Forget the Oscars, if you haven’t already. One of my favourite film sites Spooool.ie has just revealed the winners of their 2013 Awards, which are infinitely more fun than the Oscars.
Categories include Best Facial Hair, Best Trailer for a Bad Film and Worst Trailer for a Good Film.
I owe Bradley Cooper an apology.
Before seeing Silver Linings Playbook, I was adamant that he was a terribly average actor and that his Oscar nomination was probably part of some mass Academy political movement/conspiracy theory to get one film in all four acting categories.
I was wrong. Bradley Cooper’s performance proves he is more than capable of handling a character of substance, perfectly conveying fear, heartbreak, hostility, confusion and eagerness in a subtle, endearing way that that is worthy of an Oscar.
I’m sorry, Mr. Cooper.
The plot in one sentence: Upon being released from a mental facility, bipolar Bradley Cooper sparks up a strange relationship with Jennifer Lawrence while attempting to mend fences with his estranged wife.
The review in several paragraphs: While it’s subject matter is notably dark, it meets it head on with enough humour and warmth that ensures that it never feels preachy, obvious or heavy-handed. What you get is a first-hand experience of how mental health issues affect everybody from the person trapped in their own head to their neighbours to the people closest in their lives. While I don’t have any personal experience with this, David O’Russell does and it’s clear the writing is coming from a real and honest place. While he doesn’t pull any punches, he’s not afraid to laugh either. The dialogue and situations are strange, funny and, I dare say it, quirky, but unlike try-hard indie fare, the off-kilter script is fitting. Continue reading
The Artist is an easy film to like. It’s funny, charming, endearing and simple. And it just won most of the good Oscars. What the Academy likes is rarely what I like, but this is an exception.
It’s easy for a film to be swallowed up by its own hype and awards-praise and this can often result in disappointed viewings from those expecting one of the greatest films of all time. The Artist is not one of the greatest films of all time, but it is a fun and light-hearted tribute to an era of cinema we don’t talk about much (I crack myself up). It’s a fine accomplishment and deserves all the attention its getting, whether or not it was the best film of 2011. Continue reading
Well done Brett!
Paramount Studios on Sacha Baron Cohen being allegedly banned from attending the Oscars.
“Unless they’re assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the red carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show.”
I’m sure nothing entertaining will ever happen on the red carpet.
[From that Deadline story, from days ago]
Peek-a-Cloon!
Alexander Payne has quite a distinct directorial and writing style. His characters feel real, his films look earthly and his dialogue is touching and humorous. The Descendants ticks all those boxes nicely and as long as you’re not dead inside (or in a coma – eh? Eh?) it should evoke some sort of emotional response. Continue reading
Spoiler Alert: There’s no tinkers or tailors in this movie.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a film about lies. It is an incredibly slow, subtle and grim depiction of cold-war paranoia and mistrust, told from the perspective of a veteran spy investigating the very people he should trust. It’s very British and very old-fashioned, but both lend themselves perfectly to the 60s setting and the classic feel.
Oldman’s performance is so quiet that you could miss it if you blinked. Besides a standout scene in which he describes a meeting with the enemy, his performance is reserved and powerful, expressing a life-long weariness and a stubborn determination through Smiley’s slow, deliberate dialogue. Continue reading
Film site Spooool.com has just launched the inaugural Spooool awards and with categories like “Best Facial Hair” and the highly contested “Chastain Award for Screen Omnipresence”, it’s roughly a thousand times more interesting than the Oscars, which I’m already sick of.
They’ll be releasing the winners on the 26th of Feb and if you offer your opinions on who should win in the comments section, they’ve promised to ignore it and pick their favourites anyway.
Click here to see the nominations and have your vote disregarded
This would be a great time for a hilarious clock-pun
A lot has been made of Marty Scoozazzy’s decision to turn his back on hardcore violence and embrace the kiddies (when you put it like that, it sounds a bit sinister), with critics and movie peers heaping on the praise.
Scoozazzy certainly proves himself as versatile, tackling the material with spades of enthusiasm and gorgeous visual flair. Paris is fawned over in a way that would impress Woody Allen and the setting of the train station is created with clockwork precision (see what i did there?) From the pastry shop owner’s dog to the squeak of the inspector’s fake leg to Hugo’s intimate knowledge of the crawlspaces and crannies, Scoozazzy establishes a definite sense of familiar space and setting. It feels like a thriving, bustling, ominous place to live. Continue reading
