Venice Film Festival 2018: "Roma" is the Venice champion

GOLDEN LION: Roma, Alfonso Cuarón

He will now have to battle all the "Netflix tabu" in order to shine in front of the AMPAS' eyes! This prestige prize only feeds Cuarón's Oscar dreams and it might also be a right push for Netflix to release Roma in theatres and not only on streaming (fingers crossed!!!)

Grand Jury Prize: The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos

The movie is more of a film festival candy than "mainstream awards" cup of tea, but it seems Lanthimos brings his most "conventional" film yet without sacrificing his more grotesque pleasures. The movie is officially on the radar for the main award categories (Best Film/Picture and Best Director) now

Silver Lion for Best Director: Jacques Audiard, The Sisters Brothers

While The Sisters Brothers doesn't seem like Best Picture and Best Director material for the AMPAS tastes, maybe it can be good enough for Best Adapted Screenplay consolation prize. Audiard is brilliant as a director, but better Oscar nominated for screenwriting than not-Oscar nominated... we'll see! Some movies just fare better at film festivals...!

Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

They start early award season as the Best Actor and Best Actress races' frontrunners! While there was some doubts about Colman's category placement in the award race, the Volpi Cup win let it crystal clear: she'll be campaigned for Best Leading Actress! It's amazing she's getting the recognition she deserves (she was mesmerizing in Tyrannossaur, Hyde Park On Hudson and The Lobster, remember?). As for Dafoe seems to benefit from last year's Oscar love for his performance in The Florida Project. Good news for Hollywood justice!

Best Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Hollywood royalty strikes again! After the underrated Hail, Caesar!, the Coens seem to have found major prestige recognition for their latest project. A well-reviewed western said to feature all the typical elements of a Coen bros' movie... it didn't catch the fire of the directors' previous westerns (No Country For Old Men and True Grit), but it seems to be another welcome addition to the Coens resumè.

Special Jury Prize: The Nightingale, Jennifer Kent
Marcello Mastroianni Award for for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Baykali Ganambarr, The Nightingale

After this big win, I guess I'll have to watch this one! Didn't heard much about this project, but I guess now it's time to have a look...

And now... out of the Golden Lion competition, there's the Horizons section (which often feature remarkable foreign productions). So, have a look and add some titles to your alternative/not mainstream list:

Best Film: Manta Ray, Phuttiphong Aroonpheng

Best Director: Ozen (The River), Emir Baigazin

Special Jury Prize: Anons (The Announcement), Mahmut Fazil Coskun

Best Actress: Natalya Kudryashova, The Man Who Surprised Everyone

Best Actor: Kais Nasif, Tel Aviv on Fire

Best Screenplay: Pema Tseden, Jinpa

Best Short Film: Kado, Aditya Ahmad

Lion of the Future — “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film: The Day I Lost My Shadow, Soudade Kaadan

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...

ACTOR/ACTRESS OF THE MONTH: Michelle, ma belle

Michelle Pfeiffer Born: April 29, 1958 in Santa Ana, California, USA Oscar recognition: 1989 - Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons (nom) 1990 - Best Leading Actress for The Fabulous Baker Boys (nom) 1993 - Best Leading Actress for Love Field (nom) One of the most beautiful women that ever walked on Earth, Michelle Pfeiffer was the A-list of the A-list in the late 80's and in the begining of the 90's, managing to get 6 Golden Globe nominations (winning one) 6 years in a round, for 6 amazing performances. She called attentions with her charm and voice in the movie musical flop Grease 2 , but she started gaining a "serious actress reputation" after appearing in Brian de Palma's Scarface . After Scarface , she became the biggest Hollywood movie star and delivered iconic performances as Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys and as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Tim Burton's Batman Returns . After some years away from stardo...

Academy Awards 2027 nominees predictions: all categories (2nd ROUND)

Now that the Fall film festival has passed, it's time to make some changes in the Oscar predictions charts: La bola negra is on a winning strike taking home the TIFF's People Choice Award; The movies I Play Rocky and Elsinore revealed themselves as huge crowd-pleasers and can be extremely viable Best Picture candidates; Neon's has found its big Oscar player (Luca Guadagnino's Artificial ) and Paper Tiger got more enthusiastic word from New York and London; the unexpected A24's documentary You Can See Everything is (currently) the most well-reviewed movie of the year and it's on track to become a truly unexpected box-office hit; Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love entered Best International Film race and it can have nice shots in screenplay and directing (according to reviews), suprassing the buzz of early favorites All of a Sudden and Fjord ; Digger is a bomb and not a promising Oscar vehicle; Sense and Sensibility is doing well with critics and it is project...

Cinema and Popcorn

Search This Blog