Oscars 2013 Nominees and Winners

I really enjoyed this years Oscars I was a little unsure on how Seth Macfarlane would do, but I do think he didn't do too bad. I laughed a lot actualy. I thought the random Shatner bit was a little weird, and not funny, but I liked the general gist of the skit. I thought his other jokes throughout the night were pretty hilarious, and his musical numbers were great. I really liked that this year had a theme of appreciating the music. There were some really great performances, and surprise guests to remind us how much the music really matters. Here are my thoughts on the big winners last night;

Best Picture

Amour
Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

I was so excited that Argo won! Such a great film. Honestly, I think my vote would have been for Django Unchained, definitely my favorite of the choices, but Argo definitely deserved it as well!

Actor In A Leading Role

-  Bradley Cooper
"Silver Linings Playbook"

- Daniel Day-Lewis
"Lincoln"
- Hugh Jackman
"Les Misérables"
- Joaquin Phoenix
"The Master"
- Denzel Washington
"Flight"

Definitely 100% deserved. I think everyone would have died of shock if Daniel hadn't have won. 

Actress In A Leading Role

- Jessica Chastain
 "Zero Dark Thirty"
- Jennifer Lawrence
 "Silver Linings Playbook"
- Emmanuelle Riva
 "Amour"
- Quvenzhané Wallis
 "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
- Naomi Watts
 "The Impossible"


I think this was the category that I was most unsure about. Although, not overly surprising, and Jennifer Lawrence definitely deserved it, I really wasn't sure if it would go to JLaw or Jessica Chastain. I'm happy it went to Jennifer though, I really like how she doesn't take herself too seriously. 

Actor In A Supporting Role

-Alan Arkin

"Argo"
- Robert De Niro

"Silver Linings Playbook"
- Philip Seymour Hoffman

"The Master"
-  Lee Jones

"Lincoln"
- Christoph Waltz

"Django Unchained"

So happy about this one. Lots of great performances this year, but Christoph was my fave. 

Actress In A Supporting Role:

- Amy Adams

"The Master"
- Sally Field

"Lincoln"
- Anne Hathaway

"Les Misérables"
- Helen Hunt

"The Sessions"
- Jacki Weaver

"Silver Linings Playbook"

A well-deserved win for Anne, despite some oddly bad reviews of her performance, she really made the film. Loved every minute of it.

Animated Feature Film

Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band Of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

I've only seen 2 of these, Brave and Wreck-It Ralph, but Brave really is such a sweet inspiring story for young girls. It was also gorgeous, so I think I did deserve the Oscar.

Directing 

- Michael Haneke

"Amour"
- Benh Zeitlin

"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
- Ang Lee

"Life Of Pi"
- Steven Spielberg

"Lincoln"
- David O. Russell

"Silver Linings Playbook"

I actually haven't seen Life of Pi yet, but its obviously getting big awards, so I guess I should get on that. Ang Lee is a great director, so bravo to him.

Documentary (Feature)

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers
How To Survive A Plague

The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man

I've only seen "How To Survive A Plague" and "The Invisible War", so I have no idea how good this film is. What I can say is that the two films that I just mentioned were absolutely amazing documentaries, focusing on very important issues that needed to be recognized so if this films beat it, it must be a seriously fantastic documentary. 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

- Chris Terrio

"Argo"
- Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin

"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
- David Magee

"Life Of Pi"
- Tony Kushner

"Lincoln"
- David O. Russell

"Silver Linings Playbook"

Writing isn't one of the awards that most people think about, and the writers aren't normally known names unless they are also directors. Chris Terrio did a great job on this screenplay and his speech is really nice as well.

Writing (Original Screenplay) 

- Michael Haneke

"Amour"
- Quentin Tarantino

"Django Unchained"
- John Gatins 

"Flight"
- Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola 

"Moonrise Kingdom"
- Mark Boal

"Zero Dark Thirty"

I think of all of the categories and winners last night, this one I was most excited about. I absolutely loved this film, and I'm so glad the genius of Quentin Tarantino was recognized. I adored this movie beyond words. Such great writing. 

Music (Original Song)

-"Before My Time" From "Chasing Ice"
(Music and Lyrics: J. Ralph)
-"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" From "Ted"
(Music: Walter Murphy; Lyrics: Seth Macfarlane)
-"Pi's Lullaby" From "Life Of Pi"
(Music: Mychael Danna; Lyrics: Bombay Jayashri)
-"Skyfall" From "Skyfall"
(Music and Lyrics: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
-"Suddenly" From "Les Misérables"
(Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil)

I'm so happy for Adele, at this point she's won almost every award possible. She's so talented and this has been such a great year for her and she looks great after having her baby.

Kiwi Film Review: Silver Linings Playbook

IMDB: 8.2/10(222 on the Top 250 list)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%(critics) 91%(audience)
Roger Ebert: 3.5/4

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Julia Styles.
Directed By: David O. Russell
Written By: David O. Russell(screenplay), Matthew Quick(novel)

Release Date: 21 November 2012
Described by IMDB as: "After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own."


I watched this movie earlier this week online because of all of the nominations and wins it got at the Golden Globes. I had planned on watching it in theatres when it was released in November, but it hadn't been released here so I assumed it would never be. I thought this until yesterday when it was finally released here, so tonight my friend and I went to see it tonight, her first time, my second. I'm so glad I did because I actually got quite a bit more out of it then I did the first time. I think it was mostly because I wasn't fully watching it, I was doing other things at the same time, so I missed a few things.

This movie was hilarious, heartbreaking, enlightening, and heartwarming. There wasn't a single character (besides Nikki obviously) that wasn't endearing and interesting. I found that the character development was also very well done, and I think that the acting really helped out in that. Pat(Bradley Cooper) is a really great character, I found him very unique and complex, which I find is the best part of books being made into films, there tends to be  better character development. I really liked his quirkiness and how he was completely oblivious to himself. Tiffany(Jennifer Lawrence) is an equally complex character, and I think it was easy to see how much she needed to feel loved. I really liked how open they were with each other, they knew they had nothing to hide, they could just be themselves 100% and they didn't need to change for each other. 

The acting in this film was so good. Bradley Cooper has been in a couple of serious roles now, but none have shown his acting abilities like this one. He was so much more then a pretty face in this one, and I think thats fantastic for him, I really think this movie will open all doors for him and I'm really happy for him about that. He was really amazing as Pat, you couldn't help but just adore him. Robert De Niro was also very impressive in this film, not that he needed to prove himself, but damn, he still has it. But lets be real, it was Jennifer Lawrence who stole the show in this film. Her role as Tiffany was a pretty bizarre one, but a character who is equally as loveable by the end. I've really enjoyed Jennifer since I saw her in her Oscar nominated role in Winter's Bone, which was also a fantastic movie. I'm glad that I had heard of her before she did The Hunger Games, because I was already aware of the fact that she had great talent, and I don't want those movies to be her legacy like it has so far been with Kristen Stewart. She's only 22 and this is her second Oscar nomination, unbelievably impressive, and I think that we can all agree that we'll be seeing great things out of her for a long, long time to come. 

I absolutely loved this film. I think I should redo my Top Films of 2012 list because this is definitely up there now. Such an amazing movie. I'm gonna give it a 9/10. I loved everything about it, it genuinely touched me.

2013 Golden Globe Nominees and Winners

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Motion Picture, Comedy
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director, Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
The Intouchables (France)
Kon-Tiki (Norway/U.K./Denmark)
Rust and Bone (France)

Best TV Series, Comedy
The Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash

Best TV Series, Drama
Breaking Bad
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom

Best TV Movie or Miniseries
Game Change
The Girl
Hatfields and McCoys
The Hour
Political Animals

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV series, Drama
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Comedy
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Lena Dunham, Girls
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Louis CK, Louie
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Woody Harrleson, Game Change
Toby Jones, The Girl
Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn

Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Sienna Miller, The Girl
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Hayden Panettiere, Nashville
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Sarah Paulson, Game Change
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Ed Harris, Game Change
Danny Huston, Magic City
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Animated Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture
Zero Dark Thirty (Mark Boal)
Lincoln (Tony Kushner)
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)
Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)
Argo (Chris Terrio)

Best Score for a Motion Picture
Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)
Argo (Alexandre Desplat)
Anna Karenina (Dario Marianelli)
Cloud Atlas (Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil)
Lincoln (John Williams)

Best Original Song, Motion Picture
"For You" - Act of Valor
"Not Running Anymore" - Stand Up Guys
"Safe & Sound" - The Hunger Games
"Skyfall" - Skyfall
"Suddenly" - Les Miserables

Kiwi Film Review: The Hunger Games

IMDB: 7.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%

Roger Ebert: 3/4 Stars

Release Date: March 23 2012

Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harelson, Lenny Kravitz.
Written By: Suzanne Collins(Book & Screenplay), Gary Ross & Billy Ray (Screenplay)

Directed By: Gary Ross

Described by IMDB as "In a not-too-distant future, North America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives."

My review for this film is going to be pretty all over the place because I've read the book and I'm being slightly picky. I'll start by saying *SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD* as I don't think its possible to do a review without talking about specific parts of the story. 

I want to start with saying that I actually really enjoyed the movie itself, as what it was. But if you are going to see this movie without reading the book, I beg you to stop and read the book first. It is infinately better. They did a pretty decent job and keeping close to the book, and I even enjoyed the parts that they added in, but I really did not enjoy that they left a few of the things out, and they did leave a lot. I'm really truly trying not to be one of those awful people who nit-picks everything about the movie, but there were a few things that just didn't make any sense to leave out. 

I'll start from the beginning I guess, I think they did a pretty good job capturing the bad conditions of District 12, but MAN I'm I pissed at how Katniss(Jennifer Lawrence) ended up getting the Mockingjay Pin. Why on earth would they leave out Madge?! She's so important in the second book, why would they leave that out!? I understand you can't include everything but that was one of 3 things that actually bothered me. I think they did a good job showing the relationship between Katniss(Lawrence) and Gale(Liam Hemsworth). They also did a good job with the reaping, and how I pictured Effie (Elizabeth Banks). I wish that they had spent a little more time on the train then they did, as they spent many days on the train in the book. I loved the choice for Haymitch(Woody Harelson), and Caesar(Stanley Tucci). I also thought they did a great job at casting Katniss(Lawrence), Peeta(Josh Hutcherson), and Gale(Hemsworth). 

Now comes the downside.. I hated what the did with the Capitol, it looked SO fake. I also thought the fire on the clothes looked horrible. Besides that I thought the did a good job keeping close to the book for the rest of the time in the capitol. Once they get to the game,  the cornucopia was nothing at al like I pictured. I pictured this giant horn-shaped object with supplies falling out of its mouth. Also, they left out the part where she nearly dies of dehydration, but you can't include everything, so I dealt with that. I think they did a good job with the Rue scene, I cried so I suppose that's a good sign. Right after that comes my second pet peeve; when they find out that there can be two victors and Katniss(Lawrence) whispers Peeta's name instaed of yelling it. She literally spoke the exact same words that she would have anyways, why couldn't she have said it louder. I realize this is a VERY tiny part of the book/film, but I just felt like it really showed that she actually did have some real feelings for Peeta(Hutcherson) in the book. The next part I understood had to be cut short because of the time limits of the movie, but even if they had just added an extra 10 minutes of  them being in the cave it would've added so much more real feeling to the film. I really felt like anyone who hadn't read the book wouldn't have cared about the love story between Katniss and Peeta at all. Katniss is also supposed to be seriously injured at two points in the story. First her ear is supposed to be destroyed and then her head is supposed to be deeply and seriously cut. I think even adding one of those would've added a little more suspense in the story. The end of the games had some minor changes, but they managed to make it pretty sufficient. Here comes my final and biggest pet peeve from the movie. The fact that at the end of the film, Katniss doesn't tell Peeta  that she doesn't actually love him, and that it was all an act. That is CLEARLY a pivotal moment in the book, and series, and is extremely important in the second book/film. I can't wait to see how they fix that one.

Overall, as I said, I enjoyed the film. I liked how they added all of the behind the scenes stuff in how the Hunger Games are fun, and the commentary with Caesar. I do wish that they had fixed my pet peeves, as I do feel they hindered the story, but alas here we are. I also think they lacked some character development, but I can't say for sure.. I'd like to hear what a person who hadn't read the books thinks.

I give this film a 7.5/10, definitely not as good as the book, but a solid film on its own. A definite must see!