Is It That Time Already?

Has it really been four months since I've posted something? Yikes. Time to scrape the lime deposits off my knuckles and start typing again.

You must excuse my silence this past summer. For once it had nothing to do with professional obligations (those will take their toll soon enough), and everything to with having little to say in regards to the summer movie scene.

Let's face it: This was a lousy summer at the movies.

My Award Nominations: Best Visual Effects

This is usually one of the tougher craft categories for me to decide my favourites. The photorealism of CGI these days is so evolved that it's hard to assess which effects are "better" than others (unless the effect is noticeably bad).

Inevitably, my own criteria boils down to some vague combination of the effects' technical excellence, their originality, and how effectively they're used to support the much bigger 'effect' of the movie experience. For instance, no one's going to argue that a Michael Bay explosion fest doesn't have highly accomplished effects work, but its always delivered in a visually messy and confusing fashion, essentially wasting the efforts of the hardworking technicians, animators, matte painters, texture artists, etc.

To that end, the following craftspeople nominated for my own Best Visual Effects honour can thank the directors of their respective movies for being filmmakers of taste and substance, who know how to utilize special effects to serve the story instead of distract from it.

My Award Nominations: Best Supporting Actress

Unlike their male counterparts over in Best Supporting Actor, the five actresses chosen for my own personal ballot had a lot of competition to rise above in order to secure this nomination, and even as I write this they're not that secure. Ask me again tomorrow and I may have three or four new names surfacing as my favourites. That's because there's been a deep well from which to draw this year. So much so, that overlap between me and the Academy has been limited to a single performance (which is obviously going to win that Oscar, so you won't hear me complaining).

Check out my Best Supporting Actress contenders for 2014:

One Category at a Time: Visual Effects

I am pleased to report that for the first time in six -- count 'em, six -- years, the Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography will NOT be going to the same film. Huzzah!

A lot of that has to do with this being the first time since the Best Visual Effects category expanded to five, that a Best Picture nominee has not been represented. This means we can't fall back on the reliable 'Best-Pic-nominees-never-lose' rule that has held in this category since the 70s.

But then what yard stick do we use to assess the chances of the five films recognized this year for their sensational illusions?

That 'Best-Pic-nominees-never-lose' rule got me thinking about the directors who have helmed the most recent winners in this category, going back as far as the 2008/09 season:

-David Fincher
-James Cameron
-Christopher Nolan
-Martin Scorsese
-Ang Lee
-Alfonso Cuaron

Guys, that's an impressive list... in fact, that list is more than impressive.
That list is amazing.
That list is better than the list of the six most recent winners for Best Director!

In a Best Visual Effects race in which no Best Picture nominee is present, could it be that the name of the director behind the film holds enough clout to make the difference? If so, then it certainly bodes well for one nominee, whose director is already on that more-than-impressive list...

'Birdman' and 'Apes' Lead MPSE Nods

On the eve of Oscar morning, the Motion Picture Sound Editors announced their nominees for the year's best achievements in sound design and editing. Birdman and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes lead all contenders with three nods apiece, and both are fine honourees for their excellent sound jobs (although I may be more impressed with Birdman's overall mix than with the editorial).

The most Oscar-indicative category is Best Sound Effects/Foley, which also features Oscar hopefuls Unbroken, Interstellar, Fury, and American Sniper, joined by a pair of Marvel blockbusters in Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Best Sound Effects/Foley
American Sniper
Birdman
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Fury
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Unbroken
I expect the Oscar five will be a permutation of these eight, but which three drop out? Despite its impressive showing here, I'm just not sure the Apes franchise is embraced as warmly by the Academy as it aught to be. I also don't expect either of the Marvel efforts, but I could certainly be wrong. Fury deserves to be the winner, but Best Picture clout may aid American Sniper in this race.

ADG nominees

The announcement everyone will have their eyes on today is the Producers Guild nominations, but in the meantime the Art Directors Guild has sounded off on the year's best production design. Will our Academy's Best Production Design ballot be a sampling of these fifteen films, or will one or two titles passed over by the guild make their way to an Oscar nod? I notice that Mr. Turner was ignored in the Period category (um... what?), but there's always one guild snubbee that gets a second wind.

Check out the nominees with some commentaries/wild guesses after the cut.

Sunday Top Ten: Last Minute FYCs

Hard to believe that in a mere five days, Oscar ballots will be in. I'm sure there are no Academy members reading this, but it's still fun to bang the drum for one's favourite awards hopeful. Here are ten long shots (very long shots) that I feel would make inspired nominees:

Only a handful of surprises in SAG nominations

The SAG awards always present something of an enigma to awards watchers. Their nominating committee is significantly smaller than the full membership who votes on the winners, which often results in one or two out-of-left-field contenders. They also decide their nominees so early, that a few late-breaking juggernauts always miss the cut.

Evidence of both these intriguing qualities were present in this morning's nomination announcement, which otherwise stuck to the script most prognosticators imagine will be unfolding this season.

The biggest surprises came from the ladies' acting categories, which saw Jennifer Aniston break into the Best Actress race for her acclaimed work in the micro-indie Cake. Screeners for that one obviously landed in the right hands at the right time. An even more curious nomination is the one Naomi Watts garnered for St. Vincent, which played well at TIFF (on the inaugural 'Bill Murray Day') but has since been all but forgotten.

Biblical epics and a fairy tale musical missing from summer-heavy VFX shortlist

The 10 semi-finalists for the Best Visual Effects Oscar have been announced, and most of the usual suspects are present. Of those ten moving on, seven of them are summer blockbusters, every one of them a sequel or reboot (woe to original filmmaking).

Of course, the one wholly original film on the shortlist is probably the most likely to win; That'd be Christopher Nolan's Interstellar.

The most notable omissions are Into the Woods, Exodus: Gods and Kings, and Noah, all three of which seemed like viable spoilers. Well, not anymore.

Review - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Phase two of Marvel's ambitious superhero roll-out is well underway with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World having done great business last year, and now it's time to catch up with the nation's favourite super-powered son, Captain America. Of course, it doesn't feel so much like we're catching up with him, as it feels like he's merely passing by (“on your left”) as he runs laps around us and all box office competition.

That's how we first encounter Cpt. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) at the start of Captain America: The Winter Soldier; repeatedly outrunning and surpassing fellow morning jogger Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who comic book aficionados will recognize as the man who shall eventually become the good captain's jet-packing sidekick Falcon.

One Category at a Time: Costume Design

I'm still smarting from last year's disappointing win for Alice in Wonderland, but it should serve as a valuable lesson that flashiness trumps the film's likability in this category every time. There are varying degrees of both factors in this year's race, but first, a moment of silence for the costumes of Captain America and The Help, unfortunate snubees at the hands of frillier period extravagance...

... okay, now on to the nominees.

One Category at a Time: Original Song

I seriously debated whether or not it was even worth doing an analysis of this category. Year in and year out, the music branch has forced us to question their eyebrow-raising taste when it comes to songs, showing an explicit aversion to high profile artists and critically praised music. It's always been a nagging point, but this year they've taken it to the next level. This year they've turned themselves into an outright laughing stock
(I literally laughed out loud when I read the nominees) by selecting a pathetic two songs from 39 eligible options. They're not even going to perform the songs on the show, as that would only compound the embarrassment.

VES winners

The Visual Effects Society Awards were held last night, where Rango cleaned up by sweeping the animation categories at the expense of Tintin's extensive and impressive effects work, which was shut out despite having six nominations. Harsh.

Oscar nominees Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Hugo, and Transformers each won two, and Captain America can nurse its Oscar snub with a consolatory win here for its excellent compositing (go 'Skinny' Steve!). Apes is the best bet for the Oscar, but it could face real heat from Hugo.

Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture: Hugo

Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture: Rango

CDG nominees

The Costumer Designers Guild has spoken:

Excellence in Period Film:
The Artist (Mark Bridges)
Jane Eyre (Michael O'Connor)
The Help (Sharen Davis)
Hugo (Sandy Powell)
W.E. (Arianne Phillips)

This is very close to what I imagine the Oscar lineup will look like. W.E. might be replaced by another period piece like Tinker Tailor or My Week with Marilyn, either of which would make a handsome nominee.

Excellence in Fantasy Film:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Jany Temime)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Penny Rose)
Red Riding Hood (Cindy Evans)
Thor (Alexandra Byrne)
X-Men: First Class (Sammy Sheldon)

As gratifying as it is to see two of the summer's comic book movies finally get some guild recognition (X-Men is a particularly pleasing choice), I'm appalled that they couldn't extend the same courtesy to Anna B. Sheppard's designs for Captain America, which are among the very best of the year. And in its place... Red Riding Hood? "All the better to gag on, my dear."

Excellence in Contemporary Film:
Bridesmaids (Leesa Evans & Christine Wada)
The Descendants (Wendy Chuck)
Drive (Erin Benach)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Trish Summerville)
Melancholia (Manon Rasmussen)

Drive easily bests all comers in this category, and not just for that now-iconic suede scorpion jacket.

My Awards nomiations: Original Song

As is usually the case, this is a thin category. Songwriting for film just isn't in vogue nowadays, but if you look close enough you can usually spot at least three of four decent Original Songs a year:

"Lay Your Head Down" from Albert Nobbs (Brian Byrne, Glenn Close):

This lovely Irish lullaby that concludes the film appropriately captures the film's subdued, delicate nature. Only used for the credits, but it's just so pretty.

"Star Spangled Man" from Captain America (Alan Menken, David Zippel):

One of my favourite moments of the film was the snappy montage set to this jaunty anthem that gently satirizes wartime propaganda in the spirit of a USO show.

"Lily (Rita)" from Chico & Rita (Bebo Valdes):

A romantic and melodious love theme that evolves over the course of the film from random ticklings of the piano keys to a sweeping full-bodied orchestration.

"Hell and Back" from Hell and Back Again (J. Ralph):

Soulful, poetically worded, and given melancholy voice by Willie Nelson's country rasp, this track is a soothing epilogue to a wrenching character study.

"Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets (Bret Mackenzie):

A bouncy opening number that signals the beginning of a laugh-out-loud romp, and it even gets a heart-bursting reprise as the film's big finale.

Just missed:
"The Living Proof" from The Help, "Pictures in My Head" from The Muppets,
"The Keeper" from Machine Gun Preacher

My Awards nominations: Hair and Makeup

In this digital age it always does me good to see that this dying art is still kicking its legs. The best Hair and Makeup achievements of the year are:

Captain America: The First Avenger
(David White, Lisa Westcott):

Redskull is a creepy and iconic creation, but let's not forget all the detailing that goes into those WWII battle scars and period hairdos.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows 2
(Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin):

Okay, so not everybody was convinced by the epilogue aging, but that doesn't diminish the quality and quantity of the other fantastical character designs.

Green Lantern (Joel Harlow, Felicity Bowring):

Wonderful alien creations and Peter Saarsgard's pronounced forehead are appropriately cartoonish but also convincingly done.

The Iron Lady (Mark Coulier, Marese Langan):

Nuanced aging work takes us through Thatcher's glory days to her desiccated "golden years" with tangible authenticity.

Thor (Luisa Abel, Janice Alexander):

The frost giants are particularly elaborate designs, but let's not forget all that robust Asgaardian facial hair.

Just missed: Captain America, Harry Potter 8, Hugo, War Horse

My Awards nominations: Production Design

Production design is on the mind today on account of the ADG nominations, so I'll follow suit and chalk up my own picks for the best Production Design, Set Decoration, and Art Direction of the year:

Captain America
(Rick Heinrichs, John Bush, John Dexter, Chris Lowe, Andy Nicholson):

This period-fantasy concoction is richly evoked; from the cozy, sepia-tinted confines of the good Captain's base of operations to the steely, serpentine corridors of Hydra's sinister research facilities.

Hugo (Dante Feretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo):

It cannot be understated that Hugo is a thing of beauty. The stunning recreations of 1930s Paris, the concealed corridors and compartments of the train station, and George Melies' old studio are wondrous to behold.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (Raymond Zibach, Tang Kheng Heng):

The beautifully rendered 2D prologue sets us up for the visual splendour of Dreamworks' gorgeous imagining of ancient China. Bold colours and stylized scenery, both urban and natural, fit the film's tone to a tee.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Maria Djurkovic, Tom Brown):

The details don't draw much attention to themselves in this nuanced period piece, but they form a completely convincing representation of time and place. The beauty is in the minutia, and the chilly Cold War atmosphere it imbues.

X-Men: First Class
(Chris Seagers, Larry Bellantoni, Erin Boyd, Sanja Klaus, John King, Dawn Swiderski):

Similarly to Captain America, the art department here melds period authenticity with fantastical influences to yield a polished alternative Marvel universe that we can believe took place in the 1960s.

Just missed: Anonymous, The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
Harry Potter 8, War Horse

ADG nominees announced

Excellence in Production Design for a Period Film:

Anonymous
The Artist
The Help
Hugo Here's your winner
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Not sure why War Horse is missing from this category, but I should think it'll score with the Academy's art direction branch nonetheless. The Young Victoria scored an Oscar nom without an ADG nom two years ago, so the guild isn't necessarily a requisite qualifier.

Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film:
The Adventures of Tintin
Captain America: The First Avenger
Cowboys & Aliens
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Winner?
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Glad to see Rick Heinrich's terrific work on Captain America turn up here. As for Tintin, I'm happy with anything it can get, but if there had to be an animated entry in this category, I'd have preferred the gorgeous stylings in Kung Fu Panda 2.

Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Film:
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Not much to discuss here. None of these are likely to be nominated by AMPAS.
I guess The Descendants will win on the goodwill of Best Picture buzz.

My Award nominations: Costume Design

It's that time of year again. Time to think back on the dozens of films seen in 2011 and decide upon the best of the best in all the usual categories. As always, I'll be announcing my nominees for the my awards one day at a time, leading up to the 23rd (the eve of the Oscar nominations) when my winners will be announced.

Today's category is Costume Design:

Albert Nobbs (Pierre-Yves Gayraud):
Subtle period details flesh out the Upstairs/Downstairs fashions of 19th century Ireland. The cuts of Close's and MacTeer's outfits are important if we're to believe they could be passed off as men.

The Artist (Mark Bridges):
The glitz and glamour of old Hollywood translates very well to black and white on account of Bridges' stylish suits and flapper attire. I love the progression of Berenice Bejo's look as she rises to stardom.

Captain America (Anna B. Sheppard):
A credible meld of period authenticity and fantasy stylings; the convincing evolution of Cap's costume, Red Skull's angular trench coat, and the Hydra uniforms all stand out.

The Help (Sharen Davis):
Splashy and colourful when they need to be, but toned back when appropriate. Emma Stone's earthy colours fit her character much better than would the hot pinks and yellows donned by Jackson's priveleged socialites.

Hugo (Sandy Powell):
A suitable dash of Parisian flare adorn the clothes of the train station's inhabitants. Hugo's outgrown clothing and Isabelle's jaunty beret are perfectly specific for their characters.



Just missed:
J. Edgar, Jane Eyre, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse

Review - Captain America: The First Avenger

I want YOU to go see Captain America! The final pillar upon which Marvel will rest next summer's Avengers movie is terrific fun, putting a bright Cap (pun intended) on the Superhero Summer That Kept On Giving.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) may have the right heroic attitude Uncle Sam looks for in a soldier, but his scrawny 90-pound frame – a brilliantly achieved illusion that disguises Evans' truly beefy musculature for nearly the entire first act – disqualifies him at every attempt to enlist. German expatriate Dr. Abraham Erskine (the wonderfully warm Stanley Tucci) immediately recognizes the virtue of Rogers' dedication, and makes him the prime candidate for an experimental formula that should transform this playground punching bag into an ass-kicking Adonis. It works! But no sooner does Rogers' new bodywork emerge from the chamber than the last sample of the serum is stolen by an agent of Hydra, a Nazi R. & D. department headed by the maniacal Johann Schmidt, aka: Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), the original test subject of Erskine's imperfected formula that left him grotesquely disfigured and all the more determined to personally attain Godlike power.