The Cinematic Experience of Forizzer

After the lottery draft – I got box 16, so a healthy placement – this is my schedule (as I said last year, I won’t give up on the emboldened tickets; I’ll get to the box office early that morning and snatch ‘em up!)

Thursday, September 10th
6:00pm -7:40pm – An Education (RYERSON)
9:00pm – 10:45pm – Antichrist (RYERSON)

Friday, September 11th
9:30am – 11:10am – The Happiest Girl in the World (SCOTIABANK 3)
12:15pm – 1:45pm – Huacho (SCOTABANK 1)
3pm – 4:50pm – Creation (RYERSON)
5:30pm – 7:05pm – The Good Heart (AMC 6)
9:00pm – 11:05pm – Fish Tank (SCOTIABANK 2)

Saturday, September 12th
10am – 11:40am – The Day God Walked Away (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
12:45pm – 2:05pm – Independencia (SCOTIABANK 3)
3:45pm – 5:20pm – Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot (AGO)
6:00pm – 7:50pm – Up in the Air (RYERSON)
10:00pm – 12:30am – Enter the Void (AMC 6)

Sunday, September 13th
9:15am – 11:05am – La Pere de mes Enfants (AMC 5)
12:15pm – 1:50pm – Dogtooth (AMC 5)
3:00pm – 4:45pm – The House of Branching Love (AMC 3)
5:30pm – 7:30pm – The Road (RYERSON)
9:30pm – 11:00pm – Accident (SCOTIABANK 1)

Monday, September 14th
9:15am – 10:50am – Triage (SCOTIABANK 4)
2:00pm – 3:45pm – The Sunshine Boy (AMC 10)
5:00pm – 7:05pm – Agora (SCOTIABANK 1)
9:00pm – 10:45pm – Leaves of Grass (RYERSON)

Tuesday, September 15th
9:30am – 11:15am – Les Herbes Folles (SCOTIABANK 3)
12:00pm – 1:40pm – Soul Kitchen (RYERSON)
2:45pm – 5:15pm – Un prophete (AMC 3)
6:00pm – 8:00pm – Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans (RYERSON)
8:45pm – 11:05pm – Tales from the Golden Age (AMC 3)
12:00am – 1:30am – [REC] 2 (RYERSON)

Wednesday, September 16th
9:30am – 11:10am – The Front Line (RYERSON)
12:00pm – 1:30pm – Youth in Revolt (SCOTIABANK 1)
2:30pm – 4:40pm – Glorious 39 (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
5:00pm – 6:55pm – L’Affaire Farewell (RYERSON)
9:00pm – 10:30pm – Gigante (AMC 3)

Thursday, September 17th
9:45am – 11:05am – High Life (SCOTIABANK 4)
12:00pm – 1:45pm – Micmacs (RYERSON)
2:30pm – 4:25pm – Police, Adjective (AMC 6)
5:30pm – 7:00pm – My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done? (VARSITY
8:15pm – 10:15pm – Air Doll (AMC 3)

Friday, September 18th
8:45am – 11:00am – Les Derniers Jours du Monde (CUMBERLAND 3)
1:00pm – 3:30pm – The White Ribbon (SCOTIABANK 4)
4:15pm – 5:45pm – Perrier’s Bounty (SCOTIABANK 2)
6:30pm – 8:30pm – Spring Fever (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
10:00pm – 11:20pm – Trash Humpers (AGO)
12:00am – 1:15am – A Town Called Panic (RYERSON)

Saturday, September 19th
9:15am – 11:45am – Baaria (CUMBERLAND 3)
12:30pm – 2:15pm – White Material (WINTER GARDEN THEATER)
3:15pm – 5:30pm – Mr. Nobody (RYERSON)
6:15pm – 8:25pm – Mother (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
9:00pm – ?? – People’s Choice Winner (VISA SCREENING ROOM)

For some reason, I put Soul Kitchen down twice and got a 12:15pm showing of it on Saturday, September 19th where White Material should be. I’ll do a simple swap and get it all proper, hopefully.

ALAS! THE DAY HAS COME! HERE IT IS!!!

Thursday, September 10th
6:00pm -7:40pm – An Education (RYERSON)
9pm – 10:45pm – Antichrist (RYERSON)

Friday, September 11th
9:30am – 11:10am – The Happiest Girl in the World (SCOTIABANK 3)
12:15pm – 1:45pm – Huacho (SCOTABANK 1)
3pm – 4:50pm – Creation (RYERSON)
5:30pm – 7:05pm – The Good Heart (AMC 6)
8:30pm – 10:45pm – City of Life and Death (WINTER GARDEN THEATER)

Saturday, September 12th
10am – 11:40am – The Day God Walked Away (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
12:45pm – 2:05pm – Independencia (SCOTIABANK 3)
2:45pm – 4:15pm – Five Hours from Paris (SCOTIABANK 1)
6:00pm – 7:50pm – Up in the Air (RYERSON)
10:00pm – 12:30am – Enter the Void (AMC 6)

Sunday, September 13th
9:15am – 11:05am – La Pere de mes Enfants (AMC 5)
12:15pm – 1:50pm – Dogtooth (AMC 5)
3pm – 4:45pm – The House of Branching Love (AMC 3)
5:30pm – 7:30pm – The Road (RYERSON)
9:00pm – 11:00pm – Air Doll (SCOTIABANK 2)

Monday, September 14th
9:15am – 10:50am – Triage (SCOTIABANK 4)
11:45am – 1:05am – Trash Humpers (SCOTIABANK 1)
2:30pm – 4:00pm – Accident (AMC 5)
5:00pm – 7:05pm – Agora (SCOTIABANK 1)
9:00pm – 10:45pm – Leaves of Grass (RYERSON)

Tuesday, September 15th
9:30am – 11:15am – Les Herbes Folles (SCOTIABANK 3)
12:00pm – 1:40pm – Soul Kitchen (RYERSON)
2:45pm – 5:15pm – Un prophete (AMC 3)
6:00pm – 8:00pm – Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans (RYERSON)
8:45pm – 11:05pm – Tales from the Golden Age (AMC 3)
12:00am – 1:30am – [REC] 2 (RYERSON)

Wednesday, September 16th
9:30am – 11:10am – The Front Line (RYERSON)
12:00pm – 1:30pm – Youth in Revolt (SCOTIABANK 1)
2:30pm – 4:40pm – Glorious 39 (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
5:00pm – 6:55pm – L’Affaire Farewell (RYERSON)
9:00pm – 10:30pm – Gigante (AMC 3)

Thursday, September 17th
9:45am – 11:05am – High Life (SCOTIABANK 4)
12:00pm – 1:45pm – Micmacs (RYERSON)
2:30pm – 4:25pm – Police, Adjective (AMC 6)
5:30pm – 7:00pm – My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done? (VARSITY
8:30pm – 11:00pm – Baaria (WINTER GARDEN THEATER)

Friday, September 18th
8:45am – 11:00am – Les Derniers Jours du Monde (CUMBERLAND 3)
1:00pm – 3:30pm – The White Ribbon (SCOTIABANK 4)
4:15pm – 5:45pm – Perrier’s Bounty (SCOTIABANK 2)
6:00pm – 7:40pm – The Double Hour (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
9:00pm – 11:10pm – Mr. Nobody (RYERSON)
12:00am – 1:15am – A Town Called Panic (RYERSON)

Saturday, September 19th
9:00am – 11:05am – Fish Tank (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
12:30pm – 2:15pm – White Material (WINTER GARDEN THEATER)
4:00pm – 5:30pm – Irene (AMC 4)
6:15pm – 8:25pm – Mother (ISABEL BADER THEATER)
9:00pm – ?? – People’s Choice Winner (VISA SCREENING ROOM)
if they skip the free screening: 9:15pm – 10:50pm – The Disappearance of Alice Creed (RYERSON)

If for whatever reason they aren’t doing the People’s Choice Winner this year, I’m going to take my dad to see The Disappearance of Alice Creed at 9:15pm on the Saturday.

Well that’s my schedule – 49 tickets used; 48 if they go on with the winner. Perfect because that’ll leave me two tickets to take my dad to some screenings. If not, well, I’ll manage something for the two of us.

If you’re attending the festival, I’d love to hear what your schedule is looking like. Boy, today was just as exhilarating as I knew it would be. Viva la TIFF!

Welcome to the fifth annual Forizzscars (probably about 3rd annual halfway awards, but whatever). I posted my nominees last night consisting of the 2009 films I’ve seen so far this year. There’s been some great competition – and most remarkably, the Best Actor category has already been more fierce and deep than most other lineups I’ve had all decade. Well, enjoy!

BEST PICTURE
Brüno – dir. Larry Charles

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sam Rockwell – Moon

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Maria Heinskanen – Marta Larsson’s Everlasting Moments

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jeremie Renier – Lorna’s Silence

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams – Night at the Museum : Battle of the Smithsonian

BEST DIRECTOR
Jan Troell – Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
In The Loop

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sauna

BEST FILM EDITING
Moon

BEST ART DIRECTION
Nightwatching

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Brüno

BEST MAKEUP
Martyrs

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Star Trek

BEST SOUND MIXING
Up

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Hurt Locker

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
The Spirit of Adventure – Up

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Clint Mansell – Moon

For those who tuned in, I’ve got to give a big thanks. Please leave a comment if you feel strong feeling towards my decisions – I love a good argument.

Yes, it is that time of year. Even though it’s been a few weeks past the midway point, I figured I’d post this anyways. Plus I was just waiting to reach the century mark in 2009 films seen. Well, enjoy. I haven’t seen everything that’s been released thus far in the year, but you know I try. I’ll also make my awards exclusively to films that have set dates for American releases – just to make it fair to the competition. (Sorry Martin Landau and Christian McKay)

BEST PICTURE
Brüno
Goodbye Solo
Lorna’s Silence
Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Moon

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sacha Baron Cohen – Bruno
James Nesbitt – Five Minutes of Heaven
Mikael Persbrant – Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Sam Rockwell – Moon
Souleymane Sy Savane – Goodbye Solo

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams – Sunshine Cleaning
Morjana Alaoui – Martyrs
Arta Dobroshi – Lorna’s Silence
Maria Heiskanen – Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Evan Rachel Wood – Whatever Works

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Peter Capaldi – In the Loop
Denis Lavant – Tokyo!
Jeremie Renier – Lorna’s Silence
Peter Sarsgaard – The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Scott Speedman – Adoration

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams – Night at the Museum : Battle at the Smithsonian
Zooey Deschanel – (500) Days of Summer
Nina Hoss – Jerichow
Gwyneth Paltrow – Two Lovers
Collete Wolfe – Observe and Report

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfredo Castro – Tony Manero
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne – Lorna’s Silence
Duncan Jones – Moon
Jan Troell – Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Marc Webb – (500) Days of Summer

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Goodbye Solo
Lorna’s Silence
Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Moon
Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Brüno
In the Loop
Mesrine: Part One
Pontypool
The Soloist

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Burning Plain
The Edge of Love
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Mesrine: Part One
Sauna

BEST FILM EDITING
Goodbye Solo
Lorna’s Silence
Mesrine: Part One
Moon
Tony Manero

BEST ART DIRECTION
Angels and Demons
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
In the Loop
Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Nightwatching

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Brothers Bloom
Brüno
Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Public Enemies
The Young Victoria

BEST MAKEUP
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Martyrs
Moon
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Knowing
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Up
Watchmen

BEST SOUND EDITING
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
The International
Public Enemies
Star Trek

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Coraline
Monsters vs. Aliens
Up

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Dove of Peace” – Brüno
“Get To Where I’m Going” – Middle of Nowhere
“The Spirit of Adventure” – Up

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Angels and Demons
The Brothers Bloom
Is Anybody There?
Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Moments
Moon

The winners will be announced tomorrow evening. Enjoy!

So I’ve basically decided to do some extra thing for my blog and that’s to do small reviews and rank the best picture nominees in all the years starting from 2008 and working backwards. I’m sure it’ll be a long process because I’m not just going to jump on every Best Picture nominee for that reason – but I’ve wanted to for a long time anyhow. Well, yeah. I realized I only wrote a review for Slumdog Millionaire of all the nominees from last year… and that was only after I saw it at TIFF. Anyways, it’s called And The Nominees Are… and you’ll be able to follow that over there on the right.

I hope you enjoy!

The first film I saw today was apart of TCM’s tribute to Frank R. Capra. The main reason I saw it was for some more Barbara Stanwyck, but what I got was perhaps Capra’s greatest and certainly most underrated work. The film I am talking about is 1931’s The Miracle Woman.

The Miracle Woman begins with Florence Fallon, later Sister Faith (Barbara Stanwyck) in a cathedral. She’s standing at the podium talking about her father – the former priest of the church being forced into retirement. She reads her father’s letter to the on-looking audience. However, the letter ends abruptly, leading Florence into an anti-Christian frenzy; citing direct lines from the Bible she has memorized and leading the crowd out the door in a haste. This, on the occasion of a out-of-town businessman being in the audience. Still frustrated, she curses him out as well – he smirks and says he’ll help her by getting revenge to all of the followers of this church and every hypocritical catholic. She complies and the story goes on from there.

Cut to a few weeks later in an empty apartment. A blind man is standing in front of his window listening to the radio the woman across from him has on. He shouts “Can you turn that down?”, she complies. He begins to write a letter to his apartment landlord and friend, Mrs. Higgins (Beryl Mercer). It’s a suicide note – he feels unfulfilled in this world, blind and has had many failed attempts in writing music for companies. When he goes to jump out of his window, he hears Sister Faith’s voice over the radio talking about quitters and blind people – his smile radiates his void apartment. He feels good about life again thanks to Sister Faith.

He seeks a relationship with Sister Faith and so on and so forth. It’s a very endearing film that touches on many levels — whether they be philosophical, religious or love-induced. It’s predictable (for the most part), but genuine. And for a film released in 1931, I’m sure it was quite the inspiring piece of celluloid – as it is quite inspiring even today.

Stanwyck and Manners give two wonderful performances – both their best of their careers (albeit, I don’t know much of Manners’ work). Stanwyck’s conflicted heart and her fraid and frail soul without much faith are cause for some of her most emotional and emotionally detached scenes. With Manners, his empty eyes contrast with his warm soul wonderfully when he expresses himself through mannerisms and facial gestures.

With only a few minor black spots (Hardy’s awkward performance as Hornsby, the manager for Sister Faith), this is a film no-one should miss. Oh, and did I mention it contains one of the prime examples of perfect cinematography as well? I suggest you see this. [10/10]

And onto Vincent Cassel and Mesrine: Part Two (aka Public Enemy Number One).

Having seen part one (aka Death Instinct) at TIFF and once more a few weeks ago, I’ve been anxious to getting to the second half of the story. The first was a great set-up to the sequel – however, the sequel was quite the letdown compared to the set-up.

Jean-Richet Francois brings part two to this uncompromised and focused biography of one of the most beloved criminals in French history, Jacques Mesrine – played by Vincent Cassel in his Cesar winning role.

This film is exactly like the first without as much surprise. Perhaps if it was one long film, it would be a better product, but you expect what you saw from the first part and you do, so it falls flat in terms of at all changing the approach, but stays consistent.

This film starts off with Mesrine in a police car – he’s been caught once again and being sentenced once again. Comissioner Broussard (Olivier Gourmet) is speaking to the press about why they had to shoot him and how they caught him. He is the primary foe of Mesrine in this one, as the entire world was in the last one. He’s still slick, enjoyable and has a sense for plotting, but he grows more tired with age.

In jail, he makes another accomplice in Francois Besse (Mathieu Amalric) and they become good friends. Out of jail, he gets another girlfriend/accomplice in Sylvie Jeanjacquot (Ludivine Sagnier). It’s the same pattern as before – a highly enjoyable crime/thriller with an outstanding cast and a feel for the semantics that come with a budget – good visuals, lots of violence and a score that is intrusive.

If subtlity is your thing, avoid this entire thing at all costs. However, if you’re like me and enjoy fast-paced entertainment with strong signs of cinematic quality, I suggest you see this as soon as possible. If not for the wonderful cast dishing out great performances. And props to my favourite Dardenne regular, Mr. Gourmet in a role that you love  to hate. [8/10]

So I’m going to start posting more frequently about other movies I’ve seen. Little blurbs about what I’ve seen every-so-often and all that. So, I watched The Day of the Jackal.

I recorded this on VHS about three years ago and was bored last night, so I picked the most appealing recent film I had on video. It was between The Day of the Jackal and The Collector… so I went with the political thriller. Had I know it was pushing two and a half hours, my “long running feature on a small TV” phobia would’ve prevented me from watching it.

Much to my delight the film only felt about 100 minutes long. So I must give a lot of credit to the team that garnered the film’s sole Academy Award nomination; the film editing crew. A suspenseful film that relies on your own assumptions to create that stomach churning freight that makes all thrillers memorable. Being hardly manipulative and mathematically calculated allowed for easement in my viewing; both are two aspects that are must for a thriller – well, at least in order for me to *love* it.

This is mainly to the direction of Mr. Zimmerman. On the topic of his vision for the film, I really admired the way he chose to shoot the film. He added an extra dose of freight where most directors would allow them to be made less intense through an exaggerated isolation of the (then more) palpable scenes. I just thought masquerading the tangible really worked in the film’s favor.

The film features a lot of parallels to I… As In Icarus (though because I As In Icarus is quite unseen around most parts, it would make more sense to relate to this film in a review for I… As In Icarus) in that it’s comprised almost solely on ambient noises – not relying on a skilled composer to add to tension; the lead character only speaks when necessary and is a very intelligent man; and that it’s about the assassination of a French president.

The the lead performance by Edward Fox reminds me a lot of any Jean Pierre Melville film. Primarily physical – adding depth to the character through body language rather than unnecessary monologues (inner and outer). Michael Lonsdale brings great support in his BAFTA nominated performance as the man trying to catch The Jackal before he takes out the President of France. They play similar men – blunt and efficient – so the psychological chase that ensues is very capitvating.

Well-rounded, not quite as insightful as I’d have liked (rushed the revelation at the end to an extreme of M. Night Shyamalan-ian proportions), but constantly fascinating and easily manageable; despite the running time. [9/10]

Thursday, September 4th
Zift: 6pm – 7:22pm [amc 4]
Waltz With Bashir: 9pm – 10:27pm [ryerson]
JCVD: 11:59pm – 1:22am [ryerson]

Friday, September 5th
Achilles and the Tortoise: 9am – 11am [scotiabank theater 1]
Rock’n'Rolla: 11:45am – 1:40pm [ryerson]
Linha de Passe: 2:45pm – 4:35pm [ryerson]
Me and Orson Welles: 6pm – 7:47pm [ryerson]
Universalove: 9:15pm – 10:30pm [scotiabank theater 4]

Saturday, September 6th
Appaloosa: 9am – 10:47am [scotiabank theater 1]
Sauna: 12:30pm – 1:53pm [scotiabank theater 4]
Last Stop 174: 2:30pm – 4:20pm [isabel bader theater]
The Ghost: 8:30pm – 10:15pm [scotiabank theater 4]

Sunday, September 7th
The Burning Plain: 9:45 am – 11:36 am [scotiabank theater 2]
Wendy and Lucy: 12:45pm – 2:05pm [scotiabank theater 2]
Afterwards: 3:15 pm – 5:02 pm [scotiabank theater 2]
Le Silence de Lorna: 6:00 pm – 7:45 pm [scotiabank theater 1]
Zack and Miri Make a Porno: 9:15 pm – 10:57 pm [ryerson]

Monday, September 8th
The Other Man: 9am – 11am [ryerson]
New York, I Love You: 12pm – 1:52pm [ryerson]
Fear Me Not: 3:45 pm – 5:20 pm [scotiabank theater 3]
$9.99: 8:15 pm – 9:33 pm [varsity 2]

Tuesday, September 9th
(flash of genius? l’empreinte de l’ange?)
The Wrestler: 12:00 pm – 1:45 pm [ryerson]
Nothing But the Truth: 4:45 pm – 6:33 pm [isabel bader theater]
The Brothers Bloom: 9:00 pm – 10:49 pm [ryerson]

Wednesday, September 10th
The Hurt Locker: 9:00 am – 11:10 am [ryerson]
A Christmas Tale: 12pm – 2:30pm [ryerson]
Four Nights With Anna: 3:15pm – 4:42 pm [scotiabank theater 4]
Adam Resurrected: 7:45pm – 9:31pm [isabel bader theater]
Martyrs: 11:59pm – 1:39pm [ryerson]

Thursday, September 11th
Gommorah: 9:00 am – 11:15 am [scotiabank theater 1]
Synedoche, New York: 12:15 pm – 2:19 pm [scotiabank theater 1]
Gigantic: 3:15 pm – 4:54 pm [scotiabank theater 2]
Parc: 6:00pm – 7:49pm [scotiabank theater 2]
Il Divo: 9:00pm – 10:58pm [scotiabank theater 3]

Friday, September 12th
Che: 9:00am-1:22pm [ryerson]
Pride and Glory: 2:45pm – 4:50pm [ryerson]
Hooked: 5:30pm – 6:54pm [varsity 6]
Public Enemy No. 1: 9:00pm – 10:50pm [ryerson]

Saturday, September 13th
Lovely, Still : 9:00am – 10:30am [varsity vip 2]
Tony Manero: 12:30pm – 2:08pm [scotiabank theater 2]
Sut: 4:00pm – 5:42pm [varsity 7]
Miracle on St. Anna – 8:30pm – 11:16pm [royal ontario museum]

Bold = not currently in my possession, but I shant give up on those tickets.

Unfortunately, writer/director Alain Robbe-Grillet passed away in February of this year. Fortunately, out of this tragic loss, I have been opened to his (masterful) work, due to the Cinematheque playing a few of his films (along with Alain Resnais’). The two I’ve been able to catch thus far (and unfortunately, the only two I will have caught at the Cinematheque) have been Trans-Europ Express and L’homme Qui Ment. Since most of my review for L’homme Qui Ment can be found within my new pictoview (a few blurbs about the film within a picture of the film I’ve found on the internet – sort of like half picture/half review), I will only write briefly about it and then post the pictoview of the film.

So yesterday [August 6th, 2008] I caught L’homme Qui Ment (also known as The Man Who Lies) with my good buddy. It isn’t exactly for everyone… scratch that, it isn’t for most people, but being the film snob that I am (ha…ha) I was able to appreciate it! Some people with good film taste will look at this film and go “what? That’s not art” and you know, that’s fine; it is expressionism after all. The main thing that triggered my interest in the film was Jean-Louis Trintignant winning Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival in 1968 – I’m a man that cannot pass up a good performance. His performance – along with the rest of the film – was definitely worth the ten dollars. The story is a bit scattered, but that’s what it wants you to feel, because the movie is scattered; very much so. So much in fact that halfway into it you’ll get the gist of the idea, but then go “What?” because although you know the point of the film, you never really “get it”. The film is a real thinker, which helps you enjoy the film even more when it’s over, for you try to put the pieces together. It’s a hard puzzle and not even I have cracked it yet; a total paradox. I’ve got my suspicions but that’s about all. I’ll let the pictoview do the rest of the talking for me. If you are wondering, yes, I write everything in the pictoview.

http://s182.photobucket.com/albums/x24/forizzer69/?action=view&current=LHqM.jpg

The ’second’ film (the one I saw first…) entitled Trans-Europ Express is one of my utmost favourite films ever. It has the perfect balance of oddities, ‘brow-raising scenes and humor that one cannot resist. It is a much more conventional film than The Man Who Lies, but it does contain some of the more graphic scenes of the two films. Actually, Trans-Europ Express has sadism, which I’m pretty sure was unheard of back in the mid 60’s… at least in films. Again, another film starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, and once again he is great! Though an inferior performance to his in The Man Who Lied, he’s still got a beautiful charm and aura about him in his role as Elias. His female counterpart in the film, Marie-France Pisier, is great! She plays a variety of different possible personalities, but I’ll go with sexual deviant. At first, we see her as some sort of a prostitute who only feeds Elias’ bizarre sexual hunger. We learn some stuff later on, yada yada… Yeah. She’s great, though. I loved her. The film takes a lot of turns here and there and is someone of an absurdist film, now that I think about it. There are scenes of absurdism, but I wouldn’t call the entire thing absurdist. Imagine, if you will, someone taking a Jean-Pierre Melville film (such as Le Samourai or Le Doulos) and turning the material into some sort of homogeneous blend of humor and ridiculousness (in both bizarre and unexpectedness ways). All of this is the formula for an amazing film, in my opinion. In my top twenty of all-time, and I will jump on the opportunity to catch this film again. See it if you can! Now for my pictoview (a much less grand one – less room to work with)

http://s182.photobucket.com/albums/x24/forizzer69/?action=view&current=transeuroexpress.jpg

Well that’s all for now. I’m very hopeful that I will catch at least a few more Alain Robbe-Grillet films before the month is out – through downloading and things of that nature. I’ll post another note on him if this is the case.

Best Picture
In Bruges
Mister Lonely
Redbelt
Stuff and Dough
Towelhead ***
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. Funny Games US
#7. The Man from London
#8. The Happening
#9. Intimate Enemies
#10. My Blueberry Nights

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Colin Farrell, In Bruges (***)
Martin Freeman, Nightwatching
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
James McAvoy, Wanted
Sam Rockwell, Snow Angels
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. Chris Cooper in Married Life
#7. Chiwetel Ejiofor in Redbelt
#8. Colin Farrell in Cassandra’s Dream
#9. Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man
#10. Jared Leto in Chapter 27

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Kseniya Rappoport in The Unknown Woman (***)
Uma Thurman in Life Before Her Eyes
Manuela Velasco in [·rec]
Naomi Watts in Funny Games US
Evan Rachel Wood in Life Before Her Eyes
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. Vera Farmiga in Quid Pro Quo
#7. Saoirse Ronan in Death Defying Acts
#8. Kate Beckinsale in Snow Angels
#9. Norah Jones in My Blueberry Nights
#10. Summer Bishil in Nothing is Private

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stop Loss
Michael Pitt, Funny Games US
Peter Macdissi, Towelhead (***)
Wagner Moura, Elite Squad
David Statharin, My Blueberry Nights
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. Thomas Hayden Church, Smart People
#7. Doru Ana, Stuff and Dough
#8. Jonathan Haagensen, City of Men
#9. Robert Downey Jr., Charlie Bartlett
#10. Aaron Eckhart, Nothing is Private

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Juliette Binoche, The Voyage of the Red Balloon
Samantha Morton, Mister Lonely (***)
Marian Saastad Ottesen, The Art of Negative Thinking
Natalie Portman, My Blueberry Nights
Rachel Weisz, My Blueberry Nights
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. Natasa Ninkovic,The Trap
#7. Cate Blanchett, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystall Skull
#8. Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Air I Breathe
#9. Winona Ryder, Sex and Death 101
#10. Hilary Duff, War, Inc.

Best Director
Alan Ball – Nothing is Private
Harmony Korine – Mister Lonely
Martin McDonagh – In Bruges
Cristi Pulu – Stuff and Dough (***)
Bela Tarr – The Man from London
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. The Wachowski Brothers – Speed Racer
#7. Florent Emilio Siri – Intimate Enemies
#8. M. Night Shyamalan – The Happening
#9. David Mamet – Redbelt
#10. Michael Gondry – Be Kind, Rewind

Best Original Screenplay
In Bruges [martin mcDonagh]
Mister Lonely [harmony korine & avi korine]
Redbelt [david memet] (***)
Stuff and Dough [cristi pulu & razvan radulescu ]
The Unknown Woman [giuseppe tornatore]
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. The Visitor [thomas mccarthy]
#7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall [jason segel]
#8. Be Kind, Rewind [michael gondry]
#9. My Blueberry Nights [kar wai wong & lawrence block]
#10. Young People Fucking [aaron abrams & martin gero]

Best Adapted Screenplay
City of Men [elena soarez]
Funny Games US [michael haneke]
The Man from London [bela tarr]
Towelhead [alan ball] (***)
The Trap [melina pota koljevic & srdjan koljevic]
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. Horton Hears a Who [ken daurio & cinco paul]
#7. Intimate Enemies [florent emilio siri]
#8. Iron Man [mark fergus & hawk ostby]
#9. Snow Angels [david gordon green]
#10. The Life Before Her Eyes [emil stern]

Best Cinematography
City of Men [adriano goldman]
The Man from London [fred kelemen] (***)
Married Life [peter deming]
My Blueberry Nights [darius khondji]
The Unknown Woman [fabio zamarion]
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. The Trap [aleksandar ilic]
#7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [janusz kaminski]
#8. In Bruges [eigil bryld]
#9. 10 000 BC [ueli steiger]
#10. Ploy [chankit chamnivikaipong]

Best Animated Feature
Film Noir (***)
Horton Hears a Who
Kung Fu Panda
Wall•E

Best Film Editing
Be Kind, Rewind
Mister Lonely
My Winnipeg (***)
Speed Racer
Young People Fucking

Best Art Direction
Death Defying Acts
In Bruges (***)
My Blueberry Nights
Speed Racer
War, Inc.

Best Costume Design
Death Defying Acts
Mister Lonely (***)
Nightwatching
Semi-Pro
Speed Racer

Best Makeup
[•rec]
Diary of the Dead
Frontiere[s] (***)
Pathology
Rambo

Best Visual Effects
Hancock
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man
Speed Racer (***)
The Spiderwick Chronicles

Best Sound Mixing
Cloverfield
Hancock
The Incredible Hulk
Speed Racer (***)
Wall•E

Best Sound Editing
Cloverfield
Iron Man
Speed Racer
Wall•E (***)
Wanted

Best Original Score
Cassandra’s Dream [philip glass]
The Happening [james newton howard]
Horton Hears a Who! [john powell]
The Man from London [mihaly vig] (***)
Towelhead [thomas newman]
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. The Life Before Her Eyes [james horner]
#7. Smart People [nuno bettencourt]
#8. Married Life [dickon hinchliffe
#9. The Unknown Woman [ennio morricone]
#10. Intimate Enemies [alexandre desplat]

Best Ensemble Cast
Mister Lonely
My Blueberry Nights
Towelhead (***)
The Trap
Young People Fucking
///////////////////the rest///////////////
#6. Married Life
#7. City of Men
#8. Jar City
#9. Definitely, Maybe
#10. The Band’s Visit