Holiday Scenes That I Love: The U.S. Postal Service Proves The Existence of Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street!


Is there a Santa Claus?

Well, if you’ve ever seen the original 1947 Miracle on 34th Street than you already know the answer.  There is a Santa Claus and he looks exactly like Edmund Gwenn!

In this scene, Kris Kringle is on trial.  He swears that he is Santa Claus.  The prosecution claims that not only isn’t he Santa Claus but Santa doesn’t exist at all.  Fortunately, it’s the U.S. Post Service to the rescue!

Miracle on 34th Street is true Christmas classic and I hope you enjoy this holiday scene that I love.

(The remake with Richard Attenborough is also pretty good, as long as you can ignore the fact that Mara Wilson grew up to be one of the most annoying people on the planet.)

The Indiana Film Journalists Honor Moonlight and Rebecca Hall!


moonlight

The Indiana Film Journalists announced their picks for the best of 2016 on the 19th!  Along with picking Moonlight for best film, they also gave best actress to the destined-to-be-nominated-some-day Rebecca Hall for Christine!

Best Film
Winner: “Moonlight”
Runner-up: “Hell or High Water”
Other Finalists (listed alphabetically):
American Honey”
“Arrival”
“Deadpool”
“Everybody Wants Some!!”
“La La Land”
“The Lobster”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Sing Street”

Best Animated Feature
Winner: “Kubo and the Two Strings”
Runner-Up: “Sausage Party”

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: “The Handmaiden”
Runner-Up: “A Man Called Ove”

Best Documentary
Winner: “O.J.: Made in America”
Runner-Up: “Weiner”

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”
Runner-up: Taylor Sheridan, “Hell or High Water”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
Runner-up: Eric Heisserer, “Arrival”

Best Director
Winner: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
Runner-up: Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

Best Actress
Winner: Rebecca Hall, “Christine”
Runner-up: Natalie Portman, “Jackie”

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Viola Davis, “Fences”
Runner-up: Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”

Best Actor
Winner: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Runner-up: Ethan Hawke, “Born to Be Blue”

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
Runner-up: Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”

Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance
Winner: Alan Tudyk, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
Runner-up: Nick Kroll, “Sausage Party”

Best Ensemble Acting
Winner: “Everybody Wants Some!!”
Runner-up: “Don’t Think Twice”

Best Musical Score
Winner: Mica Levi, “Jackie”
Runner-up: Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”

Breakout of the Year
Winner: Robert Eggers, “The Witch”
Runner-up: Sasha Lane, “American Honey”

Original Vision Award
Winner: “The Lobster”
Runner-up: “Sausage Party”

The Hoosier Award 
Winner: Andrew Cohn, “Night School”

The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Names Manchester By The Sea As The Best of 2016!


manchester-by-the-sea-sundance-2016

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, the Kansas City Film Critic Circle announced that Manchester By The Sea was their pick for the best of 2016!

Here’s what won in Kansas City!

Best Picture
“Manchester By The Sea”
Best Director
Kenneth Lonergan – “Manchester By The Sea”
Best Actor
Casey Affleck – “Manchester By The Sea”
Best Actress
Natalie Portman – “Jackie”
Best Supporting Actor
Jeff Bridges – “Hell Or High Water”
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis – “Fences” AND Naomie Harris – “Moonlight” (TIE)
Best Original Screenplay
“Hell Or High Water”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“Arrival”
Best Foreign Language Film
“The Handmaiden”
Best Documentary Film
“O.J.: Made In America”
Best Animated Film
“Zootopia”
Best SciFi/Fantasy/Horror Film
“Arrival”
Best LGBT Film
“Moonlight”

The St. Louis Film Critics Love La La Land


la-la-land-full-poster-image-691x1024

La La Land got even more love this weekend when the St. Louis Film Critics announced their picks for the best of 2016!

BEST FILM: “La La Land” (Runner-up: Manchester By The Sea and Hell or High Water)

BEST DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land” (Runner-up: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea and Denis Villeneuve, Arrival)

BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” (Runner-up: Joe Edgerton, Loving)

BEST ACTRESS: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle” (Runner-up: Natalie Portman, Jackie)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight” (Runner-up: Lucas Hedges, Manchester By the Sea)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis, “Fences” (Runner-up: Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Whit Stillman, “Love and Friendship” (Runner-up: Eric Heisserer, Arrival)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Taylor Sheridan, “Hell or High Water” (Runner-up: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Linus Sandgren, “La La Land” (Runner-up: James Laxton, Moonlight)

BEST EDITING: Sebastian Sepulveda, “Jackie” (Runner-up: Hacksaw Ridge and La La Land)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: “The Handmaiden” (Runner-up: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Jackie, La La Land)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: “The Jungle Book” (Runner-up: Doctor Strange)

BEST MUSIC SCORE: Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land” (Runner-up: Mica Levi, Jackie)

BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK: “Sing Street” (Runner-up: La La Land)

BEST SONG: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from “La La Land” (Runner-up: City of Stars, La La Land)

BEST ACTION: “Captain America: Civil War” (Runner-up: Doctor Strange)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: “Zootopia” (Runner-up: Kubo and the Two Strings)

BEST COMEDY: “Hail, Caesar!” (Runner-up: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: “I Am Not Your Negro” (Runner-up: Weiner)

BEST HORROR/SCI-FI: “The Witch” (Runner-up: Arrival)

BEST FOREIGN FILM: “Elle” (Runner-up: The Handmaiden)

BEST SCENE: Opening Traffic Jam, “Another Day of Sun!” in “La La Land” (Runner-up: “If only it where that simple” from Hail Caesar!)

WORST: “Warcraft” (Runner-up: The Angry Birds Movie)

 

The Utah Film Critics Association Celebrates La La Land


la-la-land

The Utah Film Critics announced their picks for the best of 2016!

• Best Picture: “La La Land”; runner-up: “Moonlight.”

• Directing: Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”; runner-up, Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”

• Lead Actor, Male: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”; runner-up: Joel Edgerton, “Loving”

• Lead Actor, Female: Emma Stone, “La La Land”; runner-up: Ruth Negga, “Loving”

• Supporting Actor, Female: Viola Davis, “Fences”; runners-up: (tie) Naomie Harris, “Moonlight,” Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

• Supporting Actor, Male: (tie) Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight,” John Goodman, “10 Cloverfield Lane”

• Original Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan, “Hell or High Water”; runner-up: Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

• Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, “Moonlight”; runner-up: Eric Heisserer, “Arrival”

• Cinematography: Linus Sandgren, “La La Land”; runner-up: Bradford Young, “Arrival”

• Original Score: Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”; runner-up: Johann Johannsson, “Arrival”

• Documentary Feature: “Cameraperson”; runner-up: “Weiner”

• Animated Feature: “Kubo and the Two Strings”; runners-up: (tie) “Moana” and “Zootopia”

• Non-English Language Film: “The Handmaiden” (South Korea); runners-up: (tie) “Elle” (France) and “Toni Erdmann” (Germany)

The Nevada Film Critics Society Honors Hell or High Water!


Highway to Hell

Whoops, that’s the wrong “Hell” movie…

The Nevada Film Critics Society has spoken!

(Hopefully, the awards will be handed out on Aces High, the Ace Rothstein Show … with the Ace Rothstein Dancers!…)

Best Film – “Hell or High Water”
Best Actor – Casey Affleck – “Manchester by the Sea”
Best Actress – Annette Bening – “20th Century Women”
Best Supporting Actor – Ben Foster – “Hell or High Water”
Best Supporting Actress – Greta Gerwig – “20th Century Women”
Best Youth Performance – Alex Hibbert – “Moonlight”
Best Director – David Mackenzie – “Hell or High Water”
Best Original Screenplay – Taylor Sheridan- “Hell or High Water”
Best Adapted Screenplay – Eric Heisserer – “Arrival”
Best Ensemble – Moonlight
Best Documentary – “O.J. Made in America
”
Best Animated Movie – “Moana”
Best Production Design – David Wasco and Sandy Reynold-Wasco – “La La Land”
Best Cinematography – Linus Sandgren – “La La Land”
Best Visual Effects – “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

There! That's the right movie...

There! That’s the right movie…

Here Are the 2016 Seattle Film Award Nominees!


Here are the 2016 Seattle Film Award Nominees!  I don’t know what the cat’s yawning about; these nominations are actually an interesting mix of the usual suspects (Moonlight, Manchester, La La Land) and a few unexpected but intriguing picks (like 13th and The Witch).

THE 2016 SEATTLE FILM AWARD NOMINEES:

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR:

BEST DIRECTOR:

  • Damien Chazelle – La La Land
  • Robert EggersThe Witch
  • Barry JenkinsMoonlight
  • Paul Verhoeven – Elle
  • Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

BEST ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE:

  • Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
  • Ryan GoslingLa La Land
  • Logan Lerman – Indignation
  • Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
  • Denzel Washington – Fences

BEST ACTRESS in a LEADING ROLE:

  • Amy Adams – Arrival
  • Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
  • Isabelle Huppert – Elle
  • Natalie Portman – Jackie
  • Emma StoneLa La Land

BEST ACTOR in a SUPPORTING ROLE:

BEST ACTRESS in a SUPPORTING ROLE:

  • Viola Davis – Fences
  • Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
  • Naomie HarrisMoonlight
  • Kate McKinnonGhostbusters
  • Michelle Williams – Manchester By The Sea

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST:

BEST SCREENPLAY:

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

  • EllePaul Verhoeven, director
  • The HandmaidenPark Chan-wook, director
  • The InnocentsAnne Fontaine, director
  • Under The ShadowBabak Anvari, director
  • The WailingNa Hong-jin, director

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

BEST FILM EDITING:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

BEST YOUTH PERFORMANCE (18 years of age or younger upon start of filming):

BEST VILLAIN:

10_Cloverfield_Lane

4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films: Silent Night Bloody Night, Black Christmas, The Silent Partner, Christmas Evil


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films

Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972, dir by Theodore Gershuny)

Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972, dir by Theodore Gershuny)

Black Christmas (1974, dir by Bob Clark)

Black Christmas (1974, dir by Bob Clark)

The Silent Partner (1978, dir by Daryl Duke)

The Silent Partner (1978, dir by Daryl Duke)

Christmas Evil (1980, dir by Lewis Jackson)

Christmas Evil (1980, dir by Lewis Jackson)

Music Video of the Day: Winter by Tori Amos (1992, dir. Cindy Palmano)


My calendar says it’s the first day of Winter today, so I figured I would spotlight this Tori Amos song. I have only talked about one other music video of hers so far. That being Silent All These Years. Basically everything I said about that music video applies to this one too. The only difference is that this time director Cindy Palmano populated the music video with coming-of-age imagery. It is even as misleading in that it also primarily sells Amos as a the girl with a piano, which is how they marketed her at the beginning. It looks like it took till Cornflake Girl and/or God, depending on whether you look at mvdbase or IMVDb, before they hit on the kind of music videos that get across what you are in for with Tori Amos.

To my knowledge, they continued doing work together photo-wise into the mid-to-late-90s even though they stopped doing videos after 1994, according to mvdbase. It makes sense since while Palmano’s videos are certainly beautiful to look at, they really showcase her talents as a photographer rather than capturing Tori using the medium of a music video. To be fair, her first album is different from her subsequent stuff, so it is kind of like complaining that a writer isn’t describing Francois Truffaut correctly when the only movie of his they have seen is The 400 Blows (1959).

For whatever reason, IMVDb has quite different information about her early videos. IMVDb says 1991 for Silent All These Years while mvdbase says 1993. I am trusting IMVDb since Silent All These Years was released as a single in 1991. It makes more sense to me.

Enjoy!