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Tuesday 22 October 2013

London Film Festival 2013: the disaster movies


A lean, mean Hollywood disaster movie with a heavy emphasis on the technical creation of a reality that most of us will never experience.

It's almost a Ridley Scott movie: scant attention is paid to the development of characters - George Clooney and Sandra Bullock play shades of themselves and characters that they've played so many times before. But they do so well.

The technical achievement is marvellous, the views of the earth from space give an almost spiritual bent to the enterprise, and from the moment the first debris hits the shuttle, the tension mounts and scene after scene director Alfonso Cuaron screws the audience to the edge of its seats ever tighter.

See it on the biggest screen you can find - you will not regret it. Do not wait for the DVD!
Score: 9/10

The worst things happen at sea! All Is Lost is a companion piece to Gravity, but possibly more compelling. Robert Redford is superb as the solo yachtsman whose journey turns perilous within the first few seconds. 
The only dialogue is his opening narration, and thereafter there is just one despairing exclamation.

Leaner and meaner even than Gravity, this is hugely engaging and gripping thanks to Redford's all-American Everyman: while you learn little about him, because there is only him versus the elements, you cheer him on as every fresh adversity challenges his skills and ingenuity. And each fresh adversity makes sense and the conclusion is satisfyingly ambiguous.



In many ways this is as towering an achievement as Gravity, especially as this is director JC Chandor's second film after Margin Call.

Score: 8/10


A different type of disaster movie, Parkland focuses on the 96 hours following JFK's assassination and does so via about a dozen characters' POVs, from hospital surgeons to Secret Service agents, and from Lee Harvey Oswald's family to Abraham Zapruder filming the horror of Dealey Plaza.

Technical credits are all top notch, especially the cinematography by Barry Ackroyd and the score by James Netwon Howard.

The ensemble cast is outstanding, with men of the match trophies going to Paul Giamatti as the despairing Zapruder and to James Badge Dale as Oswald's incredulous, shocked brother. Also note-worthy is Jackie Weaver's deranged Marguerite Oswald.

First-time director Peter Landesman pulls off a potentially tricky cocktail of tragedy and melodrama like a seasoned pro: watch out for whatever he does next.
Score: 9/10

Paul Greengrass recovers from his stumble with Green Zone with this cracking real life thriller.

Tom Hanks should secure his sixth Best Actor Oscar nom and possibly his third win: his performance as Captain Phillips is utterly convincing, and thanks to Greengrass's adherence to the apparent reality of the story, it's not a shamelessly heroic portrayal.

The depiction of the title character hints at his reputation with crews, and certainly, when under real pressure, he is capable of making the wrong decision.

Like Gravity and All Is Lost, this is lean and mean. Every scene has meaning either in terms of character development or heightening the almost unbearable tension - no moment in its two-hour-plus run time is wasted, there is no flab.

But the film's not all about Hanks/Phillips: Barkhad Abdi as the Somali pirate captain that hijacks the ship is equally compelling.

The cinematography is courtesy of Greengrass regular Barry Ackroyd (that man again! Give him an Oscar already), while Henry Jackman's 'school of Hans Zimmer' score is great too.

While not without a sense of everyone's motivations and the socio-political and economic forces that influence and shape its characters lives, the film is not as politicised as one would expect from Greengrass. Arguably A Hijacking analyses this better than Captain Phillips; certainly the two will make great viewing together.
Score: 9/10

Sunday 10 February 2013

Bafta 2013: Argo’s push continues


Another weekend, another set of gongs for Argo. This time it secured Best Film and Best Editing, while Ben Affleck grabbed Best Director.

The other big winner on the night was Les Mis: Anne Hathaway inevitably won Best Supporting Actress, while craft and technical gongs also went the way of the musical.

Amour did well, predictably winning Best Foreign Film, but also snagging Best Actress for Emmanuelle Riva.

Tarantino’s spaghetti slavery epic unaccountably won Best Original Screenplay, while Christoph Waltz, er, waltzed off with Best Supporting Actor.

Also nabbing a pair of Baftas each were Skyfall and Life Of Pi.

Anna Karenina won Best Costume Design as expected.

And Lincoln? Just the one for DDL in the title role.

Oscar night is now just a fortnight away – and one week later Argo will be out on DVD. The marketing team and printers will be pulling a late one to turn the packaging design in time to take account of the Oscars it must surely now win.

Monday 4 February 2013

Argo springs another surprise


Argo’s run of late awards form continued this weekend as Ben Affleck snatched the Directors’ Guild of America trophy.

The win adds extra spice to what was already looking like a tasty fight at the Oscars. Argo, which many commentators thought was flat out of the running for Oscar (me included), now looks like the outstanding favourite for Best Film.

The previous weekend the film won the PGA and the SAG award for best cast performance, giving it considerable momentum after its surprise victories at the Golden Globes.

So despite the fact that Affleck is not nominated for Best Director and that the last film to win the Best Film Oscar without its director being nominated was Driving Miss Daisy 23 years ago, Argo looks like it could pull off one of the big Oscar upsets.

In having won the Golden Globes for Best Film and Best Director, the PGA and the DGA, Argo/Affleck joins a select bunch since 2000: the only film/director combos to have won those four and then scoop Best Film at the Oscars are Slumdog Millionaire/Danny Boyle and The Return Of The King/Peter Jackson.

The last film to win those three awards and not grab the big one at Oscar was Brokeback Mountain/Ang Lee.

And loading the base further, the last Golden Globe Best Dramatic Film winner to do the double at Oscar was Slumdog, one of only four films in the previous 12 years to do so.

So, has Argo really got a chance? Wendy Mitchell at Screendaily certainly thinks so, noting on Friday that “maybe the Best Director snub is actually helping the film’s chances”.

Me? No clue! All I can guarantee is that Oscar will spring surprises this year. 

Monday 28 January 2013

Argo's victorious weekend throws Oscar race open


Argo has blown the Oscar race wide open: on 26 January it won Best Film at the Producers Guild Awards and then picked up the best cast performance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards the following day.

In scooping the PGA award, Argo beat most of the competition it faces at the Oscars. The SAG award provides further impetus for Argo after its shock win at the Golden Globes.

The Directors Guild Award is announced on 2 February and will be the final indicator for Best Film and Best Director before Oscar night. The major impediment to Oscar glory for Argo is Ben Affleck not being nominated for Best Director.

The SAGs delivered some of their own shocks while also reinforcing expectations: for the latter, Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for Lincoln, while Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress for Les Mis.

But that’s as far as the form book went: Tommy Lee Jones won Best Supporting Actor for Lincoln, while Jennifer Lawrence (complete with high-profile wardrobe-non-malfunction) defeated Jessica Chastain to win Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook.

So, other than Daniel Day-Lewis and the Hath, the Oscars are almost unpredictable.
In the US, this unpredictability coupled with differing release strategies means all the heavyweight contenders are finding or have already found their audiences. Lincoln is by far the most successful to date and has been on release in the US for three months. By contrast, Silver Linings has been out for just one week less than Lincoln but was only released wide two weeks ago.

US box office performance since Golden Globe noms (13 December)
  • Argo $14.8m ($117.6m total to date)
  • Django Unchained $146.2m
  • Les Mis $137.5m
  • Life Of Pi $39.2m ($103.4m)
  • Lincoln $66.3m ($167m)
  • Silver Linings Playbook $54m ($68.9m)
  • Zero Dark Thirty $69.8m

In the UK, the picture is much different: Argo never really caught fire (less than £6m taken so far), Django is only in its second week (£7m and rising), Les Mis has been number one since it opened (£24m and rising), Life Of Pi proved really popular over Christmas (£25.9m so far and dropping off very slowly) and Silver Linings’ run was pretty much over by New Year’s Eve with less than £5m.

This weekend the other two big heavy hitters opened – and their ‘late’ opening seems to have played against them, especially given their lack of major gongs. Lincoln opened on £1.7m, while Zero Dark Thirty drew in just £1m on its opening.

The BAFTAs are announced on 10 February and the Oscars a fortnight later, and there are plenty more films to be released between now and then, all of which will be competing for screen space, including Denzel Washington in Flight, I Give It A Year (the new Four Weddings), Wreck-It Ralph, This Is 40, and Die Hard 5, so Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty will struggle to gain ground unless they win big at BAFTA and Oscar.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Uma v Nicole v Sigourney


No, this isn’t one of the more bizarre episodes of Celebrity Death Match! This is the fight to be the tallest actress in the movies right now.

I’ve surfed Google and drawn up this less-than comprehensive though nevertheless interesting list of the major actresses in movie land ranked in order of their heights. I’ve taken the metric heights from Google and converted them, and then rounded them up to the nearest inch. Any errors rest with the internet J

As suggested by the title, the title of tallest actress is fought out among Sigourney Weaver, Nicole Kidman and Uma Thurman: and that’s the order in which they finish. Sigourney clocks ever so slightly shy of 6ft.

Other notably tall actresses include Tilda Swinton and Charlize Theron, at 5ft 10 a piece.

There are 80 or so actresses on this list, and two-thirds are above the average height for a woman of 5ft4½.

Among the notably short are Judi Dench, Ellen Page and (shortest of all) Anna Kendrick, who according to Google is a whisker shy of 5ft.

A strange coincidence: the two actresses that have played Clarice Starling – Jodie Foster and Julianne Moore – and the one who didn’t get the chance to play her – Gillian Anderson – are all the same height. Great work by the casting directors!

Also of note: Emily Blunt, originally slated to play the Black Widow in the Marvel movies, is four inches taller than Scarlett Johansson who eventually secured the role and made it her own in The Avengers.

Soon, I’ll list the heights of the actors.

6ft
Sigourney Weaver

5ft 11
Nicole Kidman
Uma Thurman

5ft 10
Tilda Swinton
Charlize Theron

5ft 9
Rebecca Hall
Jennifer Lawrence
Gwyneth Paltrow
Julia Roberts

5ft 8
Cate Blanchett           
Heather Graham
Anne Hathaway
Bryce Dallas Howard
Helen Hunt           
Angelina Jolie           
Mary Louise Parker

5ft 7
Jessica Alba
Gemma Arterton
Kate Beckinsale
Monica Bellucci
Emily Blunt           
Jennifer Connelly           
Hayley Attwell
Sandra Bullock
Salma Hayek
Diane Lane
Laura Linney           
Keira Knightley           
Carey Mulligan           
Michelle Pfeiffer           
Andrea Riseborough           
Rachel Weisz           

5ft 6
Halle Berry
Juliette Binoche
Marion Cotillard           
Penelope Cruz           
Kirsten Dunst
Eva Green           
Kristen Stewart                       
Emma Stone           
Meryl Streep
Hilary Swank
Kristin Scott Thomas
Paz Vega
Kate Winslet           
Evan Rachel Wood           
Shailene Woodley

5ft 5           
Jennifer Aniston
Emmanuelle Beart
Claire Danes
Vera Farmiga           
Tina Fey
Rachel McAdams
Marisa Tomei           
Emma Watson           
Naomi Watts           

5ft 4
Amy Adams
Jessica Chastain           
Kat Dennings           
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Mila Kunis           
Helen Mirren
Noomi Rapace
Mia Wasikowska
Michelle Williams           
Zhang Ziyi

5ft 3
Gillian Anderson
Helena Bonham Carter
Sally Field
Isla Fisher
Jodie Foster
Scarlett Johansson
Julianne Moore
Natalie Portman
Ludivine Sagnier

5ft 1
Judi Dench
Ellen Page           

5ft
Anna Kendrick

Monday 14 January 2013

Scarlett Johansson: ass of the century


Scarlett Johansson’s ass! That’s right, you heard me! Scarlett Johansson’s ass! It’s a winner, isn’t it?

It’s one of modern cinema’s most dramatic but natural ‘special effects’ seen to devastating effect in The Avengers, but of course launched all those years ago in Lost In Translation.

But why am I mentioning it so much all of a sudden? Well, I was reviewing where traffic to my blog comes from and in the month to 14 January 2013, there were four page views of this post because of the following two searches: lost in translation first scene, and scarlett Johansson lost in translation. However, stretch the timing criteria to ‘all time”, and we find that there have been 32 page views following this search term: scarlet johansson ass.

I can only apologise to the 32 people who have come to my blog in search of Scarlett’s ass… But hopefully they’ll feel better serviced by this latest post.

And they can’t be as disappointed as the poor soul who searched ‘lesbian ballerinas’ and landed on my Black Swan review… I’m pretty sure my review is not what that person was really after!

And you should pity me for the hours I’ve spent trying to find shots of Scarlett’s ass! I’m surprised there’s not more (photos, not her buttocks, that is). I shan't write a post like this again - I don't think I can be arsed (sorry, I'll get my coat).

Golden Globes 2013: the winners' stats


So Les Mis and Argo dominated the 2013 Golden Globes – if dominated is the right word. The numbers tell quite different stories.

The revolutionary musical was a slam-dunk for all three wins: Best Musical/Comedy Film, Best Musical/Comedy Actor (Hugh Jackman) and Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway). However Argo’s two wins – Best Drama Film and Best Director – went totally against the run of play, overturning both Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty.

Ben Affleck’s Best Director victory is only his fourth director’s prize for Argo. The two Golden Globes he picked up are his second and third Globes: he won Best Screenplay jointly with Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting.

Hathaway’s predicted victory in Best Supporting Actress was her first Golden Globe victory after three nominations – one in each of the actress categories (Best Actress – Drama for Rachel Getting Married; Best Actress – Comedy/Musical for Love And Other Drugs; and Best Supporting Actress for Le Mis).

Hugh Jackman’s expected win also heralds a strange coincidence with some other winners: for him, Jessica Chastain (Best Actress – Drama for Zero Dark Thirty) and Jennifer Lawrence (Best Actress – Comedy/Musical for Silver Linings Playbook) all snared their first victory on their second nomination.  

Christoph Waltz maintained his 100% record at the Globes: two nominations, two wins for Inglorious Basterds a few years ago and now Django Unchained.

The latter also ensured Quentin Tarantino picked his second Globe for Best Screenplay; his first win was for Pulp Fiction (co-written with Roger Avary).

Also on Globe number two was Daniel Day-Lewis… That’s right, he’d only won one Globe before the 2013 show. Including Lincoln, he’s been nominated seven times (six times in the Drama category), and his first win came for There Will Be Blood.

Another to complete a pair was director Michael Haneke, whose Amour won Best Foreign Film, which follows White Ribbon’s victory three years ago. Indeed for Haneke that’s almost the double-double: both films won the Palme d’Or at Cannes before taking victory at the Globes.

The other victory of note – no, not Adele’s Skyfall theme – is Brave for Best Animated Feature. This is the seventh Best Film Globe won by Pixar. Toy Story 2 secured overall victory in the Best Musical/Comedy Film many moons ago, while another five Pixar faves have won Best Animated Film. Those five are:
  • Cars
  • Ratatouille
  • Wall*E
  • Up
  • Toy Story 3
What does any of this mean for the Oscars? Probably very little! I still can’t see Argo regaining the ground it’s lost to Lincoln, although Zero Dark Thirty’s relatively poor performance will give its distributor something to think about (although its $24m wide opening this past weekend suggests its $40m budget will be recouped fairly quickly, so there’ll still be smiles at Sony/Columbia).

Christoph Waltz’s Supporting Actor win was unexpected, but again I don’t foresee him swaying Oscar again.

Thursday 10 January 2013

Oscar throws some curveballs


Whatever BAFTA can do, Oscar can do better. That’s the message from this year’s nominations. You want predictable nominees, reinforcing bland ideals of ‘quality’ film-making? You got it? You want the best of independent and world cinema to be celebrated, creating shocks? You got that too!

In the first instance, we have Lincoln and Life Of Pi leading the pack with 12 nominations and 11 respectively. Unlike BAFTA, Oscar saw fit to nominate Mr Spielberg for Best Director for the presidential biography – that’s his seventh Best Director nomination.

But one of the early shocks is David O Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, which has pulled in eight nominations, including one in each of the big seven categories (Film, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, and Screenplay). The last film to do that was Reds at the 1982 Oscars! Silver Lining's success also means the Robert De Niro garners his seventh Oscar nomination...  and his first in 21 years!

Another early shock is the performance of both Amour and Beasts Of The Southern Wild, with five and four noms respectively. The directors of both films have been nominated for Best Director.

Les Mis performed in line with expectations and tracking (eight noms), while those who were tempted to put money on Skyfall securing a Best Film nod won’t be heading back to the bookies with a grin on their face. Bond grabbed five noms, it’s highest profile being Best Song.

Among the shock omissions were:
  • Ben Affleck not being nominated for Best Director;
  • The Master securing nothing outside of the acting categories;
  • John Hawkes not nominated for The Sessions;
  • Kathryn Bigelow not nominated for Best Director on Zero Dark Thirty (which weakens the film’s chance of winning Best Film;
  • And no nominations for Hitchcock in any major categories.
Other items of note include: both Daniel Day-Lewis and Denzel Washington going for their third Oscars; and the supporting actor shortlist comprising actors who have either won that category or Best Actor before.

Perhaps the most intriguing fight of the night will be for Best Costume Design. Why? Because 2012’s two Snow White movies (Mirror Mirror and Snow White & The Huntsman) go up against each other, although, given that they’re competing against Anna Karenina, Les Mis and Lincoln, they don’t have much of a chance.

Predictions? For Best Film, I reckon Oscar will go with Lincoln, almost certainly with Spielberg grabbing his third Best Director trophy. Daniel Day-Lewis will add Lincoln’s haul with Best Actor. Best Actress is completely unpredictable with the oldest ever nominee versus the youngest, but given that Oscar loves a good story from its ceremony, it must be between those two.

Hollywood loves polite fun being poked at it, so Alan Arkin just nudges out Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tommy Lee Jones.

Best Supporting Actress? I still can’t see how Anne Hathaway won’t win (I can see it now: the tears and the speech will beat Gwyneth Paltrow’s sobbing!), but Amy Adams has served her time (three previous nominations in this category) and this might be Sally Field’s last chance of an Oscar, so there are still obstacles in Hath’s way (you see what I did there?).

Oscar night is 24 February.

Wednesday 9 January 2013

BAFTA 2013: the nominations laid bare


BAFTA once again both went with the flow and showed an independent streak: many of the expected contenders got their nominations, but several did not.

Let’s start with the bare numbers: Lincoln leads the pack with 10 nominations, ahead of Life of Pi and Les Mis on nine each, and Skyfall on eight. Next up is Argo with seven, Anna Karenina with six and Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty with five each.

However, if we focus on the seven awards that can make a difference to whether people go to see a movie – Film (or British or Foreign Film), Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, and the Screen play categories (Original and Adapted) a different picture emerges:

  • Argo and Lincoln both have five
  • Amour, Les Mis, The Master, and Zero Dark Thirty have four
  • Django Unchained, Life Of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook and Skyfall have three
  • Rust And Bone with two
But this doesn’t get close to telling the story of the surprises:
·     Steven Spielberg not nominated for Best Director
·     John Hawkes not nominated for The Sessions
·     The Impossible received no nominations whatsoever
·     The Master nominated in acting and script categories, but not Film or Director
·     Judi Dench not nominated for Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
·     Maggie Smith not nominated for that nor Quartet
·     No nominations for Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers, but Seven Psychopaths gets a Best British Film nom
·     Michael Haneke’s Amour snares four noms, including for him as Best Director
·     The brilliant Headhunters nominated for Best Foreign Film
·     Ben Affleck doing the double: nominated for Best Director and Best Actor

There were also non-surprise omissions: Tom Hooper not nominated for Best Director for Les Mis (perhaps members reflected on their mad decision to reward him two years ago for The King’s Speech); and Anthony Hopkins not being nominated for playing Alfred in Hitchcock, but his co-star Helen Mirren securing her berth in Best Actress.

So, predictions:
  • Best Film is a fight between Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty; Spielberg’s lack of recognition in the Director list makes Zero the favourite. That same absence will hold back Les Mis.
  • Best British Film: Best Exotic Marigold Hotel versus Les Mis versus Skyfall.
  • Best Foreign Film: Amour
  • Best Director: Ang Lee versus Kathryn Bigelow versus Michael Haneke
  • Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis versus Joaquin Phoenix
  • Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva in Amour versus Helen Mirren in Hitchcock
  • Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master versus Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln
  • Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway in Les Mis versus Judi Dench in Skyfall
  • Original Screenplay: Zero versus The Master versus Amour
  • Adapted Screenplay: Life Of Pi versus Lincoln

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, one film dominated the Razzies: Breaking Dawn Part 2 secured 11 nominations from 10 categories… 

Sunday 6 January 2013

Box office review 2012


Worldwide box office in 2012 was driven by three event movies, two of which performed well beyond their producers’ expectations: The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall.

Dealing with them in reverse, Skyfall is now the first billion Bond. It topped the UK chart and is the first film ever to cross the £100m mark at home. It pulled in a franchise record of nearly $300m in the US, and then rapidly notched up more than $700m internationally. And it’s still on release and those numbers will keep growing, especially if it gets Oscar and BAFTA noms. Oh, and it hasn’t opened in China yet…

Skyfall’s international take is nearly double that of Quantum Of Solace; its US take is nearly double of the previous instalment; and its UK take is double Quantum too. Yes, there’s been ticket price inflation since Daniel Craig’s second outing in 2008, but not enough to account for these mega figures; quite simply millions more people went to see Bond this year. The combination of Skyfall and TDKR proved you don’t need 3D to be huge.

And so on to the Bat – disappointing film and the producers will surely be disappointed by its overall performance. Fewer people saw TDKR than its predecessor – four years of ticket inflation and a significant increase in the number of IMAX screens worldwide and all it could muster was abut $100m more than The Dark Knight… Nevertheless it took an impressive scalp in the UK, beating The Avengers, and beating $1bn mark worldwide is not to be sniffed at.

But ultimately the Bat took a real beating from Marvel’s superteam: in most major territories, the Avengers did double what Batman did. It’s jaw-dropping opening in the US (more than $200m) rather set the tone for the rest of the world. Its performance was, of course, buoyed by 3D pricing, but there’s no escaping the huge pull of the Avengers brand now.

As many commentators have been keen to point out, it’s the most successful film not directed by James Cameron (Titanic and Avatar): $623.4m in the US plus $888.4m internationally.

Other significant performers included Ice Age 4 (ever diminishing in the US, but ever increasing in the rest of the world), the conclusion of the Twilight series (achieving franchise records everywhere) and The Hobbit (started slowly in the US, but then picked up during the Xmas break and doing well internationally), which may yet get within reach of $1bn worldwide.

Surprise, surprise
Major surprises included the performance of Ted: more than $200m in the US and nearly $300m in the rest of the world – US comedy rarely crosses over internationally that well.

And of course one must mention the spring sensation that was The Hunger Games: a massive $400m-plus in the US, plus nearly $300m from the rest of the world. The next instalment, which takes over the Twilight November release date slot, will be even more successful.

In the UK, two British films performed particularly well: first, The Woman In Black spent three weeks at number one as Daniel Radcliffe found life after Potter and the new Hammer Horror kicked off in style.

Second, oh so close behind it but off the top 15 chart was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with £20.3m, proving the profitability of the grey pound (and therefore unleashing a new form of British cinema) and reviving the careers of many of our over-50 actors and actresses. It pulled in $46.4m in the US and $21m in Australia.

While 3D helped The Avengers, Ice Age 4, Madagascar 3, Amazing Spider-Man, Prometheus and MIB III, 3D re-releases of cherished 2D films didn’t work too well with the all-too significant exception of Titanic. It only took $57.9m in the US, but raked in $285.7m from the rest of the world, including a whopping $145m from China.

Also worthy of mention is the French mega-hit, The Intouchables, which took nearly $250m internationally, mostly from France (where it was released in autumn 2011 and has since raked in $166.1m), Germany ($79m) and Spain ($21m).

The biggest star to emerge in the US in 2012 was Channing Tatum, taking three films to $100m-plus: 21 Jump Street ($138.5m); The Vow ($125m); and Magic Mike ($113.7m). In total that trio brought in $564.9m worldwide for a combined cost of circa $80m…

Hits and flops that weren’t
Steven Spielberg’s War Horse was a hit, wasn’t it? Er, not really. While it spent three weeks at number one in the UK at the start of the year on the way to £18.6m, it failed to perform outside the English language, limping to just $177.5m worldwide (against Spielberg’s Tintin on $373.9m).

Amazing Spider-Man failed to convince, falling short of the poorest performer of Sam Raimi’s original trilogy: it neither crossed $300m in the US nor $500m internationally. Nevertheless it did enough to justify a sequel.

In theory, two mega-budget movies flopped this year: Battleship and John Carter. Well, they didn’t flop as badly as some. While both were undoubted flops in the US, they delivered more than $200m internationally each. But given respective budgets $209m and $250m, it’s hard to see them ever turning a profit!

The real flops
The Wrath of the Titans was a significant casualty: its predecessor, The Clash, delivered $493.2m from a $125m budget in 2010, but the sequel mustered just $301m from a $150m budget. Presumably The Flop of the Titans will not be greenlit!

One of the big flops of the year was Tim Burton: Frankenweenie limped to a lifeless $66.6m worldwide (!), while Dark Shadows – despite Eva Green’s ever-impressive figure and the Deppster in full flight – sucked its way to $239.1m worldwide from a budget of $150m. To put those performances into context, remember that Burton’s previous effort was Alice In Wonderland ($1bn from a $200m budget). Burton desperately needs a hit!

The other flop of the year was Tom Cruise: his Jack Reacher has not launched a new franchise for him (its current running total of $80.9m worldwide with many major territories still to open suggests a final cume of circa $200m from a budget of $60m), while his starring cameo in Rock Of Ages produced no material benefit for the film as it pulled in just $56.4m worldwide from a $75m budget. And these two performances follow the apparent restoration of his box office halo with the success of MI4 and its $694.7m worldwide. Like Tim Burton, Tom Cruise needs a hit: perhaps April’s sci-fi actioner Oblivion will do the job.

Worldwide top 15
The Avengers $1,511.8m
The Dark Knight Rises $1,081m
Skyfall $1,000.2m
Ice Age 4 $875.1m
Breaking Dawn Part 2 $799.3m
The Amazing Spider-Man $752.2m
Madagascar 3 $742.1m
The Hunger Games $686.5m
The Hobbit $685.7m
Men In Black 3 $624m
Brave $535.3m
Ted $501.8m
Prometheus $402.5m
Snow White & The Huntsman $396.4m
Taken 2 $365.3m

UK top 15
Skyfall            £100.5m
The Dark Knight Rises £56.3m
The Avengers £51.9m
The Hobbit £35.9m
Breaking Dawn Part 2 £35.4m
Ted £30.1m
Ice-Age 4 £30.3m
Amazing Spider-Man £25.9m
Prometheus £24.7m
The Hunger Games £23.8m
Taken 2 £23.6m
Madagascar 3 £22.2m
Brave £22m
Men In Black 3 £21.9m
The Woman In Black £21.2m

US top 15
The Avengers $623.4m
The Dark Knight Rises $448.1m
The Hunger Games $408m           
Skyfall            $290.9m
Breaking Dawn Part 2 $286.4m
The Amazing Spider-Man $262m
Brave $237.2m
The Hobbit $228.5m
Ted $218.7m
Madagascar 3 $216.4m
The Lorax $214m
Men In Black 3 $179m
Wreck-It Ralph $175.9m
Ice Age 4 $161m
Snow White & The Huntsman $155.1m

International top 15
The Avengers $888.4m
Ice Age 4 $714m
Skyfall            $710.6m
Dark Knight Rises $632.9m
Madagascar 3 $525.7m
Breaking Dawn Part 2            $513.2m
The Amazing Spider-Man $490.2m
The Hobbit $464m
Men In Black 3 $445m
Brave $298.1m
Titanic 3D $285.7m
Ted $283.1m           
The Hunger Games $278.5m
Prometheus $276m
The Intouchables $247.8m

Sources: Screendaily.com and Box Office Mojo

Thursday 3 January 2013

Producers reveal their shortlist


The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced its shortlist for film of the year, and there are one or two surprises: Skyfall makes the cut but The Master does not.

The shortlist is:
  • Argo
  • Beasts Of The Southern Wild
  • Django Unchained
  • Les Mis
  • Life Of Pi
  • Lincoln
  • Moonrise Kingdom
  • Silver Linings Playbook
  • Skyfall
  • Zero Dark Thirty

The snub of The Master and the year’s two biggest hits (The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises) is a significant indicator of what might happen with the Oscar noms on 10 January.

The PGA winner is revealed on 26 January.

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Film awards season: 2013 preview


It’s the start of the year, so in the movie world that means awards season.
The Golden Globe nominations were announced in December, but everything really kicks off on 3 January with the Producers Guild of America. Key dates thereafter are the Bafta noms on 9 January, the Oscar noms the following day, and the Golden Globes themselves on 13 January.
The big two present their awards on 10 and 24 February.

PGA noms: 3 January
DGA noms: 8 January
Bafta noms: 9 January
Oscar noms: 10 January
Golden Globes: 13 January
PGA: 26 January
SAG: 27 January
DGA: 2 February
BAFTA: 10 February
Oscars: 24 February

The clear favourites are beginning to emerge:

Film
This looks like a three-way fight between Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty and Tom Hooper’s Les Mis.
I half-expect that nobody will do the Film-Director double this year at the Oscars. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bigelow scooped the Director award, but Lincoln seals the big one.
The again there’s the big if: if the Academy falls for Les Mis, it could fall for it hard.
And that’s it: other films will get nominated but will not get a look in.

Director
At this stage it looks like a battle royale between Steven Spielberg and Kathryn Bigelow. The latter has made the more controversial film, but, with wide release in January, it is fresher in voters’ minds. Bigelow won relatively recently for The Hurt Locker, so Oscar may not want to reward her again so quickly. Spielberg on the other hand hasn’t won since Saving Private Ryan…
The dark horse is Tom Hooper, who won only two years ago for The King’s Speech. If Oscar is in a musical mood, his direction of Les Mis (which, by the time Oscar voting closes, may be the most successful Oscar contender at the box office) may get him the win.

Actor
There is one clear favourite: Daniel Day-Lewis. He’s up for the Golden Globe and has already won eight times for his performance as Lincoln.
Again, there must be the big proviso: if Oscar is in musical mood, Hugh Jackman could do it for Les Mis.
And then there’s the disabled vote: Oscar loves actors in disabled roles, so John Hawkes in The Sessions and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook could be recognised.
Unlikely that Denzel Washington will win for a third time with Flight, even though a number of critics have described his performance as the best of his career.
Similarly, Joaquin Phoenix may be lucky to garner a nomination for his outstanding performance in The Master as all the scientologists within Hollywood will not vote for him.

Actress
The most successful actress in awards season so far is Jessica Chastain with nine victories to her name for Zero Dark Thirty. She’s got one previous nomination to her name and would be a deserving winner. Nevertheless, the controversy that will swamp the film as the Oscar deadline gets closer could cost her victory.
Who then will emerge? Marion Cotillard, a previous Oscar winner, is excellent in Rust And Bone, where she of course plays a woman who loses her legs…
Jennifer Lawrence has already won three times for Silver Linings Playbook, but I think she will need to be a happy with a nomination.
From the trailer, Helen Mirren appears to get all the best lines in Hitchcock, and could score a surprise: being nominated while her male lead in the titular role fails to do so.
Naomi Watts has spent several years away from Hollywood and acting and only achieved success late: a nomination for The Impossible is deserving, but she’s got no wins to her name so far for that performance.
Meryl Streep can’t be ignored, and neither can Maggie Smith for Quartet or Judi Dench for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Supporting Actor
A category with no clear favourite! However, the list of contenders reads like a list of great character actors:
  • Alan Arkin for Argo
  • Javier Bardem for Skyfall
  • Leonardo DiCaprio for Django Uchained
  • Robert DeNiro for Silver Linings Playbook
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master
  • Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln
  • Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained
There’s also a chance for Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy in Marigold Hotel.
Hoffman will be compromised for playing an echo of L Ron Hubbard, the scientology founder, so I think Arkin might just do it, especially as he’s playing a Hollywood producer.

Supporting Actress
In theory, there is one outstanding favourite for this; she’s so far ahead of the rest of the field that the rest need not show up. I’m talking, of course, about Anne Hathaway.
While I love her performance of Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Returns, Oscar is set to fall for her bravura showcase in Les Mis.
However, while she’s the joint-most successful in the supporting actress awards season race with three wins, there are others that could yet upset her run to the flag,
Most notable is Amy Adams, with three major wins behind her for The Master and three previous noms in this category, this may be her time.
Also hard to discount is Sally Field with two major wins already for Lincoln.
Helen Hunt has only one major victory to her name for The Sessions.
Judi Dench and Maggie Smith could split any British vote for their roles in Skyfall and Marigold Hotel.
Nicole Kidman made the Golden Globe shortlist for Paperboy, but that will be a long shot for Oscar.

Tuesday 1 January 2013

2013 film preview


2013 opens with a bumper crop of awards contenders, and then gradually gives way to geek and cult heaven: Iron Man 3, Star Trek 2, Superman, Wolverine, Thor 2, Hunger Games 2 and The Hobbit 2...

Django Unchained (18 January)
Tarantino goes to spaghetti Western.
The Session (18 January)
Oscar ahoy for John Hawkes’ polio survivor’s search for a sex life.
Lincoln (25 January)
Hawkes’ main enemy for the Best Actor Oscar is Daniel Day-Lewis in Spielberg’s latest.
Zero Dark Thirty (25 January)
Kathryn Bigelow’s take on the quest for Bin Laden is set to be the favourite at the Oscars.

Flight (1 February)
Denzel Washington’s bid for a third Oscar.
Hitchcock (8 February)
Anthony Hopkins is Alfred Hitchcock as he sets about making Psycho.
A Good Day To Die Hard (14 February)
Bruce Willis returns to his action franchise in time for Valentine’s…
Hansel & Gretel (22 February)
Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in the titular roles.   
         
Compliance (1 March)
Robot & Frank (8 March)
Frank Langella is awesome in this near future tale.
Jack The Giant Slayer (22 March)
Bryan Singer directs this update of the fable.
Trance (27 March)
The new Danny Boyle.

Oblivion  (12 April)
Iron Man 3 (26 April)
The first Marvel movie after the mega-success of the Avengers. Cue Tony and his arch nemesis, the Mandarin.

Star Trek: Into Darkness (17 May)
The first 10 minutes looks great. Fresh from Sherlock and War Horse, Benedict Cumberbatch will arrive as the villain of the piece. 
The Hangover Part 3 (24 May)

Man Of Steel (14 June)
Zack Snyder does Superman. First proper trailer looks really good. Still worried, but not as much as I was!
World War Z (21 June)
Marc Forster directs Brad Pitt in this zombie flick.

Monsters University (12 July)
Prequel to Monsters Inc.
Pacific Rim (12 July)
Del Toro’s sci-fi actioner that he shot after he dropped out from The Hobbit.
Kick-Ass 2 (19 July)
Hit-Girl and Kick Ass return.
The Wolverine (26 July)
Hugh Jackman goes ninja.


Red 2 (2 August)
Retired and still deadly: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich return.

The Lone Ranger (9 August)
Johnny Depp is Tonto.
The World’s End (14 August)
The new Edgar Wright with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Cue laughs!
Jurassic Park 3D (30 August)

Rush (13 September)
Ron Howard’s take on the 1976 F1 season: Lauda v Hunt.
Elysium (20 September)
Neill ‘District 9’ Blomkamp returns with another slice of sci-fi.

Ender’s Game (25 October)
Adaptation of Roberto Orci’s cult sci-fi book.
Thor: Dark World (30 October)
Thor 2!

Hunger Games 2 (22 November)
The Katniss Everdeen story continues.

The Hobbit 2 (13 December)
Benedict Cumberbatch follows up his villainous turn in Star Trek by voicing the dragon Smaug.

Golden Stans 2012


70 cinematic performances from The Artist through to Life Of Pi; 65 films in total; 63 in contention for the Golden Stans. As with 2011, it seemed there would be no heavy favourite for the Golden Stans, but, as I began my review, I realised how many great films and performances there were in 2012.

But more of those in a second; let me dispense with the Cone of Shame. Unlike 2011, when seven different films competed for the badge of dishonour, 2012 provided one outstandingly poor candidate: A Fish. Scripted and directed by Korean student Park Hongmin and shot on homemade 3D, this meditation on fishing, redemption and the after life is one long mistake. It was showcased at the London Film Festival, and Dunkini and I were attracted by the preview’s description of it as Twin Peaks-esque. That preview was wrong: David Lynch’s work can be maddening but it is significantly more watchable than this tiresome, torpid nonsense.

OK, on to the good stuff. The Golden Stan for Best Score is a pitched battle between Ludovic Bource for The Artist and Hans Zimmer for The Dark Knight Rises. Zimmer continued his outstanding work for Nolan’s Bat adaptation and it remains one of the highlights of the film, but Bource takes the award for The Artist.

The Best Cinematography award features a shortlist of five:
  • Sean Bobbit/Shame
  • Roger Deakins /Skyfall
  • Rodrigo Prieto/Argo
  • Guillaume Schiffman/The Artist
  • Darius Wolski/Prometheus
Bobbit’s arresting long takes on Shame are worthy of note, Deakins produced quite simply the best-looking Bond ever, Schiffman worked lovingly in black and white, and Darius Wolski (no doubt with some clear direction from Ridley Scott) shot the most visually sumptuous movie of the year. But the gong goes to Schiffman.

The Best Original and Adapted Screenplay awards feature stand-out winners: Martin McDonagh for Seven Psychopaths, and Chris Terrio for Argo respectively.
McDonagh seems to effortlessly write perfectly for his ensemble cast and handles the storytelling for storytelling’s sake and the film-about-a-film elements with ease. Terrio’s adaptation of the magazine article features memorable lines, gripping scenarios and copes admirably with the cross-cutting between drama (and potential tragedy) in Tehran and the comedy in Hollywood.

Now on to the acting performances, and the first category features no shortlist: the Golden Stan for Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast goes with no hesitation to the team on Compliance. The cast are uniformly excellent, no matter how long or short their screentime, all believably small town nobodies.

So, now it’s Best Supporting Actress and the shortlist looks like this:
  • Gemma Arterton/Song For Marion
  • Scarlett Johansson/We Bought A Zoo and The Avengers
  • Roxanne Mesquida/Kiss Of The Damned
  • Carey Mulligan/Shame
  • Vanessa Redgrave/Song For Marion
  • Penelope Wilton/The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Let’s start with the British actresses: Arterton is all heart in Song For Marion, Mulligan holds her own against Michael Fassbender in Shame, Redgrave reminds us all of her class once again in Marion, and Wilton succeeds in the least likeable role in Marigold Hotel. Scarlett Johansson lent solid support to Matt Damon in We Bought A Zoo and then emerged as the real star of The Avengers. Finally Roxanne Mesquida is a commendably loopy succubus in Kiss Of The Damned. However, the winner is Carey Mulligan for her turn as Fassbender’s equally broken sister in Shame: one of the memories of 2012 will be her performance of New York, New York.

The shortlist for Best Supporting Actor is:
  • Alan Arkin/Argo
  • Stephen Graham/Blood
  • John Hawkes/Martha Marcy May Marlene
  • Tom Hiddleston/War Horse and The Avengers
  • Jeremy Irons/Margin Call
  • Bill Nighy/The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
These are all great performances but all of them find the actors perhaps too confined within their comfort zones. Arkin chews his comedy lines with gusto in Argo; Nighy effortlessly combines the comedy and drama of his character’s trip to India in Marigold Hotel; Graham goes through the wringer with Paul Bettany in Blood; Hawkes is a haunting presence in MMMM; Hiddleston sinks his teeth once again into Loki in The Avengers and emerged with my man of the match trophy for War Horse; and Irons staged something of a comeback with his handful of scenes in Margin Call. It’s a tough call, but the award goes to Irons for his calm authority as the positively satanic (but with no sign of ham) chief exec at the heart of the Stock Market swindle in Margin Call.

And now the Golden Stans judging gets really tough with Best Actress; the shortlist is not very short, due to the sheer number of performances worthy of recognition
  • Berenice Bejo/The Artist
  • Emily Blunt/ The Five-Year Engagement, Your Sister’s Sister and Looper
  • Marion Cotillard/Rust and Bone
  • Judi Dench/The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Skyfall
  • Martina Gusman/Carancho
  • Anne Hathaway/The Dark Knight Rises
  • Jennifer Lawrence/Hunger Games and The Silver Linings Playbook
  • Charlotte Rampling/I, Anna
  • Andrea Risborough/Shadow Dancer
  • Charlize Theron/Young Adult, Prometheus and Snow White & The Huntsman
A number of actresses lit up the screen this year, notably Bejo in The Artist, Blunt (the romcom queen of 2012 with no doubt, she grounded every movie she was in), and Hathaway (her confident but lost Selina Kyle was the undoubted highlight of Dark Knight Rises). Cotillard and Dench were their usual excellent selves, although the latter seemed well within her comfort zone. Lawrence emerged as a new force within Hollywood, playing her two defining roles of the year with considerable but sympathetic conviction. Gusman and Risborough both suffered gallantly in their roles, although the latter was ultimately less of a victim in Shadow Dancer. Rampling delivered a timely reminder of her quality as the anguished, lonely mother in I, Anna, while Theron across a brace of different roles proved yet again that she’s not just a pretty face. When I started compiling this shortlist, I was convinced that Bejo would get the nod, but in the end, it’s Theron. The sheer breadth of her performances makes her a worthy winner: like Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, Charlize is cast viciously against type in Young Adult and yet succeeds; she emerges from Prometheus alongside Fassbender as the only member of the cast to really impress; and she’s a delicious but believable wicked witch in Snow White.

And now, it’s Best Actor:
  • Paul Bettany/Blood and Margin Call
  • Bradley Cooper/The Silver Linings Playbook
  • Daniel Craig/Skyfall
  • Ricardo Darin/Carancho
  • Jean Dujardin/The Artist
  • Michael Fassbender/Shame and Prometheus
  • Jake Gyllenhaal/End Of Watch
  • Frank Langella/Robot & Frank
  • Matthew McConaughey/Killer Joe
  • Terence Stamp/Song For Marion
Like the Best Actress category, there were many notable performances in 2012, including from two old-timers who make increasingly rare forays into film: Langella carries Robot & Frank on his shoulders, mixing comedy and pathos brilliantly; while Stamp presides over Song For Marion like a minor deity, his insular pensioner all-too-horribly familiar. The most unhinged performance of the year comes from McConaughey in Killer Joe, his sadistic, bent cop all-too-realistic. Bettany was great in both Blood and Margin Call (although he’s docked points for the accent in the latter), while both Craig and Gyllenhaal were muscular in their roles. Darin excelled as usual as the bent lawyer on the edge in Carancho, and Cooper stretched himself commendably with Silver Linings. But the big two here are Jean Dujardin for The Artist and Michael Fassbender for Shame and Prometheus. The battle is between them and it’s hard to split them for authority, conviction and use of their bodies. Dujardin absolutely nails his character’s screen charm, but I’m afraid he’s not going to win because Fassbender’s sheer unwavering conviction in Shame and his scene-stealing in Prometheus are truly something to behold.

Before jumping into Best Director, I need to announce the Debut of the Year and that goes to Xan Cassavetes (the daughter of John). Her script, direction and vision for brooding vampire drama Kiss Of The Damned could herald a major new talent and a distinctly female one at that.

She also appears on the Best Director shortlist, which comprises:
  • Ben Affleck/Argo
  • David Ayers/End Of Watch
  • Xan Cassavetes/Kiss Of The Damned
  • Michael Hazanavicius/The Artist
  • Ang Lee/Life Of Pi
  • Steve McQueen/Shame
  • Morten Tyldum/Headhunters
  • Ben Wheatley/Sightseers
  • Joss Whedon/The Avengers
  • Craig Zobel/Compliance
There are plenty of visions here all realised with absolute commitment, notably David Ayers and his POV approach to End Of Watch, Cassavetes’ attempt to surround the audience in the heightened senses of a vampire, and McQueen’s stark observation of darker sexual impulses. Affleck and Zobel ran tight ships, showing controlled approaches, while Wheatley and Tyldum gloried in gore and shock. Whedon just about pulled off the impossible by delivering The Avengers, while Lee created the art house 3D movie in Pi. But in the end, Hazanavicius snatches the award for his outstanding work on the lovingly and intelligently crafted Artist.

Finally, it’s the big one, it’s the Golden Stan for Best Film. Here are the films that entertained me the most and made me glad to be in a cinema:
  • Argo: great combination of drama and comedy; good sense of time and place.
  • The Artist: the multiple Oscar winner deserved every accolade it received.
  • The Avengers: the fanboy favourite of the year. It almost made complete sense, and reinvented the Hulk and launched the Black Widow into the firmament. Hulk, smash! Nuff said!
  • Compliance: gripping, incendiary cinema. The only way to form an opinion of its subject matter is to see it.
  • The Dark Knight Rises: flawed but compelling conclusion to Nolan’s Bat trilogy. Nearly collapses under its own weight and bleakness and the script is over-wrought, but Hathaway’s Selina Kyle is worth the price of admission.
  • End Of Watch: my palm prints were gouged into the seat once this LA cop thriller finished. Outstanding work all round, even if David Ayers doesn’t quite stick to his own POV set-up.
  • The Five-Year Engagement: one of the great comedies of 2012, buoyed by unflinchingly knowing humour of the shared experience and the luminous Emily Blunt.
  • Headhunters: like of End Of Watch, this Hitchcockian thriller had me squirming excitedly in my seat.
  • Kiss Of The Damned: Xan Cassavetes rides the wave of Twilight and True Blood and delivers a very artistic take of the vampire ménage a trios, complete with sensory overload.
  • Life of Pi: deeply satisfying survival story with strong spiritual bent, aided by the joint-best 3D of the year.
  • Margin Call: a little movie with a great cast and a top notch script that deserves a far wider audience.
  • Prometheus: like The Dark Knight Rises, this is flawed (possibly more so), but the technical credits are off the chart. Joint-best 3D of the year.
  • Robot & Frank: funny and touching take on old age boosted by a tremendous central performance from Frank Langella.
  • Room 237: compelling and hilarious documentary about the conspiracy theories that surround Kubrick’s Shining.
  • Seven Psychopaths: great script and great performances as Martin McDonagh begins to stretch himself after In Bruges.
  • Shadow Dancer: this edge of the seat IRA drama kept you guessing (and left me guessing) thanks to Andrea Risborough’s outstanding turn as the informant.
  • Shame: Steve McQueen’s compelling take on sex addiction lives long in the memory.
  • Sightseers: serial-killing caravanners… It doesn’t get much better than this!
  • Song For Marion: an unashamed three-hankie crowd-pleaser, full of great British talent, not least of course Terence Stamp.
  • Ted: laugh-out loud funny. Gotta love a movie where the central characters lionise Flash.
In the end, there were no 10/10 movies in 2012, but dozens that scored 8/10 or higher. One film scored 9.5/10, and in a year of excellence, it just rises above the rest. The Golden Stan for Best Film goes to the beautiful, the moving, the entertaining, The Artist.

That’s it for 2012. 2013 kicks off here!