Oscar 2010: Early Predictions – Best Documentary

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Beaches of Agnès, Agnès Varda
Veteran filmmaker Agnès Varda remembers her life’s beaches, sand dunes, sun rays, and more.

Burma VJ, Anders Østergaard
In 2007, thousands of monks took to the streets of Burma to protest the military government’s brutal anti-democratic policies.

The Cove, Louie Psihoyos
Beautiful, intelligent dolphins are abused and slaughtered to provide entertainment and fodder for ugly, stupid people. The bloody cove of the title is located near Taijii, Japan, where the government does nothing to stop the slaughter.

Food, Inc., Robert Kenner
The distasteful food industry and their government accomplices vs. your health

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
Daniel Ellsberg, the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers, undemocracy at work, [...]

ZOMBIELAND Rules Box Office

Ruben Fleischer’s excellent horror comedy Zombieland stormed the North American box office, slashing its competition this weekend with a solid $25 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The film scored a surprising average of $8,235 per theater at 3,036 locations. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, Zombieland follows four humans trying to survive in a world taken over by zombies.

At a distant No. 2, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs bagged another $16.7 million, lifting its domestic gross to an impressive $82.3 million after a three-week run. The Sony Pictures Animation release is playing in both 3D and standard format.

Debuting in third place [...]

Toronto 2009: UP IN THE AIR, YOUNG VICTORIA, Israel Controversy

George Clooney in Up in the Air

Nomi Morris on Up in the Air in GlobalPost, via The Huffington Post:
"This year, the film that has generated the greatest buzz is Up in the Air, the latest by [Jason] Reitman, director of the hits Juno and Thank You for Smoking, and son of Hollywood director Ivan Reitman (Ghost Busters). Up in the Air stars [George] Clooney as a "termination engineer," who has no home life outside of his job, jetting around the country helping American companies fire people. Both funny and sad, the film examines a society where frequent flier points become a substitute for family attachments. Reitman used documentary footage of 25 real people who had lost their jobs in Detroit [...]

Toronto 2009: Michael Moore Photos

Michael Moore at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival screening of Capitalism: A Love Story
"The true believers of socialism in the United States of America are Wall Street and corporate America," Moore remarked. "They want the safety net there for themselves and they have very willingly taken … trillions (of dollars) of our money."

Anti-bailout protesters

Photos: Overture Films
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