After “Lincoln” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” the latest Oscars-cited movie to hit local screens is Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” It’s interesting to note that, quite inadvertently, the timing of the film’s local release has made it a sort of “companion piece” to “Lincoln.”
Quite without planning to, I did something unique and potentially instructive last month: Only a couple of days before the Oscars, I inadvertently caught the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards on the Blink channel.
Leonardo DiCaprio says filming violent scenes like in “Django Unchained” doesn’t deter him from wanting his movies to be great art.
LOS ANGELES – A Filipino-American college student, whose winning video bought him the chance to be called onstage and present those gold statuettes in last Sunday’s Oscars, said he had an “exciting” time at the Dolby Theater. Abe Diaz, whose parents’ roots are from Cebu and South Cotabato, got to hand the trophies to presenters [...]
The biggest and most unexpected winner at last week’s Academy Awards was Ang Lee, who trounced Steven Spielberg in the Best Director race with “Life of Pi,” vis-a-vis Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” which was generally expected to romp off with the directing and Best Picture trophies, but did no such thing because the topmost plum went to “Argo,” instead! —So, “Lincoln” was the evening’s top loser,—a most undeserved fate.
Among its many virtues, “Silver Linings Playbook” provides student actors with a wide range of exceptional performances, from lead to cameos, to learn from. The film’s writer-director, David O. Russell, has an unusual gift for creating acutely believable, strongly motivated and empathetic characters.
While we’re disheartened that Jun Lana’s “Bwakaw,” the country’s entry to this year’s Best Foreign Language Oscar derby, didn’t make the Academy’s official five-nominees list, it’s nonetheless hard to discredit the entries that did make the cut—because, when we saw all five entries last month, we noted how unique each of them was. Moreover, foreign language films need to be seen because they introduce us to issues and cultures that are different from the ones we’re familiar with.
Some of the biggest stars in the world laughing, weeping, babbling away (one of them approaching incoherence) as they met only accredited media men from all over the world, your columnist included. We witnessed all of that backstage at the Oscars Sunday night (Monday in Manila).
Steven Spielberg, named head of the Cannes Film Festival jury Wednesday, is a Hollywood legend and one of modern cinema’s most influential filmmakers — even if his awards glory has faded of late.
Since we all have an Oscars “hangover,” allow me to feature two of our own movie icons who could very well vie for an Oscar, given a chance: Vilma Santos and Eddie Garcia.
Oscar Awards host Seth McFarlane dished out a lot of jokes—some flew, some fell flat.
Our man in Hollywood, Ruben V. Nepales, described the Oscars red carpet in four words: “Crazy … pandemonium as usual.” And he took us all there, to the front row.
