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Counting Crows - Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings

The latest Counting Crows album suffers from Goldilocks Syndrome — parts of it are too hard, parts are too soft and the rest is just about right. The concept here was that the record's first half represents the "Saturday nights," with hard-rocking and much mayhem, while the rest calls to mind "Sunday mornings," and the gentler comedowns they provide. The idea would have worked better over two discs, but presented as one album of fourteen songs it seems less like a high concept than a purposeless and jarring shift in tone.

That said, there is a lot to like here. Once I got past the uncharacteristic noisiness of the early tracks, I was able to appreciate the songcraft. In fact, I favor the album's first a half a bit more than the sleepier second half, where the melodies are a bit harder to pick out. Measured against the Crows' four other albums, I see this one toward the bottom, battling it out with Recovering the Satellites for last place. But that's more a testament to how exceptional I find the other three. This is a keeper, just not up to the standards of their best work.

Into the Wild

Date: March 28
Location: Clifton Living Room

There is so much working for this movie, and one big thing working against it. First the positives. The acting is uniformly excellent, with Emile Hirsch delivering a haunting performance that should have been recognized by the Academy — he is alternately charming, obnoxious and desperate, and pulls off one of those DeNiro-esque body transformations that makes the film's last scenes particularly distubing. Hal Holbrook, Vince Vaughn and Catherine Keener (among others) flesh out their supporting roles superbly, painting a portrait of American life outside the spotlight and making McCandless' fate even more poignant. The photography is lovely, especially in long shots of the Alaskan wilderness that drive home just how far this young man went to escape civilization. Eddie Vedder's original songs are lovely, and were wrongly overlooked by the Academy.

So what's the negative? Sean Penn, simultaneously the film's biggest asset and it's fatal flaw. Penn does a wonderful job shaping the story, putting us in McCandless' shoes (or bare feet), telling a sad story without losing sight of the spirit behind the young man's journey. But he wields his camera like a blunt object. I really appreciate cinematic masterminds like Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen Brothers when I see a showy director fall flat. Penn throws in every trick in the book — freeze frames, slow- and fast-motion, jump cuts, you name it. But why? The story is most effective when he just settles in and shows us two people talking, or delivers a breathtaking overhead shot of a small bus lost in a sea of mountains. The show-offy stuff distracts and detracts from an otherwise special movie.

Shelby Lynne - Just a Little Lovin'

I forgot to include this CD in my recap of 2008 so far. That's appropriate because it's mostly forgettable. Shelby Lynne, who has put out three exceptional albums of original material in the past 5-6 years, chooses to pay tribute to Dusty Springfield on her latest record and she turns in some lovely, sleepy renditions of Springfield classics such as the title song, I Don't Want to Hear it Anymore, I Only Want to Be With You, Breakfast in Bed and more. Lynne has a great voice, to be sure, but she's simply no match for Dusty Springfield. I discovered Springfield a year or so ago (it was Tift Merritt comparisons, in fact, that led me to her) and she simply blew me away. Her music makes me wish I was a teenager in the 60s, discovering it for the first time. Soulful, sexy, rich and resonant... it's the sort of thing you listen to and think 'why does anyone else even bother?'

Anyway, back to Shelby Lynne. She just chose a far too tough act to follow. I admire the attempt, and the album is a very easy listen, but I look forward to her returning to the original country soul material she does so well.

The music of 2008

With a couple high-profile releases (Counting Crows and R.E.M.) on the way over the next two weeks, I thought this would be a good time to catch up with the CDs I've purchased so far in 2008. I plan to review all of my music purchases this year.

I don't feel as qualified to "review" albums as I do films, due to my lack of musical ability, I suppose, and the fact that I've never studied it in any formal way. However, it's a safe bet that I've spent more hours of my life listening to music than watching movies, and I definitely know what I like.

Here, then, are my first reviews of 2008. I'll compile them in one post because this is a catch-up effort. From now on I'll blog one at a time as I do the movies.

Of the four CDs I've purchased so far this year, two are duds and two are excellent. First, the duds.

Kate Nash - Made of Bricks

There was a lot of buzz surrounding this album early in the year, very similar to the praise heaped on Lily Allen in early 2007. The comparison is a valid one, to a point. Nash is brash and British, like Allen, but this album is nowhere near as fun or interesting as Allright, Still. I was ready to turn it off before it was over. I always give an album a few listens before really deciding how I feel about it, but I literally couldn't get through this thing twice. It's not offensive in any way — quite the opposite, it's just boring.

Sheryl Crow - Detours

I have a love-hate relationship with Sheryl Crow. The Globe Sessions is a teriffic album... I love everything on it. And I'm discovering I hate pretty much everything else she's done. The strong reviews for this album (and the fact that it is her first work since being dumped by Lance Armstrong, usually a good sign) had me optimistic. But it's a mish-mash of hippie protest songs, jilted lover anthems and unconvincing rockers. Once you have a certain number of CDs (I'm up to 400 or so) you ask yourself "Is there any reason I would ever play this instead of one of the other 399?" and in this case, the answer is no.

So, those are the duds. I'll make back some of my money selling them on Amazon. Now, on to the winners...

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Now we're talking! Another much-hyped act, but one that lives up to its billing. This delightful album is a cross between Graceland-era Paul Simon and modern punk. African rhythms supplement guitar-bass-drums power pop in a decidedly low-key, minimalist package. Few of the songs cross the 3-minute barrier and they're all catchy as hell... this album is a reminder that one of the best things music can be is fun.

Tift Merritt - Another Country

Every once in awhile I stumble upon an artist who joins the pantheon — the list of artists I treasure above all others. A list that includes Elvis Costello, Ben Folds, Lucinda Williams, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett, R.E.M., Rufus Wainwright... and more, but not many more. In recent years, Josh Rouse and Stew have found their way on to that list. And with this release, Tift Merritt officially joins them.

I adore her first two albums (one of which she signed for me after playing as Costello's opening act in Miami) but this release cements her status as one of the finest singer-songwriters working today. Her second album, Tambourine, was a genre-hopping shot of whiskey, full of Memphis horns and big vocals. It's bold, brilliant and one of the best things in my collection. Another Country is something altogether different — written and recorded after a year of soul-searching in Paris, it's a much quieter and deeper record. Merritt's voice is exquisite, somehow combining the gorgeous purity of Alison Krauss with the passionate grit of Lucinda Williams. And her songs are universally wonderful, from the simple country classic-to-be 'Hopes Too High' to the slow ache of 'Keep You Happy,' there isn't a weak track here. This is an early favorite for best album of the year.

Sometimes an artist just hits you right where you live. It's fascinating how different music does that for different people. Somebody out there is blown away by the Kate Nash album I couldn't get through twice, and no doubt somebody out there is selling Tift Merritt's Another Country to a used CD shop for $5 as I type this. But as I said at the start, I know what I like. And this I like.

My Kid Could Paint That

Date: March 14, 2008
Location: Clifton Living Room

As if we needed more proof that the Oscar documentary selection committee has its collective head up it ass! This extraordinary film is not just the best documentary released last year, it's easily one of the best films overall. It starts out as a puff piece on a 4-year-old girl who paints abstract works that sell to serious collectors for tens of thousands of dollars. It ends up as a powerful, sad and provocative exploration of art, the media and parenting.

Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev walks the finest line imagineable, inserting himself into his film at a key turning point without losing focus on the true subjects. He manages to make a statement about the creative roles not just of the little girl and her parents, but of a documentary filmmaker, a print journalist, a TV journalist, and the masses who are so quick to both celebrate and tear down those who fascinate us. I watched this on DVD this morning but didn't put it back in the mail to NetFlix because I already want to watch it again.

2 Days in Paris

Date: March 11
Location: Clifton Living Room

It's impossible to watch this film and not compare it to Before Sunset. As in Sunset, Julie Delpy (who wrote, directed, edited and even scored this film) plays a romantically-confused French woman wandering through Paris conversing with her snarky American boyfriend. Her parents even return, playing her parents, just as they did in Sunset.

The problem is, just about any film suffers in comparison to Richard Linklater's classic, so a film that so brazenly mimics it really doesn't stand a chance. Delpy and Adam Goldberg do their best with the often-clever script, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was with the wrong guy. I had no investment in the romance, and the neuroses grew old rather quickly. The plot was also contrived — Delpy's character keeps running into old boyfriends — in a way the Linklater film (and its "prequel" Before Sunrise) never did.

I like both of these actors quite a bit and would love to see them (together or separately) in a film that isn't a blatant copy of one of my all-time favorites.

Best Albums of 2007

10. Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - It's Not Big It's Large

This album was a return to form of sorts for Lovett, after a long dry spell following The Road to Ensanada. It hasn't held up as well as I thought it might, but it's still a great listen with a couple of songs that rank among his finest.

9. M.I.A. - Kala

The definition of a "grower" — I liken this album to a sore tooth that you can't keep from probing with your tongue. It's loud, repetitive, assaulting... and I couldn't help but listen to it over and over again. I've never been into world music or electronica, and this album is a fusion of both, but I find something irresistable in M.I.A.'s electric delivery and her addictive beats. It's a great "dance" album but at the same time feels like a powerful ground-up political anthem.

8. Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather

Another collection of simple gems by the best songwriting team since Lennon and McCartney (or at least John and Taupin). They have a gift for turning the banality of daily life (waiting in line at the DMV, driving down I-95 to meet your girlfriend, searching for luggage at the baggage claim) into pop poetry. This album doesn't reach the heights of Welcome Interstate Managers, but it's a worthy addition to their teriffic catalog.

7. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

It's a shame Winehouse is such a mess, but I suppose she fits into a long line of fine artists whose personal lives were drug-addled disasters. Here's hoping she cleans herself up and continues to put out music as wonderful as this bluesy, soulful throwback. Its Motown-via-21st century English party girl vibe is beyond cool, and the songwriting is truly exceptional. So, too, are her vocals — who would guess a woman whose hair weighs more than the rest of her body could have pipes like this?

6. Josh Rouse - Country Mouse City House

I'm convinced that Josh Rouse is incapable of making bad music. Through seven full-length albums I've yet to come across a song I'd even consider skipping. This latest effort is a low-key affair, recorded over a few days in Spain, featuring nine laid-back ditties, two or three of which count among his best work. He's one of those songwriters who comes up with such perfect melodies that you can't help but wonder how nobody could have stumbled upon them before. In a fair world, he'd be winning Grammys and selling out arenas. But I'm happy to have him (along with Ben Folds and a few others) in that 'secret treasure' category.

5. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

The Shins are the sort of other-worldly band that seems to play by their own rules and put out a kind of music that nobody really ever came up with before (I'd put them in a category with Belle & Sebastian and The Smiths in that regard). Several years ago, Zach Braff doomed them by having Natalie Portman, in Garden State, declare that their music would change your life. No it won't. But I can see why a kid in the throes of teeange existentialism would think so. This album is their best yet and it offers new delights with every listen.

4. Lily Allen - Alright, Still

Absolutely the most fun I've had listening to an album in years. The alchemy of Allen's Cockney-accented vocals blended with her sunshine melodies and ska beats makes for the musical equivalent of a banana split. It's such a delightful evocation of a particular time and place in a brash young woman's life — every time I listen to this CD I find myself longing to go to London and pub crawl with the cast of a Nick Hornby novel.

3. Lucinda Williams - West

Williams is in the unenviable position of having to compete with her own peerless catalog with each new release. West doesn't stack up to Car Wheels on a Gravel Road or her self-titled classic, but neither does anything else on this list. What it does have are six or seven of the best songs I heard this year, performed and produced to perfection. It has one misstep (a 7-minute blues stomp that loses my interest at the halfway point) that drops it to #3, but Williams long ago cemented her status as one of the finest ever songwriters, and this album is further confirmation.

2. Bruce Springsteen - Magic

You have to hand it to Bruce — 58 years old and putting out his third teriffic album in a row. This is a streak to rival Bob Dylan's current run, which is high praise indeed. Magic is the best of the bunch — a perfect blend of his anthemic Born to Run style with the introspective power of Devils & Dust. He has a few songs here that are directly or indirectly about the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, and he manages to make them powerful, poignant and also damn catchy. Perhaps the most impressive is 'Long Walk Home,' in which Springsteen bemoans how far off track Bush has taken this country. The final verse is particularly gripping:

My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town,
It's a beautiful place to be born.
It just wraps its arms around you,
Nobody crowds you and nobody goes it alone"

"Your flag flyin' over the courthouse
Means certain things are set in stone.
Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't"

It's gonna be a long walk home

Yes it is. But meaningful albums like this one will make it an easier journey.

1. Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars

This is getting a little boring. Rufus Wainwright puts out an album and it hits #1 on my year-end album list. This year I struggled a bit and thought about going with Bruce or Lucinda, even Lily Allen or The Shins. But I kept coming back to Wainwright's latest opus. Following his epic two-part Want albums, Release the Stars is a relatively modest affair. As modest as any collection of pop operettas (poperettas?) lavishly adorned with strings, horns and choirs can be, anyway. What brings me back to Wainwright again and again, and his albums back to my #1 spot, is his peerless songcraft, of course, but also the reckless abandon with which he pours his heart out on tape. His is the only work I can think of that has brought little old stoic me to the brink of tears, and on more than one occasion. The highest compliment I can pay to Wainwright is that he's the most cinematic musician I've ever heard, and this is another release worthy of the biggest of screens.

Margot at the Wedding

Date: March 4
Location: Clifton Living Room

I'm glad movies like this are being made, and I'm glad writer/director Noah Baumbach is interested in making them. I'm just not so sure I want to watch them. It's talky, raw, darkly funny and (to borrow a phrase I heard from an elderly woman following The English Patient) "very European." Nicole Kidman does wonderful work as the deeply flawed title character, a woman who shows affection by mistreating her loved ones. She and Jennifer Jason Leigh, playing her sister, have great chemistry and their scenes feel painfully real. Also memorable is newcomer Zane Pais, playing Kidman's son, and shining in some achingly uncomfortable scenes. It's all very well done, but how much fun is it to watch unlikeable people attack each other for 90 minutes? Some, but not a lot.

In the Valley of Elah

Date: February 27
Location: Clifton Living Room

The Paul Haggis Redemption Tour continues. To make up for the atrocity that was Crash, Haggis first co-wrote the screenplay of 2006's excellent Casino Royale — a strong move, but he was a hired gun so it didn't quite count. In the Valley of Elah, however, is a full-blown return to auteur mode, and it's a splendid one. This is an anti-war film disguised as a murder mystery, anchored by a beautifully understated (and deservedly Oscar-nominated) performance by Tommy Lee Jones. Jones is the perfect actor for Haggis. He's incapable of insincerity. He plays a weary ex-military man, the father of an AWOL soldier, with such grit and dignity that he never becomes a conduit for Haggis' message. The message is there, no doubt, but it is completely earned. Charlize Theron does nice work as the detective working alongside Jones and small supporting roles by Jason Patric, Josh Brolin (what a year he had!) and James Franco all hit the right note. Once again I'm staggered by how strong a year 2007 was, and here's the latest example.

Best. Oscars. Ever.

The show itself was just fine. Shorter than usual, some nice speeches, a truly special moment when Marketa Irglova came back to deliver her lovely speech, some great jokes from John Stewart (the Norbit one was a favorite of mine).

But that's not why these were the best Oscars ever. No, it was because of the winners. If you had asked me for my personal Oscar lineup, regardless of the official nominees, I would have said this:

Best Picture: No Country For Old Men
Best Director: The Coen Brothers
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard
Best S. Actor: Javier Bardem
Best S. Actress: Amy Ryan
Best O. Screenplay: Juno
Best A. Screenplay: No Country For Old Men

So as you can see, the official winners matched my dream lineup in 7 of 8 cases. That has never happened. I have trouble even remembering a year when the Best Picture matched my #1 film (Schindler's List is the only one that leaps to mind) let alone almost all the major awards.

I am happiest about Marion Cotillard, who pulled off the one real upset of the night. I found Julie Christie wonderful in Away From Her, and I have a real soft spot for Ellen Page's great Juno performance, but Cotillard's work was transformative in the same way Daniel Day Lewis' was. And boy, is she ever cute.

I was also happy to win this year's small prize — which I can now reveal is a loaded Jaguar XF.

Across the Universe

Date: February 22
Location: Clifton Living Room

This goes down as one of the very pleasant surprises of the 2008 movie year. I'd read so many pans of this film that I expected a train wreck, good for some unintentional laughs. Instead I found it to be clever, earnest and lovely. Most of the credit belongs to The Beatles — honestly, how can you go wrong filling a movie start to finish with some of the best music ever committed to record? The versions of the classic songs performed here are wonderful, without exception. Who knew Evan Rachel Wood had such a hauntingly beautiful singing voice? All the performers (most of whom are unknowns) are impressive. And Julie Taymor, definitely one of the finest visual directors working today, pulls out all the stops — the film very much resembles Moulin Rouge in its go-for-broke heart-on-its-sleeve showiness. It has some cornball moments, and the naive kids lose their innocence in the age of Vietnam plot is a bit of a cliche, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Date: February 12
Location: Clifton Living Room

2007 could be remembered as the year of the Western, with astonishing films such as No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood topping critics lists and the Oscars. This gorgeous, meditative tale continues that trend. It's a shame it was lost in the mix (save for Casey Affleck's much-deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination). I've read and heard much criticism that the film is too "slow" — and I can see that, up to a point. It is definitely long, and more concerned with talk than action. But I was riveted from the first frame to the last.

The movie reminded me a lot of the book Manhunt, about the events surrounding Abraham Lincoln's assassination. It has a fascinating attention to detail, both of the period and of the circumstances surrounding James' murder. The events that follow the assassination were particularly fascinating (and new) to me.

Finally, major kudos to cinematographer Roger Deakins, whose work here is at least on par with his amazing work on No Country For Old Men. Deakins has been nominated by the Academy for both films and it will be a crime if he cancels himself out and the trophy goes to somebody else.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Date: February 5
Location: Clifton Living Room

Over the past several years, there's been a trend of great documentaries about the incredible competition and fascinating characters found in "geek sports" — spelling in Spellbound, crossword puzzles in Wordplay and now old-school video gaming in The King of Kong. This one could be the best of them, largely because it focuses on a single hero and a single villain locked in a heart-pounding battle for that ultimate prize, the highest score in Donkey Kong. At times it plays more like a work of fiction than a documentary — one player is so clearly the protagonist that the filmmakers even play the Rocky theme to highlight his comeback. It's great fun, but at the same time I wonder if they didn't go a bit far. Surely the "villain" isn't as cartoonish as he's portrayed here. And isn't it the responsibility of documentary filmmakers to deliver something close to the truth? That's a debate worth having, but this is a wonderful film regardless.

Oscar gets it right

I predicted it a few months ago, and I'm happy to have been right: this is the best Oscar race in memory.

My top three films are up for Best Picture, and a fourth nominee is my #9. I haven't seen the other film (Michael Clayton) but I very much want to, and by all accounts it is a worthy contender — and not the sort of cringe-worthy stuff the Academy sometimes goes for.

My two biggest disappointments are the lack of nominees for Zodiac, without a doubt one of the year's best films, and the complete shut-out of Judd Apatow, who did such great work this year in different roles (writer, director, producer) on three great films (Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk the Line — I'm taking Amy and Dana's word on the worthiness of the latter).

The biggest snub — Jonny Greenwood in the Original Score category — turns out to have been a matter of eligibility. The Academy deemed his score ineligible because it contained elements of other composers' work. Yeah, yeah... whatever. I hope Michael Giacchino (who was snubbed for his extraordinary score for The Incredibles) picks up the award this time for his teriffic work on Ratatouille).

Nice to see Once get a nod for Original Song, though they could have had several nominated. Those songs were much better than the cute showtunes of Enchanted.

If I had my way, the winners from this group would be: No Country For Old Men for Best Picture and Director, Ellen Page for Best Actress, Daniel Day Lewis for Best Actor, Javier Bardem for Best Supporting Actor and Amy Ryan for Best Supporting Actress. Juno and There Will Be Blood would win the screenplay Oscars. No Country would take Cinematography and Editing and anything having to do with Sound. Ratatouille would win Score and Animated Film. No End in Sight would take Best Documentary. And the show would actually be written and broadcast because the strike was over.

There Will Be Blood

Date: January 19
Location: Muvico Palace

Paul Thomas Anderson has cemented his place as the finest filmmaker of his very talented generation with this extraordinary, mesmerizing turn-of-the-century saga about a sociopathic oil man's descent into hell. The most impressive thing about Anderson's work in There Will Be Blood is how little it resembles anything he's ever done before — it has none of the hip Scorsese stylings of Boogie Nights, none of the Altmanesque cross-cutting or brazen sentimentality of Magnolia. Instead it is a very straightforward (lack of) morality tale that brings to mind Citizen Kane more than anything else.

Plenty has been written about Daniel Day Lewis' wonderful work as Daniel Plainview — he is, and has been, among the finest actors alive, and he's doing his best work here. And just as much has been written about Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's amazing score. Anderson has always used music splendidly, from the 70s radio hits of Boogie Nights to Aimee Mann's song-score of Magnolia, and here he's allowed Greenwood to craft a score that practically becomes a character in the film. If he loses the Oscar, there's no justice.

I have no doubt that Anderson has crafted an American classic that will be watched, written about and studied decades from now. I personally gravitate more toward Boogie Nights and Magnolia, which have a brazen pop sensibility that I thrive on, but I'm blown away by the powerful classicism he taps here.

Once again, I'm thrilled at what a wonderful year for movies 2007 has turned out to be — the best of the decade so far, by far. It's interesting that my top six contains three dark, brutal, pessimistic films and three that are lighter than air. As for why There Will Be Blood wound up at #3, despite the "best of the year" level praise I've heaped on it — in a nutshell, when I walked out of No Country For Old Men, I immediately wanted to watch it again... when I walked out of There Will Be Blood, I immediately wanted to watch Juno.

Eastern Promises

Date: January 15
Location: Clifton Living Room

What a great year for movies this has been. So great that this powerful, absorbing crime thriller can't crack my top ten. Viggo Mortensen gives one of the year's best performances as a driver for the Russian mob caught up in some particularly messy business. Everybody talks about the naked steamroom fight scene, and it is indeed a doozy, but it's just one aspect of the extraordinary physicality Mortensen brings to this role. Between this film and A History of Violence it seems Cronenberg has found the De Niro to his Scorsese.

Overlooked Performances - Best Supporting Actress

The front-runners in this category are Cate Blanchett (absolutely deserving for her brilliant turn in I'm Not There) and Amy Ryan (equally deserving for her amazing character work in Gone Baby Gone). Also getting a lot of mention are Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave (both from Atonement). I have no problem with the first two — I haven't seen Swinton's film and Ronan was haunting in hers — but Redgrave's inclusion is a head-scratcher. She appears in Atonement for about five minutes total and, while she's quite moving, it's simply not "best of" fare. Ruby Dee (American Gangster) is also in the mix, along with Catherine Keener (Into the Wild), Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) and Jennifer Garner (Juno).

OK, that's all fine and good. But what about these four women, who I've yet to see given serious award consideration?

Allison Janney - Juno

She has a small role and fifth billing behind a quartet of amazing performers, but Janney still manages to steal just about every scene she's in. Funny, strong and smart, she plays the most sympathetic stepmom in recent memory.

Kelly MacDonald - No Country for Old Men

In a movie all about the evil (and good) men do, it was the woman who best embodied the film's soul. Forget for a moment that MacDonald has a thick Scottish brogue and somehow pulls off an authentic Texas accent — reward her depiction in just a few scenes of a character so innocent, devoted and tenacious that she proves herself tougher than all the tough guys circling her.

Leslie Mann - Knocked Up

In the year's funniest film, Mann delivered big laughs and quite a bit of drama, particularly in her 'driveway' fight scene with Paul Rudd as well as her meltdown outside a nightclub. With the film's runaway success, she once seemed like a sure thing for a nomination, but the trail has gone cold.

Tabu - The Namesake

This role could also be classified as a lead, as The Namesake is the mother's story even more than the titular young man's. Gorgeous Indian actress Tabu traces Ashima's path from an innocent experiencing America for the first time to the matriarch of a proud Indian-American family, before retiring to the simple life she always longed for. Beautiful work.

Golden Globes make things interesting

While the Golden Globes "ceremony" was pretty laughable (it consisted of Mary Hart and her cohorts reading the nominees and winners on a cheesy stage for all of 30 minutes) the results threw a bit of a wrench into the Oscar works.

The Globes really spread the wealth, handing out two wins apiece to a handful of films (Atonement, No Country For Old Men, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Sweeney Todd). The Best Picture winners were Atonement, getting a needed boost as its Oscar chances have been sagging recently, and Sweeney Todd, which has a fair chance at the Oscar.

Juno was "hurt" the most, losing not only the Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) category but in screenplay and Best Actress as well. However, the film is tearing up the box office, it's the one light film in the mix and it should appeal more to the Academy membership than the foreign press, so I'm guessing its Oscar chances are still quite good.

The biggest shock of the night was Best Director going to Julian Schnabel over the Coen Brothers — again something that can be chalked up to the foreigners voting for one of their own. This bodes well for Schnabel's chance at a Best Director Oscar nod and could mean the film itself has a chance.

The acting awards were more predictable, with Daniel Day Lewis, Julie Christie, Marion Cotillard, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett and Javier Bardem taking home trophies. My guess is at least three of those winners take home the Oscar as well.

Paris Je T'aime

Date: January 12
Location: Clifton Living Room

It's been a good year for short films, from Wes Anderson's quirky Hotel Chevalier to Pixar's comic alien abduction film, Lifted and most notably, this collection of 18 short film by 21 directors, each set in a different Parisian neighborhood. Every one is worthy, and some are close to divine. My favorites were Tom Twyker's hyperactive look at a young romance starring Natalie Portman, Alfonso Cuaron's one-take street conversation with a twist starring Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier, and Alexander Payne's deadpan love letter to Paris by a clumsily-accented American mail carrier abroad. The Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant, Walter Salles and a bunch of directors I'm not familiar with also turn in memorable films. The film works best as a sort of mix-CD of wonderful short films — and taken as a whole it's a splendid travelogue for the City of Lights (almost as effective as Ratatouille in that regard).

Writers and Directors Guild nominees

Over the past few days, the writers and directors have chimed in with their nominees for outstanding work in 2007. The director nominees often match up closely with the Oscars... the writers not so much.

One curious bit of information: A mistake by the writers guild led them to post the nominees in order of total votes, so the lists below reflect the descending degree of passion in the guilds for those titles. Good news for Diablo Cody and the Coen Brothers.

At this point, it looks like No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood are positioned very well for Best Picture nominations. Juno, too, is likely to show up there.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 22. I will solicit contest entries about a week before then.

ORIGINAL SCRENPLAY
Diablo Cody - Juno
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Tamara Jenkins - The Savages
Judd Apatow - Knocked Up
Nancy Oliver - Lars and the Real Girl

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Coens - No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Sean Penn - Into The Wild
James Vanderbilt - Zodiac

DIRECTION
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
The Coen Brothers - No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Sean Penn - Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Savages

Date: January 9
Location: Clifton Living Room

A sharp, downbeat little film that features two of the best actors working today, The Savages is easy to appreciate but hard to love. Phillip Seymour Hoffman turns in his third award-worthy performance of 2008 as a son dealing with his father's deteriorating mental health. Laura Linney, as his sister, is equally good in the showier role. These two should be in every movie released — they're that good. As for the film itself, I respected what it was doing and I found it very real and often quite powerful. But I can't imagine ever popping it into my DVD player again, and that hurts it a bit in my rankings.

Juno

Date: January 1
Location: Muvico Boynton Beach

I remember reading the Entertainment Weekly Fall Preview a few months back and at the end of the section for each month they had a little "Also coming out this month" blurb where they listed a bunch of titles not deemed worthy of more expansive coverage. Tucked away in there was Juno, wchich caught my eye because it starred three of my favorite actors — Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. 'That's interesting,' I thought. 'Will probably have to catch up with it on DVD.'

Cut to a few months later, and this little film is on dozens of top ten lists, it's lighting up the box office in limited release and it's considered a shoo-in for Oscar nominations in the screenplay and actress categories, with Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress in its sights. It just goes to show you, sometimes a movie can cut through the white noise and find its rightful spot in the conversation.

The movie this gem most reminds me of is Rushmore, one of my all-time favorites. It has a similar seasonal structure (complete with title cards), careful and witty shot composition, a Brit-pop soundtrack and — most important — a precocious, witty, wise-beyond-his/her-years teenage protagonist who is really masking a deep well of insecurity. Ellen Page's Juno McGuff is the female descendant of Max Fischer, and joins him in the pantheon of great cinematic characters. (She also represents the second such addition to the pantheon in 2007, joining Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men).

Page gives what may well be the performance of the year (look out, Marion Cotillard), selling the bracingly clever dialogue as completely authentic and heartfelt. Much credit, certainly, goes to Diablo Cody for penning the whip-smart script, but it's hard to imagine another actress embodying Juno like this. Cera, as always, has perfect timing and delivery. Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner are exceptional, in roles that are subtly different from anything either has tried before. And J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney, as Juno's parents, are funny, touching and real.

In addition to delivering huge laughs (Juno's introduction to lawyer Gerta Rauss produced my biggest guffaw of the year), the film is wonderful and surprising in a dozen different ways. The plot takes unpredictable turns that feel just right — I can't remember being so blissfully unaware of where a film was taking me. The path of Jennifer Garner's character, in particular, is unexpectedly touching.

And to cap it all off, the opening credits alone are worthy of a short film Oscar and two Belle & Sebastian tunes are featured on the superb soundtrack. Start to finish, this film is a treat. I can't wait to see it again.