The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (Winners)

And the Actors chose...

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

EDDIE REDMAYNE / Stephen Hawking – "THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING" (Focus Features)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

JULIANNE MOORE / Alice Howland-Jones – "STILL ALICE" (Sony Pictures Classics)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

J.K. SIMMONS / Fletcher – "WHIPLASH" (Sony Pictures Classics)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

PATRICIA ARQUETTE / Olivia – "BOYHOOD" (IFC Films)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

BIRDMAN (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

TELEVISION PROGRAMS

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

MARK RUFFALO / Ned Weeks – "THE NORMAL HEART" (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

FRANCES McDORMAND / Olive Kitteridge – "OLIVE KITTERIDGE" (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

VIOLA DAVIS / Annalise Keating – "HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER" (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

WILLIAM H. MACY / Frank Gallagher – "SHAMELESS" (Showtime)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

UZO ADUBA / Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren – "ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK" (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

DOWNTON ABBEY (PBS)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix)

HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

 “UNBROKEN” (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series (6 nominees)

 “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Screen Actors Guild 51st Annual Life Achievement Award

DEBBIE REYNOLDS

Pride (2014)

Inspiring and sincere British film based on British miners' strike during Thatcher's administration and the important role played by the LGBT activists group.

Film was headlined by my favorite Bill Nighy and the legendary Imelda Staunton.  

It's wonderful to see films that celebrate unity in diversity.

Whiplash (2014)

Electrifying!

This is what I loved about awards season - you'll get to know the best films for the year such as this one-of-a-kind artwork.  I had hesitations of watching this because it stars Miles Teller which not my favorite actor in the world but all that will change after watching his film.

J.K. Simmons was brilliant and deserving of all the praises he has received from various accolades.  

The final of the 8 films nominated for Best Pictures at the Oscars.  I enjoyed this one.

Story is about pushing your limits, boundaries and driving you to the edge.

Selma (2014)

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Inspiring but at the same time anger-inducing film about human rights struggles of African-American people in Selma, Alabama led by Martin Luther King Jr.

It's a shame that David Oyelowo missed the spot in the acting category as well as Ava DuVernay for directing, doesn't matter though.  What really matters is the fact that you have achieved a cinematic masterpiece in which was able to depict one of mankind's greatest victory.

One comment that I would like to say is that I felt the first hour was slow-paced.  While I don't know the exact events, I thought that there could have been other events that need to be highlighted such as his relationship with Malcolm X, speech in Washington D.C., etc.

Freedom fighters and rights advocacies must watch this.

The Interview (2014)

It's laughable up to some extent.  Of course it's offensive but no one should take it personally, easy for me to say as I am not Kim. 

Nothing much to say but I guess there are more other quality entertaining films out there that would be worthy of your 2 hours.

American Sniper (2014)

Another representation of a war film (the other is The Imitation Game) in the Oscars race and directed by Clint Eastwood.  

Bradley Cooper nominated for his role as Chris Kyle, America's sniper hero.  All best actors nominated in this year's Academy awards are based on real beings with the exception of Michael Keaton.  Cooper who is on his 3rd consecutive nomination delivered an intense performance as the grief-stricken hero.  I have yet to watch David in Selma and see if Bradley is indeed a better replacement on the 5th spot unfortunately, he will not win.

Although I must say that it's not as ground-breaking as Zero Dark Thirty but then again, maybe it's not one of the objectives of this film.  We noticed very small "surprises" such as the accent of Cooper which only occurred during the last scenes of the film, the baby robot, and I did not know that you can call soldiers directly.

All in all, it's within the rank of Fury but far from Saving Private Ryan, Zero Dark Thirty, etc.

Life Itself (2014)

“I was born inside the movie of my life. The visuals were before me, the audio surrounded me, the plot unfolded inevitably but not necessarily. I don't remember how I got into the movie, but it continues to entertain me.” - Roger Ebert

This is a story about the most relevant critic of our time, late Pulitzer-winner Roger Ebert and man what an extraordinary journey it has been.  The film allows us to take a peek into Roger's intimate moments with movies, love of his life, and his love-hate relationship with review partner Gene Siskel.

Such a shame I rarely watch documentaries and this memoir made me realize the importance of documentaries - so real as they can be.

If you are a lover of cinema and life, you need to see this!

Be prepared to shed a tear...

Foxcatcher (2014)

Based on real life events of wrestling brothers Dave and Mark Schultz and billionaire John du Pont.  It touches also the psychological effects of a ruined childhood.

Personally, this is Tatum, Carell, and Ruffalo's best performances yet.  Bennett's style of direction is the same as Capote, another brilliant work of his.  Overall it's good and wonderfully acted - deserving of all the accolades given.  

However, I expected it to be more gripping and engaging.  

This is a great opportunity for Channing to prove that he can act and escape from his matinee idol image.

20th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards (Winners)

And the Critics have spoken... 1st ever MVP award goes to Jessica Chastain.  Lifetime achievement award given to Kevin Costner.

This show is a perfect response to Oscar's nominations.

BEST PICTURE

Birdman

Boyhood (WINNER)

Gone Girl

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Nightcrawler

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Unbroken

Whiplash

BEST ACTOR

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game

Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler

Michael Keaton – Birdman (WINNER)

David Oyelowo – Selma

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS

Jennifer Aniston – Cake

Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore – Still Alice (WINNER)

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon – Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin – Inherent Vice

Robert Duvall – The Judge

Ethan Hawke – Boyhood

Edward Norton – Birdman

Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons – Whiplash (WINNER)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood (WINNER)

Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year

Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game

Emma Stone – Birdman

Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood (WINNER)

Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars

Mackenzie Foy – Interstellar

Jaeden Lieberher – St. Vincent

Tony Revolori – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Quvenzhane Wallis – Annie

Noah Wiseman – The Babadook

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Birdman (WINNER)

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Into the Woods

Selma

BEST DIRECTOR

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ava DuVernay – Selma

David Fincher – Gone Girl

Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman

Angelina Jolie – Unbroken

Richard Linklater – Boyhood (WINNER)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Birdman – Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo (WINNER)

Boyhood – Richard Linklater

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness

Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy

Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn (WINNER)

The Imitation Game – Graham Moore

Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson

The Theory of Everything – Anthony McCarten

Unbroken – Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson

Wild – Nick Hornby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY

Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki (WINNER)

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert Yeoman

Interstellar – Hoyte Van Hoytema

Mr. Turner – Dick Pope

Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION

Birdman – Kevin Thompson/Production Designer, George DeTitta Jr./Set Decorator

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator (WINNER)

Inherent Vice – David Crank/Production Designer, Amy Wells/Set Decorator

Interstellar – Nathan Crowley/Production Designer, Gary Fettis/Set Decorator

Into the Woods – Dennis Gassner/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator

Snowpiercer – Ondrej Nekvasil/Production Designer, Beatrice Brentnerova/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING

Birdman – Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione (WINNER)

Boyhood – Sandra Adair

Gone Girl – Kirk Baxter

Interstellar – Lee Smith

Whiplash – Tom Cross

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero (WINNER)

Inherent Vice – Mark Bridges

Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood

Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard

Mr. Turner – Jacqueline Durran

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

Foxcatcher

Guardians of the Galaxy (WINNER)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Into the Woods

Maleficent

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (WINNER)

Edge of Tomorrow

Guardians of the Galaxy

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Interstellar

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Big Hero 6

The Book of Life

The Boxtrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

The Lego Movie (WINNER)

BEST ACTION MOVIE

American Sniper

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Edge of Tomorrow

Fury

Guardians of the Galaxy (WINNER)

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper (WINNER)

Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow

Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Brad Pitt – Fury

Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE

Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow (WINNER)

Scarlett Johansson – Lucy

Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy

Shailene Woodley – Divergent

BEST COMEDY

Birdman

The Grand Budapest Hotel (WINNER)

St. Vincent

Top Five

22 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Jon Favreau – Chef

Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Michael Keaton – Birdman (WINNER)

Bill Murray – St. Vincent

Chris Rock – Top Five

Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Rose Byrne – Neighbors

Rosario Dawson – Top Five

Melissa McCarthy – St. Vincent

Jenny Slate – Obvious Child (WINNER)

Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE

The Babadook

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Interstellar (WINNER)

Snowpiercer

Under the Skin

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Force Majeure (WINNER)

Ida

Leviathan

Two Days, One Night

Wild Tales

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Citizenfour

Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me

Jodorowsky’s Dune

Last Days in Vietnam

Life Itself (WINNER)

The Overnighters

BEST SONG

Big Eyes – Lana Del Rey – Big Eyes

Everything Is Awesome – Jo Li and the Lonely Island – The Lego Movie

Glory – Common/John Legend – Selma (WINNER)

Lost Stars – Keira Knightley – Begin Again

Yellow Flicker Beat – Lorde – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

BEST SCORE

Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game

Johann Johannsson – The Theory of Everything

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Gone Girl

Antonio Sanchez – Birdman (WINNER)

Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

87th Academy Awards (OSCARS) Nominations

I feel bad for Jennifer Aniston who's being considered as a sure lock in the Best Actress category.  LEGO movie was one of the films which is both critical and financial success and it was shut out of the race.  Too bad also for Selma's female director who again was snubbed.

So who's in?  Here are the nominees

Best Picture

"American Sniper"

"Birdman"

"Boyhood"

"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

"The Imitation Game"

"Selma"

"The Theory of Everything"

"Whiplash"

Best Director

Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"

Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”

Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”

Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"

Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"

Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"

Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Best Actor

Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"

Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”

Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"

Michael Keaton, "Birdman"

Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"

Laura Dern, “Wild”

Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"

Emma Stone, "Birdman"

Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall, "The Judge"

Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"

Edward Norton, "Birdman"

Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"

J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Adapted Screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”

Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"

Jason Hall, “American Sniper”

Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"

Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"

Best Original Screenplay

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, "Foxcatcher"

Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, "Birdman"

Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

Best Foreign Language Film

"Leviathan"

"Ida"

"Tangerines"

“Timbuktu”

"Wild Tales"

Best Documentary Feature

"CITIZENFOUR"

“Finding Vivian Maier”

"Last Days in Vietnam"

“The Salt in the Earth”

"Virunga”

Best Animated Feature

"Big Hero 6"

"The Boxtrolls"

"How to Train Your Dragon 2"

“Song of the Sea”

"The Tale of The Princess Kaguya"

Best Film Editing

"American Sniper"

"Boyhood"

“The Grand Budapest Hotel”

"The Imitation Game"

"Whiplash"

Best Original Song

"Everything is Awesome" from "The LEGO Movie" (written by Shawn Patterson)

"Glory" from "Selma" (written by Common and John Legend)

"Grateful" from "Beyond the Lights" (written by Diane Warren)

"I’m Not Gonna Miss You" from "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" (written by Glen Campbell)

"Lost Stars" from "Begin Again" (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)

Best Original Score

Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"

Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything"

Gary Yershon, “Mr. Turner”

Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar"

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins, "Unbroken"

Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman"

Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"

Robert Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”

Best Costume Design

"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

“Inherent Vice”

"Into the Woods"

"Maleficent"

"Mr. Turner"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"Foxcatcher"

"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

"Guardians of the Galaxy"

Best Production Design

"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

“The Imitation Game”

“Interstellar”

"Into the Woods"

"Mr. Turner"

Best Sound Editing

"American Sniper"

“Birdman”

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

"Interstellar"

"Unbroken"

Best Sound Mixing

"American Sniper"

"Birdman"

“Interstellar”

"Unbroken"

“Whiplash”

Best Visual Effects

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

"Guardians of the Galaxy"

"Interstellar"

"X-Men: Days of Future Past"

Best Short Film, Live Action

"Aya"

“Boogaloo and Graham”

“Butter Lamp”

“Parvaneh”

"The Phone Call"

Best Short Film, Animated

"The Bigger Picture"

"The Dam Keeper"

"Feast"

"Me and My Moulton"

“A Single Life”

Best Documentary, Short Subject

“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”

"Joanna"

"Our Curse"

“The Reaper”

"White Earth"