MTV panders to the lowest common denominator, LiC naps

Do you care who was nominated for the MTV Movie Awards? Me either.

Cinema Eye Honors ‘Manda Bala’

 
The 1st Annual Cinema Eye Honors for documentary films were handed out at the IFC Center in Manhattan last night and the big winner was Manda Bala (Send a Bullet).
Winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2007, Jason Kohn’s look at some of the ways that the pervasive political and economic corruption and violent crime [...]

‘Secret Sunshine’ Wins 3 Asian Film Awards

Named the Best Undistributed Film of 2007 in the IndieWIRE Critics’ Poll last year, earning a Best Actress award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for Jeon Do-Yeon, and named by me as one of the best films I saw at AFI, South Korea’s official submission for the best foreign language Oscar, Secret Sunshine (Milyang), [...]

SXSW Film Festival: What’s Been Said So Far

The jury and audience awards were handed out at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival on Tuesday evening. The Austin, Texas based festival which began March 7 and concludes March 14 honored They Killed Sister Dorothy, a documentary about a 73-year-old activist nun from Ohio who was murdered in Brazil in 2005, with both the Grand [...]

Polley and ‘Promises’ Dream of Genies

 
The Canadian film industry awarded its own this evening in Toronto, bestowing Canada’s top film prize, the Genie, seven times each on Sarah Polley’s Away From Her and David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises.
Polley’s drama about Alzheimer’s won best motion picture, with Polley herself winning best achievement in direction, best adapted screenplay and the Claude Jutra Award [...]

French Cotillard Nabs Czech Lion

Marion Cotillard’s campaign of world domination continues and gives me an excuse to run a picture of her. A week after winning the best actress Oscar for her performance as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, Cotillard was a surprise winner of the Czech Lion for best actress, an award normally bestowed upon Czech [...]

Muriel’s Grand Finale

First check out the Best Picture Also-Rans, movies that didn’t make the cut but which had vocal support from one of the voters (Mine’s at the bottom).
And finally we come to the Golden Muriel for Best Film. Each of the top 5 get their own moment in the spotlight:
5th place…
4th place…
3rd place…
2nd place…
And the winner [...]

The Muriel for Best Male Lead: Not Even Close

Click through for the latest Muriel Award.
Also check out some of the voters chiming in on performances they felt were unfairly overlooked.

Muriel Recap and the First Big Surprise

50th Anniversary Award: The Seventh Seal
25th Anniversary Award: Blade Runner
10th Anniversary Award: Boogie Nights 
Cinematic Breakthrough: Ben Affleck - Director, Gone Baby Gone 
Best Body of Work: Josh Brolin - Actor,  No Country for Old Men / Grindhouse / American Gangster / In the Valley of Elah
Ensemble: No Country for Old Men 
Music: Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood 
Cinematography: [...]

Muriel’s Best Director by a Whisker

We’re back from Portland and Muriel keeps on trucking with the Best Director award.

The Muriels: Best Cinematic Moment

Here’s an interesting category and a fun way to revisit an all around terrific year at the movies: Best Cinematic Moment

‘No Country’ Takes Its Place In Oscar History

Coen fans said it, critics seconded it, audiences supported it and now the Academy has ratified it: Joel and Ethan Coen’s No Country for Old Men is the best movie of the year. In addition to best picture, No Country earned statues for the Coen’s directing and adapted screenplay plus Javier Bardem’s supporting performance; 4 [...]

The Muriels: One For the Boys

Best supporting performance (male)…

‘Juno’ Gets Knocked Up at Indie Spirit Awards

Juno cleaned house at the Independent Spirit Awards this evening taking home hardware for Diablo Cody’s best first screenplay, best actress Ellen Page and the big prize: best picture.
Julien Schnabel won best director for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Once took best foreign film, Philip Seymour Hoffman was chosen best actor for The Savages [...]

Muriel Offers Her Support

The Muriel for best supporting performance (female) goes to…

Oscar Shoulds and Should nots

If I was in charge of handing out the Oscars, here’s how it would all go down in the major categories:
Screenplay - Adapted
This is one of the strongest categories and I have no complaint about any of the nominees. Having said that, I’m hoping for a giant No Country sweep and that the award for [...]

The Muriels: Best Screenplay

And the winner of the Muriel for Best Screenplay of 2007 is…

Name Those Oscars

Because all the cool kids are doing it, here are my Oscar picks. I know what you’re thinking. If all the cool kids were jumping off a cliff, would I do it to? Hell yeah. There might be something good down there. Scarlett Johansson maybe. Or a chicken pot pie.
Anyway, If you’d like to play [...]

The Muriels: Best DVD

Muriel pauses in her celebration of the triumph of Blu-Ray (actually, she probably couldn’t care less) just long enough to recognize the Best DVD Release of 2007.

Muriel is Ready for Her Close-Up

Here’s the Muriel tally so far along with the newest winner:

50th Anniversary Award: The Seventh Seal
25th Anniversary Award: Blade Runner
10th Anniversary Award: Boogie Nights
Cinematic Breakthrough: Ben Affleck (Director - Gone Baby Gone)
Body of Work 2007: Josh Brolin (Actor - No Country for Old Men, Grindhouse, American Gangster, In the Valley of Elah)
Ensemble Performance: No Country [...]

Costume Designers Guild Plays Dress Up

 
The Costume Designer’s Guild had its say last night, awarding Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’s Colleen Atwood for best costumes in a period film, The Golden Compass’ Ruth Myers for best fantasy costumes and Blades of Glory’s Julie Weiss for best contemporary costumes.

Muriel Dances to the Music

Here’s the winner for Best Music (original, adapted or compiled).

Muriel Monday

And the Muriel for Best Ensemble Performance goes to…

Last Guild Gasp: ‘No Country’ Finally Loses One

The American Cinema Editors honored their own this evening with the annual Eddie Awards. Kristopher Tapley of The Red Carpet District reports that Christopher Rouse won in the drama category for his work on The Bourne Ultimatum while Chris Lebanzon took the comedy/musical prize for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and  Sicko editors Geoffrey Richman, [...]

Awards Potpourri for ‘Country’ with Bonus Françoise Hardy

This is old news that’s already been mentioned in various comments sections, but I guess it bears repeating.
No Country for Old Men’s  Jess Ganchor won the Art Directors Guild Award for contemporary film while There Will Be Blood’s Jack Fisk won for period film and Dennis Gassner won for The Golden Compass in the fantasy [...]

Muriel Examines the Body of Evidence

Several names showed up in prominent rolls in multiple films this year. Muriel awards her overall favorite with the Best Body of Work, 2007 prize.

Berlin: The Results Show

(L-R) director Errol Morris, actress Sally Hawkins, director Jose Padilha,
writer/director Wang Xiaoshui, Actor Reza Najiepose and
director Paul Thomas Anderson showing off their BIFF hardware.
Awards were handed out this weekend as the 2008  Berlin International Film Festival wound down. Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite), the violent action film from Brazil was awarded the Golden Bear while [...]

Muriel Breaks on Through to the Other Side

Best Cinematic Breakthrough, 2007

Muriel Parties Like It’s 1997

And in the process hands out the 10th Anniversary Award for Best Film, 1997

Muriel, Meet Indy

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, it’s two… two… two posts in one. (now 100% typo free!)
First off, head on over to Silly Hats Only for some hard core 1982 Muriel action.
Then, if you’re not spent, Joel reminds me Yahoo Movies has the new Indiana Jones trailer so you don’t have to get any nerd on you [...]