Archive | January 2015
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Into the Woods
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Production Design (Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards To paraphrase my favorite film critic, adapting Stephen Sondheim is like playing chess–so why […]
Gone Girl
Nominated for Best Actress (Rosamund Pike) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards What the heck happened to David Fincher? Is this really the same guy that created “Se7en”, “Fight Club”, “Zodiac” and “The Social Network”? That guy was an incredible talent and a top-notch film director. But the David Fincher that has bestowed “The Curious […]
Inherent Vice
Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Costume Design (Mark Bridges) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Everyone knows I ADORE the work of director Paul Thomas Anderson. “The Master”, “There Will Be Blood”, “Punch-Drunk Love”, “Magnolia”, “Boogie Nights”…all found a spot in my annual […]
The Imitation Game
Nominated for Best Picture at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch) at the 87th Academy Awards Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Director (Morten Tyldum) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Graham Moore) at the […]
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Nominated for Best Sound Editing (Brent Burge, Jason Canovas) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards It IS finally over, as I’ve been mocking for weeks. Am I being unfair to “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”? Oh, maybe a little bit. Have I been beating a dead horse with my constant deriding of […]
The Theory of Everything
Nominated for Best Picture at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Actor (Eddie Redmayne) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Actress (Felicity Jones) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Anthony McCarten) at the 87th Annual Awards Nominated for Best Original Score (Johann Johannsson) at the […]
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Nominated for Best Picture at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Director (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Actor (Michael Keaton) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Edward Norton) at the 87th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone) […]
Annie
“Annie” is not a good film. Okay? However, I state that right up front, because I do want to point out a few positive things about it. First up, the talent of Quevenzhane Wallis (the youngest Best Actress nominee in history, for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” in 2012) is no fluke. She’s charming, effervescent and […]
Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal appears to be having a blast as Lou “Nightcrawler” Bloom, and I’ll be damned if I could resist going right along with him. Jake gives an edgy, infectious performance (sort of like a combination of Hoffman’s “Rain Man” and Tony Perkins’ Norman Bates), and he gets tremendous support from an energetic Bill Paxton, […]
Still Alice
Julianne Moore apparently has her best shot ever at Oscar this year, and I’d really like to see her win. That being said, I hate it, when the Academy uses its statues as a “career achievement” award, instead of honoring the actual best performance of the year. But I appease my misgivings with the fact that […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 