The 88th Annual Academy Awards are tonight! It's basically New Year's Eve for me and many others, a sentiment expressed many times by The Film Experience, but also texted to me by friends and said out loud by co-workers.
I've told you what I'd want to win in a perfect world -- let's talk about what I think will win in the actual one.
BEST PICTURE: The Revenant
My personal rankings for the nominees:
1. Spotlight (*****)
2. Brooklyn (*****)
3. The Revenant (****)
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (****)
5. Bridge of Spies (****)
6. The Martian (*** 1/2)
7. The Big Short (***)
8. Room (**)
Complete predictions, and rankings, after the jump...
Showing posts with label Brooklyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brooklyn. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Friday, February 19, 2016
Best Picture, Some Surprises: 2015 Hollmann Awards, Day Three
At last -- the final round of Hollmann Awards! Let's get to it!
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
5. Tangerine
Sean Baker/Chris Bergoch
Quotable, dirty, hilarious. A great odyssey spanning Hollywood, with all the characters you really do see on the streets -- the trans prostitutes, the old men with bizarre stories, the Armenian cabbies, the shady guys who hang out at donut shops. It works as a Christmas movie, a buddy film, a drama about the immigrant experience.
Sean Baker/Chris Bergoch
4. The Throne
Jo Chul-hyun/Lee Song-won/Oh Seung-hyun
Takes a much-contested bit of history -- was Prince Sado sentenced to die because he went crazy, or was he the target of a court conspiracy -- and turns it into a story of fathers and sons, of legacies that are expected to endure, of the terrible expectations of royal life and the consequences that come of disappointing those. And, yes, it also addresses the unrest in the Joseon royal court. Sympathetic to all...and honey, with this group, that's not always easy.
3. Girlhood
Céline Sciamma
Surprising developments, subtle layering, and a completely non-judgmental look at these girls and their gangs. Kudos for those few and far between, yet vital and impactful, sequences that establish the patriarchal system that these seemingly independent women have given themselves over to. Props, too, for the gradual way in which our heroine becomes a part of that system, neither "male" nor "female", but someone with her own agency. Complicated, but easy to understand.
2. Grandma
Paul Weitz
Hilarious, biting, intelligent. Avoids dialogue that's too clever -- and when it is, that's part of the joke ("solipsist!"). Not a false note. Sees every side of a conversation, and even if the film is decidedly pro-choice, the argument it makes for one character not supporting that is...well, it's understandable. And human.
1. Spotlight
Tom McCarthy/Josh Singer
Can I just say, it would be so easy for each of these characters to become similar -- journalist, victim, advocate, co-conspirator/part of the problem -- but each person is an individual. That's what this screenplay excels at -- making us appreciate the individuals, putting a face, a name, a personality to the cipher of "abuse victim" or "corrupted clergyman". It even allows us to look at our heroes' shortcomings, as they face their own denial...and their tendency to look at human tragedies as "scoops".
Score, Actress, Best Picture, and more after the jump
Jo Chul-hyun/Lee Song-won/Oh Seung-hyun
Takes a much-contested bit of history -- was Prince Sado sentenced to die because he went crazy, or was he the target of a court conspiracy -- and turns it into a story of fathers and sons, of legacies that are expected to endure, of the terrible expectations of royal life and the consequences that come of disappointing those. And, yes, it also addresses the unrest in the Joseon royal court. Sympathetic to all...and honey, with this group, that's not always easy.
3. Girlhood
Céline Sciamma
Surprising developments, subtle layering, and a completely non-judgmental look at these girls and their gangs. Kudos for those few and far between, yet vital and impactful, sequences that establish the patriarchal system that these seemingly independent women have given themselves over to. Props, too, for the gradual way in which our heroine becomes a part of that system, neither "male" nor "female", but someone with her own agency. Complicated, but easy to understand.
2. Grandma
Paul Weitz
Hilarious, biting, intelligent. Avoids dialogue that's too clever -- and when it is, that's part of the joke ("solipsist!"). Not a false note. Sees every side of a conversation, and even if the film is decidedly pro-choice, the argument it makes for one character not supporting that is...well, it's understandable. And human.
1. Spotlight
Tom McCarthy/Josh Singer
Can I just say, it would be so easy for each of these characters to become similar -- journalist, victim, advocate, co-conspirator/part of the problem -- but each person is an individual. That's what this screenplay excels at -- making us appreciate the individuals, putting a face, a name, a personality to the cipher of "abuse victim" or "corrupted clergyman". It even allows us to look at our heroes' shortcomings, as they face their own denial...and their tendency to look at human tragedies as "scoops".
Score, Actress, Best Picture, and more after the jump
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Predicting Tomorrow's Oscar Noms!
Ok, folks. I know I've been unusually mum about this Awards Season (with the exception of a theory that I'm about to place a lot of faith in). But it's to talk the Oscar Nominations. They are tomorrow. That is exciting. It's time to predict things.
I'm not in rooms with industry members who are "buzzing." I've been following the guilds and the Globes, but most of us seem to agree there's a general mix of consensus and confusion. Here, then, is how I think it could go down.
I have no clue with Foreign Film, Animated, Doc, or shorts. Don't ask me.
BEST PICTURE
Anywhere between five and ten nominees. I'm thinking ten.
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Steve Jobs
BEST DIRECTOR
The exact DGA lineup.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian
More predictions, after the jump
I'm not in rooms with industry members who are "buzzing." I've been following the guilds and the Globes, but most of us seem to agree there's a general mix of consensus and confusion. Here, then, is how I think it could go down.
I have no clue with Foreign Film, Animated, Doc, or shorts. Don't ask me.
BEST PICTURE
Anywhere between five and ten nominees. I'm thinking ten.
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Steve Jobs
BEST DIRECTOR
The exact DGA lineup.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian
More predictions, after the jump
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
The 2015 Hollmann Awards Nominees!
Finally, the nominees for (if you can believe it) THE TENTH ANNUAL HOLLMANN AWARDS!
Who would have guessed that I had the attention span to not only keep this going, but to also spin it off into the Retro Hollmann Awards? And we just keep growing and growing, baby!
Each category is presented in the order in which I finalized them, eighteen in all.
Who would have guessed that I had the attention span to not only keep this going, but to also spin it off into the Retro Hollmann Awards? And we just keep growing and growing, baby!
Each category is presented in the order in which I finalized them, eighteen in all.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Chi-Raq - "Pray 4 My City"
music and lyrics by Rico Cox/Robert Amparan/Leroy Griffin, Jr./Nick Cannon
Fifty Shades of Grey - "Earned It"
music and lyrics by The Weeknd/Stephan Moccio/Jason "DeHaela" Quenneville/Ahmad Balshe
Fifty Shades of Grey - "Earned It"
music and lyrics by The Weeknd/Stephan Moccio/Jason "DeHaela" Quenneville/Ahmad Balshe
Fifty Shades of Grey - "Love Me Like You Do"
music and lyrics by Max Martin/Savan Kotecha/Ilya Salmanzadeh/Ali Payami/Tove Lo
Fifty Shades of Grey - "Salted Wound"
music and lyrics by Brian West/Gerald Eaton/Sia Furler/Oliver Kraus
Youth - "Simple Song #3"
music and lyrics by David Lang
BEST SCORE
The 33
James Horner
Carol
Carter Burwell
It Follows
Disasterpeace
Steve Jobs
Daniel Pemberton
The Throne
Bang Jun-seok
BEST SCORE
James Horner
Carol
Carter Burwell
It Follows
Disasterpeace
Steve Jobs
Daniel Pemberton
Bang Jun-seok
Non-music-related categories after the jump!
Sunday, January 3, 2016
2015 in Review: My Top Ten
Later than most everyone else's, but here it is: my Top Ten of 2015. Presented in alphabetical order -- full rankings to come in the days ahead, what with the Hollmann Awards on their way. For a complete list of the 124 films I saw this year, click here.
Brooklyn
dir: John Crowley
scr: Nick Hornby, from the novel by Colm Tóibín
cin: Yves Bélanger
Perfectly captures the bittersweetness of leaving home and everything you know behind for the first time; on the flip side, also perfectly captures how you don't realize how much you've changed until you return home. Love watching Saoirse Ronan's performance grow from an overwhelmed quiet to a more refined confidence. Indeed, the whole ensemble is engaging, realistic, from the giggly young boarders to gossipy Irish villagers. One of the great endings of the year.
Carol
dir: Todd Haynes
scr: Phyllis Nagy, from the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
cin: Edward Lachman
Speaking of great endings, the last act of this one was one of the more pulse-pounding experiences I had in a theater this year. From Carol's words to Therese before their dinner's interrupted, all the way to the last shot. Everything before it is great, too. At one point, Therese asks a male would-be suitor, "How many times have you been in love?" This is the movie that perfectly captures that first love, the love that left you clammy-handed but more Yourself than anything before or after.
More stories of women, tales of despair, and fascinating true stories after the jump...
Brooklyn
scr: Nick Hornby, from the novel by Colm Tóibín
cin: Yves Bélanger
Perfectly captures the bittersweetness of leaving home and everything you know behind for the first time; on the flip side, also perfectly captures how you don't realize how much you've changed until you return home. Love watching Saoirse Ronan's performance grow from an overwhelmed quiet to a more refined confidence. Indeed, the whole ensemble is engaging, realistic, from the giggly young boarders to gossipy Irish villagers. One of the great endings of the year.
Carol
dir: Todd Haynes
scr: Phyllis Nagy, from the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
cin: Edward Lachman
Speaking of great endings, the last act of this one was one of the more pulse-pounding experiences I had in a theater this year. From Carol's words to Therese before their dinner's interrupted, all the way to the last shot. Everything before it is great, too. At one point, Therese asks a male would-be suitor, "How many times have you been in love?" This is the movie that perfectly captures that first love, the love that left you clammy-handed but more Yourself than anything before or after.
More stories of women, tales of despair, and fascinating true stories after the jump...
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
The Awards So Far
Derelict in my duties, I have been! I haven't talked about the National Board of Review, the New York Critics, or the Los Angeles Critics. I don't remember if I have before, but I definitely keep charts of all three.
Here's what happened:
NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW: Mad Max: Fury Road won Best Picture; The Martian won Best Actor (Matt Damon), Best Director (Ridley Scott), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Drew Goddard). This immediately reminded me of my trip to South Korea, mostly because that's where I saw Mad Max, but also because the friend I was visiting at the time wound up loving The Martian so much, he saw it thrice (at least) in theaters. So that was interesting. Meanwhile, Brie Larson (Room), Sylvester Stallone (Creed), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) round out the actors; Quentin Tarantino wins Original Screenplay for The Hateful Eight.
NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE: Carol, which I plan to see a second time this week, dominated with four wins, including Film, Director (Todd Haynes), Screenplay (Phyllis Nagy), and Cinematography (Edward Lachman). The big shocker: Michael Keaton winning Actor for Spotlight, an ensemble film full of supporting actors/actresses. Supporting Actor, instead, went to Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies (deserved); Supporting Actress to Kristen Stewart for Clouds of Sils Maria (the only movie I saw during my one week in New York City, which I visited for the first time a week before South Korea); Actress to Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn, a dream of a film, a phenomenal performance.
LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION: Spotlight may be the best movie of the year -- certainly LAFCA thought so, since, in addition to Screenplay, that's what it won. Then the rest of the categories spread the love: Mad Max: Fury Road's George Miller for Best Director, Steve Jobs' Michael Fassbender for Best Actor, 45 Years' Charlotte Rampling for Best Actress, 99 Homes' Michael Shannon for Best Supporting Actor; Ex Machina's leading lady Alicia Vikander for Best Supporting Actress.
Joe Reid pointed out on Twitter that this is the first time since 1988 all three critics' bodies split in every category. By the way, Oscar awarded Rain Man for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay that year -- total mentions by any of these groups: 0.
In the morning, another group will announce their nominees -- the Screen Actors Guild. My predictions, after the jump.
Here's what happened:
NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW: Mad Max: Fury Road won Best Picture; The Martian won Best Actor (Matt Damon), Best Director (Ridley Scott), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Drew Goddard). This immediately reminded me of my trip to South Korea, mostly because that's where I saw Mad Max, but also because the friend I was visiting at the time wound up loving The Martian so much, he saw it thrice (at least) in theaters. So that was interesting. Meanwhile, Brie Larson (Room), Sylvester Stallone (Creed), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) round out the actors; Quentin Tarantino wins Original Screenplay for The Hateful Eight.
NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE: Carol, which I plan to see a second time this week, dominated with four wins, including Film, Director (Todd Haynes), Screenplay (Phyllis Nagy), and Cinematography (Edward Lachman). The big shocker: Michael Keaton winning Actor for Spotlight, an ensemble film full of supporting actors/actresses. Supporting Actor, instead, went to Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies (deserved); Supporting Actress to Kristen Stewart for Clouds of Sils Maria (the only movie I saw during my one week in New York City, which I visited for the first time a week before South Korea); Actress to Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn, a dream of a film, a phenomenal performance.
LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION: Spotlight may be the best movie of the year -- certainly LAFCA thought so, since, in addition to Screenplay, that's what it won. Then the rest of the categories spread the love: Mad Max: Fury Road's George Miller for Best Director, Steve Jobs' Michael Fassbender for Best Actor, 45 Years' Charlotte Rampling for Best Actress, 99 Homes' Michael Shannon for Best Supporting Actor; Ex Machina's leading lady Alicia Vikander for Best Supporting Actress.
Joe Reid pointed out on Twitter that this is the first time since 1988 all three critics' bodies split in every category. By the way, Oscar awarded Rain Man for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay that year -- total mentions by any of these groups: 0.
In the morning, another group will announce their nominees -- the Screen Actors Guild. My predictions, after the jump.
Monday, April 6, 2015
(n)Ever Too Early: Oscar Predictions
Ah, April. The Academy Awards are now a little over a month behind us, which means it's time to start speculating about next year's Academy Awards nominations. Why not? It's fun!
Hat tip to Nathaniel of The Film Experience, who began the tradition of April predictions long ago, and who's currently giving his far more thought than I am mine.
I did pretty well last year, actually -- though the fact that I made predictions after Cannes probably helped. Nevertheless, let's try it -- my predictions for eight of the Oscar categories for next year, after the jump!
Hat tip to Nathaniel of The Film Experience, who began the tradition of April predictions long ago, and who's currently giving his far more thought than I am mine.
I did pretty well last year, actually -- though the fact that I made predictions after Cannes probably helped. Nevertheless, let's try it -- my predictions for eight of the Oscar categories for next year, after the jump!
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