Monday, January 31, 2011

Screen Actors Guild Awards 2011: The Winners

The Screen Actors Guild, whose members make up a large block of The Academy, chose its winners a short while ago. It's looking good now for The King's Speech, the movie that has become the Oscar front runner, having previously won both the Producers and the Directors Guilds. Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Melissa Leo and Christian Bale are now the favorite to win the Oscar in their respective categories. Here's a complete list of the SAG winners:

(For Red Carpet photos follow this link.)


Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Motion Picture

Black Swan
The Fighter
The Kids Are Alright
The King’s Speech - WINNER
The Social Network

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Lead Role

Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Robert Duvall, Get Low
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech - WINNER
James Franco, 127 Hours

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Lead Role

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan - WINNER
Hilary Swank, Conviction

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale, The Fighter - WINNER
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter - WINNER
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

TELEVISION


Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire - WINNER
The Closer
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 Rock
Glee
Hot in Cleveland
Modern Family - WINNER
The Office

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire - WINNER
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife - WINNER
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock - WINNER
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Steve Carell, The Office
Chris Colfer, Glee
Ed O’Neil, Modern Family

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Jane Lynch, Glee
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland - WINNER

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

John Goodman, You Don’t Know Jack
Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack - WINNER
Dennis Quaid, That Special Relationship
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Claire Danes, Temple Grandin - WINNER
Catherine O’Hara, Temple Grandin
Julia Ormond, Temple Grandin
Winona Ryder, When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story
Susan Sarandon, You Don’t Know Jack


Sunday, January 30, 2011

Little Things That Count - The Weekly Roundup January 30


Music: Bruno Mars - Grenade Cute little pop song that has already hit no.1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart. I didn't jump on the Bruno Mars bandwagon immediately, but I like what he's been doing recently. Expect to hear this song everywhere in the next weeks. Bruno Mars is nominated for several Grammy Awards (to be held on February, 13).

Movie: The King's Speech Colin Firth is up for Best Actor Oscar next month and he'll probably get it. Not only because he's long overdue, but it's a fantastic performance and rumour has it that the Academy members LOVED The King's Speech. The movie also features great performances from Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Oscars 2011: The Nominees


It's that time of the year again! The Oscar nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards have just been announced: The King's Speech leads with 12 nominations, followed by True Grit with 10 nominations, The Social Network and Inception - both 8 nominations, The Fighter - 7 nominatons and 127 Hours with 6 nominations. Full list below:


Best Picture

The Social Network
The King’s Speech
Black Swan
The Fighter
True Grit
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
Toy Story 3
127 Hours
Winter’s Bone


Friday, January 21, 2011

The sea inside me

I've been tagged by the lovely Claudia in a little game where I have to choose one photo that sums up the entire year of 2010 for me. Here it is:


It's been a year of ups and downs, but after everything that's happened (part of which is mentioned here), I realized that the sea/ocean was a love affair that's meant for life as far as I'm concerned. I will never be able to stay away.  It's part of who I am and I can't change that...I don't even want to. So yes, I still jump for joy like a 10-year-old whenever I go to the beach...And the sea...it's joy and sorrow, it's peace and restlessness, it's all that and more. It's the one place that turns the inner me into a roller coaster of emotions and states of mind. It made me realize that I want all that "drama", because being emotionally numb is being lifeless. It helped me know myself better and, in many ways, it brings out that kid inside me and I'll always, always want to hang on to that.

I'm tagging the lovely Miruna next, hopefully she'll like this little game :)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Golden Globes 2011: Winners


Best Motion Picture - Drama
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The King's Speech
  • The Social Network - WINNER 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
  • Halle Berry - Frankie and Alice
  • Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
  • Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
  • Natalie Portman - Black Swan -  WINNER
  • Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
  • Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
  • Colin Firth - The King's Speech - WINNER
  • James Franco - 127 Hours 
  • Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
  • Mark Wahlberg - The Fighter

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Movie review: 127 Hours

127 Hours tells the story of real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston who becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone in Utah, in 2003. The film, based on Ralston's autobiography Between A Rock and A Hard Place, was written for the screen by Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle who also directed. This is the same team that brought us Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, but these are two very different movies and, dare I say, 127 Hours is vastly superior.


Monday, January 10, 2011

Little Things That Count - The Weekly Roundup January 10

Music: McFly feat. Taio Cruz - Shine A Light. As tempted as I might be to throw in some Pink Floyd at the moment, I'll try to get over the blah caused by the first days of the year and the dreary winter and go for a catchy little pop song. This is quite a radical change of sound for the British band McFly. Everybody wants a piece of Taio Cruz at the moment since he's one of the most successful UK exports in the recent years, so getting him to sing on your track is going to make it more popular. Start the year on a positive note....or something. Shine A Light, eh?

Movie: True Grit. The Coen brothers are back with another great movie. With great performances from Jeff Bridges, newcomer Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon, True Grit is a charming, tasteful combination of adventure, humor and melancholy. Critics loved it, so did the audiences and I'm no exception. In a time when western movies are almost an extinct species, the Coen brothers made a western that earned over $100 million at the box office so far. Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Brief movie review: Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole is a little gem of a movie in which a married couple tries to figure out life after their son's death. Brilliantly executed, touching, exquisitely human, Rabbit Hole's strongest points are magnificent acting and raw emotions. At 91 minutes long, it does not drag, it does not get sappy or melodramatic thanks to the skillfully incorporated funny moments.