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 31

EPISODE 31: Natural Disasters

[1:27:20]

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It's Episode 31 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. The new year starts off with a minor tragedy, as our first recording of the podcast was lost due to a technical glitch. We reconvened later for round two, however, so you can listen to us vent our concerns about Tsunami-drama "The Impossible," retirement home melodrama "Quartet," indie dramedy "Celeste & Jesse Forever," and the relatively drama-less "Playing for Keeps." We also look ahead to the new Terrence Malick film, "To the Wonder," before offering our oscar predictions (announced tomorrow!) in all of the major categories. 

Discussed on the podcast: 

Opening Segment: Discussing the trailer for the new Terrence Malick film, "To the Wonder"  [2:55 - 10:30]

*Preconception Corner*

Reviews of: 

• "The Impossible"
• "Playing for Keeps"
• "Quartet"
• "Celeste & Jesse Forever"

[16:50 - 56:35]

Closing Segment: Predicting the Oscar nominations, announcing a contest, and revealing what the loser will be forced to endure next week [56:40 - 1:19:35]

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

Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Bonnie Tyler, "It's a Jungle Out There"

The National Board of Review Ensures "Zero Dark Thirty" Stays In The Hunt

It's my annual attempt at predicting something relatively unpredictable, the prizes bestowed by the National Board of Review. The 'freemasons' of the awards circuit, I'm not sure anyone quite knows who sits on this board or how it has gotten to be such a fixture in the season, nevertheless, it's always fun to look at what they choose each year.

[Updated with winners -- prediction score 13/24]

Picture: “Zero Dark Thirty"

Top 10: 
“Argo”
"Beasts of the Southern Wild”
"Django Unchained"
“Les Miserables”
“Lincoln”
”Looper"
”The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
"Promised Land"
“Silver Linings Playbook”
”Zero Dark Thirty”

Prediction score: 6/11

Prediction summary: You would think the assumed six safe bets for Best Picture nominations are among the 11 (10 + winner) championed by the board, those being “Argo,” “Lincoln,” “Life of Pi,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” After that, it could be a free-for-all; “Flight” and “Trouble with the Curve” fit that middle-of-the-road movie that this group often includes – the latter being basically a Clint Eastwood movie, despite him not officially directing it. “The Master” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” seem to be on the decline right now, but I’m going to suggest that they come through based on their passionate pockets of fans. 

“Moonrise Kingdom” too, in that regard, although it’s resurrecting awards steam and should be a strong contender for a screenplay nomination with Oscar. You could replace “Skyfall” with “The Dark Knight Rises” or “The Avengers” or even “Magic Mike” in my predictions: it’s that smash hit entrant I figure makes it in like “Star Trek” and the final Harry Potter film did. 

Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Leading Actor: Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Leading Actress: Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Supporting Actor: Leonardo Di Caprio, "Django Unchained"
Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd, "Compliance"

Prediction score: 1/5

Prediction summary: Bigelow seems like the perfect choice for Director critics prizes (more so than the film as Best Picture because of the severity of “Zero Dark Thirty”) although this could easily go to Ang Lee, Tom Hooper, or Steven Spielberg instead. I’m expecting Daniel Day-Lewis to sweep, and Hathaway and Jones to start ascending to frontrunner status. As for leading actress, this could go anywhere, so I’m picking Keira Knightley as a semi-outsider pick, based on the classic nature of the role and that they’ve tended to go for younger actresses of late. 

Original Screenplay: “Moonrise Kingdom”
Adapted Screenplay: “Lincoln”
Ensemble: “Les Miserables”
Breakthrough Actor: Tom Holland, “The Impossible”
Breakthrough Actress: Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Animated Feature: “Frankenweenie”
Documentary Feature: “Searching For Sugar Man”
Foreign Film: “Amour"

Prediction score: 6/8