Awards Season 2023: Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

Today (Tuesday 22nd November) saw the announcement of the nominees for the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards, announced by Taylour Paige (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Zola) and Raúl Castillo (The Inspection, Army Of The Dead).  

As you're probably aware by now, these awards recognise films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system. From this year, the budget for eligible films has been increased to $30 million. 

Also, from this year, the Film Independent Spirit Awards are making their acting categories (for both film and television) gender neutral; for the film awards, the categories will be Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance (with up to ten nominees in each category). 

Below is a selection of nominations:

Best Feature

Bones And All

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Our Father, The Devil

Tár

Women Talking

Best Director

Todd Field (Tár)

Kogonada (After Yang)

Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Sarah Polley (Women Talking)

Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies)

Best Lead Performance

Cate Blanchett (Tár)

Dale Dickey (A Love Song)

Mia Goth (Pearl)

Regina Hall (Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul)

Paul Mescal (Aftersun)

Aubrey Plaza (Emily The Criminal)

Jeremy Pope (The Inspection)

Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie)

Taylor Russell (Bones And All)

Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Performance

Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)

Nina Hoss (Tár)

Brian d'Arcy James (The Cathedral)

Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Trevante Rhodes (Bruiser)

Theo Rossi (Emily The Criminal)

Mark Rylance (Bones And All)

Jonathan Tucker (Palm Trees And Power Lines)

Gabrielle Union (The Inspection)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the field with eight nominations; Tár has seven, whilst Aftersun has five. 

The Film Independent Spirit Awards will be given out in a ceremony on the Santa Monica beachfront on Saturday 4th March 2023.  

Congratulations to all nominees!

So, we are off again on the awards trail. Next stop is in a couple of weeks with the Golden Globe nominations. 

Countdown: Oscar-Nominated Actors Playing Oscar-Nominated Actors

This is a feature that I initially wanted to call "Cineception" as the idea of Oscar-nominated actors playing Oscar-nominated actors on film feels like something that belongs in a Christopher Nolan film. 

We can even add an extra layer of meta-ness when you consider that several of these actors were nominated for an Oscar for their performance as an Oscar-nominated actor - and have even won Oscars! Honestly, it gets all a bit... metaphysical-like. 

But, anyway, here are ten Oscar-nominated actors who have played ten Oscar-nominated actors.

Annette Bening as Gloria Grahame (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool)

Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee (three as Best Actress [for American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right], and once as Best Supporting Actress [The Grifters]). 

Grahame won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in The Bad And The Beautiful (1952), and was nominated in the same category for Crossfire (1947)

Bening puts in a superb performance as Grahame in Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, about her later years in the theatre and her burgeoning relationship with a young Scouse actor (played by Jamie Bell). An Oscar nomination eluded her, but Bening did get a well-deserved BAFTA nod for Best Actress. 

Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn (The Aviator)

Blanchett and Hepburn both occupy places in Oscar history, so it's entirely appropriate that Blanchett should play Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. 

Hepburn still holds the record for most Best Actress wins, with four (Morning Glory, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, The Lion In Winter, and On Golden Pond) from 12 nominations (all in the Best Actress category)

Blanchett, on the other hand, is one of a select group of actors who has been nominated for a Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscar in the same year (for Elizabeth: The Golden Age and I'm Not There.). Not only that. Blanchett has also won both a Best Actress Oscar (for her stunning turn in Blue Jasmine) and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for... yep, The Aviator (also making her the first actor to win an Oscar for playing an Oscar-winning actor). Blanchett's performance as Hepburn goes beyond a mere impersonation to capture not only the actress' strident vocal tones but her strength and fragility. 

Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier (My Week With Marilyn)

Just as with Blanchett and Hepburn, there are few actors better to play Sir Laurence Olivier than the man whose career trajectory has so closely followed his: Kenneth Branagh. 

Both men have Oscar nominations in three categories (both acting categories, and Best Director), although Olivier won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Hamlet (1948). 

Branagh takes on the role of Olivier in the utterly charming My Week With Marilyn, which details the making of The Prince And The Showgirl (1957) where Olivier worked opposite- and directed- Marilyn Monroe. Branagh's performance as Olivier isn't just an impression- he gets under the skin of a great actor who has to deal with an actress of great talent but flaky personal qualities. His exasperation, yet deep respect for Marilyn comes out. 

Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin (Chaplin)

Richard Attenborough's 1992 star-studded biopic of the silent movie star garnered the first Oscar nomination for Robert Downey Jr. (his second would come in 2008 for Tropic Thunder, this time as Best Supporting Actor). It's the first time an actor was nominated for an Oscar for playing another Oscar-nominated actor. 

Chaplin was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in The Great Dictator (1940), and there are scenes in Chaplin where he watches speeches of Hitler to prepare for his role in that film. 

[As a nice bonus, Chaplin features a second Oscar-nominated actor playing an Oscar-nominated actor: Diane Lane (a Best Actress nominee for Unfaithful) plays Paulette Goddard (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for So Proudly We Hail!)]

Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest)

Joan Crawford won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Mildred Pierce (1945) and had two further nominations (for Possessed and Sudden Fear).

Faye Dunaway won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Network (1976) and also had two further nominations (for Bonnie And Clyde and Chinatown).

Dunaway truly felt that her performance as Crawford in biopic Mommie Dearest, detailing the traumatic upbringing Crawford's adopted daughter had at the hands of her movie-star mother, was going to net her another Oscar. Nothing could have been further than the truth. It's a campy. larger-than-life, very hammy performance (not helped by such ludicrous dialogue as "NO. WIRE. HANGERS. EVER!"). The reviews were terrible, the Oscars gave it a wide berth, but the newly started Golden Raspberry Awards gave the film an (at the time) unprecedented nine nominations. It "won" five... including Worst Actress for Dunaway.

It's become something of a cult classic in latter years, but- even nearly thirty years later- Dunaway is known to stop interviews if Mommie Dearest gets mentioned. 

Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh (Hitchcock)

Like Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johansson is part of the two-nominations-in-one-year club (garnering a Best Actress nod for Marriage Story and a Best Supporting Actress nod for Jojo Rabbit at the 92nd Academy Awards). Just like buses... you wait ages for one, and two come along at once...

Johansson was part of the ensemble cast of the 2012 biopic Hitchcock, which focuses on the struggles he had to get Psycho (1960) made. In it, she plays Janet Leigh who is famously killed off in the notorious "shower scene". There are moments in the film where Johansson looks so like Leigh, I did a double take, thinking they'd just used stock footage. 

Leigh would receive her only Oscar nomination for Psycho, with a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as Marion Crane.  

Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly (Grace of Monaco)

I've long felt that Nicole Kidman is her generation's Grace Kelly, so it's again appropriate that Kidman should play Kelly in Olivier Dahan's 2014 biopic, focusing on her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. 

Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar for her devastating turn as Virginia Woolf in The Hours (and has further nominations for her roles in Moulin Rouge!, Rabbit Hole and Lion).

Kelly received her first Oscar nomination in the Supporting Actress category for Mogambo (1953) and won Best Actress the following year for her performance in The Country Girl. According to rumour, there were only half-a-dozen votes separating Kelly from her nearest rival, which was... Judy Garland. 

Grace Of Monaco is not a great film. It's soapy, melodramatic and (like many biopics) plays fast and loose with historical events. Dahan's version, which opened the Cannes Film Festival to what might be charitably called "mixed reviews", doesn't really do anyone any favours. That said, Kidman does a solid job bringing Kelly to life. 

Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers (The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers)

It might come as a surprise to some people, especially if they only know him from things like The Goon Show or The Pink Panther films, to realise that Peter Sellers is a double Best Actor Oscar nominee. He was nominated for his three roles in Kubrick's scabrous Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove (1964), and for his turn as the simple-minded gardener turned political adviser in Being There (1979). 

Scenes which feature the filming of Being There are included in Stephen Hopkins' 2004 biopic, The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, in which the British funnyman is played by Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush who does a good job to encapsulate the various facets of Sellers' character- even the less than palatable ones.

Rush won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as pianist David Helfgott in Shine (1996) and received further nominations for Quills, Shakespeare In Love and The King's Speech (the latter two in the Supporting Actor category). 

Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin (Beyond The Sea)

There's a scene in Beyond The Sea, Kevin Spacey's 2004 biopic of crooner Bobby Darin (clearly a passion project for Spacey as he directs, stars, and co-wrote the film) where Darin rants about losing the Best Supporting Actor to Melvyn Douglas (who won for playing Paul Newman's father in Hud). 

Darin, better known as a singer ("Beyond The Sea", "Mack The Knife"), played Jim Tompkins, a young Corporal traumatised after his aircraft was shot down, in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) opposite Gregory Peck and Tony Curtis. It was his only Oscar nomination. 

Spacey is a two-time Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects, and Best Actor for American Beauty). Beyond The Sea is an entertaining enough biopic, but Spacey is far too old to play Darin, and the relationship between Darin and his wife Sandra Dee (played by Kate Bosworth) just looks wrong because of the two-decade age difference.

Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)

Judy Garland was nominated for two competitive Oscars during her career- a Best Actress nod for A Star Is Born (1954) [which she lost out to Grace Kelly, in a result which Groucho Marx called "the biggest robbery since Brink's"] and a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role in Judgment In Nuremberg (1961)- but was given a special Juvenile Award in 1940 for "her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year" (which would cover her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz)

Zellweger is, like Cate Blanchett, an actress who has won both a Best Actress and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. After two Best Actress nods (for Bridget Jones' Diary and Chicago), she won the Supporting Actress award for Cold Mountain (2003), and won Best Actress this year for her superlative performance as Judy Garland in Judy, which focuses on Garland's time in London in 1968 to do a series of sold-out concerts. 

Whilst Judy is a bit patchy (which seems to be a running complaint when it comes to biopics), Zellweger's performance is just sublime, encapsulating the strength, inner turmoil and turbulent life of this great performer. 

Review: Thor: Ragnarok (UK Cert 12A)

The God of Thunder is back in his third solo film, this one directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilderpeople)

When Hela, the Goddess of Death, rises and takes over Asgard, Thor finds himself on the distant planet of Sakaar. Imprisoned and forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena, Thor must find his way back to Asgard to face Hela and prevent the end of days- Ragnarok- from happening...

Tonally, it's very different from the other Thor films- indeed, tonally different to most other MCU films if I'm honest. Whilst the original had an almost Shakespearean feel to it (thanks to director Kenneth Branagh), and the second had a Game Of Thrones aesthetic (thanks to director Alan Taylor), Thor: Ragnarok is a synth-soaked, buddy-comedy, end-of-the-world extravaganza. 

Moreover, it's funny. Like, properly laugh-out-loud funny. The other Thor films have suffered a little from being a bit too strait-laced, a bit po-faced- which seems ridiculous when you're dealing with an outlandish story of gods and monsters. Here, the humour comes thick and fast- but not at the expense of anything else. There's a fine balance between this humour and the more dramatic elements and the incredibly well choreographed fight scenes. 

Chris Hemsworth is as good as ever as Thor; he's got that cocky but charming act down to a tee. Tom Hiddleston is similarly at home in Loki- again, a charming but utterly dangerous being. As always, their fractious relationship- part sibling rivalry, part best buds- forms a cornerstone of the film. Anthony Hopkins really earns his 'and' credit, with a total of about five minutes on screen- but he's superb when he is. Idris Elba gets more to do as Heimdall this time round- removed from his role as gatekeeper for the Bifrost, he acts as a resistance leader trying to save the Asgardians from Hela's undead army. 

Mark Ruffalo is great as Banner/Hulk and brings an extra dimension to the role. He's been Hulk for two years (since he skipped off at the end of Avengers: Age Of Ultron) and has found himself on Sakaar as the Grandmaster's champion. There's a great deal of confusion when he turns back into Banner and is afraid of the change, that he'll lose himself if he Hulks out again. He has great rapport with Chris Hemsworth, which forms part of the buddy-comedy strand. Benedict Cumberbatch's brief appearance as Doctor Strange may not be strictly needed, but it's fun to see them interact (especially after the hidden scene at the end of Doctor Strange) 

Of the new members of the cast, no complaints at all. Cate Blanchett is utterly superb as Hela; I honestly can't imagine any other actress doing the role as well as she does. From her very first entrance into the film- and what an entrance it is- she commands the screen every time she's on it. While the MCU tends to have a bit of an issue with its villains (in that they're either not very good or not drawn out well), Hela is a rounded and very credible threat. Once again, Blanchett shows that's she's one of the best actresses working in Hollywood today. 

Tessa Thompson (Creed) is great as Valkyrie, a drunken scavenger when we first meet her (as she captures and brings Thor to the Grandmaster) but is revealed to be the last of the great warrior women race- previously decimated by Hela. Her relationship with Thor is great; luckily, they eschew any obviously romantic overtures for something more like friendship. 

Jeff Goldblum is just magnificent as the Grandmaster, the ruler of Sakaar. A mercurial, kooky, but ruthless leader, he pits creatures against one another in his Contest of Champions. Again, I can't really imagine anyone else in the role. Karl Urban is great as Skurge, a rough Asgardian warrior with a Cockney accent who takes Heimdall's role as gatekeeper of the Bifrost and becomes a conflicted ally of Hela's. Finally, director Waititi also voices Korg, a blue alien rock being that Thor meets on Sakaar and becomes friends with and who is seriously one of the best characters in the film.    

Thor: Ragnarok was excellent. Whilst the film is 130 miuntes long, it never once felt like it. Fun, bright, brilliant. Simply put, another triumph for Marvel. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Review: Carol (UK Cert 15)

In 1950s New York, aspiring photographer Therese Belivet works in a department store. Into her life comes Carol Aird, an older woman who is looking for a Christmas present for her daughter. After Therese returns a pair of gloves that Carol left on her desk, their relationship deepens and Therese finds herself falling for Carol.

Patricia Highsmith (The Two Faces Of January, The Talented Mr. Ripley) originally published the novel The Price Of Salt under a pseudonym in 1952. The novel was republished under her own name, and retitled Carol, in 1990. Now, director Todd Haynes (I'm Not There.,Velvet Goldmine) with Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett as the leads.  

Cate Blanchett is just superb as Carol, glamorous and positively oozing classic Hollywood elegance. She evokes memories of Lauren Bacall and Rita Hayworth throughout. Carol is divorcing from her husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) due to a previous affair she had with another female friend which has ramifications over custody of her daughter. There are several powerful scenes where Blanchett absolutely shines, none less than an emotional meeting towards the end with her lawyers. You really feel for her throughout. It's one of Blanchett's finest performances and any awards hype she gets is truly deserved.

If Blanchett evokes Bacall, the one thought going through my head was how much Rooney Mara reminds me of Audrey Hepburn. Mara's performance as Therese is similarly excellent, really selling the emotional confusion as Therese comes to terms with her feelings for Carol- there's a particularly nice scene where she obliquely discusses it with her boyfriend Richard (Jake Lacy) who dismisses it as a 'crush'. What's also lovely is you can see Therese really blossom as a character, starting out as quite naive before becoming more grounded as the film goes on. Therese is in no way a supporting character, she's every bit a lead. 

The supporting cast are all good. Lacy and Chandler could easily have come off as brutish macho stereotypes but both put in strong performances as they come to terms with Therese and Carol's relationship, although actions which Harge takes throughout the course of the film undeniably put your sympathy at Carol's feet. There's also a stellar turn by Sarah Paulson (who really should be a better known actress than she is) as Abby, Carol's friend and former lover. 

Under a different director and in the hands of a lesser actress, Carol could have come across as a predatory lesbian who grooms the unworldly Therese. Thankfully, whilst Carol is the driving force behind their relationship, there's never any sense of coercion or manipulation. Their relationship is tender, tentative, initially restrained before breaking out into passion. It's real. It's rare to see a relationship between two women that is presented as honestly as it is here (especially when you consider the period setting). That's thanks in no small part to the wonderful script by Phyllis Nagy. 

The entire period detail of the film is immaculate, so massive props to the production designer, set decorators, costume, hair and make-up whose combined talents make this a sublime film to look at. 

This would work as a great companion piece to Haynes' 2002 film Far From Heaven (starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Haysbert and Dennis Quaid) which similarly took a look at relationships that would have been considered taboo. Both films have the period setting and Douglas Sirk aesthetic, yet quietly subvert them. Both features stand-out performances by their lead actresses and their supporting casts. Both films are a joy for cinephiles.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2014: The 86th Annual Academy Awards

So, last night saw the 86th Annual Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. All in all, this year's Oscars telecast was full of heart, soul and a whole lot of fun.

A large part of that came from Ellen DeGeneres, taking hosting duties for the second time. No ill-advised boob songs this year, just a (seemingly) effortless charm and wit which had the audience engaged. There aren't many award ceremony hosts who would make a crack about ordering pizza for the crowd- and actually follow up on it. I loved her hosting the first time round (back in 2007); this time she seemed more at ease and there were some great one-liners (even if her crack about Liza Minnelli looking like a female impersonator was a little cutting). There's also the small matter of this epic selfie which crashed Twitter:

The theme of this year's ceremony was 'cinematic heroes' and there were several nice montages showing animated heroes, everyday heroes and superheroes. There was also a tribute to honour 75 years of The Wizard Of Oz with an absolutely knockout performance of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' by Pink (which was one of the highlights of the night for me). Pharrell Williams brought the place to its feet with his performance of 'Happy' from Despicable Me 2 whilst Idina Menzel (take note, Mr Travolta) absolutely killed it in her solo performance of 'Let It Go'.

Some of the guest presenters were absolutely great- I thought Robert de Niro was fantastic with the spiel about how bad it is to be a writer before the Adapted Screenplay award, Bill Murray was just fabulous when presenting the Best Cinematography award and gave a heartfelt tribute to the late Harold Ramis, and Glenn Close gave a very dignified and heartfelt introduction to the In Memoriam section- but a lot of the hosts seemed to have a bit of an issue with the autocue, and the least said about Jamie Foxx, the better.

So, on to the awards themselves:

I have to be honest, I was surprised to find myself 6 for 6 again this year- but I was absolutely overjoyed when Lupita Nyong'o won. Her acceptance speech was very moving and heartfelt and was just lovely, as was Jared Leto's (who could kick back and chill for the rest of the night as his was the first award announced). I did cringe a little bit during Matthew McConaughey's acceptance speech (it's a purely personal thing but I do find any mention of God to be a little but much) but I liked the sentiment behind a lot of the rest of it. Cate Blanchett's speech was erudite and strong, simultaneously recognising the whole awards season hoopla for the insubstantial nonsense that it actually is but also celebrating the art of cinema. However, I have to say I think my favourite acceptance speech came from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez after their win for Best Original Song (the epic 'Let It Go' from Frozen). 

Gravity was the big winner of the evening, taking 7 of the 10 awards it was nominated for (including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron). There were three awards apiece for 12 Years A Slave (including Best Picture) and Dallas Buyers Club and two each for The Great Gatsby and Frozen: interestingly, both films were only nominated for two Oscars (Gatsby for Production Design and Costume Design, and Frozen for Animated Film and Original Song) and won both! 

Despite 10 nominations, American Hustle came away with nothing. Similarly, nothing for Captain Phillips, Philomena, Nebraska or The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Below is the full list of winners at the 86th Annual Academy Awards:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: 12 Years A Slave 

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) 

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) 

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) 

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave) 

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) 

Best Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze (Her)

Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley (12 Years A Slave) 

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Frozen 

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: The Great Beauty

Best Cinematography: Gravity 

Best Editing: Gravity 

Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club 

Best Original Score: Gravity 

Best Original Song: 'Let It Go' (Frozen) 

Best Sound Mixing: Gravity 

Best Sound Editing: Gravity 

Best Visual Effects: Gravity 

Best Documentary (Feature): 20 Feet From Stardom

Best Documentary (Short Subject): The Lady In Number 6

Best Animated Short Film: Mr Hublot

Best Live Action Short Film: Helium


Congratulations to all winners!

Tez

Awards Season 2014: Golden Globe Winners

Last night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the winners of this year's Golden Globe Awards, for both television and film, in a ceremony hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the second time.

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): 12 Years a Slave

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): American Hustle

Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)

Best Actor (Drama): Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Best Actress (Drama): Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Best Screenplay: Her

Best Original Score: All Is Lost

Best Original Song: 'Ordinary Love' (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty

Best Animated Feature Film: Frozen

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Woody Allen

There were a number of surprising results- a lot of people were expecting Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o to win Best Actor (Drama) and Best Supporting Actress respectively for their performances in 12 Years A Slave instead of McConaughey and Lawrence. The Golden Globes are usually a good barometer for what's going on with the Academy, so it may mean that the Oscars are a little more open that people expect. Whilst I wasn't in love with Gravity as a whole, I was blown away by the technical brilliance of the direction so Cuaron is a worthy winner. I'm also glad to see Cate Blanchett's win for her stunning turn in Blue Jasmine.

Next up with Awards Season will be the Razzie nominations this coming Wednesday (15th January), and I will also share my predictions for the Oscar nominations.

Tez

Awards Season 2014: Independent Spirit Award Nominations

It's that time of year again, folks. 

Some of you will like this, most of you won't, but it's time for me to dust off the spreadsheet (yes, I am sad enough to have a spreadsheet) and start talking about the awards season.

I sometimes wonder if there aren't corners of Hollywood much like The Nightmare Before Christmas. After a successful Halloween, the mayor fretfully announces 'There's only 365 days left until next Halloween!'. Is it the same in Tinseltown? The day after the Oscars, when engravers' tools are barely cold and the hangovers are kicking in, are there shadowy offices planning the next year's potential award winners? Perhaps that's just me being a bit cynical- OK, very cynical- but it does seem, like Christmas, the awards season starts earlier each year.

Aside from the film festivals, usually the first of the major film awards to be announced are the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Their nominations were announced on Tuesday 26th November 2013, even though the awards won't be handed out until Saturday 1st March 2014- the day before the Academy Awards (this is a week later than usual, due to the Winter Olympics in Sochi).

The Film Independent Spirit Awards, as the name suggests, honours films made outside the major Hollywood studio system. Here are a selection of this year's nominees:

Best Film

12 Years A Slave

All Is Lost

Frances Ha

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Best Director

Shane Carruth (Upstream Color)

J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost)

Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave)

Jeff Nichols (Mud)

Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

Best Actor

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)

Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Robert Redford (All Is Lost)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Julie Delpy (Before Midnight)

Gaby Hoffman (Crystal Fairy)

Brie Larson (Short Term 12)

Shailene Woodley (The Spectacular Now)

Best Supporting Actor

Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)

Will Forte (Nebraska)

James Gandolfini (Enough Said)

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12)

Best Supporting Actress

Melonie Diaz (Fruitvale Station)

Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Yolonda Ross (Go For Sisters)

June Squibb (Nebraska)

Whilst these awards do focus more on the lower-budget, what could be described as niche, movies, there's still a fair bit of overlap between these and the other more mainstream awards. For instance, last year's big Independent Spirit award winner was Silver Linings Playbook which took Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. The year before, it was The Artist.

If I were a betting man, I would say you are virtually guaranteed to see 12 Years A Slave, Blue Jasmine and Nebraska mentioned in the mainstream awards, with a strong likelihood of Dallas Buyers Club and All Is Lost also joining them.


The timetable for the other major awards are as follows:


Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award 
Nominations Announced: 11 December 2013
Awards Ceremony: 18 January 2014

Golden Globes
Nominations announced: 12 December 2013  
Awards Ceremony: 12 January 2014 (hosted by Tina Fey & Amy Poehler)

Writers' Guild Of America (WGA) Award 
Nominations Announced: 3 January 2014
Awards Ceremony: 1 February 2013

Directors' Guild Of America (DGA) Award
Nominations Announced: 7 January 2014
Awards Ceremony: 25 January 2014

BAFTA Film Awards 
Nominations announced: 8 January 2014
Awards Ceremony: 16 February 2014

Golden Raspberry Awards
Nominations announced: 15 January 2014
Awards Ceremony: 1 March 2014

Academy Awards (Oscars) 
Nominations announced: 16 January 2014
Awards Ceremony: 2 March 2014 (hosted by Ellen DeGeneres)

There'll be more on awards season as it progresses.

Tez

Review: Blue Jasmine (UK Cert 12A)

It's incredible to think that Woody Allen's career spans six decades and over forty movies. All cinema is a matter of taste and I can almost clearly divide Allen's films into those that I didn't enjoy so much (Melinda and Melinda, Anything Else, Mighty Aphrodite) and those that I did (Bullets Over Broadway, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Annie Hall).  Blue Jasmine falls very much in the second category.

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) arrives in San Francisco to stay with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins) and make a new life for herself. Through flashbacks, we get to see Jasmine's former high life in New York and her marriage to Hal (Alec Baldwin), a smooth-talking financial executive with more than a few secrets of his own. There are secrets aplenty and some startling revelations to come as Jasmine tries to make a new life for herself whilst trying to get away from the past.

I don't think I've ever seen Cate Blanchett give a bad performance (even in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull) but her performance here is just sublime, up there for me with her incredible portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. Jasmine is a polished, almost glacial figure but the hysteria and nerves are never far from the surface, erupting quite spectacularly on some occasions. Blanchett is a tremendous actress and softens some of Jasmine's rougher, more neurotic edges, effortlessly throwing out zingers like 'There's only so many traumas a person can withstand until they take to the streets and start screaming' without seeming kooky or absolutely unhinged. It's a fine balancing-act but Blanchett pulls it off with aplomb.

Other performances are also stellar, particularly Sally Hawkins as Ginger, a tough, no-nonsense woman whose life is also thrown into chaos when Jasmine descends. The British actress more than holds her own in scenes with Blanchett and Ginger's individual storyline is as emotionally affecting as Jasmine. Baldwin is great as the slightly oily but also very charming Hal, whilst Andrew Dice Clay, Louis C.K. and Bobby Cannavale all turn in great performances as the various men in Ginger's life. Particular praise must also be given to Alden Ehrenreich, who has a few important scenes as Jasmine and Hal's son Danny.  

Allen's script is strong, amongst the strongest he's done in my opinion. His direction is also clear, eliciting great performances from everyone. In places, Blue Jasmine is laugh-out-loud funny; in others, unexpectedly moving. Blanchett's superlative performance is worth the price of your ticket alone, but this film has a lot to recommend it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez