Final Four, Actresses

Usually this late voting is a lot closer then this, but Hepburn and Streep continue dominating every match.

Meryl Streep vs. Kate Winslet

Kathy Bates vs. Katharine Hepburn


Quarterfinals Results:

Streep over Cotillard (8-1)

Bates over A. Hepburn (5-4)

Winslet over Andrews (5-4) :(

K. Hepburn over Mirren (6-3)

Roger Ebert on Hugo

Well friends, I know some of you, like me, are seriously looking forward to this film, and not only did Peter Travers give it a 3.5/4, Roger Ebert came along and gave it a 4/4. I felt the need to post this for those of you who have yet to read his review. I must say, it was quite a brilliant one, and guess what? He praised the 3-D. Only two more days till I get to view Hugo, my most anticipated film of the year.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111121/REVIEWS/111119982

Final Four, Actors

Wow, we are now down to the last four actors, and I must admit the way the Day-Lewis vs. Nicholson matchup went down was pretty crazy!

Robert De Niro vs. Anthony Hopkins

Daniel Day-Lewis vs. Marlon Brando


Quarterfinals Results:

De Niro over Pacino (9-3)

Hopkins over Eastwood (7-5)

Day-Lewis and Nicholson tie, overall votes in favor of Day-Lewis 21-20

Brando over Stewart (7-5)

Limitless - 2011

★★★

For the final four I am releasing the matchups of actors and actresses on the same day, so while I am waiting for the last few votes to come in I got the chance to see a couple of movies. One of which was Breaking Dawn: Part 1, I won't comment at the moment. The other film was Limitless, and I found it to be a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, Limitless as a film never quite reaches its potential due to a serious lack of ambition on the screenwriter and director's part. I can't help but think Neil Burger had something incredible in his hands if he had only dared to take it further, but instead he takes the simple way out with an attempt to make an extremely entertaining film. Turn off your brain and turn it back on when the movie is over. If you take this outlook going into the movie, Limitless succeeds.

Quarterfinals, Greatest Actresses in History

Only eight left!

(16) Meryl Streep vs. Marion Cotillard (10)

(16) Kathy Bates vs. Audrey Hepburn (14)

(13) Julie Andrews vs. Kate Winslet (14)

(12) Katharine Hepburn vs. Helen Mirren (14)


Second Round Results:

Streep over Dunaway (7-0)

K. Hepburn over Jane Fonda (4-3)

Andrews over Stone (5-2)

A. Hepburn over Spacek (6-1)

Cotillard over Kelly (5-2)

Bates over Adams (7-0)

Winslet over McAdams (6-1)

Mirren over Field (7-0)

Quarterfinals, Greatest Actors in History

Well, now we are down to the top eight actors in history. I must admit last round had quite a shocking result for me. Anthony Hopkins easily won over Tom Hanks. I am familiar with both actors and quite frankly I don't think Hopkins is in the same league. But hey! Votes are votes right? If this were all about my opinion then I would have just made a list! And I know I have already said this, but if there are any ties, the winner is the person with the highest number of votes in previous rounds.

(20) Robert De Niro vs Al Pacino (15)

(15) Clint Eastwood vs. Anthony Hopkins (14)

(14) Jack Nicholson vs. Daniel Day-Lewis (15)

(18) James Stewart vs. Marlon Brando (13)


Second Round Results:

De Niro over Plummer (9-0)

Nicholson over Freeman (5-4)

Brando over Gosling (7-2)

Stewart over Norton (7-2)

Pacino over Bogart (6-3)

Day-Lewis over Hoffman (6-3)

Eastwood over Newman (6-2)

Hopkins over Hanks (7-2)

New Films and Blogging Love!

Oh it has been an interesting week viewing films. I have started several yet struggled to find the time to finish some of them. Fortunately, I did get the chance to see a few movies, two of them I absolutely loved.

Saving Private Ryan - I could not ask for a much better war film. Outstandingly realistic cinematography, terrific acting mostly on the part of Tom Hanks who never misses a beat, and an unusually touching story with a powerful ending. 4/4

The Game - What started as a fine piece of cinema ended in a messy reckless piece of wasted potential. As always, Fincher's directing is perfect, but the film is murdered by its horrifying ending that has no originality at all. It was almost as if the writers were stuck, they could not find an intelligent ending, and they came so far that they could not stop there, s that settled for the dumb way out. 2.5/4

Spartacus - My least favorite Kubrick film to date. Due to the out of date music and fight scenes, I found myself snoozing a bit during the film, so before I give it an official rating I must watch it again. But at the moment it would be about a 3/4, Spartacus just had no Kubrick feel to it what so ever.

The Illusionist (2010) - Masterful work in the animation department, no doubt more deserving of Best Animated Feature then Toy Story 3. It was interesting because for the most part none of the characters understandably speak, but I found myself glued to the screen every minute of this film. 4/4

Now time for some links!

Brent shared his thoughts on Sleepless in Seattle, giving it a solid rating and a great review.

Sati of Cinematic Corner gives a great review of Public Enemies, but unfortunately could not appreciate it as I did.

Groggy Dundee reviewed J. Edgar, and to no surprise did not like it, calling it "an ambitious mess".

Rachel of "The Last Obsessive Movie Fan" started a Tournament on the best animated films. Go check it out!