2012 Screen Actors Guild Nominations

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John Hawkes in The Sessions courtesy
of collider.com

Didn't get the chance to post this the other day. Here are the nominees (in the movie categories), plus my thoughts at the end.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Denzel Washington, Flight

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible


Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

My Thoughts

• No nomination for Joaquin Phoenix is tough to swallow
• Nice recognition for Bardem; not often a Bond villain gets any awards praise
• No ensemble nomination for Zero Dark Thirty may mean more than you think in the long run
• What these nominations do is solidify about two or three nominees in each category and highlight the battles for the last spots. Right now, bet the house on:
• Day-Lewis & Cooper for Best Actor (I think Hawkes is a good bet, too)
• Chastain & Lawrence for Best Actress (Cotillard is a good bet here, too)
• Jones & De Niro for Best Supporting Actor (I used to think Hoffman & Arkin were good bets - now I'm not so sure)
• Hathaway, Field, & Hunt for Best Supporting Actress (Smith is gaining ground here quickly)

The Onion AV Club's Best FIlms of 2012

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Scene from The Queen of Versailles
courtesy of realscreen.com

For the list with extra info, click here. My thoughts after the list.

20. I Wish
19. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
18. Miss Bala
17. Killer Joe
16. The Queen of Versailles
15. Only the Young
14. Lincoln
13. Life of Pi
12. Looper
11. The Cabin in the Woods
10. Wuthering Heights
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. It's Such a Beautiful Day
7. Amour
6. The Loneliest Planet
5. The Deep Blue Sea
4. Holy Motors
3. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Zero Dark Thirty
1. The Master

My Thoughts

• Again, The Master and Zero Dark Thirty go 1, 2. Critics don't vote for the Oscars, though.
• I will admit that I haven't even heard of four of these movies. Always count of the AV Club to throw a wrench into the end year lists.
• For a while, Rachel Weisz's performance in The Deep Blue Sea was an Oscar frontrunner. That's come and gone.
• I'm hoping all the year end love for Looper gets it into the Original Screenplay list.

My Final 2013 Oscar Nomination Predictions

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scene from Lincoln courtesy of
screenrant.com

Well, the final balloting is being submitted this week by the Academy members to determine who are deemed this year "Oscar nominees." So, in keeping with the same time table, I'm finalizing my predictions in this post. All my research and my attempt to stay as close to the race as I could have brought me here. There can be anywhere from five to ten nominees for Best Picture - I settled on eight. The bigger awards are at the top, followed by the rest after the cut. If my count is correct, Lincoln is my prediction for the most nominations with 12. Any disagreements? Post away - always nice to hear from anyone and discuss the awards season.

Best Picture
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty
Argo
Silver Linings Playbook
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Moonrise Kingdom
Amour

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Denzel Washington, Flight
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Best Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Emannuelle Riva, Amour

Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Alan Arkin, Argo
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Best Supporting Actress
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Amy Adams, The Master

Ben Affleck directing Argo courtesy of
collider.com

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Ben Affleck, Argo
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Michael Haneke, Amour

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
Michael Haneke, Amour
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Adapted Screenplay
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
Chris Terrio, Argo
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
David Magee, Life of Pi
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Best Editing
William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty
Fred Raskin, Django Unchained
Michael Kahn, Lincoln
Tim Squyers, Life of Pi
Melanie Oliver & Chris Dickens, Les Miserables

Best Cinematography
Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty
Cloudio Miranda, Life of Pi
Roger Deakins, Skyfall
Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln
Frank Griebe & John Toll, Cloud Atlas

Best Production Design (formerly Art Direction)
Lincoln
Life of Pi
The Master
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables

Best Sound Mixing
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
Django Unchained
Skyfall
Argo

Best Sound Editing
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
Argo
Skyfall
The Avengers

Best Costume Design
Lincoln
Les Miserables
Django Unchained
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit

Best Original Score
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Argo
Cloud Atlas
Lincoln
Anna Karenina

scene from Amour courtesy of
guardian.co.uk

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria)
The Intouchables (France)
No (Chile)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
Barbara (Germany) not on the short list; wasn't thinking
War Witch (Canada)

Best Documentary Feature
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
Searching for Sugarman
The Invisible War
This is not a Film

Best Animated Feature
Frankenweenie
Brave
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck it Ralph
Paranorman

Best Visual Effects
Life of Pi
The Hobbit
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Avengers

Best Makeup
Lincoln
Les Miserables
The Hobbit

Best Song
"Suddenly" (Hugh Jackman, from Les Miserables)
"Skyfall" (Adele, from Skyfall)
"Learn Me Right" (Birdy/Mumford & Sons, from Brave)
"Touch The Sky" (Julie Folis, from Brave)
"From Here to the Moon and Back" (Dolly Parton, from Joyful Noise)

Best Live Action Short
Curfew
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
A Fábrica (The Factory)
The Night Shift Belongs to the Stars
when you find me

Best Animated Short
Adam and Dog
Combustible
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare
Paperman
Tram

Best Documentary Short
The Education of Mohammad Hussein
Inocente
Kings Point
Open Heart
Redemption

Spirit Award Nominations 2013 | Independent Spirit Award Nominations

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The 2013 Independent Spirit Award Nominations are as follows:


Best Feature
Beasts of the Southern Wild- Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn
Bernie - Producers: Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams
Keep the Lights On - Producers: Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs
Moonrise Kingdom - Producers: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin
Silver Linings Playbook -- Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

Best Director
Wes Anderson - Moonrise Kingdom
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Julia Loktev- The Loneliest Planet
Ira Sachs -- Keep the Lights On
Benh Zeitlin -- Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Screenplay
Wes Anderson - Moonrise Kingdom
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs -- Keep the Lights On
Zoe Kazan -- Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh - Seven Psychopaths

Best First Feature
Fill the Void -- Director: Rama Burshtein; Producer: Assaf Amir
Gimme the Loot -- Director: Adam Leon; Producers: Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington
Safety Not Guaranteed -- Director: Colin Trevorrow; Producer: Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow, MarcTurtletaub
Sound of My Voice -- Director: Zal Batmanglij; Producers: Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin
The Perks of Being a Wallfower -- Director: Stephen Chbosky; Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

Best First Screenplay
Rama Burshtein - Fill the Void  Derek Connolly -- Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford -- Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones and Will McCormack -- Celeste and Jesse Forever    
Jonathan Lisecki -- Gayby

John Cassavetes Award (given to best picture made for under $500K)
Breakfast with Curtis -- Writer/Director/Producer: Laura Colella
Middle of Nowhere -- Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay; Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes
Mosquita y Mari -- Writer/Director:  Aurora Guerrero; Producer: Chad Burris
Starlet -- Writer/Director: Sean Baker; Producers: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, FrancescaSilvestri
The Color Wheel -- Writer/Director/Producer: Alex Ross Perry; Writer: Carlen Altman Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

Best Female Lead
Linda Cardinelli - Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi- Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane Wallis -- Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead -- Smashed

Best Male Lead
Jack Black- Bernie
Bradley Cooper- Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes- The Sessions
Matthew McConaughey -- Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce -- Four
Thure Lindhardt -- Keep the Lights On

Best Supporting Female
Rosemarie DeWitt -- Your Sister's Sister
Ann Dowd -- Compliance
Helen Hunt -- The Sessions
Brit Marling -- Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussant -- Middle of Nowhere

Best Supporting Male
Matthew McConaughey -- Magic Mike
David Oyelowo -- Middle of Nowhere
Michael Pena -- End of Watch
Sam Rockwell -- Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis -- Moonrise Kingdom

Best Cinematography
Yoni Brook -- Valley of Saints
Lol Crawley -- Here
Ben Richardson -- Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov -- End of Watch
Robert Yeoman -- Moonrise Kingdom

Best Documentary
How to Survive a Plague -- Director: David France; Producers: David France, Howard Gertler
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present -- Director: Matthew Akers; Producers: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre
The Central Park Five -- Directors/Producers: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
The Invisible War -- Director: Kirby Dick; Producers: Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering
The Waiting Room -- Director/Producer: Peter Nicks; Producers: Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch

Best International Film
Amour -- Director: Michael Haneke
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia -- Director:  Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust and Bone -- Director: Jacques Audiard
Sister -- Director: Ursula Meier
War Witch -- Director: Kim Nguyen

Piaget Producers Award
Nobody Walks -- Producer: Alicia Van Couvering
Prince Avalanche -- Producer: Derrick Tseng
Stones in the Sun -- Producer: Mynette Louie
Someone to Watch Award
Pincus -- Director: David Fenster
Gimme the Loot -- Director: Adam Leon
Electrick Children -- Director: Rebecca Thomas

Truer Than Fiction Award
Leviathan -- Directors: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
The Waiting Room -- Director: Peter Nicks
Only the Young -- Directors: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims
Robert Altman Award
Starlet -- Director: Sean Baker; Casting Director: Julia Kim; Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

Top 10 Music videos from the 80's

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You may have gathered that the Islander is a budding sports journalist and comic book connoisseur. Apart from that, I have a fetish for old school music. So I thought I would share my top 10 1980s music videos with you kind folks. Enjoy!!!10. "Safety Dance" - Men without hats (1983)9. "Need you tonight" - INXS (1987)8."What a feeling" - Irene Cara (1983)7. "Take on me" A-Ha (1985)6. "I wanna dance with somebody" - Whitney Houston (1987)5. "Relax, Don't do it" - Frankie goes to Hollywood (1983)4. "Wild boys" - Duran Duran (1984)3. "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson (1983)2. "Never gonna give you up" - Rick Astley (1987)1. "Thriller" - Michael Jackson (1983)

2012 Chicago Film Critics Nominations

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Scene from The Impossible, courtesy
of redcarpetcrash.com

Below are the nominees - my thoughts after the full list.

BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Lincoln
The Master
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible



BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Emily Blunt, Looper
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino
Looper by Rian Johnson
The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty by Mark Boal

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo by Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
Lincoln by Tony Kushner
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
Holy Motors
The Intouchables
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Rust & Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
The Queen of Versailles
Searching For Sugar Man
West of Memphis

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Secret World of Arrietty
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi
Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln
Mihai Milaimare Jr., The Master
Roger Deakins, Skyfall
Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, Argo
Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Jonny Greenwood, The Master
Alexandre Desplat, Moonrise Kingdom
Alexandre Desplat, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ART DIRECTION
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom

BEST EDITING
Willian Goldenberg, Argo
Alexander Berner & Claus Wehlisch, Cloud Atlas
Leslie Jones & Peter McNulty, The Master
Stuart Baird, Skyfall
William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Samantha Barks, Les Miserables
Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tom Holland, The Impossible
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods
Nicholas Jarecki, Arbitrage
Colin Trevorrow, Safety Not Guaranteed
Benz Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

My Thoughts

• This is the first time I've seen Once Upon a Time in Anatolia in the foreign film category. It's a shame - it's a great film.
• Interesting to see Dench nominated for Skyfall, but not Javier Bardem.
• I'm really fascinated by Holy Motors. It's a critical darling, but I doubt a guild will ever recognize it, specifically Levant's performance.
• Same goes for The Master, which guilds don't seem to care about.
• He doesn't get in here, but I don't think there's a chance Bradley Cooper isn't up for best actor.
• Naomi Watts is making a pretty solid push in best actress. Golden Globe nomination and a few more of these, she may be in.

2012 Kansas City Film Critic Winners

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courtesy of timeinc.net

Here they are - my thoughts after the list.

Best Film
The Master

Robert Altman Award for Best Director
Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Best Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln


Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Best Supporting Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio, Argo

Best Original Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria/France)

Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film
The Cabin in the Woods

Best Animated Film
Frankenweenie

Best Documentary
The Imposter

My Thoughts

• Some jumps for The Master, which is on the fence right now for a nomination
• Has there ever been a surer bet than Daniel Day-Lewis, at this point?
• Again, animated film is going to be a highly contested race