Kate's Eighth?

Kate Winslet in Wonder Wheel (2017).

Is Kate Winslet bound for her 8th Oscar nomination for Wonder Wheel (2017)?

HRH Dame Helen Mirren

Royal gorgeousness

In her 50-year career, Dame Helen Mirren's performances as queens has garnered her the most recognition and acclaim.

Mirren as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1965), Milonia Caesonia
in Caligula (1979), and the title role in The Duchess of Malfi (1981)

Leonardo DiCaprio: Fifth time's the Charm?

There are currently 45 actors who have been nominated 4 times for an acting Academy Award. Twenty-seven won once; Anthony Quinn, Shelley Winters, Glenda Jackson, and Jodie Foster won twice; and Walter Brennan won thrice. Seven will never win since they are already dead while 6 may still get nominated and win: Marsha Mason, Jane Alexander, Warren Beatty (already won for Best Director and has nominations for Adapted and Original Screenplay and Producing), Ed Harris, Annette Bening (wife to Warren Beatty), and Leonardo DiCaprio.

L-R: Marsha Mason, Jane Alexander, Warren Beatty, Ed Harris, and Annette Bening.

Among the six living Oscar-less 4-time nominees, only Leo is in contention for a fifth acting nomination this year for his performance in The Revenant (2015). He already has won the Best Actor - Drama prize at the Golden Globes and was nominated at the BAFTA, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards. He further won a slew of prizes from regional critics' groups. Oscar pundits heavily favor him to finally win an Oscar come 28 February. His previous Oscar nominations were for his supporting turn in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) and his leading turns in The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2006), and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). His two other Golden Globes were for The Aviator and The Wolf of Wall Street; he has a total of 11 nominations.

Hail, Caesar! (2016) Trailer Released

Just last light, the first trailer of the multiple Oscar-winning Coen brothers' newest outing Hail, Caesar! (2016) was released and the film blogosphere went abuzz with excitement. Hail, Caesar's IMDb synopsis reads: A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line.

You see, Joel and Ethan are the most critically acclaimed directorial pairing in the history of cinema. And it's not just out of critical whim; ever since their debut in 1984's Blood Simple (Ethan Coen was uncredited until The Ladykillers in 2004), both showed that rare combination of intelligent, thoughtfulness, dark comedy, and classy style. When they give you something funny, it's funny. When they give you something dark, it's dark. However, a lot of their films are also equal parts dark, funny, philosophical, meta plus they never fail to entertain. The Coen brothers are true disciples of the cinema and two of the best artists the moviemaking industry has seen. And they have never made a bad film.

MTWOF: Black Mass, Sicario, Bridge of Spies, Crimson Peak, The Big Short

Welcome to the third installment of MTWOF. In this series, I discuss films that piqued my interest and found worth sharing with everyone. For this edition, I will be talking about two movies which have already been reviewed by critics and three which are yet to be released locally or in the US.

BLACK MASS (2015)

Direction: Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of Furnace)

Screenplay: Mark Mallouk (writing debut), Jez Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow [I love this film] and the upcoming James Bond film Spectre)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, and Benedict Cumberbatch

US Release: 18 September 2015

Philippine Release: 21 October 2015

IMDb Synopsis: The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

In the past five years, Mr. Depp has been in more flops than hits (critically and commercially): The Tourist (2010), The Rum Diary (2011), Dark Shadows (2012), The Lone Ranger (2013), Transcendence (2014), and this year's Mortdecai (2015). All of these have been paycheck films and he seems to be really going for these big budget movies. A report even surfaced in 2013 that he exited Black Mass (2015) because the producers cannot afford to pay him USD 20 million! Well, it's good that it turned out to be false as Depp is enjoying what some critics have gone on to say as his best performance to date. James Bulger is a fine departure from the tiring strings of this actor's eccentric incarnations courtesy of his neverending Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) sequels and Tim Burton collabs. He is currently in the top five of pundits in their Oscar predictions. It is yet to be determined how he would fare relative to his competition, especially with another Oscar overdue actor Leo DiCaprio in contention for The Revenant (2015). 

A lot is owed to the young director Scott Cooper, who gave Jeff Bridges his Best Actor Oscar in Crazy Heart (2009) after a long and illustrious career. Cooper is a storyteller who has yet to find his stamp and niche but nevertheless, is interested in realizing his optimum talent as a filmmaker. 

Mob films are a genre of their own and the exploration of real-life stories of crime bosses, contemporary and from the past, is always an exciting adventure.

Rotten Tomatoes: 75% of critics gave the movie positive reviews

Consensus: Black Mass spins a gripping yarn out of its fact-based story -- and leaves audiences with one of Johnny Depp's most compelling performances in years.

Metacritic: 68/100 

Consensus: Generally favorable reviews

Check its box office gross here.

MTWOF: The Martian, Demolition, Our Brand is Crisis, Trumbo, Truth

This is the second installment of Movies to Watch Out For series in this blog. For this edition, I will be discussing five movies screened at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival.

THE MARTIAN (2015)

Direction: Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down)

Screenplay: Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods, World War Z)

Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Jeff Daniels

US Release: 2 October 2015

Philippine Release: 30 September 2015

IMDb Synopsis: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

MTWOF: Steve Jobs, The Danish Girl, Suffragette, Room, The Lady in the Van

The 2016 Oscar season has begun. That's right after the Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival, which for the past few years has been the litmus test for Oscar-baity films. While film critics organizations and industry groups will start handing out awards in late November, pundits are already starting their predictions on which movies will be recognized come 14 January 2016 with Academy Award nominations and then a new set of predictions will be generated for the actual Oscar statuettes across 22 categories for long-form features.

This Movies to Watch Out For (MTWOF) series in my blog which I am commencing this year and which I hope to continue in the years to come will be a weekly thing (if possible). I will be featuring movies which piqued my interest and found worth sharing. This means that I will not only be writing about movies which are Oscar-friendly; I will also be discussing about local and world cinema films. I'll start with just five movies and maybe expand to ten if I'll be having trouble keeping my list updated.

STEVE JOBS (2015)
Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Trainspotting)
Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The Social Network, Moneyball)
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels