Actors Outshine Melodrama in 'Brothers'

The three actors who star in director Jim Sheridan's Brothers -- Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal -- give performances worthy of a much better film.

Portman is rather believable as the former cheerleader turned bereaved soldier's wife. And Gyllenhaal sort of one-ups the performance he gave way-back-when in Donnie Darko -- you know, the troubled, bad-boy younger brother.

Maguire does the most work here. His performance is a major departure from everything else he's done thus far (his Golden Globe nod is quite deserved). He's physically transformed, and, emotionally, he's battered, brittle, so on edge.

The raw material of the film could have been spun into something hearty and fulfilling. The last movie I saw that dealt with PTSD, In the Valley of Elah with Charlize Theron, was excellent: superior acting and a screenplay that kept you interested.

What we get in Brothers, however, is melodrama that drips heavy like syrup. If you've seen the trailer for this movie, there will be no twists beyond some zingers delivered by the youngest actors on the screen. The story unfolds predictably, and Maguire's breakdown seems rather sudden. As does the ending.

Trailer Alert: Iron Man 2

I must admit, I was a bit nervous when I read some months ago about the cast changes on the Iron Man sequel -- you know, Terrance Howard replaced with Don Cheadle. Both great actors, but switching out a central character on the second film? Why mess with chemistry when it worked the first go round.

After seeing the trailer at http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/ I'm confident this movie is going to be hot shit (urban colloquialism for "good").

Out in theaters May 2010.

Screen Actors Guild Awards

(Diane Kruger is nominated for a SAG award for her work in Inglourious Basterds)

Quentin Tarentino's latest movie, Inglourious Basterds, is violent escapism at its best. Though it did not have history on its side, it is now one of the most honored films of the year.

With the announcement of the Screen Actors Guild nominations this morning, Inglourious Basterds, along with Up in the Air and Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire, became a film-to-beat on the road to Oscar gold.

I'd be surprised if Academy Award nominations don't match-up exactly to the SAG nods this year.

The nominations for the 16th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will be announced on TV Jan. 23, are as follows:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for Television

Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House M.D."

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for Television (Because there was a tie, there are six nominees instead of the traditional five in this category.)

Patricia Arquette, "Medium"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Television

"The Closer"
"Dexter"
"The Good Wife"
"Mad Men"
"True Blood"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for Television

Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"

Oustanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for Television

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Television

"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance"
Cuba Gooding Jr., "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story"
Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Kevin Kline, "Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac"
Tom Wilkinson, "A Number"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens"
Ruby Dee, "America"
Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"
Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Diane Kruger, "Inglourious Basterds"
Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture

Jeff Bridges - "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney - "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth - "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman - "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner - "The Hurt Locker"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture

Sandra Bullock - "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren - "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan - "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe - "Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep - "Julie and Julia"

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Nine"
"Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire"

The Genius of Tim Burton on Display in 'Alice'

Check out the newest trailer for the upcoming Alice In Wonderland, from director Tim Burton. Genius.

With Globe Nods Announced, Oscar Match-Ups Become Clearer

(From Avatar, nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama)

The awards season kicked into high gear this morning when the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. announced the nominations for its Golden Globe Awards.

If you've been paying attention to pundits thus far, you weren't surprised when the nominations were read. Precious, The Hurt Locker, Avatar, Up in the Air and Inglourious Basterds all earned nominations for Best Motion Picture -- Drama. In the Comedy/Musical category, the nominations were, again, no surprise: (500) Days of Summer, The Hangover, It's Complicated, Julie & Julia and Nine.

Here are the rest of the nominees. Once the Screen Actors Guild announces nominations for the Actor awards, I'll begin whittling down my annual list of Must-See-Oscar-Hopeful-Films.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
"Up in the Air"
"Avatar"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Emily Blunt, "The Young Victoria"
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Tobey Maguire, "Brothers"

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
"The Hangover"
"It's Complicated"
"Julie & Julia"
"Nine"
"(500) Days of Summer"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
Sandra Bullock, "The Proposal"
Marion Cotillard, "Nine"
Meryl Streep, "It's Complicated"
Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"
Julia Roberts, "Duplicity"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Nine"
Robert Downey Jr., "Sherlock Holmes"
Michael Stuhlbarg, "A Serious Man"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "(500) Days of Summer"
Matt Damon, "The Informant!"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Mo'Nique, "Precious"
Julianne Moore, "A Single Man"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"

Best Animated Feature Film
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"Up"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Baaria"
"Broken Embraces"
"The Prophet"
"The White Ribbon"
"The Maid"

Best Director - Motion Picture
Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron, "Avatar"
Clint Eastwood, "Invictus"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"
Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"
Nancy Meyers, "It's Complicated"
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Michael Giacchino, "Up"
Marvin Hamlisch, "The Informant!"
James Horner, "Avatar"
Abel Korzeniowski and Karen O, "A Single Man"
Carter Burwell, "Where the Wild Things Are"

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture
"I See You," "Avatar"
"The Weary Kind," "Crazy Heart"
"Cinema Italiano," "Nine"
"I Want to Come Home," "Everybody's Fine"
"Winter," "Brothers"

Best Television Series - Drama
"Dexter"
"Mad Men"
"House M.D."
"True Blood"
"Big Love"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Glenn Close, "Damages"
January Jones, "Mad Men"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Anna Paquin, "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgewick, "The Closer"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House M.D."
Bill Paxton, "Big Love"

Best Television Series - Comedy
"30 Rock"
"Entourage"
"Glee"
"The Office"
"Modern Family"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
David Duchovny, "Californication"
Thomas Jane, "Hung"
Matthew Morrison, "Glee"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical
Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"
Courteney Cox, "Cougar Town"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Lea Michele, "Glee"

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
"Georgia O'Keefe"
"Grey Gardens"
"Into the Storm"
"Little Dorrit"
"Taking chance"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keefe"
Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens"
Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"
Anna Paquin, "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"
Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance"
Kenneth Branagh, "Wallander: One Step Behind"
Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Endgame"
Brendan Gleeson, "Into the Storm"
Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keefe"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jane Adams, "Hung"
Rose Byrne, "Damages"
Jane Lynch, "Glee"
Janet McTeer, "Into the Storm"
Chloe Sevigny, "Big Love"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Michael Emerson, "Lost"
Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"
William Hurt, "Damages"
John Lithgow, "Dexter"
Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"