The 2015 Healthy Orange Award Nominations

IN ONE CRITIC’S OPINION…. by Bennett Campbell Ferguson

BEST PICTURE

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

“The Double”

“Interstellar”

“Locke”

“Maidentrip”

“Obvious Child”

“Selma”

“The Skeleton Twins”

“Transcendence”

“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

DIRECTOR

Richard Ayoade, “The Double”

Ava DuVernay, “Selma”

Craig Johnson, “The Skeleton Twins”

Christopher Nolan, “Interstellar”

Bryan Singer, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

ACTRESS

Rebecca Hall, “Transcendence”

Anne Hathaway, “Interstellar”

Emma Roberts, “Palo Alto”

Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”

Kristen Wiig, “The Skeleton Twins”

BEST ACTOR

Jesse Eisenberg, “The Double”

Bill Hader, “The Skeleton Twins”

Tom Hardy, “Locke”

Matthew McConaughey, “Interstellar”

David Oyelowo, “Selma”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Ellen Burstyn/Jessica Chastain/MacKenzie Foy, “Interstellar”

Carrie Coon, “Gone Girl”

Polly Draper, “Obvious Child”

Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Frank”

Emma Watson, “Noah”

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Matt Damon, “Interstellar”

Michael Fassbender, “Frank”/“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Jake Lacy, “Obvious Child”

Joaquin Phoenix, “The Immigrant”

Luke Wilson, “The Skeleton Twins”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Frank” by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan

“Interstellar” by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan

“Locke” by Steven Knight

“The Skeleton Twins” by Mark Heyman and Craig Johnson

“Transcendence” by Jack Paglen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

“The Double” by Richard Ayoade and Avi Korine

“Obvious Child” by Elizabeth Holm, Karen Maine, and Gillian Robespierre

“Selma” by Ava DuVernay and Paul Webb

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” by Jane Goldman, Simon Kinberg, and Matthew Vaughn

ORIGINAL SCORE

“The Double” by Andrew Hewitt

“Gone Girl” by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

“Interstellar” by Hans Zimmer

“Noah” by Clint Mansell

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” by John Ottman

ORIGINAL SONG

“Glory” (from “Selma”) by Lonnie Lynn and John Stephens

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Hoyte van Hoytema, “Interstellar”

Reed Morano, “The Skeleton Twins”

Newton Thomas Sigel, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Erik Alexander Wilson, “The Double”

Bradford Young, “Selma”

EDITING

Spencer Averick, “Selma”

Chris Dickens and Nick Fenton, “The Double”

Jennifer Lee, “The Skeleton Twins”

John Ottman, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Lee Smith, “Interstellar”

COSTUME DESIGN

Evren Catlin, “Obvious Child”

Courtney Hoffman, “Palo Alto”

Louise Mingenbach, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Kasia Walicka-Maimone, “A Most Violent Year”

Mary Zophres, “Interstellar”

ART DIRECTION

“The Double” – David Crank and Barbara Herman Skelding

“Interstellar” – Nathan Crowley and Gary Fettis

“Locke” – Chris Chandler

“Noah” – Nicholas DiBlasio, Mark Friedberg, Romano C. Pugliese, and Debra Schutt

“Whiplash” – Karuna Karmarkar and Melanie Paizis-Jones

MAKEUP

“The Double” – Michéle Davidson-Bell, Kristyan Mallett, and Jan Sewell

“Inherent Vice” – Miia Kovero and Gigi Williams

“A Most Violent Year” – Kyra Panchenko and Kerrie Smith

“Noah” – Jérémy B. Caravita, Judy Chin, and Jerry Popolis

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” – Norma Hill-Patton

SOUND DESIGN

“The Double” – James Feltham and Nigel Heath

“Interstellar” – Richard King, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, and Mark Weingarten

“A Most Violent Year” – Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns, and Gary Summers

“Noah” – Craig Henighan and Skip Lievsay

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” – Ron Bartlett, Craig Berkey, and D.M. Hemphill

VISUAL EFFECTS

Dan Deleeuw, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

Paul Franklin, “Interstellar”

Nathan McGuiness, “Transcendence”

Ben Snow, “Noah”

Richard Stammers, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Movie Review: "Justice League: Throne of Atlantis" (Jay Oliva and Ethan Spaulding, 2015)

A SEA OF TROUBLES by Mo Shaunette

Above: Wonder Woman and Superman return in "Atlantis." Photo ©Warner Home Video

Despite being a superhero mainstay since the Golden Age of comics, Aquaman has largely been treated as a punch line by the general public.  There have been efforts across several mediums to make him seem cooler, but he’s still probably best known for his appearances on the “Super Friends” cartoon, where his failure to be useful out of water made him a joke to older fans.  The most recent attempts at revitalization have come from the comics themselves, with superstar writer Geoff Johns trying to redefine Aquaman as a noble, conflicted hero—something also attempted in “Justice League: Throne of Atlantis,” the latest of the DC Animated Features.

Acting as a direct sequel to “Justice League: War,” “Throne of Atlantis” finds Earth’s greatest heroes not yet entirely onboard for the whole superhero team-up thing.  However, an attack on a U.S. submarine and the theft of its missiles puts the League on the trail to discovering Atlantis.  The Lost City, as it turns out, is in the midst of political turmoil, as Prince Orm (Sam Witwer) wants to attack the surface world against the wishes of his mother, Queen Atalanna (Sierra Irwin).  The queen hopes to bring peace to her city by finding her illegitimate half-human son Arthur Curry (Matt Lanter) and naming him as her successor.  However, the machinations of Orm and his ally, the mercenary Black Manta (Harry Lennix) threaten the stability of both worlds.

The two biggest flaws in “Throne of Atlantis” are its pacing and its characters.  The movie bounces between plot beats and action scenes with very little connective tissue in between the two and the story suffers for it.  When he’s not fighting against Atlantean soldiers, Arthur just drifts through his hero’s journey with basic stock reactions to the events around him (“All my life I’ve known I was different,” “This is too weird for me,” etc.).  It doesn’t help that a romantic subplot involving Arthur’s bodyguard Mera (Sumalee Montano) floats in the awkward space between “tacked on” and “underdeveloped.”

The villains don't acquit themselves memorably either.  Sam Witwer stuggles mightily to turn Orm into a compelling villain on par with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, but there’s no (pardon the pun) depth to the prince—just the same pride and anger we’ve in so many other royal big bads.  His cohort doesn't fare well either; Black Manta, one of Aquaman’s most dangerous and iconic foes, is here reduced to a yes man (and one whose ulterior motives are revealed too late in the game to be at all interesting).

“Throne of Atlantis” does at least develop the rest of its ensemble in intriguing ways.  Here, Superman (Jerry O’Connell) and Wonder Woman (Rosario Dawson) start dating (yes, I’m still opposed to their relationship on principle, but I’ll admit that they're engaging); Cyborg (Shemar Moore) struggles to hold onto his humanity amidst his countless upgrades; and Batman (Jason O’Mara) and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) prolong their rivalry, adding some inconsequential but undeniably zesty jabs to the proceedings.

I can’t say the same for the film’s animation and action.  Yes, Phil Bourassa’s character designs are still visually striking, but the animators of “Throne of Atlantis” sometimes forget to include proper facial expressions, leading to awkward moments like the scene where Arthur and Mera stare impassively upon hearing that a tidal wave is about to obliterate hundreds of people.  The action scenes, meanwhile, are tight-paced and well-photographed by a not-too-distracting shaky cam, but are painfully inconsistent (Atlanteans can brush off machine gun fire but are knocked out by a guy with a sledgehammer?).

These bumps in the road make the movie a weak link in the DC animated lineup.  “Throne of Atlantis” is far from the studio’s best outputs—it’s too fast-paced, too underdeveloped, and too resistant to actually focusing on its purported main character.  In other words, if you’re seeking a great Aquaman story, I’d recommend Geoff Johns’s run from “The New 52,” or maybe waiting to see what Jason Momoa brings to the table in August of 2018.

Movie Review: "Fifty Shades of Grey" (Sam Taylor-Johnson, 2015)

FIFTY SHADES OF ANA by Bennett Campbell Ferguson

Above: Dakota Johnson plays Ana Steele in "Fifty Shades of Grey." Photo ©Universal Pictures and Focus Features

A nighttime ride in helicopter.  A morning soirée in a glider.  Blissfully sleepless nights.  All these things billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) gives Ana Steele (Dakota Johnson) in “Fifty Shades of Grey.”  And yet, the most tender and poignant thing she tells him is this:  “I want more.”  She wants his love.

            Scoff, if you will.  But “Fifty Shades of Grey” (an adaptation of E L James’ blockbuster erotic novel) is both a hypnotic sexual fantasy and an earnest portrait of a young woman discovering her own desires not only as a lover, but as a person.  The not-so-good Mr. Grey may have smoothly slipped his name into the title, but this movie, above all, is the coming-of-age story of Ana.

            It starts with an interview.  A few weeks before graduating from college, Ana drives three hours to Seattle to profile Christian for her school’s newspaper (in the world of the movie, he’s a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist).  It doesn’t take long for us to realize that the meeting is a bust.  “To what do you owe your success?” Ana asks.  Christian’s only response is a sneering utterance: “Really?”

            But then, you notice it.  Perched on the edge of his desk, Christian’s features form an expression of peculiarly innocent excitement as he regards Ana.  And Ana, barely daring to stare up at Christian from her low-set chair, looks equally enraptured—intimated, but also eager.  They’re aroused by each other.

            I need hardly mention that what follows is not, to use Christian’s own words, a “hearts and flowers” romance.  Oh sure, it begins benignly enough—Ana and Christian enjoy a coffee date; exchange some teasing, flirtatious banter in the hardware store where Ana works; and sleep together in a swank hotel room.  But these moments are only the tip the sadomasochist iceberg that is their affair.  Because just like Ms. James’ novel, the movie is about Ana’s shivering fear of Christian’s violent desires and her determination to fulfill them, out of both curiosity and adoration. 

And yet there’s more to “Fifty Shades of Grey.”  Often, Ana is left alone in her bed, staring past her white sheets, looking lonely and unfulfilled.  And this is the crux of the matter.  Christian likes her, cares about her, but does not love her—he is not, he insists, capable of loving anyone.  “Why won’t you let me touch you?” Ana asks Christian pleadingly.  In the moments where Ana is swept away by her desire for Christian, the answer does not seem to matter.  And yet the movie’s insistence that it does, that its heroine needs love as much as sex, pops the proceedings off the tracks of lush fantasy and into the embrace of sorrowful reality

Don’t get me wrong; “Fifty Shades of Grey” is a terrifically entertaining movie, and a well-timed one.  After yet another fruitful season of Oscar-friendly gloom and quirk, I found it absolutely thrilling to walk into a multiplex at night—to hear couples and friends chatting and laughing before, during, and after this slick, witty, and impeccably-staged Hollywood movie (director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s ability to move effortlessly from wide shots to close ups is what grants the prolonged chatter between Christian and Ana cinematic motion).

Yet I wouldn’t call “Fifty Shades of Grey” an R-rated popcorn picture.  “NO” Ana tells Christian in the film’s final scene as he moves to kiss her.  That moment is the invention of Ms. Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Kelly Marcel; the book wrapped on a note of strained grief, with Ana alone, crying in the back of a car.  But Ana’s “NO” in the movie is one of defiance, spoken by a woman who finally knows what she wants and what she refuses to subject herself to ever again.