Showing posts with label rango. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rango. Show all posts

Saturday, 25 February 2012

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...

Friday, 17 February 2012

A Trio of Trippy Tales


Probably a more accurate title would be a couple of trippy tales and a tale about a trip but that didn't have quite the same ring to it.  Three features I watched recently:

Kill List (Ben Wheatley, 2011)

Genre-bending low-budget British hit man horror with a twisted, trippy ending.  Like the genre-switching From Dusk Til Dawn but far better, this goes from social realist drama to crime flick to all out horror for the disturbing climax.  Filled with convincing performances that help ground the outrageous elements of the script, it won’t satisfy everyone with its unanswered questions and bleak outlook.  However it is an original film with tension that is ratcheted up to snapping point by the time the last kill on the list is ticked.  The less you know before you watch, the better it will be.

Rango (Gore Verbinski, 2011)

Pixar needs to watch their back.  Rango is a lizard thing stuck in the desert after falling out the back of a car.  Coming across a town in deperate need of water, inhabited by strange characters, Rango decides to reinvent himself as a hero and savior.  Featuring a great Fear and Loathing reference and a loony hero voiced by Depp, this one starts surreal and just gets weirder.  With film references a-plenty, stunning, trippy visuals and an incredibly weird bunch of characters but a surprisingly straight story by the end, this one will delight young and old viewers alike.

The Trip (Michael Winterbottom, 2010)

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon take a tour of the Peak District to sample fancy food and wine while one-upping each other with film star impersonations.  The over dinner conversations wear a little thin by the end while the scenery and the cinematography that captures it are spectacular.  However it’s the surely based on a bit of truth insights into the relationships of these two that really makes this a trip worth taking.  Brydon, the content family man, and Coogan, the aging lothario, improvise their way to a subdued but emotionally resonant resolution, with Coogan particularly shining in a self-deprecating and quite possibly, painfully honest role.  Their Michael Caine impersonations will leave you laughing intermittently but their self-impersonations throughout keep you invested in their journey of self-discovery. 

Trippiest of the bunch?  Definitely Rango.  Who's seen any of these?  Give us your thoughts...

Friday, 13 January 2012

Pointless Predictions 2012: Golden Globes

It's time for bad boy of Brit-Sit-Coms Ricky Gervais to lay into Hollywood royalty once more.  Here's my utterly unscientific predictions for the winners on Sunday night.  I stress that it is highly unlikely I will be right about any of these as I'm just going on other people's predictions and what I've heard.  In green, are the few nominees I've actually seen, in red my predicted winner, and god forbid I've actually seen what I predict will win, then the film will be in blue.  Got it?


BEST PICTURE: DRAMA
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse




BEST PICTURE: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTOR: DRAMA
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J.Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS: DRAMA
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

BEST ACTRESS: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristin Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage

BEST ACTOR: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"A Separation" (Iran)
The Flowers Of War" (China)
"The Kid With The Bike" (Belgium)
"In The Land Of Blood and Honey" (USA)
"The Skin I Live In" (Spain)

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Artist
The Descendants
The Ides of March
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Ludovic Bource - "The Artist"
Abel Korzeniowski - "W.E."
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
Howard Shore - "Hugo"
John Williams - "War Horse"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss In Boots
Rango



So, in summary, I've seen 5 of the 35 nominees in these most major of categories and am therefore a complete failure at being a film fan and blogger.  My predictions are mostly a mash-up of other people's opinions and therefore sit very close to worthless.  You might as well have read the predictions of somebody who had actually seen more than four of the listed films.

While these films have been dazzling cinema audiences across the globe, I've been watching Hobo with a Shotgun, countless found footage horrors that look like they were made by film students with extreme epilepsy, and generally waiting patiently for Lovefilm to send me the DVD/Blu-rays so I don't have to fork out for ridiculously priced cinema tickets.


But, in short;
  • I think Hugo doesn't deserve to win much (unless its competitors are not very good) but The Artist deserves to win more than it probably will
  • 50/50 and Bridesmaids were great but probably not awards worthy (except perhaps for JGL's acting)
  • Rango surely has no competition in the animated category