'Oscar season' starts in less than a month. Before the madness starts, what films from this year are on your ballot so far?


Mine: (* denotes a winner)

BEST PICTURE
"Antichrist"
"District 9"
"Orphan"
"The Strength of Water"
* "The White Ribbon"

Michael Haneke's THE WHITE RIBBON, perhaps his most humanistic film, wins for me. With its beautiful black-and-white photography and air of austerity, it might seem impenetrable at first glance, but there's a wealth of spiritual and philosophical meaning under the surface. It will be on your mind for days.

BEST DIRECTOR
Armagan Ballantyne, for "The Strength of Water"
Neill Blomkamp, for "District 9"
Jaume Collet-Serra, for "Orphan"
* Michael Haneke, for "The White Ribbon"
Lars von Trier, for "Antichrist"

Haneke wins for his outwardly disciplined control of form and structure but subtly limbre handling of character and theme. His film is like a finely-cut diamond, showing new facets and depths from every different perspective.

BEST ACTOR
Sharlto Copley, in "District 9"
Willem Dafoe, in "Antichrist"
* Christian Friedel, in "The White Ribbon"

Friedel wins for a performance so full of warmth and presence that it illuminates the myriad of stories surrounding his character as well as his own character arc.

BEST ACTRESS
Vera Farmiga, in "Orphan"
Isabelle Fuhrman, in "Orphan"
* Charlotte Gainsbourg, in "Antichrist"

Gainsbourg wins here for her off-the-charts performance. Her portrayal of grief and psychosis is not just scary-intense and powerful on an acting front, but frighteningly accurate to real life grief patterns and psychotic behaviours. While it may seem blunt on the surface its a far more complex performance than it appears.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Daniel Bruhl, in "Inglourious Basterds"
* Burghart Klaussner, in "The White Ribbon"
Christoph Waltz, in "Inglourious Basterds"

Klaussner wins for his ice-cold authoritarian, where the most interesting things about the character are those you can see through the cracks that are starting to form in his facade.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Leonie Benesch, in "The White Ribbon"
* Roxane Duran, in "The White Ribbon"
Susanne Lothar, in "The White Ribbon"

Duran wins for her heartbreaking portrayal of an innocent stuck in a pattern of trauma she can't escape from. She gives us a whole backstory to her character (and the character of her father) through subtle but incredibly tangible and emotionally immediate 'brushstrokes'.

BEST SCREENPLAY
"Orphan"
"The Strength of Water"
* "The White Ribbon"

"The White Ribbon" wins with a twisted, complex narrative that will have you thinking about the core themes and mysteries for days.

BEST ART DIRECTION
* "District 9"

A very creative rendering of a premise with lots of potential.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
* "Antichrist"

Anthony Dod Mantle manages to make the most mundane images look disturbingly ominous and grotesque. My favourite shots - the creepy, eye-watering patterns of the forest at the edges of frames, the way the light from a car reflected in the branches of a tree looks like a writhing mass of worms.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
* "Inglourious Basterds"

Terrible film, great costumes.

BEST FILM EDITING
* "Orphan"

Creative and creepy editing both plays into and subtly pokes fun at genre conventions. Disarmingly inventive.

BEST MAKEUP
* "The White Ribbon"

Low-key but very effective makeup design means that you'll never doubt that the characters on-screen are really 1910s German villagers.

BEST SOUND DESIGN
* "Vinyan"

A creepy, intriguing sound structure is one of this muddled film's few saving graces.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
* "District 9"

Immensely creative character design and CGI effects kept me enthralled throughout the film.

Orphan? It's a shock for me.

I'm sorry but i think i'm a stupid because i liked this movie, but if you liked the film, I'm not alone....Vera Farmiga was awesome, and the screenplay too. And Eshter (Lina)

quote:

Originally posted by babypook:

?
Give me yours, so I can mock it

I really liked Orphan, kel - its a fantastic example of modern "pulp horror". The acting is excellent - Farmiga is my runner up to Charlotte for Best Actress.

somebody likes the white ribbon a little too much

Have you seen it? Kindly give me your informed, insightful criticisms of the film.

Hi Puxzkkx
You can have your own opinion. But it is a lot of love for one movie. But you are right anyone can have their own opinion.

I've only seen 10 or 11 movies for the year. By the end of the year, The White Ribbon will probably be on fewer of my ballots than it is now. I expect it will stay my Best Picture winner seeing as it is the only film this year I have given an 'A+' grade, and I have only given 30 films an A+ out of all those I've seen in my lifetime. But there will definitely be more variety in the list the more 2009 films I see.

Ok, this is my list - i've seen 43 movies, and this is my awards contenders.

BEST PICTURE:
* Sunshine Cleaning
Taken
Orphan
Coraline

BEST LEAD ACTOR:
* Liam Neeson, Taken

BEST LEAD ACTRESS:
* Amy Adams, Sunshine Cleaning
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Isabelle Fuhrman, Orphan

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Jim Broadbent, The Young Victoria
* Jimmy Bennett, Orphan
Tony Goldwyn, The Last House of the Left
Alan Arkin, Sunshine Cleaning

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
* Betty White, The Proposal
Vera Farmiga, Orphan
Helen Mirren, Inkheart
Monica Potter, The Last House of the Left
Aryana Engineer, Orphan

BEST ANIMATION PICTURE:
Monsters vs Aliens
* Coraline

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
* Miley Cyrus "The Climb", Hannah Montana: The Movie

quote:

Originally posted by puxzkkx:

quote:

Originally posted by babypook:

?
Give me yours, so I can mock it

I really liked Orphan, kel - its a fantastic example of modern "pulp horror". The acting is excellent - Farmiga is my runner up to Charlotte for Best Actress.

I'm not mocking you puxxy. You're a constant source of amusement for me, is all. I was laughing because of your biases and your passion. I'm like that too.

I haven't seen many great films yet this year. My only contenders so far...

1. The Hurt Locker
2. (500) Days of Summer
3. Adventureland
4. Up
5. Inglorious Basterds

I haven't seen to many movies this year, but some of the few I've seen are pretty good.

Best Picture
District 9
(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Ponyo
A Prophet

Director
Jacques Audiard, "A Prophet"
Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
Neill Blomkamp, "District 9"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Marc Webb, "(500) Days of Summer"

Lead Actor
Sasha Baron Cohen, "Bruno"
Sharlto Copley, "District 9"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "500 Days of Summer"
Tahar Rahim, "A Prophet"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"

Lead Actress
Amy Adams, "Sunshine Cleaning"
Zoey Deschanel, "(500) Days of Summer"
Charlotte Gainsbourg, "The Antichrist"
Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"
Tilda Swinton, "Julia"

Best Supporting Actor
Niels Arestrup, "A Prophet"
Jackie Earle Haley, "Watchmen"
Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"
Zachary Quinto, "Star Trek"
Christopher Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, "Sunshine Cleaning"
Kate del Castillo, "Julia"
Diane Kruger, "Inglourious Basterds"
Mélanie Laurent, "Inglourious Basterds"
Blanca Portillo, "Broken Embraces"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: NovicMode,

Out of What I've Seen (not very many)

Best Picture:

District 9
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

Best Director:

J.J. Abrams- Star Trek
Neill Blomkamp- District 9
Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson- Up
Quentin Tarantino- Inglourious Basterds
David Yates- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Best Actor:

Sharlto Copley- District 9
Russell Crowe- State of Play (Lack of choices here, but Crowe would be first to get the boot)
Robert Downey Jr.- The Soloist
Clive Owen- Duplicity
Adam Sandler- Funny People

Best Actress:

Amy Adams- Sunshine Cleaning
Felicity Huffman- Phoebe In Wonderland
Gwyneth Paltrow- Two Lovers
Julia Roberts- Duplicity
Tilda Swinton- Julia

Best Supporting Actor:

Jason Bateman- State of Play
Jamie Foxx- The Soloist
Michael Gambon- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Zachary Quinto- Star Trek
Christoph Waltz- Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress:

Emily Blunt- Sunshine Cleaning
Elle Fanning- Phoebe In Wonderland
Diane Kruger- Inglourious Basterds
Melanie Laurent- Inglourious Basterds
Rachel McAdams- State of Play

Best Cinematography:

District 9
Funny People
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek

Best Animated Picture:

Coraline
Monsters VS Aliens (I didn't really like this much at all, but I haven't seen more than 3)
Up

quote:

Originally posted by kelemenmarc:
Ok, this is my list - i've seen 43 movies, and this is my awards contenders.

BEST PICTURE:
* Sunshine Cleaning
Taken
Orphan
Coraline

BEST LEAD ACTOR:
* Liam Neeson, Taken

BEST LEAD ACTRESS:
* Amy Adams, Sunshine Cleaning
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Isabelle Fuhrman, Orphan

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Jim Broadbent, The Young Victoria
* Jimmy Bennett, Orphan
Tony Goldwyn, The Last House of the Left
Alan Arkin, Sunshine Cleaning

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
* Betty White, The Proposal
Vera Farmiga, Orphan
Helen Mirren, Inkheart
Monica Potter, The Last House of the Left
Aryana Engineer, Orphan

BEST ANIMATION PICTURE:
Monsters vs Aliens
* Coraline

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
* Miley Cyrus "The Climb", Hannah Montana: The Movie

Just wanted to point out, "The Climb" wasn't written by Miley Cyrus. It'd go to song writers Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe.

Best Picture:
"Up"***
"Bright Star"
"Inglorious Basterds"
"The Hurt Locker"
"(500) Days of Summer"

Best Director:
Quentin Tarantino- "Inglorious Basterds"***
Jane Campion- "Bright Star"
Kathryn Bigelow- "The Hurt Locker"
Cary Fukunaga- "Sin Nombre"
Marc Webb- "(500) Days of Summer"

Best Actor:
Jeremy Renner- "The Hurt Locker"***
Joseph Gordon Levitt- "(500) Days of Summer"
Sam Rockwell- "Moon"
Ben Wishaw- "Bright Star"
Sharlto Copley- "District 9"

(Tough choice between Copley and Adam Sandler in "Funny People".)

Best Actress:
Meryl Streep- "Julie & Julia"***
Abbie Cornish- "Bright Star"
Maya Rudolph- "Away We Go"
Michelle Pfeiffer- "Cheri"
Amy Adams- "Sunshine Cleaning"

Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz- "Inglorious Basterds"***
Paul Schneider- "Bright Star"
Stanley Tucci- "Julie & Julia"
Jackie Earle Haley- "Watchmen"
Alan Rickman- "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Best Supporting Actress:
Diane Kruger- "Inglorious Basterds"***
Melanie Laurent- "Inglorious Basterds"
Marion Cotillard- "Public Enemies"
Jane Lynch- "Julie & Julia"
Melanie Lynskey- "Away We Go"

You really thought Kruger was better than Laurent? Not trying to offend, but I'd love to hear your thoughts re: the two performances.

I hated the film utterly so I'm biased, but I thought Kruger was decent at best (I usually think she's terrible but here she acquitted herself until the scenes after the bar scene) but nowhere near as good as Laurent (who I find a teensy bit overrated in any case)

quote:

Originally posted by puxzkkx:
You really thought Kruger was better than Laurent? Not trying to offend, but I'd love to hear your thoughts re: the two performances.

I hated the film utterly so I'm biased, but I thought Kruger was decent at best (I usually think she's terrible but here she acquitted herself until the scenes after the bar scene) but nowhere near as good as Laurent (who I find a teensy bit overrated in any case)

I usually think Diane Kruger is awful so part of my reaction may be surprise that she can act and be fun... she's usually such a drag in films. I enjoyed the hell out of her performance and I remember little details of her performance while I remember Melanie Laurent's work mostly as it functions within the plot mechanics of the film (hope that makes some sense). I feel Laurent has been somewhat overrated while Kruger has been underrated... mostly as she seems to have been sunk under the praise for Laurent.

Frankly though I did not put that much thought into this choice. I enjoyed Kruger more she gets my vote. Likely neither will be my top choice at year's end so it matters little.

Both women were terrific imo. Kruger's performance required something more than Laurents', and as I've said before, it was her delivery which I thought about afterwards.
Neither of them were treated as mere props, and I certainly appreciate that about Tarantino's films.

I guess we'll see if there's room for either of these performances on the final ballot.

The 5 I've most enjoyed so far.

Duplicity
Every Little Step
500 Days of Summer
Inglorious Basterds
Still Walking

...not a terrible year so far.

quote:

Originally posted by R2684:
The 5 I've most enjoyed so far.

Duplicity
Every Little Step
500 Days of Summer
Inglorious Basterds
Still Walking

...not a terrible year so far.

I'm envious that you've had the chance to see Still Walking. I cant find that film anywhere. As usual, I'm going to have to wait.