TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

St. Louis Film Critics Choose "Boyhood" as Best Film of 2014

"Interstellar" Passes $100 Million in IMAX Tickets Sold

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND WARNER BROS. PICTURES’ “INTERSTELLAR” CROSSES $100 MILLION MILESTONE IN IMAX® THEATRES AROUND THE GLOBE

THE FILM WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY IN 12 IMAX THEATRE LOCATIONS THROUGH DECEMBER

Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed film “INTERSTELLAR” has surpassed $100 million in IMAX® Theatres worldwide since its release on November 5, marking the fourth time an IMAX film has crossed the $100 million threshold.

While “INTERSTELLAR” concluded its circuit-wide domestic run in IMAX theaters on December 14, the film will continue to play through at least the weekend of December 19, 2014 in the following North American IMAX 70mm film locations:

Austin, TX     IMAX Theater Austin
Branson, MO     Elite Cinema 3/Ozark IMAX
Chantilly, VA     Udvar-Hazy Center IMAX
Dearborn, MI     Henry Ford IMAX
Des Moines, IA     SCI IMAX Dome Theater
Huntsville, AL     Spacedome IMAX Theater
Indianapolis, IN     White River IMAX
Philadelphia, PA     Tuttleman IMAX - Franklin Institute
San Jose, CA     Hackworth IMAX
Seattle, WA     Boeing IMAX - Pacific Science Center
Tampa, FL     Museum of Science and Industry
Washington, D.C.     Lockheed Martin IMAX Theatre

Continuing the legacy begun by IMAX trailblazer Nolan and his use of the 15 perf 65mm IMAX® cameras in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, more than an hour of “INTERSTELLAR” was shot using IMAX cameras. Exclusively in IMAX theatres, these sequences expand to fill the entire screen and deliver unprecedented crispness and clarity and provide audiences with a truly cinematic and immersive experience.

Sequences of “INTERSTELLAR” shot in 35mm film have been digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

“INTERSTELLAR” stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow and Michael Caine. With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

The film is directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, and produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Lynda Obst.

To date, “INTERSTELLAR” has earned more than $621 million at the worldwide box office.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures meets worldwide tastes and demands with a diverse mix of filmed entertainment and is a global leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films. The International Division operates offices in 24 countries and releases films in over 125 international territories, either directly to theaters or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures. Internationally, the Studio has been the market leader in six of the last 13 years, having surpassed $1 billion in grosses a total of 15 years, 12 of which were consecutive years, and crossed $2 billion five times, including 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of September 30, 2014, there were 880 IMAX theaters (751 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 110 institutions) in 60 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience® and IMAX Is Believing® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

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Grumble: Chapter One - Page 8 is Here to Hate... or Love

Page 8 is here: http://www.comicbookbin.com/grumbleonepage008.html

Monday, December 15, 2014

2014 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Nominations - Complete List

The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization that hands out the Chicago Film Critics Awards, hold critics roundtables, and takes on industry and artists’ rights issues. The parent association was founded in 1990 by film critic Sue Kiner after the successful launch of the Chicago Film Critics Awards in 1989.

Now in its 25th year, the CFCA will announce its winners during its year-end awards dinner to be held on the evening of Monday, December 15, 2014.

2014 CFAC Award nominations:

BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Under the Skin
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson--The Grand Budapest Hotel
David Fincher--Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu--Birdman
Richard Linklater--Boyhood
Christopher Nolan—Interstellar

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch--The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal--Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton--Birdman
David Oyelowo--Selma
Eddie Redmayne--The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard--Two Days, One Night
Scarlett Johansson--Under the Skin
Julianne Moore--Still Alice
Rosamund Pike--Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon—Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin--Inherent Vice
Ethan Hawke--Boyhood
Edward Norton--Birdman
Mark Ruffalo--Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons—Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette--Boyhood
Jessica Chastain--A Most Violent Year
Laura Dern--Wild
Agata Kulesza--Ida
Emma Stone—Birdman

BEST ORIGNAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman--Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo
Boyhood--Richard Linklater
Calvary--John Michael McDonagh
The Grand Budapest Hotel--Wes Anderson
Whiplash--Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl--Gillian Flynn
The Imitation Game--Graham Moore
Inherent Vice--Paul Thomas Anderson
Under the Skin--Walter Campbell & Jonathan Glazer
Wild--Nick Hornby

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Ida
Mommy
The Raid 2
Two Days, One Night

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
Jodorowsky's Dune
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
The Overnighters

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Only Lovers Left Alive
Snowpiercer

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman--Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel--Robert Yeoman
Ida--Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal
Inherent Vice--Robert Elswit
Interstellar--Hoyte Van Hoytema

BEST EDITING
Birdman--Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrion
Boyhood--Sandra Adair
Gone Girl--Kirk Baxter
The Grand Budapest Hotel--Barney Pilling
Whiplash--Tom Cross

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Birdman--Antonio Sanchez
The Grand Budapest Hotel--Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game--Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar--Hans Zimmer
Under the Skin--Mica Levi

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Ellar Coltrane--Boyhood
Gugu Mbatha-Raw--Belle/Beyond the Lights
Jack O'Connell--Starred Up/Unbroken
Tony Revolori--The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jenny Slate--Obvious Child
Agata Trzebuchowska—Ida

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Damien Chazelle--Whiplash
Dan Gilroy--Nightcrawler
Jennifer Kent--The Babadook
Jeremy Saulnier--Blue Ruin
Justin Simien--Dear White People

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2014 San Diego Film Critics Award Nominations - Complete List

The members of the San Diego Film Critics Society write and/or broadcast for a San Diego County based outlet. The society’s mission statement is “to provide diverse critical opinion about movies, advance film education and awareness, and recognize excellence in cinema.”

2014 San Diego Film Critics Award winners will be announced Monday, December 15, 2014.

San Diego Film Critics Society Top Films of 2014 nominees:

Best Film
"Boyhood"
"Gone Girl"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Nightcrawler"
"Selma"
"The Theory of Everything"

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
David Fincher, "Gone Girl"
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"

Best Actor
Ralph Fiennes, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Brendan Gleeson, "Calvary"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"
Tom Hardy, "Locke"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
Hilary Swank, "The Homesman"
Mia Wasikowska, "Tracks"

Best Supporting Actor
Riz Ahmed, "Nightcrawler"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Carrie Coon, "Gone Girl"
Keira Knightly, "The Imitation Game"
Rene Russo, "Nightcrawler"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"

Best Original Screenplay
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Locke"
"Nightcrawler"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"The Fault in Our Stars"
"Gone Girl"
"The Theory of Everything"
"Unbroken"
"Wild"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Force Majeure"
"Heli"
"Ida"
"Two Days, One Night"
"Venus in Fur"

Best Documentary
"CITIZENFOUR"
"Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me"
"Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me"
"Last Days in Vietnam"
"Life Itself"

Best Animated Film
"Big Hero 6"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
"The LEGO Movie"
"The Nut Job"

Best Cinematography
"Force Majeure" (Fredrik Wenzel)
"Interstellar" (Hoyte van Hoytema)
"Gone Girl" (Jeff Cronenweth)
"Nightcrawler" (Robert Elswit)
"Unbroken" (Roger Deakins)

Best Editing
"Boyhood" (Sandra Adair)
"Edge of Tomorrow" (James Herbert, Laura Jennings)
"Gone Girl" (Kirk Baxter)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Barney Pilling)
"Nightcrawler" (John Gilroy)

Best Production Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pincock)
"Into the Woods" (Dennis Gassner & Anna Pinnock)
"The Theory of Everything" (John Paul Kelly)
"The Imitation Game" (Maria Djurkovic)
"Interstellar" (Nathan Crowley)

Best Score
"Birdman" (Antonio Sanchez)
"Gone Girl" (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Alexandre Desplat)
"The Imitation Game" (Alexandre Desplat)
"Nightcrawler" (James Newton Howard)

Best Ensemble
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"Selma"

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2014 St. Louis Film Critics Award Nominations - Complete List

The 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.

Winners of the 2014 SLFC Awards will be announced on Monday, December 15, 2014. The nominations follow.

2014 SLFC Award nominations:

Best Picture
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"Gone Girl"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"

Best Director
Alejandro Gozalez Inarritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
David Fincher, "Gone Girl"
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Best Actor
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"
Tom Hardy, "Locke"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, "Inherent Vice"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
Tony Revolori, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Jessica Chastain, "A Most Violent Year"
Carrie Coon, "Gone Girl"
Mackenzie Foy, "Interstellar"
Kiera Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Gone Girl"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"The Imitation Game"
"The Theory of Everything"
"Unbroken"

Best Original Screenplay
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"Locke"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Nightcrawler"
"Whiplash"

Best Art Direction
"Gone Girl"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Mr. Turner"
"Nightcrawler"
"Snowpiercer"
"Under the Skin"

Best Cinematography
"Birdman"
"Gone Girl"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Interstellar"
"Nightcrawler"
"Unbroken"

Best Music Score
"Birdman"
"Gone Girl"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Inherent Vice"
"Interstellar"
"Under the Skin"

Best Music Soundtrack
"Begin Again"
"Boyhood"
"Get On Up"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Into the Woods"
"Whiplash"

Best Visual Effects
"Birdman"
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Interstellar"
"Noah"

Best Animated Film
"Big Hero 6"
"The Book of Life"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
"The LEGO Movie"
"The Penguins of Madagascar"

Best Documentary
"CITIZENFOUR"
"Finding Vivian Maier"
"Jodorowsky’s Dune"
"Life Itself"
"Red Army"
"Rich Hill"

Best Foreign Film
"Force Majeure"
"Gloria"
"Human Capital"
"Ida"
"Two Days, One Night"

Best Comedy
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Obvious Child"
"St. Vincent"
"22 Jump Street"

Best Arthouse
"Boyhood"
"Calvary"
"Frank"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Locke"
"Whiplash"

Best Scene
"Birdman" (Times Square)
"Guardians of the Galaxy" (Prison Break)
"Selma" (Church Bombing)
"Whiplash" (Finale drum solo)
"22 Jump Street" (End Credits)
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" (Quicksilver Pentagon Escape)

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Sunday, December 14, 2014

Zoe Saladana Talks "Franchises," Nina Simone and Guardians of the Galaxy

Walt Disney Home Entertainment provided the following question-and-answer interview with actor Zoe Saldana as a promotion for its Blu-ray and DVD release of Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy. "Q" is the anonymous questioner and "A" is Ms. Saldana:

AN INTERVIEW WITH ZOE SALDANA (GAMORA) FOR THE IN HOME RELEASE OF GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Q: So did all cast members get their make-up done together?

A: No, we didn’t; we had separate bungalows. It was only when we were all on set, all grey or green or blue and we couldn’t touch anything because we would just smear paint and stuff all over everything. We’d all sit together and Dave would be eating a super-healthy meal, I’d be having some fish and chips and Chris would be asking me: ‘So how’s the texture? Do you like the fish?’ He couldn’t eat it himself because he was on a strict diet so he was always asking me what my food tasted like.

Q: How did you while away the long hours in the make-up chair?

A: Listening to music, talking… Sometimes I’d ask about Dave and was told, ‘This dude is meditating – he sits there and doesn’t move for hours’ whereas sometimes they couldn’t even get me to sit down in the chair. My make-up artist, who I brought over from the States, would go ‘You need to sit down, get your dog and take a nap, otherwise we’ll be in trouble because I have to work on you’. My dog and I would wake up and we’d both be green!

Q: What’s worse, putting the make-up on or taking it off?

A: Putting it on, trust me. When it comes to taking it off I think it’s easier because you know you’re just 30 minutes away from being in a hot tub and then bed. You’re literally ripping it off your face. The skin is flexible and it perspires and it’s ready to have that layer removed so it’s much more cooperative. They also have all these awesome solutions. It took four and a half hours to put it on and maybe an hour and 15 minutes to take off.

Q: You’ve spoken about Dave being very shy. Is it safe to assume from your outgoing personality that you’re far from shy yourself?

A: I’m not shy at all. My mum has asked me to be a little more shy! She’s sometimes like ‘Can you just shut up?’

Q: Since you both have athletic backgrounds, did you and Dave do a lot of your own stunts?

A: We’re every stunt coordinator’s nightmare and every director’s dream. Directors wish their actors could do more of the physical stuff, more of the stunts, just so they don’t have to cut from a wide master shot into a tight close-up. With us, James was able to use many of our medium, master and close-up shots particularly with me, Dave and Chris. The stunt people don’t really like it because we come in and we learn everything within two tries. They get kind of p****d off because they don’t get to work as much. On the other hand, the stunt people who are playing your doubles are super-excited because they get to act [when they’re doubling for an actor]. They don’t have to spend the whole time just falling and getting hurt.

Q: I can’t think of any other actor who has three franchises going at the same time…

A: Wasn’t there someone who had two, like Sylvester Stallone? For many years Sly had First Blood and Rocky, right? [Laughs] And now it’s me? Believe me, this was never planned. In between these big films, I do films like Nina, Out of the Furnace and Blood Ties and Infinitely Polar Bear is coming out next year. It’s just that the big movies happen to get seen more than the small-budget ones I do, but I’m happy with it. I like playing roles where women have more significance – they just happen to be set in space and they just so happen to be made by filmmakers like James Gunn, James Cameron and J.J. Abrams. That’s not a bad list of filmmakers to work with so I say, ‘You know what, I’ll be green here, I’ll be blue there, I don’t care!’

Q: Speaking of Nina, how was it playing Nina Simone in the biopic?

A: It was a very tumultuous affair and I loved making it. We did it with so much love and I think her story is definitely worth telling.

Q: What have you learned from doing so many green screen movies?

A: It’s helped me appreciate the technicalities of filmmaking. It’s also taught me that the best thing is to always remain open and that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Ask every single question that you can and try to work with filmmakers who will never lose patience with their actors. It’s important for a director to provide as much information, especially when we’re working with things that we have to conceive out of thin air. You can’t just expect an actor to understand: ‘Oh, there’s a dinosaur coming at you”. OK, so I’m going to automatically know how big it is and what it sounds like? I need details. How close does he get to me? How tall is he? What will the impact be of his cry when he’s screaming at me or when he’s blowing smoke or air in my face? James Cameron will bring you speakers that are twice your height and he’ll search the internet to find any sound that resembles as closely as possible the sound he’s looking for. He’ll play it to you seconds before he starts the scene and that is so helpful. I learned to always ask a lot of questions. It’s super-important.

Q: And how was Guardians director James Gunn to work with?

A: He was very generous with all the information we needed to have. He’d show us the animatics, he’d play the music, he’d explain the moment to us and how he envisioned it if we were not capturing the emotional beat as he wanted. He was very much invested even though he was taking care of ten thousand million things at the same time. You don’t want to feel afraid to ask a director something and if you do then that’s not a director you should work with after that.

Q: Do you think James learned anything from you?

A: [Laughs] How to be cool! No, I’m joking. I hope he did learn something. I really feel the wise directors are the ones who learn from their actors in terms of: ‘How can I be a better director? How can I be a better captain? I feel James is not an egotistical person. He’s very passionate and he’s also a little stubborn but in all the right places. He’s like good cholesterol. That’s James Gunn. We had moments where people thought it was tense because I was asking questions or trying to do something one way because I believed in it and James wanted me to do it another way, but we never argued; it was never a hostile environment. Sometimes Chris would go through the same thing -- it was just a passionate moment between all these artists who really care. James never abused his power by saying, ‘Just do it like I said’. He was like, ‘Please trust me, do it this way and we’ll see’. If we did it his way and it didn’t work he’d say really quietly ‘Alright, do it your way’.

Q: Was there a defining moment when you decided you wanted to be an actor?

A: I was a ballet dancer for so long, but when I realized I had reached my limit and that I couldn’t go any further I knew I wanted to pursue acting. That’s one thing you don’t use as a dancer – your voice. [Laughs] And the one thing I use most in my life is my voice so it’s wonderful to get to express myself artistically through the biggest instrument I use. I auditioned for the Scarecrow in The Wiz and my mum went with me because she wouldn’t let me go anywhere alone. She did not think I was good, and I remember we had that conversation of ‘Baby, if you’re going to do this, we need to figure out a plan, like taking a class’. I did and I started reading a lot. There was this book that Judi Dench wrote that said there was a moment where, before an actor can be this or be that, the actor must simply be. I thought that to have absolute presence was to absorb everything that’s thrown at you. I’ve been getting paid for it ever since and [laughs] I haven’t needed an excuse to quit or to do something else.

Q: Do you collect all the action figures based on the characters you’ve played?

A: Here’s the thing. I have nieces and nephews and when they find them in the house, they take them and they end up broken. So there’s no point in me collecting them. One day I walked in to find my niece playing with all the Star Trek figures and eating chocolate at the same time. I was like, ‘It’s OK, take them, I don’t need them, I don’t have to sell them later for $100.’

Guardians of the Galaxy is available on Blu-ray, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere December 9, 2014

- ENDS -