AND THE OSCAR GOES TO .......

Today only after one long month i completed seeing about 85 % of flicks nominated for Oscars.Some of the best films which released in 2008 were unduly snubbed from the nominees list and some of the films got undeserved nominations .But every year (except 1994 which i think had one of the best Oscar nominee list) such compromises happen .This is just my personal observation.Anyway from the available nominee list these will be the ones that i want/predict to be the winners.


1. Best Motion Picture of the Year : Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

An indicator: Danny Boyle, the film's director, won the Directors Guild Award , and in 52 of the last 58 years, the DGA winner's film has won the Oscar as best picture. So don't bet against it.For the Oscar panel ,this will be their first masala bollywood film .Sincerely hope that the masala fever doesn't spread to hollywood,since this fever had already killed the creativity of indian film industry and created a movie generation that only want dance ,songs,and favourite Stars in films .

2. Best Achievement in Directing : Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

For turning a mediocre cliched script into a wonderful film. It was an awesome directorial challenge, using untrained actors on unfamiliar locations, but because he won the Directors Guild Award, a usually reliable omen.

3.Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role :Sean Penn for Milk (2008)

Penn plays Harvey Milk with ease, never self-conscious, not the hero of a biopic but just this nice gay man who was made political by society's injustice.Mickey Rourke will be a very close contender. But I sense that as the voters decide on "Slum dog" as their best film, they will find Penn the way to express their love for "Milk."

4.Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

What a bold performance by Kate. Budding actresses ,please see this film.

5. Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis for Doubt (2008)

She was responsible for the most devastating scene of the year.

6. Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role : Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)

100% sure.

6. Best Original Screenplay : Dustin Lance Black for Milk (2008)

a deeply felt portrait of a man who was inspired to greatness by his life and times. Charting his way through romantic and political complications, Dustin Black prepares the way for Sean Penn's remarkable leading performance.


7. Best Adapted Screenplay : Eric Roth for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008):


8.Best Achievement in Cinematography :: Wally Pfister for The Dark Knight (2008)

Because it was the most challenging best-photographed film of the year, that's why.


9.Best Achievement in Editing : Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)


10.Best Achievement in Art Direction : James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis for Changeling (2008)

11.Best Achievement in Costume Design : Michael O'Connor for The Duchess (2008)

12.Best Animated Feature Film of the Year :WALL·E (2008)

Safe Bet

13.Best Achievement in Makeup :: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

14.Best Achievement in Original Score for Motion Pictures : A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

15.Best Achievement in Original Song for Motion Pictures : Peter Gabriel ("Down to Earth") for WALL·E (2008)

why no nomination for the new Bruce Springsteen song composed specially for the movie "the wrestler (2008)".the song is titled ("the wrestler")

16.Best Achievement in Visual Effects : Eric Barba, Steve Preeg for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

17.Best Foreign Language Film of the Year : Vals Im Bashir (2008) (Israel)

The animated drama from Israel reconstructs a controversial massacre in Lebanon in 1982 with the fragmented memories of those who were there. The effect is like "Rashomon": Every witness can see from only one point of view. Animation gives director Ari Folman the freedom to show situations and points of view that would be impossible in a live-action film.

18.Best Documentary: Man on Wire (2008)

the spellbinding story of how tightwire artist Philippe Petit walked between the towers of the World Trade Center. Mixing archival and new footage and reconstructed scenes, it somehow builds suspense .

19.Best Achievement in Sound : i am not technically qualified to predict the winner .

20. Best Achievement in Sound Editing : i am not technically qualified to predict the winner .

Movie of the Month :FAILAN (2001)

AFTER THE FIRST watching of this film, I was left dumb-founded. How can I understand this movie? Is this really a melodrama? How can a movie where main male and female characters really never meet be a melodrama? This movie is a quantum leap in the melodrama genre. We will probably never see a melodrama like this one again. This movie not only completely rewrites the rules of melodramas but shows that a melodrama can deliver powerful social commentary.

SYNOPSIS:

A wretched Gangster Kang Jae (Min-Sik Choi ) is involved in the organized crime syndicate marries Failan (Cecilia Cheung ) a young Chinese girl abandoned and alone in the world in a paper marriage of convenience; she gets to stay in Korea and work, and he gets some cash for it. Then he gets news that Failan his wife is dead So he has to go to where Failan was living and act like a normal husband to fulfill the cremation and law procedures. During the trip he discovers that Failan whom he had never even met, was in love with him because of what she thought was a kind act in marrying her.

REVIEW:

At first glance, the film is just your ordinary tale of love between star-crossed lovers. However, that simple tale magically becomes a poignant story of love, life and its misfortunes. It becomes a mirror image of how most of us may unknowingly take one brief moment for granted, and not see destiny slip from our very own fingertips. Failan manages to capture all this and turn it into a haven of remorse and regret. A place where dreams fade and only the true painstaking reality exists. It's a film about an ill-fated relationship that starts at the crossroads and ends in the heavens. Failan is sweet agony at its finest.

Failan and the gangster Kang Jae are the most trivial parts of our world. One girl with no relatives or skills to depend on to survive in a strange foreign country, and a 2nd class rogue who is even thought less of by his "colleagues" in the gang. They did not even know each other before or well after their marriage, yet at their most difficult times, and ends of lives, it was this love, derived from imagination that told them to hang on, and to realize their only proof of existence on this planet. We seek for love in our real lives, yet never has been such a love seen. I guess, after all, we are to see and realize ourselves in every period of love, and in the permanent pursue of love, not our partners. And it is this self-realization that is the uttermost meaning of human lives.

The story is a slow paced one and is built heavily around character and emotion and is not made in the style of Hollywood offerings. Following Failan's experiences and the way in which others react to her story is a captivating experience which quickly pulls you in. The film is just a fantastic document of the extreme of two lives becoming a catastrophe. The plot itself is an amazing accomplishment for any writer. The originality of the film is an exemplary concept of fresh ideas in action. It is a keenly observed and intimate tale that will pull at the heart-strings of anyone, even the most cynical.

What drew me to Failan was the presence of Choi Min-Sik in the cast. After seeing him in both Lady Vengeance and Oldboy , I wanted to explore more of the career of this extraordinarily talented actor and I was not disappointed. Choi Min Sik excels at all areas; whether crying in despair; being drunk or beating someone else up he makes utterly compelling viewing. Cecilia Cheung easily does the best work of her career. Her sympathetic turn as the quiet Failan is a marvel to watch. Two of the film's more memorable sequences: Failan using quick-thinking to avoid being sold to a strip club, and the heart-wrenching first night at her new home. This film contains some awesome cinematography; gorgeous aerial shots of South Korea, plenty of great close ups .

If any of you want to see a movie about life, a movie about the true beauty of life then watch this one. If you want to see a movie which touches the deepest layers of your heart then see this KOREAN MASTERPIECE.

Title : Failan

Director: Hae-sung Song

Cast: Choi Min-Sik, Cecilia Cheung

Rated R for violence and strong language

Country:South Korea

Language : Korean

Subtitles :English

DVD Features: Audio Commentary with Director

Interviews

"Making Of" Documentary

Critic's Comments

Music Videos

Trailer Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iDi2f3aCSA

Torrent File Name :Failan[DVD-rip KOR - SubsENG-ITA-FR-SPA-GER].torrent

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Movie of the Month :BREAKING AND ENTERING (2006)

ARE MOVIES more to you than entertainment? Without dreams, ambition and inspiration, life is harder than it has to be. Who says only the very young are hungry for knowledge. This good movie has taught me something about foreign relations, love and families, crime and punishment, truth, imagination, diligence, experience...the list goes on.Rarely have I seen a film cover as many layers as flawlessly as this film does.

The title itself is a bounty of different meanings to it. Taken literally, it refers to the several break-ins that occur throughout the beginning of the film that spiral everything that is to follow. However if you look deeper, you can find several different metaphorical meanings to the title. It could be referring to the lives that we see. They are already broken, and we enter these lives to see how they play out and progress

SYNOPSIS:

Jude Law plays Will, an architect who lives with Liv (Robin Wright Penn), a documentarian and her behaviorally challenged daughter. After a series of break-ins at his office, Will begins staking it out in order to find the culprit. This puts an extra strain on his already tenuous relationship with Liv. One night, he sees a young man breaking in. He shouts to him, and when the kid runs away, Will pursues him. Will follows the kid, Miro, to his apartment in a rundown area. At once he becomes entranced by Miro's mother Amira , an refugee from Serbia who works as a seamstress. Will invents reasons to keep coming back to see Amira. They soon begin an affair. Amira believes if she keeps sleeping with Will he won't turn in Miro. As Will grows closer to Amira, he begins to pull away from Liv. The tension and uneasiness grow until the spacious rooms of their posh townhouse are full of all the things they can't seem to say to each other.

REVIEW:

Anthony Minghella uses this setup to explore the issues of trust, love and honesty in the intertwining relationships of these characters. As always, he proves himself to be an intelligent and insightful writer. His story and characters are authentic and every emotion is real. He is also an outstanding director. He has an excellent sense of pace, tone, and the composition..This is Minghella's most moving film to date. He provides a light insight into the lives of immigrants and he does a good job of suggesting, in a subtle way, how life for immigrants living in England is different from that of Brits.

He also cleverly shows , how the actions of one character leads to having an influence on the lives of another character.His obsession with darkness hidden in his characters hearts is as universal a theme as unrequited love. Minghella loves his characters and the darker they re, the stronger the love. In Minghella's sphere every human being is welcome and lovable,he's not accusing or justifying the people, but the circumstances.It is a film that tells the story of a lot of people of our times when political and social insecurities have broken the borders between countries and made many people immigrants

I also loved how Minghella studied the parallels between the two mother-child relationships in the film. Both deal with troubled children and mothers who are trying their best to create the best lives for their child. On one spectrum there is Amira and Miro. Due to an absent father and poor finances, Amira is forced to work as hard as she can to provide for Miro. However, he gets involved with criminals and becomes more and more entwined into these break-ins, as he is the only one who can actually be punished by law since he's the only one who physically breaks in. Amira has to work as much as she can and, as a result, she neglects Miro which leads to his actions.

On the other side of the spectrum there is Liv and Bea. Bea suffers from a very extreme case of obsessive compulsive disorder and this takes a heavy toll on the lives of her and her parents. Unlike Amira though, Liv has a husband who works very hard and can provide constant economical support to the family. This allows her to quit her job and spend all of her time with Bea, doing her best to make sure she's alright. It's very interesting to see how these two similar relationships progress throughout the film with opposite approaches to trying to fix the problem.Even though sadly this great director is no more, his films will stay and 'Breaking and Entering' is just the right swansong.

Jude Law gives his most mature and honest performance to date. Admittedly I am not a big fan of Jude Law, but he plays his part so efficiently it was a masterstroke casting him in the lead role. His character is seemingly disinterested and frequently irritating but wholly believable and realistic. He may come across as a London male stereotype but as said Law is so convincing it does not matter it just adds to the realism. Robin Wright Penn excels at playing emotionally distant women and she is able to communicate all of Liv's submerged emotions with small gestures or looks.

But the star of the film is the magnificent Binoche. Her performance is easily the best female performance I've seen in a film... ever! She plays the suffering mother of a troubled youth and lost her husband years before. She becomes entangled in a relationship that she should avoid but, as she states herself, it has been years since anyone showed her affection so she is vulnerable to an advance. There are two scenes which exemplify Binoche as the best actress in the business; when she decides to take pictures of her sleeping lover against his knowledge, she tries to make it look like she enjoys it but immediately reviles with disgust and disgrace, and when she descends to desperate begging from her lover for his help.

Rafi Gavron, who plays Miro, despite this being his debut, holds his own among these seasoned pros. In addition there are several interesting characters such as Bruno (played by a vivacious Ray Winstone) the chatty good-hearted CID, Sandy (a funny Martin Freeman) the friend who might have found the 'love of his life' and Oana the philosophical prostitute (by a brilliant and barely recognizable Vera Farmiga).

Like most of Minghella's films, 'Breaking and Entering' is visually very appealing. It has a very polished look but at the same time it portrays London in a very stark realistic way. The nightlife and daytime on the streets is well captured. Production design and art direction are fantastic. Benoit Delhomme's cinematography is wild. The frame and compositions are outstanding. Whether it's a wild red fox running through the streets or the sequence with Will chasing Miro, they have been skillfully executed. The rich score by Gabriel Yared flows smoothly with the story.

A very complex, but a satisfying film. It is a film that makes us feel responsible towards each other, and creates a land for all of us to live in, that of compassion. Those who need car chases or special effects in their movie experiences should avoid Mighella's parable, but those who value thoughtful and nuanced works will find much to admire here.

TITLE; Breaking and Entering

Director : Anthony Minghella

Cast: Jude Law, Robin Wright Penn, Juliette Binoche, Vera Farmiga

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Language: English

Country: USA/ UK

DVD extras: feature-length audio commentary by Minghella

deleted scenes are also included with optional commentary

making of featurette

Trailer link www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Ekg4rYSKE

TorrentsBreaking And Entering[2006]DvDrip[Eng]-leetay