'Cyrus' Trailer

Getting great nitces at Sundance, this films may just be a box office success. The cast (two Oscar nominees and one winner) looks delightful and Jonah Hill looks like he is finally playing to his strengths.
We will see what happens with this, but in the mean time enjoy the trailer.

Oscar Fashions.

I like what I like. Simple as that.

Sure there was not a lot of colour on the red carpet on Sunday but perhaps that was a good thing (I mean poor Natalie Portman and her rather odd orange skin with a bright pink dress on a red carpet. She was a walking head ache with far too much make up - far too pretty a girl to be wearing so much make up) considering that when people do try it, they usually fail.

Here is my selection of the worst dressed. click to embiggen














Why is Heidi Klum (left) even there? Not only does her dress look like origami done by someone with no limbs, but her make up, hair and jewelry just scream 80's German lipstick lesbian.
And what the hell happened to Reese Witherspoon. That dress is like the brighter, uglier step-sister to Kate Winslet's dress.














Beyonce - When I was little me and a friend used to make dresses for Barbie (I know GAY) out of carpet samples. If only I had had a gold pen.
Who is this next woman? Jennifer Biel or some nonsense apparently. Looks like one of her implants has deflated then given birth to a saggier implant.


Now onto Best Dressed: (click to embiggen)














Halle Berry simply looked stunning. I mean she is impossibly beautiful anyway, but that black and gold dress (take note Beyonce) was stunning on her.
Some people thought Penelope Cruz looked too bridal. Whatever! She look absolutely stunning. How many more times will I use the word stunning you ask? Many, many more times. (tis late, am tired)














Wow did Taraji P Henson pull out all the stops. The dress looked like a opening flower and her necklace was just amazing. Stunning woman.
and my dear Meryl. She usually gets it wrong, but this was a classy ensemble. Everything was age appropriate.














I really do love Jennifer Aniston. She just looks like she would be a lot of fun. She leaves her usual black dress at home and goes for gold and cream and look divine.
My friend Jonathan said Marisa Tomei's dress looked like napkins. I thought it was stunning and different and she work the sh*t out of it.














My friend Dean thought Anne Hathaway was wearing a shovel. I thought the dress was stunning. The scales, the diamonds, the fact that she looks just so old style Hollywood. Stunning.
Viola Davis has worked the red carpets like a pro. She looks amazing every time we see her, and although gold was a brave choice for the Oscars, she pulled it off. Stunning.

This was brought to you by the word 'stunning' and the number 3.

The Numbers and Final Predictions

Ok, after the BAFTA nominations everyone started to panic...myself included, about the snub of 'The Dark Knight', 'Sally Hawkins', 'Gus Van Sant' and 'Viola Davis'.
As you know I have been steadily gathering all the numbers for the top 6 awards this year. Ciritcs awards, guilds, awards bodies, top ten lists and various wins.
Let us break it down now.
For each category I am going to only give the top eight contenders in accordance to the scriptures my numbers:

Best Picture
1- Slumdog Millionaire
2-WALL-E
3-The Dark Knight
4-Milk
5-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
6-Frost/Nixon
7-The Wrestler
8-Happy-Go-Lucky

I would say the only two locks are 'Button' and 'Slumdog', the tides could change with the rest of the other three ('Milk' is the next safest). I would say you can take out 'Happy' and 'The Wrestler' and do a pick and mix with the remaining three films and you could have a very believable Best Pic line up. I am not giving up on 'TDK' or 'WALL-E' just yet, even though everything in my brain is saying the Academy are not going to embrace two genre films in one year. However I am going with the fact the world is high on hope and the nominees will easily be 'Slumdog', 'WALL-E', 'TDK', 'Milk', 'TCCOBB', outside shot 'Frost/Nixon'

Best Director
1-Danny Boyle
2-David Fincher
3-Christopher Nolan
4-Gus Van Sant
5-Ron Howard
6-Andrew Stanton
7-Mike Leigh
8-Stephen Daldry

Easily take out Daldry.
Leave Boyle and Fincher as locks, Nolan and Van Sant as near locks and play eeany meeny miney moe with the last three. Stanton and Leigh are wild cards, but Leigh has surprised before. Since the 'Slumdog' fever I assume people want a bit of hope and joy, and that makes me think 'Happy-Go-Lucky' could be a stronger contender than people think. So being overly optimistic I say we see Boyle, Fincher, Nolan, Van Sant, Leigh. HA! outside shot Stanton.

Best Actress
1-Sally Hawkins
2-Anne Hathaway
3-Meryl Streep
4-Kate Winslet
5-Angelina Jolie
6-Melissa Leo
7-Kristen Scott Thomas
8-Michelle Williams

How funny that the person leading with precursors coming into this is the one most at risk.
Hathaway and Streep are locks. Take out Williams and you could be looking at a very interesting game for the last 3 slots.
I am not going to be surprised in Jolie is snubbed again, for what many many people think is a lesser performance. Do they really feel the need to make it up to her?
I say Hawkins, Hathaway, Streep, Winslet, Leo. Not that on a limb, but still a good(ish) set. Outside shot Jolie although can still see Williams surprising.

Best Actor
1-Sean Penn
2-Mickey Rourke
3-Frank Langella
4-Richard Jenkins
5-Brad Pitt
6-Clint Eastwood
7-Leonardo DiCaprio
8-Benicio del Torro

This is another interesting race. Penn, Rourke and Langella are locks, easily. Take out del Torro and the last two slots are looking to be filled by 4 actors. I say Eastwood will be nominated. I can just see him pulling an Ed Harris 'Pollock' last minute nom. therefore my crystal ball says Penn, Rourke, Langella, Jenkins, Eastwood outside shot DiCaprio

Best Supporting Actress
1-Penelope Cruz
2-Viola Davis
3-Marisa Tomei
4-Kate Winslet
5-Amy Adams
6-Rosemarie DeWitt
7-Taraji P. Henson
8-Alexis Zegerman

Zegerman is a pipe dream. Most likely so is DeWitt (so sad). Seven Actresses are vying for 5 slots. Will Winslet split votes or not? Who can say? It can go either way for her. She can end up with two noms, 1 nom in lead or supporting or no noms. I really believe that Cruz and Davis are the only locks, with Tomei coming up as a major possibility. I kind of closed my eyes and pointed and came up with Cruz, Davis, Tomei, Winslet, DeWitt. (I say Dewitt pulls a Marcia Gay Harden) outside shot Henson.

Best Supporting Actor
1-Heath Ledger
2-Robert Downey, Jr.
3-Philip Seymour Hoffman
4-Dev Patel
5-Josh Brolin
6-Eddie Marsan
7-Michael Shannon
8-Ralph Feinnes

For being so low on the list Brolin in a lock, as is Ledger (duh!). I am not 100% about Downey, Jr. and Hoffman, but they are very likely as well. Feinnes and Shannon are very dark horses indeed....so dark I can hardly see them. That leaves Marsan and Patel. A Marsan nom would be great (how can they watch the film and not write down his name?), but would not surprise me all that much, same with Patel. Um.....Ledger, Downey, Jr., Hoffman, Patel, Brolin outside shot Marsan.

To be honest I will be watching live, expecting to very very disappointed come nomination day. No Batman, no Sally, no Marsan, no Leo, no Stanton no film to really get behind.
So wearing my heart on my sleeve is the only way I can get through it....I mean it is a nail biter ripe with disappointments isn't it?

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Dount
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire

alt: The Reader

Best Original Screenplay

Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Vicky Christina Barcelona
WALL-E
alt: In Bruges

Best Supporting Actress Race

Mini Review: 'The Wrestler'

Darren Aronofsly is one of the most interesting film makers currently working. From the headache mind games of 'Pi', to the visually stunning nightmare of 'Requiem for a Dream', to the eternal love sci fi epic 'The Fountain' he has made his name as a director with the ability to merge both story and visuals in an always interesting way.
For 'The Wrestler' he goes a different direction. The emotional story is still there, but the pristine look is not. This film is ugly to look at, and with reason. The people in this film are real people living with and in the grime, there is no glorious technicolour in their lives.

Mickey Rourke brings such subtle emotional shifts to his role. It is not a loud performance at all, it is all quiet despair and self loathing. When he is in his wrestling world he is somebody to a few fans, but when he is out of it he is not able to exist. He can’t form relationships, yet alone hold on to them. The two relationships he has are either bound to fail or have no chance at surviving. In the hands of Rourke, you can see the resignation of his fate in his eyes.

His relationship with his daughter is broken, he has wasted the one chance to salvage it and wasted it. Even Rachel Wood give a wonderful performance as his daughter. All little girl in need of a father wrapped up with an adult angery with constant rejection, all bound loosely in one package. She allows you to see her pain as both the adult and the child.

As good as those two performances were, nothing prepared me for how honest Marisa Tomei was going to be. She is this woman, and knows her inside out. The forced smile and not so thick skin become her amour, but the caring sensitive woman constantly gives her away. Oscar should take note. She has no big scenes, but as a viewer you latch onto her. She becomes your safety net.

The Wrestler is a film about how we deal with rejection. We either grow skin like leather, turn away from that aspect of our lives, or grab on to one thing that can keep you going.

Darren Aronofsky has created one of the films of the year.

A-

The Best Supporting Actress Race