89th Academy Awards Thread — Page 4

Gosh, Henrik, maybe I've just turned in to a cranky old curmudgeon when it comes to movies that please me these days. Of the ones you've listed in your last post, only LOVING and EYE IN THE SKY would make the list of also-rans I give high marks to. I utterly agree with your assessment of HIDDEN FIGURES: a cheerfully commercial take on a deserving subject that wasn't great art but made its audiences very happy. A solid B+.

As for the rest, I thought HAIL CAESAR was a dreadful script cleverly concealed by wonderful production design and a great cast. I couldn't wait for ELLE to end, I disliked it so. I found JACKIE oddly amateurish, including the nominated performance of its leading lady. Ditto the underwritten INDIGNATION. SILENCE was (deliberately) excruciating with no redemption for me. LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP felt like a pale imitation of a witty Regency comedy, rather than the real thing. (Compare it to the terrific FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD of 2015 for how one of these should be done.)

Oh God, have I turned into the After Eight of movie reviewers? For ballast I thought that MOONLIGHT, ARRIVAL and HELL OR HIGH WATER were among the best works of the last 3 or 4 years, so at least I'm happy to celebrate those from my snooty ivory tower.

saw Manchester by the Sea, Nocturnal Animals and Arrival this weekend. I thought MBTS was a bit dry, Arrival terrific but a bit slow and NA the best of those three. Still think it's La La Land or Moonlight for BP. Hell or High Water and Lion i don't know if i'll be able to catch by the awards but i'm seeing Hacksaw Ridge tonight.

edit: oops, thought Nocturnal Animals was a Best Picture nom... thought it was better than a few that were nominated so i find its omission odd

For those who are disappointed by this year's movie selections, I recommend a movie nominated for Best Foreign Language Film: "A Man Called Ove".

There is absolutely nothing in this film that isn’t a manipulative movie gimmick/character stereotype that has appeared in countless previous movies. I have no clue as to why it was nominated for Best Make-up/Hairstyling, either. Still, I have to say that I enjoyed, and was taken in by every minute of the manipulation.

I can almost guarantee that you will predict the resolution of every plot point in this movie. ...And that you will see every character's behavior pan out exactly as expected, but for some reason, it all works in a very heartwarming and lovable film.

I thought I might be put off by being distracted with subtitles, but I was surprised by how much the Swedish language resembles English (or vise-versa).

I also rented "Other People" last weekend. I thought Jesse Plemons gave an exceptionally nuanced performance, and was much more deserving of a nomination than Viggo Mortenson. I also thought Molly Shannon was great in that film.

I just don't quite get the La La Land hype. Maybe we need a "feel good" movie right now, but I just didn't think the singing or songs were all that great or memorable. And the performances were "charming," but I'm not sure that makes it a best picture.

henrikegerman said:

As far as movies not nominated for best picture that were well received (and we may not agree on all of them - when do we ever agree on all of them? that's what makes moviegoing) for your consideration: Indignation, Eye in the Sky, Toni Erdmann - these first three btw are standouts for me personally - Hail, Caesar! - in my opinion vastly underrated - Elle, Jackie - two movies I also liked very much and Huppert's destined for legend performance alone should make Elle required viewing - The Handmaiden, Loving, Jungle Book, Captain Fantastic, Silence, Love and Friendship. To name just a few.

Plus Paterson, Certain Women, Embrace of the Serpent, Tower, Green Room, Krisha, Aquarius, 20th Century Women, Sing Street, The Fits, Little Men, American Honey, The Witch, Zootopia, Everybody Wants Some!! etc. etc. Not to mention documentaries like O.J.: Made in America and I Am Not Your Negro, which were two of the most acclaimed movies of the year (and rightfully so).

It seems like there were more acclaimed movies last year than in any other year in recent memory. Even the Best Picture slate was mostly filled with movies that the critics genuinely raved about, with no Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close-type blunder like usually happens. And yet, there were fewer movies that I personally loved than in any other year. So I'm with Someone in that regard. I feel like a curmudgeon with an ever-widening disconnect between popular opinion and my own (though to be fair, it's always been there, to some extent).

I really hope that La La Land wins best pic. Maybe its not the strongest contender that we've ever seen, but its been a bright light in a rather gloomy world as of late, and it's bringing attention back to the movie musicals and wouldn't that be great for it to open the path for more? The way they filmed those long sequences was just amazing - maybe something that not all people caught on to? And the music is in my head to stay.

Moonlight was amazing. I feel like I have to see it a second time to really understand it. I keep thinking back to it and now want to see again. I was just barely following it the first time and I feel like I missed a lot.

Lion was also so good. Like getting two films in one. The little boy is darling and he just ripped my heart open - along with the end of the film. So touching.

MBTS - I walked out after 20 minutes - we had a death in our family recently, and honestly, if I had know what the film was about, we wouldn't have gone. I can appreciate that it probably is a really good movie - but I won't be seeing this one for a while, if ever. Will respect everyone's opinion that the screenplay should win. I personally don't care for Casey Affleck so I'm pretty numb to this one.

Hidden Figures - This is such a good story to tell. Who knew??? right? I love movies about the space program - especially when going back to the 60's etc. Apollo 13 is still right up there for me - so instead of getting Tom Hanks we get Kevin Kostner. I thought the film was really well done. I don't know if it really has a chance up against all the other contenders - but certainly worthy of its nominations.

Arrival was interesting. I feel like I need to see that one again as well to truly grasp the whole story. Time continuum is hard to do on film. Reminded me of Interstellar. Good film. Wouldn't think it wins though.

That's all I've seen. I won't see Hacksaw Ridge as I really don't like violence. And not sure if there are others?

This is my ranking of the Best Picture nominees:

1. Hidden Figures
2. Lion
3. La La Land
4. Manchester by the Sea
5. Moonlight
6. Arrival
7. Florence Foster Jenkins (deserved the spot over Hackjob Ridge)
8. Hell or High Water
9. Fences

I haven't finished all the Actor/Actress nominee films yet, but for Best Actor, my choice would be Viggo Mortensen and for Supporting Actress, Viola Davis.

1. Hell or High Water

2. Hidden Figures

3. Hacksaw Ridge

4. Manchester by the Sea

5. Arrival

6. La La Land

7. Fences

8. Moonlight

9. Lion

But I'm much more invested in the other races, like Best Documentary (hoping for a win for O.J.: Made in America) and Best Foreign Language Film (rooting for Toni Erdmann). And for the first time, I went and saw the Best Animated and Live Action Short Film nominees. I'm really pulling for Timecode, my favorite of all of them, by far (and in fact it's my favorite fiction film nominated in any category, short or feature-length). The animated shorts were mostly meh for me, but I think Piper is the best one.

For actors, I gotta agree with Mister Matt on Mortensen and Davis. Also Ruth Negga and especially Michael Shannon.

1. Moonlight

[Jackie]

[Big gap]

2. La La Land

[20th Century Women]

3. Arrival

4. Fences

5. Manchester by the Sea

6. Lion

7. Hidden Figures

8. Hell or High Water

9. Hacksaw Ridge

Acting picks out of the nominees:

Natalie Portman, Casey Affleck, Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali.

Acting picks irresepective of nominations:

Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Michelle Williams (Certain Women), TIE between Andre Holland and Trevante Rhodes.

In the Best Picture category, my biggest hope is that Whackjob Ridge doesn't win. I feel like the subject matter is the only reason it was nominated.

What is a good printable Oscar ballot to use?

Really? BAD? Sorry to hear that. Ever since he made the We Exist video, I became a fan.

"his product is hackneyed, unfocused and lacks artistic cohesion. "

That makes me even angrier that Hollywood has taken him back into the fold.