My Top 10 most anticipated films of the winter

Yesterday I was able to see Denis Villeneuve's latest film Arrival. For me, Arrival had been one of my most anticipated films of the year. While I've missed a few things that I still need to catch up on from earlier in the year (Cafe Society and Finding Dory, I'm looking at you!) Arrival officially has kicked off Oscar Season for me, and I'm ready for the onslaught of films to hit theaters soon. This is my list of my top 10 anticipated films of the winter.

10. 20th Century Women (Directed by Mike Mills)

If there is one genre that time and time again proves to be my go to genre, it's the quirky indie family coming of age dramedy.  I mean some of my favorite films of the last few years (Other People, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, just to list a few.) easily fit this mold. The latest film from Mike Mills appears to fit in this general mold, at least from the trailer. Plus you throw in one of my favorite actresses Greta Gerwig (My personal Best Supporting Actress winner of 2015 for Mistress America.) and test screenings say the script is phenomenal as well. This has all the makings of a film perfectly made for my taste. 

9. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Directed by Ang Lee)

Billy Lynn would have been much higher on this list a couple weeks ago, but it premiered to really lackluster reviews and so some of my anticipation has worn off. However Ang Lee is a master and has earned my trust. The film supposedly has a satirical bent to it, even though the trailer does not play that way at all. This had a lot of buzz for going The Hobbit route of using a higher frame rate per second, but a lot of reviews have stated the problems mostly lie in the story and script itself. But Ang Lee is worth the ticket price alone, and featuring Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart and Steve Martin in supporting roles is even more of a cherry on top. 

8. Manchester by the Sea (Directed by Kenneth Lonergan)

Honestly I'm not a huge fan of this trailer. (What is that song? WHY?) However after 2011's Margaret which is one of the decade's best films well I have to sign up for Lonergan's next. The reviews out of Sundance were raves, and I'm always down to see a film starring the superior Affleck. 

7. Silence (Directed by Martin Scorsese) 

Scorsese's passion project is finally being brought to life. This would be higher, but with just about a month to release we still have no trailer, and I've tried to avoid spoilers so I have little to go on. However this will probably be fantastic so I'm excited.

6. Passengers (Directed by Morton Tyldum)

Sometimes we just need a big popcorn movie, and this looks like a fun time at the movies. Lawrence and Pratt seem like a potentially iconic pairing, and it's nice to see a big budget original film that isn't another Star Wars or Superhero film. I hope this is successful so that if we're going to continue to see these huge blockbusters well at least more of them will be original. Plus this was also Lawrence's big paycheck and it will be nice to see her continue to fight for payment equality in Hollywood. 

5. Moonlight (Directed by Barry Jenkins) 

This is the best reviewed film of the year, and in this new era of divided times it's refreshing to see a tale of a young African-american gay man growing up and trying to find his place in the world. Like I've said before I love coming of age stories, and this one with its divided three act structure of the different periods of his life seems like it might be taking the genre in a different direction. The reviews and buzz around the film is just so big it's impossible  to not be excited for it. 

4. Nocturnal Animals (Directed by Tom Ford) 

A Single Man was fantastic so I have faith in Tom Ford as a director. The material seems off the wall and unhinged and if the music from the trailer is in the film then the score should be fantastic as well. Jake has been in a lot of interesting films lately, he seems to be picking scripts really well. However Amy Adams has taken the top spot from Marisa Tomei as my favorite working actor, so I guess you can say she's the #1 selling point for me. What a trailer! 

3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Directed by David Yates)

Y'all have your thousands of Marvel films and Star Wars films, I'll take my thousands of Harry Potter films. It will be good to be back in J.K. Rowling's world.

2. Jackie (Directed by Pablo Larrain)

A Biopic is in my Top 2 most anticipated films of the season? WHAT? Yeah well, it's a genre I normally avoid if possible, but everything about this seems like it has potential to be film of the year. Supposedly this breaks biopic rules and is just a masterful film. Portman has out of this world reviews and this trailer is just killer. Plus the Kennedys are always interesting to learn more about. 

1. La La Land (Directed by Damien Chazelle) 

This has all the makings of being my film of the year. If there is one type of film I love more than the coming of age story, it is the story of the ~STAR~. In La La Land, Stone plays a woman trying to get her big break as an actress. You throw in Ryan Gosling who has already proven has great chemistry with Stone in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Both are two of my favorite actors working today and seem perfect for this material. It's also interesting to see an original musical, since we barely get those anymore and when we do they seem to kind of float on by without much impact. La La Land however is Chazelle's follow-up to Whiplash and seems to be his ticket to Oscar glory. This will more than likely snag a bunch of awards on Oscar night including Picture, Director and Actress. Plus throw in a slew of tech awards. I really cannot wait for this film. 

The films of 2016 so far...

Before Awards Season hits in full swing, an update on the year of 2016 in film so far...

All rankings are out of a possible four stars. (****)

(****)
American Honey
Hacksaw Ridge
Other People
Zootopia

(***1/2)
10 Cloverfield Lane
Don't Breathe

(***)
Eddie the Eagle
Everybody Wants Some!
Ghostbusters
Indignation
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
The Shallows
The Witch
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

(**1/2)
Bad Moms
Maggie's Plan
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Sully

(**)
Deadpool
How to be Single
King Cobra
Mascots
X-Men: Apocalypse

(*1/2)
Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Hail, Caesar!
The Jungle Book

(*)
Captain America: Civil War

(Zero Stars)
The Forest
Swiss Army Man

Oscar Predictions - Pre-Festivals!

With the upcoming series of film festivals, (Venice, TIFF, NYFF, etc.) we have almost reached the beginning of Awards Season. While some likely contenders have already been seen, the bulk of the films are unseen. This feels as good as a time as any to do my first predictions of the year!

The year began with Sundance launching a couple of early contenders as it usually does, however  The Birth of a Nation is already in a huge controversy with its Director/Writer/Star Nate Parker's 17 year old rape case coming back into the limelight. With recent developments coming to light the film will likely be too toxic for the Academy to touch. This did seem like a big bet for Picture/Director/Actor/Supporting Actor/Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay nominations at the very least, the circumstances surrounding Parker and the victim will more than likely be a cloud around the film forever. The other major film to debut in Sundance was Manchester by the Sea, which is Kenneth Lonergan's follow-up to his 2011 masterpiece, Margaret. The film received rave reviews, but especially for it's acting and seems prime to take home at least one statuette.

I'll just be sticking to Picture, Director, Adapted/Original Screenplay and the acting categories for now.

Best Picture:

This category is completely up in the air at this point. In theory, Silence seems like a good bet to take home the prize, but there is still no confirmation that it is indeed coming out this year. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk also seems like a good bet, but Ang Lee has already won two directing Oscars without winning Best Picture, and I'm not sure this will be the film to get him that prize. Moonlight has good buzz and looks like it's going to be phenomenal, however that doesn't seem like a film that the Academy will embrace with its top prize. For now, I'm leaning towards Damien Chazelle's La La Land. While I wasn't as high on Whiplash as everyone else was, I did see a lot of promise and this film just looks killer so far. The Academy hasn't embraced a musical with its top prize since Chicago, but this film is about Hollywood and we know they love that. 

1. La La Land

2. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

3. Silence

4. Loving

5. Manchester by the Sea

6. Moonlight

7. Arrival

8. Fences

Best Director:

 Lately the Picture/Director split has been happening readily. And while Ang Lee has proven to be a pro with winning in splits (Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi both winning Director, but losing Picture) and with Martin Scorsese being in the mix, a split could happen again. However if La La Land is winning Picture, I see it having a hard time losing Director. Apparently I'm going all in with La La Land. 

1. Damien Chazelle, La La Land

2. Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

3. Martin Scorsese, Silence

4. Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

5. Denis Villenueve, Arrival

Best Actor:

This category is a complete disaster this year. Last year Leonardo DiCaprio steamrolled to his Oscar, but this year we don't have that contender yet. Bryan Cranston is looming in the distance with Wakefield, but without a distributor, I'm not predicting it. Denzel won a tony for this role on Broadway, but this would be his 3rd Oscar, and I really think it's going to be the Viola show. Affleck has the reviews, but the role seems outside of the Academy's usual winners in this category. Garfield and Gosling both are younger than the Academy likes in this category and both have been snubbed in the past when hitting almost all of the precursors. (The Social Network and Lars and the Real Girl.) Keaton didn't win when he starred in the Best Picture winner, so I find it hard to see him winning for this. It will be interesting to see where this goes. Without the controversy, Nate Parker probably would've won this award.  Tom Hanks got snubbed for Captain Phillips, but he's starring in a Clint Eastwood film. It will be seen, it just depends on if the role is there. 

1. Denzel Washington, Fences

2. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

3. Andrew Garfield, Silence

4. Ryan Gosling, La La Land

5. Tom Hanks, Sully

Best Actress:

Unless Fences gets pushed to 2017, Viola Davis will be winning this award. She won the Tony on Broadway, and with her narrative between finishing in 2nd in 2008 and 2011, plus she can become just the second African-American woman to win Best Actress. She's also collecting Emmys like candy, so the stars will be aligning for her unless something odd happens. It will be interesting to see who survives the battle between Amy Adams, Annette Benning, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence,  Taraji P. Henson, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt. 

1. Viola Davis, Fences

2. Emma Stone, La La Land

3. Ruth Negga, Loving

4. Amy Adams, Arrival 

5. Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actor:

Honestly if Silence doesn't come out this year, then it could be a fun category because it seems so desolate that all the awards bodies could present different nominees. However I'm assuming Silence will be out in 2016, and Liam Neeson will sweep. It's a shame that John Goodman and Alden Ehrenreich will both be looked over for their performances. Armie Hammer also would have likely been up for a nomination for The Birth of a Nation,and he is one of the few parts of the film I could see sneaking back into the conversation.

1. Liam Neeson, Silence

2. Steve Martin, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

3. Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins

4. Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea

5. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply

Best Supporting Actress:

This is shaping up to be a battle between Michelle Williams and Naomie Harris. I think this will be a tight battle until the end, but Michelle Williams would be on her 4th nomination which might be enough to put her over the edge. Aja Naomi King is the other part of The Birth of a Nation, that may make her way back into awards conversation. 

1. Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

2. Naomie Harris, Moonlight

3. Kristen Stewart, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

4. Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women 

5. Nicole Kidman, Lion

Original Screenplay:

1. Manchester by the Sea

2. Moonlight

3. La La Land

4. 20th Century Women

5. Loving

Adapted Screenplay:

1. Fences

2. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

3. Silence

4. Arrival

5. Love & Friendship

2015 Awards

Now that the Academy Awards have come and gone, it is time for me to finalize my awards of 2015 and move on to 2016. I didn't get to see everything that I wanted to see (Mainly; Creed, Son of Saul and Diary of a Teenage Girl.) Looking at the calendar we are a third of the way into 2016 so it is time to leave 2015 behind. 2015 was a fairly strong year, overall much stronger than 2014 but even still I feel like the indie output and foreign output were not as strong as in the past. So this list feels a bit Hollywood heavy, but that's the way the cookie crumbled last year.

WINNERS in BOLD

Best Picture:
Brooklyn
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Room
Spotlight

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Samuel L. Jackson, The Hateful Eight
Thomas Mann, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Ian McKellan, Mr. Holmes
Jacob Tremblay, Room

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Rooney Mara, Carol
Saorise Ronan, Brooklyn
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Supporting Actor:
Emory Cohen, Brooklyn
Benicio Del Toro, Sicario
Walton Goggins, The Hateful Eight
Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour

Best Supporting Actress:
Rose Byrne, Spy
Greta Gerwig, Mistress America
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria
Mya Taylor, Tangerine
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Best Original Screenplay:
The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
Irrational Man
Mistress America
Spotlight
Youth

Best Adapted Screenplay:
45 Years
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Room
Steve Jobs

Best Director:
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Sean Baker, Tangerine
John Crowley, Brooklyn
Todd Haynes, Carol
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

Cinematography:
Carol
The Hateful Eight
It Follows
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

Score:
Brooklyn
Carol
The Hateful Eight
It Follows
The Revenant
Sicario

Editing:
Mad Max: Fury Road
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
The Revenant
Sicario
Tangerine

Best Production Design:
Mad Max: Fury Road

Award Tally:
Brooklyn 3: (Picture, Actress, Adapted Screenplay)
Mad Max: Fury Road 3: (Director, Editing, Production Design)
The Hateful Eight 2: (Score and Supporting Actor)
Room 1: (Actor)
Cinematography 1: (The Revenant)
Spotlight 1: (Original Screenplay)
Mistress America 1: (Supporting Actress)

On the eve of nomination morning...

       

 We have arrived to the final stop of this crazy awards season. After tomorrow morning there will be no more passengers and no one can escape until the final stop, the Kodak Theater on February 28th. Like waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve, the anticipation may kill me, but I can't wait to find out who the nominees will be tomorrow morning. This year is a lot more unpredictable than past years, with Supporting Actor being a complete toss-up. All I do know is that Leonardo DiCaprio will finally pick up his Oscar this year.

Quick Thoughts:
Does the Academy get over its genre bias and nominate both Mad Max and The Martian? I think so.

Carol, Bridge of Spies, Sicario and Straight Outta Compton are battling for positions 8-12, but the Academy only guarantees 5 and a max of 10. So maybe none get in?

Does the Academy buy the category fraud for Rooney Mara, Alicia Vikander and Jacob Tremblay? Or do they perhaps all get pushed to lead and/or snubbed.


Best Picture:
(Academy can nominate between 5-10 films.)
1. Spotlight
2. The Revenant
3. The Martian
4. The Big Short
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
6. Room
7. Brooklyn
8. Bridge of Spies
9. Sicario

Best Director:
1. Inarritu - The Revenant
2. Scott - The Martian
3. Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Spielberg - Bridge of Spies
5. McCarthy - Spotlight

Best Actor:
1. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant
2. Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
3. Matt Damon - The Martian
4. Bryan Cranston - Trumbo
5. Steve Carell - The Big Short

Just Outside: Jacob Tremblay - Room, Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl

Best Actress:
1. Brie Larson - Room
2. Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn
3. Cate Blanchett - Carol
4. Jennifer Lawrence - Joy
5. Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years

Just Outside: Charlize Theron - Mad Max: Fury Road, Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies
2. Christian Bale - The Big Short
3. Sylvester Stallone - Creed
4. Jacob Tremblay - Room
5. Benicio Del Toro - Sicario

Just Outside: Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation, Michael Shannon - 99 Homes, Mark Ruffalo/Michael Keaton - Spotlight

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Rooney Mara - Carol
2. Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl
3. Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
4. Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
5. Rachel McAdams - Spotlight

Just Outside: Alicia Vikander - Ex Machina, Helen Mirren - Trumbo

Best Original Screenplay:
1. The Hateful Eight
2. Spotlight
3. Inside Out
4. Bridge of Spies
5. Ex Machina

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. Room
2. The Big Short
3. Steve Jobs
4. Carol
5. Brooklyn

Best Cinematography:
1. The Revenant
2. Carol
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Sicario
5. The Hateful Eight

Best Original Score:
1. The Hateful Eight
2. Carol
3. Bridge of Spies
4. Inside Out
5. Star Wars - The Force Awakens

Best Editing:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. The Revenant
3. Spotlight
4. The Big Short
5. The Martian