2015 Online Film Critics Society Award Nominees

by Tony Dayoub

From the Online Film Critics Society (of which I am a proud member):

The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) - the oldest and most prominent society for online film critics in the world - recognized the year’s best films with nominations for their 19th annual awards.

Carol and Sicario led the race with six nominations each. Mad Max: Fury Road and The Martian followed with five nominations apiece. The Revenant, Spotlight and Steve Jobs each received four nominations while Brooklyn, Ex Machina, Inside Out and Room each received three nods.

Nominations for the 86th Academy Awards (and Brief Analysis)

by Tony Dayoub

The Dayoub household is under a flu quarantine of sorts, so it was hard to muster any kind of my usual enthusiasm for the Oscar nominations announcement this morning as I lay watching them from my sickbed. But here's the most complete list of nominees I could find. I'll chime in with my thoughts as necessary (in italics), primarily in the form of pointing out any major snubs. Highlighted in red are the nominees I'm rooting for, not my predictions. I know there are many who try to predict Oscar winners, but this way lies madness, in my humble opinion. Feel free to leave your thoughts or tell me who you're rooting for in the comments section.

Here's the list of nominees, all in all, not a bad one in this very competitive year:

Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards (and Brief Analysis)

by Tony Dayoub

So, besides an annoying, halting delivery of the nomination announcements by the grating Seth McFarlane (Family Guy) and the wittier Emma Stone, the Oscar nominations were among the more conventional we've had in some time (which is saying something considering the last few years). If there were any surprises, they were in how conventional they truly decided to go. The punishment Paul Thomas Anderson and The Master received for even daring to portray Hollywood's Scientology community in even an allusory, wink-wink sort of way is something significant.

Here's a list of nominees and, when I have something to say, my thoughts (in italics).

Live Stream of Oscar Nominations Announcement Tomorrow, at 8:30 a.m. EST

Tomorrow morning, join me here at 8:30 a.m. to watch a live stream of the Oscar nomination announcements in the YouTube frame above. Feel free to leave comments below. You can start now and chime in with Oscar nomination predictions and movie award discussion of any kind. Or you can wait and talk about the nominations here tomorrow, after the announcement.

2012 Online Film Critics Society Awards Announced

by Tony Dayoub

From the Online Film Critics Society (of which I am a member):

Ben Affleck’s film Argo, about the fake film shoot that was used as a cover to extract six Americans from Iran during the Iran Hostage Crisis, was named by the organization as the Best Picture of the 2012. The film was also recognized for its screenplay by Chris Terrio based on an article by Joshuah Bearman.

The year’s most nominated film, The Master, received two prizes including the Best Director prize for Paul Thomas Anderson and the award for Best Supporting Actor given to Philip Seymour Hoffman. The other acting winners were Daniel Day-Lewis who received his third award for Best Actor from the OFCS for his work as the 16th president of the United States, Abramah Lincoln; for Best Actress in the film Zero Dark Thirty, Jessica Chastain; and Anne Hathaway receiving the Best Supporting Actress award for Les Misérables

The full list of winners of the 16th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards:

2011 Online Film Critics Society Awards Announced

by Tony Dayoub

From the Online Film Critics Society (of which I am a proud member):

The Tree of Life, which led the Online Film Critics Society nominations with seven, was the big winner at the 15th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards. The film took home the prize for Best Picture as well as trophies for Best Director (Terrence Malick), Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain), Best Editing and Best Cinematography. No other film won more than one award.

The other three acting winners were Michael Fassbender winning Best Actor for his performance in Shame; Tilda Swinton's work in We Need to Talk About Kevin won the award for Best Actress; and Christopher Plummer received the Best Supporting Actor prize for his work in Beginners.

The full list of winners of the 15th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards:

2011 Online Film Critics Society Award Nominees

by Tony Dayoub

From the Online Film Critics Society (of which I am a proud member):

The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick's exploration of suburban family life in the 1950's, received seven nominations for the 15th Annual Online Film Critics Society awards. The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Malick), Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography.

Joining The Tree of Life in Best Picture are Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist, Alexander Payne's The Descendants, Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive and Martin Scorsese's Hugo. Malick, Hazanavicius, Refn and Scorsese were joined in the Best Director race by Melancholia director Lars von Trier.

Drive was the second most nominated film picking up six mentions including the aforementioned Picture and Director as well as Best Supporting Actor (Albert Brooks), Best Adapted Screenplay, Editing and Cinematography. Brooks was nominated alongside John Hawkes in Martha Marcy May Marlene, Nick Nolte in Warrior, Pitt and Christopher Plummer in Beginners. In Best Supporting Actress, the nominees were Chastain, Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids, Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs, Carey Mulligan for Shame and Shailene Woodley for The Descendants.

Woodley and Mulligan's co-stars shared nominations in the Best Actor slate, George Clooney and Michael Fassbender respectively, who were nominated alongside Jean Dujardin in The Artist, Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Michael Shannon in Take Shelter. The Best Actress category features Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia, Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene, Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin and Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn.

Each year, the OFCS also submits nominations for Special Achievement Awards, granted only by a majority vote of the membership. This year, the Online Film Critics have selected two individuals, Jessica Chastain and Martin Scorsese, to receive special citations.

Chastain's tremendous and quality-filled output this year has brought her instant acclaim and recognition marking one of the most stellar debuts in recent memory.

Scorsese has long been a champion of film preservation and with his love letter to the cinema this year, Hugo, he continues to show his admiration for film history and the many pursuits to keeping those records alive.

The full list of nominees for the 15th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards:

2010 Online Film Critics Society Awards Announced

by Tony Dayoub

From the Online Film Critics Society (of which I am a proud member):

2010 Online Film Critics Society Award Nominees

From the Online Film Critics Society (of which I am a proud member):

The Online Film Critics Society is proud to announce its nominees for the 2010 OFCS Awards:

Up in the Air and the Perils of Award Season Hype

by Tony Dayoub

A number of you (including an ex-girlfriend) have written me to ask when I plan on reviewing Up in the Air. A fair question considering that besides Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and Precious, Jason Reitman's recession-era comedy has been hyped as a shoo-in for multiple nominations come Oscar time.


As someone who is currently assessing the best films of the decade, I strive to see as many films as I can to give you the most inclusive and honest conclusion I can. Sometimes, I'm not successful. My opinion on the first half of the decade is slanted heavily towards American films. 2005 through 2007 were years that proved especially difficult in finding the time to get out and see everything since these were the years in which I started a family. But I can assure you that since I've started Cinema Viewfinder back in January of 2008, I have seen virtually everything that has come down to Atlanta, and thanks to screeners and my annual trip to the press screenings at the NYFF, even some things that haven't. I can safely say if I haven't seen it, it's because I deliberately avoided doing so.

Also, I try to write about everything I see. Sometimes I don't for the best of reasons. Though I loved this year's Duplicity (so much I lurved it), I just couldn't find a way to do the damn film any justice without giving most of it away. So I'll get to it, once it's had some exposure. Other times I don't write about movies because my heart just isn't in it. Which brings us to Up in the Air.

The truth is, I saw this movie in the early days of December. But I found it mediocre to okay at best, a sharp contrast from all the hype it had already been recieving as one of the best movies of the year. And before you even think it, I generally work hard to avoid reading any reviews before I watch a film—to avoid any "opinion contamination" for lack of a better term. But when you open your email, and you're getting news flashes from the Associated Press, Daily Variety, etc., really pushing the idea this film is going to sweep it up at all the major awards; when you hear Robert Siegel on NPR's All Things Considered interviewing a very congenial-sounding Jason Reitman (Juno) about his latest movie; you just can't help having a prejudice going into the film. And my prejudice was this: If I'm anything less than completely bowled over by this average-looking George Clooney indie comedy, I'm going to think it sucked.

And guess what? The film, likable in some parts, just kinda sits there for me. Funny? Not really, just kind of amusing in that oh-that's-how-it-is-in-my-life-how-perceptive-of-them kind of way. Relevant? Only in that Clooney's main character fires people for a living, and a lot of people are getting fired right now. But short of their immediate reactions to being fired, we never really see the effects of the recession on any character in the movie, a missed opportunity which could have been explored in depth when Clooney's character goes to his sister's wedding in a small town in the Midwest, an area hard hit by layoffs. Poor Avatar is getting eviscerated (including by me) for aspiring to its relevance simply by planting some well-known "War on Terror" buzzwords here and there, but at least Cameron's film is technically innovative. Performances? I'm actually not one of Clooney's numerous detractors who attack him for always playing some version of his smug self ad infinitum. Some actors are not cast because they are "acting" as much as they are for being "personalities" (see Cruise, Tom; Schwarzenegger, Arnold; and Wayne, John). But with my highly elevated expectations, Clooney struck me as smugger than ever.

Which is to say, this is not a review of Up in the Air, not like the ones I generally write. It's more of a cautionary tale about buying into the hype. It's more of a since-you-wanted-to-know-what-I-think rant. It's more of a thought piece anticipating Cinema Viewfinder's new mission to focus on cinema—whether good or bad—that interest this writer, and resisting the urge to write about a movie simply because it's what's expected.

Tooting My Own Horn

by Tony Dayoub

As Cinema Viewfinder quickly approaches its second anniversary, I am gratified that two writers which I respect have chosen to acknowledge this blog along with others of a level of quality I can only aspire to.


First, Joel Bocko (aka MovieMan0283), one of this blog's oldest and most frequent commenters, has highlighted the best blog posts of 2009 (as selected by their authors) at his own site, The Dancing Image. What makes this truly special is I am one of only three writers whose best work is selected by Joel himself. Go here to find out which post he selected.

Second, I am honored that Bill Ryan, whom I initially met as a fellow commenter on my favorite film blog Some Came Running, has presented me with the Kreativ Blogger award over at his own site, The Kind of Face You Hate. This prize has strings attached:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
I did so at your site, but publicly, Thank you, Bill!

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
See above.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
1. Spanish was my first language.
2. Spanglish is my language of choice when I'm back home in Miami.
3. I really do curse like Ricky Ricardo when my wife does some crazy thin', "Pero mira que esta mujer saca a uno de quicio."
4. When I was younger, I used to think I looked like Steve Austin (Lee Majors) of The Six Million Dollar Man. Of course, he is a rugged, fair-haired, blue-eyed man of some stature. And I was a dark, brown-eyed skinny weakling with big ears. The running in slow-motion during recess didn't help.
5. I have an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek and David Lynch's work. Neither has really been of any use so far.
6. I am a great cook.
7. I've had the good fortune of meeting most of my heroes: Chris Isaak, Glenn Kenny, David Lynch, and William Shatner (I'm sure they wouldn't be happy to all be lumped together in this group). Only one left? BRUUUUUUCE!

5. Nominate 7 Kreative Bloggers.
Jason Bellamy at The Cooler
Joel Bocko at The Sun's Not Yellow
Jim Emerson at Scanners
Farran, the Siren at Self-Styled Siren
Ryan Kelly at Medfly Quarantine
Larry, That Little Round-Headed Boy at TLRHB
Jeremy Richey at Moon in the Gutter

If I didn't mention you, it's probably because you've already been nominated.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
See above.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.
I'm going to refrain from doing so, since I hate making people feel obligated to follow up on these memes. Instead, I encourage you to visit the blogs I've highlighted here since they are the ones which most inspire me.

Not That Anyone Cares, But Why I'm Not Writing About the Oscars This Year

Meh. Not since 1995's ceremony - where, after winning 5 other awards, Forrest Gump won the Best Picture award competing against both Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption - have I been so unexcited about an Oscars show. I mean, somehow Gump is back again... er, wait... I mean Benjamin Button... competing against some equally slight films. And it seems like it's a foregone conclusion that one of my least favorite movies of the year, the extremely overrated Slumdog Millionaire, will win a slew of awards (probably even the Best Picture award). So what's in it for me this year? Why bother picking any of the races, if I can't even muster the interest in the proceedings this year? Like I said... meh! So I'll skip the races I'm bored with and just bring up a couple of points of interest, so to speak. Best Actor looks like the most interesting one with Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke being the front-runners. While personally, my heart's with fellow Miami boy, Mickey Rourke, I fear that his overexposure this awards season may have worked against this man of mystique. So Sean Penn may run out with this one, which wouldn't be all bad since he gave a hell of a performance in Milk. And karmically speaking, maybe this is a reward for being one of the few directors to keep Rourke working during his low period in 2001's The Pledge. Kate Winslet should win for The Reader, only who knows why she was even nominated for that. Penelope Cruz and Viola Davis are another interesting race to look at for Best Supporting Actress (Taraji P. Henson, I loved you in Hustle and Flow, but I don't see what merited the nomination this year). Wall·E is a shoo-in for Best Animated feature. But honestly, it should have competed in the Best Picture category where it could have, and should have, easily won. The only upset of the night would occur if for some mysterious Academy-related reason, Heath Ledger would lose the Supporting Actor award. Posthumous nominations have a bad record at the Oscars. The technical awards this year? This one gets a "Who REALLY cares?" from me. When you have The Dark Knight - a movie that has a near-unintelligible third act - up for Film Editing, and Benjamin Button up for Best Makeup - when in fact, most of its makeup achievements are perked up by CGI - then what really comes to mind is how much the nomination process, and even the categories, are in need of an overhaul. With Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) named executive producer this year, the actual Oscar ceremony might prove to be the most interesting aspect of the evening. Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), a pretty talented showman when performing live, is the evening's host. Michael Giacchino (Lost) is conducting the orchestra. And they've even tried to spice things up a bit by keeping its roster of presenters secret. I'm hoping this all adds up to a surprisingly exciting evening. I usually make a day of this. Despite disagreeing with most of what is usually awarded, as a movie lover it still excites me to see a day in which my passion for movies is shared in celebration by others. But expect Slumdog Millionaire to sweep most of its nominations, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - though slight, still a bit of an underrated film - to lose most of its noms. If this happens, then predictability will still reign on another stale awards night. The 81st Academy Awards airs Sunday night on ABC at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

Cinema Viewfinder Gets the Dardos Award

I am very excited to announce that Moon in the Gutter has awarded Cinema Viewfinder with the Dardos Award. Jeremy Richey at Moon in the Gutter has championed my site since soon after its inception. Jeremy has been a strong source of inspiration, not only because of our like-minded taste in films, but because he has always implicitly encouraged me to reach out to my community of fellow bloggers by setting a good example in that regard. So it is fitting that this award recognizes community outreach, as one can see here in the rules:

The Dardos Awards is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web. The Rules are:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.
2) Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgement, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

While there are many I'd love to award (and in fact many have already received the Dardos), these are the five I have chosen. Jim Emerson at Scanners Ibetolis at Film for the Soul MovieMan0283 at The Dancing Image T.S. at Screen Savour Dean Treadway at Filmicability These folks give me new insight into the world of cinema on an almost daily basis, and all are great writers to boot. I look forward to their take on all things film in the future.