Category: Screener Watch

The Paramount package came in a week ago and I had the pics ready to go, but due to a serious backlog for the site, I didn’t get around to posting it. So, after receiving my Weinstein Company package today, I’m including that one Paramount title (Like Crazy) with the five from the Weinsteins. At…

Publicity firm 42 West has submitted the below title on screener. I can’t find much information about it at all and most critics haven’t even reviewed it yet. The Carrier Genre: Documentary Director: Margaret Betts Premise: “‘The Carrier’ is a feature-length documentary that tells the inspiring story of an HIV-positive and pregnant mother trying to…

Oscilloscope Laboratories has deposited We Need to Talk About Kevin in my mailbox. This prominent indie film played at Cannes, Telluride and Toronto where it earned praise for Tilda Swinton’s performance. We Need to Talk About Kevin Genre: Drama Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Siobhan Fallon, Ursula Parker, Jasper Newell, Ashley Gerasimovich…

Focus Features has sent another screener, this time it’s a stronger Oscar contender with some Oscar watchers feeling it could sneak into more than just one top tier category. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Genre: Thriller Stars: Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, Ciaran Hinds, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Simon…

Two new screeners showed up today. Roadside Attractions sent Margin Call while Warner Bros. pushed out Happy Feet Two. The only obvious thing about the screeners is that Margin Call seems to be a SAG screener as it lists Ensemble and the other acting prizes, but no other categories. Margin Call Genre: Drama Stars: Zachary…

As November comes to a close, the stragglers will slowly appear. I may go weeks without getting one and then get one on two consecutive days. I won’t know it’s over until the end of December when the standard critics awards season is over. So, here’s one of the year’s big Animated Feature contenders. Rango…

Cinema Guild may be one of the smallest indie houses out there. They sent out three films for me to consider. Here they are. The Interrupters Genre: Documentary Director: Steve James Premise: “A year in the life of a city grappling with urban violence.” Oscar Chances: None. Rotten Tomatoes: 99% (72 critics; as of 11/26/11)…

Much to my surprise, the best screener package I ever remember receiving arrived today. First, let me say that I got two packages, both from UPS and only one of them requiring a signature…weird. Before I get to the really cool one, the other package was from Fox Searchlight featuring Martha Marcy May Marlen and…

Today was a smaller bundle than yesterday, but no less interesting. While I haven’t been sharing the various morsels I get outside of screeners (such as a copy of The Descendants‘ screenplay or a small book on Martha Marcy May Marlene, I do have to share today’s most interesting non-screener-related paraphernalia. Yesterday, I got The…

Although this won’t be the last day before Thanksgiving I receive something, I received screeners from four different production studios (Fox Searchlight, Millennium Entertainment, Roadside Attractions and Universal) by mail today, hence the title “motherlode”. Magnolia/Magnet still holds the record for single-day delivery, but today was a pretty solid receipt day. Anyway, I’ll list these…

The first of the Fox Searchlight titles has made its way to my mailbox. Win Win Genre: Sports Comedy Drama Stars: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Melanie Lynskey, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Shaffer Director: Tom McCarthy Premise: “A struggling lawyer and volunteer wrestling coach’s chicanery comes back to haunt him when the teenage grandson of the client…

Focus Features, one of the first studios I remember ever receiving a package from, returns with another batch of contenders.

In probably the biggest drop I’ve ever seen, I got one screener from Lionsgate and twenty from Magnet/Magnolia. And were yesterday not a holiday, I might have gotten them on my birthday! To hell with ya, federal postal holidays! Anyway, here’s the skinny…I’m going to start off with the Lionsgate screener (Warrior) and then go…

The first major studio screener out of the gate is Contagion from Warner Bros. Unlike most past screeners I’ve received, I’ve seen this one already. As for their category placement, it’s the standard kit-and-kaboodle selection, though the lead actor citation for Laurence Fishburne and not Matt Damon is a bit surprising. Also unexpected is the…

In a non-descript envelope, with a letter and disk enclosed, comes this HBO documentary that’s certainly in the hunt for a nomination. Project Nim Genre: Documentary Director: James Marsh Premise: “Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on…