My Take on the Best of the Movies in 2012 and my Top 30 Films!

2012 was a pretty good year for films. Despite a wonky start with dreadful fare like The Grey and what seemed like 400 Channing Tatum movies, we got a bunch of box office hits that were actually good movies too like The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers. As the year wore on, we were also treated to the return of the great studio drama with Lincoln, Flight and Argo plus one tremendous and transcendent musical, the exquisite emotional and brilliant Les Miserables... Independent films also offered us some great cinema with the likes of the fantastic teen dramedy The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the inventive Beasts of the Southern Wild.... So, just what movies did I love the best? Well, after seeing over 100 plus movies this year, I’ve got my top 30 for you below. I’ve also listed my favorite performances and the five worst films I saw this year. Check it out below and then let me know your favorites in the comments section…. Then enjoy your holiday and get ready for one crazy unpredictable Oscar season.

Top 30 Movies of the Year:
1. Les Miserables
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. The Impossible
5. Any Day Now
6. Argo
7. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
8. Flight
9. Lincoln
10. Skyfall
11. The Dark Knight Rises
12. The Intouchables
13. Hitchcock
14. Beasts of the Southern Wild
15. The Avengers
16. The Hobbit
17. Arbitrage
18. Pitch Perfect
19. Gayby
20. Hope Springs
21. The Amazing Spiderman
22. The Hunger Games
23. Smashed
24. End of Watch                                            
25. The Silver Linings Playbook
26. Django Unchained
27. The Bourne Legacy
28. Life of Pi
29. Quartet
30. The Sessions

Best Male Lead Performance: Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)
Runner up: Tie: Denzel Washington (Flight) & Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Female Lead Performance: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Runner up: Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

Best Male Supporting Performance: Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables)
Runner Up: Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

Best Female Supporting Performance: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Runner Up: Samantha Barks (Les Miserables)

Best Debut Performance: Tom Holland (The Impossible)
Runner Up: Samantha Barks (Les Miserables)
3rd place: Quvanzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

Best Ensemble: Les Miserables
Runner Up: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Best Comedy: Pitch Perfect
Runner Up: Gayby

Best Action Film: Skyfall
Runner Up: The Dark Knight Rises

Biggest Tearjerker: Les Miserables
Runner Up: The Impossible

Best Foreign Film: The Intouchables
Runner Up: Rust & Bone

Best Comedic Performance: Rebel Wison (Pitch Perfect)         

Most Award-Worthy Performance No One is Talking About: Tommy Lee Jones (Hope Springs)
Runner Up: Alan Cumming (Any Day Now)

Best Documentary: How to Survive a Plague
Runner Up: Vito

Movie that Got a Bad Rap but was Really Entertaining: Rock of Ages

Best Villain: Javier Bardem (Skyfall)

~And now for the bad news….

Worst Movies of the Year:
1. Killer Joe
2. The Grey
3. The Master
4. This is 40
5. John Carter

“Any Day Now” is a MUST SEE!

This past summer, I saw an astounding film at the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles that wrecked me emotionally and is one of my top ten movies of 2012. That fantastic drama, Any Day Now, is finally hitting theaters in Los Angeles and New York this weekend and I highly recommend it. Any Day Now has won numerous awards on the festival circuit including Best Actor kudos for The Good Wife’s Alan Cumming who give an Oscar caliber performance. Cumming plays half of a gay couple (alongside the wonderful Garret Dillahunt from Raising Hope) fighting for custody of a mentally handicapped teenager in a biased court system in 1979. This powerful film by Travis Fine features wonderful performances from the aforementioned Cumming and Dillahunt plus a great supporting cast including Frances Fisher (Titanic), Jamie Anne Allman (The Killing), Gregg Henry (Scandal), Mindy Sterling (the Austin Powers films), Kelli Williams (The Practice), my friend Doug Spearman (Noah’s Arc) and especially newcomer Isaac Leyva who is heartbreakingly wonderful in his film debut. You will laugh, you will cry and you will never forget this movie. I know that’s high praise, but I totally mean it. Head here for more on Any Day Now and check your local listing for upcoming showings. Then check out the trailer below.

Any Day Now

“Beasts of the Southern Wild”, “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Silver Linings Playbook” Lead the Independent Spirit Award Nominations

As expected the wonderful and inventive film Beasts of the Southern Wild led this morning’s Independent Spirit Award nominations with four nods including Picture, Director and Actress for 9-year-old Quevanzhane Wallis. These nods will certainly help the films Oscar hopes, especially in Wallis’s case…. Also, grabbing several nominations were Moonrise Kingdom with five, the fascinating gay indie Keep the Lights On with three, Silver Linings Playbook with four, and Middle of Nowhere with four. Interestingly, Matthew McConaughey grabbed two nominations for Lead Actor (Killer Joe) and Supporting Actor (Magic Mike which, yes was made independently for only $7 million, but was distributed by Warner Brothers)… A special shout out to nominations for three of my favorite films this year: Gayby, How to Survive a Plague and The Perks of Being a Wallflower each with one nomination… A quick gripe though: several films and performers were ignored including the brilliant film Any Day Now and its star Alan Cumming plus where were the actors from Wallflower Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller and no Melanie Lynskey for Hello I Must Be Going…. So, who did make the list? Check out the nominees below and head to the Indie Spirit website here for more info on the show.

2012 Independent Spirit Award Nominees~

BEST FEATURE
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep the Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Fill the Void
Gimme the Loot
Safety Not Guaranteed
Sound of My Voice
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Rama Burshtein, Fill the Void
Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Celeste and Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki, Gayby

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.
Breakfast with Curtis
Middle of Nowhere
Mosquita y Mari
Starlet
The Color Wheel

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini, Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce, Four

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere
Michael Péna, End of Watch
Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yoni Brook, Valley of Saints
Lol Crawley, Here
Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov, End of Watch
Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom

BEST DOCUMENTARY
How to Survive a Plague
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
The Waiting Room

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Amour, Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust And Bone, Jacques Audiard
Sister, Ursula Meier
War Witch, Kim Nguyen

16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
(includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget)
Nobody Walks, Alicia Van Couvering
Prince Avalanche, Derrick Tseng
Stones in the Sun, Mynette Louie

19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
(includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant)
Pincus, David Fenster
Gimme the Loot, Adam Leon
Electrick Children, Rebecca Thomas

STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
(includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant)
Leviathan, Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
The Waiting Room, Peter Nicks
Only the Young, Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Starlet
Director: Sean Baker
Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

A quick Outfest Wrap Up

So, I’ve had a crazy busy and frustrating week and I haven’t had a chance to tell ya my thoughts on this year’s Outfest.… The 30th Anniversary of the biggest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in the country was a great one, and I’m thrilled to report that all of the movies I saw were pretty darn good. I don’t know if I just chose better movies to see or the quality in general was up this year, but it was a good experience…
I saw the quirky Sundance entry My Best Day, the riotous comedy Gayby, the funny coming of age comedy Elliott Loves, and the gorgeously shot super artistic drama Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean. I also went to a hilarious panel and screening of an episode of Happy Endings featuring the creators and cast members Adam Pally (Max), Zachary Knighton (Dave) and frequent guest star the hysterical Stephen Guarino (Derrick). Despite the forum being moderating by a hugely annoying and disrespectful moron reporter from The Hollywood Reporter who spoke like the long-lost gay Kardashian brother, it was an incredibly fun day and the screening of the lost “Kickball” episode was brilliant.
There were two films I wanted to bring special attention to that I saw as well. The first was I Do a wonderful drama about a British immigrant who marries his best female friend to stay in the country but suddenly falls for his perfect man. The story was beautifully written by my friend David W. Ross as it detailed the difficulties that gay couples face when one of them is not a citizen. Hello can we all just get some equal rights??? It also features wonderful performances by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Alicia Witt, Maurice Compte and Ross himself. Check out the trailer below and watch for the film in more festivals this fall with a pending release as well!

I Do

Finally, the best film I saw at Outfest was the amazing and incredibly emotional drama, Any Day Now, featuring an Oscar worthy performance by Tony Award winner and Emmy nominee Alan Cumming. He plays a gay man in 1979 who falls for a lawyer (Raising Hope’s fantastic Garret Dillahaunt) and tries to adopt a teenage boy with down syndrome (heartbreaking newcomer Isaac Leyva) who’s been abandoned by his drug addicted mother (The Killing‘s tremendous Jamie Anne Allman). Their court battles and Marco’s struggles are gut wrenching and beautifully portrayed. This amazing film won the Audience Award for Best Feature and Cumming was awarded Best Actor by the Fetival as well. I highly recommend everyone see Any Day Now on the festival circuit and when it hits theaters across the nation this fall. Take a look at this beautiful film by Travis Fine here, and when you see it in the theatre, get out your handkerchiefs now too cuz I bawled like a baby throughout it! Just a landmark and incredible movie.

Outfest Movie Grade:

Any Day Now: A

I Do: A

Elliott Loves: A-

Gayby: A-

My Best Day: B+

Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean: B

Celebrate 30 Years of Outfest Tonight!

Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, turns 30 years old today with the start of its annual festival. As usual they will be presenting a huge number of films, documentaries and shorts over the next week and a half. I have been a member for a few years now and am always thrilled to support independent filmmaking and gay and lesbian cinema. I’ve appeared in films here in the past like Hollywood je T’aime and The Closet and will be submitting a few projects next year including our latest hysterical short Dirty Talk. In the meantime, I will just be enjoying the films that run from today July 12 thru July 22nd’s closing night feature, Struck by Lightning, written by and starring Glee‘s Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer.
Opening the festival tonight is the documentary Vito about gay rights activist Vito Russo while other big premieres include the comedy I Do (by my friend David Ross), Cloudburst starring Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, and Bearcity 2: The Proposal. There will also be a Hairspray sing-along and a special panel on the hilarious sitcom Happy Endings... For more on all the films and Outfest, head here.

Below is a list of films I will be seeing (and I’m sure I’ll be adding more in the days ahead)…

Any Day Now (starring Alan Cumming and Garrett Dillahaunt)
Elliott Loves
I Do
My Best Day
Gayby (a hilarious comedy I saw at the LA FIlm Fest)
Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean
Beauty (a fascinating and tense foreign drama)
Struck by Lightning

And enjoy this preview reel of some of the great films that will be playing this year at the 30th Anniversary of Outfest.

My Big Bold 2011 Emmy Winner Predictions

This Sunday Sept 18th is television’s big night, the Emmy Awards honoring the best on the tube in the past year. Emmy winner Jane Lynch (Glee) is up for another award this year and is our fearless host for the show that airs live at 8pm on the East coast (5pm for ya’ll on my side of the country). It should be a great show and we could see a wide variety of winners. However, I think the two big races will look like repeats from last year with Modern Family and Mad Men repeating in the Comedy and Drama categories… So, who else do I think will and should win? Take a look at my big bold perhaps clueless Emmy winner predictions below and watch the big show on Sunday night on Fox.

My Big Bold 2011 Emmy Winner Predictions~

Drama Series:
Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Mad Men
Will win: Mad Men
Should win: The Good Wife
Spoiler: Boardwalk Empire

Comedy Series:
The Big Bang Theory, Glee, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock
Will & Should win: Modern Family
Spoiler: Parks and Recreation

Lead Actor Drama Series:
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Hugh Laurie (House), Timothy Olyphant (Justified)
Will win: Jon Hamm
Should win: Michael C. Hall (hello, he’s never won, what???… yeah, it’s just my personal thing. However, apparently Jon Hamm really does deserve it for his submission episode “The Suitcase”)
Spoiler: Steve Buscemi

Lead Actress Drama Series:
Kathy Bates (Harry’s Law), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Mirielle Enos (The Killing), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Juliana Marguiles (The Good Wife), Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Will & Should win: Juliana Marguiles
Spoiler: Elizabeth Moss

Lead Actor Comedy Series:
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Steve Carrell (The Office), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Louis C.K. (Louie), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Will & Should win: Steve Carrell
Spoiler: Jim Parsons

Lead Actress Comedy Series:
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Laura Linney (The Big C), Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly), Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)
Will & Should win: Amy Poehler (yes, I’m going out on a big limb here)
Spoiler (and a very deserving one): Laura Linney (she’s never lost an Emmy race mind you… but she already has 3 of em!)

Supporting Actor Drama Series:
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age), Josh Charles (The Good Wife), Alan Cumming (The Good Wife), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Walter Goggins (Justified), John Slattery (Mad Men)
Will win: Alan Cumming
Should win: Peter Dinklage
Spoiler: Walter Goggins
~this one is a serious horse race. Any of them could prevail

Supporting Actress Drama Series:
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife), Michelle Forbes (The Killing), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Kelly MacDonald (Boardwalk Empiret), Margo Martindale (Justified), Archie Penjabi (The Good Wife)
Will & Should win: Margo Martindale
(I have a soft spot for Michelle Forbes though and would be thrilled if she pulled off an upset)
Spoiler: Archie Penjabi

Supporting Actor Comedy Series:
Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Chris Colfer (Glee), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Ed O’Neil (Modern Family), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Will win: Ty Burrell
Should win: Chris Colfer
Spoiler: Eric Stonestreet (seriously, it could be anyone but Cryer and I’d be happy)

Supporting Actress Comedy Series:
Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Jane Lynch (Glee), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), Betty White (Hot in Cleveland)
Will win: Betty White
Should win: Julie Bowen (even though White is still super awesome)
Spoiler: Jane Lynch (she has an amazing episode submission dealing with the softer side of Sue Sylvester and her sister’s death)

TV Movie/Miniseries:
Cinema Verite, Donwtown Abbey, The Kennedys, Mildred Pierce, The Pillars of the Earth, Too Big Too Fail
Will win: Downtown Abbey
Should win: Cinema Verite
Spoiler: Mildred Pierce (it was the most nominated program of the year by the way and that always helps)

Lead Actor TV Movie/Miniseries:
Idris Elba (Luther), Laurence Fishburne (Thurgood), William Hurt (Too Big To Fail),Greg Kinnear (The Kennedys), Barry Pepper (The Kennedys), Edgar Ramirez (Carlos),
Will win: William Hurt
Should win: Barry Pepper
Spoiler: Edgar Ramirez

Lead Actress TV Movie/Miniseries:
Taraji P. Henson (Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story), Diane Lane (Cinema Verite), Jean Marsh (Upstairs Downstairs), Elizabeth McGovern (Downtown Abbey), Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce)
Will win: Kate Winslet
Should win: Diane Lane

Supporting Actor TV Movie/Miniseries:
Bryan O’Byrne (Mildred Pierce), Paul Giamatti (Too Big to Fail), Guy Pearce (Mildred Pierce), Tom Wilkinson (The Kennedys), James Woods (Too Big To Fail)
Will win: James Woods
Should win: Tom Wilkinson
Spoiler: Guy Pearce

Supporting Actress TV Movie/Miniseries:
Eileen Atkins (Upstairs Downstairs), Melissa Leo (Mildred Pierce), Maggie Smith (Downtown Abbey), Mare Winningham (Mildred Pierce), Evan Rachel Wood (Mildred Pierce)
Will & Should win: Maggie Smith
Spoiler: Evan Rachel Wood

Reality Competition Show:
American Idol, Amazing Race, Dancing With the Stars, Project Runway, So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef
Will win: American Idol (they’ve never won and this feels like their best chance or they will probably never win)
Should win: Project Runway or So You Think You Can Dance
Spoiler: Top Chef

Today’s Oscar Contender~ Helen Mirren and The Tempest.

Shakespeare’s final work makes it to the big screen this November with Julie Taymor’s adaptation of The Tempest. Taymor is the Tony winning genius behind Broadway’s The Lion King and has also made some quite memorable films with the Oscar nominated Frida and the lovely to look at yet still a big ole mess musical Across the Universe. Regardless of whether you appreciate her work, it always spurs much debate and is certainly a creative endeavor. This time she also has an ace in her pocket in the vein of Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren who stars the magical figure Prospera. Taymor changed the gender of the character for Mirren and it should add a nice new dynamic to the tale of magic, grief, power, romance, humor and struggle on a mystical island. She’s also surrounded by a heady cast including Alfred Molina, Russell Brand, Felicity Jones, Ben Wishaw, Tony winner Alan Cumming (Cabaret), and Oscar nominees Djimon Honsou (In America, Amistad, Blood Diamond) and David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck) plus Oscar winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation). This film looks to be a contender in the technical field for sure, but will it break through to the big races? Take a look at the trailer below and let me know your thoughts.

The Tempest 2010

Tony’s Top TV Stars

The annual Tony Awards honoring the best on Broadway air this Sunday on CBS. The show has been a tradition for the network for years and it not only will be celebrating the best of theatre, but also showcasing a number of TV stars who are stretching their legs on the boards. The show is hosted by Emmy winning Will & Grace star and Tony nominee Sean Hayes and features several TV faces as nominees this year including Laura Linney (Showtime’s upcoming The Big C), Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Valerie Harper (Rhoda, etc), Linda Lavin (Alice), David Alan Grier (In Living Color), and 5 time winner Angela Landsbury (Murder She Wrote). All of these honorees had me wondering just what current TV stars have won Tony Awards. So, I did some digging. Take a look at the list of Tony Winning and Tony Nominated stars from some your favorite TV programs below. Now, I’m sure I’m missing some, so head over to the Tony’s website if you want to check and call me out.

Current TV Stars who’ve won Tony Awards:

Glenn Close (Damages)~ she has 3 Tonys including Best Actress in a Musical for Sunset Boulevard
Sara Ramirez (Greys Anatomy)~ won Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Spamalot
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)~ won Best Actor in a Musical for Cabaret
Audra McDonald (Private Practice)~ she has 4 Tony Awards!
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)~ she won Featured Actress in a Musical for Grand Hotel
Kristen Chenowith (Glee)~ She won Featured Actress in a Musical for You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown
Idina Menzel (Glee)~ the original Elphaba in Wicked, she landed the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the role (beating costar Kristen Chenowith)

Other TV Actors who’ve won in Plays include: Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Eve Best (Nurse Jackie), B.D. Wong (Law & Order: SVU) and Mary Louise Parker (Weeds)

And here are a bunch of your fave TV Actors who’ve landed Tony nominations…
Laura Linney (The Big C) has 3 Tony noms to her credit, Oliver Platt (Th Big C), Matthew Morrison (Glee) nomm’d for A Light in the Piazza, Jonathan Groff (Glee) nomm’d for Spring Awakening, and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) nomm’d for Into the Woods.

That’s just a sampling of your TV talent Tony nominated stars. I’m not even gonna start with Tony-nominated movie stars. This year alone we have a ton (Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Liev Shcriber, Christopher Walken, Jude Law, Scarlett Johannson). In the meantime, watch the Tonys this Sunday on CBS at 8pm and enjoy the brilliant Sara Ramirez in her big Tony winning performance from Spamalot below.

Sara Ramirez in Spamalot