Newest MPAA Ratings

Sorry for the delay.

Flawless (2007) Crime Thriller	Magn.	11/30/07	PG-13	brief strong language
Deal Drama	MGM	N/A	PG-13	language, sexual content and brief drug use
Chicago 10 Documentary	RAtt.	Feb 2008	R	language and brief sexual images
The Protagonist Documentary	IFC	9/26/07	R	language
Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Comedy	LGF	10/12/07	PG-13	mature thematic material, sexual references and language
The Orphanage Foreign / Horror	PicH	12/28/07	R	some disturbing content
Darfur Now Documentary	WIP	11/2/07	PG	thematic material involving crimes against humanity
Saw IV Horror	LGF	10/26/07	R	sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture throughout, and for language
Lust, Caution Period Drama	Focus	9/28/07	NC-17	some explicit sexuality
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything Animation	Uni.	1/11/08	G

Sigh. Is it even necessary to rate the Saw movies anymore? And Lust, Caution got the NC-17 after all.

Predictions: Best Actress

By far the most puzzling race so far this year.

BEST ACTRESS

1. Julianne Moore-Savage Grace-Early reviews have been excellent, and she's one of the best actresses of her generation.

2. Laura Linney-The Savages-She is adored by everyone in Hollywood, but the comedy genre may limit her chances to win.

3. Cate Blanchett-The Golden Age-She looks great, and the trailer is by far the best of the year (even more so than Rendition).

4. Jodie Foster-The Brave One-She's gotten good reviews, but I'm still unsure.

5. Kiera Knightley-Atonement-The fabulous reviews from Venice certainly help her. But is it enough?

IN THE RUNNING

6. Angelina Jolie-A Mighty Heart-She can definitely afford to buy her way to a nomination by flooding AMPAS voters with DVD's at the end of the year, but with the poor box office, will she?

7. Marion Cotillard-La Vie en Rose-For some reason, she's getting boatloads of buzz right now, but most of that is just fan based. The fact is that this is a very small film, with a very small release and very small box office numbers. Still, she might be able to pull it off, simply because of the insane internet support she's gotten.

8. Naomi Watts-Eastern Promises-The reviews have been good, but her performance doesn't seem like something to holler about.

9. Catherine Keener-An American Crime-It looks too disturbing for the Academy, but they do love wackos. And Keener always gives an interesting performance. Still, don't count on it.

10. Julie Christie-Away from Her-The buzz has severely decreased...

11. Meryl Streep-Lions for Lambs-Andy Scott of Everything Oscar hit the nail on the head: she'll be ignored this year, and then get Oscar number 3 next year when "Doubt" comes out.

12. Halle Berry-Things we Lost in the Fire-She's a great actress, but she's failing to remind us of that. I just can't trust her.

13. Keri Russell-Waitress-My favorite film so far this year, but I don't think she has what it takes. Hopefully she'll get recognition at the Golden Globes (and if she wins, she could be in contention).

14. Sarah Jessica Parker-Spinning into Butter-Will this even be out this year...?

15. Helena Bonham Carter-Sweeney Todd-They'll probably cheat and put her in supporting, but I'll leave her out altogether until we're sure.

Lust, Caution is OUT!

There have been solid rumors floating around that Ang Lee's new somewhat buzzed about film "Lust, Caution" is going to be rated NC-17, and that Focus Features will accept the rating. If that is so, it can kiss any Golden man near it goodbye. This is especially odd because the trailer made it look like a soft R. We'll see if this is true pretty soon.

Newest MPAA Ratings

Juno Comedy / Drama	FoxS	12/14/07	PG-13	mature thematic material, sexual content and language
I'm Not There Music Drama	Wein.	11/21/07	R	language, some sexuality and nudity
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Drama	Mira.	12/19/07	PG-13	nudity, sexual content and some language
The Final Season Sports Drama	YFG	10/12/07	PG	language, thematic elements and some teen smoking
Forgiving the Franklins Comedy	Reg.	TBD	R	strong sexual content including a scene of aberrant intimacy, graphic nudity, frank dialogue and some language
Passengers Drama	Sony	2008	PG-13	thematic elements including some scary images, and sensuality
Good Luck Chuck Romantic Comedy	LGF	9/21/07	R	sequences of strong sexual content including crude dialogue, nudity, language and some drug use
Halloween (2007) Horror	MGM/W	8/31/07	R	strong brutal bloody violence and terror throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity and language

Nothing all that surprising this week, but these are some of the longest rating explanations I've ever seen. And I was expecting an R rating for Good Luck Chuck, but that will be what makes it bomb.

"Rendition" Trailer

Wow. Just...wow. That is one of the best trailers I've seen this year.

"I'm Not There" Trailer

My prediction for the bomb of the year has released its first trailer. You can view it here. I have to say, it looks pretty damn good. But, at the same time, the trailer relied a lot on titles to tell us what it was about. And am I the only one that doesn't think Blanchett looks amazing?

Well, I'm sure I'll receive plenty of "THAT WAS GREAT! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" comments, but we'll know for sure this fall.

New predix coming soon.

The Other Boleyn Girl: Count it Out!

The Other Boleyn Girl, written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, The Last King of Scotland), has been pushed to February 2008. This makes it ineligible for the 07 Academy Awards, obviously, and this could be a sign that this film will be, for lack of better word, bad.

Tom Hanks Selected as Vice President of AMPAS

From IMDb:

Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks has been elected as one of the vice presidents of America's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). AMPAS announced Hanks' appointment on Wednesday after he previously served as a governor of their actors branch. Meanwhile, film producer Sid Ganis was re-elected president for his third term. Ganis enthuses, "I'm truly honored to have the opportunity to continue to serve as president of the Academy. There are so many interesting projects going on in the organization. I'm excited to have the chance to help steer those along and to bring even more to our wide-reaching agenda." AMPAS is the body responsible for awarding the Academy Awards.

Sigh. As if he weren't already a class act.

Newest MPAA Ratings

Youth Without Youth Drama	SPC	12/14/07	R	some sexuality, nudity and a brief disturbing image
Redacted War	Magn.	12/14/07	R	strong disturbing violent content including a rape, pervasive language and some sexual references/images
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Crime Thriller	Think	10/26/07	R	a scene of strong graphic sexuality, nudity, violence, drug use and language
Sharkwater Documentary	All.	3/23/07	PG	images of animal cruelty, thematic elements, language and some smoking
Funny Games Horror Thriller	WIP	10/26/07	R	terror, violence and some langauge
Fred Claus Comedy	WB	11/9/07	PG	mild language and some rude humor

The PG for Fred Claus is a bit surprising for me because the trailer looked like it would be PG-13. Either way, it'll suck.

Updated Top 25

I've moved around some movies I had already seen and then added some new ones. Here are my top 25 favorite movies as of 8/12/07.

1. Fargo (1996)
2. American Beauty (1999)
3. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
5. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
6. The Usual Suspects (1995)
7. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
8. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
9. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
10. Annie Hall (1977)
11 . Rear Window (1954)
12. 12 Angry Men (1957)
13. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
14. Adaptation. (2002)
15. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
16. Pulp Fiction (1994)
17. Goodfellas (1990)
18. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
19. The Graduate (1967)
20. Young Frankenstein (1974)
21. Unforgiven (1991)
22. Clue (1984)
23. The Godfather (1972)
24. North by Northwest (1959)
25. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Excellent New Still from Sweeney Todd

Now if only we could get a damn trailer...

Newest MPAA Ratings

The Bucket List Comedy	WB	12/25/07	PG-13	language, including a sexual reference
P.S. I Love You Romance	WB	12/21/07	PG-13	sexual references and brief nudity
Dedication Romantic Comedy	Wein.	8/24/07	R	language and some sexual content
Shine a Light (formerly Untitled Rolling Stones Documentary) Documentary	ParV	9/21/07	R	some language (intends to appeal rating)
Virgin Territory Drama	MGM/W	TBD	R	sexual content, nudity and some language

I'm a bit surprised that "The Bucket List" got a PG-13. I thought it would get an R...

Best Original Musical?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I didn't believe it at first either when I heard about it on The Oscar Igloo's forums, but it's true (thanks to Connor Campbell for the heads-up). According to the Official Rules of the 80th Annual Academy Awards, the third and newest category in the Music section is Best Original Musical. The qualifications are:

An original musical consists of not fewer than five original songs (as defined in A. II above) by the same writer or team of writers either used as voice-overs or visually performed. Each of these songs must be substantively rendered, clearly audible, intelligible, and must further the storyline. What is simply an arbitrary group of songs unessential to the storyline of the film will not be considered eligible. The adapter (if any) or the composer of the instrumental score may be considered eligible — in this category only — if his or her contribution is deemed relevant and substantial.

Don't believe me? Click here. All I have to say is...I'm stunned. This would be the most pointless category ever. The only nominees that would be eligible this year are Across the Universe, Colma: The Musical (which nobody, including myself, saw) and...I don't know. Hairspray is ineligible because it only has 4 original songs (one of which is a reprise of an existing song), and the score to Sweeney Todd is pretty much full as it is, so there's no way they can add 5 songs. What do you guys think?

New MPAA Ratings

Descent Drama	CityL	8/10/07	NC-17	a brutal rape
Deep Water Documentary	IFC	8/24/07	PG	thematic elements, mild language and incidental smoking
Be Kind, Rewind Comedy	NL	12/21/07	PG-13	some sexual references
The Heartbreak Kid (formerly Seven Day Itch) Romantic Comedy	P/DW	10/5/07	R	strong sexual content, crude humor, language, and a scene of drug use involving a minor
Eastern Promises Drama / Thriller	Focus	9/14/07	R	strong brutal and bloody violence, some graphic sexuality, language and nudity
Mongol Foreign	PicH	2008	R	sequences of bloody warfare

It is interesting (and reassuring) that the MPAA would give an NC-17 for a rape scene. Must be pretty explicit. And can someone explain how you can have "mild" smoking?

Ingmar Bergman...

I got the news from Everything Oscar. Rest in peace. I must admit, the only film of his I've seen is Fanny and Alexander, but that was enough to show me that he was an incredible talent. My condolences to his family.

The Simpsons Movie in Review

As you know if you read the blog frequently, The Simpsons Movie was my most anticipated movie ever. It seemed impossible to live up to my expectations, as The Simpsons is my favorite television series of all time, and I consider even the horrifically underrated seasons 11-17 phenomenal. Well, it turned out that the movie version of my beloved program was not only as good as the show, but even a little bit better. It featured all of my favorite characters (except, lamentably, Mrs. Krabappel, who has some screen time, but never talks. Oh well. Just another reason to buy the DVD and see the deleted scenes), a surprisingly good plot and voice-over work that should qualify for Oscar nominations, mostly from Julie Kavner and Dan Castellaneta. I am still shocked that the film lived up to my huge expectations. The plot is truly the best kept Hollywood secret since the ending to The Sixth Sense, and hopefully this will draw back viewers who left the show several years ago. I can easily see this making my end-of-the-year list. A

The Simpsons Movie: Hit or Miss?

Hit. I saw an advanced screening and it was great. I'm not going to write much more because I'm sure Brian will want to give a full review. I give it an A-. Definitely is not a shame to the series.

New MPAA Ratings

From BoxOfficeMojo:

Great World of Sound Comedy	Magn.	9/14/07	R	language
The Band's Visit Foreign	SPC	TBD	PG-13	brief strong language
The Nines Drama	NM	8/31/07	R	language, some drug content and sexuality
Feel the Noise	BMG	10/5/07	PG-13	sensuality and innuendos, violence, some drug use and language
Fat Girls Comedy	Reg.	Sep 2007	R	strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, language and some drug/alcohol use - all involving teens
The Kite Runner Drama	ParV	11/2/07	PG-13	strong thematic material including the rape of a child, violence and brief strong language
Trick 'r Treat Horror	WB	2008	R	horror violence, some sexuality/nudity and langauge
30 Days of Night Horror	Sony	10/19/07	R	strong horror violence and language
The Bourne Ultimatum Action Thriller	Uni.	8/3/07	PG-13	violence and intense sequences of action

The PG-13 rating for The Kite Runner surprised me quite a bit. I thought it would be R.

Predictions: Round Four (Best Picture)

BEST PICTURE

1. Charlie Wilson's War-The leaked script has been praised, and the cast and crew make it look like solid Oscar bait. We've been predicting this since March, and it's looking more and more likely all the time.

2. The Kite Runner-While adaptations of popular novels haven't been doing so well lately, the subject matter here is just too baity to resist.

3. There Will be Blood-I'm having some second thoughts about this one, but if Daniel Day-Lewis is in it, it's very likely that the Academy will embrace it.

4. The Savages-The festival darling will be hard to ignore if it ends up with reviews as good as they've been so far, and solid box office numbers.

5. Atonement-It all depends on what the Venice Film Festival thinks.

IN THE RUNNING

6. The Golden Age-The trailer looks very meaty, and Cate Blanchett has had a solid record with AMPAS for a long time. I just don't think that it'll make it very far.

7. Sweeney Todd-I'm losing my confidence in this one...

8. American Gangster-You know what I'm gonna say...

9. Lions for Lambs-This one looks likely to fail as well.

10. Ratatouille-I guess I got swept away with the acclaim, and didn't recognize that this doesn't stand a chance.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

11. Margot at the Wedding-I think The Savages has a better chance. This should do great in Best Supporting Actress, though.

12. The Simpsons Movie-Kidding! But the reviews have been very good, and I just wanted to remind everyone how excited I am for tomorrow.

13. Hairspray-Too light and teen-ish for the Academy, but it could easily pick up some Golden Globe nods.

14. No Country for Old Men-I think this will get honored in Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, but Best Picture still seems like a long shot.

15. The Valley of Elah-The trailer looks very good and Oscar friendly, but I don't think it will succeed; especially not in this category.

16. The Other Boleyn Girl-Looks more unlikely than ever now.

17. I'm Not There-Too artsy for the Academy, and I still think the project will fail as a whole.

18. Eastern Promises-The trailer looks like an action movie rather than an Oscar bait.

19. Youth Without Youth-Not only do I think this won't succeed, but I also think that it won't find a distributor until next year.

20. 3:10 to Yuma-I personally thought the trailer was unimpressive, and I sense bad reviews.

:--)

"A clever and spirited big-screen version of its better-known small-screen cousin."-The Hollywood Reporter

"Clever, cutting and irrepressible, The Simpsons Movie hits the big screen with all the humour and panache we have come to expect from the series"-Urban Cinefile

"Put simply, if somebody had to make a Simpsons movie, this is pretty much what it should be -- clever, irreverent, satirical and outfitted with a larger-than-22-minutes plot."-Variety

"The Simpsons Movie does not feel at sea on the big screen and, crucially, it is very funny."-Time Out


Turns out naming this my most anticipated movie ever turned out. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes so far. We'll see in 1 day, 11 hours and 11 minutes if it's worth the wait. Your thoughts?