AFT Awards: Best Cinematography

This is the seventh category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I've ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Runners-up:
BROKEN EMBRACES
THE HURT LOCKER
THE WHITE RIBBON

The winner:
A Single Man (Eduard Grau) gleaned incredible meaning out of the most careful and astonishing of shots and camerawork.

Other nominees:
Avatar (Mauro Fiore & Vince Pace)
Watchmen (Larry Fong)
A Serious Man (Roger Deakins)
Inglourious Basterds (Robert Richardson)

Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Director – Motion Picture

The competition: James Cameron (Avatar), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Clint Eastwood (Invictus), and Jason Reitman (Up in the Air).

For your information: This is Eastwood’s seventh directing nod, and he’s won three times. His film isn’t up for Best Picture, but he still managed to win in the same scenario for “Bird” in 1988. Cameron has one nod and win for “Titanic,” and Tarantino has just one previous nod, for “Pulp Fiction.” This is the first nomination for both Bigelow and Reitman.

Who should win: Good list – give it to any of them.

Who will win: Probably a showdown between the formerly married Cameron and Bigelow. Bigelow’s film will probably take Best Picture, leaving this race to Cameron.

Home Video: Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation
Directed by McG
Released May 21, 2009

The Terminator franchise holds the rare distinction of having a sequel that’s better than the original. In 1991, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” took the excitement and thrill of 1984’s “The Terminator” and took it to a new level, creating a classic villain in the form of the liquid metal T-1000 and using Ah-nuld to awesome effect. The franchise took a decade off, and then was resurrected in 2003 by a new director, Jonathan Mostow, with “Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines,” which proved to be a disappointing, unenthusiastic addition to the series. A TV show, “The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” aired on FOX for two years, coming to an end recently. Now, after all its predecessors, “Terminator Salvation” finally arrives, but the question is, who cares?

One of the things that made the Terminator films so successful and enjoyable was the presence of their leading star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the villain in the first film and then the newfound hero in the next two movies. His presence, along with new Terminator Kristanna Loken, who brought an unexpected sex appeal to the killing machine, was part of the reason that T3 didn’t tank completely. Stars Nick Stahl and Claire Danes weren’t going to cut it, and with skilled director James Cameron out of the picture, there needed to be something dependable. The newest Terminator entry is lacking in both Schwarzenegger and Cameron, and the burden to carry the film then goes to two surprising heirs to the Terminator throne: McG and Christian Bale.

McG has an action background, guiding tough chicks in “Charlie’s Angels,” and also has a good connection to the younger demographic due to his work on shows like “The O.C.” Bale is able to bury himself in a role so deeply that he’s unrecognizable on the other side. Unfortunately, their qualifications aren’t right for this film. McG isn’t capable of directing a compelling story, and as a result this is a dull bore from start to finish. Without a finely written role, Bale bombs as he tries incredibly hard, physically straining his face in every scene, to put the utmost effort into a part that might best be underplayed by relaxing a bit. As a result, the real breakout stars of the film are Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) and Moon Bloodgood (“Burn Notice”) as resistance fighters with a slightly more optimistic outlook on trust than the famously cautious John Connor.

“Terminator Salvation” suffers mostly because it doesn’t have a coherent villain or an interesting story, and its attempts to examine the fusion of human and machine fall miles short of previous efforts to probe the idea. The need to incorporate token lines from previous films like “I’ll be back” and “Come with me if you want to live” are tiresome and inappropriate. To its credit, it’s the first Terminator project that doesn’t invoke time travel but rather seeks to protect time continuum in the present. Sadly, it’s not the least bit interesting. With the speedy cancellation of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and the failure of this film, perhaps it would be best to put this franchise to rest.

C

AFT Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay

This is the sixth category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Julie & Julia, Star Trek, Taking Woodstock, Whip It

Runners-up:
INVICTUS
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
9
THE LAST STATION
JULIA

The winner:
In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche) was quick, witty, funny, and altogether preposterous as the most entertaining current political commentary of the year.

Other nominees:
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner)
That Evening Sun (Scott Teems)
An Education (Nick Hornby)
A Single Man (Tom Ford)

Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

The competition: Penelope Cruz’s mistress (Nine), Vera Farmiga’s frequent flyer girlfriend (Up in the Air), Anna Kendrick’s game-changing wunderkind (Up in the Air), Mo’Nique’s abusive deadbeat mother (Precious), and Julianne Moore’s British best bud (A Single Man).

For your information: Moore has four previous nominations, and Cruz has two. The other three are all first-timers, and none of these ladies has ever won.

Who should win: Kendrick or Moore

Who will win: Tough call. Probably Mo’Nique, maybe Kendrick or Cruz.

Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Cop Out

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Cop Out – Opening February 26, 2010



This trailer aired before “Sherlock Holmes,” and I found myself going back to watch it again online out of my own free will. There are many reasons to think that this movie might be terrible. The first is its release date – movies that come out during the first few months of the year that aren’t spillover from the end of the previous year tend to be really bad. This kind of movie has turned out really poorly in the past, evidenced most recently (at least in a film that I’ve seen) with “Showtime,” starring Robert DeNiro and Eddie Murphy, which was unbearable. On to the stars – Tracy Morgan is on comedy smash “30 Rock,” but he’s the least stable part of the series and generally just a crazy person in real life. Bruce Willis hasn’t made many good movies recently, and he’s made some pretty awful ones in the time since he’s done anything positive. But then there’s the flip side to it all. Morgan actually is hilarious, and his completely insanity and unfettered craziness works marvelously for him. Willis’ reaction to his announcement that he’s going undercover is probably similar to that of audiences, but it should still make for a wildly entertaining ride. And Willis is actually great at fusing endless sarcasm with high-octane action scenes. He may have been a bit more serious in the best, most notably in the first three “Die Hard” films, but the fourth entry in the series, “Live Free or Die Hard,” demonstrated that, as he has aged, his characters seem to have become more impatient but equally more enjoyable. He’s especially on when he has a dopey sidekick to use as a punching back or roll his eyes at repeatedly. Most importantly, this movie actually does look funny. Morgan is over the top, and Seann William Scott is unarguably obnoxious, but this could be a recipe for mediocre to great comedy. Having Kevin Smith as the director is certainly a plus, and could place this comedy well above par. It could be terrible, but it could also be funny. And in the first half of the year, there’s not much else to hope for.

AFT Awards: Best Original Screenplay

This is the fifth category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Bright Star, Duplicity, The Messenger, Trucker, Zombieland

Runners-up:
AVATAR
THE WHITE RIBBON
THE HURT LOCKER
500 DAYS OF SUMMER
UP

The winner:
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino) spun an incredibly enthralling and original tale, from its opening introduction of “Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France…” to its unexpected, glorious finish.

Other nominees:
A Serious Man (Joel & Ethan Coen)
Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodovar)
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell)
Away We Go (Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida)

Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

The competition: Matt Damon’s Afrikaner Rugby captain (Invictus), Woody Harrelson’s Casualty Notification officer (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer’s Leo Tolstoy (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci’s vicious killer (The Lovely Bones), and Christoph Waltz’s crazed Nazi Jew Hunter (Inglourious Basterds).

For your information: Damon has two previous acting nominations and one other nod this year for “The Informant.” Plummer has a previous TV nod, and Tucci has won on both of his TV nominations. Harrelson has one previous nod, and this is the first time for Waltz.

Who should win: Waltz

Who will win: It’s going to be Waltz.

Monday Oscar Odds

Full-fledged, extensive Oscar predictions are coming soon, but I’d like to keep a running list of my predicted nominees up until that point. I’ll expand to include other categories later. Remember to check back soon for analysis and revised predictions. This week, I’m adding initial predictions for a few new categories. Commentary coming later.

Best Picture
Avatar
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Invictus
Nine
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

It’s really just a question of whether Nine will take the tenth slot or be replaced by The Messenger or some other film. Nothing more to add at this point.

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air:
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9
Invictus
Julie & Julia
Precious
Up in the Air

Best Cinematography
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
A Single Man

Best Art Direction
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
A Single Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Costume Design
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Best Film Editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Up in the Air

Best Makeup
District 9
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Star Trek

Best Animated Feature
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

Check back every Monday for a slightly updated list of Oscar predictions. Please chime in the comments with your thoughts!

AFT Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

This is the fourth category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Kristen Bell (Serious Moonlight), Leonie Benesch (The White Ribbon), Abigail Breslin (Zombieland), Penelope Cruz (Nine), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Away We Go),Kate Hudson (Nine), Alia Shawkat (Whip It), Imelda Staunton (Taking Woodstock),Emma Stone (Zombieland)

Runners-up:
BIANCA PORTILLO (Broken Embraces)
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL (Away We Go)
MIA WASIKOWSKA (That Evening Sun)
SAMANTHA MORTON (The Messenger)
ALICE KRIGE (Skin)

The winner:
Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) was brave, rude, cunning, and seductive as the lone surviving member of her family who conveyed so much of her history with just a flicker of her eyes.

Other nominees:
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) was insistent, whiny, and altogether brilliantly entertaining as a young upstart determined to change George Clooney’s way of thinking. Julianne Moore (A Single Man) was gloriously British, beautiful, and over the top as a washed-up 60s socialite. Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) was the perfect match for George Clooney’s wandering traveler, and went shot for shot with him in each one of their remarkable fast-paced conversations. Kerry Condon (The Last Station) stole the show in a film full of more experienced actors and managed to both intimidate and win the heart of James McAvoy with her very impressive ability to chop wood.

Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

The competition: Sandra Bullock’s high-strung Canadian book publisher (The Proposal), Marion Cotillard’s scorned wife (Nine), Julia Roberts’ spy (Duplicity), Meryl Streep’s adulterous baker (It’s Complicated) and Meryl Streep’s Julia Child (Julie & Julia).

For your information: Streep has 21 previous nominations and five previous wins, including one in this category for “The Devil Wears Prada.” Cotillard won in this category two years ago for “La Vie en Rose.” Roberts has six previous nominations and three wins, including one in this category for “Pretty Woman.” Only Bullock has never won, but she has two previous nods in this category and another nod in the drama category this year for “The Blind Side.” The last time an actor had two nominations in the same category and won was in 1992 when Tim Robbins beat himself for Best Comedy Actor.

Who should win: Streep (Julie & Julia)

Who will win: It has to be Streep for her portrayal of Julia Child.

Film Review: Waiting for Armageddon

My review of the new documentary "Waiting for Armageddon," opening this coming Friday, is up on the Heeb Magazine website. Please head over to their site to read it. The film earns a B+.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

This is the third category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Jemaine Clement (Gentlemen Broncos), Nathan Fillion (Trucker), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Ed Helms (The Hangover), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), James McAvoy (The Last Station), Alfred Molina (An Education), Alessandro Nivola (Coco Before Chanel), Zachary Quinto (Star Trek), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education), Paul Schneider (Bright Star), Liev Schreiber (Taking Woodstock), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)

Runners-up:
TIMOTHY HUTTON (Serious Moonlight)
STEPHEN LANG (Avatar)
KODI SMIT-MCPHEE (The Road)
CHRISTIAN MCKAY (Me and Orson Welles)
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER (The Last Station)

The winner:
Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) was terrifying, hilarious, wacky, and intimidating all at the same time as a Nazi officer known as the Jew Hunter. He owned every scene in which he appeared, and earns bonus points for his excellent command of not one but four languages – German, French, English, and Italian.

Other nominees:
Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man) worked with the artistic direction of Tom Ford and understood the subtlety and complexity of the film he made, and conveyed so much maturity even with just his eyes. Matt Damon (Invictus) enhanced what could have been a throwaway part with a complete immersion in the role and impressive physical transformation that really made a difference. Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) was a ghastly narrator for the devastation of his world, and it’s hard to decide whether he’s more fearsome with or without his ink-blotted mask. Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) didn’t try to make his performance theatrical, and therefore his rendition of a soldier at war was incredibly human.

Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

The competition: Matt Damon’s slippery tattletale (The Informant!), Daniel Day-Lewis’ eccentric director (Nine), Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes), Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s hopeless romantic (500 Days of Summer), and Michael Stuhlbarg’s helpless professor (A Serious Man).

For your information: This is Day-Lewis’s sixth nomination, and he won on the las one. Downey Jr. has two previous film nominations, and Damon has three acting nods, including another one this year for supporting actor in “Invictus.” Both have won Globes before; Downey Jr. for “Ally McBeal” and Damon for penning “Good Will Hunting.” This is the first nomination for both Gordon-Levitt and Stuhlbarg.

Who should win: All fun inclusions – probably Stuhlbarg.

Who will win: This is the hardest race of all to predict, in my opinion. Day-Lewis should be a favorite, but he’s not the strongest part of his film. This could be a way to acknowledge Downey Jr.’s recent comeback, and Gordon-Levitt has also done well for himself recently after starting out as a TV child actor. Damon might also prevail here, especially since he won’t for Best Supporting Actor. My bet is that Tony nominee Stuhlbarg will come out ahead, though his film’s snub in the Best Picture category doesn’t bode well for him.

Home Video: Surveillance

Surveillance
Directed by Jennifer Lynch
Release June 26, 2009

It’s always interesting to see movies made by children of famous filmmakers. In 2008, Jenny Lumet, daughter of Sidney Lumet, penned a brilliant script for “Rachel Getting Married.” Sofia Coppola found enormous success just like her father Francis Ford Coppola with “Lost in Translation,” and even picked up her own Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Jennifer Lynch is the daughter of one of the most intriguing and eclectic directors out there, David Lynch, who was produced such films are “Mulholland Drive” and “Blue Velvet,” as well as the cult television series “Twin Peaks.” The younger Lynch’s latest film, “Surveillance,” fits into that oeuvre quite well.

In some ways, Jennifer Lynch doesn’t make movies like her father, but there are also incredible similarities between the two. “Surveillance” takes strange events and manipulates them to be both interesting and disturbing. Seemingly inappropriate comedy is used to make situations all the creepier, and deadly scenarios take place in broad daylight to create a lasting, permanent sense of foreboding danger. But, in the same vein as her father David, the film comes to a quickened, somewhat senseless resolution that should have a much greater impact. The journey there is far more interesting, and there’s only so much value to a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the whole time and never throws you off it completely.

“Surveillance,” to its credit, has a brilliant setup and a clever style of execution. Two FBI agents arrive in a small town brutalized by serial killers to interview four police officers and the two survivors, one young drug addict and one traumatized young girl. The interviews are set up and conducted in a run-down, darkened station while the suspects and witnesses regale their interviewers with tweaked and altogether fabricated takes on the events as they actually occurred. It’s a town where police officers watch people drive by and then shoot their tires out in order to pull them over, terrorize them, and take their wallets as punishment for speeding. It’s quite a messed-up town worthy of existence in a film from the Lynch family.

The film’s greatest asset is its cast, which works with the material perfectly and enhances the bizarre feel. Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond are fantastically sedated and intimidating as the FBI agents who swoop in to take over the case. Michael Ironside is an appropriately gruff, growling police captain. Pell James and 11-year-old Ryan Simpkins (also appearing in “A Single Man” this year) are frenetic and fitting as the two survivors of the killings. Most impressive among the cast are two comedy stars, Cheri Oteri (“Saturday Night Live”) and French Stewart (“3rd Rock from the Sun”), who do a stellar job of seeing serious and pull off their roles impeccably. Unfortunately, the film isn’t as polished as the performances. It plays its dramatic hand far too early, and once things start to devolve, the film goes along with it and breaks down, tearing apart the credibility of all of its previously developed characters.


B-

AFT Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role

This is the second category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Amy Adams (Julie & Julia), Marion Cotillard (Nine), Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Julia Roberts (Duplicity), Meg Ryan (Serious Moonlight), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel)

Runners-up:
ABBIE CORNISH (Bright Star)
MICHELLE MONAGHAN (Trucker)
MAYA RUDOLPH (Away We Go)
ELLEN PAGE (Whip It)
EMILY BLUNT (The Young Victoria)

The winner:
Carey Mulligan (An Education) was wonderfully charming and delightful as a young girl with a bright future ahead of her and an adventurous desire to see and experience the world.

Other nominees:
Tilda Swinton (Julia) held nothing back as an alcoholic woman actively working to mess her life up and provided a mesmerizing portrait of someone dealing with bad decisions. Penelope Cruz (Broken Embraces) lit up the screen the moment she appeared as an aspiring actress with two men with an eternally sunny disposition. Meryl Streep (Julia & Julia) let loose and had fun cooking up a storm in a commendable imitation of the incomparable Julia Child. Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) gave a tour de force performance at age 15 as a murdered girl who has far more to experience than just her life, and anchored a movie far beneath her talents.

Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

The competition: Emily Blunt’s Queen Victoria (The Young Victoria), Sandra Bullock’s Southern humanitarian housewife (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren’s Countess Tolstoy (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan’s perky student (An Education), and Gabourey Sidibe’s pregnant underprivileged 16-year-old (Precious).

For your information: This is the fourth film nomination for Mirren, who won in 2006 for “The Queen.” Blunt has one previous nomination, and Bullock has three for her comedic roles, including a second nod this year for “The Proposal.” Newcomers Mulligan and Sidibe have earned their first nominations

Who should win: Mulligan

Who will win: It should be breakout Mulligan, though debut performer Sidibe might steal some votes.

Friday For Your Consideration: Tilda Swinton

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Friday For Your Consideration. As every year nears to a close, there are a number of actors nominated for Golden Globes, Oscars, and countless other awards. There are so many spots and there are so many deserving contenders, yet some inevitably get left out. Each week, I’ll be spotlighting one performance from this year which deserves a second look but might not get it. This doesn’t mean I don’t want Carey Mulligan and Christoph Waltz to get their first nominations. They don’t need my help. As luck would have it, these actors do. I’ll be running this feature until Oscar nominations are announced at the beginning of February, so leave your choices in the comments and I might feature them over the next couple of weeks! I’ve written at greater length about these performances in the reviews of the films, so make sure to read those for a more detailed look at why these actors deserve an Oscar nomination.

Tilda Swinton, “Julia”
Where you’ve seen her before: The Scottish actress starred in “The Deep End” in 2001 and then played the White Witch in the “Chronicles of Narnia” series. She won an Oscar for her supporting performance in “Michael Clayton” in 2007.

Why she deserves it: Swinton is completely unhinged in a magnificent way with her portrayal of an out-of-control alcoholic who gets in way over her head and is forced to take matters into her own hands when her situation spirals out of control. The way Julia tries to defend her behavior and lie to herself is particularly fascinating, and Swinton is trying hard to convey that sense of insistent uncertainty. Julia is fiercely unlikable yet furiously captivating, and it has a great deal to do with the unique appeal of Swinton and her spectacular commitment to the performance in this difficult role.

Standout scene: (Minor spoilers) Not very far into the film, Julia dons a black mask and prepares to do her part in the kidnapping of a child. His guardian comes to Julia to ask for help, and Julia panics. What happens next is a clear calculation of a woman scared for her life but also desperate to put it back together, and it’s all visible on Swinton’s marvelously expressive face.

Why she won’t get it: The Best Actress race is full of too many other actresses, and Swinton hasn’t managed a major placement anymore yet. The fact that she won two years ago for a far less impressive role doesn’t necessarily mean voters love her, but rather that they wanted to reward her and now they’ve gotten it over with and there’s no feelings of her being overdue. Last year, Melissa Leo broke in for another independent film (Frozen River), but she got a SAG nomination before her eventual Oscar nod. It’s possible that Swinton could sneak in, but she’ll have to get past Abbie Cornish (Bright Star) first, who’s also been on the sidelines without any big nominations so far his awards season.

Read the review here, and come back next Friday for a look at another performer who deserves a shot at Oscar.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Sharlto Copley (District 9), Matt Damon (The Informant!), Daniel Day-Lewis (Nine), Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Tom Hardy (Bronson), Tom Hollander (In the Loop), Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Viggo Mortensen (The Road), Clive Owen (Duplicity), Chris Pine (Star Trek), Brad Pitt (Inglorious Basterds), Sam Worthington (Avatar)

Runners-up:
JEFF BRIDGES (Crazy Heart)
LLUIS HOMAR (Broken Embraces)
MICHAEL STUHLBARG (A Serious Man)
JOHN KRASINSKI (Away We Go)
BEN FOSTER (The Messenger)

The winner:
Colin Firth (A Single Man) delivered a performance unlike anything he has ever done before – a tragic, heart-wrenching portrait of a man torn apart and struggling to piece himself back together.

Other nominees:
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) was incredibly real as he stared death in the eyes and didn’t blink fearless soldier absolutely able to come through in the most terrifying and deadly of circumstances. Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun) didn’t let anyone push him around as an aging farmer, and proved that, at 84, he can still turn in a magnificent performance. George Clooney (Up in the Air) used his everyman charm to play someone who delivers bad news for a living, and demonstrated how a character can change through the people he meets in his life. Morgan Freeman (Invictus) channeled the spiritual of a political leader and captured his generosity and vision brilliantly.

Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

The competition: Jeff Bridges’ aging musician (Crazy Heart), George Clooney’s traveling transition man (Up in the Air), Colin Firth’s 60s professor (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman’s Nelson Mandela (Invictus), and Tobey Maguire’s traumatized solider (Brothers).

For your information: This is the fifth nomination for Freeman and the fourth for Bridges. Clooney has been nominated four times for his film acting, and won twice. Freeman also won once. This is the first nomination for both Firth and Maguire.

Who should win: Firth

Who will win: It’s a tough call, but based on last year’s win for comeback kid Mickey Rourke, I think it’s going to go to Bridges. It could easily go to anyone but Maguire, however.