New on DVD & Blu-ray: 'The Wolf of Wall Street', 'Frozen', 'Delivery Man'

Frozen - The animation that's captured America and the rest of the world is finally available to own on DVD and blu-ray. Anna and Elsa are close when they're younger, but Elsa's powers drives them apart until the day when the elder sister is crowned queen and Anna accidentally gets her to show her power, resulting in a winter for the kingdom in July. Filled with comedy, heartwarming moments, and songs like the Academy Award winning "Let it Go", Frozen is definitely a great movie to add to your collection. 

BUY NOW!

American Hustle - What happens when a con man and his associate are forced to work with the FBI in order to stay out of prison? You get a story filled with people conning people and David O. Russell's version of the Abscam events from the 1970s. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, the film stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Michael Pena. 

BUY NOW!

Saving Mr. Banks - Based on true events, this film gives us the behind-the-scenes look at the events that transpired before the famous Mary Poppins was made and chronicles the work between P.L. Travers, Walt Disney, and the music composers for the 1964 film. It's heartfelt, very Disney, and though not every detail is true, it's still interesting to get behind the mind of the author of the beloved Mary Poppins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak, and Jason Shwartzman. 

BUY NOW!  

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela's life story is a pretty well-known one. We know he spent his life fighting for equality and freedom for blacks in South Africa, even spending 27 years in prison for his troubles. This film gets behind Mandela the freedom fighter and looks into his past and what led him into his future. The film stars Idris Elba, Naomie Harris. 

BUY NOW! 

Kill Your Darlings - During the 1940s, a conventional English major Allen Ginsberg and a man who lives outside the orthodox rules of his university, Lucien Carr, are drawn together to challenge literary thinking that would later be called the Beat generation. However, a murder and other transgressions mark their lives in a way they never thought would happen. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall, and Ben Foster.

BUY NOW!

The Wolf of Wall Street - When Jordan Belfort turned 26, he inherited the world. Well, at least he thought so. Filled with schemes, illegal activities, prostitutes, over-consumption and excess of just about everything, including expired drugs, Martin Scorsese's film is based on the true story of Belfort's activities in the 90s. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, and Kyle Chandler. 

BUY NOW! 

Walking With Dinosaurs - Based on the successful BBC series of the same name, this narrative version tells the story of Patchi the dinosaur, of his life, and of his underdog struggle to the top of his pack. The film stars the voice talents of Justin Long, Tiya Sircar, and Skyler Stone. 

BUY NOW!




Delivery Man - A man who's life is on the rocks finds out that he's accidentally fathered over 500 children. Intent on getting his life back together and finding some sort of happiness and worth in his life, he tries to get to know a few of them without revealing who he really his. The film stars Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, and Cobie Smulders. 

BUY NOW! 

Welcome to the Jungle - Company retreats can be fun. Well, sometimes, depending on what your company has in mind. Team building? Trainings? Taking your employees to a tropical island? The last one isn't likely, but when this fictional company takes their employees to a tropical island for a good time, things don't exactly turn out the way they planned. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Adam Brody, Rob Huebel, and Kristen Schaal.

BUY NOW!

Angels in Stardust - Vallie Sue lives in Tardust, a forgotten and rundown town, just like the "S" in the name, built on the remains of an old drive-in theater. She's looking to get out of the town, to become a writer, but her mother's lifestyle forces her to take care of her younger brother, all while having to deal with the town and it's gritty ways. The film stars AJ Michalka, Alicia Silverstone, and Billy Burke. 

BUY NOW!

Read More

2014 Oscars: 'Gravity' Wins 7, '12 Years A Slave' Makes History with Best Picture Win

And that's a wrap, true believers. The awards season came to close tonight with the 86th Academy Awards, and it was a show with a few surprises, a lot of lulls in energy, and a spotty G-rated performance by host Ellen Degeneres. Between the jokes about pizza, a slew of "hero" montages, and live musical acts there was just enough time for Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity to emerge the big winner.

Gravity entered the night tied with American Hustle with ten nominations, and Cuaron's deep space thriller dominated with seven total victories, including Best Director and most of the technical awards. On the other hand, American Hustle was left completely shut out, a rare feat for such a high-profile film with nominees in every major acting category.  Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave made history by taking home Best Picture, making it the first film from a black director to earn the prize. Lupita Nyong'o was victorious for Best Supporting Actress and John Ridley earned a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Completing an amazing career 180, Matthew McConaughey defeated a competitive group to win Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club, while his co-star Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor. 2004's Mystic River was the last time Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor victors came from the same film.  Cate Blanchett did as expected and won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine, while there was a bit of a surprise when Spike Jonze earned Best Original Screenplay for Her.  Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby also performed well, winning two Oscars for Costume and Production Design.

The full list of winners is below:

Best Picture: "12 Years a Slave."

Actor: Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club."

Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine."

Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club."

Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave."

Directing: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity."

Foreign Language Film: "The Great Beauty," Italy.

Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave."

Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, "Her."

Animated Feature Film: "Frozen."

Production Design: "The Great Gatsby."

Cinematography: "Gravity."

Sound Mixing: "Gravity."

Sound Editing: "Gravity."

Original Score: "Gravity," Steven Price.

Original Song: "Let It Go" from "Frozen."

Costume: "The Great Gatsby."

Makeup and Hairstyling: "Dallas Buyers Club."

Animated Short Film: "Mr. Hublot."

Documentary Feature: "20 Feet from Stardom."

Documentary (short subject): "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life."

Film Editing: "Gravity."

Live Action Short Film: "Helium."

Visual Effects: "Gravity."

Read More

2014 Oscar Predictions: 'Gravity', 'American Hustle', '12 Years A Slave' Vie for Gold

In just a few short days it'll be the 86th Academy Awards, when Hollywood will (mostly) put all of the lobbying and horse-trading behind them and honor the best movies of the prior year. Actually, they'll honor the best movies that had the best marketing campaigns and threw the best parties with the most awesome swag, but that's a discussion for another day. This year we're basically looking at a three film race to take everything: American Hustle, Gravity, and 12 Years A Slave. They've cleaned up on the overlong awards drive leading up to this point, and there's little reason to think that will end now. A few surprises could bubble up in the acting categories, though, thanks to Matthew McConaughey who seems especially tough to keep down.  The same can't be said for Robert Redford, Emma Thompson, or Tom Hanks, who were expected to be contenders but couldn't quite cross the finish line.

Enough jabbering. Here are my picks for who will win, the dark horse, who should win, and in some cases what was criminally left out of the discussion. Feel free to come back here when all is said and done to mock my wild misfires, of which there usually many.

Best Picture
Well, here's where everything will come to a head. A few weeks ago one would have said this was Gravity or 12 Years a Slave's award to win, but the late release of American Hustle was a brilliant bit of chess. Ignore those other six movies on the list; they're only here to bump up Blu-Ray sales. The popular theory is that 12 Years a Slave will win here, with Alfonso Cuaron getting his due in the Best Director category. But I say screw that; Cuaron takes both in a shocker.

Who Will Win: Gravity
Who Should Win: 12 Years A Slave
The Dark Horse: American Hustle
Shoulda Been a Contender: Short Term 12

Best Director
What Steve McQueen was able to accomplish with 12 Years a Slave is truly extraordinary, but nothing compares to the groundbreaking technical achievements of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity. And let's face it, most people would rather feel like they're in space than at the end of Michael Fassbender's whip. Regardless of who takes it they'll be making history, either as the first African-American or Latino Best Director winner. Again, the only other nominee with any glimmer of hope is David O. Russell for American Hustle, but that was more of an actors' showcase.

Who Will and Should Win: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
The Dark Horse: David O. Russell, American Hustle
Shoulda Been a Contender:  Spike Jonze, Her

Best Actor
Wow, no other category is quite as competitive as the Best Actor field, so much so that Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael B. Jordan and Oscar Isaac couldn't get in despite many finding them deserving. A few months ago this seemed like a shoe-in for Chiwetel Ejiofor's powerful turn in 12 Years a Slave, but after a string of victories it's looking like Matthew McConaughey may have the edge for Dallas Buyers Club. Matthew McConaughey, Oscar-winner. Yeah, wrap your head around that one. Still, I think Ejiofor edges him out, but just barely. A lot of love out there for Bruce Dern and Nebraska but a long career does not a great actor make, in my opinion. Christian Bale's hair and gut were impressive, but American Hustlebelonged to the ladies. Leonardo DiCaprio dropped a ton of F-Bombs in what I think was his finest performance in a string of great ones, and any other year he would easily take it.

Who Will and Should Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
The Dark Horse: Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Shoulda Been a Contender: Robert Redford, All is Lost

Best Actress
Probably by default or something, Cate Blanchett seems to be the favorite here for her vastly overrated, modulation-free performance in Blue Jasmine. Despite the presence of Meryl Streep in the mediocre August: Osage County, the only one who may stir things up is Amy Adams for American Hustle. Like Blanchett, she was the best thing about the film she was in, however the difference is that American Hustle is a good film with a tremendous cast, making Adams' performance all the more impressive. Blue Jasmine is a subpar effort stashed with stand-up comedians from Woody Allen, who just so happens to be embroiled in an ugly controversy, the kind of controversy that could keep voters from supporting his film.

Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Who Should Win: Amy Adams, American Hustle
Shoulda Been a Contender: Brie Larson, Short Term 12

Best Supporting Actor
If there's one sure-fire lead pipe lock it's that Jared Leto is walking away with some gold this weekend. He's dominated the award season for his transformative performance in Dallas Buyers Club, with the only losses coming when he wasn't even nominated, like at the BAFTAs. If Matthew McConaughey can also sure a win it'll be the first time since Mystic Riverthat Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor victors came from the same movie. There's a lot of love out there for Jonah Hill to get the win he didn't get for Moneyball, and Barkhad Abdi's debut performance in Captain Phillips is a great Cinderella story, but neither has a chance this year.

Who Will and Should Win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
The Dark Horse: Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Shoulda Been a Contender: James Franco, Spring Breakers

Best Supporting Actress
Ding ding ding! In this corner we have Lupita Nyong'o, the Kenyan beauty who turned heads with her heartbreaking performance in 12 Years a Slave, her first major acting role. And in this corner is the defending champion and Hollywood darling, Jennifer Lawrence, the firecracker of American Hustle. Really, there are no other contenders in this fight, and the momentum seems to be behind Lawrence after big wins at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs. It's probably hers to lose, but the campaign for Nyong'o has been fierce and persistent. She's been in front of every darn camera on the west coast and attended every awards ceremony big or small, and that definitely has an effect. This one is almost too close to call, but my money is on Lawrence going 2-for-2.

Who Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Who Should Win: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Shoulda Been a Contender: Octavia Spencer or Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale Station

Best Animated Feature
The world loves legendary animator, Hayao Miyazaki, and his sterling biopic The Wind Rises has more than enough fans to drown out any detractors, but this is Disney's award to win for the Frozen. A beloved smash at the box office with a soundtrack that has parents and kids singing "Let it Go" at the top of their lungs, Frozen would be Disney Animation's first win in this category since...ever. Kind of crazy, huh?

Who Will Win: Frozen
Who Should Win: The Wind Rises

Best Adapted Screenplay
Who Will Win: 12 Years a Slave, John Ridley
Who Should Win: The Wolf of Wall Street, Terence Winter
The Dark Horse: Before Midnight, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Shoulda Been a Contender: Short Term 12, Destin Daniel Cretton

Best Original Screenplay
Who Will Win: American Hustle, Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Who Should Win:  Her, Spike Jonze

Best Foreign Language Film
Who Will Win: The Broken Circle Breakdown
Who Should Win: The Hunt
Shoulda Been a Contender: The Past

Best Documentary Feature
Who Will Win: The Square
Who Should win: The Act of Killing
Shoulda Been a Contender: Stories We Tell

Best Cinematography
Who Will and Should Win: Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
The Dark Horse: Inside Llewyn Davis, Bruno Delbonnel
Shoulda Been a Contender: 12 Years a Slave, Sean Bobbitt

Best Production Design
Who Will Win: Gravity
Who Should Win: The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design
Who Will Win: American Hustle
Who Should Win: The Great Gatsby

Best Film Editing
Who Will and Should Win: Gravity

Best Make-Up & Hairstyling
Who Will Win: Dallas Buyers Club
The Dark Horse: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

Best Original Score
Who Will Win: Gravity, Steven Price
Who Should Win: Her,  William Butler and Owen Pallett
Shoulda Been a Contender: Short Term 12, Joel P. West

Best Original Song
Who Will Win: "Let It Go, Frozen
Who Should Win: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, Despicable Me 2

Best Sound Editing
Who Will Win: Gravity

Best Sound Mixing
Who Will Win: Gravity
Shoulda Been a Contender: Rush

Best Visual Effects
Who Will and Should Win: Gravity

Read More

Watch Kids Say the Darndest Things while Reenacting Best Picture Nominees

Forget all the lobbying and schmoozing that come with the Academy Awards, it's important to remember that these movies are supposed to be fun. Right? Ok, maybe not in the case of 12 Years a Slave, but even the grimness of Steve McQueen's historical drama can lighten the mood when performed by children. Cinefix have gathered up a bunch of kids, complete with oversized clothes, fake mustaches, and great wigs, to reenact scenes from this year's Best Picture nominees. So you can imagine how they look in vintage American Hustle gear, or giving a childish take on The Wolf of Wall Street. It's all cute and hilarious stuff, and the 12 Years A Slave bit is pretty clever, too. Frankly, I found the most offensive one to be Captain Phillips with a little boy waving a gun around. It's obviously fake but couldn't they have used a NERF or something?

Read More

'Gravity' Big Winner at 2014 BAFTAs; '12 Years A Slave' Wins Best Film

The last big awards ceremony before the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs have been an increasingly reliable indicator of how the Oscars will turn out. If that holds true this year then Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity is in line to take a lot of golden statues in a couple of weeks. The sci-fi thriller was the big winner of the night, taking six awards including Best British Film (a controversial nomination, to say the least), Best Director, Best Cinematography, and most of the technical awards. Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave won Best Film, while Chiwetel Ejiofor took home Best Actor.

Meanwhile, in what may be a sign of things to come, Jennifer Lawrence's performance in American Hustle beat out Lupita Nyong'o for Best Supporting Actress. Captain Phillips' Barkhad Abdi won Best Supporting Actor, and Cate Blanchett, the clear favorite in the Best Actress category, won for Blue Jasmine.

You can find the full list of winners below:

Best Picture – 12 Years a Slave
Best Director – Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Best Actor – Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Best Actress – Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Supporting Actor – Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Best Supporting Actress – Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Best Adapted Screenplay – Philomena, Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
Best Original Screenplay – American Hustle, Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Best Cinematography – Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Documentary – The Act of Killing
Best Animated Feature – Frozen
Best Music – Gravity, Steven Price
Best British Film – Gravity
Best Editing – Rush
Best Production Design – The Great Gatsby
Best Costume Design – The Great Gatsby
Best Sound – Gravity
Best Visual FX - Gravity
Best Hair & Make – American Hustle
Best British Short, Live Action – Room 8
Best British Short, Animation – Sleeping with the Fishes
Outstanding British Debut – Kelly & Victor
BAFTA Rising Star – Will Poulter

Read More

2014 Oscar Nominations: 'American Hustle' and 'Gravity' Lead with 10 Each

Today is the day that every filmmaker, actor, producer, and studio rep has been building towards. It's the day Hollywood wakes up early and reveals the nominees for the 2014 Academy Awards, and in one of the most crowded fields in recent memory there were a number of surprises, shocks, and snubs.

David O. Russell's political caper American Hustle led with 10 nominations, surpassing the 8 he earned for Silver Linings Playbook just a year ago. Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity also earned 10, followed closely behind by 12 Years a Slave with 9.

Surprisingly, Tom Hanks was left out of the Best Actor race for Captain Phillips, when he had seemed like a shoe-in for months. That's probably due to the late surge by Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street. Saving Mr. Banks was left on the outside looking as it failed to make the final Best Picture field, and star Emma Thompson missed the Best Actress cut in another surprising move. The Coen Brothers' folk music drama Inside Llewyn Davis vastly underperformed, even in the musical categories where it was expected to do wwell. Sentimental pick James Gandolfini did not earn a nomination for Enough Said, as some expected, with Jonah Hill likely taking his place for The Wolf of Wall Street.

The Academy Awards will be held on March 2nd. The full list of nominations are below.

Best motion picture of the year
“American Hustle” Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Captain Phillips” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
“Dallas Buyers Club” Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
“Her” Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
“Nebraska” Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
“Philomena” Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
“12 Years a Slave” Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Nominees to be determined

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
Judi Dench in “Philomena”
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”
June Squibb in “Nebraska”

Best animated feature film of the year
“The Croods” Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
“Despicable Me 2” Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
“Ernest & Celestine” Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
“Frozen” Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
“The Wind Rises” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

Achievement in cinematography
“The Grandmaster” Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” Roger A. Deakins

Achievement in costume design
“American Hustle” Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave” Patricia Norris

Achievement in directing
“American Hustle” David O. Russell
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese

Best documentary feature
“The Act of Killing”Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“Cutie and the Boxer” Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
“Dirty Wars” Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
“The Square” Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
“20 Feet from Stardom” Nominees to be determined

Best documentary short subject
“CaveDigger” Jeffrey Karoff
“Facing Fear” Jason Cohen
“Karama Has No Walls” Sara Ishaq
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” Edgar Barens

Achievement in film editing
“American Hustle” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” Joe Walker

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” Belgium
“The Great Beauty” Italy
“The Hunt” Denmark
“The Missing Picture” Cambodia
“Omar” Palestine

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“The Book Thief” John Williams
“Gravity” Steven Price
“Her” William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from “Her”
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

Achievement in production design
“American Hustle” Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
“Gravity” Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
“The Great Gatsby” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn
“Her” Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
“12 Years a Slave” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

Best animated short film
“Feral” Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
“Get a Horse!” Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
“Mr. Hublot” Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
“Possessions” Shuhei Morita
“Room on the Broom” Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

Best live action short film
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” Esteban Crespo
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)” Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
“Helium” Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
“The Voorman Problem” Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

Achievement in sound editing
“All Is Lost” Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Brent Burge
“Lone Survivor” Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing
“Captain Phillips” Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro
“Gravity” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

Achievement in visual effects
“Gravity” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
“Iron Man 3” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
“The Lone Ranger” Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
“Star Trek Into Darkness” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

Adapted screenplay
“Before Midnight” Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
“Captain Phillips” Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Screenplay by Terence Winter

Original screenplay
“American Hustle” Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
“Blue Jasmine” Written by Woody Allen
“Dallas Buyers Club” Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
“Her” Written by Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” Written by Bob Nelson

Read More

71st Annual Golden Globes: 'American Hustle' Wins Three Awards, '12 Years A Slave' Wins Best Drama

The 71st Annual Golden Globes are now in the books, one of the last major steps on the road to the Academy Awards, and there are a couple of surprises that are all tied in together. Probably the biggest of all is that 12 Years A Slave, which had come in as the favorite over the last few months, only managed one win for Best Drama, leading many on social media to wail that the film was mere moments away from being totally shut out.

The big victor of the night was David O. Russell's American Hustle with three, including Best Picture Comedy/Musical, Best Actress-Comedy for Amy Adams, and Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Lawrence. The momentum for Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club continued as he defeated Chiwetel Ejiofor for Best Actor-Drama, while his co-star Jared Leto won Best Supporting actor. Despite the film earning its share of criticism, Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Actor-Comedy for Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. As many predicted, Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director for Gravity, overcoming stiff competition from Steve McQueen and O. Russell.

In their second year as hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler began the night with a scathing and pin-point opener skewering many of the guests, especially ripping George Clooney for his infamous ageism. Tom Hanks was especially in the duo's comedic sights for some reason, and yeah there were plenty of off-the-wall, possibly alcohol-fueled acceptance speeches. In particular Jacqueline Bissett, winning for TV miniseries Dancing on the Edge, gave a sputtering, angry speech that had to be censored for vulgarity.

How will all of this affect the Oscar nominations next week? If anything, it shows that 12 Years A Slave's seeming grip on the top honors is slipping.

The full list of winners is below:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
WINNER: "12 Years a Slave"
"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"Philomena"
"Rush"

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
WINNER: "American Hustle"
"Her"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"
"The Wolf Of Wall Street"

Best Director
WINNER: Alfonso Cuaron - "Gravity"
Paul Greengrass - "Captain Phillips"
Steve McQueen - "12 Years a Slave"
Alexander Payne - "Nebraska"
David O Russell - "American Hustle"

Best Actress - Drama
WINNER: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock - "Gravity
Judi Dench - "Philomena"
Emma Thompson - "Saving Mr Banks"
Kate Winslet - "Labor Day"

Best Actor - Drama
WINNER: Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "12 Years a Slave"
Idris Elba - "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Tom Hanks - "Captain Phillips"
Robert Redford - "All Is Lost"

Best Actress - Comedy
WINNER: Amy Adams - "American Hustle"
Julie Delpy - "Before Midnight"
Greta Gerwig - "Frances Ha"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "Enough Said"
Meryl Streep - "August: Osage County"

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical
WINNER: Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Christian Bale - "American Hustle"
Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"
Oscar Isaac - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Joaquin Phoenix - "Her"

Best Supporting Actress
WINNER:  Jennifer Lawrence - "American Hustle"
Sally Hawkins - "Blue Jasmine"
Lupita N'yongo - "12 Years a Slave"
Julia Roberts - "August: Osage County"
June Squibb - "Nebraska"

Best Supporting Actor
WINNER: Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Barkhad Abdi - "Captain Phillips"
Daniel Bruhl - "Rush"
Bradley Cooper - "American Hustle"
Michael Fassbender - "12 Years a Slave"

Best Screenplay
WINNER: Spike Jonze - "Her"
Bob Nelson - "Nebraska"
Jeff Pope & Steve Coogan - "Philomena"
John Ridley - "12 Years a Slave"
Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell - "American Hustle"

Best Foreign Film
WINNER: "The Great Beauty"
"Blue Is The Warmest Color"
"The Hunt"
"The Past"
"The Wind Rises"

Best Animated Feature
WINNER: "Frozen"
"The Croods"
"Despicable Me 2"

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
WINNER: Alex Ebert - "All Is Lost
Alex Heffes - "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Steven Price - "Gravity"
John Williams - "The Book Thief"
Hans Zimmer - "12 Years a Slave"

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
WINNER: "Ordinary Love" - U2 - "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom"
 "Atlas" - Coldplay - "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"
"Let It Go - Idina Menzel - "Frozen"
"Please Mr. Kennedy" - Justin Timberlake & co - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Sweeter Than Fiction" - Taylor Swift - "One Chance"

Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical
WINNER: "Brooklyn Nine Nine"
"Girls"
"Big Bang Theory"
"Modern Family"
"Parks and Recreation"

Best Miniseries Or Motion Picture Made For Television
WINNER: "Behind the Candelabra"
"American Horror Story: Coven"
"Dancing On The Edge"
"Top of the Lake"
"The White Queen"

Best TV Drama
WINNER: "Breaking Bad"
"Downton Abbey"
"The Good Wife"
"House of Cards"
"Masters of Sex"

Best Actress - Drama TV Series
WINNER: Robin Wright - "House of Cards"
Julianna Margulies - "The Good Wife"
Tatiana Maslany - "Orphan Black"
Taylor Schilling - "Orange Is the New Black"
Kerry Washington - "Scandal"

Best Actor - TV Drama
WINNER: Bryan Cranston - "Breaking Bad"
Liev Schreiber - "Ray Donovan"
Michael Sheen - "Masters of Sex"
Kevin Spacey - "House of Cards"
James Spader - "The Blacklist"

Best Actress - Miniseries
WINNER: Elisabeth Moss - "Top of the Lake"
Helena Bonham-Carter - "Burton & Taylor"
Rebecca Ferguson - "The White Queen"
Jessica Lange - "American Horror Story: Coven"
Helen Mirren - "Phil Spector"

Best Actor - Miniseries
WINNER: Michael Douglas - "Behind the Candelabra"
Matt Damon - "Behind the Candelabra"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Dancing On the Edge"
Idris Elba - "Luther"
Al Pacino - "Phil Spector"

Best Actress - Comedy TV Series
WINNER: Amy Poehler - "Parks and Recreation" 
Zooey Deschanel - "New Girl"
Lena Dunham - "Girls"
Edie Falco - "Nurse Jackie"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "Veep"

Best Actor - Comedy TV Series
WINNER: Andy Samberg - "Brooklyn Nine Nine"
Jason Bateman - "Arrested Development"
Don Cheadle - "House of Lies"
Michael J. Fox - "The Michael J. Fox Show"
Jim Parsons - "The Big Bang Theory"

Best Supporting Actor - TV
WINNER: Jon Voight - "Ray Donovan"
Josh Charles - "The Good Wife"
Rob Lowe - "Behind the Candelabra"
Aaron Paul - "Breaking Bad"
Corey Stoll - "House of Cards"

Best Supporting Actress - TV
WINNER: Jacqueline Bisset - "Dancing On the Edge"
Janet McTeer - "The White Queen"
Hayden Panetierre - "Nashville"
Monica Potter - "Parenthood"
Sofia Vergara - "Modern Family"

Read More

Box Office: 'Lone Survivor' Melts Down 'Frozen' as 'Hercules' Flops

1. Lone Survivor- $38.5M/$38.8M
In its third week of release, after an Oscar-qualifying run late last month, Lone Survivor has powered into first place with $38.5M. Hailed in ads as the best war film since Saving Private Ryan, has snagged the second-highest January debut ever, and can lay claim to 2014's first genuine hit.  While this is a nice bounce back for director Peter Berg, this is familiar territory for star Mark Wahlberg, who has been one of the most consistently bankable stars over the last few years. The only real exception was Broken City, which opened around this same time in 2013 and tanked with only $19M for its entire run. It's also a solid return for Taylor Kitsch, who took a crushing hit with duds John Carter, Savages, and Berg's Battleship.  War films of had it rough of late, especially those focusing on the Middle Eastern conflict, but Lone Survivor won over audiences and earned an 'A+' Cinemascore, suggesting this could be sticking around through the desolate January month.
2. Frozen- $15M/$317.6M
At $317M Frozen has now surpassed the original domestic run of 1994's The Lion King, so it's in very good company.
3. The Wolf of Wall Street- $9M/$78.5M
4. The Legend of Hercules- $8.6M
Perhaps it's time for studios to rethink casting Twilight hunks as action heroes? Taylor Lautner failed miserably (at least domestically) with Abduction, and now Kellan Lutz has managed to defeat Hercules in a way his 'Twelve Labors' couldn't. Nobody expected much from The Legend of Hercules, which inexplicably cost $70M but looks worse than an episode of Spartacus, and so it's a wonder that it was ever greenlit in the first place. Lutz isn't a star by any measure, and poor Renny Harlin is still smarting from Cutthroat Island twenty years ago. It currently stands at an embarrassing 2% on Rotten Tomatoes, and only managed a 'B-' Cinemascore so those who saw it weren't really into it. It's always a risky gamble when two similar movies come out within months of one another (see Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down), and audiences may have decided to wait until Dwayne Johnson's Hercules movie comes out.
5. American Hustle- $8.6M/$101.5M
6. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $8M/$242.2M
7. August: Osage County- $7.3M/$7.8M
Weinstein is banking on awards buzz for Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts to power August: Osage County as it expands into wider release. The star-studded adaptation of Tracy Letts' hit play got off to a solid start with a sizable $8K per site average, and if those Oscar nominations come next week it should do decent business.
8. Saving Mr. Banks- $6.5M/$68.9M
9. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones- $6.3M/$28.4M
Tumbling 65% after a mediocre debut, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is well on its way to being the lowest-grossing of the franchise.
10. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $6.1M/$118.5M

Read More

'Gravity' Leads 2014 BAFTA Nominations

The awards season rolls along, and before the Academy Awards, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts have revealed the 2014 BAFTA nominations, and there were a couple of decisions that may have future implications. Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity leads the field with eleven nominations, with American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave with ten apiece. Not surprisingly, Brit favorite Philomena did well with five nominations, and of course Judi Dench turned up in the Best Actress category. Surprises? Robert Redford and Matthew McConaughey totally missing out for Best Actor, and Meryl Streep not getting in for Best Actress in August: Osage County.

The full list of nominees are below.

BEST FILM
12 YEARS A SLAVE Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
PHILOMENA Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman, Jonás Cuarón
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Justin Chadwick, Anant Singh, David M. Thompson, William Nicholson
PHILOMENA Stephen Frears, Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward, Jeff Pope
RUSH Ron Howard, Andrew Eaton, Peter Morgan
SAVING MR. BANKS John Lee Hancock, Alison Owen, Ian Collie, Philip Steuer, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
THE SELFISH GIANT: Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
COLIN CARBERRY (Writer), GLENN PATTERSON (Writer) Good Vibrations
KELLY MARCEL (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks
KIERAN EVANS (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor
PAUL WRIGHT (Director/Writer), POLLY STOKES (Producer) For Those in Peril
SCOTT GRAHAM (Director/Writer) Shell

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
THE GREAT BEAUTY Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
METRO MANILA Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
WADJDA Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

DOCUMENTARY
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer
THE ARMSTRONG LIE Alex Gibney
BLACKFISH Gabriela Cowperthwaite
TIM’S VERMEER Teller, Penn Jillette, Farley Ziegler
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS Alex Gibney

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
FROZEN Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Dan Scanlon

DIRECTOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE David O. Russell
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Paul Greengrass
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Martin Scorsese

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN HUSTLE Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
BLUE JASMINE Woody Allen
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
NEBRASKA Bob Nelson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 YEARS A SLAVE John Ridley
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Richard LaGravenese
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Billy Ray
PHILOMENA Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Terence Winter

LEADING ACTOR
BRUCE DERN Nebraska
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR 12 Years a Slave
CHRISTIAN BALE American Hustle
LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Wolf of Wall Street
TOM HANKS Captain Phillips

LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS American Hustle
CATE BLANCHETT Blue Jasmine
EMMA THOMPSON Saving Mr. Banks
JUDI DENCH Philomena
SANDRA BULLOCK Gravity

SUPPORTING ACTOR
BARKHAD ABDI Captain Phillips
BRADLEY COOPER American Hustle
DANIEL BRÜHL Rush
MATT DAMON Behind the Candelabra
MICHAEL FASSBENDER 12 Years a Slave

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE American Hustle
JULIA ROBERTS August: Osage County
LUPITA NYONG’O 12 Years a Slave
OPRAH WINFREY The Butler
SALLY HAWKINS Blue Jasmine

ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 YEARS A SLAVE Hans Zimmer
THE BOOK THIEF John Williams
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Henry Jackman
GRAVITY Steven Price
SAVING MR. BANKS Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 YEARS A SLAVE Sean Bobbitt
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Barry Ackroyd
GRAVITY Emmanuel Lubezki
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Bruno Delbonnel
NEBRASKA Phedon Papamichael

EDITING
12 YEARS A SLAVE Joe Walker
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Christopher Rouse
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
RUSH Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Thelma Schoonmaker

PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 YEARS A SLAVE Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
AMERICAN HUSTLE Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Howard Cummings
GRAVITY Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

COSTUME DESIGN
AMERICAN HUSTLE Michael Wilkinson
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Ellen Mirojnick
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN Michael O’Connor
SAVING MR. BANKS Daniel Orlandi

MAKE UP & HAIR
AMERICAN HUSTLE Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
THE BUTLER Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
THE GREAT GATSBY Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

SOUND
ALL IS LOST Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
GRAVITY Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
RUSH Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAVITY Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
IRON MAN 3 Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
PACIFIC RIM Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EVERYTHING I CAN SEE FROM HERE Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Friederike Nicolaus, Sam Taylor
I AM TOM MOODY Ainslie Henderson
SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa

BRITISH SHORT FILM
ISLAND QUEEN Ben Mallaby, Nat Luurtsema
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES Megan Rubens, Michael Pearce, Selina Lim
ORBIT EVER AFTER Chee-Lan Chan, Jamie Stone, Len Rowles
ROOM 8 James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
SEA VIEW Anna Duffield, Jane Linfoot

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
DANE DEHAAN
GEORGE MACKAY
LUPITA NYONG’O
WILL POULTER
LÉA SEYDOUX

Read More

Box Office: 'Frozen' Freezes Out 'Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones'

1. Frozen- $20.7M/$297.8M
In its seventh full week of release, Disney's Frozen simply refuses to melt, leaping back into first place and slipping only 27% from last week.  It's doing even better overseas, where it has hauled in $342M for a worldwide total of $639M. There's little reason to think it'll be going anywhere anytime soon, with little in the way of serious competition over the next couple of weeks.
2. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones- $18.2M
The first week of January is usually reserved for a cheapie horror film looking for a big opening weekend, but Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones has the power of the hit franchise behind it. That's why the $18.2M number is such a huge disappointment, and one can only think it was hurt by the marketing, which pegged it as merely a "Latino-themed spinoff". They may have found greater success if it had been titled Paranormal Activity 5, but that film doesn't actually hit until October. Paranormal Activity 4 opened in 2012 to a weak $29M, a low since the first movie, suggesting audiences were growing weary of the found-footage beast, at least domestically. They still perform extremely well overseas, and given the international flavor of this one we can likely expect more of the same. Fortunately for Paramount and Blumhouse Productions, the cost still hovers around $5M so they're already making money.
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $16.2M/$229.6M
4. The Wolf of Wall Street- $13.4M/$63.2M
5. American Hustle- $13.2M/$88.7M
6.  Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $11.1M/$109.1M
7. Saving Mr. Banks- $9M/$59.3M
8. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- $8.2M/$45.6M
9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $7.4M/$407.4M
10. Grudge Match- $5.4M/$24.9M

Read More

Best (and Worst) Movie Trailers of 2013

 I have a few things I do on the Internet whenever I’m bored: look at shoes, read entertainment gossip, and watch movie trailers. SO. MANY. MOVIE. TRAILERS.

And because this year was actually a shockingly great one for movies—I saw 140-something movies this year, and I can confidently say that I liked more than I disliked—that means movie trailers were great, too. We’ve come a long way since the pre-YouTube trailers of the 1990s, with their omnipresent narration and low resolution. Now every trailer gets analyzed online, screengrabbed and gif-ed for Tumblr, and—more often than not—they all have that Inception BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM noise. Practically every action movie trailer this year had that noise. Can we stop that noise?

But other than the BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM-heavy deluge, there were a lot of really great movie trailers this year. I’ve collected my favorite seven below, as well as my three least favorites. These trailers either made us excited for the full-length film, really tapped into the point of view of the filmmakers, or just had a great score attached. Are your favorites on here? Sound off in the comments!

BEST TRAILERS OF 2013

TO THE WONDER

I’ll be honest: I love me some Terrence Malick, I adored The Tree of Life, and yet To the Wonder was ultimately a letdown. Too little dialogue; too much Ben Affleck; and this movie seemed to disappear from theaters and public consciousness in a way few Malick movies do. But oh, this trailer had me so excited for months. It’s pretentious but beautiful in that patented Malick way, and every time I heard Javier Bardem say “You feel your love has died—maybe it’s waiting to be transformed into something higher,” I burst into tears. I often have TOO MANY emotions, and this trailer really exemplified that. I think it really accurately captures everything people love—and hate—about Malick, and if that’s not a great trailer, I don’t know what is.

To The Wonder by Teaser-Trailer.com

SPRING BREAKERS

James Franco purring “Let’s cause some trouble now.” Former Disney teen queens wearing sweatpants with “DTF” on their butts. That utterly annoying, undeniably catchy song from Skrillex. Was there a more titillating fever dream of a trailer, or of a movie, this entire year? Nope. Director Harmony Korine and Spring Breakersget that distinct honor, and watching this trailer—even after I’ve seen the movie three times already—still gives me giddy chills.

Spring Breakers with Selena Gomez – Official Trailer by FanReviews

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

Jeez, was Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines critically underrated this year. An excellent performance from Ryan Gosling, a breakthrough role for Dane DeHaan, the only time I’ve ever tolerated Eva Mendes—The Place Beyond the Pines had all that! There wasn’t a more affecting tale of the relationships between fathers and sons this year than this movie—“I’m still his father. I can give him stuff”—and I didn’t sob more in a movie theater during all of 2013. The mirroring between Ryan Gosling’s and Bradley Cooper’s characters is done really well in this trailer, and although it’s not an intensely exciting trailer, it sticks with you. The movie will, too; just see it.

The Place Beyond The Pines by Teaser-Trailer.com

THE GREAT GATSBY

Before The Great Gatsby came out, buzz was that the movie was going to be a flop. Such a huge budget for a literary adaptation? After Baz Luhrmann had a failure with Australia? The negative hype was high. But oh man, did The Great Gatsby trailers work hard to turn that doubt around—and when the movie ended up being a commercial success, I think you can point to these trailers as helping that. The movie got a few different official trailers and TV spots before its release, but out of all of them, I think the first is the best. “My life—my life has got to be like this.”

The Great Gatsby by Teaser-Trailer.com

ONLY GOD FORGIVES

Yes, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives was basically just a masturbatory arthouse movie with beautiful scenes, fantastic cinematography, and extremely little plot. But try to tell me Ryan Gosling asking “Wanna fight?” didn’t get your blood boiling. TRY TO TELL ME THAT. And you will be wrong.

Only God Forgives Trailer by Teaser-Trailer.com

MAN OF STEEL

Yes, one of my best movie memories of the entire year was sitting next to my PDC colleague Julian Lytle during Man of Steel, when, during a climactic moment, Julian exasperatedly uttered “Fuck this movie!” in the middle of a packed screening. And ultimately, I concur! I found Man of Steel frustrating and badly plotted, which is especially a bummer given how fantastically epic these trailers were. Oh my god, All-American Kevin Costner suggesting that maybe his adopted son SHOULD have let all his classmates die? Superman's red cape flapping in the wind? Um, Henry Cavill SHIRTLESS and on FIRE? Yes, yes, yes. How sad that the movie was a no, no, no.

Man of Steel by Teaser-Trailer.com

PACIFIC RIM

I personally blame U.S. moviegoers for ignoring Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and thank the rest of the world for picking up the slack. How could you watch this trailer and then NOT want to see it? Amazingly detailed alien monsters? Idris Elba thundering about “canceling the Apocalypse”? Charlie Hunnam’s and Rinko Kikuchi’s extremely sexual sparring? And it made barely anything domestically? Thanks for nothing, America.

Pacific Rim Official Trailer by Teaser-Trailer.com

WORST TRAILERS OF 2013

OUT OF THE FURNACE

Want to know every single thing that happens in Out of the Furnace? Then just watch its trailer! Seriously, it leaves nothing out. But if we could move away from trailers that give away the entire movie, which actually discourages audiences from paying to see a movie they think they’ve already seen, that would be great.

Out of the Furnace by Teaser-Trailer.com

AMERICAN HUSTLE

American Hustle is a movie with performances that I loved and a soundtrack I immediately wanted to buy, but its trailers left a lot to be desired. The movie is loosely based on the Abscam scandal that is practically impossible to understand, so the trailers chose to forgo narrative and focus on the cast instead. But a trailer that JUST lists the cast members’ names? That seems phenomenally lazy to me.

American Hustle by Teaser-Trailer.com

INSIDIOUS – CHAPTER 2

Because a fat old naked man whispering things in the dark is not scary.

Insidious - Chapter 2 - starring Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson by Teaser-Trailer.com

Read More

Cinema Royale #44- Inside Llewyn Davis; American Hustle; Worst Movies of 2013

On this week's Cinema Royale we journey back in time for two of the year's most anticipated Oscar hopefuls! First, the Coen Brothers take us back to the 1960s folk music scene with Inside Llewyn Davis, starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, and Justin Timberlake.  Then we flash forward a couple of decades to the 1980s for the raucous, star-studded political caper American Hustle, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper!

Plus, special guest Leslie Combemale joins in to run down the worst movies of 2013! Will your favorite end up on the list? Better hope not.

You can find Cinema Royale every single week on Blogtalkradio, Itunes, Libsyn, Stitcher, Podomatic, and as part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network.  Listen to the latest episode below...

Check Out Movies Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Cinema Royale on BlogTalkRadio

Read More

Box Office: 'Anchorman 2' Has Classy Debut But Can't Top 'The Hobbit'

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $31.4/$127.5M
Peter Jackson's latest journey into the land of hobbits and orcs slipped 57% from last week but still had enough muscle to best Ron Burgundy.  It's still doing considerably less business than the first film on the domestic side, which will make it nearly impossible to best its $1B worldwide total.
2. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $26.7M/$40M
It took nine years for Paramount to get off their duffs and give fans an Anchorman sequel, largely because it took time to become the pop culture phenomenon we know it to be. And it appears that Ron Burgundy fan base has remained rock solid, giving the film a $26.7M three-day weekend and $40M since it  opened Wednesday. That's still less than Anchorman's' $28M back in 2004, but one has to expect the sequel to have long legs during the holiday season, and it's guaranteed to be huge on the home entertainment market.
3. Frozen- $19.16M/$191.5M
4. American Hustle-  $19.1M/$20.2M
After an insanely huge run in limited release last week, David O. Russell's American Hustle expanded nationwide and it's off to a start that compares favorably to last year's Silver Linings Playbook. That film was bolstered by star power, a crowd-pleasing plot, and solid Oscar buzz, and American Hustle actually has more firepower at its disposal. This is an event picture, the type families will gather together to check out after the holiday festivities, so expect it to hang around for a long time and do very well.
5. Saving Mr. Banks- $9.3M/$9.9M
Also expanding into wide release not faring so well is Disney's making-of Mary Poppins biopic, Saving Mr. Banks. It's possible this one could be a solid holiday destination, as well, but so far the returns aren't looking good. Perhaps it's being overshadowed by the crush of flashier new movies, but that's not going to get any better next week when a number of others emerge.
6. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $8.7M/$371.7M
7. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $8.5M/$28.3M
8. Walking with Dinosaurs- $7.3M
Movies with dinosaurs tend to be a reliable cash cow no matter who or what the movie is about, which just goes to show the extreme level of failure for 20th Century Fox's Walking with Dinosaurs. Very loosely based on the BBC series from the late '90s, the $85M 3D film has been crushed by bad reviews and has no chance of competing with Frozen for the family-friendly market. Opening at over 3200 theaters it has the lowest per site average in the top 10 with only $2200.
9. Dhoom 3- $3.3M
In a year that has seen ethnically-targeted movies take a major step forward domestically, Dhoom 3's surprising $3.3M opening weekend is the biggest ever for a Bollywood film.
10. Thor: The Dark World- $1.3M/$200.7M

Read More

Best (and the Worst) Onscreen Kisses of 2013

I’m of the age that during my middle-school and high-school years, the MTV Movie Awards were actually kind of enjoyable! And that was really only because of the Best Kiss award, which—before it got swept up in terrible “Twilight” hype—was pretty cute. I’m looking at you, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Look up that kiss on YouTube and try to tell me love isn’t real!

Anyway, along the lines of great kisses, here’s a list of my five favorites from film in 2013. I also included my least favorite kiss for equality. And if you think you’ve got something better, sound off in the comments. I’m always down for a little fighting to go with my loving.

BEST KISSES OF 2013

THE SPECTACULAR NOW

The first kiss between Sutter (Miles Teller) and Aimee (Shailene Woodley) in “The Spectacular Now,” one of this year’s most underrated movies. Before their love story gets too soaked in alcohol and Sutter’s own self-sabotage, their first kiss—spontaneous, during an afternoon party in the woods, pleasing Aimee while also catching her off-guard—sets the tone for what’s to come, both the good and the bad.

AMERICAN HUSTLE

That vengeful, hate-filled kiss that Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) lays on her husband’s mistress, Sydney (Amy Adams), in a casino bathroom in “American Hustle.” A million fan-fictions were born from that angry, sloppy, lipstick-smearing smooch, which Rosalyn used as a way to psych out Sydney. Mission accomplished.

SPRING BREAKERS

The three-way kiss between Brittany (Ashley Benson), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), and Alien (James Franco) as they swirl around the pool together, celebrating their new life of hedonistic debauchery? That sums up “Spring Breakers” in a nutshell: over-the-top, vaguely off-putting, but entrancing nonetheless. Sure, you may want to turn away from the grossness of that kiss—but you won’t.

THE GREAT GATSBY

You know what’s never explicit in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”? That Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan have a sexual relationship. You know what is rightfully clear in Baz Luhrmann’s version of “The Great Gatsby”? That they do. There is something rotten and lustful and idealistic running through the novel, and Luhrmann touches into it correctly by putting Jay and Daisy in bed, rolling around in a passion that is built on utterly false pretenses. Some book purists freaked out; I think the emotional truths, though, win out.

PACIFIC RIM

OK, so Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam, drool) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) don’t actually kiss in “Pacific Rim.” But were there few scenes more sexually charged this year than their sparring session, or more heartwarming than their embrace at the end of the film after they saved the world? Nope. For all who thought “Pacific Rim” was just a “Transformers” knockoff, reevaluate your decisions. Nothing in any of the “Transformers” films was as affecting as either of those moments.

WORST KISS OF 2013

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

That second kiss between Katniss and Gale in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” UM, THEY ONLY KISS ONCE IN THE BOOK, GUYS. WHY WOULD YOU ADD A SECOND KISS? NOT COOL AND UNNECESSARY AND RUDE. (Uh, I may be Team Peeta.)

Read More