Gravity and Her win with LA critics

In a deadlocked voting slog that yielded three ties, the LA Film Critics Association finally finished announcing their year-end superlatives, and the conjoint winners of their Best Picture prize are Gravity and Her.

Gravity also nabbed honours for Directing, Cinematography, and Editing (all of them very possible Oscar victories too). Her only managed to win one additional award for Production Design, but was runner-up for Music, Director, and Screenplay.

Speaking of Screenplay, that's my favourite pick of the day, going to Before Midnight, which I'll be rooting for all year long in this category. Another selection that delights me is Ernest & Celestine for Animated Feature. Even though its English translation has not yet been released, the warm and whimsical story of a bear and mouse forming an unlikely friendship still won me over in its native French tongue. Besides, we wouldn't want The Wind Rises hogging all the critics awards, would we?

The other two ties of the came in the Acting races, with Best Supporting Actor going between Jared Leto and James Franco, and Best Actress going between Cate Blanchett and Adele Exarchopoulos.

Full list of winners below.

Review - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I'll be honest: I never really cared The Planet of the Apes. The films were okay at best, but credit for the intriguing premise belongs to Pierre Boulle's novel anyway. All that considered, I was unexpectedly pleased to find that this origin story, while not something worth going ape over, to be a thoroughly enjoyable, at times almost credible, reboot that offers promising options for expanding on the ideas and themes of the original.

Oscar autopsy

Another year over. And appropriately enough to the nature of the season, it ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. There were few surprises to be had, as for the second straight year I managed to correctly predict 18 of 24 winners, including all eight major categories.

The closest thing to a surprise was Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross collecting trophies for what might be the most atypical Oscar-winning score ever. I was not expecting it to win, but apparently that's one category where I should have given the voting membership the benefit of the doubt. Well done.

Unfortunately, there was little satisfaction to be had in the rest. The night's biggest disappointment came early, in cinematography god Roger Deakins failing to win an Oscar for the ninth time. Yo, Academy, do you not think he's due or something? What has he done to you to make you treat him this way? Disgusting. But to be fair, Wally Pfister is a worthy alternative. He's been putting out consistently astonishing work with Christopher Nolan for the better part of the decade now, and this win for his fourth consecutive nomination is a fitting way to applaud one of the best director/DP collaborations working today.

Other disappointment, albeit a less surprising one, came in the form of Tim Burton's hideous Alice in Wonderland winning both design categories over infinitely more deserving work. I might have known. Let this be a lesson: always always always predict for "most" to trump "best" when the Academy chooses winners here.

True Grit joins the ranks of Gangs of New York, The Turning Point, and The Color Purple as one of the biggest Oscar losers of all time, going 0 for 10. Guess the Academy didn't love it that much after all.

The King's Speech seemed to underwhelm as well, winning only four of its twelve nominations (all of them major categories though). Other multiple winners include The Social Network, Toy Story 3, Inception, the aforementioned Alice, and The Fighter, nailing down acting awards for Christian Bale and that nutty Melissa Leo, who proceeded to use the F-word on live TV. Some people are endeared to her antics and crazy behaviour, but I have to confess that I've never liked her, and her speech reeked of the same arrogance as have all her speeches this season.

The show itself left something to be desired. It didn't stink on the level of last year's fiasco, but it was pretty boring. Many reviews are pointing a finger (a bit harshly I think) at James Franco, who was either feigning reluctance to be there in a failed attempt at accenting Anne Hathaway's vibrant presence, or was actually reluctant to be there and doing a bad job at hiding it. I don't blame him for the show's overall lack of personality, but he certainly wasn't helping matters.

And that's really all there is I feel merited my commentary. All in all, not much of a finale to the season. Upsetting. But at the end of the day, some very talented artists got richly deserved recognition for their invaluable contributions to the medium we love so much, and I can never complain about that. Congrats to all the winners. I'm gonna keep a low profile in the coming months. I'll chime in here or there as we continue to experience the fallout this week, but mostly, I'll be busy looking into what 2011 has to offer us in the way of movie-going.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy your Oscar off-season.

One Category at a Time: Actor

What more can really be said? Everyone who follows movie awards (and even those who don't!) knows that Colin Firth is winning an Academy Award on February 27th. And not without good reason. His turn as the Duke of York is a heartfelt portrayal of damaged self-esteem, and he handles his character's transformation into a humble but unafraid leader with grace and emotion.

Even though it's a foregone conclusion that Firth has it in the bag, it's still worth tipping the hat to his fellow nominees, who comprise a stellar lineup. It's pleasing to see Javier Bardem's understated but devastating work in Biutiful didn't go unrewarded (even if it came at the expense of Ryan Gosling). Jesse Eisenberg and James Franco are on hand to represent the younger Hollywood generation with a pair of outstanding performances -- in The Social Network and 127 Hours respectively -- that paint vivid portraits of human nature and the consequences of our failure to connect with others (or the pleasures of our succeeding to do so). And of course, coming off his long-time-coming victory last year, Jeff Bridges is back in vogue for an unforgettable and highly enjoyable scenery-chewing outing in True Grit.

It's a scene-stealer to be sure, but not an Oscar-stealer. Having won nearly every critics award, the Golden Globe, the Critics' Choice, and soon the SAG, I'll be shocked if anyone other than Colin Firth wins it.

Will win: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Runner-up: Jeff Bridges, True Grit

Should win: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Should have been nominated: Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine

My Award nominations: Actor

Crowded field, as always. Wish I could include more. My five Best Actor picks are:

GEORGE CLOONEY in The American:
George Clooney is at his understated best playing the most professional of professional killers with a non-fussy attitude and an excellent sense of dramatic timing. The film's quiet, observational style is the perfect stage for the subtlety and detail of Clooney's performance. He doesn't need much dialogue; his face does all the talking.

AARON ECKHART in Rabbit Hole:
Nicole Kidman is getting most of the press for her terrific performance in Rabbit Hole, but Aaron Eckhart is equally brilliant, playing a character who staunchly clings to every memory of his son in order to subdue a bitter rage that simmers just beneath a stoic front. Watching him finally lash out is painful but entirely understandable.

JESSE EISENBERG in The Social Network:
Eisenberg gives a highly mannered yet nuanced performance as Zuckerberg, or rather, a quasi-alternate-universe projection of Zuckerberg. He doesn't try to do an imitation, but carves out a unique and complicated social outsider who seems to suffer from both an inferiority and superiority complex all at once, wanting to belong, but on his own.

JAMES FRANCO in 127 Hours:
He’s the film's biggest asset, holding all 90 minutes of the movie almost entirely by himself, bringing not only a lot of energy and charisma, but also the restraint and tact to evoke his character's arc from blissful ignorance to his moment of epiphany. What I’ll ultimately remember 127 Hours as is a gripping performance piece from a skilled actor.

RYAN GOSLING in Blue Valentine:
A wholly realized, lived-in performance that cuts close to the bone. Gosling turns himself inside out for Derek Cianfrance's devastating marital drama, embodying all the love, anger, fear, compassion, and regret that goes hand-in-hand with marriage all at once, but in different proportion and focus depending on the progression of his character.

Just missed: Javier Bardem in Biutiful, Jeff Bridges in True Grit, Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception, Robert Duvall in Get Low, Colin Firth in The King's Speech

Review - 127 Hours

Much ado has been made of Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, the cinematic retelling of a decidedly uncinematic true story; the one of thrill-seeker Aaron Ralston, who, in 2003, became trapped in a canyon in Utah and was forced to amputate his own arm after 127 grueling hours.

In Boyle’s version, Ralston (terrifically played by James Franco) first experiences hallucinations and eventually moments of epiphany during his harrowing 6-day ordeal. Through his script (co-written by Simon Beaufoy), Boyle makes his movie about more than just what happened to a man, but about the importance of not shunning society. It’s only through his arduous week-long isolation that Ralston realizes he’s been isolated longer than he knew.

My thoughts are split pretty much straight down the middle on this film, so I’m going to organize them into a paragraph on what I loved about it, and a paragraph on what I really didn’t love about it.

What I loved: Kudos to Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, and producer Christian Colson (all of them Oscar winners for Slumdog Millionaire you’ll recall) for having the brass balls to try and put a story like this on the big screen. The entertainment industry is woefully deficient in filmmakers who are willing to take risks, push boundaries, and challenge themselves. I have nothing but respect and amazement for them having delivered something inventive and original. But the film’s biggest ace is star James Franco, who holds all 90 minutes of the movie almost entirely by himself. What I’ll ultimately remember 127 Hours as is a gripping performance piece from a skilled actor. I also sing the praises of Boyle’s audio team for assembling a slick sound design.

What I didn’t love: This is every inch a Danny Boyle film. That’s not a knock against the auteur’s style, but I’ll explain. All of the stylistics of his previous work is there: split screens, frenetic editing, creative camera work, thumping music… which all worked swell for the likes of Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, or Slumdog Millionaire. But for what is essentially a one-man show set within a crack in a rock, that aesthetic just didn’t fit. I didn’t feel the isolation and claustrophobia of Ralston’s situation because the distractions of Boyle’s approach kept removing me from the experience. I daresay the music and the editing ended up getting on my nerves.

The brilliance of Franco’s performance and the ambition of Boyle as a director are worthy of four stars, but the fact that I didn’t really feel any closer to understanding Ralston’s character bumps 127 Hours down to a respectable miss.

But I doubt it'll miss with Oscar. Nominations for Picture, Director, Actor, and Editing are pretty much assured, with likely nods for Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Original Score, and possibly Original Song and Adapted Screenplay coming as well.

*** out of ****

Franco and Hathaway to host Oscars

I held off on commenting about this until I knew they were more than just rumours, but it turns out that Nikke Finke's scoop has been confirmed by Entertainment Weekly.

The selection of Anne Hathaway doesn't surprise me so much. She did seem a natural fit onstage with Hugh Jackman during his opening number for the 2009 show, and she's clearly a charming and beloved young member of the industry. That sits quite well with me (for now).

It's James Franco that's had a lot of people scratching their heads. I don't believe a nominee has ever hosted the show in my lifetime, but more perplexing than that is that Franco just doesn't seem like a host personality. Maybe he's a natural and I just don't know it yet. His involvement in this year's telecast also raises the question of how it will affect his Best Actor campaign. Will it earn him additional goodwill and respect? Will it overburden him with more obligations and preparation time on top of working the circuit and promoting 127 Hours? Interesting...

At any rate, I'm pleased to see AMPAS taking a chance on an unconventional choice. Last year's "perfect-on-paper" teaming of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin fell flat on its face. Perhaps this unlikely duo will be a much-needed shot in the arm.