Monthly Archives: January 2023

Here Are The BAFTA Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This has been a busy week so I’m a bit late in sharing this but, on the 19th, the BAFTA nominations were announced!  The BAFTAs have a mixed record when it comes to serving as an Oscar precursor and the method for determining the BAFTA nominees is a bit different from how the Academy does thing.

That said, every mention helps and the producers of All Quiet On The Western Front have to be happy with their 14 nominations.

The winners will be announced on March 13th.

Best Film
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Tár

Outstanding British Film
Aftersun
The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian And Charles
Empire of Light
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Living
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical
See How They Run
The Swimmers
The Wonder

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer
Aftersun – Charlotte Wells
Blue Jean – Georgia Oakley & Helen Sifre
Electric Malady – Marie Lidén
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande – Katie Brand
Rebellion – Maia Kenworthy

Film Not In The English Language
All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Corsage
Decision To Leave
The Quiet Girl

Documentary
All That Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
Moonage Daydream
Navalny

Animated Film
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Turning Red

Director
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Banshees of Inisherin
Decision To Leave
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Tár
The Woman King

Original Screenplay
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Triangle of Sadness

Adapted Screenplay
All Quiet on the Western Front
Living
The Quiet Girl
She Said
The Whale

Leading Actress
Cate Blanchett – Tár
Viola Davis – The Woman King
Danielle Deadwyler – Till
Ana de Armas – Blonde
Emma Thompson – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once

Leading Actor
Austin Butler – Elvis
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Daryl McCormack – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Paul Mescal – Aftersun
Bill Nighy – Living

Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau – The Whale
Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin
Dolly De Leon – Triangle of Sadness
Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Carey Mulligan – She Said

Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Eddie Redmayne – The Good Nurse
Albrecht Schuch – All Quiet on the Western Front
Micheal Ward – Empire of Light

Casting
Aftersun
All Quiet on the Western Front
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Triangle of Sadness

Cinematography
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Elvis
Empire of Light
Top Gun: Maverick

Costume Design
All Quiet on the Western Front
Amsterdam
Babylon
Elvis
Mrs Harris Goes To Paris

Editing
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Top Gun: Maverick

Make Up & Hair
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Elvis
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical
The Whale

Production Design
All Quiet on the Western Front
Babylon
The Batman
Elvis
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Original Score
All Quiet on the Western Front
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Sound
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick

Special Visual Effects
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Top Gun: Maverick

British Short Animation
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Middle Watch
Your Mountain is Waiting

British Short Film
The Ballad Of Olive Morris
Bazigaga
Bus Girl
A Drifting Up
An Irish Goodbye

EE Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)
Naomi Ackie
Sheila Atim
Emma Mackey
Daryl McCormack
Aimee Lou Wood

The Chicago Indie Critics Honor Everything

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Chicago Indie Critics have announced their picks for the best of 2022!  You can view the nominees by clicking here and the winners below!

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $25 million)
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE – Producers: Jonathan Wang, Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, and Mike Larocca

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $25 million)
RRR – Producers: D.V.V. Danayya

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
DECISION TO LEAVE – Producers: Jisun Back, Park Chan-wook, KO Dae-sok

BEST DOCUMENTARY
FIRE OF LOVE – Producers: Shane Boris, Sara Dosa, and Ina Fichman

BEST ANIMATED FILM
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO – Producers: Guillermo del Toro, Lisa Henson, Gary Ungar, Alex Bulkley, and Corey Campodonico

BEST DIRECTOR
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE – Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
WOMEN TALKING – Sarah Polley

BEST ACTOR
Colin Farrell – THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Yeoh – EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan – EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Janelle Monáe – GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY – Casting directors: Brett Howe and Mary Vernieu

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
TOP GUN: MAVERICK – Claudio Miranda

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER – Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, and Vanessa Cole

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
THE WOMAN KING – Gersha Phillips

BEST MAKEUP
THE BATMAN – Naomi Donne, Mike Marino, and Mike Fontaine

BEST EDITING
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE – Paul Rodger

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO – Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Naatu Naatu” – RRR – Music by M.M. Keeravaani and lyrics by Chandrabose

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER – Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett

BEST STUNTS
RRR – Nick Powell

BREAKOUT ARTIST
Austin Butler

SIGHT UNSEEN PERFORMANCE
Jenny Slate – MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

IMPACT AWARD
Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on the Chicagoland film community
The late Sergio Mims (film critic)

Here Are The 2022 Nominees of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Oscar nominations are going to be revealed on Tuesday but there are still regional groups announcing their picks for the best of 2022!  For instance, the Vancouver Film Critics Circle has announced their nominees for the best of the year and here they are:

Best Picture
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All At Once
TÁR

Best Director
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Todd Field – TÁR
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Screenplay
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Todd Field – TÁR
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Actor
Austin Butler – Elvis
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
Paul Mescal – Aftersun

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett – TÁR
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Janelle Monae – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Best Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actress
Jessie Buckley – Women Talking
Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin
Frankie Corio – Aftersun
Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Dolly de Leon – Triangle of Sadness
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Michelle Williams – The Fabelmans

Best Documentary
All the Beauty And the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
Moonage Daydream

Best Foreign Language Film
All Quiet on the Western Front
Holy Spider
RRR

Winners will be announced on February 13th!

Retro Television Reviews: The Elevator (dir by Jerry Jameson)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Sundays, I will be reviewing the made-for-television movies that used to be a primetime mainstay.  Today’s film is 1974’s The Elevator!  It  can be viewed on YouTube!

Marvin Ellis (Roddy McDowall) hates his job.  He’s been assigned to be the manager of a new high-rise office building.  Parts of the building are still under construction but that hasn’t stopped the company that owns it from selling out office space.  When Mrs. Kenyon (Myrna Loy) comes by and asks to look at the top floor penthouse, Ellis agrees.  In public, Ellis is always friendly and always courteous.  It’s only under the most stressful of circumstances that Ellis reveals that he feels as if the building has been built of out lies and cheap material.

Ellis and Kenyon soon find themselves in a stressful situation when they are trapped in an elevator.  Of course, they’re not alone in the elevator.  There’s also Dr. Reynolds (Craig Stevens), his wife (Teresa Wright), and his mistress (Arlene Golonka).  And then there’s Robert Peters (Barry Livingston), a teenager who has inherited a fortune.  And finally, there’s Eddie Holcomb (James Farentino).  Eddie has a suitcase full of money that he’s stolen from an office in the building.  He’s also got a loaded gun.  And, perhaps worst of all, he has an intense fear of tight places.  The longer that he’s trapped in the elevator, the worse his claustrophobia becomes.

Because the building isn’t really finished yet, the elevator’s alarm button doesn’t really work.  Other than the passengers trapped inside, the only people who know about the stalled elevator are Eddie’s partners-in-crime.  Irene (Carol Lynley) is Eddie’s girlfriend and she just wants to get the situation resolved with as little violence as possible.  Pete (Don Stroud) is Eddie’s sociopathic friend.  Pete is not only determined to rescue Eddie and retrieve the suitcase.  He’s also determined to take care of any potential witnesses by killing everyone on the elevator.

The Elevator is a disaster film, along the lines of Airport and The Towering Inferno.  Due to the hubris of a faceless corporation, a group of people find themselves trapped in a potentially catastrophic situation.  Some of them react with bravery.  Some of them react with cowardice.  All of them get a chance to reveal a bit of who they are on the inside.  Some might say that being trapped in an elevator is not quite as bad being trapped in a fiery skyscraper or being a passenger on a airplane that’s being held hostage by a mad bomber.  Technically, they’re right but I am also going to admit right now that I absolutely hate elevators and I try to avoid them whenever I can.  I always say that this is because running up and down several flights of stairs is a good way to keep my legs looking good and certainly that’s part of it.  But an even bigger reason is that I dread the thought of being stuck in a confined space with a bunch of strangers.  If I was on an elevator that was stuck between floors, I would probably lose my mind.  I have a hard enough time just standing in line for longer than 3 minutes.  As directed by Jerry Jameson, The Elevator does as good job of capturing the feeling of being trapped in a small space.  It’s not a film to watch if you have claustrophobia.

As for the cast, Myrna Loy is a delight as the eccentric Mrs. Kenyon.  And seriously, how can you dislike any film that gives Roddy McDowall a monologue about how much he hates skyscrapers?  It’s an entertaining, if undemanding, film.  After watching The Elevator, I’ll keep taking the stairs.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 1/15/23 — 1/21/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Again, this was another week that was, for the most part, dedicated to watching movies.  Here’s a few thoughts on the television that I did watch.

Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

This week was not only an Ava episode but it also featured a cat so you know I enjoyed it!

The Brady Bunch Hour (YouTube)

I watched and reviewed the first episode of The Brady Bunch Hour!  I’ve got 8 more episodes to review and, to be honest, I’m kind of feeling like I’m going to regret this decision.  The pilot was amusing because it was so corny and …. well, bad.  Unfortunately, corny and bad can only be entertaining for so long.  I know I’m probably going to get bored with this show after the 4th episode but, at the same time, I also know that it’s something that I need to watch and get out of my system.  I guess it’s better to suffer than to always wonder.

Football Game: Bengals vs Ravens (Sunday Night, NBC)

Jeff and I watched a football game on Sunday night.  Jeff’s from Baltimore so we were rooting for the Ravens but they lost to the other team and they also lost their chance to go to the Super Bowl.  That seems kind of unfair, to be honest, but I guess you only get one chance to win a game in football.  What I find strange about football is that each quarter is only 15 minutes long but each game seems to last a little over four hours.  If I was in charge of the NFL, I would get the clocks in the stadiums checked out because I think they’re running slow.

One thing I really hate about football is when the losing players start crying at the end of the game.  That always breaks my heart.  It’s just a game, I want to tell them.  You all still have so much living to look forward to!

The Cowboys are playing tomorrow and I hope they win because, if they don’t, everyone down here is going to be whining about it for the next nine months.

Hell’s Kitchen (Thursday Night, FOX)

The black jackets have been handed out.  It seems kind of obvious that Alex is going to win this season so there’s really not much suspense.  That said, it’s always nice to see Chef Ramsay actually being nice and encouraging for once.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Hulu)

I watched a few episodes on Tuesday.  I actually lost track of how many I watched but the one that I remember was about a clown getting stepped on by an elephant.  It made me laugh!  I might have to binge this show later.  I wonder why I didn’t review this show instead of the Brady Bunch Hour.  Oh well!  Hindsight is 20/20.

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

I watched the first two episodes of this new reboot series on Tuesday.  They didn’t really do much for me, though I do like Melissa Rauch so I hope the show can settle on a consistent tone over the next few episodes.  I was glad that Dan at least trimmed his beard but he really needs to just shave the whole thing off.  I don’t know what it is with older actors and their need to grow big, Santa Claus-style beards.

Project Greenlight (YouTube)

I watched the last two episodes of season three on Thursday.  John Gulager finished filming Feast and, unlike other Greenlight winners, his film actually looked like a real movie.  It’s a bit weird to watch a show like Project Greenlight now and listen to everyone talk about how much they respect the opinions of Harvey and Bob Weinstein.  I can also see why Chris Moore declined to return for the fourth season reboot because I doubt it was fun to be continually portrayed as being the angriest boss in Hollywood.

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 3.10 “Daddy’s Girl” and 3.11 “Family Tree”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, I will be reviewing California Dreams, which ran on NBC from 1992 to 1996.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

This week, California Dreams is all about family.

Episode 3.10 “Daddy’s Girl”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 19th, 1994)

Tiffani is worried that her father (Rod Arrantis) is lonely being a single man who spends all of his time studying humpback whales.  So, she decides to set him up with Ariel (Kristine Sutherland), who is also a humpback enthusiast.  (Wait, that sounds weird….)  Somewhat distractingly, Ariel is played by the same actress who played Zack Morris’s mother on Saved By The Bell so it’s easy to spend this entire episode wondering if maybe she divorced Derek Morris after Zack graduated from high school and Tiffani and Zack are about to become stepsiblings.

Anyway, things are great at first but then Tiffani gets jealous and tries to break up her father’s relationship by revealing the Ariel has a police record.  Unfortunately, Tiffani doesn’t actually bother to take a look at the record before barging in on her father’s date and it turns out that Ariel only has two unpaid parking tickets.  Today, of course, Ariel would be thrown in prison for the tickets and locked up while the FBI, CIA, and NSA searched her twitter account for any negative remarks about the government’s COVID policies.  However, 1994 was a more libertarian time and everyone on the show understood that parking tickets were no big deal.

After her father ends his relationship to keep Tiffani happy, Tiffani realizes that she was in the wrong.  That means that it’s time to save the relationship by singing a song!

The thing that bothers me about this episode is that Tiffani is a hundred times brattier than Lorena was when they all visited Lorena’s father’s ski resort and yet nobody accuses Tiffani of being spoiled.  That’s a bit of double standard.  That said, there was one funny scene in which a horrified Tony realized that there was nothing that Mr. Smith enjoyed talking about more than humpback whales.  “I’ve got to get back to work,” Tony said.  “I’ll just tell you about them while you work,” Mr. Smith replies (or words to that effect).  It made me laugh.

Episode 3.11 “Family Tree”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 26th, 1994)

For history class, the Dreams are investigating their family trees.  Jake reveals that his grandparents were refugees from Eastern Europe.  Sam reveals that her ancestors built the Great Wall of China.  Lorena turns out to be related to both Benito Juarez and Mario Lopez.  Tiffani is forced to research both the Smiths and the Joneses.  Amazingly, it appears the genealogical research is so easy that all you have to do is check out a few books from the library.

Tony is upset to discover that his earliest known ancestor was a slave so he makes up a story about being descended from an emperor.  Everyone is really impressed.  “That’s wonderful, Tony,” the very white teacher announces, “especially since most African-American can’t find anything before the Civil War.”  She said it in such a cheerful and condescending manner that it immediately made me think of the incredibly awkward episode of The Love Boat in which Captain Stubing took it upon himself to explain black history to Isaac.

Eventually, Tony is visited by the ghost of one of his ancestors and he finally decides to be honest about his background.  This episode was well-intentioned and nowhere near as bad as the infamous Running Zack episode of Saved By The Bell.  A bit of the humor was a bit awkward.  For a show that was ground-breaking in the diversity of its cast (at least as far as TNBC shows were concerned), a lot of the humor is still based on stereotypes and the same studio audience that cheered Tony for embracing his identity also laughed whenever Lorena spoke Spanish.  For the most part, though, this episode worked and it gave William James Jones a chance to do something more than just be the goofy comedic relief.

(Incidentally, I love family tree projects.  I’m Irish on my father’s side and Italian/Spanish on my mother’s side.)

Next week, it’s a double dose of Jake as he takes up smoking and considers losing his cool!

Live Tweet Alert: Watch Rogue with #ScarySocial

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, for #ScarySocial, Tim Buntley will be hosting 2007’s Rogue!

 

If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag!  The film is available on Prime.  I’ll probably be there and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.