4 days off!
What moves should I go see at the cinema the next couple of days?
I’m looking to see films that are likely to be nominated for and worth an Oscar.
I enjoyed The Great Debaters.
I’ve heard from the family good things about No Country for Old Men.
And I loved Juno–I saw that last weekend. I definitely recommend it again and again.
Juno and NCfOM will likely pick up a bunch of nominations.
Atonement already has a slew of Golden Globe nominations, which makes Oscar contention a good bet.
Lots of Awards buzz around There Will Be Blood (but I don’t know if it’s out in Dallas) and Sweeney Todd.
Disclaimer: I haven’t seen any of these except Juno. I can wholeheartedly recommend that one.
Depending on what may be showing in Dallas at present:
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
Juno
Control
All excellent films, and all may get some sort of Oscar consideration.
Atonement is overrated in my opinion, but it will get nominations.
I haven’t seen the French film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, but it is getting raves.
It depends on what you’re in the mood for and what’s playing of course, but I’ve seen all but two of the Oscar-possible movies out now and and I’m an awards slut who keeps track of all that stuff, so here are my recommendations.
To see what will most likely be the winner of Best Picture, Best Director (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen) and Best Supporting Actor (Jarvier Bardem), go see No Country For Old Men.
To see what might be the most-nominated film (and possible Best Picture winner), go see Atonement.
One’s a gritty drama and one’s a tragic romance. They’re both excellent films. I’d recommend these before any others simply because you’ll get more bang for your Oscar-nominated (Atonement)/winning (NCFOM) buck.
To see a possible Best Picture nominee and almost certain Best Actor winner, go see There Will Be Blood. I haven’t seen this one because it doesn’t open until Friday but I’ve heard enough about it to be able to guess.
To see one of the absolute best movies of the decade, plus a probable Best Foreign-Language Film winner (and possible Best Director and Best Supporting Actor nominee), go see The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Here’s a list of the possible nominees playing now, in the order I’d recommend them and the categories it might be nominated in, in the order of likelihood (IMO, of course. I’m not saying all these nominations WILL happen, and some are unlikely indeed, but still possible. Anything is possible).
A + indicates that I think it could be a winner in this category. I won’t list some of the artistic categories, like Editing or Sound. That way lies madness, though I do have opinions about what’ll get nominated in those too:
No Country For Old Men
- Best Picture +
- Best Director (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen) +
- Best Supporting Actor (Jarvier Bardem) +
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen) +
- Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins) +
- Best Art Direction
- Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones)
- Best Supporting Actress (Kelly McDonald)
- Best Actor (Josh Brolin)
Atonement - Best Picture
- Best Director (Joe Wright)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton)
- Best Cinematography (Seamus McGarvey)
- Best Art Direction +
- Best Costumes +
- Best Supporting Actress (Saoirse Ronan) (pronounced Seer-sha)
- Best Actor (James McAvoy)
- Best Actress (Keira Knightley)
- Best Supporting Actress (Vaness Redgrave)
- Best Supporting Actress (Romola Garai)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le papillon) - Best Foreign-Language Film +
- Best Director (Julian Schnabel)
- Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood)
- Best Supporting Actor (Max von Sydow)
- Best Picture
- Best Actor (Mathieu Amalric)
- Best Supporting Actress (Marie-Josée Croze)
- Best Supporting Actress (Emmanuelle Seigner)
Michael Clayton - Best Picture
- Best Actor (George Clooney)
- Best Supporting Actress (Tilda Swinton)
- Best Supporting Actor (Tom Wilkinson)
- Best Original Screenplay (Tony Gilroy)
- Best Director (Tony Gilroy)
Charlie Wilson’s War - Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin)
- Best Actor (Tom Hanks)
- Best Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts)
- Best Director (Mike Nichols)
- Best Picture
- Best Costumes
Juno - Best Original Screenplay (Diablo Cody) +
- Best Actress (Ellen Page)
- Best Picture
- Best Director (Jason Reitman)
Sweeney Todd - Best Actor (Johnny Depp)
- Best Director (Tim Burton)
- Best Picture
- Best (Supporting?) Actress (Helena Bonham-Carter) (her category is unclear)
- Best Cinematography (Dariusz Wolski)
- Best Costumes
- Best Art Direction
American Gangster - Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee)
- Best Director (Ridley Scott)
- Best Picture
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Steven Zaillian)
- Best Actor (Denzel Washington)
- Best Cinematography (Harris Savides)
- Best Art Direction
- Best Supporting Actor (Russell Crowe)
- Best Costumes
The Kite Runner - Best Picture
- Best Cinematography (Roberto Schaefer)
- Best Director (Marc Forster)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (David Benioff)
I’m Not There - Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett) +
Enchanted - Best Original Song + (whichever one is nominated, it’ll probably win)
- Best Actress (Amy Adams)
- Best Costumes
I haven’t seen these yet but I’ve heard they’re brilliant…
There Will Be Blood
- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) +
- Best Picture
- Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Best Cinematography (Robert Elswit)
- Best Costumes
- Best Art Direction
- Best Supporting Actor (Paul Dano)
Persepolis - Best Animated Film +
Starting Out in the Evening - Best Actor (Frank Langella)
Playing now and might get artistic nods:
The Golden Compass (Art Direction, Costumes, VFX)
I Am Legend (VFX)
These are probably not playing anymore (except at maybe 2nd run theaters), but will/could be factors in the Oscar race:
Into The Wild
- Best Picture
- Best Cinematography + (Eric Gautier)
- Best Supporting Actor (Hal Holbrook)
- Best Original Song
- Best Director (Sean Penn)
- Best Actor (Emile Hirsch)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Sean Penn)
- Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Keener)
Gone Baby Gone - Best Supporting Actress (Amy Ryan) + (yes, she could win over Cate Blanchett)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard)
- Best Director (Ben Affleck)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins)
- Best Supporting Actor (Casey Affleck)
- Best Costumes
- Best Art Direction
- Best Picture
- Best Actor (Brad Pitt)
- Best Director (Andrew Dominik)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Andrew Dominik)
- Best Supporting Actor (Sam Rockwell)
(I know, wish list city…sue me. I love this movie)
Eastern Promises - Best Actor (Viggo Mortensen)
- Best Director (David Cronenberg)
- Best Supporting Actor (Armin Mueller-Stahl)
- Best Cinematography (Peter Suschitzky)
- Best Supporting Actor (Vincent Cassel)
- Best Actress (Naomi Watts)
Lust, Caution - Best Cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto)
- Best Art Direction
- Best Costumes
(not eligible for Foreign-Language nomination)
3:10 To Yuma - Best Supporting Actor (Ben Foster)
- Best Cinematography (Phedon Papamichael)
- Best Costumes
- Best Actor (Russell Crowe)
- Best Picture
- Best Director (James Mangold)
- Best Actor (Christian Bale)
- Best Arti Direction
The Brave One - Best Actress (Jodie Foster)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Best Actress (Cate Blanchett)
- Best Costumes
- Best Art Direction
Lars And The Real Girl - Best Original Screenplay (Nancy Oliver)
- Best Actor (Ryan Gosling)
- Best Supporting Actress (Emily Morimer)
Across The Universe - Best Cinematography (Bruno Delbonnel)
- Best Art Direction
- Best Costumes
These are on DVD and will or could be a factor:
La Vie En Rose (La Môme)
- Best Actress (Marion Cotilliard) +
- Best Costumes
- Best Art Direction
- Best Cinematography (Tetsuo Nagata)
Away From Her - Best Actress (Julie Christie) +
A Mighty Heart - Best Actress (Angelina Jolie) + (any of the three could win)
Hairspray - Best Costumes
- Best Picture (there is a crazy possibility it’ll be nominated)
- Best Supporting Actress (Nikki Blonsky)
- Best Supporting Actor (John Travolta, vomit)
Ratatouille - Best Animated Film +
- Best Director (Brad Bird)
- Best Original Screenplay (Brad Bird)
- Best Picture
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Best Art Direction
- Best Supporting Actress (Imelda Staunton)
Transformers - Best Visual Effects
There are other films playing now that are worth seeing, even if they might not be Oscar contenders. Here are a few, and my wish list of what IMO they should be nominated for:
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
- Best Original Screenplay (Kelly Masterson) (this just might get a nomination)
- Best Director (Sidney Lumet)
- Best Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
- Best Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke)
- Best Supporting Actor (Albert Finney)
The Great Debaters - Best Picture
- Best Director (Denzel Washington)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert Eisele)
- Best Supporting Actor (Denzel Whitaker, that really is his name)
- Best Cinemography (Philippe Rousselot)
- Best Costumes
- Best Supporting Actor (Nate Parker)
- Best Actor (Denzel Washington)
- Best Supporting Actor (Forest Whitaker)
- Best Supporting Actress (Jurnee Smollett)
- Best Art Direction
The Savages - Best Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
- Best Actress (Laura Linney)
- Best Supporting Actor (Philip Bosco)
- Best Original Screenplay (Tamera Jenkins)
- Best Picture
- Best Director (Tamera Jenkins)
The Orphanage - Best Foreign-Language Film
- Best Actress (Belén Rueda)
- Best Cinematography
- Best Art Direction
- Best Costumes
Margot At The Wedding - Best Actress (Nicole Kidman)
- Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Jason Leigh)
**Control ** - Best Actor (Sam Riley)
- Best Supporting Actress (Samantha Morton)
- Best Director (Anton Corbijn)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Matt Greenhalgh)
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep - Best Cinematography
- Best Costumes
- Best Original Song (Sinead O’Connor’s “Back Where You Belong”
I was delightfully surprised and impressed by how good Enchanted is. It takes every Disney fairy-princess trope and turns it upside down - a funny, sweet, engaging movie for both kids and adults. My boys and I loved it.
I’ve recently enjoyed Juno, Charlie Wilson’s War, and No Country For Old Men.
I liked NCFOM best, but I’d feel safer recommending the first two for someone I don’t know.
I thought Into The Wild was all right, but I wouldn’t recommend it without really specifically knowing your tastes.
I imagine the second National Treasure is probably like the first one, and it’s doing well at the Box Office, so it’s probably a pretty safe bet for some good escapism.
I just saw Charlie Wilson’s War and enjoyed it quite a bit. I like political movies in general, and this one is somewhat unique in that it is really funny. The dialogue is sharp and rapid-fire, and Philip Seymour Hoffman gives his usual excellent performance. I’m not sure I’m entirely behind the politics of the film or the “let’s kill some Russians!” good-times-for-all atmosphere. (Also, minor nitpick, they apparently used stock footage to show the Afghans shooting down Russian aircraft; some of the footage was obviously of American-made aircraft being shot down. One exploding airplane was so clearly an F-16 that it took me out of the movie for a minute). But, I liked it a lot overall. Hoffman is worth the price of admission.
Well, just for the sake of mentioning it, I just saw I am Legend and Alien vs Predator #(whatever).
(I have a teenaged son.)
The former gets a C+. The latter gets a C-. No great shakes either one.