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About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2008)
10 February Entertainment Hollywood looks to rebuild prestige with Oscars m C hristopher E rbin S taff Reporter H ollywood m ay not seem to be the epitom e of high d ass entertainm ent these days, w hat w ith Owen W ilson's suidde attem pt, psychotic Britany's m eltdowns and the Branjolina controversies in the M ideast, but it is still the center of film making genius. "The Daily Show's" John Stew art will host the 80th Annual Academ y Awards at the Kodak Theatre, Hollyw ood, Calif, on Feb. 24 as those in the entertainm ent industry gather to celebrate their achievem ents. Although the w riter's strike w as feared to put the telecast in jeopardy, it looks like m egastars Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts and even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will still walk the red carpet. Despite fear of w riters picketing the cerem ony and actors boycotting the show, recent actions, including the resuming of negotiations between the W riters Guild of Am erica and Academ y of M otion Picture A rts and Sciences and the tentative deal between the AMPTP and the D irectors Guild of A m erica, have fueled hope that the strike m ay not affect the ceremony. Even if w riters and producers still cannot get along, those O scars have to be given out one w ay or another. The WGA denied a w aiver » requested by the Academ y of M otion Picture A rts and Sciences granting excerpts of films and previous aw ard cerem onies to be shown. The m aterial could still be used, however, as the denial only affected the conditions under which the clips are shown, and not the clips them selves. The aw ards show will be televised worldw ide by ABC beginning at 6 p.m . "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" received the m ost bids, each earning eight nom inations. Big box office hits like "Am erican Gangster" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: A t W orld's End" received only tw o bids each, while the popular anim ated film "Ratatouille" surprised critics w ith five nominations. Nominees by category include: • "Juno" - This year's "Little Miss Sunshine" holds the sentim ental touch that m ay push it ahead of the rest of file pack. * . • "No C ountry For Old M en"-Violence and m ayhem , throw in som|ig§ead bodies^ a stash of herom ahd m ore than $2 m ilH onincash near the Rio G ra s ffl^ j^ S o u ^ ^ ^ got yo|Jrself an O scar-w orthy thriller. §§| Best Actress: • Ellen Page, "Juno"- She m ade us laugh, she m ade us cry, she left a smile on everyone's face...how can she | h ^ t win? f ^ ■ fc d ie Christie, "Away ^ r o m lB ^ S h e 's the only k cS lig id e r indhe category ; over file age;qij|orty, and the Academ y h ^ a lw a y s appreciated K vlfeK veteran. Supporting Actress: p H er role as an agiijkw om an • Cate Blanchett, "I'm N ot * suffering form hearfikeak and BestjAcfors There" - A chick playing' a Alzheim er’s could shjjw that • Viggo M ortertsen, dude? N ot only does she sell age and experience alw ays Eastern Prom ises § His "Lord is fiat out counts for som ething, if not of the Ringswa&J^5m ay be O scar deserving. an Oscar. over, b | fti^ i^ h isT )ig ^ st P^P^Julia E iip rts , "Charlie 1 1 • Amy A dam s, role since then, and m aybe ' m iso irifl^ B -It's hard to find H Enchanted'^ Laugh the b ig g S i of hiiscireer, a person I B isn't a fan igQ Q * yOta will, but she is a q w in his first O scar-w orthy Julia R o b H I and shepalw ays /horM and alsoSt c f f o f e performance^ - j§ gppg| a fav orijB b take hom&Oscar • J ohrm yueppy'Sw eeny « * cOntenilJj. H er actaa^ jnay gold, i n ' have been® % rst^dow ed by Todd" - N om inafed y ear • Saoirsie R p ijy J * heranim ated surroundings, after year, this is^ ^ th ird " A t o n f l n A l l people b u Q m in g irt a p sn e y nomination for Best A5wte« are talMfig about is Kiera anim ated filg ^ ra n 't hurt Even though a serial killing K m ghtlyQ gPprise. But jiflr™ d rm ^ now did it? barber m ay be a stretch for Ronan could have them the judges, the depth of his Supporting Actor: buzzing if she pulls off a well- • Phillip Seymour perform ance is far beyond his deserved O scar win. days as Jack Sparrow. Hoffman, "Charlie W ilson's • Am y Rydn, "Gone Baby • Daniel Day Lew is, W ar" - W hat's left to be said? • Best Picture Gone"-Intense, charism atic ^ 4 The m an's a genius. "There Will Be Blood" -This • "Atonement" -T he acting and a bubbly • Javier Bardem , "No frontrunner rem inds us sweeping epic of love and personality makes for an Country For Old Men"- w ar dram a has survived some that the greatest screen aw ard winning combo. perform ances don't settle A serial killer who flips a harsh criticism , but it has • Tilda Swinton, "Michael for capturing one trait, a coin to decide his victim 's the versatility and pedigree Clayton"- Finally, the once dom inant em otion or an easy fate. Bardem's dram atic w hich pushes it to the center young and prom ising actress, w ay in. of the O scar stage. perform ance leave the m ay have finally made the break through critics have been expecting from her for so long. Reserve her a seat at _ com puter skills to create an personal. Kodak, assum ing the show Of course, Untraceable W hen I say the m ovie untraceable w ebsite. actually happens! has its flaw s. There w ere The m urders show n on is forgettable, I d on 't som e obvious thriller cliches Director: the site w ere obviously m ean it's terrible. In fact, throughout it, like characters • Mike N ichols, "Charlie violent and revolting, but I enjoyed w atching it. The w ho lack any form of W ilson's W ar"-He's the only w ere m ore realistic than selection of actors w as com m on sense. I suppose nominee to win Best D irector cam py. There w as one th at p retty good. Lane gave a they needed dum b characters (W ho's Afraid of Virginia included the m ixture of genuine perform ance, w hich to m ake the plot w ork, but W oolf?-1967) but this w ould w ater and sulfuric acid m ade the character seem som e of their actions just top anything else Nichols has w eren 't believable, especially achieved in his lengthy and w hen th ey're supposed to be aw ard filled career. FBI agents w ho should know • Jason Reitm an, "Juno"- It a bit about necessary safety never hurts to be the crow d m easures to take into one's favorite, but Juno probably daily life. w asn't big enough to win. The ending of the film w as • Ethan and Joel Coen, a bit disappointing, ending "No County For Old Men"- abruptly and in a very Dram atic thriller could make cheesy way. To give it credit, Coen's first brother-duo though, it could have been a winners. w hole lot cheesier. • Tim Burton, "Sweeny Though a p retty decent Todd"-The m an has film overall, it d id n 't do as contributed so m uch to the w ell as its studio expected. industry and this m ay be his It cost $60 m illion to m ake, best w ork yet. Jt is his tim e, Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) and her coworkers àt the FBI watch and on opening w eekend it and he is due. There is no the latest murder video from a cyber killer's website in Untraceable. only brought in $11.2 m illion. reason that Burton shouldn't The movie was filmed in Portland and released on Jan. 25. Opening (W hen I w ent to see it on Jan. finally be taking home some weekend brought in only $11.2 million, a fraction of the $60 million it O scar hardw are. took to make. - Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures 26, the day after it opened, the theater w asn 't nearly as • Ridley Scott, "Am erican crow ded as it should have creating an appetizing skin- believable. Joseph C ross, Gangster"-W ell, the Academ y been for a new release.) w ho p ortrayed the cyber- shedding effect. The effects w ent for this kind of film last m urderer, w as a perfect of these m urders w ere p retty Though it m ay not earn w hat year when "The D eparted" w as spent on it, it should at choice; he looked creepy gruesom e, so I w ou ld n 't won. M aybe Scott will find least be praised for being an enough to be a convincing recom m end the m ovie som e of the luck th at won above average th riller in a . m urderer, but nerdy enough to anyone w ho is easily M artin Scorsese Best D irector tim e filled w ith aw ful ones. to convince you he had the grossed out. last year. Portland's "Untraceable" doesn't meet expectations m M ary W ood __________ • S taff R eporter If you 're looking for a m ovie th at finds you saying .toyou rself, "H ey, I've been th ere!" Untraceable, a m urder thriller film ed in the Portland area, is a great choice. H ow ever, ap art from th at, and the disturbing im ages of a dying cat (from W est Linn, according to the m ovie) and three dying m en, it's a fairly forgettable film. The basis of the m ovie is the w ork of an FBI agent nam ed Jennifer M arsh (D iane Lane) w ho fights cyber crim es w ith her team m ates Griffin D owd (Colin H anks) and Eric Box (Billy Burke). One evening w hile fighting internet crim inals, they com e across a w ebsite called killw ithm e.com , th at allow s anyone w ho visits to w itness a m urder. The m ore hits the site gets, the faster the victim dies. Furtherm ore, the FBI is unable to trace w here the site originates. It begins w ith the previously m entioned cat, but becom es m ore serious as the site becom es m ore popular, and m ore dangerous to Jennifer w hen the killer's intentions becom e Academ y starring in O scar winning awe. • Casey Affleck, "Assassination of Jesse James" - Ben's younger brother steps into his first O scar nominated perform ance. • Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Claytori'-A nother actor who m ay not get the attention he deserves because the film did not go big. Hmm ...pity.
