Best of 2012: Film: Directing, Writing, Ensemble, Technical

Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY

TOP 10 BEST DIRECTORS

1. Kathryn Bigelow for ZERO DARK THIRTY
2. Joe Wright for ANNA KARENINA
3. Michael Haneke for AMOUR
4. Paul Thomas Anderson for THE MASTER
5. Ben Affleck for ARGO
6. David O. Russell for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
7. Wes Anderson for MOONRISE KINGDOM
8. Benh Zeitlin for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
9. Sam Mendes for SKYFALL
10. Ang Lee for LIFE OF PI

Michael Haneke, Emmanuelle Riva, and
Jean-Louis Trintignant, AMOUR

TOP 10 BEST ORGINAL SCREENPLAYS

1. AMOUR by Michael Haneke
2. ZERO DARK THIRTY by Mark Boal
3. THE MASTER by Paul Thomas Anderson
4. MOONRISE KINGDOM by Wes Anderson
5. LOOPER by Rian Johnson
6. DJANGO UNCHAINED by Quentin Tarantino
7. MAGIC MIKE by Reid Carolin
8. YOUR SISTER’S SISTER by Lynn Shelton
9. THE INTOUCHABLES by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano
10. TAKE THIS WALTZ by Sarah Polley

Bradley Cooper, David O. Russell, and
Jennifer Lawrence, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

TOP 10 BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYS

1. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK by David O. Russell
2. ANNA KARENINA by Tom Stoppard
3. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky
4. LINCOLN by Tony Kushner
5. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
6. ARGO by Chris Terrio
7. LIFE OF PI by David Magee
8. SKYFALL by Neal Pervis, Robert Wade, & John Logan
9. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, & Steve Kloves
10. LES MISÉRABLES by William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, & Herbert Kretzmer

Ben Affleck and the cast of ARGO at the SAG Awards.

TOP 10 BEST ENSEMBLES

1. ARGO starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Christopher Denham, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Kerry Bishe, Kyle Chandler, Chris Messina, Sheila Vand, and Zeljko Ivanek
2. LINCOLN starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, Gloria Reuben, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Gulliver McGrath, Michael Stuhlbarg, Colman Domingo, Elizabeth Marvel, Adam Driver, and S. Epatha Merkerson
3. ANNA KARENINA starring Keira Knightley, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfayden, Olivia Williams, Ruth Wilson, and Shirley Henderson
4. MOONRISE KINGDOM starring Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Jake Ryan, Tanner Flood, Wyatt Ralff, Lucas Hedges, Charlie Kilgore, Andreas Sheikh, Chandler Frantz, Rob H. Campbell, L. J. Foley, Gabriel Rush, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Tommy Nelson, Larry Pine, and Marianna Bassham
5. ZERO DARK THIRTY starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Reda Kateb, Chris Platt, Harold Perrineau, Mark Duplass, and James Gandolfini
6. THE MASTER starring Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Jesse Plemons, Ambyr Childers, and Rami Malek
7. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, Dash Mihok, Brea Bee, and Julia Stiles
8. MAGIC MIKE starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, MatthewMcConaughey, Olivia Munn, James Martin Kelly, Cody Horn, Joe Manganiello, and Matt Bomer
9. TO ROME WITH LOVE starring Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Penelope Cruz, Ellen Page, Judy Davis, Flavio Parenti, Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Alessandro Tiberi, and Alessandra Mastronardi
10. LES MISÉRABLES starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Huttlestone, and Colm Wilkinson

Roger Deakins, SKYFALL

TOP 10 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHERS

1. Roger Deakins for SKYFALL
2. Mihai Malaimare, Jr. for THE MASTER
3. Seamus McGarvey for ANNA KARENINA
4. Darius Khondji for AMOUR
5. Claudio Miranda for LIFE OF PI
6. Wally Pfister for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
7. Rodrigo Prieto for ARGO
8. Greig Fraser for ZERO DARK THIRTY
9. Masanobu Takayanagi for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
10. Janusz Kaminski for LINCOLN

Keira Knightley and costume designer
Jacqueline Durran, ANNA KARENINA

TOP 10 BEST COSTUME DESIGNERS

1. Jacqueline Durran for ANNA KARENINA
2. Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey, & Richard Taylor for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
3. Paco Delgado for LES MISÉRABLES
4. Joanna Johnston for LINCOLN
5. Sharen Davis for DJANGO UNCHAINED
6. Kasia Walicka-Maimone for MOONRISE KINGDOM
7. Nic Ede for HYSTERIA
8. Jacqueline West for ARGO
9. Margot Wilson for LAWLESS
10. Lindy Hemming for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

The soundtrack list of THE PERKS OF
BEING A WALLFLOWER

TOP 10 BEST SCORES/SOUNDTRACKS

1. Soundtrack of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
2. Soundtrack of DJANGO UNCHAINED
3. Score by Mychael Danna for LIFE OF PI
4. Score by Alexandre Desplat for MOONRISE KINGDOM
5. Score by Jonny Greenwood for THE MASTER
6. Soundtrack of LES MISÉRABLES
   
7. Soundtrack of PITCH PERFECT
8. Score by Dario Marianelli for ANNA KARENINA
9. Soundtrack of SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
10. Score by John Williams for LINCOLN

TOP 10 BEST VISUAL/SPECIAL EFFECTS

On set of LIFE OF PI

1. LIFE OF PI
2. LOOPER
3. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
4. ANNA KARENINA
5. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
6. THE IMPOSSIBLE
7. DJANGO UNCHAINED
8. THE AVENGERS
9. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
10. SKYFALL

Set design of ANNA KARENINA

TOP 10 BEST ART DIRECTORS/SET DESIGNERS

1. ANNA KARENINA
   
2. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
   
3. MOONRISE KINGDOM
   
4. DJANGO UNCHAINED
5. LES MISERABLES
6. LINCOLN
   
7. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
8. HYSTERIA
9. THE HUNGER GAMES
10. LIFE OF PI

Golden Globe Predictions - Who Will Win? Who Should Win?

The Golden Globes are always a good time - lots of big name winners, lots of booze, and this year's hosts (Amy Poehler and Tina Fey) are sure to give us many a drunken laughs. But to get serious, here are my predictions as to who will win tonight.

FILM

BEST PICTURE: DRAMA
Best Chance: LINCOLN
Second Place: ZERO DARK THIRTY
Eh... Probably not: ARGO and LIFE OF PI
At least you can put it on the DVD: DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: ZERO DARK THIRTY


BEST PICTURE: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Best Chance: LES MISERABLES
Second Place: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Eh... Probably not: MOONRISE KINGDOM and EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Just be happy you were nominated: SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
My personal fav: SILVER LININGS, but MOONRISE would be a sweet win too.


BEST DIRECTOR
Best Chance: Steven Spielberg for LINCOLN
Second Place: Kathryn Bigelow for ZERO DARK THIRTY
Eh... Probably not: Ben Affleck for ARGO and Ang Lee for LIFE OF PI
Just be happy you were nominated: Quentin Tarantino for DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: Kathryn Bigelow - duhhh.


BEST ACTOR: DRAMA
Best Chance: Daniel Day-Lewis in LINCOLN
Second Place: Joaquin Phoenix in THE MASTER
Eh... Probably not: Denzel Washington in FLIGHT and John Hawkes in THE SESSIONS
Just be happy you were nominated: Richard Gere in ARBITRAGE
My personal fav: Joaquin!


BEST ACTRESS: DRAMA
Best Chance: Jessica Chastain in ZERO DARK THIRTY
Second Place: Naomi Watts in THE IMPOSSIBLE
Eh... Probably not: Marion Cotillard in RUST & BONE
Just be happy you were nominated: Helen Mirren in HITCHCOCK and Rachel Weisz in THE DEEP BLUE SEA
My personal fav: I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Chastain!


BEST ACTOR: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Best Chance: Bradley Cooper in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Second Place: Hugh Jackman in LES MISERABLES (this is one of the closest races)
Just face it - no one voted for you...: Jack Black in BERNIE, Ewan McGregor in SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, and Bill Murray in HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
My personal fav: Bradley Cooper was the shit.


BEST ACTRESS: MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Best Chance: Jennifer Lawrence in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Second Place: There is no 2nd place for this category... sorry, ladies.
You're all great, but...: Meryl Streep in HOPE SPRINGS, Judi Dench in THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, Emily Blunt in SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, and Maggie Smith in QUARTET
My personal fav: Is this even a questions? Jennifer.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Best Chance: Tommy Lee Jones in LINCOLN
Second Place: Philip Seymour Hoffman in THE MASTER
Eh... Probably not: Alan Arkin in ARGO and Christoph Waltz in DJANGO UNCHAINED
Just be happy you were nominated: Leonardo DiCaprio in DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: Philip Seymour Hoffman... makes me sad THE MASTER isn't getting a whole lot of recognition.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Best Chance: Anne Hathaway in LES MISERABLES
Second Place: Sally Field in LINCOLN
Eh... Probably not: Helen Hunt in THE SESSIONS and Amy Adams in THE MASTER
Just be happy you were nominated: Nicole Kidman in THE PAPERBOY
My personal fav: Annie.


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Best Chance: AMOUR
Second Place: RUST & BONE
Eh... Probably not: THE INTOUCHABLES and A ROYAL AFFAIR
Who are you?!: KON-TIKI
My personal fav: THE INTOUCHABLES!!! (Though, I haven't seen AMOUR yet.)


BEST SCREENPLAY
Best Chance: ZERO DARK THIRTY
Second Place: LINCOLN
Well, maybe...: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Eh... Probably not: ARGO
Just be happy you were nominated: DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Best Chance: LINCOLN
Second Place: LIFE OF PI
Eh... Probably not: ARGO
Just be happy you were nominated: ANNA KARENINA and CLOUD ATLAS
My personal fav: ANNA KARENINA


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Best Chance: BRAVE
Second Place: WRECK-IT-RALPH
Eh... Probably not: RISE OF THE GUARDIANS and FRANKENWEENIE
Just be happy you were nominated: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
My personal fav: None. Didn't see any of these.


BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Best Chance: "Skyfall" from SKYFALL
Second Place: "Suddenly" from LES MISERABLES
Eh... Probably not: "Safe and Sound" from THE HUNGER GAMES
Just be happy you were nominated: "Not Running Anymore" from STAND UP GUYS and "For You" from ACT OF VALOR
My personal fav: Adele, y'all! (SKYFALL)

TELEVISION


BEST TELEVISION SERIES: DRAMA
Best Chance: HOMELAND
Second Place: DOWNTON ABBEY
Eh... Probably not: BOARDWALK EMPIRE and BREAKING BAD
Just be happy you were nominated: THE NEWSROOM
My personal fav: C'mon! HOMELAND!!!!!!!!


BEST TELEVISION SERIES: MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Best Chance: GIRLS
Second Place: MODERN FAMILY
Eh... Probably not: SMASH and EPISODES
Just be happy you were nominated: THE BIG BANG THEORY
My personal fav: GIRLS!


BEST MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Best Chance: GAME CHANGE
Second Place: HATFIELDS & McCOYS
Um... I don't even know who you are: THE GIRL, THE HOUR, and POLITICAL ANIMALS
My personal fav: Didn't see any!


BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES: DRAMA
Best Chance: Damian Lewis in HOMELAND
Second Place: Bryan Cranston in BREAKING BAD
Eh... Probably not: Jeff Daniels in THE NEWSROOM, Steve Buscemi in BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and Jon Hamm in MAD MEN
My personal fav: Sgt. Brody! (Damian Lewis)


BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES: DRAMA
Best Chance: Claire Danes in HOMELAND
Second Place: Connie Britton in NASHVILLE
Eh... Probably not: Julianna Margulies in THE GOOD WIFE and Glenn Close in DAMAGES
Just be happy you were nominated: Michelle Dockery in DOWNTON ABBEY
My personal fav: Claire Fucking Danes. <3 p="p">

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES: COMEDY
Best Chance: Louis C.K. in LOUIE
Second Place: Matt LeBlanc in EPISODES
Eh... Probably not: Jim Parsons in THE BIG BANG THEORY and Alec Baldwin in 30 ROCK
Just be happy you were nominated: Don Cheadle in HOUSE OF LIES
My personal fav: Honestly, I don't care. Louie, I guess haha.


BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES: COMEDY
Best Chance: Lena Dunham in GIRLS
Second Place: Amy Poehler in PARKS AND RECREATION
Eh... Probably not: Julia Louis-Dreyfus in VEEP and Zooey Deschanel in NEW GIRL
Just be happy you were nominated and so excited for your hosting!: Tina Fey in 30 ROCK
My personal fav: LENA BABY


BEST ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Best Chance: Kevin Costner in HATFIELDS & McCOYS
Second Place: Woody Harrelson in GAME CHANGE
Eh... Probably not: Clive Owen in HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN and Toby Jones for THE GIRL
Just be happy you were nominated: Benedict Cumberbatch in SHERLOCK
My personal fav: Don't know. Don't care.


BEST ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Best Chance: Julianne Moore in GAME CHANGE
Second Place: Jessica Lange in AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM
Eh... Probably not: Nicole Kidman in HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN and Sigourney Weaver in POLITICAL ANIMALS
Just be happy you were nominated: Sienna Miller in THE GIRL
My personal fav: Jessica Lange! Sistah Jude!


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN ANYTHING TV
Best Chance: Mandy Patinkin in HOMELAND
Second Place: Eric Stonestreet in MODERN FAMILY
Eh... Probably not: Ed Harris in GAME CHANGE and Max Greenfield in NEW GIRL
Just be happy you were nominated: Danny Huston in MAGIC CITY
My personal fav: I might cry if Mandy wins.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN ANYTHING TV
Best Chance: Hayden Panettiere in NASHVILLE
Second Place: Maggie Smith in DOWNTON ABBEY
Eh... Probably not: Sofia Vergara in MODERN FAMILY, Archie Panjabi in THE GOOD WIFE, and Sarah Paulson in GAME CHANGE
My personal fav: Sarah Paulson, not for GAME CHANGE... I'll just chalk it up for AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM

Smokin' Aces

Smokin' Aces (DVD)

Staring Jeremy Piven, Alicia Keys, Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, & Taraji Henson

A single playing card - no matter what the suit, no matter what the color, no matter if it's got a joker on it or game rules - is two sided. If it falls, it will land on one of two sides. It will never stand up alone. This is the way "Smokin' Aces" evolves. From a particularly good eared, two-dimensional script, the characters and their situations fall heavily to the ground. With a whole lot of drive, a few original traits, and completely no audience empathy or appreciation, the ensemble, which is all too big to begin with, kicks ass, but we could care less.

However, there is one set of killers out to assassinate Vegas-rich Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), and that is the female contract killers, Georgia Skye and Sharice Watters, played by singer Alicia Keys and "Hustle & Flow's" Taraji Henson. Keys delivers with on-time attitude and brings life and attractiveness to her character, whereas the other actors just deliver their lines. Henson is the key to Key's prosperity as a reasonable character. The duo are friends, and Sharice cares deeply for Georgia, which brings some humanity to the movie.

What's the conflict? It's simple. Kill Israel. Who are the characters? Well, there's a ton of them, played by Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia, Ray Liota, Common, and the list goes on. What happens? A lot and not all at the same time. The idea was present but the delivery was all wrong. Reynolds, Garcia and Liota are at a career low. Their lines are fast and important which is a terrible mix, and they're not having much fun - Garcia especially. He is a lame duck in the film.

"Smokin' Aces" is clearly not a movie for a sappy friendship to bud either - it's a guy's movie, a shoot-you-in-the-face, blood-thirsty, action extravaganza. Or it should have been. For like the card trying to stand, it falls. Director and screenwriter, Joe Carnahan, presents us with a situation, but instead of showing it to us, he tells us. Multiple characters talking so rapidly about something that should be paid attention to by the audience, but can't, allows our affliction (or what was left of it) to diminish.


Where's the action? Well, to tell you the truth, with all of the plot confusion, when the action occurs, it's free of conflict, which is very, very bad. Action without conflict in an action movie is like kicking yourself in the groin. Some of the scenes are unexpected and good, like when "Lost's" Matthew Fox interrogates another "Lost" actor, Nestor Carbonell, about his credibility of being a true FBI agent. Of course Carbonell's character, Pasquale Acosta who bit off the the skin on his fingers so he can't be traced, is not an FBI agent. This scene is fun to watch and has great dialogue, and an end that has great collision. Another character that's fun to watch is Jason Bateman's Rip Reed who is erratic and completely hilarious.

There is a build up, too, in "Smokin' Aces," which is the death of Israel. If he does not die, this would not be a movie. Well, it would but I would hate it even more than I do now. We watch "Smokin' Aces" not for the characters, not for the dialogue, not for the confusing plot, but for the climax, when Israel comes face to face with fate. We'll just leave it at this: it's a huge let down.

However, what saves this movie from being one of the worst films ever, is that it pulls off one of my favorite tricks in cinema, something successfully pulled off in "The Village" and "Children of Men," the incredibly shocking and unpredictable killing of a main star within the first half-hour. "Smokin' Aces" does this and is effective in the act, gaining some respect.

Grade: D