 Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster will be honored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with their prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award. Announced today by Simon Baker and Kristen Stewart, Foster is the first woman to be awarded with the organization’s highest honor since Barbara Streisand in 2000. Not only is she being rewarded in a year where women are making their marks, she is the youngest recipient since Charlton Heston in 1967. Read more on Jodie Foster to Receive Cecil B. Demille Award from HFPA…
Categories: News Tags: American atheists, American film directors, Amy Poehler, Barbara Streisand, capable director, Carnage, Cecil B. DeMille, Charlton Heston, Cinema of the United States, Clint Eastwood, Emmy Winner Tina Fey, Entertainment, Entertainment/Culture, Film, Golden GLobe Awards, Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Home for the Holidays, Human Interest, Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, kristen stewart, Little Man Tate, Martin Scorsese, Mel Gibson, Money Monster, Morgan Freeman, Movie Release, Nell, Roman Polanski, Simon Baker, The Brave One, the Golden Globe Awards, The Silence of the Lambs, Tina Fey
 It seems that the franchise route is the one that’s most popular for this weekly part of 31 Days of Horror, so far be it from me to deviate from a well liked plan. This time around at The Awards Circuit I’m going with the ‘Final Destination’ franchise, or the ‘Final Destination’ pentalogy if you will. They are a group of 5 decent to subpar films that happen to contain some often spectacular deaths, notably the opening disaster sequences. I’ll be bringing those to you after the jump, and again…consider this very Not Safe For Work. These are a bit sillier than usual, but still rather gory, so take note of that. Enjoy the carnage below from each film in the ‘Final Destination’ franchise, all in one place this time for your convienence.
Read more on 31 Days of Horror: Terrible Tuesday Way to Die (Final Destination Franchise)…
 A violent act on a playground between two middle school boys is all that’s needed to launch into Carnage, the cinematic adaptation of a Tony Award winning play about two sets of parents who are brought together to work through a situation their children have forced them into.
Directed by Oscar-winner Roman Polanski, Carnage is essentially a filmed play with four characters engaging in a rollercoaster ride of discussions about their children, their lives, their respective marriages, and a whole treasure trove of other related and unrelated topics. The film retains a feverish, almost manic, pitch and your ability to like this rests with how much vitriol, dialogue, and smarminess you can stomach from these four interesting, but slightly troubled, individuals.
 Read more on Carnage (**½)…
2011 presented a nice eclectic view of cinema we haven’t seen throughout the years. If we summed it up to a ‘theme’ for the year, “silence” or “origins of cinema” would come to mind. Films like Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” and Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” would fall in line with those thoughts.
When creating my ballots for the Best of the Year, the are obvious categories that are stacked to the brim which would be inevitable for some omissions that in other years would either make the shortlist or be the clear front winner. I’ll address all of these as the week’s ‘Year-In-Review’ winds down but I’ll be curious to hear the thoughts of our readership.
Listed below is the Honorable Mention films ranking my #20 through #11 along with the unranked citations of certain films from the year.
Read more on Year-In-Review (Editor’s Honorable Mentions)…
Categories: Community, Editor Tags: arthur christmas, Best of the year, Bridesmaids, Carnage, Certified Copy, Crazy Stupid Love, Hugo, Like Crazy, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Midnight in Paris, pariah, Super 8, Take Shelter, The Descendants, The Muppets, The Tree of Life, Top Ten, Top Tens, war horse, Warrior, Winnie the Pooh
Wow. Just…wow. What a brutal weekend! I mean, no harm on my end; as far as I’m concerned, American audiences couldn’t have picked a more perfect wide release to ignore than New Year’s Eve. But it looks like Hollywood is looking to strike back with some major new films. It doesn’t take a genius to deduce what the likely hit is going to be…
Everyone’s favorite detective returns to the big screen in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, this time possibly meeting his match in the insidious Professor Moriarty. The first installment was a huge hit – not sure why, I thought it was terrible – and online buzz plus its sizable marketing push plus the presence of box office draw Robert Downey, Jr. looks to exceed that sum even if critics are less generous in their reviews. I’m pegging the film busts the business’ slump with a $61-66 million debut frame. The first film “earned” two Academy Award nominations, and if this one is as popular then it could re-score Art Direction and Original Score nods…maybe other crafts as well.
Read more on Weekend Openings (December 16-18)…
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 12/04)…
Categories: Circuit Round-Up Tags: another happy day, Brad Pitt, Carnage, Circuit Round-Up, Ellen Barkin, Friends with Benefits, Hugo, J. Edgar, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Moneyball, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle, Shame, The Descendants, The Help, tinker tailor soldier spy, war horse
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
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 Tags: 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
 A new trailer for Roman Polanski’s Carnage has hit the web. The reviews that have been shared have been positive but no one really seems to be calling it one of the frontrunners. Relationship dramas have had a hard time getting in with Oscar the past few years (Revolutionary Road, Closer). Acting categories, you never know? If Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly decide to go supporting, maybe they have a fighting chance. Same goes for Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet, probably a better chance for them. Trailer is after the jump. Read more on Trailer: “Carnage”…
Read more on Trailer: “Carnage”…
As a continuing feature here at Awards Circuit, here are the latest ratings provided by the MPAA Ratings Board – The Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA).
In this edition, dated 9/28/11, two Oscar hopefuls, “Carnage” and “We Need To Talk About Kevin”, go in front of the Board and a whole host of independent and potentially straight-to-video releases get their marks. Curiously, a film known as “The Good Doctor” starring Orlando Bloom, Michael Pena, Troy Garity, Rob Morrow, and Taraji P. Henson won a ratings appeal but still lacks domestic distribution.
Read more on MPAA Ratings Bulletin No. 2191 (9/28/11)…
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Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster will be honored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with their prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award. Announced today by Simon Baker and Kristen Stewart, Foster is the first woman to be awarded with the organization’s highest honor since Barbara Streisand in 2000. Not only is she being rewarded in a year where women are making their marks, she is the youngest recipient since Charlton Heston in 1967. Read more on Jodie Foster to Receive Cecil B. Demille Award from HFPA…
