The Movie Buffer

Sunday, February 25, 2007

The Golden Rasberry “Winners” Are…

Three films last year pretty much swept the board at the Razzies this year. Basic Instinct 2 (dubbed - Basically, it stinks, too! with 4 trophies), Little Man(with 3 trophies)and Lady in the Water (with 2 trophies) all had multiple “wins” and they were certainly deserved. The other films that were dishonored Saturday night were: RV, Date Movie and Scary Movie 4. Here’s the list of Razzies for 2006. Enjoy!

Worst Picture:
Basic Instinct 2 - Sony/Columbia

Worst Actress:
Sharon Stone - Basic Instinct 2

Worst Actor:
Marlon Wayans & Shawn Wayans - Little Man

Worst Supporting Actress:
Carmen Electra - Date Movie and Scary Movie 4

Worst Supporting Actor:
M. Night Shyamalan - Lady in the Water

Worst Director:
M. Night Shyamalan - Lady in the Water

Worst Screen Couple:
Shawn Wayans & either Kerry Washington or Marlon Wayans – Little Man

Worst Remake Or Rip-off:
Little Man - (Rip-off of the 1954 Bugs Bunny cartoon "Baby Buggy Bunny")

Worst Prequel or Sequel:
Basic Instinct 2

Worst Screenplay:
Basic Instinct 2

Worst Excuse for Family Entertainment: (New Category, Saluting the Celebs We're ALL Sick & Tired Of!)
RV

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Oscar 2007 Picks: Yet another list...

Here's my list of Oscar picks and dark horse contenders. Let's hope Ellen can keep the show rolling and on time so I can have something for you on monday (knock on wood).

Performance by an actor in a leading role

My pick: Forest Whitaker
in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)
Dark Horse: Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

My pick: Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Dark Horse: Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

My Pick: Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Dark Horse: Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

My Pick: Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Dark Horse: Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)

Best animated feature film of the year

My Pick: “Cars” (Buena Vista) John Lasseter
Dark Horse: “Monster House” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Gil Kenan

Achievement in art direction

My Pick:“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Dark Horse: “The Prestige” (Buena Vista)

Achievement in cinematography

My Pick: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Guillermo Navarro
Dark Horse: “The Black Dahlia” (Universal) Vilmos Zsigmond

Achievement in costume design

My Pick: “Curse of the Golden Flower” (Sony Pictures Classics) Yee Chung Man
Dark Horse: “Marie Antoinette” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Milena Canonero

Achievement in directing

My Pick:“The Departed” (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
Dark Horse: “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu

Best documentary feature

My Pick: “An Inconvenient Truth” (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
Dark Horse:“Jesus Camp” (Magnolia Pictures)

Best documentary short subject

My Pick: “Recycled Life
Dark Horse: “The Blood of Yingzhou District


Achievement in film editing

My Pick: “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Dark Horse: “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)

Best foreign language film of the year

My Pick:“Pan’s Labyrinth” Mexico
Dark Horse: "The Lives of Others” Germany

Achievement in makeup

My Pick: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) David Martí and Montse Ribé
Dark Horse: “Apocalypto” (Buena Vista) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

My Pick:“The Good German” (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
Dark Horse: “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

My Pick:“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
Dark Horse:“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”

Best motion picture of the year

My Pick: “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Dark Horse: “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated short film

My Pick:“The Danish Poet” (National Film Board of Canada)
Dark Horse: “Lifted” (Buena Vista)

Best live action short film

My Pick: “The Saviour” (Australian Film Television and Radio School)
Dark Horse: “West Bank Story

Achievement in sound editing

My Pick: “Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Dark Horse: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)

Achievement in sound mixing

My Pick: “Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Dark Horse: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)

Achievement in visual effects

My Pick: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Dark Horse: “Superman Returns” (Warner Bros.)

Adapted screenplay

My Pick: “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Dark Horse: “Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (20th Century Fox)

Original screenplay

My Pick: “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Dark Horse: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)



Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Oscar Picks!

Oh, how the time flies! This will be the second Academy Awards that I cover ( last year, my accuracy at picking the winners was approx 50%) and to mark this occasion, I am going to be making two lists, one of my picks and the other of dark horses that may just squeak in. I’ll be posting a more comprehensive list later but for now, here are the picks for the big five categories:


Best Actor:

Actors that can realistically portray human frailty and dramatic personal growth usually win this award.

My pick: Forest Whitaker

Dark horse: Ryan Golsing


Best Actress:

Actresses who play strong female role models that have both a sensitive and an authoritative side usually win this award.

My pick: Helen Mirren

Dark horse: Penelope Cruz


Best Director:

This one usually goes to the director of the film that is the runner up for the Best Picture.

My pick: Martin Scorsese – The Departed (but not out of pity for Scorsese, this really was his best since Casino)

Dark horse: Alejandro González Iñárritu – Babel


Best Foreign Film:

This category is wide open. Sometimes, art films win, other times, films that generate large box office revenues win. This one is a crap shoot at best when it comes to patterns.

My pick: Pan’s Labyrinth

Dark horse: Water


Best Picture:

Usually, Films picked for this category has had some impact on film making or the film industry in general, but this year the nominees are smaller indie type films.

My pick: Babel

Dark horse: Little Miss Sunshine