Satellite Nominations Announced

ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Julie Christie, "Away From Her" (Lionsgate)
Angelina Jolie, "A Mighty Heart" (Paramount Vantage)
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose" (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Tilda Swinton, "Stephanie Daley" (Regent Releasing)
Keira Knightly, "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Laura Linney, "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)

ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Denzel Washington, "American Gangster" (Universal Pictures)
Josh Brolin, "No Country For Old Men" (Miramax Films)
Christian Bale, "Rescue Dawn" (MGM)
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)
Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening"(Roadside Attractions)
Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent Pictures)

ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Katherine Heigl, "Knocked Up" (Universal Pictures)
Amy Adams, "Enchanted" (Walt Disney Pictures)
Ellen Page, "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)
Emily Mortimer, "Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM)
Nicole Kidman, "Margot at the Wedding" (Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett, "I’m Not There" (The Weinstein Company)

ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Richard Gere, "The Hoax" Miramax
Seth Rogen, "Knocked Up" (Universal Pictures)
Ben Kingsley You Kill Me Ifc Films
Ryan Gosling, "Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM)
Clive Owen, "Shoot ‘Em Up" (New Line Cinema)
Don Cheadle, "Talk to Me" (Focus Features)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Emmanuelle Seigner, "La Vie En Rose" (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax Films)
Taraji P. Henson "Talk to Me" (Focus Features)
Ruby Dee, "American Gangster" (Universal Pictures)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jeff Daniels, "The Lookout" (Miramax Films)
Brian Cox, "Zodiac" (Paramount Pictures)
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ben Foster, "3:10 To Yuma" (Lionsgate)
Javier Bardem, "No Country For Old Men" (Miramax Films)
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jessie James" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

MOTION PICTURE, FOREIGN LANGUAGE
"Ten Canoes" Australia (Palm Pictures)
"Offside Iran" (Sony Pictures Classics)
"La Vie En Rose" France (Picturehouse Entertainment)
"Lust, Caution" China (Focus Features)
"4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days" Romania Ifc Films
"The Orphanage" Spain (Picturehouse Entertainment)

MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATED OR MIXED MEDIA
"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics)
"The Simpsons Movie" Twentieth Century Fox
"The Golden" Compass (New Line Cinema)
""Ratatouille"" (Buena Vista Pictures)
"300" Warner Brothers
"Beowulf" (Paramount Pictures)

MOTION PICTURE, DOCUMENTARY
"The King Of Kong" (Picturehouse Entertainment)
"The 11th Hour Warner" (Independent Pictures)
"Sicko" (Lionsgate)
"No End In Sight"(Magnolia Pictures)
"Darfur Now Warner" (Independent Pictures)
"Lake Of Fire" (ThinkFilm)

DIRECTOR
Ang Lee, "Lust, Caution" (Focus Features)
Olivier Dahan, "La Vie En Rose" (Picture House Entertainment)
David Cronenberg, "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country For Old Men" (Miramax Films)
Sidney Lumet, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (ThinkFilm)
Sarah Polley, "Away From Her" (Lionsgate)

SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
Scott Frank, "The Lookout" (Miramax Films)
Diablo Cody, "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)
Kelly Masterson, "Before the Devil Knows You’Re Dead" (ThinkFilm)
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Nancy Oliver,"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM)
Steven Knight, "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
James Vanderbilt, "Zodiac" (Paramount Pictures)
Christopher Hampton "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country For Old Men" (Miramax Films)
David Benioff, "The Kite Runner" (Paramount Vantage)
Sarah Polley,"Away From Her" (Lionsgate)
Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus,"Lust, Caution" (Focus Features)

ORIGINAL SCORE
Dario Marianelli, "Atonement" (Focus Features)
James Newton Howard, "The Lookout" (Miramax Films)
Michael Giacchino, "Ratatouille" (Buena Vista Pictures)
Alberto Iglesias, "The Kite Runner" (Paramount Vantage)
Howard Shore, "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)
Nick Cave, "The Assassination of Jesse James" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

ORIGINAL SONG
"Do You Feel Me"/Diane Warren, "American Gangster" (Universal Pictures)
"If You Want Me"/Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, "Once" (Fox Searchlight)
"Come So Far"/Marc Shaiman, "Hairspray" (New Line Cinema)
"Rise"/Eddie Vedder, "Into The Wild" (Paramount Vantage)
"Grace Is Gone"/Clint Eastwood & Carole Bayer Sager, "Grace Is Gone" (The Weinstein Company)
"Lyra"/Kate Bush, "The Golden Compass" (New Line Cinema)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Harris Savides, "Zodiac" (Paramount Pictures)
Robert Elswit, "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage)
Bruno Delbonnel, "Across The Universe" (Revolution Studios)
Janusz Kaminski, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax Films)
Roger Deakins, "The Assassination Of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Henry Braham, "The Golden Compass" (New Line Cinema)

VISUAL EFFECTS
Scott Farrar, "Transformers" (Paramount Pictures)
Michael Fink, "The Golden Compass" (New Line Cinema)
Chris Watts, Grant Freckelton, Derek Wentworth, Daniel Leduc, "300" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Peter Chiang, Charlie Noble, David Vickery, Mattias Lindahl, "The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal Pictures)
Thomas Schelesny, Matt Jacobs, Tom Gibbons, "Enchanted" (Walt Disney Pictures)
Jerome Chen, Sean Phillips, Kenn Mc Donald, Michael Lantieri, "Beowulf" (Paramount Pictures)

FILM EDITING
Pietro Scalia, "American Gangster" (Universal Pictures)
Jill Savitt, "The Lookout" (Miramax)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country For Old Men" (Miramax)
Richard Marizy, "La Vie En Rose" (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Christopher Rouse, "The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal Pictures)
Ronald Sanders, "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

SOUND (EDITING & MIXING)
Mike Prestwood-Smith, Mark Taylor, Glenn Freemantle, "The Golden Compass" (New Line Cinema)
Nikolas Javelle, Jean-Paul Hurier, "La Vie En Rose" (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Christopher Boyes, Paul Massey, Lee Orloff, George Watters II, "Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’S End" (Buena Vista Pictures)
Scott Heckler, Eric Norris, Derek Vanderhorst, "300" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Karen Baker Landers, Kirk Francis, Per Hallberg, "The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal Pictures)
Tod Maitland, Skip Lievsay, Rick Kline, Jeremy Peirson, "I Am Legend" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION DESIGN
Guy Dyas, David Allday, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal Pictures)
Patricia Norris, Martin Gendron, Troy Sizemore, "The Assassination Of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Dennis Davenport, David Gropman, "Hairspray" (New Line Cinema)
Mark Tildesley, "Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Gary Freeman, Stephen Morahan, Denis Schnegg, David Allday, Matthew Gray, Charles Wood, "Amazing Grace" (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Mark Friedberg, Peter Rogness, "Across the Universe" (Revolution Studios)

COSTUME DESIGN
Alexandra Byrne, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal Pictures)
Yvonne Blake, "Goya’s Ghosts" (Samuel Goldwyn Pictures)
Marit Allen, "La Vie En Rose" (Picturehouse Entertainment)
Rita Ryack, "Hairspray" (New Line Cinema)
Jenny Beavan, "Amazing Grace" (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Jacqueline Durran, "Antonement" (Focus Features)

MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
"The Lookout" Miramax
"Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead" (ThinkFilm)
"Away From Her" (Lionsgate)
"Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)
"No Country For Old Men" (Miramax Films)
"3:10 To Yuma" (Lionsgate)

MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
"Hairspray" (New Line Cinema)
"Juno"(Fox Searchlight)
"Shoot ‘Em Up" (New Line Cinema)
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM)
"Knocked Up" (Universal Pictures)

Thoughts:

-Shoot 'Em Up is nominated for BP (Musical or Comedy), but Sweeney Todd doesn't get a single nomination. What does this mean?
-I am sooo glad to see Knocked Up get honored.
-I am looking forward to Juno now more than ever
-I'm Not There is running as a musical, and Cate Blanchett is in lead for some reason. But that probably won't happen in the end.
-The Savages is going as a drama here? I know it's comedy at the GG's, but this changes my vision of the film tremendously.
-No Best Picture or Best Actor nominations for There Will be Blood.
-La Vie en Rose gets a Best Supporting Actress nod?
-Away From Her gets a Best Picture and Best Actress nomination. I guess that's good.
-The Lookout gets a Best Picture nod. I'm sure that there will be plenty of internet fans who will love that.

I seriously doubt that this will have any effect on the Oscars, but it is exciting to see precursors popping up. And tomorrow is the first day of December...rejoice.

The Reviews for Sweeney Todd are In...

...and they were raves. This just added a great deal of excitement to the Oscar season.

Prepare for massive predix updates.

Sweeney Todd: New Website

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" has a new website complete with audio clips. Here's the link. Now, I will admit, Johnny's audio did not impress me as much on some of the clips BUT I think he may make up for this on screen with his acting. For example, on the MySpace feature for "Sweeney", you see Depp during "Epiphany" and when he is in the studio, he's not that great but when you see him acting, it's more impressive. To put it another way, I may love this movie head over heels but I might only like the soundtrack. What do you think of the audios and also the website as a whole?

Independent Spirit Award nominations

2008 Spirit Awards nominations

BEST FEATURE

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik

I'm Not There
Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern

Juno
Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith

A Mighty Heart
Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt

Paranoid Park
Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes
I'm Not There

Tamara Jenkins
The Savages

Jason Reitman
Juno

Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Gus Van Sant
Paranoid Park

BEST FIRST FEATURE

2 Days in Paris
Director: Julie Delpy Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok

Great World of Sound
Director: Craig Zobel Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel

The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes

Rocket Science
Director: Jeffrey Blitz Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch

Vanaja
Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)

August Evening
Writer/Director: Chris Eska Producers: Connie Hill, Jason Wehling

Owl and the Sparrow
Writer/Director: Stephane Gauger Producers: Nguyen Van Quan, Doan Nhat Nam, Stephane Gauger

The Pool
Director: Chris Smith Producer: Kate Noble Writer: Chris Smith & Randy Russell

Quiet City
Director: Aaron Katz Producers: Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler Writers: Aaron Katz, Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau

Shotgun Stories
Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols Producers: David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff Nichols

BEST SCREENPLAY

Ronald Harwood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Tamara Jenkins
The Savages

Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner
Starting Out in the Evening

Adrienne Shelly
Waitress

Mike White
Year of the Dog

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Jeffrey Blitz
Rocket Science

Zoe Cassavetes
Broken English

Diablo Cody
Juno

Kelly Masterson
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

John Orloff
A Mighty Heart

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart

Sienna Miller
Interview

Ellen Page
Juno

Parker Posey
Broken English

Tang Wei
Lust, Caution

BEST MALE LEAD

Pedro Castaneda
August Evening

Don Cheadle
Talk To Me

Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Savages

Frank Langella
Starting Out in the Evening

Tony Leung
Lust, Caution

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Cate Blanchett
I'm Not There

Anna Kendrick
Rocket Science

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Margot at the Wedding

Tamara Podemski
Four Sheets to the Wind

Marisa Tomei
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Talk To Me

Marcus Carl Franklin
I'm Not There

Kene Holliday
Great World of Sound

Irrfan Khan
The Namesake

Steve Zahn
Rescue Dawn

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Mott Hupfel
The Savages

Janusz Kaminski
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Milton Kam
Vanaja

Mihai Malaimare, Jr.
Youth Without Youth

Rodrigo Prieto
Lust, Caution

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)

Crazy Love
Director: Dan Klores

Lake of Fire
Director: Tony Kaye

Manufactured Landscapes
Director: Jennifer Baichwal

The Monastery
Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær

The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
Directors: Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Director: Cristian Mungiu (Romania)

The Band's Visit
Director: Eran Kolirin (Israel)

Lady Chatterley
Director: Pascale Ferran (France)

Once
Director: John Carney (Ireland)

Persepolis
Directors: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi (France)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)

I'm Not There
Director: Todd Haynes
Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal
Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood



I was surprised by some of these but I think it's still a great list of nominees. I was really happy about Marcus Carl Franklin's nomination. Although I didn't love I'm Not There, I really enjoyed his performance. I'm a little disappointed about Waitress only getting 1 nomination though.

Sweeney Todd: Nine Clips

Thank you very much, once again, to Awards Daily (and "Michael F." who gave these to them) for the heads up on these nine "Sweeney Todd" clips. The link is here and I must say...I love these clips. I can't wait to see with Brian thinks of these.

Independent Spirit Awards

The nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards are announced tomorrow. I'd like to send a big thank you to Awards Daily otherwise I would have had no idea. But, this is a somewhat important precursor and with the nominations...I'd say awards season will have officially kicked off. These awards, although lots of fun, won't make too much of a difference to the Oscars but...am I the only one completely excited that nominations for SOMETHING will be announced tomorrow?? I'll make predictions for just Best Feature.

Best Feature
I'm Not There
Juno
Once
The Savages
Waitress

Alternate: Lars and the Real Girl

What are your predictions?

Two Short Reviews

On Friday, I saw two very different movies: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and ENCHANTED. I basically agree with everything Daniel said earlier about the two, but here are some quick reviews anyways:

No Country for Old Men-Above and beyond the best film of the year. Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones all deserve Oscars for their outstanding work, and it is undeniably the best screenplay of the year. The Coen brothers have outdone themselves. A

Enchanted-Amy Adams is simply sublime, and it has one of the best premises of the year, but there were some serious script problems and plot holes. It wanted to be a musical, a love story, a princess movie, a fish-out-of-water story, a stepdaughter-stepmom story, a father-daughter story and a good vs. evil story. It was just too much. However, that said, I would be both a douche bag and a liar if I said that I didn't have fun. And Amy Adams is VERY worthy of her buzz. B

New Predix: Best Actress

BEST ACTRESS

1. Ellen Page-Juno-You know how much I want this project to succeed.

2. Marion Cotillard-La vie en Rose-This will all come down to the precursors. However, she still has a good deal of buzz. She's in.

3. Amy Adams-Enchanted-She and Cotillard have the best reviews so far this year. All three of these women are contenders.

4. Laura Linney-The Savages-Expect a comeback from this one. The reviews have been very complimentary, especially towards Linney.

5. Keira Knightley-Atonement-She is in exclusively because of her film. If a stronger contender arrives, she's out.

IN THE RUNNING

6. Helena Bonham Carter-Sweeney Todd-Let's wait for the reviews, shall we?

7. Cate Blanchett-The Golden Age-She'll be rewarded for I'm Not There instead.

8. Julianne Moore-Savage Grace-Space filler.

9. Jodie Foster-The Brave One-Space filler.

10. Julie Christie-Away From Her-Space filler. What a boring race.

Great Actress Wins

This includes the very rare Marisa Tomei win! Check it out before it gets deleted (which happens quite quickly with these clips).

The Other Boleyn Girl: Trailer

I can't say that I think this looks very good. Thoughts?

Amy Is In...Even More than we Thought

Ever since she started gathering buzz, I thought that Amy Adams in Enchanted could spice up the boring Best Actress race and garner a nomination. However, with these reviews, she's looking at a chance for a win. That's right. I said it.

Let's consider what she has going for her:

-She's unknown to the public, but Academy members and film lovers remember her in Junebug, where she also played a lovable character, and got a nomination (I have to rent that).

-Her film has been getting sensational reviews, and the reviews have indicated that she is what carries the movie.

-She has been compared to Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins. If that's true...look out.

-She has limited competition. The only real contenders for the win are Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard (both Musical/Comedy contenders, as it would seem).

-Oscar loves traditional Disney. Especially if it's good.


If these reviews and this buzz continues, then prepare for the unseen clean-sweeper of the year.

Enchanted: A Clip

"Enchanted", Disney's new self-satire starring Amy Adams, is released in the United States on Wednesday. For those of you who simply cannot wait anymore to see the film, here is a great clip from, in my opinion, the best song in the movie. I saw the movie at London Film Festival, check out my review for more info, and I absolutely loved it. It was a lot of fun. This clip is my favorite part of the movie. If anyone wants the whole film to be a bit of surprise then I would recommend just waiting it out and seeing it because I think this musical number epitomizes how fun this movie is and is more fun seeing it for the first time on the big screen. Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy whose favorite movies include "Fargo", "Pulp Fiction", and "The Shawshank Redemption". This is not normally the kind of movie I go for and I loved this.

Steven Spielberg to Receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award

Story here.

We all knew that this would happen eventually, no? Well, this award is as deserved as it is predictable. The next step for him is an Honorary Oscar. And with this award and the Kennedy Center Honor, that can't be far off.

Oh, and I finally found out that the Golden Globes are on Monday (why not Sunday?), January 14. Mark your calendars.

Daniel Crooke's Predicted Best Picture Nominations as of November the Eighteenth.

Keep in mind: I am not the administrator so my predictions are separate from Brian's official predictions on the sidebar.

BEST PICTURE

Now that I've seen a good number of legitimate contenders, I'm able to do a better job on judging what I think will be nominated. I think that Atonement is a shoo-in. That's enough about that film. I think Into the Wild will slowly gain more and more buzz now that the critics' awards will be going out soon and that it will also grab a Golden Globe nomination. No Country for Old Men was an absolute masterpiece and I think the Academy would love to honor Joel and Ethan one more time. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street looks like a contender more every day. I think that the hardcore Sweeney fans may have a problem with Depp but I think the Academy will think differently and be more than happy to give this a nomination. I, unlike our administrator, loved the trailer. I think that this will be a huge success. Last, but certainly not least, is one of my favorite films of the year. Juno is poised to become a huge critical favorite as the season continues and the screenplay provides some of the best dialogue I've heard in ages. Although I do not agree that there has to be a comedy in the line up every year...the Academy's past trends lead me to believe that this delightful film will be nominated.

My next five, in no particular order, would be There Will Be Blood, The Savages, Charlie Wilson's War, The Kite Runner, and Eastern Promises. I refuse to believe that American Gangster will be nominated. Coming up in the near future will be my thoughts on all the other Big 8 categories.

Predicted Winner: Atonement

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Here's a review of "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium", a movie which, to me, looked like it could be the best children's movie of the year.

Although this is only one review, the majority of the reviews are not that good. There are a couple ones that think it's a good one...but that is one letter grade that stays in your system for a while.

First Sweeney Todd Audio Clip

Wow...Johnny really sucks. But everyone else sounds good, and this was a great reminder of why this is my favorite show of all time.

And yet...

What's the point of doing Sweeney Todd when the title character can't sing?

Sigh. Johnny Depp fangirls, go ahead.

Will Controversy Effect The Kite Runner's Oscar Chances?

First off, thanks to IMDb user "Alison-I" for providing me with this great link that explains all of the controversy surrounding upcoming contender "The Kite Runner." The question on our minds is: will the controversy keep it from doing well at this year's Oscars?

To me, the answer to that question is all dependent on the reviews. I think that this just makes an obstacle it will have to overcome, and raises the bar for the quality it will need to be in order for the Academy to recognize it. It also depends on how the issue at hand is put to rest (if it is), and who's side AMPAS takes. Most likely, it will fade out by the time the film is actually released, and, in my opinion, Dreamworks has handled the situation pretty well. We'll all see next month, but until then, I think that I might start factoring The Kite Runner out of my predix not only because of this, but also because it looks a bit bland (though, for some reason, I have not read the book). Stay tuned.

No Country for Old Men: The Reviews are In

"No Country for Old Men", Joel and Ethan Coen's latest film, has officially been released (limited) in the United States. If you go back a few entries then you'll find my early review of it from London Film Festival. Well...the reviews are in and here's what's up:

-"No Country for Old Men", as of yesterday, is officially the 10th Best Reviewed Film of All Time according to Metacritic. Metacritic is, in my opinion, the best website to go to for reviews. Hopefully that demonstrates how well the film is doing.

-"No Country for Old Men" is currently enjoying a 9.1 rating on IMDB and a spot as the 235th Best Film of All Time. As we all know, this is a bloated number. However, this is the same number we've seen on IMDB for a while. Now that it has been released, it has been able to keep that same number. Although this number WILL go down, and there is no question about that, this is a clear indication that the film will most likely enjoy a spot of the Top 250. While films such as "300" and "The Simpsons Movie" both had similar ratings when they first came out, I think it's a safe bet that this will stay on the list.

-"No Country for Old Men" has received a 95% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This is a huge deal and I'm pretty sure this is self-explanatory.

As of now, this looks to be the ultimate critical darling of the year (next to "Ratatouille"). While I still don't think this will win Best Picture, although it certainly deserves it, I think that it is now a pretty safe bet to say that "No Country for Old Men" will be nominated for Best Picture. Knock on wood.

Eligible Animated Features

Here's the shortlist:

Alvin and the Chipmunks
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
Bee Movie
Beowulf
Meet the Robinsons
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Shrek the Third
The Simpsons Movie
Surf’s Up
Tekkonkinkreet
TMNT

Predicting the nominees seems easy: Ratatouille, The Simpsons Movie and a battle between Beowulf and Persepolis for the final spot. That said, they do love to throw curveballs in this category, so Surf's Up and Shrek could also be contenders. Either way, Ratatouille is a lock (duh).

New Predix: Best Supporting Actor 11/8

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Javier Bardem-No Country for Old Men-By far the safest bet in this race, and one of this year's most exciting contenders. Everyone loves a villain performance winning an Oscar.

2. Philip Bosco-The Savages-Seems to be a showstealing performance, and if the good reviews continue, he's looking strong.

3. Philip Seymour Hoffman-Charlie Wilson's War-He has to be nominated for something this year. Doesn't he?

4. Max von Sydow-The Diving Bell & the Butterfly-I don't know much about the film at all, but he's gotten a fair amount of buzz so far. And hey, better to redeem a snub 34 years later than never.

5. Paul Dano-There Will be Blood-Based solely on my good feeling about this project.

IN THE RUNNING

6. Tom Wilkinson-Michael Clayton-Buzz is slowly but surely declining.

7. Casey Affleck-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford-His chances are even slimmer now with Gone Baby Gone (though that is a lead performance).

8. Hal Halbrook-Into the Wild-Why is this even being predicted?

9. Michael Cera-Juno-Sure to be a scene stealer, but an Oscar nomination is still a very long way away.

10. Russell Crowe-American Gangster-The response has been good, but it's all about his co-star.

New Predix: Best Supporting Actress 11/5

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Cate Blanchett-I'm Not There-I don't think that she'll win just yet, but this race is so boring that it's stupid not to predict the most likely winner as of now.

2. Saorsie Ronan-Atonement-Will AMPAS honor two young actresses with nominations in this category two years in a row? As it looks now, yes.

3. Amy Ryan-Gone Baby Gone-I think that the buzz for this film is fleeting, but who knows?

4. Marisa Tomei-Before the Devil Knows You're Dead-The buzz seems to indicate that she's making her second comeback. We'll see once the reviews come out.

5. Kelly MacDonald-No Country for Old Men-Her buzz is minimal, but I'm very confident in the project.

IN THE RUNNING

6. Jennifer Garner-Juno-Margot at the Wedding is out, and there has to be a comedy...right?

7. Julia Roberts-Charlie Wilson's War-I'm almost ready to factor this out of my predix...

8. Ruby Dee-American Gangster-If the film gets honored at all, it will be for Denzel.

9. Romola Garai-Atonement-I think that only one Briony will get in, but anything's possible, I suppose.

10. Tilda Swinton-Michael Clayton-What happened to this film?

New Trailer for "There Will Be Blood"

The new trailer for P.T. Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" can be seen here.

This reaffirms my belief that it will be one of the best films of the year. While we don't really see anything we already haven't, besides a few new clips, this is still a fantastic trailer. Both Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano look spectacular.

Thoughts?

Atonement: The Contender I Hate to Love

If you follow Oscar Obsession then you have probably read my review of "Atonement". I hailed it as the best film of the year (a spot that now belongs to "No Country for Old Men" and "Juno") and raved and raved and raved. Since then, I've tried to find faults. The only fault I can find is that Keira Knightley was not as good as I said she was. That being said, she was good. But, I could not, for the life of me, find anything wrong with the film besides her. That infuriated me. This is because I HATE "Atonement" as a contender but I LOVE the film. It's such a juggernaut that it will most likely take Best Picture from other, possibly more worthy, candidates. Do I want "Atonement" to win Best Picture? No. Why?

1. Because it's beautiful and epic.
2. Because it's unbelievably baity.
3. Because it's bound to sweep awards season
4. Because it's huge and sweeping
5. Because you sit in the theatre for the entire closing credits because you're in awe.
6. Because the acting is great.
...and so many more reasons.

Oh, "Atonement", you were magnificent and yet I hate you so. I'll be fine with it winning Best Score (undeniably good) and buckets of nominations but...any win in the Top 8 categories will be so frustrating. Hopefully the Academy will do the same and reward a superior project Best Picture. However, that's unlikely considering "The English Patient"'s recent domination over the Oscars.

London Film Festival: Final Update- "Juno"

Before I write my final review of "Juno", I wanted to go ahead and say thanks for reading all of my segments on the London Film Festival. I certainly enjoyed informing all of you. Thanks again.

And now...the final Oscar Obsession review of the London Film Festival

Juno: In Review

Jason Reitman's newest film, "Juno", is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is it one of the most delightful movies I've ever seen, but it screams Oscar. The acting is fantastic all around. The screenplay is inspiring. The direction is great. The title credits are amazing. The soundtrack should go with "The Graduate"'s Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack as one of the most effective ever. The only negative thing about this film is that I won't get to see it again until it comes out here...in February.

Ellen Page, once again, proves her magnificent talent. Her Juno MacGuff is witty, intelligent, and mature. She is also one of the best "heroes" to hit the screen since Marge Gunderson. Page's performance is very complex, she is, after all, a teenager about to give birth to her best friend's child. Page will, almost certainly, be my favorite Lead Actress performance of the year. She goes from, I got this quote from an IMDB user...who got it from Jason Reitman, "hilarious to heartbreaking in seconds flat". That quote is a fantastic way of summing up her performance. The amazing dialogue that Page is given, from the stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody, comes from her mouth with such ease that you honestly don't see the difference between Ellen Page and Juno MacGuff. There really isn't enough I can say about this performance. It's the best of the year.

Next to Page, we have an unbelievable supporting cast. Michael Cera, of "Arrested Development" and "Superbad", plays Paulie Bleeker, the father of Juno's baby. Cera is extremely sincere and very funny. It's a performance that I personally loved. As her father and stepmother, J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney are wonderful. Simmons plays the father role to hilarious perfection and Janney is utterly fantastic. She has a scene with a ultrasound technician after the technician insults Juno's state of pregnancy and her age. In that scene, Janney is electrifying. If she had fifteen more minutes of screen time then we would be looking at a strong contender for Best Supporting Actress. Last but not least, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner are the seemingly perfect couple who Juno's baby is being adopted by. Not all is as seems, however. Bateman's Mark struggles to be married to such a conservative wife and he feels it is holding his career, he "composes" commercial stuff...like commercials, back. Garner is quite good as Vanessa, who cannot have a child no matter how hard she tries. Garner's performance is quite hard to pin down. While she has many, many scenes where she does a great job...I feel that she really didn't nail her one big "Oscar-nomination" scene. We'll see what happens with her.

The screenplay is razor-sharp. There are so many cultural references in this film and not only are we impressed that Juno knows about them, but we're extremely impressed that Cody knew about the stuff to begin with. She very accurately provides interesting, and hilarious, details about every character (Allison Janney's dog obsession will bring you to tears with laughter) as well as writing for teenagers. When "Superbad" was released, the screenplay was hailed as one of the best screenplays to really capture teenagers. "Juno" captures the other half of teenagers while still staying in the same vein. The screenplay was extremely impressive and I absolutely guarantee that it will be rewarded by numerous awards.

Jason Reitman's direction continues to impress. Undoubtabley on it's way to a Screen Actor's Guild nomination for the cast, numerous Independent Spirit Awards, and possible, and extremely deserving, Oscar nominations..."Juno" doesn't fail to impress. Led by a fantastic (which is too weak a word) performance by the rising star, and soon to be Academy Award nominee, Ellen Page, "Juno" is one of the best films of the year. And that's a fact. A

Once again, thank you very much to all that followed Oscar Obsession's coverage of the London Film Festival. Until next year, that's all folks.