Movies

Awards Season Finale: The Oscars

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Folks! It finally came! The end to awards season, The Academy Awards. And they did not disappoint. I’m going to recap my thoughts, favorite and most awkward moments for you all below, as well as my thoughts on those that took home the hardware.

Despite not having a host this year, the show went pretty smooth in my opinion. No listening to jokes that might not land or an over the top opening number/monologue. Just getting straight into presenting awards after an opening performance from Queen with Adam Lambert. That performance fell a little flat for me, but I still enjoyed it.

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Oscar Nominations 2019

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Hi all! I know it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything. I’d say reviewing the Oscar nominations that came out yesterday is a great way to come back!

Based on all of the other awards shows that have announced their nominees, most of these were unsurprising. That’s not to say there were no surprises! Below are a few that made me raise my eyebrows and say “wow.”

Best Picture – I’m going to get some hate for this, but I just don’t think Black Panther deserves a best picture nomination. With that being said, it’s a great accomplishment that will yield no results, and certainly no win. I am surprised that in the giving spirit that Academy was obviously in, that Crazy Rich Asians also didn’t get a nod. Especially since they’ve had up to 10 films nominated in this category in the past. Since the Golden Globes have aired I am switching my vote to Roma. I still haven’t seen it yet, but I envision it sweeping a lot of the categories it’s nominated for.

Best Director – I am very surprised to not see Bradley Cooper’s name in this list, and equally as surprised to see Cold War‘s director Pawl Powlikowski’s name here instead. Mainly because I only just heard of this foreign film about two weeks ago. It was also interesting to lean this was Spike Lee’s first nomination in the category. My money once again goes to Roma director Alfonso Cuaron.

Best Actress – I know some of these names are different, but I still think this is going to be a fight to the death between Glenn Close and Lady Gaga. But who knows, Roma‘s Yalitza Aparicio could take it right from under their noses.

Best Actor – Also no surprises here. I would be very much okay with any of these gentlemen taking it. I do give the edge to Rami Malek and Christian Bale, though.

Supporting Actress – I am surprised that Claire Foy got bumped from this category, but clearly the Academy loved Roma. Based on how the awards season has panned out so far, Regina Kings is taking the trophy home.

Supporting Actor – Not surprised, just bummed that little Timmy T didn’t get another nod this year, and still sorely disappointed that Lucas Hedges was overlooked. My vote is for Sam Rockwell, although Mahershala Ali will definitely win.

Those are all my stray observations. I can’t wait for them to air on February 24th! See all the nominees here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/oscar-nominations-2019-complete-list-nominees-1172407/item/best-picture-1172473

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!

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.