New trailer: Funny People

Perhaps it's just me but Judd Apatow seems to be gradually attempting to become James L Brooks! There were traces of it in Knocked Up but this one has Brooks written all over it. Maybe it's just because Sandler was in the last Brooks feature, Spanglish, but i don't think so. Anyway, judge for yourself:

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/funny-people/trailer

How went the predictions?

Well it seems i was pretty on the nose with my Feb 19 predictions of the Oscars outcome (see right hand column). Only Waltz With Bashir was wrong for foreign language, but i think i may have been blinded by my love of that movie. And to be fair i haven't seen winning film Departures, it may be amazing. Disappointingly i was right about Penn, oh well, he was great. Never mind Mickey, as Billy said to Bill last time Sean won, "we still luv ya".

The Good, The Bad and the SJP!: Ten reasons to say "Worst Oscars ever"! and the few saving graces

Okay, so it's taken a while to get over being up all night, more to deal with what happened objectively and even more to get around to sitting at a computer and tackling it but finally i am ready to look at the 2008 Oscars for the final time. To put it to rest so we can look ahead happily to a brighter future of 2009 glories!

So Sunday night i felt kind of like we had just seen the worst Oscars ever. Not just the awards given. Not just the ceremony changes. Not just the excruciatingly twee red-carpet nonsense. It was the whole thing. Now i accept i was somewhat prepared for this - i knew they were screwing with the format, and i already hated many of the nominations.

With more thought there were a few things that bothered me less than i thought or did actually like. Therefore what was going to be the top 10 reasons these were "Worst Oscars ever!" has become same but with tacked on saving graces just to be fair!


1. The songs, oh god the songs! - So Hugh, we get it you're a song and dance man. The problem i had with the songs was they hurt each other. One would have been fine but not two. The first was entertaining but not as funny as Billy Crystal used to do, but that's okay. But then the musical-medley in the middle showed up the flaws in the first song. While the first song, and it's sensible "launch the ceremony" placing showed up the grinding halt aspect of the medley, which was kind of like watching a movie musical. When it ended it was just kind of "well, and now..." Added to which what the hell was the point of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper being involved? They looked like backing dancers. When they first came on i was peering at the screen to see if, as i suspected, it was them. They may not be the singers Jackman and Beyonce are but to not even give them a line to sing on their own seems bizarre. I mean one of the songs was from Mamma Mia and Hugh and Beyonce took that and drowned out the Mamma Mia actors there too. Pointless waste.
Saving grace: the only real surprise of the night (and no Penn was not that surprising) Anne Hathaway should be on Broadway damn it! That girl's got lungs!

2. Mickey lost, damn it! - I love The Wrestler and more than I love the film I love Mickey Rourke in it. I was a fan of his 80s work like Diner, Pope of Greenwich Village and Angel Heart and had been so pleased to see him re-emerging at the top of his game recently in films like Man On Fire and Sin City. Then came The Wrestler and a palpable chance at Oscar glory. But it was not to be. I wasn't stunned. The writing was on the wall when SAG gave it to Penn and Mickey has been down-playing it of late saying he hoped Penn won and he didn't think he'd get it - obviously getting good advice from advisors on the Penn possibility. But still i'm sad Mickey didn't get it.
Saving grace: Penn was excellent in Milk, deserving an Oscar far more than in Mystic River. It was Dead Man Walking good so i can't really fault his win. He also gave a good funny and self-deprecating acceptance speech and gave a shout-out to Mickey. Plus the nomination will arguably do everything for Mickey's career he needs regardless.

3. "I can't see dead people"! - Okay, big bug-bear! What was with In Memorium? I have no issue with having a song accompaniment but why does the director of the show have to keep pulling back to see Queen Latifah singing it? We know she's singing it we saw her come on and can hear her. Every time they pulled back you couldn't fricking see who they were honouring. I assume they had Cyd Charisse cause i couldn't damn well tell. Major directorial snaffu!
Saving grace: None, appalling behaviour, sort it out!

4. Presenters - Who decides on these pairings? Okay some work great but as many are awkward and bizarre. This year we had that scary freak-show ugly-bastard Twilight guy on stage. We had Frieda Pinto paired with Liam Neeson for no reason I can fathom. We had a terrible Daniel Craig tripping over all his lines while "it that a man in a dress" Sarah Jessica Parker pretends to be glamourous next to him. We had Jennifer Aniston about ready to vomit from nerves while staring down the barrel of Angelina's front-row icy stare. The scripted jokes are invaribly lame. It has quickly got around that Stiller's brilliant parody of Joaquin Phoenix's Letterman appearance (featured on this blog a couple of weeks back) came about because Stiller thought the script was terrible and said he'd do something else. Comedians and class acts like Jack, Meryl etc seem the only ones that can pull these off. Learn Oscars, learn!
Saving grace: Tina Fey and Steve Martin - the funniest he's been in years!; Jack Black delivering the line of the night when talking about how he makes money off animation movies "I do a film each year for DreamWorks then i come to the Oscars and bet it all on Pixar!"; The aforementioned Phoenix impression.

5. Speaking of Jack - where the hell was Nicholson? The Oscars without Jack is like...well... the Golden Globes!
Saving grace: We had current favourite bad boy Mickey Rourke in the front role wearing shades throughout the ceremony. Jack may have been missing but his spirit was alive and well in Rourke!

6. The Slumdog sweep - look i don't hate Slumdog Millionaire. Of the poor choice of films up in best picture this year (where were Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road, WALL-E, Wrestler, Doubt?) it was the best of the bunch and deserved that gong. Hell, give it best director for the same reason but it didn't deserve the sweep it got, winning all but one of the categories it was up for.
Saving grace: It did lose that one and it did deserve Editing!

7. Ben Burtt robbed - part of that evil Slumdog sweep was sound mixing. The sound mixing may have been excellent in Slumdog but it was arguably the most important and stunning element of WALL-E next to the animation itself. Damn it Ben Burtt's 'voice' for WALL-E (and M-O) was a key, genius part of it. Burtt should gave gotten this with his collaborators and i will never forgive Slumdog for stealing it from him.
Saving grace: WALL-E got best animation (even if this should have gone to robbed of a nom Waltz With Bashir).

8. Departures gets foreign - the Oscars do this to me every time! Amelie, Pan's Labyrinth and now Waltz With Bashir. Every time there's an amazing foreign film that is my film of the year the ancient Academy cadavers refuse to recognise the innovative genius of said film and give the Oscar to a more old school traditionist film. Damn it, damn it, damn it. This one really pisses me off.
Saving grace: None, and what's worse is they were so infuriatingly dismissive of Waltz With Bashir that when they did their 'recap of animation of 2008' it was only studio titles. Crap like Star Wars: Clone Wars and Space Chimps got numerous clips but not a single one for Bashir! Let it be known that if i find out who put that clip-show together i will hir Liam Neeson and he will find you, etc!

9. Winslet win - you know i'm glad after 6 noms Kate has an Oscar but this is the wrong film. She should have won for Revolutionary Road, and perhaps in a way she did - at least the combo. I feel that if Kate already had an Oscar under her belt she would not have won this year for The Reader. She could have for Rev Road however. Either way the two best actress performances of the year (Kate in Rev Road and Kristin Scott Thomas in I've Loved You So Long) weren't nominated so i guess it doesn't really matter but out of these choices i'd have given it to Streep or Hathaway. Winslet was the obvious choice in more ways than one. Deserved in body of work maybe but solely on this performance i am not convinced. And how come all those protesters that always get up in arms about gay cowboys and Roman Polanski and such have no problem with a Nazi paedolphile character winning best actress and an acceptance speech mentioning this "beautiful" character? Explain that one to me. I couldn't care less but it seems double standards to me!
Saving grace: It is about time she got one! This was her 6th nom - Meryl was 4 years older than Kate before she had 6 (although she did have 2 wins in the first 4 noms!)

10. I lost money - for the first time ever i didn't win any of my bookie bets and didn't at least break even on Oscars betting. This was because all the short-odds favourites came in (yes, even Penn again). There was no long-shot outsider surprise. Damn it Oscars we rely on you for at least one 4/1 or 5/1 upset!
Saving grace: None, I'm out of pocket in a recession!

And! I said top 10, but i have to add: Duchess winning best costume - how fricking lazy is that? The easiest way to win an Oscar has got to be to design the costumes for a period drama. You might as well write your exceptance speech while you hem!
Saving grace: None, lazy, lazy, lazy!

What they got right:
Cruz winning supporting actress - a tough category i liked all of them this year, although i kind of think Viola Davis' was least deserved since it was stunt performance - come in for one-scene barnstorm of superb writing. But Cruz has never been better than in her hilarious performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and it's the first time since Mira Sorvino in 1995 that a Woody film has got an Oscar. Good to see recognition go to a Woody film again.

Man On Wire winning documentary - wonderful win for a wonderful film, and generated an exceptance speech moment from Philippe Petit that is destined to make Oscar moments clips ad infinitum!

CC of BB getting make-up and SFX - correct, well done!

Peter Gabriel not getting best song - okay so i don't like the Slumdog songs either. They are sub-par Bollywood songs. The Academy never bothers to nominate far better songs from Bollywood fare like Jab We Met or Jodhaa Akbar so why do it for lesser Bollywood songs in a western film? And where was the excellent Wrestler song from The Boss, that really deserved it? Well, never mind, for me "Down To Earth" was the one thing i didn't like about the otherwise brilliant WALL-E so i'm glad Gabriel didn't get it by default!

The 5 presenters for best acting categories - okay so Alan Arkin got PSH's name wrong! But this idea grew on me. I wasn't sure at first and i like clips from the movies. I wondered if they had chosen to do this to dodge the bullets of an audience in tears from a Ledger clip, the problems of a Tropic Thunder clip, and trying to find a Reader clip of Kate with clothes on! Ultimately though the concept grew on me and provided quality moments such a Shirley Maclaine's classy presentation of Anne Hathaway's nom and DeNiro's hilarious presentation of Penn's. Plus it seemed a nice, supportive structure for the winner, especially in actress cases where they get a group huge and congrats from people that have been through it before, before they have to face the speech. We actor and actress this had me on side. I wonder if they'll continue it.

Ultimately it could have been worse but there was much to annoy me and make me angry. Still, on to next year!

If anyone can Clint Cannes!

Ah, who says Cannes always gets it wrong?! Okay so Elephant got special dispensation to be awarded the Palme d'Or and best director in the year the magnificent Mystic River competed (not to mention giving The Class the Palme d'Or over Waltz With Bashir last year) but they've made up for it, giving living legend Clint Eastwood a special Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement yesterday.

Cannes festival president Gilles Jacob gave the greatest working director the award at a private ceremony at Paris restaurant Le Fouquet's recognising "the talent of a grand master at the summit of his craft."

Eastwood is only the second person ever to receive the prestigious honour from the Cannes organisers, following Ingmar Bergman in 1997!

Eastwood said, "I'm very, very flattered that you've chosen me for this. French cineastes have always been very supportive of me along the way. When I directed my first movie, French cineastes and critics encouraged me, while in my own country, everyone was much more reticent. France is the first country to approach and appreciate cinema as an art form."

Yeh for Clint! Role on Sunday (when i finally see Gran Torino) and the end of the year's promised The Human Factor.

The Executioner's Gongs!

Ah, it almost seems cruel to name the winners of the executioner's awards for film excellence in 2008 just days before the Oscars - kind of makes the golden guy irrelevant for most people! - but here we are. After much delay this year's recipients of the coveted Golden Axes are:

Best Picture: Waltz With Bashir.

Runner-up: WALL-E

Best Animated Film: Waltz With Bashir.
Runner-up: WALL-E

Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir

Runner-up: I've Loved You So Long

Best Director: Ari Folman, Waltz With Bashir

Runner-up: Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married

Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Runner-up: Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress: Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Runner-up: Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long

(Special shout-out Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona - the heart of the film and the best Woody-stand-in character yet!)

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Runner-up: Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

(so many overlooked by Oscar: James Franco, Milk; David Kross, The Reader; Mark Strong, Body Of Lies; Sam Rockwell, Frost/Nixon; Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight)

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Runner-up: Amy Adams, Doubt

Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Runner-up: Iron Man

Best Sound Design: WALL-E

Runner-up: Iron Man

Best Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire

Runner-up: Rachel Getting Married

(special shout-out to WALL-E)

Best Costume Design: Revolutionary Road

Runner-up: Changeling

Best Production Design: The Dark Knight

Runner-up: Revolutionary Road

Best Documentary Feature: Man On Wire

Runner-up: Of Time And The City

(Special shout-outs to Taxi To The Dark Side and My Winnipeg)

Best Make-up: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Runner-up: The Dark Knight

Best music: Revolutionary Road

Runner-up: The Dark Knight

Best Adapted Screenplay: Revolutionary Road

Runner-up: The Dark Knight

Best Original Screenplay: Rachel Getting Married

Runner-up: I've Loved You So Long

And so, there they are. Congratulations to all are winners and runners-up you are the chosen few. There were many great films, efforts and performances this year and i wish so many more could win but this wasn't possible.

Enjoy the second-most prestigious awards on Sunday night and come Monday let's look ahead to next year!

Story of the week! Wrestler's perfect casting

If you thought Mickey Rourke was perfect casting in The Wrestler (and you're not wrong) it would seem Darren Aronofsky was inspired all around!

Scott Siegel, who appeared briefly as the hulking drug dealer who supplies Randy 'The Ram' with pain-killers and offers steroids, class-A drugs, basically whatever his clients want has... wait for it... been arrested for drug dealing. But as if that wasn't enough he was specifically arrested for steroid distribution. It happened in New York State yesterday.

Brilliant Darren, just goes to show you know how to cast superbly. Makes you wonder, after seeing The Fountain, if Hugh Jackman can really float through space in a mind-bubble!

Winslet tells Time Magazine she's giving up film nudity

because she doesn't want to become known as the actress who always takes her clothes off!

Too late Kate, far far too late!

Latest screening: The Class (Entre Les Murs)

The Class, or Between the Walls to take the literal translation from the original French title is a wonderful "slice-of-life" film, almost documentary in feel, as the French do so well.

I saw Larent Cantet's Palme d'Or winner and Oscar-nominee this week and found it was a wonderfully nuanced and engaging film.

This film is certainly not for everybody. I have seen the criticism levelled at it that little happens of major consequence, that it doesn't have a defined structure of acts. Some people need that and that's fine, but i say why does something significant need to happen to have compelling cinema. A documentary like Of Time And The City can be beautiful, lyrical, engaging and enjoyable without ever presenting a sensationalist idea or event. European cinema, especially French and Italian I find, can frequently display truths in a compelling way and shame the easy spectacle of American and British cinema. Now I love US and UK films too, i embrace all cinema, but i don't see why a film need have a Plot (yes, with a capital P)

The Class may not be for everyone but there is a very definite place, i would say a need, for its type of cinema in the world and this example, much like Walter Salles' recent Linha De Passe or perhaps best of all Fernando Meirelles' masterpiece City Of God, is a deservedly acclaimed piece.

The film's portrayal of the harried relationship between a well-meaning but increasingly frustrated teacher and his teenage students of varying degrees of rebellion, both forced and natural (in and of themselves not the film) comes to a wonderful peak when the teacher loses his cool and inadvertently insults some female students. That the actor playing the role is the teacher who wrote the book on which his own screenplay is based allows him to so accurately portray the thoughts pinwheeling around his head without saying much in this scene. He was in a heated exchange and like anyone pushed to the limits of tolerance he mistakenly said something in frustration that he should not of said. Like we all do in such circumstances he then instantly regrets it, partly for offense he doesn't want to give - he really just wants to be liked by the students, which is why he is so pained by punishments etc that some of the other teachers, more happy to be the stereotype bastard teachers the kids see all authority figures as - and partly because he does not want to get in trouble for losing control of himself. He naturally then starts playing it down, feigning shock at their reaction; trying to talk it away by saying the insult means something else to him, etc. It doesn't of course and he is not surprised by their reactions, you can see all this in the performance, in his face and body-language.

I think this subtlety is the art of great acting. I never understand how consistently beuatiful, nuanced, realistic characters get overlooked contantly at the Oscars while bombastic Acting (yes, with a capital A) so frequently wins. It is why Sean Penn won for Mystic River and not for his sublime performance in Dead Man Walking - which he lost to the more showy and less subtle Nic Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. Penn's win beat the heartbreaking performance of Bill Murray. It is why Pacino laughingly won for his ludicrous part in Scent of a Woman but was overlooked in first two Godfathers and was not even on the radar with balanced stunning parts in films like Insomnia. Going back to Mystic River i always thought it so shameful Kevin Bacon was ignored. His pained performance was every bit the match of Penn's histrionics and Robbins sublime, but showier, role but his character was too real for people to see the genius. It is the same reason costume dramas always get into Costume Design categories and summer tentpoles always dominate SFX - the unsubtle and noticeable catches attention despite the fact it is the seemlessly complimentary which is arguably better.

For critics that say The Class doesn't go anywhere - I say, why need it? It is a slice of life, a snapshot of the frustrations and difficulties on both sides of the teacher/student dynamic. Could any adult watch the film's first half without marvelling at how such teachers constrain themselves when dealing with adolescents? And yet how many of those would then condemn the teacher for his latter actions out of hand and call for his resignation were they not seeing the full circumstances but were, say, reading only the portrayed student view in a newspaper. How many times have we all read of teachers doing something in a newspaper and thought the worst of them when we don't get the full picture, indeed, how often do we do this with all issues?

Ultimately The Class is an example of that type of life-peak cinema that the French do better than anyone, taking you into a world you don't know, no matter what your preconceptions. It still shouldn't beat Waltz With Bashir on Sunday for the Best Foreign Language award, which was the best film of the year in my opinion, but it is an excellent film worthy of attention.

QT hits rock bottom

QT has been going down hill since Jackie Brown, i mean post JB not from JB, which personally i think was his most mature film and is a film i love more every time i see it.

Yesterday the teaser trailer for his later ego-trip Inglourious Basterds came out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbX6XtyPaeY&fmt=18

Personally i think this is the worst looking crap i've seen in a while. What I find disappointing is that with his first three films i thought Tarantino was improving his craft and the marriage of the cool dialogue and great characters he displayed in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, combined with the maturity of Jackie Brown and the movie knowledge shown in all his films would lead to a fantastic filmmaker. Instead it has become clearer (Kill Bill) and clearer (Death Proof) that he is just an immature geek.

I read the screenplay for Inglourious Basterds last year and found it embarrassing. If the name Quentin Tarantino had not been on the front of it no script reader, let alone producer or studio exec, would have got past page 5 before laughing it out of the room. You know the scene in Tim Burton's excellent Ed Wood when the exec sits down to watch Glen Or Glenda and at first thinks it's terrible and then loves it because he thinks a practical joke has been played on him? Well that is how i felt reading this script - either Tarantino has irrevocably damaged himself in my eyes with an appallingly written, childish, ugly film or he has deliberately played the biggest practical joke on Universal by seeing just how bad a film he could make and still get people to pay for just because his name is on it.

Sadly i suspect from his delusional quotes about this being his masterpiece and his determination that is had to be ready to screen at Cannes in May this year that he sincerely believes this trash to be intelligent and witty. Harry Knowles on AICN claims, having come off a set visit and having been typically effusive about the poor footage above, that QT absolutely sees this as set in the real world. That it is his characters in a real world setting. Well, i'm sorry but the script doesn't have an ounce of the real world in it, it is totally absurd, tonally like From Dusk Till Dawn (which i love) and Death Proof (which i liked the shorter Grindhouse version of). If QT thinks this is real then it only goes to highlight that his assertion that working in a video shop was all the education he needed to be a filmmaker was as misguided and immature as this film looks. He has clearly no sense of WW2 and the real-world of 1940s Europe beyond what he has seen in movies.

It is a shame. There are good moments in the script. Flashes of the Tarantino that i hoped we'd get after Jackie Brown. In fact had he wanted this to be his masterpiece and a possible Palme d'Or expectant it could have been - he just needed to forget about the whole Basterds thing and make the haunting story of Shoshanna which is actually a quite beautifully written character and story-arch for much of the time before being thrown away. There is also one dynamite piece of classically QT dialogue. However generally i found the script offensive rubbish and hugely disappointing in that it destroyed any respect i had had for QT. I haven't been able to watch one of his films since - much in the way that i can't watch The Matrix anymore, as it is too tainted by the sequels. And i see nothing in this teaser to convince me i'm wrong. I never thought i'd get to the point of actively not wanting to see a new Tarantino film but i honestly can't see myself watching this unless enough people whose opinions i hold some truck by can convince me. otherwise.

Wow! You have to see to watch this Phoenix on Letterman

I don't know for certain if this is staged or real. Given that it is Letterman i would assume staged but Joaquin Phoenix is known for being one of those over-serious ass-holes and Letterman's frustrations toward the end sure seem pretty real. Phoenix announced he was giving up acting for music well back in last year so this could fit as real. Then again maybe he's just having fun with how people reacted to his revealing that. Either way, taken as deliberate joke or a classic self-obsessed actor ass-hole moment this is frankly hilarious viewing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xK6xz8d9Q

Mickey, In Bruges and the glory of Bafta (mostly)!

It was with trepidation, as always, that i watched the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday night. Would my votes count and those i voted for win? Would there be the usual unexpected blatent jingoism award? Would the never less than than massively irritating Jonathan Ross annoy be as much as ever? Would any of my favourites get completed screwed over? These feelings of dread weren't helped by an excruciating red-carpet preamble hosted by the ditzy talentless Claudia Winkelman who embarrassed herself, the BBC and the British in general at every turn with her simpering childishness. But never mind. Red carpets are made for the talentless amongst TV hosts to faun, so maybe she did a good job!

Anyway, awards wise i have to say i was generally pretty happy. The over-rated but still enjoyable Slumdog Millionaire was the unsurprising big winner. In years to come i'll never be able to recall what won this year, hell with the ceremony about to start chatting with a friend who was over i was talking about the best picture Oscar noms, got through 4 and blanked on the 5th, then realised it was Slumdog - i'm forgetting it already. But in a mediocre year it was the best of the 5 pictures nominated and deserved its wins from that perspective without doubt.

Highlights of the night were In Bruges winning best original screenplay - which i love and was the one thing that really surprised me. What a great choice. Love it!

I hadn't bothered to read who was getting the fellowship this year so loved that it was the brilliant Terry Gilliam. Okay, so the cynic in me says attention fell on the maverick genius because he has Heath Ledger's final film coming out this year but with great films like Holy Grail, Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Time Bandits and his masterpiece Brazil on his track record this is hugely deserved, even if he didn't seem altogether sure of it.

I was beside myself that Man On Wire got best British film. I've never undertood this category. How is it that in a year when a British film (nominated in this category) wins best film, such as Slumdog this year or Atonement, it can lose Best British Film? Still Man On Wire is the one i would have voted for if i had a vote in this category so i'm pleased. Only goes to highlight once again though that BAFTA sorely needs a Best Documentary Category.

I was very pleased Penelope Cruz won for her hilarious and brilliantly unhinged turn in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I voted for her so maybe my vote counted. I also voted for Slumdog for best pictures and Ledger for supporting actor. The Kate Winslet i voted for lost to the other Kate Winslet, but i don't begrudge her the win. I think Kristin Scott Thomas does though, bow the venom in her stare when Winslet was on stage! Man, if looks could kill KST would be in custody right now!

Of course the biggest highlight of the night, in so many ways, was Mickey Rourke's win. I had feared stuffy older BAFTA members and women would not appreciate his astonishing turn in Darren Aronofsky's sublime The Wrestler, but praise be he won! Again, maybe my vote counted. I am a big fan of Rourke. I was during his Diner/Pope of Greenwich Village/Angel Heart 80s heyday and i refound him with Man On Fire and Sin City - in fact my won problem with The Wrestler rethoric is that everyone paints it as his comeback. No, Sin City was his comeback. In 2005 he was all anyone talked about regarding the performances in Sin City. Not the more famous Bruce Willis or Clive Owen, not even the scantily-clad Jessica Alba, Jaime King and Rosario Dawson. No, it was Mickey Rourke's fantastic portrayal as Marv that stood out and in 2005 everyone, critics and moviegoers said so. How come everyone had forgotten this in 3 short years. Anyway, Mickey is great and proved it once again with the best acceptance speech in the history of time. It said what it needed to say without being sentimental, no it was resolutely Mickey! The great thing about Mickey Rourke is he is who he is and he does hide that or try to curtail it to fit in with what people would like. He is politically incorrect and thank god for that. Finally a movie star you can believe not some bland, false idol. I just hope the Oscars don't screw him over.

Of course the night wasn't without a couple of disappointments. Waltz With Bashir losing out in both animation and foreign film categories was a massive shame. Don't get me wrong, i like both WALL-E and I've Loved You So Long, but neither is as good a film as Waltz With Bashir and shouldn't have beaten it. I've Loved You So Long only one because of Kristin Scott Thomas. She was amazing in it and being a British actress, this was of course one all voting members would have watched. I suspect were it possible to poll such things we'd find far more BAFTA members watched this than any of the other foreign language nominees, which is a shame. Waltz was robbed. I think that given KST's involvement this was the blatant jingoism award for this year - Slumdog doesn't count as it deserved its awards.

Anyway, onwards to the Academy Awards on Feb 22. Will they follow similar lines? I'm fairly sure where WALL-E, Slumdog Millionaore and Heath Ledger are concerned they will, as for the rest - hmmm, we'll see!