Here’s what I watched last week. Continue reading “My Week in Film: April 8 to April 14”
Tag: The Kids Are All Right
A Best Picture Challenge
The Academy Award nominations have been announced. Now it is time for some fun.
There are 10 films nominated for Best Picture. Can you include all of their titles in one sentence? This is my attempt:
In the 127 Hours before the Inception of The King’s Speech, The Fighter learned that The Kids Are All Right because they had True Grit during Winter’s Bone when the Black Swan joined The Social Network to watch Toy Story 3.
The rules are simple: it can only be one sentence and you have to include all ten.
Ready, go!
The 2011 Academy Award Nominations
The Oscar nominations are in!
The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper masterful period film about King George VI and his st-st-stammer scored 12 nominations. After being shut out at the Golden Globes, Joel and Ethan Coen’s revamped True Grit followed with 10 nods. The Social Network received just eight nominations, as did Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Toy Story 3 became the third animated feature nominated for Best Picture. The complete list of nominations is available here.
After The King’s Speech topped the Producer’s Guild Awards this weekend and the Academy’s lack of showering The Social Network with accolades, skeptics are questioning whether or not 2010’s critical darling will win big on Oscar night. (Deep breath, TSN fans. The Facebook-saga will do just fine.)
Other notable omissions are Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right and Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine. Their on-screen spouse (Annette Bening and Michelle Williams, respectively) both received best actress nominations. For performances that are so symbiotic, it is a shame the other half was left off the ballot.
I was also secretely hoping Barbara Hershey’s performance as the wonderfully creepy arand manic stage mother in Black Swan would score a supporting actress nomination.
Are you satisfied with the Oscar nominations? What do you see as the biggest Oscar snubs? Sound off below.
Golden Globes: Who I Want to Win
There are less than two hours until the Golden Globes. In lieu of predictions (which I don’t enjoy making when I haven’t had the luxury of seeing all the nominees), here is a brief round-up of what films I want to win.
Best Picture – Drama: The Social Network
Why: The Social Network is a film for the ages. It is a sharp legal drama that questions not only the foundations of Facebook, but also our changing notions of how we conceptualize friendship. The director-writer pairing of David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin is the best combo to happen in American cinema in year.
Best Picture – Comedy: The Kids Are All Right
Why: Lisa Cholodenko’s film about a uncoventional family dynamic is funny, charming, heartwarming, heartbreaking. A Globes win will make up for any recognition this doesn’t get enough Oscar love.
Best Actor – Drama: Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Why: The Oscar is Colin Firth’s award. But I would just love for Ryan Gosling to be commended for his awe-inspiring performance (or rather performances) as an idealistic young man and, years later, that same man as a down-on-his-luck alcoholic husband and father.
Best Actress – Drama: Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine/ Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Why: These are two gritty female performances. A beleaguered wife. A teenager trying to hold her family together. Natalie Portman is one piece of a theatrical art film; Williams and Lawrence are the very definition of great acting.
Best Actor – Comedy: I have not seen most of the nominated performances. But I am sick of Johnny Depp always winning Golden Globes. (With two noms, for Alice in Wonderland and The Tourist, he is the most likely winner.) Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance is the only other I have seen. As much as I didn’t like Love and Other Drugs, could I live with Jake Gyllenhaal winning? I have no idea.
Best Actress: Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, The Kids are All Right
Why: Annette Bening has already been lauded for her performance and Julianne Moore has been left behind. In a perfect world, Bening and Moore will tie. One performance cannot exist without the other.
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Why: Bale transforms into Dicky Eklund, the older half-brother of prize-fighter Mickey Ward. Dicky is a jail-bound, junkie. Bale’s performance is a demonstration of pure physicality and he steals the movie right out from under Wahlberg’s nose.
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Fighters
Why: Amy Adams is one of the best female actresses in Hollywood. In The Fighter she is playing against type and shows off her range.
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Why: Have you seen The Social Network?
Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Why: Screenplays are so rarely great talking pictures these days where the dialogue only enhances the performances. The writing in The Social Network does just that. (I also want , Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg’s screenplay for The Kids Are All Right to win.)
What are your picks for tonight’s Golden Globes? Sound off below and be sure to follow me on Twitter tonight (@cinefille) as I live-tweet the ceremony.
Five Awesome Things About the Golden Globe Nods
The Golden Globe nominations have been announced and as always, there are hits and misses. Continue reading “Five Awesome Things About the Golden Globe Nods”
@Cinefille 