Summer catch-up

Just reserving this space to comment on a few spring/summer flicks I never got around to writing up proper. It's not like I have anything better to do until the awards movies start creeping out of their fall festival hidey holes.

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

One Category at a Time: Visual Effects

After having the same five films listed in my predictions for months, I switched out Transformers at the last second for Pirates. As a result, I ended up with a lame 3/5 accuracy as not only did Transformers manage to stem the tide, but The Tree of Life was shut out of the race in favour of the unforeseeable Real Steel. It's very disappointing to see the effects branch opt for more glossy mo-cap CG as opposed to the awe-inspiring combo of organic effects and digital dinos, but it's all a moot point.

One Category at a Time: Sound Mixing

After an off year which only saw two nominees score duel Sound nominations, it was back to business as usual this year with four overlapping between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. They obviously don't call it Best Sound Mixing for mixing it up. It may seem a tad redundant after yesterday's rundown of similar Sound Editing nominees, but let's have a look at the playing field anyway.

One Category at a Time: Sound Editing

Some odd inclusions and exclusions in Sound Editing this year, in which I only correctly anticipated two of the five nominees. Pretty dismal performance on my part, but with such high-profile snubs, perhaps that's understandable. Among the slighted films are Super 8, which dominated the guild announcements with three nods from the MPSE. No room was made for animated efforts Tintin or Rango either. Ditto Mission: Impossible. But enough of that griping; let's examine those that did make the cut

CAS nominees

The Cinema Audio Society nominees for 2011 are:

Hanna (Roland Winke, Christopher Scarabosio, Craig Berkey, Andrew Dudman)
Hugo (John Midgley, Tom Fleischman, Simon Rhodes)
Moneyball (Ed Novick, Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco, Brad Haenel)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Lee Orloff, Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes, Alan Meyerson)
Super 8 (Mark Ulano, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Dan Wallin)

We can usually count on the CAS to throw a curveball into the Best Sound Mixing race. Last year, they nominated Shutter Island when no one was looking, correlative to this year's surprise nominations for Moneyball and Joe Wright's Hanna.

Transformers shafted by CAS. Bumblebee doesn't like the sound of that.

But the surprise inclusions aren't nearly as informative as the surprise snubs. Transformers' unjustifiable omission is a discouraging sign. Last year, the guild prompted minor outrage by ignoring TRON Legacy's sensational mix, a film which then proceeded to be blanked by the Academy (although it did pop up in Sound Editing).
It may be that Transformers is on the bubble here more than I would have imagined.

Instead, the critically trashed blockbuster they decided to go with was the fourth Pirates installment, which gives me an uneasy vibe. Something's been tickling my mind these last couple of weeks that Pirates might end up with an unexpectedly strong showing in the Sound/Sound/Effects categories. It already feels like a threat to swipe a vfx nomination, and this mention for its sound only scaffolds its hopes. The Motion Picture Sound Editors announce their nominees tomorrow, perhaps lending some clarity to this murky situation.

My Awards nominations: Sound Mixing

My nominations for the best Sound Mixing of 2011 go to:

Drive (Robert Eber, Robert Fernandez, Dave Paterson):

The squeeling rubber and breaking glass of the action scenes are well handled, but its the suspenseful moments of silence, with only Cliff Martinez's tonal score boring through, that really get me. Oh, and the opening scene = perfect.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
(Peter J. Devlin, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers):

Employing a sophisticated 7.1 surround-sound canvas, they somehow manage to lend sonic cognizance to Bay's visual cacophony with astonishing clarity and formidable bombast, KA-BAYs and all.

The Tree of Life
(Craig Berkey, Kirk Francis, Jeremy Peirson, John Pritchett, Christopher Scarabosio):

The extended creation sequence is the most obvious showcase of the sound in this film, but I also like how the voice-over narrations were blended in to yield an ethereal sonic quality that felt both natural and graceful.

War Horse (Tom Johnson, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Stuart Wilson):

They may have amplified the music a tad beyond what was needed, but their handling of the battle and action segments more than compensates, immersing us in a variety of distinct sounds all in their right place.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (Paul Davies, Robert Farr, Ken Ishii):

Surely the film's most under-appreciated aspect, this ingenious sound mix is as essential to creating Eva's messy memories as the photography or editing. Sound takes on narrative meaning, becoming a device of foreshadowing and flashback before we even know it.

Just missed: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hanna, Harry Potter,
Hell and Back Again, MI4, Tintin

My Awards nominations: Visual Effects

The effects sorcerers were hard at work this year, but aren't they always? Given that effects movies are the only ones studios feel any confidence in producing, there is naturally lots too choose from, but only five could crack my Visual Effects ballot:

Anonymous
(Marc Weigert, Volker Engel, Gerd Nefzer, Greg Strasz):

Here's something novel: A Roland Emmerich movie whose effects are subtle! The recreation of 15th century London is so seamless that in many shots you can't even tell it's an effect.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
(Tim Burke, John Richardson, Ferran Domenech, Greg Powell):

As always, the wizarding universe is sensationally evoked by more of Tim Burke's marvelous effects, with extra shiny pyrotechnics for this final action-packed installment.


Rise of the Planet of the Apes
(Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Tony Lazarowich, Daniel Barrett):

The photorealistic motion capture magic of Weta Digital's cinematic sorcerers is completely convincing, giving more breadth to the performances and allowing us to fully sympathize with the CG apes.


Transformers: Dark of the Moon
(Scott Farrar, John Frazier, Scott Benza, Kenny Bates):

As can only be expected of the series, the story is imbecilic, the effects top notch. Bonus points for that uber cool wing-suit sequence. Stunts with minimal CG embellishment are totally the way to go!


The Tree of Life
(Dan Glass, Michael L. Fink, Brian Friedman, Tom Debenham):

The arresting non-CG depiction of the universe's cosmic origins are hypnotic and awe-inspiring. The subsequent evolution of life on earth is handled in beautifully naturalistic ways.


Just missed: Captain America, Hugo, MI4, Tintin

VES nominees

Of the potential Oscar contenders, Harry Potter and Transformers lead the field with five nominations a piece, but the actual leader is Tintin with six, which was left of the Academy's shortlist. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is close behind with four.

There's a conspicuous absence of The Tree of Life, which I thought should have won the Supporting Visual Effects category by a country mile, but alas. I guess Hugo will win that one. Like I said when the Academy released there slate of ten finalists, Pirates feels like a very real spoiler threat, despite eking only one nod from the guild.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature
Captain America: The First Avenger
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Rise of the Planet of the Apes Should win / Will win
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Anonymous Should win
Hugo Will win
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Source Code
War Horse

My Awards nominations: Sound Editing

The most impressive Sound Editing of 2011 could be heard in:

The Adventures of Tintin (Brent Burge, Chris Ward, David Whitehead):

The deep groans of ships at sea, the resonance of voice-shattered glass, bullets and bazookas and tanks... oh my!

Drive (Lon Bender):

The drive sequences are mesmerizing in their sonic detail, but moments of relative silence are just as tense.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Richard Hymns):

The WHAPs and THWAPS of bone-crunching fisticuffs, the sonic boom of airborne missiles, and all those awesome gadgets and gizmos...

Thor (Michael Babcock, Richard King):

The electrifying pounding of Thor's hammer, the creaks and cracks of the icy frost giants, the threatening machinations of The Destroyer...

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn):

Tinny robot voices, those distinctively organometalic sound effects, and of course, explosions gallore... KA-BAY!!!

War Horse (Richard Hymns, Gary Rydstrom):

As they did on Saving Private Ryan, the piercing staccato of machine gun fire, the shattering bombast of artillery shells, but also the thunderous rumble of hooves.

Just missed: Thor, Hugo, Super 8, The Tree of Life

Review - Transformers: Dark of the Moon

KA-BAY!!! I awoke with a start last night to what sounded like an artillery shell going off outside my bedroom window. “It's the Keiser!” was my immediate reaction. “He's come back to finish the job!” But after ten minutes of cowering, I emerged from beneath my box-spring to find my room, my house, and the surrounding property quite intact. KA-BAY!!! There it was again. I followed the curious sound to the end of the street, across the highway, past seven city blocks, finally tracing it to my nearest multiplex, where I discovered to source of the offending noises. “It's Michael Bay!” I cried. “He's come back to finish the job!”

Sunday Top Ten: Movie vehicles I wish I owned

What I hope to get out of this Sunday Top Ten series (which officially starts today – right now, in fact!) is a collection of lists that reflect a bit about me. Needless to say, all the opinions on this blog are my own personal ones, so don't be expecting any thoroughly researched expert analysis. For instance, dork that I am, I would ill qualified to write about the ten “coolest” movie vehicles of all time. But ten movie vehicles I myself would love to own, that's something I can write about. So why not make that the inaugural countdown:

One Category at a Time: Best Sound Mixing

Something the Sound branch has often showed us in recent years is that it has no problem lining up the Best Picture frontrunners for Best Sound Mixing. The Best Picture winner has been nominated here four years running, so you might do well to pick and choose titles from your pool of predicted Best Picture nominees as potential Sound Mixing contenders.

To that end, I'm making a somewhat experimental prediction for The Tree of Life, mixed by Jeremy Pierson, Christopher Scarabosio, and Craig Berkey. Call this a hunch, but there always seems to be a critically respected film whose sound design does not stand out as an obvious nominee in this field.

I'm also gonna make another outlandish guess for an not-so-obvious contender, David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I don't know if this is exactly an Oscar movie, but his last two films (Benjamin Button and The Social Network) have earned nominations for Sound Mixing despite mixes that are comparatively subtle and don't draw much attention to themselves.

Conversely, there always seems to be a critically detested film whose sound design is the most obvious of nominees in this field. That could be any number of summer blockbusters this year, but I'm going with Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Fourteen-time nominee Greg P. Russell is at the mixing board once again, and despite working on projects that are seldom Academy-friendly, his peers in the Sound branch always seem to recognize the quality of his work.

Getting back to the Best Picture contenders with possible appeal to the Sound branch, it's hard to argue with War Horse. War movies are a reasonable bet for all the combat sounds they incorporate, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Spielberg enlist his Oscar-winning sound team from Saving Private Ryan, who are sure to do a bang-up job.

And what of the critically favoured summer actioner? There's always at least one, and it'll probably be the token blockbuster Best Picture nominee. I'm going with Super 8 (assuming it ends up being critically favoured). J.J. Abrams has proven that he can direct the soundtrack of loud sci-fi action very capably, and the film's trailer seems to boast plenty of it.

Predicted five:
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Also consider: The Adventures of Tintin, Captain America, Cowboys and Aliens, The Green Lantern, Thor (Damn, there are a lot of superhero movies this summer! Won't Hollywood run out at some point?)