2009 Awards

Best Picture
(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Moon
The Road
A Serious Man
Up

Best Actor
Nicolas Cage for The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt for (500) Days of Summer
Viggo Mortensen for The Road
Sam Rockwell for Moon

Best Actress
Zooey Deschanel for (500) Days of Summer
Alison Lohman for Drag Me to Hell
Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones
Zoe Saldana for Avatar
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Jim Broadbent for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
Jude Law for Sherlock Holmes
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Marion Cotillard for Nine
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
Diane Kruger for Inglourious Basterds
Melanie Laurent for Inglourious Basterds

Best Cast
The Hangover
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Up in the Air

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
Neill Blomkamp for District 9
James Cameron for Avatar
Werner Herzog for The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

Best Cinematography
Avatar
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
The Road

Best Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer; Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Big Fan; Robert D. Siegel
Inglourious Basterds; Quentin Tarantino
A Serious Man; Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans; William M. Finkelstein
District 9; Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Fantastic Mr. Fox; Wes Anderson, Noah Baumback, Roald Dahl
Up in the Air; Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
Watchmen; David Hayter, Alan Moore, Alex Tse, Dave Gibbons

Best Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Moon

Best Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Up

Best Documentary
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
The Cove
Tyson

Best Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Best Costume Design
Coco avant Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Watchmen

Best Original Score
Avatar
Moon
Up

Best Sound Design
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Up

Best Soundtrack
(500) Days of Summer
Nine
Watchmen

Guess that movie!

No review today. This is just something I was doing on a forum. They are movies in four slides done very poorly in MS Paint. Though these are not really all that challenging, feel free to leave your guesses/answers by commenting.

Inglourious Basterds

Scalpel? If you were one of many to get a glance at 'Inglourious Basterds' in its trailer form, then you would be under the impression that this movie is all about scalping some Nazis. True to the extent that there is scalping in this film but it's much more than that. Basterds is sliced up into five chapters each with its own purpose. This of course has been done by director/screenwriter - Quentin Tarantino. Even without reading that previous sentence, you could easily tell that this is Tarantino's work, as it has his finger prints all over it. No way is that a bad thing either, as Basterds has some truly jaw dropping, laugh out loud and cringe worthy moments that you won't soon forget.

In order for these scenes to shine, Tarantino has weaved his magic but he should be thankful for his cast. The main man on the cover was Brad Pitt as our knife wielding protagonist - Lt. Aldo Raine. Aldo was at the forefront of putting some serious gashes in the Nazi regime and Pitt couldn't have portrayed this character better, which shows him to be one of the more versatile actors out there. Completely out of left field, however, is the performance from the "Jew Hunter" himself, Christoph Waltz, who steals the entire show. It is no exaggeration that Waltz's performance should be regarded as "Oscar worthy".

Over time, I believe this movie will only get better. Whether you want to poke around for flaws, It won't change that Basterds will be made example of for the right reasons. Especially since it has scenes such as the bilingual one seen in the first chapter that manages to set the tone for the whole movie. Chapter four may have dragged on, but due to some cutting-edge pacing, time becomes irrelevant as this film is on a whole other level when it comes to speed. If you were doubtful of 'Inglourious Basterds' being a worthy footnote in Tarantino's catalogue or a movie better suited for the chopping board, then I cannot stress enough that you should change your mindset. It is even more alarming then the amount of puns I have used in this review thus far. On the other side of the equation however, I'll be part of the crowd licking their lips in anticipation for Tarantino's next film. Or sharpening your machete if that's your prerogative.

District 9

The trailer for 'District 9' does not do justice for the 112 minutes that follow when you experience this real treat of a film. Surprise hit of the summer are the words at the edge of my tongue to describe this. However, for me, this is one of the biggest understatements I could possibly make. Maybe I'm in the mindset of a teenage girl who thinks she has found true love with her first high school boyfriend. Blissfully ignorant, I remain despite this niggling feeling I have. I'm willing to say that this is one of the best films I have seen in years and a front runner for best of the year. A big call but all is just for this movie. 'District 9' really is one of the most complete packages to be released on the big screen.

Peter Jackson's name spread across the advertisements would have been the major selling point as Neill Blomkamp is hardly a household name. That has now definitely changed, what a way to hit the mainstream market. 2008 had a substantial roster of action blockbusters that were actually good where as 2009 has been somewhat of a drought. It is a pleasure to see that after this years batch of blockbusters making us feeling a bit cheated, we have been given a movie that did not just deliver in action but also made you think. Sure, it has all the flashy lights and gadgets that will impress any man and his dog, but there is a story here that deserves to be paid attention to. This movie should be made an example of how to make a good sci-fi flick.

You're probably wondering what this movie is even about. Well by whatever time you're reading this you have either already seen it or you haven't. If you're in the latter of the categories then know now, I'm not going to tell you as you should already be buying your ticket, renting it or downloading it. By whatever method you go about watching movies, I don't really care as long as you watch it.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

If 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Fight Club' are referred to as the glorious wet dream of the 14 year old community then 'Kill Bill' is certainly the 15 year old equivalent. For the record, I have enjoyed all aforementioned movies, though to certain extents. 'Kill Bill' was released in two volumes but is essentially one movie so it should be judged in that way. It is an action movie that pays homage to; (lets just use wikipedia here) - The movie is an epic-length revenge drama, with homages to earlier film genres, such as Hong Kong martial arts movies, Japanese Chanbara films, exploitation films and Italian spaghetti westerns.

Now apparently the more of the films 'Kill Bill' pays homage to, the more you enjoy this movie. I am not a fan of this particular theory. For example, I had seen all the films in which the 2007 feature 'Be Kind Rewind' had made short rip offs of. However despite understanding where the entertainment was meant to be coming from, that did alter the fact that it was not enjoyable to watch.

I have viewed 'Kill Bill' a total of two times now. First when it was originally released and I was not such a big fan of movies and again after I had a much more extensive list of movies under my belt. What had changed? Well, I appreciated the editing, cinematography and music more but my overall feeling was "good movie". Never did the movie have the effect on me where I immediately wanted to rave about it to everyone in a one mile radius. Never was it intended to be the next 'Citizen Kane' with performances that caused Oscar buzz. What was actually scripted to occur was the viewer going on a roller coaster ride though the nearest fun land. This feature just does not stir me in that direction. All you really do is catch reference upon reference and bare witness to a notable amount of violence and if that is the best that 'Kill Bill' can offer on its menu, then I severely doubt, I'll be staying for dessert.