#and Natalie Portman was in it and i thought of jackie and then yeah

[dulcegal]

learning abt the effects that jfk’s assassination had on Jackie never gets easier mind u

[mermaidsirennikita]

Have you seen the movie Jackie? What did you think of it?

This is about to get REAL nerdy up in here anon.  I had such a painfully obvious boner for Kennedy!history and legends for like... my last year of high school and most of freshman year of college that my mom gifted me with a first edition copy of Profiles in Courage by (but not rlly, he was too busy politicking to write a whole book) JFK for my birthday.  And like, that wasn’t even the only Kennedy-related birthday present I got that year.

I have seen it!  I think it could have been better as a story about Jackie and a Kennedy-oriented history fan (I hate myself for identifying with that) but as a movie it is a Work, imo.  And I mean that in a good way, there were bits of the movie where I was like yeah I’m watching something really intentionally artistic here and it’s pulling it off.

The thing is that while the movie is OVERALL accurate (I’ll expand on my criticisms of accuracy later lol) the history isn’t the point, aside from when it relates directly to our perception of Jackie vs. the Real Jackie, and though obviously I don’t know the woman and I wouldn’t say this movie covers her entire personality (it spans over just a few days, it can’t) it nails certain aspects of her that we don’t discuss often, imo.

Jackie is as iconic as Marilyn Monroe, exactly because she was the antithesis, or so it seemed, of Marilyn.  Marilyn was sex; Jackie was love (romantic love, maternal love, patriotic love).  Marilyn was dirty, but in a touchable way that made you want to touch her; Jackie was clean, but in a way that made you want to put her behind a pedestal and maybe never even get to know her because that might ruin the image you have in your head.  You don’t want her to be human.  You don’t want to fuck her.  You want to love her.

The thing is that just as with Marilyn, the image was really, mostly, a lie. Jackie actually had a lot in common with Marilyn--she probably wasn’t faithful to Jack, though he started it, I’m sure.  She struggled with loving a man who could never really open himself fully to her (Marilyn chased these types like craaaazy).  Hell, they both even had fertility issues (Jackie had multiple miscarriages and actually lost a two-day-old son less than a year before Jack died).  She was saddled with legacy, and like Marilyn she really couldn’t be herself.  Even their interviews, ESPECIALLY if you listen to them (as a MASSIVE DORK I really recommend listening to those, like, 18 hours of interviews with Jackie done after Jack died, which this movie definitely pulls from).  She was never as raw, imo, as she even is to the interviewer in the movie. More vulnerable than usual, maybe, but never Raw.  Like, the movie has her saw really honest shit and it’s probably what she was thinking but then she’s like--strike that from the record.  Imo, the real Jackie slipped up and struck things from the record, but she never slipped up and was as honest with a reporter as she is in the movie.

Listen, I’ve got issues with Natalie Portman, but she NAILS those aspects of Jackie Kennedy that the movie is interested in, and I don’t like her as a person but she was robbed of a second oscar tbh.  She wiped the floor with Emma Stone.  There is more nuance to a single scene of her in this movie (the one where she’s sort of drunkenly dancing about the white house, as one example) than Emma conveys in all of La La Land, case closed.

The Jackie in this movie is an inner part of Jackie that I am certain existed.  She’s constructing a legacy for Jack as soon as he dies, because he never got a chance to make that legacy for herself.  She understand the myth of this family, of her, and she’s making sure that the myth lives on because that’s all they’ll have.  He’ll never get to his second term, which some historians opine would have been much more groundbreaking than the first, as is often the case (first term presidents don’t want to offend because they’re thinking about reelection; second term presidents can lay it all out on the table).  She’s been indoctrinated into this myth of this family (and the movie never covers this, but she was apparently Joseph Kennedy Senior’s favorite daughter-in-law, and maybe he was just being a creep and thought she was hot but I think he recognized in her a similar ability to go along and play for the cameras that his wife possessed, except better--she elevated the family, the Bouvier blood was much bluer than that of the Kennedys at that time) but she’s also making it what she wants it to be, because this is her greatest act as First Lady.  As much as Jack and Joe Sr. and Bobby and Ted adored Jackie, she didn’t get along with the women of the family because I think tbh there was some intimidation going on within both sides and she never fit in, but damn, in this moment, she gets to MAKE the family.  

The movie also both embraces and shies away from Sentimental Jackie, which we so often see.  Jackie is usually either a bitch who didn’t really love her husband but is annoyed with his embarrassing infidelities and is in it for the glory, or a weepy messy who’s always on prescription drugs to dull the pain and going “Jaaaaaaack” whenever he comes home after fucking some lady.  This Jackie is ABSOLUTELY played as deeply in love with her husband, and in some ways more sure of his love for her than I think most fictionalized Jackies are, in a very period-appropriate way.  Sure, her husband has mistresses.  But he’s also a brilliant man  in her opinion, and he puts her on a pedestal and she’s the one he comes home to, she’s the First Lady, she’s the mother of his children, so...  The infidelities are painful, but not the end of the world.  There’s a line she says to a priest in possibly my favorite part of the movie where he sort of broaches another part of her pain they’ve only alluded to--the affairs.  And she fucking SNAPS, it’s one of the only times she really loses control, being like “I was the goddamn First Lady of the United States, don’t you dare pity me” and it’s GREAT.

Now.  If you’re looking for a biopic, this isn’t it.  It’s a study in grief (grief for a beloved husband, trauma over how he died which is very graphically portrayed, grief for everything that will never be) and a character study of Jackie.  The entire Kennedy story isn’t as delved into as it should have been.  And to be honest, the biggest gap here is Bobby Kennedy.  If you’re going to tell a story of Jackie Kennedy’s grief, you gotta feature more Bobby.  I mean lbr I’m fascinated with the relationship anyway, but they completely turned to each other immediately after Jack died.  Literally nobody else understood how they were feeling.  Jackie devoted her life to this man, giving up so much to make his dreams come true... and so did Bobby.  Shit, Bobby and Jackie could finish each other’s sentences, and both professionally and personally they were hugely codependent in the last years of Jack’s life.  And Bobby, like I said before, worshiped Jackie at one point in his life.  They were both into literature and poems (especially after Jack died, she got him into poetry to help him grieve) and they’d visit the graveside just them two.  Bobby’s first concern after Jack died was Jackie; he immediately took up a more paternal role with Caroline and JFK Jr.  But this wasn’t just because Jack died, they were genuinely best friends--when JFK was away on a yacht or something after Jackie’s first miscarriage, Bobby was in the hospital with her.  Whether they ever crossed that line is irrelevant; if you’re doing a good “Jackie grieves Jack” moment you have to have a good Bobby and vice versa.  This guy... has none of the literally insane grief Bobby had (people thought he was gonna lose it for real, including Jackie).  He isn’t as acquiescing to Jackie as he reportedly was irl after the shooting, and yes he did resist the massive funeral she wanted from what I’ve read, but this is played a bit less like Bobby Is Going Into Guilt-Driven Paranoia and Is Worried His Niece And Nephew Are Gonna Be Assassinated and more like... ooh, this man is trying to put Jackie down, but she’s gonna have a Feminist Moment and fight him on it.

It’s the one big weak point of the movie, ESPECIALLY SINCE HE ISN’T DOING THE ACCENT AAAAAGH THE ACCENT EMBODIES THE FAMILY LINGUISTS HAVE STUDIED IT AND IT’S SO INDIVIDUALIZED THAT NOBODY ELSE REALLY EVER HAD IT THAT’S HOW RICH AND “YOU CAN’T SIT WITH US” THEY WERE.  This is especially glaring because JFK doesn’t have an accent for his little speaking role either which could be fine bc he’s barely alive in the movie but theeeeeen Natalie is WRECKING the Jackie voice, she got it just right.  Like fuck, I know this is a Portman Project but you’d think someone would want to not phone it in and maybe get some best supporting actor noms because Bobby Kennedy is a meaty role.  Look at Barry Pepper, he was in a legit not great at all miniseries but he killed the role of Bobby and did the accent so well (and I admit Bobby’s is apparently harder to do bc his voice was also super distinct without the accent) and the awards just came rushing in.

Basically: this is a very, very good movie that should have won Natalie Portman an oscar, I think it got so much right about Jackie but it wasn’t quiiiiiite as fucking nerdy as I’d like.  Also, I say this as someone whose favorite Kennedy is very obviously RFK (he was shady AF like all of them but he had good ideas and was viciously effective when he wanted to be, tbh his assassination is one of the great “what could have beens” of American history imo).  But yeah, I think this is a really impressive, well-directed movie if not necessarily the movie I would have made about the family.   

[prettymysticfalls]

2017 Oscar Predictions

This is my third time of predicting Oscars. I really enjoyed doing it a lot as usual. I watched almost all nominated movies. I skipped animated, documentary and short film categories because I didn’t feel like watching the movies in that categories. I might give animated movies a shot next year though since I used to like watching them when I was little. There are a few other movies, I couldn’t watch. It was because the categories they were in wasn’t the leading ones so I wasn’t interested and I didn’t have time left to watch any of them. 

P.S. If you click on the links, it will direct you to my reviews. This year, I couldn’t write so many reviews as I used to because I didn’t have much time left. I might write more reviews later and update the links but I can not promise that I will be able to do it. However, if you would like to request a review of any given nomination, just let me know which movie(s) and I will do my best to write it. So, this is why my predictions are more detailed this year.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge

Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea

Denzel Washington - Fences 

Ryan Gosling - La La Land

Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic

It is almost impossible to choose one from the list because they are all very good. Hacksaw Ridge was the best performance of Andrew Garfield. But it’s enough for him to get an Oscar? Casey Affleck’s chances seem shaky. He either might be the Academy’s favorite or he might go home with no award. Could sexual harrasment allegations might be an obstacle for him? Should the Academy focus on it or just focus on his acting? Well, now, I will try to be objective, I will act like I did not hear about those claims to stop my judgment from being clouded. His performance was really very good, however, I really don’t think his performance was any more outstanding than the other actors on the list. Personally, I couldn’t feel it much. Denzel Washington was amazing as usual. He was definitely feeling his role, he was living it. He did not only play but he also directed it. In other words, he multitasked. Will he get his third Oscar or will the Academy think of giving it to someone else because he already has two? Will he lose his chance because Viola Davis is probably going to win? Ryan Gosling’s performance in La La Land was really good. He danced, he sang and he played piano. Yeah, he learned to play piano for his role. Will the Academy feel like awarding him for his efforts or will he lose the chance of the award because his co-star Emma Stone will probably win the award? Viggo Mortensen was amazing in Captain Fantastic. However, he seems the most underrated actor in the category. Will he surprise everyone or not? 

My personal choice: Denzel Washington

Dark horse: Ryan Gosling

Could win: Casey Affleck

Will win: Denzel Washington

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Dev Patel - Lion 

Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea

Mahershala Ali - Moonlight 

Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals

In my opinion, Dev Patel and Mahershala Ali have the highest chance to get an Oscar. Lucas Hedges was good but he seems the weakest link. It looks like a tie between Jeff Bridges and Michael Shannon for me. I enjoyed both of their performances but it is really hard to choose who was better. Jeff Bridges was nominated 7 times and he already won an Oscar before, whereas Michael Shannon was nominated twice and won none. Will Jeff Bridges have more chance than Michael Shannon based on the nomination times? So, let’s go back to the competition between Dev Patel and Mahershala Ali. Dev Patel was great at conveying all emotions his character felt. He actually deserved to be nominated in a leading role but he got nominated in a supporting role so he could have a bigger chance. Will his nomination in the supporting category be really worth it or will he find out he may have had a much bigger chance or may have had an equal chance in the leading category? Mahershala Ali’s acting was great but his screentime was too short, even though his presence was felt a lot. Will Mahershala Ali get an Oscar with his short-but-felt-long presence or will his short screentime cost him an Oscar?

My personal choice: Dev Patel

Dark horse: Jeff Bridges

Could win: Dev Patel

Will win: Mahershala Ali

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Emma Stone - La La Land 

Isabelle Huppert - Elle

Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins 

Natalie Portman - Jackie

Ruth Negga - Loving 

La La Land might be Emma Stone’s best performance ever. She sang and she danced for the movie. Not so surprisingly, she did not give up her Easy A-ish exaggerated facial expressions. But hey, it still works for the movie since it is a musical comedy-drama, doesn’t it? Her being serious did not work out for her in Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), so maybe, her being more casual and her being a total sunshine can work out for her this time. Will Emma Stone finally score an Oscar with her second nomination? Will she succeed at charming the Academy with her sympathetic appeal? Isabelle Huppert’s nomination was a surprise for me. Because I thought Elle, the movie she played in, would get a nomination in the best foreign language category, instead of her. I was surprised that she got nominated because of the fact that the movie’s language is not English. So, I hope, this category becomes more internation after her nomination. Her acting was good but it was not my favorite. The others are a bit better than her, in my opinion. Will Isabelle Huppert be a wild card or not? Meryl Streep’s performance in Florence Foster Jenkins was amazing. Has there ever been a time when she wasn’t amazing? The answer is no. She broke her own record with Oscar nominations. She got nominated 20 times and she won 3 times. She is both the strongest and the scariest on the list with her nomination record. Will the Academy reward her again or will they let someone else win this time? Will the politics be on her side or against her? Well, most of them are going to support her for her golden take down even though she doesn’t win, aren’t they? She will slay either way whether she wins or not. Natalie Portman was good in Jackie but she was better in her previous movies. She got nominated 3 times and she won once. Will she win it twice or not? Ruth Negga’s acting was alright but it was my least favorite on the list. Will she be able to beat others or not?

My personal choice: Meryl Streep

Dark horse: Isabelle Huppert

Could win: Meryl Streep

Will win: Emma Stone

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea 

Naomie Harris - Moonlight

Nicole Kidman - Lion

Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures

Viola Davis - Fences 

Michelle Williams’ performance was good but her performance was not good enough to get an Oscar, in my opinion. I can say the same thing for Naomie Harris and Nicole Kidman, as well. Nicole Kidman was nominated 4 times and she won once, whereas it’s the first nomination of Naomie Harris. Michelle Williams was nominated 4 times just like Nicole Kidman. If I have to compare those three, I’d choose Michelle Williams because her acting was a bit stronger. For me, the second place goes to Octavia Spencer who got nominated twice and won once. She was better than those three. However, she was no better than Viola Davis. The first place definitely goes to Viola Davis. Her performance was the best and the most outstanding one. She deserved to get nominated in the leading category instead of the supporting category. They must have thought that she had greater chance in the supporting category but I think her chance for the leading was as great as her chance for the supporting. She already got nominated 3 times. Will the Academy finally crown Viola Davis this time or will they reward Octavia Spencer again? 

My personal choice: Viola Davis

Dark horse: Michelle Williams

Could win: Octavia Spencer

Will win: Viola Davis

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Arrival

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Silence

In my opinion, Arrival and La La Land have better cinematography than Lion and Moonlight. However, La La Land is a visual masterpiece. It has the greatest chance. It is my favorite and it looks like it is also the favorite of the majority. Will it be the favorite of the Academy, as well? 

My personal choice: La La Land

Dark horse: Moonlight

Could win: Arrival

Will win: La La Land

COSTUME DESIGN

Allied

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie 

La La Land

Ummm, this is really hard to choose. Allied’s costume design was eye appealing.  Costume design in Fantastics Beasts and Where to Find Them was well done. Florence Foster Jenkins’ costume design was fun and nice. Jackie’s costume design was so good and well represented. It was appropriate and quite identical for the period. La La Land’s costume design was eye candy. I think, we all can agree that the yellow dress, Emma Stone wore, is iconic. But the thing is movies about modern, current times do not seem to stand a chance in this category. Will La La Land change the rules? 

My personal choice: Jackie

Dark horse: La La Land

Could win: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Will win: Jackie

DIRECTING

Barry Jenkins - Moonlight 

Damien Chazelle - La La Land 

Denis Villeneuve - Arrival

Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea

Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge 

Oh, man. Those directors did great this year. Barry Jenkins was great at directing Moonlight. He is definitely in the second place for me because the first place in my heart is reserved for Damien Chazelle. Will Damien Chazelle, such a young and talented soul, be rewarded by the Academy or will Barry Jenkins be one step ahead of him? So now, it is time to focus on other nominees. Denis Villeneuve and Kenneth Lonergan were both good but they are overshadowed by Barry Jenkins and Damien Chazelle. It feels like the Academy is also going to think that way. But will they really think that way? Well, we will see. Mel Gibson did a very good job with directing Hacksaw Ridge. He already won twice with his iconic role and directing in Braveheart.  However, he is or was quite problematic. He was banned and now he is back on the field. Did he redeem himself or didn’t he? Will the Academy keep the politics aside or will they act like he is still blacklisted? I guess, we will never know.

My personal choice: Damien Chazelle

Dark horse: Kenneth Lonergan

Could win: Barry Jenkins

Will win: Damien Chazelle

FILM EDITING

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land 

Moonlight

For me, film editing rank from the weakest to the strongest is like this: Hell or High Water > Hacksaw Ridge > Moonlight > Arrival > La La Land. Hands down, folks, La La Land has the best film editing here. Will the Academy agree or disagree? 

My personal choice: La La Land

Dark horse: Moonlight

Could win: Arrival

Will win: La La Land

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Land of Mine, Denmark

A Man Called Ove, Sweden

The Salesman, Iran

Tanna, Australia

Toni Erdmann, Germany

The movies in this category were as good as the ones in the best picture. Well, almost. Land of Mine’s storyline about WWII was strong. I am someone who gets affected by WWII movies. It is because I feel so bad for people who went through with Nazism. So the movie did a good job at portraying what happened between Danish and German soldiers. It is actually 12th time that Denmark got nominated for. Denmark won 3 times. Will Land of Mine make Denmark a winner again for the 4th time? A Man Called Ove is a heartwarming dark comedy adapted from the same titled book of Fredrick Backman. It was a great movie, it was one of the best. It is my favorite in this category. Sweden has the nomination record in this category. It got nominated 15 times. Just like Denmark, Sweden won 3 times. Will Sweden finally be able to reunite with an Oscar after a really long time? The Salesman seems like the most popular and majority’s favorite in this category. However, things didn’t go well as planned for it. After the Muslim ban, Farhadi was not allowed in U.S. and he condemned the ban by stating that he will not join the ceremony even if they manage to grant him an access. Things were unfortunate for him. His country Iran was nominated 3 times and he already once before. Will the Academy let him win twice by especially boycotting the ban or will they stay out of politics? Tanna was a good movie but it is my least favorite. Who knows maybe it’s not least favorite of the Academy but I don’t think so for some reason. It is the first time that Australia got nominated for. Will Australia win their first award with their first nomination or will it wait for a possible second nomination in upcoming years? Toni Erdmann is also a black comedy filled with interesting sense of dark humor. It could have been more enjoyable if it had lasted shorter than 3 hours. However, it seems favored by majority of critics. It is almost as popular as the Salesman. This is the 10th nomination for Germany that won twice. But it is not entirely true because this nominations and wins took place after ‘90s. Before the reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany received 8 nominations and won once, while the German Democratic Republic only received 1 nomination. So, if we combine together all the nominations and awards Germany received before reunification and after reunification, it means it received 19 nominations and had 3 wins. Therefore, Germany could have the nomination record in the category. Will the Academy grant Germany an award with its 3 hour long dark tragicomedy movie? 

My personal choice: A Man Called Ove

Dark horse: A Man Called Ove

Could win: Toni Erdmann

Will win: The Salesman

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad

It is the second time, Sweden received a nomination in this category. The previous nomination belongs to The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared which is also a book adaptation just like A Man Called Ove. I really liked makeup and hairstyling in the movie. It was very realistic. Will Sweden finally win makeup and hairstyling this time? Will the Academy be drawn towards more extreme and more fantasy makeup and hairstyling? If they lean towards that, Star Trek Beyond might have a higher chance than Suicide Squad. That choice also would please most of people. Will Suicide Squad be able to stand against Star Trek Beyond? Will the Academy actually consider giving Suicide Squad an Oscar? 

My personal choice: A Man Called Ove

Dark horse: A Man Called Ove

Could win: A Man Called Ove

Will win: Star Trek Beyond

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka - Lion 

Justin Hurwitz - La La Land 

Mica Levi - Jackie 

Nicholas Britell -  Moonlight

Thomas Newman - Passengers

What the hell is Passengers doing here? Anyway, there is nothing to discuss. Justin Hurwitz will score with his original score.

My personal choice: Justin Hurwitz - La La Land

Dark horse: Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka - Lion

Could win: Nicholas Britell - Moonlight

Will win: Justin Hurwitz - La La Land

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Audition (The Fools Who Dream) - La La Land

Can’t Stop the Feeling - Trolls 

City of Stars - La La Land

The Empty Chair - Jim

How Far I’ll Go - Moana

It looks like it will be La La Land’s call. Come on, it is in the list with 2 songs. It is time to figure out which song of it will be the one to make the call? Well, the Academy will go with City of Stars, won’t it? Just like we all do.

My personal choice: City of Stars - La La Land

Dark horse: How Far I’ll Go - Moana

Could win: Audition (The Fools Who Dream) - La La Land

Will win: City of Stars - La La Land

BEST PICTURE

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

These movies are so good. They are all so good. They are all there because they are so good. Well, La La Land is my favorite. Oh, wait, there is Hidden Figures. It is my favorite, too! But Lion is also there and I thought it was my favorite? Mhmm, no, I couldn’t be unfair to Fences which is also my favorite.  Then, there is Moonlight which is favorite of most people. Mancester by the Sea follows it, too. Sorry but not sorry, Arrival and Hell or High Water but the other movies are more intense. So can you see the problem? I can not choose my favorite, you can not choose your favorite. How can the Academy choose when we can not choose our favorite? 

My personal choice: La La Land

Dark horse: Manchester by the Sea

Could win: Moonlight

Will win: La La Land

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Arrival

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hail, Caesar!

La La Land

Passengers

Arrival and Passengers are sci-fi. Passengers is obviously more futuristic. Hail, Caesar! and La La Land are comedy. Hail, Caesar! has mystery aspect, while La La Land has drama aspect. Hail, Caesar! also has a mini-musical, however, it is set in 1950s, while La La Land has much more musical scenes and it is set in 2010s. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has fantastic vibes and its title says it all. Will the Academy support sci-fi genre or will they support fantasy or will they be on the side of daily life kind of set production?

My personal choice: La La Land

Dark horse: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Could win: Arrival

Will win: La La Land

SOUND EDITING

Arrival

Deepwater Horizon

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Sully

When it comes to guessing sound editing and mixing categories, I generally suck. But I will try my best. 

My personal choice: La La Land

Dark horse: Hacksaw Ridge

Could win: Arrival

Will win: La La Land

SOUND MIXING

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Well, we will see if I got better at predicting this. I still struggle. Okay, here it is.

My personal choice: La La Land

Dark horse: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Could win: Hacksaw Ridge

Will win: La La Land

VISUAL EFFECTS

Deepwater Horizon

Doctor Strange

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

I only watched Deepwater Horizon in this category. I usually watch almost all nominated movies except animated movies. I usually skip Star Wars, Star Trek kind of movies. I skipped Mad Max: Fury Road last year, and look what happened then. It is because I am not interested in those kind of movies and I do my best to watch all the ones I am interested in and then I usually don’t have any time left to watch the rest. Ugh, I talked too much, didn’t I? I guess, I am just rambling because I am scared that I might fail at predicting since I only watched one movie and my predictions will be based on trailers. I hope it helps. Okay, I am gonna shut up and list my predictions.

My personal choice: Deepwater Horizon

Dark horse: Doctor Strange

Could win: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Will win: The Jungle Book

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Arrival

Fences

Hidden Figures

Lion

Moonlight

I have mixed emotions right now. I was only able to eliminate Arrival. I feel like Fences will not get the credit here. It is just too hard to choose between Hidden Figures and Lion as personal favorite for me. Both of those made me feel sentimental. Hidden Figures managed to make me feel proud of those successful intelligent women and Lion managed to make me cry often. I guess, I will go with emotional right now. 

My personal choice: Lion

Dark horse: Hidden Figures

Could win: Lion

Will win: Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Hell or High Water

La La Land

The Lobster

Manchester by the Sea

20th Century Women

Oh, look, The Lobster and 20th Century Women are finally here! Well, they are both underrated, aren’t they? 20th Century Women was nicer though because The Lobster was creepier for sure. I am neutral towards Hell or High Water. It is all fault of La La Land and Manchester by the Sea. Because they are the best in this category. It is a great competition. In this competition, La La Land wins my heart. Who will win the heart of the Academy? 

My personal choice: La La Land

Dark horse: Manchester by the Sea

Could win: Manchester by the Sea

Will win: La La Land

Who will win big? Who will feel like they did not have luck by their side? Will underrated nomations surprise? Will overrated nominations disappoint?  Will La La Land have the most wins with its record-tying 14 nominations? We will find out on Sunday, February 26, 2017. 

[deeeepsteep]

As usual I will be liveblogging the Oscars tonight

In case anyone cares here are my Oscars predictions/people I want to win in the most interesting categories

Read more because it’s pretty lengthy - though I only go into detail with the top 3 categories and I just list the rest because I got lazy lmao

Also there are spoilers in this so yeah if you planned on watching any of the movies nominated tonight beware

Best Picture Who I think will win: La La Land As much as I loved the movie, I honestly don’t think it has Best Picture potential. The story was okay at best, and there are aspects of the story that rub people the wrong way (A white pianist acting like the messiah of jazz music, for instance). 

BUT. But.

The Academy is a sucker for movies that are based on show business and Hollywood (Ironic, I know), which is why I think it has an edge over the other nominees - which is disappointing because the movie I really want winning Best Picture deserves it more.

Who I want to win: Moonlight This movie blew me away. The cinematography, the story, the characters, the editing, everything. It’s a slow burn, but rightfully so - and c’mon, it’s a movie about a queer black male struggling to accept his identity while also dealing with a shitty family situation and an even shittier social life. It deserves recognition for that alone.

But...I don’t think it’s going to win Best Picture, even though I really want it to. Why? Because it’s the goddamn Oscars. “Oscars So White” may not be as prevalent in the list of nominees but I can guarantee you it’ll make a comeback once they start announcing winners.

Best Actor Who I think will win: Denzel Washington He already nabbed an Oscar for Training Day and a second one for Glory (Both great movies, by the way), but goddamn if you saw Fences you’d probably agree with me when I say that he deserves a third one. He plays a very unlikeable character in the movie, but he does it so well that you can’t help but like him. The typical “Hard guy with a hard past” trope is a little overplayed nowadays so the market’s a bit saturated for that, meaning that there are very few people who can pull off the role. I believe he first played Troy Maxson in the play before he played him in the movie too. Oh, also, he directed the movie adaptation of Fences, so that’s another reason why I think he’ll win it.

Who I want to win: Ryan Gosling I want him to win primarily because he learned how to play jazz piano in three months. THREE MONTHS. That is not a lot of time, especially when you’re talking film. Also, have you heard jazz piano? It is NOT easy to play. Ryan didn’t use any doubles when they filmed the scenes where Sebastian is playing - all of that was him.

Best Actress Who I think will win: Emma Stone She won the Golden Globe award, the Screen Actors Guild award, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts award, the British Academy Film award, and a few awards from several critics’ associations for her role as Mia in La La Land. If she doesn’t win tonight I think everyone will be surprised.

Who I want to win: Emma Stone I can’t disagree with critics. She was amazing in La La Land - her performance was way more impactful than Ryan Gosling’s. She’s not a stranger to singing and dancing - she’s done both plenty of times in both film and Broadway - but I think this is the first time I’ve seen her sing and dance, and I was blown away by how talented she was.

I really wanted her to win last year, when she was nominated for her role in Birdman - I thought she was stellar there too. I didn’t think she would’ve been able to top her performance there, but then La La Land happened lmao

Best Supporting Actor Who I think will win: Mahershala Ali Who I want to win: Mahershala Ali He had a small but very impactful role in Moonlight. You could feel his characters’ presence long after he’s gone, and that’s something not many actors are able to achieve.

Honourable mention: Dev Patel He made me almost cry in Lion. The only movie I ever cried watching was A.I. That’s a big deal.

Best Supporting Actress Who I think will win: Viola Davis Who I want to win: Viola Davis

Her character in Fences was my favourite in the film. Troy might have been through some shit but his wife, Rose, had to put up with his grumpy ass for 15 years - and on top of that she put up with him cheating on her and raising the child he fathered out of his affair. The strength and tenacity Davis channeled through her portrayal of Rose earned her several awards - the Black Reel, the British Academy Film award, the Critics’ Choice, the Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild, just to name a few.

Best Animated Feature Who I think will win: Zootopia Who I want to win: Moana

I get that Zootopia is basically “Racism 101″ for kids, but the fact that a movie about animals is getting more accolades than a movie about a PoC girl and Polynesian culture is kind of ridiculous to me.

Of course, Moana shouldn’t win just because it’s about a PoC girl and Polynesian culture, but c’mon...it was a good movie.

That being said, Kubo and the Two Strings is an honourable mention. I loved the art style, but we all know by now that Disney dominates the Animated Feature category even when there are better movies in the category.

Cinematography: Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: La La Land

I loved the composition of this film. The colours, the camera work, the lighting, the framework...everything was just seamless and so well put together. It really captured the “la la land” feeling of La La Land, if that makes sense. The movie really wanted to make you feel like LA and Hollywood are these surreal, faraway dreamscapes that only few people are lucky enough to experience - and they captured that perfectly.

Costume Design Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: Jackie

Jackie Kennedy was known for her fashion style. She became a frigging fashion icon. Jackie did an awesome job recreating her style - and Natalie Portman wore them perfectly.

But...La La Land won in this category before, for some reason, and I don’t really know why. Nothing about the costumes were particularly striking, nor did they have much significance.

Directing Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: Moonlight

When in doubt, choose La La Land. I’m pretty sure that’s the mindset of every panel of judges or critics or whatever they’re called for every award show...thing. Can you believe this movie has 14 nominations for the Oscars this year - the only other movies that have been nominated that many times for the Oscars are fucking Titanic and All About Eve.

Moonlight deserves more recognition, which is why I want it to win in this category.

Film Editing Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: La La Land

I’ve already mentioned before that I loved the composition of this movie, so yeah.

Best Original Score Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: La La Land

The movie’s music is a lot better than the actual movie. I bought the CD and the special edition blue vinyl LP. That’s how much I love it.

Best Original Song Who I think will win: City of Stars from La La Land Who I want to win: City of Stars from La La Land

City of Stars has been stuck in my head since I first saw the movie - and I saw this movie two months ago.

An honourable mention would be the other La La Land song nominated in this category: “Audition”. Emma Stone’s singing prowess really shines through in it. 

[yoyo-inspace]

Thoughts on the 89th Academy Awards

A.k.a. I didn’t watch that many movies last year, but I kept a LIST, and now a lot of those on that list are nominated and I’ll do my very best to watch most of them before the Oscars. 

A quick thought if you can’t be bothered to read the long post of me talking about the nominations under the cut: The thing is, with how the Oscars work, movies that a lot of people have seen that are also nominated will likely win a lot. Because the people who vote at the Oscars have never seen everything and people will vote for what they have seen. Sometimes that ends up being something that people thought deserve to win and sometimes not. That’s how these types of voting systems work. 

By which I mean to say that La La Land is going to win a hell of a lot. And I don’t doubt that it doesn’t deserve it (and I really really want to see it), but some people are going to be upset about that, and say it’s more because of the hype than because it deserves it. As I said, I can’t tell the truth of that, since I haven’t seen it yet. I bet there’s going to be some cases of that, but in the Oscars, it’s really common that more than one of the nominees deserve to win equally as much as the rest. It’s the Oscars. I try not to take it that seriously. What can you do.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it’s like the anime awards 2016 all over again

On a positive note though, what a diverse year in terms of Oscars nominations! Both in front and behind the camera. That’s great. Not fixing the problem, but moving forward. Let’s just hope people keep on celebrating these movies so that even more get made.

Kinda disappointed neither A Monster Calls or Deadpool was nominated for anything, but it is what it is. Deadpool would have been fun though. Biggest surprise is probably that Silence wasn’t nominated for more than it was. But there was a lot of great movies coming out last year. 

But yeah, on the important stuff. Under the cut are almost all of the categories and the few thoughts I have on them as well as predictions and whatever else I come up with. Because I’ve seen so very little. But I’ll try to change that.

First off, I’ll be skipping because Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary (Short Subject) and Best Short Film (Live Action) because I haven’t anything useful to say on them since I usually don’t keep up with those. But I hope they all do well and I bet they’re great. 

Second, bolded (unless it’s a category title) means I’ve seen it (there are so few, the shame) and cursive means it was on my list I was planning to see. I might end up watching some of the others, but the cursive ones are my priorities because I’ve wanted to see them for a long time. 

BEST PICTURE La La Land Moonlight Manchester by the Sea Arrival Lion Hidden Figures Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Fences

Also known as that one category people actually care about. 

And I haven’t seen a single one. Which kind of makes me sad. But oh well. Hidden Figures, Arrival and La La Land are the ones on the top of my list that I really need to see. Especially Arrival. And I’m really happy there’s a sci-fi movie among the Best Picture nominees. However, I am pretty sure La La Land is going to win this one, judging by what I’ve heard people more invested than me say. I am so glad all of these movies got nominated though, because I’ve heard great things about all of them, and nomination in itself is a great sign. 

BEST DIRECTOR Damien Chazelle – La La Land Barry Jenkins – Moonlight Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea Denis Villeneuve – Arrival Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge

Ugh. The thing is, from what I’ve heard, on simply the basis of directing, Mel Gibson did a stellar job here. But I don’t want him to win. Because. Ugh. Mel Gibson. If it happens it happens. They are after all supposed to vote on the direction of the movie, and not Mel Gibson as a person. But you know how it is.

Again, I’m thinking La La Land is going to take this one. I’m holding a torch for Arrival and Fences though, because I’ve heard such good thing about both of them. Not that I haven’t heard good things about La La Land and I’m sure it deserves all those good things, but just that I feel like I need to hold a torch for someone that isn’t the obvious winner. And again, I haven’t seen any of them, so, can’t really say more than that. They were all on my list of movies to see last year though, so hopefully I’ll manage to get around to them before the gala.

BEST ACTRESS Emma Stone – La La Land Natalie Portman – Jackie Isabelle Huppert – Elle Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins Ruth Negga – Loving

While I’ve heard wonderful things about Ruth Negga in Loving, I think Emma Stone is going take this one. But who knows, Meryl Streep could just descend from the ceiling and sweep it up.

BEST ACTOR Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea Denzel Washington – Fences Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling – La La Land Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic

While I would love for Viggo Mortensen to get this, because I have a feeling I’ll really like Captain Fantastic, I don’t think he’s got a chance. From what I’ve heard, Casey Affleck is one that people are saying who is most likely to win. I have issues with Casey Affleck, but I’ll just refer back to my Gibson discussion above. Would be fun if Denzel Washington won, either for this or director. I’ve heard he’s great. I think this is one of those categories that La La Land is a bit less likely to win, but I think it could, just by the name alone, and that most people have seen it. I have also heard really great things about Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge, plus he was in Silence. So who knows? This is a tough one. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Viola Davis – Fences Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea Naomie Harris – Moonlight Nicole Kidman – Lion Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures

GIVE VIOLA DAVIS AN OSCAR. No okay but I’ve heard stellar things about all of these, but Viola Davis has clearly been at the top of that. Can’t say much about anything else, since I haven’t seen the movies. Really wanna see Hidden Figures though. I’ll get there.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mahershala Ali – Moonlight Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water Dev Patel – Lion Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

I literally have nothing to say about this. I know so very little about these movies. I’ve heard both Michael Shannon’s and Mahershala Ali’s names tossed around a lot. But that’s about it. 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Moonlight – Barry Jenkins, Tarell McCraney Arrival – Eric Heisserer Lion – Luke Davies Fences – August Wilson Hidden Figures – Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi

Again, I think A Monster Calls was kind of robbed. Oh well. Again, difficult for me to say anything, but I do hope Hidden Figures wins at least SOMETHING. 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY La La Land – Damien Chazelle Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan The Lobster – Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos 20th Century Women – Mike Mills

Hey, I have a friend who talked a lot about The Lobster. Fun to see that there. Not a clue what 20th Century Women is, haven’t heard of it. Kinda sad Zootopia isn’t here, or Moana. Or Kubo. But that’s what they usually do to animated films. Probably going to be won by La La Land. 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Linus Sandgren – La La Land Bradford Young – Arrival Greig Fraser – Lion James Laxton – Moonlight Rodrigo Prieto – Silence

My guess would be La La Land (original, I know) or Silence. But I honestly have no idea. Arrival I’ve heard great things about (also first African-American to get nominated for Best Cinematography! That’s worth celebrating). 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Zootopia Moana Kubo and the Two Strings The Red Turtle My Life as a Zucchini

HEY LOOK IT’S A MOVIE I’VE WATCHED. Moana still isn’t out here, and I missed Kubo while it was out, but those are two movies I really want to see. My guess would be that Moana wins, surely deservedly so, but Zootopia was just so good. I loved it. I am so glad to see Kubo nominated though, since stop-motion really doesn’t get the attention it should, and here we have not one but TWO of them nominated, and even though I have not yet seen Kubo, I’m pretty sure that I’ll love it, if just for the soundtrack (which I have listened to), alone.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Tanna – Australia Land of Mine – Denmark Toni Erdmann – Germany The Salesman – Iran A Man Called Ove – Sweden

I’ve actually only heard of two movies on this list, so I was considering skipping it, but I just couldn’t. Because I adore the book A Man Called Ove is based on, and it’s so funny to me that it’s nominated for not one but TWO Oscars. I can’t say much else, other than that out of the two I know, I’m pretty sure Tony Erdmann will win, but I know very little about the other two so I can’t really say that with much conviction. 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” – La La Land “City of Stars” – La La Land “How Far I’ll Go” – Moana “Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Trolls “The Empty Chair” - Jim: The James Foley Story

As much as I want Moana to win, this is going to go to La La Land. I’ve only heard one of these, and it’s a La La Land song. And from what I’ve heard, Audition is really good as well. Sad that not more Moana songs are on here though. 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE La La Land – Justin Hurwitz Lion – Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka Moonlight – Nicholas Britell Jackie – Mica Levi Passengers – Thomas Newman

LA LA LAND IS GOING TO WIN THIS ONE. But honestly, I’d be fine with everything as long as Passengers don’t get close to it. Out of spite. 

BEST FILM EDITING La La Land – Tom Cross Moonlight – Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert Arrival – Joe Walker Hell or High Water – Jake Roberts

I’m going to throw out a wild guess here, and say La La Land, but I’ve heard amazing things about Moonlight, and if La La Land picks up nearly everything else, it would be nice to see it win something. Great to see it keep on getting nominated though, as well as Arrival. 

BEST VISUAL EFFECT Deepwater Horizon The Jungle Book Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Doctor Strange Kubo and the Two Strings

A CATEGORY WHERE I’VE SEEN MORE THAN ONE THING. TRULY A MIRACLE. (I am so predictable.)

I am 95% sure that The Jungle Book are going to take this one. It’s really great to see a stop-motion movie nominated for this category, and I don’t think it’s a loss if it doesn’t win, because at least it got acknowledged. Rogue One did some amazing new things with CGI (which I know people like to complain about, but I really can’t say that that was anything else than fantastic what they’ve managed to do and how they’ve developed that technology). But however creative and ground-breaking Rogue One was with a few effects, that was the entirety of The Jungle Book. That entire movie, except for the boy, is a special effect. It’s filmed on a green screen in a studio in Los Angeles, and there were many times I honestly could not tell. And the animals were absolutely fantastic. So yeah, I don’t feel that bad giving this to The Jungle Book. 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN Allied – Joanna Johnston Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Colleen Atwood Florence Foster Jenkins – Consolata Boyle Jackie – Madeline Fontaine La La Land – Mary Zophres

I’m just so glad Fantastic Beasts got a nomination, and while I think La La Land will win this one, having a shout-out for the amazing costumes in Fantastic Beasts is very nice. 

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi A Man Called Ove – Love Larson and Eva Con Bahr Star Trek Beyond – S. Anne Carroll and Joel Harlow

Ah yes, the Oscars nominated movie Suicide Squad. Sigh. No but I honestly don’t know with this one. I’d prefer if Suicide Squad doesn’t get it, for simply personal reasons, but I don’t know which of the other two will get it. From what I know the age make up in A Man Called Ove was really great, and I never really thought much about the makeup and hairstyling in Star Trek Beyond, but I don’t think I dare to hope that A Man Called Ove would win this one. But who knows?

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Stuart Craig, James Hambige, Anna Pinnock Hail, Caesar! – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh La La Land – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco Arrival – Patrice Vermette Passengers – Guy Hendrix Dyas

Probably going to be another La La Land win, but the Fantastic Beasts and Arrival nominations have also made me very happy. 

BEST SOUND EDITING Arrival Deepwater Horizon Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Sully

I’m just going to have ‘Probably La La Land’ as my standard answer when I don’t know much about these movies. But Sound Editing and Sound Design sometimes surprises me. 

BEST SOUND MIXING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

GIVE ROGUE ONE AN OSCAR but also probably La La Land. 

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) Pearl Pear Cider and Cigarettes Piper Blind Vaysha Borrowed Time

I haven’t actually heard about any of these except for Piper and Borrowed Time, but I’m really curious about the other ones. No idea what will win, but Borrowed Time has been on my to watch list for AGES. I should get around to that. 

[lexygreenwell]

Golden Globes 2017 - Predictions and Hopes

The stockings may no longer be hung by the chimney with care, but the smell of Awards season is in the air! It’s time for the Golden Globes!

Admittedly, I haven’t been blogging as much this year. A lot has happened. I moved to California and began my journey through life as an adult, which can be quite scary and takes a little adjusting. But leave it to a new year to get my write-y senses tingling again. I’m hoping to do a lot more this year, in various different aspects of life, because 2017, if you tilt your head and squint your eyes, is a year of potential. Also I will need something to take my mind off of our incoming political administration. But I digress.

Film in 2016 was like a quiet kid at a party who just wants to let loose - he tries a few times, learns a lot about himself and the fragility of the human condition (hey there Manchester by the Sea) but he ultimately figures out how to have fun and brings the party in unexpected ways (La La Land). Meanwhile, I would equate this year in TV to a champion boxer at the top of his/her game - delivering consistent punches with razor sharp accuracy, and nabbing multiple KO’s throughout the season (I’m looking at Stranger Things, Game of Thrones and Westworld).

With the Critics’ Choice Awards behind us and Jimmy Fallon ahead of us, (I’ve got high hopes buddy) here’s who I think campaigned the most… er, I mean, will be taking home some big gold balls this evening. MaesTRO!

Best Motion Picture - Drama

I’m a little behind on my film viewing this year (but don’t worry, all will be rectified come Oscar week) so I’m doing a bit of guesswork here based on the word of friends and family, critics, momentum, and previous awards/festival recognition, if any. Based on these, I would have to say Manchester by the Sea is the favorite in this category, though I would also love to see Moonlight or Lion take top honors. (Just, not Mel Gibson. And spare Andrew Garfield).

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

La La Land has been campaigning HARD, and rightfully so - the cinematography is dazzling, the balance between whimsical and low key is expertly held, and all its contrasting flavors and dancing delights meld together beautifully under the visionary, artful leadership of “Whiplash” director Damien Chazelle. This award going to anyone else would be a major upset. (Gotta give love to Deadpool and Sing Street)!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

A plethora of strong female leads this year, arguably lead by Viola Davis, but you’ll find her (most likely) taking home Supporting Actress. I said a few months ago that Jessica Chastain’s ethically challenging performance in Miss Sloane was not to be overlooked, so I’m glad to see her listed. But I think it’s between stunning newcomer Ruth Negga for Loving and Natalie Portman for Jackie, with the most likely winner being Portman, as her campaign has picked up speed as of late. But the globes have a history of taking kindly to breakout stars, so a first-time win for Negga is also probable. We’ll have to see with this one.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

From what I’ve seen and heard, it’s Casey Affleck’s to lose. This has stirred up a little controversy, since Affleck is still receiving praise while Nate Parker is not for Beasts of No Nation, despite both being accused (and later acquitted, in Parker’s case) of similar crimes. However, the nominees being what they are, an award for Affleck is the most likely scenario. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Yeah, it’s Emma Stone. Unless Cecille B. Demille has something planned for honoree Meryl, but I don’t think they’d do that. Props to Hailee tho.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Oh, The Lobster! I heard such great things about Colin Farrell’s performance. But this category could go a variety of ways based on past behavior: it could go to the best actor in a “this is way more drama than comedy but let’s go with comedy” comedy (Farrell), it could go to best actor in a musical who showed off tons of talent (Gosling), or it could go to the “laugh out loud” funniest (Reynolds). My hunch is, in keeping with the La La Land theme, they’ll go with Gosling here.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

All amazing performances from what I’ve heard (and will soon see). But there’s a reason Queen Viola was placed in this category - she came to dominate. She was a force in Fences.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Gotta go with the favorite Mahershala Ali. Moonlight deserves a win and if it’s most likely to come anywhere, it’ll be here.

Best Director - Motion Picture

Damien Chazelle was nothing short of both a painter and poet. He’s our guy.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Now this is a little tough, because the screenplay category at the Globes lumps in both original and adapted screenplays. Only Nocturnal Animals is adapted, but the strength of La La Land’s inventiveness and juxtaposing personalities is hard to resist this year. I could also imagine Moonlight or Manchester taking this home as well, given the direct, heavy impact of everything that is said, and unsaid. I’ll stick with La La, but the latter two are worthy spoilers.

Best Motion Picture - Animated

I think My Life As A Zucchini should be given an award for its name alone. I imagine Zootopia and Moana, feminist masterpieces, are the favorites to take the cake. And Sing was adorable (and Tori Kelly #slays). But personally, Kubo is instantly connective, and it appears to be the greater artistic feat among the bunch. I would choose it to win, but would have to go with the former two as worthy contenders.

Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language

Given the strength of the title characters’ performance, I’m going to have to go with Elle.

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

I have a lot of thoughts on scores this year (may have to put them in another post). Especially on Johann Johannsson’s work for Arrival (that cello lead emulating a whale that represents ominous contact from another world?! C'mon!) But it has to be the overarching mystic whimsy of Justin Hurwitz’ La La Land.

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

When I first heard JT’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” almost a year ago, I thought to myself, “Well, somebody’s winning an Oscar.” It seemed like a sure thing. But then “City of Stars” came along, with its all-at-once haunting yet catchy melody… in minor, I might add. It perfectly captures what we see and feel in the film, the push and pull of falling in and out of love with Los Angeles, being inspired, yet disheartened by pursuing a life as an artist. It takes true mastery to compose a work that melodically and lyrically mirrors the essence of such a complex feeling. So as much as I’d love to see JT or even Lin-Manuel win a Globe, the genius of Justin Hurwitz and La La Land is not to be outdone this year.

TV, quick! What an extraordinary year!

Best Drama

Stranger Things - I think as a whole, it was the best, freshest, and most entertaining package TV had to offer this year.

Best Comedy

Atlanta - Let’s give Transparent, Mozart and Veep a break.

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

It was all about The People vs. O.J. Simpson this year.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Evan Rachel Wood - the skill and self-control required to switch almost instantaneously from pure hysteria to robotic dread is ridiculous. Acting master class.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Rami won last year, deservedly. Let’s try Bob for Better Call Saul.

Okay, I’ll leave it here for now, but stay tuned for more blogs and other trinkets and things in the coming year :) Happy Globes!

[ncetosyd]

Australia Vlog, Part II.

Hels:    Then we went to the Blue Mountains…

Liz:       …on Thursday.

H:         So I sat by a really lovely couple on the flight out – he was originally from Australia but she’s relocated over here. And they said “you have to go to Empress Falls in the Blue Mountains”. So that was where we went!

L:         It was fantastic. I mean, basically it was a large waterfall, so we were walking down…

H:         …we were told 15 minutes.

L:         It wasn’t 15 minutes. We were walking down, and walking further down… and we could hear water, we just kept walking down.

H:         We’d see lots of sweaty people walking up to the top.

L:         (simultaneously) We were like “this isn’t going to be fun on the way on the way up”. Actually, the way up wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected.

H:         No, it was really nice.

L:         But it was steep. Definitely steep.

H:         And Liz got her bum out in the waterfall, and we had chicken and avocado sandwiches and then we walked back.

L:         Well we had chicken and avocado sandwiches like four days running.

H:         They were good sandwiches.

L:         And then… did we do something when we got back?

H:         We had to take the car back.

L:         Oh yeah, we got rid of the Kia Rio.

H:         Yeah we took the car back. And cafes close here at like 3pm, and we couldn’t find anywhere to go so we ended up going to that very nice man in the station and bought iced coffees.

L:         Oh yeah, got iced coffee in a bottle, which is like cardinal sin here.

H:         It was very nice though!

L:         Oh yes, Tuesday when we went to get brunch and this was Helen’s first coffee experience in Sydney. And I was like “what coffee do you want?” And she says “a white one”.

           (both laughing)

L:         (shaking head) That’s not how it works.

H:         It is in France.

L:         It is in France. But then she laughs at me when I go “I’d like a soy flat white please”.

H:         (sniggering) No, Liz goes “I’d like an iced coffee – oh, can you make that soy, and actually can I have the sugar on the side?”

L:         (indignant) I didn’t ask for the sugar on the side! You’re supposed to mix it in with the shot of coffee before you put the milk in.

H:         Very Sydney, anyway.

L:         Well, when in Sydney…

H:         So…. Friday was Barangaroo and the day it clouded over. And the funky guy by the cruise ship playing awful music.

(Liz pulls an unimpressed face)

L:         On his ukulele, just slowly murdering Guns ‘n’ Roses.

But it was a really really gorgeous morning… and then it was starting to cloud over and I was like (pulls face) “let’s get back on the train”. By the time we’d got back to the train station at mine – bearing in mind it’s only two minutes walk from the train station to my flat – we still chose to go and get coffee in the station café rather than walk home because the rain was so torrential.

H:         The monsoons descended again. We were going to do the pylon that day, but we decided to leave it so we could actually see…

L:         …actually see something – other than the massive cruise ship that was sat in the harbour that day. Complete with like, a waterpark, or whatever it was.

H:         Errrrm, Saturday was another overcast day. We’re not really selling it, are we? (laughing)

So we went to the cinema again. To be fair, we both had work to do that day as well.

L:         We did, we did.

H:         No, but we went for brunch as well! No… that was another day. We just live in Newtown.

L:         We do – this is basically my life, living in Newtown.

H:         No, it was just cinema day.

L:         Because no holiday is complete without having to do internship applications and phone interviews and assessments.

           (Hels has her head in her hands)

           So no, we have had work to do. But we went to the cinema, which we thought would be a nice trip out on a Saturday morning… like, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Natalie Portman, but that was about the most intense two hours you could have asked for on a Saturday morning really.

H:         We went to see Jackie. I just sat and marvelled at Natalie Portman.

L:         I was just like “when do we get to see his brains blown out?!” (clapping hands in glee)

H:         It was quite graphic for that bit!

L:         Yeah but that’s what actually happened.

H:         I know. But I didn’t expect them to like… brains on the seat.

L:         Ah well.

H:         Casual Saturday morning viewing.

L:         Highlight of Saturday though.

H:         No, that was… We left, and Liz was like “that wasn’t what I expected”. But no, Natalie Portman was great so it was all good.

L:         It was at least more intellectual than 50 Shades. You know, we can admit to having liked 50 Shades Darker if we at least went to see a sensible film that week.

H:         Good cinema experiences. Expensive cinema, but… (shrugs)

[thefilmdom]

Thought I’d go ahead and start that Oscars talk with what I think and you guys can join in.

Ladies First- Actress in a Supporting Role

I’d like to see Naomie Harris (Moonlight) win an Academy Award of Merit as it would be her first and her acting has never not been enthralling to me.

But I get the feeling that either Viola Davis(Fences) or Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) will get it seeing as how they’re both nothing less than spectacular.

Actress in a Leading Role

I’d like to see Natalie Portman (Jackie) get the award

but she’s up against the queen of oscars Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Actor in a Supporting Role

I’d like to see Dev Patel (Lion), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), or Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) get the award, mostly because I just plain don’t like the other two nominees acting 95% of the time, and I believe any of these three truly deserve an oscar. I mean lets be honest Dev Patel is incredible always, Lucas Hedges came out of nowhere with a knock-out performance, and Mahershala Ali is so full of emotion you can really feel it.

Actor in a Leading Role

I’m rooting for Casey Affleck(Manchester by the Sea) or Denzel Washington (Fences) to bring home the gold.

I think that the actual receiver of the award might be Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), or Denzel.

Animated Feature Film

I really freaking want Kubo and the Two Strings to win. I’ll probably be super ticked if it doesn’t.

But I’ve got this strong strong feeling Zootopia is going to get the award.

I mean both films were great, but like the one that amazed me the most and made me feel the most was Kubo and the Two Strings. It was very very close, but there was something- some kind of element I am incapable of verbalizing that struck me when watching it that completely won me over. 

Best Picture

I’d love it if Arrival got the Oscar. It made me feel. I cried. You know what I got when I told my one friend that? “You’re Crying? You never cry at movies. What movie is this?”. To further emphasize how movies and I work emotionally I have not cried at some of the saddest movies (Old Yeller, Marley and Me, The Fault in our Stars, My Sisters Keeper, The Time Travelers Wife, Me Before You etc...) but I have cried over:

The last 10 minutes of The Colt- I only saw those last 10 minutes of the movie and I bawled my damn eyes out, in my defense it was 3am and there were copious amounts of chocolate involved.

Cloud Atlas ....all three times in a row it took me to fully grasp that film.

The Croods. Now here you’re probably thinking, yeah that li’l bit before the end, that’s a bit sad, but noooooo no no no that is not what I cried over, I cried over how much I loved the animation of the egg chase scene in the beginning of the movie.

The Notebook which in this list may be surprising, but I feel like you don’t have a soul if you didn’t let at least one tear slip when watching that one for the first time.

The Good Dinosaur- this one I solely blame on childhood trauma. The flashbacks that it gave me of the Lion King in particular. 

Basically, I don’t cry over movies just because they movied, so the fact that I did over Arrival is Oscar worthy in my opinion.

But I think that La La Land is going to get it. It’s been talked about non-stop since its release and all of it very good things.

I feel like we had a hugely successful year for potential oscar movies and I feel they all deserve one in their own way. I can’t wait to see how this year turns out! 

Feel free to talk about who/what you think is going to win in these categories and the many others I left out so as not to make this too long.

[brotherhood-of-okay-reviews-blog]

Oscar Predictions

Chris' Movie Review 2017 Oscar Predictions It's that time of year again. This Sunday, we'll find out who will win the most prestigious award in the film industry. Unless you think the Oscars are just movies that are literally made to be nominated, then yeah, I can see your point in why you wouldn't watch. I will list the nominees in order of who I think will win to the least possible winner. That way you can see my thoughts on each nominee. Any questions? You can ask below in the comments. Otherwise, here we go. Best Picture Nominees 1. La La Land (My Prediction) The movie is just fantastic. I love watching this film so much, that I want to watch it again. Even though it caters to the Hollywood stereotype, it's still a gorgeous and well acted film. 2. Moonlight This film touches on a subject that we don't get to see very often, a gay black man growing up in the hood. The struggles of this child learning to accept himself and grow up with a distant mom is challenging. The movie can feel slow at times but there are some powerful moments throughout. 3. Manchester By The Sea The movie takes awhile to really pick up but this is one of the more realistic scripts this year. The film takes an unique approach to depression by adding comedy into the mix. The movie is very dramatic at times but again, the first hour is very sluggish. 4. Hell Or High Water A well acted movie that has a great cat vs. mouse type story. Issue is, it's sort of forgettable. While there are some great scenes and good dialogue, the film just feels empty at times. 5. Lion Based on a true story, the first hour of this film really hits home with the struggles of a child who gets lost in India. As the movie progresses, he begins to feel extremely guilty that he left his brother, sister, and mom behind. The second act of this film doesn't do itself justice by cutting too much of the child's experiences when he moves to Australia to live with his adopted parents but the ending gives you a lot of hope. 6. Arrival Learning to communicate is key. And then there's a scene that just doesn't make any sense but it's okay, the rest of the movie is still good. While slow in pace, the film has a great atmosphere and brings about a lot questions that strike curiosity amongst yourself and others. 7. Fences The movie takes place in a house and it's basically just an actor's film. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are really good in the movie but the one stop setting can get a little boring and the movie takes about an hour before it really gets interesting. 8. Hacksaw Ridge While the war scenes are gory and well detailed, the first act is messy and not well paced. If the first act could follow the footsteps of the war scenes, then the movie would be way higher on the list. 9. Hidden Figures A must needed film to exploit the real truth behind NASA's hidden heroes. While the movie does a great job telling the story of these black ladies that worked for NASA, it doesn't give itself time to let each character develop equally. It's still a solid watch and it's inspirational, but it's not as impactful as some of the other films on this list. Best Actor 1. Denzel Washington (Fences) (My Prediction) It's an actor's movie and Denzel kills it. Even if you think he's over the top at times, he's able to harness a full range of emotions for this character. 2. Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea) While it's basically one emotion throughout, you can see that Casey feels dead on the inside. He just keeps going because he's not sure what else to do. And maybe he'll find happiness one day soon...if he allows it that is. 3. Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge) Andrew is great in the war scenes. You see the pain and passion in his eyes but the first act slows him down in this film. 4. Ryan Gosling (La La Land) We've seen this role from Ryan before and, while he plays it well, it's just not something that's beyond his range. 5. Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) I didn't see this movie. Heck, did it even play in America? If it did, I never heard of it. Best Actress 1. Emma Stone (La La Land) (My Prediction) So this is kind of embarrassing, Emma Stone is the only actress I saw in this category. I never heard of Elle or Loving. And I honestly didn't see Florence Foster Jenkins because I thought Meryl Streep wasn't going to be in contention. And Jackie was something I was going to get around to but it was Oscar month. They dump all of the movies on you at one time. So if you want to disqualify my pick, you're more than welcome. But I know Emma has to be the lead candidate. Plus, they left off Amy Adams, the academy can go fuck themselves. 2. Natalie Portman (Jackie) 3. Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) 4. Isabelle Huppert (Elle) 5. Ruth Negga (Loving) Best Supporting Actor 1. Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea) (My Prediction) Lucas really brings the movie to light once he gets on screen. Casey brings it down, Lucas brings it up. It's a good balance between the two and I could even contend that Lucas was better than Casey. 2. Micheal Shannon (Nocturnal Animals) Honestly, if Jake Gyllenhaal is considered a supporting role, then he should be on here instead. But since Michael is, he does a solid job getting his emotions across and he brings a side character to life. 3. Jeff Bridges (Hell Or High Water) Jeff doesn't steal the show but he's definitely there. It's not that he's forgettable but it's more that we've seen this role from Jeff before. He does them well but it becomes a little worn out after awhile. 4. Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) A man with few words but he can stare at you. It's not a bad performance but I just didn't feel anything from him. And maybe, that's the point. But he wasn't impactful for me. 5. Dev Patel (Lion) Same as Mahershala, Dev just kind of stares off into space a lot. Again, it's not bad but you just don't feel the emotion all the time from him. Some of it could be the movie though. Best Supporting Actress 1. Viola Davis (Fences) (My Prediction) Viola puts everything on the line here. She's on screen the most of these five and she hits home with her performance. 2. Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea) Even though she's on screen for maybe 7 total minutes, she just leaves an impact. Michelle is so underrated as an actress and she deserves way more roles. 3. Naomie Harris (Moonlight) Probably the most haunting performance in all of Moonlight. If anything, Naomie is the true stand out of the film. 4. Nicole Kidman (Lion) Nicole is just sort of there. She cries once or twice but she's just sort of there in Lion. Not too much to say really. 5. Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) She is the least interesting of the main three. Taraji and Janelle are more interesting and are better than Octavia in this movie. It's not too say she's bad but the movie fails Octavia really. Best Director 1. Damien Chazelle (La La Land) (My Prediction) What can I say that I haven't about this movie? It's fucking gorgeous to watch. The scenes are shot so well and the film flows beautifully. 2. Dennis Velleneuve (Arrival) I might think the movie is slow but the atmosphere is fantastic. It's creepy but it has a sense of wonderment and adventure. 3. Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge) Just the war scenes. I mean, I know I keep bringing that up but those are really the best part of the movie. Mel really took his time with that part of the movie. 4. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) Like Manchester below, they're both slow at points and the direction seems lost until you get past the halfway point. 5. Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea) Same with Moonlight but the film does have a better use of its comedy. I see these two as a tie. Best Animated Film 1. Zootopia (My Prediction) Let's face it, Your Name or The Boy And The Beast isn't on the list, so where's the real competition? Zootopia is a great movie and it tackles prejudice and race well. It just doesn't have a real foe in the category. 2. Moana Cute, action packed fun. The movie is entertaining but it will probably be forgotten about in the next 5 years. 3. Kubo And The Two Strings There are things that weren't explained. The movie was fine but it didn't blow me away like I thought it could. 4. The Red Turtle Didn't see because it wasn't released any where near me. And maybe not even in America for that matter. 5. My Life As A Courgette Same as The Red Turtle. I mean, if a movie is going to be nominated, then it should be released so everyone can see it. Damn. Best Original Screenplay 1. La La Land (My Prediction) It's good. Enough said. 2. Manchester By The Sea I think Manchester does a great job combing depression and comedy. I also believe that Manchester has a great chance of winning this category. While I think La La Land will win just because, I think Manchester deserves it more. 3. Hell Or High Water I think the dialogue and setting are great but it's not the top film in my opinion. 4. 20th Century Women Didn't see. 5. The Lobster Didn't see. Best Original Song 1. Audition (The Fools Who Dream) (La La Land) (My Prediction) First off, this song was literally made to be an Oscar song. Just listen to it. Second, where's Sing Street? This will be quick but Drive It Like You Stole It is fucking amazing. Sing Street as a movie, is fucking amazing. It should've been nominated for Best Original Song, Best Original Music Score and possibly Best Picture. 2. How Far I'll Go (Moana) Catchy, but over used in the film. 3. City Of Stars (La La Land) It's good but eh. It doesn't need to be on this list. 4. Can't Stop This Feeling (Trolls) Really? What the fuck? You could put all of Sing Street's soundtrack on here before this song would even get on the list. 5. Empty Chair (Jim: The James Foley Story) Never saw this movie but I listened to the song. It's fine. Best Original Music Score 1. La La Land (My Prediction) It's the only score I can remember. So I'm not going to comment on the rest. But would Sing Street qualify in this section? I know it used tunes from other artists here and there but there was a lot of original music too. And if did qualify, fuck the Oscars. Because yeah, I'm sure everyone recalls the music from Passengers. 2. Moonlight 3. Lion 4. Passengers 5. Jackie Best Cinematography 1. La La Land (My Prediction) I'll be honest, I think Arrival should win but I'm predicting winners and I think La La Land will just win just because. It's not too say this movie isn't beautiful but Arrival is done extremely well. 2. Arrival Same case. I think Arrival has a great outside chance but it just depends if the academy wants to split up the awards any. 3. Moonlight 4. Lion 5. Silence Lastly, Best Visual Effects 1. Rogue One (My Prediction) Despite my issues with the movie, Rogue One is fucking amazing with its special effects. The film looks great and it helps you ignore the plot and character problems. 2. Deepwater Horizon 3. Doctor Strange 4. Jungle Book 5. Kubo And The Two Strings And that's it. I left off Best Writing Adapted Screenplay. Mainly because I don't know the original source material for these movies and that wouldn't be fair for me to judge. I left off Best Foreign Film because I never get to watch those. I left off Best Film Editing because I'm lazy. I left off Best Animated Short because I haven't seen all of them. I left off Best Production Design, just because. I left off Best Sound Mixing because I don't think I could really analyze that. I left off Best Live Action Short because I haven't seen any of them. And I left off Best Documentary Feature because, like most of them, I didn't see any of them. Finally, I'd just like to say that some of these awards I don't really care for. If I left it off the list, I didn't either know enough, see it, or just really care about it. It's not that those awards shouldn't be handed out but it's more of I think they're not that important in the long run. But it's the Oscars, they need something to fill up 4 hours of run time. As usual, thanks for reading!

[san-sebastian]

OSCAR PREDICTIONS

The Oscars are coming up soon, so I thought it would be interesting to predict what will happen. If you’re confused as to what’s going on, refer to this link:

http://oscar.go.com/nominees/actress-in-a-supporting-role

Best picture: La La Land I was torn between picking La La Land and Moonlight for this category. I really think either could win. But knowing the Oscars and seeing how the Grammys went, I think they’ll try to play it safe. But then again, thats what everyone is thinking... so they purposefully might not...

Actor in a leading role: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) I haven't actually seen the movie, but I’ll trust Jiaqi who says Casey Affleck really deserves this one. Once again I think Denzel Washington (Fences) also has an amazing chance, but I’m pretty sure they’ll give an award to Viola Davis (Fences), so they’ll want to play it strategically and give awards to a wider range of movies 🤔

Actress in leading role: Natalie Portman (Jackie) Tbh I have no idea for this category. I haven’t really looked into any of the movies nominated sorry. Once again I’ll trust Jiaqi who says Natalie Portman really deserves this one. I don’t know anything about the movie, but I have a feeling she’s right about this...

Actor in supporting role: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) I think Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) has a very strong chance, but Mahershala Ali beats all the other nominees. For sure.

Actress in supporting role: Viola Davis (Fences) Maybe its just because I read an article about Viola Davis in the New Yorker recently, or maybe its because I really want Fences to get a nomination, but this is the one category I’m 99% certain about. This is probably the one category that I would be truly pissed off about if they decided to give the award to anyone else. Viola Davis I got ur back.

Animated feature film: My life as a Zucchini Even though Jiaqi says Kubo is going to win, I really hope My life as a Zucchini does - mostly because it’s Swiss and it would make them very proud.

Cinematography: La La Land I’m pretty certain that while La La Land won’t win many awards for the acting categories, it’s going to steal all the production/directing related awards. 

Costume design: La La Land If Allied wins this category, I am going to sue the Oscars and personally send a hand written complaint to whoever is in charge. La La Land put a lot of focus on costumes, I’m pretty certain its going to win. The only real challenge would be Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them or Jackie, but I don't think either of them can really match La La Land.

Directing: La La Land I feel like Damien Chazelle really needs his own Oscar. Not only for La La Land but also Whiplash. 

Documentary (feature): ???? I’m Not Your Negro ??? I have literally no idea. Poster looks interesting. They might use this to counteract the #OscarsSoWhite from last year...

Documentary (short subject): ??? 4.1 Miles ??? Again, I have literally no idea. 

Film editing: La La Land As you can probably tell, this is when categories become start to become a little more confusing for me... I don’t really know the criteria for film editing, I just have that feeling that La La Land is probably going to win.

Foreign language film: The Salesman I don't really know the story for any of these, but I think The Salesman is going to win since it’s Iranian.

Makeup and hairstyling: Star Trek This is kind of a process of elimination. I don’t know about A Man Called Ove, and I really don’t want Suicide Squad to win an Oscar. Not even for makeup and hairstyling. It wasn’t a good movie.

Music (original score): La La Land Obviously.

Music (original song): “Audition (The Fools Who Dream) - La La Land I’m pretty sure La La Land is going to win this category, so it’s between this and City of Stars. But I didn’t think City of Stars wasn't particularly great, and Emma Stone sang her solo better than Ryan Gosling. 

Production design: La La Land La La Land was all about the production design. It needs to win this. 

Short film (animated): Piper Only because I saw this as a preview before watching Assassin’s Creed in Bilbao and I actually really liked it.

Short film (live action): ???? Sing ?? Looks pretty cool.

Sound editing: Arrival If anyone what the difference is between ‘sound editing’ and ‘sound mixing’ is please tell me. I feel like La La Land could win this but in my mind editing is more about how the sounds actually sound, while sound mixing is more about how they connect to each other. I also feel as though Arrival should win something.

Sound mixing: La La Land La La Land is definitely going to win one if not both of the sound categories. I’m not really an expert on this so yeah.

Visual effects: Kubo Possibly Rogue One... Possibly Kubo... I’m not really sure. I don’t know much about Kubo but apparently its very very good. 

Writing (adapted screenplay): Fences This is a really tough one, but I feel as though Fences will win since it’s so true to the play. 

Writing (original screenplay): La La Land Even though La La Land didn’t have an outstanding script, I feel as though it’s still going to win this over Manchester By the Sea.