"Argo" Wins Best Picture and Director at 2013 BAFTAs

by Leroy Douresseaux

The BAFTA Film Awards are the British equivalent of the American Academy Awards (the Oscars).  At the 2013 BAFTAs, Argo was named the "Best Film of 2012," one of three awards it won, including a "Best Director" trophy for Ben Affleck.  In a surprise, Emmanuelle Riva won the "Leading Actress" prize for her performance in Amour.  In a non-surprise, Daniel Day-Louis won "Leading Actor" for his performance in Lincoln.  Django Unchained won two awards: "Original Screenplay" (Quentin Tarantino) and "Supporting Actor" (Christoph Waltz).

The 66th EE British Academy Film Awards took place on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at London's Royal Opera House.

2013 BAFTA FILM AWARD WINNERS (for the film year 2012):

BEST FILM
ARGO - Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
SKYFALL - Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer)- The Imposter

DIRECTOR
ARGO - Ben Affleck

DOCUMENTARY
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN - Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
DJANGO UNCHAINED - Quentin Tarantino

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK - David O. Russell

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AMOUR - Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz

ANIMATED FILM
BRAVE - Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman

LEADING ACTOR
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS - Lincoln

LEADING ACTRESS
EMMANUELLE RIVA - Amour

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPH WALTZ - Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ANNE HATHAWAY - Les Misérables

ORIGINAL MUSIC
SKYFALL - Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
LIFE OF PI - Claudio Miranda

EDITING
ARGO - William Goldenberg

PRODUCTION DESIGN
LES MISÉRABLES - Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson

COSTUME DESIGN
ANNA KARENINA - Jacqueline Durran

SOUND
LES MISÉRABLES - Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
LIFE OF PI - Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer

MAKE UP & HAIR
LES MISÉRABLES - Lisa Westcott

SHORT ANIMATION
THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD - Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

SHORT FILM
SWIMMER - Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw

EE RISING STAR AWARD
Juno Temple

Outstanding Contribution To British Cinema:
Tessa Ross

Review: "Skyfall" is Among the Best Daniel Craig James Bond Films... so far

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 84 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Skyfall (2012)
Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense violent sequences throughout, some sexuality, language and smoking
DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
WRITERS: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan
PRODUCERS: Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins
EDITORS: Stuart Baird with Kate Baird
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
MAIN THEME: “Skyfall” performed by Adele and composed by Adele and Paul Epworth

ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Wishaw, Rory Kinnear, and Ola Rapace

Skyfall is a 2012 action movie and spy thriller. Directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), Skyfall is the 23rd film in the James Bond series. Actor Daniel Craig returns for his third outing as James Bond, agent 007. Skyfall finds Bond’s loyalty tested as the British Secret Intelligence Service comes under attack.

As the film opens, MI6 agents James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) are in Turkey where they are tracking a killer named Patrice (Ola Rapace). This mercenary has in his possession a computer hard drive containing highly-sensitive information that belongs to the British, but the mission goes badly.

Later, Bond’s superior, M (Judi Dench), comes under political pressure to retire, even as MI6 comes under attack. With his credibility and ability to perform under question, Bond sets out to discover the identity of the attacker. What he finds is that M’s past has come back to haunt her in the form of a mysterious figure known as Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). As 007 tracks down the threat, he finds himself facing his own past, but he must destroy that threat no matter how personal the cost.

I don’t think that there is much to say. Skyfall is good, and it is the best James Bond movie in recent memory, and certainly one of the best Bond films ever. It is well-directed with bracing action set pieces and thrilling scenes that, quite frankly, enthralled me. The performances are good, especially Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva; surely, he should at least be considered for an Oscar nomination.

The film is well-written, but I wouldn’t say that it is much better written than any of the other Daniel Craig Bond films. Most of the first hour of Skyfall is testament to brilliant spy thriller screenwriting. Once the film moves to London (because the story is resolved in Great Britain), it loses some of its mojo. It is not that Skyfall turns bad. It simply slows from a genius pop confection and transitions into a highly-skillful, espionage, shoot-‘em-up, action flick.

That’s not much of a fall, but it is still a step down from the near-perfection that opened Skyfall. Anyway, no one who has every enjoyed a James Bond film should miss this. Plus, I saw Skyfall in digital, and the picture sure was pretty.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, November 11, 2012

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Adele's James Bond Theme Song Now Available

Adele's "Skyfall", Official Theme Song To Latest James Bond 007 Feature SKYFALL(TM), Globally Available On iTunes Now

"SKYFALL" RELEASE TO COINCIDE WITH 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF JAMES BOND 007

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Records -- Following Adele's premiere of her latest recording "Skyfall," the official theme song to the upcoming 007 adventure of the same name, globally via her official site (http://adele.tv) at 0:07 BST/London time October 5th, the track is now available to purchase as a download at iTunes (http://smarturl.it/AdeleSkyfall). October 5(th) marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No, and thus the James Bond film franchise, and will be celebrated as Global James Bond Day.

After a 90 second clip of the track leaked earlier this week, fans and critics have lined up to praise the "Skyfall" theme, with the Evening Standard calling Adele the "Best Bond singer since Shirley Bassey," The Daily Telegraph describing it as "A Bond song that stirs the heart", and the LA Times saying, "Though only about 90 seconds, what's available of Adele's 'Skyfall' seems to hint at the classic Bond themes of yore," whilst The Guardian called it "A deliciously languid ballad."

The lyric video to "Skyfall" can also be seen at http://adele.tv.

After reading the script for the film, Adele enlisted Paul Epworth to co-write and produce the theme song to "Skyfall(TM)." Adele admits, "I was a little hesitant at first to be involved with the theme song for Skyfall. There's a lot of instant spotlight and pressure when it comes to a Bond song. But I fell in love with the script and Paul had some great ideas for the track and it ended up being a bit of a no brainer to do it in the end. It was also a lot of fun writing to a brief, something I've never done, which made it exciting. When we recorded the strings it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I'll be back combing my hair when I'm 60 telling people I was a Bond girl back in the day I'm sure!" Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, "Skyfall" features the lush accompaniment of a 77-piece orchestra.

"Skyfall" is the first recording by Adele since releasing her massively successful album 21 in early 2011. To date 21 has sold over 24 million albums worldwide and garnered Adele 6 Grammy Awards, 2 BRIT Awards and 2 Ivor Novello Awards.


"Skyfall(TM)" the movie will be released on October 26, 2012 in the UK and on November 9, 2012 in the U.S.


About SKYFALL(TM)
Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in SKYFALL(TM), the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In SKYFALL, Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. The film is from Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Directed by Sam Mendes. Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan.

Web Site: http://www.columbiarecords.com

Review: "Road to Perdition" is Powerful (Happy B'day, Tom Hanks)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 95 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Road to Perdition (2002)
Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and language
DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
WRITER: David Self (from the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner)
PRODUCERS: Sam Mendes, Dean Zanuck, and Richard D. Zanuck
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Conrad L. Hall (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jill Bilcock
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
Academy Award winner

CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tyler Hoechlin, Daniel Craig, Liam Aiken, and Stanley Tucci

Almost everything about Road to Perdition is superfine, from the beautiful and evocative (to call it haunting seems trite) photography of Conrad L. Hall (for which he posthumously won an Academy Award) to the varied performances of the cast. In a broad sense, the film is about the relationships between men, specifically the father-son relationships that are made by birth or created by the bond of friendship. In a narrow sense, the film is about a boy coming to grips with loving his father despite his revulsion to his father’s profession.

The bonds of loyalty break when Michael Sullivan, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses a gangland killing perpetrated by his father Michael, Sr. (Tom Hanks) and Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig), the only son of his father’s boss. Daddy is a hitman/enforcer for John Rooney (Paul Newman), a mob boss. Connor initiated the brutal killings to cover his trail of deceit against his father. In a half-baked plan to cover himself, Connor kills Sullivan’s wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and younger son, Peter (Liam Aiken), and narrowly misses having Michael Sr. killed. Father and son Michaels take to the road while the elder Sullivan plots his revenge against Connor. That vendetta destroys the father-son relationship the Sr. had with John Rooney. To staunch the blood flow, the Chicago mob hires a talented hit man (Jude Law) to kill Sullivan and son.

Of the many quality elements that stood out in this film, the one that shined the most to me was Tom Hanks’ performance. No longer is he merely an actor, he is an artist: creating, communicating, and storytelling. In a way, his performance becomes symbolic of the character type for which he plays. Sullivan, Sr. isn’t a saint. He is, we must painfully admit, an evil man, who loves nevertheless loves his family and loyalty in that order. When his family is wrecked, his loyalty disintegrates, and all that he has left to love is his boy. Their time “on the run” is time best used to revealing that love to his son. This isn’t the script telling us that; it’s Hanks’ performance told through his facial expressions and in the tenor of his voice. Although the son is the film’s narrator, this is a story about his father and how the son comes to separate the man that is his father from the man who can be a cold, merciless killer.

This is a high quality Hollywood production that doesn’t break the rules. In fact, although Hanks is ostensibly a villain, the filmmakers quietly downplay his wickedness. The script is good, but relies on the audience’s familiarity with father-son relationships, stories about loyalty and betrayal, as well as viewers having an understanding how crime organizations work, at least from a Hollywood point of view. In Road to Perdition, we watch a talented director (Sam Mendes) work his actors (Paul Newman also turns in an excellent pathos-filled performance.) into making the familiar seem special, and that in itself is an accomplishment.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2003 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Cinematography” (Conrad L. Hall: Nomination and award were posthumous. His son Conrad W. Hall accepted the award on his behalf.); 5 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Paul Newman), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Dennis Gassner-art director and Nancy Haigh-set decorator), “Best Music, Original Score” (Thomas Newman), “Best Sound” (Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, and John Pritchett) “Best Sound Editing” (Scott Hecker)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Conrad L. Hall: Posthumously) and “Best Production Design” (Dennis Gassner); 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Paul Newman)

2003 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Paul Newman)

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