'American Hustle,' 'Captain Phillips' win ACE Eddie Awards

The ACE Eddies, or the editor's guild awards, announced last night, and in a slight surprise, Captain Phillips trumped Gravity for the Drama Feature category.

• Dramatic Feature: Captain Phillips
• Musical/Comedy Feature: American Hustle
• Documentary Feature: 20 Feet From Stardom
• Animated Feature: Frozen

The editing Oscar is actually one of the more important ones, as it usually lines up with Best Picture, and Gravity was expected to win this precursor. What does it mean for the Oscars? Honestly, that things are still up in the air amongst the voters. Ballots still have not been sent out (the 14th is when voters finally receive them), and clearly the guilds are split all over the place. Best Picture is a close race, and no movie is walking away with it yet. Even Documentary is up in the air, with a different movie winning over each guild. Anything could happen.

REVIEW: "Philomena" (2013) Judi Dench, Steve Coogan. Dir. Stephen Frears

Philomena tells the story of the real life Philomena Lee, a woman who had her son taken from her as a teenage mother and spend the next 50 years trying to find him. It's a very affecting story, and the film takes the clever route of telling it through the prism of a journalist writing a "human interest" story, which is exactly how the movie plays out. 

BBC journalist Martin Sixsmith was fired from his job in Tony Blair's government in 2003, and spent his next project telling Philomena's story, which is a heartbreaking and sorrowful tale in and of itself, but could have taken the time to make a greater point about the criminal nature of Catholic nuns in Ireland in the mid-20th century. That undeniably outrageous environment is exposed here and could be given sharper focus, but the personal story stays front and center with one particular subject herself, as is the case in most human interest stories. Philomena is played by Judi Dench, who gives the slightly dotty older lady some deep shades of sorrow as the hint of a tragic past lies permanently beneath her daffy nature. She's a woman who undergoes some horrific injustices in her formative years, yet remains an optimistic, forgiving, sweet natured soul. The normally hard edged Dench makes the smart decision of giving Philomena hidden depths behind those ponderous eyes, which is essential to making her somebody to root for.

As a teenager in the 1950's, Philomena got pregnant from a one night stand, was disowned by her family and sent to live in a convent with other pregnant teenagers. The nuns at the convent made the girls slave laborers and allowed them to see their children for one hour a day, until the babies were sold to American couples looking to adopt. This has haunted Philomena all her life, and now she and Martin set out to find what has become of her son fifty years later. Still more sadness lies in the truth of what she will find, yet Coogan and Dench make a fitting pair along the way, as Martin learns to appreciate Philomena's naivete despite his initial annoyance, and there are some funny moments between them thanks to Coogan's comic timing and occasionally witty writing (he co-wrote the script with Jeff Pope). There is a nice chemistry between Coogan and Dench, but the development of their relationship is fairly predictable and at times cliche, as Philomena's actual quest to discover what happened to her son and her traumatic background is the more interesting part of the story.

The resolution of Philomena's journey is highly frustrating however, as the insistence on keeping what happened to her a strictly personal offense, when it in fact happened to many young girls at the hands of this unapologetic and still brazenly lying (at least as far as the film shows) organization, begs for a larger statement of condemnation to be made. But the movie won't do it, opting instead to keep things simple (far too simple) in order to leave audiences with a rather unearned feel good ending, when the crimes Philomena, her son, and so many others have been subjected to deserve a harsher sense of retribution. Many will find this film moving however, and Dench's performance is altogether wonderfully complex when given what could have been an exceedingly simple character on the page. She remains a towering actress of the highest order, indeed a Dame worthy of recognition.

* * *

In Theaters This Weekend 2/7: 'Lego Movie,' 'Monuments Men'

In theaters this weekend are a couple of of big new releases, despite the fact that we're still in the traditionally slow part of the year. One is The Lego Movie, from Waner Bros., which is getting astonishingly stellar reviews, and is set to make a killing at the box office this weekend. Already the most acclaimed animated film since Toy Story 3 (sitting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes), that's definitely the one to see:

"What could have easily been test-marketed, corporate-processed crap...instead becomes a surprisingly enjoyable and dense family entertainment that pays tribute to the spirit of free play and individuality." (Salon)

"It's fast and original, it's conceptually audacious, it's visually astonishing, and it's 10 times more clever than it needed to be. Here, at last, is an animated comedy that never stops surprising you." (EW)

"This isn't just the funniest PG-rated animation in too long; it's the funniest film, period, in months..." (Chicago Tribune)

Another big opener this weekend is George Clooney's The Monuments Men, which was delayed from an original Christmas release date until February, and unfortunately, the buzz on this one is not so great (32% on RT). It hasn't been completely trashed, but the consensus seems to be that it's surprisingly boring and doesn't quite know what kind of movie it wanted to be:

"There's lots of information, some nice images, plenty of earnest sermonizing about culture, and almost no suspense, or tension, or character development, or structure. Or, well, art." (NPR)

"Earnest and well-intentioned but ultimately inert, 'The Monuments Men' talks a better game than it can deliver." (LA Times)

"Clooney's movie is a slow-witted, occasionally agreeable retread of numerous WWII band-of-brothers flicks its director no doubt watched on TV as a 1970's teenager." (Salon)

And then there's Vampire Academy, which wasn't screened for critics before its release (never a good sign), and judging from what early word does exist, is also pretty much a bomb. So, it looks like Lego Movie is your best bet this weekend, unless you just want to stay home and watch the Olympics, but judging by the excitement surrounding a welcome original movie for once, I'd check it out. This could be a surprise smash, and a very early contender for Best Animated Feature next year.

Trailer for The Lego Movie:

Sandra Bullock and Alfonso Cuaron on Charlie Rose

Here they are with Charlie Rose talking about Gravity:

VIDEO: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman

Here's a great video tribute to the many performances Philip Seymour Hoffman gave in his career:

FINAL TRAILER: "Divergent"

The last trailer for the new teen franchise Divergent, has been released. The movie's coming out March 21st:

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Jules and Jim" (1962)

An all-time classic of the French New Wave is out on blu-ray today. From director Francois Truffaut, this is the story of a love triangle between a girl (Jeanne Moreau) and her two guys in pre-WWI Paris. Truffaut plays all kinds of tricks with the camera and the style, and the whole film still feels fresh, creative and totally original, even today. This was one of the defining films of the 50's and 60's new wave era (along with movies like Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless and Truffaut's own The 400 Blows), and every bit of it holds up. Seek it out as soon as you can.

Original 1962 Trailer:

TRAILER #2: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

The new trailer for the Captain America sequel, coming out in April:

London Film Critics go for 12 Years a Slave

The London critics gave 12 Years their top prize, but gave the directing win to Alfonso Cuaron, following what seems to be the distinct pattern of the year. Most think the Oscars will split the exact same way, but I'm having a hard time seeing how you can predict that to happen under a preferential ballot system, where the movies are ranked, and getting the right number of 2's and 3's count even more than 1's- even if you intend to split it might not happen that way. Remember, the Oscars are the only place that uses that system, which means all these other split wins are coming under a simple "most votes wins" ballot. We still don't know how things will play out because of that:

• Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
• Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
• Technical Achievement: Gravity
• Breakthrough British Filmmaker: Jon S. Baird, Filth
• British Actor of the Year: James McAvoy (Filth, Trance, Welcome to the Punch)
• British Actress of the Year: Judi Dench, Philomena
• Young British Performer: Conner Chapman, The Selfish Giant
• British Film of the Year: The Selfish Giant
• Actress of the Year: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Actor of the Year: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Documentary: The Act of Killing
• Foreign-Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
• Screenwriter of the Year: Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
• Director of the Year: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Film of the Year: 12 Years a Slave

BOX OFFICE 1/31-2/02: "Ride Along" Stays at Number One

Super Bowl weekend is traditionally a slow weekend at the box office, and this was no exception, as Ride Along coasted to #1 again with just $12 million, bringing its total to $93 million. That and Lone Survivor are the first big hits of the new year, as the latter film crossed $100 million this weekend as well. New release That Awkward Moment came in at #3, with $9 million and a "B" Cinemascore, which isn't terrible considering the mostly unknown cast of up and comers- this should provide a boost in visibility to Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan at least.

Meanwhile the long delayed release of Labor Day finally arrived, but with dismal reviews (32% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the Kate Winslet/Josh Brolin romantic melodrama bombed completely, opening to just $5 million on 2500 screens. And of course Frozen came in with another $9 million, boosted by a sing-a-long release, and brought its insane total to $360 million domestic (and nearing a billion worldwide). The other animated release, The Nut Job filled out the top five, with $7 million, bringing its own total to $50 million, but the family films should finally have some competition next week when The Lego Movie opens.

Top 5:

1. Ride Along- $12.3 million
2. Frozen- $9.3 million
3. That Awkward Moment- $9 million
4. The Nut Job- $7.6 million
5. Lone Survivor- $7.2 million

Philip Seymour Hoffman 1967-2014

The New York Times reports that Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment this morning of an apparent drug overdose. A syringe was found in his arm along with a bag of heroin nearby. Hoffman was 46 and is survived by three young children with his partner Mimi O'Donnell, a costume designer. He'd been in so many movies over the past fifteen years, including Capote, for which he won Best Actor in 2006, but I can't even name how many films I've seen him in that I loved. Here were just some of my favorites: Almost Famous, Doubt, The Master, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Charlie Wilson's War, The Savages, and Moneyball. He was an incredible actor that you always looked forward to seeing onscreen and this is an incalculable loss.

Here he is as rock critic Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, a movie that I adore:

The trailer for The Savages, an underrated movie from 2007 with great performances from him and Laura Linney:

And winning Best Actor for Capote in 2006:

WGA Awards 'Her,' 'Captain Phillips'; ASC Honors 'Gravity;' 'Frozen' Tops the Annie Awards

The Writers Guild offered up a couple of upsets tonight at their awards dinner:

• Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, Her
• Adapted Screenplay: Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
• Documentary: Sarah Polley, Stories We Tell

American Hustle was expected to win for original, but was trumped by Spike Jonze and Her, which probably makes it the favorite for the Oscar now, but only slightly. Adapted Screenplay going to Captain Phillips was something of a surprise, but since 12 Years a Slave was ineligible for consideration here, that will very likely not repeat at the Oscars. Meanwhile, the American Society of Cinematographers gave their top film award to Emmanuel Lubezki for Gravity, which was not a shock, as it's practically guaranteed to take the Cinematography Oscar next month as well.

On another awards ceremony that took place tonight, Frozen dominated at the Annie Awards, winning five on its way to picking up the Oscar as well:

• Best Animated Feature: Frozen
• Best Animated Special Production: Chipotle Scarecrow
• Best Animated Short Subject: Get a Horse
• Best Animated Effects in Animated Production: The Croods
• Best Animated Effects in Live Action Production: Pacific Rim
• Character Animation in an Animated Production: The Croods
• Character Animation in a Live Action Production: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Character Design in an Animated Feature: The Croods
• Directing: Frozen
• Music: Frozen
• Production Design: Frozen
• Storyboarding: Monsters University
• Voice Acting: Josh Gad, Frozen
• Writing: Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises
• Editorial: Monsters University