Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave is a film you can't forget once you watch it. Based on the heartbreaking memoir by Solomon Northup, a free man who detailed his arduous captivity.  His life is changed overnight after a decision to get some work with a traveling circus without the knowledge of his family. Instead he's duped, drugged and sold into slavery from the North into the South. From that point on, we the viewers are taken alongside his tortuous and difficult journey to regain his old identity and diginity. 

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Northup, a talented violinist in his pre-slavery days who is reduced to hiding his ability to read once he is a slave. He soon realizes that his proclamations of being a free man and appealing to the humanity of the slaveowners fall on deaf ears.  He is even robbed of his name and rechristened 'Platt' as to lose all vestiges of his old self. Solomon must then survive this ordeal hoping that one day he will be free.  

But at every turn he and his fellow slaves come across people who only think if them as property or worse not even human. One mother, Eliza (played by Adepero Oduye), who's cruelly separated by her two children is told to forget them and when her sorrowful cries are still heard, she sent is sent away. Solomon himself keeps his head down and does his duty silently but there are moments when he attempts to break free of his life of drudgery. 

Unfortunately he has to attempt to do so under the watchful and paranoid eye of Edwin Epps (played menacingly by Michael Fassbender). Epps is highly religious and has a complicated relationship with his slaves. He believes he treats them well, but obviously they are at his mercy and he whips them, tortures them and abuses them at all times.  One such slave, Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) receives the worst of his attentions.  He both is fascinated and horrified by her, a reaction that nobody including his wife (Sarah Paulson) understands.  

There are a few films that showed the ugly and harsh truths of what slavery did to America.  12 Years a Slave erases all of them with its depiction and lays them out bare.  You can't look away.  While the film is produced by Brad Pitt (who has an integral cameo in the film), the director and most of the actors aren't American.  It gives the movie a unique perspective as McQueen chooses to let the camera linger where others would have turned away.

Ejiofor is quietly magnificent as Solomon, a man who doesn't comprehend how is whole life is turned upside down.  A scene that especially stayed with me was when he finally joined in the other slaves singing "Roll, Jordan, Roll" as they buried one of their one.  It was one moment after he was brought into slavery where he allowed himself to let go and just be.  The rest of the actors including Fassbender, Nyong'o and Benedict Cumberbatch as just as great in their roles.

Eventually, though his ordeal does end and the climax of the film will leave you with a heavy heart.  While Solomon was able to escape, slavery did not end overnight.  Like 2012's Lincoln, 12 Years a Slave is a film I hope they will show to future generations on American history.  I hope this one film you all won't pass on.  

Directed by Steve McQueen, Screenplay by John Ridley; Based on the memoir by Solomon Northup; Cinematography by Sean Bobbitt; Editing by Joe Walker; Music by Hans Zimmer

Additional cast: Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Scoot McNairy, Taran Killiam, Garrett Dillahunt

Rating: 

2014 Producers Guild of America Award Winners!

(Photo: USA Today)

A day after the Screen Guild Awards and the big American Hustle win for best ensemble, it's the turn of the Producers Guild of America Awards to give out the big awards. Everyone's eyes were on the main award looking to see if American Hustle would repeat its win from the previous night. Instead, the PGAs threw up a doozy in the race for the Oscars.

For the first time in its history, there was a genuine, honest-to-God tie in a race already to close to call.  Say what? The lucky and relieved recipients of that tie happened to be Gravity and 12 Years a Slave.  The other big winners of the night included We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks for best documentary and Frozen for best animated feature.

Folks, as famed detective Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the BBC series Sherlock would say, "The game is on!" Have a look at the list of the feature film winners below:

Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (TIE):
Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
&
12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures:
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
Frozen (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producer: Peter Del Vecho

2014 Critics Choice Awards Winners!

 
The 19th annual Critics Choice Awards were held on the same day as the Oscar nominations were announced. Hosted by comedian Aisha Tyler, the night feted the recent Oscar nominees while noting the big name snubs (Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey).  The night's big winners were 12 Years a Slave whose Lupita Nyong'o who won best supporting actress, American Hustle who won best ensemble and best actress and Gravity won best director, best action actress and whole truckload of technical awards.

Director Richard Linklater and actors Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke also received the Louis XIII Genius award for their Before trilogy while actor Forest Whitaker was given the Joel Siegel Award from his costar from Lee Daniels' The Butler, Oprah Winfrey, for his humanitarian work all around the world.

The full list of winners is below:

BEST PICTURE
12 Years a Slave

BEST ACTOR
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue Is the Warmest Color

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
American Hustle

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze – Her

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki – Gravity

BEST ART DIRECTION
Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator) – The Great Gatsby

BEST EDITING
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger – Gravity

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin – The Great Gatsby

BEST MAKEUP
American Hustle

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Frozen

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Lone Survivor

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Mark Wahlberg – Lone Survivor

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Sandra Bullock – Gravity

BEST COMEDY
American Hustle

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Amy Adams – American Hustle

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Gravity

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue Is the Warmest Color

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
20 Feet from Stardom

BEST SONG
Let It Go – Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez – Frozen

BEST SCORE
Steven Price – Gravity

2014 Oscar Nominations Announced!

The nominations for the 86th Oscars were announced early this past Thursday morning at 5: 30 am PST in Los Angeles by AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and actor Chris Hemsworth (Thor).

 

This year, there were so many great films (strangely from the latter half of the year) that the competition was fierce and the possibility of snubs and surprises in such a tight race was high.  In the end, 9 films ended up being nominated for Best Picture. Why not 10, if the field was crowded? Chalk it up to complicated Academy rules that make ten nominees impossible to get in recent years. And I'm guessing I'm not the only one is who driven mad by the uneven number. I wish they would just go back to 10 nominees for best picture.

As a result, there were several films that failed to score any nominations (Lee Daniels' The Butler, Fruitvale Station, Rush) and others who surprised with solid presence (Philomena, Nebraska, Captain Phillips). Some films like Inside Llewyn Davis and The Grandmaster ended up only with technical nominations when many were expecting them to show up in the Best Picture and Best Foreign Film categories respectively.

Once again, American Hustle and Gravity are leading the pack with 10 nominations each and 12 Years a Slave not far behind with 9 nominations.  David O. Russell became the rare director to have his actors receive nominations in all the acting categories two years in a row. I imagine all actors will be queuing up to act in his films.  That is, if Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper or Jennifer Lawrence allow them!

The full list is below:

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska” (Paramount)
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)

My take: Except for Bruce Dern, all the other actors in this field are playing characters based on real people. Most notable snubs in this category include Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips and Robert Redford for All is Lost. I was also hoping to see Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) score his first ever nomination. The Academy rarely rewards young actors (though Jennifer Lawrence is the exception to every rule) so I knew the chances were rare. But one can always hope that Jordan will be nominated one day. Christian Bale is the lone previous winner here.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)

My take: None of these actors have ever won an Oscar before and for Bradley Cooper and Jonah Hill, it's their second nomination. But the story is here is Jared Leto, previously of the band Thirty Seconds on Mars, who returned to acting after a long break in Dallas Buyers Club. This is a once-in-a-lifetime-role and Leto is the overwhelming favorite.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
Judi Dench in “Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County” (The Weinstein Company)

My take: Except for Amy Adams, all of these wonderful actresses have won an Oscar before. But Adams does have 4 previous nominations, albeit in the supporting actress category. This is her first lead actress nomination. Might she sneak through the veterans and score her first win? American Hustle seems to be quite beloved with critics and audiences across America so it is quite possible. But count out acting powerhouses Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep at your risk.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County” (The Weinstein Company)
June Squibb in “Nebraska” (Paramount)

My take: This is one category that usually produces the most upsets (see: Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aprodite or Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton) so who will break through this year or will it go to the Girl on Fire, Jennifer Lawrence? The race for now seems to be between Lupita Nyong'o and Jennifer Lawrence who seem to be dividing up all the major awards up so far.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Croods” (20th Century Fox)
Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
“Despicable Me 2” (Universal)
Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
“Ernest & Celestine” (GKIDS)
Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
“Frozen” (Walt Disney)
Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
“The Wind Rises” (Walt Disney)
Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

My take: Last year's winner for Best Animated Feature for Brave, Pixar Studios' latest feature film, Monsters University, failed to land a nomination. Instead, Walt Disney Animation's Frozen along with The Croods and Despicable Me 2 ended up as the studio-produced films. Ernest & Celestine from France and Japan's The Wind Rises (also master animator Hayao Miyazaki's last film) ended up with the final two nominations. For me, the race is on between Disney's Frozen which is having such a hot streak both at the box office and as a pop culture phenomenon and The Wind Rises, which is atop many critics' lists for best animated feature.

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Grandmaster” (The Weinstein Company) Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films) Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” (Paramount) Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” (Warner Bros.) Roger A. Deakins

My take: And we're back on Roger Deakins watch again this year. The famed cinematographer has been nominated 10 times before, this year is his 11th nomination. Will he ever win an Oscar? This category is actually very competitive as some of the most gorgeously and stylishly shots films of the past year are all together. I'm so torn, this is going to be one tough category to predict though I must say that Gravity does have a slight edge here over the others.

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” (The Weinstein Company) William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” (Warner Bros.) Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” (Sony Pictures Classics) Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Patricia Norris

My take: I'm not aware about the costumes in The Grandmaster and The Invisible Woman but the favorites here are American Hustle (that 70s and 80s fashion!), The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin is previous winner for Moulin Rouge!) and 12 Years a Slave (nominee Patricia Norris is 83 and has been nominated five times before). If The Great Gatsby wins any Oscar, it's this one.

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) David O. Russell
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” (Paramount) Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount) Martin Scorsese

My take: The only one of the directors who has previously won in this category is Martin Scorsese. But sadly, that's the only Oscar he owns. Will that be changed this year? Or will history be created as Steve McQueen becomes the first black director to win the directing Oscar? Other strong contenders include David O. Russell and Alfonso Cuarón whose films have received 10 nominations each. I have a feeling it might a repeat of last year when Ang Lee won for the Life of Pi, the most technically difficult film out of all the nominees. Gravity, a script he wrote and edited, easily fits the bill for that.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Act of Killing” (Drafthouse Films)
Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“Cutie and the Boxer” (RADiUS-TWC)
Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
“Dirty Wars” (IFC Films)
Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
“The Square” (Netflix in association with Worldview
Entertainment and Participant Media)
Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
“20 Feet from Stardom” (RADiUS-TWC)
Nominees to be determined

My take: The Act of Killing was named the Best Film of 2013 by Sight and Sound and featured in the lists of many critics' best of 2013. The others I'll have to acquaint myself with, though The Square and 20 Feet from Stardom have also received honorable mentions this past year.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“CaveDigger”
Jeffrey Karoff
“Facing Fear”
Jason Cohen
“Karama Has No Walls” (Mudhouse Films)
Sara Ishaq
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”
Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”
Edgar Barens

My take: Time to do some homework.

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features) John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Joe Walker

My take: Alfonso Cuarón scored his second nomination this year for editing Gravity with Mark Sanger. They were previously nominated for editing Children of Men (2006). Big surprise not to see Thelma Schoonmaker here for editing that wild ride that was The Wolf of Wall Street. The jerky camerawork of Captain Phillips gave me a headache so I'm not considering it as a threat in this category. It's the big 3, American Hustle, Gravity and 12 Years a Slave that are battling it out here.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Tribeca Film) – Belgium
“The Great Beauty” (Janus Films) – Italy
“The Hunt” (Magnolia Pictures) – Denmark
“The Missing Picture” (Strand Releasing) – Cambodia
“Omar” (Adopt Films) – Palestine

My take: The year started with such a bang at Cannes and The Past and Blue is the Warmest Color immediately became the frontrunners for the foreign film. But The Past never made it to the shortlist and Blue is the Warmest Color never made it past the eligibility rules. Italy's The Great Beauty and Denmark's The Hunt are the frontrunners by default. The rest I'll have to read up on.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features) Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” (Paramount) Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” (Walt Disney) Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

My take: Fruitvale Station has zero, I repeat, zero nominations and Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is not only a nominee but the clear frontrunner in this category. Sometimes the Academy Award nominations baffle me.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“The Book Thief” (20th Century Fox) John Williams
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Steven Price
“Her” (Warner Bros.) William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman

My take: The legendary John Williams at age 81 scored his 44th nomination (beat that, Meryl Streep!) for best original score. He's only won 5 times. The scores for Gravity, Her and Saving Mr. Banks were my personal favorites this past year. Thomas Newman (son of Alfred Newman and cousin of Randy Newman) really needs to win one of these someday but I really do believe this one belongs to Steven Price.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone” (Enthuse Entertainment)
Music by Bruce Broughton Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2” (Universal)
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from “Frozen” (Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from “Her” (Warner Bros.)
Music by Karen O Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” (The Weinstein Company)
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Lyric by Paul Hewson

My take: While I'm thrilled with the nominations of 'The Moon Song' from Her, 'Happy' from Despicable Me 2 and I'm guessing 'Ordinary Love' from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is really popular, 'Let It Go' from Frozen needs to win this category. Firstly because I'm dying to see incomparable Idina Menzel perform the song live and secondly, (this is very important), Robert Lopez is on EGOT watch! If he wins, he will have an Emmy (a Daytime Emmy but an Emmy nevertheless for The Wonder Pets),Tonys for Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon and a Grammy for The Book of Mormon. To experience an EGOT happening live in front of you is something else indeed.

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
“The Great Gatsby” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: Catherine Martin; Costume Design: Beverley Dunn
“Her” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

My take: My personal favorite here is the set and production design for Her, a futuristic world with muted, soft colors I could totally imagine myself in. The big 3 are again quite strong here but the visuals in The Great Gatsby were eye-popping extravagant and quite amazing.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“Feral”
Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
“Get a Horse!” (Walt Disney)
Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
“Mr. Hublot”
Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
“Possessions”
Shuhei Morita
“Room on the Broom”
Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

My take: The only one of these that I've seen is the startling Get a Horse! the rediscovered short from the Mouse House. It's time to watch some animated shorts!

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” (FREAK Independent Film Agency)
Esteban Crespo
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)”
Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
“Helium”
Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)”
Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
“The Voorman Problem”
Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

My take: Time to do some major homework. I don't recognize any of the shorts here.

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
“All Is Lost” (Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions) Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Brent Burge
“Lone Survivor” (Universal) Wylie Stateman

My take: I had system of figuring out these categories last year, I need to go back and find that again this year.

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges,
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films) Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” (Universal) Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

My take: See above.

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
“Iron Man 3” (Walt Disney) Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
“The Lone Ranger” (Walt Disney) Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
“Star Trek Into Darkness” (Paramount) Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

My take: A superhero, a hobbit, a lone ranger are up against two stories set in space. Like last year, there's a clear frontrunner here. Gravity is a definite lock.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Before Midnight” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount) Screenplay by Terence Winter

My take: All solid nominees here for adapted screenplay although this category does throw in some surprises now and again. I'd love to see the trio of Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke recognized for their intellectual 'Before' trilogy.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
“Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Woody Allen
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features) Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
“Her” (Warner Bros.) Written by Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” (Paramount) Written by Bob Nelson

My take: I'm incredibly biased here, I'm rooting for Spike Jonze's Her all the way and not considering anyone else.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)
Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
“Her” (Warner Bros.)
Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
“Nebraska” (Paramount)
Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Nominees to be determined

My take: Finally, we come to the big Kahuna. 9 pictures, one surprise nominee (Philomena, the lone Weinstein Company product), 3 frontrunners and 5 other pictures hoping to break through. This year, I've already seen 8 of the 9 nominees with Nebraska being the only one to watch from this list. This is a first for me.

Who will win? We'll find out all when the awards will be held on March 2, 2014 in a ceremony hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. I can't wait until then. Can you?

2014 Golden Globe Award Winners

The 71st Golden Globe awards were held this past Sunday and as usual it did not disappoint.  The show was hosted for the second time in a row by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who in their inimitable style "crushed it", with their jokes (Gravity is "the story of how George Clooney would rather float away in space and die than spend any more time with a woman his own age.") or hijacking the stage as teenager "Randy" and his mom.

The presenters were just as lively with Robert Downey Jr. promising us that no matter what happened that night, he was leaving home a winner or my favorite Emma Thompson who appeared on stage with a martini in one hand and a pair of Louboutins in another.  The red on the shoes, she told us, was her blood.  And she chose the martini over the shoes when it came to presenting the award!

(Photo: Getty Images)

Emma Stone (who's currently working with Woody Allen on the upcoming Magic in the Moonlight) and Diane Keaton (who worked with Allen from Annie Hall to Interiors) presented the Cecil B. DeMille award to an absent Woody Allen, who usually never attends awards functions. 

(Photos: Just Jared/The Hollywood Reporter)

Now, onto the awards, American Hustle won the most with 3 including best comedy/musical, 12 Years a Slave won for best drama, Gravity had the best director and Her had the best screenplay.  The acting awards went out to Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine, The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle, while Frozen won the best animated feature.

(Photos: E! Online/Getty Images)

Here's the full list of the feature film winners:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“12 Years a Slave”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“American Hustle”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Frozen”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Great Beauty” (Italy)


BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Spike Jonze, “Her”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams, “American Hustle”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Ordinary Love,” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr., Brian Burton
Lyrics by: Bono

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alex Ebert, “All Is Lost”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”

2014 EE BAFTA nominees announced!

The 2014 EE British Academy Film Awards aka the BAFTAs announced their nominations for the best in film for the past year and Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle have done very well with multiple nominations in the leading and technical categories.  There are no big surprises here but for those you surprised to see Behind the Candelabra on the nominations list, it was released theatrically in the UK so therefore it's eligible for the awards. Their nominations in the technical categories are spot on and some deserving performances might have been left out the list because they technically haven't released in the UK as yet (see Dallas Buyers Club and August: Osage County).  This year's Rising Star honourees include young talent such as Dane DeHaan, George MacKay, Lupita Nyong’o, Will Poulter and Léa Seydoux in an award that the public votes upon.  The awards will be given out on February 16 in a ceremony hosted by Stephen Fry.

Here's a full list of the nominees:

BEST FILM
12 YEARS A SLAVE Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
PHILOMENA Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman, Jonás Cuarón
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Justin Chadwick, Anant Singh, David M. Thompson, William Nicholson
PHILOMENA Stephen Frears, Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward, Jeff Pope
RUSH Ron Howard, Andrew Eaton, Peter Morgan
SAVING MR. BANKS John Lee Hancock, Alison Owen, Ian Collie, Philip Steuer, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
THE SELFISH GIANT: Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
COLIN CARBERRY (Writer), GLENN PATTERSON (Writer) Good Vibrations
KELLY MARCEL (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks
KIERAN EVANS (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor
PAUL WRIGHT (Director/Writer), POLLY STOKES (Producer) For Those in Peril
SCOTT GRAHAM (Director/Writer) Shell

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
THE GREAT BEAUTY Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
METRO MANILA Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
WADJDA Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

DOCUMENTARY
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer
THE ARMSTRONG LIE Alex Gibney
BLACKFISH Gabriela Cowperthwaite
TIM’S VERMEER Teller, Penn Jillette, Farley Ziegler
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS Alex Gibney

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
FROZEN Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Dan Scanlon

DIRECTOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE David O. Russell
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Paul Greengrass
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Martin Scorsese

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN HUSTLE Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
BLUE JASMINE Woody Allen
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
NEBRASKA Bob Nelson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 YEARS A SLAVE John Ridley
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Richard LaGravenese
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Billy Ray
PHILOMENA Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Terence Winter

LEADING ACTOR
BRUCE DERN Nebraska
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR 12 Years a Slave
CHRISTIAN BALE American Hustle
LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Wolf of Wall Street
TOM HANKS Captain Phillips

LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS American Hustle
CATE BLANCHETT Blue Jasmine
EMMA THOMPSON Saving Mr. Banks
JUDI DENCH Philomena
SANDRA BULLOCK Gravity

SUPPORTING ACTOR
BARKHAD ABDI Captain Phillips
BRADLEY COOPER American Hustle
DANIEL BRÜHL Rush
MATT DAMON Behind the Candelabra
MICHAEL FASSBENDER 12 Years a Slave

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE American Hustle
JULIA ROBERTS August: Osage County
LUPITA NYONG’O 12 Years a Slave
OPRAH WINFREY The Butler
SALLY HAWKINS Blue Jasmine

ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 YEARS A SLAVE Hans Zimmer
THE BOOK THIEF John Williams
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Henry Jackman
GRAVITY Steven Price
SAVING MR. BANKS Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 YEARS A SLAVE Sean Bobbitt
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Barry Ackroyd
GRAVITY Emmanuel Lubezki
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Bruno Delbonnel
NEBRASKA Phedon Papamichael

EDITING
12 YEARS A SLAVE Joe Walker
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Christopher Rouse
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
RUSH Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Thelma Schoonmaker

PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 YEARS A SLAVE Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
AMERICAN HUSTLE Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Howard Cummings
GRAVITY Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

COSTUME DESIGN
AMERICAN HUSTLE Michael Wilkinson
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Ellen Mirojnick
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN Michael O’Connor
SAVING MR. BANKS Daniel Orlandi

MAKE UP & HAIR
AMERICAN HUSTLE Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
THE BUTLER Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
THE GREAT GATSBY Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

SOUND
ALL IS LOST Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
GRAVITY Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
RUSH Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAVITY Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
IRON MAN 3 Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
PACIFIC RIM Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EVERYTHING I CAN SEE FROM HERE Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Friederike Nicolaus, Sam Taylor
I AM TOM MOODY Ainslie Henderson
SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa

BRITISH SHORT FILM
ISLAND QUEEN Ben Mallaby, Nat Luurtsema
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES Megan Rubens, Michael Pearce, Selina Lim
ORBIT EVER AFTER Chee-Lan Chan, Jamie Stone, Len Rowles
ROOM 8 James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
SEA VIEW Anna Duffield, Jane Linfoot

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
DANE DEHAAN
GEORGE MACKAY
LUPITA NYONG’O
WILL POULTER
LÉA SEYDOUX

19th Annual Critics Choice Award Nominations

So I'm a bit late in posting these but I do enjoy these critics awards because they take time to notice the films in popular categories as well. So you might notice Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire getting some awards love.  They don't just have their box-office receipts to console themselves with. 

Anyway, this year is a difficult year for any film to be a clear frontrunner and the awards are given out the same day as the Oscar nominations are announced.  Last year, Ben Affleck won the Best Director award after he had been snubbed in the morning for the best director Oscar nomination.  Needless to say, these awards definitely get interesting.  The winners will be announced on January 16, 2014. 

Here's the full list of the nominations:

BEST PICTURE
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale – American Hustle
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford – All Is Lost

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Judi Dench – Philomena
Brie Larson – Short Term 12
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County
Emma Thompson – Saving Mr. Banks

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl – Rush
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Scarlett Johansson – Her
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
June Squibb – Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey – Lee Daniels’ The Butler

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – Ender’s Game
Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue Is the Warmest Color
Liam James – The Way Way Back
Sophie Nelisse – The Book Thief
Tye Sheridan – Mud

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Nebraska
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips
Spike Jonze – Her
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell – American Hustle
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eric Singer and David O. Russell – American Hustle
Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine
Spike Jonze – Her
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – Inside Llewyn Davis
Bob Nelson – Nebraska

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Tracy Letts – August: Osage County
Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight
Billy Ray – Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope – Philomena
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki – Gravity
Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael – Nebraska
Roger Deakins – Prisoners
Sean Bobbitt – 12 Years a Slave

BEST ART DIRECTION
Andy Nicholson (Production Designer), Rosie Goodwin (Set Decorator) – Gravity
Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator) – The Great Gatsby
K.K. Barrett (Production Designer), Gene Serdena (Set Decorator) – Her
Dan Hennah (Production Designer), Simon Bright (Set Decorator), Ra Vincent (Set Decorator) – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Adam Stockhausen (Production Designer), Alice Baker (Set Decorator) – 12 Years a Slave

BEST EDITING
Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers – American Hustle
Christopher Rouse – Captain Phillips
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger – Gravity
Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill – Rush
Joe Walker – 12 Years a Slave
Thelma Schoonmaker – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson – American Hustle
Catherine Martin – The Great Gatsby
Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Daniel Orlandi – Saving Mr. Banks
Patricia Norris – 12 Years a Slave

BEST MAKEUP
American Hustle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Rush
12 Years a Slave

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek into Darkness

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University
The Wind Rises

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Iron Man 3
Lone Survivor
Rush
Star Trek into Darkness

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Henry Cavill – Man of Steel
Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man 3
Brad Pitt – World War Z
Mark Wahlberg – Lone Survivor

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Evangeline Lilly – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Gwyneth Paltrow – Iron Man 3

BEST COMEDY
American Hustle
Enough Said
The Heat
This Is the End
The Way Way Back
The World’s End

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Christian Bale – American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
Simon Pegg – The World’s End
Sam Rockwell – The Way Way Back

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Amy Adams – American Hustle
Sandra Bullock – The Heat
Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Enough Said
Melissa McCarthy – The Heat

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Conjuring
Gravity
Star Trek into Darkness
World War Z

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue Is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
Wadjda

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
Stories We Tell
Tim’s Vermeer
20 Feet from Stardom

BEST SONG
Atlas – Coldplay – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Happy – Pharrell Williams – Despicable Me 2
Let It Go – Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez – Frozen
Ordinary Love – U2 – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Please Mr. Kennedy – Justin Timberlake/Oscar Isaac/Adam Driver – Inside Llewyn Davis
Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey – The Great Gatsby

BEST SCORE
Steven Price – Gravity
Arcade Fire – Her
Thomas Newman – Saving Mr. Banks
Hans Zimmer – 12 Years a Slave

12 Years A Slave is TIFF Audience Award Winner!

And so it begins.  Unofficially, Oscar season begins this early with several big name films that screened at the big North American festivals, Telluride and Toronto.  Today, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announced their winners of the festival, the most important of them being the audience award winner.  Last year's winner was Silver Linings Playbook which was nominated for Best Picture and Director and its leading lady, Jennifer Lawrence, won the Best Actress Oscar.  The runner up? A little movie named Argo that eventually ended up winning Best Picture! 

This year, the popular award goes to Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt.  The runners up are Philomena and Prisoners.  Qissa, directed by Anup Singh and starring Irrfan Khan and Tillotome Shome, was also recognized winning for best Asian film from a first or second time director.

Here are the rest of the winners: 

• BlackBerry People's Choice Award: 12 Years a Slave
• Runners Up: Philomena & Prisoners
• BlackBerry People's choice Documentary Award: The Square
• Runners Up: Hi-Ho Mistahey! & Beyond the Edge
• BlackBerry People's Choice Midnight Madness Award: Why Don't You Play in Hell?
• NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere: Qissa
• Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations: Ida
• Grolsch Film Works Discovery Award (FIRPRESCI): The Amazing Catfish
• The City of Toronto + Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film: When Jews Were Funny
• Best Canadian First Feature: Asphalt Watches
• Best Canadian Short: Noah
• Grolsch Film Works Discovery Award: All The Wrong Reasons