Oh man, I love The Departed.

It's always on TV now, and I'll always watch it. It's an extremely quality movie, but also hugely entertaining. And I gotta say - I LOVE that last scene. The button with the rat got a lot of criticism, but I think it's just the perfect "heh..." ending. Also always on TV? My second-favorite movie of 2006, Marie-Antoinette. Awesome. Makes up for the fact that Babel's always on now too. And won't someone put License to Wed on once so I can watch my John without having to rent it from Netflix and thus feel dirty?

The most annoying characters...

shut up shut up shut up
(even though you don't say anything the entire movie)

...of 2006, that immediately come to mind. Late, I know, but it's not like I've seen much from 2007 so I can't really talk about that. Not all bad performances (though I'm not truly fond of any of them), but portrayals of characters so obnoxious you just want to take them by the shoulders and shake them around. A lot. Often, no matter how good the performances are (though I mentioned that not really any of them are good...I guess Nighy was the best, Kikuchi and Blunt are so overrated but okayish I guess, and Hathaway and Thoms were just plain terrible), the characters took away from my enjoyment of the movie because they were so obnoxious (I love this word. I love using it at any opportunity, and putting it in italics whenever I use it).

Emily - The Devil Wears Prada
Meryl was masterful at balancing the bitchy side and the human side. Emily Blunt, not so much. Say what you will about working with women, and I'll say a lot, but they are never this bitchy to your face. It's way more behind your back. I saw this movie in theaters, and when she got hit by the car, people applauded. I hate clapping at movies, but I joined in.

Andy Sachs - The Devil Wears Prada
As a college student, I'm pressured, already, to find a great job right out of graduation. Andy certainly did. Sure, the demands were a little ridiculous. But, the connections, the money... you shut up and take it. Hathaway's "I'm gonna look at you with my giant eyes so that you don't notice I'm not acting" performance wasn't helping at all.

Lily - The Devil Wears Prada
Waaaah I can't deal with my friend's great job! Can you tell I didn't like the characters of Prada very much? That's okay. Miranda Priestly makes up for it. That, and it could not possibly be any worse than the dire, dire novel.

Chieko - Babel
People, when blathering on about how they hate Jennifer Hudson, go on about how she was "making weird faces the entire time." Um...did these people see Babel? Kikuchi was like the queen of weird faces (yeah, I know she was deaf, but even in the stills, she's still making totally bizarre faces, see top). Oh, and put some panties on. I'm hardly a prude, but her character gave me the heebie-jeebies with how friggin' naked she was.

Richard Hart - Notes on a Scandal
SUCH AN ASSHOLE. Yeah, I guess it's understandable, but there were just some scenes where Nighy's facial expressions and vocal sneers were just so...ugh! People were going on about how homophobic this film was, because Barbara was "the villain." We were allowed to feel for Barbara because of how amazing Dench was, and the voiceover. I never felt anything for Richard apart from utter loathing. Asshole. This movie made me hate Bill Nighy! GUH.

tu vuo fa l'americano

could they be any better-looking?

also, the movie: wow. it's minghella's most difficult film, for sure - it takes at least an hour to have some semblance of a plot beyond "italy is pretty!!" - but once it does, it becomes a hitchcockian masterwork. plus, jude law + matt damon ass. if you're like me and just rewatched babel this weekend and realized that a) it really was a spectacularly made exercise in cruelty, more so than even a von trier film, and thus worthless and b) rinko kikuchi spent all the damn time naked and after a while it got tiresome, then the talented mr. ripley ends up seeming like...a nice break. even though it's not a break at all (i mean, it's no love actually).

Best Director

Analyzing: Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
My rank among the nominees: 3rd
Pros: He's Clint Eastwood. The movie had more support than we thought. Flags of Our Fathers.
Cons: Not even nominated for the DGA. He may be Clint Eastwood, but will they really want to reward him for a third time? Film was small. No precursors. Not Martin Scorsese.
Any chance of winning?: I like how immediately after the nominations came out everyone was like "OMG WE UNDERESTIMATED HIM!!!!! HE'S TOTALLY WINNING AGAIN!!!" Anyway, he's, yeah, probably not.

Analyzing: Stephen Frears, The Queen
My rank among the nominees: 5th
Pros: The film is well-respected and the director is too. A couple of precursors.
Cons: Not Martin Scorsese. Hasn't gotten any attention at all.
Any chance of winning?: Nope.

Analyzing: Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu, Babel
My rank among the nominees: 4th
Pros: The film got a lot of Oscar support. It's the year of the "three amigos" (him, del Toro, and Cuarón).
Cons: Not Martin Scorsese. No precursors. Divisive directors (notice I didn't say auteurs) can sometimes get in, but hardly ever win.
Any chance of winning?: If they go Babel crazy, maaaybe...but it's very very doubtful.

Analyzing: Paul Greengrass, United 93
My rank among the nominees: 2nd
Pros: Glowing reviews. May be a way to reward the best-reviewed film of the year. Some precursor support.
Cons: Lone director. Not famous/acclaimed enough. No DGA nod. No Globe nod. The film has very little other Oscar support. Not Martin Scorsese.
Any chance of winning?: There's a chance, but it's a teeny little one...

Analyzing: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
My rank among the nominees: 1st
Pros: Arguably the best director working today, and inarguably an incredibly influential legend, has no Oscar, and the sense that his snubs were embarassing. Most precursor awards, including, especially, the DGA and Globe.
Cons: Scorsese v. Eastwood, Round 2 - remember what happened the first time? (Then again, Marty wasn't the extreme frontrunner for The Aviator like he is for The Departed.) The Departed only has one Oscar nomination - less support than we thought?
Any chance of winning?: Hell yes. It's finally Marty's year!!

Analyzing: Best Director as a whole
Who will win: Martin Scorsese! Now I can get the feeling they snubbed him for Gangs of New York or The Aviator because they were waiting for something like this. :D
Who should win: Martin Scorsese...not only because he deserves it after so many years but because of his utterly fantastic job on The Departed.
Unlucky 6th placer: It was probably the Little Miss Sunshine duo (or Bill Condon for Dreamgirls, but Little Miss Sunshine had far more support in the more majorish categories)...I still don't really get what people see in the directing of that film, but okay.
Snubbed: Of the movies that Oscar showed significant support to, Alfonso Cuarón for Children of Men, Bill Condon for Dreamgirls, and Guillermo del Toro for Pan's Labyrinth. For the movies they didn't, Sofia Coppola for Marie-Antoinette, Darren Aronofsky for The Fountain, Spike Lee for Inside Man, and Christopher Nolan for The Prestige.
Random cool fact about this category: Um...

surging along. Best Supporting Actress

well, I don't have any homework (and clearly no dates HA), and all my friends do, so...
(sorry about the lack of "tags" for this post. blogger was being silly)

Analyzing: Adriana Barraza, Babel
My rank among the nominees: 4th
How'd she get nominated: Great reviews/performance + Babel support
Pros: Support for Babel. Sympathetic role.
Cons: Not famous. Not Jennifer Hudson. Vote splitting with Rinko.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: No.

Analyzing: Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
My rank among the nominees: 5th
How'd she get nominated: Cate Blanchett
Pros: The movie has support. Juicy undebtably lead role. Critics awards.
Cons: Just won here 2 years ago (undeservedly, may I add bitchily). Not Jennifer Hudson.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: A teeny chance, but no, not really.

Analyzing: Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
My rank among the nominees: 3rd
How'd she get nominated: Adorable, easy-to-support role in a Best Picture contender.
Pros: See "how'd she get nominated." People hate voting against cute little kids.
Cons: Not Jennifer Hudson. No critics awards other than breakthrough stuff. Couldn't even get nominated at the Globes.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: Yes, but it's not very big...

Analyzing: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
My rank among the nominees: 1st
How'd she get nominated: "And I Am Telling You..."
Pros: See "how'd she get nominated." Dreamgirls support - you know they did like it (but not as much as we all thought). Tremendous audience reaction to her (when I saw it, the person behind me kept going "UH HUH GIRL"). American Idol reject - a triumph over failure. Hyperbolic reviews and a virtual year of hype. The most critics awards in this category.
Cons: Backlash. That ridiculous question, "since when is good singing good acting?" (Since musical theater has been around and people have had to interpret roles, idiots)
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: Ummm...no duh

Analyzing: Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
My rank among the nominees: 2nd
How'd she get nominated: Baity role
Pros: Baity role. Babel support. Great reviews/critical support. Critics awards.
Cons: Not Jennifer Hudson. Vote splitting with Barraza.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: Eh. Teeny but not really.

Analyzing: Best Supporting Actress as a whole
Who will win: Jennifer Hudson. Um...yeah.
Who should win: Jennifer. Now is when I quote the people sitting behind me at Dreamgirls and say UH HUH GIRL.
Unlucky sixth placer: Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada. Hahahahhahaaaaa!!!
Snubbed: I would have loved to see Catherine O'Hara here for For Your Consideration and Toni Collette for Little Miss Sunshine, out of those with any hype/precursors at all. As far as those without any, I loved Mia Kirshner in The Black Dahlia, Shareeka Epps in Half Nelson, Claire Hope-Ashitey in Children of Men, Kerry Washington in Last King of Scotland, Emma Thompson in Stranger than Fiction (yeah her hype died.), Vera Farmiga in Running Scared...
Random cool fact about this category: Well, uh, it has no Emily Blunt in it. That's pretty awesome.

oscars, again

I'm going to start talking in depth about the Oscars in the categories I care about (this basically means I don't have to guess shit like Documentary Short and Sound FX and stuff). Yay. Right now, I'll talk about Best Picture...

Analyzing: Babel
My grade: B-
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: It's a modern message film, carrying over from last year's trend.
Pros: People have been calling it "international Crash" and they sure as hell liked the one from last year. It won the Golden Globe for Best Drama. The people who love it really love it. It's got the most nominations out of all the films nominated for Best Picture.
Cons: The people who hate it really hate it. Though it's not impossible, I can't see it winning any of its other categories. Outside of the Globe, no major precursor awards.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Its hype seems to have gone down since the Globes...it seems to have turned into The Departed vs. Little Miss Sunshine. Still, it's not implausible.

Analyzing: The Departed
My grade: A+
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: A massive hit, both with audiences and critics.
Pros: Like I said, a big hit with both audiences and critics. Made a ton of money.
Cons: Might be too violent for the Academy. Scorsese doesn't exactly have a great track record with them. Mark Wahlberg is its only acting nominee = less support than we think?
Basically, any chance of winning?: Yes.

Analyzing: Letters from Iwo Jima
My grade: A-
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: Clint Eastwood.
Pros: Clint Eastwood. WWII drama. Flags of Our Fathers. Extremely critically acclaimed.
Cons: It's subtitled and made very little money.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Probably not. Eastwood is enough to get it in, but probably not enough to give it the win, like Eastwood's last superb movie, Mystic River.

Analyzing: Little Miss Sunshine
My grade: B+
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: Feel-good indie underdog.
Pros: It's hard to root against it, and it's got really enthusiastic fans.
Cons: It's got really enthusiastic and overly vicious haters as well. Sideways was a feel-good indie underdog too, and it got lost in Eastwood v. Scorsese, Round 1 hmmm. May have won the PGA and SAG, but it couldn't win the bigger award - the Golden Globe. Summer release.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Yup, and a pretty high one, too. People really like this movie.

Analyzing: The Queen
My grade: C/C+
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: Helen Mirren.
Pros: Helen Mirren. Smart, critically-acclaimed contemporary drama. Oscar does love their Brits.
Cons: If Little Miss Sunshine is the Sideways of this year, then The Queen is its Capote...
Basically, any chance of winning?: Probably not, but if there's some severe vote-splitting...

Analyzing: Best Picture as a whole
Who will win: It's tough to call...but right now, I guess I'll go for Little Miss Sunshine. If last year taught us anything, it's that, well, anything can happen.
Who should win: The Departed, but it, along with Letters from Iwo Jima and Little Miss Sunshine, are excellent films.
Unlucky 6th placer: Poor Dreamgirls. Not only was I predicting it to get in, once it got in, I was going to predict it to win. Ooops.
Should have been nominated: Among things the Oscars clearly liked, Dreamgirls, Children of Men, and Pan's Labyrinth. Among things they probably didn't, Volver, Marie-Antoinette, The Fountain, Borat, and Inside Man, just to name a few films.
Random cool fact about this category: The Queen is the shortest nominee in length and The Departed is the longest...but when watching them, I felt exactly the opposite. =/

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day! Watch Love Actually.