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52 Films By Women To Stream On Netflix and Amazon Prime
To help people with their 52 Films By Women challenge this year I thought I’d put together a list of some of my favorite films directed by women that are easily accessible on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Keep in mind that this is in no way all of the films directed by women available on these services, but rather a selection of films I have seen and enjoy. There are also many more films available to rent on Amazon Video as well. Think of this as a jumping off point! Also if you have not taken the 52 Films By Women pledge yet you can do so here.
Movie Quote of the Day – Winter’s Bone, 2010 (dir. Debra Granik)
Megan: What are we ever gonna do with you, baby girl?
Ree: Kill me I guess.
Megan: That idea’s been said already. Got any others?
Ree: Help me. Ain’t nobody said that idea yet, have they?
Oscar Vault Monday – Winter’s Bone, 2010 (dir. Debra Granik)
I remember when I first saw this film last fall it was just after Noirvember (wherein I watched about 40 or so film noir classics) and I could feel how Winter’s Bone was akin to those great thrillers. I watched it one evening and wouldn’t even stop for dinner because I couldn’t bear to pause it. It went places I never expected and kept up its tense mood throughout. I really wish I had been able to see it in theaters; the tension probably would have killed me. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, though it didn’t win any: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor John Hawkes, Best Actress Jennifer Lawrence and Best Picture. The film was also nominated for seven Independent Spirit Awards, winning two: Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Female Dale Dickey (won), Best Supporting Male John Hawkes (won), Best Female Lead Jennifer Lawrence, Best Director and Best Film. The film won and/or was nominated for so many critic awards last year I’m just going to send you to the Wikipedia page with all that information. In case you’ve already forgotten, the other films nominated for Best Picture last year were 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit and winner The King’s Speech.
Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2010
So we’ve gotten to the end of the year, which, of course, means end-of-the-year lists. I don’t think 2010 was the worst year ever, but it pales in comparison to 2009. Last year I was in love with so many films – starting very early in the year and continuing into January of this year with the films I wasn’t able to see before ’09 ended. I really just think 2010 will go down as a mediocre year. I did, however, still manage to come up with a list of my 15 favorite films of the year. I’d like to emphasize that this list is based on my favorites and not necessarily a “best” list. I’d also like to note that, unlike last year, I was able to see almost all of the 2010 releases I was interested in seeing before the New Year. There were three, however, that I missed that I wish I could have seen before making this list: The King’s Speech, 127 Hours and Blue Valentine. There’s no guarantee those would have made the list anyhow, but I still wish I could have seen them. Regardless, I did manage to see fifty-five 2010 releases this year, a personal record for new releases. I’d also like to note that I’ve seen over 500 new-to-me films this year, but I’ll make a proper round-up post for that tomorrow (I’m watching movies til Midnight tonight!).
The list is after the cut, because I think my #1 is a little shocking and I want to keep up the suspense.
State of the Race, Updated Precursors Chart
Still seeing several frontrunners – The Social Network for Best Picture, David Fincher for Best Director and Christian Bale for Best Supporting Actor in The Fighter. Best Actress seems to be split between Natalie Portman in Black Swan and Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone. Toy Story 3 seems to be the one to beat for Best Animated Film (no surprise there). A lot of the critics groups only have one screenplay category and Aaron Sorkin continues to dominate there. The SAG and Golden Globe nominations really help us get a shortlist of what actors will compromise the nominees for the Oscars, though they sometimes throw us a curveball. Once the PGA, WGA and DGA release their nominees we’ll have a better idea of what we might see Oscar nomination-wise.
click picture for higher resolution.
“The Social Network” Best Film, But “Winter’s Bone” Leads Detroit Film Critics
Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Director: Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Fighter
Best Ensemble: Winter’s Bone
Best Breakthrough Performance: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
For Your Consideration: John Hawkes In “Winter’s Bone”
Last year I concentrated my efforts on getting a Best Picture nomination for The Hangover. Clearly, that campaign failed. Regardless, I am rallying around one dark horse contender again: John Hawkes in Winter’s Bone for Best Supporting Actor. Hawkes is probably best known for his role as Sol Star on HBO’s Deadwood and star of the 2005’s indie flick Me and You and Everyone We Know. This year, however, he made waves opposite new-comer Jennifer Lawrence in one of the year’s most critically acclaimed films – Winter’s Bone. This film currently holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Winter’s Bone” Named Best Film By San Diego Film Critics
This is the first critic group to name Winter’s Bone best film over The Social Network. They also named Jennifer Lawrence Best Actress and John Hawkes Best Supporting Actor. Also Colin Farrell was named Best Actor for Ondine, one of my favorite films of the year.
Best Film –
- WINTER’S BONE
S.F. Film Critics Jump On “The Social Network” Bandwagon
Yet another win for The Social Network, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin. I’m excited to see John Hawkes for Best Supporting Actor! I will be heading the #JohnHawkesForOscar campaign on Twitter, btw.
Best Picture
The Social Network
Winter’s Bone, The King’s Speech Lead Detroit Film Critics Society Nominations
Most of these are pretty expected. The biggest surprises are no nomination for either Annette Bening or Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right and no Inception or The Town for Best Ensemble. I’m really excited to see both Carey Mulligan’s performance from Never Let Me Go and Jennifer Lawrence from Winter’s Bone included in the Best Actress category. Both were absolutely astounding and from films that weren’t huge box office successes. Also, I love that John Hawkes got another nomination for his stellar performance in Winter’s Bone.
Best Film
127 Hours
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Winter’s Bone
the diary of a film history fanatic 