Recent screening: The Illusionist

Enjoyment of Sylvain Chomet’s delightfully whimsical The Illusionist will likely depend a great deal on how well you know and appreciate the films of Jacques Tati.

As a big fan of Tati films such as M Hulot’s Holiday and especially Mon Oncle (which gets an in-joke poster gag in The Illusionist) I adored Chomet’s film which superbly captures the look, mannerisms and style of Tati.

This was all the more pleasing as going in I had no idea what the film was about. I had no idea of the connection to Tati or the fact it was adapted from one of Tati’s own un-realised screenplays. All I knew was it was the new film from the guy the made the wonderful Belleville Rendez-Vous. When the lead character appeared pre-credits sequence I thought “that looks just like Jacques Tati” but assumed it was a sort of animated cameo. Then once I saw the screenplay credit it became clear that I was about to essentially get to see a new Jacques Tati film in nearly 40 years.

And it didn’t disappoint. Starting out in a slightly similar manner to the Pixar short Presto! it then goes into a beautifully observed whimsical world of a magician struggling to find work as the variety circuit dies out in favour of rock ‘n’ roll groups, and his relationship to a young Scottish girl who in her naivety misunderstands an act of kindness for genuine magic and makes ever increasing demands on the poor man’s dwindling fortunes.

It is the kind of beautifully observed mix of humour and pathos that made Tati such a genius of universal appeal. Chomet’s palate and style perfectly compliment the tone of the story and it is impossible not to be swept up in it.

Any Tati fan will delight at this film. It is my feeling even those unfamiliar with Tati’s works (and if you are seek out the Hulot comedies now) will still love this film, but you never know.

**** (4 stars)

Is this 10 Best Picture nominations such a good idea?

These 10 Best Picture nominations are all well and good but don’t they kind of de-value getting one?

Look at this year’s 10. Can anyone honestly say half (arguably more) of these films will survive in people’s memories beyond this year? I really enjoyed An Education, but Best Picture? A Serious Man feels like it’s there because it’s the Coen brothers rather than really deserving the place. Blind Side, what’s that about?

The main reason I got thinking about this though is the presence of Up.

Pixar churns out a masterpiece so often we’re going to have to invent a new word for them because they are devaluing the concept of masterpieces. You want a masterpiece every so often across the industry not every damn year from the same studio! But many people I know, and I think I’d include myself in this, would argue Up isn’t the best animated film of 2009 – Coraline is.

Others may disagree with that assessment but even so, doesn’t having Up in the Best Picture category (as surely WALL-E would have been last year if there had been 10 and Pixar films going forward may become a regular fixture of) kind of make the Best Animated Feature category a foregone conclusion?

Many think this about the BAFTAs where they have both a Best Film and Best British Film category. Frequently one of the 5 nominations for Best Film is British but this same film fails to win Best British Film. For example the past three years has seen a British film, nominated for Best British Film, win the Best Film category: 2008 – Slumdog Millionaire, 2007 – Atonement, 2006 – The Queen. And yet despite winning Best Film not one of those three managed to win Best British Film! These instead went to: 2008 – Man On Wire, 2007 – This Is England, 2006 – The Last King Of Scotland. This leads to perfectly reasonable queries of “how the hell does that happen?”

But there is actually an explanation for this phenomenon. It’s not a great explanation, but it is at least, well, one. The whole Bafta membership votes to decide both the 5 nominees for Best Film and the eventual winner. However a select committee awards Best British Film so the general consensus of the membership need not be reflected. It may be a bit daft but it explains the disparity.

However, if such a disparity happens at the Oscars such an explanation will not stand. The Best Picture nominations and eventual winner, as I understand it, are the same – selected by the whole membership – so it stands to reason Up is considered the best animated film since it is the only animated film up for Best Picture. However the whole membership also votes for the winner of the Best Animated Feature nominees. Therefore is there anyway in which Up can lose, and if it does it has to leave everyone scratching their head and going “How?”

But the extension of the category to 10 and the inclusion of Up brings up a bigger issue of de-valuation of the category. It was inevitable that the very first report I read about the Oscar nominations after they were announced yesterday would state (and it did) that Up was “only the second animated feature ever to receive a best picture nomination”.

Doesn’t this de-value the nomination for 1991’s Beauty And The Beast. This is truly the only animated film ever to receive a best picture nomination.

Sure the odds were stacked against it happening again once the Best Animated Feature category was introduced. Too many voters would see that as award enough and not consider an animated feature for the big prize – although they have always been allowed to. The Golden Globes exclude animated features from being considered for Best Film, but then they segregate everything. Their Best Film is split into Drama and Musical/Comedy so it seems fair enough that Animation’s own category is essential just a third version of the big prize. But Oscar doesn’t do that and nor should it.

Yet animation has consistently been overlooked since the creation of its own category (well, and before, but still).

You can argue the same for Foreign Language. They have their own category after all and yet over the years they’ve been far more likely (Life Is Beautiful, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Il Postino, Letters From Iwo Jima) to get a Best Picture nomination, as well as consideration is other categories (City Of God and Talk To Her both received director noms although they missed out on Best Picture).

But this isn’t really the seen as being the same. The foreign language films category is only open to a single film from each country and that whatever the country submits. The rules of the category often exclude multi-country co-productions like Michael Haneke’s Hidden or Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries and a film like Letters From Iwo Jima could never be considered because despite being entirely filmed in Japanese it’s an American production. Politics play a big part. The Spanish industry, not wanting the world to think the Spanish film industry consists of nothing but the Oscar and Bafta friendly Pedro Almodovar rarely selects his films as the Spanish entry. Hence the year Talk To Her was nominated for the Best Director Oscar and won Best Original Screenplay it wasn’t eligible for Best Foreign Language Film. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s A Very Long Engagement was funded by Warner Bros France and so the French refused to consider it French (a marked difference from the UK Film Council which considers pretty much any film that has even contemplated hiring a British gaffer as a British film!) and so no selection for Jeunet.

The other problem is to vote for the foreign language nominees an Oscar member has to have seen them all on a big screen so often this falls to older, retired members and harsher-themed movies lose out to windy-sentimentalism. City Of God was Brazil’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002. It should have won. Instead it failed even to garner a nomination, while the likes of Dutch rom com Zus & Zo did! This balance was redressed somewhat following its proper US release in 2003 which led to 4 Oscar nominations for Director, Screenplay, Cinematography and Editing (although it didn’t win any).

Therefore considering a foreign film for best picture may be seen as redressing an imbalance that can, and frequently does, exist it that category.

Animated Feature doesn’t have that luxury. The nominations and eventual winner process are as straight-forward as those for any of the other big categories. So logically there’s no imbalance to address and no need to give them a seat at the big table.

But now we have 10 nominees so why not throw them a bone? Why not include that animated film you enjoyed so much. Two simple reasons:

1 – it makes a mockery of the Best Animated Feature category. If only one of them makes the Best Picture nominees then the teams behind the other four might as well just turn up. And if they do miraculously win then it surely suggests there’s something wrong with the selection of the 10 Best Pictures!

2 – it de-values Beauty & The Beast’s nomination. In 10 tens when we have 10 more (probably all Pixar) animated Best Picture nominees Beauty & The Beast’s status will be diminished.

Okay, so Beauty & The Beast’s nomination for Best Picture (along with the special award for Toy Story in 1995) probably paved the way for the 2001 introduction of the Best Animated Feature category but more than any of the other 9 films in this year’s Best Picture nominees (well, okay maybe District 9 and The Blind Side) Up feels like it wouldn’t be there without the expanded category.

After all The Incredibles didn’t make the Best Picture 5 when that category agve slots to the likes of Finding Neverland and Ray; Spirited Away didn’t make the 5 for Best Picture in a year that gave noms to The Hours and Gangs of New York, and was won by Chicago!; last year WALL-E didn’t make the Best Picture cut in a year when the category was filled by the underwhelming likes of Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.

The inclusion of an animated film in an expanded field of Best Picture nominees (much like a genre one for the likes of District 9) therefore feels like a consolation prize.

Until an animated film actually wins Best Picture or at least receives a Best Director nomination their inclusion seems both pointless and a de-valuation both of the category and that one film that made it to the heralded 5.

10 Best Pictures? Might boost the ratings but it seems a bad idea to me on reflection.

Latest screening: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs

Fun! That really is the best word to describe Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.

This year has been a stunning year for animation. Coraline was dark, beautiful and exciting – showing the genius Henry Selick take stop-motion animation to a new level. Pixar’s Up was simply one of the best films of the year – hilarious and heart-breaking in equal measure. After a shaky second film Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs delivered a really entertaining, enjoyable romp for all the family. Hell, even Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol wasn’t bad. I’m seeing maestro Miyazaki’s latest, Ponyo, this weekend. It really has been a strong year. But something Sony Pictures Animation’s Meatballs (as I’m reducing its title to from hereon in) provides is an unashamedly fun-for-kids movie.

Don’t get me wrong, adults can enjoy it to, but this one feels made for kids first. Up, like all Pixar films, felt made primarily for discerning adults. Coraline was too disturbing for little kids but easy for adults to love and admire. Ice Age worked great for kids but had a lot of adult humour. Meatballs combines a daft story with bigger-than-life characters, simple design and bright, almost day-glo colours to please every child everywhere. Giant food falling from the sky. A comic-relief monkey. A colour palette that even puts Up to shame. This screams “kids will love this” to me.

I kind of feel like the adult appeal here comes from the voice cast. It is headed by the likeable, but unusual, pairing of Bill Hader and Anna Faris. These are hardly names that immediately make you think “kids movie”, yet there child-like glee and enthusiasm – actually often seen in their live action characters, especially Faris’ – fit perfectly. But the real manner-from-heaven is in the support cast. How often do you get a combo the likes of James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Neil Patrick Harris, Benjamin Bratt and Mr T (yes, MR T!!!) in an animated movie support cast? This is such a brilliant support cast it can deliver Harris as a talking monkey with only a few words of (oft repeated) dialogue. Caan is brilliant. This may bizarrely be the best use of Caan since 1990’s Misery! Mr T is so spot on you can’t believe no-one’s used him this way before.

It is not a great film. It’s not Up, it’s not Coraline, no it’s not even Ice Age 3 but it is very entertaining. That the film can raise sustained and deserved laughs from a reunion that uses only names (most notably from the monkey) is impressive. The film will have you laughing from the get-go – from design elements like Caan’s character, to situational comedy, to one-liners – and almost all of it will work for kids, not going over their heads.

The concept does lose momentum in the middle act and the villain of the piece is not nearly maniacal enough. Plus there is at least one too many false ending.

However despite these flaws it’s a very worthy watch. Sony animated films (Monster House, Surf’s Up) frequently turn out to be little treats hidden behind slightly unappealing marketing and consistently warrant watching. Meatballs adds to this reputation. This one may not trouble the awards lists (at least not when animation categories only have 3 entries, although the Oscars and Globes do have 5 this year) but it does provide a fun 90 minutes of daft amusement. Time well spent in the kids movie world.

Latest screening: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr Fox may not quite be fantastic but I’d happily say terrific. A fun stop-motion animation the world works here. Some people may have issue in a CG animation world with the stop-motion, which especially due to the fur look compared with smooth plasticine takes a little more getting used to than say Corpse Bride or Coraline, but then you can judge that from the trailer.

The voice-cast is well chosen. George Clooney (especially busy at the moment) has the exact mix of charm, intelligence and brio for Mr Fox; Meryl Streep (is there anything this woman can’t do?) is perfect for the exasperated, but still in love, Mrs Fox; Jason Schwartzman is the best here as the unsure of himself and always taken for granted son of the Foxes; Eric Anderson (Wes’ brother) fits the bill for the perfect-at-everything cousin Kristofferson, that gets on Schwartzman’s nerves; Bill Murray is a nice fit for the sometimes over-eager Badger; and Wally Wolodarsky is superb as the well-meaning Kiley (sic) who just wants to do whatever he can to help.

The story moves along at a cracking swift pace, never letting up. It slows a little about half way through but is just gearing up for the dynamite finale. Crazy world interludes of the characters taking dance breaks in key locations after outfoxing their opponents add a nicely surreal touch.

Anderson very much creates a world here. How much you enjoy the film will basically depend on how much you buy into and enjoy the world. If you embrace it whole-heartedly it has much to offer. It is constantly funny, often exciting, occasionally bizarre and never less than entertaining.

The puppets look great, especially Badger and Mole to my eye and the film is full of small details that will no doubt multiply the more you watch the film. Inconsequential details are often some of the best touches. Badger’s son for instance is seen wearing a skeleton Halloween costume which, of course, blends in brilliantly with his natural colours, complete with mask over one ear. These little touches add so much to the world to really absorb you and take you on this adventure.

It’s over so fast (87 minutes) you’ll want to go again, like the best amusement park rides. A welcome all-round success after the so-so Darjeeling Limited. A great alternative for this year’s animation category, I hope it makes it. Although with film’s like Up and Coraline there’s stiff competition.

Latest screening: Up

Some day Pixar will make a terrible, terrible film and it will signal Armageddon but with Up the most consistently excellent studio has turned out another masterpiece. And masterpiece is the only word. Pixar have their lesser films, most notably the resolutely 3-star or 7/10 ish Cars and A Bug’s Life, but most of the time they bat out of the park. And that’s what they’ve done here. A 10/10, 5-star movie Up continues another superb run from the studio which follows Ratatouille and WALL-E.

I have now seen Up 3 times (all, appropriately, in 3D) and it just gets better each time. At various moments hilarious, touching, delightful, heart-breaking and beautiful it is a triumph for director Pete Docter and his team.

The film opens with a beautifully realised prologue that charts the life of our grumpy old man lead character Carl. One film on from WALL-E Pixar again proves the power of a dialogue free story. This segment takes you through emotional, funny highs and sad lows in a way that in itself would have made an Oscar-winning short film with ease. Ten minutes in you are already drained but Up won’t let you wallow as it is then immediately into a great visual gag involving a stair-lift.

Then we get to the real story which sees our hero Carl determined to avoid a fate forced on him by an evil politically-correct world with no heart or understanding by following his life-long dream to travel to ‘Paradise Falls’, an idealic lost-world in South America. As you’d have to have your head in the sand not to know he decides to achieve this by flying his house with the help of thousands of helium-filled balloons, which he used to sell at an adventure park.

He’s joined on his journey by surprise unintentional stow-away Russell, an idealistic wilderness explorer; and later Kevin, a giant bird of paradise; and Dug a “talking dog!” as they all come up against and get on the bad side of Christopher Plummer’s stir crazy villain and his pack of highly-trained dogs.

The genius of Pixar is evident at every turn. As a comedy it is the studio’s funniest since Docter’s debut Monsters, Inc. It has the heart and emotional impact of WALL-E. It works completely as an adventure story like The Incredibles, with genuine excitement and edge-of-your-seat thrills, always perfectly punctured by a well judged gag, whether visual or verbal.

The introductions to all three supporting characters are organic and expertly handled, whether Russell’s nervous excitement; Kevin’s mystery; or Dug’s easy joke. All 4 leads get to share the laughs and emotion equally.

Dug’s talking is well conceived and the insight into the canine mind seems spot on. Russell manages never to be irritating and Carl is never too cantankerous. All feel like real characters, and that makes it all the more intriguing, and yet right, that they’ve opted for a very cartoonish look. Up goes for no realism in the look, especially for Carl. After WALL-E’s beautiful imagery that belied its animated creation, Up is overtly cartoonish. Carl is basically square. His head is huge, his body short. One scene which sees Russell climb up Carl highlights this – Carl’s nose is the same size as Russell’s foot. Yet this is absolutely the right approach for Up. It is a film about an old man flying a house with balloons in search of a mythical land, realism is not what it’s about.

The 3D is also used better than any film has ever used it. Docter plays with the depth of the 3D, deepening it in moments of glorious joy and high excitement to add to the adrenaline; and then flattening it to the point of being able to take the glasses off and watch normally in moments of sadness and intimacy.

As usual Pixar shows the rest of the field how it should be done and if they don’t add a third consecutive Best Animated Feature Oscar to their mantle then the Oscars should simply be closed down for either corruption or stupidity.

As a last quick side note, the accompanying short Partly Cloudy is one of the most complementary put out with a Pixar feature. Again mixing humour with emotion in what is again basically a silent film. Bravo all round. If only all film’s could be Pixar films! (speaking of which check out the trailer for next summer’s Toy Story 3 on the trailer bar on the right).

Animation review: Bolt

Since when i did my analysis of the animation contenders i hadn't seen Bolt (which doesn't qualify for BAFTA but does for the Oscars) it seems only fair now i have to give it a mention.

I have to admit Bolt was a pleasant surprise. Between cutesy trailering, a DreamWorks-esque placing of star names on the poster and documented issues with the film, such as the style and design being changed significantly half way through, i had kind of written this off. But lo! Here we have a genuinely funny family film. It has no pretensions of Pixar's grace and beauty, this is intended purely to entertain kids and the adults. Nothing wrong with that and it completely works at that.

The sidekick character of Rhino (a hamster in a running ball) is inspired and really helps the film avoid a center-stage lag. There's nothing stunningly original here - in fact fans of Inspector Gadget may find the TV show within the film strikingly familiar - and the voice cast, with the excpetion of Rhino (Mark Walton), don't particularly stand out. But at the same time they all work. I saw the film in 3D, which i continue to love, but here, as with 2006's Monster House the film is actually worth seeing regardless of 3D, which has been rare so far with the relaunch of the technology (yes Polar Express, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Beowulf, i'm looking at you!).

Awards chances: It isn't going to threaten the triumvirate of WALL-E, Kung Fu Panda and Waltz With Bashir for the three nominations but it's better than most of the others i've seen and kids will love it.

Best Animated Feature: the lowdown

As we all now know 14 films have been submitted for consideration for Best Animated Feature at this season's Oscars. These include the big boys: Pixar's WALL-E, DWA's Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Disney's Bolt, Fox/Blue Sky's Horton Hears A Who; Universal's Tales Of Despereaux; independent titles: Delgo, Fly Me To The Moon, Igor, Dragon Hunters; and foreign titles: Waltz With Bashir (Isr-Ger-Fr), $9.99 (Aus/Isr - but English language), and The Sky Crawlers and Sword Of The Stranger (both Japanese). For the BAFTAs Persepolis (Fra) will qualify, but Bolt, Delgo, Dragon Hunters and the foreign offerings except Waltz With Bashir won't.

WALL-E - (http://adisney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/wall-e/flash_site.html?deeplink=Video) Quite simply one of the most beautiful animated films ever made. It's good enough for a Best Picture nom potentially, although i think the status of having a separate animated category will keep it out. From the ingenius Keaton-esque almost silent comedy first 45 minutes to the slightly more general audience friendly and not as good, but still great, second half WALL-E delivers on every level. One of the greatest animated characters ever created, not just in the artistry but in the heart, voice and personality. The scenery in the first half is so astonishing it is hard to believe you are watching animation and consultant Roger Deakins' influence is evident. A wonderful film that thoroughly deserves to win this category. Pixar continues to set the bar ever higher!

Kung Fu Panda - (http://www.kungfupanda.com/) It is a shame DWA choose to deliver their best film since the original Shrek in the same year as Waltz With Bashir and WALL-E, they just don't stand a chance, and that genuinely is a shame. Panda is not only hugely entertaining - far funnier and more consistently enjoyable than probably any of the studio's previous efforts - but it also showcases some extraordinary animation - the chop-stick battle between Po and his master is stunning. A very good effort, well worth watching and hard not to enjoy. It should, and i am sure will, bag a nomination but the competition is just too stiff this year.

Bolt - (http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/bolt/trailer.html?t=med) Disney goes the DreamWorks route: voice talent names above the poster, blatant kiddie humour grabs in a film that opens domestic this week but won't make Bafta this year due to a Feb half-term launch. Looks cute and reasonably funny but don't expect it to be considered a great and with Disney behind Pixar's WALL-E they have their nom in the bag for that. That said, i haven't seen it so who can say for sure... right?!

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - (http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/madagascar2/large3.html) A surprisingly decent sequel to a film i hated, this looks better (the animation is fantastic on the scenery etc, although the ugly character design from part 1 doesn't quite gel with the upgrade on everything else!) and is much funnier. It is still inconsistent though. The central characters just aren't that funny or likeable. Sacha Baron Cohen is great and the Penguins once again provide a lot of laughs but this is not a great film, certainly not on a par with the Panda, and it is a sequel which won't help it. DWA have their nom in the bag with Kung Fu Panda so this one will miss out.

Waltz With Bashir - (http://www.sonyclassics.com/waltzwithbashir/trailer.html) Wow! This film is stunning. I've reviewed it on here so i won't repeat everything but i expected a worthy, but hard to love film like Persepolis and got a gripping, entertaining, roller-coaster or humour and horror. This film could and would win Best Animated Film in almost any year, but against WALL-E? I can't see it. That said in a way i hope it does. I love WALL-E but Pixar has the acclaim already and i wish more people than will would see this fantastic film. I can't recommend it more. A nomination is assured if there's any justice in the world.


The Tale Of Despereaux - (http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/thetaleofdespereaux/) Could be painfully cutesy and naff, could be a new American Tail. The animation looks good and it different in style from the others on offer. The trailer has its moments without being remarkable. The only one i haven't seen that i feel i need to just in case.

Delgo - (http://www.delgo.com/flash_site.html) I can't comment too far as i haven't seen this but look at the trailer and you'll see how awful it looks. Not a hope.

Sword Of The Stranger - (http://www.stranja.jp/) Looks quite exciting (see 9th red tab on left side of site for very slow-loading trailer) but necessarily better than so many other animated films that come out of Japan, and with two Japanese qualifies i can't see this standing out.


Dr Seuss' Horton Hears A Who - (http://www.hortonmovie.com/) A fun but inconsistent film that passes the time enjoyably enough but doesn't leave you wanting to watch it again. There is also nothing special about the animation. Blue Sky won't be worrying Pixar and DWA at the Oscars with this effort.

The Sky Crawlers - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4CWZ8BANVE) The fantastic animation on the plane sequences and landscapes doesn't seem to gel with the character animation in the trailer - an obvious mix of computer and hand-drawn animation, that may count against this. The story (from what you can tell from watching a Japanese-language trailer when you don't speak it!) looks possibly more epic than Sword Of The Stranger (which looks far more entertaining) but with the power of Bashir's story and the elegance of WALL-E's animation i can't see this breaking through.

$9.99 - (can't find a trailer) No way to judge this as can't find a trailer and haven't seen it. A good voice cast including Geoffrey Rush and Anthony LaPaglia are on it. Judging from stills it's stop motion. It had better be pretty special to challenge by top three predictions.

Fly Me To The Moon - (http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/flymetothemoon/) Haven't seen it myself but those i know who have say it is one of the worst animated films they've ever sat through! The trailer would seem to support this statement. Count this one out.

Igor - (http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/igor/large.html) Speaking of worst animated films ever, this painfully mis-judged effort wants badly to be Tim Burton but fails on every level. The jokes that are meant to be dark are just unpleasant. The character designs miss both charming and kooky. The story is hackneyed, obvious and pointless. Most of the voice cast are lazily doing what they've done so so so many times before (the work of Jennifer Coolidge, John Cleese and Eddie Izzard here is unforgivable!) What's worse is it feels like it could have been a good idea at some point. Steve Buscemi's suicidal immortal rabbit provides a (very rare) occasional smile but this won't even flit across the mind's eye of voters.

Dragon Hunters - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6NBPXplDYA) Trailer looks horrible, and curiously Igor-esque. Ugh!

Persepolis (BAFTA only) - (http://www.sonyclassics.com/persepolis/) An impressive film, but it is hard to truly love. Given that many will see it as a year old despite its qualifying status for the British Academy and that Waltz With Bashir provides similar, superior edginess to the category expect this one to fall by the wayside given that you only get 3 nominations in this category.

Final predictions: The nominations for Oscars will be WALL-E, Kung Fu Panda and Waltz With Bashir. WALL-E will win, although Waltz With Bashir is good enough to cause an upset. BAFTAs will nominate WALL-E and Waltz With Bashir and probably Kung Fu Panda. Again WALL-E will win.

Latest screenings: Waltz With Bashir, The Wave (Die Welle)

Waltz With Bashir surprised me. I had heard it was good, but i thought it would be one of those films i would admire, like Persepolis, than really like. It would be different. An interesting alternative to shake up the Best Animated Feature or Best Foreign Language Film categories. I never expected to find one of the best films of the year!

Thought provoking, funny, shocking, entertaining, disturbing, beautiful. Waltz With Bashir is so many things, what it isn't is over-rated. This is simply a must-see. I would vote for this as Best Foreign Language and Best Animation, and the way things are going it may well be in my Best Feature and Best Director lists - certainly will be for the long-list first vote.

Awards chances: This will 100% feature in the Animation nominations (see above). For BAFTA i think it also has a fantastic shot at a foreign language nomination. It deserves so much more. Quite simply: Brilliant!

The Wave (Die Welle) - Talking of thought-provoking, Monday night i saw an excellent German film called The Wave that i was recommended. Momentum has it in the UK so hopefully they'll send it out, and if they do i encourage all to watch it. It has moments bordering on melodramatic but on the whole is a very well made and handled film about a teacher trying to really get through to his students on a controversial topic - the film asks, does he prove his point or go too far. Watching it you know exactly how the media would spin it and it will make you consider news stories in different ways, even though that is not what it is about.

Awards chances: For BAFTA it may have a shot in foreign language if it gets sent out because it is a very good film that strikes a chord.