 Here is the full list of nominations:
BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
SENNA
SHAME
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
TYRANNOSAUR
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Wheatley – KILL LIST
Steve McQueen – SHAME
Tomas Alfredson – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR
Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Read more on British Independent Film Nominations!…
Categories: News, Precursors Tags: 2011 releases, British Independent Film Awards, Drive, nominationd, Oscar hopefuls, Precursors, Shame, tinker tailor soldier spy, tyrannosaur, We Need To Talk About Kevin
 What’s your favorite scary movie?
 A lot of people like to throw around the phrase “torture porn” to describe particularly violent horror flicks. In fact, my recent piece on the greatest horror films of all time features more than a few movies that certain people would categorize as such. They do this often without knowing where the term came from or even what it really means. With Halloween upon us, now is really as good a time as any to delve back into this debate that seems to happen every so often within the industry and in the media as well. I have an issue with the term, and the very idea of it as well. I feel that it ghettoizes plenty of worthy horror movies into an unsavory category that they don’t belong in. Honestly, I’ve yet to find a film that compelled me to label it “torture porn”, though I’ll admit that once or twice I’ve come somewhat close to it. I know I’m in the minority here, but I just don’t like when things are unfairly lumped together. It’s just lazy on the part of film critics and audience members, and doesn’t acknowledge that these filmmakers have a particular intent when making their films, not just to get nutjobs to get off on murder. Plus, the phrase itself doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Before we go any further, however, we need to understand what I mean by “torture porn”.
Read more on “Torture Porn” – Is it True?…
 Recovering addict and one time Hollywood bad boy Robert Downey Jr. recently spoke at an awards function and asked the audience about forgiving Mel Gibson. This coming from an actor who knows a thing or two about being banished from the industry and having to work very hard to get back in, though Downey’s crimes were very different than Gibson’s. Downey was an addict, and when stoned did some very stupid things. Addiction is a very different form of social issue than racism, which is not as easily forgiven. There was a time when no isurance company would insure Dowmney on a film, leaving it to the producers, or Downey himself to pay the fee. He understands what it is to be on the outside looking in when you were once on the inside.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
Read more on Simplicity of Mel…
Is Jodie Foster a real contender now in Supporting Actress?
With the recent announcements of Keira Knightley from David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method being campaigned in the Lead Actress category and every actor from Roman Polanski’s Carnage being campaigned in the Supporting categories by Sony Pictures Classics, the Awards Circuit’s Oscar Tracker has been updated.
What do these announcement’s mean awards-wise? Knightley is going to have an uphill climb indeed for her category with seven or eight leading ladies already duking it out. The cast of Carnage might have an easier time especially stars Christoph Waltz and Jodie Foster who have received good early buzz for their performances. If Max Von Sydow is not the performance we think he is for Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close or if George Clooney’s The Ides of March buzz dies altogether, Waltz may have a very easy get for himself in the Supporting Actor category. John C. Reilly hasn’t been much of an awards talker thus far and I don’t expect anything to change on that regards.
Read more on Massive Oscar Tracker Update!…
Categories: Editor, News, Oscar Tracker Tags: a dangerous method, benedict cumberbatch, Carnage, Christoph Waltz, david cronenberg, extremely loud and incredibly close, Jeff Nichols, Jessica Chastain, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Lead Actress, Oscar Tracker, Roman Polanski, Supporting Actress, Take Shelter, Tate Taylor, Terrence Malick, The Help, The Ides of March, The Tree of Life, tinker tailor soldier spy
 Shot on a shoestring budget in Spokane, Washington, “Norman” is a film which overcomes some of the traditional trappings of an independent drama, dusts itself off and begins to matter, until devolving into an unrealistic and hackneyed conclusion. Never in love with the film, I stayed with it and began to warm to the main characters a bit, until tried-and-true independent drama trapdoors began springing up everywhere. “Norman” does however retain just enough of an interesting story that if the mood strikes, the blanket is out, the pajamas are on, and coffee or cocoa are in hand, this might fill a nice void during a fall morning or afternoon.
Directed by Jonathan Segal and featuring a debut screenplay by Talton Wingate, Norman (Dan Byrd) is an introverted and shy high school senior. He sparks no real interest from girls and is fortunate to have a friend or two. Looking a little deeper however offers insight into why Norman is so withdrawn and mired in a malaise about the world around him.
Read more on Norman (**)…
 The idea is a grand one. In a dystopian world, time is the coveted object which defines every waking moment and every waking decision human beings make. If you have it, you are wealthy, if you do not, you are desperate to acquire it and likely live in a ghetto-state where despair and violence occur in concert with each other. With no existence of currency, goods and services cost time and when you reach the age of 25, you no longer age. A clock, embedded in your left forearm, turns itself on and grants you one year’s time. What you do with that one year is entirely up to you. If you can acquire time, you live longer. If you fail to add time or fall victim to those who covet and seize other people’s time, you may never complete that year you have been genetically modified to receive. This world is the absolute definition of survival of the fittest, no?
“In Time” is the latest science-fiction idea brought to the big screen by writer/director Andrew Niccol, who has travailed across these paths before, exploring the altering and tampering of human genetics in 1997′s “Gattaca”, and astutely hypothesizing on the subtle horrors of the reality television world we now live with everyday in 1998′s “The Truman Show”. With “In Time” however, Niccol is all set up and no execution, delivering a muted and empty, emotionless view into a future that becomes porous to logic and common sense.
Read more on In Time (*½)…
 The Warlock is back.
According to Deadline:
Charlie Sheen’s new sitcom Anger Management has landed at FX with an initial order for 10 episodes for a summer 2012 launch. If successful, that will be followed by a 90-episode order by FX as well as broadcast syndication launch by distributor Debmar-Mercury in fall 2014. After a marathon of pitches to broadcast and cable networks earlier this month followed by a short window of intense negotiations, the direct-to-series project has found a home at the cable network that already carries reruns of Sheen’s previous series, Two And A Half Men, to great ratings success. The cable network also owns the TV rights to the 2003 Jack Nicholson-Adam Sandler movie Anger Management — about a mild-mannered man (Sandler) ordered to attend group anger-management sessions led by a volatile therapist (Nicholson) – on which the series is loosely based. Sheen plays a version of Nicholson’s character on the show, produced by Lionsgate TV and distributed by sibling Debmar-Mercury. Joe Roth, who produced the movie, is producing the series with Sheen, who retains a significant ownership stake, and The Drew Carey Show creator Bruce Helford, who serves as writer/showrunner. Production is slated to begin in early 2012. “We think that Bruce Helford, Joe Roth and Charlie Sheen have come up with a wonderful, hilarious vehicle for Charlie’s acting talents — and a character we are very much looking forward to seeing him play,” said FX president John Landgraf. “Two And A Half Men has been an outstanding component of FX’s schedule for the past 14 months, and we have every confidence that Anger Management will soon be as well.”
Read more on Charlie Sheen’s ‘Anger Management’ Gets Picked Up!…
 Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin give nomination worthy performances in ‘Like Crazy’, the raw and real romantic drama from Drake Doremus. A hit at the Sundance Film Festival and winner of the Audience Award, the movie packs quite an emotional wallop. Doremus and co-writer Ben York Jones have created the framework for a heavily improvised but quite effective film about first love and the brick wall that is distance, while neither ignoring the fantasy of love or the reality of life. Jones and Yelchin are doing excellent work here, and Doremus directs the flick with a subtle style that makes this feel like a truly unique experience for the audience. Some might find the style a bit on the cold side, and the clinical take on love that the movie sometimes exhibits is really the only thing holding me back from really raving about it. Aside from that, the film does just about everything right and really is one of the highlights of the year to me. It doesn’t crack my top 10 of 2011 so far, but it doesn’t miss by much. This is truly one of the more special films to hit in a while. The Oscar season is officially here…
Read more on Like Crazy (***½)…
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 10/30)…
Categories: Circuit Round-Up Tags: anonymous, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, Best Supporting Actor, Chaz Bono, Circuit Round-Up, dancing with the stars, Horror, Margin Call, Melancholia, Oscar race, Paranormal Activity 3, puss in boots, Shame, the double, The Rum Diary, The Skin I Live In, The Three Musketeers, William Shakespeare, Winnie the Pooh
 Lifted from the insanely successful “Shrek” franchise, “Puss In Boots” puts one of the most beloved animated supporting characters of recent memory front and center on the big screen. Memorably debuting in “Shrek 2″, with his snarky wit, swashbuckler’s persona, and those eyes…Puss In Boots stole the show, voiced with priceless energy and enthusiasm by Antonio Banderas. Previously experienced in small doses, can Puss In Boots carry a full-length feature on his tiny little shoulders? Well, yes and no.
Fashioned as a prequel and filling in the backstory of Puss’ childhood, we learn that Puss was raised in an orphanage and grew up as best friends with a misfit anthropomorphic egg named Humpty Dumpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis). Quickly becoming close like brothers, Humpty Dumpty and Puss dream of one day stealing magic beans, creating and climbing the fantastical beanstalk which stretches high and into the clouds, and then stealing the eggs laid by the Golden Goose. With those gold eggs on hand, Puss and Humpty will simply live happily ever after.
Read more on Puss In Boots (**)…
 I very much enjoyed ‘Rampart’ at an early screening back last month, and while it never had a firm release date, it always seemed to be headed for a 2011 run at nods for Woody Harrelson and the film itself. Well, according to The Playlist, it’s hitting theaters in November. Here’s the story, which features some interesting stuff on the behind the scenes of the flick:
Largely known so far for straight to DVD/VOD pictures (”Trespass,” “Blitz” “Shadows and Lies” with James Franco) and some that don’t, but aren’t lighting up the screen (Chris Evans’ “Puncture”) Millennium Entertainment might seem like a strange fit for “Rampart,” Oren Moverman‘s cop drama and follow-up to excellent 2009 film, “The Messenger.” Starring Woody Harrelson, and co-written by Moverman and crime novelist James Ellroy, “Rampart” follows veteran L.A.P.D officer Dave Brown (Woody), the last of the renegade cops, as he struggles to take care of his family, and fights for his own survival. Set in the early ‘90s when L.A.P.D. corruption was rampant, “Rampart,” appeared at the Toronto International Film Festival this year to heavy praise, particularly for Harrelson’s smoldering performance as sinking soul of a man who is his own worst enemy.
Read more on Rampart gets an Oscar-qualifying run on November 23!…
 Pedro Almodovar goes in a very interesting and different direction with his latest film ‘The Skin I Live In’. I’ve always seem him more as a melodramatic filmmaker, making feature length soap operas almost than someone capable of what he does here. Essentially, he’s tackling body horror, something I’d more associate with David Cronenberg than Almodovar. Free of the melodrama and romance, this is a real arthouse horror flick that doesn’t go for the gore, but still manages to have an “ick” factor to it. He manages to do it in a way that never seems like he’s playing in repetitive territory, and it helps that he got a hell of a performance from Antonio Banderas. It’s a top 5 acting job by Banderas and elevates the film from an interesting but unremarkable change of pace for a veteran filmmaker into something that pretty much demands to be seen. If you can handle the bizarre nature of the flick (it’s a strange take on the age old ‘Frankenstein’ tale, specifically the idea of a mad scientist, and with some gender identity issues thrown in), you’ll probable like this oddly little movie quite a bit.
Read more on The Skin I Live In (***)…
 Sporadically entertaining but wildly uneven, ‘The Rum Diary’ doesn’t live up to the hype by never being nearly as out there as it seems to want to be. I know that Johnny Depp (who literally got the novel published and has spent about a decade getting this thing made) and writer/director Bruce Robinson wanted to really honor Hunter S. Thompson and this particular work, but while their hearts are in the right place, what comes up on the big screen just underwhelms much more than I expected it to. The movie never really finds its groove and it seems to rub off on the actors, who all come off as being slightly disinterested in the material, though you can’t call their work bad by any stretch. The flick is always nice to look at, convincingly recreating Puerto Rico in the 1960‘s, but it only periodically manages to keep your interest. It works as light entertainment, but cross this one off as an Oscar contender in any way, shape, or form. Honestly, it’s kind of a mess. That’s not automatically a bad thing, and could have been a benefit to something created in Thompson’s warped mind, but that’s not the case here.
Read more on The Rum Diary (**½)…
 Easily the weakest version of this well liked story to date, ‘The Three Musketeers’ continues to confirm that filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson is incapable of making a movie that makes any sense at all. I have no issue that he pretty much takes what he likes from the classic tale and leaves the rest, since that can sometimes be a welcome new twist on the story. My problem is that he forgot any of the wit that made the characters interesting. The film also rather nonsensical and often has an out of place manic energy to it, but that’s par for the course for him. This is almost as if a non-zombie ‘Resident Evil’ film was made as a period piece. It doesn’t help that the screenplay he was given is barely anything worth mentioning, but he still could have pretended like he cared a bit. I wasn’t expecting to love this flick, but I was expecting to have a little fun. Sadly, there’s no fun to be found here, just a mind numbing retread that finds itself getting worse as it tries to be more different. It’s hard for a movie to do that, but somehow Anderson and company find a way.
Read more on The Three Musketeers (**)…
DreamWorks Animation continues to replicate the formula for successful animated films this weekend. Its competition being relatively weak doesn’t hurt either. And, oh yes, the “Shakespeare didn’t write his own plays!” movie also opens. Let’s take a look:
Though the Shrek series has supposedly ended, its spin-offs are only getting started. Puss in Boots is pretty much guaranteed to win the box office by a big margin. A prequel to his introduction in Shrek 2, the suave little kitty bands together a group of heroes to save his town. So you got a popular animated character voiced by a big star in his own film coming out in a year when family films are dominating (more than usual)…I swear, criminals couldn’t print this much money. The fact that it’s also the best-reviewed new release of the year certainly doesn’t hurt its financial prospects, either. I honestly think this’ll bring in at least $45-50 million at the end of the weekend. The lack of Oscar competition from Pixar this year and Puss in Boots’ oft-acknowledged triviality make its chances in the Best Animated Feature race a wash at this point…but we’ll see what happens. Read more on Weekend Openings (October 28-30)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: anonymous, Antonio Banderas, In Time, Johnny Depp, Justin Timberlake, Like Crazy, Oscar hopefuls, puss in boots, Richard Gere, Roland Emmerich, the double, The Rum Diary, Weekend Openings
These are the Neilsen Television Ratings in millions for the week of October 17th-23rd.
| TOP 20 |
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Viewers |
Last Week |
| 1. NCIS |
CBS |
Tuesday |
8pm |
19.4 |
1 |
| 2. Dancing with the Stars |
ABC |
Monday |
8pm |
17.8 |
3 |
Read more on TV Ratings (Oct 17-23)…
 We are at the point in the season which Sasha Stone cleverly calls, the calm before the storm. Films are opening in theaters, critics are getting to see what’s in serious contention, and voting groups are getting their screeners by the dozens soon enough.
As I updated the Oscar Predictions this time around, I found myself rattling my head fiercely looking for some clarity on certain categories. As Michael Ward pointed out to me, is it really possible that terrific actors like Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, and Jessica Chastain can deliver their finest portrayals and not be recognized for it? Damn right it’s possible and it’s a real shame, no pun intended.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “There’s always room for more”…
Categories: Editor, Oscar Circuit Tags: a dangerous method, academy awards, Drive, Editor, Hugo, Jessica Chastain, michael fassender, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions, Ryan Gosling, Shame, Take Shelter, the adventures of tin tin, The Help, The Ides of March, The Tree of Life
"…but what if I told you Anonymous was full of BS?"
So, Roland Emmerich. Word is that he has a new film coming out about Shakespeare and how he was a fraud. Personally, I find the revelation that critics are not overwhelmingly calling his newest a steaming pile far more groundbreaking than a crackpot theory that has not only been roundly debunked, but reeks of offensive class snobbery (“Why, it’s impossible to believe that a mere grammar school graduate could have written the plays and poems attributed to Shakespeare. Wouldn’t it make more sense to suppose that William Shakespeare was only the stand-in for a better educated author?”*). Whatever…I guess just because there’s no truth to it doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining. I mean, look at JFK.
Anyway, we at The Awards Circuit actually respect history and the contributions of William Shakespeare. Luckily, so do a lot of other filmmakers, so to counteract his desecration by the man who once tried to convince us that alien technology is compatible with Macintosh, here are the top ten films inspired by the Bard of Avon, but first… Read more on Top Ten Films Inspired By Shakespeare…
Categories: Article Tags: anonymous, Chimes at Midnight, crimes against art, Henry V, Kenneth Branagh, Laurence Olivier, masterpiece, Much Ado About Nothing, My Own Private Idaho, Prospero's Books, Ran, Richard III, Roland Emmerich, Shakespeare in Love, Titus, Top Ten, West Side Story, William Shakespeare
 The new spy thriller The Double from writer/director Michael Brandt starring Golden Globe Winner Richard Gere and Topher Grace, shows massive potential before ultimately failing to excite the audience as its predictable twists and turns create a flat line of a thrills and spills.
Richard Gere plays “Paul Shepherdson,” a decorated CIA veteran who is threatened with professional embarrassment after a young hot shot FBI agent, Ben Geary (Topher Grace) insists the Russian assassin “Cassius,” who Shepherdson claimed to have killed years before is still alive. Paul, who spent his career chasing Cassius, is forced to take on the same case after a US senator is murdered bearing the same trademark of Cassius. Agent Geary, who wrote his thesis on Shepherdson’s pursuit of Cassius, re-opens the case and the two team up to investigate the whereabouts of the deadly assassin before realizing that everything may not be what it seems.
Read more on The Double (**)…
 An unambitious indie documentary with a sunny disposition and charm to spare, ‘Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey’ is likely the lightest doc you’ll see in 2011, but it might also be the most pleasurable one you’ll see as well. Documentarians Constance Marks and Philip Shane obviously have a lot of love for their subject (hell, both of their subjects, technically) and interest in how Elmo came to be, and while that almost schoolgirl crush occasionally obfuscates from some interesting directions that the flick could go in, overall there’s very little to complain about here. Fans of ‘Sesame Street’ or the Muppets in general will quite enjoy what they see here, especially during some of the behind the scenes style moments. Everyone else will find this somewhat disposable, but still likely entertaining. As someone who really loved the Muppets, and still does…this was a good 90 minutes of smiling for me. I don’t hesitate in calling this one of the feel good films of the year, since that’s the whole point of Elmo. Elmo is about love and making you feel good.
Read more on Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey (***)…
 The rare film of this particular subject matter without an overt political axe to grind, ‘Margin Call’ is able to dive right into the financial collapse of 2008 without stopping to bash any one group. The result of that is a rather smart drama, interested in details instead of politics. In many ways, this is the movie that Oliver Stone might have made with his ‘Wall Street’ sequel had he not let his worst instincts get the best of him. While it’s a bit too talky and low-key to make a real play with Oscar voters, it’s well made, undeniably well acted, and well worth your time as a viewer. A classical greed vs. morality tale set in the financial sector, young writer/director J.C. Chandor has made a rather noteworthy debut. He gets strong yet un-showy performances from his ensemble cast, and aside from one or two repetitive scenes, does a fine job at pacing his movie. Keep an eye on this filmmaker, he’s one to watch. The film as a whole is strong, but it’s particularly good as a calling card for Chandor and his talents.
Read more on Margin Call (***)…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: 2011 releases, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey, Margin Call, Oscar hopeful, Paul Bettany, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Zachary Quinto
Steve McQueen’s “Shame”, quickly becoming one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the fall, received its expected NC-17 rating from the Ratings Board this week. This was expected, championed even by Fox Searchlight, and the marketing team has its marching orders – get this film seen and make this the second NC-17 film ever to be nominated by the Academy. To do this, would be noteworthy, as the Academy has only nominated one NC-17 film one time; “Henry & June”, which landed a Costume Design nomination in 1991. And it will certainly be a mountainous challenge. “Shame”, which features a widely praised lead acting performance by Michael Fassbender and a reportedly impressive supporting turn by Carey Mulligan, has now been given the industry’s Scarlet Letter(s). Theatrical chains nationwide, including AMC and Regal, widely refuse to show NC-17 films in their theaters and even some independent chains duck away from exhibiting NC-17 films. The NC-17 rating, with no thanks from the Ratings Board, has been tailored and packaged to make attendees feel as if they are performing some illicit deed in seeking out and attending these films. Clearly, there is a stigma associated with any and all films branded with this NC-17 tag and ironically, it shames people from attending.
Read more on Thoughts on “Shame” And That NC-17……
 Behold the latest trailer for Martin Scorsese’s new film Hugo!
Read more on Trailer #2: Hugo…
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Here is the full list of nominations:
