28th Jan2017

Oscar Nominations announced (Film)

by timbaros

la-la-land-2016-001-couple-spin-dancing-twilight

Damien Chazelle’s vibrant musical La La Land has been nominated for a whopping 14 Academy Award nominations – the joint record for any film in history. This include nominations for best picture, best director, best actor for Ryan Gosling and best actress for Emma Stone.

Barry Jenkins’ coming-of-age drama Moonlight and Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi Arrival follow on eight nominations each.

Here is a complete list of the nominations:

Here are the nominations in full.

Best Picture

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Actress

Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best Actor

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Director

Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women
Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootropolis

Best Film Editing

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

Best Documentary Feature

Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
13th

Best Foreign Language Film

Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann
Best Original Score

Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

Best Original Song

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls
“City of Stars,” La La LAnd
“The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story
“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana

Best Cinematography

Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

Best Production Design

Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers
Best Makeup and Hairstyling

A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad

Best Costume Design

Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

Best Visual Effects

Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Sound Editing

Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

Best Sound Mixing

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Best Documentary Short

Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe’s Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets

Best Live Action Short

Ennemis Intérieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode

Best Animated Short

Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

 

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22nd Jan2017

Lion (Film)

by timbaros
Sunny Pawar stars in LION Photo: Mark Rogers

Sunny Pawar stars in LION
Photo: Mark Rogers

A young man attempts to trace his roots in the moving and excellent film ‘Lion.’

Dev Patel is Saroo Brierley. He’s adopted by Australian couple John and Sue Brierley (David Wenham and Nicole Kidman) and vaguely aware that he had a life in India when he was a very young boy – it’s all just a very distant memory. Now in his 20’s, and in college, him and his friends (including girlfriend Lucy – Rooney Mara) have a discussion about their origins, and Saroo tells his classmates that he was adopted and born in India, and probably still has family there, but he hasn’t been there since when he was a little boy. This puts a spark in his head to try to found out where in India he comes from. There are still a few very vague images in his mind he can recall from his childhood, and especially from when he got separated from his brother (a water tower, a train station). Saroo sets about determined to discover where he’s from and starts to map out India until he can pinpoint an area where he believes he came from.

But this is the not the entire movie. The first half of the film has Saroo as a little boy (played amazingly by Sunny Pawar), who along with his brother Guddu (Abshishek Bharate), are lost, so Guddu goes in search of help, and leaves Saroo on a train platform. Saroo falls asleep, then wakes up a bit disoriented, and calls out for Guddu, but he’s nowhere to be found. Saroo walks around the train station calling out for Guddu, but then ends up falling asleep on a train that accidentally takes him 1,000 miles away to Calcutta, taking him far away from home, far away from Guddu, and far away from his life.

‘Lion,’ as mentioned above, is a film with two halves; Saroo as a child and Saroo as a young man. And the first half of the film is simply amazing. It’s all down to Pawar, who as the young Saroo, after losing his big brother Guddu, is lost and confused and scared and aimlessly wandering around looking for food and trying to survive. He knows no one, is totally lost and alone, and is very very frightened. Eventually he is taken in by an orphanage which is where the Brierley’s adopt him and take him to their home in Australia, which is when the second half of the film begins.

Pawar deserves a Supporting Actor nomination or a special child Oscar for his sensitive and heartbreaking portrayal of Saroo (Jacob Tremblay in last year’s award-winning ‘Room’ didn’t receive either but deserved one). Pawar is excellent. Patel is very good as the grown-up Saroo who is determined to find out where he comes from. Patel here proves that he was not just a one-hit wonder in the Oscar-winning ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ Kidman is fine as his adoptive mother, but it’s hard not to look at her on screen and think you’re seeing Nicole Kidman and not the character she is playing. The screenplay, adapted from the book ‘A Long Way Home, ’written by Saroo Brierley, and adapted by Luke Davies, tells the story in a way that will tug at your hearts more than any other film this year. Director Garth Davis (who has done mostly television shows) directs with such a fine balance of drama and emotion that it’s a perfect film which tells a true story that truly deserved to be told. It’s the best film of the year.

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15th Jan2017

Gay and Lesbian Film Critics announce their film award nominations (Film)

by timbaros

ml_web‘Moonlight’ leads the list of nominations for the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA) Dorian Awards.

Director Barry Jenkins story of growing up gay in Miami was nominated in both Film and LGBTQ Film of the year categories. It was also nominated for it’s screenplay and directing for Jenkins, as well as Mahershala Ali and Trevante Rhodes as Film Performance of the Year – Male, and it was also nominated for Visually Striking Film of the Year.

‘Moonlight’ will compete in the best film category along with ‘Jackie,’ ‘La La Land,’ ‘Manchester by the Sea,’ and ‘20th Century Women.’ ‘Jackie’ also received nominations for Film Performance of the Year – Female for Natalie Portman, Director of the Year (Pablo Larrain) and Visually Striking Film of the Year. ‘La La Land,’ which recently won 7 Golden Globe Awards, besides Film of the Year is also nominated for Director and Screenplay of the Year (for Damien Chazelle), Film Performance of the Year – Male – Ryan Gosling and Female – Emma Stone, as well as Visually Striking Film of the Year. Gay film director and fashion designer Tom Ford’s ‘Nocturnal Animals’ was all but ignored by the Gay and Lesbian critics, yet they found a spot for it in the Campy Film of the Year category.

In addition to film and television awards, the group also nominates individuals for their overall achievements. The Timeless Star Award will be automatically presented to John Waters. The Wilde Wit of the Year, honoring a performer, writer or commenetator whose observations both challenge and amuse, includes the late Carrie Fisher amongst it’s nominees.

The Dorian winners will be announced Jan. 26. The group’s annual Winners Toast, honoring a select group of the 2016-17 winners, will be held Feb. 18, 2017 in Los Angeles.

Here is a complete list of the nominees:

Film of the Year
Jackie (Fox Searchlight)
La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
Manchester by the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
Moonlight (A24)
20th Century Women (A24)

Director of the Year
(Film or Television)
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (A24)
Pablo Larraín, Jackie (Fox Searchlight)
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
Park Chan-wook, The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)
Damien Chazelle, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)

Film Performance of the Year — Actress
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women (A24)
Viola Davis, Fences (Paramount)
Isabelle Huppert, Elle (Sony Classics)
Emma Stone, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
Natalie Portman, Jackie (Fox Searchlight)

Film Performance of the Year — Actor
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (A24)
Ryan Gosling, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
Trevante Rhodes, Moonlight (A24)
Denzel Washington, Fences (Paramount)

LGBTQ Film of the Year
Being 17 (Strand)
Closet Monster (Strand)
Moonlight (A24)
Other People (Vertical)
The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)

Foreign Language Film of the Year
Elle (Sony Classics)
Neruda (The Orchard)
The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)
Things to Come (Sundance Selects)
Toni Erdmann (Sony Pictures Classics)

Screenplay of the Year
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (A24)
Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos, The Lobster (A24)
Damien Chazelle, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women (A24)

Documentary of the Year
(theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release)
I Am Not Your Negro (Magnolia)
O.J. Made in America (ESPN Films)
13th (Netflix)
Tickled (Magnolia)
Weiner (Netflix)

Visually Striking Film of the Year
Arrival (Paramount)
Jackie (Fox Searchlight)
La La Land (Lionsgate)
Moonlight (A24)
The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)

Unsung Film of the Year
American Honey (A24)
Captain Fantastic (Bleecker Street)
Christine (The Orchard)
Other People (Vertical)
Sing Street (The Weinstein Company)

Campy Film of the Year
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (Fox Searchlight)
King Cobra (IFC Midnight)
Nocturnal Animals (Focus Features)
The Dressmaker (Broadgreen/Amazon Studios)
The Neon Demon (Broadgreen/Amazon Studios)

TV Drama of the Year
Black Mirror (Netflix)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX)
Westworld (HBO)

TV Comedy of the Year
Atlanta (FX)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)
Insecure (HBO)
Transparent (Amazon)
Veep (FX)

TV Performance of the Year — Actor
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of (HBO)
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX)
Donald Glover, Atlanta (FX)
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon)
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX)

TV Performance of the Year — Actress
Claire Foy, The Crown (Netflix)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
Thandie Newton, Westworld (HBO)
Sarah Paulson, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson (FX)
Winona Ryder, Stranger Things (Netflix)

TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

TV Musical Performance of the Year
Beyonce, “Lemonade,” MTV Video Music Awards (MTV)
Kelly Clarkson, “Piece by Piece,” American Idol (Fox)
Lady Gaga – “Til It Happens to You,” The 88th Academy Awards (ABC)
Jennifer Hudson, “I Know Where I’ve Been,” Hairspray Live! (NBC)
Kate McKinnon “Hallelujah,” Saturday Night Live (NBC)

LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
Looking: The Movie (HBO)
Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars (Logo)
The Real O’Neals (ABC)
Transparent (Amazon)

Unsung TV Show of the Year
Fleabag (Amazon)
Lady Dynamite (Netflix)
London Spy (BBC America)
Please Like Me (Pivot)
The Real O’Neals (ABC)

Campy TV Show of the Year
Finding Prince Charming (Logo)
Fuller House (Netflix)
Hairspray Live! (NBC)
RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars (Logo)
Scream Queens (Fox)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Fox)

We’re Wilde About You! Rising Star of the Year
Millie Bobby Brown
Lucas Hedges
Connor Jessup
Ruth Negga
Trevante Rhodes

Wilde Wit of the Year
(honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Samantha Bee
Carrie Fisher
Bill Maher
Kate McKinnon
John Oliver

Wilde Artist of the Year
(honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television)
Beyonce
Viola Davis
Barry Jenkins
Kate McKinnon
Lin-Manuel Miranda

Timeless Star
(to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)
John Waters

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14th Jan2017

Manchester by the Sea (Film)

by timbaros

manCasey Affleck gives a devastating performance in Manchester by the Sea.

In a role that will win him the Academy Award for Best Actor, Affleck is Lee Chandler, a man stricken with grief, so much grief that gets worse when he gets word that his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler in flashbacks) suddenly passes away in their hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire. Joe leaves behind teenage son Patrick (newcomer Lucas Hedges) and so it’s left to Lee to be Patrick’s guardian.

But Lee just doesn’t have the energy, or the passion, to take in his nephew. Now a handyman, he moved to Boston after a tragic event that took the lives of his three children, a tragic event that could’ve been prevented, and a tragedy that caused the breakdown of his marriage to Randi (Michelle Williams). So he’s really quite unsure and struggles with what to do with Patrick. Lee can’t send Patrick to his mother, who he is not close to, as she is pretty much out of the picture. And Patrick doesn’t want to move to Boston to live with Lee. But everyday Lee struggles, struggling with guilt over the death of his children, and guilt that is very evident in his face and posture, and grief that will more than likely will never go away. But it is up to Lee to make sure his nephew is taken care of.

There is so much darkness in Manchester by the Sea that it’s hard to leave the film without feeling depressed and sodden. Yet it’s Affleck’s acting that propels this film to must see and award-worthy status. Affleck, who is Ben Affleck’s younger brother, gives the best performance of his career. His Lee is quite unlike any character you’ve seen all year – and Affleck plays him amazingly. Williams is also very good as Lee’s wife who eventually moves on and starts a new life, and BAFTA Rising Star nominee Hedges is a real find and perfect as the rebellious teenager. In a film produced by Matt Damon, who was originally going to star as Lee, and with excellent writing and directing by Kenneth Lonergan (2000’s You Can Count on me), who cements himself to A-list status of Hollywood filmmakers with this film, Manchester by the Sea is one of this year’s few must-see films.

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13th Jan2017

Strangers in Between (Theatre)

by timbaros

AC3A0278Great performances by a cast of three is the highlight of the play ‘Strangers in Between.’

Playing for a second year in a row at the Kings Head Theatre, ’Strangers in Between’ is drama about a young man experiencing the big city for the first time. Shane (Roly Botha) has moved from his small hometown in Australia to the big city of Sydney. He says he’s 19, and he works in a liquor store yet doesn’t even know how to use the register. In walks a customer – gay and trendy Will (Dan Hunter). Shane at first is a bit intimidated by him, but they manage to make small talk until another customer walks in – Peter (Stephen Connery-Brown) – a middle-aged gay man looking for a simple yet inexpensive bottle of wine. Eventually Shane gets Will’s number.

Shane lives in the Kings Cross section of Sydney, an area teaming with prostitutes and crime. But Shane loves it there, especially as it’s far away from his family, and especially brother, he ran away from. Him and Will hook up for a few trysts – it’s purely a sexual relationship – while Shane finds comfort in his friendship with Peter. But Shane has a couple secrets, one being his age, and the other involving his homophobic brother Ben (Hunter). But suddenly Ben finds Shane in Sydney, after Shane’s world is falling apart after he has lost his job and contracted an STD from Will.

The cast is very admirable but it’s Botha who shines. His Shane is young, cute, innocent and with a nervous tick – he dominates the very small stage – Botha is a wonder. Hunter ably does double duty as Will and Ben, while Connery-Brown is very good as Peter. While the ending is a bit of a letdown, the play, written by Tommy Murphy, is a show that all of us can relate to because at one time we were all young and innocent and new to the big city.

For tickets, please visit:

https://kingsheadtheatre.ticketsolve.com/#/shows/873560596/events/127898509

 

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10th Jan2017

BAFTA Nominations (Film)

by timbaros

4bb5171efc9007ebe8559a7cca130d1aThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2017.

La La Land is nominated in 11 categories. Arrival and Nocturnal Animals both receive nine nominations and Manchester by the Sea has six. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Hacksaw Ridge, Lion and I, Daniel Blake receive five nominations each. Moonlight and Florence Foster Jenkins have both been nominated four times.

La La Land is nominated for Best Film, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design and Sound. Damien Chazelle is nominated for both Director and Original Screenplay and Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone for Leading Actor and Leading Actress.

Arrival receives nominations for Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Special Visual Effects, as well as Director for Denis Villeneuve and Leading Actress for Amy Adams.

Nocturnal Animals is nominated for Leading Actor for Jake Gyllenhaal, and for Supporting Actor for Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The film is also nominated for Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design and Make Up & Hair. Tom Ford is nominated for both Director and Adapted Screenplay.

Manchester by the Sea is nominated for Best Film and Editing. Kenneth Lonergan is nominated for both Director and Original Screenplay. Casey Affleck is nominated for Leading Actor and Michelle Williams for Supporting Actress.

Ken Loach is nominated for Director for I, Daniel Blake, which is also nominated for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay and Supporting Actress for Hayley Squires.

Moonlight is nominated for Best Film and Original Screenplay with two further nominations for Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris who are nominated for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress respectively.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is nominated for Outstanding British Film, Production Design, Costume Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects.

Andrew Garfield is nominated for Leading Actor for Hacksaw Ridge, which is also nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Make Up & Hair and Sound.

Lion is nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Original Music and Cinematography. Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman are nominated for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress respectively.

Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant are nominated for Leading Actress and Supporting Actor for their roles in Florence Foster Jenkins. The film is also nominated for Costume Design and Make Up & Hair.

Jeff Bridges is nominated for Supporting Actor for Hell or High Water, which is also nominated for Original Screenplay and Cinematography. Natalie Portman is nominated for Leading Actress for Jackie, which is also nominated for Original Music and Costume Design.

Also receiving acting nominations are: Viggo Mortensen for Leading Actor for Captain Fantastic; Emily Blunt for Leading Actress for The Girl on the Train; and Viola Davis for Supporting Actress for Fences.

The four films nominated for Animated Film are Finding Dory, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana and Zootropolis. The nominations for Film Not in the English Language are Dheepan, Julieta, Mustang, Son of Saul and Toni Erdmann.

Notes on Blindness is nominated for Documentary and Outstanding British Film. The film also receives a nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Pete Middleton (Writer/Director/Producer), James Spinney (Writer/Director), and Jo-Jo Ellison (Producer).

The other nominations in the Documentary category are 13th, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, The Eagle Huntress and Weiner.

Under the Shadow receives a nomination for Outstanding British Film, as well as for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Babak Anvari (Writer/Director) alongside the film’s producers Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill and Lucan Toh.

The other nominations for Outstanding British Film are American Honey and Denial.

The remaining nominations for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer are The Girl With All the Gifts (Mike Carey, Writer, Camille Gatin, Producer), The Hard Stop (George Amponsah, Writer/Director/Producer, Dionne Walker, Writer/Producer) and The Pass (John Donnelly, Writer, Ben Williams, Director).

Doctor Strange receives nominations for Production Design, Make Up & Hair and Special Visual Effects. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is nominated for Make Up & Hair and Special Visual Effects.

Five other feature films receive one nomination each: Hidden Figures for Adapted Screenplay; Hail, Caesar! for Production Design; Allied for Costume Design; Deepwater Horizon for Sound and The Jungle Book for Special Visual Effects.

The British Short Animation nominees are The Alan Dimension, A Love Story and Tough. The five nominations for British Short Film are Consumed, Home, Mouth of Hell, The Party and Standby.

The nominees for the EE Rising Star Award, announced last week, are Anya Taylor-Joy, Laia Costa, Lucas Hedges, Ruth Negga and Tom Holland. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actress or actor who has demonstrated exceptional talent and has begun to capture the imagination of the UK public.

The nominations were announced this morning by Dominic Cooper and Sophie Turner at BAFTA’s London headquarters, 195 Piccadilly.

The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 12 February at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The ceremony will be hosted by Stephen Fry and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One and BBC One HD. The ceremony is also broadcast in all major territories around the world.

BEST FILM
ARRIVAL Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, David Linde, Aaron Ryder
I, DANIEL BLAKE Rebecca O’Brien
LA LA LAND Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Lauren Beck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Kimberly Steward,
Kevin J. Walsh
MOONLIGHT Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
AMERICAN HONEY Andrea Arnold, Lars Knudsen, Pouya Shahbazian, Jay Van Hoy
DENIAL Mick Jackson, Gary Foster, Russ Krasnoff, David Hare
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM David Yates, J.K. Rowling, David Heyman, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram
I, DANIEL BLAKE Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney, Mike Brett, Jo-Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison
UNDER THE SHADOW Babak Anvari, Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
The Girl With All the Gifts: MIKE CAREY (Writer), CAMILLE GATIN (Producer)
The Hard Stop: GEORGE AMPONSAH (Writer/Director/Producer), DIONNE WALKER (Writer/Producer)
Notes on Blindness: PETER MIDDLETON (Writer/Director/Producer), JAMES SPINNEY (Writer/Director), JO-JO ELLISON (Producer)
The Pass: JOHN DONNELLY (Writer), BEN A. WILLIAMS (Director)
Under the Shadow: BABAK ANVARI (Writer/Director), EMILY LEO, OLIVER ROSKILL, LUCAN TOH (Producers)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DHEEPAN Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux
JULIETA Pedro Almodóvar
MUSTANG Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Charles Gillibert
SON OF SAUL László Nemes, Gábor Sipos
TONI ERDMANN Maren Ade, Janine Jackowski

DOCUMENTARY
13th Ava DuVernay
THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK- THE TOURING YEARS Ron Howard
THE EAGLE HUNTRESS Otto Bell, Stacey Reiss
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney
WEINER Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg

ANIMATED FILM
FINDING DORY Andrew Stanton
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Travis Knight
MOANA Ron Clements, John Musker
ZOOTROPOLIS Byron Howard, Rich Moore

DIRECTOR
ARRIVAL Denis Villeneuve
I, DANIEL BLAKE Ken Loach
LA LA LAND Damien Chazelle
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Tom Ford

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
HELL OR HIGH WATER Taylor Sheridan
I, DANIEL BLAKE Paul Laverty
LA LA LAND Damien Chazelle
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan
MOONLIGHT Barry Jenkins

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARRIVAL Eric Heisserer
HACKSAW RIDGE Robert Schenkkan, Andrew Knight
HIDDEN FIGURES Theodore Melfi, Allison Schroeder
LION Luke Davies
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Tom Ford

LEADING ACTOR
ANDREW GARFIELD Hacksaw Ridge
CASEY AFFLECK Manchester by the Sea
JAKE GYLLENHAAL Nocturnal Animals
RYAN GOSLING La La Land
VIGGO MORTENSEN Captain Fantastic

LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS Arrival
EMILY BLUNT The Girl on the Train
EMMA STONE La La Land
MERYL STREEP Florence Foster Jenkins
NATALIE PORTMAN Jackie

SUPPORTING ACTOR
AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON Nocturnal Animals
DEV PATEL Lion
HUGH GRANT Florence Foster Jenkins
JEFF BRIDGES Hell or High Water
MAHERSHALA ALI Moonlight

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
HAYLEY SQUIRES I, Daniel Blake
MICHELLE WILLIAMS Manchester by the Sea
NAOMIE HARRIS Moonlight
NICOLE KIDMAN Lion
VIOLA DAVIS Fences

ORIGINAL MUSIC
ARRIVAL Jóhann Jóhannsson
JACKIE Mica Levi
LA LA LAND Justin Hurwitz
LION Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Abel Korzeniowski

CINEMATOGRAPHY
ARRIVAL Bradford Young
HELL OR HIGH WATER Giles Nuttgens
LA LA LAND Linus Sandgren
LION Greig Fraser
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Seamus McGarvey

EDITING
ARRIVAL Joe Walker
HACKSAW RIDGE John Gilbert
LA LA LAND Tom Cross
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Jennifer Lame
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Joan Sobel

PRODUCTION DESIGN
DOCTOR STRANGE John Bush, Charles Wood
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
HAIL, CAESAR! Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
LA LA LAND Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, David Wasco
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Shane Valentino, Meg Everist

COSTUME DESIGN
ALLIED Joanna Johnston
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Colleen Atwood
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS Consolata Boyle
JACKIE Madeline Fontaine
LA LA LAND Mary Zophres

MAKE UP & HAIR
DOCTOR STRANGE Jeremy Woodhead
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS J. Roy Helland, Daniel Phillips
HACKSAW RIDGE Shane Thomas
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Donald Mowat, Yolanda Toussieng
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Nominees tbc

SOUND
ARRIVAL Claude La Haye, Bernard Gariépy Strobl, Sylvain Bellemare
DEEPWATER HORIZON Mike Prestwood Smith, Dror Mohar, Wylie Stateman, David Wyman
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Niv Adiri, Glenn Freemantle, Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Ian Tapp
HACKSAW RIDGE Peter Grace, Robert Mackenzie, Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright
LA LA LAND Mildred Iatrou Morgan, Ai-Ling Lee, Steve A. Morrow, Andy Nelson

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ARRIVAL Louis Morin
DOCTOR STRANGE Richard Bluff, Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Tim Burke, Pablo Grillo, Christian Manz, David Watkins
THE JUNGLE BOOK Robert Legato, Dan Lemmon, Andrew R. Jones, Adam Valdez
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Neil Corbould, Hal Hickel, Mohen Leo, John Knoll, Nigel Sumner

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
THE ALAN DIMENSION Jac Clinch, Jonathan Harbottle, Millie Marsh
A LOVE STORY Khaled Gad, Anushka Kishani Naanayakkara, Elena Ruscombe-King
TOUGH Jennifer Zheng

BRITISH SHORT FILM
CONSUMED Richard John Seymour
HOME Shpat Deda, Afolabi Kuti, Daniel Mulloy, Scott O’Donnell
MOUTH OF HELL Bart Gavigan, Samir Mehanovic, Ailie Smith, Michael Wilson
THE PARTY Farah Abushwesha, Emmet Fleming, Andrea Harkin, Conor MacNeill
STANDBY Charlotte Regan, Jack Hannon

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ANYA TAYLOR-JOY
LAIA COSTA
LUCAS HEDGES
RUTH NEGGA
TOM HOLLAND

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07th Jan2017

Retake (DVD)

by timbaros

retake-still-2An unusual love story takes place in the new film ‘Retake.’

But is it really a love story? Handsome businessman Jonathan (Tuc Watkins) has returned to San Francisco to relive a trip from his past – a trip that was with his late lover Brandon. So Jonathan picks up hustlers on the streets and pays them to play the role of Brandon by adding a few squirts of cologne and a black wig. One of the hustlers fails miserably at the task, however, another one, Adam (Devon Graye), who looks a bit like Brandon, easily settles into the role, enough so that Jonathan takes him on a car ride to the Grand Canyon, a trip that Jonathan and Brandon were never able to complete because of Brandon’s death from a drug overdose on the trip.

Jonathan has Adam totally re-enact Brandon’s persona – from having him wear his actual clothes to making sure he drinks Brandon’s favorite drink – and Jonathan also has Adam copy Brandon’s gestures. Lines are blurred when Adam starts acting like himself and Jonathan appears to be falling for Adam and not Adam’s Brandon. But will their relationship survive the road trip after Adam confronts Jonathan about photos he has found in his briefcase that all too weirdly mirrors the exact places and poses Jonathan had Brandon pose for on their ill-fated trip?

‘Retake,’ aptly named because of the re-staged photos with Adam, literally takes us on a journey of a man who tries to relive his past. Watkins is a bit stiff as Jonathan, however, Graye is everything you would want him to be; sexy, charming, flirty, fun, and after he cuts his hair to look like Brandon, handsome.

Writer and Director Nick Corporon brings us an original story that, though at times falls flat and and is a bit unbelievable, ultimately win our hearts and becomes one we can identify with for those of us who have suddenly lost a partner.

VOD/DVD Release Jan. 10th

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07th Jan2017

War Dogs (DVD)

by timbaros

war_dogs_290932How did two twentysomethings get into the business of selling arms to the U.S. government? ‘War Dogs’ tells this story.

Based on the Rolling Stone article ‘Arms and the Dudes’ by Guy Lawson, Miles Teller and Jonas Hill play David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli. Packouz is a massage therapist, constantly being sexually harassed by his very wealthy male clients. He also sells expensive high quality bed sheets to old age homes but he’s told they don’t want to buy them because it would be like wrapping a lizard in very nice bedsheets. But when he runs into long lost friend Diveroli at a funeral, his life takes a dramatic turn. Living with his girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) in a cramped flat, Packouz takes up the opportunity to work at Diveroli’s company – AEY Inc. to make more money. It’s a company Diveroli set up to sell weapons to the U.S. government, with silent partner dry cleaner owner Ralph Slutzky (Kevin Pollack). AEY is initially tasked with obtaining beretta guns for a general in the thick of the Iraq war. When the italian-made guns can’t be transported directly into Iraq, it’s up to the Packouz and Diveroli to drive the truck to Iraq via Jordan, and that’s exactly what they do, risking their lives for a $2.8 million payoff. They then discover that the U.S. government has what seems like billions of dollars to give out to companies just like theirs in order to procure weapons, and all bids listed on a government website.

With a lot of cash now in hand, and with fabulous new properties they’ve bought (plus a new baby girl for Packouz and Iz), AEY decides to expand their business. They head to Las Vegas for Vegas X, a comicon-like convention with grenades and not comics. This is where they meet Henry Girard (a very good and subdued Bradley Cooper), who puts them in contact with the Albanian government to help them obtain ammunition to arm the Afghan military (money which the U.S. Government will pay. Their $300 million bid is amazingly accepted by the military generals but they tell them that their bid was $50 million less than the lowest bid. The men carry out the order, not realizing until too late that the ammunition the Albanian authorities are selling them are actually Chinese, which they re-brand and re-package (illegal). Diveroli’s greed and his and Packouz’s crumbling relationship gets the best of them, and it all comes down to not if they will be caught, but when.

While ‘War Dogs’ is a very good film, reminiscent of a Martin Scorcese movie, though not all of what you see in this film actually happened. In the beginning we’re told that ‘War Dogs’ is ‘based on a true story,’ so several events in the film didn’t actually take place (driving the truck from Jordan to Iraq.) Directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover) and produced by Phillips and Cooper, ‘War Dogs’ succeeds, however, in the performances of both of it’s leads (though neither one of them look in their 20’s and Hill is quite chunkier than usual), and the film’s script is clever and witty. ‘War Dogs’ also has an excellent movie soundtrack, with songs by The Who, Pink Floyd and House of Pain, carrying the spirit of a 1990’s Scorcese gangster film. If ‘War Dogs’ were a fictionalized film, then it would’ve been fine the way it is. But there’s no reason why the filmmakers couldn’t have just stuck to the real version of events of these two very young arms dealer – it would’ve made for a more compelling and very realistic tale.


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07th Jan2017

Golden Globe Winners (Film)

by timbaros

la-la-land-ryan-gosling-emma-stoneLa La Land dominated the night at The Golden Globe awards ceremony and won all 7 of it’s nominations. Moonlight was the underdog winner for Best Picture, Drama.

 

Best picture, drama: “Moonlight”

Best picture, comedy or musical: “La La Land”

Actress, drama: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

Actor, drama: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”

Actress, comedy or musical: Emma Stone, “La La Land”

Actor, comedy or musical: Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”

Supporting actress: Viola Davis, “Fences”

Supporting actor: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, “Nocturnal Animals”

Director: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”

Screenplay: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”

Animated film: “Zootopia”

Foreign language film: “Elle” (France)

Original score: Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”

Original song: “City of Stars,” “La La Land”

 

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