Vancouver Film Critics Circle Nominees

If you are interested in Canadian films then check out the Canadian nominations. Otherwise, only three nods doesn't tell us much.

BEST FILM

The Social Network
True Grit
Black Swan

BEST ACTOR

Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

BEST ACTRESS

Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale, The Fighter
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST DIRECTOR

David Fincher, The Social Network
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Inside Job
Waiting for “Superman”

BEST SCREENPLAY

Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

BEST CANADIAN FILM

Incendies
Last Train Home
Trigger

BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Paul J. Spence, Fubar II
Jay Baruchel, The Trotsky

BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

Lubna Azabal, Incendies
Molly Parker, Trigger
Tracy Wright, Trigger

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

Jay Brazeau, Fathers & Sons
Maxim Gaudette, Incendies
Dustin Hoffman, Barney’s Version

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

Delphine Chaneac, Splice
Minnie Driver, Barney’s Version
Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Incendies

BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM

Denis Côté, Curling
Bruce MacDonald, Trigger
Denis Villeneuve, Incendies

BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM

Fathers & Sons
Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie
Mighty Jerome

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Carlos (France/Germany)
The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina/Spain)
Mother (Korea)
Un Prophète / A Prophet (France/Italy)

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE FILM INDUSTRY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Chris Haddock

WGA Nominations

Finally, the WGA has posted its nods. I am thrilled that I got the Please Give nod correctly, but who saw the I Love Phillip Morris nod coming? I guess that is what happens when you deem so many scripts ineligible. When it comes to Oscar nods though, the surprise will probably end as Winter's Bone and Toy Story 3 enter the race. In terms of the Original Category, The King's Speech will most likely take out Please Give, and Another Year could sneak in, but at this point, I think it has lost too much steam to even get what used to be an assured screenplay nod.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Black Swan, Screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin; Story by Andres Heinz; Fox Searchlight
• The Fighter, Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Paramount Pictures
• Inception, Written by Christopher Nolan; Warner Bros.
• The Kids Are All Right, Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg; Focus Features
• Please Give, Written by Nicole Holofcener; Sony Pictures Classics

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• 127 Hours, Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy; Based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston; Fox Searchlight
• I Love You Phillip Morris, Written by John Requa & Glenn Ficarra; Based on the book by Steven McVicker; Roadside Attractions
• The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich; Sony Pictures
• The Town, Screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard; Based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan; Warner Bros.
• True Grit, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Based on the novel by Charles Portis; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

• Enemies of the People, Written, Directed, Filmed and Produced by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath; International Film Circuit
• Freedom Riders, Written, Produced and Directed by Stanley Nelson; International Film Circuit
• Gasland, Written and Directed by Josh Fox; HBO Documentary Films and International WOW Company
• Inside Job, Produced, Written and Directed by Charles Ferguson; Co-written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt; Sony Pictures Classics
• The Two Escobars, Written by Michael Zimbalist, Jeff Zimbalist; ESPN Films

London Evening Standard Awards - Nominees

Not really important, but interesting to see what the British think, and which of their films are the most prominent this year.

BEST FILM

Another Year (director Mike Leigh)
The Arbor (director Clio Barnard)
The Illusionist (director Sylvain Chomet)
Kick-Ass (director Matthew Vaughn)
The King’s Speech (director Tom Hooper)
Neds (director Peter Mullan)
Never Let Me Go (director Mark Romanek)

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed (Four Lions)
Jim Broadbent (Another Year)
Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, Never Let Me Go)
Eddie Marsan (The Disappearance Of Alice Creed)
Ewan McGregor (The Ghost)
Sam Riley (Brighton Rock)

BEST ACTRESS

Brenda Blethyn (London River)
Rebecca Hall (Please Give)
Sally Hawkins (Made In Dagenham)
Keira Knightley (Never Let Me Go)
Carey Mulligan (Never Let Me Go)
Kristin Scott Thomas (Partir)
Ruth Sheen (Another Year)
Tilda Swinton (I Am Love)
Olivia Williams (The Ghost)

BEST SCREENPLAY

Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours)
Ben Wheatley and Robin Hill (Down Terrace)
Robert Harris (The Ghost)
Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass)
Clio Barnard (The Arbor)
Alex Garland (Never Let Me Go)

LONDON FILM MUSEUM TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Gareth Edwards for his cinematography, production design and visual effects on Monsters
Jenny Beavan for her costume design for The King’s Speech
Dick Pope for his cinematography on Another Year
Andrew McAlpine for his production design for Made In Dagenham
Dickon Hinchliffe for his score for Winter’s Bone
Mark Tildesley for his production design for The Killer Inside Me

PETER SELLERS AWARD FOR COMEDY

Roger Allam for his performance in Tamara Drewe
Omid Djalili for his performance in The Infidel
Ed Gaughan for his performance in Skeletons
Robin Hill for his performance in Down Terrace
David Thewlis for his performance in London Boulevard

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

J Blakeson writer/director of The Disappearance Of Alice Creed
Tuppence Middleton (for her performances in Skeletons and Chatroom)
Nick Whitfield, director of Skeletons
Ben Wheatley, co-writer and director of Down Terrace
Conor McCarron for his performance in Neds

BEST DOCUMENTARY

A Day In The Life by John Krish
Oil City Confidential by Julien Temple
Enemies Of The People by Thet Sambat and Rob Lemkin
Exit Through The Gift Shop by Banksy
Land Of The Free by Vadim Jean
No Greater Love by Michael Whyte

PGA Nominations

I'll do a full post-game analysis later, but  for now I can say that this is a nice boost for 127 Hours and The Town, who both needed it desperately. However, I think that Winter's Bone will take a spot from one of them, as the PGA goes for bigger films, and the Academy is not afraid to reward smaller ones. However, without SAG, PGA, and WGA (it was ineligible), and most likely DGA as well, it is going to be a tough road to getting a nod.

Best Motion Picture

127 HOURS
Producers: Danny Boyle, Christian Colson

BLACK SWAN
Producers: Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver

INCEPTION
Producers: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas

THE FIGHTER
Producers: David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Producers: Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray

THE KING’S SPEECH
Producers: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin

THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Ceán Chaffin, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

THE TOWN
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Graham King

TOY STORY 3
Producer: Darla K. Anderson

TRUE GRIT
Producers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

DESPICABLE ME
Producers: John Cohen, Janet Healy, Christopher Meledandri

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
Producer: Bonnie Arnold

TOY STORY 3
Producer: Darla K. Anderson

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

EARTH MADE OF GLASS
Producers: Reid Carolin, Deborah Scranton

INSIDE JOB
Producers: Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs

SMASH HIS CAMERA
Producers: Linda Saffire, Adam Schlesinger

THE TILLMAN STORY
Producer: John Battsek

WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’
Producer: Lesley Chilcott

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

“30 Rock” (NBC)
Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, Don Scardino

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
Producers: Alec Berg, Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Tim Gibbons, David Mandel, Erin O’Malley, Jeff Schaffer

“Glee” (FOX)
Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein

“Modern Family” (ABC)
Producers: Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jason Winer, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

“The Office” (NBC)
Producers: Randy Cordray, Greg Daniels, Howard Klein, Paul Lieberstein

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

“Breaking Bad” (AMC)
Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Vince Gilligan, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren

“Dexter” (Showtime)
Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Robert Lloyd Lewis, Clyde Phillips

“Lost” (ABC)
Producers: Jack Bender, Bryan Burk, Carlton Cuse, Ra’uf Glasgow, Jean Higgins, Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Damon Lindelof, Liz Sarnoff, Paul Zbyszewski

“Mad Men” (AMC)
Producers: Lisa Albert, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Matthew Weiner

“True Blood” (HBO)
Producers: Alan Ball, Brian Buckner, Gregg Fienberg, Mark McNair, Nancy Oliver, Raelle Tucker, Alexander Woo

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:

“Murder on the Orient Express” (PBS)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

“Pillars of the Earth” (Starz)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

“Temple Grandin” (HBO)
Producers: Gil Bellows, Scott Ferguson, Emily Gerson Saines, Paul Lister, Alison Owen

“The Pacific” (HBO)
Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Eugene Kelly, Todd London, Cherylanne Martin, Bruce C. McKenna, Steven Shareshian, Steven Spielberg, Tony To, Tim Van Patten, Graham Yost

“You Don’t Know Jack” (HBO)
Producers: Scott Ferguson, Steve Lee Jones, Barry Levinson, Lydia Dean Pilcher

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

“Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” (Travel Channel)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

“Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

“Intervention” (A&E)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

“Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” (Bravo)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

“Undercover Boss” (CBS)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment and Competition Television:

“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Amy Chacon, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

“The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tom Purcell, Allison Silverman, Jon Stewart

“Project Runway” (Lifetime)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO)
Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Dean E. Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin

“Top Chef” (Bravo)
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination

Central Ohio Film Critics Association Nominees

Some interesting nominees, and lots of them. I particularly love the Most Overlooked Film Category and the inclusion of City Island and Please Give, two tiny gems that deserve more credit than they have received.

Best Film
-127 Hours
-Black Swan
-Exit Through the Gift Shop
-The Fighter
-The Ghost Writer
-Inception
-The Kids Are All Right
-The King’s Speech
-Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
-The Social Network
-Toy Story 3
-True Grit
-Winter’s Bone

Best Director
-Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
-Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
-David Fincher, The Social Network
-Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
-Christopher Nolan, Inception

Best Actor
-Jeff Bridges, True Grit
-Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception
-Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
-Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
-James Franco, 127 Hours

Best Actress
-Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
-Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
-Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
-Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
-Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor
-Christian Bale, The Fighter
-Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
-John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
-Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
-Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress
-Amy Adams, The Fighter
-Barbara Hershey, Black Swan
-Melissa Leo, The Fighter
-Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
-Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Ensemble
-Black Swan
-The Fighter
-Inception
-The Kids Are All Right
-The Social Network
-True Grit

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
-Jeff Bridges, Tron: Legacy and True Grit
-Matt Damon, Green Zone, Hereafter, and True Grit
-Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception and Shutter Island
-James Franco, 127 Hours, Date Night, Eat Pray Love, and Howl
-Chloe Moretz, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kick-Ass, and Let Me In

Breakthrough Film Artist
-Greta Gerwig, Greenberg – (for acting)
-Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone – (for directing and screenwriting)
-Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone – (for acting)
-Chloe Moretz, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kick-Ass, Let Me In – (for acting)
-Noomi Rapace, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who
Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – (for acting)
-Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit – (for acting)

Best Cinematography
-Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle, 127 Hours
-Jeff Cronenweth, The Social Network
-Roger Deakins, True Grit
-Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
-Wally Pfister, Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay
-Michael Arndt, Toy Story 3
-Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
-Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
-Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Winter’s Bone
-Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

Best Original Screenplay
-Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell, and Chris Morris, Four Lions
-Noah Baumbach, Greenberg
-Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
-Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, and John McLaughlin, Black Swan
-Christopher Nolan, Inception
-David Seidler, The King’s Speech
-Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson, The Fighter

Best Score
-Daft Punk, Tron: Legacy
-Clint Mansell, Black Swan
-Rachel Portman, Never Let Me Go
-A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
-Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
-Hans Zimmer, Inception

Best Documentary
-Catfish
-Exit Through the Gift Shop
-Inside Job
-Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
-Waiting for ‘Superman’

Best Foreign Language Film
-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor)
-Micmacs (Micmacs à tire-larigot)
-Mother (Madeo)
-A Prophet (Un prophète)
-The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)
-The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte)

Best Animated Film
-Despicable Me
-How to Train Your Dragon
-Tangled
-Toy Story 3
Best Overlooked Film
-City Island
-Exit Through the Gift Shop
-Four Lions
-Let Me In
-Please Give
-Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Notes on the nominees:
-Although thirteen films are nominated for Best Film, only ten will make the final Top 10 list.
-All films that make the final Best Film Top 10 list are ineligible to win Best Overlooked Film.
-Ties in the nomination round produced more than five nominees in categories other than Best Film.

PGA and WGA Predictions

Tomorrow, both the PGA and WGA announce their nominees. Here is a look at how I think things will go down.

PGA Predictions

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Possibilities: Shutter Island, 127 Hours

Commentary: This is a tough race to narrow down to just ten. In my opinion, there are seven locks: Social Network, The King's Speech, Inception, The Fighter, True Grit, Toy Story 3, and Black Swan. I think that The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone are in despite being smaller movies. That leaves one slot for three bigger films, Shutter Island, 127 Hours, and The Town. I am going with The Town for being such a surprise box office hit. However I would not be surprised if TKAAR or Winter's Bone gets left out because both are small movies, and Producers like big movies, plain and simple.

WGA Predictions

Original Screenplay
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
Please Give

Possibilities: Conviction, City Island, The Company Men, Easy A, Get Low, Hereafter, Mother and Child, Secretariat, Solitary Man, Somewhere

Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours
Rabbit Hole
Shutter Island
The Social Network
The Town

Possibilities: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Alice in Wonderland, Let Me In

Commentary: Since the WGA eliminated so many wonderful scripts, it is hard to decide what they are going to do. So I listed all the potential contenders based on reviews as possibilities, even if I know better simply to be safe rather than sorry. In terms of Original, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, or The Kids Are All Right should be locked and loaded. The fifth spot is rather tricky. Someone like Sophia Coppola could sneak in for Somewhere simply due to name recognition. However, I think one of the quirky little comedies such as City Island, Solitary Man, or Please Give could get in instead, so I am going with Nicole Holofcener's wonderful script for Please Give, although since I loved the movie I could be biased.

In the Adapted Category, I think there are only five realistic nominations. The Social Network, The Town, 127 Hours, and Shutter Island seem pretty safe, as they are the most recognizable contenders. In the last spot I am going with Rabbit Hole, simply because it seems more likely than the next possible contenders, all of which are fantasy/horror movies.

Online Film Critics Society Winners

This list looks quite familiar to the Kansas City Film Critics I posted earlier today.

Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Lead Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Lead Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Best Original Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, Inception
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, True Grit
Best Editing: Lee Smith, Inception
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Language Film: Mother
Best Documentary: Exit Through The Gift Shop

Kansas City Critics Circle Winners

Once again a pretty standard list. Nice showing for Inception.

BEST FILM-The Social Network
BEST DIRECTOR-Christopher Nolan, Inception
BEST ACTOR-Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
BEST ACTRESS-Natalie Portman, Black Swan
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR-Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY-Christopher Nolan, Inception
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY-Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM-Mother (Korea)
BEST DOCUMENTARY-Exit Through the Gift Shop
BEST ANIMATED FILM-Toy Story 3
THE VINCE KOEHLER AWARD~for Best Science Fiction,
Fantasy or Horror Film-Inception

Dublin Film Critics Circle

A mixed bag because of release dates, so a lot of contenders from last year. Jennifer Lawrence is the year's big winner with two.

BEST FILM

1. A Prophet
2. Winter’s Bone
3. Toy Story 3
4. The Social Network
5. Dogtooth
6. Inception
7. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives
8. The Road/ Bad Lieutenant
9. Mother
10. The Illusionist/A Room and a Half/Of Gods and Men

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Jacques Audiard, A Prophet
2. David Fincher, The Social Network
3. Werner Herzog, Bad Lieutenant
4. Christopher Nolan, Inception
5. Luca Guadagnino., I Am Love
6. Clio Barnard, The Arbor
7. Joe Weeresethakul, Uncle Boonmee Who Can remember His Past Lives
8. Jessica Hauser, Lourdes /Giorgos Lantimos, Dogtooth
9. Roman Polanski, The Ghost /Sylvian Chomet, The Illusionist/Elia Suileman, The Time that Remains/ Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island
10. Warwick Thornton, Samson and Delilah/ Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, A Room and a Half

BEST ACTRESS

1. Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
2. Lesley Manville, Another Year
3. Tilda Swinton, I Am Love
4. Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe, Precious
5. Hye-ja Kim, Mother
6. Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
7. Catalina Saavedra, The Maid
8. Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
9. Catherine Keener, Please Give
10. Kirsten Scott Thomas, Leaving

BEST ACTOR

1. Tahar Rahim, A Prophet
2. Colin Firth, A Single Man
3. Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
4. Ryan Reynolds, Buried
5. Viggo Mortensen, The Road
6. Nicolas Cage, Bad Lieutenant
7. Casey Affleck, The Killer Inside Me
8. Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart/ Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island
9. Mark Ruffalo, The Kids are Alright
10. George Clooney, Up in the Air /Ben Stiller, Greenberg

BEST IRISH FILM

1. His & Hers
2. Savage
3. The Fading Light
4. The Pipe
5. Zonad
6. All Good Children
7. Pyjama Girls
8. Eamon
9. Foxes
10. Colony

BEST DOCUMENTARY

1. His & Hers
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
3. Restrepo
4. Catfish
5. Good Hair
6. American: The Bill Hicks Story
7. Mugabe and the White African
8. Capitalism: A Love Story/The Pipe
9. Pyjama Girls
10. Colony

BREAKTHROUGH AWARD  - Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
IRISH BREAKTHROUGH AWARD - Ken Wardrop – His & Hers

Review: City Island

So I realized that many of the films that were nominated/won my Awards Psychic Awards never had their reviews posted. Chalk it up to laziness/running out of time/simply forgetting, but I think it is important, that if I liked it enough to nominate it, then you should probably know what I thought of it. So here is the first one over this week. Remember to check back for PGA/WGA nods on Tuesday, and hopefully, a post-game analysis to see how they have shifted the race. For now let's start with a bright, quick little comedy that unfortunately has been lost in the shuffle of this crazy awards season.

City Island is an old fishing village in the Bronx which prides itself on the passing down of homes to children and grandchildren, stressing the importance of family and heritage. Like many families in City Island, The Rizzo family is living in a house built by their grand/great-grandparents, that has been passed on to the next generation. However, like most families, the Rizzos are not as open and close as everyone thinks, as each one of them holds a secret.

Vince (Andy Garcia) is a corrections officer, who hides from his wife that he has ambitions of becoming an actor, and has signed up for an acting class (which includes the wonderful Emily Mortimer and Alan Arkin). His wife, Joyce (Julianna Marguiles) works in an office, and is hiding the fact that she has kept smoking (As does Vince from her), and believes that her husband is having an affair. Their daughter Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorido), lost her scholarship to college, and has yet to tell her parents that she is earning money to go back to school by working at a strip club. Their son, Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller), has a strange obsession with feeding fat women, particularly with the next door neighbor. Finally, the biggest secret of them all, is the fact that the released convict Tony (Steven Strait), is unaware that he is actually the son of Vince, who left his mother before he was born. Upon Tony's arrival, he begins to discover everyone's secret, and as hiding their secrets becomes more difficult, it is not long before the shit hits the fan.

City Island is a quick film, running at a little over an hour and a half, but packs quite a comedic punch in its short time. It is buoyed particularly by its sharp script and its warm, and wonderful cast that plays out the story with humor and a nice touch of realism. Andy Garcia is the standout, giving one his best performances of the last decade, and Julianna Marguiles brings a touch of fiestiness to Joyce, which spices things up. Emily Mortimer's Molly is a welcomed tenderness to an otherwise sometimes tough script, and adds a nice side story that adds a parallel to the Rizzos.

City Island isn't a perfect film, as its short run time is almost too short. Although I do appreciate the fact that it doesn't stay too long at the fair, like many comedies unfortunatelty do too often. Furthermore, while each character gets plenty of screen time to develop, the conclusion comes just a little bit too quickly, and seems to tie up all the loose ends, but in the end it seems just a little too convienent. Overall, City Island doesn't cover any new terrain, and despite its flaws, it turns out to be a fast-paced, highly entertaining family comedy that deserves to be seen.

Oscar Potential: Unfortunately none, but Andy Garcia sure does deserve at least a little attention.

Grade: B+