Directing you to the Muriels once more

That little guinea pig is getting to the big ones, starting with Best Director. It was a tight race, with #’s 1 and 2 getting an equal amount of votes, but the Coen brothers were four point behind… Well, if you know it’s not the Coens, you’ll know who it is, and you’ll understand why I really cannot wait until Thursday. Number 3 wasn’t too far behind, but the rest of the votes was distributed among an impressive number of worthy contenders.

My own votes went to 1. the Coens, 2. Todd Haynes, 3. Wes Anderson (yup, I was that lone vote) , 4. David Fincher and 5. Joe Wright, mostly because I felt bad about him getting snubbed at the Oscars for Jason Reitman.

Don’t forget to also check out the Best Cinematic Moment Muriels: the votes are, obviously, all over the place, but that category is a great way of re-living some of the nicest scenes. My votes were very similar to this post on the old blog, and added to that

• the moment that should get the award for “greatest use of Adrien Brody’s limbs – ever”: his running for the train in The Darjeeling Limited
• Juno telling her dad and stepmom about her pregnancy – see, I don’t hate Juno!

Biggest surprise? I was the only one who mentioned that great scene in the fog at the beginning of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, with Jesse James waiting for the train to arrive. Simply breathtaking. I’m still waiting for the director’s cut of that one, incidentally. And if anyone feels like sending it to me as a late, late birthday present, I won’t stop you 😉

For Your Consideration

I know, I know, I generally stay away from awards hoopla. And really, I have long ago stopped really caring about the Oscars. But I’m facing a lack in content (my editor reminded me that since filmtotaal gives me the opportunity to go to screenings, I should write about them there, first, and much as I hate to admit it, he has a point there), and I’m afraid that the AMPAS will do what it always does, and leave out some of the worthier candidates.

I know, I know, nomination ballots are in already, but hey, it’s not like my little blog was going to have any influence, anyway. And I’m not saying the people and films mentioned here should win. But I think they definitely deserve a nomination, and will almost certainly be overlooked. One per category.