The 82nd Academy Awards were announced this morning. Here are all the nominees for this years Oscars.

1. Best Picture: "Avatar," "The Blind Side," "District 9," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "A Serious Man," "Up," "Up in the Air."

2. Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney, "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth, "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"; Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker."

3. Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire"; Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia."

4. Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, "Invictus"; Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"; Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"; Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"; Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds."

5. Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Nine"; Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

6. Directing: James Cameron, "Avatar"; Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air."

7. Foreign Language Film: "Ajami," Israel; "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina; "The Milk of Sorrow," Peru; "Un Prophete," France; "The White Ribbon," Germany.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"; Nick Hornby, "An Education"; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, "In the Loop"; Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air."

9. Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, "The Messenger"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, "Up."

10. Animated Feature Film: "Coraline"; "Fantastic Mr. Fox"; "The Princess and the Frog"; "The Secret of Kells"; "Up."

11. Art Direction: "Avatar," "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," "Nine," "Sherlock Holmes," "The Young Victoria."

12. Cinematography: "Avatar," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "The White Ribbon."

13. Sound Mixing: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Star Trek," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

14. Sound Editing: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Star Trek," "Up."

15. Original Score: "Avatar," James Horner; "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Alexandre Desplat; "The Hurt Locker," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders; "Sherlock Holmes," Hans Zimmer; "Up," Michael Giacchino.

16. Original Song: "Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas; "Take It All" from "Nine," Maury Yeston; "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

17. Costume: "Bright Star," "Coco Before Chanel," "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," "Nine," "The Young Victoria."

18. Documentary Feature: "Burma VJ," "The Cove," "Food, Inc." "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers," "Which Way Home."

19. Documentary (short subject): "China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province," "The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner," "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant," "Music by Prudence," "Rabbit a la Berlin."

20. Film Editing: "Avatar," "District 9," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

21. Makeup: "Il Divo," "Star Trek," "The Young Victoria."

22. Animated Short Film: "French Roast," "Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty," "The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)," "Logorama," "A Matter of Loaf and Death."

23. Live Action Short Film: "The Door," "Instead of Abracadabra," "Kavi," "Miracle Fish," "The New Tenants."

24. Visual Effects: "Avatar," "District 9," "Star Trek."

Source: Associated Press

Eastern Promises

Year: 2007
Director: David Cronenburg
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 100 Mins
Review Rating: 5 Stars


Eastern Promises is the latest film from cult director David Cronenburg. This film also re-teams him with actor Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) who also stared in Cronenburg’s last film, A History of Violence. In Eastern Promises, Mortensen plays a notorious low-key gangster/driver named Nikolai Luzhin. He finds out that his existence has been compromised, when a woman (Naomi Watts) inadvertently discovers a notebook, from a dead girl that has some information that’s incriminates a member of his family and threatens his existence. Soon, his life is threatened as he begins to fear that people wants him dead, as he can’t trust anyone not even his own family. This will lead to murder, deceit and retribution for all those involved. Vincent Cassel (Derailed, Oceans Twelve) and Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine, The X Files movie) co-star in the film.

Eastern Promises is a very dark and gritty gangster film that may not be for everyone, unlike me. I’m really starting to become a Cronenberg fan. He seemed to have gotten away from his trademark weirdness that’s been seen in most of his films like Crash (1996), Naked Lunch, and Videodrome. He’s focusing his efforts mostly on directing these days, instead of writing the films too. I like how he captures the dark atmosphere here, as it goes very well with the subject matter here. He again, like in A History of Violence manages to have the gangsters be creepy villainous characters, which is great and is not seen in many films of this genre. The screenplay was written by, Steven Knight who was nominated for Oscar in 2004 for Dirty Pretty Things. I thought he was very disciplined with the screenplay, as he didn’t rush the story along or try to move it along to the point where you don’t understand anything. He takes his time developing the characters and inserting the back-story of the dead girl within the film, which helps its grittiness and plays a vital role here. Also, I’m very surprised that the filmmakers got away with it’s R rating as there was a fight in the shower with a naked Mortensen, near the end of the film. Usually that’s something that the rating board frowns upon.

What also makes a great gritty gangster film is the acting and it was great here. I thought Viggo Mortensen was perfect for this role, as he deserved his Oscar nomination. He brought that creepy edge to the role, which made it perfect. At times, his character reminded me of Ed Harris in A History Of Violence. He’s up there with Guy Pearce, as one of Hollywood’s most underrated actors. Naomi Watts was very good, as she seemed to capture the innocents of this character, who caught in the middle of this.

Eastern Promises is a very gloomy gangster film that Cronenberg and gangster film films will have the benefit of watching one of the best films of 2007.

"Away From Her"


2007
Rated PG-13
Director: Sarah Polley
Cast: Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis

"I never wanted to be away from her. She had the spirit of life." ~Grant

Away From Her is a gut-wrenching and real love story about a woman and her husband coping with Alzheimer's disease. After 40+ years of wedded bliss, Fiona's memory begins to fail. As her dementia progresses, she needs 24 hour care and her husband, Grant, must check her into a nursing home. Once there, Fiona not only forgets who her husband is, but she begins to develop an affectionate relationship with another patient.

Brilliant casting choices - Julie Christie, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy and especially Gordon Pinsent who narrates the film. His deep voice adds to the gravity and emotion of the story. I was so moved by the devotion of this husband. The acting was exceptional all around. The scene when Fiona asks her husband to make love to her before he leaves was filled with an urgency and sexiness not many actresses that age could pull off. Christie has the beauty and energy of a much younger woman. Plus this gripping drama has just the right amount of humor and charm mixed in.


Hats off to first time director, Sarah Polley. She brought real honesty and sympathy to the lives of these two characters. I hope we'll be seeing more from her. Award-winning director Atom Egoyan produced this film inspired by an Alice Munro story.

The Alzheimer's in this film is kind of a back story... its really more about love and how our selective memory shapes our relationships. It is also a lesson in patience and learning to let go. This movie won't appeal to all audiences. But if you're a Julie Christie fan, this tear-jerker is a must see, especially after her Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination. I give Away From Her 5 out of 5 stars.