Showing posts with label Hugo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hugo. Show all posts

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Oscars Analysis

So last Sunday was the Oscars. Am I mad? Slightly. Am I disoppointed? Slightly. But did I laugh? Yes, I did. Billy Crystal was quite an improvement over Anne Hathaway, and I'm not counting Franco because he really didn't host. On my predictions I posted, I decided to list the 8 big categories: Best Picture, Director, Acting, and Writing. I only missed one, and that was Meryl Streep for Best Actress. Throughout the show, I was shocked with the Hugo success. I though it would only win Best Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. Stealing cinematography The Tree of Life? Really?

Anyways, I analyzed the list of winners, and saw that Hugo and The Artist both nabbed 5 awards. The Overrated Iron Lady was the only other film to get more than one award, taking Best Makeup and Best Actress. And I though The Help would be the other film to get more than one!

In the Best Editing, I was surprised with Dragon Tatoo's success. It was snubbed for Best Picture and Best Score, and I thought the music was the year's most badass. Judging from the trailer's, Tattoo looks like it was snazzily edited, but its win was still a surprise.

I did some predictions on the Oscar website, and I got 17 right out of 24. The main ones I missed were Best Cinematography and Actress, and got a 70.83% overall. Not bad for my second year, and last year I got a 54.16%, so I'm shooting for the stars for next year.

Monday, February 27, 2012

84th Oscars Winners! Hugo takes 5, so does Thr Artist!

Best Picture: The Artist

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne & Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Oscar Opinions: Hugo

More magical than Harry Potter. Moving on.

QUICK OPINIONS:
Trivia: Hugo was adapted from Selznick's 'THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET'. When I heard the film was to be directed by Scorsese, I thought two things: 1) Where's Leo? 2) HOLY MOLY! MARTIN SCORSESE, DIRECTOR OF RAGING BULL, IS DIRECTING A MOVIE BASED OF ONE OF THE BEST KIDS BOOKS OF THE PAST YEARS! YES!

I don't mean to boast, but I predicted Hugo right after the horrible trailer. Honestly, I was predicting only for Scorsese. After viewing the film for the first time, I was mixed. I didn't like Baron Cohen, I didn't like some of the visual style, and I didn't like the kids. The 3D helped though. The 2nd time I saw it, I actually saw some coherence in the changes of the story. Yes, John Logan changed the story a bit, but it was a good movie. I gave it an 'A-', and you can see it listed under Chinese Appease.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Oscar Opinions: The Help

So profits from The Help are in the black. Never mind.

QUICK OPINIONS:
Judging from the trailer, I honestly thought this movie would be a clunker. Mixing comedy and drama, about black maids? No big celebs either. 3-star reviews. Yeah...

Turns out, the film went above $100 Mil, and was in my local theater 'til 2 weeks ago. I thought the audience would be book-club members and girls, but I liked it too. On my old star-system, I gave it a 3.5, but with letter grade, it has a 'B+'. Hence, you can see it listed on 'Chinese Appease'.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

BAFTA Nominations

BEST FILM
THE ARTIST – Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE – Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo

DIRECTOR
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas – Winding Refn
HUGO – Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay

LEADING ACTOR
BRAD PITT – Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY – The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN – The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – Shame

LEADING ACTRESS
BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist – Film
MERYL STREEP – The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON – We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS – The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – Beginners
JIM BROADBENT – The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL – Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH – My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN – Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN – The Help
JUDI DENCH – My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY – Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER – The Help

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA – Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME – Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – _Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno, Rory Stewart Kinnear
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
ATTACK THE BLOCK – Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND – Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS – Ralph Fiennes (Director)
SUBMARINE – Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
TYRANNOSAUR – Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

DOCUMENTARY
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD – Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM – James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA – Asif Kapadia

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS – Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD – John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY – Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS – Woody Allen
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DESCENDANTS – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP – Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL – Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INCENDIES – Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McGraw
PINA – Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE – François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION – Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN – Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

ANIMATED FILM
HE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS – Sarah Smith
RANGO – Gore Verbinski

ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE ARTIST – Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard – Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE – John Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST – Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO – Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE – Janusz Kiminski

EDITING
THE ARTIST – Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE – Mat Newman
HUGO – Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA – Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER – SPY Dino Janster
PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE ARTIST – Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE – Rick Carter, Lee Sandales
COSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST – Mark Bridges
HUGO – Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE – Michael O’Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Jacqueline Durran

SOUND
THE ARTIST – Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO – Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE – Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO – Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE – Ben Morris, Neil Corbould
MAKE UP & HAIR
THE ARTIST – Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag – Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY – Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jenny Shircore

SHORT ANIMATION
ABUELAS – Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH – Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL – Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM
CHALK – Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT – Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS – Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST – John Maclean, Gerardine O’Flynn
TWO AND TWO – Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD
ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
TOM HIDDLESTON
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

American Society of Cinematographers Nominees

The following is nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers. No War Horse? Good.

Guillaume Schiffman, AFC (The Artist)
Jeff Cronenweth, ASC (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Robert Richardson, ASC (Hugo)
Hoyte van Hoytema, FSF, NSC (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (The Tree of Life)


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

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)

Monday, January 9, 2012

7 Best Makeup Contenders

In my opinion, this is one of the most pointless categories. Not surprised to see that J. Edgar didn't make the cut. Hugo did, and I think the Academy is giving some much deserved love to Martin Scorsese.

7 Shortlisted films below:
Albert Nobbs
Anonymous
The Artist
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady


The Academy will view 10 minute excerpts showing off the makeup talent in the following films, but showing black and white lipstick for The Artist, I imagine, would be tough.

DGA Nominees

No Terrence Malick. Poop. Surprised not to see any Spielberg, I swore him and Malick would be locks. Nominees below.

Woody Allen "Midnight in Paris"
David Fincher "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Michel Hazanavicus "The Artist"
Alexander Payne "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese "Hugo"

Thursday, January 5, 2012

84th Oscars: Visual Effects Shortlist

The following films will contend for a Best Visual Effects nom.

“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
“X-Men: First Class”

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

PGA Nominees Announced!

FOR BEST PRODUCTION:
THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann
BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend
THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin
THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green
HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese
THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt
WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

Saturday, December 31, 2011

My top 10 favorite films of 2011.

With 2011 ending in 3 and a half hours, I have decided to post my top 10 favorite films of this year. 2011 was a good year. I had to leave some good films this year. Beginners, Rise of the Planet of the Apes...

10. The Help
09. The Ides of March
08. War Horse
07. Midnight in Paris
06. Drive
05. Moneyball
04. The Descendants
03. The Artist
02. Hugo
01. The Tree of Life

84th Oscars: Best Director Nominees

I'm addicted to checking the score for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Last I've read, it has a 49% on RT, and a 40 on Metacritic. In fact, it's on the brink of being "Generally unfavorable". What I really hope is that the Academy isn't too Daldry bias. Come January, I don't want to hear the film's name being announced. Scratch that, I wouldn't mind Max von Sydow being announced.

A real lock for the Best Director nomination is Michel Hazanavicus, for directing The Artist. I would say his biggest win is at NYFCC, and there are other groups that I am too lazy to name.

Besides him, there are two other big shots: Terrence Malick (I'm not bias,) and Martin Scorsese. I can easily profess that Scorsese is my favorite director, and debatably the greatest of all time. Already he has won the National Board of Review for Hugo and also been nominated for the Golden Globe.

Malick's nomination is nearly as divisive as his film itself. He won at Chicago and LAFCA, but missed at Golden Globes.

I would want to say that if critics were Oscar voters, The Social Network would have won last year, and Nicolas Winding Refn would be a nomination lock for this year. However, I don't see high prospects for Drive, or Refn himself. Bummer.

All in all, Daldry's luck has run out, Scorsese and Hazanavicus are locks, and Malick will probably make it. Alexander Payne needs to step up his game if he wants the nomination, and Woody Allen will duke it out with Spielberg for the last spot. Sounds fun.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

People Magazine's Top 10 Movies

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close got a number one! You can read the complete list below or go to your newsstand and see it, including top 10 albums and TV shows...

1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
"...a film that's wrenching and a miracle."
2. The Artist
"...more imaginative than nearly every other film this year."
3. Drive
4. A Separation
5. The Skin I Live In
6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
7. Senna
8. The Descendants
9. The Adventures of Tintin
10. Bridesmaids