Promo

Burn After Reading

Written and directed by the Coen brothers – you know, the guys that directed Fargo, The Big Lebowski, andNo Country for Old Men. In fact, the Coen brothers placed for something like five Owl Pellets in our first annual film awards (for No Country for Old Men).

In any case, I had a free evening a couple nights back and decided to go see Burn After Reading. Let’s just say I’m glad that I only had to drop $3 to see it.

Burn After Reading is essentially a series of wacky misunderstandings (think Friends.. yeah, the TV show) which lead to lack-luster punchlines. It’s half ass humor.

You might think that the cast of this movie would save it, but even the cast disappointed. Brad Pitt and John Malkovich where easily the most enjoyable characters, but, just like every other character, there was never enough space in the film to feel invested in them.

There are a few enjoyable moments in Burn After Reading, but not enough to redeem this disappointment.

At least the Coen brothers have something like four films coming out next year. I support, in their case, prolific film making.

C-

The First Annual Owl Pellets Film Awards

And the winners are…

BEST MALE ACTOR (SUPPORTING)

Third Place: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s war)

Second Place: Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR (SUPPORTING)

Third Place: Kelly MacDonald (No Country for Old Men)

Second Place: Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: Marketa Irglova (Once)

BEST USE OF MUSIC

Third Place: Sweeney Todd (Stephen Sondheim)

Second Place: Once (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: There Will Be Blood (Jonny Greenwood)

BEST WRITER

Third Place: Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited)

Second Place: Joel & Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)

BEST MALE ACTOR

Third Place: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)

Second Place: Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR

Third Place: Zoe Bell (Death Proof)

Second Place: Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: Helena Bonham-Carter (Sweeney Todd)

BEST ENSEMBLE

Third Place: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei)

Second Place: Superbad (Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baren Cohen, Ed Sanders)

BEST DIRECTOR

Third Place: Joel & Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

Second Place: Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd)

And The Owl Pellet goes to: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)

BEST FILM

Third Place: Sweeney Todd

Second Place: No Country for Old Men

And The Owl Pellet goes to: There Will Be Blood

The First Annual Owl Pellets Film Awards: Nominees

Sorry about the two day delay on this post. The nominees are…

BEST FILM:

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Charlie Wilson’s War

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Eastern Promises

No Country for Old Men

Once

Persepolis

Ratatouille

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

There Will Be Blood

BEST DIRECTOR:

Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)

Danny Boyle (Sunshine)

Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd)

Joel & Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises)

David Fincher (Zodiac)

Ang Lee (Lust, Caution)

Sidney Lumet (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)

Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Quentin Tarantino (Death Proof)

BEST ENSEMBLE:

Atonement (James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai)

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei)

Charlie Wilson’s War (Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Amy Adams)

Eastern Promises (Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassell, Armin Mueller-Stahl)

Hairspray (Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, James Marsden, etc.)

I’m Not There (Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, David Cross)

No Country for Old Men (Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly Macdonald, Woody Harrelson)

Stardust (Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer)

Superbad (Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader)

Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baren Cohen, Ed Sanders)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR:

Amy Adams (Enchanted)

Zoe Bell (Death Proof)

Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)

Helena Bonham-Carter (Sweeney Todd)

Julie Christie (Away From Her)

Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)

Keira Knightley (Atonement)

Laura Linney (The Savages)

Ellen Page (Juno)

Tang Wei (Lust, Caution)

BEST MALE ACTOR:

George Clooney (Michael Clayton)

Russell Crowe (3:10 to Yuma)

Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)

Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl)

Glen Hansard (Once)

Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)

James McAvoy (Atonement)

Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)

BEST WRITER:

Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)

Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited)

Judd Apatow (Knocked Up)

Diablo Cody (Juno)

Joel & Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)

Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)

Quentin Tarantino (Death Proof)

Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz)

BEST USE OF MUSIC:

Atonement (Dario Marianelli)

The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson)

Eastern Promises (Howard Shore)

Into the Wild (Eddie Vedder, Michael Brook, Kaki King)

Lust, Caution (Alexandre Desplat)

Once (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova)

Persepolis (Olivier Bernet)

Sunshine (Underworld)

Sweeney Todd (Stephen Sondheim)

There Will Be Blood (Jonny Greenwood)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR (SUPPORTING):

Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There)

Helena Bonham-Carter (Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix)

Marketa Irglova (Once)

Catherine Keener (Into the Wild)

Evanna Lynch (Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix)

Kelly MacDonald (No Country for Old Men)

Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)

Amy Ryan (Gone, Baby Gone)

Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)

BEST MALE ACTOR (SUPPORTING):

Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford)

Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood)

Robert DeNiro (Stardust)

Robert Downey Jr. (Zodiac)

Albert Finney (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)

Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War)

Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild)

Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad)

And remember, the awards will be announced this coming Monday, seriously.

Owl Pellets Awards: Coming Soon!

Our First Annual Owl Pellets Film Awards nominations will be posted this coming Sunday, the 20th of January. Our format will be slightly different than that of most awards programs, as we will be nominating 10 films per category, with awards going to the top 3. Categories include: Best Picture, Best Ensemble, Best Director, Writer, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, and Best Use of Music. The winners will be announced the evening of the 28th (Monday).

Stay tuned, and feel free to comment with your own choices.