Showing posts with label Keira Knightley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keira Knightley. Show all posts

Friday, November 14, 2014

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

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Begin Again

Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley make for unexpected musical collaborators in Begin Again, the best kind of indie -- really unique and difficult to put into a box. Some of the most refreshing things about it can not be specified in an effort to avoid spoilers. Often said but there really was a very strong cast. Adam Levine has a solid acting debut, though his role as a musician is not too much of a stretch. British actor James Corden is a great friend to Knightley's character and Hailee Steinfeld and Catherine Keener are equally believable as Ruffalo's estranged family.
No one can play a sympathetic screw-up like Mark Ruffalo. Somehow he manages to make each of his characters fitting that description different from the last. Ruffalo may very well be an Entertainer of the Year with HBO's the Normal Heart and now Begin Again. While he may be the current in a long line of Hulks, he still maintains his indie roots.

It looks as though Begin Again is kicking off an excellent year in independent film. Wish I Was Here, Zach Braff's second directorial effort, opened in limited release this week with solid reviews and Obvious Child was another indie great thus far into 2014. In the fall, the Jason Bateman/Tina Fey family comedy-drama This Is Where I Leave You opens in September, Laggies, also starring Keira Knightley arrives in theaters in October and the Thanksgiving indie Hollidaysburg fittingly debuts in November. God Help The Girl and The One I Love also look promising. Should be a particularly interesting year at the Independent Spirit Awards.