I Love That Blog Post #8

Bloggers just kept on blogging this week.  Lots about Prometheus!  Here's my highlights:

Hell of a lot of Prometheus reviews out there.  Enjoyed this one a lot.  Fogs’ Movie Reviews had this to say: http://fogsmoviereviews.com/2012/06/09/prometheus/

I think this is the second in a new series from Sati.  Cinematic Corner continues comparing films visually; this time Amelie and The Artist http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/visual-parallels-amelie-artist.html

Fantastic piece from Top 10 Films on Prometheus theories that certainly answered a few of my questions http://www.top10films.co.uk/archives/12343

Rodney at Front Room Cinema discusses film marketing and audience anticipation http://www.frontroomcinema.com/midweek-mumble-the-prometheus-effect-does-expectation-kill-the-film-experience/

Ruth at Flixchatter has a link to 500 free online movies!  http://flixchatter.net/2012/06/14/500-free-movies-of-various-genres-to-watch-online/

Kristin at All Eyes on Screen casts the movie of her life, you should all definitely give this a try! http://alleyesonscreen.com/2012/06/14/if-my-life-were-a-movie/

Another great one from Sati (now I know this is short for Satine).  Cinematic Corner has a very interesting list of film facts about her http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/100-film-facts-about-me.html

If you haven't come across any of these on your blogging travels, please give them a look!

Oscar Odds

I'm not a betting man but I've always wanted to make (or more likely lose) some money by gambling on the Academy Awards winners.  I've just had a look on the Paddy Power betting website and though I find all this stuff about odds a bit confusing, there looks like there could be a chance to make a bit of cash.

Here's what I would put some money on if I was a betting kind of guy.

Best Picture: The Descendants is 12/1, Hugo is 25/1.  If you have any doubts about The Artist, either of these could be worth a putting a pound on.

Best Director:  Payne and Malick at 25/1.  Hazanavicius is the favourite again.

Best Actress:  Davis and Streep the favourites.  Could put a pound on Rooney Mara at 66/1 but only if you can afford to lose that pound!

Best Actor:  Clooney and Dujardin clear favourites.  I'd put a pound on Oldman at 20/1.

Best Supporting Actress: Spencer the favourite.  I'd put a pound on both Bejo (9/1) and Chastain (25/1).

Best Supporting Actor: I'd wager a pound on Von Sydow at 20/1.  Plummer's the favourite.

Best Original Screenplay: Favourites are Midnight in Paris and The Artist and I wouldn't waste a pound on any of the others in a million years.

Best Adapted Screenplay: My money would be all over Moneyball for this with odds of 11/2.   I'd really consider putting money on this one.  The Descendants is the favourite.

Best Animated Feature: Rango the favourite.  I wouldn't waste any money betting on the others.

Best Cinematography: Lubezki is the clear favourite for The Tree of Life but I'd put a quid on Robert Richardson for Hugo with odds of 2/1.

So if I was a betting man I'd divide up a tenner on some of these and see if I came away a rich man or a silly sod who just lost his lunch money for the week.  Anyone fancy these odds?

DISCLAIMER: Gambling is addictive, just look at how many betting shops are springing up in high streets all over the country!  Whatever you do, don't listen to me or ever gamble!  It will be your ruin!

2012 Academy Awards Predictions

My predictions in red.

Best Picture

"The Artist"

"The Descendants"

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

"Hugo"

 "Midnight In Paris"

 "The Help"

 "Moneyball"

 "War Horse"

 "The Tree of Life"

Definitely want to see The Artist get this one.  The only other ones I’ve seen are Hugo, Moneyball, and The Tree of Life and The Artist beats them hands down.  Would love to have seen Paddy Considine’s little indie Tyrannosaur up for this category but is it too British?

Best Actor

 Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"

 George Clooney, "The Descendants"

 Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"

 Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

 Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Would love to see Dujardin get this but I have a feeling Clooney might take it.  Brad Pitt hasn’t got a hope and I’m honestly not sure why he’s nominated.  Would also be nice to see Oldman take the stage but I think it's unlikely.

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"

Ashamed to say I haven’t seen a single one of these.  I hear it’s between Streep and Davis.  Would love to see anyone but Streep win it because she’s had her fair share of awards and there’s a lot of hate inside me for Maggie T.  Olivia Colman deserves this award for her performance in Tyrannosaur though.

Best Director

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"

Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"

Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Hope Hazanavicius gets this.  Malick lost the plot (haha literally), Marty’s direction of the young actors isn’t his best.  

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"

I go with what I’ve heard and what I’ve heard is this has Plummer’s name all over it.  The only one I’ve seen is Moneyball and Hill hasn’t got a chance in hell and again, I’m not even sure why he’s nominated.  Surely Albert Brooks deserved a nod for Drive.

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"

Jessica Chastain, "The Help"

Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"

Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"

Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Bejo was great, McCarthy was hilarious and sweet but it would be nice to see The Help get something and I hear Spencer is fantastic.  I’d really like to see McCarthy get it and open the way for more comedy in the Oscars.

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"

Not sure how Bridesmaids wangled a place here despite it being a good film.  Would love to see The Artist get it but I reckon the main competition is from Woody.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, "The Descendants"

John Logan, "Hugo"

George Clooney, Grant Heslov, "The Ides of March"

Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian,  "Moneyball"

Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

This is a really strong category and one of the hardest to call.  I could see any of these winning.  I reckon the frontrunners are The Descendants, Hugo and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  However if Moneyball will win anything, then this will be the one.

Best Animated Feature

"A Cat In Paris"

"Chico & Rita"

"Kung Fu Panda 2"

"Puss in Boots"

"Rango"

Desperately hope this will go to Rango even though it’s the only one I’ve seen.

Best Foreign Feature

"Bullhead" (Belgium)

"Footnote" (Israel)

"In Darkness" (Poland)

"Monsiuer Lazhar" (Canada)

"A Separation" (Iran)

Another category where I shamefully haven’t seen a single nominee.  Heard a lot about A Separation though and so would put my money on that.

Best Cinematography

"The Artist"

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"

"Hugo"

"The Tree of Life"

"War Horse"

Despite my lack of fondness for the film, The Tree of Life definitely deserves this.  But then again, Fincher’s films are always beautifully shot.  And I have to say Hugo looked incredible too with some amazing use of 3D.  But Tree of Life will surely get it.

Best Documentary Feature

"Hell and Back Again"

"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"

"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"

"Pina"

"Undefeated"

I’d like to see Paradise Lost 3 get this, kind of as recognition for the achievement of the whole trilogy.  Then again I hear good things about Hell and Back Again.

Best Film Editing

"The Artist"

"The Descendants"

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

"Hugo"

"Moneyball"

Got to be between Hugo and TGWTDT.  I hope Fincher’s film gets it, pretty much just for edting of the teaser trailer.

Best Original Score

"The Adventures of Tintin"

"The Artist"

"Hugo"

"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

"War Horse"

Another sure win for The Artist.

Well all will be revealed tomorrow so until next year, adios awards season.  Bring on the silly summer blockbusters!  

Anyone putting money on the Oscars?  What do you think of these predictions?  Any underdogs that I'm neglecting?  Spill your thoughts in the comment section...

Last Chance to See... The Artist, Like Crazy, The Grey

Three films I was lucky enough to catch in the cinemas this month:

The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011)

Very sweet love story told in the style of a silent film.  When a silent star resists the coming of sound, his star fades as the girl he loves rises to fame.  A pretty simple narrative that lacks surprises is disguised by the brilliant and clever way it’s told.  Great performances from the cast who manage to hold their own against the scene-stealing dog, it’s a fun, easy-to-watch silent film that uses sound sparingly in a couple of particularly notable sequences and is guaranteed to leave you with a huge smile on your face by the end.  Catch it before it cleans up at the Oscars on Sunday!

Like Crazy (Drake Doremus, 2012)

Oh the trials and woes of the middle class.  Academic students fall in love at an American college but are kept apart by strict regulations as the English girl breaks the terms of her student visa.  Convincing performances from the two leads Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin can’t hide the fact they are playing pretty boring, and not particularly likeable characters.  The most sympathetic character in the story is played by Jennifer Lawrence who shines with limited screen time and makes the audience care even less for the plight of the central couple.  The obscenely upper-middle-class parents of Felicity Jones’ Anna add welcome comic relief but also remind the viewer that these characters should really just stop moping and count their blessings. 

The Grey (Joe Carnahan, 2012)

Liam Neeson and a pack of alpha-males take on a pack of wolves after a plane crash in the frozen wilderness.  Starting slow, clichéd, and grey, the film steps up a gear after the characters survive the harrowing plane crash.  The characters take a while to develop as they get picked off one by one, but Neeson elevates the script with another convincing hard-man performance as he leads the survivors in a fight against the big, bad, wolves.  Oscillating between quieter moments of reflection in which the men let their guard down and vicious action set-pieces, The Grey is surprisingly gripping from start to finish and has a killer emotional gut-punch of an unexpected ending.  But be warned, the final shot will either leave you salivating or howling at the filmmakers’ bold choice.

I highly recommend The Artist, slightly recommend The Grey especially if you can turn your brain off, and vaguely recommend Like Crazy if you think two kids falling in love and being kept apart by visa regulations sounds like you're bag.  What do you think?  Has The Grey been unfairly snubbed by Mr Oscar and friends?  Is Like Crazy a painfully emotional and real story?  Did anyone not like The Artist?