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2006, Monthly Update

Last Update: Apr 21
Current Update: May 21

10/10
1. Marie Antoinette (13) (6)
1. Miami Vice (13) (4)

9/10
3. The Fountain (13) (1)

8/10
4. A Scanner Darkly (4) (2)
5. The Departed (7) (0)
6. Inland Empire (4) (0)
7. Volver (3) (2)
8. Children of Men (3) (0)
9. Pan's Labyrinth (8) (2)
10. Curse of the Golden Flower (4) (0)

7/10
11. The Science of Sleep (1) (0)
12. The Prestige (3) (0)
13. Blood Diamond (1) (1)
14. Little Miss Sunshine (1) (0)
15. Babel (1) (0)
16. United 93 (1) (0)
17. The Devil Wears Prada (3) (1)
18. An Inconvenient Truth (1) (1)
19. The Queen (0) (0)
20. Scoop (0) (0)

6/10
21. Casino Royale (0) (0)
22. Cars (1) (0)
23. Dreamgirls (1) (0)
24. The Last King of Scotland (1) (0)
25. Letters From Iwo Jima (1) (0)
26. Old Joy (0) (0)
27. The Lives of Others (1) (0)

5/10 (all zeros nominations and wins below this line, except ones specified otherwise)
28. Superman Returns
29. Thank You For Smoking
30. Half Nelson
31. The Descent
32. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2) (1)
33. The Illusionist
34. Ice Age: The Meltdown (1) (0)
35. Inside Man
36. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
37. Snakes on a Plane
38. The Black Dahlia (1) (0)
39. A Prairie Home Companion
40. Akeelah and the Bee
41. Monster House
42. The Host (1) (0)

4/10
43. Shortbus
44. Black Book
45. Mission: Impossible 3
46. Venus
47. Factory Girl (1) (0)
48. World Trade Center
49. V for Vendetta
50. Flags of Our Fathers
51. Hollywoodland
52. Little Children
53. X-Men: The Last Stand

3/10
54. Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
55. The Da Vinci Code
56. Candy
57. SherryBaby
58. Flannel Pajamas
59. Open Window
60. Asi Del Principio
61. Azuloscurocasinegro
62. Confetti

2/10
63. Art School Confidential
64. Ask the Dust

1/10
65. The Break-Up
66. Basic Instinct 2
67. Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Case



Best Picture:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
The Fountain
A Scanner Darkly
The Departed

Best Director:
Sofia Coppola - Marie Antoinette
Michael Mann - Miami Vice
Darren Aronofsky - The Fountain
David Lynch - Inland Empire
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Colin Farrell - Miami Vice
Hugh Jackman - The Fountain
Christian Bale - The Prestige

Best Actress:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette
Ivana Baquero - Pan's Labyrinth
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Sienna Miller - Factory Girl

Best Supporting Actor:
Sergi Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth
Robert Downey Jr. - A Scanner Darkly
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Jamie Foxx - Miami Vice
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

Best Supporting Actress:
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Rachel Weisz - The Fountain
Mia Kirshner - The Black Dahlia
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Science of Sleep

Best Original Screenplay:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Fountain
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Adapted Screenplay:
A Scanner Darkly
The Departed
Curse of the Golden Flower
Children of Men
The Prestige

Best Cinematography:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
Children of Men
Inland Empire
The Fountain

Best Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Departed
The Fountain
Children of Men

Best Art Direction:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
Miami Vice
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Costume Design:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
The Devil Wears Prada
The Prestige

Best Original Score:
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth
Babel
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine

Best Original Song: (I don't know enough about this category to nominate original songs)
"Fools Rush In - Bow Wow Wow" - Marie Antoinette
"One Of These Mornings - Moby" - Miami Vice
"We're No Here - Mogwai" - Miami Vice
"Aphrodisiac - Bow Wow Wow" - Marie Antoinette
"Auto Rock - Mogwai" - Miami Vice

Best Make-Up:
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Marie Antoinette

Best Sound:
Miami Vice
Inland Empire
Marie Antoinette
The Fountain
United 93

Best Sound Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
Inland Empire
The Fountain
Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Visual Effects:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Animated Film:
A Scanner Darkly
Cars
Ice Age: The Meltdown

Best Foreign Language Film:
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Lives of Others
The Host

Best Documentary:
An Inconvenient Truth


Nominations:
Marie Antoinette - 13
Miami Vice - 13
The Fountain - 13
Pan's Labyrinth - 8
The Departed - 7
Curse of the Golden Flower - 4
A Scanner Darkly - 4
Inland Empire - 4
The Devil Wears Prada - 3
Volver - 3
Children of Men - 3
The Prestige - 3
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 2
Blood Diamond - 1
Dreamgirls - 1
Letters From Iwo Jima - 1
Babel - 1
United 93 - 1
Little Miss Sunshine - 1
An Inconvenient Truth - 1
Cars - 1
Ice Age: The Meltdown - 1
The Black Dahlia - 1
Factory Girl - 1
The Last King of Scotland - 1
The Science of Sleep - 1
The Lives of Others - 1
The Host - 1

Wins:
Marie Antoinette - 6 (Picture, Director, Cinematography, Art Directing, Costume Design, Original Song)
Miami Vice - 4 (Original Screenplay, Editing, Sound, Sound Editing)
Pan's Labyrinth - 2 (Supporting Actor, Make-Up)
A Scanner Darkly - 2 (Adapted Screenplay, Animated Film)
Volver - 2 (Actress, Foreign Language Film)
The Fountain - 1 (Original Score)
Blood Diamond - 1 (Actor)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 1 (Visual Effects)
An Inconvenient Truth - 1 (Documentary Feature)
The Devil Wears Prada - 1 (Supporting Actress)

2006 Update

10/10
1. Marie Antoinette (13) (7)
1. Miami Vice (13) (4)

9/10
3. The Fountain (13) (1)

8/10
4. A Scanner Darkly (4) (2)
5. The Departed (8) (0)
6. Inland Empire (3) (0)
7. Curse of the Golden Flower (4) (1)
8. Children of Men (3) (0)
9. Volver (4) (0)
10. Pan's Labyrinth (8) (2)

7/10
11. The Science of Sleep (1) (0)
12. Blood Diamond (2) (0)
13. Little Miss Sunshine (0) (0)
14. Babel (1) (0)
15. United 93 (1) (0)
16. The Devil Wears Prada (4) (1)
17. An Inconvenient Truth (1) (1)
18. Scoop (0) (0)

6/10
19. Casino Royale (0) (0)
20. Cars (1) (0)
21. Dreamgirls (2) (0)
22. The Queen (0) (0)
23. The Last King of Scotland (1) (1)
24. Letters From Iwo Jima (1) (0)
25. Old Joy (0) (0)

5/10 (all zeros nominations and wins below this line, except ones specified otherwise)
26. The Lives of Others (1) (0)
27. Thank You For Smoking
28. Half Nelson
29. The Descent
30. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2) (1)
31. The Illusionist
32. Ice Age: The Meltdown (1) (0)
33. Inside Man
34. Snakes on a Plane
35. The Black Dahlia (1) (0)
36. A Prairie Home Companion
37. Akeelah and the Bee
38. Monster House
39. The Host (1) (0)

4/10
40. Shortbus
41. Black Book
42. Mission: Impossible 3
43. Venus
44. Factory Girl (1) (0)
45. World Trade Center
46. V for Vendetta
47. Flags of Our Fathers
48. Hollywoodland
49. Little Children
50. X-Men: The Last Stand

3/10
51. Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
52. The Da Vinci Code
53. SherryBaby
54. Candy
55. Flannel Pajamas
56. Asi Del Principio
57. Azuloscurocasinegro
58. Confetti

2/10
59. Art School Confidential
60. Ask the Dust

1/10
61. The Break-Up
62. Basic Instinct 2
63. Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Case



Best Picture:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
The Fountain
A Scanner Darkly
The Departed

Best Director:
Sofia Coppola - Marie Antoinette
Michael Mann - Miami Vice
Darren Aronofsky - The Fountain
David Lynch - Inland Empire
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Actor:
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Colin Farrell - Miami Vice
Hugh Jackman - The Fountain
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed

Best Actress:
Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Ivana Baquero - Pan's Labyrinth
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Sienna Miller - Factory Girl

Best Supporting Actor:
Sergei Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth
Robert Downey Jr. - A Scanner Darkly
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Jamie Foxx - Miami Vice
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

Best Supporting Actress:
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Rachel Weisz - The Fountain
Mia Kirshner - The Black Dahlia
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Science of Sleep

Best Original Screenplay:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Fountain
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Adapted Screenplay:
A Scanner Darkly
The Departed
Curse of the Golden Flower
Children of Men
The Devil Wears Prada

Best Cinematography:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
Children of Men
Inland Empire
The Fountain

Best Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Departed
The Fountain
Children of Men

Best Art Direction:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
Miami Vice
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Costume Design:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls

Best Original Score:
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth
Babel
The Departed
Curse of the Golden Flower

Best Original Song: (I don't know enough about this category to nominate original songs)
"Fools Rush In - Bow Wow Wow" - Marie Antoinette
"One Of These Mornings - Moby" - Miami Vice
"We're No Here - Mogwai" - Miami Vice
"Aphrodisiac - Bow Wow Wow" - Marie Antoinette
"Auto Rock - Mogwai" - Miami Vice

Best Make-Up:
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Marie Antoinette

Best Sound:
Miami Vice
Inland Empire
Marie Antoinette
The Fountain
Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Sound Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Fountain
Blood Diamond
United 93

Best Visual Effects:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Animated Film:
A Scanner Darkly
Cars
Ice Age: The Meltdown

Best Foreign Language Film:
Curse of the Golden Flower
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth
The Lives of Others
The Host

Best Documentary:
An Inconvenient Truth


Nominations:
Marie Antoinette - 13
Miami Vice - 13
The Fountain - 13
The Departed - 8
Pan's Labyrinth - 8
Curse of the Golden Flower - 5
A Scanner Darkly - 4
The Devil Wears Prada - 4
Volver - 3
Children of Men - 3
Inland Empire - 3
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 2
Dreamgirls - 2
Blood Diamond - 2
Letters From Iwo Jima - 1
Babel - 1
United 93 - 1
An Inconvenient Truth - 1
Cars - 1
Ice Age: The Meltdown - 1
The Black Dahlia - 1
Factory Girl - 1
The Last King of Scotland - 1
The Science of Sleep - 1
The Lives of Others - 1
The Host - 1

Wins:
Marie Antoinette - 7
Miami Vice - 4
Pan's Labyrinth - 2
A Scanner Darkly - 2
The Fountain - 1
The Last King of Scotland - 1
Curse of the Golden Flower - 1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 1
An Inconvenient Truth - 1
The Devil Wears Prada - 1

Brand New Millenium Top 40

I'll come on briefly to update my lists. Doesn't mean I'm going to actively post here or anything.

Movies per year:
00 - 2
01 - 9
02 - 4
03 - 3
04 - 8
05 - 8
06 - 6


Top 40
1. Lost in Translation
2. 2046
3. In the Mood For Love
4. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
5. Marie Antoinette
6. Miami Vice
7. The New World
8. Three Times
9. Collateral
10. Far From Heaven
11. Before Sunset
12. Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
13. The Fountain
14. Spirited Away
15. Mulholland Dr.
16. Mystic River
17. Millenium Mambo
18. Lilya 4-ever
19. Hero
20. The World
21. Catch Me If You Can
22. A Scanner Darkly
23. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
24. Last Life in the Universe
25. Brokeback Mountain
26. The Departed
27. Millenium Actress
28. 3-Iron
29. Y Tu Mama Tambien
30. Vertical Ray of the Sun
31. Match Point
32. March of the Penguins
33. Mysterious Skin
34. Clean
35. Beijing Bicycle
36. Sex and Lucia
37. Cache
38. The Child
39. Inland Empire
40. Nowhere in Africa

I think I'm going to ditch this place

For a while at least.

See you later.

insert [sad] icon.

Final Prediction for Blueberry

1. 2046
2. In the Mood For Love
3. Chungking Express
4. Happy Together
5. My Blueberry Nights
6. Fallen Angels
7. Ashes of Time

Sexy?

Cinemaniac's List of 150 "2007 To-Sees"

Most likely to have Oscar contention highlighted in red.

001. Across the Universe
002. An American Crime
003. American Gangster
004. And When Did You Last See Your Father?
005. Angel-A
006. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
007. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
008. Atonement
009. Away from Her
010. Le Ballon Rouge
011. Battle in Seattle
012. Be Kind, Rewind
013. Becoming Jane
014. Bee Movie
015. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
016. Bernard and Doris
017. Black Book
018. Black Snake Moan
019. The Bourne Ultimatum
020. The Brave One
021. Breach
022. Broken English
023. Cassandra's Dream
024. Chalk
025. Charlie Wilson's War
026. Control
027. The Darjeeling Limited
028. Day Night, Day Night
029. Death Defying Acts
030. Dedication
031. Diggers
032. Eastern Promises
033. Enchanted
034. Evan Almighty
035. Evening
036. Fay Grim
037. First Snow
038. The Flock
039. Fracture
040. Georgia Rule
041. The Golden Age
042. Gone, Baby, Gone
043. Goodbye Banfana
044. Goya's Ghosts
045. Grace Is Gone
046. Grindhouse
047. Hairspray
048. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
049. The Hawk Is Dying
050. His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass
051. The Hoax
052. Hot Fuzz
053. The Hottest State
054. I Am Legend
055. I Could Never Be Your Woman
056. I'm Not There
057. In Bloom
058. In the Land of Women
059. In the Valley of Elah
060. In Tranzit
061. Interview
062. Into the Wild
063. The Italian
064. Joshua
065. King of California
066. The Kingdom
067. The Kite Runner
068. Knocked-Up
069. Lars and the Real Girl
070. Leatherheads
071. Lions for Lambs
072. The Lives of Others
073. The Lookout
074. Love in the Time of Cholera
075. Lucky You
076. Manolete
077. Margot at the Wedding
078. Married Life
079. Meet the Robinsons
080. Michael Clayton
081. A Mighty Heart
082. Mister Lonely
083. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
084. La Mome
085. Music and Lyrics
086. My Blueberry Nights
087. The Namesake
088. The Nanny Diaries
089. No Country for Old Men
090. Nothing Is Private
091. The Other Boleyn Girl
092. Paprika
093. Paranoid Park
094. Paris, I Love You
095. Penelope
096. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
097. Rails & Ties
098. Ratatouille
099. Reign over Me
100. Rendition
101. Rescue Dawn
102. Reservation Road
103. Resurrecting the Champ
104. Rocket Science
105. Savage Grace
106. The Savages
107. Se, Jie
108. Severance
109. Shrek the Third
110. Silk
111. The Simpsons Movie
112. Smiley Face
113. Smokin' Aces
114. Snow Angels
115. Snow Cake
116. Son of Rambow: A Home Movie
117. Spider-Man 3
118. Spring Break in Bosnia
119. Stardust
120. Starter for 10
121. Starting Out in the Evening
122. Stephanie Daley
123. Still Green
124. Stop Loss
125. Straightheads
126. Surf's Up
127. Summer Palace
128. Sunshine
129. Sweeney Todd
130. Synecdoche, New York
131. Talk to Me
132. TMNT
133. Tenderness
134. The Ten
135. There Will Be Blood
136. Things We Lost in the Fire
137. 3:10 to Yuma
138. Trade
139. Transformers
140. Transsiberian
141. The TV Set
142. 12:08, East of Bucharest
143. Vantage Point
144. Waitress
145. We Own the Night
146. The Wind that Shakes the Barley
147. Wristcutters: A Love Story
148. Year of the Dog
149. Youth Without Youth
150. Zodiac

Your search is over (for american films at least)

Decade Oscars: The Freakish Way

Best Picture
Lost in Translation
2046
In the Mood For Love
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Marie Antoinette

Best Director
Wong Kar-Wai - 2046
Sofia Coppola - Lost in Translation
Wong Kar-Wai - In the Mood For Love
Steven Spielberg - A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Terrence Malick - The New World

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York
Tom Cruise - Collateral
Bill Murray - Lost in Translation
Tony Leung - In the Mood For Love
Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Best Actress
Julianne Moore - Far From Heaven
Scarlett Johansson - Lost in Translation
Maggie Cheung - In the Mood For Love
Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice
Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette

Best Supporting Actor
Clive Owen - Closer
Chris Cooper - Adaptation
Jude Law - A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Ben Kingsley - Sexy Beast
Ian McKellen - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Best Supporting Actress
Zhang Ziyi - 2046
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Amy Adams - Junebug
Gong Li - Memoirs of a Geisha
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada

2046, mon amour

"He didn't turn back. It's as if he boarded a very long train heading for the drowsy future through the unfathomable night."


Whether or not Wong took influence from German director Wim Wenders, this film bears the closest resemblance to Wender's Wings of Desire. Wong's slow motion, rapid editing, harmonious music, and his obsession with cinematography pulling the story is all reminescent of Wings, as well as the inserted fantasy element of the film. In 2046, Wong emphasizes an exotic beauty to his films, in his themes he portrays every theme like echoes of human thoughts and feelings. Like Wings, he purposely dramatizes his film with visual techniques, intended to exude emotions like echoes, so that the viewer will treat his films like visions of the mind, a constant blur of thoughts and images from the film, like flashes almost. Wong is probably the foremost director in that department. With 2046, he is deliberately anti-focus. While Kieslowski in Three Colors: Rouge focuses the camera so directly on the picturesque shot, the viewer interprets that shot like an aesthetic postcard, a shot that they will never forget. But when you visualize 2046, the shots occur as images occuring in motion, that pass by one after another, another reason why both Wenders and Wong uses such random music in their films, so that their music are not just random tunes, but are complimented by each passing image.

In Wings, the most memorable of shots is probably the scene where Ganz stands above the city with his wings spread out, the wings are purposely out of place as the object of attention, the thing that the viewers will remember the most. In 2046, the shot that I felt incredibly out of place (in a good way), is the scene where Tak is first introduced and the camera blurs. It is such an eye opening scene because of the use of color is a milkyish, blurry, distorted mix, and because the camera first focuses not on his face, but on the light bulb that lit his reflection, and then slowly moves to his face. In other words, it doesn't first focus on his face because Wong intends on giving the background more depth initially, and not the character. An opening shot can speak volumes, and in 2046, I felt that. It's a very subtle shot however, and probably won't be the one that viewers will remember the most, (which is obviously the train rail). Another shot in Wings which is particularly memorable is when the camera pans to above, and makes its way partially to where we can see the city from above. The black and white compliments the shot (in fact in the film I thought the color shots were completely wasted), by showing each building like distinguishable blocks separated from each other, and the black and white, and especially the enriched grey color, compliments a gothic, surreal, heavenly, quality to it. In 2046, Wong also attempts to enhance the experience by making his urban shots look surreal, and at the beginning, when you first set eyes on the fantasy neon city, you'll see the colors moving like streams of electricity, and the city appears to be built from strands of lines instead of solid, building concrete. However, the urban shot is not at all like the urban shots of Blade Runner at the beginning, where the geyser-like fire shoots up from above, that more or less is intended to denote the idea that the society is dystopic, decayed, and succumbed to hopelessness, (the geyser-fire is especially symbolic of this fact), but 2046's look is not exactly utopic in a sense, but rather intended to look more surreal, out of this world, and especially exotic, intriguing, and full of wonder. It can be said that it is meant to look kind of utopic, but it also has a dangerous, unpredictable quality of look to it that suggests that society is mechanical and robotic. (which is what 2046 was) If it's utopic, then it would look more optimistic. However, I think the main angle that Wong aiming for is to make the viewers look at the city with curiosity and wonder, like.... "what really is this society like?"

A common complaint I hear about this film is the reason why Chow initially seems so fond of Bai, yet rejects her almost as suddenly as he is infatuated with her. The complaint is that Wong just gave up on developing the relationship and went on to the next one to fulfill his desire to create an ensemble piece. But, if you contrast the relationship of Chow with Miss Wang, the daughter of the landlord Wang, and see that he fell in love with her and not Bai, you'll realize that Chow has more in common with Miss Wang than Bai and thus Wang easily penetrates his affections. To expand on this point, contrast Wang to Maggie Cheung's Su Li Zhen, the delicate, sensitive, and helpless creature that Chow fell in love with immediately. Wang reminds Chow of her, as those are the exact things he fell in love with, and even more evident of this fact is that Chow fell in love with Su Li Zhen way before she did just by observing her and learning about her suggests that he desires certain qualities in a woman, which is exactly how he fell in love with Wang. He falls in love with people through what he finds beautiful in that person and already makes up his mind, unlike some people who are known to actually meet a person and spend time with them or people who judge by physical looks. Bai more or less represents all the other women whom he regards as a one-night stand, but with a more endearing personality and a stronger will, but her existence is radiated by her sexual appeal and her lack of helplessness. She is sensitive, I'm not suggesting she isn't, however, as you'll see, she refuses to be pushed around by men, suggesting her strong-will, the polar opposite of helplessness. She can help herself. And even if Chow adores those qualities, which he obviously did because of his flirtacious nature, he never regarded them anymore as fun. Why did he never form a relationship from all the other women he sees? They're just fun, and in the film, he subtlety hints to Bai at his thinking that Bai is nothing more than what he finds in the prostitutes he picks up occasionally. During the scene where he pays her, like a prostitute, after them having their first sex together is where the scene turns heads. Other people have wrote more about this, but right there, I think Chow intentionally pulled himself out of that relationship, even if his affection for her was growing more and more and he could have possibly fell in love with her if he wanted. I think it was because he fears he'll get involved with a woman whom his vanity will never permit into his life because she is just too imperfect, she's a prostitute, and although nurturing strong qualities, Chow somewhat looks down upon people like that and thinks of her as a social inferior. He never once chanted at his loving her, but did nothing more than remind her of her cheapness by hurting her self-existence through his offering her money for sex. "Like a discount", is symbolic of the fact that she desires less money from him, when she reduced the amount he gave her to 10 dollars instead of 20, it was to hint to him that she cares for him and the extent to which she hopes he'll accept her. During the scene in which Chow takes Bai out for dinner years after their break-up, when Bai watched Chow pay the dinner in 10 dollar bills that Bai gave him was the final indication of what Chow really saw Bai as. In any case, I believe that segment to be the most complex and up for interpretation.

Contrary to Bai's segment of allure and sexuality, the tone changes drastically during the segment where Miss Wang returns from the institution. The tone of the first segment, which is intended to be alluring and sexy, suddenly turns into a more sombre, dramatic mood. Take for instance, the shot of Faye Wong's back against a rose garden, like a CD cover, but the colors hint at 16th century Renaissance art, and the piano notes replace the latin music to compliment an even bleaker Bergman-esque tone. The piano keys fall delicately, hinting at the delicacy of the Wang's relationship with Chow. That segment is an idealized version of Chow's relationship with Cheung's Su Li Zhen. It's not exactly the same story, but it was the basis of his story 2046, or rather 2047. It is entirely evident that Chow thinks of Wang as Cheung's Su Li Zhen or has for the first time, found true love, since the break-up with Su Li Zhen (Cheung). When he mentioned that his summer with Miss Wang was the happiest he has ever been, it proves even more that there was a quality he found in Wang that he did not see in Bai, and the ability of a person (Wang) to change his life, and shift his life from the gambling, reckless, sex to the artistic minded, appreciative, and fragile was something he didn't even find in Su Li Zhen (Cheung). His relationship with Wang, prompted his artistic vision to the peak (eventually the creation of 2046). Ultimately, this segment, albeit turning out a more appreciative and mature Chow, ultimately serves to highlight the extent of his broken emotions. 2046 is a vessel to voice his melancholy and the voice of his self discovery. Through his relationship with Wang, he rediscovers himself. "A man like me has nothing but time. I need to find people to meet my needs," is referring to the way he regards life then and now, and something of which obviously something he would not use anymore, since, in this segment, he never brings home women anymore, spends his free time being a companion to Wang rather than indulging in his previous temporal pleasures. 2046, however, is not the vessel of optimism. "Where nothing changes," is Chow's desire that love will stay forever and will not be ephemeral as the "summer that didn't last." It is how he desires the world to be, 2046 is his outlet to reality, a portal of escape from the emptyness of life. There is a sense of optimism inserted, but at the same time, he is also describing a world that is so full of nothing, just like his life, an empty hourglass of nothingness. He suggests that reality is ultimately nothing, 2046 an alternate reality where life is even more full of nothingness; a robotic lifestyle of sex, temporal pleasures, and loveless relationships. 2046 is a product of him viewing reality as empty. If it is a sense of optimism, then why did Chow come back on the long train? It was the voice of his contempt of the world, 2046 is the period of his life during his relationship with Bai, the period of life which he gave up, and him coming back on the train is referring to him eventually sick of the world just as he is of his life of temporal pleasures. Other people have wrote that him coming back does indicate optimism in the sense that love is still possible, that the escape from a world where people venture into because they're sick of love and relationships, is the result of them wanting a life without love. Him coming back is an indication that people still desire love, made a mistake in coming to 2046, and however much love is the cloak of your miseries, love is still possible. Another interpretation states that 2046 is the period of his relationship with Bai that he wanted back because he has failed in love once again with Wang. When Wong describes 2046 as the world of temporal pleasures, it could be an outlet of Chow's experiences with Bai. So in essence, the blur between reality and 2046 is Chow's indecision of Wang and Bai. Him going to 2046 refers to his desire to be with Bai, and him coming back refers to his desire to be with Wang.

In the following meeting with Bai, Chow sifts through the remains of his life, now more misguided than ever, after just completing his book, probably will never see Wang ever again, and had a chance meeting with Bai for the first time in years. His meeting with Bai actually confuses him. I'm not sure if he still felt any flame from his relationship with her, but it seems that even if he did, she was not forward enough to tell him that she still loved him, so he never gave an answer. She hinted at her missing him, but the reason for her setting up the meeting was to seek help, so it probably made him feel that she has moved on with her life and regards him as nothing more than a companion. Either way, I still wasn't sure whether he ever wanted to get back with her, but the scene where he is suddenly shocked with the realization that "a second chance" was possible was when, I believe, he thought of Bai. And immediately after, she phoned him and we see her for the first time since the break-up, so obviously the "second chance" was referring to him. However, their meeting did not go that well, for a mix of reasons 1) Chow sees a new transformation in Bai and becomes overwhelmed, so the initial thought was that she was a completely different person 2) Chow might have thought she has moved on 3) Her objective was to seek financial help, the prime indication of his worthlessness 4) She was not brave enough to tell her she still wanted him 5) "Don't be like this..." indicated she cared for him, but he feared getting into a relationship and probably contemplated how far would their relationship last, even if it was to continue. Thus, him leaving to find the second Su Li-Zhen in Singapore was the point in which he felt overwhelmingly confused as well as alienated. It was also him trying to run away from his life, again alluding to 2046 when he wanted to run away to the future world as a method of recovering from his failed love affairs. The second Su Li-Zhen is a very strange character. In a way, she bares the closest resemblance to the original Su Li-Zhen, not quite as delicate as Wang, not near as showy as Bai, but very much the character who finds life almost as meaningless as Chow, probably had several failed love affairs, and has more in common with Chow than any girl he's ever met, short of the original Su Li-Zhen, which could be a possible suggestion as to why he so suddenly wanted to leave with her before even knowing her. In a way, Chow knows that they could never be due to her obvious past from which she knows she cannot escape. The "the second chance" might have also alluded to the second Su Li-Zhen, as at that point was when Chow decided to go to Singapore to find her (his efforts weren't successful). His not finding her is a sort of self-discovery for him, as he realizes now to move on and forget the past, things will never be the same, and start a new life. For instance, the final shots before the ending, where he walks humbly down the staircase and the manner of polite conversation in which he conducts with Bai, indicated that Chow is not anymore a broken-hearted individual, nor someone wishing to rekindle his love affairs, but of someone who had just underwent an enormous self-discovery. The shot of him walking away from Bai indicates the extent of his finally coming into his own notion of himself. "Now I know there's one thing I'll never lend to anyone," indicates that he has nothing more to lend, and that he is on a journey of self-virtue and discovery. However, the ending is ambiguous and this is not the only interpretation. The second interpretation is just that whoever he meets, he will never find someone like the original Su Li-Zhen. Wong has said that Chow's image of the first Su Li-Zhen was an ideal image, a product of subjectivity, and so he has the image of the original Su Li-Zhen as the infalliable true love, no other lover could ever match what the original Su Li-Zhen gave him.

Unlike Antononi, who is well known for glorifying the Italian upper class, often portraying his characters as materialistics bored of the pomp and bombast of mansion-living, Wong is known to glorify the common man, but Wong stretches the alienation theme further by suggesting that time is the real enemy of loneliness. Wong is often known as a romantic director, but his themes of alienation are pervasive in nearly every one of his films, and in 2046, the theme has more traits of Wongish alienation than any one of his other films. Chow Mo-Wan is the most complex character he has ever created, he is the epitome of the every man, the nothing man, the artistic minded and anti-materialist individual who is shown to be the facade of a handsome, reckless, gambling loving gigolo. The defining characteristic of his character is his misguided lifestyle and lack of self-awareness. Wong expands of this idea of alienation by suggesting that time has yet to change him, because he was still the same as he was years ago, still with no grasp of a blueprint of life yet, until the ending. However, in each one of Wong's characters, he suggests that these individuals are all strong-willed, all "common men with souls." A reason why Wong's films are so appealing is because he dramaticizes these characters as the ideal images of the every man. I think another direction Wong is pointing at with Chow is that he wants to make the viewers grasp the reality of his character under his situations. Imagine a life of directionlessness, a constant searching of better ways to find a more successful life. How many hours does he spend under the lamp on his typewriter just staring into nothingness? It's the portrayal of the monotony of life, the full reality of life as uneventful, unangellic, and depressing, and time can only worsen the situation. No wonder after an hour, 10 hours, and 100 hours, the android still doesn't respond, and life in the process, is a victim of the same unchanging pace. The android with delayed reaction is symbolic of this fact, in that it is the striking image of time stopped, and it grows progressively more depressing as you watch how the characters are stuck in a world where time is essentially only the clock that ticks and something you watch as time slowly passes. Time is no longer something of a life process, but it is the true enemy of loneliness. The android with delayed reaction is the image of Wang that Chow creates, but it is also Chow's mirror image, the image of someone who does not take advantage of the virtue of time nor has a sense of time passing by. Chow has neither, but he is still able to realize that time does go by, and it is this fact that leads to his eventual realization that 2046 is just a world. The delayed reaction of the androids could possibly allude to the future in which everything is delayed and reactions happen slowly and robotically, basically the image of a society as robotic and soulless. In this sense, 2046 itself has no grasping of the sense of time, and is nothing more than an even more soulless version of Chow's world. Wong has also said that the android is the possible reflection of Chow, that Chow's life is full of delayed reactions, the inability to appreciate the good things in life until they are gone.

To constrast the aesthetics of In the Mood For Love with 2046, there are both near flawless, but the characteristics actually differ quite a bit. While the aesthetics of "Mood" can be compared to that of a light bulb popping and releasing, 2046's lush visuals hint at exotic, soap-operaish, melodrama. "Mood's" primary colors of forest red and black hints at bleak, European art, but it can also be defined as a truly wild, artistic show, but toned down, and reduced to streets and apartment complexes. The colors in Mood, however, are wildly aesthetic, primarily used to capture the feeling of the night. "Mood" is a spiritual love story, the inassessible arthouse film, so it cannot be compared to 2046's exotic, surreal, melodramatic tone. Wong lends his visual effects more soul than any overused CGI hollywood big budget film. The shots of the future were stunningly and awe-inspiringly beautiful. Wong is quick to reduce the monotony of the shots inside apartment complexes by blurring his background like a scannerly, fading image, by unpredictable camera angles, and by quickly editing his shots as to be reluctant to be blatantly detailed. For instance, the scene where Bai gives her boyfriend the ultimatum; we can't even properly make out her boyfriend's face, and only noticed that he was not Chow by a 3 second shot of him walking away from the room, but we found that out only by his body structure, his face is not even important. In 2046, Wong really got the best out of his entire art and visual effects department.

The music of 2046 cleverly mixes sultry latin dances, operas, and instrumental solos. The latin dances echoes the sexiness and nonchalance of the Hong Kong tuxedo-clad, playboy era. It is the portion of Chow's life that is fun, the portion of his life he dedicates to Bai. The operas compliment Wang's artistic-nimble mind and her delicate, pity-inducing life of helplessness and introversion. The most haunting piece of music is the harmonious tune playing during the scenes of the future, the almost tear-inducing (As Faye Wong states), level of longing and desire that that piece of music suggests is the music of heavens. It's the most lush and odd piece of music in the history of cinema. The music altogether is the perfect blend of sexiness, soap opera, oddness, longing, and pity.

The performances are uniformly excellent, the real revelation being Zhang Ziyi, venturing completely out of her element to squeeze the performance of a lifetime. The perfectly portrayed dance hostess blends a level of sarcasm, flirtation, dislikability, and emotional fervor. Her roles in the past were suited for mythical historical beauties and sweet, country-girlish charm, but her most irregular role proves to be her most endearing, in character, and unique performance of her career. Watching the film several times, I have yet to notice one expression off-key or badly timed. You can feel her throat lumping everytime Leung disappoints her. Leung is excellent, despicable, and playboyish, albeit not as strong as his performance in In the Mood For Love. The rest of the cast, especially Gong Li, all give solid performances in their minimal screentime.

2046 is the film of my imaginations, the cinematic ode to cinema, and the most gorgeous, complex, emotionally endearing, film that I have ever seen. Wong's soul is larger than the film itself and with this, he has truly made his mark in cinema as one of the most distinct and unique directors to ever live. To break the In the Mood For Love and 2046 comparison, I fully submit that 2046 is not only my more preferred film, but also Wong's best work to date. Rating: 10/10

Yes!

My Blueberry Nights is in post-production and is set to be submitted for Cannes in May, meaning that it will get a 2007 release date.

I'm just in my Wong phase right now. I don't love anybody anymore.

2046 Week

After what will be the 3rd time I'll be watching 2046 this week on Friday, I've decided on the previous 2 viewings this week that it without a doubt defines my exact thoughts and feelings of what I find mesmerizing in cinema. And since, my favorite three modern directors: Mann, Wong, and Sofia all have a place in my top five, my top five is more complete than it has ever been. Insert one more Hitchcock and of course Casablanca, my top five is the complete and utterly distinctive reflection of my cinematic experience.

And 2046, words cannot define what it means to me, it just cannot. It's one of those I feel like stripping away the mechanics and just love, but... the film is nothing short of a masterpiece itself. I can go on and on about it....

Paprika

Will be Ghost in the Shell redux, I guarantee it.






































Anyways my most anticipated list so far:

The big three
1. My Blueberry Nights
2. Summer Palace
3. Paprika

More director-inclined anticipation
4. Arms and the Man (if it gets released)
5. Le Ballon Rouge
6. The Age of Tattoo

For entertainment
7. Spider Man 2
8. Sunshine

For actor, but minimal interest in plot
9. Cassandra's Dream
10. She Ji

Friday night

It's been a year...

The most overrated film every year since 2000

Dig.

2000 - Requiem for a Dream

2001 - Moulin Rouge

2002 - The Hours and City of God

2003 - Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2004 - Million Dollar Baby and Eternal Sunshine

2005 - Crash

2006 - Little Children

[insertyesicon]

Rome is lyke the greatest show eva

Srsly. Lying, deceit, betrayal, vengence, like the Raise the Red Lantern of tv shows.

The only show that I would wait for the next season to get on DVD.

Caeser dead? [sad] Sexy last three episodes anyways.

My Blueberry Nights and Summer Palace

The Miami Vice and Marie Antoinette of 06? Possibly. Neither are controversial or esoteric though. And I love fucking controversy. Anyways, these two are the only films I lust over for 2007.

My Oscars 2006: Slight Update

Best Picture:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
The Fountain
The Departed
A Scanner Darkly

Best Director:
Sofia Coppola - Marie Antoinette
Michael Mann - Miami Vice
Darren Aronofsky - The Fountain
Alfonso Cuaron - Children of Men
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Actor:
Colin Farrell - Miami Vice
Hugh Jackman - The Fountain
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus

Best Actress:
Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Ivana Baquero - Pan's Labyrinth
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Sienna Miller - Factory Girl

Best Supporting Actor:
Sergei Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth
Robert Downey Jr. - A Scanner Darkly
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Jamie Foxx - Miami Vice
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

Best Supporting Actress:
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Rachel Weisz - The Fountain
Mia Kirshner - The Black Dahlia
Scarlett Johansson - Scoop
Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Science of Sleep

Best Original Screenplay:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Fountain
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Departed
A Scanner Darkly
Curse of the Golden Flower
Children of Men
The Devil Wears Prada

Best Cinematography:
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
Children of Men
The Fountain
Curse of the Golden Flower

Best Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
The Departed
Children of Men
The Fountain

Best Art Direction:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth
Miami Vice

Best Costume Design:
Marie Antoinette
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Fountain
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls

Best Original Score:
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth
The Departed
Babel
Volver

Best Original Song: (I don't know enough about this category to nominate original songs)
"Fools Rush In - Bow Wow Wow" - Marie Antoinette
"One Of These Mornings - Moby" - Miami Vice
"We're No Here - Mogwai" - Miami Vice
"Aphrodisiac - Bow Wow Wow" - Marie Antoinette
"Auto Rock - Mogwai" - Miami Vice

Best Make-Up:
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Marie Antoinette

Best Sound:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Fountain
Children of Men

Best Sound Editing:
Miami Vice
Marie Antoinette
United 93
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Fountain

Best Visual Effects:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Fountain
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Animated Film:
A Scanner Darkly
Cars
Ice Age: The Meltdown

Best Foreign Language Film:
Curse of the Golden Flower
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Documentary:
An Inconvenient Truth


Nominations:
Marie Antoinette - 13
Miami Vice - 13
The Fountain - 13
The Departed - 8
Pan's Labyrinth - 8
Children of Men - 5
Curse of the Golden Flower - 5
Volver - 4
A Scanner Darkly - 4
The Devil Wears Prada - 4
Letters From Iwo Jima - 2
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 2
Dreamgirls - 1
Babel - 1
United 93 - 1
An Inconvenient Truth - 1
Scoop - 1
The Science of Sleep - 1
Cars - 1
The Last King of Scotland - 1
Ice Age: The Meltdown - 1
Venus - 1
The Black Dahlia - 1
Factory Girl - 1

Wins:
Marie Antoinette - 7
Miami Vice - 5
Pan's Labyrinth - 2
The Departed - 1
The Fountain - 1
Curse of the Golden Flower - 1
A Scanner Darkly - 1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 1
An Inconvenient Truth - 1
The Devil Wears Prada - 1

I am....(the characters that move me)

Neil McCauley - Heat

Your life a consistent aim at perfection. Precision is the key to life and success. Your every move planned and timed perfectly. Mistake? Not allowed. You may have a gun and know how to use it, but using your smarts and abiding by your life philosophy is what has gotten you this far in life, until....



















Sonny Crockett - Miami Vice

You are a man, you know how to treat a woman, you are not superficial in the slightest. You can put your personal feelings aside for the sake of not only the one you love, but the sake of just... doing your job. And how good are you at what you do? Incredible.


































Chow Mo-Wan - 2046

Misguided in life and shot down in love, your life is only ink that you use to write in books and visions of your mind. You pass through your life misguided, with nothing to live for and without any idea of what to expect of yourself. You wonder whether you'll ever live again.






















Travis Henderson - Paris, Texas

Yourself a kind heart, but mistake prone and unsure of how to handle the stresses of marriage. You beg for the forgiveness your wife is sure to grant you, but whether you can forgive yourself is your true fear.


















Rick Blaine - Casablanca

Let the war kill the foolish and the blood thirsty. You're a nobody, you just own your own personal saloon, your heart no longer functions, until... the person that broke your heart seeks your help. Would you help her? Or would you rekindle the flame that still hasn't burned out.



















Julius Caesar - Rome

You have a gift, you are cunning, you are perfectly suited for military battles, you know how to win the hearts of the people, and most of all, you are like an apostle, who can achieve victory after victory albeit constantly outnumbered. Your ambition is greater than anyone can hope to understand, but... few people can have everything they want, except you.

5 and 5

The five that I must see:
1. My Blueberry Nights
2. Summer Palace
3. Arms and the Man
4. Le Ballon Rouge
5. The Age of Tattoo

Five will see, but not THAT excited for:
6. Spider Man 3
7. Silk
8. Sunshine
9. Cassandra's Dream
10. She Ji

2007 Anticipated Films Release Status

1. My Blueberry Nights - (June 2007, pending)

Will be Wong's poorest of the decade probably, but its stock is as high as ever. I'm loving Weisz more and more now. Although it seems to be a film mostly around Norah Jones, it is still my obvious #1 most anticipated because of director. No official release date, but it should be coming out this year, hopefully.

2. Summer Palace - (no info, probably DVD)

Only Cannes and film festivals have had the chance to see this. I probably won't find it anywhere on the big screen. It will be my number one most wanted on the big screen though.

3. Arms and the Man - (2007)

Again, no official release date, but I'm 80 percent sure this will not come out this year. Not even a single cast member has signed up yet. Mann definitely needs time to work on this project. The only film one my top three that are guaranteed a 07 release is probably Summer Palace.

4. Le Ballon Rouge - (2007, Cannes?)

Not sure of its date, but it doesn't look like it's even finished yet. I'm expecting a film better than Cafe Lumiere but not as good as Millenium Mambo or Three Times.

5. Spider Man 3 - (May 4, 2007)

The only one with an official release date. Will buy an advance ticket for opening day on IMAX, hopefully.

6. 300 - (rating pending)

Really indifferent the look of it, but hopefully bombastic gore as long as it doesn't take itself too seriously is ok.

7. Silk - (August - October 2007)

The only Knightley film I'm anticipating.

8. Sunshine - (December 2007)

Seems to be like the Children of Men of 07 which played in every European country before it hit the US months later. Went down because of such a long layoff, but it's still, for look and plot alone, one of the more interesting films this year.

9. Cassandra's Dream - (October 2007)

Entertainment. And Allen's last two pictures were both very entertaining.

10. She Ji - (September 2007)

Leung. That's it. And a film about a World War II film in Shanghai.