>Best Feature-Length Film
>4. Lost in Beijing (Li Yu)
>8. Summer Palace (Lou Ye)

Did you see Blind Mountain? I'm putting off seeing that one; sounds like a tough watch. I like Summer Palace better than Lost in Beijing.


>Best Lead Performance, Male
>2. Michael Shannon – Shotgun Stories
>3. Danny McBride – The Foot Fist Way

Kudos for the Shannon and McBride nominations. I'm really surprised that The Foot Fist Way hasn't been posted about more here.


>Best Lead Performance, Female
>2. Vera Farmiga – Never Forever

Farmiga is one of my favorite current American actresses under 40. She could go down as an all-time great if she picks better roles or movies to be in. But, she has all-time talent even if she ends up having a spotty filmography of roles and/or films.

She's great in Never Forever and Quid Pro Quo. I'd love to have her on my ballot, but I didn't like both of the films that much (Never Forever was a tense watch and QPQ had me curious, though) and I think that has lessened my evaluation of her work in them. Performance-wise, she doesn't hit a false note and emotes genuinely. She gives off a sense of complexity and carries the films. Maybe she should make my ballot because these 2 roles along with the Otilia role in 4 Months, 3 Weeks...; Suzanne role in Flight of the Red Balloon; and Alex role in XXY are perhaps the most difficult for an actress I saw in '08.


>Best Supporting Performance, Female
>5. Ludivine Sagnier – Love Songs

If you asked me why I didn't feel Sagnier and Garrel in this movie, I honestly couldn't tell you why, but something was off for me. Though, I did like Mastroianni, Rouan, and Hesme who is all kinds of awesome in The Grocer's Son.