Sunny Grewal on the Oscars…

February 7 2014

A very big welcome to our first columnist!

Sunny Grewal (pictured above), one half of the radio partnership that is Sunny and Shay (his wife) – with her, they both host the Sunny and Shay show on BBC London 94.9FM, every Sunday between 6pm and 8pm.
The couple have just been announced as the official UK brand Ambassadors to the country’s largest ethnic film festival, the London Indian Film Festival.
Sunny (mostly, see below) will be giving www.asianculturevulture.com his thoughts on the films he has seen every month…

HELLO, www.asianculturevulture.com readers – I am very excited to be doing this.

I absolutely love films, whether it’s Hollywood/Bollywood or even a low-budget Punjabi movie, I am there, munching on my popcorn and just waiting to be thrilled, awed and seduced by what is on the big screen in front of me.

You don’t have to agree with me – you can always tell me on facebook.com/sunnyandshay or on twitter @sunnyandshay If you have missed their show then listen back www.bbc.co.uk/sunnyandshay

Right, let’s get to business and talk about the films that have come and gone and which have been nominated for the Oscars and Baftas.

I am going to make some predictions – you make yours too, let’s see who gets more of them right…

Yes, so it’s the British Academy of Film and Television awards (Baftas) on Sunday, February 16 and then just two weeks later on March 2, it’s the Daddy of all awards really – the 86th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards, better known as the Oscars!

Okay, right off the bat, let’s start with the Best Picture Award in the Oscars.

In this category, we have: “American Hustle“, “Captain Phillips“, “Dallas Buyers Club“, “Gravity“, “Her“, “Nebraska“, “Philomena“, and “12 years A Slave“, “The Wolf of Wall Street“.

Now, “The Wolf of Wall Street” is my favourite and I want this to win. If you’re a big fan of Martin Scorsese (director) at his best, then this is that film. If you want an example of something from the past that he has done that is similar, it’s like “Goodfellas”.

The Wolf does for bankers, what Goodfellas did for gangsters, so if you want to know what bankers were like in the 1980s, then go see this.

There are a lot of drugs in it and I know there has been criticism about it glamorising that lifestyle – but we are in the head and mind of the narrator of the story.

Look, they were off their heads, high on life amongst other things a lot of the time and it made them feel larger than life and that’s what you are getting on the screen.

It’s from their perspective, so of course, it’s glossy and glamorous, it’s their world. It’s just like Goodfellas – narrated by a character who was a gangster – I wanted to be a gangster after that film (sorry Mum, Shay).

Shay (interrupts): You’ve told people what you like, but you haven’t told them what you think is going to win…

Sunny: I am coming to that. You weren’t even supposed to be here. Sorry, readers.

Yes, so here’s the film that’s going to win…everyone’s been talking about it, a British director, Steve McQueen …and two Londoners (lead, Chiwetel Ejiofor), so we have to support this film, it’s “12 Years a Slave“.

Technically, this film is amazing, but let’s talk about it emotionally – it’s not “Schindler’s List” (Steven Spielberg).

When someone like Spielberg gets behind a film like that, straightaway he pulls at the heartstrings. I am still haunted by it.

Shay: I haven’t seen it. Don’t give it away.

Sunny: My wife there – she just can’t stop interfering – even though this is my column.

So, yes, they are going to give it to “12 Years a Slave“, there’s a lot of hype and discussion about the topic and history of slavery but I think it was done a little bit better by Quentin Tarantino in “Django Unchained”. Thank you, Mr Tarantino for opening up the subject and topic of discussion.

Best Picture prediction
Baftas: 12 Years a Slave
Oscars: 12 Years a Slave
What I want to win: The Wolf of Wall Street.

A special note – in any other year it would have won it. It is American Hustle. Simple film but brilliant performances; if you want a film with good characters and a good direction of those characters, this is the film for you. A filmmaker’s film.

Next up, Oscar’s Best Actor in a Leading Role: Christian Bale (“American Hustle“), Bruce Dern (“Nebraska“), Leonardo Di Caprio (“The Wolf of Wolf Street”), Chiwetel Ejifor (“12 years A Slave”), Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club” – DBC).

Straightaway – before we even talk about who is on this list – let’s look at who wasn’t nominated in this category.

We don’t have Tom Hanks, brilliant performance in “Captain Phillips“. And no Idris Elba who played Mandela in “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”. But you know who trumps all of them? Matthew McConaughey.

He is going to win the best actor role. Outstanding. He has a had a great year – he had a small film come out last year called “Mud”, not so publicised, but one of my favourite films. Watch it on Netflix perhaps…

McConaughey is also in “The Wolf of Wall Street” and he stole the film – he’s only in it for about five minutes. He is also in the HBO TV series, “True Detective”, alongside Woody Harrelson (which starts on Sky Atlantic on February 22). Every time he’s been nominated, he’s won. I’ll be shocked if the Oscars don’t follow the same trend.

Leonardo is there and my favourite, personally; and always, Christian Bale can do no wrong for me – it’s a shame. He always embodies the characters he plays. This is not Batman, he has a fat belly and a comb-over.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Bafta prediction: Leonardo Di Caprio (no Matthew McConaughey, as DBC release too late).
Oscar prediction: Matthew McConaughey
Who I want to win: Matthew McConaughey

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Amy Adams (“American Hustle“), Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine“), Sandra Bullock (“Gravity“), Judi Dench (“Philomena”), Meryl Streep (“August, Osage County”).

This is another category where all the nominees are amazing – but I haven’t seen “Blue Jasmine“. Woody Allen is one of my favourite directors. But if they gave it to Meryl Streep, I will be a happy man. This woman reinvents herself with every role. It’s not Meryl Streep, actress, it should be Meryl Streep Oscar – with every performance, just give her an Oscar. I love her.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Bafta prediction: Cate Blachett (no Meryl Streep in this category)
Oscar prediction: Meryl Streep (though Cate Blanchett could get it, but it’s get political because Allen snubs the Oscars), so Amy Adams is also possible. I’d be shocked if they gave it to anyone else.
Who I want to win: Meryl Streep or Cate Blanchett.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips“), Bradley Cooper (“American Hustle“), Micheal Fassbinder (“12 Years A Slave“), Jonah Hill (“The Wolf of Wall Street“) and Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club“).

Jared Leto (below) deserves it, he is outstanding in this role – he’s been away for a while and he comes back to play this cross-dressing transsexual and to be honest with you he looks like a beautiful woman and he deserves the Oscar. Hands down. Don’t understand why Jonah Hill is in here, his character has no depth and he’s done better in the past. Good to see Barkhad Abdi get a nomination in his first role. Bradley Cooper, brilliant role and everyone in “American Hustle” kills it, and Fassbinder is amazing but an Oscar over Leto, no.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Bafta prediction: N/A
Oscar prediction: Jared Leto
Who I want to win: Jared Leto

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Sally Hawkins (“Blue Jasmine”), Jennifer Lawrence (“American Hustle”), Lupita Nyong’o (“12 years A Slave”), Julia Roberts (“August: Osage County”), June Squibb (“Nebraska”).

Lupita out of all them on the screen made me feel uncomfortable – she really moved me because of what she went through.

Without much dialogue it was haunting. She should walk away with it. Julia Roberts is fine and June Squibb plays a real character, quite funny, almost like a character out of a Cohen Brothers film but yeah, it’s Lupito. Sally Hawkins is possible because Lupito has been nominated (Golden Globes) but has not walked away with any of them.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Bafta prediction: N/A
Oscar prediction: Lupito Nyong’o
Who I want to win: Lupita Nyong’o

Best Director: David O Russell (“American Hustle“), Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity“), Alexander Payne (“Nebraska“), Steve McQueen (“12 Years A Slave“) and Martin Scorsese (“The Wolf of Wall Street“).

This is one of my favourite categories and the one I look forward to more than any other. Ben Affleck should have got one for “Argo” last year, everywhere else he was winning it. “Gravity“, technically is a brilliant film, and you have one character who holds the whole film as it is. It feels claustrophobic, even though you are in space and you are on the edge of your seat for the whole film.

“Nebraska” is a light simple movie, like a road trip with an old man and a young one.

David O. Russell has done his job, he has managed to get performances out of four big actors, again. His actors are in all the main categories again – for a second year in a row (after “Silver Linings Playbook“).

“The Wolf of Wall Street” should win – Scorsese should get this award but he won’t because of the politics and the subject matter of the film. And you know that American bankers fund Hollywood films! But they are not going to win it because everyone is up against Steve McQueen.

Best Director
Bafta prediction: Steve McQueen
Oscar prediction: Steve McQueen
Who I want to win: Martin Scorsese or David O Russell

I would like to think at least 90 per cent of my predictions will be right – let’s see, we’ll come back next month and find out.

Oh yes, I saw “Jai Ho“, yes. It’s a good Bollywood film, a good message, most people were motivated into doing something positive. It’s about the common man standing up for himself and us rooting for the underdog. Salman Khan is doing what he does best and we love for him for it. Don’t lose weight, Salman!

Wait. I am not finished. Now, what to look out for next…month…it’s worth seeing “Dallas Buyers Club“, it’s a must watch for any film fan.

Now for a popcorn movie, if you want to hark back to the past or you want to introduce your kids to what you saw when you were young, then see “Robocop“.

We slightly older people like to moan about the remakes, say they are rubbish but we love them because we like nostalgia and we like to say the original was so much better. I am definitely going to be parking my bum on that cinema seat to see it. It’s got Gary Oldman in it and Samuel S. Jackson. What more do you need? There’s a man in a metal suit…

The other film is “Cuban Fury“, a British film, made by Nick Frost, who is the film partner of Simon Pegg but he isn’t in this movie. From the trailer, it looks amazing and what we in Britain do best…comedy, irony.

Another film which is good for all the family is the Lego Movie (“Lego: The Piece of Resistance“). Everyone’s played with Lego; this movie has got voice actors coming out of every orifice if you want to think of it like that. It’s got Morgan Freeman as God, that’s the only reason to watch…end of.

Go and see George Clooney, one of my favourite directors/actors/people in Hollywood, in “The Monuments Men“. Big star cast.

Next month, a bit more on Bollywood films – “Highway” and “Gunday” (if you like men with six-packs greased up, this is for you…)

Tell me what you think, contact me on twitter @sunnyandshay or on facebook.com/sunnyandshay

You can listen to Sunny & Shay on BBC London 94.9FM here www.bbc.co.uk/sunnyandshay

Sunny and Shay from the Bafta nominated Channel 4’s “The Family” delighted us as members of the Grewal’s whose antics were followed daily on the Channel 4 series – their  Punjabi wedding became a major part of the series and gave its non Asian viewers an insight into the build up to a British Asian wedding! Since the success of the show Sunny and Shay now present their own Sunday evening show for BBC London 94.9FM at 6pm.