Gravity (Dir: Alfonso Cuarón. 2013)

Summary: A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

Space freaks me out, it's too big and I cannot understand how it exists or how we exist. I mean if I think about space too much I feel like my head will explode, it's just too big a concept, I don't know where to start to understand it so I just accept it and try not to think about it too much. Saying this, I am usually ok with sci-fi films and not usually effected by films in space but then along came Gravity. 

I was not expecting Gravity to be a thriller, I was expecting you know like Apollo 13 - something goes wrong, there it some mild peril (to get a PG rating), they fix it and they all go home, Gravity is not that film. Gravity is like watching the Blair Watch Project for the first time, gradually getting under your skin as you crawl into the foetal position. By the end of it I had crossed my arms so hard I'm surprised I didn't break my wrist.

Bullock is awesome, the 3D is effective, unobtrusive and the sound design is overwhelming and intensifies the viewer absorption. Unfortunately Bullock, although she is fantastic, is probably not going to win anything for this role because she won all those awards for the Blind Side (which was a mediocre performance at best). This performance is immense and truly talented but will be overlooked because it's someone else’s turn to receive the Hollywood studio political pat on the back this year. Also thrillers and comedies are generally overlooked for serious dramas with transforming roles, such a shame as Gravity really is a must see.

Overall: A fantastic thriller, truly gripping and tense. 10/10

Nominations 2014 (Selected)

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Picture, Best Actress - Sandra Bullock, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best original Score, Best Production Desing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.

Golden Globes
Won: Best Director
Nominated: best Picture (Drama), Best Actress - Sandra Bullock and Best Orignal Score.

BAFTA Awards
Nominated: Best British Film, Film Music, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress - Sandra Bullock, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Special Effects and Best Direction.

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Nominated: Best Actress - Sandra Bullock

Australian Film Institute
Won: Best Film and Best Direction
Nominated: Best Actress - Sandra Bullock

Satellite Awards
Nominated:Best Actress - Sandra Bullock, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound (Editing & Mixing) and Best Visual Effects

Dallas Buyers Club (Dir - Jean-Marc Vallée. 2013)

Summary: In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is himself diagnosed with the disease.

I know I know, I hate everything and I moan on and on about how I hate everything and I shouldn't because it completely over shadows when I really hate something. Well I really hate Matthew McConaughey, he's smug and slimey and just ew and he is perfect to play the role of Woodroof. Woodroof is in your face, rude, bullish, smug, unlikible and a physically transformative role which is why McConaughey has finally been getting awards recognition.
The film is a snap shot, it jumps forward in time to give you glimpses of Woodroof's life but it bearly scratches the surface of Woodroof's history or transformation into saviour. Leto is a stereotype, a pretty photocopy of a real person with no real substance. The film is lacking the depth I needed to emotionally connect with the characters and I was left wondering if the real story of these real people had actually been told
If you really want to know how the AIDs crisis affected real people in 1980s American watch the documentary How to Survive a Plague, it's heart breaking, beautiful and empowering.
Also it's worth noting that Dallas Buyers Club has not been nominated for any BAFTAs this year, this pleases me....

Overall: Superficial awards fodder, all these points are for cinematography because, although it was rubbish, it was beautifully shot 4/10

2014 Nominations (Selected)

Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Motion Picture, Best Leading Actor - Matthew McConaughey, Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling & Best Writing, Original Screenplay.

Golden Globes
Won: Best Actor (Drama) - Matthew McConaughey and Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto.

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Won: Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey & Best Supporting Actor- Jared Leto.
Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Satellite Awards
Nominated Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey & Best Supporting Actor- Jared Leto.

Australian Film Institute
Nominated: Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey & Best Supporting Actor- Jared Leto.

 

Inside Llewyn Davies (Dir Joel & Ethan Coen. 2013)

Summary: A week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.

I'm not really going to say a lot about this other than it's awesome! Oscar Isaac is committed, focused and totally believable, the supporting cast are brilliant, it's beautiful and the best thing about it is that it is under 2 hours long, rare for an award nominated film. I really feel that the best review I can give the film is the post-film conversation I had with James:

R - Did you feel like we were the only ones laughing?
J - Yeah but not everyone gets that dark type of humor. Was there enough Goodman for you?
R - Yeah, I mean he wasn't a very nice character, I think if there was anymore of him it would have unbalanced the film.
J - Yeah but I didn't find any of the characters likable.
R - There was the cat, you seemed to like the cat.
J- True, but I think he [Llewyn] was the cat.......

Mind blown!

Overall: Fantastic and I will have the 'Please, Mr Kennedy' song stuck in my head for weeks. 9/10

2014 Nominations (Selected)
Academy Awards
Nominated Best Cinematography & Sound Mixing.

Golden Globe
Nominated Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): Oscar Isaac & Best Original Song: Please Mr Kennedy.

BAFTA Awards
Nominated Best Original Screenplay & Best Cinematography.

Cannes Film Festival (2013)
Won Grand Prize of the Jury & Nominated Palme d'Or.

London Critics Circle Film Awards
Nominated Film of the Year, Screenwriter of the Year & Technical Achievement of the Year.

Satellite Awards
Nominated Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song: Please Mr Kennedy, Best Cinematography & Best Sound (Editing & Mixing).

American Hustle (Dir: David O. Russell. 2013)

Summary: A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia. 

My partner (James) says I need to put a disclaimer on my reviews to say the following: ‘The views expressed by myself may often disagree with the general public and film critics reviews of the same film.’ Do you think he’s trying to tell me something? So anyway what did I think of the popular, award nominated, critically acclaimed American Hustle?

Firstly did no one wear a bra in the 70s? I seriously haven’t see so many erect nipples since I watched wrestling in my teens! Needless to say I found the lack of undergarments a little distracting from, you know, the important stuff like the frigging acting!

So, ignoring the nips, it started off strong, (who knew Christian Bale could do giddy in love?) but I kept guessing the twists and Bradley Cooper’s (who I normally like) performance was like nails across a chalk board, he just couldn’t seem to pull it off and it really grated on me. It felt like it could have done with a clearer lead character, I couldn’t tell who’s story it was trying to tell, was it Bale, Adams or Cooper, I really couldn’t tell and it kept flitting back and forth. Annoying!

I think the actors all did the best with the material they were given and it could have been a fantastic hour and a half Con/FBI movie but it dragged on and on. It’s obvious that Russell couldn’t decide if he wanted a Scorsese Goodfellas or a Soderbergh Ocean’s Eleven and it probably didn’t help I’d watched the Wolf of Wall Street (review coming soon) directly before American Hustle.

I just think David O. Russell maybe better off sticking with quirky films like Silver Linings Playbook & I Heart Huckabees than his serious offerings such as this and The Fighter…….

Overall: It just felt so very blah and very long blah-fest at that 5/10 

2014 Nominations (Selected)

Academy Awards
Nominated Best Motion Picture, Best Actor: Christian Bale, Best Actress: Amy Adams, Best Supporting Actor: Bradley Cooper, Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design & Best Original Screenplay.

Golden Globes
Won Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Amy Adams & Best supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence.
Nominated Best Actor (Musical or Comedy): Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor: Bradley Cooper, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

BAFTA Award
Nominated Best Original Screenplay, Best Film, Best Leading Actor: Christian Bale, Best Leading Actress: Amy Adams, Best Supporting Actor: Bradley Cooper, Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Best Production Design, Best Make Up/Hair, Best Costume Design & The David Lean Award for Direction

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Won outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture & Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence

Satellite Awards
Nominated Best Actress: Amy Adams, Best Actor: Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Best Supporting Actor: Bradley Cooper, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay & Best Film Editing

Frances Ha (Dir Noah Baumbach. 2012)

Summary: A story that follows a New York woman (who doesn't really have an apartment), apprentices for a dance company (though she's not really a dancer), and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possibility dwindles. 

There seems to be an increase in strong women making films about feeling lost and life not being the fairy tale we were lead to believe it would be. I don't know about you but from a young age I thought my path was set: I do well enough at school to go to University, get an awesome job, fall in love, get married, have kids and live happily ever after. What really happened was I went to University realised the fairy tale was not what I wanted and that I had to make my own rules, which included making plenty of mistakes and bad decisions. When I finished Uni and had no idea what I wanted to do or where to go next and then convinced myself I was the only one that felt like this. Of course I am not the only one that feels like this and I am so pleased that films like Frances Ha and Tiny Furniture and TV programmes like Girls came along to say: it's OK to have no idea what you're doing or where you're going, I have no idea either.

Poor Frances Ha, she wants to be a successful and although it's not meant to be she cannot admit the failure to herself or her friends, she finds herself locked in a life of lies and unfulfilled dreams. Frances wanders aimlessly hoping for the best but finding disappointment in this beautiful story of lost ambitions and friendships fraying at the seams. Gerwig is fantastic as Francis portraying the perfect mix of lost idealism, naive hope and disillusion with the supporting cast a beautiful mix of supportive friends and sceptical bystanders. I think that this film being shot in black and white seems to imply that Frances is waiting for her story to start and that the colour will return when Frances' story begins (like in the Wizard of OZ) but as this real life not a fairy tale the colour never appears.

I know I haven't sold this as the funniest watch but it is really good, it's funny and clever and quirky and yet still feels real. Gerwig is likeable and charming and it really has something to say about the lost idealism of being 20-something. Does it have a happy ending? You'll have to watch it to find out!

Overall: Greta Gerwig lost out on the Golden Globe for best actress but that is no excuse not to watch this 9/10

2014 Nominations -

Golden Globes
Nominated Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical: Greta Gerwig

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Actress in a Comedy: Greta Gerwig

Central Ohio Film Critics Association
Nominated Best Actress: Greta Gerwig & Best Picture

Independent Spirit Awards 2014
Nominated Best Feature & Best Editing

London Critics Circle Film Awards
Nominated Film of the Year, Actress of the Year: Greta Gerwig & Technical Achievement of the Year

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
3rd place Best Actress Greta Gerwig

Vancouver Film Critics Circle
Nominated Best Actress: Greta Gerwig

The Butler (Dir: Lee Daniels. 2013)

Summary: Loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, the film stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, an African-American who eyewitnesses notable events of the 20th century during his 34-year tenure serving as a White House butler.

I know I say this all the time but I really wasn't looking forward to this, I mean based on the last few Daniels films I've watched (Precious and The Paper Boy) I was expecting a really brutal watch which would leave me feeling depressed and hopeless. Well as usual I was wrong but in this case it didn't result in me enjoying the film.

The only thing I can liken this to is Forrest Gump, when I watched it when I was young I remember it dealing with big issues such as war, racism, politics, drug addiction and death, and I was awe of it. As I re-watched Forrest Gump as an adult it didn't seem as powerful, these big issues seemed simplified and sugar-coated and I was disappointed by its inability to address the huge globe issues it glossed over.

The Butler should have been the hard watch I was expecting but instead it was Forrest Gump - no backbone, all wishy-washy and average all round. I kept waiting for the twist, for the characters to start fighting, to start caring to do anything but it plods along at a pleasant pace not really wanting to admit this is not the radical political film that it should be. It's too long, too dull and there is no amount of Oprah is going to save it.

Overall: Rubbish 3/10

2014 Nominations (Selected)
BAFTA Awards
Nominated Best Supporting Actress: Oprah Winfrey & Best Make Up/Hair

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Forest Whitaker, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Oprah Winfrey & Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

People's Choice Awards
Nominated Favorite Dramatic Movie

Satellite Awards
Nominated Best Actor in a Motion Picture: Forest Whitaker, Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Oprah Winfrey & Best Art Direction & Production Design

The Great Gatsby (Dir: Baz Luhrman. 2013)

Summary: A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbour. 

Oh my this was beautiful, so painfully beautiful; the sets, the costumes, the lighting, the soundtrack and Leo, oh Leo you are beautiful I am sorry I ever forgot. I remember studying The Great Gatsby at school and being bored out of my mind watching the Robert Redford version, this on the other hand was riveting and I hope this hits as many classrooms as possible.
DiCaprio's Gatsby is truly charming, charismatic and heartbreaking, Mulligan is confused &lost and MacGuire was surprisingly non annoying. Well done Baz Luhrmann, you totally re-captured the spark of Romeo and Juliet.
When I read this years nominations I was really annoyed DiCaprio didn't get an acting nomination for this, I know I haven't seen The Wolf of Wall Street yet but I find it hard to believe it can top this. I can't really say much more but this is brilliant and is the only film from last year I must own on Bluray for the simple reason that I need to see all the extras!

Overall - Watch this, it's fantastic and will make you feel like that teenage girl with Leo posters all over your bedroom wall all over again! 9/10

2014 Nominations (Selected)
Academy Awards
Nominated Best Achievement in Costume Design & Best Achievement in Production Design

BAFTA Awards
Nominated Best Production Design, Best Make Up/Hair & Best Costume Design

Australian Film Institute
Nominated Best Sound, Best Lead Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Lead Actress: Carey Mulligan, Best Supporting Actor: Joel Edgerton, Best Supporting Actress: Elizabeth Debicki, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Supporting Actress: Isla Fisher, Best Production Design & Best Costume Design

People's Choice Awards
Nominated Favorite Dramatic Movie

Satellite Awards
Nominated Best Original Song, Best Art Direction & Production Design & Best Costume Design

Behind the Candelabra (Dir: Steven Soderbergh. 2013)

Summary: Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson, is recounted. 

I went into this in two minds; 1) Soderbergh hasn't made a good film since Traffic and 2) Why am I paying money to see a made for TV movie about an entertainer I know nothing about? Neither of these thought was filling me with joy as I bought my ticket but the one thing, well person, who had swayed me into watching with was Matt Damon. Yes I know you are all now saying his name out loud in the Team America voice but I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a bad film with Matt Damon in.

Anyway back to the film. The casting is truely inspired, I mean who would have thought Micheal Douglas could do camp! Also Douglas' eyebrows (so shaped and high) really do help you forget that he was Gordon Gecko. Other real casting gems; Scott Bakula as the ex-lover, Dan Ackroyd as the manager, that guy from 30 Rock whos not really in it much and I never remember the name of (I looked it up he's called Cheyenne Jackson) and Rob Lowe who is awesome.

I loved that the relationships develop slowly over a period of years so that the film doesn't feel rushed. You feel like to see a full representation of the characters warts and all, and although you see the drama coming it feels like you are in on the secret and it didn't really bother me. I also appreciated the way I felt my loyalities shifted from the beginning to the end, do you root for a happy ending for Lee (Douglas) or Scott (Damon)? Are either of them likeable? Is this Damon's Boogie Nights? I just don't know but what I do know is that it made me smile.

Overall - Lots of sniggery moments 7/10

2014 Nominations (selected)

Golden Globe
Won Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television& Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Michael Douglas
Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Matt Damon & Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Rob Lowe

BAFTA Awards
Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay,Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, Best Production Design, Best Make Up/Hair & Best Costume Design

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Michael Douglas
Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Matt Damon

Directors Guild of America
Nominated Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series

London Critics Circle Film Awards
Nominated Actor of the Year: Michael Douglas & Technical Achievement of the Year

People's Choice Awards
Nominated Favorite TV Movie/Miniseries

Satellite Awards 2014
Nominated Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Matt Damon & Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Michael Douglas