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Post by mllemass on Feb 9, 2017 7:03:31 GMT
I really liked Lion. I wasn't expecting it to be such a feel-good, uplifting movie. The husband of a friend of mine is from India, so they've been there many times. I asked her how realistic Lion was - would we really find small children living on the streets, on their own? She said that laws have been put in place in recent years to get the children off the streets, but otherwise yes, the movie was very realistic. Her husband is an engineer in Canada now, but he told her that he and his brothers often hung around train stations when they were little boys in India.
When the lights came on after the movie, everyone was sniffling and wiping their eyes - unlike the supposedly heart-wrenching "masterpiece" Manchester by the Sea.
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Post by coolclearwaters on Feb 9, 2017 7:42:03 GMT
I have seen fewer movies this year than usual. I hope to make up for that in a few weeks. The Oscar contenders that I have seen are Moonlight, Hell Or High Water, Nocturnal Animals, and Fences.
I want to second Roverpup's recommendation of Fences. Yes, it is from a play - a great play. All of the actors are good, but Denzel and Viola are astonishing. I have always loved Denzel, but, for some reason, have been taking him for granted lately. He is one of our very greatest actors - ever. The character he plays in Fences is larger than life and mesmerizing. Viola Davis deserves every accolade she has been given and more.
I liked Moonlight, too. In some ways, it is the opposite of Fences - though both are adapted from plays and have great acting. Moonlight is somehow understated, but haunting. It stayed with me for a long time.
I thought Hell or High Water was wonderful, but I like the neo-noire crime genre. The despair of people who were left out of any economic "recovery" after our latest meltdown permeates the locale and action. Jeff Bridges is one of my 3 or 4 favorite living actors and is also one of our greatest - ever. He is wonderful in this movie, as are Chris Pine and Ben Foster.
Nocturnal Animals was a mixed bag. The story within a story was quite gripping, but I think attempts to tie it in to Amy Adam's story, which I didn't like at all, failed. Michael Shannon was brilliant, as usual. Another great actor. I can't wait to see him with Benedict in The Current Wars.
As for the other Best Picture nominees, I have no interest in La La Land, Jackie, or Hacksaw Ridge. I really wanted to see Loving, but it came at a bad time for me as did Arrival. I'll wait to see Hidden Figures on television.
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Post by mllemass on Feb 9, 2017 12:42:24 GMT
As for the other Best Picture nominees, I have no interest in La La Land, Jackie, or Hacksaw Ridge. Same here! My friends keep telling me I have to see La La Land, but I won't because I don't like either of the stars. It keeps winning awards - it just won one from the Directors Guild (or something), but that doesn't matter to me. I like all kinds of movies, including musicals. I'm looking forward to the new live-action Beauty and the Beast! The animated original is one of my favourite movies. And I even saw the stage version on Broadway years ago.
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Post by roverpup on Feb 9, 2017 13:20:46 GMT
Some of Ryan Gosling's work like The Big Short is really quite good, but he does seem to be too much of a one trick pony. I only got interested in his work recently when I found out that my sister-in-law was related to him.
I also want to see Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic. I loved his acting in Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method.
Loving is another one that seems interesting.
So so many movies - so little time!
:-))
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Post by roverpup on Feb 10, 2017 4:23:12 GMT
We saw Captain Fantastic tonight and loved it. Viggo Mortensen was - fantastic in the lead role, but I also thought George MacKay was outstanding in his role of the eldest son. I think that young fellow has a bright future in front of him in the acting world. He reminds me of BC himself (and he has an impressive list of stage credits as well).
Overall I really loved the movie but it just fell a shade off of the perfection of Lion (although I still would have put it ahead of a couple of Best Picture nods that are currently on the list).
:-))
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Post by igs on Feb 10, 2017 14:55:07 GMT
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. Lion is my favorite of the Oscar nominated movies I've seen this year (will be seeing Moonlight next week, and then whatever I can when they premiere except Hacksaw Ridge which I'm not interested in. I've also skipped Jackie, I just didn't really care enough to see it.) I got teary-eyed many times and then finally during the end credits I cried. Very emotional film. I don't really see how Dev Patel is "supporting" either, but I think it's common these days to push younger, less "A list" actors at supporting even though they shouldn't be (like Alicia Vikander and Rooney Mara last year.) I guess they figured that Sunny Pawar - who was beyond adorable and impressive! - was as much of a lead as Patel so they decided both belong in supporting. I hope Patel wins, just cause I hope the film wins something. Kidman has a below zero chance cause Viola Davis will win best supporting actress. Although I think Mahersala Ali is the front-runner. I really like him, although as mentioned, I'm only seeing Moonlight next week so I can't say anything yet about his nominated performance.
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Post by roverpup on Feb 11, 2017 23:11:22 GMT
We saw Moonlight this afternoon and although it was a very interesting movie I wouldn't say it is even in my top three movies of those nominated.
And I don't think M Ali deserved a nom for Best Supporting Actor either. He was competent but I didn't sense anything special about his performance.
I also found the choppiness of the film very confusing and to be honest I couldn't understand about half the dialogue.
Things I did like about the movie - the theme was thoughtful and did show segments from the protagonist's life that certainly struck to the heart of emotional honesty (by the end of the film) with oneself.
I really loved André Holland's performance. I would have nominated him over M. Ali.
I loved the soundtrack for the film as well.
Now just La La Land remains for us to complete the Best Picture list... it's all come down to that.
:-))
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Post by mllemass on Feb 12, 2017 0:29:11 GMT
We saw Moonlight this afternoon and although it was a very interesting movie I wouldn't say it is even in my top three movies of those nominated. I liked that it was a quiet, thoughtful movie. And it wasn't a story we see very often - if ever. It is nice to see something different for a change. If they're going to give Oscars to a quiet movie, I hope it's to Moonlight and not Manchester by the Sea!
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Post by roverpup on Feb 12, 2017 1:31:05 GMT
I'll say it was quiet! Based on the protagonist's vocabulary it could pretty well be considered a silent movie. But still I know what you mean - there was tension but not a lot of yapping about it. I also like the way the character of Theresa behaved - she was definitely a well-centred calm person who approached problems with the minimum of fuss and drama. His mother OTOH was very jarring - definitely not the quiet part of the film. I just wish the story could have been laid out a bit more coherently. :-))
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Post by coolclearwaters on Feb 12, 2017 1:50:42 GMT
Wow! I didn't find it to be incoherent at all!
I agree with you about Andre Holland. I'm not sure why his performance hasn't been talked about more. I do disagree about Mahershala Ali's performance though. I thought he was very subtle and naturalistic, but devastating - particularly in his final scene at the dinner table when he had to confront some truths about his own life. I think that is the scene that is what got to people the most.
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