By Paul Hansen

Films are often interesting because they reflect the cultural currents of their times. Few subjects are as topical or controversial (in some quarters) as the subject of same sex couples who have children.The new film The Kids Are All Right delves directly into the subject. The film stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore who are a lesbian couple that were both artificially inseminated by the sperm of the same donor. The film opens as their two teenage children track down their biological father (played by Mark Ruffalo) and introduce him into the family fold, creating complex and unpredictable situations.

The Kids Are All Right has the feel of a documentary, accentuated by the occasional use of hand held cameras. In its emphasis on realism, there isn’t a single scene in the film that seems improbable or overly drawn (at least to this reviewer). With the addition of the biological father in the family set-up, all of the characters are venturing into emotional terra incognita. The film realistically depicts the tentative, step by step reactions of the characters to their altered emotional and social landscape.

While there is plenty of humor in The Kids Are All Right, little of it seems forced or artificial. Much of the comedy in current Hollywood films functions on a very adolescent level and it would have been so easy for this film to descend into cheap, sit-com laughs. Fortunately, the movie avoids this trap.

There has been much speculation about a possible Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Annette Bening, who plays the “dominant” partner in her relationship with Julianne Moore. Bening’s performance is impressive because it refuses to play to extremes or rely on clichés or stereotypes. It is a portrayal that does not overtly call attention to itself except through its subtlety and attention to detail. However, the very lack of flamboyance in Bening’s performance and the summer release may cause her portrayal to be overlooked by the Motion Picture Academy, particularly since its nominating process will not occur for some time.

Julianne Moore always has an interesting screen presence. She admirably plays Bening’s somewhat more unfocused partner and there has also been Oscar talk about her performance. Both Moore and Bening demonstrate at discrete moments in the film that emotional pain can take on a virtual physical quality. Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson (as the children) demonstrate a sense of proportion in their roles similar to the two female leads. An almost improvisatory atmosphere permeates most of the actors’ performances, heightening the film’s realistic ambiance.

Credit is also due to director and writer Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg (additional writer) for their artful restraint. Social films of this type often push a particular agenda. Crude proselytization is avoided. The creators of the film seem comfortable with ambiguity and the relationship between Bening and Moore ultimately takes a surprising, ambivalent turn.

The Kids Are All Right demonstrates that Cupid’s arrows fly in many different directions, causing desire, pain and confusion on a multitude of levels. Regardless of a viewer’s position on same sex relationships, the film at least flatters the human heart by depicting it intelligently and sensitively.

At times brutally honest and poignant, at times forcefully contrived and maudlin, Rodrigo Garcia’s Mother and Child follows the lives of three women, connected to each other in some way through adoption, each one seeking escape from an emptiness that defines them. Solid performances carry the film through a script that wavers too often into melodrama and wraps up far too neatly for characters that are refreshingly chaotic.

Annette Bening portrays Karen, 37 years after she gave up her baby for adoption. Now saddled by a dying mother, a mediocre career and a lonely existence, her life is utterly consumed by thoughts of the daughter she gave up. Outwardly, she is frigid and often harsh, lashing out at those who dare try to penetrate her prickly veneer, including potential love interest Jimmy Smits. At a time when many actresses struggle to know how to handle playing their age, Bening is improving exponentially. In a lesser actress’ hands Karen might be relegated to a series of nervous ticks and neurotic outbursts that seem to define her. But Bening gives Karen an understated nuance, a glow behind her harsh eyes that betrays a deep longing within her. It is this vulnerability that makes the scenes between her and Smits so earnest, and carries the film through its weaker moments.

As Elizabeth, the daughter given up by Karen, Naomi Watts has never been better. At times simultaneously devilish, seductive, and genuinely fragile, Elizabeth is a study in blunt contradiction. A successful lawyer who refuses to settle, an aimless drifter with a pattern of returning to her hometown, a passionate lover with an icy affection, Elizabeth harbors a seething anger at the mother she never knew. Her seduction of her boss, played pitch-perfectly by Samuel L. Jackson is as sad as it is graphic. Like Karen, a new relationship has an unexpected affect on Elizabeth, bringing her closer her to her mother in a way that is subtle and surprising.

The film could rest entirely on the strength of these two characters and their mesmerizing connection. Instead, the filmmaker detours into all too familiar territory, by giving the audience yet another heavy handed story determined to force the audience to see connections that simply aren’t that interesting. The film tries to be an exploration of adoption and it’s affects, but overall doesn’t make any more or less profound statements than last year’s Orphan. Kerry Washington is miscast as the all too eager adoptive mother, who plays the role with a youthful vigor that makes her desperation for a baby feel implausible. S. Epatha Merkerson gives a solid performance as her all-knowing mother, and as the teen mother on the verge of giving up her unborn baby, Shareeka Epps proves she is a newcomer worthy of holding her own with these actresses.

Fresh off the heels of his success with Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her, Nine Lives and the HBO series “In Treatment”, director Garcia shines as a filmmaker adept at bringing audiences inside the most intimate moments of his characters’ lives. While he succeeds at bringing great performances out of his talented cast, he fails to execute his overall vision by relying too much on dramatic tricks best saved for soap operas. Bening has crafted a character that resonates with frightening realism, yet when forced into all-too convenient tear-jerker scenarios, the realness of her portrayal crumbles. (Karen’s relationship with the daughter of her mother’s caretaker is a corny plot device better suited for “Melrose Place”.) Forced into situations that frankly just don’t seem real, her transformation ultimately falls flat. The screenplay tries too hard make all the elements connect together, but the effect is more like pounding jigsaw pieces into a puzzle they just don’t belong in. The finale scene is so manipulative in it’s attempts to tug heartstrings you can quite literally hear birds singing.

Luckily, the acting is strong enough to make moments like that less eye-roll inducing. Watts and Bening are strong Oscar contenders, with Watts probably an early favorite in the Supporting Actress race. But the real contender here could be Jackson. It’s hard to remember a time when he’s looked so real, or seemed so vulnerable on screen, and his muted performance as a lovelorn, aging widower is haunting and powerful. All in all, the film is worth spending time with, if only for the chance to see great actors at their best.

It was an impressive decade for film, and although it was no less immune to corporate interests or what we then called “straight to video” releases, it was the decade I went from someone who likes movies to a film buff.  Looking back, it’s easy to see why: films that couldn’t have been made even five years prior to the 1990s were being made in droves.  Risks were being taken once again, and independent films came up to fill the gap left by predictable blockbusters and A-list actors assigned to D-list scripts.

However, mixed with the warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia is the icy sting of bitter outrage.  Some of the finest performances I’ve ever seen weren’t even nominated for awards while some of the worst actually won them.  Even here, amongst the coveted Oscar list, I curse the very sight of some of these names…

…starting with this one!

#10 – Gwyneth Paltrow - Shakespeare in Love (1998): 8.56

If there was ever a victory bought and paid for by the industry, I can’t think of any better example than this.  Even one of the nominees, Fernanda Montenegro for Central Station, was outraged by this choice.  Gwyneth’s accent is as horrible as her attempt at doing Shakespeare, and seeing Cate Blanchett’s performance in Elizabeth and her subsequent awards that year leave you wondering just what happened.

Nominated at #10 by over 75% of the voters, it seems we’re more or less decided on this one.

#9 – Helen Hunt – As Good as It Gets (1997): 8.00

I voted a bit higher on this one than most of my fellow critics, but I think I understand why Helen Hunt isn’t a favorite.  Prior to winning the Oscar, she held the award for playing the same personality in every role for a number of years until Jennifer Aniston violently snatched it out of her hand.  Carol Connelly doesn’t seem much different than her other characters, but she was at the top of her game against the legendary Jack Nicholson as Melvin Howard and the academy took notice.  Comedies are rare and this is only one of two films that won acclaim during the decade.  (Fargo would be the other film, Shakespeare in Love is funny for all the wrong reasons.)

#8 – Jessica Lange – Blue Sky (1994): 7.13

For those of you wondering why Winona Ryder didn’t win for Little Women, I’m there with you… but I seriously doubt I could say no to Jessica Lange.  The story behind Blue Sky is just as poignant as the movie itself.  The movie was actually completed four years earlier but sat in a vault for years due to the bankrupcy of Orion Pictures.  It was finally released after the death of its director, Tony Richardson, to critical acclaim.

#7 – Emma Thompson – Howard’s End (1992): 6.44

The first of three nominations for best actress during the next four years, Emma Thompson became synonymous with English drama and Shakespearean productions on the big screen.  She later went on to win another Oscar four years later for Best Adapted Screenplay with Sense and Sensibility, establishing herself as a Renaissance woman for the 20^th century and making more money than Miss “I’ve got a Porsche!” Money-Sterling.

#6 – Susan Sarandon – Dead Man Walking (1995): 5.67

The last of three nominations in the previous four years, Susan had to win sometime.  This is undoubtedly the most contested entry from our critics, with high and low votes canceling each other out.  As both a fan of Sarandon and someone who thought Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) or Sharon Stone (Casino) may have been a better choice, I can understand both sides of the issue rather well.  Most of us probably agree her roles in Lorenzo’s Oil and certainly Thelma & Louise were Oscar worthy, bringing us to a story intertwined with our next entry.

#5 – Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs (1991): 4.56

The Silence of the Lambs is one of my favorite films, and is arguably the only true horror film to win an Oscar (No Country For Old Men has been labeled as both a drama and western).  It was the horror film we somehow convinced the public was suspense, forcing the section of the movie going public that doesn’t watch horror films to stop covering their eyes and look.  We were all so mesmerized by the film’s ability to immerse us into the dark and twisted corners of the very world we live in, fascinated by the exchange between the cautious but determined Clarice Starling and brilliant but terrifying Dr. Lecter.   However, much like the FBI, we overlooked a very important detail in the fact that we had two better performances from Thelma & Louise.  I still hope Buffalo Bill takes Jodie Foster’s Oscar and splits it in half for Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon.

#4 – Holly Hunter – The Piano (1993): 4.11

Definitely a difficult choice considering some first-rate talent and an unforgettable performance from Angela Basset as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It.  Some would argue that it was an award given due to the politically correct nature of the time and an homage to Marlee Matlin’s victory for the Deaf community in the 80s.  Regardless of one’s opinion on the matter, few can argue the emotion expressed of a leading role without uttering a single word is something that is difficult for any actress to achieve.

#3 – Frances McDormand – Fargo (1996): 3.78

Comedies never win, especially at the Oscars, so I’m particularly happy to see this name so high on the list just as others will since it was voted as first or second by more than one.  Marge Olmstead-Gunderson is probably my favorite police office since Sergeant  Joe Friday.  I knew she’d be nominated about two minutes into the film and convinced myself not to get my hopes up.  Once she was interviewed on Charlie Rose, I couldn’t help but anticipate a possible victory.  Not only did she overcome winning with a comedy, she beat out some stiff competition.

#2 – Hilary Swank – Boys Don’t Cry (1999): 3.44

Another choice that was first or second with more than one critic, I do think this is an incredible and important role and definitely a key factor in the choice.  It was a victory that echoed back 15 years to Linda Hunt’s breakthrough victory in playing an opposite gender in The Year of Living Dangerously and also as one that brought sexual themes into mainstream media.  This would pave the way for films like Brokeback Mountain and help gay and lesbian cinema get more attention.  That being said, I took far more delight in watching Annette Bening unravel in American Beauty, but knew her odds of winning were slim.  If it wasn’t for my low vote on this role, this article would be about Hilary Swank and how important critical roles like this are for our social development.  Important words, but not the most enjoyable to write.

…leading us to something that is.

#1 – Kathy Bates – Misery (1990): 3.22

You would’ve heard a lot of arguments over this if you were into movies at the time.  One of Meryl Streep’s 13 nominations in Postcards from the Edge came from 1990 as did Julia Roberts in what many saw as the year’s biggest hit, Pretty Woman.  Even Anjelica Huston and Joanne Woodward had a possibility of winning… but Annie Wilkes promptly hacked them all to pieces.

I’m not sure what it is we like so much about seeing James Caan tortured.  He already held the record in Godfather for the most bullet holes riddled through his body which lasted for several years against many war and action films.  Still, we seem to just keep wanting more.  Enter Kathy Bates in the role of Annie Wilkes: Registered Nurse, Farmer, #1 Fan, Sociopathic Nightmare.  Stephen King gave us every celebrity’s worst nightmare, that being at the mercy of your biggest and most obsessive fan with no hope of escape. Much like Stephen King’s previous work, the gruesome nature of the original book was toned down in order to reach a wider audience… and it worked.  People two or three times my age were at the film and didn’t walk out thanks to Kathy Bates.  As twisted as the content may have been, they couldn’t help but watch Annie Wilkes go from nurturing to nefarious within seconds.

Kathy Bates’ gave a stellar performance thanks to playing two separate personalities that she could switch back and forth between like a light switch.  Her cheerful then callous demeanor was frightening to witness but also quite comical to see unfold.  That aspect of the film gave the comic relief necessary to bring audiences who normally refuse to watch horror movies.  Both Saturday Night Live and In Living Color made parodies of the film, a sure sign the public was interested.  Some speculated the pressure from her victory at the Golden Globes may have persuaded the academy to consider it more closely.  Being nominated and winning a leading role for what is essentially a horror film was a critical step and something that hadn’t been accomplished since 1973 and the nomination of The Exorcist.  Kathy Bates went on to mimic her role in other film and television roles in later years, but it wasn’t long before she took roles to break away from the persona.  Now appearing as the equally formidable Jo Bennet in The Office, Kathy Bates remains a force to be reckoned with.

(NOTE: Voters for Best Actress of the 1990s included Paul Popiel, Steve Neumann, Bryce Van Kooten, Kit Bowen, Jax Russo, Michaela Zanello, Colin Campbell, Steve Gustafson, and Jeremy Martin)

Oscar Decades Series

Completed:

2000s Best Picture
2000s Best Actor
2000s Best Actress
1990s Best Picture
1990s Best Actor
1990s Best Actress

Up Next:

1980s Best Picture

Determining “the best” in any acting category is no easy task, but some of the Best Actress decisions over the past decade have been especially difficult and – at times – even controversial.  Personal taste plays such a pivotal role in a performance evaluation, and many of these actresses had the benefit of roles where their talents were more easily recognizable.  For instance, all except Berry, Swank, and Winslet played real characters, whose movements, mannerisms, and appearances could be matched up to already-existing personas.  Impersonate that person extraordinarily and the accolades are sure to come.

Also, the quality of the film and script often influence these results far more than they should.  Did Julia Roberts benefit from Erin Brockovich being such a likeable character, and should she be judged for staying within her range or applauded simply for the excellent portrayal?  There is no clear criteria for tabulating these rankings, but our writers at AwardsPicks.com have done their best to rate the 10 victors in order, using whatever system each saw fit.  Here are the final numbers:

10. Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball (2001): Average score of 8.11
9. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side (2009): Average score of 7.56
8. Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line (2005): Average score of 6.89
7. Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich (2000): Average score of 6.33
6. Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby (2004): Average score of 5.78
5. Helen Mirren, The Queen (2006): Average score of 4.89
4. Nicole Kidman, The Hours (2002): Average score of 4.78
3. Kate Winslet, The Reader (2008): Average score of 4.56
2. Charlize Theron, Monster (2003): Average score of 3.11
1. Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose (2007): Average score of 3.00

(Voters included Paul Popiel, Steve Neumann, Bryce Van Kooten, Ayinde Waring, Kit Bowen, Savanna New, Michaela Zanello, Adam Spunberg, and Jeremy Martin)

As I did in the past with Best Picture, let me provide some statistical observations:

1. Marion Cotillard and Charlize Theron: Cotillard gets the ultimate nod, but just barely.  With such a small sample size, I think it’s safe to call this one a draw.  Cotillard had the benefit of five first-place votes to Theron’s two, but Theron finished in the top three on seven of nine ballots.  Each also had a red herring (Cotillard registered an eighth-place vote, Theron somehow a 10^th).

2. Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, and Helen Mirren: These three represent the next block of closely contested candidates.  However you see the ordering, it seems obvious that the collective will has this trio firmly between third and fifth.

3.  Hilary Swank: While Swank, at first glance, appears on an island in sixth place, the variance in votes is worth noting.  Swank registered two second-place votes and two 10^th-place votes.  In other words, some people loved her performance, some hated it, and some found it mediocre.  Is it better to be loved and hated by a few or simply admired a little by everyone?  I think Swank would be glad to have at least a few fervent admirers.

4. Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, and Sandra Bullock: I find it extremely interesting that these popular starlets sit adjacent to each other.  In all three cases, it was a well-known actress, attacking “the role of a lifetime” with spunk and gusto.  Could it be that the Academy had as much affinity for the compelling real-life characters they played as much as how they emulated them?

5. Halle Berry:  Ms. Berry has no shortage of adulators, so I doubt her ranking would mean much to her.  Still, one has to wonder if she was the beneficiary of possessing some smashing good looks in a weak year.

And now for a brief presentation of my rankings:

10. Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball (2001)

Someone had to be last on my list, and I could not find it in me to place Berry above the others.  Critics complain of overacting, which may have resonated with enough Academy voters but falls short in retrospective hindsight.

9. Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line (2005)

I’m not trying to take anything away from Witherspoon’s fine portrayal of June Carter, but was she even the best actor in her movie?  I remember watching the Oscars and thinking Joaquin Phoenix was far more impressive as Johnny Cash.  I used to feel the same way when Helen Hunt would win the Emmy every year for Mad About You as Paul Reiser would wither in the shadows.  A great job, certainly, but not one that cracks any all-time lists.

8. Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich (2000)

I recently watched this again and I really loved the character of Erin Brockovich.  That’s why it pained me to slip Roberts so low, but I just don’t think her acting was as amazing as the – for lack of a better word – “awesome” woman that she portrayed.  Was she really all that different from what she did in Pretty Woman, for example?  I think we like her more than what the merits indicate.

7. Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side (2009)

Maybe I’m a little bit of a Sandra Bullock apologist, but come on … the woman has been through enough turmoil lately!  Jesse James is such a/an (insert vociferous derogatory term).  Note to women out there: Did Jesse James seem like a good guy, at all?  Trust your instincts.  And as far as acting is concerned, Bullock displayed some wonderful subtlety in certain moments, avoiding the tendency for histrionics when the music, script, and real-life story almost beckoned them.

6. Nicole Kidman, The Hours (2002)

Antagonists of Kidman will call her spin as Virginia Woolf nothing more than a fantastic prosthetic nose, but that smells of preconceived prejudice.  This was a career-defining role for Kidman, who effectively upgraded her status as a legitimate actress.  You may be afraid of Virginia Woolf, but there should be no apprehension about lauding Miss Kidman as a top-of-the-line thespian.

5. Helen Mirren, The Queen (2006)

Everyone loves Helen Mirren.  Somehow, she manages to stay sassy and polite at the same time, no matter how old she gets.  I wish I could have put her higher, but I couldn’t let my testosterone dictate over her lack of screen time and the greatness of those above her.

4. Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby (2004)

If you forgot how outstanding Swank was, go rent Million Dollar Baby and give her another look.  Her effectiveness stretches far beyond the southern accent she adopts.  In what was an extremely challenging role, Swank comes across as tough, vibrant, stubborn, vulnerable, and endearing all at the same time.  There is such complexity in her facial expressions, and it is no wonder that she won her second Academy Award here after Boys Don’t Cry.

3. Charlize Theron, Monster (2003)

Theron might have been considered in the same “sweetheart” category as Witherspoon, Bullock, and Roberts, had it not been for her beyond-exceptional rendition of a brutal, but compelling female serial killer.  If you want to see the stuff of Erin Brockovich, go watch Theron in North Country.  Monster is something far more accomplished.  She brings life to a despicable character, who exudes compassion while committing heinous criminal acts.

2. Kate Winslet, The Reader (2008)

In my opinion, Winslet is the greatest actress of her generation.  Think of the various roles she has accepted and conquered, from period-piece darlings in Sense and Sensibility and Titanic, to a blue-haired anomaly in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to the steaminess of Quills, to the suburban malcontent of Little Children and Revolutionary Road.  Has she ever been anything less than spectacular?  The Reader may not have been her best performance, but in a lifetime of transcendent work, she deserves every award imaginable.   Give her a hand and many more golden statuettes.

1. Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose (2007)

Perhaps the only thing more astonishing than Cotillard’s breathtaking impersonation of Edith Piaf is the fact that she was an underdog.  Thankfully, enough Academy members popped in the French import before casting their votes, because even five minutes of viewing should be enough to persuade anyone of her brilliance.  In a sense, Cotillard tackles several different characters at once, sizing up the remarkable Piaf at different stages of her life.  There are scenes of jaw-dropping excellence, such as when Cotillard sings drunkenly as a young girl on a street or captures the infirmities of old age with each rebellious exhalation.  This is a performance for the ages that ranks second to none.  She can look proudly upon her Oscar and articulate in her native French: “Je ne regrette rien.”

Oscar Decades Series

Completed:

2000s Best Picture
2000s Best Actor
2000s Best Actress

Up Next:

1990s Best Picture

And the nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role are: Sandra Bullock, for The Blind Side; Helen Mirren, for The Last Station; Carey Mulligan, for An Education; Gabourey Sidibe, for Precious; and Meryl Streep, for Julie and Julia.

Out of these five fine actresses, it’s pretty obvious who will win, isn’t it? Sandy Bullock of course, due to her powerful role as Leigh Ann Tuohy in The Blind Side. This is Bullock’s first Oscar nomination, and she has also won a Golden Globe for the first time for the same role. This looks so clearly like a case in which the Globes predict the Oscar.

Bullock’s major contender for the Oscar is, of course, the iconic Meryl Streep, who counts two Oscars and 15 Academy Award nominations under her belt. Why Streep won’t win is due to the fact that Julie and Julia was not strong enough of a film, and was only saved by Streep’s impeccable portrayal of Julia Child. The Blind Side, on the other hand, is the only film marketed to date in which a leading actress has had her name above the title has passed the $200 million mark in domestic gross. Bullock’s role as white mother who takes in a poor black teen and helps propel him to success contains just the right cuts of juicy dramatic meat that the Academy loves to sink their teeth into.

This is Bullock’s banner year. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for her role in The Blind Side and was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her role in The Proposal. Although nominated her for two Golden Globes in the past: for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical for Miss Congeniality in 2001 and Best Performance – Comedy/Musical for While You Were Sleeping in 1996, Bullock missed out both times. Now America’s Sweetheart is having a comeback, after a lull in quality roles since Crash (2004), and as Roger Ebert says, “Oscar loves a comeback.”

In parallel fashion, esteemed actress Streep experienced a comeback with her leading role as the married lover of Clint Eastwood in The Bridges of Madison County in 1995 (a role for which she received an Oscar nomination), following a dearth of good roles in the early ’90s. For Streep to scoop up the Best Actress award this year would be out of place. Bullock has stated sarcastically, “The Acadamy Awards shouldn’t even nominate Meryl Streep anymore. She should just be given an award every year. There should just be the Meryl Streep category.” Perhaps true, Sandy, but the Best Actress Award always goes to the actress with the most powerful performance in a film of high merit, such as Streep’s two Oscar wins, for Sophie’s Choice as Best Actress and for Kramer vs. Kramer as Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

The outcome is in the cards: the Oscar for Best Actress goes to Sandra Bullock. This is the year Bullock catapults back up to her position as heavyweight Hollywood actress garnering quality roles. Seeing as Bullocks is currently 46, I wouldn’t be surprised if this milestone of winning the Oscar parallels Streep’s continual path of good work that started with Bridges and continues to this day, even though the actress is in her 60s. Not many Hollywood female stars continue to twinkle after 40, and Streep and Bullock are among the rare exceptions, in the company of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine.

Road to the Oscars series:

Podcasts – Kit Bowen, Nate Freiberg, Adam Spunberg, and Phil Wallace

February 4: Live Action Short – Kit Bowen

February 5: Animated Short – Kit Bowen

February 8: Documentary Short Subject – Christa Youngpeter

February 9: Documentary Feature – Nate Freiberg

February 10: Foreign Language Film – Paul Popiel

February 12: Animated Film – Nate Freiberg

February 15: Sound Mixing – Jeremy Martin

February 16: Sound Editing – Jeremy Martin

February 17: Original Song – Adam Spunberg and Savanna New

February 18: Visual Effects – Mallory Pickard

February 19: Original Score – Adam Spunberg

February 22: Makeup – Christa Youngpeter

February 23: Costume – Steve Neumann

February 24: Art Direction – Christa Youngpeter

February 25: Film Editing – Steve Neumann

February 26: Cinematography – Paul Popiel

February 27: Original Screenplay – Jeremy Martin

February 28: Adapted Screenplay – Jeremy Martin

March 1: Supporting Actress – Marla Seidell

March 2: Supporting Actor – Phil Wallace

March 3: Actress – Marla Seidell

March 4: Actor – Kit Bowen

March 5: Director – Adam Spunberg

March 5: Picture – Kit Bowen

March 7: The 82nd Annual Academy Awards!

The Oscar nominations out, the dresses purchased, tuxes fitted. It’s a joyous occasion here in Hollywood – excitement in the air like the fresh smog surrounding the rainy, new decade. It’s a pleasure just to be nominated, right!? What about the snubs! What about the dynamite performances that got left behind?  Its time to shed some light on the ‘almosts’ this season; the top ten…well, eleven.

Best Picture:
Star Trek – One would hope for a little respect for this innovative grassroots story in a year where the nominations go from five to ten! A large portion of Americans had their biggest smiles of 09’ as they left Star Trek. Purely, the movie was a total blast, and worthy of a nod in a year where the Best Pic category proved to love its dramas just a little too much…again.

Best Actor:
Sharlto Copley – District 9 – First time actor Sharlto Copley dominates every minute he’s on screen in this incredible portrayal of a dimwitted, nerdy government official assigned to evict aliens in the perilous District 9. Assisted by incredible special effects, Copley’s portrayal of Wikus Van De Merwe was top notch at the least. Give the man his nod.

Matt Damon – The Informant! – I knew I’d be in for a quirky ride alongside The Informant!, but it wasn’t until the halfway mark that I realized the razor-edge line that Damon had been walking for the past hour. His interpretation is genius, endearing and utterly depressing; perfect for the Academy, right?

Hal Holbrook – That Evening Sun – This small film made almost no waves around the nation until Hal Holbrook’s performance was discussed for early Oscar lists. Holbrook – the bitter, savvy old man, Abner Meecham – comes on the tails of his Oscar snub for Into the Wild and is dually as moving. If you haven’t seen That Evening Sun, see it. A splendidly small film by director Scott Teems and a true testament of Holbrook’s strength when left alone to his craft.

Best actress:

Zoe Saldana – Avatar – I get it, I get it; I know many believe Avatar doesn’t belong in the Best Actor/Actress category alongside some of the other nominees, but hear me out. Everyone always talks about the power of progress — Dustin Hoffman was nominated for Tootsie, Jaye Davidson for The Crying Game — it would only seem right that Saldana was given a fair shake for her pioneering vision of Avatar’s main female lead, Neytiri. Ha! She didn’t even wear a CGI bubble suit….

Samantha Morton – The Messenger – Again, if you haven’t seen this tiny, beautiful picture, you’re going to need to go out and rent it, if only for the kitchen scene between Alpha Dog’s, Ben Foster (who is also brilliant) and Samantha Morton. This epically long, intrinsically beautiful slow-zooming scene leaves you pondering…did I actually just watched real life? Its worth the price of admission and surely should have been worth an Oscar bid.

Best Supporting Actor
Zach Galifianakis – The Hangover – Call me crazy, because I probably am, but there’s got to be more room in this shindig for comedies, especially comedies with the power of The Hangover. Throw in Galifianakis as yet another comedic tragedy to be looked over. Are you listening Steve Carell (40-Year-Old Virgin)?

Best Director:
Tom Ford – A Single Man – I wasn’t a very big fan of A Single Man, but I can say that it was a remarkable film. Beautiful, poignant and horribly sad, Tom Ford marched well down the path to mastering his new craft in a few short moments on screen. The bedroom scene alone is staggeringly made, but it’s worth noting that without Colin Firth, Ford gets only half noticed. But as is, well done Tom – you can do far more than make amazing suits.

Neil Blomkamp – District 9 – A terrific movie and outstanding directing. A movie where the lead character becomesmore human as he becomes more alien…genius! District 9 created drama in simple situations and a dazzling story from dynamic characters. To be honest, its going to be real hard to take down Cameron or Bigelow, but hey, atta boy, Neil.

Best Original Screenplay:
500 Days of Summer – the more I sit back and think, the more this movie inches closer to the top of my 2009 top ten. The script was extraordinary– I read it – and the movie splayed the words out like a fine sushi chef. I loved 300, 12 Angry Men and 3 Ninjas, so maybe I just like movies starting with numbers…

Honorable Mention:
Best Documentary
Tyson – In a year where Food, Inc. and The Cove basically changed my life, its tough to say another doc should be included in the fray…then I watched Tyson. The single power of Tyson’s interviews demand respect and afford the viewer no ability to turn away: a broken, shattered, shell of a man pouring his heart to the world which tore him down for so long. I can’t describe the power of some of these talking-head interviews; I walked away utterly grateful for the life I had been given.

Several of our writers have come out with their nomination predictions, and I already offered my take on the Best Picture category. If there is one thing we can truly prognosticate, it’s that the question of tomorrow will be: “Who got snubbed?” And many, who were grossly off in their original picks, will take furiously to the keyboard like those valet guys in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; ultimately, there are some who will never be satisfied with any outcome, so long as they have a sounding board for expressing their displeasure.

Snubs can be broken down into two categories: movies that were on a lot of people in-the-know’s lists, and movies that never stood a chance to begin with. If a movie gets a, “Wow, I can’t believe that got snubbed,” reaction, it’s in Group 1. Group 2 is more likely to elicit a, “The Academy is way too stuck up to consider a movie like that” response, or in some extreme cases, “That’s why I don’t watch the ***** Oscars!” (be rest assured…those people usually still do watch).
There will be plenty of time to discuss the travesties of Group 1, so I will cater here to a few candidates not on the Academy’s radar:

Best Actor:
1. Viggo Mortensen, The Road: Nobody seems to be mentioning him at all, which leads me to believe – as Phil Wallace astutely pointed out – that few people have actually seen The Road. Our favorite Aragorn-portrayer should have at least gotten some consideration for muddying around in the filth for a whole shoot. An understated film that genuinely illustrates the listlessness of Cormac McCarthy’s apocalyptic world, Viggo shines as the morally-conflicted father without answers. Mortensen deserves a shoeshine and a footprint on the red carpet.

2. Jesse Eisenberg, Adventureland: Eisenberg really seems to like movies with “land” in them (Adventureland and Zombieland in 2009), but that affinity won’t land him any Oscar love. I may be in the minority, but I thoroughly appreciated Adventureland for its good-natured spirit, compelling story, and perhaps most of all, the likeability of its main character. Eisenberg played his role perfectly, and for that he deserves to be on higher turf.

Best Actress:
1. Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer: While I was thrilled to see my former classmate (we even lived in the same dorm), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, get some attention at the Golden Globes, where was Zooey Deschanel? After all, the movie WAS about Summer, first and foremost, and Deschanel played the spellbindingly-unreachable temptress with almost as much nuance as Vivaldi in his Four Seasons.

2. Abbie Cornish, Bright Star: Cornish was entrancing in her portrayal of Miss Fanny Brawne, the open-to-the-world fashionista who fell hard for poet John Keats in the underappreciated Bright Star (see my earlier thoughts). I really can’t find fault with any aspect of her performance. This is one of those cases where her obscurity as an actress hurt her severely, whereas everyone knows Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep. Let’s hope Carey Mulligan wins it on behalf of the unknown Brits.

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jim Broadbent, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: This is a clear case of discrimination by genre. Broadbent absolutely steals the show in the latest installment of the Potter series, playing the flawed-but-jolly Professor Slughorn with a hilarious air. Throughout the film, Broadbent speaks the mind of his character with comic contortions of his face, and when he speaks, it always seems humorous. J. K. Rowling and her rabid constituents were all thrilled with his performance.

2. Paul Giamatti, Duplicity: Duplicity may have been a mediocre film, forgettable as another not-so-serious man-woman spy movie (although I still enjoyed it). Lost within the averageness was a gem of a performance by Giamatti, as the over-the-top CEO desperate to use any kind of espionage imaginable to show up his nemesis. In one scene, Giamatti is especially brilliant as he holds a stockholder’s meeting where he believes he has his triumph. In a more notable movie, Giamatti would get more recognition.

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds: I don’t know how Diane Kruger can be considered for a nomination and not the mesmerizing Laurent. Laurent’s extraordinary performance as the victim-turned-femme-fatale, ever more intoxicating through each new eye-movement and cryptic smile, should not only garner a nomination, but an Oscar win (see Mallory Pickard’s piece on Inglourious Basterds). If all predictions turn out true, the Academy is really missing the boat here.

2. Olivia Williams, An Education: An Education featured a number of prominent actors in minor roles, such as Emma Thompson as the school headmistress and Rosamund Pike as the friend of Jenny’s (Carey Mulligan) suitor. None compared to that of Williams, whose stony countenance conveyed such disappointment and earnest hope in the slightest gestures. Williams will not be recognized at the Oscars, but those who value solid acting will not soon forget her fine contribution.

Best Director:
1. David Yates, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: In a franchise that has zipped through several directors and been subject to inescapable hype, it’s truly remarkable that Yates will be retained from No. 5 through the two installments of No. 7. What makes Yates’ directing so exceptional is how he delicately approaches each scene. At times, I thought the Half-Blood Prince was as much an art film as a fantasy adventure, with such attention to detail and Yates’ determination to reveal the beauty of Rowling’s magical world.

2. Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell: An unconventional choice, certainly, but one that deserves some serious mention. Considering the difficulty of the genre, especially among critics, how to explain the 92% Rotten Tomatoes that Raimi has staggeringly achieved? As someone who normally shuns horror films, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Raimi’s devilishly-good directing. More than just a scary movie, Raimi poked fun of the traditional components of the horror movie, all while providing a ghastly tale of his own. I laughed and gasped and laughed and gasped, and I imagine Hollywood would too if they looked at it under an unprejudiced lense.

I will be extremely surprised if even one of these 10 films snags an unexpected nomination, but I encourage you – the viewers – to rise where the Academy could not, and contemplate the valor of these efforts while others receive the call.

In the last 10 days, Sandra Bullock has emerged the frontrunner in the Best Actress category. It didn’t start out as clear. At the Critics Choice Awards, Bullock tied with Meryl Streep. Then they both won Golden Globes in their respective categories (Bullock, drama; Streep, comedy). But the Screen Actors Guild award to Bullock sealed her fate as the odds-on favorite to win the Oscar. Here’s why:

1. Bullock has had a hell of comeback year – and the Academy loves winners. After a string of flops, the actress bowed out of the limelight for a few years, got married, re-evaluated her career and BAM! came out strong with her hit romantic comedy “The Proposal” last summer. She proved she still had that adorable quirkiness she’s been known for, but with a decided tinge of maturity layered in. But then she did something unexpected; she followed it up with a dramatic turn in the surprising hit sports dramedy “The Blind Side,” wowing critics with her turn as real-life Southern belle Leigh Anne Tuohy, who welcomed a homeless black teenager into her family and helped him achieve his potential as a star football player. On paper, the movie sounds like a big ball of sap, but Bullock’s no-nonsense performance transcends the cliché.

2. The Academy also loves it when a movie star steps out of her comfort zone and gives a performance unlike anything she’s done before. This has been evident in many of the Best Actress winners of late: Kate Winslet for “The Reader,” Reese Witherspoon for “Walk the Line,” Nicole Kidman for “The Hours,” Charlize Theron for “Monster,” Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball,” Julia Roberts for “Erin Brockovich. You get the point. Bullock falls into that pattern rather succinctly.

3. None of the other potential Best Actress nominees have the perfect storm riding them to the top like Bullock. Newbies Carey Mulligan for “An Education” and Gabourney Sidibe for “Precious” are just starting out and will perhaps have many nominations ahead of them. Helen Mirren for “The Last Station” is just a throw-in. Only Streep poses any real competition, but many could argue her turn as the delightfully upbeat Julia Child in “Julie & Julia” is really more of a supporting role, since her screen time splits with Amy Adam’s modern-day character Julie. Of course, Streep’s immaculate skills leaves an indelible impression even when she isn’t on the screen, so it SEEMS like she’s in it a lot more than she is. That’s just Meryl Streep doing what she does so incredibly well; she can’t help herself. Look, Streep is probably THE greatest actress of all time, of that I’m certain, but she already has two statuettes of her very own, plus the Academy usually passes on giving the Oscar to comedic performances. It’s still great to have her name on the list, though, because – as any actress would tell you, I’m sure – Streep sets the bar, and they should all aspire to reach it.

No, I firmly believe this is going to be Sandy’s year – and if she’s finally found her groove again (and has decided to stop making movies like “Premonition”), Ms. Bullock could be reaping the rewards for her particular skill set for years to come.

Two strong and well-rounded female driven films have generated deserved award buzz this season, and both resonate with a vibrato normally unheard of in most lady-centric period pieces. In An Education and Coco Before Chanel, we meet young women thrust into heartbreak and personal devastation that nary a Katherine Heigl character could overcome. Sinewy and gamine, both Carey Mulligan and Audrey Tautou capture the audience with both their coquettish beauty, and then demand attention through their misfortunes and mistreatment in pre and post war Europe while adding a hearty dash of charm along the way.

An Education tells the captivating story in drab-colored 1960’s London of a school girl (Mulligan) swept off her feet by a mysterious, smooth talking businessman (Peter Sarsgaard) leaving in his wake her parents’ not so subtle wish for her to attend Oxford. Mulligan is so at ease as Jenny, her rushed transformation from naïve cellist to school shirking rebel to broken-hearted young woman is both moving and predicable in the best possible way. As both she an the audience put the pieces together as to the true nature of her doting beau, one can’t help but share her crushing disappointment and cheer for her determined resiliency after her dreams slip away after one fateful discovery.

Mulligan, nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance, shines as a top-notch student poised for Oxford thanks to her wit and overbearing father (Alfred Molina). On a chance rainy encounter she meets David (Sarsgaard) and the two embark on a whirlwind romance taking sheltered Jenny to Paris while her lover embarks on shady business dealings with his morally questionable best friend Danny (Dominic Cooper) and his ditsy fur-clad girlfriend Helen (Rosamund Pike). As the gilded lies unravel, each character reveals their true nature, leaving Jenny in a shattered fairy tale and possibly some statuettes from the academy.

Across the English Channel, Audrey Tautou tackles perhaps fashion’s most worshiped icon in Anne Fontaine’s Coco Before Chanel, chronicling the couturier in her early years as a lonely orphan to her climb through the Paris elite. Tautou, like Mulligan, is utterly cherubic at first glance- soft brown hair, pool-like eyes and captivating smile. Once her character develops, though, a one-dimensional dimpled girl becomes uncontrollably fierce, even unlikable at times.

Director Marie Fontaine is careful not to traipse down the familiar path of laying out a heroine’s journey too early on in the film. Chanel didn’t fall out of the womb stitching couture, obviously, and the director subtly reminds the audience that she evolved into her larger than life self only after years of ladder climbing and shrewd decision-making. Unlike naïve working-class bred Jenny, Coco (ne Gabrielle Chanel) is more hardened to the world and sardonically inclined which adds to the movie’s biting authenticity and inherent watchability. Isn’t it, after all, so strangely rewarding watching a pre-war figure slog her way through society’s trenches to world-wide reverie rather than being born into wealth and privilege?

In recent years, Sandra Bullock has churned out a number of second-rate films, including “Premonition” (2007), “The Lake House” (2006), and “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous” (2005), and it was starting to appear as though her acting career was about to be sucked into an inescapable vortex headed down the john. Nevertheless, this Virginia-born underdog wasn’t prepared to give up quite that easily, and in 2009, she got her chance to make a comeback.

After starring in the romantic comedy, “The Proposal,” and in the true-life sports drama, “The Blind Side,” Sandra Bullock scored the most commercial success of her career. Worldwide, “The Proposal” took in more than $314 million at the box office making it her top grossing film to date, and during the opening weekend of “The Blind Side,” the film earned an impressive $34.1 million, a record-high for Bullock.

Her coups do not stop there, however. Not only did “The Proposal” and “The Blind Side” earn Bullock dollar sign glory, but her roles in these films also brought her plenty of critical laurels too, with the icing on her laurel wreath being her double Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in both the dramatic and comedic categories. Bullock was previously nominated for Golden Globe Awards for her roles in “Miss Congeniality” (2000) and “While You Were Sleeping” (1995).

In “The Proposal,” Bullock plays Margaret Tate, an aggressive publishing powerhouse who isn’t used to hearing ‘no’ for an answer. Margaret soon finds her career in jeopardy, however, when she is denied a visa and is faced with the possibility of being deported back to her native Canada. In the events that ensue, Bullock is hilarious, and it is largely due to her innate capacity for comedy that this formulaic film achieved as much success as it did.

For her dramatic role in “The Blind Side,” Bullock switches gears to play Leigh Anne Tuohy, a feisty Southerner with a heart of gold who takes in a homeless youth and helps him reach his full potential. Bullock initially had reservations about accepting this role, however. But after meeting with the real-life Leigh Anne, she decided to commit. Bullock reportedly told the film’s director, John Lee Hancock, “It’s the hardest thing I will ever do. And because of that, I should do it.”

2009 has definitely been an amazing year for Sandra Bullock, who is now giving Julia Roberts a run for her money as America’s reigning sweetheart. In light of her recent accolades, the typically unassuming actress appears to be genuinely thrilled and grateful. According to the L.A. Times, Bullock has said, “I am beyond stunned. Just to be included in the company of these amazing women I have so admired through the years has left me slack-jawed with awe.”