A lot of the categories in this year’s Oscars seem to be already locked up… Mo’nique and Christoph Waltz are as good as gold, and there’s not much doubt who’s going to win Best Actor (Bridges) or Actress (Bullock). A lot of attention is focusing on the Best Picture & Director battles between The Hurt Locker and Avatar. We’re betting Kathryn Bigelow walks away from this one with the directing prize — she’ll be the first woman to win Best Director, and it will be well-deserved. She should have won it for Point Freaking Break! That’s right!
We’re always more interested in the prize for Best Foreign Language Film, possibly because we live in Europe — and it’s a great race this year, with 5 movies that are better than anything up for Best Picture:
Our favorite was The White Ribbon and it’s high time that Michael Haneke was recognized by the Academy — he’s won just about every other award on the planet. But the odds-on favorite this year seems to be A Prophet.
Most well-known for his period epic The Leopard from 1963, Luchino Visconti is also responsible for one of Criticker’s Neglected Gems — L’Innocente. Another drama about human relationships, L’Innocente hit screens in 1976, the same year Visconti would die in Rome of a stroke.
Like The Leopard, this movie takes place in the world of the 19th century Italian aristocracy. It’s based on the 1892 novel by Gabriele D’Annunzio, and is mainly a drama of infidelity. Wealthy Tullio Hermil has grown weary of his lucrative, boring life and lovely, boring wife, and embarks on an affair with a seductive, widowed Countess. When he eventually runs into trouble with her and another of her suitors, he returns to his wife… though it might be too late.
The sets and photography in this film are nearly as stunning as in The Leopard, but the true star is the film’s music. The score, made up of classical works from composers such as Mozart and Liszt, is perfectly intertwined into the film, which at times feels almost like an opera. It’s a perfect end to Visconti’s career, and a fitting farewell. Not too many people at Criticker have ranked this forgotten masterpiece, so we encourage you to seek it out!
It’s a great week for new DVDs if you’re a kid or just appreciate well-made movies for the younger set. Spike Jonze and Hayao Miyazaki step up to the plate, and smash two awesome films that all ages can enjoy: Where the Wild Things Are and Ponyo. If you’re still suffering wintry weather, you now have two great reasons to stay on the couch a little longer.
2012 – Average Tier 3.45 An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. 2012 @ Amazon
Where the Wild Things Are – Average Tier 6.99 Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. He lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. Where the Wild Things Are @ Amazon
Criticker Pick! Ponyo – Average Tier 7.12 An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. Ponyo @ Amazon
Gentlemen Broncos – Average Tier 3.40 A teenager attends a fantasy writers’ convention where he discovers his idea has been stolen by an established novelist. Gentlemen Broncos @ Amazon
Since our days in Berlin, we’ve kept a close eye on the Berlinale — a festival which has become one of the world’s most important. The winner of the Golden Bear is almost always an incredible movie which takes everyone by surprise, and this year’s selection looks to continue the pattern.
Cue the ‘bears love honey’ jokes
Honey (Bal), by filmmaker Semih Kaplanoglu, is about a poetic account of young boy’s search for his missing father — a honey worker. It’s the third part of the director’s reverse-order “Yusuf” Trilogy, following Eggs and Milk. Check out the trailer — this is a film tailor-made to rack up awards:
An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. 
Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. He lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. 
An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. 
After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown. 
A teenager attends a fantasy writers’ convention where he discovers his idea has been stolen by an established novelist. 
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