"The 89th Annual Academy Awards" - My Predictions

It has been another interesting year in Hollywood, and indeed the World. As much as the Winners like to thank their Agent, Lawyer, Loved Ones etc, I have a feeling that one particular topic will feature heavily in alot of tonight's acceptance speeches, I am sure involving "the orange one".

But back to the movies, out of the 8 main categories,

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Original Screenplay

Best Screenplay Adaptation Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

The films featured in these catergories have garnered 44 nominations, and of those I have managed to see 41, probably my most successful Oscars to date, and so I feel it gives me a good overview of the best of 2016

As always I will show both what / who I think will win and what / who I would like to see win The Oscar

Best Original Screenplay

As much as it pains me, I do think that Kenneth Lonergan will win for his screenplay for "Manchester By The Sea", a totally forgettable film.

I'd love to see "Hell Or High Water" win

Best Screenplay Adaptation Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Of the two writing categories, this is definitely the stronger. There are some odd choices for original, but Screenplay Adaptation has a far better class of writing.

It would be tough to pick between "Lion" and "Moonlight" for this Award, but I think that Barry Jenkins will win, and I'd be equally delighted to see him win for his writing on "Moonlight"






Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Out of the four Acting categories, this is the strongest, with amazing performances from all five nominees, and in any given year, any of them could and should be a winner.
But for me it's no contest, Viola Davis all the way for her amazing performance in "Fences"



Best Actor in a Supporting Role

There was always the argument that Sir Anthony Hopkins should have been in the Supporting Actor category for "Silence of the Lambs" and although it is a very good performance, Mahershala Ali is in the film all too briefly. But then again Dame Judi Dench did win Best Supporting Actress for just 8 minutes on screen, so what do I know???
But I have to admit that when he is on screen it is an excellent performance.
It would be nice for Dev Patel to put at the side of his BAFTA an Oscar for his great work on "Lion"


 Best Actress in a Leading Role

A short while ago, I would have said that Natalie Portman would have been able to make space for a second Oscar, but now I think it will go to Emma Stone for "La La Land". Is it deserved?  Well for me that's debatable.
I would love to see Meryl Streep win for "Florence Foster Jenkins", for two reasons. One - She is "one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood" according to one 'knowlegable' source, and two - It would give her a good opportunity to be the most Oscar winning actress of all-time.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

I am going to stick my neck out a bit here, and go against the tide of love for Casey Affleck, and with good reason...




ITS NOT A GREAT PERFORMANCE !!!!!!!!!!!
IT DOES NOT DESERVE AN OSCAR !!!!!!
It's ok, and there are times when he does shine, but if you want an actor who is consistently excellent throughout the whole film then look no further than Denzel Washington in "Fences". I have been doing my homework on this one. Out of the 23 Screen Actor Guild Awards that have taken place, only on four occasions has the SAG award been given to a different Actor to that who was awarded The Oscar, and the last time was 13 years ago. So here is hoping that Mr. Washington gets an Oscar to go with SAG Award for "Fences".
And I would like to see Andrew Garfield win for "Hacksaw Ridge", he is a truly talented young actor.


Best Director

Given the sensation that "La La Land" has become, and Lord knows why, I feel that the Academy are going to want to reward the man responsible - Damien Chazelle.

It has to be said that he is hot property at the moment, what with "La La Land", and also his film "Whiplash" won three Oscars only two years ago.

I'd love to see Barry Jenkins win for his Directing work on "Moonlight", and I have to say that I'd be pleased to see Mel Gibson win for "Hacksaw Ridge", especially the second half of the movie, but this would have to rank as a real outsider.

Best Picture

Before I make my prediction, a few notes first. The smart money does have to be on "La La Land", and certainly the Bookies and no doubt most of the Critics have it as good as a certainty.
Like Best Actress in a Supporting Role, it has been quite a strong year for Best Picture, although an unusual choice, it was nice to see "Arrival" get nominated, keeping the flame alive for sci-fi fans.
As much as I loved the movie, I also think that "Hell Or High Water" was an unusual inclusion too.
I've gone on record already about how I feel about "Manchester By The Sea" and "La La Land", both are good films, but they are instantly forgettable. I had no burning desire for a second viewing, but I would watch "Lion", "Hell Or High Water", "Fences", "Moonlight", "Hidden Figures" or "Hacksaw Ridge" again.
Certainly financially, if memory serves then so far, "Hidden Figures" has been one of the biggest successes of the films nominated for Best Picture.

I remember being sat here at this time last year, merrily predicting that "The Revenant" would win Best Picture. I think the fact that there are now almost double the number of nominees, it has had an impact, meaning the votes are more spread out, so a lesser film could win. If something like "Spotlight" can beat "The Revenant" to Best Picture, then quite frankly anything is possible. I was positively appalled at the Best Picture choice last year, and would love to see a similar upset this year........here goes.......

Knowing what I know of the Academy, and how their members are made up, it pains me to say it, but I think that "La La Land" will be crowned Best Picture. Please let's have a repeat of last year, and let me be wrong. I would be delighted to see either "Lion" or "Moonlight" win, in fact anything other than "La La Land" or "Manchester by the Sea".

We all remember that moment 11 years ago, when a little film about gay cowboys was a dead cert for Best Picture.

Then what happened, "Crash" came along and took the top prize. It was felt that alot of the Academy were not ready to endorse a gay themed movie.
Even the Director of "Crash", Paul Haggis, has said that "Crash" was not the Best film of that year, and he made the bloody film !!!
Does that stand against "Moonliught"?  Or have opinions changed enough in the last ten years or so that we may see a big upset for the top prize again?  Let's hope so




So there you have it, my thoughts and predictions for the 89th Annual Academy Awards, so just to recap who I think will win:-

Best Original Screenplay - "Manchester By The Sea"
Best Adapted Screenplay - "Moonlight"
Best Supporting Actress - Viola Davis
Best Supporting Actor - Mahershala Ali
Best Lead Actress - Emma Stone
Best Lead Actor - Denzel Washington
Best Director - Damien Chazelle
Best Picture - "La La Land"

And finally, just for the record, I have no idea who Jimmy Kimmel is, but he is hosting this year, and I wish him the best of luck.....

Here's to The Oscars

Oscar Nominations - My Thoughts

It will soon be time for me to do my annual predictions for the Academy Awards.

This year I thought I would add some opinions on this years nominations, who should be included, who has been snubbed, and who should not even be mentioned.....

I have to say that it is a very strong year, in just about all the categories.
However, I'm going to get the big issue out of the way first.

Why all the love for "La La Land"? It is a good film, enjoyable, but here's the thing, it's forgettable. Maybe its these austere times that we live in, and people just want a film that makes them feel happy, but is that enough of a reason for it to be an Oscar Winning Best Picture? Most definitely not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against musicals, and I also am a fan of Damien Chazelle's previous film "Whiplash", which was for me the best film of 2015.
It is nowhere near as memorable as say "Moonlight" or "Lion", or even "Hacksaw Ridge", all three of these films are worthy nominees, and I'd be happy to see any of these three take the top prize.
I would even question whether "Arrival" is worthy to be included in the nine films up for Best Picture, though it is nice to see the sci-fi genre get a look in.

Best Director Category is all fine and dandy.

Best Actor in a Leading Role is another kettle of fish!!!!!
With there being five actors in contention, 60% of them should NOT have been nominated.
Like my inability to understand all this love for "La La Land", likewise I wish someone would explain to me why they feel that Casey Affleck is worthy of so many Best Actor Awards. HE ISN'T !!!!
It's an ok performance, but like the film, it is forgettable. There are a few scenes where he does stand out, but he is not consistantly excellent all the way through the film, unlike say Denzel Washington in "Fences". Andrew Garfield is equally impressive in "Hacksaw Ridge" but I'd love to know how on Earth Viggo Mortensen got a nomination for "Captain Fantastic"???? And although it's back to "La La Land" the same could be said for Ryan Gosling.

For the most part I have no quibbles with Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Regarding Best Actor in a Supporting Role, I know there is a lot of love for Mahershala Ali for his peformance in "Moonlight", but I think any of the three gentlemen who played the lead Character could be equally nominated. It could so easily have been four Supporting Actor nominations from just one film.
Michael Shannon is a bizarre choice, but then again I would have been making a similar comment if his "Nocturnal Animals" and Golden Globe winning Co-star, Aaron Taylor Johnson was also nominated.

The only problem with Best Supporting Actress is how to seperate five excellent performances.

I know that some will say I'm biased given how much of a fan I am of this film-maker but I think it is a great shame that Clint Eastwood's "Sully" got so overlooked.
I must say that I also expected Martin Scorsese's "Silence" to get more than its single nomination.

So there you go, just a few days to go to Oscars 89

"Moonlight" - Preview Screening (Oscars 2017)

Contrary to what some say, there are many perks to having a Cineworld Unlimted Card, including being able to prebook tickets, but the main one is to be lucky enough to attend preview screenings, in this instance we have another of this years Oscar Best Picture nominees, in the shape of "Moonlight". I was fortunate to be able to see it almost two weeks ahead of its UK release.

I only saw the trailer the weekend before, whilst watching "Jackie". I knew virtually nothing about the film apart from it chronicles the life of a young African American.
Chiron is quiet, keeps himself to himself, does not look for trouble, but usually it will have a way of finding him, in one of several ways. Chiron's young adulthood is told over three stages, the first as a young boy aged nine, then as a teenager, and finally as a young man in his 20's.
He has much to contend with, a drug taking Mother, the lads at School who belittle and bully him, and a love that he must keep secret.
The story is brilliantly told, as we are introduced to the World that Chiron lives in. On one particular bad day he meets Juan, a local drug dealer (though at the time Chiron does not know this) and his Girlfriend Teresa. They become almost like surrogate parents, offering him a bed to sleep in if things get too rough at home.
It can make one quite angry watching this story in that this young lad just goes along every day, minding his own business, trying to do well at school, and he never really stands a chance.

Aside from Juan & Teresa, he does have one close friend, Kevin. But the feelings that Chiron has for Kevin are more than those of a friend. There are so many outstanding moments in the film, one where the young 9 year old asks Juan about what it means to be gay, and also a truly beautiful moment where Chiron and Kevin become more than friends. The acting in these two scenes is especially brilliant, and a credit to all of those involved.

Being African American is not easy given all that has happened in the US these last couple of years, but being gay as well, makes it a tough life to live. Thats why the older Chiron is so guarded, and the masculine man that he has toughened himself to be after the events of his earlier life.
It makes for a totally compelling film, with amazing performances. Much has been mentioned of Mahershala Ali as Juan, but for me equally so, the three actors who portay Chiron are all exemplary. The three of them could also be nominated for Best Supporting Actor. And rightly joining Ali is our very own Naomie Harris as Chiron's Mum, in a truly great performance.

Barry Jenkins, as Writer & Director has created a truly memorable masterpiece. Several years ago "Brokeback Mountain" was almost certain to win Best Picture. Let us hope that history does not repeat itself, as this would be a worthy addition to the list of Best Picture winners.

Another worthy entry as an Oscar Best Picture nominee.......9 out of 10

2016 - "This Year in Film"

It has been a great shame that time prevents me from doing regular full length reviews, like I used to do. But I will always continue with my yearly review, and also my Oscar Predictions, which will be coming along very soon.

So, given that the last couple of years have been lacklustre cinematically, has 2016 done anything to alter that at all?

Unfortunately not, for it has been yet another very poor year for Cinema. There has been a low number of films that have hit the mark.

Here is a selection of the films that I have labelled "Worst of the Year"

The Big Short

Batman Vs Superman

Independence Day Resurgence

X-Men Apocalypse

Suicide Squad
Star Trek Beyond






And clearly confirming my opinion that the Comic Strip movies have had their day.........

Having said that......

And the Award for "Best Hope for the Future of Comic Strip Movies" goes to.....

What with this outstanding blast of a movie and "Guardians of the Galaxy"....there is hope.

There is a tie for "Worst Return of a Popular Character"......

Sadly neither the return of Professor Robert Langdon or Jason Bourne did much to improve the quality of Cinema this year. And given the return of both Matt Damon and Director Paul Greengrass, the latter proved to be especially dissappointing. 

The Award for "Best Film to Honour a Much Loved Actor" goes to....

In a year a so many losses in so many areas of entertainment, sport and music, I can think of no better film to honour the late great Alan Rickman than this first class thought provoking thriller.


Despite so many dire films, there have also been some incredibly worthy movies released during 2016, and here is a selection of the very best.....

Creed

Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight

Hell or High Water

Sully

 

Room
I, Daniel Blake
 

Trolls

 The Nice Guys

For Best Peformance by an Actress in a Leading Role, the award goes to...........

 Academy Award winner Brie Larson for "Room"

For Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, the award goes to...........

Both Dave Johns and Leonardo DiCaprio for their amazing work on the films "I, Daniel Blake" and "The Revenant". 

And in a remarkable repeat of last year, we have to go all the way back to January for the best film of the year. Like last years "Whiplash", this film just stayed with this viewer long after leaving the Cinema. It is a true example of what makes Cinema great, an epic on every scale, and I can think of no better movie to illustrate the argument for watching movies on the Big Screen

The Best Movie of 2016 is..................

 

"The 88th Annual Academy Awards" - My Predictions

 

Another year has passed, as we join Hollywood's finest for the 88th Annual Academy Awards. With a good mix of nominations this year, I am sure that everything will be all white, I mean alright.
As always there will be the nominee who I think will Win, and the one I would like to see Win, as sometimes they are not always the same.

Best Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen.

Alas I have only seen two of the nominees in this Category so I have to plump for a Win for "Spotlight". It would be nice to see "Bridge of Spies" also triumph.

Best Sreenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. 

It pains me to say but I think that Charles Randolph and Adam McKay will triumph for "The Big Short". I would love to see Nick Hornby win for "Brooklyn" or Emma Donoghue for "Room". In fact any of the nominees other than "The Big Short"

Best Actor In A Supporting Role.

If there is to be any upset, then for me this could be the category to do it. There are a host of reasons why any of the five nominees could bag The Oscar. But when it comes down to it, for me it has to be Sylvester Stallone who I hope gets it, and I think he will. Though he better keep an eye out for Tom Hardy in "The Revenant", as I think he could be his biggest competition on the night, but Stallone does give an excellent performance, and also his career as a whole will stand him in good favour. 

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Likewise there could be a surprise with Best Actress in a Supporting Role, but I believe and want to see Alicia Vikander win for her brilliant work on "The Danish Girl". But again, any of the other nominees could be successful

Best Actor In A Leading Role

Surely this has to be one Academy Awards that is pretty much set in stone. Mr. DiCaprio has been acting in movies for some 25 years, in a variety of roles. I still believe that he should have won for his first nomination for his remarkable work on "What's Eating Gilbert Grape".
But having moved on from "Titanic", he has become of the most respected Actors in the industry, and like so many others, I think he iis long overdue to get the Oscar he so richly deserves.






Best Actress In A Leading Role

And despite a lot of hoo haa about will it be another win for Cate Blanchett, for me it has to be Brie Larson. She is quite amazing in "Room", and I feel she will get a well deserved Academy Award






Best Director

Despite having won last year for "Birdman", it looks likely that a Mexican will for the third year in a row take home the Oscar for Directing, with Alfonso Cuaron winning said Award in 2014 for "Gravity",

You may think that it is rare for a Director to take home back to back Oscars but it has happened on two previous occasions, with Joseph Mankiewicz winning in 1949 & 1950, and with John Ford winning in 1940 & 1941.

It will be a huge triumph for his film making skills and the brilliance that is "The Revenant"


Best Picture

Now, this could be the real upset of the night. So, if you are going to rock the boat, then why not save it for Best Picture.
It happened last year with many championing "Boyhood" but thankfully common sense prevailed and "Birdman" took home the top prize.

I am hoping for some similar upset this year. It seems that there are many saying that "The Revenant" will rightly sweep the board. However..........

The Producers Guild of America award the Best Picture Award each year, and for the last nine years whom ever they have voted as Top Picture, the said movie has also gone on to win the same award at The Oscars. This includes last year when they gave "Birdman" Best Picture. So seeing as the PGA gave Best Picture to "The Big Short", does this not bode well for "The Revenant"????

For me there is no competition, I have already gone on record to say that I don't even think that "The Big Short" should be even in contention for Best Picture, along with "The Martian" and most especially "Mad Max: Fury Road". You often see lists years down the line, of films that should not have won Best Picture, and rest assured should "The Big Short" triumph tonight, then it certainly be added to any such list.
"The Revenant" has all the qualities of a great and worthy Best Picture winner. And I am going to put my money, literally on "The Revanant" winning the final Award of the night.

So there you have it, hopefully three main prizes going to "The Revenant", and best of luck to host Chris Rock, who I am sure will have tongues wagging in the media tomorrow morning.

PS - Best of luck to Brit Sam Smith who will hopefully triumph for 'Writings On The Wall' for Best Song from "Spectre"

2015 - "This Year In Film"

Hard to believe folks, but another year has gone by. It does not seem five minutes since I was doing the Annual Review for 2014, and near here I am doing the same for 2015.

So, what kind of year has it been?

Well, what never ceases to amaze me is that I have two Cinemas virtually on the doorstep, I have an Unlimited Cineworld Card, which saves me an absolute fortune, and yet I go to the Cinema now less than I did say ten years ago. Could standards really have dropped? It does make you think....

Anyways, back to the job at hand. It has to be said it has been another poor year on the whole, with just the odd movie here and there to get excited about.
Biopics were the big in-thing at the start of the year with great films like "The Theory of Everything", "Unbroken", "Foxcatcher" and "American Sniper".
2015 proved to be the year of the return, seeing Ethan Hunt back in a new "Mission Impossible", 007 returned with "Spectre",  he said he would be back, and sure enough Arnold Schwarzenegger came back as the Terminator, though not with any where near as much greatness as the first two films in the series, Dinosaurs roamed once more in "Jurassic World",  and we also saw some friends return from a galaxy far, far away....

Here is a selection of films which I have classed under the banner of - "Worst Film of The Year"

I know that this will be a controversial choice, given one of my included films, but there you go.

The 'Yes I can Really Act Award' goes to.....         

Channing Tatum for his great performance
at the start of the year in "Foxcatcher"

 As we welcomed back a lot of old friends, the award for "Film Best Welcomed with Open Arms' goes to...

The 'Most Promising Talent Award' goes to...

Miles Teller for his amazing performance in 

"Whiplash"

For Best Performance by an Actor, the Award is

Shared by.............................

Eddie Redmayne for his beautiful performance as
Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything"    

And for J. K. Simmons for his amazing work

as the music tutor from hell, in "Whiplash"                                                  

And in yet another dire year for great roles for

actresses, the 'Best Performance by an Actress'

goes to..............

Kate Winslet for "The Dressmaker"

 Last but not least, we come to Best Picture, and that is an easy choice, and one which we go back to the beginning of the year, the award for 'Best Picture' goes to..................

 

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

A long time ago, in a galaxy far,far away..............

Those immortal words have come to symbolise more than just another film franchise. For so many movie fans around the World, they have to come to mean something so very special, and if we are being honest we are really talking about episodes 4 - 6. There is a real bond between the three leads from the original "Star Wars" film. And whilst episodes 1 - 3 had their successes, the one thing they could never recapture was the magical chemistry between Ford, Hamill & Fisher. We followed these wonderful characters across the stars, and have loved being alongside them on the journey that they have gone.

Like "Star Trek", this film series has some very die hard fans, and whilst I would not call myself one of them, I have to say that I was squealing with delight when this latest film was announced, and even more so when it was confirmed that the original leads would be returning to reprise their roles, something they had not done for over 30 years.

I wanted to go into this film knowing as little as possible, so I only watched the trailers at the Cinema, and read no reviews, blogs,  nothing that could give away any clues as to what the film is about.
So what is the story?
Time has passed since we last saw our intrepid star travellers and the events of "Return of the Jedi". Luke Skywalker has vanished, but given his immense Jedi powers, the Galaxy and his wife are all trying to find him. We begin on the planet Jakku, where a map of Luke's possible location is hidden within a droid, and that droid must be put into the right hands. Also seeking the droid are members of the First Order, the new force of darkness, one of their elite being Kylo Ren, who is keen to follow in the footsteps of his great mentor, Darth Vader. But he certainly has a secret or two.
The droid ends up in the hands of Scavenger Rey, she searches the wastelands of Jakku, finding space wreckage and cashing in for food. Rey reluctantly teams up with Finn, a former Storm Trooper who became averse to the methods that the First Order were adopting. Toegther they manage to escape those looking for the droid, in an all too familiar space ship.
During the next chapter of the film we are reunited with our old friends Han and Leia, and it provides us with some wonderful moments in the film. Han and Chewie bickering like an old married couple, Han providing some great quips, and tenderness when Han and Leia reminisce about the past.
But this reunion could be short-lived due to the First Order having constructed the Star Killer, a huge space station which makes the Death Star look tiny in comparison. They need to get the map and find Luke, and find a way to put the Star Killer out of action..............

Some of the key things that were wrong with the episodes 1 -3 have clearly been addressed. It is a good case of back to basics. One could quite easily say that this is a carbon copy of "Star Wars: A New Hope", and why not? Why change a winning formula?
Having the original characters back is a huge boost to the movie, I think, like many others, I never expected Harrison Ford to be climbing on board the Millennium Falcon ever again. It is like seeing old family friends whom you have not seen in a long time. Yes it heart warming to see them back together again.
But what is pleasing to report is that Daisy Ridley as Rey and John Boyega as Finn are truly excellent in their respective roles. Effectively they are the new guard, taking over  the mantle of the Star Wars legend, and it is a tough act to follow, but they do so brilliantly. The future is in very good hands.
There is great support too, from Adam Driver, who frankly I was not familiar with, who is outstanding as Kylo Ren, to great actors like Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleason to acting royalty like Max Von Sydow. And a special mention to BB-8, who will surely become a huge favourite with younger audience members, and probably even some older ones.

So we have great characters, brilliantly acted, and a compelling story....but how is the film visually?
It is breath-taking. The photography, visual and special effects all combine on a huge canvas to make this, I think its fair to say, the most visually beautiful film in the whole series to date. It does not fall into the trap of putting the action right in your face, it paints wide strokes allowing the viewer to savour all the beauty and the action.

Director J.J. Abrams has taken a franchise, and brought back the magic that so many remember from the 1970's. We can now forget about Jar Jar bloody Binks, and the lacklustre receiving of "The Phantom Menace". I can possibly forgive him now for "Star Trek Into Darkness", then again, maybe not. But he has certainly done a first class job in the Directors Chair.

Disney had a lot riding on the success of this film. It is safe to say that they have more than just ticked all the boxes. It continues to keep breaking box office records, and I am sure that there will be many more being broken very soon, and it deserves every bit of the success that it is enjoying.
My only remaining question is how soon can I see it again?  And I am sure that will not be the only repeat viewing.

The Force has most certainly been awakened........9 out of 10