It's the first of the month, so you know what that means: an update of the Top Ten so far. Last month, Korean thriller Mother came out on top, followed by the unreviewed Blue Valentine, the flawed but refreshing The Runaways, A Prophet and Greenberg. The Ghost Writer, Kick-Ass, Shutter Island, Iron Man 2 and Hot Tub Time Machine finished in the last half of the Top Ten, nothing to sniff at, I assure you. But now that we've gotten through the first half of the year, a new list must be made, one that more clearly defines the state of film at this present juncture. I still haven't reviewed Casino Jack and the Unites States on Money, nor have I shared my thoughts on Please Give. Nevertheless, here we go:
THE CURRENT TOP TEN
1. Mother
2. Blue Valentine
3. Toy Story 3
4. The Karate Kid
5. The Runaways
6. The Ghost Writer
7. Greenberg
8. A Prophet
9. Kick-Ass
10. Hot Tub Time Machine
Not just new additions, but some re-arranging as well.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
You're lovely, absolutely lovely...
Two years ago, when I had a Livejournal, I submitted a list of Ten Celebrity Crushes of the moment. It was one of those memes going around, and everyone else focused on the menfolks, so I thought I had to contribute a little something something. Well, two years is a long time, with new fixations and surprise crushes springing up. So while it used to look like this:
1. Drew Barrymore
2. Meryl Streep
3. Jenna Fischer
4. Maggie Gyllenhaal
5. Miley Cyrus
6. Joan Allen
7. Julianne Moore
8. Laura Linney
9. Helen Mirren
10. Allison Janney
...it may have changed substantially. For instance, it's been a while since I've loved Janney or Mirren in something, though I always look forward to their work. I mean, all these ladies will always be adored by me, but what Hollywood beauties have been haunting my dreams lately? Take a look:
1. Drew Barrymore
2. Meryl Streep
3. Jenna Fischer
4. Maggie Gyllenhaal
5. Miley Cyrus
6. Joan Allen
7. Julianne Moore
8. Laura Linney
9. Helen Mirren
10. Allison Janney
...it may have changed substantially. For instance, it's been a while since I've loved Janney or Mirren in something, though I always look forward to their work. I mean, all these ladies will always be adored by me, but what Hollywood beauties have been haunting my dreams lately? Take a look:
10. Nancy Olson
Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Sunset Blvd)
Purely because of Sunset Blvd. I don't think I've seen her in anything else, actually. But listening to ALW's "Too Much in Love to Care" and picturing Miss Olson singing it should be enough to do anybody in.
9. Kristen Stewart
Oh, I did not expect this, either. Then The Runaways came out and showed me that, hey, this girl can actually act! She's always kind of fallen into the trap of using her tics, but when she has a director willing to get a real performance out of her (Into the Wild), she's fantastic. And adorable. And I am totally going to the midnight of Eclipse.
8. Penelope Cruz
Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Nominee for Best Actress (Volver) and Best Supporting Actress (Nine)
When I first saw her in Gothika, I thought to myself, "Wow, why does everyone hate her? She's easily the best thing about this movie." For yes, there was a time when no one liked Penelope Cruz and thought her talentless. With an Oscar win and two additional nominations under her belt, she's hushed her critics. She's got a body that won't quit and an unusual beauty that is instantly bewitching.
7. Laura Linney
Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (The Nanny Diaries)
Academy Award Nominee for Best Actress (You Can Count On Me, The Savages) and Best Supporting Actress (Kinsey)
Can you believe she used to be one my least favorite actresses? Oh, the folly of youth! I don't get Showtime, so I'll have to find some other way to catch The Big C. When the hell is she going to win an Oscar? Or even a Tony? Anyway, she's a sophisticated kind of pretty, a high-class beauty, and clearly a smart woman. I like brains. Maybe not like zombies do, but I like them nonetheless.
6. Maggie Gyllenhaal
Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Crazy Heart)
Sad though it may be that her least performance got her an Oscar nod, I still love Maggie. She seems like a feisty gal, one comfortable with her sexuality, yet equally comfortable in a Barnes & Noble cafe, know what I mean? That voice, too. That voice...
5. Julianne Moore
Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (A Single Man)
Academy Award Nominee for Best Actress (The End of the Affair, Far From Heaven) and Best Supporting Actress (Boogie Nights, The Hours)
Boy, she's moved up a bit, hasn't she? Is it her performance in A Single Man? The anticipation of The Kids Are All Right? Certain sequences in Chloe? She only grows more beautiful with each passing year.
4. Jessica Biel
Now here's a face that could launch a thousand ships. She shows up on-screen with the kind of gumption that reminds me of early Ashley Judd. And she can sing: not only does she show off her chanteuse skills in Easy Virtue, but she may be appearing on Broadway in a musical version of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, alongside Patti Lupone! Her additional assets also make her the living embodiment of Jessica Rabbit.
3. Glenn Close
Academy Award Nominee for Best Actress (Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons) and Best Supporting Actress (The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, The Natural)
I blame Damages. An attractive older woman with confidence, intelligence and independence? Sexy. Her eyes bedazzle and her singing haunts. That she's become, at 63, the go-to gal for ball-busters on TV is awesome. Like Linney, she just emits this aura of Class, doesn't she?
2. Meryl Streep
Hollmann Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (A Prairie Home Companion) and Nominee for Best Actress (Julie & Julia)
Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Sophie's Choice) and Best Supporting Actress (Kramer vs. Kramer) and Nominee for Best Actress (The French Lieutenant's Woman, Silkwood, Out of Africa, Ironweed, A Cry in the Dark, Postcards from the Edge, The Bridges of Madison County, One True Thing, Music of the Heart, The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt, Julie & Julia) and Best Supporting Actress (The Deer Hunter, Adaptation)
Naturally, the Top Two are unchanged. Meryl will always be beautiful, always be talented, always give good interview. She's simply the best. Actress, that is.
1. Drew Barrymore
Remember the time everyone finally listened to me and recognized Drew Barrymore for her acting ability? That was a great couple of weeks. So much to admire about her: her bubbly demeanor, her openness to trying new things, her work ethic, the fact that she bounced back from a problematic childhood. A beautiful woman, inside and out, Drew will always be Number One.
Raising Caine
Five sentences for three films:
Harry Brown
Michael Caine gives a grade-A performance in this beautifully-lit though slow-paced social thriller that wants to make a Statement about the Way of Things while still retaining B-movie vigilante qualities. It doesn't always work, but certain sequences, like Harry's encounter with the drug dealer Slim (a mercilessly icky Sean Harris) just sing to the high Heavens with superbity. An original song plays over the credits, which is a little amusing, but cannot distract from seeing Caine dole out some street justice (not to be confused with Streep Justice). I'm amazed at how serious it is, and how determined director Daniel Barber is to stick with that vision of gritty realism. A dreary third-act twist, though hinted at before, keeps it at a three-star status instead of three and one-half.
A Prophet
True, the point of the title is really only used once, and almost randomly at that, but there is no doubt that Jacques Audiard has made quite the masterpiece, a prison movie, a gangster epic, a character piece with supernatural elements, and all mixed together seamlessly and beautifully. Everyone we meet, however briefly, is fully developed and completely individual: Hichem Yacoubi is one of cinema's greatest ghosts, and Niels Arestrup is scary and pathetic as the Corsican mobster who runs the prison from the inside. Protagonist Tahar Rahim, though, is a marvel to watch, and the transformation from naive innocent to ruthless gangster is one that sneaks up on you, so subtle and fluid is that arc. Hollmann Award Winner Alexandre Desplat (who has also been nominated four other times) contributes a wonderfully humble score, too.
MacGruber
More jokes hit than miss. If there's anything holding the movie back, it may be Will Forte's hamming it up, which clashes somewhat with Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer and Kristen Wiig, all of whom play it straight. It works much of the time -- dick jokes, copy toner lube, and the history of MacGruber and villain Cunth are great highlights (all crass, all hilarious) -- but in the end you know you won't remember this movie in two years. Still, you could probably keep this on as you do laundry. Can we let Phillippe do more comedies, by the way?
Harry Brown
Michael Caine gives a grade-A performance in this beautifully-lit though slow-paced social thriller that wants to make a Statement about the Way of Things while still retaining B-movie vigilante qualities. It doesn't always work, but certain sequences, like Harry's encounter with the drug dealer Slim (a mercilessly icky Sean Harris) just sing to the high Heavens with superbity. An original song plays over the credits, which is a little amusing, but cannot distract from seeing Caine dole out some street justice (not to be confused with Streep Justice). I'm amazed at how serious it is, and how determined director Daniel Barber is to stick with that vision of gritty realism. A dreary third-act twist, though hinted at before, keeps it at a three-star status instead of three and one-half.
A Prophet
True, the point of the title is really only used once, and almost randomly at that, but there is no doubt that Jacques Audiard has made quite the masterpiece, a prison movie, a gangster epic, a character piece with supernatural elements, and all mixed together seamlessly and beautifully. Everyone we meet, however briefly, is fully developed and completely individual: Hichem Yacoubi is one of cinema's greatest ghosts, and Niels Arestrup is scary and pathetic as the Corsican mobster who runs the prison from the inside. Protagonist Tahar Rahim, though, is a marvel to watch, and the transformation from naive innocent to ruthless gangster is one that sneaks up on you, so subtle and fluid is that arc. Hollmann Award Winner Alexandre Desplat (who has also been nominated four other times) contributes a wonderfully humble score, too.
MacGruber
More jokes hit than miss. If there's anything holding the movie back, it may be Will Forte's hamming it up, which clashes somewhat with Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer and Kristen Wiig, all of whom play it straight. It works much of the time -- dick jokes, copy toner lube, and the history of MacGruber and villain Cunth are great highlights (all crass, all hilarious) -- but in the end you know you won't remember this movie in two years. Still, you could probably keep this on as you do laundry. Can we let Phillippe do more comedies, by the way?
Good Night, Great 'Knight'
Ooh, Knight and Day felt so good going down. Tasted like a refreshing Dr Pepper as it washes down the deliciousness of a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (this is my favorite meal at my favorite restaurant -- seriously).
I'm always ready to watch Mr. Tom Cruise, ever since junior year of high school when Ms. Walz pointed out the subtleties and nuances of his performances. Saw Mission: Impossible III and Magnolia and immediately knew that I was going to be a lifelong fan. Knight and Day serves as a reminder that Cruise is dedicated to always keeping the audience entertained without compromising the film or the character. Some people ham it up, but Cruise knows what works. Here, he's riffing on his action persona by playing it lighter. Refreshingly, though, he never winks at the audience, never plays it as Tom Cruise having fun in a ridiculous action movie. This really is Roy Miller, and he really is an awesome secret agent who may or may not be a little unhinged. Me, I love that.
Look, I'll always have time for the self-aware ridiculousness of The A-Team, but I'm glad we at least get one action-comedy that's not both a postmodern deconstruction of the genre and a celebration of violence. It's been fun for a while to see Shoot 'Em Up and G.I. Joe and bask in their cartoonish indulgences. And I truly appreciate the more serious approaches of Casino Royale, the aforementioned Mission: Impossible III, and the masterful The Dark Knight. But seeing a movie that refuses to wink, yet refuses to be serious? Rare, especially when they manage to make it work.
The "they" in this case: director James Mangold, who balances this tricky tone quite ably. Writer Patrick O'Neill, who, thank the Lord, managed to craft a female lead that does more than just squeal about the unpleasantness of the situation. Now, does she squeal and handle a gun poorly? At first, yes. But she brings a lot to the table, believably holds her own against the agents attacking and protecting her, and eventually becomes a great heroine. And she's not one of those crazy I NEED TO GET MARRIED WAHHHH heroines, either. So, okay, thank you Patrick O'Neill for writing her, and thank you Cameron Diaz for playing her so magnificently. Sometimes I forget how much I like you, and then Knight and Day comes out and I'm on Team Diaz all over again.
Now, my roommate didn't think the editors let the dramatic beats breathe enough, but I didn't notice that. What I did notice, however, was that Quincy Z. Gunderson and Michael McCusker actually let me see what was happening! No quick cuts, no thousand and one inserts of whatever; actual action sequences that one could follow! I knew who was winning! I knew who was losing! I was aware of where everyone was in relation to everyone else! What's sad is how rare that's become, that I have to single out the fact that the audience can follow what the characters are doing. But I love it!
The supporting players are an able team of character actors. Peter Sarsgaard is the agent tracking them down, Jordi Molla is an arms dealer hunting them down, Viola Davis is the head of the agency, and Paul Dano is the key to the whole thing. Maggie Grace and Celia Weston also make brief appearances, with Weston reminding us in a single scene why we love her so dearly. Dano, by the way, plays the role of young genius fantastically, a little unhinged, a little naive, a lot fascinating. We don't get to spend much time with them, of course, because it's all about Cruise and Diaz, but at least they didn't skimp on giving us interesting characters and great actors to play them.
Y'all know I love me movie scores. John Powell does a fine job here, making especially great use of the accordion. Let me mention how much I love the accordion: a lot. I think that instrument classes up a score like no one's business. Think of Amelie or Gosford Park; hell, think of the disastrous Tony Randall film The Alphabet Murders, where the only thing you can recommend is the accordion-heavy score by Ron Goodwin. It's a great instrument, too often used only used to let Americans know the characters are in France. I've certainly never heard it used to such great effect in an action film before, but Powell delivers.
It's not a perfect movie, no. I but Diaz as a chick who knows cars, yet I don't buy her as a mechanic. And the green screen effects were a little disappointing for a movie of this caliber. And though I liked most of what cinematographer Phedon Papamichael gave us, I did find some of his lighting choices questionable and unmotivated. But overall? A great ride, one that I truly adored.
I'm always ready to watch Mr. Tom Cruise, ever since junior year of high school when Ms. Walz pointed out the subtleties and nuances of his performances. Saw Mission: Impossible III and Magnolia and immediately knew that I was going to be a lifelong fan. Knight and Day serves as a reminder that Cruise is dedicated to always keeping the audience entertained without compromising the film or the character. Some people ham it up, but Cruise knows what works. Here, he's riffing on his action persona by playing it lighter. Refreshingly, though, he never winks at the audience, never plays it as Tom Cruise having fun in a ridiculous action movie. This really is Roy Miller, and he really is an awesome secret agent who may or may not be a little unhinged. Me, I love that.
Look, I'll always have time for the self-aware ridiculousness of The A-Team, but I'm glad we at least get one action-comedy that's not both a postmodern deconstruction of the genre and a celebration of violence. It's been fun for a while to see Shoot 'Em Up and G.I. Joe and bask in their cartoonish indulgences. And I truly appreciate the more serious approaches of Casino Royale, the aforementioned Mission: Impossible III, and the masterful The Dark Knight. But seeing a movie that refuses to wink, yet refuses to be serious? Rare, especially when they manage to make it work.
The "they" in this case: director James Mangold, who balances this tricky tone quite ably. Writer Patrick O'Neill, who, thank the Lord, managed to craft a female lead that does more than just squeal about the unpleasantness of the situation. Now, does she squeal and handle a gun poorly? At first, yes. But she brings a lot to the table, believably holds her own against the agents attacking and protecting her, and eventually becomes a great heroine. And she's not one of those crazy I NEED TO GET MARRIED WAHHHH heroines, either. So, okay, thank you Patrick O'Neill for writing her, and thank you Cameron Diaz for playing her so magnificently. Sometimes I forget how much I like you, and then Knight and Day comes out and I'm on Team Diaz all over again.
Now, my roommate didn't think the editors let the dramatic beats breathe enough, but I didn't notice that. What I did notice, however, was that Quincy Z. Gunderson and Michael McCusker actually let me see what was happening! No quick cuts, no thousand and one inserts of whatever; actual action sequences that one could follow! I knew who was winning! I knew who was losing! I was aware of where everyone was in relation to everyone else! What's sad is how rare that's become, that I have to single out the fact that the audience can follow what the characters are doing. But I love it!
The supporting players are an able team of character actors. Peter Sarsgaard is the agent tracking them down, Jordi Molla is an arms dealer hunting them down, Viola Davis is the head of the agency, and Paul Dano is the key to the whole thing. Maggie Grace and Celia Weston also make brief appearances, with Weston reminding us in a single scene why we love her so dearly. Dano, by the way, plays the role of young genius fantastically, a little unhinged, a little naive, a lot fascinating. We don't get to spend much time with them, of course, because it's all about Cruise and Diaz, but at least they didn't skimp on giving us interesting characters and great actors to play them.
Y'all know I love me movie scores. John Powell does a fine job here, making especially great use of the accordion. Let me mention how much I love the accordion: a lot. I think that instrument classes up a score like no one's business. Think of Amelie or Gosford Park; hell, think of the disastrous Tony Randall film The Alphabet Murders, where the only thing you can recommend is the accordion-heavy score by Ron Goodwin. It's a great instrument, too often used only used to let Americans know the characters are in France. I've certainly never heard it used to such great effect in an action film before, but Powell delivers.
It's not a perfect movie, no. I but Diaz as a chick who knows cars, yet I don't buy her as a mechanic. And the green screen effects were a little disappointing for a movie of this caliber. And though I liked most of what cinematographer Phedon Papamichael gave us, I did find some of his lighting choices questionable and unmotivated. But overall? A great ride, one that I truly adored.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Punchy, Bleary, Fresh Out of Magic -- AND ALIVE!
Sorry I've been away for so long. I just served as Director of Photography on a film I co-wrote with my roommate. A detective story set in a retirement home, it's a project we've been talking about since Summer 2007, and we're just so effing excited that we got to do it for our thesis film. Of course, I myself have three more films to work on in other capacities after this, but for tonight, it just feels good to have completed production on a movie I wrote and shot.
And yet, I still found time to go to the movies twice!
Toy Story 3 is fantastic, first of all. It's a little short, so that there's little time to develop the large ensemble Michael Arndt and the Pixar team have created. That's a shame, too, because I'd love to get to know Mr. Pricklepants, Dolly and Stretch a little more. Neat thing, though: that's barely even a drawback. The film succeeds as both the end of a franchise and a transition between generations. There is a devastating and beautiful moment at the end involving hand-holding, and you could hear the audience trying to stifle the tears. This movie gets it, and for those of us who are still a little attached to our childhood toys, it's a touching reminder of what these "things" actually represent to us.
Also, Ned Beatty rocks. Not to short shrift the rest of the cast, of course, but don't we already know that the main ensemble is amazing? Joan Cusack, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn: great, great, great! Michael Keaton's Ken, also, is a work of genius. And can we please give cinematography Oscar noms to animated films? Or, I don't know, something to honor the lighting? It's too real. Add to that a great score by Randy Newman, and we have ourselves a fantastic, if too short, film for all ages.
Compare this to Jonah Hex, which was awful. I barely remember it at all, and I just saw it less than twenty-three hours ago. Michael Fassbender seems to be the only one who knows what tone to go for. Not just among the actors, either: the director, cinematographer, editor, colorist, VFX techies, even Marco Beltrami! Nobody knew what the hell was going on, clearly. I wasn't even angry. I just wondered why anyone bothered financing this, why anyone put this into theaters, why I actually paid to see it. I turned around at one point and said to my roomie, "My God, it's a TV pilot." That's what it plays like: A short introduction to the characters we'll be following throughout the series. On SyFy.
What I'm saying is, Jonah Hex sucks, Toy Story 3 rules, and I deserve a break.
And yet, I still found time to go to the movies twice!
Toy Story 3 is fantastic, first of all. It's a little short, so that there's little time to develop the large ensemble Michael Arndt and the Pixar team have created. That's a shame, too, because I'd love to get to know Mr. Pricklepants, Dolly and Stretch a little more. Neat thing, though: that's barely even a drawback. The film succeeds as both the end of a franchise and a transition between generations. There is a devastating and beautiful moment at the end involving hand-holding, and you could hear the audience trying to stifle the tears. This movie gets it, and for those of us who are still a little attached to our childhood toys, it's a touching reminder of what these "things" actually represent to us.
Also, Ned Beatty rocks. Not to short shrift the rest of the cast, of course, but don't we already know that the main ensemble is amazing? Joan Cusack, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn: great, great, great! Michael Keaton's Ken, also, is a work of genius. And can we please give cinematography Oscar noms to animated films? Or, I don't know, something to honor the lighting? It's too real. Add to that a great score by Randy Newman, and we have ourselves a fantastic, if too short, film for all ages.
Compare this to Jonah Hex, which was awful. I barely remember it at all, and I just saw it less than twenty-three hours ago. Michael Fassbender seems to be the only one who knows what tone to go for. Not just among the actors, either: the director, cinematographer, editor, colorist, VFX techies, even Marco Beltrami! Nobody knew what the hell was going on, clearly. I wasn't even angry. I just wondered why anyone bothered financing this, why anyone put this into theaters, why I actually paid to see it. I turned around at one point and said to my roomie, "My God, it's a TV pilot." That's what it plays like: A short introduction to the characters we'll be following throughout the series. On SyFy.
What I'm saying is, Jonah Hex sucks, Toy Story 3 rules, and I deserve a break.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
"If You Even Existed, I'd Divorce You"
Every now and then, esteemed blogger Andrew K. at Encore Entertainment hosts a casting session at the official LAMB site. We've previously recast Doubt and The Color Purple, and now the results are in for a new spin on an old favorite: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
Some intriguing suggestions are made, such as Alan Rickman for George, Amy Adams for Honey, and Lisa Kudrow for Martha. My own input is ripped directly from my Casting Coup of yesteryear: Harden, Greenwood, Reynolds, Garai. But do check out all the choices, as well as the one voted by us as the One We'd Most Like to See.
(Although, looking at these and thinking about them now...no Glenn Close?)
Some intriguing suggestions are made, such as Alan Rickman for George, Amy Adams for Honey, and Lisa Kudrow for Martha. My own input is ripped directly from my Casting Coup of yesteryear: Harden, Greenwood, Reynolds, Garai. But do check out all the choices, as well as the one voted by us as the One We'd Most Like to See.
(Although, looking at these and thinking about them now...no Glenn Close?)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tony-Tony-Tony....
I can skip the BFCAs. And I've missed the Globes without missing them. And I watched The Pregnancy Pact instead of the SAG Awards earlier this year. But the Oscars and the Tonys? That shit, I take seriously. So I was horrified when I finally arrived home an hour late! Fortunately, I had already learned (and tweeted about) the WHOA win by Scarlett Johansson for Featured Actress in a Play (A View from the Bridge), and The Film Experience kept me updated as to Eddie Redmayne's win for Featured Actor in a Play (Red).
It's time I start putting money on these, man. Out of the 16 categories that I tried to predict winners for (not here, but to my friends in the real world), I managed to nail 13 (or roughly 75%)! I rarely do so well on my Oscar predix (I only got 17 out of 24 this year...actually, I guess that's close: 70.8%). Johansson and Redmayne were among the surprises, but let's see what else made me go "wha??" and what made me go "mm-HM".
Full winners here.
BEST PLAY
Red
Called it. Can't they elect someone to speak for all if/when they win? There's never enough time for anyone to say what they want to say.
BEST MUSICAL
Memphis
Called it. Up against a dance show, a concept album, and an atypical jukebox musical, the original Memphis was the one that had to win. Same problem as the above with acceptance speeches, though.
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Fences
Called it.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
La Cage aux Folles
Called it. And why did they even nominate anything else?
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Viola Davis, Fences
Called it. Actually, I leaped around the office saying, "Viola's getting a Tony tonight!"
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music
WHOA! Clearly, she thought so, too. Got all Bullock-y up there, and I loved it. I love it when the stars lose themselves. Predicted Montego Glover for Memphis.
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
Denzel Washington, Fences
Called it. He should probably find out who the hell is about to honor him before he goes to awards shows.
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Called it.
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
You ever predict something because you allow yourself one category you know will be wrong? Well, I did predict this, but it still shocked and elated me when she won!
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Called it. Either her or Angela, but I'd heard more people singing her praises. So, naturally.
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Eddie Redmayne, Red
Surprised. Thought this was going to be a Fences night with Stephen McKinley Henderson honored.
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Surprised. Thought Robin de Jesus in La Cage. Silly me, I had heard lots of positive things about Million Dollar Quartet!
BEST DIRECTOR - PLAY
Michael Grandage, Red
Didn't call this...but that's because I didn't actually try to predict this category, for some reason.
BEST DIRECTOR - MUSICAL
Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles
Called it. Who didn't? I kept hearing his La Cage was the best La Cage.
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Bill T. Jones, Fela!
A surprise to me. I did think Twyla Tharp would get it for Come Fly Away. Not based on much except that I knew the name. The first time I saw anything from either show was tonight.
It's time I start putting money on these, man. Out of the 16 categories that I tried to predict winners for (not here, but to my friends in the real world), I managed to nail 13 (or roughly 75%)! I rarely do so well on my Oscar predix (I only got 17 out of 24 this year...actually, I guess that's close: 70.8%). Johansson and Redmayne were among the surprises, but let's see what else made me go "wha??" and what made me go "mm-HM".
Full winners here.
BEST PLAY
Red
Called it. Can't they elect someone to speak for all if/when they win? There's never enough time for anyone to say what they want to say.
BEST MUSICAL
Memphis
Called it. Up against a dance show, a concept album, and an atypical jukebox musical, the original Memphis was the one that had to win. Same problem as the above with acceptance speeches, though.
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Fences
Called it.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
La Cage aux Folles
Called it. And why did they even nominate anything else?
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Viola Davis, Fences
Called it. Actually, I leaped around the office saying, "Viola's getting a Tony tonight!"
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music
WHOA! Clearly, she thought so, too. Got all Bullock-y up there, and I loved it. I love it when the stars lose themselves. Predicted Montego Glover for Memphis.
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
Denzel Washington, Fences
Called it. He should probably find out who the hell is about to honor him before he goes to awards shows.
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Called it.
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
You ever predict something because you allow yourself one category you know will be wrong? Well, I did predict this, but it still shocked and elated me when she won!
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Called it. Either her or Angela, but I'd heard more people singing her praises. So, naturally.
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Eddie Redmayne, Red
Surprised. Thought this was going to be a Fences night with Stephen McKinley Henderson honored.
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Surprised. Thought Robin de Jesus in La Cage. Silly me, I had heard lots of positive things about Million Dollar Quartet!
BEST DIRECTOR - PLAY
Michael Grandage, Red
Didn't call this...but that's because I didn't actually try to predict this category, for some reason.
BEST DIRECTOR - MUSICAL
Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles
Called it. Who didn't? I kept hearing his La Cage was the best La Cage.
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Bill T. Jones, Fela!
A surprise to me. I did think Twyla Tharp would get it for Come Fly Away. Not based on much except that I knew the name. The first time I saw anything from either show was tonight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)