Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Gurus


Yes, I realize it's still early, but when did that ever stop me? The Gurus O' Gold have posted their own predictions (subject to change), and I'm loving it! Here's their breakdown for the Best Actress category:

01. MARION COTILLARD - La Vie En Rose (111 points)
02. JULIE CHRISTIE - Away from Her (95 points)
03. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY - Atonement (79 points)
04. ELLEN PAGE - Juno (69 points)
05. CATE BLANCHETT - The Golden Age (53 points)
05. ANGELINA JOLIE - A Mighty Heart (53 points)

Sweet. For more on their methodology, click
here
. Thanks to Awards Daily for the heads up.

9 comments:

k said...

really, i don't think jolie stands a chance. my predictions have been cotillard, christie, knightley, page, and blanchett (with cotillard FTW) for a while now.

PS
i love your blog!

Dorothy Porker said...

Amen! I've been ambivalent from the beginning about Jolie's chances...the film was not that well-received and reaction to her performance was mixed (at best). That being said, the Hollywood glamour factor may play a bigger role than we think...Still, I'm with you, I think her chances are quite slim and dwindling by the day.

Thanks for the props (and the post)! :-)

k said...

the majority of the reviews i read said that a mighty heard came off as being nothing more than a vanity project for jolie. also about 30-35 critics said that they couldn't get over the fact that it was jolie as pearl. overexposure is going to kill her come awards season.

Dorothy Porker said...

I think that's exactly what sets Marion apart from Angelina. A Mighty Heart has a negligibly higher rating on RT (76% to La Vie En Rose's 75%), but there was not a groundswell about Jolie's performance like there has been for Cotillard's. I've read two, maybe three reviews that were lukewarm towards Marion--that's out of dozens and dozens of reviews. With Jolie, putting aside the casting controversy, reaction has been all over the place. And those who praise her seem to single out her breakdown scene as proof of their amazement as opposed to the entire performance. In the early stages you needthe critics, and I doubt very much that she'll get any love from them. A Golden Globe nod? Definitely. Other than that...nil, methinks.

k said...

oh yeah, she'll get a best actress - drama nod from the globes (she'll lose to christie), but an oscar? absolutely not.

the big scene that everyone points out, as you said, was her breakdown scene. but there were still a lot of complaints, even from the people who praised her, because you couldn't see her face. you take her breakdown scene shot from the back and put it up against cotillard's once she's found out marcel's been killed? it doesn't even compare.

ALSO, cotillard doesn't ever hit a false note. just overall one of the best performances in years.

Dorothy Porker said...

That is so true, K. I haven't seen "A Mighty Heart" yet, but I will definitely give it a chance once it comes out on video. I doubt that I'll be as moved as I was by Cotillard (to the extent of starting this crazy blog!). That Marcel sequence is just...man, I can't say enough about it. Everything came together perfectly, the directing, writing, cinematography, music, and most of all the acting. What an accomplishment. The funny thing is, I was under a spell throughout the whole performance--from beginning to end. As you say, there isn't one false note. It's my favorite performance in a long time and I hope the powers that be don't lose sight of what a watershed moment this performance represents.

I'll start getting scared if the critics don't respond as powerfully--I expect New York and the National Board of Review to step in and do the right thing. Not sure about LA--they tend to come out of left field sometimes. She has the Broadcast Film Critics in the bag and I'd love to see Roger Ebert campaigning for her in Chicago. Exciting season!

k said...

the only thing keeping cotillard from a nomination/win @ the oscars is the language barrier, but the performance is amazing no matter WHAT language you speak. also, she has the benefit of appearing in a biopic; actors in biopics are almost ALWAYS awarded a nomination.

i really think this is her year. every critic around seems to be pulling for her.

Dorothy Porker said...

The whole language thing infuriates me. So many excellent performances are overlooked because they're not in English. The fact that Sophia Loren won the Best Actress Oscar for a foreign language film in 1960 (!) and no other actress has won in that category since emphasizes how ridiculous this approach is. I like the biopic theory--so many actors see their portrayals of music/film/history icons translate into Oscar gold (or at least an assured nomination).

But I agree, this is her year. I'll keep thinking positively :-)

k said...

i agree!