The Reel Countdown

Posted on February 23, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 10 – Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips is a film directed by Paul Greengrass, with a screenplay by Billy Ray. The film tells the true-life story of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama container ship off the coast of Somalia. The film focuses on Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) and his courageous journey while taken hostage by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi) and his group of pirates.

Captain Phillips is a pulse-pounding thriller, but I honestly did not expect anything less from Paul Greengrass—he directed both United 93 and The Bourne Ultimatum, two well-made, award-nominated thrillers. The filmmaking style in this movie is quite similar to that of United 93, and here, Greengrass has created another instant classic in cinematic history. Each scene throughout this film is forceful in every way, and this terrifying tale receives a committed, marvelous exploration from Paul Greengrass.

Another factor of Captain Phillips that warrants its place in my Top 10 is the superb acting performances, including remarkable performances from seasoned veteran Tom Hanks and from rookie Barkhad Abdi. As Captain Richard Phillips, Tom Hanks brings his years of dramatic acting to the screen, and the result is something magical, even for a man with so many award-winning performances. With every passing moment, you truly feel both the fear and composure of Hanks’s character, and his display of acting greatness fully immerses you into the hijacking in a way that will keep you on the edge of your seat—it sure did for me.

Even with a dazzling performance from Tom Hanks, the greatest part of this film was Barkhad Abdi’s portrayal of the real-life Abduwali Muse, the leader of the Somali pirates. If you are not aware of Abdi’s story, he moved from Somalia to Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his family in 1999, and before auditioning for the film, he worked as a limousine driver. Before the film, Abdi had absolutely zero acting experience, and that fact alone would make anyone fawn over his performance in Captain Phillips. His character is menacing, yet weak at the same time, and Abdi delineates this character with such poise and refinement. Abdi is considered a serious contender for the Oscar this season, especially after winning for Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTAs.

The film takes you on a wild ride, and I did not see another film in 2013 that put me more on edge. It received six Academy Award nominations, which is definitely deserved, but I was surprised that neither Tom Hanks nor Paul Greengrass were nominated because this film is one of the highlights of each of their storied careers. Captain Phillips is rated PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use.

Captain Phillips trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ASoBrFGlc

Academy Award nominations for Captain Phillips:

Best Picture (Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca, Producers)

Best Supporting Actor (Barkhad Abdi)

Best Film Editing (Christopher Rouse)

Best Sound Editing (Oliver Tarney)

Best Sound Mixing (Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, and Chris Munro)

Best Adapted Screenplay (Billy Ray)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

11. Her

12. Philomena

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 23, 2014February 23, 2014 by mistertowle2

Best Film Editing

The Oscar for Best Film Editing is awarded to a particular film for the finest post-production digital editing. The award is presented to the film’s principal editor(s). The following is my Oscars ballot for this category, Best Film Editing:

WINNER: 12 Years A Slave (Joe Walker)

2. American Hustle (Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, and Alan Baumgarten)

3. Captain Phillips (Christopher Rouse)

4. Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger)

5. Dallas Buyers Club (John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa)

Posted on February 23, 2014February 23, 2014 by mistertowle2

Best Adapted Screenplay

This year, nearly every single writer nominated in this category will be attending the Academy Awards for the very first time. In fact, the only writers in this year’s group that have ever been nominated before are Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke, collectively nominated this year for Before Midnight. Another noteworthy fact about this year’s group: four of the five scripts were adapted from real-life events. Even though this category is filled with mostly newcomers to the Oscars, each writer has experienced a distinguished career. The following is my Oscars ballot for this category, Best Adapted Screenplay:

WINNER: Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Terence Winter adapted this screenplay from Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name. Even though this is only Winter’s third feature-film screenplay, he is a well-established name in the entertainment business—he was a writer and executive producer for HBO’s The Sopranos and is a writer, executive producer, and creator of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street is similar to his very own Oscar-nominated film Goodfellas, and a lot of this has to do with Terence Winter’s mind-blowing script. In fact, Winter, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, admitted that his inspiration for this script was Goodfellas. Compared to Goodfellas, this script is filled with even more drugs, sex, crime, and F-bombs, and the film works so well because of Winter’s outrageous screenplay. Terence Winter has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

2. John Ridley (12 Years A Slave)

John Ridley adapted this screenplay from Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir of the same name. 12 Years A Slave is clearly one of the most amazing films from 2013, and Ridley’s treatment of this classic story is truly inspiring. The story spans a twelve-year period, but Ridley makes sure to highlight some of the most striking events from this time, including a combination of heart-warming moments and moments that make your heart break for Solomon Northup. This script, coupled with some amazing acting, gives the story of Northup a deserved sense of justice. John Ridley has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

3. Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope (Philomena)

Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope adapted this screenplay from journalist Martin Sixsmith’s 2009 book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, telling the true story of a woman searching for fifty years to find her son. Jeff Pope, an award-winning writer and producer, and Steve Coogan, an award-winning writer, actor, impressionist, and producer, are both well known in their field in the United Kingdom, and it is refreshing to see their success receiving American praise, as well. The story is inspirational, and the script has already won the BAFTA for this very same category. Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope have never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

4. Billy Ray (Captain Phillips)

Billy Ray adapted this screenplay from the 2010 book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Captain Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty. The film tells the real-life story of the 2009 hijacking of Captain Phillips’s Maersk Alabama container ship by Somali pirates. The film is incredibly tense, and the screenplay makes the most of such a terrifying storyline. Some of the dialogue between Phillips (Tom Hanks) and the Somali actors is entrenched in my memory, and the film benefits significantly from Ray’s Oscar-nominated script. Billy Ray has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

5. Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight)

Before Midnight is the third film in a trilogy of films, beginning with Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004), and Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke adapted it from the previous works in the trilogy. I have never seen either of the first two films, but the movie is set up in a way that you do not necessarily have to have any prior knowledge of the series; however, I do admit, I now want to see the other two to better understand the impact of the story. I found the film entertaining, and it is mostly due to the chemistry between Delpy and Hawke as actors and the chemistry between both of them and Linklater as collaborative writers. Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke, were previously nominated for previously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Before Sunset (2004).

Posted on February 23, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 11 – Her

Her is a film written and directed by Spike Jonze. This film, set in the not-so-distant future, tells the story of Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a soon-to-be-divorced writer, and the relationship he develops with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), the voice of his artificially intelligent operating system.

Her is by far one of the oddest concepts in any film I have ever seen, but in only a way Spike Jonze can, he makes it work in such an incredibly beautiful manner. I wrote about Her a few months ago in my fall preview, and I was very much looking forward to seeing this because I wanted Jonze to get back to making movies that I enjoy. In my opinion, Where the Wild Things Are (2009) was a boring movie, no matter how cool it looked on screen, and I was hoping Her would put Jonze back on my cinematic map. And indeed, he has. The script, Jonze’s first solo effort, was far more hilarious than I was expecting, and he made it come together on the screen through stunning colors and intricate detail. Even though a couple of scenes drag at times, Spike Jonze has created a film that is all the while memorable, refreshingly funny, and bitterly sad, and it will be exciting to see what he has in store next.

The film succeeds because of Jonze’s fantastic script and striking set decoration, but thanks to two amazing acting performances, it is one of the better movies from 2013. I have always been a fan of Joaquin Phoenix’s work, no matter how much of a peculiarity he is as a human being, and in his role as Theodore Twombly, he has created one of the best performances of his career, and by far one of my favorites. His character is quiet and introverted, but it was invigorating to see his transformation as a person after falling in love with Samantha; Phoenix’s innate ability as a performer makes this character thrive in every scene. It was also entertaining to see Joaquin Phoenix in a role that mixes equal parts of drama and comedy—I never would have thought of him as a “funny” guy, but in this film, he makes it work, and he makes it work well.

Another fantastic performance was given by Scarlett Johansson as Samantha. And before any of you that have not yet seen the film ask, yes, Johansson is only a voice actor in this film. Before Her, I would have been in an uproar if a voice actor were nominated for any major awards; however, even though Scarlett was not nominated, I truly believe her performance was well worth that level of critical praise. You never see Samantha, but you feel her presence every single time she speaks, and this is all because of Johansson. Throughout the film, there are times you forget Theodore is simply falling in love with an inanimate object because of Johansson’s fluidity. Never has there been a better performance from Johansson, and Samantha will forever be one of the greatest artificial intelligence characters in cinematic history.

This film takes such an interesting perspective on relationships and the ways in which we operate in a world dominated by technology, and even though Theodore is falling in love with his operating system, the way it is depicted on the screen is not that unfathomable given the way technology permeates our lives. No matter what you may think of Jonze as a filmmaker or the concept of this movie, it is well worth the watch. Her is rated R for language, sexual content, and brief graphic nudity.

Her trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzV6mXIOVl4

Academy Award nominations for Her:

Best Picture (Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, and Vincent Landay, Producers)

Best Original Score (William Butler and Owen Pallett)

Best Original Song (The Moon Song: Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O & Spike Jonze)

Best Production Design (Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena)

Best Original Screenplay (Spike Jonze)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

12. Philomena

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 17, 2014February 17, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 12 – Philomena

Philomena is a film directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope. This film tells the true story of Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), an Irish woman who had her son taken from her while she was a teenager working at a Catholic convent. For fifty years, Philomena kept this part of her life a secret, but after her daughter happens upon Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), a recently fired journalist formerly with the BBC, he agrees to write a human-interest story about Lee’s desperate attempt to locate the whereabouts of her long lost son. During the course of their search, Philomena and Martin endure moments of heartbreak and exhilaration, and in the process, they learn from each other about the true meaning of life.

Philomena is a wonderfully inspiring film, and it succeeds on more than one plane. For starters, it is directed by Stephen Frears, a popular British filmmaker with an established repertoire of films, including High Fidelity (2000) and one of my personal favorites, The Queen (2006). The movie looks similar to a lot of well-produced British films in terms of overt elegance and stylistic subtlety, and Philomena benefits from Frears’s graceful treatment. Also, the screenplay, adapted by Coogan and Pope from Sixsmith’s book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, is witty, sad, exuberant, and tear-jerking in ALL of the right places, and this story is given justice on the screen because of its terrific script.

Notwithstanding the well-crafted filmmaking and scriptwriting, the film features two gifted acting performances: a stellar display by Dame Judi Dench and a striking performance by Steve Coogan. Judi Dench has one of cinema’s most distinguished filmographies, and in Philomena, she gives another award-worthy performance in the titular role. The story is about a woman that is tormented for fifty years about where her son might be, and Dench elucidates the character in an unbelievably powerful way. She allows the viewers to see and feel each of her emotions, and this connection makes your heart break for Philomena in more ways than you could ever think possible. Also, Coogan’s role as Sixsmith is not to be overlooked one bit. I have only come across Coogan in the past in comedic roles, but in this film, his dramatic acting helps make the movie a success. It probably helps that Coogan co-wrote the film, but his careful construction of the character’s on-screen mannerisms is certainly superb.

I greatly enjoyed this film, and as an independent production from England, it has not received its deserved attention; however, I was undoubtedly pleased with the number of Academy Award-nominations it received. It is most definitely a hidden gem, but it is one that affected me emotionally while watching it in the theater. Philomena is one of the most moving films I have seen in quite some time, and if you have not seen it yet, it will definitely be worth every minute of your time. Philomena is rated R for some language.

Philomena trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG3QP8foCvg

Academy Award nominations for Philomena:

Best Picture (Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, and Tracey Seaward, Producers)

Best Actress (Judi Dench)

Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat)

Best Adapted Screenplay (Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope)

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

13. Fruitvale Station

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 14, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 13 – Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station is a film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. The film is based on the true story of Oscar Grant, a young man who was killed in the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2009 by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer. The movie follows Grant (Michael B. Jordan) on his last day alive as he spends time with his family before the New Year’s celebration. The film is a scant 85 minutes in length.

Fruitvale Station is the feature-length debut by Coogler (pictured at the far left with Michael B. Jordan), a 27-year-old filmmaker who has previously made three award-winning short films. Coogler takes a story that everyone going in already knows the ending to, and yet, he does so in a way that made me emphasize with each character, praying for the inevitable ending not to happen. The movie has such a limited storytelling, considering it takes place all in one day (with the exception of a short flashback scene), and Coogler uses this to fully immerse the viewers into the world of Oscar Grant. It is simple, but stylistic; heartbreaking, but beautiful. This may be the first film from Coogler, but his inspiring debut effort has garnered critical acclaim from everyone in Hollywood—he has signed on to direct Creed, a spin-off from the Rocky series that is sure to be a blockbuster affair.

Apart from Coogler’s striking filmmaking, the movie succeeds with tremendous acting, especially from Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer. Little by little, I have followed Jordan’s young acting career, from his early roles in the Keanu Reeves film Hardball and HBO’s The Wire to his recent appearance in Chronicle (2012). Even from his early days in the business, I could tell Jordan had a wealth of potential, and I am glad to see that coming to fruition. In Fruitvale Station, Jordan acts with incredible dexterity as he portrays a troubled young father trying to escape his past to provide a better life for his family. At times, the character is brash and angry, but at other times he is sensitive and caring—Jordan’s delineation of the complicated Grant made me feel for his character no matter which way he was leaning on the emotional spectrum. I was hoping that Jordan would receive either a Golden Globe or Oscar nomination for his performance, but this film proves that he will most likely get there, deservedly, in the near future.

One performance not to be overlooked in this film is that of Octavia Spencer in the role of Grant’s mother. Spencer is a particularly established actress, having won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Help (2011), and even though you do not spend a large amount of time with her character, her performance is what acts as the glue to hold this tragic story together. She plays the character with honesty and command, and her performance was definitely one of the film’s many gems. Fruitvale Station is rated R for violence, language throughout and some drug use.

Fruitvale Station trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crMTGCCui5c

Academy Award nominations for Fruitvale Station:

NONE

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

14. The Place Beyond the Pines

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 13, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 14 – The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines is a film directed by Derek Cianfrance, with a screenplay written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, and Darius Marder. The film follows three separate but intertwined storylines that span a period of nearly twenty years. The first third of the film is concerned with Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), a popular motorcycle stuntman performing at local fairs, and his discovery of a son he fathered with ex-lover Romina (Eva Mendes). The second third of the film centers on local police hero Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), a man riddled with guilt, thrown into the world of police corruption. The final third of the film involves Avery’s son AJ (Emory Cohen) and his newfound friendship with a boy at his school named Jason (Dane DeHaan). Cianfrance’s epic triptych explores themes of family, fate, and everything in between.

The Place Beyond the Pines came out in March 2013, and therefore, it was skipped over for a lot of critical acclaim because of the timing of its release; however, this factor has zero weight in my assessment of the year in film, and I truly enjoyed it enough to include it on my year-end list. The movie sees the reuniting of Cianfrance and Ryan Gosling, as the two collaborated on Blue Valentine in 2010. I never really bought into Cianfrance’s vision in Blue Valentine, but I was pleasantly surprised by his effort in 2013 with The Place Beyond the Pines. Even though at times it seemed a bit long, I was mesmerized by the three-part storyline and the impeccable acting performances throughout.

Speaking of those acting performances, Ryan Gosling did a fantastic job in the first third of the film. I am one of the few people I know that is fully on board with Gosling’s independent roles outside of mainstream Hollywood, and in this movie, he further illuminates why I appreciate his dramatic work. Even though at times he is unbelievably docile, there are other moments in the film where he breaks out of that shell and evokes a surplus of real emotions. This is highlighted in the scene where he fights Romina’s new boyfriend and in the bank-robbing scenes. Those bank-robbing sequences were so incredibly well crafted by Cianfrance, and it works even more flawlessly because of Gosling.

For the rest of the film, Bradley Cooper leads the show with a performance that, in my opinion, rivals his Oscar-nominated roles in Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and American Hustle (2013). Even though his characters in those two recent films were polar opposite in nature, I felt I could still tell Bradley Cooper was playing the part in both of them; however, in this film, Cooper fully releases himself into the complexities of Avery Cross, and throughout the film, I completely forgot it was Bradley Cooper. I credit this to his careful construction of his character on the screen, and his hard work pays off because his performance is the highlight of the film.

Aside from these two heavyweights of cinema, the film features two startling supporting performances from Dane DeHaan as Jason and Emory Cohen as AJ Cross. The two characters are introduced in the final third of the movie, and when they meet, the entire film comes full circle in the most incredible way. The mysterious intertwining of Jason and AJ’s lives is elucidated as each character’s development builds off of the other’s, and this storyline proved to be a lot more riveting than it first seemed. All in all, this film is well designed and well acted, and it is most definitely worth a viewing if you are in the mood for an alluring crime drama. The Place Beyond the Pines is rated R for language throughout, some violence, teen drug and alcohol use, and a sexual reference.

The Place Beyond the Pines trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G07pSbHLXgg

Academy Award nominations for The Place Beyond the Pines:

NONE

Previous movies on the countdown of the Top 15 Films of the Year:

15. Dallas Buyers Club

Posted on February 12, 2014 by mistertowle2

Best Supporting Actor

Last year, the actors nominated for Best Supporting Actor combined for six previous Oscar wins and sixteen prior nominations. This year, there could not be a more polar-opposite assemblage of performers. Three of this year’s five nominees have never been nominated for an Academy Award. Only Jonah Hill and Bradley Cooper have previously received Oscar nominations; however, these two actors combine for just two previous nominations. Even though this year’s group is made up of novices in regards to the Oscars, it is nonetheless one of the most competitive categories of the entire Academy Awards field. The following is my Oscars ballot for this category, Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

WINNER: Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)

In 12 Years A Slave, Michael Fassbender portrays Edwin Epps, a dark, menacing plantation owner in the pre-Civil War era. Epps is a complicated man with fits of rage mixed in with his sexual desire for his top-producing slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o). This year is one of the best collections of supporting performances in a very long time, and even though Jared Leto is stealing everyone’s thunder at nearly every award show, I believe Fassbender gave this year’s top performance. His depiction of the slave-driving Epps is so incredibly multi-dimensional, and Fassbender performs in such a way that made me both despise and empathize with his character simultaneously. For those of you that have not seen this film yet, there is a scene where Fassbender must discipline Patsey, the slave who is the object of his affection, and what transpires is a gruesome, but very authentic presentation that I believe justifies giving both Fassbender and Nyong’o Oscars. Fassbender has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

2. Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

In Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto plays Rayon, an HIV-positive transgender woman. As many of you know, Leto is cleaning house at nearly every awards show for his performance as Rayon, and honestly, it is all justified. Leto is completely believable as a transgender woman, and he gives an emotionally dramatic performance that will rival any performance you may see for quite some time. Even though nearly all of Leto’s scenes in the film are played as Rayon, the most heartbreaking scene in the entire movie features Leto confronting his father as Raymond, seemingly the man he used to be before his transformation. In any other year, I would take Leto by a landslide; however, this year, his fantastic performance did not quite reach the level of Fassbender’s unbelievable depiction of Edwin Epps. Jared Leto has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

3. Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

In Captain Phillips, Barkhad Abdi plays the real-life Abduwali Muse, one of the Somali pirates who overtook a U.S. cargo ship and held the captain hostage. If Abdi were one of the most established actors in all of Hollywood, I would still think that this performance was wonderful. But Abdi is not an established actor; in fact, this was his very first acting job of his entire life—this fact makes it even more evident that Abdi gave one of the year’s most acclaimed performances. Abdi’s depiction of Muse was carefully constructed, and he delineates the character in such a way that I identified with him despite the fact that he is holding a gun to Richard Phillips’s head while taking him hostage. I sure hope Abdi is able to find other work in Hollywood because he is clearly one of the brightest shining stars from 2013. Barkhad Abdi has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

4. Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)

In The Wolf of Wall Street, Jonah Hill plays Donnie Azoff, the drug-addicted, stock-scheming sidekick of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio); Azoff is a character based on Danny Porush, the real-life associate of Belfort’s brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont. If someone would have bet me $1 million in 2007, after my first viewing of Superbad, to say that Jonah Hill would become one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood, I would have told that lunatic to get lost. And yet, here I am today about to make that very proclamation: Jonah Hill is one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood! He has proven to be a comedic force in films like Get Him to the Green and 21 Jump Street, but his roles in both Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street have revealed his great acting depth. His role as Donnie Azoff will forever be one of my favorites in film, and I only wish Jonah had a weaker group of competition this year so he could finally take home the coveted golden statute. Jonah Hill was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Moneyball (2011).

5. Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

In American Hustle, Bradley Cooper plays Richie DiMaso, a “go-getter” FBI agent who attempts to take down a group of corrupt politicians in New York City with the help from two con artists (Christian Bale and Amy Adams). Bradley Cooper continually takes on well-calculated acting roles and continues to find loads of success doing so; however, once again he has turned in a tremendous performance in a year that is packed with unbelievable acting talent. I wish he could take home the award for his portrayal of the perm-hairdo-wearing DiMaso, but unfortunately, the cards are stacked against him this Oscars season. Bradley Cooper was previously nominated for Best Actor for his role in Silver Linings Playbook (2012).

Actors snubbed in this category: Tye Sheridan (Mud), Daniel Brühl (Rush), Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12), Will Forte (Nebraska), and Jeremy Renner (American Hustle)

Posted on February 12, 2014February 17, 2014 by mistertowle2

Top 15 Films of the Year, No. 15 – Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club is a film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, with a screenplay written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack. The film tells the true story of Ron Woodruff (Matthew McConaughey), a homophobic Texan who is diagnosed with AIDS in the mid-1980s and given thirty days to live. After trials with the FDA-approved drug AZT prove unsuccessful, Woodruff begins smuggling drugs into the United States from all over the world that help alleviate the symptoms of the disease and give himself a chance to live longer; however, these drugs are not approved by the FDA, and Woodruff finds himself having to continually evade detection from the federal government. With help from a transgender AIDS patient named Rayon (Jared Leto) and a defiant doctor (Jennifer Garner), Woodruff establishes the “Dallas Buyers Club,” a way for AIDS patients to get easy access to illegal, life-saving medicines.

Dallas Buyers Club was definitely one of the best films that 2013 had to offer. Not only were there stellar acting performances, which I will get to in a moment, but the film also presents an inspiring story about staring into the face of death and choosing to live. The director, Vallée, is relatively unknown to the Hollywood community aside from his film The Young Victoria (2009), but this stimulating cinematic effort will definitely put him on the map in Tinseltown. The screenwriters, Borten and Wallack, are nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and rightly so; the script flowed fluently and provided each actor with a wide range of opportunities to make a memorable dramatic performance.

Besides the well-written script and the competent directing job by Vallée, the acting in this movie truly sets it apart from some of the other releases from the previous year. For starters, Jennifer Garner gives a heartfelt performance as Dr. Eve Saks, the physican who risks her career to help Woodruff. Many critics have overlooked her impact on the movie, but I refuse to do so—she makes the film work in a huge, emotional way!

But now to the two award-worthy acting performances: Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey. Both Leto (the front-man for one of my favorite bands, 30 Seconds to Mars) and McConaughey have already received Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor awards, respectively, from the Golden Globe Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and all of this praise is quite deserved for both men. Leto’s role as Rayon is unbelievably astonishing, and I mean that in the best way possible. He is truly convincing as a transgender woman, and his performance is one for the ages. McConaughey also gives the greatest performance of his career as Woodruff. It is well documented that he lost 47 pounds for the role, but my admiration for his performance goes well beyond the weight loss—McConaughey simply knocked this dramatic role out of the park! His role is the perfect combination of humor and devastation, and I would not be surprised if he takes home the Oscar for Best Actor. Dallas Buyers Club is rated R for pervasive language, some strong sexual content, nudity, and drug use.

Dallas Buyers Club trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs1kpGNSRVk

Academy Award nominations for Dallas Buyers Club:

Best Picture (Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers)

Actor in a Leading Role (Matthew McConaughey)

Actor in a Supporting Role (Jared Leto)

Best Film Editing (John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews)

Best Original Screenplay (Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack)

Posted on February 11, 2014February 11, 2014 by mistertowle2

Best Production Design

The Oscar for Best Production Design recognizes achievement in art direction. Since 1947, the award has been shared with both a film’s production designer and set decorator. Aside from the acting, directing, and musical compositions within a film, the production design and set decoration most help illuminate the visual image depicted on the screen. The following is my Oscars ballot for this category, Best Production Design:

WINNER: Catherine Martin & Beverley Dunn (The Great Gatsby)

2. Adam Stockhausen & Alice Baker (12 Years A Slave)

3. K.K. Barrett & Gene Serdena (Her)

4. Judy Becker & Heather Loeffler (American Hustle)

5. Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, & Joanne Woollard (Gravity)