International Documentary Association nominations

The IDA have announced there nominations for 2012

Nominees

Feature nominees:
The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
Women with Cows

The shorts:
God is the Bigger Elvis
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Saving Face

Moonrise Kingdom and The Master lead the Gotham Award nominations!

The Gotham Award nominees have been announced. Among them include two big oscar contenders The Master and Moonrise Kingdom. Silver Linings Playbook also picked up an nomination for ensemble while Benh Zeitlin was nominated for Breakthrough director for Beats of the Southern Wild. The other best feature nominees were Middle of Nowhere, Bernie and The Lonliest Planet. The awards will be handed out the 26th of November.  

Argo Review

Ben Affleck's first two films Gone Baby Gone and The Town were both solid films packed with energetic pacing and solid performances. But few would categorize them as great films. Argo, Affleck's latest work, is a great film that incorporates all the elements that made Affleck's past endeavors successful, but crafts them into a truly gripping portrayal of human courage.

Set during the Iranian Revolution, the film depicts a historic CIA rescue of six Americans who escaped from the capture of the US Embassy and were sheltered in the home of the Canadian Ambassador. At the center of the film is Tony Menez (Ben Affleck), a lonely CIA operative whose only chance at saving these people from Iran is to fabricate a film production and then pretend to be on a location scout with the six survivors. From the opening frames to the final moments, the film simply tightens the tension on the viewer until it reaches a cathartic finale. When that cathartic moment occurs (it's hard to miss it), the audience at the press screening erupted with applause. Continue Reading

Third Oscar Predictions

After the Hollywood Film Awards were announced these are my new predictions.

Best Picture predictions

1 Silver Linings Playbook

2 Life of Pi-new

3 Argo

4 Lincoln

5 The Master

6 Les Miserables

7 Beasts of the Southern Wild

8 Hitchcock-new

Previously on the list

Moonrise Kingdom

Best Director Predictions

1 Paul Thomas Anderson-The Master

2 Ben Affleck-Argo

3 David O. Russell-Silver Linings Playbook

4 Ang Lee-Life of Pi

5 Tom Hooper- Les Miserables

Best Actor Predictions

1 Joaquin Phoenix-The Master

2 Daniel Day-Lewis-Lincoln

3 John Hawkes-The Sessions

4 Denzel Washington-Flight

5 Bradley Cooper-Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress Predictions

1 Jennifer Lawrence-Silver Linings Playbook

2 Quvenzhane Wallis-Beast of the Southern Wild

3 Marion Cotillard-Rust and Bone

4 Helen Mirren-Hitchcock

5  Keira Knightley- Anna Karenina

Best Supporting Actor Predictions

1 Phillip Seymour Hoffman-The Master

2 Tommy Lee Jones-Lincoln

3 Robert De Niro-Silver Linings Playbook

4 Alan Arkin-Argo

5 Leonardo Dicaprio-Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress Predictions

1 Amy Adams-The Master

2 Anne Hatheway-Les Miserables

3 Helen Hunt-The Sessions

4 Pauline Collins-Quartet

5 Ann Dowd-Compliance

For full explanations click here.

Movies I recently saw

The Iron Lady-(2011) The film about An elderly Margaret Thatcher who talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene is an utter mess with no direction. While the film is stylish and features a tour de force by Meryl Streep, it is hindered by its lack of idenity and misguidance. D+ The plus is for Streep and the D is for the movie.

Two Women-(1960) Originally named La Ciociara is a harrowing tale about Cesira and her 13-year-old daughter, Rosetta who flee from the allied bombs in Rome during the second world war. The film features two outstanding performances by Sophia Loren and Eleonora Brown and shows how war can destroy humans. It is a film that must be seen by all. A+  

The Red Shoes-(1948) The Red Shoes tells the story of a woman who must ultimately chose between Love and her art. It is a tragic tale that features some of the most beautiful visuals, and performances ever seen in film history. It also featurs of one of most thrilling performance sequences ever made. Without doubt the film is one the best films I have ever seen. A+ 

Owning Mahowny-(2003) tells the story of A bank manager with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multi-million dollar account. The film is based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays Mahowny with so much charisma but at the same time with a tragic air that one roots for him even though he is breaking the law. Minnie Driver and John Hurt are also stellar. B

Beasts of the Southern Wild-(2012) Benh Zeitlen's first feature is a film that at first looks like an epic but at the heart there is really a very intimate film about the relationship between a dying father and his daughter. The film while a bit messy at the beginning is an inspiring adventure that also features two amazing screen debuts by  Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry. B+

Frankenweenie-(2012) After a mediocre Dark Shadows, Tim Burton returns with an animated remake of his first short film Frankenweenie. The film about young Victor who conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life is a genuine retelling of the Mary Shelley novel with a spoof on other horror films. It is one of the best animated films I have seen all year. B+ 

El Limpiador Review

Lima, Peru is overrun with a plague that is killing inhabitants without mercy. The only people not susceptible to this plague are the children and as a result, the shelters and orphanages are filled to capacity. This is the premise of writer/director Adrian Saba's "El Limpiador (The Cleaner)," a solemn but artful look at death and loneliness.

At the center of the film is a forensic cleaner Eusebio Vela, a lonely and seemingly apathetic man to the pain around him. He has essentially been desensitized by his line of work and goes about his business without a care in the world. But then he runs into Joaquin, an orphan who is not particularly keen to communicating to those around him. When Eusebio realizes that there is nowhere to take the boy, he takes him to live with him in his rusty old apartment. What follows is the growth of a tender relationship that gives the core of the story warmth amidst the otherwise cold and apocalyptic veneer.  Continue Reading 

The Sessions Review

"The Sessions" tells the charming story of a man in an iron long coming to terms with his own sexuality and loneliness with a sex surrogate.

65 year old writer/director Ben Lewin achieves a remarkable balance between the comic aspects of the story and its more serious nature but without ever sacrificing the other. The moment the film seems to be headed into truly heavy territory, Lewin and his incredible cast throw a small ounce of levity that immediately relieves you. What this creates is not only a strong and subtle character study, but an enjoyable one. 

The film tackles a vast array of themes and ideas. O'Brien knows his "due date" is close by and after being rejected by his first love asserts his desire for sexual intercourse to feel like a "real man." But Lewin takes small jabs at this belief that sex is a fulfilling experience as characters constantly jeer at the fact that it ends too quickly and at one point O'Brien even notes that he thought it would be a bigger deal to which his attendant Rod (W. Earl Brown) notes that intercourse Is overrated and that there are many ways to achieve the same result. As the story deepens, the perspective of human connection and love starts to really dominate the narrative as O'Brien no longer seeks out individual sexual expression but sexual and emotional connection. Continue reading.

Awards officially started

Today it was announced that Argo will receive the award for best ensemble by the Hollywood film awards.
Also receiving award at the festival will be David O Russell for directing, Amy Adams for supporting actress and Marion Cottillard for actress. Robert De Niro will receive the supporting actor award and Wally Pister will receive the cinematography award. The Complete list has yet to be revealed but stayed tuned for more to come in the following weeks.

For the complete list check our awards tally tab.