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The 84th Annual Academy Award Winners
February 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

The 84th Annual Academy Award Winners

The 2012 Academy Awards started off with a bang, with Hugo taking 2 in a row. In fact, I’m happy to see that two of my favorite films of the year, The Artist and Hugo, both took home 5 Oscar’s a piece. I am glad that Hugo, my personal favorite for best pic, was recognized for its technical achievements. It was no surprise that The Artist walked away with the biggest trophy’s of the night, but a part of me was bummed to not see Scorsese take home his second Best Director win.

The biggest upset of the night was definitely  Meryl Streep besting what everyone thought was a definite win for Viola Davis. The telecast itself was great, and probably the fastest moving I’ve ever seen. Billy Crystal was funny, classy, and great as expected. The Cirque de Soliel performance was interesting, but I would have given that up to see Man or a Muppet performed. Overall, the show was lightyears ahead of last years Anne Hathaway/James Franco trainwreck.

What did you think of the results? See the full list of winners below, with the winners highlighted in bold.

Best Picture

  • The Artist
  • The Descendants
  • Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
  • The Help
  • Hugo
  • Midnight in Paris
  • Moneyball
  • The Tree of Life
  • War Horse

Best Actress in a Leading Role

  • 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

Best Actor in a Leading Role

  • Demian Bichir, A Better Life
  • George Clooney, The Descendants
  • Jean Dujardin, The Artist
  • Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
  • Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Director

  • Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
  • Alexdander Payne, The Descendants
  • Martin Scorsese, Hugo
  • Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
  • Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Short Film (Animated)

  • Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon
  • The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
  • La Luna, Enrico Casarosa
  • A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
  • Wild Life, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Documentary Short

  • The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
  • God is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
  • Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione
  • Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Short Film (Live Action)

  • Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
  • Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
  • The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George
  • Time Freak, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
  • Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzø

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius
  • Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
  • Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor
  • Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen
  • A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

  • The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
  • Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
  • The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
  • Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin.  Story by Stan Chervin
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Music (Original Song)

  • “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
  • “Real in Rio” from Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Music (Original Score)

  • The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
  • The Artist, Ludovic Bource
  • Hugo, Howard Shore
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
  • War Horse, John Williams

Best Actor In a Supporting Role

  • Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
  • Jonah Hill, Moneyball
  • Nick Nolte, Warrior
  • Christopher Plummer, Beginners
  • Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Visual Effects

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
  • Hugo, Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
  • Real Steel, Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Dan Glass, Brad Friedman, Douglas Trumbull and Michael Fink

Animated Feature Film

  • A Cat in Paris, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
  • Chico & Rita, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
  • Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  • Puss in Boots, Chris Miller
  • Rango, Gore Verbinski

Documentary Feature

  • Hell and Back Again
  • If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
  • Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
  • Pina
  • Undefeated

Sound Mixing

  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
  • Hugo, Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
  • Moneyball, Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
  • War Horse, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Sound Editing

  • Drive, Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ren Klyce
  • Hugo, Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
  • War Horse, Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Film Editing

  • The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
  • The Descendants, Kevin Tent
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
  • Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
  • Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
  • Jessica Chastain, The Help
  • Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
  • Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
  • Octavia Spencer, The Help

Foreign Language Film

  • Belgium, “Bullhead”, Michael R. Roskam, director
  • Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar”, Philippe Falardeau, director
  • Iran, “A Separation”, Asghar Farhadi, director
  • Israel, “Footnote”, Joseph Cedar, director
  • Poland, “In Darkness”, Agnieszka Holland, director

Makeup

  • Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
  • The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Costume Design

  • Anonymous, Lisy Christl
  • The Artist, Mark Bridges
  • Hugo, Sandy Powell
  • Jane Eyre, Michael O’Connor
  • W.E., Arianne Phillips

Art Direction

  • The Artist: Laurence Bennett (Production Design); Robert Gould (Set Decoration)
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Stuart Craig (Production Design); Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
  • Hugo: Dante Ferretti (Production Design); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration)
  • War Horse: Rick Carter (Production Design); Lee Sandales (Set Decoration)

Cinematography

  • The Artist, Guillaume Schiffman
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth
  • Hugo, Robert Richardson
  • The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
  • War Horse, Janusz Kaminski
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March 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

DVD Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

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Reviewing a filmmaker’s swing at the children’s genre is usually pretty difficult and on par with reviewing a musician’s Christmas record and trying to make sense of it with the rest of their catalogue.  However, Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is not like most children’s films.

“Fox,” is based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, best known for writing “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”  However, when you see this latest adaptation, you wonder if it wasn’t written especially for Wes Anderson.

Mr. Fox is a sly, cunning, witty, quick, entertaining and enjoyable kind of character.  A life-long thief, he volunteers to stop his career after his wife tells him that she’s pregnant.  He takes up writing a column in the local paper.  However, this life of tranquility doesn’t last too long before Mr. Fox is compelled to take up his criminal activity, this time stealing from Boggis, Bunce and Bean, three farmers who do not take kindly to the thefts.

Adapting the book along with Noah Baumbach, Anderson made some changes to the story, adding what is now a familiar theme of sons trying to please their fathers.  The ending of the movie is also different, but is based on an original ending that Anderson found in Dahl’s notes.  And while the movie is an adaptation, there is so much of it that reeks of Anderson’s self-written work.  “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is a movie that revels in the details.  From Mr. Fox dressing very similar to Anderson himself, to the decision to shoot the movie at 12 frames a second instead of 24, allowing you to clearly see the fur of the animals move as the animating process was going on.  Anderson wants fingerprints on this movie and he gets it.  It’s what makes the movie so rich.  You can feel the presence of Anderson and his animators behind the camera.

The voices are also wonderful, provided by some of Anderson’s usual cast, some featuring new additions to the world that he’s building.  George Clooney is Mr. Fox, and Meryl Streep is Mrs. Fox.  Jason Schwartzman plays Ash, the Foxes son, and Bill Murray plays Badger, Mr. Fox’s attorney.  (Also look for a rabbit wearing an orange neckerchief.  His voice is done by celebrity chef Mario Batali.)

It may not be for some children, (those who don’t like discussions of existentialism, for example,) or some adults, (those who can’t loose themselves in Anderson’s make-believe world,) but if you’re a fan of Wes Anderson, you’ll like this.

Like the rest of Anderson’s work, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is an acquired taste.  While some directors open up, making movies that are more easily accessible for a wider audience with each film, Anderson is almost going down his own foxhole.  If “Darjeeling Limited,” shed some of his fans, “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” will probably shed even more, with them charging that Anderson is now only interested in entertaining himself.  However, with each movie, I find enough overlap with what fascinates him with what fascinates me.  -Sam

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Review: It’s Complicated
December 24, 2009 Leave a Comment

Review: It’s Complicated

its-complicated

When considering the confusing world of relationships, “It’s Complicated,” is almost too simple a description.  Sadly, that is also the problem with Nancy Meyer’s latest movie. [Read more...]

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December 15, 2009 1 Comment

Golden Globe Noms Released

Tuesday morning found people on the west coast up very early to hear the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations.  Here’s the full list, with the TV categories included:

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Best Director – Motion Picture

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham(“The Weary Kind”)

Everybody’s Fine (2009): Paul McCartney(“(I Want To) Come Home”)

Nine (2009): Maury Yeston(“Cinema Italiano”)

Brothers (2009/I)(“Winter”)

Avatar (2009)(“I See You”)

Best Animated Film

Best Foreign Language Film

A few thoughts: “Invictus,” was shut out of the biggest category, (best motion picture- drama,) and will that hurt it’s Oscar chances?  Nice to see Meryl Streep wrack up a few more nominations.  (I believe that brings her lifetime nominations to 25, or something equally silly.)  The nominating committee seemed to dig “Inglourious Basterds,” which was nice. “Nine,” did well with nominations, but will that mean anything when the Oscar nominations come out?  The reviews seem to be tepid at best.  (I’m still looking forward to seeing it.)  “The Hurt Locker,” picked up a bunch of nominations, which that, coupled with the ‘best of’ awards it’s been wracking up bodes well for an Oscar nomination.  The same goes for “Up in the Air.”  Looks like those two will be the names to beat at this ceremony, and the one held in February.

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Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox
December 7, 2009 Leave a Comment

Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

fantastic_mr_fox_pic_1_jpg_595x325_crop_upscale_q85

Reviewing a filmmaker’s swing at the children’s genre is usually pretty difficult and on par with reviewing a musician’s Christmas record and trying to make sense of it with the rest of their catalogue.  However, Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is not like most children’s films. [Read more...]

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Review: Julie & Julia
August 16, 2009 Leave a Comment

Review: Julie & Julia

merylstreep_child

If food and meals truly bring people together, is it that big a leap to see food bridging the gap of time and distance to bring two people together?  In Nora Ephron’s “Julie & Julia,” the two brought together, (so to speak,) are Julie Powell and Julia Child.  [Read more...]

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May 7, 2009 Leave a Comment

Streep Joins “Fantastic” Cast

Reports say Meryl Streep is doing one of the voices in Wes Anderson’s upcoming animated movie, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.”  Streep will reportedly be replacing Cate Blanchett.  Streep joins a pretty great cast.  Already cast in the movie are George Clooney, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Michael Gamobn, Adrien Brody and Wes Anderson himself.

This should be an interesting movie.  Anderson was originally co-directing the movie with Henry Selick, who ended up leaving the project to make the wonderful “Coraline.”  Anderson and Selick had previously collborated on the sea-life in “The Life Aquatic.”

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DVD Review: Mama Mia!
January 26, 2009 Leave a Comment

DVD Review: Mama Mia!

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Islands in drama have always been mystical, mysterious places.  From the islands in Shakespeare’s “Tempest,” to Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,” every island seems to be rife with a lot of things that might not be found on the mainland.  Add to the list director Phyllida Lloyd’s film version of the hit stage musical, “Mama Mia!”

How is it mystical and mysterious?  Award-winning actors, not known for their singing voices break into song at every available opportunity.  The costumes are loud and bright, and seem diametrically opposed to the lush blue waters of the Greek isles.  And then there’s the choreography, which is clunky, obvious and overwrought.  “Mama Mia!” is an overabundance of things that are wrong, but, somehow, bizarrely enough, it all works.

Sophie, (Amanda Seyfried,) is a local Greek girl, working at the cozy inn run by her mother Donna, (Meryl Streep,) getting ready to marry the love of her life.  However, never knowing who her father is, and wanting him to give her away at the wedding, she stumbles across her mother’s diary and invites the three men who might fight the bill, (Stellan Skarsgard, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth).  Donna’s two friends, (Julie Walters and Christine Baranski,) are also on-hand and, as is usually the case in such scenarios and such films, high jinks result.

Combining the list of things I mentioned at the top of this review with the flimsy plot just described, it would seem like this is a complete disaster of a movie.  And, for the first thirty minutes it is.  The colors are rich and vibrant, but the difference between things shot on-location and on a sound stage are startling.  The acting is over the top to the point of being shrill from minute one.  The choreography is ridiculous, consisting, mainly, of literally acting out the lyrics.  The music is wonderful, but even it isn’t enough to save this sinking ship.

But then, around the forty-minute mark, in the middle of Meryl Streep’s first big song, ‘Mama Mia,’ it all sort-of starts to make sense.  Of course it’s supposed to have silly, bright costumes.  Of course it’s supposed to have terrible dancing.  Of course it’s supposed to look like it was shot on a sound stage.  And then there’s the singing.  No one, Pierce Brosnan’s wife and children included, enjoy hearing him sing.  It’s a deep rumble of a voice, wavering around the note, instead of hitting it solidly.  But it all works.  Wonders of wonders, it works.  After those first confusing, irritating, annoying and aggravating 40 minutes, it all falls into place.

I cannot try to explain it nor can I comprehend it; the movie works.  It’s creaky, it’s imperfect, it’s a drunken night out at the karaoke bar, but it works.  It’s the type of film that makes you question your cinematic likes and dislikes from childhood on.  It’s the type of film that makes you consider throwing it all away for a life on a Greek island.  It’s the type of film that makes you want to, dare I say it, sing and dance.

“Mama Mia!” is a wonderfully silly, amazingly clunky, shockingly terrible mess.  Somehow, for some reason, I recommend it.  -Sam

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Review: Doubt
January 7, 2009 Leave a Comment

Review: Doubt

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John Patrick Shanley returns to the director’s chair with this adaptation of his Pulitizer-prize winning play, ‘Doubt.’  (For those of you who remember such things, Shanley’s first film was ‘Joe vs. the Volcano.)  Shanley’s second film, is, clearly, worlds away from his first. [Read more...]

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