Oscar Season Movies that deserve all their praise

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 2:59pm

Oscar-bait season is finally heating up, and two films we caught this week deserve all the buzz they're getting: THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI, and CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.

No-one at BWW needs to be told how amazing an actress Francis McDormand is, but THREE BILLBOARDS reminds us all over again. She does pain and comedy and crazy and real all in one line reading like no one else on screen these days. And she's met beat for beat by Sam Rockwell who will floor you with the range his character goes through. Martin McDonough has always known how to create withering dialogue, but with this film he gets to something hysterical and radiant and heartbreaking all at once. These people will stay with you for days and days. 

So will the main characters in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME. How on earth does 89-year-old James Ivory write the truest screenplay ever on what a 17-year-old boy feels like to be in love for the first time? The setup sounds like soft-core porn (Army Hammer as a 24-year-old grad student -- yeah, right--moves in to the adjoining bedroom of 17-year-old Elio on the cusp of awakening to his budding gayness), and in a way the movie is a total fantasy fulfilled. The light is dazzling, the boys are both unbelievably good looking, the parents are paragons of understanding, and the peaches are very very ripe. (The peach scene will be a meme in no time.) But the pain depicted is also heartbreakingly real-- every first love is bound to end in goodbyes, right? There is no gay man on earth who won't identify with one or both of those boys. Probably add to that nearly every woman and straight man as well. That's the miracle of this movie.

Did these work on you the same way? What other must-sees live up to their hype so far?

 

Updated On: 11/29/17 at 02:59 PM

[Gorlois]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 5:10pm

There was a time when I knew everything about Oscar season. The. IMDB shut down their message boards and this season I am completely unaware (this must be what it feels like for regular movie goers whenever the Oscars come around). Any good sites I should check out?

I bought the same-titled book that "Call Me By Your Name" is based on more than a year ago, but it's been sitting on my bookshelf ever since. I should be able to read it over Christmas break. I definitely want to read it before I see the movie-- which I'm so excited to see! Armie Hammer was probably my third Hollywood crush (I'm young, 22) after Mr. Sheffield and Jonathan Groff when he was on Glee...

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 6:00pm

I really, really disliked Call Me By Your Name. While beautifully shot, I didn’t believe the relationship between those two guys for one second. Nothing sensual or romantic about it.

People will love it.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 6:07pm

Delete

Updated On: 12/30/17 at 06:07 PM

[hork]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 6:22pm

I liked Three Billboards a lot, though it took me a while to get into it. I hope I'm wrong, but I feel like I'm going to dislike Call Me by Your Name. It seems like it's this year's Brokeback Mountain/Moonlight (i.e. wildly overrated gay movie). Or was that God's Own Country? Except I liked God's Own Country (it's still a bit overrated, though)

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 8:08pm

The best gay film of the last ten years is Weekend.

[John Adams]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 9:08pm

TotallyEffed said: "The best gay film of the last ten years is Weekend."

"Weekend" is a fantastic movie! Love it.

"3 Billboards" and "Call Me By Your Name" are the only two movies I feel like I have to see at this point (I don't know what else is coming down the pike yet...). I like to binge watch movies in January, at home, so I've nothing to contribute yet - but I'll be watching this thread with interest!

 

[hork]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 10:06pm

Weekend is good, but I also felt it was somewhat over-praised (the camerawork kind of drove me nuts, and the script felt too much like an essay at times). My favorite recent gay movie is Last Summer (which, come to think of it, is the exact opposite of Weekend in a lot of ways).

Updated On: 11/26/17 at 10:06 PM

[Valentina3]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 12:25am

If we're talking this year's Oscar bait movies, Lady Bird is definitely one to watch out for. If nothing else, Lauri Metcalf and Greta Gerwig deserve Oscar nominations for action and direction.

I'm planning on checking out Three Billboards soon, good to hear nice reviews here.

My favorite gay movie of last few years was probably A Single Man. It still makes me cry even though the lead character and I have literally nothing in common. Colin Firth's acting somehow made this person very very relatable. Not to mention I'm a sucked for anything Christopher Isherwood.

[Luscious]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 1:17am

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, gorgeous, sumptuous and achingly romantic. I haven't yet seen all of the year-end Oscar contenders, but it's hard for me to imagine any other film topping this one. Easily one of the best movies of the year, and an automatic addition to my list of all-time favorites. Don't miss it!

Updated On: 11/27/17 at 01:17 AM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 1:40am

The Florida Project is the best film I’ve seen so far this year.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 7:03am

I hope Get Out isn’t forgotten by the time the nominations are out.

[John Adams]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 8:50am

Call_me_jorge said: "I hope Get Out isn’t forgotten by the time the nominations are out."

I really want to see Get Out, and I've been patiently waiting for it to appear on Amazon Prime. Now that it's there, it turns out it's under HBO's umbrella.

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 9:44am

I loved THREE BILLBOARDS. The theater I saw it in broke out into applause twice following monologues by Frances McDormand. Give her all the awards.

I'm looking forward to CALL ME... As long as it's not the self-loathing BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, I'm fine. I think equating MOONLIGHT to BROKEBACK is a little unfair-- like comparing a Big Mac to Filet Mignon. 

Given that today is November 27-- I think the best (mainstream) gay film of the last ten years has to be MILK.

If anyone has Netflix, I highly recommend HOLDING THE MAN. Based on a true story and absolutely beautiful from start to finish. 

[broadway86]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 2:50pm

Three Billboards was fantastic. Razor-sharp screenplay with a career-best McDormand and Rockwell, not to mention an excellent cast overall. It didn't go anywhere I was expecting, and I'm so grateful for that.

Can't wait to see Call Me By Your Name.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/27/17 at 6:14pm

I agree GET OUT is a movie that should be remembered at Oscar time (most likely for original screenplay), but I'd be very surprised if such a pulpy genre movie (horror/ comedy/social satire) would make it to a best picture nomination. I do think Jordan Peele is a genius though, and can't wait to see what he does next.

I was really hoping to love THE FLORIDA PROJECT after being a huge fan of TANGERINE by the same creator. But sorry, nope, the new movie left me totally cold (although the visuals were pretty swell). I also don't get the love for Willem Dafoe's performance here, basically a redux of his past roles with a weird accent added. That kid who played Moonee was patently phenomenal though.

 

[John Adams]

Posted: 11/28/17 at 12:37pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "I agree GET OUT is a movie that should be remembered at Oscar time (most likely for original screenplay), but I'd be very surprised if such a pulpy genre movie (horror/ comedy/social satire) would make it to a best picture nomination. I do think Jordan Peele is a genius though, and can't wait to see what he does next."

I agree about screenplay for Get Out (even though I haven't seen the movie yet). I think Peele's original perspective on the genre (pulpy as the genre might be) deserves recognition with at least a nomination.

I still can't come to terms with why Moonlight got best picture, but if that can happen, I think Peele should certainly get a nomination because I think he's demonstrated more talent in his career than Jenkins (IMO).

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/28/17 at 3:38pm

Can we change this thread to be more about movies with Oscar Buzz in general? Rather than these two movies?

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 12:48pm

^ Good idea-- I changed my original post subject, but don't know how to change the heading for all other posts here.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 1:41pm

I loved Three Billboards, enjoyed Lady Bird, could not stand Call Me By My Name.

Still looking forward to The Shape of Water and The  Post.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 8:59am

I saw Three Billboards last night, and it was beyond brilliant. Obviously, there are still plenty of contenders to see, but McDormand and Rockwell have to be considered frontrunners for the Oscars.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 11:47am

I've heard nothing but raves for Coco and quite a bit of buzz that it is Best Picture worthy as well as for Animated Feature.

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 4:05pm

Adored Lady Bird, didn't see the others yet.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 4:20pm

I’ll be interested to see how much Oscar buzz All The Money In The World gets. It’s the one where they had to reshoot scenes with Christopher Plummer, because it originally had Kevin Spacey. I believe they began reshoots on the 20th and they released the first trailer with Plummer yesterday. So they have been rushing.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 10:05pm

It's gotten very little buzz, but has anyone else seen THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS? It's not strictly oscar-worthy but I had a really great time at it. The basic story of Dickens struggling against his mounting debts to bring his most famous book to life is pretty damn thrilling-- and the blending of reality and fantasy (characters from the novel materialize and disappear at will) is absolutely magical in the most honest way.  It's the kind of movie that would be dazzling as a stage piece. Speaking of Christopher Plummer, he steals every scene he's in as the embodiment of Ebeneezer Scrooge (perfect casting). In a less crowded year he would no doubt get a supporting nod for this lovely performance. Try to find it before it's gone from the theaters!

Updated On: 11/30/17 at 10:05 PM