SAG Award Wackiness!

Everybody's calling this morning nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards weird. I'm one of them. But let's be clear -- what we really mean is that few of the pre-ordained "front-runners" were included. The nominating committee, the members of which change every year, voted with their hearts, and it took everyone by surprise. For me, the system worked -- even if there are nominations that drive me absolutely crazy.

I'll get to the movies in a bit, but re: television: no Grace and Frankie and no Empire make me very skeptical of this year's committee. That's all I'm gonna say.

Ok. So.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

I told y'all Mirren was in. Told. Y'all. In fact, I successfully called four of the nominees, missing out on McAdams. Indeed, McAdams placement gave me hope for the rest of her cast, which made the next set of nominees a shocker.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Jacob Tremblay, Room

Not a Spotlight to be found, and the nods for Bale and Shannon left me shocked SHOCKED.

ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Here's the thing. Kristopher Tapley pointed out that, except for The Revenant, all these films screened for SAG before November. And Leo doesn't always get nominated at the SAG Awards. So the fact that they went out of their way to nominate him tells me this really could be his year, though part of me is still holding out for a Fassbender surprise.

ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Helen Mirren, Woman in Gold
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back

Sarah Silverman! Good for you, girl! Work that nod into something more! But everyone needs to calm down with the Mirren love. I gave you The Last Station. I put up with Hitchcock. I predicted Trumbo because why not? But I will not stand for Woman in Gold.

ENSEMBLE
Beasts of No Nation
The Big Short
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo

Ooh, they loved Trumbo, didn't they? I was surprised with how much I liked it, though it isn't a movie I think about often. Very very very happy about Spotlight and Straight Outta Compton. But boy does this lineup remind me of 2007 -- remember that? No Country for Old Men won against 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Hairspray and Into the Wild.

***KEEP EVERYTHING BELOW THIS MESSAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST - DELETE MESSAGE BEFORE POSTING**
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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.

The 1965 Hollmann Awards: The End

The exciting conclusion to my year of 1965...

You've seen Brock Peters square off against Oskar Werner for Best Supporting Actor...

Listened to music ranging from Cat Ballou to Morituri...

Actively rooted for The Flight of the Phoenix, maybe...

And now it comes down to this -- the awards for Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Picture of 1965 -- including my Top Ten!

All below the jump...

The 1965 Hollmann Awards: Triumph for Japan, Julie Andrews Rules!

In this edition, the penultimate one, we look at Score, Actress, Production Design, and Director.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

5. Morituri
Jerry Goldsmith

4. A Patch of Blue
Jerry Goldsmith

3. The Great Race
Henry Mancini

2. Thunderball
John Barry

1. Doctor Zhivago
Maurice Jarre

More, after the jump

The 1965 Hollmann Awards: Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and more!

Yes, a full month after my last post, I'm finally continuing my personal picks for the best of 1965. And best of all -- there are still two more posts after this!

Today, we take a look at Best Original Song, Best Sound, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography. And be forewarned: in at least one of these categories, not a single one of Oscar's nominees made it!

Shall we begin with a little song and dance?

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

5. "Recit de Cassard" from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

music by Michel Legrand
lyrics by Jacques Demy

4. "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" from Cat Ballou

music by Jerry Livingston
lyrics by Mack David

3. "Something Good" from The Sound of Music

music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers

2. "The Sweet-Heart Tree" from The Great Race

music by Henry Mancini
lyrics by Johnny Mercer

1. "I Will Wait for You" / "Duo de Guy et Genevieve" from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

music by Michel Legrand
lyrics by Jacques Demy

Best Actor and Best Cinematography below the jump.

The 1965 Hollmann Awards: Supporting Actor and More!

After much delay, the RETRO HOLLMANN AWARDS OF 1965 finally continue! Today, we remember that Martin Balsam won Best Supporting Actor, Thunderball was honored for Visual Effects, Darling's costumes (for black-and-white) and screenplay were declared the Best, and Doctor Zhivago added costumes (for color) to its cache of trophies -- and we determine who should have won, and indeed, who should have even been nominated. Unlike that ceremony, we will not be dividing craft categories between B&W and color; we will, however, guarantee 100% honesty in  our assessments.

My personal ballots:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

5. Brock Peters as Rodriguez
The Pawnbroker

Leaves an impression, not just because we rarely get to see Peters in villain mode -- but because he's so damn good at it. So commanding a presence, he cannot help but dominate every scene he's in, even if it's just his voice over the phone. You can hardly blame Steiger for breaking down into tears -- Rodriguez is a son of a bitch who feels more dangerous than he already is.

4. Rod Steiger as Mr. Joyboy
The Loved One

Who knew Steiger had this in him? Creepy, ridiculous, yet somehow...not unrealistic. Mincing about yet lip-smackingly obsessed with the film's heroine, Joyboy is a creepy mama's boy, a cross between Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served? and Francis Dolarhyde from Red Dragon. It is perhaps the most dedicated performance I've seen from Steiger.

3. John Gielgud as Sir Francis Hensley
The Loved One

A brief turn, but this is where all the heart is. Gielgud, as a somewhat absent-minded thespian facing irrelevancy, is sharp in his comic timing -- and heartbreaking in his pathos. His once-over before leaving the studio for the last time is an emotional moment, and Gielgud does not overplay his hand. And besides, he sets the plot into motion.

2. Oskar Werner as Dr. Wilhelm Schumann

Ship of Fools

From my original post: "The film's beating heart, possessing all the complications and ambiguities that the rest of the ensemble is only able to convey on the surface. Apparently it's impossible for this man not to bring out the best in all his scene partners."

1. Alec Guinness as Yevgraf
Doctor Zhivago

Another understated performance, but perhaps because he narrates and bookends the film, Guinness is more dominantly felt. He's masterful in his detached delivery, betraying some emotion on a rare occasion, and genuinely surprised by his own sentimentality. This is the performance I walked away thinking about.

Costumes, Original Screenplay, and more after the jump....

The 1965 Hollmann Awards: Ensemble & Makeup

Over the next four days, I will share my own personal ballot for the films of 1965. Because honey, this is THE RETRO HOLLMANN AWARDS OF 1965!

In addition to the 65 films I previously listed, I watched Love Has Many Faces and The Cincinnati Kid -- I still missed out on The Hill and The Knack, but you know, c'est la vie.

We start our journey with two categories that did not exist for Oscar at the time; one of them still does not. And that one is...

BEST ENSEMBLE

5. Onibaba

A small but memorable cast of characters that you'd never want to be in the same room with -- a bunch of murderers and thieves.

4. The Flight of the Phoenix

An all-male ensemble -- and what an all-male ensemble! Even the characters killed off in the opening credits fit perfectly into this sweaty world director Robert Aldrich has established. Everyone feels essential -- even if Dan Duryea isn't given much to do, I'd still miss him.

3. The Loved One

Lynn Stalmaster
Perhaps an obvious choice for this category -- star cameos, character actors in the leads, an unusual leading lady, the immensity of Allyene Gibbons, and of course, a young Paul Williams playing even younger. All making for one surreal experience.

2. Ship of Fools

From the Spanish dance troupe to the Oscar-winning vets to the young newbies to the foreign stars, there's authenticity in every one. True, there are some performances I naturally gravitated towards, but it says something that no one truly outshined each other -- a very generous ensemble.

1. Young Cassidy

Miriam Brickman
Faces you recognize are suddenly unrecognizable -- but it's not makeup doing the trick, it's the pitch-perfect performances they're all giving! You really get the smell of the time and place, and oh, if only you could toast the way Rod Taylor toasts, or throw shade the way May Craig and May Cluskey throw it. Perfection, from the star to the extras.

Makeup after the jump....