"Brooklyn" Is Old School Hollywood Magic

Author Colin Toibin wrote in his novel, "Brooklyn" that his protagonist Ellis Lacey and her family could, "do everything except say out loud what they were thinking." In the film adaptation of that same novel, Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan makes this aspect of her character incredibly clear through her incredibly textured performance. Over the course of the movie's near two hour running time, we see the evolution and growth of a young woman in an unfamiliar land play out beautifully across her expressive face.

"Room" Review

Life for 5-year-old Jack (newcomer Jacob Tremblay) and his ‘Ma’ (Brie Larson from “United States of Tara” and “21 Jump Street”) doesn’t extend outside of the 11-by-11 foot interior of a sealed, sound proof shed. They’ve been held captive for several years by a man only named as ‘Old Nick’. To Jack, this shed (aptly named, Room) is the whole world— at least that’s what his Ma has raised him to think. The truth of the situation is too much for anyone to bear, let alone a young child. 

"Room" Wins Big & Surprises at TIFF

The People's Choice Award (the Toronto Film Festival's Best Picture Award) has been given to films such as "Silver Lining's Playbook", "12 Years A Slave" and "The Imitation Game" to name a few. To say this award isn't an indicator of Oscar success (whether you're nominated for Best picture or actually win the whole thing) is foolish.

In a festival full of high-profile films such as "Spotlight", "Brooklyn" (the crowd pleasers), "The Danish Girl" (awards-bait) and other buzzy films such as "Our Brand Is Crisis", "Freeheld" and "Black Mass" (just to name a few), it's easy to lose track of all of the films attempting to make a splash.

If I Had A Ballot: My Academy Award Nominees (Acting)

I will never understand how the driving topic of the past year was how weak of a year it was for actresses. There must've been a thousand think pieces published by dozens of outlets on how embarrassingly dry the respective actress categories were as opposed to the men's.

But I would argue, that this was a marvelous year for actresses, that is, if you were able to look past Oscar's own playing field, which leaves little to be desired for what they determine to be Oscar-worthy roles/performances. Once you open your surroundings, you'll find a wealthy field of contenders, each with a more interesting, complex turn than the last. I think it's fair to say that the industry failed women, not so much Hollywood.

This year, we watched Scarlett Johansson as a silent alien seductress, Jennifer Aniston as a pill popping, chronic pain victim suffering from depression, Anna Kendrick as a modern and complex princess Cinderella, and Reese Witherspoon traveling the P.C.T. finding her long-reported missing inner leading lady along the way. And that's only scratching the surface of what women did this year, I did't even mention Rosamund Pike's unforgettable Amazing Amy, or Meryl Streep's incomparable Witch.

And despite that male-centric Best Picture field, there were also deeply moving, enjoyable projects either made by a woman, or told women's stories. An honest, refreshing look into abortion ("Obvious Child"), a critique of the music industry and the selling of sex and the 'female pop star' ("Beyond the Lights"), a period piece starring a woman of color in the title role ("Belle")... the list goes on.

Not to say that it wasn't a great year for the boys, because who will be able to look back and not remember Michael Keaton in "Birdman" or David Oyelowo in "Selma"? Two of the greatest performances in recent history that will most definitely be discussed and studied for years to come. But a lot of the celebrated turns by men this year, I found, to land pretty flat. I loved Eddie Redmayne in "Les Miserables" as much as everyone else, and sure, his transformation into Stephen Hawking was brilliant... but it left him little to no room to actually turn in a performance.

But I digress, I've procrastinated long enough. My choices in the acting contenders are:

Into the Woods: A Serious Oscar Threat

"Into the Woods" has been a question mark in the awards race throughout the season. Though I have fearlessly (and a bit prematurely, I will admit) predicted the film to appear in categories such as Best Picture and Supporting Actress, most prognosticators have steered clear of placing their chips in Woods' favor. Though there have been film musicals such as "Chicago" and "Les Miserables" have had strong awards recognition, there have been those ("Hairspray", "Nine", "Grease", etc.) that have been largely ignored by the Academy. However, it's clear that after last night's DGA screening of Rob Marshall's adaptation that Into the Woods is coming to crash the party come December 25th. 

Oscar Race: Turning Up the Heat

The end of the summer is upon us, and with the Venice Film Festival just around the corner (starting on the 27th and ending on the 6th of September), we're really about to get in the thick of Oscar season.

Of course, the summer has been dominated (mainly) by buzz; none of the films that are being predicted to be heavyweights in the season have premiered to the masses yet, except for Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" (more on that later). Of the films predicted to do well this season, even fewer have had premieres at all ("Whiplash" had Sundance, "Foxcatcher" had Cannes, "Birdman" will open Venice in a week's time); we've mainly been restricted to pictures, hearsay and trailers.

So, where does that leave us now?

The Rest of Our Acting Contenders: Old and New Faces

Emma Stone and Michael Keaton could receive their first Oscar nominations for "Birdman"

A few days ago, I ran through our long list of Best Actress contenders (a list that doesn't even really encompass all of the hopefuls this season has to offer, just those with the best chances at even being recognized). Though Best Actor is even more stacked than last year's massive pool, the Supporting categories are as weak as ever (at least they are right now), especially Supporting Actor.

"Birdman" has 3 contenders hoping for a nomination; leading man Michael Keaton, best known for his role in Tim Burton's "Batman" films, along with co-stars Ed Norton (a previous 2 time nominee) and Emma Stone (it would be her first Oscar nomination. She also will be seen in Woody Allen's "Magic in the Moonlight"), while the men of "Foxcatcher" all seem like safe bets in their respective categories; at this point, Leading Actor is between Steve Carrell and Channing Tatum, with Carrell having a slight edge (he has goodwill from being left out for "Little Miss Sunshine" a few years ago).

But enough yammering on, let's go through the rest of the acting categories. Take a look at my FULL list of nominations here

Fandor Breaks Down Major Oscar Races: Who Really Deserves to Win?

Kevin B. Lee of Fandor.com has published his video essay on the major acting races. I've got to to say, watching Lee break down the performances, right down to the screen time, had me reevaluate my own choices for who deserves to win the Oscar... especially in the case of Supporting Actor. Even if you disagree with his preferences, you can't deny he presents very persuasive reasons for his case(s).

I would even recommend watching his entries from last year's race, which you can find on his Youtube channel.

Check out the analyzations below.