Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth is one of the greatest films of the current decade. Written and Directed by multi-talented Guillermo del Toro, the film is beautiful in its look and its heart. The film follows a 12 year old girl following her mother to the Captain's house(countryplace) where the war is going on. With her journey comes three tasks for the moon to be full. First off, she must feed a toad, then she must resist hunger to gain the knife(sword) and then, she must sacrifice hereself for her newborn brother, whose mother dies. The other story in this film is the battle(war) between the Captain and his army and the communist, rebel revolutionaries. The stories interact in a an aesthetic and existentialist manner for her sacrifice to the world.

This is one of the great revolutionary films that juxtapose the reality of war and the fantasy of the labyrinth and therefore her life. del Toro shows some special gifts and SHOULD HAVE DESERVED A BEST DIRECTOR NOM HERE. Pan's Labyrinth is one of the top five films of the year and goes with United 93 and Little Miss Sunshine as the best films that i've seen this year. It works in so many ways and it keeps you entertained and it truly is a great modern fairy tale for adults. Pan's Labyrinth works in every way possible and is truly a hallmark of great filmmaking. The performances were also strong but were outshadowed by del Toro's masterpiece of a work of film. Everyone in the world should watch El Labyrintho del Faun. Truly a beautiful piece of work and i hope it wins every award it was nominated for. It works because its a fairy tale and a real life struggle mingled perfectly to feed one's heart.

Sherrybaby

I saw some good things about this film but the flow was sometimes weak and the supporting cast was off the beat at times. The true sensation is Maggie Gyllenhaal but this was a really strong character written by Laurie Collyer that truly drove the film. The depth of the character was the greatest part of the film and Gyllenhaal really delivered. I thought that the message last in the film was beautiful and showed a great purity which indies do. I thought that the scene in the parking lot late in the film was a very good scene, whicg climaxed the film. A solid try at a story that has been tried by many filmmakers. Good work, nonetheless. Props to the effort and props to the script but i did see some major flaws.

Oscar Predictions Jan 22, 07

Best Picture

-Babel
-The Departed
-Dreamgirls
-Little Miss Sunshine
-The Queen

Alternate: Letters From Iwo Jima
Deserving: United 93
I Loved It: Twelve and Holding, Sorry, Haters

Best Director

-Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
-Stephen Frears, The Queen
-Paul Greengrass, United 93
-Alejandro Innaritu, Babel
-Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Alternate: Dayton & Faris, Little Miss Sunshine OR Clint Eastwood, Letters
Deserving: Greengrass, United 93
I loved it: Aric Avellino, American Gun OR Michael Cuesta, 12 and Holding

Best Actor

-Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
-Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
-Peter O'Toole, Venus
-Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
-Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Alternate: Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
Deserving: Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
I Loved It: Zach Braff, Last Kiss OR Jeremy Renner, Twelve and Holding

Best Actress

-Penelope Cruz, Volver
-Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
-Helen Mirren, The Queen
-Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
-Kate Winslet, Little Children

Alternate: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sherrybaby
Deserving: Keke Palmer, Akeelah and the Bee
I Loved It: Robin Wright Penn, Sorry Haters OR Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson OR Marcia Gay Harden, American Gun

Best Supp. Actor

-Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
-Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
-Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
-Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
-Jack Nicholson, The Departed

Alternates: Brad Pitt, Babel OR Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Deserving: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
I Loved It: Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine OR Hounsou

Best Supp. Actress

-Adrianna Barazza, Babel
-Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
-Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
-Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
-Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Alternate: Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada
Deserving: Zoe Weizenbaum, 12 and Holding
I Loved It: Linda Cardellini, American Gun OR Agnes Bruckner, Dreamland

Best Ori. Screenplay

-Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
-Guillermo Arriaga, Babel
-Paul Greengrass, United 93
-Peter Morgan, The Queen
-Rian Johnson, Brick

Alternate: Pedro Almodovar, Volver OR Guillermo Del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth
Deserving: Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
I Loved it: American Gun OR 12 and Holding

Best Adap. Screenplay

-Todd Field & Tom Perrotta, Little Children
-William Monahan, The Departed
-Aline Brosh McKenna, The Devil Wears Prada
-Jason Reitman, Thank You For Smoking
-Sexton, Arata, Fergus, Ostby, Children of Men

Alternate: Patrick Marber, Notes on a Scandal OR Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
Deserving: Neil Burger, The Illusionist

Pizza

Pizza is an interesting indie film, with a lot of sincerity and realism and it was enjoyable. Solid acting performaces by Ethan Embry and Kylie Sparks highlight a film about the relationshiop between an overweight "woman" and a "loser" pizzaboy. The film takes us into a journey between two outsiders looking to correct each other, until they ultimately just learn from each other. Written and directed by Mark Christopher, the film's heart keeps it from being a bust.

I Am A Sex Addict

I was terribly dissapointed by this film. I found it quite witty and original in the first thirty minutes but it got repetitive quite quickly. It's unfortunate that such an original, unique idea doesn't have enough to complete the film. Zahedi tries something and it works, until it ultimately fails.

Quinceanera

This film shows us that judgment occurs in any culture and any location, but purity and sincerity can always outbeat it. I found this film very interesting and honest, but i don't see anything spectacular about it. Very good performances by Emily Rios and Jesse Garcia help it out. This film doesn't hide in bullshit.

The Last Kiss

Great script, great flow and great acting. The Last Kiss is one of the most complete small films in a long while. Rarely does a film work so effortlessly. This film is so truthful and real. It is the story of the reality of relationships, good and bad, and the uphill battle to be let back into the house. I was overwhelmed by the sincerity of the characters and the depth that the writing goes to. Really underrated work by everyone involved. People are flawed and this film doesn't ignore that. Everyone in the cast was extremely good but my standout is Blythe Danner.

Blood Diamond

Everyone in Africa is looking for the Blood Diamond, and social and physical trauma is directed at all Africans. Whether it is ivory, oil, gold or diamond, the message of the story is in the real reasons for war. A solid performace by Jennifer Connolly and a great performance by Leonardo DiCaprio are BEATEN by Djimon Hounsou, in the performance of a lifetime. Hounsou delivers a flawless performance, which can break one's heart. This is easily one of the top twenty films of the year and goes behind Little Miss Sunshine and United 93 as one of the best i've seen so far this year. Director Edward Zwick proves to have everything figured out in this masterpiece. The performances are great and the pedrigree of direction is highly underrated. Many beautifully disastrous shots of emotion fill the screen in great quantity in this film. This film also has quite an underrated script and i hope more mention is given in the awards season. Also underrated in this story is the ethical questioning of money in the Western world. This film truly touches base with a variety of topics like the love of a family, elitism, war, money, love, politics corporatism, consumerism and "power", while conjoining them at the hip. DiCaprio may get more of the glory for this film, because of his pain and suffering for Djimon's character but DJIMON HOUNSOU GIVES ONE OF THE BEST PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR!

The Pursuit of Happyness

This film is about a man's will to combat economic stagnation for his dream and his son's love. Brilliantly acted by Will Smith, the film, none-the-less forces the audiences into loving this character. It continuously tries to stupify the audience with its many obvious forms of resistance and survival that the main actor combats. I was really dissapointed in its attempt to forcefeed us this "great" man, with "great" courage.

We Are Marshall

This was a fascinating film with an above average supporting cast. I found it to be better than i thought that it would be. The film tells us the true story of Marshall University's rise to a victory, after the horrible plane crash which suffocated the team, the school and the entire community. This was a much better football movie than the failure of "The Invincible".