BREAKING: The Monuments Men moved to 2014!

First The Wolf of Wall Street moved to Christmas Day, but now we have a shake up bigger than the one for Foxcatcher: George Clooney's latest is pushing for a February 2014 release date instead of a December one, stating "the film's visual effects could not be completed in time". Based on the article from the LA Times, it appears Clooney was under a lot of pressure to make the film by the deadline, and that seemed impossible.

Way back in July, when GoldDerby released a claim that The Monuments Men would gun for below-the-line categories due to the film being 'popcorn fare'. Visual Effects was one of them, before the theory was debunked. It is now fully possible that it was Clooney's intention to make a good film instead of what appeared to be Oscar bait. It's a smart move by Clooney, especially since the film was caught in the middle of a jam packed year. I mean, if filming concludes in July, you can't expect to get the desired film without more time.

Gravity (2013)- Movie Review

I've always wanted to be a part of an movie 'event'. I've always envied the youth that lined the block on the opening weekends of Jaws and Star Wars, those that witnessed Apocalypse Now on the grand Cannes stage. Despite seeing Avatar twice in one week, I feel that I've finally seen a future classic while it was a new film. This masterpiece is Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, and easily one of the best films of the year.

In 2006, Cuaron released the uber-realistic sci-fi Children of Men, a film where a yet-to-be-born child is the ray of light in the soon-to-be-extinct dark world. With the help of Emmanuel Lubezki, Children of Men had incredible, almost dreamlike shots stretching into ranges of up to four minutes. Since seven years have passed between Men and Gravity, expectations have been unrealistically high.

Gravity premieres in Venice... It's out of this world!

With seven years since Cuaron's last film, the extremely good Children of Men, I was worried that Gravity had the potential to be... bad. My fears are gone, since reviews for his latest seem to be even better than Children of Men!

Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
★★★★★...With nothingness pressing in on all sides, in a place where the grip of someone else’s hand is all that keeps you from the void, life really does seem like a miracle. (link to review)

The Monuments Men trailer.

George Clooney presents: Argo 2: VERSUS HITLER

Silliness aside, I had no idea Bill Murray was in this. If the Academy particularly warms to this, there's a good chance John Goodman could be in three Best Picture winners in a row (he also has Inside Llewyn Davis too)

2014 Oscars: Best Director predictions (7/10/13)

In a perfect world, Richard Linklater would have this category locked up. Which is truly unfortuante, for his chances of winning anything for his work on Before Midnight are slim. Alas, we still have five contenders that I imagine will do well as nominees.

1. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
It is truly miraculous to see one of the best directors ever to still be working. Wolf of Wall Street looks hilarious and exciting, and has Scorsese written all over it.

2. George Clooney, The Monuments Men
When ex-nominee/ex-Batman is directing with an ensemble cast like this, he is bound to get a nomination, maybe a win.

3. Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
The Coen Bros. received nominations for their work on True Grit. With their latest pic a film stronger than True Grit, they will probably also be nominees.

4. Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
With Foxcatcher being my predicted Best Picture w
inner, I might as well predict the director as a nominee. Maybe he will win, maybe he won't.

5. Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Do I think Gravity will even receive a Best Picture nomination? No. But Cuaron has a visual style that has been well known due to his work with Children of Men. This time, he will receive that elusive nomination. With the film also opening the Venice fest, we will see soon enough how good his latest is.

Check back soon for more predictions!

Gravity trailer!

Out of this world!

Oscar Opinions: The Descendants

The Descendants. Ah. Not Payne's best, that's still held by Sideways, but it's still pretty great.

QUICK OPINIONS:
So on my old Star-system, this film held a cozy 3.5/4 Stars. With a letter-scale adjustment, I can't help but promote it to an "A-". What the film has is drama, heart, comedy, conflict, and great performances. What it lacks is rewatch-ability. I cannot see myself watching the film again. It's just... I know what happens, know suspense, and no edge-of-your-seat laughs from watching it again. Still, "A-"

Oscar Luncheon!

Today was the Academy's "Oscar Luncheon", as shown below.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS!

So the Super Bowl is on Sunday, but the Oscars are still more important. My predictions below:

BEST PICTURE:
The Artist
BEST DIRECTOR:
Michel Hazanvicus, The Artist
BEST ACTOR:
Split between George Clooney and Jean Dujardin
BEST ACTRESS:
Viola Davis, The Help
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Golden Globe Winners!

This is insanely old news, but thought I should post this. I had some predictions posted on my Facebook, which you could see here. Anyways, out of my predictions, I missed one, thinking that Golden Globes would reward Brangelina one way or another, and giving it to In the Land of Blood and Honey seemed like a long-shot. Winners below:

Motion Picture, Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants 
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
The Artist 
50/50
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris 
My Week With Marilyn

Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture  – Drama
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

STORY: The Golden Globes Winners' Reactions

Best Director – Motion Picture
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 
George Clooney, The Ides of March 
Michel Hazanvicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture
Octavia Spencer, The Help 
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants 

STORY: Golden Globe Awards Nominations: The Nominee's Reactions 

Best Foreign Language Film
A Separation (Iran) 
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid With A Bike (Belgium)
The Skin I Live In (Spain) 

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Best Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas 
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Performance By An Actress in A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn 
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult 
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Kate Winslet, Carnage

STORY: 'The Artist' Tops Golden Globe Nominations 

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Masterpiece” — W.E.
Music & Lyrics by: Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry
“Hello Hello” — Gnomeo & Juliet 
Music by: Elton John
Lyrics by: Bernie Taupin
“The Keeper” — Machine Gun Preacher 
Music & Lyrics by: Chris Cornell
"Lay Your Head Down” — Albert Nobbs
Music by: Brian Byrne
Lyrics by: Glenn Close
“The Living Proof” — The Help
Music by: Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr.
Lyrics by: Mary J. Blige, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Ludovic Bource, The Artist 
Abel Korzeniowski, W.E.
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture 
Christopher Plummer, Beginners 
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

BFCA Winners!

As follows:

Best Picture: The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis, The Help
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicus, The Artist
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, Steve Zaillian, Moneyball
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Ensemble: The Help
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spenser, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Cinematography (tie): Janusz Kaminski, War Horse 
                                            Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Best Song: The Muppets, Life’s a Happy Song
Best Action Movie: Drive
Best Comedy: Bridesmaids
Best Animated Feature: Rango

North Texas Film Critics Winners!

Spielberg suck-ups below:

BEST PICTURE
War Horse

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese / Hugo

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney / The Descendants

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis / The Help

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer / Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer / The Help

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Janusz Kainski / War Horse

BEST ANIMATED
The Adventures of Tin Tin

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Being Elmo

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Separation (Persian: جدایی نادر از سیمین,Jodái-e Náder az Simin)

84th Oscars: Best Actor

People consider Best Actress a tight race. That's true, as always, but Best Actor has tightened up since last year. I would've put Wahlberg in The Fighter over Bardem's little-seen Biutiful, but that's me.

This year there are 3 locks: George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, and Brad Pitt. All of the movies they are representing are all predicted to get a BP nomination, compared to one strong contender: Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar. You can ask any critic, and I have yet to see a ★★★★ review. Gary Oldman was one of my top 5 in Nov., but he is having the strongest of collapses. No SAG, no Golden Globes, hardly any critics award noms, and no wins to my knowledge.

The Descendants (2011), 3.5/4 Stars

First off, I have only seen Alexander Payne's Sideways, and I loved it. However, it was only recently since that time, much before I learned to love Alexander Payne.

The Descendants tells of George Clooney playing Matt King, a lawyer and heir to 25 acres of Hawaiian land. However, his wife has had a boating accident, and is in a coma. In one scene, King tells his cousin that he is "trying to keep his head above water". Distraught as he is, he has to take care of his two daughters, and he hardly knows their personality. Scottie, the 10 year old, is an offensive loudmouth who Matt cannot familiarize with. Alexandra, the 17 year old, does drugs and drinks while at private school.