Best Picture

“The Artist” (It’s hard to understand why this is so popular!)
“Bridesmaids”
“The Descendants”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris” (Loved this!)
“Moneyball”
“War Horse” (This was a parody of Spielberg, by Spielberg)

This year the list of nominees could balloon to ten movies, but that doesn’t matter this year. “Ides of March” and “Drive” could also end up here but the winner is likely to be the unbelievably dull silent movie. In a perfect world, Brad Bird would get some recognition for raising the “Mission Impossible” franchise from the dead.

Best Actor
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Ryan Gosling, “The Ides of March”
Brad Pitt, “Moneybal”l

Anyone who saw “The Descendants” knows that Clooney phoned this one in. DiCaprio is burdened by bad make up despite the fact the Academy loves biographies. Moneyball was enjoyable, but Pitt is not going to win. Ryan Gosling could actually get a nomination for “Drive”, though he shows more range in “Ides”. Personally, we’d have prefer seeing Gary Oldman here from “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”.

Best Actress
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Meryl Streep,” The Iron Lady” (Even if Ms Streep didn’t have a movie out, you would still have to expect her to garner a nomination)
Charlize Theron, “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Glen Close has been working at getting this movie made for more than ten years. That guarantees a nomination. Michelle Williams is very hot these days and so she could be considered a lock for a nomination and a wild-card among winners. The DailyHelping would love to see Charlize Theron nominated for her incredibly unpleasant character in “Young Adult”. Her performance was pitch perfect and nasty enough that she may actually turn off voters. That’s saying something for a woman who actually won an Oscar for portraying a monstrous serial killer a good number of years ago.

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, “My Week with Marilyn”
Albert Brooks, “Drive” (It’s great to see this!)
Patton Oswald, “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Viggo Mortensen, “A Dangerous Method” (A DailyHelping favorite!)

Christopher Plummer is a slam dunk to win this category. Jonah Hill may slip in here as a nominee for “Moneyball” and Viggo makes our list because he was the best part of a dreary film. Patton Oswald deserves to be nominated for a heartfelt performance that has not gotten the acclaim that it was due.

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

This is the same list of nominees that you saw at the Golden Globe.
Berenice Bejo could make a case for getting a Best Actress nomination, but DailyHelping believes she belongs here. “The Help” will suck the air out of the room and Octavia Spencer is a slam dunk winner.

Best Director

Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
David Fincher, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist “(He’ll be there, and probably win if his movie doesn’t take best picture).
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants” (The Academy loves this guy!)
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo” (Don’t reward the man for making a 3D movie)

Terrance Malick could get a nomination for “Tree of Life” but the fact no one  understand what his movie was about, may prove his undoing. Clooney could get a nomination for “Ides of March” and DailyHelping favorite, Woody Allen is a dark horse but more likely to get the screenplay award.

Best Screenplay, Adapted

Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon – “The Descendants”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – “The Ides of March”
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian – “Moneyball” (DailyHelping loves Aaron Sorkin!)
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
(A smarter script you will not find)

The Tinker Tailor script challenged some viewers, but hopefully that won’t be a problem. There are other nominees for this category, but we can’t imagine what they’ll be.

Best Screenplay, Original

Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist” (This nomination should be a joke, but it isn’t).
Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig – “Bridesmaids” (Wouldn’t you love to see Wiig up there getting an Oscar?)
Woody Allen – “Midnight in Paris”
Thomas McCarthy – “Win Win”
Diablo Cody – “Young Adult”

About 20 people saw “Win Win” and that’s a crime. It was wonderful and hopefully it sneaks a win here. Woody or Diablo (sounds like a pair of wranglers, doesn’t it?) both deserve some recognition for two of the smartest scripts on screen all year.

Viggo says: Look for Eastern Promises 2

“Eastern Promises” was named by Daily Helping, as one of the ten best movies of the past decade. (It was in fact tied with another Viggo Mortensen-David Cronenberg collaboration, “A History of Violence”).

Rumors of a sequel have have been floating about online for well over a year now, and now good news comes from one of the other returning actors, Vincent Cassel, (Shrek, Mesrine) who sounds just as excited as we are to hear of a return to the murky world of  London’s Russian mafia.

Cassel ,(husband to the amazing, Monica Bellucci),  just finished shooting Cronenberg’s “Dangerous Method.”  Cassel says that he and everyone else wants to make the film, but it may have to wait until after another picture from the Canadian director first.

“I sure hope [it happens],” Cassel said confirming his intended involvement. “There’s a script, David Cronenberg wants to do it. The script is really good, so hopefully it’s going to go. I think David wants to make another film before [the sequel], but whenever they’re ready, I told them, ‘I’m here.’ I’m dying to do the sequel, and to be honest to work with Viggo Mortensen and David, it’s such an incredible experience. David is really easy to work with, it feels so [effortless] and when you see the results it’s always very compelling.”

That other film is very likely “Cosmopolis” starring Colin Farrell and Marion Cotillard which last we heard was scheduled to begin shooting in March of 2011.  The $20.5 million film, an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel, was penned by Cronenberg himself and is a thriller that follows a multimillionaire (Farrell) on a 24-hour odyssey across Manhattan. Cotillard will play his wife.

This is a long time to wait, but it will undoubtedly be worth it.

Mortensen as Nikolai in "Eastern Promises" (2007)

David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen are re teaming for a return to London’s Russian mob with a currently untitled sequel to “Eastern Promises.”

The Daily Helping is often suspect and wary of sequels.  This is a huge exception.  This site considered “Eastern Promises” a candidate for best film of the past decade, and so with all the principals on board, it’s hard not to be a bit excited. Little is known about the project at this point, but the original writer,  Steve Knight has provided the sequel. That’s another good sign.  The film is already set up at Focus Features and intend to go into production next winter. Apparently the film has actually been in the works since the 2009.  There’s no mention of bring back Naomi Watts, so it will be interesting to see where the story will pick up.

The film will mark the fourth straight film collaboration between Cronenberg and Mortensen ; obviously relishing their working relationship.

If you’ve taken the time to put together a list of your own, please feel free to let us know via the comments page.

5)  Alfonso Cuarón’s film, “Children of Men” (2006).  This has been an excellent decade for Clive Owen.  There are more than a few of his movies that could be on this list.  (“The Inside Man”,  “Gosford Park“) Clive is a resistance fighter protecting what may very well be the last pregnant woman on Earth. It’s  edgy science fiction  that drew an audience primarily by word of mouth. It’s likely to be a timeless film. (Look for the wonderful cameo by the great Michael Cain).

4)” The Departed” (2006). Martin Scorsese can put together any cast he wants to and he started with Jack Nicholson to headline his American version of a twisty Hong Kong mob film called, “Infernal Affairs”.  Scorsese called on his muse,  Leonardo DiCaprio to play a deep under cover cop and the always remarkable,  Matt Damon as a spy for the mob, placed highly with the Boston mob task force. Cat and mouse doesn’t do the tension justice. This was a fantasic movie and the best Scorsese picture since” Goodfellas”.

3) “The Dark Knight”, (2008) arrived with great expectations before the untimely death of it’s co-star, Heath Ledger.  Re-tooled over the past ten years and helmed by the very gifted, Christopher Nolan (“Momento”, “Batman Begins”, “The Prestige”), “The Dark Knight” set a new standard for comic book blockbusters. The energy and special effects didn’t hide the story.  Nolan showed that a big budget summer picture can also have depth, character development and a story that refuses to let go from the opening scene.  Christian Bale wears the gear well, and will for as long as he wants to.

The movie will forever be known for Heath Ledger’s remarkable turn as the Joker.  He  joins Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter as  one of the most most memorable film villains of all time.

2) “A History of Violence” (2005) and “Eastern Promises” (2007) paired versatile actor, Viggo Mortensen with David Cronenberg, a director known for his independent spirit and taste for the grotesque.  Because these films are equally compelling and razor sharp in their construction; it’s hard to separate the two.

1) “No Country For Old Men” was a 2007 screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s tight little novel of bounty hunters, unrelenting killers, a lot of drug money and a few good people fighting for their lives.  The affection that the Daily Helping has for The Brothers Coen is well documented here on this site.  As gifted as Joel and Ethan happen to be, it was this film that took them to the next level in both box office and critical appeal.  The film was honored with numerous awards, garnering three British Academy of Film awareds, two Golden Globes, and four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Joel and Ethan Coen), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem, in a truly memorable Moe-like hairstyle).

With this said, it’s with some wariness that the Daily Helping clues you in on three upcoming movies that at first blush seem like terrible ideas. It’s the details surrounding these features that are actually quite intriguing.

According to Variety, Universal studios and toy giant, Mattel have moved forward with plans to create a feature film around “Barbie”.  In what clearly is a situation where the merchandise precludes the feature, the movie will capitalize on it’s worldwide brand appeal with young girls and women who had a few Malibu Barbies and Kens of their own. Apparently there’s already been live stage shows, live symphonies and other non-traditional forms of entertainment involving everyone’s favorite doll.

According to Mattel, the 50-year old (Cougar?) Barbie has 99% worldwide brand awareness, is the number one girls property in the toy industry, the top doll property in the U.S. and the number one worldwide property in the traditional toy industry.

It’s also worth mentioning that Ridley Scott seems intent on filming a live action version of the board game, “Monopoly”.  Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Hancock) is on board with “Battleship”.

One can only assume that someone is in touch with Anna Faris by now.  Laurence Mark (Julie & Julia) has been picked to produce the “Barbie” feature.  Mark said he felt “fortunate to get the job and said there is no shortage of plot possibilities, since Barbie has held more than 120 jobs over the years”.

Another film that seems ill-conceived but embraced by A-list talent is the film dramatization of the creation of Web Social monster, Facebook.  Attached to this project is no less than Daily Helping favorites, David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Aaron Sorkin(West Wing, A Few Good Men) who has been talking about his script for the past year. Now the cast is coming together.

Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, Squid and The Whale) will play Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerber; song and dance man Justin Timberlake will play Facebook’s founding president (and Napster co-founder) Sean Parker.

One thing is certain, this is a movie that has a built-in “friend” base.

The third movie is perhaps the most confusing of the three.  Too often a classic movie will be re-worked and released with the anticipation that there is a hunger for a re-make or the industry is bereft of original ideas.  It’s still unclear as to the motivation behind the upcoming remake of David Cronenberg‘s brilliantly creepy,” The Fly” , starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Who can forget the metamorphosis of Brudlefly?

Whose the culprit on this pillaging of a contemporary horror classic? David Cronenberg himself. Apparently he’s going to not only write the movie but direct and produce the film as well.

Does this mean there were elements to the story that he wishes he thought of sooner? Do we see Viggo Mortensen climbing the walls spitting acid? It’s hard to say… and also hard to take issue when Cronenberg is involved.

Here’s hoping that we’re all pleasantly surprised by Barbie, Facebook and the Fly.

The Daily Helping is going to share Mr. Ordoña’s list and comments and then add a few of our own. The list is impressive for the most part, with  the exception of number 10.

10 Roman Moroni (Richard Dimitri, “Johnny Dangerously”): Just as Al Capone went to the big house for income-tax evasion, the malevolently malapropping Moroni (“You fargin sneaky bastage … bunch of fargin iceholes”) was convicted of murdering … the English language. The headlines blared his punishment: “Moroni Deported to Sweden. Says He’s Not From There.”

“Johnny Dangerously” was one of a number of Michael Keaton movies that no one saw or remembers seeing. Choosing a guy because he talks like Yogi Berra is a pretty weak way to start this list. If you need to pick someone because he talks funny, how about Jimmy “Two Times” from Goodfellas.  He’s mentioned in the opening of the movie.   Ray Liotta says ..”and then there was Jimmy Two Times, who got that nickname because he said everything twice, like:
“I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers”.

9 Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci, “GoodFellas”): Martin Scorsese‘s masterwork may be the greatest mobster movie ever, mostly because of his gripping direction. The cocaine freak-out sequence should be taught in film-school editing classes. Pesci’s Tommy, with the deadliest case of short man’s disease this side of Kim Jong Il, made lines such as, “Funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you?” part of the tough-guy lexicon.

A good choice, and I’d add Pesci’s other iconic character, Nicky Santoro in Casino (1995).  Though things went off the rails when he went rogue, the guy was part of a bigger family working out of the back of a Kansas City grocery. Based on a real person who ended up the same way Nicky did in the movie.  (with his brother too!)

8 Al Capone (Robert De Niro, “The Untouchables”): “I want him dead! I want his family dead! … I want to go there in the middle of the night and piss on his ashes!” Chicago’s poet laureate, David Mamet, was the perfect guy to write the screenplay, and De Niro, in yet another stunningly transformative performance, was the last guy you’d want pacing behind you with a baseball bat.

To be honest, The daily Helping is not a fan of the Untouchables, despite the Mamet screenplay. Sean Connery and Frank Nitty stole this movie.  This was an ok choice but not as intriguing as Stanely Tucci’s extremely understated and professional turn as Frank Nitty in Road to Perdition.  Speaking of that movie, it’s worth mentioning Jud Law’s eerie gunman/photographer, Harlan Maguire.

7 Sonny Corleone (James Caan, “The Godfather”): The trash-can beating he administered to his brother-in-law is a classic. Viewers suffered tollbooth phobia that had nothing to do with misplaced FasTrak passes for years after witnessing Sonny’s fate (which Mad magazine attributed to his trying to pay with a large bill). Bonus points: The DVD includes a great Easter egg (hidden feature) of Caan doing a Marlon Brando impersonation.

Sonny belongs here, and it’s safe to say that as memorable as his death scene was, it would have been all the more interesting to have seen Sonny grow up and work with his younger brother, Michael.  The Daily Helping heard a radio interview with Caan not too long ago and it was hard not imagining it was Sonny himself.

6 Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”): If you had never seen Mortensen before this film, you’d think he was that guy, that the filmmakers had just pulled some Russian dude out of a high-end London nightclub. Equal parts preening macho narcissist and cold-blooded hatchet man, he tops even “Borat” for best naked fight.

Where it not for the mention of the “Borat” fight, I’d be applauding this choice.  Without a question, Eastern Promises and Viggo Mortensen are huge favorites here on Daily Helping.  The part of the movie that delves into the Russian prison tattoos is really interesting and purportedly well-researched.

5 Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro, “The Godfather Part II”): The up-and-coming De Niro was picking up the origin story of an already-iconic character that had won an Oscar for an iconic actor (Marlon Brando in “The Godfather”), and he had to do it in Sicilian, a dialect he had learned just a few years before for another film. His portrayal is not only feeling, thinking and reactive, but it also creates a bridge to Brando’s work that brilliantly illustrates the character’s evolution.

It’s interesting to see that this is for DeNiro’s portrayl of the young Vito, and not Brando’s wise old Don.  Technically this is a mobster who is starting out on his own, but soon establishes an organization that is as much a position of political power as anything else. His people come to him for help and well, they end up owing him a “favor”.  DeNiro played pretty much the same character as David “Noodles” Aaronson in “Once Upon A Time in America”. 

4 Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis, “Gangs of New York”): One of the great screen villains, which we can now see as Daniel Plainview with one more pin of civility removed. A movie monster on the order of Hannibal Lecter, but with a heart and that disturbing false eye. There is, by the way, no truth to the Internet rumor that Day-Lewis was originally to play “Priest” Vallon to Robert De Niro’s Bill.

Great pick here, and it’s the gold nugget in a pile of swill. With all due respect to Mr. Scorsese, his casting on this film was beyond bad to the point of unwatchable.  DiCaprio and Carmen Diaz felt as if they stumbled onto the set from a different movie, set in a different era.

3 Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini, “The Sopranos”): The best TV mobster ever. Like Vito Corleone, a multilayered family man – but he’s more flawed and real. Bonus points: There’s a classic Easter egg in the bonus disc of the original “Godfather” set in which Tony and the boys try to watch a bootleg copy of the 1972 movie.

There’s little to add here. The Daily Helping agrees and hopes that there will be other original series programing down the road that is on par with the Sopranos.

2 Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando, “The Godfather”): Brando gets the nod over De Niro’s portrayal of the title character because of the older version’s dark mystery and the already arrived quality of the kindly patriarch, who also made people wet their pants in fear. The improvised orange-in-the-mouth ape scene alone, in the greater context of the head of the Corleone crime family, is enough for enshrinement here.

If you haven’t seen the movie, The Freshman (1990), with Brando, Mathew Broderick and the great, Bruno Kirby, then you’re in for a little treat. Not a great movie and in fact, a bit weak on the end…but for the most part, a wonderful spoof on the character Vito Corleone, by Brando himself.  Check it out….

1 Tony Montana (Al Pacino, “Scarface”): One of the rare ultra-violent movies that women love as much as men do. Its excesses are its successes, from the nosedive into a molehill of yayo to the chain-saw-in-the-shower scene. But the true test of this performance’s greatness is to imagine its famous lines delivered by someone – anyone – else. Could even Daniel Day-Lewis or Denzel Washington or Robert De Niro have so unforgettably spat out, “Say hello to my little friend”? No, there is no one else who could have quite pulled off that haircut, that suit, that accent, that je ne sais quoi. It’s Pacino waaaay over the top, where he belongs. And considering the character’s lingering cultural impact, especially in hip-hop, it surpasses even the Godfather himself. So take a look at the bad guy. You won’t see his kind again.

It’s not impossible to understand why Tony Montana is here, though he seemed more of a cartoon character who rose to the top because he had nothing to lose.  It’s interesting that Pacino is here as a coke-snorting psychopath and not as a Corleone. That’s who Daily Helping would have as number 1.

Your thoughts?