19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Winners

The Golden Globes turned out to be more of a prognosticator for awards season as this weekend reaped more awards for Ben Affleck's "Argo." The Best Picture nominee which, after Oscar nomination morning in the wake of Affleck's Best Director snub looked down for the count, is now the easy front-runner to win. And this comes after the film's win from the Producers Guild of America and Sunday night's Best Ensemble win at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

While a Best Ensemble win at the SAGs doesn't always mean a boost for Best Picture potential (see last year's win for "The Help"), it certainly does mean something when the picture is busy picking up other accolades, as well. And also when it was widely expected that other more actor-oriented films like "Lincoln" or "Silver Linings Playbook" would've nabbed the top SAG prize. "Argo" is giant right now and could likely become the first film in a very long time to win Best Picture without its director not only winning but not even earning a nomination.

Now it's pretty much guaranteed Ben Affleck will also be winning the Directors Guild of America, too. Where does that leave the Oscar director race? David O. Russell? Steven Spielberg? Ang Lee? Hard to say.

Three acting categories are locks after Sunday's ceremony. Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables" will take Best Supporting Actress, Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook" will win Best Actress (in a tight race against running-mate Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty") and Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln" will win Best Actor.

Tommy Lee Jones winning Best Supporting Actor for "Lincoln" gives him a boost while Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained" (not nominated for a SAG) won the Golden Globe. It's pretty much a toss-up between the two as I could see the academy going for either.

I'm thrilled about the awards success of "Argo." It's a great movie, Ben Affleck deserves the praise as a young and talented actor-turned-director (especially in light of that impossible-to-ignore Oscar snub) and it makes for a wild comeback story for Oscar history.

Check here for a full list of winners from the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

LES MISERABLES Review

Eyes ablaze with pain and torment, Anne Hathaway delivers the moment of the year as the fallen ill mother-turned-prostitute Fantine in her solo musical number "I Dreamed a Dream." Her eyes puffy and red with tears streaming down her face, the camera doesn't shy away from a tight close-up during her entire song not backing away from the agony and sorrow she puts on display.

It's not just her song, though, as all of Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" is full of musical numbers equal in emotional potency to match Hathaway's Oscar-demanding powerhouse. Samantha Barks is devastating as Eponine, the sad, lonesome girl raised on the streets with her "Own My Own." Fantine's blond princess of a daughter, Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), croons like a songbird to her lover, Marius (Eddie Redmayne), and adoptive father Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who's gone through life running from his criminal past. There's no better show tune front man than Jackman because in such a commanding role, he nails it. He is the forward momentum holding the narrative strings of "Les Miserables" together. Every soaring note or growl of anger from him is alive with vivacity.

Russell Crowe plays the man in pursuit, Javert, who grows tiresome chasing Valjean but never falters. His "Stars" is Crowe's best display of his unconventional vocal performance, much like Amanda Seyfried's fluttering vibrato as Cosette. And one mustn't forget Eddie Redmayne's Marius who absolutely earns his star-making role with his heartbreaking "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" as he laments for his fallen comrades. Oscar should take note. And rousing all these distinct voices together in a glorious finish to the film's first act is "One Day More," a symphony of vocal collaboration over the orchestra.

Playing in humor and mischief is the ideally cast Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter with their rendition of "Master of the House." Plastered in make-up and funny costumes, they look like they just walked over from the set of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," which, by the way, "Les Miserables" is the triumphant musical Hollywood has been waiting for since then.

The film is, of course, based off the 1980s musical smash hit which is based off Victor Hugo's massive 1862 novel about Paris students staging a government uprising in 1832. It's a lot of narrative, and not a very clean one at that. Too many main players, a lot of convolution. So, it's the music that must shine, and shine it does with Tom Hooper's impeccable direction. At just over 2-and-a-half hours, the movie actually moves along quite briskly cramming in an abundance of plot. The bold decision to have his actors sing live on set is also a testament to Hooper's direction with a bold decision that well pays off. In such a style, you witness as emotion overcomes the actors' faces and voices in every musical number. It's sacrificing a perfect sound for something more raw.

Interspersing between close up shots of powerful singing are shots we've come to know from Hooper and "The King's Speech" cinematographer Danny Cohen. Full of high canted angles and large backdrops against tiny figures, it's those tall shots or close-ups, nothing in between. It gives "Les Miserables" a theatricality of both intimacy and grandeur, the perfect combination for treating such a musical. The adaptation isn't perfect (how could it be?), but it's full of astounding performances with actors pouring out their souls in song. Do you hear the people sing? You should.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Review

While Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" may not be the tightly constructed masterwork its predecessor was, it's a fully rewarding and all encompassing closing chapter to the director's truly accomplished Batman trilogy. It is a dark, brooding and uncompromising piece of filmmaking that asks bold questions about morality weaving in broader social and cultural relevance that is shocking. No superhero movie has gone to such levels of depravity and hopelessness. Nolan and his team take us there and manage to make "The Avengers" look like child's play. Pummeling its audience at a whopping 164 minutes full of doom and gloom with only a small circle of light at the end of the tunnel, this grandiose spectacle doesn't forget its obligation to thrilling comic book entertainment. It delivers. Recalling to mind not only "The Dark Knight" but also "Inception," the most anticipated movie of the year is the anti-blockbuster blockbuster of our time.

It's been eight years since the death of Harvey Dent, and the caped crusader Batman has been in recluse ever since. The billionaire behind the mask, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), has been mostly absent, as well. Hiding within the walls of his mansion, Wayne lives in permanent bachelorhood with his lifelong butler, Alfred (Michael Caine). The faithful butler is thankful Wayne has decided to end his Batman days but also longs for him to move on with a new life. There's been no need for Batman due to his public blame for Dent's death but also because organized crime in Gotham has nearly been eradicated. That, of course, can only last for so long.

Enter Bane (Tom Hardy), a muscled villainous man forced to wear a muzzle-like mask, whose only desire is to watch Gotham destroy itself and turn to ashes. There were sound issues with Bane's altered voice, and while new sound mixing makes him easier to understand, it's not perfect. Because the mask doesn't allow you to see his mouth move, his booming and bass-filled voice feels almost disembodied. And yet, this strange  phenomenon works to emphasize Bane's notion of representing a threat greater than himself. Tom Hardy's performance here is limited to physical gestures and expression through his eyes, both of which he puts to great effect. The voice he creates, too, is haunting with pseudo-sophisticated inflection and a Darth Vader-esque artificiality.

Now, Heath Ledger's Joker can't be beat. His villainous reign of chaos and anarchy in 2008's "The Dark Knight" echoed the times of post-9/11 and terrorist threats. Bane, however, represents something more abstract: vague references to the occupy Wall Street movement and the financial crisis. For the first time, the city of Manhattan is used to represent Gotham, further eliciting scary topical relevance that Nolan masterfully draws out of the comic book lore. Bane's plan for Gotham includes two terror-filled set pieces involving an assault on the Stock Exchange and a series of explosions that not only trap the city's law enforcement underground but cut off Gotham from any outside aid.

There are a handful of new characters with Bane and, of course, returning ones including Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Wayne's go-to for all updated Batman gadgetry and vehicles, and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) who's always been at the forefront of support for Batman. After Bane crashes the stock market, Wayne Enterprises consequently goes bankrupt. This introduces a wealthy board member named Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) to take the reigns. She must protect what once was a reactor meant to be used as a clean energy source for the city against Bane who seeks to turn it into an unstable, mobile nuclear bomb.

Initially luring Bruce Wayne out of seclusion is the sly, sexy thief Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) who slinks into Wayne's mansion to steal his late mother's pearl necklace, along with his fingerprints. The moral ambiguity of Hathaway's Catwoman -- never actually referred to as Catwoman in the film -- is intriguing, and the actress plays it up with sinister glee. Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan wrote the script based on the story from the director and David S. Goyer (who penned the upcoming "Man of Steel"), and they cleverly weave Selina Kyle's character into the story. She becomes an integral part of the concluding saga both helping and thwarting Batman. Seeing these two together in action sequences is also a real show.

An unexpectedly solid new character is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's street cop John Blake. He's fully aware of Batman's existence, knows Bruce Wayne is behind the mask and is a resourceful product of the Wayne Foundation's orphanage for boys. There's a sort of kinship there, and a lot of screen time is granted to Blake and the likes of Commissioner Gordon when Batman is imprisoned by Bane in a literal hell hole beneath the earth. After a blood-curdling fist brawl between the two masked figures, Batman's heroic frailty surfaces. The fact that a majority of the second act is void of Batman makes his triumphant return to the screen all the more visceral, powerful and emotionally potent also thanks to Hans Zimmer's continuously pounding score.

With his "The Dark Knight Rises," Christopher Nolan gives humanity to the superhero and delivers thrills that have substance, depth and implications of a harsh reality. Yes, it's bloated and exhausting, but it's hugely ambitious and accomplished, making a solid claim for this Batman trilogy to stand tall among the best film trilogies in history.

It's been announced that James Franco and Anne Hathaway will host the telecast of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

The first question that pops into my head: why?

Hathaway and Franco are both young, likable actors. I think the keyword in there is young. Picking them to host goes with the Oscar's recent efforts to attract a more popular and younger audience. But, how oh how are these two going to entertain us for the telecast's first 10 or 15 minutes? Are they going to crack jokes? I just, I worry. I worry that it could be dull and awkward.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are comedians. They could do it but just barely. The idea of co-hosting is just a bad one because it creates the tension of two people struggling to decide when it's the other person's turn to speak not to mention the painfully forced conversation between them.

Or maybe it could be great fun. Maybe these two have enough charisma and charm to make the pairing work. It also helps that Franco was recently seen in "127 Hours" and Hathaway--a whole LOT of Hathaway--was recently seen in "Love & Other Drugs."

I have to wonder, though. How uncomfortable will it be when James Franco stands there with his nomination for Best Actor when Anne Hathaway stands there with nothing? Will he make a crack about it? Or, better yet, will her hosting boost her chances in garnering a Best Actress nod?

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will air on Feburary 27, 2011.

"Love & Other Drugs" (2010)

"Love & Other Drugs" needs medication for its own case of schizophrenia. The movie's distractingly abrupt tonal shifts aren't enough, though, to ruin the romantic couple at its center. It's a romantic comedy, but it's set to the backdrop of something more, a smart and zippy satire about the corporate pharmaceutical world. It's a movie in the hands of the capable director Edward Zwick ("Defiance," "Blood Diamond," "The Last Samurai") who is stuck working with sketchy writing. There's never a satisfactory balance of the two elements, the love and the drugs, but Zwick still manages to bring out key scenes and give them a necessary weight against bland placebos within the screenplay. These scenes are weighted on the side of love which sways the entire movie to drop the drugs side almost completely. Had it been the other way around, this would've been a very different movie.

It is 1996, and Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) casually slides into the career of a pharmaceutical rep when he gets fired from his job selling electronics. It's not much of a change for him because he carries his same charismatic, carefree attitude to both jobs. His charm works wonders as he works as a salesman for the drug company Pfizer selling samples of Zoloft. He slips into doctor's offices by talking up--and occasionally sleeping with--the female receptionists and befriending doctors to begin his domination with Zoloft over his adversary, Trey Hannigan (Gabriel Macht), whose drug of choice is Prozac. Cheered on by his supervisor Bruce Winston (Oliver Platt), Jamie paves his way through this business of bribes, gratuities and sleazy relationships between doctors and their reps.

Getting close with one doctor, Stan Knight (Hank Azaria), gives Jamie the opportunity to meet one of his patients, Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), and not only that but also a peek at her breast. Maggie notices, follows Jamie out to the parking lot scolding him for allowing her to expose herself to him and from there, Jamie is immediately entranced by her cold bitterness, asks her to coffee and their story as a couple unfolds from there.

The movie is at its best when scorching the screen. At the start of their relationship, all Maggie and Jamie want and need from each other is sex. And so, they are naked a lot and having sex, well, a lot. In these instances, the movie becomes the ideal modern R-rated romance. It's hot and steamy with two delightfully attractive leads. We love when they're together, and the most memorable moments come when they're romping around in bed. All of this raunchiness is never gratuitous because these characters' bodies speak for themselves, and the sex and nudity has meaning to it; this is the way they communicate upon first meeting.

As Maggie, Anne Hathaway is great. Maggie is only 26-years-old and dealing with the early stages of Parkinson's disease. Her way of controlling it on her own is to not let anyone get too attached to her, which is why Jamie is such a good choice for empty sex. Hathaway presents a range of vulnerability and strength in Maggie that is authentic and a very fine performance. Gyllenhaal's Jamie is not as complete but effective nonetheless alongside Maggie. Also admirable is Hathaway's openness to the movie's blunt sexuality. This could be considered her first mainstream adult role, another role that truly launches her into the limelight.

By the third act of "Love & Other Drugs," it does fall victim to tired rom-com tropes. In spite of this, we care too much about the two leads to let it become too bothersome. What is bothersome, however, is the supporting character of Jamie's obnoxious younger brother (Josh Gad) who brings a whole baggage of unnecessary subplot and comic relief with slapstick that gets too gross and ends up belonging in a lesser buddy movie. And though the drugs take a backseat by the second half, the introduction of Pfizer's Viagra is a winning addition since this really is a movie all about sex and sexiness.

Archive: 'Get Smart'

Movie Review
Get Smart (2008)


I would never expect to find Steve Carell in an action flick, but here he is reprising the role of Maxwell Smart, who was played by comedian Don Adams in the original 60s TV spy spoof sitcom. "Get Smart" succeeds in being a TV-to-movie transition because the filmmakers have created stand-alone solid entertainment rather than fully focusing on being faithful to the source material. It's not so much a remake or a replication of the original series than it is an homage. And even more importantly, it's the pitch-perfect casting that makes it work the way it does. The screen is filled with likable characters thanks to an excellent mix of supporting actors who do a superb job of working off each other's comic timing while surrounding the hilarious Carell. Together they create something that is engagingly quick and clever.

Steve Carell's portrayal of Maxwell Smart is just about perfect. He's bumbling yet confident and absolutely nails the deadpan humor. This guy does the most hilarious things effortlessly and keeps a straight face while doing so, making it all the funnier. It's only fitting that there's a cameo by the other king of deadpan, Bill Murray, as Agent 13 who always has to hide in ridiculously uncomfortable places. There's also Anne Hathaway, who's right by Maxwell's side as the sexy Agent 99, and she has a cool aura about her that blows away all of her other goody-goody roles. Her demanding presence is a delightful surprise. And the two of them also have a sweet and convincing chemistry as they play off one another. Other players include Alan Arkin as the snarky Chief and Dwayne Johnson (formerly known as "The Rock") as Agent 23 who each holds their own.

Maxwell Smart is an expert analyst for a U.S. secret agency named CONTROL. His job is to overhear and decipher conversations involving agents of KAOS, the agency's Russian enemy and counterpart. The story involves CONTROL getting compromised by a villainous man named Siegfried (Terrence Stamp). Desperate for agents, Smart is, to his own disbelief, promoted to a field agent and teams up with Agent 99 to take down the bad guys. The plot really is, well, not really existent, and instead, is a setup for action sequences infused with physical comedy. It has something to do with KONTROL getting their hands on some nuclear weapons within a bakery and a bomb threat in Disney World during a concert for the president.

Every action and chase sequence scattered throughout the movie is accented with moments of humor, which keeps the tone cheerful and whimsical. The movie is a winning combination of thrills and hilarity, and what's best is that both halves work. It's all purposely silly to match that of the original TV show, but even for its own sake the silliness works. And these aren't phony, fake-looking action sequences, either. The production values are all still there, and great attention has been paid to all of the action. There's one climactic scene in particular that involves a plane, a speeding SUV on a highway, a large banner, and a train. No sacrifice has been made to compensate for the addition of laughs. So, it's good, too, that the movie is frequently very funny no matter if it's an all-out belly laugh or just a smirk on your face.

"Get Smart" has plenty of references to the original TV show including the not quite ready for James Bond gadgets, the cone of silence, and the shoe phone. Carell also delivers some of Max's original lines such as, "I missed it by this much!" The opening sequence, as well, replicates the show's opening credits with a series of never ending large metal security doors that Max has to walk through ending in the phone booth that takes him to the CONTROL headquarters. For once, this is a TV series-based movie that rewards nostalgia without ever really demanding it from its viewers. While paying tribute, it's also just a lot of fun on its own terms. And, while not perfect, as goofy summer entertainment goes, it's ideal.

Archive: 'Rachel Getting Married'

Movie Review
Rachel Getting Married (2008)


At the center of "Rachel Getting Married" is indeed a wedding and a very elaborate and multicultural one at that. While the wedding is for Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), the movie isn't about her, but rather her sister, Kym (Anne Hathaway), and as much as it kills Kym, she is not the center of attention. She remains out of focus during the movie as she's on the sidelines observing. The visual style of cinematographer Declan Quinn here is something intimately up-close yet off-balance. There are creative angles and camera shots that veer in and out of groups of people, sometimes cutting right in between them. It's a strategy that gives viewers the feeling of actually being a part of the wedding, especially during a rehearsal dinner scene where we feel strangely connected to these people's toasts and conversations. This scene prolongs itself to give a sense of realism where one microscopic moment of interaction can stir up so much drama. We understand and can relate to everybody's exchanges of warmth or awkward embarrassment.

And that's the triumph of director Jonathan Demme's latest film, who also directed 1991's "The Silence of the Lambs." So many people populate the screen at once, and we're not formally introduced to any one person in particular but simply observe them individually and draw our own conclusions through their encounters. The group of family and friends is extremely diverse, as well, and yet the movie doesn't make this a focus of the drama, and so there's no use identifying characters by race. Rachel is marrying a man named Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe, lead singer of TV on the Radio), and he is only one of many guests staying in the family's large country home in Connecticut. Rachel and Kym's father (Paul Irwin) is divorced from their mother (Debra Winger) and has remarried to another woman who never says a word but is always present (Anna Deavere Smith). And then Kym returns from rehab as walking disaster who has an immense effect on her family.

The person you would least expect to tackle the role of a recovering drug junkie with black, razor-cut hair and a paranoid stare that radiates pain, desperation, and self-loathing ends up being a perfect fit. Anne Hathaway dives deep within herself to draw out an unnervingly effective performance that's worthy of recognition and bound to be remembered. In a weekend that's meant to be about her sister bride, Hathaway's Kym has an irksome narcissism that proves to be fully distracting. She is haunted by not only her haphazard recovery process but also something of her past that affects her entire family. It was her addiction that caused the accidental death of her younger brother, Ethan, a sensitive subject that still brings about tears. There's a most devastating scene between Kym and her mother who she lovingly admires, a scene so electric and mortifying that it leaves a lump in your throat.

The success of Demme's film is also in no small part thanks to Jenny Lumet, daughter of Sidney Lumet. As a first-time writer, her original screenplay contains a vast range of emotions and is fully resonant with vibrancy and life. There's a purposely unstable mixture of moods that creates something lifelike and relatable. "Rachel Getting Married" is a movie that is deeply sad while at the same time uplifting. It's a small movie but such a greatly modest effort and very authentic, especially in observing Hathaway's performance. It may feel a little overlong at times, but that's only to make the experience of the wedding feel all the more dense, full, and complete. Like Rachel's sister, nothing about her wedding is neat, tidy, or predictable.