In Contention

Tag: Inception

  • Updates to The Circuit

    A few pre-guild honors trickling in. Kansas City goes for “The Social Network” and “Inception” in a big way, while the Dublin set offers a fresh perspective.  Also, Barbara Hershey finally got some more love, this tim from the Central Ohio critics, while the Online Film Critics Society has announced its list of winnerzzzz…

  • Pete Postlethwaite (1946-2011)

    Pete Postlethwaite had one of those faces — weathered, folded, kneaded, endlessly interesting — that demanded to be on camera, even as it denied him any possibility of leading man status.

    And yet, in the latter half of his career, Postlethwaite, who sadly passed away yesterday after a lengthy battle with cancer, made a convincing case for the character actor as star. Neither his visage nor his gratifyingly alliterative name threatened more than a career as “that guy,” but somehow we got to know him better than that.

    The turning point, of course, was a hard-earned and wholly unexpected 1993 Academy Award nomination for “In the Name of the Father” (speaking as we were, recently, of nods that came without any precursor warning), his granite-hard and quietly mournful performance as Maguire Seven convict Giuseppe Conlon joining a gallery of performances I cited last year as one of the finest Oscar fields in history.

    (more…)

  • CINEJABBER: Should auld acquaintance be forgot?

    Catch up with the idea behind these weekend posts here.

    Welcome to 2011.

    I’m back in Los Angeles (missed the crazy weather on this side of the country) and happy to be home after a two-week vacation that really turned out to be anything but.  Such is life.  And the season is waiting to take hold once more with guild announcements starting Tuesday, so I better put my game face back on.

    There isn’t much to offer in this space today, though if you’re interested, I took a number of Jack and Cokes straight to the face on my flight last night, celebrated the new year three times (time zone changes) and took to Twitter to live-Tweet “Inception” for a solid two and a half hours.  Twas fun.

    I revisited the “Alien” franchise during the holiday, taking in the glorious Blu-ray box set.  That’s a must own, I have to say.  And there’s this “Aliens vs. Predator” video game on PS3.  If you haven’t played it, give it a whirl.  There’s something badass and ninja about creeping around as an alien taking out marines.  You can play as the Predator, too.  Awesome.

    (more…)

  • 12/30 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Pixar postage stamps, ‘Inception’ most-Tweeted, what Hollywood can do better

    • Your favorite Pixar characters soon to grace postage stamps. [USPS]

    • “Inception” tops 2010’s list of most-tweeted movies. [The Independent]

    • Neville Page on his part in designing “TRON Legacy.” [The Wrap]

    (more…)

  • Behind the scenes of ‘Inception’

    Happy Christmas Eve. Warner Bros. has been nice enough to give you a present early this year in the form of a two-and-a-half-minute look behind the scenes of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception.” Enjoy:

  • Forbes names DiCaprio 2010’s highest-grossing star

    In last week’s year-in-review superlatives column, I closed things up as I always do by offering up my choice for “entertainer of the year.”  It generally goes to an individual or organization I think made the most significant popular and/or creative impact on cinema in a given year, kind of a tip of the hat to Entertainment Weekly’s annual feature.

    In past years I’ve gone with George Clooney (2005), Clint Eastwood (2006), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (2007), Robert Downey Jr. (2008) and Weta Digital (2009), but for 2010, I couldn’t think of anyone more applicable than Leonardo DiCaprio, whose work in “Inception” and particularly “Shutter Island” raised his own bar and proved once again that he’s a star who wields his cachet smartly.

    And now he’s been singled out by Forbes Magazine as the year’s highest-grossing star.  Both films have made over $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office, so it’s a natural choice.  And neither needed the added impact of inflated 3D ticket sales, the piece notes.

    (more…)

  • OFF THE CARPET: Macro/micro

    I decided to update the Contenders section this week by addressing things (mostly) as they seem to stand in the wake of the critics’ awards circuit of the last two weeks.  Save for this or that personal hunch (like buying into Guy’s shrewd proposition that the BAFTA contingent could help Lesley Manville over the hump, or keeping in mind, over all, that critics don’t vote for Oscars), I think it’s fairly representative.

    I don’t have a lot to offer in the way of a column this week.  The race as it stands is how you see it.  There are pockets of advocacy growing louder and louder out there, but I’m waiting for guilds to chime in and for studios to decide if they are in it to win it (and it becomes clearer and clearer who is and who isn’t, by the way).

    Ballots will go out a week from today.  Voters will have, presumably, spent the Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas holidays digging into screeners and catching up on this or that.  The precursors have illuminated a few paths they may not have taken (precious few, though), but mainly they’ve demanded viewings of 11 films in play for 10 Best Picture slots.  What will the small screen do for these contenders?

    (more…)

  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Network’ sweep, Globes outrage, best of 2010

    • Kris listed his 10 favorite films of 2010 in black-and-white, later adding his dream Oscar ballot and winners list.

    • The critics’ award beat turned into a “Social Network” landslide, as New York, Los Angeles, Boston and many, many other groups lined up behind the film.

    • Away from the critics’ circuit, Team Fincher didn’t have it all their own way, as “The King’s Speech” led a widely derided list of Golden Globe nominees.

    • When it was the Screen Actors’ Guild’s turn to announce their nominees, however, the royal biopic had to settle for sharing the lead with “The Fighter.”

    (more…)

  • Best in show 2010: the year in superlatives

    The week, and with it, the bulk of my 2010 coverage, draws to a close today with a look at the best of the best. I’m offering up a personal list of superlatives, including most Oscar categories and some other fun fields thrown in for good measure. A tradition at this point.

    There will be plenty going on next week, though, despite travel and the holidays. As always, we’ll be at your disposal. But allow me to put a tidy bow on the year here and keep forging ahead…

    Best Picture
    “Exit Through the Gift Shop”

    Best Director
    Mike Leigh, “Another Year”

    (more…)

  • CONTEST: Win the soundtracks of ‘Get Low,’ ‘Inception,’ ‘127 Hours’ and ‘Tangled’

    Another contest this week, a chance to win four of the year’s scores/soundtracks.  But, as usual, gonna make you work for it.  The discs up for grabs are (linked to their Amazon pages):

    • “Get Low” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (link)

    • “Inception” Music from the Motion Picture (link)

    • “127 Hours” Music from the Motion Picture (link)

    • “Tangled” Original Score and Motion Picture Soundtrack (link)

    Now, here’s what I want you to do…

    (more…)

  • TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The look of ‘Inception’

    Christopher Nolan has become known for making the Batman films look, and consequently feel, “real.”  His latest film, “Inception,” despite being a visual treat, also seemed a far cry from the CGI spectacles that normally dominate the blockbuster circuit.  It was very well-received by critics and certainly audiences alike and is currently enjoying a solid run on the awards circuit, having earned multiple nominations from both the BFCA and the HFPA.

    Speaking to cinematographer Wally Pfister, production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas (who earned the LAFCA award) and special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, it becomes clear that Nolan’s style is as infectious on the crew as it is on the public.  They delight in revealing how they collaborated with Nolan – and each other – to make “Inception” look so real.  The short answer: “Because it is.”

    Corbould, having worked with Nolan on “The Dark Knight” and “Batman Begins,” was on the fast track when Nolan approached him in 2009 to talk about the new film  “I heard from him on a Wednesday,” he recalls, “and after reading the script and hearing the pitch, I had signed the contract on the Saturday or Sunday.”

    (more…)

  • Make your SAG predictions

    Now that most of the major critics’ groups have had their say, tomorrow begins the second phase of the precursor season, as the Screen Actors’ Guild makes the first of this year’s industry award pronouncements.

    I always feel a twinge of dread about the SAG nomination list — frequently more middle-of-the-road than the critics’ picks, though with odd flashes of peer affection for unlikely veterans and character actors, they have a way of reducing the pool of Oscar hopefuls rather aggressively. More often than not, boredom ensues: last year, 19 of the 20 SAG individual performance nominees went on to repeat at the Oscars.

    Suffice to say, a snub from these guys stings more than one from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but Marcia Gay Harden will forever remain a beacon of hope to the SAG-ignored: 10 years ago, a diss from the Guild (and indeed from virtually every other precursor, save the New York critics) didn’t stop her taking the golden boy home for “Pollock.”

    Predictions after the jump.

    (more…)

  • If I had a ballot

    The year is winding down.  Today, as part of the week’s on-going year-in-review specials, I’m offering up my annual “if I had a ballot” post.

    In years past I’ve tended to defer to studio campaigns for category placement, but this year I figured, “Screw it.”  After all, if I actually had a ballot I could call the shots.  So I have.

    You’re familiar with my Best Picture line-up by now.  I’ve opted out of the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Documentary categories because there are a few films I’d rather have seen before making that call, but otherwise, it’s the usual Oscar fields with an ensemble category tacked on.

    Feel free to post up your own selections, if you have them, in the comments section below.  And remember to check back Friday as I close up shop on 2010 with my list of superlatives.  For now, check out my personal ballot after the jump.

    (more…)

  • Likability: the best films of 2010

    I don’t quite know how to peg 2010.

    On one hand it has felt like a weak year. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed quite a few films. Maybe the story lies in that sentence: “enjoyed.” There were precious few films that really rocked me, but plenty that were a nice enough experience.

    If you listened to Friday’s Oscar Talk, then you know my top 10. But before publishing it in this space, allow me to walk through the many films that fell short, starting at the top with Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine.” Here is an honest depiction of a relationship in crisis with performances that hit the mark. It wears its soul on its sleeve.

    The Coen brothers’ dip into the western genre, “True Grit,” was a straight-forward piece of flavorful filmmaking much appreciated for its restraint, while similarly, Ben Affleck’s “The Town” didn’t attempt reinvention of the wheel while forging a resonant character study in a genre film’s clothing.

    (more…)

  • ‘Black Swan’ leads BFCA field with a record 12 nominations

    The most striking thing about this year’s slate of BFCA nominations is that, to go by the films listed in the various categories, apparently there were only 30 or so movies released this year. And most categories were dominated by the same five films, which is disappointing, if a bit predictable.

    When the organization added below-the-line categories last year, though, it was probably asking for this kind of distillation. I’m not sure a great many of the membership knows from quality sound in a motion picture, but this is their (our — I am a member) platform. You’ll see my ballot Wednesday, but it’s considerably different than this.

    Anyway, “Black Swan” led the field with a record 12 nominations. “The King’s Speech” and “True Grit” weren’t far behind with 11 each. “Inception” netted 10, “The Social Network” landed nine and “127 Hours” nailed down eight. Those are clearly the favorites throughout.

    (more…)

  • WEEKLY WRAP: The circuit takes hold, chatting up DiCaprio and Harris, top 10 lists

    • The week started off with “How to Train Your Dragon” predictably dominating the slate of Annie Award nominations.

    • Kris sat down with Leonardo DiCaprio and got Martin Scorsese on the phone for a large two–part piece on the actor and his impressive year.

    • He also caught up with actor Ed Harris to talk “The Way Back” and director Peter Weir.

    • It was good and bad news for The Weinstein Company as “Blue Valentine” won its ratings appeal with the MPAA, while “The King’s Speech”‘s was shot down.

    (more…)

  • Visual effects race whittled down to 15

    This is the first year the race for Best Visual Effects will feature five nominees.  So take a third of these lucky semi-finalists and there we are.  The five I think most are expecting to show up are still in the mix.

    The most surprising omission for me is “Black Swan,” which used digital wizardry to very startling effect, especially in the film’s final act.  I also expected “The Tempest” to show up, but I guess it just leaves too bad a taste in people’s mouths.

    I’m happy to see “Shutter Island” get singled out.  If we start seeing the guilds respond to the work in this film (and indeed, we might), I think it would be fair to start taking it’s Best Picture chances seriously.  It’s holding up for more than you might expect.  And “Hereafter” shows up on this list, too.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it slid in for its opening sequence (which is rather respected in the VFX community).

    Full list after the jump.  The category’s Contenders page has also been updated with a proposed ranking.

    (more…)

  • CONTEST: Win DVDs of ‘Inception’ and ‘Shutter Island’

    This morning we wrapped up a massive two-part interview with actor Leonardo DiCaprio, whose performances in “Inception” and particularly “Shutter Island” in 2010 reflected a movie star very much at the top of his game.  So in the spirit of his wonderful year of output, it seemed a good time to kick off our contests with a chance to win a DVD of each film.

    But you have to work for it.  Stretch the ole’ brain a bit and come up with an engaging piece of persuasive writing.  Using the comments section below, tell us what your favorite DiCaprio performance is to date.  That’s the full canon, starting with the groundbreaking, brilliant, truly stunning and revelatory, uh, “Critters 3,” and moving all the way through his latest portrayal in Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster.  Be convincing.

    It’s best to put a limit on things, for purposes of length and also to make sure we get some potent responses.  I think 100 words is plenty, so anything that goes over that mark, I’ll have to disqualify.  Have at it!

    [Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures]