feature Film

• Pick: Coraline
• Predict: Up

Best Foreign Language Film

• Pick: Broken Embraces
• Predict: The White Ribbon

I have to start this list with an apology. There are 21 films on it. Sorry. Here are must-see movies of 2009 numbers 1 through 5.

The thing is this; I haven’t seen most of these films, either because I was too broke when they were in the theater (earlier in the year when I was unemployed), because they haven’t come out yet, or have just been released.

First, how my list is formed. It’s not rocket science, you don’t need a calculator or anything. I do use Excel, though, tee hee.

Steph’s Scheme For Oscar Movie Prep

1) Make list of all movies nominated for (in no particular order) the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Critic’s Choice, Independent Spirit, Gotham Awards, and any other awards season list I can get my grubby hands on.

2) Score them. It’s not that there’s any specific mathematical formula, but Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice nominees get extra weight, as do SAG awards. Check which movies have been nominated for the Annies (sort of like the animated movies Oscars) and mush together nods for Independent Spirit and Gotham.

3) National Board of Review is useful as sort of a tiebreaker.

4) See which movies have the most nominations/awards/recognitions. I don’t count song/score awards as a rule (yes, I know, music is important, but there are a lot of BAD movies with good music. If the movie is good, and the song is nominated, yay – it’ll be on my list somewhere else), or most “breakthrough” or “young actor” awards, unless the film is already on my list for something else. Visual effects awards sort of fall into that category too, though with the expanded Best Picture category that might require some rethinking.

5) Visit Rotten Tomatoes to get an idea of how really GOOD the movies are that only reviewers have seen yet, since sometimes movies (cough cough, Nine) have a lot of buzz for no really good reason. That doesn’t necessarily exclude them (cough cough, Nine) from my list, though

6) I usually try to prioritize them by which ones I want to see most, not necessarily who I think will win, since I haven’t seen most of them yet. Funny how that works So at this point it’s purely preference. For example, I tend to not enjoy animated movies all THAT much, as a rule. So you won’t find Up on my list. Or Coraline, though I might go rent it anyway because I love Neil Gaiman.

So, with no further jibber-jabber:

1) The Hurt Locker – This movie, about an American bomb disposal team in 2004 Iraq, has gotten nothing but praise since its release earlier this year (98% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). I had planned to go see it when it was in theaters, but something came up and I never made it. It’s nominated for 8 Critic’s Choice awards (the categories pretty closely parallel Oscar) 3 Golden Globes, and 2 SAG awards (ensemble and lead actor). It comes out on DVD January 12th.

2) Crazy Heart – This one isn’t top of my list in number of nominations, but pretty much every awarding body has Jeff Bridges on its list for his portrayal of Bad Blake, a “broken down, hard-living country music singer” according to the official Fox Searchlight plot synopsis (how can I get THAT job?). Music people will be happy to note that it has a Golden Globe-nominated song, “The Weary Kind”, which you can hear on the movie’s website or download from iTunes See, I don’t discriminate! Anyway, Bridges has been nominated for 4 Oscars but has never won. His last nomination was in 2000 for The Contender. I think it very likely he’ll be on the list again this year. 96% fresh on RT. Limited release began December 16th, coming Christmas Day to the Angelika Dallas.

3) An Education – With nominations for Carey Mulligan from SAG, the Golden Globes, Independent Spirit and Critic’s Choice, along with a nod from the National Board of Review, she’s pretty much a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of 16-year old Jenny Mellor, a London teen who becomes involved with a man twice her age (Peter Sarsgaard). The ensemble is also nominated for a SAG, which is the highest honor that body bestows. 94% fresh on RT. Released October 8th, still playing at the Angelika in Dallas… hopefully it will stick around after Christmas so I can get to see it! Maybe I’ll drag Mom, if it’s playing in San Antonio… hmmm, Huebner Oaks! Looks like a win.

4) Precious – So I’ve gotten over the fact that Oprah is involved (she’s one of the producers, in case you’ve been living under a rock), and in the face of the excellent reviews, I’ve decided I must see this. It’s nominated for… everything, pretty much. Hooray for fellow fat chick Gabourey Sidibe, and I bet she will look fabulous on the Oscar red carpet Also look for honors for Mo’Nique, playing Precious’s abusive mother. 91% fresh on RT, limited release began November 6th, now in wide release.

5) The Messenger – Another Iraq movie, sort of. This one stars Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson (many supporting actor nominations already for this role, and he won the NBR award) as Army officers assigned to the Casualty Notification service. Complications ensue when Foster’s Will Montgomery becomes involved with Samantha Morton’s recently widowed Olivia. Harrelson’s only previous Oscar nomination was in 1996 for The People vs. Larry Flynt, though he did snag an MTV ”Best Kiss” (with Wesley Snipes) award for White Men Can’t Jump in 1993 90% fresh on RT, limited release began November 13th. No word yet on when (if?) it will come to Dallas >.<

My eyes are crossing. 6-10 to come on Saturday!