BAM Best Picture Profile: Mean Creek (2004)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM Nominee and winner lists (Any omissions will be fixed this year). However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

Mean Creek (2004)

There are a few things that can be said concerning the viewing of this film, considering what the IMDb cites as its release date, and the fact that I know I saw it at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema in New York upon its release; I can fairly guess that this was what is as close to a birthday movie as I had in 2004.

As opposed to some prior titles, this is not one that I had anticipated for a very long time, but one that I ad heard of in indie film previews of the coming summer slate.

In casting terms there are a few things of note in this film: One of the more notable appearances in the film is that or Rory Culkin. Aside from his participation in Signs there was not really a very noteworthy credit on his resume yet. Certainly nothing with the teeth this film has.

And teeth, in a figurative sense, is what this film comes down to. In a prescient plot Mean Creek deals with a group of kids who trick a bully into going on a boat ride, the situation and the fallout thereof allows each of the characters to show their true colors and different reactions to the moral dilemmas faced.

The film also deals enigmatically with the bully, in perhaps one of the strongest demonstrations of just how hard it is to get inside someone’s head. The bully in this case played by Josh Peck. This a departure for him at the time as he had just finished up his time on The Amanda Show and was about to being Drake & Josh; and it remains his best work to date.

Not only amongst these kids do you have one actor playing completely against his type but you also have a revelatory kind of performance and a mind-changing one: The revelation in this film is the work of Ryan Kelley, he playing one of the characters on the more sensitive side of the spectrum (in another great tough he’s the adopted child of a same sex couple, while that it not the focus of the film). This was the first in a string of a few great performances from him. The mind-changer being the performance of Carly Schroeder. Who at this point I only knew from her work on Lizzie Maguire. Her character on that show was supposed to be on the annoying side, but it was not standout work she did there.

Jacob Aaron Estes

Jacob Aaron Estes

These casting choices and performances owe a lot to writer/director Jacob Aaron Estes who not only imbues this film with a great situation rife with dramatic possibility and ripe for the character development that ensues, who placed his trust in this young cast and they delivered in spades. Had I had parity in my award categories at this time Mean Creek definitely would’ve taken the Youth Ensemble prize as I’m not even done enumerating the great performances within it.

Then you also have the foils, Marty and Rocky. They seem similar enough but do have a split. Scott Mechlowicz is a assured and spot on as the calculated type; I saw him in a lot of indie work around this time and this is I believe the best and most widely available of those films. Then with Rocky, played by the always great and frequently under-appreciated Trevor Morgan, you have a seeming tough guy who does have a conscience and and empathy as events escalate.

Mean Creek is perhaps one of the best most recent examples of how you needn’t have a high concept to be highly engaged in a narrative.

BAM Best Picture Profile: Peter Pan (2003)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM Nominee and winner lists (Any omissions will be fixed this year). However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

Peter Pan (2003)

While I didn’t really post explications that I can easily access for the BAM Awards back in 2003, this was a year wherein I lost my nominees and can only find winners) I was able to quote myself from an unusual source nowadays, my IMDb reviews:

There should be a rule that bars people from remaking a story when the definitive edition has been made. While I loved the much maligned ‘Hook’ and Disney’s version PJ Hogan created the perfect version of this tale. It uses more from the book than ever and even improves on some elements. The proper theatrical conventions are kept like Hook and the Father being played by the same actor and also the proper ones were done away with like a woman playing Peter’s role.

This is the way the story of Peter Pan should be told The imagery is balanced between fantastical and realistic. Every single character is perfectly cast, especially Jeremy Sumpter as Peter. The special effects were so amazing and unique I was actually surprised to see that Industrial Light and Magic did them. The film flows beautifully with scenes that seem as if they are pulled straight from my dreams.

This is a story that has always been very dear to me and I feel that people are making way to much of this film. Peter’s escape embodies a fear all children suffer from at one point or another: growing up. This is the essence of the film and the conflict is heightened by the fact that Wendy loves Peter and for him to love her back he knows he’d have to grow up. One day we know we must grow up. As children we envy Peter’s being but know that our destinies are more those of Wendy, Michael and John. As adults we find Peter’s dream of perpetual childhood beautiful but as we see his heart breaking because he cannot change who he is and live with the Darlings, so do ours. For that is our plight. There is not an audience this film can’t play to for that very reason.

It’s a heartwarming, swashbuckling, funny, adventurous, to say that its an experience doesn’t do it justice. This film is truly a dream come true.

It’s impossible not to like this movie. Open your heart, shut off your brain and watch Peter Pan the way it was meant to be seen.

Yes, I included that in its entirety even though there are some aspects I’d caveat or amend today. One of the amendments would be about stopping remakes. My point was that there’s a crystallization of a narrative in a certain form, to me this version of Peter Pan is it. It’s conscientiously still a storybook version but more real than prior versions, darker and more dramatic.

The second statement above that would need clearing up was the “shut off your brain” segment. While I still agree that Peter Pan is more a visceral than intellectual experience I wrote that as a knee-jerk reaction to some of the over-analysis of certain production decisions I read at the time. In terms of the intellectual aspect this version perhaps places the most emphasis on the tension between Peter and Wendy and the inner struggle each faces; Peter’s clinging to childhood and Wendy’s realization that she needs to go towards adulthood. Furthermore, the Hook/Pan dynamic, to borrow a trite modern colloquialism, the “frenemy” status exemplified by Sumpter and Isaacs is brilliantly portrayed.

Quite a few of my selections I believe were directors going where they were not necessarily expected to, and PJ Hogan hadn’t done anything in this vein yet. That’s for sure.

Peter Pan (2003, Universal)

One history of the BAM Awards-related note. I used to in the days before streaming and on demand selections call the end of the year on-or-about Christmas. I believe Peter Pan’s release date was 12/27. Based on the conception and the strength of the trailer I extended the deadline that year and it became the first last-minute title to claim the number one spot.

This was and is a story I have a long history with. There was never a version quite like this one, and I don’t anticipate there will ever be one like it again. It’s something rather special. I knew that from the moment James Newton Howard’s “Flying” began (Another BAM note is that I erroneously eliminated it from scoring contention because of the classical cues used, when most of what I loved was original work).

Peter Pan, in the face of being written off by many, won a slew of BAM Awards in one of the most dominant showings ever, and I can explain why further if need be, but I think my case is made.

BAM Best Picture Profile: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM Nominee and winner lists (Any omissions will be fixed this year). However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

NOTE: The 2001 winner was covered extensively in a very long series starting here.

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)

Basically I will here, as I have done with a few of these posts, synthesize not only my writings on the given film, but also discuss my personal history with the film. And understanding where I’m coming from with both Star Wars and the prequels is key to at least cutting me a stone if not understanding and agreeing with what I say here.

Here’s a brief intro to my history with Star Wars and why I didn’t even think I’d like this one that much in the first place:

I saw the Star Wars prequels first. Having never felt the urge to see the originals, and then hearing about the prequel concept which was popularized, if not invented by, Lucas – I wanted to watch the movies in the story’s chronological order. So I waited until 2005 to see the original trilogy. After having seen The Phantom Menace I just didn’t get the appeal, but I stuck it out and went to see Attack of the Clones and then I got it – Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones is awesome. The Phantom Menace was just not that good at all and it never will be no matter how many times I watch the film. Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones won the BAM for Best Picture in 2002 (BAMs are my personal movie awards – look out for those here next year).

So allow me to continue what I discussed with regards to Invalid complaining about the prequels in general:

Here’s where my watching the series knowingly in chronological, so far as the narrative goes, order starts to factor in. This is one of the most over-debated and over-analyzed aspects of the entire saga. You can like or dislike it as you please, but I really don’t see the point in getting all up in arms about this point, when you have so many you could possibly choose from. Granted you implement things in the prequel trilogy that don’t follow through to the original and it removes an element of mystery but how much does it really detract? Furthermore, to parlay the filmmaker point above, it was introduced when the prequels were very much Lucas’s design, as concessions may have been made later on, so clearly he had it in mind. So it may not fit your vision but it fit his. Essentially, if one if offended by the very notion of the prequels they ought not waste time on this factoid. Conversely, if this is your biggest issue with the series that’s not so bad or you’ve blown it way out of proportion.

I later realized I probably saw snippets of them growing up, but that’s not really seeing them. And having seen these first things like midi-chlorians which were later introduced are easier for me to stomach as a “late-series” change.

Now while I will always defend Jake Lloyd from the lynch mob, I agree The Phantom Menace is no great shakes. However, a few things bear considering: the first is that if you think there are problems with that film he’s one of the very small ones, there are others. Next, oddly enough, and my brother and others in his generation are a testament to this; Lucas really did make that one for kids. In essence, he always did, at least to the kids in adults. Over the years while no new follow-ups emerged the legend ballooned, the grandiosity, importance and gravitas foisted upon the series by fans sky-rocketed.

To such an extent that when I saw The Phantom Menace, with no prior frame of reference, I was like “That was OK, but I don’t see what the big deal is.” When Attack of the Clones came out – that’s when I started to see what the big deal was. The 2002 BAM Awards are a testament to that.

While you can sit there and write-off the awards as a newfound fanboy heaping love on his new pet if you want some things are separate from the film that were awarded merely on technical and artistic merits of the work done. Williams’ scoring in this film remains one of my favorites in his canon; arguing against ILM on a Lucasfilm project is folly; cinematography in CG-heavy films does matter (perhaps the Academy was a bit misguided in choosing Avatar to recognize that notion, but it does). And wooden dialogue or not this film does move wonderfully and has great situations and is a bifurcated tale of romance and political intrigue. It plays much closer to its serial film roots here.

It’s also a film I’ve revisited very often since I saw the original films and given the chance to do this year over again I doubt I’d change my mind.

2013 BAM Awards Shortlists

Posted on by bernardovillela

In 2012 The BAM Awards debuted a shortlisting system. The idea being that it’d split up the deliberating process and perhaps streamline it. First, I take all the considerations and build a short list, from that shortlist choose the eventual nominees.

What happened last year was that all the deadlines were too close together. This year the nominations will be announced on 1/2/2014; the winners on 1/9/2014. This should allow ample time for decision-making and writing. Also, titles viewed between the creation of this list and the year’s end will be eligible and chronicled on a separate post. Titles on the December considerations list are not factoring in until the final nominating process.

Enjoy, and do come back for the announcement of nominees and winners. You can subscribe to the blog by email (on the sidebar), like it on Facebook or follow Bernardo Villela on Twitter.

Please note this list is not yet completed, it will be shortly.

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Supporting Role (18)


Chloe Grace Moretz Movie 43
Leah McPherson Be My Valentine
Annie Thurman Dark Skies

Valerie Samalova 4some

Marika Sarah Prochazkova 4some

Coleen Leempoel Allez, Eddy!

Louca Platon Leonie

Joey King Oz the Great and Powerful
Bonnie Sturdivant Mud

Keyanna Fielding Imaginaerum

Elle Fanning Twixt
Maira Laird Shadow Dancer

Ariana Neal Fruitvale Station

Klara Merkel V8- Start Your Engines
Tatiana Chiline To the Wonder
Eleanor Zichy Haunter
Mariam Bokeria In Bloom
Bebe Cave Great Expectations

NOTE: Each category had a different number of considerations. The shortlist goals are to reduce the potential nominees by between 50 and 66%.

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Supporting Role (45)


Maxwell Perry Cotton Gangster Squad
Bill Milner Broken

George Sargeant Broken

Dakota Goyo Dark Skies

Isaac Hempstead Wright The Awakening

Mason Cook The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Felix Maesschalck Time of My Life

Nat Wolff Admission
Mathias Vergels Allez, Eddy!

Jelle Florizoone Allez, Eddy!

Jonah Bobo Disconnect

Thomas Doret Renoir
Ty Simpkins Iron Man 3

Jacob Lofland Mud

Quinn Lord In Their Skin

Alex Ferris In Their Skin

Tomas Wicz 2 + 2

Greyson Russell Space Warriors

Martin Nissen The Giants

Paul Bartel The Giants

Quinn Lord Imaginaerum

Dylan Sprayberry Man of Steel

Mason Cook The Lone Ranger
River Alexander The Way, Way Back
Gattlin Griffith Under the Bed

Dylan Hartigan Funeral Kings

Jordan Puzzo Funeral Kings

Maxwell Perry Cotton Elysium

Samuel Jakob V8- Start Your Engines

Tom Hossbach V8- Start Your Engines

Nick Romeo Reimann V8 – Start Your Engines
Kodi Smit-McPhee Romeo and Juliet
CJ Diehl The Stream
Peter DaCunha Haunter
Jackson Nicholl Bad Grandpa
Matis Livcans Mother, I Love You
Aramis Knight Ender’s Game
Orynbek Moldakhan The Old Man
Peter DaCunha Pete’s Christmas
Toby Irvine Great Expectations
Siam Yu I Declare War
Alex Cardillo I Declare War
Django Schrevens The Fifth Season
Nico Liersch The Book Thief

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Leading Role (13)

Ty Simpkins Arcadia
Jelte Blommaert Allez, Eddy!

Colin Ford Disconnect
Tye Sheridan Mud
Zacherie Chasseriaud The Giants

Liam James The Way, Way Back
Alex Maizus Funeral Kings
Georg Sulzer V8- Start Your Engines
Chandler Canterbury Standing Up
Jacob M. Williams The Stream
Kristofers Konovalovs Mother, I Love You
Asa Butterfield Ender’s Game
Gage Munroe I Declare War

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Leading Role (10)


Eloise Laurence Broken
Ryan Simpkins Arcadia

Elle Fanning Ginger & Rosa
Chloe Grace Moretz Kick-Ass 2
Maya Lauterbach V8- Start Your Engines

Hailee Steinfeld Romeo and Juliet
Abigail Breslin Haunter
Lika Babulani In Bloom
Mackenzie Munro I Declare War
Sophie Nélisse The Book Thief

NOTE: For many behind-the-scenes categories only a film will be listed in this phase. When nominees are announced names will be included in most of these categories. This is a time-saving measure.

Best Makeup (28)


Mama

Broken
Warm Bodies

Night Across the Street
The Awakening

Evil Dead

At the Gate of the Ghost

Renoir
Iron Man 3

The Great Gatsby
The Lone Ranger

The Conjuring

The Depraved
Byzantium

Elysium

Twixt
Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Insidious: Chapter 2
V8- Start Your Engines

V/H/S 2
Stitches
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
Two Lives
The Color of the Chameleon
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
I Declare War
The Book Thief

Most Overlooked Film (20)

Most Overlooked Film

Broken 

Nicky’s Family
Time of My Life

Allez, Eddy!
Deep Dark Canyon

In Their Skin

The Magic Flute
The Giants

Imaginaerum
The Depraved

Museum Hours

V8- Start Your Engines
The Almost Man
Mother, I Love You
Blind Spot
Class Enemy
It’s All So Quiet
The Old Man
The Color of the Chameleon
I Declare War

Best Documentary (14)

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
Brooklyn Castle
Nicky’s Family
A Place at the Table

56 Up
No Limits
The Diplomat
The 99ers
Branca’s Pitch

Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie
The Book of Manning
League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis
Big Shot
Schooled: The Price of College Sports

Best Director (22)


Broken
Time of My Life

Allez, Eddy!

Disconnect
Iron Man 3

Mud

2 + 2
Deadfall

The Giants

Stoker

Byzantium

The Way, Way Back

Blue Jasmine
The Almost Man
Romeo and Juliet
Mother, I Love You
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
Class Enemy
It’s All So Quiet
Two Lives
The Old Man

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain Mama

Rebecca Hall The Awakening

Anna Paquin Straight A’s
Ashley Bell The Last Exorcism 2
Lotte Pinoy Time of My Life

Jane Levy Evil Dead

Victorie Cermakova 4some

Barbara Sarafian Allez, Eddy!

Andrea Riseborough Disconnect

Paula Patton Disconnect

Christa Theret Renoir

Emily Mortimer Leonie

Selma Blair In Their Skin
Julieta Diaz 2 + 2
Asia Naifeld Room 514

Sandra Bullock The Heat

Melissa McCarthy The Heat
Margarete Tiesel Paradise: Love

Mia Wasikowska Stoker
Saoirse Ronan Byzantium

Cate Blanchett Blue Jasmine
Mary Margaret O’Hara Museum Hours
Sharni Vinson You’re Next

Melonie Diaz Fruitvale Station

Clotilde Hesme Three Worlds

Olga Kurylenko To the Wonder
Scarlett Johansson Don Jon
Solvei Grimen Fosse The Almost Man
Sandra Bullock Gravity
Maria Hofstätter Paradise: Faith
Lauren Ashley Carter Jug Face
Julia Louis- Dreyfus Enough Said
Nilay Erdonmez Watchtower
Julian Köhler Two Lives
Kate Moran You and the Night
Barbara Sukowa Hannah Arendt
Judi Dench Philomena

Best Youth Ensemble (22)

Broken

Arcadia

Dark Skies
The Awakening

4some
Allez, Eddy!

Disconnect
The Magic Flute

The Giants

Mud
In Their Skin
2 + 2

The Way, Way Back
Funeral Kings

Twixt
V8- Start Your Engines
Haunter
Mother, I Love You
In Bloom
Ender’s Game
I Declare War
The Book Thief

Best Visual Effects (26)

Mama

Dark Skies
The Awakening

Jack the Giant Slayer

Evil Dead

G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Iron Man 3

Star Trek Into Darkness
The Great Gatsby

After Earth

Upstream Color
This is the End

Imaginaerum

Man of Steel

The Lone Ranger
Pacific Rim
The Conjuring
The Wolverine

Elysium
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Insidious: Chapter 2
Gravity
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
Thor: The Dark World
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Frozen

Best Sound Editing/Mixing (27)

Broken
Warm Bodies

Dark Skies
Leviathan
Olympus Has Fallen

Allez, Eddy!
Deep Dark Canyon
Iron Man 3

Star Trek Into Darkness
Upstream Color

Imaginaerum
Fast & Furious 6
The Lone Ranger
Pacific Rim

The Conjuring

The Wolverine
Elysium
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Insidious: Chapter 2

V8- Start Your Engine
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Blind Spot
Ender’s Game
The Old Man
Thor: The Dark World
The World’s End

NOTE: With this category there are times I have name(s) and titles(s) along with the film. Artists and song information will be gathered during the nominating process.

Best Original Song (23)

“Chica Chica Boom Chic” Sharmila Guha & The Gangster Squad Movie Band Gangster Squad

Broken
Wiegala Nicky’s Family

A Song from Nicholas Winton Nicky’s Family

“Shine Supernova” Cody Simpson Escape from Planet Earth
Jacob Bercovici Deep Dark Canyon

Ben Nichols Mud

The Great Gatsby

The Giants

Kai Po Che!

Imaginaerum
Despicable Me 2

La Sirga

Teen Beach Movie

Stoker

The Deflowering of Eva Van End

56 Up

The Way, Way Back
Funeral Kings
Beyond the Walls
V8- Start Your Engines
Ender’s Game
Frozen

Best Original Screenplay

The Awakening

Straight A’s
Allez, Eddy!

Disconnect
Deep Dark Canyon

Mud
2 + 2

Room 514
The Giants
Imaginaerum
The Conjuring

Stoker
The Depraved
The Deflowering of Eva Van End
The Way, Way Back
Blue Jasmine
Museum Hours
The Almost Man
Mother, I Love You
Stitches
Class Enemy
The Fifth Season
I Declare War

Best Editing (44)

Broken
Nicky’s Family
Dark Skies
Straight A’s

Time of My Life

Allez, Eddy!

Disconnect

Iron Man 3

Mud

Star Trek Into Darkness

2 + 2

Room 514

Upstream Color

The Giants

The Conjuring

Stoker

The Depraved

Byzantium

The Deflowering of Eva Van End

The Way, Way Back

Elysium
Kick-Ass 2

Blue Jasmine

Museum Hours
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Insidious: Chapter 2

Three Worlds
V8- Start Your Engines
To the Wonder
Gravity
The Counselor
Blind Spot
The Notebook
Class Enemy
It’s All So Quiet
Two Lives
The Old Man
The Color of the Chameleon
The Fifth Season
I Declare War
Frozen
The World’s End

STOPPING POINT. SOME CATEGORIES DIDN’T GET TRIMMED DOWN. SLEEP NEEDED ACHIEVING. THE POST WILL BE COMPLETED IN DUE COURSE. 3 AM.

Best Actor (47)

Nicolaj Coster-Waldau Mama

Tim Roth Broken
Nicholas Hoult Warm Bodies

Sergio Hernandez Night Across the Street

Ryan Phillippe Straight A’s

Dominic Hall The Awakening
Koen De Graeve Time of My Life

Hynek Cermak 4some

Jason Bateman Disconnect

Shidô Nakamura Leonie
Spencer Treat Clark Deep Dark Canyon

Nick Eversman Deep Dark Canyon
Robert Downey, Jr. Iron Man 3

Adrian Saur 2 + 2

Ohad Knoller Yossi
Udi Persi Room 514
Joseph Kaiser The Magic Flute
Jay Baruchel This is the End

Florian Lukas Into the White
Matthew Goode Stoker

Nick Eversman The Depraved

Ton Kas The Deflowering of Eva Van End

Hugh Jackman The Wolverine

Matt Damon Elysium

Jason Sudeikis We’re the Millers


Jean-Louis Trintignant Amour

Bobby Sommer Museum Hours

Forest Whitaker Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Matila Malliarakis Beyond the Walls

Jamie Campbell Bower The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Michael B. Jordan Fruitvale Station

Raphaël Personnaz Three Worlds
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Don Jon
Henrik Rafaelsen The Almost Man
Douglas Booth Romeo and Juliet
Tom Hanks Captain Phillips
James Gandolfini Enough Said
Olgun Simsek Watchtower
Igor Samobor Class Enemy
Jereon Willems It’s All So Quiet
Yerobla Toguzakov The Old Man
Vladimir Svriskiy In the Fog
Niels Schneider You and the Night
Ruscen Vindinliev The Color of the Chameleon
Steve Coogan Philomena
Tom Hanks Saving Mr. Banks
Geoffrey Rush The Book Thief

Best Foreign Film (20)

Time of My Life

At the Gate of the Ghost

Allez, Eddy!

2 + 2
Room 514

The Giants

Museum Hours
Three Worlds

V8- Start Your Engines

Die Farbe
The Almost Man
Blind Spot
The Notebook
Class Enemy
It’s All So Quiet
The Old Man
The Fifth Season
La Jaula de Oro

Best Picture (20)

Broken

Time of My Life

Allez, Eddy!

Disconnect
Iron Man 3

Mud

The Giants

Stoker

The Way, Way Back
Blue Jasmine
Museum Hours

Three Worlds

V8- Start Your Engines
The Counselor
Ender’s Game
Class Enemy
It’s All So Quiet
The Old Man
Frozen
Philomena

Best Supporting Actor (55)

Sean Penn Gangster Squad

Rory Kinnear Broken

Kieran Culkin Movie 43
Rob Corddry Warm Bodies

J.K. Simmons Dark Skies

Robert Patrick Identity Thief

Spencer Treat Clark The Last Exorcism 2

Jim Carrey The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Geert Van Rampelberg Time of My Life

Iwein Segers Time of My Life

Paul Giamatti John Dies at the End

Mario Maurer At the Gate of the Ghost

Peter van den Begin Allez, Eddy!

Max Thieriot Disconnect

Frank Grillo Disconnect

Ben Kingsley Iron Man 3

Matthew McConaughey Mud

James D’Arcy In Their Skin

Juan Minujin 2 + 2

Oz Zehavi Yossi

Eric Bana Deadfall
Didier Toupy The Giants

James Franco This is the End

Danny Mcbride This is the End

Craig Robinson This is the End

Kevin Costner Man of Steel

David Kross Into the White

Rupert Grint Into the White

Charlie Day Pacific Rim

Klaus Stiglmeier The Depraved

Caleb Landry Jones Byzantium

Rafael Gareisen The Deflowering of Eva Van End
Sam Rockwell The Way, Way Back
Sharlto Copley Elysium

Will Poulter We’re the Millers

Bruce Dern Twixt

Bobby Cannavale Blue Jasmine

Guillaume Gouix Beyond the Walls
Robert Sheehan The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Jean-Pierre Malo Three Worlds

Barkhad Abdi Captain Phillips
Mel Gibson Machete Kills
Paul Giamatti Romeo and Juliet
Stephen McHattie Haunter
Javier Bardem The Counselor
Ben Falcone Enough Said
André Jung Blind Spot
Harrison Ford Ender’s Game
Voranc Boh Class Enemy
Jan Zupancic Class Enemy
Martijn Lakemeier It’s All So Quiet
Bill Nighy About Time
Vladislav Abashin In the Fog
Alain-Fabien Delon You and the Night
Ulrich Noethen Hannah Arendt

Best Supporting Actress (39)

Valentina Vargas Night Across the Street
Imelda Staunton The Awakening
Viviane de Muynck Time of My Life

Marika Sarah Prochazkova 4some

Silke Cnockaert Allez, Eddy!

Hope Davis Disconnect
Rebecca Hall Iron Man 3

Reese Witherspoon Mud

Carla Peterson 2 + 2

Orly Silbersatz Yossi
Sissy Spacek Deadfall

Lyubov Petrova The Magic Flute

Emma Watson This is the End
Ruth Wilson The Lone Ranger

Nicole Kidman Stoker

Catherine de Léan The Depraved

Vivian Dierickx The Deflowering of Eva Van End

Allison Janney The Way, Way Back
Jodie Foster Elysium

Kathryn Hahn We’re the Millers

Sally Hawkins Blue Jasmine

Isabelle Huppert Amour

Ela Piplits Museum Hours
Octavia Spencer Fruitvale Station

Lin Shaye Insidious: Chapter 2

Julianne Moore Don Jon
Laura Morante Romeo and Juliet
Julianne Moore Carrie
Cameron Diaz The Counselor
Catherine Keener Enough Said
Viola Davis Ender’s Game
Doroteja Nadrah Class Enemy
Piroska Molnár The Notebook
Liv Ullmann Two Lives
Helena Bonham Carter Great Expectations
Aurélia Poirier The Fifth Season
Janet McTeer Hannah Arendt
Elizabeth Banks The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Emily Watson The Book Thief

Best Adapted Screenplay (22)


Broken
Warm Bodies
Time of My Life

At the Gate of the Ghost

Renoir
Iron Man 3

Star Trek Into Darkness
The Magic Flute
This is the End

Byzantium
Funeral Kings
Romeo and Juliet
The Counselor
Blind Spot
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
It’s All So Quiet
Two Lives
The Old Man
Great Expectations
Philomena
Frozen

Best Art Direction (53)

Broken


Night Across the Street

Jack the Giant Slayer

The Awakening
John Dies at the End



At the Gate of the Ghost



Leonie

Iron Man 3

Mud

Star Trek Into Darkness



Dracula


The Giants
The Magic Flute

Imaginaerum

The Lone Ranger


The Conjuring

La Sirga

Stoker


The Depraved

Byzantium

The Deflowering of Eva Van End





Twixt


Lee Daniels’ The Butler

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Riddick

V8- Start Your Engines

Hammer of the Gods

Die Farbe
Romeo and Juliet
Escape Plan
The Counselor
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
Watchtower
It’s All So Quiet
Great Expectations
Thor: The Dark World
You and the Night
The Color of the Chameleon
The Fifth Season
The Book Thief
The World’s End

Best Costume Design (31)

Gangster Squad

Night Across the Street
Jack the Giant Slayer

The Awakening

The Sorcerer and the White Snake

At the Gate of the Ghost

Allez, Eddy!

Renoir

Leonie
The Magic Flute

The Giants
Imaginaerum
The Lone Ranger

Stoker
Byzantium
Elysium

Kick-Ass 2
Twixt
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
V8- Start Your Engines
Romeo and Juliet
The Counselor
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
It’s All So Quiet
The Old Man
Great Expectations
The Color of the Chameleon
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
I Declare War
The Book Thief

Best Cinematography (41)

Mama

Broken
Warm Bodies
Night Across the Street
The Awakening

John Dies at the End

At the Gate of the Ghost

Allez, Eddy!

Renoir
Deep Dark Canyon

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Mud

Star Trek Into Darkness

In Their Skin
Deadfall

Upstream Color

The Magic Flute

The Giants

Imaginaerum

Into the White
The Conjuring

The Sirga

Post Tenebras Lux

Stoker

The Depraved

Byzantium


Museum Hours

The Grandmaster
Insidious: Chapter 2

V8- Start Your Engines

To the Wonder

Gravity
Mother, I Love You
Stitches
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
It’s All So Quiet
Two Lives
The Old Man
In the Fog
The Color of the Chameleon
The Fifth Season

Best Cast (49)

Broken

Movie 43
Warm Bodies
The Awakening
Straight A’s
Time of My Life

4some

At the Gate of the Ghost
Allez, Eddy!

Disconnect

Renoir

Leonie
Iron Man 3

Mud

2 + 2
Deadfall

Room 514

The Giants

This is the End
The Conjuring

Stoker

Byzantium

The Way, Way Back
Funeral Kings
Twixt

Amour

Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Shadow Dancer

Fruitvale Station

Three Worlds
V8- Start Your Engines

In the Name Of
Romeo and Juliet
Paradise: Faith
Haunter
The Counselor
Stitches
Ender’s Game
The Notebook
Watchtower
Class Enemy
It’s All So Quiet
Two Lives
The Old Man
You and the Night
The Fifth Season
The Color of the Chameleon
The Book Thief
The World’s End

BAM Best Picture Profile: Titus (2000)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM Nominee and winner lists (Any omissions will be fixed this year). However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

NOTE: I have skipped the 1999 Best Picture in this retrospective because I covered it earlier in this post.

In the history of the BAM Awards Titus has taken on a rather important place. Prior to the year 2000 I was even looser with release dates than I am now. With this film, my renting and viewing it after a very limited release in late-December 1999; I had to create some kind of eligibility rule, especially considering how much I liked it.

Here’s my post that explains the rule in detail:

Below you will find a paragraph which was prepared for the Best Films of the Decade list:

9. Titus
This is the over-looked film of Julie Taymor’s cinematic career thus far and it was here debut. It was an emphatic statement of style and vision but it also combined with substance to reinvent Shakespeare’s most violent tale with verve and surrealistic panache. The ensemble, headed by Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange, is brilliant and not overly-stagey even dealing with such cumbersome dialogue. The film is visually stunning and engulfing.

All this is true. What’s further true is that Taymor adds a bit of surrealism to the tale not only with the hallucinogenic interludes that appear on occasion, once to try and convince us Titus is mad but also through the opening of the film. An opening which introduces us not only to the character of Lucius, played very aptly by Osheen Jones, but also to the mix of modern technology, furniture and settings that will be mixed into this film. We see a child epitomizing with action figures and ketchup the kind of over-the-top violence that will be the reality of this tale, a reality he is put into. A reality he is a mute witness to for approximately an hour of the nearly three that the film runs.

All that is well and good but some of you may be asking why this film didn’t make the final cut. It was based on a technicality. The technicality is this. Titus was released by Fox in New York and Los Angeles on December 25th, 1999 in order to qualify for that year’s Academy Awards. It was resoundingly ignored. It’s wide release to general consumption and an equally absent public audience was in January of 2000. Upon double-checking the release date on the IMDb app on an iPhone I proceeded to re-screen the film to confirm inclusion on the best of the decade list. It fit. Then before publishing a trip to the IMDb proper showed all release dates.

Based on the wide release date it was the best of the year in 2000 but due to its actual release date not on the best of the decade list. Therein lies the problem. The good films get sat on until the end of the year and those not able to attend special advance screenings are left with many a film in a no man’s land.

Recently, there had been a reticence on my part to allow films from the prior year entry into award consideration, which punished The Reader. While it seems difficult to consider Titus a film of the aughts because that is a much bigger threshold to tread over I will no longer be disqualifying end of year releases from consideration in the next year. It’s only fair. While Titus can be denied a place in this decade passed it will always be a standout of year 2000 to me.

Going back to the film more than the business and politics of release dates, which I may come back to in a separate post at some point. Since I’ve completed my formal education I’ve not successfully picked up a Shakespeare text without first viewing an adaptation. While painstaking and pedantic, the formalized, syllabus-based approach slows it down and structures it such that I can better absorb the text off the page.

However, I’ve found that viewing a representation of it on film, no matter how modernized, breaks that barrier down. This film was the first that showed me that and it was while I was still in school. That fact has re-proven itself with Coriolanus and with yet another Romeo and Juliet adaptation recently. One task I may want to partake in next year is viewing more of these modernizations, including also reading A Winter’s Tale, which I’ve started many times.

If there’s a bit of youthfulness about this choice its my connecting to one of Shakespeare’s early works, as presented in this film. Titus, like my first Best Picture selection, influenced me, but for far longer than that title did.

Technicalities and rallying cries aside Titus remains a film I’m very fond of and a testament to the power of film to introduce the uninitiated to Shakespearean works.

BAM Best Picture Profile: Central Station (1998)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM Nominee and winner lists (Any omissions will be fixed this year). However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

Central Station (1997)

Central Station would be the first time the BAM Awards ventured to foreign soil to pick a Best Picture winner. However, maybe it’s more apropos to say that it ventured to soil foreign to the US. For I am a dual citizen of the US and Brazil. In fact, I first saw this film while visiting family in Brazil and I believe I later revisited it when I was back home.

It is so great, so big a hit and important enough that I did discuss whether or not it was the emblematic Brazilian film, first with regards to how the film was cast:

If you hire an amateur child from substandard living conditions you should, as Walter Salles did for Vinícius de Oliveira in Central Station, help improve their station in life. At that point you truly are picking a lottery winner rather than just casting a role.

Then about the film in general:

What of Central Station then? Central Station made quite a bit of money in the US. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress. Brazil has more a pedigree on the high-end of world cinema than most would expect. What separates Brazil from most is the consistency of product and, of course, due to the dictatorship there was censorship and artists had to fend for themselves. Now, the government is more active in promoting the arts, the major studios have a presence in the country and so forth. Yet, the fact that Brazil has been up for the Oscar, is the only Latin American nation to win the Palme d’Or (O Pagador de Promessas) and has also scored at Berlin (Elite Squad) is not what is going to dictate the most Brazilian film. Those are just indicators of quality.

Therefore, what’s the quality of Central Station? It has memorable source music, it’s a heart-wrenching drama, it tells a tale of a letter-writer and poor illiterate boy. It crosses that divide and it check off a lot of the qualities I’m looking for in a film representative of Brazil. Not to mention that it’s named after the largest train station in the country, therefore it’s a metaphor for the country and the letter-writer hears many stories from people of all walks of life that are indicative of the country and its people. The blend that exists.

Central Station is one of a long list of, I believe, far more enduring films that didn’t win Best Foreign Language Film. It didn’t win because America had a momentary brain fever and decided to ignore the issues of suspension of disbelief and taste that had Benigni’s film win everything. I can’t say I didn’t fall under it at the time to an extent, but not such that I thought it should win.

However, thanks to that foreign language film nomination it did allow one of Brazil’s great actresses to be nominated for an Oscar and be seen on the world stage. Sure, I’m as cynical about the Oscars as anyone. Had it not been for my own opinion splitting with theirs so violently I wouldn’t have created my own awards, however, I still recognize that it’s a great show and of great significance.

Central Station is a moving an enduring film that has been renowned the world over. Although it may not have won many of the prizes it was up for it surely wasn’t a case of me reaching very far afield for a winner.

BAM Best Picture Profile: Sling Blade (1997)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM nominee and winner lists. However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

Much like my first selection, this film was one I first viewed on video and a year later than its initial release. Although, Sling Blade being a highly acclaimed film unlike my first choice, was a later-in-the-year release poised for awards season.

I have revisited Sling Blade again recently enough such that I didn’t feel the need to see it again to be able to write about it comfortably. One thing that bears noting is that since a fair amount of time has passed, and considering the trajectory of Billy Bob Thornton’s career; this is a film that deserves to be talked about and remembered. Trajectory more in terms of the kinds of roles and films Thornton has made more often since then. Sure, Sling Blade has its comedic and heart-warming moments but at its core there’s a classical dramatic arc to the story. He’s played a lot more straight comedies since this film than dramas or even dramedies.

All of that is meant to underscore the fact that Sling Blade may be one of the greatest “showcase” type films ever created. Actors often will, and at times are encouraged, to develop their own idea to showcase a side of themselves they can’t seem to in other films, or simply to prove themselves in a meaty role. They do happen, but few are this complete a film and as accomplished works by said actor in all phases he/she participates. In this case Thornton wrote, directed and starred in the film.

However, a film that exists merely to highlight one actor has a hard road to getting to “Best Picture.” What is needed is not only a great supporting cast, but also a great narrative. In story terms it’s not only a tragedy at its heart, but also a story of redemption and looking beneath the surface, there’s a Southern Gothic element.

The cast features great actors, both character and not, like Robert Duvall, J.T. Walsh and John Ritter, but it also features revelations like Lucas Black, whom was a virtual unknown since American Gothic was a very low-rated show; and the film incredibly impressive film debut of country-music star Dwight Yoakam.

What is also worth noting is that while more features than you realize are first born as shorts there’s not many you get to see, and fewer than are just a prelude. Sling Blade is one of those. I was lucky enough to find a copy of Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade and watched it and I was amazed that’s its really just the interview scene, one that’s emulated in the feature, and a great set-up for who Karl is and who he is perceived to be. You can watch it below:

If you can watch that and not want to see the feature if you’ve not there’s nothing else I can say to sell you on its greatness. I’ll close with perhaps the best one-line encapsulation of the film offered by Roger Ebert:

If “Forrest Gump” had been written by William Faulkner, the result might have been something like “Sling Blade.”

It’s sheer brilliance. Enough said.

BAM Best Picture Profile: Mulholland Falls (1996)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM nominee and winner lists. However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

This may prove, by the end of this retrospective, to be the one and only film I had to go back and watch over again. As I dusted off my ancient VHS I first realized that I’ve never seen this film in its proper aspect ratio, but rather have only in pan & scan. It’s sort of a testament to how old this film is by now, relatively speaking, and how young I was when I saw it. Now, I’m not about double back on this film. Granted it may not retain the luster that some of the Best Pictures I’ve revisited. In fact, some of the “retroactive” BAM Winners that I created (and no longer acknowledge because they weren’t truly picked at year’s end) are much stronger films.

However, this was what started it all. In 1996, I sat there and perhaps for the first time I paid close attention to Awards Season as the nominations were coming out. I was quite young (15) and I was very unaware to the process, critical buzz and the like. Regardless, I needed an outlet to express my opinions. Therefore, with the aid of ticket stubs, and I would suppose the IMDB (as this film was a rental that I had viewed during the year), or maybe even just memory; I started assembling my first nominations. Even back then I refused to bow to release dates and did pick a 1995 title as my favorite film of the year because of my lack of a reasonable chance to see it.

I’ve since gotten a bit more strict about that rule, but the spirit of it remains the same. So being my first Best Picture, from my first award slate (one if I recall correctly had about 25% or less the total eligible titles this year will likely have), sure, there was reticence to revisit it. However, I long since stopped engaging in revisionist history. It’s a snapshot. I still like the film, moreover, I still know exactly what it was that had me respond in so enamored a way then even though the surprise, and to an extent, some of the thrill is gone.

Mulholland Falls (1996, MGM)

Back then I was far more actor-oriented and there are many in it I tracked closely at the time (Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palmentieri, John Malkovich) some I’ve since come to know better (Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Connolly, Treat Williams, Chris Penn, Stephen Baldwin, Ed Lauter). Perhaps more noticeably I realize now that many behind the scenes names are know more well known to me Sally Menke (Editor most known from Tarantino’s works; May she rest in peace), Haskell Wexler (Legendary DP perhaps best known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Lee Tamahori (Director who broke out with Once Were Warriors)

While the film may not be technically a noir tale, its got many of the elements that I was just recently introduced to and starting to become enraptured by so that most definitely captured my imagination. Aside from the titillating aspects, it’s also the multi-pronged plot wherein Hoover (Nolte) was squared off against the the military and FBI in the interests of solving a case that has personal significance for him. He goes rogue, for lack of a better word; and it’s not like he’s a by-the-book kind of guy as the film takes its name from how he and his team deal with the organized crime element in LA.

Mulholland Falls (1996, MGM)

I enjoyed, and still do, many of the performances. And upon revisiting it not only remembered many of the lines I connected with but the line readings (“They brought me a film” as Malkovich says as he’s sick and “You broke my heart” as Melanie Griffith says to close it out; to name a few).

Aside from using film itself as a storytelling element, the narrative also starts with a simple case and opens up into a more complicated, entangled mystery much bigger than the players involved. The professional and personal co-mingle and the characters take justice into their own hands. All these things and more are what I connected to.

In conclusion, it’s not that I regret this choice, as I’ve stated it was most definitely true and correct at the time (and that’s the least you can ask) but it’s one, perhaps the only one, that I feel really dates me. It is still a solid, entertaining mystery that I believe can pack a punch on first-viewing.

Film Activism: The Dreamlands

Posted on by bernardovillela

During this past 61 Days of Halloween I discovered a new, and great Lovecraft adaptation. It was produced in Germany and titled Die Farbe, or as it is know here The Color Out of Space. Albeit another adaptation of this oft retold tale it has its own slant and a great take.

As it turns out that same production team, including writer/director Huang Vu are embarking on a new Lovecraftian journey. This one entitled The Dreamlands purports to be the first feature-length film treatment of Lovecraft’s dream cycle.

While this other side of Lovecraft’s oeuvre has also inspired writing, most notably Brian Lumley’s Dreamlands Sequence; this would be a cinematic treatment of a very visually conducive subset of Lovecraft’s writings.

The Dreamlands has an interesting, fitting set-up:

Roland, an orphaned boy with a troubled past is led into another world by a mysterious old man. A world that has been created by the great dreamers of mankind in their sleep during the preceding thousands of years. There the old man rules as a king and he wants to educate Roland to be his successor. But Roland is unable to overcome the dark shadow that weighs on him, and he must decide whether he wants to use his abilities to further expand the Dreamlands, or to destroy what others have built.

The production team has released a teaser trailer:

I am posting about this early to spread the word ahead of the unveiling of this film’s Kickstarter campaign from March 1-31, 2014 because all too often these crowdfunding opportunities sneak up on us and don’t give us, prospective donors, time to prepare. Therefore, I wanted it known early so that the word could spread. Based on what this team did with The Colour From Out of Space they should definitely get a shot at The Dreamlands which would incorporate elements of Celephaïs, The White Ship, The Strange High House in the Mist and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.

Be on the look out.

Short Film Saturday: Last Letter to Santa

Posted on by bernardovillela

The last time I did a short film post it was just after Thanksgiving, and though a great film it wasn’t really one that jibes with the holiday mood. I now bring you one that though a little bittersweet does have it’s uplifting side and is holiday season appropriate! It comes from Zachary Maxwell again this time writing Santa about his doubts. It’s quick, sweet and should get most anyone into the holiday spirit.