So the formally announced 2007 Kaedrin Movie Awards came to an end on Friday (No clear leader emerged, but No Country For Old Men and The Bourne Ultimatum each brought home two awards), but here’s a few additional awards that don’t really have any other nominees:
- Best Car Chase/Stunts: Grindhouse (segment Death Proof) – I blame Zoe Bell, the amazing Kiwi stuntwoman in this movie. Best car chase in years, and it’s all the more harrowing because you can tell it’s real.
- Best Non-Car Chase: Dog chases man, from No Country for Old Men. I can’t explain this one, but it’s one of those Coen brothers moments that are so intense and absurd at the same time.
- Best Long Take/Tracking Shot: Atonement – Great ~5 minute shot that follows three British soldiers as they make their way through Dunkirk during the evacuation. Director Joe Wright has (rightly, in my opinion) been taken to task for over-stylizing the movie, but I don’t consider this masterful scene a part of that. It actually fits into the movie well, and it’s not as overt as his other techniques (which are sound, to be sure, but overused).
- Best Monsters: (nominees must be a class of monster, not an individual) Vampires, from 30 Days of Night. Modern vampires are wussy, emotional beings. This movie shows us what feral, blood-sucking (er, splattering) intelligent monsters are like. A flawed film, to be sure, but great villains (and a wonderful overhead tracking shot that might have won that award in any other year).
- The John Carpenter Memorial Award: Grindhouse (segment Planet Terror). Since Carpenter seems to have given up making good movies, someone else needs to pick up the slack, and this year, it was Robert Rodriguez. The most notably Carpenteristic element being the soundtrack (done by Rodriguez himself), but other similarities are apparent as well.
- Scenery Chewers: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War (brilliantly scruffy CIA agent) and William Hurt in Mr. Brooks (yeah, it’s not an especially good movie, but Hurt is having a lot of fun playing Mr. Brooks’ uh, I’m not sure what he’s supposed to be, but he’s entertaining). Oh, and how could I forget, Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood (particularly the last 20 minutes or so – “I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! I DRINK IT UP!” – Indeed, he’s even chewing on steak for half the scene.)
If you include these arbitrary awards in the totally tally, it looks like No Country For Old Men picks up some ground while Grindhouse rockets up to tie at 3. And that about wraps it up. The only thing that remains is the top 10 list (coming soon!)
Update: Added Daniel Day Lewis to the scenery chewers. Heh.