Oscar nominations - Best Original Screenplay

Part of my continuing series on the 2007 Oscar nominations.

It's time to start looking at overall categories. I'll be working my way from the bottom up as much as possible within the subset of what I've seen already. In the best original screenplay, here's a quick summary of previous awards:

	Golden Globes	WGA	BAFTA
Babel	Nominated	Nominated	Nominated
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine		Won	Won
Pan's Labyrinth			Nominated
The Queen	Won	Nominated	Nominated

Letters from Iwo Jima is an excellent film, but it doesn't have a solid narrative arc to bind everything together. The Queen got a bit hamfisted in places, and Babel fell apart a bit in the third story (Japan). So that leaves us with Pan's Labyrinth and Little Miss Sunshine. I think that Pan's Labyrinth is by far the best screenplay of the bunch and it's my pick for should win, but I think that the will win entry is going to be Little Miss Sunshine. Oscar doesn't often pick comedy, but in this case, the screenplay really demands it and it managed to be a near-perfect little film.

NP: "Ain't That Peculiar," Mike + The Mechanics, Nobody's Child - Romanian Angel Appeal
WC: 44,042, ECD: 22 April 2007

Half Nelson

Part of a continuing series on the 2007 Oscar nominations

Nominated for:

• Best Actor - Ryan Gosling

It used to be that the way that an actor made his mark was to play someone who was an alcoholic or mentally ill. That seems to have been modified to someone who's a drug addict or mentally retarded. In Half Nelson, Ryan Gosling takes the drug addict route.

I had high hopes for this film ever since I heard it mentioned on Fresh Air as one of the best films of 2006, but I'm afraid that those expecations may have worked against the film. Yes, it was a nice break from the teacher-saves-the-poor-minority-kids story line that's typical of most Hollywood depictions of inner city education, but that doesn't justify this film. Or maybe it's just the genre, I wasn't really a big fan of Requiem for a Dream. The fact that the film ended up in an odd sort of limbo during much of Oscar voting season (it was out of theatres when the nominations were announced and only arrived on DVD today) won't be doing the film any favors (although I suppose the studio sent screeners to the academy members). In all, just not a film to my tastes and, I suspect will result with Ryan Nelson practicing telling the E! network people that it is an honor just to be nominated.



NP: "Jockey Full Of Bourbon," Moxy Fruvous, Live At The World Cafe - Vol. 7
WC: 44,042, ECD: 22 April 2007

One quote that says it all

From Kevin Drum:

Pre-9/11: torture is used by bad guys. That's one of the ways you know they're bad guys.

And today? Actually, nothing's changed. It's still how you know who the bad guys are. We just seem to have temporarily forgotten that.

NP: "The Girl with the Sunshine in Her Eyes," The Vicar
WC: 42,816, ECD: 6 May 2007.

The Queen

Part of a continuing series on the 2007 Oscar nominations

Nominated for:

• Best Picture
• Best Actress - Helen Mirren
• Best Director - Stephen Frears
• Best Original Screenplay - Peter Morgan
• Costume Design - Consolata Boyle
• Score - Alexandre Desplat

I have to admit that when Princess Diana died, my reaction was to make the standard joke: "I can't believe Pavarotti killed Princess Diana." So watching this movie was, in places, like watching coverage of a major historical event that i managed to completely. The problem though, is that depicting a real-life event, especially one which has happened relatively recently (it's been less than ten years since Diana's death), doesn't always make for a compelling film.

The movie certainly had its moments. The mix of new footage of the chase and archive footage of Princess Diana made for a brilliantly executed sequence leading up to the fatal car crash. But the device was over-used through the film, leaving us feeling a bit disconnected at places, so as much as I enjoy Stephen Frears's work, this isn't his Oscar year. Likewise the script seemed to drag and rather belabor some of its points (fourteen points to be precise).

Helen Mirren, however, managed to truly inhabit her role and there was never a moment during the film that I was reminded that I was watching someone play Queen Elizabeth II and not actually watching Queen Elizabeth II. I still have three films to see for best actress, but this is a likely winner.

NP: "Acht O'Clock Rock," Duke Ellington, The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
WC: 42,233, ECD: 25 April 2007.

Sunday Search: A search term poem

Once again, Norwood Young overwhelms all other search traffic coming here. So let me offer up this poem taken from the top 25 search words for the past couple days:

Norwood Young, norwood young
producer, singer who
just is NORWOOD YOUNG
singer, Singer dreamgirls

music high norwood, young,
90210
maintenance +
Vroman s Bookstore SINGER

NP: "NPR: Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! for Sunday, Feb 11 2007"
WC: 40,431, ECD: 14 September 2008

The Pursuit of Happyness

Part of a continuing series on the 2007 Oscar nominations

Nominated for:

• Best actor - Will Smith

I have to say that whenever I think of Will Smith, I tend to think of the video for "Parents Just Don't Understand," a novelty rap hit of the late 80s that got some play back when they had actual music videos on MTV. But realizing that he couldn't spend a life making cute non-threatening rap songs, Smith wisely took up acting and demonstrated some talent at it, with his performance in The Pursuit of Happyness being a pinnacle of his career.

OK, so the story is a bit of a tear-jerker melodrama which makes out its real-life subject as a bit more of a saint than he was in real life, but it's still a good story and a great performance. His chief competition, from the performances I've seen comes from Forest Whitaker, and the fact that Whitaker plays such a dark character might go against Whitaker, but probably won't. It's a pity. Without Whitaker in the race, this would be Will Smith's statue to take home.

NP: "NPR: Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! for Sunday, Feb 11 2007"
WC: 40,431, ECD: 14 September 2008

Blood Diamond

Part of a continuing series on the 2007 Oscar nominations

Nominated for:

• Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
• Best Supporting Actor - Djimoun Hounsou
• Editing - Steven Rosenblum
• Sound - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ivan Sharrock
• Sound Editing - Lon Bender

This was one of those films on the nominations list that I felt that I should watch, because it brings attention to an important issue and one which the diamond industry tries really hard to squelch the discussion of (I fully expect to get a comment from some diamond industry person saying that conditions are quite good, diamonds have no moral issues and the movie is horribly inaccurate and biased not too long after this review gets posted).

And while the movie dealt with an important issue, I'm sorry to say that as a film it failed somewhat. The primary purpose of film, in my opinion, is to tell a story, and in this case the story suffers for the benefit of the writer's preaching. It's difficult to do a message film well, and unfortunately, this isn't done well (Hotel Rwanda is an example of a film with a political agenda telling its story well without letting the agenda overwhelm the story).

So what about the performances? Leonardo DiCaprio has, with the assistance of a bit of whispy beard and many hours at the gym, managed to not make himself seem like a twelve-year old, but a fake accent does not a performance make, and while the character is not entirely his fault, he didn't do a convincing job of portraying his character's change from selfishness to selflessness.

Djimoun Hounsou is likewise handicapped with a character who is largely limited to one note: He wants his family to be safe, and preferably, to be with him. There's just not a lot of depth to plumb in this role, and while Housou is valiant in his efforts, it's not an oscar-worthy performance.

NP: "Stopping Light," Science Friday.
WC: 40,431, ECD: 14 Sep 2008.

Your Friday Music Video

It's all indoor on a set, but it's still a great song about L.A.

NP: "Watching Me," NRG No Reasons Given
WC: 40,431, ECD: 14 Sep 2008.

They let the astronaut out on bail?

What are they thinking? She's an astronaut, she can get in a rocket and leave the planet

NP: "MacBreak Weekly 28: iNconceivable"
WC: 40,364, ECD: 12 October 2007

Sunday Search: What sort of weird things do people look for?

Borat whale scene. Dude, I think you got some bad drugs on this one.

The rest is all yet more Norwood Young. Apparently people are curious about his sexuality this week.

NP: "NPR: Most E-Mailed Stories for Sunday, Feb 04 2007"
WC: 40,346, ECD: 6 December 2007.

Why I'll never make it as a movie critic

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

NP: NPR: Most E-Mailed Stories for Saturday, Feb 03 2007
WC: 40,266, ECD: 17 June 2007

Dreamgirls

Part of a continuing series on the 2007 Oscar nominations

Nominated for:

• Best Supporting Actor - Eddie Murphy
• Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson
• Art Direction - John Myhre (art director); Nancy Haigh (set decorator)
• Costume Design - Sharen Davis
• Sound Mixing - Michael Minkler; Bob Beemer; Willie D. Burton
• Original Song
  • Henry Krieger (music); Scott Cutler (music); Anne Preven (lyrics) - For the song "Listen".
  • Henry Krieger (music); Siedah Garrett (lyrics) - For the song "Love You I Do".
  • Henry Krieger (music); Willie Reale (lyrics) - For the song "Patience".

I'm a sucker for a good musical, especially one with a strong Motown influence. One of my favorite films is Little Shop of Horrors.

So from the opening notes of Dreamgirls I was hooked. Hell, even the disco stuff was fun. With 3 of the 5 nominations for best song, it should be a shoo-in in that category.

Eddie Murphy's nomination in best supporting actor is amusing for those of us who remember an old Saturday Night skit where someone sang (or was it rapped--does anyone else remember this?) "he'll never win an oscar because he always plays himself." There were more than a few parts of the film where he did come across as playing Eddie Murphy, although as the film progressed, it was easier to forget that. It's Murphy's best performance, but necessarily Oscar-worthy. It is nice to be reminded that Eddie Murphy can sing.

Jennifer Hudson's performance was fantastic. Perhaps it's because I don't have any preconceptions of her to block, but I had no problem believing that she really was Effie, and she too has a great singing voice. I can see spending the money to get this soundtrack, especially if it has the full versions of some of the songs which were trimmed a bit for the film.

This should have been a strong contender for best adapted screenplay: One of the best indications that a movie based on a stage production has been well-adapted is to find it difficult to envision it on the stage while watching the film. Some cases, like Chicago, don't take too much effort to envision on stage. In this case, however, I found it remarkably difficult to picture this as a stage production and that, of course, is a good thing.

And if there were an Oscar for film credits, this is a movie which would be a strong contender for it. The inclusion of short film clips over the acting credits is fairly standard, but the clips to show things like set design, costume design, etc. were pure genius. These were credits designed by someone who really appreciates the craft of filmmaking, so let me take this chance to throw out a special kudo to Chad Bonanno.

NP: "Quiet Steam," Peter Gabriel, Digging in the Dirt (Single)
WC: 40,070, ECD: 2 May 2007.

Your Friday Music Video

NP: "On the Air," Peter Gabriel, Muppet 07 - Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales - March 7, 1980
WC: 40,070, ECD: 2 May 2007

Pan's Labyrinth

Part of a continuing series on the 2007 Oscar nominations

Nominated for:

• Best Original Screenplay - Guillermo del Toro
• Cinematography - Guillermo Navarro
• Art Direction - Eugenio Caballero, Pilar Revuelta
• Score - Javier Navarrete
• Makeup - David Martí, Montse Ribé
• Best Foreign Language Film

This is one of those spectacularly original films that deserve a lot more recognition than they will get. It's a lot like watching a Terry Gilliam film, entering into del Toro's world in this film.

While it has an inventive story, it's not necessarily strong enough to take the best original screenplay, and suffers from the same handicap that Letters from Iwo Jima does: It's not in English, and so many viewers are at the mercy of the subtitle writers (and like that other film, there is often a loss in the translated subtitles). The score is amazing, though, and would be my pick in that category. If it doesn't win makeup, I think that will be a consequence of academy voters, like me, being fooled into thinking that the faun was CGI rather than make-up. As for best foreign language film, it should be a shoo-in in that category.

NP: "Biko," Peter Gabriel, Muppet 07 - Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales - March 7, 1980
WC: 40,070, ECD: 2 May 2007

Happy blogiversary to me

It's been one year and 90 posts. I'm hoping year two will have a better pace than one post every 4 days.

NP: "Down The Dolce Vita," Peter Gabriel, Muppet 09
WC: 40,070, ECD: 2 May 2007.