The Oscar Project
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy. This is one of the newer awards at the Oscars, having only been given out since 1981. Like the costume category I covered yesterday, there are typically two types of films that get recognized in this category. The first is anything in science fiction or fantasy, including comic book adaptations. Films like Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Men in Black, or Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring come to mind here. The other main category is period pieces and/or films about famous individuals from the past. Braveheart ticks both of those boxes, and more recently we have seen wins from films like The Darkest Hour, Vice, and Bombshell. The key for these films is using the makeup to transform a usually well known actor or actress, and make them unrecognizable as themselves while they inhabit the role of the famous historical (or contemporary) figure All Quiet on the Western FrontThis is the first nomination for Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová. Looking at this through the lens of films like 1917 and Saving Private Ryan, both of those films received nominations in this category, but did not take home the award. That said, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for this to win, as we have seen war films recognized with a win here in the past, including Braveheart, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (yes, I would consider it a war film set in a fantasy world), and The Darkest Hour, though the last one was nominated less for the war injury makeup and more for helping Gary Oldman disappear into the role of Winston Churchill. Like I said with my discussion of this film in relation to visual effects last week, you almost don’t notice the makeup here, and that is part of what makes it work. That said, there are plenty of instances in the film where characters are made up with ash, dirt, and blood on their faces and bodies, and that work is very well done. The BatmanThis nomination is almost entirely a result of the incredible job the makeup artists did transforming Colin Farrell into The Penguin for this film. This if the third nomination for Naomi Donne (1917 and Cruella), second for Mike Marino (Coming 2 America) and first for Mike Fontaine, but their work on Farrell is astounding. If you haven’t seen the movie and look at the image below, you’d be hard pressed to find Farrell anywhere in that picture. But of course, there was more than just Penguin’s look that went into the makeup for the film. We were introduced to Robert Pattinson’s wild hair and heavy eyeshadowed look after he takes off his cowl and suit. There is also Zoë Kravitz’s feline look for portraying Seline Kyle. Ultimately though, if this film wins, it will be for the work on the Penguin face. Black Panther: Wakanda ForeverThis film doesn’t necessarily have the initial expectation of appearing in this category, but more than most of Marvel’s other films, there is a variety of hair and makeup work here that truly makes it worth of recognition. Camille Friend receives her first Oscar nomination while Joel Harlow receives his fourth (a win for Star Trek, nominations for The Lone Ranger, and Star Trek Beyond) and they had their work cut out for them creating unique styles for the various cultures in the film. The hair and makeup of Wakanda had been established in the first film back in 2018, but this film also saw the introduction of the culture of Talokan which is deeply influenced by Mesoamerican cultures. Not only do we get to see the cultural influences in these characters, but they are also blue skinned, something that has to be matched just right for every scene by what I’m sure was a large team of makeup artists. Within the world of Wakanda, we get to see a variety of hairstyles, from Shuri’s (Leticia Wright) afro mohawk, to Nakia’s (Lupita Nyong’o) long braids. Makeup becomes even more important for Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the other members of the Dora Milaje to ensure that their strength is on display with the patterns on their heads. All said, there is a strong case to be made for this film winning the award, especially with focus on both makeup AND hair. ElvisThe team of makeup and hairstylists for this film had one of the bigger challenges this year, turning Austin Butler into one of the most famous musicians, if not people, of the 20th century. Mark Coulier and Aldo Signoretti both receive their fourth nominations for this film with Coulier winning for The Iron Lady and The Grand Budapest Hotel, while their co-nominee Jason Baird receives his first nomination. The team had to re-create not only a famous face and age that look over the period covered in the film, but also re-create Elvis’s famous hairstyle, something that has been done thousands, if not millions of times by impersonators around the world. Of course, Elvis himself is not the only famous person in the film. Tom Hanks had to wear plenty of prosthetics to portray Colonel Tom Parker, and Olivia DeJonge stuns as Priscilla Presley, often with hair just as big as her husband. I definitely see this film having strong potential to win this category, and might end up on a run with multiple nominations intechnical categories in addition to Butler’s Best Actor nomination and the Best Picture nod. The WhaleLet's face it, like The Batman, this film is nominated primarily due to the work done on Brendan Fraser to make him into the reclusive college professor Charlie. First time nominees Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley join second time nominee Adrien Morot (Barney’s Version) in the nomination for this film and based on some recent history, there is a decent chance they all receive their first Oscar win this year. Goldderby.com released an article last week on the trend of makeup and hairstyling teams winning their award when nominated with the actors or actresses they made up for the film. The only other film with an actor or actress nominated is Elvis, and while there is a chance for Butler to win, everything is pointing to Fraser taking home the Oscar this year. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues following last year’s win in this category for The Eyes of Tammy Faye which also saw Jessica Chastain win the Best Actress award.
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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy. Last week, I wrote up some information on two categories of nominees, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound. This week, I have several more posts lined up, starting today with the Best Costume Design nominees. Unlike the categories last week, Best Costume Design only lists one person on each nomination. This category, along with the nominees for Best Makeup and Hairstyling which I plan to cover tomorrow, help create the visual style of the characters in a film. You usually find two types of films in the Best Costume Design category, science fiction/fantasy blockbusters and period pieces and this year is no exception to that rule. BabylonMary Zophres gets the nominations started in this category. It is her fourth nomination after being previously recognized for True Grit, La La Land, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Throughout Zophres’s career she has worked extensively with the Coen brothers, costuming all of their films since 1996’s Fargo. She has also worked on several Steve Spielberg films, a few films by the Farrelly brothers, and now three films with Damien Chazelle. This film was the largest challenge of her career to date, with over 7000 total costumes appearing on screen throughout the film. The L.A. Times had a wonderful article earlier this month titled “Elephant poop, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt: Dressing the ‘Babylon’ cast has ups and downs” showcasing a number of the looks featured in the film, along with some stories behind their creation. This could very well be Zophres’s time to finally win her first Oscar. Black Panther: Wakanda ForeverRuth Carter made history several years ago when she became the first African-American to with the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on Black Panther. She is back in the category again this year for her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, after previously receiving nominations for the Spike Lee film Malcolm X and Steve Spielberg’s Amistad. Carter has collaborated with Lee on a total of 12 films and has clothed such acting greats as Eddie Murphy, Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, and one of this year’s Best Supporting Actress nominees, Angela Bassett. I actually know the most about her work as I am in the process of reading a preview copy of a new book coming out in May titled The Art of Ruth E. Carter. I’m just about finished with it, and it is a fascinating look into the world of a costume designer including the process she goes through to work with the director and actors on a shoot, bringing in little pieces of the characters from all involved. EW also published a wonderful article last month on Carter’s work on Wakanda Forever. Be on the look out for my review of Carter’s book coming soon and look for Carter to potentially land her second Oscar win this year. ElvisCatherine Martin is one of two nominees in this category who has won previously. Both times Martin has won an Oscar for Best Costume Design (Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby) she has also paired it with Best Production Design wins. This year, she is again nominated in both Best Costume Design and Best Production Design and shares a producing credit on the film with her husband and the film’s director, Baz Luhrmann which gets her included in the Best Picture nomination. She has been the costume designer for all of Luhrmann’s films since Moulin Rouge!, including a number of short films he directed in 2012. Again, I feel it’s appropriate to reference an article from Vogue titled "How Catherine Martin Crafted Elvis’s Dazzling, Vegas-Worthy Wardrobe". The article showcases a number of the costume choices in this film and shows that even re-creating some of the most iconic styles from the King of Rock isn’t always a walk in the park. Everything Everywhere All at OnceShirley Kurata is a first-time nominee in this category, but it feels like much of the emphasis for this nomination comes from the costumes for just one character, Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu). The looks for this character alone could easily land Kurata the nomination, but add to that the fact that the film was made on a very limited budget and you have a story that showcases a true rising star. An article titled "How Costume Designer Shirley Kurata Outfitted the Multiverse" from The Wrap explains the approach Kurata took to working on this film. In addition to the amazing costumes for Tupaki, there are also plenty of challenges in place for a film that gives glimpses into alternate universes where the characters play completely different roles in the world. With that comes a completely new set of costumes depending on which universe they inhabit at any given time. Look out for a possible win here, giving Kurata her first win on her first nomination. Mrs. Harris Goes to ParisOur last nominee, Jenny Beavan, was a bit of a surprise to me on nomination day last week, but having seen the film, I was pleasantly surprised that she was recognized. This is Beavan’s 12th nomination for Best Costume Design and she has won the award three times before for her work on A Room with a View, Mad Max: Fury Road, and just last year on Cruella. It would be hard to find three more different films to win this award for, but between them they check off all the typical types of films you see in this category. This film in particular was interesting in that the whole focus of the story is on a Dior dress and the film doesn’t work if those dresses shown on screen aren’t wonderfully designed. Focus Features has a wonderful interview with Beavan titled "From Dowdy To Dior: Creating The Costumes For Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" that posted last summer going into more detail on how the looks for the film were created, including the dresses that were re-made based on actual Dior pieces from the time period of the film. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Beavan win this award as a dark horse, but worry that the reliance on pre-existing dresses might downgrade the work ever so slightly.
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It’s the last few days of January and February will be upon us this week. It’s time to pick your film for week 5 of the challenge. The category this week is an Early Film of a Famous Actor/Actress.
I don’t have a specific list for this week because it’s likely everyone will pick different actors, but thankfully the internet can help you find all the films an actor has been in over their career. Most actors have a filmography list on their main page on Wikipedia, or you can always use IMDb to find a good selection. I picked my film a few weeks ago, but it turns out to be perfect timing because I just watched this actor’s most recent film which I thoroughly enjoyed. My Selection-Bachelor Party
I wanted to watch Tom Hanks’s first feature film, He Knows You’re Alone (1980), but wasn’t able to easily find it, and his second earliest credit was in Splash which I’ve seen, so I went with Bachelor Party instead. I’ve seen plenty of Hanks films, but there are definitely some gaps that I need to go back and fill in from his filmography.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy. Today I’m looking at the films nominated in the Best Sound category. This is a combination of what used to be two categories, Best Sound Design (the selection of sounds that go into the film from various sources) and Best Sound Editing (the mixing and balancing of those sounds to ensure they feel natural as part of the film). There is a great article from last month on the Antares Tech website titled What’s the Difference Between Sound Design and Sound Editing? that I urge everyone to check out to help understand this difference. That said, as of two years ago, the category was combined into one that covers both the sound design and sound editing aspects of film. The list of nominees is nearly the same as what I covered yesterday for Best Visual Effects. All Quiet on the Western FrontThere are five names nominated for this film, Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel, and Stefan Korte, and all of them are first time nominees. As with yesterday’s post, I have to compare this film to past war epics Saving Private Ryan and 1917. Both films won their year, with Private Ryan taking home both the Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing categories. 1917 only won for Best Sound Mixing, but was also nominated for Best Sound Editing. Interestingly, Stuart Wilson was one of the winners for that award, and he is nominated again this year for The Batman below. Regarding the film itself, I think the sound is one of the most important elements in this film, as with many war films. There is such a range of sound in a good war film, from the explosions and small arms fire of the battlefield to the crackling of a fire on a cold night behind the line as soldiers prepare for battle. I never expressly noticed the sound design in this film, which tells me that it did the job perfectly. The loud portions were appropriately loud, and the softer moments were quiet enough to allow the viewer (and the characters) a moment to ponder everything else going on around them. Avatar: The Way of WaterUnfortunately, I still haven’t had a chance to see this film, which puts me at a disadvantage for comparing it to the other four in the category. Based on the names attached to the nomination for this film (Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, and Michael Hedges) I have to give it a strong chance to take home the prize here. Howarth and Bernstein are first time nominees, but the other four all have at least one win under their belt, with the exception of Whittle. Several of those wins came from previous Cameron projects including Titanic and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. If this film is anything close to the original in terms of sound, there is plenty of balancing between the natural world of the Na’vi and the technological world of the humans. Add in the complexity of sound under water, and I’m sure this group had plenty of challenges to overcome. The BatmanAs I mentioned above, Stuart Wilson has been previous nominated in this category, including for three Star Wars films (The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi) and most recently winning the Oscar for 1917. His shares the nomination with first time nominees William Files and Douglas Murray as well as Andy Nelson, a 21-time nominee and 2-time winner. Looking at the franchise history, Batman Forever received nominations for both sound categories in 1995 while The Dark Knight won for Best Sound Editing in 2008. Other nominated superhero movies include Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, Black Panther, Joker, and the only other winner I was able to find, The Incredibles. This doesn’t bode well for this film winning the award, though I have to say that one of the more positive aspects of this film for me was the sound design and editing. I have been famously lukewarm on The Batman as a whole, but absolutely loved the soundscape these creators put together for the film. One other potential knock against it this year is that Nelson is also up for our next film. ElvisAgain, a film I haven’t yet had the chance to see, but the latest in a series of Tom Hanks films I will be adding to my watched films in 2023 very soon (after A Man Called Otto and Bachelor Party for my 52-week movie challenge). As noted above, multiple nominee and winner Andy Nelson is among the group of nominees for this film which also includes multiple nominee David Lee (with a win for The Matrix), and first-time nominees Wayne Pashley and Michael Keller. This film is the outlier in terms of what goes into the sound mix, focusing more on the blend of Elvis’s great music into the overall soundscape, combined with crowds and everything else going on. I’m not sure if that can compete with the big action films in the category, however, you only have to look back two years to see Sound of Metal winning this category for a non-action film, and back in 2018, the musically focused Bohemian Rhapsody won both sound categories over films like the original Black Panther and First Man. Top Gun: MaverickFinally, the individuals nominated for Top Gun: Maverick (Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon, and Mark Taylor) don’t have much experience at the Oscars, but do have several nominations and one win for Weingarten’s work on 1917. The obvious focus of this film has been on the visuals, and the stunning effects and cinematography of the aerial scenes, but the sound deserves some attention as well. There are plenty of times in this film where the sound is brought down and allowed to be quiet, and that makes the louder, more frantic moments even more impactful. Unfortunately, I don’t think this group will win the award, but it could some as a surprise spoiler. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy. Today is my first look at individual categories and which films and creators are nominated in each category as we lead up to the 95th Academy Awards on March 12th. This category is filled with films that are either sequels, reboots, or flat out remakes of previous films. All Quiet on the Western FrontI just finished watching this film on Netflix last night and boy was that a tough one to watch. The film felt like a blending of 1917 (which won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects three years ago) and Saving Private Ryan (which did was not even nominated). The opening battle, though much shorter than the storming of Normandy in Saving Private Ryan was just as brutal visually and the connection to 1917 goes without saying as they cover the same conflict (WWI) though from different sides. The biggest argument in favor of this film winning the award this year would be that I rarely thought to myself “that’s a great effect” while I watched. The visual effects are embedded in the action and everything looks real, from the soldiers being shot, to the explosions that deliver realistically devastating effects to everything around them. All four names called out for their work on this film (Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank, and Kamil Jafar) are first time nominees in this category and in my quick review of previous winners in this category, I could not find any that were also nominated in the Best International Feature/Best Foreign Language Film. Avatar: The Way of WaterHow could this film NOT be nominated for Best Visual Effects? Unfortunately, it is the only film in this category that I haven’t seen yet (to be rectified soon) but from everything I’ve heard, the visuals in the film are what make it worth seeing and everyone I’ve spoken to about it recommends seeing it on the biggest screen and in 3D if possible. Looking back in time, the original Avatar film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 82nd Academy Awards, but was only competing against two other films in the category at the time (District 9 and the J. J. Abrams Star Trek reboot). It has been widely publicized that the development of new visual effects methods to shoot performance capture in underwater environments was a contributing factor to the film to be delayed as long as it was. That can’t go unnoticed in selecting the winner in this category, giving the film a very strong chance to take home the Oscar yet again. To top it off, two of the individuals called out for the nomination this year (Joe Letteri and Richard Baneham) were also part of the team that won for Avatar. Letteri has also taken home statuettes for King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King along with six additional nominations. The BatmanThis is only the second Batman film to be officially nominated in the Best Visual Effects category, going all the way back to the original Tim Burton/Michael Keaton Batman in 1989. Batman Returns was a nominee in 1992, losing out to Death Becomes Her, and multiple Batman films have been shortlisted including Batman Forever in 1995, Batman & Robin in 1997, and Batman Begins in 2005. All four of the individuals named for this film, Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands, and Dominic Tuohy, have been nominated for Oscars in this category in the past with wins for Lemmon (for The Jungle Book in 2017) and Tuohy (for 1917 in 2019). Unfortunately for this group, their history doesn’t bode well for taking home the trophy this year, especially with other strong contenders. Black Panther: Wakanda ForeverThe first Black Panther film was not nominated for Best Visual Effects, though it was shortlisted prior to the final five nominees. You would also think that Marvel films would have taken home this category several times, given the sheer number of films in that series over the last two decades, but the only Marvel film to win in this category to date is Spider-Man 2 way back in 2004. Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White, and Dan Sudick are the names on the nomination for this film with Hammack receiving one previous nomination (for Deepwater Horizon) and White receiving two prior nominations (Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey). Sudick’s name has been attached to 12 previous nominations, mostly for Marvel films like all three Iron Man films, Marvel’s The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and he was a double nominee last year for the Ryan Reynolds film Free Guy and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Top Gun: MaverickThe final film in this category is one that might spoil the party for Avatar: The Way of Water. Looking back through the history of the category, the original Top Gun was neither nominated nor shortlisted. The film was generally recognized for sound production (more about that tomorrow) and for the music across many award circuits including at the 59th Academy Awards. Out of the four names attached to this nomination, Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, and Scott R. Fisher, only Fisher has been nominated previously. He also brings two wins to the table for work on two Christopher Nolan films, Tenet in 2020 and Interstellar in 2014. The reason this film has a chance to upset at the Oscars this year is that it was also innovating how to shoot in a very unforgiving environment, flying in fighter jets. The short video below goes into some of the new technology that was used for this film and it’s truly amazing to think of what they were able to accomplish practically in camera and then enhance with visual effects.
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It’s the last full week of January and you should have just about finished four movies for the year so far. If you’re not a huge movie watcher, this might feel like a lot, but you can do it. Just take them one week at a time and try not to get too far ahead of yourself with the rest of the year. Before you know it, you’ll have over 50 movies under your belt for the year!
My film this week for the category of a film with animals was Life of Pi directed by Ang Lee. I did a little digging after watching this film, and though it is now more than a decade old, Lee has not returned to the Oscars as a nominee since receiving the award for Best Director for this film. It’s also coincidental that I am writing this post the same week as this year’s Oscar nominations were announced and have a post on this year’s crop of Best Visual Effects nominees, a category that Life of Pi won along with Best Cinematography.
The action shifts to a teenage Pi (Suraj Sharma) and his family in India before they emigrate to Canada. His family owns a zoo in their town and Pi loves the animals, especially a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker (so named due to a clerical error when the tiger was acquired by the zoo). As a result of “the Emergency” in India, Pi’s family decides to relocate to Canada, and bring their animals with them on a ship across the Pacific Ocean. When the ship sinks, Pi is the only human who manages to make it into a lifeboat alongside a zebra with a broken leg, an orangutan, a hyena, and eventually Richard Parker himself. The hyena quickly kills the zebra and eventually the orangutan, before falling victim to Richard Parker.
The bulk of the film is the journey that Pi and Richard Parker go on as they try to survive first days, then weeks and months at sea in a small lifeboat. Pi is alone and uses the time to sort through his feelings on religion and God, something he had thought about since learning about Christianity and Islam as a boy who was raised in a Hindu home. He questions why his entire family had to die in the sinking ship. He considers why he was allowed to survive and why he is stuck in the lifeboat with a creature initially bent on killing him. One of my favorite lines in the film is from Pi when there is a storm raging. He and Richard Parker have come to an understanding at this point, where Pi provides food for the tiger, and the tiger in turn doesn’t kill and eat Pi. During the storm, Pi yells to the open expanse of the sky asking why are “you” scaring him (Richard Parker)? In speaking directly to God, he exclaims, “I’ve lost my family. I’ve lost everything. I surrender. What more do you want?”
There are obvious connections to biblical stories like Noah’s Ark in this film, and honestly it takes on one of the biggest questions people have posed about that story for a long time, namely, how did the lions and tigers and bears not eat everything else during that comparatively short (40 days) journey? I’m sure there are more religious undertones that I missed relating to religions I’m not as familiar with, but it’s definitely a film that makes you think and question why certain things happen.
The film was lauded at the time for the realistic nature of the animals, specifically Richard Parker. If you look at behind the scenes footage of the film, you’ll see that much of the production consisted of Sharma sitting in a lifeboat in a giant indoor water tank with blue or green screens all around him, acting against nothing, or against a small inanimate stand-in for Richard Parker. What the visual effect artists did with the animals, especially Richard Parker, is astonishing, and honestly, there were moments where I couldn’t tell if they had used a real tiger for certain shots or if it was digital. The film is worth seeing for this fact alone. But the visual nature of the film doesn’t stop there. Going back to the point that it won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, the overall visual appeal of this film is off the charts. There are the moments in storms where waves climb hundreds of feet above Pi and the boat, but the ones that are even better are those where the sea is calm and Pi gets time to sit and contemplate. We get to see reflections of the heavens against the calm sea, a floating island full of meerkats (also computer generated) that looks like nothing I’ve ever seen, and even an enormous whale breeching near Pi’s boat, churning up bioluminescent algae along the way. If you love striking visuals in film, this is one you shouldn’t miss.
There is some question about the end of this film. Ultimately, no one can verify Pi’s version of events because he was the only survivor. Near the end of the film, some investigators from the insurance company checking on the boat’s sinking ask him for his story and don’t like the version with Richard Parker. He offers a different story where his mother survived in the boat with him along with a sailor and cook from the ship. In this version, the cook turns on the sailor and Pi’s mother, killing them before Pi kills the cook. It is obvious that these characters are substitutes for the zebra, orangutan, and hyena, with Pi perhaps being the tiger. Ultimately the insurance report sticks with Pi’s first version of the story, and I tend to want to believe that one as well.
Finally, a question I considered while digesting this film is what sort of movie I would make featuring animals. My favorite animal has been the wolf for as long as I can remember, so I would probably pick something about wolves. I know there have been plenty of films with wolves, both as good characters and bad, but hopefully I would be able to bring something new to the creature and do them justice. I think a realistic adventure film would actually be a lot of fun, showing the dynamics of a wolf pack. I hope that I would have been able to survive as Pi did in this film. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t ever want to be stranded in a lifeboat at sea with a Bengal tiger. But if something like that ever DOES happen, I pray that I will be as resourceful as Pi in my ability to survive. Before getting into the individual categories this week, I want to take a moment to highlight the special awards that will be recognized at this year's Oscar's ceremony. The Governors Awards were held in November of last year and recognized several individuals. You may see their faces during the Awards ceremony in March, but here you can see the speeches they gave upon receiving their awards last year. Honorary AwardsThree honorary awards were given out at the Governors Awards in November to the following individuals.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian AwardThe Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is awarded periodically by the Academy at the Governors Awards ceremonies for an individual's "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes". It is named after the Danish American actor Jean Hersholt and has been presented to individuals including Bob Hope, Audrey Hepburn, Oprah Winfrey, and Tyler Perry. This year’s recipient was actor Michael J. Fox in recognition of his contributions to the fight against Parkinson’s disease. His speech from the Governor’s Awards Banquet can be found below. I also put together a playlist if you’re interested in watching all the speeches from the Governor’s Banquet including the intros for each of the four honorees and their acceptance speeches.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy. It’s Oscar nomination day and in case you weren’t up early this morning to watch the nominations as they were announced live, here is the entire list of nominees for this year’s 95th Academy Awards. Throughout the weeks leading up to the awards show, I will be posting every weekday with a preview of an individual category and then posting full profiles of the 10 Best Picture nominees in the last two weeks leading up to the awards. Click on the category names below for those write-ups as they are posted.
Full Alphabetical List of Nominated FilmsTo summarize, here is a list of all the nominated films for this year. I have included links to purchase DVD/Blu Ray, digital purchase/rental, and online streaming where available. Purchase links are affiliate links as noted in the disclosure at the top of the page and help support The Oscar Project.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
There is only one week left in January (on full week at least) and it’s time to pick out your movie to finish out the first four weeks of the year.
This week we’re looking at films starring animals which gives you a VERY wide variety of films to choose from. Fortunately, the internet has plenty of lists to help you narrow your search down. I just went to Wikipedia and looked over the list of films about animals to find something I’d never seen before. My Selection-Life of Pi
After last week’s low budget film, it’s going to be interesting to see something that is known as a visual spectacle. I am also thinking about reading the book, not before I see the movie, but once I’m done to see how they two compare.
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We have passed the mid-way point of January and today I’m giving you my thoughts on a wonderful film, my low budget, big box office movie, Little Miss Sunshine. Like last week, I used the list provided earlier in the week from Collider to pick my film.
This was one of those films that flew a bit under my radar at the time it came out. To be fair, I was about to get married at the time, so I had a few other things on my mind, and I just never came back to it. What amazed me about this film is how well the entire cast worked together and the level of stardom many of them have obtained since this film released. Don’t get me wrong, Alan Arkin was a household name long before this film and has continued to star in blockbusters, most recently in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Steve Carrell was on the rise in 2006 following supporting roles in films like Bruce Almighty and Anchorman, combined with a lead role in The Office and 40 Year Old Virgin. It was with 40 Year Old Virgin that his stardom really took off and he was seen as a leading man in Hollywood. I don’t think Greg Kinnear has obtained quite this level of stardom, but Toni Collette has consistently popped up in great films over the years and I always love watching her perform on screen.
Apart from the excellent cast, this film is just so relatable. The family in question is in terrible shape, to be quite honest. Richard (Kinnear) is hustling super hard to sell a motivational program he’s developed. It’s something he’s super passionate about, and he really believes in it, but he just can’t seem to get anyone else to buy in. His wife Sheryl (Collette) is trying to keep the family together, dealing with her rambunctious daughter Olive (Breslin), her moody teen Dwayne (Dano), and on top of that, her brother Frank who just tried to commit suicide (Carell). The cherry on top is of course Arkin’s foul-mouthed Grandpa with a heart of gold. What I’m saying is, regardless of what your situation is in life, you can probably find someone in this film to relate to.
At its core, this film is a family road trip movie. We’ve seen this before, perhaps best done in National Lampoon’s Vacation. But while that film is truly about the comedy and the gags, Little Miss Sunshine feels so much more like a real family. Both films feature a beat-up old vehicle that might not make the trip. The family dynamics are nearly identical (father, mother, brother, sister, elderly relative) with the only addition here being uncle Frank. The differences are where this film really starts to shine though. While Clark Griswold sets off on his family’s vacation to force them to have a good time at Wally World, the Hoover family sets off on their journey to help little Olive fulfill her dream of being in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in California (hence the title). Yes, Dwayne and Frank are initially quite resistant to the idea, but the pair ultimately come to understand each other while setting aside their preconceived notions about each other.
**Some spoilers ahead**
Both films feature the death of the elderly character, but again, the differences make this film so much better. In Vacation, Aunt Edna’s death is played almost entirely for laughs. There is a bit of mourning for her, but not much before Clark straps her to the roof and continue with their trip. On the other hand, we learn of Grandpa Hoover’s passing from Olive as she wakes her parents up at the hotel with the simple line “Grandpa won’t wake up.” Even before the scenes cuts to an ambulance rushing him to the hospital and the scene in the waiting room, you know instinctively that he’s gone and wonder how they can continue the trip. Now, for those who have seen the film, yes there is some comedy in how they got Grandpa out of the hospital so that they CAN continue, but not before they’ve had a chance to weigh the options and determine that Grandpa would want them to get Olive to the pageant.
While I’m making comparisons to similar films, there is a moment when the family rushes to get back on the road after stopping at a gas station for a break. Richard and Sheryl argue after Richard gets off the phone with his business partner and learns that his program won’t sell. The family gets in the van quickly and pushes it onto the road, completely forgetting Olive in the process. After some time on the road there is a moment when Dwayne and Frank realize Olive’s not in the van that feels reminiscent of Kate McCallister yelling “KEVIN!” on the plane in Home Alone. But even with this similarity, it’s big brother Dwayne who first realizes his sister is missing and even though he’s panicked about it, he still doesn’t break his silence, instead writing the question “Where’s Olive?” on his paper and showing it to Frank. The family immediately turns around to get her and resume the team effort to get her to the pageant on time.
I picked this film this week as one that I have heard about many times but never saw. Fortunately, I hadn’t heard enough to spoil it. I absolutely loved the ending, especially since I have a personal disdain for pageants like the one in the film (the pageants mind you, not the girls themselves). I had a feeling that Grandpa’s choreography for Olive’s dance routine wasn’t going to be the typical pageant fair, but even that exceeded my expectations. Dwayne fulfills his role as the protective older brother, trying to keep her from performing because she’s nothing like any of the other pageant girls. Richard fulfills the supportive father role by telling the pageant organizer that Olive is “kicking ass” when asked what she was doing on stage. And the whole family solidifies their bonds by joining Olive on stage and giving the pageant a collective middle finger, including Grandpa since he set up the dance in the first place.
I’m so glad I got to watch this film. It is an absolutely gem and the only thing I don’t like about it is that I waited this long to finally check it out! |
AuthorI'm just a film buff who wants to watch great movies. Where else to find the best, than the list of those nominated by the Academy each year? Archives
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