Definitive Ranking of Marvel and DC Films

A DEFINITIVE RANKING OF COMIC BOOK FILMS

FROM BEST TO WORST:

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Introduction:

One thing that I've noticed in recent years, as the internet further becomes a battleground for differing opinions each purporting to be correct, is that people tend to overlook one crucial fact - that one person's opinion is just that, one opinion amongst billions. That's not to say that each isn't entitled to whatever opinion strikes his or her fancy, but it got me curious.

What is the actual, definitive average opinion?

I mean, we all know that the "internet voice" is pretty loud when it comes to either over-praising (can someone please make a Kanye West "The Dark Knight is the best film of all time!" meme?) or over-bashing ("The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the worst movie ever made!" says some guy that's apparently never truly watched a bad movie... Go watch Manos: The Hands of Fate and re-evaluate that statement) films, but there are times when that voice doesn't mesh with reality. For example, despite the overwhelmingly negative consensus of the Transformers series, it's one of the highest grossing series in film history. While money does not in any way equal quality, if the films were so universally loathed then they wouldn't make the kind of money they do. Which means that the critic and cinephile opinion is but a small portion of the overall collective opinion of the entire planet's movie-going population. We can argue all we want about the questionable movie tastes of "most people," but that still doesn't change the fact that our opinions are minuscule in the scheme of things... no matter how loud we might get.

Since Avengers: Age of Ultron is the current victim of such a back-and-forth debate... (it's so weird that people are arguing and yelling over a film that both sides pretty much agree on; it's not the best, but it's a lot of fun. Details aside, I don't even understand the reasons for the argument. It's almost like we're so used to arguing over comic book films, that we do it whether there's even cause to)... Anyway, I figured I'd focus solely on comic book films. I might try this again with some other genre eventually, depending on the response to this.

Using the latest in number-averaging technology and some new-fangled device called a calculator, I've created a few lists that compile the films based on their Imdb average user rating, Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating  (not to be confused with the "Tomato Meter" ranking), Rotten Tomatoes average user rating (converted from a five-point to a ten-point rating scale), and MetaCritic average critic rating.  Then those numbers are all averaged together into one final definitive score that represents a fairly good heaping of cinephiles, general movie going public, online and indie critics, and professional critics.

I began with the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, followed by all films adapted from Marvel Comics, followed by all films adapted from DC Comics, and finally a merged list of all DC and Marvel films. Below that, I also decided to take a look at the worst box-office bombs taking into account inflation and ever-escalating budgets.

After the lists, you can view all of the numbers for yourself. Movies that are tied on the list sometimes have a slightly different actual score (I rounded up for the sake of making the list look right, but the actual scores are what I went by... i.e. a score of 6.7 might actually be a 6.675 or a 6.725, but everything is listed properly by the actual score and not the rounded score). If there was an actual tie, the titles are simply listed alphabetically.

Note: Only films that received a domestic theatrical release are included.
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Here's How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films ACTUALLY Rank:

01. Guardians of the Galaxy - (8.1 out of 10)
02. The Avengers - (8.0)
03. Iron Man - (8.0)
04. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - (7.7)
05. Avengers: Age of Ultron - (7.5)*
06. Iron Man 3 - (7.1)
07. Captain America: The First Avenger - (6.9)
08. Thor - (6.8)
09. Iron Man 2 - (6.7)
10. Thor: The Dark World - (6.6)
11. The Incredible Hulk - (6.6)

* - Numbers subject to change as more people see it. It's too early to take these numbers as anything other than a "first impression."
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Here's How Films Based on Marvel Comics ACTUALLY Rank:

01. Guardians of the Galaxy - (8.1 out of 10)
02. The Avengers - (8.0)
03. Iron Man - (8.0)
04. X-Men: Days of Future Past - (7.9)
05. Big Hero 6 - (7.8)
06. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - (7.7)
07. Spider-Man 2 - (7.7)
08. Avengers: Age of Ultron - (7.5)*
09. X-Men: First Class - (7.4)
10. X2: X-Men United - (7.3)

11. Spider-Man - (7.2)
12. Iron Man 3 - (7.1)
13. The Amazing Spider-Man - (7.1)
14. X-Men - (7.1)
15. Captain America: The First Avenger - (6.9)
16. Thor - (6.8)
17. Iron Man 2 - (6.7)
18. Thor: The Dark World - (6.6)
19. The Incredible Hulk - (6.6)
20. The Wolverine - (6.6)

21. X-Men: The Last Stand - (6.4)
22. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - (6.4)
23. Spider-Man 3 - (6.2)
24. Blade II - (6.1)
25. Blade - (6.1)
26. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - (5.8)
27. Hulk - (5.6)
28. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - (5.3)
29. Blade: Trinity - (5.2)
30. The Punisher - (5.2)

31. Fantastic Four - (5.1)
32. Daredevil - (5.1)
33. Punisher: War Zone - (4.8)
34. Ghost Rider - (4.8)
35. Elektra - (4.3)
36. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - (4.2)
37. Howard the Duck - (4.1)

* - Numbers subject to change as more people see it. It's too early to take these numbers as anything other than a "first impression."
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Here's How Films Based on DC Comics ACTUALLY Rank:

01. The Dark Knight - (8.7 out of 10)
02. The Dark Knight Rises - (8.2)
03. Superman - (7.7)
04. Batman Begins (7.7)
05. Superman II - (7.4)
06. V for Vendetta - (7.3)
07. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (7.2)
08. Stardust - (7.2)
09. Batman - (7.0)
10. Batman Returns - (6.8)

11. Superman Returns - (6.7)
12. RED - (6.7)
13. Man of Steel - (6.7)
14. Watchmen - (6.6)
15. Batman: The Movie - (6.2)
16. Constantine - (6.1)
17. RED 2 - (6.0)
18. The Losers - (5.5)
19. Swamp Thing - (5.5)
20. Superman and the Mole Men - (5.4)

21. Batman Forever - (5.4)
22. Green Lantern - (5.1)
23. Superman III - (4.8)
24. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - (4.7)
25. The Return of Swamp Thing - (4.5)
26. Jonah Hex - (4.1)
27. Supergirl - (4.0)
28. Batman & Robin - (3.8)
29. Catwoman - (3.4)
30. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - (3.4)

31. Steel - (3.1)
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Here's How Films Based on DC Comics AND Marvel Comics ACTUALLY Rank:

01. The Dark Knight - (8.7 out of 10)
02. The Dark Knight Rises - (8.2)
03. Guardians of the Galaxy - (8.1)
04. The Avengers - (8.0)
05. Iron Man - (8.0)
06. X-Men: Days of Future Past - (7.9)
07. Big Hero 6 - (7.8)
08. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - (7.7)
09. Spider-Man 2 - (7.7)
10. Superman - (7.7)

11. Batman Begins (7.7)
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron - (7.5)*
13. X-Men: First Class - (7.4)
14. Superman II - (7.4)
15. X2: X-Men United - (7.3)
16. V for Vendetta - (7.3)
17. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (7.2)
18. Spider-Man - (7.2)
19. Stardust - (7.2)
20. Iron Man 3 - (7.1)

21. The Amazing Spider-Man - (7.1)
22. X-Men - (7.1)
23. Batman - (7.0)
24. Captain America: The First Avenger - (6.9)
25. Batman Returns - (6.8)
26. Thor - (6.8)
27. Superman Returns - (6.7)
28. RED - (6.7)
29. Iron Man 2 - (6.7)
30. Man of Steel - (6.7)

31. Thor: The Dark World - (6.6)
32. The Incredible Hulk - (6.6)
33. The Wolverine - (6.6)
34. Watchmen - (6.6)
35. X-Men: The Last Stand - (6.4)
36. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - (6.4)
37. Batman: The Movie - (6.2)
38. Spider-Man 3 - (6.2)
39. Blade II - (6.1)
40. Blade - (6.1)

41. Constantine - (6.1)
42. RED 2 - (6.0)
43. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - (5.8)
44. Hulk - (5.6)
45. The Losers - (5.5)
46. Swamp Thing - (5.5)
47. Superman and the Mole Men - (5.4)
48. Batman Forever - (5.4)
49. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - (5.3)
50. Blade: Trinity - (5.2)

51. The Punisher - (5.2)
52. Fantastic Four - (5.1)
53. Green Lantern - (5.1)
54. Daredevil - (5.1)
55. Punisher: War Zone - (4.8)
56. Ghost Rider - (4.8)
57. Superman III - (4.8)
58. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - (4.7)
59. The Return of Swamp Thing - (4.5)
60. Elektra - (4.3)

61. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - (4.2)
62. Howard the Duck - (4.1)
63. Jonah Hex - (4.1)
64. Supergirl - (4.0)
65. Batman & Robin - (3.8)
66. Catwoman - (3.4)
67. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - (3.4)
68. Steel - (3.1)

* - Numbers subject to change as more people see it. It's too early to take these numbers as anything other than a "first impression."
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Interesting bits of info:

As I looked over the lists, there were a couple of things that I found interesting.

First, Marvel Comics adaptations tend to have a more consistent outcome, as 22 of the 37 films (roughly 73%) were ranked a sort of "generally favorable" score, between 6.0 and 7.9. Meanwhile, only 15 of the 31 films (roughly 48%) based on DC Comics were in that same quality range.

Second, Marvel isn't reaching for greatness, necessarily, but that doesn't seem to matter. Generally when I make these sorts of lists, I consider anything with an average rating of 8.0 or higher to be a "great" film. DC has two films that are considered great (The Dark Knight - 8.7, The Dark Knight Rises - 8.2), to Marvel's three, but one with a far higher score than the best Marvel has to offer (Guardians of the Galaxy - 8.1, The Avengers - 8.0, Iron Man - 8.0). It's interesting because, generally, it seems that DC is actively trying to create great films out of their characters and Marvel is simply making great entertainment... but, Marvel has three films that are ranked very highly, while DC only has two, only one of which really stands tall over all others. Both studios have put out some "stinkers," but conversely it's interesting to note that the entire bottom six worst films come from DC, ranked below Marvel's notorious box office bomb Howard the Duck. (More on him later).

Third, while DC Comics had a jump start on Marvel at the box office, with seven films released before Marvel's first (Howard the Duck, 1986), and then another seven released before Marvel's second (Blade, 1998)... it's interesting to note how things flipped in Marvel's favor, as Marvel then produces seven films, counting Blade, before DC's next (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, 2003). So that's 14 to 2 films before Marvel got their footing, and since 1998 Marvel has produced 35 films to DC's 16.
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Now, back to the master of Quack-Fu, I wanted to see where Howie and his notority among All-time box-office disasters actually ranked, taking the much larger budgets and such of today's blockbusters into effect.

Howard the Duck was made for $37 million in 1986 (the equivalent to roughly $80 million in today's dollars), however it actually earned back around $900,000 (roughly $2.2 million, again, adjusting for inflation) in the long run (both domestically and internationally). While that's not good, and at the time I'm sure that kind of money being spent on a comic book movie about a talking duck was outright ridiculous... But, it's not a film that's in the red, and even counting how much was probably spent on marketing the film (nowhere near the insanity currently), that's still not that bad, these days.

Here's the ACTUAL 10 Worst Box-Office Bombs

(Films Based on DC Comics AND Marvel Comics):

Note: Listed in order of how much money the film lost, or how little it profited, adjusted for inflation.

01. Supergirl (1984)
----- Budget: $35 million ($82 million)
----- Box Office: $14.3 million ($33.5 million)
----- LOSS: $20.7 million ($48.5 million)

02. Jonah Hex (2010)
----- Budget: $47 million ($51 million)
----- Box Office: $10.9 million ($11.8 million)
----- LOSS: $36.1 million ($39.2 million)

03. Punisher: War Zone (2008)
----- Budget: $35 million ($39.3 million
----- Box Office: $10.1 million ($11.4 million)
----- LOSS: $24.9 million ($27.9 million)

04. Catwoman (2004)
----- Budget: $100 million ($126.7 million)
----- Box Office: $82.1 million ($104 million)
----- LOSS: $17.9 million ($22.7 million)

05. Steel (1997)
----- Budget: $16 million ($23.8 million today, adjusted for inflation).
----- Box Office: $1.7 million ($2.5 million)
----- LOSS: $14.3 million ($21.3 million)

06. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
----- Budget: $17 million ($36.2 million)
----- Box Office: $15.6 million ($33.2 million)
----- LOSS: $1.4 million ($3 million)

07. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
----- Budget: $6 million ($10 million)
----- Box Office: $5.6 million ($9.3 million)
----- LOSS: $400,000 ($665,000)

08. Howard the Duck (1986)
----- Budget: $37 million ($80.2 million)
----- Box Office: $37.9 million ($82.2 million)
----- PROFIT: $900,000 ($2.2 million)

09. The Losers (2010)
----- Budget: $25 million ($27.1 million)
----- Box Office: $29.4 million ($32 million)
----- PROFIT: $4.4 million ($4.9 million)

10. Elektra (2005)
----- Budget: $43 million ($53.1 million)
----- Box Office: $56.7 million ($70 million)
----- PROFIT: $13.7 million ($16.9 million)

It should also be noted that there is no box office information on the low budget (even for then) Swamp Thing (1982) film, and the only info available for its sequel The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) is its box office take ($192,816). The sequel is said to have had an even lower budget... however, I'm sure if I had the amount, it still would've ended up in the red. But, alas... the only info still available on that movie is how terrible Heather Locklear's acting was in it.
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Detailed results (for those that might question the numbers):

Listed in order or release date, because is more interesting and it's kinda cool to see these things in relation to each other. This is every DC and Marvel film released theatrically - beginning in 1951 with DC's first theatrical film, which served as a pilot to their upcoming television series, all the way to Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron - with their current ratings (as of 8:00 PM 5/2/15, anyway).

Note: I did not include distant pseudo-third party publications (for example, Marvel bought up Malibu in 1997, around the time the film Men In Black, loosely based on a Malibu title, was coming out. None of the Men In Black films are Marvel films, though, and Malibu is merely owned by Marvel and not really a part of Marvel Comics. However, DC's darker imprint Vertigo, featuring characters like Constantine, was included, because Vertigo is a direct spin-off of DC Comics. That sort of thing).
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Superman and the Mole Men (1951)

Imdb:   5.9
RT:   4.0
RT User:   6.4
MetaCritic: ...

  5.4 (5.43)
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Batman: The Movie (1966)

Imdb:   6.5
RT:   6.2
RT User:   6.0
MetaCritic: ...

  6.2 (6.23)
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Superman (1978)

Imdb:   7.3
RT:   8.0
RT User:   7.0
MetaCritic: 8.6

  7.7 (7.725)
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Superman II (1980)

Imdb: 6.8
RT: 7.5
RT User: 6.4
MetaCritic: 8.7

7.4 (7.35)
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Swamp Thing (1982)

Imdb:   5.4
RT:   5.7
RT User:   5.4
MetaCritic: ...

  5.5
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Superman III (1983)

Imdb:   4.9
RT:   4.5
RT User:   5.4
MetaCritic: 4.2

  4.8 (4.75)
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Supergirl (1984)

Imdb:   4.3
RT:   3.2
RT User:   4.6
MetaCritic: ...

4.0 (4.033)
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Howard the Duck (1986)

Imdb:   4.5
RT:   2.5
RT User:   5.2
MetaCritic: ...

  4.1 (4.067)
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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Imdb:   3.6
RT:   2.9
RT User:   4.8
MetaCritic: 2.2

  3.4 (3.375)
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The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)

Imdb:   4.3
RT:   4.0
RT User:   5.2
MetaCritic: ...

  4.5
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Batman (1989)

Imdb:   7.6
RT:   6.6
RT User:   7.0
MetaCritic: 6.6

  7.0 (6.95)
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Batman Returns (1992)

Imdb:   7.0
RT:   6.7
RT User:   6.6
MetaCritic: ...

  6.8 (6.77)
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Imdb:   7.9
RT:   6.8
RT User:   7.0
MetaCritic: ...

  7.2 (7.23)
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Batman Forever (1995)

Imdb:   5.4
RT:   5.2
RT User:   5.8
MetaCritic: 5.1

  5.4 (5.375)
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Batman & Robin (1997)

Imdb:   3.6
RT:   3.7
RT User:   5.0
MetaCritic: 2.8

  3.8 (3.775)
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Steel (1997)

Imdb:   2.7
RT:   3.0
RT User:   3.6
MetaCritic: ...

  3.1
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Blade (1998)

Imdb:   7.1
RT:   5.7
RT User:   7.2
MetaCritic: 4.5

  6.1 (6.125)
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X-Men (2000)

Imdb:   7.4
RT:   7.0
RT User:   7.4
MetaCritic: 6.4

  7.1 (7.05)
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Blade II (2002)

Imdb:   6.7
RT:   6.0
RT User:   6.8
MetaCritic: 5.2

  6.1 (6.175)
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Spider-Man (2002)

Imdb:   7.3
RT:   7.6
RT User:   6.6
MetaCritic: 7.3

  7.2
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Daredevil (2003)

Imdb:   5.3
RT:   5.2
RT User:   5.6
MetaCritic: 4.2

  5.1 (5.075)
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X2: X-Men United (2003)

Imdb:   7.5
RT:   7.4
RT User:   7.4
MetaCritic: 6.8

  7.3 (7.275)
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Hulk (2003)

Imdb:   5.7
RT:   6.2
RT User:   5.0
MetaCritic: 5.4

  5.6 (5.575)
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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Imdb:   5.8
RT:   4.0
RT User:   6.0
MetaCritic: 3.0

  4.7
__________________________________________

The Punisher (2004)

Imdb:   6.5
RT:   4.5
RT User:   6.4
MetaCritic: 3.3

  5.2 (5.175)
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Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Imdb:   7.3
RT:   8.3
RT User:   7.0
MetaCritic: 8.3

  7.7 (7.725)
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Catwoman (2004)

Imdb:   3.3
RT:   3.1
RT User:   4.4
MetaCritic: 2.7

  3.4 (3.375)
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Blade: Trinity (2004)

Imdb:   5.9
RT:   4.4
RT User:   6.8
MetaCritic: 3.8

  5.2 (5.225)
__________________________________________

Constantine (2005)

Imdb:   6.9
RT:   5.5
RT User:   7.0
MetaCritic: 5.0

  6.1
__________________________________________

Elektra (2005)

Imdb:   4.8
RT:   3.7
RT User:   5.2
MetaCritic: 3.4

  4.3 (4.275)
__________________________________________

Fantastic Four (2005)

Imdb:   5.7
RT:   4.5
RT User:   6.2
MetaCritic: 4.0

  5.1
__________________________________________

Batman Begins (2005)

Imdb:   8.3
RT:   7.7
RT User:   7.8
MetaCritic: 7.0

  7.7
__________________________________________

V for Vendetta (2006)

Imdb:   8.2
RT:   6.8
RT User:   7.8
MetaCritic: 6.2

  7.3 (7.25)
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X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Imdb:   6.8
RT:   5.9
RT User:   7.2
MetaCritic: 5.8

  6.4 (6.425)
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Superman Returns (2006)

Imdb:   6.1
RT:   7.0
RT User:   6.6
MetaCritic: 7.2

  6.7 (6.725)
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Ghost Rider (2007)

Imdb:   5.2
RT:   4.2
RT User:   6.2
MetaCritic: 3.5

  4.8 (4.775)
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Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Imdb:   6.2
RT:   6.2
RT User:   6.6
MetaCritic: 5.9

  6.2 (6.225)
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Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Imdb:   5.6
RT:   4.8
RT User:   6.2
MetaCritic: 4.5

  5.3 (5.275)
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Stardust (2007)

Imdb:   7.7
RT:   6.7
RT User:   7.8
MetaCritic: 6.6

  7.2
__________________________________________

Iron Man (2008)

Imdb:   7.9
RT:   7.6
RT User:   8.4
MetaCritic: 7.9

  8.0 (7.95)
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The Dark Knight (2008)

Imdb:   9.0
RT:   8.6
RT User:   8.8
MetaCritic: 8.2

  8.7 (8.65)
__________________________________________

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Imdb:   6.9
RT:   6.2
RT User:   7.2
MetaCritic: 6.1

  6.6
__________________________________________

Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Imdb:   6.0
RT:   4.2
RT User:   6.0
MetaCritic: 3.0

  4.8
__________________________________________

Watchmen (2009)

Imdb:   7.6
RT:   6.3
RT User:   6.8
MetaCritic: 5.6

  6.6 (6.575)
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Imdb:   6.7
RT:   5.1
RT User:   7.2
MetaCritic: 4.0

  5.8 (5.75)
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The Losers (2010)

Imdb:   6.4
RT:   5.3
RT User:   6.0
MetaCritic: 4.4

  5.5 (5.525)
__________________________________________

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Imdb:   7.1
RT:   6.5
RT User:   7.4
MetaCritic: 5.7

  6.7 (6.675)
__________________________________________

Jonah Hex (2010)

Imdb:   4.6
RT:   3.5
RT User:   4.8
MetaCritic: 3.3

  4.1 (4.05)
__________________________________________

RED (2010)

Imdb:   7.1
RT:   6.3
RT User:   7.4
MetaCritic: 6.0

  6.7
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Thor (2011)

Imdb:   7.0
RT:   6.7
RT User:   7.6
MetaCritic: 5.7

  6.8 (6.75)
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X-Men: First Class (2011)

Imdb:   7.8
RT:   7.4
RT User:   8.0
MetaCritic: 6.5

  7.4 (7.425)
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Green Lantern (2011)

Imdb:   5.7
RT:   4.6
RT User:   6.2
MetaCritic: 3.9

  5.1
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Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Imdb:   6.8
RT:   6.9
RT User:   7.4
MetaCritic: 6.6

  6.9 (6.925)
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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)

Imdb:   4.3
RT:   3.9
RT User:   5.2
MetaCritic: 3.2

  4.2 (4.15)
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Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

Imdb:   8.2
RT:   8.0
RT User:   8.8
MetaCritic: 6.9

  8.0 (7.975)
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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Imdb:   8.5
RT:   8.0
RT User:   8.6
MetaCritic: 7.8

  8.2 (8.225)
__________________________________________

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Imdb:   7.1
RT:   6.7
RT User:   7.8
MetaCritic: 6.6

  7.1 (7.05)
__________________________________________

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Imdb:   7.3
RT:   7.0
RT User:   8.0
MetaCritic: 6.2

  7.1 (7.125)
__________________________________________

Man of Steel (2013)

Imdb:   7.2
RT:   6.2
RT User:   7.8
MetaCritic: 5.5

  6.7 (6.675)
__________________________________________

The Wolverine (2013)

Imdb:   6.7
RT:   6.3
RT User:   7.4
MetaCritic: 6.0

  6.6
__________________________________________

RED 2 (2013)

Imdb:   6.7
RT:   5.4
RT User:   7.2
MetaCritic: 4.7

  6.0
__________________________________________

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Imdb:   7.1
RT:   6.2
RT User:   7.8
MetaCritic: 5.4

  6.6 (6.625)
__________________________________________

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Imdb:   7.8
RT:   7.5
RT User:   8.6
MetaCritic: 7.0

  7.7 (7.725)
__________________________________________

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Imdb:   6.9
RT:   5.9
RT User:   7.4
MetaCritic: 5.3

  6.4 (6.375)
__________________________________________

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Imdb:   8.1
RT:   7.6
RT User:   8.6
MetaCritic: 7.4

  7.9 (7.925)
__________________________________________

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Imdb:   8.1
RT:   7.7
RT User:   8.8
MetaCritic: 7.6

  8.1 (8.05)
__________________________________________

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Imdb:   7.9
RT:   7.4
RT User:   8.6
MetaCritic: 7.4

  7.8 (7.825)
__________________________________________

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)*

Imdb:   8.2
RT:   6.7
RT User:   8.6
MetaCritic: 6.6

  7.5 (7.525)

* - Numbers subject to change as more people see it. It's too early to take these numbers as anything other than a "first impression."
___________________________________________________________

Ok, so... yeah. That's about all I have for now.

Thanks for reading!

- gARTh -

gARTh's 2014 Movie Awards: Winners

gARTh's 2014 Movie Awards

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W I N N E R S :

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Film:
Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Director:
Richard Linklater - Boyhood

Actor:
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Actress:
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl

Supporting Actor:
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood

Adapted Screenplay:
Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Original Screenplay:
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr, & Armando Bo - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Editing:
Whiplash

Cinematography:
Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Stuntwork:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Production Design:
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Costume Design:
Maleficent

Hair & Make-Up:
Guardians of the Galaxy

Visual Effects:
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Sound Design & Mixing:
Whiplash

Music - Original Score:
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar

Music - Original Song:
Tegan & Sara featuring The Lonely Island - "Everything is Awesome!!!" - The LEGO Movie

Music - Use of Previously Recorded Song; Feature:
The Band - "The Weight" - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Music - Use of Previously Recorded Song; Trailer:
Blue Swede - "Hooked on a Feeling" - Guardians of the Galaxy

Animated Feature Film:
How to Train Your Dragon 2

Documentary Feature Film:
Citizenfour

Foreign Language Film:
The Raid 2: Berandal - Indonesia

Animated / Vocal Performance:
Bradley Cooper - Guardians of the Galaxy

Villainous Performance:
Toby Kebbel - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Comedic Performance:
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Cameo / Bit-Part Performance:
Martin Short - Inherent Vice

Debut Performance:
Ellar Coltrane - Boyhood

Debut Filmmaker:
Jennifer Kent - The Babadook

Cast:
Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Scene:
Guardians of the Galaxy - Prison break / escape from the Kyln.

Quote:
Whiplash - "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job.'"

Tagline:
Gone Girl - "You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's..."

Poster Art:
Inherent Vice (Teaser)

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Most Underrated Film:

Films that did not receive a wide release, were unsuccessful at the box office, were not nominated for any major awards or receive acclaim at any major film festivals, and were generally unknown to most audiences at the time of their release... but were well-liked by most critics and audiences that did happen to see them.

Man from Reno - Directed by Dave Boyle. Written by Dave Boyle, Joel Clark, & Michael Lerman.

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"Grindhouse" Film Award:

Films that uphold the "Grindhouse" traditions of off-beat, exploitative, and taboo subjects, guerrilla film making techniques, and unconventional narrative structures, without which film making as a whole cannot move forward.

Witching & Bitching (Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi) - Directed by Álex de la Iglesia. Written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría & Álex de la Iglesia.

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Filmmaking: :

James Gunn - Guardians of the Galaxy

Going into 2014, Marvel's latest comic book adaptation blockbuster was considered a risk.

Guardians of the Galaxy featured a rag-tag group of strange characters that were relatively unknown to anyone that wasn't an avid comic book fan, including a talking raccoon and a giant tree that only says, basically, three words. The cast was led by Chris Pratt, an actor known for his comedic roles on television, not summer blockbuster action films. The film itself was extremely science fiction, of the kind that - outside of Star Wars and the latest Star Trek reboots - doesn't always connect with mainstream audiences. It featured more humor, and more risqué humor, than any of Marvel's films have had to date.

And, to top it off, it was being directed by a guy whose only two films prior to this were an outlandishly violent horror-comedy, Slither, which cost $15 million to make, and an outlandishly violent superhero deconstruction, Super, which cost $2.5 million to make. Both of these prior films collectively earned $13.2 million at the box-office. So, he wasn't exactly the obvious choice to helm a $175 million summer tentpole, especially one that already had so much seemingly going against it.

But... James Gunn's style and flair meshed perfectly with the odd subject matter to form a film that not only defied expectations, earning $774 million at the box office and universal praise, but also injected a bit of fun and a bit of life into a genre that was starting to grow a bit too self-serious. The use of its classic rock soundtrack felt revolutionary after the ominous tones of countless comic book music scores. The colorful pallet of characters (even the black-clad villains are still colorful, and not just "dark") is enhanced only by the colorful pallet of the many different environments (from a Star Wars-ian cityscape to a Blade Runner-ish 'junk-metal' community inside of an ancient celestial beings skull, and every space-prison, rock planet, and villains' lair in between).

Guardians of the Galaxy is fresh, funny, full-to-the-brim with charm and excitement, and more than anything... it's highly enjoyable. It's so much fun to watch (a feat that can never be overstated), while still managing to juggle a dozen main characters seamlessly, a plot full of science fiction mumbo-jumbo that never feels cliché, confusing, or uninteresting, and a constant barrage of action scenes that service the story as well as deliver the requisite thrills audiences have come to expect. It's a space opera story straight out of Star Wars full of superhero characters straight of The Avengers, with the fun and humor of Indiana Jones and featuring two lead CGI characters and a former wrestler that somehow steal every scene they're in.

As of now, the reviews and ratings rank Guardians of the Galaxy as the second-best film released by Marvel, just behind The Avengers. On some sites, the two films are equal. Just days after it was released in theaters, a sequel was announced. James Gunn will return to write and helm Guardians 2, and already he's making decisions that Marvel is calling "risky."

If James Gunn has proven anything with his transition from independent films to mainstream success, it's that sometimes taking the risk to do something against expectations and outside of the norm is totally worth it.

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Performance:

Jack O'Connell - '71, 300: Rise of an Empire, Starred Up, and Unbroken

While he debuted in 2006's This Is England, and had featured roles in 2008's Eden Lake, 2009's Harry Brown, and the series "Skins," Jack O'Connell's breakthrough into lead actor in 2014 is quite amazing.

First, he played a violent youth in the prison drama Starred Up (which technically had it's premiere in 2013, but wasn't released until 2014) opposite Ben Mendelsohn and Rupert Friend. The film earned universal acclaim, holding at a 99% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 81 out of 100 on MetaCritic. The role of live-wire Eric Love earned O'Connell numerous awards and nominations, and confirmed his leading man status. His performance in Starred Up has been called "a revelation" (The Playlist), "brilliant... Brando-like" (JoBlo), and "electrifying" (The Observer).

Next, he starred in the historic action thriller '71, which featured O'Connell as a British soldier separated from his unit during a riot in Belfast in 1971 and pursued by IRA killers. The film also received universal acclaim, with a 97% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a 79 out of 100 rating on MetaCritic. For his role as Gary Hook, he received a nomination for Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards, and well as numerous wins and nominations for Breakthrough Performance (combined with Starred Up).

His success in British cinema led him to land a role in 300: Rise of an Empire, playing the part of Calisto, one of three supporting characters led by Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) into the Battle of Artemisium. While the film met with mixed reviews, his presence in a large-scale Hollywood film helped him win another lead role in a big Hollywood film.

In Unbroken, Angelina Jolie's adaptation of Louie Zamperini's true story of courage during WWII, O'Connell played Zamperini from fit young Olympian to bruised and battered prisoner of war. A Hollywood epic directed by Jolie, and written by the Coen Bros., Unbroken failed to reach the level of acclaim it aspired to, but O'Connell's performance nonetheless shined through. He earned a Breakthrough Performance nomination from the National Board of Review, and with such a high-profile part has now earned his place among the rest of Hollywood's leading men.

His next film, Tulip Fever from director Justin Chadwick (Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom) and writer Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love), finds O'Connell acting opposite Christoph Waltz, Dane DeHaan, Alicia Vikander, Holliday Grainger, and Judi Dench. The film is expected to be released sometime late 2015.

Jack O'Connell has won 11 awards for his acting and been nominated for another 6, and with a year like 2014 now behind him, he can become what decorated actor Michael Caine constantly yelled at him during their filming of Harry Brown in 2009... "The Star of the Future!" Not bad for a guy that just turned 24.

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Writing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr, & Armando Bo - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Writer and director Alejandro González Iñárritu says that the inspiration for Birdman came from a simple thought, that "we live our lives with no editing." His previous film, 2010's Biutiful, was a depressingly tragic drama, and he didn't want to go to that sort of place again. So he decided on a comedy about the theater, and when the above realization hit him, the movie began to take shape.

To write a film that would be shot as a seemingly unending single take, he could "submerge the protagonist in an 'inescapable reality' and take the audience with him." He called up his previous writing collaborators, Giacobone, Dinelaris, and Bo, and they set out to write what would eventually become Birdman.

The three co-writers, as well as numerous other people in Iñárritu's life, originally told him not to attempt a single-take narrative. The problems would outweigh the good, and it was deemed "almost suicidal." He would not be deterred.

After a grueling year-and-a-half of writing - to ensure that everything in the script was exactly what was needed, because they wouldn't be able to shift scenes around, or take away or add scenes after the fact, because of the nature of the continuous one-take story - the results were a resounding success.

From the first frame of film to the last, the way the story is told, the way the story unfolds, and the fact that almost all of the story is extremely dialogue-heavy, Birdman is captivating, intelligent in ways that play on different layers at once, and very, very funny.

The acting is top notch, the camera work and editing to create the single-shot illusion are impeccable, the minimalist score is awesome in its simplicity, but none of these pieces would be possible or would even go together if it weren't for the screenplay that lays such a wild, imaginative, and yet humbly human story on the page. The dialogue, in particular, is sort of 'realistically poetic,' featuring a chaotic flow at times with the occasional bit of brilliant understanding thrown in for good measure.

That the writers took so long to get the screenplay finished shows not just their dedication to making sure it was right, but also their belief in the material. Birdman is exceptional, and in some ways... how exceptional it is may not be immediately noticeable, as more than likely, the underlying themes and layers will peel away over years and years of re-watching to reveal new depths to the story and it's rich characters.

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Special Achievement Award for Technical Innovation:

Andy Serkis - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, (as well as Godzilla and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies).

Featuring eight lead actors in performance-capture suits, as well as countless stuntmen and background extras, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes set a new bar for the technology. Serkis' expertise, reaching back to 2002 when he helped pioneer the first versions of the technology with WETA Digital on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, continuing through 2005's King Kong and 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, was put to the test on this daunting sequel.

Not only did it feature more performance-capture actors on screen at any given time than any other film, but the film was also being shot in 3D. The cameras used for 3D are massive, and for motion-capture to work there are multiple cameras filming from multiple angles. Plus, the director wanted to film on location, not in a controlled environment studio.

Serkis' performance capture team, The Imaginarium Studios, and the film's visual effects heads deserve special praise for the amount of work put into achieving what has never been attempted thus far with visual effects, and to a level of sophistication that challenges the very notion of what is considered visual effects and what is considered simply performance.

Serkis' talents has surpassed anyone else in his field, so much so that he's now being brought in as an adviser, working with the visual effects heads to make Godzilla's movements more life-like, acting as the second unit director on all three Hobbit films to ensure the visual effects teams have everything they need, and working with Mark Ruffalo on his performance as the Hulk in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. He is currently working on Jungle Book: Origins, which he'll direct as well as star in the role of Baloo, and beginning the arduous task of 'topping himself' for the upcoming third Planet of the Apes film.

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Thanks to all that participated.

- gARTh -

gARTh's Movie Awards 2014

gARTh's Movie Awards: 2014

::- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -::

N O M I N A T I O N S

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The following is what I hope to be an all-encompassing list of nominated films, performances, and technical achievements for films released in the year 2014.

Links have been provided for further information on nominated films, songs, and to view images.

Thank you for your participation. 

::- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -::

 
Film: (select link for more information)

[ ]    American Sniper
[ ]    Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Boyhood
[ ]    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Gone Girl
[ ]    The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    The Imitation Game
[ ]    Nightcrawler
[ ]    Selma
[ ]    Whiplash

Director:

[ ]    Paul Thomas Anderson - Inherent Vice
[ ]    Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    J.C. Chandor - A Most Violent Year
[ ]    Ava DuVernay - Selma
[ ]    David Fincher - Gone Girl
[ ]    Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler
[ ]    Alejandro González Iñárritu - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Richard Linklater - Boyhood
[ ]    Christopher Nolan - Interstellar
[ ]    Morten Tyldum - The Imitation Game

Actor:

[ ]    Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
[ ]    Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
[ ]    Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
[ ]    Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
[ ]    Oscar Isaac - A Most Violent Year
[ ]    Michael Keaton - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    David Oyelowo - Selma
[ ]    Joaquin Phoenix - Inherent Vice
[ ]    Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
[ ]    Timothy Spall - Mr. Turner

Actress:

[ ]    Amy Adams - Big Eyes
[ ]    Jennifer Aniston - Cake
[ ]    Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
[ ]    Essie Davis - The Babadook
[ ]    Scarlett Johansson - Under the Skin
[ ]    Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
[ ]    Julianne Moore - Still Alice
[ ]    Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
[ ]    Reese Witherspoon - Wild
[ ]    Shailene Woodley - The Fault in Our Stars

Supporting Actor:

[ ]    Riz Ahmed - Nightcrawler
[ ]    Josh Brolin - Inherent Vice
[ ]    Robert Duvall - The Judge
[ ]    Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
[ ]    Edward Norton - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Randall Park - The Interview
[ ]    Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
[ ]    Andy Serkis - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
[ ]    Channing Tatum - Foxcatcher

Supporting Actress:

[ ]    Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
[ ]    Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year
[ ]    Laura Dern - Wild
[ ]    Carmen Ejogo - Selma
[ ]    Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
[ ]    Jessica Lange - The Gambler
[ ]    Rene Russo - Nightcrawler
[ ]    Emma Stone - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Katherine Waterston - Inherent Vice
[ ]    Naomi Watts - St. Vincent

Adapted Screenplay:

[ ]    Paul Thomas Anderson - Inherent Vice
[ ]    Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness - The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth & Christopher McQuarrie - Edge of Tomorrow
[ ]    Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Richard LaGravenese & William Nicholson - Unbroken
[ ]    Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl
[ ]    James Gunn & Nicole Perlman - Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    Jason Hall - American Sniper
[ ]    Bong Joon-Ho & Kelly Masterson - Snowpiercer
[ ]    Andrew McCarten - The Theory of Everything
[ ]    Graham Moore - The Imitation Game

Original Screenplay:

[ ]    Stephen Beresford - Pride
[ ]    J.C. Chandor - A Most Violent Year
[ ]    Damien Chazelle - Whiplash
[ ]    E. Max Frye & Dan Futterman - Foxcatcher
[ ]    Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler
[ ]    Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Richard Linklater - Boyhood
[ ]    John Michael McDonagh - Calvary
[ ]    Chris Rock - Top Five
[ ]    Paul Webb - Selma

Editing:

[ ]    Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Boyhood
[ ]    Edge of Tomorrow
[ ]    The Imitation Game
[ ]    Inherent Vice
[ ]    Interstellar
[ ]    Locke
[ ]    Nightcrawler
[ ]    The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (L'Étrange Couleur des Larmes de Ton Corps)
[ ]    Whiplash

Cinematography:

[ ]    Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Gone Girl
[ ]    The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    Interstellar
[ ]    A Most Violent Year
[ ]    Mr. Turner
[ ]    Nightcrawler
[ ]    The Theory of Everything
[ ]    Unbroken

Stuntwork:

[ ]    The Amazing Spider-Man 2
[ ]    Captain America: The Winter Soldier
[ ]    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Edge of Tomorrow
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
[ ]    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
[ ]    Need for Speed
[ ]    The Raid 2: Berandal
[ ]    X-Men: Days of Future Past

Production Design:

[ ]    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Exodus: Gods and Kings
[ ]    The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    The Imitation Game
[ ]    Interstellar
[ ]    Noah
[ ]    Snowpiercer
[ ]    Unbroken
[ ]    X-Men: Days of Future Past

Costume Design:

[ ]    Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête)
[ ]    Dracula Untold
[ ]    Edge of Tomorrow
[ ]    Exodus: Gods and Kings
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
[ ]    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
[ ]    Into the Woods
[ ]    Maleficent
[ ]    Mr. Turner

Hair & Make-Up:

[ ]    Foxcatcher
[ ]    The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
[ ]    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
[ ]    Into the Woods
[ ]    Maleficent
[ ]    Mr. Turner
[ ]    Noah
[ ]    X-Men: Days of Future Past

Visual Effects:

[ ]    The Amazing Spider-Man 2
[ ]    Captain America: The Winter Soldier
[ ]    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Edge of Tomorrow
[ ]    Godzilla
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
[ ]    Interstellar
[ ]    RoboCop
[ ]    X-Men: Days of Future Past

Sound Design & Mixing:

[ ]    The Amazing Spider-Man 2
[ ]    American Sniper
[ ]    Big Hero 6
[ ]    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Fury
[ ]    Godzilla
[ ]    Interstellar
[ ]    The Signal
[ ]    Whiplash
[ ]    X-Men: Days of Future Past

Music - Original Score: (select link to listen)

[ ]    Alexandre Desplat  - The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    Alexandre Desplat - The Imitation Game
[ ]    Jeff Grace - Cold In July
[ ]    James Newton Howard - Nightcrawler
[ ]    Henry Jackman - Big Hero 6
[ ]    Jóhann Jóhannsson - The Theory of Everything
[ ]    Thomas Newman - The Judge
[ ]    John Powell - How to Train Your Dragon 2
[ ]    Antonio Sánchez - Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Hans Zimmer - Interstellar

Music - Original Song: (select link to listen)

[ ]    Damon Albarn - "Sister Rust" - Lucy 
[ ]    Common & John Legend - "Glory" - Selma
[ ]    Lana Del Rey - "Big Eyes" - Big Eyes
[ ]    Michael Fassbender, Carla Azar & Stephen Rennicks - "I Love You All" - Frank
[ ]    Jónsi - "Where No One Goes" - How to Train Your Dragon 2
[ ]    Keira Knightley, Gregg Alexander & Danielle Brisebois - "Lost Stars" - Begin Again
[ ]    Lorde - "Yellow Flicker Beat" - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
[ ]    Ciscandra Nostalghia & Tyler Bates - "Who You Talkin' To Man?" - John Wick
[ ]    The Shins - "So Now What" - Wish I Was Here
[ ]    Tegan & Sara featuring The Lonely Island - "Everything is Awesome!!!" - The LEGO Movie

Music - Use of Previously Recorded Song; Feature:

[ ]    The Band - "The Weight" - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Jermaine Clement, Ray Liotta & Danny Terjo (Boys II Men cover) - "End of the Road" - The Muppets Most Wanted
[ ]    Leonard Cohen - "Dance Me to the End of Love" - Rosewater
[ ]    Paul McCartney & Wings - "Band on the Run" - Boyhood
[ ]    The Runaways - "Cherry Bomb" - Guardians of the Galaxy

Music - Use of Previously Recorded Song; Trailer:

[ ]    Blue Swede - "Hooked on a Feeling" - Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    Corner Stone Cues (Led Zeppelin cover) / Resonate Music Group - "Ten Years Kashmir: Movement II / Ionic Brain (Mash Up)" - X-Men: Days of Future Past
[ ]    Family of the Year - "Hero" - Boyhood
[ ]    Fieldwork - "This Is Not the End" - Edge of Tomorrow
[ ]    Sly & the Family Stone - "I Want to Take You Higher" - Inherent Vice

Animated Feature Film: (select link for more information)

[ ]    Big Hero 6
[ ]    The Book of Life
[ ]    The Boxtrolls
[ ]    How to Train Your Dragon 2
[ ]    The LEGO Movie
[ ]    Mr. Peabody & Sherman
[ ]    Penguins of Madagascar
[ ]    Rio 2
[ ]    Rocks in My Pockets
[ ]    Song of the Sea

Documentary Feature Film: (select link for more information)

[ ]    20,000 Days on Earth
[ ]    Citizenfour
[ ]    Finding Vivian Maier
[ ]    Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me
[ ]    Jodorowsky's Dune  
[ ]    Last Days in Vietnam
[ ]    Life Itself
[ ]    The Overnighters
[ ]    Salt of the Earth (Le Sel de la Terre)
[ ]    Virunga

Foreign Language Film: (select link for more information)

[ ]    Ida - Poland
[ ]    Leviathan (Leviafan) - Russia
[ ]    Norte, the End of History (Norte, hangganan ng kasaysayan) - Philippines
[ ]    The Raid 2: Berandal - Indonesia
[ ]    Tangerines (Mandariinid) - Georgia
[ ]    Timbuktu - Mauritania
[ ]    We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!) - Sweden
[ ]    Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Jigoku de naze warui) - Japan
[ ]    Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes) - Argentina
[ ]    Winter Sleep (Kis uykusu) - Turkey

Animated / Vocal Performance:

[ ]    Cate Blanchett - How to Train Your Dragon 2
[ ]    Ty Burrell - Mr. Peabody & Sherman
[ ]    Bradley Cooper - Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    Ben Kingsley - The Boxtrolls
[ ]    Chris Pratt - The LEGO Movie

Villainous Performance:

[ ]    Angelina Jolie - Maleficent
[ ]    Toby Kebbell - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
[ ]    Richard Ng - Rigor Mortis
[ ]    Michael Parks - Tusk
[ ]    Sebastian Stan - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Comedic Performance:

[ ]    Rose Byrne - Neighbors
[ ]    Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    Bill Murray - St. Vincent
[ ]    Chris Pratt - Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    Cedric the Entertainer - Top Five

Cameo / Bit-Part Performance:

[ ]    Josh Brolin - Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    Ed Harris - Snowpiercer
[ ]    Toby Jones - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
[ ]    Christopher Lloyd - A Million Ways to Die in the West
[ ]    Martin Short - Inherent Vice

Debut Performance:

[ ]    Ellar Coltrane - Boyhood
[ ]    Carrie Coon - Gone Girl
[ ]    Jaeden Lieberher - St. Vincent
[ ]    Kuoth Wiel - The Good Lie
[ ]    Noah Wiseman - The Babadook

Debut Filmmaker:

[ ]    Yann Demange - '71
[ ]    Jennifer Kent - The Babadook
[ ]    Juno Mak - Rigor Mortis
[ ]    Charlie McDowell - The One I Love
[ ]    Justin Simien - Dear White People

Cast:

[ ]    Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
[ ]    Fury
[ ]    The Grand Budapest Hotel
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy
[ ]    The Imitation Game
[ ]    Into the Woods
[ ]    Selma
[ ]    Snowpiercer
[ ]    Stonehearst Asylum
[ ]    X-Men: Days of Future Past

Scene:

[ ]    Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Attack on Nick Fury in the bustling streets of DC and ensuing chase.
[ ]    Edge of Tomorrow - Cage and J-Squad's initial landing and assault on the beach.
[ ]    Godzilla - HALO jump into San Fransisco as Godzilla fights the MUTOs.
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy - Prison break and escape from the Kyln.
[ ]    X-Men: Days of Future Past - Quicksilver has some fun in the Pentagon's kitchen.

Quote:

[ ]    Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) - "Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige."
[ ]    Godzilla - "The arrogance of man is thinking that nature is in our control, and not the other way around. Let them fight."
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy - "We are Groot."
[ ]    Nightcrawler - "I feel like grabbing you by your ears right now and screaming, 'I'm not fucking interested!' Instead, I'm going to drive home and do some accounting."
[ ]    Whiplash - "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job.'"

Tagline:

[ ]    Cold in July - "How Many Men Can One Bullet Kill?"
[ ]    Gone Girl - "You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's..."
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy - "You're Welcome."
[ ]    Horns - "Love Hurts Like Hell."
[ ]    A Most Violent Year - "The Result Is Never in Question, Just the Path You Take to Get There."

Poster Art: (select link to view)

[ ]    Blue Ruin (One Sheet 3)
[ ]    Foxcatcher (Teaser)
[ ]    Gone Girl (Teaser)
[ ]    The Grand Budapest Hotel (One Sheet)
[ ]    Guardians of the Galaxy (One Sheet)
[ ]    Horns (One Sheet)
[ ]    Inherent Vice (Teaser)
[ ]    Nightcrawler (Teaser)
[ ]    The Signal (One Sheet)
[ ]    The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (L'Étrange Couleur des Larmes de Ton Corps) (One Sheet) 

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Most Underrated Film:

Films that did not receive a wide release, were unsuccessful at the box office, were not nominated for any major awards or receive acclaim at any major film festivals, and were generally unknown to most audiences at the time of their release... but were well-liked by most critics and audiences that did happen to see them.

* To Be Announced with Winners 

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"Grindhouse" Film Award: (select link for more information)

Films that uphold the "Grindhouse" traditions of off-beat, exploitative, and taboo subjects, guerrilla film making techniques, and unconventional narrative structures, without which film making as a whole cannot move forward.

[ ]    Afflicted - Written and directed by Derek Lee & Cliff Prowse.
[ ]    Big Bad Wolves - Written and directed by Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado.
[ ]    The Editor - Directed by Adam Brooks & Matthew Kennedy. Written by Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy & Conor Kennedy.
[ ]    The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (L'Étrange Couleur des Larmes de Ton Corps) - Written and directed by Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani.
[ ]    Witching & Bitching (Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi) - Directed by Álex de la Iglesia. Written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría & Álex de la Iglesia.

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Film Making: :
* To Be Announced with Winners 

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Performance:
* To Be Announced with Winners 

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Writing:
* To Be Announced with Winners 

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Special Achievement Award for Technical Innovation:
* To Be Announced with Winners 

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Again, thank you for your participation.

- gARTh -

KMFDM's Our Time Will Come - Album Review

KMFDM
OUR TIME WILL COME
2014
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Ultra-heavy-beat pioneers and industrial-rock legends KMFDM turned 30 earlier this year, and with no signs of stopping they also released their nineteenth studio album, Our Time Will Come, on Tuesday Oct. 14, 2014.

And, it's one of their best albums.

In my opinion, 2005's Hau Ruck is the best album they've released since the 2002 reformation, and I also consider it to be the second best album of their career (only topped by 1995's Nihil). Our Time Will Come may not be quite as good as Hau Ruck, it's really too early to say, but it's somewhere just beneath it - say, around No. 5 on a Top 5 KMFDM albums list.

So, with that all in mind - where it ranks, in my opinion, in relation to other KMFDM albums - let's move on.

Opening the album is "GENAU" (German for "exactly" / "precisely") which is a fun song, that's not a self-referencing "KMFDM song" like the past few openers. It's a humorous ride through the German language (some of the song is in English, too). Besides being fun, it's interesting musically: it's rocking, it's got some of the best synths the band has used in almost 15 years, and it's a family affair - featuring lead vocals by Sascha, trading off vocals with wife Lucia, and bookending the song are a few lines by their daughter (including the opening line, "Hello, teenage America," which also opened the 1992 song "Vogue"). In some ways, "Genau" reminds me of "Megalomaniac" meets "Juke Joint Jezebel," which isn't a bad thing at all. It gets better as it goes, and gets better the more I listen to it (like the album as a whole). By about halfway through the song it should be apparent that this album has a tightness of musicianship, an excellence of songwriting craft, and a crispness of sound mixing that elevates it above even some of their better work over the past few albums. In less than two minutes I was sold that this album wasn't just going to be good - it would be something special. "Genau" is just a well done song. One that, if they still decide to release it as an actual single, would be a great song to use to bring their new music to the masses. And if this is the sound of "the German in you," then my inner German sounds friggin' awesome! (5/5)

Following that, we move into "SHAKE THE CAGE," which is sort of KMFDM's thoughts on the whole Snowden/NSA thing. However, it's not beating anyone over the head politically. It's funky, (yeah, that's right, I said funky) with a killer bass line running through it straight out of something like "The Problem" from 1993's Angst, with an equally killer guitar riff straight out of 1994's Nihil runnin' over it. It's got a great 'softer' vibe through the verses, that starts to get punched up as it goes, and then it really kicks in for the rockin' sing-along chorus. Keep an ear out for a Jules guitar solo towards the end, too; a nice touch. This is such a good song. There's a maturity present that the band has sometimes eschewed in favor of fun, while this song maintains its fun and listenability. A standout song, "Shake the Cage" is hands-down one of the best songs of its kind that they've ever done. (5/5)

Track three is "RESPEKT," which is downright hilarious. I'm not completely one-hundred-percent sure, but it seems to be a sort of mockery of the trolling behavior online. It's funny, but musically it's this uber-pounding, hard-rocking ultra-heavy-beat 1996's Xtort-era craze. But I love that it so embraces it's goofiness, while still managing to rock your socks off. Think of a funny, sarcasm-fueled Combichrist song channeled through KMFDM. The music and lead vocals are aided by guest Tom Stanzel of the Seattle music scene. And, one of my favorite 'little things' is the metallic hammering of an anvil that pops up to echo the vocals, it's such a great minor detail that ultimately adds a lot. (4/5)

Up next we find the title track: "OUR TIME WILL COME." Like "Shake the Cage," this song is unexpectedly awesome. These types of songs may not be the ones that old-school fans want to hear mixed in with "A Drug Against War" and "Flesh" on a live set list, but they're the kinds of songs that perfectly demonstrate just how far the band has actually come over the years. Musically. Lyrically. Stylistically. There's depth here, both in the songwriting and how the song is layed out, that they just didn't have back-in-the-day. It's got a really cool slower-yet-intricate beat and groove, with some piano sprinkled over it, then some minimal guitar and synth arrangements, all building to a great chorus. Lucia's vocals, too, are amazing, as are the synth "breakdowns." This song is another standout, and while it may be softer and less in-your-face than what people sometimes want or expect, I think this album, by way of songs like this, showcases the band working to its strengths without feeling like they're repeating themselves. Being more creative without feeling like they're just experimenting. This song is also a great example of why I think the album is one of the best. (5/5)

Track five is "SALVATION," which was released early to the band's Soundcloud page a week or so ago. It sort of - at first - appears to be KMFDM-by-numbers,  but it's so good that that claim quickly becomes ridiculous. The band is playing with a lot of new ideas here in a sound environment that's familiar, and the resulting hybrid of old and new comes out feeling fresh rather than mashed-up. It's similar to songs like 2003's "Stars & Stripes" and 2005's "New American Century" where Jules' guitar riff magic is just allowed to drive the song. But, the effect-laden vocals from Sascha are unexpected, and then Lucia's pop-diva vocals come in for a bit to help lead in Sascha's overly-commanding chorus. The song weaves the electronics and guitars together nicely (especially towards the end), and moves from crushing hard-industrial-rock to poppy-dancefloor-electronica and back again in flawless fashion. By the time the familiar lyrics from 1990's "Naive" show up in the bridge, the song has become this awesome animal all its own. This is probably the best of the faster songs on the album, and while it doesn't do anything that might be strikingly outside the box, all of the new "little things" succeed in reminding us that sometimes feeling familiar is a damn good thing. (4.5/5)

Track six, "BLOOD VS. MONEY," is another slightly-political song (again, nothing too on-the-nose to put anyone off), featuring Sascha's anger over the way things are being handled in the financial sector post-2008's collapse. The synths are dark and the beat is strange, reminding me a bit of the cool-as-hell beat from 1996's "Ikons" mixed with something like 1999's "Rubicon" and "Adios," with lyrics and vocals that actually remind me more of some of the things Sascha and Skold were doing with side-project MDFMK in 2000. It's a heavy, dark song with screaming vocals, but it's not a very fast song (the beat is more interesting than that). Again, it could be at home on 1999's Adios, just with the amount of electronic stuff going on in the song. This richness of sound and attention to detail helps elevate several tracks on the album, that could have wound up being simply pretty good, to a much higher, better level. (4/5)

At number seven, "GET THE TONGUE WET" not only has the most interesting song title on the album, but might be the most creative song the band has had in quite a while. I'm not even sure if I like some of the choices, per se. (When you hear it, you'll know the part I'm talking about). I mean, it all works, but certain things are so... different, but at the same time that is exactly the appeal. And once the song gets going it's really badass. This is both a new-classic-KMFDM pop song in the vein of "Looking For Strange" and "Real Thing," while at the same time it's the most unlike KMFDM - in a more mainstream pop-song sort of way - that I think they've ever done. It ends up being one of the highlights of the album simply because of it's creative choices and how much it stands out. Plus, it is super-duper fun to listen to. I have a feeling that this song will either grow on me to become a favorite, or possibly the opposite, in the years to come. It's interesting, cool, fun, catchy, has a great guitar-noise solo (at home beside some of NIN's With Teeth-era stuff) and features some truly awesome vocal work from Lucia. (4.5/5)

The eighth track, "BRAINWASHED," begins with voices and samples and strangeness, and then opens up into a sluggish industrial metal monster that in some ways reminds me of a Skold-era KMFDM song (the way Sascha's vocals are sung). It's completely badass and I absolutely love it. It's the heaviest song on the album, and the guitar riffin' here is crunchy and catchy, the ultra-slow ultra-heavy beat is infectious (try to get through it without slow-banging at least a little bit), and the lyrics to this one were the ones out of any song on the album that were stuck in my head all day. I like that the song feels in some ways exactly like its title, like it's brainwashing you - just pounding and heavy and slightly-repetitous in a good way - as it builds in ferocity. Here and there the song adds these tiny little textures (there's a keyboard part that pops up briefly that I friggin' love) as it goes, just making it sound that much more complete. This one will/should be a staple of live shows from here on out. (5/5)

The ninth track, "PLAYING GOD," is sort-of another KMFDM pseudo-pop-song, in the vein of tracks 2, 4 and 7, but... it's also something else. There's a vibe that I get from this that, again, harkens back to the craziness and richness of Xtort and Adio. If you haven't noticed by now, there's a lot of referencing to their past on this album, not just in a fun fan-service-song full of popular KMFDM phrases, but some really interesting throwbacks to styles, particular sounds, re-using lyrics in alternate contexts, it's self-homage without the need of a wink and a nudge. It's like their whole career was building up to this album, and so I've tried to include as many of the references that I've caught on my initial listens, all of the things that reminded me of something from KMFDM-past, in hopes that you'll see that while the album is definitely new, fresh, and creatively showcasing the band at a peak, it also knows its own history and that's on display, too. "Playing God" is my favorite song on the album, and I don't even know if I can explain why. It's just a really great song; it's fun to listen to, it's interesting, and it stands tall over any other song of its kind out there in every possible way. It's got the guitars (some awesome riffs), the beats (I love this beat!), the synths and bass lines (the way these seamlessly intertwine with the guitars reminds me of why I love KMFDM so much in the first place), all of the weapons from the KMFDM arsenal. Yet, as I said, it's wrapped into a more pop-song package - while still managing to retain its badassness. And above all else, it's sooooo well done. The lyrics and vocals, in particular, stand out amongst the stand-outs. (If "Brainwashed" isn't stuck in your head, this one will be). The way the beat and synths/electronics work together building up as the guitar riffs kick in... it's just awesome. In my opinion, "Playing God" - more than any other song on the album - will be the one that I personally include on all my KMFDM playlists/mix CDs/whatever in the years to come. (5/5)

And now we come to the end. The album's closer, "MAKE YOUR STAND," is over six minutes of club-stomping coolness. It's repetitive - musically and lyrically - in that electronic music way, but it works so well. Featuring lead vocals by William Wilson that lend the song a different feel to the rest of the album, and guest musicianship by Tom Stanzel and composing by Seattle DJ Paul Aleinikoff that all aids in the sheer amount of stuff going on in this song. KMFDM haven't had a song like this since probably... actually, I don't know if they've ever done a song like this. 1990's "Freide" maybe? Some of the remixes of "Megalomaniac" from the MDFMK single? This song is almost like a love-letter to certain type of electro-industrial that KMFDM generally has one foot in, but never two. But there are most-definitely those KMFDM moments, never letting the song get away from "their sound" too much. In particular, the badass slide-guitar that creeps over the track occasionally, very 2003's "Bullets Bombs & Bigotry" or even 1995's "Ultra." As an album closer, it is completely kickass because of the fact that it just goes. In electronic music, having great forward momentum can never be over-stressed. And I love that sort of "big finish" in a final track, because, though we live in a digital world, I still love it when an album feels put together right. Pay attention to how the song goes from being a love-letter to something like Front 242's "Headhunter" club remixes to something akin to a Nitzer Ebb song at around the five minute mark, and then back into the club jam. Damn that's nice. (4.5/5)

Ya know...

The more I think about it (and listen to it, as I write this it'll mark my fifth full listen-through), Our Time Will Come might end up being higher in the band's career Top 5 than I originally thought. I mean, if my initial song ratings are in any way 'correct,' then that means that the worst songs on the album are the 4 star songs; "Respekt" and "Blood vs. Money." But, honestly, those two songs, while maybe they aren't as stand-out as the rest on this album, are better songs than many of the band's most well-known and "classic" tracks. What does that say about those songs, or this album, and how the band has evolved?

(It says that this album is damn-near flawless from start-to-finish, and the only reason not to admit it is because of some foolish stubborn nostalgia for the classic albums).

I think that might be right, I'm afraid to say that the albums I grew up with and consider to be part of the band's Golden Era - 1993's Angst, 1996's Xtort, 1997's 'Symbols,' and 1999's Adios - aren't quite as good as I claim them to be. I love 'em, but I'll freely admit that not one of those albums is amazing from start to finish. Each of them has songs that I either tend to skip or flatout just don't like.

1995's Nihil may still be their high water mark, and it probably always will be, but I was willing to admit to myself when 2005's Hau Ruck kept getting better and better the more I listened to it. Hau Ruck, like Our Time Will Come, has no songs that I dislike or skip. So, who knows... Our Time Will Come, almost two decades later than Nihil and almost a decade after Hau Ruck, might join those ranks as KMFDM masterpiece No. 3.

Regardless of where you or I end up ranking it amongst their other 18 albums, KMFDM has made a statement of sorts with Our Time Will Come. They've said, "This is KMFDM in the year 2014, and we're just as alive and relevant as we've ever been, if not more so. We're just as creative and musically inventive as we've ever been, if not more so. We've matured, but haven't lost our sense of play. We've moved into new territories, without forgetting the plethora of components that led to our success over the past thirty years. We are constantly evolving, moving forward with momentum, while always maintaining one foot firmly rooted in the past so that we never forget. We are KMFDM, and our time has come."

In summation, Our Time Will Come is as close to perfect as an electro-industrial-rock album can get, and that it happened in 2014 and not the early-to-mid 90's is probably the most amazing thing about it (when was the last Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, or Skinny Puppy album released that you'd seriously even consider saying was equal to their best work. Yeah, that's what I thought. That's not a stab necessarily at the later output of those groups, but... it is what it is).

Our Time Will Come is well worth picking up, I cannot recommend it enough. It's a great place to start if you're just now getting into them, a great place to pick 'em back up if you've been away for a while, and if you've maintained your fandom to the fullest throughout the years... then honestly what the hell are you even reading this for, just go pick it up already and enjoy.

It's now available in stores and online, or for purchase through the band directly via the KMFDM Store (www.kmfdm.net), in several formats and options: digital download, CD, or as a CD plus T-shirt & poster bundle.
______________________________________________

5 out of 5

- gARTh -

gARTh's 2013 Movie Awards: Winners

gARTh's 2013 Movie Awards

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W I N N E R S :

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Film: 12 Years a Slave

Director: Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity

Actor: Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Actress: Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Supporting Actor: Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle

Adapted Screenplay: Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze - Her

Editing: Rush

Cinematography: Gravity

Stuntwork: Iron Man 3

Art Direction: The Great Gatsby

Costume Design: The Great Gatsby

Make-Up: American Hustle

Visual Effects: Gravity

Sound Mixing: The Great Gatsby

Music - Original Score: Arcade Fire - Her

Music - Original Song: Lana Del Ray - "Young and Beautiful" - The Great Gatsby

Music - Use of Previously Recorded Song; Feature: Muse - "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" - World War Z

Music - Use of Previously Recorded Song; Trailer: Lou Reed - "Perfect Day" - You're Next

Animated Feature Film: The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu)

Documentary Feature Film: 20 Feet from Stardom

Foreign Language Film: The Hunt (Jagten) - Denmark

Animated / Vocal Performance: Scarlett Johansson - Her

Villainous Performance: Sharlto Copely - Elysium

Comedic Performance: Dwayne Johnson - Pain & Gain

Cameo / Bit-Part Performance: Michael Cera - This Is the End

Breakthrough Performance: Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Breakthrough Filmmaker: John Krokidas - Kill Your Darlings

Cast: The Wolf of Wall Street

Scene: Evil Dead - Finale: And the rain shall turn to blood.

Quote: The World's End 

"Tonight, we will be partaking of a liquid repast, as we wind our way up the golden mile commencing with an inaugural tankard in The First Post, then on to The Old Familiar, The Famous Cock, The Cross Hands The Good Companions, The Trusty Servant, The Two-Headed Dog, The Mermaid, The Beehive, The King’s Head, and The Hole in the Wall for a measure of the same—all before the last bittersweet pint in that most fateful: The World’s End. Leave a light on, good lady, for though we may return with a twinkle in our eyes, we will in truth be blind—drunk!"

Tagline: John Dies at the End

"Just So You Know... They're Sorry For Everything That's About To Happen."

Poster Art: (select link to view)

Nebraska (One Sheet)

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Most Underrated Film:

Films that did not receive a wide release, were unsuccessful at the box office, were not nominated for any major awards or receive acclaim at any major film festivals, and were generally unknown to most audiences at the time of their release... but were well-liked by most critics and audiences that did happen to see them.

+1 - Directed by Dennis Iliadis. Written by Bill Gullo.

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"Grindhouse" Film Award:

Films that uphold the "Grindhouse" traditions of off-beat, exploitative, and taboo subjects, guerrilla filmmaking techniques, and unconventional narrative structures, without which filmmaking as a whole cannot move forward.

John Dies At the End - Written and Directed by Don Coscarelli.

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Filmmaking:

Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity

Often, the films that become notorious for their awe-inspiring visuals are not always the films that tell the most in-depth stories or have the best written characters. George Lucas and James Cameron are filmmakers who have built careers on pushing the film medium forward (by giant leaps), but their films are not always remembered for being the very best films, they are simply outstanding and dazzling visual entertainment.

Alfonso Cuarón has likewise built his career on visual storytelling, but in a way that has seperated him from the likes of Lucas and Cameron. The Little Princess, Great Expectations, and Y Tu Mamá También are all visual feasts, but of a more arthouse variety. The characters and story are still in the forefront, while the visuals he utilizes are servicing the characters and story and not the other way around. It wasn't until his first blockbuster film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, that he showed that he could still maintain a focus on character and story within a huge world of big-budget visual effects. After that, he proved that it wasn't just the Harry Potter formula, with his brilliantly made science fiction film Children of Men - which has some of the greatest camera moves and visual trickery ever put on film.

Seven years later, he returns with Gravity. On the surface, Gravity is almost a simple story - two people fight for survival in a life-threatening situation in outer space. This scenario brings to mind, at first, something akin to Apollo 13.

But, being the kind of visual director that Cuarón is, Gravity turns out to be much more that just a story of two people in space. The way the film is made, and the realistic detail in which outer space and what it's really like, bring a seemingly simple thriller story involving minimal characters into uncharted territory. Because it's all trickery - of the camera, of the sound, of the light, and using digital effects to put it all into a life-like framework that now makes a film like Apollo 13 seem quite tame.

And whether people respond to the characters and the story of a film like this doesn't matter, because at the end of the day the biggest character in a film like this is its environment. Much like the forests of Pandora in Avatar, space in Gravity is the central focus. And Cuarón has filmed his subject so well, and using such interesting devices to do so, that it's amazing how real it seems. It's not just "special effects," it's not just an amazing sound design or great performances by the actors to sell it, it's a combination of everything in the book and then some, all masterfully crafted by an artisan of the film industry and placed before you to experience. Not just to watch as entertainment - but to experience.

And that, more than anything else, is what motion pictures were made for.

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Performance:

Adèle Exarchopoulos & Léa Seydoux - Blue Is the Warmest Color (La vie d'Adèle)

Raw emotion, powerful and real and unflinching. Say what you want about the movie, its director, or the taboo subject matter (that it expertly handles to the point of rendering it passed shock onto endearing) but any way you look at it these two female leads give performances for the ages. That the characters are so well defined, so well captured in every little detail, two living and breathing real women, makes the subject matter seem much more real than it actually is (it is only a movie, not sure why all the fuss).

Both actresses shared in the film's win of the Palm D'or at the Cannes Film Festival, the first time ever that anyone other than the director was given the award. And deservedly so. The film is great, it's direction, writing, cinematography, everything is handled very well... but like Charlize Theron in Monster, the performances of Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux overshadow the film itself, and have already helped to carve out their own little nitch in film history. Twenty years from now, no one will remember all the fuss caused by a bunch of prudes over some sex scenes, but their performances will remain just as strong and captivating.
 

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Special Achievement Award for Excellence in Writing:

Spike Jonze - Her

While best known for his directing - Charlie Kaufman's brilliantly written films Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, the beautifully imaginative take on Where the Wild Things Are, and a slew of the best music videos to come out of the '90's - Spike Jonze is not always remembered as a great writer in his own right. However, he did co-write Where the Wild Things Are, not exactly an easy tale to tell, and whether anyone knows it or not, his off-beat sense of humor has been on display for years - he's the creator of the show "Jackass" and has helped to write and put together each of the theatrical films. All of these collected works, though, could not have prepared the world for such a touching and beautifully crafted love story in Her. And yet, though his time working with Kaufman probably rubbed off on him a bit, this is a tale I don't think anyone other than Jonze could have told.

The use of subtlety in acting gives realism and nuance to the most trivial of facial expressions or body language. In direction, subtlety brings out "the little things" that sometimes matter more to the telling of a story than anything else. The use of subtlety in writing is, however, not only difficult to do in the first place, but difficult to convey. Somehow, Jonze does it. In his use of the words he has his characters speak, to the way scenes play out almost unconventionally. It's poignant in that way that afternoon sunlight filtering into a room or raindrops on a window pane can hold one's gaze for minutes - or hours. It's such a simple thing, when you stop and think about it, but man is it amazing how wonderful it is while you're captivated.

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Special Achievement Award for Technical Innovation:

Neil Corbould, Glenn Freemantle, Emmanuel Lubezki, Tim Webber, & Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity

For the development of the lighting aperatus known as The Lightbox, a nine foot cube outfitted with 4,096 LED bulbs that could replicate any lighting effects, and shadows, onto and across the actors faces.

For the development of a newly designed harness that could move the actors in any direction, puppeteered by off-camera crews, to simulate weightlessness in a way never before achieved.

For the development of a two-ton camera rig that could move around the actors in a similar weightless fashion.

The mixing/bluring of the production design, the photography and camera, the visual effects, and the practical special effects into one organism with one goal in the way that this film was made (taking four and a half years to get right), is almost unheard of. Similar to the 2002 Special Achievement winner (David Fincher and the DP's of Panic Room) and 2009 Special Achievement winner (James Cameron and the crew of Avatar), the technical innovations of Gravity are just as stupifying in their end result as the film as a whole, and will most assuredly have an impact on future films and future generations of filmmakers and technical wizards.

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Thanks to all that participated.

- gARTh -