26th Feb2016

Academy Award Predictions (Film)

by timbaros

OscarThere’s been the BAFTA’s, The Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, The Evening Standard British Film Awards, the London Film Critics Circle Awards AND the National Society of Film Critics (plus more!). But this Sunday is the granddaddy of them all – the Oscars. The nominations were more of a surprise this year because of the lack of nominations for minorities in the top categories. It’s an issue the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences must address, not just in the nominations process but in it’s membership as well.

There shouldn’t be too many surprises on Sunday night. Of the top six categories, there is one category that might be up for grabs – Best Supporting Actor. But the other five categories are predictable. So herewith are my predictions:

Best Picture:
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Will Win: The Revenant. It won the BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture and has the most momentum going of any of the nominated films, and it’s a box office and critical hit. Spotlight is a distant second but it’s doubtful that the Academy will award Best Picture to a film about a scandal when they’re going through their own scandal. Should win: The Revenant. It’s a monumental film and a great achievement in filmmaking.

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Will Win: Leonardo DiCaprio. He was excellent in The Revenant as the fur trapper who seeks revenge for the murder of his son. DiCaprio has been nominated four previous times, he’s due.
Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio. Expect him to give the best speech of the night.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Last October Blanchett looked like a lock for her portrayal of a wealthy woman who woos a younger woman in Carol. Then Larson’s Room was released – it’s story of a mother held hostage and locked in a room with her young son. And Larson did give the best performance by any actress last year. What’s Lawrence doing here? Her Joy character (and acting) were over the top and not believable. Other actresses more deserving of the nomination include Carey Mulligan in Suffragette, Marion Cotillard in Macbeth and Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl (where she received a questionable Best Supporting Actress nomination). Lawrence seems to be the darling of the Academy and is always nominated (perhaps she titillates the mostly older white men who make up most of the Academy members).
Will win: Brie Larson. She’s deservedly won the BAFTA and the Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress.
Should win: Brie Larson. Hands down.

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

This category is up for grabs. While Stallone looks like a lock for his portrayal of an older and more wise Rocky Balboa in Creed, Rylance has just won the BAFTA for portraying a Russian spy in Bridge of Spies.
Will win: Sylvester Stallone. His win will not only be for his performance but also for his successful Hollywood career and for continuing the Rocky character. Expect him to give a very sentimental speech.
Should win: Jacob Tremblay in Room. Tremblay was absolutely superb as Larson’s son in Room – It was an amazing and extraordinary performance for a five year-old who happens to be in every scene of the movie. What’s even more shocking is that he was not even nominated. Add ‘not nominating little children for excellent performances’ to the Academy’s controversies list.

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McADams, Spotlight

Alician Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Winslet was one of the best things in a film that was one of 2015’s biggest disappointments – critically and financially. Winslet plays the long suffering assistant to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and for this role she’s already won the Golden Globe and BAFTA. Vikander was great in Ex-Machina for which she should be nominated here. But she’s been relegated to Supporting Actress and the film isn’t even that great so she won’t win here. It would be nice to see Jennifer Jason Leigh win get it but The Hateful Eight was not a very loved film.
Will Win: Kate Winslet. This is her 7th nomination (having won Best Actress for The Reader in 2009), so what the heck, give her another one.
Should Win: Rooney Mara. Mara plays Blanchett’s younger love interest in a beautiful and graceful performance. However, Mara is in more scenes in Carol than Blanchette, so she really deserves to be in the Best Actress category, not this category.

Best Director

Adam McKay – The Big Short

George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

Alejandro González Iñárritu – The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson – Room

Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
Oscar night will belong to The Revenant. None of the other directors stand a chance in this category. When Iñárritu wins on Sunday night, he will be the first director to win two years in a row (he won last year for Birdman).
Will win: Iñárritu. He’s just won the Director’s Guild Awards which is a strong indicator that he will win this category. He’s also won the BAFTA and Golden Globe.
Should win: Iñárritu. The Revenant is filmmaking at it’s finest.

Best Foreign Language Film

Embrace of the Serpent

Mustang

Son of Saul

Theeb

A War

Hungarian drama film Son of Saul, directed by László Nemes, is a powerful film that follows a day-and-a-half in the life of a man in an Auschwitz concentration camp, and it will win. It’s a brutal, amazing and extremely unforgettable film experience. Son of Saul deserves to be in the Best Picture category – it packs more of a emotional punch and the will to live more than The Revenant.

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

It’s got to be Spotlight for this one. Tom McCarthy has won both the BAFTA and Writers Guild Award (shared with Josh Singer) for a script that’s quick, tense, important, and real

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol

The Martian

Room

This category is a hard one to call. The Big Short, Brooklyn, The Martian and Room are all up for Best Picture, so this leaves Carol out of the running. I would give it to The Big Short because of it’s unique telling of the 2008 financial collapse, and like Spotlight, it’s won the BAFTA and the Writers Guild Awards.

Films that were entirely shut out but deserved at least one nomination, in my opinion, include: Suffragette, Macbeth, In the Heart of the Sea, Tangerine and Sherpa.

The 88th Annual Academy Awards will be shown live on television here in the UK on Sunday night/Monday morning on Sky Movies at 1:30 a.m. For those of you who are unable to stay up all night to watch the show, an Oscar highlights show will air on Monday night at 10:00 p.m. on Sky Living.

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26th Feb2016

Triple 9 (Film)

by timbaros

triple9_1200x513Triple 9 is the police officer code for the death of a policeman. It’s also the name of a new film about corruption in the police department.

Taking place in Atlanta, and with an all-star cast, ‘Triple 9’ focuses on several characters, but it’s Chris Allen’s (Casey Affleck) story. He’s been moved from a zone 2 position (crossing guard) to that of a police detective, serving under his uncle Sergeant Detective Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson). But amongst the rest of Allen’s squad are police officers who don’t exactly follow the rules, some of them in fact break them. And the ones that break them are being blackmailed by the Russian Mafia, led by Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet looking extremely unrecognizable). Vlaslov has several of the police officers in the palm of her hand and in her pocket, including Michael Belmont (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Marcus Atwood (Anthony Mackie). She’s also kidnapped Atwood’s young son born to him by his Russian ex-wife to prove to him that he better finish one last job for her. In an explosive start to the film, Belmont, along with Atwood and Gabe Welch (Aaron Paul) and others pull off a daring heist in an Atlanta downtown bank. It’s a heist that goes smoothly until one of the bags full of money explodes with colored powder, exposing the men on a highway where they have to hijack another car to get away. Meanwhile, local Mexican gangs aren’t too pleased to see the police in their neighborhoods, and the gangs will do whatever it takes to get the cops off their streets. Led by Pinto (Luis Da Silva), his gang deals drugs and kills cops full time. But Detective Allen, who has a wife and young baby at home, doesn’t know that he’s being set up in order for the corrupt cops to pull off the final heist in the Department of Homeland Security’s vault under Vlaslov’s orders. It’s a heist where Allen realizes police corruption is too close to home.

Tripple 9 is not for the faint at heart. It’s full of severed heads, shootouts, brutal arrests and lots and lots of violence. We see the story through Aflleck’s eyes – a young naive cop caught up in a world he knows nothing about. The star-studded cast all work hard to make Matt Cook’s script as real as possible. Most memorable is Winslet who plays the Russian boss – very cold and calculating who won’t even think twice about killing one of her own. Her Russian accent is very good but starts lilting into English near the end of the film. Director John Hillcoat (who gave us the masterpiece ’The Road) keeps the action coming at us right and left throughout the film, but it’s the predictable ending that doesn’t quite make this film as good as it should’ve been.

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21st Feb2016

Freeheld (Film)

by timbaros
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A dying female police officer struggles to get her benefits passed on to her female domestic partner in the new film ‘Freeheld.’

Starring Oscar Winner Julianne Moore (last year’s ‘Still Alice’), Moore plays the real-life Laurel Hester, an Ocean County New Jersey police detective who is diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 48. But before she was diagnosed with cancer, she meets Stacie Leigh Andree (Ellen Page – ‘Juno’ and ‘Inception’), on a Lesbian volleyball team. Andree is 19 years younger than Hester, but they’re both smitten with each other, enough so that they decide to move in together, in a house that’s purchased by Hester.

But Hester is not out at work, and she continues to tell her police partner Dane Wells (Michael Shannon) that Andree is her roommate. It takes a bit of time, and courage, for Hester to confirm to Wells what he’s always suspected – that Hester is a Lesbian. It’s not long after that when Hester is diagnosed with rapidly spreading lung cancer. Hester is given a bad prognosis, especially after the cancer spreads to her brain, so she knows that she’s going to die. Her wish is to leave her benefits to Andree, but she’s told that this is not allowed for same-sex domestic partners. She appeals to the county legislators (a/k/a freeholders) for them to allow her pension to be passed to Andree, but the all-male panel of five refuse to do so. Although New Jersey counties have the option to extend pension benefits to domestic partners, the Ocean County Freeholders do not do this for her. Enter gay lawyer and activist Steven Goldstein (Steve Carell – trying to ante up an Oscar nomination in a very campy role), the chair of Garden State Equality – a powerful gay activist lobbying group – who, along with many other activists, protests to the freeholders to allow Hester’s benefits to pass to Andree. It’s a fight that they’re not going to give up, but Hester’s clock is running out.

‘Freeheld,’ named as such because of the freeholders, is based on the 2007 documentary of the same name. It’s a documentary that told the same story as the current movie, but features Andree and the rest of the people that knew and worked with Hester, and includes the local media discussing the case. Why make a movie of an excellent documentary that already exists? The documentary was made by Cynthia Wade, who is listed as a producer on this film – and directed by relatively unknown Peter Sollett and written by Ron Nyswaner. Why put such an important movie into these two film novices hands? ‘Freeheld’ doesn’t quite work as a movie. While the acting by the female leads and Shannon are very good, it’s Carrell who’s way over the top as the activist gay lawyer. He’s a gay cartoon character come to life! Also, we’ve already recently seen Moore dying in her last film – ‘Still Alice’ – so it’s puzzling why she would follow up that with this movie where she’s dying again. It appears that the filmmakers were gunning for Oscar nominations by making this film with it’s timely subject matter, but at best it’s a mediocre film that’s marred down by a poor cookie cutter script and direction that’s not very realistic with scenes that appear to be staged. It’s an important story to tell but best to rent the 2007 documentary instead.

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21st Feb2016

How to be Single (Film)

by timbaros

13168H2BS.DNGCapitalizing on Valentines weekend, ‘How to be Single’ is out for those who are single, and not so single.

‘How to be Single’ is basically a ‘Sex and the City (SITC)’ ripoff. We have four women navigate the trials and tribulations of being single in Manhattan, and their encounters with various men. FIrst off there’s girl next door Alice (Dakota Johnson – Fifty Shades of Grey – playing the Charlotte character from SITC – very pretty and very nice). She decides to take a break from longtime boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) and head to New York City where her big sister Meg (Leslie Mann) lives. Alice arrives in the big apple newly unattached. She also starts a new job as a paralegal in a downtown law firm where free-spirited wild and crazy Robin (Rebel Wilson) works. Robin shows Alice around the office, including the rooms where not to have sex with co-workers. Robin (the Samantha from SITC) is an expert at being single, and she wants to share her single life, and New York City’s singles party culture, with Alice. Robin is a party hard, one-night stand kind of gal and she literally teaches Alice how to be single. The aforementioned Meg (a dead ringer for Miranda from SITC) is a successful career woman who has it all but neglects to have a personal life. Even though she’s an obstetrician, she’s very uncomfortable being around children. Then finally there’s Lucy (Alison Brie), whose determined to find the perfect man. Sociable and pretty Lucy (Carrie from SITC) has created an algorithm to find a man online in the most efficient and practical manner. She’s always on her computer not realizing that the perfect man could be right behind her. So we’ve got four women navigating Manhattan’s singles scene – just as in ‘Sex in the City.’

Alice dates a series of men, including single dad David (Damon Wayan’s Jr.), though he’s not quite open with her about his past as he should be. Lucy doesn’t realize that the perfect man for her is Tom (Anders Holm), who owns the downstairs bar in her apartment building where she uses the wifi because she can’t get a signal in her apartment. And then Meg accidentally meets receptionist Ken (Jake Lacy) after she has decided to have a baby and attempts to hide her pregnancy from him (If you remember in SITC, high-flying lawyer Miranda falls in love with a bartender). But there’s nothing really laugh out loud funny at any of these women’s relationships, they’re actually quite tame, and normal. And it’s supposed to be party girl Robin to provide the laughs but there aren’t that many. For Robin it’s all about bars and parties where the boys buy the drinks. And in a cringe-worthy moment she shares a sauna with Alice where we find out what her drink number is (the number of drinks you have with a man that means you’re definitely going to have sex with him) – 27; 24 if she’s by herself. And in the sauna Robin comments on Alice’s private parts – telling her “is that Tom Hanks from Castaway?.” Robin says that the thing about being single is that you should cherish it. ‘How to be Single’ doesn’t really show us that there’s much to cherish being single, as three of the four women are constantly on the lookout for a other half. And what’s the point of going to see a movie that should be celebrating being single but instead is lamenting being single. Best to watch an old ’Sex in the City’ rerun or one the two films – there’s more laughs in those than in this movie.

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17th Feb2016

Deadpool (Film)

by timbaros

deadpool-gallery-03Ryan Reynolds is Wade Wilson, and he’s also the Marvel comics character Deadpool.

Billed as an antihero superhero, ‘Deadpool’ is also a man (and perhaps a machine?) who takes on the bad guys and who is also out for revenge for an incident that disfigured him years ago. Reynolds, who played the same character in the 2009 Marvel movie ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ is really thoroughly enjoying himself being the lead hero in his own movie. ‘Deadpool’ is not an action movie per se like all the other Marvel movies, it’s also a comedy that attempts, really hard, to be funny. And it doesn’t succeed. It doesn’t help that Wilson/Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience what is happening, what is going to happen, why it’s happening, and the background on the happening. It’s a device that never works in any film, especially in a film where all the viewer wants to see is action and excitement and not to hear a voice over it.

‘Deadpool’ does deliver lots of slam bam action in the opening scene where Deadpool is chased by thugs driving cars on a highway where he is practically cornered by dozens of them, being hit by tons of bullets but never dying. Then we get what should’ve been the movie; Wilson’s meeting and falling in love with female escort Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin). She’s beautiful and crazy about Wilson. They move in together and start sharing a life until Wilson is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Yes, ‘Deadpool’ the movie starts to get very deep. He stupidly leaves Vanessa to go for some experimental treatments which leaves him with a horribly scared face. This is when, and why, he becomes masked man ‘Deadpool’ with healing superpowers.

Lots of silly scenes and jokes come right at us back and forth and right and left, with the help of Deadpool’s good friend (and bar owner) Weasel (T.J. Miller) who maintains a blackboard at the bar with updated odds on when Wilson will die. Huh? Anyway, as in all superhero films, there’s going to a huge showdown between the good guys (our Deadpool) with his mates Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and mega monster machine Ajax (Ed Skrein) and the bad guys (in this case bad girl Angel Dust (Gina Carano)) where Deadpool attempts to free Vanessa who’s been kidnapped by Angel Dust. But it’s Deadpool who continues with the jokes (he tells Angel Dust “You’re going to do a superhero landing, wait for it” and of course she does). Directed by Tim Miller, whose making his directorial debut (!!!), ‘Deadpool’ might be best for the 15-year old movie brigade who will probably laugh at the jokes that aren’t that funny. The rest of us might marvel (and stare) at Reynolds several nudes scenes. Hey, whatever sells tickets!

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16th Feb2016

Zoolander 2 (Film)

by timbaros

Do not go see this movie. It’s not funny. It’s so bad that you’ll kick yourself for spending money, and time, seeing it.

Zoolander 2 is everything the original Zoolander film wasn’t. A take off on the fashion world and it’s fashionistas and models, the original 2001 film Zoolander was funny because it parodied the world it was celebrating. And it showcased Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as male models in a cutthroat industry was just what America needed a few weeks after 9/11. It was a box office success. Fifteen years later and we get reintroduced to the two male models and it’s a reintroduction of the worse kind.

The plot, and the jokes, go downhill from the start. The film begins with Justin Beiber (!!) being chased through the streets of Rome by a masked gunman, who eventually kills him, but not before takes several selfies with a “Blue Steel” pout on his face. It’s a look that’s been captured on the faces of other celebrities who have recently been killed. So it’s up to interpol detective Melanie Valentina (Penelope Cruz) to investigate these murders. She remembers that look from years ago – it was the look that male models Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) were most famous for. So she tracks them down. Zoolander is grieving the horrible death of his wife (Christine Taylor) who was killed in the collapse of their building built in the shape of books and called the Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can’t Read and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff. He’s in wintry Northern New Jersey (looking like the alps), living all alone in a cabin. Hansel, meanwhile, is living in the sand dunes of Malibu, in a relationship with an orgy. Yes, he called them the orgy and it consists of 11 people, both men and women, old and young, a goat, and also Keifer Sutherland. And they all happen to be pregnant, by Hansel. But luckily for both Zoolander and Hansel Billy Zane comes knocking at their doors with an invitation by Rome-based fashion queen Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig) to come to Rome to perhaps become hot again. Valentina ends up recruiting the men to infiltrate the bizarre and unusual fashion world to help put a stop to the murders. Zoolander gets reunited with his son Cyrus Arnold in Rome. Cyrus happens to be in a boarding school because Zoolander couldn’t cope taking care of him after his wife died. But Zoolander is disappointed because Arnold is fat and not good looking. The plot thickens (?) because supposedly Cyrus is embedded with the Fountain of Youth and Derek’s rival Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell) wants it and will do whatever it takes to get it. Throw in cameos by lots of famous people including Sting as a priest, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and in a really overly stupid scene Susan Boyle. ‘Zoolander 2’ comes to a crashing end (and you will be happy when it does) when all the world’s most famous fashionistas converge on in a castle outside Rome to perform a secret ritual on Cyrus to extract the fountain of youth from him. Attending this ritual is Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Alexander and Very Wang (no relation), Valentino (!!) and Anna Wintour (all playing themselves, with most of them with lines to speak)! It’s one ending that couldn’t be more stupid than the rest of the film, but it is.

And who created this dribble? The blames lies entirely on Ben Stiller. He directed, co-produced and co-wrote it (along with Justin Theroux – Jennifer Aniston’s husband). They wanted to create a sort of Da Vinci Code idea based on the fountain of youth but it just doesn’t work. It’s huge disappointment from the man who gave us ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.’ I wonder if all the huge stars who participated in this film realized it was going to be this bad. Though Benedict Cumberbatch is delicious as omnisexual supermodel All and Cruz is way too sexy for her own good. Filmed entirely in Rome on a $50 million budget, Zoolander 2 is a right mess and I recommend that you give this movie a miss, and tell all your friends to do so as well.

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15th Feb2016

BAFTA Winners announced (Film)

by timbaros

5760At tonight’s EE British Academy Film Awards ‘The Revenant’ was named Best Film with Alejandro G. Iñárritu winning Director and Leonardo DiCaprio receiving the award for Leading Actor while Emmanuel Lubezki won for Cinematography.

The Awards were hosted for an eleventh year by Stephen Fry and held at London’s Royal Opera House. In a ceremony that reflected an outstanding year of filmmaking, 12 further features received BAFTA awards. Here’s the complete list of winners:

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA
ANGELS COSTUMES

BEST FILM
THE BIG SHORT Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt
BRIDGE OF SPIES Kristie Macosko Krieger, Marc Platt, Steven Spielberg
CAROL Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley
THE REVENANT Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon
SPOTLIGHT Steve Golin, Blye Pagon Faust, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
45 YEARS Andrew Haigh, Tristan Goligher
AMY Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees
BROOKLYN John Crowley, Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey, Nick Hornby
THE DANISH GIRL Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anne Harrison, Gail Mutrux, Lucinda Coxon
EX MACHINA Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich
THE LOBSTER Yorgos Lanthimos, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Efthimis Filippou

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
ALEX GARLAND (Director) Ex Machina
DEBBIE TUCKER GREEN (Writer/Director) Second Coming
NAJI ABU NOWAR (Writer/Director) RUPERT LLOYD (Producer) Theeb
SEAN MCALLISTER (Director/Producer), ELHUM SHAKERIFAR (Producer) A Syrian Love Story
STEPHEN FINGLETON (Writer/Director) The Survivalist

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ASSASSIN Hou Hsiao-Hsien
FORCE MAJEURE Ruben Östlund
THEEB Naji Abu Nowar
TIMBUKTU Abderrahmane Sissako
WILD TALES Damián Szifron

DOCUMENTARY
AMY Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees
CARTEL LAND Matthew Heineman, Tom Yellin
HE NAMED ME MALALA Davis Guggenheim, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
LISTEN TO ME MARLON Stevan Riley, John Battsek, George Chignell, R.J. Cutler
SHERPA Jennifer Peedom, Bridget Ikin, John Smithson

ANIMATED FILM
INSIDE OUT Pete Docter
MINIONS Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
DIRECTOR
THE BIG SHORT Adam McKay
BRIDGE OF SPIES Steven Spielberg
CAROL Todd Haynes
THE MARTIAN Ridley Scott
THE REVENANT Alejandro G. Iñárritu

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BRIDGE OF SPIES Matthew Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
EX MACHINA Alex Garland
THE HATEFUL EIGHT Quentin Tarantino
INSIDE OUT Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve
SPOTLIGHT Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE BIG SHORT Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
BROOKLYN Nick Hornby
CAROL Phyllis Nagy
ROOM Emma Donoghue
STEVE JOBS Aaron Sorkin

LEADING ACTOR
BRYAN CRANSTON Trumbo
EDDIE REDMAYNE The Danish Girl
LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Revenant
MATT DAMON The Martian
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Steve Jobs

LEADING ACTRESS
ALICIA VIKANDER The Danish Girl
BRIE LARSON Room
CATE BLANCHETT Carol
MAGGIE SMITH The Lady in the Van
SAOIRSE RONAN Brooklyn

SUPPORTING ACTOR
BENICIO DEL TORO Sicario
CHRISTIAN BALE The Big Short
IDRIS ELBA Beasts of No Nation
MARK RUFFALO Spotlight
MARK RYLANCE Bridge of Spies

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ALICIA VIKANDER Ex Machina
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH The Hateful Eight
JULIE WALTERS Brooklyn
KATE WINSLET Steve Jobs
ROONEY MARA Carol

ORIGINAL MUSIC
BRIDGE OF SPIES Thomas Newman
THE HATEFUL EIGHT Ennio Morricone
THE REVENANT Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto
SICARIO Jóhann Jóhannsson
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS John Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHY
BRIDGE OF SPIES Janusz Kamiński
CAROL Ed Lachman
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD John Seale
THE REVENANT Emmanuel Lubezki
SICARIO Roger Deakins

EDITING
THE BIG SHORT Hank Corwin
BRIDGE OF SPIES Michael Kahn
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Margaret Sixel
THE MARTIAN Pietro Scalia
THE REVENANT Stephen Mirrione

PRODUCTION DESIGN
BRIDGE OF SPIES Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, Bernhard Henrich
CAROL Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson
THE MARTIAN Arthur Max, Celia Bobak
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Rick Carter, Darren Gilford, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN
BROOKLYN Odile Dicks-Mireaux
CAROL Sandy Powell
CINDERELLA Sandy Powell
THE DANISH GIRL Paco Delgado
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Jenny Beavan

MAKE UP & HAIR
BROOKLYN Morna Ferguson, Lorraine Glynn
CAROL Jerry DeCarlo, Patricia Regan, Morag Ross
THE DANISH GIRL Jan Sewell
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Lesley Vanderwalt, Damian Martin
THE REVENANT Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman, Robert Pandini

SOUND
BRIDGE OF SPIES Drew Kunin, Richard Hymns, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Scott Hecker, Chris Jenkins, Mark Mangini, Ben Osmo, Gregg Rudloff, David White
THE MARTIAN Paul Massey, Mac Ruth, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor
THE REVENANT Lon Bender, Chris Duesterdiek, Martin Hernandez, Frank A. Montaño, Jon Taylor, Randy Thom
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Matthew Wood, Stuart Wilson

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ANT-MAN Jake Morrison, Greg Steele, Dan Sudick, Alex Wuttke
EX MACHINA Mark Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris, Andrew Whitehurst
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver, Tom Wood, Andy Williams
THE MARTIAN Chris Lawrence, Tim Ledbury, Richard Stammers, Steven Warner
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EDMOND Nina Gantz, Emilie Jouffroy
MANOMAN Simon Cartwright, Kamilla Kristiane Hodol
PROLOGUE Richard Williams, Imogen Sutton
BRITISH SHORT FILM
ELEPHANT Nick Helm, Alex Moody, Esther Smith
MINING POEMS OR ODES Callum Rice, Jack Cocker
OPERATOR Caroline Bartleet, Rebecca Morgan
OVER Jörn Threlfall, Jeremy Bannister
SAMUEL-613 Billy Lumby, Cheyenne Conway

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
BEL POWLEY
BRIE LARSON
DAKOTA JOHNSON
JOHN BOYEGA
TARON EGERTON

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06th Feb2016

Janis: Little Girl Blue (Film)

by timbaros
5th April 1969:  Rock singer Janis Joplin (1943 - 1970).  (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

5th April 1969: Rock singer Janis Joplin (1943 – 1970). (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Using interviews with childhood friends, former band members, celebrities and her brother and sister, Oscar nominated filmmaker Amy J. Berg has written and directed a documentary that puts together the pieces of Joplin’s life, and how she became who she was and why she did the drugs that would eventually kill her.

On September 30, 1970, Joplin gave an interview to journalist Howard Smith, an interview that took place just a few days before her death, who asked her why she sings. Her response was: “I get to experience a lot of feelings. You get to feel things in your imagination that aren’t even true. That’s why I like music. It’s creative and creates feelings.” Other snippets of this interview are interspersed in the documentary, where she discusses her life. “Little Girl Blue” also uses Joplins’ actual letters to her family where she expresses lots of hope, and doubts, about her life, even when she was at the pinnacle of her career.

I’m not old enough to remember Joplin. My memories of her involve watching Bette Midler’s astonishing performance in ‘The Rose’ as a Janis Joplin-like character who goes through a series of men and drugs. And ‘The Rose’ was loosely based on Joplin’s life.

Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1943. While growing up, she admits to never actually fitting in at school. A childhood friend says that it was a really good town to grow up in, but Joplin never thought so. She was always a rebel, always looked different to the other kids, sort of like a beatnick. And she was voted ‘ugliest man’ in college. She got kicked out of the school choir for not following directions. And while she was younger she never actually thought that she would get older.

Janis-quad-Web

But Janis knew she loved to sing, and while in college she knew her voice was special. It was in 1962 in a club in Austin, Texas where she first got up on stage and sang. The following year would see her go to California and her life would never be the same. “A lot freer and you can do what you want to do,” Joplin says of California. But she was in conflict with herself all the time, and started shooting up with fellow musicians. Her drug habit got so bad that all of her friends chipped in to send her back home. But she made a return to San Francisco and hooked up with the Big Brother Holding Company (BBHC) and never looked back. And Joplin was becoming a star – with her Otis Redding-like voice, hanging out with other celebrities including Andy Warhol. Members of BBHC speak of the time they shared with Joplin, the highs and the lows.

A turning point in BBHC was their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Joplin wore gold bell bottom pants, and received a standing ovation, including from Momma Cass who was in the audience. Footage of this performance is in the documentary, and it is riveting. Joplin would find herself on the cover of Newsday shortly thereafter.

Now newly signed to a high profile record deal with Colombia, BBHC’s album Cheap Thrillswent gold in three days. Footage of Joplin and the band in the studio shows Joplin in great form and taking charge during the recordings. The band during this time lived both in San Francisco and in the famous Chelsea Hotel in New York City. Joplin would also often appear on the Dick Cavett television show, with Cavett reminiscing about the interviews and how he can’t remember if they had sex or not.

But Joplin was becoming a bigger star than her band, and soon enough she left them to form her own band. She was still living the rock-n-roll lifestyle – planes, fur coats, and drugs, lots of drugs. The pressure for her to succeed was huge and she was carrying around all this weight. Ultimately, she didn’t know how to manage her new band. But their world tour was a triumph, but it was not enough for Joplin. She was always jealous of the band members who always had women waiting for them after the show to go back home with, but she never had anyone. She made love on stage, and off stage she said that “all you’re left with yourself.” It was her performance at the groundbreaking Woodstock festival in 1969 where there were further signs of drug trouble. She clearly looked out of it, and band members say that she was in the toilet shooting up heroin before her performance.

She tried to kick her drug and alcohol habit by going to Brazil in early 1970. There she met a man who she fell in love with, and they went back to San Francisco together, but he eventually left her after witnessing her shooting drugs. Joplin also attended her 10th high school reunion where actual interviews show her dazed and confused. It’s a wonder no one at that time seemed to do anything about her drug problem, not even the people closest to her.

Joplin died in a Hollywood Hotel on Oct. 4, 1970. She had just finished recording her album Pearl, which would go on to sell 4 million copies and produce her biggest hit “Me and Bobby McGee.”After the funeral, her mother is seen reading letters from fans extolling how Joplin was “the mother of the blues;” it’s poignant and touching. Testimonials from Juliette Lewis, Melissa Etheridge and others discuss their feelings towards Joplin. ‘Little Girl Blue’ tells the story of a singer all of us have heard about but have never actually seen her sing. Janis: Little Girl Bluelets you witness this firsthand. It’s an excellent documentary with amazing footage of interviews and of the woman herself, in good times, and bad times.

Janis: Little Girl Blue is now playing in select UK cinemas

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30th Jan2016

Dirty Grandpa (Film)

by timbaros
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Robert DeNiro and Zac Effron – what were you thinking?

Both DeNiro and Effron star in the new rude, crude, and obscene film ‘Dirty Grandpa’. We are ‘treated’ to seeing Robert DeNiro (as perverted frisky and unsexed Grandpa Dick Kelly – get it?) masturbate to an interracial pornography video the day after the funeral of his wife who he was with for 40 years. We also get to see Effron’s (James Kelly) brother pouring beer over his dead grandmother’s coffin, Effron wearing a bee thong with his arse out in the open (several times), which at one point comes off causing him to expose himself to a little boy, while simulation with the assumption of oral sex between the two (I’m not kidding here) and an endless, and I mean endless, supply of cock jokes, and cocks (one scene has Effron and DeNiro sharing a bed together in which DeNiro sleeps naked, and the next moment there is a penis in his face supposedly to be Grandpa’s). This is not to mention scenes of Effron in jail with a fellow cellmate feeling him up, the one gay character in the movie being made fun of because he is gay, two inept police officers who all but ignore the town’s drug dealer (Adam Pally) who happens to shoot guns in his tourist a/k/a drug shop, and an extremely horny young woman (Zoey Deutch) who has way too much sex talk with DeNiro. It all adds up to one dirty, and bad movie. The plot is this: after the death of his wife, Grandpa Kelly wants to head down to his condo in Florida, so he tricks grandson Jason into driving him down there, much to the dismay of Jason’s fiance Meredith (Julianne Hough), who’s he about to marry and with the wedding rehearsal just days away. On the way Grandpa and Grandson run into Grandson’s ex-schoolmate Lenore (Aubrey Plaza), with the aforementioned horny Shadia (Deutch) and the gay camp Tyrone (Brandon Mychal Smith) in tow. Shadia’s got the hot hots for Grandpa (to tick one of her ‘must do’ boxes) and Lenore will realize that she’s got the hots for Jason. It’s a road trip that ends in most of the character’s lives changed, as well as the audiences. You will walk out shaking your head and vow to never see a Zac Effron (and possibly a Robert DeNiro) film ever again. Thanks to Director Dan Mazer (The Dictator) and writer John Phillips for taking Effron and DeNiro to new lows in their careers.

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30th Jan2016

Spotlight (Film)

by timbaros

Spotlight-Image-2A true story of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is told in the new film ‘Spotlight.’

In 2002 the Boston Globe published a series of articles that highlighted years and years of sexual abuse by priests and the coverup by church officials in Boston, a city with a very high concentration of Catholics. It was the newspaper’s Spotlight investigative team who uncovered the story.

The Spotlight team was in the middle of investigating police corruption but when the newspaper’s new editor (and non-native) Marty Baron (a very dull Liev Schreiber) recommends that the team take forward a previously unfinished investigation into the sexual abuse, they run with it. The team, run by Walter Robinson (the always good Michael Keaton) and led by reporters Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo – making lots of strange faces throughout) and Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams in a standout performance), interviews several of the victims. But Rezendes gets more than what he bargained for when he pursues attorney Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci), a lawyer whose single-attorney law firm was about the only legal entity standing up to the deeply entrenched power of Boston’s Catholic Church – which was led by Cardinal Bernard Law (Len Cariou).
The team also discover that lawyer Eric MacLeish (Billy Crudup) was also part of the coverup regarding undisclosed settlements for some of the victims. MacLeish won’t give any details away, it’s up to the Spotlight reporters to do the digging. They discover that several priests have been moved around – shuffled off to different churches, and some had been on sick leave for long periods of time – it’s clues like these that help them with their story. Their investigation goes to the very top of Boston’s Catholic Church implicating that Cardinal Law was involved in the coverups.

’Spotlight’ is this decades ‘All the Presidents Men.’ The plots are similar; reporters in search of the truth, uncovering a scandal that reaches the highest levels. But I found it to be extremely formulaic and very predictable – and the film plays like a television movie in it’s over 2 hour running time. It’s pace is quick, but there are lots and lots of names and faces that are thrown at you, and it requires your full attention to understand what’s happening, don’t even let your mind drift for a second (what’s for dinner tonight) or you will lose an important plot point. It’s finely acted, with Keaton giving another great performance after last year’s well-received ‘Birdman’ – though Keaton is not nominated for an Oscar. It’s McAdams and Ruffalo who received nominations in the supporting categories – McAdams’ nomination is well – deserved but I don’t easily accept Ruffalo’s nomination – who acts with a bad Bostonian accent. It’s a character that is cliched – really into his job, no life outside of work, even an apartment that’s bare bones – but Ruffalo just didn’t cut it for me (the nomination should’ve gone to Jacob Tremblay who was superb in ‘Room).’ Directed and co-written by by Tom McCarthy (who did the poorly-received 2015 film ’The Cobbler’ and the excellent baseball film ‘Million Dollar Arm), ‘Spotlight has received 6 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. I can think of a few other movies that deserved these nominations over ’Spotlight.’

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18th Jan2016

GALECA announces film award nominations (Film)

by timbaros

525893_10150630629871389_254046788_nThe Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association comprised of over 130 reputable critics and entertainment journalists nationwide, have released its nominees for the best in movies and television of 2015 awards, called the Dorian Awards.

The selections come across 23 categories, from mainstream to LGBTQ-centered film, with titles as varied as Carol, The Big Short, Mad Max: Fury Road, Ex Machina, Mad Men, and Tangerine.

This year, the 1950s-set lesbian romance Carol is in the race for Film of the Year, with its stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara competing for Film Performance of the Year — Actress. Also up for the top film prize: Brooklyn, Mad Max, Spotlight and The Big Short, director Adam McKay’s tragic comedy about Wall Street’s hand in America’s 2008 economic collapse.

In news that may spice up award-season chatter, Tom Hardy was nominated for Film Performance of the Year — Actor for his dual role as England’s notorious mobsters the Kray Twins in Legend. Hardy’s fellow nominees include Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant, which happens to costar both actors. As for Director of the Year, nominations for Sean Baker (Tangerine) and George Miller (Mad Max) reflect a breadth as well.

GALECA’s categories run the gamut from Wilde Wit (named for the group’s “patron saint,” Oscar Wilde) to Visually Striking Film to TV Current Affairs Show. In its trademark cheeky Campy Flick and Campy TV Show races, Fifty Shades of Grey and American Horror Story: Hotel respectively lead the charge.

Dorian winners will be announced next Tuesday, January 19. The group’s annual, Hasty Pudding-esque Winners Toast is set for Sunday, March 6, in Los Angeles, and “any nominees or victors who care to join our LA-area members for champagne and pomme frites and fun are most welcome,” said GALECA John Griffiths, GALECA president and Television Critic for Us Weekly.

Past GALECA toasts have drawn Lea DeLaria, Transparent’s Melora Hardin, famed marriage rights activists Jeff Carrillo and Paul Katami, The Comeback’s Robert Michael Morris, indie star Val Lauren, trailblazing actor Wilson Cruz, singer/author Sam Harris and ABC Studios Executive Vice President Patrick Moran.

As for its Timeless Star honor, GALECA has decided to award their humble career-achievement honor to actress Jane Fonda, the veteran star of the film classics Klute, Coming Home, 9 to 5 as well as the past year’s Youth and ongoing Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie. Past Timeless picks include Sir Ian McKellen, George Takei and Fonda’s Grace costar Lily Tomlin.

Here are the nominations for the film categories:
FILM OF THE YEAR
The Big Short / Paramount, Regency
Brooklyn / Fox Searchlight
Carol / The Weinstein Company
Mad Max: Fury Road / Warner Bros., Village Road ShowSpotlight / Open Road, Participant, First Look

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
(Film or Television)
Sean Baker, Tangerine / Magnolia Pictures
Todd Haynes, Carol / The Weinstein Company
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, The Revenant / Fox
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight / Open Road, Participant, First Look
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road / Warner Bros., Village Road Show

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR — ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol / The Weinstein Company
Brie Larson, Room / A24
Rooney Mara, Carol / The Weinstein Company
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years / Sundance Selects
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn / Fox Searchlight

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR — ACTOR
Matt Damon, The Martian / Fox
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant / Fox
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs / Universal
Tom Hardy, Legend / Universal, Cross Creek
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl / Focus, Working Title

LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR
Carol / The Weinstein Company
The Danish Girl / Focus, Working Title
Freeheld / Summit
Grandma / Sony Pictures Classics
Tangerine / Magnolia Pictures

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
The Assassin / Central Motion Pictures, Well Go USA
Mustang / Cohen Media Group
Phoenix / Sundance Selects
Son of Saul / Sony Pictures Classics
Viva / Magnolia Pictures

SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR
Emma Donoghue, Room / A24
Phyllis Nagy, Carol / The Weinstein Company
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short / Paramount, Regency
Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy, Spotlight / Open Road, Participant, First Look
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs / Universal

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
(theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release)
Amy / A24
Best of Enemies / Magnolia Pictures, Magnet
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief / HBO
Making a Murderer / Netflix
What Happened, Miss Simone? / Netflix

VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR
(honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)
Carol / The Weinstein Company
The Danish Girl / Focus, Working Title
Mad Max: Fury Road / Warner Bros., Village Road Show
The Martian / Fox
The Revenant / Fox

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
The Diary of a Teenage Girl / Sony Pictures Classics
Ex Machina / A24
Grandma / Sony Pictures Classics
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / Fox Searchlight
Tangerine (Magnolia)

CAMPY FLICK OF THE YEAR
The Boy Next Door
Fifty Shades of Grey
Magic Mike XXL
Jupiter Ascending
Stonewall

“WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!” RISING STAR AWARD
Rami Malek
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez
Mya Taylor
Jacob Tremblay
Alicia Vikander

WILDE WIT OF THE YEAR
(honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Billy Eichner
Rachel Maddow
Tig Notaro
John Oliver
Amy Schumer

WILDE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
(honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television)
Andrew Haigh
Todd Haynes
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Tig Notaro
Amy Schumer

TIMELESS STAR
(to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)
Jane Fonda

 

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16th Jan2016

Room (Film)

by timbaros

ROOM_DAY8-0047 (2) (1) copyA mother and her son are trapped in a room and can’t escape in the very dramatic and suspenseful film ‘Room.’

‘Room’ will take your breathe away. It’s one of the most talked about films of the year, deservedly so, with performances that are top notch. It’s an adaptation of a novel called ‘Room’ written by Emma Donoghue, who also wrote the script. And what a script it is. Although the film takes place in just a few locations, it feels like it goes far and wide.

It’s a plot that could be ripped from the headlines: a young teenage girl was kidnapped at the age of 17 by a stranger and is held captive in a shed in his backyard with the young son who was born out of an unwanted sexual relationship with him – they call him ‘Old Nick’ (Sean Bridgers). Brie Larson plays Joy, and Jacob Tremblay is her son Jack, and both are superb. They survive in that shed, with gray concrete walls. it’s a room (or as they simply call it ‘room’), where they are held prisoner. It’s got a skylight, a kitchen, a toilet next to the bed, a closet where Jack sleeps, a plant, and a mouse that pops out every now and then. And five-year Jack knows of no other life than the life he’s led in room. He doesn’t really know anything about the world outside room, and he thinks that what he sees on television is make believe, and not real people acting. When Old Nick pays visits to room for his sexual pleasure with Joy, Jack hides in the closet, and Joy refuses to let Nick touch him, or even to see him. But Joy has an idea that might work to get her son out of room, and when the idea takes place and works, Jack is suddenly thrust out into the world. If you’ve seen the trailer you know that Jack and his mother have escaped room, but it’s the five or so minutes when this happens that is the most suspenseful and compelling five minutes of this film, of perhaps any film, you will have seen for years. But Jack has to adjust to the outside world, a world he’s never been exposed to. This includes being exposed to other people, including his grandparents, the divorced Nancy (Joan Allen) and Robert (William H. Macy), and Nancy’s new husband Doug (Matt Gordon). And Joy has to adjust being out of room as well – it’s an adjustment that’s not an easy one. Told from Jack’s point of view, we see through his very young eyes this brave new world that he knows nothing about, grandparents that he’s meeting for the first time, and more important leaving room where he had lived all of his short life.

‘Room’ is a story about survival, emotions, and the tight relationship between a mother and her young son. It’s masterfully directed by Lenny Abrahamson who is responsible for holding our attention throughout the entire movie. It’s also credit to the actors who bring this story to life. Told from Jack’s perspective who is in every scene, we see his freedom as a rebirth of sorts, with Joy being his world in and out of room. Only seven when he was cast, Tremblay captures, and holds us, in his every scene. It’s incredible that a young boy his age has so much range that he displays in the film. He’s simply incredible. It’s a shame that he didn’t receive a BAFTA, Oscar or Golden Globe nomination for this film, it’s the performance of the year. Larson is excellent as Joy. Larson rose to fame in her award-winning performance in 2013’s Short Term 12. She just deservedly won Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards and is now the front runner for the Best Actress Oscar. But it’s Tremblay who steals the movie. He’s simply just amazing. ‘Room’ has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar – deservedly so.

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14th Jan2016

Oscar Nominations (Film)

by timbaros

6ba4e6ad15e918ce87df62e22bee7456Nominations for the 88th Annual Academy Awards were announced today that took place inside the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills. Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, directors Guillermo Del Toro and Ang Lee and actor John Krasinski announced the nominations.
The Oscars will be held on Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Dolby Theater at Hollywood & Highland Center and will be televised live on ABC at 7 p.m. ET. The event will also be broadcast live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

 

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Best Director

The Big Short

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Matt Damon, The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale

Tom Hardy

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Rylance

Sylvester Stallone

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McADams, Spotlight

Alician Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol

The Martian

Room

Best Animated Feature

Anomalisa

Boy and the World

Inside Out

Shaun the Sheep Movie

When Marnie Was There

Best Foreign Language Film

Embrace of the Serpent

Mustang

Son of Saul

Theeb

A War

Best Documentary Feature

Amy

Cartel Land

The Look of Silence

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Best Cinematography

Carol

The Hateful Eight

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Sicario

Best Film Editing

The Big Short

Mad Max Furty Road

The Revenant

Spotlight

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Production Design

Bridge of Spies

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Best Costume Design

Carol

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies

Carol

The Hateful Eight

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Original Song

50 Shades Of Gray

Racing Extinction

Youth

The Hunting Ground

Spectre

Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

Mad Max

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared

The Revenant

Best Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Documentary Short Subject

Body Team 12

Chau Behind the Lines

Claude Lanzman

A Girl in the River

Last Day of Freedom

Best Live Action Short Film

Ave Maria

Day One

Everything Will Be Okay

Shok

Stutterer

Best Animated Short

Bear Story

Prologue

Sanjay’s Super Team

We Can’t Live Without Cosmos

World of Tomorrow

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10th Jan2016

A War (Film)

by timbaros

_92A9317A Danish has man two battles to fight – one in Afghanistan and another one back home in a courtroom in the gripping new film ‘A War.’

Company Commander Claus Pedersen (a very good Pilou Asbæk) is leading a team of men in the battlefields of Afghanistan in a war with the Taliban while at the same time attempting to keep his men safe. His wife back home, Maria (Tuva Novotny) is also fighting a war, trying to raise, on her own, two rambunctious young boys and a very curious little girl. But Pedersen’s engagement is in a fight for his and his soldiers lives. They get overtaken and are surrounded by Taliban soldiers and quick decisions have to be made in order for Pedersen to get his men out of there safely, and in one piece. These decisions may or may not be in the rules of engagement, but Pedersen is responsible for his men, including Najib (Dar Salim), a Muslim soldier, who is also the most scared of the team.

Back home, Maria is juggling her job and handling the school duties for the children, but things get more intense for her when one of her boys swallows some pills. She’s there to handle this crises on her own – her boy is fine but Maria has almost reached the breaking point.

Suddenly, and without any explanation, Claus is back home. He doesn’t initially tell Maria why he’s come back home, but he eventually comes around and tells her that he’s going up against a war tribunal after being charged with killing civilians back in Afghanistan. The decisions he made back in Afghanistan had grave consequences, not just for him, but for his family, and soldiers as well. What starts out as a war movie suddenly becomes a courtroom drama that never loses it’s intensity or suspense.

Director Tobias Lindholm (A Hijacking), who has also written the script, gives us a look at war and what it does to the men who are fighting, and the instantaneous decisions that have to be made right in the middle of battle. ‘A War,’ in Danish with English subtitles, is one of the best war films in recent memory because it puts us up close with the soldiers and those who are left behind back home. ‘A War’ has been shortlisted for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film, deservedly so.

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