The Artist, Tinker Tailor, Hugo and Marilyn lead the BAFTA Nominations

To no one’s surprise, the little silent French movie that could, The Artist, led this morning’s BAFTA nominations (i.e.: the British Oscars) nabbing 12 bids. However, it’s a little bit of a surprise that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was right behind with 11 noms. That film certainly benefits from being a British production and is the only movie contending for Best Picture and Best British Picture. My Week with Marilyn is up for the latter and grabbed 6 nods including acting bids for Michelle WIlliams, Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench. The other big contender was Hugo with 9 nominations., but it missed Best Picture… Other snubs this morning included Leonardo DiCaprio, Shailene Woodley, Albert Brooks, Rooney Mara, Charlize Theron, Ryan Gosling, Elizabeth Olsen and the ladies of Albert Nobbs (However, Glenn Close and Janet McTeer and the Nobbs film were ineligible because the film has yet to open in Britain)…. One other interesting note has The Artist’s Berenice Bejo competing in the Lead Actress race instead of Supporting. Could this be a harbinger of things to come at the Oscars? We will see, but for now take a look at all the nominees below.

2012 BAFTA Nominations:
Best Film
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Film Not in the English Language
Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

Outstanding British Film
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Tomas Alfredson, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Leading Actor
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame

Leading Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis, The Help

Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Jim Broadbent, The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March

Supporting Actress
Carey Mulligan, Drive
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Judi Dench, My Week with Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Editing
The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Senna
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy

Production Design
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Make Up & Hair
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week with Marilyn

Costume Design
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Special Visual Effects
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse

Documentary
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Sound
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Original Music
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Animated Film
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango
Outstanding British Debut by a Director or Producer
Joe Cornish, Attack the Block
Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley, Sarah Brocklehurst, Black Pond
Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus
Richard Ayouade, Submarine
Paddy Considine & Diarmid Scrimshaw, Tyrannosaur

The Devil Destroys the Box Office while Tinker Tailor tackles the Top Ten

We have the first big breakout movie of 2012 as the atrocious “found footage” horror movie, The Devil Inside, opened to a big $34.5 million. It’s all the more stunning because the film only cost $1 million to make and the reviews and audience polling are terrible. Watch for a quick fade for the picture, but regardless, Paramount will have a giant profit. They’ll also be profiting from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol which is chugging along quite nicely taking in another $20 million for second. Holding up best of the repeating films in the top ten was the brilliant The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which only fell 24% for another $11.3 million and now seems a shoo-in to cross the $100 million mark. If it can nab some Oscar nominations, which I’m betting it will, it could go even farther…. The other big news in the top ten was the British indie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy barging into the top ten at # 9. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here, and check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Movies (Jan 6-8, 2012)
1. The Devil Inside, $ 34.5 million (debut)
2. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal, $ 20.5 million ($ 170.2 miillion total)
3. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, $ 14.1 million ($ 157.4 million)
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, $ 11.3 million ($ 76.8 million)
5. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, $ 9.5 million ($ 111. 6 million)
6. War Horse, $ 8.6 million ($ 56.8 million)
7. We Bought a Zoo, $ 8.5 million ($ 56.6 million)
8. The Adventures of Tin Tin, $ 6.6 million ($ 61.9 million)
9. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, $ 5.8 million ($ 10. 4 million)
10. New Year’s Day, 3.3 million ($ 52 million)

The Top Ten Film Ensemble Casts of 2012

We all know that it takes a village to make a great movie and luckily, 2012 had its share of wonderfully talented ensembles that made for some fantastic films. So, I decided to compile my own list of what I consider the best ensembles, top to bottom, of films over the last year. As a SAG voter, I will get to choose between the casts of The Artist, Bridesmaids, The Help, Midnight in Paris and The Descendants for Best Ensemble. Interestingly, only 2 of those films make my list… and I wonder if you can guess which ones… With that said, take a look at my choices for the Best Casts of 2012.

First Honorable Mentions…

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: a fierce and ferocious Rooney Mara, a sexy and introspective Daniel Craig, a creepy fantastic Stellan Skarsgaard plus solid support from Robin Wright, Joely Richardson, Christopher Plummer and more

Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen’s best film in years gave us Owen Wilson‘s best performance everywhere plus a luminous Marion Cottilard and a strong group of vets like Kathy Bates, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Kurt Fuller, Allison Pill and Corey Stoll

My Week with Marilyn: while Michelle Williams is deservedly gaining the most applause for her brilliant turn as Marilyn Monroe, the rest of the cast was tremendous starting with likely Oscar nominee Kenneth Branaugh and then Eddie Redmayne, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, Toby Jones, Dominic Purcell and Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench

Now onto the top tier…

Top Ten Film Ensembles of 2012:

10: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: while I didn’t love the film, the cast was pretty flawless. Gary Oldman’s stoic and simmering lead agent anchored a cast of great Brits including Benedict Cumberpatch (my have in the film), Toby Jones (again), Christian McKay, Tom hardy, Cirian Hinds and Oscar winner Colin Firth.

http://www.youtube.com/user/tinkertailormovie?v=VW-F1H-Nonk&feature=pyv&ad=15309858702&kw=tinker%20tailor%20soldier%20spy%20trailer

9. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: with a wonderful central performance from newcomer Thomas Horn and some beautiful work from Oscar winner Sandra Bullock and Oscar nominee Viola Davis, this 9/11 tribute film really socked me in the gut. Plus Max Von Sydow, Jeffrey Wright, John Goodman, Zoe Caldwell and Tom Hanks were great, not to mention a ton of small character actors that gave weight and authenticity to New York City. (This is something the film did great unlike The Descendants which cast non-actors for authenticity reasons in Hawaii and it backfired by taking you out of the scene with their poor performances).

8. 50/50: I sure hope this hilarious and heartbreaking film gets some Oscar traction next month because it deserves it. Joseph Gordon Levitt (a Golden Globe nominee) would make my final five Best Actor contenders for his triumphant performance as a young man fighting cancer. Plus the film gave us Seth Rogan’s best performance ever and great turns by Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Phillip Baker Hall, Matt Frewer and Independent Spirit nominee Anjelica Huston.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ90H5HCgCw

7. The Ides of March: this political thriller had so many great elements~ a great script, strong direction and a pitch perfect cast led by Golden Globe nominee Ryan Gosling. Standouts in the supporting cast for me were Phillip Seymour Hoffman and a surprisingly great Evan Rachel Wood. Also delivering nice turns were the always reliable Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright and director/star George Clooney.

6. Rampart: this dark and edgy thriller gave us a no holds barred brilliant turn by Woody Harrelson as a mess of a corrupt cop. But it also gave us a magnificent supporting cast with Brie Larson, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon and an especially dynamic Robin Wright as the women mixed up in his life. Plus there was Ben Foster, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi, Audra MacDonald, Ned Beatty, and Ice Cube.

5. Crazy Stupid Love: the best romantic comedy of the year was hilarious, original and refreshing and boasted a flawless ensemble of cinema pros like Steve Carrell, Marisa Tomei (again), Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Emma Stone and the sexiest man on film in all of 2012, Ryan Gosling.

4. Margin Call: in this fast paced and fascinating thriller about the financial crisis of the past few years, it was hard to pick just who stood out the most. I’d give Oscar winner Kevin Spacey the slight edge, but hey it also featured Demi Moore’s best work in ages and a wily and wonderfully corrupt Jeremy Irons… not to mention Zachary Quinto showed strong leading man potential, Penn Badgely in his best role to date, and great work from Paul Bettany, Mary McDonnell, Simon Baker and Stanley Tucci.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2: the final chapter in the Harry Potter franchise was by far the best. The film was magnificent on every level and the cast was just perfect. They all rose to the occasion and we will miss them tremendously. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Gint all grew into wonderful actors over the year and I’m sure the great supporting cast of talents like Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Jason Isaacs, Julie Walters and every British luminary around helped inform their performances. But I have to single out Alan Rickman’s Oscar worthy turn as Snape as the film’s highlight. Seriously, nominate him now Academy voters!

2. Bridesmaids: the funniest movie of the year also gave us one of the best female ensembles in ages. Golden Globe nominee Kristin Wiig was a terrific ring leader for this riotous crew including Emmy nominee Rose Byrne, Wendi McLoven-Covey, Maya Rudolph, Ellie Kemper and the standout~ SAG nominee, and soon to be Oscar nominee if you ask me, Melissa McCarthy. There were a few other funny guys in it too I have to recognize~ Jon Hamm, Chris O’Dowd, and Ben Falcone. Cant wait for a sequel!

1. The Help: I don’t think it’s a surprise that this incredibly talented and transcendent group of women are at the top of the list. (Hey, when was the last time two primarily female ensembles anchored two of the best movies of the year? Fantastic!… and it’s about time…) Led by surefire Oscar nominees Viola Davis (heartbreaking and resplendent), Octavia Spencer (fiery, hilarious and explosive) and Jessica Chastain (who gave a million amazing performances this year), the women in this film left an indelible mark. I mean you could also make a case for nominating Emma Stone (again), Cicely Tyson, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek and wondrously evil Bryce Dallas Howard. You know which film is getting my vote for the SAG Best Ensemble!

San Francisco Critics Live for The Tree of Life while Gary Oldman Gains Ground

San Francisco has always marched to the beat of its own drummer and the critics of the city are no different as they announced Gary Oldman Best Actor for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The film also won for Best Adapted Screenplay giving Oldman and the Focus feature some much needed heat. Also garnering kudos was The Tree of Life. The confounding and polarizing film nabbed Best Picture, Director and Cinematography. Tilda Swinton, Albert Brooks and Vanessa Redgrave (with her first win of the year) grabbed the other acting honors. Take a look at the list below.

2011 San Francisco Critics Circle Award Winners:

Best Picture
“The Tree of Life”

Best Director
Terrence Malick for “The Tree of Life”

Best Original Screenplay
J.C. Chandor for “Margin Call”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Best Actor
Gary Oldman for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks for “Drive”

Best Supporting Actress
Vanessa Redgrave for “Coriolanus”

Best Animated Feature
“Rango”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Certified Copy”

Best Documentary
“Tabloid”

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki for “The Tree of Life”

Marlon Riggs Award for courage & vision in the Bay Area film community
National Film Preservation Foundation, in recognition of for its work in the preservation and dissemination of endangered, culturally significant films

Special Citation for under-appreciated independent cinema
“The Mill and the Cross”