CB's Guide To The 2007 Oscars

Oscar Chat 6
What the heck is it? Simple. Cinema Blend readers and staff gather around in the all new, revamped and re-glossed Cinema Blend chatroom and watch the Oscars together. While doing so, we chat about what's going on, what we're eating, and then vie for a place in the Cinema Blend hot tub. Ok, there's not really a hot tub (or is there?).
WHEN:
Sunday February 25, 2007 @ 7:30 PM EST till whenever the Oscar broadcast ends
WHERE:
In the Cinema Blend chatroom. Access it by clicking here.

Blend Audio Predictions And Pre-Show
Here it is: our second annual Cinema Blend.com Weekly Blend Audio Show Pre-Oscar Round Up! Margaret and Rafe are joined by some of their third seat regulars as they make our predictions for the 2007 Academy Awards. Who do we think will win? Who do we think will be this year's Three 6 Mafia? What does Matt Damon have to do with any of this? Listen to our educated predictions and random guesses and see how we fare on Oscar night.

Full List Of Oscar Nominees
Will Martin Scorsese finally take the statue this year or will a little girl’s quest with her dysfunctional family shut out their categories like we’re seeing at a lot of the other awards? Even the “solid pick” this year (Dreamgirls) missed some of its expected categories. Click the link above this paragraph to follow along at the Oscars with the full list of who's nominated.

Babel
“If you take anything away from this film it'll probably be that foreigners aren't to be trusted, since the film's story centers around a stereotypical white family being abused, injured, and nearly killed by the well-meaning cultural stupidity of Japanese businessmen, Mexicans, and Moroccans. Babel is depressing, long, boring, there's not much of a story, and if it's trying to say something I wasn't able to hear it."

The Departed
“Despite the film's last act misstep, the movie's worth watching just for the journey. Scorsese remains a master, and he's working his finest magic here. He refuses to fall into the usual pitfalls of the gangster drama, and continues to find completely new nuances in genres that others have already mined nearly to death. Cops versus killers has been done to the point of improbability, but in front of Marty's lens it's a brand new game. It's not quite the masterpiece that some of this other recent films like The Aviator and Bringing Out the Dead have been, but The Departed is a work of strong vision and sharp personality."

Letters from Iwo Jima
“As Flags was, Letters is shot in washed out colors by Eastwood and Cinematographer Tom Stern, the only vibrancy coming from explosions, fire, and blood. The film is completely without glamour or glitz, yet in its bleakness is a kind of desperate beauty. This is as dire and moving war movie, the story of men being chewed up and spit out by forces beyond their control. It’s the film so many had hoped Flags of our Fathers would be and wasn’t. Eastwood finds more to say in defeat than he does in victory."

Little Miss Sunshine
“Dysfunctional family road trip movies are nothing new, but it’s been awhile since we’ve had a solid entry into the genre. Little Miss Sunshine lifts itself above the Johnson Family Vacations of the world using an indie style tempered with enough accessibility to make it connectable to almost anyone. The movie plays broad, but not because it waters itself down to a point where the lowest common denominator can stomach it. Rather, the film takes a personal approach, hitting different notes that will affect each person who watches it differently. How those thematic bullet points impact each viewer will differ, but what makes it accessible is the fact that they will affect everyone. "

The Queen
“While Mirren is getting the bulk of the attention, The Queen has a lot of elements that make it irresistibly regal. The script offers a well-rounded character study, the direction is flawless, and the rest of the cast, including Michael Sheen as an affable Tony Blair, all make the film a surprising delight. Unlike the shallow, 2 hour music video that is Marie Antoinette, Frear's latest is a film truly fit for a Queen."

Cars
“It seems almost indecent in these days of skyrocketing gas prices and greenhouse gasses to make a movie glorifying a time when Americans hopped in their cars and drove just for the sake of driving. Most of us now find ourselves looking for ways to drive less, we long ago lost whatever joy there was in the uniquely Americana road trip. We can’t afford to drive just for the hell of it. But there was a time before highways when the best way to see the world was simply to roll down your window and inhale the sweet mountain air. Those days are gone forever, but Cars presents a thoughtful, uniquely American story that asks you to stop and consider what we’ve lost since abandoning them.“

Happy Feet
“Crazy zealotism and environmental irresponsibility bad; clear thinking and respect for Mother Nature good. Alright, whatever. Those aren't such bad lessons for kids to learn, I remember getting much the same ideas from Ranger Rick as a lad. If you're seeing anything more sinister than that in Happy Feet, it's because you're going looking for it. We complain a lot about how shallow kids' movies often are, but when something with heft comes along it's labeled as propaganda. This is an excellent animated movie, one with great performances and a vision so strong that it deserves to be mentioned right up there with the best of the now comfortably familiar computer animated medium. There's nothing comfortable about Happy Feet. It's brave and heartfelt, a surprising cinematic accomplishment.“

Monster House
“This is a great fantasy story, the kind of movie kids dream about in their back yards, the kind of story that could, as Goonies did back in its day, fire up the imagination of younger viewers for years to come. Come on, you remember the first time you saw Goonies as a kid. Admit it: you rushed out and started drawing treasure maps, pretended your backyard was a big adventure with your friends, maybe even practiced the truffle shuffle. Monster House has exactly that same kind of potential, and comes close to being just that kind of movie. “

Blood Diamond
“The social problems the film presents can’t be covered by a five-minute, “The More You Know” advertisement nor summed up in a popular rap song. The effect of the civil war on its people is, hands down, the most important aspect of the film. Perhaps Zwick, or Warner Bros., thinks that an audience wouldn’t care about African hardships and need some star power and gunplay to drive up ticket sales. Either way, an important cinematic opportunity is passed up and another mediocre and forgettable action/drama film is open for business. “

Borat
“It's offensive, vicious, and unrelenting in its satire of everyone and everything. It's also ridiculously funny. There are things in this film that will literally blow your mind. A day after I saw it, I still have a hard time believing that the Borat's big finale actually happened. How does he get away with it? It's a rare movie that manages to be disgusting, filthy, and incredibly intelligent all at once. Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius, and his new film is a comedic masterpiece. Oh, and wow wow wee waa is it ever funny.“

Children of Men
“With all of Hollywood's loud, laser pistol filled futuristic blockbusters you forget that great science fiction doesn't necessarily need giant freakin robots. The genre is at its best when using a fantasized future to make you consider the cost and course of the present. Children of Men does that, and more. It's not flashy, but it is fresh and effective. Cuaron has done it again.“

The Devil Wears Prada
“While the film has a lot of great one-liners and a knockout performance by Streep, it leaves a little something to be desired as a whole. Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (Laws Of Attraction) often goes for obvious transitions—fish out of water that changes overnight, a moment of humanity for the evil boss—that offer few surprises. However, since nobody is seeing a movie like this for the plot, the quick style by David Frankel and air of silliness will compensate for its dramatic shortcomings. Plus, as an added bonus, your boss won’t seem half bad come Monday morning.“

Dreamgirls
“It's a frustrating film. I get what Condon is trying to do here, in his own way he's come up with a completely new take on movie musicals. The look and sound of what he's created is so stunning that those things alone may be enough to justify its existence. It's confident, it's exhuberant and heartfelt. But Dreamgirls is barely a movie and more of an overlong stage play full of endless musical montages. There's no real lead, it switches constantly and almost without any real reason. Without some sort of glue to hold the music together, nothing sticks. I take that back. Jennifer Hudson's voice sticks. Long after you're home and you've forgotten the movie, you'll remember Jennifer Hudson's big, belting voice. You'll remember her on stage, shaking the room as she croons for failure, success, and lost love. You'll remember the music, the stage lights, the cheering crowds. Not the movie. There is no movie. Just a stage.“

The Last King of Scotland
“Whitaker, who is better known for his subtle skills as a character actor, explodes onto the screen with a powerful energy that drives the film and doesn’t stop for a single frame. Everything from the broad strokes to the nuances of his leading performance create an amazing picture of a man who began with the best of intentions but descended to unimaginable depths under the weight of a pressure that was too much to bear. In the span of less than two hours, Whitaker succeeds in taking you from wanting to hug and cheer for Amin, to despising him for his atrocious and unspeakable acts against innocent people.“

Little Children
“There are lessons to be learned in Todd Field's lush and beautiful film, and they're right there out in the open. Unlike other films of its genre, it never talks down to its audience or layers its theme under a thick viscous of snobby, arthouse imagery. Little Children mixes plain authenticity with a sharp wit for a completely unique, quirky take on parenting and suburbia. “

Notes on a Scandal
“The last third really goes a bit haywire as the media gets involved, characters erupt into hysterical fits, and the ending heads in a foolishly predictable direction. Thankfully, Notes on a Scandal is saved by its electrifying ladies under the command of director Richard Eyre, who previously worked with Dench on Iris. The film may get too carried away with theatrics, but the performances are amazing; there is nothing better than watching two fantastic actresses verbally duel. When you can hear them over the music, that is. “

Pan's Labyrinth
“The visuals alone are mind-blowing, and arguably the movie's strongest asset. Del toro and Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro turn it into a visceral experience, using an enhanced color palette that makes every shot look like a work of art. However, the story itself is a truly painful account, one that makes Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia seem light and giddy by comparison. Pan’s Labyrinth may effectively be the feel-bad movie of the year, but I prefer my magical adventures served with a little less anguish.“

The Pursuit of Happyness
“Will Smith saves the flailing film by being the only honest thing about it. It’s worth seeing just to study the pitch-perfect nuances of his performance, most evident in a scene where he and his son are sleeping in a public bathroom and tears fall out of his eyes without any strain. Thankfully, he rises above the underdeveloped screenplay by Steve Conrad (The Weather Man), a writer who is great at showing misery but not as great at justifying the suffering. Smith also makes the most of Gabriele Muccino’s English-language directorial debut, but something clearly gets lost in translation. “

United 93
“In a perfect world everyone should see this film, but the reality here is that not everyone can handle this movie. United 93 is almost too much to bear. Greengrass softens none of the blows of these horrific events. He displays them in all their terrifying infamy. He's done an amazing thing here, but few will have the stomach to make it all the way through. If you do and you have any soul at all, you'll leave in a completely unstable, emotional tumult. Don't see United 93 unless you are sure you're ready for it."

Venus
“O’Toole really is terrific in Venus, partly aided by a cast that gives him a lot to work with. The few scenes he shares with Vanessa Redgrave, as the wife he abandoned once upon a time, provide some of the film’s most touching moments. Whittaker, who would have made a perfect Lolita, adds a youthful playfulness to the mix, and her fits of teenage angst keep things interesting. But beyond the surface, who exactly are all these people, and why are they worthy of our company? This question is never answered, which prevents Venus from ever living up to its passionate title. “

Volver
“Caught up in his own investigation of clichés, Almodóvar slips into the “men are pigs” camp -- dwindling men down to utilitarian roles. From the simple store clerk to the abusive husband, men are a means to an end. While Volver is primarily focused on the women, it’s a shame to see the role of men downgraded to a sketch of generalities. It’s hard to see why the male presence in the film is slighted when it’s the main motivator of the plot and cause of the disintegration of female relationships. Unless, Almodóvar purposefully side stepped answering the question of how men factor into relationships between women. Then again, when you put Cruz on screen for two hours, I doubt most men would notice that they are being snubbed. “