The LA Film Critics Embrace French Love

The LA Film Critics went super art house with their choices for the Best of 2012 this year honoring the French drama Amour with Best Picture. The incredibly difficult film to watch features a great performance from lead actress Emmanuelle Riva which propelled her into a tie for Best Actress with one of this year’s Oscar front-runners Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook). The other big winner was the atrocious and self-important Paul Thomas Anderson film, The Master, which took home Director, Actor (Joaquin Phoenix… really? ugh), Supporting Actress (Amy Adams... ok, I’ll accept that) and Production Design (um, did they not see The Hobbit, Anna Karenina, Les Mis, or Lincoln?)… Winning Best Supporting Actor was newcomer Dwight Henry for Beasts of the Southern Wild which also took home Best Score. The screenplay award went to Argo. Head to the LA Film critics site here for more info on their awards which have a VERY spotty record in terms of forecasting Oscar winners (They only got Christopher Plummer for Supporting Actor right of the big 8 categories last year). Then, check out all the winners below.

2012 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Winners~

BEST PICTURE
“Amour”
Runner-up: “The Master”

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson (“The Master”)
Runner-up: Kathryn Bigelow (“Zero Dark Thirty”)

BEST ACTOR
Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”)
Runner-up: Denis Lavant (“Holy Motors”)

BEST ACTRESS
TIE~ Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”) & Emmanuelle Riva (“Amour”)

BEST MUSIC/SCORE
Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”)
Runner-up: Johnny Greenwood (“The Master”)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“Holy Motors”
Runner-up: “Footnote”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Frankenweenie”
Runner-up: “It’s Such a Beautiful Day”

BEST DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION FILM
“The Gatekeepers”
Runner-up: “Searching for Sugar Man”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Dwight Henry (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”)
Runner-up: Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams (“The Master”)
Runner-up: Anne Hathaway (“The Dark Knight Rises”; “Les Miserables”)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio (“Argo”)
Runner-up: David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook”)

BEST EDITING
Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg (“Zero Dark Thirty”)
William Goldenberg (“Argo”)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins (“Skyfall”)
Runner-up: Mihai Malaimare Jr. (“The Master”)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“The Master”
Runner-up: “Moonrise Kingdom”

My Movie Grades for the first half of 2012!

So far, 2012 has not been the best year for movies. Much like the first half of 2011, there has been a whole lot of crap forced on moviegoers, and it seems the movie going public is responding according as box office grosses are way down this year. In fact this summer has seen a host of big movies bomb with only one massive success in The Avengers. Granted, that movie is simply fantastic and exactly what a fun entertaining summer film should be… With all that said, let’s take a look at the grades I’ve given to the movies I’ve seen so far. My list is below. Atop it alongside The Avengers are three wonderful independent films, the hilarious and inspiring The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the hysterical and moving French film The Intouchables and the fascinating and bold Beasts of the Southern Wild. More on the latter film after my list… Take a look and let me know what you’re thoughts on the films of 2012 are so far…

My 2012 Movie Grades (ranked by grade and in order of my faves):

Beasts of the Southern Wild: A
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A
The Intouchables: A
The Avengers: A
The Hunger Games: A-

Rock of Ages: B+
People Like Us: B
Safe House: B
Dark Shadows: B
Men in Black 3: B-
The Vow: B-
Friends with Kids: C+
This Means War: C
W.E.: C
21 Jump Street: C-
The Five Year Engagement: C-
John Carter: D

Film Festival Movies~

Gayby: A
The Skinny: B

Getting back to the independent films I loved so much earlier this year, all of them could factor into the year-end Awards races. Hotel is a surefire Golden Globe contender and The Intouchables should do well there and likely at the Oscars. Of the three however, Beasts of the Southern Wild, may have the best Oscar odds. It’s a critic’s darling and it’s one of the most unique films I’ve ever seen. The picture follows a young six-year-old girl who must search for her mother after her father becomes ill on their isolated bayou island home. Beasts incorporates Spanish realism, big concepts and questions about the human spirit and what home and family mean alongside the story of a young girl forced to grow up and face the elements. Newcomer Quevenzhane Wallis is astounding as the girl, Hushpuppy, and her father is played by another novice, Dwight Henry in an equally wonderful debut. I highly recommend it. The movie which gets a limited release this weekend will expand over the summer. For more on the film which was a smash at Sundance and Cannes, head here and check out the trailer below…
Also watch for Beasts to contend in the following categories come Awards season~
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor (Dwight Henry)
Best Actress (Quevenzhane Wallis)
Best Screenplay
Best Score
Best Cinematography
Best Sound
Best Editing

Beasts of the Southern Wild trailer