2016 OSCARS MAKEUP SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

The Academy's make-up branch is moving into slightly new territory this year, though you'd hardly know it by observing their seven-strong shortlist. For those in the know, this branch fucking loves Mel Gibson films, yet his Oscar-hyped Hacksaw Ridge is absent from this list. These seven will become three, the sole existing category with fewer than five nominees, on the 24th of January, when nominations in all categories are announced. And these seven are...

Deadpool

The Dressmaker

Florence Foster Jenkins

Hail, Caesar!

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad

PHOENIX FILM CRITICS SOCIETY NOMINATIONS: LA LA LAND LEADS WITH 13

Hot on the heels of some wannabes called the Phoenix Critics Circle, the Phoenix Film Critics Society has announced its award nominations for the year. The PFCS doesn't do shit by half, and among their multitudinous categories, I spy a few surprises, even in Best Picture: Florence Foster Jenkins, A Monster Calls and Sing Street sneak in! Winners are due to be announced on the 20th of December.

Best Picture

Arrival

Florence Foster Jenkins

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

A Monster Calls

Moonlight

Nocturnal Animals

Sing Street

Best Director

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

David MacKenzie (Hell or High Water)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Amy Adams (Arrival)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Tom Hanks (Sully)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Viola Davis (Fences)

Greta Gerwig (20th Century Women)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Felicity Jones (A Monster Calls)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Ben Foster (Hell or High Water)

Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water

La La Land

The Lobster

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Lion

Love & Friendship

Best Cinematography

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Lion

Nocturnal Animals

Best Film Editing

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Moonlight

Nocturnal Animals

Sully

Best Production Design

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hacksaw Ridge

Jackie

La La Land

Silence

Best Costume Design

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Hacksaw Ridge

Jackie

La La Land

Best Visual Effects

Arrival

Captain America: Civil War

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The Jungle Book

Best Original Score

Arrival

Jackie

La La Land

Lion

Nocturnal Animals

Best Original Song

'Audition (The Fools Who Dream)' (La La Land)

'City Of Stars' (La La Land)

'Drive It Like You Stole It' (Sing Street)

'How Far I'll Go' (Moana)

'The Rules Don't Apply' (Rules Don't Apply)

Best Ensemble Acting

Fences

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Animated Film

Finding Dory

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

Trolls

Zootopia

Best Documentary

13th

Gleason

O.J.: Made in America
Supersonic

Weiner

Best Foreign Language Film

Between Sea and Land

Desierto

Elle

The Handmaiden

A Man Called Ove

Best Breakthrough Performance

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Lewis MacDougall (A Monster Calls)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch)

Best Performance by a Youth

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Alex R. Hibbert (Moonlight)

Lewis MacDougall (A Monster Calls)

Sunny Pawar (Lion)

Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book)

Overlooked Film of the Year

Anthropoid

Captain Fantastic

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

The Lobster

Sing Street

2016 SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS - NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

Good news for Hidden Figures, Florence Foster Jenkins and, of all films, Captain Fantastic in the nominations for the 2016 Screen Actors Guild awards. Nothing quite on the level of last year's slew of shockers, so expect SAG-AFTRA's picks to match more closely with the Academy's, but still a few mild head-scratchers here. Catch the awards ceremony on the 29th of January, live on TNT in the US.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Amy Adams (Arrival)

Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast

Jovan Adepo, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Saniyya Sidney, Denzel Washington and Mykelti Williamson (Fences)

Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol and Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Mahershala Ali, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Janelle Monae, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell and Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monae, Trevante Rhodes and Ashton Sanders (Moonlight)

Annalise Basso, Shree Crooks, Ann Dowd, Kathryn Hahn, Nicholas Hamilton, Samantha Isler, Frank Langella, George MacKay, Erin Moriarty, Viggo Mortensen, Missi Pyle, Charlie Shotwell and Steve Zahn (Captain Fantastic)

Outstanding Stunt Performance by an Ensemble

Captain America: Civil War

Doctor Strange

Hacksaw Ridge

Jason Bourne

Nocturnal Animals

Life Achievement Award

Lily Tomlin

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS: LA LA LAND LEADS WITH SEVEN NODS

This year's Golden Globe nominations were a mighty mixed bag beyond the obvious. That's a running theme of the early part of the race this season, with La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight dominating, and the remaining contenders slugging it out for whatever they can claim elsewhere. Hacksaw Ridge keeps on building up support, and Florence Foster Jenkins fares well too; other films such as Arrival and Nocturnal Animals sneak in here and there, but this is a curiously inconsistent slate from the HFPA. Awards announced live on TV on the 8th of January.

Best Picture - Drama

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy

20th Century Women

Deadpool

Florence Foster Jenkins

La La Land

Sing Street

Best Director

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Tom Ford (Nocturnal Animals)

Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Actress - Drama

Amy Adams (Arrival)

Jessica Chastain (Miss Sloane)

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy

Annette Bening (20th Century Women)

Lily Collins (Rules Don't Apply)

Hailee Steinfeld (The Edge of Seventeen)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Best Actor - Drama

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Joel Edgerton (Loving)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy

Colin Farrell (The Lobster)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Jonah Hill (War Dogs)

Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool)

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Simon Helberg (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Screenplay

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Tom Ford (Nocturnal Animals)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)

Best Original Score

Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O'Halloran (Lion)

Nicholas Britell (Moonlight)

Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

Johann Johannsson (Arrival)

Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer (Hidden Figures)

Best Original Song

Brian Burton, Stephen Gaghan, James Osterberg and Daniel Pemberton - 'Gold' (Gold)

Francis Farewell Starlite, Ryan Tedder and Stevie Wonder - 'Faith' (Sing)

Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul - 'City of Stars' (La La Land)

Max Martin, Karl Johan Schuster and Justin Timberlake - 'Can't Stop the Feeling' (Trolls)

Lin-Manuel Miranda - 'How Far I'll Go' (Moana)

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

My Life as a Courgette

Sing

Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film

Divines

Elle

Neruda

The Salesman

Toni Erdmann

Cecil B. DeMille Award

Meryl Streep

REVIEW - FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS (STEPHEN FREARS)

Stephen Frears' Florence Foster Jenkins is a movie about art, or about the absence thereof. It's rather a shame that its treatment of such a sensational story should emulate its subject's simple-minded cluelessness - where she brought great joy and pain alike, and experienced both in even greater amount, this film inspires little more than apathetic appreciation. It's a shoddy showcase for Frears, whose unearned reputation as a mere competent journeyman won't be aided by this unadventurous piece; in fact, Frears contributes an incessant energy to Nicholas Martin's limited, lacklustre screenplay, and keeps the film interesting. As indeed it ought to be - Florence Foster Jenkins herself was a most interesting character, though both Martin and Meryl Streep only momentarily motion toward her many idiosyncrasies, preferring instead a surface-deep portrayal of this woman. They only toy with those idiosyncrasies, proffering whimsical tics and quirks in lieu of substantial characterisation. It's sufficient for light comedy, which Florence Foster Jenkins rarely strives to aspire beyond, but forces one to question if Florence herself is sufficient for light comedy. After all, the film's most persuasive patches are its most dramatic ones, as intelligent, astute grace notes of genuine emotional gravitas are eked out, not least due to the sensitive performances of Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg. They steal the show from Streep, with adequately formed roles to which each actor commits himself with diligence and care. It's in service of a relatively artless film - it doesn't even have the respect for its music to actually present it properly - but a film that's full of art, joy and, regrettably, pain nonetheless.