Jennifer Lawrence’s Saturday Night Live episode may have been abysmal and quite possibly one of the worst of the season, but who can blame Lawrence? She was natural enough and tried to play along. When the writing is that unfunny all-around, there’s just so much even an Academy Award-nominated actress can do. So while her disappointing stint onSNL comes and goes, and hopefully rarely gets revisited on YouTube, Lawrence still has her Oscar nomination and, soon enough, that nod could become a win – and maybe even with a little help from Katniss.
Just because Lawrence is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in Silver Linings Playbook doesn’t mean her performance in The Hunger Games can’t have an effect on the vote. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is comprised of people and whether or not a nomination honors a single performance, those people are susceptible to outside forces and, considering The Hunger Games was a cinematic extravaganza that went on to please the large majority of critics, become the third-highest domestic earner of the year, and amass a legion of die-hard fans, it’s very likely that the Girl on Fire is in the back of voters’ minds.
Looking at the five ladies in contention, we can also narrow down the competition rather quickly. While little Quvenzhané Wallis is a revelation and her becoming the youngest Best Actress nominee in history is a thrill, Beasts of the Southern Wild will likely go on to enjoy a presence at the Academy Awards, but fall short of any wins. As one of my top 10 films of the year, it breaks my heart that Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Impossible missed out on a Best Picture nod, only going on to secure a single nomination. Naomi Watts is incredible and deserves to be in the running, but just like the film itself, she’ll fly under the radar.
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“John Dies at the End” shouldn’t be a good movie. The narrative is just way too off the rails, there’s nearly no reasoning behind most of the plot points and the large majority of the visual effects are rather rough, but the power of smart and deeply dedicated filmmaking takes over and writer-director Don Coscarelli manages to lead his cast and crew through to an undeniably entertaining end product.
Meat monsters, flying moustaches, chest-sucking slugs and bratwursts that function as cell phones. Think all that’s a challenge to sell on the big screen? Director Don Coscarelli takes it one step further aiming to do just that within a non-linear narrative in his adaptation of David Wong’s off the wall, time-traveling novel, “John Dies at the End.”
Watching Gary Busey consider the daily life and sexual tendencies of hobbits is disturbingly mesmerizing, but ultimately, it’s not out to promote The Hobbit, so the Best Stuff title has to go to three other contenders and, in a delightful timely fashion, three Sundance features go on to earn the honor.
The short that inspired “Mama” is an impressive piece with chilling imagery and a good deal of suspense, but it isn’t a story. It’s more of a single scare and while writer-director Andrés Muschietti and his team do honor that single scare, their attempt to expand upon it results in a handful of less successful permutations connected by a clunky narrative.
Making a horror movie is a double-edged sword. The most hardcore fans of the genre will see anything and everything, so you’re guaranteed to make a buck – but at the same time, many moviegoers have seen just about everything and anything, so it takes quite a bit of ingenuity, creativity and thoughtfulness to wow, let alone scare us, and that’s the challenge director Mark Tonderai strove to tackle with House at the End of the Street.
Even as a die-hard Hunger Games fan who’s eager to eat up any Catching Fire promotional material the comes my way, I’ve got to admit the unveiling of the Entertainment Weekly cover was rather underwhelming. The background is a little too reminiscent of a certain fiery mishap from the first film, and while Katniss and Finnick are looking good, those set photos stole this cover’s thunder. Fortunately the stills that came along with it show Francis Lawrence is on the right track and there’s a great deal to look forward to, but the movie isn’t Best Stuff worthy just yet.
It may finally be the year of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but November 22 is still a ways away. As eager as we are for the big day to arrive, 2013 just started; there’s no need to rush the year away, as there’s a slew of films hitting theaters over the next 10 months that can appeal to the Hunger Games lover. Whether it’s another YA-book-to-film adaptation or a piece that features a Hunger Games star, 2013 is oozing with promising productions that should keep you thoroughly entertained through November.
Not only did director John Luessenhop assume quite the challenge continuing theTexas Chainsaw franchise, but he even admits that before hitting the Texas Chainsaw 3D set, he didn’t know all that much about the horror genre.
It hangs out a Christmas party, has “recessed eyes,” a “farm boy body,” lays low and watches the action from a distance. What is it? It’s Leatherface, of course! Or at least that’s what Texas Chainsaw 3D director John Luessenhop decided. While at producer Carl Mazzocone’s holiday party, Luessenhop caught a mere glimpse of Dan Yeager and made it official.