Thursday, February 28, 2013
Werewolf of London (1935)
Historically this is the first Hollywood werewolf film. It follows an English botanist who gets bit by a werewolf while looking for a rare flower in Tibet. It turns out the flower is the only way to thwart the werewolf curse and back in London, another wants this rare flower to keep himself from changing. A pretty interesting plot for a bland and dated film. Grade: B-
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Weeds (Season 4)
After leaving Agrestic , it would seem impossible for the writers to make Nancy Botwin's story interesting anymore. I mean, her entire pot growing empire has been swallowed up in flames. How wrong I was. This season jump starts a new story thread that's as funny and as wild as any season before. There's one thing about this excellent and surprising show, it never gets predictable. Grade: A
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Extract (2009)
Jason
Bateman is the perfect average joe for the comedy world. He’s got that
charming almost straight man aspect that just works. And Mike Judd uses
Bateman’s talents really well as the owner of an extract company who lusts after
a con-artist co-worker in GIRL when his marriage with GIRL goes cold in the
bedroom. Like Office Space, there are a lot of odd ball dolts and unexpected
turns that make this a decent one to watch on a Friday night. It’s never laugh
out loud good, but in some ways that doesn’t hurt this film. Grade: B+
Monday, February 25, 2013
Penny Serenade (1941)
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne star in this captivating and emotional film directed by George Stevens about a couple's love story from falling in love, their finical ups and downs, and the adoption of a child. There's a lot to love, from great character work and wonderful moments of comedy, but in the end it's an unsatisfying film. The ending felt forced and left me wondering if the writers ever understood their own film's theme. I can't say it's the kind of film to avoid, there are some
memorable scenes and you can see why it's regarded as a classic, I just wish it wasn't so manipulative. Grade: B-
Spoiler: The death of a child is a horrible event and I can appreciate Stevens desire to explore how such an tragedy can test a relationship but what upset me the most about this film is how the heroes only stay together when they realize they can get another kid. It cheapens the first child's existence and that's why in many ways I hated this film. It could have been way more inspiring, a film about love being able to withstand any hardship. Instead it was about two lovers that probably shouldn't be with one another.
memorable scenes and you can see why it's regarded as a classic, I just wish it wasn't so manipulative. Grade: B-
Spoiler: The death of a child is a horrible event and I can appreciate Stevens desire to explore how such an tragedy can test a relationship but what upset me the most about this film is how the heroes only stay together when they realize they can get another kid. It cheapens the first child's existence and that's why in many ways I hated this film. It could have been way more inspiring, a film about love being able to withstand any hardship. Instead it was about two lovers that probably shouldn't be with one another.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
20 Most Anticipated Films of 2013
Last year I picked 10 but I'm going to double it up. I'm too lazy to attempt to cut it down when all of these look promising. Let's hope they actually come out this year instead of make next year's list.
1. Star Trek In Darkness
1. Star Trek In Darkness
The first three on the list could all be number
one but I’m going to start off with the next Star Trek film because it’s J.J.
Abrams (the future director of Star Wars VII) and I really want to see the cast
from the first film return. If the preview I saw is any indicator this one is
going to be fun.
2. Man of Steel
Is this going to be the Superman film we deserved
to see instead of Bryan Singer’s horrible attempt or is Zack Snyder going to
slow-mo us into a stylized funk? I’m not sure but with Mr. Nolan involved and
with the positive buzz the previews are getting I’m super excited.
3. Iron Man 3
Marvel’s version of the Batman character has an
opportunity to really move into a new direction. I’m looking forward to see
what Shane Black will do and something tells me Tony Stark isn’t going to be the
same man after this adventure.
4. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Unlike the first of this new series, this one
isn’t going to start off slow. All the set up is done, now we have pure
adventure and a battle with a dragon. I can’t wait!
5. Gravity
Alfonso Carson has been working on this one for
awhile. In fact it was on last year's most anticipated list and yet I'm still excited. It could be a disaster but something tells me it’s going to be a big
Science Fiction film worth seeing.
6. Monster University
Pixar makes a sequel we actually want to see.
While maybe not as rich and dramatic as some of their other entries, this time
these genius animators are going to for the laugh. They’ve proven to be
excellent at creating quality comedies before and I highly doubt they’ll fail
this time around.
7. Elysium
District 9 was such a breath of fresh air.
Although it was overshadowed by another big science fiction that year, you know
the one with giant blue people, it still stands as one of the best science
fiction films made in the last ten years. Now Neil Bompkiskt returns with
another original script starting Matt Damon and I expect another quality film.
8. Her
Guy falls in love with his smartphone. This
might be like Simone (the Al Pacino film) but this one is directed and written
by Spike Jonze. I’m pretty much guaranteed to be in line for this one.
9. Pacific Rim
Guillamino Del Torro hasn’t made a film in some
time (thanks to MGM for delaying The Hobbit so he had to bail after spending so
much time in New Zealand) and now that he has I am ready for something fun and
spectactular. Plus this one has Giant Robots. You gotta love that.
10. Hunger Games
The Sequel to the Hunger Games starting new Oscar
winner Jennifer Lawrence should be pretty intense if it’s anything like Suzanne
Collins book. I wish Gary Ross were returning to direct and DIRECTOR isn’t one
of my favorites but I’ll give him a chance.
11. Ender’s Game
One of the greatest science fiction novels of all
time finally comes to the big screen. I’m a little nervous about this one only
because I love the book so much and it would be so easy for director Gavin Hood
to screw it up, at the same time it’s an engaging story with so much promise I
have to see it. I’ll be crossing my fingers.
12. Anchorman: The Legend Continues
Can the Will Ferrell and the News Team return and
pull off a comedy lightening strike or will this be a overwhelming attempt to
adlib us to death with one failed joke after another (like some of Director’s
other Ferrell collabations). I’m hoping for a laugh riot that lives up to the
first, something I’d want to buy on DVD.
13. Inside Llewyn Davis
Another one from last year's list. The Coen Brothers return with a music-themed film set
during the sixties and deals with Folk music. I love the writer/directors and
love Folk music. It’s either going to be great or good. I don’t see a bad
movie being made with this combination.
14. Before Midnight
I’m nervous about this one because I felt the
last one ended perfectly and I’m worried these three creative collaborators are
going to mess up what is a beautiful love story. At the same time I’m really
looking forward to see where these two characters are now and I’m going to have
to see it.
15. Much Ado About Nothing
Joss Wheadon’s school of actors come together to
make a Shakespeare movie because they have a passion to do it. That alone means
this is going to be special. It might be a private experiment amongst friends
but I’ll see it. I doubt it’ll be better than Kenneth Braughen’s version but
who says you can’t have two great film adaptions of the great Bard. It worked
for Hamlet.
16. Oblivion
As you can see by my list I’m nuts for science
fiction and this one looks good. I’m also a fan of Tom Cruise, even if he’s
just playing the same heroic version of himself. I doubt it will be amazing
but I think it’s going to be fun and that’s fine with me.
17. The Great Gatsby
I’m not really a fan of the book; it was forced
upon me in High School and it bored me to death. But with a visual stylist
like DIRECTOR and an impressive cast this one is a must-see. Doubt very much
it will be boring. It might be a tad bit melodramatic but I’ll go with it.
18. Captain Phillips
Tom Hanks and Greengrass make a film about
real-life modern pirates. It’s probably not going to be as emotionally
dramatic as United 93 but it will be as intense and grueling. Finally a movie
with Tom Hanks that doesn’t seem like an odd choice for the actor.
19. The World’s End
The trio who gave us Shawn of the Dead and Hot
Fuzz. Do I need to say anymore? I didn’t think so.
20. The Zero Theorem
I miss Terry
Gilliam and I want so bad for him to have a great hit that I’ll see this one no
matter what. How is it a director as visually brilliant and bold isn’t hired
more? Oh, I know, because he’s too bold and too amazingly different it’s
impossible to get him to conform to most producers imaginations. Can you
imagine if this guy was given free reins on a project like Pirates of the
Caribbean or a fairy tale film like Alice in Wonderland or Cinderella?
Saturday, February 23, 2013
2013 Oscar Predictions
The Oscars are here! Here are my
thoughts on all the nominations this year as well as my predictions for who
will leave with the golden statue in hand.
Tomorrow night I’ll post the results and my review of the ceremony,
hosted this year by Seth MacFarlane (yeah, the Family Guy guy . . . I’ll be
crossing my fingers.)
BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo
Beast of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Lining Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
9/9: Why 9? That’s my first thought when I look upon the nominees this year for Best Picture. I’m so annoyed that the Academy changed their number of nominees for this category from the traditional five. It used to be fun to predict who would get nominated but now I don’t even know what the total count will be. I wish the Academy would grow some balls and return to five nominee process because more is not better. As for the nine this year, I am pretty happy. I believe all of them are deserving of the award. The weakest of the nine would be Django Unchained followed by Les Miserable.
Who will win: Argo. It just has too much momentum; it’s winning everything right now. I liked the film very much but I don’t think it’s the best film of the year. I think there are four others on this list more deserving but I won’t be upset when it wins.
Who should win: Beasts of the Southern Wild. This is such a magical and poetic film, for me it’s a miracle of storytelling. It won’t win because it’s too different but I truly believe it will stand the test of time. A possible upset though that I’d love to see is Amour winning, which in many ways is equally as good as Beasts of the Southern Wild. It could happen.
BEST DIRECTOR
"Amour" Michael Haneke
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" Benh Zeitlin
"Life of Pi" Ang Lee
"Lincoln" Steven Spielberg
"Silver Linings Playbook" David O. Russell
5/5: Unfortunately everyone is making too big of a deal that Ben Affleck wasn’t nominated. Whoever wins will have to endure a cloud of doubt and that’s not fair because all of the nominees deserve the respect. I don’t have a problem that Affleck wasn’t nominated and in fact think Bigleow was more of a snub.
Who will win: Steven Spielberg. The Lincoln director is too popular not to win. The Academy will want to reward him for making his dream project a reality.
Who should win: Michael Haneke. I had a hard time picking between Mr. Haneke and Mr. Lee. Lee created a visual stunning film based on a book that many thought was un-filmable. It’s a stunning accomplishment of cinema and he should be rewarded for it. The problem is Haneke’s film, while not as technically challenging, is incredible. Sometimes it’s more difficult to produce something small and subtle than something huge and loud.
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln"
Hugh Jackman in "Les Misérables"
Joaquin Phoenix in "The Master"
Denzel Washington in "Flight"
4/5: I haven’t seen The Master yet so I can only focus on the others. Yet it doesn’t really matter because everyone knows who will win. Did anyone get snubbed this year? Maybe John Hawkes for The Sessions but I don’t know who you’d knock off to get him nominated.
Who will and should win: Daniel Day-Lewis. The man became Lincoln. He has it in the bag. The only performance that’s in the same league is Hugh Jackman’s. But it’s no contest.
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Naomi Watts in "The Impossible"
4/5: I haven’t seen Naomi Watts in The Impossible yet but I found all the other performances worthy. There are those who felt Miss Wallis was too young to be nominated but I disagree. You can’t deny her performance is one of the best of the year; she was electric. The only potential snub that I can think of is Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone. Yet I haven’t seen it so I can only speculate.
Who will and should win: Jennifer Lawrence. Emmanuelle Riva could win too and if Jennifer doesn’t Emmanuelle should. I decided the Academy would choose to reward the performance based on the creation of a character over the mimicking of an ailment. Both are brilliant but Miss Lawrence has the edge.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin in "Argo"
Robert De Niro in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "The Master"
Tommy Lee Jones in "Lincoln"
Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained
4/5: This is the first category where I think someone was overlooked. Samuel L. Jackson was razor-sharp good in Django Unchained. I’d take out Alan Arkin off this list. He’s becoming the most overrated nominee of late; he is basically playing the same character over and over again.
Who will and should win: Christoph Waltz. I’m not a hundred percent on this one. Philip Seymour Hoffman could win too but I haven’t seen The Master so I’m not sure. Tommy Lee Jones was also excellent but I don’t see him winning.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams in "The Master"
Sally Field in "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway in "Les Misérables"
Helen Hunt in "The Sessions"
Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook"
3/5: There weren’t that many great supporting performances this year for women. Sally Field worked her ass off playing Mrs. Lincoln to get her nomination having been absent from the Oscar stage since the ‘80s while Jacki Weaver gets nominated a second time a year later.
Who will and should win: Anne Hathaway. Not only did she play Catwoman this year but she sang her heart out in the most memorable scene of a movie musical ever. She’s the clear favorite and only Mrs. Field could steal the Oscar from her.
"Amour" Written by Michael Haneke
"Django Unchained" Written by Quentin Tarantino
"Flight" Written by John Gatins
"Moonrise Kingdom" Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
"Zero Dark Thirty" Written by Mark Boal
5/5: I’m so glad Moonrise Kingdom made the cut. This is a good collection of creative work. The weakest of the group would be Flight.
Who will win: Mark Boal will win for Zero Dark Thirty. The man tackled a controversial topic and showed the complexities of CIA research without being boring.
Who should win: the guys of Moonrise Kingdom. I just loved that quirky film and would love to see it win.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"Argo" Screenplay by Chris Terrio
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
"Life of Pi" Screenplay by David Magee
"Lincoln" Screenplay by Tony Kushner
"Silver Linings Playbook" Screenplay by David O. Russell
5/5: Another collection of great nominees where I don’t think anyone was snubbed.
Who will and should win: Tony Kushner for Lincoln. The screenplay is flawless. Argo could upset but I don’t think so, Mr. Kushner is too important of a writer to be bypassed.
BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Brave" Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
"Frankenweenie" Tim Burton
"ParaNorman" Sam Fell and Chris Butler
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits" Peter Lord
"Wreck-It Ralph" Rich Moore
3/5: Can Pixar win again? Was Dreamworks snubbed? Will Tim Burton win his first Oscar? The only snub I can think of was Hotel Transylvania from Sony.
Who will and should win: Brave. The only one that can knock Pixar’s visually superior fantasy off the stage is Wreck-It Ralph. I didn’t see it but I know it’s won a few awards recently. It will be a close one.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Anna Karenina" Dario Marianelli
“Argo" Alexandre Desplat
“Life of Pi" Mychael Danna
"Lincoln" John Williams
"Skyfall" Thomas Newman
4/5: The music for Beast of the Southern Wild was more deserving than Skyfall but I guess the Bond Franchise needed it more. I do like all the new names though.
Who will win: John Williams for Lincoln. It’s been a long time since John Williams won one of these (I think it was Schindler’s List) and I think he’ll take it this year.
Who should win: Mychael Danna for Life of Pi. It’s a great score and the one I remember the most.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
"Life of Pi" Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
"Marvel's The Avengers" Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
"Prometheus" Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
"Snow White and the Huntsman" Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson
5/5: Superheros, Hobbits, a Tiger, an Evil Queen and Aliens: with five nominations it seems every kind of special effect is represented. I’m glad there were five nominees for this catergory this year, instead of three. I can’t think of a snub.
Who will win: The Avengers. I’m guessing the popular Superhero film showing the destruction of New York will win out. But I wouldn’t be shocked to see Prometheus win either.
Who should win: Life of Pi. I hope this one wins; it was visually amazing. They created a real looking Tiger for Christ sakes.
BEST ART DIRECTION
"Anna Karenina" Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
"Les Misérables" Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
"Life of Pi" Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
"Lincoln" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
4/5: I don’t know what to say about this one. All of them are classic examples of fine art direction. I haven’t seen Anna Karenina but I’m certain it deserves the nomination. Of all the films I’ve seen this year there aren’t any that stick out as being snub except maybe The Dark Knight Rises.
Who will and should win: Lincoln. It was pretty obvious that Spielberg found the best.
BEST COSTUMES
"Anna Karenina" Jacqueline Durran
"Les Misérables" Paco Delgado
"Lincoln" Joanna Johnston
"Mirror Mirror" Eiko Ishioka
"Snow White and the Huntsman" Colleen Atwood 2/5: Not bad at all. I’m happy with this one.
3/5: I haven’t seen Anna Karenina yet but from the pictures it looks amazing. Mirror Mirror, which I also haven’t seen, seems to have been nominated for being playful.
Who will win: Lincoln. I’m guessing Lincoln is going to sweep these kind of awards. It was visually impressive and seemed accurate.
BEST EDITING
"Argo" William Goldenberg
"Life of Pi" Tim Squyres
"Lincoln" Michael Kahn
"Silver Linings Playbook" Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
"Zero Dark Thirty" Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
5/5: A good list of nominees. No snubs that I can think of.
Who will win: Argo. Since it will win Best Picture I’m pretty certain it will take home this one too.
Who should win: Zero Dark Thirty. It’s a complicated film that never lets off the gas, increasing emotional intensity throughout. I’d pick this one if I were voting.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Anna Karenina" Seamus McGarvey
"Django Unchained" Robert Richardson
"Life of Pi" Claudio Miranda
"Lincoln" Janusz Kaminski
"Skyfall" Roger Deakins
4/5: Nothing much to say, I even think Skyfall deserves a spot.
Who will win: Lincoln.
Who should win: Life of Pi
BEST DOCUMENTARY
"5 Broken Cameras" Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
"The Gatekeepers" Nominees to be determined
"How to Survive a Plague" Nominees to be determined
"The Invisible War" Nominees to be determined
"Searching for Sugar Man" Nominees to be determined
3/5: I tried to watch at least 4 of these but Searching for Sugar Man was a long wait on Netflix. The Gatekeepers is out in theaters but I wasn’t able to check it out. So I’m left with three others.
"Kon-Tiki" Norway
"No" Chile
"A Royal Affair" Denmark
"War Witch" Canada
1/5: I’ll have to watch these throughout the year because most of them haven’t been released yet. This is another pet peeve I have: if a foreign film is nominated for an Oscar, whoever has the International distribution rights needs to get it into U.S. theaters as soon as possible so we can see them. It seems like a smart business decision too. Get it into the theater while everyone is talking about it.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
"Hitchcock" Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
"Les Misérables" Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell
2/3: I haven’t seen Hitchcock but I’m not impressed by the poster so I don’t know if I like it was nominated. So it’s between a fantasy or a musical.
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted" Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi" Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
"Skyfall" from "Skyfall" Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables" Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
3/5: Ted arrived from Netflix this afternoon but I’m sure I won’t be able to watch it before the Oscars. It seems like a good list of candidates and I can’t think of any songs snubbed.
"Django Unchained" Wylie Stateman
"Life of Pi" Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
"Skyfall" Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
"Zero Dark Thirty" Paul N.J. Ottosson
5/5: The usual suspects for Sound except for Batman being snubbed, those bastards. I guess Django Unchained was nominated because of the soundtrack. Oh well.
Who will and should win: Zero Dark Thirty. I could see Skyfall winning this too but I’m going for the more respected “controversial” film.
"Les Misérables" Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
"Life of Pi" Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
"Lincoln" Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
"Skyfall" Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson
5/5: All deserving but I think The Dark Knight Rises was snubbed.
"Kings Point" Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
"Mondays at Racine" Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
"Open Heart" Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
"Redemption" Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
My guess: Mondays at Racine. I’ve actually heard about Redemption but this one is about cancer so it’s going to win.
"Fresh Guacamole" PES
"Head over Heels" Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
"Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"" David Silverman
"Paperman" John Kahrs
My guess: Paperman. From images on line it looks great and fun.
"Buzkashi Boys" Sam French and Ariel Nasr
"Curfew" Shawn Christensen
"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)" Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
"Henry" Yan England
My guess: Curfew. No reason, it’s just a guess.
BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo
Beast of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Lining Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
9/9: Why 9? That’s my first thought when I look upon the nominees this year for Best Picture. I’m so annoyed that the Academy changed their number of nominees for this category from the traditional five. It used to be fun to predict who would get nominated but now I don’t even know what the total count will be. I wish the Academy would grow some balls and return to five nominee process because more is not better. As for the nine this year, I am pretty happy. I believe all of them are deserving of the award. The weakest of the nine would be Django Unchained followed by Les Miserable.
Who will win: Argo. It just has too much momentum; it’s winning everything right now. I liked the film very much but I don’t think it’s the best film of the year. I think there are four others on this list more deserving but I won’t be upset when it wins.
Who should win: Beasts of the Southern Wild. This is such a magical and poetic film, for me it’s a miracle of storytelling. It won’t win because it’s too different but I truly believe it will stand the test of time. A possible upset though that I’d love to see is Amour winning, which in many ways is equally as good as Beasts of the Southern Wild. It could happen.
BEST DIRECTOR
"Amour" Michael Haneke
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" Benh Zeitlin
"Life of Pi" Ang Lee
"Lincoln" Steven Spielberg
"Silver Linings Playbook" David O. Russell
5/5: Unfortunately everyone is making too big of a deal that Ben Affleck wasn’t nominated. Whoever wins will have to endure a cloud of doubt and that’s not fair because all of the nominees deserve the respect. I don’t have a problem that Affleck wasn’t nominated and in fact think Bigleow was more of a snub.
Who will win: Steven Spielberg. The Lincoln director is too popular not to win. The Academy will want to reward him for making his dream project a reality.
Who should win: Michael Haneke. I had a hard time picking between Mr. Haneke and Mr. Lee. Lee created a visual stunning film based on a book that many thought was un-filmable. It’s a stunning accomplishment of cinema and he should be rewarded for it. The problem is Haneke’s film, while not as technically challenging, is incredible. Sometimes it’s more difficult to produce something small and subtle than something huge and loud.
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln"
Hugh Jackman in "Les Misérables"
Joaquin Phoenix in "The Master"
Denzel Washington in "Flight"
4/5: I haven’t seen The Master yet so I can only focus on the others. Yet it doesn’t really matter because everyone knows who will win. Did anyone get snubbed this year? Maybe John Hawkes for The Sessions but I don’t know who you’d knock off to get him nominated.
Who will and should win: Daniel Day-Lewis. The man became Lincoln. He has it in the bag. The only performance that’s in the same league is Hugh Jackman’s. But it’s no contest.
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Naomi Watts in "The Impossible"
4/5: I haven’t seen Naomi Watts in The Impossible yet but I found all the other performances worthy. There are those who felt Miss Wallis was too young to be nominated but I disagree. You can’t deny her performance is one of the best of the year; she was electric. The only potential snub that I can think of is Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone. Yet I haven’t seen it so I can only speculate.
Who will and should win: Jennifer Lawrence. Emmanuelle Riva could win too and if Jennifer doesn’t Emmanuelle should. I decided the Academy would choose to reward the performance based on the creation of a character over the mimicking of an ailment. Both are brilliant but Miss Lawrence has the edge.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin in "Argo"
Robert De Niro in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "The Master"
Tommy Lee Jones in "Lincoln"
Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained
4/5: This is the first category where I think someone was overlooked. Samuel L. Jackson was razor-sharp good in Django Unchained. I’d take out Alan Arkin off this list. He’s becoming the most overrated nominee of late; he is basically playing the same character over and over again.
Who will and should win: Christoph Waltz. I’m not a hundred percent on this one. Philip Seymour Hoffman could win too but I haven’t seen The Master so I’m not sure. Tommy Lee Jones was also excellent but I don’t see him winning.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams in "The Master"
Sally Field in "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway in "Les Misérables"
Helen Hunt in "The Sessions"
Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook"
3/5: There weren’t that many great supporting performances this year for women. Sally Field worked her ass off playing Mrs. Lincoln to get her nomination having been absent from the Oscar stage since the ‘80s while Jacki Weaver gets nominated a second time a year later.
Who will and should win: Anne Hathaway. Not only did she play Catwoman this year but she sang her heart out in the most memorable scene of a movie musical ever. She’s the clear favorite and only Mrs. Field could steal the Oscar from her.
"Amour" Written by Michael Haneke
"Django Unchained" Written by Quentin Tarantino
"Flight" Written by John Gatins
"Moonrise Kingdom" Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
"Zero Dark Thirty" Written by Mark Boal
5/5: I’m so glad Moonrise Kingdom made the cut. This is a good collection of creative work. The weakest of the group would be Flight.
Who will win: Mark Boal will win for Zero Dark Thirty. The man tackled a controversial topic and showed the complexities of CIA research without being boring.
Who should win: the guys of Moonrise Kingdom. I just loved that quirky film and would love to see it win.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"Argo" Screenplay by Chris Terrio
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
"Life of Pi" Screenplay by David Magee
"Lincoln" Screenplay by Tony Kushner
"Silver Linings Playbook" Screenplay by David O. Russell
5/5: Another collection of great nominees where I don’t think anyone was snubbed.
Who will and should win: Tony Kushner for Lincoln. The screenplay is flawless. Argo could upset but I don’t think so, Mr. Kushner is too important of a writer to be bypassed.
BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Brave" Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
"Frankenweenie" Tim Burton
"ParaNorman" Sam Fell and Chris Butler
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits" Peter Lord
"Wreck-It Ralph" Rich Moore
3/5: Can Pixar win again? Was Dreamworks snubbed? Will Tim Burton win his first Oscar? The only snub I can think of was Hotel Transylvania from Sony.
Who will and should win: Brave. The only one that can knock Pixar’s visually superior fantasy off the stage is Wreck-It Ralph. I didn’t see it but I know it’s won a few awards recently. It will be a close one.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Anna Karenina" Dario Marianelli
“Argo" Alexandre Desplat
“Life of Pi" Mychael Danna
"Lincoln" John Williams
"Skyfall" Thomas Newman
4/5: The music for Beast of the Southern Wild was more deserving than Skyfall but I guess the Bond Franchise needed it more. I do like all the new names though.
Who will win: John Williams for Lincoln. It’s been a long time since John Williams won one of these (I think it was Schindler’s List) and I think he’ll take it this year.
Who should win: Mychael Danna for Life of Pi. It’s a great score and the one I remember the most.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
"Life of Pi" Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
"Marvel's The Avengers" Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
"Prometheus" Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
"Snow White and the Huntsman" Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson
5/5: Superheros, Hobbits, a Tiger, an Evil Queen and Aliens: with five nominations it seems every kind of special effect is represented. I’m glad there were five nominees for this catergory this year, instead of three. I can’t think of a snub.
Who will win: The Avengers. I’m guessing the popular Superhero film showing the destruction of New York will win out. But I wouldn’t be shocked to see Prometheus win either.
Who should win: Life of Pi. I hope this one wins; it was visually amazing. They created a real looking Tiger for Christ sakes.
BEST ART DIRECTION
"Anna Karenina" Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
"Les Misérables" Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
"Life of Pi" Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
"Lincoln" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
4/5: I don’t know what to say about this one. All of them are classic examples of fine art direction. I haven’t seen Anna Karenina but I’m certain it deserves the nomination. Of all the films I’ve seen this year there aren’t any that stick out as being snub except maybe The Dark Knight Rises.
Who will and should win: Lincoln. It was pretty obvious that Spielberg found the best.
BEST COSTUMES
"Anna Karenina" Jacqueline Durran
"Les Misérables" Paco Delgado
"Lincoln" Joanna Johnston
"Mirror Mirror" Eiko Ishioka
"Snow White and the Huntsman" Colleen Atwood 2/5: Not bad at all. I’m happy with this one.
3/5: I haven’t seen Anna Karenina yet but from the pictures it looks amazing. Mirror Mirror, which I also haven’t seen, seems to have been nominated for being playful.
Who will win: Lincoln. I’m guessing Lincoln is going to sweep these kind of awards. It was visually impressive and seemed accurate.
BEST EDITING
"Argo" William Goldenberg
"Life of Pi" Tim Squyres
"Lincoln" Michael Kahn
"Silver Linings Playbook" Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
"Zero Dark Thirty" Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg
5/5: A good list of nominees. No snubs that I can think of.
Who will win: Argo. Since it will win Best Picture I’m pretty certain it will take home this one too.
Who should win: Zero Dark Thirty. It’s a complicated film that never lets off the gas, increasing emotional intensity throughout. I’d pick this one if I were voting.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Anna Karenina" Seamus McGarvey
"Django Unchained" Robert Richardson
"Life of Pi" Claudio Miranda
"Lincoln" Janusz Kaminski
"Skyfall" Roger Deakins
4/5: Nothing much to say, I even think Skyfall deserves a spot.
Who will win: Lincoln.
Who should win: Life of Pi
BEST DOCUMENTARY
"5 Broken Cameras" Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
"The Gatekeepers" Nominees to be determined
"How to Survive a Plague" Nominees to be determined
"The Invisible War" Nominees to be determined
"Searching for Sugar Man" Nominees to be determined
3/5: I tried to watch at least 4 of these but Searching for Sugar Man was a long wait on Netflix. The Gatekeepers is out in theaters but I wasn’t able to check it out. So I’m left with three others.
Who
will and should win: How to Survive a Plague.
While The Invisible War addresses an issue that’s more important it’s this
one about the fight for AIDS that seems better made.
BEST
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Amour" Austria"Kon-Tiki" Norway
"No" Chile
"A Royal Affair" Denmark
"War Witch" Canada
1/5: I’ll have to watch these throughout the year because most of them haven’t been released yet. This is another pet peeve I have: if a foreign film is nominated for an Oscar, whoever has the International distribution rights needs to get it into U.S. theaters as soon as possible so we can see them. It seems like a smart business decision too. Get it into the theater while everyone is talking about it.
Who
will win: Amour. It’s nominated for
Best Picture so it seems pretty straight forward.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
"Hitchcock" Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
"Les Misérables" Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell
2/3: I haven’t seen Hitchcock but I’m not impressed by the poster so I don’t know if I like it was nominated. So it’s between a fantasy or a musical.
Who
will and should win: The Hobbit. A year that a Tolkien film doesn’t get at
least one Oscar would be strange.
BEST
ORIGINAL SONG
"Before My Time" from "Chasing
Ice" Music and Lyric by J. Ralph"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted" Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi" Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
"Skyfall" from "Skyfall" Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables" Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
3/5: Ted arrived from Netflix this afternoon but I’m sure I won’t be able to watch it before the Oscars. It seems like a good list of candidates and I can’t think of any songs snubbed.
Who
will and should win: Skyfall. Everyone loves Adele and it is the best Bond
song in a long time.
BEST
SOUND EDITING
"Argo" Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der
Ryn"Django Unchained" Wylie Stateman
"Life of Pi" Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
"Skyfall" Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
"Zero Dark Thirty" Paul N.J. Ottosson
5/5: The usual suspects for Sound except for Batman being snubbed, those bastards. I guess Django Unchained was nominated because of the soundtrack. Oh well.
Who will and should win: Zero Dark Thirty. I could see Skyfall winning this too but I’m going for the more respected “controversial” film.
BEST
SOUND MIXING
"Argo" John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and
Jose Antonio Garcia"Les Misérables" Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
"Life of Pi" Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
"Lincoln" Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
"Skyfall" Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson
5/5: All deserving but I think The Dark Knight Rises was snubbed.
Who
will win: Les Miserables. I’m picking this one because it has singing
in it and mixing that with the music would be a challenge.
For
all the shorts, I haven’t seen any so I’m only going to guess. And I don’t have much time to do the kind of
research I’ve done in the past so I wouldn’t use my picks for any office
pools. I am excited to see though that
some theaters in the area are showing the nominated shorts. I’m going to have to check them out next
year.
BEST
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
"Inocente" Sean Fine and Andrea Nix
Fine"Kings Point" Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
"Mondays at Racine" Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
"Open Heart" Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
"Redemption" Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
My guess: Mondays at Racine. I’ve actually heard about Redemption but this one is about cancer so it’s going to win.
BEST
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"Adam and Dog" Minkyu Lee"Fresh Guacamole" PES
"Head over Heels" Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
"Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"" David Silverman
"Paperman" John Kahrs
My guess: Paperman. From images on line it looks great and fun.
BEST
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"Asad" Bryan Buckley and Mino
Jarjoura"Buzkashi Boys" Sam French and Ariel Nasr
"Curfew" Shawn Christensen
"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)" Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
"Henry" Yan England
My guess: Curfew. No reason, it’s just a guess.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Amour (2012)
The last of the Best Picture Nominees that I needed to see this year is this beautiful story of a husband taking care of his ailing wife. Writer and director Michael Haneke seems to capture a holy truth about love and life that most film makers lack the courage to follow. Not so much a love story as a tender presentation on the importance of loving someone no matter the pain or loneliness such love might bring. Actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are sensational, both giving performances that will stand for all time. As I left the theater I had this surge of emotion that I first misinterpreted as sadness, but this is not a sad movie and the longer I pondered this simple yet brilliantly constructed tale I realized I was joyful and appreciative to be able to give the gift of love to those special few in my life. Grade: A.
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