"Argo" Best Pic of 2012 Says St. Louis Film Critics

2012 St. Louis Film Critics’ Awards:

Best Film: “Argo “
(runners-up: “Life of Pi” and "Lincoln")

Best Director: Ben Affleck ("Argo")
(runner-up): Quentin Tarantino ("Django Unchained") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild")

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis ("Lincoln")
(runner-up): John Hawkes ("The Sessions")

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain ("Zero Dark Thirty")
(runner-up): Jennifer Lawrence ("Silver Linings Playbook")

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz ("Django Unchained")
(runner-up): Tommy Lee Jones ("Lincoln")

Best Supporting Actress: (Tie): Ann Dowd ("Compliance") and Helen Hunt ("The Sessions")

Best Original Screenplay: "Zero Dark Thirty" (Mark Boal)
(runner-up): "Django Unchained" (Quentin Tarantino)

Best Adapted Screenplay: (Tie): "Lincoln" (Tony Kushner) and "Silver Linings Playbook" (David O. Russell)

Best Cinematography: "Skyfall" (Roger Deakins)
(runner-up): "Life of Pi" (Claudio Miranda)

Best Visual Effects: "Life of Pi"
(runner-up): “The Avengers”

Best Music: (Tie): "Django Unchained" and "Moonrise Kingdom

Best Foreign-Language Film: “The Intouchables” (France)
(runners-up): “The Fairy" and "Headhunters”

Best Documentary: “Searching for Sugar Man”
(runner-up): “Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry," "Bully" and "How To Survive A Plague"

Best Comedy: (Tie): “Moonrise Kingdom" and "Ted"

Best Animated Film: “Wreck-It Ralph”
(runner-up): “ParaNorman”

Best Art-House or Festival Film: (Tie): “Compliance" and "Safety Not Guaranteed"

Special Merit (for best scene, cinematic technique or other memorable aspect or moment) (Four-way Tie):
1. "Django Unchained" – The "bag head" bag/mask problems scene

2. "Hitchcock" – Anthony Hopkins in lobby conducting to music/audience’s reaction during "Psycho" screening

3. "The Impossible" - Opening tsunami scene

4. "The Master" – The first "processing" questioning scene between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix

Star Warts to Disney: Officially a Done Deal

The Walt Disney Company Completes Lucasfilm Acquisition

Deal expected to strengthen Disney’s position as a leading global provider of high-quality branded entertainment and build long-term shareholder value

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) announced today that Disney has completed its acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Lucasfilm to the Disney family,” said Iger. “Star Wars is one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time and this transaction combines that world class content with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets, which we believe will generate growth as well as significant long-term value.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, at closing Disney issued 37,076,679 shares and made a cash payment of $2,208,199,950. Based upon the closing price of Disney shares on December 21, 2012 at $50.00, the transaction has a total value of approximately $4.06 billion.

Lucasfilm’s assets include its massively popular Star Wars franchise, operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production, as well as a substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies. It operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound.

Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to the expected benefits of the integration of Disney and Lucasfilm; the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other matters that are not historical fact. These statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Disney regarding future events and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Disney does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such differences may result from a variety of factors, including but not limited to developments beyond the Disney’s control, including but not limited to: changes in domestic or global economic conditions, competitive conditions and consumer preferences; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; health concerns; international, political or military developments; and technological developments. Additional factors that may cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Disney for the year ended September 29, 2012, under the heading "Item 1A—Risk Factors," and in subsequent reports on Form 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Disney.

2012 St. Louis Film Critics’ Award Nominations Complete List

St. Louis Film Critics is an association of professional film critics operating in metropolitan St. Louis and adjoining areas of Missouri and Illinois. Founded in late 2004, the group’s goals (according to the website) are to serve the interests of local film critics, and to promote an appreciation for cinema both as an art form and for its societal, cultural and historical context and impact.

The eligibility requirements for a SLFC Award, according to the group’s website: a film must have been shown in the greater St. Louis area in a theater or at a film festival or series, or made available to SLFC members by screening or screener during the past year. Films opening in limited run elsewhere for Oscar qualification but which will open in the St. Louis area early in the next year are eligible.

The 2012 St. Louis Film Critics’ Award nominees are:

Best Film
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty

 

Best Director
Ben Affleck (Argo)
Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom)
Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)
Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

 

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained)
John Hawkes (The Sessions)
Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
Denzel Washington (Flight)

 

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Helen Mirren (Hitchcock)
Aubrey Plaza (Safety Not Guaranteed)
Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

 

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin (Argo)
John Goodman (Argo)
Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
William H. Macy (The Sessions)
Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Bruce Willis (Moonrise Kingdom)

 

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams (The Master)
Ann Dowd (Compliance)
Sally Field (Lincoln)
Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Helen Hunt (The Sessions)
Emma Watson (Perks of Being A Wallflower)

 

Best Original Screenplay

The Cabin in the Woods (Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard) 

Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola)
Seven Psychopaths (Martin McDonagh)
Zero Dark Thirty (Mark Boal )

Best Adapted Screenplay 
Argo (Chris Terrio)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin)
Life of Pi (David Magee)
Lincoln (Tony Kushner)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)

 

Best Cinematography 
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Ben Richardson)
Cloud Atlas (Frank Griebe and John Toll)
Django Unchained (Robert Richardson)
Life of Pi (Claudio Miranda)
The Master (Mihai Malaimare Jr.)
Skyfall (Roger Deakins)

Best Visual Effects 
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
Life of Pi
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman

 

Best Music 
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Moonrise Kingdom
Not Fade Away

 

Best Foreign-Language Film 
The Fairy (from France/Belgium)
Headhunters (from Norway)
Holy Motors (from France)
The Intouchables (from France)
The Kid With A Bike (from Belgium)

 

Best Documentary 
Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry
Bully
How To Survive A Plague
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Searching for Sugar Man

 

Best Animated Film 
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Comedy 
The Cabin in the Woods
Moonrise Kingdom
Seven Psychopaths
Ted
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Art-House or Festival Film (for artistic excellence in art-house cinema, limited to films that played at film festivals or film series or those that had a limited-release here, playing one or two cinemas).

 

1. Bernie
2. Compliance 
3. The Fairy
4. Safety Not Guaranteed
5. Sleepwalk with Me
6. Take This Waltz

 

Best Scene (favorite movie scene or sequence).

1. Beasts of the Southern Wild – The hurricane (and Wink shooting at it)
2. Django Unchained – The “bag head” bag/mask problems scene
3. Flight – The plane crash
4. Hitchcock – Anthony Hopkins in lobby conducting to music/audience’s reaction during “Psycho” shower scene
5. The Impossible – Opening tsunami scene
6. The Master – The first “processing” questioning scene between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix

NY Online Critics Anoint "Zero Dark Thirty" Best of 2012

The New York Film Critics Online is a group of Internet film critics based in New York City that meets once a year, in December, for voting on its annual NYFCO Awards.

A complete list of 2012 honorees follows:

Best Picture: Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty

Best Debut Director: Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva – Amour

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

Best Ensemble Cast: Argo

Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

Best Cinematography: Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda

Best Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

Best Use of Music: Django Unchained – Mary Ramos

Breakthrough Performance: Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Animated Feature: Chico and Rita

Best Documentary: The Central Park Five

Best Foreign Language Film: Amour (Austria)

Happy Birthday, Joey

OMG!  Ten-years-old already?!  Have a great b'day and many, many, more.

Washington DC Critics Go "Zero Dark Thirty"

Founded in 2002, The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) is comprised of professional DC-based film critics with affiliations in television, radio, print and the internet.

THE 2012 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS (and nominees): Voting was conducted from December 7-9, 2012:

Best Film:
Zero Dark Thirty WINNER
Argo
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) WINNER
Ben Affleck (Argo)
Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master)
Tom Hooper (Les Misérables)
Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) WINNER
John Hawkes (The Sessions)
Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)
Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
Denzel Washington (Flight)

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) WINNER
Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone)
Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Helen Mirren (Hitchcock)
Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

Best Supporting Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master) WINNER
Alan Arkin (Argo)
Javier Bardem (Skyfall)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained)
Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables) WINNER
Amy Adams (The Master)
Samantha Barks (Les Misérables)
Sally Field (Lincoln)
Helen Hunt (The Sessions)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Les Misérables WINNER
Argo
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Adapted Screenplay:
David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) WINNER
Chris Terrio (Argo)
David Magee (Life of Pi)
Tony Kushner (Lincoln)
Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

Best Original Screenplay:
Rian Johnson (Looper) WINNER
Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master)
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom)
Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty)

Best Animated Feature:
ParaNorman WINNER
Brave
Frankenweenie
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Documentary:
Bully WINNER
The Imposter
The Invisible War
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man

Best Foreign Language Film:
Amour (from Austria) WINNER
The Intouchables (from France)
I Wish (from Japan)
A Royal Affair (from Denmark)
Rust and Bone (from France/Belgium)

Best Art Direction:
Uli Hanisch, Hugh Bateup - Production Designers; Peter Walpole, Rebecca Alleway - Set Decorators (Cloud Atlas) WINNER

Sarah Greenwood - Production Designer; Katie Spencer - Set Decorator (Anna Karenina)
Eve Stewart - Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson - Set Decorator (Les Misérables)
Rick Carter - Production Designer; Jim Erickson - Set Decorator (Lincoln)
Adam Stockhausen - Production Designer; Kris Moran - Set Decorator (Moonrise Kingdom)

Best Cinematography:
Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi) WINNER
Danny Cohen (Les Misérables)
Mihai Malaimare Jr. (The Master)
Roger Deakins (Skyfall)
Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty)

Best Score:
Jonny Greenwood (The Master) WINNER
Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Howard Shore (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
John Williams (Lincoln)
Alexandre Desplat (Moonrise Kingdom)

Best Youth Performance:
Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) WINNER
Jared Gilman (Moonrise Kingdom)
Kara Hayward (Moonrise Kingdom)
Tom Holland (The Impossible)
Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

Review: Samuel L. and Company Make "Snakes on a Plane" Fly High (Happy B'day, Samuel L. Jackson)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 183 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense horror sequences of terror and violence
DIRECTOR: David R. Ellis
WRITERS: John Heffernan and Sebastian Gutierrez; from a story by David Dalessandro and John Heffernan
PRODUCERS: Craig Berenson, Don Granger, and Gary Levinsohn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Greenberg
EDITOR: Howard E. Smith
COMPOSER: Trevor Rabin

ACTION/HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard, Flex Alexander, Kenan Thompson, Keith “Blackman” Dallas, Lin Shaye, Bruce James, Sunny Mabrey, David Koechner, Bobby Cannavale, Todd Louiso, and Byron Lawson

The subject of this movie review is Snakes on a Plane, a 2006 action thriller and horror film from director, David R. Ellis (the director of two Final Destination movies). The film stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent battling hundreds of deadly snakes on a passenger plane.

If you expected a campy, cult-classic-to-be, you’re getting a good movie instead (or also):

FBI agent Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) is escorting Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips), a young man who witnessed a brutal mob murder, from Hawaii to Los Angeles. However, the mobster, Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson), is determined that this never happens, so he has hundreds of poisonous snakes smuggled aboard the commercial aircraft, South Pacific Air Flight 121, in a crate timed to release its deadly cargo when Flight 121 is halfway across the Pacific. After the initial attack leaves half the passengers and the lead pilot dead, Flynn has to band the crew and survivors together in a desperate attempt to survive and land the plane at LAX.

Having sparked Internet interest since last year, Snakes on a Plane has finally arrived and it is the real deal – a B-movie that delivers. Snakes on a Plane doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it is by no means campy. It’s the kind of (relatively) low-budget action/horror/thriller that delivers breathtaking action sequences, goose flesh-raising horror, and heart-stopping thrills. The movie doesn’t have an Academy Award level script, but the concept is good, taking two things that scare many people – flying and snakes – and putting them together in a scary movie scenario. However, the script is pretty straightforward. Sam Jackson’s Neville Flynn has to get a witness to a murder from one place to another, and all he has to do is fight off mobsters and survive a Pacific flight on a wounded airplane full of aroused and aggressive snakes. Whew!

Like any good disaster movie, this script gives the film a large ensemble cast of supporting characters. Some are there to support the hero (Julianna Margulies’ Claire Miller and Kenan Thompson’s Troy). Some are there for comic relief (Thompson’s Troy, Bruce James’ Ken, and Flex Alexander’s Three G’s), and some are there just to be an obstacle to every good idea the hero or his supporters have (Gerald Plunkett’s Paul).

The two big reasons the film works so well as a kind of “popcorn” thriller is, first, director David R. Ellis. Ellis helmed the highly entertaining and grisly Final Destination 2. It was so over-the-top gruesome that it was a chill ride as much as it was a thrill ride. Ellis takes advantage of the claustrophobia of being on a plane and people’s fear of snakes. He has a variety of serpents, real and CGI, using them to kill and menace in many, many imaginative ways.

When all is said and done, reason number two that this film is good is Samuel L. Jackson, who gives this B-movie big time credibility. With his don’t-give-a-shit, don’t-give-me-shit, suffer-no-fools, no nonsense, badasssss screen persona (and apparently his real life persona), Jackson is one of the screen’s best action heroes. Only his “hue” keeps him from getting the kind of parts in mega budget action films that Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, and Bruce Willis get. Jackson always delivers, even in crappy movies, and this isn’t a crappy movie. Snakes on a Plane might sound like a cheesy concept, but cast and crew worked hard to make a good movie. Simply put, Jackson made sure they delivered.

7 of 10
B+

Sunday, August 20, 2006

-----------------