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  • Academy Idol 6: Top 11 Results

    Another film is eliminated from the competition...

    December 21, 2012

    ACADEMY_IDOL_6The Top 11 films competed for your votes.  It was Precursors Week.  One film is eliminated from the competition with the next week’s theme and lineup revealed.  Check it out!

    Read more on Academy Idol 6: Top 11 Results…

    Categories: Academy Idol

    Comments: 6 Comments |

    December 21, 2012

    joaquin-phoenix-the-master-imageWhen the nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actor are announced next month, it will mark the end to a hard fought battle, and this is a fact, one of the boldest and most creative performances of the last twenty years could very well be on the outside looking in. The snub of Joaquin Phoenix by the Screen Actors Guild for his galvanizing performance in The Master was truly startling because one would hope actors would recognize the risk he took in that piece of acting, the boldness of the execution of what he attempted, and the genius in making it work. Phoenix walked a fine line between great acting and great overacting, never stepping into the latter, always managing to remain solid. Read more on On the Possible Snub of Joaquin Phoenix…

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    Comments: 19 Comments |

    Author: Mark Johnson
    December 21, 2012

    AroundtheCircuit

    Link(s) of the week:

    At The Wrap, Steve Pond ran a simulation for Oscar that resulted in an outcome with eight Best Picture nominees. He has been allowed by the BFCA to recount their ballots under Oscar’s preferential system, and while the same method forecast eight noms last year (we had nine), it’s still an interesting read to say the least.

    Read more on Around the Circuit: December 15th – December 21st…

    Author: Mark Johnson
    December 21, 2012

    Amour2

    The short list for the Foreign Language Oscar race has been announced. There are no incredibly shocking omissions, at least not at first glance. Austria’s Amour, France’s The Intouchables, and Denmark’s A Royal Affair have led the pack for most of the season, and all three remain alive in the race. The other two I have been predicting, Chile’s No and Norway’s Kon-Tiki (distributed by The Weinstein Company) are also still in the running, as is Romania’s Beyond the Hills. See the list of nine after the jump…

    Read more on Nine Foreign Language Films Contend for Oscar…

    Not Fade Away (***1/2)

    This coming of age story captures both the music and the mindset of the 60's...

    December 21, 2012

    not_fade_awayNo matter what David Chase chose to do with his feature debut, it was always going to be judged against the work he did on HBO with ‘The Sopranos’. Had he made a gangster movie, it would have been setting himself up for disaster. Instead, Chase has written and directed the coming of age story ‘Not Fade Away’, and it’s likely to still underwhelm those expecting more mob dealings. This is instead a love letter to growing up and listening to rock music in the 1960′s, and despite not being what many expect from Chase…it’s a wonderful little film. From Chase’s writing to the lead performance of John Magaro and the scene stealing supporting work from James Gandolfini, so much of this flick is a treat. It’s too small to really catch the eye of the Academy at this point, but it’s a dark horse contender for my year end Top 10 list, which I’ll be revealing in a few weeks time. Out this Friday, ‘Not Fade Away’ is the kind of movie that likely have to wait for home video to truly be appreciated. That’s a sad fact of life for Chase’s work, but I’m confident that it will receive the recognition it deserves before all is said and done.

    Read more on Not Fade Away (***1/2)…

    Jack Reacher (***)

    Tom Cruise has a potential new franchise here, and it's a good one...

    December 21, 2012

    jack_reacher_ver2Much like the title character, the film ‘Jack Reacher’ gets in, does its job, and gets out. Tom Cruise’s potential new franchise is a decidedly low tech detective story that offers audiences some old school entertainment. It’s hardly original, but I’m pretty sure that’s intentional on the part of Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. They know the kind of movie this is, and in adapting Lee Child’s popular series of books about the title character, they seem to have effectively achieved their goals. Cruise is sufficiently charismatic and carries the movie from an acting standpoint, while McQuarrie plays around with the tone a little more than you’d expect. Paramount seems to be confident in this as a new franchise for Cruise (despite having a review embargo in place until opening day, normally the sign of a film with something to hide), and I think they’ve got a winning formula in place. I can see this flick playing on TV for the next decade, and I mean that as a compliment. It’s never revolutionary and does have its problems, but for pure entertainment this is a solid holiday outing at the movies. If you like action movies starring Cruise, this is another one to check out…

    Read more on Jack Reacher (***)…

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