2008 BEST PICTURE: No Country For Old Men

Cinemanyak Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
Tomatometer: 94%
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Rating: 8.3/10
What's your rating? Post a comment below.

Awards and Accomplishments:
Best Picture, 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Direction, 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Supporting Actor (Javie Bardem), 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Adapted Screenplay, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Cinematography, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Palm D'or, 2007 Cannes Film Festival
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Golden Globes
Nominated for Best Director, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Supporting Actor, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Adapted Screenplay, 2008 Screen Golden Globes
Outstanding Cast Performance, 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards


The Oscar Best Picture for 2007.

No Country for Old Men is extraordinary. It even touched the line of weirdness. It feels like seeing Tarantino and Hitchcock in the same movie.

This is not your typical Oscar Best Picture. It is not an epic, neither your common dysfunctional film. It is dark and gloomy. But i personally find it uplifting, not because of its story or its plot. Its uplifting because it shows you how film making can be done with so much art. No Country stands out amidst the chaos of conventional Hollywood films. It's so refreshing to see.

Instead of going through each element in the film, I would like to write what I find interesting in No Country:

1) It's ok NOT to explain everything -- they even bothered to explain why those men were killed. Or who owns the money. The point is a psychopath wants to get that suitcase, and he would kill anyone who will prevent him from that. Forget the "why". Just hug the suspense and enjoy.

2) Acting is very important -- without the proper actors, No Country would look like Friday the 13!

3) End with a punch -- start a debate right after the film, even during the credits. A lot of eyebrows went up right after the abrupt ending of No Country. But hey, that made it so memorable. And i'll go back to point #1: know where to focus and be single-minded. Focus on the essentials and prevent too much side story. A film should not always cover a whole lifetime, know what point in a character's life you want to start -- and end -- your storytelling.

4) Hold the suspense -- i was literally covering my eyes with pillows in some scenes. This is how the film was able to hold the suspense. Without the Coen brothers' skill in directing, No Country will be a film full of non-sense. The way the film glues you in your seat is its strength (and it may be the reason why it won Best Direction and Best Picture).

No Country For Old Men is not an easy film to watch or appreciate. If ever you do watch it, remember that it is an art film. It must be seen with an open mind.

DAYBREAK: Respectable Gay Flick

Cinemanyak Rating: 7.0/10
IMDB Rating: N/A
Tomatometer: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Rating: N/A
What's your rating? Post a comment below.

Seldom do I see a Filipino indie gay film that carries a solid storyline, bears fantastic acting and shows stunning cinematography. DAYBREAK by Adolfo Alix Jr. proved that "gay-topic'ed" films can go beyond sex and can go deeper.

Known for his picturesque approach to films (watch Donsol, Kadin and Batanes), Adolfo's awesome camera treatment was in DAYBREAK (see the trailer below). A Cinemalaya regular, Adolfo was able to create another film which defies formula. The screenplay is simple, but very powerful. It is not pretentious. Very subtle, but it will hit you hard in the end. Coco Martin is an indie expert. Few actors can do such a role, bold yet respectable.

DAYBREAK is definitely one of the best Filipino gay oriented film I've seen in years.

DAYBREAK happens entirely in one place: a rest house in Taal, Batangas. In a single narrative time, we discover what happens to two men spending one night contemplating whether to break up or continue their relationship. William and JP allow us to know their biggest lies. Memories and dreams, truths and lies, fears and desires, betrayal and honesty, love and hate are all closely entwined in this night. Will the light of the sunrise bring this intimacy to an end?

Adolfo always treats the screen as his canvas, and he is not afraid putting colors over it. I once thought that this approach will not work commercially (after Donsol and Kadin in Cinemalaya). But after Batanes and Daybreak, I could fearlessly say that Adolfo Alix Jr. will be one of the biggest names in Philippines cinema.

2008 ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS

UPSET! No Country for Old Men won over There Will Be Blood in this year's Oscars.

No Country for Old Men - 4 Oscars

There Will Be Blood - 2 Oscars

Juno - 1 Oscar

Atonement - 1 Oscar

Bourne Ultimatum - 3 Oscars (big winner in the technical category)

La Vie En Rose - 2 Oscars

Michael Clayton - 1 Oscar

Sweeny Todd - 1 Oscar

Golden Compass - 1 Oscar

Ratatouille - 1 Oscar

Elizabeth: The Golden Age - 1 Oscar

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Winner: No Country for Old Men - Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin

Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Juno - Diablo Cody

Best Documentary, Features
Winner: Taxi to the Dark Side - Alex Gibney, Eva Orner

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Winner: Freeheld - Cynthia Wade, Vanessa Roth

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Atonement - Dario Marianelli

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: Once - Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová(“Falling Slowly” )

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Winner: Fälscher, Die (Austria)

Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Marion Cotillard for Môme, La (La Vie En Rose)

Best Achievement in Sound
Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum - Scott Millan, David Parker, Kirk Francis

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum - Karen M. Baker, Per Hallberg

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: No Country for Old Men - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton

Best Short Film, Animated
Winner: Peter & the Wolf - Suzie Templeton, Hugh Welchman

Best Short Film, Live Action
Winner: Mozart des pickpockets, Le - Philippe Pollet-Villard

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Winner: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: The Golden Compass - Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood

Best Achievement in Makeup
Winner: Môme, La (La Vie En Rose) - Didier Lavergne, Jan Archibald

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Winner: Ratatouille - Brad Bird

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne

THERE WILL BE BLOOD: This Is How An Epic Should Be Made

Cinemanyak Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
Tomatometer: 91%
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Rating: 8.3/10
What's your rating? Post a comment below.

Awards and Accomplishments:
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Direction, 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis), 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Cinematography, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Picture, Berlin Film Festival
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Actor, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Actor, 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards

2 hours and 45 minutes. Extreme production design. Heavy screenplay. Eye candy cinematography. World class acting -- all the ingredients for an epic are in There Will Be Blood. The great thing with the movie is that they have just put in the right amount of each: not too sweet yet not to sour.

Touching a very timely and sensitive topic -- Oil -- the film brilliantly showed how people fight for black gold in the 19th century. Paul Thomas Anderson intriguingly held information during the film that it keeps you guessing and awake the whole time. "How will this film end?". This is how an epic should be done. Dramatic, yet interesting. Heavy, yet fulfilling at the end. Critics say that this is the best film of the year, or even a decade. I seem to agree, by not abosolutely.

Daniel Day Lewis is amazing! He was able to hold his character from beginning til end, and was able to manage the drastic tansformations of "Daniel Plainview" in the middle -- from the charismatic oil-man to a repentant christian, from a good father to a cold-hearted dad, from a businessman in the right mind to a tycoon murderer.

"Set in the early 20th century, the film follows the rise to power of Daniel Plainview -- a charismatic and ruthless oil prospector, driven to succeed by his intense hatred of others and psychological need to see any and all competitors fail. When he learns of oil-rich land in California that can be bought cheaply, he moves his operation there and begins manipulating and exploiting the local landowners into selling him their property. Using his young adopted son H.W. to project the image of a caring family man, Plainview gains the cooperation of almost all the locals with lofty promises to build schools and cultivate the land to make their community flourish. Over time, Plainview's gradual accumulation of wealth and power causes his true self to surface, and he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life." (written by Denny Gibbons)

An Oscar favourite, There Will Be Blood got the most nominations this year.

JUNO: MY BEST PICTURE PICK

Cinemanyak Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
Tomatometer: 93%
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Rating: 8.0/10
What's your rating? Post a comment below.

Awards and Accomplishments:
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Direction, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Actress, 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Original Screenplay, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Golden Globes
Nominated for Best Actress, 2008 Golden Globes
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Actress, 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards

JUNO started with a chair...and from there, everything was just brilliant.

Juno MacGuff (played Ellen Page), finds herself pregnant, knocked up by her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) on their first attempt at sex. Juno, with the help of her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), takes it upon herself to find some adoptive parents. Courtesy of the local Penny Saver, she soon finds childless couple Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner).

The power of this teenage pregnancy feature is just overwhelming. The story is very clever. The screenplay is not pretentious. The emotions were real. It definitely placed a spin on how pregnancy is presented in movies. Aside from the well-awarded screenplay. Ellen Page's acting kept us glued to the movie. It's like she's telling you "Watch what will happen to me". And true indeed, she held our hands as we go through the flat but very colorful life of a confused pregnant teenager. She would definitely be a force to face in tomorrow's Oscars.

The director, Jason Reitman, knows how to treat black comedy with respect. He was able to make people laugh in the theater without destroying the somber mood of the whole film. He deserves his Oscar nomination, yet he's too weak to compete with the epic experts in the race.

But all-in-all, JUNO has the elements of what a great movie should have. With that, I wouldn't be surprised if I see Jason with an Oscar tomorrow for Best Picture.