Movie: War for the Planet of the Apes
Nominated for: Visual Effects
How I watched: At home, folding laundry
When I fell asleep: 1 hour and 45 minutes in and sleeping was an improvement for me, definitely
Thoughts: Caesar has a smoldering gaze that is vaguely attractive even though I am not usually attracted to either primates or Andy Serkis. So what gives with that? Aside from that, I cannot get myself to care about chimps and gorillas riding horses and whatnot. This whole series has not worked for me once yet. Perhaps it is because it all started with Franco? (see below)
Movie: The Disaster Artist
Nominated for: Writing
How I watched: Laemmle (Movie Pass!)
When I fell asleep: It was a late show, but I did not sleep
Thoughts: Ugh. I didn't want to see this because I dislike Franco and I dislike the cult following about watching The Room just because someone decided to declare it the worst movie ever made. There are a lot of bad movies people! Calm down. But I honestly thought I would like it if I got over myself and watched it. I was wrong. I found Franco's performance to be pretty amazing and learning a little about this weird human was interesting, but soon after that it just became another fairy tale story about how you can treat people as crappy as you want if you just have money and declare yourself in charge; maybe this a narrative that James Franco finds appealing? I can't tell if we are laughing at Tommy or celebrating his accomplishment but either way the whole Hollywood culture of abuse system was too much on display for me to have any fun watching this movie.
Movie: Blade Runner 2049
Nominated for: Cinematography, Visual Effects
How I watched: In the theatre
When I fell asleep: Every single time I watched the original Blade Runner but not for this movie!
Thoughts: This was such a beautiful exploration of what it means to be human, the pain/struggle of waking up to your true nature, and the difficulty of stepping out of a broken system and redefining your life for yourself. It was very long but gorgeous and moving, all the same.
Movie: Mudbound
Nominated for: Cinematography (First nomination for a female cinematographer!!!) Acting and Writing
How I watched: Netflix and chill
When I fell asleep: My eyes grew heavy but I managed to get through
Thoughts: A bleak and disappointing look at humanity in the south. Mudbound tackles racism, rural life, PTSD and the strength of women in trying to keep their families together. This movie was well-acted and well told, doing a nice job of splitting the narration between multiple characters.
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Flagship Entry! Four for Best Picture
Movie: Dunkirk
Nominated for: Best Picture, Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing
How I watched: At home, on demand, not ideal for this film
When I fell asleep: Around the 45 minute mark
Thoughts: I could tell the acting was good. The framework they used for setting up the story seemed confusing to me. Not even Tom Hardy could make me care ultimately how this film ended.
Movie: Ladybird
Nominated for: Best Picture, Directing, Acting (Laurie Metcalf, Saoirse Ronan), Writing
How I watched: At the movies, with a friend
When I fell asleep: I didn't!
Thoughts: This movie ached with truth. Small truth, messy truth, seemingly insignificant truth, painful family truth. It's not a big sweeping movie but it holds you intimately close and you feel like it was time well spent.
Movie: The Shape of Water
Nominated for: Best Picture, Cinematography, Acting (Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer), Costume Design, Directing, Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Writing
How I watched: At the movies, with friends
When I fell asleep: I didn't, but some guy in the theatre did and his snores were enough to make everyone else in the theatre have a good laugh.
Thoughts: Fantastical! Well acted! Satisfying! Beautiful! Unique! It was an all around well made movie and super enjoyable. There was something just barely off about it that kept it from being the greatest movie of the year for me. The tone was inconsistent? Or it was trying too hard? I don't know why it's not my number one but I don't care because I totally loved watching it!
Movie: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Nominated for: Best Picture, Acting (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand), Editing, Music, Writing
When I fell asleep: Not even for a second!
Thoughts: The performances were amazing and the story-telling was unique. Somehow the characters in this movie managed to be irreverent and edgy, deeply flawed, deeply relatable, funny and both larger than life and completely realistically human. I'm not sure how you balance all of those, but I found it exhilarating and impressive. I was on the edge of my seat to see what would be thrown at me next while feeling a mixture of dread and delight! How much more can you wish for?
Nominated for: Best Picture, Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing
How I watched: At home, on demand, not ideal for this film
When I fell asleep: Around the 45 minute mark
Thoughts: I could tell the acting was good. The framework they used for setting up the story seemed confusing to me. Not even Tom Hardy could make me care ultimately how this film ended.
Movie: Ladybird
Nominated for: Best Picture, Directing, Acting (Laurie Metcalf, Saoirse Ronan), Writing
How I watched: At the movies, with a friend
When I fell asleep: I didn't!
Thoughts: This movie ached with truth. Small truth, messy truth, seemingly insignificant truth, painful family truth. It's not a big sweeping movie but it holds you intimately close and you feel like it was time well spent.
Movie: The Shape of Water
Nominated for: Best Picture, Cinematography, Acting (Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer), Costume Design, Directing, Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Writing
How I watched: At the movies, with friends
When I fell asleep: I didn't, but some guy in the theatre did and his snores were enough to make everyone else in the theatre have a good laugh.
Thoughts: Fantastical! Well acted! Satisfying! Beautiful! Unique! It was an all around well made movie and super enjoyable. There was something just barely off about it that kept it from being the greatest movie of the year for me. The tone was inconsistent? Or it was trying too hard? I don't know why it's not my number one but I don't care because I totally loved watching it!
Movie: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Nominated for: Best Picture, Acting (Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand), Editing, Music, Writing
When I fell asleep: Not even for a second!
Thoughts: The performances were amazing and the story-telling was unique. Somehow the characters in this movie managed to be irreverent and edgy, deeply flawed, deeply relatable, funny and both larger than life and completely realistically human. I'm not sure how you balance all of those, but I found it exhilarating and impressive. I was on the edge of my seat to see what would be thrown at me next while feeling a mixture of dread and delight! How much more can you wish for?
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Nomination Day, 2018!
Welcome back to my blog, everyone!
The 2018 Oscar Nominations are out and the game is afoot! I will attempt to watch every film that is nominated in every category in time for the Oscar broadcast on March 4.
Out of 45 movies nominated in various categories, I have 30 yet to see over the next 42 days.
The full list of nominations can be viewed here.
My first task this morning was to look for Get Out on the list of nominees. So far, Get Out is my favorite film of the year. I just keep waiting for something to topple it from my number one spot and it hasn't happened yet! I am SO HAPPY to see that it is nominated not only for Best Picture, but also for the wonderful direction by Jordan Peele!
Secondly, I wanted to see how the Academy is doing with underrepresented communities. People of color make up 20% of the acting nominations. And in writing, 40% of the nominees are either POC or women. Seems like they are trying, maybe, but it's slow and needs more improvement.
So, who got snubbed? Nothing really stands out for me at the moment. I loved Jeremy Renner in Wind River, and enjoyed that movie a lot but I'm not crushed that they got left out. It is weird to see Three Billboards get so many nominations (for Best Picture, 3 actors, editing, music and writing) but not get love for the director. Someone always get left out of that director spot.
I'm always interested to see what are the weirdest movies that I am required to view. Kong: Skull Island is a surprise, as is Boss Baby. But other than that, it's not too appalling; no "50 Shades of anything" nominee this year.
As this Oscar season gets started, I am filled with excitement and trepidation! This year I have the pleasure of pursuing my own film making career and I am thick into the process of editing a feature film for The October People. Which is so great and also means I have much less time than usual.
As such, I will change my review style to reflect the time I have available and how tired I am! Shorter reviews, more movies covered per post. I have decided that each movie will get one shot at grabbing my attention. If I fall asleep, so be it, I'll just move on to the next!
Thank you for joining me on my journey into film insanity...even if you only join me for part of the way, or come along in spirit only. We have 42 days to stuff ourselves on Oscar gold; let's get to it!
Sincerely,
Autumn, The Oscar Glutton
The 2018 Oscar Nominations are out and the game is afoot! I will attempt to watch every film that is nominated in every category in time for the Oscar broadcast on March 4.
Out of 45 movies nominated in various categories, I have 30 yet to see over the next 42 days.
The full list of nominations can be viewed here.
My first task this morning was to look for Get Out on the list of nominees. So far, Get Out is my favorite film of the year. I just keep waiting for something to topple it from my number one spot and it hasn't happened yet! I am SO HAPPY to see that it is nominated not only for Best Picture, but also for the wonderful direction by Jordan Peele!
Secondly, I wanted to see how the Academy is doing with underrepresented communities. People of color make up 20% of the acting nominations. And in writing, 40% of the nominees are either POC or women. Seems like they are trying, maybe, but it's slow and needs more improvement.
So, who got snubbed? Nothing really stands out for me at the moment. I loved Jeremy Renner in Wind River, and enjoyed that movie a lot but I'm not crushed that they got left out. It is weird to see Three Billboards get so many nominations (for Best Picture, 3 actors, editing, music and writing) but not get love for the director. Someone always get left out of that director spot.
I'm always interested to see what are the weirdest movies that I am required to view. Kong: Skull Island is a surprise, as is Boss Baby. But other than that, it's not too appalling; no "50 Shades of anything" nominee this year.
As this Oscar season gets started, I am filled with excitement and trepidation! This year I have the pleasure of pursuing my own film making career and I am thick into the process of editing a feature film for The October People. Which is so great and also means I have much less time than usual.
As such, I will change my review style to reflect the time I have available and how tired I am! Shorter reviews, more movies covered per post. I have decided that each movie will get one shot at grabbing my attention. If I fall asleep, so be it, I'll just move on to the next!
Thank you for joining me on my journey into film insanity...even if you only join me for part of the way, or come along in spirit only. We have 42 days to stuff ourselves on Oscar gold; let's get to it!
Sincerely,
Autumn, The Oscar Glutton
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