The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Nominees, My Picks and the Actual Winners, by Julie Renee Phelan

On January 30^th, we have the Screen Actors Guild Award, known as the SAG Awards on TNT and TBS at 5:00 Pacific Coast Time or 8:00 Atlantic Coast Time. I enjoy watching movies so I decided to look into the origin of this award ceremony; it is presented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in order to appreciate performances that are outstanding in film and television. The Screen Actors Guild originated in 1933, and it was necessary for the studios were exploiting the actors by demanding them to work unreasonable contracts that included the number of movies to be completed within a certain amount of time, and the number of hours to be worked in a twenty-four hour period by the actors.

The statue of this award ceremony is a nude male figure, which is holding a mask of comedy and another mask for tragedy. This award is often referred to as the Actor; it stands 16 inches tall, weights more than 12 pounds, and is made of solid bronze by the American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank, California. 

 
SAG has been presenting this special award ceremony since 1995. The nominations come from two difference committees, one for film and the other for television. Those on the committee are selected randomly each year from their union, and it consists of 2,100 members. The membership of this union consists of approximately 165,000 individuals. 

Since I rarely watch television, I cannot comment on the potential winners. I however do watch a great many films, and will be presenting you with a list of nominees in each of the categories as well as my picks for potential winners. Here’s the full list of nominees. Please lift a glass of champagne with me, nibble on a stuffed mushroom, and enjoy the awards ceremony. The title of the categories, and my picks for winners are in bold. The actual winners are in italics and bold.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
Dalton Trumbo – “TRUMBO/ BRYAN CRANSTON “MBO” (Bleecker Street)
JOHNNY DEPP / James “Whitey” Bulger – “BLACK MASS” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / Hugh Glass – “THE REVENANT” (20th Century Fox)
MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Steve Jobs – “STEVE JOBS” (Universal Pictures)
EDDIE REDMAYNE / Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe – “THE DANISH GIRL” (Focus Features)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
CATE BLANCHETT / Carol Aird – “CAROL” (The Weinstein Company)
BRIE LARSON / Ma – “ROOM” (A24)
HELEN MIRREN / Maria Altmann – “WOMAN IN GOLD” (The Weinstein Company)
SAOIRSE RONAN / Eilis – “BROOKLYN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
SARAH SILVERMAN / Laney Brooks – “I SMILE BACK” (Broad Green Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
CHRISTIAN BALE / Michael Burry – “THE BIG SHORT” (Paramount Pictures)
IDRIS ELBA / Commandant – “BEASTS OF NO NATION” (Netflix)
MARK RYLANCE / Abel Rudolph – “BRIDGE OF SPIES” (DreamWorks)
MICHAEL SHANNON / Rick Carver – “99 HOMES” (Broad Green Pictures)
JACOB TREMBLAY / Jack – “ROOM” (A24)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
ROONEY MARA / Therese Belivet – “CAROL” (The Weinstein Company)
RACHEL McADAMS / Sacha Pfeiffer – “SPOTLIGHT” (Open Road Films)
HELEN MIRREN / Hedda Hopper – “TRUMBO” (Bleecker Street)
ALICIA VIKANDER / Gerda Wegener – “THE DANISH GIRL” (Focus Features)
KATE WINSLET / Joanna Hoffman – “STEVE JOBS” (Universal Pictures)
Video:Rooney Mara on Her Romance with Cate Blanchett in ‘Carol’
 
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
BEASTS OF NO NATION (Netflix)
ABRAHAM ATTAH / Agu
KURT EGYIAWAN / 2nd I-C
IDRIS ELBA / Commandant

THE BIG SHORT (Paramount Pictures)
CHRISTIAN BALE / Michael Burry
STEVE CARELL / Mark Baum
RYAN GOSLING / Jared Vennett
MELISSA LEO / Georgia Hale
HAMISH LINKLATER / Porter Collins
JOHN MAGARO / Charlie Geller
BRAD PITT / Ben Rickert
RAFE SPALL / Danny Moses
JEREMY STRONG / Vinny Peters
MARISA TOMEI / Cynthia Baum
FINN WITTROCK / Jamie Shipley

SPOTLIGHT (Open Road Films)
BILLY CRUDUP / Eric MacLeish
BRIAN D’ARCY JAMES / Matty Carroll
MICHAEL KEATON / Walter “Robby” Robinson
RACHEL McADAMS / Sacha Pfeiffer
MARK RUFFALO / Michael Rezendes
LIEV SCHREIBER / Marty Baron
JOHN SLATTERY / Ben Bradlee, Jr.
STANLEY TUCCI / Mitchell Garabedian

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (Universal Pictures)
NEIL BROWN JR. / DJ Yella
PAUL GIAMATTI / Jerry Heller
COREY HAWKINS / Dr. Dre
ALDIS HODGE / MC Ren
O’SHEA JACKSON JR. / Ice Cube
JASON MITCHELL / Eazy-E

TRUMBO (Bleecker Street)
ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE / Virgil Brooks
LOUIS C.K. / Arlen Hird
BRYAN CRANSTON / Dalton Trumbo
DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT / John Wayne
ELLE FANNING / Niki Trumbo
JOHN GOODMAN / Frank King
DIANE LANE / Cleo Trumbo
HELEN MIRREN / Hedda Hopper
MICHAEL STUHLBARG / Edward G. Robinson
ALAN TUDYK / Ian McLellan Hunter

Review: Film: Carol, by Julie Renee Phelan

Thumps from 1 to 5: Thumps of 4.5

            The Film, Carol starring Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird, and Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet, who reminds me of a young Audrey Hepburn, is set against a remarkable musical score that at times is ironic by Carter Burwell. The costume designs are exceptional, even the plaid lines match on either side of the seam. Due to the body language and the intricacy of the musical selections, I may have been able to watch and understand the movie without listening to the dialogue. The music and body language took front and center in the telling this intimate tale of love between two women. The subject matter is tastefully and sensitively done so the audience may grasp the depth of their love, which is one of natural beauty. Carol's romantic love life starts and ends with a lesbian lover. In this manner, her life comes full circle, which Carol actually says in the film, and that is unfortunate since most of the film is based on nuance: it leaves the audience with some incongruity. 
          This story takes place during the 1950s: the lesbian relationship therefore ends on a tragic note with a “morality clause” inserted in a divorce proceeding between Carol and her husband, Harge Aird starring Kyle Chandler, who plays a perfectly despicable jealous husband out to scorn and shame rather than respect and honor the nature of love between two women.

Review: Film: Deadringers, by Julie Renee Phelan

Thumps from 1 to 5, Thump of 4.5

The film “Dead Ringers” was released in 1998. The movie is psychologically horrifying flick, starring Jeremy Irons, playing identical twin gynecologists. The starring role was originally offered to Robert DeNiro and William Hurt, but they turned the roles down. Robert DeNiro felt uncomfortable playing a gynecologist and William Hurt was unsure as to whether or not he could play twins. The film was inspired by true life events of Stewart and Cyril Marcus, two gynecologists in Manhattan, New York. From that account, a novel ensued by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland entitled “Twins.” The screenplay was co-written by Norman Snider and David Cronenberg. This film could have only been directed by none other than David Cronenberg.

David Cronenberg is the ideal person to write and direct “Dead Ringers” with its leaning to and for the absurdly macabre. This film is a grim and ghastly tale of two aspiring, talented and successful gynecologist gone awry. Watch these two physicians engage in their representation of the ever-present and universal power of death, as they move to the same cords of what is known in English literature as the Dance of Death.

This Dance of Death is done by the main stars Elliott and Beverly Mantle, played by Jeremy Irons. Elliot is the more aggressive, selfish and self-confident while Beverly is more effeminate, considerate and unassuming. They have their own private practice known as the Mantle clinic. Elliott enjoys seducing his clients, and passes those he considers above par onto his brother, Beverly. However, the women are unaware of the substitution, bait and switch.

The conflict arises when Beverly falls in love with actress Claire Niveau, played by Genevieve Bujold. The twins become interested in Claire upon gynecological examination when physicians realize she is a trifurcate. A trifurcate is an abnormality in the reproductive system consisting of three doorways into the uterus. Claire upsets the equilibrium balance and pattern historically established between the twins. Beverly is stimulated and tells Claire that her condition is “fabulously rare.”

Claire introduces Beverly into the world of drug abuse. Not only does Beverly take to Claire, but he also enjoys all sorts of prescription drugs. Claire leaves for ten weeks, and Beverly spirals down into the abyss of drug abuse, depression and delusions regarding “mutant woman” with abnormalities within female reproductive organs. To fix the abnormalities, Beverly draws a new set of gynecological instruments, has them made by a local artist, and commences to perform operations on women using those Cronenberg fashioned surgical tools. Could those new surgical tools be indicative of a disturbed mind?

Dead Ringers is a maverick, hard to believe film, but based on a true story. This Cronenberg movie is filmed in Toronto, Canada, and is considered in the top ten of all Canadian Films.

Review: Film: Black Mass, by Julie Renee Phelan

Thumps from 1 to 5. Thumps of 4.

A film adopted from a novel, Black Mass: The Irish Mob, The FBI and a Devil’s Deal, co-authored by Harvey Winstein and Dick Lehr was entertaining, well done by the actors, producers, but failed to deliver new information. It is based on a true story, but is an all too often repeat of a United States government federal agent aggrandizing themselves by playing with the “bad boys” in order to get the “other bad boys.” The cast of characters is well played by Joel Edgerton as John Connolly, and Johnny Depp as James “Whitey” Bulger. Johnny does a convincing job; I did not know who was playing the character until I saw Johnny on the big screen against the bay, and realized that it was Johnny Depp playing a character somewhat similar to another character he played in another movie, Donnie Brasco in 1997. I know who Johnny Depp is, but the make-up job on his face was quite remarkable; he was unrecognizable until it was obvious that he was drawing on a character that he successfully played nearly twenty years prior to the release of this new film. The twist on the old story line was that John Connolly and James “Whitey” Bugler were childhood friends, and that Whitey had a brother who was in the State Senate. The connection of the two brothers is true, but the State Senator did not in any manner, help his criminal brother build his criminal empire, but rather the FBI Agent did help Whitey build his empire. It is entertaining, and if the audience is young enough, it maybe new information, but it surprises me in absolutely no manner that federal agents behave criminally, and often times act in the interest of their friends and family who are criminals themselves.

Review: Film: Rear Window, by Julie Renee Phelan

Thumps from 1 to 5: Thump of 5.

The film “Rear Window” is a 1954 mystery suspense thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes. The film is based on Cornell Woolrich's short story “It Had to Be Murder.” It stars James Stewart , playing L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies, a photographer who spies on his neighbors while recuperating from a broken leg, Grace Kelly, playing Lisa Fremont, L.B. Jefferies girl-friend, Thelma Ritter, playing Stella, L.B. Jefferies home care nurse, Wendell Corey, playing Tom Doyle, L.B. Jefferies friend, and Raymond Burr, L.B. Jefferies neighbor.

“Rear Window” is Hitchcock’s finest film. It received four Academy Award nominations, Best Director for Alfred Hitchcock, Best Screenplay by John Michael Hayes, Best Color Cinematography by Robert Burks, and Best Sound by Loren L. Ryder.

L.B. Jefferies broke his leg while on a dangerous photography assignment. Jefferies is confined to his wheelchair in his apartment in Greenwich Village, and rear window overlooks a courtyard. From his rear window, Jeff also has a view inside many neighbors’ apartments through their large rear windows. The apartment is an ideal set up for a voyeur with a zoom lens. The apartment complex is a real fish bowl.

Jefferies passes the time during the hot and humid hot summer sun trying to reach an unattainable itch inside his hard full length plaster leg cast. Fortunately, the neighbors keep their windows open to stay cool, and Jeff has access to his telephoto lens on his camera. Jeff has both sound and sight to augment his enthusiastic new-found profession of voyeurism. He watches a lovely dancer, who wears little, a lonely hearts woman, a composer, and some married couples, including a newly married couple, and a salesman with a bedridden wife.

Jefferies watches the salesman make repeated late-night trips with a large suitcase, and his wife is gone or is she missing. The salesman cleans a knife and handsaw in his kitchen sink. The salesman has a large trunk tied with heavy rope removed from his apartment. The neighbor’s dog is found dead with its neck broken. The suspicious late-night trips lugging a suitcase, missing wife, cleaning of knife and handsaw, trunk tied with rope, and the dead dog all point to murder. These observations of Jeff’s are shared with Lisa and Stella, each participant brings their own paranoia and fears creatively into Jeff’s hypothesis of murder.

Of exceptional note is the filming. The entire film is filmed through the rear window of L.B. Jefferies apartment, except when the dog is found dead in the courtyard. Otherwise, the entire intrigue takes place in Jeff’s apartment, or within the mind of one unit escaping only when the dog is found dead to the courtyard. The filming is a brilliant piece of a mastermind, such as that in which only can be produced by Hitchcock. Where does Hitchcock appear? Hitchcock can be found winding the clock in the composer’s apartment.

Review: Film: The Martian, by Julie Renee Phelan

Thumps from 1 to 5: Thumps of 4.            

          The Martian movie with Matt Damon who plays Mark Watney is entertaining, but is not an Oscar contender. The movie is based on a novel, The Martian, by Andy Weir. I am not sure if the writers of the screenplay changed the novel, but they had a lot to work with, a good looking healthy man with a comedic flare alone on Mars, but failed to deliver the sorts of meaningful human experience that should have encompassed this movie in order to put this one on the map. Rather than mark the movie as uniquely its own, the film made allusions or paid homage to a previous space movie, Apollo 13 in which one of the main actors, Jeff Daniels also made a previous appearance in that film.

            I enjoyed the disco tunes, and the comedic moments with Matt Damon, and he did deliver it well. It is true, I watched the film in 3D, and if you have motion sickness beware, this will get your stomach tipsy, nauseate it a bit, and throw your equilibrium on its side. It is unfortunate with all those possible distortions that the writers did not take the audience for a real ride. It was a film that could have been, but failed to deliver the momentous goods. Ridley Scott, the Director played it fast and loose as he is notorious for doing, but without a well written script, it did not matter who is behind the camera. Ridley Scott did an excellent job, Matt Damon and the other actors delivered polished performances, but the script was lacking in substance; by the writers paying homage to a previously successful movie, and adding the Chinese emerging aerospace program; it scapegoated and undermined an otherwise ripe screenplay full of potential possibilities, which remain undelivered. 

Review: Film: Videodrome, by Julie Renee Phelan

Thumps from 1 to 5: Thumps of 4
“Videodrome” is a cult-classic from 1983. “Viedeodrome is written and directed by David Cronenberg. This film stars James Woods and Deborah Harry from “Blondie.” It is one of his most original and provocative films, fusing social commentary with shocking sex, torture and violence, and psychological hallucinations. At times, the viewer is left wondering how “Videodrome” was ever produced and distributed. How did they get this past the censure board? For its time, it has groundbreaking special effects, and makeup by Academy Award winner, Rick Baker. “Videodrome” is one of the most influential horror and mind-bending science fiction films of the 1980s.

When Max Renn, played by James Woods, goes looking for edgy new shows for his sleazy cable TV station, he stumbles across the pirate broadcast of a violent torture show named “Videodrome.” As Max Renn struggles to unearth the origins of the program, he embarks on a hallucinatory journey into a shadowy underworld communicating to him through an analog-philia of right-wing conspiracies, sadomasochistic sex games, republican senators, and bodily transformation and mutilation.

The irony of the film is that it was top of the line in technology. However, the technology they use in the film for video is the old VHS tape systems coupled with an analog communications system. The distortion or fuzz on the television screen means hallucinations are being transcribed into the mind of the person viewing the screen. One of the highlights of the movie is when James Woods inserts a VHS tape into an insertion in his stomach, and the old VHS tape takes control of his mind. Like fine wines, this film has improved over the last few decades.

From an historical perspective, it is an interesting film to view in relationship to archaic analog and VHS technology. Although “Videodrome” lacks the most modern technological advancement, the viewer is left wondering how David Cronenberg ever thought of such a twisted scenario. The film in 1983 and now pushes the envelope regarding social taboos. In 1983, the populace was into sex, cocaine, pot, speed, Macintosh computers and rock-n-roll. The film scored fourth as “Bravo TV's” “30 Even Scarier Movie Moments.” Also, it was selected as one of the “23 Weirdest Films” of all time. This is a must keep for the film industries historical archives.