Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Kill the Irishman



Kill the Irishman is a so-so movie, but I'd still recommend it. It helps that this movie isn't trying too hard to be Goodfellas-lite, it even comes off that writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh said, "well we can't remake Goodfellas, so let me draw some inspiration from it and then do my own thing." Don't get me wrong, the critic in me wants to be a little upset that such powerful material wasn't made into an "A" film, but because of its escapist nature and the amount of fun you'll have watching it, it doesn't really matter if this is a "B" movie (after all, escapism and fun are what makes B-movies so beloved). I should add that I'm the kind of viewer who can also shrug off clearly choreographed themes and symbolism. I look at is a failed effort to dance around the literal, I don't get angry at filmmakers trying to at least have made an effort.

My other thoughts on the film are pretty short...

1. I don't want to delve too much into the premise because a lot of story will have you going "did that really happen?" and aside from some of that hokey religious symbolism stuff I just mentioned, the answer will usually be "yes." So yeah, avoid Wikipedia and Google searches.

2. Kudos to the casting director for the largest amount of character actors I've ever seen assembled- Linda Cardellini, Tony Darrow, Robert Davi, Vincent D'Onofrio, Fionnula Flanagan, Bob Gunton, Jason Butler Harner, Vinnie Jones, Val Kilmer, Tony Lo Bianco, Laura Ramsey, Steven R. Schirripa, Paul Sorvino, Mike Starr, Marcus Thomas, and it wouldn't be complete without Christopher Walken.

3. My final note, thank you god for giving Ray Stevenson his first piece of juicy legitimate acting since Rome. The guy is massively talented.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

My Favorite... Books?!

Yes, I know the name of this blog is "Movies," but I've talked about television and lately I've been in a very literary mood, so I decided to share with everyone a list of my 30 favorite books from the past 30 years. I figured it'd be easier to look at the recent classics as opposed to trying to encompass all of literary history (and I include The Bible, Shakespeare, and other stuff as a part of that list) and I'm also leaving the list unranked as it's a bitch to put them in an order I'm pleased with. I should also add that this list is very adaptation heavy (as in a lot of these have been adapted into films), but films/TV are my forte so I suppose it's actually suiting that these are my favorites (whether I saw the film or read the book first doesn't really matter as each stands on their own). So here it is (with the plot synopsis taken from sites like Wikipedia)...

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (2000)
Plot- The novel follows the lives of two Jewish cousins before, during, and after World War II. They are a Czech artist named Joe Kavalier and a Brooklyn-born writer named Sam Clay. They become major figures in the comics industry and its "Golden Age."
Recognition- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

America (the Book) by Jon Stewart (2004)
Plot- A non-fiction book by the writers of The Daily Show that parodies and satirizes American politics and worldview.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (1996)
Plot- A memoir that consists of anecdotes of McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New York and Limerick, Ireland as well as McCourt's struggle with poverty, his father's drinking issues, and his mother's attempts of keeping the family alive.
Recognition- Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, National Book Critics Circle Award (Biography)
Adapted into a 1999 film directed by Alan Parker

Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001)
Plot- An upper-middle-class girl in interwar England, who aspires to be a writer, makes a serious mistake that has life-changing effects for many. Consequently, through the remaining years of the century, she seeks atonement for her transgression- which leads to an exploration on the nature of writing itself.
Recognition- National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction)
Adapted into a 2007 film directed by Joe Wright

Blindness by Jose Saramago (1995)
Plot- The story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city and the social breakdown that swiftly follows.
Recognition- Nobel Prize for Literature
Adapted into a 2008 film directed by Fernando Meirelles

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2007)
Plot- The book chronicles both the life of Oscar de Leon, an overweight Dominican boy growing up in Paterson, New Jersey who is obsessed with science fiction and fantasy novels and with falling in love, as well as the curse that has plagued his family from generations. The novel also centers on the lives of Oscar's runaway sister, his mother, and his grandfather.
Recognition- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction)

Clockers by Richard Price (1992)
Plot- The book takes place in the fictional city of Dempsey, New Jersey and centers on the workings of a local drug gang and the dynamics between drug dealers, the police, and the community.
Adapted into a 1995 film directed by Spike Lee

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (1997)
Plot- The story of W.P. Inman, a wounded deserter from the Confederate army near the end of the American Civil War who walks for months to return to Ada Monroe, the love of his life.
Recognition- National Book Award
Adapted into a 2003 film directed by Anthony Minghella

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003)
Plot- It follows symbologists Robert Langdom and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Scion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to Mary Magdalene.
Adapted into a 2006 film directed by Ron Howard

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (2001)
Plot- A book by an investigative journalist that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry.
Adapted into a 2006 film directed by Richard Linklater

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger (1990)
Plot- A book that follows the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team from Odessa, Texas as they made a run towards the Texas state championship. The book is also critical about life in Odessa, complete with portraits of racism and misplaced priorities where football conquered most aspects of the town and academics were ignored.
Adapted into a 2004 film directed by Peter Berg and a 2006-2011 television series produced by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer, and David Nevins

The Giver by Lois Lowry (2003)
Plot- Set in a future utopian society that has eliminated pain and strife by converting to a plan which has also eradicated emotional depth form their lives, the novel follows a boy named Jonas who is selected to inherit the position of "Receiver of Memory." As Jonas receives the memories from the previous receiver, he faces a dilemma. Should he stay with the community or should he run away to where he can live a full life?
Recognition- Newbery Medal

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (1997-2007)
Plot- Seven fantasy novels that chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Wesley and Hermoine Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story concerns Harry's quandary involving the evil Lord Voldemort who killed Harry's parents in his quest to conquer the wizarding world.
Recognition- Hugo Award
Adapted into a 2001-2011 film series directed by Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell, and David Yates

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (1995)
Plot- Rob Fleming is a London record store owner in his thirties whose girlfriend has just left him. Rob recalls his five most memorable breakups and sets about getting in touch with his former girlfriends that leads to revival of his disc jockey career.
Adapted into a 2000 film directed by Stephen Frears

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
Plot- A trilogy of fantasy novels that follow the coming-of-age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes against the backdrop of epic events.
Adapted into a 2006 film directed by Chris Weitz

Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)
Plot- Stanley Yelnats VIII, a timid boy who is very unlucky due to a family curse, has been caught accidentally stealing a baseball player's shoes from a charity auction and is sentenced to 18-months at a juvenile detention facility.
Recognition- Newbery Medal
Adapted into a 2003 film directed by Andrew Davis

The Kite Runenr by Khaled Hosseini (2003)
Plot- The story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul who befriends Hasssan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of events from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through Soviet invasion to the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States and to the rise and fall of the Taliban regime.
Adapted into a 2007 film directed by Marc Forster

LaBrava by Elmore Leonard (1983)
Plot- Joe LaBrava gets involved with former movie star Jean Shaw, whom he admired as a 12 year-old boy starring at the movie screen, when he discovers that she is being harassed by thugs.
Recognition- Edgar Award

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1985)
Plot- The story focuses on the relationships of several retired Texas Rangers and their adventures driving a cattle herd from Texas to Montana.
Recognition- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Adapted into a 1989 television miniseries directed by Simon Wincer

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985)
Plot- Fermina Daza rejects Florentino Ariza in their youth when she realizes the naivete of their first romance and she weds Juvenal Urbino at the age of 21. Fermina comes to recognize a wisdom and maturity in Ariza in her adult life.
Adapted into a 2007 film directed by Mike Newell

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2002)
Plot- The story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she comes to terms with her own death.
Adapted into a 2009 film directed by Peter Jackson

Maus by Art Spiegelman (1972-1991)
Plot- The biography of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It alternates between Vladek's life in Poland before and during World War II and Vladek's later life in Repo Park, New York City.
Recognition- Pulitzer Prize: Special Award and Citation

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (2001)
Plot- The novel revolves around three boys who grow up as friends in Boston- Dave, Sean, and Jimmy. Dave is abducted by child molesters and escapes, emotionally shattered by the experience. 25 years later, Jimmy's daughter disappears and is found brutally murdered.
Adapted into a 2003 film directed by Clint Eastwood

On Writing by Stephen King (2000)
Plot- A book about the prolific author's experiences as a writer.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2000)
Plot- An autobiographical comic depicting the author's childhood up to her early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution.
Adapted into a 2007 film directed by Marjane Satrapi

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
Plot- The narrator Stevens, a butler, recalls his life in the form of a diary concerned with Stevens's professional and above all, personal relationship with a former colleague, the housekeeper Miss Kenton.
Adapted into a 1993 film directed by James Ivory

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)
Plot- A post-apocalyptic journey taken by a father and his young son over the period of several months, across a landscape blasted by unnamed cataclysm that destroyed much of civilization and in later years, almost all life on Earth.
Recognition- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Adapted into a 2009 film directed by John Hillcoat

Sandman by Neil Gaiman (1989-1996)
Plot- The adventures of Dream of The Endless who rules over the world of dreams.
Recognition- Hugo Award

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (1990)
Plot- Related stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War.

Watchmen by Alan Moore (1986-1987)
Plot- Focusing on the personal development and struggles of outlawed costumed vigilantes as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement and eventually leads them to confront a plot that would stave off nuclear war by killing millions of people.
Recognition- Hugo Award
Adapted into a 2009 film directed by Zack Snyder

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Limitless



It has been a while since I've seen such a visually stunning style wasted on such a piss-poor story. In fact, the only reason I say "a while" is because I can't think of the last time I sat in awe of such a well-presented concept that is ruined through a mind-boggingly poor execution. I feel bad because this is the first movie by Neil Burger (The Illusionist, The Lucky Ones) that I genuinely disliked. The premise is actually very interesting. A writer (Bradley Cooper) takes a pill that allows him to access 100% of his brain's capacity. The drug helps him repair his relationship with his ex-girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) and leads him to Wall Street where he gains the notice of a big-shot corporate guy (Robert De Niro). Yet things get complicated and the pill's side effects begin to take a disastrous toll on its users.

Cooper can carry a movie. As much as I disliked the final product, he shows promise as a lead compared to his fantastic ensemble efforts in The Hangover and The A-Team. A problem is that a lot of the film is told through narration and Cooper doesn't necessarily have one of those voices that lends itself to voice-over. The whole cast (Cooper, Cornish, De Niro, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth) don't do a bad job, they just have the unfortunate pleasure of being part of such a poorly structured story. The movie moves too fast at times (even for one that is meant to skip around) and the scenes just get more ridiculous whether its the opening passive break-up or the vampirism-inspired finale. The audience I was with (and myself included) were laughing at moments that were meant to be deadly serious. The cinematography, editing, and score all led me to believe this was a serious movie and they convey the mood better than the storyline does.

By the way, kudos to the technicians who worked on this film because it seems they actually used brain power (excuse the lame pun) to come up with some very inventive moments, visually speaking (so some credit goes to Burger for his ambitious vision). The writer avoided any emotive moments so I can hardly blame the actors for falling flat when it's so clear that this story is doomed from the beginning. Speaking of the story, what exactly was the moral? By the time the end of the film comes around, the message of this movie is barely decipherable, especially as we see that Eddie Morra is one of the most selfish protagonists to ever waste my time and money.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Win Win

(Note: I saw an advance screening of the film. It comes out in limited release on 3/18.)

Thomas McCarthy has made his writing-directing career by taking ordinary folks that get in over their heads and need someone else from a different world to help them out. The result has led to memorable lead performances from Peter Dinklage in The Station Agent and Richard Jenkins in The Visitor. Win Win and its performance by Paul Giamatti is no exception. Yet, as this is McCarthy's first so-so film, I should remind anyone who reads this that a so-so movie from a guy like McCarthy is usually a damn good movie compared to usual mediocre stuff that sees a theatrical releases. Like McCarthy's other films, Win Win is feels very realistic and I'd even say in this case, very humane.

The movie has an interesting premise, so stick with me for a minute. The film follows a lawyer, Giamatti as Mike Flaherty, who also works as the wrestling coach at his local high school to make money on the side. He's married to a wonderful wife (Amy Ryan) who he has two kids with and is surrounded by two trustworthy friends- his assistant coach and fellow lawyer (Jeffrey Tambor) and a former high school buddy (Bobby Cannavale) who (if I remember correctly) works in real estate. Through a series of circumstances, Mike gets to know his dementia-ridden client (Burt Young) who is suddenly visited by his grandson, Kyle (newcomer Alex Shaffer), who is trying to get away from his drug-addicted mother (Melanie Lynskey, whose character is represented by a lawyer played Margo Martindale who is currently playing the villain on this season of FX's Justified). It turns out, Kyle is good at wrestling and joins Mike's team, and I'll stop summarizing the film from there as the film actually has a number of sub-plots going on, but that should give you a taste as I mainly want to get across how impressive the cast is.

I don't think I have to say anything about Giamatti as an actor, he is almost always at the top of his game. Unfortunately, a lot of the movie needs to be carried by Kyle and there is only so much Shaffer can do with this monotone character. I mean, Shaffer plays it well, but this character and even this story, struggles to keep one interested for the full ninety minutes. It's a shame because Shaffer shows promise and he holds his own with the other actors (he reminded me of Keir Gilchrist from last year's It's Kind of a Funny Story). The film has a lot of heart, just not anything unique to make me want to invest myself in the story. That being said, and as I mentioned before, McCarthy's effort isn't to be completely disregarded. He has such a great handle on characterization and the way he must direct his actors to get such great performances- I'll still always be excited whenever he has a new film coming out.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Battle: Los Angeles



I became interested in Battle: Los Angeles for several reasons. Director Jonathan Liebesman (The Killing Room) and writer Christopher Bertolini (The General's Daughter) both described the film as Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down meets Neill Blomkamp's District 9, those being two of my all-time favorite movies. I said "there was no way they could accomplish something that would even look like that." Then came the well-edited teaser and theatrical trailers. I quickly changed my mind about the film as being just a 'pre-summer blockbuster', since my reaction was, "oh, that looks just like Black Hawk Down meets District 9." The trailers made the film look like it would have action-style of Scott's film mixed with the the emotionally wrenching nature of Blomkamp's. Well, the final product sure as hell attempts to have those qualities and although it hits below the mark its creators set for it, it's still not too shabby of a film.

For those who aren't aware, the film (obviously set in Los Angeles, California) follows Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), a United States marine who is second-in-command of a unit that is placed on the front-lines against an alien invasion. The film takes on the style of grainy images with shaky camera-work. Now, I don't have a problem with that, but it does make me wonder if we'll continue to see such fast-paced editing and cinematography used in mainstream American films and whether or not we'll return to sequences that look more staged.

The film's problems... are numerous. Overall, the characterization is very impersonal. A lot of the actors (Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Michael Pena, Lucas Till, Ne-Yo, Aisha Tyler, Noel Fisher, Ramon Rodriguez, and others) all try to put on their best game-faces, but they don't do as good a job as Eckhart (and let me go over his phenomenal acting filmography just to remind you how awesome he is- In the Company of Men, Any Given Sunday, Erin Brockovich, Nurse Betty, The Pledge, The Missing, Thank You for Smoking, Towelhead, The Dark Knight, and Rabbit Hole). Even then, there is one scene that is just not that well-written where Nantz recites the names of these marines he let down (the most significant character development in this movie is represented here). The scene unfortunately falls flat, but that's okay, as there are about five other "let me inspire my troops to have faith in me scenes" in the entire film.

Another problem is that both the protagonists and the antagonists aren't that unique. The marines can be told apart by their accents and a few quirks here and there, but the enemy is poorly characterized compared to the Mogadishu villains from Black Hawk Down and the South African government officials in District 9. It also took my eyes a while to get adjusted to the aesthetic of the film. Not to say the special effects varied, but there would be a ton of shots inside a helicopter that look cheap and then we'd go outside to something that is halfway between a matte and a real environment. The action becomes repetitive after a while and the script is full of cliched jargon and dialogue.

So with all of this negative talk, why did I say I enjoyed it? Simply put, the film makes up for its shortcomings with its grand scale. The film takes you through quite an adrenaline ride and the tone that runs throughout the film just keeps you interested (it helps that Brian Tyler did the score, he kicks ass week-in and week-out on the action-procedural remake of Hawaii Five-0 currently on CBS). The movie is full of excitement and it doesn't let up for a second. I'd compare it to recent films from the past two years like Joe Carnhan's The A-Team and Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, as in that critics are making them out to be a lot worse than they actually are. Yes, the film doesn't live up to its potential, but when all of the elements of the story have already been well-explored in other films, the filmmakers at least make up for that with some fun escapism.

My Favorite Asian Films

So I decided to get as much into modern Asian cinema as I could, watching as many different films from as many different directors as I could. I'm going to continue my East Asian Directors marathon, but I've seen most of the films already and I'll just be using the marathon to comment on the films themselves. School of course takes up a lot of my time so it might be a while before that, but here are the 41 Asian films that I liked (with varying degrees) from the years 2000-2010 in alphabetical order.

FILM (YEAR, DIRECTOR)- COUNTRY

2046 (2004, Wong Kar-wai)- China
Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000, Bong Joon-ho)- South Korea
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000, Ang Lee)- Taiwan
Exiled (2006, Johnnie To)- China
The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008, Kim Ji-woon)- South Korea
Hero (2002, Zhang Yimou)- China
The Host (2006, Bong Joon-ho)- South Korea
House of Flying Daggers (2004, Zhang Yimou)- China
Howl's Moving Castle (2004, Hayao Miyazaki)- Japan
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (2006, Tsai Ming-liang)- Taiwan
I Saw the Devil (2010, Kim Ji-woon)- South Korea
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006, Park Chan-wook)- South Korea
In the Mood for Love (2000, Wong Kar-wai)- China
Infernal Affairs (2002, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak)- China
Infernal Affairs II (2003, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak)- China
Infernal Affairs III (2003, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak)- China
Joint Security Area (2000, Park Chan-wook)- South Korea
Kung Fu Hustle (2004, Stephen Chow)- China
Last Life in the Universe (2003, Pen-ek Ratanaruang)- Thailand
Lust Caution (2007, Ang Lee)- Taiwan
Memories of Murder (2003, Bong Joon-ho)- South Korea
Mother (2009, Bong Joon-ho)- South Korea
Oldboy (2003, Park Chan-wook)- South Korea
A One and A Two (2000, Edward Yang)- Taiwan
Outrage (2010, Takeshi Kitano)- Japan
Paprika (2006, Satoshi Kon)- Japan
Ponyo (2008, Hayao Miyazaki)- Japan
Red Cliff (2008, John Woo)- China
Shaolin Soccer (2001, Stephen Chow)- China
Spirited Away (2001, Hayao Miyazaki)- Japan
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring (2003, Kim Ki-duk)- South Korea
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007, Takashi Miike)- Japan
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005, Park Chan-wook)- South Korea
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002, Park Chan-wook)- South Korea
Thirst (2009, Park Chan-wook)- South Korea
Thirteen Assassins (2010, Takashi Miike)- Japan
Tokyo Sonata (2008, Kiyoshi Kurosawa)- Japan
Uncle Bomnee (2010, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)- Thailand
Vengeance (2009, Johnnie To)- China
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000, Tran Anh Hung)- Vietnam
A Woman, A Gun, and A Noodle Shop (2010, Zhang Yimou)- China

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

My Filmspotting Ballot

Here is my ballot for the 4th Annual Filmspotting Awards. Filmspotting is a renowned podcast, with a forum, that is sponsored by the Chicago Film Critics Association.

PICTURE
-127 Hours
-Black Swan
-Inception
-The Social Network
-True Grit

DIRECTOR
-Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
-Danny Boyle (127 Hours)
-Ethan Coen and Joel Coen (True Grit)
-David Fincher (The Social Network)
-Christopher Nolan (Inception)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
-Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right)
-Andres Heinz, Mark Heyman, and John McLaughlin (Black Swan)
-Eric Johnson, Scott Silver, and Paul Tamasy (The Fighter)
-Peter Morgan (Hereafter)
-Christopher Nolan (Inception)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
-Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, and Aaron Stockard (The Town)
-Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle (127 Hours)
-Ethan Coen and Joel Coen (True Grit)
-David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole)
-Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

ACTOR
-Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
-Aaron Eckhart (Rabbit Hole)
-Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
-James Franco (127 Hours)
-Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

ACTRESS
-Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
-Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
-Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right)
-Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
-Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

SUPPORTING ACTOR
-Christian Bale (The Fighter)
-Vincent Cassel (Black Swan)
-Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
-Jeremy Renner (The Town)
-Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
-Amy Adams (The Fighter)
-Marion Cotillard (Inception)
-Rebecca Hall (The Town)
-Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
-Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

CAST
-Black Swan
-Inception
-The Social Network
-The Town
-True Grit

EDITING
-127 Hours
-Black Swan
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
-Inception
-The Social Network

SOUND
-127 Hours
-Black Swan
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
-Inception
-True Grit

SCORE
-Alexandre Desplat (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I)
-Clint Mansell (Black Swan)
-A.R. Rahman (127 Hours)
-Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network)
-Hans Zimmer (Inception)

SOUNDTRACK
-127 Hours
-The Fighter
-Get Him to the Greek
-Greenberg
-Kick-Ass

CINEMATOGRAPHY
-127 Hours
-Black Swan
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
-Inception
-True Grit

ART DIRECTION
-Black Swan
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
-Inception
-Shutter Island
-True Grit

VISUAL EFFECTS
-Black Swan
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
-Hereafter
-Inception
-Iron Man 2

SURPRISING
-44 Inch Chest
-Buried
-Get Him to the Greek
-Harry Brown
-Hot Tub Time Machine