A24’s sleeper hit, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is indeed winning almost everything everywhere all at once (just as the movie’s title) at the 95th Academy Awards held yesterday on March 12, 2023. The multiverse sci-fi, comedy and drama film won 7 Oscars out of the 11 nominations it received and became the biggest winner of the evening.
The awards ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the third time took a little over three and a half hours and went smoothly this year without any unwanted moments (no slapping incident, no wrong announcement of winner, etc). It was such a good show and I’m very excited and happy for most of the result this year, particularly to EEAAO’s sweep as I admire this film and it is certainly one-of-a-kind that truly deserves best picture.
Here are the full list of winners for the Hollywood’s biggest annual film awards, the 95th Academy Awards:
Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Best Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Original Song: “Naatu Naatu,” “RRR”
Best Documentary Feature: “Navalny”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Women Talking”
Best Original Screenplay: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Costume Design: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Best International Feature: “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Animated Feature: “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio”
Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: The Way of Water”
Best Cinematography: “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Film Editing: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Score: “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Sound: “Top Gun: Maverick”
Best Production Design: “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Whale”
Best: Documentary (Short Subject): “The Elephant Whisperers”
Best Short (Animated): “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
Best Short Film (Live Action): “An Irish Goodbye”
You can see the full nomination list for the awards in my previous blog post that also comes along with my final prediction. Out of the 23 categories, I correctly predicted in 17 of them. That’s 73.9% accuracy. Not bad. Not bad. Will try to aim for higher accuracy next year.
All of the awards that EEAO won are above-the-line categories, taking home best picture, director, screenplay (original), acting (lead actress, supporting actor, supporting actress) and film editing. The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) won three Oscars each at the ceremony as they co-write, co-direct and co-produce (together with Jonathan Wang) EEAAO. I’m so happy that they called out Michelle Yeoh’s name when announcing the best actress winner too. She truly deserves it. I’m so proud to be Malaysian at that moment and she did mention Malaysia and KL too in her acceptance speech while mentioning about her mother watching the ceremony live in their country. She became the first Asian to win the Oscar for Best Actress, the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award in any category, and the second woman of color to win Best Actress after Halle Berry in 2002. A huge congratulation to Michelle Yeoh!
Out of the 10 nominated films in best picture, 5 films went home empty handed that evening. They are ‘Elvis’ (quite unexpected as I was expecting this film to take home at least few Oscars like best actor and best costume design), ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, ‘Triangle of Sadness’, ‘The Fabelmans’ and ‘Tar’. It is very unlikely especially in recent years that Academy would let a film to make major sweep for their awards but it does finally happen this year with EEAAO’s dominance.
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ ended the evening with second most wins at 4 (international feature, cinematography, score and production design). I never thought it won for production design as I felt it was actually the weakest among the nominees in that category. What a surprise. Well, luckily, the movie didn’t perform here as well as in the BAFTA as I don’t really enjoy the film and was quite perplexed on how it could win so many awards at the BAFTA earlier including best film. The Academy made it right. All the 4 acting winners at the Oscars also matched up with the result at the SAG awards and not the BAFTA (and I’m very happy for it!).
Once Jamie Lee Curtis won in the tight supporting actress race (she isn’t even affected from the vote splitting with her co-star Stephanie Hsu who is also nominated in the same category) in the earlier part of the ceremony, I knew it will be a big night for EEAAO and a win for Michelle Yeoh for best actress is very likely. I still prefer Angela Bassett to win though for her performance in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.
Alright. That’s the wrap for the Hollywood awards season honouring the best of films released in 2022. It concludes with the 95th Oscars that made history in several categories and delivered one of the most satisfying results in a long time. What a year!
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
The 94th Academy Awards took place yesterday (this morning here in Singapore) with CODA, a movie about a child who is the only hearing person in her deaf family winning best picture (the film also win in the other two other categories it was nominated in; best supporting actor and best adapted screenplay). ‘Dune’, the epic sci-fi film last year is the biggest winner of the night with 6 wins (all in technical categories).
The biggest highlight of the awards ceremony is not from any of the above. It was ‘the slap’. Chris Rock who was making a disrespectful joke against Will Smith’s wife (Pinkett Smith) on stage was then given a violent slap by Will Smith. Will then returned to his seat, swear and yelled at him twice to stop talking about his wife. Some sided with Chris for his professionalism especially after facing such physical assault on live television and he continued to carry on with his presentation. Some thinks that it is a violence that is uncalled for by Will. However, some supported Will’s action to protect his wife and that Chris’ joke went overboard. Will Smith did went to the stage again for winning best actor for his performance in ‘King Richard’ and he took the opportunity to apologize to the Academy for what he did earlier.
Out of the 10 movies nominated in best picture this year, I have only watched three of them; ‘Don’t Look Up’, ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Nightmare Alley’. I have also not watched most of the other movies nominated in rest of the categories this year. Hence, I didn’t really put much attention to this year’s film awards season unlike in the previous years. For now, perhaps I will find a time to watch ‘CODA’ after it had won the best picture. Anyway, below is the full list of winners for the recently concluded 94th Academy Awards (Oscars 2022) along with my comments in some of the categories;
Best Picture
“CODA” — Winner
“Belfast”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Drive My Car”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
“Licorice Pizza”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“West Side Story”
Comment: Many general audiences would not have even heard of these nominated movies. It is better for the Academy to include more mainstream films rather than giving all the 10 slots to arthouse films. General audiences are getting more detached from these awards because of the industry’s dominant preference to small drama films. My personal pick is ‘Don’t Look Up’ but I knew it has zero chance of winning.
Actor in a Leading Role
Will Smith, “King Richard”— Winner
Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Andrew Garfield, “tick, tick…BOOM!”
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”‘
Will Smith in ‘King Richard’.
Opinion: It is Will Smith’s year. No one else is strong enough to take that best actor win from him. I’m hoping for more great projects for Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Garfield so that they both can win some day. They are both great actors too and are certainly not only good in portraying superhero characters but also in everything else.
Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” — Winner
Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
Penélope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
Opinion: Congratz to Jessica Chastain! Didn’t watch her movie but have heard of all the good reviews to her performance in that movie. Well, she has been nominated twice in the past so third time is really a charm for her this year!
Animated Feature Film
“Encanto”— Winner
“Flee”
“Luca”
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
“Raya and the Last Dragon”
Opinion: Disney wins again for animated feature film. ‘Encanto’ is yet another solid Disney film with all the ‘promised to be successful’ similar formulas. Hmm…but I have seen enough of these formulas and start to get tired of it after watching ‘Encanto’. My own preference is ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ but this film cannot even make it into the top 5 nominees.
Cinematography
“Dune,” Greig Fraser— Winner
“Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen
“The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
“West Side Story,” Janusz Kaminski
Directing
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” — Winner
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”
Documentary Feature
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”— Winner
“Ascension”
“Attica”
“Flee”
“Writing with Fire”
Documentary Short Subject
“The Queen of Basketball” — Winner
“Audible”
“Lead Me Home”
“Three Songs for Benazir”
“When We Were Bullies”
International Feature Film
“Drive My Car” (Japan)— Winner
“Flee” (Denmark)
“The Hand of God” (Italy)
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan)
“The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)
Opinion: Very much expected since ‘Drive My Car’ is the only non-English film which is able to make it into top 10 best picture nominees.
Original Song
“No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell— Winner
“Be Alive” from “King Richard,” music and lyric by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down To Joy” from “Belfast,” music and lyric by Van Morrison
“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Production Design
“Dune,” Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos — Winner
“Nightmare Alley,” Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
“The Power of the Dog,” Production Design: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Amber Richards
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Production Design: Stefan Dechant; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“West Side Story,” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo
Visual Effects
“Dune,” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer— Winner
“Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
“No Time to Die,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick
Makeup and Hairstyling
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh— Winner
“Coming 2 America,” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
“Dune,” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“House of Gucci,” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
Film Editing
“Dune,” Joe Walker — Winner
“Don’t Look Up,” Hank Corwin
“King Richard,” Pamela Martin
“The Power of the Dog,” Peter Sciberras
“tick, tick…BOOM!” Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum
Opinion: Wow…’Dune’ is sweeping in almost all the technical categories, leaving no place for other movies to snatch trophies.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Troy Kotsur, “CODA” — Winner
Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast”
Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”
J.K. Simmons, “Being the Ricardos”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story” — Winner
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Judi Dench, “Belfast”
Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
Live Action Short Film
“The Long Goodbye” — Winner
“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run”
“The Dress”
“On My Mind”
“Please Hold”
Animated Short Film
“The Windshield Wiper”— Winner
“Affairs of the Art”
“Bestia”
“Boxballet”
“Robin Robin”
Original Screenplay
“Belfast” (Kenneth Branagh)— Winner
“Don’t Look Up” (Screenplay by Adam McKay and story by Adam McKay and David Sirota)
“King Richard” (Zach Baylin)
“Licorice Pizza” (Paul Thomas Anderson)
“The Worst Person in the World” (Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier)
Adapted Screenplay
Siân Heder, “CODA”— Winner
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, “Drive My Car”
Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve, “Dune”
Original Score
“Dune,” Hans Zimmer— Winner
“Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell
“Encanto,” Germaine Franco
“Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias
“The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood
Sound
“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett — Winner
“Belfast,” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
“No Time to Die,” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
“The Power of the Dog,” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
“West Side Story,” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy
Costume Design
“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan — Winner
“Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
“Dune,” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
“Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira
“West Side Story,” Paul Tazewell
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
The 93rd Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) concluded a moment ago and I am glad that I was able to find an online platform to watch the live broadcast of the whole ceremony that ran a little over 3 hours. ‘Nomadland’ took the top honor by winning the best picture. The movie which I find mediocre also won for best director and best actress. Here are the full list of winners along with my opinions for several categories (the winners are in bold):
Best Picture The Father Judas and the Black Messiah Mank Minari Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7
Opinion: Expected. ‘Nomadland’ have had a clean sweep in the major precursor awards in this category. I don’t get the hype of this movie and I also do not enjoy it thoroughly (I find it dull). I would have prefer ‘The Father’ or ‘Minari’.
Best Actor Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Anthony Hopkins, The Father Gary Oldman, Mank Steven Yeun, Minari
Opinion: Wow…I’m actually very happy for Anthony Hopkins. His performance in ‘The Father’ is fantastic and I’m glad that he won it which may came as a shock to many people. First, he won it before. Secondly, many felt that this should be awarded to Chadwick Boseman posthumously. Fortunately, most Academy members didn’t think that way (same goes to me). Hopkins delivered the best performance out of the five.
Best Actress Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman Frances McDormand, Nomadland Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Opinion: Looks like BAFTA is a good indicator for the outcome of lead acting categories at the Oscars. Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand both won at the BAFTA and the result repeated itself at the Oscars. It is still quite a shock here since many are predicting Carey Mulligan to win (including myself). Frances is good but I don’t think she deserved to win three best actress Oscars for her performances which look more or less the same. Even the legendary Meryl Streep only had won two before (and one supporting). I felt it was too much for Frances.
Best Director Lee Isaac Chung, Minari Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman David Fincher, Mank Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Opinion: Good. More Asian filmmakers should be recognized (and not just Black or woman or LGBT). Without Chloe’s direction, ‘Nomadland’ would not even be in the spotlight in this awards season.
Best Supporting Actress Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy Olivia Colman, The Father Amanda Seyfried, Mank Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
Opinion: Very happy for Yuh-Jung Youn. She deserved it. She also gave the best (and most hilarious) speech for the evening despite not being well versed in English. Such a lovely person. I would want her to become my grandma…haha. Poor Glenn Close…lost again at the Oscars. She needs to get into a brilliant film and win best actress soon.
Best Supporting Actor Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7 Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami Paul Raci, Sound of Metal Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah
Best International Feature Another Round Better Days Collective The Man Who Sold His Skin Quo Vadis, Aida?
Best Animated Feature Onward Over the Moon Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Soul Wolfwalkers
Opinion: No surprise here. ‘Soul’ had a clean sweep just like ‘Nomadland’ in this awards season. A simple yet thought-provoking film, ‘Soul’ captivated me and is no doubt the best animated film in 2020.
Best Original Score Da 5 Bloods Mank Minari News of the World Soul
Opinion: ‘Soul’ winning score is expected. As soon as the movie started, I already knew this score is going to get some trophies. The score is simply amazing.
Best Original Song “Fight for You,” Judas and the Black Messiah “Hear My Voice,” The Trial of the Chicago 7 “Husavik,” Eurovision Song Contest “Io Si (Seen),” The Life Ahead “Speak Now,” One Night in Miami
Best Original Screenplay Judas and the Black Messiah Minari Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7
Opinion: Didn’t watch ‘Promising Young Woman’ but I have heard of the many positive words for the daring debut of the writer of this film (who is also the film’s director) with her unconventionally wild and fresh script.
Best Adapted Screenplay Borat Subsequent Moviefilm The Father Nomadland One Night in Miami The White Tiger
Opinion: Some predicted ‘Nomadland’ to win in this category too but I’m rooting for ‘The Father’. Looks like most Academy members had the same opinion as mine. The screenplay for this film is beautiful!
Best Cinematography Judas and the Black Messiah Mank News of the World Nomadland The Trial of the Chicago 7
Opinion: Most predicted ‘Nomadland’ too but ‘Mank’ prevailed in the end. Well, I agree too as I believe there are a lot more works on black-and-white film in terms of capturing the light to complement and enhance the film. On the other hand, lighting work from ‘Nomadland’ mostly comes from the nature itself only (the beautiful backdrop sceneries) and doesn’t require much effort.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling Emma Hillbilly Elegy Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Mank Pinocchio
Best Costume Design Emma Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Mank Mulan Pinocchio
Best Film Editing The Father Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7
Opinion: Would have prefer ‘The Father’ but ‘Sound of Metal’ is fine for me too.
Best Sound Greyhound Mank News of the World Soul Sound of Metal
Opinion: It is so obvious that the movie centered on sound (and even part of its title is called ‘sound’) will win this.
Best Live-Action Short Feeling Through The Letter Room The Present Two Distant Strangers White Eye
Best Animated Short Burrow Genius Loci If Anything Happens I Love You Opera Yes-People
Best Documentary Short Colette A Concerto is a Conversation Do Not Split Hunger Ward A Love Song for Latasha
Best Visual Effects Love and Monsters The Midnight Sky Mulan The One and Only Ivan Tenet
Opinion: Expected. The visual effects of ‘Tenet’ are splendid especially on its extensive use of backward shots which are critical to the story of the film (which also got the audiences confused too..haha).
Best Production Design The Father Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Mank News of the World Tenet
Opinion: Not much to comment but I have read many positive words on the production values in ‘Mank’ which delivered successfully to match the look and feel of the old Hollywood era intended in the film.
That’s all; the conclusion of the awards season for Hollywood films in 2020. Congratulations to all the winners! Most of the results are very much predictable while there are still some surprises especially in the lead acting categories as mentioned earlier. I find it weird that the Academy decided to announce best picture winner first before the best actor and actress categories. The arrangement felt weird.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
‘Parasite’, a South-Korean film last year that receives huge critical acclaim and international buzz and is my best film in 2019 made history by becoming the first ever foreign language film to win the coveted ‘best picture’ prize at the 92nd Academy Awards (Oscars)! Before the awards ceremony, I have looked into the major precursor awards and I have been thinking that ‘Parasite’ has been doing quite well but not to the point that it can manage to pull off this huge best picture win.
Deep down in my heart, I still wish for it to win despite knowing that ‘1917’ film is the frontrunner (I also love 1917 and placed it as my 2nd best film in 2019). My wish came true. I was so excited when ‘Parasite’ name is called during the revealing of the best picture’s envelope a moment ago. History is made!
The film is also the biggest winner of the night with 4 wins including best director, best international feature film and best original screenplay. Even Bong Joon-Ho (the director of ‘Parasite’) had told us that he thought he was done for the day at the acceptance speech for his win in the international feature film category (previously known as best foreign language film). I didn’t expect he would go up on stage two more times later. What a great result and the film totally deserves it! It is a masterpiece and it marks a huge step forward for South Korean films, or in more general, Asian film industry. Asian talents and films do deserve more attention in Hollywood.
World War I film, ‘1917’ lost out in best picture and best director categories but still managed to score 3 wins in other categories (sound mixing, cinematography and visual effects). I’m surprised for this movie to prevail in visual effects category. Among all the nominees, ‘1917’ has the least amount of work in visual effects and yet it won.
Each of the 9 best picture nominees won at least an Oscar in the ceremony except for ‘The Irishman’. The 4 acting champs (Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Laura Dern) from the previous major precursor awards (Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG & BAFTA) repeat in the Oscars with no surprise.
Here below is the full list of winners for the 92nd Academy Awards (Oscars 2020) honoring the best of films in 2019:
Best Picture Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell Renée Zellweger, Judy
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Best Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World I Lost My Body Klaus Missing Link Toy Story 4
Best Animated Short Dcera (Daughter) Hair Love Kitbull Memorable Sister
Best Original Screenplay Knives Out Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite
Best Adapted Screenplay The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women The Two Popes
Best Live Action Short Brotherhood Nefta Football Club The Neighbors’ Window Saria A Sister
Best Production Design The Irishman Jojo Rabbit 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite
Best Costume Design The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Documentary Feature American Factory The Cave The Edge of Democracy For Sama Honeyland
Documentary Short In the Absence Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) Life Overtakes Me St. Louis Superman Walk, Run, Cha-Cha
Sound Editing Ford v Ferrari Joker 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Sound Mixing Ad Astra Ford v. Ferrari Joker 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Cinematography The Irishman Joker The Lighthouse 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Film Editing Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Parasite
Best Visual Effects Avengers: Endgame The Irishman The Lion King 1917 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Makeup and Hairstyling Bombshell Joker Judy Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 1917
Best International Feature Film Corpus Christi Honeyland Les Misérables Pain and Glory Parasite
Best Original Score Joker Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4 “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen II
“Stand Up,” Harriet
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has just revealed the winners for 2019 films in its awards presentation (British Academy Film Awards 2019 or commonly known as BAFTA) on last evening. ‘1917’ became the biggest winner by sweeping 7 out of 9 awards it is nominated in, including the top prize; best film. The film also won best British film, best director, best cinematography, best production design, best sound, and best special visual effects. Very impressive run there!
Now, the film is the frontrunner to win best picture in the Academy Awards this coming weekend. It has already won Golden Globes-best motion picture drama, Producers Guild Award (PGA), Directors Guild Award (DGA), and now best film at BAFTA. It is my second favourite film to win as my top preference is still ‘Parasite’ but the language barrier is certainly a hindrance to many traditionalist Academy voters.
Here below is the full list of winners for the 2020 British Academy Film Awards:
BEST PICTURE
X – “1917” “The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
BEST DIRECTOR
X – Sam Mendes, “1917”
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
BEST ACTOR Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Taron Egerton, “Rocketman” X – Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” X – Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
X – Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Margott Robbie, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Susanna Fogle, Emily Halpen, Sarah Haskins, & Katie Silverman, “Booksmart”
Rian Johnson, “Knives Out”
Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” X – Bong Joon Ho & Han Jin Won, “Parasite”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Steven Zaillian, “The Irishman” X – Taika Waititi, “Jojo Rabbit”
Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, “Joker”
Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”
Anthony McCarten, “The Two Popes”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
X- “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“The Lighthouse”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN “The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Judy” X – “Little Women”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
BEST FILM EDITING “The Irishman” X – “Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
BEST MAKE UP & HAIR “1917” X – “Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Rocketman”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
X – “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
BEST SCORE “1917”
“Jojo Rabbit” X – “Joker”
“Little Women”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
BEST SOUND
X – “1917”
“Joker”
“Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“Rocketman”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
X – “1917”
“Avengers: Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
BEST CASTING
X – Shayna Markowitz, “Joker
Douglas Aibel & Francine Maisler, “Marriage Story
Victoria Thomas, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Sarah Crowe, “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
Nina Gold, “The Two Popes”
BEST ANIMATED FILM “Frozen 2” X – “Klaus”
“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon”
“Toy Story 4”
BEST DOCUMENTARY “American Factory”
“Apollo 11”
“Diego Maradona” X – “For Sama”
“The Great Hack”
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM “The Farewell”
“For Sama”
“Pain and Glory” X – “Parasite”
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
BEST BRITISH FILM
X – “1917”
“Bait”
“For Sama”
“Rocketman”
“Sorry We Missed You”
“The Two Popes”
BEST DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
X – “Bait”
“For Sama”
“Maiden”
“Only You”
“Retablo”
BEST BRITISH ANIMATED SHORT
X – “Grandad Was a Romantic”
“In Her Boots”
“The Magic Boat”
BEST BRITISH LIVE-ACTION SHORT “Azaar”
“Goldfish”
“Kamali” X – “Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl”)
“The Trap”
RISING STAR AWARD
Awkwafina
Jack Lowden
Kaitlyn Dever
Kelvin Harrison Jr. X – Micheal Ward
There is obviously no more competition in the four acting categories. Joaquin, Renee, Brad and Laura can start practicing their Oscar acceptance speech already. They have sweeping all the major precursor awards. I’m quite surprised seeing ‘1917’ winning best special visual effects too. It means the film really getting a lot of love, more than what we have expected earlier.
I’m also surprised to see a much lesser known animated film ‘Klaus’ (didn’t watch it yet) winning best animated film over hot favourite like ‘Toy Story 4’. It may stage similar upset in the coming Oscars. I’m also surprised that Awkwafina is not winning the Rising Star Award. She deserves it more than anyone else in that category. I can say that British Academy is still not too fond to reward people of different colour yet.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
When I have just done posting the result of the Critics Choice Movie Awards a moment ago (the awards ceremony was held last evening), the full list of nominations for the Academy Awards is announced.
Here below is the full list of nominations alongside my pick of ‘who will win’ and ‘who should win’ for the 92nd Academy Awards (aka Oscars 2020) scheduled to take place on 9th February 2020:
Best Picture:
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
Who will win: ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Who should win: ‘Parasite’
Lead Actor:
Antonio Banderas “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce “The Two Popes”
Who will win: Joaquin Phoenix Who should win: Joaquin Phoenix
Who will win: Renee Zellweger Who should win: Renee Zellweger
Supporting Actor:
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Who will win: Laura Dern Who should win: Laura Dern
Director:
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
Who will win: Sam Mendes, ‘1917’ Who should win: Bong Joon-Ho, ‘Parasite’
Animated Feature:
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4” Josh Cooley
Who will win: Toy Story 4 Who should win: Toy Story 4
Animated Short:
“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song
Adapted Screenplay:
“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten
Who will win: Little Women Who should win: Jojo Rabbit
Original Screenplay:
“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han’
Who will win: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Who should win: Parasite / Knives Out
Cinematography:
“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson
Who will win: 1917 Who should win: 1917
Best Documentary Feature:
“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Best Documentary Short Subject:
“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix
Best Live Action Short Film:
“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard
Best International Feature Film:
“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho
Who will win: Parasite Who should win: Parasite
Film Editing:
“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang
Who will win: Ford v Ferrari Who should win: Ford v Ferrari
Sound Editing:
“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord
Who will win: Ford v Ferrari Who should win: Ford v Ferrari / 1917
Sound Mixing:
“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Who will win: 1917 Who should win: Ford v Ferrari / Ad Astra
Production Design:
“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee
Who will win: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Who should win: Parasite / 1917
Original Score:
“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams*“The King,” Nicholas Britell
Who will win: Joker Who should win: Joker
Original Song:
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”
Who will win: I’m Gonna Love Me Again (Rocketman) Who should win: Into The Unknown (Frozen 2)
Makeup and Hair:
“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”
Who will win: Bombshell Who should win: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Costume Design:
”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips
Who will win: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Who should win: Little Women
Visual Effects:
“Avengers Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
Who will win: The Lion King Who should win: The Lion King / Avengers: Endgame
I wonder how many I got it correct in my prediction this time. ‘Joker’ leads the list with 11 nominations. Before the movie release, no one would expect ‘Joker’ to do so well in awards season besides than just its leading man, Joaquin Phoenix. The movie is also garnering attention in multiple other categories too. ‘The Irishman’, ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ and ‘1917’ are just slightly behind with 10 nominations each. My beloved film of 2019, ‘Parasite’ is doing quite well too with 6 nominations (more than what I was expecting earlier as it is able to score nomination in production design and film editing on top of picture, director, original screenplay and foreign language film now renamed to international feature film).
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
We are seeing major televised film awards on every weekend now (except Chinese New Year weekend on 25th and 26th), leading to the Academy Awards (aka Oscars) on 9th February 2020. For the last weekend, the Critics’ Choice Awards 2020 was held and here below is the full list of winners in film categories:
Best picture – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Leading Actor – Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Leading Actress – Renée Zellweger, “Judy”
Supporting actor – Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Supporting actress – Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Young actor/actress – Roman Griffin Davis, “Jojo Rabbit”
Acting ensemble – “The Irishman”
Director (tie) – Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”, Sam Mendes, “1917”
Comedy – “Dolemite Is My Name”
Original screenplay – Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adapted screenplay – Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”
Cinematography – Roger Deakins, “1917”
Production design – Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Editing – Lee Smith, “1917”
Costume design – Ruth E. Carter, “Dolemite Is My Name”
Hair and makeup – “Bombshell”
Visual effects – “Avengers: Endgame”
Animated feature – “Toy Story 4”
Action movie – “Avengers: Endgame”
Sci-fi or horror movie – “Us”
Foreign-language film – “Parasite”
Song (tie) – “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” (from “Wild Rose”), “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (“Rocketman”)
Score – Hildur Guðnadóttir, “Joker”
It is a joke seeing ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ winning best picture at the Critics’ Choice. It doesn’t even has the highest critics score from Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritics when compared to the other nominated films. I find the movie too long and boring and don’t see how critics view it as the best film of 2019. That’s crazy. Best picture should goes to ‘Parasite’.
As for the acting champs, they are basically the same group of people winning at the Golden Globes the weekend prior. So, it is now obvious that these 4 people will go on to win the same at the coming SAG, BAFTA and OSCARS. There wouldn’t be any surprise anymore since they are the frontrunners who are way ahead of the others.
This Critics’ Choice also dropped out major hints that ‘Joker’ is going to win also for score, director will be fight between Sam Mendes and Bong Joon-ho (sorry for the others), and Roger Deakins is going to win cinematography again for his work in ‘1917’. ‘Parasite’ is a lock for foreign language film win while it is also now among the frontrunners for best picture (together with ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’, ‘1917’ and ‘The Irishman’). However, it looks like Hollywood is still not ready to have a foreign film winning their coveted best picture prize although it is highly deserving.
Next awards will be the Screen Actors Guild Awards 2020 to be held in the coming weekend.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
After postponement for a month, the TVB Anniversary Awards 2019 is finally here to honour the best of Hong Kong’s TVB series in 2019. The star-studded event hosted by Carol Cheng, Karl Ting and Mak Mei-yan saw presentation of various awards in nearly 3 hours.
Here are the full list of winners for TVB Anniversary Awards 2019 (except non-drama categories) along with my opinions:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Lau Dan
Opinion: Happy for him in winning this award. This is also his big birthday gift as he will be turning 76 tomorrow. With career spanning over 50 years and involvement in over 50 series, Lau Dan certainly deserves this recognition.
Most Improved Male Artiste: Owen Cheung
Opinion: Didn’t see any of his performance last year. He won mainly because the competition for this category is very weak this time. I do like his role in ‘Legal Mavericks’ few years ago.
Most Improved Female Artiste: Kelly Cheung
Opinion: Saw her in ‘Big White Duel’, ‘Barrack O’Karma’ and ‘The Man Who Kills Troubles’ last year. Wow..she really has a lot of projects recently. Not a surprise that she is winning this. Her acting feels natural and she is really beautiful-looking.
Best Supporting Actress: Candice Chiu (Barrack O’Karma)
Opinion: Happy for her. I like her performance in ‘Barrack O’Karma’ but didn’t expect this kind of role (as a psychopathic mum) to win but she did. It’s her first nomination and she got it. Even she herself is very surprised.
Best Supporting Actor: Kalok Chow (Come Home Love: Lo And Behold)
Opinion: Didn’t saw his performance in long-running ‘Come Home Love’ series. It’s his first nomination and he won it (similar case for Candice). Very surprised with TVB preferring to award more lesser known artistes this time.
Most Popular On-Screen Partnership: Joel Chan & Selena Lee (Barrack O’Karma)
Opinion: Excited for this pair to win. Joel & Selena’s chemistry is very impressive in ‘Barrack O’Karma’. Their love story in the drama is captivating and this first-time on-screen pairing created wonderful spark.
Best Drama Theme Song: ‘Let Love Fly High’ by Pakho Chau (Wonder Women)
Opinion: I felt the song is just fine in my first time hearing it. However, after listening to it few more times, I enjoy it more and more It’s a nice song and fits very well to the ‘Wonder Woman’ series too. I particularly like the kids who present the award in the ceremony. They are so cute.
Most Popular TV Male Character: Pakho Chau (Wonder Women)
Opinion: I do like his character in ‘Wonder Woman’. A young, handsome, caring and kind character. Who will not like it? But I didn’t expect him to win honestly.
Best Leading Actor: Kenneth Ma (Big White Duel)
Opinion: Wow! wow! Finally! After nominated for 12 times in the past, finally it’s time for Kenneth to win best actor. Although he is seriously overdue for this award, but I think his performance in ‘Big White Duel’ is average only because there’s nothing much to shine in his role in that drama. Anyway, very happy for him. He always missed out on this award every single year by a small margin and now he got it!
Most Popular TV Female Character: Selena Lee (Barrack O’Karma) & Miriam Yeung (Wonder Women)
Opinion: I’m shocked with this double win (never before in TVB). This is so obvious to please Miriam who attended the later part of the ceremony as a consolation prize. She is good in ‘Wonder Women’ but not worthy of an award because the role is tailor made for her hence she does not need to put much effort in it to be honest. On the other hand, I’m glad that Selena finally win her first ever individual award at TVB Anniversary Awards. However, I much prefer her to win best actress because she is really phenomenal in ‘Barrack O’Karma’.
Best Leading Actress: Kara Wai (The Defected)
Opinion: Kara Wai is three time best actress winner at Hong Kong Film Awards. A very notable film actress who didn’t win anything yet at TVB which is quite absurd. So, I already knew she is going to win this and as expected, she does. She is good in ‘The Defected’ but I felt Selena is a better choice. I actually find Kara’s expression is a bit rigid in ‘The Defected’, but well, she has to win this.
Best Drama: Big White Duel
Opinion: The last major award and the most disappointing one. I find ‘Big White Duel’ boring actually. I don’t like this drama and yet it won best drama. The drama lacks suspense and thrill, and its content is quite dull and empty. ‘Barrack O’Karma’ should have win this by a mile.
‘Barrack O’Karma’ and ‘Wonder Women’ are the biggest winners of the evening with 3 wins each. ‘Big White Duel’ took 2 wins including ‘Best Drama’.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
The first major televised Hollywood film awards ceremony of the year, the 77th Golden Globe Awards took place yesterday with Ricky Gervais hosting it again (it’s his fifth and final time). I watched some of his jokes at the ceremony today and I really think it should be his last time hosting (most of his jokes fall flat and not humorous) too. Someone please get Tina Fey and Amy Poehler back.
Here’s below the list of winners for all the film categories (I only pay attention to film categories and I don’t watch US television series):
Best Motion Picture — Drama
1917
The Irishman
Joker
Marriage Story
The Two Popes
Comment: So far I have only watched ‘Joker’. I would love to watch ‘1917’ especially after this win. A war film shown in one continuous shot…that is already brilliant.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy
Comment: Well deserved win for Renee Zellweger. She is fantastic in ‘Judy’. The captivating final scene of the movie helped a lot.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Comment: Glad for Joaquin Phoenix. He is phenomenal in ‘Joker’. His laugh, gesture, posture, speech and expression in the movie are top notch acting.
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Dolemite Is My Name
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Rocketman
Comment: I don’t enjoy ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’. I find it boring. Would prefer ‘Jojo Rabbit’, ‘Knives Out’ or even ‘Rocketman’ to win.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Ana de Armas, Knives Out
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Cate Blanchett, Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart
Emma Thompson, Late Night
Comment: Happy for Awkwafina. She is the first Asian actress to receive lead actress award at Golden Globes. History made! Luck is on her side too as this category is particularly weak this year.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Daniel Craig, Knives Out
Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
Comment: Deserving win for Taron Egerton too although many would prefer Eddie Murphy or Leonardo DiCaprio to win. Taron Egerton portrayed Elton John quite convincingly to my surprise.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Comment: Votes split between two actors in ‘The irishman’. ‘The Two Popes’ didn’t get enough publicity. Tom Hanks is solid as usual, but too usual. So, that’s it; Brad Pitt, you get your trophy.
Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Little Women – Alexandre Desplat
Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir
Marriage Story – Randy Newman
1917 – Thomas Newman
Motherless Brooklyn – Daniel Pemberton
Comment: Beautiful score in ‘Joker’ and I can’t compare too since I have not watch the other nominated films.
Best Director — Motion Picture
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Sam Mendes, 1917
Todd Phillips, Joker
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Comment: Sam Mendes winning this is quite a surprise as there are at least two presumed frontrunners in this category; Bong Joon-ho and Martin Scorsese. Anyway, good for Sam Mendes. This raises his chance to win best director and best picture at the Oscars next month.
Best Original Song — Motion Picture
“Beautiful Ghosts,” Cats – Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Taylor Swift
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman – Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen II – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
“Spirit,” The Lion King – Music and Lyrics by Timothy McKenzie, Ilya Salmanzadeh & Beyoncé
“Stand Up,” Harriet – Music and Lyrics by Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo
Comment: In a moment I thought ‘Into The Unknown’ would win. I’m alright with a song from ‘Rocketman’ winning. Why is ‘Speechless’ from ‘Aladdin’ not even getting a nomination here?
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Annette Bening, The Report
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Comment: Happy for Laura Dern. She is a great actress who is underrated. Make the way for her to win the Oscars next month!
Best Motion Picture — Animated
Frozen II
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
The Lion King
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Comment: Oh..wow! This is surprising! Before this announcement, I would have placed ‘Missing Link’ at 4th or 5th place. And now, it came out on top defeating heavy favourites like ‘Frozen 2’ and ‘Toy Story 4’. Maybe HFPA is really tired of sequels.
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
Parasite – Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won
The Two Popes – Anthony McCarten
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
The Irishman – Steven Zaillian
Comment: ‘Parasite’ should win this. What’s the love with ‘Hollywood’? I can’t understand.
Best Motion Picture — Foreign Language
The Farewell
Les Misérables
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Comment: A 100% sure win for ‘Parasite’ here. Just a single win here for this film seems unjustified too. This film deserves more recognition and hope it did well in the Oscars next month.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
Finally, the Oscars is here. The 91st Academy Awards took place just a moment ago with some surprising wins. This year’s ceremony runs half hour longer than the anticipated 3-hours period. The ceremony also comes with no host. Here’s below is the full winners list along with my comments:
Best Picture “BlacKkKlansman”
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite” “Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”
Opinion: I haven’t watch ‘Green Book’ (now I think I should). My first choice is ‘Roma’. I have a feeling many would be fine with ‘Roma’ winning since it is not as divisive as ‘Green Book’ (this film has some controversy). I’m surprised. I have to admit that ‘Roma’ is more of a technical masterpiece while the Academy just wanted to go away from that since they had done so last year (as many viewed ‘The Shape of Water’ more of a technical masterpiece too).
Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Adam McKay, “Vice”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Opinion: Expected. It’s so nice to see Guillermo del Toro (last year winner) to present this to Alfonso Cuaron. Both are great friends and are from Mexico. Very well deserved win to Cuaron. It’s his second directing win! So many Mexicans rule in this category for the last couple of years.
Best Actress Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife” Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Opinion: Oh my god! I was so shocked when I heard ‘Olivia Colman’. Poor Glenn…she is amazing in ‘The Wife’ and everyone thinks she is going to get it this time due to the huge overdue factor (me included). But she isn’t. That is shocking. I was really hoping she will win after 7 nominations. And yet, not again. She is a a wonderful actress and has been unfortunately overlooked by the Academy once again. Felt really bad for Glenn Close. Congratz, Olivia Colman; win in first nomination! I love her acceptance speech (she is a very likable and fun person). She is excellent in ‘The Favourite’ too but I still wanted Close to win her first Oscar in her long amazing career.
Best Actor Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate” Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
Opinion: Happy for Rami Malek. He is phenomenal in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Some people criticized that he just impersonates Freddie Mercury and lip-sync throughout the entire movie. To these people, have you watched the entire movie? His performance in it is much more than that and I’m glad that the Academy recognizes that.
Best Supporting Actress Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
Opinion: Haven’t watch ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ but have heard a lot of good reviews particularly for Regina King’s performance in it. She is snubbed at the SAG and BAFTA surprisingly. I would have prefer Emma Stone from ‘The Favourite’ to win this one but I knew she won’t. The 5 ladies here are all very deserving.
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”
Opinion: No. Although I knew Mahershala Ali is going to win as he sweeps all the major precursor awards, but I prefer Richard E. Grant. My judgement is a bit biased here as I have not watched ‘Green Book’. Ali has already won the same award just few years ago and I think it’s too quick for him to win another one.
Best Adapted Screenplay “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (Joel Coen , Ethan Coen) “BlacKkKlansman” (Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee)
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty)
“If Beale Street Could Talk” (Barry Jenkins)
“A Star Is Born” (Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters)
Opinion: Haven’t watch ‘Blackkklansman’. My choice is ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’.
Best Original Screenplay “The Favourite” (Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara)
“First Reformed” (Paul Schrader) “Green Book” (Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)
“Roma” (Alfonso Cuarón)
“Vice” (Adam McKay)
Opinion: Haven’t watch ‘Green Book’ and I would prefer ‘The Favourite’ to win this. Its script is brilliant. It just doesn’t feel right when ‘The Favourite’ is not winning anything at all.
Best Cinematography “Cold War” (Lukasz Zal)
“The Favourite” (Robbie Ryan)
“Never Look Away” (Caleb Deschanel) “Roma” (Alfonso Cuaron)
“A Star Is Born” (Matty Libatique)
Opinion: Expected. The camerawork and lighting in ‘Roma’ are brilliant. The black-and-white style further expresses the cinematography of the film.
Best Costume Design “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (Mary Zophres) “Black Panther”(Ruth E. Carter)
“The Favourite” (Sandy Powell)
“Mary Poppins Returns” (Sandy Powell)
“Mary Queen of Scots” (Alexandra Byrne)
Opinion: Good for ‘Black Panther’. The only fascinating thing from the film is its unique costumes.
Best Film Editing “BlacKkKlansman” (Barry Alexander Brown) “Bohemian Rhapsody” (John Ottman)
“The Favourite” (Yorgos Mavropsaridis)
“Green Book”(Patrick J. Don Vito)
“Vice” (Hank Corwin)
Opinion: I predicted ‘Vice’ while ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is my second choice. I was wrong. I find that the editing in ‘Vice’ is much more obvious but Academy is very in love with the editing for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (mostly due to the amazing Live Aid scene).
Best Makeup and Hairstyling “Border”
“Mary Queen of Scots” “Vice”
Opinion: Expected. The same formula last year; do a huge transformation to a leading man in a movie (particularly turning one into a fat politician – Winston Churchill last year and Dick Cheney this year) and you got this.
Best Original Score
“Black Panther” (Ludwig Goransson)
“BlacKkKlansman” (Terence Blanchard)
“If Beale Street Could Talk” (Nicholas Britell)
“Isle of Dogs” (Alexandre Desplat)
“Mary Poppins Returns” (Marc Shaiman)
Opinion: ‘Black Panther’ has best score?! This is a joke. ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ or even ‘Isle of Dogs’ are much more worthy. I have a feeling that Academy wanted to give a lot of awards to ‘Black Panther’ just to show that they are very serious in celebrating diversity. This is not right. Quality should be the priority.
Best Original Song “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
“I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by Willie Watson, Tim Blake Nelson
Opinion: Definitely ‘Shallow’. Very deserving as the song is simply amazing! The only win for ‘A Star Is Born’ which has been predicted to be a strong contender in the early award season but fails.
Best Production Design
“Black Panther” (Hannah Beachler)
“First Man” (Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas)
“The Favourite” (Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton)
“Mary Poppins Returns” (John Myhre, Gordon Sim)
“Roma” (Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez)
Opinion: Not hugely disappointed but would have prefer ‘The Favourite’ to take this. Looks like the love for ‘Black Panther’ is strong. There’s a lot of reliance on green screen for most setting in ‘Black Panther’ and less on practical set-up and that’s why I don’t really agree with it winning production design.
Opinion: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is my third pick and it ends up prevailing even in this category. ‘A Quiet Place’ and ‘First Man’ have better sound editing in my opinion.
Best Sound Mixing “Black Panther” “Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
Opinion: Expected. The sound mixing for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is amazing. Music-themed film usually win here. Sorry ‘A Star Is Born’. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has much more obvious sound work and in much larger quantity and volume.
Best Visual Effects “Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin” “First Man”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”
Opinion: Wow. This is so surprising. Academy tends to favour low-key supporting visual effects (same like when ‘Ex Machina’ won some years ago). I disagree totally. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is robbed. The CGI on Thanos alone is enough to win. ‘First Man’ is like my 4th pick (at the bottom).
Best Foreign Language Film “Capernaum” (Lebanon)
“Cold War” (Poland)
“Never Look Away” (Germany) “Roma” (Mexico)
“Shoplifters” (Japan)
Opinion: Expected again. ‘Roma’ is even in best picture contention.
Best Animated Feature “Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Opinion: No competition. ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ is certainly at the top this year. ‘Incredibles 2’ is fun but ordinary. I have high expectation for ‘Isle of Dogs’ but it came out being fine although it has unique animation. ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ is here just to fill in the slot.
– No comments for the last 4 categories below as I’m not interested in them and have not watched any of them too.-
Best Animated Short “Animal Behavior” “Bao”
“Late Afternoon”
“One Small Step”
“Weekends”
Best Documentary Feature
“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
“Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
“Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
“RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen
Best Documentary Short “Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins
“End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
“Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald
“A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi
Best Live Action Short “Detainment,” Vincent Lambe
“Fauve,” Jeremy Comte
“Marguerite,” Marianne Farley
“Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen “Skin,” Guy Nattiv
I got 11 correct and 9 incorrect for my prediction (can check out my final prediction in my previous blog post). That is not good. I got almost half of my prediction wrong. The 91st Academy Awards gave us a lot of surprise in a year where a lot of races are wide open.
‘Green Book’ took the top honor (winning best picture), defeating ‘Roma’ which is thought to be the frontrunner (‘Roma’ has most nominations and has won quite a lot of major precursor prizes). ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has the most wins at the night with 4 (lead actor, film editing, sound mixing, sound editing). ‘Green Book’, ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Roma’ ties with 3 wins each. Each of the best picture nominees won at least an award this year which is quite rare.
So now, that’s the official end of the 2018 Hollywood film awards season.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
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