Final Cut 2014

Here's another mashup of films released in 2014 edited by Nick Bosworth:

2014 Movie Trailer Mashup (The Sleep Skunk)

It's the time of year when we get a million recaps of the year, top 10 lists, and mashups. Our favorite movie trailer mashups always seem to come The Sleepy Skunk, and they're out now with their mashup of 2014 movie trailers.

Check it out:


Credits are below the break....

Trailer: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

After numerous fake trailers were "leaked," Disney has finally released an official trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, their first Star Wars film since buying the franchise from George Lucas. You can tell it's a real trailer because it has obviously new shots, unlike the fake trailers that were all clearly comprised solely of clips from the previous movies.

The film will be directed by J. J. Abrams, with apparently little to no involvement by Lucas himself. It is scheduled for release in December of 2015.

In Memoriam: Mike Nichols (1931-2014)

Mike Nichols
November 6, 1931 - November 19, 2014

Legendary director Mike Nichols died yesterday of cardiac arrest, according to USA Today. He was 83.

The director was a rare EGOT winner, winning an Oscar, a Grammy, four Emmys, and nine Tonys, as well as a Golden Globe.

His Oscar and Golden Globe were for The Graduate (1964), but he also received nominations for both for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1967), Silkwood (1984), and Working Girl (1989), plus another Oscar nomination for The Remains of the Day (1993) and another Golden Globe nomination for Closer (2004).

He received his sole Cosmique Movie Awards nomination for Closer in 2004, losing to Martin Scorsese for The Aviator. Closer won one of its eight nominations. Silkwood also received a Cosmo nod for Cher, and Virginia Woolf received three, but none were for Nichols.

He won both Director and Producer Emmy Awards for Wit (2001) and Angels in America (2004). His Tony awards were for Barefoot in the Park (1964), The Odd Couple (1965), Plaza Suite (1968), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1972), Annie (1977), The Real Thing (1984, for which he won two), Spamalot (2005), and Death of a Salesman (2012).

He was born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin, Germany in 1931 to parents of Russian Jewish descent. He and his brother were sent to the United States in 1938 to join their father, who had fled the Nazis a few months earlier. Their mother was able to join them in 1940.

At the time of his death, he was married to television anchor Diane Sawyer, his fourth wife, whom he married in 1988.

Prioritizing your Oscar queue

When the Oscar nominations are announced, many people rush out and try to see as many of the Oscar-nominated films that they can before the awards ceremony. (The next Academy Awards will be on February 22, 2015.)

To help you get a head start, we've looked at Gold Derby's Oscar predictions and created a weighted list based on their predictions for the top six categories: Best Picture, Best Director, and the four lead and supporting acting awards. (We figure those are the awards that casual viewers are most interested in.)

Their lists rank their predictions in each category, extending far beyond the number of available nominees for each award. This chart I've made shows:

• Predicted Noms in Top 6 Categories: For each film, the number of times in the top six categories their odds have placed them high enough to be nominated in that category.
• Total Weight: My own mathematical weight for each film that appears on any of Gold Derby's lists, even if they're farther down. The higher they appear on a list, the greater the weight. Some films may have a high weight but still not be predicted for an award if they were on many prediction lists but just below the cutoff for each category.

Rank	Film	Predicted Noms in Top 6 Cats	Total Weight
1	Birdman	5	568
2	Foxcatcher	4	628
3	Boyhood	4	483
4	The Imitation Game	3	385
5	The Theory of Everything	3	374
6	Interstellar	2	846
7	Gone Girl	2	557
8	Unbroken	2	460
9	Wild	2	427
10	Selma	1	705
11	Into the Woods	1	676
12	Mr. Turner	1	400
13	The Judge	1	372
14	American Sniper	1	355
15	Whiplash	1	353
16	Big Eyes	1	335
17	Still Alice	1	256
18	Inherent Vice		732
19	The Grand Budapest Hotel		514
20	Kill the Messenger		512
21	St. Vincent		474
22	A Most Violent Year		419
23	Fury		418
24	The Homesman		380
25	Get On Up		375
26	The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby		370
27	Men Women and Children		361
28	Dear White People		358
29	Exodus: Gods and Kings		353
30	Love Is Strange		333
31	The Gambler		327
32	The Fault in Our Stars		316
33	Begin Again		295
34	Rosewater		294
35	Miss Julie		283
36	The Good Lie		280
37	Nightcrawler		271
38	Pride		244
39	Calvary		225
40	Annie		198
41	Chef		187
42	Maps to the Stars		174
43	Top Five		172
44	The Hobbit: The Battle of the 5 Armies		160
45	Two Days One Night		90
46	Tracks		89
47	Maleficent		85
48	Locke		84
49	A Most Wanted Man		82
50	The Hundred-Foot Journey		81
51	Trash		76
52	The Lego Movie		74
53	The Giver		69
54	Noah		63
55	This Is Where I Leave You		59

Neil Patrick Harris to host the Oscars

Variety is reporting that Neil Patrick Harris has been selected to host the 87th annual Oscars, which will be televised on February 22, 2015.

All he has to do now is host the Grammys to have the EGOT of awards hosting.

There's no EGOT for hosts, just winners, but it's fun to imagine. An EGOT is someone who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. If Harris is nominated for and wins a Grammy for the cast recording of Hedwig, he'll just need to win an Oscar to have an actual EGOT.

He won't be the first openly-LGBT person to host the Oscars; Cosmo-winner Ellen Degeneres hosted in 2007 and again last year. Like Harris, she has also hosted the Emmys, but has not hosted the Tonys.

The Pixar Theory

This is actually super cool.

What if I told you that all Pixar movies are connected? That all the characters in those movies actually live in the same universe, only in different times? How is that possible, watch this video and you'll find out.

Totally worth checking out.

Trailer: Big Eyes (2014)

Tim Burton has released the trailer for Big Eyes, a biopic starring Amy Adams about Margaret Keane (Adams), who painted wildly popular kitsch paintings in the 1950s and 60s of children with enormous eyes, and her husband Walter (Christoph Waltz), who took credit for her work.

The film is slated to be released on December 25, 2014.

New Line producing film about Oz writer

L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, will be the subject of a feature film optioned by New Line Cinema, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The book, which had 13 sequels written by Baum and many others by other writers, inspired numerous stage productions and early films before the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, which was the first film inducted into the Cosmique Movie Awards' Best Films of All Time Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame.

Baum's Oz tales have stood the test of time, with the 1939 film now a classic, perennially playing on screens and remaining a solid merchandising performer. Wicked, based on the story, is one of the Broadway's biggest hits. And Disney proved that the Oz world still works on the big screen with the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful. Starring James Franco and Mila Kunis, the prequel was a box office smash, earning $493.3 million worldwide and having the 10th highest domestic box office gross of the year.

Movies about authors and the stories behind their most famous works tend to attract high-class talent. Finding Neverland saw Johnny Depp as J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, and scored six Oscar nominations. Last year's Saving Mr. Banks was also awards bait with a cast that included Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell and Paul Giamatti.

 - The Hollywood Reporter

Oz the Great and Powerful received six nominations at the 2013 Cosmo Awards.

The biopic is based on the script Road to Oz by Josh Golden. New Line is still choosing a director to attach to the project.

Meryl Streep song cut from "Into the Woods"

An original song written for Meryl Streep's character has been cut from the Hollywood adaption of Into the Woods, according to an interview with director Rob Marshall (Broadway World).

Marshall was quick to caution that the cut had nothing to do with Streep's performance. "I don't think people will be remotely ready to hear her sing this material," he told Entertainment Weekly. "The power from her is off the charts."

Into the Woods is a cinematic adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical that originally starred Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, and Chip Zien. The play mashes up a number of classic fairy tales, including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstock, and more. The film stars Meryl Streep (the Witch), James Corden (the Baker), Emily Blunt (the Baker's Wife) Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy), and Johnny Depp (the Wolf).

There's no word whether Streep's cut song may still make it's way into the film's closing credits, which would still make it eligible for a Best Original Song Oscar nomination. Many film adaptations of musicals add a new song, since Academy rules preclude songs previously released from being eligible for Best Original Song. Chicago skirted this by including a song that had been written for but ultimately cut from the Broadway productions. Other movie musicals that have scored Oscar nominations for new songs include "You Must Love Me" in the 1996 film Evita, and "Listen," "Love You I Do," and "Patience" in the 2006 film Dreamgirls and "Suddenly" in the 2012 film Les Miserables.

Trailer: The Maze Runner (2014)

From 20th Century Fox comes The Maze Runner, based on the dystopian young adult novel by James Dashner. Yeah, I know, yet another dystopian movie adapted from a young adult novel. But this one stars Dylan O'Brien (MTV's Teen Wolf) along with Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game of Thrones, Love Actually), and Will Poulter (We're the Millers).

From the official release notes:

When Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D. Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape. Based on the best-selling novel by James Dashner.

The film hit theaters September 19th.

Trailer: Into the Woods (2014)

Disney has released a teaser trailer for Into the Woods, a movie based on Stephen Sondheim's musical starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, and more. From the official release notes:

“Into the Woods” is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy)—all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife (James Corden & Emily Blunt), their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch (Meryl Streep) who has put a curse on them.

It's just a teaser trailer with no actual singing, but it provides a sense of the film's flavor.

Trailer: Horns (2014)

Daniel Radcliffe, who received a Cosmo Best Actor nomination last year for Kill Your Darlings, stars in the upcoming thriller Horns, to be released in November. From the studio's description:

In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.

Check out the trailer released at ComicCon.

Trailer: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014)

Earlier we posted the teaser trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1. Now at least we have a full trailer:

Trailers: The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

It's here at last, the teaser trailer for the final Hobbit film: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Last year's film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, was the top-nominated film at the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards, and together with The Lord of the Rings films, the franchise has earned more nominations and awards than any other film franchise in Cosmo history.

Trailer: Nightcrawler (2014)

Nightcrawler, Jake Gyllenhaal's crime drama that some critics are calling his creepiest movie since Donnie Darko, now has a trailer.

Trailers: 50 Shades of Grey (2015)

The film adaptation of E. L. James' 50 Shades of Grey is scheduled for release, appropriately enough, on Valentine's Day. Still hoping for a redband trailer.

Movie Trailers: The Imitation Game (2014)

Coming in November, The Imitation Game is the Weinstein Company's biopic of Alan Turing. From the official synopsis:

In The Imitation Game, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.

Last year, Cumberbatch was one of the most-nominated individuals at the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards, winning Best Male Villain and sharing the Sexiest Cast ensemble award for Star Trek Into Darkness, as well as being nominated individually for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and sharing the ensemble nomination for August: Osage County.

Industry Tidbits - July 17, 2014

Teen Wolf actor Ryan Kelley shows some skin. [The Backlot]

Elaine Stritch, best known for her work on Broadway as well as for playing Alec Baldwin’s cantankerous mother on 30 Rock, has passed away at the age of 89. [The New York Times]

Bryan Cranston will reprise his Tony-winning Broadway performance as President Lyndon Johnson in HBO’s adaptation of All the Way. [Variety]

Bengal Mangle Productions has filed a lawsuit against Seth MacFarlane, claiming that he stole the idea for Ted. [Entertainment Weekly]

Dustin Lance Black, who wrote the screenplays for Milk and J. Edgar, has signed on to adapt A. Scott Berg’s biography Lindbergh for Paramount Television. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Who's Jon Snow's mother? Even Kit Harrington, the actor who plays him on HBO's Game of Thrones, doesn't know. But here's a well-researched very spoilerific theory. [Vulture]

Eleanor Roosevelt's lesbian love letters exposed in Hick: A Love Story at the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco. [The Bay Area Reporter]

Elaine Stritch (1925 - 2014)

Elaine Stritch

1925 - 2014

Trailers: Big Hero 6 (2014)

Disney has just released the trailer for Big Hero 6, their first collab with Marvel Comics, which Disney acquired in 2009. The animated sci-fi film is set in the futuristic city of "San Fransokyo," which should look fairly familiar for most Cosmo voters.

Industry Tidbits - July 16, 2014

Universal Television has optioned the rights to openly gay soccer player Robbie Rogers’ life, and plans to develop a fictionalized version of the story as a TV sit-com. [Deadline]

Brooks Wheelan fired from Saturday Night Live, joining Robert Downey, Jr., Billy Crystal, and Jenny Slate as one-season alums. [Queerty] 

Canadian-born actress Ellen Page, recently of X-Men: Days of Future Past who came out as a lesbian earlier this year, has sold her Studio City home to purchase a new place in very-gay West Hollywood that was formerly owned by Venus Williams. [Just Jared]

Lionsgate is developing a feature film about Jeff Bauman, a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombings who lost both of his legs and helped identify the attackers.  [The Hollywood Reporter; Variety]

Actors Kyle Mac and Craig Henderson experience some naked bondage in Netflix’s Hemlock Grove. [OMG Blog - NSFW!]

Ron Howard to direct a documentary about The Beatles – and has the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon, and Olivia Harrison. [Billboard]

Ansel Elgort, nominated for a Cosmo last year for Carrie, says he’s not a model and please take that shit off of Wikipedia. [Socialite Life]

Sandra Bullock came face-to-face with a stalker who broke into her own home. [E! Online]

Movie Trailers: Credence

#Credence is an indie gay science fiction film that's seeking IndieGoGo crowd-source funding to cover post-production costs. From their website:

#Credence tells the story of a family torn apart during the last evacuation on earth after violent storms have made survival impossible. Hope has been found in the form of new worlds that support human life, however due to limited rocket capacity and life expectancy only children are permitted to evacuate, and even then – only the rich have ended up getting tickets. Our short film follows 2 fathers’ decision to make the ultimate sacrifice to give up all their possessions to ensure the survival of their daughter, and the entire human race.

The trailer looks good. Check it out!

Movie Reviews: Pompeii (2014)

No warning. No escape.

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Writers: Janet Scott Batchler, Lee Batchler (screenplay), Michael Robert Johnson

Stars: Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland, Carrie-Ann Moss, Jessica Lucas, Jared Harris, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Synopsis: The story has some redeeming qualities, but overall what it gets right, historically, is outweighed by a weak story that’s mostly not enough.

You know nothing, Jon Snow Kit Harrington.

Nothing about picking good films, at least.

In fairness, on paper Pompeii probably looked like a good bet: an action/adventure star-crossed lovers’ romance with the backdrop of a painstakingly recreated historical event, albeit with a few Hollywood flourishes.

Harrington plays a Celtic slave forced to fight as a Roman gladiator who catches the interest of Cassia (Emily Browning), the daughter of the city’s ruler. Cassia is pursued by Corvus, a Roman Senator who just so happens to be the same person who slaughtered Harrington’s parents and entire Celtic tribe, and now wants Harrington dead, too ... all as the volcano looming above the city belches ominous smoke. As with Titanic, audiences might know the fate of the doomed city but will nevertheless root for the unknown fate of the fictional characters set inside it.

And as with Titanic, director Paul W. S. Anderson takes great pains to recreate ancient Pompeii with great historical accuracy – in some regards, at least. Special effects artists relied on photographs and recent video footage of other volcanoes, and while the lightning strikes might seem like a Hollywood embellishment, but vulcanologists have praised the lightning’s accuracy and other details. And historians have praised the meticulous recreation of the city of Pompeii which accurately contours to the excavated ruins.

Anderson admits to taking certain other liberties for the sake of the story, including condensing the timeline of the eruption and allowing women more freedom than the ancient Roman Empire would have allowed. Audiences will forgive such alterations if they make the story better. Unfortunately for Pompeii, they don’t.

Visually, Pompeii is sumptuous, especially Harrington’s sculpted body which audiences will be forgiven for assuming (incorrectly) is another CGI effect. But the story is weak and predictable. Harrington and Browning have virtually no chemistry and their romance, based on a few seconds of screen time, isn’t believable. (Titanic may have taken three hours, but that’s at least in part because James Cameron needed to properly develop his characters.) Kiefer Sutherland’s villain is one-dimensional, cartoonishly cropping up whenever more tension is needed, somehow magically always knowing where our protagonists will be.

The story has some redeeming qualities, but overall what it gets right, historically, is outweighed by a weak story that’s mostly not enough.

Rating: 2 ½ stars

Trailer: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

The Hunger Games franchise has been popular with Cosmo voters, with both The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire each earning seven Cosmique Movie Award nominations.

So some voters will be excited about this teaser trailer for the upcoming sequel: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1).

Movie Reviews: Jezebel (1938)

The South's Greatest Romance!

Director: William Wyler

Writers: Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston (screen play); Owen Davis, Sr. (play); Robert Buckner, Louis F. Edelman (uncredited contributors to treatment)

Stars: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Donald Crisp, Margaret Lindsay, Fay Bainter

Synopsis: Although Gone With the Wind, the other Southern belle drama of the 1930s, is overall a superior film, Bette Davis’ performance in Jezebel is not to be missed.

Jezebel helped make Bette Davis a box office superstar, for which she won her second Best Actress Oscar, and costars Henry Fonda in the prime of his dashing youth.

Davis plays Julie Marsden, a Southern belle in New Orleans who loses her fiancé because of her rebellious petulance, then seeks to win back his favor. She is labeled a “Jezebel” by her aunt (in an Oscar-winning performance by Fay Bainter) for her attempts to meddle and manipulate others, and like the Jezebel of The Bible, an undue amount of her scandal comes from her brazen attire.

Modern audiences may be a bit startled by the moralizing, the degree to which Bette Davis’ Julie is punished for her willfulness and for wearing the wrong clothing – though in fairness, her harshest criticisms come from manipulating others with tragic consequences. And like Gone With the Wind, the film is a casual apologist for racism, whitewashing the atrocities of slavery by having Davis sing with the well-kept, happy plantation slaves.

Jezebel is the first Bette Davis film I’ve seen of her in her youth, being far more familiar with her raspy, throaty performances in All About Eve, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Death on the Nile, and – my first Bette Davis film – Return From Witch Mountain. I knew her as a talented actress, but I was unprepared for her beauty and her melodic voice. It no longer seems surprising to see her cast as an ingénue. But even then, the power of her acting is apparent. Witness, for example, the range of emotions her expressive face conveys during her first meeting with Amy.

Though it is widely reported that Jezebel was offered to Bette Davis after she failed to win the role of Scarlett O’Hara for Gone With the Wind, it was filmed long before Gone With the Wind finished casting, and David O. Selznick apparently never seriously considered her for Scarlett despite her being the audience’s favorite in a radio poll. But the two films have striking similarities, albeit important differences. Both show the ravages of the American South, one through the Civil War, the other through an epidemic outbreak of yellow fever nearly a decade before the war. Both feature willful Southern belles who need to be “put in their place” and taught a lesson. Both heroines seek to redeem themselves of their childish selfishness, one through achieving personal independence, the other through self-sacrifice. And both went on to win the Best Actress Oscar.

In the end, Gone With the Wind is overall a superior film, but Bette Davis’ performance in Jezebel is not to be missed.

Rating: 3 ½ stars

Aquaman has always been one of my favorites

Okay, random post apropos of nothing (except I hear Aquaman has a cameo in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," and there are rumors of a spin-off movie), but Aquaman has long been one of my favorite DC superheroes. I always loved him in the 1970s "Super Friends" television series, and I never understood why other people always gave him such a hard time.

This handy infographic helps explain why:

His powers are pretty bad-ass in the right environment. A summary from the infographic:

• He can breath underwater
• He can survive at the bottom of the ocean
• He has enhanced super senses
• He's as strong as Superman
• He has powerful telepathic abilities
• He can command all aquatic life -- whales, sharks, dolphins, and more.

Oh, sure, he needs to be in the ocean or a great sea for his powers to be particularly useful. But since water covers over 70% of the earth's surface, most of that in oceans, I think that gives him a pretty damn big territory to work with.

I'm not entirely thrilled with the casting of Khal Drogo as Aquaman. Too big and barbarian-like, in my opinion. If I were doing the casting, I'd make him more like a Santa Cruz surfer dude. And I'd tweak the costume: yes to speedos, no to tights. The makers of "Smallville" made a pilot for a potential "Aquaman" series that I was fortunate enough to see, and it did an excellent job capturing my own vision. I think it would have been awesome if it had become a full-fledged series. Sadly, it wasn't picked up.

But regardless, it's plain to me that Aquaman gets a bad rap. His powers are pretty bad-ass.

Movie Reviews: Neighbors (2014)

Family vs. Frat

Director: Nicholas Stoller

Writers: Andrew J. Cohen, Brendan O'Brien

Stars: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Brian Huskey, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Synopsis: Though a bit mean at times, and Efron’s character is fairly unlikable for parts of the movie, the humor in Neighbors works, albeit at a juvenile level. Rogan and Efron play off each other with a lot of chemistry.

Zac Efron has two bromantic comedies out this year, Neighbors and That Awkward Moment. Of the two, Neighbors is more low-brow but perhaps has broader appeal.

Efron plays the President of a college fraternity that moves next to new parents (Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne) and then wages war on the couple after they call the police to quiet one of the fraternity’s rowdy parties.

Dave Franco (along with Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who costarred with Franco in several “Funny or Die” skits) plays another fraternity brother and gets his career’s breakout nude scene. Efron won the Cosmo two years ago for Actor’s Character You Would Most Like to be Intimate With for The Paperboy, which Franco won the year after for Now You See Me. Will they face off against each other for the award this year?

Though a bit mean at times, and Efron’s character is fairly unlikable for parts of the movie, the humor in Neighbors works, albeit at a juvenile level. Rogan and Efron play off each other with a lot of chemistry in ways that I suspect are largely improvised.

Rating: 3 stars

Movie Reviews: That Awkward Moment (2014)

So ... where is this going?

Director: Tom Gormican

Writer: Tom Gormican

Stars: Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, Jessica Lucas

Synopsis: That Awkward Moment won’t be for everyone. Like a chick flick, it can be satisfying in the moment but rarely memorable. But it will probably make my list for Best Use of (Gratuitous?) Nudity, and for that reason alone it was worth it.

That Awkward Moment, a film about three guys committed to being single, appears to be targeting guys for their audience. But unlike other buddy films that tend to be hybridized with other genres – like road movies, westerns, and especially action cop films – That Awkward Moment seems to be more of a romantic comedy for guys. A chick flick for dudes. A bromantic comedy.

But surprisingly, it works. Well, it worked for me. It may work for a lot of gay guys happy to finally see Zac Efron’s naked ass – and once again see Miles Teller’s, too. Does it work for straight guys? I honestly have no idea. But if straight girls go to see it to see Zac Efron naked and end up dragging their boyfriends along, I suppose in many ways it’s exactly like a chick flick.

Zac Efron has actually attempted a surprising amount of variety in his young career, from musicals (High School Musical, Hairspray, The Lorax), coming of age films (17 Again, Charlie St. Cloud), period pieces (Me and Orson Welles, Parkland), and romantic dramas (The Lucky One, The Paperboy). This year, this film along with Neighbors appears to be his stab at dude comedies. He received a Cosmo nomination for Actor’s Character You Would Most Like to be Intimate With at the 2012 awards for Charlie St. Cloud, and won the award the following year for The Paperboy (dancing with Nicole Kidman in the rain in his tighty whiteys).

The film also costars Miles Teller (Rabbit Hole, 21 & Over) and Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle, Fruitvale Station), both of whom will be in the upcoming reboot of The Fantastic Four. The three guys have good chemistry and are believable as friends – more natural, in fact, than the romance between Efron and  Imogen Poots.

That Awkward Moment won’t be for everyone. Like a chick flick, it’s satisfying in the moment but rarely memorable. But it will probably make my list for Best Use of (Gratuitous?) Nudity, and for that reason alone it was worth it.

Rating: 2 ½ stars

Movie Reviews: Maleficent (2014)

Evil has a beginning.

Director: Robert Stromberg

Writers: Linda Woolverton; Charles Perrault; Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm; Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, Milt Banta (based from the motion picture "Sleeping Beauty")

Starring: Angelina Jolie; Elle Fanning; Sharlto Copley; Sam Riley; Brenton Thwaites; Imelda Staunton; Junto Temple; Lesley Manville

Synopsis: All the right elements are in place, particular Angelina Jolie. But something is missing. The cinematography is spectacular. The effects are impressive. The battle scenes are dramatic. But the script somehow fails to make all of this coalesce.

In this “untold story from the villain’s perspective” of Sleeping Beauty, Angelina Jolie is superb as the titular Maleficent, the fairy guardian made bitter by the human king when her wings are stolen.

And yet…

It’s challenging to try to articulate just went wrong. All the right elements are in place, particular Jolie who makes the titular character such a fascinating character study. But something is missing. The cinematography is spectacular. The effects are impressive. The battle scenes are dramatic. But the script somehow fails to make all of this coalesce.

The other cast members seem perfect for their roles – save for Sharlto Copley, who works as the villainous king by the film's end but simply cannot pull off looking like a dashing young knight earlier in the movie. Elle Fanning has a dewy innocence for the Princess Aurora. Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Leslie Manville are perfect as the hapless fairy godmothers. Brenton Thwaites as Prince Phillip is, well, charming. As Maleficent’s sidekick Diaval, Sam Riley is expressive and nuanced.

But all are overshadowed by Angelina Jolie, who is truly magnificent. And the writing, which succeeds in giving Maleficent’s character purpose and depth, fails to do the same for the other characters.

At the 2005 awards, Angelina Jolie made Cosmo history by being the first person to be nominated simultaneously for both heroic and villainous categories for the same film (Mr. & Mrs. Smith). I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing happens with Maleficent.

Rating: 3 stars

Announcing the Winners of the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards

At long last, it's time to announce the winners of the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards.

There are two ways you can see who's won. We've created video presentations announcing the winners (just like watching the Oscars! Only ... not.) Or you can skip to the printed lists that announce the winners.

Here are the video presentations:

• Best Film of All Time Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame
• Best Acting Lifetime Achievement Halls of Fame
• Best Overall of 2013
• Best Performances of 2013
• Best by Genre of 2013, Part 1
• Best by Genre of 2013, Part 2
• Best Action Categories of 2013
• Sexiest Categories of 2013
• Worst of 2013

Here are lists of the winners and nominees:

• Lifetime Achievement Halls of Fame
• Best Overall of 2013
• Best Performances of 2013
• Best by Genre of 2013
• Worst of 2013

"Winners" of the Worst of 2013

The "winners" in the Worst of 2013 categories for the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards.

Most Overrated Film of 2013

Nominees: Ender's Game; A Good Day to Die Hard; The Great Gatsby; The Hangover Part III; The Wolverine; and World War Z

Worst Performance in a 2013 Film

Nominees: Chris Brown - Battle of the Year; Johnny Depp - The Lone Ranger; Linday Lohan - Scary Movie V; Tyler Perry - A Madea Christmas; Adam Sandler - Grown Ups 2; and Will Smith - After Earth

Worst Film of 2013

Nominees: After Earth; The Frankenstein Theory; Grown Ups 2; The Lone Ranger; A Madea Christmas; and Movie 43

Presentation of the "Winners"

And the Cosmo goes to...

Cinematic Worsts of 2013 from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Winners of the Sexiest Films of 2013

Winners for the sexiest (and funnest) categories for the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards.

Favorite Cinematic Guilty Pleasure of 2013

Nominees: Ender's Game; The Heat; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Jack the Giant Slayer; Rapture-Palooza; and Warm Bodies

Actress' Character from a 2013 Film You Would Most Like to be Intimate With

Nominees: Amy Acker - Much Ado About Nothing; Anna Kendrick - Drinking Buddies; Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle; Carey Mulligan - The Great Gatsby; Teresa Palmer - Warm Bodies; and Emma Watson - This Is the End

Actor's Character from a 2013 Film You Would Most Like to be Intimate With

Nominees: Douglas Booth - Romeo and Juliet; Henry Cavill - Man of Steel; Sam Claflin - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Ansel Elgort - Carrie; Dave Franco - Now You See Me; and Chris Pine - Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Use of (Gratuitous?) Nudity in a 2013 Film

Nominees: The Canyons; The Hangover Part III; Triple Crossed; 21 & Over; We're the Millers; and The Wolf of Wall Street

Sexiest Ensemble Cast of a 2013 Film

Nominees: Adore; The Canyons; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Much Ado About Nothing; Star Trek Into Darkness; and The Wolf of Wall Street

Presentation of the Winners

And the Cosmo goes to...

Sexiest Cinematic Awards of 2013 from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Best Action Films of 2013

Winners of the Cosmique Movie Awars' action-oriented categories for 2013.

Best Mystery, Suspense, Horror, or Thriller Film of 2013

Nominees: Carrie; Evil Dead; Gravity; The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones; Now You See Me; and World War Z

Best Female Villain of a 2013 Film

Nominees: Jodie Foster - Elysium; Famke Janssen - Hansel & Gretal: Witch Hunters; Mila Kunis - Oz the Great and Powerful; Julianne Moore - Carrie; Chloë Grace Moretz - Carrie; and Rachel Weisz - Oz the Great and Powerful

Best Male Villain of a 2013 Film

Nominees: Benedict Cumberbatch - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Benedict Cumberbatch - Star Trek Into Darkness; Sean Maher - Much Ado About Nothing; Michael Shannon - Man of Steel; Donald Sutherland - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; and Stanley Tucci - Jack the Giant Slayer

Favorite Female Heroic Character of a 2013 Film

Nominees: Sandra Bullock - Gravity; Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Evangeline Lilly - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Chloë Grace Moretz - Kick-Ass 2; Sophie Nelisse - The Book Thief; and Zoe Saldana - Star Trek Into Darkness

Favorite Male Heroic Character of a 2013 Film

Nominees: Orlando Bloom - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Henry Cavill - Man of Steel; James Franco - Oz the Great and Powerful; Ian McKellen - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Chris Pine - Star Trek Into Darkness; and Paul Walker - Hours

Best Action/Adventure Film of 2013

Nominees: Captain Phillips; Elysium; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Iron Man 3; Man of Steel; and Star Trek Into Darkness

Presentation of the Winners

And the Cosmo goes to...



Cinematic Action Awards for 2013 from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Winners of the Best Performances of 2013

Here are the nominees and winners for the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards' top acting categories.

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a 2013 Film

Nominees: Asa Butterfield - Ender's Game; Liam James - The Way, Way Back; Jacob Lofland - Mud; Nick Robinson - The Kings of Summer; Tye Sheridan - Mud; and Cooper Timberline - Man of Steel

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a 2013 Film

Nominees: Onata Aprile - What Maisie Knew; Annie Rose Buckley - Saving Mr. Banks; Chloë Grace Moretz - Carrie; Chloë Grace Moretz - Kick-Ass 2; Sophie Nélisse - The Book Thief; and Sofia Oria - Blancanieves.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a 2013 Film

Nominees: Bradley Cooper - American Hustle; Dane DeHaan - Kill Your Darlings; Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave; Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club; Matthew McConaughey - Mud; and Ian McKellen - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a 2013 Film

Nominees: Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle; Adepero Oduye - 12 Years a Slave; Lupita Oyong'o - 12 Years a Slave; Sarah Paulson - 12 Years a Slave; Julia Roberts - August: Osage County; and Oprah Winfrey - Lee Daniels' The Butler

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a 2013 Film

Nominees: Christian Bale - American Hustle; Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street; Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave; Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips; Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club; and Daniel Radcliffe - Kill Your Darlings

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a 2013 Film

Nominees: Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine; Sandra Bullock - Gravity; Judi Dench - Philomena; Brie Larson - Short Term 12; Meryl Streep - August: Osage County; and Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks

Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast of a 2013 Film

Nominees: American Hustle; August: Osage County; Kill Your Darlings; Lee Daniels' The Butler; Much Ado About Nothing; and 12 Years a Slave

Video Presentation of the Winners

And the Cosmo goes to...

Best Cinematic Performances of 2013 from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Best Films of 2013 by Genre, Part 2

Part two of the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards' Best Films by Genre categories.

Best Animated Film of 2013

Nominees: The Croods; Despicable Me 2; Ernest & Celestine; Frozen; Monsters University; and The Wind Rises

Best Queer Film of 2013

Nominees: Bridegroom; Dallas Buyers Club; I Am Divine; Kill Your Darlings; Stranger at the Lake; and Triple Crossed

Best Musical Film of 2013

Nominees: Frozen; Inside Llewyn Davis; Justin Bieber's Believe; One Direction: This Is Us; Saving Mr. Banks; and Sound City

Best Fantasy Film of 2013

Nominees: Carrie; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Man of Steel; Oz the Great and Powerful; The Secret Life of Walter Mitty; and Warm Bodies

Best Science Fiction Film of 2013

Nominees: Europa Report; Gravity; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Iron Man 3; Man of Steel; and Star Trek Into Darkness

Presentation of the Winners

And the Cosmo goes to...

Best Films by Genre of 2013, Part 2 from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Best Films of 2013 by Genre, Part 1

Winners of the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards' top genre categories include:

Best Documentary Film of 2013

Nominees: Blackfish; Bridegroom; Cutie and the Boxer; I Am Divine; Stories We Tell; and 20 Feet From Stardom

Best Historical Film of 2013

Nominees: Captain Phillips; Fruitvale Station; The Great Gatsby; Lee Daniels' The Butler; Saving Mr. Banks; and 12 Years a Slave

Best Comedic Film of 2013

Nominees: American Hustle; Enough Said; The Heat; Much Ado About Nothing; Nebraska; and The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Dramatic Film of 2013

Nominees: August: Osage County; Blue Jasmine; Dallas Buyers Club; Gravity; Mud; and 12 Years a Slave

Presentation of the Winners

And the Cosmo goes to...

Best Films of 2013 by Genre, Part 1 from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Winners of the Best Films Overall for 2013

Here are the winners for the top overall categories for the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards.

Best Cinematography, Art Direction or Set Design for a 2013 Film

Nominees: American Hustle; Gravity; The Great Gatsby; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Oz the Great and Powerful; and Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Costume Design Or Make-Up For A 2013 Film

Nominees: American Hustle; Dallas Buyers Club; The Great Gatsby; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; and Oz the Great and Powerful

Best Visual Effects for a 2013 Film

Nominees: Gravity; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Iron Man 3; Man of Steel; Star Trek Into Darkness; and World War Z

Best Script of a 2013 Film

Nominees: American Hustle; August: Osage County; Much Ado About Nothing; Nebraska; Philomena; and The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director of a 2013 Film

Nominees: Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity; Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips; Peter Jackson - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave; David O. Russell - American Hustle; and Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Film of 2013

Nominees: American Hustle; Dallas Buyers Club; Gravity; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Kill Your Darlings; and 12 Years a Slave

Video Presentation of the Winners

And the Cosmo goes to...


Best Films Overall of 2013 from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Winners of the Acting Halls of Fame

At the 2013 Cosmique Movie Awards, four people were inducted into the various Acting Lifetime Achievement Halls of Fame categories.

Best Comedic Actor Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame

Current inductees: Peter Sellers; Charlie Chaplin; Gene Wilder; Steve Martin; Danny Kaye; Robin Williams; and Mel Brooks

2013 Nominees: Jim Carrey; W. C. Fields; Danny Kaye; Jack Lemmon; Jerry Lewis; and Bill Murray

Note: On the nomination ballots, we inadvertently omitted Danny Kaye as a previous winner and didn't catch the mistake until he was nominated again. Our apologies to the voters who cast their votes for him. 

Best Comedic Actress Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame

Current inductees: Madeline Kahn; Lucille Ball; Lily Tomlin; Gilda Radner; Rosalind Russell; Cloris Leachman; Whoopi Goldberg; and Goldie Hawn

2013 Nominees: Carol Burnett; Doris Day; Lisa Kudrow; Bette Midler; Mae West; and Betty White

Best Actor Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame

Current inductees: Dustin Hoffman; Cary Grant; James Stewart; Robert De Niro; Jack Lemmon; Marlon Brando; Jack Nicholson; Al Pacino; and Peter O'Toole

2013 Nominees: Morgan Freeman; John Gielgud; Philip Seymour Hoffman; Anthony Hopkins; Paul Newman; and Spencer Tracy

Best Actress Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame

Current inductees: Dustin Hoffman; Cary Grant; James Stewart; Robert De Niro; Jack Lemmon; Marlon Brando; Jack Nicholson; Al Pacino; and Peter O'Toole

2013 Nominees: Katharine Hepburn; Maggie Smith; Bette Davis; Meryl Streep; Audrey Hepburn; Ingrid Bergman; Judi Dench; Glenn Close; and Elizabeth Taylor

Video Presentation for the 2013 Winners

And the Cosmo goes to...

2013 Cosmique Movie Awards Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.

Winner of the Best Film of All Time Lifetime Achievement

Video presentation for the winner of the Best Films of All Time Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame.

Joining the previous winners already inducted into the Hall of Fame: The Wizard of Oz; All About Eve; Gone With the Wind; Citizen Kane; Casablanca; Harold and Maude; The Women; To Kill a Mockingbird; Auntie Mame; Apocalypse Now; The Godfather; and Dangerous Liaisons.

The nominees for induction at the 2013 Awards are: The Big Chill; Chinatown; The Godfather: Part II; A Letter to Three Wives; The Lion in Winter; and Titanic.

And the winner is...



2013 Cosmique Movie Awards' Best Films of All Time Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame from Kevin Goebel on Vimeo.