Sunday, January 26, 2014

August: Osage County

☆☆☆☆☆
+
Based on Tracy Lett's play of the same name, "August..." is by far the best movie in a very long time. While telling the story of 3 sisters returning home for the funeral of their father...it manages to be funny and at the same time deeply moving.
This film offers two of the best performances this year. Julia Roberts as daughter Barbara Weston gives one of her best performances to date, and Meryl Streep deserves another Academy Award for her portrayal of Violet Weston...the drug addict mother filled with rage.
_
What was the Academy thinking when they did not nominate this film for Best Picture?
I am hoping voters won't pass over these two very deserving actresses.

Rated R
2 hr. 10 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.



Her

☆☆☆☆1/2
+
Joaquin Phoenix gives a strong and very real performance as writer Theodore Twombly...in an award winning story that actually establishes a convincing case that someone could fall in love with an advanced computer operating system.
_
Some may be distracted by the film's premise...suspend judgement and enjoy a great story.

Rated R
2 hr. 6 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer.



Nebraska

☆☆☆☆1/2
+
Bruce Dern stars as Woody Grant...an old man who is convinced he has won a million dollar magazine sweepstakes. Woody's attempts to get to Nebraska from Missouri bring his dysfunctional family together...at times in happiness and at times in sadness.

Fantastic performances by Bruce Dern, June Squibb, and Will Forte...who holds his own beside these seasoned actors.
_
Director, Alexander Payne gives viewers a film that is moody...and at times a little too grim.

Rated R
1 hr. 50 min.

Visit the movie website and watch the trailer!



Thursday, January 16, 2014

2014 Academy Awards Nominations



Best Picture 

"12 Years a Slave" 

"The Wolf of Wall Street" 

"Captain Phillips" 

"Her" 

"American Hustle" 

"Gravity" 

"Dallas Buyers Club" 

"Nebraska" 

"Philomena"

Best Director 

Steve McQueen -- "12 Years a Slave" 

David O. Russell -- "American Hustle" 

Alfonso Cuaron -- "Gravity" 

Alexander Payne -- "Nebraska" 

Martin Scorsese -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Best Actor 

Bruce Dern -- "Nebraska" 

Chiwetel Ejiofor -- "12 Years a Slave" 

Matthew McConaughey -- "Dallas Buyers Club" 

Leonardo DiCaprio -- "The Wolf of Wall Street" 

Christian Bale -- "American Hustle"actress

Best Actress 

Amy Adams -- "American Hustle" 

Cate Blanchett -- "Blue Jasmine" 

Judi Dench -- "Philomena" 

Sandra Bullock -- "Gravity" 

Meryl Streep -- "August: Osage County"

Best Supporting Actor 

Barkhad Abdi -- "Captain Phillips" 

Bradley Cooper -- "American Hustle" 

Jonah Hill -- "The Wolf of Wall Street" 

Jared Leto -- "Dallas Buyers Club" 

Michael Fassbender -- "12 Years a Slave"

Best Supporting Actress 

Jennifer Lawrence -- "American Hustle" 

Lupita Nyong'o -- "12 Years a Slave" 

June Squibb -- "Nebraska" 

Julia Roberts -- "August: Osage County" 

Sally Hawkins -- "Blue Jasmine"

Best Original Screenplay 

"American Hustle" -- David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer 

"Blue Jasmine" -- Woody Allen 

"Her" -- Spike Jonze 

"Nebraska" -- Bob Nelson 

"Dallas Buyers Club" -- Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Best Adapted Screenplay 

"12 Years a Slave" -- John Ridley 

"Before Midnight" -- Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater 

"The Wolf of Wall Street" -- Terence Winter 

"Captain Phillips" -- Billy Ray 

"Philomena" -- Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

Best Animated Feature 

"The Wind Rises" 

"Frozen" 

"Despicable Me 2" 

"Ernest & Celestine" 

"The Croods"

Best Foreign Feature 

"The Hunt" (Denmark) 

"The Broken Circle Breakdown" (Belgium) 

"The Great Beauty" (Italy) 

"Omar" (Palestinian territories) 

"The Missing Picture" (Cambodia)

Best Music (Original Song) 

"Frozen": "Let it Go" -- Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez 

"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom": "Ordinary Love" -- U2, Paul Hewson 

"Her": "The Moon Song" -- Karen O, Spike Jonze 

"Despicable Me 2": "Happy" -- Pharrell Williams 

"Alone Yet Not Alone": "Alone Yet Not Alone" -- Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel

Best Music (Original Score) 

"Gravity" -- Steven Price 

"Philomena" -- Alexandre Desplat 

"The Book Thief" -- John Williams 

"Saving Mr. Banks" -- Thomas Newman 

"Her" -- William Butler and Owen Pallett

Best Cinematography 

"Gravity" -- Emmanuel Lubezki 

"Inside Llewyn Davis" -- Bruno Delbonnel 

"Nebraska" -- Phedon Papamichael 

"Prisoners" -- Roger Deakins 

"The Grandmaster" -- Phillippe Le Sourd

Best Costume Design 

"The Great Gatsby" -- Catherine Martin 

"12 Years a Slave" -- Patricia Norris 

"The Grandmaster" -- William Chang Suk Ping 

"American Hustle" -- Michael Wilkinson 

"The Invisible Woman" -- Michael O'Connor

Best Documentary Feature 

"The Act of Killing" 

"20 Feet From Stardom" 

"The Square" 

"Cutie and the Boxer" 

"Dirty Wars"

Best Film Editing 

"Gravity" -- Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger 

"12 Years a Slave"-- Joe Walker 

"Captain Phillips" -- Christopher Rouse 

"American Hustle" -- Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten 

"Dallas Buyers Club" -- John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa

Best Makeup and Hairstyling 

"The Lone Ranger" -- Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny
"Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" -- Stephen Prouty 

"Dallas Buyers Club" -- Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

Best Production Design 

"12 Years a Slave" -- Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker 

"The Great Gatsby" -- Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn 

"American Hustle" -- Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler 

"Gravity" -- Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard 

"Her" -- K.K. Barrett and Gene Serdena

Best Visual Effects 

"Gravity" 

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 

"Star Trek Into Darkness" 

"Iron Man 3" 

"The Lone Ranger"

Best Sound Mixing 

"Gravity" 

"Captain Phillips" 

"Lone Survivor" 

"Inside Llewyn Davis" 

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

Best Sound Editing 

"Gravity" 

"All Is Lost" 

"Captain Phillips" 

"Lone Survivor" 

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

Best Short Film, Live Action 

"Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)" 

"Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)" "Helium" 

"Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)" 

"The Voorman Problem"

Best Short Film, Animated 

"Feral" 

"Get a Horse!" 

"Mr. Hublot" 

"Possessions" 

"Room on the Broom"

Best Documentary Short 

"CaveDigger" 

"Facing Fear" 

"Karama Has No Walls" 

"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life" 

"Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall"

Saturday, January 11, 2014

The Wolf of Wall Street

☆☆☆☆

+
Leonardo DiCaprio gives an outstanding performance as stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who is living the American dream...but his dream includes corruption and a wild life of women and drugs.
-
The character of Jordan Belfort (or maybe it's the performance) seems like so many other characters DiCaprio has played.

This film needs a little editing...it's just feels long.

Rated R
2 hr. 59 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.



The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

☆☆☆1/2
+
"The Hobbit..." is the second film in a trilogy adapted from "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien that tells the engaging tale of Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellan), Thorin and 13 dwarves on a quest to take back the Kingdom of Erebor.
The make-up and cinematography are outstanding.
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Viewers need to know that this is an unfinished story...ending with the line "What have we done?"

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 41 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer.