Oscar nominations for 2009 films

[kid-glove]

http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html
[tscii:05380e363c]

10 films in "Best picture" category
“Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
“The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
“The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
“Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
“A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
“Un Prophète” France
“The White Ribbon” Germany

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
“An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
“Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
“Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
“A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy[/tscii:05380e363c]

:clap: for bolded ones. "White ribbon" was nailed-on favorite anyway. Others - Didn't think the academy would ever nominate some of these films, especially in those categories.

[ajithfederer]

Hans Landa for Supporting Actor is just a formality. The last 3 years we had great supporting wins (Javier Bardem, Heath Ledger and Chirstoph Waltz).

[kid-glove]

Yeah.

But seriously, "A serious man" getting past the academy members to even be among top 5 nominations :shock:

I dare that our hub puzhavars will thrash the film. :lol2:

A free fall from Coens from top of building :yessir:
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[ajithfederer]

I haven't seen A serious Man myself :cry:. But I take your word.

[kid-glove]

How was my graphic representation of Coens falling from top of that building to ground?! :lol:

[ajithfederer]

:rotfl:. You sure are animated these days :).

Who is that thaadiwala in your dp :huh:.

[kid-glove]

Woody Allen ! (Isn't it like Al Qaeda meets Fidel Castro) :boo:

[kid-glove]

"A Serious Man" is NOT like "No country for Old man", "Fargo", "Blood simple", "The man who wasn't there" (except perhaps in surreal/ambiguous sequences which reeks of outer-space & out-worldly as in TMWWT) and such stuff.

It's not as funny as "The big lebowski", and yet, the protagonist is like the Dude, a passive vehicle for the narration. Except the irony of being a "serious man" or at least trying to be one, unlike say philosophy of the Dude. :lol:

It's also in some respects like "Burn after reading" in its cheekiness and in its structure. The final shot is abrupt and open-ended. But again the structure sets it nicely, and there are various foreshadowing at work, right from yiddish prologue. :lol2:

And it's perhaps a bit biographical with Jewish lineage, and in mid-western unnamed setting, reminiscent of their childhood. A lot more than say Barton Fink, which was a gothic representation of Jew protagonist confounding with "Hollywood studio system" to write a script, adapt into establishment. In fact, there are no life lessons to be taken at all by the protagonist in "A Serious man". It's like how the second rabbi in the philum would say "who cares?!", or maybe to some others, how the first rabbi would say "with the right perspective, you can see Hashem" :lol:

[Appu s]

[tscii:5dac12820f]
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html
Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
“Un Prophète” France
“The White Ribbon” Germany
Saw this movie :D :thumbsup:[/tscii:5dac12820f]

[kid-glove]

Yes, thanks to your comments. I had downloaded it immediately. :D :ty:

[Appu s]

Hope you will like it :lol:, it is very simple movie with good performance, i enjoyed watching it, not sure whether it is deserve for academy. Downloading "the white ribbon" :D

[kid-glove]

Very rarely I've hated a film. the last film that I intensely hated was "300" in English and "Aadhavan" in Tamil. I'm comfortably out of "hub pandithargal" in that I find reasons to like every other film. :mrgreen:

Btw "Broken Embraces" not among the nominations leads me to download all the oscar nominated foreign language films. I've downloaded Baaria, The Maid, Prophet, and Ajami. "The milk of sorrow" is next up. I'm going to watch 'em all. :boo:

[groucho070]

Somehow not at all excited about this year's award shows. Vayasaana ippadithanoo? :?

[kid-glove]

Yeah? But last decade weren't any better, it's been very predictable. 90's weren't bad. I suppose one goes all the way up to 70's to feel anything close to "excited" state. That was an awesome decade, I opened a 70's thread for you oldies (:P) to comment on. No response :huh:

[kid-glove]

Hope you will like it :lol:, it is very simple movie with good performance, i enjoyed watching it, not sure whether it is deserve for academy.

Watched it. Totally agree with underline part! Liked the aerial shot that goes all the way down to chasing the suspect. This film comes closest in tapping the vibe and passion of Football stadium. I'd like to know how they shot that. Helicopter shot is conjoined by crane shot which would again be replaced by a handheld camera. Well done :clap:

[kid-glove]

http://www.filmsite.org/oscars70.html

:shock: @ number of misses and still, it's got so much quality in there as nominations if not the winner.

[groucho070]

Yeah? But last decade weren't any better, it's been very predictable. 90's weren't bad. I suppose one goes all the way up to 70's to feel anything close to "excited" state. That was an awesome decade, I opened a 70's thread for you oldies (:P) to comment on. No response :huh::lol: My parents and aunty calls me "pazhaya kalattu manushan" for my love for those films. Hmm...been revisiting some 70s stuff recently, but comments ellam non-Indian film threadla post pannunen. They got buried amidst other posts.

[Appu s]

Hope you will like it :lol:, it is very simple movie with good performance, i enjoyed watching it, not sure whether it is deserve for academy.

Watched it. Totally agree with underline part! Liked the aerial shot that goes all the way down to chasing the suspect. This film comes closest in tapping the vibe and passion of Football stadium. I'd like to know how they shot that. Helicopter shot is conjoined by crane shot which would again be replaced by a handheld camera. Well done :clap:

:bow: :thumbsup:

[kid-glove]

Yeah? But last decade weren't any better, it's been very predictable. 90's weren't bad. I suppose one goes all the way up to 70's to feel anything close to "excited" state. That was an awesome decade, I opened a 70's thread for you oldies (:P) to comment on. No response :huh::lol: My parents and aunty calls me "pazhaya kalattu manushan" for my love for those films.

which you are, :wink: :lol:


Hmm...been revisiting some 70s stuff recently, but comments ellam non-Indian film threadla post pannunen. They got buried amidst other posts.
:thumbsup:

[VENKIRAJA]

Somehow not at all excited about this year's award shows. Vayasaana ippadithanoo? :?

same feelings

[tamizharasan]

Somehow not at all excited about this year's award shows. Vayasaana ippadithanoo? :?

same feelings

Like(Kamal) subramanya raju says in MMKR. Award dislikinga naan kooda romba romba award disliker. Dislike dislike same same. :)

[kid-glove]

I think this year's nominations give a good starting point to watch films. Even if some films might be missing. :thumbsup:

As I said to Groucho, oscar, and any American award for that matter has been a bit underwhelming past decade. :(

The only time I was interested was PT Anderson vs Coens, TWBB vs NCFOM.

[AravindMano]

[tscii:35d8d3c6c1]

Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
“Un Prophète” France
“The White Ribbon” Germany


Are these films available for download? Could get the other three.

Ellaathaiyum paakka pOREn. :boo: [/tscii:35d8d3c6c1]

[anbu_kathir]

And it's perhaps a bit biographical with Jewish lineage, and in mid-western unnamed setting, reminiscent of their childhood. A lot more than say Barton Fink, which was a gothic representation of Jew protagonist confounding with "Hollywood studio system" to write a script, adapt into establishment. In fact, there are no life lessons to be taken at all by the protagonist in "A Serious man". It's like how the second rabbi in the philum would say "who cares?!", or maybe to some others, how the first rabbi would say "with the right perspective, you can see Hashem" :lol:

I thought it was a damn funny take on the Book of Job (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job).

[kid-glove]

And it's perhaps a bit biographical with Jewish lineage, and in mid-western unnamed setting, reminiscent of their childhood. A lot more than say Barton Fink, which was a gothic representation of Jew protagonist confounding with "Hollywood studio system" to write a script, adapt into establishment. In fact, there are no life lessons to be taken at all by the protagonist in "A Serious man". It's like how the second rabbi in the philum would say "who cares?!", or maybe to some others, how the first rabbi would say "with the right perspective, you can see Hashem" :lol:

I thought it was a damn funny take on the Book of Job (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Job).

Partly. Interesting how the Coens set up that prologue as precursor for the unanswered, the crisis (of the protagonist) and the ending of the film. The opening Rashi quote "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." is a nice way to rub in to Larry. :lol: Besides, much unlike Book of Job, the film doesn't really bludgeon the audience into exegesis and call for life lessons, in fact it's quite opposite. Through both the Gopniks, it's a forewarning/spoof of sorts. OF course, like the contradicting foreword and closing of Fargo. "No Jews were harmed in the making of this movie" here is :rotfl:

It wasn't damn funny in a rigid sense. It wasn't all-out farce, and surely Coens aren't Marx Brothers or Woody allen, as exponents of farce. It has its funny moments through character's plight and conscious setting up by Coens. It's not screwball or gag humor either.

[kid-glove]

[tscii:6fc9c1776c]

Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
“Un Prophète” France
“The White Ribbon” Germany


Are these films available for download? Could get the other three.

Ellaathaiyum paakka pOREn. :boo: [/tscii:6fc9c1776c]

Isohunt

:thumbsup:

[AravindMano]

Thanks kid-glove :)

[kid-glove]

Having watched the nominated films, I'd like to predict the likely winners (my preference in italics or * if it coincides with my prediction):

Direction: Bigelow QT
Film: Avatar Inglorious basterds
Foreign: White Ribbon* (Prophet could be dark-horse)
Actors: Bridges*, Bullock, Waltz* and Monique*
Animated: Up*

Acting:
I don't know if it's just me, but "The Last Station" has some of the tedious acting done by Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. As much as a fan I am, of DDL, I'd understand why he missed it for playing the Italian director in "Nine" (I also thought Cotillard deserved it better than Penelope). But for similar reasons, English theater legends trying to be highbrow Russian (literary) figures, is a FAIL !

And they are not alone in failing to play historical figures, Freeman gets the customary nod for playing himself (with "Gravitas" :P ), yet again. I'd rather have fresh faces like Sharlto Copley from District 9 or Peter Capaldi from "In the loop". The character, originally made for TV, is a cultural phenomenon in Britain, lot of positive improv done by Capaldi to the wonderful script, which btw was published (http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/in-the-loop)by Iannucci, and comedy is much underrated in "Acting" categories.

Direction:
Reitman is fast becoming a lovechild to the academy. Not that I hated his film, or Clooney's performance. They are alright. But seeing personal favorites like Coen brothers would have lightened me up.

I don't think Lee Daniels is up there by merit. They basically picked an operatic melodrama, but it fails even at its manipulations. There might also be a case made on sexual orientation and race, as a cause for making the list. God bless him. :roll:

On a grand scale, I'm miffed at the negligence to truly cinematic genres. "District 9" is my favorite Sci-Fi film of the year, and it's not nominated in this category. A sci-fi franchise film revamped with great success, in "Star trek" ( I watched it after QT's recommend), is worth recognition. A modern times TV specialist (creator of "lost") J J Abrams does a truly great job. It lacked a formulaic mushy romance and a name like James Cameron to make the cut. But it deserves to be mentioned.

I'd also argue for cathartic horror movie that Von Trier managed to make in "Antichrist", and if reactions are to be believed, Sam Riami for "Drag me to hell" deserves recognition than Lee Daniels. Maybe in parallel universe. :lol:

Being in line with realities and understanding of Oscar, I'd assume Bigelow will win. James Cameron would just lose out to her. But come to think of it, JC's direction does possess an uniform vision, taste and perfection in what he sets out to do. It is somewhat groundbreaking in visual depth and providing a cinematic "ride", like a role-playing game does (in a positive sense). Bigelow's direction is alright. If you like her older films, "The hurt locker" seems methodical and less challenging (apart from going to Jordan and shoot it). The shaky handheld camera set up on different geographical spots, is nothing new. Handheld cameras serves the purpose of being up-close, shaky, always edging towards lose of control, going off any moment, embodying the very essence of "bombs". On the other hand, a diff kind of action choreography would have suited the calm and composed skill-set required to put on the suit. Now that would be a challenging proposition. And any way, action (in Scifi, horror, war, etc) is medium-defining. For all the brickbats, One's got to respect the academy to have evolved to this level, at least. Even if they got to do more IMO :P

Unpredictable award(s):
Writing (original): QT*Reitman
Writing (adapted): Iannucci*/Hornby ( British connection ! )

I wouldn't mind if Up, District 9 and A serious man won, but unlikely I think.

[kid-glove]

Best cinematography: Avatar The white ribbon :notworthy:
Best song: The Weary Kind*
Best score: Up* :notworthy: (IB's soundtrack is the best assorted, naturally. but don't think there's a category for it no more)

Avatar should win awards for technical excellence. Star trek, IB and District 9 are equally great in produced effect !

[anbu_kathir]

Best score: Up*

Haven't heard Up. On another note, whatever happened to Zimmer's Angels and Demons? They nominated his Sherlock Holmes (which I thought was a spin-off from the Dark Knight score). I enjoyed A&D much more than SH :?

[kid-glove]

Anbu_kathir,

I didn't see A&D yet. :oops: Will have to watch it.

"Up" should win because that score really was moving, uplifting and adventurous at different times with subtle variations to it, and lifted the scenes to a great effect. :clap:

[anbu_kathir]

Anbu_kathir,

I didn't see A&D yet. :oops: Will have to watch it.

"Up" should win because that score really was moving, uplifting and adventurous at different times with subtle variations to it, and lifted the scenes to a great effect. :clap:

Spare yourselves the trouble of watching A&D :D, although with the score the experience could be less painful. Get hold of the score... IMHO it is one of Zimmer's best, although I admit I haven't heard many :P.

[littlemaster1982]

Spare yourselves the trouble of watching A&D :D, although with the score the experience could be less painful.

Prasad,

Is it atleast better than DVC? I found it very tough to sit through DVC.

[anbu_kathir]

Spare yourselves the trouble of watching A&D :D, although with the score the experience could be less painful.

Prasad,

Is it atleast better than DVC? I found it very tough to sit through DVC.

I think its better than DVC. I didn't remember DVC that much because I pretty much sleep walked through it. I did the same for A&D, but I managed to catch Zimmer's gems through all the brain numbing dialogues and acting.. and still listen to them with great delight. If not for anything, this movie is worth watching for the bgm.

[littlemaster1982]

I loved the score in Sherlock Holmes and if A&D's is better than that, will definitely watch it :)

[AravindMano]

A Prophet :clap:

This is extraordinary film, especially for the intense tempo it has got. The premise is set very early in the film and the film goes on expected lines, but still there is a never a dull moment (except the Italian guy episode). The dead guy appearing again and again was a bit pretentious, but there were a number of genuine moments - liked them all! Inspite of the bloodshed, the mood of the film is infectiously upbeat.

And the lead actor :omg: :clap: - whatta performance - so measured & calculated but still spontaneous! He is the bestest thing in the film.

I wouldn't be surprised if this film walks away with the honours!

[kid-glove]

Superb film. Although agree with Cannes to award "The white ribbon" over it. Prophet might pay back with Bafta (where the director took the lead actor to the stage, and said, "here's the prophet himself" :clap:) and Oscar.

[AravindMano]

My choice is undecided yet. Nemba confusing a irukku. :roll:

Oscar might go to Golden Globe Winner as usual (In that case "The White Ribbon"); but Academy at times snubs the Cannes winners. (The previous two Palme d'Or/Grand Prix winners were ignored; "The Class" got a nomination; "4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days" and Gomorrah didn't even fetch one)

I also find the general opinion about "The White Ribbon" very underwhelming - i mean fellow bloggers and the likes.

and Bharadwaj Rangan is gonna cover about these five films! First instalment here (http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2010/02/19/part-of-the-picture-sounding-off-about-sight/).

[kid-glove]

The academy members would "feel" a lot akin to "A prophet", and might hold a hackneyed perspective of Haneke, vox populi.

[AravindMano]

kid-glove, what about the other films? Is anything among them a strong contender or a potential dark horse?

[kid-glove]

All worth watching ( I find reasons to like a movie just the way I find reasons to watch 'em :oops: :lol: )

The secret of their eyes - good characters, okay plot, well directed scenes (one particular setpiece in football stadium)

Ajami - Hyperlink cinema which goes to show a kaleidescope of different microcosms, each from diff. religion, sects and crusts, ultimately trying to give an idea. That said, it's no Gomorrah. Lower your expectations.

Israeli film gettin nominated 3 year in a row. The high percentage of Jew voters that I was talking about, was perhaps true. :lol:

Milk of sorrow - Unbelievably pitiful of its lead character and the lineage of her state, the history of the milieu. I guess I'm a sad guy to sit through it. :( Ultimately it's about the human condition. The acting is also quite distinctly south american ! The lead actress has something about her, despite the limitations of the character and style of rendition. Very rough in its making and has a distinct feel to it.

[AravindMano]

:ty: Dr.Kid-Glove!

>>Israeli film gettin nominated 3 year in a row.>>

Oh, yeah. By the way, Have you watched "The Band's Visit"? Israeli film, that was rejected by Oscars in 2007 paving way for the other film that got nominated. delicious little film :D

[kid-glove]

I have watched "The Band's Visit", it's a hangout movie (apart from its sociopolitical commentary), we get to meet and know these characters. The dialogues were in English mostly, and they even sing "Sunshine" in dinner table. :lol:

[AravindMano]

:yes: hangout film is the right word. And it got rejected for the same reason - more english dialgues!

[ajithfederer]

http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html

Why 10 nominees for best films??. Idhu enna pudhu kadhai. KG please explain.

[kid-glove]

I don't know. It used to be an age old tradition. The academy reverted to it, to get more audience.

As I said, poor regardless, perhaps, the most predictable year of cinema. The 10 nominations for best picture could help 'em bring auteurs like Coens, and the year's earlier films like "District 9", could remind people of its existence. Pure and simple.

I hope "Shutter Island" had released in 2009 as planned. It's worthy of recognition.

[AravindMano]

The Milk Of Sorrow. Nice film :thumbsup:

[AravindMano]

The Secret In Their Eyes :clap: Very well executed film. The plot was not great, but everything else is perfect - the performances espescially!

Lot of great moments - the stadium scene, the elevator scene, the interrogation scene, the final moment. :D

[kid-glove]

Check out the director's other film "Son of the bride" (which stars legendary Hector Alterio), his seminal work till date. Also stars Ricardo Darin, who played the lead federal enforcer in "Secret in their eyes".

And staying with Argentina cinema and Darin, the two great films with Fabian Bielinsky (RIP!), "El Aura" and "Nine queens", which I'd say kicked off a new wave of Argentinian films post-millennium.

[AravindMano]

Sure, Will catch them. Was just reading his interviews and profile :)

[Appu s]

[tscii:1a3ad08893]B'Rangan reviews El Secreto de Sus Ojos (2009, Spanish; aka The Secret in their Eyes). (http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/page/2/)

THE LEOPARD’S IMMUTABLE SPOTS

MAR 6, 2010 – THE SHOWBOATING CENTREPIECE OF THIS foreign-film Oscar nominee is a five-minute tracking shot that begins with the camera swooping upon a soccer field where a game is in progress, goes on to single out federal justice agents Benjamín Esposito (Ricardo Darín) and Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) amongst the thousands of cheering spectators (they are interested in nabbing a rape-murder suspect, also amidst the audience), and ends with a dizzyingly staged chase that results in the apprehension of this suspect. The preceding scene, by contrast, is completely static, with the camera observing people in a bar in quietly animated discussion, mainly Benjamín and Pablo and a notary named Andretta (David Di Napoli) – but the dynamism comes from the way Pablo, with the help of letters stolen from the suspect’s home, painstakingly unearths a key to the puzzle, without which there would be little excuse for the ensuing soccer-field bravura.

Benjamín strides up to Pablo in the bar, irate that the latter has, without proper authorisation, taken the letters (which are evidence in the case) outside the federal office – but Pablo isn’t rattled. He possesses the tranquil demeanor of a seeker who’s seen the sign. He urges his colleague, “Sit down for a second. Sit down and take it easy. Know why we can’t find him, Benjamín? Because we’re stupid.” Benjamín nods in exasperation. Pablo looks down at the letters and continues, “Twelve letters. 31 pages…” Benjamín interrupts impatiently, “Can we go?” Pablo replies, “Hold on a second. My mind exploded, I couldn’t stop. I kept asking myself, ‘Why can’t we find this guy?’ He always vanishes. Where is he? And I started thinking about guys. Guys in general. Not just this guy, but… Guys in general. ‘The’ guy. The guy can do anything to be different. But there’s one thing he can’t change. Not him, not you, not anybody.”

“Take me, for example. I’m young, I have a good job, a wife who loves me… And like you always say, I keep throwing my life away in dives like this. Many times you’ve asked, ‘Why are you here, Pablo? Why?’ You know why, Benjamín? Because it’s my passion. I love coming here, getting drunk, slugging it out with anyone who pisses me off… I love it.” After employing himself as an example, Pablo moves on to his increasingly intrigued colleague. “Just like you, Benjamín. There’s nothing you can do to get Irene out of your head. She’s dying to marry someone else, her desk drawer is full of wedding dress magazines. She got engaged, had a party, everything. But you keep waiting for the miracle, Benjamín.” Wanting to explain why these men keep doing the things that they do, in an apparently helpless (and endless) cycle, Pablo walks up to Andretta and says, “How’s it going, notary? How are you? This is that friend I mentioned, Esposito.”

After introductions, Pablo comes to the point. “Let’s begin with the first letter from our friend…” He reads out a single sentence. “I swear it rained so hard I looked worse than Oleniak that night,” Pablo turns to the notary, who explains, “Juan Carlos Oleniak. First played for Racing Academy in ‘60. In ‘62 he went to Argentinos Juniors, and back to Racing in ‘63. In a classic match with San Lorenzo, he got pushed and fell face-first into the ditch. He was soaked.” And thus, the first steps are taken towards solving the mystery. Like Benjamín and Pablo, we were wondering who the Oleniak mentioned in the letter was and what his connection to rain was, and the notary has cleared the fog with this soccer anecdote. Pablo reads out another portion, “I’ll send for you. We make a great team. Anido by himself isn’t the same as Anido with Mesias.” Again, the notary sheds light on these cryptic allusions, “Anido and Mesias, backs on the club that won it all in ‘61. Negri at goalie, Anido and Mesias. Blanco, Peano and Sacchi. Corbatta, Pizzuti, Mansilla, Sosa and Belen.”

The routine continues. Pablo reads, “Don’t worry about me. I’m like Manfredini, not Bavastro.” The notary explains, “Pedro Waldemar Manfredini. Racing paid peanuts for him and he ended up being an extraordinary player. Incredible. Julio Bavastro, right forward. Played only two matches between ‘62 and ‘63 without scoring.” Pablo reads, “I don’t want to end up like Sanchez.” The notary explains, “He can only mean the goalie, Ataulfo Sanchez. Eternal benchwarmer. He played only 17 matches between ‘57 and ‘61.” Having laid out the grounds on which to construct his hypothesis, Pablo demands, “Notary, what is Racing to you?” The notary replies, “A passion.” Pablo asks, “Even after nine years without a championship?” The notary shrugs, “A passion is a passion.” Pablo turns to Benjamín and explains why there’s only one place to look for their suspect, and that’s the soccer stadium. “You see, Benjamín? A guy can change anything. His face, his home, his family, his girlfriend, his religion, his God. But there’s one thing he can’t change. He can’t change his passion.”

[/tscii:1a3ad08893]

[kid-glove]

I touched upon this bar scene, here (http://www.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?p=2036498)...

[VENKIRAJA]

Time has posted an article about its Oscar picks, for this year. Came across.. didn't read as I haven't watched anything except Avatar.

[AravindMano]

Ajami :clap: Nice film. I liked the tales presented, very affecting. Yet another "tricky" screenplay, but i wasn't much put off by it, rather liked it.


So watched all the 5 films :boo: My money is on "The White Ribbon". It should win.

[raghavendran]

i hated avatar...hope it doesnt win any oscar

[kid-glove]

After some thought, I'm predicting "A Prophet" to win, and Jacques Audiard's dream, of Haneke applauding him, will be realized. :lol:

[Nerd]

Waltz yayy! :D :D :D

[ajithfederer]

A very good opening prologue by baldwin and steve martin. Funny

Hans landa won his first oscar 8-)

[Nerd]

Coens/Tarantino miss orig screenplay :(

Hurt Locker avLO periya thillaalangadiyaa? :)

[littlemaster1982]

Hurt Locker is quite good. Not sure if it is Oscar level, but definitely worth a watch.

[venkkiram]

Best Animated Feature Film, And the winner is Up by Pete Docter

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[venkkiram]

Best Picture 2009...

AVATAR

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[Nerd]

Best Picture 2009...

AVATAR

:clap: :clap: :clap:
Eh.. ESP aa ungaLukku? :)

[kid-glove]

Director of Photography/Cinematography thanE

Which in itself is a shame.

"The white ribbon" is what you call a cinematic achievement. Incl. the deliberately CGI-exposed (minor installment of director's hand in Haneke film!) Horse ride accident.

[AravindMano]

The Secret In Their Eyes... Aaaaaaah! :shock:

[ajithfederer]

Thilak

The secret in their eyes (Argentina) wins the best foreign language film oscar.

[kid-glove]

Secret of their eyes.

How the hell did it win over "A Prophet" or "The white ribbon".

Dr.AM, enna kodumai idhu :shock:

[kid-glove]

It's just how the academy like to behave "different" in this category. They do it in a rather crap way.

In fact, Almodovar ,who presented it with QT, would have won it with "Broken embraces" in my book, ahead of Campanella.

[AravindMano]

Secret of their eyes.

How the hell did it win over "A Prophet" or "The white ribbon".

Dr.AM, enna kodumai idhu :shock:

TherliyaE Doctor!!

Leave "The White Ribbon", Would have been glad even if "A Prophet" had won. Sigh.

[AravindMano]

It's just how the academy like to behave "different" in this category.

Precisely. They wanna keep saying "We are not Cannes", "We are not Cannes". Both "The White Ribbon", "A Prophet" won honours at the Cannes.

[groucho070]

Can't believe that I am not at all hyped about this years Oscar :oops:

[kid-glove]

The Dude abides.

:notworthy:

[ajithfederer]

The dude big lebowski jeff bridges takes best actor oscar.

[kid-glove]

Oscars could still redeem themselves awarding QT and Coens. :P

[kid-glove]

Good to hear "Moon river" to introduce the award for best actress.

Michael Sheen's perf as Brian Clough in The Damned united (and a better film than Invictus) is easily better than Freeman as Mandela

And yet here he is, to talk about Helen Mirren (loud and obnoxious perf in an obnoxious, pretentious film called "The last station")

[ajaybaskar]

sandra (the blind side) wins oscar for best actress.

[AravindMano]

She won the Razzie last night. Thank god, for a different film. :lol:

[AravindMano]

It's Hurt Locker all the way.

[kid-glove]

Wht a shame.

[AravindMano]

:lol: Will catch it :P

[Bala (Karthik)]

Edhu eppadiyo, Avatar got *only* the awards it deserved :lol2:
Ivinga Best Picture Best direction-ku ellam kuduthuduvaangalo-nnu bayandhen

The Dude :notworthy:

[AravindMano]

Edhu eppadiyo, Avatar got *only* the awards it deserved :lol2:
Ivinga Best Picture Best direction-ku ellam kuduthuduvaangalo-nnu bayandhen

The Dude :notworthy:

:yes:

[ajithfederer]

+1.


Edhu eppadiyo, Avatar got *only* the awards it deserved :lol2:
Ivinga Best Picture Best direction-ku ellam kuduthuduvaangalo-nnu bayandhen

The Dude :notworthy:

:yes:

[kid-glove]

Jeff Bridges in press room, reflecting on career, makes a Lebowski ref: "Well, ups and downs - as the Dude says, strikes & gutters."

[kid-glove]

Jeff Bridges has officially broken the record for saying "man" the most times in an Oscar acceptance speech. :lol:

Thanks to Twitter updates !

[groucho070]

:lol: Good for him. He deserves at least for the wonderful body of work he has done.

[NOV]

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire)

Animated Feature Film: Up

Art Direction: Avatar (Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)

Cinematography: Avatar

Costume Design: The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell )

Directing: The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)

Documentary Feature: The Cove

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

Foreign Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) Argentina

Makeup: Star Trek

Music (Original Score): Up (Michael Giacchino)

Music (Original Song): Crazy Heart - "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Visual Effects: Avatar

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

Writing (Original Screenplay): The Hurt Locker

[Plum]

For Avtar haters (http://prempanicker.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/avtaar-and-the-oscars/)

Note for grouch: Avatar *ing Rajesh Khanna is a 80's hindi movie, a remake of NT's Vaazhkai so dont laugh too hard :-)

[groucho070]

:lol: :oops:

[Nerd]

Kid, can you link to posts you have made about "The Hurt Locker"?

LM thavira yaar ellaam paathirukkeenga? :D

[littlemaster1982]

AF paarthuttar-nu ninaikkiren :)

[ajithfederer]

Illainga naan paakala.

AF paarthuttar-nu ninaikkiren :)

[littlemaster1982]

:oops: That was Appu.

[ajithfederer]

Actually steve martin made a pretty funny quib on hollywood

"Well in Ing. basterds christoph waltz plays a nazi obsessed with finding jews, Well christoph "shows both the hands towards the entire auditorium"

:lol:

[kid-glove]

Exactly, the poke was thrust at Jew voters in academy and jews in Hollywood. I liked how Steve Martin follows that hand movement with "motherlandd". :lol:

Rather distasteful to show Ethan Coen and his son immediately after Waltz laughing (like a lion, with that beard :P ). Ethan looked a bit appalled. :(

[ajithfederer]

I liked their quib on James cameron as well.

Hey here is James cameron (pointing towards him in the crowd) and they both put on 3-d glasses to see him clearly. And then those small fly like things come up on the stage and baldwin exclaims they are beautiful. Steve then takes a mosquito repellent sort of thing and extinguishes them :lol2:.

[Wibha]

Precious deserves its awards :notworthy:

Hurt Locker- really?!?!

Is blind side a good movie?

up and avatar :D

[Appu s]

Wibha thats hurt locker, happy to know that landa has won the award :clap: and for that argentina movie :clap: :clap:

[Bala (Karthik)]

Oh, Hurt Locker is an American propaganda/war psyche and scars movie ya? :banghead: Innum rende varusham dhaan...... :x

[kid-glove]

Kid, can you link to posts you have made about "The Hurt Locker"?

Sorry Nerd, ippo dhan unga post-a parthEn..


I'd assume Bigelow will win. James Cameron would just lose out to her. But come to think of it, JC's direction does possess an uniform vision, taste and perfection in what he sets out to do. It is somewhat groundbreaking in visual depth and providing a cinematic "ride", like a role-playing game does (in a positive sense). Bigelow's direction is alright. If you like her older films, "The hurt locker" seems methodical and less challenging (apart from going to Jordan and shoot it). The shaky handheld camera set up on different geographical spots, is nothing new. Handheld cameras serve the purpose of being up-close, shaky, always edging towards lose of control, going off any moment, embodying the very essence of "bombs". On the other hand, a diff kind of action choreography would have suited the calm and composed skill-set required to put on the suit. Now that would be a challenging proposition. And any way, action (in Scifi, horror, war, etc) is medium-defining. For all the brickbats, One's got to respect the academy to have evolved to this level, at least.


Re. Hurt Locker
Of all three main characters, it's clear as crystal, Will is obsessed, and persistent, despite the emotional and physical turmoil. The bloke hasn't got a soul back home who is mildly interested with his urge to be back to field, and the war anecdotes, except if we consider the amusement of his baby-child who doesn't understand a thing he says. And his ex-wife, still living with him, is seemingly "okay" with it. In an earlier scene, he takes offence at Sanborn's demeaning assertion of her as "dumb" to still live with him, and cuts back she's just loyal, but she doesn't look any interested in him either. So, William puts-on a pretense of the meaningless relationship. But after that, the whole Delta army thing, heavy metal, and subtitled "365 days for rotation", is extremely loud.

We get that EOD is not only his vocation and interest, and keeps his adrenaline going, but the only "love" he could afford to be in. The heavy metal music he often listens to, used as BGM as he opts to stay forever, having joined Delta company. That ending was really not necessary. At least doing it that explicitly (which until then, was quite subtle), is slightly cringe-inducing. In fact, in one of the roundtable discussion on script writing, almost every award nominated scriptwriter joked it needs a rewrite. I agree.

[kid-glove]

Oh, Hurt Locker is an American propaganda/war psyche and scars movie ya
Adhe Dhan. :P

The focus on the most dangerous job in the world, face-to-face with the most dangerous exhibit of jihad terrorism, the suicide bombs (with civilians, kids, cars, rubbles, and cattle - in different acts of the film)

It just focuses on three young American soldiers going through this dangerous ride (and then there is an empathy for "innocent" victims of the other side, without bothering to delve much into it. As usual). The film is hardly nuanced enough to pass a polemic of war and the filmmaker's feelings on the issue. It's no Apocalypse now, in that respect. It works on a much lower level.

And it shows the American corps in an all-encompassing positive, benevolent light. I'd say cowardly and borderline pandering to american psyche.

[Bala (Karthik)]

KG,
My problem with Hollywood is that none of the movies i have seen (none) has ventured outside the war psyche/scar/non-judgmental mode. WWII vitruvom. Its an epic cliche. The oppressor is the victim, the real victims are just incidental happenings or even worse, the "American heroes" are trying to help them. The industry hides behind "without making an overt statement about the war" (which is what KB said yesterday) artistic disclaimer. I'm all for it but why isn't there even a single exception? Kubrick kooda idhukku vidhivilakku illa, though i may not have 'deciphered' what the second half of Full Metal Jacket was about. More than artistic motivations, i wonder if it has anything to do with towing the establishment line.
Waltz With Bashir was the latest example (non-Hollywood at that) in this horrendous niche market. Its just perverse on the whole

[kid-glove]

http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=566

Bravo.

Especially for talking up Redacted (De Palma's film on Iraq, similar to his Vietnam film "Casualties of War"), that has balls to show American soldiers with some authenticity..

[kid-glove]

B(K),
Your problem is also mine. As is John Piliger and countless others, I'm sure.

Isreali, American, or any country for that matter, trying to talk about their own countrymen, and their own failings in disreputable oppression. Within this realm, films are being made.

Our problem is, the lack of other POV . That's a major area to cater to. And it's about time too. We need a film on hearts and minds of the oppressed.

Especially now, American industry has the freedom and liberal means to do such films and it needs to be made...

[Bala (Karthik)]

[tscii:c16f5fb56b]:ty: Thilak. Posting the content here:


Why the Oscars are a con
11 Feb 2010
In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger asks why directors and writers allow Hollywood formula propaganda to dominate the movies, with a hot contender for Oscars airbrushing a million dead Iraqis, and Clint Eastwood dispatching the truth of the struggle against apartheid while George Clooney amuses himself with the same old stereotypes.

Why are so many films so bad? This year’s Oscar nominations are a parade of propaganda, stereotypes and downright dishonesty. The dominant theme is as old as Hollywood: America’s divine right to invade other societies, steal their history and occupy our memory. When will directors and writers behave like artists and not pimps for a world view devoted to control and destruction?

I grew up on the movie myth of the Wild West, which was harmless enough unless you happened to be a native American. The formula is unchanged. Self-regarding distortions present the nobility of the American colonial aggressor as a cover for massacre, from the Philippines to Iraq. I only fully understood the power of the con when I was sent to Vietnam as a war reporter. The Vietnamese were “gooks” and “Indians” whose industrial murder was preordained in John Wayne movies and sent back to Hollywood to glamourise or redeem.

I use the word murder advisedly, because what Hollywood does brilliantly is suppress the truth about America’s assaults. These are not wars, but the export of a gun-addicted, homicidal “culture”. And when the notion of psychopaths as heroes wears thin, the bloodbath becomes an “American tragedy” with a soundtrack of pure angst.

Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker is in this tradition. A favourite for multiple Oscars, her film is “better than any documentary I’ve seen on the Iraq war. It’s so real it’s scary” (Paul Chambers CNN). Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian reckons it has “unpretentious clarity” and is “about the long and painful endgame in Iraq” that “says more about the agony and wrong and tragedy of war than all those earnest well-meaning movies”.

What nonsense. Her film offers a vicarious thrill via yet another standard-issue psychopath high on violence in somebody else’s country where the deaths of a million people are consigned to cinematic oblivion. The hype around Bigelow is that she may be the first female director to win an Oscar. How insulting that a woman is celebrated for a typically violent all-male war movie.

The accolades echo those for The Deer Hunter (1978) which critics acclaimed as “the film that could purge a nation’s guilt!” The Deer Hunter lauded those who had caused the deaths of more than three million Vietnamese while reducing those who resisted to barbaric commie stick figures. In 2001, Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down provided a similar, if less subtle catharsis for another American “noble failure” in Somalia while airbrushing the heroes’ massacre of up to 10,000 Somalis.

By contrast, the fate of an admirable American war film, Redacted, is instructive. Made in 2007 by Brian De Palma, the film is based on the true story of the gang rape of an Iraqi teenager and the murder of her family by American soldiers. There is no heroism, no purgative. The murderers are murderers, and the complicity of Hollywood and the media in the epic crime in Iraq is described ingeniously by De Palma. The film ends with a series of photographs of Iraqi civilians who were killed. When it was ordered that their faces be ordered blacked out “for legal reasons”, De Palma said, “I think that’s terrible because now we have not even given the dignity of faces to this suffering people. The great irony about Redacted is that it was redacted.” After a limited release in the US, this fine film all but vanished.
Non-American (or non-western) humanity is not deemed to have box office appeal, dead or alive. They are the “other” who are allowed, at best, to be saved by “us”. In Avatar, James Cameron’s vast and violent money-printer, 3-D noble savages known as the Na’vi need a good guy American soldier, Sergeant Jake Sully, to save them. This confirms they are “good”. Natch.
My Oscar for the worst of the current nominees goes to Invictus, Clint Eastwood’s unctuous insult to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Taken from a hagiography of Nelson Mandela by a British journalist, John Carlin, the film might have been a product of apartheid propaganda. In promoting the racist, thuggish rugby culture as a panacea of the “rainbow nation”, Eastwood gives barely a hint that many black South Africans were deeply embarrassed and hurt by Mandela’s embrace of the hated Springbok symbol of their suffering. He airbrushes white violence – but not black violence, which is ever present as a threat. As for the Boer racists, they have hearts of gold, because “we didn’t really know”. The subliminal theme is all too familiar: colonialism deserves forgiveness and accommodation, never justice.
At first I thought Invictus, could not be taken seriously, then I looked around the cinema at young people and others for whom the horrors of apartheid have no reference, and I understood the damage such a slick travesty does to our memory and its moral lessons. Imagine Eastwood making a happy-Sambo equivalent in the American Deep South. He would not dare.


Regarding Invictus, Rugby-a?? Thats the definitive symbol (football is predominantly for blacks there). Or is that the point?[/tscii:c16f5fb56b]

[Bala (Karthik)]

I haven't seen the two "Letters..." films. I read in some wiki page that Spike Lee had some criticism on those films w.r.t representation/stereotyping of blacks (or some such thing) and Clint's reaction was something like "what is he talking about?".

[kid-glove]

Spike Lee could be a pain the a..
He counts number of blacks in Woody's Manhattan to Hackford's Ray, to a point of obession..

But he does have a point about "Flag of our fathers"..


At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, director Spike Lee, who was making Miracle at St. Anna, about an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during World War II, criticized director Clint Eastwood for not depicting black Marines in Flags of Our Fathers. Citing historical accuracy, Eastwood responded that his film was specifically about the Marines who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, pointing out that while black soldiers did fight at Iwo Jima, the U.S. military was segregated during WWII, and none of the men who raised the flag were black. Eastwood angrily said that Lee should "shut his face". Lee responded that Eastwood was acting like an "angry old man", and argued that despite making two Iwo Jima films back to back, Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, "there was not one black Marine in both of those films".[4][5][6] In fact, black Marines (including an all-black unit) are seen in scenes during which the mission is outlined, as well as during the initial landings, when a wounded black Marine is carried away. During the end credits, historical photographs taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima show black Marines. Although black Marines fought in the battle, they were restricted to auxiliary roles, such as ammunition supply, and were not involved in the battle's major assaults, but took part in defensive actions

Sorry, he doesn't.

[groucho070]

I watched rerun, mainly just for the jokes and Robert Downey Jr. Except RDJ, it was a disappointing show. Glad I avoided it. To think that until few years ago I used to take a day off to catch Oscars. :roll:

[kid-glove]

Next year, we got films of Scorsese, Coens, Polanski, Terrence Malick (after 5 years ! ), Nolan, Aronofsky, Peter Weir, Woody Allen, Mike Leigh, Baumbach, Alexander payne, Robert Redford, Greengrass, John Carpenter, Innaritu, Schnabel, Gus Van Sant, Clint Eastwood (up and going at 80), Asian masters like Wong kar wai, Kitano & Yimou Zhang, Gaspar Noe, Fatih Akin, Aleksandr Sokurov, Ben Affleck (yeah, you read that right. I'm basing it on his debut), Sofia Coppola (if only for "Lost in translation")

Then there are scriptwriters like William Monahan, and Dustin Lance Black making their debut films..

Toy Story 3, Iron man 2, Predators, etc on the horizon, too.

Oscars could turn out interesting next year..

[P_R]

I saw the best supporting actress award won by a rather healthily built black lady who said: "she thanked the academy for saying the award was about the performance and not about the politics".

Sounded like a potshot. Who ? What ?

[kid-glove]

http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2009/11/12/monique-interview-precious-oscar-politics/

q.What would earning an Oscar nomination mean to you?

Any nomination would be appreciative, but we've already won it. We've already won. Because when you get an Asian brother that comes up to you and says, "Mo'Nique, what I'm going to say to you is going to sound really weird, but I have to say it. I am Mary Jones, and I was Mary Jones to my brother and my sister." And now he's sobbing and we're embracing and I said, "Congratulations for your honesty, now go get you some help." We've already won.

q.Are you game for the whole campaigning process that the Oscar race sometimes demands?

Well, honestly, I think that the Academy has been given a bad rap. I really do. Because when people say, "It's political," well, I'm not a politician. I really think that the Academy has been given a bad rap. They're humans beings too, and they want to judge the performance. I can't imagine them judging anything else. What else would you be judging? Do you know?

q.It's unfortunate, but there are obviously politics involved in the Oscars. Otherwise there wouldn't be all the campaigning and marketing.

I'll say this, I'm very comfortable with what I did on that screen. And I really believe that the Academy are human beings that say, "We're going to judge the performance, because that's what we give this academy for, the performance." That's what I believe.

[P_R]

Oh ok. I thought she was jabbing at hurt locker, avatar themes for some reason

[Bala (Karthik)]

KG,
:lol @ Spike Lee
Avanga oor Thangar Bachan-o?

[Aalavanthan]

KG,
:lol @ Spike Lee
Avanga oor Thangar Bachan-o?
:lol:

[ajithfederer]

I have seen all the 3 films (MASA, LFIJ, FOOF).

Spike lee may have a point but its very trivial IMO. Flags of our fathers goes much beyond showing African-American soldiers on screen. Its a movie about the war effort, the money needed for america to run the war and the true story about who raised the flag at Suribachi. Its about a photograph(The flag raised at mt.suribachi) which supposed to be very inspiring at that time and how that photo and the three marines who travelled around america to raise money. Actually it is not these guys who raised the flag there and it is some other marines. The photograph which shows the flag being raised is not the original flag but the replacement flag. The 3 marines and one among them an native indian is devastated to see them being celebrated as a hero. Their lives post war and how one or two struggled for work after war was also shown. In fact Eastwood's film is more truthful to history.


And if he is complaining about Letters from Iwo Jima he hasn't understood the film at all, imo. LFIJ is shown entirely from the Japanese perspective of the invasion. It shows how their general (Ken Watanabe) who plans for the invasion and their soldiers POV.


Spike Lee could be a pain the a..
He counts number of blacks in Woody's Manhattan to Hackford's Ray, to a point of obession..

But he does have a point about "Flag of our fathers"..


At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, director Spike Lee, who was making Miracle at St. Anna, about an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during World War II, criticized director Clint Eastwood for not depicting black Marines in Flags of Our Fathers. Citing historical accuracy, Eastwood responded that his film was specifically about the Marines who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, pointing out that while black soldiers did fight at Iwo Jima, the U.S. military was segregated during WWII, and none of the men who raised the flag were black. Eastwood angrily said that Lee should "shut his face". Lee responded that Eastwood was acting like an "angry old man", and argued that despite making two Iwo Jima films back to back, Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, "there was not one black Marine in both of those films".[4][5][6] In fact, black Marines (including an all-black unit) are seen in scenes during which the mission is outlined, as well as during the initial landings, when a wounded black Marine is carried away. During the end credits, historical photographs taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima show black Marines. Although black Marines fought in the battle, they were restricted to auxiliary roles, such as ammunition supply, and were not involved in the battle's major assaults, but took part in defensive actions

Sorry, he doesn't.

[kid-glove]

Feddy anna, "Sorry, he doesn't."-nu pottu irukkEn. Pakkalaiya? :D

[ajithfederer]

:oops: :oops: Sorry thilak. :yessir:

Feddy anna, "Sorry, he doesn't."-nu pottu irukkEn. Pakkalaiya? :D

[kid-glove]

KG,
:lol @ Spike Lee
Avanga oor Thangar Bachan-o?
:lol: Aptly put...

But a talented filmmaker. Ironically, his best film is "25th hour" with white lead, Ed Norton ! :)

[ajithfederer]

:bow: :bow: :bow:

:slurp: actually.

Next year, we got films of Scorsese, Coens, Polanski, Terrence Malick (after 5 years ! ), Nolan, Aronofsky, Peter Weir, Woody Allen, Mike Leigh, Baumbach, Alexander payne, Robert Redford, Greengrass, John Carpenter, Innaritu, Schnabel, Gus Van Sant, Clint Eastwood (up and going at 80), Asian masters like Wong kar wai, Kitano & Yimou Zhang, Gaspar Noe, Fatih Akin, Aleksandr Sokurov, Ben Affleck (yeah, you read that right. I'm basing it on his debut), Sofia Coppola (if only for "Lost in translation")

Then there are scriptwriters like William Monahan, and Dustin Lance Black making their debut films..

Toy Story 3, Iron man 2, Predators, etc on the horizon, too.

Oscars could turn out interesting next year..

[Bala (Karthik)]

KG,
:lol @ Spike Lee
Avanga oor Thangar Bachan-o?
:lol: Aptly put...

But a talented filmmaker. Ironically, his best film is "25th hour" with white lead, Ed Norton ! :)
Yeah :) Liked Malcolm X too

[groucho070]

Next year, we got films of Scorsese, Coens, Polanski, Terrence Malick (after 5 years ! ), Nolan, Aronofsky, Peter Weir, Woody Allen, Mike Leigh, Baumbach, Alexander payne, Robert Redford, Greengrass, John Carpenter, Innaritu, Schnabel, Gus Van Sant, Clint Eastwood (up and going at 80), Asian masters like Wong kar wai, Kitano & Yimou Zhang, Gaspar Noe, Fatih Akin, Aleksandr Sokurov, Ben Affleck (yeah, you read that right. I'm basing it on his debut), Sofia Coppola (if only for "Lost in translation")

Then there are scriptwriters like William Monahan, and Dustin Lance Black making their debut films..

Toy Story 3, Iron man 2, Predators, etc on the horizon, too.

Oscars could turn out interesting next year..That looks yummy. Iron Man 2 trailer partacha? Can't wait.

[kid-glove]

Yep!

I can't wait for Downey Jr's "Due Date". Moreover I quite liked Todd Philips work in "Hangover".

[kid-glove]

From that list:
Scorsese - The Shutter Island - 4/5
Polanski - The Ghost Writer - 4.5/5
Nolan - Inception - 4/5
Toy Story 3 - 3.5/5

Got Baumbach's Greenberg, and Kick-Ass in my HDD. Will have to watch..