SAG Award Nominees 2013

FILM
Ensemble Cast
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
The Butler

Lead Actor
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Lead Actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

TV
Ensemble – Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland

Ensemble – Comedy
30 Rock
Arrested Development
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Veep

Actor – Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newswroom
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Actress – Drama Series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Kerry Washington, Scandal

Actor – Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Actress – Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Actor — TV Movie or Miniseries
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Jeremy Irons, The Hollow Crown
Rob Lowe, Killing Kennedy
Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Actress – TV movie or Miniseries
Angela Bassett, Betty & Coretta
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
Holly Hunter, Top of the Lake
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

STUNTS
Television Stunt Ensemble:
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
The Walking Dead
Homeland

Film Stunt Ensemble:
All Is Lost
Fast and Furious 6
Lone Survivor
Rush
The Wolverine

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Rita Moreno

AFI's Top Ten of 2013

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Fruitvale Station
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
The Wolf of Wall Street

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
The Americans
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
House of Cards
Mad Men
Masters of Sex
Orange Is The New Black
Scandal
Veep

Frozen wins weekend box office

Identity Thief - DVD Review

Starring Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Amanda Peet, Robert Patrick, Jon Favreau, Morris Chestnut and John Cho. Directed by Seth Gordon.

★½

The star and director of Horrible Bosses reunite for a movie that's no where near as funny, talented as though the cast may be. I don't know what they were thinking with this one.

It spends the first half establishing that Julia (McCarthy) is one of the least likable characters ever, an identity thief who destroys people's credit without conscience, overindulging on everything.  When normal guy Sandy Patterson (Bateman, doing his usual stressed-out straight-man routine) becomes her latest victim, he drives down to Florida to retrieve her and bring her back to Colorado, where she can get his credit restored instantly instead of him having to wait several months.

Between the contrived situations they find themselves in, the movie tries to have a heart and make this more of a Planes Trains & Automobiles type movie. It's too jarring a shift and too wimpy an ending.

Only God Forgives - DVD Review

Starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, Rhatha Phongham, Gordon Brown and Tom Burke.
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.

★

I get the feeling this is a movie that Refn and Gosling just had to get out of their system. I had higher hopes for their second collaboration, after they'd made the excellent Drive, but my guess is that Drive was more of the exception than the rule for the rest of Refn's career.

This movie is all macho posing while dark lights put actors in music-video scenes. Ryan Gosling is Julian, a gangster who runs a boxing ring in Thailand. When Julian's scumbag brother Billy is killed, Crystal, the matriarch of this crime family (Kristin Scott Thomas), flies in and demand some heads roll.  There's no reason to root for Julian, since Billy pretty much deserved what he got, but in a film where almost everyone's evil, well, people are going to suffer.

The antagonist here is Chang, head of the local police force, and the man who condoned Billy's murder. He likes to dispense justice with a sword. So while a showdown with Julian seems inevitable, the showdown with Crystal was more intriguing to me (even though it stank). After all, Julian looks like he's barely awake through most of the movie. That look on his face in the poster? he has that expression the entire movie.

People walk slowly in this movie, and it usually feels like Refn is trying to pad the runtime, which is a mercifully short 89 minutes.

The Iceman - DVD Review

Starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer, James Franco, Robert Davi, John Ventimiglia and Stephen Dorff. Directed by Ariel Vroman.

★★½

Michael Shannon is a terrific presence, and he needs it here in this undercooked biopic about one of America's most notorious killers - Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski.  It starts out interesting enough, almost a Donnie Brasco vibe to the proceedings, as low-man on the totem pole works his way up because he's so good at killing.  Ray Liotta plays Ray DeMeo, the boss that gave him a chance for higher profile hits for the Gambino family.

As the story goes, it gets repetitive after a while. We see Kuklinski kill someone, and then we see him kill someone, and then we see him kill someone, and then we see him kill someone, and then we get a scene where he enjoys his wife and two daughters, oblivious to how he really earns his money, and then we see him kill someone...

I liked Winona Ryder and Chris Evans in their roles. No complaints as far as acting goes; I just wish the film had more purpose behind what story it's trying to tell.

Captain Phillips - Movie Review

Starring Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi and Catherine Keener.
Directed by Paul Greengrass.

★★★★

I saw this a while back but noticed I never wrote a review. It'll probably be at the $2 theaters soon if it isn't already.  We'll probably see some sort of re-release when award-season ramps up, which'll be any day now.

Tom Hanks does his best work since Saving Private Ryan as Captain Phillips, an ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary situation. His money shot comes in the final few minutes, just raw, true emotion.  The journey that gets us there has a docu-drama feel that only director Paul Greengrass (United 93) can deliver.

Catching Fire #1, Frozen #2

Frozen would have the new record for the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, except that Hunger Games: Catching Fire beat it.  They were a 1-2 punch, and nothing else in the marketplace could find oxygen.  The other new releases were relatively ignored and should disappear quickly.

The only new wide release next week is Out of the Furnace, where Batman and Haymitch face off.

From BoxOfficeMojo.com

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Movie Review

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Lenny Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields and Amanda Plummer.
Directed by Francis Lawrence.

★★★½

I liked the first movie. I read the books, felt the first book was the strongest, and the movie was a pretty faithful adaptation. I had reservations about how the rest of the franchise would go, but I was impressed at how they were able to improve not only on the second book but on the first movie.  Yes, it is one of those rare sequels where it's better than the first one.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is living in District 12, almost a year since the Games. She's having nightmares and other symptoms of PSTD, but before the next Hunger Games begin, she and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are supposed to do a victory lap through the districts before meeting back at the Capital.

Pres. Snow (Donald Sutherland) isn't happy with their being two winners from the last Hunger Games, and he doesn't like the symbol of hope that Katniss is becoming. He and new gamesmaster Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman) devise a way to crush her. They change the rules of the Hunger Games and make the next one an All-Star edition, where 24 previous winners will be forced to fight.

I was grateful to see the shaky-cam style of Gary Ross gone. Director Francis Lawrence knows how to direct spectacle. The story also benefits from having adults in the Games. No chance for a scared kid to get offed here; these are all experienced winners.  Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright and Amanda Plummer are among the contestants, and they do great.

The movie's success still hinges on its leading lady, and Jennifer Lawrence once again shows she's going to rule Hollywood for the next decade.

Ender's Game - Movie Review

Starring Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Ben Kingsley and Abigail Breslin.
Directed by Gavin Hood.

★★★

It's been forever since I read the book so while I remember the basics and the ending, there was still a good amount of discovery for me to do.
I liked the central performance of Asa Butterfield (Hugo) as Ender, a brilliant but alienated child, in training to become the next great military tactitian on a future Earth that's being threatened by an alien race.  There are times it can feel confining (most of it takes place on a space station), but the plot is paced nicely between progress and discovery.

Ford, Davis and Kingsley are the adults who provide the gravitas, and this is the best Ford's been in years, as though he actually cared about this movie being good.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire sets November box-office record

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has the new record for highest box-office opening in November. It out-opened the original by $9 million, and the original went on to gross $400 million domestic and $691 million worldwide.  It looks to go about even on the domestic front but they're expected more success overseas this time around.

Delivery Man was the alternative title, and it just showed Vince's days of carrying a picture are behind him.  Dallas Buyers' Club, hailed as containing the best performance of Matthew McConaughey's career, did okay in expansion, but it could use the Golden Globe nominations being announced right about now, as could 12 Years a Slave.

From BoxOfficeMojo.com:

Thor: The Dark World - Movie Review

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Russo, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi and Jaimie Alexander.
Directed by Alan Taylor.

★★★

The sequel to the superhero movie is the one with the most opportunity to be interesting. You've done your origin-story heavy-lifting in the first one, now give us a regular adventure.  Superman II, Spider-Man 2, and The Dark Knight are some examples of the successful superhero sequel.  Was Thor able to achieve the same success?

For the most part, yes. While The Dark World won't be hailed as a classic, it's still a ripping yarn that combines elements of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings with the already established Marvel sensibilities.

Thor is a little grounded after his first film and his detour helping The Avengers.  Now he must restore peace in Asgard and the nine realms, but a new, ancient menace has reawakened.  There's this billion-year-old space blob of destruction hidden in the middle of a distant planet, but when Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) finds herself sucked through a wormhole, she lands next to it and wakes it up.  Ruh-roh.

It takes us a while to get to that point.  I appreciated that most of this movie took place away from Earth, and it gave Jane the chance to be the fish-out-of-water this time around.  Portman seems to be having a lot of fun, and Hemsworth is more relaxed in his role. The real star though is Loki (Tom Hiddleston).  The villain in Thor's story the past two movies, he's been imprisoned for life in Asgard's dungeons, but Thor hits a point where he needs Loki's help, and I liked watching the whole time wondering if Loki was capable of turning a new leaf, or when was that inevitable betrayal going to happen?

Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo make fine godly parents, and they actually gave Russo a little more to do.  Idris Elba's back as the Guardian, although I could have sworn his character died in the first one.  No complaints.  Jaimie Alexander should be the next Wonder Woman. This movie had a little too much Kat Dennings for my taste.  She's fine here and there, but her shtick grew tiresome for me, like she still expected to have her 2 Broke Girls laughtrack follow her every line.

12 Years A Slave - Movie Review

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, Alfre Woodard, Adepero Oduye, Garret Dillahunt, Michael K. Williams, Bryan Batt, Taran Killam, Scoot McNairy and Quvenzhane Wallis.
Directed by Steve McQueen.

★★★★

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender

Probably the best movie on slavery since Roots. But very difficult to watch.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Serenity, Salt) stars in the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man living in 1841 New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South.  Solomon is an educated man, well off from what we can tell as a violinist for hire.  He is our window to the experience, and it's a shrewd way to let us in.  Solomon is not a slave, nor is anyone in the audience, and so it makes easier to relate to the horrors thrust upon him, as opposed to someone who just grew up with it as their lot in life.

I've read some articles recently on trauma and PSTD, both what it does to children and to adults, but then there's the entire spectrum of damage done by slavery.  What does it do to generations beaten and imprisoned their entire life, family routinely removed from them, dehumanized daily.  What does it do to generations to raise them believing these humans over here aren't really humans so you can torture them and degrade them all you like.

Some of us descend from psychopaths who were okay with treating other people worse than animals.  Some of us descend from those other people who lived their entire lives at the mercy of those psychopaths.  How can a nation heal from such origins?

There's a scene where Solomon, on his way to the store, runs into some white men about to hang two black men.  And it's all treated so casually by everyone else in the scene.  The white men are just doing what's done, the black men know they can't do anything to resist, and Solomon has to walk away in despair as he hears the death throes of the slaves behind him.

Director Steve McQueen has an unflinching eye in the brutality.  There's another scene where Solomon is strung by his neck and his toes can barely touch the muddy ground.  We keep hoping the scene will cut away to something else, but it stays on him, and we hear him choking, and in the background, we see the other slaves ignore and go about their day. This is just the way life is.

Solomon spends most of his 12 years under a mentally unstable alcoholic named Epps (Michael Fassbender).  Epps has a mantra that "a man can do whatever he likes with his property." Epps' wife (Sarah Paulson), in ways, is as evil as he is, for when she gets upset, she wants to see some slaves beaten.  Slavery in all its brutality could only happen if there were women in on it.

I view it similar to Passion of the Christ, in that it's very violent, but it also leaves you with a lingering sense of the scope of suffering.  I was impressed with the pacing of it, and the way each event led to the next.  This is sure to get award nominations for Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actor (Fassbender) and Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o, as slave-girl Patsey who unfortunately is liked by Epps).

One other note: there's a scene when a supervisor played by Paul Dano starts singing "Run N----r Run" to the slaves. It shows off his own deranged joy at keeping slaves in their place, but it also seems relevant to the headlines of today with Richie Incognito and others are still using the word. Let's just say I agree with Isiah Thomas's take on it.

Maleficent - Movie Trailer

Thor 2 wins box office, Best Man 2 is #2

Noah - Movie Trailer

NOAH, starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone and Logan Lerman. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan).

Thor wins weekend box office

From BoxOfficeMojo:

Marvel's mega-domination of the box-office continues.  As unlikely a giant franchise Iron Man was before we saw it, I'm even more impressed by the Thor franchise.

Ender's Game saw a big drop in week 2, but with only one wide release next week (The Best Man Holiday) the top ten could enjoy small declines until next week, when Catching Fire and Delivery Man hit.

TV Ratings for week of November 3-9

First number is the 18-49 demo; second number is total viewers.

1 Sun NBC Sunday Night Football (8:30-11PM)           6.3   17.04
2 Thu CBS   The Big Bang Theory                                  4.9   16.89
3 Wed ABC The 47th Annual CMA Awards (8-11PM) 4.7 16.76
4 Mon NBC The Voice (8-10PM)                                 3.6   11.75
5 Tue NBC The Voice (9-11PM)                                 3.4   11.3
6 Sun NBC Football Night in America/ Pre-Kick          3.4 9.42
7 Mon CBS   How I Met Your Mother                            3.4   8.67
8 Sun CBS  60 Minutes                                                3.2 15.81
9 Tue CBS  NCIS                                                         2.9   19.18
10 Mon NBC The Blacklist                                              2.9   10.34
11 Thu ABC Scandal                                                        2.8   8.66
12 Thu ABC Grey's Anatomy                                           2.7 8.68
13 Thu CBS  The Millers                                                 2.6   10.38
14 Mon CBS  Mike & Molly -P                               2.6   9.22
15 Mon CBS  2 Broke Girls                                             2.6   8.12
16 Thu NBC  The Voice (8-9PM) -R                                2.5  9.74
17 Wed CBS  Survivor Blood vs Water                            2.5 9.29
18 Tue ABC Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.                 2.5   7.15
19 Mon FOX Sleepy Hollow                                            2.5   7.08
20 Sun FOX Family Guy                                                 2.5 4.87
21 Tue CBS  NCIS: LA                                                 2.4 14.76
22 Sun FOX The Simpsons                                              2.4 5.43
23 Wed CBS  Criminal Minds                                             2.3 9.7
24 Sun ABC Once Upon A Time                                        2.3 7.55
25 Mon ABC Castle                                                         2.2 10.87
26 Sun CBS  The Amazing Race                                         2.1 9.38
27 Thu CBS  The Crazy Ones                                         2.1 8
28 Tue NBC The Biggest Loser                                         2.1 6.82
29 Mon ABC Dancing with the Stars (8-10PM)                 2 13.72
30 Thu CBS  Two and a Half Men                                   2 8.27
31 Mon CBS  Mom                                                         2 7.38
32 Fri ABC Shark Tank                                                 2 7.25
33 Mon FOX Bones                                                         2 6.97
34 Tue FOX New Girl                                                         2 3.85
35 Tue CBS  Person Of Interest                                         1.9 11.79
36 Sun FOX American Dad                                                 1.9 3.75
37 Fri CBS  Undercover Boss                                         1.8 9.34
38 Wed CBS  CSI                                                                 1.8 9.08
39 Thu CBS  Elementary                                                 1.8 8.89
40 Sun FOX Bob's Burgers                                                 1.8 3.75
41 Sun ABC Revenge                                                         1.7 6.33
42 Sun CBS  The Good Wife                                           1.6 10.22
43 Tue FOX Brooklyn Nine-Nine                                         1.6 3.84
44 Wed NBC Law And Order: SVU                                 1.5 5.65
45 Tue ABC The Goldbergs                                                 1.5 4.89
46 Wed FOX The X Factor (8-10PM)                                 1.5 4.54
47 Fri FOX MasterChef Jr                                              1.5 4.21
48 Thu FOX Glee                                                                 1.5 4.01
49 Tue FOX The Mindy Project                                         1.5 2.88
50 Fri CBS  Hawaii Five-0                                             1.4 9.39
51 Fri ABC Last Man Standing                                         1.4 6.18
52 Fri ABC 20/20                                                         1.4 5.98
53 Wed NBC Revolution                                                  1.4 5.21
54 Thu NBC Sean Saves the World                                 1.4 4.55
55 Tue FOX Dads                                                         1.4 3.65
56 Fri CBS  Blue Bloods                                                 1.3 10.98
57 Fri NBC Grimm                                                         1.3 4.94
58 Thu NBC Parenthood                                                 1.3 3.88
59 Thu CW   The Vampire Diaries                                         1.3 2.59
60 Thu FOX The X Factor                                                 1.2 3.67
61 Mon CBS  Hostages                                                         1.1 4.79
62 Fri ABC The Neighbors                                               1.1 4.55
63 Wed NBC Dateline NBC                                                 1.1 4.4
64 Tue ABC Trophy Wife                                                 1.1 3.66
65 Fri NBC Dateline                                                         1 5.6
66 Thu NBC The Michael J Fox Show                            1 3.45
67 Sun ABC Betrayal                                                      1 3.44
68 Fri NBC Dracula                                                      1 2.99
69 Wed CW   Arrow                                                         1 2.8
70 Thu ABC Once Upon A Time in Wonderland                 0.9 3.55
71 Tue CW   Supernatural                                                 0.9 2.15
72 Tue CW   The Originals                                                 0.9 2.03
73 Tue ABC Spotlight With Robin Roberts: CMA Awards 0.7 3.39
74 Fri FOX Sleepy Hollow -R                                         0.6 1.86
75 Thu CW   Reign                                                         0.6 1.64
76 Wed CW   The Tomorrow People                                 0.6 1.56
77 Fri CW   America's Next Top Model                         0.4 1.05
78 Mon CW   Hart Of Dixie                                                 0.4 1
79 Fri CW   The Carrie Diaries                                         0.3 0.8
80 Mon CW   Beauty And The Beast                                 0.3 0.68

NBC

What works for them?  

Football, The Voice, The Blacklist, The Biggest Loser

What doesn't? Sitcoms, non-Spader dramas, Dateline

Dateline's dirt cheap to produce so NBC is okay plugging it in here and there. Dracula and The Michael J. Fox are guarantees to be cancelled, and this should be the last year for Parenthood and Revolution.  Sean Saves the World just might last because NBC has no other choice.

ABC

What works for them?  Award shows, dramas.

What doesn't?  Sitcoms. Modern Family is a hit and anything that gravitates near it does okay, but their Tuesday bloc of comedy is failing.

Guarantees for cancellation:  Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Trophy Wife, Betrayal, The Neighbors.

CBS

What works for them?  Just about everything.

What doesn't? Luring in younger viewers. If the networks cared mostly about total viewers, CBS would be the undisputed king.  Person of Interest may have triple New Girl's viewers on Tuesday, but New Girl has the 18-49 edge.

Guarantees for cancellation:  Hostages. And The Mentalist shouldn't stay comfortable.

FOX

What works for them?  Sleepy Hollow and cartoons.

What doesn't? The X Factor. The Simon Cowell competition show is just one too many. The Voice is more fun, and American Idol is more of a staple when it returns in the spring. Glee has also had a big drop in viewers since the Cory Monteith curiosity factor has faded.

Guaranteed to be cancelled: Dads, and maybe The X Factor.

CW

They're in last.