Paperman, the Oscar nominated short from Disney

Pixar have a great tradition of heading all their great movies with bold and emotive short films beforehand. The fantastic and Oscar nominated Wreck It Ralph had the now Oscar nominated short Paperman. I didn’t get to see this when I went to see WIR, but so glad I have. It's really cute and is now one of my favourites.
  

If only “love at first sight” really worked like that.....

Django Unchained

Directed by Quentin Tarantino, this is the incredible story of one man free from slavery and his heroic and violent attempts to rescue is enslaved wife with the help of a bounty hunter.

Tarantino, famous for his uber-violent homage’s to film styles gone by, takes on western and blaxsploitation and mashes them together to create a hilarious set of circumstances that brings this film together neatly.  And its unmistakably Tarantino with bright colours, excessive swearing and comic book bloody violence through out.

Jamie Foxx is Django, a man rescued from slavery by Christoph Waltz’s Dr King Schultz, a bounty hunter disguised as a dentist. Schultz is looking for his next criminals and knows Django can help him find them.  Suddenly freed from slavery and given a job as Schultz right hand man with the same respect as whites, Django goes on a road to discovery of himself and of his wife Broomhilda, sold into slavery far away. Off starts an adventure of bounty hunting, murder, and comical calamity.

Both Waltz and Foxx are amazing in this film although I do feel like Waltz outshone our named hero.  His comical timing is excellent throughout.  An absolute star turn from Leonardo DiCaprio, he realise how much of a method actor he is when you see him! There were some fun cameos from Don Johnson and Michael Parks and even QT himself. 

As much as I loved this film (and I really did) I was really irked by the Broomhilda character.  While acted well by Kerry Washington, I felt that it was a bit of a cop out to have the damsel in distress character that didn’t try to defend herself.  QT is has always been excellent at writing and directing some feisty and strong female characters (Kill Bill, Jackie Brown etc), it would have been better to see Brromhilda rise up and perhaps grab a gun and shot one of her white captors.

There was so much comedy in the film, I did wonder if the film was making any point about slavery or America in that time.  It was almost like QT used these as a premise to laugh at and not go into the slightly deeper issues with it.  Hence his real reluctance to talk about it in interviews.

Many have also talked about the excessive use of the “N” word in the whole film.  Many get upset about it, many find it abhorrent.  It’s a fact that it was used very liberally at that time, but the film shows us each iteration of the word means different things.  It was used in different contexts to mean different things and at times it could be funny, affectionate, as well as derogatory.  That’s not to say it’s right, I certainly wouldn’t say it but I found it an interesting approach to the word itself.

I did find that I was one of a few that laughed throughout the film.  The majority of the people in the cinema were incredibly uncomfortable with the level of violence and the use of the N word, but loads of people were chatting about it once it had finished.

There were some really great songs in the film and as always QT knows how to pick them to fit just perfectly in the right scene.  I loved Rick Ross’ number “1000 Black Coffins”, excellently written by Foxx himself.

I loved this film and really want to watch it again, It’s up there with Jackie Brown for me.  QT’s finest hour.  Go see it if you get a chance!

Les Miserables

Les Miserables is a long running, well established stage musical, now retold for film. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway lead the cast in this epic sing off, almost as long as the musical itself. 

A petty thief Jean Valjean (Jackman) comes out of jail after a long spell inside only to continue his crime spree.  When a chance encounter with a Priest who lets him off from stealing all his silver, with the proviso that he uses all the stolen silver to change his life for good. Valjean takes this one in a lifetime chance and becomes a model citizen, runs his own business under the new guise of Mr Le Mer.  When a young lady is fired from his factory because of the jealousy of the other female workers, thus starts a long walk down into hell as we watch Fantine (Hathaway) fall into prostitution to get any money for her young daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried).

Valjean agrees to take on destitute Fantine’s burden after she falls terminally ill, thus forging his new relationship as father to Cosette.  All of this happens in the midst of the French Revolution.  We then see Cosette in the future falling in love with a revolution warrior Marius (Eddie Redmayne).

I love a musical but this interpretation has made me love it on stage more.  It just doesn’t translate on film.  The constant singing even in conversation does grate on my nerves.  Jackman and Hathaway are fantastic in this film, they act to the 100^th degree, musical theatre dripping from their pores.  Some great acting from Redmayne and Samantha Barks as his unrequited love interest.  Unfortunately the good parts together do not make a completely amazing finished product.  Seyfried’s shrill singing was so high and out of tone, I thought all the glass in the cinema was going to shatter.  Just not necessary at all.

Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen were not required in the whole film, it’s a bleak story and we don’t need some light entertainment in there.  It was just stupid and bought the whole film down.

If you like this kind of thing, go for it but personally it was a bit average and I have seen better.

Golden Globes - Winners in full

Awards season is in full swing now and the Golden Globes are no exception.  The Globes are usually a good indication of how the Oscars will perform, but this threw some curveballs.

I am very happy Ben Affleck got the recognition he deserves for Argo and that Girls showed all the other comedies how to do it.

See the full list below:

FILM AWARDS

Best motion picture - drama

Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

Best motion picture - musical or comedy

Les Miserables

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Moonrise Kingdom

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Silver Linings Playbook

Best director

Ben Affleck, Argo

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best actor - drama

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Richard Gere, Arbitrage

Denzel Washington, Flight

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Best actor - musical or comedy

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Bill Murray, Hyde Park on the Hudson

Jack Black, Bernie

Best actress - drama

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best actress - musical or comedy

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Judi Dench, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Maggie Smith, Quartet

Meryl Steep, Hope Springs

Best supporting actor

Christophe Waltz, Django Unchained

Alan Arkin, Argo

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Hope Springs

Best supporting actress

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Best screenplay

Django Unchained

Zero Dark Thirty

Argo

Silver Linings Playbook

Lincoln

Best original score

Life of Pi

Anna Karenina

Argo

Cloud Atlas

Lincoln

Best original song

Skyfall, Skyfall

Safe and Sound, The Hunger Games,

Suddenly, Les Miserables

Not Running Anymore, Stand Up Guys

For You, Act of Valor

Best foreign language film

Amour

Rust and Bone

The Untouchables

A Royal Affair

Kon-Tiki

Best animated feature

Brave

Frankenweenie

Rise of the Guardians

Wreck It Ralph

Hotel Transylvania

Cecil B DeMille lifetime achievement award

Jodie Foster

TELEVISION AWARDS

Best TV Series - Drama

Homeland

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

The Newsroom

Boardwalk Empire

Best TV Series - Comedy

Girls

The Big Bang Theory

Episodes

Modern Family

Smash

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture made for TV

Game Change

The Girl

The Hour

Hatfields & McCoys

Political Animals

Best Actor - Drama

Damian Lewis, Homeland

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Best Actress - Drama

Claire Danes, Homeland

Connie Britton, Nashville

Glenn Close, Damages

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey

Best Actor - Comedy

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Louis CK, Louie

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Actress - Comedy

Lena Dunham, Girls

Zoey Deschanel, New Girl

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Best Actor - Miniseries or Motion Picture made for TV

Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys

Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock

Toby Jones, The Girl

Woody Harrelson, Game Change

Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gelhorn

Best Actress - Miniseries or Motion Picture made for TV

Julianne Moore, Game Change

Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gelhorn

Sienna Miller, The Girl

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Best Supporting Actor

Ed Harris, Game Change

Max Greenfield, New Girl

Danny Huston, Magic City

Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Supporting Actress

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Sarah Paulson, Game Change

Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife

Hayden Panettiere, Nashville

Oscars 2013: Nominations in full

Well its been a big week in film with the BAFTA Nominations causing a stir, but the OSCARS are no different.  A coouple of bold choices here, although I am personally offended that Ben Affleck didn't get nomination for Best Director!

But so very pleased for Beasts of the Southern Wild, well deserved nominations all round!

So here they are!

BEST PICTURE

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Misérables

Lincoln

Life of Pi

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

Denzel Washington – Flight

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin – Argo –

Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams  - The Master

Sally Field - Lincoln

Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables

Helen Hunt - The Sessions

Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Animated Feature Film

Brave

Frankenweenie

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anna Karenina

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

COSTUME DESIGN

Anna Karenina

Les Misérables

Lincoln

Mirror Mirror

Snow White and the Huntsman

DIRECTING

Amour - Michael Haneke

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi - Ang Lee

Lincoln - Steven Spielberg

Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers

How to Survive a Plague

The Invisible War

Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short Subject

Inocente

Kings Point

Mondays at Racine

Open Heart

Redemption

FILM EDITING

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Foreign Language Film

Amour

Kon-Tiki

No

A Royal Affair

War Witch

MAKEUP and hairstyling

Hitchcock

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Misérables

Music (Original Score)

Anna Karenina

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

Music (Original Song)

Before My Time - Chasing Ice

Everybody Needs A Best Friend - Ted

Pi’s Lullaby - Life of Pi

Skyfall - Skyfall

Suddenly - Les Misérables

Production Design

Anna Karenina

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Short Film (Animated)

Adam and Dog

Fresh Guacamole

Head over Heels

Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”

Paperman

Short Film (Live Action)

Asad

Buzkashi Boys

Curfew

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)

Henry

SOUND EDITING

Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Skyfall

Zero Dark Thirty

SOUND MIXING

Argo

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

VISUAL EFFECTS

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Life of Pi

Marvel’s The Avengers

Prometheus

Snow White and the Huntsman

Adapted Screenplay

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Writing (Original Screenplay )

Amour

Django Unchained

Flight

Moonrise Kingdom

Zero Dark Thirty