Canada Reads 2016 - The Contenders!

The Canada Reads books and defenders were announced today! Can't wait for the show. And definitely going to make an effort to at least read these.

Bruce Poon Tip is defending Birdie, by Tracey Lindberg.
Farah Mohamed is defending Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz.
Clara Hughes is defending The Illegal, by Lawrence Hill.
Adam 'Edge' Copeland is defending Minister Without Portfolio, by Michael Winter.
Vinay Varmani is defending The Hero's Walk, by Anita Rau Badami.

They also have a social media panelist, leading the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Azita Ardakani

Keep checking back to this blog to see any updates I have.

Trying Something New - Canada Reads 2016

So, I usually limit these kinds of posts to the awards season. Where I talk about nominees and winners and the like. However, every year (at least for the past couple of years), I have followed Canada Reads. (It helped that last year, I was working at a bookstore that featured displays!) I kind of want to do some blog posts. And possibly READ all of the books! Canada Reads is one of my favourite ideas; it gets people reading and discussing. It's like a country wide book club, and often, the panelists are fascinating!

So here are the long listed books! We'll know tomorrow who the finalists are, as well as the panelists defending them. The show will be hosted by Wab Kinew again; I didn't mind him as a host last year, and he was a good replacement for the former host.

This year is all about transformation and second chances, stories of migrants/immigrants. Most of these books were already on my to-read list, and I'm hoping to read all fifteen long listed books. I might have to change that goal to just the five before Canada Reads actually starts, but still. I absolutely adored When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid from last year (I still wish it had won, and still contend that people were afraid of it), and it was nice to be able to watch Elaine Lui (aka Lainey Gossip) defend it so passionately. I'm hoping this year will be just as engaging! (There is a graphic novel on the list, which is really, really cool.)

And now, the long list. I've got one down, only fourteen to go! (I've read Station Eleven.)

All the Broken Things by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer
Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz
Buying on Time by Antanas Sileika
Landing Gear by Kate Pullinger
Minister Without Portfolio by Michael Winter
Niko by Dimitri Nasrallah
Sitting Practice by Caroline Adderson
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson
Sweetland by Michael Crummey
The Amazing Absorbing Boy by Rabindranath Maharaj
The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami
The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
The Outside Circle by Patti LaBoucane-Benson & Kelly Mellings

Winners - Critics' Choice Awards 2016

We're getting down to the wire! (The Oscars wire, I guess.)

BEST MOVIE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Sicario
Spotlight
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
R.J. Cyler, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Shameik Moore, Dope
Milo Parker, Mr. Holmes
Jacob Tremblay, Room

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Big Short
The Hateful Eight
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo

BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Matt Charm and Joel & Ethan Coen, Bridge of Spies
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Inside Out
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn
Drew Goddard, The Martian
Emma Donoghue, Room
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ed Lachman, Carol
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Dariusz Wolski, The Martian
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
Roger Deakins, Sicario

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, Bridge of Spies
Francois Seguin, Jennifer Oman and Louise Tremblay, Brooklyn
Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler, Carol
Eve Stewart and Michael Standish, The Danish Girl
Colin Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road
Arthur Max and Celia Bobak, The Martian

BEST EDITING
Hank Corwin, The Big Short
Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road
Pietro Scalia, The Martian
Stephen Mirrione, The Revenant
Tom McArdle, Spotlight

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Odile Dicks-Mireaux, Brooklyn
Sandy Powell, Carol
Sandy Powell, Cinderella
Paco Delgado, The Danish Girl
Jenny Beavan, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Black Mass
Carol
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
The Walk

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Furious 7
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
Sicario

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Daniel Craig, Spectre
Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Tom Hardy, Mad Max: Fury Road
Chris Pratt, Jurassic World
Paul Rudd, Ant-Man

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt, Sicario
Rebecca Ferguson, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST COMEDY
The Big Short
Inside Out
Joy
Sisters
Spy
Trainwreck

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Steve Carell, The Big Short
Robert De Niro, The Intern
Bill Hader, Trainwreck
Jason Statham, Spy

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Tina Fey, Sisters
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Melissa McCarthy, Spy
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
Lily Tomlin, Grandma

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Ex Machina
It Follows
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury World
The Martian

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Assassin
Goodnight Mommy
Mustang
The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?)
Son of Saul

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy
Cartel Land
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
He Named Me Malala
The Look of Silence
Where to Invade Next

BEST SONG
"Love Me Like You Do," Fifty Shades of Grey
"See You Again," Furious 7
"Til It Happens to You," The Hunting Ground
"One Kind of Love," Love & Mercy
"Writing's On the Wall," Spectre
"Simple Song #3," Youth

BEST SCORE
Carter Burwell, Carol
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, The Revenant
Johann Johansson, Sicario
Howard Shore, Spotlight

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
Randall Park, Fresh Off the Boat
Fred Savage, The Grinder
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Hugh Dancy, Hannibal
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Clive Owen, The Knick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Justin Theroux, The Leftovers
Aden Young, Rectify

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Wes Bentley, American Horror Story: Hotel
Martin Clunes, Arthur & George
Idris Elba, Luther
Oscar Isaac, Show Me a Hero
Vincent Kartheiser, Saints & Strangers
Patrick Wilson, Fargo

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Aya Cash, You're the Worst
Wendi McLendon-Covey, The Goldbergs
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Shiri Appleby, UnREAL
Carrie Coon, The Leftovers
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Eva Green, Penny Dreadful
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Krysten Ritter, Jessica Jones

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Hotel
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Sarah Hay, Flesh and Bone
Alyvia Alyn Lind, Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colours
Rachel McAdams, True Detective
Shanice Williams, The Wiz Live!

BEST COMEDY SERIES
black-ish
Catastrophe
Jane the Virgin
Master of None
The Last Man on Earth
Transparent
You're the Worst

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Empire
Mr. Robot
Penny Dreadful
Rectify
The Knick
The Leftovers
UnReal

BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ellen Burstyn, Mom
Anjelica Huston, Transparent
Cherry Jones, Transparent
Jenifer Lewis, black-ish
Timothy Olyphant, The Grinder
John Slattery, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Richard Armitage, Hannibal
Justin Kirk, Manhattan
Patti LuPone, Penny Dreadful
Margo Martindale, The Good Wife
Marisa Tomei, Empire
B.D. Wong, Mr. Robot

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Childhood's End
Fargo
Luther
Saints & Strangers
Show Me a Hero
The Wiz Live!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Jaime Camil, Jane the Virgin
Jay Duplass, Transparent
Neil Flynn, The Middle
Keegan Michael Key, Playing House
Mel Rodriguez, Getting On

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Clayne Crawford, Rectify
Christopher Eccleston, The Leftovers
Andre Holland, The Knick
Jonathan Jackson, Nashville
Rufus Sewell, The Man in the High Castle
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
David Alan Grier, The Wiz Live!
Ne-Yo, The Wiz Live!
Nick Offerman, Fargo
Jesse Plemons, Fargo
Raoul Trujillo, Saints & Strangers
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Kether Donohue, You're the Worst
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Eden Sher, The Middle

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ann Dowd, The Leftovers
Regina King, The Leftovers
Helen McCrory, Penny Dreadful
Hayden Panetierre, Nashville
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Mary J. Blige, The Wiz Live!
Laura Haddock, Luther
Cristin Milioti, Fargo
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Hotel
Winona Ryder, Show Me a Hero
Jean Smart, Fargo

BEST ANIMATION SERIES
Bob's Burgers
BoJack Horseman
South Park
Star Wars Rebels
The Simpsons
 
 

Academy Awards - UPDATED WITH WINNERS

The biggest awards ceremony of the year is almost upon us. The nominations were announced this morning, and there have already been many, many discussions. (Somewhat overshadowed by the world learning of the death of Alan Rickman. My heart is broken.) Most of these discussions center around the fact that the nominations are...pretty white-centric. And they are. They always are. This needs to change, but we need to be changing the Academy roster to do this. They're working on it, but it's going to take a long time to roll over. People are invited every year (I usually post this list too), but it depends on those people. And politics are a huge factor that people like to either mock or pretend don't exist. Politics are the main way the Academy Awards happen at all.

However, this ceremony still fascinates me. I like to see what's obviously Oscar material. It's an interesting cultural view. A really good thing, though, is that Mad Max: Fury Road actually got a ton of nominations, and I have to say, I wasn't expecting it to see it in anything but the technical categories. Nice surprise, I'll take it!

BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revanant
Room
Spotlight

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

There aren't really any surprises in this category, as usual. I'm glad to see Bryan Cranston. And maybe this will be the year poor Leonardo DiCaprio actually gets his damn Oscar! (I haven't seen The Revenant so I can't comment on whether or not he would deserve it for this specific role.)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

It's weird that I haven't seen J-Law's new film; usually, I watch everything she's in. I've heard next to nothing about Joy, though - she did win the Globe, so there must be a little merit there. And I'm happy for Saoirse Ronan - she's incredible! I'm thinking Brie Larson or Cate Blanchett, though.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

This could be the year for Sly; a lot of people are gunning for him to win. Glad to see Mark Rylance in there; a bit of a different lineup!

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

I'm just happy to see my girl Rachel McAdams back in the film world. I can't wait to see Spotlight. And I sort of can't believe this is her first Oscar nod! I'm also hearing a lot about Alicia Vikander suddenly.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ed Lachman, Carol
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
Roger Deakins, Sicario 

COSTUME DESIGN
Sandy Powell, Carol
Sandy Powell, Cinderella
Paco Delgado, The Danish Girl
Jenny Beavan, Mad Max: Fury Road
Jacqueline West, The Revenant

DIRECTING
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max:Fury Road
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl In the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

FILM EDITING
Hank Corwin, The Big Short
Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road
Stephen Mirrione, The Revenant
Tom McArdle, Spotlight
Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)
Mustang (France)
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Theeb (Jordan)
A War (Denmark)

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin, Mad Max: Fury Road
Love Larson and Eva von Bahr, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini, The Revenant

This is one category in which I'm not at all surprised to see Mad Max nominated.

ORIGINAL SCORE
Thomas Newman, Bridge of Spies
Carter Burwell, Carol
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Johann Johansson, Sicario
John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

ORIGINAL SONG
"Earned It," Fifty Shades of Grey - Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Deheala Quenneville and Stephen Moccio
"Manta Ray," Racing Extinction - Music by J. Ralph; Lyric by Antony Hegarty
"Simple Song #3," Youth - Music and Lyric by David Lang
"Til It Happens to You," The Hunting Ground - Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
"Writing's On the Wall," Spectre - Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

THIS WAS CRAZY. Can't believe Bond won over a song with an essential message, sung so incredibly by Gaga. (And introduced by Joe Biden, randomly but amazingly.)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Adam Stockhausen (Production Design) and Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich (Set Decoration), Bridge of Spies
Eve Stewart (Production Design) and Michael Standish (Set Decoration), The Danish Girl
Colin Gibson (Production Design) and Lisa Thompson (Set Decoration), Mad Max: Fury Road
Arthur Max (Production Design) and Celia Bobak (Set Decoration), The Martian
Jack Fisk (Production Design) and Hamish Purdy (Set Decoration), The Revenant

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay's Super Team
We Can't Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stutterer

SOUND EDITING
Mark Mangini and David White, Mad Max: Fury Road
Oliver Tarney, The Martian
Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender, The Revenant
Alan Robert Murray, Sicario
Matthew Wood and David Acord, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

SOUND MIXING
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin, Bridge of Spies
Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo, Mad Max: Fury Road
Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth, The Martian
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montano, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek, The Revenant
Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

VISUAL EFFECTS
Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett, Ex Machina
Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams, Mad Max: Fury Road
Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner, The Martian
Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer, The Revenant
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
Drew Goddard, The Martian
Emma Donoghue, Room


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Matt Charman and Ethan & Joel Coen, Bridge of Spies
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen, Inside Out
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff, Straight Outta Compton

Review: My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut

My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut by Hannah Hart
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Just reading this a little late. I loved it, and, though my experience from watching My Drunk Kitchen makes me think some of these recipes are just as bad as they seem, some of them are actually genius and I want to try them. But I loved the stories and the advice and the observations; Hannah's always been great at those, and I feel like this is an important book for everyone to read, whether you're at a happy place or in a hard time.

View all my reviews