87th Academy Awards: Best Director

Oscars 2015: Best Director

Next on this dedicated Oscar blog is the "Best Director" category, which this year primarily consists of  rather "indie" filmmakers such as Richard Linklater, famous for films such as Dazed and Confused, A Scanner Darkly, and, of course, School of Rock, and Wes Anderson, responsible for The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Once again, Boyhood is tipped by the bookies to win in for this category, meaning Richard Linklater will be walking home with the Oscar, and for the first time in this blog, I agree with them, although I do have a soft spot for for Mr. Anderson as The Grand Budapest Hotel is a quite brilliant and bonkers movie. In terms of those who may have been overlooked, Christopher Nolan for Interstellar, which I personally thought was brilliant, and Jonathan Glazer for Under the Skin. The nominations are:

Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Bennett Miller - Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum - The Imitation Game

Next... Best Supporting Actor

87th Academy Awards: Best Actress

Oscars 2015: Best Actress

And now on to the "Best Actress" category which this year features actresses who may have shown off their acting skills in films that might have just slipped under the radar of the average cinema goer. A prime example is Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night, which I admit to not having seen until I began writing this blog and thus decided to catch up with. In terms of bookies favourite, Julianne Moore is tipped to win for her performance as Dr. Alice Howland in Still Alice, even though she equally could have been nominated for her freakish performance in David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars which also came out last year. 'Tis was a good year for Ms. Moore. On the subject of freakish, my own nod goes to Rosamund Pike for her portrayal of Amazing Amy in Gone Girl which (without spoilers) was spine-tingling. I'm not too sure Neil Patrick Harris will want to see her again at the Oscars. For the overlooked category, Essie Davis in last year's brilliant The Babadook, who sadly, hasn't had a sniff in this year's main ceremonies anywhere. But you know, whether if its in a word, or if its' in a book, you can't get rid of the Babadook. Here are the nominations:

Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild


Next... Best Director

87th Academy Awards: Best Actor

Oscars 2015: Best Actor

Second on this Oscar blog, is the Best Actor category, which features some brilliant performances, particularly from the two British representatives, Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne (Or benedict XCuebrvatch and Eddie Redmaybe, as the Guardian call them*) portraying the iconic Alan Turing and Stephen Hawking respectively. In terms of bookies favourite, Michael Keaton is top of the list for this years gong, for his portrayal of Riggan Thompson in Birdman. In terms of my own particular choice, it's hard to shy away from Eddie Redmayne, whose transformative performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything is just a wonder to behold, and after winning the Golden Globe, where for the last three years the winner has gone on to win the Oscar, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him lift the golden guy next month. In the category of "overlooked", is Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel, Brendan Gleeson in Calvary, and unbelievably Jake Gyllenhaal, for both Enemy and Nightcrawler. Don't worry Jake, I thing you're fab. Anyway, we have:

Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game

Bradley Cooper - American Sniper

Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Michael Keaton - Birdman

Steve Carell - Foxcatcher

Next... Best Actress

* https://twitter.com/wittertainment/status/555723125498056704

Film Review: American Sniper

Born In The USA

Now that the Oscar nominations have been let loose on the world, it is time for me to catch up on all the films that I haven't seen which have been nominated for 'Best Picture'. Beginning my journey, albeit a very small one with only three films needing to be watched, is American Sniper, the new movie directed by The Man With No Name, starring Bradley Cooper, last heard as a gun-toting raccoon in last years' wonderful Guardians of the Galaxy. Shall we begin?

American Sniper focuses on the life of Chris Kyle, the "deadliest marksman in US military history", who during his time as a Navy Seal, racked up 255 kills. 160 of which were confirmed, whilst attempting to highlight the effects war can have on soldiers, both in a wartime environment and a 'normal' one. The word, "attempting", is probably the key fulcrum on which this review is based as the movie fails to paint a picture of how horrific war actually is, and instead, relies too many times on scenes that go full-on Call of Duty, with Black Hawk Down being the obvious inspiration, which in my mind, is something I have seen too many times before. 

In terms of the good, Bradley Cooper does a solid job portraying Kyle, whilst Sienna Miller, who subsequently has seemingly reappeared out of nowhere in American Sniper and Foxcatcher, does an equally as good job playing the role of the estranged wife who is caught between Kyle's love for her and his love for war. Aside from the two Kyles, the rest of the film is seemingly enriched with 2-D characters who come and go in relatively forgettable fashion, whilst the contrast between Kyle and the enemy sniper is rather poorly done and should have had more depth in order for me to actually care for the twisted relationship between the two. The word "depth", in general, springs to mind, as their simply wasn't enough in this film to justify its' two hour plus run-time, and it seemed to drag on and not really grip me like I wished it would. 

Overall, American Sniper, is a solid, yet unspectacular, flag-waving war film that attempts to show the true horrors and effects of war yet only succeeds in falling flat on its' face. Although it has been nominated for "Best Picture" at the forthcoming Oscars, it is probably the weakest of all the films in that category and in my opinion, should easily be replaced by Foxcatcher. 

Overall Score: 6/10

87th Academy Awards: Best Picture

Oscars 2015: Best Picture

It's Award Season! Grab the coffee, get the red bull and ready the doughnuts, the annual celebrity get-together is within touching distance, and i'm rather excited. Last year's ceremony was rather splendid,  with Ellen DeGeneres keeping all of the Hollywood egos in check, supported by a wonderful raft of movies to celebrate and John Travolta introducing Adele Dazeem. This year promises to be another spectacular affair, with Neil Patrick Harris hosting and a wonderful array of films to spur on during this particular race. Within this blog I will be focusing on this year's nominations, selecting the favourite in each category, along with my personal choices and nominations that may have been overlooked. So sit down, relax, and enjoy the ride...

Best Picture

Starting off this particular blog is, ironically, where the ceremony ends; the Best Picture category, which this year includes some real gems. In terms of bookies favourite, Richard Linklater's Boyhood seems to be winning this particular race and it's hard to not understand why, with it's quite remarkable telling of one child's experience growing up over the course of 12 real-life years. It's emotional. It's brilliantly acted. What more do you want? In terms of my own personal choice, Whiplash is the film that surprised me the most out of all the nominees, with it gripping me throughout, helped particularly by a striking performance from J.K. Simmons. In regards to overlooked films, I believe Under the Skin, Calvary, and even Guardians of the Galaxy, all should have been under consideration. Instead we have these:

American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Selma
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Next... Best Actor

Film Review: Foxcatcher

Brother's Grimm

It's award season everyone! On the day I am writing this, the Golden Globes is set to descend upon us with the majestic two-hour red carpet special lying in wait along with my pot of coffee and sugar-filled lemonade. Cheers time zones. Of the films listed in the "Best Films" category, Foxcatcher, Selma, and The Theory of Everything, are the only ones I hadn't seen when the nominations were announced so I decided to catch up when they were released in UK cinemas, starting with Foxcatcher. Foxcatcher brings to life the true story of Jon Du Pont, played by Steve Carell, and his efforts in hiring the Olympic wrestling champions Mark and Dave Schultz, played by Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo respectively, to train under the "Foxcatcher" estate and ready a team for the 1988 Olympics. Although, from this short synopsis anyway, Foxcatcher seems to be primarily a sports film, the reality is that Foxcatcher is a different monster entirely. 

 When I first watched the trailer to Foxcatcher, I was astonished at the transformation of Carell, whose unrecognisable performance as Du Pont is undeniably the best feature of the film, with his character's eerie presence and ambiguous nature symbolising the tone I felt the film was trying to convey throughout its' two hour run-time. Both Carell and Tatum portray characters that are undeniably against type, and I felt this only enhanced the film's strengths, as it's dark and grim tone was unexpected, due in part to the fact that I had no previous knowledge of the events surrounding the story. 

Another strength of the film is Ruffalo's performance, who, like Carell, is nominated for a Golden Globe, yet what stuck me most about the film was it's clear emphasis on the notion of family, with themes throughout focusing on brotherhood, paternal and maternal instincts, as well as feelings of isolation, particularly in relation to Du Pont, whose Gatsby-esque wealth and fame, brings with it a sense of loneliness and despair, helped only by his unusual love for his very own Daisy Buchanan, in the form of Mark Schultz. 

Overall, Foxcatcher is a dark and twisted tale of one man's isolation which engaged me throughout. Its' grim nature and rather depressing feel may be too much for some, but in my opinion, Foxcatcher is a solid and surprising piece of cinema. Roll on the red carpet. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Whiplash

The Sound of Drums

As an avid guitar player, I vividly remember watching the amazing Steve Vai battle against Ralph Macchio during the simply superb guitar duel at the end of the 1986' film, Crossroads (No, not the Britney Spears film). Soon after watching it, I was amazed to find out that Macchio was not entirely playing the guitar during the film and instead, the music was performed by Ry Cooder, yet to me, the performance by Macchio was really happening in front of me. Aside from the guitar duel, Crossroads was pretty pants, yet the knowledge that Macchio must have had intense training regarding where to place his fingers on the fret-board, when to strum, and when to make Vai-like facial expressions still amazes me to this day. After watching Whiplash, I felt, and still feel, the exact sense of sheer wonder I did the first time I saw that guitar duel, yet unlike Crossroads, Whiplash isn't pants. In fact, it's pretty much perfect.  

The plot of the film focuses on Andre Neiman, played by Miles Teller. a 19 year-old jazz drummer, who is taken under the wing of notorious teacher Terrence Fletcher, at renowned music school, Shaffer Conservatory, in order to fulfill his dreams of becoming a legend in musical history. Much like Macchio in Crossroads, Teller is flawless in attempting to present realistic and uncanny musical performances throughout the film, and even goes one better by perfectly portraying a character who literally combines blood, sweat and tears with total dedication into his musical ability. Following him all the way is J.K. Simmons', who surely must regard this as a career best performance, with his portrayal of Fletcher characterised by one moment, being undeniably cool and calm, and then suddenly morphing into this all-swearing, larger than life, musical monster who takes no prisoners, accepts no excuses, and will literally throw chairs at you for being slightly out of time with the rest of his band. 

Aside from the two actors, another winner in this film is surely Tom Cross, whose editing within the film allows Teller's performance to propel into greatness, and it is good to see that he has been recognised by the BAFTA's for such outstanding work which surely means an Oscar nomination is set to land at his feet. Good job. Obviously the soundtrack is brilliant, with it already being on my wish-list, but what truly exceeds in this film is it's hard-hitting nature in its' attempt to show characters whose lives are not only engulfed by their passion and love for the music, but will do almost anything to keep that feeling flowing, evidenced during the very last performance within the film in which both Teller and Fletcher give a performance worthy of endless applause and shouts for just one more. 

Overall, Whiplash is a brilliant piece of cinema, packed full with spot-on performances, not only from the actors, but by editor, Tom Cross, a brilliant soundtrack, and a sense of wonder which gripped me from start to finish. Can I have an encore? 

Overall Score: 10/10