Reviews of the Best Picture Nominees

As the nominations for the 84th annual Academy Awards were announced this past Tuesday, here are our brief thoughts on all nine of the nominees in the running for Best Picture.  For future reference throughout the Oscar season, links to our full thoughts on each of these films are included in the titles, as well as the categories in which they are nominated.  We are offering this in lieu of reviewing one of this Friday’s new releases and encourage our readers to check out all of these films, before the Oscars on February 26th.  Enjoy!

The Artist:  Released in theatres on December 16th, this is a black and white silent film that beautifully pays homage to the rise of the talkies in Hollywood.  Directed by Michel Hazanavicious, this is a moving, inspirational and ultimately unforgettable film that features a wonderful musical score by Ludovic Bource and a brilliant leading performance from Jean Dujardin.

The Artist is nominated for ten Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Havanavicious) Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), Best Supporting Actress (Bérénice Bejo), Best Original Score (Ludovic Bource), Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Editing.

The Descendants:  Released in theatres on November 18th, Alexander Payne’s adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings’ wonderful novel The Descendants is a brilliantly acted and very moving film that believably deals with the emotional journey of a family coming together through loss.  Set against the beautiful backdrop of Hawaii, George Clooney gives one of the best performances of his career in the leading role and cinematic newcomer Shailene Woodley is his match.

The Descendants is nominated for five Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Director (Alexander Payne), Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close:  Opening in limited release on December 25th and going wide on January 20th, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a deeply moving and brilliantly acted film about people coming together in the wake of tragedy.  Based on the excellent novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film is anchored by a great performance from newcomer Thomas Horn and a beautiful musical score from Alexandre Desplat.  This is a severely underrated film, and it was one of the best surprises of Tuesday morning to see it honoured with a Best Picture nomination.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is nominated for two Academy Awards:  Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Max von Sydow).

The Help:  Released in theatres on August 10th and available on Blu-ray & DVD since December 6th, director Tate Taylor’s pitch-perfect adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s bestselling novel The Help is an incredibly moving and beautifully realized film.  With unforgettable characters and brilliant performances from the entire ensemble cast, this was a breakout hit with audiences that proved to be the biggest box office force of the nine Best Picture nominees.

The Help is nominated for four Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer) and Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain).

Hugo:  Released in theatres on November 23rd, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo is a modern classic about the importance of old movies, based on the magnificent novel by Brian Selznick.  With beautiful visuals that are made even more immersive by the flawless 3D and a heartfelt story filled with endearing characters, the film provides an unforgettable and moving tribute to classic cinema.

Hugo is nominated for eleven Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Original Score (Howard Shore), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects.

Midnight in Paris:  Released in theatres on June 3rd and available on Blu-ray & DVD since December 20th, we all loved Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.  Filled with beautiful cinematography of France, the charming film plays as smart, classy and irresistible entertainment from beginning to end.  With excellent leading work from Owen Wilson and an equally strong supporting cast that includes pitch-perfect portrayals of some of the biggest icons of the 1920′s, this is one of Woody Allen’s best modern films.

Midnight in Paris is nominated for four Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Director (Woody Allen), Best Original Screenplay and Best Art Direction.

Moneyball:  Released in theatres on September 23rd and coming to Blu-ray & DVD on January 10th, we were all big fans of Bennet Miller’s excellent baseball statistics film Moneyball.  Reviewed through an article, this is a smart and engaging movie that is driven by sharply written dialogue and a brilliant performance from Brad Pitt, who hits a home run in the leading role.  Equally strong is the nicely understated supporting work of Jonah Hill.

Moneyball is nominated for six Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

The Tree of Life:  Released in theatres on June 10th and available on Blu-ray & DVD since October 11th, The Tree of Life is a deeply moving and visually breathtaking film that leaves the viewer with a lot to think about.  When the nominations were announced Tuesday morning, it was wonderful to see this film included in the Best Picture race.  Also reviewed through an article, we all deeply admired this beautifully filmed and hauntingly spiritual work of art from visionary director Terrence Malick.

The Tree of Life is nominated for three Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Director (Terrence Malick) and Best Cinematography.

War Horse:  Released in theatres on December 25th, Steven Spielberg’s World War I saga War Horse is the one film on this list of Best Picture nominees that we liked, but didn’t love.  Although this is still a film that older kids and adults can enjoy, as it generally overcomes the overlong 146-minute running time and thin character development with beautiful cinematography and several touching scenes involving the title animal.

War Horse is nominated for six Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Original Score (John Williams), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

Soundtrack Review: Joyful Noise

By Erin V.

As Joyful Noise was being made, director Todd Graff attended gospel conventions around the USA, watching choirs both large and small perform (sometimes to sold-out crowds of 18,000), which helped to provide an authenticity to the film.  Composer and music producer Mervyn Warren who has known Graff for over a decade started writing and arranging the music for the film in 2009 after an early version of the script was finished, and the clear use of songs and music to tell the story shows careful planning.

I listened to the soundtrack to Joyful Noise actually for the first time a few days shy of seeing the film.  It is a practice that I oftentimes avoid, only because sometimes it makes the film seem predictable or it doesn’t live up to the soundtrack.  One thing that I liked about Joyful Noise is that it does live up to it.  Surprisingly for films these days, the full soundtrack it seems (all 47 minutes) is present in the film – musical numbers are watched in their entirety here.  In fact, the film is so music-centric that there are even more songs (sung partially) in the film that aren’t even on the CD – often it can be the other way around.  Another interesting note is that composer Mervyn Warren is seen in the film making a cameo as the choir’s pianist.

I personally love listening to this CD – of course, you aren’t going to go out and buy this soundtrack if you aren’t into Gospel style music and arrangements.  But for those who are, this is one of the most worthwhile recent soundtrack releases to buy – the whole thing is worth hearing again and again, without seeming boring or old.

There are 12 tracks on the soundtrack, including a score suite, several classic songs, and five new ones written for the film.  Among them, composer and lyricist Mervyn Warren wrote I’m Yours for the film, while Dolly Parton wrote three songs to be used – Not Enough, He’s Everything, as well as the ballad From Here to the Moon and Back.

The goal for the film was to take songs from pop, to rock, to R & B, to country, and give them gospel arrangements as well as allowing them to take on faith-based undertones.  The new arrangements by Mervyn Warren of some classic songs all work well, including a beautiful slow version of the spiritual Fix Me Jesus performed in the film and on the CD by Queen Latifah.  There is a nice mix of songs here, from the classic spirituals, to songs like Michael Jackson’s hit Man in the Mirror, Paul McCartney’s Maybe I’m Amazed, and even a slight variation into country sounds with the original song From Here to the Moon and Back.

The CD is one of my favourite song-centric soundtracks for a recent film.  Along with the other songs I’ve already mentioned, gospel singer Kirk Franklin wrote In Love for the film and performs it as well.  There is also a track sung by gospel singer Karen Peck (Mighty High), and an amazing rendition of the Billy Preston song That’s the Way God Planned It  sung by young soloist Ivan Kelley, Jr.  All of the songs on the CD are featured in the film either sung by the main choir, or in the case of these, by their competitors at the ‘Joyful Noise’ competition.

One amazing point in both the film and on the CD is the Higher Medley track.  It begins with Sly & The Family Stone’s I Want to Take You Higher, before transitioning to Yeah! (made popular by Usher), then to Chris Brown’s hit Forever, and finally finishing with the Stevie Wonder classic Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.  The transitions here are flawless and amazingly well sung.  This five and a half minute track is definitely a great high point as the second to last song on the disc.

After all of the songs, the final track here is Joyful Noise Suite by Mervyn Warren, which is the one score (instrumental only) track on the soundtrack, and it provides a nice tone-down bookend to finish off the CD.  I’ve heard the whole 48 minute soundtrack several times through, and definitely consider it a worthy edition to my collection.

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The Joyful Noise soundtrack was released digitally and in the USA, (by Watertower Music), on January 10th 2012, and into Canadian stores, (by Sony Music Canada Inc.), on January 24th.

The soundtrack has 12 tracks and runs for 48 minutes, 7 seconds.  It features both classic and original songs, as well as one score track composed by Mervyn Warren.

You can read our movie reviews of Joyful Noise here.

Nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards

Presented by actress Jennifer Lawrence and Academy president Tom Sherak, the nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning.  The nine films competing for the top prize of Best Picture are The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life and War Horse.

Leading the pack with eleven nominations is Hugo, closely followed by The Artist with ten.  There were some surprises throughout the nominees, some more deserving than others.  I’m thrilled to see The Tree of Life honoured with a Best Picture nomination and a Best Director nod for Terrence Malick.  Another nice surprise is seeing the deeply moving Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close crack the field for Best Picture, and get a much deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination for Max von Sydow.  Equally deserved is Nick Nolte’s nomination for Warrior, as well as both Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer from The Help in the running for Best Supporting Actress.

For the most part, the acting categories are all predictably strong, with nominations for Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Viola Davis (The Help), George Clooney (The Descendants), Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball).  But there are also some embarrassing mistakes amongst the nominees, like Janet Mcteer (Alber Nobbs) being nominated for Best Supporting Actress over the far superior Shailene Woodley (The Descendants).  I’m also surprised to see Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin not in the running for Best Animated Film, and am not sure if the “good but not great” War Horse should have gotten six nominations, including one in the otherwise stellar Best Picture category.  I loved both “Man or Muppet” (The Muppets) and “Real in Rio” (Rio) and am glad that they were nominated for Best Original Song, but I’m literally shocked that there were only two nominees.

For the most part, I am happy with many of the nominations in a lot of the major categories, including the outstanding field for Best Director.  But it’s also disappointing to see some very deserving films and performances left off the list, like a complete snub for 50/50 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 being relegated to just three of the technical categories.  The Oscars will be announced live on February 26th at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.  For the ninth time, the telecast will be hosted by the great Billy Crystal.  Please see the complete list of nominees in all 24 categories after the break.

-John C.

DVD/Blu-ray Release: Real Steel

We showed you the robots at Fan Expo last August, attended the Toronto premiere in September and interviewed director Shawn Levy this past weekend.  Today, Walt Disney Home Entertainment is releasing DreamWorks Pictures’ Real Steel on Blu-ray & DVD.  With thrilling scenes of robot boxing and an engaging human story, this is an exhilarating and entertaining film that doesn’t drag for a second of the running time.  We reviewed Real Steel when it opened in theatres on October 7th, our overall consensus was:

“With strong leading performances from Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo as well as energetic direction from Shawn Levy, Real Steel features surprisingly thrilling sequences of robot boxing and delivers a lot of fast-paced fun to a wide demographic of audiences.  ***1/4 (Out of 4)”

The Blu-ray includes a blooper reel, some deleted and extended scenes, a couple of featurettes and commentary with Shawn Levy.  Also on the disc is Second Screen technology, which gives viewers an immersive look into the production as they interact with the film through their iPad or computer.

Real Steel is 127 minutes and rated PG.

-John C.

Criterion Release: Godzilla

The first time the film is widely available, Godzilla (Gojira) is being released on Blu-ray & DVD today as part of the Criterion Collection.  The original and best of the series from 1954, the Japanese film shows us the country in crisis as a radioactive lizard terrorizes a nation still deeply bruised from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific.

Beautifully restored on Blu-ray, the film still packs a surprisingly powerful punch.  Filled with visual and philosophical metaphors that go beyond pure destruction, the story of human suffering and fear of forces beyond your control still provokes just as much thought.  More than just another monster movie, Godzilla is the perfect embodiment of Japan’s fears of an unknown threat after the war.

The Blu-ray includes commentary with film historian David Kalat, interviews with the actors, special effects artists and the composer, a ‘behind the scenes’ featurette and more.  Also included is the edited 1956 “Americanized” version, Godzilla, King of the Monsters.  The pop-up packaging is a cool touch.

Godzilla is 96 minutes and rated PG.

-John C.

DVD/Blu-ray Release: Wings

The first Academy Award winner for Best Picture in 1927, Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing Wings for the first time on Blu-ray & DVD today, to coincide with the studio’s 100th anniversary.  Taking place in the heart of World War I and beautifully dealing with issues of love and loss, Clara Bow stars as a young woman who is left behind by two men (Charles Rogers and Richard Arlen) when they go to war.

Nominated for two Oscars and currently the only silent film to win the top prize at the Academy Awards, Wings has been beautifully restored to its original glory and features a recently recorded soundtrack that was based on the original score.  Featuring excellent performances and breathtaking sequences of aerial battle that still rank among the best, this is an exciting and entertaining piece of motion picture history that every movie lover should have in their collection.

The Blu-ray includes three excellent featurettes, including one on the meticulous restoration process.

Wings is 144 minutes and rated PG.

-John C.

Blu-ray Release: Six Oscar Classics from MGM

With the Oscar nominations being announced today, MGM Home Entertainment is releasing six of their classic films on Blu-ray.  Three from Alfred Hitchcock, two from Woody Allen and one from Billy Wilder, these six great films were all nominees or winners at the Academy Awards.  Enjoy!

Rebecca:  Nominated for eleven Oscars in 1940, this haunting romantic thriller is Alfred Hitchcock’s only film to win Best Picture.  The story of a shy bride (Joan Fontaine) who feels that her new husband’s (Laurence Olivier) mansion continues to be influenced from beyond the grave by his late wife, this is a chilling and suspenseful film that still holds up just as well.

The Blu-ray includes commentary with film critic Richard Schickel, featurettes, an isolated music track, radio plays and audio interviews with Hitchcock.

Rebecca is 131 minutes and rated PG.

Spellbound:  Nominated for six Oscars in 1945 and taking home the gold for Miklos Rozsa’s music, Alfred Hitchcock directed this psychological thriller with the help of Salvador Dali to craft an unforgettable dream sequence.  Shot in black and white with a haunting flash of colour at the end, this is a fascinating and suspenseful study of the human mind.

The Blu-ray includes a commentary track, several featurettes, the 1948 radio play and an audio interview with Hitchcock.

Spellbound is 118 minutes and rated PG.

Notorious:  Nominated for two Oscars n 1946, Notorious is a suspenseful spy thriller with romantic overtones.  Starring Cary Grant as an American agent who recruits a troubled woman (Ingrid Bergman) to  infiltrate a German spy ring and seduce a Nazi boss (Claude Rains), this is a thrilling and brilliantly written film.

The Blu-ray includes two commentary tracks, several featurettes, an isolated music track, the 1948 radio play and audio interviews with Hitchcock.

Notorious is 102 minutes and rated PG.

The Apartment:  Jack Lemmon stars in The Apartment, Billy Wilder’s only film to win Best Picture.  Nominated for ten Oscars and winning five of them in 1960, this is a smart, funny and brilliantly written film that is still considered by many to be among the greatest comedies of all time.

The Blu-ray includes commentary from producer and film historian Bruce Block as well as two featurettes.

The Apartment is 125 minutes and rated 14A.

Annie Hall:  Woody Allen’s unique look at the world provides a lot of insight and depth in Annie Hall, a hugely quotable New York love story that is told with an unconventional approach.  Winning four Oscars in 1977, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Diane Keaton), the film is still just as fresh today and remains one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time.

The Blu-ray includes no bonus features.

Annie Hall is 93 minutes and rated PG.

Manhattan:  Two years after Annie Hall, Woody Allen gave us Manhattan, a beautifully filmed black and white romantic dramady that was nominated for two Oscars in 1979.  An unconventional love triangle of sorts that provides sharp insight into modern relationships, the ensemble cast includes Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway and Meryl Streep.

The Blu-ray includes no bonus features.

Manhattan is 96 minutes and rated PG.

-John C.

Predictions and Dreams for Tomorrow’s Oscar Nominations

By John C.

With the nominations for the 84th annual Academy Awards set to come bright and early tomorrow morning, it might be the only time throughout this awards season that we get a proper surprise.  I expect to see several nominations for The Artist, The Descendants and Hugo, which are the films that make up the perfect trio of this year’s awards season favourites.  But we really don’t know exactly how many films will get a coveted Best Picture nomination.  There can be anywhere from five to ten.

For the past few years, I’ve spent the day before the nominations come out predicting what we will see in the major categories.  This year I’m going to do a similar thing, but I’m mainly going to talk about a few of the surprises that I would love to see tomorrow morning alongside the clear frontrunners, in some of the top categories.  Even if some of them aren’t likely going to happen, it makes things more interesting than just offering straight predictions, don’t you think?

In recent years, the Oscars have been so easy to predict in many of the major categories, that nomination morning could easily prove to be the event that holds many on the edge of their seat.  I think I made note of this last year when The Social Network was dominating the awards season, but The King’s Speech was the obvious choice to take home Best Picture come Oscar night.  But I’m not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, because those were both great films, just that it seems like the unpredictability of previous years is gone.  In this day and age, it’s impossible not to pay attention to which films are picking up the precursor awards.  Right off the bat, I would love to see some Best Supporting Actor recognition for Andy Serkis’ outstanding motion-capture performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

One of the closest things we have to a lock is in the Best Supporting Actor category.  Christopher Plummer is pretty much guaranteed a nomination for his good but surprisingly brief performance in the overrated and needlessly twee film Beginners, but there are three other veteran actors vying for attention, who gave great performances in equally excellent films.  Max von Sydow was heartbreaking in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close without uttering a single word, and Nick Nolte gave what is perhaps the best performance of his career as a recovering alcoholic in Warrior.  Ben Kingsley also deserves recognition for Hugo.  On a much younger level, Patton Oswalt allowed so many different layers to shine through his performance in Young Adult, that his physically disabled and emotionally fragile character was one of the most fascinating of the year.

Equally mesmerizing to watch was Charlize Theron, who was outstanding as an author still living like she’s in high school in Young Adult, and she deserves a Best Actress nomination.  But like the Best Picture category, there are three clear favourites for Best Actress.  Michelle Williams was luminous as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn and is guaranteed a nomination.  As is the case with Viola Davis, who was nothing short of brilliant in The Help.  Then there’s Meryl Streep, who gave a good performance in the very mediocre biopic The Iron Lady, and could quite possibly take home the gold.  I would love to see Charlize Theron as one of the contenders, but I’m not holding my breath.

Three of the performances that I’m counting on to get nominated for Best Supporting Actress are also my favourites of the year.  Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain were both excellent in The Help, and 20-year-old cinematic newcomer Shailene Woodley was able to hold her own alongside George Clooney in The Descendants.  Add Bérénice Bejo for The Artist, and you get a dream list of supporting performances in some of the best movies of last year.  I would love to see the fifth spot go to Anna Kendrick for her excellent performance as a young therapist in 50/50, but I’m going to go with Melissa McCarthy for her hilarious work in Bridesmaids as both a happy compromise and a willing prediction.

Like with so many others, the Best Actor category is also likely to end up a three person race.  George Clooney will be rcognized for The Descendants, as will Jean Dujardin for The Artist and Brad Pitt for Moneyball.  These are three of the most brilliant performances of the year, but my Oscar dream would be to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt standing beside them for his heartbreaking, human and ultimately unforgettable performance as a young cancer patient in 50/50.  I would also give the pitch-perfect dramedy a nomination for Best Picture, but at this point I’ll be happy if they at least recognize Will Reiser’s semi-autobigraphical screenplay.

On the Best Picture side of things, two wildly different films that I would love to see get nominated are The Tree of Life and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.  But despite being critically acclaimed, I’m not sure if either one will manage to sneak in.  Alongside the powerhouse trio of The Artist, The Descendants and Hugo, I expect to see nods for The Help, Midnight in Paris and Moneyball, all excellent films which I will be happy to see nominated.  When the Oscar nominations are announced tomorrow morning, we will likely end up with a pretty clear idea of who will take home the gold come February 26th.  But this predictability won’t be a bad thing, so long as the right films are nominated.