#OW12: Skyfall

Written by John Logan, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade

Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes

Released November 9, 2012

Watched November 9, 2012

timmmc.com score: 4/5 stars

Contenders: Bardem (Supporting Actor)

#timmmcreviews #Skyfall…. Absolutely incredible. Go, and go soon.
— Timm McIntosh (@timmmc) November 9, 2012

I've never really been the type that goes absolutely gaga over the James Bond films. I do see the value in them, and I've certainly enjoyed them in the past, but I'm not the type that bought the giant box or counted down the days until the next installment came along. But Skyfall... Skyfall changed all that. I was incredibly excited for this, and the payoff more than lived up to my expectations. I absolutely can't wait for the next film.

This isn't an Oscar-type movie, really, but it's on my list, so this review is here. To keep it somewhat relevant, I wouldn't be floored to see a supporting actor nod go to Javier Bardem, but that'd be a longshot. Too bad, he was spectacular.

#OW12: Argo

Written by Chris Terrio

Directed by Ben Affleck

Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin & John Goodman

Released October 12, 2012

Watched October 25, 2012

timmmc.com score:  5/5 stars

Contenders:  Affleck (Director), Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture

ARGO was, simply, innnnnnncredible. #timmmcreviews
— Timm McIntosh (@timmmc) October 26, 2012

This is one of maybe 4 films in this year's crop of films that, in every way, is absolutely "Oscar Bait", but I am more than fine with this fact. Argo is a truly, truly wonderful film in every way. It's a very interesting film: you know the ending going into it, and really, the film doesn't contain much by the way of action... but if you aren't on the edge of your seat from the very outset, you simply do not have a soul. I recall thinking on my way out of the theatre how exhausted I was by the film... it was THAT intense. Great stuff.

Also... how many people would have thought in 2005 that Steven Spielberg (fresh off of his War of the Worlds adaptation/dud) & Ben Affleck (of then-recent Surviving Christmas, Jersey Girl, Gigli and Daredevil fame) would be squaring off at the Oscars just 7 years later?

#OW11: The Life of Pi

Screenplay by David Magee

Directed by Ang Lee

Starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Adil Hussain

Released November 21, 2012

Watched November 27, 2012

timmmc.com score: 3.5/5 stars

Contenders: Best Picture, Best Director, Adapted Screenplay

Really, really liked LIFE OF PI. Not a revolutionary film, but certainly one of the best looking films I’ve ever seen. #timmmcreviews
— Timm McIntosh (@timmmc) November 28, 2012

What we have here is a visually stunning, spectacularly imaginative, incredibly entertaining film by Ang Lee, based on what some have called an unfilmable novel. I haven't read the novel, but if what was on the screen is what is in the book, I most likely would have said the same thing.

I'll say this: I really, really enjoyed this film. It is nothing short of a masterpiece when it comes to visuals, which I loved. That said, there was something that kept me from being completely engaged in the stuggles of young Pi; perhaps it was Suraj Sharma's performance, perhaps I didn't sufficiently suspend disbelief, perhaps it was the stunning visuals, or perhaps it was device used to tell the story. The truth is probably some combination of those factors, but the fact remains that I was kept somewhat at a distance. But I must emphasize: I really enjoyed this film.

#OW12: Perks of Being a Wallflower

Written by Stephen Chbosky

Directed by Stephen Chbosky

Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller

Released October 12, 2012

Watched September 27, 2012 (early screening)

timmmc.com score:  4/5 stars

Contenders:  Adapted Screenplay

Perks of Being a Wallflower… fan of the book, BIG fan of the film. Fantastic performances, packing one hell of a punch. Go see! #TMreviews
— Timm McIntosh (@timmmc) October 1, 2012

I figured that a film adaptation of this deeply personal, cult classic novel would eliminate all the charm and all the humanity from the story, barring a truly remarkable leading performance and an inspired screenplay, handled by a director who fully understood the piece. But, wouldn't you know it, this film had all three of those elements.

I'm fully aware that this isn't the type of film that scores big at the Academy Awards, but I'm including it in this year's Oscar Watch series because I want to pull for an underdog. And this is my underdog thus far.

Also, in an ideal world, Logan Lerman wins SOMETHING for this film.

#OW12: The Master

Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams

Released September 1, 2012

Watched October 1, 2012

timmmc.com score:  2.5/5 stars
Contenders:  Phoenix (Best Actor), Hoffman (Supporting Actor), Adams (Supporting Actress)

#TheMaster… some fantastic performances, but never really came together for me in the whole. Kind of fell apart at points. #TMreviews
— Timm McIntosh (@timmmc) October 2, 2012

My initial tweet kind of says it all. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix are very, very good (yes, Oscar level good), but overall, the film wasn't the film I was hoping for. Elements of the film seemed to build to something spectacular at various points in the film, but it never quite reached that level. The end result was something uneven, somewhat boring, and ultimately rather indulgent. Very disappointing.

Oscar Watch 2012

I'm once again going to attempt to see all the movies with crazy "Oscar buzz", if you will, following my adventures in 2010 and 2011. I am going to make an effort to keep things brief this year, and have ideas to do so (but will be experimenting in the upcoming week).

In compiling this year's "to watch" list, I encountered GoldDerby.com, a website designed to handicap the award chances of the assorted films. Call me crazy, but that seems as good a place as any to steal my list from. Looking at their results from last year, their odds to be nominated "standings" proved rather accurate, with 8 of their top 9 films actually being nominated... good enough for me. I will copy their whole list after the cut for posterity reasons, but do visit GoldDerby.com for more information. This is going to be a fun couple of months!

I will be posting my first run of reviews (for films I've already seen from the list) sometime this week.

Edit, 12/17/12: I'll be updating this post with links to the posted reviews, periodically. Some links may be broken, if the reviews haven't been posted as I update this post.

THE X-FACTOR 2012 Top 12: Divas

First off, absolutely LOVED the whole leaderboard thing XFUSA introduced last week. Sure, it's ultimately a pointless exercise, as the votes aren't cumulative (....right?), but still really interesting. Plus... TATE number 1?!? Obviously from my last blog post, I most certainly did not expect that.

Oh, and Jason going home? Shocker! Not.

Onwards...

Top 12 (for reals this time): Divas!

Jannel Garcia

Last week: #7 - "Proud Mary" by Ike & Tina Turner

Vocally, I didn't love this performance. The song didn't sit consistently right in Jannel's voice... not a terrible fit, but not as good as it could be. But the performance as a whole? Fantastic.

Tate Stevens

Last week: #1 - "From this Moment" by Shania Twain

Like my criticism of "A Thousand Years" last week, the beauty of this song is in it's simplicity... which was completely lost in the translation from female solo to male solo. Though that said, this was a good performance. Not as good as the judges are making it out to be, but good stuff.

Diamond White

Last week: #4 - "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson "Halo" by Beyonce

The worst thing for Diamond was to show she could belt that one time. Now, she's given these giant vocal ballads that she absolutely cannot handle... Whitney last week, Beyonce this week. C'mon now. Pitch problems throughout, and the power wasn't there consistently. Naturally, this isn't discussed by the judges, but it does sound drastically different live, absolutely. Can we get something age-appropriate next week, Brit?

Beatrice Miller

Last week: #10 - "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper

Zzzz.... It seems to me that Britney has a little trouble picking out songs for Beatrice. She's a hard one to figure.

Lyric 145

Last week: #9 - "E.T." by Katy Perry / "We Will Rock You" by Queen

My head hurts. I think it's from Lyric 145 yelling at me in conjunction with obnoxious strobe lights. And it's all sad, as I've enjoyed Lyric 145 thus far. Also, the group ignoring the judges, shouting out to the crowd over the critiques? That makes them come off even worse.

Arin Ray

Last week: #11 - "Crazy for You" by Madonna

There's an inherent danger when you strip a performance down, leaving a performers vocals the star of a particular performance. That danger was fully realized here... as Arin isn't a great vocalist. That was as a borderline trainwreck. Ouch.

Paige Thomas

Last week: #8 - "Last Dance" by Donna Summer

Holy trainwreck, Batman! I don't understand a word coming out of the judge's mouths. I don't think I could find a redeeming quality in that performance if I tried... everything was atrocious. Ho boy.

Fifth Harmony

Last week: #5 - "Hero" by Mariah Carey

All of Fifth Harmony's performances are exactly the same... trade solos, add harmony, call it a day. Also, that's how One Direction operates. Coincidence? Not at all. This, like last week's, turned a relatively simple song into something much more complicated... but this week, it worked. It's a Mariah song... subtlety isn't a concern. The chick in the middle, though... trainwreck on the massive key change. Good thing there was WAY too much production and wailing going on to really notice...

Carly Rose Sonenclar

Last week: #2 - "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion

On one hand, when the song got real big at the end, the performance got a bit messy. But on the other hand... that was fantastic. Normally I get annoyed by the judges playing the "OMG, YOU AREN'T REALLY HOW YOUNG YOU SAY YOU ARE!", but I completely agree with them. I would *never* guess Carly was 13. Never.

Vino Alan

Last week: #3 - "Let's Stay Together" by Tina Turner

Tina Turner did a cover of this... so it's a diva song, I guess. Whatever. Either way, this was a boring, overdone performance. Once again, there's no subtlety in Vino's voice, so the softer parts of the song just don't work.

Emblem3

Last week: #6 - "No One" by Alicia Keys

I'm going to sound like Simon here: if Emblem3 were to release that to the radio today, it would be a big, big hit. That is probably the first time all season where I can honestly say that about an performance on the show... but it really is true.

CeCe Frey

Last week: #12 - "All By Myself" by Celine Dion

You know, through the first half of the song, I though CeCe was making it work. Painful song choice, trite production... but then the wind machine started up, CeCe started shrieking, pitch went out the window, voices started cracking... ho boy. The train went off the cliff. 

Predictions

Since apparently this is the season of the leaderboard on XFUSA... I'll come up with my own rankings. These are my rankings based on tonight alone.

1. Emblem3
2. Fifth Harmony
3. Carly Rose Sonenclar
4. Jannel Garcia
5. Tate Stevens
6. Beatrice Miller
7. Diamond White
8. Vino Alan
9. Lyric 145
10. Paige Thomas
11. Arin Ray
12. CeCe Frey

I really want to like CeCe Frey. I do... but she's kind of a trainwreck. She'll almost surely be gone... as for the second person to be eliminated this week, I can easily see it being Arin Ray or Paige Thomas. Or even Lyric 145. All four deserve it after tonight's performances. 

THE X FACTOR US 2012 Top 12: "Songs from the Movies"

Well... top 13. For some reason, Diamond White was brought back. I don't know why. Whatever.

I was off in my predictions last week... oops. But honestly, the performances didn't really surprise me. So, with that.

Top 12 13: Songs from the Movies!

Arin Ray

Britney's Teens - "American Boy" by... hell if I know. 

MUCH better than last week, but still many of the same issues remain. The vocals were much, much better in places, but the chorus often fell a bit flat, a bit thin. Much better, though.

Paige Thomas

Demi's Young Adults - "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (from Top Gun)

Yeah, I didn't quite get this performance. Like Arin, the vocals were much better than last week, but overal, many of the same issues from last week remain... but Paige doesn't quite have the charisma for a song performance like Demi seems to want from her. Unfortunately, though, her vocals aren't quite strong enough to overcome that. 

Vino Alan

LA's Over 25s - "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge (from... well I'm sure it's in some movie sometime)

What type of music is Vino trying to do? Because this was a COMPLETELY different type of song than last week... and neither really sit too well for me. Perhaps its the way that Vino barrels through his performances... who knows. Not really a fan.

Emblem3

Simon's Groups - A bizarre mashup of songs including "My Girl", "California Girls" and "What Makes You Beautiful" ("My Girl" is from My Girl, so it totally counts)

Simon has been harping on music production tonight, so I'll say it... what the hell was that? That mashup kind of worked, kind of failed, and came off like they were trying way too hard. Also, hate to harp, but the way these guys come off sometimes... too abrasive.

Beatrice Miller

Team Britney - "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls (from City of Angels)

I know they played vocal issues leading up to this performance, which is too bad... but it's really not a surprise, as Beatrice didn't really sing this song. Perhaps it's because of the issues, or maybe the cause of it, but way too screamy. A lower key would have been a smart choice. 

Jannel Garcia

Team Demi - "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Joan Jett (I don't know what this is from... but didn't Britney sing it in Crossroads? Hey, that's more feasible than "California Girls"!)

My first thought was "what a song choice!", but the first verse was mostly a sound-alike, disappointment. I was a bit nervous. Then the second verse came around, and Jannel did her thing, and completely rocked it. Fantastic. I do kind of understand what Simon and LA discussed (this was a clear Joan Jett cover), but for my money, Jannel made it work. Next week may be a good time for something totally original and unexpected... but in the meantime, Jannel rocks.

Tate Stevens

Team LA - "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi (from... Rock of Ages?)

I won't lie, I dug that. I love that song, as cheesy as it is, and I do love it with a little country injected into it. I still don't think he belongs on this particular show, but that was good stuff.

Lyric 145

Team Simon - "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (...from Mary Poppins. For reals.)

Well. THAT was something. I'm not sure if it was a trainwreck of a something or something completely and utterly awesome, but I was most certainly entertained.

Diamond White

Team Britney - "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston (from The Bodyguard and every season of every singing show ever)

I'm SO glad Diamond was brought back to sing Whitney in front of a screen full of diamonds! Because none of that was expected at all. Unfortunately though, Diamond was almost painfully flat in all the money parts of the song, and it came across very screechy as a result. A 13 year-old girl should not be singing this song, as it's a song most female singers would never dream of attempting. Ugh.

CeCe Frey

#teamdemi - "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (from Rocky)

After CeCe said in her intro video that she was doing this song, I prepared my thoughts, typing "Apparently Demi didn't learn from last week's drastically different CeCe performances"... but you know what? This was MUCH better than last week's terrible song choice. But it was still pretty bad. The vocals from CeCe were still a bit inconsistent, but were definitely on the mark more often than not, more often than they were last week. So, yay improvement. But where was CeCe standing still, doing Whitney? I love me some Demi, but Simon is right: Demi is pushing her the wrong way.

Carly Rose Sonenclar

#teambritbrit - "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars (from crappy vampire crap)

I hated the arrangement of this song... but THAT was a performance. I liked her last week, but that was a major bounce-back performance. I think some sort of old school movie musical song would have suited Carly Rose better, but I do understand why something much more modern was chosen. Good stuff either way.

Jason Brock

#teamLA - "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly (from Space Jam, which needs a sequel ASAP)

Without Jason's half-shirtless dancers and glitter all over the place, this performance was like watching paint dry. Which, actually, is what I've come to expect from this song on performance shows like this. Nothing special here, but aside from the crack at the end, I enjoyed Jason's vocals here. More dancers and glitter next week, please and thank you. Also, LA, PLEASE heed Britney's suggestion. Jason Brock needs to do "something urban". MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

Fifth Harmony (formerly 1432) (formerly LYLAS)

#teamsimon - "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri (from crappy vampire crap)

To me, the beauty of this song is it's simplicity. So, in a way, adding all the vocal masturbation to this song completely destroys this song... but damn, those harmonies. Fantastic. Also, line of the night from LA Reid: "I really can't say anything about the name, because America picked the name for you, right? Womp womp."

Predictions

Hit or miss show tonight, really. Not really sure how things are going to go, since it's the first night of voting. Also, I don't know how they are doing eliminations. So, I'll give a winner and a bottom 2, if you will...

Winner of the Night

Honestly, I don't think there is one specific winner from tonight. Nobody really gave a performance that was far and away the best... Jannel, Lyric 145 and Carly Rose were probably the best for me, but since I'm making a point to name just one... I'll again go with my girl Jannel Garcia.

Watch Out

Again, I preface this with the fact that this is the first week of voting, so how backstories come into play isn't really known yet. If I had to nominate a bottom two, though, I'd go with Jason Brock and Diamond White. Brock seems more and more like the joke contestant of the show, and Diamond is way out of her league here. But Diamond has the backstory factor. So we shall certainly see.