Below are the nominees for the Screen Actors Guild Awards for 2014. The winners will be announced tonight January 18th and should give a further clue as to who might be winning at those all important Oscars in March. I have highlighted who I think or would like to win in each category and just click the titles to read my reviews of the films I have already seen.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
The Butler
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Chiwetel Ejiofor 12 Years A Slave
Tom Hanks Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, The Butler
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson Saving Mr. Banks
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Michael Fassbender 12 Years A Slave
Barkhad Abdi Captain Phillips
Jared Leto Dallas Buyers Club
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Daniel Bruhl Rush
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Lupita Nyong'o 12 Years A Slave
Jennifer Lawrence American Hustle
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler
The rest of the awards are for TV with Breaking Bad looking like it might clean up a bit with Cranston, Gunn and the ensemble all nominated. It's also good to see both Dinklage and the Game of Thrones ensemble also nominated though I suspect this year will undoubtedly belong to Breaking Bad. What do you think of the nominees?
For more awards coverage at I Love That Film, please check out:
Critics' Choice Winners 2014
Oscar nominations 2014
Who will win at the Critics' Choice Awards 2014?
Golden Globes winners and losers
BAFTA 2014 Nominations
Showing posts with label american hustle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label american hustle. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Monday, 13 January 2014
American Hustle Review
American Hustle is more than anything else, a showcase for its actors; a sure fire Oscar contender in all the acting categories. It may seem to many a bit of a stretch to call performances 'brave' but American Hustle is full of such performances. Christian Bale balloons and covers baldness with an ambitious comb over, Amy Adams spends the entire film showing off some serious side boob, Jennifer Lawrence plays a hideously manipulative bitch and Bradley Cooper turns what should be the good guy into an utter prick.
American Hustle is the story of con man Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) who, along with his smart and attractive partner Sydney (Adams) is caught grafting and then forced by Federal Agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) to aid the FBI in catching high profile targets using their skills. In return for leniency, Rosenfeld and Sydney will lure their prey in and ensure DiMaso gets his men. When the stakes are suddenly raised and senators, congressmen and the Mob become involved, all the characters quickly find themselves out of their depth, made worse by Rosenfeld's scheming and completely untrustworthy ex-wife Rosalyn (Lawrence).
Its a film lush with production design detail,showing off not just its cast's considerable acting talents but also their commitment to looking a little bit silly and mostly unlikeable. The hair, the costume and the decor is wonderfully awful and fortunately only adds to the performances. The murky grey areas of morality are explored throughout with the con artists robbing the poor, the FBI behaving in equally questionable ways and it all takes place in an America only recently recovering from Vietnam and Watergate. No one is nice, few get out clean and even those that do manage to keep their heads up, leave a lot a lot to be desired.
The story is 'mostly true' but Eric Warren Singer and director David O. Russell's screenplay is a little too neat to be credible. The characters are great fun to watch when they get into the scamming but watching Bale and Adams falling in love is less essential. Bale seems to be channeling De Niro (who briefly turns up for a cameo) and Adams is the smartest but least interesting character beyond wondering how her breasts stay in her dresses. In fact, these two get the less exciting roles being more dependable than electric. It's when Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence rev up that the film really takes off. Both smart and stupid and incredibly manipulative, they are the fuel that makes American Hustle catch fire.
Overall it's a clever con, funny at times and crammed with wonderful performances. It might not have the zip and the pizazz of a Goodfellas or a Boogie Nights, but what it does have is Batman, Lois Lane, Rocket Racoon, Mystique and Hawkeye all in one film and all playing characters that are far more interesting than their comic book counterparts.
American Hustle is the story of con man Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) who, along with his smart and attractive partner Sydney (Adams) is caught grafting and then forced by Federal Agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) to aid the FBI in catching high profile targets using their skills. In return for leniency, Rosenfeld and Sydney will lure their prey in and ensure DiMaso gets his men. When the stakes are suddenly raised and senators, congressmen and the Mob become involved, all the characters quickly find themselves out of their depth, made worse by Rosenfeld's scheming and completely untrustworthy ex-wife Rosalyn (Lawrence).
Its a film lush with production design detail,showing off not just its cast's considerable acting talents but also their commitment to looking a little bit silly and mostly unlikeable. The hair, the costume and the decor is wonderfully awful and fortunately only adds to the performances. The murky grey areas of morality are explored throughout with the con artists robbing the poor, the FBI behaving in equally questionable ways and it all takes place in an America only recently recovering from Vietnam and Watergate. No one is nice, few get out clean and even those that do manage to keep their heads up, leave a lot a lot to be desired.
The story is 'mostly true' but Eric Warren Singer and director David O. Russell's screenplay is a little too neat to be credible. The characters are great fun to watch when they get into the scamming but watching Bale and Adams falling in love is less essential. Bale seems to be channeling De Niro (who briefly turns up for a cameo) and Adams is the smartest but least interesting character beyond wondering how her breasts stay in her dresses. In fact, these two get the less exciting roles being more dependable than electric. It's when Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence rev up that the film really takes off. Both smart and stupid and incredibly manipulative, they are the fuel that makes American Hustle catch fire.
Overall it's a clever con, funny at times and crammed with wonderful performances. It might not have the zip and the pizazz of a Goodfellas or a Boogie Nights, but what it does have is Batman, Lois Lane, Rocket Racoon, Mystique and Hawkeye all in one film and all playing characters that are far more interesting than their comic book counterparts.
Stick around! Please enjoy some more reviews from I Love That Film:
Dallas Buyers Club
12 Years A Slave
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
All is Lost
The Railway Man
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Captain Phillips
Saving Mr. Banks
Golden Globes winners and losers
The Golden Globes threw up a bunch of surprises last night and having bet £10 on various outcomes, it seems I have ended up losing about £1.40. The main reason for that is that I put £3 on the favourite for Best Actor in a Drama, Chiwetel Ejifor. I was sure Ejiofor was a guaranteed win after seeing 12
Years A Slave
on Friday night. Having now seen Dallas Buyers Club, I can see why the competition was so severe.
I also lost a pound by betting on The Wolf of Wall Street to win Best Picture Comedy/Musical over the favourite American Hustle. Again, I haven't seen TWOWS but I suspected that American Hustle would not be winning much except maybe in the acting categories. Oops!
Luckily I did believe in Amy Adams to win the Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical and I had put £2 on her. She was the favourite so I didn't win much but still, it's better than a kick in the pants and made up for losing money on Ejiofor and The Wolf of Wall Street.
I also won a bit on Leo DiCaprio for winning Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical for TWOWS and also for Jared Leto for winning Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club. Again, I think both of these were the favourites and I only put a very small amount on each so no big champagne popping wins for me!
I also lost money by betting on Lupita Nyong'o over Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress. These were the biggest surprises of the night for me; Ejiofor and Nyong'o losing out to Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Lawrence. As much as I love Lawrence, I'm gobsmacked she beat Nyong'o. Thank goodness 12 Years A Slave won Best Picture or I may have had a small screaming fit.
Anyway enough about me and my silly movie awards gambling addiction, here is the list of winners (almost all of them anyway) taken from The Telegraph:
What did you think of the winners this year?
on Friday night. Having now seen Dallas Buyers Club, I can see why the competition was so severe.
I also lost a pound by betting on The Wolf of Wall Street to win Best Picture Comedy/Musical over the favourite American Hustle. Again, I haven't seen TWOWS but I suspected that American Hustle would not be winning much except maybe in the acting categories. Oops!
Luckily I did believe in Amy Adams to win the Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical and I had put £2 on her. She was the favourite so I didn't win much but still, it's better than a kick in the pants and made up for losing money on Ejiofor and The Wolf of Wall Street.
I also won a bit on Leo DiCaprio for winning Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical for TWOWS and also for Jared Leto for winning Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club. Again, I think both of these were the favourites and I only put a very small amount on each so no big champagne popping wins for me!
I also lost money by betting on Lupita Nyong'o over Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress. These were the biggest surprises of the night for me; Ejiofor and Nyong'o losing out to Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Lawrence. As much as I love Lawrence, I'm gobsmacked she beat Nyong'o. Thank goodness 12 Years A Slave won Best Picture or I may have had a small screaming fit.
Anyway enough about me and my silly movie awards gambling addiction, here is the list of winners (almost all of them anyway) taken from The Telegraph:
Best motion picture (drama)
12
Years A Slave
Best TV series (drama)
Breaking Bad
Best Actor in a motion picture (drama)
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress in a motion picture (drama)
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Director – motion picture
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Best motion picture (musical or comedy)
American Hustle
Best Actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Best Actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Leonardo Dicaprio, Wolf of Wall Street
Best Animated Feature film
Frozen
Best Foreign Language Film
The Great Beauty (Italy)
Best Actor in a TV series, drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Best Supporting Actress in a motion picture
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Best TV series (drama)
Breaking Bad
Best Actor in a motion picture (drama)
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress in a motion picture (drama)
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Director – motion picture
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Best motion picture (musical or comedy)
American Hustle
Best Actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Best Actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Leonardo Dicaprio, Wolf of Wall Street
Best Animated Feature film
Frozen
Best Foreign Language Film
The Great Beauty (Italy)
Best Actor in a TV series, drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Best Supporting Actress in a motion picture
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
What did you think of the winners this year?
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
BAFTA 2014 Nominations
BAFTA 2014 nominations are in with Gravity leading the way followed closely by 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle. I've already placed my bets with William Hill for who I think will win even though I have not seen the films I picked. I'm taking the safe option and going with the clear favourites.
I've highlighted those I've seen already and made a note of those I need to see before the ceremony on Feb 16th. The ones I think will win are helpfully written in red. If the film title is underlined, then click it to check out my review. Without further ado, here are the nominees:
BEST FILM
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Gravity
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr. Banks
The Selfish Giant
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Colin Carberry (Writer), Glenn Patterson (Writer) Good Vibrations
Kelly Marcel (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks
Kieran Evans (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor
Paul Wright (Director/Writer), Polly Stokes (Producer) For Those in Peril
Scott Graham (Director/Writer) Shell
DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen - 12 Years A Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf Of Wall Street
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell - American Hustle
Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón - Gravity
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
Bob Nelson - Nebraska
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley - 12 Years A Slave
Richard LaGravenese - Behind The Candelabra
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope - Philomena
Terence Winter - The Wolf Of Wall Street
LEADING ACTOR
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
LEADING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Judi Dench - Philomena
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Matt Damon - Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Oprah Winfrey - The Butler
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Act Of Killing
Blue Is The Warmest Colour
The Great Beauty
Metro Manila
Wadjda
DOCUMENTARY
The Act Of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim's Vermeer
We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks
ANIMATED FILM
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University
ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 Years A Slave - Hans Zimmer
The Book Thief - John Williams
Captain Phillips - Henry Jackman
Gravity - Steven Price
Saving Mr. Banks - Thomas Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 Years A Slave - Sean Bobbitt
Captain Phillips - Barry Ackroyd
Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael
EDITING
12 Years A Slave - Joe Walker
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse
Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
Rush - Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
The Wolf Of Wall Street - Thelma Schoonmaker
PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 Years A Slave - Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
American Hustle - Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
Behind The Candelabra - Howard Cummings
Gravity - Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn
COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson
Behind The Candelabra - Ellen Mirojnick
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman - Michael O’Connor
Saving Mr. Banks - Daniel Orlandi
MAKE UP & HAIR
American Hustle - Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
Behind The Candelabra - Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
The Butler - Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
The Great Gatsby - Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug - Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
SOUND
All Is Lost - Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
Captain Phillips - Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
Gravity - Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
Inside Llewyn Davis - Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
Rush - Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 - Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
Pacific Rim - Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
Star Trek Into Darkness - Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Dane DeHaan
George McKay
Lupita Nyong'o
Will Poulter
Lea Seydoux
What do you think of this year's nominees?
I've highlighted those I've seen already and made a note of those I need to see before the ceremony on Feb 16th. The ones I think will win are helpfully written in red. If the film title is underlined, then click it to check out my review. Without further ado, here are the nominees:
BEST FILM
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Gravity
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr. Banks
The Selfish Giant
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Colin Carberry (Writer), Glenn Patterson (Writer) Good Vibrations
Kelly Marcel (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks
Kieran Evans (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor
Paul Wright (Director/Writer), Polly Stokes (Producer) For Those in Peril
Scott Graham (Director/Writer) Shell
DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen - 12 Years A Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf Of Wall Street
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell - American Hustle
Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón - Gravity
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
Bob Nelson - Nebraska
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley - 12 Years A Slave
Richard LaGravenese - Behind The Candelabra
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope - Philomena
Terence Winter - The Wolf Of Wall Street
LEADING ACTOR
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
LEADING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Judi Dench - Philomena
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Matt Damon - Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Oprah Winfrey - The Butler
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Act Of Killing
Blue Is The Warmest Colour
The Great Beauty
Metro Manila
Wadjda
DOCUMENTARY
The Act Of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim's Vermeer
We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks
ANIMATED FILM
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University
ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 Years A Slave - Hans Zimmer
The Book Thief - John Williams
Captain Phillips - Henry Jackman
Gravity - Steven Price
Saving Mr. Banks - Thomas Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 Years A Slave - Sean Bobbitt
Captain Phillips - Barry Ackroyd
Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael
EDITING
12 Years A Slave - Joe Walker
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse
Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
Rush - Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
The Wolf Of Wall Street - Thelma Schoonmaker
PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 Years A Slave - Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
American Hustle - Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
Behind The Candelabra - Howard Cummings
Gravity - Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn
COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson
Behind The Candelabra - Ellen Mirojnick
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman - Michael O’Connor
Saving Mr. Banks - Daniel Orlandi
MAKE UP & HAIR
American Hustle - Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
Behind The Candelabra - Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
The Butler - Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
The Great Gatsby - Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug - Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
SOUND
All Is Lost - Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
Captain Phillips - Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
Gravity - Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
Inside Llewyn Davis - Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
Rush - Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 - Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
Pacific Rim - Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
Star Trek Into Darkness - Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett
 |
| Rising Star nominee Will Poulter and I |
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Dane DeHaan
George McKay
Lupita Nyong'o
Will Poulter
Lea Seydoux
What do you think of this year's nominees?
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