Jacques Audiard's Un prophète (predictably) swept the Césars today, taking home nine awards including Meilleur film (Best Film), Réalisateur (Director) and Scénario original (Original Screenplay). Its heartthrob star Tahar Rahim, already quite the celebrity in France despite appearing in just one film, won two awards for Meilleur acteur (Best Actor) and Meilleur espoir masculin (Best Male Newcomer). Emmanuelle Devos, who starred in Audiard's last two films (and is easily one of the finest actresses in the business), won the Supporting Actress prize for Xavier Giannoli's À l'origine. Radu Mihăileanu's Le concert was the only other film to win in more than one category (for Music and Sound Design). Clint Eastwood was (again predictably) the winner in the Film étranger (Foreign Film) category for Gran Torino. The big winners are below; the full list of winners is here (in French); the nominees can be found here.
Meilleur film [Best Film]: Un prophète [A Prophet], d. Jacques Audiard Meilleur réalisateur [Best Director]: Jacques Audiard, Un prophète Meilleur premier film [Best First Film]: Les beaux gosses [The French Kissers], d. Riad Sattouf Meilleur film étranger [Best Foreign Film]: Gran Torino, d. Clint Eastwood, USA Meilleur film documentaire [Best Documentary]: L'enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot [Henri-George Clouzot's Inferno], d. Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea Meilleur acteur [Best Actor]: Tahar Rahim, Un prophète Meilleure actrice [Best Actress]: Isabelle Adjani, La journée de la jupe [Skirt Day] Meilleur acteur dans un second rôle [Supporting Actor]: Niels Arestrup, Un prophète Meilleure actrice dans un second rôle [Supporting Actress]: Emmanuelle Devos, À l'origine [In the Beginning] Meilleur espoir masculin [Best Male Newcomer]: Tahar Rahim, Un prophète Meilleur espoir féminin [Best Female Newcomer]: Mélanie Thierry, Le dernier pour la route [One for the Road] Meilleur scénario original [Original Screenplay]: Un prophète - Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit Meilleur scénario adaptation [Adapted Screenplay]: Mademoiselle Chambon - Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon Meilleure photographie [Best Cinematography]: Stéphane Fontaine, Un prophète
As 2009 slips away, sadly it has been chosen that I will be spending the evening at home, reliving the few moments worth salvaging before I Eternal Sunshine the year completely. It is just about that time for me to post something really maudlin that I'll regret later (and never end up taking down). But before I do so, I'll post some (hopefully) fascinating miscellany.
My entry to The Auteurs' Notebook's year-end writers' poll went up yesterday, alongside Andrew Grant, Glenn Kenny, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Evan Davis, Gabe Klinger, Dave McDougall, David Cairns and Ben Simington's choices for our 2009 fantasy double features (of a first-run theatrical release and an older film we happened to have seen in the past 12 months). Mine covers 2 Olivier Assayas films (though I guess technically, I saw L'heure d'été in 2008, it was in the final two weeks of the year...). Glenn's beautiful screencap of Sheryl Lee as the Good Witch in Wild at Heart has become my current desktop pattern.
Cahiers du Cinéma posted their annual 10 Best of the year and continued to prove to us Yankees how much the French love Clint Eastwood (no, not for Invictus but Gran Torino; Invictus will surely make the 2010 list). Alain Resnais' Wild Grass [Les herbes folles] was their #1 (Sony Pictures Classics' website still doesn't have an official date for its release in the States), and the pleasant surprise of the list was seeing Alain Guiraudie's Le roi de l'évasion [The King of Escape] make it. One of the (many) regrets I have in regard to the final Decade List posting was that I didn't get around to rewatching Guiraudie's Ce vieux rêve qui bouge or Pas de repos pour les braves and left them off the 100 (though I'm pretty sure they should have been there).
So the Decade List posting... thanks to everyone for the nice comments. Aside from a clerical error in posting the two Abel Ferrara films in the wrong positions (Go Go Tales should be at 55, Mary at 76), I'm happy (enough) with the way things lined up, and I will be working on a "defense" if you will for my #1 within the next couple weeks. Anyway, to those of you who sent me your list, they will be posted by the end of next week, and if you're still working on yours, don't take the posting of my list as the curtain drop for the 00's nonsense...
...and though there's a purposeful hesitancy in the way I've spoken of the project in the more recent posts, I'm still possibly considering trying the previous decade on for size for 2010... but that depends on a number of factors, not least of which coming up with a (clever) name for it and determining the amount of time I will have to dedicate to it (it would really be better if I didn't have all the time, actually, as being gainfully employed and/or leaving the Midwest sound much more appealing).
2010 looks to be your year if you happen to be a Blu-ray player owning, French-speaking cinephile, as a number of really exciting releases have already been announced by Gaumont on high-definition format:
- Danton, 1983, d. Andrzej Wajda, 9 February - La nuit de Varennes, 1982, d. Ettore Scola, 9 February, w. Marcello Mastroianni, Hanna Schygulla, Harvey Keitel - Le silence de la mer, 1949, d. Jean-Pierre Melville, 25 March - Un condamné à mort s'est échappé [A Man Escaped], 1956, d. Robert Bresson, 25 March - Les maudits [The Damned], 1947, d. René Clément, 20 May - Le général della Rovere, 1959, d. Roberto Rossellini, 20 May - La peau [La pelle / The Skin], 1981, d. Liliana Cavani, 15 June, w. Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster - Le rouge et le noir [The Red and the White], 1954, d. Claude Autant-Lara, 15 June, w. Danielle Darrieux
All of the films will also be released on DVD on the same date, some for the first time in France, as far as I can tell. Also in France, though not exactly exciting, the film I've been blabbing about all year, Sébastien Lifshitz's Plein sud, opens today, to almost exclusively damning reviews... Though I will reserve judgment for when I do see it, I was hoping the weariness I felt after watching the blasé trailer and noticing it wasn't announced for any of the autumn film festivals was unwarranted...
And finally, I never got around to posting a 2009 music list for the Decade List, which is fine as I generally only made those for my own benefit, and while I had planned on doing some sort of "the 25 '00 albums that did the most to shape me into the cynic I am today" list... it's looking less likely. I have, however, collected 50 of my favorite singles from 2009. I looked past the disappointment I felt in (a lot of) the particular albums and selected the tracks that left their mark on me in some way. I had planned the list to only include one song per artist, but the thing ran out of steam around 43, so instead of nixing three, I tossed a couple alternate choices from the albums I did happen to like a lot this year (Fever Ray, A Woman A Man Walked By, Logos). So if my plan to Eternal Sunshine all of 2009 actually works, I guess I won't have to look far to play catch up in the music world (though my ability to discern which of the 50 aren't really good songs and don't belong has vanished today). I could post an mp3 link at some point, but I haven't the energy at the moment. It looks like I'm finished rambling, and it doesn't look as dejected as I thought I might. That's good, right? Bonne année à tous.
01. Annie - My Love Is Better [Don't Stop] 02. Fever Ray - Keep the Streets Empty for Me [Fever Ray] 03. The xx - Crystalised [xx] 04. PJ Harvey & John Parish - Pig Will Not [A Woman A Man Walked By] 05. The Hidden Cameras - Walk On [Origin: Orphan] 06. Japandroids - Sovereignty [Post-Nothing] 07. Bat for Lashes - Sleep Alone [Two Suns] (yes, the album version is much better) 08. Röyksopp (featuring Karin Dreijer Andersson) - This Must Be It [Junior] 09. Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris and Chrome - Dance wiv Me [Tongue 'N Cheek] 10. No Age - You're a Target [Losing Feeling EP] 11. Junior Boys - Parallel Lines [Begone Dull Care] 12. St. Vincent - The Party [Actor] 13. Atlas Sound featuring Laetitia Sadier - Quick Canal [Logos] 14. Vivian Girls - Before I Start to Cry [Everything Goes Wrong] 15. Whitney Houston - Million Dollar Bill [I Look to You] 16. Phoenix - Fences [Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix] 17. Sally Shapiro - Dying in Africa [My Guilty Pleasure] 18. Jay-Z - D.O.A. (Death of Auto-tune) [The Blueprint 3] 19. The Radio Dept. - David [David EP] 20. Peaches - Talk to Me [I Feel Cream] 21. The Legends - You Won [Over and Over] 22. Little Boots - Stuck on Repeat [Hands] 23. Passion Pit - The Reeling [Manners] 24. The Juan Maclean - Happy House [The Future Will Come] (the 12-minute version is much better) 25. Alcoholic Faith Mission - Gently [421 Wythe Avenue] (The song I would have chosen from this album doesn't seem to be available streaming anywhere) 26. Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM [IRM] 27. Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is the Move [Bitte Orca] 28. Animal Collective - Bluish [Merriweather Post Pavilion] 29. Depeche Mode - Wrong [Sounds of the Universe] 30. Girls - Lust for Life [Album] 31. Deerhunter - Disappearing Ink [Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP] 32. Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake - Love Sex Magic [Fantasy Ride] 33. Bon Iver - Blood Bank [Blood Bank EP] 34. Beirut - The Concubine [March of the Zapotec / Rainpeople Holland EP] 35. Bill Callahan - Jim Cain [Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle] 36. Peter Bjorn and John - I'm Losing My Mind [Living Things] 37. Miike Snow - Animal [Miike Snow] 38. Antony Hegarty and Bryce Dessner - I Was Young When I Left Home [Dark Was the Night] 39. Grizzly Bear - Foreground [Veckatimest] 40. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Far Pavilions [The Century of Self] 41. The Decemberists - Sleepless [Dark Was the Night] (The only song I've ever liked by them, well at least 70% liked) 42. Fuck Buttons - Surf Sport [Tarot Sport] (The album version... exceedingly better) 43. Matt & Kim - Daylight [Grand] 44. Piano Magic - The Nightmare Goes On [Ovation] 45. Yeasayer - Tightrope [Dark Was the Night] 46. Atlas Sound - Shelia [Logos] 47. Annie - Anthonio [All Night] 48. Fever Ray - If I Had a Heart [Fever Ray] (my favorite music video of 2009) 49. Serge Gainsbourg featuring Jane Birkin - L'hôtel particulier [Histoire de Melody Nelson] (Obviously, this isn't new, but as the album was released for the first time in the US this year, and I needed to fill the 50) 50. PJ Harvey and John Parish - Cracks in the Canvas [A Woman A Man Walked By] (this isn't the 2nd best song off the album, but it's the perfect close and part of what keeps me wanting more)
The Golden Globe nominations are in and have proven what a strange year it has been for Hollywood. While two nods for Meryl Streep is usually an annual affair, two for Sandra Bullock is just about unheard-of; Matt Damon makes the third actor with two nominations. In the non-acting categories, Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino received two nominations for directing and writing. As usual, the nominations were all over the board, giving recognition to films most people would would argue don't deserve it (Nine, Avatar, Tobey Maguire... at least if early word is accurate). But the two best moves the Hollywood Foreign Press made were ignoring both Lee Daniels and Rob Marshall in the directing category. I've discussed Daniels previously, but Marshall is quite possibly one of the worst directors in Hollywood. Chicago worked (for the most part) as a result of its source material and Catherine Zeta-Jones, but pay attention to any of the non-musical scenes, and you'll see that the guy can't direct for shit.
So who was missing, in terms of expectations? Invictus for picture, even though ol' Clint got a directing nod; Jeremy Renner; A Single Man in any non-acting category; Samantha Morton and Ben Foster; In the Loop, period; the Coens and A Serious Man in the Musical/Comedy category; and of course Tilda Swinton, though Julia came out so early this year, all the award folk have forgotten. Oh, and also, Mariah Carey. Full nominees, including the television categories and film music ones (Karen O. is now a GG nominee), via the press release.
Best Picture - Drama
- Avatar, d. James Cameron - The Hurt Locker, d. Kathryn Bigelow - Inglourious Basterds, d. Quentin Tarantino - Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, d. Lee Daniels - Up in the Air, d. Jason Reitman
Best Picture - Musical/Comedy
- (500) Days of Summer, d. Marc Webb - The Hangover, d. Todd Phillips - It's Complicated, d. Nancy Meyers - Julie & Julia, d. Nora Ephron - Nine, d. Rob Marshall
Best Director
- Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker - James Cameron, Avatar - Clint Eastwood, Invictus - Jason Reitman, Up in the Air - Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Best Actor - Drama
- Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart - George Clooney, Up in the Air - Colin Firth, A Single Man - Morgan Freeman, Invictus - Tobey Maguire, Brothers
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
Best Actor - M/C
- 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
Best Actress - M/C
- Sandra Bullock, The Proposition - Marion Cotillard, Nine - Julia Roberts, Duplicity - Meryl Streep, It's Complicated - Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Best Supporting Actor
- Matt Damon, Invictus - Woody Harrelson, The Messenger - Christopher Plummer, The Last Station - Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones - Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress
- Penélope Cruz, Nine - Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air - Anna Kenrick, Up in the Air - Mo'Nique - Precious - Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Best Screenplay
- Neill Blomkamp, District 9 - Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker - Nancy Meyers, It's Complicated - Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air - Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Foreign-Language Film
- Baarìa, d. Giuseppe Tornatore, Italy - Broken Embraces [Los abrazos rotos], d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain - The Maid [La nana], d. Sebastián Silva, Chile - A Prophet [Un prophète], d. Jacques Audiard, France - The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band], d. Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany/France/Italy
Animated Feature
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, d. Phil Lord, Chris Miller - Coraline, d. Henry Selick - Fantastic Mr. Fox, d. Wes Anderson - The Princess and the Frog, d. Ron Clements, John Musker - Up, d. Peter Docter, Bob Peterson
The National Board of Review tossed out their annual film awards this afternoon. Almost always the first to do so, the NBR awards aren't typically the most respectable of the end-of-the-year critics' prizes (remember when they named Quills the best picture of 2000?), but since they've been announced, it means that award season is in full swing. Expect plenty of other Film Circles to reveal their winners throughout the month. Awards below:
Best Picture: Up in the Air, d. Jason Reitman Best Director: Clint Eastwood - Invictus Best Actor: (tie) Morgan Freeman - Invictus; George Clooney - Up in the Air Best Actress: Carey Mulligan - An Education Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson - The Messenger Best Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air Best Foreign Film: A Prophet [Un prophète], d. Jacques Audiard, France Best Documentary: The Cove, d. Louie Psihoyos Best Animated Feature: Up, d. Pete Docter, Bob Peterson Best Ensemble Cast: It's Complicated Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Gabourey Sidibe - Precious Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut: (tie) Duncan Jones - Moon; Oren Moverman - The Messenger; Marc Webb - (500) Days of Summer Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Wes Anderson - The Fantastic Mr. Fox William K. Everson Film History Award: Jean Picker Firstenberg NBR Freedom of Expression: (tie) Burma VJ; Invictus; The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellseberg and the Pentagon Papers
Top 10 Films (After Up in the Air), alphabetically
(500) Days of Summer, d. Mark Webb An Education, d. Lone Scherfig The Hurt Locker, d. Kathryn Bigelow Inglourious Basterds, d. Quentin Tarantino Invictus, d. Clint Eastwood The Messenger, d. Oren Moverman A Serious Man, d. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Star Trek, d. J.J. Abrams Up, d. Pete Docter, Bob Peterson Where the Wild Things Are, d. Spike Jonze
Top 10 "Independent" Films, alphabetically
Amreeka, d. Cherien Dabis District 9, d. Neill Blomkamp Goodbye Solo, d. Ramin Bahrani Humpday, d. Lynn Shelton In the Loop, d. Armando Iannucci Julia, d. Erick Zonca Me and Orson Welles, d. Richard Linklater Moon, d. Duncan Jones Sugar, d. Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck Two Lovers, d. James Gray
Top 5 Foreign Films (After A Prophet), alphabetically
The Maid [La nana], d. Sebastián Silva, Chile/Mexico Revanche, d. Götz Spielmann, Austria Song of Sparrows, d. Majid Majidi, Iran Three Monkeys [Üç maymun], d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band], d. Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany/France/Italy
Top 5 Docmentary Films (After The Cove), alphabetically
Burma VJ, d. Anders Østergaard Crude, d. Joe Berlinger Food, Inc., d. Robert Kenner Good Hair, d. Jeff Stilson The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, d. Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
More on the Best of the Decade list round-up from Mike D'Angelo and the Skandies, which was actually posted earlier this month (and which I thought I had already mentioned, but... I guess not) and from Glenn Kenny. D'Angelo and the Skandies listed 20 films and 20 performances, with Lars von Trier's Dogville and Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood topping the respective lists. First, the films:
01. Dogville, 2003, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/UK/France/Germany/Norway/Finland/Netherlands, Lionsgate 02. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004, d. Michel Gondry, USA, Focus Features 03. In the Mood for Love, 2000, d. Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong/China/France, USA Films/Criterion 04. Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, USA/France, Universal Studios 05. There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, Paramount Vantage/Miramax 06. The New World, 2005, d. Terrence Malick, USA/UK, New Line 07. Memento, 2000, d. Christopher Nolan, USA, Newmarket Films 08. 25th Hour, 2002, d. Spike Lee, USA, Touchstone 09. Yi yi: A One and Two, 2000, d. Edward Yang, Taiwan/Japan, Fox Lorber/Criterion 10. No Country for Old Men, 2007, d. Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, USA, Paramount Vantage/Miramax 11. Before Sunset, 2004, d. Richard Linklater, USA, Warner Independent 12. Silent Light [Stellet licht], 2007, d. Carlos Reygadas, Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany, Palisades Tartan 13. Kill Bill, Volume 1, 2003, d. Quentin Tarantino, USA, Miramax 14. Werckmeister Harmonies [Werckmeister harmóniák], 2000, d. Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky, Hungary/Italy/Germany/France, Facets 15. Irréversible, 2002, d. Gaspar Noé, France, Lionsgate 16. Zodiac, 2007, d. David Fincher, USA, Paramount 17. Ghost World, 2001, d. Terry Zwigoff, USA/UK/Germany, United Artists 18. The Man Who Wasn't There, 2001, d. Joel Coen, USA/UK, USA Films 19. Trouble Every Day, 2001, d. Claire Denis, France/Germany/Japan, Lot 47 Films 20. Gerry, 2002, d. Gus Van Sant, USA, Miramax
And the performances...
01. Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood 02. Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain 03. Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive 04. Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake 05. Isabelle Huppert, The Piano Teacher [La pianiste] 06. Summer Phoenix, Esther Kahn 07. Björk, Dancer in the Dark 08. Laura Dern, Inland Empire 09. Mathieu Amalric, Kings and Queen [Rois et reine] 10. Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York 11. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight 12. Christian Bale, American Psycho 13. Billy Bob Thornton, The Man Who Wasn't There 14. Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 15. Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me 16. Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone 17. Q'orianka Kilcher, The New World 18. Julianne Moore, Far from Heaven 19. Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass 20. Aurélien Recoing, Time Out [L'emploi du temps]
I don't have much to say about either list, aside from... Summer Phoenix? Really? Above Björk? Well, not just above Björk, but on the list altogether. I remember her lead performance in Arnaud Desplechin's English-language Esther Kahn to lack quite a bit. I'm still planning on revisiting that one before the year ends, so I'll let you know then. And I've complained enough about Ghost World; unless it starts showing up a lot more often, I'm keeping mum.
Glenn Kenny's list covers his "Seventy Greatest Films of the Decade," in alphabetical order from A.I. to Zodiac. Of the nice surprises on the list: Catherine Breillat's Fat Girl, Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience (which I don't think was a bit of personal bias, despite the fact that he played one of Sasha Grey's johns), Azazel Jacobs' The GoodTimesKid, Lucrecia Martel's The Headless Woman, Brad Bird's The Incredibles, Clint Eastwood's Invictus (which he can't talk about yet... but this inclusion isn't stirring any interest in me as Gran Torino is also on his list), Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar, Jacques Rivette's The Duchess of Langeais, Hong Sang-soo's Night and Day, Olivier Assayas' Summer Hours and Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon. I spotted a few other Best of the Decade lists floating around, but most of them were deplorable, so I'm not going to waste posting/linking to them.
I also meant to thank Eric over at IonCinema for first directing me toward the TIFF list I posted yesterday, and please do check out out Blake Williams' blog, who also included TIFF's picks for the 1990s, which was topped with Víctor Erice's The Dream of Life [El sol del membrillo], still without a DVD release in the US, and included my favorite first-time viewing of a not-2000-era film in 2009, Olivier Assayas' L'eau froide. Thanks guys. Now, on to some writing of my own...
I think this shall represent the final purging of the trivia rattling around my brain from 2008.
Welcome Miscellaneous Events of the Year: Nicholas Stoller and David Koepp making good use of Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais
I'm not really a fan of either British comedian, but in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Ghost Town both were great, playing to their strengths and their public personas perfectly. It's even made me like them a bit. It's miraculous.
Honourable Mentions: Kate Beckinsale's strong performance in Snow Angels. So much better when not modelling rubber pants. Seeing RADA-trained Shakespearean actor Adrian Lester playing a gun-toting hardass in Doomsday and seemingly relishing it. The arrival of Rebecca Hall as a formidable screen presence. Tim Roth's excellent performance as Emil Blonsky in The Incredible Hulk (usually I'm not a fan of his).
Unwelcome Miscellaneous Events of the Year: Fox being the biggest assholes in the world for trying to ruin the release of Watchmen. Will there be a boycott of X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a result? I'd like to hope it happens.
Dishonourable Mentions: The incomprehensibility of the action scenes in Quantum of Solace and Eagle Eye. The truly disheartening career choices of Al Pacino. Taraji P. Henson's bizarre stereotypical acting choices in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. George Lucas's decision to make the character of Ziro the Hutt a weird lisping cross-dresser with Truman Capote's voice in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. An entire planet says, "WTF?"
Best Poster:The Dark Knight
Worst Poster:Bangkok Dangerous
Best Advertising Campaign of the Year:Cloverfield
After the trailer from last year, the campaign never really put a foot wrong. By the time the movie came out, there was no way even the worst reviews would have stopped us watching it.
Worst Advertising Campaign of the Year:The Incredible Hulk
Slender trailers, a couple of crappy TV spots, an inability to control the grouchy star (other than a funny bit on Jimmy Kimmel), and eventually, just before the release, a huge emphasis on the appearance of Robert Downey Jr., and the end of the movie being re-edited to give that tiny scene more prominence. No wonder the movie didn't make as much money as hoped. It all made the movie look like this rush-job trying to find an empty weekend during the busy summer season, but even a cursory look at the extras on the DVD show the astonishing amount of hard work and thought that went into it. Such a shame. Anyway, here's the Kimmel thing. It's the only vaguely good thing to come out of the shockingly mishandled campaign.
Least Discreet Advertising Campaign of the Year:
Wanted's many trailers gave away pretty much every WOW moment of the film. As the plot (minus the crazy Loom of Fate and exploding rats stuff) was very similar to the comic, it felt like a waste of time actually sitting through the movie. I can see that the movie was a tough sell, but couldn't they have kept some more stuff back for the film?
Most Deliriously Batshit Action Movie of the Year:Rambo
Honourable Mentions:Vantage Point, Eagle Eye, Chocolate
Vocal Sound Effect of the Year: “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” (Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino)
Catchphrase of the Year: "Let! Us! Fuck!" (Zack and Miri Make A Porno)
Most Welcome Trend of the Year (Other Than The Grudging Critical Respect Aimed At The Superhero Genre): The New Horror Renaissance
It's been going on for a while now, but even so, this year we were lucky enough to get Eden Lake, [Rec], The Orphanage, Let The Right One In and, arguably, the interesting adaptation of Scott Smith's horror classic The Ruins, all of which were of varying degrees of quality but definitely in the "very good" column. I feel like adding Neil Marshall's hugely entertaining Doomsday to that list, for being in such debt to John Carpenter, James Cameron, and George Miller, who all know how to make a suspenseful or horrifying movie. Marshall has shown he can duplicate those talents with ease. If I'm going to add that, I'll even make a case for Stuart Gordon's excellent Stuck, which is macabre, ghoulish, nail-biting suspense, as well as being a terrific comment on poverty and the pressures put on the working class, and features an excellent performance from Stephen Rea. It's been a long time since I was excited by the horror genre, and it's an odd feeling.
Least Welcome Trend of the Year: Post-Modern Cinema-Verite Movies about the War in Iraq
Don't get me wrong, it's vital we keep our eye on that war, and never forget that people are suffering there in simply horrible ways, but whereas documentaries like No End in Sight, Taxi To The Dark Side, and Standard Operating Procedure do their best to illuminate by giving voice to as many different observers as possible, Nick Broomfield's Battle For Haditha and Brian De Palma's Redacted try to create a different kind of "truth" by either recreating an atrocity or by staging a po-mo video collage of a fictional atrocity based on a real one. Both movies come from an honest place but mangle the truth through their different approaches; Broomfield with his docu-drama retelling, De Palma with his formalist tricks (fake French documentary footage, YouTube videos, CCTV, hand-held camera shots from soldiers documenting the events). Both movies intentionally feature non-actors playing unconvincing characters (more like avatars) saying clunky expositional dialogue, and featuring some bizarre choices.
For instance, Broomfield invents a composite character who is a major protagonist during the horrifying massacre of innocents. If you don't see the accompanying documentary (the name of which eludes me, regrettably) then you wouldn't know this, and you would assume that somehow that person had given his consent to Broomfield that he could show him in the film, or had had some hand in telling Broomfield what he was thinking and feeling throughout. As he didn't, all of that is now suspect, and whatever horrors the film presents are dulled by that knowledge. Just as annoying, Redacted is not based on a real event, due to legal difficulties, and as such seems like little more than a remake of Casualties of War. Even though we know there was indeed an incident similar to this, the film just muddies the waters and makes it harder for the viewer to figure out what is really going on over there.
As for the hand-held camera, it's not a convention I usually object to. I just think it really only works in movies like Cloverfield and [Rec], where using the participant frame as a method of generating new ways of delivering shocks to the audience is far more tasteful than, say De Palma's use of it. Even more annoying is that is has been proved that a docu-drama can be made that hews as close to the objective truth as it is possible to. Paul Greengrass' astonishing United 93 should be a template to follow, made with as much attention to detail and first-hand accounting as it is possible to. Admittedly Broomfield couldn't get the same level of access to the real participants as Greengrass, but still, there are avoidable choices made that damage his movie.
It's doubly frustrating because these are stories that need to be told and, especially in the case of Haditha, were done with such incredibly good intentions. This article by Broomfield shows how committed he was to telling this story to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, in the telling of them, by blurring the lines of fact and fiction, and by filling the characters' mouths with words that no normal person would ever say, they have inadvertently distanced the audience from the real horrors. They're still essential viewing, though.
Most Relentless Use of Religious Imagery in a Science Fiction Tale:Dante 01
Dishonourable Mention:Wall*E
Best Hair: Viggo Mortensen's face fuzz (Appaloosa)
He looks like a bit of a dandy but he will fuck you up, for reals.
Worst Hair: Nicolas Cage (Bangkok Dangerous)
Does using shampoo ruin his deadly assassin's aim or something?
Most Improbably Styled Hair: Camilla Belle's pristine dreads in 10000 B.C.
Apparently we're descended from Rasta Valley Girls.
Best Use of Kristen Wiig:Ghost Town
Worst Use of Kristen Wiig: Cutting her entirely out of the cinema release of Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Adorable Screen Couple of the Year: Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man)
Honourable Mentions: Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), Mos Def and Melonie Diaz (Be Kind Rewind)
Crap Screen Couple of the Year: Vin Diesel and Mélanie Thierry (Babylon A.D.)
Dishonourable Mentions: Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye), Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson (Jumper)
Inappropriate and Just Downright Creepy Screen Couple of the Year: Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson (Let The Right One In)
"Oh Man, At Last!" Couple of the Year: Harrison Ford and Karen Allen (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
"Jesus, Just Split Up Already!" Couple of the Year: Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel (The Happening)
Dishonourable Mention: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (The Strangers)
Most Awkward and Unconvincing Couple of the Year: Edward Norton and Liv Tyler (The Incredible Hulk)
Utterly Improbable Couple of the Year: James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie (Wanted)
Dishonourable Mention: Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth (21)
Most Gratuitous Kissing Between Two Hotties Just So The Director Can Get His Rocks Off: Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Worst Ending to a Relationship: Kate Beckinsale and Hott Sam Rockwell in Snow Angels
Dishonourable Mentions: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (The Strangers)
Likeable Manic Pixie Dream Girl of the Year: Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis - Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
Honourable Mention: Chloë - (Clémence Poésy - In Bruges)
Dishonourable Mention: Fox (Angelina Jolie - Wanted)
Convincing Lust Object of the Year: Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace)
Honourable Mention: Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Unconvincing Lust Object of the Year: Al Pacino (88 Minutes)
Dishonourable Mention: Kate Bosworth (21)
"Kate Winslet In Little Children" Award For Least Believable Unattractiveness: Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler
We're supposed to think Tomei, as stripper Cassidy, looks so old that no one wants her to dance for them? Bullshit. She's looking as good as ever, though kudos to her for selling that plot point.
Most Amusing Critical Crush of the Year: Stephanie Zacharek's potentially compromising soft spot for Jason Statham
At the end of the year, Stephanie Zacharek, film critic for Salon, had her end of year list (somewhat smaller than mine), with a big list of honourable mentions. Among the usual suspects, there was also The Bank Job and Transporter 3, two movies that really are just not that good. When we had a closer look at her reviews for both movies, we found out why: Stephanie + Jason 4evah!
Hilariously, her reviews for both movies (and Death Race, which she was also easy on), were basically mash notes to the Brit Bruiser. Here are some highlights:
"Statham is sexy all right, with that beefcake-pinup chest, but the sexiest thing about him is what's going on upstairs, and his voice alone is delectable: It sounds like a cat's tongue feels." (Transporter 3)
"The look in Statham's eyes reassures [Keeley Hawes] more than his words ever could -- they have a melting quality that counterbalances the rough, masculine raspiness of his voice. In the press notes for "The Bank Job," Donaldson says that Statham reminds him of a British Steve McQueen, and the comparison makes sense. In "The Bank Job," Statham is a sex symbol with a soul..." (The Bank Job)
"Anderson's camera [casts] its unapologetically erotic view on Statham's perfectly chiseled mug -- his stubble is so artfully dappled it could have been painted by Carravagio... There's no doubt he makes a fine physical specimen in any picture: His muscles have that mysterious filmic quality of looking both rock-hard and pillowy at once... Statham moves with such easy grace that you don't have to work hard to believe him. And if he can stand up to Joan Allen, melting her predatory stare with his own molten gaze, then it's clear he's not just the prettiest guy on the prison block, but also the toughest." (Death Race)
I wish she had reviewed In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale as well. I'd wager she definitely owns it.
Okay, I reckon that should be enough. Normal service can be resumed now.
Jacques Audiard's Un prophète (predictably) swept the Césars today, taking home nine awards including Meilleur film (Best Film), Réalisateur (Director) and Scénario original (Original Screenplay). Its heartthrob star Tahar Rahim, already quite the celebrity in France despite appearing in just one film, won two awards for Meilleur acteur (Best Actor) and Meilleur espoir masculin (Best Male Newcomer). Emmanuelle Devos, who starred in Audiard's last two films (and is easily one of the finest actresses in the business), won the Supporting Actress prize for Xavier Giannoli's À l'origine. Radu Mihăileanu's Le concert was the only other film to win in more than one category (for Music and Sound Design). Clint Eastwood was (again predictably) the winner in the Film étranger (Foreign Film) category for Gran Torino. The big winners are below; the full list of winners is here (in French); the nominees can be found here.
Meilleur film [Best Film]: Un prophète [A Prophet], d. Jacques Audiard
