Awards Season 2013

The 2013 film awards season is now officially underway. The Golden Globe nominations were out a few weeks ago, with the ceremony tonight, and this past week the Academy Awards, the largest awards ceremony (at least as far as public awareness is concerned) released their nominees. Their shadow archetype, the Golden Raspberries, have also been released.

I haven’t seen a lot of the films up for contention on either; there may come a year in which I’ve seen several of the likely candidates, but 2012 wasn’t it. Still, I do have a few thoughts on the nominees, which I’ll get to in a moment. But it’s fairly likely that this year I’m just going to read the results in the paper instead of watching them live.

Brave

Released this June, Brave is the thirteenth film from Pixar. For me it has proven to be the lucky thirteen rather than an unlucky one, as thanks to the local second-run theatre, I have finally managed to break my streak of somehow not managing to see any Pixar films on the big screen. I even was able to view it in 3D, which if nothing else made the panoramic shots even more breathtaking. Pixar, as is their wont, continues pushing the boundaries of computer-rendered animation in this film, making their fictionalized version of the Scottish highlands highly detailed and heavily populated with trees and other foliage. The scenery is beautiful, and so is the character design; Pixar also tests their limitations here with curly hair that moves in a realistic fashion, and fabrics and clothes that look and move realistically.

The film was written and partly directed by Brenda Chapman, who was removed from the film partway through and replaced by Mark Andrews. There’s been speculation why, but I haven’t seen anything official, and Chapman has stated that the final film is true to her vision. Certainly there is no point at which it feels disjointed from its directorial switch; the film feels like a unified whole.

Weekly Weblinks: Spidey, Scots, and Rocker Snots

It’s Friday morning, and so it’s time for another dose of the Weekly Weblinks. This week’s blog posts include another take on Brave, a review of a film that is coming out soon, and a few reviews of films that range from a year old to a 1960s classic.

In the news, an unlikely TV adaptation, a prog metal group’s demise, Keanu Reeve’s next big thing, and yet more puppet film news. So read on for a Weekly Weblinks that is surprisingly heavy in the Scottish influence. (I swear I don’t plan these things.)

Weekly Weblinks: Rummaging and Wrecking

I’m out hitting a 52-mile stretch of garage sales today, and a community garage sale tomorrow, so I may not be right here on the site for a bit. But that doesn’t stop the Weekly Weblinks from going up right on schedule! This week’s blog posts include a review of a film coming out today, a couple films debuting at a film festival, and some retro classics.

In the news there’s some info on Michael Bay’s fourth Transformers picture, the latest on the Bay-produced Ninja Turtles, and some more puppets coming to the big screen that, as far as I know, have nothing at all to do with Michael Bay. This week’s selection of posts and news is also surprisingly heavy on Disney, but there’s more to the Weekly Weblinks than Bay or Disney, so whatever you’re interested in, read on!