2011 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Nominations - Complete List

The Phoenix Film Critics Society announced the slate of nominees for their 2011 Annual Awards. The winner in each category will be announced on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. The Best Picture will be chosen from the Top Ten Films of 2011.

Phoenix Film Critics Society 2011 Award Nominations:

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2011 (in alphabetical order)
"The Artist”
"The Descendants"
"Drive"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"My Week With Marilyn"
"Super 8"
"The Tree of Life"

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michael Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Tate Taylor, "The Help"

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week with Marilyn"
Albert Brooks, "Drive"
John Hawkes, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Bryce Dallas Howard, "The Help"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
"Bridesmaids"
"Contagion"
"Margin Call"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Super 8"

BEST SCREENPLAY – ORIGINAL
"The Artist"
"Beginners"
"Midnight in Paris"

BEST SCREENPLAY – ADAPTATION
"Descendants"
"The Help"
"Hugo"

BEST LIVE ACTION FAMILY FILM
"Dolphin Tale"
"Hugo"
"The Muppets"
"We Bought a Zoo"

THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR
"A Better Life"
"The Conspirator"
"Texas Killing Fields"

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Rango"
"Winnie the Pooh"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Incendies"
"Point Blank"
"The Skin I Live In"

BEST DOCUMENTARY
"African Cats"
"The Greatest Movie Ever Sold"
"Page One: Inside the New York Times"
"Project Nim"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"I Believe In You, "Johnny English Reborn"
"Life's a Happy Song, "The Muppets"
"The Living Proof, "The Help"
"Star Spangled Man, "Captain America"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"The Artist"
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"
"Moneyball"
"Super 8"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Tree of Life"

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Artist"
"Super 8"
"Tree of Life"

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

BEST STUNTS
"Drive"
"Fast Five"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE ON CAMERA
Elle Fanning, "Super 8"
Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"
Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"

BREAKTROUGH PERFORMANCE BEHIND THE CAMERA
Sean Durkin, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Michael Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Tate Taylor, "The Help"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – MALE
Asa Butterfield, “Hugo"
Joel Courtney, "Super 8"
Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – FEMALE
Elle Fanning, "Super 8"
Amara Miller, "The Descendants"
Chloe Grace Moretz, "Hugo"
Saoirse Ronan, "Hanna"

Review: Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" is Magical and One of the Year's Best Films

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 106 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Midnight in Paris (2011)
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for some sexual references and smoking
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Jaume Roures, and Stephen Tenenbaum
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Darius Khondji with Johanne Debas
EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter

ROMANCE/COMEDY/DRAMA/FANTASY

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen, Nina Arianda, Carla Bruni, Corey Stoll, Alison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Yves Heck, Kathy Bates, Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, Adrien Brody, Sonia Rolland, Adrien de Van, and Léa Seydoux

Midnight in Paris is a 2011 romantic comedy/drama and fantasy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film focuses on a struggling novelist who has magical experiences in Paris which begin each night at midnight. Midnight in Paris is the first high-quality Woody Allen film since Match Point (2005), and it is his best film since the early to mid 1990s, certainly the best since Bullets Over Broadway (2004).

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a successful Hollywood screenwriter, but he hates the kind of movies with which he is usually involved. He travels to Paris with his fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams), and her wealthy, conservative parents, John (Kurt Fuller) and Helen (Mimi Kennedy), for a vacation. Gil is struggling to finish his first novel, and he believes a permanent move to Paris would be a good thing. Inez, who wants to live in Malibu, sees this desire as a foolish romantic notion, and this disagreement is but one of many of the couple’s divergent goals.

One night, a drunken Gil wanders the streets of Paris. At the stroke of midnight, an antique car pulls up and the passengers, who are dressed in 1920s clothing, beckon Gil to join them. Gil soon finds himself in a bar enjoying a performance by Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland), watching Cole Porter (Yves Heck) sing and play the piano, having a meeting of the minds with Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), and chatting up Zelda (Allison Pill) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston). Gil realizes that he has been transported back to Paris of the 1920s, an era he idolizes. He visits the home of Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), where he meets Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and Picasso’s mistress, a young woman named Adriana (Marion Cotillard). Gil and Adriana are quickly attracted to each other, but their strange romance also reveals their unhappiness with their current personal situations.

In a broad sense, Midnight in Paris specifically deals with nostalgia as a theme, especially people’s nostalgia for a time that existed before they were born – a golden age. For instance, Gil yearns for the 1920s, which occurred decades before he was born. Allen’s script allows Gil to revel in his ability to go back into the past, which is perhaps the only way for Gil to come to grips both with reality and with his idealization of a time in which he didn’t live. Allen resolves this in a way both sensible and satisfying.

On a personal and character drama level, Midnight in Paris plays with themes of denial and cognitive dissonance. The characters have desires and find ways to sabotage or sully their desires when they find them difficult to obtain or perhaps too costly. Both in his script writing and directing, Allen subtly tells us that only those who are honest with themselves about what they want can be happy.

Beyond that, I have to say that Midnight in Paris is just an utterly magical film. There are fantasy films that only feel like Hollywood action movie product and lack a sense of enchantment. Then, there are others that, when you watch them, you can feel the magic emanating and oozing from the screen. That’s how Midnight in Paris is, and Darius Khondji’s shimmering, golden-hued, ember-infused cinematography is a big reason why Midnight in Paris looks like one big enchanted holiday. This movie moves, sounds, looks, and feels like a romantic film.

I am a big fan of Woody Allen and have been for nearly 30 years. I love his films that take place in the past, like Radio Days (1987), which is set in a period when my parents would have been small children or toddlers. I also like his films that are infused with magic, like Alice (1990). For me, Midnight in Paris is the best of both those worlds. A lot of people may dismiss Allen, but they would have to be honest after seeing this film. Few feel-good movies feel better than Midnight in Paris.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, December 25, 2011

It's a Very Merry (Negromancer) Christmas

Be good to each other.  Happy Holidays! Remember the less fortunate.

Merry Christmas!

"Joyeux Noel" or "Merry Christmas" a Great Film by Any Name

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 244 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Joyeux Noël (2005)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Belgium/France/Germany/UK/Romania; Language: French, Germany, English, and Latin
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for war violence and a brief scene of sexuality/nudity
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Christian Carion
PRODUCER: Christophe Rossignon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Walther Vanden Ende
EDITOR: Andrea Sedlackova
Academy Award nominee

WAR/DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Gary Lewis, Dany Boon, and Daniel Bruhl, Lucas Belvaux, Alex Ferns, Bernard, Lo Coq, and Steven Robertson

Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) is based upon a true story, on an event that occurred during World War I on Christmas Eve 1914. That night, soldiers walked out onto the “no man’s land” between their entrenchments and shared songs and friendship. Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas), nominated for a 2006 “Best Foreign Language Film of the Year” Oscar as a representative of France, is a fictionalized account of that momentous event.

The outbreak of war during the lull of summer 1914 surprised millions of men, especially as the conflict pulled them in its wake. The first Christmas arrives, but the snow and multitude of parcels and presents from their families and their armies can’t really lift the men’s spirits. However, on Christmas Eve, a momentous event begins with songs and Christmas lights. Anna Sörenson (Diane Kruger), a soprano, and her singing partner, Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann), an exceptional German tenor; Palmer (Gary Lewis), an Anglican priest from Scotland who followed the men of his parish into the war; and Audebert (Guillaume Canet), a French lieutenant who left behind his pregnant wife when he went to war, become the major players in a miraculous event that changes their own lives and destinies.

On December 24, 1914, French, German, and Scottish soldiers come out of their trenches for an impromptu concert of Christmas carols and also for a Christmas Eve mass. For a few days, their hellish existence stops, and the soldiers swap food, wine, and stories and even play football (soccer). Not everyone, however, likes this strange turn of events.

Joyeux Noël is, make no doubt about it, an anti-war film, but director Christian Carion helms his film with such grace and subtlety. He makes his point by telling a story of the brotherhood of man, removing nationality and whatever divides humanity and going towards what made these soldiers alike. These men long for their families and homes, and amidst all the carnage, death, and destruction, they find an eye in the storm where they can relax, at least a little. For a while, they’re carefree boys again. Carion also juxtaposes these grunts in the trenches with the fat cat politicians, rulers, and officers who dine and entertain in warmth and comfort for in the rear.

Carion’s cast is as earnest as he is, but their determinism carries over to the story, revealing the characters to be people merely determined to have at least a little control over their lives and to be able to object to their situation even if they must ultimately submit. Scottish actor Gary Lewis is a standout as the brave and devout Anglican priest, Palmer, who calmly takes on that which tests his faith. Diane Kruger and Benno Fürmann as the opera singers give the film a humanizing romantic subplot that actually works. Guillaume Canet as Audebert and Dany Boon as Audebert’s valet, Ponchel, provide a nice subplot about a friendship that grows stronger once the men go to war. It’s these small stories that Carion weaves so well together that makes Joyeux Noël a Great War movie, and an ever greater Christmas film.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES
2006 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film of the Year” (France)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination for “Best Film not in the English Language” (Christophe Rossignon and Christian Carion)

2006 Golden Globes: 1 nomination for “Best Foreign Language Film” (France)

Utah Film Critics Put it in "Drive"

Obviously, the Utah Film Critics Association is made of Utah-based film critics who ply their trade in print, television, and new media.  Apparently, 13 of them voted for these awards, according to a newspaper article I found.

2011 Winners:

Best Picture: Drive
(runner-up: The Artist)

Best Achievement in Directing: Michael Hazanavicius, The Artist
(runner-up: Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive)

Best Lead Performance by an Actor: Joseph Gordon-Levitt: 50/50
(runner-up: Jean Dujardin, The Artist)

Best Lead Performance by an Actress: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
(runner-up: Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Best Supporting Performance by an Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive
(runner-up: Christopher Plummer, Beginners)

Best Supporting Performance by an Actress: Amy Ryan, Win Win
(runner-up: Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus)

Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50
(runner-up: Mike Mills, Beginners)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
(runner-up: Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller, The Muppets)

Best Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel, Drive
(runner-up: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life)

Best Documentary Feature: Senna
(runner-up: Project Nim)

Best Non-English Language Feature: A Separation
(runner-up: 13 Assassins)

Best Animated Feature: Rango
(runners-up: The Adventures of Tintin and Kung Fu Panda 2)

2011 London Film Critics' Circle Nominations - Complete List

The London Film Critics’ Circle (if I understand correctly) is part of a larger organization, The Critics’ Circle, which makes an annual award for Services to the Arts. This circle is comprised of the five sections: dance, drama, film, music, and visual arts.

On its website, The Circle says that its aims are “to promote the art of criticism, to uphold its integrity in practice, to foster and safeguard members’ professional interests, to provide opportunities to meet, and to support the advancement of the arts.” Currently there are 430 members of the Circle, mostly from the UK, and the majority of them write regularly for national and regional newspapers and magazines. Membership is by invitation.

The 32nd London Critics’ Circle Film Awards will be presented Thursday, January 19, 2012, at BFI Southbank.

The 32nd London Critics’ Circle Film Awards nominations:

FILM OF THE YEAR
The Artist (Entertainment)
Drive (Icon)
A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
The Tree of Life (Fox)

 

The Attenborough Award: BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
The Guard (StudioCanal)
Kill List (StudioCanal)
Shame (Momentum)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)

 

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Mysteries of Lisbon (New Wave)
Poetry (Arrow)
Le Quattro Volte (New Wave)
A Separation (Artificial Eye)
The Skin I Live In (Fox/Pathé)

 

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Picturehouse)
Dreams of a Life (Dogwoof)
Pina (Artificial Eye)
Project Nim (Icon)
Senna (Universal)

 

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Asghar Farhadi - A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist (Entertainment)
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life (Fox)
Lynne Ramsay - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive (Icon)

 

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Asghar Farhadi - A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist (Entertainment)
Kenneth Lonergan - Margaret (Fox)
Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash - The Descendants (Fox)

 

The Virgin Atlantic Award: BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER
Richard Ayoade - Submarine (StudioCanal)
Paddy Considine - Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)
Joe Cornish - Attack the Block (StudioCanal)
Andrew Haigh - Weekend (Peccadillo)
John Michael McDonagh - The Guard (StudioCanal)

 

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
George Clooney - The Descendants (Fox)
Jean Dujardin - The Artist (Entertainment)
Michael Fassbender - Shame (Momentum)
Ryan Gosling - Drive (Icon)
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

 

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia (Artificial Eye)
Anna Paquin - Margaret (Fox)
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé)
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)

 

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Simon Russell Beale - The Deep Blue Sea (Artificial Eye)
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)
Albert Brooks - Drive (Icon)
Christopher Plummer - Beginners (Universal)
Michael Smiley - Kill List (StudioCanal)

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Sareh Bayat - A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Jessica Chastain - The Help (Disney)
Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus (Lionsgate)
Octavia Spencer - The Help (Disney)
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom (StudioCanal)

 

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Tom Cullen - Weekend (Peccadillo)
Michael Fassbender - A Dangerous Method (Lionsgate), Shame (Momentum)
Brendan Gleeson - The Guard (StudioCanal)
Peter Mullan - Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal), War Horse (Disney)
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

 

The Moët & Chandon Award: BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Olivia Colman - The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé), Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)
Carey Mulligan - Drive (Icon), Shame (Momentum)
Vanessa Redgrave - Anonymous (Sony), Coriolanus (Lionsgate)
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Rachel Weisz - The Deep Blue Sea (Artificial Eye)

 

YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
John Boyega - Attack the Block (StudioCanal)
Jeremy Irvine - War Horse (Disney)
Yasmin Paige - Submarine (StudioCanal)
Craig Roberts - Submarine (StudioCanal)
Saoirse Ronan - Hanna (Universal)

The Sky 3D Award: TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

• Manuel Alberto Claro, cinematography - Melancholia (Artificial Eye)
• Paul Davies, sound design - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
• Maria Djurkovic, production design - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
• Dante Ferretti, production design - Hugo (Entertainment)
• Alberto Iglesias, original score - The Skin I Live In (Fox/Pathé)
• Chris King & Gregers Sall, editing - Senna (Universal)
• Joe Letteri, visual effects - Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox)
• Cliff Martinez, original score - Drive (Icon)
• Robert Richardson, cinematography - Hugo (Entertainment)
• Robbie Ryan, cinematography - Wuthering Heights (Artificial Eye)

 

The Dilys Powell Award: EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Nicolas Roeg

 

Review: The Stars of Woody Allen's "Scoop" Have Little Chemistry

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 242 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Scoop (2006)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sexual content
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson and Gareth Wiley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Remi Adefarasin B.S.C.
EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter

COMEDY/MYSTERY with elements of romance

Starring: Woody Allen, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Ian McShane, Romola Garai, Carolyn Backhouse, Julian Glover, Alexander Armstrong, and Anthony Head

In Woody Allen’s contemporary comedy/mystery, Scoop, a young American journalist may hit the jackpot when she chances upon a major news scoop – that she got from the ghost of a famous, but recently deceased newspaper reporter.

The late Joe Strombel (Ian McShane) is being mourned by his journalistic colleagues while he’s stuck in limbo with a news scoop. He’s just got a hot tip from a fellow spirit on the identity of the “Tarot Card Killer.” This serial killer has been at large in London for a few years now, killing prostitutes.

Meanwhile, Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), an American college journalism student, is visiting friends in London, when she attends the stage performance of another American, magician Sydney Waterman (Woody Allen), AKA “Splendini.” Going on stage to assist Splendini in one of his magic tricks, Sondra somehow also comes into contact with Joe Strombel. Strombel gives Sondra the scoop on the Tarot Card Killer and urges her to pursue what could be the story of a lifetime. Sondra jumps on this scoop and enlists the aid of a reluctant Sid, who pretends to be her father.

Strombel’s tip leads the intrepid duo to Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), a handsome aristocrat. Sondra feigns interest in Peter’s advances towards her, but soon she’s really fallen for the hunky nobleman. When the romance takes a turn for the serious, both Sondra and Sid wonder if she’s gone too far and put herself in danger.

Scoop was Allen’s second film shot in London (following Match Point), but it is less like Match Point and more like Allen’s New York-based films (such as comedy mystery Manhattan Murder Mystery and the comedy/drama Alice). Luckily, Woody Allen and Scarlett Johansson’s characters pretend to be father and daughter because they certainly wouldn’t have much chemistry as a much older man dating a (much) younger woman. As it is, Johansson and Hugh Jackman only have marginal chemistry as a screen couple, as the fiery Jackman and intense Johansson are only lukewarm here.

There’s not much here for viewers who aren’t Allen devotees, and there’s nothing new here even for them. Scoop is an Allen rehash that looks different only because London is standing in for New York City. Genial and harmless (and not inspiring enthusiasm), there are a few nice moments, but most of this flick is tepid. The script also lacks the sarcastic, droll, and biting dialogue found in even the most cookie-cutter Allen films.

5 of 10
B-

Monday, November 27, 2006

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