Academy Awards 2017 nominees predictions: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay & Best Adapted Screenplay

BEST DIRECTOR

A year full of newcomers and with some big names back to the discussion boards. Chazelle seems to be in a good position to get a well-deserved Best Director Oscar nom for the beloved and award favorite La La Land (and having Whiplash as his previous feature is a plus). Larraín is on fire thanks to both Neruda and Jackie, two splendid biopics, but it's gonn be Kennedy's widow's biopic that is going to take him far in the Best Director race. Scorsese is back without Leonardo DiCaprio with an epic journey of a search for a priest in Japan and while some still have some doubts about Silence, I truly believe it's gonna be another Scorsese masterpiece which will give him another Oscar nod for directing work. Barry Jenkins brought us one of the most beautifully shot movies of the year and one of the most sensitive tales also... the indie community is in love with Moonlight and so are critics and an Oscar nom just seems natural in this case. And then we have Kenneth Lonergan for his work in the Oscar-buzzy Manchester by the Sea, a movie that in spite of not being a showy directorial effort it does feel like one of the most honest told stories on the big screen thanks to Lonergan's sensitive direction. Villeneuve does a great work in Arrival, but sci-fi film is always a risky bet in Oscar predictions and Best Director lineup is full of more traditional yet fantastic directing work. Gibson would have a nod in the bag for Hacksaw Ridge if he wasn't Hollywood's Nº 1 Enemy... will this one work as his atonement at the AMPAS' eyes? Ford impresses once again with Nocturnal Animals, but he isn't a regular director and Oscar voters might not feel confident enough. Jeff Nichols did great in Loving, but the movie is losing some heat (Ruth Negga aside who's a solid Best Actress contender). The Jungle Book is a major cinematic achievement and a technical wonder, but people seem sceptical about including the movie in the Best Picture predictions or Favreau in the Best Director race - still, it is one of the best cinematic experiences of the year, by far.

1. Damien Chazelle for La La Land

2. Martin Scorsese for Silence

3. Pablo Larraín for Jackie

4. Barry Jenkins for Moonlight

5. Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea

6. Denis Villeneuve for Arrival

7. Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge

8. Tom Ford for Nocturnal Animals

9. Jeff Nichols for Loving

10. Jon Favreau for The Jungle Book

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Manchester by the Sea - Kenneth Lonergan

2. Jackie - Noah Oppenheim

3. Moonlight - Barry Jenkins

4. Hell or High Water - Taylor Sheridan

5. The Lobster - Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou

6. 20th Century Women - Mike Mills

7. La La Land - Damien Chazelle

8. Loving - Jeff Nichols

9. Hail Caesar! - Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

10. Miss Sloane - Jonathan Perera

11. Toni Erdman - Maren Ade

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Love & Friendship - Whit Stillman

2. Silence - Jay Cocks

3. Fences - August Wilson

4. Lion - Luke Davies

5. Nocturnal Animals - Tom Ford

6. Arrival - Eric Heisserer

7. Julieta - Pedro Almodovar

8. Queen of Katwe - William Wheeler

9. The Jungle Book - Justin Marks

10. The Handmaiden - Park Chan-wook

TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today - 2017

The almost annual TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today is out, with me considering the performers' performances of 2016 also. We have a few changes since last year's list, with Greta Gerwig toping the list thanks to her last 3 great performances in Mistress America , Maggie's Plan and the Oscar buzzy acting turn in 20th Century Women . Scarlett Johansson comes second with her latest distinguished performance being in 2014 ( Under the Skin ), but she managed to be at the spotligh this year thanks to her fine turns in critically acclaimed movies: Hail, Caesar! , Captain America: Civil War , The Jungle Book (voice) and Sing (voice). Emily Blunt adds another great performance to her resume in The Girl on the Train and she comes third, while Elle Fanning 's turning into one of the finest actresses and she's getting to play more adult and complex parts like The Neon Demon and 20th Century Women 's (her two best performances since Super 8 ). Finall...

TOP 10 Most Promising Movie Actors (under 30)

Today I discussed about how awful some "teen icons" are and then we talked about some exceptions. So, I decided to make a little list, a TOP 10, with the male actors that I think that will become music in an ocean of noise somewhere in the future (I did one list before, but it was a little bit pathetic and I didn't justify my choices). Let's start... 1 - Ryan Gosling He may not have a huge list of movies in his body of work, but the few times he makes something, all the time he almost carries the movie. In fact, Gosling is a proof that talent does exist and that you don't need excentrical characters to receive raves. He rose to fame after the big screen adaptation of The Notebook (2004) and then received lots of critical praise for his performances in movies like Half Nelson (that gave him an Oscar, a SAG Award and other major awards nominations), Lars and the Real Girl (that gave him a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and other major awards nominations) and Fractur...

REVIEW: "The Secret Agent" / "O Agente Secreto"

Genre: Drama; Comedy; Thriller; Crime Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho Writer: Kleber Mendonça Filho Starring: Wagner Moura, Alice Carvalho, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Isabél Zuaa, Udo Kier and Tânia Maria I was fortunate for having Kleber Mendonça Filho presenting the film himself in my session, because he recalled some aspects of the movie he wanted the audience to be aware of: this movie represents an act of resistance and an ode to the importance of the press and cultural spaces (like a theatre) as powerful weapons against authoritarian regimes. So, The Secret Agent is actually some kind of parable about acts of resistance in the form of a political thriller - it's a slow burning film that is smartly balanced with truly funny comedic scenes and some moments of pure human joy that show the movie's true heart beneath its disguise - it's more of a satire to a corrupt system than a manhunt film. It's some kind of cinematic marvel in its own right. The story ...

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