The Devil(s), Probably!

Holy fucking shit. Ken Russell's The Devils, uncut, on DVD, Region 1, May 20th. Best news of the year. I love you all. Warner's treatment of The Devils has been a serious cause of blue balls for me. They've been threatening to release it for over five years and now they've "delayed" it again. Shoot me.

In other DVD news, it looks like Criterion has their hands on Milcho Manchevski's Before the Rain, starring Rade Serbedzija, Grégoire Colin, Phyllida Law and the late Katrin Cartlidge. Expect it later this year.

Bresson, Region 2, April

Artificial Eye, from the U.K., will be releasing three Bresson DVDs in April, most notably The Devil, Probably [Le diable probablement], which would mark the first DVD of the film with English subtitles. They will also be releasing Lancelot du lac and A Man Escaped, both of which are available from New Yorker in the US.

His Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Though, yeah, the ceremony was pretty dull (especially with three fucking musical numbers from Enchanted), but if nothing else, this year's Oscars really favored the hotness: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard (in Gaultier, no less), Tilda Swinton and Javier Bardem... too much (I favored all four to win as well and all also come from the great continent of Europe). And those kids from Once... adorable. Not once did I slam down my fist or mutter obscenities, so for that, it must have been a good year.

Picture: No Country for Old Men
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Actress: Marion Cotillard - La Vie en rose
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody - Juno
Animated Film: Ratatouille - dir. Brad Bird

Full winners can be found at this link. Thanks to Michael K from Dlisted for photoshopping a picture together so I didn't have to.

And for the Best Picture of the Year...

Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood

Who Should Win: (tie) No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood

You know, this is probably the first year where I would be entirely satisfied with the Oscar going to two films (other than the year Crash won, where I wanted anything BUT Crash to get the Oscar). Both are remarkable in their own right and both will stand the test of time.

The WTF? Nominee: Atonement

Before seeing Atonement, I was disappointed that the Academy went for what's expected of them: a boring costume drama. And while I didn't despise Atonement, it lacked something... and I think that would be getting the meat of the book lost in translation. I can't think of any film I've seen recently where I've thought, "Wow, this was probably an amazing book... too bad for the film."

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) and Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton).

Who Should Win: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

It's no secret that I'd listen to Tilda Swinton read from the phone book and be pleased, but she deserves the Oscar because she did so much with so little. Her character was a rather throw-away ice queen, but Tilda turned her into a fully three-dimensional character, arm pit sweat and all.

The WTF? Nominee: Ruby Dee (American Gangster)

I guess the Academy realized they didn't reach their ethnic quota and threw a nomination in Ruby Dee's way. Don't get me wrong, Dee is fine, and she's usually excellent, but she's got lack of screen time (particularly in a three hour film) and lack of significance going against her.

Best Actress

Nominees: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away from Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose), Laura Linney (The Savages) and Ellen Page (Juno).

Who Should Win: Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose)

I hate biopics, and seldom am I impressed with the actors who place themselves in them (exception of course given to Helen Mirren), but Marion Cotillard's performance as the tragic French singer Edith Piaf is shattering. There's a sincere distinction between her Piaf versus, say, Jamie Foxx's Ray Charles in that she's not delivering an impersonation; she's literally possessed. I haven't seen such a rapturous transformation portrayed anywhere since I saw Christine Ebersole on Broadway as Little Edie in Grey Gardens.

The WTF? Nominee: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)

I understand the Academy loves Cate Blanchett to death, even more so than Kate Winslet as Ms. Blanchett has a trophy to her name... but nominating her for Elizabeth: The Golden Age? Ridiculous. Not only was she better in the original, but she's... dare I say... kind of hammy in the unnecessary and stale sequel. And not hammy in a good way, like she was during that scene in Notes on a Scandal. Whether you agree with the hamminess or not, you have to admit, from an actress as ranged and talented as she, her Elizabeth was Blanchett on autopilot.

Best Actor

Nominees: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah) and Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises).

Who Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Well, duh. The field this year is actually quite strong. Jones, Mortensen and Clooney are all exceptional, but Day-Lewis, whoa. How do you compete with the best performance from one of the world's finest actors? Like Bardem, Day-Lewis is menacing and brilliant.

The WTF? Nominee: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)

I know by saying this the Johnny Depp fan squad will be on my ass, but, really, was he good in Sweeney Todd? I was too distracted by the fact that he (and most of his costars) couldn't sing to save his life. And isn't that part of the overall performance in a musical?

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees: Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War), Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild) and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton).

Who Should Win: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

Bardem is the clear frontrunner in this category and for good reason. Much of the power of No Country for Old Men lies on his shoulders, and though his performance is the showiest of his other male counterparts (Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin), he exudes a raw power of terror to his Chigurh. Absolutely astounding.

The WTF? Nominee: Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild)

Yeah, okay, he's old. Yeah, okay, the Academy loves giving prizes to old people. But wasn't there someone more qualified than Holbrook? Catherine Keener was the only standout performance in Into the Wild, and her chemistry with Emile Hirsch was far more impressive than Holbrook's. Holbrook isn't another causality of my disdain for the film; his performance wouldn't have been astounding if he were actually in a good film.

Malle and Korda from Criterion in May

Criterion will be releasing Louis Malle's Les amants (The Lovers) and The Fire Within (Le feu follet) in May, along with the Alexander Korda production of The Thief of Bagdad from 1940. They seem to be releasing fewer and fewer titles per month lately.

3 to go!

With 3 films to go and five categories to run down, I've got a lot of shit to do before the Oscar ceremony. AND, I'm filming a short this weekend as part of our Fortnight Film Project. So, wish me luck (again), and hope another snowstorm comes through town, so I can get out of my other responsibilities and watch shitloads of cinema.

Best Adapted Screenplay

The nominees are as follows: Christopher Hampton (Atonement), Sarah Polley (Away from Her), Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men), and Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood). [side note: I realize Pedro won for Best Original Screenplay, but I couldn't resist posting it here. Regardless, I think that's also a photo from when he won for All About My Mother, not Talk to Her... whatever]

Who Should Win: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

It's not usually the case that some of the finer screenplays in a year come from previously written material, but such is this year. Four of the five nominees are all solid works and could conceivably win the award without much fuss from me, but the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men screenplay perfectly captured the tone of the novel for me (though again, I know Eric will have some complaints here).

The WTF? Nominee: Christopher Hampton (Atonement)

The failure of Atonement cannot be solely attributed to Hampton's screenplay, but more to Joe Wright's direction, which was thankfully overlooked for a nomination. I'm noticing that a lot of my picks this year are based on the person nominated significance to the film as a whole (which is why I'm already convinced Ruby Dee's less-than-five-minute performance in American Gangster will be the WTF? of that category). Atonement is the only of films nominated which screams, "I'm sure the book was better," while all the other films beautifully add to their source material, creating something altogether different (but not entirely). Atonement lacked punch.

Best Original Screenplay

Here are the nominees for reference: Diablo Cody (Juno), Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco (Ratatouille), and Tamara Jenkins (The Savages).

Who Should Win: Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)

I can already hear Eric bitching about this one, but in my opinion (and many others), Michael Clayton was exactly what it was billed to be: a Hollywood film for thinking adults. Now that's a scary thought, but I think Gilroy's accomplishments are far more successful than the other nominees.

The WTF? Nominee: Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl)

She gets points in my book for a handful of things, most notably never treating Ryan Gosling's Lars as character to be mocked. However, most appreciation for Lars and the Real Girl isn't because of her, or director Craig Gillespie, strengths as it is the actors'. Gosling is impeccable (as always) and received fine support from Patricia Clarkson, Kelli Garner and Emily Mortimer, all of which carry Lars and the Real Girl much further than the collective efforts of anyone else. Kudos though for the Academy recognizing female talent in the writing department.

Best Animated Film

Nominees: Ratatouille - dir. Brad Bird, Persepolis - dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, Surf's Up - dir. Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Who Should Win: Persepolis - dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

I know everyone else is voting for Ratatouille, but honestly, that film never reached my high expectations of it. Persepolis exceeded mine, and its win would mark the first animated film for adults to capture the new trophy. Persepolis is thoughtful, entertaining and wonderfully animated in mostly black-and-white hand-drawn style. Based on the graphic novel by co-director Satrapi, the film is a marvelous depiction of identity and growing up, all without schmaltz.

The WTF? Nominee: Surf's Up - dir. Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

It's a bit unfair of me to even have a WTF? nominee here as there are only three nominees, and really, Surf's Up isn't bad by any means. It's more clever than it looks (and it's a fuckload better than The Simpsons Movie), but it's the ho-hum nominee of this category. Persepolis and Ratatouille are far stronger films, and out of all three, Surf's Up feels the most like a children's movie.