Friday, October 28, 2011

ELIZABETH OLSEN




Elizabeth Olsen is the younger sister of the Olsen twins. Who knew they had another sister. Unlike the twins this Olsen has a decent chance of an Oscar nomination. Her performance in MARTHA MARCY MAY ARLENE is said to be terrific.  The competition is tough in the Actress category, so she is not likely to win above Meryl Streep, Viola Davis or Michelle Williams. Her nomination could be compared to Jennifer Lawrence or Gabourey Sidibe for tiny independent films. MARTHA MARCY MAY ARLENE is now in limited release. Check out the trailer below:

MARTHA MARCY MAY ARLENE TRAILER

Thursday, October 27, 2011

CATCHING UP...



Been moving the last few days and finally have Internet. How did I ever live without it..anyway here are a few updates from the past few days:

*SHAME gets the expected NC-17 rating from the MPAA. The Academy shys away from any controversy (part of the problem) and probably do not want an NC-17 (formally known as X rated) to get any nominations. I have not seen SHAME, but apparently the full nude body shot of Carey Mulligan and a few close-ups of Fassbenders penis are enough. 

*WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN wins the Best Film at the London Film Festival.

*I am now way less optimistic about Eddie Murphy hosting the Oscars this year. His interview this week on Letterman was horrible. He had one word answers and seemed to care less about promoting TOWER HEIST. Murphy had no idea which film clip Letterman was going to show forcing Letterman to exclaim "Do I have to do everything?!"  For a comedian, Murphy has not sense of humor. In his Rolling Stone article he talks about his anger toward SNL for some jokes they made about him after he left. After not winning the Academy award for DREAMGIRLS he stormed out, so says his limo driver. Murphy himself says that he is "going to be the worst Oscar host ever".  Lighten up Murphy before you suck the life out of the The Academy Awards!!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

GOTHAM AWARD NOMINATIONS


There are many many critic awards to come before Oscar night. The critics give us a good idea of what the Academy may be thinking so many of them are a precurser to an Academy Award.
The Gotham awards focus more on the indie films and some that will probably never show near you. The winners will be announced November 28th. (The list reiterates by pick for THE DESCENDANTS as best picture) Here is the list if nominees:

BEST FEATURE
Beginners
The Descendants
Meek’s Cutoff
Take Shelter
The Tree of Life

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Better This World
Bill Cunningham New York
Hell and Back Again
The Interrupters
The Woodmans

 BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Beginners (Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller, Keegan Boos )
The Descendants (George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel)*
Margin Call (Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Aasif Mandvi)
Martha Marcy May Marlene (Elizabeth Olsen, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, Maria Dizzia, Julia Garner, John Hawkes, Louisa Krause, Sarah Paulson)
Take Shelter (Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon, Lisagay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet)

BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
Mike Cahill (Another Earth)
Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene)*
Vera Farmiga (Higher Ground)
Evan Glodell (Bellflower)
Dee Rees (Pariah)

BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
Felicity Jones (Like Crazy)
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene)*
Harmony Santana (Gun Hill Road)
Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Jacob Wysocki (Terri)

BEST FILM NOT PLAYING AT A THEATER NEAR YOU
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same
Green
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Scenes of a Crime


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

THE DESCENDANTS-BEST PICTURE


Instead of beating around the bush I am going to make a bold statement and predict THE DESCENDANTS as this years Best Picture winner. I hate doing this before I see a movie. It is not until you see for yourself do you really know its Oscar potential, but I feel very confident with this one. It has everything needed to win an Academy Award. Besides making you laugh and cry (the Academy loves that) I have not heard or read a bad review of this movie. George Clooney's performance has received rave reviews and is a good bet for Beat Actor, but I am not going that far yet.

I am not one of the more experienced bloggers that gets screeners or gets to go to festivals. I have to wait like all of the commoners for movies to be at a theater near me. But based on the 2 trailers, the clips that have been released and the buzz from the festivals THE DESCENDANTS is my pick. I can be easily swayed so I am going to do my best to stick with this prediction up until Oscar night. Below are the links to the trailers that have been released:

LINK TO THE DESCENDANTS TRAILER NUMBER 1



LINK TO THE DESCENDANTS TRAILER NUMBER 2

Saturday, October 15, 2011

SHAME TRAILER



In SHAME Michael Fassbender plays a very troubled sex addict who would rather hire a prostitute than have sex with the women he meets. The film played at Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and the New York Film Festival. It received a lot of attention and has risen up in the Oscar race as of late. It is interesting to note that the movie will most likely get an NC-17 due to the gratuitous frontal nudity, but the trailer itself shows very little sex and focuses more on the characters. I would think that this is way to make SHAME more mainstream and more of a draw during the holiday season (It is being released December 2nd). The NC-17 rating may keep Fassbender from getting a nomination, but I hope the Academy voters can look beyond the "porn" perception of NC-17 and vote for the acting. Check out the trailer below:

LINK TO SHAME TRAILER

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

HUGO



The big surprise debut at the New York Film Festival was Martin Scorsese's HUGO. Before the screening Scorsese announced that the film still needed some color correcting and more effects added, so they were viewing what amounts to be an unfinished movie. IMDB describes HUGO as "set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton". The reviews were mixed, but everyone agreed that Scorsese use of 3D was the way 3D was supposed to be. It is not "gimmicky", but rather uses it to immerse the audience into the story. I could see it getting some technical nominations, but the reviews don't sound strong enough for any other categories. HUGO will be released November 23rd.  Below is a link to the trailer.

 LINK TO HUGO TRAILER

Monday, October 10, 2011

THE FALL OF THE IDES OF MARCH?



The big "Summer" movie if the Fall is REAL STEAL. It has that it takes to get people to the movie theater, robots, Hugh Jackman and family friendly. THE IDES OF MARCH premiered earlier this year at Venice and Toronto. The critics were raving about Clooney's acting and directing performance. It was a show in for some nominations. Turns out the movie itself is a political drama (not thriller) that people are that interested in. The thing it has going for it is the great cast; Ryan Gosling, George Clooney and Philp Seymour Hoffman. I have not personally seen MARCH yet, but it could have "MICHAEL CLAYTON disease". CLAYTON did not do that well at the box office, was a political film and went on to get 7 nominations. Only time will tell with IDES OF MARCH has Oscar legs. I am sure Clooney is moving his sight on to THE DESCENDANTS. Another Clooney movie that is a lock for a Best Picture nomination. Below are the rest of the weekend results:


1  Real Steel $ 27.3 million

2 Ides of March $ 10.4 million

3  Dolphin Tale $ 9.2 million

4  Moneyball $ 7.5 million

5 50/50 $ 5.5 million

6 Courageous $ 4.6 million

7 The Lion King 3-D $ 4.6 million

8 Dream House $ 4.5 million

9 What's Your Number? $ 3.1 million

10 Abduction $ 2.9 million

Sunday, October 9, 2011

DRIVE: MY REVIEW



Ryan Gosling can do no wrong. Whatever character he plays he is great. In DRIVE he plays a guy who is a movie stuntman driver by day and getaway driver by night. I realized after it was over that we never learn his name in the movie. That is great way to portray a character that on one hand is an all around nice guy to one that can be a ruthless killer. Director Nicolas Winding Refn gives DRIVE an 80's art film feel that is character driven as much as it is a thriller. The jury is still out on the soundtrack, but it plays a big part in the movie. The slow motion paired with the music really build up the tension. Overall the acting is A+ (Carey Mulligan seemed miscast in her role). Albert Brooks is sure to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination. The story seemed to move a little fast, but Refn's stylized directing makes it worth the ride.

MY GRADE: A-

Thursday, October 6, 2011

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN TRAILER


One of, if not the best actress of today is Michelle Williams. If you don't believe me than you have not seen Blue Valentine. In MY WEEK WITH MARILYN she play Marilyn Monroe. The word from the few that have seen is that she is a lock for a Best Actress nomination for ariher extraordinary preformance as Monroe. It will be released November 4th. Below is the link to the trailer:

LINK TO MY WEEK WITH MARILYN TRAILER

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

WAR HORSE TRAILER



Wow if there ever was a trailer that said Best Picture it would the the just released trailer for WAR HORSE. The music alone says "I am Best Picture". Those would be the lyrics if there were any. This is not a knock against the movie at all it just reiterates the fact that WAR HORSE is lock as a Best Picture nomination. As Sasha Stone of Awards Daily asks, Can a horse win a Best Actor award? Check out the trailer below:

LINK TO WAR HORSE TRAILER

MELISSA MCCARTHY




I first saw Melissa McCarthy on season one of the sitcom Mike & Molly. At first I was not a big fan. I thought that she was cast just for being overweight to fit the part and her delivery was very dry. As the season went on she seemed to get much more comfortable in the role and became a likable character. McCarthy went on to win an Emmy this year for the sitcom. She really became a stand out in her role in BRIDESMAIDS and she was one of the best Hosts I have seen on Saturday Night Live.  Recently her name has been floating around as a possible Best Supporting Actress contender. It would be great to see her get the nomination. BRIDESMAIDS was the best comedy of the year and comedies don't often show up on Oscar night. The Oscars can get pretty predictable it's nice to see some surprised now and then.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

BOX OFFICE RESULTS



MONEYBALL does not appear to be the box office hit that everyone thought. DOLPHIN TALE was number one this week with $14.2 million. Family movies have a tendency to make more money because in most cases families consist of 4 or more people. That is 4 or more tickets purchased rather than 2 for MONEYBALL which is geared toward an older crowd. Plus, America is in the mood for some feel good movies. I would say that Brad Pitt is still in the running for a Best Actor nomination. Here is a list of the box office results from this weekend. Underlined are (is) the Oscar contenders:

1. DOLPHIN TALE- $14.2
2. MONEYBALL-$12.5
3. LION KING-$11.1
4.50/50-$8.9
5.COURAGEOUS-$8.8
6. DREAM HOUSE-$8.2
7.ABDUCTION-$5.7
8. WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?-$5.6
9. CONTAGION-$5
10. KILLER ELITE-$4.9

Monday, October 3, 2011

TOO LATE NOW



If you have been following the Oscar race this year you have already heard the names of all of the Oscar contenders.  It is too late for any film now to come out of the woodwork and get any sort of Oscar attention. Producers need to start their push early, way before the movie comes out. The Oscar "buzz" has a huge influence on who gets nominated. Premiering films at festivals to critics and bloggers is very important to get the word out. By the time the movie opens in wide release everyone pretty much knows that they are seeing an award contender. In the next 3 months all of the movies that have been talked about will be released.  Not until the public sees them do we really know how the Academy might vote. A film could have a tremendous amount of Oscar buzz and then flop at the box office and yes box office numbers do make a difference. The Academy voters do not want a film that wasn't a box office hit to win an Academy Award. Especially in a year when they are trying to improve the ratings of the ceremony.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

IN MEMORIUM




It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Heidi the cross-eyed opossum who helped to predict last years Oscar winners. Her life of 3 and half years brought us so much joy. She correctly predicted Colin Firth and Natalie Portman for Best Actor and Actress. She did pick 127 HOURS as Best Picture so clearly she had problems. She suffered the last few days so her medication was increased, but to no avail. That's when it was decided by the zoo that she be put to rest. Her 330,000 Facebook fans continue to mourn this brilliant rodent, but 127 HOURS really??  If there is anything good to come from this is that she is not here to predict MONEYBALL for Best Picture.