Movies

New Movie Review: Aquaman, Second Act, 1985, and Mary, Queen of Scots

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With it being the holiday season that means more quality time with movies! And this past weekend I managed to squeeze in a decent amount to review for you all. First on the docket was “Aquaman.” I have seen all of the superhero movies that have come out over the years, Marvel and DC alike, so I have a lot to compare to. In my opinion, none of them are bad movies, but some are mediocre, and this was mediocre. And I was really optimistic that it wouldn’t be! That cast! But even Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, and even Jason Mamoa’s sass could make this better. It ended pretty well, but the CGI was questionable at best and that soundtrack was atrocious. At one point I swear all that was playing was a tuba. And not only was it bad that Weezer covered Africa (nothing but love for Toto), but they had some sped up remix by a woman playing at one point and it was the worst. Overall, it seemed like director James Wan wanted to pay homage to a lot of really great films, but he just couldn’t make a good cohesive one.

I went with a friend to go see “Second Act” in a full theater, which I really think made a difference. It was J-Lo going back to her “rom-com” roots, so there was laughter, and tear-jerker moments, and romance (I guess), but nothing cut real deep, which I suppose is the point of a movie like this. Although, if you’re going to heavily advertise that Milo Ventimiglia is in this, than put him in for more than 10 minutes! Overall it was a feel-good film that I enjoyed, but mainly because I knew what I was in for.

Early in the morning I went to see “Mary, Queen of Scots”, and for as terrible as “Outlaw” was (sorry, Chris Pine), I was actually surprised I enjoyed this film! History is so boring for me, but man did Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie sell it. So did the supporting men in this ensamble: Joe Alwyn, Jack Lowden, David Tennant, and an almost unrecognizable Guy Pierce! There was something so enthralling about the Scottish accent, and Margot’s prosthetics were so well done they made her ugly which I thought was almost impossible. Everything was beautifully shot, so no one should be surprised to see this grab a few award show nominations.

Finally, I watched the independent film “1985” starring “Gotham’s” Cory Michael Smith as Adrian in the lead role. The ensemble cast was rounded out nicely with turns from Virginia Madsen (“American Gothic,” “Sideways”) and Michael Chiklis (“The Shield”) as Adrian’s parents, and Jamie Chung (“The Hangover”) and his old high school girlfriend. What was unique about this film is that it was shot on black and white super 16mm film, which is refreshing from time to time, but especially with the film’s specific subject matter. Adrian, who lives in New York, goes home to Texas after the death of his long-term partner to tell his parents he too is dying of AIDS. Although he never never declares this outright to his parents, they make it clear that they will love him and be there for him no matter what. I thought this was a very beautiful film, and sure, maybe I shed a few tears. Well done!

Awards Season has Commenced! – Golden Globes Special

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That’s right folks, you read that correctly! Awards season is upon us, and frankly this is my favorite time of the year (and the only thing that makes winter bearable). Since the Golden Globes, SAG, and Critics Choice awards all had similar nominees, below I’ll detail the nominees and my winners choice for the Golden Globes. Look out for a separate article for the Grammy nominees.

Golden Globes

Since the Golden Globes are the first awards show to air in the new year it is only right that they announced their nominees first. Below I will bold who I think should/will win the category and give my brief explanation. With all that, keep in mind that I have not seen every performance or film nominated, so my opinions will be biased.

Best Motion Picture – Drama:
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star is Born

No contest here. Queen is a killer even if Bradley Cooper did a mean remake of A Star is Born. I have not seen If Beale Street Could Talk, but I really don’t think it would sway my choice here.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Vice
Crazy Rich Asians
The Favourite
Green Book
Mary Poppins Returns

Even though I haven’t seen it yet, my money is on Vice. It’s got all the makings of a winner – Adam McKay, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Sam Rockwell, and a political satire!

Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Lady Gaga – A Star is Born
Nicole Kidman – Destroyer
Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Rosamund Pike – A Private War
Glenn Close – The Wife

I’m giving it to Nicole Kidman, because even though this film only just got released in New York and Los Angeles, I’m sure she freaking killed it. I’ve only seen A Star is Born from this list, but I’d give Glenn Close and Rosamund Pike an edge over Lady Gaga here.

Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born
Willem Dafoe – A Eternity’s Gate
Lucas Hedges – Boy Erased
Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
John David Washington – BlacKkKlansman

Tough category, but I give the edge to Rami Malek. As a big Mr. Robot fan I was nervous for him in this role, but not even halfway through the film I realized he completely transformed and I forgot who I was even watching. All performances were strong here, so no real loser for me either!

Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Emily Blunt – Mary Poppins Returns
Olivia Coleman – The Favourite
Elsie Fisher – Eighth Grade
Charlize Theron – Tully
Constance Wu – Crazy Rich Asians

Having not seen The Favourite, my vote is going for Elsie Fisher, although Charlize Theron is a close second. Elsie just gave the most genuinely awkward performance and it was hilariously wonderful. Bravo!

Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Christian Bale – Vice
Lin-Manuel Miranda – Mary Poppins Returns
Viggo Mortensen – Green Book
Robert Redford – Old Man & the Gun
John C. Reilly – Stan & Ollie

Talk about commitment! Gaining weight alone is enough for me to choose Christian Bale, but I’m sure the performance will be well worth it, too! Viggo Mortensen is a close second because being a fellow Italian, I loved his performance.

Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture:
Amy Adams – Vice
Claire Foy – First Man
Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone – The Favourite
Rachel Weisz – The Favourite

I assume that Emma Stone is sassy and biting in her role in The Favourite, and I just love that kind of thing. Amy Adams probably also should deserve this, but I guess we will see!

Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture:
Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Timothee Chalamet – Beautiful Boy
Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
Richard E Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell – Vice

Until Moonlight a few years back I had never even heard of Marhershala Ali, so to see him totally transform between that film and Green Book is unreal to me. As much as I think Timothee Chalamet was robbed last year for Call Me By Your Name, this isn’t the film he’s going to win for (and once again an Armie Hammer snub!).

Best Director – Motion Picture:
Peter Farrlley – Green Book
Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
Adam McKay – Vice
Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born
Alfonso Cuaron – Roma

I’m assuming Alfonso will win this one, but I’m going with Bradley Cooper because dang if that wasn’t a spectacular first outing as a director!

Best Motion Picture – Animated:
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

As a big Wes Anderson fan I loved and would love to see Isle of Dogs take the win, but based on reviews alone I know that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will take it.

Best Television Series – Drama:
The Americans
Bodyguard
Homecoming
Killing Eve
Pose

I only saw Homecoming off of this list, and no offense to Sam Esmail, I think I fell asleep to every single episode. I know Killing Eve is hot, and of course Pose is the first Ryan Murphy show I haven’t watched (pissed about it), but I’m giving the seniority vote to The Americans.

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
The Good Place
Kidding
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Barry

Bill Hader is comedy gold, so obviously my vote is with Barry. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing Kidding take home the win – as long as it’s NOT the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (sick of everything they’re winning, it reminds me of Transparent, barf).

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
The Alienist
The Assassination of Gianni Versace
Escape at Dannemora
Sharp Objects
A Very English Scandal

Holy crap what a great category! I pick The Alienist because I think it was extremely underrated in terms of viewership and I just love Daniel Bruhl! Sharp Objects was also a fantastic adaptation of the book – what a knock-out year for Amy Adams!

Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Patricia Arquette – Escape at Dannemora
Connie Britton – Dirty John
Laura Dern – The Tale
Regina King – Seven Seconds
Amy Adams – Sharp Objects

Having listened to the podcast of Dirty John I’d have to say Connie Britton nails her performance! Truthfully I’d be fine with any one of these talented ladies winning this category.

Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Antonio Banderas – Genius: Picasson
Daniel Bruhl – The Alienist
Darren Criss – The Assassination of Gianni Versace
Benedict Cumberbatch – Patrick Melrose
Hugh Grant – A Very English Scandal

I just liked The Alienist so much! Darren Criss gave a very unsettling and definitely award-worthy performance, so he could take it, too.

Actress in a Television Series – Drama:
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander
Elizabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale
Sandra Oh – Killing Eve
Julia Roberts – Homecoming
Kerri Russell – The Americans

My money is on Sandra Oh. I think she’s about due and she’s co-hosting which definitely doesn’t hurt. Julia Roberts could sneak in with a win based on sheer star-power alone, but you can also never count out Caitriona or Elizabeth, and it being the last season of The Americans Kerri Russell could come out on top, too!

Actor in a Television Series – Drama:
Jason Bateman – Ozarks
Stephen James – Homecoming
Richard Madden – Bodyguard
Billy Porter – Pose
Matthew Rhys – The Americans

No contest here: it’s going to Matthew Rhys.

Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
Alison Brie – GLOW
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Debra Messing – Will & Grace
Kristen Bell – The Good Place
Candice Bergen – Murphy Brown

While The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel cleaned house at the Emmy’s, I’d sure like to see Kristen Bell win. I gave up on The Good Place this season, but as a former Veronica Mars fan she’s just great and deserves it! Debra Messing would be my #2, for sure.

Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy:
Sacha Baron Cohen – Who is America?
Jim Carrey – Kidding
Michael Douglas – The Kominsky Method
Donald Glover – Atlanta
Bill Hader – Barry

Can it be a three-way tie??? I have never seen Atlanta since it’s been running, but I did randomly catch the Teddy Perkins episode, and let’s just say that sh** stays with you. I also have equal love for Jim Carrey and Bill Hader! But since there are no ties in life except for sports sometimes, I vote Jim Carrey.

Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series:
Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Patricia Clarkson – Sharp Objects
Penelope Cruz – The Assassination of Gianni Versace
Thandie Newton – Westworld
Yvonne Strahvoski – The Handmaid’s Tale

Another easy one for me: Patricia Clarkson. She was ruthless as the Southern Belle mother to Amy Adams’ Camille in Sharp Objects. Just as unsettling as the book portrayed her.

Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series:
Ben Winshaw – A Very English Scandal
Henry Winkler – Barry
Alan Arkin – The Kominsky Method
Kieran Culkin – Succession
Edgar Ramirez – The Assassination of Gianni Versace

Loved Ben Winshaw and Kieran Culkin in other performances (London Spy, Fargo), and I was really impressed with Edgar Ramirez’s performance as the titular Gianni Versace, but it seems like it’s Henry Winkler’s award to lose.

Potential Oscar Movies

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In less than 24 hours this weekend, I managed to watch what I would consider two very obvious Oscar contenders.  The first was “Beautiful Boy” starring Timothee Chalamet and Steve Carell.  Based off of books written by father and son dealing with the son’s addiction, this was very well done.  Both actors commit to their respective rolls, especially that of Timothee playing the drug-addicted son.  I also felt for Carell’s take on the grieving and helpless father still trying desperately to save his son falling back into addiction time and time again.  Watching anything with needles just creeps me out, so this movie did well to further dispel me from ever using drugs.  While I don’t know that this film specifically will get a best picture nod, I do think Timothee Chalamet will get a best supporting nod (especially since he’s Hollywood’s darling right now).  

The next film I watched was “Boy Erased” starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Joel Edgerton.  This film touched on a boy getting sent to gay conversion therapy after being outed to his very religious parents.  Also based off of a real person, Garrard Conley, this was tough to watch, but a sad reality that I was surprised to learn still exists today.  Overall I thought the acting was very well done, and I am a huge fan of Joel Edgerton, so this was great!  The only artistic change I would have made would be how the movie itself flowed.  There were some oddly timed and fading flashbacks that I felt should have come well before the conversion therapy parts.  Otherwise, Nicole Kidman and Lucas Hedges were standouts.  I’d be surprised if neither of them got noticed by the Academy for their work in this film.

Thanksgiving Weekend Movie Review

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Look Away, The Host, Instant Family, Game Night

Hi All!  First post on the blog (sans welcome post)!  I managed to get a few days off work, so with that time I watched a decent handful of movies.  To start off, I rented Look Away.  This movie co-stars one of my newer favorite actors, Harrison Gilbertson.  Those of you that haven’t seen Upgrade yet this year, please do so at your earliest convenience.  Anyways, Look Away was eerie, and a little slow, but ultimately was dark and twisted.  A socially awkward girl who gets mercifully picked on at school and at home finds a creepy sonogram of twins tucked in a mirror.  Soon after a doppleganger in this mirror offers to take her pain away by switching places.  Eventually, Maria, the lead character, concedes and is now trapped in the mirror while her (obviously malicious) doppleganger, Airam, takes her place in the real world.  A few deaths later and I’m not totally sure where we ended up, but mom is reunited with her twins…like I said, eerie.

The next movie I watched was The Host.  I know, a few years too late on this one, but there are too many movies to watch in a year!  This film that came out in 2013 is based off the novel of the same name by Stephanie Meyers (Twilight fans will recognize).  In some sort of “peaceful” alien takeover, the movie opens with a surviving human, Melanie, trying to face off against these aliens who inhabit human bodies and minds (for the most part).  She ultimately loses the battle and gets the alien, Wanderer, placed in her.  Soon after we learn that Melanie is sharing her mind with Wanderer.  And we learn that Wanderer has a conscience, so she helps Melanie find other surviving humans, including her little brother, uncle, and boyfriend.  They make it across the desert to a large, cavernous structure that houses other humans.  Some trust and others try to kill her, but eventually gains some ground in her little brother, a new love interest for Wanderer (threesome, anyone?), and her uncle.  Obviously, not all of those aliens are peaceful, so it’s a matter of fighting that host off before we see any semblance of a happy ending.  Overall, I thought it was a little corny, but having not read the book I can’t really judge it 100%.  Loved the cast, but Rotten Tomatoes swayed my opinion a little bit with that 8% score.

Next over this extended weekend I took both my grandmas to go see Instant Family starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne.  It was hella cute!  And Mark Wahlberg in anything helps it in my opinion.  Lots of laughs and the appropriate amount of swearing – my personal favorite was Rose Byrne yelling “Out the way you came Pussy Riot!”  I know overall this was a heart-warming movie and it’s supposed to motivate people to foster and adopt, but honestly, this just reinforced why I don’t want kids.  I know, heart of ice.  I can’t really give too much away considering most should be able to guess the plot, but it had comedy gold with Margo Martindale as grandma Sandy.  Definitely worth the watch.

Finally (for my review anyways), I watched Game Night for the second time this year with my sister.  Why not when you have free HBO for the weekend?!  After this second watch, I stand by my review earlier in the year when I said “best comedy of 2018.”  Which is sort of sad for the comedy genre considering it was a black comedy.  It follows a highly competitive couple who get together with some of their friends for the ultimate game night hosted by lead Jason Bateman’s brother, Ron Livingston.  What was supposed to be a planned kidnapping and brother reconciliation turns into a real kidnapping, mobsters, and one of my favorite scenes!  If you don’t laugh at people gagging over blood, are you even human?  Stellar cast, and an even more stellar plot!  Billy Magnussen plays a hilarious dip-shit, and I don’t think my sister will ever get over the wonderfully creepy performance from Jesse Plemons.  Bravo, Game Night, bravo.