First Round of Titles for the '10 Berlinale, Including Polanski and Scorsese

Five of the twenty-six titles to be competing in the 2010 Berlinale (and two out-of-competition) were announced today, including two high-profile premieres of the latest from Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski. The other major title included is the latest from Jasmila Žbanić, whose Grbavica won the Golden Bear in 2006.

In Competition

- Bal [Honey], d. Semih Kaplanoğlu [Yumurta], Turkey/Germany
- The Ghost Writer, d. Roman Polanski, France/Germany/UK, w. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivier Williams, Tom Wilkinson
- The Hunter, d. Rafi Pitts [It's Winter], Germany/Iran
- Na putu [On the Path], d. Jasmila Žbanić, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Austria/Germany/Croatia
- Der Räuber [The Robber], d. Benjamin Heisenberg (Milchwald), Austria/Germany

Out of Competition

- My Name Is Khan, d. Karan Johar [Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...], India
- Shutter Island, d. Martin Scorsese, USA, w. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Max von Sydow

Lots of new IFC titles on DVD for 2010, DVD Update 27 October

Though MPI, IFC Films has announced several more DVD releases for the first part of 2010, most notably Philippe Garrel's Frontier of the Dawn [La frontière de l'aube] for 26 January. The only worthwhile Blu-ray I saw announced was a 20th anniversary edition of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas from Warner, slated for 16 February. Lionsgate also announced a Joel Schumacher film that I (predictably) haven't heard of, changing the title (predictably) to sound more horrific, from Town Creek to Blood Creek. The film (predictably) stars a trio of British heartthrobs: Dominic Purcell, Henry Cavill and Michael Fassbender. The DVDs below are listed in descending order of release.

- 9, 2009, d. Shane Acker, Focus Features, also on Blu-ray, 29 December
- A Perfect Getaway, 2009, d. David Twohy, Rogue/Universal, also on Blu-ray, 29 December
- Fifty Dead Men Walking, 2008, d. Kari Skogland, Phase 4 Films, also on Blu-ray, 5 January
- Ballad in Blue, 1964, d. Paul Henreid, Lionsgate, 12 January
- Blood Creek [aka Town Creek], 2009, d. Joel Schmacher, Lionsgate, 19 January, w. Dominic Purcell, Henry Cavill, Michael Fassbender
- The Escapist, 2008, d. Rupert Wyatt, IFC, 26 January
- Frontier of the Dawn [La frontière de l'aube], 2008, d. Philippe Garrel, IFC, 26 January
- Heaven's Heart [Himlens hjärta], 2008, d. Simon Staho, IFC, 26 January, w. Lena Endre
- In a Day, 2006, d. Evan Richards, IFC, 26 January
- Mermaid, 2007, d. Anna Melikyan, IFC, 26 January
- Pontypool, 2008, d. Bruce McDonald, IFC, 26 January
- Quiet Chaos [Caos calmo], 2008, d. Antonio Luigi Grimaldi, IFC, 26 January, w. Nanni Moretti, Valeria Golino, Alessandro Gassman
- Warszawa, 2003, d. Dariusz Gajeweski, IFC, 26 January
- Worlds Apart [To verdener], 2008, d. Niels Arden Oplev, IFC, 26 January
- Triangle, 2009, d. Christopher Smith, First Look, also on Blu-ray, 2 February, w. Melissa George
- Flame & Citron [Flammen & Citronen], 2008, d. Ole Christian Madsen, IFC, 9 February
- The Pleasure of Being Robbed, 2008, d. Joshua Safdie, IFC, 9 February
- The Trial Begins [L'ora di punta], 2007, d. Vincenzo Marra, IFC, 9 February
- 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope, 2009, d. Tukihiko Tsutsumi, Viz Media, 16 February
- Women in Trouble, 2009, d. Sebastian Gutierrez, Screen Media, also on Blu-ray, 16 February, w. Carla Gugino, Marley Shelton, Elizabeth Berkley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Simon Baker, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Josh Brolin
- Bliss [Mutluluk], 2007, d. Abdullah Oguz, First Run Features, 23 February

Countdown to the Oscars (bleh), Part 2

I was inspired by someone else's blog (I don't remember who it was) to make a rundown of the decade at the Academy Awards. In this post, I'll list the ten best and worst Best Picture nominees, and after tabulating my list, I realize how pathetic it really is. I only really like the top four, and the remaining six I can only give faint praise (and, yes, Erin Brockovich really is better than Traffic). In the middle of posting this, I realized how stupid this whole list is, since I was cluelessly going by the year of the ceremonies instead of the year of the film's release. Double bleh. I suppose I'll keep going anyway. The Best Picture nominees I didn't see (and probably won't except for Master and Commander) are: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Seabiscuit (well, more than ten minutes); Good Night, and Good Luck.; Munich; Letters from Iwo Jima.

The Ten Best "Best Picture" Nominees

1. No Country for Old Men (2008, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
2. There Will Be Blood (2008, Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001, Ang Lee)
4. Milk (2009, Gus Van Sant)
5. The Insider (Michael Mann, 2000)
6. In the Bedroom (2002, Todd Field)
7. The Departed (2007, Martin Scorsese)
8. Brokeback Mountain (2006, Ang Lee)
9. Capote (2006, Bennett Miller)
10. Erin Brockovich (2001, Steven Soderbergh)

The Ten Worst "Best Picture" Nominees

1. Crash (2006, Paul Haggis)
2. The Reader (2009, Stephen Daldry)
3. Ray (2005, Taylor Hackford)
4. The Cider House Rules (2000, Lasse Hallström)
5. Moulin Rouge (2002, Baz Luhrmann)
6. Chocolat (2001, Lasse Hallström)
7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009, David Fincher)
8. A Beautiful Mind (2002, Ron Howard)
9. Babel (2007, Alejandro González Iñarritu)
10. Gangs of New York (2003, Martin Scorsese)