OSCAR Winners 2012

February 27, 2012 2 Comments

The Oscars played it very very very safe this year (well..  this year and every year in fact!): the biggest shock was probably the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo winning best Editing (quite unexpected, especially because the editors had won it last year with The Social Network). Hugo went home with most of the technical awards, best scripts awards given to Woody Allen and Alexander Payne and the big ones (film, director, actor) went to the Artist as expected… And the Artist for Best music too. Meryl graced our screen once again with her class and beauty and her oscar is one of the most deserved of the year. She is the embodiment of greatness! And finally, Spielberg got home with no award, however he got a big thanks from Octavia Spencer.

Check out my post of Oscar Snubs

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Artist (2011): Thomas Langmann  (WINNER)

The Descendants (2011): Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011): Scott Rudin

The Help (2011): Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan

Hugo (2011/II): Graham King, Martin Scorsese

Midnight in Paris (2011): Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

Moneyball (2011): Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

The Tree of Life (2011): Nominees to be determined

War Horse (2011): Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir for A Better Life (2011)

George Clooney for The Descendants (2011) 

Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011) (WINNER)

Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Viola Davis for The Help (2011)

Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011) (WINNER)

Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011)

Nick Nolte for Warrior (2011)

Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010) (WINNER)

Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011)

Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011)

Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids (2011)

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)  (WINNER)

Best Achievement in Directing

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris (2011)

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)  (WINNER)

Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life (2011)

Alexander Payne for The Descendants (2011)

Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius

Bridesmaids (2011): Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

Margin Call (2011): J.C. Chandor

Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen  (WINNER)

A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash  (WINNER)

Hugo (2011/II): John Logan

The Ides of March (2011): George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon

Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

A Cat in Paris (2010): Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli

Chico & Rita (2010): Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011): Jennifer Yuh

Puss in Boots (2011): Chris Miller

Rango (2011): Gore Verbinski  (WINNER)

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Bullhead (2011): Michael R. Roskam(Belgium)

Footnote (2011): Joseph Cedar(Israel)

In Darkness (2011): Agnieszka Holland(Poland)

Monsieur Lazhar (2011): Philippe Falardeau(Canada)

A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi(Iran)  (WINNER)

Best Achievement in Cinematography

The Artist (2011): Guillaume Schiffman

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Jeff Cronenweth

Hugo (2011/II): Robert Richardson  (WINNER)

The Tree of Life (2011): Emmanuel Lubezki

War Horse (2011): Janusz Kaminski

Best Achievement in Editing

The Artist (2011): Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius

The Descendants (2011): Kevin Tent

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter   (WINNER)

Hugo (2011/II): Thelma Schoonmaker

Moneyball (2011): Christopher Tellefsen

Best Achievement in Art Direction

The Artist (2011): Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan

Hugo (2011/II): Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo  (WINNER)

Midnight in Paris (2011): Anne Seibel, Hélène Dubreuil

War Horse (2011): Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Anonymous (2011/I): Lisy Christl

The Artist (2011): Mark Bridges

Hugo (2011/II): Sandy Powell  (WINNER)

Jane Eyre (2011): Michael O’Connor

W.E. (2011): Arianne Phillips

Best Achievement in Makeup

Albert Nobbs (2011): Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnson, Matthew W. Mungle

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin

The Iron Lady (2011): Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland   (WINNER)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

The Adventures of Tintin (2011): John Williams

The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource   (WINNER)

Hugo (2011/II): Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Alberto Iglesias

War Horse (2011): John Williams

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

The Muppets (2011): Bret McKenzie(“Man or Muppet”)   (WINNER)

Rio (2011): Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett(“Real in Rio”)

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Bo Persson

Hugo (2011/II): Tom Fleischman, John Midgley  (WINNER)

Moneyball (2011): Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco, Ed Novick

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Peter J. Devlin

War Horse (2011): Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Stuart Wilson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Drive (2011): Lon Bender, Victor Ray Ennis

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Ren Klyce

Hugo (2011/II): Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty   (WINNER)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
War Horse (2011): Richard Hymns, Gary Rydstrom

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, John Richardson

Hugo (2011/II): Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning  (WINNER)

Real Steel (2011): Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Danny Gordon Taylor, Swen Gillberg

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011): Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, Daniel Barrett

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew E. Butler, John Frazier

Best Documentary, Features

Hell and Back Again (2011): Danfung Dennis, Mike Lerner

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011): Marshall Curry, Sam Cullman

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011): Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky

Pina (2011): Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel

Undefeated (2011): Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin, Rich Middlemas  (WINNER)

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement (2011): Robin Fryday, Gail Dolgin God Is the Bigger Elvis: Rebecca Cammisa,
Julie Anderson

Incident in New Baghdad (2011): James Spione

Saving Face (2011/II): Daniel Junge, Sharmeen Obaid- Chinoy   (WINNER)

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011): Lucy Walker, Kira Carstensen

Best Short Film, Animated

Dimanche (2011): Patrick Doyon

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011): William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg  (WINNER)

La Luna (2011): Enrico Casarosa

A Morning Stroll (2011): Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

Wild Life (2011): Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby

Best Short Film, Live Action

Pentecost (2011): Peter McDonald

Raju (2011): Max Zähle, Stefan Gieren

The Shore: Terry George, Oorlagh George   (WINNER)

Time Freak (2011): Andrew Bowler, Gigi Causey Tuba

Atlantic (2010): Hallvar Witzø

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The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards

January 16, 2012 8 Comments

Here are the results for the 69th Golden Globes, which is usually a pretty good indicator for the Oscars (and yes, just as predictable). No big surprises aside from Martin Scorsese getting an award for his directing in HUGO…

The Artist got away with its award for best comedy, Meryl Streep and Clooney won for their performances in a drama (both very well deserved) and Steven Spielberg went home with an award for Tintin.

Aside from that, the evening was pretty restrained: no big tears, no big shocks… and sadly no big insults from Ricky Gervais (this time it felt he was really holding back). However funnily enough the best moment had nothing to with any of nominees below, but was the pleasure of seeing a montage of films with Morgan Freeman for the Cecil B DeMille Award.

Underneath you can read all the nominees, the winners and some of my (silly) comments too.

Best Motion Picture – Drama

WINNER: The Descendants (2011)  

The Help (2011)

Hugo (2011/II)

Moneyball (2011)

War Horse (2011)

I am really happy to see this little film getting this award. I’ve always liked it since I first saw it .

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

WINNER: The Artist (2011)

Bridesmaids (2011)

50/50 (2011)

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Well of course… It had to win. Everybody loves it even though there are a lot of better films out there.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

WINNER: George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)

Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar (2011)

Michael Fassbender for Shame (2011)

Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)

Clooney truly deserved this award. His performance in the Descendants is possibly his best performance ever.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Viola Davis for The Help (2011)

WINNER: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)

Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

She had to win. She’s still the best living actress around. A legend! She’s got class to sell (in her speech she thanked all actresses who have not been nominated!). I just wondered: how dare they play music over her to push her off the stage?

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

WINNER: Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)

Brendan Gleeson for The Guard (2011)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt for 50/50 (2011)

Owen Wilson for Midnight in Paris (2011)

I was really hoping for Ryan Gosling or Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but let’s face it, it was never going to happen. Jean Dujardin gave a lovely speech with a nice “silent” touch at the end.

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

Jodie Foster for Carnage (2011)

WINNER: Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Kate Winslet for Carnage (2011)

This was to be expected. It’s going to be between her and Meryl Streep at the Oscars (who probably deserves it more thought). Her speech was heartfelt and lovely.

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

Nominees:

Albert Brooks for Drive (2011)

Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011)

WINNER : Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)

I did say it at the time. This one of the best performances of the year. TOTALLY deserved! I am so happy 

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

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011)

Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011)

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011)

WINNER: Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

Shailene Woodley for The Descendants (2011)

She really deserved it… Though i must confess I did actually fall in love with Shailene in The Descendant. 

Best Director – Motion Picture

WINNER: Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II)

A night where both Scorsese and Spielberg win a Golden Globe can only be a good night in my opinion, however if you asked me Alexander Payne deserved this.

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

WINNER: Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen

Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

Not so sure it deserved it, especially against Sorkin, Payne and Clooney… But maybe it got it because the voted split among all the others.

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Albert Nobbs (2011): Brian Byrne, Glenn Close(“Lay Your Head Down”)

Gnomeo & Juliet (2011): Elton John, Bernie Taupin(“Hello Hello”)

The Help (2011): Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas(“The Living Proof”)

Machine Gun Preacher (2011): Chris Cornell(“The Keeper”)

WINNER: W.E. (2011): Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry(“Masterpiece”)

It was quite funny to hear her acceptance speech. It sounded as if she was expecting the award for her direction for the film… Madonna, it’s just the song. Get that statuette and go home!!

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

WINNER: The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource

Hugo (2011/II): Howard Shore

W.E. (2011): Abel Korzeniowski

It was to be expected since the whole film relies on the soundtrack and nothing else… But I really thought John Williams’s score was beautiful.

Best Animated Film

Cars 2 (2011)

Puss in Boots (2011)

Rango (2011)

Isn’t great to see Spielberg accepting an award again… (and for a cartoon!!).

Best Foreign Language Film

The Flowers of War (2011)(China)

The Kid with a Bike (2011)(Belgium)

WINNER: A Separation (2011)(Iran)

The Skin I Live In (2011)(Spain)

Best Television Series – Drama

“Boss” (2011)

WINNER: “Homeland” (2011)

Everybody has been telling me for months to watch this series. It look like I am going to have to catch up soon

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

“Episodes” (2011)

“Glee” (2009)

WINNER: “Modern Family” (2009)

“New Girl” (2011)

I love this show and the acceptance speech was just as wild as the show itself.

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Cinema Verite (2011) (TV)

WINNER “Downton Abbey” (2010)

“The Hour” (2011)

Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

Mildred Pierce was fantastic, but everybody seems to love the Brits of Downton Abbey these days.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

WINNER: Claire Danes for “Homeland” (2011)

Callie Thorne for “Necessary Roughness” (2011)

Claire Danes is always a winner on TV. This is her 3rd win. And now I have another reason to watch Homeland.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

WINNER: Idris Elba for “Luther” (2010)

William Hurt for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

Bill Nighy for Page Eight (2011) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

WINNER: Peter Dinklage for “Game of Thrones” (2011)

Paul Giamatti for Too Big to Fail (2011) (TV)

Tim Robbins for Cinema Verite (2011) (TV)

Eric Stonestreet for “Modern Family” (2009)

A mini-actor for a miniseries… hehehe… sorry, that was a bit cheap.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Evan Rachel Wood for “Mildred Pierce” (2011)

Pity for Maggie… She hasn’t got many award season left…

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The Descendants – Review

December 13, 2011 5 Comments

The Descendants (2011) 

Director: Alexander Payne. Writer: Alexander Payne. Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard

 Once in a while a movie comes along and shows that Hollywood can do more than just cheesy rom-coms or big blockbusters with a tiny little brain. In the case of Alexander Payne, it seems we had to wait 7 years, which is the time he took him to make another new film after his previous Sideways. The Descendants not only shows us the same intelligence, nuance and bittersweetness from his previous work but actually manages to take it a step beyond.
It might not be the most original story ever seen on screen, but it’s treated with such maturity and honesty and in such simple and unfussy way that it’s hard not to fall in love with it. I certainly did.
I saw it a few weeks ago and unlike many other films seen recently, it sticked in my mind.
Clooney dresses down like rarely before (literally: he’s never been wearing worse clothes!) to play the part of  the the everyday man Matt King. In this film he looks as scruffy as ever, with a bad haircut and unshaven look. And as he abandons his trademark smirks and smiles he manages to give one of his best performance to date: best because he’s actually so normal, so understated and yet so powerful. It is actually the hardest role to pull off.
He’s funny at times and yet incredibly moving at others. I won’t give away the ending of the film, but his final speech, all shot in a tight close-up  was absolutely heart breaking and its sincerity and realism had me in tears like a baby.
It is an incredibly powerful film: a story about grief, betrayal and the breaking of a marriage, which manages to be funny at the same time. And it’s this careful balance between the sad and the lighter moments and its low-key approach that makes “the Descendants” so successful.
It’s a hard film to pigeonhole: nothing is really black or white.It’s not a comedy nor a drama. It’s set in the Hawaii Islands and yet there’s no sun (in fact it’s always raining and gray),  good people do bad things and bad people surprise us by showing an unexpected side of their personas. In that respect it’s a very realistic film, in a real setting, with real people; and just like in real life, people are rarely perfect and they’re not “always-good” or “always-bad” but nonetheless they can be surprising too
The pacing of the film is rather slow (that’s not a criticism, nor the film is boring) and somehow that allows us to get to closer and closer to the characters, understand them, learn about their imperfections and flaws and somehow fall in love with them, because despite the extraordinary situations, they really feel human.
So that by the time we get to the final emotional scenes with Clooney, it all really pays off beautifully.
I suppose this is probably one of those movies that will appeal to a much older audience or, dare-I-say, a more mature one, but if you’re willing to go with it, not only you’ll find the best Clooney ever, but also one of the best films of the year.
8.5/10

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The Ides of March – Review

October 30, 2011 3 Comments

The Ides of March (2011)

Directed by George Clooney. Starring Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman

As many before me have pointed out, this film is clearly an early Oscar bait for the forthcoming awards season: it’s slick, handsome, subtle and has some great performances all around.

As a massive fan of the West Wing and political dramas in general, I was always going to like a film that takes place behind the scenes of a political campaign to elect a candidate at the US primaries. But on the other hand, maybe because of my knowledge of the genre, I couldn’t help feeling a certain sense of déjàvu in the depiction of both the plot and the types of characters. Yes, politicians are double-faced, scheming, deceiving, fast talking… This is an immature democracy soaked in disappointments and yet at the same time in colourful optimistic rhetoric.

We’ve seen most of this before, but despite its unremarkable familiar atmosphere, the film looks and feels so good and has enough confidence and tension to keep you thrilled throughout. And just when you’re about to think “this might be a tiny bit slow”, it pulls off a couple of truly unexpected twists and turns it from a political drama into a pulsating thriller. I must confess, at one point I was literally lost as to where it was all heading to.

Clooney co-wrote it, directed it and stars in it too. As a the man behind the camera, he handles it all with great subtlety and films it more as a theatre play, relying on the skills of his actors rather than big actions scenes, or car chases and shootouts. As the man in front of the camera, he takes a step back from the central stage and lets Gosling and the rest of his might cast to do most of the work.

Ryan Gosling in his third movie in a row in little more than a month confirms himself as the actor of the year: his performance is perfectly pitched: strong, charismatic and clever in a way that makes it very easy to like and identify with, despite the weaknesses and darker shades of his character. Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman, unsurprisingly, are perfect as always and Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei both shine in their limited supporting roles.

In the end Clooney might have more chances at the Oscar with his wonderful performance in the “Descendants” coming out soon (which I’ll be reviewing next), and anyway it’s probably a bit too early to make any Oscar predictions (will people still remember this film next February? I can hardly remember it after just a few days…), but this is still a solid political/thriller of the caliber we don’t get many these days, which treats its audience as thinking human beings capable of actually following a plot without the need to spell it out right from the title itself.

7.5/10

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