Tag: Nominee

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“Elle” Review

The foreign language film which took two Golden Globes both for the film itself as well as Isabelle Huppert’s dramatic role as Michele Leblanc, is putting France on the map with it’s recent Academy Award nomination for best actress.

Sony’s Elle is the tale of tech savvy business woman, Michele Leblanc who goes on a search for the masked man who breaks in a forces himself on her one evening.  Leblanc doesn’t go to the police, for fear of her dark history with her father, but decides to take on the mask man herself.

All in all, the film set clearly in France, is wonderfully staged, from the details in the video game which Leblanc is producing to Huppert’s stunning acting ability as she plays the victim who seems to enjoy the forcefulness of her attacker.  Huppert has a stunning way of delivering her lines that, although in french, the audience captures every moment including the heart pounding realization of just who her attacker really is.

At 2 hours and 10 minutes, it’s a film that even non french speaking audiences will be sitting on the edge of their seats wondering who and what will happen next.

Elle came out in limited theaters, November 11th, 2016 and is still playing at several independent theaters.  It is rated R for language, adult content and graphic nudity, so beware, it’s not a move for the faint at heart, however it is a great movie for the nature and the acting.

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“Moonlight” Review

The independent film about an African-American man, who struggles to find his place in the rough urban neighborhood of Miami Florida is bringing in over 150 wins including Best Picture for a drama at the Golden Globes as well as Best supporting Actress and Actor and is currently up for 8 additional Oscars.

The film chronicles the life of Chiron (Little) (Black) from childhood (roughly ages 10-through his late 20’s) and the situations that he encounters which ultimately shapes him into the man he becomes.  Having to deal with bullying from classmates as well as his drug addicted mother, Chiron finds comfort in the friendliness of Juan, (Mahershala Ali) and his girl, Teresa, (Janelle Monae) who ends up taking him in as a second home, when he can’t go home to his own.

All in all, with a run time of nearly two hours, there is power in the acting from the first scene with Alex Hibbert in his first theatrical debut as “Little”.  Hibbert excels in portraying the troubled young boy who just wants to be accepted, by both his friends and his mother.  Through “Little’s” emotion we see without little words, the deep struggle as well as the beauty in bromance as his only friend, Kevin encourages him to keep fighting.

Moonlight came out in theaters, November 18, 2016, and has brought in over 18 million domestically.  It’s currently still playing in select theaters, leading up to the 89th Annual Academy awards, which will air on February 26, 2017, where we will see if Moonlight has what it takes to win the ultimate award.

See it now either on the big screen or when it comes out on February 28, 2017 after the awards show.

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“Spotlight” Review

One of the Oscar nominated films, Spotlight is still drawing a small number of viewers to theaters across the nation as it brings in over half a million, the last week before the Oscars, bringing its told number up to 57 million worldwide since it opened back in November.

The Independent Newsroom drama stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams as the team of investigative journalists from the Boston Globe uncover the scandal of the century and fight to be the first to break the news in “Spotlight“.

Overall, it’s a film that is packed with powerful performances by Ruffalo, McAdams, and Keaton that show the struggle that real journalists face in dealing with touchy topics in order to get the story and uncover the truth and is definitely worth the consideration for best picture at this year’s Oscar.

In addition to its nomination for best picture, Spotlight also has 5 other nominations, including best supporting actor, best supporting actress, film editing and original screenplay.  The 88th Annual Academy Awards will air on Sunday February 22, 2016 at 7 eastern/ 4 pacific standard time.

Spotlight is currently available to own Tuesday February 23, 2016.  See it.  It’s clearly another classic in the genre along with Citizen Kane as well as All the President’s Men.