You heard us chat away on our CineDrunk end-of-the-year podcast, but here, collected in one place, is another look at the winners of the first annual CineMunchies. Do you agree with our picks? Anything we left out? Let us know what you think!
Read MoreWe know you love lists. We know we love lists. You know you love lists. It's time to roll out the lists.
Drink(s) in hand(s), we celebrate 2014 in our latest podcast, and a stellar year at the cinema it was. Each of your hosts has a Top 10, which we count down in Part 1 of our show. In Part 2, we award the first annual CineMunchies, our end-of-the-year superlatives featuring such categories as Best Performance by an Elderly British Person and The "I Wasn't Sure You Had That in You" Award.
Leading up to this recording, the anticipation had us on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
But we managed to keep the conversation civil and the drinks simple. After all, it's a celebration of our individual favorites, not a debate.
A special shout out to our Best Wine of 2014 (which is another way of saying Best Wine Under $20 That Tastes Good With Cheese): the 2013 Celler Bàrbara Forés Blanc. And our drink of choice for the evening? Boozy hot cocoa.
Peppermint-Spiked Hot Chocolate
Here's a drink even your teenager can make! Er... Step 1: Make the best hot chocolate you know how to make. Step 2: Add several generous shots of the cheapest peppermint schnapps you can buy. Step 3: Enjoy!
Thanks for joining us to look back on Film Year 2014! Cheers!
There's enduring magic in the idea of an artist undiscovered during her time but later acknowledged as a true original. The likes of Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh faced harsh criticism during life, only to become two of the most recognizable names in art after death. It's a theme touched on in several of 2014's best films, including Mr. Turner and The Imitation Game. As for the latter, whatever device you're using to read this, you owe in no small part to Alan Turing.
Of course we, the consumers of this genius, reveal plenty about ourselves as we consume. Who doesn't feel an extra thrill at the discovery of something long undiscovered? Who doesn't feel a sliver of pride, however irrational, at appreciating the dead? It appeals to our human resistance to mortality. For once the bellows of time makes the fire burn a little brighter instead of clearing away the ash of the past. And for those of us who create anything, it represents hope that our work will someday touch someone, even if after our time is up.
A particularly tasty bite of these themes fell onto my plate recently, when I watched the documentary doubleheader of Finding Vivian Maier--nominated by Oscar this year for Best Documentary Feature--and Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell--released in 2008.
Into the Woods. Remember that? We do, and though it may not make our best-of-the-year lists, we welcomed such a smart, entertaining film adaptation of one of Broadway's best. Listen in to our latest podcast, where we debate the merits of this Disney-fication of Sondheim.
Like Into the Woods, we enjoy our sweet fairy tales with a shot of tragedy, so what better drink than the Black Forest Manhattan to accompany our discussion? Recipe below:
Black Forest Manhattan
adapted from Saveur
makes one cocktail
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. superfine sugar
3 oz whiskey
4 dashes chocolate bitters
1 pitted sour cherry, to garnish
For the cherry syrup:
1 cup sour cherry juice, plus more for rim of glass
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup kirsch (cherry-flavored liqueur)
1. To make the cherry syrup: In a saucepan, bring cherry juice and granulated sugar to a boil, then remove from heat and allow to cool. Stir in kirsch and chill.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and superfine sugar. Pour the mixture onto a plate. Pour some cherry juice into a wide, shallow bowl. Dip the rim of a martini glass into the juice, then dip it into the cocoa mixture to create a thin chocolate ring.
3. In a cocktail shaker 3/4 filled with ice, add whiskey, 3/4 ounces cherry syrup, and bitters. Shake vigorously until well-chilled. Pour into rimmed martini glass. Garnish with cherry.
They've arrived! Nominations morning is to Oscar nerds what Christmas morning is to an optimistic young child. Both enthusiastically hop out of bed in a world where all things are theoretically possible and everything is awesome (or not if you're The Lego Movie, apparently). Though, as always, the Academy is like the distant relative who never looked at your Christmas wish list and ends up giving you things you don't actually want and forgetting to get you some of the things you wanted most.
In the end, a Wes Anderson movie that was released last March and a daring artistic vision from Alejandro G. Iñárritu lead the pack with nine nominations for The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman, respectively - and our frontrunner is still probably an intimate film by Richard Linklater that began production over a decade ago. The Academy may have made some poor choices, but those facts are still kind of incredible when you stand back from the noise and ponder that that is what this year's race has boiled down to. Though The Imitation Game might still render all that uniqueness moot and barrel right down the middle towards a consensus victory. We'll know soon enough.
The CineDrunk crew hashed out our initial thoughts in a brief podcast below, recorded right after the nominations were announced. If you'd like to see what my final predictions looked like click here. Check out the full list of 2014 Oscar nominees and commentary after the jump!
Read MoreThe time has come for final predictions! The 87th Annual Academy Awards nominations will be announced this morning in two batches beginning at 8:30am ET (you can view both announcements live at the Oscars website or the second announcement on most major news programs at 8:38am ET). For the first time, the nominees will be announced live in all 24 categories.
2014 started slow, but proved to be a formidable year in film. The Oscars don't always reflect that quality in their choices, but here's hoping their nominations come close! There are lots of tight races with lengthy lists of viable contenders and films whose names won't get called this morning. As usual there are some sure-things (Boyhood, Birdman, and The Imitation Game are likely to do well) and some not-so-sure-things (I'm most interested in seeing how films right on the bubble will fare: Foxcatcher, Nightcrawler, Gone Girl). If you've got a favorite, it's best for sanity's sake to assume they won't get in, so you can be pleasantly surprised when they do.
The titles of each category link to that field's specific page with further commentary. Follow along down the rabbit hole after the jump!
Read MoreFill your ice cube trays and get out your cheese boards; the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards are here! Airing Sunday on NBC at 8pm ET and handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the Globes mix movie stars, TV actors, and a healthy dose of drunkenness in what usually amounts to the year's most enjoyable night of live television. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (hooray!) return as hosts for the third (and likely final) time, and George Clooney will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award from Julianna Margulies (ER reunion!) and Don Cheadle.
For the more studious ones in our readership (you're show-offs, but we love you), there's still time to listen to our latest podcast, featuring a detailed analysis of the film categories. Then shake up a cocktail and enjoy the main event, and follow along with us all evening on Twitter @CineMunch. Matt's final predictions in all fields are after the jump.
Read MoreThat smell in the air, of faintly ego-driven but all-around giddy anticipation? It's awards prognostication season. And it's in full swing.
In our latest podcast, we analyze the Golden Globe nominees ahead of this Sunday's broadcast (Amy Poehler and Tina Fey hosting again!) and next Thursday's Oscar nominations. You'll hear our personal favorites, as well as our predictions for both the Globes and the Oscars. You'll also learn which one of us has a killer Estonian accent.
To honor the glut of gingers who entered the Oscar fray this year (Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Jessica Chastain, etc.) we sipped on the following:
Ginger Gold Rush
1½ oz ginger liqueur
1 oz Bourbon
½ oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Brandied cherry
Place cherry in bottom of martini glass. Shake ginger liqueur, Bourbon and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker over ice. Strain into the glass. Sip or slurp a little, and channel your inner ginger.
Because we just can't get enough awards talk, this podcast is a two-parter. We've noted important time marks below so you can skip to whatever category tickles your fancy. Happy listening!
PART 1
00:00 - Intros and Ginger Gold Rush description
03:00 - Best Supporting Actor
08:44 - Best Supporting Actress
18:12 - Best Director
25:42 - Best Screenplay
31:41 - Best Foreign Language Film
33:32 - Best Animated Feature
35:12 - Best Original Score & Best Original Song
PART 2
00:00 - Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy
08:41 - Best Actor in a Drama & Best Actor Oscar prospects
17:58 - Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy
22:28 - Best Actress in a Drama & Best Actress Oscar prospects
33:01 - Best Picture Musical/Comedy
37:50 - Best Picture Drama & Best Picture Oscar prospects
Also listen and subscribe via iTunes.
Feeling like 2014 flew by and you have little to show for it? There's still time to be productive, which in CineMunch speak means "see more 2014 movies so you can participate in best-of-the-year conversations, and, you know, generally live with yourself/sleep at night."
Today I offer three humble suggestions, all of which can be found on one streaming service or another, that will entertain you and also counter the myth that 2014 was somehow a bad year for film.
Read MoreHappy Christmas (2014)
Oh, is it the holiday season? We're told that it is, which means another movie showdown is in order! In this installment, we pit our favorite holiday screen stories against each other in a battle to the death. Because, you know, the season of candles and trees and reindeer is also the season of family meals and frostbite and the Snowman House of Horror.
This time around we had a little help from our friends gin and tonic, along with a merry drink you can call on for those times when you just want to say "I've given up" without actually saying "I've given up." Behold, the power of Irish cream:
Bailey's Chocolate Cherry Martini
1.5 oz Vodka
2 oz Bailey's Chocolate Cherry
Measure ingredients, or don't. Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour into a martini glass. Start political arguments with fringe relatives about fringe issues.
Happy holidays, and happy listening!
#1: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) vs. #32: Happy Christmas (2014)
#16: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) vs. #17: The Santa Clause (1994)
#9: Die Hard (1988) vs. #24: About a Boy (2002)
#8: Gremlins (1988) vs. #25: Elf (2003)
#4: White Christmas (1954) vs. #29: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (2005)
#13: Home Alone (1990) vs. #20: Jingle All the Way (1996)
#12: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) vs. #21: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
#5: A Christmas Story (1983) vs. #28: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
#2: It's a Wonderful Life (1946) vs. #31: The Holiday (2006)
#15: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) vs. #18: Little Women (1994)
#10: Scrooged (1988) vs. #23: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
#7: Muppet Family Christmas (1987) vs. #26: Love Actually (2003)
#3: Miracle on 34th Street (1947) vs. #30: The Family Stone (2005)
#14: Batman Returns (1992) vs. #19: While You Were Sleeping (1995)
#11: When Harry Met Sally (1989) vs. #22: The Family Man (2000)
#6: Lethal Weapon (1987) vs. #27: Bad Santa (2003)
“Champagne makes you feel like it’s Sunday and better days are just around the corner.”
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