Tag: Awards

  • 90th Academy Award Nominations

    The field of 2018 Oscar nominations has been set, with winners will being announced on March 4, 2018. Jimmy Kimmel will host for a second time.

    Notable snubs across the board: Blade Runner 2049 was left out of contention for Best Picture and Best Director. Wonder Woman received no recognition at all. I am pleased to see The Shape of Water as well received as that was an incredible film. There’s a lot of good competition in the field, making predictions for several categories difficult in my opinion. My predictions/picks are in bold for each category that I feel I saw enough of the nominees to field a pick.

    Best Picture:

    “Call Me by Your Name”
    “Darkest Hour”
    “Dunkirk”
    “Get Out”
    “Lady Bird”
    “Phantom Thread”
    “The Post”
    “The Shape of Water”
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

    Lead Actor:

    Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
    Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
    Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
    Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
    Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

    Lead Actress:

    Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
    Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
    Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
    Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
    Meryl Streep, “The Post”

    Supporting Actor:

    Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
    Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
    Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
    Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
    Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

    Supporting Actress:

    Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
    Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
    Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
    Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
    Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

    Director:

    “Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
    “Get Out,” Jordan Peele
    “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
    “Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
    “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro

    Animated Feature:

    “The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
    “The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
    “Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
    “Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha
    “Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman

    Animated Short:

    “Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant
    “Garden Party,” Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon
    “Lou,” Dave Mullins, Dana Murray
    “Negative Space,” Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
    “Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer

    Adapted Screenplay:

    “Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory
    “The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
    “Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
    “Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
    “Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

    Original Screenplay (STACKED CATEGORY):

    “The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
    “Get Out,” Jordan Peele
    “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
    “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh

    Cinematography:

    “Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins
    “Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel
    “Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
    “Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
    “The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen

    Best Documentary Feature:

    “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman
    “Faces Places,” JR, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda
    “Icarus,” Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan
    “Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen
    “Strong Island,” Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes

    Best Documentary Short Subject:

    “Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright
    “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” Frank Stiefel
    “Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon
    “Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon
    “Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis, David Heilbroner

    Best Live Action Short Film:

    “DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk
    “The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson
    “My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr.
    “The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton
    “Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen

    Best Foreign Language Film:

    “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile)
    “The Insult” (Lebanon)
    “Loveless” (Russia)
    “On Body and Soul (Hungary)
    “The Square” (Sweden)

    Film Editing:

    “Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
    “Dunkirk,” Lee Smith
    “I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
    “The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory

    Sound Editing:

    “Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
    “Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
    “Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King
    “The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood

    Sound Mixing (setting the music to the movie):

    “Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
    “Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
    “Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
    “The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick

    Production Design:

    “Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
    “Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
    “Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
    “Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
    “The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau

    Original Score:

    “Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
    “Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
    “The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell

    Original Song:

    “Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige
    “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens
    “Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
    “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common
    “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

    Makeup and Hair:

    “Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick
    “Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
    “Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten

    Costume Design:

    “Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran
    “Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran
    “Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges
    “The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira
    “Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle

    Visual Effects:

    “Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer
    “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
    “Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan
    “War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

    What are your picks? What were some glaring omissions? Comment below!

  • Shape of Water pulls a Monster Movie Award Coup

    At the 2018 Golden Globes, modern cinema history was made – but if you weren’t paying attention you may have missed it.

    “Since childhood I’ve been faithful to monsters — I have been saved and absolved by them – Because monsters, I believe, are patron saints of our blissful imperfection.” – Guillermo Del Toro, accepting 2018 Golden Globe for best director for ‘The Shape of Water’

    Guillermo Del Toro, mastermind director behind hits like Pans Labyrinth and Hellboy received recognition for his latest film, The Shape of Water, picking up a win for Best Director. What makes this significant is the fact that ‘monster’ movies are largely ignored for their artistic merits and are written off as mere box office fodder. They are hardly ever given credit for being forces of cinematic change and impact. Think of some of the best sci-fi, horror, and thriller genre films – Interstellar, Alien, Jurassic Park, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mad Max: Fury Road, Get Out – how many received any critical acclaim from the Hollywood establishment, much less actual awards? There are usually some ‘token’ inclusions as nominations, but sci-fi/fantasy/horror flicks largely get the snub, and that is an unfair influence on what is deemed ‘culturally important’. If producers chase awards over art, we risk losing out on a lot of untold and still totally valid stories

    Now, I argue that Hollywood has it’s head so far up it’s butt that their opinions don’t much matter and is often out of step with what the average movie-goer is looking for. I argue that people love the spectacle of the tent-pole release, but they want something that can actually resonate. Something that moves the way you feel and think. Film is such a power medium of expression and provocation, to toss away the genre of horror and monsters is too pretend that we live in a perfect world free from such scares. I’d argue that the monsters we face in the real world are much more frightening than anything conjured up on the big screen – why be disingenuous?

    Here’s a sneak peak:

  • Star Wars or The Dark Knight: The Greatest Summer Movie

    Yahoo! Movies has been running a bracket-based tournament for the title of greatest summer blockbuster of all time. Naturally, the final match-up is between two juggernauts of film: Star Wars vs The Dark Knight. They have bested other summer classics like Independence Day, Jaws, Shrek, and Jurassic Park.

    I think that both movie series certainly have their merits. Star Wars changed everything Hollywood knew about special effects and the so-called ‘limits’ of film, ushering the development of new technologies in the cinematic industry.

    The Dark Knight on the other hand, completely revamped what a superhero movie should be. Gone are the days of campy, over-the-top cartoon heroes, and now we have a gritty, painful, and most importantly human concept of what a superhero really is. Never before had that occurred – superheros were regarded as perfect and flawless!

    What I think it really boils down to is that this is a competition between two generations, two innovative directors, and two diverse fan bases. I think it’s a hard decision, but I think Star Wars wins just because it’s more established. I think that The Dark Knight trilogy will age like a fine wine and end up being held in the same esteem as Star Wars, but it is too soon in most people’s opinions.

    Who did I vote for? The Dark Knight. I really loved that series, and I am not a huge comic fan. Star Wars was too easy because I am already a sucker for Sci-Fi. I believe in Harvey Dent!

    Star Wars of course is running away with the lead, but there is still time to cast your vote. Today is the final day they will count! (5/31/2013)
    http://movies.yahoo.com/news/-star-wars–vs—the-dark-knight—vote-to-decide-the-greatest-summer-movie-ever-213347697.html

  • Could Avatar SAVE the Oscars?

    After the debacle caused from last year’s Oscars ceremony, where films like The Dark Knight, which grossed over 1.4 billion and was seen by hundreds of millions of people, was beat out by a limited-release, Milk, for best picture, things have not been looking too good for Hollywood’s most prestigious award.

    Naturally, if all the movies, actors, and directors that people know about aren’t in the running for an award, then people aren’t going to watch the ceremony. That’s exactly what has happened for the decade since Titanic swept through the awards in 1998.

    It seems like those tightwad ‘film buffs’ are finally seeing the light, but it had to come after a good punch in their wallet. The general public almost always likes the opposite of what so-called film critics like. I figure that being a film critic for The New York Times or <Insert Newspaper Here> to be the equivalent of paying someone to diss everything that appeals to the common man. The Dark Knight or Milk? That’s not a very difficult question for about 98% of the population!

    However, Avatar is shaking things up. James Cameron’s last film was coincidentally one of the last good years to watch the Oscars. Can Avatar save the Oscars? With 9 nominations, it could run the tables for sure!

    Maybe things will be better this year. I am willing to watch and find out. How about you?

  • Spider-Man 4 Lands Brilliant Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer

    Spider-Man 4 is more reality than myth with the latest addition to the production staff. Many think that the entire series was derailed by a ‘weak’ third film. I personally enjoyed the third, but my favorite Spider-Man was the second with Doc Ock.

    Hopefully this new writer and the same star cast from the previous three movies will be enough to make Spider-Man 4 a hit.

    Lindsay-Abaire, who won a Pulitzer in 2007 for his drama “Rabbit Hole,” is in final negotiations to write “Spider-Man 4” for Columbia.
    Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are back as director and star, respectively, as are series producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad. Kirsten Dunst also is expected to return for the latest movie featuring the Marvel Comics

    read more | digg story

  • 2008 Emmy results

    Well, I had made some predictions as to who and what would win in some selected categories of the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards, but boy was I wrong! ;(

    Here’s the actual results. Compare them to my prediction (but don’t make fun of me! 😉 )

    The Winners:
    BEST DRAMA SERIES – Mad Men
    BEST LEAD ACTOR – Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
    BEST LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA – Glenn Close, Damages
    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA – Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA – Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
    BEST COMEDY SERIES – 30 Rock
    BEST LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY – Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
    BEST LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY – Tina Fey, “30 Rock
    BEST SUPPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY – Jeremy Piven, Entourage
    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY – Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
    BEST LEAD ACTOR, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE – Paul Giamatti, John Adams
    BEST LEAD ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE – Laura Linney, John Adams
    BEST VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES – The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
    BEST REALITY PROGRAM – Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
    BEST REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM – The Amazing Race
    BEST REALITY COMPETITION HOST – Jeff Probst, Survivor

    The only gripe I had was the Best Comedy Series award, which I really believed The Office should have one – I have never really loved 30 Rock like I love The Office. Oh well, that’s Hollywood for ya. 😉

    Are you satisfied with the results? Please comment below and share with SquidFlicks!

  • The Emmys are coming! The Emmys are coming! (2008)

    As you may or may not already know, the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards are tomorrow at 8pm ET/5pm PT on ABC.

    There are a lot of great shows and actors nominated for the many categories, but here are a few selections that I think should be made. Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments! 😉

    The Emmys are another prestigious award that TV shows and series can earn – and often the winners are well deserving of the award. After watching the awards every year, I end up seeing shows that were winners just to see if I liked them.

    Enough jabber, on to the predictions!

    Outstanding Comedy Series

    Out of all five shows, I would have to pick The Office as the best comedy series for the Emmy. Just two years ago, the series picked up the same award (2006 Outstanding Comedy Series) and I think that it deserves an encore this year.

    Outstanding Drama Series

    I am liking House, M.D. as the winner, but it faces stiff competition, especially from LOST, which would also be a good pick for this award.

    (more…)