In the Mood for Podcast: Episode 38

Episode 38 features reaction to Sunday's Oscar wins, and reviews of "Mama" "Cloud Atlas," "Lore," "Song for Marion" and "I Wish." We also talk about Andrei Tarkovsky and our favourite collaborative director projects.

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Final Oscar Predictions 3/3 [The Big Six]

Best Picture:

“Amour”
“Argo”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Prediction: “Argo”
My preference: “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

When a film wins support from the producers’, directors’, actors’, and writers’ guilds you can pretty much call it over. Affleck’s director snub has definitely helped the film, but probably only to solidify its appeal as a mainstream crowd-pleaser, unlikely to be looked upon fondly in years to come, but nevertheless easy to anoint as a winner of the 2012 crop.

Best Director:

Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Prediction: Michael Haneke, “Amour”
My preference: Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

It’s probably foolhardy to choose Haneke over Spielberg, Lee, or Russell, who seem to have stronger films. The lack of a particular frontrunner helps the Austrian, who you can imagine people who don’t even love “Amour” might still vote for, as a ‘cool’ alternative pick, and as he’s the most auteurial of the five men. That’s how I see it, anyway.

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”

Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
My preference: Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”

Wishful thinking makes me want to predict Riva, who I suspect is close but will likely lose out to the familiar ‘star is born’ narrative surrounding Jennifer Lawrence. If Lawrence does win it’ll be a shame, since she can and will do so much better in the future, with a character she has a stronger handle on than Tiffany in “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
My preference, Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Amy Adams, “The Master”
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Jacki Weaver, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Prediction: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
My preference: Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Robert De Niro, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”

Prediction: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”
My preference: Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”

I feel as if “Lincoln” has very little momentum, and Christoph Waltz has the best role of the five men here. A leading one, but since when have the Academy cared about category fraud? There is an outside chance that they’ll give Robert De Niro the Oscar, as a reward for finally doing something worthwhile, but the amount of lame comedic films he’s been in recently leads me to believe that when he does win a third Oscar it’ll be for a dramatic performance.

In the Mood for Podcast: Episode 34

EPISODE 34: The Wowface Concept

[1:24:38]

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It's Episode 34 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week we get heavy with reviews of Oscar-nominated political dramas "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty," as well as getting into the controversy surrounding the latter. (It's at this point that Cal would like to point out that he is a left-wing pacifist, despite how it might sound on the audio.) We tackle the education system with a discussion of "Won't Back Down" before Pete takes on derided comedy "Movie 43" and Cal opts for Arnie in "The Last Stand." We're also analysing the Oscar races after the Screen Actors' Guild Awards, and previewing next week's top ten lists. Listen out for whose performance Pete thinks is "nothing wowface," kinder words than are offered to Jennifer Lawrence.

Discussed on the podcast: 

Opening Segment: Analysing the impact of the Screen Actors' Guild awards on the Oscar races. [2:40 - 18:30]


*Preconception Corner*

Reviews of: 

• "Lincoln" [audio lost at 34:40 but returns at 35:44]
• "Won't Back Down"
• "Movie 43"
• "The Last Stand"

[23:40 - 1:00:05]

Closing Segment: Discussing Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" and digging into the controversy surrounding its depiction of torture  [1:00:10 - 1:17:25]

*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*

Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Blondie, "Hanging on the Telephone"

In the Mood for Podcast: Episode 32

EPISODE 32: Baying For Blood

[1:21:59]

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It's Episode 32 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week we react to the shock omissions in the recent Oscar nominations, and the dynamic of the race after Sunday's Golden Globes. We tackle two aggressive new releases in period mob flick "Gangster Squad" and vampire drama "Midnight Son," while Cal goes it alone for the decidedly cosier "Safety Not Guaranteed." And then we get to the main event, as Tom Hooper's musical "Les Miserables"gets the 'mood for' grilling, after instigating a mammoth preconception corner. There's also the results of last week's prediction contest, which will decide which one of us must serve a forfeit!

Discussed on the podcast: 

Opening Segment: Reacting to the week's awards news: Oscar nominations and Golden Globe winners [2:20 - 21:45]

*Preconception Corner*

Reviews of: 

• "Gangster Squad"
• "Midnight Son"
• "Safety Not Guaranteed"

[26:50 - 49:50]

Closing Segment: Our take on Tom Hooper's awards hope "Les Miserables," and our favourite musicals of all-time  [49:55 - 1:11:50]

*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*

Ends with bonus forfeit from last week's competition: Who has to watch what? 

Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Lulu James, "Stuck"

In the Mood for Podcast: Episode 26

EPISODE 26: A Little Bromance

[1:22:20]

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It's Episode 26 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week we're warming up for awards with discussions of Oscar lineups from 1942, 1952, 1962, and 2003, as well as forecasting this year's nominees. The big release is David O'Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook," of which the focus is firmly on Jennifer Lawrence, while buddy-cop drama "End of Watch" has the job of setting this week's pulses racing. The girls of hotline comedy "For a Good Time, Call.." get our inner-chick mode going, before Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz strip for "Gambit."  A late squabble about Indian cinema sets Jake and Michael's bar-setting bromance down some notches, but this was a fun one...

Discussed on the podcast: 

Opening Segment: The contentious results of the Leeds Film Festival's audience votes, and championing films and performances that won’t make our year-end lists [2:05 - 14:00]

*Preconception Corner*

Reviews of: 

• "End of Watch"
• "For a Good Time, Call..."
• "Gambit"
• "Lawrence of Arabia" (50th anniversary re-release)

[18:20 - 57:55]

Closing Segment: David O'Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook": considering the awards chances of its cast, offering examples of actors Oscar-nominated for the wrong films, and predicting next week's New York Film Critics Circle prizes. [58:00 - 1:17:10]

*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*

Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Ellie Goulding, "Anything Can Happen"

Golden Globe Nominations, 2010, Plus Reaction

Earlier today, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" leads the Golden Globe nominations for 2010. Here is the full list of Motion Picture nominees:-

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The King’s Speech

The Social Network

Best Director - Motion Picture

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

David Fincher, The Social Network

Tom Hooper, The King's Speech

Christopher Nolan, Inception

David O. Russell, The Fighter

This a little blow for 127 Hours, but it still appears as if it will make Oscar's ten and probably not win any of its nominations. Certainly a boost for The Fighter in any case, although the HFPA have a history of loving films that didn't float Oscar's boat (A History of Violence, Match Point, Revolutionary Road.)

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

Alice in Wonderland

Burlesque

The Kids Are All Right

Red

The Tourist

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland

Johnny Depp, The Tourist

Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version

Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs

Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

The less said about these categories, the better.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Colin Firth, The King's Speech

James Franco, 127 Hours

Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine

Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

This list packs a punch, but it's very young and starlet-oriented, regardless of the quality of the performances. Lest we forget when SAG nominated Gosling and Emile Hirsch in 2007, only for Oscar to turn around and snub them for veterans Johnny Depp and Tommy Lee Jones. Firth and Franco are safe, but of the others I'd expect at least one to be turfed out for Jeff Bridges or Robert Duvall. At least one.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice

Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

A big boost to Halle Berry, whose film comes out soon and who could benefit from good timing if the reaction to her performance is positive enough. Williams and Blue Valentine also needed this, though I'm still not convinced she can mount a big enough challenge. Lesley Manville will have to wait for SAG, but the ground is shaky.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs

Angelina Jolie, The Tourist

Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right

Emma Stone, Easy A

All I have to say is that Emma Stone deserves to win.

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Christian Bale, The Fighter

Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Andrew Garfield, The Social Network

Jeremy Renner, The Town

Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

I hope that Douglas doesn't carry a sentimental vote through the whole of Awards Season. Justin Timberlake's campaign looks all but dead in the water.

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams, The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech

Mila Kunis, Black Swan

Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Weaver, Carter, Leo, and Adams all look strong, but I'd expect Kunis not to make much of a splash beyond here. Will Amy Adams go in as favourite since she's become renowned as an excellent Supporting Actress, and she's the nicest person on the planet?

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

127 Hours

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

The Social Network

Inception

Best Original Song

“You Haven’t Seen The Last of Me,” Burlesque

“Bound to you,” Burlesque

“Coming Home”, Country Strong

“I See The Light,” by Alan Menken, Tangled

“There’s a Place For Us,” Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Best Original Score

Alexandre Desplat, The King's Speech

Danny Elfman, Alice in Wonderland

A.R. Rahmin, 127 Hours

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Social Network

Hans Zimmer, Inception

Best Animated Feature Film

Despicable Me

How to Train Your Dragon

The Illusionist

Toy Story 3

Tangled

Best Foreign Language Film

Biutiful (Spain/Mexico)

The Concert (France)

The Edge (Russia)

I Am Love (Italy)

In a Better World (Denmark)