Thursday, January 31, 2013

Almost Famous

Almost FamousThe Gist: A teenage boy into rock ‘n roll and writing gets the chance of a lifetime from Rolling Stones Magazine: write a piece on an up-and-coming rock band while he follows them around on their concert tour.

Here’s a movie I had been wanting to watch for a long time and doesn’t disappoint.  The Oscar winning script is well written and thoroughly develops the many different characters.  Both direction and editing are well done and the cinematography perfectly conjures up the feel of the 70s.

The acting however is what stands out.  From the dreamy Billy Crudup to the steely Frances McDormand, from the whimsical Kate Hudson (whom I really liked) to the purely innocent Patrick Fugit, from the bouncy Zooey Deschanel to the over masculine Jason Lee, everyone is perfectly cast and does an outstanding job.

The Bottom Line: This movie is fun to watch, is well acted, directed, written, and edited, is funny and sad in equal parts, and is a very well told story overall.  An instant classic.

Grade: 8

Bambi

BambiThe Gist: A baby deer is born in the forest.  He now has to grow up and discover all the wonders of the woods.  One day, his mother is killed by hunters, leaving him alone with his friends.

I had never seen this Disney classic even though obviously I knew all about it.  It stands the test of time thanks to the simplicity of the story and the delicacy of its telling.

Naturally, it is technically passé, but considering it was made in 1942, it must have looked like a real wonder to the audiences of its time.

The Bottom Line: A movie for the whole family, even the littlest ones, since the death of Bambi’s mother is handled with a lot of tact and the animal is never shown dead.  It does have some scary parts in the second half, but overall it’s pretty safe.  Enjoyable.

Grade: 7

J. Edgar

J. EdgarThe Gist: J. Edgar Hoover created the FBI and led it for almost 50 years.  During his powerful tenure, Presidents and their administrations came and went, but he always survived.  He was a loner with a very strict moral code that shackled him and prevented him from living a full life outside of his office.

The subject is very interesting, the cast impressive, the director (usually) has the magic touch, and yet the movie never really soars.  Leonardo DiCaprio is very good in the role, but the makeup and prosthetics he and the other cast members have to wear to credibly present characters through so many years of their lives are a let down.  I actually found them so poorly executed that they turned into a distraction.

Another, even bigger problem I had with the movie was the editing, which was very confusing and jagged.  Sometimes it wasn’t even clear which era we were currently in, which forced me to rewind a lot, something one wouldn’t be able to do in the theater, so I have to assume it would have frustrated me even more had I seen it in one.

The Bottom Line: While I can appreciate the incredible technical effort that went into crafting this film, and while I can’t deny the great talent of all those involved, the final product is in the end unsatisfactory.  It gets a passing grade mostly because it doesn’t deserve a failing one, but it’s of little consequence.

Grade: 6

The Thing

The ThingThe Gist: A group of scientists in Antarctica stumble upon a mysterious spaceship and an alien life frozen under millennia old ice.  They retrieve it to study it but will come to regret the decision.

I was under the impression that this 2011 movie was a remake of the classic John Carpenter horror from 1982.  Instead, this is a prequel to that movie and I was very impressed by how well they made it dovetail with its predecessor.

The visual effects are obviously impressive, and better than the 82’s movie, but that’s to be expected.  What I really liked was the meticulous reconstruction of the sets to make them match with what the scientists in the original movie find when they visit this camp.

The Bottom Line: If you’ve watched the original The Thing, you might think this one is unoriginal, but I actually enjoyed the thrills and admired the careful attempt not to tamper with a classic but to simply try to stand up next to it.  Personally, I believe the filmmakers succeeded.

Grade: 7

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Valhalla Rising

Valhalla risingThe Gist: A captive warrior attacks his captors and flees.  He then goes on a journey of discovery with the boy who helped him escape.  He’ll join up with a group of crusaders but what they will find won’t be exactly what they expected.

As anyone who follows my blog knows, I hate trailers because they are full of spoilers.  I usually just glance over critics’ reviews and check out ratings from aggregate sites like Rotten Tomatoes or IMDb.  The system works for me.  The movies I pick turn out to be what I expected the vast majority of the time.  This time, it didn’t work.

This movie was, at best, an incomprehensible amalgam of images with a haunting soundtrack and some good acting.  How was the script?  I can’t really speak to that because there are maybe 100 words uttered in the whole movie.  Does it make sense?  Hardly.

When the movie was over, as I often do, I checked out the trailer.  I was aghast to see that in those 3 minutes or so they had condensed every spoken scene and the most alluring images.  I can’t imagine the countless other viewers who were duped like me into viewing a movie that looks like it came out of the mind of a man who had evidently dropped acid.

The Bottom Line: I saw some impressive reviews of this film too and don’t understand where they’re coming from.  Did we see the same film?  I’m tempted to say I just didn’t get its message, but at some point I have to draw the line.  The movie is incredibly slow, it has almost no spoken dialogue to clear things up (and I loved The Artist, so it’s not like I need dialogue, I just need clarity!!), it’s built in sections that almost start over with each segment, and it just plainly doesn’t make sense.  Skip it!

Grade: 2

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The hobbit The Gist: In the first (of three) of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit adaptation Bilbo Baggins meets the band of dwarves that will become his companions in a trip to a lonely mountain where a vast treasure lies hidden, guarded by a ferocious dragon.  Many dangerous and terrible foes, however, stand between them and their destination.

I am a huge Tolkien fan and absolutely loved all three Lord of the Rings movies.  Peter Jackson masterfully brought to life the characters of a story that I had loved reading many years ago.  I was therefore elated when news broke that he would adapt The Hobbit, a novel that came out long before the Rings trilogy and shares many themes with it.

The two are, however, decidedly different.  The Hobbit is much shorter, plays out more like a children’s tale, and is written with less care than Rings.  A lot happens in The Hobbit and sometimes things are mentioned but never really explained or elaborated further.  I often found myself wondering what was happening that we couldn’t “see.”

Jackson had decided to adapt The Hobbit in two movies by padding the somewhat slim tale with extra material found in the appendixes of the Rings trilogy or other Tolkien’s works.  Eventually, the two movies became three and, unlike many, I welcomed the news.  Not only because that would allow me to go back to Middle Earth a third (and final) time, but also because I felt like two movies were not going to be enough to flesh out all that could and should be fleshed out.

At the same time, I also understand, having read the novel, that The Hobbit is not as compelling a story as Rings.  A lot happens, and some events are fundamental to Rings, but it has a lighter tone and is much less fascinating and engrossing.  It should be judged in the perspective of this light and viewed for what it is, not submitted to the litmus test of “is this a worthy successor to Rings?”  It simply cannot compete on that level.

And yet, I was pleasantly surprised.  Jackson & Co. did a wonderful job adapting the novel.  The screenplay is very faithful to the book and all the added material is integrated so well, one would never know it wasn’t in the original story.

The acting is great, the score (by Howard Shore, the master who composed the Rings ones) fantastic, and the visual effects are the best I’ve ever seen.  Gollum, the Trolls, and the Great Goblin are simply wondrous.

I watched the movie in the new HFR (High Frame Rate – 42 fps) 3D format and had no issues with it, except that I’ve now firmly come to dislike 3D in any variation.  If anything, it was thoroughly distracting me from the story unfolding before my eyes.

I see 3D simply as a gimmick now, used to lure moviegoers back to the theater by giving them “more” (and charging them more for it).  I don’t need that.  Really.  Rather, give me cheaper tickets, less previews and ads before a movie, and a stricter silence and behavior code during the show and I’ll come back, but until then, I’m better off at home with my surround sound, my large screen plasma TV, and a blu-ray disk of the movie of my choosing.

The Bottom Line: If you’re a Tolkien or Jackson fan you will not be disappointed.  The first in the Hobbit trilogy is a feast for the eyes and a tale rich of adventures that sets the stage for an even bigger payback in the next two installments.  The final frames’ glimpse of the dragon are one of the best hooks I’ve ever seen.

Grade: 8

Homeland

HOMELAND (Season 2)This amazing Showtime show recently wrapped its second season and if you thought it couldn’t sustain the greatness of season one you are mistaken.

The game of cat and mouse between Carrie and Brody continues in spite of her ousting from the CIA.  Intrigue, betrayal, and double play are relentless and overlaid with a veneer of political gamesmanship.

If you liked the first season, don’t miss the second.  You’ll be longing for the third before it’s even over.

Grade – Season 2: 9

Monday, January 28, 2013

Resident Evil: Retribution

Resident Evil RetributionThe Gist: Captured by the Umbrella Corporation, Alice wakes up in yet another underground complex from which she must try to escape, this time aided by the same Umbrella official who was trying to kill her in the past.  The Red Queen, Umbrella’s artificial intelligence, is back in the baddie seat.

Milla Jovovich still entertains as Alice, but the gig is getting more and more tired as time goes by.  To keep the stakes high, more unlikely characters, monsters, and mutants are brought on board, but they can do little to improve upon the final product.

The last episode (to date I’m sure) in the franchise plays out like the closest videogame adaptation I’ve ever seen, and not in a good way.  It is one thing to try to keep close to the original material for the sake of the fan base, and it’s a totally different thing to make a movie that looks exactly like one of the cutout scenes that are embedded in key spots on the actual videogame.  For instance, people in Retribution sound and talk like animated characters, the plot is played out just like videogame characters would in the game and so on.  It’s like watching someone play the actual game, not like watching a movie at all.  It doesn’t look nor sound pretty.

Another thing that always bothered me about the whole Resident Evil franchise is that the zombies move more like Olympians than dead bodies.  Their speed and precision of movement is unbelievable!!  C’mon… and this only got worse (meaning they only got faster) with each incarnation.  Pathetic.

The Bottom Line: If you’ve made it this far like I did, congratulations, you’ve seen the “good” and the bad (and the terrible) of this franchise.  You’ve witnessed what it takes to ruin the name of a franchise that could have been better but that now might only be saved by a complete reboot with or without Milla Jovovich (still the only character I’d salvage from this train wreck).  Do yourself a favor and watch something else.  Anything else.  Even traffic.

Grade: 2

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil AfterlifeThe Gist: Alice, with the help of an army of her clones, takes the fight to the Umbrella Corporation, but only half succeeds.  Deprived of her superpowers, she tries to find Arcadia, allegedly the last safe place to live on Earth.

Our heroine starts out super kick-ass but is still fierce even after she loses her abilities.  Unfortunately, Milla Jovovich is the only character who doesn’t look two dimensional.  Or better yet, she’s the only actress who’s able (or cares) to give her character an edge in spite of the screenplay’s glaring limitations.

The ridiculous and gratuitous events multiply, like an army of zombies keeping an enormous prison under permanent siege in spite of the handful of people left inside.  All we’ve ever been told about zombies is that they are dead people who can still ambulate and are driven to feed on the still living.  That they would not move on after days of not being able to breach the complex defies all expectations.

Alice’s landing on the complex’s roof is absurd, the giant hammer-wielding mutant mountain comes from nowhere, the zombies with protruding octopus like arms from their mouths are ridiculous, and so on.

The Bottom Line: Sure the visual effects are fantastic and it’s great to see Alice kick everyone’s ass in spite of not being superhuman any longer, but the fourth episode in the series has shed every last bit of pride and simply caters to the undying fan of the franchise who will watch and enjoy every trashy frame of film that’s put out there.  Skip it.

Grade: 3

Resident Evil: Extinction

Resident Evil ExtinctionThe Gist: Alice is now roaming the desert-like desolation that has spread to the whole world trying to stay under the radar and away from the Umbrella Corporation's prying eyes.  One day, she is tracked down and soon after she stumbles upon a group of survivors trying to find a safe place to settle in.

This episode of the franchise introduces the character of Claire and shows us what the T Virus has done to Alice (spoiler, it has made her very powerful, beyond any human abilities).

The movie is actually very lopsided.  It’s quite good in the first half and quite bad in the second half.  Between the army of look-alike zombies and the grim mutation of the scientist who had infected Alice at the end of the first movie, all the logic goes out the window, even that of a movie adapted from a videogame.

The Bottom Line: Disappointed after the second episode, I decided to give the third a try and decide whether to complete the series from there.  Luckily, in spite of the shortcomings of the second half of the movie, this one is still enjoyable.  Certainly more than the second…

Grade: 5

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Resident Evil ApocalypseThe Gist: Alice wakes up in a Raccoon City devastated by the destruction brought about by the T Virus, which transforms all its victims into zombies.  The Umbrella Corporation, in an attempt to contain the virus it created within the city borders, prepares a nuclear strike, just as Alice and a few other survivors attempt to escape.

The visual effects are impressive and Milla Jovovich has her character’s strengths and weaknesses down pat, but the final product is saddled by gratuitous occurrences and cardboard characters used simply to fill needed slots.

The mutant monster Nemesis, unlikely as it may sound and look, still actually works in the overall scheme.

The Bottom Line: The follow up to a decent first episode in this now long running series doesn’t hold up to its promise.  There’s a lot of action and the fear factor is still there, but implausible storylines and ridiculous scenes make for a poor overall experience.

Grade: 4

Sunday, January 27, 2013

2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards - The Winners

The SAG awards were handed out tonight in a brisk and pleasing ceremony that entertained without too many surprises.  In fact, the only two wins I didn’t predict were Brian Cranston for Male Actor in a Drama Series (I expected Damian Lewis to win for Homeland) and Downtown Abbey for Ensemble in a Drama Series over Homeland.

I was however very happy for Ben Affleck, whose Argo won the night’s top prize, setting the stage for a possible Oscar upset in a short few weeks.

And here are the SAG awards winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Winner:

Argo

Other Nominees:
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Winner:

Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln

Other Nominees:
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes for The Sessions
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables
Denzel Washington for Flight

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Winner:

Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook

Other Nominees:
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone
Helen Mirren for Hitchcock
Naomi Watts for The Impossible

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Winner:
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln

Other Nominees:
Alan Arkin for Argo
Javier Bardem for Skyfall
Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Winner:

Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables

Other Nominees:
Sally Field for Lincoln
Helen Hunt for The Sessions
Nicole Kidman for The Paperboy
Maggie Smith for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

Winner:

"Modern Family"

Other Nominees:
"30 Rock"
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Glee"
"Nurse Jackie"
"The Office"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Winner:

"Downton Abbey"

Other Nominees:
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Breaking Bad"
"Homeland"
"Mad Men"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Winner:

Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock"

Other Nominees:
Ty Burrell for "Modern Family"
Louis C.K. for "Louie"
Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory"
Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Winner:

Tina Fey for "30 Rock"

Other Nominees:
Edie Falco for "Nurse Jackie"
Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation"
Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family"
Betty White for "Hot in Cleveland"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Winner:

Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad"

Other Nominees:
Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire"
Jeff Daniels for "The Newsroom"
Jon Hamm for "Mad Men"
Damian Lewis for "Homeland"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Winner:

Claire Danes for "Homeland"

Other Nominees:
Michelle Dockery for "Downton Abbey"
Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story: Asylum"
Maggie Smith for "Downton Abbey"
Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Winner:
Kevin Costner for "Hatfields & McCoys"

Other Nominees:
Woody Harrelson for Game Change
Ed Harris for Game Change
Clive Owen for Hemingway & Gellhorn
Bill Paxton for "Hatfields & McCoys"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Winner:

Julianne Moore for Game Change

Other Nominees:
Nicole Kidman for Hemingway & Gellhorn
Charlotte Rampling for Restless
Sigourney Weaver for "Political Animals"
Alfre Woodard for Steel Magnolias

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Fringe

FringeLast Friday the series Fringe ended after 5 interesting and passionate seasons.  The show, headlined by Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, and a fantastic John Noble, took us through countless stories of otherworldly fights, weird bugs, odd occurrences, and amazing resolutions.

They were helped by a great cast of supporting actors that included Jasika Nicole, Blair Brown, and Lance Reddick, together with great visual effects and a perfect photography.

While the show was appreciated by critics, its audience never grew to the levels that would have made it a “hit.”  Nevertheless, thanks to its rabid fan base and cult show status, it endured for several years.

It will be missed.

Grade – Show overall: 8

Dexter

Dexter 7Season 7 of Showtime’s Dexter achieved the goal of bringing relevance back to this show after a disappointing season 6.  A new dynamic now exists between Dexter and his sister (and boss) Debra.  How will she react to finally uncovering the truth about her beloved brother (a process handled with extreme believability)?

Even more important, how will Dexter carry on his vigilante/release work now that his sister is on his case about sidestepping the regular channels of police work?

Aside from this story line, the season is rich of dangerous new threats for Dexter from new and old foes.

I’m really quite pleased about Dexter’s comeback.  I love this show and wasn’t ready to see it go off the air, let alone die slowly of a thousands wounds inflicted by boredom.

Grade – Season 7: 8

Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk EmpireSeason 3 of this HBO show is remarkable for two elements: Steve Buscemi’s Nucky trying to salvage his empire, livelihood, and family, and Bobby Cannavale’s Gyp Rosetti’s anxiety inducing exploits.

I’ve rarely experienced such feelings of uneasiness, concern, anxiety, and fear from just watching an actor’s performance.  From the moment Cannavale appears on screen in the first episode to the season finale, you know he’s someone to fear, someone whose violence can’t be contained.  Hats off to Mr. Cannavale for his bravura (and for the courage to go full frontal!!).

The only disappointing note of this season was the fact that Margaret’s betrayal of Nucky, in her signing away his fortune to the church, was never dealt with.  The season starts with the two of them virtually separated and with considerable tension in their relationship, and we all know where that tension stems from, but the topic is never breached.

It was disappointing because that was season 2’s cliffhanger, which means that we were left wondering how Nucky would react, and we only see the aftermath of that reaction in the follow up season.

Aside from that, Boardwalk Empire continues to amaze with its technical impeccability, its incredible acting, and its great writing.

Grade – Season 3: 8

Drive

DriveThe Gist: A mechanic by day turns into a skilled runaway driver for all sorts of heists by night.  One day, he accepts a job he shouldn’t have.

Although particularly lauded by critics, I found the movie a bit stifled and unoriginal, even though it’s solidly acted and has some great car chase scenes.

Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan have great chemistry as the couple caught in a struggling romance.

The Bottom Line: While not impressive, the movie has its moments and won’t disappoint action lovers or those looking for yet another performance by the handsome Mr. Gosling.

Grade: 7

The Bridges of Madison County

The Bridges of Madison CountyThe Gist: A disaffected housewife meets a travelling photographer.  The two fall in love in spite of all the obstacles they face.

Clint Eastwood directs this adaptation of a famous novel with tenderness and warmth.  Meryl Streep is at her best as a woman dissatisfied with how her life turned out and eager for something different.  Her performance is so subtle and simple that it’s easy to miss its mastery.

The music by Lennie Niehaus helps setting the romantic mood and the cinematography really makes one wish he could visit Madison County and its beautiful bridges.

The Bottom Line: You can’t go wrong with a movie with Meryl Streep, add to that Eastwood’s commanding hand behind the lens and you have a must-see for all cinephiles.

Grade: 9

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

One Today

Here’s gay poet Richard Blanco’s beautiful poem, composed specifically for Obama's inauguration:

And the text (via Towleroad) for when the video won’t be available any longer:

One Today
One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores,
peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces
of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth
across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.
One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story
told by our silent gestures moving behind windows.
 
My face, your face, millions of faces in morning’s mirrors,
each one yawning to life, crescendoing into our day:
pencil-yellow school buses, the rhythm of traffic lights,
fruit stands: apples, limes, and oranges arrayed like rainbows
begging our praise. Silver trucks heavy with oil or paper—
bricks or milk, teeming over highways alongside us,
on our way to clean tables, read ledgers, or save lives—
to teach geometry, or ring-up groceries as my mother did
for twenty years, so I could write this poem.
 
All of us as vital as the one light we move through,
the same light on blackboards with lessons for the day:
equations to solve, history to question, or atoms imagined,
the “I have a dream” we keep dreaming,
or the impossible vocabulary of sorrow that won’t explain
the empty desks of twenty children marked absent
today, and forever. Many prayers, but one light
breathing color into stained glass windows,
life into the faces of bronze statues, warmth
onto the steps of our museums and park benches
as mothers watch children slide into the day.
 
One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk
of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat
and hands, hands gleaning coal or planting windmills
in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm, hands
digging trenches, routing pipes and cables, hands
as worn as my father’s cutting sugarcane
so my brother and I could have books and shoes.
 
The dust of farms and deserts, cities and plains
mingled by one wind—our breath. Breathe. Hear it
through the day’s gorgeous din of honking cabs,
buses launching down avenues, the symphony
of footsteps, guitars, and screeching subways,
the unexpected song bird on your clothes line.
 
Hear: squeaky playground swings, trains whistling,
or whispers across café tables, Hear: the doors we open
for each other all day, saying: hello, shalom,
buon giorno, howdy, namaste, or buenos días
in the language my mother taught me—in every language
spoken into one wind carrying our lives
without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.
 
One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.
 
One sky, toward which we sometimes lift our eyes
tired from work: some days guessing at the weather
of our lives, some days giving thanks for a love
that loves you back, sometimes praising a mother
who knew how to give, or forgiving a father
who couldn’t give what you wanted.
 
We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always—home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country—all of us—
facing the stars
hope—a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it—together

President Barack Obama

Part of his second inaugural address to the nation:

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

inauguration2013_headline

It was the first time that the word “gay” was uttered by a President in an inaugural address.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

2012, the year that was

With a little bit of a delay I come to this post to officially close up another year.  2012 was a year full of stressors and releases.  Ray’s mom got diagnosed with cancer again (a different one and worse, but the treatment seems to be going really well) and the Presidential election seemed to drag on forever.

Like I had mentioned a year ago, President Barack Obama’s re-election to the White House for a second term was going to be of paramount importance for my chances of permanently staying in the US.  The campaign dragged on for months and the GOP’s pick, Mitt Romney, looked like the Republican’s best chance at recapturing the White House.

Fortunately, Obama stayed on message, was somehow able to match the GOP in fundraising (they likely spent around $2 billion this election cycle, which is staggering and frightening), and in the end triumphed over his opponent.  His victory, which came fairly early on November 6, was a time for celebration!!

Now the Supreme Court is on the verge of taking up both DOMA and Prop 8, and it’s nice to know that we have a Commander in Chief that has our backs.  We also won marriage equality in three more states (Maine, Maryland, and Washington) and defeated a constitutional amendment in Minnesota that would have banned same-sex marriage for good.  It was the first time that we won at the ballot box and we didn’t just win once but four times!!

2012 was a banner year for gay rights, visibility, and acceptance also for the many celebrities that came out of the closet without much ado and 2013 is already gearing up to be a nice follow up.

2012 was probably the year I traveled the most in my life too.  I took 4 vacations, 3 of which were last minute decisions.  First, we went to Wildwood, New Jersey, for the July 4th holiday.  It was a nice and relaxing beach vacation that I enjoyed very much.  The beaches were the biggest I’ve ever seen and the boardwalk was very enjoyable at night.

Then, for Labor Day, I went to Italy for a few days to visit with my parents and see my friends again.  It wasn’t as relaxing because of the jet lag, but not having kids or dogs to worry about for a few days was nice!  Thankfully, my parents are both doing well, aside from the expected age related issues.

Third came the only really-planned-out vacation of the year, and how well planned was it!  My friend Vittorio and I had picked a destination and purchased plane tickets around March for a vacation that would have to wait until the Thanksgiving holiday (boy, I really seem to be taking advantage of those holidays!!).

But not only had we picked a destination, Northern California, we had also already laid out our whole fifth Road Trip.  All the cities we’d have visited, how long we’d have had to drive each day, and how much time we’d have spent in the final leg of the trip, San Francisco, a city I had seen before and really liked.

Needless to say, the trip was a blast.  We got to see pretty much all we wanted, and can really say we “saw” that area of the country.  It’s so beautiful too, with the most varied landscapes imaginable.  We landed in San Francisco and headed down the coast, then turned east towards the mountains, then up to Lake Tahoe, and back west, via Sacramento and the Napa valley, to the coast again.  Then we went all the way up to Mendocino and from there headed back south to San Francisco for a grand total of 1,268.5 miles!!

The last trip was organized around New Year’s Day.  The family flew down to summery West Palm Beach, Florida, and from there we drove to Fort Lauderdale and then south to the Everglades.  We actually stood on the southernmost beach of the (landlocked) state!!  We saw alligators and took an air boat ride through the Everglades too!!  From there we drove north-northwest to Captiva Island for a couple days of relax in a resort before swinging back to the east coast and flying back to freezing Connecticut.  794.1 miles in all!

While no real news affected my job, a lot happened with my photography, which started taking off when I joined several Meetup groups with which I got to travel to all sorts of locations where I could stretch my picture-taking muscles!

It has been a blast really.  I got to see towns and villages I had never ever heard of before; I visited botanical gardens, cemeteries, and public parks; I saw new parts of New York City and Boston, beaches, a butterfly conservatory (!!), sunsets and sunrises, countless varieties of flowers and plants, and in the process I learned a bevy of new information on how to improve my picture taking and take it to a new level.  I’ve also had a chance to photograph professional and semi-professional models, as well as regular folks, which gave me a taste for taking portraits like I had never done before.

All in all, 2012 was the richest year of my life in regards to photography and I’m looking forward to a new year of adventures and further improvements in knowledge and techniques.  On the way, I’ve also met new friends who share my love for photography, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with them as well.

No real news on the kids’ front, other than a marked improvement in the relationship we are building with our son Daniel.  We finally seem to have gotten on the right path in dealing with his issues, and now we have to work on helping Nicole with hers, before the onslaught of puberty’s tempestuous hormones take us all for a wild ride.

Our older dog, Diablo, hit another milestone this year: she turned 16, which for a dog her size is quite remarkable.  And she’s doing really well too, in spite of a tumor, weight loss, and reduced eyesight and hearing.  She’s still with us and for that I’m grateful, and so is our “younger” dog Mina, who turned 12!!

Last, but not least, here’s the list of movies that I watched last year (another meager one in actual theater visits, where I went only 4 times…):

9

A Single Man
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
The Bridges of Madison County
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

8

Bridesmaids
Coal Miner's Daughter
Game Change
Hugo
Kung Fu Panda 2
Prometheus
Rango
Source Code
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Young Adult

7

9
Puss in Boots
African Cats
Corpse Bride
Drive
Fright Night
Moneyball
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady

6

Cowboys and Aliens
Friends with Benefits
Marvin's Room
Mirror Mirror
Tron: Legacy
Underworld
Underworld: Awakening
Underworld: Evolution
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

5

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

4

Green Lantern
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
The Tree of Life

3

Fright Night
The Haunting

2

Equilibrium
Valhalla Rising

1

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat

42 titles that pretty much were all over the ratings scale, except for the very elusive 10!  Looking at the list, I’d pick the following 5 as my favorites:

A Single Man
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
The Bridges of Madison County
Bridesmaids

and I’d have to crown A Single Man as the best movie of 2012, with The Artist a close second.  Both movies were very original, but I feel like A Single Man has a more lingering echo somehow.  It’s such a heart wrenching story told with passion by a first time director who was able to create a cinematic gem.

On the other end of the scale, Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat takes the crown as one of the worst examples of “movies” I’ve ever had to bear witness to.  It’s so bad, I’ve effectively taken it out of the rotation of allowed kids’ movies at home.

Ok, so long 2012 and hello 2013.  Let’s see what tomorrow brings us…

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards - The Winners

This year the Golden Globes actually managed to make themselves look good.  The Hollywood Foreign Press, which awards the Globes, handed out deserving nominations and followed them with deserving wins.  And the ceremony was good too!

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were the hostesses and they did an awesome job.  They were funny and professional and never lost a beat.  I also loved Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell’s skit, even though Ferrell is far from one of my favorite actors.

The most dashing actors were, in no particular order, Ben Affleck, Damian Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Jason Statham, John Krasinski, and Liev Schreiber.  The most well put together actress was Julianne Moore, but I also liked Claire Danes and Anne Hathaway.

I did not like Jessica Alba, whose skin had the same orange hue of her dress, and I was bored by Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry, who both keep choosing the same dress cut and style, award show after award show.  Why not try something different for once?

I was really impressed that they were able to get President Bill Clinton to introduce the clip for Lincoln too.  What a coop!!  Let’s see the Academy top that!

As for Jodie Foster, who was awarded the Cecil B. Demille Award during the night, I liked her speech and her half-coming out.  I respect her talent as an actress and I hope she’ll get to make many more movies in the years to come.  Yes, she could have come out publicly sooner in her life, but it’s such a personal choice, I really can’t blame her for it.

Following are the winners, with my occasional comment.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Winner:
Argo
I haven’t seen any of the nominees to date, but I heard great things about Argo

Other Nominees:
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner:
Les Misérables
I have like zero interest in watching this movie.  All the others sound more interesting than this one, but Les Miz does seem impressive, and it’s a powerhouse of course.

Other Nominees:
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Winner:
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Such a given.  Day-Lewis might as well make room on his mantel for his third Oscar.  Funny how when it’s a male actor who’s likely to earn his third statuette it’s not a big deal, but when it’s a female one, even if the best one out there, it’s such a tricky affair…

Other Nominees:
Richard Gere for Arbitrage
John Hawkes for The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master
Denzel Washington for Flight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Winner:
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
I so adore this actress, I’m very happy for her.

Other Nominees:
Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone
Helen Mirren for Hitchcock
Naomi Watts for The Impossible
Rachel Weisz for The Deep Blue Sea

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables
I’m curious to see how good Cooper is in Silver Linings Playbook.  I wonder if he’ll have other shots at winning a big award like this one in the future.  But Jackman is such a good actor and so versatile, he definitely earned it here.

Other Nominees:
Jack Black for Bernie
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
Ewan McGregor for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Bill Murray for Hyde Park on Hudson

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
I like her and she’s a good actress, but her comment “I beat Meryl,” albeit said in jest, could (and should) have been avoided.  This was her year because of this movie and because of the huge success of The Hunger Games.  Period.

Other Nominees:
Emily Blunt for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Maggie Smith for Quartet
Meryl Streep for Hope Springs

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Winner:
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained
Apparently this was a surprise.  And can DiCaprio ever catch a break?  Especially with the Academy, who didn’t even nominate him for this highly praised role, while 5 past winners (one a double winner) have been nominated in this category this year?  Anyway, Waltz is definitely a handsome man.

Other Nominees:
Alan Arkin for Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio for Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Winner:
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables
From the praises, a very deserved win.  She’ll likely earn her first Oscar too this year, which is fine by me because this actress is very talented.

Other Nominees:
Amy Adams for The Master
Sally Field for Lincoln
Helen Hunt for The Sessions
Nicole Kidman for The Paperboy

Best Director - Motion Picture

Winner:
Ben Affleck for Argo
One of the biggest upsets and surprises of the night, all the more shocking if one considers that Affleck didn’t even get a Best Director nomination from the Academy for his work.  Good for him!

Other Nominees:
Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Winner:
Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino
Another surprise, apparently for Tarantino too.  And another movie for which I have like zero interest.  I’m so over Tarantino.  His work just doesn’t impress me.

Other Nominees:
Argo: Chris Terrio
Lincoln: Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook: David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty: Mark Boal

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

Winner:
Skyfall: Adele, Paul Epworth ("Skyfall")
So, so, so happy for this win.  Adele’s song is beautiful and I hope they ask her to perform it at the Oscars.  And she better win that prize too!!  She looked gorgeous and was her usual adorable self.

Other Nominees:
Act of Valor: Monty Powell, Keith Urban ("For You")
The Hunger Games: Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams, T-Bone Burnett ("Safe and Sound")
Les Misérables: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer ("Suddenly")
Stand Up Guys: Jon Bon Jovi ("Not Running Anymore")

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Winner:
Life of Pi: Mychael Danna

Other Nominees:
Anna Karenina: Dario Marianelli
Argo: Alexandre Desplat
Cloud Atlas: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek, Tom Tykwer
Lincoln: John Williams

Best Animated Film

Winner:
Brave

Other Nominees:
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner:
Amour
Here’s one category where the Academy does it better, since they allow only one submission per country.  This list has 2 movies out of 5 from France, and the winner was in French with French leads, even though the production was Austrian.  That’s not really fair for all the countries in the world that would benefit from the exposure.

Other Nominees:
The Intouchables
Kon-Tiki
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

Best Television Series - Drama

Winner:
"Homeland"
So well deserved.  This show is unbelievably good, fresh, and original.  Always.

Other Nominees:
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Breaking Bad"
"Downton Abbey"
"The Newsroom"

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Winner:
"Girls"
While I don’t consider myself a hardcore fan of this show, I do recognize its originality and the creator’s willingness to push the envelope.  I’ll check out season two, which coincidentally premiered right around the time the show won.

Other Nominees:
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Episodes"
"Modern Family"
"Smash"

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Game Change
Another well deserved win.  The movie was well made and the topic hot and shocking.

Other Nominees:
The Girl
"Hatfields & McCoys"
"The Hour"
"Political Animals"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

Winner:
Damian Lewis for "Homeland"
Incredibly well deserved.

Other Nominees:
Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad"
Jeff Daniels for "The Newsroom"
Jon Hamm for "Mad Men"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Winner:
Claire Danes for "Homeland"
Incredibly well deserved.

Other Nominees:
Connie Britton for "Nashville"
Glenn Close for "Damages"
Michelle Dockery for "Downton Abbey"
Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Don Cheadle for "House of Lies"

Other Nominees:
Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock"
Louis C.K. for "Louie"
Matt LeBlanc for "Episodes"
Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Winner:
Lena Dunham for "Girls"
Well deserved, especially considering that she acts, directs, produces, and writes the show herself too!!

Other Nominees:
Zooey Deschanel for "New Girl"
Tina Fey for "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "Veep"
Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Kevin Costner for "Hatfields & McCoys"

Other Nominees:
Benedict Cumberbatch for "Sherlock"
Woody Harrelson for Game Change
Toby Jones for The Girl
Clive Owen for Hemingway & Gellhorn

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Julianne Moore for Game Change
Incredibly well deserved.

Other Nominees:
Nicole Kidman for Hemingway & Gellhorn
Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story: Asylum"
Sienna Miller for The Girl
Sigourney Weaver for "Political Animals"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Ed Harris for Game Change
Well deserved, although I would have loved to see Patinkin win for Homeland.

Other Nominees:
Max Greenfield for "New Girl"
Danny Huston for "Magic City"
Mandy Patinkin for "Homeland"
Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Winner:
Maggie Smith for "Downton Abbey"
I mean, seriously, can there be any other?  No.

Other Nominees:
Hayden Panettiere for "Nashville"
Archie Panjabi for "The Good Wife"
Sarah Paulson for Game Change
Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family"

Michelangelo Signorile

Columnist, Radio personality, and gay activist, on Jodie Foster finally coming out at the recent Golden Globes ceremony:

"I don't care if people like Jodie Foster are bitter or annoyed at activists. It's the job of activists to challenge people and, yes, to annoy people. What I care about is that the repressive and suffocating gay closet not be seen as a good place even if it is still the only safe choice for many. The only reason that millions are still in the closet is that society forces them there under threat of punishment. But things get easier for all those millions of closeted individuals when Hollywood celebrities and media figures come out. And more and more, it appears that it's becoming their responsibility, as privileged members of society, to do so."

Thursday, January 10, 2013

“The Last Mile”

Had to repost this incredibly moving video from Towleroad.  Hats off to this young man:

2013 BAFTA Awards

An here are the British Academy of Film and Television Awards nominations, which were announced yesterday:

Best Film
Argo
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year
Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

Best Actor
Ben Affleck for Argo
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren for Hitchcock
Emmanuelle Riva for Amour

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin for Argo
Javier Bardem for Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams for The Master
Judi Dench for Skyfall
Sally Field for Lincoln
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables
Helen Hunt for The Sessions

David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction
Ben Affleck for Argo
Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty
Michael Haneke for Amour
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained

Best Screenplay (Original)
Amour: Michael Haneke
Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino
The Master: Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty: Mark Boal

Best Screenplay (Adapted)
Argo: Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi: David Magee
Lincoln: Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook: David O. Russell

Best Cinematography
Anna Karenina: Seamus McGarvey
Les Misérables: Danny Cohen
Life of Pi: Claudio Miranda
Lincoln: Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall: Roger Deakins

Best Editing
Argo: Billy Goldenberg
Django Unchained: Fred Raskin
Life of Pi: Tim Squyres
Skyfall: Stuart Baird
Zero Dark Thirty: Dylan Tichenor, Billy Goldenberg

Best Production Design
Anna Karenina: Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
Les Misérables: Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi: David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
Lincoln: Rick Carter, Jim Erickson
Skyfall: Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock

Best Costume Design
Anna Karenina: Jacqueline Durran
Great Expectations: Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
Les Misérables: Paco Delgado
Lincoln: Joanna Johnston
Snow White and the Huntsman: Colleen Atwood

Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
Anna Karenina: Dario Marianelli
Argo: Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi: Mychael Danna
Lincoln: John Williams
Skyfall: Thomas Newman

Best Make Up/Hair
Anna Karenina
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Lincoln

Best Sound
Django Unchained
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Skyfall

Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Prometheus

Best Film not in the English Language
Amour
Headhunters
The Hunt
Rust and Bone
The Intouchables

Best Animated Feature Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman

Best Documentary
The Imposter
Marley
McCullin
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis

EE Rising Star Award
Elizabeth Olsen
Andrea Riseborough
Suraj Sharma
Juno Temple
Alicia Vikander

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
I Am Nasrine: Tina Gharavi
The Imposter: Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
McCullin: David Manos Morris, Jacqui Morris
The Muppets: James Bobin
Wild Bill: Dexter Fletcher, Danny King

Best Short Animation
Here to Fall: Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
I'm Fine Thanks: Eamonn O'Neill
The Making of Longbird: Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

Best Short Film
The Curse: Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
Good Night: Muriel d'Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
Swimmer: Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
Tumult: Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
The Voorman Problem: Mark Gill, Baldwin LI

The 85th Annual Academy Awards - The Nominations

Following are the nominations for this year’s Oscars.  I’m glad Les Misérables didn’t get the highest number of nominees (that honor went to Lincoln) since I have very little interest in seeing it.

I was super happy to see that Adele was nominated for Best Original Song for Skyfall and hope she wins too, and I’m glad that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey got three nominations since its technical achievements are undisputable.

Skyfall is actually the first Bond movie ever to get recognized by the Academy in several categories, so they must have done a pretty good job this time around.

So here they are:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Amour: To Be Determined
Argo: Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald
Django Unchained: Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone
Les Misérables: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Life of Pi: Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
Lincoln: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
Silver Linings Playbook: Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen, Jonathan Gordon
Zero Dark Thirty: Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master
Denzel Washington for Flight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva for Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts for The Impossible

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin for Argo
Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for The Master
Sally Field for Lincoln
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables
Helen Hunt for The Sessions
Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook

Best Achievement in Directing
Michael Haneke for Amour
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Amour: Michael Haneke
Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino
Flight: John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty: Mark Boal

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Argo: Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi: David Magee
Lincoln: Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook: David O. Russell

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Brave: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Frankenweenie: Tim Burton
ParaNorman: Sam Fell, Chris Butler
The Pirates! Band of Misfits: Peter Lord
Wreck-It Ralph: Rich Moore

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Amour: Michael Haneke(Austria)
War Witch: Kim Nguyen(Canada)
No: Pablo Larraín(Chile)
A Royal Affair: Nikolaj Arcel(Denmark)
Kon-Tiki: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg(Norway)

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Anna Karenina: Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained: Robert Richardson
Life of Pi: Claudio Miranda
Lincoln: Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall: Roger Deakins

Best Achievement in Editing
Argo: William Goldenberg
Life of Pi: Tim Squyres
Lincoln: Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook: Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty: William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

Best Achievement in Production Design
Anna Karenina: Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, Simon Bright
Les Misérables: Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi: David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
Lincoln: Rick Carter, Jim Erickson

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Anna Karenina: Jacqueline Durran
Les Misérables: Paco Delgado
Lincoln: Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror: Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman: Colleen Atwood

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Hitchcock: Howard Berger, Peter Montagna, Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Peter King, Rick Findlater, Tami Lane
Les Misérables: Lisa Westcott, Julie Dartnell

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Anna Karenina: Dario Marianelli
Argo: Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi: Mychael Danna
Lincoln: John Williams
Skyfall: Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Chasing Ice: J. Ralph("Before My Time")
Les Misérables: Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer("Suddenly")
Life of Pi: Mychael Danna, Bombay Jayshree("Pi's Lullaby")
Skyfall: Adele, Paul Epworth("Skyfall")
Ted: Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane("Everybody Needs a Best Friend")

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Argo: John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, José Antonio García
Les Misérables: Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Simon Hayes
Life of Pi: Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Drew Kunin
Lincoln: Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Ron Judkins
Skyfall: Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Stuart Wilson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Argo: Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained: Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi: Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton
Skyfall: Per Hallberg, Karen M. Baker
Zero Dark Thirty: Paul N.J. Ottosson

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
The Avengers: Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Daniel Sudick
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
Life of Pi: Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik De Boer, Donald Elliott
Prometheus: Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, Martin Hill
Snow White and the Huntsman: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Phil Brennan, Neil Corbould, Michael Dawson

Best Documentary, Features
5 Broken Cameras: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers: To Be Determined
How to Survive a Plague: To Be Determined
The Invisible War: To Be Determined
Searching for Sugar Man: To Be Determined

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Inocente: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix
Kings Point: Sari Gilman, Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine: Cynthia Wade, Robin Honan
Open Heart: Kief Davidson, Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption: Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill

Best Short Film, Animated
Adam and Dog: Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole: PES
Head Over Heels: Timothy Reckart, Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
Paperman: John Kahrs
The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare: David Silverman

Best Short Film, Live Action
Asad: Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys: Sam French, Ariel Nasr
Curfew: Shawn Christensen
Death of a Shadow: Tom Van Avermaet, Ellen De Waele
Henry: Yan England