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Post by roverpup on Feb 6, 2017 1:28:03 GMT
Thought an Oscars thread would be appropriate. I don't know if it should be divided further (like into different categories) or not but this is just a trial run. Because we have Kodi we get to see a lot of movies and we try to see most of the Oscar nominated films before the actual award ceremony. This year I have seen Arrival, Doctor Strange, Hell or High Water, Hacksaw Ridge, Jackie, and Land of Mine (in the Best Foreign Language Film category). Tonight we are seeing Manchester by the Sea. The only one I am not enthusiastic about that seems to be a film I should not miss is La La Land. I know it is getting a lot of positive buzz and it was nominated for a bucket load of important awards but musicals just aren't something I enjoy so I am aprehensive about tackling this one. I even like the actors involved but still... singing???  So far I have only one movie that I really disliked - Hacksaw Ridge. There was nothing I liked about it - well maybe the acting of the lead actor wasn't all that bad, but i didn't think anything was really distinguishing about even that. It wasn't a terrible movie but it was just so cliched and predictable. And I have seen other WWII movies that covered the same theme and were much, much better. Hell or High Water wasn't as bad as a Hacksaw Ridge but it does leave me a bit puzzled why it got the nom for Best Picture. It was a perfectly OK movie but again there was nothing in it that was outstanding IMO. The best of the one for Best Picture that I have seen so far is Arriva,l and I certainly would have put Jackie in the place of Hell or High Water or Hacksaw Ridge any day. Jackie is a very unusual film - glacial in pacing, burdened with a sadness that is almost numbing but it is also a tremendous character study and NP is outstanding in the titular role. The absolute best of any of the movies in the Oscar run (excluding Dr. Strange because it is elevated in my mind above all the rest because of BC) is Land of Mine. Yes, it is subtitled (some folks don't like watching films with subtitles) but it is absolutely original in thought, tone and content (and yet it is a WWII "war" film). I highly recommend it to anyone who likes historically based dramas that look deeply into characters and explores what it is to be human. Has anyone else seen some of the Oscar nominated films? :-)) |
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Post by igs on Feb 7, 2017 8:27:57 GMT
Hello! I normally try to see all the Oscar nominees that I can before the ceremony as well, but this year I've been a bit slow. I've only seen La La Land of the main nomminees thus far, but I'm going for a double feature (Lion and Arrival) today.  I'm looking forward to Lion so so much and have been for a while now, and Arrival too cause it's Villeneuve and I love him! I moved a few months ago so unfortunately I don't have access to as many films as I did when I lived in Helsinki, most foreign films (except UK/US/Sweden) will not be screened here, which is too bad. Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight are coming up in the next two weeks though. I adored La La Land (except Ryan Gosling, who was very disappointing) but then again I'm a big musical fan. The only Oscar nominated film I have decided not to watch is Hacksaw Ridge. I hate Mel Gibson, and Andrew Garfield has been terrible in everything I've seen him in. I was so excited for Silence but then I saw the trailer and there was Garfield hamming it up... Too bad. |
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Post by roverpup on Feb 7, 2017 13:21:58 GMT
We saw two more films nominated for best picture Oscars - Fences and Manchester by the Sea.
Both were head and shoulders above either Hell or High Water or Hacksaw Ridge IMO.
MbtS was a movie you really have to give a whole lot of time and thought to. It is filled with surface lethargy that is covering a huge amount of dense tension and turmoil revolving around the main character played by Casey Affleck. I am not a fan of CA but I will admit, without his performance being absolutely pitch perfect this movie would never gotten off the ground, let alone hit such heights of raw emotion that it does... so kudos to him. The supporting performances are strong too - Michelle Williams (as his ex-wife) and Lucas Hedges (as his nephew who is fatherless). This is the type of film that has to be contemplated about and mulled thoughtfully over to be fully appreciated. It doesn't come wrapped up in a neat package and is not sentimental at all in its themes. It has a couple of things that hold it back though - the classical musical score for one. I love, love, love classical music but for the most part it just doesn't work here. It seems laid on and uncomfortably pretentious (except for one scene). The other (and I realise that this sounds silly, but it really is a problem) is that the two women in the movie look too much alike. They both have kind of the same shape of faces and short, blond hair cut in a "bob" style. Because there are many sudden flashbacks and then abrupt switches foreword into the present, it was really confusing to sort out which "blonde" was who's wife in the story. I think it was halfway through the film and both hubby and I still weren't quite sure which character was CA's wife. It could have been simply solved with different hair colour for one of them or a different style.
The other movie, Fences, was actually spectacular and has moved to the "Gold Standard" by which all other noms will be judged from now on. Denzel Washington was completely consumed by his character - so much so, that I totally forgot I was watching him perform. Viola Davis was wonderful as his wife of 18 years. And Jovan Adepo should have been nominated for his performance as the young put upon son of the main character. The set design was perfection and instantly took you back to the mid-fifties era without being flashy or showing off that it was doing so. It was stagy - it was obvious, (even if you didn't previously know) that it was originally a play but it's pure love of language more than made up for that. And DW really should have been nominated IMO for best director (absolutely dump MelGibson's place for Washington's). But the film is a definite must see for DW and VD's performances alone. Really, really wonderful, involving piece of filmmaking.
:-))
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Post by mllemass on Feb 7, 2017 13:36:58 GMT
This has spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen Manchester by the Sea:
For the first time in many years, I've seen most of the movies that have Oscar nominations this year. The only one that was truly disappointing was Manchester by the Sea. I saw it in a packed theatre with a slightly older audience, all very excited to have an emotional experience. My friend had been told to bring along a box of kleenex! But it turned out to be more than two hours of nothing much happening. Even looking at it as a character study, those were the dullest, most unpleasant characters I've ever spent that much time with. No one in the audience came anywhere close to crying. Afterwards, my friend tried to defend it, saying it was just being brutally realistic. But then when I questioned why it always seemed to winter, even in the flashbacks, she said it was pathetic fallacy. I have lost faith in the reviewers I used to respect who called it a "masterpiece".
The more I thought about it, the more I hated it.
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Post by roverpup on Feb 7, 2017 13:52:04 GMT
That's what I feel about Hacksaw Ridge - the more I think about it the more I hate it. Just to cleanse myself I had to watch Paths of Glory. Now there was a anti-war movie for the ages! Or Casualties of War. Both far, far superior films about finding humanity in very inhuman conditions. I really don't understand why Hacksaw Ridge got any nominations at all. A real travesty IMO.
:-))
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Post by roverpup on Feb 8, 2017 13:45:38 GMT
Well, we saw another film last night - Hidden Figures. I liked the film a lot and it was highly entertaining but I don't think it beat Fences in my mind for Best Picture.
I couldn't help but compare it to The Imitation Game because I think there were a lot of parallels with both films in themes and structure. But I think Hidden Figures faltered in emotional investment in the main character whereas TIG got you more fully emotionally committed to Alan Turning. I don't know whether it was due to the writing or the acting but Taraji P. Henson just didn't quite do it for me as Katherine Johnson in the film.
Perhaps it was because the film tried to focus as well on the other two women too much and as a result the main driving force of the drama suffered. And unfortunately the other two women's stories were underdeveloped too (especially the segments about Mary Jackson). Also I think that the film lacked a certain subtly that would have pushed it into being a superior movie IMO.
What I did love about the movie was the way it surrounded you in that era and I especially Octavia Spencer's performance.
All in all a really good film about an important, little known part of the history of the American space programme, but not a great movie that will stick with me emotionally long after seeing it.
:-))
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Post by mllemass on Feb 8, 2017 17:14:12 GMT
Perhaps it was because the film tried to focus as well on the other two women too much and as a result the main driving force of the drama suffered. And unfortunately the other two women's stories were underdeveloped too (especially the segments about Mary Jackson). Also I think that the film lacked a certain subtly that would have pushed it into being a superior movie IMO. I also liked Hidden Figures a lot, and I agree that it fell a bit short of being a superior movie. I was especially disappointed in the scene where the three ladies start singing and dancing with the radio. It's such a typically "chick flick" scene that it really was out of place and lowered the movie to a tv-movie-of-the-week. It felt like they threw in that scene because they figured women in the audience would want to see it. And I think too much time was spent on the love-interest storyline, which didn't add too much to the plot. I actually would like to have seen more of the work they did at NASA - even if it was way over my head. It was fascinating, and I remember thinking that if I had known, when I was little, that it was possible to grow up and do that kind of work, my life might have taken a different direction. I was (and still am) crazy about math, so I could relate to the characters. I am really happy that it's been so successful, though, and I hope it goes on to win more awards, if only to inspire more filmmakers to take on interesting subjects like this. I was watching a documentary on Mary Tyler Moore, and they mentioned that her show was the first to have female writers - and there were no women's bathrooms for them to use. I can imagine a movie made from that story, too! |
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Post by roverpup on Feb 9, 2017 0:31:28 GMT
I didn't really like the singing and dancing by the radio either Mllemass. It seemed to be just a filler moment and didn't really lend anything to the characters. Tonight we are down to a choice of 3 movies left in the Best Picture category - Lion, Moonlight and... the dreaded musical!!! I have a feeling we will be leaving La La Land until the very last. LOL! If we get to it at all. A real pity though because I really do like ES and RG isn't too bad either (although I am not a fan of his). But I have this irrational hatred of musicals on film (but I love them to bits on stage). I'm pretty sure the last musical I liked was Wizard of Oz.  :-)) |
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Post by queenzod on Feb 9, 2017 1:03:26 GMT
What don't you like about musicals, Roverpup? I find them so wonderful, and the talent can be amazing. Good escapist fare.
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Post by roverpup on Feb 9, 2017 3:51:09 GMT
I just can't connect to them. I am not big on fantasy movies either, so maybe the fact that people break out in song in the middle of the drama to be too much of a fantasy element to it - to me it just goes one step beyond a willing suspension of disbelief. Just a very personal feeling - not anything I expect others to feel and certainly no slam against musicals. It's just me.
On stage though I love musicals. It is a totally different relationship between me and what I am seeing up on the stage and it totally works for me in that situation.
But back to the Oscar movies - the movie we picked to watch tonight was Lion and I have to say I was blown away by it. Totally one of the best movies I have watched in a long, long time!
I loved everything about this film. The music was absolutely gorgeous, the story was so uplifting, the acting was fantastic and the direction was perfection. I certainly wouldn't have classified Dev P. as a "Supporting Actor" in this film but he does indeed deserve a nom so I am happy he has got his name in for some kind of recognition. But the whole cast was perfection IMO. I never really thought that much of Nicole K.'s acting in the past but after seeing her in The Railway Man I have really started to sit up and pay attention to her more seriously.
I really hope this film does well at the Oscars - it deserves something.
I went into it with absolutely no expectations - didn't even have the slightest clue what the film was about - just that it had Dev P. In it and I really liked his past movies. But heard I am after seeing Lion and still I am almost breathless from the impact of all the emotions it drew out in me.
Highly recommend it.
:-))
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I'm looking forward to Lion so so much and have been for a while now, and Arrival too cause it's Villeneuve and I love him! I moved a few months ago so unfortunately I don't have access to as many films as I did when I lived in Helsinki, most foreign films (except UK/US/Sweden) will not be screened here, which is too bad. Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight are coming up in the next two weeks though.
