Let's get things started.
The award for Best Original Song is a controversial one, given the fact that it is often considered superfluous to the overall production of a film. However, a good song can create a vivid image of a film in your mind long after you see it. Songs like "Young and Beautiful" from The Great Gatsby and "Skyfall" from Skyfall are as good on their own as they are important to their respective films.
The nominees for Best Original Song are:
“Lost Stars” from Begin Again
Music and Lyrics: Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood
“For the Dancing and the Dreaming” from How to Train Your Dragon 2
Music and Lyrics: John Powell and Jónsi
“Everything Is AWESOME!!!” from The Lego Movie
Music and Lyrics: Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew, Lisa Harriton and The Lonely Island
“Hal” from Only Lovers Left Alive
Music and Lyrics: Yasmine Hamdan
“Glory” from Selma
Music and Lyrics: Common and John Legend
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
"Glory" from Selma
The stereotype of writing an inspiration song for a biopic is real now more than ever, but Common and John Legend's urgent ballad "Glory" manages to avoid cliched sentimentality. Played over the credits to Selma, "Glory" truly feels like a song for the '60s as much as today, with its mix of hip hop and gospel proving to be a winning combo. Legend's pleas that one day we will all cry "glory" are hauntingly resonant and beautiful.
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Next up is the award for Best Supporting Actor. The actors in this category stood out in memorable ways, often excelling beyond their respective lead actors and actresses. A great supporting actor lends himself to their film without distracting from the overall vision of the filmmaker. One of these actors will join past Supporting Actor winners Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Franco.
The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are:
Riz Ahmed as Rick Carey in Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke as Mason Evans, Sr. in Boyhood
Edward Norton as Mike Shiner in Birdman
Chris Pine as Prince Charming in Into the Woods
J.K. Simmons as Terence Fletcher in Whiplash
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
Terrifying performance. Absolutely terrifying. Simmons in Whiplash is about as good as it gets when it comes to memorable supporting villains. Playing an insanely strict jazz conductor, the veteran actor infuses his performance with the right combination of menace and odd charisma, making it obvious why all of his students would stick around and strive to be the best. The most suspenseful moment of the year is his simple question, "Are you rushing or are you dragging?"
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Next up is the award for Best Original Score. Much like Original Song, the score of a film can become the most memorable, resonant part of a film, lending itself perfectly to the visual component of the production. Whether through beautiful piano compositions or unique, dissonant tracks, these five nominees were the best scores of the year.
The nominees for Best Original Score are:
Birdman
Composer: Antonio Sanchez
Gone Girl
Composers: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Under the Skin
Composer: Mica Levi
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
Under the Skin
The score to Under the Skin is enough to make your skin crawl. So much of the score sounds like it comes from an alien world, appropriate for the main character, played by Scarlett Johansson. The screeching strings and suspenseful drums create a horrifying sense of dread and considering how little dialogue there is in the film, it creates a frightening yet memorable through-line.
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Now we've come to the award of Best Supporting Actress. A strong supporting female performance is more than just the supportive wife or the nagging mother, much as movie executives would beg to differ. All of the women portrayed in this category are complicated, nuanced and mercifully free from the one-dimensional shadings of female characters in lesser movies.
The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are:
Patricia Arquette as Olivia Evans in Boyhood
Rose Byrne as Kelly Radner in Neighbors
Laura Dern as Barbara "Bobbi" Grey in Wild
Agata Kulesza as Wanda Gruz in Ida
Tilda Swinton as Mason in Snowpiercer
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
Much as I would love to switch things up from this awards season, there is a reason why Arquette and Simmons are cleaning up. Arquette's performance in Boyhood is literally 12 years in the making and while we only get glimpses of her each year, she makes an impression in each one. Arquette has a fascinating detached quality to her that lends itself flawlessly to playing Mason's mother, a woman who realizes her dreams only to find herself wishing there was more. A complicated performance richly deserving of praise.
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We will now move on to the tech categories. First up is Best Makeup and Hairstyling. As so few films have showy work when it comes to makeup and hairstyling, only three films have been nominated. Whether it be for fantasy, period or contemporary film, makeup and hairstyling can go a long way in creating striking characters to the extent of being iconic.
The nominees for Best Makeup and Hairstyling are:
Foxcatcher
Makeup Artists: Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
Guardians of the Galaxy
Makeup Artists: Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White
Into the Woods
Makeup Artists: Tamsin Dorling, Paul Gooch and Paula Price
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
Guardians of the Galaxy
The sheer amount of work that must have gone into the makeup and hair for Guardians of the Galaxy is insane, but it paid off in a big way. From the makeup on Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) to the hairstyling of Nova Prime Irani Rael (Glenn Close), the team did a fantastic job in creating distinct looks for each character using good old fashioned movie makeup, which is saying something in today's VFX world.
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And now to the award Best Sound Design. While not exactly the most glamorous award, the importance of good sound can make or break a film in terms of believability and audience enjoyment. Whether through dynamic sound mixing or the utilizing of silence, sound is an undoubtedly important aspect of a film's success.
The nominees for Best Sound Design are:
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Sound Editor: Will Files
Into the Woods
Sound Editors: Blake Leyh and Renee Tondelli
Snowpiercer
Sound Editor: Tae-young Choi
Under the Skin
Sound Editor: Johnnie Burn
Whiplash
Sound Editors: Craig Mann and Ben Wilkins
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
Under the Skin
The sound design on Under the Skin is tied inexorably with the score. The film makes perfect use of discordant sounds as well as extended, excruciating silences. Sound can so often be distracting, but this film makes perfect use of natural yet alien effects. Without careful attention to sound, this film wouldn't be half as effective or memorable.
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Next up is the award for Best Visual Effects. As noted above, filmmaking is trending more towards visual effects driven production. This can be a good thing and a bad thing, but many films are excelling beyond what was once thought possible, even for the big screen. The five films nominated are shining examples of the latest in VFX technology.
The nominees for Best Visual Effects are:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
VFX Artists: Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
VFX Artists: Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
Guardians of the Galaxy
VFX Artists: Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
Interstellar
VFX Artists: Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
Noah
VFX Artists: Lee Briggs, Matthew Eberle, Ryan Flick, Alexis Forni and Tracy McCreary
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The visual effects in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are genuinely scary in how realistic they are. It's tough to make a bunch of apes into terrifying, deadly creatures, but this film succeeds and then some. The apes are so lifelike in their danger that they are able to match the humans toe to toe. And as always, Andy Serkis' motion capture work is peerless and makes Caesar into a sympathetic ape worth rooting for.
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The last award I will present in Part 1 of the 3rd Annual Filmiest Awards is the award for Best Editing. Post-production is just as important as the steps that come before, and the quality of editing can either improve or ruin a film. With filmmaking continuing to advance, these films tell their stories in unconventional yet compelling ways.
The nominees for Best Editing are:
Boyhood
Editor: Sandra Adair
Gone Girl
Editor: Kirk Baxter
Selma
Editor: Spencer Averick
Whiplash
Editor: Tom Cross
Wild
Editors: Martin Pensa and Jean-Marc Vallée
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And the Filmiest Award goes to:
Whiplash
The editing of Whiplash is so fast and electric that it's hard to imagine the raw footage before it was all assembled. Usually, fast paced editing can make a film convoluted and all over the place, but the crosscutting and speed of this film's editing is tight and perfect. The final drumming scene of the film is where the editing shines brightest, with so many rapid-fire cuts, presented in such an thrilling way that it actually makes the audience excited about drumming. No easy feat.
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That concludes the first part of my 3rd Annual Filmiest Awards! Hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for the second and final part very soon.
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