I tend to really get into these kind of movies. Sense & Sensibility, Gosford Park, Emma, etc., are all appealing in how they portray different cultures in history.

Atonement fits that bill slightly, but is a lot more modern in nature in that it’s set in 1935 and beyond during World War II. You have some great acting here by Knightley, and also James McAvoy, from the Last King of Scotland.

The movie can essentially be broken up into three parts, although the last one I wont give away. Suffice it to say, the first third of the movie is very good, but then it wanders and loses its way.

McAvoy plays Robbie Turner, a young man in love with Cicilia Tallis, becomes trapped in a lie by Cicila’s younger sister, Briony, who also has a crush of sorts on Robbie. She witnesses a passionate exchange between Robbie and Cicilia and loses her mind a little bit.

When a young girl on the Tallis estate is raped, Briony blames Robbie. Her imagination is vivid and her jealousy apparent, she makes a horrible decision which will haunt her the rest of her life.

With Robbie off to Jail, Cicila leaves home, never wanting to speak to her sister or family again. She becomes a nurse to help the wounded in the war, while Robbie ends up a soldier when given the choice between staying in prison or fighting.

This is where Atonement starts to wander a bit for me. The first third was a great story and pretty intense, with some surprising moments and amazing acting. But once the war hits and you see how Robbie and Cicilia reconnect, the film loses what it had going.

And I’m sort of shocked really, because the number of nominations and all the good press this film is getting promised a lot more.

One of the problems I saw was that this was a story about love and reconciliation, but we were given a lot of stuff about the war that I felt took away from the whole point. Yes, we know Briony’s lie caused Robbie massive pain at being in prison, but wouldn’t he have fought in the war anyways? He was a young man and to me, it seems likely he would have been drafted or signed up to help fight.

So showing his pain at being separated from Cicilia because of the war just didn’t hold a lot of water for me.

Now, I will give one scene a lot of props here. If you saw Children of Men, you’ll remember a long sequence in the film when they are trying to cross a town amidst fighting and explosions. It lasts almost 10 minutes, never breaks or switches cameras and is one long, continuous shot that takes you from a street filled with tanks and soldiers, into a house and up a few floors.

It was brilliant and one of the many things I loved about that film.

Atonement also has one of these remarkable continuous shots, this time a scene in which Robbie walks down a beach and up into a city where his countrymen are awaiting ships to take them home. It had to have lasted 8-10 minutes and it must have been painstaking to setup.

To me me this is the kind of movie that wins a lot of awards because people love artsy and beautifully shot films, regardless of whether or not they actually hold your interest or tell a wonderful story. Even my wife started yawning a bit during it, and she LOVES this stuff.

It’s the exact type of movie the Academy loves and it will likely win many awards and maybe an Oscar or two.

Once you get to the final “act” of the film, you may think back and wonder what actually happened to lead up to this and why did it take so long? What did I see in the middle of this film that really mattered?

The movie is really about Briony and her “atonement” of that horrible lie she told, but you get too much “other” stuff that gets in the way.

Beautifully shot, great acting, but just a slightly off for me. There were so many other movies in 2007 that brought emotion out of me, but this one felt flat.

AML Rating: B

I have my own opinions, yes, and therefore some people may agree with the winners below, but I certainly don’t. For example, Atonement wins Best Motion Picture out of all seven great films, and I know for sure that Michael Clayton was better. My review on Atonement will come out later today and it will just prove my point: Films like Atonement are what these snobby award people are after.

Then the category where Juno was sure to win, Sweeney Todd takes Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture. I understand some people really loved Johnny Depp and the singing and slashing, but man, Juno was just the best film of the year almost in ANY category and I can’t see how it lost to Sweeney.

I’m happy Tina Fey won for 30 Rock, but how does David Duchovney beat out Alex Baldwin, Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais? Ugh.

And I still don’t get how there is nothing here for Lost or Friday Night Lights. So sad.

Anyways, here is the list, for better or worse…you be the judge.

Best Motion Picture

Atonement
American Gangster
Eastern Promises
The Great Debaters
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Motion Picture (Musical Or Comedy)

Sweeney Todd
Across The Universe
Charlie Wilson’s War
Hairspray
Juno

Best Foreign-Language Film

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
The Kite Runner
Lust, Caution
Persepolis

Best Director

Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
Ridley Scott – American Gangster
Joe Wright – Atonement

Best Animated Feature Film

Ratatouille
Bee Movie
The Simpsons Movie

Best Actor (Drama)

Daniel Day Lewis – There Will Be Blood
George Clooney – Michael Clayton
James McAvoy – Atonement
Viggo Mortenson – Eastern Promises
Denzel Washington – American Gangster

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy)

Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl
Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson’s War
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Savages
John C. Reilly – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
John Travolta – Hairspray
Tom Wikinson – Michael Clayton

Best Actress (Drama)

Julie Christie – Away from Her
Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Jodie Foster – The Brave One
Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley – Atonement

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy)

Marion Cotillard – La vie en Rose
Amy Adams – Enchanted
Nikki Blonski – Hairspray
Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd
Ellen Page – Juno

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
Julia Roberts – Charlie Wilson’s War
Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Best Screenplay

Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
Diablo Cody – Juno
Christopher Hampton – Atonement
Ronald Harwood – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Aaron Sorkin – Charlie Wilson’s War

Best Original Score

Atonement
Into the Wild
Grace is Gone
Kite Runner
Eastern Promises

Best Original Song

“Guaranteedâ€? – Into the Wild
“Despididaâ€? – Love in the Time of Cholera
“Grace is Goneâ€? – Grace is Gone
“That’s How You Knowâ€? – Enchanted
“Walk Hardâ€? – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Drama TV Series

Mad Men
Big Love
Damages
Grey’s Anatomy
The Tudors

Best Musical or Comedy TV Series

Extras
30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
Pushing Daisies

Best Actor in Drama Series

Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors

Best Actress in Drama Series

Glenn Close, Damages
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Minnie Driver, The Riches
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Actor in Musical or Comedy TV Series

David Duchovny, Californication
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series

Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds