Showing posts with label Moneyball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moneyball. Show all posts

Friday, February 24, 2012

Oscar Opinions: Moneyball (2011)

Another homerun by Bennett Miller.

QUICK OPINIONS:
The film itself is actually very basic. What it is is Billy Beane, manager of the Oakland A's, is trying to make a better team. Problem is, that the team is 'under 50 feet of crap'. Beane brings in Peter Brand, a newly graduated stats freak. Peter thinks that a cheap team is possible, and they just need to find the 'misfit toys'. It's as most critics put it, 'a baseball movie that is for people who don't like baseball'.

I found out about this movie almost a year ago, and I put it on the top of my Oscar predictions, next to The Tree of Life. I was very happy that the film got a nomination. I cannot wait for Miller's next film, with Steve Carrell, Foxcatcher. No it's not the best film of the year, but it's one of. 'B+'

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Oscar Opinions: Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen!

QUICK OPINIONS: 
Midnight in Paris  is not Allen's best, that is still held by Annie Hall. It's good to see Allen back in the Best Picture field, where he probably was snubbed for Match Point. Anyhow, this is a comedy to the utmost degree, with more laughs and chuckles than Bridesmaids. This might be an Allen rehash of The Purple Rose of Cairo, but this is still one of the best movies of the year. 'B+', and you can see it listed on 'Chinese Appease'.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Scripter Winner!

The Scripter is an award for the Best Adaptation of previously published work, and The Descendants is the winner. What this means is that The Descendants will probably trump Moneyball come the 26th.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Iowa Critics ♥ The Descendants.

So as a native iowan, I thought I'd share this news. One of the best films of the year, The Descendants, won Best Picture from them, beating The Artist. Other winners include directer Alexander Payne, besting Hazanvicus and Malick. Complete winners below:

Best Picture: The Descendants
Best Director: Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Best Actor: Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Best Actress: Viola Davis (The Help)
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Best Animated Film: Rango
Best Film Yet to Open in Iowa: We Need to Talk About Kevin AND Project Nim

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Georgia Critics love Trees and Brad Pitt.

So, for the first time in a long time, a critic group gave The Tree of Life a sweep. The winners below.
Best Picture: “The Tree of Life”
Best Director: Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, “Certified Copy”
Best Actor: Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, “The Tree of Life”
Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt, “The Tree of Life”
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, “Moneyball”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Certified Copy”
Best Animated Film: “The Adventures of Tintin”
Best Documentary: “Senna”
Best Ensemble: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “The Tree of Life”
Best Art Direction: Jack Fisk, “The Tree of Life”
Best Original Score: John Williams, “War Horse”
Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie, “Man or Muppet,” “The Muppets”
Breakthrough Award: Jessica Chastain
Excellence in Georgia Cinema: “Sahkanaga”

Thursday, January 12, 2012

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

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

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.

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

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

84th Oscars: Best Picture Nominees

If you were to ask anyone who the Oscar front runner is, you'll hear The Artist, The Descendants, or even Moneyball. (Yes, I'm talking about Sasha Stone,). The fact that there is no real front runner is a delight, and makes the game a real guess.

I'm going to say there is about a 5% chance of Bridesmaids being nominated. I'm extending the margin just in case it happens. I would also put a 3% chance on J. Edgar, because... it's not that good. Drive would have a 15% chance, despite it's goodness.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Gee, I'm giving it a 50/50 chance. (The movie 50/50 is getting a 1% chance, even though it looks good,). One of my last articles, Extreme Loss and Incredible Crap? is unfairly titled, but EL&IC is losing chances with a now 65% tomato-meter. It's pretty much holding on by Daldry and Hanks. Horn's performance is too divisive.

Speaking of divisive, The Tree of Life (My favorite movie of 2011!). It's quite divisive, just read the RT reviews here. It has a 61% audience approval rating, but an 84% Critics Rank. Either way, I think with Daldry's loss, the year's best film will become a nominee. I'm giving it a 75% chance of being nominated.

On the note of 75, that's the RT score for The Help. It's probably the year's "Audience picks" nominee, one that parents at home probably saw. I'm not going to lie, but I actually liked it quite a bit. It's a good flair of comedy and drama, and I really want Viola Davis to win Best Actress. In fact, I think the performances keep the whole film afloat. They are hard to ignore, so... 90% chance of being nominated in my book.

Over Christmas Break, I want to see The Descendants and The Artist, the two real front runners. There was a third, War Horse, but it's losing chances. The Descendants, 99.9%. The Artist, 100% (My bet to win,). War Horse, 95%.

In fact, if you want to be nominated, be different. The Tree of Life and The Artist are probably the most different films out of the bunch. The former being more divisive.