La La Land, Moonlight lead COFCA Awards

January 6, 2017 maddwolf Leave a comment

La La Land glitters at 15th annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards

(Columbus, January 5, 2017) Damien Chazelle’s musical La La Land has been named Best Film in the Central Ohio Film Critics Association’s 15th annual awards, which recognize excellence in the film industry for 2016. The film also claimed four other awards. Chazelle was honored as Best Director. Linus Sandgren won for Best Cinematography. Tom Cross was recognized for Best Film Editing, a COFCA category he also topped in 2014 for Whiplash. Justin Hurwitz garnered the prize for Best Score.

Columbus-area critics lauded Best Film runner-up Moonlight with four awards: Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali; Best Ensemble; and Breakthrough Film Artist and Best Adapted Screenplay for director Barry Jenkins. Individual performers commended for their achievements include Best Actor Denzel Washington (Fences); Best Actress Rebecca Hall (Christine); Best Supporting Actor Lily Gladstone (Certain Women) and Actor of the Year Michael Shannon (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Complete Unknown, Elvis & Nixon, Frank & Lola, Loving, Midnight Special, and Nocturnal Animals).

Hell or High Water’s Taylor Sheridan won Best Original Screenplay. Other winners include: Best Documentary O.J.: Made in America; Best Foreign Language Film Toni Erdmann; Best Animated Film Kubo and the Two Strings; and 10 Cloverfield Lane as Best Overlooked Film.

Founded in 2002, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association is comprised of film critics based in Columbus, Ohio and the surrounding areas. Its membership consists of 25 print, radio, television, and internet critics. COFCA’s official website at www.cofca.org contains links to member reviews and past award winners.

Winners were announced at a private party on January 5.

Complete list of awards:

Best Film

La La Land
Moonlight
Hell or High Water
Manchester by the Sea
Sing Street
Arrival
The Lobster
Hacksaw Ridge
The Witch: A New-England Folktale
The Nice Guys

Best Director

-Damien Chazelle, La La Land

-Runner-up: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Best Actor

-Denzel Washington, Fences

-Runner-up: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

Best Actress

-Rebecca Hall, Christine

-Runner-up: Viola Davis, Fences

Best Supporting Actor

-Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

-Runner-up: Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress

-Lily Gladstone, Certain Women

-Runner-up: Naomie Harris, Moonlight

Best Ensemble

–Moonlight

-Runner-up: Hell or High Water

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)

-Michael Shannon (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Complete Unknown, Elvis &

Nixon, Frank &Lola, Loving, Midnight Special, and Nocturnal Animals)

-Runner-up: Ryan Gosling, La La Land and The Nice Guys

Breakthrough Film Artist

-Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (for directing and screenwriting)

-Runner-up: Robert Eggers, The Witch: A New-England Folktale (for directing and screenwriting)

Best Cinematography

-Linus Sandgren, La La Land

-Runner-up: Chung Chung-hoon, The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)

Best Film Editing

-Tom Cross, La La Land

-Runner-up: Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, Moonlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

-Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

-Runner-up: Eric Heisserer, Arrival

Best Original Screenplay

-Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water

-Runner-up: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea

Best Score

-Justin Hurwitz, La La Land

-Runner-up: Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, Swiss Army Man

Best Documentary

–O.J.: Made in America

-Runner-up: 13th

Best Foreign Language Film

–Toni Erdmann

-Runner-up: The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)

Best Animated Film

–Kubo and the Two Strings

-Runner-up: Zootopia

Best Overlooked Film

–10 Cloverfield Lane

-Runner-up: Christine

COFCA offers its congratulations to the winners.

Previous Best Film winners:

2002: Punch-Drunk Love

2003: Lost in Translation

2004: Million Dollar Baby

2005: A History of Violence

2006: Children of Men

2007: No Country for Old Men

2008: WALL·E

2009: Up in the Air

2010: Inception

2011: Drive

2012: Moonrise Kingdom

2013: Gravity

2014: Selma

2015: Spotlight

For more information about the Central Ohio Film Critics Association, please visit www.cofca.org or e-mail info@cofca.org.

The complete list of members and their affiliations:

Richard Ades (Freelance); Dwayne Bailey (Bailey’s Buzz); Logan Burd (Cinema or Cine-meh?); Kevin Carr (www.7mpictures.com, FilmSchoolRejects.com); Bill Clark (www.fromthebalcony.com); Olie Coen (Archer Avenue, DVD Talk); John DeSando (90.5 WCBE); Johnny DiLoretto (90.5 WCBE, PencilStorm.com);Frank Gabrenya (The Columbus Dispatch); James Hansen (Out 1 Film Journal); Mark Jackson (MovieManJackson.com); Brad Keefe (Columbus Alive); Kristin Dreyer Kramer (NightsAndWeekends.com, 90.5 WCBE); Adam Kuhn (Corndog Chats); Joyce Long (Freelance); Rico Long (Freelance); Hope Madden (Columbus Underground and MaddWolf.com); Paul Markoff (WOCC-TV3; Otterbein TV); David Medsker (Bullz-Eye.com); Lori Pearson (Kids-in-Mind.com, critics.com); Mark Pfeiffer (Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema; WOCC-TV3; Otterbein TV); Melissa Starker (Columbus Alive, The Columbus Dispatch); George Wolf (Columbus Radio Group and MaddWolf.com); Jason Zingale (Bullz-Eye.com); Nathan Zoebl (PictureShowPundits.com).

The following information is not for publication:

If you would like comments about COFCA and these awards, please contact:

Mark Pfeiffer (mark.pfeiffer@gmail.com)

Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema and Co-host/co-producer, Now Playing, WOCC-TV3 and Otterbein TV

New In Theaters, Slider

A Poignant Beauty

January 5, 2017 maddwolf Leave a comment

A Monster Calls

by Hope Madden

There is something deeply brave in A Monster Calls, director JA Bayona’s cinematic presentation of Patrick Ness’s understandably praised young adult book.

A boy of 12 – no longer a child, not yet a man, as these tales often go – finds himself trapped in a period of tremendous discomfort. Not adolescence – although that is rarely fun for anyone. Never mind the bullies who routinely beat him, or the balance of his schoolmates who don’t notice him at all.

True, these are real problems that often litter angsty pre-teen dramas. But Bayona and Ness are prepared to more closely examine something far less frequently explored because it is untidy, uncomfortable and hard to look at.

Conor’s mom is going to die, and we spend 108 minutes – brilliant, honest and profoundly sad minutes – with him as he deals with that sad reality.

A monster (Liam Neeson) – in the form of a walking yew tree – visits Conor (Lewis MacDougall) every night and tells him stories. But like everything else about this film – and about life, for that matter – the stories are messy and frustrating. They do not fit the tidy, black-and-white fables Conor wants to hear.

“Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary,” explains the monster.

Simply and beautifully, A Monster Calls articulates so many insights about adolescence and about grief.

What is so startling about A Monster Calls is now true it is to this particular time in life: the baffling behavior of adults, the suffocating aloneness, the disconcerting rage and guilt.

MacDougall steers clear of clichés with a courageous central performance. Though Sigourney Weaver’s accent is noticeably weak, supporting turns are uniformly strong.

Neeson – who narrates one of every three documentaries produced on earth – knows how to employ his voice alone to bring this thrilling beast to life.

But the real stars are Ness, who adapted his novel for the screen, and Bayona.

As he did with his breakout 2007 film The Orphanage, Bayona takes his time and lets his story take its own shape. Of course, part of that shape comes courtesy of a darkly imaginative animation department.

As splendid as the film is, minor faults stand out – the sound is sometimes garbled; sick-bed make up could be stronger; Weaver’s no Brit.

And like Spike Jonze’s underappreciated 2009 masterpiece Where the Wild Things Are, A Monster Calls is in many ways a better fit for adults than for children. It is such a refreshing and intelligent departure from traditional family fare that it’s hard to even see it as part of the same category. This poignant beauty is in a class all its own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvZrnt9b7vU

New In Theaters, Slider

Calculating Ladies

January 4, 2017 maddwolf Leave a comment

Hidden Figures

by George Wolf

When you learn whose story is being told by Hidden Figures -three African American women who were instrumental to the success of America’s space program – no one could blame you for fearing the “white savior.”

Thankfully, director Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent) avoids that pitfall…for the most part, anyway.

In the 1960s, mathematicians Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) were working in segregated areas of Langley Research Center in Virginia. As pressure mounted for the U.S. to catch up in the “space race,” Johnson (a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient in 2015) was promoted to calculating launch and flight data for Project Mercury, while Vaughan and Jackson blazed similar trails in computer programming and engineering, respectively.

It is an inspiring piece of history, one that is overdue for a big screen tribute, and Melfi -who also helped adapt the script from Margot Lee Shetterly’s book-gives it as much respect as he can without fully committing to the heroines themselves.

That’s not to say this is patronizing fodder on the order of The Blind Side or even The Help, far from it. But some moments of achievement from these African American women are framed as if the credit should go to the white people (mostly men) for realizing the ills of segregation and courageously allowing these geniuses to contribute.

When NASA director Al Harrison (a fictional composite played by Kevin Costner) reverses Langley’s segregated restroom policy, he does it in the most grandstanding, heroic way possible as the music swells to self-congratulatory crescendos. Dramatic? Oh yes. Pandering? You bet, and unnecessary.

A late exchange between Vaughan and a supervisor (Kirsten Dunst) has the subtle bite that shows Melfi content to merely knock on a door that needed opening.

The three principal actors are terrific, Costner, Dunst and the rest of the ensemble (including Mahershala Ali and Jim Parsons) provide fine support, the film is competently written and judiciously paced.

Hidden Figures has all the parts for what could have been a more meaningful sum, if it was a bit less concerned with playing it safe. And considering the subject matter, that’s ironic.

You might even call it a miscalculation.

Outtakes

2016 COFCA Nominations Announced

January 1, 2017 maddwolf Leave a comment

Nominees for the 15th annual Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards

(Columbus, December 31, 2016) The Central Ohio Film Critics Association is pleased to announce the nominees for its 15th annual awards. Winners will be announced on the evening of January 5th, 2017.

Founded in 2002, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association is comprised of film critics based in Columbus, Ohio and its surrounding areas. Its membership consists of 25 print, radio, television, and online critics. COFCA’s official website at www.cofca.org contains links to member reviews and past award winners.

The 2016 Central Ohio Film Critics Association awards nominees are:

Best Film
-Arrival
-Hacksaw Ridge
-Hell or High Water
-Jackie
-La La Land
-The Lobster
-Manchester by the Sea
-Moonlight
-The Nice Guys
-Nocturnal Animals
-Sing Street
-The Witch: A New-England Folktale

Best Director
-Damien Chazelle, La La Land
-Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
-Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
-David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water
-Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

Best Actor
-Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
-Colin Farrell, The Lobster
-Ryan Gosling, La La Land
-Tom Hanks, Sully
-Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Actress
-Amy Adams, Arrival
-Viola Davis, Fences
-Rebecca Hall, Christine
-Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen
-Natalie Portman, Jackie
-Emma Stone, La La Land

Best Supporting Actor
-Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
-Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
-John Goodman, 10 Cloverfield Lane
-Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
-Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress
-Laura Dern, Certain Women
-Lily Gladstone, Certain Women
-Naomie Harris, Moonlight
-Lupita Nyong’o, Queen of Katwe
-Rachel Weisz, The Light Between Oceans
-Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best Ensemble
-Hell or High Water
-The Lobster
-Manchester by the Sea
-Moonlight
-Nocturnal Animals

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
-Amy Adams (Arrival, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Nocturnal Animals)
-Ryan Gosling (La La Land and The Nice Guys)
-Michael Shannon (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Complete Unknown, Elvis & Nixon, Frank
& Lola, Loving, Midnight Special, and Nocturnal Animals)
-Michelle Williams (Certain Women and Manchester by the Sea)

Breakthrough Film Artist
-Robert Eggers, The Witch: A New-England Folktale – (for directing and screenwriting)
-Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea – (for acting)
-Barry Jenkins, Moonlight – (for directing and screenwriting)
-Sunny Pawar, Lion – (for acting)
-Anya Taylor-Joy, Barry, Morgan, and The Witch: A New-England Folktale – (for acting)

Best Cinematography
-Chung Chung-hoon, The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)
-James Laxton, Moonlight
-Giles Nuttgens, Hell or High Water
-Linus Sandgren, La La Land
-Bradford Young, Arrival

Best Film Editing
-Tom Cross, La La Land
-John Gilbert, Hacksaw Ridge
-Jennifer Lame, Manchester by the Sea
-Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, Moonlight
-Jake Roberts, Hell or High Water
-Joe Walker, Arrival

Best Adapted Screenplay
-Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
-Eric Heisserer, Arrival
-Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
-Whit Stillman, Love & Friendship
-August Wilson, Fences

Best Original Screenplay
-Damien Chazelle, La La Land
-Robert Eggers, The Witch: A New-England Folktale
-Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, The Lobster
-Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
-Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water

Best Score
-Nicholas Britell, Moonlight
-Simon Franglen and James Horner, The Magnificent Seven
-Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, Swiss Army Man
-Justin Hurwitz, La La Land
-Jóhann Jóhannsson, Arrival
-Mark Korven, The Witch: A New-England Folktale
-Mica Levi, Jackie

Best Documentary
-13th
-Cameraperson
-I Am Not Your Negro
-O.J.: Made in America
-Weiner

Best Foreign Language Film
-Elle
-The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)
-A Man Called Ove (En man som heter Ove)
-Toni Erdmann
-Under the Shadow
-The Wailing (Goksung)

Best Animated Film
-Finding Dory
-Kubo and the Two Strings
-Moana
-Sausage Party
-Zootopia

Best Overlooked Film
-10 Cloverfield Lane
-Christine
-The Edge of Seventeen
-Green Room
-Krisha

COFCA offers its congratulations to the nominees.

Previous Best Film winners:

2002: Punch-Drunk Love
2003: Lost in Translation
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: A History of Violence
2006: Children of Men
2007: No Country for Old Men
2008: WALL·E
2009: Up in the Air
2010: Inception
2011: Drive
2012: Moonrise Kingdom
2013: Gravity
2014: Selma
2015: Spotlight

For more information about the Central Ohio Film Critics Association, please visit www.cofca.org or e-mail info@cofca.org.

The complete list of members and their affiliations:

Richard Ades (Freelance); Dwayne Bailey (Bailey’s Buzz); Logan Burd (Cinema or Cine-meh?); Kevin Carr (www.7mpictures.com, FilmSchoolRejects.com); Bill Clark (www.fromthebalcony.com); Olie Coen (Archer Avenue, DVD Talk); John DeSando (90.5 WCBE); Johnny DiLoretto (90.5 WCBE, PencilStorm.com);Frank Gabrenya (The Columbus Dispatch); James Hansen (Out 1 Film Journal); Mark Jackson (MovieManJackson.com); Brad Keefe (Columbus Alive); Kristin Dreyer Kramer (NightsAndWeekends.com, 90.5 WCBE); Adam Kuhn (Corndog Chats); Joyce Long (Freelance); Rico Long (Freelance); Hope Madden (Columbus Underground and MaddWolf.com); Paul Markoff (WOCC-TV3; Otterbein TV); David Medsker (Bullz-Eye.com); Lori Pearson (Kids-in-Mind.com, critics.com); Mark Pfeiffer (Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema; WOCC-TV3; Otterbein TV); Melissa Starker (Columbus Alive, The Columbus Dispatch); George Wolf (Columbus Radio Group and MaddWolf.com); Jason Zingale (Bullz-Eye.com); Nathan Zoebl (PictureShowPundits.com).

The following information is not for publication:

If you would like comments about COFCA and these awards, please contact:

Mark Pfeiffer (mark.pfeiffer@gmail.com)
Co-host/co-producer, Now Playing, WOCC-TV3 and Otterbein TV
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

Maddwolf

Monthly Archives: January 2017