Colin’s Oscar Predictions 2012

PICTURE – The Artist
DIRECTOR – Michel Hazanavicius: “The Artist”
ACTOR – George Clooney: “The Descendants”
ACTRESS – Viola Davis, “The Help”
SUPPORTING ACTOR – Christopher Plummer: “Beginners”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Octavia Spencer: “The Help”
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – “The Descendants”
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – “Midnight in Paris”
ART DIRECTION – “The Artist”
CINEMATOGRAPHY – “The Tree of Life”
COSTUME DESIGN – “Jane Eyre”
FILM EDITING – “The Artist”
MAKEUP – “The Iron Lady”
ORIGINAL SCORE – “The Artist”
ORIGINAL SONG – “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”
SOUND EDITING – “Hugo”
SOUND MIXING – “Hugo”
VISUAL EFFECTS – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM – “Rango”
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – “Pina”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – “A Separation” (Iran)

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COMMENTARY TRACK: Actor Roundtable

Another treat from The Hollywood Reporter! This time it is an actor’s roundtable with six celebrated actor’s from the year’s best pictures. Taking part in this roundtable is George Clooney (The Descendants), Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Christoph Waltz (Carnage), Albert Brooks (Drive) and Nick Nolte (Warrior). For the Director’s Roundtable, check here.

-JGF

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COMMENTARY TRACK: Director Roundtable

The Hollywood Reporter was kind enough to share this wonderful, hour-long roundtable discussion between the year’s most celebrated directors. Included in the discussion is Alexander Payne (The Descendants), Mike Mills (Beginners), Steve McQueen (Shame), Jason Reitman (Young Adult), Bennett Miller (Moneyball) and Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). Everyone should take an hour out of their day to watch some of the year’s brightest directors talking about making films.

-JGF

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COMMENTARY TRACK: Gilliam Compares Spielberg to Kubrick

Thanks to Boing Boing for bringing this wonderful clip to my attention.

Visionary director, ‘Monty Python’ member, and commercial failure Terry Gilliam discusses the differences between Stanley Kubrick and Stephen Spielberg. Gilliam’s words have a lot of relevance due to the upcoming release of War Horse and the sentimental sensationalism evident in the trailer.

For fun, compare the trailer for War Horse with Kubrick’s 1957 anti-war film Paths of Glory.

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REVIEW: The Updated Muppets a Timeless Classic

The Muppets

The Muppets have been around for so long, I cannot recall when I was first introduced to them. As a child I was taken to see the occasional movie, but by this point (1992-2000) the Muppets franchise had become stale and suffered from the death of the creator, Jim Henson. It was only as I got older that I was introduced to their full body of work. I felt an instant connection to the loveable characters from films such as The Muppets Movie and Muppets Take Manhattan. The Muppets were, and are, a loveable group of misfits, each of whom found a place to belong despite their weirdness. Even one of the characters, Gonzo the Great, is of species “Weirdo.”

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SHAME Poster

Above is the absolutely ravishing new poster for Steve McQueen’s Shame. Reviews out of New York, Toronto and Telluride have built upon the momentum gathered way back in Venice. The buzz makes this one of the most anticipated films of the year, and the same can be said for Fassbender’s performance. Will he become the Bardem of 2011? Can Fox Searchlight’s campaign wizards strike a fire under this work, and get it into more Academy categories despite its testy NC-17 rating? Only time will tell.

BG

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TRAILER: My Week With Marilyn

I have been interested in this film for some time now because of all the major acting chops on display. Very glad to finally get a trailer. Some first impressions, it looks gorgeous. The era’s set pieces and fashion will get me in the theatre alone. I will note that Williams does not seem to be doing Monroe’s signature breathy voice. Also, I’m starting to get sick of the emotionally manipulative music at the end of trailers.

Theme wise, it seems to be dealing with similar issues of identity like the iconic Elton John and Bernie Taupin song ‘Candle in the Wind’ about the same woman. I understand putting this at the forefront of the trailer because of its significance in the cultural lexicon, but I hope the film gives me a bit more to chew on.

-CSW

Trailer after the jump.

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VIFF: Program Changes

The festival runners will be announcing additional screenings of popular films and festival favorites as VIFF continues throughout the next two weeks. These updates will be announced in the theater before screenings, posted on bulletins in the cinemas, and updated on the VIFF website. We will also post the updated program changes here, along with any changes to our coverage.

Additional Screenings:

  • LAS ACACIAS (dir. Pablo Giorgelli) – Wed, Oct 5, 8:45pm
  • BULLHEAD (dir. Michael R. Roskam) – Thurs, Oct 6, 10:30am

Coverage Change:

  • TAKE THIS WALTZ (dir. Sarah Polley) will not be covered, due to time constraints.
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VIFF: LIKE CRAZY

Like Crazy made a big impact at Sundance earlier this year, winning the grand jury prize for best picture, so it seemed like a reasonable choice for my first film at VIFF. After picking up my tickets at will-call, I rushed into the cinema on Granville St, and joined the excited throng being herded into the theater. I found the atmosphere of a festival to be unlike a normal movie-going experience. There is a kinship among festival goers, as every one understand that each other person, like them, has had their adoration of the cinema, at least once, classified as fanatic. Soon, the curtains opened and the excited chatter is hushed.

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Six Character Posters Emerge for MELANCHOLIA

Six new posters have hit the web for Lars von Trier’s upcoming apocalyptic film Melancholia. 

An absolutely stunning tagline for the Dunst/Sutherland prints as well, highlighting some of Trier’s trademark nihilism.

Check out the rest over at MovieWeb.

-BG

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