If you love film this is an exciting time of the year. Thanks to ‘awards season’, specifically the Golden Globes and The Oscars, film distributors in New Zealand make the most of the much hyped award nominees and we get a couple of great films released almost every week over the coming months.
If you love film this is an exciting time of the year. Thanks to ‘awards season’, specifically the Golden Globes and The Oscars, film distributors in New Zealand make the most of the much hyped award nominees and we get a couple of great films released almost every week over the coming months.
The Golden Globes are first on 12th January. Looking at the list of feature film nominees, below, it’s pleasing to see many of the films have already screened in New Zealand, or will be over the coming weeks. Perhaps the best thing about the 2014 Golden Globes is they’re being presented once again by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler – if last year is any indication it will be worth watching the show just to see these two in action. It’s also likely their success hosting the awards last year is what prompted the Oscars to hire another female comedian, Ellen DeGeneres, to present their 2014 awards show.
The nominations for the 86th Academy Awards will be announced on January 16th – and this is when the discussions and debates about the best films and performances of the year will really get serious.
In the meantime you can engross yourself in some fascinating crime documentaries screening throughout January on Rialto Channel.
Starring Eugene Jarecki, Nannie Jeter and Betty Chism
Directed by Eugene Jarecki
Premieres Thursday 16th January, 8.30pm
Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, Brad Pitt, musician John Legend and actor Danny Glover are just a few of the producers behind award winning filmmaker Eugene Jarecki’s hard hitting documentary on the American War on Drugs. Over the last 40 years this has cost one trillion dollars and led to 45 million arrests, but, as Jarecki claims, drugs have never been more accessible. This is a very fair documentary and presents all perspectives on this war, from the dealers and narcotics officers to inmates and federal judges.
Last week the State of Colorado legalised the sale of marijuana, and this documentary couldn’t have come at a better time to encourage the debate over America’s drug policy. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2012, this is a compelling, thought provoking and at times shocking documentary.
Starring Jason Baldwin, Damien Wayne Echols and Jessie Misskelley
Directed by Amy Berg
Premieres Thursday 23rd January, 8.30pm
This critically acclaimed documentary is an examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three – teenagers wrongly convicted of murdering three children and jailed for 18 years in 1993. Produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, and directed by Oscar nominee Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil), this harrowing and beautifully crafted documentary continues on the story of these convicted teenagers (which has previously been detailed in the Paradise Lost documentaries). It’s a gripping tale that is uplifting, tragic, sad and infuriating.
Starring Anwar Congo, Herman Koto and Syamsul Arifin
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous and Christine Cynn
Premieres Thursday 30th January, 8.30pm
Horrifying but strangely compelling, this controversial documentary provides an insight into the minds of mass killers by inviting those responsible for the 1965 Indonesian massacres of communists and intellectuals to re-enact their crimes in the style of their favourite Hollywood movies. The premise is as disturbing as it sounds, but it certainly makes for a startling, chilling and unique film. As legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog said, “I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal and frightening in at least a decade.”
And now to lighten the mood, here’s a full list of the feature film nominees for the 2014 Golden Globe Awards:
BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr Banks
Kate Winslet, Labor Day
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All Is Lost
BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig, Francis Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf Of Wall Street
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix, Her
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue is The Warmest Color (France)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Past (Iran)
The Wind Rises (Japan)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O Russell, American Hustle
BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Jeff Pope & Steve Coogan, Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
Eric Warren Singer & David O Russell, American Hustle
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alex Ebert, All Is Lost
Alex Heffes, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Steven Price, Gravity
John Williams, The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer, 12 Years a Slave
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Atlas”, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
(Music by Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion.
Lyrics by Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion)
“Let It Go”, Frozen
(Music by Kristen Anderson Lopez, Robert Lopez. Lyrics by Kristen Anderson Lopez, Robert Lopez)
“Ordinary Love”, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
(Music by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr., Brian Burton. Lyrics by Bono)
“Please Mr Kennedy”, Inside Llewyn Davis
(Music by Ed Rush, George Cromarty, T Bone Burnett, Justin Timberlake, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen. Lyrics by Ed Rush, George Cromarty, T Bone Burnett, Justin Timberlake, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
“Sweeter Than Fiction”, One Chance
(Music by Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff. Lyrics by Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff)