Tag Archives: Film

The Florida Film Critics Name Dunkirk The Best of 2017!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Florida Film Critics have announced their picks for the best of 2017!  Check out the nominees here and the winners below!

Best Picture — Dunkirk

Best Director — Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk

Best Actor — Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name

Best Actress — Margot Robbie, I, Tonya

Best Supporting Actor — Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress — Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Best Ensemble — Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Original Screenplay — Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay — Call Me By Your Name

Best Cinematography — Blade Runner 2049

Best Visual Effects — Blade Runner 2049

Best Art Direction/Production Design — Blade Runner 2049

Best Score — Blade Runner 2049

Best Documentary — Jane

Best Foreign Language Film — BPM

Best Animated Film — Coco

Best First Film — Get Out

Pauline Kael Breakout Award — Timothee Chalamet

The Golden Orange — The Cast and Crew of The Florida Project

Cleaning Out The DVR: Christmas In Mississippi (dir by Emily Moss Wilson)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Hi there!  So, as you may know because I’ve been talking about it on this site all year, I have got way too much stuff on my DVR.  Seriously, I currently have 193 things recorded!  I’ve decided that, on January 15th, I am going to erase everything on the DVR, regardless of whether I’ve watched it or not.  So, that means that I’ve now have only have a month to clean out the DVR!  Will I make it?  Keep checking this site to find out!  I recorded My Christmas Prince off of Lifetime on December 9th!)

When I saw the title of this one, I immediately started thinking about William Faulkner.  I thought about the tragic Compson family and the scandalous Snopes family and the complicated legacy of Colonel John Sartoris.  I found myself wondering what Yoknapatawpha County looks like today and whether the town of Jefferson had changed much since Faulkner’s day.

Of course, Christmas In Mississippi is not based on a Faulkner short story, nor does it claim to be.  Instead, it’s a thoroughly pleasant Lifetime holiday movie, a good-natured celebration of Christmas tradition and romance.  Still, it’s rare that you ever seen any movie set in Mississippi, outside of the occasional Faulkner adaptation or stories that focus on Mississippi’s past.  Much as with New Jersey, it sometimes seems like the only time you see or hear about Mississippi on television or in a movie is when it’s being set up as the punch line to a joke so I guess my point  is that it’s nice to see a positive movie about Mississippi.  Not only is this film set in Mississippi but it was actually filmed there, in the lovely city of Gulfport.

As for the movie itself, it deals with Holly Logan (Jana Kramer), a photographer who returns to her hometown of Gulfport for the holidays.  Not only is she visiting her mother, Caroline (Faith Ford) but she’s also helping to set up the holiday light show, the first one to be held since Gulfport was hit by a destructive hurricane five years ago.  (In real life, Gulfport was hit and seriously damaged by Hurricane Katrina.)  The only real complication for Holly is that the festival is being supervised by Mike (Wes Brown), who broke her heart in high school.  Even though Caroline insists that Mike has changed and matured since high school, Holly doesn’t want to risk getting hurt again.  Fortunately, Mr. Kriss (Barry Bostwick) is working at the festival and he’s good at bringing people together.  And yes, Mr. Kriss is playing Santa Claus.  If you’re surprised by that, you’ve obviously never watched a holiday movie before.  (That’s not a complaint.  If you make a holiday movie where St. Nick isn’t the one bringing your couple together, you’re doing it wrong.)

Christmas In Mississippi is a nice little movie.  Though the plot may not take you by surprise, Jana Kramer and Wes Brown make for a likable couple and the entire cast has a charming chemistry.  You really do believe that they are all neighbors and they all did grow up next to each other.  It’s a sweet movie.  In the end, Holly does a good job with the light show and so does the movie.  For that matter, so does the city of Gulfport, which looks great in Christmas in Mississippi.

Cleaning Out The DVR: My Christmas Prince (dir by Sam Irvin)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Hi there!  So, as you may know because I’ve been talking about it on this site all year, I have got way too much stuff on my DVR.  Seriously, I currently have 193 things recorded!  I’ve decided that, on January 15th, I am going to erase everything on the DVR, regardless of whether I’ve watched it or not.  So, that means that I’ve now have only have a month to clean out the DVR!  Will I make it?  Keep checking this site to find out!  I recorded My Christmas Prince off of Lifetime on December 3rd!)

PRINCE CHARMING IS PRINCE CHEATING!

That’s an actual headline that is seen in My Christmas Prince.  The prince in question is Prince Alexander Theodore William Hendricks (Callum Alexander), who is the next in line to take the throne in some little European country that’s definitely not the UK despite the fact that everyone there speaks with a British accent.

Everyone knows that Alexander as a prince, everyone but his girlfriend, Samantha (Alexis Knapp).  She just thinks he’s a diplomat and technically, he is.  It’s not so much that he lied to her about being royalty.  It’s just that he didn’t tell her the whole truth.  He wants to be judged based on who he is and not his royal heritage.  Of course, by not telling Samantha that he’s a prince, he also hasn’t told her that he will eventually be expected to return home and rule his country.  Samantha has plans of her own, which don’t involve being the Queen of a small European country that is definitely not the UK.  She’s just been hired to design a summer school program for every school in the Bronx!  The children need her!

(Personally, if I had the chance to be the ruler of a small country that pretty much only exists to support its royal family, I would say screw the children and catch the next flight to Monaco.)

Anyway, when Samantha decides to spend her Christmas with her family in Wyoming, Alexander decides to follow.  And no sooner has Alexander stepped into the local diner then a waitress immediately recognizes him as the crown prince of whatever country it is that he is from.  It turns out that she saw pictures of him online, attending a cocktail party with the royal family of Sweden.

(Of course, it wouldn’t be a Lifetime movie if the Internet didn’t somehow threaten to destroy everyone’s happiness.)

Anyway, it takes Samantha a few minutes to get used to the idea that her boyfriend is a royal prince.  Of course, her parents are excited.  The entire state of Wyoming is excited.  But you know who isn’t excited?  Alexander’s mother!  Nope, she is scandalized at the thought of Alexander marrying a common American.  She’d rather Alexander marry a baroness.  Could this possibly lead to a bunch of misunderstandings and unlikely visitors coming to Wyoming?

What do you think?

Every Christmas, it seems like there’s at least a handful of Lifetime and/or Hallmark films that feature obscure European royalty falling in love in small town America.  Once you’ve seen one of these movies, you’ve seen them all.  There’s not a surprising moment to be found nor a disparaging word to be heard in My Christmas Prince, which is a mildly pleasant but eminently forgettable movie.  To be honest, I don’t really demand too much from these movies but My Christmas Prince just didn’t work for me.  For a predictable movie like this to work, there needs to be a real chemistry between the two leads but there really didn’t seem to be much of a spark between Knapp and Alexander.  Much like the movie, they just seemed to be going through the motions.

I’ve often been asked which member of the Royal Family I relate to.  Usually, I say Pippa Middleton but, to be honest, it’s the little girl in the picture below:

Here Are The 2017 Nominations of The Florida Film Critics!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oddly, the Florida Film Critics showed very little love to The Florida Project.  The acclaimed film only received one nomination, for Willem DaFoe.

BEST PICTURE

  • “Call Me By Your Name”
  • “Dunkirk”
  • “Get Out”
  • “Lady Bird”
  • “The Shape Of Water”
  • “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Christopher Nolan – “Dunkirk”
  • Greta Gerwig – “Lady Bird”
  • Guillermo del Toro – “The Shape of Water”
  • Jordan Peele – “Get Out”
  • Martin McDonagh – “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST ACTOR

  • Daniel Kaluuya – “Get Out”
  • Gary Oldman – “Darkest Hour”
  • James Franco – “The Disaster Artist”
  • Robert Pattinson – “Good Time”
  • Timothée Chalamet – “Call Me By Your Name”

BEST ACTRESS

  • Cynthia Nixon – “A Quiet Passion”
  • Frances McDormand – “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
  • Margot Robbie – “I, Tonya”
  • Sally Hawkins – “The Shape of Water”
  • Saoirse Ronan – “Lady Bird”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Armie Hammer – “Call Me By Your Name”
  • Barry Keoghan – “The Killing of A Sacred Deer”
  • Michael Stuhlbarg – “Call Me By Your Name”
  • Sam Rockwell – “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
  • Willem Dafoe – “The Florida Project”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Allison Janney – “I, Tonya”
  • Holly Hunter – “The Big Sick”
  • Hong Chau – “Downsizing”
  • Laurie Metcalf – “Lady Bird”
  • Mary J. Blige – “Mudbound”

BEST ENSEMBLE

  • “Dunkirk”
  • “Get Out”
  • “I, Tonya”
  • “Lady Bird”
  • “The Big Sick”
  • “The Shape Of Water”
  • “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • “Get Out”
  • “Lady Bird”
  • “The Big Sick”
  • “The Shape Of Water”
  • “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • “Call Me By Your Name”
  • “Marjorie Prime”
  • “Molly’s Game”
  • “The Disaster Artist”
  • “The Lost City of Z”
  • “Wonderstruck”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • “Blade Runner 2049”
  • “Dunkirk”
  • “Personal Shopper”
  • “The Post”
  • “The Shape of Water”
  • “Wonderstruck”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN

  • “Blade Runner 2049”
  • “Dunkirk”
  • “Phantom Thread”
  • “The Shape of Water”
  • “Wonderstruck”

BEST SCORE

  • “Blade Runner 2049”
  • “Dunkirk”
  • “Phantom Thread”
  • “The Shape of Water”
  • “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST DOCUMENTARY

  • “Dawson City: Frozen Time”
  • “Ex Libris: New York Public Library”
  • “Faces Places”
  • “Jane”
  • “Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold”
  • “Kedi”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

  • “BPM”
  • “First They Killed My Father”
  • “Loveless”
  • “The Ornithologist”
  • “The Square”

BEST ANIMATED FILM

BEST FIRST FILM

BREAKOUT AWARD

  • Barry Keoghan
  • Greta Gerwig
  • Jordan Peele
  • Millicent Simmonds
  • Timothée Chalamet

Cleaning Out The DVR: Snowed-Inn Christmas (dir by Gary Yates)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Hi there!  So, as you may know because I’ve been talking about it on this site all year, I have got way too much stuff on my DVR.  Seriously, I currently have 193 things recorded!  I’ve decided that, on January 15th, I am going to erase everything on the DVR, regardless of whether I’ve watched it or not.  So, that means that I’ve now have only have a month to clean out the DVR!  Will I make it?  Keep checking this site to find out!  I recorded Snowed-Inn Christmas off of Lifetime on December 16th!)

Oh, Christmas movies on Lifetime!

Seriously, Lifetime totally changes during the Christmas season.  For one month, everything that we normally associate with Lifetime disappears.  Gone are all of the films about being stalked by my doctor or betrayed by my lover or deceived by my house guest.  Suddenly, Eric Roberts is no longer plotting to kill Haylie Duff.  No one’s daughter is getting abducted and sold into slavery.  The houses remain grand and the clothes are still often to die for but, otherwise, Lifetime changes during Christmas.  Suddenly, it’s safe to fall in love with that handsome stranger.  The internet is no longer the root of all evil.  Instead, it’s now become a place where a harried single mother can find a handsome single father and hire him to play Santa Claus at a department store.  Lifetime changes for Christmas and we all love it.

Of course, there’s never anything surprising about Lifetime Christmas movies.  They pretty much all follow the same plot and that’s one reason why we love them.  The holidays can be stressful, especially when you can’t go on twitter without being implored to “take it to the streets.”  Lifetime films (and Hallmark films) provide an escape from all that.  They’re a trip into a much more innocent past.

Take Snowed-Inn Christmas for, example.  That’s not a typo.  While this film does deal with people being snowed in, it also largely takes place in an inn.  The inn is located in Santa Claus, Indiana.  It’s owned by Carol (Belinda Montgomery) and Chris (John B. Lowe).  Yes, they both wear red.  Yes, Chris has a white beard and an infectious laugh.  Did you expect any less?

Evil developers want to tear down the inn.  If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from watching Christmas Lifetime films, it’s that land developers never have the holiday spirit.  They always want to kick people out of their homes right before Christmas.  They always want to build a ski resort or a luxury condo or something.

The only thing that can save the inn is if proof is found that the inn is a historical landmark.  Fortunately, two online journalists, Jenna (Bethany Joy Lenz) and Kevin (Andrew Walker), are staying at the inn.  Kevin is the type of guy who eats a slice of pizza for breakfast.  Jenna uses an electric toothbrush.  That’s really all of the character development that they get but that’s okay.  Walker is handsome.  Lenz is pretty.  Both of them can deliver potentially silly lines with sincerity.  They’re likable and that’s all a film like this really requires.

Anyway, at the start of the film, neither Jenna nor Kevin have the Christmas spirit.  They’re not in love with each other, either.  How much you want to bet that will change as they work to save the inn from being bulldozed?  How much do you want to bet that their burgeoning relationship will be encourages by Carol and Chris, both of whom always have a twinkle in their eye regardless of how close their inn is to being destroyed.

Online, some critics have pointed out that Snowed-Inn Christmas is basically a remake of The Flight Before Christmas.  That may be true but who cares?  All of these Lifetime Christmas films are essentially remakes of each other.  That’s why we love them.  Snowed-Inn Christmas delivers exactly what it needs to deliver.  It’s a silly but sweet little movie.

Finally, Here Are The Winners From The Indiana Film Journalists Association!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Okay, one final precursor to share with everyone today.  The Indiana Film Journalists Association announced their picks for the best of 2017 on Monday.  They really liked Lady Bird and The Shape of Water.  They also liked Harry Dean Stanton for his final film role.

Best Film

Winner: “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: “The Shape of Water”

Other Finalists (listed alphabetically):

“Blade Runner 2049”
“Brigsby Bear”
“Dunkirk”
“The Florida Project”
“Get Out”
“The Post”
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best Animated Feature

Winner: “Coco”
Runner-Up: “Loving Vincent”

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: “Faces Places”
Runner-Up: “BPM (Beats Per Minute)”

Best Documentary

Winner: “Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992”
Runner-Up: “Liyana”

Best Original Screenplay

Winner: Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner: Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green, “Logan”
Runner-up: Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, “Blade Runner 2049”

Best Director

Winner: Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”

Best Actress

Winner: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Sally Hawkins, “Maudie”

Best Supporting Actress

Winner: Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Best Actor

Winner: Harry Dean Stanton, “Lucky”
Runner-up: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

Best Supporting Actor

Winner: Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Runner-up: Doug Jones, “The Shape of Water”

Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance

Runner-up: Sean Gunn & Bradley Cooper, “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”

Best Ensemble Acting

Winner: “The Florida Project”
Runner-up: “The Post”

Best Musical Score

Winner: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”
Runner-up: Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, “Blade Runner 2049”

Breakout of the Year

Winner: Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name” and “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Kogonada, “Columbus”

Original Vision Award

Winner: “Loving Vincent”
Runner-up: “Brigsby Bear

The Hoosier Award

Winner: “Columbus”
(As a special award, no runner-up is declared in this category.)

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle Name Lady Bird The Best of 2017!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Best Film
“Lady Bird”

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”

Best Actress
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Best Supporting Actor 
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Best Supporting Actress
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”

Best Screenplay
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

Best Foreign Language Film
“BPM”

Best Documentary
“Ex Libris: The New York Public Library”

Here’s What The Southeast Film Critics Association Picked As the Best of 2017!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Best Film: “Get Out”
Runner-up: “The Shape Of Water”

Best actor: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Runner-up: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Best actress: Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Runner-up: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Runner-up: Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Best supporting actress: Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Best ensemble: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Runner-up: “The Post”

Best director: Guillermo Del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”

Best original screenplay: Jordan Peele, for “Get Out”
Runner-up: Greta Gerwig, for “Lady Bird”

Best adapted screenplay: James Ivory, for “Call Me By My Name”
Runner-up: Dee Rees and Virgil Williams, for “Mudbound”

Best documentary: “Jane”
Runner-up: “Faces Places”

Best foreign-language film: “First They Killed My Father”
Runner-up: “The Square”

Best animated film: “Coco”
Runner-up: “Loving Vincent”

Best cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema, for “Dunkirk”
Runner-Up: Roger Deakins, for “Blade Runner 2049”

The Gene Wyatt Award: “Mudbound”
Runner-Up: “The Florida Project”

SEFCA Top 10 of 2017
1. “Get Out”
2. “The Shape Of Water”
3. “Dunkirk”
4. “Lady Bird”
5. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
6. “The Post”
7. “The Florida Project”
8. “Call Me By Your Name”
9. “Darkest Hour”
10. “The Disaster Artist”

The Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Honors The Shape of Water and Hugh Jackman!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society has named their picks for the best of 2017!

Best Picture
“The Shape of Water”

Best Actress
Sally Hawkins – “The Shape of Water”

Best Actor
Gary Oldman – “Darkest Hour”

Best Supporting Actress
Allison Janney – I, Tonya

Best Supporting Actor – TIE
Patrick Stewart – “Logan ”
Michael Stuhlbarg – “Call Me by Your Name”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin – “Molly’s Game”

Best Original Screenplay
Jordan Peele – “Get Out”

Best Male Director
Guillermo del Toro – “The Shape of Water”

Best Female Director
Greta Gerwig – “Lady Bird”

Best Animated Film
“Coco”

Best Foreign Film
“The Square”

Best Documentary – TIE
“Jane”
“Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond”

Best Visual Effects
“War for The Planet of the Apes”

Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins, “Blade Runner 2049”

Best Blockbuster
“Wonder Woman”

Best Independent Film
“Lady Bird”

Best First Feature
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

Best Comedy or Musical
“The Big Sick ”

Best Action/War
“Baby Driver”

Best Sci-Fi/Horror
“Get Out ”

Best Actor or Actress 23 and Under
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Best Stunt Work
“Baby Driver”

Best Score
Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”

Best Editing
Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos, “Baby Driver”

Best Visual Effect Performance
Andy Serkis, “War for the Planet of the Apes”

Special Awards 

Trailblazer Award: Jessica Chastain

LAOFCS Achievement Award: Hugh Jackman

The St. Louis Film Critics Association Names The Shape Of Water As The Best of 2017!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On Sunday, the St. Louis Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2017!

You can check out their nominees here and their winners below!

Best Film: The Shape of Water
Runner-up: The Post

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
Runner-u: Denis Villeneuve – Blade Runner 2049

Best Actor: Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
Runner-up: James Franco – The Disaster Artist

Best Actress: Frances McDormand – Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Runner-up: Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water

Best Supporting Actor: Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water
Runner-up: Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress: Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Runner-up: Holly Hunter – The Big Sick

Best Original Screenplay: The Shape of Water – Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
Runner-up: Lady Bird — Greta Gerwig

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Disaster Artist – Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (Screenplay); Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell (Book)
Runners-up: Call Me By Your Name – James Ivory (Screenplay); Andre Aciman (Book) and Molly’s Game – Aaron Sorkin (Screenplay); Molly Bloom (Book) – tie

Best Editing: Baby Driver – Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss
Runners-up: Dunkirk – Lee Smith and Sidney Wolinsky – The Shape of Water (tie)

Best Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049 – Roger Deakins
Runner-up: Hoyte Van Hoytema – Dunkirk

Best Production Design: The Shape of Water – Paul D. Austerberry
Runner-up: Blade Runner 2049 – Dennis Gassner

Best Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049
Runner-up: The Shape of Water

Best Score: Phantom Thread – Jonny Greenwood
Runner-up: Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer

Best Soundtrack: Baby Driver
Runner-up: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Animated Feature: Coco
Runner-up: Loving Vincent

Best Documentary Feature: Jane
Runner-up: Last Men in Aleppo

Best Foreign Language Feature: Land of Mine
Runner-up: First They Killed My Father

Best Scene: The Disaster Artist – Sixty-seven takes of “I did not hit her”.
Runners-up: Baby Driver – Baby gets coffee/opening credits and Lady Bird – The coach directing The Tempest using chalk talk (tie)