By Bruce E. Parry, Ph.dThe Screen Actor's Guild Awards, commonly referred to as the SAG Awards, serves to solely honor actors and actresses in several film and television categories. The SAG Awards were held this year on January 18, 2014 at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, CA. Some people say that the SAG awards can be a bit dry and usually do not contain many memorable moments, but I do really appreciate the concept that it is an award show in which the entire voting board consists of all peers of the nominees. I also find it interesting that the biggest awards are for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in various categories of television shows. There was absolutely no surprise on my end when American Hustle took the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, as they have won nearly all the major awards in every other show. See here for the complete list of nominees and winners!
By Bruce E. Parry, Ph.D As a self-proclaimed veteran film critic and blogger, the Critics Choice Awards is a show that I can truly appreciate. The Critics Choice Awards began in 1995 to honor achievements in film. The board of voters includes members from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. This year the host of the Critics Choice Awards is Aisha Tyler, the new host of Who's Line is it Anyways, and was held on January 16th. Although predictably American Hustle, 12 Years A Slave, and Gravity won the majority of the awards, I was interested in some of the other nominations. While I was reviewing the nominations list I was very surprised to note that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was even being considered for a nomination, let alone Best Action Film of the Year. I thought that the movie dragged quite a bit and that the ending fell flat, hardly the makings of an exemplary action film. I even speculated if the only reason that this film was up for the nomination was due to the residual hype from the first Hunger Games film. Whatever the case may be I was very pleased to see that it did not end up winning the award. The full list of nominees and winners can be viewed here. Copyright Bruce E. Parry, Ph.D
by Bruce E. Parry, Ph.D The next award show of the season was the Golden Globes Awards which was held on January 12, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angelos. The Golden Globes were created to commemorate film and television achievements specifically in the categories of comedy/musical and drama. The hosts for the second year in a row were Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The board of voters for this awards show is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and various journalist around Southern California. What I like about this award show is that it specifically honors comedy and musical films which I believe are largely overlooked in many of the other big award shows. This year I thought there were a few amazing comedy films out and I was sad that The Best Man Holiday was not up for any nominations at all. Also, as predicted, American Hustle walked away with the majority of the awards. American Hustle won Best Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical, Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical/Comedy (Amy Adams), and Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Jennifer Lawrence). I thought this was interesting because I would not have considered American Hustle a comedy or musical. Although 12 Years A Slave did win Best Motion Picture, Drama, they did not win as many awards as predicted by film critics. However, I was please to see that All is Lost, another film I reviewed for my movie blog, won the award for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture. This wasn't my favorite movie that I ever reviewed, but I did feel like I could identify with Robert Redford's character as a war veteran. Due to the lack of dialog in the film, I was not surprised that it won for Best Original Score because sound was a main factor in the film. See the rest of the Golden Globe nominees and winners here!
The very first award show of the season was the People's Choice Awards which was held on January 8th in Los Angelos, CA. The People's Choice Awards began in 1957 and are one of my favorite shows because it gives all movie fans a chance to vote on their preferences in each category instead of a pre-set board of voters. Interestingly, it is the only award show that allows the public to voice their opinions about the film and television industry. The voting system is open to the public online through a polling system (very convenient to be able to do this from my home in Chicago). This year the show was hosted by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs from a show called 2 Broke Girls. Although I do not usually watch the show, I thought they were quite funny as co-hosts. Overall I was very pleased at the majority of the award winners, particularly how well Gravity did in the polls. When I watched the movie and reviewed it for my blog, I thought the acting and the special effects were amazing so I was very pleased that it won the award for Favorite Dramatic Movie of the Year. Furthermore, I was even more pleased that Sandra Bullock and George Clooney won for Favorite Movie Duo of the Year for Gravity as well. Not to mention all the recognition that Sandra Bullock received for her work this year when she was awarded Favorite Movie Actress and Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress. To see the rest of this year's nominations and winners please visit the People's Choice Awards 2014 winners page. Copyright by Bruce E. Parry (Ph.D)
As an avid movie lover and blogger, the film awards season is one of my favorite times of the year. With around 15 different awards shows that start in early January and end in March, I will surely have plenty to keep me busy over these next few months. One of my favorite parts of watching the shows is discovering how the respective members perceive the films that I have also reviewed and finding out which of those films win. I will discuss each award show individually over my next few blog posts. Although each award show is different and has a different voting body there are a few movies each year that seem to win the most at every show. This year it appears that American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave are battling for the most nominations, interestingly neither of these were among my favorites that I reviewed this year. Disagreements aside, I am very excited to watch the outcomes of the shows from the comfort of my couch here in Chicago. Copyright Bruce E. Parry, Ph.D
"There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator." I was very cautious about this film at first due to the fact that silent films were never really my forte, but upon watching it I realized what all the hype surrounding it was about. I was extremely surprised to find out that the film had been created in 1927 because the special effects and camera work seemed to be very advanced for the times. Although the film was fantastically done, I did have to set my own political beliefs aside because I am an avid activist for workers rights and have been part of many organizations in Chicago, IL in support of that. The entire theme behind the film was that workers will always need a mediator to aid them in working with the highest power. This movie is resolutely against the self-organization of workers (essentially unions) which I found slightly upsetting. However, I completely agree that Metropolis is one of the greatest sci-fi movies and silent films ever created.
by Bruce E. Parry Every once in awhile I take my son Savaun to see a movie of his choosing in theaters. Since he is becoming quite the scary movie connoisseur, I took him to see the fifth Paranormal Activity movie. Although this was the first film of the series that I had seen and was unaware of some of the back story, I found the movie overall enjoyable. I was particularly fond of the hand-held camera filming style that further led the audience believe that it was a "true" story. I thought that this style truly added to the suspense and scariness of the film, it made the story seem more authentic to the audience. To read my full review of the movie please see my film blog here.
By Bruce E. Parry This movie is for anyone who remembers being captivated by the magical world of Mary Poppins as a child. Although I am unsure of how factual the plot line actually is, this movie is based on Walt Disney's struggle with author, P.J. Travers, on getting the movie, Mary Poppins (1964), made. I do not want to give too much of my actual movie review away, but Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson do an absolutely amazing job of making their characters come to life. I cannot wait to go back and watch Mary Poppins again with my new perspective on its back story. For my more in depth review please visit my blog page here. Copyright Bruce E. Parry
Although I did not see The Best Man (1999), I recently wrote a review of the the sequel that was released this past year, The Best Man Holiday, for my " Movies Are Great" blog. The Best Man Holiday was reminiscent of the "Before" trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight films) in that it picks up a plot line many years after the prequel was released. I truly enjoyed this film and even though it was marketed as a comedy, I found myself both laughing and crying at certain parts. To see my full reaction to the film check out my latest blog post here. Copyright Bruce E. Parry
by Bruce E. Parry
I’m playing catch up with my movie blogs here. I saw this some time ago and got behind, so I’m just now trying to get caught up.
I really wanted to see this film because Muhammad Ali is one of my heroes. He really took a stand against going to Vietnam and was willing to pay the price for it. It could have ruined his life. He didn’t let it. By what he did, he became a leader of both the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. For me, as a veteran, I recognize that the anti-war movement saved thousands of lives. I am convinced that without that movement, there would have been no reason—no impetus—for any politician—particularly Richard Nixon—to end the war.
I was, of course, familiar with the story of Muhammad Ali as I lived through it and followed it with great interest at the time. The movie both filled in details I never knew and refreshed my memory of both the events and the time period. In doing so, it brought me back to the 1960s and early 1970s, a seminal period in my life.
Just saying that the movie transported me back to that period says a lot about the documentary. It was excellent in its portrayal and pace. It incorporated film and TV from the period and interspersed still shots. They all gave that real period feel because they were from it. There were also contemporary interviews of family members and associates that gave background and kept the movie rooted in our present understanding of Ali’s historic role. The balance was exceptional.
I was also surprised at how long the media (particularly) kept referring to Ali as Cassius Clay. I thought the transition, while controversial at the time, was relatively swift. Not so. Years after his conversion to Islam and adoption of his new name, the media continued to refer to him as Clay. Even the Supreme Court decision of 1971 made reference to him as Clay AKA Muhammad Ali.
The film also brought back the inherent discomfort America felt with the Black Muslims of the period. The growth of Islam in the world and particularly in the U.S. has at least made the religion known to a broad section of the population, even if it is not fully accepted. At that time, Islam in the U.S. was new and quite threatening to many. That comes across very emphatically in the film.
Ali’s commitment to Islam also comes across emphatically. At one point during a TV interview, he challenges the interviewer by demanding to know why the interviewer would think that he would recant the very truth that had led him to take the stand he did that led him to be on the show in the first place. Of course he wouldn’t. The strength of his views, the commitment to them, and his willingness to be in the media’s face was refreshing and inspiring.
Ali is a brave man to have stood up and been counted. He was a great fighter—the greatest—and he equalled the physical with the moral. He stands as the greatest sportsman of the 20th century for both his athletic prowess and his moral courage. I’m really glad I had the opportunity to see this film in the theaters. I strongly recommend people look for it on DVD if you missed that short theater run.
Copyright Bruce E. Parry
https://bruceeparry.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/the-trials-of-muhammad-ali-2013/
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