2018 Golden Globe Nominations

Congratulations to this year’s Golden Globe nominees!

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Crazy Rich Asians
The Favourite
Green Book
Mary Poppins Returns
Vice

Best Motion Picture – Animated

Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language

Capernaum (Lebanon)
Girl (Belgium)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Glenn Close, The Wife
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Nicole Kidman, Destroyer
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Rosamund Pike, A Private War

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Lucas Hedges, Boy Erased
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman

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

Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
Charlize Theron, Tully
Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians

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

Christian Bale, Vice
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Poppins Returns
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Robert Redford, The Old Man & The Gun
John C. Reilly, Stan & Ollie

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

Amy Adams, Vice
Claire Foy, First Man
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

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

Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell, Vice
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

Best Director – Motion Picture

Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Peter Farrelly, Green Book
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Adam McKay, Vice

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara, The Favourite
Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
Adam McKay, Vice
Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Green Book

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Marco Beltrami, A Quiet Place
Alexandre Desplat, Isle Of Dogs
Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther
Justin Hurwitz, First Man
Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

“All The Stars,” Black Panther
“Girl in the Movies,” Dumplin’
“Requiem For A Private War,” A Private War
“Revelation,” Boy Erased
“Shallow,” A Star Is Born

Review: "The Favourite"

Two years ago, I came close to ranking Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster as the worst picture of 2016. What (inexplicably) enamored countless film buffs stuck me as dreary bombast, made only faintly tolerable by Colin Farrell’s committed leading turn.

If Lanthimos’ latest picture, The Favourite, is also hardly my cup of tea, it is at least an exquisitely designed and memorably acted picture. If anything, it most recalls last year’s Phantom Thread, a film unimpeachably not without merit that ultimately left a far greater impression on most of my fellow moviegoers.

The Favourite, which despite this middling review is destined for a healthy awards season run, opens on England toward the beginning of the 18th century. The nation remains at war with France and presiding over the throne is Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), the fragile, volatile leader who is immeasurably assisted by friend and adviser Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), the Dutchess of Marlborough.

Throwing this world for a loop is the entrance of Sarah’s cousin Abigail Hill (Emma Stone), who has arrived at the castle in search of employment. Sarah looks down upon Abigail, whose gambling father ravaged the family name, but agrees to provide her with humdrum work. Abigail gradually wins over Sarah and especially the Queen and, before long, plots to win Anne’s favor at the expense of Sarah. When Sarah becomes conscious of Abigail’s manipulations, a battle of wits is set in motion to dispose of the other and secure a place alongside the Queen.

The Favourite is a feast for the eyes, sumptuously photographed by Robbie Ryan, with lavish costumes and art direction by Sandy Powell and Fiona Crombie & Alice Felton, respectively. Weisz does some career-best work as the increasingly irrelevant Sarah, while Colman does not allow an inch of scenery to go uneaten as the disorderly Queen.

Less convincing is Stone, who portrayal rings as strained vis a vis the lived-in turns by Weisz and Colman. Where Weisz especially is able to convey so much through so little, Stone’s performance is more elaborate, yet less full of surprises. The screenplay, by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, provides Colman with a handful of zesty zingers, yet otherwise makes for an only intermittently uninvolving picture, one which provides the rest of the cast, beyond the central trio, without much of anything to do.

There’s no denying the visual beauty of The Favourite, nor the spunk with which Weisz and Colman approach their roles, but it otherwise never takes off as it should - another clumsy effort from a filmmaker whose cinema I evidently just don’t much like.

B-

2018 Golden Globe Nomination Predictions

Ah, the Golden Globes - the awards season precursor I love to hate on…until I remember the Hollywood Foreign Press Association bestowed upon Sigourney Weaver not one but two prizes in 1988. My favorite part of predicting the Globes is I can list the delightful likes of Elsie Fisher, Nick Robinson, Charlize Theron, Constance Wu and the cast of Book Club, none of whom have a real prayer at an Oscar nom.

With that said, here's my hunch on how the 2018 Golden Globe nominations might just go down, ranked from most to least likely to be nominated.

Enjoy reading and of course feel free to offer up your own two cents too!

Best Motion Picture - Drama:

1. A Star Is Born

2. If Beale Street Could Talk

3. BlacKkKlansman

4. First Man

5. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
   —

6. Boy Erased

7. Black Panther

8. Widows

9. A Quiet Place

10. First Reformed

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical:

1. The Favourite

2. Mary Poppins Returns

3. Green Book

4. Crazy Rich Asians

5. Vice
   —

6. Eighth Grade

7. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

8. The Death of Stalin

9. Sorry to Bother You

10. Paddington 2

Best Director:

1. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

2. Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

3. Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

4. Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

5. Rob Marshall, Mary Poppins Returns
   —

6. Damien Chazelle, First Man

7. Peter Farrelly, Green Book

8. Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

9. Adam McKay, Vice

10. John Krasinski, A Quiet Place

Best Leading Actor - Drama:

1. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

2. Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

3. Ethan Hawke, First Reformed

4. Ryan Gosling, First Man

5. Lucas Hedges, Boy Erased
   —

6. Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

7. Steve Carell, Beautiful Boy

8. Hugh Jackman, The Front Runner

9. John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman

10. Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here

Best Leading Actress - Drama:

1. Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

2. Glenn Close, The Wife

3. Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

4. Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

5. Nicole Kidman, Destroyer
   —

6. Saoirse Ronan, Mary Queen of Scots

7. Toni Collette, Hereditary

8. Viola Davis, Widows

9. Natalie Portman, Vox Lux

10. Julia Roberts, Ben Is Back

Best Leading Actor - Comedy or Musical:

1. Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

2. Christian Bale, Vice

3. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Poppins Returns

4. Robert Redford, The Old Man and the Gun

5. Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool 2
   —

6. Steve Carell, Welcome to Marwen

7. Nick Robinson, Love, Simon

8. Lakeith Stanfield, Sorry to Bother You

9. Joaquin Phoenix, The Sisters Brothers

10. John C. Reilly, The Sisters Brothers

Best Leading Actress - Comedy or Musical:

1. Olivia Colman, The Favourite

2. Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns

3. Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade

4. Charlize Theron, Tully

5. Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians
   —

6. Kathryn Hahn, Private Life

7. Diane Keaton, Book Club

8. Jane Fonda, Book Club

9. Lily James, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

10. Sandra Bullock, Ocean’s 8

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

2. Mahershala Ali, Green Book

3. Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

4. Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

5. Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
   —

6. Sam Rockwell, Vice

7. Nicholas Hoult, The Favourite

8. Russell Crowe, Boy Erased

9. Hugh Grant, Paddington 2

10. Steve Carell, Vice

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Emma Stone, The Favourite

2. Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

3. Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

4. Amy Adams, Vice

5. Claire Foy, First Man
   —

6. Nicole Kidman, Boy Erased

7. Meryl Streep, Mary Poppins Returns

8. Margot Robbie, Mary Queen of Scots

9. Michelle Yeoh, Crazy Rich Asians

10. Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place

Best Screenplay:

1. Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite

2. Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

3. Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel and Kevin Willmott, BlacKkKlansman

4. Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters, Irene Mecchi, Stephen J. Rivele, Eric Roth and Christopher Wilkinson, A Star Is Born

5. Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Green Book
   —

6. Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

7. Paul Schrader, First Reformed

8. Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade

9. Adam McKay, Vice

10. Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best Original Score:

1. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Mary Poppins Returns

2. Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk

3. Justin Hurwitz, First Man

4. Terence Blanchard, BlacKkKlansman

5. Carter Burwell, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
   —

6. Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs

7. Max Richter, Mary Queen of Scots

8. Nicholas Britell, Vice

9. Michael Giacchino, Incredibles 2

10. Hans Zimmer, Widows

Best Original Song:

1. “The Shallow,” A Star Is Born

2. “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns

3. ”I’ll Never Love Again,” A Star Is Born

4. “Trip a Little Light Fantastic,” Mary Poppins Returns

5. “Here I Am,” Dumplin’
   —

6. “Time for Change,” On the Basis of Sex

7. “All the Stars,” Black Panther

8. “I’ll Fight,” RBG

9. “Always Remember Us This Way,” A Star Is Born

10. “A Place Called Slaughter Race,” Ralph Breaks the Internet

Best Animated Feature:

1. Ralph Breaks the Internet

2. Incredibles 2

3. Isle of Dogs

4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

5. Smallfoot
   —

6. Mirai

7. Tito and the Birds

8. Ruben Brandt, Collector

9. Teen Titans Go! to the Movies

10. Early Man

Best Foreign Language Film:

1. Roma (Mexico)

2. Capernaum (Lebanon)

3. Cold War (Poland)

4. Never Look Away (Germany)

5. Shoplifters (Japan)
   —

6. Border (Sweden)

7. Sunset (Hungary)

8. Girl (Belgium)

9. Ghost Hunting (Palestine)

10. The Interpreter (Slovakia)

Review: "Creed II"

Three years ago, following decades of languishing in junk cinema, Sylvester Stallone rebounded with a magnificent, career-best performance reprising his iconic turn as Rocky Balboa in Creed. His loss in Best Supporting Actor, and to the lackluster Mark Rylance of all people, remains for me one of the more heartbreaking Oscar decisions of recent years.

If Creed II does not quite find Stallone reaching Oscar-caliber heights, it does prove the 2015 picture was no fluke - he again turns in one hell of a performance and is matched every step of the way by the brilliant Michael B. Jordan, who too richly deserved recognition for his work in the first film.

Creed II opens on Jordan’s Adonis Creed riding high. He has scored a series of high-profile boxing victories and, more importantly, successfully proposed marriage to girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson). Adonis is torn over Bianca’s desire to begin a new life together in Los Angeles, a move that would bring them closer to his adoptive mother Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad) but create enormous distance between Adonis and Rocky, who will surely never leave Philadelphia.

While Adonis considers his options, an old foe from Rocky’s past has the young boxer in his sights. Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren, reprising his role from Rocky IV), the former Soviet boxer who killed Adonis’ father in the ring and went on to lose to Rocky in a Moscow showdown, is hellbent on getting his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) into the ring against Adonis. Viktor issues a formal challenge, which Adonis ultimately accepts - despite Rocky’s refusal to support and train him for the match.

With Rocky on the sidelines, Adonis and Bianca indeed make the move westward, settling down in a lavish apartment near Mary Anne and preparing for the upcoming fight. When the face-off produces no winner but leaves Adonis riddled with injuries and overwhelmed with melancholy, Rocky agrees to travel to LA to get him back on his feet in preparation for a rematch against the pugnacious Viktor.

Creed II was directed by Steven Caple, Jr., who proves himself a plenty capable filmmaker, albeit not a master at the same level as Ryan Coogler, who so vividly directed the first picture. Likewise, the Sylvester Stallone-Juel Taylor screenplay is a more familiar, less engrossing effort than the writing from the 2015 film - but that’s hardly to say it’s a disappointment. Stallone is deeply invested in not only Rocky and Adonis but also the supporting players, providing Thompson, Rashad and even Lundgren grand opportunities to shine and flex their talents.

For fans of the Rocky franchise, Creed II is a downright must-see that delivers the goods in a fashion far more stirring and satisfying than most entries in the series. If you haven’t yet seen it, go soon - and with as full and ebullient an audience as possible.

A-

Review: "Widows"

About half an hour into Steve McQueen’s Widows, I found myself questioning whether the filmmaker could really pull this picture off - will it, with its topsy turvy plot and clown car of characters, prove a haphazard and bloated endeavor or a deliciously dizzying heist yarn? The answer, I am pleased to report, is far more the latter than former.

The film, McQueen’s first effort since 12 Years a Slave barnstormed the Oscars five years ago, is a dazzling piece of entertainment that expertly puts to work its starry cast. To know it is presently struggling to catch fire at the box office is a disheartening development to say the least.

Viola Davis, in one of her very best big screen turns, headlines the proceedings as Veronica Rawlings, a lobbyist for the Chicago Teachers Union who is widowed following the death of husband Harry (Liam Neeson), a notorious thief killed amidst a police shootout. Shortly after his passing, Veronica is approached by crime boss and aspiring politician Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), who informs her Harry robbed him and his partners of $2 million. Manning presents Veronica with a deathly deadline - get him his money or face the consequences.

Rattled by Manning’s entrance into her life, Veronica comes upon a notebook Harry left behind, detailing a heist plan that, if executed, would secure $5 million. Unable to carry out such a mission on her own, Veronica reaches out to the widows of the other gunned-down thieves to assist in the operation. Two - Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) and Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) - reluctantly accept and get the ball rolling on this daunting assignment.

Meanwhile, amidst their undertaking, there is a contentious local election being waged between Manning and Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell), the latter the son of a seasoned Chicago politician (Robert Duvall). Manning is counting on those millions from Veronica to finance his campaign, while Mulligan, no surprise, will also find himself tangled up in the madness at play.

Like a roller coaster ride, Widows proves an anticipation-building slow burn through much of its early-going, only to gradually accelerate into pitch-perfect pandemonium. The script, written by McQueen and Gillian Flynn, is sharp and unpredictable and provides every actor, from Davis and Debicki to Daniel Kaluuya and Jacki Weaver (in memorably menacing turns), with heaps of meat to chew on. Henry continues to prove himself one of today’s great up-and-coming actors, while the veteran Duvall vibrantly plays every precious moment on screen like a possible Oscar clip.

Widows is an all-around marvelous picture that should be a grand crowd-pleaser…if only such crowds would get their asses into the theater to see it.

A-