Boyle-In-Show

Last night's BAFTAs threw up nothing with regards to major surprises so i'll keep my grating short and rough!

Key Points:

1. Slumdog looks set for a sweep come the Oscars claiming 7 BAFTAs. Arguably it was a lock in for 4 awards (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay & Music). On top of this it picked up the awards for editing, sound and cinematography. Best Sound?!! Bizarre...but definately signs of a sweep.

2. Mickey Rourke knows how to give a speech! Even though he didn't know what he was saying, it delivered a little menthol cool into the night. His remark about enjoying seeing Marisa Tomei naked brought the house down! He's probably the favourite for the Leading Actor Oscar now.

3. Winslet & Cruz both solidified their positions as the favourites for their respective Oscar categories (although not locks) and they both seemed genuinely rapturous with each other's victories.

4. Brangelina sulked...until Jagger stole the show!

5. Amy Adams and Marisa Tomei. Just divine.

6. Sharon Stone presenting the award for 'Best British Film'. I won't say more...

7. Finally, placing the In Memoriam segment directly after Heath Ledger's posthumous victory smacks of insensitivity. His performance should be honoured on its own merits and not as a token gesture as a result of his death.

Thats my lot!

Stay tuned for; my Top 20 Anticipated of 2009, Discs to Spin and the week's new releases all in the next few days!

What Will Those Barmy BAFTA Members Choose This Year?

It's the time of year when our treasured National Awards Body (NAB) rewards the British talent of the year, with a few American winners sprinkled in between. Last year saw Atonement take the Best Picture BAFTA whereas No Country For Old Men took the Oscar. The nominees this year:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7830076.stm

No real gripes this year apart from the rather smitten choices to include Dev Patel and Freida Pinto in the acting categories for Slumdog Millionaire. They were good, but seriously, that good?! The other real shames are Brits, Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) & Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) missing out. I'm not even going to delve into the flaws in nominating 'The Reader'.

So here go my predictions:

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire. Easy Peasy.
Best Director: Danny Boyle. Could be Fincher, or maybe even Daldry (yikes!) but i'm sticking with Boyle.
Best British Film: In Bruges. I can't see them giving 'Slumdog' two best film prizes...
Leading Actor: Sean Penn. There's a strong case for Mickey Rourke also, but I think Penn as he hasn't won a BAFTA award before.
Leading Actress: Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road). Though she could win for that other film she was in...or could split the vote and hand the prize to Streep.
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger.
Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz. Why the hell is Viola Davis (Doubt) not on this list? I'd give it to Cruz either way, but Tomei is also deserving.
Original Screenplay: Milk. Should get some love somewhere, though look out for the brilliantly scripted 'In Bruges' again.
Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire. I'm trying to find a place for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' somewhere but this won't be it.
Film Not In The English Language: Waltz With Bashir. I've only seen one of the nominees, 'Gomorrah', which is mind-bendingly brilliant. But 'Bashir' is also worthy apparently.
Animated Film: Wall-E. Should be in the Best Picture line-up...
The Carl Foreman Award: Simon Chinn (Man on Wire). I haven't a clue.
Music: Slumdog Millionaire. The Dark Knight is the potential spoiler here.
Cinematography: The Dark Knight. Again 'TCCOBB' would be a fair winner.
Editing: Slumdog Millionaire. Chris Dickens, the editor of 'Slumdog', edits like a possessed, ravaging dog which is a good thing as it provides boundless energy to an already boundlessly energetic script.
Production Design: Revolutionary Road. The 50's setting looked fabulous so this is the place to reward the film.
Costume Design: Changeling? Again I don't have a clue...maybe 'The Duchess'?
Sound: The Dark Knight. Booming and disturbing sounds scampering through city skyscrapers.
Special Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In the bag baby.
Make-Up and Hair: The Dark Knight. Maybe not the best of the year in this category, but probably the best of the five nominees. It's all part of the plan...
Short Animation & Film: I'm not going to be the fool who pretends to know much about these nominees. Although Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf & Death should win in the short animation category.
The Orange Rising Star Award: Voted by the public, who won't have seen the wonderful Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) until 2 days before the show itself but I'm backing her!

I have 'Slumdog' and 'Knight' for four wins apiece. Can't be right...bring on Sunday!

The BAFTAs start on BBC2 from 8pm and then switch to BBC1 from 9pm, Sunday 8th February

Slumdog Questionnaire

Slumdog Millionaire. Slumdog Crorepati.

The film has received wide spread acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic and has collectively secured a total of 21 nominations from Oscar and BAFTA. Its an unstoppable train, an inevitable march towards ultimate recognition. But since the film premiered in Mumbai on the 22nd January, a backlash has begun. From online film twitters to Bollywood megastars, questions have been raised regarding the quality of the film as well as the India it portrays.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2009/jan/15/danny-boyle-shows

The final 30 mins of the film is so dizzyingly and gleefully edited, as if magically wrought by the genius of a Capra, Disney or Miyazaki, I defy anyone to be left unmoved (or uninvolved) by the final credits. However, the film does still seem to me as a little one-dimensional and predictable in its storytelling with the D-E-S-T-I-N-Y card a little too large to consume.

My interest is definately more rooted in the global debate it has raised.

Is it 'poverty porn'? Or is it a fair portrait of modern day India? I would argue the latter but many have vehemently disagreed. On the flipside, does it deserve to win the biggest and most recognised award in cinema? Is that it's place in history or should we be laying out the red carpet for more populist yet also critically raved fare such as Wall-E or The Dark Knight? All comments welcome!

What the film's success has done (hopefully) is to break down the barriers at a grass root level for talented international films and filmmakers to force through the age-old stereotypes as to what we as western audiences want from cinema.

Plus the kids are alright :).