Monthly Archives: January 2011
2011 – OSCAR NOMINATIONS & my brainspace predicts…
Its the biggest felicitation and arguably the most sought after award ceremony celebrating the year’s best works in the field of motion pictures and entertainment. My choices for some popular categories are in italics, below.
Best Picture 
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Best Actor 
Javier Bardem – Biutiful
Jeff Bridges – True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
James Franco – 127 Hours
Best Actress
Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine
Best Supporting Actor 
Christian Bale – The Fighter
John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner – The Town
Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams – The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo – The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom
Best Director 
Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
David O. Russell – The Fighter
Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
David Fincher – The Social Network
Joel and Ethan Coen, – True Grit
Best Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon
Illusionist
Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Film
Mexico – Biutiful
Greece – Dogtooth
Denmark – In a Better World
Canada – Incendies
Algeria – Outside the law
Best Original Screenplay 
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours
‘The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit’
Winter’s Bone
Best Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit
Best Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King’s Speech
The Tempest
True Grit
Best Original Song 
‘Coming Home’ – Country Strong
‘I See the Light’ – Tangled
‘If I Rise’ – 127 Hours
‘We Belong Together’ – Toy Story 3
Best Original Score 
How to Train Your Dragon – John Powell
Inception – Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech – Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours – A.R. Rahman
The Social Network’ – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Have You made Your predictions yet ? Do You agree with mine ? Lets get together and discuss them right here 
“comments section”
For the entire list visit IMDB
Dhobi Ghat : A movie of its time
A standout lesson in narrative with its heart at its rightful place. It’s a testament to the fact that the simplest of stories treated with a purpose has in it, enough to strike a chord in our hearts. Good news is that as opposed to many beliefs, the newest offering from Aamir Khan production has tons of it (purpose). In all fairness, during its pre release hype including the trailers, the press conferences and its Toronto International Film Festival opening, the creators never claimed this movie to be something it is not.
As for the movie itself, excerpts, based on a specific time derived from the stories of 4 central characters with Mumbai as its backdrop should sum up Dhobi Ghat in a nutshell. Throw in some brilliantly enacted sequences with a master craftsmen behind the lenses whose belief of the subject matter is magnified with her projection of the resplendent city in its true and overwhelming grandeur. Finally here is a movie that is honest to its genre. Some including me had severe reservations against its uncanny familiarity in tone to some of Alejandro Innaritu’s previous gems. Gustavo Santaolalla’s lilting guitar melodies from the trailers were enough to draw comparisons. Thankfully having watched it, I am relieved and can now claim with confidence that it deserves nothing but praises for its absolute and one of its kind treatment of a rather straight forward subject. The producer (AK) and the director (Kiran Rao) deserve top mentions followed by an ensemble cast befitting of the humane characters they portrayed in the most nonchalant but faithful way which eventually accentuates the effectiveness of the script to mesmerising levels.
My only request to the ones who have already watched it and to the ones who are contemplating a visit to the theatres, is to put all debate of whether this movie is an arthouse or a mainstream commercial to rest and judge the product for what it is. Recommended. 8/10
Scroll down for the poll
