The Monday morning bug has bitten me today. In a BIG way. So much in fact that I have decided to not go to school.
Yip, that’s right, I am a skipper. So what, like you have never done it.I have a book report due on Wednesday, and I have chosen to read No Country For Old Men, mainly because I cannot see the film until 2010 or something, so I decided to scratch the itch the best way I knew how. Kill two birds with one stone and all that. So far I am over half way through it, I am not a very fast reader and the dialogue is tricky (can anyone tell me what the hell a bajada is?), but I am loving the book very much indeed.

So my weekend was pretty uneventful. Saw Into The Wild (*****) on Friday at Cinema Nouveau in Rosebank, and I just want to give out a huge “BOOOOOO!!!!” to them for not fixing their damn air-conditioning. How am I supposed to enjoy a film when I cannot breathe? How am I supposed to identify with a man living in the icy landscapes of Alaska when it feels like the freaking Sahara desert? Seriously, if the film wasn’t so good, it would have been ruined and I would have to have demanded my money back faster than you can say “Ew, look at the big, bald fat guy in seat D6, he is sweating so much his toupee is falling off” - or something.

Then on Saturday I was going to see Gone Baby Gone, but the cinema’s screwed up the times and didn’t have the correct info on their website so I just have to say “screw it”, and moved on. The day was very uneventful, but Saturday Night Live was funny, it was hosted by Kevin Spacey (who my friend thinks is the same person as Sissy Spacek, because their surnames have “space” in them) and sweet-turned-whore Nelly Furtado performed. In fact, the day was a complete bore.

Sunday came around, and with no test to study for the next day, I was free. So just went about my usual Sunday routine - including reading Barry Ronge’s film reviews in the Sunday Times Magazine, always hoping to see if they publish any reviews I send them, they never do - not until Feb 3. anyway. He reviewed Into The Wild, it was a pretty solid review and gave it four stars. Mine will be up soon - I need to “process” everything. He gave some info on Eastern Promises and Charlie Wilson’s War, both of which open soon. I was having a good, caffeine filled morning. Then I left Mike’s house and went to my own house, and what did I find lying on my bed as a gift - Knocked Up (****) on DVD. So my morning was even better. I spent the rest of the day reading my fave blogs and such and reading more No Country For Old Men in a day than I had previously managed to read in a week. “Why thank you I will accept that Noddy badge”.

17:30 came around and it was time for myself, my aunt and grandmother to go to Hyde Park’s cinema’s to go to Barry Ronge’s preview screening of The Kite Runner (***1/2), where he rambled on and on about Marc Forster  (I knew the damn answer to his question but he never picks me because I am so skinny, or maybe I didn’t put my hand up fast enough) and “Juno” (*****), the next screening he would be holding. I thought The Kite Runner was well done, I can imagine it was hard to adapt the book - or rather I am told that it must have been hard to adapt the book- but it did feel very safe and sterile at times, but a valiant effort.

Got home just in time to catch Borat (***1/2) for a fourth time, this time on TV at 8pm, and laughed myself to sleep.
Woke up this morning with one thought on my mind, that being,  me + school = not happening today

Hope your weekend was as good/better than mine.  Enjoy your Manic Monday Sorry for any typo’s.

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Best Actress: Julie Christie - Away From Her

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men

Best Supporting Actress: Ruby Dee - American Gangster

Best Ensemble Cast: No Country For Old Men

I think Daniel Day-Lewis’s dedication to Heath was a beautiful thing, it seems as though he was very affected by it all. *Sigh*.  I did not predict Ruby Dee to win, maybe being a veteran helps get the votes. Cate will have many years of career defining performances ahead of her, but this may be Ruby’s last chance at glory.Could “No Country” get any stronger in terms of its Oscar prospects? I think it is the front runner or “one to beat”, as it has been for quite some time, and it doesn’t look to be going anywhere anytime soon.Let’s all just remember the SAGs as not only a key precursor before the Oscars, but one where there actually was a party.

The awards will be announced live tonight, but I will not be able to catch them live, as I am going to a screening of “The Kite Runner”.

Here are my predix, if you even care:

Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood
*If I Had A Vote: Emile Hirsch - Into The Wild

Best Actress: Julie Christie - Away From Her
*If I Had A Vote: Ellen Page - Juno

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
*If I Had A Vote: Casey Affleck - Assassination of Jesse James

Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett - I’m Not There
*If I Had A Vote: Catherine Keener - Into The Wild

Best Ensemble: No Country For Old Men
*If I Had A Vote: Into The Wild

I really hope some love goes out to the very deserving “Into The Wild”, it got just about nothing in terms of the Oscar nominations, so now is it’s only real shot. Oh Boy.

Joel and Ethan Coen have won their first DGA award for their work on No Country For Old Men. Surprised? Didn’t think so.

 The Nominees were:

Paul Thomas Anderson - “There Will Be Blood”
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - “No Country for Old Men”
Tony Gilroy - “Michael Clayton”
Sean Penn - “Into the Wild”
Julian Schnabel - “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

Well, I am glad the Coens are finally being seen as what they are, great directors. No Country has really boosted their profile quite a bit and I am not complaining at all. Good for them.

So Robert Elswit won the ASC award, for There Will Be Blood.

I favoured Roger Deakins, especially for Assassination of Jesse James, but as I said here, I think he would cancel himself out, and Elswit would eventually take it home. But as I have been reminded, people vote for the work, not the person, so that’s that.

The four nominated men have all gone on to be nominated for this years Best Cinematography Oscar, just as suspected.
Hopefully Deakins wins his Oscar though…. 

American Cinema:

Grand Jury Dramatic: Frozen River
Dramatic Audience Award: The Wackness
Dramatic Screenwriting Award: Sleep Dealer, Alex Rivera, David Riker
Dramatic Directing Award: Lance Hammer, Ballast
Dramatic Special Jury Prize for “the Spirit of Independent Cinema”: Chusy Haney-Jardine for Anywhere, USA
Dramatic Special Jury Prize for “Work by an Ensemble Cast”: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald and Brad Henke for Choke
Dramatic Cinematography Award: Ballast, Lol Crawley

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Based on Jon Krakauer’s 1996 Best Seller, Into The Wild is a challenging but ultimately rewarding look at the life and aspirations of the young Christopher McCandless. The story is true and the premise is not an original or groundbreaking one, but it sure hits home.

Chris McCandless graduates from Emory University, donates all his life savings to Oxfam and makes the decision to answer the call of the wild and embark on his great Alaskan adventure. He decides to let go of all the material things and ideas that hold him back and just live. I can understand his plight that life is more than a bank balance or pay check and that life is more than simply the things you own. Life is what you make of it.

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The weekend is finally here, and I will be able to cross another three/four films of my 2007-Must-See List, those being “Into The Wild”, “Gone, Baby, Gone” and “The Kite Runner”, and maybe “Talk To Me”. Reviews of those will be up by next week. Also, I will be posting all of the Oscar nominated screenplays for you to download for free if you want to, and well as the Oscar nominated scores by the end of next week, so be sure to check back for those. All the Oscar Nominated Original Songs (from Enchanted, August Rush and Once) are now up here.

Opening in South Africa this weekend, 25 January:

Into The Wild, tells the true tale of  Christopher McCandless ( Emile Hirsch)  who abandons his possessions, gave his entire savings to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters and events that shape his life and redefine how he sees the world and everything it means to him.
Written and directed by Sean Penn, starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener and Vince Vaughn, running time: 140 mins. Nominated for 2 Oscars, including Best Editing and Best Supporting Actor for Hal Holbrook.

Gone, Baby, Gone, is about 4-year-old Amanda McCready who goes missing in Boston and the investigation that follows, led by local police investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey) and Angie Genarro. What is found begs the question about whether or not we can handle the truth we so desperately seek. Looks compelling.
Directed by Ben Affleck, written by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard, , starring Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Amy Ryan and Ed Harris, running time: 114 mins. Nominated for 1 Oscar, Best Supporting Actress for Amy Ryan.

The Bucket List, directed by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they “kick the bucket”. Running time: 97 mins. *I personally have no desire to see this at all.

Talk To Me, which tells the story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph “Petey” Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.
Directed by Kassi Lemmons, written by Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa, starring Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji P. Henson and Mike Epps, running time: 118 mins. *Apparently it is not that bad, but I am more interested in seeing good films right now, not ones that manage to not be bad, we’ll see about this one.

 The Kite Runner,a preview held by Nu Metro and Barry Ronge on Sunday the 27th, booking open at Computicket for 17:30. Directed by Marc Foster, written by David Benioff based on the hugely successful novel by Khaled Hosseini , starring Khalid Abdalla as Amir who after spending years in California returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble. Running Time: 122 Mins. Nominated for 1 Oscar, Best Original Score.

If you see anything good this weekend, let me know your thoughts! Enjoy your weekend, I know I will ;0)

Oscar-nominated, Australian actor Heath Ledger was found naked and dead in his SoHo apartment yesterday after he apparently overdosed on anti-anxiety pills, according to the NY-PD. While it is said his death didn’t look like a suicide, investigation into the matter will be done anyway, with an autopsy being scheduled today. Some say he was depressed but his father said the death was accidental.  I don’t care for the details, it just makes it easier to understand how something like this could have happened, the “how” is of the least importance to me and the details would be too traumatizing. He leaves behind his two-year-old daughter, Matilda, with whom he had with his ex-fiance, Michelle Williams, and I feel the most sorry for her. It is incredibly sad, in fact I have not been shocked by something like I have been today before. Ever since “10 Things I Hate About You”, he has been one of my favourite actors and his death has hit me in a way unimaginable.

 He was a great actor who would have had a legendary career, but he was first a great man and a loving father. His work in film was verging on something profound and extraordinary, but his role as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain was something many actors double his age have never accomplished. At 28 he gave the world of film one of it’s most heartfelt portrayals of love and loss, and now it is our turn. I will never forget him, his work or his legacy he has left behind. In his memory, this will be my one and only post of the day, R.I.P Heath, we are all going to miss you.

From Living In Cinema:

“The Nominees for the 80th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning with No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood making off with 8 nominations each, including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. More importantly, Nick Plowman is the winner of the Name Those Nominees Contest selecting 39 out of 45 nominations. Alison Flynn was 2nd with 38, Andy H was 3rd with 37, Alexander and Joel both had 36 correct selections, but based on the order the entries were received, Alexander is 4th and Joel is 5th. Nice work Nick and everyone.”

Read the rest of the post here.

I don’t mean to blow my own horn, so to speak, but I am pretty proud of this! Look who I was up against, Alison, Joel, Alexander, all some of the most frequent LiC visitors and who are all a huge asset to the world of film commentary and inisght.

To read my nomination predix, read on….

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