SAG Award Nominees

Simply the Best

STUNT ENSEMBLE
All is Lost
Fast & Furious 6
Lone Survivor
Rush
The Wolverine

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

High-fives all around. Perfect.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler

Look, Squibb's fine in the movie, don't get me wrong, but who's voting this as Best of the Year? I don't think she fully succeeds in overcoming the inconsistencies Payne has her play.

ACTOR

Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniels' The Butler

No Redford? Have we all gone mad? I figured Whitaker was getting in, but I had thought maybe McConaughey, maybe Hanks, would be swept out in favor of the Sundance Kid's effective solo performance. I'm glad they weren't, of course -- McConaughey's pretty good, and Hanks is giving one of the best performances in his career. But Redford, man....they should have kicked out Whitaker.

ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

I've yet to see the Streep and the Thompson, and they're two of my favorite actresses, so I'm optimistic. That being said, I do not get the hosannas over Bullock's performance. She does a good job anchoring the film, I guess, but when I look at the quietly gutting Rooney Mara in Ain't Them Bodies Saints, the layered warmth and panic of Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Enough Said, the relatable cycle of renewal and defeat Greta Gerwig portrayed in Frances Ha; when I look at all that, I can't help but feel we can do a hell of a lot better than Sandra Bullock in Gravity.

ENSEMBLE

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
Lee Daniels' The Butler

Dallas Buyers Club! Now there's a surprise! Honestly, I was hoping they'd come through for Prisoners here, but I think I'm one of a handful of people who knows what that movie was all about -- and adores it. That's a true ensemble with across-the-board greatness -- and while I like an all-star cast as much as the next fella, Lee Daniels' The Butler is hardly across-the-board in its merits. I mean, Jesus, Forest Whitaker?

I don't want to sound like I'm beyond disappointed with these results. I'm just not exactly thrilled by them. Like, OK, bully for Lee Daniels' The Butler and 12 Years a Slave - I loved both of them. But other than Dallas Buyers Club in Ensemble, the omission of Redford, and All is Lost in Stunt, there was nothing thrilling about this lineup. I'm sure I'll have a better handle on these by Christmas -- by then, American Hustle and August: Osage County will be out. You know, for US MORTALS.

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THE RESULTS ARE IN!!!

As far as predictions go, I did pretty well. Only seven wrong! Sandra Bullock got Best Actress instead of Gabourey Sidibe, Avatar and The Hurt Locker were vice versa as far as Cinematography and Editing went, Geoffrey Fletcher's Precious screenplay triumphed over Up in the Air. China's Unnatural Disaster lost Best Short Documentary to Music for Prudence. And both sound categories did go to one movie...but to The Hurt Locker.

So, some highlights and lowlights.

-Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have real chemistry. Their banter didn't always work, but when it did, it was on, baby!

-The director of Oscar-winning short doc Music for Prudence, Roger Ross Williams, was giving a heartfelt thank you speech, looking genuinely touched as he took the beauty of the moment in. He was soon interrupted by a random woman who I thought must have been the other director, who upon taking the stage talked right over him, shouldered her way in front of the mic, and talked about differences and credit where credit is due. Then pointed out that Prudence was in the audience, which was neat. By that moment, however, everything was already weird, with Williams looking downright uncomfortable.

Apparently, this woman was producer Elinor Burkett, and she and Williams have been fighting since production on the film. Williams says Burkett qualified as a producer, but walked out on the film; Burkett claims that Williams has been purposely keeping her out of the loop and tried to take her Oscar glory. I think Burkett is behaving like an uppity bitch, and she should probably grow up. This was not classy, not classy at all.

-Man, I hope more people are talking about Sandy Powell's Oscar acceptance speech. Highlight if the night, for me. From the shrugging-off of, "Um, I already have two of these" to her saying that contemporary designers are unfairly overlooked, and so her Oscar belongs to them, "but I'm still taking it home with me." There was nothing about that speech I didn't like. It's the kind of thing I always want to hear from inevitable winners.

-So, they cut the Original Song performances so as to make all categories equal, right? This is what I thought. But then they have give those performances to Original Score, with a group of breakdancers tearing it up to the nominated compositions. One of my friends described it as "a messy, backalley [sic] abortion". God, what an awful, awful sight. The dancing did not go with the music at all, and this alone convinced me that Adam Shankman should never again be put in charge of the Oscars. What was this, revenge for Hairspray getting a straight snub two years ago?

-In addition to that, we had the twenty-minute actors showcase. Following last years tribute from previous winners approach, we got five actors with a connection to the nominees. Oprah, who helped to get Precious distributed, spoke to Gabourey; Forest Whitaker, who directed Hope Floats, spoke to Sandra. And it was preceded by a montage of the actors' performances. And when it was all over, in came another presenter to read out the nominees again, and finally present the statue. I thought it was tedious, and ridiculous when you consider that they only did this for the lead categories. Shankman's purported "all categories are equal" approach wasn't just smoke; it was an outright lie.

-Geoffrey Fletcher's surprise win for adapted screenplay for Precious was incredible. Not only was it a shocker, leaving Up in the Air completely empty-handed...but his speech was fantastic. True, he may not have said much, but the emotion, the heartfelt sincerity of his being humbled, was beautiful. Then when he finally apologized for drawing a blank and thanked everyone...awesome.

-Mo'Nique is now an Oscar-Winning Actress. Though inevitable, it was still a joyous moment. I love when she thanked the Academy "for making it about the performance, instead of the politics." Truth, baby, truth. My one twinge of disappointment: although she thanked "the Precious team" as a whole, she really should have thanked Lee Daniels individually. Maybe she did on the thank-you cam.

-Kathryn Bigelow became the first female to win Best Director. When The Hurt Locker also won Best Picture, we got a truly cinematic moment. For a brief second, we saw backstage as Kathryn stopped midstride and was told to go back, her movie just won! It was such a stunningly real moment.

-When the show ended at exactly midnight, Steve Martin quipped that "The show was so long, Avatar now takes place in the past." But hasn't it run much, much later before? This seemed like the most rushed Oscars on record. Too rushed, if you ask me.

-What, no visuals for Best Cinematography? Who dropped the ball on that one?

What a Fool I Was!

Five out of six right with my SAG predix.

I should've listened to my feeling about Sandra Bullock. She took home her third prize of the precursor season. It's all suspense until Oscar night. The nominees are announced February 2, but is there any doubt that she'll get in? She's ineligible for the BAFTAs and thus went un-nominated, so there's nothing there to go by. In a year that started with Mulligan vs. Streep, then Sidibe vs. Mulligan vs. Streep, then "it's an honor just to be nominated" Bullock rumors...who could have guessed that Sandra Bullock would be the one giving Meryl a run for her money? Absurd!

Otherwise, it went as expected. Inglourious Basterds won Ensemble, with Christoph Waltz getting his Supporting Actor trophy and giving another acceptance speech themed to the prize. It's an interesting trick. Mo'Nique won for Supporting Actress, and Jeff Bridges got his Actor award. Everything seems to be all sewn up.

Globe Winners!

What a fun, strange night. I could have been at my sister's wedding back home (it's also her birthday), but school kept me here. And with no reception to attend, why not watch the Globes?

Da Winnahs:

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA: Avatar. Got that wrong, but at least my shoulda, coulda and woulda.
BEST PICTURE - MUSICAL/COMEDY: The Hangover. I was dead wrong, but who saw this coming? One of the best surprises of the night, albeit one that came at the expense of three movies I loved way more.
BEST DIRECTOR: James Cameron, Avatar. Wrong again. I suck at this. But he said it himself: "I thought Kathryn was going to get it."
BEST SCREENPLAY: Up in the Air. Incorrect, but happily so. So that's what Sheldon Turner looks like.
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart. Ah-ha! Got that one!
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL/COMEDY: Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes. Great speech. Wrong choice. For me and the HFPA both.
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side. Wrong once more. This just became a strange two-horse race.
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL/COMEDY: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia. YES! I was right!
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds. Right again. I like that he themes his speeches with the award. Can't wait for that Oscar speech. "We are all naked men in gold..."
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique. Damn, what a speech. Love that woman. I got it right, by the way.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Up. 100% correct, but that's the usual-usual.
BEST FOREIGN FILM: The White Ribbon. Correct again.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart. Got that one wrong. I guess it's the front-runner now.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Michael Giacchino for Up! Yay!

Only got 6/14. Less than half. I think I'm getting better at this.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Live on VH1

OK, so I'm a little late due to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. So you know where I am: The Jonas Brothers just played off Pete Docter for winning Animated Feature -- Up, obviously. According to Awards Daily, I missed Action Movie (Avatar), Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique in Precious, of course) and Best Ensemble (Inglourious Basterds).

Annnnnnd they just did an Orphan/The Lovely Bones skit. That sucked.

Josh Duhamel and Kristen Bell presenting Young Actor/Actress. Ah, plastic surgery jokes. Can we teach presenters to segue smoothly from joke to presenting. Let's see, Jae Head (sucks), Max Records (win it!), Bailee Madison (didn't see), Saoirse Ronan (didn't see), Kodi Smit-McPhee (didn't see). And....oh, Saoirse won. Cool. I mean, she's got an Oscar nom, but this is neat. I like her accent. She does a great American one, too. She's going to be a very beautiful woman.

Ah, JOHN KRASINSKI! With Amy Poehler, too. Dressed in tribute to John Hughes...but shouldn't this be Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall? Or, in a perfect world, Long Duk Dong. Some awkward cuts with the Breakfast Club joke -- Tarantino a princess? Man, is this a great montage, though. Oh, hey, Alec and Kevin! Why didn't they present? And ending with Sixteen Candles, one of the best movies ever. And now Death Cab for Cutie singing "Don't You Forget About Me". This is...odd. I'm sure everyone in there appreciates what's going on, but the whole execution is making me feel awkward. Actually, this isn't a bad cover. Ahhh, I'll allow it.

9:51PM:

The beautiful Emily Blunt is looking beautiful. I love hearing her speak. I guess she's supporting Supporting Actor. Nice tribute to Wizard of Oz, though I do not completely care for the film. Nominees: Matt Damon for Invictus (best part of the movie), Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (need to see), Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles (missed this when it played here, btu he looks mah-velous), Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (seeing it tomorrow), Alfred Molina in An Education (the best here so far), Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (will win). And the award goes to Waltz, naturally.

I like the beard. Nice speech about Choices, tee-hee. Bit flowery for a Critics Choice award, but I like it.

I love Kristen Chenoweth, but this awfully embarrassing. Somebody stop this. Please put her out of her misery.

Sarah Silverman and Adam Lambert presenting....Best Comedy. Colorful joke, neat dig at the media's obsession with sexual orientation. "I love to scissor with dudes, get over it, America!" Adam's out of his depth. At the Critics Choice. Nommies: The Hangover (fun), (500) Days (winnah), It's Complicated (chah-ming!), The Proposal (nyet), Zombieland (what a great effing movie, sure to become a classic). The winner: THE HANGOVER! I am surprised. Don't they all look fancy?

The Jonas Brothers. Hm.

10:05 PM

Haha, Kristin almost makes up for that las awful skit. Zac Efron and Zoe Saldana presenting Original Song. Zefron needs to stop taking these things so seriously. I really want to see Crazy Heart. "The Weary Kind" won, too! Now an extra reason to see it: it won a BFCA award! Ryan Bingham is a dashing chap. T Bone Burnett resembles James Cameron.

Abbie Cornish and a bearded Jason Bateman presenting for Documentary. What movie is that for? Poor Abbie has been undeservedly forgotten at every precursor. No wonder she looks so unhappy. The Cove won, naturally. Haha, the director is totally awesome! I'm sorry I missed his movie!

The ad people for Nine are promoting the shit out of it, aren't they? "Please see this! Please please please!"

10:15 PM

This helium joke really works! That's hilarious! A'ight, that works!

This future joke works in places. Like that they're really tearing through these next awards (but not). Avatar won a huge bounty. A montage. How nice. Kristin Chenoweth delivering fart jokes? No thanks. So, we've skipped all the way to Adapted and Original Screenplay awards. Zachary Quinto and Claire Danes presenting. Quinto's better at this than she is.

Adapted noms: Fantastic Mr. Fox, District 9, Precious, A Single Man, An Education, Up in the Air. Seen all of them. Up in the Air wins? Yes it does! Jason Reitman goes up to accept for him and Sheldon Turner. Most heartfelt speech here.

Original noms: The Hurt Locker, A Serious Man, (500) Days of Summer, Up, Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino wins, naturally! The Jonas Brothers are really selling it.

10:29 PM

OK, New Moon joke. Let's see how this goes. The idea is funny, but...who is writing these damn skits? I love the revolving door of her outfits.

Meryl Streep! Honorign Kevin Bacon one of my favorite actors of all time. And what, he was the first BFCA Best Actor award-winner? How did I miss this? He should have, at the very least, an Oscar nom or three by now. He is one of the most reliable character actors in the business. And sixdegrees.org is a charitable website! How amazing! Of course you knew Joel Siegel, Kevin, you awesome, wonderful man. I've done Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon starting with my Great-Uncle Johnny. Johnny's sister-in-law Anna was in the same theatre as Vincent Price, who was in The Raven with Jack Nicholson, who was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.. Newman's Own as the inspiration for Kevin Bacon's good deeds is phenomenal. Snazzy outfit.

SAM JACKSON IN VELVET LIFE MADE TEN TIMES BETTER! Snakes on a Plane reference, to! Why is this so awesome! Best Director noms: Clint Eastwood (boo), James Cameron (yay!), Lee Daniels (ehh), Jason Reitman (yay!), Kathryn Bigelow (yay!), Quentin Tarantino (yay!). Bigelow gets it! The critics have spoken! Kath is Queen of the Critics! And what applause! Lord, what a beautiful woman! Oh, no...don't cry. It's the BFCA. Humble and beautiful. She rocks so much, nice honoring Boal, Renner, and the service-people of America.

I just realized it's only Nick Jonas and...what, the E Street Band?

10:45 PM

What, now the speaker lady is messing up?

Ah, Vera Farmiga! So excellent in Up in the Air, so lovely to watch. Presenting Best Actor. If she can give it to George Clooney, how cute would that be? I like her when she riffs. George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Viggo Mortensen, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Renner nom'd. I do see Bridges getting it. And it goes to Jeff Bridges. When is that movie coming out here? Oh, shit, a standing ovation. That's how you know it's real. Bridges just had a nice cover, accidentally thanking Chris Cooper (co-star in Seabiscuit) instead of Scott Cooper (the director/writer). Bridges is so cool. I bet anyone who's his friend feels great.

10:55 PM

Aww, when Kristen is off-the-cuff, it works! Can we forever let her improv?

Bradley Cooper presenting Actress? Oh. Kay. Nommies: Sandra Bullock, Meryl, Saoirse Ronan, Carey Mulligan, Gabby Sidibe, Emily Blunt. Meryl will win, though, right? Her Julia Child is exquisite. And the award goes to.......ANOTHER TIE? Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (she also co-won last year for Doubt). Ooh, are they really gonna wait for her speech before announcing the other one?

I love Meryl speeches. She always seems genuinely surprised and excited. Meryl loves: acting, working, food, and sex. Her words, not mine. What a sexy bitch. No, that's not respectful. What a sexy lady. Why doesn't she host something? Great shout-out to her great co-star Stanley Tucci.

The other goes to...Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side. Fine, OK, great. Not angry. She was good.

OPEN-MOUTHED SNOG BETWEEN MERYL AND SANDRA! SECOND LIFE-MAKING MOMENT!

Great speech. You know what? I wouldn't be angry if she won the Oscar. I wouldn't be angry if any of these actresses won. That's the greatness of this year. The actressing is at an all-time high.

11:08 PM

And here we are. Susan Sarandon, that scarlet siren with her kitty-kat purr, is presenting Best Picture. Ten noms here, as always, but this year, it's like the Oscars! Avatar, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, Nine, The Hurt Locker, An Education, Up in the Air, Precious, Up, Invictus. I suspect The Hurt Locker will take this. Great presentation of the nominees, BTW.

And I am right. Look how happy Cameron looks. Another standing ovation. Great stuff. Mark Boal, writer, accepts the award. Long speech, but nice. He thinks this may be his only shot at this.

Well, that was a show. Wish I hadn't missed Mo'Nique's win. Globes are Sunday, so that should be funner. Can't wait!

The Blind Side

The Blind Side is a bizarre experience. On the one hand, I came away from the movie thinking well of it, reflecting on Bullock's performance with favor. On the other hand, I never found myself completely enthralled during the film itself. Is it that I have grown tired of the sports genre? Is it that, because the subject of the film is playing football currently, there was little suspense to be had? What was in the film that left me wanting?

And then I realized. I mean, I realized it during the film, but I confessed it to myself after the fact: these actors are terribly limited. Not Sandra Bullock, mind. No, she was quite wonderful in the movie, and I can easily understand her Globe and SAG nominations. Here is a no-nonsense Southern gal actually following her Christian values. She reminds me of my aunt, my other aunt and my mother. Certainly, Bullock's performance is no problem.

The supporting cast is quite good, too. Indeed, even Tim McGraw does well, and he's not even an actor. Ray McKinnon and Kathy Bates do what they need to, and are downright charming as they do so. Adriane Lenox's cameo as Michael Oher's biological mother breaks the heart. It is the one scene in the film that I got completely involved in emotionally. She is concerned for the son she hasn't seen, but knows that his life is better without her. Damn fine acting.

Methinks it is the lead. It must certainly have been difficult for writer-director John Lee Hancock and casting director Ronna Kress to find an actor that not only fits the physical requirements, but can also do a passable job of playing the role. Quinton Aaron is not the worst actor I've ever seen, but he's not very good, either. He has all the spirited recitation of a child reading aloud. When one compares his performance to that of another who played a quiet ghetto teen working their way up: Gabourey Sidibe in Precious. And while many have complained that she does not have much to do in the role (which is bull, she is amazing), just one look at Aaron's performance makes her look like Meryl Streep. Not terrible, just terribly dull.

And it's a shame, because so much of the movie works. Hancock has an assured touch and his screenplay is a simple thing that works despite the many instances of Family Banter. You know: the dialogue that's supposed to convince us these actors are a real family. It works some of the time; other times it feels written. Overall, though, the writing is fine. Besides the performances of Aaron and Jae Head, there is little to complain of. Everything is executed just right.

Maybe that's it. It's all too damn pat, like a carefully put-together homemaker catalog. It's a perfectly harmless little film, and that's fine. Not every movie has to be a testament of everything that is art and cinema, like Public Enemies. Not every family film has to have an edge to it like Fantastic Mr. Fox or Where the Wild Things Are. But a movie does have to transport you, to take you into its world and make you live alongside its players. The Blind Side just misses this.

But why not see it? I can't imagine anyone regretting it. I mean, you could do better -- may I recommend Up in the Air? -- but you could do much, much worse.