Eddie Redmayne

Episode 415 of ‘Seinfeld’ was called “The Movie,” and it ended with Jerry delivering a monologue about the guy in every group of friends who can’t follow the plots of films and invariably spends them whispering confused questions to their seatmates (“Why did they kill that guy? I thought he was with them? Wasn't he with them? Why would they kill him if he was with them? Oh, he wasn't with them. It's a good thing they killed him!”) ‘Jupiter Ascending’ turned me into that guy. If you can explain the plot of this baffling movie in all of its intricacies, you are either a genius or one of the Wachowskis who wrote and directed it. It’s hard to believe that a movie that contains this much exposition could also be this confusing, but it does and it is. Something went horribly wrong here.

It’s not surprising that the BBC made a little-known (at least to North American audiences) Stephen Hawking biopic back in 2004. This transforms into slightly interesting trivia when you realize that ‘Hawking’ stars a pre-fame Benedict Cumberbatch as the renowned theoretical physicist. However, it edges into wacky “Holy s--t!” territory when you realize that the Discovery Channel is going to re-air the film this Sunday. The same day as the Golden Globes. Where Eddie Redmayne is nominated for playing Hawking in ‘The Theory of Everything.’ And where his chief rival is Cumberbatch, nominated for playing another British genius in ‘The Imitation Game.’

There’s a special sensibility that James Marsh brings as the director of ‘The Theory of Everything,’ which, I suspect, has a lot to do with his success as a documentary filmmaker. Marsh won an Oscar for directing ‘Man on Wire’ – a documentary detailing Philippe Petit’s high-wire walk between the two World Trade Center towers – and now he’s back on everyone’s awards radar with his Stephen Hawking biopic, ‘The Theory of Everything.’

It’s a strange thing, admiring an actor’s ability to physically act out a part when the role in question has that actor almost entirely immobilized. And what Eddie Redmayne does in portraying Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything' is physical – what Redmayne conveys and accomplishes with basically just limited facial expressions is truly remarkable. But that’s the thing: who looks at Stephen Hawking and thinks to themselves, Yeah, I could successfully portray this man in a movie?

Felicity Jones in ‘The Theory of Everything’ is a revelation of sorts. Think about how many times a biopic has been done and the lead female character is written off in reviews as “So and so was great in a thankless role.” Ignoring the cliché of the word “thankless,” that’s almost become a trope in movies like this: The “thankless” role for a woman. But, that’s what’s so fascinating about Jones in ‘The Theory of Everything,’ not only is she Great with a capital G playing the role of Stephen Hawking’s first wife, Jane Hawking, an argument could also be made that Jones is the true lead of this movie. Put another way: There are a lot of thanks to go around.

The Oscar race is beginning to take shape, as more and more awards hopefuls make the rounds at film festivals. With press already shouting Eddie Redmayne's praises for his performance as Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything,' and the film's latest trailer debut, it looks like we have a frontrunner for Best Actor.

This is why awards season is stupid. (Full disclosure: I kind of like awards season sometimes, but it is stupid.) We can’t live in a world in which the media can see ‘The Theory of Everything’ or ‘The Imitation Game’ and just say, “That was a good movie,” then move on with our lives. No, it will be the battle for Best Actor between Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing.

The Josh Trank reboot of 'Fantastic Four' has found its foursome with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell cast as Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Girl, The Human Torch and The Thing, respectively, which means there's one last big piece of the puzzle: Dr. Victor von Doom, the quartet's greatest nemesis. Now it appears it's down to four actors.

With the studio system no longer promoting actors into stardom, sometimes it takes circuitous routes to become the next big thing. Eddie Redmayne is now in the loop for major roles, after his turn last year as the lead in 'My Week with Marilyn' and with a cherry role in this year's 'Les Miserables' he now looking to join The Wachowskis' 'Jupiter Ascending.'

All systems are go! Marvel and director James Gunn are beginning tests for the lead role in 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' and we're pretty excited about a few names on that list.