The Movie Rat

2009 BAM Award Nominations

Posted on December 26, 2012 by bernardovillela

As those who are my friends on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter know, in December I am gearing up for my annual film awards (The BAM Awards), and that only partially explains my recent reposting of all past winners.

Since these are picks made by one person, the nominating process is even more important. Aside from the the past years, the full slate of nominees from all years past was no public knowledge.

This is because essentially the first time I did them, in 1996, I created them by myself for myself. At the time, I knew a lot less about how these decisions are made, campaigning, the year-end barrage of contenders and the like, such that the releasing of the Academy Award nominees was even more frustrating. Rather than just bemoan it I decided to create an award slate based on what I had seen.

Back then I was ticket stub pack rat, at the time it was the only way to track anything. So I created the list, picked winners and printed it out. The fact that I stuck with hard copies and no back-up created issues, however, it was just for me at the time.

I called them the BAM Awards because I needed a name. I suppose I came up with Bernardo Academy of Movies because I was being reactionary to The Academy. How one man by himself can be an Academy I didn’t fully consider. I thought it was kind of a silly name even at the time so eventually it just became BAM.

Slowly, the awards widened: soon I emailed a select group of friends (that created eventual storage issues), a few years ago when I was on the Site That Must Not Be Named I decided to really take it public. I didn’t think about it ahead of time, it just occurred to me roundabout late November of ’09 that I could.

The publication was an exciting and unnerving process regardless of how many or how few people would actually care to see them. While there are a two categories (which I now and again consider ending, and have skipped on occasion) which are negative, it is a positive emotion that brings me to these announcements. I want to at the end of this period of time share what I thought an why, and all winner announcements come with some explanation, and I do belabor them and struggle with them.

So it is heartening that last year, for the first time, the actual honorees, be they nominees or winners, on occasion acknowledged it. Now that may seem like a self-aggrandizing statement, but what I liked was knowing the news reached them and other people and they were pleased to hear it. The design of these awards are to cement what performances, works and films most affected me, I make no bones about that, and sharing that felt like a gamble, but it’s been rewarding for that and many other reason.

Of course, if you see a film missing from any year you may inquire, and there is room for intelligent discourse, but the above statements are true: trolling or disrespectful comments aimed at who was chosen won’t be tolerated. Your own awards are just a blog post away.

I apologize for even needing to insert that statement but I did have cause to make similar points last year. Anyway, with how much I enjoyed last year’s and how much I’m looking forward to this year’s awards, I thought it’d be a good idea to put all I have out there in a “reverse” countdown.

So here goes…

2009

The Following are the BAM Award nominations. They reflect only the opinion of this critic and are based solely on the films he was able to see during the course of the past calendar year.
Unlike previous years only films released in the calendar year qualified. This narrowed the pool somewhat but there are good things to be found within indeed. A statement about the year in
film will follow with the winners and with the winners you will also get photos and with the special awards a little more info. The winners will be published on December 31st, 2009.

Best Picture

Where the Wild Things Are
 My One and Only 
Lymelife 
Inglourious Basterds
 Up
 Whatever Works
 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 A Single Man
 Before Tomorrow 
Is Anybody There?

Best Director

John Crowley Is Anybody There?
 Spike Jonze Where the Wild Things Are
 Derick Martini Lymelife
 Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds
 David Yates Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Best Actor

Sacha Baron Cohen Brüno 
Sharlto Copley District 9
 Colin Firth A Single Man 
Logan Lerman My One and Only 
Viggo Mortensen The Road

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock The Blind Side 
Kelly Macdonald The Merry Gentleman
 Michelle Monaghan Trucker
 Mélanie Laurent Inglourious Basterds
 Renee Zellweger My One and Only

Best Supporting Actor

Michael Caine Is Anybody There? 
Peter Capaldi In the Loop
 Zach Galifianakis The Hangover
 Christian McKay Me & Orson Welles 
Christoph Waltz Inglorious Basterds

  Best Supporting Actress

Anna Chlumsky In the Loop 
Diane Kruger Inglourious Basterds 
Julianne Moore A Single Man
 Maggie Smith Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 
Charlize Theron The Road

Best Cinematography

Lance Acord Where the Wild Things Are 
Javier Aguirresarobe The Road
 Norman Cohn and Félix Lajeunesse Before Tomorrow
 Bruno Delbonnel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 Chris Seager The Merry Gentleman

Best Makeup

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 The Unborn
 Inglourious Basterds
 The Road
 A Single Man

  Most Overrated Film

Drag Me to Hell  
Orphan
 In the Loop 
Sin Nombre
 Paranormal Activity

Most Underrated Film

Aliens in the Attic 
Shorts
 Old Dogs
 Hotel for Dogs
 Before Tomorrow

Worst Picture

  Pandorum 
Orphan 
The Uninvited
 Halloween II 
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Best Editing

Norman Cohn, Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Louise Dugal & Félix Lajeunesse Before Tomorrow 
James Haygood and Eric Zumbrunnen Where the Wild Things Are 
Alan Edward Bell (500) Days of Summer 
Joan Sobel A Single Man 
Mark Day Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Best Song

“The Climb” Miley Cyrus Hannah Montana: The Movie 
“Quiero que Me Quieras” Gael Garcia Bernal Rudo y Cursi
 ”Raining Sunshine” Miranda Cosgrove Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Best Score

Carter Burwell and Karen O. Where the Wild Things Are 
Abel Korzeniowski A Single Man 
Marco Beltrami Knowing 
Mark Isham My One and Only
 James Horner Avatar

Best Sound Editing  

Aliens in the Attic 
District 9 
2012
 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 
Avatar

Best Visual Effects

Avatar 
District 9 
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 Star Trek
 Where the Wild Things Are

Best Cast

Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Cristoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak and Mike Myers Inglourious Basterds
 Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult in A Single Man 
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, etc. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 
Renee Zellweger, Logan Lerman, Mark Rendall, Kevin Bacon and Nick Stahl My One and Only 
Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Emma Roberts, Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton and Cynthia Nixon Lymelife

Best Performance by a Child Actor

Jimmy Bennett Trucker 
Bill Milner Is Anybody There?
 Kodi Smit-McPhee The Road 
Chandler Canterbury Knowing
 Max Records Where the Wild Things Are

Best Original Screenplay

Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds
 Woody Allen Whatever Works 
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (500) Days of Summer 
Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg Aliens in the Attic 
John Lucas and Scott Moore The Hangover

Best Adapted Screenplay

Spike Jonze, David Eggers and Maurice Sendak Where the Wild Things Are
 Susan Avingaq, Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Ivalu and Jørn Riel Before Tomorrow
 Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman and Gene Roddenberry Star Trek 
Joe Penhall and Cormac McCarthy The Road

Best Art Direction

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 
Is Anybody There? 
Aliens in the Attic 
My One and Only 
A Single Man

  Best Costumes

  My One and Only 
Me & Orson Welles
 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 Where the Wild Things Are
 A Single Man

 The Ingmar Bergman Lifetime Achievement Award 

Werner Herzog

The Robert Downey, Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year 

Michael Keaton

Nominations

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince– 11 
Where the Wild Things Are and A Single Man– 9 
My One and Only, Inglourious Basterds– 7 
The Road– 6 
Before Tomorrow, Is Anybody There?– 5 
Lymelife, District 9, In the Loop, Aliens in the Attic, Avatar– 3 
Whatever Works, The Merry Gentleman, Trucker, The Hangover, Me & Orson Welles, Orphan, Knowing, Star Trek, (500) Days of Summer– 2 
Brüno, The Blind Side, The Unborn, Drag Me to Hell, Uninvited, Sin Nombre, Paranormal Activity, Halloween II, Shorts, Old Dogs, Pandorum, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Hotel for Dogs, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Rudo y Cursi, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 2012– 1

Christmas Special Review- The Little Drummer Boy

Posted on December 25, 2012 by bernardovillela

Many, and by many I mean a vast majority of, Christmas specials are more secular in nature meaning they deal with the myths and the folklore of the season, which is all well and good, but on occasion it is important to reflect on the true significance of the date. When more secular specials break for a moment into the more spiritual, and the better ones do like Charlie Brown and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, it is noteworthy. More noteworthy still is one that deals head on with the religious aspect of the holiday.

To start about the only thing, of major significance, you can knock this special on is some of the writing, it is likely the weakest in that department of the wonderful specials that Romeo Muller and Rankin & Bass brought us. There is a lot of repetition early on about how Aaron hates people, however, some of the finer writing in the piece is when you finally see why.

Also noteworthy are the words Muller wrote which are elevated by the stunning narration by Greer Garson. There is no narrator personified in the case. She is simply a storyteller whose voice moves the tale along which makes her role more important and allows you to delve deeper into this profound tale.

Where this special separates itself is that it is the most cinematic. The climax of the tale is practically all visuals and this film soars to new heights as Aaron is overcome with emotion and changes. He decides on his gift with little commentary. Then there is no commentary as for the first time in the special we hear the Vienna Boys’ Choir singing “The Little Drummer Boy” in its entirety and in full voice.

Then the conclusion which sends this film out of the stratosphere is the closing as relayed by Our Story Teller, as the narrator is referred to in the script. It’s a story that starts a bit slowly and uneasily but absolutely packs a wallop each and every time you see it, and beautifully sends home the message of the holiday.

The visceral impact of the conclusion of this short special is what makes this the absolute best special that Rankin and Bass ever put out. It’s an absolute classic.

Christmas Special Review- It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown

Posted on December 24, 2012 by bernardovillela

Unlike its predecessor, and like many sequels, this sequel doesn’t quite work and fails to live up to the standard set by the original.

There is a lack of focus in the story-telling and a lack of foreword progress in the narrative. The tale starts with Charlie inexplicably hocking wares related to the holiday, trying to exploit the commercialism of the season. This goes a bit beyond him reverting to his former self into a wholly uncharted territory of regression to another character type.

Part of the reason this film lacks some focus is because it’s later in the history of the Peanuts and new characters have been introduced. Characters that are a presence in the strip and split focus here. A lot of the time is spent with Patty and Marcy, and thus, Charlie takes a backseat and quits being a salesman unannounced and due to his utter failure at it.   There is no real climax to this story either. Things that would’ve lead up to it aren’t seen but discussed and then there’s an ending. No real denouement either, no crescendo, just an abrupt stop.

The humor and observations do stop this film from being downright awful and raise it to a level of unfortunate awkwardness.

2008 BAM Awards

Posted on December 24, 2012 by bernardovillela

Since these are picks made by one person, the nominating process is even more important. Aside from the the past years, the full slate of nominees from all years past was not public knowledge.

This is because essentially the first time I did them, in 1996, I created them by myself for myself. At the time, I knew a lot less about how these decisions are made, campaigning, the year-end barrage of contenders and the like, such that the releasing of the Academy Award nominees was even more frustrating. Rather than just bemoan it I decided to create an award slate based on what I had seen.

Back then I was ticket stub pack rat, at the time it was the only way to track anything. So I created the list, picked winners and printed it out. The fact that I stuck with hard copies and no back-up created issues, however, it was just for me at the time.

I called them the BAM Awards because I needed a name. I suppose I came up with Bernardo Academy of Movies because I was being reactionary to The Academy. How one man by himself can be an Academy I didn’t fully consider. I thought it was kind of a silly name even at the time so eventually it just became BAM.

Slowly, the awards widened: soon I emailed a select group of friends (that created eventual storage issues), a few years ago when I was on the Site That Must Not Be Named I decided to really take it public. I didn’t think about it ahead of time, it just occurred to me roundabout late November of ’09 that I could.

The publication was an exciting and unnerving process regardless of how many or how few people would actually care to see them. While there are a two categories (which I now and again consider ending, and have skipped on occasion) which are negative, it is a positive emotion that brings me to these announcements. I want to at the end of this period of time share what I thought an why, and all winner announcements come with some explanation, and I do belabor them and struggle with them.

So it is heartening that last year, for the first time, the actual honorees, be they nominees or winners, on occasion acknowledged it. Now that may seem like a self-aggrandizing statement, but what I liked was knowing the news reached them and other people and they were pleased to hear it. The design of these awards are to cement what performances, works and films most affected me, I make no bones about that, and sharing that felt like a gamble, but it’s been rewarding for that and many other reason.

Of course, if you see a film missing from any year you may inquire, and there is room for intelligent discourse, but the above statements are true: trolling or disrespectful comments aimed at who was chosen won’t be tolerated. Your own awards are just a blog post away.

I apologize for even needing to insert that statement but I did have cause to make similar points last year. Anyway, with how much I enjoyed last year’s and how much I’m looking forward to this year’s awards, I thought it’d be a good idea to put all I have out there in a “reverse” countdown.

So here goes…

2008

OK same disclaimer as always. BAM stands for Bernardo Academy of Movies, the name stinks but I was fifteen when I made it up and I won’t be changing it now. These awards are also based on my opinion alone and cannot be swayed only debated. Conversely if I did not see something that could be why it’s not nominated. You may also see some ’07 titles that I was unable to see until early ’08.

Winners and my rant re: 2008 will come in a day or two.

Winners are both BOTH and pictured.

Best Picture (Top 10)

Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in)
Mother of Tears (La Terza Madre)
Australia
La Vie en Rose (La Mome)
Son of Rambow
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon)
Tropic Thunder
Juno
The Substitute (Vikaren)
The Spiderwick Chronicles

Best Director

Thomas Alfredson Let The Right One In
Garth Jennings Son of Rambow
Baz Luhrmann Australia
Julian Schnabel The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
Ben Stiller Tropic Thunder

Best Actor

Mathieu Almaric The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Javier Bardem Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Steve Carell Get Smart
Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man
Sean Penn Milk

Best Actress

Asia Argento Mother of Tears
Marion Cotillard La Vie en Rose
Rebecca Hall Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Nicole Kidman Australia
Ellen Page Juno

Best Supporting Actor

Tom Cruise Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. Charlie Bartlett
Robert Downey Jr. Tropic Thunder
Heath Ledger The Dark Knight
Will Poulter Son of Rambow

Best Supporting Actress

Penelope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Jennifer Garner Juno
Alison Pill Milk
Joan Plowright The Spiderwick Chronicles
Mary Steenburgen Step Brothers

Best Cinematography

Caleb Deschanel The Spiderwick Chronicles
Frederic Fasano Mother of Tears
Hoyte Van Hoytema Let the Right One In
Janusz Kaminski The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tetsuo Nagata La Mome

Best Makeup

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Mother of Tears
Let the Right One In
Australia

Most Overrated Film

The Dark Knight
Twilight
Pineapple Express
Wall-E
The Incredible Hulk

Most Underrated Film

The Spiderwick Chronicles
Son of Rambow
X-Files: I Want to Believe
Get Smart
The Love Guru

Worst Picture

The Happening
The Incredible Hulk
Mirrors
Prom Night
Twilight

Best Editing

Thomas Alfredson and Daniel Jonsäter Let the Right One In
Walter Fasano Mother of Tears
Richard Marizy La Mome
Michael Kahn The Spiderwick Chronicles
Juliette Welfling The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Song

A Capella rendition of “Sweet Child O’Mine” in Step Brothers
“Boats and Hoes” Step Brothers
“The Boys are Back” High School Musical 3
“A Night to Remember” High School Musical 3
“Booty Sweat jingle” Tropic Thunder

Best Soundtrack

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Mother of Tears
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Juno
La Vie En Rose

Best Sound Editing

The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
La Terza Madre
Indiana Jones and the Legend of the Crystal Skull
The Dark Knight

Best Visual Effects

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Substitute
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Dark Knight

Best Cast

Paprika Steen, Ulrich Thomasen, Johan Wandschneider, Nikolai Falkenberg-Klok, Emme Jule Justesen, Mollie Maria Gilmartin, Josephin Gents, etc. The Substitute
Lina Leandersson, Kare Hedebrant, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord and Martin Ram Let the Right One In
Amy Hall, Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey, Jr., Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny R. McBride, Brandon T. Jackson, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaghuey and Brandon Soo Hoo Tropic Thunder
Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Allison Pill, Joseph Cross and Diego Luna Milk

Best Performance by a Child Actor

Kare Hedebrant Let the Right One In
Freddie Highmore The Spiderwick Chronicles
Lina Leandersson Let the Right One In
Will Poulter Son of Rambow
Brandon Walters Australia

Best Original Screenplay

Woody Allen Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Dustin Lance Black Milk
Diablo Cody Juno
Garth Jennings Son of Rambow
Ben Stiller, Justin Thoreau and Ethan Cohen Tropic Thunder

Best Adapted Screenplay*

Johan Ajvide Lindqvist Let the Right One In
Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer and Bob Kane The Dark Knight
Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby Iron Man
Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Karey Kirkpatrick, David Berenbaum, John Sayles, Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black The Spiderwick Chronicles

Best Art Direction

La Vie En Rose
Let the Right One In
The Strangers
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Substitute

NOMINATIONS
——————-

Let the Right One In– 10 Nominations
The Spiderwick Chronicles– 10 Nomination
Tropic Thunder– 7 Nominations
Mother of Tears– 6 Nominations
Son of Rambow– 6 Nominations
Vicky Cristina Barcelona– 6 Nominations
Australia– 5 Nominations
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly– 5 Nominations
Juno– 5 Nominations
The Dark Knight– 5 nominations
La Vie en Rose– 5 Nominations
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian– 4 nominations
The Substitute-4 Nominations
Milk– 4 nominations
Step Brothers– 3 nominations
High School Musical 3: The Senior Year– 3 Nominations
Iron Man– 2 nominations
Get Smart– 2 Nominations
Charlie Bartlett, Twilight, Wall-E, The Incredible Hulk, Pineapple Express, X-Files: I Want to Believe, The Love Guru, Mirrors, Prom Night, The Happening, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Strangers– 1 nomination

2007 BAM Nominees and Winners

Posted on December 23, 2012 by bernardovillela

So here goes…

2007

Disclaimers:

1. These awards are fictitious and represent only my, Bernardo Villela’s, opinions about the past year in film….
2. BAM stands for Bernardo Academy of Movies. Lame, hence I made it up in High School. And has no connections with Emeril Legasse whatsoever…..
3. Some titles I was unable to view in 2006 were eligible in 2007. Films I didn’t see are not eligible

Message: You’ll notice that there are 10 best picture nominees but not because 2007 was the best year in film history quite to the contrary it was probably the weakest since this award officially began (1996). However, the choices seem to be easier when there are standout films all around these decisions were hard and allowed me to finally make a top 10 list. Other unusual decisions follow and will be explained within.

Winners are in BOLD and pictured.

Best Picture

August Rush
Hairspray
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Last Mimzy
Brand Upon the Brain!
The Departed
Across the Universe
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Hot Fuzz
Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)

Note: Even picking ten wasn’t easy honorable mentions to Bridge to Terabithia and The Simpsons Movie, Notes on a Scandal.

Best Director

Guy Maddin Brand Upon the Brain!
Edgar Wright Hot Fuzz
Timur Bekmambetov Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)  
Martin Scorcese The Departed
Julie Taymor Across the Universe

Note: Director was a lot easier to discern.

Best Actor

Daniel Radcliffe Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Josh Hutcherson Bridge to Terabithia
Rowan Atkinson Mr. Bean’s Holiday
Leonardo DiCaprio The Departed
Christian Bale 3:10 to Yuma

Best Actress

AnnaSophia Robb Bridge to Terabithia
Emma Watson Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Isabella Rossellini Brand Upon the Brain!
Nikki Blonsky Hairspray
Cate Blanchett Notes on a Scandal

Best Supporting Actor

Logan Lerman 3:10 to Yuma
Rupert Grint Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Russell Crowe 3:10 to Yuma
Jack Nicholson The Departed
Nick Frost Hot Fuzz

Best Supporting Actress

Imelda Staunton Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Maggie Smith Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Galina Tyunina Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)
Judi Dench Notes on a Scandal
Julie Walters Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 Best Cinematography

Benjamin Kasulke Brand Upon the Brain!
Bruno Delbonnel Across the Universe
Jess Hall Hot Fuzz
Joel Ransom The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
Sergei Trofimov Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)

Best Makeup

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Pirates of the Carribbean: At World’s End
28 Weeks Later
Grindhouse
Hairspray

Most Overrated Picture

Pirates of the Carribbean: At World’s End
28 Weeks Later
Superbad
Shrek the Third
High School Musical 2

Most Underrated Picture

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)
Mr. Bean’s Holiday
August Rush
The Last Mimzy

 Worst Picture

Pirates of the Carribbean: At World’s End
The Messengers
28 Weeks Later
High School Musical 2
The Last Sin Eater

NOTE: While it had great production values I fell asleep watching it and would’ve have stayed asleep of my snoring wasn’t interfering with other people’s “enjoyment” of the film.

Best Editing

Mark Day Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
William Steinkamp August Rush
Thelma Schoonmaker The Departed
Dmitri Kiselev Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)
Chris Dickens Hot Fuzz

Best Song

“Witch Doctor” Alvin and the Chipmunks
“Christmas Don’t Be Late (The Chipmunk Song)” Alvin and the Chipmunks
“You Can’t Stop the Beat” Hairspray
“The New Girl in Town” Hairspray
“Spiderpig” The Simpsons Movie

Best Score

Nicholas Hooper Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Nick Mancina August Rush
James Newton Howard The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Howard Shore The Last Mimzy
Philip Glass Notes on a Scandal

Best Soundtrack

Hairspray
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Across the Universe
August Rush
 Mr. Bean’s Holiday

Best Costume Design

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Hairspray
Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)
Bridge to Terabithia

Best Sound Editing

August Rush
Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
The Last Mimzy
Hot Fuzz 

Best Visual Effects

Across the Universe
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Alvin and the Chipmunks
The Last Mimzy
Day Watch (Dnevoy dozor)

Best Cast

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Jason Isaacs, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Julie Walters, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Isabella Rossellini, Gretchen Kirch, Sullivan Brown, Maya Lawson and Katherin E. Scharhon Brand Upon the Brain!
Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelly, Christopher Walken, John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer and Britney Snow Hairspray
Chris O’Neil, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, Joely Richardson, Timothy Sutton, Michael Clark Duncan and Rainn Wilson The Last Mimzy
Leonardo Di Caprio, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Matt Damon The Departed

Best Performance by a Child Actor

Josh Hutcherson Bridge to Terabithia
AnnaSophia Robb Bridge to Terabithia
Logan Lerman 3:10 to Yuma
Freddie Highmore August Rush
Alex Etel The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Daeg Faerch Halloween

NOTE: The six nominees in this category is due to the incredible talent level of the field.

Best Original Screenplay

Guy Maddin and George Toles Brand Upon the Brain!
Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Eli Roth and Jeff Rendell Grindhouse
Simon McBurney, Hamish McColl, Robin Driscoll and Rowan Atkinson Mr. Bean’s Holiday
Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean et al. The Simpsons Movie
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright Hot Fuzz

Best Adapted Screenplay

Micheal Goldenberg and J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Bruce Joel Rubin, Toby Emmerich, James V. hart, Carol Skiken, Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore The Last Mimzy
Robert Nelson Jacobs and Dick King-Smith The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Leslie Dixon, John Waters, Thomas Meehan and Mark o’Donnell Hairspray
Timur Bekmambetov, Alexander Talal, Vladimir Vasiliev and Sergei Luyanenko Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor)

Best Art Direction

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Captivity
Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor)
The Last Mimzy

Nominations

 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 14 nominations (4 wins)
 Day Watch 11 Nominations (3 wins)….
The Last Mimzy 9 nominations (1 win)….
Hairspray 9 nominations (2 Wins)….
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep 8 nominations (1 Win)….
Hot Fuzz– 7 nominations (2 wins)….
Brand Upon the Brain!, Bridge to Terabithia (1 Win)- 6 nominations ….
August Rush (2 Wins), The Departed (2 Wins), Across the Universe– 5 nominations….
3:10 to Yuma, Mr. Bean’s Holiday – 4 nominations….
Pirates of the Carribbean: At World’s End (1 Win), Alvin and the Chipmunks, Notes on a Scandal– 3 Nominations….
Superbad (1 Win), The Simpsons Movie, 28 Weeks Later, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising ( 1 win), Grindhouse, High School Musical 2, 1408– 2 nominations….
The Last Sin Eater, Halloween, Captivity, 1408– 1 nomination

Christmas Special Review- A Charlie Brown Christmas

Posted on December 23, 2012 by bernardovillela

When you think of the iconic Christmas specials one of the first, if not the first, that comes to mind has to be A Charlie Brown Christmas. It is most likely the best suited for repeated viewing and in all likelihood holds a special place in the heart of the masses because it’s the one you can most closely identify with.

Think about it: this special probably connects to adults more so than children. Not only is Charlie a character with anxieties and worries but he has developed some of the same observations about Christmas that we do over the years: its become too commercial, it’s a hassle, etc.

The discussion of the commercialism of the holiday is very on the head but it also allows for the easy transition from a secular to a religious story. At first, there is only concern for the fenestration: gifts, decorations, trees and the like. Eventually the true meaning is allowed to burst forth.

It is a very brief but also very powerful intercession of the religious in this tale wherein Linus recites the story of the Nativity. Linus in many ways ends up being the hero of this tale because he is the first to change his mind on Charlie’s modest tree choice, and then, he relates the true story of Christmas.

Of course, the carols in the film are also religious and a breath of fresh air. It’s a fact that many of the memorable Christmas specials feature original music but just as often specials fall flat on their face in their attempt to create something new. Here we get the simple, tried and true and beautiful throughout, whether it be in carols or story choices.

This special succeeds because it is exceedingly human, and like the season, gives us a glimmer of hope for the world annually and that is why it is a timeless classic.

Rewind Review- My One and Only

Posted on December 22, 2012 by bernardovillela

This is an absolute dream of a film that will likely be overlooked by moviegoers and the award season alike but is one of the best films of the year. Due to the fact that much of the film deals with Renée Zellweger’s character seeking a new husband it has been classified as a screwball comedy by many, however, this is but one aspect of this film.

This film is a story full of characters that are well-defined Zellweger who is sensational in this part has a very unique view of life. She in a Blanche DuBois kind of way relies on the kindness of strangers but seeks a certain standard of living for her and her boys. Finding a new father is how she thinks she can best mother them and drags them around the country in the 50s while seeking a new beau.

Being dragged along with her are her two sons Robbie and George. Robbie, the elder, is interested in theatre and fashion and played brilliantly by Mark Rendall. Robbie’s homosexuality is a prime example of the refreshing nature of this film. He just is and it’s like the white elephant in the room and is rarely mentioned which is accurate but he is totally accepted by his mother and half-brother. He also wields a gun without much drama and little stereotype in onepivotal scene.

George is less pleased to be along on the trip. He is more of a realist and frequently clashes with his mother. He is played with remarkable aplomb by Logan Lerman in a startling turn. Lerman will be a star for years to come based on his talent alone.

Renée Zellweger, as mentioned previously, is sensational in this film where she slowly but surely shows there’s more to her than meets the eye and yet realizes her imperfections. She completely immerses herself in this part and disappears into it.

This film has dialogue which is funny and effective. For every funny scene there is one of real emotion. Even though some events you know will happen but the how of it is the fun and what you don’t guess.

The score is also a unique signature and effective. It is jazzy and similar to that the band Dan, the boys’ estranged father played well by Kevin Bacon plays.

The entire supporting cast was extremely good. It’s the kind of movie you can try to fault but you won’t find much if anything. What a great find – go and see it.

10/10

2006 BAM Award Nominees and Winners

Posted on December 22, 2012 by bernardovillela

Since these are picks made by one person, the nominating process is even more important. Aside from the the past years, the full slate of nominees from all years past was no public knowledge.

This is because essentially the first time I did them, in 1996, I created them by myself for myself. At the time, I knew a lot less about how these decisions are made, campaigning, the year-end barrage of contenders and the like, such that the releasing of the Academy Award nominees was even more frustrating. Rather than just bemoan it I decided to create an award slate based on what I had seen.

Back then I was ticket stub pack rat, at the time it was the only way to track anything. So I created the list, picked winners and printed it out. The fact that I stuck with hard copies and no back-up created issues, however, it was just for me at the time.

I called them the BAM Awards because I needed a name. I suppose I came up with Bernardo Academy of Movies because I was being reactionary to The Academy. How one man by himself can be an Academy I didn’t fully consider. I thought it was kind of a silly name even at the time so eventually it just became BAM.

Slowly, the awards widened: soon I emailed a select group of friends (that created eventual storage issues), a few years ago when I was on the Site That Must Not Be Named I decided to really take it public. I didn’t think about it ahead of time, it just occurred to me roundabout late November of ’09 that I could.

The publication was an exciting and unnerving process regardless of how many or how few people would actually care to see them. While there are a two categories (which I now and again consider ending, and have skipped on occasion) which are negative, it is a positive emotion that brings me to these announcements. I want to at the end of this period of time share what I thought an why, and all winner announcements come with some explanation, and I do belabor them and struggle with them.

So it is heartening that last year, for the first time, the actual honorees, be they nominees or winners, on occasion acknowledged it. Now that may seem like a self-aggrandizing statement, but what I liked was knowing the news reached them and other people and they were pleased to hear it. The design of these awards are to cement what performances, works and films most affected me, I make no bones about that, and sharing that felt like a gamble, but it’s been rewarding for that and many other reason.

Of course, if you see a film missing from any year you may inquire, and there is room for intelligent discourse, but the above statements are true: trolling or disrespectful comments aimed at who was chosen won’t be tolerated. Your own awards are just a blog post away.

I apologize for even needing to insert that statement but I did have cause to make similar points last year. Anyway, with how much I enjoyed last year’s and how much I’m looking forward to this year’s awards, I thought it’d be a good idea to put all I have out there in a “reverse” countdown.

So here goes…

2006

Again I give you my comments alone here:

2006 BAM Nominees and Winners Disclaimers:

1. These awards are fictitious and represent only my, Bernardo Villela’s, opinions about the past year in film

2. BAM stands for Bernardo Academy of Movies. Lame, hence I made it up in High School. And has no connections with Emeril Legasse whatsoever.

Message: Let’s hope next year is better overall but this stuff is good.

Winners are in BOLD and pictured.

Best Picture

Wah-Wah (Samuel Goldwyn Pictures)

The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Running Scared
Transamerica
Little Miss Sunshine
Wah-Wah  

Best Director

Mel Gibson Apocalypto
Asia Argento The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Christopher Nolan The Prestige
Duncan Tucker Transamerica
Richard E. Grant Wah-Wah

Best Original Screenplay

Michael Arndt Little Miss Sunshine
Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan The Prestige
Duncan Tucker Transamerica
Wayne Kramer Running Scared
Richard E. Grant Wah-Wah

Best Adapted Screenplay

William Broyles, Jr., Paul Haggis, James Bradley, Ron Powers Flags of Our Fathers
Ryan Murphy and Augusten Burroughs Running with Scissors
Peter Buchman and Christopher Paolini Eragon
Mark Klein and Peter Mayle A Good Year
Armistead Maupin, Patrick Stettner and Terry Anderson The Night Listener

Best Actor

Sacha Baron Cohen Borat
Josh Janowicz December Ends
Aaron Eckhart Thank You For Smoking
Gael Garcia Bernal Le Science des Reves
Nicholas Hoult Wah-Wah

Best Actress

Felicity Huffman Transamerica
Asia Argento The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Annette Bening Running with Scissors
Helen Mirren The Queen
Emily Watson Wah-Wah

Best Supporting Actor

Gabriel Byrne Wah-Wah
Joseph Cross Flags of Out Fathers
Alan Arkin Little Miss Sunshine
Paul Dano Little Miss Sunshine
Greg Kinnear Little Miss Sunshine

Best Supporting Actress

Catherine O’Hara For Your Consideration
Scarlett Johansson The Prestige
Shohreh Aghdashloo The Nativity Story
Rosario Dawson Clerks II
Kristin Chenoweth RV

Best Performance by a Child Actor

Abigail Breslin Little Miss Sunshine
Cameron Bright Running Scared
Cayden Boyd X3:X-Men United
Cole and Dylan Sprouse The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Jimmy Bennett The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things

Best Cast

Little Miss Sunshine
Wah-Wah
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Thank You For Smoking
RV

Best Visual Effects

Eragon
The Nativity Story
Night at the Museum
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest
X3: X-Men United

Best Sound Editing

Eragon
Final Destination 3
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest
Running Scared
X3: X-Men United  

Best Costume Design

The Prestige
The Queen
Sorstalanság
Ultraviolet
X3: X-Men United

Best Soundtrack

December Ends
High School Musical
Transamerica
Running Scared
RV

Best Score

Wah-Wah (Samuel Goldwyn Pictures)

High School Musical
Lady in the Water
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Wah-Wah  

Best Song

‘Travelin’ Thru’ Transamerica
‘Start of Something New’ High School Musical
‘What I’ve Been Looking For’ High School Musical
‘Stick to the Status Quo’ High School Musical
‘We’re All in This Together’ High School Musical

Best Editing

Flags of Our Fathers
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Lady in the Water
Running Scared
Le Sciences du Reves

Worst Picture

The Babysitter
Final Destination 3
Re-Animated
The Shaggy Dog
Trap  

Most Underrated Picture

How To Eat Fried Worms
Lady in the Water
The Nativity Story
Running With Scissors
RV  

Most Overrated

Accepted
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest
Le Science des rêves
Slither
The Queen

Best Makeup

Big Mama’s House 2
Eragon
Lady in the Water
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest
Transamerica

Best Cinematography

Flags of Our Fathers
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
The Nativity Story
Running Scared
Sorstalanság

Nominations

The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things – 8 Nominations (1 win)
Little Miss Sunshine– 8 Nominations (3 Wins)
Wah-Wah– 8 Nominations (5 wins)
Running Scared– 7 Nominations
Transamerica– 7 Nominations (2 Wins)
High School Musical– 6 Nominations (2 Wins)
The Prestige– 4 Nominations (1 Win)
RV– 4 Nominations
Eragon, The Queen, X3: X-Men United, The Nativity Story – 4 Nominations
Flags of Our Fathers, Le Science des rêves, Running with Scissors (1 Win), Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest (1 Win), Lady in the Water – 3 Nominations
December Ends, The Queen (1 win) Thank You For Smoking, Final Destination 3 (1 Win), Sorstalanság (1 Win) 2 Nominations
Apocalypto, A Good Year, The Night Listener, Borat, For Your Consideration (1 Win), Night at the Museum, Ultraviolet, Clerks II, Re-Animated, The Shaggy Dog, Trap, The Babysitter (1 Win), How To Eat Fried Worms (1 Win), Accepted, Slither, Big Mama’s House 2– 1 Nomination

Christmas Special Review- Mickey’s Christmas Carol

Posted on December 22, 2012 by bernardovillela

I don’t know for certain if this airs annually but considering this is a Disney property I’m sure they play it somewhere. Mickey’s Christmas Carol is significant in a number of ways and not just because it was one of the animated crown jewels of my favorite decade.

The first bit of significance that this film holds is that it is the return of Mickey to theatrical shorts (albeit this is a hefty short) after a 30 year hiatus. Secondly, this unlike the other Christmas-themed specials that have been highlighted was released in movie theatres. The others for as cinematic as they may have been were all projects designed for television.

However, all of that is just anecdotal trivia for the film history buffs amongst us. What is truly special here is that not only is this a truly wonderful and moving rendition of Dickens’s classic but it seems as if it was fated to be.

In this short, as the name implies, Disney pulls from its stable of characters to cast its own version of A Christmas Carol. This is a popular device that is frequently used on TV shows most notably recently with Family Guy recreating the original Star Wars trilogy. What’s fun about them for the makers and viewers alike is that combining two well-known entities plays into and against audience expectations.

The “casting” of Mickey’s A Christmas Carol could not be more perfect after all Disney already has a character named Scrooge so from there the progression is natural and eerily similar. Scrooge also has a nephew who likes him and wants his approval even though Scrooge seemingly doesn’t care much for him; Donald. Then, of course, there’s Bob Cratchit and who better to portray him than Mickey Mouse? It goes on though, Goofy plays Jacob Marley, as a child (and to an extent to this day) his first apparition scared me.

They each have love interests (Minnie and Daisy) but then there are also the three spirits: Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Willie the Giant as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Pete as the Ghost of Christmas Future.

Everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carol it is typically the execution we are interested in and the execution in this version is flawless and for many youngsters this could be their indoctrination to the tale as it was for me.

Disney, once upon a time, absolutely positively could not miss on an animated feature or short and this is the epitome of, and a testament to, that greatness.

Short Film Saturday: Rabbit of Seville

Posted on December 22, 2012 by bernardovillela

I could very easily always pick a Looney Tunes short. I love Rabbit of Seville but saw a link wherein True Classics offers some brilliant insight:

Rabbit of Seville is the brainchild of director Chuck Jones, writer Michael Maltese, and frequent Warner Bros. composer Carl Stalling. Stalling was, on occasion, criticized by some (including Jones) for his habit of quoting modern or popular melodies in his scores, and it is true that his scores featured repeated use of certain musical cues for similar situations from cartoon to cartoon–for instance, the recurrence of Rossini’s William Tell overture in chase scenes (particularly those in Western-themed cartoons), or the use of “We’re in the Money” (from Gold Diggers of 1933) in scenes featuring the sudden acquirement of wealth. Stalling’s penchant for musical puns aside, he was nonetheless an incredibly talented musician, and the Stalling scores are among the most memorable in the Warner Bros. animated canon (for a pitch-perfect example of Stalling’s unparalleled talent, see 1943′s A Corny Concerto, directed by Bob Clampett, which Stalling completed with his eventual successor, Milt Franklyn).

In Seville, Jones takes full advantage of Stalling’s musical abilities, as the composer manages to incorporate a slightly abridged version of the overture to Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville at an accelerated tempo that still manages to capture the essence of the original tune. Additionally, he works in a bit of the “Wedding March” from German composer Mendelssohn. Maltese composed new lyrics to accompany the sped-up tune, and aside from Bugs’ final line, the song lyrics are the only dialogue to accompany the cartoon–and really, no dialogue is needed when the lyrics include such brilliant lines as, “There, you’re nice and clean … although your face looks like it might have gone through a machine!”

There are little touches throughout this cartoon that heighten the humor: a sign in the opening scene advertises a “Summer Opera” performance of The Barber of Seville starring “Eduardo Selzeri” (producer Eddie Selzer), “Michele Maltese” (writer Maltese), and “Carlo Jonzi” (director Jones); the stage is set for a scene at a barber’s shop, yet in Rossini’s opera, there is no such scene (despite the character Figaro’s titular position); Bugs (naturally) gets the chance to don drag, as Elmer’s alluring “little senorit-er”; Elmer deals with multiple indignities in Bugs’ Sweeney Todd-esque barber chair o’ horrors, not the least of which is having a hair tonic treatment that results in a patch of red flowers sprouting on his otherwise bald noggin; to bring an end to the madness, Bugs proposes marriage, and Elmer zips offstage briefly and reemerges in a white wedding gown; Bugs’ final, mischievous nod to the audience. The result is a sort of insane mash-up of so-called high and low culture, audaciously combining cartoonish antics and high-brow musical accompaniment in a way that, by all logic, should not work … and yet totally and completely does.

Is Rabbit of Seville as effective a cartoony operetta as What’s Opera, Doc? In truth, not quite–though both cartoons have their strengths, the more satirical bent of the latter cartoon trumps the relentlessly slapsticky nature of Seville. Opera functions as both a parody of its musical source material and an incisive comedic homage to it, while Seville concentrates more on just generally garnering laughs. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with that, for Rabbit of Seville is truly hilarious, and undoubtedly its success enabled Jones, Maltese, and crew to embark on the much more ambitious (and much more expensive) Opera in later years. And its influence has not gone unnoticed; Rabbit of Seville is, like its operatic cartoon brother, on the list of the 50 best cartoons of all time, placing at number twelve, and it remains one of the most popular ‘toons to emerge from the Golden Age of animation. Perhaps most importantly, this cartoon is among a number of memorable Warner Bros. shorts that helped introduce new generations to classical music in a fun, engaging way that, if it didn’t exactly foster new fans of the genre, at least created a lingering awareness of the great compositions of those grand old masters.

Enjoy!