May 24, 2007

UMA 2006: Part IV

BEST COSTUME DESIGN - CONTEMPORARY
(Patricia Field and Jane Johnston's work (on The Devil Wears Prada and Macbeth is inneligable here, but that still doesn't mean these nominees aren't entirely worthy)


Linda Hemming
Casino Royale
Just as the entire film went in for a reboot, the costume designing merely had a minor retuning. Keeping the sexy swimsuits and exquisite tuxedos, but adding masculine bruvado. Sublime.


Janty Yates and Michael Caplan
Miami Vice
Yates dives back into contemporary work alongside longtime contemporary designer Caplan to create an air of effortless cool mixed with underground seediness. The cast all look good in their duds.


Melinda Doring
Suburban Mayhem
Truly amazing costumes-maketh-the-man designing by Doring. Every single outfit helps the audience understand the character of Katrina Skinner, even down an image of a tiger on a top. Bogan-chic.


Catherine Marie Thomas
A Prairie Home Companion
Lots of styles here from the old-west "Bad Joke" brothers, prairie-bound Johnson Sisters and the new-wave-goth of Lindsay Lohan's teen poet. All look stunning if endearingly off-kilter.


Sabine Daigeler
Volver
Brings more eclectic and vibrant fabric creations to movie just like she did last time for Almodovar on All About My Mother. So much personality in (some cases) such few threads.


Honourable Mentions: Michelle Posch made fine character-based work on Brick, as did Nancy Steiner on Little Miss Sunshine (love Carell's all-white ensemble) and Consolata Boyle for The Queen. Danny Glicker knew just what designer suits to put on his cast in Thank You For Smoking.


GOLD
Melinda Doring for Suburban Mayhem
SILVER
Sabine Daigener for Volver
BRONZE
Linda Hemming for Casino Royale


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - CONTEMPORARY

Paul Heath and Simon McCutcheon
Book of Revolution
While the "empty spaces/empty people" motif was about as subtle as a hit to the head with a mallet, the use of Melbourne's famous alleyways and it's artist studio sets made the film pleasant to look at when it wasn't all about rape and stuff like that.


Alex McDowell
Breaking and Entering
One of the industries best designers McDowell creates an urban wasteland under construction. The clean and modern next to the grubby and impoverished.


Kevin Thompson and Craig Jackson
Stranger than Fiction
Imaginatively conceived and designed, it is the only part of this frustrating film that feels complete and wholley realised.


Jan Roelfs, Richard L Johnson and Hinju Kim
The exansive and, from my understanding, intricately designed crash site feels so imposing over the proceedings that not much can overcome it. The pre/during-attack scenes have a keen eye for detail.


Salvador Parra
Volver
Much like the costume design, Parra's production design has a bright and zesty vibe that is addictive. From all those wallpaper patterns to a near-empty courtyard, the work here is so fun.


Honourable Mentions: Michelle Sotheron and Christopher Cox made 48 Shades look just right. Tim Hatley and Hannah Moseley's work on Notes on a Scandal had a lot of tiny details, but the movie was all about the freakin' staircases!


GOLD
Salvador Parra for Volver
SILVER
Alex McDowell for Breaking and Entering
BRONZE
Jan Roelfs, Richard L Johnson and Hinju Kim for World Trade Center


BEST MUSICAL SEQUENCE - MUSIC-ORIENTED FILM


"Jesus Walks"
Performed by Kanye West
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Exhilirating and intoxicating. With work by the real-life high school marching band, "Jesus Walks" is a true stormer to kick off the block party proceedings.


"You Got Me"
Performed by The Roots, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Completely and utterly amazing and transcending moment from Chappelle's concert. Electric and phenomenal. Oh to be there for that once-in-a-lifetime performance.


"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
Performed by Jennifer Hudson
Dreamgirls
The moment that sealed the fate for Hudson as one of this generations absolute finest. On the big screen with the big speakers, this literally explodes from the screen.


"I Am Changing"
Performed by Jennifer Hudson
Dreamgirls
My personal favourite Dreamgirls tune gets a beautifully subtle and subdued moment to shine. Hudson's vocals tear right through without the use of chaotic editing and staging.


"Goodbye to Mama"
Performed by Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin
A Prairie Home Companion
Oh to only choose one! My favourite was this poetic moment between Streep and Tomlin. Feels less like rehearsed than the others, giving it a rawer beautiful power.


Honourable Mentions: "Someone to Love" and "Boogie Wonderland had my eyes glued to Happy Feet. "The Way" by Jill Scott and the reformation of The Fugees made Dave Chappelle's Block Party even more of a blast. The "One Night Only Medley" from Dreamgirls was a mix of contrasts, while "Dreamgirls" number was full of pizazz. "My Minnisota Home", "Frankie and Johnny" and "Bad Jokes" were some of A Prairie Home Companion's best. "Made" even made my eyes pop from Step Up. I laughed more during "I Cry" from BoyTown than anything else in that silly movie. "The Painter" and "When God Made Me" were my favourite moments from Neil Young: Heart of Gold. Lastly, the many musical interludes during In Search of Mozart just washed over me. So fine.


GOLD
"You Got Me" from Dave Chappelle's Block Party
SILVER
"And I Am Telling You..." from Dreamgirls
BRONZE
"Jesus Walks from Dave Chappelle's Block Party


BEST MUSICAL SEQUENCE - NON-MUSIC-ORIENTED FILM


"She Can't Tell You"
Performed by Maggie Cheung
Clean
Hauntingly produced and fantastically sung by Cheung, the film's closing moment is both ethereal and bruising. I wish I could get this song somewhere without importing it!


"The Way That I Love You"

Performed by Ursula Yovich
Jindabyne
Another sad moment to close a film, this time it's prominant indiginous performer Yovich singing a moving tribute to her lost sister (I think). So raw.


"In the End"
Performed by Justin Bond
Shortbus
A raucious chaotic ending to the strands of Shortbus. A elegy for half and then a celebration for the rest. The perfect way to end a film.


"Soda Shop"
Performed by Jay Brannan
Shortbus
A cute and fluffy-like-fairy-floss moment preceeding one of the more hardcore moments of the film. The song is totally adorable and Brannan's performance is just too fun.


"Volver"
Performed (er...) by Penelope Cruz
Volver
The finest moment in the film comes from Cruz's lipsyncing to Estelle Morente's "Volver". Bringing a flood of memories back to Raimunda and amazing the audience at the same time.


Honourable Mentions: The dance performace in Book of Revelation was admittedly quite something. "Super Freak" still kinda gives me the heebie-jeebies, but it's also kind of funny in Little Miss Sunshine. Zoe Weizenbaum's recital in 12 and Holding was precious. "Love For Sale" was a great wink-wink moment in The Black Dahlia


GOLD
"Volver" from Volver
SILVER
"She Can't Tell You" from Clean
BRONZE
"Soda Shop" from Shortbus


BEST ADAPTED MUSIC SCORE

Children of Men
Including: John Tavener, Aphex Twin, Jarvis Cocker and various Operas.
Wonderful use of operatic music to overscore the powerful scenes, plus the music by Tavener and other acts. That song by Jarvis is B!r!i!l!l!i!a!n!t!


The Devil Wears Prada
Including: Madonna, KT Tunstall, U2, Alanis Morisette and Theodore Shapiro.
Very chic and appropriate songs ("Vogue", hello) and occasionally sharp scoring by Shapiro.



Dreamgirls
Including: Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose, Jamie Foxx.
Great interpretations of several Broadway standards and a few great new ones.


Marie Antoinette
Including: Bow Wow Wow, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Radio Dept., Reitzell and many others.
One of the most amazing and truly eclectically bonkers soundtracks you're ever likely to be privy to hearing. Bow Wow Wow next to Vivaldi!


A Prairie Home Companion
Including: Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson, John C Reilly and Garrison Keillor
A great way of presenting the songs that many have known and loved for years, but which I was experiencing for the very first time.


Honourable Mentions: Miami Vice, like other Mann films, had ace song selection (Moby/Patti Labelle!) Happy Feet had a crazy selection of artists and song selection. Clean had some great songs, as did Shortbus. 2:37 used another operatic score effectively.


GOLD
Marie Antoinette
SILVER
Dreamgirls
BRONZE
A Prairie Home Companion


BEST ACTION SEQUENCE


Bandidas
Train Heist
Teehee. I dunno. It was uber-fun and it was funny to see Salma Heyak and Penelope Cruz running around shooting at people. It was a hoot.


Breaking and Entering
Escape Jumping
I was awed by the pure skill of the abilities demonstrated by those people (including actor Rafi Gavron but I may be wrong on that one), but it was also exciting and thrilling and edge-of-your-seat reality based action.


Children of Men
The Road Ambush
Impecably staged and directed, this sequence is the beginning of the end (of the beginning?) There's no turning back for Theo, or for the audience who have just had the rug taken out from under them. Majorly.


Happy Feet
The Avalanch
A visually dazzling feat. The editing and cinematography give this amazing sequence even more punch, but how about those final seconds with the "did I just see that?" moment as the ice collapses into the sea and we get a glimpse of them.


Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Protecting the Box/Getting the Key
An extended multi-scene, throws in every possible thing you could imagine and then adds a water wheel! Exhilarating and swashbuckling goodness left me feeling jazzed at the end of the flick.


Honourable Mentions: Miami Vice had two killer action scenes: The trailer park, and the final shootout. Both amazing. My favourite action scene in Casino Royale was the airport sequence. The car chase on the glass ceiling in Renaissence was uber-fun.


GOLD
Children of Men
SILVER
Happy Feet
BRONZE
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest



BEST OPENING SCENE


Children of Men
Theo walks into a coffee shot filled with people who are staring at the television screen watching the news of Baby Diegos death. He orders his coffee and leaves, walking several feat away from the coffee shot. He pulls a flask out and starts to pour it into the coffee when BOOM. Out from the debris of the coffee shop walks a girl holding her arm, which has been ripped off.



Jindabyne
A young Aboriginal woman drives down a country road, "Jindabyne Fair" plays on the tape-player. In her rearview mirror a truck appears. The driver is flashing their lights at her. The driver speeds and pulls up besides her still moving car. The man in the car says there is something under the car. She pulls over, so does he. He gets out and walks towards the girl. She quickly winds up her window and locks her door as the man runs towards the car. Trying to get him he stares at the girl, terrified. Fate unknown.



Miami Vice
A hot and sweaty nightclub in Miami. Young beautiful people dance to loud dance music as we focus on two police officers. They're scoping out the place. They head outside to take a phone call. Standing out on the landing the Miami sky is a murky maroon.



Ten Canoes
We see the far expansive lands of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The sounds of life echo around as the camera pans over the land, following a river stream. The voice of the Narrator booms over us as we start to get closer to the ground, "Once upon a time in a land far far away" and then nothing. A few seconds go by the narrator gives off one of the cheekiest laughs you'll ever hear. "Not really."



United 93
A roadside motel as dawn breaks. Inside one of the rooms is a small group of men. One is on his knees praying to his god, while another sits in the bathroom shaving all the body hair off of his body. They're all making their final preparations before leaving to the airport on September 11, 2001.


Honourable Mentions: The windy cemetary of Volver was a startling opening image. Something must've piqued my interest during World Trade Center's opening, because I noted it down. Hunt Angels projects it's opening scene, quite literally, onto the sky. Shortbus weaves about New York. Borat's opening scenes just lead to even funnier moments. Suburban Mayhem had Katrina Skinner crying out tears of sadness at her mother's funeral - and then laughing at a SMS requesting sex. I adored the black and white opening of Casino Royale. I sort of wished the whole thing was in b+w.


GOLD
Children of Men
SILVER
Miami Vice
BRONZE
Jindabyne


BEST ENDING SCENE
*BIG SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY*


Children of Men
Saviour. Just in time for Kee and her baby, but not for Theo. His mission comes to an end.


The Departed
Mark Wahlberg is the last man standing after taking care of Matt's guilty conscience.


The Fountain
A phantasmagorgy of light and life. I can't really explain what happens here


Jindabyne
ZAP!


Marie Antoinette
Marie leaves Versailles. The only destruction we see is of a the chandallier. No heads role here, thank you very much.


Honourable Mentions: I forgot about United 93 for some strange reason. It should probably be in the final five, but oh well. Dreamgirls had a rousing finale, as did Bobby. Clean's final moments were Maggie Cheung's voice, so I was happy. Fast Food Nation's finale was the infamous slaughterhouse scene. Yeah, gross but unflinching. Kenny had a touching end. The end of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was silly (how did she not know a deranged chainsaw-weilding man was in the backseat, seriously) but I was still surprised when the lead got sawn in half, quite frankly.


GOLD
Marie Antoinette
SILVER
The Departed
BRONZE
Jindabyne


BEST TRAILER FOR A 2006 RELEASE
(click the title to view)
The Devil Wears Prada
It it quite literally just a scene out the movie (just a tad truncated), but it works so well. You immediately wanna see the rest, don't you? Don't you?

Jindabyne
A series of moments that don't really equal much, but when put to the haunting mesmerising music it grabbed my attention. I wanted to know what was so mysterious.

The Lady in the Water (teaser)
This wouldn't be here if it weren't for the final 20 seconds. Something about it gives me a) the creeps and b) the tingles. The music (cello and piano?) with the words on the screen "A Bedtime Story..." (and I'm open to anything Shyamalan does) and then a line of dialogue that sounds so filled with possibility: "How many of you are there?"

Little Children
The sound of an approaching train and it's loud crash are the only hints that this idyllic suburbia is headed for major trouble. So thematic.

Marie Antoinette (teaser)
Much like Jindabyne, this trailer is a collection of images and moments strung together by nothing else than the sounds on the soundtrack. What ever could this movie be?



GOLD
The Devil Wears Prada
SILVER
Little Children
BRONZE
Marie Antoinette


BEST POSTER FOR A 2006 RELEASE
(click them to view larger)




The Black Dahlia
Really, choose any poster for this movie and it'll be great. So stylish and dripping with mystery and sex.







Hard Candy
The movie is a hard one to sell, but this design captures the tone and the ideas of the film perfectly, while not scaring away people by screaming THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT PAEDOPHILES AND CASTRATION!!!







Miami Vice
I enjoyed the entire set. The murky haze of them all with the blue tone. But it was this Gong Li poster that really struck me. Some would say "racist! The asian woman is in the dark". I say "ooh, mysterious! why is she in the dark?"




The Prestige
Wonderfully utilising the film's subject (magic) and creating a poster around it. It echoes Hitchcock's Vertigo for more than one reason. Don't they look like they're putting up their battle hands?






Suburban Mayhem
A movie poster so completely and utterly amazing that I wanted it to hang on my wall even before I had seen the movie. Not enough movies go to this much effort to look effortlessly cool. I sort of can't type out the words to explain how much I want to marry this poster.


Honourable Mentions: I adored Volver's tomato red colour scheme and it's crazy animated flowers. Dave Chappelle's Block Party had a poster of compact stargazing. The design for An Inconvenient Truth was quite startling. You may not realise what is so wonderful about the Ten Canoes poster, but have a gander at the poster for Walkabout. The connection? Both films were the debuts for the Gulpilil men (David in Walkabout, his son Jamie in Ten Canoes). All of the posters for Brick were visually striking. Bobby was brave with it's design. The Devil Wears Prada had a great central image. Did you actually look at the poster for Lady in the Water? After seeing the movie I now think it's quite great.



GOLD
Suburban Mayhem
SILVER
Hard Candy
BRONZE
The Prestige




BEST TAG LINE
(it's a fine art, y'all)


My Super Ex-Girlfriend
"He broke her heart.
She broke his everything."


Sorry, this just makes me giggle. The movie may have been bad (I skipped it), but that tagline is kind of magic.



A Scanner Darkly
"Everything is not going to be ok"

Again, I wasn't able to see this movie, but doesn't that tagline just say so much about it, but at the same time, doesn't say anything (it's telling you what it's not... make sense?)



She's the Man
"Everybody has a secret... Duke wants Olivia who likes Sebastian who is really Viola whose brother is dating Monique so she hates Olivia who's with Duke to make Sebastian jealous who is really Viola who's crushing on Duke who thinks he's a guy..."

Normally I disdain taglines that outline the entire movie and clog out the poster, but this one's different. It's playing around with the movie's silly plot and making a joke out of it. It shows you what you're in for, but winks that it also doesn't take itself seriously at all.



Shut Up & Sing
"Freedom of speech is fine, as long as you don't do it in public."

The most ignorant line of the movie is the tagline, and doesn't it just make you laugh/angry? I find it especially amusing that in another 2006 documentary The US Vs John Lennon (out this week in Aus) the people against Lennon were saying he could speak out against the government but that he shouldn't do it while living in America. It seems they don't want anyone speaking out anywhere.



Ten Canoes
"One hundred and fifty spears, ten canoes, three wives... trouble."

That "... trouble" part just makes this such a cheeky tagline. It makes sense that a simple and cheeky movie should have a simple and cheeky tagline too.


Honourable Mentions: Stick It took "It's not called gym-nice-stics" and made a tagline that's memorable. Lady in the Water had a nice ring with "Time is running out for a happy ending". Babel's simple "Listen" was effective. An Inconvenient Truth gave us "A global warning".

I gotta say, the most bizarre tagline was that for Land of the Blind: "What's better than a big juicy steak?" You tell me...



GOLD
Ten Canoes
SILVER
Shut Up & Sing
BRONZE
A Scanner Darkly



BEST INDIVIDUAL LINE READING



Conor Donovan
12 and Holding
"No offence, but I never though my new brother would be... a 'brothah'."





Mark Wahlberg
The Departed
"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself."






Meryl Streep
The Devil Wears Prada
"Why is no one rea-dy"





Laura Linney
Jindabyne
"I didn't make myself sick. People don't make themselves sick. It's something that happens to you. Something bad that happens to you."





Patrick St Esprit
United 93
"Holy shit!"




Honouble Mentions: Everything Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt say in Little Miss Sunshine. Everything Sasha Baron Cohen says in Borat. Plus, "Sweet. Sweetness. Dirty." (Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine), "Your dad's going to be living on the streets for a little while" (Wendy Hughes, The Caterpillar Wish), "Well now that's some fucked up shit" (Nathan Fillion, Slither), "I doubt it" (in spanish, Penelope Cruz, Volver), "Stop telling people I sprung from your loins" (Scarlett Johansson, Scoop). And, yes, "I have had it with these motherfuckin' snakes on this motherfuckin' plane!" (Samuel L Jackson, Snakes on a Plane).


GOLD
Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada
SILVER
Conor Donovan for 12 and Holding
BRONZE
Laura Linney for Jindabyne


SCENE OF THE YEAR
(Excluding previously nominated scenes)


Babel
Tokyo Drug Trip
Featuring amazing sound and music (including a fragmented Earth Wind and Fire's "September") this scene was the film's most intriguing and wellmade scene. So more subtle than foreigners yelling at Brad Pitt and him not understanding.



Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Bear
The look on thos kids faces is utter comedy gold. Whoever came up with that scene deserves, like, the Nobel Prize or something.



The Black Dahlia
Dinner with the Linscotts
Utterly deranged and psychotic this scene both frightened me and made me want to crack up with laughter. Good thing this wasn't in 3D or else Fiona Shaw would emerge from the screen, grab you and then eat you without spitting out the bones.



The Black Dahlia
Dahlia Discover/The Shootout
This conjoined sequence is what Brian DePalma does best. Starts at one thing and then without you even realising he has already forgotten that and started messing around with something else.



Cars
Afternoon Drive
This sequence is, for me, a jaw-dropper. I sat in the cinema not actually believing what I was seeing. How could something look that good? It just stunned me. The detail from the trees to the rockfaces to the waterfall. Just beautiful. I was in awe.



Children of Men
Letting the Baby Through
I got a little big choked up and I nearly shed a tear during this sequence that is everything the movie is about, set to opera.



The Devil Wears Prada
The Run Through
What starts off as a simple scene that appears to be more clothes-worshipping, it takes a sharp turn and becomes the centrepiece. Perfectly distilling facts with entertainment and giving the great Meryl her crowning moment.



Little Miss Sunshine
Kentucky Fried Dinner
A great way to introduce all the characters and their interactions with each other that will continue throughout the rest of the film. Grandpa's comments about the chicken are priceless.



Marie Antoinette
I Want Candy
A delightfully crazy montage sequence that is surely the scene of the year for people with shoe or cake fetishes. Set to the music of Bow Wow Wow, Coppola even throws in a pair of cons for shits and giggles. Those cons won an Academy Award, ya know!



Pan's Labyrinth
Pale Man
Holy shit! Sure, the girl is maddening (don't eat the grapes, you silly girl!) but when she does we're witness to something shocking and terrifying and downright scary as all hell. A literally edge-of-your-seat arm-clenching moment there.



GOLD
Cars
SILVER
Pan's Labyrinth
BRONZE
The Devil Wears Prada



{fin}

7 comments:

J.D. said...

How the hell isn't United 93 nominated for Best Ending?!?!?!?!?

Dame James said...

No love for Cate Blanchett's "Here I am!" or Dame Judi Dench's "You're not young" in Best Line Reading?

Marius said...

Best musical sequence goes to Volver? That part annoyed the hell out of me. Boy, you sure do love Almodovar and Cruz.

Glenn Dunks said...

JD, good question. Not sure why I overlooked that.

James, the "Here I Am" thing is good but for the wrong reasons. And, yeah, maybe I should've thrown Judi in.

Marius, oh yes. I love Almodovar's random musical sequences.

J.D. said...

The pics for Best Poster don't show up, and it's the "something went wrong" type of not showing up. Just to let ya know.

And unrelated: You thought Dead Man's Chest was meh (like everyone else on the planet except me) right? I wonder what you'll do to At World's End. I'll say this least: It's technically the best of the series. And it's the Final Battle (no spoilers) is the best definition of "epic" since the Battle of the Pelennor, just my lil ol' opinion. (I think I just commited personal heresy...)

Glenn Dunks said...

I gave Pirates 2 a B actually. I'm seeing the third in 1 hour and 14 minutes. So, yay.

I'll look into the poster category. THey show up on my screen.

Anybody else not see them?

Glenn Dunks said...

Oh, okay! When I click on them they don't show up.

I'll fix it later tonight. I need to cook dinner now.