5 Days 'til Nominations: FOREIGN FILM FINALISTS

Actually 5 days and 19ish hours but who is counting?

Gael García Bernal in "Even the Rain"

Today's Topic: Foreign Films
One has to wonder why Oscar has a finalist round that's only announced one week before the nominations. Like the visual effects nominations finalists, which get narrowed down to practically the shortlist before the official announcement, it seems unneccessarily sadistic like "omg you're going to be nominated. NOPE!" But for now 9 countries remain from the original 65*. They are....

• ALGERIA (Outside the Law) prev record: 4 nominations, 1 win.
• CANADA (Incendies) prev record: 4 nominations, 1 win.
• DENMARK (In a Better World) prev record: 7 nominations, 2 wins
• GREECE (Dogtooth) prev record: 5 nominations. Greece has yet to win.
• JAPAN (Confessions) prev record: 12 nominations, 1 win. Japan won Honorary Oscars before the category became a regular institution.
• MEXICO (Biutiful) prev record: 7 nominations. Mexico has yet to win.
• SOUTH AFRICA (Life Above All) prev record: 2 nominations, 1 win.
• SPAIN (Even the Rain) prev record: 19 nominations, 4 wins.
• SWEDEN (Simple Simon) prev record: 14 nominations, 3 wins.

So, no country will get to be a first time nominee this year.

Ulrich Thomsen and screen son in Golden Globe winner "In a Better World"

Star Power. Spaniard Javier Bardem and Mexican Gael Garcia Bernal (who have flip-flopped countries here) are both regular fixtures in this category, frequently starring in submissions and on Hollywood's red carpet. Danish star Ulrich Thomsen, is less globally famous, but he's a very familiar face in movies subtitled and otherwise.

TRAILERS TO ALL FINALISTS AND MORE INFO

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Red Carpet Globes: Crazy Helena, Peachy Stone, Powerful Fonda

You thought I forgot about the Red Carpet Lineup for the Golden Globes didn't you? No... I'm just moving a bit slowly after that March of the Handsome Penguins. Why do I punish myself to make things pretty? "Do you even care about the pretty?" he screams into the virtual abyss, clawing at the heavy comment door.

Oh... and, uh, Merry Christmas?

CZJ, Sweet Lips, Globe Hopper, "Peggy"

Maybe that's why Tilda wished everyone Happy New Year from the stage. So many holiday gowns staring up at her.

What was with all the green? Is that what they call "on trend"? Green is my favorite color, give or take purple (The Joker is my color wheel) but that's a lot of green even for me. What to make of Elisabeth Moss's sculpted butterfly wing bosom? Meanwhile Angelina Jolie looks very Dynasty (that's a compliment) and Mila "Sweet Lips" Kunis finally steps up the glamour. Here's hoping she really breaks out on Oscar's red carpet, whether or not she's nominated. You know she's the kind of high profile young draw that they'll invite to present if people feel she's been snubbed.

And now we come to a category called Trying Too Hard.

Lea Michele, Jennifer Lawrence, Olivia Wilde, January JonesLea Michele is weirdly exactly like Rachel, her Glee character, on the red carpet. She obviously NEEDS the attention ( I feel you, Lea!) and she is always always "posing" and wearing yards and yards and yards of fabric. In fact, sometimes I wonder if it's elaborate performance art because her poses are exactly like the kind one makes in one's mirror whilst dreaming of becoming a celebrity and walking the red carpet: Here's Sexy, Silly -gotcha! (I'm so versatile), now Sultry and goddess walk... Strut!; Jennifer Lawrence is going to be an exciting red carpet fixture (if her career goes well) but she seems a bit young for this look -- wouldn't you love to see Julianne Moore in that?; Olivia Wilde (Tron Legacy) was obviously going for the "wow" but there's something about it that's too obvious. And the hair with that dress? Doesn't work; Finally I really admire January Jones perpetual riskiness on the red carpet but this one is just crazy: boobs in bondage, bold red dress, black shoes, half dress underneath fringe???

But believe it or not I actually mean "trying too hard" as a compliment. At least they're trying! (I'm typing this while wearing purple longjohns, bright blue socks and a burgundy sweater. I look hateful color blind or maybe homeless. But it's laundry day. I never try.)

Do any of you feel Helena Bonham Carter was trying too hard?

poll by twiigs.com

I think she's one of the best dressed personally because it's out there and she kept posing with her feet crossed as to draw attention to her color clash shoes. In this way it's her own swan dress... albeit less avant garde rock genius and more eccentric cat lady down the street.

And now, a category that really requires your input.

The 'I'm Not Sure What To Think Of This' Bunch.

Julianne, Michelle, Natalie and EmmaJulianne Moore is one of the most beautiful women in the world and as the least color cautious redhead in the world one must always look forward to what she wears. But I think this color maybe is an error for her. What say you?; When I first saw this gown on Michelle Williams whilst live blogging I made a dumb joke about her wearing a shower curtain and then I laughed heartily at Wesley Morris's tweet

Michelle Williams is playing Carey Mulligan in 'The Mia Farrow Story'

But the more I look at it the more I am weirdly in love with it. I also hated Natalie Portman's ensemble at first but aside from the nightmarishly large and way too red applique to end all appliques the color of the gown is beautiful and both hair are makeup is perfect. Maybe it's nitpicky to hate the rose but the rose is really trying to be the whole look; Emma Stone's dress has an insanely beautiful line and it makes her look so serene in her new blazing stardom. But the color with her skintone and her new hair? Not sure.

What's your verdict?

Okay on to Unbest Dressed

don't understand any of these choices.

I complained about Sandra B's bangs, Halle's Demi-Moore inspired skirt and Megan Fox's slit up to her crotch during the live blog . Regarding the latter, this picture is too flattering -- it went way up there. Not classy. It's not like the guys walk around with their shirts open down below their belly button). The color is also all wrong;. Julia Stiles looks like a saloon girl in mourning; Jacki Weaver who I love love love (don't forget) seems to just be heading out to some special work dinner rather than a glamorous event. Although to be fair I guess this is a special work dinner for celebrities. Maybe if the dress had been longer?

Now there were far worse looks than this but I was trying to restrict myself to movie celebrities.

BEST DRESSED
Here are my choices. I think the key word is "effortless".

Hathaway, Kidman, Jolie, Steinfeld, Fonda

If you've seen Love & Other Drugs or, have eyeballs, you know that Anne Hathaway has a killer body. This year, especially, she seems to be loving it. I thought this dress was made of shiny buttons at first and then I heard CDs but even if it's only garden variety sequins supersized, I just love it; Nicole Kidman IS the glamour. The dress is but accessory; Between Angelina Jolie and legendary Jane Fonda I guess shoulder pads are back. Both of them look like the divas they are but I especially love that Fonda's is a bit sci-fi. Barbarella, bitches. Or as Claire Danes might say "HOLLA" ; And finally, consider me mortified that Hailee Steinfeld is already an old pro at dressing for the red carpet. She has not yet put a foot wrong, nor has she repeated herself. And she's a novice! What the hell is going on?

poll by twiigs.com

Agree or Disagree, tell in the comments. Who was your single best and worst dressed?

I know you're wearing your fashion police badge.

Congratulations to the Kidman-Urbans

I don't know if you've heard but Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have pulled a fast one on the tabloids. They managed to keep their plans for a second child together hidden until a month after the child was even born ! That's a rare shell game in today's 24/7 news and infotainment cycle. TMZ has the report including this amusing graphic below...

Tthe surrogacy was here in the States since the couple is even more closely watched in Australia where there's less competition for Globally Recognizable Celebrity Among Us.

Baby Faith Margaret, younger sister to Sunday Rose (pictured left when she was just a wee thing -- she's now 2), is an awards season baby. She was born on December 28th the day after the Oscar ballots went out (and we learned Natalie Portman was pregnant) and her superstar parents finally told the media only after walking the red carpet at the Globes nearly a month later. Talk about keeping your private life private whilst in public.

Congratulations to the growing family. We hope Kidman is grabbing her 3rd Oscar nomination next Tuesday, but even if she's snubbed -- and it looks like a volatile field (take the BAFTA poll) -- it's a happy time at home.

Top Ten: Surprise Nominations

Michael C. here from Serious Film for Tuesday Top Ten.

The great contradiction of awards season is that there is nothing spectators enjoy more than a surprise yet that doesn't stop anyone from doing everything but pick through the trash of Academy members looking for clues that might help in divining their choices. The truth is that film awards, like presidential elections or tomorrow's weather, are not all that difficult to predict once you know a few basics. That's what makes genuine shockers such a rare treat.

So, with the Golden Globe winners suggesting a year of easy calls across the board and the BAFTA nominees giving tiny flickers of hope to a few longshot candidates (particular in the actress categories), let's dive into past out-of-the-blue choices with the ten most surprising Oscar nominations and see if they hint at any rays of hope for this year's long shots.

     Ten Most Surprising Recent Oscar Nominations

Michael Shannon (2008) Supporting Actor

People talk a lot about momentum and popular films having coattails when it comes to supporting performances. There is truth to this, but in the end sometimes it's better to simply give a killer performance. This was the case when those predicting Dev Patel would take this slot due to Slumdog fever turned out to be wrong and the nomination instead went to Michael Shannon's brief, explosive performance in Revolutionary Road. Social Network contenders Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake no doubt hope that their film's frontrunner status is enough to keep any dark horses from sprinting past them at the finish line.

Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) Picture

Part two of Clint Eastwood's WWII double feature (immediately following Flags of Our Fathers) got nominated despite subtitles, minimal precursor attention, and tiny box office. It took the slot universally expected to go to Dreamgirls proving that all the prerelease hype in the world can't land a Best Picture nomination if voters simply don't go for a film - a lesson Clint learned three years late with Invictus. 

Ed Norton (1998) Lead Actor

In this awards race, SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) ignored Ed Norton's intense work in American History X for the more conventional choice of Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love. The switch on the Oscar ballot was undoubtedly an example of Norton doing well with Oscar's system of weighted ballots, with an extremely passionate fan base pushing him over the top of more widely seen choices. Actors like Tilda Swinton or Ryan Gosling with similarly strong supporters might find themselves the beneficiary of this system come the morning of the 25th.

Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou (2003) Lead Actress, Supporting Actor

In America was looking like a sentimental also-ran after neither of these actors landed SAG or Golden Globe nominations. Just goes to show that certain late bloomers can hit the Academy sweet spot without making much of a ripple in the early stages of awards season. Hopefully, that means contender's like Another Year's Lesley Manville have more of a shot than the odds suggest.

Troy (2004) Costumes

This entry could just as easily be The Village's Best Score nomination from the same year. It's to the credit of the Academy's smaller branches that they've shown a willingness to stray outside the frontrunners to pick out quality work in otherwise forgettable projects. Are there any standout elements from otherwise off-the-radar 2010 films that could pop up unexpectedly? The nicely realized costumes from Centurion spring to mind.

The Secret of Kells (2009) Best Animated Film

The nomination of this beautiful, obscure Irish animated fable is a strong reminder that when the voters actually watch all the eligible films in a category, the conventional wisdom falls by the wayside pretty quick. Imagine if actors could only vote for Best Actress if they could prove they've seen Blue Valentine, I Am Love and Another Year? I dream, I know. As far as eligible animated contenders this year, I've heard My Dog Tulip is incredibly moving and Idiots and Angels is a feature from beloved animator Bill Plympton, a guy who certainly has some fans in the animation branch. Look out for those two.

The Reader (2008) Picture

This shocker is going to have reverberations for years to come. When Stephen Daldry's sober drama side-swiped The Dark Knight out of its expected Best Picture nod the Academy panicked, expanding the Best Picture field to ensure that small independent films wouldn't lead them down the road to obsolescence. The only lesson to draw from this - Oscar voters still don't dig superheroes, especially when there's a film with Nazis available - doesn't exactly apply this year, although the snub has granted Christopher Nolan "overdue" status that can only help Inception.

Mike Leigh (2004) Director

The lone director slot has become something of an Oscar tradition over the years with the director's branch making sure to recognize deserving auteurs whose films are too out of the mainstream for the big prize. Examples range from David Lynch in '01 back to such icons as Akira Kurosawa in '85 and Fellini four separate times. I selected Mike Leigh because these lone directors are usually not that hard to spot - a couple of people, including Nathaniel right here, saw Almodovar coming in '02 - but nobody picked up on any buzz for Vera Drake outside Imelda Staunton. If voters heard how hard Blue Valentine's Derek Cianfrance fought for years to get his film made he might be the latest member of this very exclusive club.

Keisha Castle Hughes (2003) Lead Actress

Even if people generally agree that a category designation is false it still tends to stick. My guess is that most voters would rather go with the inaccurate classification than risk wasting their vote by swimming against the current. This wasn't the case in '03 when to everyone's amazement Oscar voters plucked this child actress's performance in Whale Rider out of the supporting category where it was nominated by SAG and promoted it to the big leagues. The parallel to 2010 is all too obvious so I will merely say that the leading ladies should watch their back for a precocious 14-year old armed with her father's revolver and the Coen brothers' dialogue. 

City of God (2003) Director, Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography

These four out-of-nowhere nominations for Fernando Meirelles's Brazilian crime epic are the kind that give hope to followers of the gaudy circus that is Oscar season. They suggest that voters will not only go out of their way to see small films of quality, but will remember them from early in the year and then ignore the frontrunners to vote for them in sufficient numbers to make a difference. It gives free rein to imagine your dark horse favorite isn't totally out of it. Maybe an out-of-the-blue Best Picture nod for I Am Love or Somewhere this year? I wouldn't bet on it, but look at those four nominations again before you tell me it's impossible.

BAFTA Nominations

The BAFTA nods have arrived offering us a few mild surprises. Or rather, let's be fair, enough mild surprises that their lineups may well end the season feeling slightly unique to them this year which is its own reward in a way given how predictable the winners are this year. Plus, it's nice when a film has been honored everywhere to see the continually snubbed finally get an opportunity to walk the red carpet as a nominee; Congratulations Julianne Moore and Barbara Hershey!

They've also gotten solidly behind 127 Hours which has been struggling buzz-wise and with the American guilds.

BEST FILM
BLACK SWAN - Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
INCEPTION - Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
THE KING’S SPEECH - Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin
TRUE GRIT - Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
127 HOURS - Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Christian Colson, John Smithson
ANOTHER YEAR - Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
FOUR LIONS - Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
THE KING’S SPEECH - Tom Hooper, David Seidler, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
MADE IN DAGENHAM - Nigel Cole, William Ivory, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley

It'll win something. Since The King's Speech is in both categories, you can assume it's going to win British Film, freeing them up to be Oscar predictive in the other. Has a film ever won both prizes from BAFTA? I'm too busy to check.
Surprise? Maybe you don't think True Grit is a surprise as one of only 5 nominated "best films" but I do. The Western is such an American genre

FULL LIST OF NOMINEES with commentary after the jump

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