There was a funny bit of news floating around this week regarding an obscure (comically so) film having its Best Original Song Oscar nomination revoked by the Academy. “Alone Yet Not Alone”, the song in question from a movie of the same name, has got to be one of the cheesiest, most hackneyed piece of movie music of the year, and a far cry from being in the running for the title of “the best”. Turns out, as reported by several outlets, the song’s composer, Bruce Broughton, is a former Academy governor and current executive committee member, a position he exploited to “earn” his song a nomination. No song will replace “Alone Yet Not Alone” (the title still makes me giggle) in the ballot, reducing the field to four nominees.

It’s not the most gripping news story, but you know the saying: “Give me lemons, and I’ll make…my Weekend Streaming Recommendations!!!” That’s how the saying goes, right? Close enough. For this week’s recommendations, I’ve chosen films that have won the Oscar for Best Original Song in years past, films with legitimately great songs to wash out the icky taste of “Alone Yet Not Alone”. (Man, that is seriously one of the funniest movie/song titles I’ve ever heard. It sounds like middle school poetry.)

You’ve probably seen all of these awesome films at least once, but each is worth revisiting. And if you’ve missed some, discovering them is only a click away.

8 Mile

When Eminem was announced to be the star of a “serious” drama inspired by his life as an underground rapper in Detroit, most of us–even fans of the gifted emcee, like me–cringed. Surely this was a cash-grab built to capitalize on Mr. Mathers’ popularity. (He was INSANELY popular back in 2002, approaching Madonna and Michael Jackson levels of notoriety.) To everyone’s surprise, the movie wasn’t half bad! It’s definitely worth watching on a lazy Sunday afternoon, at least. Eminem’s performance feels natural, if a little restrained, and the basement-rap-battle scene is undeniably electric. Best of all, the film gave us “Lose Yourself”, Em’s driving motivational anthem about seizing once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. The chugging guitar riff and catchy-as-all-hell hook (“LOSE yourself in the MUsic, the MOment you OWN it…“) have made it one of Eminem’s most enduring singles. (As a bonus, the film also inspired that awesome Chappelle’s Show parody. “Spaghetti! Spaghetti! Spaghetti!“)

Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle is one of those rare filmmakers who can seemingly do anything: horror (28 Days Later); kids movies (Millions); sci-fi (Sunshine); psychological (127 Hours, Trance)…and the list goes on. We’re quite fortunate to have the fellow making movies for our lucky eyes and ears to feast on. Of the excellent films in his oeuvre, none have had the success or cultural impact of Slumdog Millionaire, the South Asian underdog story about street kid Jamal (Dev Patel) defying fate by progressing farther in India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” than the corrupt showrunners had planned. The film is bursting with life, and its runtime is just about the briskest 120 minutes you’ll sit through. The film’s Oscar-winning song, the infectious, pulsing Bollywood hit Jai Ho, was actually written for another Indian film, Yuvvraaj, but only really picked up steam when it was featured in Boyle’s film.

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges enjoyed a string of box-office and critical success from 2008 to 2010, with his work in Iron Man, Tron: Legacy, and True Grit making him a more commercially popular actor than ever. The best performance of this period of Bridges’ career was in Crazy Heart, in which he played a hopelessly washed-up, alcoholic country singer-songwriter named Bad Blake. With deep emotional complexity and a slight devilish touch, Bridges scores with one of his most brilliantly conceived performances. The turn won him the Oscar for Best Actor in 2009, and the film’s song “The Weary Kind”, written by Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett, captured gold as well. It’s got everything I love in a country song: a stripped-down arrangement, forlorn, poignant lyrics, and a timeless melody. Bridges broke his hot streak with last year’s R.I.P.D, but thankfully, with the power of internet streaming, we can rewind back a few years to when he was still on fire.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

“Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head…” Aaaahhhh…the sound of peacefulness. What a great song for an equally great movie. Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the distinctively ’70s-sounding tune isn’t exactly the most obvious musical companion for a badass gunslinger Western set in the 1890’s, but it perfectly fits the scene it accompanies, of Paul Newman practicing tricks on a bicycle to the giddy amusement of Katharine Ross. George Roy Hill’s film, as you probably already know, is clever, charming, impeccably acted, and one of the best buddy movies of all time (if not one of the best movies, period). Newman and Robert Redford are at the peak of their careers here, and the film’s famous final frame is one of the most treasured images in all of cinema. You can’t watch this classic too many times, so stream away, my friends. You won’t regret it.

On MVFF’s gigantic penultimate day, a quintet of some of the industry’s most exciting directors gathered for a meeting of the minds, the stars and directors of At Middleton and Beside Still Waters unveiled their respective films to packed houses, and the whole lot of them partied it up in the beautiful town of Tiburon, right down the road.

Filmmaker Superfriends

To start off Day 10 of the festival, a killer lineup of directors gathered to participate in a panel organized by Variety, in which they discussed the industry and their filmmaking processes. In my previous festival recap, I mentioned that Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) asked Steve McQueen a question during the 12 Years a Slave Q&A; McQueen didn’t seem to notice that the young buck was a talented filmmaker himself at the time, but when the two met officially for the Variety panel they became fast friends. Joining Coogler and McQueen for the panel was J.C. Chandor, who helmed the Robert Redford “man at sea” film, All is Lost and 2011’s Margin Call. We spoke to Chandor about the film, so keep an eye out for our interview next week. Also in attendance were John Wells of August: Osage County and Scott Coooper of Crazy Heart and Out of the Furnace.

Click to view slideshow.

Andy Garcia’s Campus Romance

At Middleton,  directed by newcomer Adam Rodgers, focuses on a sporadic on-campus romance between George (Andy Garcia) and Edith (Vera Farmiga), who meet while accompanying their kids on a campus tour of Middleton University. A walk-and-talk rom-com cut from the same cloth as Richard Linklater’s Before series but with a more lighthearted flare, the film was received incredibly well by the Mill Valley audience at CinéArts@Sequoia, who expressed their enthusiasm during the post-screening Q&A with Rodgers, Garcia, and the films’ producers. “When you have a chance to play with [an actor like] Vera Farmiga,” Garcia gushed, “[the scenes] are all fun.” The chemistry developed between the accomplished actors, amazingly, took no time to develop at all. “We never even read the script together once,” Garcia said, to the surprise of the audience, who had been so taken by the screen romance. “We got to know each other as the characters did on camera. She’s incredible.”

Future BIG Movie Stars CHILL in Beside Still Waters

A few feet down from the At Middleton screening, another movie about people talking was pleasing a separate batch of MVFF-goers. Chris Lowell, an actor best known for his roles in Veronica Mars (the “kickstarted” film version is shooting now) and The Help, hops into the director’s chair for the first time with his nostalgia-driven hangout movie, Beside Still Waters. In it, a tragedy causes a group of old childhood friends to reconvene at the memory-filled cabin in the forrest they grew up playing around in (no, it’s not a horror movie). The cast, comprised of some of some of the prettiest rising-star actors in the game right now (just look a the pictures!), were all in attendance at the MVFF screening along with their incredibly excited director, who was all smiles during the audience Q&A. “I was really excited to direct [and] talk to actors the way I’d like a director to talk to me,” Lowell beamed. “That was probably the thing I was most thrilled about. That, and not having to go through hair and makeup in the morning.” Comparisons to the king of all hangout movies, The Big Chill, are inevitable, and Lowell didn’t shy away from acknowledging the influence of Kasdan’s film, which has a strikingly similar premise. “[My co-writer Mohit Narang] and I obsessed over every conceivable reunion [movie], to see what people did right and wrong. The Big Chill is obviously the big tentpole film for [this kind of movie], which is why everyone comes back to it. It’s a film that you watch when you’re sick because it makes you feel good and right about the world.”

Worlds Collide…Over Cocktails

After the dual screenings of At Middleton and Beside Still Waters, the buzzing crowds and proud filmmakers met again at the Tiburon Tavern just down the road to schmooze, booze, and enjoy delectable bites of delicious food (the coffee-coated cheese was curious, yet excellent). Andy Garcia and the Beside Stll Waters cast were happy to mingle, keeping the good vibes flowing along with the bubbly. Lowell and Rodgers, both elated to have their films so well-received, shared their experiences and a big, congratulatory hug.

Stiller Closes Out With Mitty

MVFF closed out big with what looks to be one of the most visually striking films of the year, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Ben Stiller unsurprisingly drew a blitz of media and fan attention when he arrived at the CinéArts@Sequoia theater to present his passion project, about an office worker (played by Stiller himself) who lives in picturesque fantasy worlds represented onscreen beautifully by Stiller and DP Stuart Dryburgh (The Piano). After the screening, Stiller was given the Mill Valley Award and then headed down the street to San Rafael’s beautiful Elk’s Lodge where everyone–from the hard-working festival staff, to the filmmakers, to industry people, to the excited festival-goers–celebrated as the wonderful 11-day festival came to a close.

But wait…that’s not all! We’ve still got a ton of content coming out of the festival, so stay tuned in the next few days for more MVFF goodness!

You do not have to be a fan of country music to enjoy Crazy Heart, a depressing story based on the novel by Thomas Cobb. The superb acting by Jeff Bridges and his character are entertaining enough. The storyline is nothing too spectacular but you cannot help but be enthralled with the main character. It is Scott Cooper first film as a director and he did it in only 24 days, I really hope it is not his last.

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is no doubt a drunk, chain smoker and depressed man. The once legend country singer is now out of his prime. With little ambition he has, he plays in front of small bowling alley crowds of a few dozen. Bad Blake has so little money to his name that without his fame scoring him free alcohol, something that he is rarely without, he would not be able to pay for it.

While performing in Santa Fe, Bad Blake meets a newspaper journalist named Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Instantly, you can tell Bad Blake is attracted to her. We see a completely different side of Bad Blake after only a few visits from his newfound interest. We see that if he tries, he can be quite charming. This is the closest Bad Blake has had to a real family.

Bad Blake then gets a call from his agent about a huge break, a chance to play in front of 12,000 people, but there is a catch. He is not the headliner but rather the opener. Oh, and it is for Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), a man he does not care for as they had a falling out in the past. Although he is reluctant, he accepts the gig.

Before the gig the two meet up at a restaurant. Tommy admits while signing an autograph that Bad Blake taught him everything he knows about country music and tells the fan he is not the one he should be getting the autograph of. At the same time that Tommy is being genuine, Bad Blake tells Tommy he is just doing this gig for the money, not for sentimental sake.

It is not long before Jean expresses her concern over Bad Blake’s alcoholism. He did not earn the nickname Bad for no reason. She tells him not to drink while in front of her son, although it is apparent she is worried about him drinking in general. Just as it seems his life could not get any better personally or professionally, he much over-come his self-destructive lifestyle.

Crazy Heart’s story is most definitely not unique, an old celebrity that is still clinging on to their fame, who hits rock bottom and tries to become somebody again. What makes this film so good is the character. As a viewer, you develop an unexplainable attraction to Bad Blake, whether it is out of empathy or otherwise, you find yourself rooting for him. The film also had a pretty firm emotion grip throughout and especially in a scene near the end that takes place in a mall.

Jeff Bridges has the sort of mumbling voice that works extremely well in his advantage in this role. And being the amazingly talented singer that he is, he was able to fit in perfectly. He plays it so well; it is hard to imagine any other actor that would come close to a performance as his. Maybe Philip Seymour Hoffman could but even then I have my doubts.

His performance did not go unnoticed though. He won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. The film did not stop there though; Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and it won Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Simply put Crazy Heart is an engaging film with incredible acting, amazing music that even a non-country lover can appreciate, with really only the only downfall being the film’s story is not groundbreaking. I thought the ending was honest and fair, although I could see some people being disappointed with it.

The Hurt Locker wins the big at the 2010 Academy Awards with a total of six Oscars including best Best Picture and for the first time by a female, Best Director. The films that had the seemed to have the best chances were The Hurt Locker and Avatar, so there was really no big surprises. I was shocked that Sandra Bullock got Best Actress, to be fair I haven’t seen The Blind Side, however I feel like Gabourey Sidibe should have gotten it for Precious. Here is the full list of winners:

Best Picture:
The Hurt Locker

Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress in a Lead Role:
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Best Actor in a Lead Role:
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Feature Film:
Up

Best Art Direction:
Avatar

Best Cinematography:
Avatar

Best Costume Design:
The Young Victoria

Best Documentary Feature:
The Cove

Best Documentary Short:
Music by Prudence

Best Film Editing:
The Hurt Locker

Best Foreign Language Film:
El Secreto de sus Ojos, Argentina

Best Makeup:
Star Trek

Best Original Score:
Up

Best Original Song:
Crazy Heart

Best Sound Mixing:
The Hurt Locker

Best Sound Editing:
The Hurt Locker

Best Visual Effects:
Avatar

Best Writing (Original Screenplay):
The Hurt Locker

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay):
Precious

Precious takes home the most 2010 Independent Spirit Awards this year with a total of five awards including the big one, Best Feature. Here is the full list of winners:

Best Feature:
Precious
Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness

Best Director:
Lee Daniels, Precious

Best First Feature:
Crazy Heart
Director: Scott Cooper

Best Screenplay:
Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer

Best First Screenplay:
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious

John Cassavetes Award (For the best feature made under $500,000):
Humpday
Writer/Director/Producer: Lynn Shelton

Best Supporting Female:
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Supporting Male:
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Best Female:
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Best Male:
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Cinematography:
Roger Deakins , A Serious Man

Best Foreign Film:
An Education
Director: Lone Scherfig

Best Documentary:
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Director: Sacha Gervasi

Acura Someone to Watch Award:
Kyle Patrick Alvarez, director of Easier With Practice

Chaz & Roger Ebert Truer Than Fiction Award:
Bill Ross and Turner Ross, directors of 45365

Piaget Producers Award:
Karin Chien, producer of  The Exploding Girl and Santa Mesa