The Year of Testosterone

When I look back at 2007, I will always view it as the year of complete cinematic testosterone. If you look at many of the front runners for Best Picture; No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Into the Wild, and Michael Clayton, they feature testosterone heavy casts in testosterone heavy worlds. Last time I checked oil, hit men, corporate lawyers, and people anointing themselves with the last name Supertramp weren't exactly bringing the most feminine of images to mine.

Even movies at the periphery of this year's Oscar race such as American Gangster, 3:10 to Yuma, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, The Assassination of Jesse James... and even Superbad, and Transformers were about boys being boys.

You know that when one of the front runners in Best Supporting Actress is actually playing a man, that this year at the movies was truly the year of the man.

In the categories of Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor there are at least 10 legitimate strong contenders in each category that could receive nominations. I expect the only feminine presence in either of these categories, that is of course gender bending John Travolta's Edna Turnblad, to be snubbed in favor of far more masculine Tommy Lee Jones' Sheriff in No Country for Old Men or Philip Seymour Hoffman's CIA Agent in Charlie Wilson's War.

Both Actress categories on the other hand have only three strong contenders in each race and seem to be having problems filling the other two spots for a lack of crystal clear nomination worthy performances. In 2007 men definitely ruled with their cattle stun guns, oil pipelines, and infamous trips to spa. It could even be that three male performances win Oscars in 2007.

So who was the year's most important on screen female? Who wins the cinematic I AM WOMAN, HERE ME ROAR award in 2007? Well that would be a 16 year old pregnant teen named Juno. Honest to blog!

The State of the Race: Best Actor

The last few Best Actor races have had clear cut favorites steam roll through the awards circuit. Of course I am talking about the trio Jamie Foxx, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Forrest Whitaker.

This year it seems to be quite similar with Daniel Day Lewis' oil tycoon Daniel Plainview monopolizing the awards the same way his character monopolizes the black gold wells in Texas.

I would say it would be safe to call the race over, however I thought the same way five years ago when Day Lewis' Bill the Butcher looked like he would take his meat cleaver all the way to the podium. That was until Adrien Brody made a late surge and won the award.

I still expect Day Lewis to win for his monumental performance. His Howard Hughes-esque descent into madness is something truly spectacular.

I expect the four other nominees to be George Clooney (who might have stood a chance had he not won a handful of years ago), Viggo Mortensen, Johnny Depp (even though Sweeney is slipping very quickly), and Emile Hirsch.

Daniel Day Lewis and Clooney are locks. The other three could be subsituted in any order with James McAvoy (who does nothing to warrant any attention in Atonement) or Ryan Gosling (which would be a lovely surprise and a deserved nomination).

If there is a complete surprise in this category it could come in the form of Frank Langella, Tommy Lee Jones, or Josh Brolin (who should get a nod for his superb 75% non verbal performance.)

Now who's my personal vote in this category. While I can't help but give my own personal tip of the hat to Day Lewis, I would probably vote to Hirsch whose performance was as equally fascinating as his on screen persona.

D G A = Doesn't Get Atonement

DGA Noms were announced today and here's the list:

Coens - No Country for Old Men
PT Anderson- There Will Be Blood
Sean Penn - Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton


Notice how Tim Burton and Joe Wright were dissed. Both Atonement and Sweeney Todd were absent from the SAG race as well. Sweeney's stock is falling quickly with SAG and DGA slaps in the face and meager box office results. I'm surprised that There Will Be Blood and the Diving Bell... are doing so well considering how late they entered the Oscar race. Remember how Pan's Labyrinth and Children Of Men suffered from late entry-titis last year? DGA loves actors so I am not shocked to see Penn in the mix.

Next up the already infamous Globes press conference...

Critics Choice Awardzzz

Everyone who you thought would win, did. Christie beats Cotillard again.

It was boring and uneventful. Except Nikki Blonsky winning Best Younger Actress and Juno winning Best Comedy. I have nothing else to say.

DGA Predictions

The director's guild nominates its five favorite directors tomorrow. This race is particularly interesting because it could go so many different ways. Will they honor veteran Sidney Lumet? Will they go for Julian Schnabel and Paul Thomas Anderson who have come on strong in the final stretch? Will they snub Tim Burton and Joe Wright, whose films were snubbed by SAG? Will they honor Jason Reitman, whose screenwriter and lead have hogged all the attention? Will they go for actor/director Sean Penn? We'll wait and see...

Until then here are my predictions:

The Coen Brothers - No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Tim Burton - Sweeney Todd
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joe Wright - Atonement

There Will Be Critic Awards!

The final major critics award was announced over the weekend with The National Board of Review choosing There Will Be Blood for picture and director and the most usual suspects in the acting categories.

None of the four critics groups picked anything shocking or surprising, making it for kind of bland year. I was hoping for say a Jennifer Garner win in Supporting Actress or a Josh Brolin win in Best Actor, but alas it didn't happen.

Here are the winners:

Best Pic - There Will Be Blood
Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Actor - Daniel Day Lewis
Best Actress - Julie Christie
Best Supporting Actor - Casey Affleck
Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett.

No Country for Old Men was the runner up in many categories. Javier Bardem and Amy Ryan were runner ups in the Supporting Categories. Further cementing all thre as the front runners. I am still not digging all this Julie Christie love/lack of Marion Cotillard love. Now we move onto the Golden Globes or simply a press release saying who won the golden globes... more on that later.

D'Juno who's going to win?

Sometimes I have a Oscar hunch. Sometimes I am way off, but sometimes I hit the nail on the head. This year my early hunch is that Ellen Page will walk away with the Oscar. She will become the youngest Best Actress winner ever, besting Marlee Martlin's win by more than a year. A twenty year old Best Actress winner might be considered a bit of a stretch. But here's why I have hunch.

The buzz for Juno is huge right now. When I was at the movie theatre last night both showings were sold out. Everyone is calling Juno, this year's Little Miss Sunshine. But I strongly disagree with this statement. I think that Juno has twice the screenplay and ten times the heart that Little Miss Sunshine had. Little Miss Sunshine also didn't have a monumental breakout performance like Juno does. Sure Abi Breslin and Alan Arkin were great. However, we all knew that Little Miss Sunshine was an ensemble effort. Hell, if there was a star in Little Miss Sunshine it was that damned yellow van. When people come out of Juno they do not forget Ellen Page. There is a difference between these two movies in that huge performance.

Back to my hunch, I also think people like Juno more than Little Miss Sunshine. I think that they'll want to reward it come Oscar time. Sure, Diablo Cody will win for Original Screenplay (50% for her Screenplay and 50% for her stripperella story). But if they really want to reward it, why not an Ellen Page win while there at it.

If voters can't decide between Julie Christie or Marion Cotillard. They will most likely go with Page. There are tons of reasons how Christie and Cotillard would turn voters away from the top prize. If you were a voter would you want to sit through a screener of a depressing Alzheimer's movie or a two hour+ Edith Piaf biopic or would you want a quirky 90 minute comedy that's all the buzz with the kids? Also voters could be swayed by the fact that Julie Christie has an Oscar and that Marion Cotillard is in a foreign language film. The last (and only) win for Best Actress in a Foreign Language film was Sophia Loren in 1961!

Buzz plays a huge part in the Oscar race. Often times people vote for who they think they should vote for, not necessarily who has delivered the best performance. My hunch and the buzz this moment all point to Page. Now we'll see if I am way off or if I hit the nail on the head.