2007 Diva Cup Awards: Best Supporting Actress

And the nominees are...

Charlotte Gainsbourg as Claire in I'm Not There
She's not playing one of the Dylans, but Gainsbourg provides the most thoroughly satisfying performance in I'm Not There. In a film where you question the importance of half of the main characters, it's fantastic to see Gainsbourg let you know from the first scene why she belongs.
Key Scene: The party scene, when she realizes that Robbie "isn't there" anymore

Romola Garai as Briony Tallis in Atonement
Having to bridge the gap between the younger Briony and the older Briony is no easy task, but in Garai's hands, her Briony feels the most complete, the one we can really connect to in the story. She's a great combination of the heinousness of Briony #1 and the self-righteousness of Briony #3.
Key Scene: Her apology to Robbie and Cecilia

Jennifer Garner as Vanessa Loring in Juno
The "Who Knew?" award for 2007 goes to Jennifer Garner, for finally proving to me that she is an actress to be reckoned with. She doesn't get any of the great dialogue that Ellen Page does. Instead, she gives the uptight suburban mom a fresh new twist and her transformation into the mother role is surprisingly subtle.
Key Scene: Listening to Juno's belly in the mall

Amy Ryan as Martha Hanson in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and as Helene McCready in Gone Baby Gone
Playing two of the most vile women in recent memory, Ryan made a startling breakthrough to the big time. Give her credit for practically taunting the hideousness of these two characters in our faces instead of toning it down so we'd "sympathize" with her.
Key Scene: In BtDKYD, her constant emasculation of her ex-husband. In Gone Baby Gone, the final scene; have things really changed?

Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder in Michael Clayton
As I said during StinkyLulu's 2007 Supporting Actress Smackdown: "Swinton could have copped out with this performance since it seems that the character was thrown in merely as an afterthought. Instead she nailed it, showing the vulnerable and twitchy side of a corporate ball-buster with those daring sweat stains, the bewitching rehearsal scenes and her horror at the lack of control in the final scene."
Key Scene: Any of the "rehearsal" scenes

If Only There Were Six: Michelle Pfeiffer, Hairspray She's having the time of her life and it's about time someone perfected the eye-roll.

Rest of the Top 10: Anna Kendrick, Rocket Science...Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding...Olympia Dukakis, Away From Her...Ashley Tisdale, High School Musical 2

BRONZE
Romola Garai, Atonement

SILVER
Jennifer Garner, Juno

GOLD
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Quick Thought on Amy Ryan

There's this great quote from Bette Davis during her infamous feud with Joan Crawford that goes, "Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it's because I'm not a bitch. Maybe that's why Joan Crawford always plays ladies."

Why do I mention this? Because I just finished watching Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and after this and Gone Baby Gone, I have come to the conclusion that Amy Ryan must be the sweetest, nicest person on the planet. Why? Because only someone that nice can play two women so despicable as the ones in these films. Not only did she play the worst mother since Joan Crawford in Gone Baby Gone, but she isn't any more pleasant in Before the Devil. She's less crass, but not much. Ryan is unrelenting in her emasculation of her ex-husband Hank (Ethan Hawke), not letting a minute pass by without mentioning the money he owes. Her next big role is in Clint Eastwood's Changeling and I don't know anything about the role she plays, but I hope she plays someone kind-hearted so she can show what a good person she is (and not be typecast)

So That Pretty Much Sucked

I'm, of course, referring to the Golden Globes "press conference" that just took place. Who the hell does that Billy Bush think he is- Roger Ebert? I don't even know who the hell he is, but I doubt he has any reason to be judging the winners in any of the categories. And what was with that low blow to Cate Blanchett after her win in Best Supporting Actress for I'm Not There? In case you missed it, he praised Amy Ryan to high heavens (which is probably the only decent thing he did all night) and then said something to the affect of "all she did was dress like a man" about Blanchett's win. What a douche.


Want to know what else sucked? My predictions. I got a ridiculously low 6 out of 14. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that I got some wrong (namely, Cotillard in Musical/Comedy and, to some extent, Atonement in Drama), but I wish I could have done better. Oh well. Atonement's big "upset" (I should have seen it coming, especially since Babel won here last year after receiving the same number of nominations and the most out of anyone) should push it into the Top 5 after the DGA/WGA snubs earlier this week. I hope that Cotillard's win closes the gap between herself and Christie in the race for Best Actress and it turns into a real bitchfest---that would be a dream come true. Here are the winners, in case you missed them:

Best Picture (Drama)- Atonement
Best Picture (Musical/Comedy)- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Actor (Drama)- Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Actor (Musical/Comedy)- Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Actress (Drama)- Julie Christie, Away From Her
Best Actress (Musical/Comedy)- Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Best Supporting Actor- Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Best Supporting Actress- Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Best Director- Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Best Screenplay- Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Best Score- Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Best Song- "Guaranteed", Into the Wild (m&l: Eddie Vedder)
Best Animated Film- Ratatouille
Best Foreign Language Film- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

So, in the aftermath of the butchered ceremony, I'm watching the new American Gladiators and it's every bit as great as I remembered it when I was a child....but what the hell is with all the water? And, oh shit this final race is very dramatic.

National Board of Review Winners

Best Picture: No Country For Old Men
Everyone predicted this but me. That's what you get for taking a chance.

Top 10 (in alphabetical order): The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; Atonement; The Bourne Ultimatum (!!!); The Bucket List (wtf?); Into the Wild; Juno; The Kite Runner; Lars and the Real Girl; Michael Clayton; Sweeney Todd
Well, I got 5, isn't that something? Surprised by the love for Bourne, Assassination of..., Lars, but the most confusing of all is The Bucket List. Never would have guessed that in a million years.

Best Foreign Film: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Gotten fabulous reviews, should have went for it.

Top 5 Foreign (in alphabetical order): 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days; The Band's Visit; The Counterfeiters; La Vie en Rose; Lust, Caution
For some reason this year, the NBR decided to do a Top 10 for Best Picture and Top 5 for Best Foreign Film in addition to the winners. Strange. Can't believe I forgot about 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days...it's gotten some of the best reviews of the year so far.

Best Actor: George Clooney, Michael Clayton
A good performance and all but he wasn't that great.

Best Actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her
I love Christie and haven't seen this film yet, but damn it this award belonged to Marion Cotillard. I thought for sure she had this one wrapped up. I guess we'll have to wait and see for the next big critics groups (New York, Los Angeles and the National Society)

Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Yay, I got one right! Haven't seen this yet (I think it's coming to my town in January...I'm so freaking excited) but, judging by people's reactions, it sounds like a good choice.

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
I knew I should have went with Amy Ryan. I was going back and forth between her and Leigh. C'est la vie.

Best Director: Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd
Can't believe I completely forgot about Sweeney Todd. Now it looks like it's going to pose a bigger threat at the Oscar than we think. Then again, it could just be another random NBR pick that will have absolutely no correlation with the Oscars.

Best Screenplay (Original): Diablo Cody, Juno and Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl (TIE)

Best Screenplay (Adapted): Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men

Best Ensemble Acting: No Country For Old Men

Breakthrough Performance- Male: Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
I got 2!

Breakthrough Performance- Female: Ellen Page, Juno
I got 3!

Best Directorial Debut: Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone
Don't know how I forgot about Affleck.

Best Documentary: Body of War
Jesus, Sicko didn't even place in the top 5.

Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille
I got 4!