Final Predictions for the 86th Academy Awards

Final Predictions for the 86th Academy Awards [GRID] :

Overall I predict ‘Gravity’ will win 8 Oscars, followed by ’12 Years A Slave’ with 3

 12+Years+a+Slave+1

Best Picture:

Prediction: ‘12 Years A Slave’

Alternative: ‘Gravity’

Should Have Been Nominated: ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’

Despite the fact that Steve McQueen’s masterpiece ’12 Years A Slave’ scored one nomination less than ‘American Hustle’ and ‘Gravity’ it remains the film to beat among the nine nominees.  The film has gravitas, social significance, historical importance and relevance to the present day, something that the two other frontrunners ‘American Hustle’ and ‘Gravity’ lack. And from looking at the impressive nominations it did win, ’12 Years A Slave’ has broad support in the main branches of the academy, the directors, writers, actors, film editors. The Best Picture Academy Award is voted on by all the branches of the Academy. It is unlikely that there will be an upset but if there was my money would be on ‘Gravity’, my favourite film of the year, and ground-braking, daring, visual masterpiece. If ‘Gravity’ were to win it would join ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965) and Titanic (1997) as the only two other films to win Best Picture without a screenplay nomination and it would be the first predominately 3D film to win.

 Alfonso-Cuaron-Sandra-Bullock-George-Clooney-Gravity-set

Best Director:

Prediction: Alfonso Cuaron, ‘Gravity’

Alternative: Steve McQueen, ‘12 Years A Slave’

Should Have Been Nominated: Spike Jonze, ‘Her’

For nine of the past 10 years the film that has won Best Picture, has also won Best Director. That changed last year when Ben Affleck director of Best Picture winning ‘Argo’ (2012) wasn’t nominated for Best Director and Ang Lee won for ‘Life Of Pi’ (2012). ‘Gravity’ is similar to ‘Life Of Pi’, a 3D shot film with spectacular visual effects directed by master of the craft. Alfonso Cuaron is one of the greatest directors working today, having directed what I consider to be the best film of the 2000’s decade and one of the best films ever the dystopian masterpiece ‘Children Of Men’ (2006). Although Steve McQueen is worthy of the Best Director Oscar as well, his hand as a director is less present in his film compared to the huge ambition and daring of ‘Gravity’. I further predict ‘Gravity’ to take home the most Oscars on the night, sweeping the technical categories. Remarkably it is only the fifth film in Oscar history to score nominations in all seven of the technical categories.

 Dallas-Buyers-Club-1

Best Actor:

Prediction: Matthew McConaughey, ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Alternative: Leonardo Di Caprio, ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’

Should Have Been Nominated: Robert Redford, ‘All Is Lost’

This year’s Best Actor race is by far the most competitive I have seen in many years. Of all the categories an upset is most likely to occur here. Since winning the Golden Globe and SAG (Screen Actors Guild Award), Mathew McConaughey’s role as the HIV positive straight cowboy who started a unapproved AIDS medicine drug smuggling business into the US in the 1980’s is the frontrunner and presumptive Oscar winner. Although I am predicting a McConaughey win, I wouldn’t be surprised if Leonardo Di Caprio won for his controversial role in ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’. Four-time Oscar nominee, Leonardo Di Caprio is the Hollywood leading ‘man most overdue for an Oscar win’ and most critics believe his latest performance to be his best yet. So crammed is this category another five Oscar worthy performances missed out this year: Tom Hanks for ‘Captain Phillips’, Robert Redford ‘All Is Lost’, Joaquin Pheonix ‘Her, Forrest Whittaker ‘Lee Daniel’s: The Butler’ and Oscar Issac ‘Inside Llyewn Davis’.

Best Actress:

Prediction: Cate Blanchett, ‘Blue Jasmine’

Alternative: None

Should Have Been Nominated: Emma Thomspon, ‘Saving Mr. Banks’

Cate Blanchett’s Oscar for her stunning performance in ‘Blue Jasmine’ is the most bankable Oscar outcome this year. As sure as night follows day Cate will win her first Best Actress Oscar. With her sixth Oscar nominations Cate Blanchett joins the elite group of the most highly nominated working actress: in a world of her own Meryl Streep nominated again this year for ‘August: Osage County’ for a total of 15 noms, Judi Dench nominated for ‘Philomena’ for a total of 7 noms, and both Maggie Smith and Kate Winslet also have six nominations. What’s more Cate’s performance is the best of the year.

Best Supporting Actor:

Prediction: Jared Leto, ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Alternative: Michael Fassbender, ’12 Years A Slave’

Should Have Been Nominated: Will Forte, ‘Nebraska’

Another easy to predict category, Jared Leto has won almost all of the other award ceremonies Best Supporting Actor awards this year and is the clear favourite for the Oscar. His main competitor Michael Fassbender has refused to campaign for the award which has cost him greatly. If you want to win an Oscar you need to play the campaign game. In the ‘gay Oscar movie of the year’, Leto plays an HIV positive transgendered prostitute who helps smuggle unapproved AIDS medicine into the US.

Best Supporting Actress:

Prediction: Lupita Nyong’o, ’12 Years A Slave’

Alternative: Jennifer Lawrence, ‘American Hustle’

Should Have Been Nominated: Scarlett Johansson ‘Her’

In one of the best and most important films of this decade, ’12 Years A Slave’ Lupita Nyong’o’s performance is the beating heart of the film. Playing the role of a horrifically abused slave on a cotton plantation her performance is masterful, heart-braking and deeply haunting. Nyong’o deserves to win. However Jenifer Lawrence’s performance in ‘American Hustle’ was the best part of a popular if overrated 10 nomination Oscar film. Lawrence won the Golden Globe and lost the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) award. American Hustle clearly beloved by the Academy voters could potentially walk away from the night empty handed, giving Lawrence Best Supporting Actress could be a way to avoid that fate. Lawrence won Best Actress last year and might be seen as being ‘too soon’ to win another. Ultimately the sheer importance and power of Nyong’o’s performance suggest that she will pull through to win.

Original Screenplay:

Prediction: Spike Jonze, ‘Her’

Alternative: David O’Russell. Eric Singer, ‘American Hustle’

Should Have Been Nominated: Joel and Ethan Coen, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’

The word is: if the popular but overrated 10 nomination juggernaut that is ‘American Hustle’ is to win any major award it’s best bet is to win Best Original Screenplay. It is the favourite in this category to win and could very easily pull it off. I’m predicting Spike Jonze to win for his darkly satirical and brilliantly original screenplay for his masterpiece ‘Her’. Every year Oscar commentators suggest that the voters will spread the love around and give an Oscar to a beloved film just because it won’t win in the other categories. I believe this assumption to be false. Except for Best Picture, each category is voted on by a branch composed of its practitioners. Screenplay writers vote for Best Screenplay and I believe as practitioners of their field they will award the superior work based on merit and not based on Oscar politics.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Prediction: John Ridley, ’12 Years A Slave’

Alternative: Terrence Winter, ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’

Should Have Been Nominated: Abdellatif Kechiche, Ghalia Lacroix ‘Blue Is The Warmest Colour’

As ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993) put a human face on the Holocaust, so has ’12 Years A Slave’ humanized American slavery. The story of Solomon Northrup a free man, captured and sold into slavery was the perfect access for modern audiences to understand the arbitrary horrors of slavery. ’12 Years A Slave’ will easily win Best Adapted Screenplay.

Other Categories:

Best Animated Feature:

Prediction: ‘Frozen’

Alternative: ‘The Wind Rises’

Best Documentary Feature:

Prediction: ’20 Feet From Stardom’

Alternative: ‘The Act of Killing’

Best Foreign Language Film:

Prediction: ‘The Great Beauty’, Italy

Alternative: ‘The Hunt’, Denmark

Best Cinematography:

Prediction: ‘Gravity’

Alternative: None

 

Best Costume Design:

Prediction: ‘The Great Gatsby’

Alternative: ’12 Years A Slave’

Best Film Editing:

Prediction: ‘Gravity’

Alternative: ‘Captain Phillips’

Best Original Score:

Prediction: ‘Gravity’

Alternative: ‘Philomena’

Best Original Song:

Prediction: ‘Let It Go’, ‘Frozen

Alternative: ‘Ordinary Love’, ‘Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom’

Best Production Design:

Prediction: ‘12 Years A Slave’

Alternative: ‘Gravity’

 

Best Visual Effects:

Prediction: ‘Gravity’

Alternative: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’

Best Makeup & Hairstyling:

Prediction: ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

Alternative: None

Best Sound Editing:

Prediction: ‘Gravity’

Alternative: ‘Captain Phillips’

 

Best Sound Mixing:

Prediction: ‘Gravity’

Alternative: ‘Captain Phillips’

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by mrsmith44 on February 4, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by mrsmith44 on February 4, 2014

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2014/02/04/final-predictions-for-the-86th-academy-awards/

Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014) A Tribute

philip-seymour-hof_2809995b

“Dear Philip, a beautiful beautiful soul. For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much. Bless your heart.” — Jim Carrey on Twitter.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the greatest and most ambitious actors of his generation. Hoffman died at 46 due to a drug-overdose. He leaves behind three fatherless children. The potential for his career cannot be underestimated. Winning the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal in ‘Capote’ (2005) and scoring 3 other Academy Award nominations; made him one of the most successful working actors to be awarded at the Oscars. Although we have a host of immortal performances, we must lament the unborn performances that are now lost forever. The circumstances of his death and the legendary career he had made for a tragedy in the truest sense of the word.

When I think of Philip Seymour Hoffman I think of an actor who was clever, ambitious, fearless and emotionally raw. Watching him on-screen, it usually felt as if he were channeling something bubbling under the surface, something not pleasant. He came across as an intelligent, thoughtful man, who seemed to know something you didn’t, who had visited the darker reaches of human nature. How I wished to go to a dinner party with him and ask him probing questions about his characters. To journey with Hoffman is go deep into the dark.

I remember first seeing Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the cowardly rich kid in ‘Scent of A Woman’ (1992). He was again cast as a rich menacing insufferable snob in the beautiful ‘Talented Mr. Ripley’ (1998). Many of his roles were as villains or especially unsavoury characters particularly as the sexual repressed pervert in the most disturbing movie I’ve seen ‘Happiness’ (1998), or as the charismatic paedophile priest in ‘Doubt’ (2008), the odious and manipulative journalists in ‘Almost Famous’ (2000) and ‘Red Dragon (2002), self-destructive Truman Capote in ‘Capote’ (2005), or the egomaniacal cult leader in ‘The Master’ (2012).

Here are my top Philip Seymour Hoffman performances:

FILM_TORONTO_OSCARS_3661141‘Capote’ (2005)

The role that won him his Best Actor Oscar. The performance that beat Heath Ledgers phenomenal turn in ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005). The larger than life character of Truman Capote has been captured in films countless times since his death. His distinctive voice, mannerisms and flamboyant personality, a beacon for Hollywood which all too often ended in a grotesque caricature. Not with Hoffman. He became not just the character of Capote but his inner psychology. He explored the love, lost and self-destruction of an artist consumed by his art and desire for glory. The scene in which Truman final breaks Perry, the murderer of the Clutter family is savage as it is beautiful. Hoffman’s performance sees through the facade that was Capote and discovers as tortured soul on a path of self-destruction in pursuit of artistic fame.

 the-master-paul-thomas-anderson-philip-seymour-hoffman

‘The Master’ (2012)

To create the character of a cult leader that at once must be both seductive and unsettling is one thing. But to create a character that is perversely drawn in a subtlety sexual and psychological complex way to a man who is his opposite, a slow, violent drifter, is nothing short of awe-inspiring. In the draw dropping ‘processing’ scene where the cult leader Lancaster Dodd, played by Hoffman, psychologically dismantles Freddie (Joaquin Pheonix) the chemistry between the two subverts what appears as a frightening interrogation into a twisted sexual dance and power play. The rage that erupts from Hoffman when a man confronts the hypocrisy of the ‘cause’ is palpable and deeply unnerving. Hoffman again turns what could have been a clichéd story of a cult leader and his converted follower into a psychological complex romance of monumentally twisted proportions.

 magnolia-1999-08-g‘Magnolia’ (1999)

Phil Parma is a softly spoken sensitive nurse looking after a dying man in a larger family drama and meditation on chance in life. An overlooked and underrated performance I consider one of Hoffman’s best is because it displays his versatility outside of his usual darker roles. His supporting role in a larger drama becomes a small island of humanity is an ocean of uncaring disconnected individuals. His kindness, caring for an old man no one else seems to love and his deep internal conflict over difficult moral decisions portray a rare Hoffman character a sensitive soul trying to navigate a dark world. Hoffman displays an emotional sensitivity and depth that was a glaring departure from his usual roles.

 philip_seymour_hoffman_as_father_flynn_in_doubt_‘Doubt’ (2008)

The epic showdown scene between Meryl Streep’s hardnose sister Aloysius  and the suspected peadophile priest Father Flynn ranks as one of the most taught dramatic scenes I have ever seen. Perhaps more than any other role Father Flynn is a character of a seemingly good man trying to do the best for his parish yet holding a dark secret that is destroying him and others. To create sympathy for a priest most likely guilty of the sexual abuse of a young boy is no easy feat. Once again Hoffman works his magic taking what could be a very black and white case of evil and adding grey. A role that is both fearless and disturbing, making the audience ask themselves some very hard questions about guilt and peadophilia.

Honourable Mentions:

Scent of A Woman (1992)

Boogie Nights (1997)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Happiness (1998)

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Almost Famous (2000)

Red Dragon (2002)

Punch Drunk Love (2002)

Owning Mahowny (2003)

Before The Devil Knows Your Dead (2007)

Synecdoche New York (2008)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

See my tribute at The Feed Magazine as well: http://thefeed.com.au/philip-seymour-hoffman-1967-2014-tribute/

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by mrsmith44 on February 4, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by mrsmith44 on February 4, 2014

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2014/02/04/philip-seymour-hoffman-1967-2014-a-tribute/

86th Academy Award Nomination Predictions

FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR THE 86TH ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS 2013

 

FINAL SCORE: 78/107 = 72% MY BEST SCORE EVER!

RANK BEST PICTURE AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. 12 Years A Slave 3/10 16
2. Gravity 2/11 15
3. American Hustle 3/10 16
4. Wolf Of Wall Street 1/9 11
5. Her 3/9 15
6. Captain Phillips 1/11 13
7. Nebraska 1/8 10
8. Saving Mr. Banks X 1/5 7
9. Inside Llewyn Davis X 2/7 11
10. Dallas Buyers Club 0/4 4
 
Correctly Predicted: 8/9

Incorrectly Predicted X: Saving Mr. Banks, Inside Llewyn Davis

Missed: Philomena
 
Alternative: Philomena 0/4 4
Should Be Nominated: Before Midnight 0/1 1
 
RANK BEST DIRECTOR AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity 4/3 11
2. Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave 1/5 7
3. David O. Russell, American Hustle 0/4 4
4. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf Of Wall Street 0/3 3
5. Spike Jonze, Her X 1/1 3
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Spike Jonze, Her

Missed: Alexander Payne, Nebraska
 
Alternative: Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips 0/4 4
Should Be Nominated: Alexander Payne, Nebraska 0/1 1
 
RANK BEST ACTOR AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club 1/3 5
2. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave 2/4 8
3. Bruce Dern, Nebraska 2/4 8
4. Robert Redford, All Is Lost X 1/2 4
5. Leonardo Di Caprio, Wolf Of Wall Street 0/2 2
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Robert Redford, All Is Lost

Missed: Christian Bale, American Hustle
 
Alternative: Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips 0/4 4
Should Be Nominated: Joaquin Phoenix, Her 0/1 1
 
RANK BEST ACTRESS AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine 6/3 15
2. Sandra Bullock, Gravity 0/4 4
3. Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks X 1/4 6
4. Judi Dench, Philomena 0/5 5
5. Amy Adams, American Hustle 1/2 4
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Missed: Meryl Streep, August Osage County
 
Alternative: Meryl Streep, August Osage County 0/3 3
Should Be Nominated: Julie Delpy, Before Midnight 0/1 1
 
RANK BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club 6/2 14
2. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave 0/5 5
3. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle 0/3 3
4. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips 0/4 4
5. Will Forte, Nebraska X 1/0 2
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Will Forte, Nebraska

Missed: Jonah Hill, Wolf Of Wall Street
 
Alternative: Jonah Hill, Wolf Of Wall Street 0/0 0
Should Be Nominated: None    
 
RANK BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years A Slave 3/4 10
2. Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle 3/3 9
3. June Squibb, Nebraska 0/3 3
4. Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniel’s The Butler X 0/3 3
5. Julia Roberts, August: Osage County 0/3 3
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniel’s The Butler

Missed: Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
 
Alternative: Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine 0/2 2
Should Be Nominated: Scarlett Johansson 1/0 2
 
RANK BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. 12 Years A Slave, John Ridley 1/3 5
2. Wolf Of Wall Street, Terrence Winter 1/3 5
3. Before Midnight, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke 2/2 6
4. Philomena, Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope 0/5 5
5. August: Osage County, Tracy Letts X 0/2 2
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: August: Osage County, Tracy Letts

Missed: Captain Phillips, Billy Ray
 
Alternative: Captain Phillips, Billy Ray 0/3 3
Should Be Nominated: None    
 
RANK BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Her, Spike Jonze 4/1 9
2. Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen 0/3 3
3. American Hustle, David O. Russell 1/5 7
4. Nebraska, Bob Nelson 0/4 4
5. Inside Llewyn Davis, Ethan and Joel Coen X 1/2 4
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Inside Llewyn Davis, Ethan and Joel Coen

Missed: Dallas Buyers Club, Craig Borten
 
Alternative: Dallas Buyers Club, Craig Borten 0/1 1
Should Be Nominated: Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron 0/1 1
 
RANK BEST ANIMATED FEATURE AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Frozen 1/3 5
2. The Wind Rises 2/1 5
3. Monsters University 0/2 2
4. Despicable Me 2 0/3 3
5. The Croods 0/2 0
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Monsters University

Missed: Ernest And Celestine
 
Alternative: Ernest And Celestine 0/0 0
Should Be Nominated: None 0/0 0
 
RANK BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. The Act Of Killing 1/3 5
2. Stories We Tell X 3/1 7
3. Blackfish X 0/2 2
4. The Square 0/0 0
5. Tim’s Verneer X 0/2 2
 
Correctly Predicted: 2/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Stories We Tell, Blackfish, Tim’s Verneer

Missed: Dirty Wars, Cutie and the Boxer, 20 Feet From Stardom
 
Alternative: 20 Feet From Stardom 0/1 1
Should Be Nominated: None 0/0 0
 
RANK BEST FOREGIN LANGUAGE FILM AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. The Great Beauty, Italy    
2. The Hunt, Denmark    
3. Omar, Palestine    
4. The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium    
5. The Grandmaster, Hong Kong X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: The Grandmaster, Hong Kong

Missed: The Missing Picture, Cambodia
 
Alternative: The Missing Picture, Cambodia    
Should Be Nominated: None    
 
RANK BEST FILM EDITING AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Gravity    
2. 12 Years A Slave    
3. Captain Phillips    
4. American Hustle    
5. The Wolf Of Wall Street X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: The Wolf Of Wall Street

Missed: Dallas Buyers Club
 
Alternative: Nebraska    
Should Be Nominated: Her    
 
RANK BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Gravity    
2. 12 Years A Slave    
3. The Great Gatsby    
4. Her    
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Missed: American Hustle
 
Alternative: Saving Mr. Banks    
Should Be Nominated: Inside Llewyn Davis    



RANK BEST CINEMATOGRAHPY AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Gravity    
2. Inside Llewyn Davis    
3. Nebraska    
4. 12 Years A Slave X    
5. Captain Phillps X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 3/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: 12 Years A Slave, Captain Phillips

Missed: The Grandmaster, Prisoners
 
Alternative: Prisoners    
Should Be Nominated: Her    
 
RANK BEST COSTUME DESIGN AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. 12 Years A Slave    
2. American Hustle    
3. The Great Gatsby    
4. Oz: The Great And Powerful X    
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 3/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Oz: The Great And Powerful, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Missed: The Grandmaster, The Invisible Woman
 
Alternative: Saving Mr. Banks    
Should Be Nominated: The Hunger Games    
 
RANK BEST MAKE UP AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. American Hustle X    
2. The Great Gatsby X    
3. The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 0/3

Incorrectly Predicted X: All

Missed: Dallas Buyers Club, Lone Ranger, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
 
Alternative: The Lone Ranger    
Should Be Nominated: Hunger Games    
 
RANK BEST ORIGINAL SCORE AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Gravity    
2. 12 Years A Slave X    
3. Saving Mr. Banks    
4. Philomena    
5. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 3/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: The Hunger Games, 12 Years A Slave

Missed: Her, The Book Thief
 
Alternative: The Book Thief    
Should Be Nominated: Captain Phillips    
 
RANK BEST ORIGINAL SONG AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Young And Beautiful, The Great Gatsby X    
2. Let It Go, Frozen    
3. I See Fire, The Hobbit X    
4. The Moon Song, Her    
5. So You Know What It’s Like, Short Term 12 X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 2/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: So You Know What It’s Like, Short Term 12, I See Fire, The Hobbit, Young And Beautiful, The Great Gatsby

Missed: Alone Yet Not Alone, Alone Yet Not Alone, Happy, Despicable Me 2, Ordinary Love, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
 
Alternative: Ordinary Love, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom    
Should Be Nominated: None    
 
RANK BEST SOUND EDITING AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Gravity    
2. Captain Phillps    
3. Iron Man 3 X    
4. All Is Lost    
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug    
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Iron Man 3

Missed: Lone Survivor
 
Alternative: Lone Survivor    
Should Be Nominated: Man Of Steel    
 
RANK BEST SOUND MIXING AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Gravity    
2. Captain Phillips    
3. Inside Llewyn Davis    
4. The Hobbit    
5. Lone Survivor    
 
Correctly Predicted: 5/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: None

Missed: None
 
Alternative: All Is Lost    
Should Be Nominated: None    
 
RANK BEST VISUAL EFFECTS AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALL

SCORE
1. Gravity    
2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug    
3. Iron Man 3    
4. Star Trek    
5. Pacific Rim X    
 
Correctly Predicted: 4/5

Incorrectly Predicted X: Pacific Rim

Missed: The Lone Ranger
 
Alternative: Man of Steel    
Should Be Nominated: None    
 


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by mrsmith44 on January 16, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by mrsmith44 on January 16, 2014

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2014/01/16/85th-academy-award-nomination-predictions/

Review: ‘Her’ 2013

her

Her (2013)

Director: Spike Jones

Starring: Joaquin Pheonix, Scarlet Johansson, Amy Adams

Lost In The Uncanny Valley.

The premise of ‘Her’ a man in the not-so-distant-future falling in love with his OS (operating system), basically an AI version of Siri, sounds like a glib lame movie gimmick of train-wreck proportions. The genius of ‘Her’ is that in someone else’s hands so many things could easily go wrong but in the hands of Spike Jones nothing does. The film is nothing short of a breathtakingly original masterpiece.

Now the word original in describing films has become a cliché. It has been overused to describe so many undeserving films that it has lost its true meaning to the point where it is irritating to read considering the power the word truly seeks to convey. Art should, in the words of Shakespeare, ‘hold a mirror to nature; show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image’. Good to excellent films reflect mirrored truths about our world and ourselves. However in my opinion for a film to reach the level of greatness this isn’t enough. As my favourite literary critic Harold Bloom argues: for a work of art to be truly great originality in the sense of strangeness is the quality more than any other that makes a work great. Bloom uses the word original in its true sense by linking it with strangeness. It is this original strangeness that we can either never quite come to terms with or it becomes such a given that we are ‘blinded to its idiosyncrasies’.

Her is a truly great film because it is both truthful and original. Truthful in the sense that it holds a mirror to nature showing us what it means to be human, to love, to lose and original in the Bloomian sense of strangeness. This strangeness results in an unsettling feeling of the uncanny permeating the film for the entire ride, its highs and lows. The uncanny is a Freudian concept of an instance where something can be familiar, yet foreign at the same time resulting in a feeling of it being uncomfortably strange or uncomfortably familiar. Ironically this concept is used to describe the notion of the ‘uncanny valley’ in robotics, which is the region in a graph of negative emotional response towards robots/AI that seem almost human. The ‘uncanny valley’ betrays a truth of human nature, that we are profoundly unsettled by too human-like non-human entities, the premise of countless Scfi films.

The OS system that Joaquin Pheonix’s sensitive character ‘Theodore Twombly’ downloads called ‘Samantha’, played by Scarlet Johansson, is in almost everyway a human. She thinks, dreams, has emotions but doesn’t have any memories. Cleverly the film never shows us an anthropomorphic ‘Samantha’, she remains a beautiful, emotional voice that slowly seduces us. Lonely Theodore is a man who writes personal love letters for other people who depressed due to an impending divorce from his ex-wife. In many ways in this technological future Theodore acts more like a machine than the outsourced human emotion of Samantha. Her is a love story as Theodore slowly falls in love with Samantha. It celebrates strangeness and insanity with lines from a brilliantly acerbic screenplay like ‘love is a form of socially acceptable insanity’ and ‘anybody who loves is a freak’.

Beyond being a wistful love story illuminating what it means to be human, Her is a hilarious surrealist deadpan comedy and a biting social critique on the technological brave new world of isolated anonymous disconnected individuals that we are fast living into. The best films about the future merely extrapolate the present and Her captures the zeitgeist of the present. As the world becomes more intelligent and clinical ‘Her’ is a dramatic call for craziness and love. As our needs and wants are ever more easily met the crazy red blooded call of ‘I love you’ seems to echo louder in our shiny cold new world.

A+     ****     10/10

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by mrsmith44 on January 16, 2014  •  Permalink
Posted in Reviews (H)

Posted by mrsmith44 on January 16, 2014

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2014/01/16/her-2013/

Adavanced Screening Review: Nebraska

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Nebraska (2013)

Director: Alexander Payne

Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Suibb

I will show you fear in a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing Prize

T.S. Elliot once wrote, in his masterpiece poem ‘The Wasteland’, ‘I will show you fear in a handful of dust’. Alexander Payne’s cinematic poem ‘Nebraska’ similarly seems to say ‘I will show you fear in a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing Prize’. Both works, in different ways, touch upon the same universal truth: the futility of life. In Nebraska an aging alcoholic father Woody Grant, Bruce Dern, takes a road trip with his estranged son David, Will Forte, from Montana to Nebraska to claim a million dollar marketing prize. Despite the fact that the prize is obviously a marketing scam and almost everyone in his life tries to dissuade him from making the trip Woody will hear none of it. If no one will drive him he will walk.

The apparent absurdity and seeming ridiculousness of his quest is slowly subverted throughout the film as the prize ticket becomes the Elliot’s ‘handful of dust’, a metaphor for our universal fear of death, our desire for meaning and the futility of our lives. Nebraska is a beautiful cinematic poem, profound as it is poignant. Although the film has deep and powerful undertones it also works as a hilarious absurdist comedy and a charming road movie.

Alexander Payne is a master at creating vivid complex characters both tragic and comic, such as the futile Schmidt in ‘About Schmidt’, the depressed wine-aficionado Miles in ‘Sideways’ and the quietly heroic Matt King in ‘The Descendants’. In ‘Nebraska’ Payne creates one of his greatest characters yet, the stoic, complex, alcoholic, headstrong, melancholic , man of few words, who will not go quietly into the night. Bruce Dern gives the performance of a lifetime by capturing the so perfectly the man leading a life of quiet desperation. A rich complex portrait, never shying away from the pain he has caused to his son and others nor the quiet acts of kindness he has done throughout his life.

Following on from the moving study of roots and family present in the princely Hawaiian King family in ‘The Descendants’, ‘Nebraska’ also masterfully explores the extended family and community of the Grants. The Grants are a completely departure from the wealthy easy-going Hawaiian King family. The extended Grants: a Midwestern working class family of stoicism, no nonsense and hardworking conservatism. The silence in the film is deafening, a community of withheld communication, repressed feelings and deep resentment bubbling under a veneer of politeness.

This silence and repression is punctured only by the startling character of Woody’s wife Kate, played by June Squibb in a hurricane of a performance. Just as Woody is raging against his steady decline into death, so too does Kate rage against the silence and unfairness of her life. The premise of the road movie established as the son David reluctantly agrees to take Woody to get his prize is diverted with a pit-stop in Woody’s old home town in which a family reunion is organised. The funniest parts of the movie take place her as the extended family and old friends expose their true greed and resentment upon hear mistakenly about Woody’s new found ‘wealth’.

Shot in black and white the film is steeped in bittersweet nostalgia of a rapidly disappearing Midwest world from which Alexander Payne came from. ‘Nebraska’ itself becomes one of the most fascinating characters with sweeping plains and sleepy towns reminiscent of the Coen’s cinematography in the classic ‘Fargo’. Payne seems determined to dispel the honest-good-folk stereotype of the Midwest, seeking instead to instil a sense of human understanding to an often overlooked part of America.

The film navigates its tone carefully. Playing quirky upbeat music over scenes of quiet desolation and interrupting heartbreaking moments of truth with moments of hilarious comedy. Perhaps Payne’s most personal and deep film yet, ‘Nebraska’ is a minimalist masterpiece which says more about life and death in a simple man’s quest to get a marketing prize than most films with grander subject matter and important figures. The million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing Prize is Elliot’s handful of dust.

9/10     A-         ***1/2

My review at The Feed Magazine: http://thefeed.com.au/review-nebraska/

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by mrsmith44 on December 19, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reviews (N), Uncategorized

Posted by mrsmith44 on December 19, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/12/19/adavanced-screening-review-nebraska/

Advanced Screening Review: Saving Mr Banks

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Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

Director: John Lee Hancock.

Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks

Advanced Screening:

For Every Laugh, There Should Be A Tear – Walt Disney

Forget everything you think you know about ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ and the Mary Poppins story. Going into a Disney studio film about the uptight Australian born British author P.L Travers being seduced by a charismatic Walt Disney to give away the rights to her famous children’s story ‘Marry Poppins’, and coming from the director of the sentimental ‘Blind Side’, one is overcome with a foreboding sense of an impending onslaught of schamltz and sentimentality. The result, however, is a surprisingly film which is insightful, splendidly acted and deeply moving.

Although the first act of the film begins with a good helping of light-hearted schmaltz and overacting, as the film progresses the expectations of the audience are slowly subverted through a darker tone present in the flashbacks revealing the true story of ‘Marry Poppins’ from P.L. Travers childhood. After 20 years of trying Disney finally persuades the hard-nosed and rational Pamela Travers to come to Hollywood to discuss a film adaptation of her story. Disgusted at Hollywood’s book to film adaptations and Disney’s style of filmmaking the imperious Travers does not trust the system to capture or understand the true essence of her beloved story and what it means to her. However just as Pamela Travers is slowly seduced by the savy business man Walt to the Disney magic entertainment-machine so are we the audience seduced by the charm of the film and happy to be. The film is also a journey of closure and victory over a traumatic past in which Travers used the story of ‘Mary Poppins’ as a way of saving her tragic whimsical alcoholic father.

The movie simply wouldn’t work without the bravura Oscar worthy performance of Emma Thompson, the heart, eyes, ears and soul of the film. Starting out as a prickly unlikable woman, Thompson is able to create a rich character portrait of a woman who could not forgive herself for her past. Strictly speaking ‘Saving Mr Banks’ doesn’t always appear entirely historically authentic with the edges softened and the ending white-washing how conflicted the relationship between Travers and Disney really was. The film also doesn’t reveal that Pamela Travers was actually a feminist and bisexual, nor does it hint at Disney’s notorious anti-Semitism. The flashback to her childhood is set in an Americanised ‘Gone With The Wind’ romantic Australia populated by people with dubious accents.

The duality between the fun, comedy and wonder of the fictional story of ‘Mary Poppins’ and the darker, deeper and tragic reality of Travers childhood represent the two overarching themes of the film. Firstly Walt Disney’s storytelling philosophy that ‘for every laugh, there should be a tear’ which illuminates a much greater truth of life and drama: for there to be light there must be darkness, suffering makes joy sweeter, death makes life more alive. The flashbacks to Travers childhood deal with some heavy subject matters including suicide, alcoholism and depression. The second theme is the idea of the creative reinvention of the self through art. The pain that comes when art personally created has to be given away, akin to giving a part of yourself away. I cried. I laughed. And as scenes from the original classic played I felt like a little kid again watching ‘Marry Poppins’ with an adult sense of how it came to be.

8/10              A-            ***1/3

My review at The Feed Magazine: http://thefeed.com.au/review-saving-mr-banks/

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by mrsmith44 on December 18, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reviews (S)

Posted by mrsmith44 on December 18, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/12/18/advanced-screening-review-saving-mr-banks/

‘Captain Phillips’ 2013

Captain Phillips 2013

“The Master of Retelling Gripping Real-Life Events Solidifies His Craft”

Paul Greengrass director of ‘Captain Phillips’ and the great ‘United 93’ is a master of stunningly realistic real world dramatic events. If there’s a news worthy event out to film you’d want him to do it. Captain Phillips is a departure from his event specific films becoming a riveting character drama, as the title suggests, about a heroic ordinary man, a study in what true leadership is. Tom Hanks gives an Oscar non worthy understated and brilliant performance, which works precisely because he isn’t a nauseating muscle bound Hollywood hero idiot. My main criticism with the film is that it is a film almost entirely about American success with a very ‘rah-rah America is awesome ending’ which despite a nuanced ending still seems a bit too ideologically problematic. A film like Zero Dark Thirty also about American success is an example of a film that does a better job by focusing on the uneasy nature of power full of error and failure; though successful in one event illuminating the larger failure of torture. Captain Phillips seems to only obliquely touch on the larger issues of global inequality and capitalism. Side note, the shaky hand-held and on rocky sea location does make it difficult to watch.

8/10.

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by mrsmith44 on November 18, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reviews (C)

Posted by mrsmith44 on November 18, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/11/18/captain-phillips-2013/

Early 86th Academy Award Predictions

Very Early 86th Academy Award Frontrunners Predictions:  

Best Picture:

Secure:

  1. 12 Years A Slave
  2. Gravity
  3. Captain Phillips

Possible:

  1. Nebraska
  2. Inside Llewyn Davis
  3. Blue Jasmine
  4. August: Osage County
  5. Lee Daniel’s The Butler

Sight Unseen, (major contenders still to be released):

  1. American Hustle
  2. The Wolf Of Wall Street
  3. Monuments Men
  4. Saving Mr. Banks
  5. Dallas Buyers Club
  6. The Book Thief

Best Director:

Secure:

  1. Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
  2. Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave

Possible:

  1. Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
  2. Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
  3. Alexander Payne, Nebraska
  4. Joel & Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
  5. Lee Daniels, Less Daniel’s The Butler

Sight Unseen, (major contenders still to be released):

  1. David O.Russell, American Hustle
  2. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf Of Wall Street
  3. George Clooney, Monuments Men

Best Actor:

Secure:

  1. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
  2. Robert Redford, All Is Lost
  3. Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

  Possible:

  1. Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniel’s The Butler
  2. Bruce Dern, Nebraska
  3. Oscar Issac, Inside Llewyn Davis

Sight Unseen, (major contenders still to be released):

  1. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
  2. Christian Bale, American Hustle
  3. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf Of Wall Street
  4. Joaquin Phoenix, Her

Best Actress:

Secure:

  1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
  2. Sandra Bullock, Gravity
  3. Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Possible:

  1. Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue Is The Warmest Colour
  2. Julie Delpy, Before Midnight

Sight Unseen, (major contenders still to be released):

  1. Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
  2. Judi Dench, Philomena
  3. Amy Adams, American Hustle
  4. Kate Winslet, Labor Day

Best Supporting Actor:

Secure:

  1. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave

Possible:

  1. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Sight Unseen, (major contenders still to be released):

  1. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
  2. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
  3. Jeremy Renner, American Hustle

Best Supporting Actress:

Secure:

  1. Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years A Slave
  2. Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniel’s The Butler

Possible:

  1. Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
  2. Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
  3. June Squibb, Nebraska

Sight Unseen, (major contenders still to be released):

  1. Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
  2. Scarlett Johansson, Her

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Secure:

  1. 12 Years A Slave
  2. Before Midnight

Possible:

  1. August: Osage County
  2. Captain Phillips

Sight Unseen:

  1. The Wolf Of Wall Street
  2. Monuments Men
  3. Philomena

Best Original Screenplay:

Secure:

  1. Blue Jasmine
  2. Inside Llewyn Davis

Possible:

  1. Nebraska
  2. Lee Daniel’s The Butler
  3. Gravity

Sight Unseen:

  1. American Hustle
  2. Her
  3. Dallas Buyers Club
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by mrsmith44 on October 21, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Early 86th Academy Award Predictions

Posted by mrsmith44 on October 21, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/10/21/1540/

New Artist Website

As you may or not know, in addition to being a cinephile I am also a practicing Sydney based artist. I am a First Class Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts and Arts graduate of Sydney’s College of Fine Arts and current Masters of Fine Arts by research candidate at the College of Fine Arts. My practice integrates highly detailed drawing, painting, etching and animation with cartographic conventions and psychology to create narratives that explore notions of the self. I have won numerous prizes and have had a series of exhibitions including one currently in Hong Kong.

Below is a link to my new artist website: jeremysmithartist.com, which includes images of all the artwork I have created so far in my career and essays/articles about my art.

http://http://jeremysmithartist.com

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by mrsmith44 on October 10, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Jeremy Smith Artist Website

Posted by mrsmith44 on October 10, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/10/10/new-artist-website/

‘Gravity’ 2013

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Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Alfonso Cuaron makes you believe like no one else.

The visionary director behind one of my all-time favourite films and my pick for the greatest film of the 2000’s decade, Children of Men (2006), has created a monumental masterpiece from a startlingly simple premise. My first question after watching the film was why hadn’t anyone thought of making a movie about this subject matter before? Other films such as Apollo 13 and countless Hollywood blockbusters have dealt with similar subject matter to varying degrees. However I soon realised that this is the wrong question. One really should ask who else could have taken this scenario and not only made you believe its real, as if you personally are there experiencing the events, but also to give enough attention to small details to uncover eye-wateringly large truths and beauty. Other than Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, arguably the greatest film of all time, I cannot think of another director dealing with such subject matter that could make such a film, and even then I doubt if Kubrick could find the level of humanity that Cuaron finds. The film opens with: life is impossible in space which confronts us with our own humanity and what it means to live. The film is science fiction in only passing way. It is more of a taut, terrifying and yet hauntingly beautiful psychological drama. It works on many levels and could be described as a study in the law of gravity, a study in human endurance, and most profoundly a poetic study in what it means to be human. I’m not really a fan of Sandra Bullock but she transcends her celebrity beyond recognition to become a viscerally real character that represents all of us. Its special effects are poetic and some of the most seemlessly beautiful I’ve seen in film, always reminding us of the sheer beauty of the location no matter how dire the circumstances. This film is a game-changer. Cuaron achieves something no other director today can. The best film of the year and one of the best of this incipient decade.

10/10 A+

 

(The image in this post is one of the best shots of the film. A breathless Dr. Ryan floats in a fetal position with oxygen tubes mirroring umbilical cords within a circular door frame with the world drifting outside. This shot is as good as any in 2001: A Space Odyssey. A master shot)

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by mrsmith44 on October 3, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Gravity 2013, Reviews (G)

Posted by mrsmith44 on October 3, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/10/03/gravity-2013/

‘Monster’s University’ 2013

‘Monster’s University’ 2013

Director: Dan Scanlon

Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi

‘A Pale-Imitation of A Pixar Classic : A Pastel Plot Without Real Light And Dark’. Last year with the release of the sub-par ‘Brave’ I declared that the golden age of Pixar had ended. ‘Monster’s University’ the prequel to the wildly successful ‘Monster’s Inc’ 2001, solidifies that opinion. This view was most painfully obvious in the unexciting climax. Though the film starts out as a cheerful reminisce in the vibrant Pixar pastel hues, the story-line develops in a flat-line manner without the unexpected, surprising and original plot highs and lows that is the hallmark of every great Pixar film. Uncle Walt famously stated that ‘for every laugh there must be a tear’. The laughs owe much to the former classic and the flat-line plot never reaches giddying highs or lows. Both ‘Brave’ and ‘Monster’s University’ suffer from the same lack of confidence, unwilling to be daring and challenging, instead creating plots that may help children face some life challenges and develop but follow a formulaic safe path. Where in a film about monsters scaring children are the truly scary moments? or the truly sorrowful moments? where is Pixar’s courage? Truly scary is when the Beast first encounters Belle, truly sad is the first 10mins of Up, truly complicated is as the characters of Toy Story hold hands in stoic acceptance of their impending death. All round an enjoyable film but left me yearning for the Pixar golden age.  7/10 B+

 

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by mrsmith44 on June 11, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reviews (M)

Posted by mrsmith44 on June 11, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/06/11/monsters-university-2013/

2013 Movie Reviews

2013 MOVIE REVIEWS BY JEREMY

(Last updated: December 5, 2014)

 

No. TITLE STARS GRADE Out/10
Gravity **** A+ 10/10
12 Years A Slave **** A+ 10/10
Her **** A+ 10/10
The Great Beauty **** A+ 10/10
Wolf Of Wall Street **** A+ 10/10
Inside Llewyn Davis **** A+ 10/10
Nebraska ***1/2 A 9/10
Dallas Buyers Club ***1/2 A 9/10
The Hunt ***1/2 A 9/10
Before Midnight ***1/2 A 9/10
Philomena ***1/2 A 9/10
Blue Jasmine ***1/2 A 9/10
American Hustle ***1/2 A- 8/10
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ***1/2 A- 8/10
Captain Phillips ***1/2 A- 8/10
Saving Mr. Banks ***1/2 A- 8/10
August: Osage County ***1/2 A- 8/10
Behind The Candelabra ***1/2 A- 8/10
To The Wonder ***1/2 A- 8/10
Blackfish ***1/2 A- 8/10
Lee Daniel’s: The Butler ***1/2 A- 8/10
Tim Winton’s The Turning ***1/2 A- 8/10
The Conjuring ***1/2 A- 8/10
Stark Trek Into Darkness ***1/2 A- 8/10
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen *** B+ 7/10
A Place Beyond The Pines *** B+ 7/10
The Book Thief *** B+ 7/10
Kill Your Darlings *** B+ 7/10
Prisoners *** B+ 7/10
Trance *** B+ 7/10
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug *** B+ 7/10
World War Z *** B+ 7/10
C.O.G. *** B+ 7/10
Monster’s University *** B 6/10
Elysium *** B 6/10
Man of Steel *** B 6/10
The Great Gatsby *** B 6/10
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues **1/2 B- 5/10
The Company You Keep **1/2 B- 5/10
The Counselor **1/2 B- 5/10
Only God Forgives **1/2 C+ 4/10
Mood Indigo **1/2 C+ 4/10
Wolverine **1/2 C+ 4/10
Last Vegas ** C 3/10
Class Stars Grade Out/10
Great Movie **** A+ 10/10
Very Good ***1/2 A 9/10
Very Good – Recommended A- 8/10
Recommended *** B+ 7/10
OK – Below Average B 6/10
Below Average **1/2 B- 5/10
Below Average – Bad C+ 4/10
Bad ** C 3/10
Bad – Very Bad C- 2/10
Very Bad *1/2 D 1/10
Appalling * F 0/10

 

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by mrsmith44 on June 4, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in 2013 Movie Reviews

Posted by mrsmith44 on June 4, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/06/04/2013-movie-reviews/

‘The Great Gatsby’ 2013

‘The Great Gatsby’ 2013

Director: Baz Luhrman

Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire

‘The Great Gatsby’: A return to classic Luhrman style but missing the soul of the novel. Having studied and written on ‘The Great Gatsby’ in my English Literature degree I can say that as an adaptation Baz Luhrman may have missed the point of the Fitzgerald classic, but as a stand alone Luhrman film ‘The Great Gatsby’ is gorgeous, frenetic and truly ‘Luhrmanesque’. Baz is the perfect director to capture the glitz, glamour and spectacle of the novel which he did salubriously but another director was needed to find the film’s soul. Getting Baz to make this film is like getting an alcoholic to make a documentary on alcoholism, you get the glorious highs but the larger truth isn’t fully realised. Of course Luhrman isn’t interested in reality he is interested in creating a Luhrman-style of film making and if anything his film is an audacious, grand, trashy opera, addition to his filmograhpy not as good as ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or ‘Moulin Rouge’ but way better than cringe-spectular ‘Australia’. I loved the costumes, Sydney based locations including Rivendell and Santa Sabina, the soundtrack, and the tempo. Where the film faulters is convincing us of its reality and of Fitzgerald’s truth, particularly about the character of Daisy and the tragedy of an age. He may have read the book but really the book read him. 7/10

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by mrsmith44 on June 2, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Reviews (G)

Posted by mrsmith44 on June 2, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/06/02/the-great-gatsby-2013/

My 6th Oscar Party

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by mrsmith44 on March 4, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by mrsmith44 on March 4, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/03/04/my-6th-oscar-party/

Most Anticipated Films of 2013

Now that the film year of 2012 is finally done and dusted, here is a list of the most promising films of 2013:

1. ‘Untitled Terrence Malick Project’ (Director: Terrence Malick of ‘Tree of Life’ fame; cast: Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Michael Fassbender, Rooney Mara)

2. ‘Knight Of Cups’ (Director: Terrence Malick of ‘Tree of Life’ fame; cast: Christian Bale, Teresa Palmer, Natalie Portman)

3. ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’ (Director: Martin Scorsese of ‘Taxi Driver’ fame; cast: Leonardo Di Caprio, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bernthal, Johah Hill)

4. ‘Gravity’ (Director: Alfonso Cuaron of ‘Childern Of Men’ fame; cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Basher Savage, Eric Michels)

5. ‘The Counselor’ (Director: Ridley Scott of ‘Blade Runner’ fame; cast: Brad Pitt, Goran Visnjic, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem)

6. ‘Foxcatcher’ (Director: Bennett Miller of ‘Capote’ fame; cast: Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller)

7. ‘The Monumnets Men’ (Director: George Clooney of ‘Good Night And Good Luck’ fame; cast: Geroge Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Daniel Craig)

8. ‘August: Osage County’ (Director: John Wells, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play; cast: Meryl Streep, Bennedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin)

9. ‘Captain Phillips’ (Director: Paul Greengrass of ‘United 93’ fame; cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Max Martini, Chris Mulkey)

10. ‘Untitled David O’Russell Project’ (Director: David O’Russell of ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ fame; cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Jeremy Renner)

11. ‘Labour Day’ (Director: Jason Reitman of ‘Juno’ fame; cast: Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Toby Maguire, James Van Der Beek)

12.’Elysium’ (Director: Neil Blomkamp of ‘District 9’ fame; cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley)

13. ‘To The Wonder’ (Director: Terrence Malick of ‘Tree Of Life’ fame; cast: Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams)

14. ‘Nymphomaniac’ (Director: Lars Von Trier of ‘Melancholia’ fame; cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard)

15. ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ (Director: John Lee Hancock’ story of the making of Mary Poppins; cast: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti)

16. ‘Nebraska’ (Director: Alexander Payne of ‘Sideways’ fame; cast: Bod Odenkirk, Stacey Keach, Bruce Dern)

17. ‘Trance’ (Director: Danny Boyle of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ fame; cast: James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel)

18. ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (Director: Wes Anderson of ‘The Royal Tenembaums’ fame; cast: Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan)

19. ‘The Hunt’ (Director: Thomas Vinterberg; cast: Mads Mikkelsen)

20. ‘The Great Gatsby’ (Director: Baz Lurhman of ‘Moulin Rogue’ fame; cast: Leonardo Dicaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire)

21. ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ (Directors: The Coen Brothers of ‘No Country For Old Men’ fame; cast: Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake)

22. ‘Only God Forgives’ (Director: Nicolas Winding Refn of ‘Drive’ fame; cast: Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Scott Thomas, Tom Burke)

23. ‘Twelve Years A Slave’ (Director: Steve McQueen of ‘Hunger’ fame; cast: Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Bennedict Cummberbatch, Quvenzhane Wallis)

24. ‘The Butler’ (Director: Lee Daniels of ‘Precious’ fame; cast: Alan Rickman, Robin Williams, John Cusack)

25. ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ (Director: Jean-Marc Vallee; cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto)

26. ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ (Director: J.J. Abrams of ‘Star Trek’ fame; cast: Bennedict Cummberbatch, Chris Pyne, Zachary Quinto)

27. ‘Oldboy’ (Director: Spike Lee of ‘Do The Right Thing Fame’; cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen)

28. ‘Diana’ (Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel, cast: Naomi Watts)

29. ‘Blue Jasmin’ (Director: Woody Allen of ‘Annie Hall’ fame; cast: Cate Balnchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard)

30. ‘Out Of The Furnace’ (Director: Scott Cooper of ‘Carzy Heart’ fame; cast: Christian Bale, Zoe Saldana, Willem Dafoe)

31. ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug’ (Director: Peter Jackson of ‘The Lord Of Rings’ trilogy; cast: Martin Freedman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage)

32. ‘Serena’ (Director: Susanne Bier of ‘In A Better World’ fame; cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Toby Jones)

33. ‘A Most Wanted Man’ (Director: Anton Corbijn of ‘The Constant Gardener’ fame; cast: Robin Wright, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams)

34. ‘A Place Beyond The Pines’ (Director: Derek Cianfrance of ‘Blue Valentine’ fame; cast: Ryan Gosling, Rose Byrne, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes)

35. ‘Monsters University’ (Director: Dan Scanlon of ‘Monsters Inc.’ fame; cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi)

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by mrsmith44 on February 28, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Most Anticipated Films of 2013

Posted by mrsmith44 on February 28, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/02/28/most-anticipated-films-of-2013/

85th Academy Award Final Predictions

FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR THE 85TH ACADEMY AWARDS 2012

BEST PICTURE AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Argo 8/2 18
 
Alternative: Lincoln 1/11 13
Should Win: Amour 1/0 2
 
BEST DIRECTOR AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Ang Lee, Life of Pi 0/3 3
 
Alternative: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln 0/3 3
Should Win: Michael Haneke 0/0 0
 
BEST ACTOR AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln 5/0 10
 
Alternative: none – –
Should Win: Joaquin Pheonix, The Master 1/2 4
 
BEST ACTRESS AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Emannuelle Riva, Amour 2/1 5
 
Alternative: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook 2/2 6
Should Win: Emannuelle Riva, Amour 2/1 5
 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln 1/2 4
 
Alternative: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained 1/0 1
Should Win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master 5/0 10
 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables 3/0 6
 
Alternative: None – –
Should Win: Amy Adams, The Master 1/2 4
 
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: David O’ Russell, Silver Linings Playbook 0/3 3
 
Alternative: Chris Terrio, Argo 2/2 6
Should Win: David O’ Russell, Silver Linings Playbook 0/0 3
 
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained 2/0 4
 
Alternative: Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty 1/2 4
Should Win: Michael Haneke, Amour 0/0 0
 
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Wreck It Ralph 1/1 3
 
Alternative: Brave 1/1 3
Should Win: Wreck It Ralph 1/1 3
 
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Searching For The Sugar Man 3/0 6
 
Alternative: The Gatekeepers 1/1 3
Should Win: How To Survive A Plague 1/0 2
 
BEST FOREGIN LANGUAGE FILM AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Amour 4/0 8
 
Alternative: None – –
Should Win: Amour 4/0 8
 
BEST FILM EDITING AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Argo 1/2 4
 
Alternative: Zero Dark Thirty 3/1 7
Should Win: Argo 1/2 4
 
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Life Of Pi 1/1 3
 
Alternative: The Hobbit 0/2 2
Should Win: Life Of Pi 1/1 3



BEST CINEMATOGRAHPY AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Life Of Pi 1/1 3
 
Alternative: Skyfall 2/1 5
Should Win: Life Of Pi 1/1 3
 
BEST COSTUME DESIGN AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Anna Karenina 2/0 4
 
Alternative: Les Miserables 0/1 1
Should Win: Lincoln 0/2 2
 
BEST MAKE UP AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Les Miserables 0/1 1
 
Alternative: The Hobbit 0/1 1
Should Win: Les Miserables 0/1 1
 
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Life Of Pi 1/1 3
 
Alternative: Lincoln 1/1 3
Should Win: Life Of Pi 1/1 3
 
BEST ORIGINAL SONG AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: ‘Skyfall’, Skyfall 2/0 4
 
Alternative: None – –
Should Win: ‘Skyfall’, Skyfall 2/0 4
 
BEST SOUND EDITING AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Zero Dark Thirty 0/0 0
 
Alternative: Skyfall 0/0 0
Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty 0/0 0
 
BEST SOUND MIXING AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Les Miserables 1/0 2
 
Alternative: Life Of Pi 0/1 1
Should Win: Les Miserables 1/0 2
 
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS AWARD WINS/NOMS OVERALLSCORE
Prediction: Life Of Pi 1/0 2
 
Alternative: The Hobbit 0/1 1
Should Win: Life Of Pi 1/0 2
 
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by mrsmith44 on February 25, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in 85th Academy Award Predictions

Posted by mrsmith44 on February 25, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/02/25/85th-academy-award-final-predictions/

Best Picture Prediction

This year’s Best Picture Oscar race is the strangest and hardest to predict in years. After the nominations were announced ‘Lincoln’, with the most noms: 12 and a Best director nom for Spielberg became the obvious front runner. Two other major contenders ‘Zero Dark Thirty’s’ director Kathryn Bigelow and ‘Argo’s’ director Ben Affleck were snubbed for Best director, in what will be remembered as one of the worst snubs in Oscar history. Lincoln’s easy victory was changed this   weekend. Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’ has steadily won all of the major precursor awards: the Critic’s Choice for Best Pic and Dir., the Golden Globe for Best Drama, the Producer’s Guild for best produced film, the Screen Actors Guild for best ensemble cast and then finally last weekend won the Director’s Guild Award for Ben Affleck. The DGA is significant because the DGA winner has gone on to win Best Picture on all but 13 occasions in the last 64 years! No film has ever won all the aforementioned precursor awards before, and only one film (Apollo 13) has won the SAG, PGA and DGA and not won Best Picture. However only one film in the past 85 years has won Best Picture without getting a Director nomination (Driving Miss Daisy). Having seen Lincoln last night I can now say that ‘Argo’ is not only a better film but also a more ‘Oscar-winning’ film. I predict this year that ‘Argo’ will win Best Picture with Steven Spielberg winning Best Director, first time there is a Picture Director split since 2006 when Ang Lee won Best Director for ‘Brokeback Mountain’ while ‘Crash’ won Best Picture. This is the first year in 6 years that I’m ambivalent about both ‘Lincoln’ or ‘Argo’ winning, in my opinion ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ should win and ‘The Master’ should have been nominated.

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by mrsmith44 on February 4, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Best Picture 2012 Prediction
Tagged

Posted by mrsmith44 on February 4, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/02/04/best-picture-prediction/

Final Golden Globes Predictions 2012

I am one of the winners of the Awards Daily website Golden Globes prediction contest with 11 correct predictions. My name is listed on their website! I recommend Awards Daily for all your movie awards related news:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2013/01/13/contest-winners-5/#more-60157

Best Motion Picture – Drama:

My Pick: ARGO

Winner: ARGO

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:

My Pick: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Winner: LES MISERABLES

Best Director:

My Pick: BEN AFFLECK, ARGO

Winner: BEN AFFLECK, ARGO

Best Actor Drama:

My Pick: DANIEL DAY LEWIS, LINCOLN

Winner: DANIEL DAY LEWIS, LINCOLN

Best Actress Drama:

My Pick: JESSICA CHASTAIN, ZERO DARK THIRTY

Winner: JESSICA CHASTAIN, ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Actor Musical or Comedy:

My Pick: BRADLEY COOPER, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Winner: HUGH JACKMAN, LES MISERABLES

Best Actress Musical or Comedy:

My Pick: JENNIFER LAWRENCE, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Winner: JENNIFER LAWRENCE, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Best Supporting Actor:

My Pick: PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, THE MASTER

Winner: CHRISTOPH WALTZ, DJANGO UNCHAINED

Best Supporting Actress:

My Pick: ANNE HATHAWAY, LES MISERABLES

Winner: ANNE HATHAWAY, LES MISERABLES

Best Score:

My Pick: LIFE OF PI

Winner: LIFE OF PI

Best Original Song:

My Pick: “SKYFALL”, SKYFALL

Winner: “SKYFALL”, SKYFALL

Best Animated Film:

My Pick: WRECK IT RALPH

Winner: BRAVE

Best Foreign Language Film:

My Pick: AMOUR

Winner: AMOUR

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by mrsmith44 on January 13, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Golden Globes

Posted by mrsmith44 on January 13, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/01/13/final-golden-globes-predictions-2012/

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 3,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 6 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

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by mrsmith44 on January 11, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by mrsmith44 on January 11, 2013

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2013/01/11/2012-in-review/

On Holidays

I’m off to Spain, France, Denmark and Sweden for Christmas and New Years, back in January. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. 

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by mrsmith44 on December 7, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by mrsmith44 on December 7, 2012

https://jeremysmithmovieblog.com/2012/12/07/on-holidays/

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