
Coming Soon to Blu-Ray and DVD for the week of January 9, 2016 includes Spectre, Pretty Little Liars, The 33, Secret in their Eyes, and more. Continue reading
Coming Soon to Blu-Ray and DVD for the week of January 9, 2016 includes Spectre, Pretty Little Liars, The 33, Secret in their Eyes, and more. Continue reading
After last week’s nominations were revealed for the 22nd Annual SAG Awards and 73rd Golden Globes, it feels like it could be anyone’s game at this point. This morning the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) announced their 21st Critics’ Choice Awards nominees with George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road leading the charge with 13 nods. Hosted by T.J. Miller, the winners will be revealed during a live broadcast from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica on A&E, Lifetime, and LMN on Sunday, January 17, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST.
Mad Max: Fury Road has undoubtedly become the underdog favorite of this awards season, as it has become one of the most revered features of the year by critics, myself included – my review. The big topic of conversation, aside from gaining Best Picture recognition, is Charlize Theron’s nods for both Best Actress and Best Actress In An Action Movie. Tom Hardy, of course, is nominated for Best Actor In An Action Movie, but it’s George Miller for Best Director that has really invested my interest into whether he could be a contender come Oscars. The film has also garnered nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Visual Effects, Best Action Movie, and Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie.
Trailing behind the whirlwind, critically acclaimed hit is Carol, The Martian, and The Revenant with nine nominations each. While this year’s big favorite, Spotlight, has earned itself eight nominations from critics, followed by The Big Short and The Hateful Eight with six each. Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, The Danish Girl, Jurassic World, and Sicario each earned five nominations and Room obtained four. Charlize Theron isn’t the only actress up for multiple Best Actress categories, as Jennifer Lawrence is up for three for her work in Joy and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, while Rachel McAdams is up for two awards for Spotlight and True Detective.
And while the film categories are all up in the air, the television categories prove that the increasing output of excellent programming continued this year with FX, ABC, and HBO both gaining 14 nominations each; FOX is close on their heels with 12 nods. The big standout series this year, as determined by critics, is FX’s Fargo with eight nominations. The Leftovers (HBO) and Transparent (Amazon) are not far behind with five nominations each; Black-ish (ABC), Mr. Robot (USA), and Penny Dreadful (Showtime) each earned four.
So what can we takeaway from this year’s 21st Critics’ Choice Awards nominees? For starters, no other awards group has seen more movies this year than the critics, assumably. It’s their jobs to assess the year in film. Who better has a sound voice of reasoning than those who sit in dark rooms and watch movies multiple times per week? In the long run, sure, all awards are practically meaningless gold statues, and the varying award categories the BFCA and BTJA have set have little influence when it comes to the Oscars, but if these voices of reason can help sway voters to at least make an earnest decision at the polls we can be safe in knowing we won’t have another year where a Shakespeare in Love wins against a Saving Private Ryan.
BEST PICTURE
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST EDITING
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BEST ACTION MOVIE
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
BEST COMEDY
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BEST SONG
BEST SCORE
Brace your bank accounts, it’s time to see what’s Now Available to Own for the week of August 11, 2015. Every Tuesday we run down new movie, television, and video game releases that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home, as well as some slick deals that can save you some coin. New on shelves this week are Unfriended, Hot Pursuit, Hell on Wheels, Person of Interest, and more.
Unfriended (Levan Gabriadze) Rated R [82 min] – A group of online chat room friends find themselves haunted by a mysterious, supernatural force using the account of their dead friend.Director: Stars: Heather Sossaman, Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson, Shelley Hennig (Watch the trailer)
How well could a studio pull off a full-length feature film told exclusively via Skype? A few shorts have been told through the medium, but nothing as daring as Unfriended has yet to be attempted. And it works. Unfriended cuts itself at the right moment and it never feels as if they’re cheating their way to tell the story. The depth of the mythology is kind of lacking, but the concept is fun and the actors are pretty believable for a low-budget horror. There are enough solid setups and surprises that will keep you invested until the very end.
Hot Pursuit (Anne Fletcher) Rated PG-13 [87 min] – An uptight and by-the-book cop tries to protect the outgoing widow of a drug boss as they race through Texas pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Sofía Vergara, Matthew Del Negro, Michael Mosley, and John Carroll Lynch (Watch the trailer)
Reese Witherspoon hasn’t been jumping on many opportunities to come back to the silver screen. Last year’s Wild proved she still had the acting chops that won her the Oscar in Walk the Line. And as much as I enjoy Legally Blonde, Hot Pursuit is not a return to form for the actress in the realm of comedy. She has a knack for the genre, but Hot Pursuit is not written well for her. The movie is too thin and too goofy to find any ounce of entertainment; unless you like the sound of Sofia Vergara screaming incomprehensibly.
Special features include:
I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story (Dave LaMattina and Chad N. Walker) Unrated [90 min] – Caroll Spinney has been Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969; at 78-years-old, he has no intention of stopping. Staring Caroll Spinney, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz
For anyone growing up over the past half century, Big Bird was most likely a big part of your childhood. I Am Big Bird captures the magic and the wonder of what makes the character and the man behind him so special. There’s so many touching behind the scenes moments that even the Grinch would be moved. This is a great nostalgic documentary, but there’s not much of a definitive angle it’s trying to capture. Just the tale of a man and his many talents.
Person of Interest: The Complete Fourth Season (Jonathan Nolan) Rated TV-14 [43 min] – A former CIA operative is recruited by an enigmatic billionaire to prevent violent crimes. Starring Jim Caviezel, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman, and Michael Emerson
The folks behind Person of Interest continue to keep the series in good spirits with now four seasons under their belt. There are still surprises and wonderful character moments that continue to bring more depth and more intrigue into one of the better written crime dramas on network TV. The fourth season ends on quite the high note, leaving much to be desired for an upcoming with Sarah Shahi returning as a series regular.
Special features include:
2 Broke Girls: The Complete Fourth Season (Whitney Cummings and Michael Patrick King) Rated TV-14 [22 min] – Two young women waitressing at a greasy spoon diner strike up an unlikely friendship in the hopes of launching a successful business – if only they can raise the cash. Starring Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs, and Garrett Morris
I’m not sure who continues to green light season after season of 2 Broke Girls, but it has to stop. I’m not one to quit in the middle of a season, but I stopped only a handful of episodes into the first season and never looked back. Given the chance to check out season four, I was curious to see how much this show has changed. As much as I like Kat Dennings quirky indie charming, the writing and the comedy is too corny. And the plot moves at a snails pace with nothing really moving our characters in a particular direction. The show is very stagnant and droll.
Special features include:
Hell on Wheels: The Complete Fourth Season (Joe and Tony Gayton) Rated TV-14 [42 min] – Cullen Bohannon, a former soldier and slaveholder, follows the track of a band of Union soldiers, the killers of his wife. This brings him to the middle of one of the biggest projects in US history, the building of the transcontinental railroad. After the war years in the 1860s, this undertaking connected the prospering east with the still wild west. Starring Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Phil Burke, Robin McLeavy, Dohn Norwood, Christopher Heyerdahl, Common, and Kasha Kropinski
I’ve never bothered with Hell on Wheels before. It’s never struck me as immediate viewing, and I’ve never heard any noise surrounding the show. So I checked out season four since I had the chance to. It’s a very cinematically beautiful show, but basic on all levels. Hell on Wheels seems perfectly content with playing it safe without causing too much of a stir. It’s an interesting period of events to follow, but there just isn’t enough depth to keep this train running.
Special features include:
The Knick: The Complete First Season One (Jack Amiel, Michael Begler) Unrated [58 min] – A look at the professional and personal lives of the staff at New York’s Knickerbocker Hospital during the early part of the twentieth century. Starring Katrina E. Perkins, Clive Owen, and André Holland
I have not seen this series, but have heard positive things toward it. Nip/Tuck served as a fantastic surgery show based in the present day, and I’d be interested in checking out The Knick for that reason back in the time it’s set.
Special features include:
All prices from Amazon.com. Best Buy, Frys, and Target all price match online prices.
What will you be taking home this week? Tell us in the comments section below!
All plot synopses come courtesy of IMDb.com
While we provide you with a list of available new releases Now Available to Own every Tuesday, Coming Soon to Blu-ray and DVD looks at all of the recent home video announcements. For the week of May 16, 2015 we have Get Hard, Maggie, It Follows, Ex Machina, and more. Find out when they’ll be out and what special features movie fans can expect from them after the break. Continue reading
The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards kick off the actual awards part of awards season today on NBC. The big event will be once again hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and promptly aired live from 5:00-8:00 p.m. (PST)/8:00-11:00 p.m. (EST). We’ll be covering the Golden Globes live as well so in case you stepped out or have to miss them due to a previously planned engagement – because let’s be honest, they’re just the Globes – we’ve got you covered. After the jump you’ll find the complete winners list as they are announced tonight. Continue reading
Awards is continuing to get underway with the announcement of the 72nd Golden Globe Awards nominations this morning at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Kate Beckinsale, Peter Krause, Paula Patton, and Jeremy Piven did the honors as they were welcomed by Hollywood Foreign Press Association president, Theo Kingma and Miss Golden Globe, Greer Grammer. Fox Searchlight dominated the Golden Globes with 12 nods with its top contender Birdman contributing to seven of them. Check out the full list of nominees after the break. Continue reading