Happy February everyone! As usual, it's time to celebrate movie love with my favorite romances put on film. From romantic comedies to tearjerkers and Jane Austen classics, this is one of my absolute favorite months of the year, because I'm such a sucker for a great romance. And they don't really make too many anymore- the most recent on my list is 2005's Pride and Prejudice, which, if you can believe it, now came out over 11 years ago. So head on over to the Movies For Every Month page to read more about the theme, and click here for the full list of ten romantic films to sweep you off your feet this month. Happy Valentine's Day!
'Mad Max' and 'Revenant' Win ADG Awards
The art directors guild bestowed its top production design awards to Mad Max, The Revenant and The Martian, leaving no real clues where Oscar will go in this category, since it was thought to be between The Revenant and Mad Max anyway. My guess is Mad Max, since Revenant is mostly natural locations and less actual production design- but if they adhere to that description than frankly, Bridge of Spies and Carol were robbed for this. We'll have to see what Bafta chooses for this one.
- Best Production Design- Period: The Revenant
- Best Production Design-Contemporary: The Martian
- Best Production Design-Fantasy: Mad Max: Fury Road
BOX OFFICE 1/29-1/31: 'Kung Fu Panda 3' Injects Some Life Into the Box Office
The third Kung Fu Panda movie opened below its predecessors but still scored the biggest weekend of 2016 so far. The kids movie earned 41 million from Friday to Sunday and an "A" Cinemscore, as there's not a lot else in theaters for the family audience at the moment. It managed to crush the other new releases, one of which was Disney's The Finest Hours, which earned just 10 million for fourth place, while the Marlon Wayans' spoof Fifty Shades of Black fell flat as well with only 6 million. The biggest flop though, belonged to Natalie Portman's long-delayed western Jane Got a Gun, which made just 803k in 1200 locations, for an average of 664 dollars per theater. Yikes.
Meanwhile, the holdovers continue to stay the course, with The Revenant earning another 12 million for a 138 million total, as Leo continues to cruise towards his inevitable Oscar win, and Star Wars made another 10 million this weekend for an 895 million total, well on its way to the landmark 900 million domestic gross. Globally it's getting closer to 2 billion, but still behind Avatar and Titanic, worldwide. Ride Along 2 rounded out the top five, bringing its total to 70 million domestic.
Top 5:
- Kung Fu Panda 3- 41 million
- The Revenant- 12.4 million
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens- 10.8 million
- The Finest Hours- 10.3 million
- Ride Along 2- 8.3 millon
In limited release, there's not a lot to report, except for the various Oscar nominees' respective totals. Spotlight is at 34 million, while Brooklyn is chasing its total, having just crossed 30 million. Room has doubled its gross since the nominations, having now gotten to 9 million total, and The Big Short crossed 60 million this weekend. Next week sees the release of Hail, Caesar and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, so tune in then- but of course it's Super Bowl weekend as well, so the box office might be down for another reason.
Idris Elba goes 2 for 2 with SAG wins
'Spotlight' Wins SAG Ensemble Award
Idris Elba goes 2 for 2 with SAG wins
Well, this keeps things interesting. I went 3 for 5 in my predictions tonight, but the big surprise was Idris Elba winning for Beasts of No Nation, which served as a huge fuck you to the Academy, since he became the first SAG winner to not even be nominated for an Oscar. His snub, by the way, was by all measures the most egregious of the acting nominations, since he was nominated for the Golden Globe, SAG and Bafta, and should have been in there at the Oscars too. But AMPAS clearly does not want to recognize the legitimacy of Netflix yet- I'm positive that if that film had been released by a major studio in theaters Elba would have for sure gotten in. As for Spotlight roaring back tonight, I actually wouldn't put too much stock in that, because the SAG ensemble winner only matches Best Picture about 50 percent of the time. It's not a great record- remember, American Hustle won here just two years ago and then won nothing at the Oscars. But it means The Big Short doesn't have it wrapped up yet, as all eyes move on to the next guild, which is the DGA, now as important as it's ever been. It's still a competitive race.
2016 SAG AWARDS WINNERS
- BEST ENSEMBLE: Spotlight
- BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
- BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson, Room
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Vikander winning this puts her in frontrunner status for the Oscar, and I believe the rest of the acting winners are now officially locked as well. Supporting actor could still be open, but Elba winning as a non-Oscar nominee was the best possible news for Stallone's chances in hanging onto that award.
'Spotlight' cast wins top prize
New Trailer for 'Secret Life of Pets' Shows the Story of Lost Dogs
Okay, so this is like a cross between Homeward Bound and Toy Story, right? Combine that with the over 50 year history of kids and family movies about adorable dogs and this really seems like a movie that can't miss with audiences. Every beat is familiar, yet comfortable. I predict that it's a huge hit.
'Big Short' and 'Mad Max' Take ACE Eddie Awards
Well, the Editors Guild gave its two main prizes to the movies that were expected to win it, so no surprises here. Still, it's another guild win added to the The Big Short's total, and PGA + ACE isn't too bad a combination. The editing Oscar is expected to be between these two films as well, so no hints yet for that one.
- Best Edited Feature- Comedy: The Big Short
- Best Edited Feature- Dramatic: Mad Max: Fury Road
- Best Edited Feature- Documentary: Amy
My 2016 SAG Predictions
Yay, it's time for the Screen Actors Guild predictions! I went 5 for 5 on these last year, so hopefully I can do it again. But I have a feeling we'll be in for at least one surprise, maybe in the supporting actress category?
BEST ENSEMBLE
- Trumbo
- Beasts of No Nation
- Spotlight
- The Big Short
- Straight Outta Compton
This award sometimes goes to the eventual Best Picture winner, sometimes not- the record is about 50/50 on that score. But this time, I'm thinking that it will be The Big Short, which just won the PGA last weekend. Lots of big name actors, showy performances, Steve Carell, who was on TV. Spotlight would be the other obvious contender, for its seamless ensemble filled with subtle performances. It's won the most critics prizes for the ensemble award, so that could easily happen. I think I'm just going to bet on The Big Short here though. It's an instinct.
Winner: The Big Short
Alternate: Spotlight
Dark Horse: Straight Outta Compton (this would be really cool, just out of maybe a reaction against the Oscar nominations from the much more diverse Screen Actors guild, but they almost always go with Best Picture nominees)
BEST ACTOR
- Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
- Johnny Depp, Black Mass
- Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
- Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
- Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
But this one's easy. Leo for the win. This is his year, he's winning everything. There's not much else to say.
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio
BEST ACTRESS
- Cate Blanchett, Carol
- Brie Larson, Room
- Helen Mirren, The Woman in Gold
- Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
- Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back
Brie Larson isn't as locked as Leo in this category, but she's probably pretty close. The only other person with a chance to steal is Saoirse, but it just seems to me like it's been decided that Larson's the one who should win this, after the Globe and Critics' Choice win.
Winner: Brie Larson
Alternate: Saoirse Ronan
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Christian Bale, The Big Short
- Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
- Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
- Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
- Jacob Tremblay, Room
So, the person most likely to win the Oscar is Stallone, whom SAG didn't even nominate for this. Which makes it a free category. That's a tough one, but I would say it's between Bale, Elba and Rylance. I think I'm going to go with Christian Bale, because The Big Short looks strong in the overall race right now, and he may be the one to give Stallone a run for his money on Oscar night too.
Winner: Christian Bale
Alternate: Idris Elba (he's an enormously popular actor in both film and television who was outright snubbed by the Oscars for this acclaimed performance- I wonder if SAG may want to make it up to him here).
Dark Horse: Mark Rylance (he was the critic’s favorite and also acted in both film and TV this last year)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Rooney Mara, Carol
- Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
- Helen Mirren, Trumbo
- Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
- Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
There's no one with any real momentum here, but since Vikander seems to have been the critic’s darling for most of 2015 and kind of the breakthrough actress, I'm going to guess it goes to her. But this could easily be Kate Winslet as well, based on her respected veteran status. And whoever wins this category here will probably be my Oscar pick too.
Winner: Alicia Vikander
Alternate: Kate Winslet
Jacques Rivette 1928-2016
One of the last remaining pioneers of cinema's French New Wave passed away at the age of 87 today. Like his contemporaries and friends Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette was a film critic turned director in the 1960's and made 28 feature films, most notably Paris Belongs to Us and Celine and Julie Go Boating. A film critic for the famed Cahiers du Cinema, he served as its editor from 1962-67.
Trailer for 1974's Celine and Julie Go Boating:
Trailer for New Stop Motion Animated Film 'Kublo and the Two Strings'
This looks very cool, and we should take a moment to appreciate the fact that Laika Studios has dedicated itself to being the only company still in the business of producing stop-motion animated features against the onslaught of boring CGI domination. I don't know about everybody else, but CG has proven itself to have limits to its visual creativity in ways that 2D and stop-motion do not. The features Laika has produced so far- Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, have all been more interesting and in unconventional ways than most animated films that flood the marketplace every year, so kudos to them.
Lily James Takes On the Apocalypse in Latest Trailer for 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'
I still think this movie looks really, really stupid- more a copy of recent crap like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter than anything creatively inspired by a graphic novel. But I guess we'll find out soon enough. They don't bother to put any kind of a hook in these trailers besides girls in 19th century garb slicing up zombies either- no clever lines, satire or anything. Lame.
Batman and Superman Square Off in New Trailer for 'Dawn of Justice'
The latest trailer for this CG mess combines several of the most recent TV spots, and this is all you want to see of those, trust me. Every new piece of footage revealed from this thing makes it look worse. Superman is a scowling bully, Batman is wildly overacted with an even more ridiculous growl than he had in his last iteration (I thought no one's Batman voice could be worse than Christian Bale's), and Jesse Eisenberg? Again, the less said about him the better. The reviews on this one are going to be very interesting, if nothing else. Something tells me people who sat through Man of Steel aren't going to go in looking to give Zack Snyder a pass this time.
John Carney's 'Sing Street' Premieres at Sundance
John Carney, director of Once and Begin Again, premiered this coming of age film at Sundance just the other day, and the crowd went wild for it. Apparently another heartwarming, crowd-pleasing, original musical filled with new music, this time inspired by 1980's rock. I'm so there. Carney reminds me of Cameron Crowe when he was at his peak- the kind of guy who can make sentimental, feel good films with warm characters you want to spend time with, and never leave their universes. The kind of sentiment that hits the sweet spot by falling just shy of cheesiness- in other words, my kind of movie.
