With a much needed return to movie critiquing/blogging (now that my writing class is over! Phew), I find the greatest pleasure in telling you about the arrival of 2011 Award nominations and winners from a variety of film festivals and national ceremonies. Of course, Cannes ended in May but with it came a long list of hopeful films for 2011:
Midnight in Paris,
La piel que habito,
The Artist,
Le Havre,
Sleeping Beauty,
We Need to Talk About Kevin,
Melancholia,
Drive,
Martha Marcy May Marlene,
Restless,
Take Shelter (and 2010 winners with a larger 2011 release:
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and
Poetry) and of course...
The Tree of Life! Of the films that I have seen so far from this list, only have I been pleasantly shocked and sometimes completely blown away. To the rest of the films I have yet to check off this year, well, I'm just upset that I don't live in NYC or LA because I'd have seen them already. Anyway, I'm just hoping for a wider release sooner than later, especially so I can see all the hopeful noms before the Big Day, Februuary 26th, 2012.
Of the most promising festivals that have already announced winners is the Gotham Independent Film Awards.
Beginners (another grand film) won Best Feature along with
Tree of Life and Best Ensemble Performance, Dee Rees won Breakthrough Director for her engaging and uplifting
Pariah, and Felicity Jones won Breakthrough Actor for her phenomenal and touching performance in
Like Crazy. All of these films and the other nominees (
Bellflower = insane) are outstanding and unique. I have not seen
Pariah but I have seen the trailer three times. If it can make me cry every time, I am positive the film has quite some merit.
For your sake (and my hands), I won't write out the nominees that have been released for the SAG and Golden Globe Awards. But, I have copied and pasted them with my highlighted predictions:
18th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® NOMINATIONS
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
DEMIÁN BICHIR / Carlos Galindo - “A BETTER LIFE” (Summit Entertainment)
GEORGE CLOONEY / Matt King - "THE DESCENDANTS” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / J. Edgar Hoover - "J. EDGAR" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
JEAN DUJARDIN / George - "THE ARTIST" (The Weinstein Company)
BRAD PITT / Billy Beane - "MONEYBALL" (Columbia Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
GLENN CLOSE / Albert Nobbs - "ALBERT NOBBS” (Roadside Attractions)
VIOLA DAVIS / Aibileen Clark - “THE HELP” (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)
MERYL STREEP / Margaret Thatcher - “THE IRON LADY” (The Weinstein Company)
TILDA SWINTON / Eva - “WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
MICHELLE WILLIAMS / Marilyn Monroe - “MY WEEK WITH MARILYN” (The Weinstein Company)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
KENNETH BRANAGH / Sir Laurence Olivier - “MY WEEK WITH MARILYN” (The Weinstein Company)
ARMIE HAMMER / Clyde Tolson - "J. EDGAR" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
JONAH HILL / Peter Brand - "MONEYBALL" (Columbia Pictures)
NICK NOLTE / Paddy Conlon - “WARRIOR” (Lionsgate)
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER / Hal - “BEGINNERS” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
BÉRÉNICE BEJO / Peppy - "THE ARTIST" (The Weinstein Company)
JESSICA CHASTAIN / Celia Foote - “THE HELP” (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)
MELISSA McCARTHY / Megan - “BRIDESMAIDS” (Universal Pictures)
JANET McTEER / Hubert Page - "ALBERT NOBBS” (Roadside Attractions)
OCTAVIA SPENCER / Minny Jackson - “THE HELP” (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
THE ARTIST (The Weinstein Company)
BRIDESMAIDS (Universal Pictures)
THE DESCENDANTS (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
THE HELP (DreamWorks Pictures / Touchstone Pictures)
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (Sony Pictures Classics)
PRIMETIME TELEVISION
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
LAURENCE FISHBURNE / Thurgood Marshall - “THURGOOD” (HBO)
PAUL GIAMATTI / Ben Bernanke - “TOO BIG TO FAIL” (HBO)
GREG KINNEAR / Jack Kennedy - “THE KENNEDYS” (REELZ CHANNEL)
GUY PEARCE / Monty Beragon - “MILDRED PIERCE“ (HBO)
JAMES WOODS / Richard Fuld - “TOO BIG TO FAIL” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
DIANE LANE / Pat Loud - “CINEMA VERITE” (HBO)
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham - “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
EMILY WATSON / Janet Leach - “APPROPRIATE ADULT” (Sundance Channel)
BETTY WHITE / Caroline Thomas - “HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: THE LOST VALENTINE” (CBS)
KATE WINSLET / Mildred Pierce - “MILDRED PIERCE” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
PATRICK J. ADAMS / Mike Ross - “SUITS” (USA)
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson - “BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)
KYLE CHANDLER / Eric Taylor - “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS” (DirecTV)
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White - “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan - “DEXTER” (Showtime)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
KATHY BATES / Harriet Korn - “HARRY’S LAW” (NBC)
GLENN CLOSE / Patty Hewes - “DAMAGES” (DirecTV)
JESSICA LANGE / Constance - “AMERICAN HORROR STORY” (FX)
JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick - “THE GOOD WIFE” (CBS)
KYRA SEDGWICK / Dept. Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson - “THE CLOSER” (TNT)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy - “30 ROCK” (NBC)
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy - “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott - “THE OFFICE” (NBC)
JON CRYER / Alan Harper - “TWO AND A HALF MEN” (CBS)
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker - “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy - “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton - “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon - “30 ROCK” (NBC)
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett - “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
BETTY WHITE / Elka Ostrovsky - “HOT IN CLEVELAND” (TV Land)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
BREAKING BAD (AMC)
DEXTER (Showtime)
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 ROCK (NBC)
THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
GLEE (FOX)
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
----------------
The Golden Globes are basically the same with just a few tweaks here and there and a few more categories.
Just over a month away til the Oscar Nominations are announced-- January 24th.
For now I'll leave you to ponder these great films names along with a few that I still have to see myself. Good luck on creating a must-see film list and marking each one off successfully; and of course, have fun!
Yet to see:
The Artist
Albert Nobbs
Shame
50/50
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Le Havre
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo (saw it today and it was Amazing! Top contender in Cinematography,
Water for Elephants
The Trip
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
The Iron Lady
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Crazy, Stupid, Love
We Need to Talk About Kevin
My Week with Marilyn
Margin Call
Young Adult
(must I really see) War Horse
A Dangerous Method
Super 8
A Separation (An almost guaranteed win for Best Foreign Film after this year's success and praise, 100% rating on RottenTomatoes and already landing it a #118 spot on the IMDB Top 250.)
(I know, it seems like there's not enough time in the day to see these and the countless other movies I have to catch up on! #hardlife)
credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Cannes_Film_Festival
My Top Films of 2011 List Coming Soon!!!
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My favorite Smoothie recipe:
The Improvisation
Just use whatever fruit and juice you have in your freezer and fridge. If you don't have any, then you're probably not going to be making a smoothie anyway. So go buy some!
If you do have fruit, throw what looks good together and taste as you go. Add a little more juice or milk, ice to thicken, honey to sweeten, or ice cream (the "dangerous" treat) to thicken.
This is mostly what I do when I make a smoothie, so technically it's not laziness, it's creativity! Enjoy!
