“Carol” and “Bridge of Spies” Lead BAFTA Nominations; “JOY” Ignored

The British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) nominations are the last set of nominations we’ll hear from before the Academy’s set next Thursday morning. Save for some wild card nominations (Amy Adams in Big Eyes) they’re usually a very good indicator of where Oscar is headed.

Some surprises here: Carol and Bridge of Spies led the nomination count with 9 each. After underperforming with some of the guilds, this is great news for Carol; Hopefully this translates into the same kind of success with Oscar (though their recognizing Rooney Mara in Supporting Actress is EXTREMELY frustrating).

The Big Short‘s late surge is unstoppable, and a bit bewildering because the reception for the film early on was muted. But it landing a Best Picture and Best Director nomination here essentially cements its status as one of the top films.

Mad Max: Fury Road underperformed here, however, it’s important to note it snagged a lot of tech/below the line nominations. This could translate into support with the bigger categories with the Oscars (American productions like this film tend to get snubbed out of the major categories with BAFTA anyway).

JOY was completely ignored here, thankfully, though I expect at least one or two lone nominations from Oscar just because they love David O.Russell.

Alicia Vikander could potentially be a double Oscar nominee. She’s unexpectedly been winning a lot of traction for Ex-Machina (a film that’s been performing very well in general as of late) but both of her performances in that film and in The Danish Girl were nominated here. While I think hope that they’ll pass on the film entirely, it’s a possibility after today.

Last tidbit: HOORAY FOR BENICIO DEL TORO FINALLY LANDING A MAJOR NOMINATION FOR SICARIO. 

Also, where in the WORLD is Charlotte Rampling for 45 Years?! (okay, I’ll stop now).

Take a look at the full list of nominations below. The winners of the BAFTAs will be announced on February 14th.

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WGA Nominations Include “Steve Jobs” and “Trainwreck”

The Writer’s Guild of America released their list of nominations, following yesterday’s announcement from the PGA.

Straight Outta Compton and Sicario continued their impressive guild performances, despite a lack of precursor support, by receiving nominations. Also surprising (a good kind) was the inclusion of Carol after being shut out by the PGA. Hopefully it was just an oversight on their part, and will be embraced by the Academy (as it deserves to).

A number of scripts were deemed ineligible to compete here, including Ex-Machina, The Hateful Eight, 99 Homes, Inside Out, Son of Saul, Room, Brooklyn, Suffragette, 45 Years and Me, Earl, And The Dying Girl. Though their ineligibility here does not mean they are barred from consideration from the Academy.

See the full list of nominees below.

The winners will be announced on February 13th.

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“Ex-Machina” and “Straight Outta Compton” Among PGA Nominees

It really has been the strangest awards season in recent memory. Where it’s been almost too predictable in the past, this year it’s been the exact opposite. None of the precursor awards have given any real sort of consensus as to who the frontrunners are.

We’ve heard from the critics, the Globes and now comes the guilds. Following the announcement from the Screen Actors Guild, the Producer’s Guild has announced their list of nominees. In the past few years, winning a nomination here has almost always correlated to a Best Picture nomination. You’d have to go back to 2006 where the winner of the PGA did not win Best Picture.

Some surprises here: Straight Outta Compton, Ex-Machina and Sicario. The former received a SAG ensemble nomination, now coupled with this makes it a pretty formidable contender. It was also one of the most profitable films of the year, raking in $160 million at the box office this summer. I’m really starting to think a Best Picture nomination is very likely, especially with a lot of the higher profile contenders (The Danish Girl) underperforming.

Seeing Sicario, my favorite film of the year, here after being ignored all year was the highlight of this awards season, for me. Though I think the film is too under the radar (sadly) for Oscar contention, this does boast its chances. Hopefully voters caught up with it on a screener; It really does blow away half of the films that are probably going to be nominated.

The biggest surprise to me, however, is Ex-Machina. Star Alicia Vikander has been winning more notices for her work in the film than in The Danish Girl, but the film has also found love for its screenplay and several other elements through various critics awards and voting bodies. If some of the other guilds throw their support behind the film (like the writers, for example) I think it’s a dark horse contender.

Also worth noting, Carol and Room are both absent from this line up. Not sure how Carol missed here (Room is a Canadian production and a real small film, which might have something to do with it). It would be embarrassing, on the Academy’s part, if it missed somehow.

See the full list of nominees below. The winner of the PGA will be announced on January 23.

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National Society of Film Critics Announce Winners

The National Society of Film Critics are the last of the big precursor awards before we get into the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

At this point, it’s really tough to pin down any of the frontrunners in the categories. It’s been a really tough year; All of the awards have been pretty spread out between Carol, Mad Max: Fury Road and Spotlight. A lot of the higher profile contenders (Joy, The Revenant, The Danish Girl) not dominating in the way we previously expected. They could still resonate with the Academy, however, because as well all know, the critics do not vote on the Oscars.

In any event, the NSFC adds a nice little boost to some contenders that really needed it, especially Michael B. Jordan. Creed is a bit of question mark in the Oscar race. It has the critical love and the box office, but the only member of the film that’s received any attention at all is Sylvester Stallone. Again, that’s not to say the Academy won’t embrace the film, but it’s nice to see Jordan get a shout out here over Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp.

Check out the full list of winners below.

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The 10 Best Movies Of 2015

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There was a lot to see this year at the movies, and looking back at everything I’ve seen, it’s a fool’s errand to try and list 10 of the best films. Even some of the ones I wasn’t crazy about had some absolutely amazing aspects that left me stunned. From Charlize Theron completely owning every bit of the amazingly crazy Mad Max: Fury Road, to Saoirse Ronan’s growing into a leading lady before our very eyes in Brooklyn, and of course the immaculately constructed “Carol” (Is there anything Cate Blanchett can’t do?). The Martian came close to dismantling the record Gravity set just 2 years ago, while Johnny Depp found his way back to critical acclaim, and the Rocky franchise found new life in director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan. Oh, yeah, maybe you heard about that little indie movie called Star Wars: The Force Awakens that broke a dozen box office records.

So what films made the cut? And which films came close? Let’s take a look.

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The 10 Best Albums Of The Year (2015)

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Many will look back on this past year and think of only Adele’s earth-shattering album sales. But to be honest, 2015 was an incredibly kind year in the world of music. A wealth of riches everywhere you turned; Drawing up this list was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. You could make a case for just about every album’s inclusion.

There were so many albums released this year that were just that: Complete works rather than a few singles with some B-sides thrown in for good measure. In a marketplace where radio-ready defines success, that’s incredibly rare, and even more important.

But enough talk, let’s get into it.

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Quentin Tarantino Worships Himself In “The Hateful Eight”

Quentin Tarantino movies are known for their cast of eclectic characters, non-linear storylines, lengthy dialogue and excessive violence. The latter, I find, is sometimes unnecessary, but Tarantino is is a filmmaker who loves excess. I can forgive him for that because he’s provided us with some of the most memorable films ever released; Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill (Volumes 1 & 2), and even Inglorious Basterds are classics. I can’t say the same for his latest film, The Hateful Eight, which is nothing more than a self-indulgent, overly long snooze fest.

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“JOY” Is A Misfire On All Fronts

Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell have made three feature films together since 2012. Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and now JOY. It’s easy to see why, as O. Russell has directed her to 2 Oscar nominations, and one win. He also gives her the space to breathe, something she doesn’t receive in The Hunger Games films. While I’ve not always agreed with Lawrence’s casting in these roles (she’s way too young) she has delivered some compelling moments, even if it never amounts to a whole performance.

JOY, however, is O. Russell’s messiest film thus far, with Lawrence’s casting sticking out like a sore thumb.

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“The Revenant” Review

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I had to sum up The Revenant in one word, it would be: grueling.

That’s not a knock on the film’s quality by any means, though it doesn’t always make for an easy viewing experience. As with his last film, the Best Picture winning Birdman, director Alejandro González Iñárritu continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible when it comes to filmmaking. It’s funny, because there are some parallels between Riggan Thomson, the main character of Birdman, and Iñárritu himself. Where Riggan was tasked with proving himself as a ‘real actor’ and adapting a novel into a stage play (which he was also the star of), Iñárritu has attempted to best himself with the largest, most visually arresting film of his very esteemed career.

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