Not A 'Ghost' of a Chance For Oscar...Right?

Okay folks we ALL knew "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" was going to be a stinker of a movie! Just the fact that Matthew McConaughey is in it should be reason enough to skip it. It's also gotten a low score of 36% at Rotten Tomatoes, so we know it wasn't made with quality in mind. So the movie really shouldn't even be discussed on this site. But then...


...Michael Douglas shows up in the movie and steals the show. Literally. It's kind of a testament to an actors ability when they can show up in a bad movie and make it enjoyable whenever their on screen. Douglas does this and makes it look easy. Here is a contender for one of the worst films of the year, and yet these scenes with Douglas are clever, witty, and fun. He takes a nothing role and MAKES something of it! That's impressive no matter how you slice it. He's to this movie what Penelope Cruz was to "Vicky Christina Barcelona." It's a shame it's not a better movie or else an Oscar nomination would be a sure thing at this point. But you know what...I'm going to predict him anyway. Yeah it probably won't happen as more worthy performances will come out, but it's difficult to argue with something that just makes you feel good all over.

Australia Pays Tribute To Heath

The Australian Film Institute has decided to award Heath Ledger the Best Actor award for his role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight." On top of that they made this touching tribute to the actor. It was a touching video, though I think it was unfair that they skipped over some of his brilliant comedic performances in "A Knight's Tale" and "Casanova." And while his family made a touching speech, I would prefer Michelle Williams and his daughter join his family when he's award his much deserved Oscar.

Milk's BSA Race

Okay guys, let it be known that I no doubt that a certain dead guy playing a clown is going to win the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars. That said, there are three really good supporting performances in "Milk," and I'm starting to wonder which one of the three is going to get the nomination. Will it be Josh Brolin as Dan White, the homophobic conservative who kills Milk. Maybe it will be James Franco who plays Milk's lover. And then there's Emile Hirsch, stealing every scene he's in as the...well, you have to see for yourself. Of course, there's the chance that two of them could get nods, but then who gets left out. If one has to get left out, chances are it will be Hirsch. Or will all three of them get nominations? I'm telling you, this race is worth taking bets on, just for the pure excitement of it. Then there's the (very unlikely) forth option: They all cancel each other out and no one gets nominated. Doubtful, but you never know. So readers who have seen the film it's time to comment on how you think this particular race is going to pan out.

Bale For Best Actor?

Warner Bros. is pushing hard for "The Dark Knight" to get a Best Picture nomination. Heath Ldger's nomination is a lock, with Aaron Eckart as a dark horse for a potential additional Best Supporting Actor nominee. Warner has been printing lots of ads, but aside from from the ads that do that silly "For Your Consideration In All Categories" ads, Warner has been focusing on four specific categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Actor. Wait a minute? Best Actor? Who are they pimping for Best Actor? Could they be pushing for Ledger for bother categories? No, they aren't. Besides, with Ledger having a lock on a win for the supporting race, Warner Bros. wouldn't want to jeoperdize that win. No, they are pushing for Christian Bale to get a nomination in the lead slot. Which is interesting because Bale, up until now, has not been given much respect for this movie, constantly being overshadowed by Ledger.

Now it looks like Warner Bros. is realizing what a great performace this is, and so they are pushing hard for it. It would add more credability to the film if they got a lead actor nomination. However, I don't think this is going to happen, and not because the field is too crowded. No, the reason it's not going to happen is this: Bale is not the lead actor in this film. None of the actors are. "The Dark Knight," at heart, is an essamble film. No key characters gets more or less screen time as the other characters, and when they do it's minimal at best. Bale may play Batman, but Batman has as much screentime as Joker and Gordon. Single him out as a lead is playing favorites in a cast where no actor is more or less important then the other. The only actor to get a significant less amount of screentime was Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is the only character who truly comes off as a "supporting" character if there is one.

Still, since there is such a big push, and since "The Dark Knight" is likely to be one of the biggest Oscar contenders this year, I'm going to put Bales name on the sidebar. Don't expect this to last though. In the next few weeks we've got "Australia," "Milk," "Frost/Nixon," "The Wrestler," and all these other movies that will more then likely push Bale off the rader (if he was ever there). For now though, best of luck to Warner Bros. on their Oscar campaign.

"Doubt" Trailer Reveled

Wow. I'm sold. Keep an eye out for this one folks: I think it will get many nominations on subject matter alone. Of course, it's looking like Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, and Amy Adams are all up for leading and supporting Oscar nominations. Whether or not there's a Best Picture nomination in the bag is up in the air, but considering the public concern about child molestation in the Catholic Church I wouldn't be too surprised if this became a front runner before anyone saw it.

"The Soloist" Trailer

Seeing as how Joe Wright's previous two films have attracted Oscar attention (particularly "Atonement," which got a Best Picture nomination) I feel that we can expect great things from "The Soloist." It looks like a movie with great performances, it a personal film, and (if the trailer is to be believed) it's based on a true story. Sounds like Oscar bait to me. Robert Downey Jr. has been having an esspecially good year. With "Iron Man" he revived his career in a big way. In "Tropic Thunder" he stole the show and looks to have a good shot at a Best Supporting Actor nomination. And now we have "The Soloist," which looks like potential Best Actor material. There's just five things standing in his way right now:

1. Voters could get confused as to which role to vote for, and he could walk away nomination-less.
2. Jamie Foxx could steale the nomination here.
3. The two actors could split the vote and neither get nominated.
4. Too much Downey could prove fatel to his chances.
5. "The Soloist" could be a terrible film, and thus not be award worthy.

Well, either way, glad to see Downey making films again. Whether he gets an Oscar nod or not it's difficult to revive a troubled career (just as Ben Affleck), and he managed to revive his in several big ways. So bravo to him.

The Unsung Hero

While all the performances in "The Dark Knight" are spectacular, only one has been given a lot of press: the late Heath Ledger. That said though, I believe that there's at least one other performance that should be just as acclaimed in this movie and should be receiving talk of a Best Supporting Actor nomination. That actor is Aaron Eckhart playing Harvey Dent (AKA: Two-Face). I know that the Joker is a force to be reckoned with, but Dent's character is really the soul of the movie. While on the outside a war is being waged against two public figures, the real battle is for Dent's soul. Batman wants to protect Dent so that he can move on with his life and put up the cape. Joker wants Dent to fall because he knows what it will do to Gotham if their "Knight In Shinning Armor" were to betray them.

It's a powerful performance, one that Eckhart has to play convincingly or else the entire subtext of the story could crumble. Under his acting though it never does, and it's a shame he's not getting the dues he deserves. So for now I'm going to throw his name into the Best Supporting Actor pot. I know it will likely be removed around October, but just for awhile I want to give credit where credit is not being given enough.

"Milk" Trailer

The trailer for Gus Van Sant's "Milk" has been posted and the movie is looking more and more promising. I've still got concerns about Penn, but Josh Brolin and Emile Hersh are looking fairly promising for Best Supporting Actor nominations (though they won't likely win because...well, you know why). Enjoy:

I Wonder What Warner Bros. Plans To Do With All That Money

"The Dark Knight" is going to pass the $500 million mark this weekend. That much is a given but that's not what I want to talk about. No, I want to talk about the movie as it's seen in IMAX. As with most IMAX theaters, my local theater didn't get this movie until today. I had seen it three times already so this would be my forth. I knew that twenty minutes of the movie was shot with IMAX camera's. What I didn't think of was how this could potentially affect the Best Director race. Right now everyone is talking about what Oscars "The Dark Knight" will be nominated for; Best Supporting Actor, Best Picture, Best Makeup...everything. And though Christopher Nolan is predicted to get a Best Director nomination I think he's going to actually win it.

Integrating the IMAX scenes in with the regular cinemascope was pure genius. Not only are the scenes edited together in ways that they aren't distracting, but they made the movie a THEATER experience above all else! In a world where plasma TV's and bright texting is hurting the theater, the direction of "The Dark Knight" actually makes the IMAX experience the best way to see this movie. I saw the movie with about ten people last night. Four had not seen the movie and of those four two had never been to IMAX. Well, once they saw this movie on IMAX they were sold. Not only did they plan to see it again, they started asking what the next films would be on IMAX. They were actually excited about this theater, and they knew the DVD would never match up to what they just saw.

As of right now Christopher Nolan has made the theater experience more profitable and more exciting then it's been in years. We know this movie is likely going to get a Best Picture nomination. We know Heath Ledger will win Best Supporting Actor. Well count me in on betting that even if the movie doesn't win the top prize, Christopher Nolan WILL win Best Director! Unless, of course, the Academy gives the award to Spike Lee as a way of apologizing for not nominating "Do The Right Thing" for Best Picture.

Christopher Nolan filming a scene with an IMAX camera.

Power To The Black Man (I Think)

"Tropic Thunder" is a very funny movie. This much is obvious to those who have seen it. What is even more obvious is that Robert Downey Jr. is brilliant as a white man playing a black character.



This image may be offensive to some, but frankly I don't care because the character is just so stinking funny. Every time he's on screen the movie gets better instantly. It's a comedy role, but one that I think would have a great chance at winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar almost any year. So it's kind of a shame that the movie was released during The Year of the Joker (as I'm going to call it.



Heath Ledger has got this award in the bag. Not only because this is a great performance, but because Ledger is dead (sorry guys, but it's hard to beat a dead guy). I think Downey will at least get a nomination in the supporting category, it's just a shame the movie wasn't released next year when he'd (more then likely) have a chance at winning it. Oh well, that's the Oscar game for you.