Atonement

This Sunday June 1, the MTV Movie Awards will strike again and while they aren't the most prestigious awards around, they at least get creative with their nomination categories. My favorite: Best Kiss.

Here are the nominees:

• Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey, Enchanted
• Briana Evigan and Robert Hoffman, Step Up 2 the Streets
• Shia LaBeouf and Sarah Roemer, Disturbia
• Ellen Page and Michael Cera, Juno
• Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Leung, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I would love it if Ellen Page and Michael Cera won and then reenacted their kiss during the acceptance speech. But I have a feeling The LaBeouf will take that win.

Anyway, is it just me or were there some way better kisses this year than these nominees? There's a great scene in Waitress where Kerri Russell's character imagines a gorgeous kiss with her doctor friend (Nathan Fillion, anyone?) for example. Or hello? The library kisses between Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in Atonement!

Do you agree with this list or are there others you would add? What were some of the great on-screen kisses of the year (and by "this year" I guess we're talking all or most of 2007 since Disturbia came out in April of that year)?

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Recently the filmmakers behind the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie held a panel discussion at the New York Comic-Con to promote the film to its key audience: fanboys. When director Louis Letterier declared the musical score for Hulk was, "Star Wars good" he reportedly got booed by the audience.

It cracks me up that, to a certain group of fans it is sacrilegious to ever suggest anything is as good as (or — gasp! — better than) that famous, ominous tune. Then again, to some degree, I can understand that kind of passion.

A great musical score not only helps to set the tone of a movie, but when done right audiences will forever associate the sounds with the emotion of a film. For example, the sound of a clacking typewriter will probably always make me think of the subsequent piano music and then the overall sense of agony and guilt associated with Atonement, a score that ended up nabbing the Oscar.

Of course, it's hard to look at Harrison Ford without the boisterous Indiana Jones score cuing up in my brain immediately. And while I hardly remember a single line from Driving Miss Daisy, that whimsical old-timey score is clear as day in my head.

What are some of your favorite movie scores? Are there any that will always evoke certain memories? Is there one that tops all the rest?

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The award-winning movie Atonement, one of my top ten movies of 2007, is coming to DVD today. As I've said before, I so loved the experience of watching this film that it definitely deserves a second (or third) viewing. Therefore, I'll certainly be adding the Atonement DVD to my film library.

From the award-winning director of Pride and Prejudice comes a stunning epic story of love. When a young girl catches her sister in a passionate embrace with a childhood friend, her jealousy drives her to tell a lie that will irrevocably change the course of their lives forever. Keira Knightley and James McAvoy lead an all-star cast in one of the best pictures of 2007.

If you want to capture the romance of the movie with your very own dream vacation for two, head over to iVillage for their Romantic Getaway Sweepstakes.

Thanks to Universal Studios Home Entertainment for sponsoring this post.

If you're anything like us, your most extravagantly romantic vacations are more likely to happen through the magic of movies than to occur in real life. Lucky for you, now you can have the best of both worlds. The ravishing romance Atonement is coming to DVD today. In celebration of the release iVillage is giving away a luxurious getaway for two to a dream destination. All you have to do is head over to iVillage and enter to win the contest. You'll also be eligible to win the award-winning movie Atonement on DVD, where two lucky winners will be chosen every day. Sounds like a win-win to us!

Thanks to Universal Studios Home Entertainment for sponsoring this post.

From now until the 2008 Oscars air on Sunday night, I'll be breaking down the five contenders for Best Picture, giving you the scoop on why each film could win and why it might not stand a chance. So far, I've taken a look at There Will Be Blood and Michael Clayton. Today's Best Picture nominee is Atonement.

Pride and Prejudice director Joe Wright works his magic with another desperately romantic drama, this one taking place in England before and during WWII. At the age of 13, imaginative aspiring writer Briony misconstrues a situation she witnesses and brings grave charges against her sister Cecilia's (Keira Knightley) lover, Robbie (James McAvoy). The terrible repercussions of this false accusation haunt Briony for the rest of her life, causing her to seek redemption for her mistake through her writing.

To see what I think about this Best Picture nominee's chances, read more

While food doesn't necessarily come to mind when thinking of the Oscar-nominated film Atonement, a cocktail might. The cocktail featured is a chocolate concoction created by a minor character named Paul Marshall. A chocolate magnate and friend of older brother Leon, Paul attempts to wow the Tallis family with his chocolate cocktail. He's incredibly unsuccessful; it's impossibly hot and humid and a chocolate martini is hardly a pool-side drink. However, when served in a more suitable atmosphere, a chocolate cocktail is tasty and delicious.

For a recipe that is much tastier than Paul Marshall's and a look at an extended trailer of the film, read more

Needless to say while writing Atonement, Ian McEwan was not contemplating ways to incorporate technology into the story. And who can blame him? Set in 1935, big inventions of that year were the "Supreme" Pedestal Hair Dryer and the Moving Coil Speaker. Talk about exciting. Although the typewriter is obviously a vintage gadget, it's an Oscar worthy gadget indeed. For much of the 20th century, typewriters were important tools in business, journalism, and paved the way for more modern and advanced word processing devices — like the one you are using today. They also came in handy when writing the occasional dirty love letter, as in the case of Atonement. Who wouldn't want a love letter from Robbie Turner delivered with the romanticism of the old fashioned type? Sigh.

Not only was the typewriter an important prop in the story of Atonement, it was also an important character. A character that became more engraved when the sounds of the machine were incorporated into the soundtrack, setting the stage for emotion when you heard the ticking of the keys. Taking such a low tech gadget and turning it into something so hi-fi is a super creative way to bring the classic gadget into the 21st century.

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In the days leading up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. This week, I'll be looking at the nominees for Best Costume Design. We've already taken a look at the costumes in Across the Universe, now let's turn our attention to Atonement.

I've gushed about the superb art direction in Atonement, and the costumes are a huge part of the beautiful overall look and feel of the film. Of course, the emerald green dress worn by Keira Knightley's character Cecilia during one of the most pivotal moments in the film has garnered a lot of attention, and will most likely draw in a pretty penny in the auction benefiting The Children’s Charity of Southern California.

But every one of the costumes in Atonement is carefully chosen. From the smart nurses' uniforms worn by Briony to Cecilia's delicate floral summer dress, the costumes lend an authenticity to the time period and help to paint this desperately romantic and tragic tale.

To see the rest of the gallery of costume images from Atonement, read more

Every week up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. This week, I'll be looking at the nominees for Best Art Direction, which encompasses the entire look and feel of a film from the scenery to the lighting. Yesterday I featured production stills from Ridley Scott's darkly evocative American Gangster, and today I bring you images from Atonement.

As a huge fan of Atonement, I think Joe Wright should win all kinds of awards for the way he beautifully captured the world described in Ian McEwan's novel. The scenes at Cecilia and Briony's family's estate depict the lush lifestyle of an upper-class family as well as the hazy heat of English summertime. The later scenes, especially of Robbie picking his way through the wreckage of war, are full of dark despair. The art direction in this film shifts between passionate, wistful, doomed and tragic, in keeping with what's happening in the story. Indeed, the visuals here are as great a part of the storytelling as the actual action and dialogue are.

For more stills from Atonement, read more