Honouring the best in Television and Cinema, the 82nd Golden Globe Awards were held tonight in Los Angeles. Leading the way in the Cinema categories was THE BRUTALIST taking Best Director (Brady Corbet), Actor (Adrien Brody) and Best Motion Picture Drama, strengthening its case for Best Picture at the impending Academy Awards in March.
But if anything, the race for Best Picture is as competitive as ever with Jacques Audiard‘s EMILIA PÉREZ also taking Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, Best Motion Picture Non-English Language, Best Original Song (“El Mal”), and Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldana).
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement would go to Jon M. Chu‘s WICKED, which also is in the running for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The Film, released late November, already has grossed over $680 million globally.
FX‘s SHŌGUN dominated the Television categories, winning Best Television Series Drama, Best Actor in a Television Series Drama (Hiroyuki Sanada), Best Actress in a TV Series (Anna Sawai), and Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series (Tadanobu Asano).
In the Television Series Comedy categories, HBO‘s HACKS would dominate, taking Best Television Series Comedy and Best Actress in a Television Series Comedy (Jean Smart).
Some of the biggest surprises of the night include wins from THE SUBSTANCE star Demi Moore upsetting the Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy category, a category in which ANORA‘s Mikey Madison is seen as the frontrunner. Brazilian screen legend Fernanda Torres also would upset Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her work in I’M STILL HERE, denying the likes of Nicole Kidman who has been lauded for her work in BABYGIRL.
Complete list of winners:
Our highlights on CBC News:
(Photo credit: Elevation Pictures)
Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated Comedian/Writer and Actress HANNAH EINBINDER‘s star continues to rise and if you haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing her breakthrough work on HBO’s HACKS, you are missing out! This is one of my favourite series in recent years, with Einbinder starring as Ava, alongside legendary Jean Smart respectively, as a young Comedy Writer and struggling Stand-Up Comedy icon who team together to help revive the latter’s career.
The brilliant Einbinder is gracing Toronto with her presence as part of her ongoing tour, playing a total five shows over three nights this weekend at Comedy Bar Danforth.
We had the joy of seeing her live finally and we were absolutely floored by this fierce talent who displayed her smart humour before sold-out crowd, material ranging from Climate Change, to her own childhood and navigating her mental health. Pure genius and she had the audience in stitches!
We even were lucky enough to get our birthday wish – meeting her! Beyond happy!
Production has been halted on the third season of HACKS due to the ongoing Writers and Actors strikes impacting Hollywood. Cannot wait to see what’s next on this beloved Series!
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
He’s accomplished so much on a larger stage, we sometimes forget he’s Canadian! Vancouver’s Devon Sawa is back in Toronto to work on the second season of CHUCKY. The Series has him playing dual roles of Logan and Luke Wheeler on the successful SYFY revival Series.
Sawa is known best for his work on FINAL DESTINATION, Toronto-filmed Series NIKITA and despite only a quick appearance in Season Two of HBO Max’s HACKS, he already is getting lots of buzz for his performance as Jason, a live interest of Jean Smart‘s Deborah Vance. It was just confirmed today the Series has been renewed a third season and we hope to see more of him!
We’ve heard how amazing Sawa is to fans and he was everything, stopping for Selfies and Autographs after a quick trip home before he was needed back on-set.
CHUCKY continues to film around Toronto till end of Summer.
See our Snap!
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Summer’s almost here and that means it’s time to catch-up with our streaming! See what we’ve been watching of late!
I was never as into Friends as some of my friends, but this Series was impossible to avoid whether in its glory days or in syndication. Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Chandler, Ross and Joey became household names and it is tough not to feel any type of a connection with them! FRIENDS: THE REUNION though it doesn’t reunite the Cast of the beloved Sitcom necessarily in-character, has them returning to reflect on their show’s legacy with James Corden. Along the way in this almost-two-hour special directed by Ben Winston, the Cast do table reads of memorable key scenes and share anecdotes. Whether it be when David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston were really in-love with one another but never actually dated at the start, the time Matt Leblanc dislocated his shoulder plopping onto the couch halting production on the Series, or Lisa Kudrow being joined in a rendition of “Smelly Cat” with Lady Gaga, this Special is full of revelations and surprises. The Special really focuses on how the magic of Friends could only have been achieved with this Cast and almost didn’t come to be as stars like Matthew Perry and Aniston at the time of the Pilot were already attached to other projects. Really a great watch reminiscing with the Cast and Creators and you will find it tough not to tear-up with them. While they make it clear that there are no intentions to revive the Series, this is satisfying. FRIENDS: THE REUNION streams now in Canada on Crave.
I’ve been a bit slow to getting around to this, but I did enjoy Part 1 of the Series based on fallen star Selena Quintanilla. This half of the Series zones-in on Selena (Christian Serratos) finding success on her own as a recording artist after having gotten there with her family. Despite her father’s disapproval of bandmate-boyfriend Chris (Jesse Posey), we see them reunite and how Selena‘s growing fame as she records her debut English-language Album, affected their relationship. Lurking in the background is her Fan Club Manager Yolonda (Natasha Perez) who growingly fails Selena before things spiral out of control. While some reactions have been mixed about this Series, I found it a well-acted glimpse about a figure whom this next generation might never have gotten exposed to and we wonder what could’ve been if Selena‘s life wasn’t so tragically taken from her so soon. Serratos truly shines in the assignment embodying this legend and does so even more in this second and final part of the Series. SELENA: THE SERIES PART 2 is streaming now on Netflix.
If you love bold, brash Comedy, this is actually amazing! Jean Smart stars in six-episode Series as comedic legend Deborah Vance, whose residency in Las Vegas is threatened when she is told that they are looking to add a new act with younger appeal. The most unlikely of pairings happen when a down-on-her-luck Comedy Writer named Ava (Hannah Eidbinder) and Deborah are paired together begrudgingly. Things start-off less than ideal as the two clash but in a dark way the two cynical hearts turn-out to be meant for each other. Smart is a delight, she has absolutely no filter and we cannot keep our eyes off her, but she also nails Deborah‘s more vulnerable moments when she is navigating her age and insecurity that she is always teetering on irrelevance and losing everything she’s worked so hard for. Eidbinder also is a real revelation and to be able to hold her own around the strong presence of Smart‘s Deborah is no easy feat. All episodes of HACKS are available now on Crave.
While things have focused on Dev (Aziz Ansari), things shift to his friend Denise (Lena Waithe) and her wife Alicia (Naomie Ackie) in season three of Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series MASTER OF NONE. The pacing is a bit languid, but the Series is thoughtfully written and acted, and styled poetically, exploring the minutiae of love as Denise and Alicia begin to plan a family together – but not without challenges. Denise has become a New York Times Best-Selling Author and is navigating that, and Dev arrives revealing that he and his girlfriend are living in Queens with his parents; things are tense. While tonally this season takes a different turn, the Series goes more candid than ever, a level deeper and a step-up in maturity. Ackie delivers a true standout performance, determined in her desire to be a mother. All five episodes of MASTER OF NONE S3 stream now on Netflix.
Oprah and Prince Harry team-up on this new five-part Docu-Series exploring what Mental Health means during the pandemic and how while the experience has been traumatic, everyone has experienced it in some variation. Subjects include Lady Gaga, Glenn Close and DeMar DeRozan and more deliver moving stories about what the stigma of Mental Illness means and how crippling it can be if we don’t treat it like any other physical illness. We see that even the most high-performing figures aren’t immune to suffering whether it be Depression, Anxiety, OCD or anything else on the spectrum of disease.
Since moving to America, Prince Harry has expressed how liberating the experience has been breaking-free from ‘the system”. He goes on-camera, doing the work to cope with his own trauma and grief, and speaks candidly about his drinking to mask pain, claiming his happiest time was spent in Afghanistan in the military. The Series will be followed-up by a Town Hall titled The Me You Can’t See: A Path Forward, arriving on Apple TV+ Friday, May 28, 2021.
Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) directs, writes and produces this Documentary about Pop Superstar P!NK as she gears-up for the Wembley Stadium show in her Beautiful Trauma World Tour. We see P!nk not only as the incredible performer that she is on-stage, whether it be delivering her powerful vocals or whether she dangling from the ceiling, but also as a wife, daughter and mother two her two children, Willow and Jamieson. Above this, she is an Artist fully-in-charge and control of of her vision, articulating and asserting herself well. The Film recounts how being a star always was her goal, being a mother however was her dream and she truly shows the joy that this brings her. While doesn’t necessarily go as deep into struggles and conflicts the Artist has faced on her path to international stardom, it does make up for in being uplifting and genuinely we do get an authentic portrait of the person who P!nk is. PINK: ALL I KNOW SO FAR streams now on Amazon Prime Video.
For Reviews on new releases CRUELLA, IN THE HEIGHTS, WRATH OF MAN, THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS, PROFILE, RIDERS OF JUSTICE and more, click here.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix/Apple TV+/HBO Max)
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