THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (VOTED FOR BY THE PUBLIC)
Jack O’Connell (WINNER)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Margot Robbie
Miles Teller
Shailene Woodley
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
“The Theory of Everything,” James Marsh, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony Mccarten (WINNER)
“’71,” Yann Demange, Angus Lamont, Robin Gutch, Gregory Burke
“The Imitation Game,” Morten Tyldum, Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman, Graham Moore
“Paddington,” Paul King, David Heyman
“Pride,” Matthew Warchus, David Livingstone, Stephen Beresford
“Under the Skin,” Jonathan Glazer, James Wilson, Nick Wechsler, Walter Campbell
BEST FILM
“Boyhood,” Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland (WINNER)
“Birdman,” Alejandro G. Inarritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
“The Imitation Game,” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman
“The Theory of Everything,” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony Mccarten
LEADING ACTOR
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” (WINNER)
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Ralph Fiennes, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
LEADING ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (WINNER)
Amy Adams, “Big Eyes”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
DIRECTOR
“Boyhood,” Richard Linklater (WINNER)
“Birdman,” Alejandro G. Inarritu
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson
“The Theory of Everything,” James Marsh
“Whiplash,” Damien Chazelle
SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” (WINNER)
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” (WINNER)
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Imelda Staunton, “Pride”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Rene Russo, “Nightcrawler”
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson (WINNER)
“Birdman,” Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr, Armando Bo
“Boyhood,” Richard Linklater
“Nightcrawler,” Dan Gilroy
“Whiplash,” Damien Chazelle
CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Birdman,” Emmanuel Lubezki (WINNER)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Robert Yeoman
“Ida,” Lukasz Zal, Ryzsard Lenczewski
“Interstellar,” Hoyte Van Hoytema
“Mr. Turner,” Dick Pope
ANIMATED FILM
“The Lego Movie,” Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (WINNER)
“Big Hero 6,” Don Hall, Chris Williams
“The Boxtrolls,” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Theory of Everything,” Anthony Mccarten (WINNER)
“American Sniper,” Jason Hall
“Gone Girl,” Gillian Flynn
“The Imitation Game,” Graham Moore
“Paddington,” Paul King
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Stephen Beresford (Writer), David Livingstone (Producer), “Pride” (WINNER)
Elaine Constantine (Writer/Director), “Northern Soul”
Gregory Burke (Writer), Yann Demange (Director), “’71”
Hong Khaou (Writer/Director), “Lilting”
Paul Katis (Director/Producer), Andrew De Lotbiniere (Producer), “Kajaki: The True Story”
ORIGINAL MUSIC
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Alexandre Desplat (WINNER)
“Birdman,” Antonio Sanchez
“Interstellar,” Hans Zimmer
“The Theory of Everything,” Johann Johannsson
“Under the Skin,” Mica Levi
DOCUMENTARY
“Citizenfour,” Laura Poitras (WINNER)
“20 Feet From Stardom,” Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers, Gil Friesen
“20,000 Days on Earth,” Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
“Finding Vivian Maier,” John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
“Virunga,” Orlando Von Einsiedel, Joanna Natasegara
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
“Ida,” Pawel Pawlikowski, Eric Abraham, Piotr Dzieciol, Ewa Puszczynska (WINNER)
“Leviathan,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov
“The Lunchbox,” Ritesh Batra, Arun Rangachari, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga
“Trash,” Stephen Daldry, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Kris Thykier
“Two Days, One Night,” Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd
MAKE UP & HAIR
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Frances Hannon (WINNER)
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou, David White
“Into the Woods,” Peter Swords King, J. Roy Helland
“Mr. Turner,” Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener
“The Theory of Everything,” Jan Sewell
COSTUME DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Milena Canonero (WINNER)
“The Imitation Game,” Sammy Sheldon Differ
“Into the Woods,” Colleen Atwood
“Mr. Turner,” Jacqueline Durran
“The Theory of Everything,” Steven Noble
PRODUCTION DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock (WINNER)
“Big Eyes,” Rick Heinrichs, Shane Vieau
“The Imitation Game,” Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
“Mr. Turner,” Suzie Davies, Charlotte Watts
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
“The Bigger Picture,” Chris Hees, Daisy Jacobs, Jennifer Majka (WINNER)
“Monkey Love Experiments,” Ainslie Henderson, Cam Fraser, Will Anderson
“My Dad,” Marcus Armitage
EDITING
“Whiplash,” Tom Cross (WINNER)
“Birdman,” Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game,” William Goldenberg
“Nightcrawler,” John Gilroy
“The Theory of Everything,” Jinx Godfrey
SOUND
“Whiplash,” Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann (WINNER)
“American Sniper,” Walt Martin, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
“Birdman,” Thomas Varga, Martin Hernandez, Aaron Glascock, Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wayne Lemmer, Christopher Scarabosio, Pawel Wdowczak
“The Imitation Game,” John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Stuart Hilliker, Martin Jensen
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
“Interstellar,” Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley (WINNER)
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Erik Winquist, Daniel Barrett
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner, Nicolas Aithadi
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Tim Crosbie, Cameron Waldbauer
If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Crunnchyroll presents ‘BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt so I’ll max out my defense’: You’re not twinking!
‘Knock at the Cabin’: Puttin on your boogie shoes!
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
An Askewed View Episode 7 Jay And Silent Bob Reboot
