Oscar Winners 2017

The Oscars have come and gone once again.  I found this year to be harder than ever to pick some of the winners because there was so much diversity in each category and some really strong candidates.  Also, movies are so much more emotional than other things.  For example, in football, there is a lot of statistical analysis you can do before a match-up.  Who is injured? Who's got the better record?  Who's got a stronger defense?  Who plays better on the road?  And so on.  You can make a much more informed decision and be pretty accurate in your predictions if you do your research.  Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you can get a high percentage of your predictions correct if you do some digging.  That's not the case with movies.  For Best Picture, Arrival was a sci-fi alien drama.  Fences was a filmed production of August Wilson's Pullitzer Prize winning play about African American life in the 1950's.  Hacksaw Ridge was a World War II movie.  Hell or High Water was about bank robberies as revenge for the banks foreclosing on their land.  Hidden Figures was about a group of African American geniuses who helped NASA propel man into space in the 1950s.  La La Land was a modern musical with a throw-back feel.  Lion was about an orphaned Indian boy who used Google to track down his parents as an adult.  Manchester by the Sea was a drama about a troubled uncle taking guardianship of his nephew.  And Moonlight was about broken families, parental figures, drug abuse and sexual identity.  So how do you possibly say that one is better than another when they are all so completely different?  Well, I made my predictions and the Academy voted.  Below are the results.  The winners are in RED and my predictions are Bold and Underlined.

BEST PICTURE:

Arrival

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

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Isabelle Hupert (Elle)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Emma Stone (La La Land)
Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Dev Patel (Lion)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Viola Davis (Fences)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Nicole Kidman (Lion)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopoia

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

COSTUME DESIGN:
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

DIRECTING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
13th

FILM EDITING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE):
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG):
"Audition" La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling" Trolls
"City of Stars" La La Land
"The Empty Chair" Jim: The James Foley Story
"How Far I'll Go" Moana

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider & Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

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

VISUAL EFFECTS:

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

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women

Well, there you have it.  The 2017 Oscar Winners.  And I was pretty close in my predictions.  I actually tied for first in our Oscar Competition.  So, back to the movies.  And what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Oscars 2017 Predictions

It's the Oscars again, so it's time for me, like any movie enthusiast, to post our predictions for who will take home the coveted statues for being the best in their fields.  I found this year to be harder than ever to pick some of the winners because there is so much diversity in each category and some really strong candidates.  Also, movies are so much more emotional than other things.  For example, in football, there is a lot of statistical analysis you can do before a match-up.  Who is injured? Who's got the better record?  Who's got a stronger defense?  Who plays better on the road?  And so on.  You can make a much more informed decision and be pretty accurate in your predictions if you do your research.  Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you can get a high percentage of your predictions correct if you do some digging.  That's not the case with movies.  For Best Picture, Arrival was a sci-fi alien drama.  Fences was a filmed production of August Wilson's Pullitzer Prize winning play about African American life in the 1950's.  Hacksaw Ridge was a World War II movie.  Hell or High Water was about bank robberies as revenge for the banks foreclosing on their land.  Hidden Figures was about a group of African American geniuses who helped NASA propel man into space in the 1950s.  La La Land was a modern musical with a throw-back feel.  Lion was about an orphaned Indian boy who used Google to track down his parents as an adult.  Manchester by the Sea was a drama about a troubled uncle taking guardianship of his nephew.  And Moonlight was about broken families, parental figures, drug abuse and sexual identity.  So how do you possibly say that one is better than another when they are all so completely different?  Well, I, like so many others, to try to predict how the Academy will vote.

BEST PICTURE:

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

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Isabelle Hupert (Elle)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Emma Stone (La La Land)
Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Dev Patel (Lion)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Viola Davis (Fences)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Nicole Kidman (Lion)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopoia

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

COSTUME DESIGN:
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

DIRECTING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
13th

FILM EDITING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE):
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG):
"Audition" La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling" Trolls
"City of Stars" La La Land
"The Empty Chair" Jim: The James Foley Story
"How Far I'll Go" Moana

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider & Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

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

VISUAL EFFECTS:

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

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women

Well, there you have it.  My 2017 Oscar Predictions.  Am I right?  We shall see.

La La Land Review

4.5 Stars

 

As big and daunting as Los Angeles is, it's also a relatively small town, especially if you're trying to get into show business.  Mia (Emma Stone) is one of those many hopefuls.  She's working at a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers studio lot, giving the actors who are doing what she longs to do their caffeine fix.  Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is another hopeful, also currently scraping the bottom of the barrel.  To keep the roof over his head in his dumpy apartment and to pay what bills he can, which isn't many, he plays jazz at any club that will have him.  Mia and Sebastian first meet in the notorious LA traffic.  She is holding up traffic going over lines for an audition, he is stuck behind her.  He passes her with a glare, she responds with another unfriendly, but definitely Los Angelan gesture.  Their paths cross again later that evening after a party that Mia's roommates encourage her to attend after a bad audition.  She leaves on her own, walking home after her car was towed and hears Sebastian playing at a club she passes.  She walks in just in time to see him get fired for not sticking to the Christmas set list.  She tries to compliment him, but he brushes right by her.  Months  later at an 80s party, Mia gets some revenge as Sebastian is performing with an 80s tribute band.  They end up leaving together in search of their cars and start a wonderful song and dance duet a la Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. 

After a number of close calls and missed opportunities in La La Land both professionally and personally, Sebastian encourages Mia to write her own show.  She agrees, though terrified of failure, and writes a one-woman show she will also perform.  All Sebastian wants is to own his own jazz club, but he doesn't have the money, so he reluctantly takes a gig with a fellow musician.  The group is very successful, but it's not the type of jazz Sebastian wants to play and it's keeping him apart from Mia.  With glimpses of romance with each other and opportunities for success in the dog-eat-dog world of entertainment, the two must make some tough decisions about what they really want out of life.  Ultimately, they both decide what is most important to each of them and they live happily ever after . . .  though, not quite how you might assume.

La La Land was written and directed by Damien Chazelle who recently shot into the spotlight with his critically acclaimed writing and directing achievement with Whiplash.  While both deal with music, La La Land is completely different than his dark and torturous Whiplash.  If Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Judy Garland, or Fred Astaire were still making musicals today, La La Land would be their product.  They don't make movies like this anymore, but hopefully the will after this.  We've seen episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Psych, Scrubs, Family Guy and even South Park pay homage to the art of yesterdecade.  We've also seen musicals revitalized with Mama Mia!, Moulin Rouge, Rock of Ages, and Jersey Boys.  But a musical set today with the feel of the 50's is long overdue and it's been worth the wait as La La Land  combines traditional old school movie sets mixed with some of the modern movie special effects that they couldn't even imagine in Singin' in the Rain or Grease.

Gosling and Stone lit up the screen in the preview, coming across as the perfect kids you're rooting for, both in their pursuits of their passions and in their blooming romance.  They delivered as did La La Land.  If you like any of the movies I've named, just watching the preview probably made you smile with anticipation.  It just cleaned up at the Golden Globes with wins for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Musical or Comedy, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Screenplay.  I gave La La Land a very hopeful 4 Star prediction but I'm boosting it up to 4.5 Stars.  It was nearly perfect.  Gosling and Stone are a perfect match in their wit, comedic timing, sincerity, romance, singing and dancing.  If this is the first of many more modern day musicals to come, then we are in for a real treat.  If this doesn't spark more of its kind, it would be a shame, but we were blessed with this rare gem and I'll be adding it to my collection for sure.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

La La Land Preview

As big and daunting as Los Angeles is, it's also a relatively small town, especially if you're trying to get into show business.  Mia (Emma Stone) is one of those many hopefuls.  She's working at a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers studio lot, giving the actors who are doing what she longs to do their caffeine fix.  Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is another hopeful, also currently scraping the bottom of the barrel.  To keep the roof over his head in his dumpy apartment and to pay what bills he can, which isn't many, he plays jazz at any club that will have him.  Mia and Sebastian first meet in the notorious LA traffic.  She is holding up traffic going over lines for an audition, he is late and stuck behind her.  He passes her with a glare, she responds with another unfriendly, but definitely Los Angelan gesture.  Their paths cross again months later at an 80s party that Mia's friends have encouraged her to attend and Sebastian is performing at.  

After a number of missed opportunities in La La Land, Sebastian encourages Mia to write her own show.  She agrees, though terrified of failure, and writes a one-woman show she will also perform.  All Sebastian wants is to own his own jazz club, but he doesn't have the money, so he reluctantly takes a gig with a fellow musician.  With glimpses of romance with each other and opportunities for success in the dog-eat-dog world of entertainment, the two must make some tough decisions about what they really want out of life.

La La Land was written and directed by Damien Chazelle who recently shot into the spotlight with his critically acclaimed writing and directing achievement with Whiplash.  While both deal with music, La La Land looks completely different than his dark and torturous Whiplash.  If Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Judy Garland, or Fred Astaire were still making musicals today, La La Land would be their product.  They don't make movies like this anymore.  We've seen episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Psych, Scrubs, Family Guy and even South Park pay homage to the art of yesterdecade.  We've also seen musicals revitalized with Mama Mia!, Moulin Rouge, Rock of Ages, and Jersey Boys.  But a musical set today with the feel of the 50's is long overdue and looks like it's been worth the wait as La La Land boasts traditional old school movie sets mixed with some of the modern movie special effects that they couldn't even imagine in Singin' in the Rain or Grease.

Gosling and Stone light up the screen in the preview and come off as the perfect kids you're rooting for, both in their pursuits of their passions and in their blooming romance.  And I'm rooting for La La Land.  If you like any of the movies I've named, just watching the preview probably made you smile with anticipation.  It just cleaned up at the Golden Globes with wins for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Musical or Comedy, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Screenplay.  I'm giving La La Land a very hopeful 4 Star prediction and anticipate that rating will only go up after watching it.  Am I right?  We Shall See.

Birdman Preview

Birdman or (The Unexpected Vitrue of Ignorance) was the 2014 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture of the Year.  In fact, it was nominated for 9 awards and won 3.  Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone were all nominated for their performances.  Unfortunately, I was not able to see this one in the theatres before the Oscars; however, based on the movies I saw and the previews of the nominees, this was my pick for Best Picture, so I have high hopes.

Keaton plays the title role of Riggan Thomsan who was made famous 20 years ago for his portrayal of a comic book superhero Birdman.  After making three movies with the character, Thomsan only became known as Birdman and it took over his life.  In a post-mid-life crisis, Thomsan attempts to establish himself as a true artist and separate himself from the Birdman character by writing, directing and starring in a Broadway show that he co-produced with his best friend Jake (Zach Galifianakis).  Thomsan stakes his reputation and his money in the project and will do anything to make sure it goes well.  And it goes anything but well.

The preview shows Thomsan battling the Birdman persona both internally and externally.  He seems to be haunted by an inner demon that won't let it go; and, try as he might to ignore the voice inside, he has every critic, friend, family member and fan doubting him and keeping the comic book character alive.  It looks sad, funny, tragic, hilarious, deep, and original.  Some of the special effects in the preview that show us we will get to see acted out in real life what is going on in Thomsan's unstable head look to be spectacular and way over the top in a very good way.  Each actor looks to give a performance well-deserving of their Oscar nominations.  I am truly excited to see Birdman.  I expect it will make it to my home collection and I'm giving this a 4.0 star prediction, maybe even 4.5.  Am I right?  We shall see.