6 Trailers For Pop Music Day

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

According to the good folks at Checkiday, today is Pop Music Day! In honor of this prestigious holiday, this week’s edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse Trailers is all about music!

Head (1968)

First off, we’ve got the trailer for Head, starring the Monkees! This film was co-written by Jack Nicholson.

2. The Great Rock and Roll Swindle (1980)

In the first film that Julien Temple made about the history of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren presents himself as being the genius behind the group and tries to keep viewers from noticing that Johnny Rotten refused to have anything to do with the film.

3.Stunt Rock (1978)

I know next to nothing about this film but it was directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and that’s often a good sign.

4, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

Featuring Donald Pleasence singing the longest version of I Want You ever recorded!

5. The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

From director Penelope Spheeris comes the ultimate documentary about 1980s Los Angeles punk rock.

6. The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years (1988)

The decline continues.

Here Are The 2024 Nominations of the Minnesota Film Critics Association!

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Minnesota Film Critics Association has announced its nominees for the best of 2024. The winners will be announced on January 10th.

Best Picture
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
The Substance

Best Director
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Luca Guadagnino – Challengers
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

Best Actor
Adrien Brody as László Tóth – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig as William Lee – Queer
Colman Domingo as John “Divine G” Whitfield – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes as Thomas Cardinal Lawrence – Conclave

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp – Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva – Anora
Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle – The Substance
Zendaya as Tashi Duncan – Challengers

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov as Igor – Anora
Kieran Culkin as Benji Kaplan – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin as Himself – Sing Sing
Edward Norton as Pete Seeger – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren – The Brutalist

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland – Wicked
Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth – The Brutalist
Margaret Qualley as Sue – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes – Conclave
Zoe Saldaña as Rita Mora Castro – Emilia Pérez

Best Ensemble
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing

Best Adapted Screenplay
Conclave – Peter Straughan
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing – Clint Bently, Greg Kwedar
Wicked – Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox

Best Original Screenplay
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
Challengers – Justin Kurtizkes
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

Best Film Editing
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Best Cinematography
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu

Best Music
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Wicked

Best Costume Design
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Nosferatu
Wicked

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Best Production Design
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Nosferatu
Wicked

Best Sound
Challengers
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The Substance

Best Special Effects
Alien: Romulus
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
The Substance

Best Stunt Choreography
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II

Best International Feature
The Beast – France, Canada
Emilia Pérez – France
Evil Does Not Exist – Japan
Flow – Belgium, France, Latvia
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig – Iran, Germany, France

Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir Of A Snail
Transformers One
The Wild Robot

Here Are The 2024 Nominations of the Music City Film Critics Association!

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Music City Film Critics Association (that’s Nashville) has announced its nominees for the best of of 2024! The winners will be announced on January 10th.

BEST PICTURE
Anora
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
Sing Sing
The Brutalist
The Substance
Wicked

THE JIM RIDLEY AWARD
Close Your Eyes
Eno
Hundreds of Beavers
The People’s Joker
The Substance

BEST DIRECTOR
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Robert Eggers – Nosferatu

BEST ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Demi Moore – The Substance
Lily Rose-Depp – Nosferatu
Mikey Madison – Anora
Nicole Kidman – Babygirl

BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Sebastian Stan – A Different Man
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Katy O Brian – Love Lies Bleeding
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Pérez

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

YOUNG ACTRESS
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Alyla Brown – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Ariel Donoghue – Trap
Beatrice Schneider – The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Maisy Stella – My Old Ass

YOUNG ACTOR
Elliott Heffernam – Blitz
Ethan Herisse – Nickel Boys
Griffin Kramer – The People’s Joker
Ian Foreman – I Saw the TV Glow
Izaac Wang – Didi

BEST ENSEMBLE
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST MUSIC FILM
A Complete Unknown
Emilia Pérez
Kneecap
Piece by Piece
Wicked

ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

DOCUMENTARY
Daughters
No Other Land
Sugarcane
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

INTERNATIONAL FILM
Emilia Pérez
Flow
I’m Still Here
Red Rooms
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

SCREENPLAY
A Real Pain
Anora
Challengers
The Brutalist
The Substance

ORIGINAL SONG
Claw Machine – I Saw the TV Glow
Compress/Repress – Challengers
El Mal – Emilia Pérez
Kiss the Sky – The Wild Robot
Like a Bird – Sing Sing

SCORE
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
The Brutalist

SOUND
Civil War
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
The Brutalist

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Hundreds of Beavers
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
The Brutalist
Wicked

EDITING
Anora
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
The Brutalist

STUNT WORK
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Hundreds of Beavers
The Fall Guy

COMEDY
Deadpool & Wolverine
Hundreds of Beavers
My Old Ass
Saturday Night
Thelma

HORROR
Heretic
Late Night with the Devil
Nosferatu
Smile 2
The Substance

ACTION
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kill
The Fall Guy

The Substance Wins In Columbus

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Columbus Film Critics Association has named The Substance the best film of 2024!

Best Film
Anora
The Brutalist
Challengers
Civil War
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Love Lies Bleeding
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
Sing Sing
The Substance

Best Director
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Robert Eggers – Nosferatu
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

Best Lead Performance
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: Part I
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Sebastian Stan – A Different Man

Best Supporting Performance
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked: Part I
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Pérez
Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu
Stanley Tucci – Conclave
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

Best Ensemble
Anora
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
The Piano Lesson
Sing Sing
Wicked: Part I

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown and Dune: Part Two
Nicholas Hoult – The Garfield Movie, Juror #2, Nosferatu, and The Order
Cailee Spaeny – Alien: Romulus and Civil War
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice and A Different Man
Zendaya – Challengers and Dune: Part Two

Breakthrough Film Artist
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist – (for directing and screenwriting)
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance – (for directing, film editing, and screenwriting)
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing – (for acting)
Mikey Madison – Anora – (for acting)
Dev Patel – Monkey Man – (for acting, directing, producing, and screenwriting)

Best Cinematography
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
Benjamin Kracun – The Substance

Best Film Editing
Sean Baker – Anora
Marco Costa – Challengers
Jerome Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat, and Valentin Féron – The Substance
Nick Emerson – Conclave
Dávid Jancsó – The Brutalist
Nicholas Monsour – Nickel Boys

Best Adapted Screenplay
Robert Eggers – Nosferatu
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
Chris Sanders – The Wild Robot
Peter Straughan – Conclave
Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two

Best Original Screenplay
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers

Best Score
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Robin Carolan – Nosferatu
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Challengers
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two

Best Documentary
Daughters
No Other Land
Sugarcane
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Will & Harper

Best Foreign Language Film
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez
Evil Does Not Exist
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Animated Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

Frank Gabrenya Award for Best Comedy
Babes
Hit Man
My Old Ass
A Real Pain
Saturday Night
Thelma

Best Overlooked Film
Didi
His Three Daughters
Hundreds of Beavers
The Last Stop in Yuma County
Snack Shack
Thelma

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sergio Leone Edition

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Sergio Leone (1929 — 1989)

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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 lets the visuals do the talking!

96 years ago today, Sergio Leone was born in Rome, Italy. The son of actor/screenwriter Vincenzo Leone and silent actress Edvige Valcarenghi, Sergio was born into the Italian film industry. He began his career in the post-war rebuilding period, working as an assistant to Vittorio De Sica and, as an assistant director, for American films that were shot in Italy. (Albeit uncredited, he worked on two Oscar-nominated Biblical epics, Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur.)

After making his directorial debut with The Colossus of Rhodes, Leone went on to direct the films that would change the face of international cinema. Though he was hardly the first director of Spaghetti westerns, he was was the first to achieve far-reaching acclaim. With the Dollars Trilogy, he made Clint Eastwood a star and Eastwood has often said that the majority of what he knows about directing, he learned from working with Leone and later Don Siegel. Leone went on to direct the brilliant Once Upon A Time In The West and Once Upon A Time in America, two epic visions of American history that, sadly, were not initially treated well by their distributors.

Though Leone is only credited with directing eight films, his influence cannot be underestimated. As both a visual artist and a cultural and political commentator, his films continue to influence directors to this day.

For that reason, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Sergio Leone Films

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Duck, You Sucker (1971, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Giuseppe Ruzzolini)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Anora Wins In Central Florida

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Critics Association of Central Florida has announced its picks for the best of 2024!

Best Picture
Winner: Anora
Runner-up: Wicked

Best Director
Winner: Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
Runner-up: Jon M. Chu – Wicked

Best Actor
Winner: Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Runner-up: Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

Best Actress
Winner: Mikey Madison – Anora
Runner-up: Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Runner-up: Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Runner-up: Ariana Grande – Wicked

Best Cast
Winner: Wicked
Runner-up: Sing Sing

Best Documentary
Winner: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Runner-up: Will & Harper

Best International Film
Winner: Flow
Runners-up (TIE): Kneecap / Emilia Pérez

Best Animated Film
Winner: The Wild Robot
Runner-up: Flow

Best Screenplay
Winner: Anora
Runner-up: A Real Pain

Best Cinematography
Winner: Dune: Part Two
Runner-up: Nosferatu

Best Score
Winner: Challengers
Runner-up: Dune: Part Two

Best Original Song
Winner: “Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot
Runner-up: “Compress, Repress” – Challengers

Best Sound Design
Winner: Dune: Part Two
Runner-up: Wicked

Best Editing
Winner: Challengers
Runner-up: Dune: Part Two

Best Make-Up and Hairstyling
Winner: The Substance
Runner-up: Wicked

Best Production Design
Winner: Wicked
Runner-up: Dune: Part Two

Best Visual Effects
Winner: Dune: Part Two
Runner-up: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Best Costume Design
Winner: Wicked
Runner-up: Dune: Part Two

Best Stunt Coordination
Winner: The Fall Guy
Runner-up: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Best Hybrid Performance
Winner: Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
Runner-Up: Jonno Davies and Robbie Williams – Better Man

Best First Feature
Winner: Dev Patel – Monkey Man
Runner-Up: Julio Torres – Problemista

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Science Fiction Edition

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Lisa Marie 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 that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

Today, in honor of National Science Fiction Day, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Science Fiction Films

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, dir by Stanley Kubrick, DP: Geoffrey Unsworth)

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977, dir by George Lucas, DP: Gilbert Talyor)

Starcrash (1978, dir by Luigi Cozzi, DP: Paul Beeson and Roberto D’Ettorre Piazzoli)

Blade Runner 2049 (2017, dir by Denis Villeneuve, DP: Roger Deakins)

Book Review: Not Even Nominated by John DiLeo

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Rod Steiger won an Oscar for playing Chief Gillipsie in In The Heat of the Night but his co-star, Sidney Poitier, wasn’t even nominated. Despite the fact that Poitier delivered the line that everyone remembers — “They call me Mr. Tibbs!” — the Academy saw fit not nominate him alongside his co-star.

Timothy Hutton won an Oscar for his wonderful performance in Ordinary People but Donald Sutherland, cast against type as his conservative father and giving a heartfelt and heart-breaking performance, was not nominated.

In 1949, Walter Huston won a deserved Oscar for his performance in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre but, somehow, Humphrey Bogart was left out of the nominations.

Martin Landau was honored for playing Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood but Johnny Depp, playing the film’s title character, was ignored.

It’s something that has been happening since the announcement of the very first Academy Award nominations. Someone will win an Oscar and usually, they very much deserve it. Often, they’re a very popular winner because they’ve either overcome adversity or they’ve been nominated several times in the past without winning. But, in all the excitement over their victory, their equally worthy co-stars are overlooked.

John DiLeo’s Not Even Nominated takes a look at forty overlooked co-stars of Oscar-winning performers. Along with those that I mentioned at the start of this review, DiLeo also writes about performances from everyone from Charles Farrell in Seven Heaven to Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story to Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love and Samuel L. Jackson in Django Unchained. Some of DiLeo’s picks are familiar to film lovers. The fact that Poitier wasn’t even nominated in 1968 despite starring in three popular and acclaimed films is something that has been discussed in many books and cultural histories. But DiLeo also gives some time to some equally strong performances that aren’t always cited, like Ryan O’Neal’s performance in Paper Moon and Dirk Bogarde’s turn in Darling and Stephen Boyd’s brilliant (and rather brave) work in Ben-Hur.

It makes for interesting reading. (It helps the DiLeo has an opinionated but enjoyable writing style.) For Oscar obsessives like you and me, it’s a must-have.

6 Things That I’m Looking Forward To In January

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s January!

Traditionally, as far as pop culture goes, January doesn’t get much respect. If a studio has a film that they knew isn’t going to be a hit with critics or audiences, January is where they usually dump it with the full knowledge that, as bad as it is, everyone will have forgotten about it by the time summer rolls around. The same can often be said of publishers. With everyone busy getting caught up on what they missed during the last few months of the previous year, chances are that they won’t notice a few bombs dropped on the cultural landscape. That’s the theory anyways.

But, you know me! I’m an optimist. And I remain convinced that, even in January, there are things to which we can look forward, And here’s six of those things!

(Why six? Because Lisa Marie doesn’t do odd numbers!)

The Oscars

Yes, it’s that time of year! The Oscar nominations are going to be announced on January 17th! That’s two and a half weeks from now! Obviously, I’ve got quite a bit that I still need to watch. Wish me luck!

2. Sundance Film Festival

The first big film festival of the year opens on January 23rd. Which films will emerge as Oscar contenders from this year’s festival? It’s also possible that this year’s Sundance could be the last to be held in the snowy mountains of Utah. If Sundance does move to either Boulder or Cincinnati, this year’s festival will indeed be the end of an era. (Quite frankly, it’s hard for me to imagine a Sundance Film Festival without snow.)

3. Wolf Man

Directed by Leigh Whannell, the latest version of the Wolf Man will be released on January 17th. Will this Wolf Man be as full of self-pity as Lon Chaney Jr’s version was? We’ll find out!

4, Presence

As a filmmaker, Steven Soderbergh can be hit-or-miss. He’s directed some truly brilliant films. He’s also directed some rather pretentious dreck. His latest film, Presence, appears to be a horror film but, knowing Soderbergh, there will probably be some twist that will annoy me to no end. That said, the film stars Lucy Liu and she’s someone who definitely deserves to make a comeback. The film is due to be released on the 24th and I’m hoping for the best!

5. Screamboat

This is apparently a horror version of Steamboat Willie. This movie is probably going to suck but I’m just curious to see whether it’s going to be merely forgettable or a full-on disaster. Screamboat is destined to ruin some childhood memories on January 24th. Normally, I’d assign Case to check this out for us but I don’t think he’s forgiven me for making him watch Escape From Tomorrow.

6. Back In Action

Cameron Diaz came out of retirement to star in this action comedy. The script must have been really amazing, right? Uhmm….right? We’ll find out when the film is released on January 17th.

What are you looking forward to in January? Let us know in the comments!