2016 Oscar Awards

My predictions vs. actual winners:

Best Picture - The Revenant - Wrong - Spotlight
* Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio  - Correct
* Best Actress - Brie Larson - Correct
* Supporting Actor - Mark Rylance - Correct
Supporting Actress - Jennifer Jason Leigh - Wrong - Alicia Vikander
Animated Feature Film - Anomalisa - Wrong - Inside Out
Cinematography - Mad Max: Fury Road - Wrong - The Revenant
Costume Design - Cinderella - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
* Directing - The Revenant - Correct
* Documentary - Amy - Correct
Documentary Short - Last Day of Freedom - Wrong - A Girl in the River
Film Editing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Foreign Language Film - A War - Wrong - Son of Saul
* Makeup and Hairstyling - Mad Max: Fury Road - Correct
Original Score - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Hateful Eight
Original Song - Simple Song #3 - Wrong - Writing's On the Wall
Production Design - The Martian - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Short Film Live - Day One - Wrong - Stutterer
Sound Editing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Sound Mixing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Mad Max: Fury Road
Visual Effects - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wrong - Ex Machina
Writing Adapted - Room - Wrong - The Big Short
* Writing Original - Spotlight - Correct 

Well, I didn't do that well in my predictions here.  I think Spotlight took many people by surprise for Best Picture of the Year.  It was already next on my must see list.  Leonardo was almost a guarantee for his 6th nomination.  I just saw Room today and called Brie as Best Actress.  Months ago, when I saw Bridge of Spies, I called Mark Rylance as Best Supporting Actor, even before the nominations were announced.  I do have to say that I was most surprised by how many awards Mad Max: Fury Road won.  I saw it and I wasn't terribly impressed.  I thought the sound mixing and editing in Star Wars was superb.  And I'm also surprised by Ex Machina beating out Star Wars for Visual Effects.  I haven't seen Ex Machina, but the effects in Star Wars made up for three completely botched visual disasters in the franchise.  

I was a bit disappointed in Chris Rock as the host of the show.  I understand there was a lot of upset and outrage over the lack of diversity represented at the Oscars.  The point was driven home relentlessly before the show and during the red carpet interviews.  We all expected it to be addressed during the ceremony as well, but I actually appreciated Vice President Joe Biden's call to stand against rape and Leonardo DiCaprio's warning about global warning as a nice break from the non-stop protest that took over the show.  I did, however, think Cheryl Boone Isaacs' (President of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) speech was brief, effective, eloquent and to the point.  Hopefully next year, we can get back to poking fun at the actors and celebrating the accomplishments of talented artists.

2016 Oscar Predictions

Here are my predictions for the 2016 Oscars:

Best Picture - The Revenant
Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Actress - Brie Larson
Supporting Actor - Mark Rylance
Supporting Actress - Jennifer Jason Leigh
Animated Feature Film - Anomalisa
Cinematography - Mad Max: Fury Road
Costume Design - Cinderella
Directing - The Revenant
Documentary - Amy
Documentary Short - Last Day of Freedom
Film Editing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Foreign Language Film - A War
Makeup and Hairstyling - Mad Max: Fury Road
Original Score - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Original Song - Simple Song #3
Production Design - The Martian
Short Film Live - Day One
Sound Editing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Sound Mixing - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Visual Effects - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Writing Adapted - Room
Writing Original - Spotlight

Room Review

4.0 Stars

 

Room is the story about 5 year old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his mother Ma (Brie Larson)  who are a typical loving mother and energetic son filled with curiosity and imagination in an anything but typical situation.  They are both living, surviving, trapped in a 10 by 10 foot space that Ma has called Room in her best efforts to protect Jack from the absolutely unthinkable nightmare that is the only life he has ever known, a life she isn't sure will ever be anything else.  However, miraculously, through Ma's ingenuity and guts and Jack's courage, one day, they escape.  With their 10 x 10 Room behind them, they face a new world (literally) of hopes, possibilities, challenges and fears.  

I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch Room or Spotlight next with the Oscars upon us, but a good friend of mine, Steve Williams, strongly recommended Room. I'll be watching Spotlight next, but thank you to Steve for the recommendation.  It was powerful.

Larson has had supporting roles in Trainwreck, The Gambler and Don Jon along with multiple TV appearances, but this is her first leading role and she also looks right at home.  In fact, her performance has not only earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, but many critics are predicting she will go home with the win and after watching the movie, it would be an award well-deserved.

Room opens on Jack's 5th birthday.  We find out later that Ma was abducted 7 years earlier and Jack was born and raised in Room.  Her abductor makes regular visits (conjugal in nature) with Jack tucked away in Wardrobe.  We already know from the preview that they do eventually escape and are given a chance to have a life outside Room, so that's not a spoiler there.  I won't give it all away, but the escape will leave you breathless with white knuckles as you cling to whatever you have nearby.  I really only had two minor issues with the movie. First, after she is reunited with her parents, Ma is unsettled to discover they had split and her mother (Joan Allen) had met a new man.  Her father (William H. Macy) flies home to be there for the reunion, but quickly leaves and can't even look at Jack or address him.  And then we don't see him again and are left wondering what happened.  

The second minor issue I had was that the preview uses part of its limited time to share a scene after their escape between Jack and Ma in which Jack is concerned about their abductor finding them again.  Ma reassures him that it will never happen.  And it doesn't come up again at all.  It's handled just fine in the movie, but the issue is that the preview seemed to indicate it would be a factor in the aftermath.  It wasn't.  The aftermath of adjusting to the real world was dramatic enough as it was and didn't need to be in the preview.

Room is a touching, heart-warming, intense, gripping, original and well-acted and well-told story that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I predicted a solid 4 stars: worth the money in the theatre, worth watching again, and has a good chance of making it to my home collection, and that's exactly what I'm sticking with.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  Most likely Spotlight.

Room Preview

Room is the story about 5 year old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his mother Ma (Brie Larson)  who are a typical loving mother and energetic son filled with curiosity and imagination in an anything but typical situation.  They are both living, surviving, trapped in a 10 by 10 foot space that Ma has called Room in her best efforts to protect Jack from the absolutely unthinkable nightmare that is the only life he has ever known, a life she isn't sure will ever be anything else.  However, miraculously, through Ma's ingenuity and guts and Jack's courage, one day, they escape.  With their 10 x 10 Room behind them, they face a new world (literally) of hopes, possibilities, challenges and fears.  

I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch Room or Spotlight next with the Oscars upon us, but a good friend of mine, Steve Williams, strongly recommended Room.

Tremblay was the voice of a Smurf in the Smurfs 2 and has done a couple bit roles, mostly in TV, but the preview makes him look quite comfortable in this leading role, like a seasoned professional.  Larson has had supporting roles in Trainwreck, The Gambler and Don Jon along with multiple TV appearances, but this is her first leading role and she also looks right at home.  In fact, her performance has not only earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, but many critics are predicting she will go home with the win.

Room is nominated for Best Picture, though The Revenant is all anyone can talk about as the favorite in that category.   It is unclear from the preview just how Jack and Ma ended up in the Room, nor how long they have been there, though it does seem that is the only reality Jack has ever known.  What is clear is that Ma must daily must up the strength and courage to be brave for Jack and not let him know how hopeless and terrible their life really is.  We already know from the preview that they do eventually escape and are given a chance to have a life outside the Room.  There is some indication that whoever was responsible for their imprisonment might possibly still be out there, as if adjusting to an entire world outside of a 10 x 10 Room wasn't already a daunting task.

Room looks like a touching, heart-warming, intense, gripping, original and well-acted and well-told story that I believe I'll thoroughly enjoy.  I'm predicting a solid 4 stars: worth the money in the theatre, worth watching again, and has a good chance of making it to my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Straight Outta Compton Review

2.0 Stars

Straight Outta Compton is the story of five black Americans from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California who formed the rap group NWA in the late 1980's using their rhymes and beats as a way to bring light to the dire situation in America's inner cities.  Gang violence between the Bloods and the Crips was tearing the city apart and the Los Angeles Police Department was under fire for their abuse of power aimed at the black minorities.

If the point of Straight Outta Compton was to tell the story of five young black underprivileged Americans who fought from nothing to have the opportunity to make a difference in the world by raising their voices across the world about the violence and racism plaguing Compton, the movie was a success.  Unfortunately, they squandered the opportunity they were given.  Their graphic lyrics incited more violence from their listeners: both those who supported their work and those who opposed them.  Their voices were heard, but they were not on a mission to actually do anything about it.  They themselves resorted to violence within their own group with disputes over contracts and money.

One of the group members was actually invited to the White House to meet with the President and the movie barely addressed it.  Twice, members of the group were seen watching the beatings of Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department, infuriating them, yet not inspiring them to take action to prevent it from happening again.  There is even one scene during the riots that erupted after the police were found not guilty that showed two black men walking towards a line of police, one holding a blue handkerchief and the other a red one (the colors of the rival gangs).  The handkerchiefs were tied together, as if to say, even with their differences, they can agree that what was going on was wrong.  At the same time, NWA was at odds with each other, splitting into different recording labels, hurling insults at each other, having elaborate parties with girls and drugs and alcohol.  

Straight Outta Compton was two hours and twenty-two minutes long and it felt like it.  When I think of movies that run that long, I think of epic movies like Gladiator or Saving Private Ryan.  This movie could have been just as easily told as a VH1 or MTV "where are they now" documentary rather than a full studio production.  I think a more compelling, interesting and infuriating movie would have been one that dealt with the beating of Rodney King and the trial that ultimately found the police innocent of any wrong doing.  I felt no compassion for the characters and it's a shame they were given such a public platform and had the attention of millions, yet they couldn't affect any positive change, in their country, in their city, even in themselves.

I initially predicted a 3 star rating, but I dropped it down to 2 stars.  Maybe this would have been worth a matinee pricing.  It's a decent rental or just wait for it to come out on cable.  For me, once was enough and it will not be in my permanent collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Straight Outta Compton Preview

In the 1980's, many were enjoying the thrills of neon colors, big hair, upbeat rock music from Def Leppard and Journey, TV shows like Who's the Boss and Full House, and iconic movies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Top Gun.  America was also home to one of the roughest, gang-ridden, violent places in the world: Compton in Los Angeles.  Gang violence was at an all-time high, the tension between black Americans and the Los Angeles Police Department was palpable, and the peaceful demonstrations of Martin Luther King, Jr. from just 20 years ago were lost.  Straight Outta Compton tells the story of a rap group, NWA, who also used their voice, though with a very different tone, to spread awareness of what they had to endure.

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, Straight Outta Compton follows the lives of five young men from Compton who were tired of the violence and oppression and were given a voice to speak out, in a very honest and very graphic way.  The group struggled to find success until a white manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) takes them under his wing and believes they not only have a story that needs to be heard, but a talent for rhymes and beats that will sell.  They rose to fame and found that their message, though successfully bringing to light the dire situation in urban America, served as a catalyst for even more violence as their fans acted out in anger and authorities sought desperately to shut them down.

They were often accused of simply trying to shock their listeners with their graphic lyrics and profanity-laced raps, though they vehemently defended their music as a reflection of their world.  Later, they were accused of letting the fame and fortune get the better of them and losing their focus on their true agenda.  The trailer looks like an interesting look at the forming of this group considered by some to be civil rights leaders.   It also looks very violent and graphic, but that's what it was like for them in the late 80's.  I'm predicting Straight Outta Compton will be a solid 3 stars.  I think it will be a decent movie that is worth the money in the theatres, something I might catch when it makes its way to cable, but other than that would not find a home in my permanent collection.  So, am I right?  We shall see.

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens Review

5.0 Stars

Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order. When a defector named Finn crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey (Daisy Ridley), a tough scavenger whose droid contains a top-secret map. Together, the young duo joins forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to make sure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last of the Jedi Knights.

I initially gave Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens a 5 star prediction.  I saw it opening weekend and was blown away from start to finish.  There were so many throw back to the original trilogy, the return of our favorite characters, the introduction to new exciting characters, a great story, stunningly perfect visual effects, and music that moves you from start to finish.  But I had to see it a second time because something was bothering me: was I, at all, in even the slightest way, influenced in my enthusiasm for this movie because of how bad Episodes I through III were?  Would this still be the amazing movie I felt it was had I through III been better, or just not been made at all and we went right from Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens?

So I watched it again.  And it was even better the second time.   I picked up on a few of what movie fans refer to as Easter Eggs in the movie that I missed the first time.  An Easter Egg is an inside joke or a hidden message that is either delivered by a line, a piece of clothing, or a prop that is usually "hiding in plain sight" that you usually don't see right away.  For example, nearly every Pixar movie will have a reference to A113 in it.  A113 was the classroom number for the graphics design students at California's Institute of the Arts.  The Easter Egg can be a reference to nothing related to the movie, as with A113, or it can be a tribute to previous movies, a foreshadowing of something yet to come, or something that can have a double meaning.  The very first line of The Force Awakens is "This will begin to make things right."  This is easily explained as the missing piece of a map to Luke Skywalker's whereabouts and that finding him will help the Rebellion to take down the newly formed dark side faction called the First Order.  But some fans are taking it as a jab at George Lucas and his defiling of Episodes I-III with his over-use of computer graphics.  Regardless of how it was intended, or how you took it, JJ Abrams has brought Star Wars back in a big way.

There are many things reminiscent to the original trilogy in this movie.  Without giving too much away, it starts on a remote desert planet with an orphaned character named Rey who mysteriously is very strong with the force and, so far, inexplicably has a very strong connection to Luke Skywalker.  The New Order has built a planet-sized space station that trumps the Death Star but still has one weak spot much like their old weapon.  The Millennium Falcon is back.  There is a scene in a bar that is much like the Cantina at Mos Eisley.  Rey has an experience with the force much like Luke had on Dagobah with Yoda.  There is so much smart and appropriate humor.  There is action.  There are twists.  There are questions left unanswered making fans already anxious for Episode VIII.  And the special effects were flawless.  The scenes of X-wing Fighters, the Millennium Falcon, the Tie Fighters in aerial battles were breath-taking and so well done.  

My conclusion after seeing The Force Awakens a second time is that this movie not only stands up to its own hype, not only makes you forget about the disappointment of Episodes I-III, but is the perfect continuation of the Star Wars saga after Return of the Jedi.  I've seen it twice and I will definitely own this when it comes out.  But the big question is, when do I buy it?  It will surely come out on its own.  Then there will most likely be a Trilogy available of VII - IX.  And eventually a box set of all nine movies.  I might just wait for all nine.  Who knows, with the success of these new ones, maybe someone will go back through I - VI and "fix" some of the things that were previously "fixed" that many feel were more detrimental than enhancements.  Regardless of when, I know I will own this movie.  And for only the second time in my movie review career, I'm giving a perfect 5.0 rating.  Only Saving Mr. Banks got that rating before.  So, Oscar season is right around the corner, so I'll be focusing on those movies next.  Which one will be on my mind first?  We shall see.