THE 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARDS!

“My Picks for 2016 Award Winning Films”

One of the biggest problems I have with “awards season” is that all the award ceremonies only make there picks from roughly the last two months out of the year.  You rarely see films on the list that were released at the beginning of the year or films that critics seem to love that came out of left field during the year but then are forgotten by the end of the year when “awards season” opens and all the studios release their “award contenders” at the same time (FYI – films produced specifically by studios to win awards, thus accolades).  Instead, I’ve decided to create my own list of Award Contenders that encompass films from all genres that had a domestic US release at any time within the year (and not those films that get an “award qualifying run” that are released in a single theater in New York or LA before going wide in the following year).

I’ve looked at all the films that I’ve seen that received a domestic release in 2016 from all genres and decided to create my own award nominations and winners.  The rules are simple.  The film must have had a domestic release in 2016 and I have to have seen it.  There are no films on my list that I haven’t seen so the following films are not included (since I haven’t seen them but may have gotten on the list if I had) – The Handmaiden, Elle, Miles Ahead, The Eagle Huntress, The Mermaid, Midnight Special, A Hologram for the King, 20^th Century Women, Hell or High Water, Loving, Captain Fantastic, Kubo & the Two Strings, Finding Dory, Sully, Weiner, Florence Foster Jenkins, The Lobster, Silence, Moonlight, Lion, The Founder, Hidden Figures, Jackie, Nocturnal Animals, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Life, Animated.  Those are all the films I wished I had seen but I can only see so many great films a year.

So, let’s get started with the award ceremony I will call – THE REAL CONTENDERS!

 

BEST MAKE UP

*Birth of a Nation

*Operation Chromite

*The Shallows

*Star Trek Beyond

*Train to Busan

*A Monster Calls

There was a lot of great films with some spectacular make up this year and usually I would go with the most elaborate appliances (Star Trek Beyond, Train to Busan) and this is where a period film would usually shine (Operation Chromite, Birth of a Nation) but I’m always looking for something new that enhances the film and the characters in the film and this is where Birth of a Nation and The Shallows shine the most as you see through make up how the characters change throughout the film and as much as I love the film A Monster Calls, I have to hand it to The Shallows not only for showing us Blake Lively’s deterioration throughout the film through make up that never seemed to come off in the water. THE SHALLOWS wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

*Fences

*Birth of a Nation

*Star Trek Beyond

*Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

In this category, we come up with three films where costumes were familiar (Star Trek, Fantastic Beasts, and Rogue One) and two films that are period films (Fences, Birth of a Nation) and normally I would love to give this award to a fantasy or sci-fi film that crafts something new and exciting because let’s face it, costumes can make or break a genre a film as it helps put you into the world being created.  But this time I have to hand to the film Fences which took the world of the phenomenal play and used costumes to really create the time period and put you into the world of that time period.  Each character had such a unique and personal costume that not only spoke about their character, their status in society, but their relationships to each of the other characters in the film.  FENCES wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST VISUAL FX

*Captain America: Civil War

*Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*Arrival

*A Monster Calls

*The Shallows

This is one of the toughest categories to look at as all the films used their visual FX to put audiences into the world of the film.  A shark has never been as real as the one in The Shallows and without the Monster in A Monster Calls much of the story wouldn’t have had much of an impact.  There hasn’t been an alien creature & spaceship nearly as inventive as the ones seen in Arrival and Captain America: Civil War has one of the best super-hero battles ever put on the screen but it is Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them that had a multitude of CGI characters that really made an emotional impact and enhanced the story and experience of the film from beginning to end.  FANTASTIC BEASTS & WHERE TO FIND THEM wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

*Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*Fences

*Arrival

*High-Rise

*The Witch

Another tough category as the production design in each of these films played a unique role and was a character.  Arrival and Fantastic Beasts had the most elaborate production design that helped create the world of the films and Fences and The Witch had to use limited settings to craft their worlds yet also tell a complete and compelling story.  It is High-Rise that truly had a magnificent production design where the world was the main character itself as it crumbled under the pressure of all the characters within the film.   Without the contributions of the production design team High-Rise wouldn’t have been nearly as powerful a film as it was.  HIGH-RISE wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST EDITING

*Green Room

*Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*A Monster Calls

*Eye In the Sky

*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The art of editing is one of the most important elements to a film as it is the biggest contribution to the overall way in which a film ultimately tells its story.  It helps build character, create mood & tone, and helps with pacing, among other things.  In the past, Star Wars films have been nominated numerous times in this category and won (and the magic of editing is not lost on this latest film); the same can be said of the Harry Potter spin-off film Fantastic Beasts.  A Monster Calls manages to seamlessly blend the fantastic with that of the real but it is with Green Room and Eye In the Sky where the editing creates constant suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.  This is the backbone of the politically changed thriller Eye in the Sky which without the art of the editing team could not have been as effective a film.  EYE IN THE SKY wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST SOUND DESIGN

*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

*Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*Birth of a Nation

*Arrival

*The Witch

I absolutely loved the sound design for The Witch as it helps create the mood and atmosphere of the film as the world of the characters deteriorate under the influence of a witch and Rogue One and Fantastic Beasts had some amazing sound as well (to be expected from such high-profile franchise films).  Birth of a Nation excelled more than I would have expected given the independent status of the production but it is Arrival that really put me into a world that was a domestic drama that also had elements of sci-fi (that never over took the character elements).  It was subtle yet striking at the same time which is not an easy thing to balance.  ARRIVAL wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

*James Newton Howard, Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*Johann Johannsson, Arrival

*Mark Korven, The Witch

*Fernando Velazquez, A Monster Calls

*Michael Giacchino, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

It was great to hear someone bring something fresh to the Star Wars franchise with Giacchino’s score and Velazquez and Korven’s scores bring great presence to their respective films but the real contest was between Howard’s amazing Fantastic Beasts and Johannsson’s phenomenal Arrival scores which were some of the best scores I heard all year.  It is Howard who melds different styles of music to bring a more period aspect to the Harry Potter franchise that you never even knew could be there.  Without his score you would probably forget you were even watching a period film, so FANTASTIC BEASTS & WHERE TO FIND THEM wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

*Haris Zambarloukos, Eye In the Sky

*Eliot Davis, Birth of a Nation

*Jarin Blaschke, The Witch

*Bradford Young, Arrival

*Oscar Faura, A Monster Calls

Eye in the Sky and Birth of a Nation were front runners for me for a very long time as they displayed some amazing cinematography to craft their stories.  With genre films such as A Monster Calls and The Witch, the cinematography becomes a character to draw you into the story but it is with Yong’s superb work on Arrival that truly shines not only in the sequences inside the alien spacecraft and on the ground but also the flashbacks which are a character in the film itself.  ARRIVAL wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

*Arrival, Screenplay by Eric Heisserer

*A Monster Calls, Screenplay by Patrick Ness

*Fences, Screenplay by August Wilson

This was a tough category as all three films were fantastic but it is with Fences that I thought had the toughest job translating from source material to film since it was much of a single location and the dialogue played a key element in dramatizing the story for an audience.  The written word is never as powerful as it is in this film; therefore, FENCES wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

*The Witch, Screenplay by Robert Eggers

*Equity, Screenplay by Amy Fox

*Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

*Birth of a Nation, Screenplay by Nate Parker

*Elvis & Nixon, Screenplay by Joey Sagal & Hanala Sagal & Cary Elwis

The hard truth of the fact is that Elvis & Nixon, Birth of a Nation, and Fantastic Beasts would not have been nearly as powerful of films without the contributions of the amazing casts.  These films work because of the ensemble and not necessarily because of the scripts.  In regards to The Witch, less is more as the story is key to the film but not necessarily as powerful as many of the film’s other chief elements.  It is with Equity where the script just bleeds brilliance and smart and edgy like an Aaron Sorkin film and because the cast is mostly made up of unknowns and character actors it makes the script that much more powerful.  EQUITY wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

*The Wailing (South Korea)

*A Map Against the World (South Korea)

*Train to Busan (South Korea)

*Age of Shadows (South Korea)

*Tunnel (South Korea)

Okay, so this category is a little biased as all the films come from South Korea but I did see films from other countries, just these films were the best.  This is a wild variety as well from the period thriller Age of Shadows to the drama Tunnel and A Map Against the World to the horrors of The Wailing and Train to Busan but it is A Map Against the World that truly shines among all others.  A Map Against the World was an epic film about a person who never knew he’d become so epic.  A drama that’s an emotional journey for the main character as well as the audience.  A MAP AGAINST THE WORLD wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

*John Goodman, 10 Cloverfield Lane

*Ralph Fiennes, A Bigger Splash

*Barkhad Abdi, Eye in the Sky

*James Purefoy, Equity

*Luke Evans, High-Rise

Although all the actors in this category gave great performances the real contest was between Fiennes, Goodman, and Abdi which gave great performances.  People will remember these performances more than the films themselves.  It was Abdi’s performance in Eye in the Sky that stayed with me all year long as one of the best I’d seen throughout the year.  Most of the film’s success hinges on him which is why BARKHAD ABDI wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

*Viola Davis, Fences

*Alysia Reiner, Equity

*Margot Robbie, Suicide Squad

*Samantha Morton, Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*Eva Green, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

 I loved the performances of all the women on this list but the real competition was between Davis and Morton who gave cringe worthy performances in each of their respective films.  You have no idea how hard it was to choose between these two women and these two performances but Davis edges out Morton for the degree to which she put her heart and soul into the film (you can see the spit come her mouth and the snot from her nose).  VIOLA DAVIS wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST ACTOR

*Nate Parker, Birth of a Nation

*Michael Shannon, Elvis & Nixon

*Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

*Denzel Washington, Fences

*Seung-Won Cha, A Map Against the World

This is another tough category as Washington gave a great dramatic performance and Shannon gave an equally compelling comedic performance.  Parker went all the way with his performance (maybe even a little too far) but it really boils down to Redmayne and Cha who give each of their characters so much pathos that they shine over everyone else.  Cha comes out on top due to the tragic nature of his character’s real life story and the fact that he has to balance comedy with drama with adventure all within the same film and he does it seamlessly.  SEUNG-WON CHA wins 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST ACTRESS

*Tilda Swinton, A Bigger Splash

*Amy Adams, Arrival

*Amy Gunn, Equity

*Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch

*Blake Lively, The Shallows

Taylor-Joy came out of nowhere with her performance in The Witch and I look forward to seeing her in more films (like her standout performance in this year’s Split) and Lively gives the best performance of her career in a film where the camera is on her the entire time; both actors have so much to offer in future roles.  Gunn was also someone I wasn’t familiar with before seeing her in Equity but now I will look out for her in other films.  Adams is one of my favorite actresses right now and I’ll watch her in anything because she always gives 150% to every role but it is Swinton in her almost completely mute role that stands out among the rest.  Swinton holds her own even when she can’t speak as much of her performance is through facial expressions and body language, therefore TILDA SWINTON wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST DIRECTOR

*Nate Parker, Birth of a Nation

*Meera Menon, Equity

*Fences, Denzel Washington

*Denis Villeneuve, Arrival

*Woo-Suk Kang, A Map Against the World

This represents some of the best films of 2016 (excluding all those films I have yet to see) and there isn’t a bad film among them which is why it is so hard to choose the best among them.  Birth of a Nation was amazing but not a film I’ll particularly watch over and over again.  Equity is that film that’s extremely smart and intelligent that you must be in the mood for (but when you are it is fantastic).  The same can be said for Fences which is amazing because of the performances and not necessarily for all the other elements in the film which is why the true contest is between Arrival and A Map Against the World.  Because of the sheer scope of the film and the fact that the Kang had to balance so many different tones and genres within the same film, WOO-SUK KANG wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

BEST FILM

*A Bigger Splash

*Birth of a Nation

*Equity

*Fences

*Arrival

Since A Map Against the World already won Best Foreign Language Film it should be as no surprise that Arrival would come on top in this category.  This presents a sci-fi epic that remembers to always be character based and grounded.  These are the elements that will make audiences return to the film time and time again.  ARRIVAL wins the 2016 REAL CONTENDER AWARD!

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Well, I hope you enjoyed my list.  I’m sorry that I couldn’t get to all of the great films of 2016 (as I don’t get any free screeners) but I encourage everyone to make their own lists and present them to the world.  Your opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s and you’ll have fun putting together your own lists of favorites.  Until next year, enjoy great films wherever you can find them.

FYI – there was no Animation category because the only 2016 animated film I saw was Batman: The Killing Joke.

2016 YEAR IN REVIEW - "THEATER IN REVIEW"

THEATER IN REVIEW

2016 was a massive year for me and going to live theater shows and events as I saw more than twenty shows!  I’ve discovered over my journey in 2016 that I love to go see live events.  I’ve managed to go to many different venues that I didn’t even know existed from The Legacy Theatre (where I saw the musical “1776: The Musical”) and The Fern Theatre Company (who put on a magnificent production of Shakespeare’s “Lear” with a whole female cast in an outdoor venue) to the Classic Center Theatre (where I saw “42^nd Street”).  I also happened to spend a lot of time in 2016 at Atlanta Comedy Theatre watching some amazing comedians such as Rodney Perry, Jonathan Slocumb, K-Dubb & Tyler Chronicles, and Tony Rock, to name a few.

Working in the theater industry, I had never actually taken time to watch many of the shows that were “classics” but 2016 was the start of something new and different for me that I hope will continue for years to come.

In addition to the all-female version of “Lear” I also saw another version of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” put on by the New Theatre in the Square in which the roles were all gender swapped.  It was unique seeing a production of a female Hamlet.  Although the New Theatre in the Square doesn’t have the same production values of its predecessor I must give it to them for putting together a unique production and hope that future productions will be just as unique.  Early in 2016, I also managed to capture a production of “Driving Miss Daisy” from the New Theatre in the Square which had its inspiration more anchored in the film version.  I’ve seen this production before done better but I have to hand it to them for putting great details into the set for this production if nothing else.  I also managed to take part in one of their T.G.I.F. Comedy Shows but since this was a mixed bag of local talent the less said about this one the better.

I managed to see two shows at Horizon Theatre this year with “Sex With Strangers” and “The Toxic Avenger” musical.  Both were well done productions but being the horror fan that I am I enjoyed “The Toxic Avenger” immensely as (surprisingly) the cult film fits great in the musical format. 

In addition to the traditional Broadway musicals of “1776” and “42^nd Street” (both of which were excellent productions), I also saw “In the Heights” (an Aurora Theatre and Theatrical Outfit production) and “Scrooge: The Musical” (from OnStage Atlanta Theatre Company).  I enjoyed both productions but have to say that “In The Heights” is probably my favorite musical of the year.  This was an amazing production from all production and casting fronts and I’m glad I could see it.

On the smaller scale of productions, I saw Alliance Theatre’s production of “Moby Dick” which had an extremely long first act followed by an amazing second act (unfortunately I witnessed several people walk out during Intermission never to return).  On the smaller front I saw “Blue Butterfly: The Black Ballerina” (from Marrietta Performing Arts Center) which put on a very good production but I was more impressed with their casting which they seem to go with the best actor for the job and not the best actor who looks the part; this idea of color blind casting helped them to put on a great production despite any other limitations that the production may have had.   I also saw the “World Premiere” of “Farming Beauty” (from Center Stage North Theatre); it seems that this theatre company loves to produce plays from up and coming talent and I’m more than willing to help out

whenever I can.

I also managed to catch the productions of two one-man plays.  The first is “Nobody: The Story of Broadway’s Bert Williams” (performed at Stockbridge Community Arts Center but was a touring production).  The play used projection and a detailed single set location to present the true story of Bert Williams who was the first African American to take a stab at Broadway.  Next up I saw the production of “DAR HE: The Story of Emmitt Till” (another touring production staged at The Centre for Performing & Visual Arts of Cowete County) which I originally saw the film version of but wanted to see the live version since the main star was in both; this was a great production where is was interesting to see where the film originated from and what needed to be changed to transition from play to screen.

In terms of live events, I was able to see Enduro Cross (at Infinite Energy Arena) and the concert B.A.P. Live on Earth 2016 World Tour (at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center) but I was more impressed with the lone magician show I witnessed – “Joseph Lozoff: Life Is Magic” (at The Centre for Performing & Visual Arts of Cowete County).  I had never seen a “live” magician performance and I was impressed by just how much I didn’t know about the craft and arts of magic.  I want to see more magicians in the future.

One of the most impressive shows I saw all year was Cirque Du Soleil’s

“Toruk: The First Flight” (at Infinite Energy Arena) which was inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar film.  This happened to be my very first live Cirque show and it did impress.  I am now a Cirque fan and hope to see every show that comes to Georgia as I now want to see them all “live”.

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All in all, 2016 was a great year for seeing a variety of different shows and events more than I’ve ever seen in any given year my entire life.  I’ve discovered that there are so many venues out there putting on great shows and events and that I (and by extension You and every one else you know) should try to see and experience as many of them as I can.  I’m pretty open when it comes to live events and in addition to loving to see comedians perform live, I also love watching magic shows and prefer my musicals live rather than as a film.

2016 YEAR IN REVIEW - "BOOKS IN REVIEW"

BOOKS IN REVIEW

I’d like to first say that even though it’s now February, I’m still thinking about what a great year 2016 was and all the amazing films, live events, and books I read that helped make the year better than 2015.  At the beginning of 2016 I told myself I was going to read more books than in 2015 because as a writer I should be reading more fiction and non-fiction to be able to craft more well-rounded and compelling stories.  Although I didn’t fulfill my overall goal of the year, I did manage to read a good amount of non-fiction books which in my opinion is always a good thing.

Of the fiction books I read I managed to finish “The Meowmorphosis” from Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook which is a mash-up take of the Kafka classic except the main character morphs into a giant cute kitten instead of a cockroach.  Being a huge fan of Kafka’s story I enjoyed the novelty of the book but to me giant cute kittens are just as terrifying as cockroaches.  I also managed to read my first Elmore Leonard novel with “Raylan”, which is a sequel to the show Justified (based on Leonard’s series of novels).  I loved this novel so much that I plan on going back to read more Leonard novels because he has a great style as an author.  I was completely disappointed with John Shirley’s novelization of “Resident Evil: Retribution.”  I’ve read all the books based on the films and this is the worst of the lot; it took me a while to get through the book because of the style of writing which wasn’t on par with any of the previous novelizations.  I’m hoping that the novelization of “The Final Chapter” is much better.

I will say that a majority of the non-fiction books I read this year were film related.  I started the year off with another book on director David Cronenberg (if you remember I read two in 2015); “Cronenberg on Cronenberg” which is edited by Chris Rodley was an excellent book on the insight of the infamous director of Scanners, The Brood, The Fly, Dead Ringers, and countless others and getting into his process of crafting these films was key to the books success.  Now this isn’t a new book but because the process of crafting these films isn’t going to change reading this book was instrumental into getting into his head.  I would love to read an updated version of the book where the director discusses his more current films.  Along these same lines is “Lucio Fulci: Poetry & Cruelty in the Movies” by Antonio Bruschini & Antonion Tentori.  Not the best book on the infamous director as it spends more time on synopsis of the films rather than on any meaningful discussion of the films themselves but it works for those with a cursory knowledge of the director and his films.  Not really for those of us who have read many of the other books dedicated to the director.  Another film related book that I managed to finish was actor Gunnar Hansen’s “Chainsaw Confidential: How We Made the World’s Most Notorious Horror Movie” which details the making of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre for the perspective of the man that played Leatherface.  This was another great book as it really got into the heart of what it felt like to be on the set of this infamous film from beginning to end.  Hansen has a clear and concise way of presenting his story that is engaging and entertaining at the same time.  It is said to say that this was his final book before passing away in 2015.  Life Books also put out the excellent “Life: Science Fiction: 100 Years of Great Movies” which every film fan should make sure to pick up in order to put together their own list of “must see” films.

A couple random books that I finished reading this year include Inazo Nitobe’s “Code of the Samurai: Bushido: The Soul of Japan” which is more of a coffee table book about everything as it relates to Bushido and “30-Second Religion” edited by Russell Re Manning.  I’ve been reading several of the books in the “30-Second” series and they are a quick and informative reference guide to all sorts of useful and helpful subjects.  I’m currently reading one of Ancient Egypt and well tell you how it is next year.

Imagine Publishing updated it’s “100 All-Time Greatest Comics (Third Edition)” which for comic fans is a must read.  I learned a lot a great many comics that are now on my “must read” for 2017.  As you know I read a lot of graphic novels but even this list had tons of titles I wasn’t even familiar with.

On the supernatural side of things, I read “An American Haunting: The Bell Witch” edited by Brent Monahan and based on the true story of the Bell Witch incident (which was recently made into the film An American Haunting).  This was the entire story of the legend and even those who have watched the film will be able to know all the real details of what allegedly happened.

Ending my 2016 reading list will be several books in the Rue Morgue

Magazine Library series.  A couple years ago Rue Morgue started putting out books in there Library series on many different topics geared towards horror fans and fans of the magazine.  I managed to get through five of them last year – “Blood in Four Colors: A Graphic History of Horror Comics”, “Cryptic Collectibles: A Concise Compendium of Creepy Keepsakes”, “Horror Movie Heroes”, “Horrorwood North: The Extraordinary History & Art of Canadian Genre Cinema”, and “Weird Stats & Morbid Facts.”  I could go into detail about each of these books but suffice it to say that these are an excellent series of books from all different aspects of the horror genre.  All of them are well written and put together and informative.  These are some great additions to any horror fans book shelf and since they each contain hundreds of photos they are great to look at as well.

Now that I look forward to 2017, I still need to get off my ass and read more fiction books and read more variety of non-fiction books (because I read too many books on film) but that’s something I’ll have to work on.  I’ll let you know next year how it goes.