Movie Reviews atbp: October 2007

Friday, October 12, 2007

Mein Herz Brennt (My Heart Burns) by Rammstein

English Lyrics Translated from German

Mein Herz Brennt

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
I ripped it from my chest

With this heart I have the power
to blackmail the eyelids
I sing until the day awakes
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

They come to you in the night
demons, ghosts, black fairies
they creep out of the cellar shaft
and will look under your bedding

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

They come to you in the night
and steal your small hot tears
they wait until the moon awakes
and put them in my cold veins

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I sing until the day awakes
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

My heart burns

Sunday, October 07, 2007

2007 Shortlist so far: Major Categories

Two months to go, before I wrap up the year's best of the best, here is my own shortlist of the possible 2007 contenders this year for the main categories (8 per each in random order):

This list does not include eligible films that I will be seeing in October and November which are the last film entries of 2007... Possible upsets can still happen anyway...

BEST PICTURE

Joint Security Area (Korea)
Children of Men (UK)
The Letters from Iwo Jima (USA)
I'm a Cyborg But It's OK (Korea)
Salvador Puig Antich (Spain)
Volver (Spain)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Lilja 4-Ever (Sweden)

Last Year's Choice: Pan's Labyrinth
My Personal Choice as of Today: It is actually between the futuristic drama "Children of Men", the flawless spy drama "The Lives of Others" and the very depressing tale of human trafficking "Lilja 4-Ever"... But I have to say LILJA 4-EVER is way ahead...

BEST DIRECTOR

Jean-Pierre Dardenne (The Child)
Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men)
Clint Eastwood (Letters from Iwo Jima)
Park Chan-Wook (I'm a Cyborg But It's OK and JSA)
Pedro Almodovar (Volver)
Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others)
Sarah Polley (Away from Her)
Lukas Moodysson (Lilja 4-Ever)

Last Year's Choice: Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Two names, Park Chan-Wook and Lukas Moodysson... Chan-Wook of JSA is a personal favorite and Moodysson has just made a shocking masterpiece with Lilja 4-Ever...

BEST ACTOR

Jo In Sung (A Dirty Carnival)
Jeremie Renier (The Child)
Cho Seung Woo (Marathon)
Ken Watanabe (The Letters from Iwo Jima)
Daniel Bruhl (Salvador Puig Antich)
Ulrich Muhe (The Lives of Others)
Gordon Pinsent (Away from Her)
Romain Duris (The Beat that my Heart Skipped)

Last Year's Choice: Daniel Bruhl (The Edukators)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Daniel Bruhl, the basis is more subjective I guess... Ulrich Muhe has to be more objective... Cho Seung Woo is a very safe and sure choice on the other hand...

BEST ACTRESS

Gwyneth Paltrow (Proof)
Deborah Francois (The Child)
Kim Mi-suk (Marathon)
Im Soo Jung (I'm a Cyborg But It's OK)
Penalope Cruz (Volver)
Martina Gedeck (The Lives of Others)
Julie Christie (Away from Her)
Oksana Akinshina (Lilja 4-Ever)

Last Year's Choice: Lee Young Ae (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Penalope Cruz and Julie Christie are both very excellent... But there is Oksana Akinshina as the 16 year old Lilja who just blew me away...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Jake Gyllenhaal (Proof)
Anthony Hopkins (Proof)
Song Kang Ho (JSA)
Brad Pitt (Babel)
Leonardo Sbaliglia (Salvador Puig Antich)
Ulrich Tukur (The Lives of Others)
Djimon Honsou (Blood Diamond)
Artyom Bogucharsky (Lilja 4-Ever)

Last Year's Choice: Freddy Highmore (Finding Neverland)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Artyom Bogucharsky from his very moving role in Lilja 4-Ever

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Lisa Ray (Water)
Cate Blanchett (Babel)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
Carmen Maura (Volver)
Lola Duenas (Volver)
Blanca Portillo (Volver)
Jennifer Conelly (Blood Diamond)
Olympia Dukakis (Away from Her)

Last Year's Choice: Kate Winslet (Finding Neverland)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Too many acting heavyweights, from Lisa Ray to Blanchett to Maura and Portillo... All of them has almost the same magnitudes but Blanca Portillo as a cancer patient in Volver stays longer and more vivid in my mind...

BEST SCREENPLAY

Marathon
Letters from Iwo Jima
An Inconvenient Truth
Salvador Puig Antich
Volver
The Lives of Others
Away from Her
Lilja 4-Ever

Last Year's Choice: The Edukators by Katharina Geld and Hans Weingarner
My Personal Choice as of Today: Lilja 4-Ever by Lukas Moodysson... which could end up in a possible clean sweep by the Swedish film...

BEST ENSEMBLE

Proof
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
Volver
The Lives of Others
Blood Diamond
Away from Her
Lilja 4-Ever

Last Year's Choice: The Edukators (Daniel Bruhl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaussner)
My Personal Choice as of Today: The women of Volver (Penalope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas and Blanca Portillo)