The BAFTAs took place in London last night. If you’re American, this is your chance to say, “What are the BAFTAs?” If you are British, then it was your chance to feel embarrassed as journalists ran right and left on the red carpet, trying to persuade the major Hollywood actors who had flown over for the occasion to say that the event was as big as the Oscars.

The BAFTAs — or annual film awards given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts — aren’t as big as the Oscars, but they are the closest we Brits get to an equivalent. And, in their favor, they’re usually a lot more concise than the Oscars, clocking in at a neat two hours rather than a bum-numbing four.

I’ll admit I love awards ceremonies — the women, the gowns, the often incomprehensible choices by the Academy, and the awkward acceptance speeches — so without further ado, here’s a rundown of what went down last night:

Sienna Miller was nominated for the Orange Rising Star Award (voted for by the public):

As were Ellen Page and the beautiful Lust, Caution actress Tang Wei. But they lost out to Shia LaBeouf. Yawn. … continue reading

Over the weekend, the National Society of Film Critics announced its 2007 honorees. Here are some of the winners:

• Best picture: There Will Be Blood
• Best director: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Best actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her
• Best supporting actress: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
• Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• Best supporting actor: Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Best foreign-language film: Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days
• Best nonfiction film: No End in Sight
• Best screenplay: Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

These aren't exactly blockbusters. (Not a peep from Sweeney Todd, and no awards for Old Men either.) In fact, I've seen exactly one of these films: Away From Her. I'm glad Christie won for her mesmerizing performance.

And even though I'm not sure about I'm Not There, I do want to see Blanchett as Dylan: … continue reading

I was all set to go see La Vie en Rose last weekend, but then I got distracted by all the nothing I was doing. So I still haven't seen it, but I can't wait — I'm hearing so many good things about the Edith Piaf biopic.

La Vie en Rose has a 76% positive rating at RottenTomatoes.com, and its star, Marion Cotillard, will receive the Hollywood Film Festival's Breakthrough Actress of the Year Award in October. AfterEllen.com users msgulp and jix1125 have also sung the movie's praises, and they're not terribly easy to impress. There's even some lesbianish content, according to jix1125: "I saw chicks making out for a second and a female bartender in a tux and mustache, along with a barely subtextual lesbian crush on Edith by her BFF. Also, Gerny's is a gay-ish club with drag queens." Now that's my kind of movie. … continue reading