Thursday, September 29, 2011

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE



We finally get to see the the trailer and poster for EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE. During a trip to New York in the Spring I saw the production trucks and a scene being shot for this movie. I had no idea at the time that it was going to have Oscar potential. I assumed Sandra Bullock was doing another romantic comedy that no one would go see. By the looks of the trailer I could see a nomination for Sandra Bullock and possibly a Best Picture nomination. It is being released Christmas day. Hopefully there is an audience for a movie with a 9/11 theme during the holidays. Anyway here is the link to the trailer:

LINK TO EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE TRAILER

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

WAR HORSE POSTER



The poster above for WAR HORSE was just releaased. WAR HORSE will be realesed December 28, just barely in time to be considered in this years Awards. The movie is taken from the Broadway play that won this years Tony for Best Play. The movie version has a chance at winning Best Picture the same year as winning the Tony. It is assumed that Spielberg making a Tony Award winning play into a film most certainly will get a Best Picture nomination. I have learned these last few years not to assume anything!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE



THE LION KING 3D surprisingly was number one at the box office this weekend. Not bad for a movie that is 17 years old. MONEYBALL came in second with $20.6 million. These are just estimates from the weekend. Since LION KING and MONEYBALL are so close it is possible MONEYBALL will end on top once the real numbers are in. Here is the top 10 of the week with Oscar potentials underlined"


1.The Lion King ($22.1m)

2.Moneyball ($20.6m)

3.Dolphin Tale ($20.3m)

4.Abduction ($11.2m)

5.Killer Elite ($9.5m)

6.Contagion ($8.6m)

7.Drive ($5.8m)

8.The Help ($4.4m)

9.Straw Dogs ($2.1m)

10.I Don't Know How She Does It ($2.1m)

Saturday, September 24, 2011

MY REVIEW: MONEYBALL



Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, MONEYBALL is a baseball movie. It tells the story of the business side of baseball. Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane who has to grow the Oakland A's into a viable team with little money. In addition to scouting and conventional methods of assembling a team, Beane introduces statistics and mathematical analysis into player evaluations. Of course, others in the league thinks he is crazy. MONEYBALL is a good movie, but not Best Picture good. Many of the reviews I have read predict a Best Picture nomination and that may very well be the case, but certainly not a winner. Brad Pitt's performance is probably best of his career. I could see him getting a Best Actor nomination, but not a win either. Best Adapted Screen Play on the other hand is a lock. Aaron Sorkin again writes a great movie. Much like THE SOCIAL NETWORK there are many long scenes in MONEYBALL with actors just talking.  There are parts in the middle that are a little slow in. All in all MONEYBALL is a good movie and if you like to see all of the movies before Oscar night, you should check it out.

MY GRADE: B+


The reviews have been almost all positive. Rotten Tomaoes scrore is currently 94%.  With a Metacritic rating of 87.  It is thought that there needs to be a Metacritic rating of at least an 85 or higher to be considered as an Oscar contender. In case you dont know, Metacritic takes a group of movie critics who rate the movie up to 100.  They average their scores to come up with a Metacritic number. Rotten Tomatoes does sort of the same thing, but includes readers plus critics scores.  With these kind of numbers MONEYBALL will likely win the weekend Box Office.

Friday, September 23, 2011

BEST DIRECTOR PREDICTIONS

Alexander Payne


This is a tough one so early in the game. I can only go by the word from the festivals because most of the films have not been released yet, but here is my best guess so far:

Alexander Payne-THE DESCENDANTS

Clint Eastwood-J.EDGAR

Steven Spielberg-WARHORSE

Woody Allen-MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

David Fincher-THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

If MONEYBALL does well and continues to get good reviews, Bennett Miller could also make the cut.  Michel Hazanavicius could very well get a nomination for THE ARTIST if there is an audience for a black and white silent film.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

NEW RULES



The Oscar organizers announced new rules for award campaigns. They are trying to eliminate so much of the wining and dining that goes on with Academy voter.  Academy members will only be aloud to attend screenings and not any parties before or after the screening.  In the past the big spenders could have had an advantage over the movies that don't have the money for a campaign. There will also be less promotional material that gets sent with the DVD screeners.  The Academy voters are encouraged to see the films in a theater rather than DVD anyway. I have always thought that a movie should be seen the way it was intended, on a big screen. The Academy Awards have become so political and money driven that the little guys have a huge disadvantage. Hopefully these new rules will level the playing field.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

THE LADY


One of the movies to come out of the Toronto film festival is THE LADY. It did not win any of the TIFF awards but Michelle Yeoh received a lot of attention for her portrayal of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi who returned from England to her homeland and took up the campaign for democracy.  It chronicles the personal sacrifices Suu Kyi made to remain in Myanmar. Cohen Media bought the rights to distribute it in the US. They have every intention of promoting Yeoh for a Best Actress nomination.
Below is the teaser trailer for THE LADY.


THE LADY TRAILER

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

J.EDGAR TRAILER



The trailer for J.EDGAR was released yesterday. It premiered on Access Hollywood. I have J.EDGAR on my list of Best Picture nominees with Leonardo DiCaprio getting a Best Actor nomination. Check out the trailer below:

LINK TO J. EDGAR TRAILER

Monday, September 19, 2011

NEW NETFLIX



The internets are abuzz today with the announcement that Netflix is breaking off into two companies. The DVD delivery side will be called Qwikster and the streaming side will be called Netflx. If you subscribe to both you will have two charges on your credit card. It seems risky to me. Streaming content is still very limited when I can go to a Redbox at get the movie for around a dollar. Netflix has had a rough couple months. Raising prices and losing the rights to content was a huge blow. Netflix is been trying for awhile to be a streaming only business. The problem is streaming is not cheap. The infrastructure and high royalty payments make it difficult to make money without passing it on to the customer. I normally embrace technology and I am the first one to jump on the bandwagon, but I still like watching an old-fashioned DVD. (yes DVDs are old-fashioned). Netflix is a company that is trying to grow way too fast. They need to slow down not forget what got them to where they are. It is important companies keep up with technology and move with the industry, but they need to be careful not to change what works.

p.s apparently Netflix had to buy the Qwikster twitter name from a dude who used the name to promote his excessive weed use.

TORONTO INT'L FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS




Here are the winners from TIFF this week.  The People's Choice award is a good indicator of a Best Picture nominee. This years winner WHERE DO WE GO NOW?  is a Lebonese film. It will qualify for a Best Foreign Language Film not Best Picture. It has already been submitted for this year. previous TIFF winners were SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, PRECIOUS and THE KING'S SPEECH.
You can also find a link to the WHERE DO WE GO NOW? trailer below


People’s Choice Award: WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary:  THE ISLAND PRESIDENT
People’s Choice for Midnight Madness: THE RAID
Int’l Critics Special Presentations Prize: THE FIRST MAN
Int’l Critics Discovery Programme Prize: AVALON
Best CDN short film goes to: Ian Harnarine’s DOUBLES SLIGHT WITH PEPPER


LINK TO WHERE DO WE GO NOW? TRAILER

Sunday, September 18, 2011

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR PREDICTIONS



The supporting categories are a little more difficult to predict this early on, but here are my best guesses so far for Supporting Actor:

Albert Brooks-DRIVE

Jim Broadbent- THE IRON LADY

Philip Seymour Hoffman-THE IDES OF MARCH

Christopher Plummer-BEGINNERS (if he does not get best actor nom.)

Thomas Horn-EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

Saturday, September 17, 2011

BEST ACTOR PREDICTIONS




George Clooney-THE DESCENDANTS

Leonardo Dicaprio- J.EDGAR

Gary Oldman-TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Michael Fassbender-SHAME

Jean DuJardin-THE ARTIST

These are my predictions for now. Clooney and Dicaprio are sure bets for a nomination.  Fassbender is still up in the air, but I included him at least for now. We will have to see how well MONEYBALL does before considering Brad Pitt. The many differences of opinions on DRIVE probably leave Ryan Gosling out, but IDES OF MARCH could put him on the list. Christopher Plummer in BARRYMORE could be a dark horse.

Friday, September 16, 2011

BEST ACTRESS PREDICTIONS





It is still VERY early, but everyone else is doing it. I posted my picks for Best Picture this week now here are my best guesses for Best Actress nominations:

-Glenn Close-ALBERT NOBBS

-Meryl Streep-THE IRON LADY

-Tilda Swinton-WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

-Viola Davis-THE HELP

-Michelle Williams-MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

These picks are only what I know so far. Still waiting to see how EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE does to consider Sandra Bullocks chances. Elizabeth Olsen, Jodi Foster, Keira Knightley and Kirsten Dunst are still possibilities.

Believe it or not Glenn Close has never won an Academy Award, but only time will tell if her performance is likable enough for this to be her year.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

WE BOUGHT A ZOO





I am thinking that WE BOUGHT A ZOO is not an Oscar contender based on the trailer. It opens December 23rd. Earlier in the year it had some people talking but judge for yourself:

LINK FOR WE BOUGHT A ZOO TRAILER


It does star Scarlett Johansson who we all got to see naked yesterday on the internet.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

EARLY BEST PICTURE PREDICTIONS




I read a lot all year about the possible Oscar contenders. The beginning of September is when a ton of movies start getting Oscar buzz due to reviews and word of mouth from the various film festivals. As these movies get released in the Fall some start to fade away due to poor box office or poor Oscar promotion. Last year at this time we were talking SECRETARIAT, SOMEWHERE and FOR COLORED GIRLS. They were released and never heard from again, but we also were hearing a lot of talk about THE SOCIAL NETWORK and THE KINGS SPEECH. I hate predicting before I see a movie. I can't really get the Academy Award vibe until I see it myself. I don't get invited to all of the screenings (yet) so  I have to wait for them to be released which is usually lat in the year.  But I would not be doing this blog justice if I did not start predicting.

I will begin adding my predictions in each category this week.

Let me begin with Best Picture:

Remember this year there will be a minimum of 5 but no more than 10 nominees. also the new voting system requires that the Academy voters choose their number 1 and at 300 voters must choose a film as their number 1 in order for the movie to be nominated. This is why it is doubtful that some of the biggest box office hits this year will not make it. (are 300 people really going to pick Harry Potter as their number 1 movie of the year?) I am doubtful that there will be 10 on the list in the end. I predict 8 Best Picture nominees, but here is my best guess so far:

-THE DESCENDANTS

-WAR HORSE

-J. EDGAR

-THE ARTIST

-IDES OF MARCH

-THE HELP

-MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

-EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

-TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

-A DANGEROUS METHOD

Please feel free to comment on my list and submit your own predictions!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Thanks to Zak at Awards Breach for posting a link to MattAwards.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY TRAILER





Gary Oldman is well on his way to an Oscar nomination for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. It does have a slight chance at a Best Picture, but Oldman is getting a lot of praise for his performance.

Here is the link to the just released trailer:

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY TRAILER

Monday, September 12, 2011

THE FESTIVAL EFFECT?


Clooney in Venice



We are in the heart of festival season and many of the critics are loving everything they see. This is when all the hype starts and hear things like "best movie ever made" or "guaranteed to win Best Picture". The thing you have to remember though is that these people are at a film festival getting wined and dined and hanging out with George Clooney. They are getting to see most of these movies for free, in a party atmosphere. I would think that most people in this situation will tend to love the movie regardless of how the movie REALLY is. Obviously there are exceptions and there are critics who keep an open mind and review the movie and not their experience. Everyone who has seen it loves THE DESCENDANTS and George Clooney. I am reading that it is the best of the year and will no doubt be nominated as Best Picture and Clooney will Best Actor. Then again Clooney attended the parties and mingled freely with many of the critics and bloggers. These festivals are the only thing we have to predict right now because most of the public has not seen them. Just something to keep in mind this early in the race.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

NEVER FORGET!



Here is a good montage of movies that featured the World Trade Center towers in them. Take a moment today to think about the bravery of 9/11.


LINK TO TWIN TOWERS MOVIE MONTAGE

Saturday, September 10, 2011

SHAME




One of the best movies to play at Telluride just got distribution rights bought by Fox Searchlight .  Some have said that SHAME is the best film of 2011. As I wrote earlier this week SHAME is directed by Steve McQueen and is the story of an man with a sexual addiction. Carey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender could be on the "Fassbender" to acting nominations. The potential problem is the nudity and sex scenes may make it  NC-17.  The conservative Academy voters are usually not a fan of "porn". To his credit Steve Mcqueen says that he has no intention of editing the movie to an R rating. We will have to wait and see what rating the MPAA with give it. BLUE VALENTINE last year had the same problem. It was given an NC-17 rating and the Weinstein Company was able to get that overturned without editing the movie. I saw BLUE VALENTINE and do not understand how it was ever considered NC-17 material. SHAME might be a different story. Obviously I have not seen it yet, but hopefully if given an NC-17 McQueen will stick to his guns and edit the movie. I am a firm believer in movies being seen as they were originally intended and not watered down to be "politically correct" There is no reason and NC-17 movie can win an Academy Award.

Friday, September 9, 2011

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL



TIFF opened on Thursday. After Venice and Telluride there may not be many more Oscar potentials to come out of Toronto. We are already starting to get an idea of what the Best Picture nominees might be. More on that tomorrow, but TIFF opened for the first time with a documentary. FROM THE SKY DOWN a documentary about the ups and downs of the band U2. Most of the big movies were already screened at earlier festivals. One that hasn't is MONEYBALL which had some Oscar buzz earlier in the year. So far the reviews have been mixed and with all of the better reviewed movies coming out of Venice and Telluride, MONEYBALL may be out of the game.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

J.EDGAR PREMIERE




There were some concerns that Clint Eastwood was not show J. EDGAR at  Venice, Telluride, Toronto or New York film festival. It has now been announced that it will premiere at the American Film Institute Film Festival November 3rd. It opens nationwide November 11th. This late premiere does not lessen its chances of being an Oscar contender. Last year THE FIGHTER premiered at AFI and that semmed to work out for them.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

VENICE AND TELLURIDE

Telluride Film Festival



Venice Film Festival




We learned a lot more about possible Oscar contenders last week during 2 big film festivals.  Here are some of the big movies and how they were reviewed:

THE IDES OF MARCH-Premiered in Venice last week with great reviews. The story revolves around a fictional candidate running for President. George Clooney directs and stars in the movie. There are plenty of great reviews to go around in the acting department. Ryan Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood and Philip Seymour Hoffman are well on their way to getting nominations. IDES OF MARCH will get a Best Picture nomination.

THE DESCENDANTS- More George Clooney as a guy trying to reconnect with his daughters after they lose their mother in a boating accident. Reviews have been mostly positive and a good bet that Clooney will get a Best Actor nomination. Can he get Best Director for IDES OF MARCH and Best Actor for THE DESCENDANTS?

SHAME-Michael Fassbender play a sex addict who has to come to terms with his addiction. Directed by Steve MCQueen the movie itself had mixed reviews, but everyone loved Fassbenders performance.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY-Stars Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. Based on a book by the same name. The story surrounds espionage during the Cold War. Oldman appears to be the big takeaway and have the best chances at a nomination.

A DANGEROUS METHOD-Another movie with Michael Fassbender. Also stars Keira Knightley and takes place when psychoanalysis first came to the forefront. Has had mostly good reviews, but may not be able to maintain an Oscar run.

ALBERT NOBBS-Glenn Close plays a woman in 19th century Ireland where women were not encouraged to be independent. Close dresses as man so she can work as a butler in a fancy hotel. The reviews for the movie itself were not great, but Close is pretty much a sure bet for a Best Actress nomination.

What movie are you most looking forward to seeing this Fall?

IT'S OFFICIAL

Eddie Murphy and Producer Brett Ratner


Eddie Murphy will be hosting this years Academy Awards. Brett Ratner the Producer of this year's Oscars pushed hard for Murphy.  They both just wrapped up working on a film together and clearly Ratner is a huge fan of Eddie Murphy. It will also be great promotion for their movie. Hosting is really a job for a comedian rather than actors as we found out the hard way last year. Although Murphy has not been on a live stage in awhile, I am cautiously optimistic.

Friday, September 2, 2011

NOTES FROM VENICE





The Venice Film Festival opened Wednesday. Last year Sofia Coppola's SOMEWHERE was the winner. We never heard from it again.  It does give critics the first look at many of the contenders. Here are few notes so far:

*IDES OF MARCH kicked it off with great reviews. Pushing it further into a Best Picture nomination.

* Madonna's W.E. received pretty bad reviews. Her directing was described as sloppy and not a great story. We will have to see where is goes from here.

*A DANGEROUS METHOD was screened last night to great reviews. Especially the performance of Keira Knightley.

*CARNAGE got mixed reviews, but mostly positive for the acting.