Notes on a Scandal ***1/2

Cast: Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Andrew Simpson, Bill Nighy

Running Length: 1:33
MPAA Classification: R

Barbara Covett (dench) is a long-time teacher at a British school. She lives with a cat for companionship, and is a somewhat bitter woman. When Sheba Hart (Blanchett) takes a job at the school, she and Barbara become friends. One night, after a Christmas play at the school, Barbara sees Sheba and 15-year old Steven (Simpson) in a compromising situation, and decides to see how she can use this to her advantage.

“Notes on a Scandal” is a great pshychological thriller. The story is, for the most part, unpredictable. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give top notch performances, and the scenes with the two of them together are the best parts of the movie. Dench’s manipulative Barbara is particularly excellent. Although the subject matter of “Notes on a Scandal” may put some people off, I found it to be a pleasant surprise, and I highly recommend it.

List of 2007 Academy Award winners

Picture
The Departed

Director
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Actor
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen

Film editing
The Departed

Original song
I Need to Wake Up, An Inconvenient Truth

Original screenplay
Little Miss Sunshine

Original score
Babel

Documentary feature
An Inconvenient Truth

Documentary short subject
The Blood of Yingzhou District

Supporting actress
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Foreign film
The Lives of Others

Visual effects
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Cinematography
Pan's Labyrinth

Costume design
Marie Antoinette

Adapted screenplay
The Departed

Animated film
Happy Feet

Supporting actor
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine

Sound mixing
Dreamgirls

Sound editing
Letters from Iwo Jima

Animated short film
The Danish Poet

Live action short film
West Bank Story

Make-up
Pan's Labyrinth

Art direction
Pan's Labyrinth

The Last King of Scotland ***1/2

Cast: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Running Length: 2:00
MPAA Classification: R

Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (McAvoy) leaves Scotland after his graduation to get away from his father. He goes to Uganda around the time that a military coup puts General Idi Amin (Whitaker) in charge of the country. When Amin is injured in a car accident, Nicholas treats him. Amin likes Nicholas and offers him a position as personal physician to the President. He accepts, and soon finds that although Amin is personable and charismatic, he is also paranoid and brutal. This is further complicated by Nicholas having an affair with Amin’s third wife (Washington). With each passing day, Amin becomes more unstable, and Nicholas finds that he cannot escape.

“The Last King of Scotland” is an excellent film. The two leads, Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy deliver standout performances. They hype for Whitaker in this movie is well deserved. It is a shame that McAvoy has not garnered similar praise. This film offers a look into how the charismatic Amin became one of Africa’s most vicious dictators. I highly recommend this film.

The Queen ****
Cast: Helen Mirren, James Cromwell, Michael Sheen, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory, Sylvia Syms, Roger Allam, Tim McMullan
Director: Stephen Frears
Running Length: 1:45
MPAA Classification: PG-13

In the first week of September 1997, between the death of Princess Diana and her funeral, Queen Elizabeth (Mirren) was in a situation that she had no preparation for. She did not feel anything should be done for the princess by the monarchy, as she has divorced from Prince Charles (Jennings), but the people of England were looking to her to show some compassion. Newly elected Prim Minister Tony Blair (Sheen) attempts to offer advice to the Queen, but he mostly rebuffed. Adding to the tension is the fact that Blair’s popularity skyrockets in this time of national mourning.

“The Queen” is a fascinating look into the world of the British Monarchy. I know very little about it, and the film held my interest throughout. Mirren is excellent as a queen who is struggling to maintain the only lifestyle she has ever known in the face of changing times and a popular ex-monarch’s death. Sheen is also good as Tony Blair. All in all, “The Queen” is an extremely engaging film that is worth seeing.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Best Picture:
Babel
The Departed -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- the best of the five that are nominated
Letters From Iwo Jima -- DID NOT SEE
Little Miss Sunshine -- could be the surprise winner
The Queen

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond -- DID NOT SEE
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson -- DID NOT SEE
Peter O'Toole, Venus -- DID NOT SEE
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness -- no chance
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- powerful performance in a role the Academy likes to reward

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Actress:
Penelope Cruz, Volver -- DID NOT SEE
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal -- always excellent and could be a surprise
Helen Mirren, The Queen -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- as close to a lock as you can get, and well deserving of a win
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada -- great performance, wrong year
Kate Winslet, Little Children -- DID NOT SEE

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine -- WILL WIN -- I think he will be honored for his career
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children -- DID NOT SEE
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond -- DID NOT SEE
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls -- DID NOT SEE
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls -- DID NOT SEE -- WILL WIN
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel -- SHOULD WIN -- haunting performance in the movie's most involving storyline

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Directing:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- never won and has made a great film, time to reward him
Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima -- DID NOT SEE
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93 -- could surprise everyone

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Foreign Language Film:
After the Wedding, Denmark; Days of Glory (Indigenes), Algeria -- DID NOT SEE
The Lives of Others, Germany -- DID NOT SEE
Pan's Labyrinth, Mexico -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- excellent film
Water, Canada -- DID NOT SEE

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Adapted Screenplay:
Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- funniest movie of the year
Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, Children of Men -- DID NOT SEE
William Monahan, The Departed
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, Little Children -- DID NOT SEE
Patrick Marber, Notes on a Scandal

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Original Screenplay:
Guillermo Arriaga, Babel -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- 4 storylines meshed seamlessly together
Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, Letters From Iwo Jima -- DID NOT SEE
Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
Guillermo del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth -- could be a contender
Peter Morgan, The Queen

OSCAR PREDICTIONS:
Animated Feature Film:
Cars -- SHOULD WIN and WILL WIN -- Pixar can do no wrong.
Happy Feet -- this could be the surprise winner, but it is vastly inferior to the other two nominees
Monster House -- a valiant effort, but not quite good enough to win