Oscar 2012 - All Nominees

The full list of the nominees of the 84th Annual Academy Awards was announced this morning by Jennifer Lawrence, who was nominated for her performance in "Winter's Bone" in 2011.

"Hugo" has 11 chances to get an award; "The Artist" has 10 nominations; "Moneyball" and "War Horse" were honored with 6; "The Descendants" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" have 5 nominations each.

I'm going to see "The Artist" these days (it will be finally out in my country!), but I already know that I will hope it gets the Oscar in a month for Best Picture. My other predictions are selected with blue colour, but some nominations I left untouched, because I have no idea how they will choose winners for Film Editing, Best Documentary (I haven't watched none of them), Best Short Film or Sound Editing.

More about Oscar 2012!

Billy Crystal  is the Host, and the winners you will know on February 26.

The full list of nominees:

Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Alexander Payne ("The Descendants")
Martin Scorsese ("Hugo")
Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris")
Terrence Malick ("The Tree of Life")

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris"
"Chico and Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Art Direction
"The Artist" Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
"Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris" Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
"Hugo" Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
"The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E." Arianne Phillips

Best Documentary (Feature)
"Hell and Back Again" Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Pina" Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
"Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Best Documentary (Short Subject)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis" Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad" James Spione
"Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

Best Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
"A Separation" Iran

Best Make-up
"Albert Nobbs" Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
"The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Best Original Score
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
"The Artist" Ludovic Bource
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Best Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø

Best Sound Editing
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Best Sound Mixing
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
"Hugo" Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
"Moneyball" Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
"War Horse" Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Best Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
"Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
"Real Steel" Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Costume Designers Guild named the Nominees

The awards season continues, and now we know the nominees for the 14th Annual Costume Designers Guild awards.

Again, I selected my predictions with blue, and I hope I will guess the winners at least for Excellence in Contemporary Film nomination. I want that cool Gosling's jacket from "Drive" and I'm really into Lisbeth's style from "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Excellence in Period Film nominees have also not so many chances, when "The Artist" is there. And "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" has a good chance too, though I'd say the make-up there is more impressive than the costumes. 

The winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 21.

Excellence in Contemporary Film:
"Bridesmaids" – Leesa Evans and Christine Wada
"The Descendants" – Wendy Chuck
"Drive" – Erin Benach
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" – Trish Summerville
"Melancholia" – Manon Rasmussen

Excellence in Period Film:
"The Artist" – Mark Bridges
"Jane Eyre " – Michael O'Connor
"The Help" – Sharen Davis
"Hugo" – Sandy Powell
"W.E." – Arianne Phillips

Excellence in Fantasy Film:
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" – Jany Temime
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" – Penny Rose
"Red Riding Hood" – Cindy Evans
"Thor" – Alexandra Byrne
"X-Men: First Class" – Sammy Sheldon

Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries:
"Downton Abbey" – Susannah Buxton
"The Kennedys" – Christopher Hargadon
"Mildred Pierce" – Ann Roth

Outstanding Contemporary Television Series:
"Glee" – Lou Eyrich and Jennifer Eve
"Modern Family" – Alix Friedberg
"Revenge" – Jill Ohanneson
"Saturday Night Live" – Tom Broecker and Eric Justian
"Sons of Anarchy" – Kelli Jones

Outstanding Period/Fantasy Television Series:
"Boardwalk Empire" – John A. Dunn and Lisa Padovani
"The Borgias" – Gabriella Pescucci
"Game of Thrones" – Michele Clapton
"Once Upon Time" – Eduardo Castro
"Pan Am (Series)" – Ane Crabtree

Who do you think should win these awards? Leave your predictions in comments below.

Soundtrack 2011

There is some time until the Golden Globe and Oscar awards, so I decided to continue summing up the previous film year. This time it is all about music.

I picked ten songs and compositions, which became my favourite ones.

1. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (feat. Karen O) - "Immigrant Song"
Film: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by David Fincher.

This song became even more popular than its original, which Led Zeppelin sang. It channeled the dark atmosphere of the film and made the opening sequence incredibly creepy and beautiful.



2. Kavinsky - "Nightcall"
Film: "Drive" by Nicolas Winding Refn.

"Drive" soundtrack is one of the best I heard this year, and "Nightcall" is a very catchy track, which always reminds me of Ryan Gosling driving away.



3. Alexandre Desplat - "Statues"
Film: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" by David Yates.

Alexandre Desplat knows how to create a magic and feisty composition. The scene before the Battle of Hogwarts is very impressive, especially the part when teachers, students and the Order of the Phoenix are trying to protect the school. It was breathtaking to watch and not the less to listen.



4. Rival Sons - "Torture"
Film: "Real Steel" by Shawn Levy.

"Real Steel" has a combined soundtrack of hip-hop and rock songs, but this one matches my taste perfectly.



5. Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes - "I've Had the Time of My Life"
Film: "Crazy, Stupid, Love" by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, originally from "Dirty Dancing" by Emile Ardolino.

I fell in love with this song a long time ago, since I saw "Dirty Dancing" for the first time, so I was glad to hear it in this romantic comedy. You have to be a really good dancer to lift a girl like that.



6. Hans Zimmer - "I See Everything"
Film: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" by Guy Ritchie.

Less than a minute, but it gives me goose bumps.



7. Hans Zimmer - "Blackbeard"
Film: "Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" by Rob Marshall.

The film was average, but the score is great. Hans Zimmer made the first appearance of Blackbeard very badass.



8. Kerris Dorsey - "The Show"
Film: "Moneyball" by Bennett Miller.

Such a sweet girl with a very good voice sings for his father. I didn't like this film, but two scenes, where this song is featured, are very good and sentimental.



9. Henry Jackman - "Magneto"
Film: "X-Men: First Class" by Matthew Vaughn.

I'd call it "The Rise of the Great Villain". Fassbender's character got the best composition, which is good at describing his inner world.



10. Alexandre Desplat - "Lily's Theme"
Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" by David Yates.

The most tragic melody I've heard in the last Harry Potter films. It prepares the audience for a serious final of this story.



Which are your top-10 songs you heard in films the previous year?

"Девушка с татуировкой дракона" (2011) - Рецензия

Грязное белье именитого семейства

Когда клан промышленников с богатой историей попадает под прицел умного и наблюдательного журналиста, членам этой семьи становится все сложнее сохранять напускное спокойствие. Подробности исчезновение, случившегося сорок лет назад, вновь всплывают на поверхность из сточной канавы. Срок давности этого дела давно уже вышел, но теперь пришло время поставить в нем точку.

Первая книга трилогии Стига Ларссона, сделавшая его невероятно популярным посмертно, дождалась своего звездного часа, оказавшись в руках талантливого режиссера Дэвида Финчера. Ни для кого ни загадка, что переносить на экран роман любого жанра — дело не из легких, ведь нужно не упустить массу важных моментов, при этом сделав сюжет динамичным. И вот с помощью крепкого сценария, написанного Стивеном Зеллианом, Финчер переносит нас в заснеженную Швецию, на небольшой остров, жители которого скрывают немало тайн.

Вместо заслуженного отдыха осужденный столичный журналист Микаэль Блумквист бросает свои апартаменты, любовницу и ввязывается в очередное расследование, которое сулит ему очень хорошее вознаграждение. На его месте врядли бы кто-то смог устоять перед искушением очистить свое имя и вернуть доверие читателей и коллег, без которого на его карьере можно было бы поставить крест. Чем глубже он погружается в факты дела о загадочном исчезновении Харриет Вангер, тем больше ему улыбается удача. Жизнь же его новой помощницы Лисбет Саландер является полной противоположностью. Зависимость от своего опекуна, насилие, наркотики, страсть к татуировкам, агрессивный внешний не слишком способствуют душевному спокойствию и материальному благополучию. Ей не стоит переходить дорогу, а женоненавистникам лучше вообще обращаться в бегство, если Лисбет напала на их след. И такие разные люди объединяются, чтобы поймать опасного преступника, который все это время следит за ними в ответ. Из Дэниэла Крэйга получился любопытный журналист-профессионал, чье чувство самосохранения постоянно выключается в самый неподходящий момент. А юная Руни Мара переиграла здесь всех, показав нам настоящего бойца, который привык рассчитывать только на себя и всегда учитывать возможные последствия своих поступков. Ее странная героиня вызывает лишь симпатию, восхищая своими хакерскими талантами и навыками выживания.

Хотя в книге писатель достаточно много времени выделяет каждому второстепенному герою, все больше запутывая читателя и отодвигая момент раскрытия тайны на потом, Финчер значительно упростил круг подозреваемых. Больше всего экранного времени получили Кристофер Пламмер, Стивен Беркофф и Стеллан Скарсгард, убедительно сыграв своих персонажей. Робин Райт также хорошо справилась со своей ролью заботливого редактора, чье мнение часто идет в разрез с мнением Блумквиста. Единственным неясным персонажем оказался экс-фашист Харальд в исполнении актера Пера Мирберга. Такой милый дедушка с добрыми глазами и необъяснимой гостеприимностью, которой он отнюдь не отличался в книге, совершенно не соответствует действительности.

Американская экранизация получилась очень атмосферным триллером. Расчлененные животные, сцены невероятно жестокого изнасилования, жуткие подробности убийств, совершенных много десятилетий назад, камера пыток — здесь есть все, что может шокировать зрителя. И эти зверства происходят на фоне спокойных пейзажей Стокгольма и тихого острова возле вымышленного города Хедестада. Дэвид Финчер остался верен себе, сумев порадовать с самых первых секунд бесподобными вступительными титрами, красивыми и пугающими одновременно. К сожалению, кассовые сборы кинокартины оставляют желать лучшего, но надежда на трилогию все еще остается.

Если люди пытаются закопать свои скелеты поглубже, у этой девушки и ее нового друга всегда найдется лопата побольше, чтобы вытащить их на поверхность.

AFI Awards 2011

The American film institute announced the list of best films and TV series of this year.

Have you seen them all? I haven't. Some of them are very overrated (I wasn't impressed by Bennett Miller's "Moneyball" at all). But I hope that some are going to be great (Spielberg's "War Horse" and Fincher's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo").

Top-10 films of 2011:

"BRIDESMAIDS" ("Девичник в Вегасе")
"THE DESCENDANTS" ("Потомки")
"THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO" ("Девушка с татуировкой дракона")
"THE HELP" ("Прислуга")
"HUGO" ("Хранитель времени")
"J. EDGAR" ("Дж. Эдгар")
"MIDNIGHT IN PARIS" ("Полночь в Париже")
"MONEYBALL" ("Человек, который изменил всё")
"THE TREE OF LIFE" ("Древо жизни")
"WAR HORSE" ("Боевой конь")

"THE ARTIST" and the entire "HARRY POTTER" film series (!) got special awards.

Now we can think about which of these films are going to get a golden statuette in a few months.

If you are curious about which TV programs are called the best, you can view the list here.

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (2011) - One long trailer

I saw this trailer a couple days ago and I can't remember the reason why I haven't posted it here, because it really impressed me. The previous one was shorter and very dynamic with that powerful music, this one is different. I've never seen a trailer, which is more than 3 minutes long, but it looks like it's going to be David Fincher's movie, so it deserves extra promo material.

This video is more specific about the plot, which turns out to be very helpful for people like me, who haven't read the book yet. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara seem to be a good duo and I hope they're planning not to disappoint us.

More about "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (2011).

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011) - Character banners

The official website of the upcoming David Fincher's suspense movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" revealed some new information about characters.

More about "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011)! (trailers, synopsis, stills, posters, interviews etc.)

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011) - Trailer

After the first filming of the trilogy written by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson in 2009, director David Fincher ("Fight Club", "Zodiac", "The Social Network") became very interested in making his own screen version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". The main parts are played by Daniel Craig (journalist Mikael Blomkvist) and Rooney Mara (intelligent hacker Lisbeth Salander). Their characters have to investigate a mysterious murder of Harriet Vanger, whose uncle believes that she was killed by someone from their family. But the trick is that Vangers are very wealthy and influential, so detectives have to be their best. Trailer shows a good action and this movie will definitely have an atmosphere of suspense and mystery. This movie is also made very stylish. I hope to read a book before it will hit our theaters.

После первой экранизации трилогии шведского писателя и журналиста Стига Ларссона в 2009 года, режиссер Дэвид Финчер очень заинтересовался представить зрителям и свою версию адаптации "Девушка с татуировкой дракона". Главные роли исполняют Дэниэл Крэйг (журналист Микаэль Блумквист) и Руни Мара (умная хакерша Лисбет Саландер). Их персонажи должны найти убийцу девушки Харриет Вангер, чей дядя считает, что ее убил кто-то их из семьи. Но сложность кроется в том, что Вангеры является очень богатым и влиятельным кланом, потому детективам нужно очень постараться. Трейлер показывает, что фильм отличается хорошим экшеном, а атмосфера полностью соответствует жанру саспенс. Также нельзя не заметить, что кинокартина сделана со вкусом, чем Дэвид Финчер всегда и славился. Очень надеюсь успеть прочитать книгу до премьеры.

Release date - United States December 21, 2011 (but many countries would see it in 2012)

Official site - http://www.dragontattoo.com/

First Poster - 

Official Trailer -
Music - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Immigrant Song (feat. Karen O) (original by Led Zeppelin)