DVD Releases: February 28, 2011

Another Year

Director: Mike Leigh

Starring: Ruth Sheen, Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville

Easy A

Director: Will Gluck

Starring: Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes and Penn Badgley

Paranormal Activity 2

Director: Tod Williams

Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat and Molly Ephraim

Africa United

Director: Debs Gardner-Paterson

Starring: Eriya Ndayambaje, Roger Nsengiyumva and Sanyu Joanita Kintu

Leap Year

Director: Michael Rowe

Starring: Monica del Carmen, Gustavo Sánchez Parra and Armando Hernández

Primal

Director: Josh Reed

Starring: Krew Boylan, Ch’aska Cuba de Reed and Santiago Cuba de Reed

83rd Academy Awards: Winners

Best Picture

  • The Social Network
  • Winter’s Bone
  • The King’s Speech – WINNER
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • True Grit
  • Toy Story 3
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • 127 Hours
  • Inception

Best Director

  • Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
  • Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) – WINNER
  • David Fincher (The Social Network)
  • Joel & Ethan Coen (True Grit)
  • David O. Russell (The Fighter)

Best Actor

  • James Franco (127 Hours)
  • Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) – WINNER
  • Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
  • Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
  • Jeff Bridges (True Grit)

Best Actress

  • Natalie Portman (Black Swan) – WINNER
  • Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
  • Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone)
  • Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
  • Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)

Best Supporting Actor

  • John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone)
  • Christian Bale (The Fighter) – WINNER
  • Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right)
  • Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)
  • Jeremy Renner (The Town)

Best Supporting Actress

  • Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
  • Melissa Leo (The Fighter) – WINNER
  • Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
  • Amy Adams (The Fighter)
  • Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech)

Best Original Screenplay

  • Mike Leigh (Another Year)
  • Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right)
  • David Seidler (The King’s Speech) – WINNER
  • Christopher Nolan (Inception)
  • Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson & Keith Dorrington (The Fighter)

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) – WINNER
  • Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours)
  • Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3)
  • Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (True Grit)
  • Debra Granik & Anne Rosellin (Winter’s Bone)

Best Animated Film

  • The Illusionist
  • Toy Story 3 – WINNER
  • How To Train Your Dragon

Best Foreign Language Film

  • Dogtooth
  • In A Better World – WINNER
  • Biutiful
  • Incendies
  • Outside The Law

Best Documentary

  • Inside Job – WINNER
  • Exit Through The Gift Shop
  • GasLand
  • Restrepo
  • Waste Land

Best Art Direction

  • Inception
  • Alice In Wonderland – WINNER
  • The King’s Speech
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • True Grit

Best Cinematography

  • Black Swan
  • The Social Network
  • Inception – WINNER
  • True Grit
  • The King’s Speech

Best Visual Effects

  • Hereafter
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • Iron Man 2
  • Inception – WINNER
  • Alice In Wonderland

Best Costume Design

  • I Am Love
  • Alice In Wonderland – WINNER
  • The King’s Speech
  • True Grit
  • The Tempest

Best Editing

  • The Fighter
  • Black Swan
  • The Social Network – WINNER
  • 127 Hours
  • The King’s Speech

Best Makeup

  • The Wolfman – WINNER
  • Barney’s Version
  • The Way Back

Best Short Film (Live Action)

  • Na Wewe
  • The Confession
  • Wish 143
  • The Crush
  • God Of Love – WINNER

Best Short Film (Animated)

  • Let’s Pollute
  • The Gruffalo
  • Day & Night
  • The Lost Thing – WINNER
  • Madagascar, A Journey Diary

Best Short Film (Documentary)

  • Killing In The Name
  • Poster Girl
  • Strangers No More – WINNER
  • Sun Come Up
  • The Warriors Of Quigang

Best Original Score

  • How To Train Your Dragon (John Powell)
  • Inception (Hans Zimmer)
  • The King’s Speech (Alexandre Desplat)
  • 127 Hours (A.R. Rahman)
  • The Social Network (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross) – WINNER

Best Original Song

  • Coming Home (Country Strong)
  • I See The Light (Tangled)
  • If I Rise (127 Hours)
  • We Belong Together (Toy Story 3) – WINNER

Best Sound Mixing

  • Inception – WINNER
  • Salt
  • The Social Network
  • True Grit
  • The King’s Speech

Best Sound Editing

  • Toy Story 3
  • Inception – WINNER
  • True Grit
  • Unstoppable
  • Tron: Legacy

31st London Critics’ Circle Film Awards: Winners

Film of the Year

  • The Social Network

British Film of the Year

  • The King’s Speech

Foreign Language Film of the Year

  • Of Gods and Men

Director of the Year

  • David Fincher (The Social Network)

British Director of the Year

  • Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)

Actor of the Year

  • Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)

Actress of the Year

  • Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)

British Actor of the Year

  • Christian Bale (The Fighter)

British Actress of the Year

  • Lesley Manville (Another Year)

British Actor in a Supporting Role

  • Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)

British Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Olivia Williams (The Ghost)

Screenwriter of the Year

  • Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Young British Performer of the Year

  • Conor McCarron (NEDS)

Breakthrough British Filmmaker

  • Gareth Edwards (Monsters)

83rd Academy Awards: Nominations

Best Picture

  • The Social Network
  • Winter’s Bone
  • True Grit
  • Black Swan
  • The King’s Speech
  • 127 Hours
  • The Fighter
  • Toy Story 3
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right

Best Director

  • Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
  • David Fincher (The Social Network)
  • Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)
  • Joel & Ethan Coen (True Grit)
  • David O. Russell (The Fighter)

Best Actor

  • Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
  • Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
  • Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
  • James Franco (127 Hours)
  • Jeff Bridges (True Grit)

Best Actress

  • Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
  • Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone)
  • Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
  • Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
  • Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)

Best Supporting Actor

  • John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone)
  • Christian Bale (The Fighter)
  • Jeremy Renner (The Town)
  • Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right)
  • Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)

Best Supporting Actress

  • Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
  • Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
  • Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
  • Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech)
  • Amy Adams (The Fighter)

Best Original Screenplay

  • Another Year (Mike Leigh)
  • The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg)
  • The King’s Speech (David Seidler)
  • Inception (Christopher Nolan)
  • The Fighter (Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson & Keith Dorrington)

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • 127 Hours (Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy)
  • The Social Network (Aaron Sorkin)
  • Toy Story 3 (Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich)
  • True Grit (Joel & Ethan Coen)
  • Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik & Anne Rosellin)

Best Animated Film

  • Toy Story 3
  • How To Train Your Dragon
  • The Illusionist

Best Foreign Language Film

  • Biutiful
  • Dogtooth
  • In A Better World
  • Incendies
  • Outside The Law

Best Documentary

  • GasLand
  • Inside Job
  • Exit Through The Gift Shop
  • Restrepo
  • Waste Land

Best Art Direction

  • Inception
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • The King’s Speech
  • True Grit

Best Cinematography

  • Black Swan
  • Inception
  • The King’s Speech
  • True Grit
  • The Social Network

Best Costume Design

  • The Tempest
  • I Am Love
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • The King’s Speech
  • True Grit

Best Editing

  • The King’s Speech
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • 127 Hours
  • The Social Network

Best Short Film (Live Action)

  • The Crush
  • Wish 143
  • Na Wewe
  • The Confession
  • God Of Love

Best Short Film (Animated)

  • The Gruffalo
  • Day & Night
  • Let’s Pollute
  • The Lost Thing
  • Madagascar, A Journey Diary

Best Makeup

  • The Wolfman
  • Barney’s Version
  • The Way Back

Best Original Score

  • Inception (Hanz Zimmer)
  • How To Train Your Dragon (John Powell)
  • The King’s Speech (Alexandre Desplat)
  • 127 Hours (A.R. Rahman)
  • The Social Network (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

Best Original Song

  • Coming Home (Country Strong)
  • I See The Light (Tangled)
  • If I Rise (127 Hours)
  • We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)

Best Sound Mixing

  • Salt
  • Inception
  • The King’s Speech
  • True Grit
  • The Social Network

Best Sound Editing

  • Toy Story 3
  • Inception
  • Unstoppable
  • True Grit
  • Tron: Legacy

Best Visual Effects

  • Hereafter
  • Alice In Wonderland
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • Iron Man 2
  • Inception

64th BAFTA Film Awards: Nominations

Best Film

  • Black Swan
  • Inception
  • The King’s Speech
  • True Grit
  • The Social Network

Outstanding British Film

  • 127 Hours
  • Another Year
  • Four Lions
  • Made In Dagenham
  • The King’s Speech

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer

  • The Arbor – Clio Barnard (Writer), Tracy O’Riordan (Producer)
  • Exit Through The Gift Shop – Banksy (Director), Jaimie D’Cruz (Producer)
  • Four Lions – Chris Morris (Writer/Director)
  • Monsters – Gareth Edwards (Writer/Director)
  • Skeletons – Nick Whitfield (Writer/Director)

Director

  • Danny Boyle – (127 Hours)
  • Black Swan – (Darren Aronofksy)
  • Christopher – Nolan (Inception)
  • Tom Hooper – (The King’s Speech)
  • David Fincher – (The Social Network)

Original Screenplay

  • Black Swan – (Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz & John McLaughlin)
  • The Fighter – (Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson)
  • Inception – (Christopher Nolan)
  • The Kids Are All Right – (Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg)
  • The King’s Speech – (David Seidler)

Adapted Screenplay

  • 127 Hours – (Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy)
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – (Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel)
  • The Social Network – (Aaron Sorkin)
  • Toy Story 3 – (Michael Arndt)
  • True Grit – (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

Foreign Film

  • Biutiful
  • I Am Love
  • Of Gods And Men
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • The Secret In Their Eyes

Animated Film

  • Despicable Me
  • Toy Story 3
  • How To Train Your Dragon

Leading Actor

  • Javier Bardem – (Biutiful)
  • Colin Firth – (The King’s Speech)
  • Jeff Bridges – (True Grit)
  • Jesse Eisenberg – (The Social Network)
  • James Franco – (127 Hours)

Leading Actress

  • Natalie Portman – (Black Swan)
  • Julianne Moore – (The Kids Are All Right)
  • Noomi Rapace – (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • Hailee Steinfeld – (True Grit)
  • Annette Bening – (The Kids Are All Right)

Supporting Actor

  • Christian Bale – (The Fighter)
  • Andrew Garfield – (The Social Network)
  • Mark Ruffalo – (The Kids Are All Right)
  • Geoffrey Rush – (The King’s Speech)
  • Pete Postlethwaite – (Inception)

Supporting Actress

  • Amy Adams – (The Fighter)
  • Lesley Manville – (Another Year)
  • Barbara Hershey – (Black Swan)
  • Miranda Richardson – (Made In Dagenham)
  • Helena Bonham Carter – (The King’s Speech)

Original Music

  • A. R. Rahman – (127 Hours)
  • Danny Elfman – (Alice In Wonderland)
  • Wally Pfister – (Inception)
  • Danny Cohen – (The King’s Speech)
  • Roger Deakins – (True Grit)

Cinematography

  • 127 Hours – (Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak)
  • Black Swan – (Matthew Libatique)
  • Inception – (Wally Pfister)
  • The King’s Speech – (Danny Cohen)
  • True Grit – (Roger Deakins)

Editing

  • 127 Hours – (Jon Harris)
  • Black Swan – (Andrew Weisblum)
  • Inception – (Lee Smith)
  • The King’s Speech – (Tariq Anwar)
  • The Social Network – (Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall)

Production Design

  • Alice In Wonderland – (Robert Stromberg & Karen O’Hara)
  • Black Swan – (Therese Deprez & Tora Peterson)
  • Inception – (Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias & Doug Mowat)
  • The King’s Speech – (Eve Stewart & Judy Farr)
  • True Grit – (Jess Gonchor & Nancy Haigh)

Costume Design

  • Alice In Wonderland – (Colleen Atwood)
  • Black Swan – (Amy Westcott)
  • The King’s Speech – (Jenny Beavan)
  • Made In Dagenham – (Louise Stjernsward)
  • True Grit – (Mary Zophres)

Special Visual Effects

  • Alice In Wonderland  – (TBC)
  • Black Swan – (Dan Schrecker)
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 – (Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait’hadi & Christian Manz)
  • Inception – (Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley & Peter Bebb)
  • Toy Story 3 – (TBC)

Sound

  • 127 Hours – (Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri & Douglas Cameron)
  • Black Swan – (Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan & Dominick Tavella)
  • Inception – (Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo & Ed Novick)
  • The King’s Speech – (John Midgley, Lee Walpole & Paul Hamblin)
  • True Grit – (Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland & Douglas Axtell)

Make Up & Hair

  • Alice In Wonderland – (TBC)
  • Black Swan – (Judy Chin & Geordie Sheffer)
  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 – (Amanda Knight & Lisa Tomblin)
  • The King’s Speech – (Frances Hannon)
  • Made In Dagenham – (Lizzie Yianni Georgiou)

Short Animation

  • The Eagleman Stag
  • Matter Fisher
  • Thursday

Short Film

  • Connect
  • Lin
  • Rite
  • Turning
  • Until The River Runs Red

Orange Wednesday Rising Star

  • Gemma Arterton
  • Emma Stone
  • Tom Hardy
  • Andrew Garfield
  • Aaron Johnson

Review: Another Year (2010)

Mike Leigh returns with a measured, powerful and wholly realistic human drama.

Another Year centres on Tom and Gerry (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen), a blissfully happy married couple and their unconventional, unhappy friends and relatives.

Mary (Lesley Manville), Gerry’s wayward, lonely co-worker, reeks desperation, but hides it underneath her bubbly and free-spirited mask. Mary has a deep love for the life Tom and Gerry lead and wants nothing more than to have someone to simply confide in.

However, when her hidden-desire for their son Joe (Oliver Maltman) results in her mocking his new girlfriend Katie (Karina Fernandez), she is subtly rejected by the household, which leads to her ultimate breakdown.

Mike Leigh’s direction is flawless. Lingering shots may feel uncomfortable to viewers on the outside, but are commonplace in the lives of the characters on screen. By focusing on one single-day per calendar season, Another Year provides a wholly honest insight into the workings of a older couple and their lonely, single friends.

Taking a laid back and detached approach, Leigh let the film’s story and characters breathe, never infringing upon a scene or piece of dialogue. The lack of soundtrack went unnoticed, as it would have deterred from the emotional impact each scene had upon the viewer.

Lesley Manville is pitch-perfect as wayward Mary, making the character convincing, yet never over-the-top. Manville slipped into the character of Mary from the get-go, always pushing her characters desperation to the centre of the film, no matter how many sub plots came and went and never slipping into a caricature.

Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen complimented each other down to a tee, Gerry coming across as a down-to-earth family wife, with a stern, protective inside. Tom is witty, able to glaze over the depressing moments of life, which comes with both good and bad aspects.

The supporting cast each give convincing and afflicting performances and suitably complement the older actors. Even Imelda Staunton’s cameo role towards the start of the film as a troubled mother has an impact on the overall tone and nature of the film.

Another Year is an almost perfect slice of British cinema, digging behind-the-scenes of a quint-essential family in the heart of Britain and bringing to light their turbulent, drab and ultimately tragic lives. Tremendous.

Feature: Top Ten Films Of 2010

In total I’ve seen a lot of films in 2010, but here are the ten I consider my favourite:

1. The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech is an altogether clever, humorous and emotional film, supported by tremendous performances from it’s central cast. A must see, by all accounts.

2. The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right a fantastic film, exuding charm, wit, love, insecurity and anguish at every appropriate corner. In essence, it’s a film about the struggles of human relationships, and shows a family’s love has the potential to overcome any obstacle.

3. The Social Network

The Social Network is a film that deserves your attention. It’s not only a film about Mark Zuckerberg and the creation of Facebook, but also one of morality. One that requires your full attention and questions your beliefs and values;  but also one that rewards you with its passion, attention-to-detail and humourous nature.

4. Another Year

Mike Leigh’s measured, and scarily realistic human nature drama is impossible to dismiss. Leigh’s laid-back approach let’s the characters and on-screen drama speak for itself. The central leads invite you into their lives and take you on a emotionally and wholly real journey through old-age. Lesley Manville, in particular, is breathtaking.

5. Winter’s Bone

Winter’s Bone is a film of true craftsmanship. Haunting, gritty, yet oddly inspiring, featuring a nuanced and captivating performance from newcomer Jennifer Lawrence.

6. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Edgar Wright stepped up his game with this genre-crossing comedy film. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a zany, mis-construed film that explores deep, poignant ideas, inter-cut with lots of crazy, heart-pounding action scenes, hundred of popular culture nods and hilariously odd performances from its central cast.

7. Toy Story 3

Defying expectations, Toy Story 3 proved sequels can be successful. Directed by the incredibly talented Lee Unkrich, the film manages to be a fitting, touching and honest conclusion to one of the most beloved, and inspiring, franchises of all time.

8. Inception

Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending science fiction, Inception is a singular accomplishment from an extraordinarily talented and game-changing director. It’s a visually stunning, intellectually challenging and emotionally engaging triumph, one that truly exemplifies modern filmmaking.

9. Monsters

Monsters is an incredible achievement in more ways than one, showcasing fine performances, an afflicting narrative, wholly real character interactions and special effects that rival those used on Blockbusters

10. I Am Love

Possibly one of the most overlooked films of the year, I Am Love is an incredibly well shot, acted, portrayed and directed. Tilda Swinton provided a flawless, and incredibly raw performance. One to seek out.

Honourable Mentions:

Easy A, How To Train Your Dragon, Four Lions, Kick-Ass, Piranha, Lebanon, Despicable Me, Bad Lieutenant – Port Of Call: New Orleans, The Runaways, Please Give, Cyrus, Splice, Mary & Max, The Hole, Exit Through The Gift Shop, The Killer Inside Me, The Illusionist, Whip It, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Somewhere, Dogtooth and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.