Movie Box Review

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 1, 2008! We have a lot to cover this week so let's get this party started!

First off we had the Genie nominations announced earlier this week. Topping the nominations are Shake Hands with the Devil and Eastern Promises both with 12 noms, including best picture. Rounding out the Best Motion Picture nominations are L'âge des ténèbres, Away From Her and Continental, un Film sans Fusil. I was surprized and delighted to realize that I have seen 4/5 of those nominations, whereas I've seen 0/5 of the Best Picture Oscar nominations. Full listings of Genie Nominations can be found here in various formats. Congratulations to all the nominees!

That takes us to this week's releases. As we fall into step with February, the romantic films walk along side us. Although both of this weeks romantic films appear to really be romantic comedies: Love and Other Dilemmas and Over Her Dead Body. I wonder if they will last until the 14th.

Our limited releases include the Canadian Love and Other Dilemmas and two music films: Honeydripper which looks rather charming and is set in Alabama in the 1950's, and we also have Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten a documentary focusing on the frontman to The Clash.

The wide releases this week include The Eye which is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Gin gwai, and has some visual similarities to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly which is strange as The Eye is a horror flick, not a drama but they are both about sight. We also have Over Her Dead Body and Strange Wilderness which has an outdoor reality tv meets Mystery Science Theatre 3000 vibe to it.

Special Advance Screening
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上, a documentary centred around the displacement of families due to the Three Gorges Dam megaproject in China. The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is presenting the screening on Sunday February 3/08, 4:30 PM at Empire Theatres at Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge Street in Toronto with filmmaker Yung Chang (張僑勇) in attendance. Check Reel Asian site for ticket information. This event is also a fundraiser and half the proceeds will to go the Yu Family, whose story is shown in the film. Support for the Yu Family can also be made at this website. Up the Yangtze will be in regular release is Friday February 8th, 2008.

Festival Watch

1st Annual Toronto-Romanian Film Festival
February 1-3, 2008 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://toroartsgroup.com/

The Reel Paddling Film Festival Presented by The Complete Paddler, showing films on canoeing and kayaking
Thursday February 7th, 2008 at The Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
www.completepaddler.ca

Have a great week!

Shannon

Friday February 1, 2008 Releases

The Eye
Dir: David Moreau & Xavier Palud (Ils / Them)
Cast: Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer pretty decent in terms of being not too spoilery

Honeydripper
Writer/Dir: John Sayles (Casa de los babys, Lone Star, The Secret of Roan Inish)
Cast: Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yaya DaCosta, Sean Patrick Thomas, Charles S. Dutton, Gary Clark Jr.
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
Dir: Julien Temple (Glastonbury, Pandaemonium, Earth Girls are Easy)
Documentary on The Clash frontman Joe Strummer
Ireland/UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays music), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free til 1/2 way point if you aren't familiar with subject matter.

Love and Other Dilemmas
Dir: Larry Di Stefano - feature film debut
Cast: Gabrielle Miller, Stephen Lobo, Fred Ewanuick, Janet Wright, John Cassini, Erin Karpluk
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page
First third of trailer spoiler free, I couldn't load the rest of it (pictures on official site give some of the plot away)

Over Her Dead Body
Writer/Dir: Jeff Lowell - directorial debut
Cast: Lake Bell, Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria Parker, Jason Biggs
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of it by the 1/2 way point of the trailer, after which it's got some spoilers

Strange Wilderness
Dir: Fred Wolf - directorial debut
Cast: Steve Zahn, Justin Long, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Ashley Scott
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of February 1, 2008**

Dir: Matt Reeves (The Pallbearer)
Cast: T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel
USA, 2008

Seen: January 22/08 at Scotiabank

Reason to see: Oh, the spectacle! But seriously, Jamie invited me.

Even though the previews for this film were very 'teaser' like and didn't give much away, I found myself actively trying not to think about what might happen next. For the most part that wasn't too hard because the film style and plot keep you constantly off balance between knowing almost nothing and then POW! visuals of everything and anything... what *is* that? It can't be.... it is!!! And so on and so forth. It's a pretty fun ride if you meet the strong resistant to nausea requirements, which luckily I did so I watched with wide open eyes and sometimes dropped jaw during the very loud screening.

Considering the setting and content, it does bring up the question of whether or not it is too soon after 9/11 for this type of film. So far, I've mostly seen people asking the question but not responding so maybe people are feeling ok about it.

Warning: For those whom are susceptible to nausea from shaky-can (a la Blair Witch Project), I would say you'd likely want to give this one a pass. There were walk outs during the screening I went to and it did give an unpleasant reaction to a fair number of people I've spoken to.

Shannon's Overall View:
It was certainly a film 'experience'
I'd not likely watch it again
If disaster films are your thing, you want to see this - in the theatre

roughly 10 minutes of preshow including 2 commercial and 6 previews: Step Up 2, Jumper, 10,000 BC, The Ruins, Star Trek and Iron Man.

Return to Film Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2008

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival presents a Special Advance Screening of Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 on Sunday February 3/08, 4:30 PM at Empire Theatres at Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge Street in Toronto.

Filmmaker Yung Chang (張僑勇) will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.

Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 is a documentary centred around the displacement of families due to the Three Gorges Dam megaproject in China. The film has screened at Sundance and is a selection for the 2007 Canada's Top Ten.

A new block of tickets went on sale January 28/08, click here for online ticket purchases. Get them while you can!

Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 website
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 - Reel Asian
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 - Canada's Top Ten (autoplays interview with filmmaker Yung Chang (張僑勇))
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上 - imdb

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2008 runs from November 12-16, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

32nd Genie Awards (2011 Films)
Genie32 were held at The Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ontario Canada and were broadcasted on Thursday March 8, 2012 at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Television.
32nd Genie Winners
32nd Genie Nominations - detailed
32nd Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
32nd Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

31st Genie Awards (2010 Films)
The Genie Awards were held at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and broadcasted live on CBC on Thursday March 10, 2011.
31st Genie Winners
31st Genie Nominations - detailed
31st Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
31st Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

30th Genie Awards (2009 Films)
30th Genie Winners
30th Genie Nominations - detailed
30th Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
30th Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

29th Genie Awards (2008 Films)
29th Genie Winners
29th Genie Awards Nominations - detailed
29th Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
29th Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

28th Genie Awards (2007 Films)
28th Genie Winners
28th Genie Awards Nominations - detailed
28th Genie Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
28th Genie Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

27th Genie Awards (2006 Films)
Nominations & Winners

For more information, check out: Genie Awards Site, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Site

Quite a stellar year for Canadian film! The majority of the nominations this year are for English films, and the front runners are Eastern Promises and Shake Hands with the Devil with 12 nominations each. There is a fair amount of crossover to Canada's Top Ten list (4 of the 10 are nominated) and a number of the categories have fierce competition. For example, check out the nominations for Best Director: Denys Arcand, Sarah Polly, David Cronenberg, Roger Spottiswoode and Bruce McDonald. Also, both lead acting categories are also jam packed with outstanding performance. The men: Roy Dupuis, Marc LaBrèche, Claude Legault, Viggo Mortensen and Gordon Pinsent. The women: Anne-Marie Cadieux, Julie Christie, Ellen Page, Molly Parker and Béatrice Picard. We can't leave out the zombie love, good thing Fido is here to represent!

The Genies will be held on March 3rd, 2008.

BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM
L'âge des ténèbres/ Days of Darkness - Denise Robert, Daniel Louis
Away From Her - Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss
Continental, un Film sans Fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Eastern Promises - Robert Lantos, Paul Webster
Shake Hands with the Devil- Laszlo Barna, Michael Donovan

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE
André-Line Beauparlant - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns
Lindsey Hermer-Bell, Justin S.B. Craig - Shake Hands With the Devil
Rob Gray, James Willcock - FIDO
François Séguin - Silk
Carol Spier - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES
Dolly Ahluwallia - Partition
Denise Cronenberg - Eastern Promises
Carlo Poggioli, Kazuko Kurosawa - Silk
Mary E. McLeod - FIDO
Joyce Schure - Shake Hands With the Devil

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES
Miroslaw Baszak - Shake Hands With the Devil
Bruce Chun - Nitro
Alain Dostie - Silk
Vic Sarin - Partition
Peter Suschitzky - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION
Denys Arcand - L'Âge des ténèbres / Days of Darkness
Sarah Polly - Away From Her
David Cronenberg - Eastern Promises
Roger Spottiswoode - Shake Hands With the Devil
Bruce McDonald - The Tracey Fragments

ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE
Jean-François Bergeron - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Susan Maggi - Poor Boy's Game
Jeremiah Munce, Gareth C. Scales - The Tracey Fragments
Ronald Sanders - Eastern Promises
David Wharnsby - Away From Her

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE
David Hirschfelder - Shake Hands With the Devil
Steve London - That Beautiful Somewhere
Don MacDonald - FIDO
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Silk
Howard Shore - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE
Alan Doyle - Young Triffie's Been Made Away With - Young Triffie's Been Made Away With
Valanga Khoza, David Hirschfelder - Shake Hands With the Devil - Kaya
Byron Wong, Luke Nicholson - Poor Boy's Game - Breathe

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
Roy Dupuis - Shake Hands With the Devil
Marc LaBrèche - L'Âge des ténèbres / Days of Darkness
Claude Legault - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Gordon Pinsent - Away From Her

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
Danny Glover - Poor Boy's Game
Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Armin Mueller Stahl - Eastern Promises
Michelange Nzojibwami - Shake Hands With the Devil
Gilbert Sicotte - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
Anne-Marie Cadieux - Toi / You
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Ellen Page - The Tracey Fragments
Molly Parker - Who Loves the Sun
Béatrice Picard - Ma tante Aline / My Aunt Aline

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
Marie-Ginette Guay - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns
Véronique le Flaguais - Surviving My Mother / Comment survivre à sa mère
Laurence LeBoeuf - Ma fille mon ange
Fanny Mallette - Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns
Kristen Thompson - Away From Her

ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE
Claude la Haye, Oliver Calvert, Hans Peter Strobl, Bernard Gariépy Strobl - Silk
Eric Fitz, Jo Caron, Gavin Fernandes, Benoît Leduc - Shake Hands With the Devil
John. J. Thomson, Stephan Carrier, Martin Lee - Citizen Duane
John Hazen, Matt Chan, Brad Dawe - The Tracey Fragments
Stuart Wilson, Christian Cooke, Orest Sushko, Mark Zsifkovits - Eastern Promises

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE
Martin Pinsonnault, Pierre-Jules Audet, Michelle Cloutier, Simon Meilleur, Louis Molinas - Nitro
Wayne Griffin, Robert Bertola, Tony Currie, Andy Malcolm, Michael O’Farrell - Eastern Promises
Marie-Claude Gagné, Diane Boucher, Guy Francoeur, Claire Pochon, Jean-Philippe Savard - Roméo et Juliette
Marcel Pothier, Guy Francoeur, Antoine Morin, Guy Pelletier, François Senneville - Shake Hands With the Devil
Steven Munro, John Sievert, David Drainie Taylor - The Tracey Fragments

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO
Pierre Lamothe, Claude Lalonde - Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs
Denys Arcand - L'Âge des ténèbres / Days of Darkness
Marc-André Lavoie, Simon Olivier Fecteau, David Gauthier - Bluff
Steve Knight - Eastern Promises
Douglas Coupland - Everything's Gone Green

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION
Sarah Polley - Away From Her
Michael Donovan - Shake Hands With the Devil
Maureen Medved - The Tracey Fragments

BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE
Panache / Antlers - André-Line Beauparlant, Danielle Leblanc
Radiant City - Gary Burns, Jim Brown, Bonnie Thompson, Shirley Vercruysse
Sharkwater - Robert Stewart

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE
Après Tout - Alexis Fortier Gauthier, Élaine Hébert
Fair Chaluim Mhic Leòid / The Wake of Calum MacLeod - Marc Almon, Nona MacDermid
Regarding Sarah - Michelle Porter, Amy Belling
Screening - Anthony Green, Philip Svoboda
The Tragic Story of Nling - Jeffrey St. Jules, Larissa Giroux

BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION
Here and There - Diane Obomsawin, Marc Bertrand
Jeu - Georges Schwizgebel, Michèle Bélanger, Marcel Jean
Madame Tutli-Putli - Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis, Marcy Page

The 2008 Genie Awards will be presented on March 3rd, 2008. See Genie Awards website for more information.

Eastern Promises (12)
Shake Hands with the Devil (12)
Away From Her (7)
The Tracey Fragments (6)
Continental, un Film sans Fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns (5)
Silk (5)
L'âge des ténèbres/ Days of Darkness (4)
Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs (4)
Poor Boy's Game (3)
FIDO (3)
Partition (2)
Nitro (2)
That Beautiful Somewhere (1)
Young Triffie's Been Made Away With (1)
Toi / You (1)
Who Loves the Sun (1)
Ma tante Aline / My Aunt Aline (1)
Surviving My Mother / Comment survivre à sa mère (1)
Ma fille mon ange (1)
Citizen Duane (1)
Roméo et Juliette (1)
Bluff (1)
Everything's Gone Green (1)

--one nomination, nature of the category--

Panache / Antlers (1)
Radiant City (1)
Sharkwater (1)
Après Tout (1)
Fair Chaluim Mhic Leòid / The Wake of Calum MacLeod (1)
Regarding Sarah (1)
Screening (1)
The Tragic Story of Nling (1)
Here and There (1)
Jeu (1)
Madame Tutli-Putli (1)

Eastern Promises (12)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Robert Lantos, Paul Webster
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - Carol Spier
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Denise Cronenberg
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Peter Suschitzky
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - David Cronenberg
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Ronald Sanders
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Howard Shore
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Viggo Mortensen
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Armin Mueller Stahl
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - Stuart Wilson, Christian Cooke, Orest Sushko, Mark Zsifkovits
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Wayne Griffin, Robert Bertola, Tony Currie, Andy Malcolm, Michael O’Farrell
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Steve Knight

Shake Hands with the Devil (12)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Laszlo Barna, Michael Donovan
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - Lindsey Hermer-Bell, Justin S.B. Craig
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Joyce Schure
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Miroslaw Baszak
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - Roger Spottiswoode
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - David Hirschfelder
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE - Kaya - Valanga Khoza, David Hirschfelder
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Roy Dupuis
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Michelange Nzojibwami
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - Eric Fitz, Jo Caron, Gavin Fernandes, Benoît Leduc
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Marcel Pothier, Guy Francoeur, Antoine Morin, Guy Pelletier, François Senneville
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION - Michael Donovan

Away From Her (7)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION – Sarah Polly
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - David Wharnsby
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Gordon Pinsent
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Julie Christie
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Kristen Thompson
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION - Sarah Polley

The Tracey Fragments (6)
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - Bruce McDonald
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Jeremiah Munce, Gareth C. Scales
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Ellen Page
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - John Hazen, Matt Chan, Brad Dawe
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Steven Munro, John Sievert, David Drainie Taylor
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION - Maureen Medved

Continental, un Film sans Fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns (5)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - André-Line Beauparlant
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Gilbert Sicotte
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Marie-Ginette Guay
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Fanny Mallette

Silk (5)
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - François Séguin
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Carlo Poggioli, Kazuko Kurosawa
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Alain Dostie
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Ryuichi Sakamoto
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - Claude la Haye, Oliver Calvert, Hans Peter Strobl, Bernard Gariépy Strobl

L'âge des ténèbres/ Days of Darkness (4)
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM - Denise Robert, Daniel Louis
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION - Denys Arcand
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Marc LaBrèche
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Denys Arcand

Les 3 P'tits Cochons / The 3 Little Pigs (4)
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Jean-François Bergeron
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Claude Legault
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Pierre Lamothe, Claude Lalonde

Poor Boy's Game (3)
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE - Susan Maggi
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE - Breathe - Byron Wong, Luke Nicholson
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Danny Glover

FIDO (3)
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE - Rob Gray, James Willcock
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Mary E. McLeod
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Don MacDonald

Partition (2)
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES - Dolly Ahluwallia
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Vic Sarin

Nitro (2)
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES - Bruce Chun
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Martin Pinsonnault, Pierre-Jules Audet, Michelle Cloutier, Simon Meilleur, Louis Molinas

That Beautiful Somewhere (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE - Steve London

Young Triffie's Been Made Away With (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG/ MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE - Young Triffie's Been Made Away With - Alan Doyle

Toi / You (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Anne-Marie Cadieux

Who Loves the Sun (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Molly Parker

Ma tante Aline / My Aunt Aline (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE - Béatrice Picard

Surviving My Mother / Comment survivre à sa mère (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Véronique le Flaguais

Ma fille mon ange (1)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN - Laurence LeBoeuf

Citizen Duane (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE - John. J. Thomson, Stephan Carrier, Martin Lee

Roméo et Juliette (1)
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE - Marie-Claude Gagné, Diane Boucher, Guy Francoeur, Claire Pochon, Jean-Philippe Savard

Bluff (1)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Marc-André Lavoie, Simon Olivier Fecteau, David Gauthier

Everything's Gone Green (1)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO - Douglas Coupland

--one nomination, nature of the category--

Panache / Antlers (1)
BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE - André-Line Beauparlant, Danielle Leblanc

Radiant City (1)
BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE - Gary Burns, Jim Brown, Bonnie Thompson, Shirley Vercruysse

Sharkwater (1)
BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE - Robert Stewart

Après Tout (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Alexis Fortier Gauthier, Élaine Hébert

Fair Chaluim Mhic Leòid / The Wake of Calum MacLeod (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Marc Almon, Nona MacDermid

Regarding Sarah (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Michelle Porter, Amy Belling

Screening (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Anthony Green, Philip Svoboda

The Tragic Story of Nling (1)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE - Jeffrey St. Jules, Larissa Giroux

Here and There (1)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION - Diane Obomsawin, Marc Bertrand

Jeu (1)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION - Georges Schwizgebel, Michèle Bélanger, Marcel Jean

Madame Tutli-Putli (1)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION - Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis, Marcy Page

CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE
www.minnesotaghosts.com/articles/2008/01/childrenofthegrave.php

First, they brought you to Waverly Sanitarium and got you spooked. Now the Booth Brothers are back with a haunting truth about the truth about ghosts of children. In their follow up to the critically acclaimed Spooked comes Children of the Grave. In this 90 minute DVD, viewers join noted ghost hunter Keith Age and the Paranormal Task Force on expeditions to search out evidence of ghosts as children. They are joined with advice from notable researchers such as John Zaffis, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, and Troy Taylor.

The three places that they search out and explore are what they call Hell's Orphans, an abandoned sanitarium orphanage in which audio of young children are still picked up at. They also discover an horrorifc truth about milk in the early 1900's that caused many children to die. Most of the Hell's Orphans segment is a background information segment and sets up the rest of the documentary. You get to see what types of hellish conditions these children went through and start to understand why they might be so lost and confused.

The team also explores the Pythian Castle in Missouri which was an orphanage until the US military took it over in 1942 for a Nazi POW camp. They uncover the tragedies that unfolded here such as possible child molestation and discover some left over energy from the intense interrogations that took place in this location.
During the Tower Room tour of the investigation, they go as far to mention the name of a male presence on the property that has been reported to have been a maintenance worker who molested orphans. When they are about to speak his name, several motion detectors that were set up by the investigators go off and an EVP is recorded that appears to say "The Bastards!"
The team then sets out to explore the basement and tunnel areas and captures what they believed to be an evil presence moving towards them and causing a rapping on the inactive pipes. (By inactive, I mean that they are just sections of pipes cut off on both ends) The evidence from this is truly riveting!

The last locale on your journey with Keith Age and the Paranormal Task Force is the Zombie Road in Missouri. This is what really starts to draw the viewers into the documentary. Near St. Louis, MO, the "Zombie Road" is a stretch of dirt road that many consider to be haunted. Local law enforcement has found animal sacrifices from satanic rituals in abandoned structures due to this reputation. But the truth is that it does actually appear to be haunted!

The history of Zombie Road is quite an interesting one that dates as far back to the Native Americans of the area. The river that runs along the dirt road was named by the natives as "The River of Death" because many had died in the river from doubting it's deep pockets and strong currents. It appears that the river deceives anyone that thinks they can swim or cross it. As many as 35 deaths had been officially reported in the area in the last century! (And some were children.)
Many reports come out of Zombie Road of what appears to be Shadow People or Shadow Masses. What is so interesting about this documentary is that they appear to capture evidence of shadow masses. It was originally a photo of the shadow children in the woods that sparked the idea for this venture to Zombie Road.

The original shadow children photo that sparked the journey to Zombie Road. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MPR). The number of stories from this one spot is truly amazing and the evidence on video and photographic that the team provides is excellent. At one point, they set up a laser grid on the bridge and notice that the temperature is dropping, which is a sign of the shadow masses approaching, and you actually get to see the laser grid cut out by what appears to be legs several times over. It is at this point that Keith Age mentions that "...these are not just shadows. They appear to have some sort of mass behind them!"
Image captured of shadow people at Zombie Road in Missouri. (COURTESY OF Missouri Paranormal Research)

Overall, I thought this documentary took a new approach to the field which was nice. There are so many television shows out there trying to reproduce the formula that SciFi's Ghost Hunters has been successful with. The Booth Brothers bring a historical information documentary that would make the producers of the Discovery Channel jealous!

In my time working as a paranormal investigator, I have run across many instances of children ghosts and caught them on EVP. The bone chilling evidence of young spirits that is caught is remarkable and will have you believing that sometimes places do hold unseen residents.

I would highly recommend this documentary for anyone who is looking at understanding ghosts or just wanting a good scare because the evidence is so shocking, it will give you the chills!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 25, 2008! Here is another week of movie madness with not only Oscar nominations but ten new releases. Ten! But first a little about the Oscar nominations, the big contenders are: No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood both with 8 nominations closely followed by Atonement and Michael Clayton with 7 nominations each. Michael Clayton is reappearing in theatres this week so if you missed it originally you will have a chance to see it now! Add Juno to the list and those are the 5 nominations for best picture. Other multiple nominations go to Ratatouille (with 5), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (with 4) and La Vie En Rose and Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street both with 3 nominations. See various lists of nominations here.

I'm thrilled to say that this weeks releases include three Canadian films. Out of the three I am most excited about How She Move, set right here in Toronto and it's a dance movie. It's actually stepping, but I still consider that a dance movie. Very exciting! Additional Canadian releases include the drama/western All Hat which played at TIFF in 2007, and the creepy horror film They Wait.

Our limited releases outnumber the wide release by 6:4 this week. They include two highly acclaimed films: Still Life and The Rape of Europa - a documentary on what happened to works of art during WWII. We also have the black comedy Waiter which looks quite funny, a live action 3D concert film U2 3D as well as All Hat and They Wait.

The wide releases include How She Move, Meet the Spartans which is a parody on 300 with a gist of pop culture added in, Sylvester Stallone's latest revival project Rambo and the internet thriller Untraceable.

Touching base on last weeks releases: if you are considering seeing Cloverfield I would recommend seeing it before you hear too much about it and also to seeing it in the theatre. I would not recommend it if you have trouble with shaky-cam style filming (a la Blair Witch Project), there were walk outs during the screening I went to and I've also heard people complain of nausea. I didn't have this issue myself but it was very obvious that it affected people.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Friday January 25, 2008 Releases

All Hat
Dir: Leonard Farlinger (The Perfect Son, Collateral Damage)
Cast: Luke Kirby, Rachael Leigh Cook, Lisa Ray, Keith Carradine
Canada/UK/USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer shows a lot, safe to about the 1/2 way point

How She Move
Dir: Ian Iqbal Rashid (Touch of Pink)
Cast: Rutina Wesley, Dwain Murphy, Tre Armstrong, Brennan Gademans, Shawn Desman
Canada
MySpace Page (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer shows a fair amount, after 1/2 way point shows a lot of the film

Meet the Spartans
Writers/Directors: Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer (Epic Movie)
Cast: Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra, Ken Davitian, Kevin Sorbo
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Rambo
Writer/Dir: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa, Staying Alive)
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Julia Benz, Paul Schulze
USA/Germany
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer doesn't appear to spoil the plot

The Rape of Europa
Dir: Richard Berge & Bonni Cohen - feature film directorial debuts
Documentary on the theft of art during World War II, narrated by Joan Allen
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Still Life / Sanxia haoren
Dir: Jia Zhang-Ke (Dong, Unknown Pleasures / Ren xiao yao)
Cast: Zhao Tao, Han Sanming
China/Hong Kong
Limited Release
IMDb Page
Unable to locate legit trailer

They Wait
Dir: Ernie Barbarash (Cube Zero)
Cast: Jaime King, Michael Biehn, Pei-pei Cheng, Terry Chen
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site and Trailer (disturbing images, autoplays trailer) IMDb Page
Trailer is pretty disturbing, I turned it of 2/3 of the way through which is pretty scary

U2 3D
Dir: Catherine Owens -debut & Mark Pellington (The Mothman Prophecies)
U2 Concert film of the "Vertigo" tour, in "Live Action 3D"
USA
Official Film Site (including trailer), IMDb Page
The trailer shows next to nothing and has 5 showings of sponsorship/ads.

Untraceable
Dir: Gregory Hoblit (Fracture, Hart's War, Frequency, Fallen)
Cast: Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
The trailer is really long, and you get gist of film in the first half after which I think it shows too much

Waiter / Ober
Writer/Dir: Alex van Warmerdam (Grimm, Little Tony / Kleine Teun)
Cast: Alex van Warmerdam, Ariane Schluter, Jaap Spijkers, Mark Rietman
Netherlands/Belgium
Limited Release
Official Film Site (English), IMDb Page, for Trailer: go here, select theatrical, search title 'Waiter'

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of January 25, 2008**

SPOOKED The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Documentary 90 Minutes

The Shocking, heart felt account of a haunted Tuberculosis Sanatorium where 63,000 people died. Some still say the Dead are still there! As Seen on Sci-FI Channel


CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE Paranormal. Documentary 90 Minutes

Touching and chilling journey through Haunted orphanages and unmarked graves in search for Orphan Ghost Children.
Airs Sci-FI Channel -2008


HAUNTED SURVIVORS. Docu- Drama 3 Part Series 3 X 90 Minutes

Best selling Paranormal authors re-live their terrifying experiences of the Supernatural to Face Their Demons. Featuring Michael Jones, the real "Sixth Sense " boy, Amityville Horror House and real Haunted Survivors.


THE POSSESSED. Docu-Drama 90 Minutes

The True story of The Watseka Wonder, “America's First Documented Possession ”of a 13 year old girl in 1870 who is taken over by Spirits of the Dead! “A Premiere story of Possession and Reincarnation”


The WITCHHUNTER Chronicles Docu- Drama 3 Part Series 3 X 90 Minutes

MTV Style Reality - Drama mini series. Current day, teen Wiccans retrace their ancestors dark past through the Witch hysteria craze of New England. “The Real Harry Potter School of Witches!”


SPECTROPHILIA - Sex With Ghosts. Paranormal Documentary 90 Minutes

Hard Hitting, Provocative look at "Night Terrors". A phobia that involves Sexual attraction to Ghosts and Spirits. Filmmakers investigate the dark world of lust driven Poltergeists and their victims.

SPOOKED TELEVISION RELEASING: SPOOKED TV NATPE 2008

Well, here we are on nomination day. I admit it was exciting to see the streaming live video of the announcement, even though it didn't start on time and only the big ones (acting, directing, film, writing) were shown. Of course the complete list was on the Oscar site very soon and all was good.

I am not surprized that both No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood head out the race with 8 nominations each, competing with each other in 6 categories. I still hold out that I'm not likely to see either which will make this Oscar race a bit of an odd one. I was surprized to see Michael Clayton with 7 noms, I barely know anyone who saw this it even though it received solid reviews. I am happy to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly pick up multiple awards, both films are excellent.

Congratulations to the numerous women writers who picked up nominations, Sarah Polley (Away From Her), Diablo Cody (Juno), Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl) and Tamara Jenkins (The Savages), this was delightful to see.

Setting a new bar for animated films, Ratatouille picks up 5 nominations (animated film, original score, sound editing, sound mixing and original screenplay). This is quite Oscar-forward as animated films only tend to get nods in song/score categories. Another history-in-the-making moment is saved for Norbit which is now a contender for both an Academy Award as well as multiple Razzie's.

Here are some of the hard the numbers

Total nominated films 58
Total films not including shorts: 44
Total films not including shorts, documentaries and foreign: 34

The challenge now is to see how many of the nominations can we see before showtime on Feb 24/08. I'm seen 14 total nominated films, but only 12 if you excluded shorts, docs and foreign. I gave those numbers and often it is hard to get an opportunity to see those films.

If you are also trying to get to see as many of the nominated films as possible, and live/have access to the Toronto area I have a few suggestions for you. Many of the films are playing in the big theatres but some of the hard to find ones are found at: Cumberland, The Carlton and The Bloor. For the chillier days if you don't want to go outside and have Rogers cable, TMN is currently showing Norbit, and the PPV/Rogers on Demand is showing Ratatouille, La Vie en Rose, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Surf's Up and Sicko.

Have a great Oscar season!

The Lists:
80th Academy Awards Nominations - detailed (includes winners)
80th Academy Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
80th Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

My Reviews of Oscar Nominated Films:
3:10 to Yuma
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Golden Compass
Gone Baby Gone
Once
Persepolis
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Feeling Nostalgic? Walk down memory lane and check out nominations and winners from last year

List organized by most nominations, then alphabetical. Foreign, documentaries, and all shorts listed separately at the end as the categories lend themselves to only have 1 nomination per film.

No Country for Old Men (8)
There Will Be Blood (8)
Atonement (7)
Michael Clayton (7)
Ratatouille (5)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (4)
Juno (4)
The Bourne Ultimatum (3)
Enchanted (3)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (3)
Transformers (3)
La Vie en Rose (3)
3:10 to Yuma (2)
American Gangster (2)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2)
Away from Her (2)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2)
The Golden Compass (2)
Into the Wild (2)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2)
The Savages (2)
Across the Universe (1)
August Rush (1)
Charlie Wilson's War (1)
Eastern Promises (1)
Gone Baby Gone (1)
I'm Not There (1)
In the Valley of Elah (1)
The Kite Runner (1)
Lars and the Real Girl (1)
Norbit (1)
Once (1)
Persepolis (1)
Surf's Up (1)

--one nomination, nature of the category--
No End in Sight (1)
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (1)
Sicko (1)
Taxi to the Dark Side (1)
War/Dance (1)
Freeheld (1)
La Corona (1)
Salim Baba (1)
Sari's Mother (1)
Beaufort (1)
The Counterfeiters (1)
Katyn (1)
Mongol (1)
12 (1)
I Met the Walrus (1)
Madame Tutli-Putli (1)
Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (1)
My Love / Moya Lyubov (1)
Peter & the Wolf (1)
At Night (1)
Il Supplente / The Substitute(1)
Le Mozart des Pickpockets / The Mozart of Pickpockets (1)
Tanghi Argentini (1)
The Tonto Woman (1)

See nominations on Oscars site here

List organized by most nominations, then alphabetical. Foreign, documentaries, and all shorts listed separately at the end as the categories lend themselves to only have 1 nomination per film.

No Country for Old Men (8)
Javier Bardem - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Achievement in cinematography
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - Achievement in directing
Achievement in film editing
Best motion picture of the year
Achievement in sound editing
Achievement in sound mixing
Adapted screenplay

There Will Be Blood (8)
Daniel Day-Lewis - Performance by an actor in a leading role
Achievement in art direction
Achievement in cinematography
Paul Thomas Anderson - Achievement in directing
Achievement in film editing
Best motion picture of the year
Achievement in sound editing
Adapted screenplay

Atonement (7)
Saoirse Ronan - Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Achievement in art direction
Achievement in cinematography
Achievement in costume design
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
Best motion picture of the year
Adapted screenplay

Michael Clayton (7)
George Clooney - Performance by an actor in a leading role
Tom Wilkinson - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Tilda Swinton - Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Tony Gilroy - Achievement in directing
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
Best motion picture of the year
Original screenplay

Ratatouille (5)
Best animated feature film of the year
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
Achievement in sound editing
Achievement in sound mixing
Original screenplay

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (4)
Achievement in cinematography
Julian Schnabel - Achievement in directing
Achievement in film editing
Adapted screenplay

Juno (4)
Ellen Page - Performance by an actress in a leading role
Jason Reitman - Achievement in directing
Best motion picture of the year
Original screenplay

The Bourne Ultimatum (3)
Achievement in film editing
Achievement in sound editing
Achievement in sound mixing

Enchanted (3)
Happy Working Song - Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
So Close - Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
That's How You Know - Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (3)
Johnny Depp - Performance by an actor in a leading role
Achievement in art direction
Achievement in costume design

Transformers (3)
Achievement in sound editing
Achievement in sound mixing
Achievement in visual effects

La Vie en Rose (3)
Marion Cotillard - Performance by an actress in a leading role
Achievement in costume design
Achievement in makeup

3:10 to Yuma (2)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
Achievement in sound mixing

American Gangster (2)
Ruby Dee - Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Achievement in art direction

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2)
Casey Affleck - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Achievement in cinematography

Away from Her (2)
Julie Christie - Performance by an actress in a leading role
Adapted screenplay

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2)
Cate Blanchett - Performance by an actress in a leading role
Achievement in costume design

The Golden Compass (2)
Achievement in art direction
Achievement in visual effects

Into the Wild (2)
Hal Holbrook - Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Achievement in film editing

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2)
Achievement in makeup
Achievement in visual effects

The Savages (2)
Laura Linney - Performance by an actress in a leading role
Original screenplay

Across the Universe (1)
Achievement in costume design

August Rush (1)
Raise It Up - Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

Charlie Wilson's War (1)
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Eastern Promises (1)
Viggo Mortensen - Performance by an actor in a leading role

Gone Baby Gone (1)
Amy Ryan - Performance by an actress in a supporting role

I'm Not There (1)
Cate Blanchett - Performance by an actress in a supporting role

In the Valley of Elah (1)
Tommy Lee Jones - Performance by an actor in a leading role

The Kite Runner (1)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

Lars and the Real Girl (1)
Original screenplay

Norbit (1)
Achievement in makeup

Once (1)
Falling Slowly - Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

Persepolis (1)
Best animated feature film of the year

Surf's Up (1)
Best animated feature film of the year

--one nominations, category lends itself to one nomination--

No End in Sight (1)
Best documentary feature

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (1)
Best documentary feature

Sicko (1)
Best documentary feature

Taxi to the Dark Side (1)
Best documentary feature

War/Dance (1)
Best documentary feature

Freeheld (1)
Best documentary short subject

La Corona (1)
Best documentary short subject

Salim Baba (1)
Best documentary short subject

Sari's Mother (1)
Best documentary short subject

Beaufort (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Israel

The Counterfeiters (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Austria

Katyn (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Poland

Mongol (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Kazakhstan

12 (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Russia

I Met the Walrus (1)
Best animated short film

Madame Tutli-Putli (1)
Best animated short film

Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (1)
Best animated short film

My Love / Moya Lyubov (1)
Best animated short film

Peter & the Wolf (1)
Best animated short film

At Night (1)
Best live action short film

Il Supplente / The Substitute(1)
Best live action short film

Le Mozart des Pickpockets / The Mozart of Pickpockets (1)
Best live action short film

Tanghi Argentini (1)
Best live action short film

The Tonto Woman (1)
Best live action short film

See nominations on Oscars site here

80th Academy Awards Nominations

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie in Away from Her
Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney in The Savages
Ellen Page in Juno

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There
Ruby Dee in American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan in Atonement
Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton

Best animated feature film of the year
Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Ratatouille - Brad Bird
Surf's Up - Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
American Gangster - Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
Atonement - Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Golden Compass - Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
There Will Be Blood - Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Roger Deakins
Atonement - Seamus McGarvey
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Janusz Kaminski
No Country for Old Men - Roger Deakins
There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
Across the Universe - Albert Wolsky
Atonement - Jacqueline Durran
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne
La Vie en Rose - Marit Allen
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman for Juno
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood

Best documentary feature
No End in Sight - Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Operation Homecoming - Writing the Wartime Experience: Richard E. Robbins
Sicko - Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
Taxi to the Dark Side - Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
War/Dance - Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
Freeheld - Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
La Corona - Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
Salim Baba - Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
Sari's Mother - James Longley

Achievement in film editing
The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Juliette Welfling
Into the Wild - Jay Cassidy
No Country for Old Men - Roderick Jaynes
There Will Be Blood - Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
Beaufort - Israel
The Counterfeiters - Austria
Katyn - Poland
Mongol - Kazakhstan
12 - Russia

Achievement in makeup
La Vie en Rose - Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
Norbit - Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
Atonement - Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner - Alberto Iglesias
Michael Clayton - James Newton Howard
Ratatouille - Michael Giacchino
3:10 to Yuma - Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
Falling Slowly from Once Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Happy Working Song from Enchanted: Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Raise It Up from August Rush : Nominees to be determined
So Close from Enchanted Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
That's How You Know from Enchanted Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best animated short film
I Met the Walrus - Josh Raskin
Madame Tutli-Putli - Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis - Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
My Love / Moya Lyubov - Alexander Petrov
Peter & the Wolf - Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
At Night: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
Il Supplente / The Substitute: Andrea Jublin
Le Mozart des Pickpockets / The Mozart of Pickpockets : Philippe Pollet-Villard
Tanghi Argentini: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
The Tonto Woman: Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
The Bourne Ultimatum - Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
No Country for Old Men - Skip Lievsay
Ratatouille - Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
There Will Be Blood - Matthew Wood
Transformers - Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
The Bourne Ultimatum - Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
No Country for Old Men - Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
Ratatouille - Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
3:10 to Yuma - Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
Transformers - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
The Golden Compass - Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
Transformers - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
Atonement - Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
Away from Her - Written by Sarah Polley
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men - Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
Juno - Written by Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl - Written by Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton - Written by Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille - Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
The Savages - Written by Tamara Jenkins

See nominations on Oscars site here

84th Academy Awards (2011 Films)
The 84th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday February 26, 2012 starting at 7pm EST on ABC.
84th Academy Awards Nominations - detailed
84th Academy Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
84th Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

83rd Academy Awards (2010 Films)
The 83rd Academy Awards were hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco, and broad casted live on Sunday February 27, 2011 starting at 8pm EST on ABC.
83rd Academy Award Winners
83rd Academy Awards Nominations - detailed
83rd Academy Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
83rd Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

82nd Academy Awards (2009 Films)
The 82nd Academy Awards will be broad casted live Sunday March 7, 2010 starting at 8pm EST on ABC
82nd Academy Awards Winners
82nd Academy Awards Nominations - detailed
82nd Academy Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
82nd Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

81st Academy Awards (2008 Films)
8tst Academy Awards Winners
81st Academy Awards Nominations - detailed
81st Academy Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
81st Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

80th Academy Awards (2007 Films)
80th Academy Awards - And the Oscar goes to...
80th Academy Awards Nominations - detailed
80th Academy Awards Nominations - film list with nominations detailed
80th Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

79th Oscar Lists (2006 films)
79th Academy Awards - detailed (includes winners)
79th Academy Awards Nominations - film list by number of nominations
79th Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

See Oscars sites: Oscars.com, Oscars.org

Writers/Dirs: Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud - feature film directorial debuts
Voices: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian
France/USA, 2008

Seen: January/08 at the Varsity

Reason to see: Critical acclaim, and I was intrigued by the story and animation style

This is one film that has received such across the board acclaim I was wondering if I would feel the same and I have to admit I do. There is an amazing sense of wonder and optimism in a film with a predominate setting of revolution and war. The story is that of the coming of age of outspoken punk-loving Marjane, who is based on the directors own experiences and we feel that personal connection throughout. There is a wonderful blend of big scale events as well as simple moments of daily life. The animation style is beautiful in its expressive simplicity. It is quite a treat to see hand drawn animation in such a CGI world.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it it
I'd watch it
I recommend it

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© Shannon Ridler, 2008

2 minutes of preshow including 2 commercials and 2 previews : How She Move and The Band's Visit / Bikur Ha-Tizmoret. Both look good for completely different reasons.

Reading around I've noticed a lot of 2008 looking ahead post and it's not normally something I do but I love the idea and I have really enjoyed reading/listening to the lists (Row Three, Filmspotting) and decided to add my own to the mix. I also will add this to my tickler for next year as I sense another yearly 'to do' on the prowl!

So here they are, the ones to watch for 2008. Could be due to acclaim, controversy, series continuations, dance films or in general geek-nees. All release dates are subject to change. The following will include brief descriptions.

Acclaimed & Festival Films

My Blueberry Nights - Feb 13, 2007
The latest drama/romance from Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express / Chung Hing Sam Lam) starring Norah Jones and Jude Law.

Mongol - Winter 2008
Epic film recounting the early life of Genghis Khan, stellar performance by Tadanobu Asano. Mongal is the foreign film submission for Kazakhstan for the 2008 Academy Awards, currently shortlisted.
**update - Mongol has received a nomination for Foreign Film for the 80th Academy Awards

Mister Lonely - April 30/08
From writer/director Harmony Korine, this film received a lot of buzz at TIFF 07 and even though I've read about it various times I still don't know how to describe it.

The Counterfeiters / Die Fälscher - Spring 08
German film based on true events involving... counterfeiting.

Where the Wild Things Are - Oct 3/08
Latest from Spike Jonze with Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine), Forest Whitaker, Catherine Keener and James Gandolfini.

Dance Movies

How She Move - Jan 25, 2008
It's a dance movie. And it's Canadian. I'm so there!

Step Up 2: The Streets - Feb 14, 2008
Different director, different actors, same setting and title as the original. Doesn't have as cool a title as Breakin' sequel but it will be a must see on my list

Fame - Aug 15, 2008
Remake of the 1980's film, and if it follows the original will be about all the arts not just dance. Information other than the release date is pretty much a mystery right now.

Already Infamous

Postal - Feb 1/08
The latest from Uwe Boll.

Be Kind Rewind - Feb 22/08
Jack Black & Mos Def re-inact 80's films after the tapes have been accidentally erased, currently showing at Sundance.

Run, Fat Boy, Run - March 21/08
Directed by David Schwimmer and starring Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz). I'm avoiding info on this one as it sounds very plot based.

Son of Rambow - May 2/08
The effect of Rambo on a kid in the 80's, this film has received major buzz around the festival circuits.

The Could-Be Big Ones (Action/Adventure/Martial Arts/Comic)

Jumper - Feb 14/08
Hayden Christensen jumps around.

Babylon AD - Feb 29/08
SciFi from director Mathieu Kassovitz (The Crimson Rivers) and starring Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh. I'm so there.

Wanted - March 28/08
I'm very curious to see this action film from director Timur Bekmambetov (Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor, Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor) starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie and many others.

The Forbidden Kingdom - April 18/08
Stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan, fun fun! Also stars Collin Chou from Flash Point.

Iron Man - May 2/08
I have my reservations on this one, it isn't one of my fave characters of the comic book world but I'll likely see it anyway.

The Big Ones (SciFi/Fantasy/Action/Comic)

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - May 16/08
I loved the first one, such a lovely magical work created and wonderful characters.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - May 22/08
A lot of people are really excited about this one even so far to say it's the most anticipated of the year. I'm holding out on that, mine is further down the list.

The Incredible Hulk - Jun 13/08
Edward Norton stars in the newest film version about the angry green guy.

HellBoy II: The Golden Army - July 11/08
The first Hellboy was a happy surprize and I am a faithful re-watcher. I'm very interested to see what the second one will be like.

The Dark Knight - July 18/08
The next Batman film, with Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. This one absolutely everyone seems to be excited for. The 5min preview I saw definitely looked dark. By the release date, I bet I'll be going to this for my bday!

Death Race - Sept 28/08
Remember Death Race 2000? Here we are back for more, starring Jason Statham no less.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Nov 21/08
What trouble will they cause now? I better have my Gryffindor scarf made by this time!

Star Trek - Dec 25/08
I think this will be the most anticipated film of the year, and likely also the challenge of the year - to avoiding spoilers. I might actually trek out (hehe, trek) to the theatre on Christmas Day for this, something I've never done before.

What are you looking forward to in 2008?

For a Few Dollars More / Per qualche dollaro in più *

*indicates co-production

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Dir: Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Running on Empty, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead)
Cast: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Perkins, Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel
UK, 1974

Seen: June 28/07 thanks to Mpix

Reason to see: This is the film I thought I was going to see when I saw Chungking Express / Chung Hing Sam Lam. Bizarre reason considering they are 20 years apart, made in different countries but I enjoyed both of them so it's all good.

What a delightful mystery this film is. Not being overly partial to the genre, I'm no expert but I love trying to figure out who did what and why. And the who's in this film were great - talk about a stellar cast, everyone is someone and it's so much fun to see them all together. Based on an Agatha Christie novel and set in 1935, this film is quite stylized and uses its restrictive setting of a train perfectly for building tension. As it is a mystery, I'll leave it to you to discover what happens and I can imagine you'll have fun doing so.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I recommend it as a great whodunit

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© Shannon Ridler, 2008

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