Oscar Nominations 2013

My predictions are highlighted along with a few words about what I've seen, what I'd like to win and what I'm disappointed about.


Best Supporting Actor:
 
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Alan Arkin, Argo
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

I’ve only seen Argo and Silver Linings Playbook but I suspect it will go to one of these two, probably Tommy Lee Jones I reckon.

Best Supporting Actress:
 
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Amy Adams, The Master

I’ve only seen Silver Linings Playbook but from the trailer alone, I’d be surprised if Hathaway doesn’t win this for Les Miserables.

Best Director:
 
David O'Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Michael Haneke, Amour
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

I’ve seen all of these except Beasts of the Southern Wild and Lincoln. I’d love to see Ang Lee get it but my money is on The Beard.

Best Actor:
 
Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
Denzel Washington, Flight
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

I’ve seen Flight and Silver Linings but this has Daniel Day-Lewis written all over it!

Best Actress:
 
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Haven’t seen Zero Dark Thirty or Beasts and though I’d love to see The Impossible win something, I don’t think it will be for Watts’ performance unfortunately. Jennifer Lawrence has the best shot I reckon.

Best Picture:
 
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Lincoln
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Amour
Django Unchained
Argo

Well if they are going to snub Affleck for director, then I think it is only fair to give Argo Best Picture. Everyone loved it, myself included.

Animated Film:

“Brave” Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
“Frankenweenie” Tim Burton
“ParaNorman” Sam Fell and Chris Butler
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Lord
“Wreck-It Ralph” Rich Moore

I’ve only seen Frankenweenie but surely it’s between this and Brave.

Cinematography:

“Anna Karenina” Seamus McGarvey
“Django Unchained” Robert Richardson
“Life of Pi” Claudio Miranda
“Lincoln” Janusz Kaminski
“Skyfall” Roger Deakins

Would love to see either Skyfall or Life of Pi win this but think it should go to Skyfall.

Foreighn language film:

“Amour” Austria
“Kon-Tiki” Norway
“No” Chile
“A Royal Affair” Denmark
“War Witch” Canada

Though I’ve only see Amour, I’m completely gutted The Hunt isn’t here. Amour must win if they gave Haneke a nod.

Adapted screenplay:
“Argo” Screenplay by Chris Terrio
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” Screenplay by David Magee
“Lincoln” Screenplay by Tony Kushner
“Silver Linings Playbook” Screenplay by David O. Russell

Hope Life of Pi gets it but could go to Argo or Lincoln.

Original screenplay:

“Amour” Written by Michael Haneke
“Django Unchained” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“Flight” Written by John Gatins
“Moonrise Kingdom” Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
“Zero Dark Thirty” Written by Mark Boal

No idea but would be nice for Tarantino to get it maybe.

Overall I think The Impossible deserved more nods and I'm gobsmacked The Hunt isn't in best foreign film! Would have thought Affleck would be in the directing category too. For now I'm off to check out the other categories.

What did you think of this year's noms?

The Impossible Review

The Impossible opens with a terrible rumble sound. If you know what the story is about, you are immediately filled with a sense of dread that lingers long into the film until you realise the impossible has been achieved. The film is technically accomplished, brilliantly acted by the big stars and not as insensitive as the story of a family of foreigners affected by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami tragedy could have been.

 

Sadly the decision to cast Watts and McGregor to enable the film to have a big budget and sell to a large audience is necessary to attract attention and the level of investment needed to do the story justice. It is a shame that a real Spanish family become a British family in the film and that the deaths of 230,000 people are not the focus but on the other hand as a story of one family's experience of the disaster, The Impossible excels. The disaster is too huge for one film and so like World Trade Centre before it, The Impossible narrows its focus.

Though the film focuses on foreigners, the local people emerge as the real heroes. The hospital staff, villagers and others show incredible determination, sympathy and strength in the face of one of the worst natural disasters in history.

Tsunami survivors are unlikely to find The Impossible entertaining or have a desire to see it but this is because it is an incredible recreation of what happened; sickening, horrifying and breathtakingly realised.

For those not directly affected by the real life events depicted, it is enjoyable to an extent because although it is incredibly tragic, there is also so much hope and happiness (if just for this one family) in the film. However it is a tough watch and unbelievably sad, made more so by the bravura filmmaking and performances.

The eldest kid Lucas played by Tom Holland is amazing, carrying much of the film and doing a brilliant job. The two youngest kids waver a little bit but not enough to do any damage. McGregor is superb particularly in one heart wrenching sequence involving a phone call home, while Watts’ glamour and beauty are left bruised, battered and utterly redundant in the face of what her character endures. The production design is so convincing and the many extras around must have really helped all the actors, but especially the kids.

The moment the wave hits leads to an incredibly visceral sequence that is terrifying, shocking and impossible to take your eyes off the screen. The sound design, cinematography and practical effects combine to create a sickening sense of what it would have been like to be there. It is astonishing filmmaking; heart breaking and relentless and completely unforgettable.

Moments of the film may be sentimental but it's a story that does truly seem impossible. If Hollywood had made it up you would likely be disgusted. But the sentimental stuff is handled well and with the exception of a couple of scenes, it is not overly manipulative.

Real life tragedies deserve big screen treatments if they are handled sensitively and this film stands as a testament to the Thai people and their selflessness in the face of utter despair. What isn't appropriate is showing the trailer in front of The Hobbit without a warning. People should be able to choose whether or not they wish to be assaulted by such a film and the thought of somebody being ‘ambushed’ by the images in the trailer is saddening.

I hope that people will see the film and realise how wonderful the Thai people are and hopefully future generations can get a sense of what a tragedy it was.

The Impossible is a huge emotional and technical accomplishment. It manages to tell the small story of one family in a huge disaster and sensitively portray both the intimate and the epic of the tragedy. Though the focus is on a foreign family, half-drowned and lucky to be alive, it is the local people who surface as the heroes. The performances are amazing, aided in no small part by the incredible production design and terrifyingly real special effects.

The Impossible is a very powerful film, incredibly moving and emotionally devastating. Along with United 93, it is one of the most realistic depictions of a real life tragedy you will ever see. It is impossible to remain unaffected by the plight of the people in the story and by the credits it is impossible to move from your seat. Hopefully some of the profits will be put to good use in the places affected by the disaster.The Impossible is easily an early contender for my top 10 of 2013.

Every Film I Watched in 2012: Part 2

Welcome back after part 1. I actually saw The Dark Knight Rises the day before my wedding but have included it here as I later got to write the Filmoria review of the Blu-ray. After we got back from honeymoon, I got very serious with trying to expand where my writing would be published. As a result I began writing most of my reviews for Filmoria and Static Mass Emporium. Therefore if you click the titles of any of these films, you will most likely be whisked away to one of these two sites. I watched 197 films in total for the first time, not including films that I re-watched. These are the final 73 of the year. To see the other 124, please click here. Hopefully I can see 200 in 2013! I hope you enjoy the reviews!

1. The Dark Knight Rises (TOP 10 of 2012)
2. Wanderlust
3. Young Adult
4. This Means War
5. Ted
6. Transit
7. The Watch
8. Red Road
9. Untouchable (TOP 10 of 2012)
10. A Night in the Woods (Found footage)
11. Foster
12. The Devil Inside (found footage)
13. The Kid with a Bike
14. Haywire
15. Premium Rush
16. Attack of the Werewolves
17. The Descendants
18. This Must be the Place
19. Take Shelter
20. Lawless (TOP 20 of 2012)
21. Tower Block
22. Shame
23. Hungarian Rhapsody
24. Safe
25. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
26. Looper (TOP 20 of 2012)
27. Goon
28. Wild Bill
29. Ill Manors
30. Frankenweenie
31. King of Devil’s Island (TOP 10 of 2012)
32. Paranormal Activity 4 (found footage)
33. A Separation
34. Hello Quo (documentary)
35. Cockneys vs Zombies
36. The Campaign
37. Argo (TOP 10 of 2012)
38. Senna (TOP 10 of 2011)
39. The Sapphires
40. My Brother the Devil (TOP 20 of 2012)
41. Skyfall (TOP 10 of 2012)
42. Drag me to Hell
43. My Bloody Valentine 3D
44. Margin Call (TOP 20 of 2012)
45. Hannah and her Sisters
46. REC 3: Genesis
47. War Horse
48. May I Kill U?
49. The Hunt (TOP 10 of 2012)
50. Grave Encounters (found footage)
51. Amour
52. John Carter
53. End of Watch (TOP 10 of 2012)
54. The Woman in Black
55. Casa de mi Padre
56. Sightseers (TOP 20 of 2012 and my review won a competition)
57. Festen
58. God Bless America
59. The Silver Lings Playbook
60. Red, White and Blue
61. Your Sister’s Sister
62. Tony
63. Polisse
64. Zombie Flesh Eaters
65. Pitch Perfect
66. The Dictator
67. The Baytown Outlaws
68. Life of Pi (TOP 10 of 2012)
69. Safety Not Guaranteed
70. Grabbers
71. It’s a Wonderful Life
72. Berberian Sound Studio
73. Jack Reacher

Every Film I Watched in 2012: Part 1

Don't ask me why but I've decided it would be a great idea to share with you every single film I watched (for the first time) in 2012. If you are wondering why there are so many found footage films, click the links to find out. If I've reviewed them then click the title to be magically whisked away to the destination of that review.

I am splitting this post into two because before I got married and went on honeymoon, I was only writing short reviews on this here blog. In the second part of the year I started reviewing for Filmoria and Static Mass Emporium so if you would like to read my thoughts, just click the links.

So this is the first part of my year before I became a married man and started writing for other websites. To see the list of the final 73 films I watched, please click here.

1. The Trip
2. Kill List
3. Rango
4. The St. Francisville Experiment (Found footage)
5. Coriolanus
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
7. Hobo with a Shotgun
8. Monster (Found footage)
9. The Artist
10. Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (Documentary)
11. Evil Things (Found footage)
12. Manhattan (Classic!)
13. Why we Fight
14. Ip Man
15. The French Connection (Classic!)
16. Captain America
17. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (Pound shop purchase!)
18. The Third Man (Classic!)
19. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (TOP 10 of 2011)
20. The Lincoln Lawyer
21. Like Crazy
22. The Grey
23. Paranormal Entity 2 (Found footage)
24. Contagion (on a plane)
25. Martha Marcy May Marlene (on the same plane)
26. Tower Heist (on the same plane)
27. Moneyball
28. Carnage (TOP 20 of 2012)
29. Incendies
30. Tyrannosaur
31. Super
32. 13 Assassins
33. Chronicle (TOP 20 of 2012)
34. Final Destination 5
35. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
36. The Guard
37. Hesher
38. Red State
39. Melancholia
40. Everything Must Go
41. 2012
42. Cell 211
43. In a Better World (TOP 10 of 2011)
44. Crazy Stupid Love
45. X-Men: First Class
46. The Inbetweeners
47. The Interrupters (Documentary)
48. Drive (TOP 10 of 2011)
49. 30 Minutes or Less
50. Warrior
51. Ironclad
52. Drive Angry
53. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
54. My Week with Marilyn
55. The Rum Diary
56. We Need to Talk About Kevin (TOP 10 of 2011)
57. Rounders
58. Westworld
59. Shifty
60. The Idiots
61. The Help
62. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
63. The Conversation (Classic!)
64. Death of a Ghost Hunter (Found footage)
65. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Documentary)
66. The Hunger Games (TOP 20 of 2012)
67. Snowtown
68. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
69. The Ides of March
70. Eraserhead
71. Swingers
72. Survival of the Dead
73. Apollo 18 (found footage… in space!)
74. The Cabin in the Woods (TOP 10 of 2012)
75. Weekend
76. Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence
77. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
78. Titanic 3D
79. The Night of the Hunter (Classic!)
80. Don’t be Afraid of the Dark
81. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
82. A Night to Remember (Classic!)
83. Lars and the Real Girl
84. Saturday Night Fever
85. Martin
86. Field of Dreams
87. 21 Jump Street (TOP 20 of 2012)
88. Tomboy
89. The Vanishing
90. Southland Tales
91. The Day After
92. Episode 50 (Found footage)
93. Semi-Pro
94. Vanishing Point
95. Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes (found footage and one of the worst films EVER made)
96. Avengers Assemble
97. TrollHunter (found footage)
98. Following
99. Faster
100. Fright Night
101. Into the Abyss (Documentary)
102. Kicking and Screaming
103. American Reunion
104. Flash Point
105. The Ref
106. The Ice Storm
107. This Film is Not Yet Rated (documentary)
108. Crazy Heart
109. Prometheus (TOP 20 of 2012)
110. Friends with Kids
111. OSS-117: Lost in Rio
112. Another Earth
113. One Day
114. The Tapes (found footage)
115. Mr Nice
116. Michael (TOP 10 of 2012)
117. The King of Comedy (Classic!)
118. Sound of my Voice
119. Take Me Home Tonight
120. The Adjustment Bureau
121. Miss Bala
122. The Invention of Lying
123. Gone with the Wind (Classic!)
124. The Debt

Mathieu Kassovitz's Rebellion Trailer

My apologies if this is old news to any of you, but I just found out that Mathieu Kassovitz, genius director of La Haine, is bringing us a new film called Rebellion in February. Well I say new even though IMDb is listing it as a 2011 film but the release date for the UK is 12th April. Luckily I've secured myself a screening from Filmoria at the end of January so I will be reviewing the film asap.

The synopsis of Rebellion is 'dissidents in a French colony attack a police station and take hostages' and Kassovitz is starring in front of the camera as well as directing. It's been a long wait for Kassovitz to direct something with the extraordinary power of La Haine and I must admit I lost interest in his career around the time of Gothika. But on the other hand the trailer for Rebellion looks very promising. Check it out below:



It is a real-life hostage drama and might not have the cool factor of Argo but looks more serious and sombre as it tells a story that Kassovitz clearly cares deeply about. As well as directing and starring, he is co-producing, co-scripting and co-editing. With a $20 million budget, I'm hoping it will be a case of Kassovitz getting a big budget for a project that he has passion for and a film that can match the best in his filmography.

Anyone already seen this? What did you think of the trailer?

The Hobbit: An Unnecessary Trilogy

If only I had as much writing talent as Peter Jackson has filmmaking talent. Then I could make all you readers sit through a three part review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and love almost every minute of it. Even if it was bloated, meandering and perhaps a little pointless splitting it into three parts.

I finally saw The Hobbit last night at the cinema and I must say I was a bit fidgety, particularly in the first forty minutes before the unexpected journey actually begins. Despite this, it has made me want to re-read the book if not just to see how much Jackson has added in himself.

I’m still angry with Tarantino for what he did to Kill Bill. I really didn’t think Kill Bill Vol 2 worked very well whereas I loved every minute of Vol 1. If he had just kept it as one film, I would probably have loved the whole a hell of a lot more than I loved these two separate parts. As soon as I heard about Jackson splitting The Hobbit in two I was very dubious but then to hear he was splitting it into three seemed laughable.

I loved the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions as much as the next Tolkein fan but that was after I had fallen in love with the original well-paced films in the cinema. Watching The Hobbit felt a bit like watching an extended edition that we hadn’t asked for yet. There were many scenes that felt like they belonged on the cutting room floor and that perhaps one day in the future it would be enjoyable to see on a special edition DVD.

That said it’s still a brilliant piece of filmmaking and there is no doubt I’ll be seeing the next two. But I do wish Peter Jackson had gone for a leaner version. The Hobbit would make an excellent single film I’m sure. And I wonder how kids have managed to sit through this first part of the journey. I read reviews saying it was more kiddy-friendly with all the dwarves making it comical. But that running time was making my mind wander. There were so many scenes that will take all three films to realize their true meaning and value I suspect.

Without a doubt, the most brilliant thing about the Hobbit was the return of Gollum. To all the people I hear slagging off Lord of the Rings, I would argue that no matter what they think about the endless battles, the endless walking and the infinite characters with confusing names, Gollum is the reason to love these stories. He is the character that stands above them all; utterly tragic, convincing and played to absolute perfection by Andy Serkis and the incredible effects work of WETA.

The riddles in the dark scene was perfection. The genesis of all Gollum’s troubles and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy is here. Like the scene that opened The Return of the King where we leaned how Smeagol found the ring in the first place, this was completely devastating and immediately made me want to re-watch the LOTR trilogy. Gollum is completely sympathetic and the tragedy of his story all came flooding back when he appeared out of the darkness. Martin Freeman and the dwarves never had a chance of stealing this film from the real star. Although I must mention Cate Blanchett as Galadriel who  managed to give a potentially dull scene more spark.

The Hobbit Parts 2 and 3 will have a huge task in making me forget Gollum and I only hope that Smaug will be a memorable villain who might be able to do the trick.

Let me know what you thought in the comments below.

I Love That Blog Post #16

Gosh it's been a while since I have got round to one of these so some of these posts are quite old but nevertheless they are still absolutely worth sharing! So go on, be free, fly to all these posts asap!

Cinematic Corner makes the case for Hans Zimmer’s score for The Dark Knight Rises getting an Oscar nomination

 

Top 10 Films have the ten best action-horror films

These Violent Delights has the most promising films of 2013

Being Norma Jeane has top 10 male and female performances

Cinematic Paradox also has a list of the best performances of the year

Filmoria's top 10 films of 2012

Top 20 of 2012 PART 2: The Final Countdown

Yesterday I posted the first 10 films on my top 20 of 2012 list here. Today I bring you my favourite 10 films of 2012. It's all change since I made a similar list half way through the year.

10. King of Devil’s Island

I reviewed this at Filmoria when it came out on home release. The story of a boys prison on an unforgiving island, King of Devil’s Island makes for stirring viewing. The performances are sovereign, lead by a sinister Stellan Skarsgård and the cinematography and score are supreme.

9. Michael

The second of two films about child abuse in my top 10 which is a bit depressing but they do have a tendency to make very powerful viewing. It’s a haunting, horrible film with a breathtaking open ending. It’s not going to be a film for everyone, but you will find it hard to forget after you have seen it, mostly due to the ending which will leave you thinking about it for days and possibly even months or years.

8. Untouchable

Powered by a wonderful performance from Omar Sy, I reviewed this one for Filmoria and also got to interview the directors. Telling the true story of a young black ex-con from the projects going to work as a carer for a wealthy quadriplegic, Untouchable flies beyond expectations right from the start. See it for Sy’s joyful performance and to witness an inspiring tale of a cross-cultural friendship.

7. Skyfall

I'm not a huge Bond fan but this is possibly my favourite of the franchise.  I thought the opening scene was filled with spectacular action, the cinematography and production design was some of the finest of the year and the mixing of the old with the new made it a Bond for all audiences.  I can't see how it would fail to satisfy any Bond fan or anyone who just loves a good action film. 

6. Life of Pi

Reviewed this for Static Mass Emporium finding it an enchanting, inspiring and surprisingly emotional film filled with wonder, awe-inspiring visuals and a character to root for in the stranded, bereaved but determined Pi. Despite taking eleven years to get from page to screen, it is absolutely worth the wait. Ang Lee has created an unbelievably cinematic treatment of the novel. Though the film itself takes its time getting to the heart of the story, the cinematography is spellbinding, the score is stirring and newcomer Suraj Sharma gives a heartfelt and compelling performance as hero Pi.

5. Argo

A tense thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck, this delivered on the promise of its unbelievable true story. Smuggling American officials out of Tehran at the height of the Iranian Embassy crisis in 1979 by creating a fake science-fiction film sounds too silly to believe but not only is this a true story, it is a bloody tense and hilarious one at that. Affleck makes the early scenes at the embassy the best and goes for a seriously Hollywood ending but this is consistently exciting and funny with a smidgen of politics thrown in for good measure.

4. The Cabin in the Woods

Turning genre conventions on their head in a hilarious and smart puzzle of a film for horror fans, Cabin in the Woods is fast-paced, fresh, frightening and ridiculously funny!  If you haven't seen it yet, be careful what you read/see before you go in.  Blessed is s/he that knows next to nothing about what is in store. Destined to be studied by film studies students for some time.

3. End of Watch

Reviewed for Static Mass Emporium, it provides a sensationally exciting climax with, director/writer David Ayer getting beneath the bravado, the bravery and the brashness of the boys in blue. Fuelled by superb performances, realistic dialogue and a fantastic soundtrack, End Of Watch is a cop thriller with everything you expect from the genre and more. By the end of your watch, the film will have made you laugh and cry and all from the precarious position of the edge of your seat.

2. The Hunt

Reviewed for Static Mass Emporium, it’s a film about the precarious position teachers are in, at the mercy of imaginative children and pitch fork carrying adults. Mads Mikkelsen brings a virtuous integrity to the role, his popular and fun teacher giving way to a reserved and wounded man losing trust in those around him. His character’s arc is compelling and flawlessly written creating a compassionate, caring individual that is forced to show his cracks.

1. The Dark Knight Rises

Saw this the day before my wedding so I was in a very good mood despite just getting over being ill. I’ve since reviewed the Blu-ray release for Filmoria. This is a thrilling, perfectly fitting conclusion to one of the greatest trilogies of all time. With a beautifully haunting and stirring score from Hans Zimmer, it achieves the impossible of making the outcome for Batman, Bruce Wayne and Gotham itself never certain and stands as the pinnacle of comic book movies.

Now that's mine, what were your faves of the year? Check out the democratic top 10 of 2012 as voted for by the contributors of Filmoria here.