A word on the hiatus

For those wondering why the blog has been down for the past ten days, contributor to the site and one of my best friends, Aaron Morales, has been in the hospital following a car accident. He is currently still in critical condition, so I've been taking a break from posting. I promise to get back as soon as possible, especially given the Golden Globes, SAG and precursor groups that were announced this week. I doubt I will be back before Christmas but I am doing my best. Any prayers and well wishes for Aaron are extremely appreciated, and I hope he gets well soon. 

Thank You,

Tyler j. Pratt

The Oscar Hut

Catchin' up with The Oscar Hut

A few things of importance have gone down in the last week since I posted my Golden Globes predictions, so I'm going to do a rundown of my thoughts on the big events of the last seven days.

The Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominees for this year's best in independent film, which apparently includes Precious, The Last Station, (500) Days of Summer, Sin Nombre and Amreeka. I was a bit disappointed that A Serious Man didn't make the best feature or screenplay cut, being one my favorite films of the year, but at least it received Director and Cinematography citations, both deserved. I was pleased with the acting nods for the most part, but snubs for Carey Mulligan, Zooey Deschanel, Ben Foster and Michael Stuhlbarg were disappointing. Overall, I doubt the spirit awards made that big of an impact on how the rest of awards season will look, but they no doubt helped (500) Days of Summer get back into the picture.

(500) Days of Summer was also greatly helped by the National Board of Review who named it one of the ten best films of the year.
Always kick starting the awards season, giving us the first real ideas about what and who will shape the upcoming Oscar race, The National Board of Review helped out a great many films to set out on the road to an Oscar nod, and perhaps a win.
Up in the Air undoubtedly received the largest boost out of the proceedings,taking home their Best Picture trophy along with a Best Actor award for George Clooney (tied with Morgan Freeman for Invictus), Best Supporting Actress for Anna Kendrick and a Best Adapted Screenplay award for the film's director, Jason Reitman and co-writer Sheldon Turner.
I think this is going to translate to a large success for the film at the Oscars where it'll probably take home the Best Picture, Director and Screenplay trophies.
Also making a big splash was Invictus, the Nelson Mandella biopic/sports drama that won Clint Eastwood yet another NBR Best Director citation, Morgan Freeman Best Actor and a spot on the NBR's top 10. While I'm sure these nomination will be echoed come Oscar time, I doubt the film will win Clint his third Best Director award, the NBR's just seem to have a hard on for the guy as evident in every film of his since Mystic River getting a spot in their top ten. I'm also pretty sure that Freeman wont be able to repeat his victory, especially when he's competing with Jeff Bridges, Colin Firth and even George Clooney.
This year's Best Actress award went to the well deserving Carey Mulligan for her career defining performance in An Education. A great choice, Mulligan seems poised for front runner status at the show, yet she still faces competition from the beloved Meryl Streep and Gabourey Sidibe who may be her biggest threat for the award.
The Messenger and A Serious Man also got boosts with top ten citations, along with both winning a second award. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen picked up the Best Original Screenplay award, hopefully signalling a sign of things to come. The Messenger's second award may have been one of the more suprising of the winners. Essentially shaking up the Best Supporting Actor race, the NBR awarded Woody Harrelson for his excellent performance in The Messenger. With Matt Damon pretty much out of the race the last spot up for grabs will be a hotly contested one. Christoph Waltz, Stanley Tucci, Alfred Molina and Christopher Plummer all seem pretty locked in, but who does that last spot go to? Woody's win places him squarely in the lead for it, but Alec Baldwin has been getting early raves for his turn in It's Complicated, and being one of the co-hosts helps his chances at getting a nod. We also need to keep an eye on Peter Sarsgaard for An Education, he's yet to receive a nod and his work in this buzzed about British indie was excellent.

A few new movies were released this week, the most notable of which was Brothers, the latest film from Academy Award nominated writer-director Jim Sheridan. While it's certainly not his best work, and at times a bit ridiculous and barely sensible, Brothers features some of the year's best performances. Jake Gylenhaal and Natalie Portman give decent work here, both doing their best work since 2007, but they seem limited by the film that surrounds them, giving their performances a muted effect. The same goes for Sam Shepard who was fantastic as a grizzled father, but he gets little to work with screenplay wise. The film does however give us two wonderful supporting performances by the young girls who play the children of Tobey Maguire and Portman. They play off their adult co-stars perfectly and emote in ways better than most actresses twice their age, and both are deserving of recognition for their work. If you've noticed the lack of any real mention of Tobey Maguire so far, it's because I'm trying to save the best for last. Maguire's work in Brothers is riveting, a career best piece of work for the man best known as Spiderman. Maguire completely becomes Sam Cahill, and during his performance his character arc is visible through his mental and physical transformation from a calm family man to a war ravaged POW survivor forced to return to domestic life. Maguire definitely delivers on the promise he showed in films like Wonder Boys with Brothers, and though his chances for an Oscar nomination this year are slim, he'll have to pull a Tommy Lee Jones, he can rest assured knowing that his performance is one of the years best.

And that's it for my catch up! Not much happened yet so much happened. Movies opened died while their performances thrived. Awards groups announced nominations and winners, some were snubbed, some should have been snubbed.
All in all it was a good week for lovers of film and the Oscars, so, here looking at next week!

T.O.H Predicts: The Golden Globes

Just to make it clear from the get go, I love the Golden Globes. Yes, they aren't as respectable as the Oscars, and yes, the HFPA tend to be starfuckers, but the show itself is one of my favorites every awards season. The mood seems much lighter and more friendly, more of a cocktail party compared to the Oscars grand banquet, especially this year with Ricky Gervais hosting (supposedly while a bit tipsy).

It tends to be easier to predict the Globes compared to other awards bodies, simply because they like to honor stars in big event films. Take Leo DiCapri last year for Revolutionary Road for example. The Globes love stars.
So, without further rambling, here are my Golden Globe predictions.

Best Motion Picture- Drama
- An Education
- The Hurt Locker
- Invictus
- Precious
- Up in the Air
Alt: Inglourious Basterds or Brothers

Best Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy
- (500) Days of Summer
- In The Loop
- It's Complicated
- Nine
- A Serious Man
Alt: Julie & Julia

I'm having alot of trouble pegging down the main categories this year. There are only 6 or 7 true contenders for each of these Best Picture categories but those 6 0r 7 are really fighting for those spots. Brothers, Inglourious Basterds and The Lovely Bones could both potentially hit in a big bad way or completely bomb so those are my biggest question marks in the drama category. Musical and Comedy is a bit easier to nail down but I feel emotionally compromised due to my love of Funny People, a film which I find wonderful and awards worthy but I get the feeling it wont make the cut. All in all I think I'll do ok in these two categories, getting at least 75 percent of the five for each of these right.

Best Director of a Motion Picture
- Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
- Lee Daniels for Precious
- Clint Eastwood for Invictus
- Rob Marshall for Nine
- Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Alt: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

The Best Director category at the Globes can also get a bit difficult to make sense of as well. I think I got it 100 percent right, but there is still the lurking potential for Inglourious Basterds or The Lovely Bones to do very well, and by extension Tarantino or Jackson could get a Directorial nod. However I think these five make sense, they'll want to honor a bad ass woman, and man giving Bigelow and Eastwood an in. Jason Reitman has a next big thing vibe abd Up in the Air could go all the way. Rob Marshall is a razzle dazzle showmanwho they love, and I believe they will like Precious enough to nominate Daniels but he's definitely the weak link of these five since he's not a name director. Yet.

Best Actor in a Drama
- Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
- George Clooney for Up in the Air
- Colin Firth for A Single Man
- Morgan Freeman for Invictus
- Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Alt: Tobey Maguire for Brothers

Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy
- Peter Capaldi for In The Loop
- Matt Damon for The Informant!
- Daniel Day-Lewis for Nine
- Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock Holmes
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt for (500) Days of Summer
Alt: Adam Sandler for Funny People

I like my picks for the Drama category, I'm thinking I'll be 5/5 with those, since all of those guys have buzz and are names, with the exception of Renner not really being that well known yet. However, watch out for Tobey Maguire in Brothers, his buzz is only growing louder. The Comedy/Musical actors are befuddling me though. I think Damon and Day-Lewis are locks, they were both excellent and they are internationally famouse movie stars. Peter Capaldi I think will be this year's Colin Farrell/Brendan Gleeson, meaning he is a respected European actor starring in a great European indie comedy that made some noise upon release. In The Loop is still being talked about so I say he's in. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is extremely deserving and he's in a well loved film, so he's in. The big question mark for me though is that last spot. Adam Sandler was phenominal in Funny People, and if anyone is deserving of a nod, it's him. Funny People gave us his best work to date and he's a star so he could make it, but I have a feeling the film will be completely and unfairly snubbed. So instead, I'm going with another beloved star, Downey to get a nod reminiscent of Johnny Depp's in Pirates of the Carribean.

Best Actress in a Drama
- Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
- Helen Mirren for The Last Station
- Carey Mulligan for An Education
- Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones
- Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Alt: Abbie Cornish for Bright Star

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy
- Sandra Bullock for The Proposal
- Marion Cottilard for Nine
- Zooey Descahnel for (500) Days of Summer
- Meryl Streep for It's Complicated
- Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia
Alt: Ellen Page for Whip It!

The Best Actress categories are pretty simple. On the drama side, Sandra Bullock is the only one who could be vulnerable and if so, Abbie Cornish gets in, simple. Comedy/Musical, take two Streeps, a Cottilard and Deschanel and you have four out of 5. Assume Bullock is going to make it at least into one of the categories and boom, there you go.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Alec Baldwin for It's Complicated
- Alfred Molina for An Education
- Christopher Plummer for The Last Station
- Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
- Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Alt: Matt Damon for Invictus

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Penelope Cruz for Nine
- Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
- Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
- Mo'Nique for Precious
- Julianne Moore for A Single Man
Alt: Judi Dench for Nine

The Supporting Categories are simple enough as well. The Supporting Actor race has been sewn up for months with the only question being, will Damon make it in? I think not, and the last spot goes to Alec Baldwin who is on a role as of late. My Supporting Actor predictions are most likely to be the same for the rest of the season, or at least until the Oscar nominations are announced. The same can be said for Supporting Actress. These ladies are sitting pretty. Unless the Globes go apeshit for Nine and nominate more than one of the ladies for Supporting actress, this is your line up. Once again though, in both the supporting categories, watch out for Brothers cast members Jake Gylenhaal, Sam Shepard and Natalie Portman, they are all dark horses. Other than that though, pretty simple.

T.O.H Predicts: The National Board of Review

Even though the Golden Satellite Awards present their nominees before nearly every other group, they are widely considered meaningless in the grand scheme of the awards season. I mean, they failed to nominate Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood two years ago, only one example of how ludicrous this group can be at times.
The opposite of the Golden Sattelites, as far as the first important awards group to present goes, is the National Board of Review, arguably the precursor that sets the scene for the rest of Oscar season. This year, given the 10 nominee template the Oscars have switched too, the National Board may have an even larger effect this year than usual. The Board will also play a huge role in the acting categories, having launched George Clooney towards on Oscar nod for Michael Clayton in 2007 andAnne Hathaway last year for Rachel Getting Married.
Unfortunately, the Board is also the easiest precursor to mis-predict. Movies you would think be a grandslam with them, like There Will Be Blood, can be shutout in favor of a movie like The Bucket List. Their Best Director award can also be spotty as well, recent winners including eventual snubs like Tim Burton, Michael Mann, Edward Zwick and Phillip Noyce, while also award winners like Ang Lee and Martin Scorsese.
Either way, the National Board of Review will be a major trend setter for this Oscar season, and all I can do is my best in predicting it, so here it goes...

Note- You can never tell whether or not the winner of their best film will be included in the top ten so for now I'm just going with a top ten, and if the winner happens to be in my prediction for the top ten, lets just say I got it right lol.

Top Ten Films
- (500) Days of Summer
- An Education
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Invictus
- The Lovely Bones
- Precious
- A Serious Man
- Star Trek
- Up in the Air
Alt: A Single Man

Best Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for A Serious Man - Just a hunch on this one, not sure why though. I just think the Coens are going to see a lot of love this year.
Alt: Jason Reitman for Up in the Air

Best Actor: George Clooney for Up in the Air- He won a few years ago but I think he'll do it again because quite frankly, this is the quintessential George Clooney role, and the industry loves him.
Alt: Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan for An Educaton- Just because she's given the best female performance of the year hands down. She's also young, beautiful and british.
Alt: Gabourey Sidibe for Precious

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Waltz for Inglourious Basterds- The best performance of the year hands down in my oppinion, he owns this year.
Alt: Woody Harrelson for The Messenger

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique for Precious- She's scary awsome and cast majorly against type, I think the board will eat this up.
Alt: Julianne Moore for A Single Man

Best Original Screenplay: A Serious Man by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Alt: The Hurt Locker by Mark Boal

Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air by Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
Alt: Precious by Geoffrey Fletcher

Best Animated Film: Up
Alt: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Documentary Film: The Cove
Alt: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Best Foreign Film: The White Ribbon
Alt: Mother

Best Cast: Nine
Alt: Inglourious Basterds

Best Breakthrough Actor: Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Alt: Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man

Best Breakthrough Actress: Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Alt: Carey Mulligan for An Education

The Oscar Hut will be returning...

...at the end of this Thanksgiving Weekend! We've been on hiatus for about a month now due to an unforseen illness that had me layed up in a hospital bed for the last few weeks. I have new reviews waiting to be published for A Christmas Carol, An Education, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Nine, Paranormal Activity and a reprint for Precious. I have updated the site features, with a new poll, updated predictions and an updated contenders tracker.
Theres a new all category encompassing State of the Race on the way, and a full predictions article on the Golden Globes, BAFTAS and much more!

Predicting the Globes Part: One

The Golden Globes, best known as the little sister awards show to the Oscar's has long been a semi-important awards prognosticator for how the Oscars could go. So given the recent announcement that a drunken, unrehearsed Ricky Gervais (creator and star of The Office, Extras, Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying) will host this year's Golden Globes, an excellent choice by the way, I figure that it is as good a time as any to release my current predictions for the film categories of this year's show. While category and genre placement are still up in the air at the moment, I feel confident that I can successfully predict the HFPA "starfucker" voting mentality, and put out predictions that will come to pass as true. So, here goes it...

Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical

- The Hangover

- It's Complicated

- Julie & Julia

- Nine

- Up in the Air

This category tends be fairly easy to predict. Nine is the big prestige musical of the year, so that's getting in, Julie & Julia and It's Complicated fill the Nancy Meyers' type rom-com slot, ironic given her movie will be nominated this year. Up in the Air is the Sideways type dramady film that is amazing and probably has the best shot of winning, and lastly, The Hangover is the big comedy success of the year, raking in cash along with great reviews, so I think that it has a great chance at a nod. Also in contention are...Judd Apatow's underrated Funny People, Everybody's Fine and depending on genre placement, Quentin Tarantino's fantastic Inglourious Basterds, which I thought was riotously funny, though many may not share that opinion.

Best Motion Picture: Drama
- An Education

- The Hurt Locker

- Invictus
- The Lovely Bones

- Precious: based on the novel by Sapphire

The best drama category is also usually easy to predict. Just take the most buzzed and acclaimed dramas that have come out during the fall and winter and place them in. An Education, which could qualify as a comedy perhaps, is an excellent critics darling, and the same could be said about The Hurt Locker, which despite it's apolitical story, gains extra cred for being the first successful Iraq war film. Invictus is the important, biopic drama, and also has Clint Eastwood as it's director which is a plus, and The Lovely Bones is the big prestige drama of the late winter, ala Benjamin Button. The one film on this list that doesn't fall into any cliched category is Precious, an excellent, but punishing small indie film. It has the reviews, endorsement from Oprah and Tyler Perry and the buzz it needs, and plainly, its just fucking amazing. Precious makes it. Also in contention are...period biopic, The Last Station, gay themed A Single Man, post apocalyptic thriller The Road and the Coen Brother's excellent A Serious Man, along with the mysterious enigma that is James Cameron's Avatar.

Best Director of a Motion Picture

- Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

- Clint Eastwood for Invictus

- Peter Jackson for The Lovely Bones

- Rob Marshall for Nine

- Jason Reitman for Up in the Air

This year's best director slate at the Globes will most likely include three men who may not find themselves in Oscar contention later in the month. Despite excellent reviews for Lee Daniels; directorial debut, Precious, in the end he will most likely be snubbed by the globes in favor of Peter Jackson, a publicly known filmmaker who has this year's December prestige event movie, The Lovely Bones. Also riding on the coattails of their reputation could be Clint Eastwood, an automatic nominee for every one of his films, and Rob Marshall whose films Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha took the globes by storm. Also likely to be nominated are Kathryn Bigelow, the respected female director of the incendiary Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker, and wunderkind Jason Reitman for his beautiful affecting dramady Up in the Air. Also in contention are...Lee Daniels for his amazing debut Precious, James Cameron for Avatar which remains a huge question mark for prognosticaters, Spike Jonze for Where The Wild Things Are, and Quentin Tarantino for his excellent film, Inglourious Basterds.

Invictus' Oscar Hopes?...

...are looking pretty good to me right now. The tone of the trailer gives off a vibe of importance, while Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon and Eastwood's direction looks to be excellent. Despite my hesitation to predict the film before, this trailer has pushed me over to the side of the fence where I see Invictus as a major Oscar contender.

Recent Release Short Takes

Amelia: A beautiful looking film, featuring amazing production design adn cinematography, yet featuring a flat unoriginal story and barely passable performances for Ewan MacGregor, Richard Gere and especially Hillary Swank. While it could still find itself in the hunt for technical nominations, anything else is a longshot, including a Best Actress nod for Swank. Just a boring film.

The Last Station: A period biopic drama like Amelia, yet completely engaging and interesting throughout, thanks mostly to the quadratic formula of performances for Helen Mirren (absolutely wonderful) James McAvoy (ditto) Paul Giamatti (Very good, reminding me slightly of his performance in The Illusionist) and Christopher Plummer (A career nod, shall he seek?). Like Amelia the film has great production values all around and could be a hit Oscar wise in the tech categories. However, I feel it's best chances lie on the performances of Helen Mirren, who just won a Best Actress prize in Rome for her lively work, Christopher Plummer, who will most likely get a career best supporting actor nod in this, and possibly James McAvoy, who continues to consantly impress and could be a darkhorse contender for Best Actor. The one problem I forsee for the film campaign wise is that Giamatti, McAvoy, Mirren and Plummer are all basically leads, and the decision over where to campaign may cause confusion and by result snubs.

A Serious Man: I saw the Coen's latest in Toronto and loved it then. Seeing it for the second time last night, I remain convinced that the film is their most brilliant work yet, featuring an amazing screenplay, great direction, editing, cinematography, costume design, ect., ect. The acting is top notch for stage vet Michael Stuhlbarg whose character Larry is run through the gamut, as well as supporting players Richard Kind, Fred Melamud, Aaron Wolff and the rest of the cast. The film's ending is one of the best I've seen all year, and I firmly believe that it will play great among Academy members despite being a very philosophical work with a great deal of Jewish themes. I loved it.

Where The Wild Things Are: A suprisingly poignant effort from Spike Jonze, Wild Things is one of the better films to be released this year. It treats it's audience with respect, giving us a mature, emotionally honest adaptation of a beloved childrens story. The cinematography and score are it's best attributes, but the performances from Max records, James Gandolfini and Catherine Keener are also fantastic. I feel it will probably make it into the Best Picture category as well as a few of the tech awards. Just a top notch film despite pacing issues at certain points.

State of The Race vol. 2 2009-2010: October - Best Supporting Actor

With fall ariving and the Oscar season "officially" beginning with the releases of films such as Bright Star, An Education and Where The Wild Things Are, its time once again to take a look at the current prospective nominees, this time in the categoryof Supporting Actor, at the start of fall. Here are the top ten contenders for each category thus far. (In a countdown from the least likely of the top contenders to the most likely)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (TOP 10)

10. Peter Sarsgaard for An Education - The only reason Sarsgaard rests at the number ten spot is due to technicality alone. It is currently unknown whether or not he will push for the Supporting actor nod or a Leading actor nod. My gut tells me that the films producers will want to bolster his chances and campaign him alongside Molina. Either way he is great in the film and getting a nod shouldnt prove to be too difficult for Pete, though people have been saying that every year since the Shattered Glass snub.

9. Tobey Maguire for Brothers - Playing a great role in proven source material, Maguire seems to be intent on stretching his range as an actor. He looks great in the trailer but there has been little to no word on the film's quality itself, and at this stage in the game if his film doesnt recieve wide praise, no matter how acclaimed his performance may be, Maguire looks to miss the Oscar boat once again. That said his nomination rests on Brothers critical and box office performance.
8. Anthony Mackie for The Hurt Locker - Phenominal in one of the year's best films, Mackie's chances at a nod depends really on only two things. One, the film has been able to sustain its buzz so far but it may have a tough couple of months ahead of it. If the film can survive the glut of fall/winter prestige films and remain a viable contender, Mackie may be safe. However if Locker's star Jeremy Renner fails to make the cut, it seems doubtful that the Academy would still bring him in to the players field.

7. Alec Baldwin for It's Complicated - Given his status as a beloved figure of the television entertainment community as well as being a past nominee, one would assume he would contend for an Oscar this year for his turn opposite Meryl Streep in Nancy Meyer's It's Complicated. Meyers having already nabbed Diane Keaton a nod a few years ago, seems to make films that are enjoyed by the AMPAS if not always honored, and Baldwin could ride that into a nod. However the film is a comedy, and the C-word can be an offense punishable by snubbing in the Academy.

6. James McAvoy for The Last Station - Having come so close to a nod in both 2006 and 2007 for his turns in the Last King of Scottland and Atonement respectively, it is probable that the Oscars are itching to give him that first nod and welcome him into the club. He is also appearing in a prestige biopic, a huge plus, and playing a major role in a period piece can lead to a fast track nomination. While it may seem perfect circumstances to gain McAvoy a nomination, the AMAPAS may only wish to honor Christopher Plummer with a career nod and/or Helen Mirren who is beloved more within that community than McAvoy is presently.

5. Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles -Recieving raves for his performance as Orson Welles in Richard Linklater's recently picked up indie, Christian McKay seems to be in prime condition to recieve that Supporting actor newbie nod. He's palying a film icon, in a period film, that happens to be a serio-comedy, and has already recieved best in show notices from critics. The only con to his chances is the fact that the film is a small and may not recieve the release necissary to place him in Oscar contention.

4. Matt Damon for Invictus - Matt Damon is another actor like Alec Baldwin and Geroge Clooney who seems to be very well liked within the industry. Afterhitting it out of the ballpark with The Informant! Damon seems to be a likely double nominee this year. He is another actor playing a real life figure, opposite Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandella in a biopic directed by perhaps the most beloved actor/director if the Oscars in the past decade, Clint Eastwood. Due to the lack of early word or buzz on the film, Damon and Invictus are stuck in the too good to be true category for now, lets wait and see on this one, there isnt even a trailer yet.

3. Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones - A well liked and respected character actor, Stanley Tucci has seemed to be on the cusp of a nod forever, always delivering the goods without ever being rewarded for doing such. However, this year could finally change all that. With the goodwill leftover from his fantastic performance in Julie and Julia, his role as a killer in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones could be a homerun for an oscar nomination. The film has the pedigree to go all the way, and in the trailer he looked downright creepy, so lets hope he delivers the goods once again this December.

2. Alfred Molina for An Education -You can basically copy the first two sentences of my Stanley Tucci thoughts and apply them to Alfred Molina, a nomination-less veteran who is absolutely fantastic in An Education, one of this year's best films. He plays a loving but worried father which is always a plus within the ampas, and that afformentioned veteran status will play big time into his chances which at the moment are considerable. He's got the reviews so far, and all he really needs now is for the film to just do well going into the precursors, and if that happens, he is a lock for his first nomination.

1. Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds - Hands down the best Supporting Performance of the year, and point blank a lock for the win right now. He's already won in Cannes and looks to be this year's Javier Bardem as far as the precursors go. Along with that, Inglourious Basterds is a bonfied box office smash and a darkhorse contender for many Oscar categories this year including Best Picture. I would be shocked if he isn't nominated, and very suprised if he fails to win the Oscar this year.

The Oscar Hut is on Temporary Hiatus...

...due to a sudden illness, ive been out with pnemonia for the last week and have been trying my best to get on the pc and pound out some stuff, unfortunately this is alot easier said than done, luckily this sick time has afforded me to see a few screeners ive recieved in the past few weeks, so when I finally am up and running I should have a review of The Invention of Lying, Zombieland, Antichrst, The Brothers Bloom (I know, but I just finally got around to seeing it), Paranormal Activity and a few other gems. I also have the State of the Race collumns on hold and will be revising them until I can put my full attention back on the site. In the meantime, Aaron Morales, a good friend of mine should be contributing a Golden Globes predictions article in the coming days.
Thanks for everything readers! Sorry for the inconvienience!

Tyler Pratt, The Oscar Hut

State of The Race...Returns tomorrow!

It's been a month or two since i last wrote a state of the race update, so tomorrow comes a mega State of the Race article starting with the Acting races, part two will detail the screenplay and part 3 Best Picture and Director!

Up in The Air, in Review

A smart and profound romantic dramedy, Up in the Air is the rare mainstream film that successfully balances comedy with poignancy, and in a way that beautifully incorporates important issues faced by today's America. Adapted for the screen and directed with maturity by Jason Reitman, Up in the Air is the kind of movie all others should strive to emulate, and on top of that it's one of the best films of the year.

Ryan Bingham is a professional down sizer, constantly flying across the United States, working for companies to fire their employees. A self professed loner uninterested in settling down, Ryan loves the wayfaring disposition of his work. However soon bedlam threatens his lifestyle when he falls for Alex, a beautiful fellow frequent-flyer & basically a female counterpart of himself. At the same time, Natalie, a young dynamo at his company, convinces the management that jobs like Ryan’s could be much more cost-effective if done via teleconferencing, as in i-chat, rather than doing it in person. The gathering storm of these events leads Ryan to begin questioning whats important in his life, and subsequently boards him on the flight to what could very well be his final destination.

With a wonderful screenplay adapted by Jason Reitman that deftly balances the film's humor with touching resonance, Up in the Air is anchored by a trio of fantastic performances by George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

Giving a phenomenal performance in perhaps what is the role of his lifetime, George Clooney is perfect as Ryan Bingham, a man uninterested in the banality of settling down and having a family. Clooney's performance is extremely subtle and layered, yet plays off his costars with great chemistry and a smart handling of the film's lighter moments, an Oscar nomination seems assured. The perfect counterpart to Clooney's Bingham, Vera Farmiga is wonderful as the wry Alex, portraying her as a woman who is deeper than she appears at first. Her performance is the most touching of the supporting cast, and along with Clooney sees herself planted firmly in the awards race. Rounding out this trio is Anna Kendrick, who does great comedic work as the insecure upstart of a foil to Clooney brings the film some of it's better moment.

Although there might be a misstep or two in the film, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air is a clearly personal film with a lot to say about the culture of alienation and technology Americans face today, as well as the worth of a life unshared with others. The film is brilliant in its handling of comedy and drama in their different variations, thanks mostly to Reitman's direction and fantastic adaptation, by Sheldon Turner and himself. The acting featured in the film is excellent all around, from Clooney, Farmiga and Kendrick to the smaller turns from Jason Bateman and Danny McBride. The film is no doubt a top contender for many of this year's Academy Awards, and possibly the odds on favorite in the Best Picture, Actor and Adapted screenplay categories.

Ultimately, Up in the Air is a character study at heart, and a fantastic one at that. I strongly suggest that each and every person who reads this, find their way to a theatre come November, simply because this film is a masterpiece, and as such demands to be seen.

"Precious" In Review

Undoubtedly the two best films at TIFF, and the most buzzed about Oscar wise , Precious and Up in The Air are probably bound to become major Oscar players simply for the fact that no better American films have been released this year...so far.

First up is Precious, which today became the first film to ever win both The Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the TIFF's People's Choice Award. A beautifully crafted, wonderfully acted, affecting piece of work, Precious is for lack of a better term the most "real" film I've seen in quite a while. I left the screening knowing I had seen a masterpiece, a film that looked, sounded and felt so raw and realistic that there was times during the showing that I felt physically uncomfortable at what was happening on screen. Precious is a brutal theatre going experience, it is a movie filled to the brim with hate yet in the ends leaves you filled with a shred of hope.

Telling the story of Precious Jones, Precious bears to the screen some of the most vile things I have ever seen in a movie. Precious, a 16 year old mother of two, the result of being raped by her father, lives her life in Harlem, a harsh reality compared to the fantasy life she escapes to, which improbably saves her from the hellish existence she suffers through.

As if bearing two children from her own father isn't bad enough, her mother is possibly the worst to ever be conceived on the silver screen, if not of all of forms of fiction. Her mother constantly abuses her physically, as well as mentally, never sparing her from her anger and making her life miserable in general. Making matters even worse, Precious is expelled from school and is forced to enroll in alternative classing, an event that changes her horrific existence for the better. Cared for by her loving teacher Precious begins on a journey that leads to the birth of another child and another potentially devastating incident in the form of the HIV virus.

While a definitely uncomfortable viewing experience, the movie soars, an shining example of the power of cinema when placed in the hands of a wonderful film making collaboration. The acting is simply awe inspiring. Gabourey Sidibe is a revelation, bringing joy, sorrow and pain to screen in a showcase of raw acting talent, a performance as fine as I've ever seen from an actress. If Sidibe is snubbed for an Oscar this year, it will be a travesty and a major letdown on the Academy's part. She gives the best lead female performance of the year, and speaking of which, her costar Mo'nique gives the best supporting female performance of the year if not the last 5. Bringing a shocking lack of vanity in any form to the role, Mo'nique gives herself completely to the film shedding any sense of her own personality in favor of becoming the character so completely. She brings a terrifying presence to the screen filled with hate, and i downright disgusting and horrific as a woman who lost any parental affection over the years spent married to her monster of a husband, taking out her frustration on Precious an easy target for herself. Mo'nique, just like Sidibe is as of now the undisputed front runner for Best Supporting Actress of the year. Rounding out the impressive ensemble is Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Paula Patton and Sherri Shephard all of whom are great in their respective roles, Carey in particular surprised me, though I have yet to decide whether or not this was due to her deglamming role or her actual talent.

Precious is a raw, affecting and daring masterpiece, directed wonderfully by Lee Daniels and beautifully translated to the screen. The editing is fantastic, I enjoyed the photography and the rest of it's technicals are great as well. This is a film that is tough to get through, yet ultimately is a winning experience and a testament to the power of cinema. It is one of the best film's of the year, and as such a expect it to play heavily in this year's Oscar race, assuming the Academy has the cajones to honor such a brutally realistic film. See it the second it comes out in theatres.

Up next(no pun intended) in Part 2 of this article is Up in The Air, the thrid film from Jason Reitman, the Oscar nominated director of Thank You For Smoking and Juno.

Contender Tracker Shakedown

I've been thinking since I got home that the contender tracker feature here on the site has grown a bit too large, and I have decided that its time to eliminate some names from the list, which is why I am asking readers to comment on this post who they think should be removed, with the names recieving the most votes being taken off the tracker so please comment.
- Aaron Morales & Tyler j. Pratt
"The Oscar Hut"

"The Men Who Stare At Goats", "The Road" and "A Serious Man" Short Takes

Since they're first big paring back in 2005 with the Academy Award nominated Good night, and Good luck, Grant Heslov and George Clooney have made an excellent pair. Though many did not, I thoroughly enjoyed they're last film Leatherheads and had been eagerly anticipating The Men Who Stare at Goats since I first caught wind of it last year. Today, I am pleased to say that once again the two failed to disappoint.

The Men who Stare at Goats is humorous, well acted by everyone involved, and just flat out fun to watch. The story is interesting and almost believable, and the characters all feel fully fleshed out by the cast who just seem to be having a good time. Ewan Mac Gregor hasn't been this fun in years, same goes for Kevin Spacey, as per usual I loved Jeff Bridges' role, and George Clooney continues effortlessly to seem like the most likable guy in the industry. The movie is not perfect, but it is well written, acted and directed, so even though it may not receive any Oscar nods, it is still a great watch, and one that I recommend highly.

It seems so long ago that The Road was once considered a future Oscar front runner, a film of importance, and that it potentially could be one of the best screen adaptations of all time. Unfortunately, the film failed to live up to any of these expectations. While The Road is no doubt a beautifully designed and photographed & also featuring two great performances from Viggo Mortensen and Robert Duvall , it just fell short for me in the end. The filmmakers seemed almost too concerned with the visual feel, it's amazing but I feel that Hillcoat gave up on the the story in favor of aesthetic and it definitely shows.

The performances are, for the most part, very good, the weak links being Kodi Smit-McPhee as the boy who I feel ruined the picture with his characterization, and Charlize Theron who could have been better despite a weakly written role. However, Robert Duvall and Viggo Mortensen are fantastic, providing wonderfully moving work in the film and are indeed its saving graces.

While Duvall, Mortensen and the look of the film are worth seeing, there is not much I else that I would pay to see again. The film adaptation will always be an incomplete one, and I am saddened that such a masterpiece in book form could not be translated as well to the silver screen.

The Coen brothers are geniuses. I have never been disappointed by any single film of theirs, all of which have inspired and fed my love for the art of film. After their bleak, Oscar winning success with No Country for Old Men and last year's fun, dark comedy Burn After Reading, the duo had left me wondering what they would do next, and with A Serious Man, The Coens have once again captured my fancy with their most thought provoking and personal film since Barton Fink.

Telling a tale of the moral trials beset upon Larry Gropnik, a mathmatics professor in the Minnesota of the 1960's, A Serious Man is about as good as it gets. Larry suffers relentlessly throughout the film; dealing with a divorce, an overneedy brother, and threats of law suits and losing his job, Larry begins to question the meaning of life, except his questions are presented in a flippant light hearted manner compared to the woeful issues beset on Barton Fink.

The film is smartly written ,as if it were directly ripped from the pages of the Coen's own upbringing, and superbly directed and acted, great performances coming from Michael Stuhlbarg who is deserving of awards attention for his brilliantly observed leading role, Fred Melamed as Larry's widdowed rival who steals his wife's affection, and Richard Kind who does the most he can with a role that was smaller than I had expected.
While it is unlikely the film will score in the acting and tech categories at this year's Oscars, it's brilliant screenplay is a shoo in, and the film could even find itself in the Best Picture race depending on how hard it is pushed.

Joel & Ethan Coen's A Serious Man, is a film that deserves to be seen by a wide audience. It is the kind of smart, thoughtful and mordant comedy that sinks in the more you think about it, and I feel that I may still be pondering the meaning of life, weeks from now. Pun aside, A Serious Man is one seriously good film.

"The Informant!" In Review

For the past 20 years, Steven Soderbergh has proven himself to be a filmaking chameleon, rarely repeating himself with the exception of the Ocean films. After his two part Che Guevara biopic last year, and his indie curiosity The Girlfriend Experience earlier this year, Soderbergh is back, and once again teaming with longtime collaborator Matt Damon in the Scott Z. Burns penned adaptation of The Informant!

Adapted from Kurt Eichenwald's book of the same name(minus the exclamation), The Informant! tells the story of Mark Whitacre, effortlessly played by Matt Damon, a rising star at ADM, a corporation based out of Illinois, who turns informant for the FBI in regards to the companies' price-fixing activities. The movie deals with Whitacre's ordeal as he struggles with bi-polar disorder, his own misdeeds, and the stress caused by three years of wearing a wire.

While the film is not what I would call a lough out loud comedy, it is smartly written and quietly hilarious throughout, allowing for the comedy to come from the character's actions and reactions to the events that unfold. Soderbergh's direction serves the film well enough, and I have to agree with Variety's review which called the film "Soderbergh's Richard Lester" movie. Damon is wonderful as the increasingly out of it Whitacre, playing him confidently and sharply, never making light of Whitacre's convictions and belief that he is doing the right thing, even when he isn't. The rest of the cast does well enough, Melanie Lynskey does her best with her role as Whitacre's devoted wife Ginger, even though there relationship and her character is weak and underwritten.

In the end, The Informant! is just about as good as one would expect from Damon/Soderbergh corporate dark comedy. Its funny without being flash, smart without placing attention on it, with good direction, a great adaptation by Scott Z. Burns, and a fantastic star lead from Matt Damon in his best role since The Talented Mr. Ripley more than a decade ago. While the film may not set the box office afire, I feel assured that Matt Damon will certainly find himself in awards contention, along with Burn's for adapted screenplay and it's great score which feels like a character unto itself at time. I would definitely suggest seeing this film in theatres.

Post-Venice/ Telluride/ Toronto Articles, Reviews and Updates coming Friday

Im sorry about the two week hiatus, things have been hectic with school and I am currently in Toronto attending the film festval, so i hopefully will soon be able to write about The Informant!, Men Who Stare At Goats, Up in the Air, Precious, The Road, A Serious Man and many of the other films I have seen so far at the festival. Regrettably this will not include Antichrist, Broken Embraces or Get Low all of which i missed.
Just to hold you guys over until friday here are 5 thoughts on how Toronto has affected the Oscar race so far..

1. Up in The Air is hands down the best film I've seen this year so far, and I feel confident in predicting it as the front runner for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Best Actor and possibly 2 supporting actress nods. Just a beautiful effort from Jason Reitman, and suffice to say, my reaction was somewhat akin to Drew McWeeny's: utter disbelief.
2. A Serious Man is better than No Country for Old Men, and is possibly not only the Coen Brothers most personal work to date, but there best since Fargo. Stuhlbarg is excellent, possible a darkhorse best actor contender, Richard Kind however will not recieve a nod, his part is a bit too small.
3. Precious is a work of art. Mo'nique might as well have her speech written as well, and Gabourey Sidibe will get nominated for Best Actress. The direction is very good, the editing is great, Precious is just an all around fantastic movie.
4. The Road was a misfire. Viggo could still get into the best actor race, but it will be tight. Kodi Smit-McPhee was shrill and in my opinion miscast as the son. Robert Duvall's cameo was handsdown the best part of the film, he had me in tears, and from the buzz ive been hearing, he might have a best actor shot with Get Low which I missed.
5. Matt Damon lives up to the hype in The Informant! He is just wonderfully funny, and the movie itself is a great effort from Soderbergh who created a film that was funny without being laugh out loud, smart without being to obvious about it, and the best adaptation I've seen in a while. Scott Z. Burns could see an adapted screenplay nod for his work.

So..till Friday, have a great week!

"I think this just might be my masterpiece..." Inglourious Basterds, In Review

"I think this just might be my masterpiece..." are the final words spoken by Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's World War II opus, and possibly sum up how Tarantino himself may view his 7Th film to date. The long gestating project, which Tarantino reportedly began writing nearly a decade ago, had been repeatedly pushed off to the side in favor of the Kill Bill saga and the Death Proof segment of Grindhouse. However, in the end Basterds has proven itself to be Quentin's most engaging, fun and purely brilliant piece of filmaking since 1994's Pulp Fiction, and I would indeed describe it, flawed as it may be, the work of a master filmmaker.

Perhaps what is most impressive about Inglorious Basterds is the clearly evident display of ambition and appreciation for the period in Quentin Tarantino's direction and script. Freeing himself from historical restrictions, Tarantino manages to create a World War 2 film that is riveting, action packed and hilarious through a story that by all means could have happened. With a screenplay that could have been laborious and boring, QT's film is full of wonderful moments packed with fantastic dialogue, suspense and clever scene set ups, most prominently the opening scene, the tavern card game and the entire theatre sequence( which btw is one of the years best climaxes), and Quentin's direction in these scenes is fantastic. It's almost as if after Death Proof he looked at himself in the mirror and decided to really make something great again. He also made some great technical choices with the film, especially in the hiring of legendary DP Robert Richardson who gives Basterds a beautiful look and some really fantastic shots. The editing is also good, the pacing of the film is near perfect in my eyes despite the running time, and the art direction and costumes were sublimely created and designed to perfect effect.

However, where Inglourious Basterds succeeds most is without a doubt in its casting, featuring great performances from everyone involved, one of which is the current front runner for this year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent and Michael Fassbender among many others, Quentin Tarantino has organized one of this year's most impressive ensembles by casting actors who seem to genuinely become their characters. And no where else is this more clear than in the performance from Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa of the S.S., in a role that not so much steals the film as it dominates it. On screen possibly more than any other character, Waltz's Landa is a menacing presence who, given the scene, makes the audience's blood run cold as he does in the film's excellent opening scene, induce their laughter with his giddy use of American expression, "that's a bingo!", and just balls out impresses them with his effortlessly fluid language transitions, all the while being charming, menacing and hilarious. Waltz flat out gives the performance of his career and I guarantee that he will go down as one of the greatest screen villains in the history of cinema. The film's other star, and as the movies advertising campaign likes us to believe only star, Brad Pitt is also impressive in Basterds albeit in a much smaller role than you would expect. Although it at first seems that his southern brawler attitude is the basis of his character, Pitt's Aldo Raine proves to be one of the film's more light hearted crowd pleasers, providing plenty of laughs with his exaggerated country bumpkin accent, especially during the film's climax where he trys on an Italian accent to hilarious results. Melanie Laurent, the film's main female character, is wonderful, giving a complex performance as a woman hell bent on revenge. Always hiding beneath a calm, cool facade, Laurent is at her best in her scenes with Daniel Bruhle, also excellent German war hero, and in particular a scene in which she is confronted by Colonel Landa 4 years after he had her family executed. Rapped with fear, Laurent's Shosanna's terror is clearly evident behind her eyes, yet she keeps the facade until the moment she knows she is safe and breaks down. It is a powerful piece of work from a young and inexperienced actress. The rest of the cast is also fantastic, with the exception of Mike Myers who I could not take seriously as a British general. Michael Fassbender is riveting during his short time on screen as a doomed British film critic turned spy, as is the aforementioned Bruhle. The eponymous Basterds are also a source of great work in the film, with Eli Roth, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, and Omar Doom doing good work as well as August Diehl as a gestapo officer. Even the more over the top performances of Martin Wuttke as Hitler and Diane Kruger(miscast but alright) were passable. This cast was just unbelievably good, almost redifining what it means to do a strong ensemble piece of filmmaking, and Tarantino directs wonderfully.

While Inglourious Basterds may years from now age horribly, today in the now it is hands down my favorite film of the year and the best movie going experience I've had this year, and based on the 38 million $ opening, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone. Featuring an amazing cast, fantastic technical achievements, and great writing/directing from Tarantino to the tune of a great medley soundtrack, Inglourious Basterds is the must see film of the summer and perhaps one of this year's best cinematic offerings. Quentin Tarantino is back and better than he's been in the decade and a half since Pulp Fiction, here's hoping he can keep this momentum.

My Grade: A, definitely my favorite film of the year so far

Oscar Chances: I think Basterds will do relatively well awards wise this year. Besides Christoph Waltz's oscar lock on supporting actor, the film could pick up screenplay, editing, cinematography, art direction, costume design and possibly, given the ten nominee category this year, a Best Picture nomination. It truly is an excellent film.

In Review: Trailer Roundup Edition

So my computer is still down and out which, as I have aformentioned, has kept me from posting as regularly as i wish these past couple of weeks. However, tonight I was lucky enough to borrow a freinds latop from which I am uploading all these thoughts from the past couple of weeks.

To start off here are some thoughts on a few of the trailers to have been released recently, all of which can be seen before most prints of the excellent Inglourious Basterds, but more on that later. So lets begin shall we?

First off and perhaps most significant to cinephiles, was the release of the first teaser for James Cameron's long gestating sci-fi adventure, Avatatar. Just as the general reaction has been divided on blogs and message boards over the teaser, my opinion on Avatar is also split between fascination and disapointment. On one hand there were shots in the teaser that truly excited me, the scenes with human beings and the fighting. It seemed as if Cameron could be operating on Aliens mode and that he would be delivering an out of this world fantasy. That was until the audience and myself saw the Avatars. Besides the immediate snickers from the majority of the packed theatre, I found myself let down. They looked horrible, ridiculous, silly you name it, my reaction was negative and the theatres was negative, and when the two Avatars embraced at the end of the trailer one moviegoer in the row behind made sure he was loud enough to hear and bellowed "No Thanks!", the following laughs from the rest of the audience signaled solidarity. Avatar it seems, at least right now, is not going to be the revolutionary film its been buzzed to be.

My Grade: C+

Oscar Potential: F/X and sound so far

Also seen before Tarantino's latest was Inception, the latest film from Christopher Nolan, which featured no dialogue and the tagline "Your mind is the crime scene". This teaser basically gave me chills, and it is safe to say that Inception is easily my most anticipated film of next year. The visuals looked fantastic, the action was vaguely reminiscent of The Matrix,and i stress vaguely, and even Leonardo DiCaprio looked fantastic. Audience reaction was also fantastic, the second that music started people perked up and payed attention, and when it was over there was a sort of stunned silence amongst the audience that had been loud and talkative before the teaser had begun

I think we might have a box office smash/oscar contender for next year.

My Grade:A

Oscar Potential: All categories as of right now

The Wolfman trailer was also released this week riding on the news that it had been pushed back by the studio until next spring. Featuring some spectacularly creepy visulas and effects, The Wolfman certainly looks to be a promising old fashioned horror genre picture that could be a crossover hit. Benicio DelToro hasnt had this expressive a role in years and it will be interesting to see how he fares, the rest of the cast shines as well in the trailer. Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving look great and Anthony Hopkins stole the trailer with his line reading: "Very bad things Laurence.." color me excited for this new release next year.

My Grade: B +

Oscar potential: Giving its early release, it'll be minimal but who knows?

Reviews for District 9 and Inglorious Basterds coming soon...

...hopefully by Sunday along with my thoughts on the Avatar, Inception and Wolfman trailers, State of the race updates and more movie news.

As my computer is still out of commision I will have to post when I can so these updates may come slowly but I will do what I can to post in a timely manner.

On a side note we are still offering a position on the Oscar Hut team for anyone interested in covering general film and Oscar news, to apply for this assignment please e-mail me at tjpratt@bellsouth.net with a writing sample, and a brief essay on why you want to join the team!

Tyler j. Pratt & Aaron Morales

"The Oscar Hut Team"

Sorry for the lapse in posting...

...but my computer completely died on me around monday and is currently in the shop, leaving me to use a library computer...but having seen District 9 yesterday I have a review coming soon and have updated the contender tracker so things should be up and running again shortly

The Oscar Hut's 1st Annual First 1/2 of the Year Awards: 2009 Edition vol. 1

Best Picture of The Year...So far:
- (500) Days of Summer

- Adventureland

- An Education

- Duplicity

- Funny People

- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

- The Hurt Locker

- Public Enemies

- Star Trek

- Up

In honor of the Academy's decision to increase the Best Picture category to 10, we here at the Oscar Hut have followed suit and are now unveiling the ten best movies we have seen this year...so far. Much like how the Academy's long list will end up, ours showcases a variety of genres and styles of filmaking, but as the great Chris Lambert once famously said: There can only be one.

And The Oscar Hut Golden Pineapple goes to....

(500) Days of Summer

Best Director

- Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

- Pete Docter for Up

- Michael Mann for Public Enemies

- Lone Scherfig for An Education

- Marc Webb for (500) Days of Summer

Each director on this list did an excellent job with their films, creating a world that serves the story, actors and film perfectly. The decision was a tough one, but in the end only one of these directors can take home the Golden Pineapple.

nd the winner is......

Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

Best Actor

- Peter Capaldi for In The Loop

- Joseph Gordon Levitt for (500) Days of Summer

- Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

- Seth Rogen for Observe and Report

- Adam Sandler for Funny People

I have a feeling that this short list will upset a few people, but the truth is, some of the year's best work has indeed come from comedies. While actors like Johnny Depp and Peter Sarsgaard did excellent jobs, they tied for 6ht by the way, they were just a bit too subtle I guess is the word I'm looking for. Either way, the men on this list did incredible work, and I guarantee that at least one of them will go on to receive an Oscar nomination.

And the winner is....

Joseph Gordon Levitt for (500) Days of Summer

Best Actress

- Amy Adams for Sunshine Cleaning

- Zooey Deschanel for (500) Days of Summer

- Carey Mulligan for An Education

- Gwyneth Paltrow for Two Lovers

- Julia Roberts for Duplicty

It's sad to say but 2009 has so far been a weak year for actresses, as I had to struggle to name 5 women worthy enough to be on this list, and as you can see in that respect I may have stretched it a bit. Only two of these women are true end of the year contenders, and the one who won did so in a complete landslide.

And the winner is....

Carey Mulligan for An Education

Best Supporting Actor

- Jason Bateman for State of Play

- Jim Broadbent for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

- Jackie Earl Haley for Watchmen

- Tom Hollander for In The Loop

- Anthony Mackie for The Hurt Locker

This was a tough one, the hardest by far to choose the five as there was so many great supporting turns so far this year. Alfred Molina missed the list by a hair, as did Seth Rogen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. As far as the winner goes, that was the hardest decision of these awards, and my mind will probably change by tomorrow.

And the winner is....

Jackie Earl Haley for Watchmen

Best Supporting Actress

- Helena Bonham Carter for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

- Anna Chlumsky for In The Loop

- Patricia Clarkson for Whatever Works

- Marion Cottilard for Public Enemies

- Leslie Mann for Funny People

This was another tough one to choose a winner from. While the lead actresses may not have impressed me this year, the supporting actresses have, and my hope is that at least one of these ladies can hold on until Oscar time because the work here is really impressive.

And the winner is....

Marion Cottilard for Public Enemies

Best Original Screenplay goes to.....

Duplicity by Tony Gilroy

Best Adapted Screenplay goes to....

In The Loop by Armando Iannucci & Co.

Best Animated Film: UP

Best Editing: The Hurt Locker

Best Cinematography: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Best Special F/X: Star Trek

Best Score: UP

A note to readers of The Oscar Hut

The Oscar Hut is coming upon it's 1 year Anniversary this October, and I feel like we have accomplished what we have set out to do by providing alternate commentary on the Oscar race, delivering film reviews and for the most part constantly updating at least the contender tracker. The ammount of readers have grown exponentially in the last year, and by next year we hope to have enough daily readers to accomodate perhaps a message board and a full site.
But we cannot do this alone, which is why if there is anyone interested in becoming a member on the team, we are excepting applications via e-mail at tjpratt@bellsouth.net.
We hope many of you are interested and we thank you for staying with the blog through slow times and hiatus'.

Thank You,
Tyler j. Pratt, and Aaron Morales
The Oscar Hut Team

In Review, A Threesome: (500) Days of Summer, Funny People & In The Loop

For any readers wondering about the inactivity over the last week, I have been busy prepping for the fall semester of college starting in a bout two weeks. Thankfully, however, during this time period I was able to see three new films, as well as compile my First 1/2 of The Year Awards to be posted later. So here now, is my review(s) of three very different comedies coming in the form of a romantic comedy, behind the scenes dramady, and a political satire.

(500) Days of Summer:

I have never been a fan of romantic comedies, finding them to be generic, boring and having little if any substance based within our reality. With the exception of Woody Allen and very few other filmmakers, the romantic comedy has long been a cesspool for uncreative works, at least until now. (500) Days of Summer is a revelation, twisting and morphing the genre while revitalizing it from it's artistic slumber.

Directed by veteran music video auteur, Marc Webb, Summer is a fantastic movie featuring innovative direction, phenomenal writing and some of the best filmic story telling the genre has ever seen. Musical numbers, animation, split screen, narration and a non linear structure are all featured to great triumph, succeeding when the film could have ended up a huge failure. But like the saying goes, without risk there can be no reward.

The movie, which succeeds in nearly every department, however would have not done so had it been cast with the wrong actors. Thankfully, the stars of this film are indie sensations Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel who both give the best most heartfelt performances of their careers. Deschanel, whose Summer could have easily become the film's villain, provides us with a complex modern day woman unsure of what she really wants, besides knowing she just wants to have fun. You feel for her, despite watching her as she breaks the heart of the movie's protagonist Tom, which leads us to Joseph Gordon Levitt. As Tom, Levitt breathes life and warmth into the movie, giving a funny, touching and heartfelt performance that surely ranks as the best work of his career. Hopefully, come awards time, voters will remember his work in this film as it truly shines and is a testament to his talent and versatility.

In short, (500) Days of Summer is without a doubt one of the best, if not the best films I've seen this year. It is deserving of any awards and accolades it receives, as it is a phenomenal entry into a genre that had died long ago, and it is definitely the perfect date movie.

Grade: A

Oscar Potential: Actor, Actress, Screenplay

Funny People:

The 3rd film from Judd Apatow, the reigning king of Hollywood comedy, Funny People is a definite departure from his previous efforts The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Knocked Up, into a new territory of more mature filmaking for Mr. Apatow, and while he could have ended up with egg on his face, Mr. Apatow efforts have given us perhaps his most complete film of his career.

Telling the duel stories of George Simmons, a famous comedian and movie star, and Ira Wright, a young up and comer on the comedy club circuit, Funny People weaves a tale of redemption and what fame means if you have no one to share it with, as well as how experiences can change the way you live, or not.
Featuring one of the best ensemble casts of the year, Funny People not only delivers some of the best writing of 2009, but more surprisingly some of the best acting as well. Adam Sandler, who stars as George Simmons a dying comedian and movie star, long known for his portrayal of immature man-boys delivers one of the best performances of his career and the year, playing what is basically a bizarro world version of himself. He conveys a world weariness rarely seen in his previous works, and is at different points manic, touchingly funny and devastatingly sad. My hope is that this film will lead him to more mature works like Punch Drunk Love and Reign Over Me, in which he can really sink his teeth into. Other great performances come from Seth Rogen and Mrs. Apatow herself, Leslie Mann, who both give career best work as the two most important people in George's life: his assistant best friend, and the love who got away. On a side note, Eric Bana steals the scenes he is in as Leslie Mann's Australian husband, giving a rapturously funny performance that is as complex as one could hope. Bana should definitely return to comedy in the future.

While it may be a bit overlong at times, Funny People is a definite comedy classic in the vein of James L. Brooks and Cameron Crowe's work. Judd Apatow has now proven himself equally adept at drama as he is at comedy, and my wish is that he can continue in today's economy to make work as mature and touching and hilarious as Funny People.

Grade: B

Oscar Potential: Picture, Director, Actor, Sup. Actor, Sup. Actress, Screenplay

In The Loop:

In The Loop is a film that I have been trying to wrap my head around for the past couple of weeks. It is at times increasingly outrageous and hilarious, while at other moments boring, putative and confusing. There are moments of comedic genius and others that feel like they are part of a bad BBC ripoff, ironic because it's director played a large role in the creation of The Thick of It from which In The Loop is adapted.

The screenplay is without a doubt excellent, written by Armando Iannucci and others, and features some of the wittiest lines and quotes in years, as is the acting from just about everyone involved. Peter Capaldi is phenomenal as Malcolm Tucker, a vile obscenity spewing spin doctor, and gives some of the year's best acting. Also impressive is Tom Hollander as a hapless government official who is a pawn in nearly everybodys political agenda except his own, and watching him as his career slowly destroys itself was a hilarious treat.
I will definitely be commenting further on this film once I can figure out exactly what the hell was going on, I am seeing it again tomorrow so this review will definitely be edited by next week.

Grade: As of now C+, but subject to change

Oscar Potential: Actor, Sup. Actor, Sup. Actress, Screenplay