So here we go again.

As readers may recall from last year, “Tech Support” at In Contention attempts to make up for the rather appalling lack of coverage that normally greets the categories deemed by the media to be “technical categories.”

I invite you to try to imagine “Star Wars” without John Williams’s thunderous score. I bet you can’t. Would “2001: A Space Odyssey” have been the same experience if it were not for Stanley Kubrick’s ingenious use of visual effects? How about “Citizen Kane” in the absence of Gregg Tolland’s revolutionary cinematography? (This is not to mention the number of years that the development of cinema would have been delayed had it not been for this achievement.)

From disciplines as varied as art direction and costume design, sound and visual effects, editing and cinematography, makeup and music, the technical artists quite simply bring movies to life. But seldom do they get the front page attention the “stars” of the business enjoy as the awards season pushes ahead, full steam.

(Toronto is right around the corner, but before John begins his daily filings, here is a nice persoanl look at the man who'll be cranking out the coverage. Also, Gerard's first "Tech Support" column will land tomorrow and I've decided to pull back one more week on the Oscar column, so I'll offer up one pre-Toronto entry, one during the fest next Monday and then we should be on our merry way.)

As TIFF approaches I find myself thinking a lot about the films that set me on the path to becoming a film critic/ historian.

I was stunned by what had just taken place on the screen.

On this week's Oscar column. I'll get it up asap, though Gerard's first "Tech Support" entry may hit first.

Slowly but surely.

It's been about a week since my screening of James Mangold's "3:10 to Yuma." I don't have the time or psychological energy to devote a review to it (or any other film) at this time (grad school orientation), but it's a winner inside and out. Kevin Costner's "Open Range," David Milch's "Deadwood" and now, James Mangold's "3:10" remake/re-adaptation are officially the holy trinity of the western's resurgence in my mind, a story I've been waiting on a major to pick up for some time. But no one seems willing to dig into the genre's obvious return. If Andrew Dominik's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is as stellar as early word suggests...

In any case, Mangold's film, working from a rather brilliant script by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, is cut from the same cloth as Delmer Daves's 1957 original. But Elmore Leonard's 11 page short story only takes an audience so far, providing a third act for what is obviously a much broader story, one that could be taken in a number of different directions. What I liked most about Mangold's treatment of the material was how married he clearly was to tone. This is a real western dug out of the same earth as the roughest of John Ford cinema or even Don Siegel. It drips with righteousness and deeper meanings, emotions and considerations. I did cartwheels.

The narrative has an issue here or there, but I think it has become the one film I seem to allow myself each year that I love, stitches and all. Christian Bale is fantastic as a world-weary soul and a man seeking redemption in the eyes of his family, and Russell Crowe is equal parts charm and savagery, a combination we haven't seen out of the actor in quite a long time. Ben Foster is also electric, though given a few too many lines for the characters' own good. But, through and through, it's a sturdy ensemble and a thoroughly enjoyable one.

I love this genre.

(Dealing with some Photoshop issues at the moment. Images will be forthcoming.)

With today’s final announcement of the festival line-up, I must confess to some disappointment, as the earlier announcements certainly packed more of a punch. Not that I am complaining about TIFF 2007 – not at all as it looks like the best fest in years – but I had thought the final films being unveiled would be major releases that would vie for Oscar attention as the previously announced films certainly will.

It's a slow build-up to the Oscar season right now, so not a lot of long-form stuff on the main page lately. I just wanted to point out that The Blog is where it's at for the time being.

“Things We Lost in the Fire” was one of those famous “best unproduced scripts” floating around for quite some time, and it’s easy to see why. Allan Leob’s writing debut (he now has a slew of stuff coming out) is a tight, effective drama, and a potential actors’ showcase of the highest order. It’s awfully confusing that it was ever in development hell. It’s a perfect Oscar contender, reads like a critics’ darling and even though it occasionally does read a little been there, done that, its sincerity and characters manage to help it overcome most of the expected clichés.

Though we are two weeks away from final announcements, the Toronto International Film Festival is looking more and more like an unofficial Academy Awards preview. Though it seems by now we’re used to that notion. After scouring the Oscar sites on the web, I found that many of the films already announced are among those being touted for Oscars in the major categories, and a few will likely slip in as sleepers. Never before has the festival looked so strong so early, and in all honesty 2007 could be the finest version of the festival yet.

Among the films arriving that can be considered definite hopefuls for the Academy Award for best picture are the Coen brothers’ acclaimed film “No Country for Old Men” and Paul Haggis’s new picture “The Valley of Elah,” both featuring Tommy Lee Jones, who is being touted for best actor for the latter film.

If you had asked me at the end of 2006 what the best movie of 2007 would be, I would have guessed P.T. Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood.” Not only has Anderson proven himself, in my opinion, the best of the late-90s crop of emerging filmmakers with the one-two-three of “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “Punch-Drunk Love,” but he also seemed willing to stretch himself more than the rest of those filmmakers. He followed two solid epics with a little romantic comedy that could be considered a contender for best of the genre this decade. That Anderson’s next film would be a period piece based on Upton Sinclair’s “Oil!,” what more could a filmgoer want?

I was holding this until Monday, but I'd rather have it off my plate.

I've commented on some films I've seen, I'm not permitted to comment on others, but suffice it to say, this year's Oscar season seems afraid of itself, slowly, EVER so slowly approaching the fall months rather than the sprint to the finish we've witnessed in recent years. In some ways that's a godsend, but I somehow expect things to explode any...minute...now.

For the time being, all predictions and charts have been updated. Weekly coverage, columns and charting begins Monday, August 27. (And hi-dee-ho, so do classes...I might pass out this year.)

Main Category Charts
Technical Category Charts
The Contenders (by category)
2007 Films-by-Studio Rundown

2006 Predictions Archive