I Saw Interstellar, I am a Nolan Fan, It Is Not Perfect (and that's okay)

Of course, if you've been around these parts for a little while, you'll know that I've been a pretty huge Christopher Nolan fan since 2010. It has reached some pretty fanatical heights (why yes I do own two copies of Memento, a copy of the Inception shooting script and bought a special collectors edition of The Dark Knight Rises that came with little figurines), I may call him God from time to time and I do get exceptionally excited whenever I hear his name mentioned. So of course, once I heard he was doing a film with my favourite person ever Jessica Chastain, along with my other favourites Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, I was very excited. Levels of excitement included being a countdown for the film from April 6th, using procrastination time to watch the trailers over and over again and possibly just about amputating my boyfriend's hand whenever the trailer came on before the movies we saw at the cinemas.

You'd be expecting me to hightail into this movie with the "Nolan is God, he can do know wrong, #Nolanfangirl" attitude.

Thing is, Interstellar is not perfect. And that's okay.

I have a feeling there'll be a lot of talk about Interstellar over the next few days, so I'll keep this a little brief. I'd have to give this another watch to fully absorb it, particularly in the Xtremescreen format instead of just the normal cinema viewing (damn you, exams). But yes, everything you've heard about the technological achievements of this film are true - this film is probably one of the greatest visual experiences I have ever had. Nolan's new teaming with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (the guy behind the incredible cinematography of Let the Right One In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Her) has produced some pretty incredible results, giving this film this weird blend of independent sensibilities - think Memento-era Nolan, with the polished pride of something like Inception. The visual effects work on the space scenes, along with the real locations used to represent the other planets are all absolutely perfect.

In terms of being compared to Nolan's other work - and of course, I'll have to give it another watch considering I've seen each of his films at least three times, with The Dark Knight being viewed over 25 times - I wouldn't say that this is one of his best. It lacks the completed narrative of Memento (and to be honest, I would take a lot for that film to be topped for me), the general magic of The Dark Knight and the cleanness of Inception. I'd currently place it somewhere in between The Prestige and The Dark Knight Rises if I were ranking his films, but since it is a little too early to tell, here's what I will say: Interstellar is in no way like any of his other films. Yet, in saying that, it isn't like he is departing from the style of anything he's previously done - it just doesn't neatly fit with the rest of his trajectory. Or any cinematic trajectory for that matter. The thing that stands out most about Interstellar is that it shows incomparable ambition that is precisely the reason why I love film so much.

Let's just take a second to appreciate how damn ambitious Interstellar is and for that reason alone it should be counted as one of the greats. Every single frame is dripping with ambition. Nolan has brought out everything in full force, and where we think that he'll step back in fear of going too far, he chooses to go further. He goes much further with this film than what is generally 'required' by a film, and maybe that won't be to everyone's taste but I was utterly in awe of what he was doing. The emotional strain of this film is absolutely beautiful, mostly due to the wonderful performances by Matthew McConaughey along with Mackenzie Foy and Jessica Chastain playing Murph at different ages. Apparently the scientific stuff was pretty interesting, but even though I didn't really understand some of it, it was still broken down in such a way that it was easy to swallow.

Again, the film isn't perfect - it is hard to pinpoint reasons why, but it is so very close to being a masterpiece. The really fanatical Nolan fanboys will tell you this movie is resoundingly perfect, and they could be right. The really fanatical Nolan haters will tell you that it is overlong and silly, and they could be right too. Even though I've been hyped up for this film for months, I am hesitant to say whether it lived up to my expectations, but I don't think they ever extended beyond me being generally excited to see my favourite actress in a film by my favourite director. It is going to generate some interesting discussion by being a bit divisive - and I think that's something we're lacking a little these days with films either being "good enough", "MASTERPIECE (that we'll inevitably forget about anyway)" or "wow that sucked". Above all, I'm still floored by the ambition and courage of this movie, but it isn't perfect by any means. And you know what? I'm not even disappointed that it wasn't perfect. I'm not even disappointed that it doesn't rank high among Nolan's best. I'm not even disappointed after months of waiting, it didn't completely change my world in a way that some of Nolan's films have. I'm grateful that it reminded me of love these stupid little things called film and want to make a career out of them - Interstellar is direct proof of how much ambition can be put into them.

If you really need proof of just how much I was affected by this film, I cried quite profusely four separate times during the film, characteristically cried at the sight of Christopher Nolan's name, then cried for a full fifteen minutes after the film. I'd like to say that I've grown out of Nolan's films emotionally wrecking me, but I haven't.

Being a Feminist is Hard, and Other Thoughts from a Filmic Female Dreamer

Prepare for a post full of paradoxes. About time I gave meaning to the shitty, nonsensical title I gave this blog when I was 14 and impaired by my Inception obsession.

I swore I would never write a big post on the state of feminism/females in the film industry. But after Ryan, who will forever be the rabbit I chase (not insinuating you are a rabbit, Ryan, but you get the metaphor I'm heading for here), posted a piece on Lena Dunham not pushing her case for females being given opportunities in the whole entertainment industry hard enough, I chimed in on the comments section. And hey, in the two hours of lectures that came after that comment, I decided I want to make a post on this ongoing saga.

I've never seen anything Lena Dunham has done apart from This is 40. Girls has been on my watchlist but considering I still haven't seen Game of Thrones season three, I don't think I'll be getting around to it any time soon. So really, I can't judge her standings on anything, but she did raise some valid points at SXSW where she noted that Adam Driver is getting some great role offers, yet the central female cast are not. Ryan said that Lena should aspire to write about more females rather than the ones she knows of. Fair points all round.

This is where I stand on feminism. You probably know by now that I want to be a filmmaker. It's leaning more towards writing screenplays because I want to write about females. The reason that I want to be a filmmaker stems back to the literal moment that Kathryn Bigelow won an Oscar for Best Director in 2010 (though she did win for a largely "male" film, which critics are quick to point out, but AT LEAST IT HAPPENED). Late last year, likely due to procrastination, I found myself reading Indiewire religiously, especially the Women in Hollywood/other pieces on women. Anything else I could find on the internet about this topic, I would read. I still do it. However, as this is inspiring and fuels my aspirations more, it's also poisonous.

Late Night Thoughts #6 (in the morning): Go get it, McConaughey/DiCaprio Domination/Barkhad Abdi's my new fave person

-No, I'm not going to do a full post on the Oscar nominations. For one thing, by the time I get around to doing them, like eight hours after the nominations, they're old news. And for another thing, I've found that people don't generally respond to awards coverage. Well, definitely not in the last few years I've done it, anyway.

-Plus, I can't really add anything new. The Tom Hanks snub sucked. American Hustle seems to be the buzz, and I'm going to reserve judgement until I see the film (possibly next week), but is this The King's Speech of this year? I reckon it is totally going to True Grit things - have all those nominations but no awards to show for it.

-Also, The Great Gatsby getting no love in the song section hurt, too. WTF is Alone Yet Not Alone?

-Anyway, so here's the story of nominations night: they were at 2.30am, and even though I was supposed to get sleep before and after then, I was up all night sick. However, I managed to contain the stomach flu for the nominations, but I had to do silent fist pumps so I wouldn't wake the house (like I did when Rooney Mara got nominated). There were a lot of silent fist pumps. First, for Jonah Hill. I knew it was going to happen (but sadface for Daniel Bruhl, though). Then for Sally Hawkins, who I knew I was right for predicting - remember when everyone thought it wouldn't happen? Then for Before Midnight getting a screenplay nod. And then for my girl Amy Adams for finally breaking through into the lead category. Started from the bottom now you here, Amy.

-And then along came Best Actor. When Christian Bale got called, I was like "no, no, no, no, no, dear god no that is Leo's spot". And then it happened. All of my hopes and dreams came true in that one moment. I didn't even pay attention to the rest of the nominations.

-But "Academy Award nominee Matthew McConaughey" sounds perfect, doesn't it?

-Anyway, this wasn't the only time of the week that Leo made my hopes and dreams come true. Of course, the Golden Globes - a.k.a the only awards show I'll be able to watch fully this year - happened and he got the award there, too. Ah, it was perfection.

-The Golden Globes were very entertaining. Was very happy to see Matty M, Amy Adams, Jared Leto, Alfonso Cuaron and Steve McQueen get awards. Plus, Amy and Tina were gold. Can't really say too much other than that - just flip through my Twitter feed for my uncensored, unedited thoughts.

-But I must say, I keep watching Matty M's speech because I love hearing him say "alright, alright, alriiiiiight" and "go get it, McConaughey". Like I swear that's going to be my new catchphrase for awards season: "go get it, McConaughey". I seriously need to stop saying it in real life situations.

-I really wish we could just have Jessica Chastain giving Matthew McConaughey awards all season. Their cute friendship makes me all the more excited about Interstellar.

-It would seem that Jennifer Lawrence backlash is the new black right now. Now, I love her as a person. I loved her in Winter's Bone and particularly The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I'm still a little angry about her winning for Silver Linings Playbook, as I don't think she ever owned her character. And it appears that the same thing happens with American Hustle. I dunno - she has an exceptionally good filmography and she's an exceptionally good performer, but she seems to be getting an awful lot of praise for movies she's not necessarily right for. If she wins that Oscar this year, the backlash will be terrible. But I think that's going to go to Lupita Nyong'o, who broke my heart in 12 Years a Slave. Well, at least I hope it does.

-On the opposite end of the spectrum, and awards getter that I'm loving at the moment is Barkhad Abdi. Maybe I'm a sucker for stories like his, but it is so awesome how he does literally one film and then gets nominated for an Oscar. He's really sweet, too.

-I've been catching up on 2013 films, with films like Short Term 12 (man, y'all were right, such a great film), Rush (I liked it, a bit sad Daniel Bruhl didn't get nommed but no big loss), Dallas Buyers Club (go get it, McConaughey), 12 Years a Slave (yeah...I've never cried so much in my life. Steve McQueen has the most perfect filmography of anyone), and...The Canyons, which I will probably write a post about in the next week or so. Man, that was an experience.

-The next and final installment in my "money" series will take a look at Side Effects and Blue Jasmine, but I'm just waiting for Blue Jasmine to come out on DVD so I can watch it again. And soak up the amazingness of Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins.

-And in non-movie related news, I got my exam results back. I managed to achieve Level 3 with Merit endorsed (which I suppose is like a solid B-grade/A- for you Americans), which I was told at the start of the year I couldn't do because I was Head Girl. Ha. Also managed to get Excellence endorsed in Level 3 English (solid A+ grade), getting Excellences in everything I did apart from my damn Othello essay, which I got Merit in. And I also got Merit endorsed in Drama. And yeah, that's high school completely done. I didn't fail anything last year, which was also quite the achievement. I got my acceptance letter into Canterbury and have to scrape together so much money - uni is so hard and I haven't even gone yet!

-Oh crap, just realised the SAG awards are tomorrow. I won't be watching, as I have work, but I don't really see the point as Leo isn't nominated anyway. Alas, my quick predictions would be: Best Ensemble - probably American Hustle since everyone loves it, but judging by only having Jennifer Lawrence nominated, this could well go to 12 Years a Slave (as it should); Best Actor - I imagine this is going to Matthew McConaughey, but there could always be a spoiler from Bruce Dern; Best Actress - Cate Blanchett, no doubt; Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto, no doubt; Best Supporting Actress - most likely Lupita Nyong'o - I only think Jennifer Lawrence's chances would be helped if the rest of her cast was individually nominated.

-And make sure you listen to the Across the Universe podcast, where the Chicks with Accents discuss/cry over The Wolf of Wall Street. It's beautiful.

What's been going on in your cinematic lives lately?

Late Night Thoughts with Stevee #1

If you should remember, most of my writing is just pointless rambling, so what better than to fill a post with my late night thoughts which have about as much cohesion as an Adam Sandler movie? Not that they have the quality of an Adam Sandler movie. Since no one actually ever puts any thought into an Adam Sandler movie.

-So my last ever term holidays have come to a brisk end, but that's no matter - I'm actually looking forward to going back to school. To be honest, I've hated the holidays this year (apart from the sleep ins) because they have gotten in the way of all of the projects I've had on the go. Except for the first holidays. That was all stage challenge. I don't remember how I survived that. Anyways, as you may know I went to Sydney at the beginning of the holidays, which was great fun, especially buying all of the DVDs I wanted. I saw Captain Phillips and Blue Jasmine, which were both terrific, and Frances Ha (which I loved) and Stoker (which I didn't love) on the plane. And I went to Madame Tussaud's which was awesome. I bought an Oscar from there and posed with Leonardo DiCaprio (as seen above). Because I'm hilarious. Then I came back and I've literally done nothing but toil over this essay I have to write for English that's somehow gotta find connections between A Streetcar Named Desire, The Crucible, Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Catcher in the Rye, and also how these novels proved the influence of the time they were written in. It is the worst thing I have ever written, with four pages and absolutely no cohesion at all. Please help.

-This week has been a bit crazy, though. I got accepted into the hall I wanted at University of Canterbury, and also won a $5000 scholarship for being Head Girl. Now I just have to enrol in my courses (a Bachelor of Arts with Cinema, English, and possibly a History and Linguistics paper - but I don't get university courses at all) and start selling drugs so I can pay for the rest of it.

-Speaking of being Head Girl...ah, I really wish I got the epiphany to start blogging again earlier so I could outline this craziness a bit more. Alas, since Stage Challenge, everything started to get really bad for a number of reasons (mostly just missing Stage Challenge - honestly, it was like having a leg cut off when that all ended) but that's all done now. I focused my energies on trying to help a whole lot of redundant workers in town, which wasn't successful. And I got nominated for this community services award as well. I honestly don't remember much else, aside from being very tired and cleaning the common room lots, but here's the point where things get scary. I have exams around the corner, and then I have to do my valedictory speech, which I've been thinking about all year, but now it is about to happen, I'm kinda scared about it. Oh and yeah, this year has gone way too fast.

-In other exciting school news, my drama class is performing The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I'm playing Elizabeth Proctor. Would be great if I were Joan Allen right now.

-Anyway, off the topic of school, and on to the topic of movies. So I saw Gravity today. I have a 'review' all set to go, which is pretty pointless since every man and his dog has written about it, but I tried to make it a little different. It just needs a heck of a lot of editing so I can use the thesaurus to give me 27 more variations of the word 'amazing'.

-Aside from rewatching a whole lot of movies so I could also toil over that bloody English essay, I saw most of the week's new DVD releases. First up was The Hangover Part III, which I liked more than the terrible second one but still not all that much. I laughed quite a bit, but there were way too many unnecessary animal deaths I found. And then there was Sharknado, which was every bit as terribly entertaining as I thought it would be. Deadfall was next up, which was okay but man, Eric Bana was crazy in that. Straight after I watched The Paperboy, which I really quite liked, even though it was ridiculously violent and greasy. Nicole Kidman killed it, though. Lastly, I watched The Hunt, which was definitely one of the most depressing films I've ever seen. But it is sooooo very good.

-The film that I'm most obsessed with at the moment is The Place Beyond the Pines. I rewatched it over the weekend and was absolutely won over this time. Every time I see the trailer at work, I just want to see it over and over again. I'll get around to reviewing it, but this is definitely in my Top 3 for 2013 now.

-The Nymphomaniac posters are pretty much the worst/scariest things I've ever seen. I know that Lars Von Trier was trying to be all against the grain and stuff, but...that's not cool.

-American Hustle has a new trailer and I love it and I need this movie right now. Amy Adams looks fantastic. Jennifer Lawrence looks amazing. I love it already.

-Diana is getting thrashed, huh? Poor Naomi Watts, she's not having a good year. Remember how Jessica Chastain was supposed to be in that film? Luckily she decided to do Zero Dark Thirty instead.

-Speaking of J-Chas, who has been stalking around on her Facebook page? Her big status about Oscar Isaac was absolutely adorable, as was her link love for Awards Daily's post on women in film. She is easily the best person in Hollywood at the moment, maybe even the planet, I dunno.

This is honestly my most used movie quote of all time.

So, can anyone offer any help on my English essay? Or, an easier question: what's everyone been watching lately? What's on your cinematic mind?

Super Late 2012 Retrospective: Top 10 Female Performances

I must admit that 2012 wasn't my favourite year for female performances. In fact, I had a lot of trouble compiling this list, since there was only one person who really really impressed me (as you'll see later in this list). Alas, at least there was no Meryl Streep breaking another Oscar record or that many towering biopics to contend with, and we were left with actresses in indie films getting some great notices. This may be a strange little list, but it was a strange little year for ladies in film.

Honourable mentions: Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus, Andrea Riseborough - W.E., Rosemarie DeWitt - Your Sister's Sister, Rashida Jones - Celeste and Jesse Forever, Melanie Lynskey - Hello I Must Be Going, Emily Blunt - Looper, Kelly Reilly - Flight, Alicia Vikander - Anna Karenina, Samantha Barks - Les Miserables

10. Dreama Walker as Becky in Compliance
I remember that there was all this buzz surrounding Ann Dowd's performance in Craig Zobel's uncomfortable Compliance. To be honest, I never understood that buzz. I found that the best in show was actually Dreama Walker, who was the one at the centre of all of the film's controversy. She was the one that had to go through all of the horribly uncomfortable stuff. This was really her film. And she carries it without being alienated by the source material, and instead with a certain sort of maturity in confronting it. I hold a lot of hope for this young actress - it is certainly different from the more mainstream image she's created for herself in Don't Trust the B---- from Apartment 23.

9. Naomi Watts as Maria in The Impossible
One thing that I really admire (as you will see later on in this list) is when somebody actually uses their body in a performance. This can work in one or two ways: have it trained to do glorious things like Natalie Portman's rigorous work in Black Swan, or when the actors have to take their body's ability away. Such is the case with Naomi Watts in The Impossible, who spends much of the film on the brink of exhaustive death. It's a great paradox, but I find that when the body's ability is limited, this is where the acting really shines through. Naomi is a classic example of this, and her utterance of the words "thank you so much" is one of the most devastating, heart-wrenching yet relieving thing that happened in 2012 cinema.

8. Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell in Silver Linings Playbook
Again, Bradley Cooper is my favourite performer in Silver Linings Playbook, and even though I'm still a little annoyed with Jennifer's extremely premature Oscar win, there's no denying that she had a special sort of energy in this film. She was this strange blend of kinetic and magnetic energy, happy one minute and boiling with anger the next. Jennifer plays the part with wisdom and charisma far beyond her years, which makes me realise that this is just another stepping stone in what is shaping up to be a brilliant career.

7. Rachel Weisz at Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea
I didn't really like this movie all that much, but if there was one thing I took away from it, it was how scarily similar Rachel Weisz was to Vivien Leigh. Not just in looks, or poise, but in the tragic way she carries her character. I guess that's testimony to Vivien Leigh being the originator of this role, but Weisz embodies this film and her character in a way that few actresses in period pieces can. She doesn't get lost in the time, she just belongs in it. Such a strange beauty to this performance, but if anyone is brave enough to make a Vivien Leigh biopic, I'll be campaigning for her.

6. Amy Adams as Peggy Dodd in The Master
Joaquin Phoenix is best in show in this film (I couldn't fit him into my unbelievably strong actor's list unfortunately), but Amy Adams was brilliant in every scene she was in. Yes, she's in very few scenes, but she's just so...different. I wouldn't say that she plays all the same kind of role - there was plenty of difference between her roles in Trouble with the Curve and On the Road last year - but this role was pretty special. I felt a little bit frightened by her. And to be frightened by Amy Adams, the sweetest woman in the world...I think that kinda deserves an Oscar.

5. Quvenzhane Wallis as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild
I wasn't the hugest fan of this film (I really should watch it again when I'm not so saddened by the fact that I had to leave Japan), but there's no denying little Quvenzhane Wallis' immense talent. She commands the screen like people five times her age can't even manage. And I can't even begin to process how she does it with such panache, like she's been acting for more years than she's even been alive. Which is a little bit intimidating.

4. Emmanuelle Riva as Anne in Amour
This is just the same as Naomi Watts - this is a performance that requires the actress to limit her body, and that counteracts into an amazing performance. I felt absolutely paralysed by Riva's performance, mainly because she can command so many emotions through a single look. This isn't Riva "acting her age", because what I've seen she's still full of vitality, and I find it so brave that she confronted her age in such a brutally honest way. She was robbed of that Oscar, pure and simple.

3. Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises
I'm one of the few people who was cheering with delight when Anne Hathaway won her Oscar for Les Miserables, and have stuck by her through all of this strange Anne hate. She deserved that Oscar, because she literally ripped my soul out and made me cry every time she was on screen. However, this wasn't my favourite performance from Annie in 2012. There's her ferocious, smooth, unyielding performance as Selina Kyle (or Catwoman, as she isn't called in this movie) in The Dark Knight Rises, who steals every single scene she's in. Her voice literally purrs, she moves around so smoothly, and the best thing is that we're never really aware of what her agenda is. This is barely the energetic, beaming Anne Hathaway that we've seen grow up over the past decade. She embodies Selina Kyle, with such athleticism in both the way she moves and the way she acts. And she certainly runs rings around poor old Marion Cotillard, who definitely disappointed in a role that could've been so much more.

2. Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kate Hannah in Smashed
I always find a certain sense of pride when an actress I've admired for a while - even if they haven't had the most amazing roles in the most amazing films - suddenly breaks through with this amazing performance in an amazing indie film. Such is the case with Mary Elizabeth Winstead's incredible breakthrough in James Ponsdolt's brilliant Smashed. She's had some mildly good supporting roles, but here we see something completely different: an actress playing a normal human being as natural as possible. Which is quite an impressive feat considering this is a film about alcoholism, which gives anyone the assumption that they can just go crazy. Winstead keeps it frighteningly real, and this is a raw, heart-wrenching performance. One that certainly deserved a whole lot more recognition than it got, that's for sure.

1. Jessica Chastain as Maya in Zero Dark Thirty
This will come as little surprise to anyone, but in fact I was surprised to find out why this performance resonated with me so much when I watched it a second time a few weeks back. Maya is probably the closest thing I'll ever get to a character who is like me. Sure, I'm not off trying to find Bin Laden, but her scary determination is something that I connected with all too well. You can say that Maya isn't a character with a huge backstory - she just turns up, is determined and finds Bin Laden - but it doesn't really matter than she doesn't have an emotional monologue detailing every single reason she has behind her determination. The most amazing thing is that Jessica doesn't need that emotional monologue to convince us of anything. She yells sometimes, but her overall presence just commands conviction. My favourite part is when she looks up from identifying Bin Laden and just nods every so slightly to confirm that it is him. Her face is so exhausted and wounded. And then there's the tears at the end. Which really devastated me. I just felt everything in this performance. I can see why it polarises, but from one Maya to another, this is probably the best female performance I've seen in a long while.

What do you think of my choices? Who were your favourite female performances?

AAN: Where the Awards Stand After the Guilds and BAFTAs

I haven't really covered this year's awards season as much as I would have liked - hell, I just haven't found the time to review Silver Linings Playbook even though I saw it over a week ago - but I've found it a little hard to keep up to the minute with this stuff. So I've waited until after the BAFTAs to throw in my two cents on how the season is going as we head into the final straight. Here's my simple guide to what has been happening...

Best Picture - Well Argo pretty much has this one in the bag. With the Golden Globe, SAG, PGA, DGA and BAFTA under it's belt, there's pretty much no stopping it. I do think there is a little leeway for a spoiler from Lincoln or Zero Dark Thirty or even Amour. I mean, I won't be surprised if it doesn't win.

Best Actor - Yeah, Daniel Day-Lewis has pretty much got this as well. I haven't seen Lincoln but I still get so angry about the fact that he is winning over Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper who were both brilliant. Ah well. There's literally no room for anyone else to win in this category.

Best Actress - As has been said, this is pretty much a race between Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain. I mean, the media is now making up rumours that they hate each other but let's be honest - it isn't a big deal if neither of them win it, and I'm sure they're beyond catty behaviour. I like Jessica Chastain's performance 1000x more than Jennifer Lawrence's (that's not because I love J-Chas more than life itself), but they both have a million more chances to win in the future. However, Emmanuelle Riva won the BAFTA tonight and I think this could happen again come Oscar night. Like really. But I still hope that J-Chas wins.

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz has won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA, with Tommy Lee Jones winning the SAG, probably because Waltz wasn't nominated. Another Oscar for Waltz? Bet on it.

Best Supporting Actress - Biggest plot twist ever: Anne Hathaway doesn't win.
Not in this lifetime.

Best Director - This whole category makes me LOL so hard. "Oh look, Ben Affleck just won another award - oh wait, he's not even nominated for the Oscar". Neither is Kathryn Bigelow, who would be my other guess. So really, this race is going to be down to the wire. I'm thinking Michael Haneke will win (I have this thing that Amour is going to win literally everything, like including Best Animated Film). None of the directors who have been nominated for the rest - Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg or David O. Russell - seem to stand out, though Ang Lee seems to be the sensible bet. This is mind boggling stuff, which makes it all the more exciting.

Other little notes:
-Django Unchained's screenplay is getting lots of love. The WGA's can't provide much more clarity on that but I think QT has it in the bag.
-Skyfall seems to be all the rage. Even though it isn't nominated for much that isn't on the technical side, I'd see it taking a few of those awards. Specifically Best Score, which it seems to be doing rather well with.
-Brave is the front runner for the Animated section? Who knows. I hope it is.
-On a BAFTA related note, so happy that Juno Temple got the Rising Star award. She's amazing.
-I actually can't wait for the Indie Spirits this year. Matthew McConaughey as a double nominee? That's how it should be done!

What are you thinking now? Got any front-runners/favourites sorted?

How Zero Dark Thirty was the Most Oddly Inspiring Movie of the Year

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) / US / Out in cinemas now / Directed by Kathryn Bigelow / Written by Mark Boal / Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Joel Edgerton, Mark Duplass, Chris Pratt, James Gandolfini, Edgar Ramirez / 157 mins.

Zero Dark Thirty is not a movie I went into expecting to feel uplifted. But uplifted was exactly how I felt as I made my way out of the cinema, slightly shaken by what I had just seen. It may sound silly to the Oscar haters or Avatar lovers, but when Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in history to win an Oscar for Best Director, my life pretty much changed right there and then. I decided I wanted to become a director too, but that aspiration has had some fine tuning over the years and now I realise that it was because of that moment I have learned two very valuable things about myself: I always have wanted to be a leader and do things that not everyone else can do (in this case, Kathryn is a female director who makes 'male films'). In a way, I guess you could say that a very large reason behind the fact that I'm Head Girl at my school comes down to Kathryn Bigelow being a badass woman. While I didn't absolutely love The Hurt Locker (but I sure as hell love it more than most) - but I do quite love her 1995 cult hit Strange Days - Zero Dark Thirty presented something that was rather inspiring to me. It tracks the biggest manhunt of the century, and there was a woman at the centre of it all.

Mini-Reviews of a Whole Lotta Underrated Movies

The holidays have ended and I'm back at school, but with all that spare time - that I'll no longer have - I watched a whole lot of underrated gems (I saw a couple of these movies way back at the start of December). So in alphabetical order, I'll serve up a few words on Richard Linklater's Bernie, Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus, Tony Kaye's Detachment, Lee Tamahori's The Devil's Double, David Ayer's End of Watch, and Amy Heckerling's Vamps.

Bernie (2011) / US / Out on DVD now / Directed by Richard Linklater / Written by Richard Linklater and Skip Hollandsworth / Starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Brady Coleman / 104 mins

I've already said a lot about Jack Black's performance as convicted murderer with a heart of gold, Bernie Tiede. And there won't be a point for a very long time where I don't champion that performance. Everything just clicks, and usually Black annoys the heck out of me. The movie itself is just wonderful - and I saw it twice in the holidays. I wouldn't say I'm an expert on Richard Linklater's films, but I feel like he is one of the best working directors and no one really realises it. He's just so consistent in his work. This film, all about the Bernie Tiede case where he kills a woman he's been living with (Shirley MacLaine) coz he's had it with her, is mostly told mockumentary style, with real people who were around during the whole ordeal relaying the events for the camera. It feels so real, in a bizarrely unreal way. To be honest, this is the Matthew McConaughey performance from 2012 that I have no trouble going back to again and again. I mean, who really wants to brave Killer Joe a second time? And yeah, Magic Mike wasn't my favourite.
Why see it? The performances. And it is damn entertaining.

AAN: Predicting the Screen Actors Guild Awards with Silva, David and Joe

Coming up tomorrow we have the Screen Actors Guild awards, which in this rather interesting awards season where there's no clear winners for a whole lot of big categories (well, I don't think there is, but then again, I still haven't seen all that much), and these awards probably won't provide much more clarity, just more options. Before I can get into the predictions, here's a refresher on what Silva, David and Joe represent:

Sparkling Silva - Who I'd ideally like to win.

'Overjoyed' David - Who I'm predicting to win.

Loopy Looper - The long shot.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
Argo / The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel / Les Miserables / Lincoln / Silver Linings Playbook
This is a tough category, as they're all great ensemble films in very different ways. I think it'll be a race between Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook, but I think that Silver Linings Playbook will be given the edge, especially considering it now has Oscar nominations in every acting category. However, Lincoln has nominations in all of the acting categories apart from Best Actress. It would be cool if The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel won, coz that has the ensemble cast of all ensemble casts, but Les Miserables has some strong performances across the board. Argo could be a surprise winner.

AAN: Predicting the Golden Globes w/ Silva, David and Joe

The Golden Globes are happening in nine days, but since I'll be in Japan at the time, I am going to do my predictions now. I'll be using Sparkling Silva, 'Overjoyed' David and Loopy Looper to help me predict the awards. Here's how they work:

Sparkling Silva - Who I want to win...even though I don't really have an opinion because I've seen 0.078% of the nominees.
'Overjoyed' David - Who I'm predicting to actually win.
Loopy Looper - The long-shot.

Best Motion Picture - Drama: Argo / Django Unchained / Life of Pi / Lincoln / Zero Dark Thirty
While this is race between Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty, I just can't see Zero Dark Thirty taking out this one. I'm leaving that for the DGA and PGA's to get that to the Oscars. So, I'm fairly sure Lincoln will win, even though I wouldn't dismiss Argo. Life of Pi and Django Unchained seem like long-shots for such a close race, but I'd pick Django Unchained as the one I want to win because that would be cool.

Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel / Les Miserables / Moonrise Kingdom / Salmon Fishing in the Yemen / Silver Linings Playbook
Silver Linings Playbook and Les Miserables will go head to head here, but given the mixed reaction to Les Miserables, I can see the former winning. However, Moonrise Kingdom could end up being the spoiler (hey I've seen that one, meaning that the only films I haven't seen in this category are the front-runners - I guess I'm kinda winning). I'd love to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel win, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen will continue being the place-filler it is and come out on the bottom.

My 15 Top Obsessions of 2012

You know me...I get obsessed with things rather easily. Like seriously, I have obsessive issues that sometimes need to be dialled back before people think I'm crazy (case in point: I get asked to put Christmas decorations up. The first thing I think of is to put up tinsel Batmans in honour of The Dark Knight Rises which came out four weeks before Christmas). However, here's some which I haven't been able to control over the year. The fact that I've made a list of 15 and still missed out a whole lot of them is rather disturbing.

15. Independent cinema
I've always loved independent cinema, but moreso this year, because it has become increasingly easier to get my hands on. Luckily, a lot of the stuff is going through Madman (a supplier here in NZ), meaning I get to catch up on them a bit earlier on the preview discs. While I may not have seen bigger films like Argo or The Hobbit just yet (nor will I until they come out on DVD), I have seen wonderful films like Your Sister's Sister and Bernie already thanks to that wonderful preview drawer. Just keep 'em coming, Madman.

14. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
I've always loved JGL, too, but the guy has been really flying this year. Sure, there was Premium Rush, which must have been quite a big flop since it has been delayed until March next year here (meaning it will go straight-to-DVD), but he was also in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, and in The Dark Knight Rises - in a performance which I thought had its own wonderfulness about it. By far the best thing of his year, though, was Looper, which was a freakin' awesome film itself, but JGL, weird eyebrows and nose and all, was so badass it almost hurt. I also saw 50/50 for the first time this year, where I completely fell for him. He's also doing awesome stuff with his HitRecord project and he's just finished shooting his writing/directorial feature debut. Do the wonders ever cease? It would appear not - he also did some Magic Mike moves on SNL. Lawd.

13. The Great Gatsby
I finally read this whole book this year and it is safe to say, it is probably my favourite book of all time. F. Scott Fitzgerald really had a way with words. Also falling under this umbrella is Baz Luhrmann's forthcoming adaptation, which was my most anticipated movie for the year after The Dark Knight Rises. Why? Because a) haters gon' hate but I love Baz Luhrmann's films, b) the trailers were just effing divine and they literally inspired a 1920's phase I had going on for a little while, c) Leonardo DiCaprio looks fiiiiiiiiiiine and d) that poster with Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker also looks fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. I'm honestly so excited for this film I combust everytime I think about it.

12. Michael Fassbender
I loved him last year but seeing Shame and Prometheus this year just reaffirmed my love. Shame was by far the best performance I've seen all year, and one of my favourites ever. And even though David had a few issues in Prometheus, I couldn't believe I was watching my darling Fassy up there. Seriously, he is one of the best actors out there right now.

Making the Case for The Dark Knight Rises + Blogathon Links!

So this blogathon went rather well, considering it was my first real crack at one. Lots of great entries, I'm seriously impressed with the variety among them. Super huge thank you to everyone who participated! And while I have everyone's attention (hopefully), I have exciting news that deserves a line of its own:

I was announced Head Girl of my school last night!

Very exciting times. Alas, now I shall add my own case to the pile: the case for The Dark Knight Rises to win all of the awards. And I've got a few honourable mentions because I couldn't bear to leave them out. Here we go!

So I really don't need to say any more about it: I love The Dark Knight Rises. I love that movie so much I'd shout it from the rooftops but I can't be bothered doing that so I just made a whole Christmas window based around it. The Dark Knight Rises is just amazing to me, and it is a shame that people can't see it in the same light. I'm not going to get into the whole "ah everyone sucks because all they did was pick at the plot holes (which I contest didn't really exist)" thing. I just want to say that this was a movie that has played a huge part in my life. I've never been more excited to see a film, nor have I ever experienced the intense emotion I had when I first saw it. The only thing I was really sad about was something that was beyond anyone's control. However, this movie is something of a cinematic marvel: it shows a pretty brave and gritty social commentary through the eyes of a superhero movie. No, I didn't think it was better than The Dark Knight, but I still thought that Bane was an extremely good villain, looking like a human Hulk and getting on people's wrong sides in an extremely smart way. And don't even get me started on those final moments. I still cry every time I so much as think about it. The look on Gordon's face when the Batman statue gets unveiled - it gets me every time. In an ideal world, this is what I'd love for The Dark Knight Rises to be nominated for:

Best Picture - We used to be so sure it would get in. What happened? It was bad enough that The Dark Knight got snubbed all those years ago. Of course, this one can't stand as a consolation prize, but The Dark Knight Rises truly does deserve it. It is a modern epic that we'll remember for years to come.
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway - Sure, she'll be getting her fair share of awards for Les Miserables. But her performance as Selina Kyle was nothing short of amazing. Just her walk and her talk - wow. And people thought she couldn't pull it off.
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Caine - He made me cry. A lot.
Best Supporting Actor: Tom Hardy - I once saw a picture of him in his Bane costume and it said, "Still has more facial expressions than Kristen Stewart". And that's the outright truth. Even with a huge piece of machinery on his face, he managed to be wonderfully chilling. Not to mention that last scene with Marion Cotillard. Who on the flipside I've come to realise gave a truly terrible performance.
Best Director: Christopher Nolan - One day the Academy needs to get over the fact that he's better than the large majority of them.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan - Because that would be cool. Some of the lines in this film are so amazing I try and use them in day to day life, but people look at me strangely when I put on my Bane voice.
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister - It would be cool to see Pfister to have an Oscar nomination in this field once more before he turns his hand to directing. His cinematography is wonderful - the movie is actually darn pretty.
Best Original Score: Hans Zimmer - There's not a day that goes by when I don't wish that I could casually use 'Why Do We Fall?' and 'Rise' in a film of my own. The rest of the score is wonderful.
Anything else - I imagine that the film will at least get a whole lot of nominations in the technical categories. And I'll still be waving my little one-man fan club flag down here!

Other honourable mentions:

Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe and Magic Mike - I never used to like old Matty M. But no-one can deny that this has been the year of Matthew McConaughey being bloody awesome at acting. His performance in Killer Joe is by far my favourite of the year. It is so blood-curdlingly great that every time I see so much as a picture of him in the film I cover my eyes. Which made watching Magic Mike very hard, but he was easily the best thing about that film. That SAG nomination snub hurt, but I just know that he'll make it to the Oscars. If he doesn't, I'll be very angry.

Michael Fassbender in Prometheus - One I reasons why I liked Prometheus was because of Michael Fassbender's stunning performance as David the android. Even though the character annoyed the hell out of me, Fassy's transformation into an android was actually terrifying. He was so...wow.

Rosemarie DeWitt in Your Sister's Sister - Because Rosemarie DeWitt is just awesome and Your Sister's Sister so clearly shows that. She's so wonderful, as is the movie.

Jack Black in Bernie - Jack Black is another actor who I generally don't like but he was great in Bernie. He managed not to annoy me for once. And was I the only one who was absolutely shocked when I found out that this story was true at the end?

Rian Johnson's screenplay for Looper - Because Looper was utter awesomeness and it happened to be a great time travel film. As I said in my review, he created "a vision of the future, not a dream".

Matt Whelan in The Most Fun You Can Have Dying - A really huge longshot, but I thought I'd throw this one out there. The Most Fun You Can Have Dying is a NZ film, and a surprisingly good one (your move, The Hobbit). Matt Whelan gives a stunning performance as a man out to destroy himself on his last days of life. I've never actually seen a Kiwi perform so well as an average Kiwi. He was great.

Jessica Chastain for the newly incepted award called 'Most Awesome Person Alive' - I really need to appeal to the Academy for this award, just so Jess can win it every year.

Everyone else's entries, in no particular order:
-Sati @ Cinematic Corner makes her case for the awesome score by Hans Zimmer for The Dark Knight Rises.

-Anna @ Defiant Success makes her case for the three performances in The Deep Blue Sea from Simon Russell Beale, Tom Hiddleston and of course Rachel Weisz.

-Nikhat @ Being Norma Jeane made a case for The Avengers to get a Best Ensemble nod at today's SAG nominations, but unfortunately, her case went unnoticed. So she decided to make a case for The Perks of Being a Wallflower's Adapted Screenplay, adapted by Stephen Chbosky himself, and the performances by Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller. Even though I haven't seen the film, these choices are infinitely awesome!

-Nicole @ The Madlab Post saw Skyfall by chance since she'd missed the screenings for Argo and Lincoln - and lucky she did, because she wrote a beautiful piece about the score by Thomas Newman and the original song by Adele.

-Katy @ The Drama Llama also got on The Perks of Being a Wallflower train and made a case for Ezra Miller's performance. I can only imagine how wonderful he is!

-Courtney @ On the Screen Reviews makes the case for Dwight Henry's supporting performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild. I'd love to see some new talent in the mix!

-Alex @ And So It Begins... makes his case for Edward Burns' screenplay for The Fitzgerald Family Christmas. It would be awesome to see him get nominated!

-Rich @ Wide Screen World makes his case for Frank Langella's performance in Robot & Frank. No amount of Langella love will ever go amiss!

-Drew @ A Fistful of Films made his case for Greta Gerwig's work in Damsels in Distress...and also making Greta Gerwig a thing!

-Nika @ The Running Reel makes a case for Moonrise Kingdom to get a whole slew of nods. I can't wait to finally see it at the end of this month!

-Josh @ The Cinematic Spectacle makes the case for Cloud Atlas, hoping to see its ambition rewarded.

-SDG @ U, Me and Films also shares some love for Rosemarie DeWitt's performance in the brilliant Your Sister's Sister.

-Robert @ The Sketchy Details makes a case for Cosmopolis, a film which still intrigues me to this very day, and this article makes me even more intrigued.

-Brittani @ Rambling Film makes the case for Pierce Gagnon's show-stopping performance in Looper. I definitely thought of including this one - how great was he for someone who is only 5 years old?

If you have a case you want to be made, it isn't too late. Mail me in the next three days and I'll add you to the list! Who's case would you believe out of these wonderful entries?