Musings, odds and analysis of the movie awards season leading up to Oscar night, from Detroit News Film Critic Tom Long and Pop Culture writer Adam Graham.
The Detroit Film Critics Society announced its nominees for the best of 2011 this Sunday. The indie “Take Shelter” scored the most nominations with six, followed by five for “The Artist” and four for “The Help.” Jessica Chastain scored thrre nominations — for supporting actress (“Take Shelter”), ensemble (“The Help”) and breakthrough. The final results … Continue Reading →
A couple of weeks ago it looked like Christopher Plummer had the supporting actor race locked up for his portrayal of a senior citizen who comes out of the closet and then discovers he has cancer in “Beginners.” Chances are he still does have it locked up — Oscar loves to reward overlooked veterans with … Continue Reading →
There’s going to be a lot of talent vying for the best actress Oscar this year. Viola Davis for The Help, Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs, maybe Charlize Theron for Young Adult, maybe Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin, maybe even a few other people. But the race will likely come down … Continue Reading →
Unless something amazing comes along — and it certainly might — I’m guessing this year’s best actor race is going to come down to two guys: The very well-known George Clooney for “The Descendants” and the virtually unknown Jean Dujardin for “The Artist.” Right now the other three names being kicked around in that race … Continue Reading →
Overall, this awards season is still pretty much chaos — except for the best actress race. Not that there’s a clear frontrunner, but at least it’s getting easier to predict who’s in the hunt. Over the past week Michelle Williams has picked up a huge amount of mojo for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in … Continue Reading →
And the Oscar this year will go to… “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Of course, I haven’t actually seen the film yet. No one has. It’s doubtful it’s even finished. But with no movie coming out of Toronto with universal hallelujahs, “Girl” is suddenly looking very strong. OK, from what I can tell, “The … Continue Reading →
OK, saw two seriously good movies today — the wondrous indie “Your Sister’s Sister” and “Rampart,” Woody Harrelson’s masterwork (and that’s saying a bit). But, think I’ll finish off the Toronto blogging with my awards for the festival. Keep in mind, a) there are more than 250 movies here, I saw maybe 30, b) these … Continue Reading →
There’s one sure sentiment that has run through this year’s Toronto International Film Festival: There have been no sure things here this year. Yes, people universally admire Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants”; but it isn’t exactly fiery. The silent movie “The Artist” is stone brilliant; but it’s a silent movie. The paranoia study “Take Shelter” features … Continue Reading →
Talked to Seth Rogen this morning. The dude is so Seth Rogen. That’s a good thing. He has two films here in Toronto. One is a personal project — he produces, it’s based on his experience with a friend — called “50/50.” Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a twentysomething who finds out he has a potentially … Continue Reading →
In between interviewing Gerard Butler (“Machine Gun Preacher”), Keira Knightley (“A Dangerous Method”) and Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs”) — all of whom were gracious and delightful, by the way — I only got to one movie today. But boy, was it a doozy. In terms of just plain enjoyment, Whit Stillman’s “Damsels in Distress” is … Continue Reading →