Revlew: Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (UK Cert 12A)

Let's be fair, the Harry Potter movie franchise is an absolute juggernaut. Eight movies, all expertly written, directed and acted. So the production team are obviously hoping that lightning is going to strike twice with the first of five films in the Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them franchise. 

Written by J.K. Rowling, produced by David Heyman and directed by David Yates (who directed the last four Harry Potter films), Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them sees magizoologist Newt Scamander- author of the titular Hogwarts set text- in New York in 1926, having to hunt down a few of his errant creatures that escape whilst negotiating the hostility of a No-Maj (muggle/non-magical) society and the machinations of a very dangerous dark wizard: Gellert Grindlewald.  

Eddie Redmayne exudes a very lovely eccentric edge as Newt. If he wasn't already an Oscar-winning actor with a major franchise ahead of him, I'd suggest he submits this to the Doctor Who casting office in case they need to start looking for Peter Capaldi's replacement. There is a very Doctor-ish feel to Newt- slightly out of step with other humans, very focused on his own little world and with a dimensionally transcendental piece of apparatus (it's no exaggeration to say that Newt's suitcase is bigger on the inside).  

Katherine Waterston is similarly strong as demoted Auror Tina Goldstein who arrests Newt for being an unregistered wizard and then gets drawn in to his quest to reclaim his missing creatures. Threatening to steal the show, however, are Alison Sudol as Tina's mindreading and flirty sister Queenie and Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, a No-Maj cannery worker and aspiring baker who gets his suitcase swapped with Newt's and also gets drawn into a world he never knew existed. 

The rest of the cast are pretty good too: Samantha Morton is chilling as the dead-eyed fanatic Mary Lou Barebone, leader of the Second Salemers who call for wizards and witches to be destroyed. Ezra Miller is similarly good as her adopted son Credence, a young man with more than a few secrets of his own. It's odd to see an actor with the profile and presence of Jon Voight in a film like this, but he only has a glorified cameo as a newspaper magnate so doesn't bother unduly. The only dud note is Colin Farrell, who I just can't take seriously, especially as he's supposed to be the Head of Magical Security at MACUSA (the Magical Congress of the United States of America).

Visually, as you can imagine, the film is just stunning. Everything from the steam liner that Newt disembarks from at the very beginning to the sweeping grandeur of the MACUSA headquarters and the world within Newt's suitcase is just sublime. A quick trip to a magical speakeasy also provides scale but it's also in the smaller scenes- Queenie magically making a strudel, for instance- where the production design and the visual effects shine. The magical beasts, too, are similarly wonderful.  

This is a 12A so it's not all cutesy- there's some quite dark stuff within there, not least a murderous force created by a magical being suppressing their magical ability. There's child abuse, lost loves, a rather unpleasant near-death experience for one of the main characters and a resolutely downbeat moment in the rain (which, I don't mind admitting, I teared up to). There are glimmers of hope towards the end but you don't half go through the wringer to get there. 

This might sound like a bit of an odd complaint to have about a film called Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them... but I really could have done with there being more beasts. There are some wonderful set-pieces involving Newt trying to catch a Niffler (a kind of avaricious platypus, attracted to shiny things) and also trying to catch an escaped erupment (a large and horny cross between a hippopotamus and a rhinoceros) in Central Park. But the film almost treats these as side-shows, instead focusing on the political situation with the No-Majs versus MACUSA and the ever-growing threat of Grindlewald. I don't know whether they felt it would just be a series of set-pieces strung together with a flimsy plot if it was just Newt turning up trying to find things- nothing more than a big-screen version of Pokemon Go, perhaps?- and perhaps it might not sustain five films. 

This slight niggle aside, I found Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them to be a very strong start to the franchise and I look forward to seeing more.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2016: Razzies Nominations

And so we come to the awards which provide a nice counterpoint to the pompous, self-indulgent frippery of awards season. Dishonouring the very worst of cinema in the last 12 months, here, for your entertainment and education, are the full list of nominees for the 36th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards:

WORST PICTURE

Fantastic Four

Fifty Shades Of Grey

Jupiter Ascending

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

Pixels

WORST ACTOR

Johnny Depp (Mortdecai)

Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Kevin James (Paul Blart Mall Cop 2)

Adam Sandler (The Cobbler/Pixels)

Channing Tatum (Jupiter Ascending)

WORST ACTRESS

Katherine Heigl (Home Sweet Hell)

Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Mila Kunis (Jupiter Ascending)

Jennifer Lopez (The Boy Next Door)

Gwyneth Paltrow (Mortdecai)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chevy Chase (Hot Tub Time Machine 2/Vacation)

Josh Gad (Pixels/The Wedding Ringer)

Kevin James (Pixels)

Jason Lee (Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip)

Eddie Redmayne (Jupiter Ascending)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting (Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip/The Wedding Ringer)

Rooney Mara (Pan)

Michelle Monaghan (Pixels)

Julianne Moore (Seventh Son)

Amanda Seyfried (Love The Coopers/Pan)

WORST REMAKE/RIP-OFF/SEQUEL

Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip

Fantastic Four

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

WORST SCREEN COMBO

All Four Fantastics (Fantastic Four)

Johnny Depp & His Glued-On Moustache (Mortdecai)

Jamie Dornan & Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Kevin James & EITHER His Segue OR His Glued-On Moustache (Paul Blart Mall Cop 2)

Adam Sandler & Any Pair Of Shoes (The Cobbler)

WORST DIRECTOR

Andy Fickman (Hot Tub Time Machine 2)

Tom Six (Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence))

Sam Taylor-Johnson (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Josh Trank (Fantastic Four)

The Wachowskis (Jupiter Ascending)

WORST SCREENPLAY

Fantastic Four

Fifty Shades Of Grey

Jupiter Ascending

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

Pixels

Fifty Shades Of Grey, Jupiter Ascending and Pixels all have six nominations whilst Fantastic Four and Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 have five. I didn't even realise they were making a sequel to Paul Blart Mall Cop but the fact that it appears here doesn't exactly strike me as a surprise.

The Razzies really wouldn't be the Razzies without the usual ridiculing of Adam Sandler, so it's no surprise to see his name mentioned here several times. Mind you, Pixels was an irredeemable mess (apart from QBert; QBert was cool). Kevin James is in danger of becoming the next Adam Sandler with three 'nominations'. 

Considering the bad press and critical drubbing it got, Terminator Genisys should consider itself lucky to have dodged the Razzie bullet. Similarly, the cast of Fantastic Four are nomination-free (which is a miracle) as is Peter Dinklage, the only main cast member of Pixels to escap scorn (and he should also consider himself lucky). 

This year's Razzie Redeemer nominations- for former Razzie winners or nominees who have redeemed themselves cinematically in the last 12 months- are Elizabeth Banks, M. Night Shyamalan, Will Smith and Sylvester Stallone. You can vote for the winner of this award here.

As usual, the Razzies will be handed out the day before the Oscars, so you get to find out who wins on Saturday 27th February.

That only leaves the big one tomorrow: the Oscar nominations. I will post my nomination predictions shortly.

Tez

Review: The Danish Girl (UK Cert 15)

The Danish Girl is a sensitive and moving film about one of the world's first transgender pioneers, directed with dignity and respect by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Miserables). 

In 1920s Copenhagen, artists Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) are happily married and trying for a child. When her model is unable to sit, Gerda asks Einar to pose as a woman in order for her to complete the portrait. Something is awakened within Einar and soon- with Gerda's encouragement and help- he creates a female persona, Lili. However, Einar starts to live more as Lili than himself, leading to the realisation that he is transgender and to seek a solution to help him become the person he was meant to be. 

Redmayne is brilliant as Einar/Lili, really selling the emotional confusion of a man who comes to realise he is fundamentally different. You feel for him as he begins to navigate his life and balancing his deep love for Gerda with his own desire to live an authentic life. Vikander is similarly powerful in what could have been a thankless and thinly-written role. Gerda's love for her husband is severely tested and yet she stays with him and helps to support him through his transition. One particularly powerful scene has Gerda asking Lili whether she could see her husband. 

Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts- who started his career playing brutish bruisers in Bullhead and Rust And Bone, but has recently taken a turn into period dramas (Far From The Madding Crowd, A Little Chaos)- gives a good supporting performance as Hans, a Paris art-dealer and childhood friend of Einar who helps to provide emotional support for both him and Gerda throughout. Luckily, the film resists the temptation to form a love triangle between the three characters although it does look like it might at some point. Ben Whishaw is similarly good as Henrik, a young man who falls for Lili.

The film is, thankfully, very respectful and quite matter-of-fact about Lili's transition and it isn't treated sensationally or melodramatically. The widespread ignorance of the medical community of the time- who variously seek to treat Einar for schizophrenia or mental perversion or even seek to lobotomise or institutionalise him- is terrifying but there are some sympathetic and helpful doctors. The risks of gender reassignment surgery at that time (still very much in its infancy) were great and that isn't shied away from either. 

It's a handsome looking film, so cinematographer Danny Cohen and the art and set designers should be applauded - several scenes almost look like paintings in their own right. The costume and make-up design is similarly excellent. 

The film is adapted from a 2000 novel by David Ebershoff which is a fictionalised account of Lili and Gerda's lives, not a biography. Therefore this cannot be taken as a biopic, even though the subjects of the book (and film) were real people. There has been some criticism of the film and book for whitewashing certain facts which are known about the couple, such as Gerda's sexuality and the extent of their relationship once their marriage was annulled. (The Imitation Game faced a similar level of criticism over its presentation of Alan Turing).

When I watched the film, I judged it on what it presented rather than what I found out later. On that basis, I found The Danish Girl to be emotional and powerful and, to be honest, that opinion hasn't changed in the light of what I've later discovered. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2015: The 87th Annual Academy Awards

The 87th Annual Academy Awards were held last night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. They came up with one or two surprises and more than a few talking points.

Neil Patrick Harris was on good form as host. He's got awards show form, hosting the Primetime Emmys twice and the Tony Awards four times and I would be more than happy to see him host the Oscars again. OK, there was no Twitter-crashing selfie moment and there's been a lot of complaint online about his performance but I found him charming, funny and inoffensive, and any man who has the chutzpah to appear in an Oscars telecast in a pair of tighty-whities has to be admired. 

There was a lot of politics in the speeches, with issues such as freedom of expression, racial and gender equality, the awareness of mental and physical illnesses and immigration brought up.

The acceptance speech by Brits Mat Kirkby and James Lucas for winning Best Live Action Short was kind of funny (I kind of want to try and find that doughnut shop) and Pawel Pawlikowski must be the only person in Oscar history to get two sets of wrap-up music when he effusively ran over when accepting Best Foreign Language Film. I found the Idina Menzel/John Travolta bit quite funny (even if the joke was overlaboured a little). 

There was a really fun performance of 'Everything Is Awesome' from The Lego Movie (complete with Lego Oscars handed out to the crowd) and the performance of 'Glory' from Selma was stirring (as was the acceptance speech by John Legend and Common when it won Best Original Song). Lady Gaga's tribute to The Sound Of Music was great (and I'm not even a fan of that film) and Meryl Streep gave a touching and emotional speech prior to the In Memoriam section. I also found myself moved by Graham Moore's speech when he accepted the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Imitation Game, advising people to 'stay weird'. 

Onto the awards themselves:

No surprises in the acting categories with all four winners giving heartfelt and genuine acceptance speeches; J.K. Simmons advising us to call our parents, Patricia Arquette's eloquent and firey speech calling for gender and wage equality, Eddie Redmayne adorably geeking out midway through and Julianne Moore advocating more openness about Alzheimer's. 

The big surprise was Birdman winning Best Picture. Inarritu's win for Best Director wasn't a surprise and- as I have previously stated- the direction of Birdman is extraordinary (incidentally, I was also pleased at Emmanuel Lubezski's win for Best Cinematography).  Is it the Best Picture of those eight films? I don't think so, but then I'm not a member of the Academy. That was their decision. There's already rumblings online that it wasn't the right choice but you have to consider that the Academy's track record of what consitutues a Best Picture winner has had a few bumps in the road (Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain, for instance).

Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel both won four Oscars apiece, with Whiplash winning three. All eight Best Picture nominees won at least one Oscar each. Into The Woods, Foxcatcher, Mr. Turner and Unbroken didn't win anything.

Below is the full list of winners at the 87th Annual Academy Awards:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: Birdman

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything)

Best Actress: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

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

Best Supporting Actress:  Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)

Best Original Screenplay: Birdman

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Imitation Game

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Big Hero 6

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Ida

Best Cinematography: Birdman

Best Editing: Whiplash

Best Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Costume Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Score: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Song: 'Glory' (Selma)

Best Sound Mixing: Whiplash

Best Sound Editing: American Sniper

Best Visual Effects: Interstellar

Best Documentary (Feature): Citizenfour

Best Documentary (Short Subject): Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Best Animated Short Film: Feast

Best Live Action Short Film: The Phone Call


Congratulations to all winners!

OK, that's awards season finished for another year. It'll start up again at the end of November. Bring on the blockbusters!

Tez

Awards Season 2015: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions 2015

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of film-making in 2014 at the 87th Annual Academy Awards, which will be hosted for the first time by Neil Patrick Harris. It has become a tradition for me to predict the nominations and the winners in the main six categories (the four acting categories, Best Director and Best Picture).  I've done this since 2003 with varying degrees of success. So, without further ado, here are my predictions for who will win.

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Arquette's performance as Olivia Evans, beleagured mum to Mason and Samantha, is a real tour de force. A woman constantly in wrong relationships with unsuitable men, her love and devotion to her kids is paramount. Her warmth and humanity shines through and there's more than a couple of 'Oscar' moments throughout the film, none more so than her tearful conversation with her son as he prepares to leave for college. She's won every other major award she's been nominated for, so it's a pretty clear indicator that she might be going home with an Oscar.


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

It feels a bit odd to say but it feels like, this awards season, that several actors are finally getting their due. J.K. Simmons is one of those actors. A truly fine character actor who has been the highlight in some of the films he's been in (Juno and Burn After Reading come to mind), he's finally getting the recognition he deserves for his role in Whiplash. His performance as Terence Fletcher is electrifying as he pushes his students with learning techniques that are less Dead Poets Society and more Full Metal Jacket. Again, he's won everything so far as an Oscar seems a foregone conclusion and damn well deserved.


Best Actress: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

I haven't been able to see Still Alice yet (it doesn't open in the UK until the beginning of March) but I really think it would be a shock if Moore didn't win. Like Arquette and Simmons, she's been the runaway winner in her category throughout all the major awards- Golden Globe, SAG, Critics' Choice, BAFTA- so I think she'll finally get her Oscar (on the fifth nomination). 


Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything)

With no disrespect to any of the other nominees, the Best Actor plaudits have been shared between Eddie Redmayne and Michael Keaton throughout the awards season. However, Redmayne's SAG win probably puts him in the lead. If I'm being cynical, it ticks all the usual Oscar-bait boxes: it's based on a real person, struggling with insurmountable odds, with a pronounced change in physicality. Whilst I had a few issues with the film as a whole, Redmayne's performance as Stephen Hawking is affecting and poignant. But if it's not him, it'll be Keaton. Any other name called out would be a big surprise.


Best Director: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Best Picture: Boyhood

Linklater has taken all bar one of the major directing awards (Independent Spirit, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, BAFTA) but the DGA's choice of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (his only win of the major awards) could mean Inarritu gets the Best Director gong. Frankly, the direction of Birdman is excellent and the mesmeric camerawork making it look like one continuous shot is extraordinary, so if Inarritu does win it won't be a bad decision. However, Linklater's passion and dedication to Boyhood cannot be understated. To have the faith to spend twelve years of your life on a project is astounding and the end result is something special. 

Boyhood is a thoughtful, exacting piece. To see Ellar Coltrane literally grow up before your eyes is amazing. The dedication that every actor and member of crew gave to this film cannot be understated. It doesn't feel like a gimmick, it doesn't feel like a cheap trick. It's an authentic, occasionally funny, occasionally moving chronicle of a young man's life and it deserves the big prize.


Last year, I got a clean sweep of 6 out of 6. I think Best Actor and Best Director may be open for debate, as might Best Picture. Birdman and Boyhood have been sharing the Best Picture and Best Director plaudits throughout the awards season, so it'll be interesting to see what happens tonight. This is one year where I won't exactly mind being wrong if my predictions aren't correct.

There'll be a write-up of the ceremony and a full list of the winners tomorrow.

Tez

Review: Jupiter Ascending (UK Cert: 12A)

How much you’ll enjoy The Wachowski’s latest, Jupiter Ascending, will depend on how you like your big budget sci-fi. Are you a SF fan who expects your brain to work up as big a sweat as your eyes when you watch a film, or can you happily switch your grey matter to auto-pilot, enjoy the big set pieces and ignore the onslaught of clichés and awkward dialogue? If you agreed with the last part of that sentence, you’ll have a giant smile on your face whilst watching Jupiter Ascending; otherwise you’re better off with Shaun the Sheep: The Movie.

The brilliantly named Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a strapped-for-cash cleaner, sharing a flat with her mum and aunt. Trouble comes calling when it’s discovered that she is the rightful heir to planet Earth, half-human, half-wolf warrior Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) protecting her from the Abrasax family, one of the universe’s wealthiest dynasties, who want Earth for themselves.

The Wachowskis, who wrote, produced, and directed one of the best films of the ‘90’s, The Matrix, have once again raised the bar with Jupiter Ascending, virtually every frame is filled with right up-to-the-second, state-of-the-art CGI. It’s beautiful in a gigantic spaceships, imaginatively designed aliens, extravagant throne rooms sort of way. Two of the big highlights are Jupiter and Caine – in his anti-grav boots – soaring through the Chicago skyline, buildings blown apart as they’re being shot at, as well as the film’s climax that sees Jupiter and Balem (Eddie Redmayne) fighting on a mining planet that is burning up around them. If you get the chance to see this on an IMAX, fork out the extra cash, as it looks fantastic.

The whole cast do a good enough job, no one lets the side down. You’ll root for Kunis, who has sassiness as well as looks, giving us a well-timed one-liner to help make the pomp and absurdity of the Wachowski’s script a little easier to swallow, while Tatum gets to do more than be the tough, strong hero with his shirt off; he’s ferocious in a fight, yet, when him and Jupiter first meet, he has no clue how to talk to her (his only interaction with human beings is through military training). When Caine inevitably falls for Jupiter, he struggles to say anything – she’s royalty, he’s something created in a lab.

It’s The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne who steals the show here, not just chewing the scenery, but devouring it like Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster demolishing a plate of his favourite biscuits. With a throaty, genteel voice, yelling, glaring and hissing in all the right places, Redmayne delivers his clunky, space opera villain dialogue like he’s doing a stint at Shakespeare’s Globe. He doesn’t quite reach the camp, pantomime heights of Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but he’s close. You miss Redmayne whenever he’s off-screen.

The big problem with Jupiter Ascending is the amount of explaining it does. If you thought Michael Bay’s Transformer films were bogged down in exposition, characters going on about the McGuffin and various backstories, then the Wachowskis don’t just break Bay’s record, they demolish it. Virtually all of Sean Bean’s dialogue has him talking about an ancient dynasty, or the rules of Jupiter Ascending’s world, while Kunis asks what the hell is going on every ten/fifteen minutes (“We need to find the [insert bizarrely named object here].” “What’s the [insert bizarrely named object here]?”), queuing another several minute rant about someone or something that makes little-to-no-difference to the film’s narrative. It wouldn’t be so bad if Jupiter Ascending had some original ideas, something that surprised you, but instead the Wachowskis churn out one sci-fi cliché after another, clichés that date back to Forbidden Planet or Flash Gordon.

Jupiter Ascending is decent enough, no more, no less, which is amazing considering the talent on board. As far as the visuals go, it’s one of the best films you’ll see in 2015, but the script is predictable sci-fi hokum. Pay that little bit extra to see it on an IMAX, fill yourself up with popcorn, coke, or whatever sugar/carbs you fancy, and enjoy it for what it is: fun, bonkers, overblown entertainment.

3 out of 5

Matt

Awards Season 2015: DGA and BAFTA Winners

Awards Season is now approaching the final straight, with one big weekend left. This weekend, however, has seen two sets of major awards handed outs.

DIRECTORS' GUILD AWARDS

The DGAs were handed out yesterday (Saturday 7th February). The film winners are:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: Laura Poitras (Citizenfour)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television: Lisa Cholodenko (Olive Kitteridge)

With this win, it's looking likely that Inarritu might sneak in for the Best Director Oscar, in place of the highly-fancied Richard Linklater. Both films have their merits: the sheer timescale and commitment Linklater took to get Boyhood on the screen can't be underestimated, whilst the continuous camera movements and overall style of Birdman is a technical tour de force. Both would be worthy winners.

Citizenfour also got a Best Documentary Feature nod at the Oscars, so this looks good for that.

BAFTA FILM AWARDS

Tonight (Sunday 8th February), at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the 68th British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony hosted for the tenth time by Stephen Fry. Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, Edward Norton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, JK Simmons, Keira Knightley, Reese Witherspoon and Amy Adams were among some of the stars in attendance to celebrate the best in film.

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners:

Best Film: Boyhood

Outstanding British Film: The Theory Of Everything

Leading Actor: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything)

Leading Actress: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Director: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel 

Adapted Screenplay: The Theory Of Everything

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Stephen Beresford and David Livingstone (writer and producer of Pride)

Animated Film: The Lego Movie

Documentary: Citizenfour

Film Not In The English Language: Ida

Cinematography: Birdman

Costume Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Editing: Whiplash

Make Up And Hair: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Original Music: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Sound: Whiplash

Special Visual Effects: Interstellar

Short Animation: The Bigger Picture

Short Film: Boogaloo And Graham

Rising Star: Jack O'Connell

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: BBC Films

BAFTA Fellowship: Mike Leigh

Stephen Fry was on top form as host, with a couple of nice little jokes; I also love how embarrassed he got after being kissed by Cuba Gooding Jr! I'm overjoyed to see the writer and producer of Pride get a BAFTA, as well as The Lego Movie winning Best Animated Feature. There was a very touching tribute to the late great, Richard (Lord) Attenborough and Mike Leigh's Felllowship acceptance speech was probably the highlight of the night, thanking those who have backed his films and also those who didn't- as they would have only interefered!

The biggest winner of the night was The Grand Budapest Hotel, winning five BAFTAs with The Theory Of Everything, Boyhood and Whiplash all taking home three. Congratulations to all winners!


Awards Season will culminate in two weeks' time, on the weekend of 21st/22nd February. Both the Independent Spirit Awards and the Razzies will be handed out on Saturday 21st February with the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday 22nd February.

And then we can forget about this trivial nonsense until the end of November.

Awards Season 2015: Producers' Guild Awards and SAG Awards Results

Well, after a brief respite, Awards Season rears its head for a brief moment as two important Guild Awards were handed out over this last weekend.

PRODUCERS' GUILD AWARDS 

The Producers' Guild Awards were handed out on 24th January. The film winners were:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: Birdman

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: The Lego Movie

Documentary Film: Life Itself

The fact that Birdman got the PGA over Boyhood has been seen as a sign that the tide is starting to shift away from Linklater's epic. Of course, there are no guarantees- but a win at the PGA is a pretty good indication of Oscar success (if you're nominated, unlike The Lego Movie and Life Itself).

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS

The Screen Actors' Guild Awards were announced on 25th January. The film winners were:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: 

Birdman

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: 

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: 

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: 

J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: 

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

No surprises with Moore, Simmons and Arquette adding to their impressive haul of silverware, but a win for Eddie Redmayne in the awards voted for by actors (many of whom are also Academy members) puts him ahead in the Best Actor race (with Michael Keaton probably the second-placed runner). Birdman's win for Best Cast (essentially the SAG's Best Picture) adds to the speculation that it might be a triumph for Birdman come late February.

Up next in awards season is the Directors' Guild Award on 7th February and the BAFTA Film Awards on 8th February.

The Theory of Everything (UK Cert: 12A)

It’s a horrible thing to say, and might just get the blog taken down, but I’ve never thought about Professor Stephen Hawking’s life before he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease; I never realised that he was married, had three children, or that he is now seventy-two years old. For most of its running time, The Theory of Everything, directed by James Marsh (Man on Wire, Project Nim), subtly and compassionately depicts the professor’s life, his marriage to Jane Wilde, as well as his struggles with ALS.

This year’s Oscar nominations have yet to be announced, but it’s going to be a tough call as to who wins Best Actor. In a category that’s going to be the most contested in years, Eddie Redmayne (My Week with Marilyn, Les Misérables), in his first lead role, may well take home the prize, and no one could argue that he doesn’t deserve it. Starting off with a twitch of the hand, or a stumble, Redmayne gives a faultless and heartrending performance as Hawking’s body slowly deteriorates, eventually resembling the hunched figure who we all recognise. Redmayne never forgets the tragic irony surrounding Hawking, a supremely intelligent, funny, and compassionate man trapped inside his own body; his eyes revealing the loneliness and frustration he feels, as well as the odd mischievous glance accompanied by a playful smile.

While Redmayne is getting all the column inches, Felicity Jones (Cemetery Junction, The Invisible Woman) also does some excellent work as Jane, much of the film’s power coming from her hurting to see the man she loves being taken away from her, but realising that inside that brittle body, her husband is still there. Jane expected the disease to take her husband quickly, for him not to suffer, she never expected the ALS to break down his body so cruelly and slowly, that Stephen would still be alive decades later.

The main reason that the film works so well is down to the rapport between Redmayne and Jones. There’s plenty for couples to recognise: laughing through the tough times, how stubborn they both are, hurting each other by not saying how they’re feeling. Redmayne and Jones convincingly put across how much Stephen and Jane love each other, as well as how different they are as people, their marriage lasting for so long when other couples would have given up.

The Theory of Everything isn’t quite the flawless weepie, Marsh once-or-twice putting the point across with a sledgehammer, whereas the rest of the film is gentle and thoughtful. The worst offender is one of the final scenes where, at a conference, Hawking is asked how he feels, looking back at his life. We cut to Hawking daydreaming, everything and everyone around him frozen as he gets out of his wheelchair and picks a pen up off the floor. This feels at odds with the rest of the film, which shows Hawking’s ever-worsening condition in a frank and modest way; you don’t feel like you’re being manipulated into shedding a tear. It’s as if this scene was thrown in for audiences who want nuance put across in slow motion, orchestral score blaring.

This only happens in a couple of scenes, and doesn’t ruin things. Probably the best word to describe The Theory of Everything is how eloquent it is. Eloquent in how it portrays Hawking overcoming his illness, fighting to communicate what is going on inside his head, both his incredible mind as well as his love for Jane; eloquent in showing how Jane was also struggling along with her husband, pushed and tested for over twenty years; and eloquent in how complex marriage can be, two people fighting for the same thing in different ways, usually getting things right, but not always. Like Hawking, The Theory of Everything is smarter than its peers, funny, and unashamedly hopeful.

4 out of 5

Matt