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TV Today: The Independent Spirit Awards, Twice

BuzzSugar — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:00:01 -0800

Can't wait till the Oscars for your awards fix this weekend? Well today, you can get a quirky take on the red carpet and awards show fun with Film Independent's Spirit Awards live at 5 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Pacific on IFC. If you're unable to catch it live in the afternoon, an edited version will re-air on AMC at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

This year's host is funny man Steve Coogan, star of Hamlet 2, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does with the show's free-flowing format. Based on some recent Twitter updates from last year's host, Rainn Wilson, I'm sure the night will offer up some memorable moments. You can check out a list of this year's nominees here and come back a little later today to see a full list of winners.

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Rachel Getting Married Leads 2009 Independent Spirit Noms

BuzzSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:35:45 -0800

After all the acclaim heaped on Rachel Getting Married, the family drama starring Anne Hathaway, it makes sense that the movie would lead (along with two other films that also received six nominations each: Sundance favorites Ballast and Frozen River) the year's batch of nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards.

Other titles in the Best Feature category include the heartbreaking Wendy and Lucy, starring Michelle Williams, and the Mickey Rourke drama The Wrestler. Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona is getting some love, with acting nominations for Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz and a Best Screenplay nomination for Allen. Milk scored several nominations as well, including a Best Actor nod for Sean Penn and a Best Supporting Actor for James Franco.

The winners will be announced at the ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. To check out the full list of this year's Independent Spirit Award nominees, read more.

The 2009 Spirit Award Nominees:

BEST FEATURE
Ballast
Frozen River
Rachel Getting Married
Wendy and Lucy
The Wrestler

BEST DIRECTOR
Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop)
Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
Lance Hammer (Ballast)
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Afterschool
Director: Antonio Campos
Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond

Medicine for Melancholy
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producer: Justin Barber

Sangre De Mi Sangre
Director: Christopher Zalla
Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell

Sleep Dealer
Director: Alex Rivera
Producer: Anthony Bregman

Synecdoche, New York
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie
Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel

BEST MALE LEAD
Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Summer Bishil (Towelhead)
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Tarra Riggs (Ballast)
Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
James Franco (Milk)
Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker)
Charlie McDermott (Frozen River)
Jim Myron Ross (Ballast)
Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Rosie Perez (The Take)
Misty Upham (Frozen River)
Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Sugar)
Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York)
Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace)
Christopher Zalla (Sangre De Mi Sangre)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
Lance Hammer, (Ballast)
Courtney Hunt (Frozen River)
Jonathan Levine (The Wackness)
Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler)
Lol Crawley (Ballast)
James Laxton (Medicine for Melancholy)
Harris Savides (Milk)
Michael Simmonds (Chop Shop)

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Prince of Broadway
The Signal
Take Out
Turn the River

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
The Order of Myths
Up the Yangtze

FOREIGN FILM
The Class (France)
Gomorra (Italy)
Hunger (UK/Ireland)
Secret of the Grain (France)
Silent Light (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Synecdoche, New York
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams

IFC/ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Barry Jenkins, director of Medicine for Melancholy
Nina Paley, director of Sita Sings the Blues
Lynn Shelton, director of My Effortless Brilliance

Announcing the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards Nominees

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:31:02 -0800

Last year it was all Sunshine all the time when Little Miss Sunshine took home the majority of the Independent Spirit Awards, given out yearly by Film Independent. This year, the nominations are dominated by Juno, the teen pregnancy dramedy opening December 14, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and to a lesser degree I'm Not There.

Some of the nominations have me squealing with delight: Chiwetel Ejiofor nominated for Best Supporting Male for his outstanding performance in Talk to Me, Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris nominated for Best First Feature, and the Irish musical Once nominated for Best Foreign Film. Yet then there's the heartbreaking nomination of Waitress for Best Screenplay, which (if it wins) would have been given to Adrienne Shelly had she not tragically died last year.

For the full list of nominees - and there are some greats on there - read more

BEST FEATURE
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I'm Not There
Juno
A Mighty Heart
Paranoid Park

BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes (I'm Not There)
Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
Jason Reitman (Juno)
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Gus Van Sant (Paranoid Park)

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
2 Days in Paris
Director: Julie Delpy
Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok

Great World of Sound
Director: Craig Zobel
Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel

The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank
Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes

Rocket Science
Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch

Vanaja
Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli
Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
August Evening
Owl and the Sparrow
The Pool
Quiet City
Shotgun Stories

BEST SCREENPLAY
Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner (Starting Out in the Evening)
Adrienne Shelly (Waitress)
Mike White (Year of the Dog)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jeffrey Blitz (Rocket Science)
Zoe Cassavetes (Broken English)
Diablo Cody (Juno)
Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)
John Orloff (A Mighty Heart)

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
Sienna Miller (Interview)
Ellen Page (Juno)
Parker Posey (Broken English)
Tang Wei (Lust, Caution)

BEST MALE LEAD
Pedro Castaneda (August Evening)
Don Cheadle (Talk To Me)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages)
Frank Langella (Starting Out in the Evening)
Tony Leung (Lust, Caution)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
Anna Kendrick (Rocket Science)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (Margot at the Wedding)
Tamara Podemski (Four Sheets to the Wind)
Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Talk To Me)
Marcus Carl Franklin (I'm Not There)
Kene Holliday (Great World of Sound)
Irrfan Khan (The Namesake)
Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mott Hupfel (The Savages)
Janusz Kaminski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Milton Kam (Vanaja)
Mihai Malaimare, Jr. (Youth Without Youth)
Rodrigo Prieto (Lust, Caution)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Crazy Love
Lake of Fire
Manufactured Landscapes
The Monastery
The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair

BEST FOREIGN FILM
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
(Romania)

The Band's Visit
(Israel)

Lady Chatterley
(France)

Once
(Ireland)

Persepolis
(France)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)
I'm Not There
Director: Todd Haynes
Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal
Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood

2012: Apocalyptic Good Times

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

In terms of end-of-the-world movies, 2012 packs it all - a love story, teary family moments, action-packed adventure, over-the-top-CGI, and a ton of recycled film cliches - in a two and a half hour package. That's lengthy by today's standards, but I wasn't bored for a minute. This is pure escapist entertainment.

The film opens in 2009 as a scientist in India and his American associate Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discover that the Earth's core is overheating. His forecast: Tectonic plates will shift, thereby causing a worldwide catastrophe that will wipe out the human race.

Dun, dun, dun! (Doesn't take long to pull you in, does it?) To hear my full assessment, read more.

The real action goes down three years later in 2012 when, according to the Mayan calendar, the Earth will reach its end. The entire So-Cal coast starts crumbling, so our hero Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and his family begin a journey to China where the governments around the world have supposedly assembled spaceships to carry select humans to safety.

What? You expected this to be plausible?

Of course not, but the film does include tons of cool CGI - volcanos, snow storms, giant tsunamis. It's like every disaster movie you've ever watched combined. (That should come as no surprise seeing as how the director is Roland Emmerich who created The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and Godzilla.)

As for the characters, we've seen them all stereotyped in other films before, but they're still enjoyable here. (Even though I admittedly winced over a Russian family complete with a fur coat, tiny dog, and an employee named Sasha.) This is thanks to the actors who play their parts with believability, even when the scenes feel ridiculous. Ejiofor portrays a great bleeding heart swept up in a governmental plan that's looking out for No. 1, and Cusack pulls off his father role without being over-the-top or sappy. Also, watch for Woody Harrelson as a nutty conspiracy theorist living in Yellowstone National Park.

2012 is purely meant to be fun, and it succeeds. There's a constant barrage of cliff-hanger moments that never let up, and though you pretty much know where things are headed, it's easy to get sucked in.

(Don't forget that if you see a movie that you'd like to review, you can post your write-up in the Movie Review Group in Community - I may even post it here on the site!)

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

New York, I Love You: A Jigsaw Puzzle That Doesn't Quite Fit

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

As a city with so much personality and penchant for possibility, it's no surprise that the follow-up to Paris, Je t'aime heads to New York. New York, I Love You is a tale of the connections and personal missteps that occur every single day in the city that never sleeps. It plays out like a movie version of a song mash-up: some story lines are linear and independent of the rest while other characters wander in and out of each other's lives. Throw an all-star cast in there, and you could possibly have a recipe for perfection.

Unfortunately, the ingredients don't blend together as well as I had hoped, and instead we're left with an engaging but bland look at a handful of trials and tribulations in relationships. To see what I mean, just read more.

Made up of a series of short films, New York, I Love You is an homage to the city as well as the residents who hold it near and dear to their hearts. The "anything can happen" theme is alive and well, as strangers become acquaintances and friends, putting so much emphasis on each and every interaction that we take part in on a regular basis.

You meet a few characters that represent New York well enough; Bradley Cooper is the guy who's constantly jumping into a cab the same time as someone else, Orlando Bloom is the struggling musician who turns to Central Park for inspiration, Hayden Christensen is the pick-pocket who's as sexy as he is dangerous. But sometimes it feels just a little too forced; like the film is primarily concerned with proving that New York is a melting pot. Rather than seeing a few love stories shine through stereotypes, I was more distracted by the fake accents.

As with Paris Je t'aime, some of the stories shine brighter than others. Natalie Portman directs a sweet piece about a relationship between a father and daughter; Olivia Thirlby and Anton Yelchin are refreshing as a younger pair who makes the prom a night to remember. The lighter films are breaths of fresh air amongst others that are trying too hard to be hip and stylized.

The ensemble cast certainly gives the movie a boost; even when it's not provoking the deepest of emotions, the film always had my attention. There are solid performances all-around, particularly from Chloris Leachman and Eli Wallach as an aging couple who are still bickering when they aren't helping each other cross the street. It is the most hopeful of the scenarios, and by far the sweetest and most touching.

The film provides plenty of the standard money shots of Manhattan: a typical day in Grand Central Station in fast forward, subway rides, hours of people watching in a coffee shop. The encounters feel authentic and realistic, but the failure lies in the inability to make us feel something on a deeper level. Sometimes you can relate to the characters, and sometimes you feel sorry for them, but it doesn't squeeze your heart nearly enough - and with a title like New York, I Love You, this a disappointment.

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:30:36 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. Oh and even though it's not on Netflix, don't forget that Ally McBeal: The Complete Series is finally available on DVD today!

Year One

The comedy chops of Michael Cera and Jack Black weren't enough to make prehistoric comedy Year One a hit, but the movie still has some laughs, especially if you're fans of the two actors.

The gross-out humor definitely wore on me, but the funny supporting cast might make it worth the rental (Paul Rudd, Hank Azaria, and David Cross all make cameos) - if you can stand all the toilet humor.

16%

See two more new releases when you read more.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Anvil! The Story of Anvil became a surprising sleeper hit, thanks in large part to word of mouth (aka Twitter). The documentary centers around Canadian heavy metal band Anvil, who may have been little known to the public, but actually went on to influence other popular acts like Metallica. Metallica even shows up in the movie to talk about the band.

The movie was beloved by critics (check that Rotten Tomatoes rating!) and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

98%

Assassination of a High School President

Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton star in Assassination of a High School President, a comedy/crime caper set in a high school. The film made a splash at last year's Sundance Film Festival, but then kind of faded away when it came to a theatrical release . . . no matter, because it's on Netflix now.

I was intrigued by the trailer for this movie and will probably check it out, especially since it has Rocket Science's cute protagonist, Reece Thompson.

57%

Which movie will you be adding to your Netflix queue?