Tag Archives: June Squibb

Sing Sing Wins In San Diego

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the San Diego Film Critics Society named Sing Sing the best film of 2024!  All of the winners and nominees can be found below!

Best Picture
ANORA (1st RUNNER UP)
CHALLENGERS
CONCLAVE (2nd RUNNER UP)
DUNE: PART TWO
SING SING (WINNER)

Best Director
Brady Corbet – THE BRUTALIST
Coralie Fargeat – THE SUBSTANCE
Denis Villeneuve – DUNE: PART TWO (WINNER)
Edward Berger – CONCLAVE
Greg Kwedar – SING SING (RUNNER UP)

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – THE BRUTALIST (1st RUNNER UP)
Colman Domingo – SING SING (WINNER)
Daniel Craig – QUEER (2nd RUNNER UP)
Ralph Fiennes – CONCLAVE
Timothée Chalamet – A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Best Actress
Amy Adams – NIGHTBITCH (RUNNER UP)
Cynthia Erivo – WICKED
Demi Moore – THE SUBSTANCE
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – HARD TRUTHS (WINNER)
Mikey Madison – ANORA

Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin – SING SING
Denzel Washington – GLADIATOR II (RUNNER UP)
Guy Pearce – THE BRUTALIST
Kieran Culkin – A REAL PAIN (WINNER)
Stanley Tucci – CONCLAVE

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande-Butera – WICKED (WINNER)
Danielle Deadwyler – THE PIANO LESSON
Jessie Buckley – WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
Joan Chen – DÌDI (RUNNER UP)
Natasha Lyonne – HIS THREE DAUGHTERS

Best Comedic Performance
Aubrey Plaza – MY OLD ASS
Channing Tatum – DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
June Squibb – THELMA (WINNER)
Michael Keaton – BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (RUNNER UP)
Ryan Gosling – THE FALL GUY

Best Youth Performance (For a performer under the age of 18)
Alisha Weir – ABIGAIL
Alix West Lefler – SPEAK NO EVIL (RUNNER UP)
Elliott Heffernan – BLITZ
Izaac Wang – DÌDI (WINNER)
Katherine Mallen Kupferer – GHOSTLIGHT

Best Original Screenplay
Coralie Fargeat – THE SUBSTANCE
Jesse Eisenberg – A REAL PAIN
Justin Kuritzkes – CHALLENGERS (RUNNER UP)
Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska – LOVE LIES BLEEDING
Sean Baker – ANORA (WINNER)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Sanders – THE WILD ROBOT
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar – SING SING (WINNER)
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – DUNE: PART TWO (RUNNER UP)
Malcolm Washington, Virgil Williams – THE PIANO LESSON
Peter Straughan – CONCLAVE

Best First Feature (Director)
Anna Kendrick – WOMAN OF THE HOUR
Dev Patel – MONKEY MAN
Rachel Morrison – THE FIRE INSIDE
Sean Wang – DÌDI (RUNNER UP)
Zoë Kravitz – BLINK TWICE (WINNER)

Best Documentary
DAUGHTERS (RUNNER UP)
MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS
SUGARCANE
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (WINNER)
WILL & HARPER

Best Animated Film
FLOW (WINNER)
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
TRANSFORMERS ONE
WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL
THE WILD ROBOT (RUNNER UP)

Best Foreign Language Film
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT (WINNER)
THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
NO OTHER LAND
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
VERMIGLIO

Best Editing
Hansjörg Weißbrich – SEPTEMBER 5 (WINNER)
Joe Walker – DUNE: PART TWO
Kathryn J. Schubert – BLINK TWICE
Marco Costa – CHALLENGERS (RUNNER UP)
Sean Baker – ANORA

Best Cinematography
Alice Brooks – WICKED
Greig Fraser – DUNE: PART TWO
Jarin Blaschke – NOSFERATU (WINNER)
Pat Scola – SING SING
Stéphane Fontaine – CONCLAVE (RUNNER UP)

Best Production Design
Craig Lathrop, Beatrice Brentnerova – NOSFERATU (1st RUNNER UP)
Judy Becker – THE BRUTALIST
Nathan Crowley – WICKED (WINNER)
Patrice Vermette – DUNE: PART TWO (2nd RUNNER UP)
Suzie Davies – CONCLAVE

Best Visual Effects
ALIEN: ROMULUS
DUNE: PART TWO (1st RUNNER UP)
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2nd RUNNER UP)
NOSFERATU
THE SUBSTANCE (WINNER)

Best Costume Design
Colleen Atwood – BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Jacqueline Getty, Rainy Jacobs – THE LAST SHOWGIRL (RUNNER UP)
Jacqueline West – DUNE: PART TWO
Lisy Christl – CONCLAVE
Paul Tazewell – WICKED (WINNER)

Best Sound Design
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
ALIEN: ROMULUS
CIVIL WAR (RUNNER UP)
DUNE: PART TWO (WINNER)
WICKED

Best Use of Music
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (WINNER)
CHALLENGERS (RUNNER UP)
DUNE: PART TWO
SING SING
WICKED

Best Stunt Choreography
ALIEN: ROMULUS
DUNE: PART TWO
THE FALL GUY (WINNER)
GLADIATOR II
MONKEY MAN (RUNNER UP)

Best Ensemble
CONCLAVE (RUNNER UP)
DUNE: PART TWO
SEPTEMBER 5 (WINNER)
SING SING
WICKED

Breakthrough Performance
Mikey Madison – ANORA (WINNER)
Nell Tiger Free – THE FIRST OMEN (RUNNER UP)

Special Award for Body of Work
Nicholas Hoult – JUROR #2, NOSFERATU, THE ORDER, THE GARFIELD MOVIE

Here Are The Nominations of the San Diego Film Critics Society!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the San Diego Film Critics Society announced their nominations for the best of 2024!  The winners will be announced on December 9th …. hey, that’s right around the corner!

Here are the nominees:

Best Picture
ANORA
CHALLENGERS
CONCLAVE
DUNE: PART TWO
SING SING

Best Director
Brady Corbet – THE BRUTALIST
Coralie Fargeat – THE SUBSTANCE
Denis Villeneuve – DUNE: PART TWO
Edward Berger – CONCLAVE
Greg Kwedar – SING SING

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – THE BRUTALIST
Colman Domingo – SING SING
Daniel Craig – QUEER
Ralph Fiennes – CONCLAVE
Timothée Chalamet – A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Best Actress
Amy Adams – NIGHTBITCH
Cynthia Erivo – WICKED
Demi Moore – THE SUBSTANCE
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – HARD TRUTHS
Mikey Madison – ANORA

Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin – SING SING
Denzel Washington – GLADIATOR II
Guy Pearce – THE BRUTALIST
Kieran Culkin – A REAL PAIN
Stanley Tucci – CONCLAVE

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande-Butera – WICKED
Danielle Deadwyler – THE PIANO LESSON
Jessie Buckley – WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
Joan Chen – DÌDI
Natasha Lyonne – HIS THREE DAUGHTERS

Best Comedic Performance
Aubrey Plaza – MY OLD ASS
Channing Tatum – DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
June Squibb – THELMA
Michael Keaton – BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Ryan Gosling – THE FALL GUY

Best Youth Performance (For a performer under the age of 18)
Alisha Weir – ABIGAIL
Alix West Lefler – SPEAK NO EVIL
Elliott Heffernan – BLITZ
Izaac Wang – DÌDI
Katherine Mallen Kupferer – GHOSTLIGHT

Best Original Screenplay
Coralie Fargeat – THE SUBSTANCE
Jesse Eisenberg – A REAL PAIN
Justin Kuritzkes – CHALLENGERS
Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska – LOVE LIES BLEEDING
Sean Baker – ANORA

Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Sanders – THE WILD ROBOT
Craig Bentley, Greg Kwedar – SING SING
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – DUNE: PART TWO
Malcolm Washington, Virgil Williams – THE PIANO LESSON
Peter Straughan – CONCLAVE

Best First Feature (Director)
Anna Kendrick – WOMAN OF THE HOUR
Dev Patel – MONKEY MAN
Rachel Morrison – THE FIRE INSIDE
Sean Wang – DÌDI
Zoë Kravitz – BLINK TWICE

Best Documentary
DAUGHTERS
MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS
SUGARCANE
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY
WILL & HARPER

Best Animated Film
FLOW
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
TRANSFORMERS ONE
WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL
THE WILD ROBOT

Best Foreign Language Film
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
NO OTHER LAND
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
VERMIGLIO

Best Editing
Hansjörg Weißbrich – SEPTEMBER 5
Joe Walker – DUNE: PART TWO
Kathryn J. Schubert – BLINK TWICE
Marco Costa – CHALLENGERS
Sean Baker – ANORA

Best Cinematography
Alice Brooks – WICKED
Greig Fraser – DUNE: PART TWO
Jarin Blaschke – NOSFERATU
Pat Scola – SING SING
Stéphane Fontaine – CONCLAVE

Best Production Design
Craig Lathrop, Beatrice Brentnerova – NOSFERATU
Judy Becker – THE BRUTALIST
Nathan Crowley – WICKED
Patrice Vermette – DUNE: PART TWO
Suzie Davies – CONCLAVE

Best Visual Effects
ALIEN: ROMULUS
DUNE: PART TWO
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
NOSFERATU
THE SUBSTANCE

Best Costume Design
Colleen Atwood – BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Jacqueline Getty, Rainy Jacobs – THE LAST SHOWGIRL
Jacqueline West – DUNE: PART TWO
Lisy Christl – CONCLAVE
Paul Tazewell – WICKED

Best Sound Design
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
ALIEN: ROMULUS
CIVIL WAR
DUNE: PART TWO
WICKED

Best Use of Music
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
CHALLENGERS
DUNE: PART TWO
SING SING
WICKED

Best Stunt Choreography
ALIEN: ROMULUS
DUNE: PART TWO
THE FALL GUY
GLADIATOR II
MONKEY MAN

Best Ensemble
CONCLAVE
DUNE: PART TWO
SEPTEMBER 5
SING SING
WICKED

Here Are The Independent Spirit Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, most awards watchers will be devoting most of their attention to the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.  That said, the Independent Spirit nominations were still announced earlier today and Anora had a strong showing.  Meanwhile, The Brutalist, which did so well with the New York Film Critics Circle, picked up a nomination for Best Director but not Best Picture.

Here are the Spirit Nominations.  While looking at the nominations, keep in mind that a lot of potential Oscar nominees were not eligible for a nomination.  As a result, the Spirit nominations aren’t exactly the strongest predictive tool when it comes to guessing what will eventually be nominated by the Academy.

Still, it never hurts to be mentioned!

Best Feature

Anora
Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan

I Saw the TV Glow
Producers: Ali Herting, Sam Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, Sarah Winshall

Nickel Boys
Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine

Sing Sing
Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Monique Walton

The Substance
Producers: Tim Bevan, Coralie Fargeat, Eric Fellner

Best First Feature

Dìdi
Director/Producer: Sean Wang
Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters

In the Summers

Director: Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio
Producers: Janek Ambros, Lynette Coll, Alexander Dinelaris, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Cristóbal Güell, Sergio Alberto Lira, Rob Quadrino, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Nando Vila, Slava Vladimirov, Stephanie Yankwitt

Janet Planet
Director/Producer: Annie Baker
Producers: Andrew Goldman, Dan Janvey, Derrick Tseng

The Piano Lesson
Director: Malcolm Washington
Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington

Problemista
Director/Producer: Julio Torres
Producers: Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone

John Cassavetes Award

Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000

Big Boys
Writer/Director/Producer: Corey Sherman
Producer: Allison Tate

Ghostlight
Writer/Director: Kelly O’Sullivan
Director/Producer: Alex Thompson
Producers: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson

Girls Will Be Girls
Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne

Jazzy
Writer/Director/Producer: Morrisa Maltz
Writer/Producer: Lainey Shangreaux
Writers: Andrew Hajek, Vanara Taing
Producers: Miranda Bailey, Tommy Heitkamp, John Way, Natalie Whalen, Elliott Whitton

The People’s Joker
Writer/Director: Vera Drew
Writer: Bri LeRose
Producer: Joey Lyons

BEST DIRECTOR

Ali Abbasi
The Apprentice

Sean Baker
Anora

Brady Corbet
The Brutalist

Alonso Ruizpalacios
La Cocina

Jane Schoenbrun
I Saw the TV Glow

BEST SCREENPLAY

Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Heretic

Jesse Eisenberg
A Real Pain

Megan Park
My Old Ass

Aaron Schimberg
A Different Man

Jane Schoenbrun
I Saw the TV Glow

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Joanna Arnow
The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

Annie Baker
Janet Planet

India Donaldson
Good One

Julio Torres
Problemista

Sean Wang
Dìdi

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Amy Adams
Nightbitch

Ryan Destiny
The Fire Inside

Colman Domingo
Sing Sing

Keith Kupferer
Ghostlight

Mikey Madison
Anora

Demi Moore
The Substance

Hunter Schafer
Cuckoo

Justice Smith
I Saw the TV Glow

June Squibb
Thelma

Sebastian Stan
The Apprentice

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Yura Borisov
Anora

Joan Chen
Dìdi

Kieran Culkin
A Real Pain

Danielle Deadwyler
The Piano Lesson

Carol Kane
Between the Temples

Karren Karagulian
Anora

Kani Kusruti
Girls Will Be Girls

Brigette Lundy-Paine
I Saw the TV Glow

Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin
Sing Sing

Adam Pearson
A Different Man

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Isaac Krasner
Big Boys

Katy O’Brian
Love Lies Bleeding

Mason Alexander Park
National Anthem

René Pérez Joglar
In the Summers

Maisy Stella
My Old Ass

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Dinh Duy Hung
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

Jomo Fray
Nickel Boys

Maria von Hausswolff
Janet Planet

Juan Pablo Ramírez
La Cocina

Rina Yang
The Fire Inside

 BEST EDITING

Laura Colwell, Vanara Taing
Jazzy

Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
The Apprentice

Anne McCabe
Nightbitch

Hansjörg Weissbrich
September 5

Arielle Zakowski
Dìdi

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast

His Three Daughters
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto
Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

Gaucho Gaucho
Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Producers: Christos Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O’Reilly, Matthew Perniciaro

Hummingbirds
Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
Co-Directors/Producers: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger
Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

No Other Land
Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning

Patrice: The Movie
Director: Ted Passon
Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Producers: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius

 BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

All We Imagine as Light
France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Director: Payal Kapadia

Black Dog
China
Director: Guan Hu

Flow
Latvia, France, Belgium
Director: Gints Zilbalodis

Green Border
Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium
Director: Agnieszka Holland

Hard Truths
United Kingdom
Director: Mike Leigh

PRODUCERS AWARD  presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey – The Producers Award, now in its 28th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.

Alex Coco

Sarah Winshall

Zoë Worth

 SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD  – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 31st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

Nicholas Colia
Director of Griffin in Summer

Sarah Friedland
Director of Familiar Touch

Pham Thien An
Director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 30th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Directors of Sugarcane

Carla Gutiérrez
Director of Frida

Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Director of A Photographic Memory

Here Are The 2024 AARP Movies For Grown-Ups Nominations

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The awards precursor season is getting started …. kinda.

The AARP Movies For Grown-Ups Nominations were announced last week, on the 20th.  I’m only now getting around to sharing them because I’m not a member of AARP and therefore, I had no idea these nominations had even been announced.  It seems a bit earlier than usual, for them.  Then again, you know how retired folks are about getting up early.

How influential are the AARP nominations?  Not very.  These nominations were not made being film critics or people who work in the industry.  They were made by the editors of AARP’s magazine.  That said, it’s always good to get mentioned somewhere.  If nothing else, this list might indicate which films are resonating with the over-5o set.

Or maybe I just like long lists.

Anyway, here are the nominations!  The winners will be announced on January 11th, during the Denny’s breakfast special.

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Gladiator II
September 5

Best Actress
Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)
Nicole Kidman (Babygirl)
Demi Moore (The Substance)
June Squibb (Thelma)

Best Actor
Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
Daniel Craig (Queer)
Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
Jude Law (The Order)

Best Supporting Actress
Joan Chen (Didi)
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Nickel Boys)
Lesley Manville (Queer)
Connie Nielsen (Gladiator II)
Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)

Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)
Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
Peter Sarsgaard (September 5)
Stanley Tucci (Conclave)
Denzel Washington (Gladiator II)

Best Director
Pedro Almodóvar (The Room Next Door)
Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
Edward Berger (Conclave)
James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)
Ridley Scott (Gladiator II)

Best Screenwriter
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi (Emilia Pérez)
Jay Cocks and James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)
Winnie Holzman (Wicked)
Peter Straughan (Conclave)
Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (Dune: Part Two)

Best Ensemble
A Complete Unknown
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
His Three Daughters
September 5
Sing Sing

Best Actress (TV)
Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country)
Jean Smart (Hacks)
Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building)
Sofia Vergara (Griselda)

Best Actor (TV)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Idris Elba (Hijack)
Jon Hamm (Fargo)
Gary Oldman (Slow Horses)
Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun)

Best TV Series or Limited Series
The Crown
Hacks
Palm Royale
Shōgun
Slow Horses

Best Intergenerational Film
Didi
Here
His Three Daughters
The Piano Lesson
Thelma

Best Time Capsule
A Complete Unknown
The Brutalist
Here
Maria
September 5

Best Documentary
I Am: Celine Dion
Luther: Never Too Much
Piece by Piece
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

Horror(-ish) Film Review: Hubie Halloween (dir by Steven Brill)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

“Oh my God!” I said as I looked at what was new on Netflix, “A Halloween movie starring the guy from Uncut Gems!?  THIS IS GOING TO BE INTENSE!”

Of course, as I’m sure you already guessed, Hubie Halloween might as well be taking place in a totally different universe from Uncut Gems.  Uncut Gems was an intense drama that starred Adam Sandler as a man so self-destructive that he literally seems to spend the entire movie just daring death to reach out and take him.  Hubie Halloween, on the other hand, is fairly laid back comedy featuring Adam Sandler playing yet another well-meaning manchild.  The film features supporting performances from all the usual Happy Madison suspects, like Kevin James, Rob Schneider, Steve Buscemi, Tim Meadows, Ben Stiller, Maya Rudolph, Keenan Thompson, and Colin Quinn.  It’s sentimental and it’s about thirty minute too long and the humor is often juvenile but also frequently funny.

Adam Sandler plays Hubie, who lives in Salem, Massachusetts with his mother (June Squibb).  Hubie is the town eccentric, the type of guy who thinks that he’s protecting the entire town but who mostly just gets on everyone’s nerves.  A lot of people make fun of Hubie (who they call Pubie).  Pete Landolfa (Ray Liotta) may be mourning the recent death of his father but he still finds time to toss Hubie into an open grave.  Not even Father Dave (Michael Chiklis) has much sympathy for Hubie.  Hubie is the type of guy who goes down to the local school to give a speech on Halloween safety, just for the students (and teachers) to respond by throwing all of their food at him.

One of the few people who is nice to Hubie is his new neighbor, Walter Lambert (Steve Buscemi).  However, Hubie suspects that Walter might be a werewolf and when people start to disappear over the course of Halloween, Hubie suspects that Walter’s responsible.  Meanwhile, the police (represented by a heavily bearded Kevin James) thinks that it might be Hubie, seeing as how everyone who has disappeared is also someone who has bullied him.

Then again, Richie Hartman (Rob Schneider) has just escaped from the local mental institution.  Could he possibly have something to do with the mysterious happenings in Salem!?

When Adam Sandler won his Indie Spirit Award for Uncut Gems, he infamously announced that, if he didn’t get an Oscar nomination, he would get back at the Academy by making the worst film of all time.  Well, Sandler was snubbed the Academy.  (Though Sandler deserved that nomination — and probably nominations for The Meyerowtiz Stories, Funny People, and Punch-Drunk Love as well — it’s pretty obvious that the Academy is never going to nominate the star of That’s My Boy and Jack and Jill.)  However, Hubie Halloween is certainly not the worst film ever made.  It’s actually a rather likable and sweet-natured comedy, one in which the humor is definitely juvenile but, in contrast to some of the other Happy Madison comedies, never really mean-spirited.  In many ways, it’s a perfect Netflix film.  It’s good enough to keep you entertained while, at the same time, you don’t necessarily have to really pay attention to every minute of the film to get it.  It’s the epitome of the type of film that you can watch while doing something else.

One of the main complaints that’s always lodged against Sandler is that he primarily just makes movies so that he can hang out with his friends and get paid for it.  There’s a certain amount of truth to that statement and that, more than anything, explains why Sandler’s filmography tends to be so frustratingly uneven.  The cast of Hubie Halloween looks like they had a lot of fun making it.  Fortunately, in this case, that sense of fun actually translates onto the screen.  Steve Buscemi, June Squibb, and particularly Ray Liotta all seem to be having a ball getting to parody their own dramatic images.

Admittedly, Hubie Halloween is not a film that sticks with you.  It won’t make you laugh as much as Happy Gilmore and it won’t leave you stunned like Uncut Gems.  But, for what it is, it’s just likable enough to be entertaining.

 

Shattered Politics #72: Welcome to Mooseport (dir by Donald Petrie)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome_To_Mooseport

The 2004 film comedy Welcome to Mooseport would probably be totally forgotten if not for one thing.  This is the film that was supposedly so bad that co-star Gene Hackman looked at the final cut and then probably looked over at the Oscars he won for The French Connection and Unforgiven and then probably looked back at the final cut and then announced, “I quit!”  There’s a reason why Hackman now spends his time writing novels and, according to most accounts, Welcome to Mooseport is that reason.

In Welcome to Mooseport, Gene Hackman plays Monroe “Eagle” Cole, the former President of the United States.  From the minute we first hear the President’s name, we know exactly what type of film Welcome to Mooseport is going to be.  It’s not enough to give Hackman’s a character a totally over-the-top name like Monroe Cole.  He also has to have a cutesy nickname.  The entire time I watched the film, I found myself wondering if Monroe Cole was listed on the presidential ballots as being Monroe “Eagle” Cole.  Personally, I always find it funny when people feel the need to include their nickname in the credits.  Is it really important for every William out there to let everyone know that some people call him Billy?

Anyway, Eagle is apparently the most popular president ever.  However, he’s also recently divorced and his ex-wife (Christine Baranski, playing the same role that she played in Bulworth) wants all of his property.  Eagle is forced to retire to one of the few residences that he has left, his vacation home in Mooseport, Maine.  In order to keep his wife from claiming that home, Eagle decides to run for mayor of Mooseport…

Now, right here, we’ve got a huge issue.  Eagle’s only motivation for running for mayor is because he doesn’t want to have to give over his vacation home to his wife.  But that could be anyone’s motivation.  One does not have to be President to want to keep the house in a divorce.  It would have been more interesting if Eagle, now out of office and struggling to adjust to no longer being the most powerful man in the world, ran for mayor because he really wanted the job.

But anyway, Eagle is not the only person running for mayor.  Hardware store owner Hardy Harrison (Ray Romano) is also running.  At first, Hardy wants to withdraw but then he sees Eagle flirting with Hardy’s longtime girlfriend (Maura Tierney) and Hardy suddenly decides that he’s going to run and he’s going to win.

I actually like Ray Romano as an actor and he doesn’t give a bad performance here.  But, at the same time, it’s obvious that his scenes were written to capitalize on his TV persona.  It’s easy to imagine stumbling across a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond where Ray runs for mayor and has a panic attack when he loses.  The difference, of course, is that Ray Barone would not have been running against Gene Hackman (much less a former President).

Needless to say, Welcome to Mooseport has a sitcom feel to it.  After every line, you find yourself waiting for a laugh track.  Gene Hackman feels incredibly out-of-place in the film and there’s a discomfort to his performance.  Watching him in this film, you can see the wheels turning in his brain.  You can literally see Gene Hackman thinking, “I’m too old for this shit.”

And I guess he was because, in the 11 years since Welcome to Mooseport was first released, Gene Hackman has not appeared in another film.  Which is bad news for everyone waiting for Welcome to Mooseport Part II…

Back to School #48: Scent of a Woman (dir by Martin Brest)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

scent_of_a_woman_1992_685x385

Along with my current series of 80 Back to School reviews (48 down, 32 to go!), another one of my long time goals has been to watch and review every single film to ever be nominated for the best picture.  So, imagine how happy I was to discover that by watching the 1992 film Scent of a Woman, I could make progress towards completing two goals at once!  Not only was Scent of A Woman nominated for best picture of the year (losing to Unforgiven) but it also features a major subplot about life and discipline at an exclusive New England prep school!  Even better, it’s been showing up on Showtime fairly regularly for the past month or so.

“Wow,” I thought as my boyfriend and I sat down to watch this movie, “could life get any easier?  Or better?”

And then we watched the film.

You know how occasionally you watch a film just because you’ve heard that it was nominated (or perhaps even won) an Oscar or because it has an oddly high rating over at the imdb or maybe because someone said, “Roger Ebert loved this film so, if you don’t watch and love it, that means that, by that standard of the current online film community, you really don’t love movies?”  And then you watch the movie and you’re just like, “What the Hell?”

Well, that was kind of my reaction to Scent of a Woman.

Look, the film’s not all bad.  It has a few good performances.  It looks great.  It’s certainly better than Gigli, the film that director Martin Brest is perhaps best remembered for.  It features a great scene where Al Pacino (playing a blind man) dances the tango with a woman that he’s just met.  (Then again, I have a notorious weakness for dance scenes…)  It’s not so much that the film is bad as much as it’s just that the movie itself is not particularly good.

Charlie Simms (Chris O’Donnell) is a scholarship student at an exclusive prep school in Massachusetts.  Much like Brendan Fraser in School Ties, 1992’s other prep school melodrama, Charlie is a poor kid attending the school on a scholarship.  While his rich friends prepare to go home for the Thanksgiving weekend, Charlie knows that there’s no way that he can afford to fly back to Oregon.  In order to raise the money so that he can at least go back home for Christmas (how poor is this kid’s family!?), Charlie gets a temporary job for the weekend.  His job?  To look after Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino), who is blind and yells a lot.

Anyway, as you can probably guess, Frank convinces Charlie to drive him to New York and they have all of the adventures that usually happen whenever a naive teenager spends the weekend with a suicidal blind man.  Frank bellows a lot and tells about how, through his sense of smell, he can always tell when there’s a beautiful woman nearby.  Frank also yells a lot.  Did I already mention that?  Because, seriously, he yells a lot.

Charlie has other problems than just Frank.  It seems that a rather mild prank was pulled on the headmaster (James Rebhorn) of Charlie’s school.  As a result, a bucket of paint was poured down on both the headmaster and his new car!  Now, the headmaster is looking for those responsible.  He just needs two witnesses.  He’s already gotten one student to confess.  And now, he’s blackmailing Charlie with a letter of recommendation to Harvard.  All Charlie has to do is name names and his future is set…

Will Charlie name names and sacrifice his honor just to get into a college that could assure him a great life?  Or will Frank convince Charlie that honor is the only thing that matters?  And finally, will the film end with a big hearing in front of the entire school in which the headmaster attempts to badger Charlie, just to be interrupted by a sudden appearance from bellowing Frank Slade?

Will it!?

You can probably already guess and, since we have a no spoiler policy here at the Lens, I’ll just assume that you guessed right.  (Or you could just look at the picture at the top of this review…)

The prep school subplot pretty much just adds to the film’s already excessive running time.  But it is interesting to watch because the other student — the one who names names — is played by a very young Philip Seymour Hoffman.  (Or as he’s credited here, Philip S. Hoffman.)  This was one of Hoffman’s first screen roles and he gives a memorable performance as an unlikable character.  If you were to have seen Scent of a Woman in 1992, you would not have guessed that Philip Seymour Hoffman would eventually be an Oscar winner but you would know that he was a very talented character actor.

Otherwise, Scent of a Woman is a fairly forgettable movie.  If I hadn’t known ahead of time that it was nominated for best picture, I never would have been able to guess.  I’m not enough of an expert to be able to name every good 1992 film that was not nominated to make room for Scent of a Woman but I imagine that when that year’s Oscar nominations were announced, there were quite a few people left scratching their heads.

Can you figure out which one grew up to be Philip Seymour Hoffman?

Can you figure out which one grew up to be Philip Seymour Hoffman?

6 Obscure Films Of 2013: The Call, Copperhead, It’s A Disaster, See Girl Run, UnHung Hero, Would You Rather

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, it’s that time of year when I look at the list of the films that I’ve seen over the past 12 months and I realize that there’s quite a few that I haven’t gotten around to reviewing yet.  Here are my thoughts on six of them.

The Call (dir by Brad Anderson)

Abigail Breslin is kidnapped by a serial killer.  While trapped in the trunk of the killer’s car, Breslin manages to call 911.  Breslin’s call is answered by Halle Berry, a veteran operator who is recovering from a trauma that — by an amazing and totally implausible coincidence — was caused by the same guy who has just kidnapped Breslin.

Before it became a feature film, The Call was originally developed as a weekly TV series and, as I watched, it was easy to imagine weekly episodes that would all feature a different guest star calling 911 and needing help.  For the first hour or so, The Call is well-made and acted but undistinguished.  However, during the final 30 minutes, the entire film suddenly goes crazy with Breslin running around in her bra, Berry turning into a blood thirsty vigilante, and the killer suddenly getting very verbose.  However, those 30 minutes of pure insanity were just what The Call needed to be memorable.  There are some films that definitely benefit from going over-the-top and The Call is one of them.

Copperhead (dir by Ronald Maxwell)

Copperhead is a historical drama that takes place during the Civil War.  In upstate New York, farmer Abner Breech (Billy Campbell) is ardently opposed to both the Civil War and the union cause.  In most movies, this would make Abner the villain but, in Copperhead, he’s portrayed as being a man of principle who, by refusing to compromise on his views, is ostracized and ultimately persecuted by the rest of his village.  Abner’s views also bring him into conflict with his own son, who is pro-Union.

Copperhead is a slow-moving film that features some rather good performances along with some fairly bad ones.  However, I’m a history nerd so I enjoyed it.  It certainly tells a different story from what we’ve come to expect from American films about the Civil War.

It’s A Disaster (dir by Todd Berger)

Of the six films reviewed in this post, It’s A Disaster is the one to see.  In this darker than dark comedy, Julia Stiles brings her new boyfriend (David Cross) to Sunday brunch with 6 of her closest friends.  During the brunch, terrorists explode a dirty bomb in the city.  With everyone trapped inside the house and waiting for the world to either end or somehow revert back to normal, long-simmering resentments come to the forefront.

To say anything else about It’s a Disaster would be unfair so I’ll just say that it’s a very funny film, featuring excellent work from both Stiles and Cross.  If Jean-Paul Sartre was alive and writing today, he would probably end up writing something very similar to It’s a Disaster.

See Girl Run (dir by Nate Meyer)

Bleh!  That’s probably the best description I can give you of this film.  It’s just a whole lot of bleh.

Emmie (Robin Tunney) is unhappy with her boring marriage so she runs back to her Maine hometown, stops wearing makeup and washing her hair, and pines for her high school boyfriend, Jason (Adam Scott), who works at a sea food restaurant.  Jason also happens to be friends with Emmie’s depressed brother, Brandon (Jeremy Strong).  It’s the same basic plot as Young Adult, just with no humor and a lot more talking.  In Young Adult, it was hard not to admire Charlize Theron’s wonderfully misguided character.  In See Girl Run, you just want to tell Robin Tunny to take a shower, put on some clothes that don’t look like they were stolen from a hospital storage closet, and stop whining all the time.

It’s difficult to put into words just how much I hated this movie.  This is one of those films that critics tend to describe as being “a film for adults.”  I have to agree — this is a movie for really boring, depressing adults who like to talk and talk about how their lives haven’t worked out.  If See Girl Run is what being an adult is like, I’ll just continue to be an immature brat, thank you very much.

UnHung Hero (dir by Brian Spitz)

So, this is not only the worst documentary of 2013 but it’s also quite probably one of the worst documentaries ever made.  The film opens with footage of Patrick Moote (who claims to be a comedian) asking his girlfriend to marry him.  As Moote goes on (and on) to tell us, she turns down his proposal and then dumps him because, according to her, his penis is too small.  Moote spends the rest of the film talking to various people and asking them whether size really matters.

Well, he could have just asked me and saved a lot of time.  I’m sorry if this endangers any fragile male egos but yes, size does matter.  If Moote’s penis really is as tiny as he claims it is, I probably would have turned down his proposal as well.  Then again, Moote could be hung like Jamie Foxx and I’d probably still refuse to marry him because, quite frankly, he’s the whiniest and most annoying person that I’ve ever seen.  He’s like an even less charming version of Morgan Spurlock.  What Patrick Moote never seems to understand is that size matters but personality matters even more.

Would You Rather (dir by David Guy Levy)

Would you rather have a root canal or sit through this piece of crap?  Having seen Would You Rather, I can tell you that it’s not an easy question to answer.

Jeffrey Combs plays a sadistic millionaire who invited a bunch of strangers (including Brittany Snow, John Heard, June Squibb, and Sasha Grey) to his mansion and forces them to play an elaborate and deadly game of Would You Rather.  Unfortunately, none of the characters are interesting, the film’s sadism is more boring than shocking, and talented actor Combs is totally wasted as the one-note villain.

Here Are The 2013 SAG Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This morning the SAG Award nominees were announced and, perhaps not surprisingly, the story is less who was nominated and more who was snubbed.  For instance, Oscar front-runner Robert Redford’s performance in All Is Lost was ignored while Forest Whitaker’s rather one-note turn in The Butler was nominated.  Tom Hanks was not nominated for Saving Mr. Banks but the late and missed James Gandolfini picked up a nomination for Enough Said. Myself, I’m more surprised that Octavia Spenser was not nominated for her performance in Fruitvale Station.

As has been pointed out over at Goldderby, the SAG Awards are no longer the fool-proof Oscar prediction tool that they used to be.  Getting a SAG nomination no longer guarantees you an Oscar nomination and, by that same standard, getting snubbed is no longer an automatic cause for concern.

That said, the SAG winners do typically end up receiving an Oscar nomination in January.

The film nominees can be found below:

BEST FILM ENSEMBLE
“12 Years a Slave”
“American Hustle”
“August: Osage County”
“The Butler”
“Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST FILM ACTOR
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Tom Hanks, “Captain Phillips”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Forest Whitaker, “The Butler”

BEST FILM ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Judi Dench, “Philomena”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”
Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”

BEST FILM SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Daniel Bruhl, “Rush”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
James Gandolfini, “Enough Said”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST FILM SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”
Oprah Winfrey, “The Butler”

BEST FILM STUNT ENSEMBLE*
“All is Lost”
“Fast & Furious 6”
“Lone Survivor”
“Rush”
“The Wolverine”

The full list of nominees can be found here.

—-

* Isn’t it about time that stunt performers get an Oscar category all their own?

12 Years A Slave Wins In Boston

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Boston Society Of Film Critics voted earlier today and 12 Years A Slave — which, so far, has been underperforming with the critics’ groups — swept the awards.  The Wolf of Wall Street came in second for most of the major awards.

BEST PICTURE
“12 Years a Slave”
Runner-up: “The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”)
Runner-up: Martin Scorsese (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”)
Runner-up: Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”)
Runner-up: Judi Dench (“Philomena”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
James Gandolfini (“Enough Said”)
Runner-ups:
Barkhad Abdi (“Capt. Phillips”) and Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) tie for second.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
June Squibb (“Nebraska”)
Runner-up:
Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Nicole Holofcener (“Enough Said”)
Runner-up:
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Wadjda”
Runner-up: “Blue Is the Warmest Color”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“The Act of Killing,” Josh Oppenheimer
Runner-ups:
“Blackfish,” “Leviathan,” “At Berkeley,” “Crash Reel,” “20 Feet from Stardom ”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Wind Rises,” Hayao Miyazaki
Runner-up:
“Frozen”

BEST NEW FILMMAKER
Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”)
Runner-up: Josh Oppenheimer (“Act of Killing”)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki (“Gravity”)
Runner-up:
Phillippe Le Sourd (“The Grandmaster”)

BEST EDITING
Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill (“Rush”)
Runner-up: Thelma Schoonmaker (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A FILM
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
Runner-up: “Nebraska”