Cinema and Popcorn

Denzel Washington presenting the Best Actress Oscar® to Nicole Kidman for her performance in The Hours - the 75th Annual Academy Awards® in 2003. Because today is Oscars day, I had to share one of the most beautiful and full of genuine emotions acceptance speeches. And it comes from Nicole Kidman. Miss Hathaway, watch this video and learn something, please...  

It seems Silver Linings Playbook started what I'm predicting being its glory weekend with the right foot: we can call it the "Big Winner of the Independent Spirit Awards 2013". Hope the AMPAS members feel the same way about SLP . Do you know what I most love about these awards? They honour true excellence in filmmaking more often than the considered "Major Awards".  Here's the complete list of the Independent Spirit Awards 2013 winners : BEST FEATURE Silver Linings Playbook BEST DIRECTOR David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook BEST SCREENPLAY Silver Linings Playbook , David O. Russell BEST FIRST FEATURE The Perks of Being a Wallflower BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Safety Not Guaranteed , Derek Connolly JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000) Middle of Nowhere BEST MALE LEAD John Hawkes for The Sessions BEST FEMALE LEAD Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playboo...

BEST PICTURE Silver Linings Playbook The crowd-pleaser that nabed 8 Oscar nominations in all the "major categories" (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay), which is a win per si, considering it is a "simple" comedy-drama. Winner of the People's Choice of Best Film of Toronto Film Festival, a critical darling and a box-office success ($98,6M and it keeps scoring): it may not have all the award recognition Argo received, but SLP has a heart and the Academy members already showed how much they are into this this one. It's not an obvious Best Picture winner prediction, but I don't see the AMPAS giving the Best Picture prize to a a-very-good-but-not-THAT-GREAT- thriller-movie without a Best Director nod ( Argo ) and since Lincoln is so "normal" and "so not Best Picture worthy" (from my point of view)... In fac...

1.   Beasts of the Southern Wild An explosion of joy and visceral cinematic beauty, Beasts of the Southern Wild is, in my opinion, the most original and emotionally powerful cinematic experience of the year. Zeitlin brings an incredible innocence and Quvenzhané Wallis delivers one of the most enchanting performances I've ever seen. Everything's fresh in Beasts , everything is unique, everything proves creativity is far more important than money. 2.  Silver Linings Playbook An explosion of sensitive direction, charming performances and feel-good energy, Silver Linings Playbook , more than one of the best crowd-pleasers in years, it is a movie that touched me deeply. David O. Russell proves no one directs a family comedy/drama better than him (well, we can always add Woody Allen to the discussion) and the final result is outstanding. Plus, Cooper shows the world he's more than just "the guy from The Hangover ", Lawrence is simply delicio...

PRODUCERS GUILD AWARD Motion Picture Producer of the Year   Argo - Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov DIRECTORS GUILD AWARD Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Ben Affleck for Argo SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture Argo - Victor Garber, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Tate Donovan, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, John Goodman, Christopher Denham, Alan Arkin, Kerry Bishé, Ben Affleck, Chris Messina and Bryan Cranston WRITERS GUILD AWARD Best Original Screenplay Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty Best Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio (screenplay); Joshuah Bearman (article) - Argo Am I the only one who's tired of seeing Argo taking home everything? Still, I take the Best Director snub very seriously, so I still have my doubts about having Ben Affleck's latest taking home Best Picture, no matter how many guilds awards it has... Maybe I'm wrong, but I consider a Be...

Jude: [singing] All you need is love.

BEST PICTURE Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty , they are all running for a Best Picture win this year, but we all know there's only one possible winner. In normal conditions, Argo would be the natural frontrunner and would get an easy Best Picture win, but Ben Affleck missed a crucial Best Director nod, turning the Oscar something into something "interesting" from the worst point of view. Last time a movie won Best Picture without a Best Director nomination, we were in 1990 (I mean, I only would born in 1993) and Driving Miss Daisy took the major golden man home.  This year, I would point 5 major contenders for a Best Picture win, so, just have a look: 1.  My personal favorite Best Picture nominee after Beasts of the Southern Wild , a crowd-pleaser and a surprising major Oscar player (it nabed 8 Oscar nominations, which is a lot attending it is jus...