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homeplanetreviews · 7 years

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Best Films of 2017 by: Will Whalen

Hello everyone! I know, we’re already a month into 2018 but some films that were 2017 releases didn’t come out near me till 2018 and I just had to wait and see them. However, it didn’t change much because (for the most part) my top films list is nearly the same as it was when I made it in December. So, here it is! This was a terrific year for film but these are my absolute favorites of 2017.

First, I have a few honorable mentions: Molly’s Game, Alien: Covenant, John Wick 2, Get Out, My Life as a Zucchini, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, Call Me By Your Name, and All the Money in the World.

So, here we go!

15. The Disaster Artist

I was really surprised by The Disaster Artist because I was really excited for it because of The Room and I was expecting it to be a comedy about how The Room was made. And if you’ve ever seen The Room, anyone would be excited for that reason. However, what I got was a surprisingly super touching film about friendship and achieving your dreams no matter what the cost is or no matter how many times someone says you can’t.

14. Dunkirk

Dunkirk was a war film from the incredible mastermind Christopher Nolan that wasn’t a typical war film. It wasn’t some character drama on top of being a war film but instead a more accurate look at war. It was about survival and this horrible situation that these brave men were stuck in and basically all had to fend for themselves. I only got to see it once and I was lucky enough to see it in 70mm film but I can’t wait to revisit it.

13. Good Time

Good Time was actually a great time (bad pun intended) and was one of the most stressful, thrilling and non stop downward spirals of a film I have seen in recent memory. Robert Pattinson also gave his best performance and really should’ve been nominated. It was also directed excellently by the Safdie Brothers who took risks. They did things in this that most filmmakers would never dare to do. If you’re easily stressed, maybe stay away from this movie. But, its a good time...

12. It

You’ll float too… when you see It. It was one of the best horror films I’ve seen in quite a long time and definitely one of the funniest movies of last year. We finally got a It film and it was so wonderful. Andy Muschietti did a great job helming this work and the phenomenal cast from all the talented young actors involved make this movie one of a kind and one of the best Stephen King adaptations.

11. A Ghost Story

A Ghost Story was such a special movie. This film explores death, grief, and the afterlife in one of the most beautiful films of last year. Casey Affleck also gave one of the best performances of his career and he was under a sheet the whole time. His performance spoke volumes and I would’ve liked to have seen him get some recognition. This film floored me and if you haven’t seen it, do check it out. It’s not a horror movie but it will haunt you.

10. Thor: Ragnarok

This was one one of Marvel’s best to date. Takai Waititi takes the Thor story into a new direction and made one of the funniest and one of the most all out entertaining films of the entire year. Just on a pure fun and comedic level, this was one of the best and definitely one of the most fun films of last year. Also, Waititi gave us Korg and I don’t think we can thank him enough for that.

9. T2: Trainspotting

Aye ya doss cunt! This is a sequel to one of my top favorite films of all time, Trainspotting. Trainspotting came out in 1996 and now here we are, 20 years later with a sequel. This could’ve easily not been good but with Danny Boyle once again behind the camera, our favorite skagboys back and with a wonderful script, this was a fantastic sequel and a beautiful one too. Plus, it’s Trainspotting! Plus, there’s a great soundtrack once again.

8. Baby Driver

B-A-B-Y Baby! Baby Driver was an all out blast. It’s a fast paced, thrilling, exciting and wonderful film that has one of the best soundtracks to any film that has come out in a long time. All this is due to the amazing Edgar Wright who has made yet another great film with Baby Driver.

7. Logan

Logan is the wolverine film we’ve all dreamed about. An R rated Wolverine film is exactly what the world of superhero films needed. In Hugh Jackman’s supposed final performance as the Wolverine, we got one of the all time best superhero films. It was directed gorgeously and had a story that I was in love with. It didn’t even feel like a superhero movie but more like a western. Patrick Stewart also gave a phenomenal performance and I wish our two main actors would’ve gotten some more praise. If this really is Jackman’s final portrayal as Logan/Wolverine, then what a hell of a way to send out on.

6. Split

M. Night Shyamalan makes a grand return to the screen with Split. It felt so incredibly good to be seeing a great M. Night Shyamalan film in theaters. James McAvoy gives one of the best performances of last year and this was absolutely snubbed at the Oscars. I won’t spoil this film but if you have never seen Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, watch it and then watch this. Trust me. I loved this film so much and absolutely cannot wait for Glass. Also, the dance scene... just watch this movie.

5. War for the Planet of the Apes

This is the third and (I think) final film in the new Apes series and was, believe it or not, a mesmerizing masterpiece. What they did with this film is absolutely mind boggling. It’s not some big over the top action movie. There are action scenes, sure. But no, instead it was a psychological warfare, revenge and prisoner of war film that was absolutely beautiful. Andy Serkis gave a chilling and insanely great performance as Caesar. What he did with this character in this film, was just wonderful. If you’ve never seen these films, they’re all great and I highly suggest watching them.

4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

This film was one of the most fun times I’ve had the theater in quite some time. Rian Johnson took over for Episode 8 and took the Star Wars saga into a new direction and did something new, unique and just awesome. Of course, “fans” got pissed but anyone that loves film and any legit Star Wars fan, will love this one and appreciate what Johnson did with this. The Last Jedi also includes some of the best scenes in any of the Star Wars films. Sure, it does have flaws but this was a phenomenal spectacle and there’s one scene that I’ve been thinking about at least once a day since I saw this on opening night.

3. Lady Bird

This magnificent coming of age film is written by Greta Gerwig and is her directorial debut. This is a really special type of movie. It doesn’t even feel like it’s a movie but instead, just you watching people live their lives. And movies that feel so natural like that, are special. It’s also special because it’s so relatable. Whether you’re a boy or a girl or whatever, anyone can watch this and in some way, relate to it. It’s got excellent performances and it’s clear that Greta Gerwig has some real talent. I can’t wait to see what she does in the future. Lady Bird is going to be a teen classic for years to come.

2. The Shape of Water

When I saw this, I thought it may have taken place as my number one favorite of the year. Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed this and this is without a doubt, his best film yet and a beautiful masterpiece. Sally Hawkins is electric in this film alongside Oscar worthy performances from all of her costars. The Shape of Water absolutely floored me and left me in a puddle of tears. What blows me away, is how a movie like this gets 13 Oscar nominations. However, it’s well deserved.

1. Blade Runner 2049

Here it is folks. My personal favorite of the year. The movie that I thought was better than all the rest and that’s the cinematic marvel that is Blade Runner 2049. This was one of the best films I have ever seen. That’s not even a joke. On every level, it was so far beyond anything else I had ever seen. Denis Villeneuve directs this flawlessly but the cinematography from Roger Deakins, is probably the actual best from any other film I’ve ever seen. Each frame of this is dripping with dystopian neon noir and I couldn’t get enough of it. The score from Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch was so special and so hypnotizing. This is my favorite score to any film from last year as well. Ryan Gosling is in my number one film of the year yet again and this man is incredible. He gives such a subdued performance but one that spoke high volumes. It was also great to see Harrison Ford return as Deckard who also gave an amazing performance. Blade Runner 2049 should’ve been nominated for Best Picture and Best Director but I’m just happy it got some recognition. Either way, this film is a flawless masterpiece and was my number one of 2017.

That’s it folks! My top 15 of the year. I apologize about the delay, but hey, at least I finally did it! Stick around for many other review for the year!

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roseisread · 7 years

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Oscar Nomination Reactions and Thoughts, 2018 Edition Plus, my favorite films and performances of 2017

Today, the Oscar nominees were revealed and overall there was much rejoicing (from me, at least). A lot of really incredible films and people were nominated. Some crazy barriers were broken (go Rachel Morrison, first EVER woman to be nominated for cinematography). Genre films got recognized in the best picture category (sci fi/fantasy! horror! comedy!). A comic book movie got nominated for a writing category. Music from the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood got recognized. Love stories of many different types (queer/interracial/S&M/interspecies?) were on equal footing for once. People of color showed up in acting, writing, directing, and best picture categories, and several of them are the odds on favorites to win. All that being said, I still have plenty of thoughts and wishes about this year’s crop of nominees. So let’s dive in.

Best Picture I have to caveat that I have not yet seen The Post or Darkest Hour; the rest of the nominees I have seen and either like or love. My personal fave here is Get Out; closely followed by Call Me By Your Name and Lady Bird. Those are my top three movies of the year. My personal list for best picture would also include:

The Big Sick Colossal The Florida Project Good Time Logan Lucky Wonder Woman

I realize that some of these have not even been in the awards conversation, but those were my favorite films of 2017. In particular, I’m really sad that with ten possible slots, the Oscar voters didn’t find room in their hearts for Wonder Woman here. It received both positive critical acclaim and major box office love. I personally found it incredibly moving and inspiring, to an extent I can’t say I have ever felt about another superhero movie. In a year where Hollywood is trying to right many of the wrongs women have experienced, Diana is this amazing symbol of female power and goodwill. I know the movie itself is not perfect--the ending in particular faltered a bit for me--but a movie with a female director and star that did well with audiences worldwide... seems like a no-brainer. Especially when we have not one but two movies about the plight of British men in World War II nominated for best picture this year.

Best Director So so so excited for both Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele here. Also, despite my personal lack of investment in Dunkirk as a movie, I am really happy for Christopher Nolan since he has never been nominated despite being one of the best filmmakers working. Likewise, while I prefer their earlier films to this year’s offerings from both Paul Thomas Anderson and Guillermo Del Toro, I’m a fan of both those guys. Nonetheless! I still would’ve filled out my own ballot a bit differently, honoring Dee Rees for Mudbound and Sean Baker for The Florida Project. Both of them brought a lot of personal vision to their films, and put in the work to get the details right.

Best Actress My money and my love are on Frances McDormand here. She’s a badass lady and totally killed it with this role. I also admire the other actresses on this list, in particular Saoirse Ronan as the title character in Lady Bird. That being said, once again my own picks diverge from those of the Academy. So here’s who I’d be nominating instead:

Anne Hathaway, Colossal Charlize Theron, Atomic Blonde Vicki Krieps, Phantom Thread Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project

Also worthy of consideration: Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus, a subtle yet wonderful performance.

Best Actor I am thrilled for Daniel Kaluuya and Timothee Chalamet in particular here, even though smart money is on Gary Oldman to win. I can’t comment on his Churchill performance yet, so perhaps I should reserve judgment, but of the ones I have seen, here’s who would fill out the other three spots in my bracket:

Robert Pattinson, Good Time Hugh Jackman, Logan Andy Serkis, War for the Planet of the Apes

Best Supporting Actress I have my fingers crossed so hard for Laurie Metcalf on this one. She’s so real and raw as the mom in Lady Bird, making a potentially unlikable character sympathetic. I will jump for joy if she wins. However, it’s leaning toward Allison Janney, another actress I adore in a role that felt a bit one-note to me. I’m stoked that Mary J. Blige is on this list, and I would also be thrilled if she won. I have no beef with Lesley Manville (who is superb in Phantom Thread) or Octavia Spencer (who doesn’t have much to do in Shape of Water)... but my list would have to include Holly Hunter for The Big Sick and Tiffany Haddish for Girls Trip. I mean. Come on. I’d take those two over Spencer and Janney in a heartbeat. Kelly Marie Tran would have been a nice inclusion also, for her memorable turn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Best Supporting Actor This is the category with the snub I’m the most mad about: Michael Stuhlbarg in Call Me By Your Name. Even though I knew it was a possibility, I can’t believe he got shut out. He’s easily the best part of that wonderful, beautiful film--peaches and Armie Hammer dances aside. As for the ones who did make it in, I am happiest about Willem Dafoe. The others are fine but I’d swap out Woody Harrelson for Jason Mitchell (Mudbound) and Richard Jenkins for the aforementioned Stuhlbarg. It’s hard for me to say anything negative about one of my all-time favorites Sam Rockwell, but I’d have been a lot more excited if Daniel Craig had made it in for his hilarious turn in Logan Lucky or if Patrick Stewart had gotten a well-earned nod for Logan. Other Observations In cinematography, my biggest joys are Rachel Morrison and Roger Deakins. I would’ve also loved to see Vittorio Storaro for his gorgeous work on Wonder Wheel, and Elisha Christian for Columbus. I’m bummed Colossal didn’t get any acknowledgement for writing, since it was a super original concept. Likewise, I think Logan Lucky deserved some love in the writing categories but I suppose that was a pretty stacked group. In documentary features, I only saw one: Kedi. I loved it though--it’s about cats! So maybe it was only worthy in my eyes, but you should see it and decide for yourself. For film editing, I’m glad Baby Driver got in and wish Good Time had. That movie kept up such a frenetic pace and I think my heart was still pounding a good ten minutes after the credits rolled. That’s all my Oscar Thoughts for now! Chime in with your own, and join me in watching all the awards get handed out on March 4th.

#oscars #oscars2018 #movies #getout #lady bird #call me by your name #the big sick #colossal #the florida project #good time #robert pattinson #logan lucky #wonder woman #columbus movie #girls trip

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01sentencereviews · 7 years

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oscar predictions, 2018

(all categories are ranked by likelihood of a nomination...)

picture:

the shape of water

three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

lady bird

dunkirk

get out

call me by your name

the big sick

darkest hour

the post

i’m gonna go with 9 noms because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i guess that’s the number the academy (usually) comes up with nowadays. don’t count out i, tonya, the florida project, or even wonder woman to sneak in there (plus i’m still ignorantly rooting for phantom thread), but those are all huge MAYBEs.

director:

guillermo del toro, the shape of water

greta gerwig, lady bird

christopher nolan, dunkirk

martin mcdonagh, three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

jordan peele, get out

best director is always tricky. for the most part, they match up with the dga noms... and then there are other years where lenny abrahamson or michael haneke or benh zeitlin sneak in there totally unexpectedly. i think that’s why luca guadagnino (call me by your name) and even sean baker (the florida project) still have the best chance to get into the top five. the wonder woman ~*phenomena*~ officially died about three months ago, but patty jenkins got so much fucking press this year that i can’t call her totally “out” just quite yet. also, there’s steven spielberg (the post), who, i mean, is speilberg, so watch out for that one...

actor:

gary oldman, darkest hour

timothée chalamet, call me by your name

daniel kaluuya, get out

james franco, the disaster artist

daniel day-lewis, phantom thread

is daniel day-lewis really not gonna get nominated for his supposed “final” acting role?? ...i don’t think so. of course, there’s sag nominee denzel washington (roman j. israel, esq.) and ~tam honks~ (the post) to watch out for, but i think this top five is pretty solid.

actress:

frances mcdormand, three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

saoirse ronan, lady bird

sally hawkins, the shape of water

margot robbie, i, tonya

meryl streep, the post

meryl’s getting nominated. i can’t even believe this is still a question. that bitch got nominated last year for fucking florence foster jenkins... you all really think she won’t get nominated for a speilberg movie?? jessica chastain (molly's game) and judi dench (victoria & abdul) might “steal” margot’s or meryl’s nom, but i honestly don’t see that happening.

supporting actor:

sam rockwell, three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

woody harrelson, three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

richard jenkins, the shape of water

willem dafoe, the florida project

armie hammer, call me by your name

i really, really want michael stuhlbarg (call me by your name) to take the fifth spot, but armie hammer has the advantage of technically being a lead actor campaigning for supporting, and the academy just loves nominating those performances instead. DEFINITELY don’t count out christopher plummer (all the money in the world) or, i guess, steve carell (battle of the sexes)... actually, do count out carrell, but not plummer.

supporting actress:

allison janney, i, tonya

laurie metcalf, lady bird

mary j. blige, mudbound

holly hunter, the big sick

octavia spencer, the shape of water

i would fucking KILL for lesley manville (phantom thread), but then again... according to “experts,” the only other possible upset here will be hong chau (downsizing) which tbh... also won’t happen.

(i know it’s important to share the names of talent which don’t get nearly enough recognition or press for their work + achievements every year... but also no one is paying me to make these predictions, so i’m just gonna list the films for the remaining categories. i apologize for my laziness.)

original screenplay:

three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

lady bird

get out

the shape of water

the big sick

possibilities: the post, i, tonya, phantom thread, and darkest hour

adapted screenplay:

call me by your name

molly’s game

the disaster artist

all the money in the world

logan

possibilities: wonder woman, last flag flying, and the beguiled (?) [maybe, genuinely, one of the worst years ever for this category]

cinematography:

blade runner 2049

dunkirk

the shape of water

mudbound

call me by your name

possibilities: darkest hour and three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

costume design:

phantom thread

beauty and the BEAST!! (that ugly ass dress... am i right?!)

darkest hour

the shape of water

the beguiled

possibilities: victoria and abdul, the greatest showman, and the post (for the caftan, i guess)

editing:

dunkirk

the shape of water

three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

baby driver

get out

possibilities: blade runner 2049, the post, i, tonya, call me by your name, and star wars: the last jedi

hair & makeup:

wonder

darkest hour

bright

possibilities: guardians of the galaxy vol. 2

production design:

the shape of water

dunkirk

darkest hour

blade runner 2049

beauty and the beast

possibilities: murder on the orient express and the greatest showman

score:

the shape of water

dunkirk

phantom thread

the post

darkest hour

possibilities: star wars: the last jedi and three billboards outside ebbing, missouri

song:

“remember me,” coco

“this is me,” the greatest showman

“evermore,” beauty and the beast

“stand up for somthing,” marshall

“mightly river,” mudbound

possibilities: “the mystery of love,” call me by your name

sound editing:

dunkirk

blade runner 2049

the shape of water

baby driver

wonder woman

possibilities: star wars: the last jedi, war for the planet of the apes, wonder woman, and beauty and the beast

sound mixing:

dunkirk

blade runner 2049

the shape of water

baby driver

wonder woman

possibilities: star wars: the last jedi, the greatest showman, and beauty and the beast

visual effects:

war for the planet of the apes

blade runner 2049

star wars: the last jedi

the shape of water

dunkirk

possibilities: okja and guardians of the galaxy vol. 2

animated feature:

coco

the breadwinner

loving vincent

mary and the witch’s flower

boss baby

possibilities: ferdinand and despicable me 3

documentary feature:

jane

city of ghosts

icarus

last men in aleppo

strong island

possibilities: faces places and an inconvienent sequel

foreign language:

in the fade

a fantastic woman

foxtrot

loveless

the square

possibilities: the insult and on body and soul

i’m not even sure how to “predict” the short film categories because this industry does such a terrible job spotlighting them and because i’m 99% sure actually academy members just choose them at random... but i’d honestly be pretty happy if those young filmmakers who directed in a heartbeat won for animated short because #GayRights!!!

#would love to be wrong!!!!!#oscar predictions #predictions #personal

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olliefilm · 7 years

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A Slap On The Wrist or A Pat On The Back: The 90th Academy Awards

The Oscars is, in a way, a perverse thing to follow. If you are serious about film then you know it’s not good for you. Yes, the politics. Yes, the tackiness. Yes, the phoniness of it all. However, the Oscars feed my unbearable smug sense of opinionated satisfaction. Like the Grammy’s, the Oscars usually pick winners according to their populist appeal, or who Harvey Weinstein happened to lobby for. But then again, the mood has changed and the self- congratulatory tone of Hollywood is under more scrutiny than it arguably has ever been. It’s not going to be enough to throw around a Kevin Spacey joke, there is going to have to be a careful acknowledgement about what needs to change.

Whilst that is going on, I would like to provide a quick throwaway roundup of this year’s main categories. The focus is on the big six – Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Supporting Actor. Unfortunately, the awards are set to a US release schedule. So whereas I’ve seen Loveless and The Square, I haven’t seen the three other nominees in the Best Foreign Language category.

Best Picture

Ever since the Academy decided to increase the nominees from five to nine or ten, there has been a greater chance to pick a number of films which don’t belong. Thank goodness there is only one this year: Darkest Hour. A broad historical drama which looks more suited for the BBC Original Drama slot on a Sunday evening. The other nominees range from timely offerings (The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Get Out), tender coming-of-age (Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name) and filmmaking masterclasses (Phantom Thread, The Shape of Water, Dunkirk).

The gist is that this is between two frontrunners: Three Billboards and The Shape of Water. My personal gripe is that Three Billboards has been misconstrued as the ‘transgressor entry’ this year. Unlike what many commentators pointed out, I don’t think its attitude to race is the problem. The problem with Three Billboards is that too often, it likes to eat its cake. Too bad, because it has a message worth exploring. Instead, I think Get Out should’ve taken the mantle. It has more bite and wit to its social commentary, as well as being devilishly funny.

Three Billboards has dominated the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, but I have a feeling The Shape of Water will edge it. It won at the Producers Guild Award for Best Film – which is usually a solid indicator for Best Picture – and lets not forget how we all thought La La Land was going to sweep the board

during award season, only to be pipped to the post by Moonlight. The point is the Oscars haven’t always been complicit with its forerunners.

If there is any outside heat come the night, it will most likely come from Lady Bird. My personal picks are split into two categories: the Best Film and the Defining Film of the Year. The exquisite and thrilling Phantom Thread for the former, and Get Out for the latter. Academy voters, if you want to make a genuinely interesting and deserving pick, pick Get Out.

Will Win: The Shape of Water Should Win: Phantom Thread Missed Out: The Florida Project

Best Director

One cannot put a finger wrong with the nominees in this year’s director category. Whatever you may think about Dunkirk – and it admittedly did leave me a bit cold - it has been directed within every inch. Christopher Nolan’s time will undoubtedly come, but he was just shy of making a truly great film. Plus, he has got to contend with Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water. It’s hard to ignore the labour of love Del Toro has put into it, even if it’s a sum of a lot of elements he has explored before.

Otherwise, Greta Gerwig does a tactful job of directing the coming-of-age qualities of Lady Bird, and Jordon Peele brings a cracking intelligence to Get Out. The one nomination that niggles me the most is Paul Thomas Anderson for Phantom Thread. It’s probably because he has more discreetness to his mastery compared to the others, but moreover, he is in a different league. Therefore, he has the least chance. Go figure.

Will Win: Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) Should Win: Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread) Missed Out: Dees Rees (Mudbound)

Best Actress

For all my doubts about Three Billboards, everyone seems to be in agreement about one thing: Frances McDormand. I will go as far as to say she gives that film a lot more distance than it probably should’ve got. The

closest competition to her is between Sally Hawkins for her dexterous performance in The Shape of Water, and the faultless Saorise Ronan for Lady Bird. Both actors put themselves wholeheartedly behind two very personal projects.

Margot Robbie also deserves plaudits for her ferocious turn in I, Tonya. It’s a performance that is commanding, brimming with energy, but most of all it’s exhausting to take in. It’s a pity she is in a tough company of actors at the top of their game. Save for Meryl Streep with her serviceable presence in The Post.

Will Win: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Should Win: Margot Robbie (I, Tonya) Missed Out: Kristen Stewart (Personal Shopper)

Best Actor

Darkest Hour was built around showcasing one performance, and that obviously was Gary Oldman. So the Paul Newman award for Great Actor- Wrong Film (Best Actor) will go to him without a doubt. Ok fine, I’m being a bit snooty, but I’ll be damned if his Winston Churchill was the most affective performance out of the five nominees. Oldman puts his all into portraying the gargantuan politician, but it’s too tailor-made for the award circuit.

In my opinion, two performances stand out based on skill and insight. I’ll state the obvious: Daniel Day-Lewis is fantastic. More than that, it might be one of the best performances he’s turned in since In The Name of the Father. Better than his Lincoln, better than his Bill The Butter, maybe even better than his Daniel Plainview. The other is Timothée Chalamet for his part in Call Me By Your Name, which exudes intellect and heartbreak.

Will Win: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread) Missed Out: Robert Pattinson (Good Time)

Best Supporting Actress

Again, it’s another tough category full of impeccable acting. I’d like to think this is as close as it was a month ago, but after the BAFTAs it looks like

Allison Janney will win out. Make no mistake; she brings out the toxicity as Tonya’s mother in I, Tonya. It’s a role so loud that it casts a shadow on the rest. Laurie Metcalf is wonderful as an exasperated mother trying to bring out “the best version” of her daughter in Lady Bird. Pretty much the central mother-daughter dynamic is what makes the film work so well. I think the Academy will underestimate that.

Out on the left field, Leslie Manville is on sniping form as a lurking overseer in Phantom Thread. It’s this years Mrs. Danvers. Octavia Spencer has a more grounded presence in The Shape of Water – which is much needed in retrospect. Finally, Mary J. Blige gives an impressive performance full of motherly strife in Mudbound.

Will Win: Allison Janney (I, Tonya) Should Win: Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) Missed Out: Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip)

Best Supporting Actor

The presence of two supporting actors from Three Billboards, hammers home my earlier point about actors propping up a meretricious script. Sam Rockwell injects a captivating layer to his character, and Woody Harrelson is perfectly droll. This only leaves three other nominees. Christopher Plummer’s nomination is more like a frank acknowledgement for stepping in at the last minute (he replaced Kevin Spacey), and Richard Jenkins plays his role in The Shape of Water in a delicate manner.

However, this should be Willem Dafoe’s year. Not many American actors commit themselves in switching between mainstream and art-house, on a regular basis, quite like Dafoe. Whether it is European cinema (Pasolini, Antichrist, The Dust of Time), American Cult Cinema (Wild At Heart, Auto Focus, American Psycho) or Blockbusters (Spider-Man, The Fault In Our Stars, Speed 2). Need I say more? As a stringent, but caring janitor in The Florida Project he blends excellently into the flaky backdrop of a motel.

Will Win: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Should Win: Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) Missed Out: Hugh Grant (Paddington 2)

#Academy Awards #90th academy awards #Oscars #predictions

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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Christian Bale's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Few actors have managed to walk the line between tiny-scale indies and mega-sized blockbusters like Christian Bale has. He’s played a wide range of different roles – from John Connor to Patrick Bateman; Dick Cheney to Batman – working with all kinds of acclaimed, masterful directors, from Inception’s Christopher Nolan to Anchorman’s Adam McKay. Bale also has a longevity that not many movie stars can hope for, starting out as a child actor in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun and still going strong today. He’s made a ton of movies: some good, some not so good, and a few great. Here are Christian Bale’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes.

RELATED: Christian Bale’s 10 Greatest Roles, Ranked

10 The Dark Knight Rises (87%)

There was no way that The Dark Knight Rises would live up to expectations. Tom Hardy’s Bane had to top Heath Ledger’s Joker, the opening IMAX sequence had to top The Dark Knight’s opening bank robbery, and the whole thing had to conclude Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy in a satisfying way. The fact that the movie ended up being praised by fans and critics – albeit acknowledging that it wasn’t as great as its predecessor – is nothing short of a Herculean feat. Nolan cashed in all of his chips, bowing out the trilogy with a gargantuan epic inspired by A Tale of Two Cities.

9 3:10 to Yuma (89%)

Ever since the western genre died out, it’s been tough for Hollywood to turn out a memorable entry in the genre. However, James Mangold managed it with 3:10 to Yuma, his remake of the 1957 movie of the same name that was an adaptation of the Elmore Leonard short story of the same name.

RELATED: Best In the West: Top 10 Western Movies of the 2010s, Ranked

Christian Bale plays a rancher whose livelihood is threatened by a drought. He takes on the difficult task of bringing an outlaw, played by Russell Crowe, to justice. It has the same black-and-white view of good and evil that has given the western genre such longevity.

8 Rescue Dawn (90%)

In this biopic directed by Werner Herzog, Christian Bale plays a German-American pilot named Dieter Dengler, who was shot down over Laos and captured by communist-sympathizing villagers during the Vietnam War. Rescue Dawn may have been a box office bomb, but it’s still a brilliant movie. Herzog’s direction immerses us deep in the jungles of Thailand, where the movie was shot. There’s no mistaking it for a backlot or a forest in California – this is the real deal. Plus, Bale’s performance as Dengler is captivating. He anchors the whole movie. It feels much more raw and honest than your average prisoner-of-war movie.

7 TIE: Little Women (91%)

There’s another film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women in the works from Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig. It’ll star Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, Emma Watson, and Timothée Chalamet. The last major film adaptation came out in 1994. In the 1994 version, Christian Bale played Laurie, the childhood best friend of Winona Ryder’s character Jo (the lead role to be played by Ronan in the new one) who grows up to fall in love with her. He spends the movie trying to get her to marry him, but she doesn’t want to, so he ends up with her little sister.

6 TIE: The Fighter (91%)

Christian Bale won an Oscar for his turn in The Fighter, David O. Russell’s impeccably crafted biopic of boxer Micky Ward and his half-brother Dicky Eklund. Bale lost a ton of weight to play Eklund, but playing the role required Bale to do more than just impersonate his Boston accent. He has very distinctive mannerisms that Bale had to lock down, and his dedication to the part was unparalleled. His performance is seamless from start to finish. Performances like this are why they hand out Oscars in the first place (even though no one really cares about them anymore) – they need to be recognized.

5 The Big Short (88%)

The mortgage crisis has been used as the basis for a number of movies in the past decade or so since it first happened, but the world of banking just doesn’t look that exciting when it’s portrayed on-screen. Adam McKay made his best effort to pull off an entertaining movie about men in suits looking at numbers on computer screens with celebrities explaining financial jargon in cameo appearances and A-list actors like Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell in the lead roles, but he still fell a little short. Although it’s not a particularly riveting movie, Christian Bale is still fantastic in it.

4 American Hustle (93%)

Years ago, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi set out to make a darkly comic movie about the FBI’s Abscam operation, but it never got off the ground. David O. Russell’s revival of this subject matter is just as darkly comic and star-studded as that movie would’ve been. It takes pretty obvious inspiration from the works of Martin Scorsese – the only downside being that it has Scorsese’s style without his substance. While the plot itself isn’t too compelling in American Hustle, its humor is as hilarious as it can be. One running joke in particular, involving Bradley Cooper trying to guess the end of Louis C.K.’s ice-fishing story, is brilliant (although, unfortunately, it involves Louis C.K.).

3 The Dark Knight (94%)

After 11 years of MCU installments, with a handful of inspired gems and a dozen others following a winning formula, it’s astounding that The Dark Knight still remains undefeated as the greatest superhero movie ever made. Christopher Nolan’s sequel succeeds due to pretty primal elements.

RELATED: 10 Ways The DCEU Would Be Different If It Started With The Dark Knight Trilogy

It builds on the dichotomy of Bruce Wayne and Batman (with a layered performance by Christian Bale to back it up), it presents the quintessential movie villain with a personal connection to the hero (making way for Heath Ledger to win an unprecedented posthumous Oscar), and it’s impeccably made, shot mostly on IMAX to feel genuinely cinematic.

2 TIE: Henry V (100%)

This movie based on William Shakespeare’s play Henry V was directed by Kenneth Branagh, one of the world’s foremost directors of Shakespearean film adaptations, who also wrote the script – retaining the play’s tight five-act structure – and played the lead role. Henry V is widely regarded to be one of the best Shakespearean movies of all time. Christian Bale only had a small role as Robin, the luggage boy, but he was just a child actor at the time, and any child who can keep up with that unwieldy, old-timey Shakespearean dialogue and follow what’s going on is pretty impressive – hell, that’s impressive for an adult.

1 TIE: Ford v Ferrari (100%)

Just two years after helming a beautiful, Oscar-nominated send-off for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine with 2017’s Logan, director James Mangold is back with the true-to-life tale of the Ford racing team’s desperate efforts to finally beat the undefeated Ferrari team on the track. Matt Damon stars as the renowned car designer Carroll Shelby, while Christian Bale is playing his British driver, Ken Miles. Ford v Ferrari won’t hit theaters until this November, but it’s already had its world premiere and the critics’ verdict is in. From the film’s rare 100% score, it’s pretty clear that this one isn’t to be missed.

NEXT: Scarlett Johansson's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

source https://screenrant.com/rotten-tomatoes-christian-bale-movies/

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ryanjdonovan · 7 years

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Donovan's Oscar Prognostication 2018

How bad did the Harvey Weinstein scandal get? Well, just wait until Paddington Bear comes forth with his exposé from the making of Paddington 2. (You won't be able to eat marmalade ever again.) So with Harvey out of the picture, what we can we expect at the Academy Awards this year? Read my 19th annual Oscar predictions and find out. And I promise: No Star Wars this year.

Okay, fine. Minimal Star Wars.

BEST PICTURE:

SHOULD WIN: Get Out WILL WIN: The Shape Of Water GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Beauty And The Beast

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: The Big Sick

I feel like I say this most years, but: Man, the Best Picture nominees are a bunch of bummers. How is it possible that the happiest one is Dunkirk, a movie where soldiers are getting violently killed in a seemingly hopeless situation for an hour and half?? The most "fun" thing we can hope for with this group of nominees is the wrong winner to be announced. Again. (Call me pathetic, but the Best Picture debacle at last year's ceremony was one of the best things that's ever happened to me. At least we can agree that it was way better than any of the actual movies.) Intriguingly, this category is the biggest enigma of them all. While the acting races were locked up weeks ago at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, this category is anyone's guess. Most pundits have The Shape Of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in a dead heat, with room for Get Out, Lady Bird, or even Dunkirk to sneak in. Any "expert" who tells you they are confident in their prediction is lying. Except me. I'll confidently say that The Shape Of Water will win. Probably. I think.

Talk about a "fish story"… Writer/director Guillermo del Toro tells a tall tale (tail?) in his amazing fantasy-romance-slash-Cold-War-paranoia-thriller, The Shape Of Water. And he pulls out all the stops (as one does when making a fantasy-romance-slash-Cold-War-paranoia-thriller). In filmmaking, they say you can't have too much genre. del Toro certainly believes that; he also seems to believe you can't have too MANY genres, either. I'm not so sure I necessarily subscribe to either theory; I think there's something to be said for subtlety. But I can't deny that del Toro's approach ultimately pays off: He transports us to an alternate reality where anything is possible and everything is beautiful. And he amps up (or overturns) every conceivable element of the genres he's working in. The result is a gorgeous film and a zippy story, but also some thin characters and clunky clichés. And then, yeah, there's the element of physical love with a fish-dude. If you can get on board with that, you're probably willing to overlook everything else. For me, it all works. Bonus points to del Toro for the title - I realize it seems obtuse, without having much to do with the narrative… but anyone who's seen the film knows how well it ties into the climax. (By the way, is it me, or did the movie remind anyone else of the Kanye West "fish dicks" gag on South Park? Just me…?)

It's probably not going to win, but the best movie of the year is Get Out. It's the only movie where I immediately thought afterward, "I've gotta see that again!" The social aspect of it is sharp, novel, humorous, and accessible. But it's much more than that. I appreciate the fact that it's a horror movie that doesn't rely heavily on gore or gratuitous violence - it's more psychologically troubling than traditionally scary. The film is true to the genre without feeling tired or hackneyed. In particular, it excels at honing in on a legitimate anxiety - meeting your significant other's parents, for example - and plays it out as a terrifying worst-case-scenario. And that's just the tip of the iceberg (or the bottom of the sunken place, as it were.) It cleverly flips a few horror tropes on their heads, wink at the audience, and keep us guessing. The top-flight acting helped, of course. The only gripe: No cameo from Key?

Here's my experience watching Three Billboards in a nutshell: The movie started with Frances McDormand and I was happy, then almost immediately a knot formed in my stomach, and then the knot got worse, then worse, and worse, then there was a chuckle and a moment of relief, then the knot came back, then got agonizingly worse, then worse still, then the movie was over. Ugh. I'm generally up for a sardonic dark comedy, but this is not that; this is revenge porn. Here's what gets me (and I'll speak vaguely so as not to spoil plot points): It's clear (but curiously not really explored) that most of the characters in the fictional (thank god!) town of Ebbing are truly angry with themselves. But they choose to externalize everything (because it's a movie, I guess) and take it out on everyone within arm's reach - even their dearest loved ones. And instead of doing anything constructive or graceful or self-analytical, they make every destructive decision possible. It's like… instead of cutting off your nose to spite your face, you're cutting off the noses of a bunch of other people to spite their faces (or in this case, burning the nose on the face of another person), welcoming the fact that they're going cut off your nose in return… and your ears and eyes (plus the noses of some other people for good measure), so you wind up spiting your face anyway, and you've just pissed off a lot of people and refuse to admit that what you really wanted to do all along was cut off your own nose and spite your own face, so in the end you're left with a bunch of nose-less people who spite each other when they should be simply spiting themselves. (Sorry, this seemed like a good metaphor at one point, but it's quite gone off the rails.) What I'm trying to say is that the film might be a little more palatable if the characters were more… introspective. But as you can tell by the near-unanimous glowing reviews, almost nobody agrees with me. I just can't in good conscience predict this as the Best Picture winner. And the capper for me is the fact that it's not nominated for Best Director, and in 89 years, only 4 films in that situation have taken home the big prize. (Talk Argo all you want, I just don't see it happening again so soon.)

I love Dunkirk… but I WANT to love it more than I actually do. There's so much to admire: the realism, the palpable anxiety and claustrophobia, the exhausting sequences, the scope and precision of the cinematography, the tense score, and most of all, the legitimate feeling of being there - you can practically feel the salt in the air. I'm also impressed by the judicious use of dialogue - it's architected much like a silent film, which really adds to the sense of disorientation. Then there are the handful of things I don't exactly love about it. The storytelling: While I'm usually on board with Christopher Nolan's non-linear timelines, his approach to this seems unnecessary and makes it a little less accessible for me (though I understand why he plots the three stories in the way he did); storytelling is often his strongest suit, but this film tellingly didn't get nominating for Best Screenplay. Tom Hardy's flight mask: "I'm sorry Bane, could you speak up?" And Harry Styles: Enough said. All in all, it's fantastic, but it's not my favorite Nolan film. So when it doesn't win, I won't be too heartbroken.

I'm not quite sure how to feel about Lady Bird. It certainly feels personal, but not terribly personal to me. Surprise, surprise, based on misrepresentative marketing, I expected it to be more quirky-fun than quirky-sour. Even moments that play humorously in the trailer play more mutedly in the film. And I think that's fully intentional on the part of writer/director Greta Gerwig - she clearly has a vision, and it's not intended to give me warm-fuzzies. It's supposed to be bittersweet, sure; but in her story about a teenager breaching adulthood, bitterness is the overwhelming feeling while it's happening - the sweetness is only really in hindsight. That's fine, but if I’m going to go along for the movie version of it, I'd like it to be a little more… entertaining.

BEST ACTOR:

SHOULD WIN: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) WILL WIN: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman)

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: Hugh Jackman (Logan)

This seemed inevitable, didn't it? After years (decades!) of chameleonic performances (and one measly nomination to show for it), Gary Oldman has finally found a role that is a slam dunk for an Oscar, in Darkest Hour. He's so overdue that ordinarily insurmountable obstacles are being rendered inconsequential: Daniel Day-Lewis is also in the race (he's usually - and correctly - the presumptive favorite when he decides to actually make a movie); Winston Churchill is a character that's been played ad nauseum (many revered actors have already portrayed him in award-winning performances, most recently Emmy recipient John Lithgow in The Crown); there's a young up-and-coming nominee grabbing a lot of attention for a star-making performance (though if you ask me, "Timothée Chalamet" sounds more like a vegan bistro in the French Alps than a person - I still can't believe he's American). While it's hard to believe that Oldman has never won an Academy Award, it's even harder to believe that after he wins this year, he'll STILL merely have the same Oscar resume as Casey "I'm not presenting at the ceremony this year because yeah maybe the allegations are true" Affleck.

Phantom Thread is rumored to be famously always-in-character Daniel Day-Lewis's last film ("Thank god!" his beleaguered wife is probably saying). And he's not going to score a record-breaking 4th Oscar for it. Most of his other roles are completely transformative, but in this film he just looks and sounds like… Daniel Day-Lewis. Maybe he should have gone out on top, after Lincoln. Then again, without Day-Lewis's nomination, we'd have to deal with James Franco in this category. So thanks, Daniel, for doing us a solid.

So without Day-Lewis hogging the top roles and collecting accolades for every film he makes, there will be a void in the cinematic landscape. Who should fill it? The mantle should be picked up by preferably a fellow Brit, I suppose, one whose career is just starting, but could be a top talent for years to come. Might I suggest… Daniel Day-Kaluuya? (There's nothing precluding him from changing his middle name to "Day-", is there?) And after arriving in Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya isn't going anywhere.

At this point, what else can be said about Denzel Washington? With Roman J. Israel, Esq., it's another year, and another iconic role. He'll get a 3rd Oscar at some point, but this won't be it.

Hugh Jackman managed to win both my Omitted and Snubbed awards in the same year. A dubious honor indeed. Congratulations, good sir!

BEST ACTRESS:

SHOULD WIN: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) WILL WIN: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Emma Watson (The Circle / Beauty And The Beast)

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: Zoe Kazan (The Big Sick)

Not much to debate here: Frances McDormand is (rightfully) running away in this race, for her role as a vengeful, grieving mother in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. In a word, she's a force. McDormand is a commanding actress, and you're willing to go along with her, even when you don't want to, even when you're practically yelling at her in opposition… and if you're not willing, by god, she's going to demand it. Her character is unflinching (except for a few fleeting moments of doubt or empathy), so blinded by sorrow that her only outlet is measured anger, resulting in increasingly calculated and unfocused revenge. The toll of her daughter's rape and unsolved murder has left her so corroded that she literally doesn't care about anyone else, much less herself. She's a stubborn, ornery cuss who's decided to use a sledgehammer on a nail, full well knowing it's going to break a couple of her fingers and really jack up the drywall, because a hammer isn't her style, and goddam it, she's going to drive that nail no matter what. It's a rare performance, one that instantly became the front-runner when it debuted to audiences. In real life, she comes off as awesome, impressive, intimidating, and of course, a total kook. At all the award shows, I've never seen someone look so put-out and irritated to be honored for their work. (Ditto her husband Joel Coen.) The only reason McDormand will lose some votes is because she's already won once (in 1997 for the magnificent Fargo), and a few voters may prefer someone who's been nominated before but never won. Which brings us to…

Saoirse. I dare you to pronounce her name correctly - I dare you! She's only 23, and somehow Saoirse Ronan is already on her third Oscar nomination, for Lady Bird. (Only Jennifer Lawrence has scored 3 noms at a younger age.) It's hard to claim that someone that young is due for a victory, but after she falls short this year, people will be saying that about her. (Except Amy Adams, who will be saying, "Get in line, B.") She's probably the second choice in this race for a lot of people, so some may vote for her to try to spread the gold around a little.

As good as Ronan was, the true runner-up in my book is Sally Hawkins, for The Shape Of Water. In fact, in a lot of other years she'd be my top choice. (And she was my top choice for Supporting Actress in 2015 for Blue Jasmine.) The Shape Of Water is a dazzling (if polarizing) film, and Hawkins is the lynchpin to the entire operation. If you're not willing to go along with her for the ride in the first half of the film (and that first scene in particular, where she, um, takes matters into her own hands), the second half is a total waste of time. It's a tall order (falling in love with a giant fish!), and she pulls it off remarkably. Even when the scenes get uncomfortable, unappealing, or flat-out anatomically impossible, she keeps the audience harnessed and invested. Her character seems invisible (or more literally, silent) to the world, but that masks her true self: assertive, calculating, willful, and sexually aggressive. In a film full of (intentionally, effectively) over-the-top characters and inconceivable happenstance, she manages to ground the film with her underplayed yet emboldened performance. She provides what the film needs most: the reassurance that it's okay to believe in fairy tales.

Are we sure Margot Robbie isn't Jaime Pressly? Frankly, Pressly would have been a more believable choice to play Tonya Harding. On second thought, are we sure Jaime Pressly ISN'T Tonya Harding? While a win would be surprising, it wouldn't be more surprising than Robbie's path to the nomination. If you told anyone a couple years ago that the annoyingly-accented wife in The Wolf Of Wall Street would get nominated for an Oscar for playing Tonya Harding, they would have said you were crazier than… Tonya Harding.

And finally… Let's face it, at this point Meryl Streep is just here for the appetizers.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

SHOULD WIN: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) WILL WIN: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Harrison Ford (Blade Runner 2049)

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: Patrick Stewart (Logan)

The only guy in this race without a previous nomination is the one who's clearly going to win it: Sam Rockwell. It's hard to root for a portrayal of such a wretched human being, but it hasn't stopped voters so far: Rockwell has won every significant award leading up to the Oscars, for his vile role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. While he's great in this film (I don't think anyone else here is more deserving), he has the benefit of having a huge amount of screen time for a "supporting" role. But whether he wins the Oscar or not, this is still The Frances McDormand Show.

Christopher Plummer has a chance to break his own record for the oldest Oscar winner for acting, at the ripe young age of 88, for his role as J. Paul Getty in All The Money In The World. (He previously won at 82 for Beginners. And this year's nomination makes him the oldest nominee ever for acting.) Though he had a little help: This nomination is as much for director Ridley Scott (and his cojones) and his decision to excise frequent creep and occasional pedophile Kevin Spacey from the film. Nothing against Plummer, but I can't help but feel like the Academy would have nominated ANYBODY in the role, just to give Spacey the middle finger. Eric Roberts as J. Paul Getty? Sure! Give 'em an Oscar nomination! (Actually, the more I think about Eric Roberts as Getty, the awesomer it sounds.)

Woody Harrelson and Willem Dafoe are interesting inclusions in this race. They both became famous in the 80s for oddly iconic roles (Harrelson as a hayseed bartender, Dafoe as none other than Jesus Christ), have been incredibly prolific since then, have been somewhat typecast (as goofy and creepy, respectively), aren't generally considered "prestige role" actors, and somehow manage to pop up in the Oscar race once in a blue moon. This is the third nomination for each (Harrelson for Three Billboards and Dafoe for The Florida Project), and neither has a particularly strong chance of winning (again). The roles that manage to mix their strengths with something unexpected (and happen to be in critically acclaimed movies) seem to yield the magical golden formula. Though honestly, I'm not sure I'm on board with Harrelson's nomination this year, in this fairly tiny role, especially in light of the other fantastic actors that were passed over (to name a few: Rob Morgan in Mudbound, Bradley Whitford in Get Out, Ray Romano in The Big Sick, Mark Rylance in Dunkirk, Stephen Henderson in Lady Bird, and one more that I'll get to in a minute). He got a big boost from his dynamic chemistry with McDormand, which the film could have used a lot more of. I guess we'll wait and see Harrelson and Dafoe bring to the Oscar table next time, in 10 or 15 years.

Richard Jenkins is actually another guy you don't necessarily expect to show up here, probably because he's strictly considered a character actor, is mostly thought of as the straight man in lowbrow comedies, and wasn't really on the radar until he was in his 50s. He was able to channel those everyman characteristics into the figurative heart (and literal voice) of The Shape Of Water. While this role will forever be a highlight of his career, I'll always remember him for one of the funniest lines from There's Something About Mary: "Highway rest areas, they’re the bath houses of the 90s."

The guy I REALLY wanted to see nominated here was Patrick Stewart, for playing a world famous mutant octogenarian ("Actually, I'm a nonagenarian!"). In Logan, Stewart has an absolute blast as an ancient, senile, powerful X-Man - easily his best Professor X role. In fact, It's one of his best roles, period. He had a realistic shot at an Oscar nomination, raking in a bunch of film critic nominations this year. Unbelievably, it would have been the first Academy Award nom of his career. (A 50-year veteran of TV, stage, and screen, with an incomparable Shakespearean pedigree and a trademark commanding, aristocratic voice, he's scored nominations for just about every other kind of award there is, except the Nobel - and I bet he'll have a shot at that one at some point.) But alas. I guess we'll just have to wait for him to top this in his next role, hopefully as a world famous mutant centenarian.

I really, really want to, but I just can't even with Harrison Ford anymore. (Am I using that right, "just can't even"?)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

SHOULD WIN: Allison Janney (I, Tonya) WILL WIN: Allison Janney (I, Tonya) GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Allison Williams (Get Out)

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: Catherine Keener (Get Out)

America may be divided right now, but that's nothing compared to the delicious divisiveness in this category. Never has a fiery chasm between two sworn enemies been so vast and irreparable as it is between Allison Janney and Laurie Metcalf. As everyone knows, they completely hate each other (that's not true, but let's pretend). Their mutual disdain has reached dizzying heights over the past few decades, having competed head-to-head on every smart, wisecracking, mother-figure role that's been cast for TV, cinema, and stage. So before debating the merits of their work (Janney in I, Tonya; Metcalf in Lady Bird), let's indulge in the depth of their bilious feud. Imagine the petty stakes between these two vindictive and venomous veterans (both playing opinionated doyennes whose daughters don't appreciate them): The victor will not only gain pride and satisfaction knowing the soul of the other has been crushed, but will become the clear first choice for every mouthy, meddling matriarch role that comes along for the next dozen or so years. Parallels between them abound: They're close in age, both rose to prominence in long-running critically-acclaimed network TV shows, both have extensive theater backgrounds (Janney has 2 Tony nominations; Metcalf has 4 noms and 1 win), both are award-circuit darlings at the Emmys (Janney: 13 nominations and 7 wins; Metcalf: 10 nominations and 3 wins) and Golden Globes (Janney: 6 nominations and 1 win; Metcalf: 3 nominations). However, the parallel they care about the most? Neither had an Oscar nomination until this year. And they would kill each other (I mean, 'pretend' kill each other) to take home the statuette, preferably while watching the other crumple in agonizing disappointment in the rear view mirror.

So who will emerge victorious, clutching the coveted prize with a heel firmly planted in the loser's windpipe? It's not a sure thing, but all the major precursor awards indicate that it will be Janney. She's a go-to for a lot of prestige films and has been a fixture in Oscar-bait for 20 years, so voters are probably astonished that she's never achieved a nomination before; she simply SEEMS like she's due for an Oscar. Metcalf, on the other hand, doesn't appear in films regularly (and Scream 2 didn't exactly wow the Academy), so voters may feel that her nomination is recognition enough. But a bigger factor will be the showier role: Janney hams it up as a downright diabolical eccentric, while Metcalf plays it straighter as a realistically concerned everywoman. (Ironically, Janney is the one playing a real-life person.) The clincher? The bird on the shoulder. For my pick, it's probably a coin-toss; while I’m ultimately picking Janney, I'm actually rooting for Metcalf. I've gotta be a homer, cheering on the local theater legend (she's a charter member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre). It helps that Metcalf's husband in Lady Bird is played by Tracy Letts, another Chicago stalwart, Steppenwolf player, and Pulitzer Prize winner to boot. (And one more Lady Bird Chicago reference: The driving instructor is played by - hey! - a guy I saw in a Second City beginner class show about 15 years ago.)

There are, of course, other nominees in this category. Octavia Spencer is great as usual in The Shape Of Water, but she's been more impressive in other roles. Mary J. Blige is a pleasant revelation in Mudbound, but I'm not sure her performance is the one I would single out from that film; Rob Morgan, Jason Mitchell, and Carey Mulligan are all just as worthy. (Blige may take home an Oscar regardless - she's also nominated for Best Song from the film.) And Lesley Manville… well, she's also nominated. If any of these women somehow pull an upset and win, then the feud between Janney and Metcalf may finally be put on hold momentarily… so they can team up and bludgeon the winner.

BEST DIRECTOR:

SHOULD WIN: Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) WILL WIN: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049)

After a career of making fantastical cinematic spectacles, Guillermo del Toro is finally getting his due, with The Shape Of Water. It's a story only he could tell, and a story only he WOULD tell. He has a unique talent (among his many) to embrace the things that others would ordinarily ignore or discard. With his point of view, you almost get a sense of kinship, like he feels obligated to tell the (fictional) story as if it was about someone he loved. He unleashes a geyser of big ideas both real and implied, not the least of which is his love of movies. (In a lot of ways, I think this film is his love letter to cinema - where his masterful Pan's Labyrinth could be called a love letter to fairy tales - and all the things that made him want to be a filmmaker.) He likes his symbolism heavy, his production design opulent, his creatures extraordinary, and his protagonists… well, miserable. He works his themes into every scene and every aspect of the film experience: what it means to be whole, to be different, to be silent, and to make sound. And so del Toro will win Best Director, and it will be well deserved. When he wins, it'll be the 4th time in 5 years that this prize goes to a Mexican director (after Cuarón and Alejandro Iñárritu - twice); in fact, the only American-born director to win in the past 7 years was last year's Damien Chazelle for La La Land. (On a side note, speaking of foreign directors, the more of del Toro's films I see, the more he reminds me of Pedro Almodóvar. They seem to share many of the same sensibilities: strong, decisive women, sympathy for what others consider grotesque, a fun-house mirror reflection of the world, a matter-of-factness and tenderness with which they present the outlandish. Most of all, they dare you to believe when everything else tells you not to.)

In my head, I know this is true, but I'm still trying to fathom it: This is the first Best Director nomination for Christopher Nolan (for Dunkirk). After seeing Memento 19 years ago, I assumed by this time he'd have WON at least half a dozen Oscars for Directing and Writing. (I'm still pained by the Memento and Inception snubs.) When Dunkirk stormed into theaters last summer, victory seemed inevitable. But then erosion over time and a visionary fish story knocked him off the podium. So while he won't win, he's still hands-down my pick for Director this year. And let's be honest, my personal endorsement beats a clunky golden bookend any day.

The rest of the nominees are somewhat surprising, for different reasons. Comedian Jordan Peele shocked everyone (in more ways than one) with his horror/satire Get Out, as a first-time director. Similarly, prolific indie darling Greta Gerwig snuck up on Hollywood with her debut, Lady Bird. Both filmmakers clearly collaborate well with actors (both being primarily performers themselves). They are also undoubtedly self-assured, and not unnecessarily showy - they use the camera to tell the story without drawing much attention to the camera itself. While Peele manages to find laughs in the least likely of places, Gerwig reminds us that there is humor (and seriousness and sadness) in just about all places - it all depends on your perspective. The last nominee is Paul Thomas Anderson, for The Phantom Thread - the only one in the category with a previous Directing nomination. He was an afterthought during the entire awards season, and somehow squeezed in instead of folks like Steven Spielberg, Martin McDonagh, Dee Rees, Luca Guadagnino, Patty Jenkins, Ridley Scott, and Joe Wright. He should probably write Daniel Day-Lewis a nice thank-you note for this one.

Aside from Nolan, the person I most wanted to see get nominated was Denis Villeneuve, for Blade Runner 2049. His film is a luscious, consuming, worthy follow-up to the original Blade Runner. The visuals are both consistent with the original and refreshingly contemporary. Each scene isn't directed, it's composed. (Also credit the cinematographer: Roger Deakins is nominated for his 14th time, and he's astoundingly never won.) It's a slow burn, and complements the first film surprisingly well, expanding the story in an organic but unexpected way. And it's every bit as haunting as the first one. A lot of people were spooked by its nearly-three-hour running time, but the length feels earned. I can't say it doesn’t feel long, because it does, but it's enjoyably long (unlike The Lord Of The Rings or, ahem, The Last Jedi). You want to spend time in every scene. You want a master to take his time. Now, give this master the keys to the Star Wars franchise!

Don't feel too bad for Martin McDonagh for being passed over for Best Director for Three Billboards. He's actually already got an Oscar - for Best Short Film in 2006 for a film called Six Shooter. Gee, I wonder if there's any uncomfortable violence in a movie with that name?

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

SHOULD WIN: Jordan Peele (Get Out) WILL WIN: Jordan Peele (Get Out) GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: Steven Rogers (I, Tonya)

What to make of the Original Screenplay category? It's just as befuddling as the Best Picture race. Get Out and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri are neck and neck, with Lady Bird also in position for a possible steal. Usually the lead-up awards give an indication, but confoundingly, the script that won the Writers Guild Award (Get Out) wasn't even nominated for the Golden Globe. And the Golden Globe winner (Three Billboards) wasn't nominated for the WGA. (Though that's deceiving: Three Billboards was not eligible for the WGA because it didn't conform to all the Writers Guild standards; its omission probably won't impact its Oscar chances.) Who in the world will sort out this madness and provide a beacon of hope?? Thank goodness I'm here. Most people will tell you that Three Billboards will win. Most people are idiots. In an upset, it will be Get Out.

I also happen to think Get Out (by Jordan Peele) is the most deserving entry in this category. And frankly, this is the film's best shot at taking home a trophy. Despite all the buzz, it's still hard for people to believe that it's written by one of the minds behind the Key & Peele sketches, because the show wasn't exactly known for, you know, mind-bending horror-thrills. But it's not surprising that he brings a unique sense of humor and satire (not to mention social commentary) to it that, say, Eli Roth wouldn't. It's clear from his script that he has the point of view of someone who loves, and is probably a little tired of, horror movies. It's a sign of a clever and air-tight script that the film demands multiple viewings, and that the set-ups play and pay off in a completely different yet satisfying way the second time around.

I'm fairly conflicted about Martin McDonagh's screenplay for Three Billboards. While the film was grueling, I have to say, the man can write scenes. His background is in theater, and it shows. The screenplay stands apart in its excellent execution (pun sort-of intended), regardless of your opinion of the ending or the tone. He clearly understands that EVERY SINGLE SCENE in a drama should be all dramatic conflict and nothing else. It's a great example for novice screenwriters (and even some experienced ones). The scene starts when the conflict starts, and ends when the conflict ends… or often even before that. (And notice I said when the conflict "ends", not when the conflict "resolves"; the conflict "resolves" when the movie is over.) McDonagh even pulls this off when it's just Frances McDormand talking to a wandering deer, or alone imagining a conversation between her bunny slippers. As for theme? I'm not so sure I can commend him as much on that one. Thematic elements are obviously up to interpretation by the audience (that's kind of the point), but I don't really know what to take away from this. I have a few suspicions of what McDonagh was trying to say, but they're either muddy (to which he'd respond, "Good!") or they're enraging (to which he'd probably also respond, "Good!") or they're irredeemably charred, dredged from the depths of a soulless abyss (and frankly, I think he'd be okay with that as well).

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon's screenplay for The Big Sick is my second-favorite this year behind Get Out, so I was thrilled to see it get a nomination here. (I would have liked to see it get a Best Picture nod too, but I'll get over it.) This kind of film seems to be my style (these days, anyway, as I get older) - at least how to make tragedy palatable: with a healthy blend of humor. (50/50 is another recent example.) Maybe that means I've gotten soft, that I like my drama safe and my comedy harmless. Or maybe I just don't want to feel like I've been drinking warm sewage for two hours at the end of a movie.

I'll be honest, I didn't have a strong personal connection with Lady Bird, so I didn't come away with much from it. The screenplay feels true, and seems to be trying to say something without shouting a message, which I can appreciate. I probably see the film more from the parent's perspective than the teenager's perspective. So to me, it basically says that children never really know how much their parents love them, in part because parents aren't really able to articulate it in a way that children (especially teenagers) can truly understand. And frankly, it also says that children are eternally ungrateful to their parents… except when they make unexpected declarations at the end of Hollywood movies. Little brats.

Though it's got a strong shot to win two of the biggest awards, The Shape Of Water won't be a factor here. Of all its wonders, its screenplay is considered the least dazzling. It's meant to feel like a film from 50 years ago, so the screenplay is intentionally structured in a fairly simple way, with several one-dimensional characters and straightforward dialogue. It's a fable, really, so it's executed as such. It's got some significant plot holes (but in light of the fact that it's a "dating a fish" story, they're pretty minor), the creature gets very little backstory (which is just as well - any attempt to explain it would demystify the story and be a flat waste of time), and the lessons are heavy-handed. Everybody (good, evil, or otherwise) is "less than whole" in some way, whether it's in how they perceive themselves, or in how they are perceived by others. The one that can make them whole (physically or metaphorically) is the one who fits in the least: the fish-man, the proverbial "missing link". (Except for the poor cat. The fish-man makes the cat… decidedly less than whole.)

No, that's not a typo. I put Star Wars: The Last Jedi as my Gloriously Omitted choice. What was wrong with the Canto Bight detour? Well, how much time do you have? I could rant about it for 30 minutes, the same amount of time squandered on that throwaway sequence. What a waste of time. As for the rest of the screenplay… mostly, as a fan of Rian Johnson's other work (like Looper), I expected… more. I really thought he'd have something cool up his sleeve, whether it was a twist or an unexpected structure. New "magical" Force tricks didn't really cut it for me. Filmmaker Werner Herzog once said, "Manoeuvre and mislead, but always deliver." Johnson forgot to heed the second half of that advice. (I am willing, however, to give Johnson extra credit for his Hardware Wars reference - an Easter Egg intended for probably only 1% of even the biggest Start Wars fans.)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

SHOULD WIN: James Ivory (Call Me By Your Name) WILL WIN: James Ivory (Call Me By Your Name) GLORIOUSLY OMITTED: Stephen Chbosky, Evan Spiliotopoulos (Beauty And The Beast)

INGLORIOUSLY SNUBBED: Hampton Fancher, Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049)

The Adapted category takes a bit of a back seat to its Original counterpart this year. Only one of the nominees is in contention for Best Picture (as opposed to all 5 in the Original category), and none of the nominees got a Best Director nod (compared to 3 in the other category). The result is a somewhat surprising and unconventional (if arguably weaker) crop of nominees.

As the only Best Picture nominee and the winner of the Writers Guild Award, Call Me By Your Name is the clear front-runner. It's also the sentimental favorite: It's written by 89-year-old James Ivory (he of the esteemed Merchant-Ivory brand), who's been nominated for 3 previous Oscars but has never won. It would make him the oldest non-honorary winner ever. The films of Merchant-Ivory Productions, a period-piece powerhouse in the 80s and 90s, have achieved 6 Oscar wins and countless nominations (like A Room With A View, Howard's End, The Remains Of The Day, and a bunch of other films you've heard are good but have never seen… you heathen), typically directed by Ivory, and produced by Ismail Merchant. (The Wikipedia description of the company is both accurate and hilarious: "A typical 'Merchant-Ivory film' would be a period piece set in the early 20th century, usually in Edwardian England, featuring lavish sets and top British actors portraying genteel characters who suffer from disillusionment and tragic entanglements.") Merchant died in 2005, and Ivory has been mostly inactive since then. So a win here would be seen by many admiring voters as a fitting coda for one of the underappreciated auteurs of his generation.

I was thisclose to calling Logan my Should Win. For those of you who are not paying attention (or who are not as dorky as I am), it's another X-Men movie (astonishingly, the 10th in the franchise). Logan is Wolverine. Wolverine is Hugh Jackman. Hugh Jackman is… if you don't know, I guess I can't help you. The writers (including director James Mangold) took a risk and made a gritty, nihilistic, R-rated version of a comic book (yeah, it's a Marvel superhero movie - relax), and it paid off. The result is perhaps the best X-Men film yet, one that is faithful and irreverent at the same time, and feels more like a drama than a comic flick. It's redefined what's possible with these kind of films. Expect it a usher in a new era of superhero movies. (Except for D.C. You guys keep making absurd Batmans Vs. Supermans. Morons.)

Mudbound incorporates all the fun elements of a classic feel-good movie: Alcoholism, rape, miscarriage, murder, racism, hardship, violent war death, familial strife, affairs, incest, extreme PTSD, unexpected pregnancies, broken limbs, filth, domestic abuse, fist fights, flooding, loveless marriage, abject poverty, childhood illness, grave digging, animal slaughter, mutilation… and that's all before the KKK shows up! I'm not quite sure what to say about Mudbound, as a film overall, or as a screenplay nominee. To call the film "challenging" is an understatement. As an experience, it's downright punishing. It's also extraordinarily beautiful, especially considering the dismal, impoverished environment in which the film is set. Cinematography (by Rachel Morrison) is probably its most deserving nomination, and it may well beat out several renown DPs in that category. I'm impressed by the screenplay (by Dee Rees and Virgil Williams), even if I don't have the stomach for its subject matter. It's unflinching and elegiac, haunting and inspiring. It features dialogue and narration (which is usually a strike against in my book) that is poetic and mollifying. But unfortunately, it also features about 2 hours of misery and only about 10 seconds of happiness.

As you've probably heard by now, The Disaster Artist is the (realistic?) portrayal of the making of reputedly the worst movie of all time, The Room. I’m pretty sure James Franco, on the heels of his Golden Globe victory, was expecting 3 Oscar nominations for his triple-threat work on the film: Actor, Director, and Best Picture. But, poor chap, the one he ended up with was the one he doesn't actually get credit for: Screenplay. (It was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the writing team behind seemingly every annoying, angsty teen coming-of-age movie from the past 5 years.) I can't decide if The Disaster Artist's endeavor is genius or crazy or simply overindulgent. (Franco himself is usually categorized as all three.) I mean, the original movie is not good. And it's not bad in an awesome way, either, despite its reputation to the contrary. If it hadn't become a cult classic among an influential clique of comedians and actors (i.e., Franco's pals - many of whom have small parts in the film), nobody would pay it a second's attention, the behind-the-scenes book would be a footnote, and this film would never have reason to exist. But it does. And now - good god - The Room is actually an Oscar nominee. I guess there's hope for us all.

#oscars #oscarpredictions #oscarpredictions2018 #oscarprognostication2018 #donovansoscarprognostication2018 #oscars2018 #academyawards #academyaward

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Golden Globes: 'The Shape of Water' Rises to the Top

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Golden Globes: 'The Shape of Water' Rises to the Top

The Hollywood International Press Affiliation swooned over The Form of Water, Guillermo del Toro’s imaginative fantasy romance a few mute girl who falls in love with an odd sea creature, as nominations have been introduced Monday morning for the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards. Along with securing a nomination as finest drama and a directing nom for del Toro, the movie amassed nominations for its main woman Sally Hawkins, supporting gamers Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins, its screenplay by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, and its rating by Alexandre Desplat.

In the perfect movement picture-drama class, Water was nominated alongside Name Me by Your Identify, the sun-drenched same-sex romance; Dunkirk, the World Battle II battle epic; The Publish, which recounts writer Katharine Graham’s resolution to publish the Pentagon Papers; and Three Billboards Exterior Ebbing, Missouri, the story of a girl out to avenge her daughter’s homicide.

All of the Cash within the World, Ridley Scott’s thriller in regards to the kidnapping of J. Paul Getty III, made an particularly robust displaying, accumulating three noms, contemplating that Scott was pressured to reshoot key scenes within the film simply final month when he determined to chop Kevin Spacey (who initially performed billionaire J. Paul Getty) from the movie following the accusations lodged on the actor for sexual assault. Scott was rewarded with a directing nom; Christopher Plummer, who stepped in on the eleventh hour to interchange Spacey, was given a supporting actor nom; and Michelle Williams, who performs the kidnapped boy’s distraught mom, acquired a finest movement image dramatic actress nomination.

The very best director nominations largely synced up with the perfect drama noms: Alongside del Toro, the nominees embrace Three Billboards‘ Martin McDonagh, Dunkirk‘s Christopher Nolan and The Publish‘s Steven Spielberg. However as an alternative of together with Name Me by Your Identify‘s Luca Guadagnino, the Globe voters, who include about 80 journalists who cowl Hollywood for international retailers, substituted Cash‘s Scott. In fact, that left the class trying like an all-boys membership, with no room for Girl Chicken‘s Greta Gerwig, Mudbound‘s Dee Rees or Surprise Girl‘s Patty Jenkins.

On the lighter aspect, the nominees for finest movement image, comedy or musical, included The Catastrophe Artist, the true story of the making of the legendarily unhealthy film The Room; Get Out, the satirical horror story that explores white racism; The Biggest Showman, the upcoming musical about P.T. Barnum; I, Tonya, which traces the infamous profession of determine skater Tonya Harding; and Girl Chicken, the story of a wise younger girl’s senior 12 months in highschool as she makes an attempt to interrupt freed from her household and her hometown.

Within the performing classes, Meryl Streep, who portrays Graham in The Publish, set a brand new file for herself, by incomes her 31st performing nomination from the Globes. Along with Hawkins and Williams, the class additionally consists of Jessica Chastain, who performs a poker queen in Molly’s Sport, and Frances McDormand, who seems because the grieving mother in Three Billboards.

The very best dramatic actor nominees include a quartet of vets — Daniel Day-Lewis, for his fastidious clothier in Phantom Thread; Tom Hanks for enjoying legendary editor Ben Bradlee in The Publish; Gary Oldman for portraying Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour; and Denzel Washington, who stars as a protection lawyer in Roman J. Israel, Esq.— plus newcomer Timothee Chalamet, who stakes his declare as a younger man experiencing past love in Name Me by Your Identify.

Emma Stone, who final January on the Globes was named finest actress in a comedy or musical for her work in La La Land, was nominated once more this 12 months in the identical class, this time for enjoying tennis nice Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes. Her co-star Steve Carell surfaced in the perfect actor in a comedy or musical class class for enjoying her nemesis Bobby Riggs in that film.

Stone is joined within the comedy/musical actress class by Judi Dench, who’s as soon as once more taking part in Queen Victoria, this time in Victoria & Abdul — she gained her first Globe for enjoying Victoria in 1997’s Mrs. Brown; Helen Mirren, who’s seen as a retiree in The Leisure Seeker; Margot Robbie, who has the title function in I, Tonya; and Saoirse Ronan, who essays the lead function in Girl Chicken.

Together with Carell, the nominees for finest actor in a comedy/musical are Ansel Elgort, who drives a getaway automotive to a musical beat in Child Driver; James Franco, who seems as would-be auteur Tommy Wiseau in The Catastrophe Artist; Hugh Jackman, who instructions the stage as P.T. Barnum in The Biggest Showman; and Daniel Kaluuya, who meets the mother and father within the racially charged Get Out.

Rounding out the performing classes, the perfect supporting actress nominees are Water‘s Spencer, together with Mudbound‘s Mary J. Blige, Downsizing‘s Hong Chau, I, Tonya‘s Allison Janney and Girl Chicken‘s Laurie Metcalf.

As for the fellows, the supporting actors lineup consists of Water‘s Jenkins and Cash‘s Plummer, together with The Florida Mission‘s Willem Dafoe, Name Me‘s Armie Hammer and Three Billboards‘ Sam Rockwell.

Gerwig, although she did not make it into the director’s membership, was nominated for the screenplay prize, the place she is going to compete with del Toro and Taylor for Water, McDonagh for Three Billboards, Liz Hannah and Josh Singer for The Publish, and Aaron Sorkin for Molly’s Sport.

The nominees for finest movement image rating include Water‘s Desplat; Carter Burwell, Three Billboards; Johnny Greenwood, Phantom Thread; John Williams, The Publish; and Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk.

Angelina Jolie was represented by movies in each the foreign-language and animated movie classes, since First They Killed My Father, which she directed, was nominated for international movie and The Breadwinner, which she govt produced, was among the many animated nominees.

All 5 of the Globes foreign-film nominees have additionally been submitted by their respective nations for Oscar consideration: They embrace Cambodia’s Father, Chile’s A Improbable Girl, Germany’s Within the Fade, Russia’s Loveless and Sweden’s The Sq..

In the perfect animated function class, the Globes voters bestowed their noms on two indie submissions: The Breadwinner, which is ready in Afghanistan and is being launched by GKIDS; and Loving Vincent, a biopic about Vincent Van Gogh, which is being launched by Good Useless Leisure. They go head-to-head with three studio options: Disney/Pixar’s Coco, Fox/DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Child and Fox/Blue Sky Studios’ Ferdinand.

Blige was additionally among the many morning’s double nominees, since along with her supporting actress nom, she acquired a nomination in the perfect track class for her lyric work on “Mighty River,” which is heard in Mudbound. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who gained a Globe for his or her lyrics for La La Land‘s “Metropolis of Stars,” are again with a nomination for The Biggest Showman‘s “This Is Me.” The Frozen songsmiths Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez have been nominated for “Keep in mind Me” from Coco. Nick Jonas, together with Justin Tranter and Nick Monson, was nominated for “Residence” from Ferdinand. And Mariah Carey, together with Marc Shaiman, was nominated for “The Star,” the title tune from the animated film The Star.

When it comes to distributors, Fox Searchlight — with a number of nominations for Water, Three Billboards and Battle of the Sexes — was far and away the chief with 15 nominations. Its sister firm Fox — because of The Publish, The Biggest Showman and animated motion pictures Ferdinand and The Boss Child — ranked second, with 12 noms.

And, with Disney’s proposed acquisition of Fox, taking part in out within the background, it was placing that Disney might declare simply two noms for itself — for the animated Coco.

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