The awards race is really starting to shape up right now, and The Awards Circuit was on site this week at the New York Film Festival to report on potential Oscar bidders as well as a slew of yet-to-be-released titles coming our way! Hyde Park on Hudson might not be a serious awards contender next year, but that doesn’t mean it’s a poor film according to Editor-in-Chief Clayton Davis. Depending on what happens with its release date, our editor also believesFrances Ha might just be the indie that sneaks in this year. Word is that the film’s a gem, and its writer and star, Greta Gerwig, most assuredly deserves Oscar recognition in the “Best Actress” category. Joey Magidson, who is also in attendance at NYFF with our fearless leader, reveals his thoughts on Brian De Palma’s new film, Passion, while also making some time to watch two documentaries on Hollywood icons (John Cassavetes and Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out). All in all, there could be an Oscar contender in the mix from what Joey and Clayton have seen, but surely the big guns will soon show their barrels (Life of Pi and Flight). Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 9/23)…
Glee‘s fourth season which premiered last Thursday was supposed to signal a tectonic shift in the landscape. Not only was the show moving from a comfortable (and ratings devouring) 8pm time slot on Tuesdays to 9pm on Thursdays, but there would be a show within a show having the underclassmen remain at McKinley while the upper clansmen pursued dreams elsewhere. While there are some new parts and a new location (well hello NYC!), Glee is at its core the same social issue pushing, mashup singing, musical numbers edited so haphazardly it’ll make you have a seizure, incredibly blatant show that you just can’t quit if you tried. The show starts of at the beginning of a new school year. Rachel is at NYADA, struggling to get adjusted to living away from home and her new dance teacher, Kurt is stuck in Ohio like the ghost of McKinley High, and the rest of the underclassmen are adjusting to new-found fame as national champs. The episode was titled “The New Rachel” and that was as much of a reflection on the hilarious battle amongst the New Directions to be the new Rachel (complete with Call Me Maybe cover) as it was Rachel realizing that her dreams of being a Broadway star are going to require some changes.
With summer coming to a close, it means the new fall television season is right around the corner. As always there are plenty TV shows airing this year; some new and some returning. To help you keep track of this seasons TV shows, I have compiled a list of shows that will be airing Thursday nights. New shows will be listed in bold. Read more on Fall TV Preview: Thursday Night…
If you’re a Glee fan, then you know Kate Hudson will be appearing on Glee this season. Watch Kate Hudson show off her singing and dance moves, and don’t forget to tune in Thursday September 13th at 9pm on FOX.
If there’s one thing I won’t be able to stress enough about the new Broadway drama hit Smash, is that it’s well, a smash. Many may be hesitant towards watching the show because they may think it’s similar to Glee, but trust me, the only similarity is the music, but even that’s better than Glee.
Holy Glee! If you haven’t seen the midseason finale to Glee yet, stop reading. I’m serious. Don’t read any further.
*spoilers ahead*
Season three of Glee is by far the best season of the series. The characters are developed, the writing is better, and the suspense is high. ‘On my way’ was most definitely the best episode of the entire series and not only taught many lessons but made the viewer’s wish April was tomorrow.
The first major awards show of the season officially kicks off tonight with the 38th Annual People’s Choice Awards! For viewers watching at home, the show will air live East Coast Time at 9/8c on CBS. Luckily, I was able to grab tickets over a month in advance, and so I will be presenting the first ever on-site report of the People’s Choice Awards for the Awards Circuit. I will be able to provide an in-depth news coverage of the event, as well as post some pictures and possibly video from my new iPhone 4S. It’s going to be a tremendous evening, where the stars from all various media forms — movies, television, and music — will be attending to receive their awards from the fans at home who voted in large numbers. Yes, the People’s Choice Awards may not hold precedent over the Academy Awards, but if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two is able to win best film, that momentum and enthusiasm for the critically acclaimed final entry in the Potter series could push Academy voters into reconsidering the film come voting time. Without further ado, I would like to preview the show by listing the following nominations, and stating my opinions on who should win and who will win. Here is the complete nomination list: Read more on Previewing the People’s Choice Awards…
American Horror Story is yet another creative, campy, barrier-pushing, and boundary-breaking new show from the twisted genius that is Ryan Murphy. The highly rated FX television series just wrapped its first season last week, and now it’s time to review the complete show in its entirety after having finally completed all of the inaugural season episodes. I will avoid explicit spoiler details, but I will touch on general events, character arcs, and themes that occur throughout the first season. I want to start off by saying, this show is definitely in line with Ryan Murphy’s other television series. It’s twisted, it’s extremely campy, the characters are flawed yet fascinating, and every frame has a pop to it in visual splendor. Aside from Nip/Tuck, which also had incredibly dark human behavior that only a parent like Sigmund Freud could be proud of, American Horror Story may be Murphy’s greatest creation yet. While Nip/Tuck and Glee were largely praised in their first seasons, the later seasons really took a beating from fans and critics alike. American Horror Story as an entire first season may not have been as consistently wonderful as those former show’s inaugural seasons, but it’s strength lies in its imperfection, ironically enough. The fact that it is so inconsistent with flashes of brilliance means this is an experiment in storytelling I would not mind seeing continued onward. Without spoiling anything, the ending of the first season really makes you wonder where the plot, and the television show, will head in its second season. There are rumors of entirely new casting and different locations, but one thing is for certain — if things do not get consistently weirder, the show will decline. Read more on TV Review: “American Horror Story” (***1/2)…
The Year-In-Review continues with some non-traditional citations on certain films and performances that did or did not make head way in 2011. What are your choices for “Limited Performance” of the year? or Most Underrated Film? or share what you thought about the Year-in-TV as I dish out my favorites in Television Drama and Comedies. Read more after jump. Read more on Year-In-Review: Editor’s Specialty Awards…
With the announcement of the Golden Globes nominations rapidly approaching, it is time for some predictions. Our wonderful editor, Clayton has taken care of the movie end of the predictions and I shall cover the predicted nominees for the Television section of the Golden Globes.
