Sunday, February 28, 2016

My 2016 Oscar Predictions!

These are my predictions for the 88th Academy Awards, happening later tonight. Be sure to tune in!

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight 



Best Director
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight 



Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl 



Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn 



Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed 



Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs 



Best Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
 



Best Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
 



Best Original Screenplay
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
 



Best Cinematography
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario
 



Best Costume Design
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
 



Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
 



Best Documentary Short Subject
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom
 



Best Foreign Language Film
Embrace Of The Serpent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War
 

  

Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant
 



Best Original Song
"Earned It," Fifty Shades of Grey
"Manta Ray," Racing Extinction
"Simple Song No. 3," Youth
"'Til It Happens to You," The Haunting Ground
"Writings on the Wall," Spectre
 



Best Original Score
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 



Best Animated Short Film
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay's Super Team
We Can't Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
 



Best Live Action Short Film
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stutterer
 



Best Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 

  

Best Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 



Best Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 



Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
 



Best Visual Effects
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees!

Here is my ranking of the Best Picture nominees ahead of Sunday's Academy Awards. The crop of films was exceptionally good this year! Tune in at 7 EST on ABC to see who wins!

1. Spotlight - A+

2. The Big Short - A

3. Brooklyn - A

4. The Revenant - A-

5. Room - A-

6. The Martian - B+

7. Mad Max: Fury Road - B+

8. Bridge of Spies - B+

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Film Review -- Mad Max: Fury Road

Directed and co-written by George Miller, the film stars Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, and Nicholas Hoult. In a post-apocalyptic Australian outback, a tyrannical ruler named Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) rules over his citizens at his Citadel with the help of his lieutenants, including Imperator Furiosa (Theron). One day, Furiosa betrays Joe by stealing his Five Wives - sex slave breeders - and drives off-route in her war rig when sent to buy gasoline in a nearby city. When Immortan Joe's forces engage in her pursuit, she is helped by Max Rockatansky (Hardy), a prisoner of war, and Nux (Hoult) one of Joe's War Boys, who both manage to escape from Joe's grips. Together, they set off in search for Furiosa's utopic homeland, with Joe's forces never far behind. I honestly didn't expect to be impressed with this film, and was skeptical about all of the Oscar love it received. But I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised. The film succeeds on many levels, starting with the stunning cinematography. The Australian orange hues were absolutely mesmerizing. The story was one of the most intelligent I've seen for a sci-fi/action film, and the acting was superb, especially Theron. But George Miller's direction is perhaps the best thing about the film. He brilliantly ties together all the film's parts to create an intense, immensely satisfying viewing experience. I don't think Mad Max rises to the level of some of the other Best Picture nominees, but it is still very worthy of its nomination, and hopefully it takes home most of the technical awards.

Should you see it: Yes
Grade: B+

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Film Review -- Hail, Caesar!

This new comedy from the Coen brothers features an all-star cast including Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Aiden Ehrenreich, and Jonah Hill. The film follows a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Brolin), the manager of a major Hollywood studio in the late 1950s. This day is particularly hectic at Capitol Pictures, and some of the many problems that Mannix must "fix" include the abduction of a celebrity actor (Clooney) by a group of blacklisted communist writers; the tension between a director (Fiennes) known for sophisticated period dramas and an inexperienced Western movie actor (Ehnrenreich) contracted to star in his latest film; and the constant badgering of twin gossip columnists (Swinton, playing both roles) for insider scoop. I really enjoyed that the film takes place over the course of one day, making it fast-paced and high-energy. However, I thought that there were too many different mini-story lines - some of them seemed wholly unnecessary and didn't actually add anything to the overarching plot - which took screen time away from the more important ones, which is a shame. There are many moments of laugh-out-loud humour, and the fancy director-amateur cowboy arc was particularly great. As a whole, though, the film wasn't very consistent at bringing the laughs (on account of those aforementioned unnecessary bits). This film really had the potential to be extraordinary, perhaps one of the best films about Old Hollywood of recent times, but the finished product just didn't completely "click". Nonetheless, it was still pretty entertaining and worth a watch. 

Should you see it: Yes
Grade: B+


Saturday, January 30, 2016

2016 SAG Awards Predictions!

Be sure to watch the 22nd annual SAG Awards tonight at 8 ET on TNT!

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 
Beasts of No Nation
The Big Short
SpotlightStraight Outta Compton
Trumbo
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role 
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio, The RevenantMichael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role 
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, RoomHelen Mirren, Woman in Gold
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role 
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of SpiesMichael Shannon, 99 Homes
Jacob Tremblay, Room
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role 
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, The Danish GirlKate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 
Downton Abbey
Game of ThronesHomeland
House of Cards
Mad Men
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series 
The Big Bang Theory
Key & Peele
Modern Family
Orange is the New Black
TransparentVeep
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series 
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Jon Hamm, Mad MenRami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series 
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With MurderJulianna Marguiles, The Good Wife
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series 
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Louis CK., Louie
William H. Macy, Shameless
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series 
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New BlackEdie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Idris Elba, Luther Ben Kingsley, Tut
Ray Liotta, Texas Rising
Bill Murray, A Very Murray Christmas
Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Nicole Kidman, Grace of Monaco
Queen Latifah, BessieChristina Ricci, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
Susan Sarandon, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe 
Kristen Wiig, The Spoils Before Dying

Thursday, January 14, 2016

2016 Oscar Nominations!

Nominations for the 88th Academy Awards were announced today, with plenty of interesting snubs and surprises! The Oscars air on Sunday, February 28 on ABC.


Best motion picture of the year:
“The Big Short”
“Bridge of Spies”
“Brooklyn”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
“Room”
“Spotlight”
Performance by an actor in a leading role:
Bryan Cranston in “Trumbo”
Matt Damon in “The Martian”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Revenant”
Michael Fassbender in “Steve Jobs”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Danish Girl”
Performance by an actress in a leading role:
Cate Blanchett in “Carol”
Brie Larson in “Room”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Joy”
Charlotte Rampling in “45 Years”
Saoirse Ronan in “Brooklyn”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role:
Christian Bale in “The Big Short”
Tom Hardy in “The Revenant”
Mark Ruffalo in “Spotlight”
Mark Rylance in “Bridge of Spies”
Sylvester Stallone in “Creed”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role:
Jennifer Jason Leigh in “The Hateful Eight”
Rooney Mara in “Carol”
Rachel McAdams in “Spotlight”
Alicia Vikander in “The Danish Girl”
Kate Winslet in “Steve Jobs”
Achievement in directing:
“The Big Short” Adam McKay
“Mad Max: Fury Road” George Miller
“The Revenant” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Room” Lenny Abrahamson
“Spotlight” Tom McCarthy
Adapted screenplay:
“The Big Short” Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
“Brooklyn” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“Carol” Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy
“The Martian” Screenplay by Drew Goddard
“Room” Screenplay by Emma Donoghue
Original screenplay:
“Bridge of Spies” Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
“Ex Machina” Written by Alex Garland
“Inside Out” Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
“Spotlight” Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy
“Straight Outta Compton” Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff
Best animated feature film of the year:
“Anomalisa” Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson and Rosa Tran
“Boy and the World” Alê Abreu
“Inside Out” Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
“Shaun the Sheep Movie” Mark Burton and Richard Starzak
“When Marnie Was There” Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura
Best documentary feature:
“Amy” Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
“Cartel Land” Matthew Heineman and Tom Yellin
“The Look of Silence” Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“What Happened, Miss Simone?” Liz Garbus, Amy Hobby and Justin Wilkes
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” Evgeny Afineevsky and Den Tolmor
Best foreign language film of the year:
“Embrace of the Serpent” Colombia
“Mustang” France
“Son of Saul” Hungary
“Theeb” Jordan
“A War” Denmark
Achievement in cinematography:
“Carol” Ed Lachman
“The Hateful Eight” Robert Richardson
“Mad Max: Fury Road” John Seale
“The Revenant” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Sicario” Roger Deakins
Achievement in costume design:
“Carol” Sandy Powell
“Cinderella” Sandy Powell
“The Danish Girl” Paco Delgado
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Jenny Beavan
“The Revenant” Jacqueline West
Best documentary short subject:
“Body Team 12” David Darg and Bryn Mooser
“Chau, beyond the Lines” Courtney Marsh and Jerry Franck
“Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah” Adam Benzine
“A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“Last Day of Freedom” Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
Achievement in film editing:
“The Big Short” Hank Corwin
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Margaret Sixel
“The Revenant” Stephen Mirrione
“Spotlight” Tom McArdle
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling:
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared” Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Revenant” Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):
“Bridge of Spies” Thomas Newman
“Carol” Carter Burwell
“The Hateful Eight” Ennio Morricone
“Sicario” Jóhann Jóhannsson
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” John Williams
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
“Earned It” from “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio
“Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction”
Music by J. Ralph and Lyric by Antony Hegarty
“Simple Song #3” from “Youth”
Music and Lyric by David Lang
“Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
“Writing’s On The Wall” from “Spectre”
Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
Achievement in production design:
“Bridge of Spies” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
“The Danish Girl” Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
“The Martian” Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
“The Revenant” Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy
Best animated short film:
“Bear Story” Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
“Prologue” Richard Williams and Imogen Sutton
“Sanjay’s Super Team” Sanjay Patel and Nicole Grindle
“We Can’t Live without Cosmos” Konstantin Bronzit
“World of Tomorrow” Don Hertzfeldt
Best live action short film:
“Ave Maria” Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont
“Day One” Henry Hughes
“Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)” Patrick Vollrath
“Shok” Jamie Donoughue
“Stutterer” Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage
Achievement in sound editing:
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Mark Mangini and David White
“The Martian” Oliver Tarney
“The Revenant” Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender
“Sicario” Alan Robert Murray
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Matthew Wood and David Acord
Achievement in sound mixing:
“Bridge of Spies” Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
“The Martian” Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth
“The Revenant” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson
Achievement in visual effects:
“Ex Machina” Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams
“The Martian” Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner
“The Revenant” Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Film Review -- The Revenant

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter. In the 1820s, a fur-trapping expedition ventures into the wilderness of present-day Montana and South Dakota. Led by Captain Henry (Gleeson), the group also includes frontiersman Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) and John Fitzgerald (Hardy), as well as Glass's beloved son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck). When Glass is brutally mauled by a bear on a solo hunt, Fitzpatrick insists that the expedition leave him behind so as not to compromise their agility and make them vulnerable to hostile Native American tribes. Captain Henry pays Fitzpatrick, Hawk and Bridger (Poulter) to stay with Glass until he dies, but Fitzpatrick attempts to suffocate him to speed up the process. Witnessing this murder attempt, Hawk atttacks Fitzgerald and is killed by him. Fitzpatrick and Bridger abandon Glass, but he miraculously survives and embarks on a grueling journey fueled by revenge to find his son's killer. The first praise for the film has to go to Emmanuel Lubezki, the cinematographer. The landscape shots of the American frontier wilderness are absolutely gorgeous and even more impressive considering Lubezki insisted on filming only with natural light. If anyone else wins the Oscar for cinematography, it would be a travesty. DiCaprio's dedicated and intense performance also deserves a positive mention. He completely transforms himself, emotionally and physically, to channel Glass's desperation and determination. There are few roles more demanding than this one, and if it doesn't FINALLY net Leo's Oscar, I can't imagine what would. Tom Hardy is fantastic in his outrageously evil supporting role, and Iñárritu's direction is masterful once again. Although difficult to watch at many points, The Revenant is an incredible cinematic experience.

Should you see it: Yes
Grade: A-