Episode 7: Moneyball

In this episode of the Lord of the Films Podcast, I do a brief review of Moneyball, discuss some of this fall television season's pilots and discuss Moneyball's chances at the Oscars.

Moneyball Review

Brad Pitt is having a big year.  Earlier this year he put on one of his best performances as a disgruntled father in The Tree of Life.  This weekend he hit it out of the park again as A's General Manager Billy Beane in the fun Bennett Miller film, Moneyball.

Moneyball (based off of the book by Michael Lewis) follows Beane as he tries to reinvent the way teams look at players.  This easily could have been a film that got so lost in its "inside baseball" world of statistics that it would have shut itself from your typical moviegoer and drove them into confusion.  It also could have easily been a film that was so dumbed down that it would have driven any moviegoer into complete boredom.  In addition, to this Moneyball is a nonfiction book that isn't trying to write a story but explain how an entire game works.  Any screenwriter would have the difficult task of turning a book with no cinematic structure into an engaging film.  The fact that Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List) are able to pull this script off is a true testament to why they are considered two of the best in the industry.

The film is handled well by director Bennett Miller (Capote), but this is clearly a screenwriter's film.  The greatest compliment I can give Miller is that he does the right thing and let the screenplay run the film.  The screenplay proves itself to be the driving force of the film as it creates two compelling characters, a snappy dialogue and a quick pace (for the most part).  The one problem this film has is that it takes a while to engross the viewer into the world of Billy Beane.  As soon as it does, though, the film gains a fast pace and you wouldn't believe that you spent over two hours at the theater by the end of it.

The acting is another highlight of the film as it perfectly reinforces the power of Sorkin and Zaillian's screenplay.  Brad Pitt is perfectly cast as Billy Beane.  Pitt doesn't completely lose himself in the film like he did in The Tree of Life, but the fact that he actually brings a little bit of his star power into the film actually makes his performance all the better.  Pitt's charisma completely anchors the film, but it is also easy to see why he became famous in the first place with this film.  He is simply a great actor.  Just watch what he does without even saying a single word in the final scene of the film.  He conveys so much through his facial expressions and shows how a real actor does it.  This, however, is not the most surprising thing about the cast.  That belongs to Jonah Hill actually having a good performance in a film.  Hill takes a good character off the page and turns him into a believable person.  He is still funny but never over the top.

While there is no big turns from the supporting cast, it is a solid one.  Philip Seymour Hoffman continues to make acting look easy.  Chris Pratt makes a sympathetic character with little screen time and Kerris Dorsey more than holds her own against Brad Pitt as hid character's daughter.  However, Pitt and Hill are the highlights of the cast and maybe the onscreen team of the year.

Moneyball is superbly written and acted film that focuses on a complex subject.

8.5/10

I would just like to point out that, as a baseball fan, it was really easy to notice how unrealistic this film was.  The film tries to portray the A's team as an underdog team when in reality they had the best pitching staff in the game.  The film constantly reminds us that the team had no superstars but their starting pitching staff was led by such names as Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder.  Also, the film portrays the scouts as the bad guys, but, in reality, these were the guys that got Hudson, Zito and Mulder on the team.  As always, this is just a film version of the story (a fictional reality).  Therefore, these errors should have no impact on how I enjoyed the film (and it didn't), I just thought it would be right to point out.

Episode 6: Drive

In this episode of the Lord of the Films Podcast I review Drive, discuss this past weekend's Emmy ceremony and analyze Drive's Oscar chances.

2012 Emmy Predictions

Well it's Monday and it's also the first day of Fall TV.  I guess for the heck of it I will post my predictions for next years Emmys (They will be updated throughout the year on this page):

Outstanding Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire

Breaking Bad

Damages

Game of Thrones

Mad Men

Smash

Outstanding Comedy Series
30 Rock

The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm

Glee

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

Outstanding Miniseries or TV Movie
Downton Abbey

Game Change

Great Expectations

Hemingway & Gellhorn

Page Eight

Untitled Phil Spector Project

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report

Conan

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special
Bill Maher Special

Kathy Griffin Special

Louis C.K. Special

The Kennedy Center Honors

SNL Special

Outstanding Reality Competition Programming
The Amazing Race

American Idol

Dancing With the Stars

Project Runway

So You Think You Can Dance

Top Chef

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Dustin Hoffman, Luck

Hugh Laurie, House

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Louis C.K., Louie

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Idris Elba, Luther

Ed Harris, Game Change

Bill Nighy, Page Eight

Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn

Al Pacino, Untitled Phil Spector Project

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law

Glenn Close, Damages

Claire Danes, Homeland

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Laura Dern, Enlightened

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Laura Linney, The Big C

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Amy Poehler, Parks and Rcreation

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Nicole Kidman, Hemigway & Gellhorn

Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey

Julianne Moore, Game Change

Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Borden

Rachel Weisz, Page Eight

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Alan Cumming, The Good Wife

Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

John Goodman, Damages

Nick Nolte, Luck

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

John Slattery, Mad Men

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Chris Colfer, Glee

Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family

Ed O’Neill, Modern Family

Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Robert Duvall, Hemigway & Gellhorn

Ralph Fiennes, Page Eight

Woody Harrelson, Game Change

Bob Newhart, Five

David Strathairn, Hemigway & Gellhorn

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, Modern Family

Jane Lynch, Glee

Maya Rudolph, Up All Night

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Rose Byrne, Damages

Michelle Forbes, The Killing

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire

Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Patricia Clarkson, Five

Judy Davis, Page Eight

Helen Mirren, Untitled Phil Spector Project

Parker Posey, Hemingway & Gellhorn

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire

Game of Thrones

Luck

Mad Men

Smash

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory

Glee

Modern Family

Modern Family

Veep

Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Downton Abbey

Five

Game Change

Hemingway & Gellhorn

Untitled Phil Spector Project

Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Late Show With David Letterman

Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special
The 65^th Annual Tony Awards

The 54^th Annual Grammy Awards

The 84th Annual Academy Awards

Great Performances: A Concert for New York

The Kennedy Center Honors

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
House of Lies

Louie

Modern Family

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire

Breaking Bad

The Good Wife

Mad Men

Mad Men

Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Downton Abbey

Game Change

Great Expectations

Hemingway & Gellhorn

Sherlock

Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special
The 65th Annual Tony Awards

The 84^th Annual Academy Awards

Bill Maher Special

The Kennedy Center Honors

SNL Special

The Emmys: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

The Good 
-Margo Martindale deservingly won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.  She then continued to give the best acceptance speech of the night as she finally received recognition for all of her hard years working as a character actress.
-Friday Night Lights got not 1, but 2 farewell awards.  In shocking upsets, Friday Night Lights won for Best Writing in a Drama Series and Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Kyle Chandler's restrained performance as Coach Taylor.
-The show had a good pace to it.  The boring section of the night (let's face it, nobody cares about the Miniseries/TV Movie segments) went by quickly and the ceremony was over with more than enough time to watch an encore presentation of last night's Breaking Bad (which may have just won Bryan Cranston another Emmy last night).
The Bad
-The show ended very anti-climatically.  The show decided to give Best Comedy Series last (which was one of the biggest locks of the night, especially after Modern Family swept through the early part of the ceremony), and, even though there was a lot of suspense to it, Mad Men ended up winning Best Drama Series again.
-Jane Lynch was a non-factor as a host.  I barely remember what she did last night.  However, as an actress on Glee, the show decided to add in a bunch of musical elements, which mostly failed (I'm looking at you Emmingtons!).
The Ugly
-Steve Carell (now officially) never won an Emmy for portraying Michael Scott.  The least Jim Parsons could have done when he won for a 2nd time (Why again?  I have no idea) was at least acknowledge what a comedic force Carell has been over the last few years.  Instead he showered a bunch of praise on co-star Johnny Galecki.

Predictions-wise, I went 13 for 23 for a percentage of 56.55 (not bad for one of the most unpredictable Emmy ceremonies on record).

My List of Demands to the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Regarding the Primetime Emmys, Part 2

Well I did a list of demands for the nominations so I might as well do one for the winners too.  So far the Academy is off to a great start with handing out the awards as they finally gave one to Community.  Without further ado, here are the things I want to see the Academy give an award to:

3. Friday Night Lights gets a farewell win

Friday Night Lights' run has ended, but it did receive 4 major Emmy nominations (including its first ever nomination in Best Drama Series).  The show has only won one award in the past (a Best Casting award in 2007).  However, despite some of the best acting and writing on television, it has never won a major award.  With all 4 of its nominations being in major categories, it would be a great surprise to see the show be given a farewell win.

2. Steve Carell for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

I think it's been talked about enough that Steve Carell has never won an Emmy before.  I guess it wouldn't hurt to point out one last time how outrageous it would be if Carell went away Emmy-less for one of the greatest comedic performances of all-time.  Emmys please don't let that happen!

1. Margo Martindale for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

But when it comes to the best performance of the year, I think it has to go Margo Matindale's fierce performance as Mags Bennett.  It would be a shame if she wen't home Emmy-less (especially since she won't be back on the show in the future).

Drive Review

If you told me that an art house film style and a populist film style could exist in the same film, I would call you crazy.  That is until I saw Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn's latest film starring Ryan Gosling as a stunt-car driver who moonlights as a getaway car driver.  The film does a remarkable job of combining a very art house style of directing with a very populist story.

Drive starts off with a thrilling escape form a robbery scene.  The scene is intense but also takes a slow and chillingly realistic approach to the escape.  More importantly it sets the tone for the rest of the film.  This is not your average action-thriller about cars.  For instance, what the film does next is slowly build up the characters and their relationships.  It at some points gets a little too slow for the film's own good, but you have to give the film credit for taking a different approach.  It also pays off with the second half of the film when the quiet nature of the film is abruptly and shockingly replaced by a balls-to-the-wall set of chase scenes and assassination attempts (Speaking of quiet, the stark change between silence and mass commotion is perfectly brought to life by the amazing sound mix).  This move results in action more engrossing than whatever Michael Bay or Justin Lin could ever dream of creating.

The big takeaway from this is that Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising) is clearly one of the finest directors out there.  He took a genre that is quickly becoming stale and a script that is definitely not the film's strong suit, and created one of the best films of the year.  His approach to every scene seemed to be to try to find a new way to put on a screen what were stereotypical scenes of the genre.  The best example of this is in a pivotal fight scene when he focuses the camera on the shadows of the combatants (speaking of which the cinematography was another highlight of the film as it made you bunch up in nervousness by lingering on its subjects).  Another highlight of Refn's direction was that he actually brought a sense of ambiguity to the film.  The technique is never used in the action/thriller genre so it was a welcome surprise, but it also was put to perfect use in a romantic storyline that was easily the worst written aspect of the film.  On the screen it ended up being one of the better parts of the film.

A lot of what worked with the romantic storyline was also due to the great work from the two actors involved.  Ryan Gosling is quickly become a true star.  He completely carries this film and the camera is in love with him.  He doesn't get much dialogue to say, but sometimes actions speak louder than words.  Such is the case with his performance.  With just facial expressions or body movements, Gosling is able to convey more than your average actor could with their moves.  The other side of the romantic story, Carey Mulligan, is no slouch either.  She doesn't get much material, but what makes her work great in this film is that she doesn't overplay anything.  Everything is done so subtlety and it makes everything she does so realistic.

Besides those two, the film is rounded out by a sturdy supporting cast.  Bryan Cranston is great, playing against type as Ryan Gosling's mentor.  Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks are perfectly cast as a mob leader and a robber.  However, the highlight has to be Albert Brooks as a greasy, but tough as nails mob boss.  Brooks plays the character with such charm, that it is so much more shocking when he actually gets his hands dirty.

Although, it definitely has some script issues, Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling turns a weakness into an exhilarating film.

8.5/10

Final 2011 Emmy Winner Predictions

Well Emmy weekend is upon us as the Main Ceremony airs this Sunday.  You can check out my full predictions here (along with what I predicted for last week's Creative Arts Emmys).  Anyways here is one last rundown of what I think will happen on Sunday.

I think the big category winners will end up being Mad Men (Drama), Modern Family (Comedy), Mildred Pierce (Miniseries/Movie), The Daily Show (Variety Series) and The Amazing Race (Reality-Competition).  However, for the first time in a long time, none of the programs are locked in for the win.  It seems like a lot of the categories are still up in the air.  To add even more confusion to the mix, the Emmys always through a major upset or two that no one saw coming at the audience.  Last year it was Dexter beating Lost's finale for Drama Directing and Archie Panjabi beating Christina Hendricks for Best Drama Supporting Actress.

The only competition to Mad Men achieving a four-peat in best Drama Series is Boardwalk Empire, but Boardwalk Empire is some major competition.  Empire won 7 Emmys last weekend, leaving it 3 short of setting the wins record for the series.  The Emmy voters clearly love Empire, but I think the like Mad Men a bit more (Mad Men also has better tapes if the voters actually decide to look at them).  Some of the last minute changes I made in the drama categories include choosing Julianna Margulies for Best Lead Actress (when there is too much competition in a category, the frontrunner usually wins it) and choosing Josh Charles for Best Supporting Actor (in a close category, a good tape may be the difference and Charles apparently has a very good tape).

Modern Family got blanked at last week's Creative Arts Emmys.  This is somewhat of a surprise and could mean some weakness in the support for this frontrunner from the Academy.  However, the only other Best Comedy Series nominee to win anything was Glee (for Best Casting and Best Guest Actress).  Glee is obviously not as respected as Modern Family in the industry so I think an upset by that show seems very unlikely.  Some of the last minute changes I made in the Comedy categories include choosing Jane Lynch for Best Supporting Actress (same reasoning for why I chose Margulies) and choosing How I Met Your Mother for Best Directing (after the other contenders in this category, 30 Rock and Modern Family, were blanked at the Creative Arts Emmys and How I Met Your Mother won for editing, an upset by this show in this category looks likely).

After The Kennedys surprisingly matched Mildred Pierce's awards tally last weekend (both had 3), Mildred Pierce's frontrunner status for Miniseries/TV Movie started to look shaky.  However, it's biggest threat doesn't come from The Kennedys, but in the shape of Downton Abbey.  Obviously, Pierce isn't the big Emmy behemoth we thought it would be, but I still think it has too much pedigree to be beaten.  Some of the last minute changes I made in the TV Movie/Miniseries categories include choosing Tom Wilkinson in Best Supporting Actor (because Wilkinson is a very respected actor and it turns out the Emmys actually like The Kennedys) and choosing Downton Abbey for Best Writing (Todd Haynes maybe too much of a film guy to win for both directing and writing so this is just a hunch on my part).

For the final two big categories (Best Variety Series and Reality-Competition) there are no clear frontrunners, so I am going with the longtime favorite in each category (The Daily Show and The Amazing Race).

Episode 5: Contagion Review

In this episode of the Lord of the Films Podcast, I review Contagion, recap the Creative Arts Emmys and discuss the Oscar chances of some of the fall film festival films.

The Debt Review

Director of Oscar Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love, John Madden, returns to filmmaking with the latest thriller, The Debt.  The Debt follows 3 former Mossad agents who recall one of their missions tracking down a Nazi war criminal.  It is a serviceable thriller that has some moments of truly inspired filmmaking but is betrayed too often by the structure of the story.  In fact, I would say that the structure of the story is one of only two problems this film has.

Let me start off by saying I did not watch this film under the most ideal circumstances.  I foolishly came into the film making an assumption on an important aspect of the film.  When my assumption was proved wrong in the middle of the film, all of my complaints about the film up to that point became invalid.  Despite this there are still some clear pacing issues with this film.  The film deals with two storylines, one in 1966 and the other in 1997.  The film spends an immense amount of time in the 1966.  So much so that with the 1997 timeline in the film as well, the film feels overloaded.  By the time we are reintroduced to the 1997 story (it acts as a bookend to the 1966 storyline), much of the momentum and suspense the film achieved up to that point is killed.  My conundrum is that the entire storyline was necessary.  If the 1997 storyline never existed, all originality from this film would be gone.  It would just be a boring thriller.  If the 1966 storyline was shortened, we would not have had the developed characters which would have once again led to a boring thriller.  This all leads to the question of whether this film should have been made at all.  Considering this is a remake, I just don't think it should have.

All of these complaints aren't to say that John Madden and screenwriters Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) did a poor job with this film.  That couldn't be further from the truth.  Madden probably does his best directorial job yet.  He has gotten over the years a reputation as being a "safe" director.  Here he actually makes some interesting stylistic choices.  The best example of this is in a breakout scene during the 1966 storyline.  He also creates an immense amount of intensity in the 66 storyline by focusing on the realistic atmosphere and claustrophobic setting (the production design crew does some brilliant yet understated work).  The script also deserves a lot of credit for developing three distinct and realistic characters.  Any problems with the characters have to be completely attributed to the casting and (in the case of Sam Worthington's character) acting.

Speaking of casting, it is horrendous.  Besides some perfect casting in Helen Mirren (who is able to convey a long range of emotions expertly in a short amount of screen time) and Jessica Chastain (who is continuing one of the biggest breakout years for an actor in recent memory and has her most physical and intense role yet), nothing else is done right.  Unfortunately, casting is crucial to a film that focuses on 3 characters in two timelines separates by 30 years.  Despite playing the same character, Sam Worthington and Cirian Hands (who does all he can in a cameo role) look nothing alike.  The same is true with Marton Csokas (who is good but not memorable as an aggressive agent) and Tom Wilkinson (who stands out despite spending most of his time doing exposition).  Luckily, when it came to casting outside of the lead roles, the film nailed it.  This is especially true with the casting of the main villain.  Instead of going for a "name" actor (who probably would have hammed it up), the film casted Jesper Christiensen.  This move makes the audience face the unknown, like the characters in the film were facing.  Christiensen does wonders with it as he creates a character almost as good as (and in the vain of) Heath Ledger's The Joker and Christoph Waltz's (who Christiensen co-starred with in Inglourious Basterds) Hans Landa.  You just never know what's going on in his head or what trick he is going to pull out of the bag next.

The Debt is a film that on a structural level does not work.  However, it does so much right that I liked it more than I didn't.

7.5/10

2011 Creative Arts Emmys Roundup

So Boardwalk Empire came out the bigger winner at last night's Creative Arts Emmys.  By the end of the night it had won Casting, Makeup, Art Direction, Picture Editing, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, Cinematography for a total of 7 Emmys.  While Boardwalk Empire will come nowhere close to John Adam's record haul of 13 Emmys back in 2008, it is in range of the wind record for a series (which was set by The West Wing in 2000 with 9 wins).  Boardwalk would have to win 2 to tie, and 3 to win.  It would be the shocker of the ceremony if Martin Scorsese doesn't prevail in Drama Directing for his work on the Boardwalk EMpire pilot so that is 8 wins.  Then it is nominated in 3 other categories (Drama Series, Drama Lead Actor-Steve Buscemi and Drama Supporting Actress-Kelly Macdonald).  Drama Supporting Actress is a very unpredictable category so a win for Macdonald is possible.  Buscemi probably doesn't have much of a chance at winning as he is the newbie in a category filled with overdue regulars.  Empire didn't stand much of a chance in Drama Series until last night.  Does this huge tally of awards means it has enough support in the Academy to win the big one over series that are perceived to be more respected (like the favorite Mad Men).  I will say that I will now have a difficult time settling on my prediction for the category.  Mad Men is the smart money, but it's not like the directors, writers, actors and producers are the only ones who vote on Best Drama Series.  The casting directors, makeup artists, art directors, editors, visual effects designers, sound designers and cinematographers all vote too.

Now onto some of the shows that did not do so well at the expense of Boardwalk Empire.  Game of Thrones came into the night as the favorite in a few categories but walked away only with 1 Emmy (for main title design).  It probably has little chance of winning anything next week.  Its best best, Peter Dinklage, is in a very crowded category and any shift in momentum will probably kill a candidate's chances.  Mad Men also only received 1 nomination (for hairstyling), but was never a major winner at the Creative Arts Emmys so it could still very well win all of its categories next week.  The only other effect that these awards have on next week is that The Killing's chances at scoring a win next week are dashed.  It's editing for the pilot was very flashy stuff, but it lost.  This may mean voters are not high on the series and Mireille Enos and Michelle Forbes will have trouble winning their respective categories.

Onto comedy where 5 of the 6 nominees for Best Comedy Series were blanked (including category favorite Modern Family).  Glee did manage to win 2 (casting and Guest Actress for Gwyneth Paltrow).  I wouldn't read too much into this as most of Modern Family's nominations are next week, but I think it's safe to say Glee has more support from the Academy than we thought it did (which could mean a repeat victory for ceremony host Jane Lynch).  The category that is affected the most by the lack of wins by the major competitors last night is actually Comedy directing.  How I Met Your Mother got a surprise nomination in that category for the episode "Subway Wars".  How I Met Your Mother also got a surprise victory last night for Picture Editing for the episode "Subway Wars".  Add on top of that the other nominees in that category 3 Modern Family episodes and 30 Rock (which surprisingly struggled to win anything last night despite having the very technically heavy "Live Show" episode...After being blanked last year at the Emmys, 30 Rock's reign as a major Emmy player is probably done) and you have the making for an upset.

Some Emmy predictors got very worried by Mildred Pierce's lack of success last night.  It only won 3 (Art Direction, Casting and Music Composition).  However, there is no need to worry.  Pierce will still win Lead Actress and Directing, and it's not like Pierce's major competitor, Downton Abbey, swept the Creative Arts Emmys by storm.  It only won 2 last night (Costumes and Cinematography).  However, The Kennedys' success last night could spell some more success for the controversial miniseries next week.  It won Makeup, Hairstyling and Sound Mixing.  With 3 wins there is clear support for the show from the Academy.  Enough support for a respected actor in the miniseries (like Tom Wilkinson) to pull off an upset in the Supporting Actor race.

Some other major winners from last night were Deadliest Catch (which won 4 awards for the season centered around the death of the captain) Futurama (which won 2 and swept the animation categories it was eligible for) and Gettysburg (which pulled off a surprise win in Nonfiction Special).

One Major Correction:

I tweeted last night that Justin Timberlake won Best Original Music and Lyrics for "3 Way (The Golden Rule)" after a correction.  It turns out my original tweet was correct and Timberlake (as well as Seth Meyers) actually won for his monologue song in the episode he hosted.

Other notable categories were:
Variety Special-The Kennedy Center Honors
Nonfiction Series-American Masters
Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series-Paul McCrane, Harry's Law
Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series-Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live
Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series-Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy
Reality Host-Jeff Probst, Survivor

Predictions-wise I went 28 for 73 (38.4%) which looks really bad on paper but isn't surprising for such an unpredictable set of awards.

2011 Creative Arts Emmys

One last reminder that the 2011 Creative Arts Emmys are held tonight starting at 7pm EST.  To get live updates I would suggest going to goldderby.com.  I will be doing some commentary about the winners on my twitter feed (@ryan_fernand) followed by an in depth post on the blog here tomorrow.  My complete predictions are of course here or can be found if you click the 2011 Emmy predictions tab above.

It should be interesting to see how is the big winner from the Drama side as Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and Mad Men could have many Emmys by night's end.

I'm rooting for tonight:

Will be the night's big winner in Drama:

Will win Best Drama Series next weekend:

Contagion Review

Numerous time during Steven Soderbergh's latest film, Contagion, characters tell others to keep their distance from people (in order to stop the spread of the highly contagious virus at the center of the film's plot).  The film decides to take a similar approach to the characters by keeping its distance from them in its storytelling.  While this does sound like an interesting concept, it is not executed in the final film as well as it seems on paper.

Steven Soderbergh once again brings out his documentary-like style that he won an Oscar for with Traffic.  Soderbergh deserves credit for the numerous risks he has taken throughout his career.  Upon completing a film it always seems like he tries to follow it up with it's complete opposite.  The man has a lot of guts and a lot of talent.  Unfortunately, not every risk pays off, and this is one of the risks.  Soderbergh and to a lesser extent screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (whose decent work quite clearly takes a backseat in such a director's film) start off with an intense and intriguing story about how the world would react to a world wide pandemic.  Each hand is perfectly shot as it touches every door handle, martini glass and human.  The stakes are very real as we saw every character staring right into the eyes of a very deadly protagonist.  Everything is done right to create a very scary atmosphere.  Unfortunately, the second half of the film can't even carry a quarter of this intensity with it.  This is never more apparent with the muddled ending.  A stark transition from chaos to a happy ending completely betrays the film's documentary style feel.  Add on top of that a final scene that completely forgets that the every other scene before it came from the perspective of humans and the documentary feel is all but destroyed.  Worst of all, it gives answers away too easily, and yet leaves certain plot lines completely unfulfilled.

The much talked about Oscar-laden cast is actually worthy of the hype (when they get the appropriate screentime).  Kate Winslet (as a CDC field operative) and Matt Damon (as a father in Minnesota) take away best in show honors.  Winslet gives a heroic and the most frighteningly tragic performance in the film.  She brings a lot of life to the film whenever she is on screen.  Damon is probably given the best written character, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve any credit. At this stage in his career, it appears Damon could play any role and make it work.  He is just the type of actor that is never too showy to the point that he sticks out like a sore thumb, but he is never so subtle that he is lost in the background.  This skill is especially useful in a film that is trying to convey a documentary-like atmosphere.

Jennifer Ehle, Laurence Fishburne and Jude Law are the three other characters that get a substantial amount of screentime.  Law is probably the best of the three.  It is by no means one of his best performances, but it at least gives him the material that he works with best (over-the-top and hot headed like his character in Gattaca).  I wish he would stick to these roles rather than waste his talent on the Sherlock Holmes franchise.  Fishburne is solid as the film's closest thing to the lead (he is onscreen more than any other character).  He won't be the first thing you take away from the film, but he holds his own with Oscar winners/nominees in almost all of his scenes.  Ehle was good in her role and gets the film's best scene when she goes to see her father in a hospital.  She showed enough skill to be able to portray a more morally-ambiguous character that the film only hints at (another disappointment from the creative side of this film).

Before getting into the list of actors that are given the shaft in this film, I should point out that this is the film for any of those Gwyneth Paltrow haters out there.  Spoilers from the trailer She is on screen for only a few minutes and is completely destroyed from head to toe by the end of it. Spoilers end Unfortunately, the film decides to give only a minute (give or take a few seconds) of screentime to Oscar nominee and beloved character actor John Hawkes and reduced 3-time defending Emmy champ Bryan Cranston to the background for the majority of his screentime.  How the most major offense against the cast is how it treats Oscar winner Marion Cotillard.  Cotillard is given what could have been a very interesting subplot.  The problem is the film forgets about her for a long stretch at the point where her plot gets interesting.  She is given one more scene where she heads out on a rescue mission that is never resolved.

Despite some solid acting, Contagion is let down by a weak second half and probably the worst ending of the year.

5/10

Episode 4: Summer Review

In this episode of the Lord of the Films Podcast, I review The Debt and talk about what made this summer's film and television seasons so great.

2011 Emmy Winner Predictions: Final Creative Arts Predix

The annual Creative Arts Emmys (the ceremony in which all of the technical categories and the the guest acting categories of the Primetime Emmys are given out) are being held this Saturday evening (PST).  If you would like to follow real time updates, I would suggest constantly reloading the official nominations page on Emmys.tv until the winners are revealed, go to goldderby for a live chat, or follow me here as I try to give instant (or as instant as possible) analysis of the winners.  Anyways my final predictions (barring any last minute changes of heart) are here.

Some of the changes I have made are as follows:

I am now predicting Disney's Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa for Best Short-Format Animated Program because Robot Chicken doesn't appear to have the buzz it normally does.

I am predicting A Child's Garden in Best Children's Program as it appears HBO is in for a big year for these awards.

I am predicting The Deadliest Catch in Reality Program as I just realized this is one of the episodes dealing with the death of the captain that made a lot of news when it happened.

I am predicting Travis Wall in Best Choreography because he seems to have the most buzzed about work on So You Think You Can Dance (which always wins in this category).

I am predicting Whale Wars in Nonfiction Cinematography because it is a perennial nominee in this category but has never one.  Its turn has to come soon.

I am predicting Jimmy Kimmel Live in Best Lighting Direction for a Series because this category is based a lot on how big the director of the program is (even though he/she doesn't receive the award).  I would consider Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) a big director.  Also, American Idol is really losing buzz in its races after submitting another poor episode for judging.

I am predicting Jeff Probst for Best Reality Host for reasons mentioned above (think Ryan Seacrest) and because this seems to be a category Probst can't lose.

I am predicting Mildred Pierce in Best Makeup for a Movie/Miniseries because its biggest competition (The Pillars of the Earth) seems to only be a big player in the visual and sound effects categories.

I am predicting Game of Thrones in Best Makeup for a Series because this is one of the few clear categories in which the voters can vote for the show over its fellow HBO series, Boardwalk Empire.

I am predicting Henry Connick Jr., A Concert on Broadway in Music Direction because it normally goes to an episode of Great Performances.  It's just a matter of predicting which one.

I am predicting Deadliest Catch in Picture Editing for a Reality Program for reasons mentioned above.

I am predicting Lady Gaga's special over Louis C.K.'s special in Picture Editing for a Special because it seems if they are to award C.K. for all of his work this year it will be in one of the main categories.

I am predicting American Idol in Short Form Picture Editing because its too big of a program to lose (even if it was poorly received).

I am predicting Mildred Pierce in Sound Mixing for a Miniseries as its biggest competition in the category (The Kennedys) appears to be heading for an 0-for.

Personal Emmy Ballot

If I were to submit a ballot for the Emmys, here is how I would vote:

*main categories in bold

OUTSTANDING VOICE_OVER PERFORMANCE=abstain

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM=abstain
OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORMAT ANIMATED PROGRAM=abstain

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES=abstain

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES=Boardwalk Empire (“Boardwalk Empire”)

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE=Downton Abbey

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION FOR VARIETY, MUSIC OR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING=Gettysburg

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES=Modern Family

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES=Boardwalk Empire

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A MIISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL=Mildred Pierce

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY=abstain

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES=abstain

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES=Boardwalk Empire (“Boardwalk Empire”)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE=Mildred Pierce (“Part Five”)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING=abstain

OUTSTANDING COMMERCIAL=abstain

OUTSTANDING COSTUMES FOR A SERIES=Boardwalk Empire (“Anastasia”)

OUTSTANDING COSTUMES FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL=Downton Abbey (“Part 1”)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES=30 Rock (“Live Show”)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES=Boardwalk Empire (“Boardwalk Empire”)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL=Mildred Pierce

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES=Saturday Night Live (“Justin Timberlake”)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL=The 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING=abstain
OUTSTANDING SINGLE-CAMERA PICTURE EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES=The Killing (“Pilot”)

OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)=Modern Family (“Halloween”)

OUTSTANDING SINGLE-CAMERA PICTURE EDITING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE=Sherlock: A Study In Pink

OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORM PICTURE EDITING=83^rd Annual Academy Awards (“Opening Film”)

OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR A SPECIAL (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)=Ricky Gervais: Out of England 2-The Stand Up Special

OUTSTANDING PICTUR EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING=abstain

OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING=abstain

OUTSTANDING HAIRSTYLING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES=Game of Thrones (“A Golden Crown”)

OUTSTANDING HAIRSTYLING FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL=Saturday Night Live (“Anne Hathaway”)

OUTSTANDING HAIRSTYLING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE=The Kennedys

OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA=Oscar Digital Experience

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES=Saturday Night Live (“Justin Timberlake”)

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL=The 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards

OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE DESIGN=Game of Thrones

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES (NON-PROSTHETIC)=Glee (“The Rocky Horror Glee Show”)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL (NON-PROSTHETIC)=Saturday Night Live (“Jon Hamm”)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE (NON-PROSTHETIC)=The Pillars of the Earth

OUTSTANDING PROSTHETIC MAKEUP FOR A SERIES, MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL=The Walking Dead (“Days Gone Bye”)

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)=30 Rock (“100”)

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)=Mildred Pierce (“Part Five”)

OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION=83^rd Annual Academy Awards

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS=”3-Way (“The Golden Rule”), Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC=Mildred Pierce

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES=Steve Carell, The Office

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES=Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE=Barry Pepper, The Kennedys

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES=Tina Fey, 30 Rock

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES=Mireille Enos, The Killing

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE=Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES=Ty Burrell, Modern Family

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES=Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE=Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES=Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES=Margo Martindale, Justified

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE=Mare Winningham, Mildred Pierce

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES=Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES=Jeremy Davies, Justified

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES=Dot-Marie Jones, Glee

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES=Joan Cusack, Shameless

OUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALIITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM=abstain

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES=The Office

OUTSTANIDNG DRAMA SERIES=Game of Thrones

OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR MOVIE=The Pillars of the Earth

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES=The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL=Lady GaGa Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAMS=The 68^th Golden Globe Awards

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS-SHORT-FORMAT LIVE-ACTION ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS=abstain

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS-SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS (0/2)=NA

OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S PROGRAM=abstain

OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S NONFICTION, REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM=abstain

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SPECIAL=Gettysburg

OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SERIES=abstain
OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM=abstain

OUTSTANDING REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM=abstain
EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING=abstain
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A SERIES=The Walking Dead (“Days Gone Bye”)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL=The Pillars of the Earth (“The Work of Angels”)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)=Gettysburg

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR)=Boardwalk Empire (“Boardwalk Empire”)

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE=Mildred Pierce (“Part Five”)

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR) AND ANIMATION=The Office (“Andy’s Play”)

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC SERIES OR SPECIAL=The 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING=Gettysburg

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A SERIES=Game of Thrones (“Fire and Blood”)

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL=The Pillars of the Earth (“Witchcraft”)

OUTSTANDING STUNT COORDINATION=Hawaii Five-0 (“Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau”)

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A SERIES=30 Rock (“Live Show (West Coast)”)

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL=The 53^rd Annual Grammy Awards

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES=The Office (“Good-Bye Michael”)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES=Friday Night Lights (“Always”)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL=Sherlock: A Study In Pink

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES=The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL=abstain

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING=Gettysburg

If you would like to see all of my predictions for the Emmys, go here.

The next three predictions columns will be my final predictions for the Creative Arts Emmys, my final predictions for the Primetime Emmys and my first predictions for next years nominees at the Primetime Emmys.  I will then be switching to columns about the Oscar Race.

The Help Review

During the weeks leading up to The Help (an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's bestselling book), I will be honest and say that I thought this was just going to be another lazy white people saves black people film (ala The Blind Side).  Luckily, I was in for a surprise.  The film that actually came to my mind upon seeing The Help was The Shawshank Redemption.  They have quite a few similarities.  A cast comprised of mainly one gender (women for The Help).  An African-American actor playing one of the leads.  Said role being the actor's iconic role (This is definitely Viola Davis's best performance to date and I wouldn't be surprised if you start hearing her voice everywhere after this one like Morgan Freeman).  A character worried about losing the setting they have known for all of their life.  I could list a lot more but that would get into spoiler territory.  I will say that the most important similarity The Help has with The Shawshank Redemption is that it is a powerful, well acted and tear-jerking film.

If there is one complaint I have with The Help it is that it starts off pretty slow.  It has a huge cast of characters to introduce and it takes its time doing this.  Fortunately, Tate Taylor (who wrote and directed this adaptation of his friend's novel) really has a handle on the material and makes sure the time spent in the long first act pays off in spades in the rest of the film.  I don't think we will have a bigger breakthrough in the director's chair this year than with Taylor.  His work is truly amazing and he really makes Jackson (the town in which the film takes place) a character as real as rest of the ones played by actors.  His screenplay is also solid as it makes a cohesive story out of the many storylines that comprise this film.  It deserves none of the controversy it is receiving from some parts of the film community.

Despite some great achievements from the creative team behind this film, the thing that makes this film sing is the cast.  This ensemble is the greatest showcase of acting in a long time and the film really kicks in when the characters begin to interact with each other (especially when Jessica Chastain's character and Octavia Spencer's character begin working with eachother).

I will start off with the leads of the film.  Emma Stone is the sturdy foundation of the cast.  She doesn't get anything flashy, but she does everything she can to provide a viewpoint into this world for the viewers.  She succeeds in doing so and continues her climb on the list of best young actors.  Much has been said about the other lead in this film, Viola Davis, and all of it is deserving.  She is great throughout the film as she is the perfect voice of the film and somehow is able to convey the very mixed emotions of weariness and hope that her character is supposed to.  I would not have called her outstanding until the last scene of the film.  I won't spoil it but I will say that Davis slays the scene and is the best acted scene of the year.

The relationship in the film that really gets this film going is of course that between Celia (Jessica Chastain) and Minny (Octavia Spencer).  Jessica Chastain is the best in show.  It was amazing how much she made you feel for this character and her tragic ordeals, but what puts her performance over the top is her chameleon-like change from The Tree of Life to this.  She is unrecognizable.  Octavis Spencer, meanwhile, will be the breakthrough actor (and crowd Favorite) from this film.  She steals many of her scenes with her ability to portray confidence and sassiness.

The rest of the highlights from the cast are Bryce Dallas Howard (who portrays one of the best villains on screen this year), Sissy Spacek (who brilliantly plays Bryce Dallas Howard's over-the-top mother), Allison Janney (who provides much of the film's comedy at first but brings your eyes to tears by the end of it) and Cicely Tyson (who breaks your heart in two short sequences).

Notice how I did not mention any male actors.  Another weakness of this film is its inability to write good male performances or have actors perform than with any talent whatsoever.  I guess that is a step up though over the average film (which normally suffers with poor writing for female characters).

Despite some of these minor faults, The Help is the surprise of the year so far.  I would not be surprised if this is referred to as a classic in the years to come.

9/10