Academy Awards Recap

by Kam Williams

Headline: Four Oscars for “No Country” But None for This Country’s Thespians

The Coen Brothers and No Country for Old Men walked away with four major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem). Curiously, the movie with the next most Oscars was The Bourne Ultimatum, which took home statuettes in a trio of technical categories.
There Will Be Blood, Juno and La Vie en Rose won two each, while much ballyhooed flicks like Sweeney Todd, Atonement and Michael Clayton had to settle for one. Probably the biggest surprise was that none of the acting awards went to Americans. If foreign thespians are going to enjoy an edge, why not simply create Best Foreign Actor and Best Foreign Actress categories, the way that they already have one for Best Foreign Film?
Few will question the picks of Daniel Day Lewis or Javier Bardem, but some will certainly scratch their heads over the choice of Marion Cotillard, the Edith Piaf look-a-like who merely lip-synched her way to her Academy Award. And one can only wonder why the Anglophilic Academy tapped Brit Tilda Swinton not only over the Amy Ryan but also over 83 year-old Ruby Dee who deserved to be recognized for her body of work which began back in the Thirties and includes almost 100 screen credits.
Do you know how frequently aging actors and actresses have been belatedly voted their very first Oscar towards the end of a legendary career, and for a performance that clearly wasn’t among their most memorable? Let’s see, just last year we had Alan Arkin (72) for Little Miss Sunshine. Prior to that, we had George Burns (80) for The Sunshine Boys, Henry Fonda (76) for On Golden Pond, Jessica Tandy (80) for Driving Miss Daisy, Ruth Gordon (72) for Rosemary’s Baby, Geraldine Page (61) for A Trip to Bountiful, (Don Ameche (77) for Cocoon, Paul Newman (62) for The Color of Money, Jack Palance (72) for City Slickers, Sean Connery (58) for The Untouchables, John Wayne (62) for True Grit, Sir John Gielgud (77) for Arthur, James Coburn (70) for Affliction and Shirley MacLaine (49) for Terms of Endearment, to name a few.
So, given the long tradition of honoring thespians in this fashion, it’s unfortunate that Ruby Dee wasn’t also treated accordingly. It’s important to note in this regard that only four black females have ever won an Academy Award, Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball) in the Best Actress category, and Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost) and Hattie McDaniel (Gone with the Wind) for support roles.
The 80th Annual Academy Awards were emceed by acerbic comedian Jon Stewart who played it uncharacteristically polite all evening, never using any of the biting satire you’d expect of the iconoclastic Comedy Central talk show host. Looks like the recently returned to work writers needed more than nine days to prepare, because the program was rarely clever, funny or imaginative, unfolding uneventfully. Even the camera-shy Coen Brothers seemed unprepared for their close-ups, reluctantly approaching the mic to deliver decidedly uncharismatic acceptance speeches.


COMPLETE LIST OF ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS

Picture: "No Country for Old Men"
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Actress: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"
Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Foreign Language Film: "The Counterfeiters" .
Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Animated Feature: "Ratatouille"
Art Direction: "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Cinematography: "There Will Be Blood"
Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Original Score: "Atonement," Dario Marianelli
Original Song: "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Costume: "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Documentary, Feature-Length: "Taxi to the Dark Side"
Documentary, Short: "Freeheld"
Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Makeup: "La Vie en Rose"
Animated Short: "Peter & the Wolf"
Live Action Short: "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (`The Mozart of Pickpockets')"
Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass"

State of the Black Union 2008

by Kam Williams

Headline: Obama’s Conspicuous Absence Overshadows Annual Gathering

Senator Barack Obama opted to remain on the campaign trail in Ohio rather than accept an invite to address the convention of African-American intellectuals who had gathered to participate in the 9th Annual State of the Black Union. Curiously, despite the fact that Senator Hillary Clinton did attend, Obama had enough advocates on hand to counterbalance any potential blowback generated by his conspicuous absence.
In fact, some of the speakers opted to lobby openly on his behalf, such as Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. who warned the audience not to “miss this moment,” which he euphorically referred to as “Obamarama!” The event was staged in New Orleans at the Convention Center, the site where Hurricane Katrina refugees were stranded without food, water or any essential services for days on end.
Mayor Ray Nagin was on the dais during the morning session, alongside such luminaries as Reverend Jackson, Congresswomen Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Memphis high school student Darrin Keith Boyce, Bush administration rep and EEOC Chairman Naomi Churchill, Former Congressman Cleo Fields (D-LA), New Orleans Pastor Melvin Jones, Professor Michael Eric Dyson, Xavier University President Dr. Norman Francis and PolicyLink’s Angela Glover Blackwell.
The afternoon portion of the program featured Princeton University Professors Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Eddie Glaude, comedian Dick Gregory, Democratic National Committee member Donna Brazile, Florida State University Professor Na’im Akbar, Morehouse College President Robert Franklin, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Dillard University student Stephanie Woodward, Katrina Survivor Herreast Harrison and TransAfrica Forum Executive Director Nicole Lee.
Besides Obama generally getting a pass, Mayor Nagin seemed to be treated with kid gloves, too, in light of the ostensible gentrification of what he once promised would remain a “Chocolate City.” Dick Gregory vehemently defended Ray’s embrace of the controversial nickname, pointing out that nobody ever complained when New Orleans was called “Sin City,” yet everybody unfairly got bent out of shape over the relatively benign sobriquet “Chocolate City.”
In fact, Mr. Gregory enjoyed the most memorable moments, primarily because he repeatedly went for the joke, this in sharp contrast to his colleagues who were soberly focusing on the social, political and economic concerns of the black community. As for Hillary, she appeared onstage alone with host Tavis Smiley at the very end of a very long day. However, her brief comments amounted to an anti-climatic uphill battle, because she had to follow a long line of inspirational speakers who had long since whipped the probably already pro-Obama crowd into a frenzy over her opponent. More a Barack pep rally than a critical assessment of African-American issues.
The State of the Black Union? Impatiently anticipating the arrival of the Black Messiah.

Oscar Predictions 2008

The Envelope Please:
Who Will Win, Who Deserves to Win, Who Was Snubbed
by Kam Williams

This year’s Oscars aren’t all that hard to handicap, except for the Best Supporting Actress category where there’s a trio of viable contenders: Ruby Dee, Cate Blanchett and Amy Ryan. Conventional thinking would lead you to believe that Ms. Dee should be the favorite, because the Academy loves to reward elderly thespians for their body of work if they’ve never won before.
However, what Ms. Blanchett has going for her is that she’s also nominated as Best Actress where she’s likely to lose out there to Julie Christie. So, it’s possible that the voters will give Cate the Best Supporting nod as a consolation prize of sorts. While I’m guessing that Ruby will take home the trophy, it’s too close to call confidently, since with any name recognition lesser-known Amy Ryan would be rewarded for her powerful performance in Gone Baby Gone.
Overall, expect a big evening for No Country for Old Men, with the Coen Brothers’ modern Western prevailing in the Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and adapted screenplay among the major categories. If there is to be a serious challenge to Old Country that will probably come courtesy of Juno, which has benefited from late buzz and box-office staying power.
In each category below, first I predict the winner. Next, I say which among the nominees is actually the most deserving. And because so many great movies and performances are invariably overlooked, I also recognize several among those snubbed who were certainly worthy of Oscar consideration, such as Christian Bale who has to be the best actor never nominated for an Academy Award.


Best Picture

Will Win: No Country for Old Men
Deserves to Win: No Country for Old Men
Overlooked: The Darjeeling Limited, Superbad, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Gone Baby Gone.


Best Director

Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Deserves to Win: Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Overlooked: Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited), Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Mira Nair (The Namesake), Tyler Perry (Why Did I Get Married), Sidney Lumet (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead).


Best Actor

Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Deserves to Win: Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)
Overlooked: Christian Bale (3:10 to Yuma, Rescue Dawn), Denzel Washington (The Great Debaters), Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), Owen Wilson (The Darjeeling Limited).


Best Actress

Will Win: Julie Christie (Away from Her)
Deserves to Win: Ellen Page (Juno)
Overlooked: Naomi Watts (Eastern Promises), Tang Wei (Lust, Caution), Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up), Carice van Houten (Black Book), Sienna Miller (Interview).


Best Supporting Actor

Will Win: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Deserves to Win: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Overlooked: Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma), Ed Harris (Gone Baby Gone), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men), Kal Penn (The Namesake).


Best Supporting Actress

Will Win: Ruby Dee (American Gangster)
Deserves to Win: Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
Overlooked: Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead), Tasha Smith (Why Did I Get Married), Jurnee Smollett (The Great Debaters), Kristen Johnston (Music & Lyrics), Sarah Silverman (I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With).


Best Original Screenplay

Will Win: Diablo Cody (Juno)
Deserves to Win: Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)
Overlooked: Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited), Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead), Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad), Marc Lawrence (Music & Lyrics).


Best Adapted Screenplay

Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Deserves to Win: Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Overlooked: Into the Wild (Sean Penn), Sooni Taraporevala (The Namesake), Tyler Perry (Why Did I Get Married).


Best Documentary

Will Win: No End in Sight
Deserves to Win: Sicko
Overlooked: The 11th Hour, Into Great Silence, Crazy Love, What Black Men Think, Banished, Manufactured Landscapes.


Best Animated Feature

Will Win: Ratatouille
Deserves to Win: Ratatouille
Snubbed: None

39th Annual NAACP Image Awards

by Kam Williams

Headline: Great Debaters Dominate Image Awards

“The Great Debaters” dominated the movie categories at the 39th Annual NAACP Image Awards, being named Best Picture, with its stars, Denzel Washington, Denzel Whitaker and Jurnee Smollett, all winning for their performances in the film. Meanwhile, Alicia Keys prevailed in the field of music, earning four trophies, while “House of Payne,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Life Support” each took home a trio in the area of television.
Besides the winners in the nominated categories, a trio of lifetime honorees also gave gracious acceptance speeches: Aretha Franklin (The Vanguard Award), Ruby Dee (The Chairman’s Award) and Stevie Wonder (inducted into the NAACP Hall of Fame). The show, which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, was broadcast live by Fox-TV on February 14th.
Curiously, it was hosted by D.L. Hughley, who had seemingly been in hot water along with Don Imus for his comments on the Tonight Show a year ago in support of the briefly-disgraced DJ, stating that the young women on the Rutgers basketball team were in fact nappy-headed and “some of the ugliest women I've seen in my whole life." Apparently, that water is all under the bridge now, for Imus is back on the air, and D.L. cleaned up his act considerably in his capacity here as emcee.
The evening’s most bizarre moment arrived when presenter Tracy Morgan ignored the teleprompter to wish Happy Valentine’s Day to all his baby-mamas, specifically including fellow-presenter Tichina Arnold whom he revealed to be the mother of his eldest daughter. Ms. Arnold, a single-mom, does have a little girl, Alijah Kai, born in 2004 previously thought to have been fathered by an ex-boyfriend, Carvin Haggins. Who knows whether this was just a joke or if a paternity test might be in order?
Otherwise, the program unfolded in a fairly dignified fashion, and was striking in its embrace of a multicultural orientation, going out of its way to include Asians and Latinos in stage numbers. Even the audience got into the act, when Wayne Brady passed around the mic during a Stevie Wonder medley during which we learned that Judge Mathis can hold a tune and that America “Ugly Betty” Ferrera can’t.



COMPLETE LIST OF NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNERS


MOVIE CATEGORIES:
Best Picture: "The Great Debaters."
Best Actor: Denzel Washington, "The Great Debaters."
Best Actress: Jurnee Smollett, "The Great Debaters."
Best Supporting Actor: Denzel Whitaker, "The Great Debaters."
Best Supporting Actress: Janet Jackson, "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?"
Best Director: Kasi Lemmons, "Talk To Me."
Best Scriptwriter: Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa, "Talk To Me."
Best Independent or Foreign Film: "Honeydripper."
Best Documentary: "Darfur Now."

TELEVISION CATEGORIES:
Best Comedy Series: "Tyler Perry's House of Payne."
Best Actor, Comedy Series: LaVan Davis, "Tyler Perry's House of Payne."
Best Actress, Comedy Series: America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty."
Best Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Lance Gross, "Tyler Perry's House of Payne."
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Vanessa L. Williams, "Ugly Betty."
Best Director, Comedy Series: Ken Whittingham, "The Office: Phyllis's Wedding."
Best Scriptwriter, Comedy Series: Ali LeRoi, "Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates Guidance Counselor"
Best Dramatic Series: "Grey's Anatomy."
Best Actor, Dramatic Series: Hill Harper, "CSI: NY."
Best Actress, Dramatic Series: Regina Taylor, "The Unit."
Best Supporting Actor, Dramatic Series: Omar Epps, "House."
Best Supporting Actress, Dramatic Series: Chandra Wilson, "Grey's Anatomy."
Best Director, Dramatic Series: Seith Mann, "Friday Night Lights: Are You Ready For Friday Night?"
Best Scriptwriter, Dramatic Series: Shonda Rhimes and Krista Vernoff, "Grey's Anatomy: A Change is Gonna Come."
Best TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special: "Life Support."
Best Actor in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special: Wendell Pierce, "Life Support."
Best Actress in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special: Queen Latifah, "Life Support."
Best Actor in a Daytime Dramatic Series: Kristoff St. John, "The Young And The Restless."
Best Actress in a Daytime Dramatic Series: Christel Khalil, "The Young And The Restless."
Best News/information, Series or Special: "In Conversation: The Senator Barack Obama Interview."
Best Talk Series: "Tavis Smiley 'Crisis in Darfur'"
Best Reality Series: "Run's House 4."
Best Variety Series or Special: "Celebration of Gospel '07"
Best Children's Program: "That's So Raven."
Best Performance in a Youth/Children's Program, Series or Special: Raven-Symone, "That's So Raven."

RECORDING CATEGORIES:
Best Album: Alicia Keys, "As I Am."
Best Song: "Like You'll Never See Me Again," Alicia Keys.
Best Male Artist: Chris Brown.
Best Female Artist: Alicia Keys.
Best Duo or Group: Eddie and Gerald Levert.
Best New Artist: Jordin Sparks.
Best Jazz Artist: Herbie Hancock.
Best Gospel Artist: Kirk Franklin.
Best World Music Album: Angelique Kidjo, "Djin Djin."
Best Music Video: "Like You'll Never See Me Again," Alicia Keys.

LITERATURE CATEGORIES:
Best Fiction: "Blonde Faith," Walter Mosley.
Best Nonfiction: "Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond," Don Cheadle, John Prendergast.
Best Debut Author, "The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir," Victoria Rowell.
Best Biography/Autobiography: "Obama: From Promise to Power," David Mendell.
Best Instructional: "The Covenant in Action," Tavis Smiley.
Best Poetry: "Acolytes: Poems," Nikki Giovanni.
Best Children’s Book: "Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson," Sue Stauffacher, author; Greg Couch, illustrator.
Best Youth/Teens’ Book: "More Than Entertainers: An Inspirational Black Career Guide," Charles B. Schooler, author; Gary Young, illustrator.

50th Annual Grammy Awards

by Kam Williams

Headline: Amy Winehouse Wins Five Grammys in Absentia
Kanye Accepts Four for Mom

England’s Amy Winehouse was conspicuously absent from the Grammys, which was no surprise given the trouble she had securing a visa in the wake of her drug conviction and that incriminating video of her smoking crack circulating the internet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2rn8xINExE&feature=related). Nonetheless, she still won five awards, including ones as the Best New Artist and for the Record and Song of the Year, appropriately titled “Rehab” which she performed live by satellite.
Kanye West, collector of four of the over 100 Grammys presented over the course of the evening, appeared onstage with “MAMA” carved into the back of his head. He forced the orchestra to stop playing background music in order to deliver an emotional acceptance speech during which he paid tribute to his recently-deceased mother, Donda, saying, “I know you wanted me to be the number one artist in the world.”
Herbie Hancock, who did an orchestra-backed rendition of Rhapsody in Blue paired opposite redundantly-named, classical piano virtuoso Lang Lang, enjoyed a surprising win for Album of the Year for “River: The Joni Letters.” Meanwhile rising political rock star Barack Obama landed a trophy in the spoken word category for the reading of his best seller “The Audacity of Hope,” edging out Bill Clinton of all people in the process, perhaps prophetically.
The duet-driven occasion was opened by Alicia Keys accompanied virtually by the late Frank Sinatra, and subsequently featured Beyonce’ with Tina Turner, Andrea Bocelli with Josh Groban, 15 year-old Timothy T. Mitchum with Carol Woods, Kanye West with Daft Punk, Keely Smith with Kid Rock, Fergie with John Legend, the Foo Fighters with Grammy Moment-winner Ann Marie Calhoun, Aretha with Bebe Winans, Little Richard with John Fogerty, and Alicia Keys again, this time with John Mayer.


COMPLETE LIST OF GRAMY WINNERS

Album of the Year: "River: The Joni Letters," Herbie Hancock.
Record of the Year: "Rehab," Amy Winehouse.
Song of the Year: "Rehab," Amy Winehouse (Amy Winehouse).
New Artist: Amy Winehouse.
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Mark Ronson.
Pop Vocal Album: "Back to Black," Amy Winehouse.
Female Pop Vocal Performance: "Rehab," Amy Winehouse.
Male Pop Vocal Performance: "What Goes Around...Comes Around," Justin Timberlake.
Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "Makes Me Wonder," Maroon 5.
Pop Collaboration With Vocals: "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.
Pop Instrumental Album: "The Mix-Up," Beastie Boys.
Pop Instrumental Performance: "One Week Last Summer," Joni Mitchell.
Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "Call Me Irresponsible," Michael Buble.
Alternative Music Album: "Icky Thump," The White Stripes.
Rock Album: "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," Foo Fighters.
Rock Song: "Radio Nowhere," Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen).
Solo Rock Vocal Performance: "Radio Nowhere," Bruce Springsteen.
Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "Icky Thump," The White Stripes.
Hard Rock Performance: "The Pretender," Foo Fighters.
Metal Performance: "Final Six," Slayer.
Rock Instrumental Performance: "Once Upon a Time in The West," Bruce Springsteen.
Rap Album: "Graduation," Kanye West.
Rap Solo Performance: "Stronger," Kanye West.
Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "Southside," Common, featuring Kanye West.
Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Umbrella," Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z.
Rap Song: "Good Life," Aldrin Davis, Mike Dean, Faheem Najm & Kanye West, songwriters (J. Ingram & Q. Jones, songwriters) (Kanye West Featuring T-Pain).
Country Album: "These Days," Vince Gill.
Country Song: "Before He Cheats," Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood).
Female Country Vocal Performance: "Before He Cheats," Carrie Underwood.
Male Country Vocal Performance: "Stupid Boy," Keith Urban.
Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "How Long," Eagles.
Country Collaboration With Vocals: "Lost Highway," Willie Nelson & Ray Price.
Country Instrumental Performance: "Throttleneck," Brad Paisley.
R&B Album: "Funk This," Chaka Khan.
R&B Song: "No One," Dirty Harry, Kerry Brothers & Alicia Keys, songwriters (Alicia Keys).
Contemporary R&B Album: "Because of You," Ne-Yo.
Female R&B Vocal Performance: "No One," Alicia Keys.
Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Future Baby Mama," Prince.
R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "Disrespectful," Chaka Khan, featuring Mary J. Blige.
Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: "In My Songs," Gerald Levert.
Urban/Alternative Performance: "Daydreamin'," Lupe Fiasco, featuring Jill Scott.
Dance Recording: "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows," Justin Timberlake, Nate (Danja) Hills, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake, producers; Jimmy Douglass & Timbaland, mixers.
Electronic/Dance Album: "We Are the Night," The Chemical Brothers.
Bluegrass Album: "The Bluegrass Diaries," Jim Lauderdale.
Traditional Blues Album: "Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas," Henry James Townsend, Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, Robert Lockwood Jr. & David "Honeyboy" Edwards.
Contemporary Blues Album: "The Road to Escondido," JJ Cale & Eric Clapton.
New Age Album: "Crestone," Paul Winter Consort.
Contemporary Jazz Album: "River: The Joni Letters," Herbie Hancock.
Jazz Vocal Album: "Avant Gershwin," Patti Austin.
Jazz Instrumental Solo: "Anagram," Michael Brecker, soloist.
Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group: "Pilgrimage," Michael Brecker.
Large Jazz Ensemble Album: "A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)," Terence Blanchard.
Latin Jazz Album: "Funk Tango," Paquito D'Rivera Quintet.
Latin Pop Album: "El Tren De Los Momentos," Alejandro Sanz.
Latin Rock or Alternative Album: "No Hay Espacio," Black:Guayaba.
Latin Urban Album: "Residente O Visitante," Calle 13.
Tropical Latin Album: "La Llave De Mi Corazon," Juan Luis Guerra.
Mexican/Mexican-American Album: "100 (Percent) Mexicano," Pepe Aguilar.
Tejano Album: "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," Little Joe & La Familia.
Norteno Album: "Detalles Y Emociones," Los Tigres Del Norte.
Banda Album: "Te Va A Gustar," El Chapo.
Traditional Folk Album: "Dirt Farmer," Levon Helm.
Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: "Washington Square Serenade," Steve Earle.
Native American Music Album: "Totemic Flute Chants," Johnny Whitehorse.
Hawaiian Music Album: "Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar," Various Artists, Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku Jr., Paul Konwiser & Wayne Wong, producers.
Zydeco or Cajun Music Album: "Live! Worldwide," Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience.
Reggae: "Mind Control," Stephen Marley.
Traditional World Music Album: "African Spirit," Soweto Gospel Choir.
Contemporary World Music Album: "Djin Djin," Angelique Kidjo.
Polka Album: "Come Share the Wine," Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra.
Gospel Performance: "Blessed & Highly Favored," The Clark Sisters; "Never Gonna Break My Faith," Aretha Franklin & Mary J. Blige (Featuring The Harlem Boys Choir). (Tie.)
Gospel Song: "Blessed & Highly Favored," Karen Clark-Sheard, songwriter (The Clark Sisters).
Rock or Rap Gospel Album: "Before the Daylight's Shot," Ashley Cleveland.
Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: "A Deeper Level," Israel and New Breed.
Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: "Salt of the Earth," Ricky Skaggs & The Whites.
Traditional Gospel Album: "Live — One Last Time," The Clark Sisters.
Contemporary R&B Gospel Album: "Free to Worship," Fred Hammond.
Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Love (The Beatles) George Martin & Giles Martin, producers (Apple Records/Capitol Records).
Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino, composer.
Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Love You I Do (From Dreamgirls)," Siedah Garrett & Henry Krieger, songwriters (Jennifer Hudson).
Musical Show Album: "Spring Awakening," Duncan Sheik, producer; Duncan Sheik, composer; Steven Sater, lyricist (Original Broadway Cast With Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele & Others).
Musical Album for Children: "A Green and Red Christmas," The Muppets.
Spoken Word: "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream," Barack Obama.
Spoken Word Album for Children: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Jim Dale.
Comedy Album: "The Distant Future," Flight of the Conchords.
Instrumental Composition: "Cerulean Skies," Maria Schneider, composer (Maria Schneider Orchestra).
Instrumental Arrangement: "In a Silent Way," Vince Mendoza, arranger (Joe Zawinul).
Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die," John Clayton, arranger (Queen Latifah).
Engineered Album, Non-Classical: "Beauty & Crime," Tchad Blake, Cameron Craig, Emery Dobyns & Jimmy Hogarth, engineers (Suzanne Vega).
Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: "Bring the Noise (Benny Benassi Sfaction Remix)," Benny Benassi, remixer (Public Enemy).
Surround Sound: "Love," Paul Hicks, surround mix engineer; Tim Young, surround mastering engineer; George Martin & Giles Martin, surround producers (The Beatles).
Classical Album: "Tower: Made in America," Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Tim Handley, producer; Tim Handley, engineer/mixer (Nashville Symphony).
Orchestral Performance: "Tower: Made in America," Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Nashville Symphony).
Producer of the Year, Classical: Judith Sherman.
Engineered Album, Classical: "Grechaninov: Passion Week," John Newton, engineer (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix Bach Choir & Kansas City Chorale).
Opera Recording: "Humperdinck: Hansel & Gretel," Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor; Rebecca Evans, Jane Henschel & Jennifer Larmore; Brian Couzens, producer (Sarah Coppen, Diana Montague & Sarah Tynan; New London Children's Choir; Philharmonia Orchestra).
Choral Performance: "Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem," Simon Rattle, conductor; Simon Halsey, chorus master (Thomas Quasthoff & Dorothea Roschmann; Rundfunkchor Berlin; Berliner Philharmoniker).
Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With Orchestra): "Barber/Korngold/Walton: Violin Concertos," Bramwell Tovey, conductor; James Ehnes (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra).
Instrumental Soloist Performance (Without Orchestra): "Beethoven Sonatas, Vol. 3," Garrick Ohlsson.
Chamber Music Performance: "Strange Imaginary Animals," Eighth Blackbird.
Small Ensemble Performance: "Stravinsky: Apollo, Concerto in D; Prokofiev: 20 Visions Fugitives," Yuri Bashmet, conductor; Moscow Soloists.
Classical Vocal Performance: "Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs," Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (James Levine; Boston Symphony Orchestra).
Classical Contemporary Composition: "Made in America," Joan Tower (Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Nashville Symphony Orchestra).
Classical Crossover Album: "A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane," Turtle Island Quartet.
Short Form Music Video: "God's Gonna Cut You Down," Johnny Cash.
Long Form Music Video: "The Confessions Tour," Madonna.
Recording Package: "Cassadaga," Zachary Nipper, art director (Bright Eyes).
Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: "What It Is!: Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (1967-1977)," Masaki Koike, art director.
Album Notes: "John Work, III: Recording Black Culture," Bruce Nemerov, album notes writer.
Historical Album: "The Live Wire — Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949," Nora Guthrie & Jorge Arevalo Mateus, compilation producers; Jamie Howarth, Steve Rosenthal, Warren Russell-Smith & Dr. Kevin Short, mastering engineers (Woody Guthrie).

2008 Golden Globes Round-Up

by Kam Williams

Headline: Writer’s Strike Strips Golden Globes of Pomp and Pizzazz

When the actors and directors unions opted to honor the picket line in support of the striking writers, this meant that the 65th Annual Golden Globes would be gutted of its essential appeal. For once you strip away the glitz and glamour of the red carpet arrivals and all the breathless acceptance speeches by Hollywood icons, what do you have left but a simple announcement of the winners.
Nonetheless, the lackluster show still went on, although NBC cut the TV telecast down to an hour. Even that seemed too long, since chatty co-hosts Billy Bush and Nancy O’Dell had absolutely nothing of substance to share except for the results and an embarrassing home video of nominee Nikki Blonsky.
As for the Globes themselves, none landed more than two trophies, which means that no movie emerged from the evening with buzz as the early Oscar favorite. This sleep-inducing fiasco doesn’t bode well for the rest of the 2008 Awards Season should the strike continue to drag on.


Complete list of Golden Globes winners:

FILM
Picture, Drama: "Atonement."
Actress, Drama: Julie Christie, "Away From Her."
Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood."
Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Sweeney Todd."
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose."
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd."
Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There."
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men."
Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
Screenplay: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men."
Foreign Language: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France and U.S.
Animated Film: "Ratatouille."
Original Score: Dario Marianelli, "Atonement."
Original Song: "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild."


TELEVISION:
Series, Drama: "Mad Men," AMC.
Actress, Drama: Glenn Close, "Damages."
Actor, Drama: Jon Hamm, "Mad Men."
Series, Musical or Comedy: "Extras," HBO.
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Actor, Musical or Comedy: David Duchovny, "Californication."
Miniseries or Movie: "Longford," HBO.
Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Queen Latifah, "Life Support."
Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Jim Broadbent, "Longford."
Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Samantha Morton, "Longford."
Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jeremy Piven, "Entourage."

The 10 Best, No, the 100 Best Films of 2007

by Kam Williams

Headline: Annual Accolades for the Cream of the Cinematic Crop

Because I see so many movies over the course of a year, it always feels unfair to limit my 10 Best List to just 10 films when that would mean many very worthy entries would end up acknowledged. Plus, I’ve always hated how historical costume dramas have, by convention, come to be deemed more deserving than romantic comedies, action thrillers, sci-fi flicks, documentaries, teensploits, horror fare and other types of pictures.

Afterall, they’re all movies, so there’s no reason why a silly slapstick adventure as funny as Superbad ought to have to take a back seat to relatively sober period pieces featuring portrayals of pretentious pomp and circumstance. Consequently, the expansive list below is the result of a formula which gives the assorted genres equal consideration.


10 Best List of 2007
1. The Darjeeling Limited
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
4. Superbad
5. Gone Baby Gone
6. Why Did I Get Married?
7. Music and Lyrics
8. Rush Hour 3
9. Live Free or Die Hard
10. Shoot ‘Em Up

Honorable Mention
11. Eastern Promises
12. The Bourne Ultimatum
13. DOA
14. Rescue Dawn
15. 3:10 to Yuma
16. Knocked Up
17. Balls of Fury
18. Juno
19. Michael Clayton
20. The Hoax
21. Into the Wild
22. Grindhouse
23. The Bucket List
24. The Namesake
25. The Assassination of Jesse James

Best Foreign Language Films
1. Black Book
2. The Valet
3. Close to Home
4. Drama Mex
5. Exterminating Angels
6. Lust, Caution
7. Paris Je T’aime
8. Verdict on Auschwitz
9. My Best Friend
10. The Page Turner

Foreign Language Film Honorable Mention
11. The Iceberg
12. I Have Never Forgotten You
13. The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai
14. Darfur Diaries
15. China Blue
16. Dreaming Lhasa
17. U-Carmen
18. Ghosts of Cite Soleil
19. The Orphanage
20. Private Fears in Public Places
21. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
22. Darfur Diaries
23. Ten Canoes
24. Unconscious
25. Tears of the Black Tiger

10 Best Independent Films
1. Interview
2. Great World of Sound
3. Diary of a Tired Black Man
4. The Lookout
5. Cashback
6. Radiant City
7. The Wind That Shakes the Barley
8. The Girl Next Door
9. What Would Jesus Buy?
10. Day Night Day Night

Independent Film Honorable Mention
11. Outsourced
12. Honeydripper
13. Waitress
14. The Ultimate Gift
15. Black Irish
16. Severance
17. Killer of Sheep
18. From Other Worlds
19. Zebraman
20. Outsourced
21. Naked Boys Singing
22. Descent
23. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
24. Black Sheep
25. My Brother

10 Best Documentaries
1. The 11th Hour
2. Sicko
3. What Black Men Think
4. Into Great Silence
5. Crazy Love
6. Banished
7. No End in Sight
8. Manufactured Landscapes
9. Desert Bayou
10. Confessions of a Superhero

Documentary Honorable Mention
11. Maxed Out
12. The Hip-Hop Project
13. Fired
14. Musician
15. ‘Tis Autumn
16. Sacco & Vanzetti
17. Note by Note
18. Carmen & Geoffrey
19. Kamp Katrina
20. Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman
21. The Camden 28
22. Joe Strummer
23. An Unreasonable Man
24. Bushwick Homecomings
25. Your Mommy Kills Animals

Blacktrospective 2007: Annual Look Back at the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema

by Kam Williams

Headline: Tyler Perry Parade

With two excellent offerings in Why Did I Get Married? and Daddy’s Little Girls, 2007 truly belonged to Tyler Perry. Not only did he make the two best black ensemble pictures released by a big studio, but his films also boasted some of the year’s most memorable performances in both the male (Perry and Idris Elba) and female (Tasha Smith, Gabrielle Union and Jill Scott) acting categories.
I’m sure many readers might want an explanation for the relatively-poor showings of Denzel’s box-office hits American Gangster and The Great Debaters. Well, the former was not much more than a big budget variation on the gangsploitation genre in this critic’s estimation. Meanwhile, the latter did feature several inspired performances, but was simply too riddled with comical anachronisms and historical inaccuracies to take seriously.
I hope you take the time to check out some of the lesser-known independent film and documentaries, as you will be well rewarded for investing a couple of hours in labors of love like Banished, What Black Men Think and Diary of a Tired Black Man.


Ten Best Black Films (Studio)

1. Why Did I Get Married?
2. Daddy’s Little Girls
3. Rush Hour 3
4. Honeydripper
5. This Christmas
6. Talk to Me
7. The Great Debaters
8. I Am Legend
9. Feel the Noise
10. The Perfect Holiday


Best Independent Black Films

1. Diary of a Tired Black Man
2. Killer of Sheep
3. Honeydripper
4. My Brother
5. Premium


Best Black Documentaries

1. What Black Men Think
2. Banished
3. Desert Bayou
4. The Hip Hop Project
5. Bastards of the Party
6. Ghosts of Cite Soleil
7. Carmen & Geoffrey
8. Bushwick Homecomings
9. Darfur Diaries
10. God Grew Tired of Us


Best Actors

1. Idris Elba (Daddy’s Little Girls, This Christmas, American Gangster,
28 Weeks Later & The Reaping)
2. Denzel Washington (The Great Debaters & American Gangster)
3. Kene Holliday (Great World of Sound)
4. Danny Glover (Honeydripper)
5. Forest Whitaker (The Great Debaters)
6. Morgan Freeman (The Bucket List & Gone Baby Gone)
7. Will Smith (I Am Legend)
8. Chris Tucker (Rush Hour 3)
9. Tyler Perry (Why Did I Get Married?)
10. Delroy Lindo (This Christmas)


Best Actresses

1. Tasha Smith (Daddy’s Little Girls & Why Did I Get Married?)
2. Gabrielle Union (Daddy’s Little Girls & The Perfect Holiday)
3. Loretta Devine (This Christmas & Dirty Laundry)
4. Jurnee Smollett (The Great Debaters)
5. Vanessa Williams (My Brother & And Then Came Love)
6. Lisa Gay Hamilton (Honeydripper)
7. Jill Scott (Why Did I Get Married?)
8. Aisha Tyler (Balls of Fury & The Brave One)
9. Sharon Leal (This Christmas)
10. Brooklyn Sudano (Rain)


Best Directors (Studio)
1. Tyler Perry (Why Did I Get Married? & Daddy’s Little Girls)
2. Gregory Wilson (The Girl Next Door)
3. Preston A. Whitmore, II (This Christmas)
4. Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me)
5. Denzel Washington (The Great Debaters)


Best Directors (Independent or Documentary)

1. Tim Alexander (Diary of a Tired Black Man) -Tie
1. Janks Morton (What Black Men Think) -Tie
3. Marco Williams (Banished)
4. Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep)
5. Pete Chatmon (Premium)


Worst Movies

1. Who’s Your Caddy?
2. Daddy Day Camp
3. Code Name: The Cleaner
4. Norbit
5. Bring It On 4
6. I Think I Love My Wife
7. Constellation
8. Homie Spumoni
9. The Salon
10. Confessions of a Call Girl


Worst Actors

1. Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Daddy Day Camp)
2. Faizon Love (Who’s Your Caddy?)
3. Big Boi (Who’s Your Caddy?)
4. Cedric the Entertainer (Code Name: The Cleaner)
5. Donald Faison (Homie Spumoni)


Worst Actresses

1. Tamala Jones (Confessions of a Call Girl & Who’s Your Caddy?)
2. Niecy Nash (Code Name: the Cleaner & Reno 911: Miami)
3. Rae Dawn Chong (Constellation)
4. Whoopi Goldberg (Homie Spumoni)
5. Halle Berry (Perfect Stranger)


Worst Directors

1. Tim Story (Fantastic Four II)
2. Lawrence Page (Confessions of a Call Girl)
3. Chris Rock (I Think I Love My Wife)
4. Garret Williams (Spark)
5. Mark Brown (The Salon)

Note: Thanks to fellow film critic Wilson Morales of BlackFilm.com for his very valuable assistance in researching this article, although the picks and pans strictly reflect the opinion of Kam Williams.

The 10 Worst Films of 2007

by Kam Williams

Headline: A Beleaguered Critic Gets Even

When your job is to review movies, you can’t just bolt out of the theater as soon as you can tell that a film is a turkey. No, you have to sit there and endure the dumb dialogue, the horrible editing, the offensive stereotyping, the implausible plot twists and the awful performances from start to finish. Fortunately, at the end of the year, I am afforded this opportunity to even the score by venting on those high crimes against cinema which tended to test my patience.


1. Who’s Your Caddy?

When a new, black-owned Hollywood studio bills itself as being dedicated to making wholesome family films presenting positive portrayals of African-Americans, excuse me for expecting more of the company’s much ballyhooed introductory release than Who’s Your Caddy? The most degrading, minstrel coon show since Soul Plane, this relentlessly-crass exercise in self-hatred is little more than a non-stop attempt to portray black folks in the worst possible light.
From its demeaning dialogue sprinkled with the N-word, the S-word and the P-word, to yet another brother romping around in a skirt, to a sister female proudly referring to herself as a “queen b*tch,” to the celebration of drug abuse, indiscriminate sex and conspicuous consumption, one can only cringe when wondering what quality of fare might be next on Our Stories Films’ agenda. Regardless, its disgraceful debut release was an easy pick as the worst of the worst of the year.

2. License to Wed

Every skit flops in this groan-inducing Robin Williams vehicle where he plays an annoying man of the cloth. Believe it or not, this star vehicle is even worse than Man of the Year, which made my 10 Worst List for 2006.
Who knows whether Williams has lost his talent entirely or has merely lowered his standards to foist as many take-the-money-and-run ripoffs on the public as possible till his fans catch on? Regardless, this picture is so pathetic that an uncredited Wanda Sykes is funnier in a quickie cameo than its star is during his 90 minutes of screen time.
Looks like Robin Williams has replaced Cuba Gooding, Jr. as the kiss of death on the set of any comedy.

3. Daddy Day Camp

Speaking of Cuba Gooding, Jr., he made a persuasive case to keep his crown as the perennial “King of the Bomb” with this sorry sequel to Daddy Day Care. I’m not going to bring up all his bad movies. The problem this time starts with his presuming to fill the shoes of Eddie Murphy, who opted not to reprise the lead role of Charlie Hinton.
It doesn’t help that Cuba has no sense of comedic timing and that he’s only further crippled by an abysmal script consisting of a series of disconnected sketches featuring misbehaving little monsters who keep him up to his eyeballs in feces, cooties, bus crashes, flatulence, projectile vomit, poison ivy, swift kicks to the crotch, urine balloons and wedgies. An utterly predictable, unfunny, infantile test of patience and waste of ninety minutes of my life I can never get back.
Whatever happened to the once-promising who won an Oscar for shouting “Show me the money?” Show me the exit!

4. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Adam Sandler and Kevin James ought to be ashamed to be associated with the cinematic equivalent of gay bashing. Not only are homosexuals repeatedly referred to by such slurs as “faggots,” “queers,” and “fruits,” but this relentlessly hateful and superficial enterprise seizes on any excuse to equate homosexuality with effeminacy and with certain superficial stereotypical tastes and traits.
When not trashing gays, the film goes after Asians with impunity, by associating them with thick accents and thick eyeglasses, and by portraying this ethnic group’s females as subservient sex objects. Overall, this flick is so evilly executed that it deserves to be dismissed as a deliberately meanspirited indulgence in intolerance.

5. Code Name: The Cleaner

This movie was one of those pump-and-dump productions which puts all the best jokes in the trailers, hoping to milk the most it can opening weekend before word of mouth spreads. So, if you caught the commercial where Cedric the Entertainer explains his wearing clogs and lederhosen with “Haven’t you heard of Dutch chocolate?” before yodeling “Ricola!” then you’re already familiar with the film’s funniest scene.
Less amusing is the endlessly demeaning dialogue, like when Jake declines a job offer as an FBI Agent, opting to remain a janitor because ”Somebody needs to keep this place clean. That’s what I do.” Just as bad is Niecy Nash as a harridan heard complaining “A sister’s not happy if her hair’s nappy,”
Made we want to set myself on fire in protest, like a Buddhist monk.

6. Perfect Stranger

Not even the screen chemistry of Halle Berry and Bruce Willis could save this pretentious whodunit with an infuriatingly convoluted plot patently unfair to its audience. Be forewarned that that the movie offers next to no clues to unraveling its mystery before hastily divulging the solution during the denouement almost as an afterthought.
The film’s fatal flaw is that the overplotted production introduces too many characters, especially given that virtually every one of them might be a suspect. Laced with an abundance of rather obvious red herrings, the twists and turns actually could have been laughable, had the picture been packaged as a deliberately mediocre, tongue-in-cheek homage to bad detective flicks of a bygone era.
Your low expectations of this lost cause will be richly rewarded.

7. Because I Said So

Diane Keaton is still relying on that ever less-endearing assortment of addlepated antics which won her an Academy Award for Annie Hall back in 1978. Now that she’s in her sixties, that girlish flustered act is wearing a bit thin. And having her parade around in panties and crinoline party skirts isn’t fooling anybody into thinking she’s a teenager, either.
This May-December romantic comedy might have worked were it not for Keaton’s infuriating dumbing herself down and mugging for the camera in a desperate attempt to prove she’s terminally-cute in a pre-feminism sort of way.
Unfortunately, she was only encouraged by the Oscar nomination she landed in 2004 for Something’s Gotta’ Give, where she played a post-menopausal playwright opposite the ever-impish Jack Nicholson.
But best to avoid this cliché-ridden rip-off of that relatively-pleasant romp. Why? Because I said so.

8. Kickin’ It Old Skool

Jamie Kennedy stars in this fish-out-of-water comedy about middle-aged man who emerges from a 20-year coma still having a boy’s brain after landing on his head while breakdancing as an adolescent. The story revolves around his tracking down the three other members of his pre-teen posse, The Funky Fresh Boys, to see if they’re ready to resume their routines.
Truly an equal opportunity offender, the dialogue repeatedly resorts to ethnic, gender and other assorted slurs, whether referring to blacks by the N-word repeatedly; calling Asians gooks, geisha girls or egg rolls; calling females bitches, hos or pink sushi, calling gays homo, calling the mentally-challenged retarded, or associating Jews with several stereotypes.

Not one scene of this disgusting shocksploit is either entertaining or funny, proof being its failure to elicit even one laugh out of anyone at the screening this critic attended. Another negative is the picture’s profusion of prominent placement ads for Pepsi, Nike, Apple, Pop Rocks, etcetera, and equally-distracting cameos by David Hasselhoff, Erik Estrada, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Emmanuelle “Webster” Lewis who has my permission to return to obscurity after embarrassing himself by calling a woman a “ho” before slapping her right on the rump.

9. I Think I Love My Wife

Can a seemingly-irresistible seductress tempt a happily-married man to break his marriage vows? That was the driving question behind Chloe in the Afternoon, Eric Rohmer’s thought-provoking morality play exploring infidelity. This adaptation was directed by its star Chris Rock, who also overhauled the script into a barely-recognizable, formulaic sitcom.
Forget about the palpable tension created in the original by the protagonist’s predicament, since this transparent tale takes his cues from its spoiler of a title. So, everybody knows from the beginning which of the ladies in this love triangle will ultimately prevail.
Worse is the fact that the picture isn’t funny and consists mostly of vaguely familiar scenes borrowed from a variety of popular screen adventures. This ripoff even has the nerve to recreate the seduction from The Graduate, complete with the famous silhouette of the raised leg featured in that classic’s poster. In sum, an uncreative, unoriginal exercise in the obvious.
I think I hated this movie.

10. Reign over Me

This relentlessly depressing buddy flick focuses on the toll that 9-11 has taken on a defrocked dentist, played by Adam Sandler, whose wife and three daughters died on an airplane that fateful day. The movie begs to be appreciated as a cerebral, character-driven meditation on the psyche of America in the aftermath of the terror attacks, but it resorts far too frequently to the staples of the Sandler formula to be considered of any more substance or consequence than The Waterboy, Happy Gilmore or even Billy Madison.
Instead of relying on a protagonist’s mental retardation to rationalize his familiar lowbrow brand of humor, he exploits a tragedy to free his character to launch politically-incorrect bile in the direction of Latinos, gays and any other easy targets unfortunate enough to cross his path. Just a meanspirited, frivolous, brutally-dull, pretentious indulgence in bigotry and sophomoric behavior in the name of Al-Qaeda.

Dishonorable Mention

Are We Done Yet?
Badland
Confessions of a Call Girl
Constellation
Epic Movie
Fantastic Four 2
Fred Claus
The Heartbreak Kid
Homie Spumoni
Love in the Time of Cholera
The Number 23
Pride
Redacted
The Salon
Smokin’ Aces

2007 NYFCO Movie Awards

By Kam Williams
Headline: "There Will Be Blood" Dominates NYFCO Annual Awards
The New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) announced its movie awards for 2007, considered an early indicator of Oscar potential, at its annual luncheon at O'Neals' Restaurant in Manhattan on Sunday, December 9th. "There Will Be Blood" emerged as the day’s big winner, netting five awards overall, including Best Picture, which it shared with "The Divine Bell and the Butterfly."
Daniel Day-Lewis was named Best Actor for his role as a voraciously greedy oil tycoon in "There Will Be Blood" while Julie Christie received Best Actress honors as an aging, married woman slowly losing her battle with Alzheimer's in "Away From Her."
The honor for Best Director went to Paul Thomas Anderson, also for "There Will Be Blood," and the organization picked Michael Moore's "Sicko," a scathing indictment of America's health care system, in the Best Documentary catergory. "The Lives of Others" and "Persepolis" tied as the Best Foreign Picture.
NYFCO is a New York-based group whose membership is composed of 24 web-based reviewers and 3 print critics with a strong online presence, including the author of this article.

The Complete List:

BEST PICTURE
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (tie)
There Will Be Blood (tie)

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTRESS
Julie Christie – Away From Her

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – I'm Not There

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
There Will Be Blood – Robert Elswit

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Darjeeling Limited – Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola

BEST FOREIGN PICTURE
The Lives of Others (tie)
Persepolis (tie)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Sicko

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Persepolis

BEST MUSIC/SCORE
There Will Be Blood – Jonny Greenwood

BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Ellen Page – Juno

BEST DEBUT AS DIRECTOR
Sarah Polley – Away From Her

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

BEST PICTURES (alphabeticall
Atonement (Focus Features)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (THINKFilm)
The Darjeeling Limited (Fox Searchlight)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax)
I'm Not There (The Weinstein Company)
Juno (Fox Searchlight)
Michael Clayton (Warner Bros.)
No Country for Old Men (Miramax)
Persepolis (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sweeney Todd (DreamWorks)
There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage)