 I always eagerly wait the announcement of the slate of films to play at Sundance, as it usually contains the next indie darling of next year. Each year at least one or two flicks from the festival have me fall in love with them, and I expect next year to be no exception. A few immediately jump out at me, but the whole lot looks pretty interesting so far. Here’s the list of films competing next year at the festival:
Read more on Sundance Film Festival unveils its 2012 Competition Lineup!…
 This definitely gives a sense of the harder nature of the film and certainly is Not Safe For Work…
Read more on Trailer: Shame (Red Band)…
 Up until the announcement of the New York Film Critics Awards, Brad Pitt had been fairly low on my radar in the Best Actor race. I thought perhaps a nomination for Moneyball might happen, maybe, a distant chance for a nod for The Tree of Life was a possibility. But a win this year? Not likely. Winning the Best Actor prize from the New York Film Critics Association propels Pitt into the thick of the Oscar race, and could land the popular actor his first Academy Award.
Now let’s be clear, I still believe George Clooney is the man to beat for the award, but Pitt is going to make it a race. Now that said, let’s never forget that the winner of the New York Film Critics Award for Best Actor has often gone on to be snubbed by the Academy entirely. Steve Martin in All of Me (1984) felt the sting of such a snub, as did Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers (1988). David Thewlis seethed his way through Naked (1993) to an awards from the critics, though no Oscar nomination, while the great Paul Giamatti won the award for his masterful work in Sideways (2004) only to be ignored by Oscar. So until the morning of the nominations, we know nothing.
Read more on Pitt Leaps in the Oscar Race with Earnest…
 Ellen Barkin
Born: April 16th, 1954
Place: New York City, New York
Major Awards and Citations: Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1997): Won Best Supporting Actress for ‘The Fan’
Chicago Film Critics Association (1990): Nominee for Best Actress for ‘Sea of Love’ and Best Supporting Actress for ‘Johnny Handsome’
Golden Globe Awards (1992): Nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role- Musical or Comedy for ‘Switch’
Oscar Snubs: ‘Sea of Love’ (1989) and ‘Switch’ (1991)
Sam Levinson loves to talk about Ellen Barkin. The writer/director of ‘Another Happy Day’ has done nothing but rave about her every time he and I have spoken, and it’s easy to see why he does this. She’s a supremely talented actress who sometimes just isn’t in material worth her salt. It’s surprising to think that she’s never been nominated for an Oscar, but she hasn’t, which merits inclusion in our Under the Circuit series. Things might be changing this year (anyone who read my Early Review of ‘Another Happy Day’ knows that already, but in case you don’t, you can read it here), so what better time than now to explore her career? I’m going to do something slightly different this time around (consider it an experiment if you will) with the piece. Instead of just chronologically going through her filmography and commenting, I’ll be grouping her performances together into a few categories. Hopefully this is a different way of doing things that you all appreciate, and something I can do from time to time in this series to keep things fresh. In any event, it’s still Under the Circuit, so you know what we’re about to do. The only thing left is to do it.
Read more on Under the Circuit: Ellen Barkin…
Just a few weeks ago, no one was really talking Hugo (2011) or Martin Scorsese as threats in the Oscar race, but after the film’s release, and the excellent reviews it has been getting…it is now a very real part of the Oscar race, and a genuine threat to play spoiler to the films most discussed for Best Film. While The Descendants, The Artist, and War Horse remain the films most likely to win that Best Picture Oscar, Hugo should not be counted out. Over at Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored 96% with critics, 87% with audiences, each terrific and more than indicative of the fact the film is a success with both critics and audiences. Add into the mix it is a brilliant picture, directed by a modern master, and suddenly the odds of Hugo getting into the race and perhaps winning, become a whole lot brighter.
Read more on Scorsese and “Hugo” – Taking it Seriously…
Polanski handles comedy well in his newest "Carnage"…
Roman Polanski has created some of the most heart-wrenching and prolific films of the past four decades. In his newest film, Carnage, Polanski examines two couples as they discuss an altercation between their two children all in real time. Alan (Christoph Waltz) and Nancy (Kate Winslet), married with their son, have a hard time communicating between Alan’s pharmaceutical business and Nancy’s constant abrupt illnesses. Penelope (Jodie Foster) and Michael (John C. Reilly) are prim and proper and the owner’s of the home where our story takes place, and between Penelope’s badgering about perfection and Michael’s lackadaisical attitude towards life, tensions are building. The film handles the tension with sure-fire wittiness and ease not withstanding the terrific exchangeable words between our principals, Carnage is a delight for all movie-goers.
Read more on Carnage (***)…
Categories: Editor, Film Reviews Tags: alexandre desplat, Carnage, Christoph Waltz, Comedy, Editor Film Review, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Oscar hopeful, Roman Polanski
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I always eagerly wait the announcement of the slate of films to play at Sundance, as it usually contains the next indie darling of next year. Each year at least one or two flicks from the festival have me fall in love with them, and I expect next year to be no exception. A few immediately jump out at me, but the whole lot looks pretty interesting so far. Here’s the list of films competing next year at the festival:
