Let’s start this holiday weekend off with another music video from Lindsey Stirling!
In Celtic Carol, Lindsey is an elf who has been locked into Santa’s workshop. Apparently, Santa is a really demanding boss, which I always kind of suspected. I mean, if you’ve ever seen Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, you now what I’m talking about.
Anyway, Elf Lindsey manages to get in the Christmas spirit despite having to work.
Enjoy!
I’ve got snow on the mind.
To anyone who knows me, that should not come as a surprise. In fact, I put my friends and family through this every year. Once December rolls around, I start obsessively talking about how much I hope that it will snow. It always starts out as a cute but, around the 15th, I always start to curse the lack of snow in the forecast. By the time the 24th hits, I’m usually stamping my foot and making demands.
(Of course, I live in Texas so it’s rare that my snow wish is ever fulfilled. If it does snow here, it’ll probably be in late January or maybe Febuary. A few years ago, it did actually snow in Texas on Christmas Day but, even so, it was really more of a light dusting than a real blizzard.)
This year …. well, it’s not even supposed to get down to freeing on Christmas Day. That’s a shame because we are supposed to get hit by some rainstorms. So, we’ll get flooded but we wont get any ice or snow. Oh well. As long as the sun isn’t shining, I guess I’ll be happy.
Anyway, you may be wondering what all of this has to do with today’s music video of the day and the answer is not much. The song is called Snow but it’s not actually about snow. Instead, it uses snow as a metaphor for an intense relationship. The video itself doesn’t feature a blizzard, either. Still, I’ve got snow on the mind and this song and video may be as close as I’m going to get before this year ends.
Don’t get me wrong. Even if it’s not about real snow, I still like the video and the song because Adi Ulmansky is one of my favorite artists. (Again, I have to thank my BFF Evelyn for introducing me to her music.) This video was directed Shir Rosenthal, who is also credited with directing the video for Adi’s Dreamin‘.
Enjoy!
(And keep your hopes up for snow in Texas!)
Both this song and this video appeals to my sentimental side. I’m thinking about a lot of people this month. In fact, I sometimes feel as if I’ve got a thought bubble floating over my head and anyone could look inside of it and see exactly what I’m thinking about.
I guess that’s why I like this video. Everyone’s always thinking of someone.
This video was directed by Ace Norton, who has basically directed videos for everyone.
Enjoy!
I’m like really trying hard to think of something to say about the first trailer for the upcoming Hellboy film but, to be honest, it just kinda seems like almost every other super hero trailer that I’ve seen recently. You’ve got some one liners. You’ve got some glowering extras. You’ve got some hints of extreme violence. You’ve got a cheesy song playing in the background for some reason. (Mony Mony? Really?) It’s like they took the trailers for Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy and they just forced Hellboy into them.
That said, I liked both Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy…..
Anyway, Hellboy will be released on April 12th, which is often not a great sign when it comes to films like this. (An April release generally means that the studios is hoping to make a quick buck before the summer blockbusters come along.) On the plus side, Neil Marshall’s usually a pretty good director. So, we’ll see what happens!
“There’s two types of persons in the world. The ones that entertain and the ones that observe.”
Ten years ago, this song helped me get through the most difficult December of my life and, for that reason, it is today’s music video of the day.
To be honest, despite the fact that this is one of my favorite Britney songs, I nearly didn’t pick Circus for music video of the day because the song was co-written and produced by the infamous Dr. Luke. But you know what? The song may have been written by him but Britney makes it her own and this video isn’t about him. Instead, it’s about the circus that is everyone’s life. When Britney emerges in control, it’s a reminder that we all have it in us to put on the top hat and take control of the circus. It’s a slightly silly video but that’s what makes it so great. It’s a fun video and Britney appears to be happy, which was a huge relief back in 2008.
This video was directed by Francis Lawrence, who is today best known for directing all of the Hunger Games film, with the exception of the first one. He also directed Red Sparrow but we’ll forgive him for that. (Speaking of circuses, he also directed Water For Elephants.)
Enjoy!
For today’s music video of the day, we have Public Service Broadcasting’s Night Mail.
Both the song and the video were inspired by a 1936 British documentary called Night Mail. The documentary (clips of which are seen in the video) was a 21-minute film about a night in the lives of the London to Glasgow nightly postal train and the people who staffed it.
All in all, it’s a nicely atmospheric video from one of my favorite groups.
Enjoy!
For today’s music video of the day, I’m taking a little break from all the holiday music to share the video for Tove Lo’s Cycles. The song is about being trapped in a never-ending relationship loop, a theme that is perfectly captured in this video by one long take of Tove Lo performing while the world spins around her.
Enjoy!
On Sunday, the Phoenix Critics Circle announced their picks for the best of 2018 and The Favourite was their favorite!
Click here for a full list of nominees and check out the winners below!
BEST PICTURE
The Favourite
BEST COMEDY FILM
Eighth Grade
BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM
Annihilation
BEST HORROR FILM
Hereditary
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Roma
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
BEST MOVIE BASED ON A COMIC BOOK OR GRAPHIC NOVEL
Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
BEST ACTOR
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
BEST ACTRESS
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
BEST SCREENPLAY
Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara, The Favourite
BEST SCORE
Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk
On Sunday, the Utah Film Critics reminded me why I love awards season.
After a few weeks of the same three or four films winning award after award, the Utah Film Critics decided to go against the conventional wisdom and, as best picture of 2018, they selected the animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse!
Obviously, the Utah Film Critics aren’t as influential as the National Board of Review or the Golden Globes or even the Critics Choice Awards. If I had to choose between the two, I’d say that Black Panther has a far better chance of becoming the first comic book movie to be nominated for best picture. Still, it’s always fun to play what if.
(Also, Utah deserves credit for giving acting awards to both Elsie Fisher and Hugh Grant.)
Anyway, here are all the winners out of Utah!
Best Picture: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (RU: Roma)
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (RU: none)
Best Documentary Feature: Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (RU: Minding the Gap)
Best Non-English Language Feature: Roma (RU: Burning)
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma (RU: Ryan Coogler, Black Panther)
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, First Reformed (RU: Christian Bale, Vice)
Best Actress: Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade (RU: Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born)
Best Supporting Actor (tie): Hugh Grant, Paddington 2 and Russell Hornsby, The Hate U Give
Best Supporting Actress: Olivia Colman, The Favourite (RU: Elizabeth Debicki, Widows)
Best Original Screenplay: Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade (RU: Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Phil Lord & Rodney Rothman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (RU: Audrey Wells, The Hate U Give)
Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma (RU: Rob Hardy, Annihilation)
Best Original Score: Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury, Annihilation (RU: Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk)
Finally, the only state that matters is starting to make it’s voice heard in this year’s Oscar race!
On Sunday, the Houston Film Critics Society announced their nominations for the best of 2018. Houston really, really liked both The Favourite and If Beale Street Could Talk. The winners will be announced on January 3rd.
Here are the nominees!
Best Picture
A Star is Born
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Eighth Grade
If Beale Street Could Talk
The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book
Hereditary
Roma
Vice
Best Director
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Adam McKay, Vice
Best Actor
Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Best Actress
Glenn Close, The Wife
Toni Collette, Hereditary
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Vice
Claire Foy, First Man
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Best Screenplay
Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara, The Favourite
Paul Schrader, First Reformed
Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
Adam McKay, Vice
Best Cinematography
Rachel Morrison, Black Panther
Linus Sandgren, First Man
Robbie Ryan, The Favourite
James Laxton, If Beale Street Could Talk
Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Best Animated Film
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Original Score
Ludwig Göransson, Black Panther
Justin Hurwitz, First Man
Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk
Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs
Thom Yorke, Suspiria
Best Original Song
“All the Stars,” Black Panther
“Ashes,” Deadpool 2
“Hearts Beat Loud,” Hearts Beat Loud
“Revelation,” Boy Erased
“Shallow,” A Star is Born
Best Foreign Language Film
Burning
Border
Cold War
Roma
Shoplifters
Best Documentary Feature
Free Solo
Minding the Gap
RBG
Three Identical Strangers
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Texas Independent Film Award
1985
An American in Texas
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek
Support the Girls
Tejano
Visual Effects
Black Panther
First Man
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Best Poster
BlacKkKlansman (two)
Mandy
Suspiria (two)
Best Worst Film of the Year
The 15:17 to Paris
The Happytime Murders
Life Itself
Peppermint
Venom
