2008 Diva Cup Awards: Best Picture, Director & Original and Adapted Screenplay

Forgive the lack of justification and explanation, but it's nearly July and I need to finish these once and for all. If you're dying to know about something, however, either leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail (address on the right) and I'll be sure to fill you in.

Best Picture

(for more in-depth reasoning behind these choices, check out my Top 10 List of 2008)


A Christmas Tale
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Screenwriter: Emmanuel Bourdieu and Arnaud Desplechin
Cinematographer: Eric Gautier
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emile Berling, Laurent Capelluto, Anne Consigny, Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Devos, Chiara Mastroianni, Melvil Poupaud, Jean-Paul Roussillon

In Bruges
Director and Screenwriter: Martin McDonagh
Cinematographer: Eigil Bryld
Starring: Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson

Rachel Getting Married
Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenwriter: Jenny Lumet
Cinematographer: Declan Quinn
Starring: Rosemarie DeWitt, Anisa George, Anne Hathaway, Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, Debra Winger, Mather Zickel

Reprise
Director: Joachim Trier
Screenwriter: Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
Cinematographer: Jakob Ihre
Starring: Henrik Elvestad, Espen Klouman-Hoiner, Anders Danielson Lie, Christian Rubeck, Viktoria Winge

WALL-E
Director: Andrew Stanton
Screenwriter: Pete Docter, Jim Reardon and Andrew Stanton
Starring: Ben Burtt, Jeff Garlin, Elissa Knight, Kathy Najimy, John Ratzenberger, Sigourney Weaver, Fred Willard

And the Diva Cup Goes to: A Christmas Tale

Best Director


Darren Aronofsky
The Wrestler

Jonathan Demme
Rachel Getting Married

Arnaud Desplechin
A Christmas Tale

Andrew Stanton
WALL-E

Joachim Trier
Reprise

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Arnaud Desplechin, A Christmas Tale

Best Original Screenplay


Burn After Reading
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

A Christmas Tale
Emmanuel Bourdieu, Arnaud Desplechin

The Edge of Heaven
Faith Akin

In Bruges
Martin McDonagh

Rachel Getting Married
Jenny Lumet

And the Diva Cup Goes to: In Bruges

Best Adapted Screenplay
(Not exactly a stellar year for adaptations, huh? In a normal year, and by that I mean a year where the corresponding Oscar nominees don't leave me in a pool of my own tears from boredom, at least two of these would have barely made my top 10)


Blindness
Don McKellar

Boy A
Mark O'Rowe

Choke
Clark Gregg

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Lorene Scafaria

Savage Grace
Howard A. Rodman

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

2008 Diva Cup Awards: Best Actress

Anna Faris
The House Bunny

One of my biggest frustrations concerning Anna Faris's performance in The House Bunny was obviously not the performance itself, but, rather, other people's hypocritical reaction to my (and at least one other person) claiming it as one of the year's best. Anytime I mentioned on some various Oscar blog that Faris was utterly fantastic in The House Bunny, there were usually at least one or two people who would say something along the lines of, "An Oscar nomination for The House Bunny?! Let's be serious." What killed me was that these are the same people always complaining that Oscar never nominates comedic performances. What more do you want out of a comedic performance? Faris elevates the cheap jokes of this film to the point that the performance reminded me of Groucho Marx in Duck Soup (my favorite comedic performance ever) in that the zingers just kept coming and coming, one right after another, and they all had my convulsing with laughter. Sure, this may not have been acting in the traditional sense of the word, but Anna Faris is one of the most fearless comediennes around and her talent needs to be rewarded ever chance you get.

Anne Hathaway
Rachel Getting Married

Oh Annie. How far you've come in eight years from when we first met you as the Princess of Genovia. You went through your "I'm gonna show my breasts!" phase in both Brokeback and Havoc (a seriously fearless and edgy performance in an otherwise craptacular film), played the straight-woman to Meryl Streep (and Emily Blunt for that matter), dabbled in the British prestige picture (please, let's never try that one again, hmmm?) and even worked your budding star mojo in a middling action comedy blockbuster. But then came Rachel Getting Married, which provided you with your strongest role yet--a recovering drug addict returning from rehab just in time for her older sister's wedding--and your greatest performance to date. Finally, after a couple of years of being on the brink of being a "legitimate" actress, you proved you have what it takes to tear Hollywood apart. After your darkly comic, awkwardly (in a good way) self-centered and all-around magnetic performance in Rachel Getting Married, I seriously can not wait to see what you have in store for us in the (many) years to come (Here's hoping you hit it out of the park with this one). Congrats Annie, you've truly made it and no one deserves it more than you!

Sally Hawkins
Happy-Go-Lucky

Poppy should have been too much to handle. I should have wanted to punch her in the face from the third minute and not wanted to stop until the whole movie was over. I know that if I met someone like Poppy in real life, I don't think I would be able to listen to her endless cheeriness and eternal optimism. Considering all of these prejudices, you have to give Sally Hawkins major credit for creating a character like this that you actually want to spend hours and hours with in the cinematic world. Her spirit is infectious and, for awhile, I actually wanted to be more like her instead of the constant cynic that I am. That feeling eventually subsided, but the brilliance and hilarity of this performance never did.

Melissa Leo
Frozen River

It's always a joy seeing reliable character actors finally enjoying a lead role in a film because it often feels like they realize they only have one chance to get it right and they throw themselves into the part. We already saw Richard Jenkins do just that with The Visitor and now Melissa Leo, a prolific character actress whom I warmly remember as Benicio Del Toro's long-suffering wife in 21 Grams. Playing a hard-as-nails, desperately broke mother slaving away at a dead-end, minimum wage job only to have it gambled away by her good-for-nothing husband, Leo's haggard, world-weary face could have done most of the work for her. Leave it to her, however, to dig deep and provide a refreshing spin on the maternal sacrifice story we've seen since Oscar's beginning. I'm most surprised at how honest and true to life Leo's Ray feels. There are no emotional meltdowns or smashing plates against the wall to show how PISSED she is; it's all quiet and tender and some of the most heartwrenching stuff you're likely to see (especially if you've ever experienced the direness of poverty and living paycheck to paycheck).

Brittany Snow
Finding Amanda

From my review of Finding Amanda and Snow's performance in particular: "You may find it suprising, however, to see that Snow ignores the usual crutches of this [hooker with a heart of gold] archetype and crafts a visibly unique spin on it. From the moment that we meet Amanda, enticing dirty old men by the elevators at a seedy motel with a sweet, bubbly demeanor, we can tell that something just isn't right. She's too happy, too obsessed with keeping her apartment pristine and free from anything that will soil it (she tells her uncle to take off his shoes as soon as he enters the doorway). Snow is smart enough to only hint at the darkness of her past and the unhappiness in her present- she doesn't lay all of the cards on table right away and allow you to read her so easily. When she confesses to her uncle about being sexually abused by a member of the family, she tosses the information out there like it was nothing extraordinary, much to her uncle's incredulation. Snow's Amanda thinks she has moved on from this experience, even if her actions say otherwise."

If Only There Were Six: Julianne Moore, Blindness and Savage Grace

Rest of the Top 10: Meryl Streep, Doubt...Natalie Portman, The Other Boleyn Girl...Kristin Scott Thomas, Il y a longtemps que je t'aime [I've Loved You So Long]...Nicole Kidman, Australia

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

2008 Diva Cup Awards: Best Supporting Actress

Hiam Abbass
The Visitor
Talk about doing a lot with very little. Abbass's character is the traditional self-sacrificing, mother-in-distress we've seen since the beginnings of narrative cinema. This doesn't mean, however, that Abbass's performance is anything short of spectacular. She doesn't do much, but what she does do will break your heart. Motherly love has never been so pure and unconditional. And her scenes with Richard Jenkins? Immaculately underplayed, matching Jenkins and the film exquisitely. I honestly can't wait to dig into Abbass's filmography now (and hopefully get the chance to see her upcoming Lemon Tree).

Penélope Cruz
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The film before her entrance is a complete mess--a disgusting sexual romp in which a swarmy Javier Bardem tries to bed a straight-laced Rebecca Hall and a sexually liberated (or so she thinks) ScarJo that's so dirty I needed penicillin afterward--but once Penélope Cruz's Maria Elena emerges, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is never the same. Cruz's Maria Elena is beautiful, fiery, passionate and hot-tempered, but also tormented, needy and jealous. Her character goes through 100 different moods and emotions during the course of the film and is written in the usual Woody Allen women-are-neurotic-nutjobs way, but it never feels cheap or shameless. Cruz makes Maria Elena desperately human, driven by the same needs and desires we are--the only difference is they are turned up to eleven for all to see.

Rosemarie DeWitt
Rachel Getting Married
When we first meet DeWitt's Rachel, we come to believe that she is the victim, a pawn trapped in Kym's delirious game of guilt and passing the blame. Later on, however, after Kym's excruciatingly self-centered rehearsal dinner toast, Rachel lashes out at her and we begin to see a different side of her. Is she really the villian in this whole thing? Who knows. Out conception of her is so radically different at this moment that it would take a strong actress to make it work. Thankfully, DeWitt is just the woman this film needs.

Ashley Tisdale
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
From my profile of La Tisdale for the 2008 Supporting Actress Blog-a-thon: "HSM3 is more concerned with the bland relationship between singing jock Troy (Zac Efron) and his annoying sweetheart Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) than anything else, so that means all of the supporting characters are relegated to the sidelines even more than before. But that's no problem for La Tisdale, who often does her best work from the edges, upstaging the other hapless performers like nobody's business. When the entire cast is gathered together for the first time at the spring musical tryouts, no one in the cast besides Troy is given much to do, but La Tisdale knows how to focus the attention of a scene on her whenever the script blindly ignores her. Her comedic timing on such simple quips as her sarcastic "Yipee" when the rest of the Wildcats decide to join the play at Gabriella's insistence or "Genius," delivered with such eye-rolling deliciousness when Mrs. Darbus announces the subject of this year's spring musical, is light years ahead of anyone on the cast. Director Kenny Ortega hasn't had to deal with someone with this style of over-the-top, nearly drag queen-esque, comedic chops since Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus (a performer Tisdale is eerily reminiscent of) but, thankfully, he lets her perform with reckless abandon all over the film."

Marisa Tomei
The Wrestler
I have to admit that until last year, I never really cared much about Marisa Tomei's last year. I have never seen her controversial Oscar-winning work in My Cousin Vinny and, in fact, the only two films I had seen of hers until last year were In the Bedroom (don't remember much) and, randomly Chaplin (I've seen this movie at least twice and had no idea she was in it). Then came her subtly crafted performance in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and I was intrigued by what Ms. Tomei had to offer. And now here we are at The Wrestler, her Oscar-nominated triumph where subtlety is the name of the game. Tomei has everything going against her--no big showy scenes to work with and an absolutely clichéd "whore with a heart of gold" character--yet she still manages to craft an absolutely compelling character. Her best moment is during the scene where she's wandering around the strip club, trying to entice a guy to let her give him a private dance, and she keeps getting rejected. She tries to keep up her spirits, but you can see in her face how much it's hurting her to be rejected just because of her age. It's at this moment that we realize her character is supposed to mirror The Ram's downfall and make it all the more uncomfortable and hard to watch.

If Only There Were Six: Isla Fisher, Definitely, Maybe

Rest of the Top 10: Dianne Wiest, Synecdoche, New York...Anne Consigny, A Christmas Tale...Ari Graynor, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist...Alexis Zegerman, Happy-Go-Lucky

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2008 Diva Cup Awards: Best Supporting Actor

Josh Brolin
Milk

With a character that could have gone wrong in so many ways in the hands of the wrong actor, Josh Brolin gets nearly everything right (I shudder to think of what Tom Cruise, one of Van Sant's original choices, would have done here). The role has a multitude of different dimensions to it--the fun-loving frat guy, the political "good ole boy," the seemingly secure guy who's not completely comfortable in his skin and, finally, the cold, chilly psychopath--and Brolin seamlessly synthesizes all of these components into one complex character. Brolin's winning performance here is proof that he has the capacity to be one of the most versitile actors working today.

Robert Downey, Jr.
Tropic Thunder

A dude playing a dude disguised as another dude. This description of Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance in Tropic Thunder was, besides Heath Ledger winning, the most consistent thing we saw at this year's awards circuit. It's obvious that the writers of these shows were at a loss for words on how to describe such an out-there nomination as this one and were forced to recycle this same line over and over again. This might have been a problem if this weren't the most perfect way to describe Robert Downey, Jr.'s creation here. The performance is so layered with different types of comedic and acting styles that only an actor with RDJ's varied filmography could have pulled it off nearly as well as this.

Emile Hirsch
Milk

When Emile Hirsch's name rolled around on the opening credits of Milk, I involuntarily sighed in exasperation. For some reason, after Into the Wild, the young actor's almost desperate desire to be taken seriously as an actor had gotten on my nerves. And from what I had heard about the role- a gay rights activist fighting for his basic human rights- it looked like it was going to be more of the same crap. Then, something unexpected happened: Emile opened up and showed us a side of him we've never seen before (or at least I haven't). He was funny, engaging, bitchy, touching, endearing and a whole mess of emotions I've never associated with him before. In fact, any preconceived notion I had of Hirsch was promptly forgotten after this thoughtfully handled performance and now I am actually looking forward to see what he is offering up next.

Bill Irwin
Rachel Getting Married

Bill Irwin's big-hearted father doesn't get as many big, look-at-me moments as his daughters do over the course of Rachel Getting Married, so he is forced to do most of his acting quietly and from the sidelines. This suits Irwin because it allows him to do some of the most vivid supporting work of the year without distracting from the "main attractions." Who can forget the eternally optimistic spin he can put on any moment, his absolutely unbridled joy at Rachel's announcement after the rehearsal dinner or his scrunched up face during his crying jag after Kym's return from the hair salon? He's the adoring father with abundant unconditional love to give out that every body would love to have.

Brad Pitt
Burn After Reading

Brad Pitt, for me anyways, is an actor who's always a pleasing screen presence, but I'd be hard-pressed (Fight Club aside) to think of a performance of his that's truly proved he has much acting talent. At first glance, Burn After Reading appeared to be yet another role that relied more on Pitt's natural movie star charisma than any real talent. Then, he appeared in his first scene and he made me laugh. Second scene, same result. Third time, here we go again. By the time we get to the moment where Pitt's Chad Feldheimer is sitting in the car, just staring at John Malkovich's character with a full minute of idiotic/hilarious facial expressions, I knew this was Brad's shining moment as an actor.

If Only There Were Six: Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Rest of the Top 10: Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight...Gael Garcia Bernal, Blindness...Richard Dreyfuss, W....Ben Foster, Birds of America

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder

2008 Diva Cup Awards: The "Oscar Categories"

Well, here we go again! The 2008 Diva Cup Awards are off and running and, for the first time, I decided to post my nominees for the "Oscar categories." Plus, instead of breaking them down into individual posts, I decided to group them together so I could move on faster. Here's how I plan on dividing them:

-The Oscar categories
-The Extra categories
-Original and Adapted Screenplay
-Picture and Director
-Actor
-Actress
-Supporting Actor
-Supporting Actress

I hope you enjoy all these and please do not be afraid to let me know what you think in the comments!

Best Cinematography

Australia
Mandy Walker
Every shot in Australia is so breathtakingly gorgeous that the film risks collapsing under all its beauty. Thankfully, Walker never lets this happen and makes sure the blazing colors are there for more than eye candy.

Blindness
César Charlone
In the film, the characters are inflicted with a blindness that turns everything white. Charlone has a bright white light illuminating every shot, echoing the character's problems, and it never once feels gimmicky.

Boy A
Rob Hardy
It may not immediately jump out at you, but Hardy gets some amazing shots on what is sure to be a limited budget.

A Christmas Tale
Eric Gautier
Beautiful camerawork that doesn't get in the way of what's going on onscreen. It's truly the perfect compliment to the ugliness of what's going on in the family.

Reprise
Jakob Ihre
Makes the risky choice to shoot a lot of the film in a blinding white light to contrast with the dark complexities of the relationships and circumstances in the film. The risk pays off.

If Only There Were Six: The Wrestler (Maryse Alberti)

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Reprise

Best Editing


A Christmas Tale
Laurence Briaud
Connects all the shreds of this emotionally disconnected family in interesting ways.

Cloverfield
Kevin Stitt
The work is definitely from the Bourne school of hyper-editing, but I think it serves the film well. Things are flying at the screen and popping out of mid air at such an alarming rate that you have no idea whether this real life or merely fiction at certain points. Truly terrifying.

The Edge of Heaven
Andrew Bird
It would have been easy to play up the "fate" and "coincidence" aspects of the film when it comes to the film, but the editing wisely ignores such stupid tricks and only uses them at the appropriate time.

Rachel Getting Married
Tim Squyers
More likely than not, Squyers had a ton of footage to work with and some really awkward and unwieldy scenes to work around (the rehearsal dinner and reception immediately spring to mind) but he makes everything flow smoothly and knows just how to hold certain moments just to brink of exhaustion.

Reprise
Olivier Bugge Coutté
Cuts back forth between the hopeful future and dark present like an unseen dagger in the back. Brutally beautiful.

If Only There Were Six: Milk (Elliot Graham)

And the Diva Cup Goes to: The Edge of Heaven

Best Art Direction

Australia
Catherine Martin, Ian Gracie, Karen Murphy and Beverley Dunn
Jawdropping.

A Christmas Tale
Dan Bevan
Overstuffed, like the film. But all in a good way.

The Dark Knight
Nathan Crowley and Peter Lando
Appropriately gothic.

Synecdoche, New York
Mark Friedberg
Intricate beyond belief.

WALL-E
Ralph Eggleston
Creates a world unlike I've ever seen before.

If Only There Were Six: Milk (Dan Bevan)

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Synecdoche, New York

Best Costume Design

27 Dresses
Catherine Martin Thomas
Hilariously over the top. The film's sight gags hinge on the hideousness of these dresses and Thomas delivers.

Australia
Catherine Martin
Nicole Kidman is the world's greatest Barbie doll and Catherine Martin has a ball dressing her up.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Caroline Marx
Any movie that put it's obviously gay character in pink pants and knee high boots deserves a spot in any Best Costume Design list. Plus, Marx gets mad bonus points for Sharpay's "fabulous" clothes, which only get more divalicious as the series goes on.


The Other Boleyn Girl
Sandy Powell
With sets so (appropriately) cold, Powell had the unenviable task of making the stifling period clothes sexy. By the end of the film I was wishing the 1600's would make a comeback. Mission accomplished.

Sex and the City: The Movie
Patricia Field
On the rack, these clothes probably looked like a hot mess that no one can pull off. Patricia Field knows these women so well, however, that she can make toilet paper and duck tape work for these ladies. Simply the most divine thing about this movie.

If Only There Were Six: Leatherheads (Louise Frogley)

And the Diva Cup Goes to: Sex and the City: The Movie

Best Original Score


Australia
David Hirschfelder
Now this is how you score an epic romance! Hirschfelder's work definitely puts you in the mood for love.


A Christmas Tale
Grégoire Hetzel
May strain too hard to be elegant and "classy," but I found it to be simply divine to listen to.


Leatherheads
Randy Newman
There's nothing I love more than the 1920's, so I have to give it up to Randy for evoking the era so potently.


Slumdog Millionaire
A.R. Rahman
Precious little works in this film, but I have to give mad props to Rahman for this brilliantly bombastic music score which overshadows the visuals surrounding it a good part of the time.


WALL-E
Thomas Newman
When the first half of your film is silent apart from a couple of Wall-Eeeee's and Evaaaa's, you had better make sure you have a score that compliments, but doesn't overpower, the visuals at all times. On this and all counts, Thomas Newman's score is a major success.

If Only There Were Six: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Alexandre Desplat)

And the Diva Cup Goes to: WALL-E

Best Original Song


Les Chansons d'Amour [Love Songs]
"As-tu dèjá aimé"
Written by Alex Beaupain
Performed by Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet and Louis Garrel
I'm not fluent in French and, therefore, have no idea what they're saying, but it just feel right, doesn't it?


Forgetting Sarah Marshall
"Dracula's Lament"
Written and Performed by Jason Segel
It's supposed to be a joke, but the snippet Segel offers up in the bar makes you really want to see what the rest of the musical this number comes from is all about.


High School Musical 3: Senior Year
"I Want It All"
Written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil
Performed by Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel
Glorious. Words can not even begin to describe the elation I feel everytime I hear this song. Without a doubt, it's the greatest number in the HSM trilogy and a true milestone in the Disney musical legacy.


High School Musical 3: Senior Year
"Scream"
Written by Jamie Houston
Performed by Zac Efron
Who doesn't want to get angsty with Zac Efron after this emotional number? Finally, after a couple of incredibly bad solo numbers in the first film, the right song comes along for Zac to really prove what he's made of. Melodramatic with a capital "M."


Sex and the City: The Movie
"All Dressed in Love"
Written by Cee-Lo, Matt Kahane and Salaam Remi
Performed by Jennifer Hudson
A cute metaphoric ditty for the movie, but J. Hud rips into this song like no other. Some of the notes she reaches are breathtaking.

If Only There Were Six: Slumdog Millionaire ("Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)") [I was all set to include this even if it wasn't technically a part of the movie, but I decided against it at the last minute. This song is genius. PCD 4Ever!]

And the Diva Cup Goes to: High School Musical 3: Senior Year ("I Want It All")

Best Sound

Australia
The sound is as bombastic and over-the-top as the movie itself.

Cloverfield
This is the sound of the world ending. I think I just peed my pants.

Funny Games U.S.
The horrificness of the situation is amplified tenfold by the film's manipulation of the sound design.

The Strangers
Twists the usual cheap "startles" into something genuinely frightening.

WALL-E
Immaculate work. The voices are at once robotic and human-like and the effects are painstakingly real.

If Only There Were Six: The Dark Knight

And the Diva Cup Goes to: The Strangers

Best Makeup

The Dark Knight
Some naysayers may hate this nomination, but that Joker makeup was truly inspired. Sometimes it's the easiest looking work that's truly the hardest to pull off.

Synecdoche, New York
A good number of the characters age quite drastically and it is all extremely subtly done.

The Wrestler
That "extreme" wrestling match is so realistic I was cringing with every staple being inserted into Randy's flesh. Gah, talk about uncomfortable.

If Only There Were Four: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

And the Diva Cup Goes to: The Wrestler



Best Visual Effects

Cloverfield
Oh my God, what the fuck is that?!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
That was Brad Pitt?!

WALL-E
Cartoons can look like this?!

If Only There Were Four: The Dark Knight

And the Diva Cup Goes to: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button