Ten Memorable Images – January, February, March 2013

(All films release in the UK in January, February, March 2013)

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Future Classic Movies?

I spent a large proportion of the past Bank Holiday Monday listening to a BBC Radio2 poll ranking their Top 100 Favourite Albums. Basically what they did was take their Top 100 Most Played Albums (limited to one per artist) and asked listeners to rank them. The results were often surprising with a top five consisting of:

1. Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head
2. Keane – Hopes & Fears
3. Duran Duran – Rio
4. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (the only one a lot of people expected)
5. Dido – No Angel

Ahead of what a lot of people expected including in the top five:

The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Queen – A Night At The Opera
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Led Zeppelin – Untitled fourth album

One of my thoughts were that different records live longer in the mind and memory, and possibly the heart than others. For example, I bought No Angel when it first came out (before the Eminem sample made it a hit), I listened to it a lot but haven’t listened to it in about five years. I first heard Rumours and Zeppelin’s fourth album when I was a kid and still listen to them all the time and see no reason why I won’t continue to for the foreseeable future. The conclusion, if they re-do this list in fifteen or twenty years time No Angel and A Rush Of Blood To The Head may not make the top 10 or even the top 100, but Rumours, The Dark Side Of The Moon, Sgt Pepper, Born to Run, Bridge Over Troubled Water and countless other classic albums will still be there.

This got me thinking about the current and recent movies that will be heralded as classics in the future and which will be forgotten. Skyfall will be watched a lot and may prove to be the best Bond ever but will be dismissed as just another Bond movie. The Dark Knight Rises will survive as part of, one of the best movie trilogies ever, but possibly the weakest link of the trilogy. The Artist may be considered a gimmick. Stoker, Cloud Atlas, We Need to Talk About Kevin and some great foreign language movies like Amour, Rust and Bone, The Skin I live In and In the House may be too obscure for the masses. Moonrise Kingdom is going to age well as is Argo so could be up there in popular opinion. I can’t make my mind up about Drive and Black Swan but hope I love them as much in years to come as I do now after two or three viewings and hope others feel the same about them. Margin Call and Zero Dark Thirty will possibly stand as testaments to the time but possibly not a time we will want to look back on too often or very fondly.

The conclusion, there hasn’t been a 12 Angry Men, The Godfather, Goodfellas or even Star Wars in recent years, the two closest are probably The Dark Knight and Inception. I’m not saying it is a bad time for film, in fact the opposite, while, the occasional all time classics seem a little few and far between the number of really good movies being made is greater than ever. I just long for a Citizen Kane, The Searchers or Casablanca, we are about due one. Or am I being cynical and some of the movies I have mentioned will find their way to the upper reaches of the IMDB top 250?

Update:

Want to read more on the subject? Check out THIS ARTICLE that picks up the baton from where I left off.

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Best Picture Oscar Nominations

Having now seen all but one of the best picture nominations I thought it was time to take a look back at the contenders and a few of the movies that missed out.

Amour: The only nominated movie I haven’t seen yet, I hope to see it on Monday when my local cinema is showing it for one night only.
Will it win? probably not but it will most likely win the best foreign language Oscar.  
Argo: A political drama/thriller story based on real events that is tense and funny in equal measure and at the right times. Set in 1979/80 it often feels like a 70’s movie and is all the better for it, it’s a film that will age well making it a contender as a future classic.
Will it win? It certainly has momentum after its BAFTA and AFI wins. Actors form a large voting contingent and the they like to vote for their own so Ben Affleck’s presence as director could help but he has been snubbed in the Best Director category.

Beasts of the Southern Wild: The surprise indie hit of last year by first time director Benh Zeitlin. Stunningly shot fantasy that at its best may be metaphor for the environment and the way we treat it. It is however an esoteric mess of a film that while good, I fail to recognise the greatness others see in it.
Will it win? As a low budget indie movie with a tiny budget and a small gross it has the feeling of the “just glad to be nominated” film of the year.
Django Unchained: Where do I start with Quentin Tarantino’s Blaxploitation Spaghetti Western. Set against the backdrop of slavery it makes an interesting companion peace for Lincoln. Its too long and self indulgent to be a great film the violence is poetic and the dialogue sumptuous.
Will it win? The academy seems to want to keep Tarantino at arms length. The movie is more likely to pick up Oscars in acting and writing categories.
Les Misérables: I’m not a fan of musicals but largely enjoyed this one. Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne and Anne Hathaway are great, Russell Crowe is terrible. The pacing and the editing all feels off making a collection of disjointed moments rather than a coherent movie.
Will it win? When it first came out I thought it would win but it doesn’t seem to have any momentum.
Life of Pi: An amazing achievement in film making. Its based on a reportedly un-filmable novel. Large sections of the movie feature a single charter played by an unknown actor. Impossible to film without a reliance on digital effects. On top o all this Ang Lee also makes 3D work to a certain extent. On a negative, how well will it work on the small screen and how many academy voters will have seen it of DVD screeners?
Will it win? I think it’s a bit of a long shot but it is directed by an Oscar winning director.

Lincoln: I have heard mixed reviews of this movie. A lot of people have described it as long and slow, accusing it of been an average film with great performances. I found it engrossing and mesmerising. It isn’t just about Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones who are both sensational, the whole cast is fantastic with a recognisable actor in many of the supporting roles.
Will it win? A historical epic with a near certain best actor, it stands a good chance.
Silver Linings Playbook: A romantic comedy about mental illness isn’t what you expect for a pest picture nomination. Its possibly a little lightweight given the comparison to the other movies on the list but is elevated by some great performances.
Will it win? It stands a good chance, with nominations in all for acting categories, it has the support of the largest voting block.
Zero Dark Thirty: The dramatisation of the hunt for Osama bin Laden centred around one woman’s relentless. To make a gripping and story where the audience know the outcome is no easy task but Kathryn Bigelow has done it
Will it win? I think it stands a good chance. Kathryn Bigelow not receiving a best director nomination and controversy over its portrayal of torture will both work against it though.

The change in rules a couple of years ago allow for up to ten movies to be nominated in the category. Only nine were nominated, who could have taken the tenth place? Here are my top three:

Skyfall: Skyfall is my favourite movie of the year so far, I’m not sure it’s the best movie of the year, but what is best? If you enjoy something more than everything else, who is to argue its that it isn’t the best! To make a great movie within the confines of a franchise is impressive, but Sam Mendes managed to do it within THE franchise. Consisting of twenty-two movies made by ten previous directors, Bond is not a franchise or a movie series, it is an icon of cinema. But to add to the problem, it had become a joke, a pastiche of itself. To make a film within these confines and still following the conventions of the series to satisfy the fans. The great success of Skyfall is that it is rises above all the limitations that were placed on it.

The Dark Knight Rises: As much as I like Slumdog Millionaire, like every other movie from 2008, it isn’t anywhere near as good as The Dark Knight. The fact that The Dark Knight didn’t win the best picture Oscar is a travesty, it not being nominated wasn’t even a surprise. Sadly the final part of the trilogy The Dark Knight Rises didn’t get look-in either but comic boot movies simply don’t win best picture Oscars, even great ones. Had it been based on a novel by a respected author and feature a hero without a mask and cape there would be no question, it would have received a nomination.

Moonrise Kingdom: Recognised for its screenplay (where it will most likely lose out to Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained) but overlooked in other categories. It was possibly more Oscar friendly than the other two movies with a charming story and a terrific ensemble cast. The problem, Wes Anderson has long been the darling of the critics but his only Oscar nominations to date are for best screenplay written Directly for the Screen for The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) (Shared with Owen Wilson) and Best Animated Feature Film of the Year for Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).

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Looking forward to the BAFTA’s

We are a few hours away from the BAFTA awards, in advance of that here are a few thoughts on who I think will and should win:
Best Film
Zero Dark Thirty is the best film and should win, I would also be happy to see Argo win but actually think it will go to: Les Misérables
Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year
Skyfall is by far the best film in the category and is unlucky not to be in the best film category. It stands a good chance of winning but if Les Misérables doesn’t get best film, it will be in with a chance too.
Best Actor
Hugh Jackman and Ben Affleck were both great and in any other year would be worthy winners, but there is really only one contender this year: Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln (2012)
Best Actress
A really strong category, I think it will go to Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty. Best Supporting Actor
I would be happy to see any of the nominees win this one, but think Tommy Lee Jones edges it for Lincoln.
Best Supporting Actress
The shoe in for the equivalent Oscar is Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables, she stands a good chance here too, the only competitor could be Judi Dench for Skyfall.
David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction
I would chose Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty with Ben Affleck for Argo as a close second. However, I have a feeling Michael Haneke for Amour may sneak it.
Best Screenplay (Original)
Only one choice here, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola for the magical Moonrise Kingdom
Best Screenplay (Adapted)
Another strong category, I would go for David Magee for Life of Pi and think it should win, as much for the complexity of adapting the screenplay as for the final result.
Best Cinematography
It easy to forget that cinematography is about hw well shot and lit and film is not how pretty the finished result is. With this in mind it has to be a straight fight between Janusz Kaminski for Lincoln and Roger Deakins for Skyfall. My vote goes to Deakins.
Best Editing
To clarify for the people who nominated Django Unchained, this catergry is for the best editing, not the movie most in need of editing. Again I think it’s a straight fight between Skyfall (Stuart Baird) and Zero Dark Thirty (Dylan Tichenor, Billy Goldenberg). I would lean towards Zero Dark Thirty.
Best Production Design
I would like to see Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock for Skyfall as they avoided all the usual lazy clichéd pitfalls usually associated with the franchise. However the design of Anna Karenina (Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer) is both clever and stunning so will probably win.
Best Costume Design
All the nominees tick all the relevant boxes Jacqueline Durran for Anna Karenina looks like a good bet. Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
None of the nominated scores was that memorable for me.
Best Make Up/Hair
Forgoing the flash and flair of the other nominated movies, Lincoln had a believable look of the era.
Best Sound
Skyfall had the most amazing sound design , especially noticeable when seen in Imax but Les Misérables will most likely win for the original way in which the songs were recorded.
Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
All the nominated movies could put up a strong argument for this award, but Life of Pi edges it.
Best Film not in the English Language
I liked Untouchable and Headhunters but thought Rust and Bone was considerably better than both. However, I havent seen Amour (the favourite) or The Hunt so can’t accurately predict this one.
Best Animated Feature Film
I have seen two of the nominated movies. Frankenweenie was better than Brave.
Best Documentary
I have only seen two of the three nominated movies so will go with the favourite: The Imposter
EE Rising Star Award
Her Killer Joe performance is enough for me to give it to Juno Temple but wouldn’t mind seeing Andrea Riseborough or Elizabeth Olsen win as they are both brilliant in everything they do. I would like to see more of Suraj Sharma and Alicia Vikander before deciding on their future stardom
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
I would love to see Dexter Fletcher, Danny King win for the excellent but under seen Wild Bill.

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Movie of the Month: January 2013

A slow start to the year with just seven films seen. I didn’t get chance to see Lincoln but hope to catch it at the weekend so that one will roll over to February.

Quartet: A comedy about a home for retired musicians. Lightweight but fun attempt to cash in on the “grey pound”

The Impossible: Harrowing and realistic portrayal of the 2004 tsunami electrified by performances from Naomi Watts and Tom Holland.

Les Misérables: Film version of the hit musical. It has its issues but is generally enjoyable. Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne and Anne Hathaway are great, Russell Crowe is terrible.

Gangster Squad: The (very) Loosely based on real events story of gangster Mickey Cohen falls somewhere between L.A. Confidential and Dick Tracy. Not great but better than some reviews would have you think.

Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino’s Blaxploitation Spaghetti Western set against the backdrop of slavery has no connection to the original Django beyond the title and a Franco Nero cameo. As good as it is I can’t help feeling a shorter tighter version would have been better.

The Last Stand: There is one golden rule when it comes to dumb action films, they have to be fun not funny. This is something Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to have forgotten in his latter pre governor of California movies, I’m pleased to report he has rediscovered it.

Zero Dark Thirty: Its never easy to tell a story where the audience know the ending but Kathryn Bigelow has done it. To call this story of the hunt for Osama bin Laden tense and gripping would be an understatement.

No real completion, movie of the month is:

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Thoughts on the Best Director Oscar Nominations

The Oscar for Cinematography is not a beauty contest, it isn’t about how pretty a film looks, it is about how well it is lit and photographed, in the same vein, the best director Oscar doesn’t go to the best film, that’s what the best film category is for! While, the Best picture Oscar is really the sum total of all the awards, the acting, the music, the photograph, the script, the direction and all the other elements that make up a film, the best director Oscar, is based purely on the process of directing. It is worth remembering that although the winners are selected by the Academy membership as a whole, the nominations are made by the academy’s directing branch. In other words, the nominations come from the directors and their contemporaries.

This years nominations are: Michael Haneke – Amour, Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ang Lee -Life of Pi, Steven Spielberg – Lincoln David O. Russell -Silver Linings Playbook. I am yet to see Lincoln and Amour so will reserve judgment on the strength of the category but have selected five directors I would have liked to have seen nominated:

Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
Ben Affleck – Argo
Sam Mendes – Skyfall
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight Rises

Each of them has crafted a fantastic movie that would have been run of the mill in lesser hands if they even existed. All would have been worthy winners.

Should Steven Spielberg win it will put him the elite company of : William Wyler and Frank Capra with three best director Oscars and just one behind John Ford with four. Ang Lee has picked up one win and one other nomination in the category previously (Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon respectively), David O. Russell has been nominated before (The Fighter), it is Michael Haneke’s first nomination. Not only is it Benh Zeitlin’s first nomination, it is his first feature.

Whoever loses, or indeed those who weren’t nominated, it is worth remembering they are in good company, despite thirteen nominations between them Alfred Hitchcock (5), Federico Fellini (4) and Stanley Kubrick (4) didn’t win a single best director Oscar.

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BAFTA Nominations 2013

A few thoughts on the nominations. Firstly I am always a little disappointed when films are nominated before they have been released in the UK (Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained). I am surprised and disappointed that Sam Mendes/Skyfall isn’t nominated in the best film/best director categories. I didn’t expect it to get anything at the Oscars but held out hope the British Academy would recognise it. Fantastic to Marion Cotillard’s monumental performance in Rust and Bone nominated despite not being in an English language movie. Also pleased to see actor turned director Dexter Fletcher (director/writer) nominated for the debut British writer/director/producer category. A strong year for documentaries and foreign language movies. The rising star award has a heavy female bias with woman in four of the five places. Its also a strong category presenting a problem. It is awarded via a public vote, at least three of the five might get my vote.

Here is a Full list of nominees:

BEST FILM
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

LEADING ACTOR 
Ben Affleck – Argo
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

LEADING ACTRESS 
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Dame Helen Mirren – Hitchcock
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour

SUPPORTING ACTOR 
Alan Arkin – Argo
Javier Bardem – Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS 
Amy Adams – The Master
Dame Judi Dench – Skyfall
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables
Helen Hunt – The Sessions

DIRECTOR 
Ben Affleck – Argo
Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
Michael Haneke – Amour
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Amour – Michael Haneke
Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 
Argo – Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi – David Magee
Lincoln – Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook – David O Russell

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
James Bobin (director) – The Muppets
Dexter Fletcher (director/writer) and Danny King (writer) – Wild Bill
Tina Gharavi (director/writer) – I Am Nasrine
Bart Layton (director) and Dmitri Doganis (producer) – The Imposter
David Morris (director) and Jaqui Morris (director/producer) – McCullin

ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman
DOCUMENTARY
The Imposter
Marley
McCullin
Searching for Sugarman
West of Memphis

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Amour
Headhunters
The Hunt
Rust and Bone
Untouchable

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

COSTUME DESIGN 
Anna Karenina
Great Expectations
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Snow White and the Huntsman

EDITING
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

MAKE UP AND HAIR
Anna Karenina
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

SOUND
Django Unchained
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Skyfall

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel Avengers Assemble
Prometheus

SHORT ANIMATION
Here to Fall
I’m Fine Thanks
The Making of Longbird

SHORT FILM
The Curse
Good Night
Swimmer
Tumult
The Voorman Problem

RISING STAR (public vote)
Elizabeth Olsen
Andrea Riseborough
Suraj Sharma
Juno Temple
Alicia Vikander

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