2007 Diva Cup Awards: Best Actress

Before I get started, let me just say that this was am incredibly hard choice to make in narrowing this down to 5 nominees. If you think Sophie had a hard choice to make, then you have no idea the mental anguish I went through in my elimination process. I don't understand why people keep saying that all the good female parts are gone because I consistently find Best Actress a hell of a lot more interesting than Best Actor (that could also be the actressexual in me). There were 8 genuinely strong, terrific performances that floated around my Top 5 for awhile and I literally had to toss a coin to decide between number 5 and 6.

And the nominees are...

Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose
At once, both an outstanding, once-in-a-lifetime performance and an extremely polarizing one which has no doubtedly caused friendships to fail and caused deeply committed actressexuals to divide into heavily debated and vilified camps. For me, Cotillard's performance is one of a true movie star, going for broke with the up and down nature of the role- something Crawford and Davis in the 40's no doubt would have done.
Key Scene: "Marcel! Oh Marcel!"

Jodie Foster as Erica Bain in The Brave One
From my original rant: "[The Brave One] felt less like a vigilante film than one in which all of the security and complicity that Jodie Foster's Erica Bain has known before a brutal attack which killed her fiancee and left her in a coma has suddenly been erased. At first it is fear that replaces the security, but eventually it becomes an unleashing of one hell of a violent streak. She doesn't know where it comes from, but becomes a part of her all too quickly and easily (there is a great voice over that Erica gives while leaving one of the scenes of her crime in which she questions herself as to why she didn't just show them the gun so they would back off instead of shooting them straightaway). As this woman with a mission, Jodie Foster gives a career-best performance."
Key Scene: Discovering the drug smuggler Terrence Howard has been trying to convict for years in the elevator.

Nicole Kidman as Margot in Margot at the Wedding
Kidman's never been known as a "funny" lady (just go see Bewitched and The Stepford Wives for proof), but in Margot at the Wedding the most risk-taking (and possibly finest) actress of this decade finds the bitter and uncomfortable humor in her absolutely awful character.
Key Scene: The speaking engagement at the library

Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff in Juno
Page has the unenviable task of turning Cody's delicious dialogue into something that both sets Juno apart as a character and makes her a real human being. That she pulls it off without so much as breaking a sweat is further proof of the brilliance of this performance.
Key Scene: The abortion clinic

Tang Wei as Wong Chia Chi in Lust, Caution
This is a film debut?! Forgive me if I'm a bit stunned, because in Lust, Caution Wei absolutely shines with a kind of maturity most actresses in their 30's haven't yet achieved. I can't wait to see what she does next.
Key Scene: Easing into her "role" with Mrs. Yee

If Only There Were Six: Julie Christie, Away From Her No, this is not revenge against all the Cotillard-bashers who instead championed Christie. You don't know how much I wanted to include this one. This is, as a matter of fact, the direct result of a coin toss which allowed a certain actress in and Christie out. That doesn't mean I don't like Christie's performance any less- in all of its subtleties, it's one of monumental impact.

Rest of the Top 10: Carice van Houten, Black Book...Amy Adams, Enchanted...Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray...Keira Knightley, Atonement

BRONZE
Jodie Foster, The Brave One

SILVER
Tang Wei, Lust, Caution

GOLD
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose

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

2007 Diva Cup Awards: Best Original Screenplay

And the nominees are...

Diablo Cody, Juno
Overwritten? Perhaps. But it's not every day that we are blessed with a debut screenwriter with such a strong and distinctive voice. Every one-liner is a winner.

Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Superbad
The teenage sex comedy- such a popular genre in the 80's- gets a much needed (and hilarious) re-vamp for the 2000's.

Steven Knight, Eastern Promises
An engrossing tale of the Russian mob. Any faults with the film can't be blamed on the script; it's top-notch.

Kelly Masterson, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
It's a simple heist thriller, but newcomer Kelly Masterson structures it so well that nothing is ever what it seems.

Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz
The perfect send-up of Hollywood's most popular genre- action. Bonus points for the human statue: I laughed everytime he was mentioned.

If Only There Were Six: Judd Apatow, Knocked Up Could have used a couple of trims, but a good majority of what is written is some of the funniest comedy of the year.

Rest of the Top 10: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, The Lives of Others...Gerard Stoeteman, Paul Verhoeven, Black Book...Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton...Bill Kelly, Enchanted

BRONZE
Superbad

SILVER
Juno

GOLD
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

2007 Diva Cup Awards: Best Ensemble

And the nominees are...

Atonement
James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave, Harriet Walter, Brenda Blethyn

Hairspray
Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, James Marsden, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Brittany Snow, Amanda Bynes, Allison Janney, Taylor Parks

Juno
Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney

Superbad
Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Emma Stone, Martha MacIsaac

Zodiac
Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, John Carroll Lynch, Chloe Sevigny

If Only There Were Six: Lars and the Real Girl Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, Patricia Clarkson, Nancy Beatty, Bianca

Rest of the Top 10: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford...Knocked Up...Into the Wild...No Country For Old Men

BRONZE
Atonement

SILVER
Juno

GOLD
Hairspray

2007 Diva Cup Awards: Best Quote/Line Reading

And the nominees are...

"How could they forget Vietnam?"
(Julie Christie, Away From Her)
A haunting moment of clarity; if Fiona can see this connection, why are we still over in Iraq?

"I don't know what melodramatic means..."
(James Marsden, Enchanted)
There were so many great line readings from James Marsden in Enchanted that it was hard to narrow it down (I almost went with "Giselle!" or "Thank you for taking care of my bride, peasants."), but then I remembered that this is the one that made me laugh hardest so I went with it.

"I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!"
(Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood)
An instantly iconic line that could be seen as out of place, but delivered with so much power by Day-Lewis that it works.

"I love you. Come back...come back to me."
(Keira Knightley, Atonement)
When Nicole Kidman delivered practically the same line in Cold Mountain, it came off as cartoonish, a way to write off the entire mess of a film. But when Keira Knightley says it this time around, the simple words turn into an eloquent cry for love.

"Whoa, dream big!"
(Ellen Page, Juno)
There were many lines to pick from, but Page, with that unique comic timing, makes this inconsequential line pop and sizzle with energy.

If Only There Were Six: "I am very, very sorry for the distress that I have caused" (Romola Garai, Atonement) Briony's been practicing this line over and over again, but still manages to mess up. A brilliant reading from Garai.

Rest of the Top 10: "I think I may be beginning to disappear" (Julie Christie, Away From Her)..."You were never in the fucking KGB" (Naomi Watts, Eastern Promises)..."Well, the funny thing about my back is that it's located on my cock" (Jonah Hill, Superbad)..."'Detroit sound?' What's that- the cries of people being mugged?" (Michelle Pfeiffer, Hairspray)

BRONZE
"I don't know what melodramatic means..."

SILVER
"How could they forget Vietnam?"

GOLD
"I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!"

Rants on "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and "Juno"

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Jake Kasdan, 2007): Everything about Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is just begging for me to love it- a script by Judd Apatow, impressive performances from John C. Reilly and Jenna Fischer and it's parody of musical biopics- but, more often than not, the film ended up bugging me more than amusing me. My main problem was the beginning which, instead of finding a subtler way to mock Walk the Line and Ray, it hits the audience over the head with all the references in a way that makes the later installments of Scary Movie seem sly and clever. I mean, couldn't they have found a better way to kill the "good" son than with a machete? Thankfully, as Dewey Cox becomes famous the film finds its stride with the dead on parodies; the innuendo-laden "Let's Duet," the bad-ass outlaw song "Guilty as Charged," the protest song "Dear Mr. President," and the nonsensical Dylan parody "Royal Jelly" are all highlights. Walk Hard also gets bonus points for the cameos of Jack Black, Justin Long, Paul Rudd and Jason Schwartzman as the Fab Four- that scene was utterly hilarious.

Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007): I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried about the beginning of Jason Reitman's follow-up to last year's Thank You For Smoking, Juno. That phone conversation between Juno (Ellen Page) and Leah (Olivia Thirlby) in which one of them actually utters "Honest to blog?" was a little disconcerting and had me worried about the rest of the film. Fortunately for the film (and Diablo Cody's script) it eases back a little bit and the actors all make it work. Ellen Page is a revelation as the pregnant Juno, her cynicism and quick wit masking a needy girl, and Jennifer Garner finally proved to me what an amazing actress she is- that scene in the mall where she talks to Juno's baby in the womb trying to get it to kick was heartbreaking. And let me just add that Allison Janney totally stole every scene she was in as Juno's take-no-prisoners step-mother (leading Juno to proclaim at one point, "Wow Bren- you's a dick!"

My Ratings:
Walk Hard ***
Juno **** 1/2