The 82nd Academy Awards 2010

In a stark contrast to Hugh Jackman's glitzy song and dance number of 2009, this year the academy decided to strip down the ceremony into its traditional light hearted comedic fair. Partially due to the worldwide recession and the fact academy members weren't expecting a great deal of viewers, the Board of Governors must have been surprised to find that 41.3 million people did in fact tune in, which is the biggest audience they have had in the last five years and is a 5.1 million increase on last year. It seems their spending spree on last year's ceremony has paid off as people have returned to the Oscars, leaving 2008's all time low of 32 million a thing of the past.

A major contributing factor to this year's viewing figures was the sudden hype in the media surrounding The Hurt Locker as favourite to win best picture. People the world over tuned in to see David pitted against the all mighty Avatar Goliath. Unfortunately to present this potentially historic occasion the Academy chose the unlikely pairing of comedian Steve Martin, who has not been funny since the 90s, and actor Alec Baldwin, who now appears in such classics as It's Complicated:




As you can see from this clip, most of the jokes fell flat on their face, often facing long pauses before some laughter and applause could pathetically gather together. Aside from the occasional gem such as Steven Martin's quip that 'Gabourey and I have something in common, in our first movies we were both born a poor black child', the presenting was unforgettable and tedious, summed up by this bizarre and unfunny performance by Ben Stiller for best make-up:





But presenting aside; the quality of films on offer and the rivalry between the divorced James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow provided yet another classic awards ceremony.

One aspect which stood out in particular was the Academy's horror film tribute, which means for the first time in their history they have officially accepted this genre for having artistic worth:

Here is the list of winners in full with my wrong predictions highlighted in red, actual winners in green, with a short critique underneath:


Best actor in a leading role
* Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
* George Clooney in Up in the Air
* Colin Firth in A Single Man
* Morgan Freeman in Invictus
* Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

In a career spanning over 50 years, nothing is sweeter than seeing 'The Dude' finally get the recognition he deserves.

Best actor in a supporting role
* Matt Damon in Invictus
* Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
* Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
* Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
* Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

The best thing about Quentin's film had his name written all over this award.

Best actress in a leading role
* Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
* Helen Mirren in The Last Station
* Carey Mulligan in An Education
* Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
* Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia

I always predict this award incorrectly by predicting an outside win. Always go with the favourite, especially when it comes to the best actress category would be my lesson here:

Sandra gave the most compassionate speech of the night by recognising the achievements of her fellow nominees. Kathryn may have been looking to make history by being the first woman in history to win a best director Oscar, but Sandra is the only person to have won an Oscar and a Razzie in the same year:

When Halle Berry accepted her Razzie she understood Catwoman was a dreadful film and subsequently fired her agent. The tragedy here is that All About Steve was produced by Bullock and even though she was a good enough sport to personally accept the award, she still appeared to be under the false impression that it was still a good film and was keen to promote it.

Best actress in a supporting role
* Penélope Cruz in Nine
* Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
* Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
* Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Comedies may not win many Oscars, but comedians themselves can often turn out to be fantastic actors as proven here.

Best animated feature film of the year
*Coraline (Focus Features) Henry Selick
*Fantastic Mr. Fox (20th Century Fox) Wes Anderson
*The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
*The Secret of Kells (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
*Up (Walt Disney) Pete Docter

There was never any doubt that Up was going to win this award as it was a cut above all the other films nominated and was even nominated for best picture.

Best in art direction:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg. Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics) Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro. Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
*Nine (The Weinstein Company) Art Direction: John Myhre. Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
*Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood. Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
*The Young Victoria (Apparition) Art Direction: Patrice Vermette. Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Best in cinematography:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore
*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd
*Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson
*The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger

Avatar was always going to win awards for its visual spectacle.

Best in costume design:
*Bright Star (Apparition) Janet Patterson
*Coco before Chanel (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier
*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme
*Nine (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood
*The Young Victoria (Apparition) Sandy Powell

Every year a British costume drama wins this award making it the least interesting category in the whole ceremony.

Best Director:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Kathryn Bigelow
*Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company) Quentin Tarantino
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Lionsgate) Lee Daniels
*Up in the Air (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Jason Reitman


Huzzah! It has taken the Academy 82 years but at last they have caught up with contemporary society to treat women as equals. Although to give the academy credit, it is as much a fault of the male dominated industry itself. The Academy may have never awarded a best director gong to a woman, but there has never been a great number of female directors in relation to men. Hopefully this win will inspire potential female directors and initiate some long needed change in the industry.

Best documentary feature:
*Burma VJ (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
*The Cove (Roadside Attractions)
*Food, Inc. (Magnolia Pictures)
*The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
*Which Way Home (A Mr. Mudd Production)

An insightful documentary on the poorly treated dolphins in Japan is something that needs to be seen.

Best documentary short subject:
*China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
*The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
*The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
*Music by Prudence
*Rabbit à la Berlin

Best in film editing:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
*District 9 (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
*Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz

Best foreign language film of the year:
*Ajami: Israel
*El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secret in their Eyes): Argentina
* La Teta Asustada (The Milk of Sorrow): Peru
*Un Prophète (A Prophet): France
* Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon): Germany

Every year the favourite to win this category always loses. It is almost as if the Academy deliberately vote for a film that is harder to get hold of.

Best in Makeup Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*Il Divo Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
*Star Trek Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
*The Young Victoria Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Best in music written for motion pictures (Original score):
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Horner
*Fantastic Mr. Fox (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
*Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
*Up (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

Best in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
*"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*"Loin de Paname” from Paris 36 Music by Reinhardt Wagner. Lyric by Frank Thomas
*"Take It All” from Nine Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
*"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Over the past two years the music awards have always proved controversial. In 2008 Jonny Greenwood was denied a nomination for his haunting score on There Will Be Blood even though it should have been a clear cut winner. Then in 2009 Bruce Springsteen was not nominated for his song 'The Wrestler' as used in Mickey Rourke's film of the same name. But there was no doubt this year that the song used in Crazy Heart, a film all about country music, was going to win.


Best motion picture of the year:
*Avatar
*The Blind Side
*District 9
*An Education
*The Hurt Locker
*Inglourious Basterds
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
*A Serious Man
*Up
*Up in the Air

Well I never. Just after I had predicted who was going to win this category the press was suddenly ablaze with talk of The Hurt Locker snatching it from Avatar's clutches, and rightly so. But despite the quality of the film it is officially the least financially successful Oscar winner of all time, but hopefully its well deserved win should spark a DVD sales comeback. Buy it now!

The acceptance speech can be watched in HD on Youtube Here.

Best animated short film:
*French Roast A Pumpkin Factory
*Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (Brown Bag Films)
*The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
*Logorama (Autour de Minuit)
*A Matter of Loaf and Death (Aardman Animations)

This was probably the best chance the UK had of winning an award this year. Sadly however, it seems the Academy has seen just about enough of Wallace and Gromit's adventures, for now at least.

Best live action short film:
*The Door (Network Ireland Television)
*Instead of Abracadabra (The Swedish Film Institute)
*Kavi A Gregg Helvey Production
* Miracle Fish (Premium Films)
*The New Tenants A Park Pictures and M & M Production

Best in sound editing:
*Avatar Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
*The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson
*Inglourious Basterds Wylie Stateman
*Star Trek Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
*Up Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Best in sound mixing:
*Avatar Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
*The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
*Inglourious Basterds Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
*Star Trek Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
*Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

The sound used in The Hurt Locker really complimented the handheld camerawork and increased the tension of the bomb disposal units, especially in the cinemas' surround sound systems.

Best in visual effects:
*Avatar Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
*District 9 Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
*Star Trek Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

No wonder there were only three films nominated, there was only one film that was going to win this category.

Best in Adapted screenplay:
*District 9 Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
*An Education Screenplay by Nick Hornby
*In the Loop Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
*Up in the Air Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

It would have been good to see Iannucci's film win the award, but Precious was still very deserving as some scenes were especially heart rendering and difficult to watch.

Best in Original screenplay:
*The Hurt Locker Written by Mark Boal
*Inglourious Basterds Written by Quentin Tarantino
*The Messenger Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
*A Serious Man Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
*Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter. Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

In retrospect, the Coen's script was probably far too bizarre for the Academy. Nevertheless, the characterisation in The Hurt Locker is what has made it the best war film of the decade.

So there we are, my faith in the Academy was restored with The Hurt Locker's six wins against Avatar's three. This rivalry which surfaced days before the ceremony will be a tough act to follow next year mind you.

The 100 Cheesiest Movie Quotes of All Time

Speaks for itself really!

Oscar Nominations 2010

As the more clued-up of you will probably notice, the 'Best Picture of the Year' catagory now has ten nominations as the Academy decided to double the amount of nods in order to give the box office successes a chance to rival the art house releases. But to me such a decision seemed more about attracting viewers to the ceremony's steadily decreasing audience figures rather than being an homage to its past, as officials claimed. As anyone will tell you blockbusters have always done well at the Oscars, 2004 in particular saw The Lord of Rings: The Return of the King become the most successful Oscar winning film in history.


So here they are in full, along with my predictions:



Best actor in a leading role
* Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart - In all his years Jeff has never won an Oscar, it is quite simply his turn.

* George Clooney in Up in the Air
* Colin Firth in A Single Man
* Morgan Freeman in Invictus
* Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

It is a travesty that Andy Serkis has not even received a nomination for his portrayal of Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll so at the very least he should win a BAFTA.
Similarly it is about time Vincent Cassel won an Oscar and his portrayal of Mesrine would have been a good opporuntity. Sam Rockell deserved a nod too. Why George Clooney and Morgan Freeman have been nominated for playing the same typical roles again is beyond me!

Best actor in a supporting role
* Matt Damon in Invictus
* Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
* Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
* Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
* Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds - the most talked about and surprising performance of the year is a dead cert.

Best actress in a leading role
* Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
* Helen Mirren in The Last Station
* Carey Mulligan in An Education - Sandra Bullock is the favourite as she has finally taken up a role worthy of an award win. However, every Oscars ceremony has a big shock and I believe this will be the one as Carey Mulligan's central performance was integral to An Education.


* Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
* Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia

Best actress in a supporting role
* Penélope Cruz in Nine
* Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
* Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
* Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire - This performance is head and shoulders above the rest in this category. The Academy may be reluctant to give it due to the harsh nature of the character but I believe Mo'Nique will win it, just.

Best animated feature film of the year
*Coraline (Focus Features) Henry Selick
*Fantastic Mr. Fox (20th Century Fox) Wes Anderson
*The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
*The Secret of Kells (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
*Up (Walt Disney) Pete Docter - As much as I enjoyed Coraline, I cannot see this award going to any other film. Just when we all thought Pixar had peaked with WALL-E it pulled this gem out of the bag. The Academy could go for The Princess Frog as it is a return to Disney's 2D musical roots and it is the first American animation to cast a black woman as its lead, but I very much doubt such an eventuality.

Best in art direction:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg. Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair - A film solely made for its breathtaking special effects is sure to win.

*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics) Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro. Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
*Nine (The Weinstein Company) Art Direction: John Myhre. Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
*Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood. Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
*The Young Victoria (Apparition) Art Direction: Patrice Vermette. Set Decoration: Maggie Gray
Best in cinematography:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore - I want to see The Hurt Locker win this, but the buzz surrounding Avatar cannot be ignored.

*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd
*Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson
*The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger

Best in costume design:
*Bright Star (Apparition) Janet Patterson
*Coco before Chanel (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier
*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme
*Nine (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood
*The Young Victoria (Apparition) Sandy Powell

Best Director:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Kathryn Bigelow - Even the Academy realises it is time for a female to win.


*Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company) Quentin Tarantino
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Lionsgate) Lee Daniels
*Up in the Air (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Jason Reitman

Best documentary feature:
*Burma VJ (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
*The Cove (Roadside Attractions)
*Food, Inc. (Magnolia Pictures)
*The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
*Which Way Home (A Mr. Mudd Production)

Best documentary short subject:
*China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
*The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
*The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
*Music by Prudence
*Rabbit à la Berlin

Best in film editing:
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
*District 9 (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
*Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz

Best foreign language film of the year:
*Ajami (Kino International)
*El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Sony Pictures Classics)
*The Milk of Sorrow
*Un Prophète (Sony Pictures Classics) - The critical reception surrounding this film I think bodes well.


*The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best in Makeup Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*Il Divo Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
*Star Trek Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
*The Young Victoria Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Best in music written for motion pictures (Original score):
*Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Horner
*Fantastic Mr. Fox (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat
*The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
*Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
*Up (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

Best in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
*"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*"Loin de Paname” from Paris 36 Music by Reinhardt Wagner. Lyric by Frank Thomas
*"Take It All” from Nine Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
*"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best motion picture of the year:
*Avatar - I am willing the infinately better Hurt Locker to win, but the highest grossing film of all time will definitely sway the Academy during these times when film piracy rules all

*The Blind Side
*District 9
*An Education
*The Hurt Locker
*Inglourious Basterds
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
*A Serious Man
*Up
*Up in the Air

Best animated short film:
*French Roast A Pumpkin Factory
*Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (Brown Bag Films)
*The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
*Logorama (Autour de Minuit)
*A Matter of Loaf and Death (Aardman Animations)

Best live action short film:
*The Door (Network Ireland Television)
*Instead of Abracadabra (The Swedish Film Institute)
*Kavi A Gregg Helvey Production
* Miracle Fish (Premium Films)
*The New Tenants A Park Pictures and M & M Production

Best in sound editing:
*Avatar Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
*The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson
*Inglourious Basterds Wylie Stateman
*Star Trek Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
*Up Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Best in sound mixing:
*Avatar Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
*The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
*Inglourious Basterds Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
*Star Trek Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
*Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Best in visual effects:
*Avatar Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones - If Star Trek wins this I'll eat my own hat!

*District 9 Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
*Star Trek Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Best in Adapted screenplay:
*District 9 Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
*An Education Screenplay by Nick Hornby
*In the Loop Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
*Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher - Fletcher's screenplay really brings the harrowing novel to life but I'd still love In The Loop to win even though I know it won't!


*Up in the Air Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

I thought Joe Penhall's faithful adaptation of The Road would have a good chance as it nailed the characters from Cormac mcCarthy's novel, obviously not!

Best in Original screenplay:
*The Hurt Locker Written by Mark Boal
*Inglourious Basterds Written by Quentin Tarantino
*The Messenger Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
*A Serious Man Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - A difficult one to predict this, but in my opinion this is the one film which relied most heavily on its material. Quentin Tarantino has a good shout though.

*Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter. Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy


So there we are, if I had it my way Avatar would only win the special effects award, but it just won't happen. The Hurt Locker was the best film of the year, but the political climate surrounding the film industry will not work in its favour. Avatar wasn't even the best sci-fi film of the year, Moon was far better and yet it recieves nothing! Still, with such an astonishing debut, I'm sure Duncan Jones will be back.

The Top 20 Films of the Noughties

It seems just about every single website, publication and TV channel is subjecting us to endless retrospectives of the decade just gone by at the moment. But this film blog would not be a proper film blog unless it also jumped on the current noughties bandwagon right?. After all, it's not every day a decade goes by.



1. Mulholland Drive (2002) David Lynch After a filmmaking career spanning over twenty years, Lynch made yet another quintessential work of art. Instantly deemed a classic and studied in film schools all over the world it is hard to believe such a film was made in this decade, his enigma of a plot being one which continues to bemuse and intrigue people to this very day.

2. There Will Be Blood (2008) Paul Thomas Anderson
The masterpiece of our times and companion piece to Citizen Kane was narrowly beaten to the top spot by Lynch’s insane genius. Daniel Day-Lewis’s electrifying performance along with Anderson’s intricate filmmaking and Jonnny Greenwood’s haunting score proved to be three artists at the top of their game who redefined the language of modern cinema.

3. City Of God (2003) Fernando Meirelles
Easily one of the most harrowing and realistic gangster film of all time. The personalised accounts of a group of children growing up amidst the inescapable poverty and violent nature of life in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro revealed an honest, truthful and engaging experience. The extensively layered characterisation and the interwoven narratives effectively studied the politics and power struggles that go on in such a lawless society, leaving audiences begging for more as it showed them the extent of the problems in this forgotten part of the world.

4. Requiem For a Dream (2001) Darren Aronofsky
Back when Jennifer Connelly’s eyebrows were huge, Jared Leto was not an emo and Marlon Wayans could actually act, Aronofsky peaked as a filmmaker. After his Lynchian debut Pi his portrayal of a group of heroin addicts produced the most emotionally provocative montage to conclude a film that has ever been. It also gave us the most distinctive musical score of the decade.

5. Irreversible (2003) Gaspar Noé
Many of these ‘best films of the decade’ lists have often included Christopher Nolan’s Memento. Irreversible is somewhat indebted to this backwards method of storytelling by which each segment of the story is proceeded by one which has already occurred. However, Noe really did push this medium of storytelling, popularised by Nolan, to its limits to produce a much more terrifying and uncomfortable experience.

6. The Departed (2006) Martin Scorsese
Although this is often criticised for not being Scorsese’s best film by a long shot, fuelled by a feeling of resentment that this movie was the one which finally received the best director Oscar, it appears an appreciation for the film’s actual quality was also lost along the way too. A film which saw Di Caprio come of age and despite the fact it was a remake of the Korean Infernal Affairs, Scorsese managed to enhanced the source material to give it an American identity and improve the characterisation of the original film in many respects.

7. Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) Shane Meadows
Often overshadowed by the success of This Is England, Meadows’ and Considine’s earlier collaboration, filmed on a shoestring budget, was a poetic revenge piece that somehow managed to flit between humour and some of the darkest scenes ever seen in British cinema. Although despite Considine’s usual unnerving portrayal of a psycho, it was the supporting performance of Toby Kebbel that was so convincing it led many to believe he was in fact a mentally challenged person in real life. Dead Man's Shoes was the hidden gem of the decade.

8. Being John Malkovich (2000) Spike Jonze
Back when scriptwriter Charlie Kaufmann and Spike Jonze used to be good! This inventive work in terms of the scope of its visuals and script really showed John Malkovich in a new light and was the pinnacle of the Kauffman-Jonze machine which they have since struggled to live up to since.

9. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Guillermo del Toro
Del Toro instantly became a force to be reckoned with. Winner of best foreign film Oscar that year his poignant and imaginative visuals created scenes that will always be rememberred and stand the test of time.

10. Oldboy (2004) Chan-wook Park
After being imprisoned for 10 years with no explanation, this film of revenge is full of gore, controversy and incest, genius! Its success has done a lot for modern Korean cinema.

11. WALL-E (2008) Andrew Stanton
Possibly Pixar's greatest film barring Toy Story 1 & 2. Beautifully shot and full of heart this affectionate tale is more than an entertaining children's film but a dystopian vision that reminds us how beautiful the human condition really is that we all take for granted.

12. The Hurt Locker (2009) Kathryn Bigelow
Not only the best film on the Iraq war to date, but one of the greatest war movies ever made. This testosterone fuelled account of Bravo Company’s bomb disposal unit is excruciatingly tense from start to finish. Politically interesting and authentically filmed with digital hand held cameras, Bigelow has well and truly flown the flag for female directors the world over.

13. No Country For Old Men (2008) Joel and Ethan Coen
It would be a crime not to mention The Coen Brothers on a 'best of' film list. Back on artistic form their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel helped create the most intensive Oscar battle of the decade with its rivalry alongside There Will Be Blood.

14. The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) Ken Loach
Loach left behind his usual UK working class setting to create the biggest film of his career. His depiction of Teddy’s fight for independence of Ireland in the 1920s was the most politically relevant film of the British Isles of the decade. Unfortunately it was one of the most overlooked films of the past ten years too, despite the fact it won a PALME D'OR at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival

15. The Lives of Others (2007) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Unintentionally working as a sequel to the perfect Downfall, this story showed us the true consequences of Hitler’s Nazi Germany and its depiction of East German’s living in a big brother type of society.

16. Battle Royale (2001) Kinji Fukasaku
The best action film of the decade with an awesome concept that could only be done in Japan.

17. Waltz With Bashir (2008) Ari Folman
Folman’s use of rota scope animation created a vivid, poignant and touching story whereby an ex-soldier tries to rediscover his lost memories of the First Lebanon War in 1982. Waltz With Bashir forefronted the politics of Israel and was robbed of its best forgeign film Oscar.

18. Bowling for Columbine (2002) Michael Moore
Back before Michael Moore’s biased propaganda of the Bush administration, it was this thoughtful and touching documentary of the devastating Columbine high school shootings which delved into what was wrong with a contemporary American society, without having to explicitly state its morals. Instead it respected the intelligence of its viewer. The success of this work has influenced and given way to a whole host of essential documentary films since.

19. The Bourne Supremacy & Ultimatum (2004 & 2007) Paul Greengrass
After Doug Liman’s departure from the franchise, Greengrass added a documentary hand-held camera feel which pushed the adrenaline factor through the roof, revealed the potential intensity of Matt Damon’s acting ability and rejuvenated a genre in long need of an upgrade into the 21st century. These films alone are responsible for the constant Bond franchise reinvention.

20. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Peter Jackson
Over nine hours of material rooted in the imaginative literary roots of Tolkein was surprisingly a thoroughly enjoyable blockbuster, one which defined the noughties in terms of the extent of its visual effects and truly cinematic experience.

Narrowly Missed Out: [Rec], Dogville, Donnie Darko, Murderball, Persepolis

The 10 Best Films of 2009

1) The Hurt Locker (August)
Not only the best film on the Iraq war to date, but one of the greatest war movies ever made. This testosterone fuelled account of Bravo Company’s bomb disposal unit is excruciatingly tense from start to finish. Politically interesting and authentically filmed with digital hand held cameras, Bigelow has well and truly flown the flag for female directors the world over.

2) Let The Right One In (April)
This enchanting yet unnerving coming-of-age vampire story, set in the snow laden town of Blackeberg, Sweden, is rich in its poetically minimal direction.

3) The White Ribbon (November)
The deranged psyche of Michael Haneke is unveiled to us yet again, but this time suppressed and abused village dwelling children are at the centre of strange events. Most interestingly though, the tone of the film is so downbeat that we find ourselves most on edge every time a character expresses the slightest hint of happiness.

4) Up (October)
It may not have been as experimental as last year’s Wall-E but this sweet tale about an old man’s floating house has the most emotionally provoking opening ten minute sequence to a film ever conceived. Once again Pixar push the boundaries of the children’s film format to great success.

5) Anvil! The Story Of Anvil (February)
The real life Spinal Tap has been found. With one last chance to make it to the big time after 40 years of barely scraping a living in the far reaches of Canada, you really find yourself willing the band to succeed. The sheer pathetic organisation of their European tour twinned with such colourful characters has to be seen to be believed.

6) The Wrestler (January)
A career defining performance for Mickey Rourke, he should have won the Oscar!

7) Moon (July)
An homage to the Sci-fi films of the 1960s and 1970s based on substantial ideas about the human condition rather than flashy special effects. Duncan Jones (or Zowie Bowie) has made a stunning debut and having shaken off the burden of his father’s legacy he will no doubt develop into a fine filmmaker indeed.

8) Fish Tank (September)
Andrea Arnold’s second feature, since her debut Red Road, won this year’s Jury Prize at Cannes and rightly so. Newcomer Katie Jarvis gives a fine performance as a lower class angst ridden teenager and plays off the ever brilliant Michael Fassbender with ease.

9) A Serious Man (December)
The Coens have quite simply done it again! As Larry Gopnik’s life falls apart, his deadpan attitude is tested to the limit in this fantastic black comedy. Think 'the dude' from The Big Lebowski trying to live in an American 1960s surburbia.

10) District 9 (September)
The complex allegory for the racial politics and immigration issues in South Africa is an extremely enjoyable romp.

Runners Up: Mesrine (both parts), Gran Torino, Public Enemies, Martyrs, In The Loop

The 10 Worst Films of 2009

1) The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Scott Fitzgerald’s short story was well and truly drawn out as long as it could stretch, and then a bit. Quite arguably David Fincher’s worst piece of work to date, the blandness of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were just impossible to empathise with.

2) Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
Michael Bay adds more CGI explosions and provides Megan Fox with less clothes to truly alienate audiences. There is only so far you can take a plot which centres around metal things endlessly hitting each other.

3) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
All the darkness, evil and maturity which was at the centre of Rowling’s book was crammed into the last 20 minutes of the film. By which at this point the two hours of tedious St. Trinians schoolyard politics had ruined whatever material that was set to proceed it.

4) Slumdog Millionaire
Easily the most overrated film of the year. Danny Boyle’s happy love story really wasn’t all that.

5) X-Men Origins: Wolverine
With internet geeks leaking out footage to millions, the piracy debate which built up to the film’s release was more exciting than actual the movie itself. This prequel is essentially a pointless series of events which will blight the engaging puzzle of X2, the best superhero film ever made, for those who have not seen it.

6) Terminator Salvation
A disappointing sequel which not only single-handedly spoiled James Cameron’s chilling dystopia, but could also not quite live up to the intensity of Christian Bale’s infamous rant on set.

7) Watchmen
The Citizen Kane of the comic book world was degraded and stripped of all its significance by the self proclaimed fanboy Zack Synder.

8) Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
Enough said really.

9) Twilight: New Moon
Released after Let The Right One In and just before Thirst, this was not even the best vampire movie of this year, let alone of all time as many fans seem to think.

10) Inglorious Basterds
Ten years in the making, and all we get is this tiresome piece of work.

Runners Up: Night at the Museum 2, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Crank: High Voltage, Saw VI, Broken Embraces

Quartets: a growing trend too far?

Once upon a time trilogies were a rarity. Even sequels could be a struggle to produce. But if a movie makes enough money in our current filmmaking climate then an entire trilogy is likely to be green lit before the additional scripts are even written. More often than not directors and actors find themselves contracted to a bankable franchise and a series of films just as the first is being released With each instalment having the potential to make a greater profit than its predecessor typically Hollywood is more concerned with bashing out the latest film asap while the original still resonates in the public’s psyche rather than taking time to produce an even better film. AKA quantity and not quality.

A major turning point in the development of trilogies came with the films Pirates of the Caribbean and The Matrix. Films which on paper should not have been successful (One was based on a Disney theme park ride and the other was based on Postmodernist Jean Baudrillard’s book Simulcra and Simulation) took the box office by storm. These brilliant standalone films were not initially conceived to be trilogies but this was before the backstage politics of Hollywood got involved. For the first time, both the 2nd and 3rd films of each franchise were made together as one big film to be released in two separate halves. What was mistaken for filmmakers making two films together to maintain and complete their vision was in fact a publicity stunt as well as a way of making two films quicker for a cheaper price whilst all the original cast and crew were still on board. In each case the second films The Matrix Reloaded and Dead Man's Chest were watchable, containing a minuscule amount of formula which made the first ones so successful. However both the third films The Matrix Revolutions and At World’s End had completely run out steam and were simply dull films making little sense but were nevertheless successful. By making a sequel that was similar to the first this was enough to reel viewers into the God awful third films thus making more than enough money back with audiences queuing up, desperate to see how each trilogy ended.

But now with Terminator Salvation and X-men Origins: Wolverine kick starting our CGI blockbuster filled summer of 2009, the latest Hollywood sequel trend now seems to be the fourth instalment: the quartet.

Similarly both Terminator and Wolverine were subject to massive controversy on the eve of their releases. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim there is a mass conspiracy going on within the film industry but it is rather convenient how mass media exposure to each film contributed to their success at the top of the Box office chart. A few weeks before the release of Wolverine a major leak from within the production company meant thousands of people had been able to illegally download a rough cut of the film before its release, thus reawakening the piracy debate in the most explosive scandal in cinema history. First of all 20th Century Fox claimed the copy which leaked was not quite finished and needed to be seen at the cinema to be truly experienced. But then, perhaps with the realisation that those who had seen the almost finished film knew it was very poor, Fox decided to play the sympathy card as Hugh Jackman himself expressed just how upset he was by the leak pleading for people to go to the cinema. This seemed to work.

Then there is Christian Bale’s infamous four minute rant at the poor DP who distracted Bale when adjusting a light causing the film star to completely lose it and aggressively yell at him, still in character. Again with such media exposure unwittingly one of the world’s biggest stars completely losing it brought a lot of intrigue to the table. Viewers put their hands in their pockets not out of sympathy but out of curiosity, to see the piece of work which appeared to drive such a man to near madness. It seems clear that these acts themselves were not intentional, films leak all the time and actors always lose their cool but it was how the PR companies cleverly dealt with these mishaps and turned them right around into free marketing tools which contributed to their mass success.

Then we come to the films themselves. Both trilogies began life as landmark films which both rewrote the genre rule books. The Terminator was made on a shoestring budget by rising director James Cameron who managed to pull off a dark apocalyptic sci-fi film staring a bodybuilder. Similarly X-Men was the first in a long line of Marvel comic book adaptations. Staring a mixture of accomplished stage actors and nobodies, Bryan Singer’s characterisation and humanisation of the much loved mutant characters was strong enough to kick start Marvel film studios even before Sam Raimi’s Spiderman. But interestingly both films then had sequels which were superior films to their initial work. Auteurs Singer and Cameron were given full control as well as bigger budgets and were able to reach the peak of their visions to produce what is widely considered one of the best action films of all time, T-2, and the best comic book adaptation of all time, X-2. The films only needed one letter and one number in their titles rather than their wordy sequels desperately trying to reclaim our confidence.

But then with the third instalments came the trilogie's downfalls. In each instance the third films were met with development hell. X-men was without its visionary, Singer, who had decided (wrongly) to give birth to another dead franchise, Superman. So Layer Cake and Stardust Director who made his name producing Guy Richie movies, Michael Vaughn, was signed up. But after singing Vinne Jones on board as the Juggernaut he soon left, unable to cope with the pressure. Finally the third film was given to loud mouth talentless Brett Ratner. Thus the film was a mess, nothing other than a series of action set pieces and little heart. Similarly after ten years of constant rumours Terminator 3 finally came into being and Arnie now in his mid-fifties returned to the gym. Both directors were lucky enough to be given all the original stars and thus attempted to continue the vision which Cameron and Singer created and give it sufficient closure. Each third film may have been worst in the trilogy but they were still watchable to a degree and still attempted to continue the original story and partially develop the characters further. They were simple films that failed in enhancing the franchises but did nevertheless add to them. They will be remembered simply as lesser sequels added onto the first two works of art.

But my main concern with these fourth films is that they have deeply affected the original film’s plot perhaps even ruined their significance. With no plot left to expand, each fourth film has attempted to delve into the back-story of Wolverine and the adult John Connor who initiates the events in the previous films. Each film is depicting the events that we never see, the driving force of each narrative. Wolverine’s shady past made him a mystifying character in X-men and discovering his identity is what made X- 2 the best superhero film of all time. But with X-men Origins: Wolverine his past is exposed as a boring straightforward, unimaginative and nonthreatening period of events thus rendering the originals pointless. Similarly this dark dystopia we briefly see in the first Terminator which Kyle Reece describes in a terrifying monologue is exposed as a camp futuristic transformers full of robots hitting other robots and clichéd dialogue rather than a horrifying fight for human survival. The trilogies have survived due to our sense of discovery and imagination. Wolverine was a troubled man uncertain of himself and John Connor was a mythic figure, the greatest leader the world has ever seen. The initial films required us to use our imaginations and what we didn’t know was precisely the driving force behind each narrative. But with this degree of mystery gone there is only endless and disjointed CGI crammed into its place.

Neither film should have been made. Hugh Jackman is a talented actor who brought millions of viewers back to the Oscars. Wolverine contributed to him becoming a household name, but it was time for him to move on five years ago, hopefully he won’t find himself typecast. But Christian’s involvement in the fourth terminator film is quite strange. Surely he has enough money and has offers coming in from all angles. He is also aware that the third was the worst of the Terminator trilogy and that he would only join the fourth film if script changes were made and it was an intelligent action film, which it is not. Other than that none of the original cast had returned to either franchise. Both Professor Xavier and Arnie are forced to be brought to life through CGI imagery rather than their actual presence towards the film’s end. Perhaps we will not need actors in the future as a film industry, already blinded by the wonders of CGI, will take things too far and leave Computers to dictate the films just like Skynet itself.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is no conceivable way yet another wolverine/x-men film could be made. The Terminator franchise is dead but it’s ambiguous ending suggests the worst is yet to come. This is what I fear, countless fourth installments ruining landmark films the world over. Hopefully the lack of quality in each film will discourage Hollywood into making quartets trendy thus rendering the youth of today to exclaim, ‘the quartet is the new trilogy’ and ‘the trilogy was soooo 2007’! But given the box office success, this could be highly likely.