84th Academy Awards Achievement in Visual Effects Shortlist

Yesterday the Academy announced the 10 films that remain in the running for the VFX category. Film in the shortlist are in *BLUE.  To check the official announcement go here.

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12/11

Last Friday the Academy announced that 15 films have been selected to be considered in the VFX category and here they are.

*Captain America: The First Avenger
Cowboys & Aliens
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
*Hugo
*Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
*Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
*Real Steel
*Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Sucker Punch
Super 8
Thor
*Transformers: Dark of the Moon
*The Tree of Life
*X-Men: First Class

According to the recent rules in early January the list will be narrow to 10 films and on January 19 all members of the Visual Effects Branch will vote to define the 5 that will be nominated. To read the official announcement go here.

Nostalgia de la Luz (Nostalgia for the Light)

Had to close 2011 with my take on a film. Most particular is that I’m closing the year with comments about a documentary and not a fiction film. 2011 had some outstanding films but my top films are definitively documentaries and yes, it’s a first! Really loved Pina it is truly outstanding but my top film for 2011 absolutely is a documentary about a Chilean desert and everything that once happened there, is currently happening there and will continue to happen there. Is about the Atacama Desert.

In life there are many things that make us deeply wonder, like the infamous question “where do we come from”, we being the human race or better, life in planet Earth. The Atacama Desert is “the” driest place in planet Earth, there is no humidity –so, there are no clouds making it the best place to have the largest telescopes on Earth. From there astronomers are learning about the beginnings or the big bang -if you wish-; but actually are learning about the past, a very-very-very far away past that could explain us, life, and the very ephemeral present. Documentary starts telling us about all this with the most mind blowing images of the universe, which are so good that honestly made me feel tiny, very tiny and humble.

I already felt small and deeply humbled by what I saw, but nothing prepared me to what followed.

The first fateful September 11th came with brutal repression that killed many and yes, I have seen several movies about that date and what followed after; BUT, never like what I saw here. The Atacama Desert during Pinochet had several concentration camps and one is quite close to where the marvelous and huge telescopes are. Was an old mine from the times when mining was like slavery, so easily became a prison for political prisoners. Prisoners from those camps and elsewhere were killed and dumped into massive graves that were “moved” to erase their existence. In the “moving” process bodies, cadavers were split with broken feet and heads parts flying out and bodies placed on trucks to be thrown elsewhere (mostly in the sea). Many, many Chileans mothers walk the Atacama Desert searching for their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters; and some found something that allow them to finally realize that they are dead. These mothers, as the close-by astronomers, are searching the past for clues.

I know I’m telling a lot about what this film is about, but I’m doing it so when you watch this film you’ll be prepared, you will have an idea of what you will see and after watching you will be able to “digest” everything a lot faster. See, the situation with this film is that is not horror, NO, on the contrary is so beautiful, then so real, then so crude-real (and beautiful), so painful to watch (everything hurts), so beautiful, so beautiful, so horrific, so beautiful and finally an ending that strongly blends both stories into one. Ah!!

Patricio Guzman’s oeuvre is so well-done that will impress you beyond your imagination as flawlessly and most delicately will tell you his story (he narrates), a slice of the story of his country, the story where most likely Scientists will find more and new answers about our past, and where Chilean people found, are finding and will find knowledge about their recent past. Chapeau Master Guzman.

Strongly recommend this marvelous film that was screened in 2010 Cannes, won the 2010 European Film Award for documentary plus many more well-deserved honors in the festival circuit. Film has impressed general audiences but most interesting for me was to find that also impressed scientists, still after watching you’ll understand why so many have succumbed to Patricio Guzman incredible narrative and narrative style.

BIG ENJOY!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

84th Academy Awards Poster

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled the poster for the 84th Academy Awards®. The art features the iconic Oscar statuette alongside memorable images from eight films spanning eight decades: "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Casablanca" (1943), "Giant" (1956), "The Sound of Music" (1965), "The Godfather" (1972), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Forrest Gump" (1994) and "Gladiator" (2000). All the films featured on the poster won the Academy Award® for Best Picture, except "Giant," for which George Stevens won the Oscar for Directing.

Supported by the tagline "Celebrate the movies in all of us," the design is meant to evoke the emotional connections we all have with the movies. "Whether it's a first date or a holiday gathering with friends or family, movies are a big part of our memory," said Academy President Tom Sherak. "The Academy Awards not only honor the excellence of these movies, but also celebrate what they mean to us as a culture and to each of us individually."

The artwork was created by award-winning graphic designer Anthony Goldschmidt, and Mark and Karen Crawford of the design firm Blood&Chocolate.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

To read the official announcement go here.

16th Annual Satellite Awards Winners

Last night they had the award ceremony and winners are in *BOLD. To check winners in all categories including TV go here.

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12/2

Last night the International Press Academy announced the nominations and here they are from the official site that’s here. Have to mention that have read in other sites a different list, so I’ll be checking to confirm if they made a mistake in the official site or to identify what’s going on.

Best Picture
The Artist
*The Descendants
Drive
Hugo
Moneyball
Shame
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse

Best Animated or Mixed Media Film
Kung Fu Panda 2
The Muppets
Puss In Boots
Rio
*The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Best Foreign Film
Miss Bala, Mexico
A Separation, Iran
The Kid With The Bike, Belgium
The Turin Horse, Hungary
Las Acadias, Argentina
13 Assassins, Japan
Mozart's Sister, France
*Mysteries of Lisbon, Portugal
Le Havre, Finland
Faust, Russia

Best Director
Tate Taylor for The Help
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
*Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive
Steven Spielberg for War Horse
Martin Scorsese for Hugo
John Michael McDonagh for The Guard
Tomas Alfredson for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Steve McQueen for Shame

Best Actress
Vera Farmiga in Higher Ground
Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn
Emily Watson in Oranges and Sunshine
Charlize Theron in Young Adult
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
*Viola Davis in The Help
Olivia Colman in Tyrannosaur
Michelle Yeoh in The Lady
Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actress
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer in The Help
*Jessica Chastain in The Tree of Life
Vanessa Redgrave in Coriolanus
Rachel McAdams in Midnight in Paris
Lisa Feret in Mozart's Sister
Judy Greer in The Descendants
Kate Winslet in Carnage
Elle Fanning in Super 8

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar
*Ryan Gosling in Drive
Michael Fassbender in Shame
George Clooney in The Descendants
Brendan Gleeson in The Guard
Michael Shannon in Take Shelter
Tom Hardy in Warrior
Woody Harrelson in Rampart
Gary Oldman in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball

Best Supporting Actor
*Albert Brooks in Drive
Viggo Mortensen in A Dangerous Method
Hugo Weaving in Oranges and Sunshine
Kenneth Branagh in My Week With Marilyn
Colin Farrell in Horrible Bosses
Andy Serkis in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Christoph Waltz in Carnage

To check nominees in all film categories as well as check TV categories go here.  Awards ceremony will be on December 18.

The International Press Academy changed the categories this year as before categories were more similar to Golden Globes than to Oscar, as had separate categories for Comedy or Musical, including nominations for Actors. Still having so many nominees in each category is a bit confusing yet there are not really any surprises at least in the main categories listed here.

2011 Prix Louis-Delluc Award Winners

Today the most prestigious award in French cinema was announced by Gilles Jacob, jury president and pleases me to share with all that the winner is Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki and Donoma by Djinn Carrenard, both films are extremely worth-watching. Winners are in *BLUE.

To check the news in French go here and in English go here.

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11/22

Yesterday the nominees were announced for this most prestigious French award and these are the nominated films.

Best Film
L'Apollonide (Souvenirs de maison close) (House of Tolerance) by Bertrand Bonello
L'Exercice de l'Etat (The Minister) by Pierre Schoeller
La Guerre est déclarée (Declaration of War) by Valérie Donzelli
*Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki
Hors Satan (Outside Satan) by Bruno Dumont
Les Neiges by Kilimandjaro by Robert Guédiguian
Pater by Alain Cavalier
The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius
Tomboy by Céline Sciamma

Best First Film
17 filles (17 Girls) by Muriel Coulin and Delphine Coulin
*Donoma by Djinn Carrenard (WOW! Movie budget: Euros 150 … have to see this! Very curious about film check this)
Jimmy Rivière by Teddy Lussi-Modeste
Mafrouza (5 films) by Emmanuelle Demoris
Nous, Princesse de Clèves by Régis Sauder

I’m so happy as have seen many, not all but many of the films; still there are some, like Aki’s film that I’m really “dying” to see and hopefully will be the great winner this year but I know that Pater, Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro and The Artist are also great contenders. As we realize in the best film category all –except one- films come from Cannes; the exception is Céline Sciamma’s Tomboy that is a very interesting film but in my opinion not as good as her extraordinary Naissance des pieuvres that won the Prix Louis Delluc for first film in 2007.

Awards ceremony will be in Paris on December 16. To check the news at allocine go here; for English go here.

Best Actress Tally for Current Award Season

As there are good surprises let me share the tally that up-to-today has Michelle Williams leading in wins and nominations, unexpected but quite pleased as she’s a very good actress that in my opinion needs/deserves more recognition from peers, industry, journalists, and yes, audiences too.

Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn
Wins: 4 (Boston, Toronto, Las Vegas, DC)
Nominations: 10 (Globes, BFCA, SAG, Phoenix, Houston, Detroit, Spirits, St. Louis, San Diego, Satellites)

Close by is Tilda Swinton that’s another actress that in my opinion needs more honors as every single role that she does is award worthy.

Tilda Swinton in We Need To Talk About Kevin
Wins: 4 (SF, NBR, EFA, Houston)
Nominations: 7 (Globes, BFCA, SAG, Indiana, DC, BIFA, San Diego)

Next surely the most honored actress in the planet and all well-deserved, Meryl Streep; followed closely by Viola Davis and not so far away newcomer Elizabeth Olsen.

Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Wins: 2 (NYFCC and NYFCO)
Nominations: 10 (Globes, SAG, Phoenix, BFCA, Houston, Detroit, Boston, DC, St. Louis, Satellites)

Viola Davis in The Help
Wins: 1 (African-American critics)
Nominations: 10 (Globes, SAG, Phoenix, BFCA, Houston St. Louis, Detroit, DC, Satellites, San Diego)

Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene
Wins: 1 (Indiana)
Nominations: 8 (BFCA, Phoenix, Houston, DC, Spirits, San Diego, St. Louis, Satellites)

These are the ladies that lead the race to Oscar and surely nominations probably will be among them and maybe, just maybe Charlize Theron will make it even do up to day her tally reads with only 4 nominations (Globes, BFCA, Detroit, Satellites). Also hoping for a spot is Glenn Close that has 3 nominations but from “big/relevant” groups as Globes, SAG, and Satellites.

Is still too early to find a clear trend, but I will not be surprised if Oscar nods look like the tally. I know that this category could be less predictable than last year which of course makes it more interesting to follow.

Cheers!

84th Academy Awards Live Shorts Shortlist

A few minutes ago the Academy announced that 10 live action short films –out of 107 that qualified-will advance in the voting process; these are the films.

Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I Could Be Your Grandmother) by Bernard Tanguy, France
Love at First Sight by Michael Davies, UK
Pentecost by Peter McDonald, Ireland
Raju by Max Zähle, Germany and India
The Road Home by Rahul Gandotra, UK and India
Das Rauschen des Meeres (The Roar of the Sea) by Ana Rocha Fernandes and Torsten Truscheit, Germany
Sailcloth by Elfar Adalsteins, UK
The Shore by Terry George,
Time Freak by Andrew Bowler, USA
Tuba Atlantic by Hallvar Witzø, Norway

I’m impress the shorts shortlist is very European! Quite unusual. To read the official announcements go here.