Edge of Darkness **1/2

Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Mel Gibson
Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Denis O'Hare
Damian Young, Jay O. Sanders, Shawn Roberts

If there's something Mel Gibson knows how to do, it's being a movie star. As Boston detective Thomas Craven-on the hunt for his daughter's (Novakovic) killers-there's not a single moment where you can, or want to, take your eyes off of him.
He inhabits each frame with such a magnetic pull that you instantly forget what the actor becomes when he drinks and talks.
This of course serves this kind of movie well, considering its plot (based on an 80's British miniseries) makes no real sense and has nothing profound to say.
Because it involves ecological activists confused as terrorists, sinister CEOs (a slimier than usual Huston in this case), nuclear threats and Republican senators, it might be taken for some sort of comment on the current state of the world.
Truth is that in this case you can almost ignore the factual context and imagine this is a noir throwback or a B movie with absolutely no serious intentions other than to take a simple concept and expand it for entertainment's sake.
"This isn't about police, this is about me knowing what I need to know" says Craven to a suspect, in the process describing what the movie is.
The whole plot is centered on whether he will make justice to his daughter or not, it doesn't take long into the film for any clever audience member to wonder why the hell doesn't anybody just kill Craven.
Later on the film teases us about this when one of the characters suggests justice should be made so "convoluted that everyone has a theory but no one has the facts".
Yes, the writers could've killed Craven at any moment and have dozens of ways in which to cover up his crime for the sake of the "bad guys" but to do so would be to rob us of the pleasure of watching Gibson, trenchcoat and all, in an old fashioned revenge movie.
Screenwriter William Monahan could've fashioned the plot into something like his terrific "The Departed" (the Boston setting and the last setpiece give off the influence) but in doing so Craven would've had to become human, instead of the melodramatic archetype he actually is.
When it comes down to basics "Edge of Darkness" is nothing but a tale of how a father would do anything for their child (the fantasy sequences with his daughter being completely redundant) and how to do so would be willing to become "the guy with nothing to lose and who doesn't give a shit".

A White Prophet.

It was a wonderful night for two of the year's best films which continued collecting the awards they began garnering in Cannes almost a year ago.

Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon" deservedly won the prestigious ASC award for motion picture cinematography beating fellow Oscar nominees "Avatar", Inglourious Basterds" and "The Hurt Locker".
This could bode well for Austrian DP Christian Berger come Oscar day if it weren't for the fact that the Academy rarely chooses the best in the bunch.
Oscar and ASC have matched four times in the past decade and usually the guild has chosen the worthiest nominee (the year Emmanuel Lubezki won for "Children of Men" being the clearest example).
They have also shown their love for black and white in the past giving their top award to Roger Deakins for "The Man Who Wasn't There".
Also, contrary to what "The Hollywood Reporter" is saying this isn't the first time that a foreign language film takes the top award. Just five years ago Bruno Delbonnel won for his exquisite sepia work in "A Very Long Engagement". It also wouldn't mean the ASC has suddenly gone foreign, only one out of the five last winners was American.

Across the Atlantic, Jacques Audiard's brilliant "A Prophet" won nine Cesar awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Niels Arestrup) and in a surprising event both Best Actor and Breakthrough Actor for the amazing Tahar Rahim.
Isabelle Adjani won Best Actress and in one of those strange things only the French understand "Gran Torino" beat "Milk", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The White Ribbon" to take home Best Foreign Language Film.


Both movies are the the top contenders to win the foreign film Oscar in a week and honestly both are absolutely deserving of all the praise they've gotten.

From Paris With Love *

Director: Pierre Morel
Cast: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden, Amber Rose Revah

If Luc Besson was the savior of the action movie, he also put a curse on it that prevents his imitators from achieving the kind of B movie thrills he could deliver so easily.
Pierre Morel is such a case and on this movie, based on a story by Besson, he relies to every lazy trick in the book to finish with something that's not quite entertaining to begin with.
The film centers on the partnership between James Reece (Meyers) and Charlie Wax (Travolta) American agents trying to solve a case in Paris, who couldn't be more different if they tried.
Reece works as the ambassador's (Durden) assistant and is the kind of guy who gets called "methodical", while Wax is something of a chaos, always looking for sex and fun he has no regards to how many people he kills in order to get the work done.
If you think the opposites-as-a-team concept isn't quite fresh, the film's plot and its major twist can be guessed by anyone with the most minimal knowledge of the action genre and bad line delivery.
The action sequences are the kind that make no sense, are no fun and even look bad. Because the film has so many lazy plot twists, we end with something that pushes the concept of degrees of separation into pure absurdity.
When the movie begins they're looking for cocaine dealing Asians and before we know it they're on the hunt for Islamic fundamentalists.
Its views on villains and justice are very telling of the predominantly biased American foreign policy post 9/11 but Morel doesn't give a damn about coherent political theories or even postmodernist deconstruction of the genre through these clichés.
He's so enamored by the way he comes up with bloodbaths and explosions that it takes us no time to figure out that if the characters keep on destroying the city, we won't always have Paris.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief **

Director: Chris Columbus
Cast: Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson
Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan, Melina Kanakaredes
Rosario Dawson, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Uma Thurman
Joe Pantoliano, Dylan Neal, Jake Abel

With the end of the Harry Potter movies in a couple of years, the vacant spot for teenager magical hero is up for grabs.
One of the first entries we get is Percy Jackson (Lerman) the demigod, son of Poseidon (McKidd) and Sally Jackson (a misused Keener) who discovers his origin when a fury tries to kill him.
He also learns that his best friend Grover (Jackson) is a satyr working as his caretaker and his teacher Mr. Brunner (Brosnan) is a centaur who also works as trainer and counselor in a demigods training camp.
When his mother is kidnapped by a minotaur, Percy learns that the gods of Olympus are in a hassle over his alleged theft of Zeus' (Bean) thunder-don't ask-and war will erupt if he doesn't return it in time.
Of course the movie never cares to explain why Percy is accused of such a crime or how the gods could think he did it if he was ignorant of his ancestry. What the movie is interested in is setting in motion a plot to update Greek myths and have Percy become a Homeric hero who shields himself from Medusa's (a deliciously slimy Thurman) stare with his iPod and escapes the evil lotus-eaters from a Las Vegas casino where Lady GaGa is the musical artist of choice.
The fact that it's easy to see how the whole movie worries on ways to introduce possible situations for a sequel is not half as annoying as Columbus' aesthetic choices and direction.
You can practically hum Potter's musical theme from the notes Percy's composer Christophe Beck chooses for this movie.
The whole thing is more preoccupied with becoming the next Harry Potter than to carve out its own identity or take advantage of the richness within Greek mythology and its repercussions on our daily life (which happen to be more than anything crafted in Hogwarts...).
If to that you add the inane nature with which Columbus orchestrates the action sequences and the visual effects which seem to have been made circa 2001 and you will realize there's nothing much that sounds too appealing about this hero.
If it weren't for the rather impressive supporting cast (Bean and McKidd quarrel with such authority that you won't dare to laugh at their cheesy dialogues) which turns into a "who's next?" sort of guessing game, there would be little to enjoy in this film.
The younger leads seem to have been told to act as if they lacked any charm and were playing action figures while the somewhat dark humor (that must come from the novel it's based on) is killed by Columbus' need to chew, digest and throw up everything for us.
When we learn that Hades is located in Hollywood, our chuckles are killed by the awful Columbus who decides to set the road trip there to a certain AC/DC track.
At least he's faithful to the movie's mythical spirit, for every time the film is about to do something good, Columbus pulls off a Sisyphus, dragging us down with him.

(My) Best of 09: Supporting Actress.

5. Mélanie Laurent in "Inglourious Basterds" (read my review)

As Shosanna Dreyfus, French beauty Laurent becomes the vessel of revenge in Quentin Tarantino's historical fantasy.
She's your archetype QT female character: driven, intimidating and so damn cool. Laurent's perfect dramatic timing serves her greatly in scenes with Christoph Waltz and in her most iconic moment she is able to evoke Nastassja Kinski and "The Wizard of Oz", all at the same time.



4. Gwyneth Paltrow in "Two Lovers" (read my review)

As a woman completely unaware of her power over men, Gwyneth Paltrow gives "Two Lovers" its central theme: our ability or inability to escape from who we're becoming.
She plays Michelle, next door neighbor to Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix), an indecisive young man who sees in her the opportunity to start over. She makes it clear that she's in love with someone else and Leonard willingly enters her world of self destruction.
She takes Michelle to femme fatale levels as she becomes an addiction to Leonard. We know she's no good and we know her hysterics and drama are the last thing we need, but we would never refuse an invitation to join her on the dancefloor.


3. Penélope Cruz in "Nine" (read my review)

For someone who first catches our attention by stating she's not wearing any clothes, it's a miracle that Penélope Cruz gives Carla her best moments dressed head to toe and looking as if hell walked over her.
As the mistress of famed director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) she sizzles in the hilarious, if a bit underwhelming "A Call from the Vatican", but Cruz knows better than to give it all to us at once and the number, contrary to our beliefs, is nothing but foreplay.
She's brilliant in latter scenes where she quietly lets Guido put makeup on her, fully aware that she is after all another character he needs to direct in his life and she breaks your heart upon the realization that she will never ascend to a lead role.
She might be wearing gorgeous clothes but it's in these introspective, dark moments where Cruz seems completely naked.


2. Rosamund Pike in "An Education" (read my review)

Helen (Pike) is the kind of woman who would've been played by Marilyn Monroe or Gloria Grahame in the 1950's. Characters around her would've described her as someone "who's dumb and knows it" and as trophy girlfriend to a distinguished bachelor (Dominic Cooper in this case) she would've been used mainly for comedic relief and eye candy.
But what Rosamund Pike does with Helen goes beyond beauty and perfect, almost musical, comedic timing (few actors delivered their lines better in any 2009 film) she finds the truth inside her that characters around her are so desperate to find.
The film's lead (Carey Mulligan) is trying to find a reason; Helen may not have found hers' but she's so self aware of her limitations that she is not willing to compromise inner peace for mere survival.


1. Marion Cotillard in "Nine" (read my review)

Contrary to what she thinks, Luisa Contini (Cotillard) might just be the most special character in "Nine". As wife of Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) she does more than stand his infidelities, deal with his paranoia and give good social face.
She also happens to be his muse and moral center. Of course this isn't enough to keep a person alive, especially when there is nothing in it for you.
Just as Guido must learn to appreciate her more, Luisa needs to learn the difference between obligation and love. She's as guilty as Guido in how they both have turned their marriage into an addiction, yet we can't accuse her of weakness. Cotillard turns Luisa into someone who has made a lifestyle out of submission.
But the actress is so subtle that she gives Luisa a wordless backstory that make us become fascinated by the enigma she represents.
When she sings the heartbreaking "My Husband Makes Movies" she establishes who she is at the moment and when we get to the harrowing, almost brutal "Take it All" she finally takes her own stand.
Cotillard of course doesn't make this an obvious transition from backbone-less being to proud amazon; but a smooth, beautiful realization that to love someone else we must love ourselves first.

Legion **

Director: Scott Stewart
Cast: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Kate Walsh
Kevin Durand, Charles S. Dutton, Tyrese Gibson, Lucas Black
Adrianne Palicki, Willa Holland, Jon Tenney

It's angels in dirty places in Scott Stewart's "Legion"; a post apocalyptic thriller that uses biblical references to back up its emptiness while giving us the sight of badass angels fighting each other with machine guns.
Bettany plays the Archangel Michael who lands in an L.A. gun warehouse one night, stocks up on ammo and leads a rebellion against god, who asked him to destroy the human race.
He chooses a lonely diner in the middle of the Mojave desert as his headquarters. That the diner is filled with the kinds of people that constitute disaster movie ethnic and gender quota is just a nice coincidence.
Among the people are the owner (Quaid) and his son (Black), the faithful cook (Dutton) and a pregnant single waitress (Palicki) whose unborn child might represent the faith of humanity (nobody said the movie was subtle).
Soon they start receiving all sorts of plagues which range from knife bearing six year olds, to good ole fashioned teenage daughter (Holland) vs. mom (Walsh) drama.
You don't have to be a scholar to know this isn't the kind of movie to revisit and uncover new layers in subsequent viewings, it's main aim is probably to entertain us and itself, to a degree, with its oh so serious attempt at delivering faith-cum-fun.
The actors are great in how they manage to keep straight faces when the screenplay often verges into the ridiculous. When the characters are made to deliver lines like "not everybody can play a hero" you just know you're in the land of Ah-nuld and to find any trace of method genius or Shakespearean classicism here would be most likely a miracle.
Anyone who chooses to ponder too deeply into the contrived spiritual matters at the center of "Legion" (as many extreme Christian groups will obviously do) wouldn't need to be so enlightened to figure out that the movie is all about praising god.
For how else could Michael be the hero if it doesn't mean that even this rebellion is part of god's design?
Those less theologically inclined will be thankful that this supreme being didn't just choose to snap his fingers and destroy mankind, but he created a zombie massacre out of it for them to enjoy their pop corn.
What you need to ask yourself while watching "Legion" is: will you give that leap of faith and surrender to its cheesiness?
If not there's probably thousands of movies which will be more heavenly than this.

(My) Best of 09: Supporting Actor.

5. Matthew Newton in "Three Blind Mice" (read my review)

One would think an actor/director who directs himself would always get the lead role but Matthew Newton proved us wrong in "Three Blind Mice".
He plays one of three sailors on leave in Sydney and as the crass, loud one of the group he seems at first to serve only a comedic purpose.
His baby face and relentless malice make him both charming and scary (think Richard Widmark) but it doesn't take long before we are forced to observe him under a completely different light without his character ever going through a life changing situation as the other two do.
Newton's performance is a fascinating study of concealment and facades as a way of life.


4. Peter Capaldi in "In the Loop" (read my review)

There are actors who react and others that act and put everything in motion. In this film Peter Capaldi is a combination of both.
Almost Tati-esque in his effortlessly precise comedic timing, he plays Government Director of Communications, Malcolm Tucker who puts everyone to shame with his efficiency and cursing.
He finds beauty in the profane and while looking terrifying as a boss provides us with delicious sadistic pleasure in his treatment of others.
He might also just be the most quotable character of the year.


3. Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds" (read my review)

In a movie filled with dozens of great parts and splendid actors, Waltz practically walks away with the show as SS Colonel Hans Landa.
From his first scene where he interrogates a French farmer (played by Denis Menochet) he makes us laugh and gives us goosebumps.
As the movie advances he often borders on caricature but pulls back just in time to creep under our skin and become a vessel of pure nightmare. The thing with him is that you can never really hate him completely because Waltz makes Landa so real that for a second or two we even understand that his evil is rooted in obligation and even loyalty.


2. Paul Schneider in "Bright Star" (read my review)

As Charles Armitage Brown, best friend of doomed poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), Paul Schneider gives a performance so subtle that it might take you more than one viewing of the film to see the effect he has on everyone.
He's at his best in scenes with Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) who he tortures childishly out of unsaid love. When he finally puts his feelings on paper and becomes the victim of a quiet love triangle we are too swept away by Fanny and John to even remember his pain but he lingers in the background to make the beauty of the romance ache more because of those who can't have it.
His accent might not be perfect but Schneider brings Armitage a sense of bruised pride, sorrow and brutish tenderness (see when he delivers the news of Keats' death) that make us appreciate the delicacy of the movie even more.


1. Michael Fassbender in "Fish Tank" (read my review)

From the second Connor (Fassbender) walks into Mia's (Katie Jarvis) kitchen we know he's just no good.
"You dance like a black" he tells her, holding up his loose pants while stretching his tiger like body as he makes coffee. He later clarifies he meant it as a compliment. For the fifteen year old girl who barely gets attention from anyone else, it's delightful to see that her mother (Kierston Wareing) finally brought home a man that might act as a father figure.
He takes them out, listens to fancy music (for her at least) and takes an interest in her dancing career. But there's something about the way he looks at her, the proximity with which he shows her things and the kindness he gives her that make us mistrust him.
Connor is not a villain in the "movie" sense of the word, the nature of his acts doesn't make him evil and he's capable of making us wonder how much did we help him succeed in his actions.
Fassbender gives him an almost predatory quality as he seduces us before seducing Mia. That he does so without recurring to cheap techniques is surprising but that he sees Connor and recognizes him first as a human being is nothing short of courageous. Few working actors push the limits of right and wrong like Fassbender.

(My) Best of 09.

I have never compiled "serious" or definite "best of" lists about specific movie years. I thought this year I'd give it a try so bear with me.
I don't think I have the ability to judge too technical aspects of movie making (who the hell's too say that prestige films have better sound than things like "Transformers 2"? Not me for one) so this time I'll stick to what I know best; acting, directing and the movies themselves.
If someone were to ask me what my favorite score of the year was, of course I'd say Michael Giacchino's wonderful work in "Up" (I've been humming the theme music in my mind every day since I first saw it in mid 09) and few things impressed me as much as the cinematography in "Bright Star" (talk about writing poetry with a movie camera).
Oh and I also was very much impressed by the Eisensten-ian editing work in "Vincere", if a movie ever obviously relied on its cuts to deliver ideas and set moods this one was it.
With that said, you know how it is when one begins to talk movies, I'll just proceed with my list...

Visit Denmark.

Denmark Introduces Harrowing New Tourism Ads Directed By Lars Von Trier

Sister Under the Mink.

While Watching "Dodsworth"...

...I wondered if there ever was an actress more effortlessly intimidating than Maria Ouspenskaya.

BAFTA Style.

The British Academy Awards more often than not offer a more idiosyncratic vision in the red carpet than anything we ever see at the Oscars.
Europeans, and Americans in Europe, tend to be bolder even if that often means dressing like that they don't give a damn.
The BAFTAs usually offer a monochromatic palette (find me a BAFTA winner that isn't Tilda Swinton in something other than black, white or blue and I'll be surprised).
Last night wasn't that different but among the understated were some outstanding looks.


Saoirse Ronan has become a woman and she was "head to toes" in Burberry.
The playfulness of the white fluffy mini served to cover the subversive punk-ness of her leather bracelets and dark nails. Talk about versatility she was dressed for cocktails and a rock concert.


Vera Farmiga had never looked as lovely as she did in an overflowing white Marchesa gown with asymmetrical cuts and black sash.
Watching her walk the red carpet had a heavenly feel to it.


Stella McCartney gave Kate Winslet the excitement she had been lacking in previous red carpets. Not only did she look amazingly thin but that leg and those see through sides were mouth watering.


The insulting Audrey Tautou was gorgeous in Lanvin. She gave the event an unexpected splash of color and proved she's not the pale faced girl she plays in "Coco Before Chanel".
The candy colored heels and lips were sweet indeed.


Before yesterday I'd never heard the name Vionett, yes bad bad fashionista I know.
But after watching Carey Mulligan wear what I'm almost ready to call the best dress of this awards season (unless Oscar gives us something spectacular she has this in the bag) by the very exclusive French house, all I want to do now is spend the day submerging into the rich history of Madeleine Vionett's house.
This dress reminds me slightly of what Meryl Streep wore to the SAGs, but unlike the legend who was literally drowned by the flowered pattern, Mulligan owns it by seeming to spring from the black and white flowers in waifish glory.
Notice how she pulls off asymmetrical cuts, flowered patterns, a bold new hairdo and a short/long leg at the same time!
She's a style miracle.


I think that Kristin Scott Thomas was a bit too Cruella de Vil in this Louis Vuitton creation that seemed to be made from a buffalo she'd killed with her bare hands.

However once she took away the top she was all kinds of lovely and so elegant even if it looked she was carrying a dead fox to the show.

We're BAFTA-ing! Part 2.

As BAFTA announced the winner of its Rising Star award I was overjoyed at the possibility of seeing Carey Mulligan win a big award but then I remembered this is voted by the audience so of course Kristen Stewart won.


I know, Tahar, I was baffled she won as well (especially over Carey and you...)


The wonderful Peter Capaldi presented Best Animated Feature Film which obviously went to "Up"
Isn't it strange that "The Secret of Kells" was snubbed in its own homeland? (I mean the UK not England obviously...)
Seeing Capaldi made me want to puke when I remembered he was snubbed for Best Supporting Actor when Alec Baldwin got in of all people...


Penélope Cruz wasn't nominated for anything, "Nine" got one nod and so did "Broken Embraces". Watching her light up the screen when Foreign Language Film was presented made me wonder why are the Brits so enamored with Audrey Tautou's one note performances?
If I'm not mistaken she was nominated for "Amélie" where she's not all that, the movie yes, her performance meh and now she got in Best Actress for the dull "Coco Before Chanel" when Cruz for example was soooo marvelous in "Broken Embraces".
Assuming of course that they just wanted the foreign language factor...if not they could've nominated Katie Jarvis, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Abbie Cornish etc.


"A Prophet" won Best Foreign Language Film and the brilliant Jacques Audiard brought his posse to receive the award, The woman translated his speech while the adorable Tahar Rahim smiled in the background.


It was no surprise to see Kathryn Bigelow win Best Director for "The Hurt Locker". She of course looked fantastic and in her great speech encouraged people never to abandon "the need to find a resolution for peace".


When Kate Winslet came out to present Best Actress I was taken aback by how magnificent she looked.
Remember last year when she looked so constipated at every awards show (with the straight gowns in dull colors and severe hairdos)? This time she seemed floaty as she handed out the award to Colin Firth.


The sadly underrated actor made a great speech and confessed he almost said no to the part but never emailed director Tom Ford that answer because a repairman came over just as he was about to hit send.


The incomparable Ford looked proud and a million kinds of handsome as Firth compared meeting him as being "resuscitated" and advised the audience "don't ever press send and have your fridges repaired".


The awesome Mickey Rourke messed up his teleprompter lines and got one of the funniest jokes from the host who said he was sure Mickey hadn't been back home since winning the BAFTA in 09.


The undervalued Carey Mulligan finally won an award and looking breathtaking she confessed she hadn't expected to win (who can blame her with the preposterous way she's been treated in all these awards?).
"I wish I could make this speech like Colin firth and talk about fridges" she said completely ignorant of the fact that she was making my heart melt.


When Best Film came it was a bit stunning to see "The Hurt Locker" win the big one (especially when BAFTA is so nationalist) but it was a choice you really can't argue with, the win made sense after the show ended though...(read below).


While most shows are done with once the big award is handed out, BAFTA made us wait while Prince William and Uma Thurman (gotta LOVE those presenting pairs they come up with!) presented the legendary Vanessa Redgrave with an Academy Fellowship.


Redgrave was visibly moved as she went on telling stories about her childhood and told things she learned about Maria Callas (without the opera legend's knowledge).
She also made a penis joke and wrapped the whole thing up with a beautiful ode to the constantly changing medium of film.

Watching Redgrave appear onstage was glorious (especially when paired with a roaring standing ovation) and made me want to strangulate the people who moved the Honorary Oscars to a private dinner!
Shouldn't movies also be about preserving the great ones? Do we have to enjoy having the "Twilight" kids imposed on us while people like Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall get little sideshows?
Tisk tisk tisk AMPAS, BAFTA kicked your ass on this one.

Now back to "The Hurt Locker", just when I was thinking no film had won big, the announcer showed us the awards that had been presented earlier (BBC tape delayed this) and I was astounded to realize that "The Hurt Locker"'s tally had come down to:

• Best Film
• Best Director
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Cinematography
• Best Editing
• Best Sound

it only lost two awards! "Avatar" got exactly that number of trophies but so did "The Young Victoria"...

I'm hoping this bodes well for Bigelow's masterpiece in two weeks, if not I can always use the snob card and say I prefer the Brits.
Wouldn't you?

We're BAFTA-ing! Part 1.

An intimidating set with a massive structure that said "FILM" announced the arrival of the BAFTAs.
The sign, I like to think, was a reminder that these awards were conceived to honor the craft that goes into the art of filmmaking.
Of course this isn't completely true as politics, popularity, nationalism (especially here) and heck even the weather may have influence over the eventual winners.
Still though the winners tonight were less embarrassing than everything I'm expecting Oscar to be and as much as the Brits tend to love Hollywood too much none of the awards were vomit inducing.

If there is something were Oscar still excels is in putting together a show.
BAFTA host Jonathan Ross was a bit on the weak side and his jokes made you laugh out of awkwardness.
I must say when he introduced Clive Owen as someone "smoother than a waxed otter" I really laughed hard but the rest went pretty meh.
Perhaps the Brits have a weirder humor? Perhaps this too American kind of hosting doesn't work for a country that loves tradition and elegance?


Christoph Waltz won the Best Supporting Actor award as expected and gave one of his less trippy speeches of the season as he thanked the "fates who dropped him in front of Quentin Tarantino".
He then made a wonderful play of words around the support he's been getting as a supporting actor and how cool was it that they played David Bowie's "Cat People" when he walked to collect his award? (Bowie's own son won an award for best debut film).
Since BAFTA has made a habit out of playing random songs to announce winners and presenters, as opposed to musical cues from their own films, my favorite were:

• Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" when "Fish Tank" won for Best British Film (isn't it odd that "An Education" lost this one and also Best Picture?) perhaps they were making reference to Katie Jarvis character's love of dance?

• Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Freemasons' "Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer" was used in the red carpet segment and had great stylish effects.
• When Carey Mulligan came out to present Best Foreign Language Film they played the awesome "Bulletproof" by Laroux!
• Clive Owen was introduced to the beat of Lily Allen's "The Fear".
  

I still have no idea how they pick their presenters and am still puzzled over what was Matt Dillon doing there to present Mo'Ni...err Best Supporting Actress.
He didn't even win when he was nominated for "Crash"!


I do love "The Hurt Locker" but I'm not sure I like it winning screenplay awards. Yes I'm biased on the prettiness of Quentin Tarantino's work in this category.
Waltz himself said QT does poetry but still yay for Mark Boal's win for making "an unpopular story about an unpopular war" so damn powerful.

Ladies Night.

I hope Carey wins if only because she feels so undeserving of all the praise.
Once again she's the best in her category and is up for the newcomer award as well (if there's any justice that one should go to Tahar Rahim so Carey wins Best Actress)


Why hasn't anyone cast Kristin Scott Thomas in a Marlene Dietrich biopic?

The British Are Awarding!

If you thought only American E! presenters made asses of themselves in front of celebrities, you will be happy, or not, to learn that the Brits are just as ridiculous.
Interviewing nominees and presenters attending the BAFTAs they have been on a roll of insane questions, dumb remarks and royal madness (they're gaga over Prince William).


Presenter "How was it to play gay? It was your first time".
Colin Firth "No it wasn't" he proceeds to say all the gay characters he's played, including "Mamma Mia" which even I'd forgotten about, " [Playing gay] is fairly routine for me now".
Presenter "How was it to take your kit off after more than twenty years?"
Colin changes subject.
Presenter "Does your wife prefer you do love scenes with women or men?"



The radiant Kate Winslet in Stella McCartney was utterly refreshing even when the guy asked her if she was jealous of "Avatar"'s success hahaha.
She charmingly replied that she was thrilled she wouldn't have to answer questions about being in "the highest grossing film of all time" anymore.


"You're obviously pregnant, right?"
- Presenter to an obviously pregnant Anne Marie Duff


"You were only in the movie for like ten minutes."
- Presenter baffled about Guy Pearce's appearance.


Instead of asking debut director Tom Ford about his film the presenter chose to ask him how he felt releasing Colin Firth's feminine side...
Ford reminds her gay ain't feminine.
She blushes and asks him if he 's wearing himself.
In most dapper style he replies "I only wear myself."


The funniest thing I saw so far though was the fuss over Audrey Tautou.
When she was first spotted the female presenters gushed about how pretty she looked and how she obviously was wearing Chanel because "it would be insulting if she wasn't".
Audrey insulted them minutes later when she answered she was indeed wearing Lanvin.
They proceeded to call her fashion choice the "shocker of the night".