The Poscars Ceremony

The “big night” has come and gone. No, not that “big night,” the other “big night.” Last Saturday I presented the Poscars at an exclusive, invite-only soiree on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

For the five of you sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting the results, I present the first ever “PoscarCast Semi-Live Blog.”

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2008, 5:45 PM: Let the cheap beer, one-pound Sumo Burgers and milkshakes flow as I wait for the nominees to stroll up the “Cold Concrete” and into Big Nick’s famed burger joint.

My carefully planned Poscar look is inspired by two finalists: a bath towel to honor clothing nominee “Viggo Mortensen’s Bath Towel” and an Anton “Chigurh-Chic” hairdo.

6:00 PM: Nobody has arrived yet, but I’ll give out a few awards and the first Honorary Poscar to kick off the festivities.

First up, Favorite Picture. The nominees are Atonement, Ratatouille, No Country for Old Men, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

And the Poscar goes to…

No Country for Old Men: It reflects our violent times, yet I don’t see it as a completely hopeless commentary. If that were the case, nobody would question the darkness. The world is cold and unyielding, but the real horror comes when we stop asking why.

The second category of the night is Favorite Performance by a Prop. The nominees are the McLovin ID from Superbad, Coins from No Country for Old Men, Home Pregnancy Tests from Juno/Knocked Up and Razor Blades from Sweeney Todd.

And the Poscar goes to…

The McLovin ID: The funniest thing in a very funny film, the ID also managed to cross over into pop culture to the point of silly government complaints. Reportedly, Wal-Mart removed copies of the special edition Superbad DVD from Hawaii stores after Honolulu’s mayor complained about the inclusion of the fake driver’s license.

I seriously doubt an underage Hawaiian would attempt to use the McLovin ID, but you never know—smart people make mistakes, like the finalists for Dumbest Behavior by a Character Who Should Know Better. The nominees are Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men, when he decides to return to the standoff scene in the middle of the night, Emile Hirsch, when he goes into the wild in Into the Wild and everyone in Before the Devil Knows Your Dead.

And the Poscar goes to…

Josh Brolin: Definitely not a smart move, but I think his decision here—and later when he stays in the hotel room to await Chigurh—is related to the film’s fatalistic and dreamlike quality. It’s telling that Brolin wakes up at the beginning of both scenes. The problem is that once things are set in motion, he can’t awake from the nightmare.

The first Honorary Poscar of the night is The Christopher Walken Award for Outstanding Performance in an Otherwise Bad Movie. This year’s winner is Thomas Haden Church for his lackluster-film-defying portrayal of Sandman/Flint Marko in Spider-Man 3. He can’t save the movie, but he definitely makes it more bearable.

6:45 PM: The waitress is starting to give me attitude since I’m taking up the entire back section of this fine establishment. I offer up several categories—starting with Favorite Director—and the promise of a good tip to keep her from seating other customers. The nominees are Brad Bird for Ratatouille, Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men, Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Tim Burton for Sweeney Todd and Joe Wright for Atonement.

And the Poscar goes to…

The Coen Brothers: Everything about the film is sublime and whether they did it themselves or shaped the work of others, each scene is a testament to their brilliance. I’m not sure I’d call it a peak, because they’ve been doing amazing, memorable work for years, but it’s definitely a showcase.

For Favorite Actress in a Supporting Role, the nominees are Saoirse Ronan in Atonement, Jennifer Jason Leigh in Margot at the Wedding, Jennifer Garner in Juno and Tabu in The Namesake.

And the Poscar goes to…

Saoirse Ronan: Innocent, bossy and dangerously adamant in her skewed vision, she can’t see beyond or comprehend her own mixed-up-pent-up desires. I admired all of these actresses, but was riveted by Ronan as young Briony.

For Favorite Actor in a Supporting Role, the nominees are Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones, both in No Country for Old Men, Irfan Kahn in The Namesake, Michael Biehn in the “Planet Terror” half of Grindhouse and James Marsden in Enchanted.

And the Poscar goes to…

Tommy Lee Jones: A touchstone for an audience that feels as lost and resigned as his character. That’s a lot to ask of an actor and Jones delivers in every way.

7:23 PM: The first guest has arrived! It’s my boyfriend, wearing his “Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan” ensemble and a fetching Dylanesque sneer. He’s just in time for Favorite Performance by an Animated Character. The nominees are Peter O’Toole in Ratatouille and Danielle Darrieux in Persepolis.

And the Poscar goes to…

Peter O’Toole: His vocal performance as food critic Anton Ego is complimented with wonderful character touches, like the portrait of Ego looking blasé and the name of the publication he writes for: The Grim Eater.

The second Honorary Poscar of the night is The Queen Elizabeth Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mimicking a Real Person. This year’s winner is Cate Blanchett, who took on Queen Elizabeth I and Bob Dylan. And of course she earned her first Oscar as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator.

7:45 PM: Still waiting for the nominees to show up, but my curly fries are getting cold, so I better move on to the acting awards. For Favorite Actor the nominees are Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises, Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd, Mathieu Amalric in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and James McAvoy in Atonement.

And the Poscar goes to…

Viggo Mortensen: I’m an admitted Viggomanic, but this was the toughest category for me to choose. Mortensen gives an incredibly layered and enigmatic performance. He nails the Russian accent and we see him raw, bloodied, beaten and in the buff… Hmmmmmm. Sorry, momentary lapse into “Nude Viggo” fantasy land… Anyway, his finest moments are in his face. No, really. The humor that underlies each expression, his observations of others: it’s all there. He creates a real and compelling character out of what another actor may have turned into caricature.

7:55 PM: Alone again, as the boyfriend was miffed at my glazed over Viggo-induced trance. Time for Favorite Actress. The nominees are Laura Linney in The Savages, Ellen Page in Juno, Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose, Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart and Amy Adams in Enchanted.

And the Poscar goes to…

Amy Adams: Commenter Silencio helped clarify my feelings about the performance, writing, “I love how she darkens while retreating from [Patrick Dempsey’s] chest…she bumps into the arm of the chair as she sits down. No more floating and fluttering. She isn’t a fairy tale princess anymore…she’s a woman.” I couldn’t agree more. It isn’t just that Adams is able to earnestly create a “Disney Cartoon.” Like Giselle, she comes to life.

1:50 AM: As you can see from the timestamp I’ve run into a slight snag. Turns out a few of Big Nick’s other patrons claimed my very classy towel look constituted “indecent exposure.” I’ve spent the last several hours “being processed” and have finally convinced a friendly officer to return my laptop so I can share the last two awards of the night.

The nominees for Favorite Performance by an Article of Clothing are the Chef’s Hat in Ratatouille, the Spartan Uniform in 300 and Viggo Mortensen’s bath towel in Eastern Promises.

And the Poscar goes to…

The Chef’s Hat: According to Brad Bird, the hat’s most important feature—that Remy can see through it, but that nobody can see him under it—came about during the filmmaking process. Originally he was supposed to peak out, which never would have worked. A film about a rat chef still stretches credulity well beyond its limits, but within the universe of Ratatouille, the hat does the trick.

Finally, the last award of the night: The Anthony Michael Hall Geek of the Year. While there were plenty of geeky performances to choose from, the real life video game enthusiasts in Donkey Kong documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, impressively proved that even the best actors can’t fake true, epic geekiness.

And with that we’ve reached the “Kill Screen” for this year’s Second Annual Poscars. Here’s to all of this year’s great films and performances. And here’s hoping that at least one of my nominees will show up and bail me out.

The Second Annual Poscars

By Susan Thea Posnock

Even as the fate of this year’s Oscar ceremony hangs in the balance between the glitzy and the clips-y, fans of the former can breathe a deep sigh of relief: The Second Annual Poscars will take place as scheduled.

For those of you who don’t know, the Poscars are the Oscars’ more prestigious and self-indulgent, “father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.” An “expert panel of judges” gives them out. (Translation: Me and me alone, displaying my omniscient power.)

I’d also like to note that Sasha Stone graciously allows me to present my views at her site, but the rumor that she and I are the same person is completely untrue—though I’m flattered by any confusion!

I make the rules and therefore can bend them to my will. Last year I nominated three contenders in each category, but this time I’ve widened the field to include as many as five. This year I’ve also added several “Honorary Poscars” to ensure the “Poscarcast” runs the requisite three and a half hours.

Individual nominees are invited to join me for beers and burgers (the veggie kind if necessary) at Big Nick’s Burger Joint (pictured above) on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Feb. 17. Afterward, James McAvoy and Viggo Mortensen are invited back to my place to “discuss politics.”

And the Finalists are:

Favorite Picture:

Atonement: It captured me from the first notes of its exquisite score and the steady tap of Briony’s typewriter. Everything that follows is just as beautiful—the images, the performances (and yes, the performers). Disguised as an epic romance, its take on storytelling—and its power to obscure and redeem—stayed with me after the lights went up.

No Country for Old Men: The three compelling characters who make up its core—Josh Brolin’s Llewelyn Moss, Tommy Lee Jones’ Ed Tom Bell and Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh—would be enough to make this a very good movie. But the nearly flawless bit players who surround them (from Garret Dillahunt’s hilariously observant deputy Wendell to Kathy Lamkin’s sassy trailer park manager) push the film into greatness.

Ratatouille: The epitome of film magic. Not only does it transform rats into cute critters (and believe me, if you’ve ever seen a real one, you know they’re NOT), but it’s a clever meditation on art and how even the most cynical critics yearn to be moved.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Just because you’ve got a great “triumph over diversity” story doesn’t mean you can make it work. But director Julian Schnabel’s film traps us inside that silent and suffocating diving bell, and lifts us up when we become the butterfly.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: A dark and bloody tale of vengeance that’s flavored with melancholy.

Favorite Performance by a Prop:

The McLovin ID in Superbad: “The guy’s either going think ‘here’s another guy with a fake ID’, or here’s McLovin, 25 year old Hawaiian organ donor.” A great gag, that’s supported by the wonderful Christopher Mintz-Plasse. By the end of the film, he’s earned the McLovin moniker.

Home Pregnancy Tests in Juno and Knocked Up: Now, if only condoms had been a more prominent prop.

Coins in No Country for Old Men: “Call it.” A central element in two of the film’s best scenes, made all the more powerful because they’re so different.

Razor blades in Sweeney Todd: “At last, my arm is complete again!” That’s good news for Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, bad news for everyone else.

Favorite Actor in a Lead Role:

Mathieu Amalric as Jean-Dominique Bauby in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: From his sardonic humor to every deep sigh of frustration, you feel the pain of this trapped but brilliant mind.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood: Somehow manages to make his hateful self-loathing palatable.

Viggo Mortensen as Nikolai in Eastern Promises: Disappears into the role, much as Nikolai drowns into the world of Russian mobsters that lurk in the London underworld.

Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd: What he lacks in technical ability as a singer is more than compensated for by his gravitas as an actor.

James McAvoy as Robbie Turner in Atonement: The film’s main story thread focuses on Briony’s lifelong betrayal, regret and redemption, but McAvoy’s object of youthful desire sets it all in motion.

Favorite Actress in a Lead Role:

Laura Linney as Wendy Savage in The Savages: Selfish and self-delusional, yet Linney still manages to make you care.

Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff in Juno: The first 30 minutes or so are all distancing cool, but slowly and effectively, Page reveals the cracks in Juno’s Daria-like façade.

Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose: Like Forest Whitaker last year, it’s more possession than performance.

Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart: I dreaded seeing this film, having vividly remembered Daniel Pearl’s tragic story. But I think Jolie’s touching portrayal honors his memory.

Amy Adams as Giselle in Enchanted: It’s like she swapped brains with a 5-year-old who dreams of being a Disney Princess. The end result is uncanny and very funny.

Favorite Performance by an Animated Character:

Peter O’Toole as Anton Ego in Ratatouille: Oh the glorious snobbery. The film’s best moment doesn’t work without him.

Danielle Darrieux as Marjane’s Grandmother in Persepolis: The perfect balance of love and firmness, and I’m not talking about the trick she uses to keep her boobs from sagging—but that’s also classic.

Favorite Actor in a Supporting Role:

Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men: One friend called his villainy here “one note,” but despite his purely evil ways, I think Bardem layers the performance with Chigurh’s twisted logic.

Tommy Lee Jones as Ed Tom Bell in No Country for Old Men: I don’t think the film would be bearable without his steady presence.

Irfan Kahn as Ashoke Ganguli in The Namesake: Quiet and impressive as he conveys a father’s wisdom, hesitancy, and regret.

Michael Biehn as Sheriff Hague in the “Planet Terror” half of Grindhouse: I fully admit to a certain amount of 1980s-crush bias here, but Biehn is hilarious as he tries to save the world and his own ass.

James Marsden as Prince Edward in Enchanted: His excessively charming prince is pitched perfectly: The broad, brilliant smile, the twinkle in his eye. Parodies are hit or miss, but here the sincerity makes it work.

Favorite Actress in a Supporting Role:

Saoirse Ronan as Briony Tallis, aged 13, in Atonement: I was going to cheat here and present a three-way tie that also included Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave, but in the end it’s Ronan’s performance I can’t shake.

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Pauline in Margot at the Wedding: Nails that persistent and nagging need for approval from a sibling, seasoning it with a strong dose of resentment.

Jennifer Garner as Vanessa Loring in Juno: Isn’t teen pregnancy funny? Yes, in this movie it manages to be. But Garner grounds the jokes with real emotion.

Tabu as Ashima Ganguli in The Namesake: Delicate and bold, whether she’s trying on the shoes of her future husband—a man she’s about to meet for the first time—or returning to her homeland to re-find her voice.

Favorite Director:

Brad Bird for Ratatouille: Continues to create works that shouldn’t be relegated to the Academy’s animation ghetto. Original director Jan Pinkava—who came up with the initial concept—also deserves mention.

Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men: Film renaissance men at their finest.

Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Makes the “un-filmable” soar off the screen.

Joe Wright for Atonement: Creates a beautiful and complex tapestry. The Dunkirk retreat in particular is a tour de force.

Tim Burton for Sweeney Todd: Returns to the form of his best works, maintaining a tone that keeps the gore (and the less than stellar singing) from overwhelming the beautiful bleakness of Todd’s tale.

Favorite Performance by an Article of Clothing:

The Chef’s Hat in Ratatouille: The plot device that makes it all work.

The Spartan Uniform (or lack-thereof) in 300: Yeah, this one is all about man candy.

Viggo Mortensen’s bath towel in Eastern Promises: Effectively (and realistically) disappears.

Dumbest behavior by a character that should know better:

Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss in No Country, when he decides to return to the standoff scene—in the middle of the night—with “agua.” And while we’re at it, when he discovers the moneybag has a tracking device, why not just ditch it and get out of the room before Chigurh can blast the door in?

Emile Hirsch as Chris McCandless, when he decides to go into the wild in Into the Wild. (And yes, I realize that it’s a true story—still dumb and all the more tragic.)

Everyone in Before the Devil Knows Your Dead: From the mom’s Rambo-act during the jewelry store robbery to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s decision to go to a fence that could recognize him, they make the wrong choices at every turn.

Honorary Poscars

I’ve already picked my favorites—which I’ll reveal during the “official” ceremony—but feel free to share your choices in the following honorary categories:

The Queen Elizabeth Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mimicking a Real Person

The Christopher Walken Award for Outstanding Performance in an Otherwise Bad Movie

The Anthony Michael Hall Geek of the Year Award

So there you have it. Overall, I’d say 2007 was a very strong year for cinema. Keep in mind that these are personal favorites—I admired a number of other films and performances, these simply registered the most for me. Please feel free to join the Poscar celebration by sharing your own choices (and honorary awards) in the comments.

*First posted on Awards Daily.

Poscar Winners!

By Susan Thea Posnock

It's too late. No matter who wins the First Annual
Poscars, the ballots for those other little awards,
(hint: rhymes with Poscars), have been cast.

I planned to offer up my personal favorites of 2006 on
Valentine's Day, but I was too busy trying to decide
what to wear to the big event. And while it's true
that the "big event" only entailed my sitting alone in
front of my computer, you just never know. Perhaps
ThinkFilm, in their infinite wisdom, planned to have
Ryan Gosling personally deliver a screener of Half
Nelson to my door. Or what if Joan Rivers decided
to stop by and see what designer I was wearing? (For
the record: Gap sweats.)

But enough preamble: no need to sit through three
hours of bad production numbers and rambling speeches.
In fact, I'll start with the "big one."

Best Picture

The nominees are:

Volver
The Departed
The Last King of Scotland

And the Poscar goes to:

Volver: I tend to be impulsive about these
things and right now I'm caught up in the flush of a
"movie crush." Pedro Amodovar's complex, melodramatic,
funny, quasi-feminist fairytale makes me want to rush
up and kiss it (loudly and exuberantly) on both
cheeks.

Best Performance by a Prop

The nominees are:

Cell phones, The Departed
Yellow VW bus, Little Miss Sunshine
The painting, Duck Season

And the Poscar goes to:

Yellow VW bus: It was unfair to place the family bus
in the prop category, but where else to put it? Best
vehicle? Best Transportation? Regardless, no other
prop contributed more. It's literally and figuratively
the vehicle for the plot. It takes the characters on
their journey and presents challenges that unite and
divide them. Cinema road trips are a dime a dozen, but
the bus (and the fine actors trapped in it or dashing
along side) make this one special.

Best Actor

The nominees are:

Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Clive Owen, Children of Men
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

And the Poscar goes to:

Forest Whitaker: Of all the performances in 2006, none
stayed with me longer. The fact that Whitaker is so
soft-spoken in real life adds to the impact of seeing
him explode on camera. It may be popular to bestow
awards on actors who bring historical figures to life,
but I'm not honoring an imitation (I wouldn't be
familiar enough with Idi Amin to know how accurate the
portrayal is anyway). This is a great performance,
period.

Best Actress

The nominees are:

Penelope Cruz, Volver
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada

And the Poscar goes to:

Penelope Cruz: This performance-so vibrant, sexy,
funny and smart-is like the fulfillment of the filmic
crush I've had on Cruz since Belle Epoque.
Perhaps those pent up feelings factor into my choice,
but I still think her Raimunda is perfection.

Best Performance by an Animated
Character

The nominees are:

Robert Downey Jr., A Scanner Darkly
Steve Carell, Over the Hedge
Steve Buscemi, Monster House

And the Poscar goes to:

Robert Downey Jr.: Offers up among my favorite line
readings--both live action and animated--of the year.

Best Supporting Actor

The nominees are:

Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Steve Carell, Little Miss Sunshine
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

And the Poscar goes to:

Steve Carell: I re-watched Little Miss
Sunshine recently and was even more impressed
with how his performance shifts from near dead to
dancing machine over the course of the film. He
underplays the transition beautifully. That's probably
one reason why (unfortunately) those other awards
failed to recognize him.

Best Supporting Actress

The nominees are:

Carmen Maura, Volver
Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada
Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson

And the Poscar goes to:

Carmen Maura: Yes, the Volver love-fest
continues. This was a close one with Epps, but
ultimately I had to go with the comic depths of
Maura's portrayal. She's so sublimely flawed, yet
irresistible.

Best Director

The nominees are:

Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Pedro Almodovar, Volver
Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men

And the Poscar goes to:

Martin Scorsese: Even as Volver surpassed
The Departed as my favorite film of 2006,
Scorsese comes out on top with bravura filmmaking. I
watched the movie on DVD last week and I was even more
impressed by how it relentlessly (and skillfully)
pulls the audience along the edge. The adrenaline rush
ultimately negates the problems (less pronounced on a
second viewing) I have with the ending. I can't
imagine anyone but Scorsese blending this story, these
actors and all the other ingredients so expertly. (And
yes, I've seen Infernal Affairs, the film
it's based on.)

Best Performance by an Article of
Clothing

The nominees are:

Stretchy pants worn by Jack Black, Nacho
Libre
Coats tossed by Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears
Prada
Push-up bras worn by Penelope Cruz, Volver

And the Poscar goes to:

Stretchy pants: The pants take the prize, but the
costumes in Nacho Libre were inspired across
the board. This surreally stupid comedy was also among
the most underappreciated of the year. Perhaps a
guilty pleasure and acquired taste, but no film made
me giggle more in 2006. And if I were adding the
category of "Best Weapon" to the Poscars, corn on a
cob would surely win.

Dumbest behavior by a character that should
know better (Possible spoilers)

The nominees are:

Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) for sleeping with one
of the wives of his crazy dictator boss, The Last
King of Scotland

Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) for eating grapes at the Pale
Man's buffet, Pan's Labyrinth

Tobacco industry spokesman Nick Naylor (Aaron
Eckhart), for sleeping with the reporter who's doing a
profile on him, Thank You for Smoking

And the Poscar goes to:

Nick Naylor: Not only is he presented as the smartest
of the three, he's a master of spin and should be
savvy enough to know that words have consequences.

****

So that wraps up this year's Poscars. I apologize for
the delay. Hope it didn't put a damper on any
Poscar-reading parties or Poscar prognostication
pools.

I'm sure the nominees who didn't win were comforted by
the fact that they didn't have to wear a perma-grin
and clap politely as someone else walked up to claim
their Poscar. Better luck next year.

Speaking of which, I'm the queen of procrastination.
Those of you who wish to influence the 2nd Annual
Poscars should start now.

*Originally posted on OscarWatch (Awards Daily)

The First Annual "Poscars"

By Susan Thea Posnock

Yes, the Academy Awards are important, but I know that
in secret [perhaps super-duper secret] what people in
the film world really yearn for this time of year
isn't the Oscar. It's the Poscar.

What? You've never heard of it? Well, okay, I did just
make it up. But if Martin Scorsese is brutally denied
another directing Oscar for The Departed, he
will rest easy knowing this was the year he snagged
the Poscar.

In coming up with these "prestigious" awards, I must give credit to my friend Nathaniel over at The Film Experience, whose brilliant (and recently completed) Film Bitch Awards provided inspiration.

Unlike the Oscars, the Poscars have only three nominees per category. I'll announce the winners around Valentine's Day in honor of my true love, the world of cinema. This will also allow me to wield my unstoppable influence over those voting on the Oscars. While I promise to use this awesome power for good, I'm willing to go to the dark side in exchange for a "pow wow" with James McAvoy, Ryan Gosling and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The nominees are:

Best Picture:

Volver: It took more than a year, but I
finally fell in love again. (Don't get
excited mom, with a movie not a man.)

While watching this lush slice of melodrama from Pedro
Almodóvar, my mouth watered at the feast before me.
The colors, the performances, the food and the music
combine to make a beautiful and complex buffet. The
film demonstrates that some of the most moving
cinematic experiences come from humor, not pure drama.

The Departed: If Volver made me love
again, this cops and thugs thriller broke my heart.
That's because for about three-quarters of its running
time I was on the brink, enraptured by the kinetic
storytelling with its sharp acting and dialog. But in
its last half hour, I felt it needed a bullet to the
head. I was so disappointed in the dénouement, it
nearly spoiled the entire film for me—but not quite.

The Last King of Scotland: My third contender
was an endurance test of a film that has haunted me
since I screened it more than two months ago. It felt
a little like Malcolm McDowell's eyes-pried-open
moment in A Clockwork Orange: I wanted to
look away, but those images—and that tornado of a
performance from Forest Whitaker, held me transfixed.

Best Performance by a Prop:

Cell phones, The Departed: They rang! They
texted! They bled! Plus, they helped Leonardo DiCaprio
communicate with the dead.

Yellow VW bus, Little Miss Sunshine:
Miraculously manages to be funny (good mileage?)
throughout the film.

The painting, Duck Season: Perhaps it's a bit
too tidy, but I found its representation of reality
(divorce and separation) and escape (a tranquil
environment) moving. It was a good year for Mexican
filmmakers and this debut from writer/director
Fernando Eimbcke didn't get as much notice as some
others—but it should.

Best Actor:

Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson: I've already
waxed poetic about Gosling's
soulful eyes, but his portrayal of a
crack-addicted schoolteacher is much more than that.
(Though the eyes don't hurt matters.)

Clive Owen, Children of Men: If I'm ever in
the midst of a dystopian universe, I'll want Owen's
Theo by my side. His unconventional action hero made
me feel safe.

Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland:
He cannot be denied. I've seen his Idi Amin described
as a possession more than a performance. I agree.
Whether exploding with anger or speaking softly,
Whitaker uses his imposing stature to menacing effect.


Overall, this was probably the toughest category to
whittle down to three. Just missing were Leonardo
DiCaprio (for The Departed) and James McAvoy
in The Last King of Scotland.

Best Actress:

Penelope Cruz, Volver: I've actually loved
Cruz since I first saw her in 1992's Belle
Époque, so it has been disheartening to see her
career meander in English-speaking roles. But she
survived Tom Cruise and now, as Raimunda, shows the
world that she's much more than a babe. (But she is a
babe, and the film gloriously celebrates that fact.)

Helen Mirren, The Queen: I think the biggest
flaw in this performance is how easy she makes it
look. I even struggled with whether or not it should
make my top three, but when it came down to it, it was
just too good to leave off. She's the Queen, period.

Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada: If
Mirren rules the British monarchy, Streep is the Bitch
Queen of Fashion. The last time I loved a hateful boss
this much was when Sigourney Weaver ruled over
Working Girl.

Just missing: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls:
While Oscar has chosen to consider Hudson in
supporting, I found her Effie so central to the real
story—and the heart of the film, that I couldn't see
her as anything but the lead. The biggest testament to
her success is how deflated the film feels without
her.

Best Performance by an Animated
Character:

Robert Downey Jr., A Scanner Darkly: Forget
the jittery animation and nonsensical Philip K. Dick
"plot." Downey Jr. offered up some of the best line
readings of the year. My personal favorite was his
take on the word "murdered."

Steve Carell, Over the Hedge: His hyperactive
Hammy the squirrel was my favorite, but what looked
like celebrity stunt casting on paper (William
Shatner, Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling) actually
produces fine voice work across the board.

Steve Buscemi, Monster House: Finds the
layers (yes, really) in cranky/scary old
Nebbercracker.


Best Supporting Actor:

Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children: Utterly
creepy, yet still manages some sympathy. That's not
easy to pull off.

Steve Carell, Little Miss Sunshine: Like the
entire cast, takes what could have been a cliché and
turns him into a fully fleshed out character. Bonus
points for Proust.

Mark Wahlberg, The Departed: Turns the
delivery of foul-mouthed (hilarious) dialogue into an
art form.

Best Supporting Actress:

Carmen Maura, Volver: I didn't feel the
emotion at first, since the character is so
wonderfully comic. By the end of the film, it's as
strong as those winds in La Mancha.

Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada:
Acid-tongued, yet you can still see the insecure,
belittled career-gal beneath the surface. Also
delivers one of the year's best lines: "I'm one
stomach flu away from reaching my goal weight."

Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson: Not only commands
the screen as well as her experienced and charismatic
co-stars, but perfectly embodies the territory
somewhere between naïve child and knowing adult.

Best Director:

Martin Scorsese, The Departed: For creating a
jolt of a film, propelled by his sure hand.

Pedro Almodóvar, Volver: Considering its
plot—an audience member in the row behind me called it
"contrived" and that's an apt description—he gives it
just the right tone. A lesser director would choke on
the material.

Alfonso Cuarón, Children of Men: Quickly
becoming among my favorite filmmakers. Finds the
humanity in this bleak story, without being heavy
handed.

Best Performance by an Article of Clothing:


Stretchy pants worn by Jack Black, Nacho
Libre: "When you are a man, sometimes you wear
stretchy pants in your room." Enough said.

Coats tossed by Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears
Prada: Perfectly and comically conveys the "you
are as significant as a coat hanger" attitude of the
ultimate difficult, diva boss toward her employees.

Push-up bras worn by Penelope Cruz, Volver:
Va va voom.

Dumbest behavior by a character that should
know better: (Possible Spoilers)

Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) for sleeping with one
of the wives of his crazy dictator boss, The Last
King of Scotland: Character thought process: "On
one hand this Amin dude is kind of paranoid and
psychotic. On the other hand, his wife is hot. Plus
he's got so many wives, he won't care or do anything
drastic if he finds out, right?"

Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) for eating grapes at the Pale
Man's buffet, Pan's Labyrinth: Character
thought process: "I know the faun explicitly told me
not to eat anything from the buffet and these
grapes don't look very tasty, plus there's a creepy
looking Pale Man at the head of the table, but what
the heck, I'm a princess!"

Tobacco industry spokesman Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart)
for sleeping with the reporter who's doing a profile
on him, Thank You for Smoking: Character
thought process: "There's no way some hot young
reporter is going to get the better of me...what's
that, you want me to explain the intimate workings of
the tobacco industry while we're having sex?
Kinky."

Honorable mention goes to almost every character in
Babel.

Special cross-reference film moment of the
year:

Vehicles that won't start: Little Miss
Sunshine and Children of Men

Thoughts on who should win (and any additional extra
categories) are welcome.

*Originally posted on OscarWatch (Awards Daily)