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GOLDEN GLOBES 2017 (Part 2) ~ FILM/ACTING PICKS

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Here we are with part two of my Golden Globes picks – this round is Film and Acting.
I’ve seen almost all the films presented this year, even the foreign ones – though yes, I’ve missed a few as there is only so much one human being can do! I also have a few categories where I just didn’t like any of the nominees enough to make a ‘MY PICK’. You might agree or even better, you might disagree ~ it’s all good.
So with that..I give you #peggyatthemovies 2016/17 Golden Globe picks! Cheers!

BEST PICTURE (DRAMA)

Hacksaw Ridge
Mel Gibson is riding the come back high with this decently done war film. While it’s war scenes are done very well, it’s riddled with a lot of cheesy storyline in the first hour.

Hell or High Water
While it’s good to see a film be remembered from earlier in the year, it really never struck me as Award material when watching.

Lion
A sweet and rather powerful story of a child’s journey into being a man, and finding not only his true story, but his family’s also.

Manchester by the Sea
While I didn’t dislike this film, it was monotonous and so slow for long periods throughout. I found the last 1/2 hr. to be the best as we finally found out what was going on.

Moonlight – WINNER
While watching this film, I couldn’t help thinking I’ve seen this story before..and we have – except it was done much better on the ‘The Wire’.

I just really don’t have a pick in this category as I didn’t truly love any of these nominees, so I’m just going with what I think will win.

BEST PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)

20th Century Women
Remember how I mentioned I hadn’t seen all the movies – this is the one that my screening is actually this Tuesday.

Deadpool
Funny, fun, fast and R-rated sheer entertainment made this a favourite of mine.

Florence Foster Jenkins
Not sure how there is a nom for this one, but hey, I guess they gotta fill up the category somehow.

La La Land – WINNER
With an opening scene that is just truly beautiful and so well done, you would think the rest of the film to be just as good. It’s not. Mind you it’s a good watch, just a little to far-fetched, cutsey perfect for me.

Sing Street – MY PICK
Now this movie, sadly got missed by so many and IT’S SO SO GOOD!! I would pick this as best film of all the choices given to us as Globe nominees film wise, drama or comedy, on this one. Sadly, it won’t win and it’s so deserving.

Best Director

Damien Chazelle, La La Land
While Chazelle made one of my top fav. films ever with ‘Whiplash’, and again, he does a good job with the direction of this pic, it’s just not as gripping of a film.

Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals – MY PICK
Hands down my favourite film of the year. This film terrorized me in all the best ways possible. And it was made possible all by Mr. Ford.

Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Again, he’s on the comeback-kid tour right now, and really did a spetacular job on the war scenes, but I don’t think he’s been forgiven enough to win his first time back.

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight – WINNER
Gotta give it to Barry Jenkins for even getting this movie made. I know from being in a Q & A after the film, how hard they all worked. It just didn’t work that well for me. Many love it.

Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
While the film was aesthetically pleasing, again I just can’t call it a ‘fav’ for me. And while I’ve really liked some of his other work, this one isn’t my pick.

BEST ACTOR (DRAMA)

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea – WINNER
I liked Casey in the film, I did. And having an insightful & humourous Q & A with him afterwards helped make me like the film just a bit more than I did. I just didn’t see it as an Award winning performance.

Joel Edgerton, Loving
Didn’t do it for me. Honestly, when was the last time you heard Edgerton actually speak with his native accent..yeah I can’t remember either and him trying to do the backwoods southern didn’t work for me.

Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Again, the accent thing bothered me here. Do I think the performance was bad, no. But it didn’t warrant an Award either.

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic – MY PICK
Mortensen has been pretty underappreciated in his career. I say we make that right here. Even though I know it won’t happen, it would be great to see.

Denzel Washington, Fences
Denzel..oh Denzel..how I adore you. You pretty much own every role you do.

BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA)

Amy Adams, Arrival
While I really enjoyed this film, one of the best Sci-Fi I’ve seen, she really shoulda gotten this nom for Nocternal Animals because thats where she really shined.

Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane
I think Jessica is wonderful, though I did not see this film yet.

Isabelle Huppert, Elle – MY PICK
Huppert simply put – blew me away in this one. I don’t think I’ve ever quite seen a performance like it, and probably never will again. Sadly, I’m guessing she won’t win.

Ruth Negga, Loving
I liked this performance so much once she started speaking and really putting forth as the first 30+ min she just really never said anything.

Natalie Portman, Jackie – WINNER
Yes, we all know they are going to give the award to Natalie. And while she was good here, she doesn’t even come close to Huppert.

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY

Colin Farrell, The Lobster – MY PICK
Colin was so fantastic in this funny, bizarrely good film that he was hands down, best in category for me.

Ryan Gosling, La La Land – WINNER
We all know Gosling was a Mouseketeer so yes, he can sing and dance etc.. And was really cutsey good here as well as the film was. Just not Award cutsey for me.

Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
While his performance was one of the better spots in this film, it’s so far from Award worthy.

Jonah Hill, War Dogs
Clearly they were desperatly trying to fill up this category here. Did anyone see this film besides me at a free screening months before it came out? Yeah I’m guessing not – there is a reason for that.

Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool
I truly did love Ryan in this film – but again, Award worthy..nah..

BEST ACTRESS, (COMEDY)

Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Dang on this one, my screening is Tues. night.

Lily Collins, Rules Don’t Apply
I was out of the country when this one came out and by the time I got back, it was gone out of theatres.

Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen
Cute film, cute performance – I do think there will be awards sometime in her future.

Emma Stone, La La Land
Yeah – I like Emma and another cutsey performance. That’s really all there is to it.

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Okay again, do they just use Meryl every year as a filler for a supporting category. And while I think she is one of the greatest actresses of our time, it’s when she gets nominated year after year for this reason only that makes it tiresome.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
While I wasn’t the films biggest fan, if I had to pick a part that I liked, it was the first segment with this guy in it.

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water – WINNER
While I might not have seen awards coming for this movie, Bridges came through on this performance in a big way.

Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins
This character was cute & funny..at first..then it just wore on you.

Dev Patel, Lion
I’m a big Dev Patel fan and while the child actor might have stolen the show, he did bring it all t

Aaron Taylor Johnson, Nocturnal Animals – MY PICK
Some think he doesn’t deserve this. I think he TOTALLY does. Sure his roles leading up to this have been sub-par, but thats what makes this one so good – he did a complete 360 and brought the ‘terrifying’ to this role in a most fantastic way. Anytime someone can surprise me with a performance this good, yes they deserve a nom.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis, Fences
Viola has proved herself to be one of the most standout actresses in Hollywood. She most definitely deserves the nom here. Plus, if she wins, you know it will be one fun acceptance speech!! 🙂

Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Liked it – just didn’t love it. Definitely worthy of a nom tho.

Nicole Kidman, Lion
Same here with Nicole, liked it – just didn’t love it.

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures – MY PICK/WINNER
Now I called this when I saw the film back in November. The whole movie is good with really good performances, but she takes it here for me. She has been and is my only and clear choice.

Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
Really, a blink of seven minutes total on screen..though the last scene with her and Affleck is the one what finally made me like the film better, still.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Damien Chazelle, La La Land – POSSIBLE WINNER
I think I’ve said my take on this film enough and while I think Chazelle has a fantastic career ahead of him, I

Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals – MY PICK
Having done a Q & A with Ford after the film really brought the ‘how’s & why’s’ insight into my fav. film of the year.

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight – WINNER
Again, I completely commend Jenkins for even getting this film made. And I think it’s between him & Chazelle for who is the critical darling of the year.

Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Respect to the writing, though I might have enjoyed the process of it better as a book.

Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
Well done for being remembered from earlier in the year. Worthwhile watch – not a win for me.

Best Animated Feature Film
While I saw all of these besides ‘Zucchini’ I just don’t have commentary for all of them. Just a pick.

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
Sing
Zootopia – MY PICK/WINNER

Best Foreign Language Film
Have seen all but ‘Divines’ and I only have one hands down pick and what will hopefully be the winner!

Divines
Elle – MY PICK/WINNER
Neruda
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann

Follow along to see what happens with my live tweets during the Awards at @pegsatthemovies

awards, Drama, Golden Globes, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Thriller

REVIEW: “NOCTURNAL ANIMALS” (2016) Post: Q & A ~ Tom Ford

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If you’re looking for a sequel of sorts to  A SINGLE MAN, it won’t be found anywhere in “NOCTURNAL ANIMALS”. Tom Ford’s take on this tale of redemption, revenge, love and cruelty, terrified me at times, but in all the right ways.
noc-animals-1
NOCTURNAL AMINALS is a dark, yet stylish thriller directed by a man who knows a thing or two about style – having previously worked as creative director for both Gucci and YSL and now of course, his own design firm, Tom Ford. So to say his delving into film could have been less than stellar or have gone in all the wrong directions, wouldn’t be absurd. He could have gone style over substance, thankfully, here we get both and Ford’s perfectionism makes this one of the most powerful films I’ve seen all year.

This is really a story within a story with the perspective coming from Susan Morrow (Amy Adams), an art gallery owner who spends most of her life at home alone, with her often out-of-town husband Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer), pursuing his ‘business’. Randomly, (so we think) Susan gets a manuscript for a novel written by her ex-husband, Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal), whom she hasn’t heard from in over 15 years and as curiosity gets the best of her, she starts reading it. Almost immediately she finds herself completely absorbed with the story, so much so, we see it as she herself ‘see’s’ it to have happened. As she continues to read, she has flashbacks to how her own relationship & marriage with Edward broke down as well as perceived thoughts that the way she is ‘seeing’ this violent thriller could maybe some type of veiled threat against her from Edward. nocturnal-animals-3

Edward’s novel provides the film with its dark soul, the story of Tony Hastings (also played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) & daughter India (Elle Bamber), who run into trouble when traveling through some back country Texas roads late at night, you know the type they make movies about how not to ever drive down. It’s pretty heavy stuff to watch it all, and I couldn’t help but clench the seat while watching it all unfold, but it all plays out as essential in making this such powerful watch.
nocturnal-animals-4
The rest of the cast features the always scene-stealing, can-we-just-give-him-an-Oscar-already Michael Shannon, as Bobby Andes, a career best performance from Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is truly vile, creepy and just plain terrifying as the Ray Marcus, and Laura Linney’s appearance as Susan’s mother, Anne Sutton, who even in the short space of time we see her, makes an impact.

Gyllenhaal is good here doing dual roles though playing Hastings is seemingly the much harder performance, I just feel like he’s trying these same type of thriller roles out one after another to see which one hits hardest. Amy Adams is quite brilliant and it’s this role that should garner her another Oscar nomination at the least. It seems some don’t like Aaron Taylor Johnson’s performance, probably because if anyone knows how to bring the ‘pretty’ to a film, it’s Tom Ford and Johnson along with Hammer and a few others are the ‘pretty’ to be sure. But he also knows how to bring a performance, and for me, I like it when I get surprised by one and Johnson’s did that for me.

nocturnal-animals-5

This is one damned good film and I’m thinking it’s going to garner itself a few award nominations.

Grade: A
@pegsatthemovies

Screening courtesy of Hammer Museum ~ The Contender Series
NOW SCREENING NATIONWIDE

tom-ford

Post Q & A with Tom Ford
First off, I can’t say enough on how congenial this man is. He has been quite brilliant as not only a designer, but so far, as a filmmaker also, and yet is more than pleased to answer any and all questions posed and makes you feel as though your friends after only a few minutes conversation.

Mr. Ford acknowledged the fact that he’s been so very lucky in being able to make his films his way so far. After being in the same industry for so long (30 yrs. in design) he says it’s been nothing but a blast for him to be able to do this and he loves it for being so different.
He also notes it’s been great getting the cast he wanted as he really had to find two people who could span a 20 year time frame, and in doing so, both look it and be able to act it out. He felt Amy Adams just resonates so much expression on screen with just looks as she doesn’t speak as she reads the novel, but expresses it.
He noted that while they took some liberties with the film over the actual novel by Austin Wright, it would have been almost impossible to have filmed it exactly as written so deep a story it is. My favourite statement of his was that he wants you to remember this film..not just one day after you see..not just a few weeks later..but still be thinking about a year later and remember how it made you think and feel.
I think he will get his wish on that one. 🙂

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: FINAL DAY 7 ~ “BEST PICTURE”

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Well here we are. The very last day of my “7 Days of Oscar” and I’ve saved the biggest and best for last. While this is a very good slate of films, and most of them deserve to be here, some clearly more than others. I have made my choice – hard as it was, and I very well know there can be an upset of epic proportions in this category above all of them.

Final note: **Reminder that I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because they just might not be the same!! 😀

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short
This film is dark comedy at it’s best. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry and the acting is just spectacular all the way around.

Bridge of Spies
Not a strong enough film here for me. I almost felt had I not known it was based on a true story, I would have thought how contrived and predictable it was. While I liked it on a whole, save for Mark Rylance’s brilliant performance, it had some slow moments and at times, could be a dull ride.

Brooklyn
A sweet, yet altogether to sappy of a story for me. I liked it for sure, but it waned & dragged through parts to much so for me to give it a big vote here.

Mad Max: Fury Road– Possible Winner
Ohhh how I love this movie. It’s fast, entertaining, and just an all around thrill ride. Need I say more.. I think not. But I will say I think a secret part of me wants it to win in my heart of hearts because it was just so truly… EVERYTHING.

The Martian
Fun fun movie here.. is it Oscar winning? No, but it’s completely entertaining and definitely a good watch.

The Revenant – MY PICK/WINNER
When I saw this film I was completely and utterly blown away as I didn’t think Inarritu could outdo ‘Birdman’.. he did. It’s a mind-bending experience of a film which is what made me pick it, by just a hair mind you.

Room
Why this movie is even here on this list I’ve still to fathom, but it has so many fans..that I’m guessing have never watched Law & Order: SVU as I’ve seen this story better done on episode of that show. It just still boggles my mind.

Spotlight– Possible upset winner
Very good and VERY gutsy movie to bring this subject literally back into the spotlight. Just not a winner for me, but it could very well do so here and be the upset winner of the year.

#Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Uncategorized

Oscars 2016 – Addressing the controversy

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Taking a day out of my “7 Days of Oscars” to address the looming Oscars issue of Diversity. Now I’m not professing to be the know all of what’s right or wrong, but I’m tired of hearing a one-sided argument. So here is what I do know.

There are truly 2 questions that can be asked here. Question 1. Do you/should you nominatate someone soley based on race, creed, or colour Answer: No. Has it been a ‘white’ Oscars the past 2 years? Yes, it has which leads into – Question 2. But where does the fault lie in this?

Because while people can scream & shout & blame the Academy all they want, by the time it gets to that point it’s really too late. It’s not the Oscar themselves as it starts at the beginning of the film process. And this is not a black thing – this is a diversity thing, meaning diversity of all races, has been at a complete failure in film whereas in TV, it’s wide open. Speaking as someone who read the breakdowns and scripts for years while representing the actors, so many miss the fact that they need to start at the beginning, with great stories & great roles for all diversified characters. And the frustrating thing is they know this!!! I’m not telling anyone to watch or not to watch, but for the industry people to boycott is kinda slamming your peers for their work.. like saying they shouldn’t have been nominated, which I just don’t think is cool either.

Is it harder to cast something that you have to list as ‘ALL ETHINCITIES’ – sure maybe it is as you have to see a lot more people and work harder – but I’m not even sure that’s the problem as the casting agents I know work extremely hard – what I do know is it’s time to make it change from the ground up!!!! Support Indie Films and low budget films with diverse characters/actors and you will see things start to change. Might be slow, but if you don’t try, you can’t complain.  And Viola Davis states it all so well in this link below..

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viola-davis-diversity-separate-opportunity-869171?facebook_20160224

#Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY 6 ~ “BEST ACTOR”

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Yes, the end of my “7 Days of Oscars” is nearing it’s close. For some this might be a hard category. For me, it is the simplest one as I knew from the minute the film was over, who was going to be my pick of the year. And yes, deservedly so.

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Being a fan of Cranston, it’s a notable performance here, but the film went pretty unnoticed by most as it was about the infamous ‘blacklist’ and I think some just thought it had been done before.

Matt Damon, The Martian
This for me, was actually a really good dramady performance by Damon. He was funny, yet serious when he needed to be. But sorry Matt, it’s going to have to be another time. 🙂

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant – MY PICK/WINNER
Please pick up your Golden Man.. FINALLY Mr. DiCaprio. 😀

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Good, strong job by one of my favourite actors here. Lot’s of dialogue but just didn’t hit it on the mark for me.

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Last year’s winner and another good performance by Redmayne, but not of the Oscar caliber of last years so no..I don’t think Eddie’s doing a repeat.

And with that we are approaching Day 7 – The Final Day of “7 Days of Oscars” which will be of course, Best Picture. With that being said, I’m going to the Independent Spirit Awards tomorrow, Sat. the 27th, and instead of posting my BP picks, I’m just going to briefly address the Oscar controversy and save my last for the BIG DAY!! Cheers to you all until then..
#Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

**Reminder that I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because yes, they just might not be the same!! 😀

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY 5 ~ “BEST ACTRESS”

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We are on Day 5 of my “7 Days of Oscars” – and into the Best Actress category.

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, Carol
I mean it’s Cate. It’s rare that you will catch her in a bad performance. I liked her in ‘Truth’ earlier in the year, and while I didn’t love this film, she was as always, very good. Enough said.

Brie Larson, Room – WINNER
There isn’t really anything to add here from what I noted on my Golden Globes review. Nothing’s changed. I like Brie a lot, but I can’t truthfully think this is anywhere close to being a performance or film that should be here..but hey..again, my hopes are still up that maybe she will share the award with Mariska Hargitay from Law & Order:SVU if she wins.

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
No offense to Jennifer here, as I do like her a lot and I’m sure she has many more awards coming in her career. This isn’t going to be one of them, and truth be told, wasn’t really strong enough of a role to really be here.

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years – MY PICK
While this wasn’t my favourite film of the year as it was rather slow-moving, Rampling’s performance was simply put, sublime. If there were true Oscar gods, she would win! 😀

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
While the story itself was rather sappy at points, Saoirse really was quite good here. It was what I would call a sweet-type performance and she would be my 2nd choice here.

Tomorrow, as we are coming close to the end of “7 Days of Oscar” and the Best Actor category.
Till then.. #Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Uncategorized

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY 4 ~ “BEST DIRECTOR”

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Wait.. what day is it??!! Just kidding.. as it’s DAY FOUR of the ‘7 Days of Oscar’ and it’s getting tough as it’s BEST DIRECTOR time..
And yes, I will continue to add in my reminder that I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because yes, they just might not be the same!! 😀

BEST DIRECTOR

Adam McKay, The Big Short
I really really enjoyed this film as it was dark comedy at it’s best. I didn’t know whether to laugh at the hilarious cameo explanations or cry at the subject matter. Truly a gem.

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Just truly an incredible film. We were brought back to a Mad Max of old, the kind where you really didn’t even have time to breathe for the first 15 minutes of the film. This film was just epic. It’s such a close one here for me.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
MY PICK/WINNER
What can I say here.. Did I think ‘Birdman’ could be outdone..no I didn’t think so. But yet here with The Revenant it was. Can Alejandro make it 2 in a row is yet to be seen. But it would be well deserved.

Lenny Abrahamson, Room
I’m sure Lenny is a great guy..having done a Q & A with him after Room screening I can say I found him to be engaging enough, and sometimes I wish I could understand what the people who love this film, see in it. Sorry, but he is not my winner.

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Good movie, though not a winner for me.

So there ya have it. Tomorrow we move on to the Best Actress category for Day 5 of the “7 Days of Oscar”
Till then.. #Oscars2016 #peggyatthemovies

awards, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Uncategorized

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY TWO ~ BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

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Yep..here we are at Day 2 of my “7 Days of Oscar” just remember.. I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because they don’t always necessarily coincide with each other!! 😀

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
As I noted with the Golden Globes – there were times I just thought ‘wow, JJL is knocking it out of the park here’ then there were more times when I thought ‘oh, no no she’s not, she’s kinda annoying me’ so this is a give & take for me but definitely not a pick.

Rooney Mara, Carol
While I’m mostly not a fan of Rooney Mara’s, I will say, she impressed me in this film and was the most likable yet in a film role for me.

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla. That’s the only thing that truly comes to mind when I think of this performance. Sorry Rachel, you seem sweet, really you do, but you are ‘vanilla’ acting-wise, in your roles, this one included.

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl ~ MY PICK
Alicia Vikander was fantastic in this role. Why everyone liked her in Ex-Machina I’m not sure, as she was a CGI character. And okay..not everyone..just males under 35 – but here she truly was wonderful and showed she can compete with the best of them.

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs – WINNER
Another wonderful job by Kate, though I wasn’t particularly fond of her trying on the accent – you could almost overlook it as she was so spot on here.

awards, Documentary, Foreign Film, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards

7 DAYS OF OSCARS: DAY ONE ~ “BEST FOREIGN FILM & BEST DOCUMENTARY”

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Well, Well, Well.. here we are!! At that time of year once again where I give a countdown of my top Oscar categories, hence the title “7 Days of Oscars” – This year I’m starting off gently, and I’ve added in two categories ~ Best Foreign Language Film & Best Documentary Feature ~ and I’m starting off with those two. I’m giving who I think the winner will be and what would be my pick – because they don’t always necessarily coincide with each other!! 😀

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Embrace of the Serpent
I did like this film as it was truly interesting to me. Not a pick though.

Mustang – MY PICK
Simply LOVED this film! By far, one of the best movies I saw this year period.

Son of Saul – WINNER
People seem to love this movie. As someone who was told many camp stories as a child by family members who had been in them, it rang very false to me. Didn’t really like the film at all.

Theeb
While this movie told a good story, I just didn’t gravitate towards it as much as I did others.

A War
This is the only one I haven’t seen yet, though I plan to this week as it’s the last one on my list to do so.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Quick note – Documentaries are never easy watches.. They are hard and quite depressing, though mostly eye-opening, they can be difficult to watch – this years picks are no different.

Amy – WINNER
Sad & Heartbreaking are just two of the words I would use to describe this doc on the life of Amy Winehouse. While showcasing how beautiful her voice was, it also shows how at times, some just can’t handle the trappings of fame that go along with a gift like this.

Cartel Land – MY PICK
This would actually be my pick for best documentary and while it has a chance at winning, Amy will probably be the one. This story is simply put and very straight-forward showing that even behind the good, there is bad. And it shows us all, it will never end.

The Look of Silence
Possible one of the hardest watches of the whole movie season for me. It might sound silly, but I even had to put down my popcorn I was so disturbed and more than one person left the screening. The true evil of people never fails to boggle ones mind.

What Happened, Miss Simone?
Well done portrait of Nina Simon’s life. While I wasn’t completely familiar with all her music as it was quite before my time, I knew who she was. The accounting of her struggle with mental illness & being banished by promoters for her support of the race struggles at the time is shown in some great footage.

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Also haven’t seen this one as I just couldn’t do three movies in a row on this day of screenings. It’s just too hard sometimes with the depressing nature of documentaries. I can only handle so much. I will see it this week tho.

Adventure, awards, Biography, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Drama, Dramady, History, Independent Feature, Movie Reviews, Movies, Oscar Awards, Romance

OSCAR COUNTDOWN: BEST PICTURE

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the oscars 1

It’s HERE!!! Superbowl Sunday..of Movies that is!! #whoooohooooo And we are at the end.. the most anticipated category there is. Eight Nominees..everyone has a favourite..which is mine??!! Well read on here..read on.. and let us all enjoy the show and hope that there are a few fun upsets and that everyone has a fav. or two that wins something! Cheers!!
(Drum roll please)

BEST PICTURE:

Whiplash
Jason Blum, David Lancaster, Helen Estabrook

How to even describe this movie except that I loved it..then I saw it a second time and I loved it even more!! If there is a upset of the evening, this would be the one I would want.

American Sniper
Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Peter Morgan

I liked this movie.. it’s not my favourite but good performances especially by Bradley Cooper, make it better. Though a it’s become a politically charged film, it’s still a good movie.

Birdman
Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole

I remember the first time out of the three times I saw this movie..and walking out thinking “THAT was fucking brilliant” I still think it is and it’s just a mind-boggling fantastic film full of imagination and a story within a story that I just simply loved.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven M. Rales

This was such a fun movie. I remember noting in my review that come Oscar time, it might be nominated even though it was so early in the year to predict that.. I was right. It might not be my pick, but it’s definitely a movie to be seen.

best picture

The Imitation Game
Teddy Schwarzman, Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky

The only movie to make me cry..both times I saw it. It was just such a heart-wrenching story for me and the fact that my family was in the war and had it not been for Alan Turing, I might not even be here. Also, the whole prosecuting such a brave, brilliant man for being gay, just broke me.

Selma
Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

While a strong film, it was almost like a bio of MLK and while I really loved some of the performances, I think the timing of it’s release coinciding with the racially charged political climate that was/is going on, made it more relevant as when it was first screened it wasn’t scoring very high. It definitely deserves to be here, just not to win.

The Theory of Everything
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anthony McCarten

There are times this film moves slowly and if not for the amazing story of what this man has accomplished in his life and how he’s beaten the odds ten-fold, plus it’s also a story of how strong a person his wife had to be to stand by his side throughout, and lest we not forget the brilliant performances..well..it might not be what it is.

Boyhood
Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland

This is my least favourite film of the bunch. I saw it waaay back before all the hype, and while I think the idea of it brilliant, the film itself is an average story of a boy growing up. I think so many have fallen in love with the idea of it, rather than noting it’s really just that..an average film with a brilliant idea behind it.

My Pick: Birdman (with an outside secret hope for a “Whiplash” upset 🙂 )
Will Win: Birdman
Possible Win: Boyhood