By Calvin Dyson

Won’t be long before Norman’s putting on Mother’s lipstick…

 **Warning! If you’ve not seen the Psycho sequels (2 and 4 in particular) may contain mild spoilers!**

Best Bit:  Mother tries to drive away in the car but Norman leaps through the window and the pair drive around in circles fighting for the wheel.  The restrained look of amusement of Emma’s face paired with ‘Shit’ was hilarious.

Worst Bit:  They threw the belt in the sea…  Because that worked SO well the last time they chucked something in there…  Have they learned nothing?!  Seriously, rip it to shreds, burn it, drive to the next state and bury the remains in the woods somewhere!

Most Hitchcockian bit:  The sound of water travelling through the pipes is what tips off Deputy Shelby that someone else is in the motel.  It’s the kind of mundane thing Hitchcock would have used as a plot device.

Best Line:  “Shelby’s here.  He found the girl in the motel room and she ran off into the woods he’s there right now chasing after her.  Norman, is what he just said true?”

Biggest surprise:  Norman killed his own father!  Quite a shake up from our previous Psycho continuity of Mrs Spool…  And, um, bee stings…  Actually I think Norman killing his father in a blind rage is probably the most sensible way to go.

Review:  If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought this was the season finale of Bates Motel.  This episode was a real wrap up.  We saw conclusions of stories and arcs and even the death of a (relatively) main character!

I’m glad we got to this point sooner rather than later.  It’s good to know that the showrunners aren’t going to drag out stories any longer than they need to be.  I really thought we weren’t going to see an end to this story until episode ten but after a good few episodes of largely character development it was good to see plot at the forefront.  The shoot out in the Bates house was easily the most exciting episode of the series so far!

That’s not to say we didn’t get a lot more character development despite the action.  Dylan in particular has emerged as something of a white knight among the Bates clan.  It’ll be interesting to see if Norma is okay with him moving out after this event…  Norman is certainly no great help in physically threatening matters like this.

Norman is evolving into our classic psycho at a speedy rate too.  He’s got the blackouts, imagining Mother is there when she isn’t…  Maybe Norma will get bumped off a lot sooner than I thought!  It was a big shock to find out Norman had killed his own father and even more shocking to see Mother as a subject of domestic abuse!  I wouldn’t have thought she’d stand for that.

As much as I loved this episode (my personal favourite of the series so far in fact) it wasn’t without fault.  Much of this I feel comes down the Chinese prostitutes treatment in the script.  Surely this character would have lots to reveal and talk about and yet, the story relegates her to unconsciousness for most of the time.  Indeed, I think it was maybe too much to expect this character to become anything more than a plot device.  Of course we’ll see next episode exactly what the writers plan for her to do now…  Surely they can’t just leave her running around in the woods behind the motel for the rest of the season?

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This truly is Bates Motel for the 21^st Century.  Norma was smart enough to leave the creepy old house off of the main page…

Best Bit:  Norman waiting for his Mother to be released from prison with a bunch of flowers in his hand.  It’s obvious that Norman is not used to being in the dog house with Mother.  He thought once she was out, that was it, back to regular life but Norma is seeing things a little more realistically.  The scene where she threw him out of the car was fantastic too.

Worst Bit:  How long did it take Regina to get those damn IR forms for Deputy Shelby?  Are they kept on the other side of the State?!

Most Hitchcockian bit:  There wasn’t any particular stand out Hitchcockian moment for me this episode but when Norman was buttoning up his shirt to leave Bradley’s house I half expected him to say ‘You never did eat your lunch did you?’  I understand that only die hard Psycho fans will probably get that reference…

Best Line:  ‘He make me have-a sex’ followed closely by ‘I KILL YOU!’  I can’t think of a single case in the history of film and television where the phrase ‘I kill you’ has instigated anything but laughter.

Biggest surprise:  Norman and Dylan’s bromance has greatly accelerated!  First it’s swigging whisky on the porch, then it’s motorbike rides through suburbs…  Looks like it’s a house by the beach next!

Review:  I need to get this off my chest…  I’m really enjoying Bates Motel and it’s currently shaping up to be one of the best first seasons of a television show I’ve ever seen but if there’s one thing that really bugs me it’s the whole organized crime thing…  First it’s the weed and the AK47’s and now apparently quaint little White Pine Bay has some kind of thriving sex trade going on.  Now, from what we’ve seen so far I find it hard to believe that this town has more than a populous of a couple of thousand.  Surely word of a prostitute being held up in the Deputy Sherriff’s basement would travel fast to some out of town relative who would alert the real authorities? FBI or some such?  If this were L.A. or New York or some other huge city I’d buy it.  It just seems a bit at odds with the aesthetic of the town but then I guess maybe that’s the point? 

Sex trafficking aside, episode five has probably been my favorite of the season so far since the pilot.  There was plenty of story and character development, a good level of creepy and some good action.

It was Bradley’s turn last week so we’re back with Emma as primary ‘Bates Girl’ this episode.  I’m surprised that we’re five episodes in and I can’t recall a single scene where both ‘Bates Girls’ have been present and exchange dialogue.  Anyway, Emma finds out about Norman sleeping with Bradley and if that scene didn’t break your heart then you have no goodness in your soul.  Olivia Cooke really stands out in this episode.  Her performance was perfectly judged in that scene.  She’s definitely my ‘Bates Girl’ to root for now! Go Team Emma!

Meanwhile things for Mother were down and up and down again this episode.  Hurray for Deputy Abercrombie and Fitch coming to her rescue and getting rid of the carpet fibers but boooo he’s actually into sex trafficking!  It’ll be interesting to see how this revelation plays out over the next few episodes.  No doubt Norman and Emma will want to do the right thing and call the FBI but Norma has too much riding on staying sweet with the Deputy to do that.  Conflicts ahoy!

Dylan also had a week of ups and downs.  Hurray he got the money for his dream house by the beach but boooo his pal gets shot.  As silly as I think all the high crime in this small town is, Dylan’s pal getting shot was one of the biggest shocks of the season so far.  I thought we were going to be lead down the route of Dylan owing money and the friendship turns bad and such but no!  I do wonder where this little plot thread is going though.  The residents of this town are dropping like flies!  Not since Cabot Cove in Murder, She Wrote has a small fishing village seen such crime!

Now, as we’re half way through the first season I’m going to make a few predictions…  I think by the end of the season we’ll see the deaths of Deputy Shelby, Norman’s teacher Miss Watson (she’s been fairly inconspicuous so far, but Norman fantasizing about her tied up leads me to believe she’s going to appear more prominent sometime in the future) and Bradley Martin.  What do you think?  Will that be too much of a bloodbath?  Or will more feel the blade of the Bates’ kitchen knife?

Sherriff Romero’s Manscara – Coming soon to a boutique near you!

Best Bit: Norman taking a huge swig of whisky.  The scene between Norman and Dylan on the porch was lovely…  Up until Norman wastes…  Um spends a good couple of minutes explaining what happened to Keith Summers, how he feels, where the belt is etc.  I thought the recap came at the start of an episode!  There has to have been a more neat way for Dylan to be updated on the wacky misadventures of Norman and Mother without having to dedicate a few minutes of screen time to a dry, verbal summary.

Worst Bit:  ‘Aw shucks the dump is closed.  Looks like we’ll just have to come back tomorr…  Mom?  Mom get down from there please, climbing the barb wired fence is not going to help.’  Norma leaping onto the fence and moving around like a space invader seemed a bit OTT for me.  I get that this is the character realizing her actions will have consequences and that’s why she loses her cool but I felt it was a little over done.

Most Hitchcockian bit:  Keith Summer’s hand in the bucket was deliciously macabre.

Best Line: ‘I KILLED THE CRAP OUTTA HIM!’

Biggest surprise:  Norman got laid!  And it wasn’t with his Mother!

Review:  Episode 4 Trust Me is another slow moving character developing episode but the characters here are interesting enough that the 40 minutes fly by.

We get more Brothers Bates growth here and I find myself warming to Dylan a lot more.  The purely bad-ass nature of the character is slipping away and we’re seeing a much more rounded person.  And he hardly even did anything this episode!  Seriously, how long can a person stand to be sitting on a porch drinking and smoking?!

Emma was conspicuously absent from this episode meaning we focused largely on Norman’s relationship with ‘Bates Girl’ number two.  Bradley seems to have been spending the past few days moping around town wearing big sunglasses like a pop star with a black eye.  The pair bond over similar interests and experiences (ice cream, dead dad etc.) before jumping under the bed sheets for some rumpy pumpy.  This is approximately one day after Norman promised Emma’s dad he would be ‘decent’ with her…  Lets hope for Norman’s sake he’s not one of those weed growing townsfolk (I should point out I’m still very skeptical about this whole marijuana town thing).

Meanwhile Norma continues her relationship of convenience with Deputy Abercrombie and Fitch who took Norman on the most awkward fishing trip imaginable.  Norma and Deputy Shelby’s relationship is growing to be one of the most intriguing aspects of the show.  The scene where he turns up to arrest her, and does so in a very professional way, is interesting in that it makes it clear that Shelby is only going to take a stand for Norma in private.  He’s not going to challenge the Sherriff’s judgment but he will do a bit of sneaking behind the scenes.

By the way, scene-of-the-week award definitely goes to Norma’s interrogation with the mascara-wearing Sherriff.  Vera Farmiga again shows why she’s the perfect actress to play Mother Bates.  That scene positively bristled with tension.  There was a point I was certain the Sherriff was going to pin Norma to a wall to get a confession out of her.

What else?…  Um…  Oh yes the girl in the deputy’s basement wasn’t there…  Is it all in Norman’s mind?  Is Deputy Shelby really sex trafficking Chinese girls?  Is White Pine Bay really a large enough town to warrant a sex trade industry? Find out next episode!

‘Excuse me? I’m Norman Bates I seem to have stumbled onto an entirely different TV show… Could you point me in the right direction?’

Best Bit:  Norman referring to the images in the scrapbook as ‘pornographic’ and Emma’s response of “Most text messages are dirtier than this.”  Those two lines perfectly convey to the audience that Norman’s mindset is clearly not of this decade.

Worst Bit:  Dylan and the townsmen guarding the marijuana fields and hunting the pheasant with AK47’s and shotguns.  I’m coming around to the idea of the town having its own justice system and that but seeing characters wander around forests with machine guns just feels like it’s a part of a completely different series.

Most Hitchcockian bit:  “I was sexually assaulted and I killed a man.  Why would you ever ever in a million years want to keep a memento of that?”  I may as well change the name of this category to ‘Most Incesty bit’… 

 Best Line: “Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Bates”

 Biggest surprise:  Norman finding the drugged up Chinese prostitute in Deputy Shelby’s basement.  Looks like Abercrombie and Fitch model policeman is shaping up to be this series main antagonist!

 Review:   What’s Wrong with Norman presents a much slower pace than the last two episodes.  But that’s fine, it’s breathing space for us to get to better know the relationships between these people and watch them develop.

 I very much enjoyed what they did with Dylan in this episode.  He’s becoming more likeable and more human.  His want of a stable family life and job came across well and generates sympathy as, so long as he’s living with Mother and Norman in this town his existence is going to be anything but stable.  Dylan opens the episode with an amusing Taxi Driver-esque scene which was something of a relief.  It’s good to see we can generate some humor from this character and not have him constantly shuffling around looking moody.

 Meanwhile our two main Bates’s had their own blossoming romances.  Mother with Deputy Shelby and Norman with Emma…  Or Bradley?  Or maybe even Miss Watson (her hand lingered on Norman’s arm for just a little bit too long for my liking!)?  In a change from usual high school conventions, Norman has managed to be the only new kid in history to faint in class and NOT become the subject of torment but rather have women throw themselves at him. 

 It was nice to see a bit more of Bradley this episode.  She’s definitely the least developed character of the main cast at the moment and is currently ‘Bates Girl’ number two to Emma’s number one but I’m interested to see where this character goes.  At the moment she seems quite bland but I have the utmost faith she’ll be developed into someone equally as interesting as the rest of the cast and not just end up as knife fodder for our two protagonists.

 One of the more prominent elements of this episode is Norman’s madness, which has been lightly touched on in the last two episode but becomes significantly more overt here.  The scenes of him imagining his teacher/mother tied up with rope and of Mother telling him to retrieve the belt from Deputy Shelby’s house were well handled and very creepy.  However, I’m surprised at how clear it was made that Norman was imagining the latter scene.  At first it’s unclear if Mother really is there, or if it’s all fantasy but there are a couple of shots of Norman talking to thin air which, kinda give the game away and I’m surprised the writers would do that so soon and not play with the mystery a bit more.

By Calvin Dyson

Best Bit:  The dialogue between Emma and Norma is wonderfully written and the punch line of the scene by Dylan is pretty funny too.

 Worst Bit:  Bradley’s half cremated Dad crashes his car at the beginning of the episode and…  Nothing much else really comes of it for Norman and Norma.  The whole event seems to be just an excuse to showcase the ‘eye-for-an-eye’ justice system of the town, but our two main characters are barely involved in the matter so it feels quite disjointed.  You can’t open an episode with a big, dramatic, shocking event like that and then barely refer to it again.

 Most Hitchcockian bit:  Norma getting changed in front of Norman.

 Best Line:  ‘What is your life expectancy, Emma?’

 Biggest surprise:  The town is…  Mental or something?

 Review:  If a pilot episodes primary objective is to set up characters, themes and the main premise of a show then a second episode is traditionally the one where we are introduced to the wider world of the show and episode two of Bates Motel certainly does that…  And I’m not entirely sure if I’m sold on that wider world just yet.

 We’re only two episodes in and, who knows, the whole thing may work out beautifully but this whole eye-for-an-eye town mentality is bothersome.  What exactly does it have to do with the Mother-Son relationship that’s at the center of this show?  The only effect it really has is that the stakes are higher for Norman and Mother to not be found out for murdering Keith because if they are they’ll be hung from some post like Mussolini and then burned to death as opposed to just being thrown in jail.

 And what the hell is up with the marijuana fields?  It’d be fine if the operation was just being run by some local crime syndicate but…  Everyone in the town knows about this?  They build their economy on it?  Really?  This all just seems like it’s part of a different show that got drunk and came stumbling into Bates Motel.

 But who knows?  These threads could very well end up paying off wonderfully, despite how strange they may seem at the moment, and there’s plenty more good stuff in this episode to keep a fan coming back for more.  Once again, the best scenes are those that revolve around Mother and Norman.  Put those two characters in a room and have them talk for 45 minutes and the show would still be gripping and tense.

 The episode also gave us a proper introduction to Dylan Bates, Norman’s half brother.  Max Theriot is a good actor and he’s certainly playing the bad-boy part as well as he can.  The little fight between he and Norman was great and I like that we have another character living in that house to shake up the dynamic a little bit. 

 Bradley and her Edward Cullen wannabe boyfriend were barely glimpsed this episode but that’s okay it was nice to spend time developing relationships between Norman and Emma and Norma and the Abercrombie and Fitch model policeman.  I very much liked the taxidermy nod to the Hitchcock film and did anyone else pick up on Mother referring to Norman’s father as Sam?  Possible reference to Sam Loomis?  Or coincidence?

 While not up to the level of excellence as the pilot, episode 2 of Bates Motel gives viewers a lot to chew on and edges further away from the Hitchcock Psycho lore.  It’s clear this series is going to do it’s own thing with this demented Mother and son pair and I’m trepidatiously enthusiastic to see what the next episode brings.

Bates Motel ‘First You Dream, Then You Die’ Review

By Calvin Dyson

Like Mother like son…  Wow since when was Mrs Bates so hot?!

Best Bit:  Norma and Norman’s dialogue during the boat scene at the end of the episode manages to be simultaneously sweet and sizzlingly sinister.   You can tell Mother’s hacked off that Norman is stealing lines from a film to compliment her.

Worst Bit:  The first half of the episode, though enjoyable, contains little to none of the Psycho films trademark black comedy.

Most Hitchcockian bit:  ‘You just gotta jiggle it.’  Hitchcock would have LOVED the dark humor of that scene.

Best Line:  ‘Who is gonna book a room in the rape/murder Motel?!’

Biggest surprise:  Norman’s teacher describes his test scores as ‘Excellent’.  I don’t know why but I never really imagined Norman Bates as being very intelligent.  He always just seemed more…  Average to me…  But whatever, this is a different Norman Bates after all.

Review:  Lets get one thing straight before we start reviewing this prequel series.  Bates Motel is no more a prequel to Psycho than Casino Royale is a prequel to Dr No or Batman Begins to Batman.  It’s a reboot.  

Besides, we already had a true Psycho prequel with Psycho IV: The Beginning.  It had Anthony Perkins and everything.  And in fact we already had a T.V. spin off called Bates Motel in the 1980’s…  But after this first episode of A&E’s Bates Motel I’m anticipating this series to be the best installment of the Psycho franchise since the beloved 1960 Hitchcock film.  And that’s coming from someone who loves Psycho II!

One of the more unusual things about this program is that, well, it isn’t ‘The Norman Bates Show’.  It’s as much about Mother as it is about Norman.  Vera Farmiga receives top billing in the credits and rightfully so.  Norman might be the central character of this franchise so far but this episode belongs to Mother as far as I’m concerned.  Farmiga is wise in steering away from the typical, dominating matriarch character (Sorry Olivia Hussey) and gives Mother warmth and sympathy as well as hinting at the deranged.  The scene in which Norman comes home late from school is perfectly acted by Farmiga.  The key at this early stage is not to make Mother a villain and yet she still needs to be shown as an imposing, almost malevolent figure.  She’s a protagonist here as much as Norman so the audience needs to like her…  Or at least, be willing to watch her exploits and not scream ‘DIE BITCH!’ as burly, small-townsmen attempt to rape her.  And I think Farmiga accomplishes this well.

As enthusiastic as I am about Farmiga, sadly the same zeal cannot be applied to Freddie Highmore…  Yet. 

“A boys best friend is his…” “AWWWW!! Shut up and let me pinch those cheeks!”

 “What?! The wide eyed, sickly sweet, abomination of cuteness from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Finding Neverland is playing Norman Bates?!?”

 Is how I reacted when I first heard of Highmore’s casting and obviously it’s going to be impossible to top what Anthony Perkins did in his Psycho films but, luckily for Highmore us Psychophiles have already witnessed the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Norman Bates performances thanks to Vince Vaughn so he’s automatically second best.  Don’t get me wrong, Highmore does a good job and I’m interested to see how the character evolves over the next nine episodes but if it wasn’t bad enough contending with everyone’s memories of Anthony Perkins he also must do battle with the real star of the show; Vera Farmiga.  Of course there’s plenty room to grow and I’m sure Highmore will come into his own.  Which is necessary if the series intends to follow the Psycho lore faithfully and he ends up the sole lead.  I’m predicting Mother will go the way of her 1960 counterpart by the end of season two…  If there is a season two.  It’s probably going to take a while to get used to the idea of Norman Bates as a school kid.  And owning an iPhone.

Besides our leads who are, rightfully, given the most time and attention we’re introduced to a motley band of supporting characters.  Some of whom will no doubt end up in the trunk of a swamp submerged vehicle but all of whom will no doubt provide conflict and drama for our two leads.  I’m predicting teen love triangles and angst galore between Norman, the girl with CF, the incredibly forward light-haired girl and her boyfriend.  I’m also predicting some rumpy pumpy for Norma with either the Sherrif and/or his Abercrombie and Fitch model deputy.  There’s also the teacher character…  Don’t know what to expect there…  Um…  Who else is in this cast again? 

*Checks wiki*

“Hi, I get third billing in the opening credits I’m totally the third most important character in the show!…  No, I’m not in the pilot…”

Oh of course there’s another Bates! Certainly one of the weaker aspects of this pilot is how quickly and throw away the subject of Norman’s brother is handled.  Norman Bates has a brother?!  He gets a passing mention in dialogue and calls Mother towards the beginning of the episode asking for money but then that’s kinda it.  Of course this is going to lead to conflict and tension and will probably be a major plot line for the series but I’d rather they maybe dropped one or two from the pilot and picked them up properly in the next episode because this pilot is brimming with enough potential story lines already.  I do love how they’re picking up on the ‘They moved away the highway’ line from the Hitchcock film and making a whole plot out of it.  What exactly is Mother planning to do to prevent them building that thing?  And who was that getting injected at the end of the episode?  And what happened with Norman’s Dad exactly?

It’s unfortunate that, given the great performances and excellent writing that the direction of this episode is so unimpressive.  Last years Hitchcock by Sacha Gervasi suffered from a similar problem.  When you’re making something that’s brushing shoulders with memories of, arguably, the greatest director in all of cinema, more attention is going to be paid to the visuals than usual and while Tucker Gates’ direction is competent and very standard of U.S. television, that’s part of the problem.  The pilot episode should be setting a visual style for the rest of the series to follow and perhaps anything too radical would have caused worry for the producers and A&E but the recent Channel 4 U.K. drama Utopia has proved that creative, unique and different direction does have a place on television screens.

As far as pilot episodes go, ‘Bates Motel’ is one of the finest I’ve seen.  A pilot episode is never going to be the best episode of a series.  They are always far too concerned with setting up characters and story and mysteries that they often forget to breath and let the audience enjoy what’s happening on screen.  Fortunately, ‘First You Dream, Then You Die’ manages to do both and as far as jumping off points go, I’m sailing through the wind right after this show and can’t wait for next weeks episode.  And lets hope for the future of the series that the 3 million+ U.S. viewers feel the same way!

Calvin also has his own film review channel on YouTube. Take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/user/calvindyson

LONDON ANIME CON - AN ANIME & GAMING CONVENTION THIS 9-10 FEBRUARY! 

London Anime Con is an 18+ anime and gaming event on February 9-10 at The Rocket Complex, Holloway Road. Signup for London Anime Con HERE. Pricing is reduced £16 for two days or £9 for Saturday & £7 for Sunday if you register now!

Brought to you by the likes of Namco-Bandai, Arc-Systems, NeoEmpire and Konami the Sunday of London Anime Con on 10th February shall be a special-gaming themed-day! They will be running an entire days worth of gaming tournaments with big-cash prizes at stake. But that’s not all, for there is also a lot of gaming going on for the Saturday as well! Check out the provisional timetable HERE.

Free to Enter Tournaments: Sonic Racers Transformed (Wii U), Zombie U, Mario Kart Wii/7, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, DDR/Stepmania, Gears of War, Halo Reach, Call of Duty Black Ops 2, Smash Bros, Pokemon, Mario Party 9, Let’s Fish!, Metal Gear Rising
Stakes Tournaments (Big Prizes): SSFIV, Blazblue Extend, Marvel v Capcom 3, Street Fighter X Tekken, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, DDR/Stepmania, Super Smash Bros Brawl/Melee
Casual Play, over 100 Games: Too Many To List from modern to retro. Chillout with your friends! 
MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED! 

EVEN MORE GAMING HIGHLIGHTS…

Live-Music & Chiptunists- The most popular musicians from the Chiptunist scene including electronic-hit TEMPHUiBIS, 2 Hearts 1up AND MORE!
Gamers Day Quiz - How hardcore are you? Sunday afternoon will see the gamers-quiz. Team up with your friends and prove your gaming knowledge to win cash prizes!
Gaming related Cosplay including the Cosplay Masquerade!
A Gaming-themed party bought to you by Gamerdisco, London’s #1 gaming clubnight! As well as some of the best DJs, there will be live-music, dance performances and free glowsticks and lollipops up for grabs!

Video Gaming Chillout – An entire zone where you can drop in, play your favourite games non-competitively and chill out with your friends! Come along, grab a drink and have a good time!
Handheld Gaming - Make sure to bring along your DS or PSP! There will be plenty of wireless gaming taking place, as well as hand-held tournaments planned including Pokemon hosted by Pokemon World!
Retro Zone – A wide variety of consoles from the 8-bit/16-bit era right through to the original SNES, Megadrive, Playstation and N64. Come enjoy your favourite classics! Gaming-Related Traders – The likes of Plug N Play shall be selling the rare and unusual that you would struggle to find on ebay, much less in the shops! Come along and check it out!
Massive DDR Tournament; Stay tuned for a big announcement to come with this one! We’ll also have DDR Casual play as well as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

Not a Gamer? Fear not, for the Sunday shall STILL have plenty of Anime, Cosplay, Manga, Talks, Workshops, Karaoke, TCGing and J-Culture present! Why not check out all that London Anime Con has to offer on it’s website HERE. 

BASIC DETAILS

Opening Times: 11am to Midnight.
Pricing: Reduced price Sunday entry to just £7 if you pre-pay now. On the day entry is £10 for Sunday London Anime Con Website: http://www.londonanimecon.com
View Event Timetable: HERE
Tournament Information: HERE
Link To Pre-Pay: Here
Join the forums: HERE

The nominations for the 2013 British Academy of Film Awards were revealed today, January 9th at BAFTA HQ in London. The awards ceremony, dubbed “Britain’s Oscars” will be aired on the BBC on 10th February 2013 from the Royal Opera House, and hosted by Stephen Fry (who deserves some sort of knighthood by now, surely?!)

The nominees for the EE Rising Star award were recently announced, and notable for being (nearly) an all female line-up. The Rising Star award is the only award voted for by the public. Choose wisely!

EE Rising Star Award
Elizabeth Olsen
Juno Temple
Suraj Sharma
Andrea Riseborough
Alicia Vikander

Here are the nominations in full…

Best Film

Argo
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Skyfall doesn’t get a look-in here, but makes up for it in the next category. Epic adaptations Les Miserables and Life of Pi are strong contenders but critic friendly films Argo and Lincoln could also fare. Then there’s controversial Zero Dark Thirty which may prove another hit for Kathryn Bigelow…

Outstanding British Film
Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
Bart Layton (director), Dimitri Doganis (producer) - The Imposter
David Morris (director), Jacqui Morris (director/producer) - McCullin
Dexter Fletcher (director/writer), Danny King (writer) - Wild Bill
James Bobin (director) - The Muppets
Tina Gharavi (director/writer) - I Am Nasrine

Film Not in the English Language
Amour
Headhunters
The Hunt
Rust and Bone
Untouchable

Here, Rust and Bone and Amour have proved to be the critics favourites, so we’ll be very surprised if either of these fail to win.

Documentary
The Imposter
Marley
McCullin
Searching for Sugarman
West of Memphis

Animated Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman

Director
Michael Haneke - Amour
Ben Affleck - Argo
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Kathryn Bigelow - Zero Dark Thirty

Original Screenplay
Amour
Django Unchained
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty

Adapted Screenplay
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Leading Actor

Ben Affleck - Argo
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln is surely BAFTA bait but we’re hoping Ben Affleck or Hugh Jackman get some much deserved recognition.

Leading Actress
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren - Hitchcock
Emmanuel Riva - Amour

In 2006/2007 Helen Mirren won the Oscar and the BAFTA for her star turn in The Queen - can her powerhouse performance as Alma Reville in Hitchcock earn her more accolades? We’d like to think so :D

Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin - Argo
Javier Bardem - Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - The Master
Judi Dench - Skyfall
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions

Original Music
Dario Marianelli - Anna Karenina
Alexandre Desplat - Argo
Mychael Danna - Life of Pi
John Williams - Lincoln
Thomas Newman - Skyfall

Cinematography
Seamus McGarvey - Anna Karenina
Danny Cohen - Les Misérables
Claudio Miranda - Life of Pi
Janusz Kaminski - Lincoln
Roger Deakins - Skyfal
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Editing
William Goldenberg - Argo
Fred Raskin - Django Unchained
Tim Squyres - Life of Pi
Stuart Baird - Skyfall
Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg - Zero Dark Thirty

Production Design
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer - Anna Karenina
Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson - Les Misérables
David Gropman, Anna Pinnock - Life of Pi
Rick Carter, Jim Erickson - Lincoln
Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock - Skyfall

Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran - Anna Karenina
Beatrix Aruna Pasztor - Great Expectations
Paco Delgado - Les Misérables
Joanna Johnston - Lincoln
Colleen Atwood - Snow White and the Huntsman

Make Up & Hair
Ivana Primorac - Anna Karenina
Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger - Hitchcock
Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Lisa Westcott - Les Misérables
Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou - Lincoln

Sound
Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman - Django Unchained
Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst - Les Misérables
Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill - Life of Pi
Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers - Skyfall

Special Visual Effects
Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley - The Dark Knight Rises
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer - Life of Pi
Nominees TBC - The Avengers
Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth - Prometheus

Short Animation
Here to Fall
I’m Fine, Thanks
The Making of Longbird

Short Film
The Curse
Good Night
Swimmer
Tumult
The Voorman Problem