"Silver Linings" & "Moonrise" Lead Spirit Nominations

Continuing with the trend of star-laden "indies" of reasonable means dominating the once far more independent Spirit Awards, expectant future Best Picture nominee Silver Linings Playbook and Wes Anderson's adorable Oscar longshot Moonrise Kingdom led the pack of nominees with five citations each. In the shoe-stringier side of the equation films like Beasts of the Southern Wild, Middle of Nowhere, and Keep the Lights On also made strong showings. Since three mainstream / big studio efforts are expected to dominate the Oscars (that's Les Miz, Argo, & Lincoln if you've been sleeping for a month) this year, no film need worry about the Spirit curse ...wherein you score big here the day before the Oscars only to collapse at the big Hollywood event that you had hopes of also ruling.

Can "Beasts" win the Spirit Award?

Full list of nominees and commentary on each category after the jump

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Review: "Compliance"

Compliance is the kind of film I always hope to love. Ambitious, confrontrational, and very well acted films that rely on theme and character and ideas are jawdroppers for me in a way that explosions, stunts, and visual effects innovations almost never are. But ambitions and soulful actors can only take you so far when fundamental flaws get in their way.

It's best to see Compliance cold (as I did) with no knowledge of its subject matter. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to talk or write about without giving its game away which is why it's a tough sell (it's made $111,000 in limited release) though it's gripping enough should you buy a ticket. So read on at your own risk...

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Spirit Award Wins, Reaction Shots, and Opening Monologue

Since the Spirit Awards fancy themselves as Off Hollywood, let's do this one a little differently. I thought we'd just share the winners a sentence from their speech and only reaction shots. Just to shake things up! We're Off Live Blogging. Tape Delayed capsule-like. But first the delightful Anna Kendrick.

Hi, I'm Anna Kendrick and I'm proud to have appeared in the only movie this year that actually cured cancer. The other nominees are great. I'm just saying."

The idea of the Spirit Awards as the anti-Oscars, held in a tent instead of a big auditorium, "California Casual" instead of gowns and tuxes, and held on the saturday afternoon before Oscar big Sunday night -- well, it would work a lot better if their nominee lists weren't so padded with actual Oscar nominees and films. One wishes they were just a wee bit more, well, independent. 

Okay more than a wee bit. A lot bit. One does wish.

Okay, let's get to it

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Spirit Awards: "Take Shelter" & "The Artist" Lead the Nominees

The New York Film Critics Circle isn't even finished with its announcements yet and now we've got The Spirit Award nominations. They have the longest lag time between nominations and ceremony since they aren't even held until the day before the Oscars. Like the NYFCC they've been swerving ever closer to Oscar over the years, often championing a runner-up type of candidate like, say, Sideways or Black Swan. That could be good news for The Artist or The Descendants this year depending on which takes the lead in the Oscar race. Though if you believe the nomination tallies here this could be a very big night for Take Shelter.

BEST FEATURE
50/50 (3 noms total) -review
Beginners (4 noms total) -review
Drive (3 noms total) -review
Take Shelter (5 noms total)
The Artist (5 noms total) -review
The Descendants (4 noms total)

I'm super fond of ½ of this lineup and whenever you're super fond of ½ a lineup you should smile. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the way awards season is aiming to go, The Descendants is my least favorite from their preferred lineup.  

FULL LIST OF NOMINEES AFTER THE JUMP

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Kidman at the Spirits. Three Moments.

UPDATED POST. My friend Michael snapped this photo yesterday of Nicole Kidman & Naomi Watts holding hands outside the Spirit Awards tent yesterday. Fun! 

He tweeted:

just saw Nicole Kidman & Naomi Watts share a warm hug & walk off hand in hand like schoolgirls. Awesome. 

Awesome indeed. I suddenly realized an hour ago that there will be no 'Nicole Kidman caught lipsynching to Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream"' moment tonight at the Oscars and this truly saddens me. Nicole Kidman reaction shots for the win. Hope we get some.

THREE more after the jump!

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