Day: December 1, 2015

Mini-Review: Pinocchio’s Christmas

Posted on by bernardovillela

Part of the appeal of this Warner Archive set was that I had never, or thought I had never, seen all the specials on this disc. No other film in this set gave me the feeling of déjà vu as this one. However, I cannot say of that is for real, and even if it is, I cannot guarantee I saw the whole film even if I did see it before. Out of all of these, this is the best example of the Rankin/Bass style the songs and lyrics, and vocal stylings are all top notch. It takes the Pinocchio lore and not only tells a Christmas tale with it but tells only part of the story. It’s an hour-long special that not only fits the allotted running time, but thrives because of it. There is also plenty of humor and wonderful sets. This may not be a household name special but it it on par with the best.

10/10

2015 BAM Award Considerations – November

Posted on by bernardovillela

Eligible Titles

Creed
The Good Dinosaur
Sanjay’s Super Team
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Spectre
The Squeeze
Chasing Tyson
Dark Places
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
The Peanuts Movie
Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe

Best Picture

Creed
The Good Dinosaur
Dark Places

Best Foreign Film

Best Documentary

Most Overlooked Picture

As intimated in my Most Underrated announcement this year, I’ve decided to make a change here. Rather than get caught up in me vs. the world nonsense and what a film’s rating is on an aggregate site, the IMDb or anywhere else, I want to champion smaller, lesser-known films. In 2011 with the selection of Toast this move was really in the offing. The nominees from this past year echo that fact. So here, regardless of how well-received something is by those who’ve seen it, I’ll be championing indies and foreign films, and the occasional financial flop from a bigger entity.
Dark Places

Best Director

Creed
The Good Dinosaur
Dark Places

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Charlize Theron Dark Places

Best Actor

Michael B. Jordan Creed
Josh Hutcherson The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Jeremy Sumpter The Squeeze
Nicholas Hoult Dark Places
Tye Sheridan Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Best Supporting Actress

Phylicia Rashad Creed
Tessa Thompson Creed
Chloë Grace Moretz Dark Places
Sarah Dumont Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Best Supporting Actor

Sylvester Stallone Creed
Tye Sheridan Dark Places

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Leading Role

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Leading Role

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Supporting Role

Alex Henderson Creed

Best Cast

Creed
Dark Places
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
The Peanuts Movie

Best Youth Ensemble

The Good Dinosaur
The Peanuts Movie

Best Original Screenplay

The Good Dinosaur
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Best Adapted Screenplay

Creed
Dark Places
The Peanuts Movie

Best Score

Creed
The Good Dinosaur
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Spectre
Dark Places
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
The Peanuts Movie

Best Editing

Creed
The Good Dinosaur
Dark Places

Best Sound Editing/Mixing

Creed
The Good Dinosaur
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Spectre
Dark Places
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Best Cinematography

Creed
Dark Places
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Best Art Direction

Creed
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Dark Places
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Best Costume Design

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Best Makeup

Creed
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Dark Places
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Best Visual Effects
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

NOTE: For lack of actual known-to-me titles this month their are reminders of what the songs are. Should they be shortlisted and/or nominated I’ll hunt them down.

Best (Original) Song

Creed

I commented last year that there was a film that had me reconsidering the soundtrack as a potential category. It’s happened again so I will be tracking it and seeing if it’s worth re-including this year.

Best Soundtrack

Creed