Hazanavicius wins DGA

On Jan. 28, the Directors Guild of America bestowed its top honors on Michel Hazanavicius, of The Artist. One of the most accurate predictors of the Oscar outcome, only six times in the 63-year history of the guild awards has its winner failed to win an Oscar for Best Director. Hazanavicius is definitely the one to beat now, and the safest bet to place in your Oscar pool. Hazanavicius's biggest competition, theoretically, comes from Golden Globe winner Martin Scorsese, of Hugo.


The Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC on Feb. 26. 

Film Review -- My Week With Marilyn

Directed by Simon Curtis, this film stars Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, and Judi Dench, the film is a biopic detailing the production of The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956. As soon as Monroe (Williams) arrives in England to shoot the film with Sir Lawrence Olivier (Branagh), young Colin Clark (Redmayne) becomes immediately infatuated with her. At the height of her career, Monroe battles her inner demons while in production, often calling upon Colin for support. Many legendary characters make appearances, including Olivier's jealous wife Vivien Leigh (Julia Ormond) and Marilyn's new husband Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott). Eager film student Clark wrestles himself into a role as third assistant director on the film, and soon after he becomes Olivier's assistant in dealing with Marilyn's erratic and unprofessional manners. Dating wardrobe girl Lucy (Watson) soon becomes problematic for Clark as he increasingly falls more and more under Monroe's spell. Michelle Williams is outstanding as Monroe -- she imitates her voice astoundingly well, and comes as close to looking like her as possible. Branagh is excellent, also. Both actors have received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor nominations, respectively. Though labeled as such, it is in no way a "hysterical comedy," as Seth Rogen said at the Golden Globes. A lighthearted, feel-good drama, it is a thoroughly entertaining, very pleasant film. 


Should You see it: Yes
Grade: A-

Film Review -- Beginners

Written and directed by Mike Mills, this dramedy stars Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, and Melanie Laurent. Oliver Fields (McGregor) has his world turned upside down when his elderly father Hal (Plummer) drops two bombshells on him: recently widowed after forty-four years of marriage, he reveals that he is gay, and that he has Stage IV lung cancer. His new circumstances give Oliver the courage to pursue a relationship with the equally-relationship-challenged, nomadic French actress Anna (Laurent). Plummer gives an excellent, although understated, performance, and he is almost certain to take home the Oscar for this role on Feb. 26. The real standout, thought, is Hal's Jack Russell, Arthur. Uggie, you have some serious competition. Too dark to be a comedy and too light to be a drama, the film's confusing tone detracts from the effectiveness of the story its trying to tell. It has the potential to be a truly moving film, but moments bordering on tedious keep it from reaching its full potential. Its worthwhile to see, though, if you want to see Plummer's award-winning performance.

Should You See It: Yes

Grade: B-

Viola Davis and The Help -- Special Screening!!!

Today, I attended a very special screening of The Help. In addition to seeing such a fantastic film for the third time, the screening was followed by a Q & A with none other than Viola Davis, the film's Oscar-nominated star. It was such an amazing experience, and what Ms. Davis had to say was truly fascinating. More commentary on the discussion will follow, and hopefully accompanied by a photo and video!

SAG Awards 2012 Winners List

The SAG announced the 2012 winners in its annual awards show broadcast,which aired live on Sunday, Jan. 29. A complete list of nominees and winners follows.

Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture
Bridesmaids
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help -- Winner
Midnight in Paris

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role
George Clooney, The Descendants
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist --Winner
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help -- Winner
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Christopher Plummer, Beginners -- Winner

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer, The Help -- Winner
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture
The Adjustment Bureau
Cowboys & Aliens
Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows: Part II -- Winner
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
X-Men: First Class

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail -- Winner
Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
James Woods, Too Big to Fail

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Betty White, The Lost Valentine
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce -- Winner

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Drama Series
Patrick J. Adams, Suits
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire -- Winner 
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Glenn Close, Damages
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story -- Winner 
Julianna Margules, The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock -- Winner
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Steve Carell, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Betty White, Hot In Cleveland -- Winner

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire -- Winner
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Comedy Series
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family -- Winner 
The Office

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Television Series
Dexter
Game of Thrones -- Winner
Southland
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
True Blood
 

Oscar Nominations Commentary

Sorry it took so long to post, but I've been really busy! But here it is, my take on the Oscar nominations, announced on Tuesday:


First, let's start with Best Supporting Actress: The nominees were pretty predictable, with Jessica Chastain, Berenice Bejo, Janet McTeer, and Octavia Spencer making the cut. The only "surprise" here would be Melissa McCarthy, for a comedic role, which is rarely honored. Nevertheless, they are pretty much what was expected, with Spencer the clear favorite.


Best Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branagh was a given, so no surprise with him. Ditto Christopher Plummer (the shoo-in to win) and Jonah Hill. The surprises? Nick Nolte (which I correctly predicted. Yay!) and Max Von Sydow (did anyone expect that?). 


Best Actress: Again, pretty straightforward, setting the stage for the Davis--Streep showdown. Really, could there be a better one of those, between actresses better than these? It is very, very exciting.
The other nominees are Rooney Mara (who took the place of Tilda Swinton here), Michelle Williams, and Glenn Close.


Best Actor: Here is where most of the surprises occurred. No one expected Demian Bichir to receive a nomination, despite his SAG nomination. But nominated he was, and I'm glad (although I haven't seen the film yet, I am very anxious to), since it is always nice when indies are recognized. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Jean Dujardin all made their expected appearances. The biggest shocker of them all? GARY OLDMAN! As soon as I heard his name I leapt up from my couch in wee hours of the morning and jumped for joy, because his fantastic performance was going completely unnoticed and it was ABOUT TIME that he received his first Oscar nomination. FIRST NOMINATION! Its unbelievable, really, that he hadn't been recognized until now, and I'm darn glad he was, because his performance really merited a nomination.


Best Director: Hazanavicius, Scorsese, Payne, and Allen were nominated as expected. The only "shakeup" here would be Terrence Malick instead of Steven Spielberg. But none of them will win anyway, so its a non factor. 


Original/Adapted Screenplay: The two categories of screenwriting brought about a few surprises, namely the comedic nod to Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo's Bridesmaids script. Another would be J.C. Chandor for Margin Call (which is a fantastic film, by the way -- review coming soon) and Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (perhaps in recognition of O'Connor, who passed away one week before filming began). 


Best Picture: This year, anywhere between 5 and 10 films could have been nominated; in order to receive one, a film had to garner at least 5 % of first-place votes. Nine films were nominated, more than were predicted: War Horse, Hugo, The Artist, The Help, The Descendants, The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.


The Academy Awards air live on ABC on February 26th. I can't wait!

Academy Award Nominations -- A Complete List

The Oscar nominations are out! How about that Best Actor Category? Demian Bichir and Gary Oldman?!?! Great surprise! And Melissa McCarthy? How great for comedy! I will be posting more reactions later in the day, for now here is the complete list :)

BEST PICTURE

"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"

BEST ACTOR

Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

BEST ACTRESS

Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

BEST DIRECTOR

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
JC Chandor, "Margin Call"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, "Bridesmaids"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, "The Ides of March"
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, Stan Chevren "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

"A Cat In Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

BEST FOREIGN FEATURE

"Bullhead"
"Footnote"
"In Darkness"
"Monsier Lazhar"
"A Separation"

BEST ART DIRECTION

"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

"Anonymous" 
"The Artist"
"Hugo" 
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

"Hell and Back Again" 
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" 
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" 
"Pina" 
"Undefeated"

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)

"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" 
"God Is the Bigger Elvis" 
"Incident in New Baghdad" 
"Saving Face" 
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

BEST FILM EDITING

"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" 
"Hugo" 
"Moneyball"

Best MAKEUP

"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" 
"The Iron Lady"

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

"The Adventures of Tintin" 
"The Artist"
"Hugo" 
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" 
"War Horse"

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

"Dimanche/Sunday" 
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" 
"La Luna"
"A Morning Stroll"
"Wild Life"

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

"Pentecost" 
"Raju" 
"The Shore" 
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

BEST SOUND EDITING

"Drive" 
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" 
"Hugo" 
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" 
"War Horse"

BEST SOUND MIXING

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" 
"Hugo" 
"Moneyball" 
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" 
"War Horse"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" 
"Hugo" 
"Real Steel" 
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" 
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"