Awards Watch: The American Society of Cinematographers Nominees

Here are the ASC nominees:

Jeff Cronenweth - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Emmanual Lubezki - The Tree of Life

Robert Richardson - Hugo

Guilliaume Schiffman - The Artist

Hoyt Van Hoytema - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

There's that film again - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Cronenweth was also nominated for Best Cinematography last year for The Social Network, but Lubezki is a genius and should win this for The Tree of Life. The other selections are no surprise, though I was expecting Janusz Kaminski (War Horse) to make an appearance. That is War Horse's biggest chance, and it really should be it's only chance for an Oscar nomination. Oh well. Other alternatives - Newton Thomas Sigel for Drive and Manuel Alberto Claro for Melancholia. Thoughts?

Exclusive 'Hugo' Clips

Courtesy of Way to Blue, I have received a pair of short clips from Martin Scorsese's new film Hugo and am excited to share them with you. Hugo, nominated for three Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture: Drama and Best Director, opens in Australian cinemas tomorrow (Thursday 12th January). Viewers have the option of viewing the film in both 2D or 3D. It is one of the most exciting holiday releases and sure to be a treat for families and audiences of all ages. To heighten your anticipation check out the clips below:

Big Machine



In the Box

New Releases (12/01/12)

Here it is. Probably the most exciting day of releases since I have become a serious film reviewer. I can't remember a day where so many of the Oscar favourites, no scrap that, so many genuinely good films (and films I am eager to see) are released on the same day. I am lucky enough to have seen two of them already, otherwise I would have been going nuts trying to squeeze them in as quickly as possible. Here's a crazy statistic. Today, the Director's Guild of America nominated five directors for their Best Director award. Three of the directors recognised have their films released on Thursday - Alexander Payne for The Descendants, Martin Scorsese for Hugo and David Fincher for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The other two films released are The Muppets (which is wonderful and almost impossible not to enjoy in some way or another) and The Secret World of Arrietty, the new Studio Ghibli film. Here is a quick run-down about each film, but honestly, if you haven't heard about these films already (with the exception of Arrietty) you must have been living under a rock.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - The first in Columbia Pictures' three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster The Millenium Trilogy. Many would claim that this American re-adaptation has been made too soon, and it runs the risk of failing to engage with viewers who still have the Swedish version in their memory. But if there is anyone capable of adapting this compelling crime thriller it is David Fincher (Se7en and Zodiac). The film will undoubtedly look and sound great (the score is amazing) and featuring a cast headlined by Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara (nominated for a Golden Globe) the pieces are all there for it to be a great film. But will loyalty to the source material, which plagued the first adaption, prove to be an issue again? The guilds don't think so - with the PGA, WGA and DGA honouring the film with nominations, all-but securing it Best Picture spot for next month's Academy Awards. It's 86% Rotten Tomatoes score is the lowest amongst the week's releases, but is still very solid. I had issues with the first film, convinced that a better film could be made. I hope this is the one.

Hugo - Throughout his extraordinary career, Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese has brought his unique vision and dazzling gifts to life in a series of unforgettable films. This holiday season the legendary storyteller invites viewers of all ages on a thrilling journey to a magical world with his first-ever 3D film, based on Brian Selznick's award-winning, imaginative New York Times Best Seller, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret". Hugo is the astonishing adventure of a wily and resourceful boy named Hugo whose quest to unlock a secret left to him by his father will transform him and all those around him, and reveal a safe and loving place he can call home. Hugo is right there alongside The Artist as one of the Oscar favourites, with Scorsese picking up a number of Best Director awards. Hugo has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94% (8.4) and has appeared on many critics' Top 10 lists. It is playing in cinemas in 2D, but I believe it has been specifically made to be seen in 3D - so be sure to check it out that way if you can.

Awards Watch: The Directors Guild of America Announce Nominees

The Director's Guild of America (DGA) have announced their nominees. Winners are set to be announced January 28.

Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

Alexander Payne - The Descendants

Michael Hazanavicius - The Artist

David Fincher - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Wow. Fincher again. That is quite a surprise. Each of these films have been nominated by the PGA and the WGA, and seem all-but locked into Best Picture nominations. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has come out of nowhere. Hotly anticipated and well-received, but I never considered it to be an Oscar player. Oh well, I guess I'll find out this Thursday. Interestingly, here in Australia, Dragon Tattoo, The Descendants and Hugo are all released on the same day. Crazy, huh? The most notable exclusion, and I am sad to say, is Terrence Malick. The Tree of Life has had no love from the Guilds despite being included in countless critics' lists and won multiple awards.The other notable exclusion is Steven Spielberg, but honestly, I never saw that happening. I guess looking though the other candidates, the only other players are Bennett Miller (Moneyball) and Nicolas Winding Refn (if the Academy turns to Drive). What are your thoughts? The Top four were no surprise, but I expected Malick to take that 5th spot. Do you think Malick and The Tree of Life has any shot at the end of February?

Monday Links (09/01/12)

Well, here we are, the first Monday Links of 2012. How is everyone's New Year so far? The first film I watched in 2012 was Animal Kingdom - influenced by Simon Columb (Screen Insight), who named it as his #2 film of 2011. Since then I have been catching up on some 2011 films I missed - British hit man chiller, Kill List and Abbas Kiarostami's widely praised Certified Copy, but not before introducing myself to the Iranian master with his Palme d'Or winner, Taste of Cherry. Also, the PGA and WGA have announced their nominees - set to be announced later in the month. The trends suggest that most of the Oscar nominees in the key categories of Best Picture, and Original/Adapted Screenplay stem from these nominees. Lets hope not. If you have missed some fellow bloggers' 'Best of 2011' lists, I hope you can find it amongst my collaboration.

I also watched Albert Nobbs, but have not written a review for it. I didn't find it to be a particularly engaging story, never delving deep enough into the intriguing central protagonist or justifying her motivations, while straying too often to an unnecessary subplot involving Mia Wasikowska and Aaron Johnson. Also, a couple of cinema guests came in the other day and asked for 'Mrs. Nobbs'. This is exactly why this film is automatically problematic. We know that it is Glenn Close, and that it is obviously a woman pretending to be a man (and quite poorly too, I felt). The fact that the characters buy it for the duration of the film is difficult to accept. I must say though, Janet McTeer stole the show and had a disappointingly small amount of screen time. The film was so much better whenever she was on screen. A Supporting Actress nomination should be coming her way and it is thoroughly deserved.

Over the next week I will be watching Weekend (today), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Hugo and Buck. The former and latter are screenings, while Dragon Tattoo and Hugo joins The Muppets, The Descendants and The Secret World of Arrietty (Studio Ghibli's new film) in cinemas from Jan. 12. I have already watched The Muppets and The Descendants, but looking forward to visiting them again.

So, on with the links. Just a few this week:

Awards Watch: National Society of Film Critics Announce Winners

The National Society of Film Critics have announced their winners. Comprised of 58 of the Nation's leading film critics - the winners here are pretty notable. Whether these selections will have any bearing on the Oscar nominees remains to be seen, however. Lars Von Trier's Melancholia was named Best Picture, while Kirsten Dunst was named Best Actress for her work in the film. Brad Pitt was named Best Actor for Moneyball/The Tree of Life. Terrence Malick was one of two winners for The Tree of Life, claiming Best Director. The complete list of winners, including runners-up, can be found below:

Best Picture

1. Melancholia
2. The Tree of Life
3. A Separation

Best Director

1. Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
2. Martin Scorsese - Hugo
3. Lars Von Trier - Melancholia

Best Actor

1. Brad Pitt - Moneyball/The Tree of Life
2. Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
3. Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Best Actress

1. Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia
2. Yun Jung-hee - Poetry
3. Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actor

1. Albert Brooks - Drive
2. Christopher Plummer - Beginners
3. Patton Oswalt - Young Adult

Best Supporting Actress

1. Jessica Chastain - The Tree of Life, Take Shelter and The Help
2. Jeannie Berlin - Margaret
3. Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Best Non-Fiction

1. The Cave of Forgotten Dreams
2. The Interrupters
3. Into the Abyss

Best Screenplay

1. Asghar Farhadi - A Separation
2. Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin - Moneyball
3. Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

Best Foreign Language Film

1. A Separation
2. Mysteries of Lisbon
3. Le Havre

Best Cinematography

1. Emmanuel Lubezki - The Tree of Life
2. Manuel Alberto Claro - Melancholia
3. Robert Richardson - Hugo

So Melancholia finally takes out a big award. Personally, I preferred The Tree of Life, but with a prominent showing again its Oscar chances are looking pretty good. Great to see Asghar Farhadi's screenplay for A Separation taking out the award. Thoughts?

Review: Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)

In preparation for catching up with Certified Copy, which had a cinema run here in Australia in early 2011 and was unfortunate to miss, I introduced myself to master Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami this week with his 1997 masterpiece Taste of Cherry. I absolutely adored it. Certified Copy, which stars Juliette Binoche (Trois Couleurs: Bleu) and British opera singer William Shimell (in his first film role), has received wide praise (Binoche won Best Actress at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival for her intricate performance) and it has appeared on a number of critic's 2011 Top 10 lists. So, though I knew absolutely nothing about the film going in, I was looking forward to it, and my expectations were pretty high.

They were met...in a way. For quite a while I was captivated by the events and during the first half (the film is split, not in an obvious way but a clear one) time really flew by. The chemistry between the exceptional leads was fantastic, the dialogue was interesting (and delves into an array of philosophies and topics), the film beautifully shot (effectively utilising the stunning locations and making use of lengthy takes and mirrored reflections in an interesting way), thought provoking and densely philosophical. I don't want to delve too far into the specifics of the plot, because this would be disservice to anyone yet to see the film, but it is masterfully directed by Kiarostami. He knows exactly what he wants out of every scene - and the way that the emotions of the pair are heightened in the second half means that it not only intriguing, but also quite affecting. The second half is bizarre, much less 'enjoyable' and a little frustrating. Observing these two very different people, though they have a mutual interest in art, converse (and sometimes heatedly disagree), is fascinating. We want to learn more about them, their views on art and their experiences with life. We want to follow them to more beautiful Tuscan locations - until one realises that they may not be as likeable as we initially thought. A viewer is left with questions difficult to answer.

Review: Kill List (Ben Wheatley, 2011)

Kill List, Ben Wheatley’s terrifying follow-up to Down Terrace, is a gruesome, and often unbearably intense horror/thriller. It was nominated for a number of British Independent Film Awards, including Best Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress and Supporting Actor, with Michael Smiley deservedly winning the latter.

Kill List is without doubt the most unsettling hitman film I have ever witnessed, and while it is best to experience it knowing as little as possible (though some promo screenshots of the film reveal one of the most bizarre twists) it is certainly worth noting that this is not a film I can recommend for a viewer prone to queasiness. If you have a strong stomach and can tolerate slick but relentless tension, then this might be a real winner.