Tag: Lincoln

MCDave’s 2012 Movie Awards

by MCDave

In honor of the Academy Award Nominations which will be announced on Thursday January 10th, I give you my personal 2012 year-end movie awards. 2012 proved to be an extraordinary year in cinema (view my top ten films of 2012), one that will certainly leave its mark in history. Having seen nearly 100 new releases over this past calendar year, here’s my top 5 picks for each of the 6 major races:

Notable films I missed in 2012: Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Skyfall and Rust and Bone

 

Best Supporting Actress

#5 Sally Field – Lincoln

#4 Amy Adams – The Master

#3 Helen Hunt – The Sessions

#2 Pauline Collins – Quartet

and the winner is …

#1 Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

 Much like the Academy is sure to do in late February, I reward Anne Hathaway with the Best Supporting Actress role of 2012. For all of the focus on Jean Valjean’s character in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, it’s Anne Hathaway who serves as the film’s heart and soul. Her emotionally-crushed rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” will live on as a Hollywood highlight reel forever, making her the clear cut winner here.

Best Supporting Actor

#5 Benicio Del Toro – Savages

#4 Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master

#3 Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths

#2 Ezra Miller – The Perks of Being a Wallflower

and the winner is …

#1 Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino’s Spaghetti Western Django Unchained stood out as one of the year’s funnest movie experiences. The film’s most lovable character was Dr. King Schultz, played by Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz. While I am starting to feel as though Waltz will be the odd man out in the Best Supporting Actor category when Oscar nominations are announced on Thursday (read about my 2013 Oscar Nomination Predictions), it would be a shame for the Academy to omit his transcending performance.

Best Actress

#5 Helen Mirren – Hitchcock

#4 Naomi Watts – The Impossible

#3 Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks

#2 Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

and the winner is …

#1 Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

After storming onto the scene in 2011 with a handful of unforgettable roles, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Jessica Chastain was a star in the making. Taking home my 2011 Best Supporting Actress Award for Take Shelter, Chastin raises the bar again with her phenomenal portrayal in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain’s character transforms throughout the feature and her development becomes a valuable aspect of the narrative. Although she finds worthy Oscar competition from my runner-up, Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Chastain gives the most decisive female performance of the year.

Best Actor

#5 Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

#4 Denzel Washington – Flight

#3 Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

#2 John Hawkes – The Sessions

and the winner is …

#1 Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

This race feels like the biggest “no-brainer” to me. For as many brilliant lead actor performances as there were this year (and believe me there were a TON), none of them were even in the same stratosphere as Daniel-Day Lewis’ once in a life time portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Every chance I get to watch Day-Lewis deliver groundbreaking role after groundbreaking role, it becomes more apparent that I’m experiencing greatness. Steven Spielberg’s Best Picture contender, Lincoln, survives solely on the shoulders of the actor’s performance. There’s no question who deserves this win.

Best Director

#5 David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

#4 J.A. Bayona – The Impossible

#3 Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

#2 Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty

and the winner is …

#1 Ben Affleck – Argo

The Best Director race was the most difficult for me to decide. The Kathryn Bigelow/Ben Affleck debate becomes very difficult to dissect. The direction’s outstanding in both Zero Dark Thirty and Argo, but the difference-maker was Affleck’s ability to conjure up a multi-dimensional movie experience. Bigelow’s feature is more of a character based journey, while Affleck focuses on bringing a remarkable true story to life. Distinct opposites in approach, both films are premier examples of modern day filmmaking. However, I just happened to enjoy Argo slightly more than Bigelow’s gripping manhunt tale.

Best Picture

#5 Perfect Sense

#4 The Sessions

#3 Zero Dark Thirty

#2 The Impossible

and the winner is …

#1 Argo

No one can question the abundance of top tier films released in 2012. It was a difficult decision and very close, but I’m going with Argo as the Best Picture of 2012. A roller coaster ride of emotions, Ben Affleck’s Argo interweaves between espionage thriller and comedy. The pacing and tone is perfect, making Argo the most enjoyable film of the year. Its Oscar hopes are still very much alive, despite a major December-long onslaught of competitive releases. Affleck continues to solidify himself as a bonafide filmmaker and gives us Argo, 2012’s Best Picture.

*** Where am I right and where am I wrong? Leave a comment and spark a debate. You can view other work by MCDave at Movie Reviews By Dave

Geekscape’s Almost Six Years Old! The Geekscapepod For November 27th, 2012!

by Jonathan

Welcome back from Thanksgiving break! I talk ‘Lincoln’ vs ‘The Life of Pi’ in the Oscar race! Is Joseph Gordon Levitt playing Batman in a Justice League movie? Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart return to the X-Men franchise! What’s Star Trek 2 about? A big ‘Doc of the Dead’ update! Doc Ock pulls a fast one in Amazing Spider-Man 698! The Walking Dead is on a roll! And Geekscape is having a birthday party and YOU’RE invited!

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:44 — 30.6MB)

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Lincoln

by MCDave

Throughout the history of mankind it has become an accepted fact that certain things belong together. Peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, or the thought of Steven Spielberg and his newest baby, Lincoln. Even during War Horse‘s 2011 run to the Oscars, it was the anticipation of Spielberg’s Lincoln that sat in the forefront of everyone’s mind. With Daniel Day-Lewis, who I confidently refer to as “the greatest actor alive”, signed on to portray the semi-controversial historic hero Abraham Lincoln, the possibilities seemed endless. Now, as 2012’s stealth-like conclusion wanders within the eye’s reach, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is finally here. And it’s about time.

Set during the closing months of the Civil War in 1865, Lincoln examines the personal and political struggles that our nation’s 16th president endured while working to pass an amendment to the constitution to forever ban slavery. However, the confederate army becomes open to the idea of a peaceful immediate conclusion to the war. But if the confederate states rejoin the union before the house’s vote on abolishing slavery, it would surely put an end to the passing of the amendment. As a result, President Abraham Lincoln (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) faces grave inner turmoil and guilt over allowing a deadly war to continue at the hands of freeing millions of black slaves.

Let me preface by saying that I am by no means a historian, and nor do I pretend to be. When I offer up my opinion on director Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, I am viewing the film in a cinematic context only. Historical debates aside, Lincoln is a deeply effective and fundamentally involved character study. In many ways feeling quite different from his typical style, Spielberg’s biopic is very restrained and genuine. He never allows the movie to get too over-dramatic or flashy, instead giving the reins to two-time Academy Award Winner Daniel Day-Lewis who aptly carries the film for 149 minutes. To say that Day-Lewis is a spitting image of our former president, is to put it all too lightly. The infallible actor completely encompasses the aura of our nation’s historical hero. Scene after scene, Day-Lewis astonishes with hair-raising performances that will surely land him a gaudy-sounding fifth Best Lead Actor nomination from the Academy. Outstanding acting is far from the only glowing aspect of Spielberg’s Lincoln. Strong collaborative efforts from costume & makeup as well as beautiful cinematography join together to make the feature a clear technological achievement. From top to bottom, Lincoln succeeds as a carefully crafted molding of countless notable attributes.

If there is one major downfall to Lincoln, it resides in the enormous running time that can’t help but wear down the audience. Ironically, Spielberg’s film proves to be a massively draining viewing experience for the moviegoer. Much like the feature’s hero who battles to balance a violent war and the passing of a landmark amendment, the audience leaves the theatre feeling as run down and feeble as President Lincoln does. And to a fault, Spielberg force feeds a myriad of characters which helps to keep the runtime bloated. Some more pivotal to the story than others, the result is a culmination of subplots galore that manage to overtake Lincoln and hold the film hostage. Although it has become a recurring theme with the legendary director, Spielberg ends up as his own biggest obstacle. I can only imagine the difficulty for an accomplished director of his talents to constantly re-invent the wheel. However, his visions of perfection have often hindered his finished products of late.

Despite Lincoln‘s prolonged running time and stagnant feel, Steven Spielberg addresses this prominent historical figure with such precision and delicacy. You can tell the director’s passion for the project by the manner in which the film unfolds. He allows for Daniel Day-Lewis to shine and, for once, plays second fiddle. Day-Lewis and a supporting cast that is unquestionably headlined by Tommy Lee Jones help elevate Lincoln to a credible piece of cinematic art. However, this is by no means a ringing endorsement for Spielberg’s latest effort. Instead, take this as a nod of approval for fans of period pieces, biopics and the always great Daniel Day-Lewis.

Grade: 3/5

You can check out other work from MCDave by visiting Movie Reviews By Dave

 

Full ‘Lincoln’ Trailer Now Online!

by Derek Kraneveldt

A few days ago we showed you a teaser for the upcoming Lincoln trailer premiere.

That premiere just happened, and the trailer is now available for all to see!

Lincoln features an all star cast: names like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jackie Earle Haley, Sally Field, and many more. The film revolves around Lincolns last few months in office as he attempts to unravel a plan to end the war and abolish slavery.

Check it out below, and let us know what you think!

Lincoln hits theatres on November 16.

The First Poster For Stephen Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ Revealed!

by Jonathan

DreamWorks has released the first poster for Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, and Tommy Lee Jones. The movie opens November 9th in limited release, followed by a wide release on November 16th.