My Oscar Nominations Predictions

The nominees for the 87th Academy Awards (Oscars) will be announced this Thursday, January 15th at 7:30 am CST in advance of the big show on February 22nd on ABC-TV.

Here are my predictions for the top 6 awards. I forsee this year's Oscars being dominated by several films, including Birdman, Boyhood, The Imitation Game, Selma and The Theory of Everything.

Best Picture:
Boyhood, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Selma, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash, Gone Girl, Foxcatcher and American Sniper

Unbroken, Nightcrawler and Interstellar also have all good chances, but these films have been overlooked lately in several major awards, I see them only picking up a few noms in some of the tech categories.

Best Director:
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, Birdman
Ana DuVernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game, Clint Eastwood for American Sniper and Damien Chazelle for Whiplash are all strong possibilities but Anderson and his film have picked up considerable momentum lately, so I expect him to take the final slot.

Best Actor:
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
David Oyelowo, Selma
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

The first four all easily make the cut. For the fifth slot, I could easily interchange Gyllenhaal for Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher, but for now going with Gyllenhaal, who has had stronger momentum going into awards season. Bradley Cooper for American Sniper and Timothy Spall for Mr. Turner also have small chances, but since their films haven't generated much buzz lately I'm sticking with Gyllenhaal.

Best Actress:
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Jennifer Aniston, Cake

Much like Best Actor, the first four should all easily make it in, with the fifth slot going to either Aniston for Cake (it's hard to believe I'd ever see Aniston here, but good for her) who has been heavily promoting her film, or to Golden Globe winner and multiple Oscar nominee Amy Adams, who has been racking up Oscar noms (but no wins yet) in Streep-like fashion.

Best Supporting Actor:
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Robert Duvall, The Judge

This award really belongs to Simmons' ferocious bully teacher role, but Norton, Hawke and Ruffalo were all strong as well. The fifth slot should go to veteran Duvall, who was good in the otherwise weak, overlong The Judge, but I'd rather see it go to Tom Wilkinson, who was brilliantly memorable as LBJ in Selma.

Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Emma Stone, Birdman
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year

Arquette, Stone and Knightley are all in easily. Streep gets in too, and while she always seems to snag a nom, she was admittedly the best part about Into the Woods. I'd prefer to see Laura Dern's hippy chick mom in "Wild" or Rene Russo's ambitious news director from "Nightcrawler" in the top 5, but I'm good with Chastain, who was very good in A Most Violent Year, which sees wide release in late January.

As for the rest:

Birdman, Boyhood, The Imitation Game, Selma, Foxcatcher, Theory, Whiplash and Grand Budapest should all score multiple noms in Screenplay, Score, Cinematography and Editing categories, along with Unbroken and Interstellar.

Taken 3 - D

Liam Neeson

Rated PG-13, 93 minutes
Wes's Grade: D

Fast-paced but preposterous and sluggish "Taken 3" isn't worth the ride this time

"Taken 3" is the "Taken" movie where no one is taken. Doesn't make sense to me, either, in the predictable, incoherent mess that is "Taken 3," supposedly the final chapter in this mediocre action franchise. Liam Neeson and his special skill set are the only reason to see this sluggishly preposterous thriller, which may be enough for Neeson's fan base. Ex-covert operative Bryan Mills' (Neeson) reconciliation with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered and he is framed for the crime. He goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police (led by Forest Whitaker, utterly wasted here in a throwaway role). For one last time, Mills must use his "particular set of skills," to track down the real killers, clear his name and protect the only thing that matters to him now - his daughter (Maggie Grace). Let's hope this thing ends after the fast-paced but ridiculously predictable "Taken 3" in which no one is taken, just chased and shot at endlessly. Directed by Oliver Megaton, who directed "Taken 2," and co-written and produced by acclaimed filmmaker Luc Besson (of the recent "Lucy"), if you thought the first two "Taken" movies were far-fetched, this one is so over-the-top it makes those look like a documentary: Bryan Mills and his special skill set are in need of a more substantive story and character development, of which this is sorely lacking. Admittedly, Mills and his skills are fun to watch, though by now it gets tiresome and the novelty of it has worn itself out since the first film, with writer Besson now content with having Mills escape some pretty far-out car crashes and other situations, and if you think he won't actually get the bad guys in the end, then you must be crazy. Other than the awful script and lackluster plotting (and the fact they kill off the lovely Janssen, by far one of the prettiest things about these movies), the scariest thing about "Taken 3" is that bowl haircut that the villain (TV character actor Leland Orser) sports, which is just painful to look at. Also, the whole premise - the lack of someone being taken - really makes "Taken 3" a wasted, largely unnecessary effort. A handful of decent action scenes, but otherwise skip this one as the January dumping ground for movies continues.

Inherent Vice - B-

Rated R, 148 minutes

Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix

Wes's Grade: B-

Overlong but intriguing, "Inherent Vice" is inherently and colorfully entertaining

From the director of such unconventional but well-acted fare such as "The Master" and "There Will Be Blood" comes the unconventional but colorfully entertaining and overlong, flawed crime tale "Inherent Vice." Private eye Doc Sportello's (Joaquin Phoenix) investigates the disappearance of the billionaire boyfriend of ex-flame Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston), taking into a dark, psychedelic tale of drugs and mayhem that even he finds hard to fathom. Directed, produced and written by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson and based on Thomas Pynchon's seedy 2009 novel of the same name, "Inherent Vice" is a dark, well-acted dramedy about the underbelly of drugs, crime and free love circa 1970's California. It's not one of Anderson's stronger efforts, but it's certainly watchable, even if it may stretch the limits of your theater seat. "Vice" plays to some of Anderson's strengths: an eclectic, talented cast (also including Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro and a coke-snorting Martin Short, among many others) who perform well against the dark and intriguing but rambling narrative. Even more so, it plays to Anderson's weaknesses as a filmmaker: it's self-indulgent, too long and too odd, making for his least accessible film to date. The slow second act doesn't help it, either, even if it's well-grounded by another unusual Phoenix turn (he makes for a great stoner), though he's upstaged by two others in the large cast: Josh Brolin, who clearly has fun as the tough-talking detective who makes life difficult for Doc, and in a small role, Waterston, as his lovely but troubled hippy ex-girlfriend who needs his help. Waterston, of "Boardwalk Empire" fame and actor Sam Waterston's daughter, is smart and beautiful in a breakout role, and the camera clearly loves her (not to mention you get to see every inch her in one mildly shocking sex scene), reminding of an early Kate Hudson.  The hip and jazzy score by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood adds some nice texture to the movie and its dark photography from Robert Elswit, who worked with Anderson on "Blood," is perfectly suited to its tone. "Inherent Vice" is essentially a darker, more drug-fueled attempt at a "Big Lebowski" type story, and while it's hit-or-miss (you'll look at your watch more than once), it's still worth seeing, especially for Anderson fans, though this type of thing may worked better as an HBO or Netflix series. "Inherent Vice" isn't on the same level of greatness as "There Will Be Blood" or "The Master" and is a film whose parts are better than its sum total.

Selma - A

Rated R, 122 minutes
Wes's Grade: A

Stirring, riveting Civil Rights drama "Selma" one of the year's best

The compelling Civil Rights drama "Selma" co-produced by Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey (who also appears in a supporting role) is a moving, unshakeable portrait of what it took to gain the right for all to vote in the United States. More than just a sweeping history lesson and literally starting off with a bang in the film's first few frames (and it comes quite unexpectedly, you'll be jolted), the superbly acted "Selma" is also a stirring reminder that many made sacrifices for others. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma, Alabama to Alabama's capital, Montgomery, culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Masterfully directed by Ana DuVernay and written by Paul Webb, "Selma" is a fascinating, powerful behind-the-scenes look at the Civil Rights Movement in the South. DuVernay is part emotional history lesson and part insightful character study, though it leans toward the former instead of the latter, but all of it is rounded by excellent performances. The large cast is led by Oyelowo's sublimely pitch-perfect, impassioned performance as King, one of the strongest performances this year and one that's sure to garner him an Oscar nomination. Of the varied, strong supporting cast Wilkinson and Roth are most memorable, as LBJ and George Wallace, respectively, while Oprah herself gets in a few good scenes as Annie Lee Cooper, the woman who wasn't afraid to deck Selma's racist sheriff. There are a handful of gripping scenes that DuVernay skillfully handles, including the showdown at the Selma courthouse and the Bloody Sunday crossing of the Pettus Bridge in Montgomery, which is both stunning and electrifying; "Selma" doesn't shy away from the violence of the day, and while difficult to watch, provides help in understanding the movement. However, "Selma's" most moving scene is an intimate scene involving King and the father of a murdered protestor that will leave you considerably moved. As a character study, it doesn't shed much light into the complexity of King the man; we see some of his flaws and imperfections though the movie doesn't expound on them; the film is content with weaving King's personal story into the larger one at hand, and for what it is, works fine. Energetically scored by jazz musician Jason Moran and handsomely photographed by Bradford Young, it perfectly conveys the mood and the sights and sounds of the time frame. Uplifting, riveting and expertly crafted, the deeply satisfying "Selma" is a must-see and is one of the best films of the year.

Predestination - B-

Rated R, 97 minutes
Wes's Grade: B-

Entertainingly crazy "Predestination" is sci-fi wonkiness at its best

Time travel has always been the ultimate paradox, a riddle without an answer that movie makers have been trying to conquer for, well, ages. Australian filmmakers and identical twin brothers Michael and Peter Spierig ("Daybreakers") attempt to go there once more in the twisted but enjoyable sci-fi thriller "Predestination," currently in limited release. The movie chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent (Ethan Hawke) sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal (Sarah Snook) that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost. Co-directed, produced and written by the Spierig brothers and based on a 1958 short story called "All You Zombies" by Robert Heinlein, the science-fiction film is well-acted and occasionally moving, though the confusing, often weird script is a little all over the map in the final act. Hawke is solid as the time-traveling agent with a highly unusual mission, though it's unknown Australian actress Snook who is so convincing and even touching in a gender-bending, mind-bending breakout performance that she is the movie's most memorable character (honestly, she looks like a young DiCaprio and sounds like Jodie Foster). The stable, focused first act of "Predestination" is best before the narrative goes a little awry under a multitude of wonky plot twists that I can't even begin to explain, except to say that remarkably, through the craziness of it all, it was an enjoyable, if not exhausting, experience. The visuals are decent yet seemingly low-rent (the time travel contraption is basically an old violin case with a briefcase lock), but good enough not to overwhelm the senses. Trying to figure out the story is enough for a brainfreeze for anyone who views the strange but strangely entertaining "Predestination, a movie that sci-fi and time-travel enthusiasts will get a kick out of. If you don't belong in either of those categories, stick with something a little more straightforward, which is just about any other movie in current release.

North Texas Film Critics 2014 Award Winners Announced

NORTH TEXAS FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION NAME “BOYHOOD” BEST PICTURE OF 2014

The North Texas Film Critics Association is proud to announce their Best of 2014 and winners in eleven categories. The association was founded in 2005 and consists of a group of twelve film critics who write or broadcast in the North Texas area.

The North Texas Film Critics Association voted the coming-of-age drama BOYHOOD as the best film of 2014, according to the results of its annual critics’ poll which was released today.

The finalized list of the top 10 films of the year were WHIPLASH (2), THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (3), BIRDMAN (4), THE IMITATION GAME (5), GONE GIRL (6), THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (7), NIGHTCRAWLER (8), CHEF (9) and INTERSTELLAR (10).

Jake Gyllenhaal was voted Best Actor for NIGHTCRAWLER. Runners-up included Eddie Redmayne for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (2), Benedict Cumberbatch for THE IMITATION GAME (3), Michael Keaton for BIRDMAN (4) and David Oyelowo for SELMA (5).

For Best Actress, Rosamund Pike was the winner for GONE GIRL. Runners-up included Reese Witherspoon for WILD (2), Felicity Jones for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (3),  Amy Adams for BIG EYES (4) and Julianne Moore for STILL ALICE (5).

In the Best Supporting Actor category, the winner was J.K. Simmons for WHIPLASH. He was followed by Edward Norton for BIRDMAN (2), Ethan Hawke for BOYHOOD (3), Mark Ruffalo for FOXCATCHER (4) and Tom Wilkinson for SELMA (5).

In the Best Supporting Actress category, the winner was Patricia Arquette for BOYHOOD. Runners-up were Emma Stone for BIRDMAN (2), Keira Knightley for THE IMITATION GAME (3), Jessica Chastain for A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (4) and Tilda Swinton for SNOWPIERCER (5).

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death - D

Rated PG-13, 90 minutes
Wes's Grade: D

Handsome cast can't save the dull, silly "Woman in Black 2"

Well it didn't take long. January has long been considered a dumping ground for bad movies, and the boring, contrived new horror film sequel "The Woman in Black 2: The Angel of Death," the follow-up to the chilling 2012 Daniel Radcliffe film "The Woman in Black" only proves the point  In World War II England, a group of orphaned children are forced to move from their home in London, caretakers Eve (Phoebe Fox) and Jean (Helen McCrory) bring everyone to the desolate and eerie British countryside.  It isn't long before Eve senses that this house is not what it appears to be as the children in her care begin to disappear. She enlists the help of a handsome pilot (Jeremy Irvine) to help investigate what is happening and they soon discover it's not a coincidence that she is residing in the house inhabited by the Woman in Black. Directed by British TV director Tom Harper and written by Jon Croker and based on the "The Woman in Black" novel by Susan Hill, this forgettable, watered down thriller is far less chilling than the Radcliffe movie, and its first act is particularly sluggish. In spite of a handsome cast (Fox and Irvine from "War Horse" make for a nice couple but given little to do) and a few jumpy moments in the last act, it's hardly scary, and you'll be looking at your watch more than once, despite the fact that it's only a quick 90 minutes. This is an unnecessary sequel, making the story seem all the more silly and forced (the climax is just plain laughable); "Woman in Black 2" is also unfortunate given that it's the first major release of the year, and should easily die a quick death at the box office. Don't waste your time with this and either catch up on holiday releases you haven't seen or rent the original "The Woman in Black," which is much scarier than execrable effort.