Toronto Film Critics Climb "The Tree of Life"

The Toronto Film Critics Association was established in 1997 and is comprised of Toronto based journalists and broadcasters who specialize in film criticism and commentary. All major dailies, weeklies and a variety of other print and electronic outlets are represented.

Under the TFCA’s guidelines, contenders eligible for the awards include films released in Canada in 2011 plus films that qualify for the 2011 Oscars and have Canadian distribution scheduled by the end of February 2012.

The 2011 TFCA Awards will be presented at a gala dinner on January 10, 2012 in a ceremony hosted by Cameron Bailey, co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival. During the ceremony, the TFCA will also reveal the winner of the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, which carries a $15,000 cash prize. David Cronenberg will also be on hand to present a special award.

The full list of Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2011 winners and runners-up:

BEST PICTURE
“The Tree of Life” (eOne Films)

Runners-up:
“The Artist” (Alliance Films)
“The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

BEST ACTOR
Michael Shannon, “Take Shelter”

Runners-up:
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”

BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Runners-up:
Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Runners-up:
Albert Brooks, “Drive”
Patton Oswalt, “Young Adult”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, “Take Shelter”

Runners-up:
Jessica Chastain, “The Tree of Life”
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

BEST DIRECTOR
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Runners-up:
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive”

BEST SCREENPLAY
“Moneyball”, written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; story by Stan Chervin, based on the book by Michael Lewis

Runners-up:
“The Descendants”, written by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings
“The Tree of Life”, written by Terrence Malick

BEST FIRST FEATURE
“Attack the Block”, directed by Joe Cornish

Runners-up:
“Margin Call”, directed by J.C. Chandor
“Martha Marcy May Marlene”, directed by Sean Durkin

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Adventures of Tintin” (DreamWorks Animation)

Runners-up:
“Puss in Boots” (DreamWorks Animation)
“Rango” (Paramount Pictures)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“Mysteries of Lisbon” (Alfama Films)

Runners-up:
“Attenberg” (filmswelike)
“Le Havre” (filmswelike)
“A Separation” (Mongrel Media)

ALLAN KING DOCUMENTARY AWARD
“Nostalgia for the Light” (Icarus Films)

Runners-up:
“Into the Abyss” (Mongrel Media)
“Project Nim” (Mongrel Media)

ROGERS CANADIAN FILM AWARD FINALISTS
1. “Café de Flore,” directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
2. “A Dangerous Method”, directed by David Cronenberg
3. “Monsieur Lazhar”, directed by Philippe Falardeau

Indiana Film Critics Honor "The Artist"

The Indiana Film Journalist Association announced its film critics awards earlier this week.  The black and white, silent movie, The Artist, continues to be the darling of the 2011 film critics awards.

The full list of 2011 winners:

Best Film of the Year
Winner: The Artist
Runner-up: The Descendants

Other Finalists: Coriolanus, Drive, Hugo, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Muppets, The Skin I Live In, Super 8, The Tree of Life

Best Animated Film
Winner: Rango
Runner-up: Winnie the Pooh

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: The Skin I Live In
Runner-up: 13 Assassins

Best Documentary
Winner: Project Nim
Runner-up: Into the Abyss

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Win Win
Runner-up: Margin Call

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: The Descendants
Runner-up: Moneyball

Best Director
Winner: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Runner-up: Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actress
Winner: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Runner-up: Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Viola Davis, The Help
Runner-up: Amy Ryan, Win Win

Best Actor
Winner: Paul Giamatti, Win Win
Runner-up: Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Runner-up: Albert Brooks, Drive

Best Musical Score
Winner: Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Runner-up: Howard Shore, Hugo

Original Vision Award
Winner: The Tree of Life
Runner-up: The Artist

The Hoosier Award
Winner: Lindsay Goffman, producer of "Dumbstruck"

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Soundtrack Now Available

WaterTower Music to Release Soundtrack for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on December 13

Soundtrack Composed by Oscar®, Grammy & Golden Globe Award-Winning Composer Hans Zimmer

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music has announced the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with an original score by Oscar®, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer (Inception, The Dark Knight, Gladiator and The Lion King) at physical and digital retailers on December 13, 2011.

The creation of this album brought Zimmer—who also scored the blockbuster Sherlock Holmes, for which he received an Oscar® nomination—all the way to Slovakia to capture the traditional sounds of the Roma people and bring an authentic musical accompaniment to the picture.

In addition to receiving the 18 tracks on the album, fans who purchase the soundtrack will also be able to download three free additional tracks from the film, along with a video chronicling Mr. Zimmer’s journey to Slovakia to record the music of the Roma people. “While visiting Roma settlements in Slovakia, I discovered unbelievable musicianship,” said Zimmer. “We heard a few bands, loved their playing and invited them to Vienna, where we went into a tiny recording studio and started making music. I don’t speak Romani, and they can’t speak German or English, but when we sat down and started playing, there was no question about what language we needed to speak,” continued Zimmer.

Hans Zimmer has received nine Academy Award® nominations for his scores for Inception, Sherlock Holmes, Gladiator, The Thin Red Line, The Prince of Egypt, As Good As It Gets, The Preacher’s Wife, Rain Man and The Lion King, winning the Oscar® for the last. His more recent film credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Rango.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows stars Robert Downey Jr., reprising the title role of the world’s most famous detective, and Jude Law as his friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson.

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor James Moriarty—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his ominous plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history.

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie returned to direct Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the follow-up to the smash hit Sherlock Holmes. The sequel also reunited producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Bruce Berman and Steve Clark-Hall served as executive producers. The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly and Rachel McAdams. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was written by Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Silver Pictures Production, in association with Wigram Productions, a Guy Ritchie Film, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and some drug material.

http://www.sherlockholmes2.com/

Detroit Film Critics' Nominations Favor "The Help" and "The Artist"

The Detroit Film Critics Society was founded in Spring 2007 and currently consists of a group of 22 Michigan film critics who write or broadcast in the Detroit area as well as other major cities within a 150-mile radius of the city including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint, Michigan.

Each critic submitted his or her top 5 picks in 10 categories. From these submissions, each entry was given a point value and the top 5 in each category have been placed on the final ballot.

This year, one category, “Best Ensemble,” has a tie with 6 nominees. The 2011 winners will be announced on December 16th, 2011.  I'll keep you updated.

The Detroit Film Critics Society Nominations for 2011 (in alphabetical order):

1. BEST PICTURE
THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
HUGO
TAKE SHELTER
THE TREE OF LIFE

2. BEST DIRECTOR
MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS – THE ARTIST
TERRENCE MALICK – THE TREE OF LIFE
JEFF NICHOLS – TAKE SHELTER
MARTIN SCORSESE– HUGO
NICHOLAS WINDING REFN – DRIVE

3. BEST ACTOR
GEORGE CLOONEY– THE DESCENDANTS
JEAN DUJARDIN – THE ARTIST
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – SHAME
BRAD PITT – MONEYBALL
MICHAEL SHANNON – TAKE SHELTER

4. BEST ACTRESS
VIOLA DAVIS – THE HELP
FELICITY JONES – LIKE CRAZY
MERYL STREEP – THE IRON LADY
CHARLIZE THERON – YOUNG ADULT
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
KENNETH BRANAGH – MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
ALBERT BROOKS – DRIVE
RYAN GOSLING – CRAZY STUPID LOVE
PATTON OSWALT – YOUNG ADULT
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – BEGINNERS

6. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BERENICE BEJO – THE ARTIST
JESSICA CHASTAIN – TAKE SHELTER
CAREY MULLIGAN - SHAME
VANESSA REDGRAVE – CORIOLANUS
OCTAVIA SPENCER – THE HELP

7. BEST ENSEMBLE
CARNAGE
CEDAR RAPIDS
CRAZY STUPID LOVE
THE HELP
MARGIN CALL
WIN WIN

8. BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
JESSICA CHASTAIN – THE HELP/TAKE SHELTER/THE TREE OF LIFE
FELICITY JONES – LIKE CRAZY
MELISSA MCCARTHY – BRIDESMAIDS
ELIZABETH OLSEN –MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
SHAILENE WOODLEY– THE DESCENDANTS

9. BEST SCREENPLAY
50/50 – WILL REISER
THE ARTIST – MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS
BEGINNERS – MIKE MILLS
MONEYBALL – AARON SORKIN & STEVEN ZAILLIAN
TAKE SHELTER– JEFF NICHOLS

10. BEST DOCUMENTARY
INTO ETERNITY
INTO THE ABYSS
MARWENCOL
TABLOID
WE WERE HERE

http://detroitfilmcritics.com/Home_Page.html

Review: Can't Do Without "The Help" Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 103 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Help (2011)
Running time: 146 minutes (2 hours, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material
DIRECTOR: Tate Taylor
WRITER: Tate Taylor (based upon the novel by Kathryn Stockett)
PRODUCERS: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, and Brunson Green
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen Goldblatt (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Hughes Winborne
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman

DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O’Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Eleanor and Emma Henry (twins), Chris Lowell, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek, Brian Kerwin, Aunjanue Ellis, Leslie Jordan, Nelsan Ellis, and David Oyelowo

The Help is a 2011 historical drama that is based on the 2009 bestselling novel, The Help, from author Kathryn Stockett. Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, the film focuses on an aspiring author who decides to write a book detailing the experiences of the Black women who work as maids in the homes of White families.

After graduating from Ole Miss, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) returns to her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. She takes a job at a local newspaper writing a “homemaker hints” advice column. However, Skeeter’s mother, Charlotte (Allison Janney), wants her daughter to (1) be a southern society girl and (2) find a husband. Skeeter reconnects with her vacuous childhood friends who are all now young mothers and form a clique led by the snooty Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).

Two things change Skeeter’s life. She does not believe her mother’s story about why Constantine Bates (Cicely Tyson), the beloved black maid who raised Skeeter, left the family. Skeeter also becomes uncomfortable with the attitude of her friends towards “the help,” the African-American maids who cook and clean for white folks, as well as parent their bosses’ children. Hilly becomes obsessed with the notion that the help not use their bosses’ bathrooms, so she launches the “Home Help Sanitation Initiative” a law that would require that homes have separate bathrooms for the help.

In response, Skeeter approaches Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), the maid of her friend, Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly), and asks her if she would mind being interviewed about her life spent taking care of other people’s homes. Reluctant at first, Aibileen consents and is also able to convince another maid, the sassy Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), to contribute. As the women forge an unlikely friendship, they get caught in a turbulent time of change and the Civil Rights Movement.

Writer/director Tate Taylor often plays upon the proverbial “quiet dignity” of the Black maids, but his film comes on like a locomotive, because behind the quiet dignity is steely determination. This movie has such power to convey its messages and its ideas that I sometimes felt physically unprepared for the emotional toll it had on me – whether those emotions were happy or sad. I say that The Help is well-written and directed and has a number of exceptional performances because of its ability to convey with authenticity story, character, and setting.

As for the performances: Jessica Chastain is a scene-stealer as Celia Foote, the naïve young wife with child-bearing issues. Chastain crafts Celia as a struggle between the strength underneath and the soft-hearted nature that is the candy-coating. Bryce Dallas Howard is white-hot evil as the snotty racist, Hilly Holbrook, but she frequently and subtly reveals the character’s humanity at surprising moments.

Sadly, I see Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer’s bravura performances getting lost during the movie critics and film industry awards season. Emma Stone’s Skeeter is The Help’s bridge between the two separate worlds of Black and White, and she is a player on all sides of a class conflict. However, Viola Davis’ Aibileen Clark is this movie’s true anchor. Not only does Davis give a great performance, but she also embodies in Aibileen the toughness that makes an oppressed people both survive the evil ruling class and have the true grit to fight that evil.

Octavia Spencer’s Minny Jackson is simply one of those great supporting characters whose fight and spunk define the central conflict in a movie. At the end of the day, she’s not going to take anything from anyone that is the wrong thing, and The Help is about getting to what is the right thing. While Emma Stone gives a good performance, it is easy to see how she gets lost in a sea of superb performances, although Skeeter is the most important player – the central character that connects the disparate parts.

If I had to point to the one thing that makes The Help a grand film, it is that the emotions are genuine; they feel real. Writer/director Tate Taylor and his cast create a series of moments and scenes that come together to weave a narrative, one which comes to life with a sense of authenticity. When Aibileen talks about her son’s tragedy; when Minny fights her husband and employers; when Aibileen has to step to the side while grocery shopping; when Celia Foote yearns for a child; when Skeeter angrily explains to her mother the wrong done to Constantine, it all feels real. It is as if The Help were a true story. In a way, it is a true story, one told with fictional characters from a real time and place. That is why The Help is a bona fide standout in a field of fantasias and made-up stuff movies.

9 of 10
A+

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

"The Artist" and "Hugo" Dominate 2011 Critics' Choice Award Nominations

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced the nominees for the 17th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. The winners will be announced at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards ceremony on Friday, January 12, 2012.

BEST PICTURE

Nominees:
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender – “Shame”
Ryan Gosling – “Drive”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”

BEST ACTRESS

Nominees:
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Elizabeth Olsen – “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams – “My Week With Marilyn”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees:
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week With Marilyn”
Albert Brooks – “Drive”
Nick Nolte – “Warrior”
Patton Oswalt – “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
Andrew Serkis – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:
Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
Carey Mulligan – “Shame”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Nominees:
Asa Butterfield – “Hugo”
Elle Fanning – “Super 8”
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Ezra Miller – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Saoirse Ronan – “Hanna”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Nominees:
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:
Stephen Daldry – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn – “Drive”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg – “War Horse”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius
“50/50” – Will Reiser
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
“Win Win” – Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
“Young Adult” – Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Nominees:
“The Descendants” – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” – Eric Roth
“The Help” – Tate Taylor
“Hugo” – John Logan
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Guillaume Schiffman
“Drive” – Newton Thomas Sigel
“Hugo” – Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” – Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” – Janusz Kaminski

BEST ART DIRECTION

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” – Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” – Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“The Tree of Life” – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
“War Horse” – Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales

BEST EDITING

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
“Drive” – Matthew Newman
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“War Horse” – Michael Kahn

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Mark Bridges
“The Help” – Sharen Davis
“Hugo” – Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” – Michael O’Connor
“My Week With Marilyn” – Jill Taylor

BEST MAKEUP

Nominees:
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Nominees:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND

Nominees:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Nominees:
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ACTION MOVIE

Nominees:
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

BEST COMEDY

Nominees:
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Nominees:
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Nominees:
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated

BEST SONG

Nominees:
“Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
“Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
“Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets

BEST SCORE

Nominees:
“The Artist” – Ludovic Bource
“Drive” – Cliff Martinez
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
“Hugo” – Howard Shore
“War Horse” – John Williams


About The Broadcast Film Critics Association:
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing 250 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

AFI Names Its Top 10 Films and TV Series of 2011

The American Film Institute (AFI) describes itself as “America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.” Their awards focus on American feature films and television programs.

AFI’s Ten Films of 2011:
BRIDESMAIDS

THE DESCENDANTS

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

THE HELP

HUGO

J. EDGAR

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

MONEY BALL

THE TREE OF LIFE

WAR HORSE

AFI’s Ten TV Programs of 2011:
Breaking Bad

Boardwalk Empire

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Game of Thrones

The Good Wife

Homeland

Justified

Louie

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

AFI gave special awards to the film, The Artist, and the entire “Harry Potter” film series.