LSU Baseball = Awesome!

Been watching the Tigers at the College World Series this week, and it doesn't get better then this for a baseball fan. The things this team has accomplished this year are flat out amazing. Watch the final 10 minutes of the Rice game here. As a TV director, I must say this was some horrible direction as he cuts away to the relay and you don't even see the winning run score, then you miss a lot of LSU's euphoric celebration be going to close-ups of stunned Rice players. Euugh. Shitty director. And here's their comeback win in the Super Regional vs. UC Irvine.

Also, Three Doors Down's new song "Not My Time" is pretty good, but it rocks so much more when layed over some baseball highlights, and it's become the unofficial theme song of this CWS. I'm sure the video for the song blows, as do ALL 3 Doors Down videos, mostly because they are the ugliest band in America. They should just use the CWS clips as the official video. I think I need that song now. On to iTunes!

LSU back in CWS!

Best post-game pile-up EVER!

Sophie = Rocket Man????

Unaided by her parents, Sophie put on these glasses and started rockin' out on her keyboard. Look familiar?

Click Here to see Dominic's doppleganger.

And now..... MOVIE CHEETAH!

Someone spilled water on my blog and a new blog grossly popped out, gizmo-style, all shiny and new. So come aboard, we're expecting you.

All movie reviews will be confined to MOVIE CHEETAH blog. Click there to see what I thought of Speed Racer!

All the other crap will remain here on Sneaky Cheetah., natch.

Now remember, DON'T FEED THE BLOGS AFTER MIDNIGHT!

He's Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Whew! That was a refreshing break. The mounting pressure of my self-imposed Oscar viewing trials have ended, and I've spent the last month recovering, surviving an ear-infection, and making the transition from cold, movie blogging season to warm, baseball/softball season! Also preparing to resume watching the frayed remains of the 2007-08 TV season. I survived the writers strike and my boycotting of reality TV by watching seasons 1-3 of the Office, just in time for the new episode last night, and reading the original Ian Flemming James Bond novels. Softball practice starts tomorrow, as does the Dominator's soccer season, and we're gonna catch a Nats game on Sunday with Dad, who's flying in for the weekend. I've seen no new films at the theater, but now is the time for everyone to catch up on the Oscar winning films as they trickle in on DVD. Besides the ones I've previously reviewed, Into the Wild is a must see, on my top 10 of oh-Seven.

Sooooo, in the next few months, I'll be smashing bombs around the diamond, catching a few concerts, and getting ready for the summer movie slate. Stay tuned, eventually I'll have something funny to say and YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS IT!

out.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's unsuccessful quest to see every Oscar nominated film before tonight!

Nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Daniel Day Lewis), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction and Sound Editing.

Best Picture? I don't know. Perhaps. Most memorable? Yes. There Will Be Blood is one of those films that will stick in your head for weeks after you see it. The film follows the career of Oil man Daniel Plainview as he builds an oil empire in the early 1900's. Plainview is a bastard. Obsessed with his company, he stives more to crush his competition then for his own success. He hates people except maybe his adopted son, though he seems to use him more as a prop to sell his company's services. Day-Lewis is beyond an actor in this film. He becomes Plainview, body and soul. His speech and mannerisms are so distinctive, it's hard not to like him, even as he spirals downward into paranoid madness as he becomes more successful. The thorn in his side is the local preacher/prophet Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). He matches Day-Lewis' intensity in every scene, and should have scored a Supporting Actor nomination. The film is long, but doesn't seem so, because the process of early oil drilling is damn interesting, as much as the conflict between Plainview and everyone else. It's got a great chance to sweep up a bunch of Oscars tonight, though probably not editing, sound editing or adapted screenplay. This film currently sits in the top 25 films of ALL TIME on IMDB's Top 250 list. When you see that, you know you're in for something special.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

Paul Thomas Anderson is nominated for producing, directing, and adapting the screenplay. He was previously nominated for writing the screenplays for Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999)

This is the first nominations for producers JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi.

Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989). He was also nominated for In the Name of the Father (1993) and Gangs of New York (2002)

Cinematography Robert Elswit was previously nominated for Good Night, and Good Luck (2005).

This is Editor Dylan Tichenor, Sound Editor's Matthew Wood and Christopher Scarabosio, Art Director Jack Fisk and Set Decorator Jim Erickson's first nomination.

3:10 to Yuma

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah insane quest to see every Oscar nominated film before TONIGHT!

Nominated for Best Sound and Best Score

The most traditional of the "Western Revival" films (Assassination of Jesse James, There Will Be Blood, No Country) this year, 3:10 to Yuma is a remake of a 1957 film of the same name. Only this one stars the two best actors working today, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Crowe is Ben Wade the notorious criminal captured by the law and Bale is Dan Evans, the desperate cattle farmer in need of money that joins the posse escorting Wade to the town where he can catch the 3:10 train to Yuma. They're pursued by Wade's gang of killers, led by Charlie Prince (Ben Foster, who's manic, murderous devotion to Wade should have earned him a Supporting Actor nod). There is tension throughout the entire film as Wade kills off his escort one by one, all the while becoming a more and more likable character, a testament to Crowe's superb skill. The exchanges between Crowe and Bale are electric, leading to a frantic dash through a town of outlaws, one of the greatest shootout scenes ever choreographed. It's ending is similar to No Country's though where I thought No Country's was unsatisfying, 3:10's is perfect. The best western since Unforgiven (1992), 3:10 is in my top 5 films of the year, and deserves to be an 8 nomination film. That said , it probably won't win Sound or Score, as the Best Picture nominated films usually grab these as well.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

The Sound team is led by Paul Massey who has 5 other nominations without ever winning. They include Legends of the Fall (1994), Air Force One (1997), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Walk the Line (2005), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006). This is the first nomination for David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe.

It's also the first nomination for composer Marco Beltrami.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's stupendous quest to see every Oscar Nominated film before TOMORROW NIGHT!

Nominated for Best Actor

What a pleasant surprise this film was. It was largely ignored in the theaters and only scored one nomination. But I think this was a darn near perfect film. When retired Army MP Hank Deerfield's (Tommy Lee Jones) son goes missing the day after returning from Iraq, Hank drives up to the Army base to find him. The son turns up dead and the investigation begins with a less then stellar police detective (Theron) heading it up. Jones' Best Oscar nomination is well deserved in his portrayal of a father searching for then mourning his son. He owns every scene without overpowering the role. The mystery and investigation is a good one, keeping you guessing. The movie avoids making judgments on the war, focusing instead on the effects of conflict on the soldiers when they return. A good thing since so many Iraq films have tanked. This one is the exception. I've only given out 17 A's out of over 50 films I've seen from 2007. This is one of them.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

Tommy Lee Jones won Best Supporting Actor for The Fugitive (1993) and was nominated for Supporting Actor for JFK (1991).

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's monumental quest to see every Oscar nominated film before TOMORROW!

Nominated for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, and Sound Editing.

Ethan and Joel Coen have made a career out of cooking up off beat films. Films that may follow conventional themes and plots, but feature maybe some dialogue or characters that are just a bit off center. Call 'em quirky or just downright strange, but it also makes them memorable and honestly, I haven't seen a Coen Bros film I didn't like. No Country for Old Men keeps this streak alive. This film has things that you just don't see often. The wide open prairies of west Texas are beautifully shot. This Texasness permeates every aspect of the film. Not just your main characters Llewelyn (Josh Brolin), Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), but every bit player with a line oozes Texas. After Llewelyn finds 2 mill cash at a drug deal gone bad, he's pursued by assassin Chigurh, while Sheriff Bell follows the trail of both. Where did this Josh Brolin resurgence come from anyway? He was big brother Brand in Goonies for Christ's sake. Now he pops up in No Country, American Gangster and In the Valley of Elah? This guys agent is the shit! He's great here, creating an authentic character that you really pull for. His opposite is perhaps one of the greatest villains in recent memory. Chigurh kills not for pleasure but for no reason, just indifferently deciding if he will kill someone or not (even using, in the best scene of the film, a flip of a coin). Bardem gives him a psychotic look in his eyes that most actors just can't achieve. No country is a near perfect film, my only complaint is I'm not entirely satisfied with the fates of our characters. Maybe it's the best ending they could give this film, and it's probably the most likely ending, but it's an unsatisfying ending. This can't erase the pure entertainment of the rest of the film though, so look for it to clean up on Oscar night. Bardem is a lock for Sup Actor. It has a good chance for cinematography, editing, and adapted screenplay. The Coen's should take home Best Director(s) after a lifetime of great films, and it's my pick for Best Picture.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

Ethan and Joel Coen are the auteurs of this film. Their nominated for Producing, Directing, Editing, and Adapting the Screenplay. They've won an Oscar for their screenplay for Fargo (1996). Their past nominations are for producing and editing Fargo and writing the screenplay for O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).

Producer Scott Rudin was previously nominated for Best Picture for The House (2002).

Javier Bardem was nominated for Best Actor in Before Night Falls (2000)

Cinematographer Roger Deakins is also nominated this year for The Assassination of Jesse James. He has 5 other nominations for The Shawshank Redemption (1995), Fargo (1996), Kundun (1997), O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001).

Sound Editor Skip Lievsay is also nominated in the Best Sound category.

MICHAEL CLAYTON

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's stupendous quest to see every Oscar nominated film before Sunday night!

Nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor (George Clooney), Supporting Actor (Tom Wilkinson), Supporting Actress (Tilda Swinton), Original Screenplay and Score.

Quick plot summery! Michael Clayton is a fixer for a huge N.Y. law firm that get called in when his friend and colleague seemingly loses his mind while working on a class action law-suit for an evil (?) corporation that is polluting something that's making people sick.

I don't get what everyone sees in Michael Clayton. I will say that the three acting nominations are deserved, because that's all the movie has going for it. It's a slow developing, quiet film that's all performance. Characters in moral dilemmas, or in Wilkinson's case, just losing his mind. Clayton is continually pulled in different direction with conflicting loyalty to his job, his friend, his brother, his son, and a ton of debt that needs to be paid in one week, not to mention the fact that the big corporation his firm defends may actually be guilty of what it's being sued for. But the film itself has no action, no suspense, no thrills, no jokes, no humor, not even a smile. I know some film fanatics that LOVES this film, even say it's the Best Picture of the year. Maybe the DVD I got had the real Michael Clayton replaced by a movie written and starring Jack Black and Mos Def 'cause we must not be watching the same thing!(anyone?...Anyone?... get it?) I think Michael Clayton has an excellent chance of being the big film that gets shutout on Oscar night. Swinton has the best chance to win, or maybe the Score, which was eerie and understated, just like the film itself.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: B

Producer Sydney Pollack won two Oscars for producing and directing Out of Africa(1985) and was nominated for directing And They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), and producing and directing Tootsie (1982). This is the first nominations for his co-producers Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orrent.

This is writer/director Tony Gilroy's first two Oscar nominations.

George Clooney won Best Supporting Actor for Syriana (2005) and was also nominated for writing the screenplay and directing Good Night, and Good Luck (2005).

Tom Wilkinson was previously nominated for In the Bedroom (2001)

This is Tilda Swinton's first Academy Award nomination.

Composer James Newton Howard has been nominated 6 previous times, for Best Score in The Prince of Tides (1991), The Fugitive (1993), My Best Friends Wedding (1997), and The Village (2004), and Best Song for Junior (1994) and One Fine Day (1996).

AMERICAN GANGSTER

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's unattainable quest to see every Oscar nominated film before Sunday night!

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee) and Best Art Direction.

The film most deserving to be pissed off when the Oscar nominations were announced had to be American Gangster. No other film this year had a pedigree like this one. Starring Oscar winners Denzel Washington (Glory, Training Day) and Russell Crow (Gladiator), written by Oscar winner Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List), produced by Oscar winner Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind), edited by Oscar winner Pietro Scalia (JFK, Black Hawk Down), costumes by Oscar winner Janty Yates (Gladiator), all led by three time Best Director nominee Ridley Scott. And all it scored was Supporting Actress and Art Direction? So disappointing. And deservedly so. Everyone of these people are at the top of their game here, turning in a truly great crime drama. It follows Frank Lucas' (Washington) rise to the most powerful drug kingpin in America, and New Jersey cop Richie Robert's (Crowe) attempts to bring Lucas down and expose the corruption in New York's police force. The film is big. Epic even. There are tons of different scenes and sets as the film covers a number of years from the late 60's-early 70's, which could prove to be an ambitious enough task to earn the Art Direction Oscar. I think Crowe actually out-acts Denzel, though I think Denzel is at the point when he is larger then his roles. He's always Denzel, no matter who he's playing. Same with Tom Cruise. Not so with Crowe, who still seems to morph into different characters. The supporting cast is colorful with many interesting actors, though I think Ruby Dee's performance is overrated and too small to win the Oscar. American Gangster is sitting in IMDB's top 250 of all time, and it's in my top ten of the year.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

This is Ruby Dee's first Academy Award nomination.

Art Director Arthur Max was previously nominated for Gladiator (2000) and Set Decorator Beth A. Rubino was nominated for The Cider House Rules (1999).

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's neverending quest to see every Oscar nominated film before Sunday!

Nominated for Best Visual Effects and Makeup

The finale of the Pirates trilogy sailed into theaters this summer, breaking box office records. It's pretty entertaining too. At times it's weighed down by a dense plot that is no easier to decipher if you've see all three films. But in the end, it's about sword fights, cannon fire, double crosses, glass eyes, a parrot, a monkey, and a bottle of rum. What more could you ask from your summer blockbuster? Better than Dead Man's Chest yet not nearly as good as Curse of the Black Pearl. Look for a shutout on Oscar night.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: B

The top notch visual effects team is led by John Knoll, winner for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and nominated for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Hal T. Hickel also won for Dead Man's Chest and was nominated for Curse of the Black Pearl. This is the first nomination for Charlie Gibson. And our ol' friend John Frazier, also nominated this year for Transformers, won in 2004 for Spider-Man 2 and was nominated for Twister (1996), Armageddon (1998), The Perfect Storm (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Spider-Man (2002), and Poseidon (2006).

Ve Neil is Tim Burton's favored makeup artist and has 3 wins, for Beetlejuice (1988), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), and Ed Wood (1994). Also nominations for Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1994), Hoffa (1994), and with Martin Samuel, Curse of the Black Pearl, and Dead Man's Chest.

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's exhausting quest to see all the Oscar nominated films before Sunday!

Nominated for Best Actress (Cate Blanchette) and Best Costumes.

I love a good historical drama. Unfortunately, this was was just not that good. The filmmakers got it right with everything they could crib from the first Elizabeth 8 years ago. The costumes, the set decoration, the dialogue, and Cate Blanchette. All spectacular. But the new stuff felt like a different cheaper film entirely. All the scenes on ships look like soundstages and green screen. After the Pirates films and Master and Commander, the sea battle and defeat of the famed Spanish Armada was embarrassingly bad. Spanish King Philip is the big bad meglomaniacal villain, but is hardly fearsome or kingly, he mainly walks around looking at candles and calling Elizabeth a bastard. And no one should be able to give a rousing speech on horseback to the troops ever again. This scene has become the epitome of cliche. The film is at it's best during the scenes of Blanchette, Clive Owen (as explorer Sir Walter Raleigh) and Abbie Cornish (as Elizabeth's handmaiden Bess), all of whom give great performances. This makes the first half of the film very strong, but it slows during the second act's assassination plot, and really becomes tedious during the Spanish Invasion of the third act. Blanchette won't win Best Actress for a role she didn't win for in 1999 in a better film. But Best Costumes should be a lock.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: C

Cate Blanchette won Best Supporting Actress in 2004 for The Aviator and was nominated for Elizabeth (1999), Notes on a Scandal (2006) and this year for I'm Not There.

Costume designer Alexandra Byrne has three previous nominations for Hamlet (1996), Elizabeth (1999), Finding Neverland (2004).

SURF'S UP

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's awe inspiring quest to see every Oscar nominated film this year!

Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.

Yes, another penguin movie. But this one is pretty good. A surfing penguin journey's to a surfing competition where he makes friends and rivals and meets his idol. The thing here is this is shot in a documentary style, simulating a hand held camera following the characters around and frequently interviewing them. It works well, and helps separate the films from the flood of similarly animated films to hit theaters. This film is all about the visuals. The surfing scenes are fantastic, especially when the water starts to break and the film goes into slow motion. Also very strong is the selection of music, mostly rock and punk. The vocal talent is not very memorable, Shia Leouf mumbles though his lines as Cody, the star of the film. But Jeff Bridges is in full "The Dude Lebowski" mode for his character. This film has no shot at the Oscar, but my son likes it and that's the bottom line I guess.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: C

This is the first nomination for co-directors Ash Brannon and Chris Buck, though before the Academy added the Best Animated Feature category in 2002, Brannon co-directed Toy Story 2 (1999) and Buck co-directed Tarzan (1999)

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's ambitious quest to see every Oscar nominated film before the big show!

Nominated for Best Costumes.

Within minutes of the start of this film, I was prepared to hate it. There was some cheesy images of a Joplin sounding chick superimposed over the surf breaking on the beach, singing "Helter Skelter." It just screamed amateur. But eventually something happened. Despite poor acting, bad lip syncing, and embarrassing choreography, I started to enjoy this film. The reason is the songs are all Beatles songs. That is the gimmick of the film but what makes it good is the SONGS ARE ALL BEATLES SONGS. And I'm a big fan. The songs are arranged differently to fit the cast, and I assume the cast did their own singing (rather well I might add), but the basic fact that these are some of the greatest songs ever written shines through, especially if you already know all the words. Kudos to the writers who conceived of this project, and arranged the songs to lyrically tell the story of a group of friends surviving the sixties. There choices are inspired. Standouts are Jim Sturgess as Jude (he sings in a Liverpoolian accent!), Dana Fuchs as Sadie (the Joplin chick pictured here) and Martin Luther as JoJo (the Hendrix guy above), and if you haven't noticed, the characters are all named after names dropped in Beatles songs, including Lucy and Prudence. There's also cool surprise cameos in the middle of the film (Bono sings I Am the Walrus, Eddie Izzard is Mr. Kite, and Salma Hayek pops up as a sexy singing nurse!). This makes up for the aforementioned shortcomings of this film, especially the parts that bring me back to watching The Wall as a freshman in college in a dark, smoke-filled dorm room. Across the Universe is not a great musical, but great music nonetheless.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: B

Albert Wolsky gets the Costume Design nomination. He's got two already for All That Jazz (1979) and Bugsy (1991) and was nominated for Sophie's Choice (1982), The Journey of Natty Gann (1985), and Toys (1992).

LA VIE EN ROSE

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's absurd quest to see every Oscar nominated film before the show!


Nominated for Best Actress, Costume Design, and Makeup.

La Vie en Rose (or La Mome as it was known in it's native France) is a biopic on the life of singer Edith Piaf, spanning her life from the early 20th century to the 1960's. I read a blurb about this film that I'll quote here. "The most astonishing immersion of one performer into the body and soul of another I've ever encountered on film." I agree with this 100%. It's an amazing performance by actress Marion Cotillard. She is enthralling as young Edith and as the years pass and the makeup piles on to age her, her performance gets better and better and also more disturbing. The film is a great big downer and I was depressed when it was over. It seems Edith had very few good times in her life. But that's drama eh? The film is told in constant flash forward flash backward mode, difficult to follow at times, but I like when a film challenges it's viewers to pay attention. Curious though is the decision to leave out anything that happened in France in the 1940's (umm what could that be...hmmm .... how 'bout WWII!!!), where apparently Edith was a member of the French resistance. Cotilliard could win Best actress if enough Academy members saw this film, and it should win Makeup. Who knows who'll win best costumes, and really, who cares?As great as the performance is, it can't totally make up for an overly long depressing melodrama (see the Assassination of Jesse James).


The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade : C

This is the first Oscar nomination for actress Marion Cotilliard, Makeup Artists Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald, and Costume Designer Marit Allen.

JUNO

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's not that impressive quest to see every Oscar Nominated film before the awards show!

Juno is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Ellen Page), and Best Original Screenplay.

What a refreshing breath of fresh air is Juno in this Oscar season filled with mostly depressing films. It's a simple enough story. 16 year old Juno gets preggers, but decides to not abort the baby. She finds the seemingly perfect couple to adopt the baby, but they maybe not so perfect after all. A short plot summery, but this film is not about plot. It's about characters. Juno spouts whip-smart dialogue and oozes sarcasm, expressing herself as unique in thought and appearance. But that exterior occasionally cracks and we see Juno still has the worries of an average 16 year old, a tribute to the acting of Ellen Page. I first noticed Page in X3 when she stole every scene she was in. The Oscar nomination is well deserved. It's a shame more of this cast didn't receive Supporting nods, especially Allison Janney as Juno's step mom and J.K. Simmons as her dad. Michael Cera pretty much rehashes his character from Superbad, that's fine by me. The adoptive parents to-be are played by Jennifer Garner (as Vanessa) and Jason Bateman (as Mark). The plot twists as former rocker Mark becomes closer to Juno and realizes that he's traded in his coolness to start a family with Vanessa. Hmmm.... a musician give up the life to start a family and maybe regrets it and wonders if he's ready to give up his youth? Why does that strike a chord with me.....

Also snubbed is the music. Maybe this is on a technicality, like the songs were written way before the film and only songs written expressly for the film can get the Oscar nomination. But music plays a big part, especially the songs by The Moldy Peaches that are sprinkled throughout the film. The closing scene featuring the Peaches "Anyone Else But You" is a pure moment of cinematic joy that ends the film on a perfect note.

Anyway, there's too many interesting think happening in this film for me to further extrapolate on. You should see this. Now. You will enjoy it. Writer Diablo Cody will take the screenwriting Oscar home, it's how they reward the small film that honestly has no shot in the Picture, Director, and Actress categories. But honestly, it's my number one, most fav film of 2007. Fo' Shizz!

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

It's all rookie nominees for Juno, so let's welcome Director Jason Reitman (son of Ivan), Actress Ellen Page, Screenwriter Diablo Cody, and producers Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, and Russell Smith to the Big Show!

GONE BABY GONE

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's improbable quest to see every Oscar nominated film before the Big Show.

Amy Ryan is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Casey Affleck is having a damn good year. Oscar nominated for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, he also starred in one of my top ten films of the year: Gone Baby Gone. A gripping crime drama based on a Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) novel, Gone explores the seedy lower-class neighborhoods of Boston, and the desperate people who exist there. Boston is treated as a character here, great effort is put into showing the people of the city who struggle to make a life out of meager means. It's also a heavy handed exposition on child molestation and kidnapping, preachy at times but hey, who's gonna take the other side on that issue? I now believe writer/director Ben Affleck should stop acting all together and become a filmmaker. This is an impressive directorial debut that conveys a unique style, and he already owns a screenplay Oscar. Little bro Casey is good leading an all-star cast including Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, and Michelle Monaghan, not to mention Oscar nominated Amy Ryan as a drug addict mom who's daughter is kidnapped. She's very convincing and has already picked up 12 awards and may be the front runner on Oscar Night. Gone deserved more recognition from the Academy, and is a must see film in the crime drama genre.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

This is the first Oscar nomination for Amy Ryan.

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's insane quest to see every Oscar nominated film this year!

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Casey Affleck) and Cinematography.

Assassination is a tale of two films. It's a beautiful picture, showcasing the starkness and beauty of 19th century Missouri, shot by a master cinematographer. There's a train robbery sequence that is truly unique and cool. There are plenty of wide angle shots displaying his talent, yet an effect of this is to slow the film down to a ponderous pace, strecthing the film well over 2 hours (reminds me of the beautiful yet flawed The Thin Red Line (1998). Assassination features a captivating performance by Casey Affleck (who knew?) who owns this film as the aformentioned coward Robert Ford (more of a leading then supporting role). He really blows Brad Pitt's Jesse James off the screen. Affleck is captivating as Ford, who's blind admiration for James turns to fear and contempt as he's ridiculed by Jesse and his gang. He almost certainly won't win the Oscar, but he delivers an Oscar-worthy peformance. After that though, there's not much else to going for this film. None of the characters are likable which make it hard to sit through a film where you already know the ending. The filmmakers use a voice over to explain things that make the film seem like a bigger budgeted A&E Biography. There's an interesting moment of clarity when I figured out that James was actually searching for his own killer, picking the infatuated yet unstable Ford, then egging him on to drive him over the edge, then giving himself up to the moment of murder. Besides that, kind of a snoozer.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: C

This is the first nomination for Casey Affleck.

Cinematographer Roger Deakins is also nominated this year for No Country for Old Men. He's been nominated five other times, for The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Fargo (1996), Kundun (1997), O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001).

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's endless quest to see all Oscar nominated films.

Nominated for Best Editing, Sound, and Sound Editing.

There was a time when a good action film could score a best picture nomination. Raiders of the Lost Ark got one, as did The Fugitive. But those days are seemingly over, because few action films deserve that honor as much as The Bourne Ultimatum. Until recently, this was my favorite film of the year. When most action films are busy one-upping each other with unbelievable stunts, Bourne thrives on believable action, done better than anyone else. The fights are fast, the chases frantic, all served by dynamic editing and cinematography. Credit goes to Paul Greengrass, a director quickly earning a reputation as a master auteur who's work is must-see. Matt Damon is today's great action star (nobody saw that coming 10 years ago) and the film is filled with great supporting acting from Joan Allen, David Strathairm, Julia Stiles, Scott Glenn and Albert Finney. This film is a lock for the Best Editing Oscar and is a strong contender for the Sound and Sound Editing awards. I couldn't give anyone a better example of what a good, smart action film should be (the Bond series should take a hint) then The Bourne Ultimatum, one of my top 5 films of the year.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

This is editor Christopher Rouse's second Oscar nomination. He was nominated last year (and should have won) for United 93.

The sound team is lead by Scott Milan, who's got three Oscars on his mantle for Apollo 13 (1995), Gladiator (2000) and Ray (2005). He was also nominated for Schindler's Lint (1993), Braveheart (1995), and Road to Perdition (2002). David Parker got an Oscar for The English Patient (1996) and was nominated for Never Cry Wolf (1983) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Kirk Francis was nominated in 1997 for L.A. Confidential.

This is the first nomination for Sound Editor Karen M. Baker but co-nominee Per Halberg won for Braveheart (1995) and was nominated for Face/Off (1997)

TRANSFORMERS

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's seemingly hopeless quest to see every Oscar nominated film before showtime!

Nominated for Best Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects

Arguably the summer blockbuster of the year, Transformers roared it's way to the trifecta of Oscar noms that action flicks can aspire to (VizFx, Sound, Sound Editing). Director Michael Bay has perfected the popcorn flick formula, but almost to the point that he's copying himself. Watch the Rock, Armegeddon, Pearl Harbor and this film and you'll notice a pattern of now cliche shots and sequences that are repeated from film to film. Another thing about all these films is that they're FUN! Damn Fun (even Pearl Harbor which really shouldn't be fun.). I saw this in a crowded theater full of Transformer geeks that actually applauded when Optimus Prime first speaks (a reaction that was much cooler when Yoda pulled out a lightsaber in Attack of the Clones.). I really liked this film then. I thought it didn't sacrifice story for action (as ridiculous as the story was), had some actual character developement, even some humor. I saw it again on a tiny screen on a plane, and my reaction was different. More like indifferent. I've decided I'm not a fan of the Transformers new look (why so bug-like?), and the action scenes are sometimes such an indecipherable jumble of Transformer and close ups, it actually hurt my brain. That being said, the CGI mix between real and computer is top notch. Transformers should take Visual Effects, but not sound or sound editing. They were always cooler toys then cartoons anyway, and that at least hasn't changed.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: B


Sound Mixing: The resume for these guys are redonkulous. It's an honor just to be nominated right? Not to Kevin O'Connell. This is his 20th nomination without ever taking home that little naked statue. His past nominations were for Terms of Endearment (1983), Dune (1984), Silverado (1985), Top Gun (1986), Black Rain (1989), Days of Thunder (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Crimson Tide (1995), Twister (1996), The Rock (1996), Con Air (1997), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Armegeddon (1998), The Patriot (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Memoirs of a Geisha (2006), and Apocalypto (2007). Greg P. Russell has 12 noms for Black Rain, The Rock, Con Air, The Mask of Zorro, Armegeddon, The Patriot, Pearl Harbor, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Apocalypto, also no wins. Peter J. Devlin has only one other nomination, for Pearl Harbor with his buddies Kevin and Greg.

Sound Editing: The team of Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins has been nominated twice in the past and won both times, for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and King Kong (2005).

There are four guys on this film up for the Visual Effects Oscar. Scott Farrar won in 1986 for Cocoon and was nominated for Backdraft (1991), Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005). John Frazier won in 2004 for Spider-Man 2 and was nominated for Twister (1996), Armageddon (1998), The Perfect Storm (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Spider-Man (2002) and Poseidon in (2006). This is the first nomination for Scott Benza and Russell Earl.

By the way, the best picture from this film has no Transformers in it at all, just the aptly named Megen Fox.

ONCE

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's monstrous quest to see every Oscar nominated film before February 24th!

Nominated for Best Original Song (Falling Slowly)

Every year a small indie film comes along and blows me away. This year, it's Once. And it's a musical. Sort of. Set in Ireland, it's the story of a lonely guy (a street performing singer-songwriter vacuum cleaner repairman) who meets a lonely girl (a pianist music lover with a broken vacuum cleaner). The film is so good, the performances are so nuanced, the writing so natural, that at times I forget it's a movie at all and not a documentary. The Guy and Girl (they aren't named in the film) begin to connect in a magical scene as they collaborate on a song in an instrument store. As a musician myself (retired musician I guess), this scene really touched me. It's such a special thing when people begin to connect and create music, some of the greatest moments of my life actually. And it's perfectly captured here. Most of the film is set to song, either the characters listening to them or performing them. But the film wouldn't work if the songs weren't good. Well, they're Damn Good! I'm going to get the soundtrack today. What also helps the realism of the film is the Guy and Girl aren't actors, they're real musicians. And also a real couple. Glen Hansard plays The Guy and he's also the singer/guitarist for Irish rockers The Frames (which writer/director John Carney was also a member). It's also the first acting role for The Girl, Marketa Irglova and the two actually fell in love during the filming and despite their age difference (as of this writing he's 37, she's 19), they're still a couple and recording music together. You can't make this shit up! The song Falling Slowly is also nominated for a Grammy and in my opinion a lock to win the Oscar. I loved this film, and it's in my top ten list. A must see for musicians, music lovers and romantics.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

EASTERN PROMISES

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's hopeless quest to see every Oscar nominated film before showtime!

Eastern Promises' Viggo Mortensen is nominated for Best Actor.

This film feels like The Sopranos:London via Ukraine. That's a complement. It's one of the best mob films in years. It's a small scale film, the opposite of an epic, concentrating on a few characters and barely touching on setting and extraneous character development. It's set in London but London is not a character. This film could be set in any Old World city. There's a bare minimum of back story on these characters. You're plopped down into the middle of their lives and the film takes off from there. It's intense from the first scene and doesn't let up. The cast is great all around, and I always forget how good Naomi Watts is. As for Viggo, he probably got the nod for his total commitment to his role, as demonstrated in the famous naked fight in the bathhouse scene. Viggo insisted on literally letting it all hang out for this brutal sequence. Besides that he does a great Russian accent, but I don't think his character is complete enough to win the Oscar. There's not enough conflict to his actions. Overall a very good film that opens up a view into the ultra violent "Mob World" that seemingly exists in all big cities, and dares us, as it does Watts' character, to enter and survive.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

This is Mortensen's first Oscar nomination (though he should have gotten a nod for The Two Towers or Return of the King!).

ATONEMENT

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's futile quest to see every Oscar nominated film in the next month!

Nominated for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction/Set Decoration, Costumes, and Score.

Atonement is a tale of a lie spoken by a young girl about her sister's lover that sends him to jail and eventually World War II, and the steps she takes to atone for that sin.

Before anything else, let me talk about "the shot" and if you've seen the film and have any awareness about camera movement and editing, you know what I'm talking about. Halfway into the film we are treated to a near 5 minute uninterrupted tracking shot (or steadycam shot, whatever you want to call it) of the beaches of Dunkirk, crowded with thousands of British soldiers waiting to be evacuated from France. It's truly one of the greatest single shots I've ever seen. About 30 seconds into it I realized what was happening and just sat in amazement at the scope, beauty and choreography of the shot. That was the high point of the film. (Though there is a nice twist at the end.) Don't get me wrong, this is a really good film, I don't know about Best Picture good. It starts in a lazy, happier time (pre WWII) when rich British kids just sat around the castle, writing plays and laying in the grass. It's got a meandering pace which serves the story, and crucial events are replayed differently from the point of view of different characters. It's effective though a few times they actually used a rewind like effect which is kind of hacky. Besides the aforementioned shot, the WWII scenes are underwhelming, I suppose intentionally to not turn this into a war film, but the carnage of the hopital scenes are intense.

The cinematography is beautiful as are the costumes and sets, Atonement could take any of those awards. It should definitely win for Original score, as composer Dario Marianelli uses typewriter sounds as a main component of the score, as well as weaving Sound events from the movie (water dripping, an umbrella striking a car) into the percussion of the score. It's pure genius. But it won't win Best Picture or Supporting Actress. Saoirse Ronan got the nomination for portraying Briony Tallis, age 13, but I was more impressed with Romola Garai, captivating as Briony age 18.

This was a very good movie, but a lot off it seemed familiar. Nothing specific but I feel like I've seen this film a few times before.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: B


Best Picture: Producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner were previously nominated for Elizabeth (1998). This is producer Paul Webster's first nomination.

Screenwriter Christopher Hampton took home an Oscar for adapting Dangerous Liaisons in 1998.

This is the first nomination for 14 year old Saoirse Ronan (Best Supporting Actress) and Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey.

Art Director Sarah Greenwood, Set Decorator Katie Spencer, and Costume Designer Jacqueline Durran were all previously nominated for Pride and Prejudice (2005), as was Dario Marianelli for composing the score.

RATATOUILLE

Continuing the Sneaky Cheetah's futile quest to see every Oscar nominated film!

Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, Original Screenplay, Sound, Sound Editing, and Score

Pixar has carte blanche in my mind by now. All they make are fantastic films (8 for 8 with no stinkers!) Ratatouille keeps the streak alive. But it is a little different then traditional Pixar, as it's the baby of Brad Bird, who also did the Incredibles. Pixar's other features are the spawn of John Lasseter (Toy Story 1 & 2, A Bug's Life and Cars), Pete Doctor (Monsters inc.) and Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) all of whom have been at Pixar since day one, and have worked in various ways on each other's films. Consequently, they all tend to be more kid friendly then Bird's films. Bird visits more adult themes, less of the big laugh punch lines. He really makes great movies that just happen to be animated. This films is smart and tight, never pandering down to it's presumably young audience. It's part screwball comedy, part action, part romance, but mostly a drama that just happens to star a rat. It has great pacing that develops a rich supporting cast and you won't recognize it's non french vocal cast as they effortlessly pull off various french accents. Once again the bar is raised on quality animation, most evident on the trio of rats-eye-view chase scenes. Every shot is chock full of detail, really it's visual eye candy at it's best. The film is in my top five of the year so far and deserves serious consideration in every category it's nominated in.

The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A

As writer and director, this is Brad Bird's 3rd and 4th Oscar Nomination. He won Best Animated Feature and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay in 2004 for The Incredibles.

Best Sound: This is Randy Thorn's 10th nom for Best Sound. He won in 1983 for The Right Stuff and was nominated for Return of the Jedi (1983), Never Cry Wolf (1983), Backdraft (1991), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004) and The Incredibles (2004). Michael Semanick has two Oscars for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and King Kong (2005). He was also nominated for The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002). This is Doc Kane's fourth nomination following Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Incredibles (2004).

Best Sound Editing: Randy Thorn is in on this one too, though his Sound Editing resume is not quite as impressive. He won for The Incredibles (2004) and was nominated for Forrest Gump (1994), and The Polar Express (2004). Michael Silvers shares that Oscar for The Incredibles and was also nominated for Monsters Inc. (2001), and Finding Nemo (2003).

Best Original Score: Written by Michael Giacchino, this is his first Academy Award nomination.

Race to the Oscars Preshow!

Its Oscar time, folks, and I’m going to try to repeat my Race to the Oscar blogs as I did last year. A whopping 45 different films received nominations this year, of which I’ve seen 7. Only 7 others are currently available on DVD with 7 more to be release between now and Oscar Night (Feb 24, I think) SO…I’ll knock out 21 films and try to at least see the Best Pic noms in theaters. Just goes to show you how weighted the nominations are with current films and a lot of earlier releases get screwed. I think the best film to be screwed this year was Zodiac, a film I absolutely loved but received no love from the Academy, and how can 300 not get a visual effects nomination? That’s lunacy. A writing nomination for Judd Apatow was deserved for either Knocked Up or Superbad, take your pick (THE great debate of 07: Knocked Up or Superbad?) Anyway, reviews and analysis will follow soon, all of which you may shamelessly plagiarize and use to impress your friends around the water cooler. Stay Tuned!

CLOVERFIELD

The Cheetahdude is back baby, trying to knock some dust off the ol' keyboard in time for the upcoming Race to the Oscars, Part DEAUX!

I got hooked with some passes for a sneak preview of Cloverfield last night. For almost a year I've been anticipating this film, I think it's first trailer debuted during last year's Superbowl. It's grainy home video footage of some guy's going away party in New York, and then the shit hits the fan in the biggest way. Maybe one of the greatest trailers ever. It's produced by JJ Abrams, the genius behind Lost, that fact alone got me into the theater.

First let me warn you: This is not a conventional film. It's Blair Witch on roids. It's entirely some guy's video camera found in Central Park after some event called "cloverfield." It's a gimmicky style, but the filmmakers commit to it. There's no cheating for the viewers benefit. You see nothing but what the guy holding that camera saw (his name is Hud, and after having the unwanted task of documenting the party thrust upon him, he continues documenting the frighting events that follow). There are no scientists explaining why this is happening, no generals planning a counter attack, no president solemnly saying "and may God help us all." Just video of some twenty somethings running around New York as it gets ripped to shreds by this (I'm not gonna spoil it) creature. That may turn off the average movie goer, but I think it's a great take on a story that's been told many times before. There are thrills, surprises, and some "Oh Shit!'s*" The actors are unknowns but their characters are interesting enough that you care and want them to survive.

Visually, the film is fantastic. The destruction of New York looks so real and on a few scenes I found myself actually wondering how they blended a crowd of stampeding New Yorkers with the destruction occurring around them while shooting it on a bouncy hand held digicam (and I KNOW how they do that shit!). Great work by the visual effects team and the editor.

My only knock is it perhaps borrows too much from the films that have come before (Godzilla and Aliens in particular)

If you can take the artistic direction this film uses and accept it as a "different" kind of film, then it is a must see on a big screen. If shaky camerawork makes you sick, stay away.


The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: B+



*"Oh Shit!'s" - a moment in a film so startling or frightening that it causes some mentally challenged audience member to yell out "Oh Shit!" during a movie.