The Best Supporting Actress Race

The year of the good review

What a year it has been for film. Yes it has been terrible for Actresses but for film in general it has been wonderful.

There are eleven films this year with 81% or higher on metacritic, which is a wonderful feat! Especially since I am counting only the films vying for awards attention and not re-releases and such.

These Films are as follows:
96% - “Ratatouille”
91% - “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
91% - “No Country for Old Men”
88% - “Once”
86% - “The Savages”
86% - “This is England”
84% - “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”
82% - “Michael Clayton”
82% - “Starting out in the Evening”
82% - “The Namesake”
81% - “Hairspray”

Some films are not even on metacritic as they have yet to open, but you can find a few reviews on rottentomatoes for the following:

“Atonement” – 88% (82% on metacritic)
“There Will be Blood” – 100%
“Juno” – 92% (80% on metacritic)
“The Kite Runner” - 53% (But 80% on cream of the crop. Will drop once it opens)
“Charlie Wilson’s War (two good reviews on RT, but nothing else)
“Sweeney Todd” (nothing available)

You may ask why keep “The Kite Runner” as a potential nominee when it is getting very mixed reviews. Simply because any film from the Afghan point of view and about its people will meet criticism.
A large majority of the US sees all Afghans as the enemy, and yes this will include the critics. Some critics have said it is a Disney-esque kitsch and not daring enough – if it had been more daring and challenging, no one would see it, besides, the book is very sentimental even slushy at times but it is satisfying. It makes you feel as though you yourself have done a good deed, and this is something that will appeal to the Academy.

National Board of Review announce!!

Picture: No Country For Old Men

Top ten is:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bucket List (?)
Into the Wild
Juno
The Kite Runner
Lars and the Real Girl (?)
Michael Clayton
Sweeney Todd


Director: Tim Burton - Sweeney Todd

Actor: George Clooney - Michael Clayton

Actress: Julie Christie - Away From Her

Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone

Foreign Film: The Diving Bell and Butterfly

Breathrough Performance: Actress: Ellen Page - Juno

Breakthrough Performance: Actor: Emile Hirsch - Into the Wild

Directorial Debut: Ben Affleck - Gone Baby Gone

Original Screenplay (tie) Lars and the Real Girl & Juno

Adapted Screenplay: No Country For Old Men

Ensemble Cast: No Country For Old Men

Animated Feature: Ratatouille

Documentary: Body of War

Could this be the beginning of the "No Country for Old Men" juggernaut? It cleans up with three big awards.
The other categories are just as interesting, but the NBR do sometimes pick strange ones for Directors (remember Edward Zwick for "The Last Samurai"? What was that about?

We shall see what occurs. Nice boost for Julie Christie, Amy Ryan, Casey Affleck, George Clooney and especially Tim Burton. But take this all with a grain of salt though. Considering some of the films in the top ten!!!

Also the much expected nomination for Cate Blanchet did not happen........YAY

"Prince Caspian" Trailer

Ohhhhhhhh Ahhhhhhhhhhh

The Best Supporting Actress Race

My Daemon

I was so happy with the result of this. Judging by my answers I thought I would get something like a slug or a aphid.
Imagine my surprise when I get allocated the lovely Azaria.
Go to The Golden Compass website to find out your daemon!

Puurrrrrrrrrrrrr

I love my Box. Lets remake MADONNA!

This week I am going to look at four of the better Madonna covers.

For such a huge star, Madonna actually has very little songs of hers covered, which seems a shame. I guess it is because the originals are always near perfect so why mess.
The are trillions of cheap dance remakes out there, but what about real artists going and remaking her music. Not a lot I am afraid.
Here are two that I actually do not hate, and even like very very much:

1 .I totally love Groove Armada.

They created on of the best dance songs of 2007, and now they have decided to take on Madonna’s high school dance classic “Crazy for You”.
In doing so they have created a soulful, funky and extremely different re-imagining of the song that knocked “We Are The World” from the number one spot back in 1984.


2 .Not really a Natasha Bedingfield fan, but have to say was very impressed with her cover of “Ray of Light”. She made it different enough to separate it from the Queens original masterpiece.
Natasha even said that she never thought Madonna was a strong vocalist until she tried to sing this song in the studio and realized how difficult it was.

Good for her.

On the other hand Madonna herself does very few covers. When she does she is usually deeply criticized when she does, but usually they have been pretty darn good. My favourite two of her career have been.

3 . “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” – People either love it or hate it. The people who hate it go on about how Madonnas voice is too raw for the song and not powerful enough to get across the emotion.
I say pah! Her voice is raw, true, but this is a girl-done-wrong song. She is passionate, angry and hurt and it all come out in her vocal performance.

4 . “I Want You” released as a single and it did not do well at all. I can understand why. This was before “Ray of Light” and Madonna teamed up with the hottest trip-hop/electronica group around Massive Attack.
The result is sexy, sultry musical magic about the frustration of yearning for that unrequited love. You can almost imagine her fudding herself off while singing this. HOT!!