IN MEMORIAM: Philip Seymour Hoffman's Legacy

By Chris Luckett

Photo: Canadian Press

R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967-2014

Much has already been written about Philip Seymour Hoffman since word of his death spread yesterday, and even more will be written about him in the coming weeks. He was that rare actor who you sympathized with as a protagonist and gleefully relished as a villain.

Whether he was playing a quiet, normal guy in Love Liza or an apoplectic cur in Punch-Drunk Love, he remained irresistibly likeable. Somewhere between the teddy-bear charm of John Candy and the antic brashness of Jack Black, Hoffman existed. He lent gravity to movies that were too goofy and brought levity to movies that were too serious. He was a singular talent who was always interesting to watch, even when the movies themselves weren't always.

His passing yesterday morning was a tragedy that travelled across traditional and social media with a speed usually reserved for the Michael Jacksons and the Heath Ledgers of the world. Everyone who wasn't talking about the Super Bowl (and many still who were) was talking about the loss of an under-appreciated actor who always made a strong impression.

Hoffman may have given his final performance, but he left behind a wonderful catalog of subtle, overt, quiet, loud, depressing, hilarious, and fascinating performances. Picking a finite number of his best is a remarkably challenging task, as leaving almost anything off such a list seems a slight.

Every actor's career can be encapsulated in ten scenes, though. Below are his finest moments – the ones that made Philip Seymour Hoffman so hard to dislike, so easy to admire, and so impossible to forget.

The Big Lebowski (Universal Pictures, 1998)

Happiness (Good Machine, 1998)

Almost Famous (Dreamworks, 2000)

Punch-Drunk Love (Columbia Pictures, 2002)

Capote (MGM, 2005)

Mission: Impossible III (Paramount Pictures, 2006)

Charlie Wilson's War (Universal Pictures, 2007)

Doubt (Miramax, 2008)

The Ides of March (Sony Pictures, 2011)

The Master (The Weinstein Company, 2012)

OSCARS 2014: The State of the Race (So Far)

By Chris Luckett

The 86th Academy Awards are just four weeks away, but it’s often in the last month before the Oscars that the tide can turn and upsets come about. (This time last year, Lincoln was expected to win Best Picture, not Argo. Two years before that, the same thing happened between The Social Network and The King’s Speech.) Much can change between now and March 2. For now, though, here’s how 2014’s Oscar race is shaping up.

Best Picture

Photo: Warner Bros.

In October, Gravity was the frontrunner. In November, 12 Years a Slave started to build even bigger buzz. Then in December, American Hustle threw its hat into the ring. Those three are still the main contenders (although there is a growing movement boosting Nebraska).

Gravity’s director, Alfonso Cuarón, is very likely winning Best Director – and the Academy showed just last year they don’t mind splitting the Picture and Director trophies between two films – so Gravity may find itself left adrift here. 12 Years a Slave could definitely take the top prize, but Hollywood’s love for American Hustle has been continually growing through January. As of now, American Hustle’s the one to beat.

Best Director

Alfonso Cuarón has won almost every directing award over the last year, even when Gravity itself has lost for corresponding Picture awards. Whether or not Gravity wins the Oscar for Best Picture, Cuarón is pretty much a lock for Best Director.

Best Actor

Photo: Focus Features

Chiwetel Ejiofor, once the undisputed frontrunner for his work in 12 Years a Slave, has been eclipsed over the last month by Matthew McConaughey and his performance in Dallas Buyers Club. If the American Hustle fan club gets a real movement going, it’s possible Christian Bale could pull off a dark horse victory for Best Actor, but it’s currently McConaughey’s to lose.

Best Actress

Much like Christian Bale, Amy Adams could very possibly see a last-minute surge in popularity through her involvement in American Hustle. Short of that movie sweeping all the categories, Cate Blanchett is the one to bet on for her role in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.

Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club. No one else is even in the running.

Best Supporting Actress

Right now, it’s down to Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle and Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave. One the one hand, the Academy clearly loves Lawrence, having given her an Oscar just last year. On the other hand, they did already give her an Oscar just last year. Lawrence, like all others involved, could receive an American Hustle boost in the coming weeks, but otherwise the Academy will likely feel it’s too soon for her to get another Oscar, awarding it to Nyong’o for stunning debut performance.

Best Original Screenplay

Frankly, any of the five nominees could win and it wouldn’t be a surprise. The category’s a complete toss-up. When in doubt, though, always go with the Woody Allen screenplay. Blue Jasmine stands a slightly better chance than the other four – though that could easily change.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Wolf of Wall Street was too divisive, Philomena was too treacly, and the controversy about the accuracy of Captain Phillips has all but sunk its chances. It’s a close call between Before Midnight and 12 Years a Slave, but assuming American Hustle and Gravity take most of the other categories (as it’s looking might happen), the Academy will probably give Adapted Screenplay to 12 Years a Slave as consolation.

Best Animated Feature

A two-horse race if there were one this year. One contender, Frozen, has been touted to be the greatest animated (non-Pixar) Disney movie since The Lion King. The other, The Wind Rises, is the final film of anime legend Hayao Miyazaki. It’ll be close, but Frozen’s momentum looks too strong to beat.

REVIEW: That Awkward Moment

By Chris Luckett

3 stars out of 5

Part of the reason some people don’t agree with film critics is because (generally speaking) most people’s opinions on a movie are affected by how much they like it. Film critics, meanwhile, strive to judge a movie on its quality alone and to remove their biases and personal tastes from the equation. It causes real problems when enjoyable but dumb movies are released. How “good” people find That Awkward Moment to be is going to be largely affected by how much they like it. Let it be said, though: it’s a hard movie not to like.

Photo: Focus Features

Jason, Daniel, and Mikey are three twenty-somethings living the life in New York. After Mikey (the only one of the them in a relationship) suddenly finds himself divorced, Jason and Daniel make a vow that none of the three of them will get into any relationships.

Of course, soon after they make their pact, Jason finds himself in love with a young woman who just gets him; Daniel discovers feelings for his wingwoman and long-time friend; and Mikey and his wife start hooking up again. Since the three men all made a pact, they all hide their secret relationships from each other, leading to the expected farcical scenes.

Photo: Focus Features

That Awkward Moment’s plot and story are cliché at best and stupid at worst. Meanwhile, the dialogue is amazingly sharp and the rapid-fire banter of quips feels like a spirited blend of Kevin Smith and Aaron Sorkin. It’s hard to believe the same person who constructed the dumbly derivative story also crafted such natural and hilarious dialogue.

The dialogue is helped by the movie’s ace card: the palpable chemistry of its lead actors. Zac Efron (effectively shedding his High School Musical days), Michael B. Jordon (of 2013’s excellent Fruitvale Station), and Miles Teller (of 2013’s even-more-excellent The Spectacular Now) play Jason, Mikey, and Daniel, and all are perfect in their roles. What’s more, you believe in their friendship. Their shorthand references and hyper-natural conversations are amazingly fun to watch, and elevate the whole movie.

Photo: Focus Features

It’s hard to think of a recent movie that’s average in so many ways but still so darned enjoyable. The ludicrous story and a few plot threads that strain to be funny somewhat hurt the film, but the honest camaraderie of the three leads and the whip-smart dialogue almost make up for it. It would be wrong to say That Awkward Moment is a great movie, or even a very good one. But it would be equally wrong to not admit it’s one of the most fun movies of the last few months.

VIDEO REVIEW: I, Frankenstein

REVIEW: I, Frankenstein

By Chris Luckett

½ star out of 5

Photo: Lionsgate

You’d be forgiven for thinking, from the title, that I, Frankenstein is a retelling of Mary Shelley’s gothic story of Dr. Frankenstein creating his reanimated monster. Instead, it’s an incredibly loose sequel to the story that turns the monster into a brooding hulk, caught up in a centuries-old war between demons and gargoyles.

Yes, gargoyles. It turns out every gargoyle is actually an angel in disguise, able to animate themselves when humans aren’t looking, so that they can wage a war against Satan’s cast-down demons. Frankenstein’s monster, later dubbed Adam, is of great importance to both sides, who take turns trying to convince him to join their team.

Photo: Lionsgate

I, Frankenstein feels more in the vein of the vampires-versus-werewolves movie Underworld than Frankenstein, which makes sense; they were both co-written by Kevin Grevioux. It’s not just the writing, either. The movies even look the same.

The familiarity of the visual style and the supernatural war could be forgiven, if I, Frankenstein bothered to make any sense at all. It maintains a level of stupidity throughout that seems almost unbelievable. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, but so many things about I, Frankenstein are so poor, it’s hard to believe the filmmakers weren’t trying to make a bad movie.

Photo: Lionsgate

Aaron Eckhart has no personality as Adam, and grumbles every line like he learned acting by watching Christian Bale as Batman. Yvonne Strahovski, playing a bland scientist who aids Adam, makes for one of the least believable scientists this side of Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough. Only Bill Nighy (on loan from the Underworld series) shows the slightest bit of a performance as the demon prince Naberius – but even he can only do so much.

If you saw the commercials or trailers for I, Frankenstein and thought the movie looked really cool, you’ll probably get exactly what you want and be satisfied with the final product. If your first impression of I, Frankenstein was that it looked pretty bad, trust your instincts and don’t bother. It’s even worse than it looked.

SPECIAL: The Performances Oscar Forgot

By Chris Luckett

This year, almost all the actors nominated for Oscars truly deserved the nods. Even so, there were many brilliant performances that didn’t get any attention from the Academy. These ten (listed in alphabetical order) all deserve just as much attention as the twenty actors ultimately nominated for Oscars this year.

Honourable Mentions: Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness), Alexis Denisof (Much Ado About Nothing), Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Hugh Jackman (Prisoners), Brie Larson (Short Term 12), Carey Mulligan (Inside Llewyn Davis), and Joaquin Phoenix (Her).

Daniel Brühl (Rush)

Rush’s advertising made the movie seem like Chris Hemsworth was the star of the movie, but Brühl was his equal in every way and gave a layered performance as the egotistic and brilliant F1 racer Nicki Lauda.

Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Colour)

Few performances covered as much territory, time, and emotion as Exarchopoulos’s in Blue is the Warmest Colour. Playing a young woman discovering and exploring her sexuality while also experiencing the pains of first love, Exarchopoulos was stunning.

(Warning: NSFW language)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners)

Playing an obsessed detective on the trail of a child abductor, while also dealing with a tormented father (Hugh Jackman) and his own psychological issues, Gyllenhaal was a living time bomb. His character’s tic of blinking when he’s stressed about something was an especially brilliant choice.

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

As Captain Phillips went from beginning to end, it became a greater and greater movie. The same can be said for Hanks’s performance, which started out excellently and ended with one of the most riveting scenes in 2013. His work in Captain Phillips was some of his best.

Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Struggling folk singer Llewyn Davis is such a grumpy, self-centered jerk that few actors could really have made him bearable. Isaac did it better than anyone else probably could have, giving Davis a resigned attitude and misanthropic sardonicism that skilfully walks a line between evoking pity and admiration.

Scarlett Johansson (Her)

In the past, there have been vocal performances that have stirred up the idea of nominating voice acting for an Oscar, but they were all for relatively simple performances in animated movies. Scarlett Johansson managed to create a three-dimensional, believable, and memorable character with just her voice, as the artificially intelligent Samantha in the live-action fable Her.

Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt)

Known to most North American audiences as the villainous Le Chiffre in the 2006 James Bond reboot Casino Royale, Mikkelsen gave a heartbreaking and haunting performance in The Hunt as a kindergarten teacher falsely accused of sexually assaulting a child.

Robert Redford (All is Lost)

Arguably the greatest acting all year was Redford’s in the nearly silent, slow-burn, one-man-show that was All is Lost. As the only actor on screen for the entire movie and with barely two minutes of talking, Redford gave a physically and emotionally powerful performance as a man fighting against the odds to stay alive, adrift at sea.

Sam Rockwell (The Way Way Back)

The single funniest performance all year was Rockwell’s portrayal of the layabout manager of a seaside town waterpark who takes a mild-mannered and bullied teenager under his wing and mentors him on life, while not doing much with his own. It’s a great role and Rockwell was cast perfectly in it.

Shailene Woodley (The Spectacular Now)

Two years after crying underwater in The Descendants, Woodley returned with an even more interesting performance as the perpetually optimistic Aimee. At first, her character seemed like the smart, quiet love interest in every other teen movie, but much like The Spectacular Now itself, she became more and more interesting as her story unfolded.

(Warning: NSFW language)

VIDEO REVIEW: Nebraska