Cats Leads The Razzie Nominations

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Razzie Awards are meant to honor the worst films of the year. It sounds like a noble goal, though the Razzies usually just go after easy targets and cheap jokes. In short, they haven’t really been interesting in a while. That said, they’ve been around forever and they usually get some attention from people who need some filler to report while waiting for the Oscar ceremony.

With that in mind, the 2019 Razzie Awards were announced yesterday and here they are:

WORST PICTURE
Cats
The Fanatic
The Haunting of Sharon Tate
A Madea Family Funeral
Rambo: Last Blood

WORST ACTOR
James Franco, Zeroville
David Harbour, Hellboy
Matthew McConaughey, Serenity
Sylvester Stallone, Rambo: Last Blood
John Travolta, The Fanatic and Trading Paint

WORST ACTRESS
Hilary Duff, The Haunting of Sharon Tate
Anne Hathaway, The Hustle and Serenity
Francesca Hayward, Cats
Tyler Perry (as Medea), A Madea Family Funeral
Rebel Wilson, The Hustle

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Dark Phoenix
Cassi Davis, A Madea Family Funeral
Judi Dench, Cats
Fenessa Pineda, Rambo: First Blood
Rebel Wilson, Cats

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
James Corden, Cats
Tyler Perry (as Joe), A Madea Family Funeral
Tyler Perry (as Uncle Heathrow), A Madea Family Funeral
Seth Rogen, Zeroville
Bruce Willis, Glass

WORST SCREEN COMBO
Any two half-feline/half-human hairballs, Cats
Jason Derulo and his CGI-neutered bulge, Cats
Tyler Perry and Tyler Perry (or Tyler Perry), A Madea Family Funeral
Sylvester Stallone and his impotent rage, Rambo: First Blood
John Travolta and any screenplay he accepts

WORST DIRECTOR
Fred Durst, The Fanatic
James Franco, Zeroville
Adrian Grunberg, Rambo: Last Blood
Tom Hooper, Cats
Neil Marshall, Hellboy

WORST SCREENPLAY
Cats, Screenplay by Lee Hall and Tom Hooper
The Haunting of Sharon Tate, Written by Danial Farrands
Hellboy, Screenplay by Andrew Cosby
A Madea Family Funeral, Written by Tyler Perry
Rambo: Last Blood, Screenplay by Matthew Cirulnick and Sylvester Stallone

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
Dark Phoenix
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
Hellboy
A Madea Family Funeral
Rambo: Last Blood

WORST RECKLESS DISREGARD for HUMAN LIFE and PUBLIC PROPERTY
(New Category for 2019)
Dragged Across Concrete
The Haunting of Sharon Tate
Hellboy
Joker
Rambo: Last Blood

RAZZIE REDEEMER AWARD
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
Keanu Reeves, John Wick 3 & Toy Story 4
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Will Smith, Aladdin

Here Are The 20 Semi-Finalists From The Best Visual Effects Oscar

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For those of you trying to perfect your Oscar nominations before they’re announced in January, here are the 20 semi-finalists for the Best Visual Effects Oscar! So, if you were planning on predicting a nomination for Godzilla or Shazam!, drop them from your list because they didn’t make it. Instead, the nominees will come from the list below:

“Ad Astra”
“The Aeronauts”
“Aladdin”
“Alita: Battle Angel”
“Avengers: Endgame”
“Captain Marvel”
“Cats”
“Dumbo”
“Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Gemini Man”
“The Irishman”
“Jumanji: The Next Level”
“The Lion King”
“Men in Black: International”
“Midway”
“1917”
“Spider-Man: Far from Home”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
“Terminator: Dark Fate”

4 Shots From 4 Films: The Incredible Shrinking Man, Sleepwalkers, Team America: World Police, Captain Marvel

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Doc Bowman

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 we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

Happy International Cat Day!

4 Shots From 4 Films

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, dir by Jack Arnold)

Sleepwalkers (1992, dir by Mick Garris)

Team America: World Police (2004, dir by Trey Parker)

Captain Marvel (2019, dir by Anna Bolden and Ryan Fleck)

Here’s That Trailer For Cats

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Okay, so apparently, some people find the just-released trailer for Cats to be kinda creepy.

Speaking for myself, the trailer pretty much looks like what I would expect a film version of Cats to look like. I mean, the entire point of the stage production is that everyone dresses up like a cat and sings their heart out! The cat costumes and the makeup are a part of the production so I don’t know what everyone’s complaining about….

Well, okay, I will admit that I cringed when Rebel Wilson showed up but that’s just because it was so inevitable that Rebel Wilson would be in this movie. She’s like the female version of James Corden and …. oh wait, he’s in the film too?

Listen, I’m going to say it right now. Cats is going to be great. Well, maybe not great but it’s definitely going to be something that you’re going to want to be able to tell your children that you witnessed firsthand. A friend of mine hasn’t done shrooms in like ten years but he’s planning on indulging for one night only, the night that he sees this film. That’s type of cultural phenomena that Cats has the potential to be! (That said, he won’t be seeing the movie with me because I don’t want to be around if he has a bad trip. I’m never really sure what my exact obligation is in a situation like that.) Some people are going to hate this film but I like the whole idea of the film encouraging people to believe in something more than just pure cynicism, I just wish the film starred actual cats.

Anyway, here’s the trailer. Taylor Swift’s in it so you know the movie’s going to be a financial success no matter what the critics say.

Lisa’s Early Oscar Predictions For June

Posted on June 30, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

We’re at the halfway mark as far as 2019 in concerned, which means that the Oscar race is about to start getting a lot more clear. Soon, instead of random guesses, we’ll be making educated guesses. Then again, it is important to remember that — at this time last year — no one thought Bohemian Rhapsody would score a best picture nomination. In fact, only a few people have ever heard about Green Book.

So, as always, take my monthly predictions with a grain of salt. They’re based on a combination what I’m hearing (and reading) from other film people and my own instincts (for whatever their worth). To be honest, I suppose that these predictions reflect my own prejudices as well. I’d love to see Terrence Malick honored, for instance. I also think that it’s a crime that Amy Adams hasn’t ever won an Oscar so I have her listed, even though I fear she might be miscast as the lead in The Woman In The Window. At the same time, I’m bored with Meryl Streep getting nominated just for showing up so I left her out of my predictions, even though she has two high-profile films coming out later this year.

To see how my thinking has (or hasn’t) evolved, check out my predictions for January, February, March, April, and May!

And now, here are the predictions!

Best Picture

1917

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

Cats

Fair and Balanced

Harriet

A Hidden Life

The Irishman

JoJo Rabbit

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

The Peanut Butter Falcon

Best Director

Kasi Lemmons for Harriet

Terrence Malick for A Hidden Life

Sam Mendes for 1917

Martin Scorsese for The Irishman

Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Actor

Antonio Banderas in Pain & Glory

Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon On A Time In Hollywood

Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name

John Lithgow in Fair and Balanced

Best Actress

Amy Adams in The Woman in the Window

Cynthia Erivo in Harriet

Saoirse Ronan in Little Women

Jodie Turner-Smith in Queen & Slim

Alfre Woodard in Clemency

Best Supporting Actor

Shia LaBeouf in The Peanut Butter Falcon

Malcolm McDowell in Fair & Balanced

Ian McKellen in Cats

Sam Neill in Blackbird

Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress

Annette Bening in The Report

Laura Dern in Little Women

Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbit

Nicole Kidman in The Goldfinch

Margot Robbie in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Lisa’s Too Early Oscar Predictions For May

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s that time of the month again!

It’s time for me to offer up my early Oscar predictions!

These will be my first set of predictions since the Cannes Film Festival. It’s always debatable just how much of an influence Cannes will actually have on the Oscar voting. A victory at Cannes pretty much led to Tree of Life receiving an Oscar nomination and it certainly didn’t harm the chances of BlackKklansman last year. While Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life may not have picked up any major awards at Cannes, the positive critical reception that both of those films received can only help. The same can be said of The Lighthouse, which was shown out of competition. Finally, the Cannes jury gave its best actor award to Antonio Banderas and, for now, that’s enough for me to add him to my list of predicted nominees.

So, without any further ado, here are my predictions for May! If you want to see how my thinking has evolved over the year, be sure to also check out my predictions for January, February, March, and April!

Best Picture

1917

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Fair and Balanced

The Goldfinch

Harriet

A Hidden Life

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Little Women

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Director

Kasi Lemmons for Harriet

Terrence Malick for A Hidden Life

Sam Mendes for 1917

Martin Scorsese for The Irishman

Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Actor

Antonio Banderas in Pain & Glory

Willem DaFoe in The Lighthouse

Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

John Lithgow in Fair and Balanced

Best Actress

Amy Adams in The Woman in the Window

Cynthia Erivo in Harriet

Blake Lively in The Rhythm Section

Saoirse Ronan in Little Women

Alfre Woodard in Clemency

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon in Ford v. Ferrari

Malcolm McDowell in Fair and Balanced

Ian McKellen in Cats

Sam Neill in Blackbird

Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress

Annette Bening in The Report

Laura Dern in Little Women

Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbit

Nicole Kidman in The Goldfinch

Margot Robbie in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Lisa’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions for April

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

To repeat what I say every month, it’s pretty much a fool’s errand to try to guess what’s going to be nominated for an Oscar this early in the year. Some of the choices below — A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, The Irishman, Little Women,Once Upon A Time In Hollywood — are there because of their directors or their stars. Some — like Cats and 1917 — are there because they sound like they’re either going to be brilliant or total disasters. Call of the Wild and Fair and Balanced are listed because of my own instincts, for whatever they’re worth. Harriet is listed because Clayton Davis over at Awards Circuit is currently predicting that it will be nominated and he’s got a pretty good track record as far as predicting these things is concerned. Queen & Slim is listed because I saw a few people on twitter raving about a preview of it that they were lucky enough to see. Myself, I have no idea what Queen & Slim is about, beyond the fact that it deals with two people on a date who are pulled over by the police. (That’s according to the imdb.) See how random this is?

So, I guess what I’m saying is that you should take these predictions with a grain of salt. In fact, you should pour salt all over these predictions. The Oscar race usually doesn’t even start to become clear until around September.

The Cannes Film Festival will be held next month. Sometimes, Cannes lends some clarity to the Oscar race. (Tree of Life and BlackKklansman both stated their Oscar campaigns at Cannes.) Just as often, Cannes turns out to be totally useless as far as being predictive tool is concerned. Though the official lineup has not yet been announced, it seems probable that Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and perhaps a few more contenders will be screened at Cannes next month. We’ll see what happens!

If you’re interested in more predictions that you shouldn’t pay too much attention to, be sure to check out my Oscar predictions for January, February, and March! See how my thinking has progressed. Check out just how random my guesses occasionally are.

Best Picture

1917

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Call of the Wild

Cats

Fair and Balanced

Harriet

The Irishman

Little Women

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Queen & Slim

Best Director

Tom Hooper for Cats

Kassi Lemmons for Harriet

Sam Mendes for 1917

Martin Scorsese for The Irishman

Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Actor

Ben Affleck in Torrance

Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

John Lithgow in Fair and Balanced

Eddie Murphy in My Name Is Dolemite

Edward Norton in Motherless Brooklyn

Best Actress

Amy Adams in The Woman In The Window

Cynthia Erivo in Harriet

Blake Lively in The Rhythm Section

Saoirse Ronan in Little Women

Alfre Woodard in Clemency

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon in Ford v Ferrari

Harrison Ford in Call of the Wild

Malcolm McDowell in Fair and Balanced

Sir Ian McKellen in Cats

Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress

Dame Judi Dench in Cats

Laura Dern in Little Women

Tiffany Haddish in The Kitchen

Nicole Kidman in The Goldfinch

Margot Robbie in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Lisa’s way, way, way, way, way too early Oscar predictions for January

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Attempting, in January, to predict what will be nominated for an Oscar next year is a largely pointless exercise but it’s one that I do every year. What can I say? I like the Oscars. I like rituals. And I like making lists.

But seriously, don’t take these predictions too seriously. For the most part, they’re based on wild guesses and familiar names. For instance, The Irishman is listed because it’s a Scorsese film but that didn’t really help out Silence. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is listed because it’s a Tarantino film. Tom Hanks is listed because …. well, he’s Tom Hanks. Late Night and The Report are listed because of the excitement they generated at Sundance but Sundance hype doesn’t always last for a full 12 months. I’d love to see Amy Adams finally win an Oscar for The Woman In The Window but, to be honest, I couldn’t visualize anyone other than Naomi Watts in the lead role when I read the novel.

At this time last year, no one had heard of Green Book. Bohemian Rhapsody looked like it might just end up going straight to HBO. No one suspected Black Panther would be the first comic book movie to be nominated for best picture. Richard E. Grant was on no one’s radar and anyone who says they thought Roma and The Favourite would be the most nominated films of the year is a damn liar. It’s too early to make any sort of real guess about what will be nominated next year.

However, it’s never too early to make some cray, wild guesses!

Here are my way, way, way, way, way too early Oscar predictions for January. Some day, perhaps tomorrow, we’ll look back at these predictions and laugh. And then I’ll cry because it’s never fun when people laugh at you….

Best Picture

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Call of the Wild

The Irishman

Late Night

Little Women

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

The Report

Toy Story 4

Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

The Woman in the Window

Best Director

Nisha Ganatra for Late Night

Greta Gerwig for Little Women

Martin Scorsese for The Irishman

Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Joe Wright for The Woman In The Window

Best Actor

Robert De Niro in The Irishman

Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker

Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Best Actress

Amy Adams in The Woman In The Window

Annette Bening in The Report

Cate Blanchett in Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

Saoirse Ronan in Little Women

Emma Thompson in Late Night

Best Supporting Actor

Harrison Ford in Call of the Wild

Damon Herriman in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Sir Ian McKellen in Cats

Al Pacino in The Irishman

Wyatt Russell in The Woman In The Window

Best Supporting Actress

Dame Judi Dench in Cats

Laura Dern in Little Women

Nicole Kidman in The Goldfinch

Anna Paquin in The Irishman

Margot Robbie in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

And Now …. A Special Halloween Message from Doc Bowman

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Doc Bowman

Hi, everyone!

Doc Bowman here with a very special message!

Tomorrow is Halloween, which my owners — the flame-haired one and the nice one — says is the greatest time of the year! It’s the time when kids get candy, horror movies are on TV, and my owners get to play dress up!

But it’s also a time when sick and stupid people do bad things. I’m a black cat so both the flame-haired and the nice-one say that I’m not going to be allowed go outside at all tomorrow. They say it doesn’t matter how much I beg, I’m staying inside. I know they’re doing the right thing but I’m still going to beg and knock things off of tables and counters because I’m a cat and that’s what I do.

Tomorrow night, please make sure that all your pets are safely inside. It may sound like a silly concern but not everyone out there is as nice and wonderful as my owners and the people who read this site!

Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!

Horror Book Review: You Are A Cat In The Zombie Apocalypse by Sherwin Tija

Posted on October 28, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a cat?

Sure, we all have!

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?

Who hasn’t?

Well, now, you can get the answer to both questions! First published in 2011, You Are A Cat In The Zombie Apocalypse is a “pick-a-plot” book. It’s one of those books where, at the end of each page, you’re given a series of options. For instance, at the bottom of Page 120, we have, “Do you run? If so, take off to page 169. If you stay put, turn to page 123.”

In this book, you’re a cat named Holden Catfield. One day, you’re just waking up from a nap. You’re minding your own business. You’re just being a cat, basically. Suddenly, all the humans are acting strange. Weird-looking people are wandering the streets and biting each other! Your owner’s daughter wants you to get in a car with her and a stranger so you can all go somewhere else. Do you get in the car or do you explore your neighborhood?

That’s the first of many choices that you’ll have to make. They’re important choices because, if you do happen to find yourself in a situation where you get bitten by a weird human, you’ll turn into a zombie yourself. And then you’ll be the one looking for people to bite…

Now, our longtime readers know that I’m both a cat person and a lover of zombie films. So, needless to say, I totally and completely loved You Are A Cat In The Zombie Apocalypse! Not only does this book capture what it’s like to be a cat but it also does a pretty good job of capturing what I imagine it’s like to be a zombie. Don’t worry, though. Make the right choices and Holden will never turn into a zombie.

You Are A Cat In The Zombie Apocalypse was written and illustrated by Sherwin Tija, who did an excellent job on both counts. The book ends with a collection of “Catknowldgements” and a page that tells about the “Meowthur” and the “Mewllustrator.” If you’re a cat person, you’ll love it.