2014 Hollywood Film Awards

The Hollywood Film Awards were televised for the first time Friday, November 14th. A little known precursor to awards season, nominees were not announced, only winners presented. All the winners knew ahead of time. This was the 18th annual ceremony for the Hollywood Film Awards and it has previously been a private Hollywood event.

Awards season's opening ceremony, self proclaimed Official Launch of the Award Season -- trademark -- it is the first stomp on the campaign trail to the Oscars. The number of A List actors in attendance and presenting awards seemed confusing for an event with little prestige. Almost as confusing was when the "winners" would say what an honor it was to receive the award. There does seem to be plenty of easily googled photographic evidence of previous awards seasons' top winners appearing at the Hollywood Film Awards first.

Angelina Jolie was a combination of sincere and stern as she described casting Jack O'Donnell in the film Unbroken, which she directed. Johnny Depp was completely wasted when he presented the best documentary winner to Shep Gordon.

A bright spot was Geena Davis' introduction to Michael Keaton's career achievement award and the accompanying montage. The minimum of three shots of Ben Affleck seeming to worry if he'd be a good enough Batman the whole time was also quite amusing. Keaton's performance in Birdman looks to have strong traction for an Academy nod.

All the films and roles honored have good early buzz for awards season. The event seemed like the epitome of Hollywood's self congratulating and endless award shows that many criticize. Great movie montages though. It looks to be as strong of a season as any.

A list of the winners follows the red carpet looks. Best Dressed goes to Reese Witherspoon in J Mendel.

HOLLYWOOD FILM Gone Girl
HOLLYWOOD ACTOR Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER Guardians of the Galaxy
HOLLYWOOD DOCUMENTARY Mike Myers, Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS Julianne Moore, Still Alice
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT Michael Keaton 
HOLLYWOOD ANIMATION How to Train Your Dragon 2
HOLLYWOOD COMEDY FILM Chris Rock, Top Five
NEW HOLLYWOOD Jack O'Connell, Unbroken
HOLLYWOOD ENSEMBLE Foxcatcher
HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
HOLLYWOOD SONG Janelle Monae, "What is Love?" Rio 2
HOLLYWOOD SCREENWRITER Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
HOLLYWOOD BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE ACTOR Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
HOLLYWOOD BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR Jean-Marc Vallee, Wild
HOLLYWOOD Supporting Actress: Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
HOLLYWOOD BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE ACTRESS Shailene Woodley, The Fault in Our Stars
HOLLYWOOD SUPPORTING ACTOR Robert Duvall, The Judge
HOLLYWOOD CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AWARD Jing Tian
HOLLYWOOD VISUAL EFFECTS AWARD Scott Farrar, Transformers: Age of Extinction
HOLLYWOOD FILM COMPOSER AWARD Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
HOLLYWOOD COSTUME DESIGN AWARD Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
HOLLYWOOD EDITING AWARD Jay Cassidy and Dody Dorn, Fury
HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION DESIGN AWARD Dylan Cole and Gary Freeman, Maleficent
HOLLYWOOD SOUND AWARD Ren Klyce, Gone Girl
HOLLYWOOD MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING David White (Special Makeup Effects) and Elizabeth Yanni-Georgiou (Hair Designer and Makeup Designer), Guardians of the Galaxy

Maleficent

Angelina Jolie successfully embodies Disney villainess Maleficent and the storytellers behind the movie provide a fascinating backstory. Jolie dances the perfect line between honoring the iconic role that is so well known and making it her own. She was perfectly cast and gives great depth to the character.

The production value is fantastic. Jolie's make-up and costumes as Maleficent are breaktaking. The look achieved draws on the classic images of the character while adding a fresh twist. There is also story to back up the stunning looks and accessories. The sets and special effects are of the highest quality. Big imagery for story's sake, not just for flash. It seems likely the movie will receive technical nominations for its efforts.

There is much more humor in the dialogue than I would have anticipated and Linda Woolverton wrote an excellent script. The story remains true to the Disney canon while bringing the anticipated new perspective to the movie. A satisfying backstory is provided; it is not sped past too quickly nor dwelled on for too long.

Live action adaptations of fairy tales continue to be an increasing trend in Hollywood, albeit with mixed results. For every Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, there is a Red Riding Hood movie no one can recall and Snow White stories to be mixed up. Disney has many additional projects in production in what has become a genre of its own. Alice Through the Looking Glass has a scheduled 2016 release. The truest teaser trailer ever edited can be seen before Maleficent; only a glass slipper is shown and not even the movie's title is displayed. It is of course for Cinderella. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, featuring Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother, the movie will arrive in theaters March 2015. Live action adaptations of The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and Cruella are also in the works.

Jolie served as an executive producer on the film and to date it has made almost half a billion dollars worldwide. Maleficent is visually stunning and has the substance to support it. Without revealing any plot points, there are modern twists to the story that when paired with the plot of Frozen, seem to signal a change in the predictability of Disney fairy tales.