Brief Thoughts: The Drop

Rated R

106 minutes

Directed by Michael R. Roskam

Tom Hardy is the man.

Movie Review: This is Where I Leave You

Rated R

103 minutes

Directed by Shawn Levy

When I saw this movie, there wasn't a Shawn Levy film I'd seen that I didn't like on the initial viewing. He's far from my favorite filmmaker, but all his movies have come out at the right time in my life. The Night at the Museum franchise came out at the right time for me, I was in the mood for Real Steel when I saw it, and the few minutes of The Internship I saw were so hilariously bad that I couldn't help but really like it for being that bad. However, This is Where I Leave You was a step out of his comfort zone, so I had no idea whether or not it was going to work for me, initially at least. I liked the trailers, but mainly because they used the right music at the right times. But, I'm pleased to report that the streak continues.

Watch: First Trailer for A Most Violent Year

Watch: New Trailer for Men, Women, and Children

September 2014 Oscar Predictions: Part 1

Best Picture (assuming there's 10):
1. Foxcatcher
2. Unbroken
3. Gone Girl
4. The Imitation Game
5. Birdman
6. The Theory of Everything
7. Boyhood
8. Fury
9. Interstellar
10. Whiplash

Others (not in order): A Most Violent Year, Inherent Vice, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Selma, Big Eyes, Wild, Into the Woods, The Grand Budapest Hotel, American Sniper, Mr. Turner, Nightcrawler, Rosewater, Men, Women, & Children

Best Director:
1. Bennet Miller, Foxcatcher
2. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
3. Angelina Jolie, Unbroken
4. David Fincher, Gone Girl
5. Christopher Nolan, Interstellar

Others: J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year), David Ayer (Fury), Jason Reitman (Men, Women & Children), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Ava DuVarney (Selma), Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice), Tim Burton (Big Eyes), Morten Tydlum (The Imitation Game), James Marsh (The Theory of Everything)

Best Actor: 
1. Michael Keaton, Birdman
2. Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
3. Ben Affleck, Gone Girl
4. Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
5. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Others: Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Adam Sandler (Men, Women & Children), Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice), James McAvoy (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), Miles Teller (Whiplash), Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar), David Oyelowo (Selma), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), Jack O'Connell (Unbroken), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher), Brad Pitt (Fury)

Best Actress:

1. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
2. Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
3. Reese Witherspoon, Wild
4. Jessica Chastain, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
5. Amy Adams, Big Eyes

Others: Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin), Hilary Swank (The Homesman), Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

Best Supporting Actor:
1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
2. Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
3. Neil Patrick Harris, Gone Girl
4. Edward Norton, Birdman
5. Logan Lerman, Fury

Others: Tyler Perry (Gone Girl), Robert Duvall (The Judge), Cristoph Waltz (Big Eyes), Michael Pena (Fury), Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
2. Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
3. Emma Stone, Birdman
4. Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
5. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Others: Anna Kendrick (Into the Woods), Vanessa Redgrave (Foxcatcher), Laura Dern (Wild), Carmen Ejogo (Selma), Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. Gone Girl

2. Unbroken

3. The Imitation Game

4. The Theory of Everything

5. Wild

Others:

Best Original Screenplay:

1. Foxcatcher

2. Boyhood

3. Birdman

4. Whiplash

5. Interstellar

Others:

Analysis: I'm thinking that Foxcatcher will wreck this race. I think that Channing Tatum is incredibly close to being in the top 5 in Lead Actor, and if he goes to supporting, he's a lock. Unbroken is a war film, so if it's good, it'll be close to the top. Gone Girl is a serious X-factor. Based on the book, I think they'll dig it a lot, but I could be wrong. The TIFF two (The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything) received great reviews, but I don't know if they're substantial enough for a win in BP (I haven't seen either, so don't hold me on this). If Sony Pictures Classics spreads the love down to Whiplash as well as Foxcatcher, it'll probably do some damage. A Most Violent Year would ordinarily be high up, but a lack of a release date makes me nervous about banking on it too much outside of Jessica Chastain.

Are my predictions good? Are they bad? Let me know!

Other category predictions coming in 1-2 weeks.  

Movie Review: Magic in the Moonlight

Rated PG-13

100 minutes

Directed by Woody Allen

Over the summer, I've been BOMBARDED with the trailer with this film. It was in front of X-Men, Edge of Tomorrow, Chef, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I was already going to see it, with it being a Woody Allen film and all, but that trailer was maybe harmful to the film. Most trailers for me manage to show enough intriguing stuff without blowing the entire wad. Unfortunately, Sony Classics was too confident, and maybe made a trailer better than the actual movie.