Oscar Line-up

Oscar nominations have been announced this morning.
The line-up for the best film of 2005:
Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Carsh, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich

For seeing nomination for all categories, please visit the Oscar page: http://www.oscar.com/nominees/list.html

We all are looking forward to the evening of March 5th to find out who all will win in this incredibly good year for American movies. All choices would be quite tough to make and there are many more deserving ones who could not get a nomination.

Screen Actors Guild Award

Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" won lead-acting awards yesterday night from the Screen Actors Guild, while the ensemble drama "Crash" pulled off an upset win over "Brokeback Mountain" for the overall cast award. "Crash" follows the lives of a far-flung cast of characters over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles.

Rachel Weisz of the murder-thriller "The Constant Gardener" and Paul Giamatti of the boxing drama "Cinderella Man" received supporting-acting honors.

"Brokeback Mountain" has been considered the best-picture front-runner at the Oscars, whose nominations will come out Tuesday with awards to be presented on March 5. Its loss to "Crash" could prove to be a speed-bump on the film's path toward becoming the first explicitly gay-themed movie to win a best picture award at the Oscars. But 2006 was a very good year for good movies. There are a number of good contenders and we would not be surprised by any surprises in the evening of March 5th.

Sundance 2005

The Sundance film festival was founded by Robert Redford 25 years ago in Sundance, Utah. The festival presents 120 dramatic and documentary feature-length films in nine categories each year. It has introduced American audiences to such cult hits as Clerks, Smoke Signals, In the Bedroom, American Splendor and Napoleon Dynamite.

This year the top winners at the Sundance Film Festival covered familiar themes for movies here: stories of the displaced and the disconnected.

Quinceañera, written and directed by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer, was both the jury's and the audience's pick for best drama. It's about a 15-year-old Latino girl who is kicked out of her house when she discovers she is pregnant.

God Grew Tired of Us, about Sudanese refugees' lives in the USA, won the grand jury documentary prize and the audience award. It's a first film by New York-based director Christopher Quinn.

Directors Guild Award

As a follow-up of Golden Globe and PGA, Ang Lee, the director of "Brokeback Mountain" won the prestigious Directors Guild of America prize Saturday night, making him the clear favorite for the Academy Award as best director. "I think we're all winners. We're blessed that we're filmmakers. What a life," said Lee, who received his award from two-time DGA winner Ron Howard. It was the second Directors' Guild award for Lee, who also won the award five years ago for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Clint Eastwood received the DGA`s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Accepting the award, Eastwood said: "Maybe we can call this a mid-Lifetime Achievement Award - I have no immediate plans to hang things up. It's a very humbling experience to be on that list. It's so awesome for me to look back on those fellows who inspired me."

Ang Lee Arrives

Ang Lee is always known for his eclectic filmography with as many as ten films bearing his unique signature. These include the visually eclectic 'Wo hu cang long' aka 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000) as well as a quintessentially bitter American family saga 'The Ice Storm' (1997).

Two years ago, Ang Lee directed 'The Hulk', which made money and grossed over $250 million across the world. The comic book adaptation, however, got disastrous reviews and was savaged by fans. Many had virtually written off the director of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' . In 2005 Ang Lee returned again and made a very small film and, as we are aware, this has already swept the Golden Globes and PGA and is all set to dominate the forthcoming Oscar night.

'Le secret de Brokeback Mountain', based on an acclaimed novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Annie Proulx about two star-crossed gay ranch hands and set more than 40 years ago, is not Lee's first film that is based on a theme of homosexuality. His 1993 debut 'The Wedding Banquet' was based on the story of a gay Chinese man in New York who runs into complications when his parents arrive from Taiwan for his 'wedding'. But 'Brokeback Mountain', with four Golden Globe wins, including Best Drama and Best Director, and the PGA award for best film, is emerging as his most acclaimed film, getting him even more kudos than his British film, 'Sense And Sensibility', did a decade ago. The new film has reconfirmed Lee's reputation as a sensitive filmmaker who can tell a love story in his own great and passionate style.

PGA for 'Brokeback'

Last night the Producers Guild of America (PGA) handed out their annual awards, and Ang Lee’s ‘Brokeback’ came away as best film, beating out challengers like ‘Crash’, ‘Capote’, ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’, and ‘Walk the Line’.

The PGA’s are usually considered a strong Oscar indicator. But last year they chose ‘The Aviator’ as best film, while the Academy went on to choose ‘Million Dollar Baby’. Other PGA winners included ‘Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbitt’, beating out computer animated movies like ‘Madagascar’ and Disney’s first CGI movie ‘Chicken Little’ for the Guild’s Animated Motion Picture prize.

Photo: Heath Ledger (left) and Jake Gyllenhaal (right) in 'Brokeback Mountain'

The New World

"…in the beginning all the World was America, and more so than it is now.”
- John Locke, Second Treatise on government (1690)

If you want to get lost in America as it was at the beginning of the 17th century, it's time to rush to the movie theater and to get lost amid this visually superb presentation of an epic adventure set amid the encounter of European and Native American cultures during the founding of the Jamestown Settlement in 1607.

The story is inspired by the legend of John Smith (Farrell) and Pocahontas. The acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick (Director of The Thin Red Line-1998, Days of Heaven-1973) has proved his mantle again by transforming this classic story into a sweeping exploration of love, loss and discovery. The film is set against a historically accurate Virginia backdrop and it tells a dramatized tale of two strong-willed characters-a passionate and noble young native woman and an ambitious soldier of fortune-torn between the undeniable requirements of their civic duty and the inescapable demands of the human heart. The leading casts include Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, August Schellenberg.

We feel one must experience this film in theater and not in home by clicking the remote control, even if you have the best home theater set of the newest world. The film is rated PG-13 for some intense battle sequences. Here is the official site of the film: thenewworldmovie.com

Golden Globe for "Brokeback Mountain"

"Brokeback Mountain" that released on December 9th won best dramatic film, best director for Ang Lee, best song and best screenplay for Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (adapted from a short story "The Shipping News" by Annie Proulx) at the 63rd Golden Globe Ceremony last night.

"Brokeback Mountain" is a poetic film spanning a 20-year romance between two cowboys. It is a low-budget, art house film that has not yet broken through to blockbuster-size audiences. The film, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as the lovers, has raised the issue of the acceptance of gay relationships on screen and in wider society. Accepting his award, Lee saluted "the power of movies to change the way we're thinking." [The film is rated R for sexuality, nudity, language and some violence. Here is the film's Official website brokebackmountain.com]

In another role that dealt with gender politics, Felicity Huffman won best actress for her portrayal of a transgendered man in "Transamerica." And Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor in a dramatic role as Truman Capote, the flamboyantly gay and brazenly ambitious writer, in "Capote." "Walk the Line," about the love affair between the country singers Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, won best movie in the musical or comedy category, though the film is neither. Over and above that, Joaquin Phoenix won best actor and Reese Witherspoon won best actress awards. Phoenix quipped as he accepted the award,"Whoever thought I'd win in the comedy or musical category? It's unexpected."

A pair of political thrillers picked up awards, as George Clooney was named best supporting actor for playing a renegade CIA agent in "Syriana" and Rachel Weisz won best supporting actress for her role as an activist rooting out pharmaceutical industry corruption in "The Constant Gardener."

The Foreign Press Association comprises mainly freelance writers for foreign publications and is far smaller than the 6,000-member Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Academy Awards.

Glory Road

“It’s not about talent, it’s about heart. It’s about who can go out there and play the hardest. They’re not going to give us anything, so you’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to take it.”
-- Coach Don Haskins

"Glory Road" is based on the inspiring true story of the underdog Texas Western basketball team whose drive to win went past some of the most bruising and difficult challenges during a point in U.S. history of massive cultural and philosophical turmoil. It was a time when, against all odds, the first all African American starting lineup of players took the country by storm and, in a surprise turn of events, won the 1966 NCAA tournament title. Josh Lucas stars as Hall of Famer Don Haskins, the passionately dedicated college basketball coach that changed the history of basketball and, in turn, helped change the course of history. The film is directed by James Gartner, written by Christopher Cleveland & Bettina Gilois.

The asset of the film is very strong acting. The games have been successfully devised to be exciting, and despite the serious message about racial equality, it could create some funny moments. The script is loose at certain points of time but overall it's an absorbing film. Sometimes it takes a sports movie like this to remind us how far we've come together as a country, despite our differences in race, culture and backgrounds.

The film is rated PG for racial issues including violence and epithets, and momentary language. And here is its Official website: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/gloryroad/