Critical Mass Film House

It was a dark and stormy night...well, not so likely in Palm Springs, but the atmosphere will be moody and femme fatales will be itchin' to take out the men who done 'em wrong. Check out fabulously dark films seen on the big screen via rare prints at Arthur Lyons' Film Noir Festival 2010.

Read all about it.

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Oh yes, Oscars -- The Hurt Locker, Sandra Bullock, Avatar, yadda yadda.

But what about great indigenous film? Where to go for that, you ask? Why, the Festival of Native Film and Culture 2010 in Palm Springs.

Check out what the best in native filmmaking have to say about this year's festival.

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BEST PICTURE
Avatar • The Blind Side • District 9 • An Education • The Hurt Locker • Inglourious Basterds • Precious • A Serious Man • Up • Up in the Air

Ten slots. Five more than usual, five more chances to acknowledge wonderful films which deserve recognition, like...Blind Side? District 9? AVATAR?? Save the blockbusters and movies of the week for the MTV Awards. What happened to the clout that goes along with an Oscar nomination? This should be the chance to acknowledge smaller films, artier films -- dare I say, good films! Out of the 274 films eligible, these are the very best?

Missed options: Antichrist, Bronson, Cold Souls, Crazy Heart, The Damned United, In the Loop, Julia, The Limits of Control, The Messenger, A Single Man, State of Play, The Stoning of Soraya M., Tetro, Young Victoria
Readily admitting I have not seen most of these, I still have to believe they are more deserving than anything Sandra Bullock breathes on.

From the films nominated, A Serious Man is excellent, but may be too layered to be broadly appreciated. The Hurt Locker presents an engaging story of war told through the experiences and behaviors of three very different soldiers, and though it is more easily digestible to the general public, it is still thoughtfully done while being neither preachy nor vague.

DIRECTING
Avatar, James Cameron • The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow • Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino • Precious, Lee Daniels • Up in the Air, Jason Reitman

What, exactly, is Mr. Cameron directing? Good acting should reflect good direction, and Avatar does not lend itself to that scenario. The other directors have diverse casts to control and meaty performances to help sculpt, but Cameron merely pushes his group through plodding dialogue until the special effects kick in. Up in the Air is a fine film, but how did it become the awards show starlet? It is almost disappointing that Reitman's most straightforward film is his most lauded, as with Tarantino and his very linear, albeit still Tarantino-gruesome, endeavor. Daniels guides a gritty drama that avoids being treacly, but Bigelow delivers subtle performances without showing her political hand. Either would make nice historical stepping stones, as the first black or female Oscar-winning director, respectively, but will have earned the spots in their own right.

LEAD ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart • George Clooney, Up in the Air • Colin Firth, A Single Man • Morgan Freeman, Invictus • Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Freeman is undeniable as an acting legend, but alas, phones in this meant-for-awards performance, and his accent slip is showing. Firth's performance is subtle, sincere and beautifully reflective of a life suddenly appreciated. How sad that this film did not receive more accolades.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon, Invictus • Woody Harrelson, The Messenger • Christopher Plummer, The Last Station • Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones • Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

There is a fine line between milking a comically evil character and delivering a delicious role, and Waltz deserves the broken shelves he must have from all of the awards he has received this year.

LEAD ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side • Helen Mirren, The Last Station • Carey Mulligan, An Education • Gabourey Sidibe, Precious • Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

As if Avatar was not already dumbing down the Academy Awards cachet, along comes pouty comic Bullock. And then there's Streep, a standby so often in the wings that even good performances come into question. The Oscar should go to a fresh face, uncontaminated by stale recognition. Sidibe delivers rough naïveté without hesitation, but Mulligan's performance is polished and knowing and she deserves to cap off a good year with this award.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz, Nine • Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air • Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart • Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air • Mo'Nique, Precious

A mixed category full of perfectly fine performances, though the only one displaying range is Mo'Nique. The range may be extreme, from dark abuser to suddenly repentant mother, but the efforts should be acknowledged. Besides, the award has already been engraved.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Hurt Locker, Mark Boal • Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino • The Messenger, Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman • A Serious Man, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen • Up, Bob Peterson & Pete Docter

A good group, though the inclusion of Up is questionable. Are they trying to prove they value animated films? When in doubt, the Coens Bros. always warrant recognition for their brilliant wordplay and clever plots. A Serious Man was seriously swept under the rug, despite deserving far more attention. Many were scared off by the Jewish theme, even though that was merely another layer to a wonderfully darkly comic film.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
District 9, Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell • An Education, Nick Hornby • In the Loop, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche • Precious, Geoffrey Fletcher • Up in the Air, Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

What? Films are not always from original sources? Ah, give it to An Education, then.

FILM EDITING
Avatar, Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua & James Cameron • District 9, Julian Clarke • The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski & Chris Innis • Inglourious Basterds, Sally Menke • Precious, Joe Klotz

Usually Menke makes creative cuts (granted, Tarantino's film often have the same circular structure), but here she goes straight. Precious is cut for a distracted audience, but The Hurt Locker cuts right to the chase. Hand it to Bob & Chris.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar, Mauro Fiore • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bruno Delbonnel • The Hurt Locker, Barry Ackroyd • Inglourious Basterds, Robert Richardson • The White Ribbon, Christian Berger

Avatar? AVATAR?? Again, give it to a solid film, The Hurt Locker.

ART DIRECTION
Avatar • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus • Nine • Sherlock Holmes • The Young Victoria

OK, I think there seems to be some confusion in what Avatar should be nominated for. Putting that aside, the trippy Imaginarium should get some props.

COSTUME DESIGN
Bright Star • Coco before Chanel • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus • Nine • The Young Victoria

I think Coco has an unfair advantage here. My first instinct is to avoid the period films, though they undoubtedly must sew the most tiny buttons. Eenie, meanie, minie Bright Star.

MAKEUP
Il Divo • Star Trek • The Young Victoria

Hello, Italian political film. Where did you come from? Hmm, aging political figures versus space aliens. Aliens, it is.

VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar • District 9 • Star Trek

Avatar, this is where you belong!! Have at it!

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Avatar, James Horner • Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat • The Hurt Locker, Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders • Sherlock Holmes, Hans Zimmer • Up, Michael Giacchino

Horner, Zimmer -- there is little original left in your music. You've had your day; let Desplat catch up.

ORIGINAL SONG
"Almost There" & "Down in New Orleans", The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname", Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas
"Take It All", Nine, Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind", Crazy Heart, Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett

For the love of God, no more Newman. Go for it, T Bone.

SOUND EDITING
Avatar • The Hurt Locker • Inglourious Basterds • Star Trek • Up
SOUND MIXING
Avatar • The Hurt Locker • Inglourious Basterds • Star Trek • Transformers 2

The Hurt Locker.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ajami (Israel) • El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina) • The Milk of Sorrow (Peru) • Un Prophète (France) • The White Ribbon (Germany)

Picking a name from the popularity hat, A Prophet.

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Coraline • Fantastic Mr. Fox • The Princess and the Frog • The Secret of Kells • Up

Something so creatively wonderful about stop-motion animation, and between two great films, Coraline does dark well.

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Burma VJ • The Cove • Food, Inc • The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers • Which Way Home

What, no Anvil? And did Michael Moore insist on the broad category again, or is the academy tired of Mr. Bring Down? Most Dangerous Man is excellent, but people can't stop talking about Food, Inc.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT [Watch them here!]
*French Roast, Fabrice O. Joubert • *Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, Nicky Phelan & Darragh O'Connell • The Lady and the Reaper, Javier Recio Gracia • Logorama, Nicolas Schmerkin • A Matter of Loaf and Death, Nick Park

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
The Door, Juanita Wilson & James Flynn • Instead of Abracadabra, Patrik Eklund & Mathias Fjellström • *Kavi - Gregg Helvey • *Miracle Fish, Luke Doolan & Drew Bailey • The New Tenants, Joachim Back & Tivi Magnusson

Support your short-film filmmakers!
1. Attend the Palm Springs International ShortFest (*selections)
2. Seek out these films and demand them from your theatres!

So there you are, the final word on the Oscars for the films of 2009. Here's hoping the Academy gets their act together before they cast their votes!
[Oscars live on ABC on March 7, 2010]

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Through the eyes of Sight & Sound, the film world makes sense. The British film mag put together a great list of hits from the past decade, bypassing bigger blockbusters that American mags tend to highlight.

*Adaptation, Battle in Heaven, The Beat that My Heart Skipped, The Bourne Ultimatum, Colossal Youth, The Death of Mr Lazarescu, In Praise of Love, The Five Obstructions, The Gleaners and I, Hidden, Inland Empire, In the Mood for Love, Memories of Murder, The Holy Girl, A One and a Two…, Platform, Russian Ark, The Son, Spirited Away, Talk to Her, 10, There Will Be Blood, 35 Shots of Rum, Touching the Void, Tropical Malady, United Red Army, Uzak, Waiting for Happiness, Werckmeister Harmonies, Workingman’s Death.*

Compare to Paste's Top 50 (listed below, 1-50):

*City of God, Amélie, Almost Famous, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Beau Travail, Lost in Translation, The Son, No Country for Old Men, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Dark Knight, There Will Be Blood, Mulholland Drive, Up, Juno, Half Nelson, Memento, Syndromes and a Century, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Elephant, In the Loop, Dogville, Traffic, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Pan's Labyrinth, Ghost Dog, Hidden, A History of Violence, Man on Wire, Once, Gosford Park, Ratatouille, Kill Bill, Little Miss Sunshine, Junebug, Millions, Billy Elliot, Donnie Darko, Spirited Away, The Departed, L'Enfant, The Last King of Scotland, In America , Hotel Rwanda, Whale Rider, Iraq in Fragments, Grizzly Man, Flight of the Red Balloon, High Fidelity, The Squid and the Whale.*

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