Thank you for a Wonderful 2011!

Thank you for a wonderful 2011 and helping us get this blog up and running. Our coverage of the Long Island International Film Expo was by far our most popular coverage, followed by our close up to date coverage of the Awards Season leading up to the Oscars.

In the next few days expect both of us to include our own lists for Top 10- films of the year and some other notable awards.

Thank you for a supportive 2011 and we look forward to providing even more in 2012!


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The Descendants Review

By: Francisco Salazar

Its been 7 years since Alexander Payne directed a feature film. His last film Sideways proved to be his most successful film winning him an Oscar for best adapted screenplay. As a result the stakes were high for his followup.

The Descendants, based the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, tells the story of Matt King, a land baron who tries to reconnect with his two daughters Alexandra and Scottie after the his wife Elizabeth suffers a serious accident that puts her on the verge of Death. The film essentially follows Matt King's journey into figuring out who he is as a father, a husband, a family man and a businessman. He states early on that he is the "Backup parent," but must now be something more and learn to deal with his rebellious college daughter and his younger daughter. He must learn to forgive his dying wife who cheated on him and must make a a business decision for his entire family that will change all of Hawaii (a plot which does little for the story).

Hugo, Drive, and Take Shelter gain traction with the Austin Film Critics

Today the Austin Film Critics named Hugo their Best Picture. However that wasn't the biggest news as Drive took home a screenplay, Supporting Actor and Directing award. In addition Take Shelter went home with both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress award. The Austin film critics also unveiled an unusual top ten list leaving out heavy favorites The Descendants, The Tree of Life, Moneyball, and The Help.  

Top 10 Films

1. Hugo
2. Drive
3. Take Shelter
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Attack the Block 
6. The Artist 
7. Martha Marcy May Marlene 
8. I Saw the Devil 
9. 13 Assassins 
10. Melancholia

Best FilmHugo

Best Director
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Best ActorMichael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, Drive

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter

Best Original Screenplay
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen

Best Adapted Screenplay
Drive, Hossein Amini

Best Cinematography
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Original Score
Attack the Block, Steven Price

Best Foreign Language FilmI Saw the Devil, South Korea (Jee-woon Kim)

Best DocumentarySenna (Asif Kapadia)

Best Animated Feature
Rango (Gore Verbinski)

The Artist sweeps the Phoenix Film Critics

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2011 (in alphabetical order)

"The Artist”

""The Descendants"

""Drive"

""The Help"

""Hugo"

""Midnight in Paris"

""Moneyball"

""My Week With Marilyn"

""Super 8"

""The Tree of Life"

BEST DIRECTOR

"Michael Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

"Jean Dujardin, "The Artist

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

"Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

"Albert Brooks, "Drive"

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

"Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING

""Super 8"

BEST SCREENPLAY – ORIGINAL

""The Artist"

BEST SCREENPLAY – ADAPTATION

""The Help"

BEST LIVE ACTION FAMILY FILM

""The Muppets"

THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR

""A Better Life"

BEST ANIMATED FILM

""Rango"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

""The Skin I Live In"

BEST DOCUMENTARY

""Page One: Inside the New York Times"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Life's a Happy Song, "The Muppets"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

"The Artist"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

""Tree of Life"

BEST FILM EDITING

""The Artist"

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

""Hugo"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

""The Artist"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

""Hugo"

BEST STUNTS

""Drive"

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE ON CAMERA

"Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

BREAKTROUGH PERFORMANCE BEHIND THE CAMERA

"Michael Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – MALE

"Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – FEMALE

"Saoirse Ronan, "Hanna"

For a complete list of the Nominees click here