Tag Archives: movie

RUSH HOUR – 1998, a special year for this fan of Hong Kong action cinema!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

1998 was certainly a special year for me as a fan of Hong Kong cinema but first let me provide a little context… After 150 years of British rule, Hong Kong was being handed over to communist China on July 1, 1997. This left a lot of uncertainty in Hong Kong’s local film industry. Because of that uncertainty, many of Hong Kong’s most popular filmmakers decided it was time to take their talents abroad. Director John Woo had already left for America in the early 90’s and had made successful films like HARD TARGET, BROKEN ARROW and FACE/OFF. This gets us to 1998, the year that many of Hong Kong’s biggest action stars would release their first American films. Chow Yun-fat would reprise his popular, honorable hitman role in his first American film, THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS, which was produced by John Woo and directed by Antoine Fuqua. Jet Li would make a strong impact as the badass villain in the 4th installment of the LETHAL WEAPON franchise. And then there’s Jackie Chan, probably the biggest of all the Hong Kong movie stars. Jackie had been banging around Hollywood as early as 1980 without a lot of fanfare in the west. But in 1996 Chan had a solid American box office hit when his Hong Kong production RUMBLE IN THE BRONX was dubbed and released in America. Armed with that success and a sizable budget provided by an American studio, Chan would get his own big release in 1998, the action-comedy RUSH HOUR!

In RUSH HOUR, Jackie Chan plays inspector Lee, a Hong Kong police detective who’s also a friend to Chinese Consul Han (Tzi Ma), currently serving in Los Angeles. When Consul Han’s daughter Soo Yung is kidnapped, he asks Lee to come to America to assist him and the FBI in rescuing her. The FBI doesn’t really want Lee’s help so they ask the Los Angeles police department to assign someone, anyone, to stay with Lee and keep an eye on him so he doesn’t get in the way of their investigation. Enter fast-talking, LAPD Detective James Carter. After some initial clashes and disagreements, the mismatched duo eventually begins working together to find the criminal mastermind behind the kidnapping, Juntao.

I watched RUSH HOUR at the movie theater on my birthday in 1998. I loved every second of it. A few weeks later I was on a business trip in Chicago, I told my boss how good the film was, and we went to see it as well. I enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time. I’m a big fan of “buddy cop” films like LETHAL WEAPON and BAD BOYS, and RUSH HOUR is an excellent addition to that sub-genre of action films. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker have an excellent chemistry together. Their comedic interplay is hilarious and entertaining. It’s one of the main reasons I enjoy the movie so much. Jackie Chan was 44 years old when RUSH HOUR was released, but he was still extremely athletic so his brand of martial arts action and comedy still worked. The movie would go on to gross just short of $250 million at the worldwide box office and establish Jackie Chan as a bonafide star in the American film market. 2001’s RUSH HOUR 2 would be an even bigger hit, making almost $350 million worldwide. No one works harder or gives more of himself to his film productions than Jackie Chan, and it was nice seeing him achieve the truly worldwide success that he had earned! 

THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (1996) – the $4 Million script!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Shane Black wrote a couple of my favorite action movies during my teenage years, LETHAL WEAPON and THE LAST BOY SCOUT. His scripts are characterized by strong violence balanced out by a healthy amount of comedic banter. That lethal (pun intended) combination made Shane Black a star in his own right, with his work being very much in demand. In 1994 he sold his script for THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT for the unheard price of $4 Million. After hitting this payday, Black would go dark for the next decade and not release another screenplay until 2005’s KISS KISS BANG BANG, which was also his directorial debut. 

THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT opens with Samantha Caine playing Mrs. Claus in her small town’s Christmas parade. She has a nice boyfriend, an 8 year old daughter, and she’s a member of the PTA. This is pretty good for a lady that doesn’t remember a damn thing about her life prior to 8 years ago. After celebrating her friends at a Christmas party, she’s driving a soused old man (Alan North) home when she hits a deer and flies right through the window and lands on a snowbank. This wakes up some of her memories and she starts having a few quick flashbacks and some odd dreams from her past, including the name Charly Baltimore. She also learns that she can easily break a buck deer’s neck and handle knives like a champ! Around this same time, low-rent private detective Mitch Hennessy (Samuel L. Jackson) who has been paid a retainer by Ms. Caine to be on the lookout for any clues related to her past, gets lucky and finds a letter from Caine to a supposed former lover. He heads her way to give her the update. When a local news program shows the beautiful Ms. Caine in the parade, some enemies from her past see the story and head to town to try to kill her. Surviving the attempt on her life, and now with Hennessy by her side, Samantha leaves to find out who she really is and unravel the secrets of her past. Is she a chef? Is she a school teacher? Is she a badass hit woman named Charly Baltimore? The fun is in finding out! 

Geena Davis is so good in her role as Samantha Caine / Charly Baltimore. She’s simultaneously beautiful, funny, sexy, cute as a button, and badass. She was married to the director, Renny Harlin, when the film was made and they both went all out to create a strong, female action hero. I think they succeeded admirably. Samuel L. Jackson is just so good in this type of role. He’s sarcastic and funny, a little sleazy, and very much a reluctant hero who does the right thing when he has to. In 2019, Jackson would go so far as to tell late night host Jimmy Fallon that Mitch Hennessy is his personal favorite role. The remainder of the cast is fine, with Brian Cox particularly standing out. His declarative statement about the ultimate results of a small lapdog continually licking his asshole really hit home for me and is reason enough alone to watch this film.  

Ultimately, even though I personally went to see it during its theatrical run, THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT underwhelmed at the box office in 1996. It grossed around $90 million worldwide on a budget of around $65 million. But that’s fine to me, I enjoyed it in 1996, and I enjoyed it again when I watched it today! 

Here’s Al Capone With The 2024 Nominations of the Chicago Film Critics Association!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Chicago Film Critics Association has announced their nominations for the best of 2024!  The winners will be announced on December 12 …. hey, that’s right around the corner.

BEST PICTURE
Anora
The Brutalist
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
I Saw the TV Glow
Nickel Boys
The Substance

BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Keith Kupferer – Ghostlight

BEST ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Léa Seydoux – The Beast

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Adam Pearson – A Different Man

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked
Natasha Lyonne – His Three Daughters
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora by Sean Baker
The Brutalist by Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
Challengers by Justin Kurtizkes
A Real Pain by Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance by Coralie Fargeat

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Beast by Bertrand Bonello, Guillaume Bréaud, & Benjamin Charbit
Conclave by Peter Straughan
Nickel Boys by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Nosferatu by Robert Eggers
Sing Sing by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

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

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Dahomey
Daughters
No Other Land
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez
Evil Does Not Exist
Red Rooms
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Challengers – Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Dune: Part Two – Jacqueline West
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Jenny Beavan
Maria – Massimo Cantini Parrini
Nosferatu – Linda Muir
Wicked – Paul Tazewell

BEST EDITING
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
Challengers – Marco Costa
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Eliot Knapman & Margaret Sixel
Nickel Boys – Nicolas Monsour

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Challengers – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer
Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
Wicked – John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers

BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Hundreds of Beavers
The Substance
Wicked

MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Mike Cheslik – Hundreds of Beavers
Vera Drew – The People’s Joker
Payal Kapadia – All We Imagine as Light
Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Lily Collias – Good One
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Brigette Lundy-Paine – I Saw the TV Glow
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Adam Pearson – A Different Man

PAPA (2024) Film Trailer – Sean Lau stars in a movie based on a shocking Hong Kong true-crime case from 2010.

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’m a huge fan of Hong Kong actor Sean Lau (Lau Ching-wan). In my personal opinion, he’s one of the great actors in world cinema, and he can perform well in any genre. Some of his best films are true Hong Kong cinema classics, including C’EST LA VIE MON CHERI, FULL ALERT, THE LONGEST NITE, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, A HERO NEVER DIES, RUNNING OUT OF TIME, MY NAME IS FAME, MAD DETECTIVE, OVERHEARD, and THE WHITE STORM. I highly recommend each of these films.

A three-time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, Lau’s new film PAPA looks like it just may contain his best performance yet. PAPA is based on a gruesome murder that took place in the Hong Kong city of Tsuen Wan in 2010. The real-life incident consisted of a 15-year-old boy killing both his mother and his sister. In the film version, Sean Lau plays the grieving husband and father who has to somehow come to terms with his son’s actions and try to find a way to move on in his life. It’s an unimaginable scenario, and the trailer looks heartbreaking. Check it out.

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

The Indiana Film Journalists Nominate Everything

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Indiana Film Journalists Association announced their nominations for the best of 2024 today.  They kept things simple by nominating everything.  The winners will be announced on December 16th.
BEST FILM
Anora
The Brutalist
Challengers
Civil War
Conclave
A Different Man
Dune: Part Two
His Three Daughters
I Saw the TV Glow
In a Violent Nature
Longlegs
Mars Express
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
The People’s Joker
A Real Pain
Rebel Ridge
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Look Back
Mars Express
Memoir of a Snail
The Wild Robot

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Aattam
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez
Evil Does Not Exist
Los Frikis
Look Back
Mars Express
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Daughters
Ennio
Girls State
No Other Land
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
The Sixth
The Speedway Murders
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum and Alex David – September 5
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Alex Garland – Civil War
Azazel Jacobs – His Three Daughters
Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge
Aaron Schimberg – A Different Man
Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow
Julio Torres – Problemista

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield – Sing Sing
Jay Cocks and James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
Chris Sanders – The Wild Robot
Peter Straughan – Conclave
Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two
Virgil Williams and Malcolm Washington – The Piano Lesson

BEST DIRECTOR
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Robert Eggers – Nosferatu
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Alex Garland – Civil War
Luca Guadagnino – Challengers
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge
Aaron Schimberg – A Different Man
Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Kirsten Dunst – Civil War
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Demi Moore – The Substance
Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge
Justice Smith – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Nicolas Cage – Longlegs
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Adam Pearson – A Different Man
Dennis Quaid – The Substance
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu
Tilda Swinton – Problemista
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

BEST VOCAL / MOTION-CAPTURE PERFORMANCE
Tom Hardy – Venom: The Last Dance
Maya Hawke – Inside Out 2
Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
Pedro Pascal – The Wild Robot
Amy Poehler – Inside Out 2
Sarah Snook – Memoir of a Snail
Owen Teague – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Robbie Williams – Better Man

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Civil War
Conclave
A Different Man
Dune: Part Two
His Three Daughters
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
A Real Pain
Saturday Night
Sing Sing

BEST EDITING
Sean Baker – Anora
Marco Costa – Challengers
Jérôme Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat and Valentin Feron – The Substance
Nick Emerson – Conclave
Louise Ford – Nosferatu
Dávid Jancsó – The Brutalist
Nicholas Monsour – Nickel Boys
Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge
Terilyn A. Shropshire – Twisters
Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
Rob Hardy – Civil War
Benjamin Kračun – The Substance
Dan Mindel – Twisters
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Challengers
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Queer
Eric Yue – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Raffertie – The Substance
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Challengers
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Queer
Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow – Civil War
Alex Somers and Scott Alario – Nickel Boys
Umberto Smerilli – A Different Man
Benjamin Wallfisch – Twisters

BEST STUNT / MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHY
Bren Foster (action designer / fight choreographer) and Jaylan Foster, Jimmy Foster, Nick Harding, Jordan Petersen, Matthew Murgola and Mike Duncan (stunt team) – Life After Fighting
Muhammad Irfan (stunt coordinator / fight choreographer) – The Shadow Strays
Jeremy Marinas (fight coordinator and choreographer / second-unit director) – The Beekeeper
Lee Morrison (supervising stunt coordinator), Roger Yuan (fight coordinator / stunt coordinator) and Tanya Lapointe (second-unit director) – Dune: Part Two
Saifuddin Mubdy (stunt coordinator) and Brahim Chab (fight coordinator) – Monkey Man
Guy Norris (action designer / supervising stunt coordinator / second-unit director) and Richard Norton (fight choreographer / coordinator) – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Chris O’Hara (stunt coordinator and stunt designer) – The Fall Guy
Christopher Scott (choreographer) and Jo McLaren (stunt coordinator) – Wicked
Ashley Wallen (dance choreographer), Nicholas Daines (stunt coordinator), Slavisa Ivanovic (stunt coordinator), Tim Wong (fight choreographer) and Spencer Susser (second-unit director) – Better Man
Keith Woulard and Cory DeMeyers (stunt coordinators) – Rebel Ridge

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Mike Cheslik (visual effects) and Jerry Kurek (assistant effects artist) – Hundreds of Beavers
Bryan Jones (visual effects supervisor), Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky (visual effects producer) and Jean Miel (special effects supervisor) – The Substance
Paul Lambert (visual effects production supervisor), Gerd Nefzer (special effects supervisor), Rhys Salcombe (visual effects supervisor) and Stephen James (visual effects supervisor) – Dune: Part Two
Damien Leone (writer / director), Phil Falcone (producer), Christien Tinsley (design and creation of prosthetics and makeup effects), Brian Van Dorn (Tinsley Studios production coordinator), Ryan Ward (on-set makeup effects department head), Heather Albert (on-set makeup effects artist), Josh Petrino (visual effects supervisor), Declan Boyle (lead visual effects artist), Lincoln Smith (senior visual effects artist), John Caglione, Jr. (Virgin Mary / demon sequence prosthetics supervisor), Jason Baker (Callosum Studios on-set effects supervisor) and Jason Milstein (post-production supervisor and visual effects artist) – Terrifier 3
Luke Millar (visual effects supervisor) and Scott MacIntyre (special effects supervisor) – Better Man
Kevin Smith (visual effects supervisor), Kevin Sherwood (visual effects producer), Bruce Bright (special effects supervisor) and Michael Meinardus (special effects supervisor) – Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Ben Snow (visual effects supervisor), Florian Witzel (Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor), Charles Lai (ILM associate visual effects supervisor) and Scott Fisher (special effects supervisor) – Twisters
David White (prosthetic and makeup effects design), Angela Barson (visual effects supervisor) and Pavel Sagner (special effects supervisor) – Nosferatu (2024)
Erik Winquist and Stephen Unterfranz (VFX supervisors), Paul Story (senior animation supervisor) and Rodney Burke (special FX supervisor) – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR
Joanna Arnow (director / writer / editor / performer) – The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
Mike Cheslik (director / co-writer / editor / visual effects) – Hundreds of Beavers
Vera Drew (director / co-writer / editor / performer) – The People’s Joker
Mikey Madison (performer) – Anora
Chris Nash (director / writer) – In a Violent Nature
Katy M. O’Brian (performer) – Love Lies Bleeding
RaMell Ross (director / co-writer) – Nickel Boys
Maisy Stella (performer) – My Old Ass
Julio Torres (director / writer / performer) – Problemista
Malcolm Washington (director / co-writer) – The Piano Lesson

ORIGINAL VISION
Better Man
Emilia Pérez
Hundreds of Beavers
I Saw the TV Glow
In a Violent Nature
The People’s Joker
Problemista
Sasquatch Sunset
The Substance

ABOVE THE LAW – Steven Seagal’s action star debut! 

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Did any actor have a better opening act than Steven Seagal? His first five movies are all star turns in high quality, enjoyable action films, beginning with ABOVE THE LAW, and then moving forward to HARD TO KILL, MARKED FOR DEATH, OUT FOR JUSTICE and UNDER SIEGE. While UNDER SIEGE has been described as “Die Hard on a boat” and OUT FOR JUSTICE occupies the top spot as my personal favorite Steven Seagal film, today we will focus on the movie that started it all, ABOVE THE LAW, from 1988. 

ABOVE THE LAW begins with Nico Toscani (Steven Seagal) providing a voiceover of his early years as a kid in Chicago who became obsessed with the martial arts and who found himself studying with the masters in the orient by the age of 17. He’s clearly a badass. By 22, he’s been recruited by the CIA and is completing missions in Viet Nam. While on a mission, he runs into Zagon (Henry Silva), a CIA torturer, who seems to be able to do whatever he wants with no consequences. After knocking the crap out of Zagon, Toscani quits on the spot and heads back to Chicago to become a tough cop and marry Sara (Sharon Stone). While working a touchy family situation in the Windy City, he stumbles upon a potential drug deal going down soon in the city. He and his partner Delores (Pam Grier) set up the bust, but the product of choice turns out to be C4 explosives, not drugs. Wouldn’t you know that the folks behind these C4 explosives are the CIA and Toscani’s old pal Zagon. Can he stop his old adversary this time and still protect his family?!! 

My favorite Chuck Norris film is from 1985 and is called CODE OF SILENCE. I mention that because there are quite a few similarities between ABOVE THE LAW and CODE OF SILENCE. First, Andrew Davis directed both films. He’s a talented filmmaker who would later direct such solid action films as THE PACKAGE (Gene Hackman & Tommy Lee Jones), UNDER SIEGE (Seagal & Tommy Lee Jones), and THE FUGITIVE (Harrison Ford and an Oscar winning Tommy Lee Jones). I wonder now how this film was made without Tommy Lee Jones?!! Second, both films feature a tough cop who practices martial arts and beats the crap out of corruption within law enforcement. In the case of CODE OF SILENCE, it was the police force itself; in ABOVE THE LAW, it’s the Central Intelligence Agency. It’s my personal opinion that CODE OF SILENCE is Chuck Norris’ finest hour. Steven Seagal gets this same kind of bravado and credibility in his very first film role. That’s truly unique. And finally, both movies feature the awesome Henry Silva as the bad guy. Silva has been a bad guy in so many movies, and he’s just damn good at it. I recently watched him in THE TALL T with Randolph Scott from way, way back in 1957. Damn, his Chink’s a psycho. Combine that with his turn as Billy Score in SHARKY’S MACHINE with Burt Reynolds, and you have a guy who deserves to be in the villain hall of fame. These tried and true elements all help produce a fine feature film debut for Seagal! 

Just one final comment about the movie’s theme… we all would like to think that no one is above the law in the real world. Unfortunately, all we have to do is watch the news to know that’s simply not the case. Our world is full of people who actually are above the law. One of the best things about a movie like ABOVE THE LAW is that we can watch the movie, munch our popcorn, and just pretend for 100 minutes that justice does exist. It may not be completely realistic, but it’s definitely a satisfying thought!

Here Are The Nominations Of The Las Vegas Film Critics Society

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Las Vegas Film Critics Society announced its nominees for the best of 2024 today!  The winners will be announced on December 14h.

Best Picture
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Wicked

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon – Emilia Perez
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

Best Supporting Actor
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

Best Supporting Actress
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Elle Fanning – A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez

Best Director
Edward Berger – Conclave
Jon M. Chu – Wicked
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

Best Screenplay Original
Anora
The Brutalist
His Three Daughters
A Real Pain
Saturday Night

Best Screenplay – Adapted
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
Sing Sing

Best Cinematography
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu

Film Editing
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys

Best Score
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
The Wild Robot

Best Song
El Mal – Emilia Perez
Mi Camino – Emilia Perez
Beautiful That Way – The Last Showgirl
Like a Bird – Sing Sing
Kiss the Sky – The Wild Robot

Best Documentary
Daughters
Music by John Williams
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

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

Best International
Emilia Perez
Flow
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

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

Best Art Direction
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked

Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

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

Best Comedy
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Hit Man
My Old Ass
Saturday Night

Best Horror/Sci-Fi
Late Night with the Devil
Heretic
Nosferatu
Strange Darling
The Substance

Best Family Film
Inside Out 2
My Penguin Friend
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Best Animal Performance
Ukai – Arthur the King
Peggy – Deadpool & Wolverine
Dindim – My Penguin Friend
Rat Cast – Nosferatu
Frodo the Cat – A Quiet Place: Day One

Best Ensemble
Anora
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Perez
Wicked

Best Action Stunts
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Monkey Man

Breakout Performance (Director)
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Anna Kendrick – Woman of the Hour
J.T. Mollner – Strange Darling
Dev Patel – Monkey Man
Sean Wang – Didi

Best Youth Performance – Male (under 21)
Kit Connor – The Wild Robot
Ian Foreman – I Saw the TV Glow
Elliott Heffernan – Blitz
Cooper Hoffman – Saturday Night
Izaac Wang – Didi

Best Youth Performance – Female (under 21)
Cailey Fleming – If
Maisy Stella – My Old Ass
Ingrid Torelli – Late Night with the Devil
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet

William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award
Steve Martin
Demi Moore
Claire Simpson
Isabella Rossellini
Hans Zimmer

Anora Wins In Michigan

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Michigan Movie Critics Guild have announced their picks for the best of 2024!

(The winners are listed in bold.)

Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
The Substance
Wicked

Best Director
Sean Baker – Anora
Jon M. Chu – Wicked
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Robert Eggers – Nosferatu
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Best Actress
Amy Adams – Nightbitch
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Nicole Kidman – Babygirl
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Hugh Grant – Heretic

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Natasha Lyonne – His Three Daughters
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Burisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Adam Pearson – A Different Man
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

Best Animated Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Piece By Piece
Transformers One
The Wild Robot

Best Documentary
Daughters
Music By John Williams
No Other Land
Piece By Piece
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

Best Ensemble
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Saturday Night
Wicked

Best Screenplay (Adapted or Original)
Anora
The Brutalist
Challengers
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Breakthrough Award
Mikey Madison – Actress for Anora
Giovanni Ribisi – Cinematographer for Strange Darling
Jane Schoenbrun – Director for I Saw the TV Glow
Maisy Stella – Actress for My Old Ass
Zelda Williams – Director for Lisa Frankenstein

Stunts
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kill
Monkey Man
Road House

The MMCG Award for Film Excellence (presented to a filmmaker, writer, actor, crew member, etc., who has Michigan ties or to a film made or set in Michigan)
The Fire Inside (Set in Flint, and lead actress Ryan Destiny is a Detroit native)
Francis Ford Coppola (Writer/Director of Megalopolis)
Hundreds of Beavers (Partially filmed in Michigan)
Keegan-Michael Key (Actor in IF, Transformers One & Dear Santa)
J.K. Simmons (Actor in Saturday Night, Red One and Juror #2)

Here Are The Nominations of The New York Film Critics Online

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The New York Film Critics Online have announced their nominations for the best of 2024.  The winners will be announced on December 16th.

PICTURE
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
September 5
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked

DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker – Anora
Edward Berger – Conclave
Jon M. Chu – Wicked
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys

SCREENPLAY
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance

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

ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Nicole Kidman – Babygirl
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yuriy Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked
Carol Kane – Between the Temples
Natasha Lyonne – His Three Daughters
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez

ENSEMBLE CAST
Anora
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Sing Sing
Wicked

USE OF MUSIC
The Brutalist
Challengers
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Wicked

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu

DEBUT DIRECTOR
Annie Baker – Janet Planet
Mike Cheslik – Hundreds of Beavers
India Donaldson – Good One
Vera Drew – The People’s Joker
Josh Margolin – Thelma

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Lily Collias – Good One
Mark Eydelshteyn – Anora
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Mikey Madison – Anora
Katy O’Brian – Love Lies Bleeding

ANIMATION
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
All We Imagine as Light
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

DOCUMENTARY
Black Box Diaries
Dahomey
Daughters
No Other Land
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper