By Alan Hurst The prognosticators are out in full force, so here’s a first attempt to predict the ever-unpredictable nominations for the Hollywood Foreign Press Golden Globe Awards. The Golden Globes are known as the “fun” awards. They’re a big party, there’s food and alcohol so the atmosphere is a little looser and the show…
BY John H. Foote Understand I am not discussing the great biography films here but rather the greatest PERFORMANCES by an actor portraying a person from history. So understand, the performance is all I care about, it is all I am focusing on, does not matter if the film was great or awful if the…
By John H. Foote From the end of TIFF, Venice, and Telluride it is safe to say the awards season in the film business is in full swing. There will, of course, be those late arrivals that threaten to turn the season and the awards on its ear, with a close eye watching the changes…
By John H. Foote There are so many potential nominees in this category that it will be a fight to the finish and no doubt have some major surprises come nomination morning. It is ironic because thirty years ago the Academy might have had a tough time finding five nominees, but in a testament to…
By John H. Foote Just a little more than a month after TIFF, Viggo Mortensen remains the frontrunner for Best Actor for his sublime work as Tony in Green Book. Mortensen, nominated twice previously for Eastern Promises (2007) and Captain Fantastic (2016) is a much-admired actor in the business, and many could see this as…
By John H. Foote When I think of Melissa McCarthy, I smile because she is a fearless comedic actress who throws herself into her comedy with a courage that is admirable, remarkable even. A stout, but pretty woman, she is hardly the sort of person we think about when the words movie star come to…
By John H. Foote That all-important buzz for awards season begins at the major fall film festivals, and indeed First Man, Roma, Green Book and a handful of other films, and performances attracted attention. Yet strangely, the Best Supporting performance I have seen all year is being under-discussed. Last years breakout star, Daniel Kaluuya was…
By John H. Foote Beautiful Boy (**) There is much to admire in this powerful, often very moving true story of a father and son, as they journey through the younger man’s addiction to meth. One of the most addictive of street drugs, like heroin the user is forever chasing that first astonishing high, which…
By John H. Foote Hero and patriot are words tossed around easily sometimes. They should mean something very special, something which inspires awe and majesty. The United States has not had much to be proud of these days with a buffoon as their President, so leave it to the movies to give Americans something to…
By John H. Foote THE REVENANT (****) For his visceral, stunning performance in The Revenant (2015), Leonardo Di Caprio finally won a long overdue Academy Award for Best Actor, and the truth is, he deserved it in every way. His near silent performance was easily the best performance of the year, a startling work of…