2014 Oscar nominees revealed

2014 Oscar nominees revealed

This morning in Hollywood, the nominees for the 2014 Oscars have been revealed.

Here's the breakdown of who's up for an Academy Award in March.

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Best Actor
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska

Best Original Song
“Alone Yet Not Alone,” Alone Yet Not Alone; music by Bruce Broughton, lyrics by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy,” Despicable Me 2; music and lyrics by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go,” Frozen; music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song,” Her; music by Karen O., lyrics by Karen O. and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love,” Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom; music by Paul Hewson, Dan Evans, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, a.k.a. U2; lyrics by Paul Hewson, a.k.a. Bono

Best Animated Feature
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

Best Documentary — Feature
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom

Best Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium
The Great Beauty, Italy
The Hunt, Denmark
The Missing Picture, Cambodia
Omar, Palestine

Best Original Score
John Williams, The Book Thief
Steven Price, Gravity
William Butler and Owen Pallett, Her
Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks

Best Cinematography
Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster
Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
Roger A. Deakins, Prisoners

Best Production Design
Judy Becker (Production Design); Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration), American Hustle
Andy Nicholson (Production Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (Set Decoration), Gravity
Catherine Martin (Production Design); Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration), The Great Gatsby
K.K. Barrett (Production Design); Gene Serdena (Set Decoration), Her
Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Alice Baker (Set Decoration), 12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews, Dallas Buyers Club
Stephen Prouty, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny, The Lone Ranger

Best Costume Design
Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster
Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby
Michael O’Connor, The Invisible Woman
Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave

Best Film Editing
Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten, American Hustle
Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips
John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa, Dallas Buyers Club
Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity
Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave

Best Visual Effects
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould, Gravity
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick, Iron Man 3
Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier, The Lone Ranger
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton, Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Sound Mixing
Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro, Captain Phillips
Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro, Gravity
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland, Inside Llewyn Davis
Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow, Lone Survivor

Best Sound Editing
Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns, All Is Lost
Oliver Tarney, Captain Phillips
Glenn Freemantle, Gravity
Brent Burge, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Wylie Stateman, Lone Survivor

Best Documentary — Short
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Best Live Action Short
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

Best Animated Short
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

The Razzies 2014 are here

The Razzies 2014 are here

Here's the full list of the Razzies which have been announced today:

WORST PICTURE
After Earth
Grown Ups 2
The Lone Ranger
A Madea Christmas
Movie 43

WORST ACTOR
Johnny Depp: The Lone Ranger
Ashton Kutcher: Jobs
Adam Sandler: Grown Ups 2
Jaden Smith: After Earth
Sylvester Stallone: Bullet To The Head, Escape Plan, Grudge Match

WORST ACTRESS
Halle Berry: Movie 43, The Call
Selena Gomez: Getaway
Lindsay Lohan: The Canyons
Tyler Perry: A Madea Christmas
Naomi Watts: Diana, Movie 43

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lady Gaga: Machete Kills
Salma Hayek: Grown Ups 2
Katherine Heigl: The Big Wedding
Kim Kardashian: Tyler Perry’s Temptation
Lindsay Lohan: In-App-Propriate Comedy, Scary Movie 5

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Chris Brown: Battle Of The Year
Larry the Cable Guy: A Madea Christmas
Taylor Lautner: Grown Ups 2
Will Smith: After Earth
Nick Swardson: A Haunted House, Grown Ups 2

WORST DIRECTOR
The 13 People Who Directed Movie 43
Dennis Dugan: Grown Ups 2
Tyler Perry: A Madea Christmas, Temptation
M. Night Shyamalan: After Earth
Gore Verbinski: The Lone Ranger

WORST SCREEN COMBO
The Entire Cast of Groan-Ups, Too
The Entire Cast of Movie 43
Lindsay Lohan & Charlie Sheen: Scary Movie 5
Tyler Perry & EITHER Larry the Cable Guy OR That Worn-Out Wig & Dress: A Madea Christmas
Jaden Smith & Will Smith on Planet Nepotism: After Earth

WORST SCREENPLAY
After Earth: Screenplay by Gary Whitta and M. Night Shyamalan, Story by Will Smith
Grown Ups 2: Written by Fred Wolfe & Adam Sandler & Tim Herlihy
The Lone Ranger: Screen Story & Screenplay by Ted Elliott, Justin Haythe & Terry Rosso
A Madea Christmas: Written by Tyler Perry
Movie 43: Written by 19 “Screenwriters”

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
Grown Ups 2
Hangover III
The Lone Ranger
Scary Movie 5
Smurfs 2

V/H/S2 DVD Review

V/H/S 2 DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

The second of the anthology hits the shelves after the success of the first.

Loosely, it's a collection of vignettes sown together by various directors and threaded together by a narrative thread. The first collection didn't quite work in terms of the threads, but this time a bit more care's been given to the story.

A private investigator and colleague break in to a house to track down a missing kid and end up watching video tapes to try and see where he may be. But it turns out this collection of oddities on tapes may have more going on than they realise.

V/H/S2 is a bit of a mixed bag to be honest - the four intertwined stories are of better quality than the first set of stories but they don't quite hit the mark other than in their weirdness and lack of real logic / story. (Which perhaps is the idea) In terms of inventiveness they work a bit better with various directors being crafty in their execution - a zombie attack filmed from a GO Pro camera, an alien abduction from the camera on a dog's head show some style and flair.

The interlinking narrative works better as well - but overall, the boost in actual quality somehow detracts from the overall effect of it. V/H/S2 is not exactly a failure - horror fans will enjoy, but the casual viewer may feel that a lo-fi touch from the first actually added a lot more than was expected.

Extras: Behind the scenes pieces with the directors

Rating:

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit: Movie Review

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit: Movie Review

Cast: Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh
Director: Kenneth Branagh

It's a reboot for Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan character, made so famous by Harrison Ford's portrayal in films like Patriot Games.

This time around, the film's given a contemporary once over as Chris Pine's Jack Ryan goes from enlisting after the horrors of 9/11, being injured and scoring a role within the CIA as a covert analyst. (All within the space of the film's opening 10 minutes)

Ryan's skill? He's a PHD analyst who crunches the data but having worked on Wall Street, Ryan's managed to find a scheme concocted by Russia to bring down the U.S economy and wreak global chaos.

With his handler Harper (Kevin Costner in a quietly restrained and impressive turn), Jack's thrust into the world of being an active agent after an attempt on his life - and in direct conflict with Victor Cheverin (Kenneth Branagh, also on directorial duties complete with emotionless Russian robotic accent). But saving the world isn't just the biggest problem Ryan's facing - he's also got to try and keep his relationship with his in-the-dark other half Kathy (Keira Knightley) alive as well....

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is apparently Tom Clancy's last film as a writer before his death in October last year and it's not a bad attempt at a sophisticated thriller, but a bit of a misfire in terms of an action-packed thriller.

Though it has to be said, some of the film cripples itself quite badly with its typical pulpy touches which are more suited to the page than screaming originality on the big screen.

The film jumps around global hopping style in its opening moments as the geo-politic thriller gets underway, and rather than being dizzying and exciting, it's sort of limp and unexciting, despite establishing Pine's Ryan as a man of the people (he cares for his colleagues, his fallen brothers).

There are your typical cinematic big sweeping bon mots too that you'd expect of a global thriller of its ilk - including "It's an act of economic war" and "We're on a godamned luxury boat here, don't rock it"- which are all uttered with straight faces and from under very worried brows that it's vexing rather than suspenseful.

Pine and Costner are impressive as the leads; Costner delivers a low key understated turn as the handler and Pine brings his stoic talents to the fore as Ryan. But neither of them can really lift the perfunctory almost workmanlike tone of the film, which is pulled together with varying degrees of success by Branagh. While some of his pared back action scenes are tautly impressive, none really stand out as original unfortunately and the directorial flair is lacking - even though his Russian backdrops serve him well.

The worst part of the east vs west vibe of the film though is the narrative that allows Keira Knightley's Cathy into the spy world. Initially clueless at Ryan's duplicitousness, she's brought in to take part in the sting that could decide the fate of the world - it's this turn of events which throws any limited credibility out of the window from what was a relatively intelligent premise into a spy trope you've seen millions of times before.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit lacks a little of the killer instinct needed; those hoping for high blockbuster thrills and action scenes all over the place will be underwhelmed.

Rating:

An Adventure in Space and Time: DVD Review

An Adventure in Space and Time: DVD Review

Rating:
Released by BBC and Roadshow Home Entertainment

Released as sci-fi series Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary in November last year, this drama is about the series' origins and creation way back in 1963.

It charts the story of who Who actually was and how a young female producer called Verity Lambert broke through the glass ceiling of the male-run BBC back when it was all testosterone and bravado.

It's also the story of how William Hartnell, the man who played the First Doctor, got the role of a lifetime and then had to leave it...

More than being a story about Doctor Who, it's really a time capsule and a wonderfully poignant drama that oozes love and charm. David Bradley is exceptional in the role of Hartnell, with many of the foibles of the actor being discussed but never used against him in this drama. Likewise Call The Midwife star Jessica Raine impresses as Lambert; but it's the overall production of this piece which gives it such a warm glow.

From stunningly good recreations to lovingly crafted cameos, this piece does more than encapsulate the charm of the show - it's a magical love letter to how the BBC worked, how drama was made and how in a world pre-CGI, dreams became television reality. It's more than something which should be seen by just Doctor Who fans - it's a nostalgic slice of drama for all.

Extras: Brief behind the scenes pieces and recreations of iconic scenes

Rating:

Game of Thrones Season 4 trailer is here

Game of Thrones Season 4 trailer is here

Get ready, GoT fans - here is your first look at season 4 of Game of Thrones.

The show's due to debut on HBO in April this year.

The Golden Globe 2014 winners

The Golden Globe 2014 winners

Not even a burst sewerage pipe (aka sprinkler as the spin machines would have it) could keep the glamour away from the red carpet in Hollywood as the Golden Globes 2014 awards were handed out.

Cutting through all the glitz and glamour, here's a list of the winners of the 2014 Golden Globe Awards:

Best Drama - 12 Years a Slave Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama - Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama - Cate Blanchett
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: American Hustle
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street
Best TV Series - Musical or Comedy: "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"
Best Director - Motion Picture: Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity
Best Actress in a TV Series - Musical or Comedy: Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation"
Best Animated Film: Frozen
Best actor in a TV series, mini-series or TV film - Michael Douglas
Best Foreign Language Film - The Great Beauty
Best Actor in a TV comedy or musical - Andy Samberg
Best Screenplay - Spike Jonze - Her
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress in a TV series, Drama - Robin Wright, House of Cards
Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Amy Adams
Best Supporting Actor in TV Series or Movie: Jon Voight
Best Original Song - "Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Best TV Series - Breaking Bad
Best Actor in a TV Drama - Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Best TV Movie / Miniseries - Behind The Candelabra
Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries - Elisabeth Moss - Top of the Lake
Best Supporting Actress, Miniseries - Jacqueline Bisset
Best Supporting Actress in a movie - Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle