Atlanta Critics

The Atlanta Film Critics have come out with the most exciting and different list so far. Their winners, and runner-ups, are as follows:









BEST PICTURE - THE WRESTLER
runner-up - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ACTOR - MICKEY ROURKE - The Wrestler
runner-up - Sean Penn - Milk

BEST ACTRESS - MELISSA LEO - Frozen River
runner-up - Meryl Streep - Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - JOSH BROLIN - Milk
runner-up - Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - AMY ADAMS - Doubt
runner-up - Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

Amy Winehouse in Guinness Book 2009!

Amy Winehouse was inducted and will be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the new 2009 edition! She is under the music catagory (naturally) and is listed as: MOST GRAMMYS WON BY A BRITISH FEMALE ACT and BEST SELLING BRITISH FEMALE OF ALL TIME!

YAAAA!

Courtney Love Covergirl

Rock Goddess Courtney Love landed the Janurary cover of Elle magazine, and in it she talks about how she is now drug-free, the new songs she is writing, the new band she has formed, and most intruiging how she paved the way for Britney's breakdown and comeback.

" “I had a long, hard fall. I set the stage for Britney to crash and burn. I went through it all first.”

Courtney is on to something, but even she makes Britney look innocent. Courtney has been through a lot from the suicide of her Nirvana frontman husband, drug addiction, arrests, custody battles, jail sentences, plastic surgery, mental institution stays, weight issues and jail terms to name a few. In the interview she even admits that she finally has told her daughter, Frances Bean, that she did in fact use drugs while pregnant with her. Woah.

Courtney is always on top of the rock world for me, and I am glad she is back. And she is looking goooood in these pics!

Adele Remixed

WOW! Adele (one of my favorite new artists this year) has now been bootlegged! Her entire album 19, has been remixed by Mick Boogie. He has taken her soul cd and mixed it with the sounds of 1980's hip hop. Best news? You can download it for free!! Here:

http://www.pressplayfashionforward.com/2008/12/mick-boogie-presents-adele-1988_16.html

Tom - 2 steps back

After a surprising Golden Globe nomination for his comedic turn in Tropic Thunder, Tom Cruise took a step forward in making a comeback, after a couple of rough years where scientology craziness and couch jumping took over his once shining career. His latest movie "Valkerie" was slated to etch his name back onto the A-List and jumpstart his return to the silver screen. However, it has pretty much failed at the box office and been ripped to shreds by critics all over the world - especially Tom's performance. Here are some excerpts:

NY Post:
"The only thing that can definitely be said about this cinematic "adventure" is that Tom Cruise, who has been damaged by his bizarre talk show behavior, may well continue storming the heights of the Scientology hierarchy as a Thetan, but his image as an actor has been finally ruined by Valkyrie, he is truly terrible. One could say worse than ever."

The Berlin Daily:
"It doesn't dare to be popcorn cinema and at the same time lacks any conceptual brilliance. The movie is just a mess all around. Not even the star quality from Tom Cruise, who seems bored and tired, can lift this movie above the feeling of a made-for-tv movie about the fall of Hitler."

San Fran Post:
"Tom Cruise might as well quit, his attempt at acting here is one of the worst performances this year, in one of the worst movies as well."

OUCH!
Nicholas wants to see this one, so I will go with him and judge for myself.

Toronto Critic winners

Who would have ever thought Jean Claude Van Damme's name would appear in a Critics shortlist? The Toronto film critics, oddly enough. They also picked the relatively unknown indie Wendy and Lucy as its best picture (it stars Michelle Williams). All doubt castmates are in the runner-up catagories. Brad and Angie are coming on strong as of late. Mickey takes a win, and Michelle surprisingly takes a win as well. They have an interesting list and here it is:





BEST PICTURE
“Wendy and Lucy”
Runners-up:
“Rachel Getting Married”
“WALL*E”

BEST PERFORMANCE, MALE
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
Runners-up:
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Jean-Claude Van Damme, “JCVD”
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST PERFORMANCE, FEMALE
Michelle Williams, “Wendy and Lucy”
Runners-up:
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, MALE
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Runners-up:
Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Robert Downey, Jr, “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt, “Rachel Getting Married”
Runners-up:
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Viola Davis, “Doubt”

Huston Film Critics Awards

Here we have an interesting tie! We have seen one tie earlier in the season between sean penn and mickey rourke for best actor - but now we have Penelope and Viola tying with the Huston film Critics awards. Interesting.



BEST PICTURE: THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
BEST DIRECTOR: DANNY BOYLE, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: SEAN PENN, MILK
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: ANNE HATHAWAY, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: HEATH LEDGER, THE DARK KNIGHT
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: (TIE) PENELOPE CRUZ - VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA / VIOLA DAVIS - DOUBT
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST: DOUBT

Dallas Critics Winners and Runner-Ups

The Dallas Forth Worth critics are an interesting and exciting group of critics. Not only do they list their winners every year, but the least the 5 runner-ups .. IN ORDER. So its an entertaining list! Here are this years winners, and runner-ups:




BEST FILM - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
2. Milk
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Wrestler
5. The Visitor
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ACTOR - SEAN PENN - MILK
2. Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
3. Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
4. Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
6. Javier Bardem - Vicky Christina Barcelona

BEST ACTRESS - ANNE HATHAWAY - RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
2. Meryl Streep - Doubt
3. Sally Hawkins - Happy Go Lucky
4. Melissa Leo - Frozen River
5. Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long
6. Angelina Jolie - Changeling

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - HEATH LEDGER - THE DARK KNIGHT
2. Josh Brolin - Milk
3. Eddie Marsan - Happy Go Lucky
4. Phillip Seymore Hoffman - Doubt
5. Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder
6. Emile Hirsch - Milk

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - VIOLA DAVIS - DOUBT
2. Penelope Cruz - Vicky Christina Barcelona
3. Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
4. Taraj P. Hensen - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Rosemarie DeWitt - Rachel Getting Married
6. Amy Adams - Doubt

What the hell?

Believe it or not .. the screen version of the ABBA musica Mamma Mia is now the biggest box office hit EVER in the UK. EVER. As in it beat The Dark Knight, it beat all the Harry Potter films, every Lord of the Rings Film, every Star Wars film, it beat Titanic! It has reached 95 MILLION dollars in box office revenue in the UK alone - 571 million worldwide. HOLY SHIT.

The Pre-Winners

So there's been tons of awards already handed out - and were just a month into the Oscar season. Forget the nominees for now - here is the WINNERS so far, and how they rank:

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire - 8 wins
Milk - 3 wins
Wall-E - 2 wins
Happy Go Lucky - 1 win
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 1 win
The Dark Knight - 1 win

BEST ACTOR
Sean Penn - 9 wins
Mickey Rourke - 4 wins
Clint Eastwood - 1 win
Richard Jenkins - 1 win
Ricky Gervais - 1 win

BEST ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins - 7 wins
Anne Hathaway - 2 wins
Meryl Streep - 2 wins
Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road) - 2 wins
Kate Winslet (The Reader) - 1 win
Angelina Jolie - 1 win

BEST S. ACTOR
Heath Ledger - 10 wins
Josh Brolin - 2 wins
Michael Shannon - 1 win

BEST S. ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz - 6 wins
Marisa Tomei - 3 wins
Viola Davis - 2 wins
Rosemarie DeWitt - 2 wins

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Wall-E - 9 wins
Waltz With Bashir - 1 win

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Milk - 3 wins
Doubt - 2 wins
Rachel Getting Married - 1 win
The Wrestler - 1 win
Tropic Thunder - 1 win
Frost/Nixon - 1 win

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Let the Right One In - 5 wins
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 days - 2 wins
Gomorrah - 1 win
Still Life - 1 win
Tell No One - 1 win
Slumdog Millionaire - 1 win

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Man on Wire - 11 wins
My Winnipeg - 1 win
Life of a Jazz Singer - 1 win
Trouble in the Water - 1 win

Revolutionary Road - State of the Race

One movie that many had high hopes for Oscar gold was Revolutionary Road. Although as critics awards have been passed out, it has turned up rather empty handed. Shockingly so, smaller films like Slumdog Millionaire, Happy Go Lucky, The Wrestler, and even Wall-E have taken away the thunder from the Leo/Kate reunion. So, perhaps to throw some love their way, thousands of Rev. Road FYC ads were sent out to voting members of the academy to raise awareness. They are beautiful ads:

Austin Film Critics Awards

The Austin film critics have thrown their love and support to the Dark Knight. I honestly think it will be nominated for best picture this year - and I dont know that I agree with that. Anyhow, they have an interesting list with some different winners:






Top 10 Films:
1. “The Dark Knight
2. “Slumdog Millionaire”
3. “Milk”
4. “Synecdoche, New York”
5. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
6. “The Wrestler”
7. “Wall*E”
8. “Frost/Nixon”
9. “Let the Right One In”
10. “Gran Torino”

Picture: “The Dark Knight”
Director: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight"
Supporting Actress: Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Foreign Language Film: “Let the Right One In”
Documentary Film: “Man on Wire”
Animated Feature: “Wall*E”

Love for Adams and hoffman

Doubt is re-emerging as a huge player for the Oscars this year as all 4 of its lead actors are recieving many nominations (and quite a few wins so far, about 7 for Viola Davis, and 2 for Meryl Streep). However film critics from the New Yorker are praising the performances of the other 2, Phillip Seymore Hoffman and Amy Adams. While Meryl and Viola are landing most of the critical praise, the magazine says never to overlook the 2 supporting characters who, in his opinion, steal the show:

"Phillip Seymore Hoffman is always amazing and the fact that he nearly trumps himself in doubt is work of shear genius."

"In a movie where all the support is being rallied behind the always powerful Meryl Streep, and all the supporting attention is on Viola Davis, its a true shame that Amy Adams is being overlooked, because her performance is indeed the best and most powerful of the bunch."

The FIERCE family

No thats not our president and his wife, its RUPAUL!
WONDERFUL! You go girl!

Rob Zombie's Halloweeen 2!

FANTASTIC news! I am a huge fan of the Halloween series. I think it is by far the best out of the 70's/80's slasher series (Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, etc). Michael Meyers is terrifying and the movies are almost all fantastic (except for part III). When the remake was released, I was skeptical, but excited. I really enjoyed Rob Zombies first two movies - House of a Thousand Corpses and The Devils Rejects. And trust me it didn't dissapoint. It was a clever remake which treaded new waters AMAZINGLY! So I am SO happy and excited the studio has greenlit a sequal which will be written and directed by Rob Zombie again!!! It will begin production in March, with a planned released for .. what else .. Halloween!

Correction

I said the liar Guy Ritchie was getting 50 million of Madonna's money ... I was wrong ... its 92 MILLION!

WHAT THE HELL?!

Twilight cast drama!

After the HUGE success of the first Twilight film, of course the sequal is on the way. However there is much drama surrounding it. First of all there will be a new director, Chris Weitz. Secondly and most surprising, Talor Lautner (pictured) will NOT return as Jacob. Apparently the new director doesnt like him, saying he is too "baby-faced" and doesnt have what it takes to "handle the characters growth in the 2nd film." Drama. Never fear Robert Pattison is back, making triple his salary from the first film. Economy problems be damned.

New Gay Daddies

This is the cutest story of the day! The cute gay penguins in the China zoo have been stealing eggs from "straight" penguin mothers for months now. Zoo keepers locked up the 2 homo penguins so that the eggs would be able to hatch with their mothers. However angry zoo visitors to the Polar Land zoo complained it wasn't fair and that the happy penguins should be allowed to become surrogate fathers. So the zoo agreed, and provided the penguins two eggs laid by an inexperienced first time mother penguin. The zoo keeper said the following:

"They've turned out to be the best parents in the whole zoo. We will try to arrange for them to become real parents themselves with artificial insemination."

Isn't that wonderful. Leads me to think .. if penguins can do it .....

Sharon will DESTROY you

This may be the most exciting news EVER. As you may know, Sharon Osbourne is hosting the Rock Of Love Charm School on VH1, which is one of the most entertaining guilty pleasures you will find on television. The finale will be this Sunday, followed by a reunion special next week. TUNE IN to the reunion special, because drama will go down. Sharon is the host, teaching the skanks of Rock of Love etiquette and such. Well apparently Sharon throws it all out of the window, and for some reason Megan (one of the funniest from the show) gets her very angry and ... Sharon beats the living hell out of her!!! You read it right. 60 something Sharon taking down 20 something Meghan. Apparently it was so bad Megan wouldn't leave the studio without security, fearing Sharon would beat her again in the parking lot, and she is now SUING Mrs. Osbourne. All I can say is that SHARON ROCKS MY WORLD, and I will be watching!!!

Liar

Guy Ritchie has proved himself a liar - when considering his divorce proceedings from the Queen of Pop Madonna. Origionally he stated to the press he didn't want a dime of Madonna's money because he has his own fortune (which he does) and that the marriage was never about money. Yeah .. Ive heard that before. Now he is set to get 50 MILLION dollars of Madonna's money. Booo! Just because your movies have bombed left and right, and Madonna is on the biggest selling tour EVER, doesn't mean you are owed to that chunk of her money!! Stick to your word!!

Oscar Season

So obviously I FREAK out over Oscar season. So those of you who read my blog and maybe want more news articles about pop culture or politics or AMY, dont worry. I will try harder not to let the movie awards take over the blog. And plus its only really 1 more month or so til this is all over. So if you aren't enjoying this (which I am so glad some of you are .. thanks for the emails) don't worry this too will pass. :)

Casey

Pheonix Film Critics Winners

The Pheonix critics have hailed Slumdog Millionaire the top picture of the year, and so has pretty much everyone else. Here we see Marisa Tomei win her THIRD award of the day for best supporting actress! Here is the list

Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

Top Ten Films of 2008 (in alphabetical order)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
In Bruges
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
The Visitor
Wall-E
The Wrestler

Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role
Sean Penn, Milk

Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role
Meryl Streep, Doubt

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Best Acting Ensemble
The cast of Milk

Best Live Action Family Film
High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Best Overlooked Film
In Bruges

Best Animated Film
Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film
Let the Right One In

Best Documentary
Man on Wire

Best Original Song
“The Wrestler” from The Wrestler

Best Performance by a Youth - Male
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by a Youth - Female
Dakota Fanning, Secret Life of Bees

San Diego Film Critics winners!

The San Diego film critics have released their list of winners. We see continued love for Slumdog, Let the Right One In, Man On Wire, and Wall-E. And we have som more love for raising hopefulls Kate Winslet (for the Reader and NOT revolutionary road .. which is being snubbed left and right everywhere) and Marisa Tomei who has won 2 awards today alone! I cannot wait for the wrestler.



Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire
Runner-up: The Dark Knight
Best Foreign Language Film: Let the Right One In
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Animated Film: WALL-E
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy, The Visitor
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Production Design: Donald Graham Burt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Editing: Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Ensemble Performance: Frost/Nixon
Body of Work for 2008: Richard Jenkins for The Visitor, Burn After Reading, Step Brothers, and The Tale of Despereaux

Detroit Film Critics Nominees

This is one of the most exciting lists to be released in a while, because its so different from the others. Here it is in full:


BEST FILM
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire
W
WALL-E
The Wrestler


BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky for The Wrestler
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight
Andrew Stanton for WALL-E

BEST ACTOR
Josh Brolin for W.
Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn for Milk
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo for Frozen River
Meryl Streep for Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder
James Franco for Milk
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Eddie Marsan for Happy-Go-Lucky
Michael Sheen for Frost/Nixon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams for Doubt
Elizabeth Banks for W.
Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Rosemarie DeWitt for Rachel Getting Married
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler

BEST ENSEMBLE
Burn After Reading
Frost/Nixon
Rachel Getting Married
Revolutionary Road
Tropic Thunder

BEST NEWCOMER
Rosemarie DeWitt, actress, Rachel Getting Married
Rebecca Hall, actress, Frost/Nixon and Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Danny McBride, actor, Pineapple Express
Martin McDonough, writer/director, In Bruges
Dev Patel, actor, Slumdog Millionaire
Catinca Untaru, actress, The Fall


* shocking and surprising to see Amy Adams up for best supporting, and not Viola Davis. Good for Amy!
* the love for W is something new. and something great - coz i loved it.

San Fran Winners

The San Francisco Critics have hailed Milk, a film about San Francisco and gay rights, its best picture - no real shock there. However, wonderfully Let the Right One In (a fantastic twisted vampire film which I have reviewed) has won their best foreign picture catagory, and Marisa Tomei gets a win for her work in the Wrestler. Here's the full list:

Best Picture - Milk
Best Director - Gus Van Sant, Milk
Actor - (TIE) Sean Penn, Milk and Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Actress - Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Supporting Actress - Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Documentary - My Winnipeg
Foreign - Let the Right One In