Showing posts with label Oscar Nominations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscar Nominations. Show all posts

Thursday, February 24, 2011

AND OSCAR GOES TO.....


After spending ours and hours in darkness of theater for a full year,everyone looks forward to biggest (you may argue its final choices but beyond doubts its  biggest if not best) award ceremony on planet. Lets have a look at nominations and favorites to clinch ultimate honors.

Best Picture
Nominations     Black Swan,The Fighter,Inception,The Kids Are All Right,Winter's Bone,127 Hours,The King's Speech,The Social Network,Toy Story 3,True Grit
My Pick            The Social Network
Critics' Favorite127 Hours/The King's Speech/The Social Network

Best Direction
Nominations      Darren Aronofsky(Black Swan),David O. Russell(The Fighter),Tom Hooper(The King's Speech),David Fincher(The Social Network),Joel Coen and Ethan Coen(True Grit)
My Pick             Darren Aronofsky(Black Swan)
Critics' FavoriteDavid Ficher(The Social Network)

Best Actor
Nominations      Javier Bardem(Biutiful),Jeff Bridges(True Grit),Jesse Eisenberg(The Social Network),Colin Firth(The King's Speech),James Franco(127 Hours)
My Pick             James Franco(127 Hours)
Critics' FavoriteColin Firth(The King's Speech)

Best Actress
Nominations      Annette Bening(The Kids Are All Right),Nicole Kidman(Rabbit Hole),Jennifer Lawrence(Winter's Bone),Natalie Portman(Black Swan),Michelle Williams(Blue Valentine)
My Pick             Jennifer Lawrence(Winter's Bone),Natalie Portman(Black Swan)-too close to call!
Critics' FavoriteNatalie Portman(Black Swan)

Best Supporting Actor
Nominations      Christian Bale(The Fighter),John Hawkes(Winter's Bone),Jeremy Renner (The Town),Mark Ruffalo(The Kids Are All Right),Geoffrey Rush(The King's Speech)
My Pick             Christian Bale(The Fighter)
Critics' FavoriteGeoffrey Rush(The King's Speech)

Best Supporting Actress
Nominations        Amy Adams(The Fighter),Helena Bonham Carter(The King's Speech),Melissa Leo(The Fighter),Hailee Steinfield(True Grit),Jacki Weaver(Animal Kingdom)
My Pick               Melissa Leo(The Fighter)
Critics' Favorite  Melissa Leo(The Fighter),Hailee Steinfield(True Grit)

Best Animated Feature Film
Nominations         Toy Story 3,How To Train Your Dragon,The Illusionist
My Pick                Toy Story 3
Critics' Favorite   The Illusionist


Best Music (Original Score)
Nominations         John Powell(How To Train Your Dragon),Hans Zimmer(Inception),Alexandre Desplat(The King's Speech),A.R.Rahman(127 Hours),Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross(The Social Network)
My Pick                Hans Zimmer(Inception)
Critics' Favorite   Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross(The Social Network)/Alexandre Desplat(The King's Speech)

Best Music (Original Song)
Nominations         'Coming Home'(Country Strong),'I See The Light'(Tangled),'If I Rise'(127 Hours),'We Belong Together'(ToyStory 3)
My Pick                'If I Rise'(127 Hours)
Critics' Favorite   'Coming Home'(Country Strong)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominations          Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy(127 Hours),Aaron Sorkin(The Social Network),Joel Coen and Ethan Coen(True Grit),Debra Granik and Anne Rossellini(Winter's Bone),Michael Arndt(Toy Story3) 
My Pick                 Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy(127 Hours)
Critics' Favorite    Aaron Sorkin(The Social Network)

Best Original Screenplay
Nominations           Mike Leigh(Another Year),Scott Silver,Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson(The Fighter),Christopher Nolan(The Inception),Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg(The Kids Are All Right),David Siedler(The King's Speech)
My Pick                  Christopher Nolan(The Inception)
Critics' Favorite     David Siedler(The King's Speech)

My Pick  for other categories...
Best Editing                                            Jon Harris (127 Hours)
Best Cinematography                            Roger Deakins(True Grit)
Best Art Direction                                  Robert Stromberg and Karen O' Hara (Alice In Wonderland)
Best Sound Mixing                                 Inception/The King's Speech
Best Sound Editing                                 Richard King(The Inception)
Best Short Film(Live Action)                 Na Wewe/God Of Love
Best Short Film(Animated)                    Let's Pollute
Best Visual Effect                                  Hereafter/Iron Man 2
Best Foreign Language Film                 Outside The Law/Biutiful
Best Make Up                                        Rick Baker and Dave Elsey (The Wolfman)
Best Costume Design                            Johny Beavan (The King's Speech)
Best Documentary Feature                   Waste Land
Best Documentary On Short Subject    The Warriors Of Qiugang

Monday, February 21, 2011

WEEKLY MOVIE GUIDE (what to watch and what to miss in Cinema)


7 KHOON MAAF
Genre                  Drama
Release Date       18th Feb
Director               Vishal Bhardwaj
Duration              135 minutes
Cast                     Priyanka Chopra,Naseerudin Shah,Vivaan Shah,Irfaan Khan,Anu Kapoor,Neil Nitin Mukesh,John Abraham
Pluses                  Terrefic story idea,Priyanka's performance,Vivaan shines,Irfaan is good,song 'Darling' haunts
Minuses               too simplistic narrative,predictable climax and at least 20 minutes too long
Verdict                3/5 (watch it if you are Vishal or Priyanka fan)



KACCHA LIMBOO
Genre                  Drama
Release Date       18th Feb
Director               Sagar Bellary
Duration              140 minutes
Cast                    Atul Kulkarni,Sarika,Taher Sutterwala,ChinmayKambli
Pluses                 great idea,natural treatment,atul and sarika are impressive
Minuses              story drags after first hour,irritating subplots,shoddy cinematography
Verdict               2/5 (watch it if you want to see the mediocre standard of children movies in india)

MASTI EXPRESS
Genre                  Comedy
Release Date       18th Feb
Director               Vikram Pradhan
Duration              120 minutes
Cast                    Divya Dutta,Johnny Lever,Rajpal Yadav
Pluses                  Moments of laughter here and there
Minuses               everything else from bad acting to boring script to uninspiring direction
Verdict                1/5 (watch it if you had not watched any 'C' grade movie in long time)



I AM NUMBER FOUR
Genre                  Sci-Fi
Release Date       18th Feb
Director               D J Caruso
Duration              100 minutes
Cast                    Alex Pettyfer,Dianna Agron,Timothy Olyphant
Pluses                  adrenalin pumping duels,interesting characters,promising climax
Minuses               at times it seems medley of 'Twilight' and 'Superman'
Verdict                3.5/5 (watch it if you love superhero or sci-fi flick)


OSCAR NOMINATED MOVIES

BLACK SWAN
Genre                  Drama/Thriller
Release Date       3rd December,2010 (USA)
Director               Darren Aronofsky
Duration              108 minutes
Cast                    Natalie Portman,Vincent Cassel,Mila Kunis,Barbara Hershey
Pluses                 stupendous direction,stellar performances by Natallie,Kurtis and Vincent,impactful story and dark climax
Minuses               too dark at times (watch out for 'nail removing' sequences)
Verdict                4/5 (watch it for impactful dark european kind of cinema at it's best)


THE TOWN
Genre                  Crime - Drama
Release Date       17th September,2010 (USA)
Director               Ben Affleck
Duration              125 minutes (also has extended cut of 153 minutes)
Cast                    Ben Affleck,Rebecca Hall,John Hamm,Jeremy Ranner
Pluses                  Interesting plot, clever direction, edgy performances by cast
Minuses               10 minutes too long,predictable climax
Verdict                3.5/5 (watch it for a compelling crime drama based on real events)



BLUE VALENTINE
Genre                  Romantic Drama
Release Date       29th December,2010 (USA)
Director               Derek Cianfrance
Duration              112 minutes
Cast                    Ryan Gosslings,Michelle Williams
Pluses                  performance by lead pair,great cinematography,intense storytelling,unexpected climax
Minuses               slow pace of narrative
Verdict                4 (watch it for different take on married couple with intense storytelling)