Oscar Winners - Awarded 26 February 2012

Best Picture
WINNER: The Artist — Thomas Langmann
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Directing
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
WINNER: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
WINNER: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
WINNER: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
WINNER: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Adapted Screenplay
WINNER: The Descendants — Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
WINNER: Midnight in Paris — Woody Allen
A Separation

Best Animated Feature
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
WINNER: Rango — Gore Verbinski

Best Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
WINNER: Undefeated — Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin, and Rich Middlemas

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
WINNER: A Separation (Iran) — Asghar Farhadi

Best Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Hugo — Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
WINNER: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Hugo
Moneyball

Best Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
WINNER: Hugo — Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Best Costume Design
Anonymous
WINNER: The Artist — Mark Bridges
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Best Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
WINNER: The Iron Lady — Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Best Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin
WINNER: The Artist — Ludovic Bource
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Best Original Song
WINNER: “Man or Muppet,” The Muppets — Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio

Best Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Hugo — Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
WINNER: Hugo — Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
WINNER: Hugo — Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
WINNER: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore — William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
WINNER: Saving Face — Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Live-Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
WINNER: The Shore — Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

BAFTA Awards - 12 February 2012

Best Picture - The Artist

Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Actress - Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actor - Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Supporting Actor - Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Adapted Screenplay - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Screenplay - The Artist

Review: Albert Nobbs

Pass. This was so well reviewed, a true darling of the stuffy movie critics, but I think Club Members can pass on this one. Yes; the acting performances were great and well documented (both Glenn Close and Janet McTeer have been nominated for Academy Awards, and I think McTeer was terrific in her role); but I kept looking at my watch during this movie - and I mean constantly looking at my watch. The characters were not well developed, the story was very weak and, quite frankly, I was a little bored. The movie depended too much on the shock factor of our main characters (women living as men in late 19th century Dublin), so it felt it could coast on that alone and story be damned. I guess the filmmakers wanted to shine a light on the difficulties of expressing one’s true orientation, amidst the economic and cultural woes of the time. So what, is my reaction. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but this was a “so what” movie for me. Bright spot - Brendan Gleeson is always a favorite of mine. His role as the hotel doctor was great; but I wish his character was more developed.

Pass folks. Not worth the time in the theatre.

Rating: C+

Review: Hugo 3D

Hugo film received 11 Oscar nominations, the most of the 2011 season. And, yet, it was a movie I really had no interest in seeing, despite being based on a best selling novel and lead by an acclaimed director. After the nominations were announced, I acquiesced and opted to see the film with two youngsters (queue the niece and nephew). Surprisingly, I think I had more fun than they did. Hugo 3D is an absolute cinematic delight, highly visual, deeply emotional, slightly campy, but truly a wonderful film experience. Scorsese does it again, capturing the promise of youth with the struggles of adulthood. The story tends to drift at times - I found myself questioning where the writer/director were going. Since I did not read the book, I presume the original author is the one who jammed so many competing story lines into the novel. Despite this (and it being slightly long to accommodate all of these windy roads), I still highly recommend this film. Oh...see it in 3D - the richness of the filming is captured so vividly in 3D. It captures the struggles of this little, trapped in an adult world.

Rating: A-

2011 SAG AWARD WINNERS - Awarded January 2012

Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture: "The Help"

Male Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"

Female Actor in a Leading Role: Viola Davis, "The Help"

Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Review - Shame

If the MPAA slaps a movie with an NC17 rating, chances are any good storytelling, fascinating characters or other redeeming qualities of the film will be overshadowed by potty mouth press. Michael Fassbender’s private parts have definitely been the headline (enough said there), but I was struck by how this movie is really good, really raw and really well made. It skillfully showcases the issue of addiction, and for someone who does not suffer from addiction (unless you call running a movie club an addiction), it brought to light things I never imagined - so to speak. In Shame, addiction to sex is our protagonist’s problem, but it artfully depicts how addiction of any kind can consume someone to the point where they cannot function in most aspects of their lives. Some of us might find the idea of a sex addiction to be unfathomable, or even humorous (cue David Duchovny), but Shame shows us that sex addiction - like any addiction - can be a reality. Don’t look for any reasons or solutions or tidy fixes; kind of like life, really. This movie gives the viewer a chance to peek into the day in the life of an addict - what he goes through, the excuses he makes, the SHAME he feels, the lengths he will go to in order to submit to the hunger. The accolades praised on Fassbender for the role are deserved; he gives a compelling performance of an emotionally detached individual who is consumed by this addiction. Keep an eye for Carey Mulligan’s supporting role as the sister of the addict as well. This movie is NOT for everyone, especially if you do not want to see some compromising sexual scenes. The movie’s NC17 rating is deserved due to the graphic nature; if you are okay witnessing those scenes, watch this for the raw emotion and be left feeling grateful that you can control your addiction, whatever that may be.

Rating: B+

Review - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I went into this movie having read all of the books and screened all the Swedish movies, so I was excited to see David Fincher’s take on the tale...and I was not disappointed. In fact, I was left wanting more. Girl with a Dragon Tattoo delivers great story, great casting, terrific suspense. See the movie, folks. Great mystery and original story, with Sweden as a back drop. Besides, always nice to see Daniel Craig in ANYTHING, and this is no different. But the real star of the film is Rooney Mara and her breakout performance as Lisbeth Salander. It is hard not to be a fan of this highly complex, constantly misunderstood, and viciously intelligent character.

And try to pronounce those Swedish names and locations - I dare you!

Rating: B+