Bafta Results & Reactions!

So it's 9pm here & I'm settling in to watch the BAFTA's.  There's a 2 hour delay between the actual ceremony & the TV coverage so I had to detach myself from Twitter so that the results will be a lovely surprise.

I apologise in advance for what follows.  This is just what pops into my head as it happens...

The cast of Street Dance opened the show.  Yes this really happened.  Something to do with the awards taking place at the Royal Opera House prompted a ballet/street dance combo.

Jonathan Ross & his ridiculous facial hair cracked some jokes that actually made me laugh. A good comparison between 127 Hours & Mr Potato Head of Toy Story 3 made me giggle more than is probably acceptable.

Paul McCartney was on stage at one point and DIDN'T lead everyone in a rendition of Hey Jude... never thought I'd see the day.

Original Music - The King's Speech - Boo!  I love the film but AR Rahman should have won for 127 hours.

Jesse Eisenberg is very small.

Special Visual Effects - Inception - Woo hoo!  Had to be.

I wonder if James McAvoy would be as adorable without the Scottish accent?

Best Supporting Actress - Helena Bonham-Carter.  I hope she doesn't win the Oscar but it seems right for the BAFTA's. Her acceptance speech was fabulous.  She just seems like an awesome mental lady. Love her.  Also, Miranda Richardson looked pissed!

Outstanding Debut by a British guy doing writey, directory stuff - Chris Morris for 4 Lions. Chris wasn't there which is a shame but not surprising.  I've not seen Four Lions yet which is a problem as I promised my year 9 class I'd watch it this weekend. Just remembered.  Whoops!

Outstanding British Film - The King's Speech.  Of course.  And it deserved to win.  Moving, funny, superbly acted and as British as you can get.

Best Supporting Actor - Geoffrey Rush. He really is brilliant.  Although a little part of me wanted Andrew Garfield to get it.

Oh. My. God. Rosamund Pike & Dominic Cooper totally stuffed up their intro.  Painful.

Best original screenplay - The King's Speech

STEPHEN FRY!!  Thank goodness for that.  Was getting bored.

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema - The Harry Potter Films. Made shed loads of cash, created jobs, stimulated the economy blah, blah, blah.  I love them & I'm not ashamed.  David Heyman is a prat though.

Best Animated Film - Toy Story 3.  I love Toy Story but I really had my fingers crossed for How to Train your Dragon.  Oh well...

I LOVE Tom Ford.

Rising Star - Tom Hardy. Wooh!  Tom wasn't there which is a great shame. Ahem, anyway the other nominees were Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Aaron Johnson. Would've been ok for any of these guys to win - except Arterton of course.  She's pants.

In memoriam - yeah some sad bits. Pete Postlethwaite!  Corey Haim! Sad.

Emma Stone's there with Macauley Culkin!  Eh?!  He's only just broken up with Mila Kunis.  And he's all odd.  Oh well, they might be just friends.
*EDIT* It was Kieran Culkin.  Can't believe I got them confused.  Also can't believe it was my mum who put me right!

Julianne Moore looked beautiful but she seemed mega nervous.

Adapted Screenplay - The Social Network. Yey!  I'm such a Sorkin nerd. And his speech was lovely.

Tilda Swinton is so unbelievably stylish.

Best Director - David Fincher.  Wooh!  Loved The Social Network - plus Andrew Garfield got a moment on stage.

Gerard Butler has mad crazy hair.  But it's lovely to see him speaking like a person with a real accent for a change.

Leading Actress - Natalie Portman. But she wasn't there. Can't argue.  She was ace.

Leading Actor - Colin Firth. Woop!  He's so gentlemanly and British.  Love him. Brilliant speech.

Best Film - The King's Speech. Yeah I know it's not a surprise but it really is a great film.  Big cheers for the UK Film Council too which is interesting as the Government are getting rid of it...

BAFTA Fellowship for Christopher Lee.  He really has aged though.  I know he's like 103 or something but he's starting to look it.  It was a really moving moment.  Lots of shots of crying celebrities.  I joined in.  Lovely way to end though. He's a legend.

The dresses!

Since watching Black Swan Barbara Hershey terrifies me.

Emma Stone was wearing the Lanvin dress I really REALLY want. And she looks great in it.

Thandie Newton never ages.

J.K. Rowling can look a bit librarian and boring but not tonight.  She looks fab!

And Tilda Swinton is just her crazy self. 

There are probably loads more fab (and not so fab) outfits but the photo's haven't appeared yet so this will have to do!

So let me know your thoughts in the comments.  Good decisions, bad decisions, fashion opinions... anything!

Oscar Nominations - My Predictions!

Well the nominations are out so it's time to make some (mostly) unfounded predictions so we can laugh at how many I get wrong in a few weeks.

I actually love the Oscars.  Yes I know they favour a certain 'type' of film. And yes it's a shame Christopher Nolan hasn't been nominated again. And I know comic book/fantasy films are enjoyed by the mainstream but not recognised by the establishment at awards time and that's rubbish.  But I honestly don't think I care that much. I want to watch a bunch of people in nice dresses prentend to have a good time and be happy for each other while they make ridiculous self-important speeches. It's fun! There are some great films, actors, directors and the rest of them nominated this year... and James Franco's presenting, so roll on the 27th February.

Best motion picture of the year

127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
Winter's Bone
True Grit
The Social Network
Toy Story 3

I really think The Social Network will get this one.  I know that the film with the most nominations is usually the favourite in this category but I'm bucking the trend.  It's great to see Toy Story 3 on the list.  I loved 127, Black Swan, Inception and The King's Speech. True Grit hasn't been released in the UK, I think Winter's bone got a tiny release and I can't help but think that The Fighter looks a bit crappy... has anyone seen it?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David O'Russell - The Fighter
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
David Fincher - The Social Network
Joes & Ethan Coen - True Grit

I think it's Fincher's time... He missed out in 2009 with Benjamin Button, the Coens have won loads and I don't think The King's Speech will get many of the big awards. I think I secretly wish Aronofsky would win though, just because his film is so totally mental. But no, it's Fincher's time plus, look at his little face!

I'm gonna stop typing the other nominees now...

Best Actor

Colin Firth.  See that was easy. No point in writing the other guys down bless 'em. Jesse Eisenberg was great, James Franco was awesome and I'm sure the other two were great too but they've no chance.  I really do think Firth deserves it though. Yes he's playing a King with a stutter and a lisp - it's got 'Oscar' written all over it - but he does it brilliantly, never going too far.

Best Actress

Natalie Portman. Another easy one!  It doesn't help that I've not seen any of the other films in this category but Nina Sayers was the role of a lifetime and she didn't waste it.

Best Supporting Actor

Geoffrey Rush - I know the smart money is on Christian Bale for this one but every time I've watched The Fighter's trailer he looks like he's playing 'the wayward brother' stock character in a pretty over-the-top way.  I'd love to be wrong about that though.

Best Supporting Actress

I don't know!  Helena Bonham-Carter won't get it; although she's excellent, she doesn't have too much to do.  I've got to pick though so I'm going with Hailee Steinfeld. She looks like a good little actress, plus she's teeny she's got a chance. Love Amy Adams though.

Best Foriegn Language Film - Biutiful
Best Original Screenplay - The King's Speech

Best Animation

Aaargh!  I LOVE all the Toy Story films so I'm torn but I'm going with How to Train Your Dragon. It's funny, gorgeous too look at and incredibly moving. Pixar have enough already! 

Best Adapted Screenplay - The Social Network (I'm a Sorkin nerd - plus he's the best)
Best Art Direction - Inception
Best Cinematography - Black Swan
Best Sound Mixing - Inception
Best Sound Editing - Inception

Best Original Song - Just tracked these down and had a listen.  The thought of  having to watch Gwyneth Paltrow sing makes me feel a bit ill. I nearly went for the one from Tangled because I've got an irrational love for Mandy Moore but it's got to be We Belong Together from Toy Story 3. Randy Newman's voice makes me happy ok!

Best Original Score - AR Rahman for 127 Hours
Best Costumes -The King's Speech (If Alice in Wonderland gets it I'll be mad)
Best Documentary Feature - Restrepo (not seen it but Kermode says it's good)
Best Film Editing - 127 Hours (maybe??)

Best Animated Short - The Gruffalo!! A little British cartoon featuring the voices of Rob Brydon, James Corden would be pretty funny.  And now that's 3 nominated things with Helena B-C in...

Best Visual Effects - Inception

So that's it. A month till we find out how many I got right.

Apologies if this became less and less coherent towards the end. Do you agree, disagree, think I've gone mental? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Black Swan - Holy crap!

So it's about 24 hours since I settled down into the front row of a lovely, quiet cinema screen to enjoy Black Swan.  2 hours later I staggered out, feeling as though I needed a nice lie down.  I just about feel ready to try and organise my thoughts.  I hope they make sense!

Ballet is all about balance. You must be sure-footed. Darren Aronofsky makes sure his audience is the opposite, throwing us off balance and out of our comfort zone at every opportunity.  The result is a stunning, satisfying and unexpectedly funny film.

TEENY SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW

Natalie Portman is Nina Sayers; a ballerina with the determination to be 'perfect'.  Portman apparently trained for 10 months for this role and it shows.  She has always been graceful and fragile-looking but now she looks as though she could snap at any moment. Every bone protrudes, every muscle is lean.  Right or wrong, this is what dancers go through and the commitment she has shown to get there really shouldn't be underestimated.  She should win the Oscar. It'd be a crime if she didn't.  Her performance is the thing which grounds Black Swan. It gives it it's realism. It stops it from leaping, head first,  over the top of plausible.

So Nina is cast in Swan Lake, playing the White Swan Odette and the Black Swan Odile. She's great at dancing Odette cos she's all boring and sexless but Odile is more of a challenge... Enter Vincent Cassell!

He's the slimy French choreographer and he's brilliant.  Smarmy and calculated. Nina falls for every line.

Barbara Hershey plays Nina's mother and this relationship is the most interesting in the film.  Hershey switches brilliantly between Erica's attempts to be pally; all sorority girl sharing and hair brushing; and an ultra-controlling matriarch.

Nina's real-life opposite is Lily, a new dancer from (gasp) California!  She is everything Nina isn't; relaxed, sexy and independent. An uneasy friendship is formed, with the undercurrent of competition never too far away.  Mila Kunis seems to relish this role and she can do sexy with her eyes closed.  Lily is the catalyst for Nina finally losing her cool. Kunis is, on the face of it, the opposite of Portman but they are facially at least, similar enough for us to be freaked out now and then!

As the film progresses Aronofsky really starts to have fun.  Throwing the audience completley off balance with Cronenberg-esque body horror to make you (well me anyway) squirm in your seats. The omnipresent mirrors become more and more integral to Nina's crumbling psychosis and are the basis of some great shocks. And how do you not see the cameramen?!  And a scene involving Winona Ryder (who's pretty good) will have you wondering if you've wandered into an actual horror film.

Sound is used to great effect and the realism of the film stock and camera work really offsets the seeming unreality of the events of the final act. The dance scenes are excellent.  Filmed close to show the agony and the effort rather than the grace and elegance of the finished product.

And what of the ending?  I really can't tell you about it cos it's a pretty massive spoiler which is a shame cos I had some good clever words lined up but join me in comments and we'll argue it out!

I can't recommend Black Swan highly enough. It won't be everyone's cup of tea and I'm not sure I found it totally satisfying but it's the most exciting and thrilling films I've seen in a while. The performances really do make it.

Also... aren't these posters gorgeous?  The designers hadn't seen the film when they made them but they've really captured the tone I think. I'd happily hang all of them in my house.