9 Films Vie for 5 "Foreign Language Film" 87th Oscar Nominations

9 Foreign Language Films Advance in Oscar® Race

Nine features will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 87th Academy Awards®.  Eighty-three films had originally been considered in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Argentina, "Wild Tales," Damián Szifrón, director;

Estonia, "Tangerines," Zaza Urushadze, director;

Georgia, "Corn Island," George Ovashvili, director;

Mauritania, "Timbuktu," Abderrahmane Sissako, director;

Netherlands, "Accused," Paula van der Oest, director;

Poland, "Ida," Paweł Pawlikowski, director;

Russia, "Leviathan," Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;

Sweden, "Force Majeure," Ruben Östlund, director;

Venezuela, "The Liberator," Alberto Arvelo, director.


Foreign Language Film nominations for 2014 are being determined in two phases.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based Academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 15.  The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the category’s five nominees by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and, for the first time, London.  They will spend Friday, January 9, through Sunday, January 11, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, 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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Review: "A Madea Christmas" a Funny and Odd Christmas Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (2013)
Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual references, crude humor and language
DIRECTOR:  Tyler Perry
WRITER:  Tyler Perry (based on the stage play, A Madea Christmas, written by Tyler Perry)
PRODUCERS:  Ozzie Areu, Tyler Perry, and Matt Moore
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alexander Gruszynski (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Maysie Hoy
COMPOSER:  Christopher Young

CHRISTMAS/COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring:  Tyler Perry, Larry the Cable Guy, Anna Maria Horsford, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, JR Lemon, Kathy Najimy, Chad Michael Murray, Alicia Witt, Noah Urrea, and Lucy Whelchel

A Madea Christmas is a 2013 comedy, drama, and Christmas movie from writer-director Tyler Perry.  The film is based on Perry's musical play, A Madea Christmas, which was first performed in 2011.  A Madea Christmas the movie finds Madea in rural Alabama after being coaxed into helping a relative pay her daughter a surprise visit for Christmas.

As A Madea Christmas begins, Mabel “Madea” Simmons (Tyler Perry) is working at Tifton's department store for some extra Christmas cash, thanks to her niece, Eileen Murphy (Anna Maria Horsford), who works at the store.  Eileen is sad that her daughter, Lacey (Tika Sumpter), is living in the small town of Bucktussle, Alabama, and she wants to visit her.  Eileen coaxes Madea into accompanying her for a surprise Christmas visit.

What Eileen does not realize is that her daughter is now Lacey Williams and is married to her college sweetheart, Conner Williams (Eric Lively).  Lacey is not ready to tell her mother that she is married to a White man, but may be forced to when Eileen and Madea arrive.  Also arriving at Lacey and Conner's doorstep are Conner's parents, Kim and Buddy Williams (Kathy Najimy and Larry the Cable Guy).

A Madea Christmas is an odd entry in Tyler Perry's Madea film series.  First, the film deals, in a fluffy way, with racism, and is also set in a town and area that is largely white.  With its mushy sentiment, soft-focused racial harmony, and easy pace,  A Madea Christmas seems like an original holiday movie for either the Lifetime or Hallmark cable networks.

I found this film enjoyable and comfy, and although Madea does dispense her usual unique brand of wisdom, the film is not as preachy as previous Madea films.  A Madea Christmas' dominant theme seems to be that parents should accept that their children will live the lives the children choose and not the ones the parents want.  There is also a subplot about a sensitive and talented boy, Bailey McCoy (Noah Urrea), whose father, Tanner McCoy (Chad Michael Murray), is a racist and a bully (but not really in an especially offensive way).  This subplot encapsulates how A Madea Christmas goes out of its way not to offend or scare white audiences.

I don't think that A Madea Christmas will be a Christmas classic, but it is definitely a different kind of Christmas movie.  I found it to be quiet funny at times, and I plan on seeing it again.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, December 23, 2014


NOTES:
2014 Razzie Awards:  1 win: “Worst Actress” (Tyler Perry); 4 nominations: “Worst Picture,” “Worst Supporting Actor” (Larry the Cable Guy), “Worst Screen Combo” (Tyler Perry, Larry the Cable Guy, Tyler Perry & EITHER Larry the Cable Guy OR That Worn-Out Wig & Dress), and “Worst Screenplay” (Tyler Perry)

San Francisco Film Critics Name "Boyhood" as 2014's Best Picture

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle (SFFCC) was founded in 2002 and is comprised of critics from Bay Area publications.  Its membership includes film journalists from the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, the Contra Costa Times, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, the East Bay Express, KRON-TV, Variety, and RottenTomatoes.com, among others.

2014 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards:

Best Picture
    BIRDMAN
    WINNER – BOYHOOD
    THE IMITATION GAME
    UNDER THE SKIN
    WHIPLASH

    Best Director
    Wes Anderson, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
    Jonathan Glazer, UNDER THE SKIN
    Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, BIRDMAN
    Mike Leigh, MR. TURNER
    WINNER – Richard Linklater, BOYHOOD

    Best Actor
    Benedict Cumberbatch, THE IMITATION GAME
    Jake Gyllenhaal, NIGHTCRAWLER
    WINNER – Michael Keaton, BIRDMAN
    Eddie Redmayne, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
    Timothy Spall, MR. TURNER

    Best Actress
    Marion Cotillard, TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
    Essie Davis, THE BABADOOK
    Scarlett Johansson, UNDER THE SKIN
    WINNER – Julianne Moore, STILL ALICE
    Reese Witherspoon, WILD

    Best Supporting Actor
    Ethan Hawke, BOYHOOD
    Gene Jones, THE SACRAMENT
    WINNER – Edward Norton, BIRDMAN
    Mark Ruffalo, FOXCATCHER
    J.K. Simmons, WHIPLASH

    Best Supporting Actress
    WINNER – Patricia Arquette, BOYHOOD
    Jessica Chastain, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
    Agata Kulesza, IDA
    Emma Stone, BIRDMAN
    Tilda Swinton, SNOWPIERCER

    Best Screenplay, Original
    WINNER – BIRDMAN, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu; Nicolas Giacobone; Alexander Dinelaris; Armanso Bo
    BOYHOOD, Richard Linklater
    THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, Wes Anderson; Hugo Guinness
    MR. TURNER, Mike Leigh
    A MOST VIOLENT YEAR, J.C. Chandor
    WHIPLASH, Damien Chazelle

    Best Screenplay, Adapted
    GONE GIRL, Gillian Flynn
    THE IMITATION GAME, Graham Moore
    WINNER - INHERENT VICE, Paul Thomas Anderson
    SNOWPIERCER, Joon-ho Bong; Kelly Masterson
    WILD, Nick Hornby

    Best Cinematography
    BIRDMAN, Emmanuel Lubezki
    THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, Robert D. Yeoman
    WINNER – IDA, Lukasz Zal; Ryszard Lenczewski
    MR. TURNER, Dick Pope
    UNDER THE SKIN, Daniel Landin

    Best Production Design
    BIRDMAN, Kevin Thompson
    WINNER – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, Adam Stockhausen
    INHERENT VICE, David Crank
    MR. TURNER, Suzie Davies
    SNOWPIERCER, Ondrej Nekvasil

    Best Editing
    WINNER – BOYHOOD, Sandra Adair
    BIRDMAN, Douglas Crise; Stephen Mirrione
    INHERENT VICE, Leslie Jones
    UNDER THE SKIN, Paul Watts
    WHIPLASH, Tom Cross

    Best Animated Feature
    BIG HERO 6
    THE BOXTROLLS
    HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
    WINNER – THE LEGO MOVIE
    THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA

    Best Foreign Language Picture
    A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT
    FORCE MAJEURE
    WINNER – IDA
    TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
    WILD TALES

    Best Documentary
    WINNER – CITIZENFOUR
    FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
    JODOROWSKY’S DUNE
    LIFE ITSELF
    THE OVERNIGHTERS

Marlon Riggs Award for courage & vision in the Bay Area film community:
Joel Shepard Longtime Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Film & Video curator Joel Shepard’s idiosyncratic and innovative programming has embraced everything from experimental and exploitation showcases to burgeoning national film cultures, such as the annual New Filipino Cinema festival.

Special Citation for under-appreciated independent cinema:
THE ONE I LOVE Charlie McDowell’s relationship opus cracks open the intricacies of a crumbling union in the most effective way imaginable: by turning it into a mind-bending Twilight Zone episode.

2015 Critics' Choice Movie Award Nominations - Complete List

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada.  It represents almost 300 television, radio and online critics. For additional information about the BFCA and their memberships, visit www.criticschoice.com.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) recently announced the nominees for the 20th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.  The winners will be revealed at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, which will broadcast live on A&E from the Hollywood Palladium on January 15th, 2015 at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT.  This is also the same day the Academy Award nominations are announced.
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Former NFL star and Super Bowl champion, Michael Strahan (New York Giants), will serve as the host Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.  Strahan is the co-host of the popular morning talk show “LIVE with Kelly and Michael,” and he is an analyst for “Fox NFL Sunday,” for which he received an Emmy nomination.  Strahan also serves as a special co-host for ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

The 2015 / 20th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Award nominations (for the year in film, 2014):

BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
David Oyelowo – Selma
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston – Cake
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
Robert Duvall – The Judge
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
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Mackenzie Foy – Interstellar
Jaeden Lieberher – St. Vincent
Tony Revolori – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Quvenzhane Wallis – Annie
Noah Wiseman – The Babadook

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Into the Woods
Selma

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay – Selma
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman
Angelina Jolie – Unbroken
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman – Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy
Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
The Imitation Game – Graham Moore
Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything – Anthony McCarten
Unbroken – Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson
Wild – Nick Hornby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert Yeoman
Interstellar – Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
Birdman – Kevin Thompson/Production Designer, George DeTitta Jr./Set Decorator
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Inherent Vice – David Crank/Production Designer, Amy Wells/Set Decorator
Interstellar – Nathan Crowley/Production Designer, Gary Fettis/Set Decorator
Into the Woods – Dennis Gassner/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Snowpiercer – Ondrej Nekvasil/Production Designer, Beatrice Brentnerova/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
Birdman – Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
Boyhood – Sandra Adair
Gone Girl – Kirk Baxter
Interstellar – Lee Smith
Whiplash – Tom Cross

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero
Inherent Vice – Mark Bridges
Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood
Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard
Mr. Turner – Jacqueline Durran

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Foxcatcher
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Into the Woods
Maleficent

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

BEST ACTION MOVIE
American Sniper
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Fury
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow
Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Brad Pitt – Fury
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley – Divergent

BEST COMEDY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Favreau – Chef
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Bill Murray – St. Vincent
Chris Rock – Top Five
Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne – Neighbors
Rosario Dawson – Top Five
Melissa McCarthy – St. Vincent
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Babadook
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
Wild Tales

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Citizenfour
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
The Overnighters

BEST SONG
Big Eyes – Lana Del Rey – Big Eyes
Everything Is Awesome – Jo Li and the Lonely Island – The Lego Movie
Glory – Common/John Legend – Selma
Lost Stars – Keira Knightley – Begin Again
Yellow Flicker Beat – Lorde – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson – The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez – Birdman
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

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Washington D.C. Film Critics Pick "Boyhood" as Best Film of 2014

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. As of 2013, WAFCA has grown to include 58 dedicated members from the District, Maryland and Virginia.

The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) recently announced the 2014 winners of their annual film awards.

The 2014 WAFCA Awards:

Best Film:
Boyhood

Best Director:
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Best Actor:
Michael Keaton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Actress:
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Best Supporting Actor:
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Youth Performance:
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)

Best Original Screenplay:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Animated Feature:
The LEGO Movie

Best Documentary:
Life Itself

Best Foreign Language Film:
Force Majeure

Best Art Direction:
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen, Set Decorator: Anna Pinnock (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Editing:
Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione, ACE (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Original Score:
Mica Levi (Under the Skin)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

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Online Film Critics Society Names "The Grand Budapest Hotel" its Best Picture of 2014

Founded in 1997, the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) describes itself as “the largest, most respected organization for critics whose work appears primarily on the Internet.”  The OFCS says that it has been the key force in establishing and raising the standards for Internet-based film journalism.  Its membership consists of film reviewers, journalists and scholars based in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific Rim region.

The 18th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards were announced on Monday, December 15, 2014.

2014 OFSC Awards (18th Annual):

Best Picture
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Animated Feature
The Lego Movie

Best Film Not in the English Language
Two Days, One Night

Best Documentary
Life Itself

Best Director
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor
Michael Keaton – Birdman

Best Actress
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Best Supporting Actor
Edward Norton – Birdman

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Best Original Screenplay
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Adapted Screenplay
Gone Girl

Best Editing
Birdman

Best Cinematography
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Non-U.S. Release (non-competitive category)
’71
10,000 km
Entre Nós
Han Gong-ju
Hard to Be a God
The Look of Silence
The Salt of the Earth
What We Do in the Shadows
Timbuktu
The Tribe

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7 Films Vie for 3 "Makeup and Hairstyling" 87th Oscar Nominations

7 FEATURES ADVANCE IN RACE FOR MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING OSCAR

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 87th Academy Awards.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2"
"Foxcatcher"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Maleficent"
"Noah"
"The Theory of Everything"

On Saturday, January 10, 2015, all members of the Academy's Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films.  Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, 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.