The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 2)

Good afternoon! We hope this finds you well - as (in the UK, at least) the lockdown has been extended by "at least" another three weeks, we thought you might like some suggestions for something feelgood to watch over the weekend. So here are two more recommendations from The Watchers for films that'll give you the warm fuzzies.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Dir: Chris Columbus
Starring: Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson

As a child, Disney’s Aladdin introduced me to Williams’s mighty vocal talents – and had me counting down the minutes until the Genie was next on screen – but Mrs. Doubtfire put a face to that voice, and I’ve been a Robin Williams fan ever since.

Just like Aladdin, this is Williams’s show. Whether it’s a one liner from Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon’s script (“Winston liked a drink; it was the drink that killed him… He got hit by a Guinness truck.”) or a moment of off-the-cuff improvisation (Williams reeling off impressions at the job centre), Williams is Mrs Doubtfire’s multi-million-dollar CGI special effects.

Williams is mostly remembered as a masterful comic actor, but anyone who has seen Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam, or Patch Adams knows the man had heavyweight acting chops. Mrs. Doubtfire will have you grinning from ear-to-ear, but it isn’t two hours of sickly-sweet optimism. Daniel Hillard’s love for his family never changes, but he comes to realise that their situation has changed, and there is nothing he can do to stop it, despite his best efforts in some Oscar-winning make-up. Williams makes the drama, the tears, both heartfelt and believable. Williams won the Best Supporting Actor award for Good Will Hunting at 1998’s Academy Awards, but he absolutely deserved a win back in 1993 with Mrs Doubtfire, if not earlier.

The supporting cast are all excellent: Sally Field is brilliant as a mother who first appears cold and detached, but is really trying to spare her children from the hurt of a family break up; Pierce Brosnan oozes oily charm as the new boyfriend on the scene; Polly Holliday is on typically fine form as the Ernie Wise to Williams’s Eric Morecambe; and none of the child actors (Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson) come across as annoying or petulant, a trap that many family films fall into.

Special mention to the soundtrack: B.B. King, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Frankie Valli, and the song that got me into Aerosmith, 'Dude (Looks Like A Lady)', just some of the artists on an impressive list.

Mrs. Doubtfire is faultless; it is the perfect starting point for anyone who has never seen a Robin Williams film.

Matt

* * *

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Dir: Dean Parisot
Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Justin Long, and Robin Sachs

Galaxy Quest is an exceptionally affectionate tribute/parody/spoof of 1960s Star Trek, and rabid sci-fi fandoms in general.

In the eighteen years since Galaxy Quest last aired on TV, the cast have been reduced to doing electronic store openings, and travelling to conventions to meet fans and do signings. When the egomaniacal lead Jason Nesmith agrees to do a solo gig, it causes outrage amongst the rest of the cast. However, due to a mix-up, instead of doing a fan video, Nesmith and- eventually- the rest of the cast find themselves on board a real alien ship and helping a polite race of aliens known as Thermians in their ongoing battle against the evil alien warlord General Sarris. But can the crew put their personal issues aside and survive to help the Thermians? 

The script, by David Howard and Robert Gordon, is full of great one-liners and quips and gives the actors some meaty stuff to deal with. Tim Allen is fantastic as the Shatner-esque Nesmith (a.k.a. Commander Peter Quincy Taggart), slicing the ham thick as he relives his glory days. He's not just a one-note character and you can't help but be on his side as the absurdities start to mount. Sigourney Weaver adds a great level of sass as Gwen DeMarco (a.k.a. Lieutenant Tawny Madison, whose job was just to repeat what the computer said in slightly different words) whilst Alan Rickman gives one of the best and most fun performances of his career as Alexander Dane (a.k.a. Dr. Lazarus), a Shakespearean actor reduced to playing an alien on television, despite getting five curtain calls for Richard III... 

Tony Shalhoub is great as Fred Kwan (a.k.a. Tech Sergeant Chen) who has become a bit of a space cadet in the intervening years, whilst Sam Rockwell gives an absolutely hilarious performance as Guy Fleegman, an actor who appeared in one episode of Galaxy Quest and died before the first ad break. He gets involved in the escapade and is in mortal fear that (as a literal red-shirt) he'll be the first to die. His hysteria mounts throughout, giving shades of Bill Paxton's amazing "game over, man" rant from Aliens. 

There's often a problem with satires or parodies/spoofs if their treatment of their source material is cruel or mean-spirited. Luckily, the parody in Galaxy Quest never feels like its just being done for a cheap laugh or to take the mick for the sake of doing so. It highlights some of the more ridiculous tropes of the sci-fi genre- such as inexplicably dangerous machinery placed randomly in a hallway (serving no logical purpose except to cause peril)- but also makes some sly points about the sexism female sci-fi stars get to face; Gwen's comment that her TV Guide interview spent six paragraphs talking about her breasts and little about her talent is still prescient even now (see Scarlett Johansson's frustration at constantly being asked about her underwear when playing Black Widow). 

So, what makes it feelgood? First of all, Rickman's performance. He's on top form as the bumptious luvvie who feels this is beneath him, yet there's an undeniable punch-the-air moment when he slips back into being Dr. Lazarus. The parody is funny but affectionate and never punches low. It's an ideal film for comedy and sci-fi fans and is considered something of a cult classic, twenty years from its original release. 

Perhaps the thing that makes it feelgood the most? Its philosophy. Never give up. Never surrender. 

Tez

Awards Season 2018: The 90th Academy Awards

All in all, it was a night of no real surprises, but pleasant enough. 

Unlike last year, this year's Oscars ceremony didn't do anything controversial. Hell, even the winners were pretty safe (for the most part- a film about Russian doping at the Olympics winning Best Documentary Feature might be classed as a bit dicey).

Jimmy Kimmel returned as host; although general critical reception was a bit mixed, I enjoyed his performance for the most part, so was glad to see him back. It was kind of the same this year: mostly, he did well, and he acknowledged when things didn't hit. His opening speech made reference to last year's Best Picture farrago, the disgrace of Harvey Weinstein, and the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements (which were mentioned quite a bit, as you'd expect). This year's gimmick was to take a bunch of A-listers over to a nearby cinema to thank the cinema-going public for their continued support (an interesting idea, but one which one of the included montages did with a bit more style and grace). Another interesting idea was- to streamline the show as much as possible- Kimmel was giving away a jetski as a prize for the shortest acceptance speech (won by costume designer Mark Bridges whose acceptance speech was a positively svelte 36 seconds). 

Some of the guest presenters were better than others- there were a couple of lovely introductions by previous Oscar winners Eva Marie Saint and Rita Moreno who presented Best Costume Design and Best Foreign Language Film respectively, and I quite enjoyed the banter between Jennifer Lawrence and Jodie Foster (who was on crutches) suggesting that she'd been crocked by Meryl Streep! 

The musical numbers- for each of the Best Original Song nominees- were very diverse in their performances, with 'Remember Me' from Coco going for a full production number, whilst Sufjan Stevens gave a very different (and much more stripped back) performance for Call Me By Your Name's 'The Mystery Of Love'. My favourite performance, however, came from Keala Settle who gave an absolutely storming rendition of 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman. There was also a poignant performance by Eddie Vedder of the late Tom Petty's 'Room At The Top' for the In Memoriam section. 

On to the awards themselves...

So, five out of six is alright. I'm not at all surprised that The Shape Of Water won Best Picture, and it is a worthy winner of the top prize (I did like that Guillermo del Toro checked the envelope before starting his acceptance speech!). All the acting categories fell as expected, with Gary Oldman giving a lovely speech which ended with him asking his 99-year-old mum to put the kettle on, and then Frances McDormand giving a typically no-f's-given speech which brought the crowd in the Dolby Theatre to its feet. Sam Rockwell was the first winner of the evening (as Best Supporting Actor was the first award of the night), and Allison Janney gave a touching, self-deprecating speech which was lovely. 

I was very pleased with The Silent Child's win for Best Live Action Short Film; it's the story of a profoundly deaf child who struggles to communicate. It's a British film, and writer Rachel Shenton used sign language in her acceptance speech. I was also very pleased with James Ivory winning Best Adapted Screenplay; at 89, he is the oldest man to have won a competitive Academy Award. After thirteen non-starts, cinematographer Roger Deakins found fourteen was the charm as he finally clinched an Oscar for his work on Blade Runner 2049. He gave a humble and rather charming acceptance speech. Also, basketball superstar Kobe Bryant can now add an Oscar to his list of accolades, as he won for writing the Best Animated Short Film Dear Basketball. 

The Shape Of Water was the big winner of the night, taking home four Oscars, with Dunkirk taking home three, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Darkest Hour, Coco, and Blade Runner 2049 winning two Oscars apiece. Despite multiple nominations, there was nothing for Lady Bird, Mudbound, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, or Baby Driver. 


Below is the full list of winners at the 90th Academy Awards:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: The Shape Of Water

Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actress: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele (Get Out)

Best Adapted Screenplay: James Ivory (Call Me By Your Name)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Coco

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: A Fantastic Woman

Best Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049

Best Editing: Dunkirk

Best Production Design: The Shape Of Water

Best Costume Design: Phantom Thread

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Darkest Hour

Best Original Score: The Shape Of Water

Best Original Song: 'Remember Me' (Coco)

Best Sound Mixing: Dunkirk

Best Sound Editing: Dunkirk

Best Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049

Best Documentary (Feature): Icarus

Best Documentary (Short Subject): Heaven Is A Traffic Jam On The 405

Best Animated Short Film: Dear Basketball

Best Live Action Short Film: The Silent Child


Congratulations to all winners!

So that's awards season done for another year. Thank you all for your patience and your indulgence. It's time to put awards shenanigans to bed until November. Speaking of putting things to bed, I'm going to put myself to bed. It's 6:15am here in the UK, and I could really do with some sleep. 

Tez

Awards Season 2018: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of film-making in 2016 at the 90th Academy Awards, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second time. Hopefully there won't be anything as controversial as the La La Land/Moonlight mix-up (although Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty are returning to hand out Best Picture again!), but given everything that's happened in the intervening year (Weinstein, Spacey, #MeToo and #Time'sUp, not to mention a year of President Trump), I wouldn't bet on it!

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: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Allison Janney has been the standout winner of the Best Supporting Actress awards throughout this awards season, with the Golden Globes, Screen Actors' Guild, Critics' Choice, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit Awards all giving her this honour for her brilliant, foul-mouthed performance as Tonya Harding's abusive and pretty loathsome mother LaVona. Never withou a cigarette or an insult on her lips, there's no attempt to soften or ameliorate the character. LaVona's a monster and Janney plays that to the hilt. 

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Another standout winner of this awards season, Rockwell's turn as the dimwatt racist hick police officer Jason Dixon who butts heads with the force of nature that is Mildred Hayes has garnered accolades from most major awards bodies, so I really don't see the Academy giving it to anyone else. It would be very easy for Dixon to be played as a stereotype or as broad, but Rockwell's superb performance lifts him from just being the comic relief. 

Best Actress: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

21 years after winning the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Fargo, Frances McDormand could well be adding a second one to her collection for her powerhouse performance as grieving mother Mildred Hayes. Mildred is a gift of a character: forthright, angry, upset, guilty, frustrated, determined. McDormand takes the role with both hands and runs with it. An absolutely fantastic performance that should rightfully take home the gold tonight. 

Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

I think a lot of people think this is a foregone conclusion. Oldman's performance as Winston Churchill is just superlative. Buried beneath some astonishing prosthetics, Oldman goes beyond mimicry to find an authentic and very believable take on Churchill. Whilst the film itself is a little patchy, you cannot deny that Oldman's performance is powerful. 

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Apart from Jordan Peele at the Independent Spirit Awards, all other bodies have given Best Director to Guillermo del Toro and that pattern is more than likely to repeat tonight- and it'll be incredibly well deserved. The world del Toro has created in The Shape Of Water is sublime, he gets strong performances from his entire cast, and the visual aspects of the film are stunning. 

Best Picture: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Now, this is the one I'm torn on. Basically, I'm of the opinion that it is between Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Shape Of Water for the big award. Both films have their merits and both films have taken the Best Picture prizes at various other awards ceremonies. So, I won't be at all surprised if I'm wrong and The Shape Of Water wins (although I'm not sure whether the older generation of Academy voters may find the implication of a woman falling in love with an aquatic creature distasteful). But for me, given the climate that we're currently in- where race and gender equality are firmly in the spotlight- I think the Academy will back Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 

As for some of the other categories, I think it'll be Phantom Thread for Best Costume Design, Call Me By Your Name for Best Adapted Screenplay, Coco for Best Animated Feature and 'Remember Me' for Best Original Song (although I preferred 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman personally). 

I'll be watching live tonight to watch all the action unfold from the Dolby Theatre. I'll do a post tomorrow with my thoughts on the ceremony and a list of all the winners. 

Now for some industrial strength caffeine to help me power through!

Tez

Awards Season 2018: Independent Spirit Awards Winners

This is the first of two (possibly three?) posts today about awards season, as it all comes to the grand finale tonight with the 90th Academy Awards. They can be viewed on a dedicated Sky Movies channel in the UK and on ABC in the US.

But before I get on to post my Oscar predictions, there's one more awards body to get out of the way first. 

Yesterday- Saturday 3rd March- saw the handing out of the 33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards, in a ceremony hosted by Nick Kroll (Loving, Sing, Vacation) and John Mulaney (Mayne Street, Saturday Night Live) for the second year running.

As you no doubt know by now, the Independent Spirit Awards honour films made (partly or wholly) outside the major film studio system. Some of the winners are below.

Best Feature: Get Out

Best Female Lead: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Male Lead: Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)

Best Supporting Female: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Supporting Male: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Director: Jordan Peele (Get Out)

Best Screenplay: Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)

Best First Screenplay: Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick)

Best Cinematography: Call Me By Your Name

Best First Feature: Ingrid Goes West

Best International Film: A Fantastic Woman

Best Documentary: Faces Places

John Cassavetes Award: Life And Nothing More

The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000. The full list of winners can be found here.

A fairly even spread of awards, with no one film totally dominating. Get Out, Call Me By Your Name, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and I, Tonya all came away with two awards each. 

With wins here, McDormand, Janney, and Rockwell surely cement their positions for winning the Oscars (but more on that later). I'm really pleased with both of Call Me By Your Name's wins- Timothee Chalamet's central performance is just superb and Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's cinematography is utterly gorgeous. 

Get Out is a very worthy winner of Best Picture and of Best Director, but it may struggle to replicate that success at the Oscars, due to it being up against more mainstream fare. However, in a hotly contested Original Screenplay category, it could be taking at least one statuette home. 

So, with that done, this just leaves the main event: the Oscars tonight. As promised, my predictions for the big winners will be coming later today.

Awards Season 2018: BAFTA Film Awards Winners

Tonight (Sunday 18th February), at the Royal Albert Hall, the 71st British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony, hosted by the frankly wonderful Joanna Lumley for the first time. 

Julie Walters, Kristin Scott Thomas, Daniel Day-Lewis, Salma Hayek, Lesley Manville, Daniel Kaluuya, Margot Robbie, Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Sally Hawkins, Annette Bening, Willem Dafoe, Timothee Chalamet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Frances McDormand, and Hugh Grant were among some of the stars in attendance to celebrate the best in film.

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners:

Best Film: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Outstanding British Film: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Leading Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Leading Actress: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Original Screenplay: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Rungano Nyoni (writer/director), Emily Morgan (producer) (I Am Not A Witch)

Animated Film: Coco

Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro

Film Not In The English Language: The Handmaiden

Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049

Costume Design: Phantom Thread

Editing: Baby Driver

Make Up And Hair: Darkest Hour

Original Music: The Shape Of Water

Production Design: The Shape Of Water

Sound: Dunkirk

Special Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049

Short Animation: Poles Apart

Short Film: Cowboy Dave

Rising Star: Daniel Kaluuya

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: National Film And Television School

BAFTA Fellowship: Ridley Scott


The evening started with a dazzling display by Circe du Soleil, based on The Shape Of Water. Joanna Lumley was great as host, having an easy charm and handling some of the less well constructed links with aplomb. Many speeches referred the Time's Up movement, and many actresses were dressed in black (as at the Golden Globes). Guillermo del Toro's speech was touching, citing his admiration for Mary Shelley, whilst Ridley Scott's fellowship acceptance was also good- talking about the importance of teachers- although Frances McDormand's acceptance speech was probably the highlight of the evening. 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was the big winner of the night, taking home five awards, with The Shape Of Water winning three, and Darkest Hour and Blade Runner 2049 with two each. 

Congratulations to all winners!

There's another break now in the awards season calendar- you get about 2 weeks off from all this nonsense- but it leads up to a busy weekend as the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the Golden Raspberry Awards will be handed out on Saturday 3rd March, with the main event- the 90th Academy Awards- a day later on Sunday 4th March. 

Almost there, people. Almost there!

Awards Season 2018: Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) Winners and Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) Awards Winners

This is the first of three awards season posts that'll be coming up today, so without further ado, let's get get on with it. We start with a couple of Guild Awards winners. 

PRODUCERS' GUILD AWARDS (PGA) WINNERS

On Saturday 20th January, the Producers' Guild of America announced its winners for the 2018 Producers' Guild Awards. 

The film winners are:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: The Shape Of Water

Documentary Film: Jane

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: Coco


This is a major step forward for The Shape Of Water's chances of netting Best Picture at the Oscars, although it's far from a done deal. I'm also not surprised to see Coco win for the Animated Feature. 

SCREEN ACTORS' GUILD (SAG) AWARDS WINNERS

Yesterday (21st January), the Screen Actors' Guild Awards were announced. Here are the film winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: 

Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: 

Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: 

Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: 

Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Film:

Wonder Woman

The usual suspects, all present and correct. 


Later today, the nominations for this year's Razzie Awards will be announced, so look out for them later.

Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (UK Cert 15)

What would you do if a loved one died and the authorities were lax in their handling of the case? Would you complain to your local politican? Write letters? Or would you hire billboards in your town calling the police out on their inaction? For one grieving mother, that's exactly what she does in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, a darkly comic drama written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths)

Eight months ago, Mildred Hayes' daughter Angela was killed in a truly horrific manner. However, the investigation has yet to turn up any credible leads. Tired of no progress in the case, Mildred decides to take matters into her own hands. Hiring three disused billboards on a mostly unused road just outside the town, Mildred puts up a stark message to the Ebbing police to induce them to solve Angela's murder. This sets her on a collision course with the police and other townsfolk who- whilst sympathetic to her plight- see the billboards as unneeded aggression. But Mildred's not backing down without a fight...

Frances McDormand plays Mildred with a mix of steely reserve and brittleness. Still grieving for the loss of her daughter, frustrated with any lack of progress, she sweeps through Ebbing like an avenging (or exterminating) angel, pushing buttons and putting people's backs up. And she could care less. She gives the local reverend short shrift when he comes to appeal to her to take the billboards down (in one of the strongest scenes of the film) and even defends herself against an angry dentist with a well-placed drill to the fingernail. Yet there are moments when the grief overtakes her and you genuinely feel for the character.  It's an absolutely superb performance from McDormand who- with the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Awards already under her belt- is frontrunner to add a second little gold man to her mantelpiece come March. 

Woody Harrelson gives strong support as police chief Bill Willoughby, fighting Mildred's ire whilst dealing with his own personal tragedy. Whilst he's only in the film for the first half, his presence is felt throughout and he puts in a stoic, funny turn. Sam Rockwell is great as the dimwitted racist Officer Jason Dixon who butts heads with Mildred more than once. An arrogant drunkard momma's boy, Dixon swaggers through the town thinking he's untouchable- until even he crosses a line. It could easily be a one-note performance but there are layers to Rockwell's performance that elevate the character from just an archetypal racist hick. 

Lucas Hedges (so good in Manchester By The Sea) is similarly great as Mildred's son Robbie. Whilst dealing with his own grief, he must also look out for his mother as she wages her war of attrition against the cops, and- for me- gets one of the best one-liners in the film. Peter Dinklage puts in a decent turn as the lovelorn car salesman James, whilst John Hawkes appears fleetingly but powerfully as Mildred's violent ex-husband Charlie. There's also nice performances by Abbie Cornish as Bill's wife Anne, Caleb Landry Jones as billboard letter Red Welby, and Samara Weaving as Charlie's new, younger, dumber girlfriend. 

The script is ferocious, funny, and foul-mouthed, with some stingingly baroque insults thrown around. It touches on issues of race- Dixon is accused of having tortured a black suspect- but doesn't fully explore them (although that would make this a much different film). Whilst there isn't a feeling of definitive closure at the end of the film, there is a sense of an ending as Mildred and Dixon ponder their next moves. Ben Davis' cinematography is superb, especially with the evocative shots of the Missouri countryside- the opening shots of the derelict billboards wreathed in early morning mist is particularly striking- whilst Carter Burwell's spaghetti Western inspired score and a truly eclectic soundtrack (ranging from 'Chiquitita' to 'The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down') adds to the mood of the film. 

Well-acted, well-written, well-directed, it's not difficult to see why Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is hoovering up awards acclaim left, right, and centre. A powerful film. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2018: Golden Globes 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 Seth Meyers for the first time.

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Lady Bird

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water)

Best Actor (Drama): Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): James Franco (The Disaster Artist)

Best Actress (Drama): Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

Best Screenplay: Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat (The Shape Of Water)

Best Original Song: 'This Is Me' (The Greatest Showman)

Best Foreign Language Film: In The Fade

Best Animated Feature Film: Coco

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Oprah Winfrey



Seth Meyers' opening monologue was witty, with a couple of potshots at Trump and addressing the multiple Hollywood sexual harrassment scandals with aplomb. In support of the Time's Up movement- to support victims of sexual assault and harrassment- many of the women, and several men, were dressed all in black or wore Time's Up pin badges. Several acceptance speeches highlighted the Time's Up and #MeToo movements whilst Oprah Winfrey (the first black woman to receive the Cecil B. DeMille award) gave an eloquent and passionate speech in which she said 'speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have'.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri took home the most awards, winning four, whilst The Shape Of Water and Lady Bird took two each. 

In the TV awards, star-studded miniseries Big Little Lies was the big winner, also with four awards, with Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern lauded for their performances.

Congratulations to all winners!

There's more awards season shenanigans tomorrow (9th January) with the BAFTA Film Awards nominations being announced.