86th Academy Awards Who I Want to Win

        With the 86th Annual Academy Awards just a little over a month away, I figured I would let everyone know who I am rooting for at this year's awards presentation as well as an explanation to as to why I chose the nominee (NOTE: These are not my official picks (those will be out on the night of the Oscar's there's a lot can happen in a month and my mind isn't completely made up in certain categories) though I may already go ahead and pick a couple that I have my mind made up on . So without further ado...







Best Visual Effects

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, and Eric Reynolds
Peter Jackson has done a masterful job with the realm of middle earth for the past 14 years and this film is just full of breath-taking visual effects centered on the dragon Smaug.

Best Film Editing

12 Years A Slave- Joe Walker
The film overall is amazing and the editing is just so crisp and clean and it makes the film look breath-takingly beautiful.

Best Costume Design

American Hustle- Michael Wilkinson 
the costume design on this film were just absolutely amazing and it really made you feel like you were in the 1970's.

Best Makeup & Haristyling

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa- Stephen Prouty
This is a big time off the wall choice but the makeup to make Johnny Knoxville look like an 86 year-old man is just magnificent but in the end this is probably the biggest underdog at the Oscars this year and plus how cool would it be for a Jackass film to win an Oscar.

Best Cinematography

Gravity – Emmanuel Lubezki
Gravity is one of the most suspenseful film I have seen in a while and one of the most technological advanced films I've seen. Also Emmanuel Lubezki absolutely deserves this award after so many years of coming so close.

Best Production Design

American Hustle – Judy Becker (Production Design); Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration)
As I stated with costume design the same goes for the production design.

Best Sound Mixing

Inside Llewyn Davis – Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff, and Peter F. Kurland
The music in this film is just so perfect and the right music is in the perfect places in the film.

Best Sound Editing

All Is Lost – Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
This film has some of the best sound effects in the world for such a great movie.

Best Original Song

"Let It Go" from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
This is one of the best songs of the year in one of the best films of the year.

Best Original Score

Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman
This film has an amazing score that keeps you in the movie plus music and awards are in the Newman family bloodline.

Best Animated Short Film, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Documentary-Short Subject and Best Documentary-Feature

I don't really know a lot about the nominees in each of these films, so I can't really root for something that I don't know a lot about.

Best Foreign Language Film

The Hunt (Denmark) in Danish – Thomas Vinterberg
I really enjoyed this film mainly because of Mads Mikkelsen whose performance kept me in the film

Best Animated Feature

Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Peter Del Vecho
This is one of my absolute locks to win this year. This is one of the best animated films I have ever seen and there's really no competition for Frozen so I believe it will win.

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Wolf of Wall Street – Terence Winter
This film has a lot of unnecessary criticism for people and it is an underdog in every single category

Best Original Screenplay

Her – Spike Jonze
This is one of best original stories I have ever seen and it there is none better and this is another one of my locks

Best Supporting Actress 

Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle as Rosalyn Rosenfeld
Jennifer Lawrence is my favorite actress of all-time and her performance in American Hustle is amazing, but she is in pretty big competition with Lupita Nyong'o from 12 Years A Slave

Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon
This is one of the best performances I have ever seen and while the other 4 nominees have a shot, the chances of them winning are very slim to none and Jared Leto is another one of my locks

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock – Gravity as Dr. Ryan Stone
I love Sandra Bullock and her performance in Gravity is amazing especially since she's the only female in the film and basically the only actor in the film.

Best Actor

Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club as Ron Woodroof
This has been a reemerging year for Matthew McConaughey who has had an outstanding year and it would be icing on the cake to win the award this year, but he also has Chiwetel Ejiofor breathing down his neck.

Best Director

David O'Russell- American Hustle
It's a directors job to get the best performances out of his actors and David O'Russell does just that. For the 2nd year in a row his film has produced a nominee in all four acting categories and that is one of the greatest achievements in film history and I would be shocked if he doesn't win so he is another lock for me.

Best Picture

Dallas Buyers Club – Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter
This one of the best films I have ever seen and I recently went back and watched it again in theaters and it is just magnificent and it deserves to win, but this year's race is going to be competitive with thee other contenders in 12 Years A Slave, Gravity and American Hustle.

        So ladies and gentlemen who are you rooting for at this year's Academy Awards which air on March 2nd at 8:00pm on ABC and what do you think of the people I'm rooting for. Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Jonah Sparks

My Top 10 Favorite Films Not to Win Best Picture

        Every year The Academy of Motion Picture Sciences honors the best films of the year by hosting The Academy Awards (officially known as The Oscars). The most prestigious award to be given is Best Picture. Some of the greatest films of all-time have won the prestigious award, but there are some of the greatest films have only bee nominated. With that being said I'm going to bring you My Top 10 Favorite Films Not to Win Best Picture. For the list I will only choose one film per year that didn't win as well as the film that won the award over the film I chose. So without further ado...





10. A Clockwork Orange              Winner in 1971- The French Connection         


        This film is freaky and comes from my favorite director of all-time Stanley Kubrick. Alex (played by Malcolm McDowell). who is a charismatic, sociopathic delinquent whose interests include classical music (especially Beethoven), rape and what is termed "ultra-violence". He leads a small gang of thugs (Pete, Georgie and Dim), whom he call his droogs (from the Russian word for friends or buddy). The film chronicles the horrific crime spree of his gang, his capture and attempted rehabilitation via controversial psychological conditioning . Alex narrates most of the film in Nadsat , a fractured adolescent slang composed of Slavic (especially Russian), English and Cockney rhyming slang. This film is a masterpiece and has one of the most brutal rape scenes in film history. A Clockwork Orange was nominated for 4 including Academy Awards including Best Film Editing, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, it also has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.





9. Winter's Bone                          Winner in 2010- The King's Speech
 

        This film is amazing and the debut of young, talented and beautiful actress Jennifer Lawrence. Facing the loss of her home and siblings if she fails, a gutsy teenager Ree (played by Jennifer Lawrence) sets out on a dangerous quest to learn the fate of her missing father. Winter's Bone was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor while winning 0 and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.





8. Raiders of the Lost Ark        Winner in 1981- Chariots of Fire


        I'm a huge fan of Stephen Spielberg and this is one of my top 3 favorite films of his. Renowned archaeologist and expert in the occult, Dr. Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford), is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to still hold the ten commandments. Unfortunately agents of Hitler are also after the Ark. Indy, and his ex-flame Marion (played by Karen Allen), escape from various scrapes in a quest that takes them from Nepal to Cairo. Raiders of the Lost Ark was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Sound, Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects while winning 4 (Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects) and it has a rating of 95% on rottentomatoes.com.





7. Dr. Strangelove                    Winner in 1964- My Fair Lady 


             One of the greatest films ever made comes to us from one of the greatest directors in history Stanley Kubrick. It follows several story arcs such as a United States Air Force General who has ordered a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, the President of The United States, his advisers and his Joint Chiefs of staffs and a Royal Air Force officer as they try to recall the air strike, and it also follows one of the air crews as they deliver the bomb. The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.





6. In The Name of The Father     Winner in 1993- Schindler's List 


        This film shows just how corrupt a justice system can be. It is based on the true life story of the Guildford Four, four people named Gerry Conlon (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), Paul Hill (played by John Lynch), Paddy Armstrong (played by Mark Sheppard) and Carole Richardson (played by Beatie Edney) are falsely convicted of the IRA's Guildford Pub bombings which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. In The Name of the Father was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Writing and it has a rating of 84% on rottentomatoes.com.





5. There Will Be Blood                Winner in 2007- No Country for Old Men


        This film will keep you on the edge of your set the entire time. It tells the story of a gold miner-turned-oilman named Daniel Plainview (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) on a ruthless quest for wealth during Southern California's oil boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There Will Be Blood was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing, while winning 2 (Best Actor and Best Cinematography) and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.





4. Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope                      Winner in 1977- Annie Hall


        As a kid this is one of the first films I ever seen and for the longest time it was my favorite film of all-time. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away the film tells the story of a group of freedom fighter known as the Rebel alliance as they plot to destroy the powerful Death Star space station, a devastating weapon created by the evil Galactic Empire. This conflict disrupts the isolated life of farmboy Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) when inadvertently acquires droids carrying the stolen plans to the Death Star. After the empire begins a cruel and destructive search for the droids, Skywalker decides to accompany Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness) on a daring mission to rescue the owner of the droids, rebel leader Princess Leia (played by Carrie Fisher), and save the galaxy. This film is absolutely amazing and quite possibly the greatest Sci-Fi film of all-time. Star Wars was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, Best Sound and Best Original Screenplay, while winning 6 (Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score and Best Sound) and it has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.






3. Saving Private Ryan                 Winner in 1998- Shakespeare in Love


        This film was probably the most obvious film on the list to everyone and it comes to us fro the greatest director of all-time Stephen Spielberg. The Story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback the joins Capt. John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6th, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (played by Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt.James Ryan (played by Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and the chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (played by Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (played by Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (played by Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (played by Giovanni Ribsi) cynical Reiben (played by Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian -American Caparzo (played by Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (played by Berry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. This film is amazing and its 24 minute battle scene at the beginning of the film is one of the most gruesome and memorable scene in film history. Saving Private Ryan was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Make-Up, Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Screenplay while winning 5 (Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing) and also has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.





2. Pulp Fiction                               Winner in 1994- Forrest Gump 


        This film comes from one of the greatest directors in the modern era Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction connects the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles mobsters, fringe players, small-time criminals, and a mysterious briefcase. Considerable screen time is devoted to conversations and monologues that reveal the characters senses of humor and perspectives on life. I love this film and Tarantino is one of my favorite directors of all-time and I love his non-linear storytelling by presenting the story in non-chronological order. Pulp Fiction was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing while winning only 1 (Best Original Screenplay) and it has a rating of 95% on rottentomatoes.com.

     



Mystic River


        This film has an amazing cast an amazing script and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Set in an Irish neighborhood in Boston, Jimmy, Sean, and Dave are three childhood friends who are reunited after a brutal murder takes place. Reformed convict Jimmy Markum (played by Sean Penn) and his devoted wife Annabeth (played by Laura Linney) find out that their teenage daughter Katie (played by Emmy Rossum) has been beaten and killed. Jimmy's old friend Sean Devine (played by Kevin Bacon) is the homicide detective assigned to the case, along with partner Whitey Powers (played by Laurence Fishburne). Jimmy also gets his relatives, the Savage brothers (played by Adam Nelson and Robert Wahlberg), to conduct an investigation of their own. Jimmy and Sean both start to suspect their old pal, Dave Boyle (played by Tim Robbins), who lives a quiet life with his wife Celeste (played by Marcia Gay Harden) but harbors some disturbing secrets. Mystic River was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay while winning two (Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor) and it has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.

        So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite films that didn't win Best Picture and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks

My Review of The Invisible Woman

           So I recently watched The Invisible Woman and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...

     
        Nelly (played by Felicity Jones), a happily-married mother and schoolteacher, is haunted by her past. Her memories, provoked by remorse and guilt, take us back in time to follow the story of her relationship with Charles Dickens (played by Ralph Fiennes) with whom she discovered an exciting but fragile complicity. Dickens – famous, controlling and emotionally isolated within his success – falls for Nelly, who comes from a family of actors. The theatre is a vital arena for Dickens – a brilliant amateur actor – a man more emotionally coherent on the page or on stage, than in life. As Nelly becomes the focus of Dickens’ passion and his muse, for both of them secrecy is the price, and for Nelly a life of “invisibility”.

     

        I really enjoyed this movie more than I expected. Ralph Fiennes gives one of his best performances as well as Felicity Jones. The Set pieces are amazing and the semi-dark tone works really well for this movie. I usually complain about pacing in movies but the pacing is beautiful for this type of film and its just overall magnificent. Ralph Fiennes does a masterful job at directing this film to give us a new insight on the great Charles Dickens. Overall I give The Invisible Woman a 10 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of The Invisible Woman, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks

Weekend Box Office Review 1-24-13 to 1-26-13

        Here's the domestic weekend box office results from this past weekend of 1-24-13 to 1-26-13 as well as my 5 key takeaways. So without further ado...

TW	LW	Title	Studio	Weekend	Theaters	Total	Weeks
1	1	Ride Along	Universal Studios	$21,299,495	2,759	$75,544,805	2
2	2	Lone Survivor	Universal Studios	$12,900,960	3,162	$93,914,921	5
3	3	The Nut Job	Open Road Films	$12,101,118	3,472	$40,056,363	2
4	5	Frozen	Walt Disney Pictures	$9,118,806	2,757	$347,899,011	10
5	4	Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit	Paramount Pictures	$9,084,687	3,387	$30,452,820	2
6	-	I, Frankenstein	Lionsgate Films	$8,610,411	2,753	$8,610,411	1
7	6	American Hustle	Columbia Pictures (SONY)	$7,061,676	2,304	$127,000,429	7
8	9	The Wolf of Wall Street	Paramount Pictures	$5,478,368	1,804	$98,508,822	5
9	8	August: Osage County	The Weinstein Company	$5,029,030	2,411	$26,514,531	5
10	7	Devil’s Due	20th Century Fox	$2,786,241	2,544	$12,922,304	2

1. The top 3 from last week are the same as last week
2. I, Frankenstein had a very disappointing opening weekend and will more than likely lose the studio a lot of money
3. For the first time in its 10 week run that Frozen did not make $10 million or more
4. Overall this is a pretty slow weekend
5. Devil's Due has fallen from grace (sarcasm) as it opened at number 7 and now it to 10. It will more than likely fall out of the 10 top 10 next weekend

        So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of this past weekends box office results and what are some of your takeaways? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks

My Review of Gimme Shelter

        So I recently watched Gimme Shelter and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado.........







        16-year-old Agnes “Apple” Bailey (played by Vanessa Hudgens), uncovers the struggle for survival and the hope of redemption through the harsh realities of life on the streets. As a pregnant teenager, Apple’s journey plummets her into a perilous struggle until finding salvation in a suburban shelter for homeless teens. With provisions of unprecedented comfort, a collective sisterhood connection and female empowerment, the shelter elevates Apple to break the shackles of her past and inspires her to embrace the future with clarity, maturity and hope not only for herself but her unborn child. 

       

        This film is really powerful. Vanessa Hudgens gives the best performance of  her career. From the very beginning of the film you are instantly emotionally attached to her character through all of her struggles and triumphs. The supporting cast is really great especially James Earl Jones. The main problem with the film is the sound of the music being really loud to where you almost can't here the actors and the some of the dramatic points felt like it was a Lifetime movie. Overall I'm going to give Gimme Shelter a 5 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of Gimme Shelter, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks    

My Review of I, Frankenstein

        So I recently watched I, Frankenstein and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado........







        Set in a dystopic present where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power, Victor Frankenstein's creation Adam (played by Aaron Eckhart) finds himself caught in the middle as both sides race to discover the secret to his immortality.

       

        This movie is a joke. Possibly one of the worst adaptations of Frankenstein in the history of film. It has a stupid plot and everyone is overacting way too much. Aaron Eckhart stated before the films release that he tried to channel is inner Heath Ledger for this role and he fails miserably. The movie is so bad that I was laughing at how bad it was. Th story makes you not want to care for a character. The one thing I  did like was the action especially with the Gargoyles.Overall I hated this film and no point in hurting myself in explaining the movie any farther so i'm going to give I, Frankenstein a 0.5 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of I, Frankenstein, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks

Director Spotlight of Steven Spielberg

        In film directors main goal is to get the best performances out of his/her actors. Some have been to it very well, while some have failed miserably. One of the greatest (if not the greatest) directors of all-time is Steven Spielberg. Over the course of his 50+ year career Spielberg has directed some of the greats movies of all-time and today in this new segment of the local movieblog entitled Director Spotlight, we will take a look at the career of Steven Spielberg by listing the movies he's directed (with their rating from rottentomatoes.com), my top 3 favorite films that he has directed, a list of notable awards he has won and we'll take a look at his future projects. So without further ado...

Steven Spielberg's Directorial Credits

Year	Movie Title	Rottentomatoes.com Rating
1968	Amblin’	NA
1971	Duel	86%
1974	The Sugarland Express	92%
1975	Jaws	98%
1977	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	75%
1979	1941	32%
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark	95%
1982	E.T. the Extra Terrestrial	98%
1983	Twilight Zone: The Movie	65%
1984	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	85%
1985	The Color Purple	88%
1987	Empire of The Sun	82%
1989	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade	88%
1989	Always	64%
1991	Hook	31%
1993	Jurassic Par	93%
1993	Schindler’s List	97%
1997	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	52%
1997	Amistad	76%
1998	Saving Private Ryan	92%
2001	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	73%
2002	Catch Me If You Can	96%
2002	Minority Report	91%
2004	The Terminal	60%
2005	War of the Worlds	74%
2005	Munich	78%
2008	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	78%
2011	The Adventures of Tintin	75%
2011	War Horse	77%
2012	Lincoln	90%

My Top 3 Favorite Films
1. Jurassic Park
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark

 Steven Spielberg's Notable Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Movie	Win/ Nomination
1978	Academy Award	Best Director	Close Encounter of the Third Kind	Nominated
1982	Academy Award	Best Director	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Nominated
1983	Academy Award	Best Director	E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial	Nominated
1983	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial	Nominated
1986	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	The Color Purple	Nominated
1994	Academy Award	Best Director	Schindler’s List	Win
1994	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	Schindler’s List	Win
1999	Academy Award	Best Director	Saving Private Ryan	Win
1999	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	Saving Private Ryan	Nominated
2006	Academy Award	Best Director	Munich	Nominated
2006	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	Munich	Nominated
2007	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	Letters from Iwo Jima	Nominated
2012	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	War Horse	Nominated
2013	Academy Award	Best Director	Lincoln	Nominated
2013	Academy Award	Best Picture (as Producer)	Lincoln	Nominated

Steven Spielberg's Future Projects

As of now he has no future projects as a director in the future but he will be executive producer on three films that are set to be released in 2015 (which include Jurassic World, The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun and American Sniper)

        So ladies and gentlemen what are your thoughts on Stephen Spielberg? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks