On the upcoming Oscar Season 08-09

As most of the people who know me , I am an avid movie fan.I constantly keep in touch and put some effort in trying to predict the upcoming season.


These are some of the movies that I think would make a big splash and would be huge award magnets according to their structure, cast, script , framework , crew etc.In other words, these are movies that act as oscar bait.Maybe intentionally , maybe not.


Every week , until there are some serious award shows that filter out these movies, I am going to have a post about 5 movies that I think have a chance (small or huge) in creating a buzz .


1.Doubt

According to IMDB ,Doubt is a movie that is set at a Catholic school in the Bronx, it centers on a nun who grows suspicious when a priest begins taking too much interest in the life of a young black student. He denies the charges, and much of the script's. quick-fire dialogue tackles themes of religion, morality and authorityIs she being overly protective or not protective enough? And can she work within the system to discover the truth?
Will it be the ever fascinating Meryl Streep's chance to win her 15th nomination ... ?

Starring : Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymor Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis

Directed and written by John Patrick Shanley who brought this to the stage and won numerous awards including: the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, the 2004-2005 Drama Desk Award and the 2005 Tony Award.

With such an academy friendly script and cast, the award chances:
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Actress - Meryl Streep
Best Actor- Phillip Seymor Hoffman
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams

2. Australia

Baz Luhrmann brings to us another movie starring Nicole Kidman with Hugh Jackman as the male lead.The story is set in northern Australia before World War II .It is about an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch and reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand.

Baz Luhrmann's last project was 7 years ago and was by the name of Moulin Rouge .It certainly was an amazing movie , a different sort of musical of sorts, blending different songs together fitting them perfectly.It certainly earned Nicole Kidman her first nomination, the question is will it earn Jackman or Kidman any nominations this time come award season.Given the premises, if the movie is executed right, it has the potential of even being a best picture contender

Possible award Consideration:
Best Picture
Best Actress
Best Actor

3. Revolutionary Road

Sam Mendes reunites two famous lovers (Jack and Rose) 10 years later. He brings together two actors made movie stars by the mega blockbuster Titanic into another picture about a young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s . April and Frank Wheeler are a young, thriving couple living with their two children in a Connecticut suburb in the mid-1950s. Their self-assured exterior masks a creeping frustration at their inability to feel fulfilled in their relationships or careers. Frank is mired in a well-paying but boring office job and April is a housewife still mourning the demise of her hoped-for acting career. Determined to identify themselves as superior to the mediocre sprawl of suburbanites who surround them, they decide to move to France where they will be better able to develop their true artistic sensibilities, free of the consumerist demands of capitalist America. Based on a novel by Richard Yates

Sam Mendes certainly puts together a great cast including Kathy Bates(Misery, About Schmidt) and Michael Shannon(Bug, Before the Devil Knows you are Dead, World Trade Centre) in supporting roles.

Dont count ou chances of Best Picture, Best Actor,Best Actress, Best Supp.Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Brad Pit stars in this quirky drama by the talented David Fincher.The story is about aman who ages backwards with bizarre consequences.The movie is an adaptation of the 1922 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a very unique man: the title character Button, who is born as an 80-years old man and begins aging backwards.

David Fincher who brought to us great movies like SE7EN , Fight Club and Zodiac is usually a hit and miss wonder.Will this movie be his hit with the academy and hopefully not a miss.Also, will the academy recognise Brad Pitt as something more than the glamourous pretty boy and the good actor that he is .In addition to Brad Pitt, David Ficher puts together a stellar cast including the always amazing Cate Blanchett,Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Elle Fanning , Jason Flemyng and Taraji P.Henson

Award Chances include best picture, actor, actress and adapted screenplay

5. THE ARGENTINE/GUERRILLA

Acclaimed Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) creates a two part Bio Pic about legendary revolutionary leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara.The Argentine is set in 1956 when Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guerrilla is set in 1964, Argentine revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (Benicio del Toro) travels to New York City to address the United Nations.

Oscar Winner Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) stars as the "Che with a supporting cast that includes Benjamin Bratt, Oscar Nominee Catalina Sandino Morino, Julia Ormond and Franka Potente.Written and Directed by Steven Sorderbergh.

This movie has all the inputs of success with the Academy.It is a biopic.They love that.And certainly if either is nominated it doesnt hurtm because Sorderbergh is directing, although I think the first part has a better chance of being nominated.

Possible Award recognition includes Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and possible best supporting nominations

This concludes the first post of many to come about next year's season.

On Spring Of Culture

On the 1st of March , I went to the first spring of culture event, the Armenian Ballet. I went there by chance , only because we were done with an AIESEC Meeting and a friend of mine told me that I should check it out. And , I am happy I did.



You see, it is not like you wake up everyday and you get exposed to all these different cool cultures.It was the Armenian Ballet and then few days later I went to a recital by a Japanese Pianist Toshiku Usui. This guy was amazing. Wild Jujubes-SHANXI HUAJIN Dance Drama Ensemble followed on the list of my experiences in this festivity .I liked it but in my opinion , it kind off dragged in the last few scenes, and honestly , the death scene in the end was such a Romeo and Juliet rip off . Apart from that, all the Spring of Culture Live Entertainment performances were good.



That is until .... I saw Jump.



This changed the standards. Man , was this show amazing, entertaining, great, delightful , funny, ...... you name it.Jump was a non verbal performance that played in different parts of the world.It is about this crazy martial arts family ,each with his own particular pecularity .You had the hot daughter, drunken uncle, hulk-esque(I dont think that is a word) son in law , old martial-arts-master grandpa etc and their seemingly ordinary life until two burglars choose to break in.This show was 2 hours long and it didnt have a single dull moment. I would see it anyday over any movie in the theatres ; a much better experience I might say.



And finally we are awaiting to go to the famous STOMP event on the 3rd which is a musical journey with players creating melodies from basic things such as trash bins , brooms and boots, combining theatre , dance and acrobatics all together.



What I like about Spring od Culture, is that it brought all these difeerent cultures together, exposing and introducing different cultures to everybody in Bahrain.You see the intellectuals as well as the non-intellectuals. The Old and the Young. It painted a mosaic of vivid colours ,each carefully handpicked from a different culture, a different ethnicity, a different background. It certainly has been a quite enriching and interesting experience. Kudos to Shaika Mai, the EDB, Culture and National Heritage and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co for organising a festival of this stature and grandeur .

I am certainly looking forward for next years Spring of Culture .

My First Post

Ok ... to be honest, I dont even know what I am writing . Let me just introduce myself ....

This is Ali but you all know that ... already ... kinda ... Doesnt matter !

Back to the subject .Oh speaking of subjects , have 6 of them this semester .. OOPS . This means not doing a play.Oh that is one thing I am crazy about; acting, movies, plays ... you name it .Oh and I might do an english play next semester which is unusual.That would be interesting .I have a quiz to study for and proposals to get done by the weekend . Anybody cares to do some writing ??!

Oh and that, I do not write but mostly read. What is sad though, is that for an ex-avid fan of reading, I have managed to read only 4 books since last summer.A shame, I know ... but what can I do ? Blame it on something ? OFCOURSE !

Alright, I think I will have to continue next time, I have an Info session at the office to attend .Until later