Whoah. You go, Nicole.

Awesome lady.

I saw The Reader

Yeah, it's not Best Picture material, it's just handsomely made but without anything to make it anything special. To compare it to other Daldrys, it is The Hours and not Billy Elliot; it was sober, but all potential emotion was drained out for the most part. I guess they might have pulled the rug out from under you with the eroticism if you haven't read the book, though. Like, "Damn! Boobs! [I love how Kate is naked in everything. I love Nicole Kidman, but I can't see her pulling this role off at all. Yes, you needed to be icy, but you also needed to be fiery and openly sexy and she's not that. Whenever Nicole tries to be sexy it comes off campy, but that usually WORKS for the films she's trying for that in, like Moulin Rouge! and To Die For.] This chick is SO HOT - AAAH WAIT SHE'S A NAZI!!!" The cinematography was gorgeous.

Kate Winslet was amazing. At this point it's just redundant to say that, but she was really really awesome. It's just sad that it takes AMPAS and other critics' associations take this long to recognize her awesomeness when it's all gussied up with the Academy's favorite trappings (Holocaust! Old makeup and deglamming! Female nudity! At least her character isn't all that sympathetic, right?) as opposed to something like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The younger kid, David Kross I think, was very good too. Ralph Fiennes was... okay. Much better in In Bruges.

oscar nomination eve! AHHHH.

WHO'S EXCITED??? Me, obviously. I guess it's too late to set up a novena for Amy Adams/Laura Linney/Nicole Kidman/Romola Garai/Tang Wei/Christian Bale/Tommy Lee Jones...

Comments on the nominations, of course, after I get done with classes which is uh, never, tomorrow.

lol

Cate Blanchett's performance in Elizabeth, The Golden Age is on the Razzie shortlist. Then again, so is Nicole Kidman's in The Golden Compass, a performance I thought was excellent, so...

(Okay, I admit it: Cate is a hoot in that movie. Is it a good performance? No. No, it is not. But it's hysterical.)

Returning to The Screen Directory...

Remember this? So, I was really bored and I decided to list my nominations for their top 15 actors and actresses. Here goes! For every actor/actress, I have only included their 1990s and 2000s work (sorry Jack.).


the gentlemen

philip seymour hoffman
1999 - best supporting actor, magnolia (loses to tom cruise magnolia)
2000 - best supporting actor, almost famous (loses to mark ruffalo you can count on me)
top 10s for capote (2005), top 15s for the talented mr. ripley (1999), 25th hour (2002), and owning mahoney (2003)

edward norton
1996 - best supporting actor, primal fear *
1996 - best supporting actor, the people vs. larry flynt (loses to...himself)
1998 - best actor, american history x (loses to ian mckellen gods and monsters)
2002 - best actor, 25th hour (loses to jack nicholson about schmidt)
top 10s for fight club (1999), top 20s for the painted veil (2006)

sean penn
1993 - best supporting actor, carlito's way (loses to ralph fiennes schindler's list)
1995 - best actor, dead man walking (loses to nicolas cage leaving las vegas)
2003 - best actor, mystic river (loses to bill murray lost in translation)
top 10s for sweet and lowdown (1999) and 21 grams (2003), top 15s for the assassination of richard nixon (2004). and i still haven't seen much of his 80s stuff.

christian bale
2000 - best actor, american psycho *
top 10s for the machinist (2004), top 20s for batman begins (2005), top 30s for the prestige (2006) (last year was really strong for actors, he was quite good)

leonardo dicaprio
1993 - best supporting actor, what's eating gilbert grape? (loses to ralph fiennes schindler's list) 2006 - best actor, the departed (loses to ryan gosling half nelson)
top 10s for catch me if you can (2002), top 15s for the aviator (2004)

johnny depp
none. top 10s for ed wood (1994) - he's great, but i can't imagine taking anyone out of my top 6 (he's #7)

russell crowe
1997 - best actor, l.a. confidential (loses to ian holm the sweet hereafter)
1999 - best actor, the insider (loses to kevin spacey american beauty)
2000 - best actor, gladiator (loses to christian bale american psycho)
2001 - best actor, a beautiful mind *
top 10s for master and commander (2003), top 15s for cinderella man (2005), top 25s for a good year (seriously) (2006)

denzel washington
1992 - best actor, malcolm x *
2001 - best actor, training day (loses to russell crowe a beautiful mind)
top 25s for inside man (2006)

jack nicholson (remember, 1990s and after only)
2002 - best actor, about schmidt *
top 10s for as good as it gets (1997) and the pledge (2001), top 15s for the departed (2006)

joaquin phoenix
none. top 10 for quills (2000) and top 15 for walk the line (2005)

kevin spacey
1995 - best supporting actor, the usual suspects *
1997 - best supporting actor, l.a. confidential *
1999 - best actor, american beauty *
top 10s for henry & june (1990), the ref (1994), a time to kill (1996), hurlyburly (1998), and the life of david gale (2003), top 20s for superman returns (2006)

ralph fiennes
1993 - best supporting actor, schindler's list *
1996 - best actor, the english patient (loses to jeffrey wright basquiat)
2005 - best actor, the constant gardener (loses to heath ledger brokeback mountain)
top 15s for spider (2002) and he's also really good in red dragon, believe it or not...i need to put him in my lineup somewhere

tom hanks
1994 - best actor, forrest gump (loses to paul newman nobody's fool)
2000 - best actor, cast away (loses to christian bale american psycho)
top 10s for philadelphia (1993)

geoffrey rush
1996 - best actor, shine (loses to jeffrey wright basquiat)
top 15s for shakespeare in love and elizabeth (1998), quills (2000), and pirates of the carribbean: the curse of the black pearl (2003)

paul giamatti
2004 - best actor, sideways (loses to clive owen closer)
top 15s for the illusionist (2006), cinderella man (2005), and american splendor (2003)


the ladies

cate blanchett
1998 - best actress, elizabeth (loses to samantha morton under the skin)
2000 - best actress, the gift (loses to ellen burstyn requiem for a dream)
top 10s for oscar and lucinda (1997), heaven (2002), veronica guerin (2003), coffee and cigarettes (2004), and the good german (2006)

nicole kidman
1995 - best actress, to die for (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1999 - best supporting actress, eyes wide shut *
2001 - best actress, moulin rouge! (loses to naomi watts mulholland dr.)
2001 - best actress, the others (yes, nominated twice)
2004 - best actress, dogville (loses to kate winslet eternal sunshine...)
2004 - best actress, birth (yes, nominated twice...again)
top 15 for fur (2006)

kate winslet (and the fangirlyness starts!!!)
1994 - best actress, heavenly creatures (loses to linda fiorentino the last seduction)
1995 - best supporting actress, sense and sensibility *
1996 - best supporting actress, hamlet (loses to frances mcdormand fargo)
1999 - best actress, holy smoke! (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2000 - best supporting actress, quills (loses to jennifer connelly requiem for a dream)
2001 - best supporting actress, iris *
2004 - best actress, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind *
2006 - best actress, little children (loses to meryl streep the devil wears prada)
top 10s for jude (1996) and hideous kinky (1998)

hilary swank
1999 - best actress, boys don't cry *
top 15s for million dollar baby (2004)

reese witherspoon
1996 - best actress, freeway (loses to emily watson breaking the waves)
1999 - best actress, election (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2005 - best actress, walk the line (loses to rachel weisz the constant gardener)
top 10 for man on the moon (1991) and legally blonde (2001), top 15 for vanity fair (2004)

renee zellweger
2000 - best actress, nurse betty (loses to ellen burstyn requiem for a dream)
2001 - best actress, bridget jones' diary (loses to naomi watts mulholland dr.)
2003 - best supporting actress, cold mountain (loses to holly hunter thirteen)
top 10s for jerry maguire (1996) and chicago (2002), top 15s for down with love (2003)

juliette binoche
1991 - best actress, lovers on the bridge (loses to jodie foster silence of the lambs)
1994 - best actress, three colors: blue (loses to holly hunter the piano)
top 10s for the english patient (1996)

jennifer connelly
2000 - best supporting actress, requiem for a dream *
top 10s for house of sand and fog (2003)

rachel weisz
2005 - best actress, the constant gardener *
top 15s for the fountain (2006) (can't decide if she's supporting or leading. currently i have her as lead...in supporting, i would nominate her.)

maggie gyllenhaal
2002 - best actress, secretary (loses to samantha morton morvern callar)
top 10s for sherrybaby (2006) and happy endings (2005), top 20s for stranger than fiction (2006), top 30s for world trade center (2006)

charlize theron
2003 - best actress, monster (loses to uma thurman kill bill and scarjo lost in translation)

rachel mcadams
none. top 10s for mean girls (2004) and red eye (2005)

julianne moore
1993 - best supporting actress, short cuts (loses to gong li farewell, my concubine)
1994 - best supporting actress, vanya on 42nd street (loses to uma thurman pulp fiction)
1995 - best actress, safe (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1997 - best supporting actress, boogie nights (loses to sarah polley the sweet hereafter)
1999 - best actress, the end of the affair (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2002 - best actress, far from heaven (loses to samantha morton morvern callar)
top 10s for the big lebowski (1998), the hours (2002), and children of men (2006)

toni collette
1995 - best actress, muriel's wedding (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1999 - best supporting actress, the sixth sense (loses to nicole kidman eyes wide shut)
2002 - best supporting actress, the hours (maybe, as it's a borderline cameo) (loses to catherine zeta-jones, chicago)
top 10s for about a boy (2002) and little miss sunshine (2006), top 15s for japanese story (2004) and in her shoes (2005)

naomi watts
2001 - best actress, mulholland dr. *
top 10 for the painted veil (2006), top 15 for i heart huckabees (2004)

Trailer trash talk.

I saw the Margot at the Wedding trailer. Dude. Academy Award Nominee Jack Black? I think Margot will have Squid and the Whale-level success, in that it'll get some critical recognition, but no Best Picture nomination-type stuff. And, in the trailer, Black schools the morose Kidman and hardly present Jason Leigh. I'd like to see it happen...

Oh, and I did the impossible. I ranked my chosen 100 movies from the AFI list. =/ Citizen Kane is #30! I be talkin' crazy talk! I'll post the list...eventually.

happy birthday to the gorgeous and ridiculously talented...

...Nicole Mary Kidman. GOD, I WANT TO BE HER IN MOULIN ROUGE! SO BADLY. Minus the whole consumption dying-at-the-end thing. But besides that. I love you, Nicole!

Nicole Kidman: re-ranked

So one of my first posts on this blog was a ranking of Nicole Kidman's performances. And well...it is not correct in any way, shape, or form. Time for me to redo that, from best to worst.

1. Dogville
2. Moulin Rouge!
3. Birth
4. To Die For
5. Eyes Wide Shut (the only time I'm able to give her one of my Oscars, sadly)
6. The Others
7. The Hours
8. Fur
9. Portrait of a Lady
10. Bewitched (for serious, it's good)
11. Cold Mountain
12. Birthday Girl
13. The Stepford Wives
14. Batman Forever

or thereabouts.

2001

2001 was a pretty darn good year...I like my top 10 a lot. It's super idiosyncratic, and probably closer to a "favorites" list than a "best" list, but I did hate/dislike a lot of the critics' darlings of this year (Ghost World, Amelie, Donnie Darko...).

Best Picture
1. Moulin Rouge!
2. In the Bedroom
3. Lantana
4. Gosford Park
5. In the Mood for Love
6. Shrek (it's become trendy to hate this movie, but I will always love it)
7. Memento
8. Zoolander (!) (it was my favorite movie until like...last year, when I started seriously wathcing movies. I can't help it.)
9. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10. Bridget Jones' Diary

Best Director
1. Baz Lurhmann for Moulin Rouge!
2. David Lynch for Mulholland Dr.
3. Robert Altman for Gosford Park
4. Wong Kar Wai for In the Mood for Love
5. Stephen Spielberg for AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Christopher Nolan for Memento
7. Todd Field for In the Bedroom
8. Alejandro Amenábar for The Others
9. Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10. Wes Anderson for The Royal Tenenbaums

Best Actor (GREAT year, and I stand by my #1 100%)
1. Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind
2. Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom
3. Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge!
4. Denzel Washington in Training Day
5. Haley Joel Osment in AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Tony Leung in In the Mood for Love
7. Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko
8. Anthony LaPaglia in Lantana
9. Eric Bana in Chopper
10. Jack Nicholson in The Pledge

Best Actress
1. Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr.
2. Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!
3. Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones' Diary (one of the best comedic performances maybe ever)
4. Charlotte Rampling in Under the Sand
5. Nicole Kidman in The Others
6. Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love
7. Lena Endre in Faithless
8. Sissy Spacek in In the Bedroom
9. Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde
10. Brooke Smith in Series 7: The Contenders

Best Supporting Actor
1. Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast
2. Ian McKellen in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Steve Buscemi in Ghost World
4. Jim Broadbent in Moulin Rouge!
5. Jude Law in AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Brian Cox in L.I.E.
7. Jim Broadbent in Iris
8. Tony Shaloub in The Man Who Wasn't There
9. Owen Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums
10. Justin Theroux in Mulholland Dr.

Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly belongs nowhere near this list)
1. Kate Winslet in Iris
2. Marisa Tomei in In the Bedroom
3. Laura Elena Harring in Mulholland Dr.
4. Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums
5. Helen Mirren in Gosford Park
6. Kerry Armstrong in Lantana
7. Maggie Smith in Gosford Park
8. Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World
9. Uma Thurman in Tape
10. Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky

Best Screenplay
1. Lantana
2. In the Bedroom
3. Gosford Park
4. Memento
5. Shrek
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. Together
8. Mulholland Dr.
9. Sexy Beast
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

You probably haven't seen or maybe even heard of Lantana...and that's silly. Go see it now.

That's a neat coinky-dink

Last night I was all excited about Fur, and now, today, it's La Goddess Kidman's birthday. Yay! Since separating from her ex-husband, who then frankly went batshit crazy not unlike his turn in Magnolia, I really do think she has proven herself as an actress (not that she hadn't before, but she really got public notice, along with two Oscar nominations, one which led to a win). Nicole, despite being undoubtedly A-list, is not afraid to do projects approximately five people will see, like Dogville or Birth. She's always good to extremely excellent. She's not the best at comedy (errr... The Stepford Wives anyone?) but she's getting better (I really did love her in Bewitched). My favorite performances of hers:

1. Dogville
2. Moulin Rouge! (pictured above - too fabulous for words.)
3. Birth
4. The Hours
5. To Die For
6. The Hours
7. Eyes Wide Shut
8. Portrait of a Lady
9. The Others
10. Cold Mountain (I think I'm the only person on Earth who liked this movie.)
11. Bewitched
and The Stepford Wives would theoretically be #12, but it's nowhere near as good as these performances (yes, even Bewitched).

Ooh, a substantial post!

Fur

I'm so excited
and I just can't hide it.