Posts Tagged Cate Blanchett
STEELE PICKS: Best Films of 2015
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on December 30, 2015
I’m not a film critic although when I worked at Harvard Business School I was the film critic for The Harbus and it was great fun going to screenings and interviewing actors such as Claire Danes, Rose Byrne, Donnie Wahlberg, Rose McGowan, Aidan Quinn, Andie MacDowell and David Cronenberg.
I’m a music critic and a book critic. That’s my focus. I can’t do everything. Yes, I cover the occasional television program.
I love film. I love indie film. I try to see a new film in the theater each week and my Netflix account [both streaming and DVD] remains quite active. I saw about 200 films this year. I don’t always pick the award winners but I pick what truly moved me. 5/20 of these films directed by women. 9/20 written or co-written by women. Many strong, intriguing female protagonists in these films.
Far from the Madding Crowd
directed by: Thomas Vinterberg
screenplay by: David Nicholls
starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen
Brooklyn
directed by: John Crowley
screenplay by: Nick Hornby
starring: Saorsie Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson
Carol
directed by: Todd Haynes
screenplay by: Phyllis Nagy
starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
directed by: Marielle Heller
screenplay by: Marielle Heller
starring: Bel Powley, Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgaard
Spotlight
directed by: Tom McCarthy
screenplay by: Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
starring: Mark Ruffalo, John Slattery, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton
Tangerine
directed by: Sean Baker
screenplay by: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch
starring: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian
Suffragette
directed by: Sarah Gavron
screenplay by: Abi Morgan
starring: Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep
Room
directed by: Lenny Abrahamson
written by: Emma Donoghue
starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers
While We’re Young
directed by: Noah Baumbach
screenplay by: Noah Baumbach
starring: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Driver
Love and Mercy
directed by: Bill Pohlad
screenplay by: Oren Moverman, Michael A. Lerner
starring: Paul Dano, John Cusack, Elizabeth Banks
Grandma
directed by: Paul Weitz
screenplay by: Paul Weitz
starring: Lily Tomlin, Sam Shepard, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden
Sicario
directed by: Denis Villeneuve
screenplay by: Taylor Sheridan
starring: Emily Blunt, Benecio Del Toro, Josh Brolin
Mistress America
directed by: Noah Baumbach
screenplay by: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
starring: Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke
Steve Jobs
directed by: Danny Boyle
screenplay by: Aaron Sorkin
starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen
Infinitely Polar Bear
directed by: Maya Forbes
written by: Maya Forbes
starring: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky
McFarland, USA
directed by: Niki Caro
screenplay by: Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois, Grant Thompson
starring: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez, Carlos Pratts , Johnny Ortiz
The Age of Adaline
directed by: Lee Toland Krieger
screenplay by: J. Mills Goodloe and Salvador Paskowitz
starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford
Advantageous
directed by: Jennifer Phang
screenplay by: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang
starring: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams
Digging for Fire
directed by: Joe Swanberg
written by: Jake Johnson, Joe Swanberg
starring: Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sam Rockwell, Orlando Bloom
I Smile Back
directed by: Adam Salky
written by: Paige Dylan
starring: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles
Chi-Raq
directed by: Spike Lee
written by: Spike Lee
starring: Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack
notable performances: Bryan Cranston in Trumbo; Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road; Will Smith in Concussion; Amy Schumer in Trainwreck
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Picks for Best-dressed at Academy Awards
Posted by Amy Steele in Uncategorized on March 4, 2014
chiwetel ejiofor with girlfriend sari mercer
Jennifer Garner
Kate Hudson
Kerry Washington
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Laura Dern
Leo DiCaprio
Cate Blanchett
Viola Davis
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend
Emma Watson
Jared Leto
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith
Sandra Bullock
Naomi Watts
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HANNA: Saoirse Ronan underutilized
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on April 9, 2011
Her ex-CIA father Erik [Eric Bana] has trained Hanna [Saoirse Ronan] to be an assassin. Hanna’s fierce, independent and brave but struggles to understand empathy, beauty, culture and interpersonal relationships. She’s book-learned in that isolated home-schooling manner for the entirety of her 16 years. She hunts moose with bow and arrows, can spar with swords and knives and get in and out of nearly any building with relative ease. Living near the Arctic circle grows claustrophobic and she’s ready for her father’s mission of revenge. Hanna flips a switch and awaits her capture by the CIA. Her rogue father’s gone and Hanna quickly escapes custody, leaving numerous bodies in her wake. HANNA serves as a Brother’s Grimm fairytale where the wicked are after this sweet, secretive young woman. The one person who refuses to let her go is Erik’s former handler Marissa [a comic book character villain played Cate Blanchett].
Infused with a heart-pounding soundtrack by The Chemical Brothers, HANNA tries to emulate Run Lola Run and fails. It lacks heart. Hanna’s supposed to rendezvous in Berlin with her father. The purpose isn’t really made clear except perhaps to draw out those CIA agents and destroy them so that father and daughter can pursue a somewhat normal existence. There’s certain mysteries surrounding Hanna — that aren’t made clear until the end and not in a mysterious denouement. The audience only understands there’s something unusual about Hanna and her relationship to Marissa.
Saoirse Ronan is brilliant as this young, gifted, focused machine. Unfortunately, director Joe Wright [Pride and Prejudice, Atonement] prolongs the hidden meaning too much and cannot decide what kind of film to make. Focusing on Ronan’s inherent talent seems the best bet. The few more personal scenes with her are a delight to watch. There’s Hanna’s emergence into society. at one point, in Morocco, she befriends a worldly teenager [Jessica Barden] who really makes Hanna look all the much more naïve. It’s refreshing and I wanted more of that and less of the creepy fairy tale/ edge-of-seat thriller. HANNA falls flat.
Grade: B
Now playing everywhere.
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bits and bobs from Academy Awards
Posted by Amy Steele in Film on March 3, 2011
David Seidler with Colin Firth
My father always said to me I’m a late bloomer. I think I’m the oldest person to win this award.
–David Seidler, Best Original Screenplay, The King’s Speech
I have a feeling my career’s just peaked.
— Colin Firth, Best Actor, The King’s Speech
Colin Firth is not laughing. He’s British.
–presenter Kirk Douglas
the BOB is IN again:
Scarlett Johansson:
Marisa Tomei:
Who I thought looked fantastic:
Mila Kunis [Black Swan]– she looks pretty in this frilly lavender Elie Saab dress with train
Jennifer Hudson— wearing orange Atelier Versace
Hailee Steinfeld [True Grit]– in a blush-colored Marchesa gown
Reese Witherspoon— classic black and white old Hollywood glamour in Armani Prive
Gwyneth Paltrow in a metallic Calvin Klein
Jennifer Lawrence [Winter’s Bone] in red Calvin Klein
Robert Downey Jr. [with wife Susan]
Mark Wahlberg [The Fighter] [with wife Rhea Durham]
Cate Blanchett in a lovely, one-of-a-kind design by Givenchy
Helen Mirren in steely Vivienne Westwood
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About Me
covering mostly music and books. focus on alternative/indie and women in music, literature and the arts. feminist. vegan. mostly alternative, a bit bohemian. Masters in journalism from Boston University. BA from Simmons College.
Entertainment Realm by Amy Steele is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at entertainmentrealm.comCopyright © 2009. All writing, unless otherwise noted, by Amy Steele.
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