My Oscar'12 Ballots

Tic-tac, few hours for the 84th Academy Awards to stop tickling and finally bursting into flames. I don't care for the fashionable hipster despise for the Oscars, as it is for me indeed the most exciting event of the cinematic year. Among the unfair left-outs and the marketed jammed-ins, despite some easy predictions due to the December-January-February award lane, The Road to the Oscars, there's always a large room for surprise and it does never lose its magic. The red carpet struts with the glamor of some of the greatest performers of the planet and the pulpit homages the art and the industry of the reels. From controversial not-totally-narrative film Tree of Life, to a black&white movie by a French crew, to the very slow-paced alternative-structured British Tinker Taylor by a Swedish director and other crew, to a Parisian film capable of triggering interests from Luis Buñuel to Salvador Dali, to the sheer low-budget Iranian A Separation that even got a Best Original Screenplay slot, to the sunday-afternoon, womanized, straight-comedy Bridesmaids. Time to cut off some accusations.

I filled my ballots with alternatives and added alternative titles I think would have the most quality do be in the nominees. Those come from the 64 2011 films I watched, therefore leaving out great pieces I can't consider, probably like Young Adult, Rampart or Miss Bala.

Scroll to the end of the post to find the SPECIAL BETS and make your owns.

 BEST FILM
The Artist

First alternative: Hugo

Second alternative: The Descendants

Would be a deserving hell of a surprise: Tree of Life

If I could add 10 more films to the nominees: Carnage, The Skin I Live In, We Have a Pope, Drive, Submarine, A Separation, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Take Shelter, The Guard, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy.

BEST DIRECTOR 

Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

Alternative: Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

If I could add 10 more directors to the nominees: Roman Polanski (Carnage), Pedro Almodóvar (The Skin I Live In), Nanni Moretti (We Have a Pope), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Bennett Miller (Moneyball), Thomas Alfredson (Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy), Asghar Farhadi (A Separation), Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin), David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Steve McQueen (Shame)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)

Alternative: A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)

If I could add 10 more original screenplays to the nominees: We Have a Pope (Nanni Moretti), The Guard (Jonathan M. McDonagh), Tree of Life (Terrence Malick), Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols), Win Win (Thomas McCarthy), 50/50 (Jonathan Levine), I Saw the Devil (Hoon-jung Park), Crazy Stupid Love (Dan Fogelman), The Debt (Jane Goldman, Mathew Vaugh, Peter Straughtan), Shame (Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

The Descendants (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash)

Alternative: Moneyball (Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin)

If I could add 5 more adapted screenplays to the nominees: Carnage (Yasmina Reza & Roman Polanski), The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodóvar), Drive (Houssein Amini), We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay), Cars 2 (Ben Queen)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jean Dujardin ("The Artist")

Alternative: George Clooney (The Descendants)

If I could add 10 more male leading performances to the nominees: Christoph Waltz (Carnage), John C. Reilly (Carnage), Brad Pitt (Tree of Life), Asa Butterfield (Hugo), Michel Piccoli (We Have a Pope), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Peyman Maadi (A Separation), Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Michael Shannon (Take Shelter)


BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Viola Davis ("The Help")

Alternative: Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)

If I could add 10 more female leading performances to the nominees: Kate Winslet (Carnage), Jodie Foster (Carnage), Elena Anaya (The Skin I Live In), Leila Hatami (A Separation), Emily Browing (Sleeping Beauty), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Emma Stone (The Help), Carey Mulligan (Shame), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Keira Knighley (A Dangerous Method)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

Alternative: Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)

If I could add 10 more male supporting performances to the nominees: John Goodman (The Artist), Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris), Nanni Moretti (We Have a Pope), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March), Paul Giamatti (The Ides of March), Christopher Plummer (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Colin Firth (Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy), Seth Rogen (50/50), Viggo Mortensen (A Dangerous Method), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Alternative: Jessica Chastain (The Help)

If I could add 10 more female supporting performances to the nominees: Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life), Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter), Chlöe Grace Moretz (Hugo), Marion Cotilard (Midnight in Paris), Sareh Bayat (A Separation), Sarina Farhadi (A Separation), Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), Emily Mortimer (My Idiot Brother), Charlotte Grainsbourg (Melancholia), Cate Blanchett (Hanna)



BEST ANIMATED FILM

Rango

Alternative: Puss in Boots



BEST FOREIGN FILM
A Separation (Iran)

Alternative: Footnote (Israel)



BEST DOCUMENTARY
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Alternative: Hell and Back Again


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Tree of Life (Emmanuel Lubetzki)

Alternative: The Artist (Guillaume Schiffman)

If I could add 10 more photographies to the nominees: The Skin I Live In (José Luís Alcaine), We Have a Pope (Alessandro Pesci), Drive (Newton Thomas Sigel), Moneyball (Wally Pfister), Take Shelter (Adam Stone), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Eduardo Serra), We Need to Talk About Kevin (Seamus McGarvey), Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy (Hoyte van Hoytema), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Jeff Cronenweth), Hanna (Alwin H. Kushler)



BEST EDITING
Hugo

Alternative: The Descendants



BEST ART DIRECTION
Hugo

Alternative: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2



BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Hugo

Alternative: The Artist


BEST MAKE-UP
The Iron Lady

Alternative: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2


BEST SOUND MIXING
Hugo

Alternative: War Horse



BEST SOUND EDITING
Hugo

Alternative: Drive



BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Hugo


Alternative: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
War Horse (John Williams)


Alternative: The Artist (Ludovice Bource)

If I could add 10 scores of any kind to the nominees: The Skin I Live In (original, Alberto Iglesias), Tree of Life (non-original, misc.), Midnight in Paris (non-original, misc.), Drive (original, Cliff Martinez), Moneyball (original, Mychael Danna), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (original, Alexandre Desplat), The Ides of March (original, Alexandre Desplat), We Need to Talk About Kevin (original, Johnny Greenwood), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (original, Trent Raznor&Atticus Ross), Shame (original, Harry Escott)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Men on Muppet (The Muppets)

SPECIAL

WILL WOODY ALLEN SHOW UP

 No.

WILL THE DICTATOR SHOW UP

Yes.

Malick, Coens, Wright, McDonagh: new films, new photos and synopsis

Four great filmmakers of our time, from the looming, invisible Terrence to the American film regeneration auteurs, Joel and Ethan, to the romantic Joe, to the most promising rising screen storyteller, Martin. What brings them so close right now is the expectation build up their fueling 2012 with, having recently released the first images of their next films. And its all thrilling synopsis with outstanding casts. This is via Collider.

Lawless, written and directed by Terrence Malick. Two intersecting love triangles, in a story of sexual obsession and betrayal, set against the music scene in Austin, Texas. With Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman and Cate Blanchett.

Inside Llewyn Lewis, written and directed by Coen Brothers. A singer and songwriter
wanders in the New York folk music scene in the 1960's. As a note, it is not certain if the film is due to premiere in 2012 or 2013. It will be another genre exercise by the team, a musical this time. With Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman.

Anna Karenina, written by Tom Stoppard (based upon the book by Leo Tolstoy) and directed by Joe Wright. "The story unfolds in its original late-19th-century Russia high-society setting and powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart, from the passion between adulterers to the bond between a mother and her children. As Anna (Knightley) questions her happiness, change comes to her family, friends, and community.". With Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Kelly McDonald, Aaron Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, and Ruth Wilson.

Seven Psychopaths, written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Marty, a screenwriter who struggles to finish his script "Seven Psychopaths". Bill, his best friend, a dog thief who wants to help him no matter what. Hans is Bill's boss, a religious violent guy and an expert in stealing dogs and returning them in exchange for the whoever-finds-it reward. Charlie, a psychopathic gangster who seeks revenge after his beloved shih tzu dog is kidnapped by Bill and Hans. A tale of impulsive violence that will provide the finest inspiration for Marty. With Colin Farrel, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell.

WGA's winners

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 

Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen) 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

The Descendants (Alexander Payne, Jim Rash & Nat Faxon, based on the book written by Kaui Hart Hemming) 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY 

Better This World (Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de La Vega)

DRAMA SERIES 
Breaking Bad (Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett) 

COMEDY SERIES 

Modern Family (Cindy Chupack, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Carol Leifer, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker) 

NEW SERIES 
Homeland (Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Gideon Raff, Meredith Stiehm) 

EPISODIC DRAMA 

"Box Cutter" (Breaking Bad) (Vince Gillian) and "The Good Soldier" (Homeland) (Henry Bromell) 

EPISODIC COMEDY 

"Caught in the Act" (Modern Family) (Steve Levitan & Jeffrey Richman) LONG FORM ORIGINAL Cinema Verite (David Seltzer) 

LONG FORM ADAPTED 

Too Big to Fail (Peter Gould, based on the book written by Andrew Ross Sorkin) 

ANIMATION 

"Homer the Father" (The Simpsons) (Joel H. Cohen)

You can check out the rest here.

Salaviza strikes again

After the surprising outrun with the Golden Palm for Best Short Film with Arena in 2009, Portuguese young filmmaker João Salaviza walks passed the German gates with a Golden Bear, also for a short film, for his most recent Rafa. The accomplishment grows his curriculum even chunkier as he currently works on a now even more expected feature film Mountain.


"At six in the morning, Rafa finds out his mother is being held by the police. On a friend's motto, crosses the bridge and goes to a police department in the center of Lisbon in order to visit her and await her release. The hours pass. And Rafa doesn't want to come back home alone." (translated)

Portuguese Circle of Online Critics | Círculo de Críticos Online Portugueses

Inspired by the Brazilian League of Film Blogs, the Portuguese Circle of Online Critics states as follows (translated):

"(...) a selected group of online Portuguese film critics, which labor chiefly centers on classifying the movies premiering monthly in the Portuguese theaters, in order to produce a set of tops providing appropriate statistical data. The PCOC may also devote itself to the creation of special tops (decades, filmmakers, genres) and to an annual award (which name will be defined afterwards) regarding the best films of the year."

Among the crew, so many of our fellows and most admired bloggers:

Catarina D'Oliveira (Close-Up), Gonçalo Trindade (Ante-Cinema), Inês Moreira Santos (Espalha-Factos), João Pinto (Portal Cinema), João Samuel (Dial P for Popcorn), Jorge Rodrigues (Dial P for Popcorn), Miguel Ferreira (A Última Sessão), Nuno Reis (Antestreia), Pedro Ponte (Ante-Cinema), Samuel Andrade (Keyzer Soze's Place), Tiago Ramos (Split Screen).

Although, for several reasons, not a part of the group, the A Gente Não Vê is looking forward to thoroughly tail this initiative, a new step in the Portuguese filmblog community.

Inspirado pela Liga de Blogs de Cinema brasileira, o Círculo de Críticos Online Portugueses estabelece o que se segue:

"(...) é um grupo seleccionado de críticos online de cinema portugueses, cuja acção se centra essencialmente na classificação dos filmes estreados mensalmente nas salas de cinema portuguesas, de forma a produzir um conjunto de tops mensais, com oportunos dados estatísticos. O CCOP poderá dedicar-se ainda à elaboração de tops de temáticas especiais (décadas, realizadores, géneros) e um prémio anual (cujo nome será posteriormente definido) dedicado aos melhores filmes do ano." >

Entre a equipa, tantos dos nossos companheiros e mais admirados bloggers:

Catarina D'Oliveira (Close-Up), Gonçalo Trindade (Ante-Cinema), Inês Moreira Santos (Espalha-Factos), João Pinto (Portal Cinema), João Samuel (Dial P for Popcorn), Jorge Rodrigues (Dial P for Popcorn), Miguel Ferreira (A Última Sessão), Nuno Reis (Antestreia), Pedro Ponte (Ante-Cinema), Samuel Andrade (Keyzer Soze's Place), Tiago Ramos (Split Screen).

Embora, por diversas razões, não faça parte do grupo, o A Gente Não Vê conta seguir de perto esta iniciativa, um novo passo na blogosfera de cinema portuguesa.

SciFi Wold Portugal

One month after I first reported the upcoming project, the Portuguese horror film magazine was officially launched. Actively reaching its audience from a simple intelligible website, the twittering blue bird and the social machine Facebook, it is sustained by a wide spectrum of backgrounds (bloggers, screenwriters, fans) and is partners with prestigious film festivals such as Fantasporto or Stiges.

http://www.thescifiworld.com/PT/

Um mês depois de ter anunciado a chegada do projecto, a revista portuguesa de filmes de terror foi oficialmente lançada. Activamente alcançando a sua audiência através de um simples e inteligível website, do cantarolante pássaro azul e da máquina social Facebook, é sustentada por um vasto espectro de experiências (bloggers, argumentistas, fãs) e é parceira de festivais prestigiados como o Fantasporto ou Stiges.

http://www.thescifiworld.com/PT/

"The Artist" nails BAFTAs

BEST FILM

The Artist

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

DAVID LEAN AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION

Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)

BEST ACTOR

Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS

Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Octavia Spencer (The Help)

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH SCREENWRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

Paddy Considine (writer/director, Tyrannosaur) and Diarmid Scrimshaw (producer, Tyrannosaur)

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The Skin I Live In (Spain)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Senna

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Rango

ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD FOR FILM MUSIC

Ludovic Bource (The Artist)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Guillaume Schiffman (The Artist)

BEST EDITING

Chris King & Gregers Sall (Senna)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Hugo

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Artist

BEST MAKE UP/HAIR

The Iron Lady

BEST SOUND

Hugo

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

BEST SHORT ANIMATION

A Morning Stroll

BEST SHORT FILM

Pitch Black Heist

OUTSTANDING BRITISH TO CINEMA

John Hurt

ORANGE WEDNESDAY RISING STAR AWARD

Adam Deacon

ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP AWARD

Martin Scorsese

Whitney (1963 - 2012)

Hugo (2011), what dreams are made of

 

Last year was as much a rocket launcher for future and change, as an inwards and unexpected unfolding of an old endearing photo album. The world throbbed when, from Tunisia, to Egypt, to Libya, the Middle East came into the streets protesting against war, repression and corruption, historical revolutions that may have meant the blossoming of a new era, the Arab Spring. Russia came along and the whole West kept fighting the uncertainty towards a wounded economic system, asking for a rethinking of strategies and values. Back in 1929-33, during the Great Depression, there was this big black box providing people with hope, laughs and cries, amazement. The dreamland, the movies. We can't avoid looking at this year's productions without recalling their eternal escape-providing nature, especially if we consider that three of its major masterpieces refer to the nostalgia of a golden age: Midnight in Paris, The Artist and now Hugo. A romantic comedy in the Parisian artistic circles in the twenties, a melodramatic comedy as Hollywood fostered sound and an adventure coming-of-age, praising the wizardry behind George Mélies' work.

Hugo, adapted by the exquisite craftsman John Logan from the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick, blends the passionate film buff, with the masterful filmmaker behind Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Aviator, with the most engaging teacher, as author of documentaries on American and Italian cinema, with the historian and restorer that created The Film Foundation. Those are all Martin Scorsese, in one of the most personal films of his career. The story of a Dickensian boy hero, Hugo, who wrestles to fix an intriguing old toy machine, which he believes may contain the last message his late father left him. When he meets Papa George and his granddaughter Isabelle, we can barely suspect the 12-year old has the key to the heart that pumped some of the most remarkable and crucial advances in film, regarding storytelling, editing and visual effects. Although he lives on a structure designed for a younger target audience, thus the very funny lighthearted reliefs from the Station Inspector, the dogs and the old couple, the story goes tenderly deeper, unveiling child-like genuine and powerful thoughts about our purpose in life. Hugo truly re-opens someone's self, rather than simply wind up a gadget, as George Mélies arcs from a grouchy, bitter man suffering with a past long gone to the glorious figure we still remember today - magician, inventor, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
 
"I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason."

Grandiloquent crane shots and breathtaking travelings, from the world to a room, from a city to a face. Paris tickles with lights and sounds, motions fast blurring vehicles, and the first shot leaves us astounding at its clockwise cityscape, when it is suddenly replaced by the engines of a large clock in the Gare of Montparnasse. That's merely the initial glimpse of the brilliant force made by Logan's script, Martin's vision and Thelma Shoonmaker's talent. When a train crashes off the rails, it pays off Arrival of a Train to a Station by the Lumiére brothers and Mélies's A Trip to the Moon. The ending, after a third act made of a rainbowish, doc-lyrical, ultimate ode to dozens of the French director's works, translates the meta-themeline to the meta-technicae, when by using one of Georges' great discoveries, Scorsese transforms the character played by Ben Kingsley in the actual Mélies, in a screen inside a screen. An additional note of appraisal to the work of the rest of the cast, chiefly the much promising rookie Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Nice cameos by Martin himself and Christopher Lee. Beautiful score by Howard Shore and the usual ravishing photography by Richardson.

"José e Pilar", na versão Director's Cut

O filme português na versão muito alargada (cinco horas) de Director's Cut, depois de uma boa, importante e muito relevante campanha de promoção nos Estados Unidos aquando da corrida aos Óscares. Um dos poucos filmes portugueses que deixa de parte o amadorismo que os corrói e se preocupa em dar aos espectadores uma grande experiência de cinema. Em baixo, o comunicado oficial.

"A Fundação Lapa do Lobo, a RESUL e a JumpCut em conjunto com Cinemateca Portuguesa-Museu do Cinema, irão apresentar em sessão única, uma versão de trabalho do filme José e Pilar, de cerca de 5h (291') correspondente ao 1º corte do filme, feito do total das 240 horas filmadas. No dia 11 de Fevereiro às 15h30 será exibida esta versão, "director's cut", do filme José e Pilar, na Cinemateca Portuguesa, na sala Félix Ribeiro. A sessão será dividida em 5 partes intercaladas com intervalos de 5 a 10 minutos, onde todos os espectadores poderão provar o vinho "José e Pilar" da Adega Mayor. Sessão esta que marca o f

im de um

longo ciclo com o lançamento oficial da caixa de coleccionador "José e Pilar", que estará à venda em todas as lojas FNAC e que contém o livro de entrevistas inéditas, o DVD duplo, o CD da Banda Sonora Original do filme e ainda um impressão polaroid autografada pelo realizador Miguel Gonçalves Mendes e Pilar del Río. Estão todos convidados a assistir. Os bilhetes podem ser adquiridos na bilheteira da Cinemateca Portuguesa dentro dos horários normais de funcionamento da mesma."