Guide to the 89th Oscars!

The biggest annual movie event in the world will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 when Hollywood celebrates the 89th edition of the Oscars. The show will be telecast to 225 countries with an estimated audience of over a billion people. That is one crowd the current President of the United States would very much love to command – and Meryl Streep and her fellow actors will again beat him to it.

With the expected sweep of “La La Land”, the modern-day musical that celebrates two things that Hollywood loves most – itself and the city of Los Angeles, this year’s ceremony will likely go down as one of the most predictable in years and the real suspense is not who will win what but who will deliver the most politically significant speech of the evening. Look out for Viola Davis!

But that does not prevent this writer from dishing out our annual guide and predictions. We shall make up imagined contest in a couple of categories just to create some drama but otherwise consider the contest virtually over. The show this year has a new emcee in Jimmy Kimmel, host of the popular late-night talk show “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” which once hosted the singing debut of Senator and boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.

Before we proceed with our predictions, let me just make a quick disclosure on my personal picks. In terms of overall filmmaking excellence, “Moonlight”, a coming-of-age story of a gay man told in three parts with a fascinating opening sequence that invites thoughtful scrutiny is easily the strongest film of the year. But my top favorite is the somber “Manchester by the Sea” for Kenneth Lonergan’s measured and masterful storytelling and Casey Affleck's terrific and heartbreaking performance. My 3rd favorite is the sci-fi flick “Arrival” for its revisionist alien invasion theme and Amy Adams’ powerful turn as a grieving mother and a linguist tasked to save the world.

“La La Land” is my 4th pick for its sheer joy and its rather familiar story of ambition prevailing over romance while “Lion” is my 5th favorite simply for the bucketful of tears I shed. “Lion” is based on the true story of an impoverished Indian boy who accidentally got himself on a train bound for Calcutta thousands of miles away from home. His search for home would take him to Australia and a quarter century of his life. The secret to a good film is a good story. This one has it. I loved this movie! It features Oscar-nominated performances by Dev Patel (who could pull an upset in the best supporting actor category) and Nicole Kidman. But it’s Sunny Pawar, the child actor who played the young lost boy that commands and carries the first hour of the film to perfection!

And now our predictions in several key categories.

BEST PICTURE:

Nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea

Winner: “La La Land.” The film has won both the Producers and Directors Guild Awards and was honored with a win at the BAFTAS last week. And it has grossed more than a quarter billion dollars in global box office! Hollywood loves a winner!

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees: Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea), Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Winner: Damien Chazelle. He will become the youngest winner in this category at 32. In contrast Martin Scorsese didn’t win until he was 64.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Nominees: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), Denzel Washington (Fences)

Winner: This is supposedly Casey Affleck’s award to lose but a late surge and a surprise win by two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) makes this one an interesting contest. It does not help that Affleck is still being dogged by an old sexual harassment case against him that’s already been settled years ago but despite all that I still call this category in his favor.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Nominees: Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Emma Stone (La La Land), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Winner: Emma Stone. It’s a La La Land night, remember?

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Nominees: Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Dev Patel (Lion), Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Winner: Mahershala Ali will likely win given the weightier subject matter of “Moonlight” but Dev Patel could pull the evening’s biggest upset if more Academy member watched “Lion” after the nominations were announced. Ali won the SAG while Patel won the BAFTAS. This is the drama that I mentioned at the top of this story.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Nominees: Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Winner: Viola Davis. She’s a powerhouse in this film. She goes toe to toe with Denzel Washington and, in numerous times, she steals the scene from him altogether!

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Zootopia
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: O.J.: Made In America
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Salesman (Iran)

“La La Land” heads into the ceremony with a leading and record-tying 14 nominations in 13 categories (shared with “All About Eve” and “Titanic”) but will likely end the evening with less than that. Will it break the record 11 wins shared by “Ben-Hur”, “Titanic” and “LOTR: The Return of the King”? There’s only one way to find out. Watch the Oscars and you may just witness history.

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Raymond Lo

News: LA Film Critics pick 2015 Winners!

43 members of the venerable critics group out of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, are currently deliberating and deciding on what movies and performances deserve to be called the best of 2015. We'll see how "Carol", "Spotlight", "The Revenant", "Creed", "The Hateful Eight", "Straight Outta Compton", Brie Larson, Saoirse Ronan, Sylvester Stallone and other Oscar hopefuls fare...

2015 LAFCA Honor Roll

BEST PICTURE
"Spotlight"

RUNNER-UP: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST DIRECTOR
George Miller ("Mad Max: Fury Road")

RUNNER-UP: Todd Haynes ("Carol")

BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender ("Steve Jobs")

RUNNER-UP: Geza Rohrig ("Son of Saul")

BEST ACTRESS
Charlotte Rampling ("45 Years")

RUNNER-UP: Saoirse Ronan ("Brooklyn")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Shannon ("99 Homes")

RUNNER UP: Mark Rylance ("Bridge of Spies")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Alicia Vikander ("Ex-Machina")

RUNNER-UP: Kristen Stewart ("Clouds of Sils Maria")

BEST SCREENPLAY
"Spotlight" (Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy)

RUNNER-UP: "Anomalisa" (Charlie Kaufman)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

"Mad Max: Fury Road" (John Seale)

RUNNER-UP: "Carol" (Edward Lachman)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
"Mad Max: Fury Road" (Colin Gibson)

RUNNER-UP: "Carol" (Judy Becker)

BEST EDITING
"The Big Short" (Hank Corwin)

RUNNER-UP: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST MUSIC SCORE

"Anomalisa", "Carol" (Carter Burwell)

RUNNER-UP: "The Hateful Eight" (Ennio Morricone)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
"Son of Saul"

RUNNER-UP: "The Tribe"

BEST DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM
"Amy"

RUNNER-UP: "The Look of Silence"

BEST ANIMATION
"Anomalisa"

RUNNER-UP: "Inside Out"

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

Anne V. Coates

NEW GENERATION

Ryan Coogler ("Creed")

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Raymond Lo

News: "Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom", "Amy" lead 15 documentary features Oscars® shortlist!

Shortlist generate minor controversy with the omission of crowd-pleasers "Iris" and "The Wolfpack"!

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday, December 1st, the 15 films in the Documentary Feature category that will advance in the voting process for the 88th Academy Awards®. One hundred twenty-four films were originally submitted in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“Amy” 
On the Corner Films and Universal Music

Best of Enemies” '
Sandbar

“Cartel Land” 
Our Time Projects and The Documentary Group

“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” 
Jigsaw Productions

“He Named Me Malala” 
Parkes-MacDonald and Little Room

“Heart of a Dog” 
Canal Street Communications

“The Hunting Ground” 
Chain Camera Pictures

“Listen to Me Marlon” 
Passion Pictures

“The Look of Silence” 
Final Cut for Real

“Meru” 
Little Monster Films

“3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets” 
The Filmmaker Fund, Motto Pictures, Lakehouse Films, Actual Films, JustFilms, MacArthur Foundation and Bertha BRITDOC

“We Come as Friends”
Adelante Films

“What Happened, Miss Simone?” 
RadicalMedia and Moxie Firecracker

“Where to Invade Next” 
Dog Eat Dog Productions

“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” 
Pray for Ukraine Productions

The Academy’s Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Film Review: "Spotlight", "Brooklyn"

It was a stroke of luck that I was able to watch "Spotlight" and "Brooklyn" at a back-to-back screening tonight. Both films are screening at my favorite specialty multiplex in Long Beach, CA starting this week for what I hope would be a long, extended run because both films deserve an audience, both films deserve to be seen on the big screen, and because both films, as many are already predicting, are the top front runners at this year's Oscars race.

I always find it interesting that when I watch two, three or four films in a single day (usually at film festivals), I tend to see a common thread that somewhat connects all the films together: It could be a character's quirk, it could be a location, a conflict, anything! And it makes it more fun analyzing, deconstructing the movies after.

"Spotlight" and "Brooklyn" are films that obviously differ in subject matter and theme but you will be surprised how aesthetically similar the films look and how it depicts contrasting images of characters integral to their respective plots.

"Spotlight" recounts the year-long investigation by a group of intrepid Boston Globe reporters of the Boston Archdiocese' decades-long cover-up of various allegations of child molestation against catholic priests. It's a provocative, riveting and thrilling piece of cinema that gives us an inside look on how the best journalistic works, the kind that wins the Pulitzer Prize, do not rely on sensational headlines and malicious slant. They seek the truth and they tell the story as is. In this case, the story happens to be the biggest modern scandal to ever rock the catholic church -- one that drew massive condemnation from around the world, inspired other abuse victims to come out, and eventually forced the church to publicly acknowledge the crime and ask for forgiveness from the victims and the faithful.

The film, directed by Thomas McCarthy, who co-wrote the screenplay with Josh Singer, shares strong thematic similarities with the Berlin-winning film "El Club", the official submission of Chile to the Oscars this year. Both movies examine the apparent church conspiracy to protect the guilty priests by evading legal prosecution and giving them instead "special housing" and regular "counseling" but "El Club", which was more pointed in its criticism by adding malice to its already provocative subject matter, ended up more offensive than truly enlightening. In contrast, "Spotlight" took the high road and presented a thoughtful, factual and respectful film aimed at educating and informing the public of the vastness of the crime without casting judgement on the church.

"Spotlight" boasts of a strong ensemble cast featuring extraordinary performances from stars Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber and Billy Crudup. But the special spotlight in the movie belongs to Mark Ruffalo, who shines the most in this film. His powerful performance brings back memories of his equally powerful turn in "You Can Count on Me." He should win the Oscar for best supporting actor come February or I will be terribly disappointed. The cast will definitely be rewarded with an best cast award from the SAG.

"Brooklyn", written by Nick Hornby and directed by John Crowley based on Colm Tóibín's novel of the same name, is an intimate and triumphant story of a young woman who emigrates from Ireland and settles in New York during the early 1950s. It tells the story of Ellis Lacey, who braves a new world away from the comforts of her home, away from her thoughtful sister and her loving mother, away from her town that she's grown disillusioned with.

In New York, she battles homesickness by going to the weekly dances, going to night school and serving food to the needy. She eventually meets a young Italian man who falls in love with her and she with him and she slowly finds happiness. A tragic news from back home will crush her newfound joy and she will be forced to choose between her new home and her old home. "Brooklyn" is a profoundly moving love story, a beautiful film with exquisite performances from leads Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen with strong supports from Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Dohmnall Gleeson.

As I previously stated, "Brooklyn" and "Spotlight" share some similarities to this writer's sheer amazement. Both films are bathed in a soft white light bringing a certain hazy glow to the screen as if the stories are being told from memories of a distant past that's slowly coming back to life motivating us to face and right our past mistakes or inspiring us to dream again and fall in love once more.

Another similarity I found interesting is the contrasting depiction of priests in both films. In "Brooklyn", a good priest is instrumental in helping the lead character move to New York and have a new and better life while in "Spotlight", the priests do evil things to children. Both films depict catholic faith in its many forms and have, not surprisingly, strong Irish presence. Lastly, the best similarity I can think of is that both are excellent films.

Ratings: "Spotlight" - 5 Stars  |  "Brooklyn" - 5 Stars

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Raymond Lo

Film Review: "EL CLUB"

Film Review: "El Club"
Official Submission of Chile to the 88th Academy Awards
AFIFEST 2015 Official Selection
November 2015

First this disclosure: I am a catholic and I know when my faith is being attacked, I get mad but I was taught to be more understanding and forgiving.

I had to compose myself before writing a quick review in my FB account of Pablo Larrain's Berlin-winning follow-up to his Oscar-nominated film "No" because I thought "El Club", a movie about priests with criminal pasts, was vicious, vile and offensive and I was so ready to rip it apart but I realized that it was the exact reaction the filmmaker was aiming for when he made this film and I have to respect  that because in all objectivity his film is a powerful indictment and an eye-opening expose of the apparent hypocrisy of the catholic church.

With that said, I decided to expand my review and give it a full one after I have given it much more thought.

This film is blatantly sacrilegious and it is obvious from the first moment you see the main characters train a racing dog and later engage in gambling which is forbidden by the church, specially among clergymen.

"El Club" tells the story of a group of defrocked priests exiled in a secluded villa in a remote seaside town as punishment and penance for the various sins and offenses they have committed -- their crimes range from kidnapping infants to sexually abusing kids.

They all surprisingly live in relative comfort with the town unaware of their presence or their past crimes but all that comes to a standstill one morning when a new priest is brought into town to join them. The priest is accused of the same crimes as the other tenants in the villa ran by a sweet-talking nun who has come to enjoy looking after the priests and the occasional dog racing they engage in. She considers it her "vocation".

Soon, a seemingly mentally unstable and disheveled stranger shows up at the gate looking for the new priest and starts exposing in lurid details the abuse he suffered at the hands of this priest. This disturbance will end in a tragedy that was so perfectly staged by the director. May I add here that the cinematography is brilliant!

But the tragedy only marks the beginning of what will become an odd investigation of the priests activities, their role in the tragic incident and the threat to permanently close down the villa. How the group resolve this intrusion is where I take strong issue with. The film depicts the group as a gang of criminals who would go to extreme lengths to protect their own, keep their crimes under wraps, while preaching the word of God but to try to condemn the filmmaker's interpretation of the events or to censor and dissuade others from watching this film would be tantamount to endorsing the grossly unchristian acts depicted in the film. I will not do that. Instead, i will give this film the rating it rightfully deserves even if i strongly disagree with its message of hate. I invite you all to watch it and form your own opinion about it.

Rating; 4 1/2 Stars

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Raymond Lo

Film Review: "The Brand New Testament"

Film Review: "The Brand New Testament"

Official Submission of Belgium to the 88th Academy Awards

European Film Promotion Screening Series

Los Angeles, November 2015

How would you react if someone proposes that God not only exists but he actually lives in Belgium? 

That's the provocative proposition of Jaco Van Dormael in his latest film "The Brand New Testament", which tells the story of an unhappy young girl whose only escape is by envisioning a world where her father is the God who controls the world and his creations through a desktop computer inside a cavernous room in their downtown apartment. Her mother is the Goddess who loves to embroider all day, watch baseball and collect baseball cards. Her older brother is the dead JC (that's short for Jesus Christ, duh!) 

The story kicks off one day after another bad fight with her abusive dad. She decides to revolt by hacking into his computer and leaking to the world each person's death of date, prompting a comical countdown on each person's cell phone. She ventures the world and seeks out 6 new apostles to add the to the 12 to complete the 18 apostles her mother had always wanted to have. And the reason to add 6 more is so silly it will make you laugh so bad. 

This is an irreverent and fantastical film that on the surface may look like a harsh criticism of the christian faith but is actually a farcical, escapist comedy that's full of wit, sarcasm and deadpan humor. It's a compendium of stories about people who, like the girl, are in various states of loneliness and the only escape it seems is welcoming their impending deaths. The film is not about just believing in a God or a creator but in believing that, if we really want to, we can take full control of our lives and have a meaningful, bright, colorful day everyday.

The film offers wonderful performances from the cast composed of Pili Groyne, Benoit Poelvoorde, Yolande Moreau, Francois Damiens and the great Catherine Deneuve, who appears, as you'll see in the accompanying photo to this review, hilariously makes out with a gargantuan gorilla in the film.

Rating: 4 Stars

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Raymond Lo

Film Review: "Beasts of No Nation"

Saw this new film from Cary Joji Fukunaga, one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers whose visual compositions and storytelling prowess I truly admire.

His films have this certain aesthetic that lures you in until you are lost in the story and you find yourself virtually immersed in the world that he has created for you.

In "Beasts of No Nation", he takes us to war-torn Africa, to a story of a young boy who witnesses his family murdered by the very government that's supposed to protect them. He escapes and falls into the hands of a violent warlord who trains him in the ways of the war. He becomes a soldier and a murderer. He is forced to become a man in the body of a helpless, scared little boy.

Despite the blood curdling violence, this movie is about the loss of childhood, of innocence, and that is an act more violent than the graphic scenes of boys hacking men to death, or of a woman shot in the head while being raped, or of a young girl trampled to death by a mob of angry boys.

We all know that war can be ugly. But this movie not only shows us how ugly it can get but it takes us to hell. It's horrific and what makes it truly scary is the numbing effect the movie has on you after being subjected to it and you'll feel as if you are the one trapped in it, unable to escape, unable to run. And even if you already find bloody conflicts despicable, this movie will make you abhor it even more.

This film shares some thematic similarity with "War Witch", the Oscar-nominated film from Canada that's also set in Africa and I find both equally masterful and important.

"Beasts of No Nation" bowed in theaters and on Netflix yesterday. It's a major Oscar contender and I wouldn't be surprised if Idris Elba gets nommed for his compelling performance as the rebel leader only known as the Commandant. But the film's greatest performance was delivered by newcomer Abraham Attah, who plays the lead role, Agu. He inhabits his character with a commanding mix of tenderness and ferocity that even if you see pools of blood being rained down on the pavement or walls splattered with blown body parts, when you his eyes, you can't help yourself but glimpse some hope residing in it and we, in turn, pray for his deliverance. I can ramble on forever. Just watch it.

Rating: 5 Stars!

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Raymond Lo

Oscars® 2016: Calendar for next 3 years of Oscars® is here!

KEY DATES ANNOUNCED FOR 88TH OSCARS®

Oscar Sunday, February 28, 2016

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Academy and the ABC Television Network on Thursday announced the dates for the 88th, 89th and 90th Oscar® presentations.  The Academy Awards® will air live on ABC on Oscar Sunday, February 28, 2016, February 26, 2017, and March 4, 2018, respectively.

Academy key dates for the 2015 Awards season are:

Saturday, November 14, 2015 | The Governors Awards
Wednesday, December 30, 2015 | Nominations voting opens 8 a.m. PT
Friday, January 8, 2016 | Nominations voting closes 5 p.m. PT
Thursday, January 14, 2016 | Oscar Nominations Announcement
Monday, February 8, 2016 | Oscar Nominees Luncheon
Friday, February 12, 2016 | Final voting opens 8 a.m. PT
Saturday, February 13, 2016 | Scientific and Technical Awards
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 | Final voting closes 5 p.m. PT
Oscar Sunday, February 28, 2016 | 88th Academy Awards begins 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT

The 88th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Oscars 2015: Winners!

It's Oscar Sunday! Lucky recipients of the 87th Oscars will be honored today at the Dolby in Hollywood! Come back often for updates on the winners. Check my predictions in the 8 major categories here: MY OSCARS 2015 PREDICTIONS

And the winners are...
(WINNERS ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN BOLD RED LETTERS)

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Achievement in cinematography
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran

Achievement in directing
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum

Best documentary feature
“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Best documentary short subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen

Achievement in film editing
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross

Best foreign language film of the year
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”, Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma”, Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”, Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”, Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”, Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Best motion picture of the year
“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

Achievement in production design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts

Best animated short film
“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove
“A Single Life” Joris Oprins

Best live action short film
“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret
“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

Achievement in sound editing
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Achievement in sound mixing
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Achievement in visual effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

Adapted screenplay
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle

Original screenplay
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy

See you at the Oscars!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Oscars 2015: My Prediction!

The OSCARS in 3 Days!

Yesterday, i posted in my Twitter and Instagram accounts my predictions in the 8 major categories. In that, I had "Birdman" winning Best Picture and "Boyhood" director Richard Linklater for Best Director. Today, I am reversing that and calling the race again for "Boyhood" to take Best Picture and "Birdman's" Alejandro Innaritu for Best Director.

Now, if the opposite happens or if "Boyhood" takes both, i will be most happy. But if "Birdman" wins both and Michael Keaton upsets Eddie Redmayne, i will probably be bitching about the results all day Monday. LOL!

My predictions below! Clear your Sunday sked. Watch the Oscars!!

Below article originally appeared on print via The Philippine Star and online at http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2015/02/20/1425576/guide-87th-oscars

Guide to the 87th Oscars
By Raymond Lo, L.A. Correspondent (The Philippine Star) | Updated February 20, 2015 - 12:00am


MANILA, Philippines - It’s that time of year again! On Sunday, Feb. 22 (Monday, Feb. 23, Manila time), the Oscars will once again bring movie lovers together for three hours of sheer movie fun. The 87th Oscars will be telecast live to over 100 countries and is expected to attract over a billion viewers!

And those billion viewers are probably still as perplexed as this writer is right now on which one movie will be rewarded by the Academy this year. 2014 was not a particularly strong year for Hollywood movies. Only a handful made an impression and that has been reflected by the wildly diverse selections of several Oscar precursors. Traditionally, about this time, we should have had a clear frontrunner leading to the show already but not this year. The Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild all picked Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) as the year’s Best Film. However, the BAFTAS, the very influential British bloc of the Academy, selected Boyhood as their Best Film. The critics were not of much help either. The BFCA, which for years has been considered as the most accurate predictor of the Oscars, selected Boyhood as their Best Film. The New York and Los Angeles Film Critics also named Boyhood as the year’s best.

So with no clear frontrunner for the all-important Best Picture prize, this writer will pick what he believes is the better movie between the two. Expect Boyhood to win the top Oscar but the Best Director trophy could go to Birdman director Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu. The picture/director awards will be split between the two films again similar to last year. It would be interesting to see two Mexican filmmakers win Hollywood’s top directing prizes two years in a row. Alfonso Cuaron won last year for Gravity.

On a personal note, this writer would love to see Boyhood’s Richard Linklater rewarded with a win for his 12-year labor of love. I hope the Academy shares my sentiments.

The nominees for Best Picture are: American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash.

The nominated directors are: Innaritu for Birdman, Linklater for Boyhood, Bennet Miller for Foxcatcher, Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel and Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game.

While the Top 2 categories are pretty difficult to call, the acting categories will likely just end up as a coronation night for the four actors who have virtually swept all the awards haul this Oscar season.

Acclaimed actress Julianne Moore will win Best Actress for Still Alice. The beautiful star has been overdue for an Oscar and this year is going to be hers. Her performance as a mother and wife trying to cope with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease has been widely acclaimed since its debut in September. Her main competition in the category are previous Oscar-winners Reese Witherspoon for the very moving film Wild and French superstar Marion Cotillard for the brilliant film Two Days, One Night. Two Brits complete the nominees: Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl and Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything.

In the Best Actor category, Felicity’s co-star and fellow Brit Eddie Redmayne is tipped to win the category for his excellent portrayal of wheelchair-bound astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. His performance has drawn comparison to Daniel Day-Lewis’ Oscar-winning turn in My Left Foot. Veteran Hollywood player Michael Keaton is the dark horse in this category. The former Batman star whose performance as an over-the-hill actor trying to stage a comeback in Birdman has resonated with Hollywood insiders and he could just earn the trophy and stage his own career comeback. The three other nominated actors are Steve Carell for Foxcatcher, Bradley Cooper in American Sniper and Benedict Cumberbatch in the heartbreaking film The Imitation Game.

In the supporting categories, two veteran actors, who rightfully deserve all the honors and accolades for their compelling performances and for their impressive body of work as well, have staked their respective claims in their categories very early on in the race.

Patricia Arquette, who aged 12 years on screen for her role in Boyhood, has racked up virtually every trophy available this season. Her performance has inspired so many that perhaps the other actresses nominated alongside her end up voting for her, too! The other actresses nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category include Laura Dern for Wild, Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game, Emma Stone for Birdman and the acting goddess Meryl Streep, who is nominated for an unbelievable 19th time this year for her performance as a wicked witch in Disney’s Into the Woods.

For Best Supporting Actor, J.K. Simmons is expected to receive his Oscar on his first nomination as a stern teacher who expects nothing but greatness from his students in Whiplash. Other actors nominated in the category include Robert Duvall for The Judge, Ethan Hawke for Boyhood, Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher and Edward Norton whose performance in Birdman poses the biggest competition to Simmons.

This year, the one category that this writer is most excited about is the Best Foreign Language Film category. All the five nominated films are excellent works and each one deserves to win. But my heart was captured by the Argentine film Wild Tales when I saw it last December. It’s one of those rare films that combine all the elements of a commercial film and the quality of an art film. Its biggest competitions are the films from Russia, Leviathan, a tale of Russian corruption based on the parable of Job and the Polish entry Ida, the story of novitiate nun who discovers that she was Jewish on the eve of her dedication. Ida has been the frontrunner since day one and is likely to win. The other nominated films are the harrowing Timbuktu from Mauritania and the powerful anti-war film Tangerines from Estonia.

But Wild Tales will win. Fingers crossed.

With no particular film leading the Oscar race this year, the trophies will most likely be spread among five movies. The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is nominated for nine Oscars will likely end up with the most trophy with four. Birdman and The Theory of Everything will likely net three trophies each. Interstellar, the disappointing sci-fi from Christopher Nolan, will sweep the technical categories and will likely win three Oscars. Boyhood will likely end up with just two Oscars.

Among the announced performers this year are pop superstars Lady Gaga and John Legend. Neil Patrick Harris, known to many Filipinos as the Doogie Howser M.D., will be hosting the Oscars for the first time this year.

See you at the Oscars!

Quick Review: "American Sniper"

"American Sniper"
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller

Finally got time to watch this film. It's been reigning as the top box office champ for two weeks now and it's because it's incredibly well-made and the story well-told. This is Clint Eastwood's best film since "Million Dollar Baby", Bradley Cooper's best performance to date, and the best American film (next to "Boyhood") among the best picture nominees at the Oscars.

Watch it! It's how movies based on heroic lives of real people are supposed to be made. This is Eastwood's crowning glory!

On Facebook, a friend is insisting that "But The Hurt Locker is still better. LOL,", to which i replied, "Both are masterpieces but Hurt Locker had a weightier subject matter although the filmmaking and storytelling in American Sniper is way, way better!

Another friend suggested that "Still can't excuse that fake rubber baby! LOL." I had a ready reply, too. I said, "Haha! Well, that's Economics of Filmmaking 101, i suppose."

Rating: 5 stars

XXX
Raymond Lo

Oscars 2015: #WildTalesforBestForeignLanguageFilmOscar

The Academy poster tells us to "Imagine what's possible."

My reply?

"WILD TALES for Best Foreign Language Film!"

The Oscars will be handed out on February 22nd. The race for the Best Foreign Language film is considered by many as the most competitive in many years! There are three front-runners: "Wild Tales" from Argentina, "Leviathan" from Russia and "Ida" from Poland. The other two nominees: "Tangerines" from Estonia and "Timbuktu" from Mauritania are not too far back in the race. But, if i were voting, "Wild Tales" gets my vote, followed by "Leviathan", "Timbuktu" and "Tangerines". "Ida" is one movie that is well-made but, in my opinion, there are far better films among the submitted films including the shortlisted films "Corn Island" from Georgia and "Accused" from the Netherlands.

#WildTalesforBestForeignLanguageFilmOscar

Oscars 2015: Nominees React!

Now that the Oscar nominations are in, the next step in the dance is usually the series of statements that the elated nominees share with the public on the recognition they received from the highly-coveted film award in the world.

ABC News gathered the following statements:

Ethan Hawke, first-time nominee for Best Actor, "Boyhood"
"There are many reasons why this nomination means so much to me. As I get older, I realize the only thing any artist wants is the respect of others who have dedicated their lives to same goals we have. I am so grateful to the members of the Academy for recognizing such a long labor of love. The uniqueness of "Boyhood" is not lost on any of us involved; I never have and never will be associated with an artistic endeavor that was as unique in its DNA. I am so thankful for this collaboration with Rick, Patricia, Ellar and Lorelai. Truly."

Emma Stone, first time nominee for Best Supporting Actress, "Birdman"
"Well, this is surreal... Thank you to the Academy for this incredible honor," she said in a statement. "I am very proud and lucky to be a part of 'Birdman' and can't believe it came to this. I am so fucking excited. Are you allowed to say fuck when you're making a statement for the Oscars? I'm just really fucking excited."

Keira Knightly, Best Supporting Actress nominee, "The Imitation Game"
"I'm so honoured and grateful for this nomination and to be in the company of such talented and inspiring actresses. Thank you to the Academy for this recognition and also for honoring so many of the film's storytellers. I would like to think the many recognition the Academy has given our movie is a celebration of Alan Turing's legacy."

Benedict Cumberbatch, first time nominee for Best Actor, "The Imitation Game"
"So excited and honored to receive this recognition. It's wonderful to be included by the Academy in this exceptional year of performances. To ring my parents who are both actors and tell them that their only son has been nominated for an Oscar is one of the proudest moments of my life.”

Julianne Moore, leading contender for Best Actress, "Still Alice"
"Thank u everyone for the congratulations! i am so happy i can barely breathe #makingmyselfdizzy #AcademyAwards"

Reese Witherspoon, Best Actress nominee, "Wild"
"So happy to celebrate 2 #Oscarnominations for #WILDmovie with my deeply beautiful & talented costar @lauradern!" 

Eddie Redmayne, first time nominee for Best Actor, "The Theory of Everything" 
"I cannot tell you how surreal this is. I’ve literally gone from an incredibly deep sleep to a 100 mile an hour insane euphoria in about three seconds – so I have no idea what planet I’m on. I wasn’t watching like everyone else. I’m in Los Angeles and I was asleep and there’s suddenly this rap on the door and I was in pitch black and I stumble towards the door and it was my manager Jason who was staying at the same hotel with this wonderful group of people who were all on the phone who I’ve been working with for years and there was just this eclectic company of screaming going on on the phone."

Felicity Jones, first time nominee for Best Actress, "The Theory of Everything"
"We’ve been screaming together. And my brother so it’s just so, I can’t quite believe it’s happened. It’s something you never quite expect. It’s been one of those films that we just have had cared so so deeply about. So it’s just unbelievable. And it’s so great that the film has been nominated. And Eddie and Antoine. So it’s just yeah it’s fantastic, fantastic news."

Mark Ruffalo, Best Supporting Actor nominee, "Foxcatcher"
"Thank You @TheAcademy for the #Foxcatcher nomination! Honored and humbled. Thanks @channingtatum @SteveCarell and Bennett Miller. The best. Thanks to all you folks with so many congratulations tweets. Heart warming support. You are too damn good."

Common, Best Song nominee, "Glory" for the movie "Selma"
"Such an honor for me, @johnlegend @AVAETC and my @selmamovie family. Thanks to @TheAcademy #oscars"

John Legend, Best Song nominee, "Glory" for the movie "Selma"
"So grateful for @TheAcademy Award nomination for GLORY!!! On MLK's birthday!!"

Hans Zimmer, Best Original Score nominee, "Interstellar"
"Without a shadow of doubt, the score for "Interstellar" was Chris and I at our most collaborative. Even in this modern world of texting and emailing, sometimes all you need is a simple, type-written letter from your director to spark what undoubtedly became one of the most personal scores I've ever written."

From Hitfix:

Marion Cotillard, Best Actress nominee for "Two Days, One Night"
"My phone started to ring like constantly and the phone of the hotel where I'm staying started to ring, too. I got a little worried that something had happened and, actually, something happened, but that was a good thing! So, my wonderful publicist called me this morning at five something and that's how I found out. I was totally in shock. These past few days, every time someone would talk to me about a nomination I would make fun of them because I didn't think it was possible. I didn't even think it was impossible. I didn't think about it at all."

See you at the Oscars!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Oscars 2015: Full 87th Oscars® Nominations List

"Boyhood" and "Wild Tales", my top two favorite films of the year were recognized by the Academy!!! 

"Birdman", "The Grand Budapest Hotel" lead noms with 9 each!

Jennifer Aniston, "The Lego Movie", Ebert Documentary, Jake Gyllenhaal all snubbed!

Meryl Streep earns 19th Oscar Nomination!

BOYHOOD

WILD TALES

And the nominees are...

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Achievement in cinematography
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran

Achievement in directing
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum

Best documentary feature
“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Best documentary short subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen

Achievement in film editing
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross

LEVIATHAN

Best foreign language film of the year
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”, Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma”, Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”, Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”, Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”, Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Best motion picture of the year
“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

Achievement in production design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts

Best animated short film
“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove
“A Single Life” Joris Oprins

Best live action short film
“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret
“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

Achievement in sound editing
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Achievement in sound mixing
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Achievement in visual effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

Adapted screenplay
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle

Original screenplay
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2014 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

See you at the Oscars!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Oscars 2015: Nominations are in!

The nominations for the 87th Annual Oscar Awards will be announced in just over 10 hours. The announcement will be made live on TV at 5:00 AM Pacific Time / 8:00 AM Eastern Time. You can watch it live on TV or come back here through the special LIVE! internet feed courtesy of AMPAS below.

You can also check out my fearless predictions below on which actors, directors and movies are going to wake up really, really happy tomorrow morning!



BEST PICTURE
For Best Picture, I expect "Boyhood", "Birdman", "The Imitation Game" and "The Theory of Everything" to get in right away. The Academy can opt to nominate up to as many as ten films in this category. I believe, with the dearth of really strong movies this year, we will likely see a full category with "The Grand Budapest Hotel" leading the next set of probable nominees. The 6th to 10th slots could probably go to "Wild", "Selma", "American Sniper", "Whiplash" and "Gone Girl".

BEST DIRECTOR
This category is Richard Linklater's Oscar to lose for his groundbreaking and deeply moving masterpiece “Boyhood”. Joining him in a ceremonial dance in this category are Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, the acclaimed Mexican master behind “Birdman”, Morten Tyldum for “The Imitation Game”, Wes Anderson for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Academy favorite Clint Eastwood  for “American Sniper”. I wish the Academy would nominate the Dardenne Brothers from Belgium for their masterful "Two Days, One Night."

BEST ACTOR 
This category features one of the great Oscar contests this year. Relative newcomer Eddie Redmayne and veteran Michael Keaton are going to duke it out for their highly acclaimed performances in "The Theory of Everything" and "Birdman", respectively. Possible nominees include Benedict Cumberbatch, who was simply magnificent in "The Imitation Game", Jake Gyllenhaal, whose creepy turn in "Nightcrawler" is one the year's best. Bradley Cooper ("American Sniper") and David Oyelowo ("Selma") would contest the last spot.

BEST ACTRESS
Two years ago, in one of the junkets I attended, I told Julianne Moore that I wanted her to win an Oscar. At the time, the beautiful actress just won an Emmy. She responded with a winded answer that basically avoided addressing the subject. Today, i am very excited to predict that she will finally get an Oscar, which she truly deserves. Julianne's turn in "Still Alice" will be likely joined by previous Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon for "Wild" and hot Brits Felicity Jones "The Theory of Everything" and Rosamund Pike ("Gone Girl"). The 5th slot is a toss-up between Jennifer Aniston for "Cake" and Oscar winning French superstar Marion Cotillard for her marvelous turn in "Two Days, One Night."

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmon's commanding performance in "Whiplash" carried the movie to greatness and this is one category that could either go his way or to Edward Norton, a highly respected actor who is overdue for a recognition. Edward is up for his richly textured supporting performance in "Birdman." The duo will be likely joined by Ethan Hawke ("Boyhood") and two stars from "Foxcatcher", Steve Carrell and Mark Ruffalo.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
This category is also exciting. The contest is between Patricia Arquette for her indelible performance as a single mom raising two kids in "Boyhood" and perennial nominee Jessica Chastain who could finally snag her first Oscar for her turn in "A Most Violent Year." Possible nominees are Emma Stone ("Boyhood"), Imelda Staunton ("Pride") and Rene Russo for her brilliant turn in "Nightcrawler."

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
This is one category that I am looking forward to this year. I have seen all the 9 shortlisted films and my favorites are: Wild Tales, Leviathan, Tangerines, Timbuktu and Corn Island but the final nominees could vary with "Ida" from Poland likely bumping off "Corn Island" from the final list. Perhaps "Force Majeure" from Sweden and "Accused" from the Netherlands could also make the list and I also will not be surprised if "The Liberator" from Venezuela makes the list, too! This category is so hard to predict but i will be very disappointed if "Wild Tales" from Argentina ends up being cut.

See you at the Oscars!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Film Review: Conducta (Behavior)

Film Review: BEHAVIOR (Conducta)
26th Palm Springs International Film Festival
(Official submission of Cuba to the Academy Awards)

Saw "Behavior" from director Ernesto Daranas in Palm Springs and it's an instant favorite!

It's a moving portrait of a life-long public school teacher, Carmela, who has dedicated all her life pursuing only the best for her marginalized students. It also tells the story of a young kid, Chala, one of Carmela's impoverished students, who had to train dogs for fighting and trade pigeons so he can make money for himself and for his irresponsible mother.

The movie tells us their story but it also gives us a glimpse of Cuba and the children that the country is raising. It's bleak and quite depressing but the movie pays tribute to the importance of proper education and the selflessness of teachers in third world countries. In a communist country like Cuba, a teacher holds one of the most powerful positions in society and the movie could have used this theme and go overtly political but it did not. Applause, applause!

What we get instead is a subtle indictment of the structure that plagues every poor country and makes the system unfair to the poor and the marginalized through the story of a teacher who has spent all of her life lightly treading these unjust rules and working hard each day to give her students a reason to hope, an opportunity to dream and the freedom to express themselves -- and when the same rigid rules are used to try to stop her, you know she'll never have it. Nope!

I love movies about teachers.Teaching is a vocation. Our teachers are our second parents and we should celebrate them always.

The young kid who plays Chala (Armando Valdes Freire) and the magnificent Alina Rodríguez who plays Carmela are both marvelous. This movie will most likely be compared to other movies in the past bearing the same theme but this one, though a work of fiction, is a story of hope. And the final scene was just the perfect ending to the chapter we saw but an invitation to hope that in those exhange of simple greetings, a change has occured and a brighter future has now been made possible. Oh, in the movies, we can always dream!

Rating: 5 Stars

Oscars 2015: Watch the Oscar Nominations Announcement Live Here!

Thursday! 5:30AM Pacific/8:30AM Eastern



Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs to present nominations in 13 categories including Best Picture! 

Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuaron and J.J. Abrams to present special early announcement of 11 categories! 

Nominations will be announced on January 15, Thursday, starting at 5:30AM PT. Announcement will be streamed live via OSCARS.ORG/LIVE



LOS ANGELES, CA – Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that actor Chris Pine, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and directors Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams, on Thursday, January 15, will announce the nominations in all 24 Oscar categories at a special two-part live news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

“Each of the three years we’ve produced the show, we have attempted to refresh elements of the process and the telecast,” said Zadan and Meron. “This year, we’re honored to start a new tradition that celebrates the contributions of all the nominees by announcing all 24 categories. We’re thrilled that a distinguished actor and two world-class film directors are part of the initial launch.”

At 5:30 a.m. PT, Cuarón and Abrams will announce the nominees in the following categories: Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Film Editing, Original Song, Production Design, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects.

At 5:38 a.m. PT, Pine and Boone Isaacs will take the stage to unveil the nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay and Best Picture.

“We’re delighted to have Chris, Alfonso and J.J. participate in the excitement of Nominations morning, which, for the first time, will highlight nominees in all categories,” said Boone Isaacs.  “This new approach enables the Academy to further recognize excellence across our entire industry and underscore the full spectrum of the arts and sciences of motion pictures.”

“We’re thrilled to have such exceptional talents present the nominations in a completely new format that furthers our mission and honors all of the artists who make movies,” said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO.

The Nominations Announcement is a live news conference where more than 400 media representatives from around the world will be gathered.  The event will be broadcasted and streamed live on www.oscars.org/live.

Nominations information for all categories will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance and via the official Oscars website, www.oscar.com.

Pine’s starring role as Kirk in the 2009 feature “Star Trek” propelled him to worldwide prominence.  He reprised the character in the sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness.”  Pine’s other feature credits include “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “Horrible Bosses 2” and “Into the Woods.”  Pine will next be seen in “Z for Zachariah,” due out later this year, and “The Finest Hours,” due out in 2016.

Cuarón is an Academy Award®-winning filmmaker best known for his features “A Little Princess,” “Y Tu Mamá También,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Children of Men” and “Gravity.”  He most recently won Oscars® for directing and editing “Gravity” and received a Best Picture nomination as a producer on the film.  Cuarón also has earned an Original Screenplay nomination for “Y Tu Mamá También,” and Film Editing and Adapted Screenplay nominations for “Children of Men.”

Abrams is a director, screenwriter and producer whose credits include such feature films as “Mission: Impossible III,” “Star Trek,” “Super 8” and “Star Trek Into Darkness,” as well as such television series as “Lost,” “Fringe” and “Person of Interest.”  He won two Emmy® Awards in 2005 for directing and executive producing “Lost.”  Abrams is currently directing “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” producing “Mission: Impossible 5,” and executive producing the series “Roadies” for Showtime and “Westworld” for HBO.

Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2014 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscars, produced by Zadan and Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Oscars 2015: Ranking of Foreign Language Oscar Submissions

I want "Wild Tales" to win!!!

RANKING OF OSCAR 2015 SUBMISSIONS I HAVE SEEN SO FAR

1) WILD TALES (Argentina)
2) CONCRETE NIGHT (Finland)
3) TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (Belgium)
4) LEVIATHAN (Russia)
5) TANGERINES (Estonia)
6) TIMBUKTU (Mauritania)
7) CORN ISLAND (Georgia)
8) THE GAMBLER (Lithuania)
9) ACCUSED (Netherlands)
10) FORCE MAJEURE (Sweden)
11) MOMMY (Canada)
12) GHADI (Lebanon)
13) 1001 GRAMS (Norway)
14) BEHAVIOR (Cuba)
15) THE LIBERATOR (Venezuela)
16) COWBOYS (Croatia)
17) DIFRET (Ethiopia)
18) BULGARIAN RHAPSODY (Bulgaria)
19) TO KILL A MAN (Chile)
20) THREE WINDOWS AND A HANGING (Kosovo)
21) THE JAPANESE DOG(Romania)
22) THE WAY HE LOOKS (Brazil)
23) IDA (Poland)
24) SORROW & JOY (Denmark)
25) THE GOLDEN ERA (Hong Kong)
26) SAYANG DISAYANG (Singapore)
27) HUMAN CAPITAL (Italy)
28) TODAY (Iran)
29) SEE YOU IN MONTEVIDEO (Serbia)
30) LIFE IN A FISHBOWL (Iceland)
31) WHITE GOD (Hungary)
32) NORTE (Philippines)
33) A STEP INTO THE DARK (Slovakia)

Will update ranking after I have watched my screeners for the following:

LITTLE ENGLAND (Greece)
FAIR PLAY (Czech Republic)

Oscars will be presented February 22nd!

XXX

Raymond Lo

Film Review: "Wild"

There is one scene early on in "Wild" that convinced me the movie is going to be something i'll love. It was how the music was used organically to establish the two main characters in the story and how this brilliant idea instantly revealed to us the soul and the spirit that will propel Cheryl Strayed to do the crazy idea of hiking 900 miles across three states along the Pacific Crest Trail.

There are thematic similarities between Jean Marc-Vallee's "Wild" and Sean Penn's "Into The Wild" but whereas the latter ended quite tragically, the former carries a happier and more hopeful conclusion.

"Wild" is based on the incredible journals of Cheryl Strayed when she spent over three months hiking over deserts, mountains and forests in searing heat and snow in search of her proverbial self and her worth as a person -- and in atonement for the many transgressions she has committed against herself and people who loved and cared for her.

The hike also served as the final stage of her grieving process. It's an emotional and deeply moving film that validates the capacity of the human spirit to triumph over extreme adversity when equipped with determination, inspiration and, to some degree, desperation.

The movie features a masterful screen adaptation and an excellent performance from Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon. Marc-Vallee's direction is divine and the editing utterly flawless.

The parade of supporting casts are also impressive but I remember most the boy Cheryl encountered on the trail who sings to her and in the process helps usher in a cathartic, well-earned cry --- which rubbed off on me, too!

And, above all, Cheryl's journey has inspired me to consider doing a similar hike as well. Just an idea for now. A crazy one.

Rating: 5 Stars