Ok, everyone, the Super Bowl of films is coming up tomorrow night (there will be a party in the Dogwood Lounge at Salisbury University starting at 7, get there when you can), and I’m going to post the nominations and my choices for you. Two categories in my choices: FAV, and EXP. Favorites versus what I actually expect will win.

And the nominees are…

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:

Leonardo DiCaprio for Blood Diamond (2006)

Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson (2006)

Peter O’Toole for Venus (2006/I)

Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006)

FAV- My choice is actually Leo DiCaprio, but for The Departed. Sadly, he didn’t get nominated even though that was a CAREER CHANGING PERFORMANCE. I have yet to see Blood Diamond, but I’m sure that’d also probably equal the same effect.
EXP- Forest Whitaker for Last King of Scotland

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Penélope Cruz for Volver (2006/I)

Judi Dench for Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006)

Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Kate Winslet for Little Children (2006)

FAV: Well, I didn’t much see any movies with female leads this year, so I can’t say for sure. However, based on the story alone, and how important the character is, I’d have to put my eggs in Helen Mirren’s basket for The Queen.

EXP: Helen Mirren’s odds to win are supposedly like 10 to 1.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Jackie Earle Haley for Little Children (2006)

Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond (2006)

Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls (2006)

Mark Wahlberg for The Departed (2006)

FAV: For me, the choice is easy: Mark E Mark, also know as Marky Mark or Mark Wahlberg, has proven he has some REAL gravitas on the screen. His performance in The Departed is pretty much the character-act “Jack Sparrow” style but for adults. Nothing short of one of the most entertaining characters in film history in years, I would rather have a Dignam-specific spin off than have Scorsese direct the sequels to Infernal Affairs.
EXP:I think I’m pretty accurate in saying my FAV will win on charisma alone, so this award I would expect will go to Mark Wahlberg, since The Departed is probably going to get ripped off on it’s Director and Film awards.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Adriana Barraza for Babel (2006)

Cate Blanchett for Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Abigail Breslin for Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006)

Rinko Kikuchi for Babel (2006)

FAV:I really have no opinion here, but since Jennifer Hudson is just a n00b from American Idol, I think I’ll go for the under dog.
EXP: Supposedly everyone is throwing their hands in for Japanese newcomer Rinko Kikuchi, and I wouldn’t blame them- the Academy is becoming suspiciously determined to throw awards at minorities in the past few years. Not that I condemn them for that- but people point it out nonetheless. Oscar’s are like Presidential elections for cinema- they change how people perceive the times. When Denzel Washington and Halle Berry both won acting oscars in the same year, they made it pretty clear it was a huge achievement in Black Culture (not like Halle Berry is a part of that, but GO GO DENZEL!). I could be wrong about this- but don’t associate this choice with racism, associate it with Politics (after all, EVERYONE expected Brokeback Mountain to win last year for Best Picture. Supposedly Crash won because everyone assumes the Academy STILL isn’t comfortable with homosexuality).

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Clint Eastwood for Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Stephen Frears for The Queen (2006)

Paul Greengrass for United 93 (2006)

Alejandro González Iñárritu for Babel (2006)

Martin Scorsese for The Departed (2006)

FAV: Fifty to 100 percent of the people who read this site will expect me to go with Clint Eastwood. Any other year- you would be 100 percent right. However, this time I have only three words: Scorsese, Scorsese, Scorsese.
EXP: Ok, this one is a little tricky, but my answer still stands- The Departed was the BIGGEST BOX OFFICE SUCCESS of any film nominated for Oscar this year, aside from Pirate’s of the Carribean 2′s single visual affects nod. It’s also Scorsese’s biggest box office draw ever. Hell, when I saw it on campus here at SU and the screen was blurred out beyond recognition (assuming it was unfixable, the event’s services gave up and let it run as it was), at least fifty students still sat in awe, despite the fact their eyes were being more and more messed up with every frame. Scorsese has produced the most exciting, and watchable film of his career, and whether or not that equates to being his best is up for debate, however it certainly shows his INFINITE VERSATILITY- Scorsese is quite possibly one of the best directors of all time, and if his career was to open with Taxi Driver and end with this, the finale would probably be equal to the grand opening. NINE words give this a 100% chance for victory:
SCORSESE HAS NEVER WON THE OSCAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR even though he’s been nominated now, what, SEVEN times?

If I’d give it to anyone else though, it’d be Paul Greengrass.

BEST FILM
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:

Babel (2006): Alejandro González Iñárritu, Steve Golin, Jon Kilik

The Departed (2006): Graham King

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006): Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Robert Lorenz

Little Miss Sunshine (2006): David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub

The Queen (2006): Andy Harries, Christine Langan, Tracey Seaward

FAV: The Departed, The Departed, The Departed. Every other movie, I’m sure, is either deeper or more historically accurate, or hell even more intelligent and emotionally affecting. My reply? SO WHAT. The Departed is a master of his craft providing the BEST ENTERTAINMENT of the year, and some of the best entertainment since his last Great Win, Goodfellas.
EXP: The Queen is pretty high up there considering the material, in my opinion, and Letters From Iwo Jima has a chance to win since it was pulled out of the Best Foreign Language Feature. Babel won the Golden Globe, but I really don’t think it made box office enough to do good at the Oscars. Brad Pitt is a powerful man in Hollywood though, and he dropped his starring role in The Departed for this movie. So…I’d have to say this is probably the only award that is 100% “Up in the Air”.

Check out the rest of the awards at IMDB.COM with pictures and stuff., but some final notes before I go:

If Children of Men does not win the Best Cinematography award, the Academy should be stripped of its ability to hand out anything more than Honoraries. This film is by far one of the best looking pictures I have EVER SEEN. Its up there with Batman, its up there with Gone With the Wind, hell, it deserves a Best Picture nod, but it didn’t even get close. GIVE THIS MOVIE BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY- IT IS THE FUTURE OF FILM!

I think its safe to say Pan’s Labyrinth will win the Best Foreign Film award. It definitely deserves it for being more than tacky fantasy- there is a real, living, breathing story of cruelty and war in this film. The fantasy elements only double its potency. Had Little Miss Sunshine (supposedly OVER HYPED to the max but I have yet to see it) not been nominated, you would have seen this movie in the fifth slot for Best Film.

Other than that, I don’t much care for the nominations. There’s nothing dreadfully special this year, so I’m pretty much banking on it being Scorsese’s Year

Ok, I think everyone knows at this point how much I love the show Gungrave. And like Trigun, it is for reasons COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE ACTION IN THE SHOW. I love gunslingers, I love badasses, but I love this show because, amazingly, those two stereotypes are not at ALL what it is about.

Here’s an argument (it’s going to be pretty long) that me and a guy had on IMDB.com :

THE OPPONENT:——SPOILERS——–

This show is FILLED with stupidities. The way guns are used for a start.

The main character keeps switching from one wannabe cool pose to another. Shooting dozens of shots in the same direction and sometimes without moving an inch, or aiming an inch for that matter.

And then the plot. Okay, it is based on a game. But how shallow can you get? The cheap philosophy every time someone opens their mouth. And the hero that doesn’t speak? Is that supposed to make him more mysterious? It can make someone mysterious, but in this case i don’t think he could open his mouth without saying something that wouldn’t make any sense or open yet another plot hole.

MY ARGUMENT:
Brandon Heat is not an idiot, nor “quiet.” He is internal. I can prove this wuth many factual points, but I’ll just make it clear with one reason alone-

He isn’t an idiot. You claim he is “dumb” whether by intelligence or decision not to speak (as a clarifier I mean that the condition “dumb” or mute) makes him a less intelligent, less rounded character.

He narrates the entire thing. Him. Mr. Quiet guy in the corner? Did you ever consider that some people have less to say, and some people just take orders. That’s what a good mafioso, or hell student, is supposed to be. Questioning is one thing. The whole theme of his character is blind loyalty and protection. He’s almost the complete mirror antithesis to Vash the Stampede, and usually when he’s quiet it doesn’t make him look cool- it makes him look retarded. Intentionally! He lacks social skills, he lacks self determination. The only thing he has going for him is a keen eye for observation and one hell of a right hook.

Yet throughout the whole show the voice actor has no lack of script to be read! Constantly Brandon analyzes his situations, reflects on them from where he is at the time, and occasionally as a flashback. For instance, in the third episode, he begins to realize what he’s getting into. Intelligently he describes how death can come for anyone at any time. This is his character growing out of the carefree fight-eternal lifestyle. He and Harry just witnessed the slaughter of their closest friends, and will now be imposed to change their lifestyles forever.

And over time? Brandon actually starts talking more once he gets comfortable with the mafia, once he starts separating himself from the brains of the operation and grows some of his own. Brandon is a sensitive person. They keep alluding to these themes constantly in the show. You think his reasons for not seeing Maria after becoming a hitman are shallow? This is certainly not the case. Brandon on the surface believes she has no idea what he does, and he highly dislikes lying! The character is one of the most brutally honest people in the show that if he had anything to sing it’d probably be a Johnny Cash’s “Cocaine Blues”. He can’t hide his identity from her, so he avoids her. Always watching. Wanting to protect the jewels even if he doesn’t know what they are. Ya know, sorta like the suitcase in Pulp Fiction, only its not a plot device, its another character that reacts and changes and attempts to understand him.

I will offer you one more point as to the three-dimensional nature of Brandon, and why judging him as infantile is an unfair statement that needs to be reviewed:
He does what he does to protect the people he swore himself to, even at the cost of hating (and later zombifying and daming) himself.

He’s just as sacrificing as Vash the Stampede, however in a very opposite way. For this, Nightow and the other writers from the staff PROVE that they are some of the most versatile people on the planet. Brandon is realistic, cold on the outside and troubled on the inside. The moment when he slams down his gun and lays the truth out for her [Maria], and gives her away to Asagi is probably the most tragic moment in this anime series, if not any anime series to date. He finally had to come clean to the one person who saw him for something he wish he could be- a man with no blood on his hands. Yet he only smiles, because now she can be free too and find happiness in someone real with less regrets. Someone who doesn’t hate himself and kills without a conscience.

If that one above paragraph of analysis isn’t enough to convince you to stop ratting on this show for being “stupid” then fine, I couldn’t change your mind. I really know that’s not the point of open forums, but it is the point of debate, and seriously man, I’m a film lit major in college. This is what I study, it is my livelihood, and while it doesn’t make me better than you (I wouldn’t assume such a thing since I’ve never met you), it is ample reason enough for me to defend this show and why I believe it is more intelligent than just plain “dumb.” It is not infantile. This show uses imagery in the most poetic sense. The blanket the young versions of Harry and Brandon chase? Consider that the whole metaphor for the show. The last damn episode is one of the most brilliant directional moves I’ve ever seen, with a “dialogue gunfight” that transcends anime completely.

HIS RETORT:
Some people are too naive, always looking for something that don’t exist and digging deep into something shallow. This series is bad, mm…key?
You are imagining things man, trying to analize something very simple, glorifying something stupid, metaphorizing something boring, ignoring something very clear – this show is just another wannabe.
As all wannabes it’s just loud, two dimentional, artificial, ignorant, using all cheap means to pull attention, and most of all lacking the same talent he wants to prove he has.
And of course, as for every annoying wannabe, there is someone who will like him and think the world of him.
But wannabe alway will be only wannabe, and his fans … well, they are just fans of some wannabe, tryng to compensate on something they don’t have by themselves.
Gungrave is a low product of fashion for wannabes, no more.
The fate of the wannabe is to disappear from the collective memory as time goes by. Only small core of “blanket chasing”, pathetic fans will remain, with their idol’s washed out T-sirts and fade posters.
Farewell, suckers.

FINAL OPINION ON MOST RECENT ARGUMENT:

Wow, this guy is REALLY clever. You all decide. I’m going to bed.

Poster art for our newest flick at Salisbury University, which premiered at the Student Activities Fair in Winter 2007.

Film to come soon.

Hey readers, just thought I’d pop by and deliver a really great link. This one comes from JohnAugust.com and is about the difference between a BEAT and a PAUSE in screenplay writing.

Here’s an excerpt:
They mean the same thing, though I almost always use beat.1 The term is probably taken from music, because it refers to the natural rhythm of dialogue. A beat is the pause a speaker takes to separate thoughts. Calling one out can help clarify a joke, a point of information, or a shift in the scene.

John August is a premiere Hollywood screenwriter, who’s works include Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, and his breakthrough work, GO. He has also done work on IMDB for their Ask A Filmmaker Column numerous times. I’ve liked his realistic and informative writings on his blog and those articles, so now I share the link with my fellow film makers. Keep up with it! He posts pretty often.

Meeting on Thursday.

I was looking up Prince (the artist) probably because of that crazy performance he gave at the Super Bowl- the only part of that boring game I barely paid attention to.

So I decided I’d check out what the hell was up with him doing the music for one of my top 50 films of all time, Batman. I mean, didn’t it seem a bit out of place? No. It didn’t. For some damned reason, even though the movie had a visually gothic-noir setting, was about a dark crime-fighter and a killer clown, and was more extremist and ridiculous than psychedelic in terms of direction, the over all “super style” of the film pretty much was the perfect padding for Prince to re-land his career on. Supposedly the album for this flick saved his career by the end of the 80′s.

Course, everyone who’s seen Shaun of the Dead would probably be inclined to think differently.

In any case, I want everyone reading this to watch this old music video I found on YouTube, and see just how bizarre, eclectic, and downright entertaining this whole montage of madness is!

Batman Begins? Screw THAT! I accept that it was a great movie, but it didn’t have a Prince soundtrack- hell I don’t think the movie had a soundtrack at all. Regardless of the quality of the 1989 film, it is still by far the most stylish movie ever made. If you can comment and name one that tops it in over all panache, flamboyance, and insane disregard for boredom, then please do so now. I saw this film when I was barely 2 years old IN THEATERS, and ever since then this has been one of my faves, with almost every line personally memorized, not to mention the amount of damage it did to my senses. Not a frame of this movie lacks some sort of visual, audible, stylistic punch!

And this video embodies all of that! Damn, Prince! You’re one freaky musical genius!