Monthly Archives: December 2007

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Southeastern Film Critics Awards

So now we’re getting into the deluge of small critics groups chiming in with their awards. I won’t post all of them — they’re already running together — but I like this one because they release a top ten list, and as you know, I’m all about top ten lists.

Javier Bardem and Amy Ryan add to their growing tally — and now that I’ve seen both performances, I must say I’m thrilled that they are the front-runners.

BEST PICTURE
1. No Country for Old Men
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Atonement
4. Juno
5. Michael Clayton
6. Zodiac
7. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
8. Gone Baby Gone
9. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
10. Into the Wild

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
* Runner-up: George Clooney – Michael Clayton

BEST ACTRESS
Julie Christie – Away from Her
* Runner-up: Ellen Page – Juno

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
* Runner-up: Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
* Runner-up: Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There

BEST DIRECTOR
Joel & Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
* Runner-up: J oe Wright – Atonement

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody – Juno
* Runner-up: Tamara Jenkins – The Savages

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Joel & Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
* Runner-up: Christopher Hampton – Atonement

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France)
* Runner-up: La vie en rose (France)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
No End in Sight
* Runner-up: Sicko

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Ratatouille
* Runner-up: The Simpsons Movie

WYATT AWARD
Waitress
* Runner-up: Black Snake Moan

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The big chart

Every year, the Web site Movie City News compiles a huge chart of every published top ten list they can find. They released the opening chart this weekend. It’s sort of like early election returns, in that the same films tend to stay up top as more results come in, but there are usually some that rise and fall more than others.

This first glance is made up of 33 lists and is dominated by No Country for Old Men (it appears on 22 of those lists). Away From Her, Juno, Michael Clayton, Zodiac and Once are the other front-runners, with a bunch more tied just below them. Should be interesting to see how the ultimate Top Ten shakes out.

Here’s the list.

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Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Date: December 13
Location: Regal Delray Beach

I’m sorry to say I was disappointed with this film, in part because I had such high expectations going in. It’s beautifully acted (Philip Seymour Hoffman is Oscar-worthy once again) and spins a nice web of suspense, but ultimately is just doesn’t hold together. The time-shifting, multiple-perspective narrative sets you up for a payoff that never comes — ultimately it seems the complex plotting is there to mask the fact that this is really just a film about a heist gone bad. I didn’t buy into some of the family dynamics, particularly those dealing with Albert Finney’s underwritten character. Big points, though, for Marisa Tomei, who keeps getting sexier as she gets older. She spends much of the film in various states of undress, and does some fine acting to boot.

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The Hoax

Date: December 13
Location: Clifton Living Room

Here’s a case where the real-life story is so compelling that it would have been nearly impossible to make a bad movie about it. The fact that Clifford Irving got away with such an outlandish scheme for so long and in such a public manner is extraordinary. Richard Gere is in fine form as Irving, and Alfred Molina is note-perfect (as always) in the sidekick role. This is another film, like Breach, that was lost in the early part of the year — why haven’t Gere and Chris Cooper been mentioned once in any awards talk? Overall, this film doesn’t reach the heights of Breach, but I’m very glad I saw it.