Academy Awards Name Visual Effects Shortlist

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

Minus a few more “grounded” efforts – namely Looper, Flight, and The Impossible – this has been a inventive year for major blockbuster efforts in the realm of visual effects. Giving no love to smaller pictures, the Academy unveiled its shortlist for the VFX Oscar yesterday and exposed that nothing short of spectacle will be honored come Oscar night. It’s nice to see that voters might be willing to go for Snow White and the Huntsman, Skyfall, and Prometheus. For what it’s worth, I still think The Avengers are an underrated force in these tech categories. It could win the Oscar here.

Here’s the shortlist:

  • “The Amazing Spider-Man”
  • “Cloud Atlas”
  • “The Dark Knight Rises”
  • “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
  • “John Carter”
  • “Life of Pi”
  • “Marvel’s The Avengers”
  • “Prometheus”
  • “Skyfall”
  • “Snow White and the Huntsman”

All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 3. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Posted in 007, Films, James Bond, Life of Pi, Movies, Oscar Talk, Skyfall, The Avengers, The Life of Pi, Uncategorized, Visual Effects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Intense New Zero Dark Thirty Clip

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

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The only knock I’ve heard so far about Zero Dark Thirty is that it’s cold, emotionless, and machine-like. Those qualities – whether accurately described or not – are precisely what I’ve learned to admire so much about Kathryn Bigelow’s previous film, The Hurt Locker. Nothing pulled at heartstrings or built a potentially manipulative portrait of military life. In fact, that distance has caused me to go back to The Hurt Locker many times in the past few years, as I try to work out the layers of these masculine, calloused characters.

The first clip from Zero Dark Thirty hit the web yesterday and looks anything but distant. It also furthers my sense that Jessica Chastain is a lock for her second straight Oscar nom.

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REVIEW: Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

In recent years, namely in Pina and Exit Through the Gift Shop, artists have proven compelling subjects for documentary filmmakers to explore. In many ways, the very nature of the nonfiction form mirrors the elusive quality of investigative or interactive art projects, especially those that challenge what constitutes “real or fake.” It’s a wonder then that Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, the newest of a slew of art docs, chooses to tell a celebratory story of its subject, instead of taking on the multitudes of skepticism that surrounds her work, or presenting an original framework fitting for such a unique creator.

Using the MOMA opening of Abramovic’s infamous 2010 installation, where -amongst other pieces – naked people stood still in doorways as obstructions for patrons to move around, the film allows the artist herself to explain her technique. Outside of Marina, others give optimistic commentaries about the artist’s life to this point. For its part, the documentary’s approach owes mostly to a classic talking-head style that has become commonplace in the past two decades.

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Criterion Design Process: The Man Who Knew Too Much

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

Maybe it’s just a bad excuse to own hundreds of movies that I will only watch once, but I’ve always felt purchasing Criterion Collection releases was like investing in a piece of art. Truly, the cover designs are works of original creativity, sometimes (if not often) even surpassing the quality of the films that they support.

Check out this in-depth article by the American Institute of Graphic Arts about the design process for Criterion’s upcoming release of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Click below to see more design development photos:

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Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Criterion Collection, Films, Movies, News, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Homeland, Ep. 209: Two Hats

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

Homeland’s “Two Hats” furthers a trend that the show has embarked upon in the past few episodes. Anticipation for an event fills out much of the running time before the dominoes come crashing down in a robust moment of action. The first season was an enormous vice being slowly squeezed until it inevitably exploded in a tension-filled finale (perhaps the best hour of recent contemporary television). Altering what made the duration of Season One so tightly wound, this season’s build-ups come with a sense of set up then spike. Quick plot adjustments hardly provide the viewer with a satisfying procedural lead-up and land with an underwhelming “poof.”

“Two Hats” begins with Brody still missing from the CIA before Abu Nazir gives him one final stroke of confidence and let’s him go. Back in the CIA surveillance room, Brody reveals to the team that Nazir plans an attack on the Vice President the following morning. Saul visits a police officer that leads him to be suspicious of hot-tempered analyst Peter Quinn. To Saul’s chagrin, Estes explains that Peter is actually an “FBI liaison.” On the morning of the planned attack, Carrie watches Nazir’s men place bombs into a News van. With Carrie’s orders, agents fire on the terrorists, killing multiple men. A short car chase ends with the reveal that Nazir wasn’t ever at the scene. Because Nazir’s still alive, the episode ends with Estes calling off Quinn from murdering Brody.

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Those Oscar Missed: Best Costume Design

Posted on November 28, 2012 by filmscorehunter

CONTRIBUTED BY JAKE THOMPSON

Costume design is essential to every motion picture.  It can make or break a film; if done correctly it can make the viewer believe in the authenticity of the time period the film depicts.  Historical films tend to be popular nominees, and its hard to blame the Academy for nominating them; a lot of great work has been done for historical films.  In the last few years, people (including myself) have had to recognize that newer films that are set in the 1970s and 1980s actually do count as period films (where does the time go?), and any costumes made for those kinds of period films count as period costumes.  Sci-fi and fantasy films also produce great costume designs especially since they’re created for worlds that don’t exist (or potentially don’t exist yet).  The five major snubs I’ve found for Best Costume Design will each fall into one of the sub-categories mentioned above.

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Filmmaking Master Class With Ang Lee

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

The video’s on the long side, but who better to learn from?

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Most Anticipated 2013 Movies: Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

While my better judgement tells me this one has pretentious, visual feast written all over it, I can’t help but get excited by this story and its creators. Dallas Buyers Club is loosely based on the challenging true story of Ron Woodroof, a drug using, homophobic man who gets diagnosed with AIDS and is given only 30 days to live. After the only legal drugs in the USA brings Ron to the edge of death, he begins smuggling drugs from all over the globe to help him survive. Ron creates the “Dallas Buyers Club,” an illegal group that provides alternative medicinal options to paying members. The film follows Woodroof and the ensuing legal battle.

The topic of medical care has become hot button in America, yet what remains under the rug is the enormous red tape that disallows potentially helpful drugs to be consumed by the millions suffering from life-threatening diseases. As a thinly veiled get-rich-quick scam by multibillion dollar pharmaceutical companies, it’s a wonder that more films have not touched on similar subjects.

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UPDATED: Oscars 2013 Predictions

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

Recent screenings of Les Misérables and Zero Dark Thirty have garnered positive buzz with each seeming to be declared locks for Best Picture nominations. The handful of people I know who have seen Les Miz are less than enthused about what they found to be insufferably long and turgid. My guess is that the musical will get a nomination based on the enthusiasm it will receive from those who tend towards musical theater (a pretty big contingent). Likewise, Zero Dark Thirty looks to have the chops as a late addition with an immersive account of a true story. My gut tells me neither film will win.

As the year goes on, it looks more and more like voters would have to be crazy not to vote for Daniel Day-Lewis. When I think about Lincoln, I hardly remember the actor whose hidden behind top notch makeup and layers of research. He’s probably a lock for the win; something that seemed impossible a few months ago, given his recent success. Anne Hathaway, a possible double nominee, has been declared the winner in a weak Best Supporting Actress category by virtually everyone who has seen Les Miz, whether they liked the film or not. The acting races tend to level out around this time, so for now it looks like we have two of the four favorites.

Without putting too much stock in last night’s Gotham Awards, I did think the news of Moonrise Kingdom winning Best Feature and Emayatzy Corinealdi winning Breakthrough performer was telling. I’ve felt for a while that Kingdom has a beat Best Picture. A small, charming film by a well-loved director who has gotten little recognition in the past. It’s also a comedy with smarts (though a different kind of smarts from Silver Linings Playbook). If nothing else, this win means people are willing to vote for it. While I love the win for Middle of Nowhere, I think the story here is the lack of support for Quvenzhané Wallis. The young actress has been falling off contender lists. I think she might be out of the race. Which is sad, but awards tend to be about popularity not honoring intriguing performances. I hope she goes onto a great career.

BOLD = my pick to win as of today

Best Picture:
Argo
Silver Linings Playbook
Lincoln
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Django Unchained
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty
***********
Amour
The Master
The Sessions
Hitchcock

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Posted in Films, Les Misérables, Lincoln, Movies, News, Oscar Talk, The Master | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Invisible War Filmmakers Reach Out

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Zac Petrillo

The creators of the highly acclaimed documentary, The Invisible War, an early favorite for the Oscar, have announced that they’ve raised over $500k to fund a pilot program to treat military sexual trauma. A stunning film, The Invisible War chronicles the psychological and lasting social effects that result from such trauma as well as the lack of ability to report situations due to fear, intimidation, and limited support.

I love that these filmmakers (Director Kirby Dick, Producer Amy Ziering) are not stopping at just making a film about the subject. They are pushing to create true, important change with the backing of their work. Movies have the power to inspire hope and also be a driving force for much needed awareness about long hidden issues. The poor treatment of veterans in America, especially those who have suffered from sexual abuse, has spent far too much time behind a curtain.

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