PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA WINNERS

Best Picture

Argo (Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov)

Best Animated Feature

Wreck-It Ralph (Clark Spencer)

Best Documentary

Searching for Sugar Man (Simon Chinn)

REVIEW - A LATE QUARTET

Coffee-table filmmaking. And if there's one (sub-)genre of film to which I will likely never warm, it's coffee-table filmmaking. One wonders if the New York art elite wouldn't rather attend a live performance of Beethoven's exquisite Opus 131, the String Quartet in C# minor - why make a film about it? Posh New York musicians in posh New York apartments playing posh music, and all with very posh problems. All save one: Christopher Walken's cellist Peter, whose Parkinson's diagnosis is the first domino in the line of misfortunes to befall the Fugue Quartet. His is the only problem in which he played no conscious role, though, and his domino falls in the opposite direction to the rest of the line, so why is it that the other three members' lives begin to crumble too? I suppose their egos stretch so far out that it doesn't matter where that domino fell, it hit them anyway. You know that one where the violist was once in a relationship with the 1st violinist, but now she's married to the 2nd? Yup. And the one where they have a row in the back of a taxi so he cheats on her and she finds out and they split up? Yup. And now the 1st is secretly seeing their daughter, whom he teaches? Yup. And you know the way this all happens to real people in real life? No. Even the musical elements of the film are flunked - the actors do commendable jobs of faking professional musical aptitude with all possible precision, but repeated shots of this only make it ever more obvious how dreadfully inept their attempts are. It's comically excruciating in the final scene. And the screenplay treats the music with intense reverence, yet a lack of erudition, offering up tedious platitudes regarding the power of music, and the lives of musicians, in wordy scenes which go utterly nowhere. This is a film mostly consisting of people verbalising emotion after emotion, to either no perceivable end or to a most predictable one, as if these actors weren't capable of expressing all of this in about a tenth of the time. They ought to have cut most of the dialogue, and concentrated on the Beethoven - I'd rather attend a live performance of it, even if Christopher Walken does have to spoil it. Let him - he hits the only true note in this tiresome film.

REVIEW - PROMISED LAND

A deceptive slice of American pie, with a sickly, mass-produced demeanour, and a virtuous filling. It's dressed up like a trite old heartwarmer, but the liberal sincerity of the script bleeds through the glossiness. It infects the film around it, which is to say that it makes a flat, insipid film go sour and silly. You can't kill a film that's dead on arrival. Gus van Sant turns hired hand to direct this film, originally intended to be star and co-writer Matt Damon's debut behind the camera, and does so passionlessly, in a sedated monotone which he adopts when he wants to go Hollywood - I find the schizophrenia of his career choices less bothersome than the disparity of quality in his output. There's no evident attempt to enliven the film, although the occasional amble in the countryside is to some people's tastes. Damon and the trustworthy Frances McDormand play roles so determinedly ordinary that they don't convince - the right choice to draft these characters as good souls in nasty jobs, but both seem too nice to be comfortable making a living out of manipulating honest people trying to make a living. There are some unexpected developments in the plot in what feels like the beginning of the third act, forcing the film to a sputtering halt, and goodness only knows how gullible you'll have to be to buy into them. The blandness with which the generic female characters are depicted is also disheartening. A shame that this is such a cack-handed, dreary film, alternately cornball and watery polemic, as it has a fair point to make, even if Damon and John Krasinski's ardency disables them from adequately grasping the basic truths on the other side of the argument too. All involved have seen, and will see, better days, and you've seen better films.

REVIEW - THE HOUSE I LIVE IN

A lesson in the form of a film. But what a worthwhile lesson! Eugene Jarecki skillfully assembles a panoply of information on America's 'War on Drugs' into a cohesive, convincing argument that is so vehement and so extensive that it lays waste to the very concept of this so-called war. This is one of those maddening examples of a case so undeniably fair, simple and sensible, and also undeniable in its plain facts, that it might erase all faith you have in politicians, or even the political system. At least the justice system. Jarecki doesn't even attempt to provide reason for the other side of the debate - there is no reason there, only thoughtless, cavalier political rhetoric and cowardice, and racism. Are these points which need to be made? Is this information not generally well-known already? Maybe, although to observe the facts laid out with precision and in full historical context is to become wholly aware of how dire the situation is, and Jarecki achieves this with an appreciation of the strength of basic filmmaking techniques. A good documentary will remind you of how powerful the medium of film can be when treated appropriately. He meanders somewhat, and it begins to feel as though the film could go on for several hours, never settling on any specific story, until Jarecki arrives at his destination - a blanket rhetoric for the opposition, disturbing, all-encompassing, prophetic. You may scoff, but would you then scoff at your own irresponsibility? Because there is no happy ending proposed here, only further, and increasing, pain.

REVIEW - 5 BROKEN CAMERAS

A focus on the lives of the innocent during wartime unburdens this documentary from the challenge of depicting its story with balance. Composed solely of camera footage from Emad Burnat's documentation of his own life, and those of his friends, family and neighbours in a Palestinian town close to an Israeli separation barrier, the validity of the images is irrefutable, and, wisely, no slant is attributed to the footage. The violence of the Israeli soldiers is clear, as is the (mostly) non-violence of the Palestinian civilians. 5 Broken Cameras does not attempt to share the perspective of the aggressors - how can it, as it is only this one man's perspective that can be shared; these are his cameras, and this is his life. Thus, claims of bias are unsustainable. He is an innocent farmer, existing as best he can in the face of oppression and violence, and this is what we witness. No doubt there are equally touching stories of innocent Israelis whose lives are disrupted and whose rights are abused by the other side, but this is not one such story. It is what it is, and thereby condemns only those who condemn themselves through their actions, as caught on camera. Burnat's footage is extensive enough that efficacious editing has generated a strong narrative for the film, with insight into his family life, and the effects of the war on the town and its inhabitants. It is often a sad film, with plot progressions that would befit a fictional recreation, yet which, as fact, harbour much more meaningful emotive power.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 13 - 5 WEEKS TO AWARDS

First, I thought Argo. Then I realised I didn't have it down to win anything else. Then, I though Silver Linings Playbook, so I had to find room for David O. Russell in Director and Jennifer Lawrence in Actress. Then, I decided Lawrence wouldn't beat Chastain, and it had to go. Not feeling Haneke and Riva any more, almost went for Lee. So Lincoln it is then! Who knows, maybe Lincoln is about to sweep the guilds. SLP won't get the DGA at least! #clusterfuck

Best Picture

Lincoln (Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg)

Best Directing

Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Michael Haneke (Amour)

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Tony Kushner (Lincoln)

LONDON CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS

Film of the Year

Amour

Director of the Year

Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

Actor of the Year

Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)

Actress of the Year

Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

Supporting Actor of the Year

Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

Supporting Actress of the Year

Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

Screenwriter of the Year

Michael Haneke (Amour)

Technical Achievement Award

Bill Westenhofer (Life of Pi)

Documentary of the Year

The Imposter

Foreign Language Film of the Year

Rust and Bone (StudioCanal)

INTERNATIONAL CINEPHILE SOCIETY NOMINATIONS

Best Picture

·          Amour

·          Cloud Atlas

·          Django Unchained

·          Holy Motors

·          Lincoln

·          The Master

·          Moonrise Kingdom

·          Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

·          Tabu

·          Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director

·          Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master)

·          Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

·          Leos Carax (Holy Motors)

·          Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)

·          Miguel Gomes (Tabu)

Best Actor

·          Anders Danielsen Lie (Oslo, August 31st)

·          Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

·          Denis Lavant (Holy Motors)

·          Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)

·          Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead)

·          Jean-Louis Trintignant (Amour)

Best Actress

·          Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

·          Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone)

·          Greta Gerwig (Damsels in Distress)

·          Nina Hoss (Barbara)

·          Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

·          Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea)

Best Supporting Actor

·          Dwight Henry (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

·          Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

·          Matthew McConaughey (Killer Joe)

·          Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

·          Yu Jun Sang (In Another Country)

Best Supporting Actress

·          Amy Adams (The Master)

·          Rosemarie DeWitt (Your Sister’s Sister)

·          Gina Gershon (Killer Joe)

·          Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy)

·          Edith Scob (Holy Motors)

Best Original Screenplay

·          Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master)

·          Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom)

·          Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty)

·          Leos Carax (Holy Motors)

·          Miguel Gomes and Mariana Ricardo (Tabu)

·          Michael Haneke (Amour)

Best Adapted Screenplay

·          Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain (Rust and Bone)

·          David Cronenberg (Cosmopolis)

·          Terence Davies (The Deep Blue Sea)

·          Tony Kushner (Lincoln)

·          Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt (Oslo, August 31^st)

REVIEW - WEST OF MEMPHIS

Stories like this have no end. There have been three documentaries made on the West Memphis Three, the Paradise Lost trilogy, which covered their convictions, incarcerations and alleged crimes in such detail that this new documentary, independent of those films, might seem unnecessary. But it is the new evidence in the case, and there are always more sides to these kinds of stories, and more connections to be made. For, despite the persistence of the state of Arkansas, negligent and self-seeking, it is both common sense and common knowledge that the WM3 are innocent of the three child murders that sent them to prison for eighteen years. Amy Berg and her editor / co-writer Billy McMillin assiduously arrange the details of the case, and of the years since, with all the subsequent efforts to free the WM3. Every element is addressed, even if only in passing, and dozens of prominent faces feature in interviews, footage or both; still, there is a clarity to the narrative, actuated by the filmmakers' focus - they have goals in sight, which they have seen through over several years of production, whether they have been realised fully, in part or only in suggestion. What they are suggesting relates to the identity of the real culprit, whom they brazenly identify. He cuts a more likely figure than those convicted, yet while this argument may appear incontrovertible, it struck me that these methods of investigation and accusation are not far removed from those used to convict the WM3 and to implicate former suspect John Mark Byers, which is unsettling from an investigative perspective. A too-happy ending also feels ill, with the implication that the freedom of the WM3 is worth a guilty plea and the insurance, thereby, that the killer will never be brought to justice. The film becomes a personal portrait of Damien Echols, which is not an appropriate course to take, after over two hours on another course. This is more than just a personal story - it is a story of relevance anywhere justice is not served, any day from this day forward. When all those connected to this particular story are dead and buried, it can't just be forgotten. Stories like this have no end.

GEORGIA FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION WINNERS

Best Motion Picture

Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Best Supporting Actor

Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

Best Supporting Actress

Judi Dench (Skyfall)

Best Original Screenplay

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom)

Best Adapted Screenplay

David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)