(Hurried) 2011 Oscar Predictions.

Best Picture - The Social Network
Best Director - David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Original Screenplay - The King's Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay -  The Social Network
Best Animated Feature - Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Language Film - Incendies
Best Cinematography - True Grit
Best Film Editing - The Social Network
Best Art Direction - Alice in Wonderland
Best Costume Design - The King's Speech
Best Makeup - The Wolfman
Best Original Score - The Social Network
Best Original Song - "If I Rise", 127 Hours [ugh to both the last two]
Best Sound Mixing - Inception
Best Sound Editing - Toy Story 3
Best Visual Effects - Inception
Best Documentary Feature - Waste Land
Best Short, Documentary - Warriors of Qiugang
Best Short, Animated - Madagascar, A Journey Diary
Best Short, Live-Action - God of Love

I'm predicting with my heart rather than my brain here, but please please PLEASE can TSN win over King's Speech? Good lawd.

My 10 Favourite Films of 2010.

I can’t tell a lie, I wasn’t exactly blown away by the majority of 2010 releases. Much of this was my own fault/ I didn’t frequent my little arthouse digs quite as much last year, which explains the highly commercial nature of the majority of my top 10. 

Whilst there are usually two or three obscure little treats in my top list, due to the fact that I barely watched any indie films this year, the top 10 is the most blockbuster it’s been for a while. And what I did see, on the whole, I wasn’t impressed with. 

Should I have time I may do a least favourite 10, but until then, the goodies.

10. StreetDance 3D [full review here]

I have big, unapologetic love for my dance movies (Step Up 2 made the same position on my top list of 2008 two years ago). StreetDance 3D is very similar to the Step Up movies; it centres around dance and disaffected youth and looks at how dance gives them a raison d'etre, and like with the original Step Up with Channing Tatum, it fuses hip hop and street dancing with the more refined skills involved in ballet. 

As so much of the film revolves around the dancing spectacles, the acting, plot and dialogue aren’t the greatest, but they more than suffice, plus there’s the novelty of seeing Charlotte Rampling cast as a ballet teacher; even in autopilot, she’s nothing less than a queen. 

Set in inner-city London, the city is shot in a way that Woody Allen captured London in Match Point- practically on a pedestal, and the cameos from Britain’s Got Talent acts such as Diversity and Flawless, the acting debut from the wonderful cheeky chappy George Sampson, the trendy soundtrack and the modern day Romeo and Juliet parallel all somehow fit together slickly. 

So whilst it’s a simple enough film in terms of character and plot, the dancing is anything but, and StreetDance 3D is one of the few films wherein watching it in 3D genuinely does heighten the viewing pleasure. Definitely worth singing and dancing about.

Film review: FEAR IN THE NIGHT (Maxwell Shane, 1947)

Right now, the Film Noir Blog-a-thon is occuring, hosted by the very brilliant The Self-Styled Siren and Marilyn Ferdinand. The blogathon is occuring as part of a fundraiser to raise money for The Film Noir Foundation, a very worthy cause which helps to restore classic films. Click here to donate.

When looking for a film to review for the blogathon, I couldn't decide between reviewing or re-reviewing some of my all-time favourite noirs (Sunset Blvd., Mildred Pierce, Laura, Double Indemnity to name but a few), or to watch something new. In the end I opted for the latter -- because why not watch a new film in the hope of discovering a new gem? -- and I picked the somewhat obscure 1947 Maxwell Shane picture, Fear in the Night.

Vince Grayson (DeForest Kelley) dreams that he kills a man and when he wakes up he finds he has bruise marks around his neck from the guy trying to strangle him in self-defence. Seriously spooked out, he tries to hand himself into the police by telling his brother-in-law, Cliff, a cop, only to be told (quite fairly) that he cannot be arrested for a crime that he committed in his sleep, "you're dreaming. You've had those things before". 

BAFTA Predictions, 2011.

I'm excited for the BAFTAs tonight! Lovely costumes, loads of film banter and the majority of Hollywood showing up and looking fine, fresh fierce. What more could a movie buff and fangirl ask for? So, here are my predictions for who'll win what!

BEST PICTURE The King's Speech.
Alternative: The Social Network.

Personally I greatly prefer The Social Network to The King's Speech, but I'm not sure, I think the Britishness of the latter may sway it for BAFTA voters.
BEST DIRECTOR David Fincher.
Alternative: Christopher Nolan.

BAFTA don't tend to make a habit of giving both Best Film and Director to the same film (though they have done this quite a lot in recent years, Brokeback Mountain and Slumdog Millionaire bagging both, as did, weirdly, The Crap Locker), so I'm going for different predictions here. It wouldn't surprise me at all of Chris Nolan won Best Director this evening actually, BAFTA could give it to him as a "sorry you weren't nominated at the Oscars" thing.

BEST ACTOR Colin Firth - The King's Speech.
Alternative: Javier Bardem - Biutiful.

As if it's going to go to anyone other than Colin Firth! The biggest lock of the night, to be honest.

BEST ACTRESS Natalie Portman - Black Swan.
Alternative: Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit.

I think Natalie's got this one locked, although I would love, love love for Hailee to win it; she characterised what is and will be the fiercest young character to ever wear braids. Her character really did have true grit.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Christian Bale - The Fighter.
Alternative: Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech.

I would love for Andy Garfield to be walking up to the podium collecting this prize, but I highly doubt it. Oh, Andy. At least you win something. I know, it's cold comfort. :p Nonetheless, I can't begrudge Bale of his win. He is a terrific actor and was uncannily good in The Fighter. What is it with men with the surname Bale who were born in Wales? They're all exceedingly talented.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Lesley Manville - Another Year.
Alternative: Miranda Richardson - Made in Dagenham.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The King's Speech
Alternative: Inception

If Inception takes this, I will figuratively choke up a kidney from the lolage.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Social Network
Alternative: True Grit
BEST BRITISH MOVIE  Another Year
Alternative: 127 Hours

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Alternative: The Secrets in their Eyes

CINEMATOGRAPHY Inception
Alternative: True Grit

COSTUME DESIGN Black Swan
Alternative: Alice in Wonderland

SOUND Inception

Alternative: True Grit

EDITING Inception

Alternative: The Social Network

It'll make me chuckle if Inception actually does win this, as I found the film tediously boring, and surely a sign of good editing is that the film doesn't feel overlong? Anyway.

FILM MUSIC Inception

Alternative: 127 Hours (oh good god I hope not)

So all in all, I don't hope for much. I'd much rather The Social Network or True Grit won Best Film over Inception and The King's Speech, and I would lovelovelove for Hailee Steinfeld to win Best Actress. Or anyone other than Natalie Portman, to be quite honest. And Inception to not get anything important. I would like BAFTA to pleasantly surprise me by giving How to Train Your Dragon a Music Win and Toy Story III a screenplay win, but, I doubt it!

04. LES QUATRE CENT COUPES (François Truffaut, 1959)

lol, yeah, I really need to train with this countdown of my top 100. My last review for #5 was almost seven months ago. Blimey. So here we are! Number 4.

12-year-old Antoine Doinel just can’t seem to get it right. At home, his mother and father neglect him. At school, all he ever seems to does is get himself into trouble (the French translation of faire les quatre cent coups means to raise hell), and he’s happiest when he’s bunking school, just roaming the streets. 

He’s not a bad egg by any means, just one who seems to be the unfortunate one who gets caught doing something even though everyone else is (case in point—his classmates pass around a picture of a nude lady, but when the teacher walks in it is he holding it). 

My Jogging Playlist.

One of my 2011 New Year’s Resolutions was to lose weight by eating less and exercising more. Whilst the former has fallen flat on its face, I have at least sort of stuck to the latter, in that I go jogging on a every-other-daily basis. Obviously, doing any kind of strenuous activity is just not in my disposition, and I find I need some good jogging music to get me motivated. Thus, verily I present you, my jogging playlist.



01. Mombasa – Hans Zimmer
02. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
03. Time to Pretend - MGMT
04. Something kinda Ooh - Girls Aloud
05. American Gangster – Jay-Z
06. Lose Yourself - Eminem
07. Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
08. Empire – Kasabian
09. What You Waiting For – Gwen Stefani
10. The Battle - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
11. All I Want is You - Barry Louis Polisar

All t'riffic songs to run to, but especially Mombasa, which is single-handedly to thank for keeping me from veering into the 10 stone mark.