Top 10 – Movie Queens
This day marks the Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II which is just an incredible occasion. I therefore decided to make a top 10 list of movie queen’s we have seen over the years!
God Save The Queen!
The King’s Speech (2010) Poster – PG
The King’s Speech is being released in the US with a PG rating release (swearing cut out) and they have a new poster, which I just had to blog because it is such a lovely poster. Aiming the film more at the family audience.
Arise Sir Colin Firth?
Rumours are flying around today that Colin Firth is set to be included in the Queen’s birthday honours list in June to be knighted. This is after his Oscar-winning performance in ‘The King’s Speech’ in which he portrays King George VI. He has been an incredible ambassador for the UK throughout his entire career. I would be very happy to see Colin knighted. I guess we just have to wait to find out if there is any truth in the rumours!
Oscars 2011 – Best Actor – Colin Firth
King Firth rightly reigned at the Oscars this year! After being nominated for the second year in a role Colin Firth took home the gold statue. Very deserved, he must have some kind of record with the number of awards he has picked up for his role of King George VI in “The King’s Speech”. Doing the UK proud!
Oscars 2011 – Winners
The winners of the 2011 Academy Awards. The only big shock had to be Tom Hooper picking up the Best Direction Oscar for The King’s Speech ahead of big favorite David Fincher for The Social Network.
Best Picture: The King’s Speech
Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Original Song: We Belong Together, Toy Story 3
Best Editing: The Social Network
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Documentary: Inside Job
Best Live Action Short Film: God of Love
Best Documentary Short Subject: Strangers No More
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Makeup: The Wolfman
Best Sound Editing: Inception
Best Sound Mixing: Inception
Best Original Score: The Social Network
Best Foreign Language Film: In A Better World
Best Original Screenplay: The King’s Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3
Best Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing
Best Cinematography: Inception
Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland
Oscars 2011 – The Show
Well this year the approach from the Academy was to have two young actors to host. This called upon nominee James Franco and Anne Hathaway to add a different edge to the Oscars ceremony.
The main theme of the evening seemed to be looking back at the past of the Oscars, taking into consideration how times have changed. Including music and some scenery from different Oscar winning films of the past. Obviously all eyes were on Franco and Hathaway, who in my opinion were very disappointing. Hathaway was given the over the top, in your face excited role while Franco just stood looking slightly upwards. Which made the audience feel awkward, he did not look comfortable on the stage at all!
The main part I actually thought was amusing from Hathaway had to be seeing “On My Own” claiming that Hugh Jackman would not do a duet with her this year. (After she done one with him when he was the host). Personally I would have liked to see Jackman host again! Or even Alec Baldwin who I thought was fantastic with Steve Martin last year. Baldwin was involved in the opening segment which poked fun at Inception and going into his dreams to steal hosting tips. This let us see Franco and Hathaway in many of the nominated films.
Yes whilst this opening was was amusing, it seemed to all go very downhill from that point. I didn’t even manage to stay up and watch all of the ceremony. The tiredness and boredness really did take over and I went to bed, didn’t think I would miss very much as no shocks had occurred with the supporting actor/actress awards. Have to mention Kirk Douglas who was rather heartbreaking to watch as he really struggled to get his words out, yet managed to still be so funny and likable.
In my opinion I found the show quite a flop.
What does everyone else think?
Oscars 2011 – Live Blog
Live updates with my thoughts on the 2011 Oscars!
- Well I made the decision to watch E! for the red carpet coverage, which I have no idea if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Ready for the Oscar ceremony to start on Sky Movies.
- Alec Baldwin included in the opening scenes with James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Appearing in all the best picture nominees. Brilliant start!
- Ahhh Morgan Freeman making a little appearance too!
- Very clever editing Franco and Hathaway into the films!
- Hugh Jackman looked like he wanted to be back on the stage!
- Getting the parents and grandparents involved. Very funny! Especially Franco’s grandmother saying Marky Mark! Mark Wahlberg, love it!
- A look back at ‘Gone with the Wind’ the ultimate classic <3
- Tom Hanks presenting ART DIRECTION – WINNER - Alice in Wonderland
- CINEMATOGRAPHY – WINNER – Inception
- Credit given to Christopher Nolan!
- Awww Kirk Douglas! Standing ovation for him. He’s just incredible for his age. Very funny with both Franco and Hathaway. Struggling to speak bless him!
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – WINNER – MELISSA LEO for The Fighter
- Now for a very over the top speech . . . Or maybe not, she actually sounds very nervous. Just dropped the f-word too.
- Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis presenting. Timberlake claiming to be Banksy!
- BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM – WINNER – THE LOST THING
- BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – WINNER – Toy Story 3
- Hathaway talking about the very first Academy Awards
- Presenters Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem . . . wearing old school white tux’s.
- BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – WINNER – The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin
- BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – WINNER – The King’s Speech – David Seidler
- Oldest person to win that award, he hopes its broken quickly and often.
- Hathaway performing musical number, directed at Hugh Jackman . . . Using ‘On My Own’ from Les Mis. Franco comes on in a very pink dress. Charlie Sheen joke!
- Helen Mirren and Russell Brand presenting
- BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – WINNER - IN A BETTER WORLD (DENMARK)
- Reese Witherspoon presenting. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – WINNER - CHRISTIAN BALE for The Fighter
- He actually sounds rather nervous with his speech, Dicky Eklund is there too
Very emotional in his speech, especially towards his wife and daughter. - Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman presenting . . . Aussie rules!
- BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – WINNER – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
- SOUND MIXING – WINNER – INCEPTION
- SOUND EDITING – WINNER – INCEPTION
Oscars 2011: 10 out of 10 for Best Pictures
I have managed to achieve what would seem impossible and watch all ten of the best picture nominations before the Oscar ceremony. Usually this is not possible due to UK release date. But this year a lot of the films seem to have been earlier than usual in the Oscar race. With the help of LOVEFiLM for a couple of Blu Ray’s to make sure I achieved the goal of seeing each film before the ceremony. I am still no further forward in being able to predict the winner the Academy will choose. I mean we know they have made some mistakes in the past.
This is the second year in row which has seen 1o films being nominated for Best Picture. Which allows a few films into the category which would not make the final 5 in the old format. I guess this is just a way to make some films more well-known. Or for the more seen films to receive a nomination. Who can really tell . . . but does that mean they have a better chance of winning? Probably not.
The ten films which have been nominated this year all bring something very different to the Oscar stage. I have to say out of them the ones I have enjoyed the most have to be Black Swan and Inception, with True Grit and The King’s Speech following them.
Black Swan and Inception both had very similar impacts on me as I was still thinking about them days after seeing them at the cinema. They really get into your head and stick in there too. Make you really think about the film, and keep you trying to figure out how you perceive them.
127 Hours (Review)
Stuck between a rock and a hard place. A man must keep himself alive by any means possible after having his arm trapped by a bolder.
Black Swan (Review)
A Ballet dancer trying to take on the difficult role in Swan Lake, whilst trying to deal with her life at the same time.
The Fighter (Review)
The rise of Micky Ward as a boxer, looking into his family life and relationships with his brother, mother and girlfriend.
Inception (Review – not yet written)
A very interesting look into what could happen if you could plant ideas or take them away, by entering someone’s dream.
The Kids are All Right (Review)
A look into how the family dynamics differ in a same sex marriage with children.
The King’s Speech (Review)
A look into how King George VI overcame his speech problems after his older brother abdicated the thrown.
The Social Network (Review)
A look back at how Facebook came into being during Zuckerberg’s time at Harvard and the lawsuits which followed.
Toy Story 3 (Review)
We go on another adventure with our favorite toys, when Andy is now leaving for college.
True Grit (Review)
A remake of the classic John Wayne film, but with the Coen Brothers edge on it. Brilliant story of retribution.
Winter’s Bone (Review)
A young woman trying to find out what exactly happened to her father, leads her into very dangerous territory.
WHO DO YOU WANT TO WIN?
Oscars 2011 – Best Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn in ‘True Grit’
Bridges is just incredible as Cogburn, he really is just incredible. After his win last year, he has followed it up with another nomination. He mumbles and acts drunk brilliantly. Manages to be so likeable at the same time!
Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’
Exhausting is the word I find best to describe this performance. Eisenberg is brilliant as Zuckerberg who is just way too smart for his own good, and likes to use an incredible amount of words in his general conversations. Must have been very difficult to really nail this character but that was more than achieved.
Colin Firth as King George VI in ‘The King’s Speech’
We keep hearing that it is Firth’s time, well I thought that should have come for his role in ‘A Single Man’ last year! But his performance in this film really is just incredible, we feel sorry for him, we want to help him. All just so incredible!
James Franco as Aron Ralston in ’127 Hours’
Possibly the most difficult performance from all of the nominee’s considering it is just Franco in the film for about 80% of the time. He really takes us on the journey with him and the emotions to being trapped. Incredible performance, if it wasn’t for Firth I would have thought Franco would be walking away with the Oscar!
Oscars 2011 – Best Actor in a Supporting Role
One last look at the actors and the roles they were nominated for best supporting! I guess I am Team Bale for this one!
Christian Bale as Dicky Eklund in “The Fighter”
The has-been who believes that he is making his boxing comeback, while attempting to help his younger brother train and do something he never did. Become champion, whilst battling with drug addiction which has taken over his life. We see him fight his demons and eventually help his brother out. Larger than life and totally crazy, brilliant performance from Bale.
John Hawkes as Teardrop in “Winter’s Bone”
A very haunting performance in a very haunting film. At times very difficult to watch but Hawkes put in a very good performance, eventually helping out his niece.
Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin in “The Town”
Missed seeing this film, so cannot comment on the performance.
Mark Ruffalo as Paul in “The Kids Are All Right”
I have to admit that when I found out Ruffalo was nominated for an Oscar I was very shocked as seeing his previous performances didn’t think it would be something he would ever achieve. But in this he does put in a very honest performance as Paul, managing to make us feel sorry for him when we really shouldn’t.
Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Louge in “The King’s Speech”
Rush gives a fantastic performance and helps Firth bring out his character. They have fantastic chemistry and bring out the very best in each other. If anyone is a threat to Bale I really think it’s Rush!
Oscars 2011 – Best Actress in a Supporting Role
One last look at the five actresses up for the supporting role Oscar! I am Team Steinfeld for this one!
Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming in “The Fighter”
Tough talking girlfriend of boxer Mickey who is not afraid to stand up to his mother or sisters. Is very much behind Mickey is his fight to really make it as a boxer. The Academy seem to like Adams who has a few nominations to her name now.
Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth in “The King’s Speech”
A very good solid performance from Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth who is the rock to King George VI and really helps her husband when he becomes King, and must deliver the important speeches at a very difficult time for England.
Melissa Leo as Alice Ward in “The Fighter”
Melissa Leo has been picking awards up left, right and center for her role as Alice Ward in the Fighter. Being the pushy manager and of course mother to Mickey and Dicky. Not taking no for an answer from anyone, including her husband. She has been the front runner for this award from the start.
Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross in “True Grit”
Incredible performance from the 14 year old in such a good film. She owns the film and should never been in the supporting role category after leading the film the way she did. But apparently the studio figured this the best approach! I really do hope that she picks this Oscar up tonight, fantastic performance.
Jacki Weaver as Janine Cody in “Animal Kingdom”
This film has not come out at my cinema yet. Therefore I cannot comment on the performance.
Spirit Awards 2011 – Winners
Black Swan picked up 4 Independent Spirit Awards last night, which was just fantastic to see! The film seems to have been forgotten about in the Oscar race, other than the leading role for Natalie Portman. The Spirit Awards seem to just love Aronofsky and his films.
The King’s Speech picked up another award, this time for Foreign film. Obviously no Colin Firth allowed James Franco to receive a very well deserved award for his role in 127 Hours.
Best Feature: “Black Swan”
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
Best Screenplay: Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, “The Kids Are All Right”
Best First Feature: “Get Low”
Best First Screenplay: Lena Dunham, “Tiny Furniture”
John Cassavetes Award: “Daddy Longlegs”
Best Female Lead: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Best Male Lead: James Franco, “127 Hours”
Best Supporting Female: Dale Dickey, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Supporting Male: John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, “Black Swan”
Best Documentary: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
Best Foreign Film: “The King’s Speech”
BAFTA 2011 – Pictures
It was all about The King’s Speech last night at the BAFTA’s and it was Colin Firth’s night. Taking home the best actor BAFTA for the second year running! So pleased to see him getting award recognition now, he really does deserve it he is such a fantastic actor.
BAFTAs 2011 Winners – The King Reigned!
It was certainly the King’s night at the BAFTAs when they picked up pretty much every award it was nominated for!
The Winners are:
ORIGINAL MUSIC: Alexandre Desplat for The King’s Speech
SHORT FILM: Until The River Runs Red
SHORT ANIMATION: The Eagleman Stag
SOUND: Inception
EDITING: The Social Network
MAKE UP & HAIR: Alice in Wonderland
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
COSTUME DESIGN: Colleen Atwood for Alice in Wonderland
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Inception
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS: Inception
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Helena Bonham Carter for The King’s Speech
OUTSTANDING DEBUT: Chris Morris for Four Lions
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM: The King’s Speech
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: David Seidler for The King’s Speech
OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION: The Harry Potter Films
ANIMATED FILM: Toy Story 3
ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR: Tom Hardy
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Roger Deakins for True Grit
DIRECTOR: David Fincher for The Social Network
LEADING ACTRESS: Natalie Portman for Black Swan
LEADING ACTOR: Colin Firth for the King’s Speech
BEST FILM: The King’s Speech
FELLOWSHIP: Christopher Lee
London Film Critics’ Circle Awards 2011
The London Film Critics’ Circle have seemed to wait until last to have their awards given out. It is kept very British with some awards just being for a Brits performance. Which in my opinion is fair enough really as gives us the chance to honour those who may not quite be up for the Oscar. (Just yet of course). This still did not stop the King reigning the best actor award again as Colin rightly picked that up at these awards too!
Oscars 2011 – Luncheon
The annual Oscars Luncheon took place on Monday with a lot of the nominees showing up to be part of the event. As usual plenty of the nominee’s turned up and they had the usual photo with everyone squashed in. So squashed this year that Annette Bening had to sit on Jeff Bridges knee for the picture!
Audi Party 2011
The Audi Party for “The King’s Speech” took place a few days ago and I have to admit that I was very happy to see two of my favorite actors in a picture together . . . Orlando Bloom and Colin Firth <3
SAG Awards 2011 – Winners
Awards season really is in full swing, but it seems as though the same four actors are picking up the main awards for the films. Doesn’t even look close for the Oscars at all. I guess we could still get quite a surprise but not looking very likely. Quite a surprise for the SAG Awards has to be “The King’s Speech picking up the big award of the night for outstanding ensemble in a motion picture. Great to see a British film doing so well!
SAG Award Winner: Outstanding Ensemble In A Motion Picture
Outstanding Ensemble Motion Picture – Cast of “The King’s Speech”
BAFTA 2011 – Nominations & Predictions
Here are the nominations for this years BAFTA awards with my views and predictions. I really have a feeling that The King’s Speech will sweep the awards! My favorite two films within the nominations have to be “Inception” and “Black Swan” both incredible thought-provoking films. So I shall be rooting for them. Excellent to see “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” getting some recognition!
BEST FILM |
| BLACK SWAN - Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin |
| INCEPTION - Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan |
| THE KING’S SPEECH - Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin |
| THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin |
| TRUE GRIT - Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen |
If “The King’s Speech” does not take this award, which I think it will do. I would love to see Inception get some recognition in awards terms as it really has been one of the most talked about films in recent times.
Golden Globes 2011
I have grown to enjoy the Golden Globes over the past few years, possibly even more than Oscars. They seem to be more relaxed and fun. Everyone seems to have a good time. This year the big talking point fell around Ricky Gervais who was hosting, some of his jokes not going down very well with the audience. This then lead to him disappearing for more than an hour from the ceremony, leading to talk that he was stopped from coming on to deliver monologue.
So the talk surrounding the Globes is that Gervais will not be asked to host the show for the third time in a row. I personally found his jokes to be rather amusing and I am not usually a massive fan of his. But I guess for the American audience Gervais’ still was a bit extreme. Best moment had to be introducing Bruce Willis as Ashton Kutcher’s dad!
My favorite speech had to be from Robert De Niro when he picked up the Cecil B. DeMille Award (lifetime achievement). He managed to mix thanking people, talking about his career with a very heart warming feel and jokes put in to even it all out. He really is something else!
Colin Firth continued his collection of awards for his performance in “The King’s Speech” and looks almost certain to pick up the Oscar next month. His speech was also just fantastic, being very funny as well. It really is brilliant to see Colin getting the recognition that he so rightly deserves.
My favorite moment had to come from Michael Douglas appearing on stage to present the Best Film (Drama) award. He received a standing ovation from everyone in the room and responded with “there has to be an easier way to get a standing ovation”. It was brilliant to see him on a stage a few days after being given the all clear from his cancer battle. Definetly the most tear jerking moment in the whole ceremony. An icon to all!
The Winners are . . .
Colin Firth – Hollywood Walk of Fame
Ahead of this Sunday’s Golden Globes and the up and coming Oscars, Colin Firth has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is tipped to be nominated and win the best actor Oscar at this years awards.
Firth has come along way since being Mr Darcy in the TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Over the years he has taken on some very different roles. The last couple of years the roles he has taken on have really helped to show what a fantastic actor he is. When it comes to the romantic comedy films such as Bridget Jones Diary and Love Actually he is always the nice guy. In real life he seems to be just as nice as he is in those roles.
It really is fantastic seeing a British actor going so far in Hollywood and getting a star on the Walk of Fame. The question now is will the Oscar be following for Mr Firth? Let’s hope so, he really does put in a brilliant performance in The King’s Speech. We don’t have much longer to wait, to see how many more awards Colin is going to pick up over awards season.
The King’s Speech (2010) Review
The King’s Speech has been very well talked about in the build up to its release due to Colin Firth already picking up awards left right and center. Anything about the Royal Family with high-profile actors always seem to do well with audiences.
