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: 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